this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm lewis vaughan jones. 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. france is to begin lifting what's been one of harshest lockdowns in europe, bringing an end to two months of confinement. and, marking 75 years since world war ii 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 britain and globally. first, the leaders of the nations that make up the uk are all examining the next stages of plans to come out of the lockdown. borisjohnson has said that his government will advance with maximum caution as it considers changes to the current restrictions. 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. 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 demur from 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 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. 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. 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 not just 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. others 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. beth ann bovino is the chief us economist at the ratings agency standard and poor's, she joins me from new york. thank shejoins me from new york. you thank she joins me from new york. you for being with us how thank you for being with us. how bad is to get? it is going to get ugly stop jobs market, thejobs report to get ugly stop jobs market, the jobs report that is coming out of going to put the great recession in pale. we're looking at 26 million jobs lost in april. we expect to see hours worked to fall very far and that means morejobs being lost equivalently, and finally we expect the wage gains year over year to go down to levels not seen since 2013. we know

certain sectors, that is a very depressing picture you paint, by the way, but we know certain sectors are obviously hugely hit here, service sector. is there a hope that other sectors won't be as badly hit and will be able to rebound? it depends how long covid—19 will last. the assumption is that it will be contained sometime in the second quarter but that is a big if. right now we are seeing the service sector, we are expecting probably about 90% of thejobs expecting probably about 90% of the jobs lost will be in the service sector, but it is starting to spread. you are seeing it in manufacturing, even health. so i don't think anybody is immune from this disease. and what is your best guess as to how quickly things will rebound ? guess as to how quickly things will rebound? it is going to ta ke will rebound? it is going to take time. the us economy, a $22 trillion economy, it is not like turning on and off the light bulb. we think the process will be slower half of

the year, in fact we don't think the us economy will get back to economic levels seen in 2019 for at least two years and we don't expect the jobs market to recover to levels seen precrisis until 2023. and all that despite the fact that the government has allowed a lot of money into people's pockets and businesses pockets and a way that they didn't in 2000 eight? we applaud the government for moving quickly. they learn from the mistakes in the great recession and they got money out, they put a lifeline out to households, industries that we re households, industries that were going under, and they tried to put a link between workers and businesses, but i think more needs to be done. the economy is still struggling and we need more help from uncle sam. difficult, depressing times. thank you very much for your insight. 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'. stricter conditions will continue to apply there. our 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 the 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 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 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. there's been another big jump in the number of americans applying for unemployment benefits, with a further 3.2 million people filing claims this week. black men and women are nearly

twice as likely to die with coronavirus as white people in england and wales, that's according to the office for national statistics. the research also found an increased risk of death for people from bangladeshi, indian or mixed ethnicities. rianna croxford reports on what lies behind these figures. he was a very lovely man. he was very jolly and loved he was a very lovely man. he was veryjolly and loved life. he died in hospital last night. the 72—year—old came to the uk from ghana and was described by his daughter is a loving and caring father who always put others before himself. it felt like for a long time it was not real. like it was a dream and i would wake up at any moment and iam going would wake up at any moment and i am going to realise it was all a i am going to realise it was alla dream. i am going to realise it was all a dream. it is said coronavirus does not discriminate but data released today shows the disease and not affect everyone equally. richard was more likely to die

because of his ethnicity. after stripping out age, sex and geography, compared to white people in england and wales, black people white 90% more likely to die than white people. pakistani at around 60%. but there are limits. the censusis 60%. but there are limits. the census is now ten years old and may not accurately reflect the current population and because ethnicity is not been recorded on death certificates, there may also be gaps and how it has been recorded. research has shown black and asian people are more likely to be key workers in industries like healthcare, where workers in industries like healthca re, where many frontline workers have died. the rub sister inequalities across a range of areas and

that includes health, housing, education, employment, criminal justice and these buildup, catered picture. —— a complicated picture. we're going to be guided by the evidence. we have updated evidence. we have updated evidence from stage and further evidence from stage and further evidence is coming through and we have to take those decision at the right moment in time. —— sage. it doesn't make me very worried. we have not been outside. even my nine—year—old child, i can just outside. even my nine—year—old child, i canjust about outside. even my nine—year—old child, i can just about getting into the garden, he is so afraid at the moment. findings are expected at the end of this month and richards family hope a nswe rs month and richards family hope answers will come soon. rianna croxford, bbc news. there is still much unknown about covid—19, but what is clear is that more men are dying from it than women. in fact figures from around the world, in countries which separate out deaths of men and women,

show that men could be twice as likely to die than women. studying this is professor sabra klein, from the johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health, and she joins us from baltimore. thank you for being with us. what is going on here? why this stark difference between men and women? stark is a beautiful word to use. it is a shocking difference. in fact, the countries you noted that our this aggregating and comparing data between men and women, 87% of those countries are reporting that men are at least twice as likely to die from covid—19 as compared with women. they could be a multitude of fact is. we are still in the midst of this pandemic and we're trying to better understand causes of this but as one person starting this, iam this but as one person starting this, i am trying to better

understand how our immune system may differ between men and women. generally speaking, women tend to have greater immunity than men. we tend to fight infection faster than do men and trying to understand how our hormones, like a stridgeon and maybe some of the genes that encode for these immunological proteins could va ry immunological proteins could vary between men and women and give us clues and maybe targets for treatment. that is interesting. what kind of process do you have to go through and when will you kind of have any answers? we know other factors could be of have any answers? we know otherfactors could be in place, lifestyles and things like that. but if you're focusing on that gene, the immune response being different, when will be no an answer? our hope is to know something by summer. these studies have have started and

we're looking at types of immunity we mount when our immune system initially sees a virus and mount that protective response. it is probably going to be by summer that we should have some clues as to how the immune systems are different. on the other potential options, lifestyles, men tend to be unhealthier. is that a realistic option here or you're not at that? no, absolutely, i think our biology into sex without behaviour and even some of the underlying illnesses that we may have could contribute to this so you brought up about men and that lifestyle, absolutely, there is a lot of discussion in the news about smoking, hand washing but i also think that health seeking behaviours, men are

significantly less likely to seek out healthcare when they get sick so one reminder to your listeners is it is very important to seek out healthcare professionals when any of us begin feeling sick. heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, can all be greater in men and could be contributing to these differences that we are seeing, not only between men and women but some of the racial disparities that you had earlier as well. fascinating stuff. we await those results over the summer. thank you so much for being with us, professor sa bra much for being with us, professor sabra klein. thank you. friday is the 75th anniversary of victory in europe day, the moment world war ii 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. archive: 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. reporter: 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.

a breathtaking full flower moon has made a stunning appearance over europe's largest city, istanbul, in turkey. 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. beautiful. i am beautiful. iam back beautiful. i am back to the main story and i want to point you to our website. and you can find all the latest informing on covid—19 and how the pandemic is being handled around the world, on our website. among the useful information is this article by our visual and data journalism team mapping the outbreak globally and providing useful data, such as a timelapse of the rise in confirmed cases. simply head to bbc.com/news you can always get me online.

i'm @lewisvaughanjones. this is bbc news. goodbye. 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 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 idetinfying as homeless have also reached record levels. the french government has announced more details of how it will ease one of 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. passengers on public transport will have to wear a mask.