this is bbc news. i'm maryam moshiri with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk's government rejects claims that it was ‘too slow to protect people' who were exposed to the coronavirus in care homes. even worse than previously thought. the death toll from an attack on a maternity ward in afghanistan grows even higher. us security agencies accuse china of trying to steal american research on coronavirus vaccines and treatments. we'll hear from a dr about the rare disease — thought to be linked to covid19 — which appears to be affecting children. and what lessons can the rest of the world learn from denmark about how to socially distance in schools?

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... public health england says an antibody test for coronavirus has been evaluated and is a "very positive development". the product was assessed at its porton down laboratories last week. sources say it is the first such test to offer serious potential. a top official at the world health organisation has issued a warning that the coronavirus "may never go away", and that the global community needed to brace itself for a long battle. the chilean government has ordered a mandatory

total quarantine for the capital sa ntiago's seven million people after authorities reported a 60% spike in infections in the last 2a hours. and the white house has set a target of having 300 million vaccine doses by the end of 2020 even though currently no vaccine for this pathogen has been approved. were the places that provide homes for the vulnerable and elderly ready for this crisis? are they coping now? some managers fear they're being asked to take too much risk, hospitals requesting that they take in elderly people who have tested positive with the virus. we've refused them, and i know a lot of other homes have refused them. it's very hard to control, so why on earth would they ask us to take people who are positive with the virus in a care home? the government says there isn't the evidence that that's happening on a widespread scale. but the prime minister is facing a simple accusation — the risk to care homes was seen too late. until the 12th of march, the government's own official

advice was, and i'm quoting from it, "it remains very unlikely that people receiving care in a care home will become infected". does the prime minister accept that the government was too slow? it wasn't true that the advice said that and actually, we brought the lockdown in care homes ahead of the general lockdown. the advice till mid—march did say it was very unlikely, but number ten accused keir starmer of quoting it out of context. but is the true agony of care homes known, with so many lives lost? 10,000 additional and unexplained care home deaths this april. so can the prime minister give us the government's views on these unexplained deaths? we are seeing an appreciable and substantial reduction notjust in the number of outbreaks, but also in the number of deaths.

solving the problem in care homes is going to be absolutely critical. we must fix it, and we will. there is a promise of another £600 million to help in england. why is it that the government can't seem to get a grip on the crisis in care homes? i don't underestimate the challenge being faced by residents and staff of care homes. the package of support that we're giving today builds on the work that we've been doing for many weeks now. there is more that we can do, and our whole focus now needs to be on ensuring that care homes are guided through. as each day passes, though, the disease claims more lives. betty was 95 when she passed away in care in kidderminster. very, very hard. she'd had dementia for 15 years. she'd lived with it. we saw each other every day and suddenly for that to disappear and the guilt for us, really, guilt for me at not being able to see her and support her. her daughter will lay betty to rest tomorrow, just one of so many families

changed by this disease, the virus that is altering our country too. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the uk is already in the depths of a significant recession according to the chancellor, rishi sunak. figures show the economy contracting at the fastest pace since the 2008 financial crisis.mr sunak told the bbc thatjust "a few days of impact from the virus" in march pushed the economy into decline. economists expect an even bigger slump in the current quarter. as you know, a recession is defined technically as two quarters of decline in gdp. we have seen one here with only a few days of impact from the virus, so it is now, yes, very likely that the uk economy will face a significant recession this year and we are in the middle of that as we speak.

but we do know is we are facing a time of unprecedented economic uncertainty, that is something the office for budget responsibility and the bank of england have both said. and you talked about the deficit. this year, we will face a significant rise. that is something clear in the scenarios that both of those institutions have put out. that is a result of the coronavirus impacting us and every other economy as well but also because of the measures we put in place and what is clear is we had not put those in place, the outcome would be far worse so i think that is the right thing to do to protectjobs and incomes at this time and support businesses to get through this and ensure we then can we recover strongly and get our economy back on the right footing after we emerge through this health crisis. the us security agencies have warned that china is trying to steal coronavirus vaccine and treatment data from american companies. they said the fbi was investigating digital break—ins by china—linked cyber activists against the us research institutions and pharmaceutical companies involved in the covid—i9 response. the agencies warned that both

intelectual property and public health data could be at risk. speaking on monday in anticipation of the announcement, china foreign ministry dismissed the accusation as without evidence. translation: china is a staunch defender of cyber security. and a victim of hacker attacks. we have always resolutely opposed and legally combated any forms of cyber attacks and hacking. china has been at the forefront of the world in research of covid—i9 vaccines and treatments. it is unethical for anybody to blindly frame up china and spread rumours that they cannot provide evidence to. let's get more from our north america correspondent david willis in los angeles. what more do we know about these accusations? last week, these accusations? last week, the uk in the us cybersecurity bodies issued joint alert, basically warning that certain

hacking groups were using password spraying tactics to try to get access to various websites related to the treatment like vaccines and testing and so on here in the united states. but that alert did not mention a specific country as being behind those attempts. now the fbi and the york department of homeland security has come out and said that chinese groups or chinese affiliated groups are sortable. —— department of homeland security. in targeting health ca re groups security. in targeting health care groups and medical research laboratories and so on here in an attempt to gain any information they can about vaccines or treatments. this advisory city says this is a significant threat as he puts it to america's temp to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and it warns that companies who are undertaking research in this area to be on the lookout for

any attempted operation by outside parties. of course, intellectual property in china a lwa ys intellectual property in china always been quite a sore point for the united states. that is right. the united states has accused for china of cyber espionage for a long time now. the authorities in china have a lwa ys the authorities in china have always denied it, but this latest advisory really ramps up the tensions i think between the tensions i think between the united states and china at a time when president trump has called into question the chinese level of transparency over the spread of the origin of the coronavirus saying that he believes based on intelligence information that this virus cannot from a wet market and will hand, but for my laboratories there and he has also threatened the united states president to punish china in the form of additional tariffs. —— it will hand. this

practice up the heat between the two superpowers if you like. it does indeed. that this brings up the heat. thank you. government scientists from public health england say an antibody test made by the drug company roche is a very promising development. the test was assessed by phe at its laboratories last week. it looks for antibodies in the bloodstream to see whether an individual has in the past had the coronavirus and has gained immunity. sources say say it's the first such test to offer serious potential — previous antibody tests have proved unreliable. fewer than 2% of reported coronavirus infections are in children. but doctors around the world are concerned about a rise in cases of a potentially life—threatening inflammatory disease — believed to be linked to the virus — which appears to be affecting children. the condition is relatively rare — with fewer than 100 cases in the uk — and now 15 us states are investigating cases of their own. earlier i spoke to

dr deepika thacker — a cardiologist at nemours children's health system in delaware, who's treated a number of cases. i asked her what were the symptoms to look out for. some of it is still a mystery to us. but i think the symptoms we are looking for and asking people to look out for is high—grade fever, severe abdominal complaints, pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, sometimes headaches and dizziness, sometimes chest pain, rash and conjunctivitis. some of the symptoms you are describing are symptoms that a lot of kids will get it for many different reasons. how do we know this is a link to coronavirus? i think we have seen a rise in the number of children come again with this and when we see them in the hospital and do some blood test and do an echocardiogram, and ultrasound of the heart, we see changes that are not typically seen in a lot of other common conditions.

and the children typically appear sick and when we see them as doctors, we find they have low blood pressure presented with shock. so i think the best thing for parents to do is to connect with the child's docotr. with the child's doctor. you talked about testing the heart. this does affect the heart, doesn't it? it does. in what way? what we are seeing what this inflammatroy system can cause some decrease in heart function. an enlargement of the car letter arteries, the blood vessels that supply the art and like i said, a lot of the shows and are presenting with shock. how come it is affecting kids and not adults specifically? again, that is something we are trying to figure out now. i think it has a different kind of immune response to various stimuli and we are thinking this is immune mediated. i wouldn't say adults are absolutely not affected. there have been some cases where adults who have the coronavirus infection start doing better and then a few days

later get sick again. and maybe there is a correlation there. what is the treatment for this inflammatory disease and how successful is it? for right now the treatment is really supportive. we support the blood pressure with medicines and support the ventilation on breathing they are using different medicines that have been used to modulate or suppress the immune system, so steroids, ibmg or intravenous immune have been tried successfully. for the most part, children, if they are picked up early and treated properly, they do respond well. do we know how many cases are globally quick shall i don't have an answer yet. i think a lot of registries are trying to collect that data. i think in europe already have about 100 cases. 102 as we heard from the governor in new york today. 1a other states in the united states and with the number from one to ten in each one of them. let's get some of the day's other news.

chile will impose a total lockdown across the capital, santiago, following a spike in the number of coronavirus infections. the new restrictions will come into effect on friday evening. chile has so far managed to keep the disease under control and the authorities were considering partially reopening the economy. but there's now a reported 60% rise in the number of daily cases. lebanon has re—imposed its nationwide lockdown after recording a second spike in coronavirus infections. shops, restaurants and hair—salons had been given the go ahead to re—open — but the government now says they'll have to close again. the efforts to fight the virus have had a crushing impact on the economy, which was in a dire state even before the pandemic struck. south africa's president cyril ramaphosa says in the coming days the lock—down imposed due to the coronavirus will be eased slightly further with more businesses and shops allowed to operate and fewer restrictions on exercise. the country has been the worst hit on the african continent

with over 12,000 confirmed cases and more than 200 deaths. uber has announced that it will spend 50 million dollars on personal safety equipment and supplies for its drivers, to protect them from the coronavirus. beginning on monday both drivers and passengers will be required to wear face coverings. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... eu travel chiefs plan to revive the bloc‘s tourism industry that's been hit hard by coronavirus. "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 call the butcher of lyon 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 of remorse. the chinese government has called for and all the effort to help the victims of a powerful earthquake, the worst in 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 at the feet are a reigning world champion in a classical test match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking place in massachusetts. god bless america! this is bbc news, the latest headlines. the uk government has rejected claims that it was ‘too slow to protect people' who were exposed to the coronavirus in care homes.

and the treasury here warns that the country is already in the depths of a significant recession. one other main story now and the number of people killed in an attack on a maternity ward in the afghan capital kabul has risen to 24. mothers, newborn babies and nurses were among the victims, and at least 16 people were injured. the head of the world health organization has condemned the attack in the strongest terms, as our chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports. delivered into a world of war. infants who escaped death in their first hours of life. their mothers shot dead just after giving birth. the doctor said 19 newborns were brought to his hospital by security forces, only

two with mothers. babies who also don't have names, known by their mothers. zumira's baby is all alone. the shots rang out on tuesday morning, three gunmen storming the hospital in a poor neighborhood of kabul. afghan special forces soon flooded the area, carrying guns and babies. today anxious relatives still search for loved ones at this hospital run by doctors without borders. a people who've lived with war all their lives, but not this. unthinkable mayhem in a maternity clinic and a cemetery as well. today they dug new graves for lives also lost on tuesday in a suicide blast at a funeral. victims of the islamic state, but no group said it had attacked the hospital.

the taliban say it was not their work but they have intensified their operations in recent months and the afghan government blamed them, ordering its forces on the offensive again, shattering hope there would soon be peace talks and a cease—fire to fight their common enemy, covid—19. the taliban fighting it in areas they control, while rejecting any truce. and the government battles the virus as well, worried a fragile health system will be overwhelmed as the disease spreads. but a vicious war still takes many more lives than the virus. when even babies are targets, fear grows of a war without end. lyse doucet, bbc news. more how on coronavirus the european commission has issued new guidelines on tourism and travel, for eu member states to follow, as they ease the lockdown.

a phased approach would begin with allowing in seasonal workers. restrictions would then be relaxed between regions where the virus was under a similar level of control. we'll hear from our correspondents in spain and italy injust a moment, but first to brussels and this report by our europe editor katya adler. an overnight leap from lockdown to european beach party this certainly isn't. eu countries are only just beginning to lift their lockdown measures. here in belgium they are opening the shops. next week, the schools. but with strict social distancing measures in place. so what does that mean for our holidays? well, ultimately, each eu country decides for itself when to open its beaches and borders to european visitors. brussels can only advise. today the advice was, slowly, slowly. first, open your borders to workers and for goods you need to get your economies going again, then think of tourism.

if there's enough testing and tracing capacity for covid—19, and if there are strict rules on accommodation, transport and leisure activities. and if there's a second big wave of infection, then travel restrictions could be reimposed. so basically, don't pack your summer swimsuit yet. while in brussels they are talking about plans for easing travel, here in spain they are moving in the opposite direction. from friday, a new quarantine will be in place for all arrivals from outside the country. two weeks in isolation. here in madrid, there is a bit more traffic in the centre and some businesses are starting to open, but we are under tight restrictions still. around the country, it's different. in some regions the easing is going ahead, bars and cafes opening outdoors, people able to gather in groups of up to ten. here, that won't happen until tracing systems are in place to identify and shut down any new virus outbreaks. and hotels, well, they can open, but many say they are not going to until those new international arrivals

start to happen again. grazie. last week, italy got this essential freedom back — the takeaway espresso. along with reopening parks and allowing family visits, it marked the initial easing of the world's longest lockdown. on monday, libraries and museums reopen and possibly restaurants and hairdressers too. they are deciding on that tomorrow. schools are shut until september. it's a relief, but it's also nerve—racking, as the first western country to be overwhelmed by the virus waits to see if this prompts another spike, especially if italy relaxes the two—week quarantine on entering and follows eu guidelines to ease travel. mark lowen ending that report in italy. we've been talking about the risks of coronavirus to children, which isjust one of the reasons why getting kids back to school is so fraught. denmark has been leading the way. schools there re—opened a month ago, using social distancing,

and a lot of creativity, to keep everyone safe. 0ur europe correspondent jean mackenzie reports. it has been hard to not hug each other. she says you can't hug each other, so you have to hug yourself. keeping kids apart requires some imagination. they're not worried about the virus at all. when they came back, we had lots of activities to try to make them not worry, but they didn't worry, so we had to give up on that. it wasn't needed? not at all. the school's been cleverly redrawn so each child only comes into contact with a very small number of children. normally they sit two and two. you have the class of 20 that's been cut down to two groups of ten. that's why you have the plastic. because those two groups aren't allowed to mix? no, exactly. when they are going outside in the breaks, we have to divide those groups

into even smaller groups. so the kids just have four other children that they are allowed to play with and they are only given one part of the playground that they are allowed to be in. my name's sky, i'm seven years old. we keep our distance when we play. you can't play catch. what do you play instead? hula—hoop. and there is a lot of this. how many times do you wash your hands a day now? five to six. denmark reopened primary schools very early on. it was feared the infection rate would rise and, initially, it did, but it's back down again and, with so many parents in work here, this was a targeted risk. if we have to get the economy moving again, then we need to get the kids back into not only schools, but also daycare, to try to enhance productivity for those forced still to work at home. it was a challenge to do your

job while having him home. it is much more easy for me to concentrate. i have a row of hours where i canjust work. a lot of parents wrote to me that they had some kind of concerns, a few parents that are so concerned that they wouldn't let their child come in the first week. after two weeks, they rejoined and it's been no problem. actually, it was the kids at home who said, "why can't i go?" this, they said, was impossible — children social distancing. now it might not be school as they know it, but they are making it work. a very beautiful danish song, actually. the direct translation is, "when the light returns, it's back." the light is back. jean mackenzie, bbc news, denmark. no bbc news, denmark. forget, you can see any of the no forget, you can see any of the stories you have been watching on our website. —— do not forget. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @bbcmaryam.

thank you for your company. goodbye. hello. wednesday was a pretty decent day for many parts of the british isles. high pressure west of the british isles, providing quite a bit of dry area for many areas. there is the high as we start thursday, still extending that low of high pressure across many areas, but underneath that under overnight, the skies will clear. there will be quite a widespread frost to start the day, it might even be 1—2 records set for the night. a different story north in scotland, the weather front here dragging in a fair amount of cloud, a more noticeable breeze, though breezy still through the channel areas and the southern counties of england. but in between, come the afternoon, there will be variable cloud

and decent sunny spells. we are just beginning to take those temperatures up from where they were at the start of the week. 0vernight, i think we will still import quite a bit of cloud across many areas of the british isles, and if you keep the cloud, that will help to keep temperatures up. so thursday into friday, notjust as cold, though if you keep the skies clear, again you're temperatures really will dribble away. so here we are as far ahead as friday. rather having the northerly that we had on the eastern flank of that high to start the week, now it is more of a westerly breeze with a hint of northerly in it. so that is just helping to give a slightly warmer feel to the days then we started in the week. there's still a lot of dry weather, although weather front is plaguing the north and northwest of scotland, so more cloud and rain here. wherever you look on that chart, you will find those temperatures finding a degree or two per day. 0n into the weekend, forget all about northerly is and north westerlies.

it is much more of a south and south—westerly flow around the area of high—pressure there. certainly dominant in the south of the british isles, but you will notice further north we have weather fronts. so although it turns increasingly mild, it is not all sunshine all the way by any means, and certainly in the sunday we suspect a good part of scotland and northern ireland could see enough cloud for there to be bits and pieces of rain. certainly further south under the influence of high—pressure, a lot of dry weather and things certainly warming up. will

this is bbc news, the headlines

the uk government has rejected claims that it was ‘too slow to protect people' who were exposed to the coronavirus in care homes. critics say the prime minister must account for official figures —— showing 10,000 ‘unexplained' deaths last month —— in care homes in england and wales. the uk is already in the depths of a significant recession according to the chancellor, rishi sunak. figures show the economy contracting at the fastest pace since the 2008 financial crisis. mr sunak told the bbc that just "a few days of impact from the virus" in march pushed the economy into decline. us security agencies have accused china of trying to steal american research on coronavirus vaccines and treatments. the fbi and the us cybersecurity agency say they're investigating digital break—ins by chinese—backed hackers at us research institutions and pharmaceutical companies involved in the covid—nineteen response.