this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the coronavirus infection rate has crept back up in the uk. it's now close to the point where infections may rise again. new figures show more than 12,000 people living in care homes in england and wales have died with covid—19. the died with covid—19. us president donald trump announces the us president donald trump announces a new initiative faster at the development of a coronavirus vaccine. it's called 0peration warp speed. that means big, and it means fast. a massive scientific, industrial and logistical endeavour unlike anything our country has seen since the manhattan project. the german economy contracts at the fastest pace since 2009, shrinking by 2.2% in the first three

months of this year. ministers in england want some primary school children back in class in two weeks' time, unions still have concerns. music. also in the programme, musicians have been performing bedside concerts over the phone for hospital patients in the us. 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 rate at which coronavirus can be spread across the uk has gone up, and is close to the point where infections may rise again. the reproduction or r number,

needs to stay below one to control the spread, but rates vary across the uk, and could result in stricter lockdown measures in some areas. in lockdown measures in some areas. some areas pai northeast in some areas particularly in the northeast there are concerns. latest figures show 384 people died of coronavirus in the latest 24—hour period in uk hospitals and the wider community as well as care homes, taking the overall number of dead to 33,998. meanwhile, the true picture of the impact of coronavirus in the uk's care homes is beginning to emerge as new analysis shows that more than a quarter of deaths in care homes in england and wales between march and may involved covid—i9. this included some who died in hospitals. in the united states, president trump has announced a new initiative to fast track the development of a coronavirus vaccine. he says the government will invest in all the top vaccines and is focusing on m

potential candidates. he's enlisted the help of the us military and the pharmaceutical industry. in germany, there's been some bleak economic news. the economy contracted in the first quarter by 2.2%, the steepest three—month decline since the 2008 financial crisis. back to the uk, teachers' unions have met with the government's scientific advisers to demand assurances that it will be safe to allow more children to return to schools in england next month. more on all that over the next hour, but first our science editor david shukman on the infection rate across the uk. some areas are hit harder by the virus than others. the north east of england seems to have one of the highest rates of infection. it's thought that one factor could be deprivation. but whatever the cause, the council in gateshead wants to move more cautiously than national government. we don't have the same powers as scotland and wales and northern ireland.

if i had those powers, if we had those powers here in gateshead, i'm absolutely certain that we would be imposing the same restrictions as in scotland and in wales and northern ireland. so, our social media message from the local authority has stayed exactly the same — it's "stay at home". where possible, stay at home. that pressure for different approaches across the uk is driven by different estimates for rates of infection, what's called the r number. one new study says london now has the lowest rate. at one point, it was suffering the worst of the outbreak. then the midlands. anything below one means the virus is declining, but the south east, east, south west and north west are all closer to that threshold of one. with the north east and yorkshire having the highest rate of all regions in england. scotland is thought to be in the range of 0.7—1, and wales and northern ireland 0.8—0.9. there is a geographical march of it really, a spread of it georgraphically from london and the cities outwards. so, the north east isjust perhaps

later than other regions in acquiring the virus and then having the epidemic. but there may be other factors. and we do know that disadvantage has certainly, in hospitalisation and in admissions with severe disease, disadvantage and in certain populations, it seems to have a severe effect. the scottish government was the first to declare that its restrictions would stay in place for the time being. and like everywhere, there's a struggle to work out exactly how fast the virus is spreading. there may well be differences between urban and rural, but the further we go into small geographic areas, the greater the uncertainty that there is in making those assessments. but at the moment, the advice i have is that the most reliable way of reporting the r number is in the range we report it and at a scotland—wide level. the uk government says restrictions may be relaxed at different rates. but that could be difficult

to manage if some people are free to move around and others are still in lockdown. david shukman, bbc news. there are more revelations of the shocking effects of coronavirus in care homes. latest figures show that more than a quarter of deaths of care home residents in england and wales including some who died in hospitals between march and may, involved coronavirus, that's more than 12,500 people. of those, nine out of ten victims had at least one pre—existing condition, most commonly dementia and alzheimer's disease. earlier today, the uk government has been government has been giving details of its next steps on helping care homes in england. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt reports. thomas port was 101. he was ex—navy, frail but still determined, even in a pandemic. his reaction was, "i picked up

survivors on the arctic and atlantic convoys, i survived all that, so i'm going to survive this." but in april, he became one of the 16,000 care home residents who've passed away in the past two months. his son peter believes coronavirus arrived in his father's nursing home with a patient discharged from hospital. he's angry that more wasn't done to protect residents. i believe that there was a fundamental error made at the beginning, that care homes either weren't going to suffer the coronavirus because of their enclosed environment or alternatively they didn't really care about it or even think about it. this care home in sheffield managed to keep the virus out by having staff move in. it's worked, but now they've unlocked again. like the majority of care homes, this is a small, family—run business and the strain on them is huge. i mean, staff are tired. it's long hours, long days, long weeks.

you know, it's not a measure you can put in place for six, nine months. it's physically and emotionally and mentally not possible to do for that long without constantly changing your staff. today, the health and social care secretary gave details of ring—fenced money to improve infection control in homes, including more support from councils and the nhs. we're putting in place a named clinical lead for every care home in england. these leads are already connected and will check in regularly to assess residents and support care home staff with clinical advice. the measures you've introduced today, aren't they too little too late? well, what i've set out today are the things we've been doing throughout this crisis to support people in care homes. but worried by the number of deaths in care homes, some families are moving their relatives out. they're looking more at what's

happening in the next month or two, so actually we're not seeing people book sort of long—term, butjust to ensure that their parents are safe. hi, mum. rosa, who has dementia, was having respite care in a home, but when other residents developed covid—i9, her son, who'd already had the virus, moved her out. they've been self—isolating together. she's been a great mum, and the last thing we want to do is put her in harm's way. but maybe a stroke of luck that i picked up the virus and was recovering, and it gave us the option of taking her out... we've had a bit of luck on our side. she's not shown any signs. and we're onto... yes, very good, very good... give me a kiss. there you go. and at such a time, knowing that our families are safe, whether they're with us

or in a home, couldn't be more important. alison holt, bbc news. look after your mum. us president donald trump has announced a new initiative to fast track the development of a coronavirus vaccine. he says the government will invest in all the top vaccines and is focussing on m potential candidates. he's enlisted the help of the us military and the pharmaceutical industry. it's called 0peration warp speed. that means big, and it means fast. a massive scientific, industrial and logistical endeavour unlike anything our country has seen since the manhattan project. you really could say that nobody‘s seen anything like we're doing, whether it's ventilators or testing, nobody‘s seen anything like we're doing now within our country since the second world war. incredible. its objective is to finish developing and then to manufacture

and distribute a proven coronavirus vaccine as fast as possible. again, we'd love to see if we could do it prior to the end of the year. donald trump and the rose garden a little earlier. 0ur washington correspondent gary 0'donoghue explains the significance of trump's announcement. it's interesting because it was not really just an announcement about a new effort on the vaccine. in some ways, you'd expect that to be happening right now. full steam ahead on a vaccine with preparations to distribute it. but it was a campaign speech as well. it was peppered, as the president so often does, with superlatives. the biggest, the highest, the greatest, the fastest, etc, etc, etc. it was classic donald trump. the adjectival president as he is in that way. and i think you heard the sort of reality from his vaccine chiefs there, who were saying about the ambition to do this by the end of the year that it's very credible but extremely challenging.

if ever someone was nodding in both directions, i think that's what you heard there from the vaccine chiefs. but enhancing the military, thinking them onboard to be part of the distribution, the president hadn't quite worked out the messaging on whether this was an international effort or a purely national effort. he said at one stage this was all done in america but we are working with everyone around the world and it doesn't matter if someone else finds it, we have no ego, he said, in this one. so some interesting developments there. we will see where it develops on from there. but as you say, incredibly ambitious target for the end of the year. as some us states begin to reopen after coronavirus lockdowns emerging data suggests new cases have continued to drop despite the relaxation of rules. states like georgia and florida, which experts were concerned

about, haven't seen a rise in total cases. georgia's new cases declined by i2% compared to the previous week, and florida's dropped by 14%. however, that is not the case for every state. south dakota, for instance, has seen a 123% increase. that's likely down to the outbreaks in the meat processing industry. as states reopen, the cdc has released some advice on what people should be doing. i asked dr maureen miller, an infectious diseases epidemiologist, if people fully understand the guidance. and about recent claims that the president is eroding the cdc. the cdc has been completely marginalised. every outbreak pandemic that has occurred in this century and before has been headed by the cdc. and when the coronavirus pandemic was first coming to the us, the director of the respiratory and

infectious diseases of the cdc came out and made a stark statement about the reality of this virus. and we have never heard from her again. so there have been really everybody silenced that could have some impact except for dr fauci and thank heavens for him. and we in the public health immunity live in fear they will get rid of him. and some would say on the right the plan was never to lock down indefinitely, it was designed to flatten the curve. we look at the state so we have just looked at, georgia are down 14%, florida, these are the states that reopened in april. something is happening. 0ur reopened in april. something is happening. our people perhaps paying attention to the social distancing rules 7 attention to the social distancing rules? it is having an effect and maybe we don't need to be locked down so tightly. i have two things

about that. because i think the american public in the face of watching what was going on in europe and was suspected strongly it would come here, people are terrified and they made major, major changes like i have ever seen. and they are still nervous. but the point of having the curb flattened and i think they did and it is likely declining, that was due to people's actions. the second pa rt due to people's actions. the second part of that i made the declining cases, i just went on the part of that i made the declining cases, ijust went on the georgia state public health department site and they are very much rationing tests. so we don't know really what the state of infections is in georgia. they are rationing people in hospitals and they are rationing toa in hospitals and they are rationing to a systematic people who are first responders, health care workers and

a very vague group called critical infrastructure workers. no one else is allowed to get tests unless they go to is allowed to get tests unless they gotoa is allowed to get tests unless they go to a private laboratory and pay for it themselves. and also just finally there is a lie. we don't know what is going to happen in two weeks' time. but would you admit, would you accept this will be hugely important in the run—up to the 20/20 election because what happens in the states, in these republican states over the next few weeks, the direction of travel of the infections, that is going to be jumped on if it continues to go downwards? absolutely it will if it continues to go downwards at one of the reasons i'm suggesting an underlying cause is that we are not tens of people who are getting infected. and who do not make those infections will be simmering all summerand infections will be simmering all summer and then they will come back in the fall when people have a false sense of security. i think the coronavirus will be affected by seasonality but mostly because people will do outdoor activities.

indoor activities, that is where we will see spikes, outbreaks and in a few weeks that locked in before we start seeing hospitalizations. doctor maureen miller there was some interesting theories about all the cases not being counted. herem teachers' unions say their meeting with the government's scientific advisers has not fully answered their concerns about whether it will be safe to allow more children to return to schools in england next month. some teachers argue social distancing will be difficult, particularly for young children. the government says its given schools the guidance and support they need for a phased return of pupils from june the 1st. 0ur education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports. at the heart of a village, trusted by its families, a school working out how to reopen. this is our early years environment. and for the youngest, all would change. the rugs, the soft chairs, the soft cuddly toys are things

that we're probably going to have to probably get rid of. the head says this can't be made safe byjune. does it smite your heart a bit that this is all going to have to go? notjust a bit. we're asking them not to interact with each other, not to play together. is it child care or are we still continuing to develop those children? this is our corridor which takes us through to key stage two. she'll try to open for years one and six. it's not even two metres' width. that's going to be one way, surely. you'd think, but then how do we manage that? almost every day, new government advice. parents will have to leave via the new exit. more changes to be put in place byjune the 1st. i'm worried about how close that is. there are still very high rates of new cases. high rates of deaths across the country. i feel that it has all been very rushed. each school is trying to work out what it can manage in a couple of weeks' time. and in many cases,

that could be less than the government's suggesting. and then it's up to parents whether they choose to send their children to school. jenny‘s boys have been in school. she's a key worker. some of isaac's year six friends will return. 0verall, it's been a positive experience for them. there is some real value, ithink, for a child's mental health to be out of their home environment for some time. but heather doesn't want isabel in nursery. she thinks her girls are safer at home. the risks are just too high. she's too little to understand about the social distancing measures that are out there. and i think it's more important that she stays at home where she's safe and she's happy. liverpool council said today schools don't have to reopen, but some academy schools think they should. if you're living on floor ten of a tower block, if you're not going out, if there's not a park nearby, you have no digital access,

then the mental health issues for you and your parents are considerable. with each passing day, more changes have been made, but tonight teachers' unions said doubts remain. the rest of the uk is watching. england is the only part hoping to reopen schools within weeks. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. following the break—up of that meeting, dr patrick roach, general secretary of the nasuwt the teachers' union, said... well, one charity has already picked up from its early research that children from poorer backgrounds are suffering as a direct

result of the lockdown. for more on this, let's speak to louisa mcgeehan, director of policy at child poverty action group, a charity which works to support children growing up in poverty in the uk. shejoins me now. good to have you with us. safeguarding in schools is so important to ensuring children get meals come that they are being cared for at home and it must be a worry to you that during this lockdown so many of them are out of sight. yes. we don't particularly have safeguarding but we have been looking at what is happening with those children and young people and theirfamilies while those children and young people and their families while schools have been closed because normally we will been closed because normally we will be working with them around how well schools adapt and become inclusive for low income families. so we have been picking up some evidence from our survey we have put out in the first two weeks, it had over 1000 responses from parents and about 400 from children and young people. it

is interesting because one of the main concerns they have got that you would expect money worries and that isa would expect money worries and that is a big feature. and there is a lot of kind of highlighting i divide between those who have computer and digital access and those who don't. but it's been the emotional impact that has been almost the strongest factor, that was really parents have been talking about. in almost all the children who responded said they we re the children who responded said they were missing their friends and their chance to have social interaction out of their family. and that is so important in early development, is it not? it is and when you thing about the very youngest children especially, when they go in a school thatis especially, when they go in a school that is so much of their world as well as education, it is will they get play and often having enriching activities after school. they are seeing their friends and developing their social skills. so unsurprisingly when this closure came, very suddenly, little warning,

the impact emotionally on children has been huge. and we think about older kids and teenagers and the loss of independence that has come from being stuck in the house with your parents and your siblings and whatever. but actually you have lost so much of your world. and there is probably a really strong desire to get back to normal. but one of the surprising things that parents have been say is when kids go back to school, they want to see a focus on kind of nurturing and emotional support. rather than a purely academic one. that is an important point and maybe we can come back to that but i just point and maybe we can come back to that but ijust wanted to get your feeling about this current row. the unions say they don't have a plan for going back. they say it is ill thought out and nothing short of recklessness and the secretary of state accuses him of scaremongering. where do you see in this debate? we

don't really inasmuch as we started talking about parents and it was the 1st of may and this was not yet on the horizon and we know that there is enormous stress and strain on families as a result of the closure. we know that families with children are faring much worse in terms of the economic and financial impact, quite dramatically worse. almost 40% having a financial impact compared to 22% for families without kids. so the impact is enormous. 0r to 22% for families without kids. so the impact is enormous. or we have not specifically asked when do you think the time is right. not specifically asked when do you think the time is rightlj not specifically asked when do you think the time is right. i wonder if you have some thoughts. we have shown our viewers with the disparities around the country in the art rate which is bringing back the art rate which is bringing back the thinking that maybe we can have a regional difference. iwonder the thinking that maybe we can have a regional difference. i wonder if you think in london where the r rate is somewhere around 0.4 that we could get schools back in the next few weeks and maybe delay it in the northeast of england. it is not for

us to make thatjudgement. but i think it is quite interesting when pa rents a re think it is quite interesting when parents are saying that they want kids back to school for that emotional support and that brought her well—being if as in your film before that means that young children will not be able to play with lego or soft toys and there will be distance between them and their teachers or classroom assista nts their teachers or classroom assistants who work closely with them. that in itself would be an incredibly difficult situation to put young children into.|j incredibly difficult situation to put young children into. i don't wa nt to put young children into. i don't want to put you in a political position and i know you cannot take a position perhaps butjust very quickly because we are almost out of time, if he was in the sooner, the better. i would not actually. 0h, sorry. when the time is right and it is safe to do so, art concert at the moment is while this is still ongoing and it is very much ongoing,

the one measure of the government has done for families on low incomes is the replacement of free school mess so we would urge them to please continue to do that. thank you very much indeed. bbc news. good evening. it certainly has been a week of contrasts. we start off with a cloudy, cool note, that northeasterly flow really having an impact on the feel of the weather, with temperatures struggling perhaps in some places to get into double figures. then we had clear skies and night—time frost. in actualfact in northern ireland, it was the lowest may minimum for nearly 40 years. however, slowly but surely, the temperatures have recovered a little, and we close out the week with one or two of us seeing potentially 20 celsius. high pressure will dominate across england and wales, but as we move into the weekend, this weather front will bring more significant rain, particularly to the extreme northwest. we start off saturday with some

showers across scotland, a few showers into northern ireland, 1—2 maybe into northwest england, as well, and still pretty windy here with gusts in excess of 40 mph. sunny spells across england and wales, and in the sunshine it will still feel pleasantly warm — 17—18 celsius not out of the question. the more significant rain arrives as we go into sunday. for some in the highlands and islands, we could see 50 mm, a couple inches of rain here. and it will be windy with it, too. for northern ireland and eastern scotland, the rain is lighter and patchier, but england and wales a degree or so warmer. we could see temperatures peaking at 21 celsius. now that weather front will continue to drift its way north and east, so as we head into monday, it means that the northern isles may well see a pretty disappointing day. but a slow improvement for all with showers across the northwest, but sunny spells starting to come through. and into the afternoon, it will be pleasant and a degree or so warmer still, high teens

likely across england and wales, 22 celsius the highest value here — not quite as warm in the northern isles under that cloud and rain. tuesday will be drier and warmer still, pretty much across the country a pleasant day. and as we head through the middle part of the week, that's when we are likely to see potentially the warmest of the weather. the high pressure really building itself, drifting slowly eastwards. but this weak weather front may well trigger off a few sharp showers into the north yet again. however, the wind direction is driving up this warm air from the south, and it'll stay with us, meaning widely we will see those temperatures perhaps peaking at 21 celsius for glasgow, 24 celsius for birmingham, but highest values possible of 25 celsius. take care.

this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the coronavirus infection rate creeps back up in the uk. it's now close to the point where infections may rise again. new figures show more than 12,000 people living in care homes in england and wales have died with covid—19. donald trump announces a new initiative to fast—track the development of a coronavirus vaccine. ministers in england want some primary school children to go back to class in two weeks' time. the teaching unions still have concerns. the german economy contracts at the fastest pace since 2009, shrinking by 2.2% in the first three months of this year.

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. it started with one new york doctor wanting to bring some kind of relief to coronavirus patients. at one covid—19 unit in manhattan, musicians started performing bedside concerts for coronavirus patients over the phone. the concerts have since expanded all over the us. some patients are awake and able to respond — others are on ventilators and heavily sedated. let's have a listen. music

very nice. andrew janss is a cellist who recruited musicians to perform for patients over the phone. he is co—director of a nonprofit called project: music heals us, which organises free classical concerts in nursing homes, hospices, prisons, homeless shelters and refugee centres. dr michael robbins is an emergency medicine physician the new york presbyterian/columbia university irving medical centre. he has been helping to facilitate the concerts. welcome to both, a great pleasure to have you with us. andrew, let me start with this. how do the project come about? actually, an old friend of mine, doctor rachel easter wood, whom i to music school with, she was

a clarinetist, we were talking and i knew she was working in one of these covid—19 units. we were talking about what we could do for the patients, and one of the biggest issues for us was that the isolation they are facing not only from family and friends, but also from their medical staff who have to get in and get out at risk of infection — we wa nted get out at risk of infection — we wanted to bring some sense of community, some sort of sense of one—on—one personal connection to these patients. in music is what we have to offer, and while our programming has been cancelled for the foreseeable future, we wanted to move as quickly as possible to offer this now to the most isolated people in the world. tell me how it works, then. if you were in hospital and you wanted to hear this, what do people see, how do they connect with you? what do you see of them? the medical staff like doctor robbins

and doctor easter wood are critical to this, because they are the boots on the ground bringing the devices or setting out the concerts digitally for the musicians. each hospital is a little bit different, but we are trusting that we can bring these concerts without violating patient privacy, bringing them music and community in a respectful manner to hipaa compliance in the united states, things like that. so, doctor, we have heard that talking to people who are in comas does help. do you think this is making a real difference to covid—19 patients? think this is making a real difference to covid—19 patients7m is hard to say with a intubated patients, because i don't know how much they can hear. but i feel like in the event that they do, it is really important to bring some comfort and compassion. and even the patients who are not on ventilators,

people who are less ventilated seem to really appreciate this, and i think it bring the macro provides a lot of compassion and humanity to our intensive care units. so how does it work from your side? you are behind your mass, it is an entirely impersonal business, it is very stressful. dust mask. how do you gather information from patients that they might benefit from this? generally patients that are sedated and on ventilators, i'll reach out to family members usually by phone, as and sure mansion, family members can't be in hospital for safety reasons. i'll call them and ask them if this is something their family member would appreciate, and humourously people say that their family isn't a fan of classical music. 0thers family isn't a fan of classical music. others say they would really enjoy that, and i proceed. do you play this to your staff?|j enjoy that, and i proceed. do you play this to your staff? i do, we've had a couple concerts for the staff,

we bring everyone to the break room. and it is actually really fantastic because we can do video conferencing with the musicians and the staff, so we can see them play the cello and the piano. it isjust fantastic. andrew, some of the patients who are listening are on regular floors, they are awake and able to communicate. 0thers they are awake and able to communicate. others are on these ventilators. are you aware of the effect you are having on them? sometimes there have been numerous incidents where you can hear the beating of the machine on the other line, even if you can't see or hear the patients themselves. and you can hear as you are starting to play, the machines kind of calm down, the levels of breathing — yeah, you can have a tangible effect on somebody ina great have a tangible effect on somebody in a great amount of stress. and mostly we are listening to the

medical staff after the concerts who are relating to us more what is actually happening through their own eyes. we a re actually happening through their own eyes. we are providing the best we have to offer in following the medical staffs guidance in what they think that is. so it has been a really wonderful collaboration for us to have such incredible medical staff to work with who are doing this on top of the incredible amount of responsibilities they already have. we cannot thank them enough. andrew, i know you can perhaps feel something tangible from what the machines are doing. but has anybody recovered and come back to you and said, "you know what? that really made a difference to me." we've not been an personal contact with any of the patients, but i knowjust recently, i know a number of patients who, when intubated at the very beginning of this crisis, have started to be extubated, we don't know much more than that but we are

hoping this made a really positive difference. 0r hoping this made a really positive difference. or that itjust brought a moment of humanity to the situation that they are in. doctor michael, you talked about the effect on your staff and the mental pressure thereof under. before we leave, perhaps you could talk about your unit leave, perhaps you could talk about yourunitand leave, perhaps you could talk about your unit and why this has made a difference? as you've been hearing from varying reports, some of these new york city emergency care units we re new york city emergency care units were a to war zones. new york city emergency care units were a to war zones. everyone new york city emergency care units were a to war zones. everyone around us was ventilated and on into beater, everyone was critically ill — — intubate beater, everyone was critically ill —— intubate her. so it was dire, to say the least. so to have classical music emanating through our apartment while someone was receiving a concertjust apartment while someone was receiving a concert just change the atmosphere for us. i think it made a really big difference to me as well as my staff, and also the patient's. something you would recommend to

other hospitals? absolutely, yeah. it isa other hospitals? absolutely, yeah. it is a fabulous project. doctor michael robbins and andrewjanss, thank you very much, it has been a to you. thank you so much for having us. the head of britain's negotiating team that is trying to reach a new trade deal with the eu says there's been "very little progress" towards agreement on the most significant outstanding issues. david frost said the main obstacle was the eu's insistence on binding the uk to its laws and standards. "it is hard to understand why the eu insists on an ideological approach which makes it more difficult to reach a mutually beneficial agreement." the head of the eu delegation, michel barnier, has also been speaking. he says the uk is trying to pick and choose the more attractive elements of the single market without meeting the obligations that come with it. translation: apart from these few modest openings,

no progress has been possible on the other more difficult subjects. the united kingdom has not got into a real discussion about the level playing field — whatever they say. it is the rules of fair play for the economy and trade, the level playing field, which we agreed on with boris johnson, the uk prime minister, in the political declaration which remains a relevant document for for today and the future. on this subject, it was a round of diverging views without any progress. 0ur correspondent gavin lee from brussels explains the key issues. we've got one final round coming up next month. and that's crucial, because both sides decide, have they made enough progress to try to get a trade deal by the end of the year? which is the momentum that british government the give it say, we've set into law that we will be able to leave up the eu completely

with a trade deal in place, but bear in mind most countries — canada, for example — take seven yea rs—plus. so this is super—speed they're going at. and of course, in the pandemic, the negotiating teams are not meeting face—to—face. michel barnier, the chief negotiator for the eu, saying today that that was actually not as effective in some ways, because whilst they're meeting, sometimes they're having 40 video conference streams at the same time with different negotiating teams. so there's a lot going on. but, he said, critically, you can't have somebody leaving the room with somebody else getting down to the brass tacks and saying, "how can we find a compromise?" so they are trying to find something in the middle. and this from david frost, britain's chief negotiator, is withering, saying basically that they've unbalanced the eu in the way that they are dealing with setting out common rules for both sides in all areas of trade — they call it the level playing field. and also on fishing, saying that that you want access to british fishing waters that doesn't fit in accordance with what will be a coastal nation.

and briefly, michel barnier responded to that, saying that the british vision here — they want all the benefits still of the single market, the customs union without having the obligations of a member state. so this continues, but right now, it's stuck in the mud. the uk government has denied that travellers from france will be exempted from the planned coronavirus quarantine measures. under the plans announced last weekend, people arriving from abroad must isolate themselves for two weeks. those with nowhere to stay will be obliged to isolate in accommodation provided by the authorities. initially, a joint statement from the british and french governments said no quarantine measures would apply. some more bleak news today from germany, where the economy contracted in the first quarter by 2.2% in the first —

that's the steepest three—month decline since the 2008 financial crisis. not as bad as some had feared but, as in other countries, that is only a precursor of what is to come in the second quarter, which will reflect the lockdown in april. 0ur correspondent in berlin, damien mcguinness, has more. what we're seeing here is the lockdown started middle of march. these figures take us up to the end of march. so what this means is the final two weeks of march, the final two weeks of that quarter these figures are referring to, have had a massive impact on the economy. because germany effectively shut down its whole economy — all services, most transport, most economic activity stopped overnight. that had a huge impact. now what that also means, though, is the lockdown carried on — the restrictions have only really started to be released within the last 1—2 weeks. the lockdown carried on then, for at least a month—and—a—half. so what that means is that this isjust the beginning of the bad

news, that in the second quarter, which we are in right now, that's going to be even worse. so a 2.2% contraction — more or less what people predicted, not as bad as some other european countries, but still pretty bad. the predictions of this quarter is horrific. staying in germany, some good news for football fans. the german bundesliga will resume behind closed doors on saturday, becoming the first european league to restart following the coronavirus shutdown. one of the games on the day of relaunch will be the derby between schalke and borussia dortmund. fans and officials from other european countries will be watching closely to see how safety protocols work, and what will it look and sound like with empty stands? jenny hill has this report from dortmund. they'd love to pack the stands to welcome football home. instead, these fans will be watching at a distance.

"the thrill is gone," 0liver tells us. "football without spectators isn't football for me." dortmund's team in training and in quarantine before their match. players and staff at other clubs have tested positive in recent weeks. there's still no guarantee the season won't be called off again. dortmund's pitches are still out of balance, but at this children's club, we met one of the few people allowed into the bundesliga match to work this weekend. translation: it's great that it's restarting. people need entertainment, and professional athletes are like modern gladiators. they can help distract people from corona or money worries. this country's taking tentative steps towards a new normality. but surveys suggest a majority of germans think it is too early for football, and there is still no live ballet, opera, or theatre.

for a dancer, i think this should also be the same measures as football. and it doesn't matter whether it is football or ballet — it should be treated the same way. germany's top—flight players in spreading the public health message. many fear their fans won't listen this weekend. translation: there is a big risk of travel. we don't think fans will stay at home, there could be violence. it is a health risk from a colleague. no victory cheers, no groa ns colleague. no victory cheers, no groans of defeat in these, the so—called ghost games. germany appears to have brought its corona outbreak under control for now. it is hugely symbolic that this footballing nation should now send its players back to the pitch. it is also, as far as many here are concerned, a bit of a gamble. jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund. a bit of a

gamble, but we will be watching. this weekend is the first since lockdown restrictions were eased in england, allowing unlimited exercise, and travel, in order to enjoy the open air. but the rules vary, depending on where you live in the uk. so while you can take longer journeys in england to facilities like tennis courts and golf courses, in northern ireland, you can drive somewhere to exercise — but you can't stray too far from home, while in scotland and wales, you have to stay in your local area. and you can't meet up with members of different households, a rule that also applies in northern ireland. whereas in england, you can meet one other person outside, adhering to social distancing rules. are you confused? so are many of us. well, the easing of england's guidelines has been welcomed by some, but others in tourist areas worry about a possible big influx of people, as sian lloyd reports. these residents of stratford have

been a fixture for generations, but, for the past eight weeks, their surroundings have been significantly quieter than usual. the historic town is a magnet for tourists from far and wide, and the economic impact of the lockdown has been felt here. but after the government advice was changed for people living in england, visitors are beginning to return. this couple have travelled some 50 miles from their home in leicestershire. because boris said we can go further afield, we've made the most of it. this is our normal life. we like to get out and about. so, we're just going to have a walk around the river and we brought our own flask of coffee, and we're going to have that and then we'll have a steady ride home. we are sensible, but i think these two just needed to blow off a little steam and have a little bit of a change of scenery really. this family live within the same county, now able to visit one of their favourite places. set up a picnic.

a little picnic and feed the ducks, and it'sjust been nice to just get out. especially since lockdown's been a bit eased a little bit more. as long as sticking to the guidelines. the countryside in england is beginning to reopen. the national trust will unlock the gate to this car park tomorrow morning. but people are already parking here to walk, and the charity says it expects a huge influx over the weekend. they're urging people not to travel long distances to their favourite destinations and to visit places closer to home for the time being. you have to understand, i think, as a visitor that obviously local communities near places you like to visit are rightly concerned about huge volumes of people arriving, so we ask you to be extra thoughtful and respectful about their concerns. and obviously if a footpath goes past a house, make sure you're really mindful of that. many restrictions are still in place, and fines are imposed when rules are broken. authorities here are welcoming people to the town, but warn it's not business as usual.

sian lloyd, bbc news, stratford—upon—avon. lots of talk around the world about the climate benefits of this lockdown. here in the uk, at the beginning of this year more, than 100 people were gathered together, to create a citizen's assembly, hoping to find ways of reducing carbon emissions to virtually zero in the uk by 2050. but with the coronavirus lockdown prohibiting in—person sessions, the group has been meeting online, and the last session is this weekend, to finalise recommendations to the government. 0ur science correspondent rebecca morelle has that story. if i don't think climate change was something that i was very concerned about. i was a little bit concerned about it but it definitely wasn't something i thought about every day. leah could have a big impact on the way we live our lives. she spends most of her time looking after horses, but since the start of the year, she's been taking part in the uk's

first climate assembly. we need something that will work, notjust a pipe dream. there are 110 climate citizens, chosen from a large pool of randomly selected people to represent all walks of life from across the uk. they are being asked to work out how the uk can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, looking at everything from how we generate electricity to choices about transport. there's a lot of different opinions of how we should go about getting to net zero, and we don't always agree. you could be in london and public transport could be all electric, and you could be in a rural area where there may be no public transport, so you have no choice but to have a car. so what personal choices with these assembly members make to cut emissions? i would probably look to eating less meat and probably get better cuts. i was looking at electric cars. but, living in a flat, there is no charging places. go with quality over quantity. i would buy clothes that were more

expensive and last longer. there is no financial benefit of improving your house more environmentally. it doesn't add value to your house. turning the heating downjust by a couple of degrees and making the kids put theirjumper on. the climate assembly was supposed to have concluded back in march, but then the coronavirus pandemic struck, so, like meetings up and down the country, the assembly has moved to video conferencing. so, how has the coronavirus changed the way you think? it has proved that a lot of people can work from home if need be. we all know if you stop flying and driving cars, the air's going to get greener, but i think at some point the money will run out. so, will a green recovery be possible? the key fear is that the climate change policies would all be pushed to the background. this is a brilliant opportunity tojust restart in an entirely different way, focusing on more green jobs, retraining people in different industries.

with the assembly nearly complete, a report will soon be submitted to mp5. leah hopes it will make a difference. if we get a chance to influence how government policies are made, it's really important that the government hears the voice of the people. communities across the uk have found different ways to come together during the pandemic. from the clap for carers to teddy—bears and rainbows in windows. now one family hit by coronavirus, has come up with a poignant way of remembering many who've died, as jon kay reports. sheila died with coronavirus last month. she was 83. she was a kind and open person and she loved being in the mountains and forests. i think becky is somewhere as well. her husband david and granddaughter becky told me they wanted sheila to be remembered for how she was — not just as another statistic.

she was always smiling, laughing, right to the end. she definitely had a lot of people in fits. i think that isjust credit to her beautiful personality, really. unable to have the funeral they wanted, the family put this yellow heart in the window in sheila's memory and then shared a picture of it on social media. within hours, hundreds of other grieving families across the uk were doing the same for their loved ones — every heart representing a victim of coronavirus. we have hit a nerve. as people walked around their neighbourhood they could see the extent of the suffering throughout the general population. soon the family's facebook page was receiving not only photographs of hearts, but pictures of those who have died. it's become an online shrine — a place where the grieving can gather, share and support.

everybody that met them always said how lovely they were. it's just been devastating. michael and meg died with hours of each other. their granddaughter says the yellow hearts have helped her reach out at a time of isolation. itjust means i'm not on my own. i can talk to other people that are going through the same thing and it'sjust a lovely idea. why do you think this is so important at a time like this? because you feel lost and anonymous sitting at home in isolation grieving about your family. here you feel you're part of a different community. itjust shows that this is something that can really help support people and we just hope it will do some good. john kay, bbc news.

so important to see the faces behind the numbers that we report. plenty more coming up on bbc news, stay tuned. good evening. it certainly has been a week of contrasts. we start off with a cloudy, cool note, that northeasterly flow really having an impact on the feel of the weather, with temperatures struggling perhaps in some places to get into double figures. then we had clear skies and night—time frost. in northern ireland, it was the lowest main minimum in nearly 40 years. however, slowly but surely the temperatures have recovered a little, and we close out the week with 1—2 of us seeing potentially 20 celsius. high pressure will dominate across england and wales, but as we move into the weekend, this weather front will bring more significant rain, particularly to the extreme northwest. we start off saturday with some showers across scotland, a few showers into northern ireland, 1—2 maybe into northwest england, as well, and still pretty windy here with gusts in excess of 40 mph.

sunny spells across england and wales, and in the sunshine it will still feel pleasantly warm — 17—18 celsius not out of the question. the most significant rain arrives as we go into sunday. for some in the highlands in ireland, we could see 50 mm, a couple inches of rain here. and it will be windy with it too. for northern ireland and eastern scotland, the rain is lighter and patchier, but wales is a degree or so warmer. we could see temperatures peaking at 21 celsius. now that weather front will continue to drift its way north and east, so as we head into monday, it means that the northern isles may well see a pretty disappointing day. but a slow improvement for all with showers across the northwest, but sunny spells starting to come through. and into the afternoon, it will be pleasant and a degree or so warmer still, high teens likely across england and wales, 22 celsius the highest value here — not quite as warm as the northern isles under that cloud and rain. tuesday will be drier and warmer still, pretty much across the country a pleasant day.

and as we head to the middle part of the week, that's when we are likely to see potentially the warmest of the weather. the high pressure really building itself, drifting slowly eastwards. but this weak weather front may well trigger off a few sharp showers into the north yet again. however, the wind direction is driving up this warm air from the south, and it'll stay with us, meaning widely we will see those temperatures perhaps peaking at 21 celsius for glasgow, 24 celsius for birmingham, but highest values possible of 25 celsius. take care.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president trump launches a major push for a vaccine to be rolled out by the end of the year. but is it achievable? we are getting ready so that when we get the good word that we have the vaccine, we have the formula, we have what we need, we are ready to go as opposed to taking years to gearup. the rate at which coronavirus spreads has gone up across the uk and is now close to the point where infections may rise again. more grim economic news out of the us. retail sales in april plunged to record lows as lockdowns forced shops to shut and people stayed at home. and germany's top football players urge their fans