this is bbc news — i'm tim willcox — with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. british ministers insist plans to ease the lockdown will be "modest" and closely monitored — the prime minister will outline the changes on sunday. jobless and homeless. with 33 million americans now unemployed, new york's subway is a haunting symbol of the pandemic‘s impact. they are trying to figure how to make ends meet, so part of how they are doing that is to stand on this line at the mission, pick up a to go meal, and make ends meet that way. france is to begin lifting what's been one of harshest lockdowns in europe bringing an end to two months of confinement. the british economy is heading towards its deepest ever recession — a stark warning from the bank of england about

the effect of the pandemic. and — marking 75 years since world war two ended in europe — but there'll be no crowds on the streets to celebrate the anniversary. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in the uk and globally. welcome to bbc news. first — the leaders of the uk nations are all looking at what comes next in plans to come out of a lockdown. the prime minister has said that the government will "advance with maximum caution" as it considers changes to the current restrictions. and in the us 3.2 million people filed claims for unemployement benefits this

week. more than 33 million americans have now lost theirjobs over the last seven weeks. the french government has published a map on how it will proceed. most businesses in the green areas will be allowed to open and people can leave their homes without a permit. those are the main developments — we begin this report from our political editor laura kuenssberg on plans for the uk. peering into the new normal, a restaurant ready for a day of deliveries instead of prepping for a busy thursday night. the prime minister's stay at home message is on the way out, but there won't be customers at these chairs and tables soon. we've had to shut down 15 restaurants. so it's had a massive impact on us. as of yesterday, we've opened three restaurants to just do takeaway. it's a massive learning curve. we are extremely worried, but we're just trying to keep positive.

but with the economy turning so negative, we've had glimpses of downing street's plan to start easing some restrictions very gradually from monday. the government's keen to move on because cases have been falling and the crucial infection rates, the r number, is under one, the level where it could spread out of control. the r level which signifies the rate of infection is now between 0.5 and 0.9. the virus is not beaten yet. it remains deadly and infectious. until now, westminster and the other national governments have been more or less in step. but listen to the first minister of scotland, plainly unhappy at the way number ten might plan to move. i particularly strongly believe that for us to drop the clear, well understood stay at home message right now could be a potentially catastrophic mistake. it's not an exaggeration to say that the decisions we take now are a matter of life and death.

you stood there at that same lectern time after time and said that it would be wrong to talk about lifting any kind of restrictions because you might give people the wrong impression. yet isn't that exactly what the government risks doing now? there is no change in the rules today. what the prime minister will do is set out on sunday a road map that can look to the future and explain what steps will be taken at what moment in time and critically, the evidence that will back it up. but how certain can the path be ahead when the rate of infection could be going up because of what's happening in care homes? the number has probably gone up a bit from his last estimates and that is driven by the epidemic in care homes, he would say. and i would not demurfrom that. downing street's promised to keep the opposition in the loop. they want precision

on what's going on. there needs to be absolute clarity that we must all follow the rules until lockdown is lifted. it doesn't mean we can't discuss what comes next, but we have to follow those rules. no surprise that there's tension. governments face the hardest of decisions, none as fraught as when schools should welcome more than just the kids of key workers. maybe as soon as next month in england, but later elsewhere. we normally would be able to accommodate about 30 students. we'll be splitting classes into about 15. this london secondary normally rings with the sound of 1,200 pupils. one student at that desk. does that represent two metres? now buying disinfectant, dividing up classrooms just as important as double maths. some parents won't to have confidence in sending their children in, and i think it's incumbent on us to do what we can, all school leaders, to make sure that the environment is as safe and secure as it possibly can be. if only the changes to our

lives would be as simple as bikes instead of footballs in a playground. coronavirus makes strange and uncertain the shape of things to come. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. just two months ago, thejobless rate in the united states was at a 50 year low. but that was before the coronavirus pandemic ripped through the nation's economy. last week three million more people applied for unemployment benefits. that means more than 33 million americans have lost theirjobs over the last seven weeks. nick bryant, who's in new york, has spent the night on the city's subway — a refuge for the poor and the vulnerable. midnight on the new york subway, and many of the city's homeless are bedding down for the night aboard its empty carriages. by day, the subway has become a virtual ghost train. by night, it's become a mobile shelter. in the first five carriages we went in, we found people in search of refuge and sleep.

many are newly unemployed. some of them labourers who rent rooms by the week, unable now to pay their landlords. the covid dispossessed. a lot of homeless people are afraid to go to the shelters because there are so many people there in such confined spaces. they're worried about catching the coronavirus. instead, they're taking their chances on the subway. the subway could hardly be described as safe. more than 100 members of staff on new york's mass transit system have been killed by the coronavirus. this week, new york did something it's never done before — conducted a planned overnight shutdown of a subway system that's always operated around the clock. the aim is to disinfect the carriages, and so the nypd has been evicting the homeless.

do you know they're closing the subway tonight? we're going to be asking you to get off the train. charity workers and city officials were on hand to offer help and shelter. but this woman had no idea where in the city she was. where are you staying tonight? do you have a shelter? the confusion and anxiety written across her face. the destitute have been amongst new york's most vulnerable. over the weekend, two homeless people were found dead on the subway. homeless people right now in new york city have a 50% higher mortality rate from covid—19 than do housed new yorkers, so by not offering people something as simple as a hotel room where they can go and be safe and self—isolate, we're really relegating them to die. it can feel like we're living in another time of buddy can you spare me a dime? and just as the face mask has become the global symbol of this viral contagion, queues have become the marker of this economic catastrophe.

here, the wait was for lunch at a shelter in lower manhattan. but it's notjust the homeless any more who are hungry. it's the newly jobless, as well. i have spoken with folks on this line who, at the beginning of march, were employed and now they're unemployed. they're trying to figure out how to make ends meet. part of how they're doing that is to stand on this line at the bowery mission, pick up a to—go meal and make ends meet that way. back on the subway, the woman we saw turned down the offer of emergency shelter and took the last train back into manhattan. 0thers headed out into the night. poverty has been a propagator of this pandemic, hardship has been a super—spreader. and for many, the phrase that best describes new york's life abundant, the city that never sleeps, must now sound like a taunt. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. countries across europe

are starting to take steps to get out of lockdowns —france will begin reopening from monday — that brings to an end two months of confinement. the country will be divided into red and green zones; the capital, paris and it's surrounding areas, where infection rates are still too high — will be classified as part of a @red zone@, and in fact will be classified as part of a "red zone", and in fact stricter conditions will continue to apply there. the french prime minister called the plan "a progressive unwinding" of the lockdown. translation: in light of the data from our health services gathered over the last few days, the gradual lifting of the lockdown can commence from next monday 11th may. it's a new stage in the fight against the epidemic. it's good news for france and the french people. from monday, we will introduce a highly progressive process, lasting for several weeks at least, which will allow the country to exit smoothly and with certainty from the lockdown which we have experienced along with large parts of the world since

march 17th. 0ur paris correspondent, lucy williamson, has more on the announcement. here in paris and the regions of the north, south and east, it's going to be red. that's where the viruses circulating. it's where the hospitals have seen more than 80% of their intensive care beds filled with coronavirus patients. now, on monday, when the lockdown starts to lift, you won't see many big differences between the two zones. primary schools and shops will open across the country, or at least they will start to, and people will be able to move freely up to 60 miles from their homes. but it's over the next few weeks that divisions could start to appear. you've got middle schools opening in the green zones only, and possibly in a few weeks' time, even cafes, bars and restaurants. the prime minister said he didn't want to think about a two speed france, but it could be, depending on what happens in the next few weeks that that is where this plan is heading.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we have a special report marking 75 years since the second world war ended in europe. i, nelson mandela, do hereby serve the faithful the republic of south africa. after after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president. the tunnel is still not 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 four 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 news, the latest headlines british ministers insist plans to ease the lockdown will be ‘modest‘ and closely monitored — the prime minister is due to outline the changes on sunday. with 33 million americans unemployed — the jobless and homeless of new york's subway provide a haunting symbol of the pandemic‘s impact. 0n the us economy, i have been speaking to a professor, former senior labour economist for the white house as counsel of

economic advisers, and i asked him about the increasing number of jobless him about the increasing number ofjobless in him about the increasing number of jobless in the him about the increasing number ofjobless in the united states, and the fact that according to one pole in the washington post, 77% of workers thought that they would return to those same jobs within a few months. i asked to those same jobs within a few months. iasked him, was to those same jobs within a few months. i asked him, was that overly optimistic? it's optimistic, i hope it works out. the speed in which we can confront this public health challenge and get widescale testing capacity up, contact tracing, all of the public health resources that we need to make sure that people can work safely. that's what's going to make the difference, and that's what's going to govern the speed in the recovery and the time of recovery. but congress has already passed four large pay—out bills. realistically, what's more can be done? so there is a lot more.

one thing is, those bills that they passed were time—limited. a lot of the components were, or money limited, and you know, it's starting to run out. we really need to support families, and we need to support small businesses that don't have deep access to credit markets, so that they can bridge through this time when the income is down, and you know, it's not anyone‘s fault that this is happening. everyone would like to be working and productive. talk us through that. does that mean more helicopter cash, as it's known, 1200 bucks being delivered to families, because a lot of people, 1200 bucks isn't going to go very far, is it? no. look, we are requiring people to pull back from their usual activity because there is a real public health threat, and we need to make sure that people can survive through this, and that families can come out of this on the other side with their health intact, and their financial lives intact.

the bank of england has described the impact of coronavirus as "unprecedented" — and warned that the uk faces its sharpest recession in more than three centuries. modelling used by the bank found that if the lockdown was lifted injune there would be a 14—percent drop in gdp. here's 0ur economics editor, faisal islam. at east midlands airport there may be no passenger planes right now, but cargo carries on. the pandemic means new patterns in the goods being traded back and forth as the world's major economies face recession. coronavirus per se hasn't taken shipments out of our network, but the quarantine and lockdown and people working at home and factories being closed has. i can't predict the future but what i would say is that business heals. and it will have to be resilient, the bank of england today sketching out that the pandemic and the shutdown have plunged the uk economy into the sharpest

downturn in history, a far worse start to a recession than the financial crisis over a decade ago, than any recession ever, but with the hope of a rapid rebound. morning, governor. so quite different in shape to that last recession says the governor of the bank of england. i think it is unprecedented in the history of this institution. i would say it's different in two respects. it's a much sharper downturn, so the initialfall is much more because the economy literally went into shutdown very quickly. the recovery is actually much faster because we believe that with the right measures in place on the public health side, and the fact that it is supported by the very sensible things that the government has done, that economic activity can resume much more quickly. given the uncertainty, this is not a formal forecast, there may be more than a glint of optimism here. never in the history of this institution have we seen it anticipate a recession quite so sharp. the hope is that the rebound

will be almost as sharp into next year, but that is as much a matter for doctors and politicians as economists. but despite the economic damage, there is no pressure here for instantaneous lifting of the lockdown. a second wave of the pandemic would notjust be deadly, it would imperil the much hoped for economic rebound. a recession this sharp hits workers hard. there are not much job opportunities at the moment. jamalfrom hertfordshire just one example of how tough it is to find a job after losing his at an online retailer. i've been applying to pretty much anywhere, anywhere that i qualify for. salary, doesn't really matter. previously my wage wasn't too bad, but i've been applying for minimum wage jobs. indeed, the bank of england sees unemployment more than doubling, up 1.5 million, rates not seen since the mid—1990s, and taking two years to then fall back. people at home, they see that

chart, it looks quite scary. the chart reflects the reality that we have been in now since march. where i think they should be reassured is that i can tell you that both the government and the bank of england have put in place a very big package of measures and we will go on utterly focused on that. the wheels of the world economy are still turning, but they happen to be turning more slowly than we've seen in our lifetimes as a result of this pandemic crisis. the question is whether some of the changes we are seeing will last far longer, perhaps be permanent. it may yet take some time for the economy to get to this new normal. a former aide tojoe biden who has accused him of sexual assault 27 years ago, has called on the former vice president to withdraw from the presidential race.

joe biden has flatly denied the allegation made by tara reade. ms reade was speaking to the us journalist megyn kelly. i want to say — you and i were there, joe biden. please step forward and be held accountable. you should not be running on character for the president of the united states. you want him to withdraw? i wish he would, but he won't. staying in the united states... the government in the indian state of andhra pradesh has threatened to launch criminal proceedings against a south korean chemical company after a disastrous gas leak from its local factory. —— not staying in america there, heading to india. at least eleven people died and hundreds have received hospital treatment. the number of people to have died from coronavirus in sweden has risen above 3,000. the country has allowed bars and restaurants to remain open during the outbreak,

but its mortality rate remains lower than other countries like the uk, france, spain and italy —— where strict lockdowns have been enforced. germany's bundesliga has confirmed it will resume matches on the 16th of may. it's the first of the major european football leagues to start again, after suspending games during the pandemic. officials say there will be strict health measures in place — and spectators will not be allowed in the stadiums, at least for the time being. friday is the 75th anniversary of victory in europe day — today— the moment world war two ended on the continent. it was supposed to be a day of church services, veteran march—pasts and street parties. but it all had to be cancelled because of the pandemic. our special correspondent, allan little, looks back on a day that marked a real turning point for the uk. today is victory in europe day.

we may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing. for 75 years, looking back at this moment has been, for subsequent generations, an act of remembrance and of homage. the country honours the shared sacrifice of those who lived through it. report: the great news rang through the land. for britain had in the beginning stood alone in the darkness of a defeated europe. no wonder they now rejoiced. joy hunter was in the crowd that day. i think it was just hysteria, really. people probably didn't quite know how to behave, it had been so tight and suddenly it was over, and what did over mean? in fact, over meant a lot of hardship. but the britain that now emerged had been changed by the experience. the state had mobilised the entire population to the war effort. the government would now assume vast new powers in peacetime too. report: a spate of british railway building astonished the world. much of the economy was taken

into public ownership — the railways, the coal mines, iron and steel. a new welfare state and national health service would bring state provision into every home in the country. there would be no going back to the old normal of the 1930s, for war had created a new public mood. to a remarkable degree, and one that is not perhaps always present now, that includes people who think that they'll be worse off under this post—war settlement. quite a large proportion of middle—class people who weren't going to benefit necessarily from it said that they still thought this was a good idea, something that ought to be done for other people. so i think that's part of that wartime mood, the recognition that the nation state owes something to everybody, particularly the least fortunate members of society. britain, though, had not stood entirely alone. it had its huge overseas

empire at its back. these pictures are also from ve day. could they have known as they rejoiced that an exhausted britain would soon lose its empire? for leadership of the western world now crossed the atlantic. britain would no longer be the pre—eminent global power. by 1960, the economy of the usa was producing nearly half the worth of the entire world. the post—war world would be shaped by american power. we are living in the midst of many great events. ve day still sits prominently in our collective memory, and we go on remembering it and paying homage to that generation, notjust for the war they fought, but for the peace they built when the fighting stopped. allan little, bbc news. of 0fa of a very different celebration because of the pandemic, but there will be coverage on bbc

news, including an address from the queen, we are expecting that tomorrow evening. 75 years after her father gave that address to celebrate victory in europe day. a breathtaking full "flower" moon has made a stunning appearance over europe's largest city — istanbul in turkey. look at this. absolutely wonderful. the celestial spectacle is the last supermoon of 2020 and is named the ‘flower moon‘ as it coincides with springtime blossom. the next one is scheduled for april next year. a supermoon occurs when the moon's orbit is closest to earth making it appear larger than life. look how fantastic. that's all it for me. plenty more information on all of the

covid—19 stories come all the latest developments in europe and indeed, the jobless latest developments in europe and indeed, thejobless figures on the website at our website. hello there. friday marks the 75th anniversary of ve day and it's going to be another very warm and a sunny day across much of the country. the sunshine a little bit hazy at times. and into the afternoon, the high temperatures could spark off a few heavy, maybe thundery, showers pretty much anywhere. now, the pressure chart reveals high—pressure dominating the scene through friday. we've got this weather front pushing in to the north of scotland. that'll introduce more cloud here with showery bursts of rain throughout the day. we'll also start the day with some showery bursts of rain across southwest england. it's moving northwards and tending to ease down, but it will be rather grey to start across irish sea coasts. most of that cloud should run back to the coast. most places across the country should be dry with sunny spells, but a few heavy, thundery downpours developing into the afternoon. temperatures range from 18 to 2a degrees across the south. these temperatures more

like july than may. now, the showers and thunderstorms continue to rumble on into the evening, and then it will tend to fizzle out. it should be dry for most areas but more low cloud returning across irish sea coasts and it stays quite wet across the far north of scotland. but a milder night to come for many of us. into saturday, this is when we start to see some changes. that cold front begins to move southwards across northern scotland, but further south, you notice the orange and yellow colours still in abundance. so, another warm day, in fact, for many of us on saturday. again, in response to the high temperatures into the afternoon, we could see some showers or thunderstorms developing. it will be turning windier and colder across the north of scotland with outbreaks of rain. so, a big temperature difference on saturday — 7 to 10 degrees in the north of scotland, 18 to 2a or 25 further south. but the cold air wins out saturday night into sunday. that arctic plunge spreads south across the country, with a band of cloud, a few showery bursts of rain on it, which will eventually clear southwards. and then it's a brighter afternoon, but much colder, with a very brisk, cold north—northeasterly wind. that's blowing a few

wintry showers, in fact, into the north and east of scotland. and look at these values. we've been experiencing temperatures closer to what we'd expect injuly. these are more like march temperatures. factor in the wind, it'll feel even colder than that. and farmers and gardeners, beware. some will see a widespread frost in places through sunday night. stays chilly as well into the start of next week with chilly nights, but then temperatures start to return to normal as we move deeper on into the week. and with high—pressure nearby, it's going to stay bright and dry.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has said the government will proceed with "maximum caution" when coronavirus restrictions are eased. boris johnson is due to announce his plans for england in a speech on sunday. ministers have insisted any short—term changes to lockdown measures will be "modest". there's been another big jump in the number of americans applying for unemployment benefits, as the us grapples with how to emerge from the coronavirus lockdown. a further 3.2 million people filed claims this week. the numbers identifying as homeless have also reached record levels. the french government has announced more details of how it will ease one of the harshest lockdowns in europe. authorities have issued a colour—coded map of the country, outlining areas that can lift their restrictions depending on the rate of infection.

that is it from