world leaders have pledged $8 billion to fund research into vaccines and treatments for coronavirus — their statement says a common threat to humanity requires a concerted response. china and the united states did not take part. a0 countries and donors did join the online summit, hosted by the european union. 4.5 million italians have returned to work after two months in lockdown. people are also allowed to see relatives within their region as restrictions ease. for the second consecutive day, italy has recorded its lowest death toll since the lockdown began. dave greenfield — the keyboard player with the stranglers — has died at the age of 71 statement on social media said he was in hospitalfor a heart condition but died from covid—19. he wrote many of the most successful songs of the bands, including the heroin

ballad golden brown. university students in england will still have to pay full tuition fees even if their courses are taught online this autumn. ministers at westminster have announced a series of measures to support english universities affected by the pandemic including allowing them to recruit up to 5% more students as our education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports. university campuses won't be the same this year for students hoping to start in the autumn. no bars, no big parties. some courses may even begin online. but students in england will still pay full fees. if that was going on for a long time, i do think it would be unfair to ask for full tuition fees, because i'm not getting the full experience, and i'm not being taught everything that i need. starting university while social distancing continues and a lot of places are closed is going to be pretty difficult. if you are sitting at home, worrying about what grades you will get, it is not all bad news.

universities will be able to offer slightly more places this year, up to 5% per university in england. so, if you're willing to shop around in clearing, there could be plenty of choice. in wales and northern ireland, unis may also rely more on fees. in scotland, where there are no fees, student numbers are limited. no details yet on home student numbers in these parts of the uk. there's been a boom in students from china, but even those who have had a great time here aren't sure many will follow this autumn. i think definitely it will reduce the number of potential students coming to the uk next year. because fees for international students are high, they bring £7 billion each year to the uk. if numbers drop, so do university finances.

even if we see a small fall, and i think all of us are anticipating a large fall, if we lose half of that £7 billion, then that will put many universities into very, very difficult financial straits. so, to help financial pressure now, some research money will be released early. access for all uk universities to government support schemes. on bigger decisions, on how to fill the hole in budgets, universities everywhere will have to wait. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. now on bbc news, all the latest on how the lockdown is affecting the leisure and travel industries. it's time for the travel show.

hello, and welcome to the travel show. it's a chilled one for me this week, as we're coming from my gaff right here in london. it's a lockdown special with a look at how some of the world's biggest events and festivals are moving the fun online. we've got news about offers of free holiday accommodation for key workers. we go on lockdown with the beefeaters at the tower of london. and with so many flights and holidays cancelled, we've got an update on how companies are doing on giving our money back. spoiler alert: not very well. it's a frustrating time for those of us who are itching to get back on the road again, but we're actually quite lucky that we can stay at home right now, because there are millions of key workers around the world — doctors, nurses, the people we buy our food from,

the people who empty our bins — who don't have that luxury. but in recent weeks, there's been an outpouring of support for them. notjust in weekly claps like these, but with the tantalising offer of free holidays once bans are lifted. here in the uk, a campaign under the hashtag #treat0urnhs now has hundreds of giveaways on social media. we have a holiday let in devon, and i put it out there on instagram for a giveaway, two nights to an nhs member of staff, and very quickly, i had lots of nominations coming in, and ijust thought, only one person is going to win this. so she decided to spearhead the campaign and made this video to help spread the word on social media. some people with large accounts

shared it and very quickly that message got across and the restjust followed, basically. we have over 700 giveaways on board now, which is amazing. we've got such a breadth of accommodation on offer, it ranges from a shepherd's hut in dorset to an amazing chateau in the south of france. there's just amazing acts of generosity all across the board. sarah decided to open the offer up again for her own property and got sent 2,000 nominations. the winner picked at random. is it a 2—night stay? so, it's a 2—night stay when you get down here,

and the lovely cafe down the road is giving you a meal and you got breakfast... oh, my god! i'm going to cry! 0h, love. who nominated you 7 one of the girls who i worked with the other day, she nominated me. that was really sweet. i can't believe it. 0h, bless. you're making me cry! it's so nice to win something! it's hoped that once the lockdown eases here in the uk, it won't be too long before nurse rachel gets that much—deserved break. but this idea is notjust limited to health workers here in the uk. the international campaign under the hashtag #mytravelpledge has been gaining serious traction abroad with properties and hotel rooms on offer to health workers and also low—income key workers such as hospital cleaners. avery and tiffany nominated each other. they are both nurses at saint pauls hospital

in vancouver, canada. we just made a plan to nominate each other, but her nomination for me got selected, and, yeah... within a couple of days, she texted me and was like, "oh, my gosh, your nomination was selected!" of course my first thing was, i'm going to take you! and she was like, no, no, it's for you and your husband. it is because avery was supposed to go to spain this year for her 10—year anniversary, and of course that got cancelled, so hopefully this can be her 10—year anniversary vacation. avery has got a free stay here in the dominican republic when travel restrictions finally ease for a well—earned rest. working in the healthcare sector right now is really scary. we are both psychiatric nurses, so we serve really the most marginalised

and vulnerable population. with covid, we're really afraid it is going to spread within that population, so every time we go to work, we feel uncertain, we're scared, we're scared to bring it back to ourfamilies. so it is difficult, it's uncertain, it is definitely a really challenging time right now to be working in healthcare. ian and andrew set up the campaign to recognise and reward key workers, but for them, an important side—effect is to help out the tourism industry in spain, where they run a b&b. the pair have had quite a response. they received more than 3,000 nominations in april alone. people assume it's a competition or it's a prize draw, and we are trying to make it clear that it's actually not a prize draw. either they can nominate themselves, a colleague, a friend,

or whatever, or be nominated by somebody, by a friend of theirs, and it comes through to us here, this central database, and we will then try to help allocate them something sensible and something suitable for their requirements. some people have already specified they would quite like something in the uk because they can't afford a flight. some people are looking forward to a break in the sun so we try to match it as best we can. the pair have received more than 3,000 nominations in the past month from around the world with a fast growing portfolio of international properties on offer. the key word for me is hope — hope and support. they are just working full on. if they're not working, they're sleeping. so this is just something that they can actually just nominate, they can act on, and they know that someone out there is actually looking out for them and there is a light at the end of the tunnel and a free stay would make their lives so much more bearable at the moment,

and to be honest, this situation we are in, is the very least that we can do. what a brilliant campaign, and a richly deserved reward for those people around the world who are doing so much for us at the moment. for the last few weeks, we have been getting loads of messages from people who are still trying to get their money back from cancelled holidays without much success. now, it's probably the biggest issue in travel at the moment. our global guru, simon calder, is across town and hopefully he can bring some clarity to a very confusing situation. simon, how are you, first of all? i am well and happy, but i have never been busier! with just thousands of travel show viewers getting in touch, saying,

"help, what are my rights? what can i do?" so, simon, tell us, what are people's rights when it comes to getting money back with cancelled holidays? under european passenger rights rules and also the rules which pertain in the united states, airlines, if they do not operate your flight, have to give you a full refund. however, there have been cases right across europe and the us and the world of airlines saying, "we can't refund you, we will give you a credit note," in other words, you are allowed to travel on that airline some time in the next six months, yea r, two yea rs, but your money is tied up with them. now, if you are covered by consumer rules that entitle you to a refund, and that is the european union, the uk, the united states and some other places, then just keep fighting for a refund, you should get the money back eventually. elsewhere, well, it might be a matter between you and your credit card company.

it feels like a really frustrating situation, but i guess the idea isjust not to give up and keep trying to get that money back? just keep going, you should get your money back, but i am one of many, many people who've got a ticket, in fact in my case from saudi arabia to egypt for a flight which never took off, and i am having really tough times trying to get my money back from that. if simon calder is struggling to get his money back, what are we going to do?! well, keep trying. it sounds like we are not going to be getting back to normality any time soon then, simon. you've still got hundreds of flight bans in place, so it's a matter, unfortunately, as it has been pretty much throughout this crisis, of wait and see. what i foresee happening is that we will be asked, for example, to have some kind of vaccination certificate. this is my old vaccination certificate, it hasn't seen much action recently, but it will possibly include something to show, when there is a working vaccine against covid—i9, that you have had that vaccination and, more to the point, that you have perhaps had

the infection and that you are now immune, but of course that is all against a whole backdrop of what the health authorities regard as giving you immunity. alright, cheers, simon. hopefully i will get to see you soon in person once this is all over. take care, mate. alright, now it is time for us to jump across the world to japan to meet another member of the travel show family, carmen! hi, carmen! hi adi, how are you? not bad, considering the circumstances. tell me about what's happening over there, is it the whole of japan in lockdown or just tokyo? the whole of japan is in a state of emergency now but it is more of a soft lockdown, because the government doesn't really have powers to fine you if you leave your home or have a big social gathering, they can just request that you do so. so it is really mixed, the public transport

is still operating, but my local supermarket insists you wear a mask if you go inside. small businesses are still open, albeit with limited hours. there are some izakayas, which are smalljapanese eateries, they're still open, but they have to shut at 8:00pm, so it's really, really mixed here. it's such a strange new world that we are living in, isn't it? and another thing forjapan is the paralympics and 0lympics being postponed. that must have been a really huge blow for you guys out there. that must‘ve been a real huge blow for you guys out there. it was a huge blow and as you would know, in yeah, definitely. it was a huge blow and as you would know, in any city in the lead up to the olympics there is a real buzz about the place and 2020 was meant to be tokyo's big year, so many are saying that is why it was so late to declare a state of emergency because they were really hanging on and hoping that the olympics and the paralympics would still go

ahead, but once it was finally cancelled, or postponed actually, to next year, that is when they invoked a state of emergency. but the ioc are confident that it is going to happen next year and the olympic flame is burning in fukushima as we speak. it is a symbol of hope and recovery. as well as the olympics, live events across the board have all been cancelled or postponed as the race to contain the virus continues. and whether it is sports, music or art, a lot of these gatherings rely on a shared physical experience that is no longer allowed in over a third of the world's countries. for the first time in 70 years the edinburgh festival has been cancelled. a plug has been pulled on glastonbury‘s 50th anniversary. and dubai has rescheduled the world expo, resulting in a loss of tourism income from over 20 million people who were due to attend what was likely to be the uae‘s

biggest event in its history. well, this hasn't stopped organisers looking for new ways to connect audiences, with many exploring exciting projects to move the fun online. here is my simulator setup, so you can see we have got the wheel. formula i has launched a virtual grand prix series, a live stream during which professional drivers compete against each other in a specially adapted video game. but the race is strictly for entertainment‘s sake, with no official points to be won. the champagne antics might have to wait until next year. another institution trying to capture the spirit of their event online is burning man, a festival usually held deep in the black rock desert of nevada. so for us it really almost wasn't a question. why cancel burning man and leave this opening, this vacancy, this sadness? but why not take it and turn it towards the opportunity that we have right now

and lean in towards what burning man does best and bring people together? 0riginal tickets will still be valid for the online event, with newcomers welcome as well. the experience will be spread across different platforms, which is fitting, considering the theme for this year's festival was the multi—verse. we are really going to be looking at imagining that members of the community will help participate so that the best parts of what you get at burning man, the inspiration to be with other people, the trust, the playfulness, the creativity... that we can create an environment that is like that. i think there is an irony right now where we are all more isolated, i am seeing more interesting content coming out of the internet than we have ever seen before. another highlight of the cultural calendar that is planning to move online is pride. san francisco cancelled its 50th anniversary celebration. the parade is usually one of the largest in the world and this year over! million people were expected to attend. instead they will be joining hundreds of other cities in the

virtual celebration. 0n the 27th ofjune, global pride will take the form of a 24—hour live stream event, featuring performances, speeches, and messages from activists all over the world. so into pride has done a fantastic job at engaging and connecting over 250 pride organisations globally to feel a sense of togetherness, to bring hope to all lgbtiq communities in the face of adversity. you might remember tony and the adventures we joined him on when he visited jerusalem and more recently ethiopia. now, tony calls himself the blind backpacker, but not only does he have almost no vision, he is also partially deaf. it is his ambition to travel to every country in the world. he is on the road pretty much all of the time, but not any more.

hi, tony. so where are you calling us from this time? hi. yeah, i'm actually in my own apartment at the moment in a small town called teignmouth in devon. exotic devon! yeah, very exotic! so i hear you were travelling around africa when the virus hit? yeah, that's right. i was in southern africa. at the beginning of march i visited johannesburg and then across to zimbabwe and zambia. i had visited both those countries before and wanted to get some videos and photos of the victoria falls, really. the sound is absolutely unbelievable. at this time of year, march, april, it is the rainy season so it is full of water, so when you are walking through it you just get an absolute drenching. when did you find out that you had to stop your trip and come home, tony?

it was starting to get more and more difficult from the end of march. i was planning to go to namibia and i actually went down to the border and they basically wouldn't let me in, they said, "no, no." so i thought, "0k, that is that then." and i've got an underlying health condition. i had a kidney transplant back in 2008, so i needed medication, and it was getting more and more difficult to try to arrange to get that sent out to zambia, so i thought my best option might be coming back to the uk, as sad as that was. i eventually managed to find a flight for an extortionate price and then i have been in lockdown more or less ever since. my goal is to visit every country in the world and that is what gets me up in the morning and gets me out of the house in the morning. when am i going next? so yeah, i am planning the next trip. sort of looking for the end of the year for the actual travelling, about november, december. it depends on the situation here and in those other countries.

tony, thank you so much. stay well and looking forward to hearing more about some of your adventures in the future. take care, be safe yourself. now, just a few miles away from here, there is one place that has never had a problem with putting people in isolation. it is the tower of london. welcome to the tower of london, where kings and queens have walked for 500 years. today is our first day in proper lockdown. don't worry though, we have got security here, the army here are guarding the jewels and we are under no threat at all. we are locking downjust for safety with the virus. it is very unusual. there is nobody here, just the people who live here. there is 37 of us that guard the tower. we are all former sergeant majors, all spent over 22 years in the military.

if we get the job, this is where we have got to live with our families. the tower of london is one of the most iconic sights in the world that we are very proud to keep it, maintain it and look after it. the crown jewels are here and obviously we have our ravens as well. the ravens have been here since time began at the tower of london. an old legend says that if the ravens ever leave the tower, the white tower will crumble and the monarchy will befall a great disaster. so that there is the white tower. queens and kings of england have lived in that tower for over 500 years. this is where the dungeons and the torture chambers were once located. i have been asked by my social media adviser, my 23—year—old son, that i have got to ask you to like and subscribe to this channel. i have absolutely no idea what that means, but if that means anything to you do that. i would say that in the 1,000 year history of the tower of london this

is completely unprecedented because there is no one here. normally this site would be packed. an average of 10,000 — 12,000 people per day. when you think about what has happened in the past, yes, we have had world wars and bombs dropping on the tower. things were still going on. it's a big crisis across the world, but here in the tower we are trying to make things as normal as possible. you know, we have got to get on as a community. it is a community and there are 45 families and the children and all the rest of it. we all know each other very, very well and all find it an honour to live within the walls of the tower. within the tower we actually have a few key workers, we have got nhs workers, nurses, lifeboats, crewmen, border force, special constables, so tonight, any minute now, when i cut back and hopefully we should have lit the tower blue, and we shall be showing our appreciation.

go! applause, cheering thank you to the nhs. personally, i know quite a bit about coronavirus because my wife actually was tested positive and spent two weeks in hospital. she fought for her life, but it is a success story because she is now out and she is really, really doing well. i personally do miss the buzz of having the visitors here and engaging with them and having a good time, really. we didn't like the words of when they were raising the drawbridge, as former sergeant majors because we tend not to want to give in. but we did. we can't wait for the drawbridge to be lowered and to start inviting our visitors from all over the world to come and see this absolutely fantastic, iconic site.

well, that's it from us for this week. wherever you are, though, stay safe, keep dreaming those dreams of travel and we will be back with you with a brand new episode in a few weeks' time. bye— bye. hello there. a cool and dry start for most of the uk on tuesday morning

and towards the south—west, milder, wet and also windy. heavy rain in the south—west of england, and here and the south—west of wales, easterly winds could gust 50 or 55mph until mid—morning. then the winds ease down in all areas, the rain heads along the south coast towards sussex northwards into south wales and then becomes lighter and more patchy in the afternoon. away from here, likely to be dry with lots of sunshine around but the air is a bit cooler. through the early hours, and as we head into tuesday morning, it's a wet start in the south—west of england, some heavier rain, some strong and gusty easterly winds across devon and cornwall, the isles of scilly on the south—west of wales. gusts of 50, even 55mph. those winds will ease down later on in the morning and through theafternoon, but the rain will edge eastwards along the south coast of sussex, northwards into south wales and then become lighter and more patchy in the afternoon. elsewhere, it's likely to be dry, lots of sunshine around. a bit of a keen breeze to start with across england and wales, perhaps northern ireland. the winds will ease down and the highest temperatures will be across western scotland and north—west england, but cool underneath the rain in the south—west, only

12 degrees here. the rain continues to peter out during the evening. the cloud a little more reluctant to break up overnight, and there'll be some cloud spilling its way around the top of the area of high pressure into shetland and 0rkney. but where we have the clearer skies in eastern scotland and the north—east of england there could be a pinch of frost in some rural areas once again. that cooler air will be pushed away by the gentle, southerly breeze which will bring the warmth up from the south—west and temperatures will rise. by the time we get into wednesday, most places will be dry with a good deal of sunshine. there's just the chance of a shower in the far south—west, and there will be more cloud coming in across the northern isles of scotland, so cooler here. otherwise, a warmer day on wednesday. those temperatures getting up to 20 or even 21 celsius in the sunshine. and those temperatures continue to rise for many areas during thursday and friday. there'll be a bit more cloud for scotland and northern ireland, maybe a few more showers. for england and wales, probably dry and in the sunshine in the south—east, temperatures could reach 25 degrees on friday. what a shock to the system for this weekend — the wind changes to northerly and strengthens and draws down cold air, unusually cold air for the time of year. cold enough even for

some wintry showers.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: $8 billion to help find a vaccine — world leaders club together on a coronavirus e—conference. the divide deepens in us—china relations as president trump continues to blame beijing for the outbreak. loved ones meet for the first time in weeks as italy tentatively lifts its social restrictions. tributes are paid to dave greenfield of the stranglers who's died from covid—19 at the age of 71.