this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories needless deaths and suffering' — the warning from the leading white house adviser on infectious diseases, if controls are relaxed too soon. if that occurs, there is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you might not be able to control. the world health organization ‘s the world health organization says some latin american governments have made the situation worse.

keeping up the financial support for 7.5 million people — the government in the uk extends itsjobs furlough scheme until october. after the lockdown, china's economy is bouncing back — and the communist party is claiming the credit. the top us health advisor — a key member of the white house's coronavirus taskforce — has warned that lifting restrictions too soon could lead to further spikes in cases. dr anthony fauci said the country did not have total control of the outbreak, and that there are probably more cases, and deaths, than the official figures suggest. his message is at odds with that of president trump, who has been emphasising the need to get the economy going again. nick bryant reports from new york. washington continues to look like a scene from some dystopian drama. this, the still surreal sight of senators donning face masks for a hearing on covid—19.

one senior democrat resembling a bandit from the wild west. the key voice was america's top pandemic official, anthony fauci, who strongly warned about the dangers of reopening too quickly — a message for the country, a message for his boss, donald trump. if that occurs, there is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control which, infact, paradoxically, will set you back, not only leading to some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even set you back on the road to trying to get economic recovery. we don't want your shutdown any more! the pandemic has demonstrated the polarisation of america. this, a liberty rally in boston, massachusetts, a tea pa rty—style protest demanding the immediate reopening of the economy. donald trump continues to hold press conferences where he often lavishes

himself with praise, this time boasting about american testing. but though the reporters are masked, they are impossible to muzzle. this, a chinese—american correspondent from the us network cbs. why is this a global competition to you if every day americans are still losing their lives and we are still seeing more cases every day? well, they are losing their lives everywhere in the world and maybe that's the question you should ask china. sir, why are you saying that to me, specifically? i'm telling you, i'm not saying it specifically to anybody, i'm saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question... that's not a nasty question. please go ahead. can i ask... ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much, appreciate it, thank you very much. but he left without taking any more questions, an abrupt exit from a president looking for a quick escape from this crisis. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. lev fasher is the washington correspondent for the health news site, stat. he told us about the different realities at play in these hearings.

hearing we saw in the united states senate was the first chance for several high—ranking officials in the administration to talk to congress about their response over the course of the last two months and as we've heard, dr fauci in particular was not sugarcoating the realities of what would happen if america rushes to reopen and it was worth noting there was a fundamental irony that underlied this hearing which is that many senators were testifying remotely, the four trump administration officials had to do so by videoconference because they'd recently been exposed to someone who tested positive for covid—19, the same is true for the chairman of the senate committee that oversees healthcare issues. the senate is not up and running and they held a hearing about whether the country more broadly can be up and running and there was some conversations which were diverted as you would expect members of different political parties in terms of testing

capacity, what benchmarks the country and various states need to hit before we can back to what life like before, economically. as i understand it, the economy is very important, innocence, the economy may have to take priority and he would say that lockdown itself is killing people through depression, through suicide, people's lack of earning money. and there is actually evidence to support that. the mental health toll, the broader health toll that the isolation and social distancing measures are going to cause a substantial and that's worth factoring into the conversation but resident trump is often said we can't let the cure be worse than the disease and there certainly is a push to reopen many of the basic functions of this country, that's what we heard dr fauci

push back on today. and that push is an understated assumption that more people actually are going to die if we do this. absolutely, and that's what dr fauci said, any level of relaxation of these mitigation measures we have seen is going to result in new infections, new infection spread, they will result in some degree of death and it's a conversation that's been had across america, surreal as it may seem, to what degree that is tolerable and what we are willing to sacrifice as a country to go back to work, to go back to school, to go back to sporting events, it really didn't hit. in terms of the contact tracing. things smiled in the united states. the death toll has just passed 80,000 and unfortunately, there are fewer new infections and a lot of cities but the death rate is still substantial. well over 1000, close to 2000 deaths per day.

the world health organization says the americas are currently at the centre of the coronavirus pandemic. the who has criticised leaders it says failed to listen to its initial warnings. rich preston has this report. brazil is latin america's largest country with a population of more than 209 million people and it has struggled to cope with coronavirus, with over 177,000 cases. more than 12,000 people have died — figures the who says could have been avoided if certain leaders hadn't ignored its warnings. brazil's president dismissed the virus earlier on as "just a little cold" butjair bolsonaro isn't only at odds with the world health organization but his own state governors, too, criticising varying lockdowns across the country which, he says, are unnecessarily damaging

the economy. he even fired his own health minister after he recommended social distancing. and there are fears brazil will not reach its peak for several more weeks. in south america, health systems in large urban centres, like lima and rio dejaneiro, are quickly becoming overwhelmed. we are also witnessing a similar impact of covid—19 on big cities across the amazon basin. elsewhere in the region, a deadly virus is killing thousands of people, not coronavirus, dengue fever, endemic across much of latin america, but seeing a surge in cases. the resources usually dedicated to fighting dengue fever have been diverted to tackling the coronavirus. translation: covid-19 is the star right now, so all of the attention is on covid, but there are still problems with dengue and there are problems with hospital capacity.

in paraguay, dengue infections have exploded, with nearly 42,000 cases and more than 60 deaths in the first 18 weeks of this year. here, in bolivia, officials say think they will hit a record high of this year. translation: it is possible we will surpass the historical record of 2009. it was the year of the worst epidemic that bolivia experienced of any disease. while efforts continue to tackle the coronavirus global pandemic, countries across latin america are focusing on not winning one fight only to lose another. rich preston, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. twitter has told employees that they can work from home forever if they want to. the company said that it had continued to operate effectively with its staff homeworking in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown and would be willing to let them continue to if their roles allow it. the compa ny‘s workforce of 5,000 people has been remote working since early march.

india's prime minister, narendra modi, has announced an economic package worth more than $260 billion to support farmers and small and medium businesses. he hinted there might be a further easing of the lockdown. on tuesday, passenger train services partially resumed. here in the uk, which now has officially recorded nearly 33,000 deaths from coronavirus, the chancellor rishi sunak has announced the furlough scheme designed to avert mass unemployment will now be extended till the end of october. our business editor simon jack has more. holiday season beckons and with international travel in disarray, you would think holiday hotspots like this campsite in cornwall would be set fair but it is currently closed and, even as the lockdown is lifted, social distancing rules will mean communal areas like showers and toilets are unusable. half of the 16 workers here have been furloughed

and not all of them will return. well, we are delighted that the furlough scheme has been extended in its current form until the end ofjuly. very worried about how we, as employers, are going to make contributions through august, september and october. the reason for that is, we have had zero income so far this year. my feeling is, there are already many staff that are furloughed whose jobs actually no longer exist. and that is very sad but it is also very real. patrick's furloughed office manager, single mum lindsay, accepts that the future is uncertain. i just don't think there is any job security in our industry. if the business is hit hard, we are responsible for lots of people, but if the business is not secure, the jobs aren't there. mine might not be there. this brewery in buckinghamshire has furloughed 10 workers who will now be able to come back part—time afterjuly while still having wages subsidised. good news for this

mum of three trasna. i think it's great that it's going to be extended and being able to have a flexible return to work will be terrific while we are still in doubt about children going back to school. the furlough scheme is the most significant and expensive government response to the crisis. one million businesses are using the scheme, with 7.5 million workers having 80% of their wages paid by the government, and it is costing £14 billion a month. that is roughly what we spend on the nhs and social care every month. from july, employers will be asked to help foot that bill, but many will not be able to. the question is, what happens then? do you acknowledge that there are hundreds of thousands, potentially over a million people who are effectively now unemployed but just don't realise it yet? well, i think it will depend on the support we are providing

overall and how quickly we can come out of this particular we are not going to be able to protect every single job but i think, by any international comparison, the fact that we are supporting 7.5 million people with the furlough scheme should be something that, you know, should be universally welcomed. when employers have to start paying, tough choices will have to be made. i think the big elephant in the room is going to be what the new employer contribution is going to look like that the chancellor referred to. from our point of view, it is absolutely critical that any change to the scheme doesn't result in an additional spike in unemployment. the scheme has helped this cornish holiday park and a million other businesses hang on to staff, but many will be exposed as this flood of government cash eventually, inevitably, begins to recede. simon jack, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: with motor—racing largely furloughed by the coronavirus, one man has turned to his wheelbarrow

to satisfy his need for speed. the pope was shot, the pope will live — that's 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's the first time a machine has defeated a reigning world

champion in a classical chess match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking place in massachusetts. god bless america! cheering this is bbc world news. the main story this hour: the main american expert advising on the country's coronavirus response has told a senate committee that easing the current restrictions too soon will lead to needless death and suffering. in the us, the centers for disease control and prevention has warned healthcare professionals not to allow racial bias to influence their treatment of patients. statistics from chicago underscore the particularly heavy toll of coronavirus on african—americans. figures released in april show black people accounted for half of all cases in chicago

and more than 70% of deaths — yet they are no more than 30% of the population. and that picture is replicated in many other cities with large black populations. i spoke to doctor oliver brooks, president of the national medical association, about why this is happening. so, there are three major reasons why you could have disparate outcomes. social determinants such as housing, pre—existing conditions like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, but the third one for the black american community is race. when you factor out income, education, housing, you still find that black americans have worse outcomes. and the explanation for that is this country has a 400—year history of racism and it affects the quality of life, the health, and the health outcomes of black americans. so, coronavirus is a disease of poverty and deprivation, like so many other diseases, but hugely exacerbated in this

case by the way health professionals deal with black people when they present with it? so, there is extreme concern and there is documentation of this, there is racism or implicit bias when someone like a black person goes to see a doctor, goes to the hospital. there are anecdotal studies already that are showing that this is happening in chicago and detroit, for example. so, when a black man goes to the hospital, they see ‘here's a black man, he just needs something.‘ but if a majority person comes, it's ok, let's evaluate their abnormal vital signs and check their symptoms. so, it's just like that and it all goes down to race. there seems to be an assumption somewhere to in the arguments put forward by people campaigning against lockdown, pressing for states to open up. you hear it from white people, particularly. there is sort of an assumption that we won't get

it, and they seem to recognise it hits black people harder. now, historically, there's a white supremacist argument, isn't there, that black people were more predisposed to disease? i think it was used by plantation owners, trying to convince enslaved people that they were better off on the plantation than seeking freedom ? so, the enslaved had poor diets, no health care, they worked hard, so there was likely a mortal — a possibility of earlier death and adverse outcomes from illness. however, that perception of it being a race—oriented phenomenon is incorrect and goes back to social determinants of health that were occuring 200—a00 years ago and even occui’ now. so the white supremacist movement and concept is just that, a white supremacist movement with no basis in fact. so doctor brooks, this is a long—standing problem that

goes back a long way. but the cdc is saying something very similar to what you're saying about the present day. what is to be done about it? what are the chances of fixing it? so, there are actions that can be taken to mitigate this. first of all, implicit bias training. a lot of the racism is unconscious. there are those that would swear they are not racist, buit they will do racist acts and not even know about it. but we need more african—american physicians. there was at least one study and there are others that have demonstrated that black people get better care from black doctors, because you remove race and cultural barriers. we need more culturally—sensitive messaging to be done. and very importantly, we need race and ethnic data on testing, treatment and fatalities. it's being done piecemeal by the states and counties but we do not have a national system or registry for race and ethnic data related to covid—19. and that is needed.

doctor oliver brooks, president of the national medical association. china's handling of the pandemic — in its initial stages — continues to be questioned internationally. but at home the chinese authorities say it's been a triumph. there have been no recorded deaths from the virus for over two weeks but a few new cases in wuhan over the weekend prompted plans to test each of the city's 11 million residents. from beijing, john sudworth reports. for two months, they had no work. but now these hairdressers are once again doing their usual morning team—building routine, bouncing back just like the wider chinese economy. they have no doubt who they have to thank for their salons reopening. "we all trust the communist party", the owner tells me, "and we have faith in china." accused of covering up the early outbreak and facing accusations that the virus came

from the illegal wildlife trade or even an accidental leak from this lab, china knows it's under pressure internationally. but you wouldn't know it from state—run media, showing china triumphing over the virus at home and as a powerful provider of medical aid to a world in disarray. nothing says returning normality in beijing quite like a trafficjam. and while the world grapples with the big questions over china's involvement in the crisis, it would be wrong of course to dismiss everything it's done as authoritarian folly. for others hoping to get out of lockdown, there may be lessons here too. might masks be one of those lessons? some scientists believe they may have been the key to china's success in reducing infection rates so dramatically.

in china, it is almost compulsory to go out with a mask. and perhaps it really made a big difference because we know that many covid—19 patients are asymptomatic or very mildly symptomatic. so they won't go for testing at all, so you will never detect these sort of people. masking is a continuous process which can actually protect you and others from getting infected as a result. in wuhan, the city where the outbreak began, the authorities are now planning to test all 11 million residents, the result of a small new cluster of cases, according to state—run media. there are other aspects of china's approach that may be hard to emulate, like forcing people to download apps that track their movements. but whether by coercion or common sense, few can doubt that this country appears

to have turned the corner, seemingly against the odds, and it's celebrating. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. motor—racing, like pretty much all professional sport, has been put on hold because of the coronavirus outbreak. it's unclear when it'll resume, although officials from formula 1 say they're aiming for the start ofjuly. but one british man wasn't prepared to wait and has created his own unusual racing machine. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. upbeat song kevin nicks lives for speed. he is a self—confessed petrol head. a car connoisseur. a motorsport maniac. but he does notjust make do with any old vehicles, oh no. he thinks a little out of the box. engine roaring song # i'm going to heaven in a wheelbarrow...#

# i'm going to heaven, yes, sir...# he calls it the "barrow of speed", the nippiest bit of gardening equipment you are ever likely to see. somebody donated their moped which was not running, i got it running, and everything else was just scraps and bits and pieces ihad around. now, i built this amazing machine and it has actually turned out far better than what i thought. it is such fun! # i'm going to heaven in a wheelbarrow...# kevin already holds the record for the world's fastest shed. now he aims to do the same with this deluxe wheelbarrow. he reckons he'll be able to reach a speed of up to aomph, that's 65km/h, but he wants to be an inspiration to others. get yourself busy and try to take your mind off what is going on in the world, you know, because it isn't all bad. there's gonna be a lot of good that comes out of this and that is what you

have to focus on. no record attempt will be made until the lockdown is over. in the meantime, kevin is happy to indulge in some high—speed horticulture! # i'm going to heaven in a wheelbarrow...# # so, won't you take me there?# tim allman, bbc news. in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many businesses have had to adapt to stay afloat. the arts industry is one of the hardest hit. all performers, in fact. there's been no time for clowning around for a travelling bolivian circus troupe, which was already struggling with empty rows thanks to covid—19. so, members got creative, pooling their savings to buy an oven, swapping big—top tricks for culinary tips. the onlyjuggling now is with balls of dough, with members baking and selling bread in an effort to survive. but their top—seller, hasn't lost his circus flair — a lighting technician using the opportunity to don the beloved red—nose to attract customers and proving charisma is still a crowd favourite.

that's about it for now. thank you for watching and stay safe. hello there. well, we may well be heading towards the middle part of may, but i'm sure yesterday felt more like winter for some. take sennybridge in wales for example, with a temperature to start the day at —4.7. it was the coldest may night for 25 years in wales. further north, the wintery fun didn't stop there because in shetland we had some snow falling, and down south, relatively, in orkney, we had a bit of snow covering the grassy surfaces as well with that colder air arriving behind this cold front. now, as we go through the next few hours, that is pushing southwards. it's weakening all the while, but it's still going to be enough just enough to knock down the temperatures a few degrees across eastern parts of england. so it is going to feel a little bit cooler as we head into wednesday. as i say, though, the front itself is going to disintegrate, so any rain will tend to die away over

the next few hours. and in many ways, it's a reversal of fortunes compared with last night. england and wales, quite a lot of places frost—free. scotland, a sharp frost developing here. so, wednesday, a cold start to the day. scotland, northern england with some sunshine, a few showers across northern and eastern areas. and after a cloudy start across wales, parts of the midlands, east anglia, southern england, that cloud will probably tend to break up with some spells of sunshine coming through. and as for the wind, may sunshine is quite strong, so it probably will feel ok. but underneath those cloudier moments, and particularly where it's breezy with the onshore winds, it will feel quite chilly. now for thursday, we've got the winds turning more to a north—westerly direction, not the warmest of directions, but it will be bringing some slightly less cold air in across scotland and northern ireland, with temperatures popping back up to around 12—14 degrees or so. it will be cloudy, there'll be some patches of rain at times across the north—west. bright skies further south. and then for friday, again,

we've got another weak weather front working into the north—west of scotland, bringing a few patches of rain here. otherwise, it's a dry picture with cloud thinning and breaking at times to give some sunny spells. temperatures rising, highs of 17 degrees in both london and cardiff. now, into the weekend, our area of high pressure that's been influencing the weather for a few days now begins to slip its way a little bit further southward whilst weakening. and that will allow these atlantic fronts to move in across northern areas of the uk. so, it will turn quite cloudy across northern parts, with the threat of some rain scotland, maybe northern ireland, too. england and wales, largely dry and bright and a bit milder for most as well.

this is bbc news, the headlines. one of america's top infectious disease experts has warned a us senate hearing that reopening the economy too quickly could lead to needless death and suffering. dr anthony fauci — who advises president trump — said the sitution was improving but the country did not yet have the outbreak under control. britain is extending until the end of october its scheme to subsidise the salaries of employees laid off by the coronavirus crisis. the government said employers would be asked to share more of the burden after august. the furlough arrangement has supported seven and a half millionjobs. brazil has seen a record rise in the number of deaths from coronavirus — 881. however, president bolsonaro has said the spread of the virus is inevitable and businesses must remain open to prevent a major economic crisis. over 12,000 people are known to have died.