this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. borisjohnson is to announce a shift in message on coronavirus later — with a new warning system and a roadmap for easing the lockdown in england. he's also set to unveil a new slogan for england — telling the public to "stay alert". a government minister explains the new advice. staying at home will remain an absolutely essential element of that strategy. but it will broaden out. and we'll encourage people to stay alert when they are going about their business. it comes as parts of germany get back to business — some bars and restaurants opened this weekend, more will do so on monday. president trump's handling of the pandemic is called a chaotic disaster by his predecessor barack

obama. and, the photographs that show facemasks can never take away your smile. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. first — the uk government is preparing to change its message on coronavirus, advising the public to "stay alert" rather than to "stay home". borisjohnson will make a televised address to the nation this evening, in which he will outline a roadmap towards easing lockdown restrictions in england. he's expected to announce the creation of a coronavirus alert system, similar to the one used to describe the terror threat.

in other developments... some bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen in germany this weekend, with a further easing of restrictions set for monday. in the us the former president barack obama has strongly criticised donald trump's response to the pandemic, calling it an absolute chaotic disaster. it comes as the confirmed number of covid—19 cases worldwide passes 4 million, according tojohns hopkins university — the actual number is thought to be far higher. more on all of those stories coming up — but first this report from andy moore. as the sun shone, police in hackney in east london said they were fighting a losing battle to persuade people to stay at home. they said hundreds of people were out enjoying food and drinks. they tried to remind them that they should be only out for exercise. boris johnson will tonight outline how it will be eased, very slowly and very cautiously.

first, there will be another meeting of the cobra emergency committee before his televised address at 7pm. he's expected to announce a scale of coronavirus alerts, similar to the system for terrorism. they will range from level five, red, to level one, green. we are said to be currently at level four, moving towards level three. there will be a new slogan, too. stay alert, control the virus and save lives. the government is emphasising that any changes to the lockdown will only be made with extreme caution. importantly, it's true to say that moving beyond covid will be a gradual process, not a single leap to freedom. so, when we do emerge, the world will seem quite different. yesterday, the government said another 346 people had died with coronavirus in all settings, bringing the total death toll to 31,587.

a few days ago, the government said there were some problems with the lab system for testing coronavirus swabs. it's now emerged that 50,000 samples have been flown to america for analysis there. it's not known how long it will take for the results to come back. the uk has failed to reach the target of 100,000 tests a day for seven days in a row now. but the government said testing overall was at a much higher level than it had been. andy moore, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent, ben wright, joins us from westminster. we are getting this change of message from the government, we understand, stay alert, rather than stay at home. some critics of the government has said that risks confusion and a muddying of the waters? yes, they are saying it is a fuzzy message, rather than the stark instruction the government issued

seven weeks ago, to stay at home, protect the nhs and save lives. now it is stay alert. we are in a bit of a vacuum. we are expecting the prime minister to address the nation in a few hours' time this evening, and do so few hours' time this evening, and do so then we are speculating how he can so then we are speculating how he ca n fles h so then we are speculating how he can flesh out what stay alert means. robertjenrick, the community secretary, tried to explain this morning. so, stay alert will mean stay alert by staying home as much as possible. but stay alert, when you do go out, by maintaining social distancing, washing your hands, respecting others in the workplace and the other settings that you go to. this will be a cautious message, because the rate of infection is still high, and the public are understandably anxious. what has been labour's response to this? throughout the crisis, labour has made it clear they want to be constructive and supportive, where possible. they are in talks

regularly with the government about how to navigate the crisis. this is whatjon ashworth, how to navigate the crisis. this is what jon ashworth, labour's how to navigate the crisis. this is whatjon ashworth, labour's health spokesman, said this morning. when you are dealing with a public health crisis of this nature, you need absolute clarity from government about what the advice is. there is no room for nuance. and i think the problem with the new message is that many people will be puzzled by it. they won't understand what we mean by stay alert. so, i hope we can get clarity from the government today as to what exactlt this new message means. because this virus really does exploit ambivalence and thrive on ambiguity. we need clarity at all times. the government has stressed all the way through this that it wants to see a four nations approach to dealing with the coronavirus crisis, because power is in the uk are devolved to scotland, wales and northern ireland. this morning, there is clearly anger, i think, in edinburgh and cardiff that the government messaging has changed. this is what nicola sturgeon, the

scottish first minister said. she made clear as far as she was concerned, the stay at home message, that would continue to apply north of the border. and the welsh cup and has also said the stay at home message will continue there. there seems to be a bit of a fracturing in terms of the four nation, uk wide approach to tackling this virus. well let's take a look at some of the other developments around the world. daily death tolls are continuing to drop in some nations, including spain, but there's concern that easing lockdown restrictions could lead to a "second wave" of infections. france has recorded its lowest daily number of coronavirus deaths for more than a month, with 80 deaths over the past 2a hours. the authorities are preparing to relax restrictions from monday. but the picture is worsening in russia, which has recorded a rise of 11,000 new cases in the past 2a hours. over 200,000 people there are confirmed to have the virus. for the latest on the situation in germany here's damian mcguinness from berlin.

all shops are now open in germany, regardless of whatever size. until now, it's only been smaller shops. also, over the next week, cafes and restaurants will start to open for guests inside. so, already in germany people could buy food and drink and to go, or to eat elsewhere. now they are going to be able to eat and drink inside. exactly when that happens depends on which particular region. and that comes with certain rules and challenges. so, that would involve wearing a mask when you walk into a cafe, for example, or when you go to the toilet even. you can take the mask off when you sit down, when you have a drink, when you eat. but then when you walk out, you're going to have to put the mask back on again. and this is the sort of commonality we are seeing across europe. while we are seeing these restrictions, we are also seeing new rules that we're really seeing across european countries,

some sort of ideas developing about the best way of doing this. one of them does involve cloth masks to stop infecting other people. the other challenge, of course, for businesses is that part of these rules is that they have to have fewer people. so, hotels are going to start opening up again across germany. but, again, with fewer people. cafes, restaurants, fewer tables. now, these businesses often already run out quite small margins. so the challenge is, how do you actually make it financially viable to stay open, employ people, pay the rent etc, while at the same time sticking to those hygiene rules? the other challenge is, of course, whether consumers themselves might be a bit nervous about going into a cafe or restaurant, sitting there for a few hours, a few metres away from other people, still at the same room as other people. so, those two challenges mean that while we still have the health emergency, really, going on across europe, we are also thinking about economic problems. how can these businesses although they are opening, how can they stay viable? and that's why we are probably going to see some sort of government support carrying on,

even though the economy, particularly here in germany, is getting back to work again. the trump administration has defended its handling of the coronavirus outbreak after the previous president, barack obama, described it as an absolute, chaotic disaster. the white house press secretary said donald trump's response to the pandemic had been unprecedented and had saved american lives. the us remains the worst—hit country, with over a quarter of confirmed cases and a third of deaths. rich preston has this report: the former president's comments were made during a conference call involving 3,000 former colleagues. mr obama said the pandemic would have been bad with the best of governments but that it has been an absolute chaotic disaster when a mindset of, what is in it for me and to heck with everyone else is operationalised in government?

he said selfish, tribal and divided impulses have become part of american life and would be part of this year's election campaign. these are uncharacteristically strong words from the former us leader, who has remained largely tight—lipped on his successor‘s presidential style. the white house didn't respond directly to the comments but said president trump's coronavirus response had been unprecedented and had saved american lives. it comes after reports that two top us officials are placing themselves in quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for covid—19. robert redfield, the director of the centres for disease control and the commissioner of the food and drug administration, doctor fauci from president trump's own coronavirus task force has also said he will take precautionary measures. the us accounts for more than a quarter of worldwide coronavirus cases and a third of all deaths, adding another 1500

fatalities in the last 2a hours. in new york, by far the worst affected area, the governor criticised the lack of support from the federal government. where's the funding? oh, there is no money, just applause. you want to say thank you? provide the funding, not just the applause. meanwhile, across the us, several states continue to ease lockdown restrictions, from the beaches and boardwalks of maryland... watched as local residents have been social distancing, they have been wearing masks, they have been making sure they don't congregate in crowds of more than six to ten people. we thought it was the right time to take that next step. ..to the hiking trails of los angeles... it has been really good to get back out and just be in the outdoors again. ..and san francisco's skate parks. rich preston, bbc news.

the south korean president has warned of a second wave of the virus in his country. 3a new cases have been reported today — the highest daily number for a month. the small, but growing outbreak, largely emerged in an entertainment district of seoul, prompting the south korean capital to temporarily close nightclubs and bars on saturday. city officials have been tracking visitors to the area and are urging them to self—isolate for two weeks. president moonjae—in has urged the public to remain vigilant. injapan the economy minister hinted the government there may lift the country's state of emergency in some of its districts before the end of the month. a state of emergency is in effect until may 31st, but the measure may be lifted in those areas not hardest hit by the virus pandemic. the economy minister, who's in charge of japan's response to the virus, said the governent would assess the situation on thursday. the number of weekly infections injapan has been declining. more than 15,000

people have the virus. the fiancee of the murdered saudi journalist, jamal khashog—jee, the fiancee of the murdered saudi journalist, jamal khashogi, says the premier league should consider ethical values before signing off on a deal to sell newcastle united football club to a saudi—backed consortium. the takeover would be mostly financed by an investment fund chaired by the saudi crown prince, mohammed bin salma. he's suspected by western intelligence agencies of involvement in the killing of mr khashoggi at the saudi consulate in istanbul in 2018. 0ur security correspondent frank gardner gave us this update about what jamal khashoggi's fiance has said. she has said in a letter that she has written to the premier league and also addressed to the owners of newcastle united, that to go ahead with the deal would be to somehow whitewash the saudi crown prince. she, along with many others, suspects saudi arabia's crown prince was personally involved in the murder of her late fiance,

jamal khashoggi, something which the saudi arabian government and he has denied. but the un investigator believes he was involved. she says this is basically trying to rehabilitate saudi arabia's tarnished image — particularly that of the crown prince — and this would be a case of putting money and politics ahead of ethics. she has had a letter back from the head of the premier league, in which he has expressed his condolences to her and assured her that the process is very rigorous, but there was no offer in there to stall the deal, which she said would be very bad for english football. frank gardner, a security correspondent. here in the uk, businesses say they are looking for more clarity about when lockdown measures might be eased, ahead of a televised address to the nation by prime minister borisjohnson in which he's expected to outline a road map towards lifting some restrictions.

our business correspondent katy austin is with me. tell is a bit more about what business is hoping to hear in that address from boris johnson. what they are expecting to hear is that there will be a gradual phased reopening of the economy. as part of that, they want to know how they should plan, how they should prepare to open their businesses safely, with guidelines from the government may be on the kind of measures they might need to implement, depending on the kind of workplace. we know that business groups have seen the d raft that business groups have seen the draft guidelines the government has prepared. so businesses, even those who are currently allowed to operate, for example takeaway food outlets, say they just want the detail on the guidance so that their employees know that they are doing things on the right way and customers as well. i spoke to the british retail consortium, and they said that when you look at shops, for example, we should not be facing reopening based on what size the shop is and what kind of business it is, but purely on the safety measures. so, that is going to

figure very highly and what they wa nt figure very highly and what they want clarity on. the major unions in the uk have also come in a letter sent to the observer newspaper, said that there should not be a back to work until employers have signed up to really bumping up the health and safety regime, you know, making sure there is a clear risk assessment on that kind of thing. this is all about reassuring people about safety, so that the return to work doesn't coincide with lots of people being put into danger. airlines have been very hard hit, they are meeting this weekend? that's right, different industries will face specific challenges for the road ahead. the aviation sector as a whole has been hugely hard—hit by the big drop in travel that we have seen as a result of coronavirus restrictions. that has hit airlines, its head airports. right down to the businesses that make the parts for the planes, they all feeling the

impact. the idea of a 1k day quarantine has been floated as something that you might expect to hear a new prime minister's announcement this evening. it's not something the uk had widely introduced before. but we think it could be on the cards now, the idea being that once you have the disease under control here, you then try to stop it being imported, basically, by people visiting the country from other countries. however, that has created consternation among airlines and airports who are worried that they are already struggling, and this would really hamper their recovery. because people just this would really hamper their recovery. because peoplejust aren't going to want to travel if they have a1li going to want to travel if they have a 1k day self isolation period at the end of it, especially for something like a holiday. thank you very much indeed, katie austin, our business correspondence. the spread of coronavirus has left new york's streets virtually empty, and the faces of passers—by concealed by masks. in her new photoseries, "mask smile", photographer laura fewks has set out to show that people are remaining positive, and that much of a smile is seen in a person's eyes, even when you can't

see their mouths. there was something really special about getting a smile from a stranger from behind a mask. my name's laura fewks and i'm a photographer in new york city. out for a walk on 34th street, new york city. going to see if i can get some people to smile through their masks for me. i approach people first, of course from six feet away, and i have my mask on so of course i have to kind of get their attention. and i ask them if, you know, if they don't mind if i take their picture and i explain that i'm doing a photo series of people smiling but, with their masks on. so, if they can stay where they are and allow me to capture their smile. and it's been really heart—warming to be able to let people know, you know, i can still see your smile, it's all in your eyes or your cheekbones.

i think that so much of the smile is captured in someone's eyes and that's where you really connect. through the series, i've wanted to communicate this overall strength of all people of all different backgrounds and ages, and essential workers, non—essential workers, and to just show that people are remaining positive through this very difficult time. i will say i get rejected quite often when i go out taking these pictures, which is very understandable, people are scared right now, people haven't been to the barber, people are not usually wearing their best clothes, and they don't want to be photographed or, for that matter, some people are grieving the loss of loved ones. so it's not a time for smiling for everyone. but for those people who do agree, it's been an incredible interaction. so my friend here gave me a great masked smile, got some great smiles out here. stay positive, man, 0k?

i'll see you later. one of my favourite pictures that i've taken thus far was during the first week that i started deciding this was going to be a project and i was going to start compiling masked smile photos. and i was walking towards the upper west side and i came across this mother and daughter, both wearing masks and playing in a puddle. it had just rained the day before and they were just really enjoying playing in this puddle in the rain boots together and i stopped and asked them for their smile and they gave me, as you can see in the picture, the brightest smile and then went skipping down the street together. so that was a particularly positive moment. now, you may remember a story we brought you in march of student volunteers in oxford coordinating among themselves to deliver food and carry out errands for people isolated by the virus pandemic. they are called students against corona, and since

the group's humble beginings, they've helped more than 100 thousand people across the globe. lets speak now to frederik filz von reiterdank, one of the co—founders of students against corona. thank you so much for being with us. just for people that didn't follow this back in march, tell us how you got the idea, and how it all began. yes, thank you very much for having me again. the idea began about seven weeks ago in oxford. and i was very far away from my grandmother, who is in the netherlands, and she lives in a very remote area. that kind of the idea. it was right at the beginning of the pandemic. we realised there must be so many more people that are having same issues. so, would there bea having same issues. so, would there be a way to get an infrastructure? there were a lot of community help is already in the uk. i felt it was one of the first places in europe

where this really started. and we thought, why can't we recreate that model of the world, a template so that people can create their own herb and help their own community? and you have grown, as i say, incredibly fast. —— create their own hub. you are operating in 26 countries, from orange county in the states, to new delhi. give us an idea of the sort of thing is you're doing to help people? it's very broad. in the beginning we we re it's very broad. in the beginning we were in the uk and continental europe. but last time we were on the bbc, right after that, we got so many requests from asia and africa or people that wanted to help. they obviously had totally different issues. in africa, it is much more about fighting misinformation, because people simply do not believe in the virus. a similar thing in gambia. and then in new delhi,

people can't go out and get food. it is more about how we get large amounts of food to people. we created four templates of how to basically help, how you can do it depending on your own environment. you are even sending bouquets of flowers to mothers stuck at home, and handwritten letters to people in retirement homes? yes, yes. well, what really nice is that what is really important to emphasise is that we have global operations. we don't own the hubs, we don't lead them. they are really led by the hubs. they reach out to us and they wa nt to hubs. they reach out to us and they want to start something, they can decide what project they want to work on. that could be anything from producing masks in the united states, where that is compulsory, to writing letters and delivering a

bouquet of flowers. so it's great to see everybody coming up with their own ideas of how they can help their own ideas of how they can help their own community, based on the community need. i suppose one of the few good things about this pandemic has been in that sense of community. we've seen it in the united kingdom. but you are promoting this around the world now, in a way, trying to bring the world closer together? yeah, yeah, i think that's really wonderful. i think it's great that the it team, for example, we have somebody in california, somebody in vancouver, one person in denmark and one person in newjersey. all of these people working together that have never met each other and all have never met each other and all have one common factor, that they really wa nt have one common factor, that they really want to help. what really stands out to me is that it's not like a business where we want to open upa like a business where we want to open up a hub in kampala, and we reach out to somebody there. it is somebody there that caesars and reads about us and wants to help. these are people that are actively

looking to help, and they find us online and reach out and start their own hub. well, frederik, you are doing an amazing job. good luck to you with all of your endeavours and we would like to talk to you again ina we would like to talk to you again in a month or so. 0ne we would like to talk to you again in a month or so. one of the founders of students against corona. thank you. no worries. that's it from me at the moment, you are watching bbc news. home—schooling during the lockdown can present a number of challenges for parents and their children, but it can be that bit more difficult without the right equipment. not every family has access to a laptop, meaning some students are having to resort to using smartphones to do their school work. it has left some fearing they are going to fall behind in their education. fiona lamdin has more. becky has three children, who are now all home—schooling, trying to share one device — her smartphone. i have been getting work from two different schools on that, and that alone, so it's hard.

we haven't got a laptop. that's the only device that i've got to do two children's work. so it is concerning, definitely. her son mal is in year 10, in his first year of gcses. it's slowing the pace down, definitely, so i can't really work as fast and progress as fast. are you worried that you are falling behind? yeah, i would say, since soon there will be big tests coming up. you get the arguing and one wants it, the other needs it and it'sjust... it's no good. and this is where becky's eight—year—old daughter would normally be today. this is year 3's classroom. her head teacher is worried that many of her pupils will be falling behind. we have a huge divide within our own school anyway, that we always have to consider. and i think when we are expecting our families to do things online,

that just widens that gap, so we have been really having to think quite carefully about the things we are sending home. so to have just one of those things — perhaps just your phone that then keeps going off, is just awful for these children, they can't possibly focus on their schoolwork that they're being sent. administrations across the uk say they're trying to support children who face difficulties with online learning at home. in england, the government plans to spend more than £100 million, helping disadvantaged students access laptops. wales is pledging around £3 million for a similar scheme, while scotland and northern ireland say they are working on how best to support their students. however, there are concerns there still won't be enough equipment to meet demand. 20% of our children don't have that technology at home. 97, which is what we have been allocated, great. but we could do with more, as with everything in education. we are now seven weeks into the crisis, leaving some to ask if the support is coming too late.

fiona lamdin, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello, there. there is a marked difference with the feel of the weather today, as the cold front continues to push its way steadily southwards. it's bringing light, patchy rain with it, but the winds are strengthening and it is the winds that are the more significant feature to the story. further north of that, we will see some sunny spells and a few wintry showers on higher ground. the wind direction, a north or north—easterly, gusting in excess of 30—110 mph, to really make it feel quite cold out there in comparison to the last few days. so, top temperatures on those exposed coasts, no higher than 5 or 8 degrees. further south and west, with the best of the morning sunshine, we could see mid to high teens. but the cold air is set to stay with us as we go through the week.

high—pressure dominates. a good deal of dry weather and a forecast. and with lighter winds, it should get a degree or so warmer as we go through the week. so, not much in the way of significant rain to look out for. might be a little warmer thursday onwards. hello, this is bbc news with ben brown. the headlines: borisjohnson is to announce a shift in message on coronavirus later, with a a roadmap for easing the lockdown in england. the government is also set to unveil a new slogan telling the public to "stay alert". it comes as parts of germany get back to business — some bars and restaurants opened this weekend, more will do so on monday. in spain, the authorities are also preparing to relax restrictions from tomorrow. in the us, the former president, barack obama, has heavily criticised the trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic. mr obama called the management of the crisis "an absolute chaotic disaster".