this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the british government says it's confident it's target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of april has been met. setting a challenging target was the right thing to do because it galvanised government and got thejob done but there's a lot more to be done. rya nair announces it plans to cut 3,000 jobs, as part of restructuring because of the virus. president trump says he's seen evidence coronavirus originated in a chinese laboratory — but gives no details. south africa starts easing its coronavirus restrictions after five weeks of lockdown.

# you are the champions, you are the champions! and a musical tribute for the champions of the pandemic — queen say the proceeds will go to global health charities. hello and welcome to viewers on bbc news in the uk and around the world. i'm annita mcveigh. the uk government says they are confident that they have hit their own target for the number of daily coronavirus tests to be carried out by yesterday's deadline — as the prime minister told the nation that the uk was now "past the peak" of the outbreak. the target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests —

to be met by the end of april — had been set by the uk's health secretary, matt hancock. over 81,000 tests were carried out on wednesday — according to figures from the department of health and social care. budget airline rya nair has announced they are cutting up to 3,000 jobs — mainly pilots and cabin crew — as they restructure to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. meanwhile in the us — president trump said he's seen evidence coronavirus originated in a chinese laboratory, but provided no details. the us national intelligence director's office say covid—19 "was not manmade or genetically modified" and china rejects the theory. south africa has started easing coronavirus restrictions — after five weeks of lockdown. some businesses are reopening, restaurants can deliver food and families will be allowed to leave home to exercise. we'll have more on the global response to the pandemic shortly — but first this report from our news correspondent — danjohnson.

for a nation cut off, closed down, hurting... applause. ..this is notjust about gratitude. it has become a regular act of communion, in the name of the carer, the medic, and the vital key worker, kind, helping hands that have kept the country on its feet and saved lives. cheering and applause. and here's a reminder that, in the crossfire of coronavirus, heroes can be patients too. you saved my life. west midlands police chief superintendent, phil dolby, spent more than two weeks on a ventilator. see ya, bye! puppies whimper. now, the next generation training for the front line are being named after the miracle workers of our nhs. also bouncing back, the prime minister, with his own reasons to be thankful

and a message of hope... 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. that may be but hundreds are still dying every day. 674 in the last 2a hours. across the uk, the virus has taken someone special from 26,771 families. more than 15,000 people are in hospital, trying to shake it off. so it is still too early to lift the lockdown. the infection rate and the number of people each of us passes the virus to must stay below one. more detail on that next week, but here is a hint of what our future may hold... face coverings will be useful both for epidemiological reasons but also for giving confidence to people

that they can go back to work. testing numbers have dogged the government's response. and we'll find out later today whether the 100,000 target was met. wednesday's latest figures were still 18,000 short. at the beginning of the week, we only had 5000 home tests available, this is now 20,000 available and it is the reason why we are quite likely to get very close to or meet the 100,000 target. music: the bare necessities. 0ur worries and our strife are shared in this new expression of community. thursday, eight o'clock, is about togetherness, through torrid times. humanity‘s challenge means more pain, more suffering and more fear but as nature inflicts its worst, it can reflect our very best, and there are signs of better days ahead. dan johnson, bbc news. the uk transport secretary, grant shapps, has said the government is "quite likely" to have either reached — or come close to meeting — the target of 100,000

daily coronavirus tests. official figures are expected later. ministers had said they wanted to achieve the aim by yesterday. we can speak to professor sian griffiths who chaired the inquiry into the hong kong government's response to the sars outbreak. very good to have you with this, professor. whether or not the government here in the uk has reach that 100,000 target for the daily number of tests yesterday, it's very, very quickly going to have to refocus and talk about increasing that capacity much further, isn't it? exactly. testing is going to be key to the release of lockdown and we need to continue to push to have more tests, i think 100,000 was a target. but the real question is what tests are using, when are we using it and we have enough test to do contact tracing we need to in the community once we start to lift

lockdown. because what we are going to need to know is whether or not any sporadic outbreaks of the infection occur, to make sure that we can very quickly act on that information and stop the spread going further. absolutely, we have already heard that today as well, very much testing alongside that contact tracing to make both parts of that approach effective. we have any idea what sort of number of tests we are talking about? you know, we heard the nhs providers here in the uk yesterday say that nhs, otherfront line here in the uk yesterday say that nhs, other front line workers, here in the uk yesterday say that nhs, otherfront line workers, would need to be tested every single week? that's right we don't really know how many tests we are going to need, we are going to have to ramp up the testing because if, for example, we had a single case that was identified through testing, you would then need to contact trace and it would depend on the number of people that person had been in contact with, it would depend on a whole set of factors so you need to keep producing the testing come up

with a monitoring system which tells us, a lot of the information we need to know. this is a dynamic situation, testing as part of the response and the creating of the right conditions for releasing lockdown. what are the absolute gold standard examples then, of this being put into practice, if we look at the responses of various countries around the world and what we can learn from those? well, if we look to the far east, taiwan and south korea usually held up as the best exa m ples south korea usually held up as the best examples of work testing has been one of the key arms of keeping the numbers low. both time and and south korea, time and in particular, has managed to keep the numbers very low, the numbers of cases and deaths very low, south korea has shown that by using testing, they've been able to identify the clusters and then focus huge effort on testing and once you get a positive test, you

make sure you isolate that case and in some cases, that means going to a government facility but if you go for home isolation, that also means that you are monitored for being at home and so the other arm of the human side of contact tracing, actually contact races themselves, finding where cases had dispersed to come at the other arm of this is the use of apps and so in south korea, for example, there is a triangulation between your mobile phone, your credit card details and also some implication of involving cctv cameras. in taiwan, there is also a triangulation of data and use of the app. so both those countries that have managed to keep both the numbers down and both the deaths and cases, have been very rigorous in their contact tracing of both using their contact tracing of both using the human side and using the development of apps and i think this is something that is being looked out across europe, the development of how you use apps along with

contact tracing. sorry to interrupt full stop i was just about to say, presumably, the use of an app as a tool in this way is only going to be as effective as the number of people, the percentage of the population that actually downloads the app. exactly. and in singapore, they found the penetration of the app they use there was only about 20%. which isn't actually high enough to give you the security that you need. what percentage of people do you need to have downloading it to be effective? i'm not sure of the absolute figure here in the uk because it will depend on the type ofapp because it will depend on the type of app you use, it will depend, the use of apps is a very new science here in contact tracing and so what we are going to be seeing is development of apps, because it's going to be a question of what method you use. so, for example, only last week germany are going to have a centralised system and then they decided they were going to decentralise to federal level to

collect the information so this is a discussion in progress at the moment, it will depend on the types of apps available, how they fit best with our society and our systems. and how we agree to share data, how data can be safely shared, how long it will be kept for and all those sorts of issues. so this is work in progress, very rapid i understand. but it will be the development of the app, along with a robust testing strategy, which from my point of view, needs to have very strong local engagement because i think you need local knowledge to make sure you can make this system work. given your experience in working in hong kongin your experience in working in hong kong in terms of the response to the sars outbreak there, i'd be really interested to get your take on how our government builds confidence in a population after an outbreak, a pandemic. we heard borisjohnson, the uk prime minister mentioning yesterday that masks might be useful, even though the government

admits that the science around the use of masks, the effectiveness, is fairly modest. they are talking about the use of masks might be useful to build confidence in the population because clearly people and we've seen surveys about this, people are nervous about the idea of exiting a lockdown? what experience do you have about that from hong kong and sars? in 2003, the sars outbreak was similar timing as we are going through now and in the summer, i was part of the inquiry, co—chair of the inquiry team that looked at what lessons could we learn and so we were very rapidly brought in to look back, because all the way through the first sars outbreak in 2003, there was a sort of sense about, because people don't know and because it was new, people we re know and because it was new, people were going, that could have been done better, lots of uncertainty. what the inquiry team did was look at what was done. point out where it

could have been done better and say, for the future, these are the things you need to do. so the sars inquiry was then used for example, to build up was then used for example, to build up the public health system which had been rather neglected, particularly the infectious disease side of it so hong kong now has a very robust infectious disease system, the centre for health protection, which enables them to respond extremely quickly when they have any other outbreaks. in terms of the wearing of masks, wearing of masks is and has grown culturally following sars and as soon as this coronavirus outbreak was announced, people in hong kong immediately queued to go and buy masks so that they had their own supply of masks because wearing a mask has become, as you say, not necessarily the science, it's the reassurance, reassurance issue. because we don't wa nt to ta ke reassurance issue. because we don't want to take masks away from the people who really need them in clinical situations, other forms of base covering, face cloth covering,

cloth face covering as the centre for disease control concert, are being recommended which gives both the person who wears it confidence but also contributes in some way to diminishing the spread of the infection, as long as they are used correctly. 0k, professor, thank you very much for your thoughts on all of those questions today. us president donald trump says he's seen evidence that suggests coronavirus originated in a chinese laboratory. he provided no details. his own intelligence agencies have said they're still investigating how the virus began, but have determined covid—19"was not manmade or genetically modified". david willis reports. the pa pathogen lab at wuhan's institute of virology. did the deadly coronavirus emanate from here? china strenuously denies such suggestions. the president of the united states

believes otherwise. mr trump says he's 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 spreading, or it didn't try to. this is something that could have been contained at the original location, and i think it could have been contained relatively easily. china is a very sophisticated country and they could have contained it. they were either unable to or they chose not to and the world is suffering greatly. whilst laying to rest one of the more extreme conspiracy theories surrounding the virus, that 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, overa million, and more than 60,000 deaths. the virus has also devastated what was once a booming economy, leading to long lines in cities such as houston, as people queue for free food. although he's avoided direct criticism of china's president xi, with whom he's maintained cordial relations, president trump has talked of making china pay for the harm the virus has caused to the american economy and, by extension, to his chances of re—election. relations between the world's two largest economies could get very frosty indeed. david willis, bbc news. let's get some reaction from beijing now. with me is emily feng — the beijing correspondent

for npr. that is an independent, nonprofit media organisation. emily, good morning, let's begin with chinese reaction to those latest comments from president trump. unsurprisingly there's been anger and this led china to be able to give credence to an alternative conspiracy theory of their own, the us was the one that originated the virus, the foreign ministry saying us politicians are accusing the wuhan lab of intentionally licking the virus is a lie, it's been fabricated for american political ambitions. yesterday on the main evening broadcast, they broadcast footage of the secretary of state mike pompeo and had the words lie written all over his face. —— licking the virus. that being said, chinese state diplomats have put out their own theory, the us military brought the virus to china and it's a conspiracy theory that there is no evidence for but many people in china believe.

effectively both the us and china doubling down on these conspiracy theories? you've seen this diversion of narratives of what happens and that's very dangerous because we are facing a global pandemic but we have these different camps are people who believe wholly different, what they think are facts. do you think people in beijing, ordinary people in beijing and around china, are worried about the suggestions of the virus originating from a lab in wuhan? they are not and actually, i was in wuhan two weeks ago, i mean home quarantine now, which is a stipulation from coming back to beijing from wuhan. people were worried about a second wave of infections but not the fact they we re infections but not the fact they were so close to this bio lab at the us had accused of leaking the virus. they very much believe, many people i talk to, the us was the one that brought the virus to china. emily, thank you very much for that.

breaking news coming to us on coronavirus from northern ireland. new statistics show around 40% of deaths linked to covid 19 in northern ireland have occurred in ca re northern ireland have occurred in care homes. the weekly figures published by the northern ireland statistics and research agency records all debts in which covid 19 is listed on the death certificate, so it provides a fuller picture of coronavirus mortality rate. that is the key statistic coming out of this latest weekly publication, new statistics showing around 40% of deaths linked to covid 19 in northern ireland have occurred in ca re northern ireland have occurred in care homes. and of course, more broadly around the uk, there is a very big concern about how many deaths are happening in care homes and that they are properly recorded and that they are properly recorded and acknowledged in figures. so that breaking news just coming to us from the northern ireland statistics and research agency. also just coming in

from the world health organisation in the last few seconds. the who says it's hoping that china will invite it to take part in its investigations into the animal origins of the new coronavirus. a spokesman saying you a choke would be keen to work with international partners and at the invitation of the chinese government, to participate in investigations around the animal origins, the so—called zoonotic diseases, diseases that jump zoonotic diseases, diseases that jump from other animals to humans. so the who saying it is hoping china will invite it to take part in its investigations. in another sign of the huge impact of coronavirus on heathrow airport.

normally the busiest in europe, has said it expects passenger numbers to have fallen 97% in april. meanwhile european budget airline ryanair has said it may shed up to 3,000 jobs as it restructures to cope with the pandemic. it said the posts under threat were mainly pilot and cabin crew jobs, and that remaining staff boss michael 0'leary spoke to the bbc earlier. the situation we face now is we've carried almost no passengers for the last three months. we carried less than 140,000 passengers in april, may and june against originally, the budget of 42 million passengers. for the full year we will carry less than 100 million passengers, the budget was originally 155 million, we will carry only about a third less passengers than we planned for this year and while we expect to be back flying some services injuly and august, we think the buildup will be slow, passengers will be wearing face masks, temperature checks at airports, there will be those kind of controls. we are cutting, we announced this morning we are cutting 15% of our staff, we think that's the minimum we need just to survive the next 12 months.

if a vaccine is found clearly the recovery will be stronger, if a vaccine isn't found we may have to announce more cuts and deeper cuts into the future. we feel we have no choice this morning but to announce 3000 job cuts, that's about 15% of our workforce. we will be closing some bases in the uk and spain and other places across europe. because by the time we get out of this, we will be into the winter schedule anyway. and it's going to be very difficult. 0liver richardson is national officer for unite the union who represents some sectors of the airline industry. good to have you with us to get some reaction to all of this, 0liver. busy day when it comes to aviation and many airlines talking about the predicament they find themselves in. your chief concern, of course, will be for thejobs of your chief concern, of course, will be for the jobs of employees. let's talk about rya nair first be for the jobs of employees. let's talk about ryanair first of all. michael 0'leary talking about possibly 3000 jobs going. do you

think it's going to come to that or can some of these be saved? well, we think it's a very premature announcement. we don't know the details yet, he's talked about 3000 jobs across europe, he's talked about basis closing and mention the uk but we don't have any detail yet. again, we think this is premature, we have a job retention scheme up and running in the uk, many european countries have a number ofjob retention schemes as well. so the job retention scheme isjust retention schemes as well. so the job retention scheme is just that, to retainjobs, not to job retention scheme is just that, to retain jobs, not to shed jobs. ryanair is to retain jobs, not to shed jobs. rya nair is not to retain jobs, not to shed jobs. ryanair is not in financial difficulty, is one of the wealthiest airlines within europe, it should be able to ride out the storm and it should be able to take a more measured view and we should be protecting jobs, but most importantly, protecting the aviation sector and that's why the unite union has called for a government package which has been promised to make sure we retain the expertise within the sector, that we retain the functioning of the sector, we are an island, after all, so we need

to be connected and we should be focusing on that, not on trying to cutjobs focusing on that, not on trying to cut jobs but focusing on that, not on trying to cutjobs but on trying to support the sector. we will come back to that point injust the sector. we will come back to that point in just a second. but the ryanair employees, that point in just a second. but the rya nair employees, are they currently protected under the job retention scheme? yes, ryanair in the uk, all of the employees that i represent, the cabin crew, or under furlough, claiming job retention scheme, obviously that's now been extended untiljune. we don't know whether that will be extended further, we've sought support from the government particularly with regards to certain sectors including aviation, to continue that because they will be slow at coming out of any lockdown measures than any other sector so we think there's a possibility that it will be extended, hence we think it's a very premature announcement. do you think that given the ukpos macro position more broadly, ultimately there will be state aid coming forward to ensure as we eventually move out of this lockdown, and as we eventually

get back to something resembling normal air traffic, that there are enough providers, that there is competition, more than one airline, for example, flying to certain routes? absolutely, that's what needs to happen, there needs to be a government package of support. we are not saying this won't be repaid in the future or it is throwing good money after bad. this is absolutely fundamental to ensure that air traffic management services survived and they can be up and running and support aviation and as we say, we've got enough airlines and routes that are open to keep us connected. and do not force monopolies such as ryanairor and do not force monopolies such as ryanair or british airways, to take over certain airports and routes and hype the prices up for their own benefit. aviation is for the benefit of everybody, not just benefit. aviation is for the benefit of everybody, notjust for a few companies. we've been talking today about whether the public might feel nervous about emerging from

lockdown, about starting to travel again. what about the people that you represent, the cabin crew and so on? they must feel nervous about that as well. we've heard the boss of heathrow today saying there has to bea of heathrow today saying there has to be a global standard in place to give people confidence, that confidence has got to apply to employees in the airline industry as well, doesn't it? absolutely fundamentally and at the moment we have real concerns about some of the measures, we are still flying and still operating. there are repatriation flights that are members in different companies are operating. and it's a very anxious and very nervous time for them. do you think people can fly safely though and how long might it take for people to think that they can fly safely if, as we heard today, social distancing simply isn't a practical prospect on airlines? well, there are some measures that you can take in terms of airlines, social distancing is more problematic and that's why there

would need to be support because she wouldn't be filling our craft up. there's also questions about protective equipment, so whether that's face masks, gloves etc, these are all sorts of different measures that we need to sit down, the government and the industry and discuss and look at the impact on the industry and what support is going to be needed to build that confidence back up. it's going to be a slower industry coming out of lockdown than any other. it needs the support and most importantly, as you say, it needs to build the confidence and therefore we need to look at these measures about social distancing, ppe, the people who work in the industry and how it will affect them, as well as the passengers travelling. oliver richardson, from the unite union, thank you for your time. the united nations secretary general antonio guterres has expressed his disappointment at the lack of leadership from major world powers during the coronavirus pandemic. in an interview with the bbc, he said there was a failure to combine leadership and power — comments which appeared to be directed at washington and beijing. here's our correspondent,

nick bryant talking to the un secretary general in new york. you have described covid—19 as the biggest challenge facing the world since the second world war. have you been surprised and shocked by the immense scale of death and the immense scale of economic disruption? shocked, obviously, yes. i mean, it's dramatic to see so many people dying and it's dramatic to see this devastating impact on economies and societies, especially on the most vulnerable people. but not surprised. unfortunately what is true is that the world was not able to come together and to face covid—19 in an articulated, coordinated way. each country went with its own policy, different countries with different perspectives, different strategies. and this has allowed the virus to spread. who do you blame for that? are you talking about the great power rivalry between the united states and china,

this propaganda war that has erupted since covid—19 became a pandemic? i think it's obvious we lack leadership, that can only be possible if the key countries in the world, the key powers in the world, are able to come together. when you say about the lack of global leadership are you talking about washington, are you talking about president trump, are you talking about beijing? i think there is a dysfunctionality in today's world. leadership and power are not associated. there are examples of leadership, there are of course powers, what we have not yet been able to combine in the world, power and leadership in a way that could move the whole of the international community to solve our dramatic problems. and to do it effectively. there have been criticisms of the world health organisation for failing to sound the alarm early enough. have you been satisfied with the performance of the who? it's a remarkable organisation. an organisation that in my opinion is

absolutely crucial at the present moment and needs to be supported. it is also true that when all this ends,in is also true that when all this ends, in my opinion, we need to look seriously, as an international community, how this pandemic emerged, how it spread so quickly, and all the different actors that we re and all the different actors that were involved, behaved. in order to learn our lessons and to be able in the future not to have the same mistakes. do you think the trump administration was wrong to suspend its funding of the who?|j administration was wrong to suspend its funding of the who? i believe it is essential to keep as maximum as possible resources within the who because in the present situation, for the reasons i invoked, it's impossible to replace it in providing support especially to developing countries and today, my main concern is in the developing world. hello, this is bbc news with annita mcveigh. the headlines:

the british government says it's confident it's target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of april has been met. setting a challenging target was the right thing to do, because it galvanised government and got thejob done, but there's a lot more to be done. budget airline ryanair announces it plans to cut 3000 jobs as part of restructuring because of the virus. president trump says he's seen evidence coronavirus originated in a chinese laboratory but gives no details. and south africa starts easing its coronavirus restrictions after five weeks of lockdown. india has had 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 are facing extreme difficulty. 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 spread, and its strategy is giving hope to the rest of the country. 0ur idea was to trace as many people as possible in the shortest amount possible, and in the intial 11—5 days, we were able to trace 1,254 persons. once we identified all of them, the next strategy was to ensure home quarantine in the strictest possible sense. but each grave is a reminder that, for many parts of india, the threat is far from 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, doctors 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 lockdown, which is perhaps one of the most stringent in the world. for the first time in the history of india, the government halted 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 3km long, a common sight now

in many parts of india. "it feels like we're dying slowly," he says. calls to ease the restrictions are growing louder. i asked the who's chief scientist how it should be done. as you go out of lockdown, it has to be first of all a phased release after lockdown, and many countries are now putting in place systems of how they will do that, and the monitoring testing is going to be extremely important so at any time if there is an alert or a red flag that things are not looking so good, again, more strict measures may have to be put in place. the nationwide lockdown is due to end soon. india is waiting to hear what lies ahead. yogita limaye, bbc news, mumbai.

breaking news from the courts, the lady in the later case, the posthumous appeal brought by relatives of gordon parker was convicted in 1976 of the murder of his wife, whose remains were found in coniston water in cumbria. now, three seniorjudges have rejected a posthumous appeal brought by his relatives, saying, we have no doubt as to the safety of the conviction. gordon park killed himself injail in 2010, and it is all to do with, as it came to be known, the lady in the lake case, where gordon park was convicted of the murder in 1976 of his wife carol, whose remains were

found in coniston water in cumbria 21 yea rs found in coniston water in cumbria 21 years later, judges saying they have no doubt as to the safety of the original conviction. from today residents in the state of illinois must cover theirfaces in public spaces when social distancing is not possible. to encourage people to observe safety measures, some iconic landmarks in chicago have been given 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 a central plaza has also had a masked makeover. 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. injohannesburg, the bbc‘s africa correspondent andrew harding has

been finding out why. it seemed inevitable. in a land of furious inequality and habitual misrule, the virus was always going to cause chaos here in south africa. how could it possibly be otherwise? in the overcrowded townships around johannesburg, news of covid—19's rival, the first confirmed case was march the 5th, prompted dread. there was fears were, are understandable — neighbourhoods sharing taps and to i lets, neighbourhoods 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. now, the government here has a hard earned reputation for dithering, for being 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 restaurants would be closed, foreign travel tightly restricted. at this stage in south africa, the virus was spreading slowly. but soon south africa did start to see an exponential rise, just like britain, although here the government was already reacting much quicker, imposing a lockdown just eight days after recording the 100th infection. and south africa's lockdown was far stricter too. enforced by soldiers. but soon more tests confirmed the slowdown was genuine. the department

of health is here... is the reason, clearly, was that 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 lockdown. and so a five 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 that are going to have to keep waging this battle against the virus for months to come have been weakened by years of corruption

and cronyism. in other words, south africa is not out of the woods yet. so plenty of uncertainty ahead here — just look at this massive queue forfood — just look at this massive queue for food hand—outs near — just look at this massive queue forfood hand—outs near pretoria. and as the lockdown softens, the near certainty that the infection rate will start to climb. andrew harding, bbc news, south africa. more than seven million children are at risk of hunger in afghanistan, says the international charity save the children, as food prices soar during a coronavirus lockdown. the charity says a third of all afghans will face food shortages this month due to the pandemic. afghanistan has so far recorded nearly 2,200 cases of covid—19 and 64 deaths. but in a war—torn country with a weak health system and little testing, it's feared the real numbers may be much higher. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucetjoins me now.

she was last in afghanistan in january. even before covid—19, afghanistan was deemed to be one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a child — with this pandemic, what is it like now? yes, imean pandemic, what is it like now? yes, i mean everywhere in the world, including in the uk, we all feel that we are in the midst, and we are in the midst of a global health crisis of unprecedented proportions. but countries like afghanistan have been on a permanent state of crisis for decades, besieged by war that has gone on for decades, extreme malnutrition, and even before the coronavirus struck, the united nations was predicting that 14 million afghans would face what they call food insecurity this winter. and then when the virus struck, and when you have a lockdown in a place like afghanistan, with so much of the population, including working street children, they depend on daily wages, $1 a day, and when they don't get that, no money means no

food to eat, and so therefore that is why this warning is being sounded that a third of the population, including 7 million children, could go hungry and could die of starvation. i mean, that is the enormity of it. as we reflected in our report from india, a lot of people, including children, depending on daily labour wages, those jobs, that employment is not there any more, and combined with outcome of the world food programme says the prices of basic foods are going up and up, so what help is there to try to, you know, deal with this? save the children certainly wa nt this? save the children certainly want a lot of international aid to help these people in serious threat of hunger. yes, in countries like afghanistan, and you mentioned india, the majority of the population is not going to supermarkets and stocking up on the favourite foods. they basically rely on bread that they eat, a bit of rice and cooking oil, and when, in

this case, the price of cooking oil and wheat flow has rocketed up by 23%, and your wages have gone from $2 per day to $1 a day, i mean, that is the detail of what it comes down to, so it is such a precarious existence. the government has started to distribute free bread and bakeries in capitol, and it has said it will expand this, but on thursday there were angry crowds saying, i am poon there were angry crowds saying, i am poor, how come you didn't include me? this is not enough, i cannot live on bread alone, but for many it will be bread alone, and for some not even bread. so if aid comes in, whether within the country or from outside, is there an effective distribution system for that, and how concerned are international charities like save the children that, in this time of pandemic, when many people are worried about where wages will be coming from, whether people are willing to donate? there isa

people are willing to donate? there is a question of willing to donate, if airports are closed, and afg hanistan's case, the borders with iran, and afghanistan is still in the midst of war, there is still in the midst of war, there isa is still in the midst of war, there is a leadership crisis in kabul, so they are all converging at the same time, and as always, when they do, it is the most vulnerable, the children, who suffer the most. that save the children report out, our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news: the british government says it's confident it's target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of april has been met. rya nair announces it plans to cut 3000 jobs as part of restructuring because of the virus. president trump says he's seen evidence coronavirus orginated

we may find out more today about whether the football season can restart in britain. the government is hosting a video call with the football association and premier league, along with medical experts from rugby union, cricket and racing, to discuss when and how to return to sporting action. it's the biggest dilemma facing the premier league in its history, as austin halewood reports. it has been seven weeks since a premier league ground looked like this. now organisers are keen to get the season back up and running behind closed doors on the 8th ofjune, but are the players on board? the manchester city striker sergio aguero told argentinian media that the majority of players are scared to return because they have children and families. and he is not the only one who is worried. it would be hindering ourselves with certain things, like face masks and things, it's going to be off—putting. it's not going to be natural.

it's quite farcical. i understand why people are desperate to get football on, i am one of those people, i'm desperate, but i think it's got to be done in a sensible way. there is also concern about the availability of testing and whether a return will place u nnecessa ry extra pressure on public services. with liverpool on the brink of a first title in 30 years, even the city's own mayor is not keen on a restart. i would guess that a lot people would turn up outside anfield to celebrate, and i can understand the police's concerns around that, even if it was at a neutral venue. it would be really difficult for the police to keep people apart and maintain social distancing, so i think it is a nonstarter. the club, though, have distanced themselves from that point of view, and the government thinks a restart would give the country a much—needed boost, while the league's organisers know the huge financial implications of not restarting. they'd have to pay three

£750 million back to rights holders. with other competitions around europe already cancelled, the government and the premier league know whatever move they make next, they will have to get it right. around 70,000 babies have been born in the uk since the lockdown began nearly six weeks ago. and while bringing a child into the world should be a moment ofjoy, the shadow of covid—19 has loomed large. keeley donovan has been speaking to new parents about their experiences. born into a changed world. babies bria, nelly and hope. the happiest of moments at the most difficult of times. currently, pregnant women in the uk are allowed one birthing partner in the labour suite with them, provided they are not showing any symptoms. we first met clare on bbc breakfast a month ago. she is part of the mums and bumps club we are following for

the next few months. she had planned for her mum to be her birthing partner, but because her mum is vulnerable, she has had to self—isolate. claire was induced earlier than planned and gave birth to little eliana by emergency c—section. she was without her family but in good hands. it was scary, but also i think there was a sense of everyone is trying to do their best, and you kind of want to be in and out as quick as possible. everything really i was focusing on was about whatever is the safest for me and her. i feel more for my parents, because i think they struggle more than i do, because i get to hold her at the end of the day. these are special moments that families everywhere are missing out on. this is how matt's parents met baby 0shen for the first time. it has been really difficult, we both have big families. it has been really hard.

we've got lots of friends as well we have not been able to see. it has been really difficult. it is obviously a really emotional time for new parents, and nothing is going to replace face—to—face contact, but there are lots of virtual alternatives. this morning i am joining a new bumps and babies class, set up by midwife louise. louise, why is it important to have sessions online like this when new parents cannot meet face to face at the moment? what is really important both before and after you have had your baby is some sort of continuity and a feeling that you are not necessarily going through this alone. all these electronic things have just been a godsend. while critical checks on newborns in the uk are continuing, maternity services are offering a combination of face to face and remote postnatal follow—ups, according to the woman and baby's needs.

it is nice that not everything about lockdown has been negative for these new parents. i went into hospital, and i had the most amazing experience in hospital. they just went above and beyond. it has been lovely because andy has been off work. we have been together six weeks now, having a nice family unit, because we will never get this time all together again. babies will continue to be born in lockdown, and while for now they must wait to see grandparents, extended family and friends, we will have stories too to tell our little ones about their moment in history. most people in the uk would not want to go out, even if the government officially ends the lockdown in a month's time, according to a new survey. 60% of those asked said they would be uncomfortable about going to bars and restaurants or using public transport. and more than 40% would still be reluctant to go shopping or send their children to school, according to the poll by ipsos mori. victims of domestic abuse can seek help

at all boots pharmacies across the uk from today. consultation rooms will be used as safe spaces where victims will be put in touch with specialist services. tributes have been paid to the nigerian drummer tony allen, who's died suddenly at the age of 79. allen teamed up with fela kuti in the ‘60s to create a new musical style, afrobeat. the rock bassist flea from the red hot chili peppers called him one of the greatest drummers ever to walk the earth. scientists in the uk have identified the highest levels of microplastics ever recorded on the sea floor, after studying sediment pulled from the bottom of the mediterranean sea. the analysis, led by the university of manchester, found nearly two million plastic pieces per square metre of sea bed. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill reports. a simulation of the deep ocean.

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 sea—bed 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 pollution was locked in uk riverbeds then flushed out to during floods. these latest experiments in the mediterranean extracted

chunks of sea floor from depths of up to one kilometre. that enable scientists to track how the currents carry plastic waste out to sea, 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 waste—water treatment plants. we're filling in part of the gaps of our understanding of this 99% of the plastic. the fragile ecosystems on the sea floor depend on the nutrients and oxygen flushed in through the ocean currents. these currents transport microplastics to the same places where these fragile 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've 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. the rock band queen has released a new charity single to honour the world's health care workers. it resembles the classic hit we are the champions but with a slight change in the lyrics. 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... # and you'll keep on fighting to the end...

its focused to all those on the front line 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 studios they are all used to. my wife recorded it on her iphone. taking the shift a lyric is a bold move for queen, because they are so iconic, but this is the type of event that 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 front line workers as they lead the struggle against this pandemic. freya cole, bbc news.

martine croxall will be here in a few minutes, but now time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. it's another day of sunshine and showers out there today, the recipe for lots of rainbows. some of the showers through the day are going to be heavy and thundery. some hail and gusty winds mixed in with some of the downpours as well. but we won't all see them, a bit of dry weather with some sunshine around, too. but low pressure is still driving the weather at the moment. it's gradually going to be easing away towards the east over the next 24 hours or so. so the showers will slowly start to fade away as we head on into the weekend.

but for the here and now, the most frequent heavy showers today will be across parts of the midlands, northern england, central and southern scotland as well. it's here that we're likely to see some of those thunderstorms, hail and squally winds. showers fewer and further between elsewhere, and temperatures for most of us in the mid—teens, a little bit warmer than it was yesterday. now, through into this evening and overnight, the showers will start to ease and fade, but some heavy ones will continue overnight across parts of eastern england and northern and eastern scotland as well. clear skies and lighter winds further south. so although it will be a largely frost—free start to saturday, it'll be quite chilly first thing with temperatures around five to eight degrees. still one or two showers on the cards for the weekend, but we won't all see them. the areas most likely to see the showers on saturday are across northern and eastern scotland and the far north east of england as well. elsewhere, a lot of dry weather with some blue sky and spells of sunshine. but the cloud will increase from the southwest, perhaps the odd spot of light rain down towards the channel isles, for instance. but most of us in the sunshine and lighter winds, it'll feel quite

pleasant out there with temperatures around 14 to 18 degrees through the day on saturday and sunday set to be a pretty similar day. once again, a lot of dry weather with light winds and some sunshine, cloud amounts increasing, i think, through the course of the day on sunday and a few showers typically for eastern scotland, northeast england, perhaps one or two for the far southwest as well. but temperatures between about ten to 18 degrees or so on sunday. and then things continue to turn a little bit warmer and drier as we look towards the new week as well. so high pressure starts to build its way in across the united kingdom through the course of sunday night and into monday as well. so a largely dry outlook into next week, and things will be turning brighter and warmer than they have been in recent days. bye for now.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the british government says it's confident its target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of april has been met. setting a challenging target was the right thing to do, because it galvanised government and got thejob done, but there is a lot more to be done. the pandemic continues to devastate the aviation industry — european budget carrier ryanair announces three thousand job losses. european budget carrier ryanair announces 3,000 job losses. president trump says he's seen evidence coronavirus orginated in a chinese laboratory — but gives no details. the un secretary general criticises the world's major powers for failing to provide leadership during the crisis.

# you are the champions # you are the champions # you are the champions! # you are the champions! #. and a musical tribute for the champions of the pandemic — queen say the proceeds will go to global health charities. the uk government says they are confident that they have hit their own target for the number of daily coronavirus the uk government says they are confident that they have hit their own target for the number of daily coronavirus tests to be carried out by yesterday's deadline — as the prime minister told the nation that the the uk was now "past the peak" of the outbreak. the target of 100,000 daily

coronavirus tests — to be met by the end of april — had been set by the the uk's health secretary, matt hancock. over 81,000 tests were carried out on wednesday — according to figures from the department of health and social care. worldwide — the aviation industry has been hugely affected by the global lockdown — with budget airline ryanair announcing they are cutting up to three thousand pilot and cabin crewjobs — as they restructure to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. meanwhile in the us — president trump said he's seen evidence coronavirus originated in a chinese laboratory, but provided no details. the us national intelligence director's office say covid—19 "was not manmade or genetically modified" and china rejects the theory. in other developments — the united nations secretary general antonio guterres has expressed his disappointment at the lack of leadership from major world powers during the coronavirus pandemic. in an interview with the bbc, he said there was a failure to combine leadership and power — comments which appeared to be directed at washington and beijing. we'll have more on the global response to the pandemic shortly —

but first this report from our news correspondent — danjohnson. for a nation cut off, closed down, hurting... applause. ..this is notjust about gratitude. it has become a regular act of communion, in the name of the carer, the medic, and the vital key worker, kind, helping hands that have kept the country on its feet and saved lives. cheering and applause. and here's a reminder that, in the crossfire of coronavirus, heroes can be patients too. you saved my life. west midlands police chief superintendent, phil dolby, spent more than two weeks on a ventilator. see ya, bye! now, the next generation training for the front line are being named after the miracle workers of our nhs.

also bouncing back, the prime minister, with his own reasons to be thankful and a message of hope... 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. that may be but hundreds are still dying every day. 674 in the last 24 hours. across the uk, the virus has taken someone special from 26,771 families. more than 15,000 people are in hospital, trying to shake it off. so it is still too early to lift the lockdown. the infection rate and the number of people each of us passes the virus to must stay below one. more detail on that next week, but here is a hint of what our future may hold... face coverings will be useful both for epidemiological reasons but also for giving confidence to people that they can go back to work. testing numbers have dogged the government's response.

and we'll find out later today whether the 100,000 target was met. wednesday's latest figures were still 18,000 short. at the beginning of the week, we only had 5000 home tests available, this is now 20,000 available and it is the reason why we are quite likely to get very close to or meet the 100,000 target. 0ur worries and our strife are shared in this new expression of community. thursday, eight o'clock, is about togetherness, through torrid times. humanity‘s challenge means more pain, more suffering and more fear but as nature inflicts its worst, it can reflect our very best, and there are signs of better days ahead. dan johnson, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo joins

us from westminster. the government is confident they may have reached this target, but it's what you do with those numbers and results ? what you do with those numbers and results? a change of tone early in the week. it looked unlikely the government would meet that 100,000 target. remember where this all started, it was matt hancock wanting to get testing up because at the start it was about nhs patients, staff, etc, so that people could go back to work. then it was about getting the capacity broadened. now eligibility for testing has expanded quite widely to key workers. the latest figures were about 80,000. they had always been talk of the numbers going up quite significantly in the finalfew numbers going up quite significantly in the final few days. but now the role of testing sort of changes as we go into the next phase. this is now having a mass testing infrastructure in place so that when

the current lockdown measures ease mass testing can be used eventually to stop outbreaks spreading rapidly and widely from communities. so individual patients with coronavirus can be isolated, their context taste, and testing can then be put into place. that is why this is important. the government will say that the target was all about getting the machine rolling and getting the machine rolling and getting the machine rolling and getting the testing capacity up. here is what robertjen rick had to say about this target early this morning. —— robertjenrick. it looks like we'll either meet the target or come close, and so we will have very significantly increased it looks like we'll either meet the target or come close, and so we will have very significantly increased the amount of testing in this country i think from 2000 tests a day at the end of february to 10,000 tests a day at the end of march to either 100,000 at the end of april or quite close to it. that's an important stepping stone.

i don't want to overstate this, because this isjust a stepping stone to more. we've got the prime minister back in post after he recovered from coronavirus. a lot of questions facing him about how, if not one, the lockdown will be lifted. what is he saying? the message from the prime minister yesterday was that next week was going to be the point where we hear more detail about a strategy for how we get out of lockdown. now remember that officially the measures have to be reviewed every three weeks by law. the next decision point, the next review point, is next thursday, and thatis review point, is next thursday, and that is when we are promised we will hear more about this road map. he said it was a menu of options to get the economy moving again, to get people back to work, how get children back to school stop we didn't get any detail on what we can expect from that, but we have the example of other countries. we have the scottish and welsh government here has published their own frameworks and their own thinking in their own lines. boris johnson mentioned yesterday that face masks are going to be a useful way out,

and a useful tool in the next stage of lockdown, because he said they could give people the confidence to go back to work. i think that will be an interesting aspect of how to convince people that even if the data says the virus isn't transmitting widely, and that it is actually safe to go out again, will people obey those instructions? we are getting hints of what could come. talk of quarantine measures being introduced at airports. talk of how schools and businesses will have to follow social distancing rules in the same way as essential services and schools, schools are still open for key workers, at the moment. little noises about what's to come but certainly i don't think a detailed plan until next week. thank you. the us president donald trump says he's seen evidence that suggests coronavirus originated in a chinese laboratory. he provided no details. his own intelligence agencies have said they're still investigating how the virus began, but have determined covid—19"was not manmade or genetically modified". david willis reports.

the p4 pathogen lab at wuhan's institute of virology. did the deadly coronavirus emanate from here? china strenuously denies such suggestions. the president of the united states believes otherwise. mr trump says he's 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 spreading, or it didn't try to. this is something that could have been contained at the original location, and i think it could have been contained relatively easily. china is a very sophisticated country and they could have contained it. they were either unable to or they chose not to and the world is suffering greatly. whilst laying to rest one of the more extreme conspiracy theories surrounding the virus,

that 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, overa million, and more than 60,000 deaths. the virus has also devastated what was once a booming economy, leading to long lines in cities such as houston, as people queue for free food. although he's avoided direct criticism of china's president xi, with whom he's maintained cordial relations, president trump has talked of making china pay for the harm the virus has caused to the american economy and, by extension, to his chances of re—election.

relations between the world's two largest economies could get very frosty indeed. david willis, bbc news. let's hear more now on theories as to how the coronavirus originated in the chinese city of wuhan. the institute of virology there studies infectious diseases linked to bats and china says any allegations of a leak are unfounded. but it is notjust president trump who says the possibility should be investigated. here's the australian prime minister. there's nothing that we have that would indicate that was the likely source. you can't rule anything out in these environments. we know it started in china. we know it started in wuhan. the most likely scenario that has been canvassed relates to wildlife wet markets, but that's a matter that would have to be thoroughly assessed. this is one of the reasons why it is important that we just have an objective, independent assessment of how this originated, and learn the lessons from how this occurred.

i think it is an entirely sensible suggestion. monitoring speculation about the laboratory is the bbc‘s security corrrespondent, gordon corera. just how big is the gap, gordon, between what president trump is saying and what his intelligence community think? well... it was very interesting yesterday, because we had a statement early in the day from the us intelligence community, which said they were investigating this. they ruled out that this was a man—made virus, that it was some sort of bio weapon that had been unleashed or escaped, but they carefully said that they were still looking at other possibilities, including that it was an entirely natural outbreak, in other words from a market or it was a leak from a lab. a lab which had been studying, if you like, the natural virus. later donald trump asked, do

you think it could have been —— later donald trump was asked, do you think it could have been leaked from a lab and he said yes but did not produce evidence even though he said he had seen evidence. white house officials have been pushing intelligence officials to look at this theory that it was escaped from a lab. there is a reason they want to do that because there is a lot of pressure from the white house to deflect blame and to turn attention onto china and what it may have done wrong. and that may well be a big political issue this year, an election issue, and donald trump is betraying himself as tough on china. and trying to say thatjoe biden is weak. the intelligence community is saying, simply we are looking at the evidence and being very careful about it. and the president wants to push people towards a particular conclusion. now, the question is, will people take donald trump's statement at face value? will they expect to see more evidence? we will have to wait and see but there is certainly potential for more real tension between donald trump...

reminiscent of that story about iraq and the weapons of mass destruction 18 years ago when the white house had a clear conclusion that there we re had a clear conclusion that there were weapons of mass destruction and the intelligence community was being moved in that direction but some we re moved in that direction but some were cautious about it. you can sense some of the same potential strain, ithink sense some of the same potential strain, i think on this issue. talk to us about the story there could be espionage on the way, regarding the research into a vaccine for coronavirus. well, that's right, i spoke to a us intelligence official yesterday, the head of a national counter intelligence and security centre. hisjob is to protect america against foreign spies. he said they had seen a reconnaissance, an attempt to get into some of the research labs, which were working on vaccines and other treatments by foreign spy agents. basically, there

isa foreign spy agents. basically, there is a race going on internationally to try and make this vaccine and understand what might be able to use to treat the coronavirus. and there we re to treat the coronavirus. and there were different attempts by different countries. in some cases they are collaborating, but there is a competition here. some states see it as in their advantage to be first to be able to get hold of the detail and information. and it seems intelligence agencies have, if you like, unleash this to get information. they are seeing this as cyber espionage. they are trying to strengthen the defences of some of those centres. security sources in the uk say they have seen similar activity. there is a lot of intelligence going on behind the scenes. we talked about the us intelligence community trying to understand what's going on in china. no doubt china understand what data the chinese leadership have about this. china and other states perhaps also trying to understand what the us and what other countries are doing in terms of research on vaccines. a lot of that is going on behind the scenes. and that's from

the intelligence agencies. thank you. the headlines on bbc news... the british government says it's confident its target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of april has been met. the pandemic continues to devastate the aviation industry — european budget carrier ryanair announces three thousand job losses. president trump says he's seen evidence coronavirus orginated in a chinese laboratory — but gives no details. in another sign of the huge impact of corornavirus on the world's airline industry, london's heathrow airport, normally the busiest in europe, has said it expects passenger numbers to have fallen 97% in april. meanwhile european budget airline ryanair has said it may shed up to 3,000 jobs as it restructures to cope with the pandemic. it said the posts under threat were mainly pilot and cabin crew jobs, and that remaining staff would all take a 20% pay cut. boss michael 0'leary spoke

to the bbc earlier... the situation we face now is we've carried almost no passengers for the last three months. we carried less than 140,000 passengers in april, may and june against originally, the budget of 42 million passengers. for the full year we will carry less than 100 million passengers, the budget was originally 155 million, we will carry only about a third less passengers than we planned for this year and while we expect to be back flying some services injuly and august, we think the buildup will be slow, passengers will be wearing face masks, temperature checks at airports, there will be those kind of controls. we are cutting, we announced this morning we are cutting 15% of our staff, we think that's the minimum we need just to survive the next 12 months. if a vaccine is found clearly the recovery will be stronger, if a vaccine isn't found we may have to announce more cuts and deeper cuts into the future. we feel we have no choice this morning but to announce 3000 job cuts, that's about 15% of our workforce.

we will be closing some bases in the uk and spain and other places across europe. because by the time we get out of this, we will be into the winter schedule anyway. and it's going to be very difficult. let's speak to the independent‘s travel editor, simon calder. good to see you. ryanair are not alone in this by any means. no, 15% of staff at ryanair face losing theirjobs. the rest of them can face pay cuts of up to 20%. michael 0'leary himself is going to be taking half pay for the rest of the financial year, although he will still be rather better paid than the average ryanair employee. however, it is british airways, their pilots, their cabin crew, their ground staff who are really suffering right now. the airline wants to cut 29% of its

workforce. that amounts to 12,000 people. and it appeared in a letter i saw last night that british airways had sent to the trade unions that the base at gatwick airport which has been served by british airways since the airline was founded in 1974, well, it closed at the moment and it may never reopen. and for the many thousands of aviation professionals that is just absolutely shocking news. what sort of help our governments around the world offering to the aviation industry? in europe, and this is something michael 0'leary of ryanair is very exercised about, they are actually, well he calls them enormous bungs to aviation companies. there are billions of euros going towards european airlines, which ryanair says they will be subsidising airfares with

taxpayers' money for the next few yea rs. taxpayers' money for the next few years. but, of course, other airlines here are taking advantage of thejob retention airlines here are taking advantage of the job retention scheme. that is certainly helping easyjet and british airways at the moment, although very sadly a number of those british airways staff who are currently being furloughed may find they are made permanently redundant. but the industry is reallyjust wanting clarity more than anything else on what happens when we start again. i havejust spoken else on what happens when we start again. i have just spoken to the boss of heathrow airport, as you mentioned passenger numbers down 97% in april. they are very keen to start up, but they also realise passengers are going to be very short of confidence, and how on earth do you enforce social distancing at an airport, and on board a plane? it is a really, really tricky time. are the airlines are struggling, so our passengers, aren't they, trying to get their money back, being offered vouchers rather than cash which is not what

they are entitled to? know, the us airlines have said, well, the us department of transportation, has told its airlines you have got to give back cash. —— no. that is almost certainly the same rule in the uk. the civil aviation authority is warning airlines they have to adhere to the rules. and in europe, the european commission has told airlines they cannot offer vouchers instead. the rules forflights airlines they cannot offer vouchers instead. the rules for flights are absolutely clear, if your flight doesn't take off you are entitled to your cash back within a week. the airlines tell me that is completely impossible. they have gone from organisations which said millions of us “— organisations which said millions of us —— send millions of us away on holidays to businesses whose operations are almost closed down. michael 0'leary said if you were booked in may on a ryanair flight you could be waiting up to six months for a refund. of course, the

civil aviation authority will be watching that, as will other authorities around the world, but your entitlement to cash hasn't disappeared. you just won't be able to expect it back in your bank account a week after the flight failed to depart. how likely is it, do you think, simon, that the airline industry will return to what it was before the pandemic? that a really good question. it's not going to return to what it was before. —— that's a really good question. passenger numbers may build up again but the whole shape of the industry is going to change. business travel, for example, may simply halve or dry up for example, may simply halve or dry up almost completely because, of course, the sort of in executives who have bankrolled european airlines, paying big amounts for business class travel, well they've just discovered that you can hold meaningful meetings via online platforms. their companies will be

looking to save money because they will be skint. leisure travellers will be skint. leisure travellers will want to be reassured that it's 0k to travel, that not only will they be safe while they are travelling, but the destination country is going to welcome them in. earlier this morning i mentioned that uk travellers might be keen to go to the republic of ireland initially. and you should see the social media messages i have been taking from people in ireland saying, actually, we don't want you brits here, thanks. but you are so lovely, simon! chuckles we can't wait to see back in here when you are allowed back in. thank you.