this is bbc news i'm maryam moshiri with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president trump pledges a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year but says the us must reopen even without one. and i just want to make something clear it's very important, vaccine or no vaccine, we are back. the coronavirus infection rate creeps back up in the uk it's now close to the point where infections may rise again. brazil's health minister resigns after only month in the job as covid—19 deaths rise. he's the second to leave the post since the start of the pandemic relief for german football fans, as the beautiful game is back, but behind closed doors. and locked down in the tower —

we see how the beefeaters are maintaining things while london's iconic site is closed. 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 7 us president donald trump has unveiled an aggressive us effort in hope of a breakthrough in the race to find a vaccine for covid—19. he has dubbed the plan, project warp—speed and he says teams of experts are aiming to have a vaccine in production by the end of the year. some experts, though, have questioned that timeline. jane o'brien has more. after criticism for a slow response

to the coronavirus pandemic president trump today launched operation warped speed. the quest to find a vaccine by the end of the year. we are getting ready so that we went to get the good word when we have the vaccine we have the formulae we have what we need we are ready to go as opposed to taking years to gear up. we are gearing up, it's risky, it's expensive but we will be saving massive amounts of time. we will be saving years. distribution will be organised by the us military a logistical challenge that may prioritise areas worst hit by the pandemic. but while emphasising the need for a vaccine, president trump who unlike his medical advisers declined to wear a mask downplayed the deadly nature of the virus. many of us have lost friends, we read about that we see that

and that's what they news covers but a very, very small percentage. a very small percentage. i stayed all the time, it's a tiny percentage, the vast majority, many people don't even know they have it. his words are likely to fuel growing protest against orders to stay at home. such measures may stop the coronavirus spreading but 36 and a half million people have filed for unemployment in the last two months. across america priorities are shifting and becoming increasingly partisan. congress is divided over it latest financial response. the $3 trillion package dubbed the heroes act. while some of my colleagues were already spending too much money these packages are a fraction of the losses we suffered in this country and around the world. the hardships faced by many people is becoming more evident. food lines again prompt the question just how much pain can th enation tolerate in order to control the virus? for more on president trump's claims to have that

vaccine ready by the end of the year, i've been speaking with dr. william schaffner. he's professor of preventive medicine at vanderbilt university in tennessee. i asked him what he thought about trump's timeline. very about trump's timeline. ambitious, very optimistic and very ambitious, very optimistic and very unlikely. everything would have to workjust perfectly. and of course we know that that's not the history of vaccine development. sol history of vaccine development. so i think it's temperatures to overpromise and then under deliver. what do you think the timeline, the more realistic timeline, the more realistic timeline looks like this then? well perhaps sometime in 2021. probably to the middle or later pa rt probably to the middle or later part of the year. but if everything works out we will celebrate. but i think it's unlikely. unlikely but not impossible i think from what you're saying? not entirely impossible but you have to understand, every single step

of the process must then work out perfectly without a glitch. and of course working with a biological product such as a vaccine it usually doesn't work that way. of course some people are worried that if things are brushed too much that could then compromise the safety of then compromise the safety of the vaccine and indeed its efficacy? that's a very important point. we want to do everything quickly but we mustn't cut corners. safety is paramount. 0f mustn't cut corners. safety is paramount. of course we must be able to demonstrate effectiveness. because you don't want to give an ineffective vaccine and certainly don't want to give something that's unsafe. of course, the issue with that at the vaccine that some people have flagged up i know it's pretty early now that its distribution wise, how will that work, do you think? will be able to be distributed fairly, globally or with a b countries like at first? will it be free? while in the united

states it ought to be free. i think the government will purchase it and them distributed to the public health channels with the assistance of the private medical system here in this country. we've done that before with swine flu vaccine back in 2009. distribution around the world, that is something i don't know about. but that would certainly be the ultimate intention of course. president trump and amongst his comments also encouraged to encouraged americans to get back to normal life even without a vaccine do you think that's the right thing to encourage? we are opening up the trick is to do so opening up the trick is to do so carefully so we don't inordinately create eight medical risk. and that's a very delicate balance, right? some of us are moving out rapidly. 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 1 to control the spread, but rates vary across the uk, and could result in stricter lockdown measures in some areas. here's our science editor, david shukman. some areas are hit harder by others. the northeast of england seems to have the highest rate of infection. it's a lot to be one factors deprivation. but whatever the cause the council and gateshead want to move more cautiously the national government. we don't have the same power is scotland and wales and northern ireland. if i have those hours, if we had those powers here absolutely certain that we would be imposing the same restrictions as in scotland and in wales or northern ireland. so our social media message has stayed exactly the same it stay at home. where possible stay at home. where possible stay at home. that pressure for

different approaches across the uk is different but not driven by different rates of infection what's called the r number. 0ne 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 southeast, east southwest and west are all closer to that threshold of one. with the northeast and yorkshire having the highest rate of all regions in england. scotland is not to be in the range of .7 to one and wales and northern ireland .8 2.9. there is a geographical march of the spread of the geographic from london and the cities outwards. so the northeast isjust cities outwards. so the northeast is just perhaps cities outwards. so the northeast isjust perhaps later than other regions and acquiring the virus and then having the epidemic. but there may be other factors and we do know that disadvantage has certainly and hospitalization and admissions with severe

disease. disadvantage and in certain populations it seems to have eight more 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 is a struggle to work out exactly how fast the virus is spreading. it will be differences but the further we go into smaller geographic areas the greater the uncertainty. that there is in making those assistance for assessment. at the moment the advice i have is the most reliable reporting the art number is in the range we report and at scotland will do. the yuki government says the uk government may be manage if some people are free to move around and others are still in lockdown. let's get some of the day's other news retail sales in the us have slumped more than 16 percent in april their biggest everfall. manufacturing output has also

suffered a record drop, as states across imposed lockdowns in the face of the pandemic. on thursday figures showed 36 million americans have now applied for unemployment benefits in the space ofjust two month. germany is suffering as well. europe's biggest economy is in recession after shrinking by more than 2%in the first quarter of the year because of the coronavirus pandemic. it's germany's biggest slump since the financial crisis more than a decade ago. ryanair has cut more than 250 jobs in its offices in the uk, ireland, spain and poland, because of the collapse in demand for flights. the airline said a "small number" of the losses had been made through compulsory redundancies. ryanair also plans to cut up to 3 thousand posts among its pilots and cabin crew. teaching unions say they're still seeking

answers from the government about whether it's safe for more primary—age children in england to go back to school next month. they said a briefing on the scientific evidence used to support the plan had failed to address all their concerns. portugal has approved a further easing of the coronavirus lockdown it imposed in march. the prime minister antonio costa said the second phase of reopening would go ahead from next monday as planned. this means that restaurants, museums and cafes can reopen with social distancing measures, and older school pupils will have some face—to—face classes again. brazil's new health minister nelson teich has resigned less than a month into thejob. mr teich took on the role after his predecessor was fired over disagreements with president bolsonaro over the importance of social distancing. brazil is worst hit by

coronavirus in latin america, with more than 200—thousand cases. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson, has more from sao paulo. he he didn't even last a month. he gave a press conference in hour or go and he said, didn't give any reason for why he was leaving but said life is so of decisions my decision today was to go. he certainly isn't as vocal as his predecessor who was very critical of the way was a narrow disagreed with the importance of social distancing. but certainly resigning today talked about was definitely disagreed on issues such as the chloroquine and the early stages of coronavirus and in terms of social distancing. certainly he, i guess he wasn't as bullish as both a are wanted. that goes on for the next minister to see if he will fall in line with him orfall in line with the rest of the world. of course as this goes on, neighbours around brazil have

expressed serious concern that they are paying the cost of imposing lockdown while cases in brazil continue to rise. absolutely. in the region you've got argentina who lockdown very quickly, peru lockdown very quickly. i think brazil is the outlier here. and it's the president who is we have to be careful because within the states the state governments who have taken the message for lockdown or introduce quarantine, it's a quarantine measure, if advised, her feeling is that even though they are much tougher and disagreed with the way he has handled the epidemic and don't think he's doing enough, many people in sao paulo feel that they should been a tough art lockdown much earlier because at the moment is going on and on and the numbers are rising and it doesn't look like were near the top yet. and what about the people in brazil, what are their views about how their president has behaved and has confronted the pandemic? there are certainly,

he certainly lost a lot of popularity. even people who voted for him feel that perhaps they voted for the wrong. he talked about the change for brazil and they feel that that change is not something they want. they are seeing the way he's handling the pandemic was up i think the concern is here in brazil to an extent he has a point in the fact that it's the economy, worried about the economy and what that means for the poor. brazil's poorest. you speak to people who are suffering and they say they feel forgotten even by the president. the president giving out one piece of advice and states give it out another. the concern is and confusion can lead to people self isolating. at the wrong time people are now giving up wanting to go back to work, needing to go back to work because there's been a kind of quarantine restriction imposed for quite a long time but without anything concrete coming from the top and that's the concern that will affect the numbers that are dying.

the number of cases. stay with us on bbc news, still to come, locked down with only the ravens for company — we find out how the tower of london's beefeaters are coping. (tx breakfiller)

this is bbc news, the latest headlines president trump pledges are coronavirus vaccine by the end of the air because the us must reopen even without one. the coronavirus infection rate creeps back up in the uk it's now close to the point where infections may rise again. russia has launched a mass screening programme for coronavirus antibodies. the hope is that the test results can allow the authorities to map their way

out of lockdown,. it comes in a week where president vladimir putin announced that the full, nationwide lockdown was over and instructed regional leaders to decide when to lift restrictions. 0ur moscow correspondent sarah rainsford has visited one of the testing centres. moscow has just begun a mass screening programme for covid—19 antibodies. this clinic is one of those that has signed up. people are being invited here randomly and sent text messages across the city and invited to come for a task. date marked red crosses on the floor if keys build up so people can keep a safe distance as they had inside to give blood. they are giving intravenous blood samples that are sent

to the lab to be tested for antibodies to if they have been sick with the virus in the past and may have some immunity in the future. the same time at this clinic they are taking swabs and testing people for coronavirus at south to see if they are still impacted so it is giant screening programme that of course there are still questions whether antibodies give anyone any type of in unity ——immunity and whether they can still carry coronavirus. even as those questions are debated around the world,

russia has made forward with the screening programme without hope it will map a way forwards in this pandemic —— in the hope because the city is still under lockdown and people are getting frustrated, they want to begin to return to their normal lives and the hope is by screening and testing as many people as possible russia can begin to see a way forward. across europe, some nations have taken tentative first steps in easing restrictions on travel. germany has said it will open its borders on the 15th june barring any rise in new infections. spain has implemented a mandatory 14—day quarantine for anyone entering the country. while the baltic states — estonia, latvia and lithuania have opened their borders to one another, allowing residents in all three nations to travel freely in a ‘travel bubble'.

while in ireland, the prime minister leo varadkar has announced an easing of lockdown restrictions. from monday, groups of up to four people who don't live together will be allowed to meet outdoors. a number of larger retailers will reopen, and construction workers will be allowed to return to work. the taoiseach also announced a mandatory 14—day quarantine for people coming into the country. the german bundesliga will resume behind closed doors on saturday, becoming the first european league to restart following the coronavirus shutdown. fans and officials from other european countries will be watching closely to see how safety protocols work, and what will it look with empty stands? jenny hill reports 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 haven't tested positive in recent weeks. there's still no guarantee the season won't be called off again. dortmund's amateur pitches are still out of bounds, 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, ortheatre. for a dancer, i think this should also be the same measures as for football. and it doesn't matter whether it's football or ballet, it should be treated

the same way. germany's top—flight players, spreading the public health message. many fear their fans won't listen this weekend. translation: there's a big risk of trouble. we don't think all fans will stay at home. there could be violence. it is a health risk for my colleagues. 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's hugely symbolic that this footballing nation should now send its players back to the pitch. it's also, as far as many here are concerned, a bit of a gamble. jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund. at the busiest times, 13,000 people a day visit the tower of london. now it's empty — apart from the yeoman warders who live there all year round. the tower has been closed to the public for the longest

time since the second world war. but throughout those weeks, there have still been jobs to do. wendy hurrell reports from the tower. normally from the tower. by this time we had hundreds normally by this time we had hundreds of people coming through the door and queuing up for the crowds. as you see around you at the moment it is empty, it is quiet and very, very peaceful, really. but the daily rituals continue within the tower of london swallows. when on duty assistant raven master shady lanes that first job in the morning is to feed the ravens. poppy, george, erin, rocky, great merlin and jubilee. then they are set free to amuse themselves. jubilee. then they are set free to amuse themselveslj jubilee. then they are set free to amuse themselves. i think they are missing the public. they do interact with the public when the public is visitors are here. certainly i think they're probably missing the school kids because they've got the tendencies of stealing pack lunches from the school kids when they come in the

tower. and other traditions aren't certainly not observed including each evening at ten o'clock. the ceremony of the keys. it's the oldest military ceremony takes place every night inside the tower at ten o'clock the top has done for 700 years every night without fail. people are asking is it still going on, yes it is. with a bit of social distancing and when the soldiers form up their little bit spaced apart as opposed to it right next to each other. peaceful it may be here but the tower relies upon visitors to fund the upkeep of this thousand year old building. and they missed performing for the public. we've actually gone back more to our traditional role as beef eaters. we've stepped up and taken over the guarding duties of the tower. the beef eaters are famous for the guided tours and we haven't got it for a month or so now. when the public to come back here we've

got to start remembering all our cornyjokes and lines. all those histories and dates and things like that. we've got to start keeping that fresh in our minds. itake start keeping that fresh in our minds. i take a walk around the tower sometimes i stop and go through that story just tower sometimes i stop and go through that storyjust in my own head to make sure it still there. i love the tower. haven't been there for a long time had looked forward to go back there soon. looked forward to go back there soon. country music star keith urban performed a surprise live show at a drive—in movie theater in nashville, in a test drive for how concerts might look in the era of social distancing. he played on stage with just one other musician for about 200 frontline local healthcare workers who watched from their cars. it was thought to be the first major live music show of its kind in the united states, following the cancellation of hundreds of concerts and tours and the closure of large venues in march because of the coronavirus epidemic.

don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @bbcmaryam hello, if it's warmth year after it there is some in this forecast eventually for all. if the rain that is only coming for some. saturday's weather looks to be a complete repeat of what we had on friday for that warm sunny spells at times from cloud the chance for a shower. things are those steadily changing. we are going to bring warmer air into the uk. as the weekend goes on widely into next week there will be a bit of rain and places is that transition takes place especially across parts of scotland and northern ireland. let's take a look at matt look at saturday morning. not as chilly to start the day. still a chance of a touch of ground frost in one or two spots.

by day and by night temperatures are heading up gardeners and growers can relax. unless of course you're waiting for some rain. there will be a bit of rain at times across the far north of scotland into berkeley. if you shower astute northern and western scotland, southeast scotland stay mainly dry. building through northern island one or two showers could see one or two towards northern england in north wales. much of england and wales will stay dry with temperatures edging towards the high teens. in the northern aisles where fairly chilly air. wherever you get to see some sunshine, it is strong may sometimes it will feel quite warm. into the evening rain crashing into northern island over night into sunday morning. reaching into western scotland, still some rain in the far north of scotland overnight temperatures no frost as we go into sunday morning. part two of the weekend there are some weather fronts close by. most of the rain will be following in western scotland especially into the northwest highlands where it will be very went for a time.

we could well see a spell of rain moving right across scotland. on sunday. even affecting parts of northern england and a bit of apache rain still possible in northern ireland. but for the rest of england and for wales it does look mainly dry. they will be some hazy sunshine around. and it's here, temperatures are starting to edge up some spots just into the low 20s. that warmth will push across the uk more widely as we go through the week ahead. it's towards the week late in the end of the week there's a chance of seeing wet weather moving in from the west. not guaranteed we will keep you updated on that. much of the week it's high—pressure and dry. 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

this is bbc news, the headlines the rate at which coronavirus spreads has gone up across the uk and is now close to the point where infections may rise again.the and is now close to the point where infections may rise again. the reproduction or ‘r' number, needs to stay below one to control the spread. virus spread in care homes and hospitals is believed to be behind the rise. president trump has announced a new plan to fast—track a coronavirus vaccine, to be in use by the end of the year. he said 1a potential vaccines produced around the world had been selected for accelerated research and approval. but experts have warned that it could take 12 months or more to develop. brazil's health minister, nelson teich, has resigned after less than a month in the job following disagreements about the government's handling of the crisis.

over the past week around seven hundred people a day have died of covid— nineteen in brazil. now on bbc news. the coronavirus newscast well, visual evidence is emerging how different parts of the world are coping with life now. yeah, it is. i've sent some to you. have you? i will have a look. exhibit a, this is five dock dining place in sydney. having a joke with a cardboard cutout. it's an italian restaurant who put cardboard cutouts at empty tables. i've had less chatty dinner companions and my time. laughing what are they having for dessert? they are cheap dates, yeah? and apparently they're going to play the tapes of chatter,