this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm samantha simmonds. our top stories: us politicians back a new $3 trillion relief package. republican senators and president trump say they will oppose it. brazil's health minister resigns after less than one month in thejob as covid—19 deaths rise. he's the second to leave the post since the start of the pandemic. the coronavirus infection rate creeps back up in the uk. it's now close to the point where it could start spreading rapidly again. joy for german football fans as the beautiful game is back — but behind closed doors. and lockdown in the tower.

we meet the beefeaters maintaining one of london's most iconic sites. hello. democrats in the us house of representatives have passed a $3 trillion stimulus bill. if enacted, it will be the largest fiscal boost to the american economy so far — all because of the pandemic. the bill made it through a narrow vote in the house, with m democratic representives breaking ranks to oppose the plan. the proposed so called heroes act would see the direct payments being sent to households in the us increase to as much as $6000. a third of spending would go to the budgets of state and local governments. governors have warned they have

been significantly depleted the bill includes a raft of other pledges, including $3.6 billion to fund voting—by—mail in november's general election. the bill will face an uphill struggle to pass the republican controlled senate. senior repubilicans have already dismissed the proposals as a ‘liberal wishlist‘. but house speaker nancy pelosi has rejected their calls to wait and see before committing to new spending. now some of the members say, let's ta ke now some of the members say, let's take a pause. do you think this virus is taking a pause? do you think the rent ta kes a pause? do you think the rent takes a pause? do you think putting food on the table and the hunger that comes if you can't takes a pause? i listen to what speaker pelosi says —

go big. instead of going there, it seems you've gone crazy. this is a political messaging bill with no chance of becoming law. lets get more from our north america correspondent david willis. i watering sums they are discussing, but huge opposition. yes, indeed, and congress has already passed a $3 trillion spending to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus — a lot of that money going to keep small and medium—sized businesses afloat, and democrats of course have been arguing for more money for individual states and private citizens here. well, tonight the democratic control house of representatives passed another $3 trillion stimulus bill, one that does provide more money for state governments, direct payments to individual americans, more money for virus testing and more money for hazard pay for those on the front of fighting this

pandemic. it would, as you mentioned, be the largest relief package in us history we re relief package in us history were it to be passed by the senate, but it won't be. republicans and indeed president trump have already stated that this bill is, as they put it, dead on arrival. a liberal wishlist, if you like, and not one that they want to put their names to. so there is a feeling amongst republicans that having passed the $3 trillion i mentioned at the start it's time now to take a break and wait and see what results come from that stimulus package. no time to rush into another one, it's thought, by republicans. what all this could mean is that there may now be new negotiations to try to work out some kind of bipartisan bill that will further stimulate this moribund us economy. david willis in los angeles, for now, thank you. brazil's health minister has resigned after less than

a month in thejob following disagreements over the government's handling of the country's escalating coronavirus crisis. nelson teich had criticised a decree issued by president bolsonaro allowing gyms and beauty parlours to reopen. it comes on the same day that the country saw a record rise in the number of cases. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson reports from sao paulo. a month is a long time in brazilian politics. president jair bolsonaro had hoped nelson teich would toe the line more than his predecessor. but that didn't work out. on friday afternoon mr teich announced he too wanted out as brazil's health crisis deepens. translation: life is made of choices, and today i chose to leave. i can say that i gave the best of myself in the days that i was here during this period. it is not simple to be in a ministry like this one during such a difficult period. so once again brazilians are without a health minister at the worst possible time.

their anger over how their leader is handling this crisis is showing. president bolsonaro wants the economy back up and running now. he consistently flouts global health guidelines and promotes the use of chloroquine as a cure, putting him at odds with his health ministry. although it has lost him support, nearly a third of brazilians still back him. all the while, the death toll keeps climbing. images of mass graves being dug in the amazon don't stop him, neither do warnings that health systems across the country are at breaking point. the pandemic has turned political — he is angry at state governors who have imposed tough measures to curb the spread of the virus, and they think little of him. translation: the gesture shows once again the insensitivity, intolerance and inability of president jair bolsonaro to understand the dimension of the position he holds as president of the republic. president bolsonaro mixes things up and thinks that

to govern brazil is to administer to his family, not to be president. another health minister is out the door — it will be an almost impossible task for his successor as the country's crisis intensifies. katy watson, bbc news, sao paulo. 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. here's our science editor, david shukman. 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 i 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 to i, and wales and northern ireland 0.8 to 0.9. there is a geographical

march of it really, a spread of it geographically from london and the cities outwards. so the north—east is just 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. let's get some of the day's other news. retail sales in the us have slumped more than i6% in april — the biggest everfall. manufacturing output has also suffered a record drop as states imposed lockdowns in the face of the pandemic. europe's biggest economy, germany, is in recession after shrinking by more than 2% in the first quarter of the year. 0fficals have predicted worse to come when the full effects of the country's coronavirus lockdown become clear. 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. ireland's 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. anti—lockdown protests have taken place in madrid as a number of people grow frustrated by the restrictions. residents in the capital and barcelona have been told to abide by the strict rules for another ten days while measures have been relaxed for the rest of the country. freya cole reports. banging pots and pans pots, pans and a lot of noise. for a second time in a week, madrid has been denied entry into the next phase of lockdown. these residents want the measures relaxed, but the capital city has the highest rate of new infections. and until it drops, the government won't bow to pressure. translation: prudence,

caution and security — every step we take is a safe step. i am guided by the knowledge that science and our experts provide us with. authorities are keen to avoid a second wave of infections. all travellers arriving on spanish soil must now adhere to new quarantine measures, which have been put in place until further notice. translation: we cannot leave our homes for 14 days — only go to the doctor or supermarket. we keep the security distance, always wear the mask when we go out, and that's about it. singing but celebration is in the air. the government hopes residents in madrid and barcelona can soon join the rest of the country in the new phase of life. it would include greater liberties like alfresco dining, and small catch—ups with friends and family — freedoms which would no longer

be taken for granted. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: disney's frozen has become broadway's first long—running coronavirus casualty, but what does the future hold for the rest of theatre—land? the pope was shot, the pope will live. that was the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon, that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism has come to the vatican. the man they called the butcher of lyon, klaus barbie, went on trial today in the french town where he was the gestapo chief in the second world war. winnie mandela never looked like a woman just sentenced to six years in jail. the judge told mrs mandela there was no indication she felt even the slightest remorse. the chinese government has called for an all—out effort to help the victims of a powerful earthquake, the worst to hit the country for 30 years. the computer deep blue has

tonight triumphed over the world chess champion, garry kasparov. it is the first time a machine has defeated a reigning world champion in a classical chess match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking place in massachusetts. god bless america! this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: us politicians back a new three trillion—dollar relief package. republican senators and president trump say they will oppose it. brazil's health minister has resigned after less than a month in the job following disagreements about the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis. he's the second one to leave since the start of the pandemic. president trump has unveiled an aggressive plan the german bundesliga will resume behind closed doors on saturday, becoming the first

european football league to restart following the coronavirus shutdown. fans and officials from other european countries will be watching closely to see how safety protocols work. 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 have 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's too soon for football, and there's still no live ballet, opera, theatre. 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's 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. 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. moscow correspondent sarah rainsford has visited one of the testing centres. moscow has just begun a mass screening programme for covid—i9 antibodies, and this clinic is one of those that signed up and people are being invited here randomly, sent texts across the city and invited to come here for a test. so, you can see they‘ve marked red crosses on the floor if queues built up here so

people can keep a safe distance as they head inside to give blood. there giving intravenous blood samples, which are then sent to a laboratory and tested for antibodies against coronavirus to show if they‘ve been sick with the virus in the past and potentially may have some immunity in the future. now, at the same time, in this clinic, they also taking swabs and testing people for coronavirus itself to if they are still infected, so it‘s a joint screening programme that‘s just launched of course, there are still questions about whether antibodies actually give people any kind of immunity and whether someone who has antibodies can still carry

coronavirus. even as those questions are debated around the world, russia‘s moved forward with screening programme in the hope that it can map a way forward in this pandemic, because the city is still under lockdown, people are getting frustrated, they want to begin to return to their normal lives and the hope is that by screening and testing as many people as possible, russia can begin to a way forward. the producers of the broadway musical frozen have announced the show will close permanently. it‘s the first big production to go because of the ongoing coronavirus lockdown. broadway theatres were shut—down in march, and with new york city one

of the hardest hit areas in the country, they are not expected to reopen until at least september. peter marks is the chief theatre critic for the washington post. he gave me his reaction to frozen being put on ice permanently. it‘s sent the proverbial shock waves through broadway. very distressing news and devastating to those who think about what is going to be the prognosis for other shows — expensive, multi—million—dollar projects that are all on ice as well. is the thinking now it could be the first of maybe not many but at least several? oh, yeah. it‘s highly doubtful that there won‘t be more announcements over the next several months. what is it going to do for the theatre world, which employs a huge amount of people, brings in a massive revenue for new york — it‘s billions every year, isn‘t it? it‘s $14 billion estimated that

broadway contributes to the new york economy. it actually attracts more ticket buyers than all of new york‘s professional sports combined. it‘s a huge economic engine for the city, and there‘s great fear that this could be a protracted absence for broadway shows, and what that does to a whole range of businesses and entertainment—oriented concerns is obviously a very distressing news for new york. is there any talk about trying to bring back some theatre within social distancing rules — a restricted number of audiences, perhaps, people on stage keeping their distance? is it feasible, is it possible at all? it‘s really ha rd to imagine that. first of all, the economies of scale on broadway — this production of frozen cost between $25 million and $30 million to put on.

itjust demands an audience of 1,500 a night. it‘s hard to imagine how one would do a lavish broadway show with something like 500 people in the audience to begin with. and also, ijust can‘t imagine anybody wanting to go to the theatre with a mask on. i mean, itjust doesn‘t feel... why would you want to go with that kind of anxiety swirling in your head? it‘s supposed to be an enjoyable, relaxing experience. peter marks there. a staggering 13,000 people usually visit the tower of london every single day. 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, because of the pandemic. but, there are still important jobs to do, as wendy hurrell reports. normally by this time, we‘ve had hundreds of people

comeing through the doors and queuing up for the crown jewels and things like that. and, as you see around you at the moment, it‘s empty, it‘s quiet and very, very peaceful, really. but the daily rituals continue within the tower of london‘s walls. when on duty, assistant ravenmaster shady lane‘s first job in the morning is to feed the ravens — poppy, george, aaron, rocky, grip, harris, merlin and jubilee. then they‘re set free to amuse themselves. i think they‘re missing the public. they do interact with the public when the public are in and the visitors are here. certainly i think they‘re probably missing the school kids because they‘ve got a tendency of stealing packed lunches from the school groups and that that come in the tower. and other traditions are observed, including each evening at 10 o‘clock, the ceremony of the keys. halt, who comes there? the keys. whose keys? king george's keys? pass king george's keys. all is well. it‘s the oldest military

ceremony in the world. it takes place every night, here, inside the tower, at 10 o‘clock. it has done for 700 years, every night, without fail, and people ask, "is it still going on?" yes, it is, with a bit of social distancing in the fact that, when the soldiers form up, they‘re a little bit spaced apart now, as opposed to right next to each other. peaceful it may be here, but the tower relies upon visitors to fund the upkeep of this 1,000—year—old building, and they miss performing for the public. we‘ve actually gone back more to our traditional role as beefeaters here now. we‘ve stepped up and taken over the guardian duties of the tower. the beefeaters are famous for their guided tour they do here at the tower of london, and we haven‘t done it for a month or so now. when the public to come back in, we‘ve got to start remembering all those corny jokes, and all tohse lines again, and all those history and dates and things like that, you know, we‘ve got to start keeping fresh in our minds. i tend to walk around the tower sometimes and stop and go through that storyjust in my head to make sure

it‘s still there. raven caws wendy hurrell, bbc news. a fantastic icon to visit. country music star keith urban performed a surprise live show at a drive—in movie theatre in nashville, in a test drive for how concerts might look in the era of social distancing. # we had nothing but we had it all... he played on stage with just one other musician for about 200 frontline local healthcare workers who watched on 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 pandemic. that‘s it from me. you can get more on all the stories we‘re covering on our website, including a look at coping with coronavirus ina warzone. there‘s also a live page following all the latest developments. that‘s all at bbc.com/news. you can also download the bbc news app. you can reach me on twitter,

i‘m @samanthatvnews. i'll i‘ll be back a little later. thanks for watching. hello. if it‘s warmth you‘re after, there is some in this forecast, eventually for all. if it‘s rain, that‘s only coming for some. now saturday‘s weather looks to be a complete repeat of what we had on friday. warm sunny spells at times, from cloud, the chance for a shower. things are steadily changing. we‘re going to bring warmer air into the uk, as that weekend goes on, more widely into next week. there will be a bit of rain in places as that transition takes place, more especially though across parts of scotland and northern ireland. let‘s take a look at things first thing for saturday morning. not as chilly to start the day. there‘s still the chance of a touch of ground frost in one or two spots. so 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 0rkney. a few showers to northern and western scotland. south—east scotland staying mainly dry. cloud building into northern ireland — one or two showers around here. we could see one or two towards northern england and north wales, but much of england and wales will stay dry, with temperatures edging towards the high teens. but in the northern isles, we are stuck in some fairly chilly air. but wherever you get to see some sunshine, it is strong may sunshine. it will feel quite warm. into the evening, though, some rain pushing in across northern ireland overnight into sunday morning, reaching into western scotland. still some rain in the far north of scotland, too. 0vernight temperatures, though — well, there‘s no frost as we go into sunday morning. so for part two of the weekend, there are some weather fronts close by. most of the rain will be falling in western scotland, especially into the north—west islands, where it would be very wet for a time. but we could well see a spell of rain moving right across scotland on sunday, even effecting parts of northern england, and a bit of patchy rain still possibly

in northern ireland. but for the rest of england and for wales, it does look mainly dry. there will be some hazy sunshine around. it is here temperatures are starting to edge up. some spotsjust into the low 20s. that warmth will push across the uk more widely as we go through the week ahead. it‘s towards the end of the week, there is a chance of seeing a bit of wet weather moving in from the west. that‘s not guaranteed, though. we‘ll keep you updated on that. for much of the week, it‘s high pressure and dry.

this is bbc news, the headlines: us politicians in the house of representatives have backed a new $3 trillion relief package — republican senators and president trump say they will oppose it. the measure was passed by a vote of 208 to 199 — it was backed by some republicans who wanted more provisions for helping local governments. 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 700 people a day have died of covid—19 in brazil. 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 reproduction or r number, needs to stay below one to control the outbreak. virus—spread in care homes and hospitals is believed to be behind the rise.