this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. borisjohnson says people should "stay at home as much as possible" ahead of outlining a roadmap towards easing lockdown restrictions in england. but the government is forced to defend its decision to update its core message for england — after accusations the slogan "stay alert" is confusing. 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

others in the workplace and the other settings that you will go to. president trump's handling of the pandemic is called a "chaotic disaster" by his predecessor ba rack obama. and south korea's president warns of a second wave of infection, as a new cluster of cases is confirmed. 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 has been defending its decision to update its core message to the public in england on the coronavirus outbreak from "stay at home" to "stay alert". borisjohnson confirmed in a tweet that people should continue to "stay at home as much as possible", keep two metres apart when going out and "limit contact" with other people.

it comes ahead of the prime minister's televised address this evening, in which he will outline a road map towards easing lockdown restrictions in england. opposition parties have criticised the change in slogan saying, the overrall policy now lacks clarity. the devolved governments of scotland, wales and northern ireland have confirmed they won't be following england in changing their message and will keep the words "stay at home." in other developments, the rate of coronavirus infection in germany has accelerated, days after chancellor merkel announced a further easing of restrictions. 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—i9 cases worldwide passes four 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 nick eardley. to stay at home... protect the nhs... and save lives. it's a message we have heard for weeks now, one the government thinks has been highly successful but uk ministers want to move on to the next stage of the coronavirus response. so, this is the new message from borisjohnson. stay alert, control the virus, save lives. we do think this is the right moment to update and to broaden the message. 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'll go to. there will be some tweaks to lockdown rules but when boris johnson addresses the nation again tonight, he will proceed with caution.

no wholesale lifting of restrictions, no return to anything approaching normal. there will be no grand reopening of the economy tonight. there will be a message of caution, of personal responsibility, being vigilant and staying alert and, by doing that, we will help to control the virus and, in time, not today, but in time, we'll be able to gradually reopen the economy and the other aspects of our lives. we'll see similar caution from leaders in scotland, wales and northern ireland too. changes are unlikely to go far beyond allowing more people time to exercise outside. in england and wales, garden centres will be allowed to reopen too, but not everyone is on the same page any more. look at this from scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, sticking firmly to the "stay at home" message. leaders in northern ireland and wales are saying the same. labour had been urging the government to provide more detail of his exit strategy. the problem with the new messages

is 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 exactly this new message means, because this virus really does exploit ambivalence. tonight, the prime minister will reveal a road map about how life might eventually start to feel more familiar, but coming out of lockdown will be gradual and it'll complicated. nick eardley, bbc news. our political correspondent, ben wright is in westminster. just ben wright is in westminster. a few hours away be crucial just a few hours away before this crucial message from the prime minister, which i think has already been recorded. but he hasn't got the uk with him, there is no united front on this change is there? you are right, some of this has been recorded already but a portion of it has been recorded today as well so the production sounds quite complicated, i am told not to read

anything into that at all. we will get more clarity about how the government sees the stay alert message to be implemented in practice, clearly when the prime minister speaks later on. but it has been a tricky morning as that message has landed for the first time and it has exposed fractures among the four nations of the uk. first ministers in scotland and wales are very unhappy that the blunt stay at home message is being ditched. when the government introduced it seven weeks ago, we we re introduced it seven weeks ago, we were ina introduced it seven weeks ago, we were in a different place, the virus was spreading fiercely in the community and there was a fear the nhs would be overwhelmed which is why we were told to stay at home. no political party would say that stay at home situation continue indefinitely. it has to change at some point if the economy is going to restart and the government is

attempting to encapsulate that situation in a new message. but this is very, very delicate stuff to get right. the whole communication strategy been rather chaotic? i was ona strategy been rather chaotic? i was on a few days ago when the briefing to all the papers on wednesday evening was, there is going to be quite an ease to this lockdown, happy monday freedom, all those headlines and that seems to be the opposite 2a hours later? headlines and that seems to be the opposite 24 hours later? there have been days of speculation, you had the prime minister in the house of commons on wednesday last week saying he would be making announcements about the future of lockdown on monday. the following day, certain papers got very excited and talked about a huge listing of restrictions and then ministers over the preceding days talked about any changes being small and modest. there has been a vacuum, speculation has run wild and number ten will hope that after the prime minister has addressed the country later on, we will have the sort of clarity that people really feel they want

now about where this is going. road map is the word being used again and again. they will be no immediate end to this crisis, this will be the long haul and driving number ten's considerations is the need to start to encourage people to come out and live something like a normal life and go back to work if they can, while trying very, very hard to ensure there isn't a second wave of this virus. explaining that balance and the trade—offs involved is one of the prime minister's main missions tonight. thank you very much indeed. we will be bringing you boris johnson's statement at seven o'clock local time. 6pm gmt, on a special programme with huw edwards, which you can watch on bbc one, bbc news channel and bbc world and it will be followed by more analysis all evening on the news channel. 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 24 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 24 hours. over 200,000 people there are confirmed to have the virus. in germany, the rate of coronavirus infection in germany has accelerated, days after chancellor merkel announced a further easing of restrictions. damian mcguinness has the latest from berlin. the latest estimates show the reproduction rate in germany has now gone back up to above one. it is now thought to be 1.1 and that is worrying because it means the virus here in germany could be spreading

more quickly. it means that for ten people who are infected with the virus, they are potentially spreading it on to ii more. in order to contain the pandemic what you need is to have the reproduction level below one and germany is trying to ease restrictions on some of the most difficult areas in which to contain the virus. things like hotels, restaurants, they are all starting up again over the next few weeks. this is difficult because if this reproduction rate keeps going up, what that means is officials will probably look again at re—imposing restrictions. and coming up we'll be answering your questions on the impact of lockdown on your mental health, and how to cope in the current circumstances. get in touch with the hashtag bbcyourquestions on twitter or you can email yourquestions@bbc.co.uk. the white house has been defending its handling of the coronavirus outbreak,

after the former president, barack obama, described the federal government's response as an absolute, chaotic disaster. donald trump's press secretary said the pandemic had been unprecedented, and american lives had been saved. here's rich preston. cheering. the former president's comments were made during a conference call involving 3,000 former colleagues. mr obama said the pandemic... he said selfish, tribal and divided impulses had 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 the us accounts for more than a quarter of worldwide coronavirus cases and a third of all deaths. in new york, by far the worst—affected area, the governor criticised the lack of support from the federal government. 0k, where's the funding? 0h, there's no money, just applause. meanwhile, across the us, several states continue to ease lockdown restrictions. from the beaches and boardwalks of maryland to the hiking trails of los angeles and san francisco's skate parks. rich preston, bbc news. within the last hour, president trump has tweeted his reaction to 0bama's comments. he said, "we are getting great marks for the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, especially the very early ban of people from china, the infectious source, entering the usa."

"compare that to the obama and sleepyjoe disaster known as swine flu." "poor marks, bad polls — they didn't have a clue!" more now that the south korean president has warned of a second wave of the virus in his country. 34 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. translation: the infection cluster which recently occurred in entertainment facilities has raised awareness that, even during the stabilisation phase, similar situations can arise anytime, anywhere in an enclosed crowded space. it's not over until it's over.

we are keeping enhanced alertness to the end. we must never lower our guard regarding epidemic prevention. we return now to our top story, the uk government has defended its change in messaging from "stay at home" to "stay alert" ahead of prime minister borisjohnson's lockdown speech later. someone who understands the importance of clear public messaging is sir craig oliver, who ran communications at downing street for former conservative prime minister, david cameron. good afternoon. have you any idea what stay alert actually means? yes, i think what stay alert actually means? yes, ithinki what stay alert actually means? yes, i think i do. it is a bit disingenuous when people say they don't know what it means. the government has already released bits of information that say they want to nuance the message a bit more. trying to say, you need to keep your two metre distance, keep washing your hands and be careful when you

are out and about but you can go out are out and about but you can go out a little bit more than we said before. we said only once a day to exercise or go to the shops, but it is ok if you go abbas khan do they need to stay at home? they are trying to move from a specific form of messaging which is stay inside almost all the time to you can go outside but you need to be careful. it is something different between something specific. we need to wait to hear what borisjohnson has got to hear what borisjohnson has got to say and i suspect what you will see is the government trying to be more specific and direct in terms of what that means around those messages. you what that means around those messages. you see what that means around those messages. you see the confusion and this is why the devolved nations are not following this change in messaging. if you are saying stay alert, which also mean stay at home, why don't you keep stay at home in the message as well. to be fair,

they are not saying that. they are saying you can go outside more. we have said to this point you can only go out at once to exercise other shops, and you can go outside more, just keep the two metre distancing. that's why it is important to wait to see what borisjohnson says tonight and how that will be hammered home and made specific. what you see in these situations, you know a specific event is coming and it is days often before that announcement and the vacuum gets filled. to be fair to the government, what has happened in the media, they have put the bellows under something. in the papers on thursday there was a overwriting of the stories. somebody will have briefed those papers, they won't have made it up. well, yes. yes they would have done or yes they have been briefed? let me finish my

answer. the headlines leaked something that sounds more dramatic and more difficult. that is something that happens in newspapers. it is something we all know and that sometimes it happens. it doesn't mean they were specifically briefed that on monday we will be free and the lock lockdown is over. the statistician for the government describe the communications and messaging as com pletely communications and messaging as completely embarrassing and a number of theatre. you are used to being in the thick of it, as it were, but in terms of the messaging over the past few days it has been chaotic?” few days it has been chaotic?|j don't few days it has been chaotic?” don't think that is entirely fair. ifi don't think that is entirely fair. if i had seen those wednesday headlines i would have been concerned and wanted to change them. but to lay it entirely at the

government's door is wrong. it is a much more complicated situation. we have newspapers whose circulations are dropping like stones, and i don't think they are being disingenuous but psychologically they want to move this forward. just one last question, the w says social distancing should be about a metre. europe says 1.5 and the uk says two, so where have they got that figure from? i am not a scientist, i cannot a nswer from? i am not a scientist, i cannot answer that for you. 0k, it is good to speak to you. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's chetan. good afternoon. first to the english premier league, where a third brighton player has tested positive for coronavirus — hours before guidelines around the potential return of sport may become clearer when the british prime minister addresses the nation later this sunday. brighton's ceo paul barber has warned any plans to restart matches

in a rush could "cost lives". he was speaking to the mail on sunday ahead of monday's league meeting... as clubs try to move towards the proposed restart date of june 12th. it's expected some will urge a delay and ask the league to abandon their neutral venues plan. well, the premier league will no doubt be keeping an eye on the return of germany's bundesliga. it's set to become europe's first major football league to resume matches next saturday. however, there's been a setback for dynamo dresden, who play in the second division, after two of their players tested positive for covid—19. the whole squad is now in quarantine and out of action for 14 days. it's a situation the crystal palace owner steve parish says he's keeping an eye on. we're hoping it is successful and they can provide a blueprint. clearly, we can see some of the early challenges, but the concern for us, of course, is if they prove insurmountable now then we may be in for a very,

very extended period of not being able to play. and that has huge ramifications, obviously, for the game. meanwhile, the portuguese league is due to start in late may or earlyjune. carlos carvalhal, the former swansea manager who's now in charge of rio arve, was pictured wearing a face mask and a face shield as his side returned to training. he admits the safety measures aren't ideal, but says the precautions must be respected to allow football to return. what we try to do here, in portugal, it looks strange but we just want that football can be possible. so the professionals, we are doing our very best to not be infected or give a bad example also to society. six—time formula one world champion lewis hamilton says racing without fans will leave him with an empty feeling. the first ten races of the planned f1 calendar have been called off, but the sport's bosses hope to start a shorter season in austria injuly.

until then, hamilton says he's making most of the break, after having considered taking a year off in the past. i don't think that, for an athlete that's in their prime, that is ever a good thing, to step away for a year and come back. you know, technology moves so fast and at such a rate, you need to stay on top of this car and what is the development. to take a sabbatical was just not on the cards. but we've been handed almost a part sabbatical, which i'm enjoying. and i feel fresher and healthier than i've ever been. official events on golf‘s european tour aren't set to return until late july at the earliest, but that hasn't stopped the organisers from arranging a virtual tournament. 18 golfers competed in an indoor invitational — held on a virtual replica of the st andrews old course in scotland. dutchmanjoost luiten won the event, but south africa's dean

burmester stole the headlines with a hole in one on the eighth! there was a slight delay though — before the achievement was confirmed! that's all the sport for now. the iranian government says it's ready for a prisoner swap with the us without preconditions. an iranian government spokesman said iran was concerned for the health of some iranians held in usjails, because of the pandemic. he said washington was aware of iran's position but had not yet given a response. the two countries, enemies for decades, swapped two high—profile prisoners last year. let's get more from our middle east analyst, sebastian usher. without preconditions, who do we think is on this list? the names that have been circulating is

michael white, a us navy veteran who has been held in iran for the past two years. they have been talking about his potential release but not in the context of a swap. so far the americans did agree a prisoner swap at the end of last year, saying this should not be conditional on that. what we were hearing from the iranian government spokesman, they we re iranian government spokesman, they were ready to do this without preconditions. but in a sense, they know these talks are ongoing, that there are potential iranians in the us at the moment in jail that iran believes should be released. but the way that it was phrased was in a sense to say in the coronavirus pandemic, it is a humanitarian thing to do. there has been a scientist who has been held for some time in the us, cleared of charges

originally over breaking sanctions and awaiting deportation, but has not been deported. he has been tested for coronavirus and that has been a public campaign to get him free to add to somewhere in the us. he has his home in the us. or to be deported to iran. we didn't need any names specifically from the iranian government spokesman, but we assume it is in that context. we know there are problems in the penal system in iran as well with covid—19 and other nationalities have been released under home detention, effectively. is any of that happening at the moment with us prisoners? yes, we have had that but we don't have clarity in terms of names. we know, for example, the british woman, nazanin cigar gary radcliffe, has been a major diplomatic row between britain and iran over her status,

that she was temporarily released in march and she remains with her pa rents. march and she remains with her parents. but there is concern that she could be going back within the next two or three weeks. there is no actual timeline that has been put on some of those who have been temporarily freed from iranian prisons, prisoners of conscience, dual nationals have already been returned to prison. we know the health conditions in those prisons are bad. there have been riots, there has been violence, there have been deaths amongst ordinary iranians prisoners who have been demanding they should all be free. there is a large number iran has allowed out, the figure has been put at 100,000. among those there has been a number of foreign nationals and the number of prisoners of

conscience, but many of them remain in prison in very, very poor conditions and many of them are in poor health as well. there is huge concern over that and i think that will temper any response there is from the us over this offer of cooperation. thank you very much indeed. you are watching bbc news. let's bring you some news on a developing story and that is a possible 14 day quarantine for visitors flying into the uk that we believe we will hear more about in the next few hours with the statement from the prime minister borisjohnson. there statement from the prime minister boris johnson. there has statement from the prime minister borisjohnson. there has been some reaction from airlines uk saying, thatis reaction from airlines uk saying, that is the trade body for uk registered airlines. they are saying there is no clarity at the moment on there is no clarity at the moment on the detail on the call that the aviation minister this morning. it said airport ceos who are on the

call. we respect the sage advice. the government need to adapt to the new normal but closing of air travel in this way is not the way to achieve this. ministers are effectively telling people they can no longer travel for the foreseeable future and airlines will respond to that by grounding their operations and that is why they require urgent additional government support to get through this crisis. so that statement from uk airlines, airlines uk rather. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello, there. our big weather cooldown is well under way. yesterday, we had temperatures as high as 25 celsius in the london area — summer—like heat. today, we've seen some snow across northern scotland, with some winter—like cold. yes, it's been snowing in murray

in northern scotland and further north than that, in shetland, we've seen some of the snow settling on some of the grassy hills here for a time. so, the weather has been turning progressively colder. the cold air being brought southwards by this cold front, that continues itself to bring some patches of rain across parts of england and wales. that rain continues to edge a little bit further southwards as we head on into the evening time. the cold northerly winds follow. meanwhile, to our south, in france, we've got some extreme rainfall. now, across parts of the south—west, 100—150mm of rain, one or two months' worth. meteo—france forecasters reckon that's the kind of rain that you might expect to see once in 100 years, so we could see some nasty flooding issues there. for us, well, for the rest of the night, it's the northerly winds that really do win out, bringing that colder air southwards. there'll continue to be some winter showers at times across the north and as well as that, we're looking at some frosty conditions settling in, particularly in the countryside in scotland and maybe in a few rural patches further south.

tomorrow, well, yes, there will be some sunny spells but also some scattered showers being brought in down the north sea and into coastal areas by those chilly winds. they will be gusting again to around 30—40 miles an hour. it's going to be a cold day everywhere but temperatures not quite as low across the far north of scotland, 9 degrees or so in aberdeen, though, not a warm day. on into tuesday, we have a weak weather from moving back in across northern scotland and as this one moves on, it's going to be dragging in some colder air. so, again, we could see some of the showers or lengthier spells of rain turning to snow for a time, particularly across the high ground, but perhaps also to some lower levels for a time. colder again across the north of scotland, temperatures here around 5—6 degrees celsius. further south, well, temperatures below par just about everywhere, 12—14 degrees. for wednesday, high—pressure to the west is beginning to send the winds coming in more off the north atlantic, so it's not a warm direction but it's not quite as cold as it has been at the same time. so, for the rest of the week, a fair amount of dry weather, with temperature slowly recovering with seven spells of sunshine around as well. that's your weather.