as elizabeth recalled in a broadcast in 1985, reissued today by the palace. we cheered the king and queen on the balcony and then walked miles through the streets. i remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief. the contrast between the crowded streets of may, 1945, and those same streets today is striking. yet, 75 years after the end of the second world war, a nation in lockdown looked beyond its present challenges to give thanks. nicholas witchell, bbc news. victoria howard is a royal historian. shejoins me now. we havejust watched the queen pass a message, she linked ve day with today's

pandemic, saying at the end, i say with pride we are still a nation, the brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognise and admire. yes, andi airmen would recognise and admire. yes, and i think there has definitely been a link comparing this pandemic with the second world war which seems to have resonated with the british people, that it is a struggle that we don't know how this will end, but that is something the queen was good at, finding that message, the message of unity particularly as a non—political figure to try and bring a bit of a morale boost to her people. and of course, she is herself a veteran of world war ii. yes, exactly. in 1944, shejoined the ats world war ii. yes, exactly. in 1944, she joined the ats at 18 and trained asa she joined the ats at 18 and trained as a mechanic and she learned to drive trucks and ambulances and that is something she is very proud of. she is the only head of state we now have in the world to have served in the second world war. so it really does mean something for her to talk to her see men, to think of this

historic event and commemorate it in an importantand historic event and commemorate it in an important and special way. what stood out to you in her speech?” think very much the setup and the reference to george vi her father. there were two photos in that video, one was of her father george the six one was of her father george the six on her desk, behind her was the royalfamily on on her desk, behind her was the royal family on the balcony with church hill on ve day waving at the crowds showing in the celebrations. this is also think the monarchy does, drawing on those traditions, reminding them of the continuity and security of the royal family can bring. it began with the words of george and six and we heard the queen reference them and talk about her own foray into the london crowd that night. there is a great paradox here, the queen is not physically able to get out and about around the country, but we are hearing from her more than we ever do. yes, that is

very true and it shows the emphasis that the government is placing on the queen as this uniting figure and also the involvement of the queen wa nts to also the involvement of the queen wants to have in such a national crisis, essentially. that is where the royals come into their own, the driving figure of unity that rallies people in a way politicians just can't. so i think this is very deliberate, it is the queen showing the message of security that we can get through this because people trust what she says. victoria howard, thank you so much. 20.5 million americans lost theirjob last month, as the coronavirus pandemic paralysed the economy. the us unemployment rate for april soared to i4.7%, the highest since the great depression. and the true economic damage may be even worse, as the numbers don't include workers whose hours have been cut or those unable to look for work because of stay—at—home orders.

the monthlyjob figures — shown here since the 2008 crash — showjust how quickly the us labour market has collapsed. in the space ofjust a few weeks, the economy has shed more jobs than were lost in the whole of the last recession. let's speak now to samira hussain, our business correspondent, in new york. we are looking at comparisons which go back to the great depression in the 1930s, that really means in practical terms almost nobody alive has any experience or memory ofjust how bad this is. indeed, but remember that what makes this really different than any other massive amount of job losses different than any other massive amount ofjob losses we have ever seen is the speed with which all of these jobs were lost. remember that just two months ago, the unemployment rate in the united states was 3.5%, that is a 50 year low. and fast forward two months and now we are seeing the unemployment rate is i4.7%. and the real sort of

number actually is what you alluded to, infact number actually is what you alluded to, in fact it is not taking into account people working less hours that are not even looking for a job any more, if you take into account those number of people, the unemployment rate is more like 20%. it looks like the graphs in some ways simply cannot cope, you almost think it is a computer glitch the way the line sort of skyrockets downwards or upwards. what kind of steps have been taken by the government to try to get this back to if not normal, and survivable? well, the government has put through all kinds of massive spending measures to try and help the american people to weather the storm. i think you need to look at specifically the jobs or the sector is being impacted. across the board, every single sector in the american economy is experiencing job losses, but by far the biggest losses are being experienced by people in the services sector. in hospitality, in

leisure. we saw 7.7 million people have lost their job leisure. we saw 7.7 million people have lost theirjob in that small sector itself. that represents 27%. a massive amount. a lot of people believe that if you reopen the economy, these jobs could potentially come back quite quickly because we are talking about bars and because we are talking about bars a nd restau ra nts because we are talking about bars and restaurants and retail stores, the trouble is that it is showing that perhaps we might be starting to see otherjob that perhaps we might be starting to see other job losses that perhaps we might be starting to see otherjob losses in other sectors and if that happens, we probably will see a much longer recovery. is there pressure from some states to open up regardless of the state of the pandemic? absolutely, there are certainly many states in the united states engaged in different levels of reopening the economy. some are doing so faster than us and there is a lot of worry from health experts that this is perhaps happening too fast and most crucially, it could spare a second wave of this pandemic. and if a second wave were to happen, that

would be even more dramatic and even more catastrophic for the american economy. thank you so much. spain is slowly starting to open up, after one of the tightest lockdowns in europe. people can now leave their homes to exercise outdoors, and small businesses have been allowed to serve customers again. but there are still strict rules — including compulsory use of masks on public transport, hygiene procedures in shops, and social distancing. there are concerns that some are not following the regulations, increasing the risk of infection. 0ur europe correspondent, damian grammaticas, reports from madrid. this is a country cranking into motion again, but cautiously, keeping their distance. rush—hour without the rush, and everyone is masked. it's compulsory now on public transport, even while stations are mostly empty. translation: today is the first day i leave home and i go to work. iam afraid. you don't know what might happen. you may catch the virus.

masks are handed out to anyone who doesn't have them. marilyn isn't taking any chances. translation: this is really uncomfortable. you can't breathe easily but, for my protection, i need it. most people in spain are still confined inside their houses, so this limited opening brings risks. among them — that as people come out, they'll start to behave in a way that enables the virus to begin to spread again. cheering a street party on the first day the lockdown was lifted was exactly what the authorities feared. laughter those who took part are being fined 1,000 euros each. so, police move people on. and as businesses open, distancing is enforced rigorously, with safety tape and screens. 0r visors and limits. 0ne customer in the shop at a time.

a first visit to the hairdresser means a friendly greeting, but feet must be disinfected... hands cleaned, and more gloves and masks. all by government order. this is a high—risk place. translation: risk? yes, there is. until we have a vaccine, everybody is at risk. i hope for the best. then the place is swabbed down, before a new customer is allowed in. but getting people to maintain a safe separation is a problem. as the rules relax, the numbers outside are growing and not everyone keeps their distance. not all the people is very aware of what the situation is. and i think they don't really respect the rules, the basic rules, that we should have.

i mean, there's a lot of people but, yeah, we've tried to keep it... as safe as possible. yeah, as safe as possible, yes. so, underneath the surface, there's real nervousness. even as spain starts to relax and embrace its new—found freedoms. the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, is urging people to stay home this bank holiday weekend and has said it would be catastrophic to lift the lockdown too soon. the prime minister is going to make a statement on sunday night outlining how he sees the lockdown easing over the coming weeks, but downing street has tried to dampen expectations of any great changes. 0ur political correspondent, ben wright, reports. a sunny may bank holiday doesn't normally look like this. but, of course, these are not normal times and the lockdown restrictions are being continued in all four nations of the uk. on sunday, the prime minister will map out how the country might gradually ease out of its confinement but, today, number ten said any

new measures would be very limited. today, the welsh government has announced some modest changes to their lockdown rules, before the prime minister speaks on sunday. can we expect those measures to be mirrored in england, and what can you, as the uk government, do to ensure the public receive a very clear message? we have to be realistic that there isn't going to be any dramatic overnight change. we will be very, very cautious as we loosen the restrictions we have, as the data that we're outlining on a daily basis shows we are not out of the woods. there are still major challenges with this virus. but the government's been accused of allowing mixed messages to develop, after borisjohnson told the commons on wednesday some rules could change from next week. we'll want, if we possibly can, to get going with some of these measures on monday. there followed newspaper headlines suggesting a more significant loosening of the rules. we do know number ten plans to scrap the stay—at—home slogan after this weekend, but it's now clear any

changes will be small. the four nations of the uk can set their own rules, but have so far largely moved in lockstep. that may be beginning to change. i, with the first ministers of wales and northern ireland, spoke to the prime minister. there was, ithink, a helpful recognition in that call that the four uk nations may well move at different speeds if our data about the spread of the virus says that that is necessary to suppress it. scotland's first minister said she might consider a minor rule change around exercise, and similar adjustments are being pondered in northern ireland. i would put going out more for exercise in the open air as a nuanced change, rather than a fundamental change. so, i think those things can be looked at during the three weeks. social distancing is set to last for a long time yet, as politicians across the uk try

and balance the need to restore some sort of normality to our home and working lives, without triggering a second big wave of the virus. ben wright, bbc news. and ben explained whether the four nations of the uk will remain aligned in their lockdown measures. they are responsible for the unlock turn restrictions and rules, yes. the general direction set by the uk government, that is what boris johnson is trying to do. nicola sturgeon in scotland and mark dra keford sturgeon in scotland and mark drakeford in wales have talked about wanting a harmonious uk wide approach, but four years in the uk, we have had significant devolution of powers. to the constituent nations of the united kingdom. in scotland, they have control over their own education system, healthcare system, housing, some financial measures. and even though so farduring financial measures. and even though so far during this lockdown, we have seen almost complete alignment between the nations of the uk, i think you are beginning to see the potential at least for that to start to soften a bit. as the leaders of

scotland, wales and northern ireland look at their own transmission rates of this virus and work out, what is in ourown of this virus and work out, what is in our own best interests here? i think there was a lot of concern, particularly in scotland a few days ago when they looked at the british press previewing what looked like a significant relaxing of rules when the prime minister makes his announcement on sunday, that is not going to happen now by all accounts. it is clear any changes will be very modest, in—line, i imagine, with the sort of things we heard from mark dra keford sort of things we heard from mark drakeford today, sort of things we heard from mark dra keford today, a sort of things we heard from mark drakeford today, a bit more exercise, recycling centres open, labour is possibly open, garden centres. things like this. they will try as much as possible to keep the four nations are aligned, i think. a father and son have been arrested and charged in the us state of georgia for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man. gregory mcmichael and travis mcmichael were detained on thursday

by the state bureau of investigation. both were charged with murder and aggravated assault. ahmaud arbery had beenjogging in february when he was confronted by the pair. for more than two months, police did not charge the mcmichaels. but in the last few days, a video appearing to show the killing emerged has been widely circulated and caused outrage over the failure of the police to take action against the two men. the georgia bureau of investigation said both men had been taken into custody shortly after their agents became involved. ican i can tell you that based on our involvement in this case, considering that we hit the ground running wednesday morning and within 36 hours, we secured warrants for two individuals for felony murder, 36 hours, we secured warrants for two individuals forfelony murder, i think that speaks volumes for itself in that the probable course create our agents quickly. we realise emotions ran high here for a period of time and they still are to a great extend, we understand that and we respect that. events have been taking out through the day to mark ve day. silence was

held to mark the moment britain and its allies can accepted the surrender of germany. the queen said, we are still a nation that those brave soldiers would recognise and admire. you are watching bbc news. hello, time to check on the weather. friday was a good day, showers lurking, but a bright and warm day. a few showers lurking around here and there, but, on the whole, a bright and warm day. and saturday is looking every bit as warm, in fact a degree or so higher, i think the temperatures will be across some south—eastern areas. and that's because the weather has been coming in from the south, but the skies have been hazy at times. now all eyes to the very far north. you can see this line of cloud here. it doesn't look very dramatic on the satellite picture, but this is a very significant weather front. it's a cold front and, behind it, we've got air coming all the way

from the arctic and what we're basically going to see over the next couple of days or so is this cold air plunging in from the north and reaching southern parts of the uk. so those temperatures are expected to drop dramatically through the course of sunday right across the country. but that's still to come. we've still got a pretty warm day on the way on saturday and this is what it looks like on saturday before that cold air arrives. so temperatures early in the morning around 10 degrees, 7 in the north, and this to the north of scotland is the beginning of that cold front. you can see behind it the winds are blowing out of the north, screaming northerlies, quite strong winds as well. this means cloud and rain for northern scotland, a real chill in the air, the possibility of snow across the mountains. and only 10 in stornoway, but not far off 20 degrees there in southern parts of scotland and the mid—20s in the south. so, that was saturday afternoon. saturday night into sunday, that cold air arrives and you can see it oozing down across the country through the course of sunday. so, for some of us, sunday is going to be cloudy. there will be a little bit of rain

brought by this cold front, but the most significant thing is going to be that cold wind blowing out of the north. wintry showers across the hills in scotland. a real wind—chill in the air on the north sea coast, screaming gusty winds in the south—east. could be gusts of around 40mph or so, and with that big temperature drop, you really will feel the chill, particularly in the shade. and on top of that, sunday night into monday, an air frost will develop across the north of the country and a ground frost across the south. so, gardeners, as we often say, beware. now, the forecast for monday still suggests some pretty strong winds across the north sea coasts there around east anglia and the south—east. the temperatures will only be around 12 degrees in london, single figures there on the north sea coast, but still a little bit milder there in the south—west, around 13 or so. and then for the rest of the week, we're anticipating high pressure to anchor itself across the uk. the winds are actually going to fall light through the course of... or lighter, compared to the weekend and monday.

so, that will allow the air to warm up a little bit. so, once those winds off the north sea and out of the north ease, we'll start to see those temperatures rising a little bit. you can see london back up to round about 16 by the time we get to the end of the week. so, a real chill in the air, i think, for sunday, monday, tuesday as well. but then beyond that, thursday, friday and into the following weekend, we can see that high pressure's with us and we'll see those weather conditions settling down. those winds continuing to ease and it'll turn just that little bit warmer. so here's the summary — just like yesterday, it's going to be colder from sunday, there is an air frost on the way, particularly across the northern half of the uk, and then we've got a relatively cool week ahead. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: 75 years after she appeared on the palace balcony — with her father the king to signal victory in europe — the queen acknowledges the unavoidable absence of similar scenes at this time. today, it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish. instead we mark this from our doorsteps. at our streets are not empty. they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other. president trump lays a wreath

at the war memorial in washington and isjoined by several veterans.