this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk prime minister, borisjohnson, says the country's passed the worst of the coronavirus outbreak — but the lockdown stays. we are past the peak of this disease. we're past the peak, and we are on the downward slope. president trump says he's seen evidence the new coronavirus originated in a research laboratory in china — but gives no details. a significant milestone in south korea, as the country goes 2a hours without a new infection. so how did they do it? singing. and bollywood's romantic hero,

rishi kapoor, dies at the age of 67. he'd been suffering with cancer. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. the british prime minister borisjohnson has said that the uk has passed the peak of the coronavirus outbreak. but those hoping for an early easing of a nationwide lockdown will have been disappointed. boris johnson was speaking at his first downing street daily briefing since recovering from covid—19, and returning to work at the beginning of the week. the uk recorded another 674 deaths in the past 2a hours.

taking the total number of deaths in care homes and hospitals to 26,771 — the third highest in europe. the government also said that nearly 82,000 tests were carried out on wednesday yesterday — which is short its own target of 100,000 the end of the month. let's hear some of what boris johnson had to say earlier. ican i can confirm today that for the first time, we are past the peak of this disease. we are past the peak, and we are on the downward slope. and we have so many reasons to be hopeful for the long term. the and we have so many reasons to be hopefulfor the long term. the uk is leading international efforts to find a vaccine. today, 0xford university has announced a

partnership with astrazeneca to develop what they believe could soon bea develop what they believe could soon be a means of inoculating ourselves against this disease. but until this day comes and i'm afraid we cannot say exactly when it may be, we're going to have to beat this disease by our growing resolve and ingenuity, so i will be setting out a comprehensive plan next week to explain how we can get our economy moving, one, how we can get our children back to school, back into childcare, second, and third, how we can travel to work and how we can make life in the workplace safer. i'm joined by our political correspondent iain watson. the peak has passed but the future

is to very uncertain. it is indeed. they were saying at the production of the virus that the r rate was beneath one, the crucial figure so that it doesn't rise exponentially. it is about 0.6 — 0.9 but if you start to ease the lockdown there is a fear that the virus will begin to spread again and the prime minister in his usual way in his rather colourful language gave an analogy saying it was like moving through a big alpine tunnel with sunlight and green pastors at the end of it but did not want to slap into a second mountain. although we are to see a plan to get out of the lockdown next week, there is no timescale about when those measures might be introduced. his view is that if anything pushes up the reinfection rate, and perhaps you would then have to impose a second walked in and that might be economically more damaging. i'd expect them to move cautiously. there has been a big

debate about whether people should be wearing face masks in this country as they do and many other parts of the world and the scientific evidence he is told has been weak for widespread wearing a facemask but it might be a way of giving people confidence to get back to work and we will be hearing more about that when he says more next week. presumably come the weekend, the sunday newspapers, quite a lot of briefing will be discussed in those titles. when it comes though to the language she was using, he was talking very much about the success , was talking very much about the success, wasn't he? and i wonder how much criticism there has been of the elements of the care system for example which have been far from a success example which have been far from a success in the dealing of this virus. there has been quite a bit of criticism. most of the political parties here want to look as though they are part of a national effort and they are very weary about going after a party on direct terms. but

he was saying that... they need to keep the number of deaths down. perhaps half a million people dying, the current figures are just under 27,000 but equally we know some of his own advisers were saying a good outcome would be keeping debts but needs 20,000. it is no surprise that the liberal democrats one of the opposition parties has been saying that there needs to be an inquiry onceit that there needs to be an inquiry once it is over and i spoke to labour leader keir starmer and he thought an inquiry was inevitable. at the moment and think people will stay focused on what measures he is introducing next week and if he can ease the lockdown and what effect that can have in the future. you mention care homes in particular and one of the reasons those deaths are not going up is the official figures used to be possible that the now encompassed debts and care homes in the wider committee and we are seeing the daily death tolls still continue to rise although it seems to be past the peak of the

infections in hospital admissions, there is still a big issue in care homes and questions have been asked about why perhaps there should have beenin about why perhaps there should have been in earlier testing regime or an earlier roll—out of protective in that setting. just briefly, questions also but why these figures have not been included in care homes until now because if you look in other countries like italy, they a lwa ys other countries like italy, they always did. there has been a genuine difficulty in collecting those statistics for care home deaths, they were coming out but with a big—time bag which made it difficult to compare if you like our performance in this country with those other countries. although not entirely comparable far more comparable and that is why some people are raising fears that britain could be on course to have one of the worst death tolls in europe, certainly on a per capita basis. what the prime minister set is they are putting their heart and soul now into trying to get things sorted out and he didn't pretend it wasn't a challenge over ppe or

protective equipment or indeed of a ca re protective equipment or indeed of a care homes. iain at westminster, thank you. in the last hour, president trump says he's seen evidence that the new coronavirus originated in a research laboratory in the chinese city of wuhan, but would not give details. he said it was possible that china either could not stop the spread of the coronavirus or let it spread, and that the trade deal between the two countries was no longer a top priority. and then we signed a trade deal where they're supposed to buy and they have been buying a lot, actually, but that now becomes secondary with what took place to virus. the virus situation is just not acceptable. and it's not acceptable what happened. it came out of china, and it's not acceptable what happened. and now what we're doing, jim, is we are finding out how it came out. different forms, you know, you've heard different things, you've heard three or four different concepts as to how it came out. we should have the answer to that in the not—too—distant future

and that will determine a lot how i feel about china. it's worth remembering that just a few hours ago, us intelligence agencies revealed their conclusions on the virus. they said that while covid i9 was not man—made or genetically modified, they are still examining whether its origins can be traced to contact with infected animals, or an accident at a chinese laboratory. they did though, reject the most extreme of the conspiracy theories — that the chinese developed and unleashed the coronavirus as a bioweapon. the devastating impact of coronavirus on the world's major economies continues to be seen. the eurozone economy shrank at the sharpest pace on record in the first quarter — contracting 3.8%. in the us, the latest figures show that 3.8 million americans signed on for jobless benefits last week, bringing the total number out of work to more than 30 million.

this comes as 31 us states will start reopening by the end of the week. nada tawfik reports. yet another measure of the scale of this crisis, in lines stretching on and on, thousands in houston wait patiently to receive free food, the number of americans in need is surging as the coronavirus continues to cripple the us economy. last week, another 3.8 million people filed for unemployment, meaning since march 21, nearly one fifth of their nation's workforce has been leftjobless. tonight, federal social distancing guidelines expire and as stay—at—home orders in texas and other states are lifted the focus is on recovering business while safely reopening. dr anthony fauci urged leaders to follow administration guidelines for a phased approach and do so after only a two—week decline in new coronavirus cases.

when you pull back, there will be cases and what we need to do is make sure they have in place the capability of identifying, isolating, and contact tracing individuals. if they do that, i feel cautiously optimistic. president trump has been meeting with governors this week at the white house, governor phil murphy of newjersey, the second—hardest hit state on thursday visited the president to ask for desperately—needed financial assistance. somewhere in newjersey alone could be $20—30 billion dollars. president trump did not commit to helping states and said he felt good about the prospects of the economy bouncing back quickly. it is just a very tough situation for the people of our country, all the los and death, it's a terrible thing but i think we will make a very strong comeback. dealing with the trauma in deeply affected communities will be another challenge. in brooklyn, the nypd was called to a funeral home after residents discovered dozens of decomposing

corpses stacked in rental trucks outside. they had bodies all over the floor, inside the funeral home, taking them out one by one, blood dripping. any semblance of normal life here feels far off. but there are small signs of progress like this send—off, the city's finest saluted the us navy hospital ship as it sailed out of new york harbour, no longer needing the usns comfort. let's get some of the day's other news. amazon says its profits for the first three months of this year plunged by percent 29% compared to 2019. while more people have turned to online shopping and entertainment during the pandemic, the company is spending more on hiring, wages and safety measures for employees. in bangladesh, at least 500 doctors are reported to have tested positive for coronavirus. the bangladesh doctors foundation

says there is a lack of personal protective equipment, and that some patients are putting doctors at risk by concealing their symptoms. more than 150 people have died in bangladesh from covid—19 so far. the russian prime minister, mikhail mishustin, has tested positive for coronavirus and said he'll self—isolate. he's been one of the most active figures in russia's response to the pandemic. russia has so far recorded 106,498 cases and 1,073 coronavirus—related deaths. one of the countries to use widespread testing south korea has recorded no locally transmitted cases for the first time in two months. the country has seen over 10,000 cases since its first infection was reported in february, and for a time it had one of the world's biggest outbreaks. but its strategy has led

to fewer than 250 deaths, and the country has stayed out of lockdown. laura bicker reports from seoul. these are the better days many people across the world are being promised. it's possible here because south korea was prepared for a pandemic. and now they haven't just flattened the curve, they've crushed it. the situation looked critical in february. medics were battling one of the worst outbreaks in the world. cases spiralled in the city of daegu. but they got infection rates under control. fewer than 250 people have died. staff even have time to give us a smile. so how was it done? given the highly contagious nature of this virus, we knew from very early on that testing and tracking was critical. they ramped up testing within days of the first case. anyone who thought they had the virus was swabbed.

they also got a bit creative, and made it even safer for staff. next, they tracked the spread of the infection. cctv, phone and bank records pieced together the movements of covid—19 carriers to find others who could have been infected. so if someone in this cafe was confirmed with coronavirus, everyone in the area would be sent a text message, telling them that they were at risk, and that they needed to isolate themselves and get a test. public health was valued over privacy. translation: i think it is necessary to provide this information. i myself check in the website to find out about new cases and where they are. translation: yes, it is a violation against privacy, but it is necessary. this is a global fight. we are all in this together. schools are still closed, but some company entrance exams went ahead.

temperature checks are now part of daily life, and social distancing is still taken seriously. and in the search for safe spaces, young lovers rediscovered the romance of the drive—through in this movie—mad nation. of course, there is the fear that covid—19 will return. for now, south korea offers a lesson, and some hope, notjust on how to handle the virus, but they've shown what is possible during this pandemic. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... he stood side by side with nelson mandela. we look back at the life of denis goldberg, has died at the age of 87.

this is bbc news, our top story. britain's prime minister boris johnson says the country is past the peak of the coronavirus, but it's too soon to lift the lockdown. commercial air travel is one of the industries that's been hardest hit by the pandemic, and british airways is no exception. in a memo seen by the bbc, the airline says it may not restart services at gatwick airport after the pandemic. gatwick is the uk's second busiest airport, and the eighth busiest in europe. there are also fears a quarter of british airways pilots could lose theirjobs. that is more than 1,000. ba is still running limited services at heathrow airport, but these too are under threat. ba's gatwick operation is roughly a fifth of the size of its heathrow operation. lets speak now to phil seymour,

he's the president of the iba aviation consultancy in britain. drastic cuts and measures, are they necessary? the airline industry is one that has high capital costs equipment. these aircraft, tens of millions, hundreds of millions for the large wide—body aircraft, expensive staff. pilots and engineers too to keep those flying, and really it has been one of those i say unprecedented, obviously the whole situation is unprecedented. we look back in terms of what happened in situations like post—9/11 where there were cutbacks by many airlines then. but really because i think the concern is it is going to be a slow process coming out of this, i think the impact on business travel and the impact on business travel and the tourism industry is something that won't actually come back

overnight because of the associated issues with social distancing. terrible news for individuals, airport workers, pilots, for eve ryo ne airport workers, pilots, for everyone associated with iag but iag has got liquidity of more than 8 billion sterling, hassan @? can't they just ride billion sterling, hassan @? can't theyjust ride this one out quiz ever 8 billion sounds an awful lot, does and it? but if you look at ba there have been roughly 250 aircraft from the smaller airbus models to the very new a3 50s. if you look at roughly those leasing and financing costs, round about $125 million every month just to have those aircraft parked, just to finance them. that's $4 million a day. that is just them. that's $4 million a day. that

isjust on the them. that's $4 million a day. that is just on the capital equipment, that does not pay for any of the other overhead. $8 billion can soon whittle away and i think it is important that any business and airline is having to look at its reserves to see how long it can keep going. perhaps i'm not surprised that some consolidation is required at british airways in terms of its hubs. terrible news for the workers there but phil seymour, thank you very much indeed forjoining us here on bbc news. a veteran of the struggle against apartheid in south africa, denis goldberg, has died aged 87. he joined the armed wing of the african national congress in 1961. he was among the anc activists who were tried with nelson mandela, convicted of sabotage, and sentenced to life imprisonment. denis goldberg grew up here in cape town the son of britishjews. he soon became involved in the fight against south africa's racial apartheid joining the underground armed struggle against the white minority regime. to become a full—time revolution, it was very exciting.

the adrenaline was pumping every day. but he was arrested with others at this farm outside johannesburg in 1963 and charged with sabotage alongside older struggle heroes like nelson mandela, whose wife winnie attended the trial. the accused all expected to be hanged but were given life sentences instead. to many white south africans, goldberg was a traitor. to many black people, he was a reminder that the fight against racial oppression was not theirs alone. goldberg emerged from prison 22 years later as apartheid was beginning to crumble. now, we are free to be free. because to be free, it is not enough to cast off your chains.

you must so live your life that you respect and advance the freedom of others. that's the legacy. goldberg was celebrated internationally for his role in pushing south africa towards democracy after sacrificing so many years of his life. i have no regrets about what we did and what i did except that i got caught. they're have been great moments, regrets... only for my children and their sadness and growing up without a father. in his later years, he became disillusioned with and outspoken about the corruption that flourished in the governing anc but denis goldberg retained his good humour to the last along with his courage and his fierce moral clarity. andrew harding, bbc news, south africa. the bollywood actor rishi kapoor has died at the age of 67, after being diagnosed with cancer two years ago. he was one of indian cinema's most popular actors, and worked in around 150 movies. he was part of an acting dynasty, which has long dominated

the hindi film industry. 0ur india correspondent yogita limaye reports from mumbai. rishi kapoor in the movie that launched him as a romantic hero. the boy from the first family of bollywood went on to be the heart—throb of a nation. but his success also meant he got stereotyped, as he confessed in a bbc interview. the first 25 years of my career, i was only singing songs and running around trees with my leading lady. no one gave me an acting role. no one actually gave me a performance—oriented film. and now is the time that i'm playing characters, i'm enjoying myself as an actor. in recent years, he played a dreaded gangster, a gay professor and even acted alongside irrfan khan, who died on wednesday. it's been a double blow for indian cinema. it's a huge, huge loss for the industry, both stalwarts

in their carving their own niches for themselves. they are actors of the highest calibre but so very different from each other. in a hospital not far from home, the actor lost a two—year battle with cancer. rishi kapoor spent most of his life in this small lane in western mumbai. normally in india, when such a famous personality dies, thousands of people gather to get one last look at their favourite star. but under a coronavirus lockdown, his fans are having to say a very quiet goodbye. an unusual farewell to a man who spent his life in the spotlight. yogita limaye, bbc news, mumbai. he was 67. that is it from me.

hello, we may have had to wait for until the end of april to get a decent batch of showers but yesterday's storms were quite impressive. the