this is bbc news — i'm maryam moshiri — with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. as beijing reopens its forboidden city to tourists, —— as beijing reopens its forbidden city to tourists, president trump says china will be held accountable for the pandemic. they could have stopped it. they are a very brilliant nation, scientifically and otherwise. it got loose, let's say, and they could have kept it, they could have stopped it, but they didn't. surviving covid in india, but six weeks into its lockdown millions of poor who rely on daily wages face extreme poverty.

a musical tribute to the champions of the pandemic — the classic rock band queen says the money raised will go to global health charities. hello. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. worldwide there have now been over 230,000 coronavirus deaths, and over 3.2 million infections. the uk recorded another 674 deaths in the past 2a hours — taking the total number in care homes and hospitals to 26,771 — the third highest in europe. borisjohnson wouldn't give a date for the country's lockdown to end or be eased, but did say there'd be a "menu of options" next week.

the us intelligence community has advised the govenment that covid—19"was not man made or genetically modified" — they say they're still investigating the origins of the virus. and the reduced demands for energy caused by the pandemic will lead to a decline of almost 8% in co2 emissions — the largest decrease ever recorded. those are the the main developments. 0ur north america correspondent, david willis, has more on what president trump had to say about china. the p4 the pa pathogen lab that will hand's institute of the robert g. did the dead the coronavirus emanate from here? china strenuously denies such suggestions. the president of the united states believes otherwise. mr trump says he seen evidence linking the virus to the lab although he wouldn't be drawn on what that evidence consisted of. he told reporters either china couldn't stop the virus from is reading or it

didn't try to. this is something that could have been contained at the original location and i think it would have been contained relatively easily. china is a very sophisticated country and they could have contained it. they we re could have contained it. they were either unable to or they chose not to and the world is suffering greatly. while laying to rest one of the more extreme conspiracy theories surrounding the virus, but it was man—made and unleashed as a biological weapon, the us intelligence community didn't contradict the president's theory, saying: this country has already seen more cases of the coronavirus than anywhere else in the world, over a million and more than 60,000 deaths. the virus is also devastated what was

once the booming economy, leading to long lines in cities such as houston is people queue for free food. 30 such as houston is people queue forfree food. 30 million americans, a depth of ‘s workforce, a filed for unemployment benefits since the crisis began stop some states are gradually starting to reopen and by urging them to do so as reopen and by urging them to do so as quickly as possible, the president is looking to rebuild the economy before november's presidential election. some say he is setting china up as a loyal that doesn't happen. although he avoided direct criticism of china's president shi mack, with whom he has maintained cordial relations, resident trump has talked of making china pay for the harm the virus has caused to the american economy and by extension, his chances of re—election. relations between the world's two largest

economies could get very frosty indeed. the british prime minister borisjohnson has said it is confident of carrying out 100,000 tests. i dispersed a downing street weeping since recovering, the prime minister said the uk had passed the peak of the art break. we've come through the peak and so we've come through the peak and so it is vital that we do not 110w so it is vital that we do not now lose control and run slap into a second and even bigger mountain. india has more than 35,000 cases of coronavirus so far, and more than 1,100 people have died of the infection. the country has been in lockdown for nearly six weeks now. and while doctors say it has slowed the spread of covid—19, it's also meant that millions who depend on daily wages in the country are facing extremely difficult times. from mumbai, the bbc‘s india correspondent yogita limaye reports.

small triumphs are celebrated. this man has recovered from covid in the southern state of kerala. thanks for everything. more populous than canada, the region had the first coronavirus infections in march but it curbed the stretch expects president strategy is giving hope to the rest of the country. our strategy was to trace as many people as possible in the shortest amount possible in the shortest amount possible and we were able to place 125a persons. 0nce possible and we were able to place 125a persons. once we have identified all of them, the next strategy was to ensure high quality and the strictest possible sense. at each grave isa possible sense. at each grave is a reminder that the many parts of india, the threat is farfrom being contained. and it doesn't even allow goodbyes. a four—month—old baby girl laid to rest from the arms of strangers. dozens are losing their lives every day. and

while the real scale is hard to assess, doc is say covid would have spread a lot more quickly if india had not imposed a lockdown relatively early. checkpoints like these have been set up in cities around the country. people are only allowed to go out to buy essential items and you could even get arrested for violating the gun which is perhaps one of the gun which is perhaps one of the most stringent in the world. for the first time in the history of india, the government altered trains. flights, interstate buses, public transport have all been stopped as well. that's left millions of daily wage earners without money for food or shelter. this is a queue for lunch in delhi nearly three kilometres long. a common site 110w kilometres long. a common site now in many parts of india.

sheikh worked as a labourer but 110w sheikh worked as a labourer but now he is on the streets of his family. "0n the days they distribute viewed, we eat. 0therwise distribute viewed, we eat. otherwise we go hungry. they've taken away are like line. it feels like we are dying slowly, " feels like we are dying slowly," he says. the calls are growing louder. i asked the who chief scientist how it should be done. first release after lockdown and taking place systems of how they would do that in countries and one thing we are testing is going to be extremely important so it any time there is an alert or a red flag that ends not looking so good, and again, more strict measures may have to be put in place. the nationwide lock down is due to end soon. india is waiting to hear what lies ahead. although governments around the world will ease their lockdowns in different ways, they'll all have the same objective: returning to some sense of normality while keeping transmission rates low. one key measure is what's

called the r—number, which is a way of working out how many people might be infected by one person carrying the disease. here's our science editor david shukman. what is called the r—number is a way of measuring how easily the virus spreads. if the rate is one, that means anyone infected is only passing it to one another so things are stable. but get to a rate of two and people infected are passing it to two othere. so the outbreak accelerates and that's what potentially can overwhelm the nhs. get to a rate of three, and things are even worse, it is what we had about a month ago and only drastic action of the kind we are seeing now could bring it under control. right now its estimated the rate is between 0.6 and 0.9 crucially below the line of one person infecting

only one other. it is thought that reopening schools could possibly add about 0.2 although no one can be sure allowing for public gatherings again might add 0.5. that would take us above the line of one. and scientists reckon that relaxing the lockdown entirely would add two to the rate, taking us back to the worst of the outbreak which is why it is likely that will only happen in careful stages. estimates for the r—number are based on people needing hospital treatment. so they are not exact and the infection rate varies across the uk. one of the government's own advisers says the r—number is not the whole story. it oversimplifies matters. the problem is the message could be well it is less than 1 every thing is under control is get back to normal. it's not like that for stuff you can still have a problem in newcastle and liverpool and that problem could be quite severe. with so much about the virus uncertain, every government is being cautious.

germany has about small shops to reopen but the authorities are watching to see if that raises the infection rate. they will review the measures next week. and all the time, there is the risk of unexpected spikes in infections. singapore is rushing to create 4000 more hospital beds. tackling the virus means remaining constantly on the lookout. david shukman, bbc news. yemen has recorded its first two deaths linked to coronavirus, raising fears of a devastating outbreak in the war—ravaged country. according to local media, the victims were brothers who died in the same hospital in the separtist controlled port of aden. the un has warned there's a high chance other cases are circulating undetected. tim neilson reports. silence in the centre of aden. the southern port city has been put into a 3—day lockdown,

after the first reported deaths of covid—19. markets are closed, the streets are near deserted, residents fear the worst. translation: there is no state and there is no legitimate government, there is nobody you can seek help from. if this epidemic spreads here, we will die like locusts. the curfew will be enforced by the southern transitional council, a separatist group which claimed power of the city last weekend. at major checkpoints, soldiers have been telling residents to wear face masks. but aid agencies fear yemen is on the brink of catastrophe. after six years of civil war, 20 million yemenis do not have access to adequate healthcare, famine is rife, and hospitals are ill—equipped to deal with a full—blown pandemic.

in the capital city, sana'a, the streets are being disinfected. the un has warned there is a high chance the virus is circulated in crowded areas undetected, but the rebel houthi movement which controls the city says all suspected cases have returned negative. 0fficial case numbers are still low, but the saudi—backed government has issued a plea to all citizens, regardless of their political alliance, to take the outbreak seriously. translation: we are calling opn yemenise to take preventative measures and to stop gatherings in public markets and attending friday prayers during these exceptional circumstances. meanwhile, the united nations has called for the coalition ceasefire to resume in a desperate attempt for unity. tim neilson, bbc news. this is bbc news, the headlines: president trump says china

will be held accountable for the pandemic as soon as us intelligence reports confirm what went wrong. as india completes six weeks into its lockdown, millions of poor who rely on daily wages face extreme poverty. south africa has begun to ease what was one of the world's most severe coronovirus lockdowns. president ramaphosa drew international praise for his swift action, which was announced before a single death had been recorded. in the early stages of the pandemic, both britain and south africa followed a near identical path of infections. but with just over 100 so far dead and no more than a few hundred patients infected in hospital, its death rate has been staggeringly low in comparison to the uk. in johannesburg, the bbc‘s africa correspondent, andrew harding, has

been finding out why. it seems inevitable in a land of habitual inequality and misrule, the virus was always going to cause chaos in south africa. how could it possibly be otherwise. in the overcrowded townships around johannesburg, news of covid—19's arrival, the first confirmed case was much the fifth, prompted red. those fears were, are understandable. maybe sharing taps and toilets, people already weakened by malnutrition and illness. but south africa had an advantage, it had time, weeks to watch the virus spread around the rest of the world and to watch other countries mistakes. the government here has a hard earned reputation for dithering, for being all talk but last month, it took a firm decision, to act early and aggressively. and so just ten

days after that first case, south africa declared a state of disaster. schools and restau ra nts of disaster. schools and restaurants would be closed, foreign travel tightly restricted. at this stage in south africa from the virus was spreading slowly. but soon, south africa did start to see an exponential rise, just like written, although here, the government was already reacting much quicker, imposing a lot down just much quicker, imposing a lot downjust eight much quicker, imposing a lot down just eight days after recording the 100th infection. an south africa's lot down was far stricter as well. enforced by soldiers. but soon, more tests confirmed the slowdown was genuine. community, community. the department of health is here. the reason clearly was that south africa's early interventions were now paying off and the next stage was equally impressive. because it spent years dealing with hiv

and tb, this country already has an army of some 30,000 community health workers. they've now screened more than 3 million people for the new virus. tomorrow, south africa will start to ease its lock down and so a 5— stage strategy has now been published, explaining how, in theory, the nation can be nudged towards normality, perhaps by year ‘s end. so yes, south africa has played a blinder so far, particularly the president but lower down the ranks, the key institutions are going to have to keep waging this battle against the virus for months to come, have been weakened by yea rs of come, have been weakened by years of corruption and cronyism, in other words, years of corruption and cronyism, in otherwords, south africa is not out of the woods yet. so plenty of uncertainty ahead here. just look at this massive pupil food handouts near pretoria and as the lockdown softens, the near

certainty that the infection rate will start to climb. the bbc‘s africa correspondent, andrew harding, with that report. there are lines for food across america, as we saw in dallas at the start of our bulletin. it's a measure of the economic despair gripping the nation, considered one of the richest in the world. angelica casas from the bbc‘s 0nline team went to a food bank in san antonio, texas, and has this report. it's affected everybody. as you can see, all these people are here. everybody‘s had good jobs are here. some of them are first timers. they're shocked that they're in this line, they never thought they would be in a line of needing anything stop right man for food assistance is rising at an extraordinary rate in the united states.

ididn't rate in the united states. i didn't know what to eat for breakfast and i said whatever you can find at home. here in san antonio, thousands of families are lining up in the texas heat for help from the local food bank. i'm texas heat for help from the localfood bank. i'm used to being able to handle myself, ta ke being able to handle myself, take care of everything, and 110w take care of everything, and now i find myself having to go look for help and waiting in these long linesjust to get by. i live in a two income household. you don't really realise how much the second income actually helps out until you don't have it. the coronavirus shutdown has cost nearly 30 million people to lose theirjobs and millions of others have had their household income reduced. the paediatrician... the mortgage comes in, that's the first thing that needs to get paid.

power and then our water bill. we've depleted our savings now. we've depleted our savings now. we are at the point where living paycheck to paycheck. brenda is a hairdresser. she stopped working two months ago and doesn't know when she will be back. everything's been thrown com pletely everything's been thrown completely off balance now, especially with the kids not being able to go back to school until next year. that's what hurt us the most, not being able to return myself to work. trying to figure out how we're going to make ends meet if i don't go back to work. for many struggling families, this pandemic has proven to be worth and any other fallout they've had for. usually i donate to the food bank. usually whenever we can. now, you know, here i am. i think it's time for me to go to the food bank. anything helps really. american families are receiving help from the government through a one—time stimulus check. for brenda's family,

it's not enough. for the time being, we're still our heads above water. i think we are blessed in that way. uk scientists have identified the highest levels of microplastics ever recorded on the seafloor. the contamination was found in sediments pulled from the bottom of the mediterranean sea. the analysis, led from the university of manchester, found up to 1.9 million plastic pieces per square metre of seabed, as our science correspondent victoria gill reports. a simulation of the deep ocean. this experiment in a large tank ina lab this experiment in a large tank in a lab in the netherlands shows how ocean currents and push mounds of sediment across the sea floor. mixed into those mounds are millions of tiny pieces of plastic, and scientists have now measured the extent of this seabed pollution. we are all worried about the plastic that is floating in the ocean, but this only represents 1% of it. the rest is somewhere in the

deep sea. we've found in this area, the highest accumulations ever recorded in the global oceans, and they are 1.9 million particles... pieces, small pieces, per square metre. so we are going to scoop up those fine sediments that were all brought into suspension. studies in 2018 by some of the same researchers revealed just how much plastic illusion was locked in uk riverbeds then flushed out to during floods. these latest experiments in the mediterranean extracted chunks of seafloor from depths of up to one kilometre. that enable scientists to track how the currents carry plastic waste out to see, where it breaks down. the deep currents then accumulate these millions of fragments into what researchers call microplastic hotspots. the majority of the particles they found were tiny fibres from textiles and clothing that simply slip through the filtration systems in wastewater treatment plants.

we're filling in part of the gaps of our understanding of this 99% of the plastic. the fragile ecosystems on the seafloor depend on the nutrients dominate nutrients and oxygen flushed in through the ocean currents. these currents transport microplastics to the same places where these frederick ecosystems exist. scientist from the british antarctic survey in another study published this week reveal plastic pollution was reaching the shores of some of the most remote islands. in recent years we finally started to the impact our plastic waste has on the oceans. this research has started to uncover the invisible, long—term consequences. victoria gill, bbc news. rock band queen has released a new charity single to honour the world's healthcare workers. it resembles the classic hit, we are the champions, but with a slight change. the bbc‘s freya cole has more.

# we'll keep on fighting to the end... it's an anthem known around the world, and now with the one word changed, the song has taken on a new meaning. # you are the champions, my friends... # annual keep on fighting to the end. # its focus to all those on the frontline all around the world. all the people risking their lives to save us and save our loved ones. the tribute song will aid the world health organization's solidarity fund to fight covid—19. queen and their front man adam lambert each filmed their parts in isolation, a far cry from the recording studio and studios they are all used to. my wife recorded it on her iphone. taking the shift is a

bold move for queen because they are so iconic, but this is they are so iconic, but this is the type of event that warranted such a change. #no warranted such a change. # no time for losers... the original 1977 hit song, written by freddie mercury, celebrated worldwide success. # because you are the champions... it's hoped the remake will help inspire frontline workers as they lead the struggle against this pandemic. freya cole, bbc news. good on queen. if you want information on anything you've heard on the programme, go to oui’ heard on the programme, go to our website, there is a really useful coronavirus live page which is headlining at the moment that there has been over 1 million virus recoveries

recorded worldwide according to thejohn hopkins recorded worldwide according to the john hopkins university. recorded worldwide according to thejohn hopkins university. a bit of good news and it's the bad. that's it from me. you can reach me on twitter, i'm @bbcmaryam. thanks for your company. hello there. well, we may have had to wait right till end of april, but yesterday's storms were quite impressive. the radar picture shows just how widespread those showers were, nowhere immune from seeing several downpours through the day. but some of the showers were particularly impressive. from this mammatus cloud — the sign of very active convection in wiltshire — to pea—sized hail falling from those thunderclouds in buckinghamshire, and further north in scotland, we had this funnel cloud dropping from stormclouds in dumfries and galloway. now, over the next few hours there are still a few showers dotted around in northern england, wales, northern ireland and northern scotland, too.

it's not too cold, though, for most of us. we are looking at temperatures around 4—7 celsius. low pressure, then, still in charge of our weather and as we head into friday and it's another day where nowhere's immune from seeing a shower or two. even across parts of southern england there will be some further showers driven along by a fairly brisk wind here, but the heaviest showers throughout the day will be across northern ireland, into northern scotland and england. it's across these areas through the afternoon you are most likely to see some flashes of lightning, rumbles of thunder and a bit of hail mixed in. there will be some sunshine around but some of the showers across the north of the uk will be slow—moving, so, some fairly lengthy downpours as well. now, this weekend the winds will tend to fall much lighter and there will still be some showers around — particularly across the north and east. some sunshine but it will be quite cloudy

at times, too. on saturday we start with some morning sunshine but clouds will develop and it will turn quite cloudy towards the middle part of the day and early afternoon. there will be some showers around northern and eastern scotland, some running into parts of northern and east england as well. temperatures, looking at highs for many of us about 14—17 celsius. we start again fine on sunday but cloud builds across the sky into the early part of the afternoon and again there are still some showers to come, particularly across northern and eastern scotland again and running into parts of north—east england. now, the forecast into next week, the weather is going to settle down more. there will be a bit more sunshine to look forward to and temperatures rising a few degrees as well.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. delivering, despite the pandemic. amazon sales surge as the world stays at home. but the internet giant strains to meet demand. plus, big pharma, big bet. astrazeneca backs 0xford's virus research. the boss tells us a vaccine could be here by the end of the year. 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.

first, we start with amazon — it has released a set of truly mind—boggling figures for the first three months of this year. we know the e—commerce giant has seen surging demand for its deliveries, its tv streaming, and its web services as people around the world stay at home. but what we also now know is the huge cost of meeting that demand. let's just take you through these numbers. amazon made $75 billion in sales in the three months to the end of march. that's a rise of 26% on the same time last year. but very little of that was profit — just $2.5 billion. that was 29% less than last year. amazon says its spending heavily to meet the increased demand and cope with the challenges of the pandemic. in fact, ceo jeff bezos is warning it may not make any profit at all in the current quarter, or may even make a loss. where's all that money going?

from san francisco, here's our tech reporter zoe thomas. investors were looking the amazon to be a bright spot in the market and in many ways it was. grocery sales were up, use of amazon video was up. amazon web services, the cloud computing business, it brought in more than $10 billion in revenue but costs arose as well. amazon hired 175,000 new warehouse and delivery workers to keep up with demand. it's spending more on cleaning and protective gear and those costs are expected to continue and even rise in the next quarter. that's why the company's boss jeff bezos told investors to ta ke jeff bezos told investors to take a seat. he said investors looking for short—term profit may be unhappy but those looking at the company's long—term prospects will understand why it needs to spend the money now. and some

a nalysts say spend the money now. and some analysts say while amazon has shown just how important e—commerce is in moments like this, other internet retailers could be creeping up. zoe thomas, bbc news, san francisco. joining me now from seattle is frank kochenash from wunderman thompson commerce usa — which is an e—commerce consultancy. frank is also a former amazon employeethe boom in sales has further added to bezos's enormous wealth. a lot of people are staying at home and ordering but not making as much money. the revenue accelerated and is testa m e nt to revenue accelerated and is testament to the value people put on amazon's services but the sales growth was very costly. there were two factors that drive the costs. a mix of being more skewed towards consumables and essentials products which are typically at

a lower premium price and lower margin and the increased cost of fulfilling those products due to social distancing and safety a nd due to social distancing and safety and health practices that needed to be put in place and it also reduced productivity. it's almost like the pandemic is giving amazon the pandemic is giving amazon the revenue but taking it away. i think that's probably a fair way consider it. one of the impacts in general of the pandemic is that it reduces productivity generally. that affects amazon and affects all other businesses as well. how do you think amazon has been coping with the surge? how has its customer service been building up? it's clearly been a rapid rise in demand. the

earnings call today, ryan zoske described it came without much warning and they struggle to meet that demand. it's also been a different type of demand, one more focused on consumables and grocery type that typically provide. usually amazon has months to prepare for a christmas holiday, a prime day peak event but in this case they needed to respond quickly with little to know warning so i think the fulfilment and supply chain has strained. i think suppliers from what we have observed is, the suppliers supply chain has strained that as well, getting products in stock, especially an rude and consumable categories. that has been a struggle. amazon has addressed it by managing customer expectations, moving out expected delivery promise states, and they did that intentionally to temper demand for non—essential products so they could focus the fulfilment

capability they have on those essentials. anne frank, also, the boom in sales is added to jeff bezos's massive wealth, his fortune has swelled by around $13 billion just his fortune has swelled by around $13 billionjust this month alone. that's incredible. the owner of the company, yes. as many will point out, stock markets are a voting machine. frankly, it's so good to have you on the programme. thank you. a coronavirus vaccine could be available for limited use by the end of the year, according to the chief executive of astrazeneca, pascal soriot. the pharmaceutical giant has agreed to manufacture and distribute a vaccine being developed by the university of oxford, if the treatment proves effective. he has been speaking to the bbc‘s business editor, simonjack.

you it is one of the best vaccine groups in the world so clearly they are very credible. they started very early developing vaccine back in january and they also have validated the technology in the past, vaccines for sars and mers and ebola, they are very good stop so we would help them with the development, get this vaccine around the world in many countries, many trees and then distributed. how confident are you this is the right one to back? number one, it's very good but to elegy has been validated with all the vaccines. they have already tested the vaccine, it's a small number. they have vaccinated six months in the

united states in the lab and expose those animals to the high dose of virus. they didn't get sick. that's all we can say. we will know that within the next six weeks, withinjune 01’ the next six weeks, withinjune orjuly. can you give assistance of the timeline between now and when we might get a vaccine? june, july when we will have the first idea. we'll have to continue enrolling patients in the programme. the final submission for authorities to give approval to an emergency use. we should be able to start vaccinating people by the end of the year. the end of this year? absolutely. we have to rememberfirst of year? absolutely. we have to remember first of all, the vaccine has to work and secondly, it is a very ambitious goal but that's what we're working towards very

rapidly that is the boss of macro when they are talking to our very macro when they are talking to our very own macro when they are talking to our very own simonjack. president trump is threatening to impose new trade tariffs on china over the coronavirus pandemic. let's go live now to sharanjit leyl in singapore. it's been a long time since we heard those words, trade war. after sorting out most of those trade disputes way back in january, it feels like a long time ago. president trump is now reviving the trade war. he stepped up his accusations, they will be in the past, due to their row over the coronavirus pandemic. what is essentially doing is threatening new tariffs. plans to slap retaliatory measures over the outbreak but don't get too alarmed just yet because

two us officials speaking on condition of anonymity, reuters has set a range of options against china were under discussion but they are still in their early stages. washington and beijing, we know they traded increasingly bitter recriminations over the origin of the virus and the response to it, you will recall trump signed the first phase in january, which cut some us ta riffs january, which cut some us tariffs on chinese goods, or in exchange for chinese pledges to purchase more american goods and address some us complaints about intellectual property practices. as always, thank you very much. let's turn to the movie industry now — it has been brought to a halt with cinemas closed, productions postponed and jobs lost. here in the uk an inward investment recovery group has been set up to work with major us and uk studios including netflix, amazon and warner brothers — and production hubs such as pinewood — to come up with guidelines to enable work to begin again.

but how can production resume when films are often made with a crew and actors together in a small area? can studios realistically maintain social distancing? the groups being headed up by adrian wootton, chief executive of the british film commission and film london. can studios realistically maintain social tell me first of all, what are the aims. what is this group aiming to achieve. this group involves the whole industry, across the entire uk, is to put together a really robust code of factors to get the film and television industries back to work. we are one of the really big elements, before this started, we were driving the uk economy. we were growing at a

rate of 9% rather than growing at 0.3%. we wanted to bring jobs and money back into uk plc. the idea is to produce a set of verticals so we can work safely and bring people back, open the studios back up and start all those huge film and television productions backup and get the economy rolling again. how's it to be achievable if social distancing rules are here to stay for a while? obviously we are already seeing what the bbc can broadcast, it can be done. it's a question of doing it in the safest way possible, meeting the government guidelines, we have a very big task force looking at this, looking at every element of cleaning, of

protocols, crew sizes, protective equipped and, every element is being rigorously examined so we can do this safely in the most appropriate way and deliver for the safely in the most appropriate way and deliverfor the uk economy. how much damage do you think has been done already to the film industry, to the uk and worldwide. before the pandemic happened, we already last year delivered £3 billion to the uk economy and we are delivering new jobs, we to the uk economy and we are delivering newjobs, we are the set that really is at the forefront of delivering new activity and the covid—19 virus has stopped all production in the uk but what we're trying to is ensure we can bring everybody together restart that, to get the levers going

again, which has had a disastrous effect on willman television production. but we believe we can do things that actually can ameliorate that and get us working again. it's been a pleasure to have you on the programme, thank you very much. let's get some of the day's other news: apple saw growth for the first three months of the year, as falling device sales in china were offset by demand for its streaming services due to the coronavirus lockdown. sales climbed to $58.3 billion, up from $58 billion in the same period in 2019 and beating expectations. apple boss tim cook said the firm saw a record for streaming and phenomenal growth in the online store. british airways has told staff that its gatwick airport operation may not re—open after the coronavirus pandemic passes. the admission came in a memo written by the head of ba's gatwick hub and seen by bbc news. ba's gatwick operation, which is currently suspended,

is roughly a fifth as big as its heathrow hub. as many nations grapple with the huge decision ple nty plenty more business news on our website. now, coronavirus: life after lockdown with lucy hockings. it's now been four months since the coronavirus was first identified in china. today, it is no longerjust a global health emergency but an economic and geopolitical one too. in coronavirus: life after lockdown, we've been looking at how the pandemic is reshaping the world and today we're going to focus on the middle east. no

business in the region is immune to the dwindling number of customers, and while governments watch tax revenue shrink, the demand from citizens to do more to protect their health and livelihoods is only mounting. so what will life in the middle east look like after the lockdown is lifted? i'm joined by ceo of crescent pro sodium. mike singh, former senior director for middle east affairs on the us national security council and now an ageing director at the washington institute for middle east policy and chief international correspondent lyse doucet. can i ask you to give us a quick snapshot on how coronavirus is reshaping the region? bear in mind you need to ta ke region? bear in mind you need to take many snapshots when you look across the middle east and north africa, because it's a very diverse region. before this crisis we used to call them the oil—rich states of the gulf, certainly oil resorts which states, to yemen, already

struggling with the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, to iraq and lebanon, where the economic systems were already fractured so that affected their ability to stop the spread of the coronavirus and to deal with it and its consequences one said hit. but asa consequences one said hit. but as a broad overview, as of two days ago, there is 290,000 cases right across the region, and more than 10,000 deaths. but in that figure you have iran, which was one of the countries to be very hard hit, almost from the beginning right after china. it's had more than 5000 deaths. turkey, where the numbers have been going up, although they've slightly started to decline this week, inching towards 3000. and at the other end, a country like the other end, a country like the kingdom ofjordan, small population, very strict lockdown and only seven deaths. and uae and the gulf, with far more resources than many other countries, it moved very quickly with all of the resources it could bring to bear, had more than 11,000

cases but only 89 deaths. so a lot of variation. everyone hit but not in the same way, and as we'll discuss in this conversation, facing the recovery will be a very diverse and very fraught rosettes indeed. and mike, is the reality of looking at the recovery that we are looking at a dual crisis, because we've also got the crash of oil prices? well, that's absolutely right. you obviously have the crisis from the coronavirus pandemic, which the coronavirus pandemic, which the entire world is facing, and the entire world is facing, and the middle east is likely to face in equal measure in large pa rt face in equal measure in large part because this is a region thatis part because this is a region that is not known for great governance , that is not known for great governance, for great institutional capacity, so there will be a struggle in many countries to face down this pandemic. then you add to that the crisis in the oil markets, the crash of oil prices. obviously many governments in the middle east depend very much on oil for government revenues. it's what provides them the resources to

tackle crises like this pandemic. and then other governments in the region, oil importers, often depend on assistance from those wealthy oil producing neighbours to help them through difficult times. maddy, do you think that some of these wealthy gulf countries who face their own budgetary concerns now might not be so willing to help? so, the fiscal support across the region has been around 3%. slightly higher than emerging markets overall and close to developed countries, but there's been a lot of variation, as we've just heard. say the imf only this week reported $226 billion would be the fall in oil export revenues across the region, and it's not that the costs of production is the challenge, it's the lowest in the world, and often below $10 per barrel, so it's not that the oil industry isn't generating revenues, which might be a challenge, for example, for shale oil in the us, it's that

governments' budgets require somewhere between 40 to 80 per barreljust to balance, so all of them are running deficits and all countries across the region are expected to post recessions this year. so, manji, is there anything oil eggs waters can do to shield themselves from this?” think you've seen different responses among the oil exporters. to differentiate, you've got those with savings, if you like, financial immunity, ability to respond. here in the uae there was very early closing of schools, fiscal support, banking support, and, as we've heard, the mortality rate has been very low. very high testing incidentally, the highest per capita i think in the world. over 10% of the population have been tested and there's been no shortages of testing or ppe equipment or food or medicines, but if you turn to countries like iraq or algeria or libya,

some of whom have conflicts still raging, no savings to support the response, then you have a problem. in iraq, for example, it was earning before the oil price cache about $5 billion per month from oil. it's got $4 billion per month ofjust the public sector payroll, and now it's revenues are down to $2 billion, so it's running a deficit monthlyjust on paying salaries. so that is a different set of challenges for those oil exporters. for oil importers, they've been saying things in terms of the price of oil, but as we've just heard, they also depend on remittances and support from the oil companies, countries and their part of the regional economy, so they all expect recessions this year, but not as bad as the oil exporters. mike, could all of this affect the balance of power in the middle east? i think it could and obviously the political repercussions will be on the minds of

policymakers in washington, london and elsewhere. because, what we saw during the financial crisis in 2008, which was a financial crisis in 2008, which was a milder crisis for the middle east, was that there was this sort of political crisis that lagged behind the economic crisis, a crisis of sort of dashed economics expectations for populations in the region that lead people out into the streets that lead to upheaval is. if you combine that with real uncertainty as to how this will affect the fortunes of countries like saudi arabia, turkey, the uae, who have been more assertive in recent years and places from libya to yemen and places from libya to yemen and so forth, how will it affect the appetite of the united states, europe, to be engaged in the middle east, will it create opportunities for china to step into the region, especially in times of economic stress and public health need. there are so many factors that could upset the balance of the power in the

region and upset the political dynamics in fundamental ways. lyse, feeding into that as well, is there a big issue in the region in trust and whether people trust their governments? there was a huge deficit of trust, lucy, as we were saying before this crisis began. it's interesting that in some countries where there were strict measures against the spread of the coronavirus have worked, its because they say there's good strong trust between people who have to take these measures and the authorities in charge. take a country like lebanon, where people are taking to the streets again in the second city of tripoli. there was no trust before, months of protest. the people, the protesters, especially the young, they were jobless, without any hope for their future, they don't trust the bankers, they don't trust politicians. the politicians from various ethnic and political groups don't trust each other. lyse doucet closing down the

life after lockdown programme with lucy hockings. a couple stories before we go. from today residents in the state of illinois must cover their faces in public spaces when social distancing is not possible. to encourage people to observe safety measures, some iconic landmarks in chicago have been outfitted with face masks. the lions at the art institute have had their noses and mouths covered with the chicago flag, and the famed picasso sculpture in daley plaza has also had a masked makeover. texas is known for its blend of cultures, and mariachi is particularly popular so when you can't go to the music because of the current lockdown, it can come to you. in el paso, mariachi performer orlando antonio jimanez goes door—to—door singing happy birthday to those celebrating, from a distance, of course. he sings in spanish and english, with a mix of birthday classics

and traditional mariachi tunes. you can reach me on twitter, i'm @bbcmaryam. thank you so much for your company ‘s. bye—bye. hello there. well, we may have had to wait right till end of april, but yesterday's storms were quite impressive. the radar picture shows just how widespread those showers were, nowhere immune from seeing several downpours through the day. but some of the showers were particularly impressive. from this mammatus cloud — the sign of very active convection in wiltshire — to pea—sized hail falling from those thunderclouds in buckinghamshire, and further north in scotland, we had this funnel cloud dropping from stormclouds in dumfries and galloway. now, over the next few hours there are still a few showers

dotted around in northern england, wales, northern ireland and northern scotland, too. it's not too cold, though, for most of us. we are looking at temperatures around 4—7 celsius. low pressure, then, still in charge of our weather and as we head into friday and it's another day where nowhere's immune from seeing a shower or two. even across parts of southern england there will be some further showers driven along by a fairly brisk wind here, but the heaviest showers throughout the day will be across northern ireland, into northern scotland and england. it's across these areas through the afternoon you are most likely to see some flashes of lightning, rumbles of thunder and a bit of hail mixed in. there will be some sunshine around but some of the showers across the north of the uk will be slow—moving, so, some fairly lengthy downpours as well. now, this weekend the winds will tend to fall much lighter and there will still be some showers around — particularly across the north and east. some sunshine but it will be quite cloudy at times, too. on saturday we start with some morning sunshine but clouds will develop and it will turn quite cloudy towards the middle part of the day and early afternoon. there will be some showers around northern and eastern

scotland, some running into parts of northern and east england as well. temperatures, looking at highs for many of us about 14—17 celsius. we start again fine on sunday but cloud builds across the sky into the early part of the afternoon and again there are still some showers to come, particularly across northern and eastern scotland again and running into parts of north—east england. temperatures very similar to most of us, highs between 14—17 celsius, so it is going to be relatively mild. now, the forecast into next week, the weather is going to settle down more. there will be a bit more sunshine to look forward to and temperatures rising a few degrees as well.

good morning, welcome to breakfast, with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines today: 00v) the government says it's confident it's met its target of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of april the prime minister says britain is "past the peak" of the outbreak and is promising to set out a plan for gradually lifting the lockdown. borisjohnson says we may be encouraged to wear face masks once restrictions are eased. face coverings will be useful both for epidemiological reasons but also forgiving people confident that they can go back to