welcome to bbc news — i'm aaron safir. our top stories: the british government announces a plan to end its lockdown — but there's disagreement from scotland, wales and northern ireland. we are taking the first careful steps to modify our measures. if there are problems, we will not hesitate to put on the brakes. the opposition says the plan doesn't answer crucial questions — and trade unions call it a recipe for confusion. south korea is facing a second spike in infections — just a few days after beginning to ease its lockdown. and we'll report from thailand, where infections remain low — but restrictions are likely to remain in place for some time.

the united kingdom has become the latest country to announce a gradual relaxation of some of its coronavirus restrictions — although the changes only apply to england. in an address to the nation, the prime minster announced a new covid alert system with five levels, which would govern how quickly society can reopen. borisjohnson said it was the right time to ‘update‘ the government's message, from "stay at home" — to "stay alert". but scotland, wales and northern ireland have refused to adopt the government's updated message, and the leader of the opposition labour party said the government still wasn't providing the clarity and the answers people needed. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. it is now almost two months... 48 days since so many

of us tuned in. to hear the prime minister introduce measures not seen in a time of peace. after seven weeks of lockdown, around the country people watching again. from the living rooms and homes where the prime minister told us to stay. thanks to you, we have protected our nhs and saved many thousands of lives. and so i know, you know, that it would be madness now to throw away that achievement by allowing a second spike. we must stay alert, we must continue to control the virus and save lives. although lockdown helped to control the disease it has crippled the economy, so in england if you can't work at home, ministers want you to go back to help struggling businesses get going again. we can see it all around us in the shuttered shops and abandoned businesses and darkened pubs and restaurants. there are millions of people who are both fearful of this terrible disease, and at the same time, also fearful of what this long period of enforced inactivity will do to their livelihoods

and their mental and physical well—being. to their futures, and the futures of their children. so i want to provide, tonight, for you, the shape of a plan to address both fears. that means slowly in england, limits on exercise will be relaxed, you can sit in the park and play some sports and a government official confirmed you could meet one person from another household, as long as you stick to the two metre distance. and if you can't work at home you will be actively encouraged to go to work. from june, the ambition is to reopen primary schools for reception, year one and year six, but no full return for secondaries before the summer. they could also be a phased reopening of shops. then injuly, the hope is for a limited return of the hospitality industry and opening other public spaces. but this is all dependent

on how the disease progresses, and if it flares restrictions might return. no, this is not the time simply to end the lockdown this week. instead, we are taking the first careful steps to modify our measures. if there are outbreaks, if there are problems, we will not hesitate to put on the brakes. we have been through the initial peak. but it's coming down the mountain that is often more dangerous. we have a route and we have a plan and everyone in government has the all—consuming pressure and challenge to save lives, restore livelihoods and gradually restore the freedoms that we need. labour called for an exit strategy several weeks ago but the leader watching carefully was disappointed with what he heard. what the country wanted tonight was clarity and consensus,

and i'm afraid we've got neither. this statement raises as many questions as it answers and we see the prospect of england, scotland and wales pulling in different directions. there is a big gap for the government to make up. the uk's new message, stay alert, is designed to cover all sorts of different sectors and advice as the situation evolves. to help save lives, stay home. but scotland, wales and northern ireland are sticking to the message stay at home. the disease is thought to be spreading faster there. nicola sturgeon obviously unimpressed. i asked the uk government not to deploy their stay alert advertising campaign in scotland because the message in scotland at this stage is not a stay at home if you can, the message is, except for the essential reasons you know about, stay at home, full stop. if i say to you now my message is stay alert, and you say does that mean i stay at home or not? i can't give you a straight answer. we have been following the rook family in wolverhampton coping with lockdown.

tonight's message gave them some comfort but questions too. just before lockdown we were due to launch a clothing business and with manufacturing now on the cards that certainly gives us something to think about. disappointingly for me there was no mention of family and when we can see people from outside of the household. i lost my dad recently and i'm missing my mum and the children are missing their nanny. this emergency first required a rapid response from the downing street desk. this unfolding phase brings pressing questions of detail, and dilemmas not just about his decisions but also all of ours. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. one of the many questions being asked is what will happen after countries slowly emerge from lockdowns and whether that could lead to a second wave of infections. well that's exactly what's happening in south korea — it was one of the countries most widely praised for how it first responded to the pandemic. but authorities there have reported a spike in new cases just as social distancing rules are eased — forcing the closure of all clubs and bars

in the capital seoul. reged ahmad reports. the normally popular nightclub scene in seoul, closed, with signs explaining why. south korea had just started easing its social distancing rules imposed in march after an impressive effort to contain the coronavirus, when a spike in case numbers was registered. translation: the number of patients related to itaewon clubs is 5a. we are tracing additional contacts and sources. it's prompted the south korean president to warn the public to brace for a second wave of infections. translation: the infection cluster that recently occurred in entertainment facilities has raised awareness that even during the stabilisation phase, similar situations can rise any time, anywhere in an enclosed, crowded space. it's not over till it's over.

those are words which may echo in people's ears as governments watch progress in south korea closely. that's because it's been one of the countries at the forefront of the trace, test and treat policy, successfully getting on top of its pandemic and keeping case numbers low, all without a total lockdown. this setback will be a disappointing reminder of the challenge in keeping things that way. translation: people felt relaxed because the situation was getting better but after the outbreaks at nightclubs in itaewon, i thought, we shouldn't put our mind at ease because we don't know when and where the virus will spread. translation: the outbreaks in nightclubs suddenly occurred in my neighbourhood, so i'm very scared and disappointed. other countries are still in the middle of strict lockdowns orjust at the start of easing

social distancing, this spike in cases could be an uncomfortable glimpse into the future and an example of the lessons yet to be learned in fighting the covid—i9 pandemic. reged ahmad, bbc news. the british prime minister's televised statement said that no measures will be taken to ease the lockdown if there's a risk of the nhs being overwhelmed. a month ago our medical correspondent fergus walsh and cameraman adam walker visited the intensive care unit at university college hospital in london — one of the busiest in the uk. they've been back to see what's changed and how staff are coping. coronavirus is still taking a heavy toll in intensive care. it doesn't feel like it's over for a long shot. some people patients have been on a ventilator here for a month. brutal is a word. people stay acutely sick for a long period. it's not just acutely sick for a long period. it's notjust their

acutely sick for a long period. it's not just their lungs acutely sick for a long period. it's notjust their lungs that are damaged. many have kidney failure and need dialysis. when you are not here, you're still thinking about here so you can't get it out of your mind a lot of the time. in the months since we were last here, doctor jim downe has not become any more optimistic. the disease continues to be a horrible disease, even by itu standards. i don't think i'm feeling more positive. i think i am pretty shellshocked by this disease, if i'm really honest. these patients don't get better quickly so we had a slow and difficult. period are time of trying to help these patients to recover. day after day, week after week, staff are working in full ppe. although patient numbers are falling, matron elaine thorpe says the psychological impact on staff is rising. i'd seen the last week i started to the emotional trauma coming out in our nurses and doctors and everybody

really and me for one, i can't get this image out of my head. a group of patients lying all face down grown. they felt faceless. this is a sobering reminder of the devastating impact of coronavirus. extreme caution will be needed when relaxing lot down measures or it could lead to a surge in infections and that would mean many more patients coming into hospital. as covid wards are slowly empty, the dilemma is how to reintroduce services like outpatient services and planned surgery. part of the problem is, no matter how ill they feel, many patients without coronavirus i hesitating to come in. josephine, who is 83, passed out at home. when they said you had to go to hospital, we are concerned because you hear all these things about coronavirus? i was. my daughter said to me,

we mustn't go to hospital mum, because of the virus but i really felt terrible and i was in pain so i'vejust really felt terrible and i was in pain so i've just got to ta ke in pain so i've just got to take a chance and go. of course. which i did. non— covid emergency emit admissions are down 50%, which may be storing up down 50%, which may be storing up problems. if you stayed home with a heart attack, you may actually not die but you may have a bigger heart attack than you would otherwise have and you would otherwise have and you may end up with heart failure or if you do not treat your asthma in an early phase and with adequate treatment in hospital, you may end up in a much more serious condition. one into patients with coronavirus do not survive intensive care. —— one in two. but there are successes, like ertan, who we met at the beginning of april. hopefully you will be able to see your

wife again soon? i'm hoping so, because she is waiting. i will fight this, definitely. the 70—year—old bus driver was finally discharged after four weeks in hospital. his first follow—up appointment was done via video. i would have thought you are feeling a bit weak? i'm feeling quite good at the moment. daytime, my life is like as if it's normal. with his gratefulfamily, like as if it's normal. with his grateful family, so relieved to have him back. thank you, thank you, thank you. thank you, we got home, all thanks to you. it's nice to see a positive story, even if the fight against coronavirus does go on. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a record number of turtle hatchlings reach the ocean this year — experts says it's because — you guessed it — coronavirus lockdowns has kept beaches deserted.

the pope was shot, the pope will live. that is the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon — that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism had come to the vatican. the man they called the ‘butcher of lyon,‘ klaus barbie, went on trial today in the french town where he was the gestapo chief in the second world war. winnie mandela never looked like a woman just sentenced to six years injail. the judge told mrs mandela there was no indication she felt even the slightest remorse. the chinese government has called for an all—out effort to help the victims of a powerful earthquake, the worst to hit the country for 30 years. the computer deep blue has tonight triumphed over the world chess champion, garry kasparov. it is the first time a machine has defeated the reigning world champion in a classical chess match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking place in massachusetts. god bless america!

this is bbc news, our main story: as part of a relaxation of coronavirus restrictions in britain, some people are being encouraged to return to work on monday. but schools and shops will remain closed untiljune. the governments of the usa, the uk and italy are a few of those facing criticism for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic. and while they have many similarities, one that's been remarked upon is that their leaders are men. in fact, in italy, female representation in the fight against coronavirus is so limited that italian women are now campaigning under the slogan "dateci voce", give us a voice. by contrast, female leaders across the world seem to be coping with covid—i9 better, from new zealand to germany, finland to taiwan.

so, what might explain it? joining me now is nicole mason, president of the institute for women's policy research in washington, dc. nicole, in washington, dc. how have female lead countries nicole, how have female lead countries react differently to this pandemic? when we see what has happened in female lead countries, what we see is that the cases of the virus are lower, and female leaders have responded very swiftly, promptly, empathetically, and they have used science and evidence to shape their strategy and response, and that has not been the case in countries like the united states, britain and italy who have delayed their response to the coronavirus, so that is the big difference. that's the difference, what explains it, in your opinion? from your

perspective, what explains why female leaders have approached this problem differently? so, when we look at all the countries, from germany to norway to iceland, norway is number one in the world for gender equity, and what that means is that, in terms of political participation, and the trust of women to make big decisions are there and countries like the united states and italy, where of course there is a movement to gain representation of women's voices at the highest level, those female lead decision—makers are noticeably absent. so, when i think about what explains the response in female lead countries, again we are talking about empathy, using sound evidence and science to guide decisions and acting swiftly and promptly in response to that data and evidence. i wonder what is it

about male lead governments, do you think? if you had a government, say, that was 50-50, but government, say, that was 50—50, but led by a man, government, say, that was 50—50, but led bya man, do you think that would make a difference or is it the leadership role that is really different? i believe it is the leadership role. we see in the united states where, for example, representation among women is lower but the person at the top at the federal level making the decisions as a man and he is often guided by, i hate to say it, emotion and less driven by evidence than bipartisan politics and that is having a really deep impact, a real impact in terms of the response to the coronavirus. and in the united states specifically, but in other places as well, there is a clear lack of empathy and being able to connect to citizens and reassure them that everything is going to be ok and the we are using science and evidence to inform our response. moving

away from leadership to the general population, millions and millions of people around the world are under some form of lockdown, how do those restrictions impact women differently to men? so, when we think about restrictions, what we know is that even though women are, women on lockdown are expected to work while they are expected to work while they are at home, but they are also expected primarily to take care of theirfamilies expected primarily to take care of their families and their children while school is out so women are doing double duty, they are responsible for their job and making sure that they have an income that they need to support their family but they are also responsible for providing school care, daycare, and the majority of caretaking demands at home. and briefly if you can, we are looking at some of the ways the world may change one this all moves on or

ends, the environment, for example, is one. when it comes to gender roles, do you see any opportunity emerging from this? what i am really encouraged by is that female lead leadership is that female lead leadership is on display and there have been a lot of gender stereotypes about women leaders and there have been questions about whether women can lead successfully, especially during times of crisis, and what has been revealed during the pandemic is that of course they can and when they do, they do a really good job, and they are able to successfully lead the country's. again, this is an unprecedented time and we see women who have not only stepped into their leadership more fully but also excelled, as well. nicole mason, thank you for your time. i know it is mother's day in the us so if you are celebrating that, i hope you are having a good one. iam, thank

hope you are having a good one. i am, thank you very much. in thailand the rate of infections and deaths from the coronavirus has been very low, just over 3,000 cases, and fewer than 60 deaths. it's allowed government to begin easing restrictions from sunday, but there's nervous nous about the possibility of a second wave of infections, so many restrictions still remain in place. our correspondentjonathan head reports from bangkok. an inner—city temple in bangkok's low—income port district. the residents have been summoned for sample testing. few countries have got their covid—i9 cases down as low as thailand has, but the authorities are nervous. they want to keep it that way. thailand doesn't have the testing capacity of countries like south korea, so the government is focusing on any areas it views as high—risk, like this one, to prevent or discover early any further outbreaks of the virus.

a six—week lockdown has been eased, but only partially. street stalls have been able to stay open, but restaurants like this one can only restart their businesses with strict social distancing measures. panuwat reckons he can only keep going another three or four months like this. but one restaurant has come up with an ingenious solution to dining in these socially—distanced times. it's these plastic screens, which allows customers here to dine at the same table while still observing the strict health requirements laid down by the thai

authorities. farfrom putting people off, the novelty of sharing a meal through a plastic screen seems to be a winning formula for this young and fashionable crowd. one winner, among so many businesses which are struggling to adapt to the strange new post—covid world, as we emerge from lockdown. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. the pandemic is having all kinds of unexpected side effects, as a result of millions of people being forced to stay inside. many places are reporting cleaner air or water, as pollution has been greatly reduced. and on the coast of south—east india, the absence of people has had a dramatic impact,

as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. burrowing out of the sand, new life emerges. this year, like every year, thousands upon thousands of olive ridley turtles begin theirjourney to the sea. but this time, their numbers may be even greater than normal. due to the lockdown, these beaches have been mostly empty, so more turtles have ventured onto the land, more eggs have been laid, and more of those eggs have now hatched. translation: they come in hundreds of thousands here. translation: when do the hatchlings come out? when it's warm. how many turtles are born here at this time? every turtle lays 30—a0 eggs or more. and those eggs soon add up.

by certain estimates, there could be around 60 million of them. it is believed some of the more endangered species may be making a bit of a comeback. the natural world thriving, while the pandemic keeps mankind behind closed doors. for these little creatures, their journey is only beginning. whether next year will see similar numbers remains a mystery. tim allman, bbc news. and if you're wondering why they're known as olive ridley turtles, it's apparently to do with the olive green shade of their shells. before we go, a reminder of our top story. the united kingdom has become the latest country to announce a gradual relaxation of some of the coronavirus restrictions although the changes only apply to england. the prime minister announced a new covid—i9 alert system with five levels, he

also said it was the right time to update the government's message. it is going from stay—at—home to stay alert. thanks for watching bbc news. very chilly out there at the moment. the cold weather which arrived on sunday is here to stay for the next few days. it's certainly not going to be warming up in a hurry. here's the cold front on the satellite picture, which swept across the uk. and behind it, cold airsurging in from the northern climes, all the way from the arctic, and spreading into other parts of europe through early monday as well. and, as i say, that is going to stick around for a few days. now, overall, monday is going to be a bright if not sunny day. but at times it will cloud over, and we are expecting some showers, particularly across scotland, and maybe one or two on the north sea coast. and actually, through early monday, a few showers peppered around across yorkshire and the very far north of the uk, but predominantly it's clear.

that's led to a frost across scotland, northern england, an air frost, and certainly a ground frost in southern parts of the uk, at least in a few areas. so monday gets off to a chilly but sunny start. the winds will be very brisk. you can see them blowing off the north sea there, on the yorkshire coast, east anglia and into the south—east. temperatures struggling — we should be closer to 17 in the south. we may not even make 12 degrees, and single figures on the north sea coast. now, here's tuesday's weather map. high pressure's with us. that does mean mostly dry weather, though not completely, because on the edge of this high pressure, there is this little mini cold front which is going to sweep in even colder weather temporarily into scotland. notice the blobs of blue there in scotland, and even some white there, indicating some wintry showers. so scotland on tuesday a very chilly day, with perhaps some sleet and snow moving across the highlands. only five degrees in stornoway. to the south of that, it won't be quite so cold. temperatures should make double figures, around 10—11. and mildest conditions there in the south—west of the uk, perhaps

even 13 or 14 degrees. and then, on wednesday, again a couple of showers potentially affecting the north sea coast, but otherwise it's just broken cloud, some good sunny spells coming through, and temperatures still struggling, typically around say 10—12 degrees. just that slightly milder spot there in the south—west of the uk, perhaps 14 or 15. and the temperatures will gradually recover through the course of the week, perhaps making 16 or 17 by the time we get to friday, and maybe even 20 over the weekend. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the uk government has set out a "conditional plan" to gradually ease the anti—virus lockdown in england. those who cannot work from home will now be actively encouraged to return to their workplaces —— but should avoid public transport. from wednesday, people will be able to do unlimited exercise outdoors. the measures won't apply in scotland, wales or northern ireland. leaders in those parts of the uk say people should continue to remain in their homes — except for essential reasons. the leader of the opposition labour party said the government's announcement ‘raises as many questions as it answers'. south korea's president has warned of a prolonged war against coronavirus after the authorities reported a spike in new cases. on sunday the authorities confirmed thirty four infections linked to nightclubs in the capital, seoul. now on bbc news it's

time for a look back