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.

an online summit of around a0 countries and donors has pledged more than $8 billion towards developing a coronavirus vaccine. russia and the united states snubbed the event, american officials insisting the us is already "at the forefront" of efforts to find a vaccine. rich preston has this report. crosstalk it was a videoconference of the world's most powerful people with the most pressing goal of the moment in mind — vaccines for coronavirus. we need to develop, produce and deploy them to every single corner of the world. and we must ensure that they are available and affordable for all. and this is why we must all chip in to finance

this truly global endeavour. countries across the european union took part, as did those like south africa, saudi arabia, mexico and canada. translation: because we need to accelerate the research and development of a vaccine that can be accessible to all, because we have essential work to do on equal access to diagnostics and treatment, because, in the end, nothing will be possible on diagnosis, treatment and vaccines if we don't support the health system. for this, france will commit to 500 million euros. today, on behalf of the irish people, i'm announcing a new pledge of 18 million euros to gavi, gavi, today, on behalf of the irish people, i'm announcing a new pledge of 18 million euros to gavi, gavi, the vaccine alliance. today, on behalf of the irish people, i'm announcing a new pledge of 18 million euros to gavi, gavi, the vaccine alliance. as well as international organisations and philanthropic groups. i just got the message

that madonna has announced a contribution of $1 million to the coronavirus global response, and that shows that the global response must also include social society, civil society and the global community of citizens. today, on behalf of the irish people, i'm announcing a new pledge of 18 million euros to gavi, gavi, there was one notable absence from the conference — the united states, which says it's going alone in its development of a vaccine. russia didn't take part either. china did, pledging $50 million. the event had a political message too, a show of solidarity and support for the world health organization, which has come under criticism from president trump, who withdrew us funding for the un body. norway supports the leadership of the world health organization. without the world health 0rganization, an effective and co—ordinated response to the pandemic would not be possible. in spite of money raised, expert consensus is that a vaccine may still not be available until the middle of 2021. rich preston, bbc news. the former us ambassador to the un samantha power gave us her reaction to the decision by the united states not

to take part. madonna chipped in, that is not nothing. it says something really about the place we are in history. imagine at any other time, with any other crisis, the us, not only absent from the leadership role, but awol altogether, absent, not even there, not even in the chair. so this is really an emblem, i think, of this moment, and it's also a tribute to those who recognise that three plus years into the trump administration, it's long past time to wait for the united states to remember what it needs to be doing in the international system, and so you see president macron, chancellor merkel, the countries that comprise the eu, but not only those countries, even countries like saudi arabia have decided to contribute, recognising what is so painfully obvious just in terms of the facts at the moment, which is how connected we all are. you cannot look out for your

own citizens without thinking about pooling resources and looking out for those who do not have the means to even muster the response that we have mustered so far. samantha power there. america has reached a crossroads in the fight against coronavirus — as half the country begins to reopen, there are also dire projections about the spread of coronavirus. the new york times reports on a government estimate that 3,000 people a day could die by earlyjune — that's double the current number. meanwhile, the president is blaming china for losing control of the virus. 0ur north america editor jon sopel reports. what happened in wuhan, didn't stay in wuhan. a coronavirus which has affected billions, infected millions and killed hundreds of thousands is claiming a new casualty — us—china relations. 0n the american side, there's growing fury about china's secretiveness. and, for the moment, an unsubstantiated charge that this didn't originate in a wet market in the city, but in a government laboratory. these are not the first times that we have had a world

exposed to viruses as a result of failures in a chinese lab. and so, while the intelligence committee continues to do its work, they should continue to do that and verify so that we are certain, i can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in wuhan. the words from america's top diplomat seemed designed to cause maximum offence to the chinese. the president last night said they would bring forward evidence at the right time. my opinion is they made a mistake, they tried to cover it, they try to put it out, just like a fire. it's really like trying to put out a fire. against the backdrop of the lincoln memorial, donald trump again raised the potential death toll in the us to as many as 100,000. but each time he does that, so it brings fresh scrutiny of his own erratic handling of the crisis. with an election six months away, having someone else to blame —

the chinese, the world health organization — has become politically essential. but this is about much more than electoral politics. there is growing unease in the white house that china has become way too powerful on multilateral bodies like the world health organization and world bank, and that america needs to reassert itself. the coronavirus pandemic is becoming a defining, and some would say deeply unsettling moment in the relationship between the world's two economic superpowers. last week, stock markets fell sharply on the threat by donald trump to take unspecified retaliatory action against the chinese. but china is giving as good as it gets. we discovered a new virus... this cartoon lampooning the americans was posted by the xinhua news agency in english. the virus is killing doctors. typical third world. it's airborne. it will magically go away in april. the deterioration in relations has been rapid. this was donald trump in the early stages of the outbreak. i know this, president xi loves the people of china. he loves his country, and he's doing a very good job, with a very, very tough situation.

the president used to talk extravagantly about his great friend president xi, about their wonderful relationship. you don't hear much about that now. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the united states treasury has said it will borrow a record $3 trillion between april and junein order to cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus. the increase is needed to fund the government's pandemic relief programmes for individuals and businesses. to put this figure into perspective, the us treasury borrowed $1.3 trillion in the last financial year. the us food and drug administration has tightened its oversight of antibody tests an earlier policy led to dubious products appearing for sale. in a statement, the fda says unscrupulous people are marketing fraudulent test kits and taking advantage of widespread public anxiety. for more on this, i spoke to the bbc‘s north america correspondent, peter bowes.

well, this is really an acknowledgement by the fda that the initial regulations, the initial oversight was not strong enough to stop bogus operators, bogus people coming in and making tests that were simply worth nothing. they simply didn't do the job. they were fraudulent and some 170 firms came forward with these antibody tests, the blood test which would determine whether someone has an immunity to coronavirus. moving forward, the fda says these companies, and there are far fewer now, there's a website where the fda is listing those approved companies. they have within ten days to submit their data for some independent oversight. whereas before, it was essentially soft verification based on their own data and no independent oversight. so, much tighter regulatory framework moving forward for these antibody tests that are much—needed by so many people.

and that is one of the claims by the fda that these operators have simply been exploiting the fears of americans at this time, during the pandemic, their fears of this virus and their desperate need to get a test. and yet, peter, even with fda oversight, there are still concerns out there about accuracy? yes, that is the problem, that they are not 100% accurate. moving forward, what the fda are saying is that the number of true positives, those positive tests that really are accurate and correct, should be at least 90% of them. 95% of them if they are true negatives. that does leave a little gap, not 100%, of uncertainty. and i think it's true to say that these tests are good as population surveys with large samples of people, but as an individual test for one person, perhaps not good enough yet to make longer—term decisions about your health. peter, thank you very

much for that. italy, the first country in the world to impose a national lockdown, has lifted some of its toughest restrictions, on the day it registered its lowest daily death toll since the lockdown began 2 months ago. mark lowen reports. a nation that has shed so many tears alone can finally grieve together. in naples today, the first funerals are allowed, with a maximum of 15 people, as italy opens up. being unable to say goodbye or visit graves has been one of the cruellest losses of the lockdown. "this is a beautiful day, as i can visit my son, who died ten years ago," says concetta. "thank you to everyone who's made it possible. "i can't say anything more, i'm too emotional." as the world's longest shutdown of the pandemic starts to fade, outdoor exercise is now allowed. parks and some businesses are reopening, and relatives

can see each other again — with distance and masks. so, finally, people can come and visit the family members that they've been stopped from seeing for eight long weeks. but it does present a danger, because this train has come in from milan, in the region of italy worst—hit by the virus. so, with freedom comes a hugely increased risk of spreading the outbreak. "keep your distance," they are warned, before everyone fills in a form to explain why they're here. europe's worst—hit country is taking no chances. livia last saw her daughter, who lives in milan, injanuary. it has felt like an eternity. has it been difficult for you not being able to...? oh, yes, for me, yes, a little bit, yes. you've missed her? yes. resisting a motherly urge is tough. normality, so near, yet so far. how does it feel to see your mum? it's hard for me, really. because i haven't seen her for nearly five months, so it's very moving.

it's been difficult not to see her? yeah. quite a lot, yeah. sorry. but the lockdown has left deep scars. we were taken by police to one of the roughest areas of one of the eu's poorest regions. the worry here is of organised crime preying on poverty. carpenter raffaele says with work stopped, he may have to sell his tv to get by. "there's been lots more crime since the lockdown," he says, "even kids dealing drugs and stealing cars, since they need to eat." fighting the mafia's resurgence is this priest under protection, making up boxes of supplies for the needy to stop criminal groups from stepping in instead. translation: the mafia has always exploited italy's moments of weakness, and this is one of those moments. they give people help but then

ask for drug dealing or money in exchange. we have to give citizens the antivirus to defend themselves, to stop the mafia from reclaiming this territory. a health crisis has become a social one, and this is what other countries, too, may face as they reopen from a lockdown that is stopping the dying, but killing the economy. mark lowen, bbc news, naples. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: tributes to dave greenfield of the stranglers, who's died after testing positive for covid—19. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays,

the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. but the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now, the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in underfour minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: afundraising campaign involving more than a0 countries and donors raises more than $8 billion

to fund vaccine reserarch. the divide deepens in us—china relations as president trump continues to blame beijing for the outbreak. as president trump continues to blame beijing for the outbreak. a senior european scientist says she has low confidence in the way some european union countries are reporting virus deaths. dr andrea ammon, who is director of the european centre for disease prevention and control, told members of the european parliament that people dying were not being counted unless the infection had been confirmed. so, how significant is this? here's professor nina fefferman from the university of tennessee. they are probably really significant, both in terms of estimating how dangerous covid—19 is as an epidemic, and also in trying to estimate how we should try to continue to combat the ongoing infection. how wrong could the figures be, do you think? they could be really wrong. right now, even figuring out what we would mean by a confirmed

case, probably varies from country to country. whether or not that means it's confirmed by medical diagnosis or clinical laboratory tests. if we're going with clinical test, those have been scarce at different points in the epidemics and different regions, have been limited. so we could be severely underestimating this even to this day. if we go by, sort of, estimated expected fatalities compared to what we're seeing just by numbers of deaths rather than any attribution of the underlying cause — we are seeing startling differences in the us and across europe. so it could be really bad. yes. and if she's saying it, it's likely to be true, isn't it? it's certainly likely to be true that the estimates are by some definition of confirmed case only. it's definitely true, no matter how optimistic you are right now, we are undercounting.

it doesn't matter how much faith you have in the system. right now, we are undercounting just by systems being overwhelmed. just how badly we are undercounting around the globe is up for debate. if we're undercounting at all, that has all kinds of implications doesn't it? it does. like what? laughs for example, it depends on whether we are undercounting strategically in different regions because of access to medical care. it might be that we are trying to provision regions in anticipation of where new resources and protective equipment, therapeutic equipment will be needed. that could be underestimated. that could be critically underestimated. if we are trying to estimate damage where people need economic support, again that could be critically underestimated. basically any of the types of intervention and mitigation we are doing rely on having some accurate estimate of how widespread the disease is and how widespread deaths are from the disease. even estimates about how dangerous

the disease is in different groups. if we are undercounting residents who die in assisted living facilities or nursing homes relative to those who make it to hospitals, we could be strategically undercounting deaths of exactly those who are most likely to have negative outcomes that lead to death. so, everything from medical intervention to economic intervention can be wrong if we get this wrong. if it's possible to put this in a nutshell, and i apologise because it's a big question, how would you come to something that is closer to a true figure? i think the best tools we have at the moment really might be comparing the average mortality we have seen over the last few years at this time of year in the different places, and comparing that and using that to balance the reported cases we are seeing. professor fefferman, thank you so much. new zealand's prime minister, jacinda ardern, is to attend an emergency meeting of the australian cabinet on tuesday, where they will discuss relaxing travel restrictions. this would allow movement between australia and new zealand

without the current two—week quarantine. achieving zero cases two days in a row is a result of new zealanders demonstrating a level of commitment and discipline to our goal of winning the fight against covid—19 that we can all be undeniably proud of. at points doing lockdown, we d id exactly what we planned to do — break the chain of transmission. however, we know the virus can have a long tail, and that other cases can pop up. so, as we make our way through this week and head towards the level 3 review next week, my message remains — don't do anything that snatches our potential victory at this point. the composer of one of the most influential songs of the new wave, dave greenfield of the stranglers,

has died from the effects of covid—19. greenfield played keyboard with the band, which had success in the 1970s and ‘80s with over 20 hit singles and 17 albums. tim allman reports. ‘golden brown' by the stranglers plays melodic, timeless, just a little bit unusual. there aren't many pop songs about heroin that include a harpsichord solo. # golden brown, texture like sun # lays me down, with my might she runs... # it may have been controversial but golden brown was the stranglers' biggest hit and the music was composed by dave greenfield. it had initially been dismissed as a potential single but it went on to earn them an ivor novello award. announcing his death on their website, the band described how:

on social media, their former lead singer, hugh cornwell, said: # always the sun # there's always the sun... # dave greenfield was born in brighton on the south coast of england in 1949. he played in a number of different bands, including a prog rock group called rusty butler, before joining the stranglers in 1975. known for his distinctive sound and playing style, he would be an ever—present member, touring and performing almost until the day he died. # always the sun...# # always the sun... # dave greenfield was described as a kind, generous soul, a true innovator

and a musical legend. dave simpson is a music critic with the guardian. he last spoke to dave greenfield just a few weeks ago. it was about late february. we spoke about the making about a song of theirs called european female for the guardian european week and he was on good form, he was funny, looking forward to the tour they had, which was going to be the farewell tour this year, and it's been postponed already because of the virus, i don't know if it will now not go ahead at all. it's hard to imagine the stranglers without dave greenfield, i have to admit. how will he be remembered by you and by fans and other musicians? he was a very strange character to wind up in a punk band. he was a prog rocker with a moustache and long hair but hejoined a punk band and in that he gave

them musicality that no—one in the punk scene had, they were very different, and he made them last, really. he came up with the music for golden brown, their most famous hit. he was a massive part of that band and british music, really. and also famously the rest of the band didn't think much of it at first, did they? the story is, hugh cornwell and jean—jacques burnel, the two main songwriters, they were fed up of writing all the songs and they said to dave and jet black, the drummer, why don't you have a go, and they went to the pub, they did so and when they came back, dave and jet, because they were classical and jazz—minded, came up with this big six—part odyssey and they said we can't use this, this is rubbish, but buried in there was this melody of dave's which became golden brown. i don't think they particularly thought that much of it at the time, and it becomes the biggest hit

and probably their signature tune, really. as is often the way. from a guy who took inspiration from john of deep purple and rick wakeman of yes. i did a tiny bit of music writing and i had terror interviewing the stranglers because they had such a reputation, intimidating journalists for one, but no—one had a bad word to say about dave. i went for a curry with them about four years ago and i got out in one piece. it was quite disappointing, i expected to be on the train with no clothes on, or abandoned in a desert somewhere, but it was a lovely afternoon. we had a curry and lots of fun. i think the stranglers like a laugh basically and the enfant terrible attached to them often misses the sense of humour in a lot of what they did, like strapping journalists upside down to the eiffel tower. who wouldn't?

dave simpson, thank you so much, lovely to talk to you. that's it for now. thank you so much for watching. hello there. the highest temperature on monday was 20 celsius — that was in west wales. today it's going to be cooler across the board. but as the week goes on, so temperatures will rise once again, peaking on friday in the sunshine. for many parts of the country, our weather is dominated by that area of high pressure, keeping it dry and clear. the fly in the ointment — and it's a big fly — is this weatherfront here, bringing in wet and windy weather into the south—west. 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 50mph, even 55mph. those winds will ease down later on in the morning and through the afternoon, 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 orkney. 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. the headlines: world leaders have pledged more than $8 billion to fund research into vaccines and treatments for coronavirus. their statement says a common threat to humanity requires a concerted response. russia and the united states did not take part. around a0 countries and donors did join the online summit, hosted by the european union. 11.5 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. a statement on the band's social media said he'd had a prolonged stay in hospital being treated for a heart condition, but had died from covid—19. he wrote one of the band's most successful songs,