this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government defends plans to begin reopening primary schools in england from next month. it says there'll be measures to ensure the safety of children and teachers. it is the case that it is extremely unlikely that any school is likely to be the source of a covid outbreak and if, for any reason there are risks, then we can take steps to mitigate them. barack obama has launched a scathing attack on the trump administration's response to the coronavirus crisis. this pandemic has torn back

the curtain on the idea that so many folks in charge don't know what they are doing. a lot of them aren't even pretending to be in charge. british prime minister borisjohnson acknowledges the new lockdown guidelines in england are more complicated than the previous message to "stay at home", saying he understands people will feel frustrated with the new rules. the uk government is to spend millions of pounds on accelerating the mass production of a vaccine but the prime minister warns a vaccine may never be found. the italian prime minister admits the country's taking a calculated risk by easing a number of lockdown measures from next week. and a thank you for the music — abba's waterloo is named the greatest eurovision song of all time, by bbc viewers.

hello and welcome to audiences both in the uk and around the world. we're reporting the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic here, and globally. one of the uk government's most senior ministers, michael gove, has said he cannot guarantee safety for teachers returning to work in schools when they reopen, adding, "there is always, in any loosening of these restrictions, a risk of people catching coronavirus". it comes after teaching unions criticised the government plans for some pupils to return to school in england injune, saying plans for primary schools do not have adequate safety measures and need to be halted. former us president barack obama has criticised his successor donald trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis for the second time in recent days. in an online address to graduating college students, he said the pandemic had shown that many in the us administration "aren't even pretending

to be in charge". the uk prime minister says he understands that "people will feel frustrated with some of the new rules" for lockdown in england. in the mail on sunday newspaper, borisjohnson says, "what the government is now asking is more complex than simply staying at home". mrjohnson also admitted that the uk has "a long way to go" to find a successful vaccine, admitting that a vaccine for the virus "might not come to fruition". and the italian prime minister, giuseppe conte, has admitted that his country is taking a "calculated risk" by rolling back lockdown measures from next week. more on all those stories shortly. first let's get more on the dispute in england over whether it's safe for children to return to schools as part of the easing of the country's lockdown measures. speaking to the bbc‘s andrew marr, the senior cabinet minister michael gove said that no amount of planning and safety measures could remove the risk of teachers and education staff catching coronavirus. the only way ever to ensure that you never catch

coronavirus is to stay at home, completely. there is always, always, always, in any loosening of these restrictions, the risk of people catching the coronavirus. ..guarantee their safety and it sounds like from what you're saying that you can't really. a personal risk? the key thing is that we can make these workplaces are safe. you can never eliminate risk. michael gove speaking earlier. our political correspondent jess parker explained why the return of children to schools in england is becoming a political row. the plan is at the moment for schools to reopen, of course some have stayed open for the families of key workers, but to reopen on a wider basis for reception, year one and yearsix, a wider basis for reception, year one and year six, a staggered return for primary schools, no return for secondary schools until after the summer. secondary schools until after the summer. but unions have been raising concerns about whether the safety of

teachers and students can be guaranteed and a range of measures have been outlined by the government in terms of what they want to see. you would have limited class sizes of no more than 15 children, the groups would almost be in a little bubble is about own, not mix, and you would have a staggered break times, more learning outside because the virus is less likely to transmit outside. unions had a meeting with government scientists on friday and emerged i would say dissatisfied with what they heard. the debate has gone on as to whether it is a safe. michael gove, the cabinet minister this morning saying that the safety of teachers can be guaranteed but he added, as he had been saying, that any loosening of restrictions, there was always a risk of people potentially catching the virus, you could not have a completely risk—free scenario. of the safety of teachers and schools is an issue that has been put to the deputy labour leader, angela rayner. we know from the science and experts that children can catch the virus and we believe they could transmit it, were not entirely certain. we

have to make sure that obviously the social distancing measures, where possible cut in place point that we know that teachers have died as a result of catching tobit as it was important that when we introduce more pupils into the classroom that we are able to test, track and traced whether bias is and take action to isolate it. —— catching tobit. we have seen different approaches from that different nations of the uk but now we're hearing different local authorities like liverpool and hartlepool advising they don't think there should be a return to schools and saying stupid —— parents not to send kids back so do they listen to? and is important to emphasise the stay alert message and a return to school plan is for england, scotland, wales and northern ireland can make their own decisions in terms of what they want to see and they are sticking with the stay at home a message but now you have an added layer of complexity with some local authorities like liverpool saying that it's not something it is wise for the area. you have

different r rates in different parts of the uk so it's difficult with just a couple of weeks to go before this earlyjune date. schools will have to make decisions as to who they listen to and of course you also have a slightly fragmented school system with some local authority schools, academies for example as well. parents will have to make decisions as well because they will not be fined if they do not send their children back to school so they are being left to make some kind ofjudgment as to whether they think it is safe for theirfamily. we whether they think it is safe for their family. we are whether they think it is safe for theirfamily. we are emerging out of theirfamily. we are emerging out of the lock down slowly, cautiously, but it does create a more complicated situation and more decisions for individuals and families. that was jessica parker, oui’ families. that was jessica parker, our political correspondent. the former us president barack obama has again strongly criticised donald trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying those in charge don't know what they are doing. he was speaking at a virtual graduation ceremony for high school students in the united states. our north america correspondent, david willis, has more. class of 2020, this is for you...

in the age of the coronavirus, this is what it means to come of age. graduation ceremonies, a rite of passage for youngsters here, now virtual rather than actual experiences. the future for those graduating more uncertain than at any other time in modern history. this star—studded televised event had as its keynote speaker the 44th president of the united states, and he was withering in his criticism of his successor‘s handling of the crisis. more than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they are doing. a lot of them are not even pretending to be in charge. since leaving office injanuary, 2017, barack obama has largely avoided criticism of his successor, although earlier this month, in remarks leaked to the media, he was heard describing the trump administration's handling

of the coronavirus pandemic as a "chaotic disaster". trump has gone after his predecessor. he accused him of acting improperly in the investigation that led to the prosecution of former national security adviser michael flynn. before obama spoke, he posted a doctored clip from the film independence day. it intended to show that he was vanquishing not interplanetary invaders but the coronavirus. trump's presumptive democratic opponent in november, joe biden, says it is all part of an attempt to deflect criticism from the handling of the coronavirus crisis by the administration. but of a man that was joe but of a man that wasjoe biden‘s boss back then, the graduating class of 2020 has the ideal opportunity to change the political status quo. all those adults that you used to think were in charge and knew what they were doing, turns out, they don't have all the answers. a lot of them aren't even asking

the right questions. so, if the world is going to get better, it is going to be up to you. barack obama says he intends to hit the 2020 campaign trail hard in the hope of unseating donald trump. the differences between them, both in substance and in style, could hardly be more stark. david willis, bbc news. the italian prime minister, giuseppe conte, has admitted that his country is taking a calculated risk by rolling back lockdown measures from next week. the country's daily death toll from covid—i9 has now fallen to its lowest since the 9th of march. mr conte said that there could be another rise, but the country could not afford to wait any longer. donna larsen reports. from monday, day—to—day freedoms will slowly resume, and by 3rd june, there will be even greater movement, such as domestic and international travel.

but the process comes with a warning. translation: we are facing a calculated risk. to put it frankly, we know the contagion curve may rise again. preparations are taking place across the entire country. beauty salons and shops can resume trade on monday. gyms and swimming pools will open on 25th may. cinemas and theatres will follow in mid—june. but measures must be taken to make sure people are kept as safe as possible. translation: we must accept the risk, otherwise we will never be able to start again. we should wait until a vaccine is discovered and distributed, but we can't afford this. italy has suffered immensely during the coronavirus pandemic. more than 31,000 lives have been lost — the third—highest total in the world.

the rate of new infections has now dropped, providing a pathway to start opening up the country. the largest church in the world is also opening on monday, after a weekend of deep cleaning. a diluted chlorine solution was used to protect the 16th century marble. worshippers will be welcomed back to st peter's basilica, but numbers will be reduced as the church adapts to a new way of life. britain is likely to have a slow economic recovery from the coronavirus shutdown — that is the warning from the head of the uk's public sector finance watchdog. the head of the office for budget responsbility, robert chote, told the bbc it will take a long time for economic activity to return to normal. in practice, i think you are likely not to see the economy bouncing back to where we would have expected it otherwise to be by the end

of the year, which is part of that assumption. but instead, a rather slower recovery and that will depend first on the pace at which public health restrictions are loosened but also of course on the way in which people's behaviour responds. so, if you allow people back into the workplace, back into shops, back into restaurants, will they actually go or will they feel too nervous? so, you would expect i think a slower recovery than the v shape that you simply make for that assumption. borisjohnson has warned that a vaccine for coronavirus may never come but says the uk is leading efforts to develop one. the british government is investing £93 million to bring forward by a year the construction of a new vaccine manufacturing centre in oxford. it will have the capacity to produce enough vaccine doses for the uk population injust six months, if a vaccine is found. in thailand, officials are allowing shopping malls, museums and fitness centres to open in a further easing of lockdown measures. but bars and clubs will remain closed. flights from overseas

are not currently allowed. that means thailand's lucrative tourism industry is effectivley mothballed. our correspondentjonathan head is in bangkok and following developments there. i think they are still hoping there will be something of a recovery. the official tourism prediction is that they will lose two thirds of the a0 million tourist they were expecting which is about a fifth of the entire economy here, but they will hopefully be some kind of resumption but nobody can say when that will be. they have continually extended the ban on incoming flights, now extending until the end ofjune. the current government, were we are living under a state of emergency and we are ruled by the same people who led the recent military government, has taken a very hard line, saying categorically, deal with the disease first, everything else comes second. that is causing enormous amounts of economic hardship here. they are predicting one quarter of the workforce might lose theirjobs and the economy will

contract lose theirjobs and the economy will co ntra ct by lose theirjobs and the economy will contract by at least 7%. this is in a country where actually the covid—i9 numbers are strikingly low and although thailand was the first country to get a case outside of china back in january, country to get a case outside of china back injanuary, they have kept the number of cases to just over 3000 and only had 56 deaths, a com pletely over 3000 and only had 56 deaths, a completely different scale from what you see in europe and the us. but they have a limited health system here as they do in most of the region and they are very nervous possible second wave even though you are seeing life is starting to return to normal, it's the second stage of the reopening of the economy today with shopping mall is now allowing people in, it is under strict guidelines. they have to allow 5 pa ce strict guidelines. they have to allow space for people, temperature checks, everybody is wearing face masks and the authorities are saying that if there are any more spikes at all, any increase in the covid—i9 numbers, which have been running at only one or two new cases per day recently, they will consider reimposing a lockdown. this is still a country very nervous of the

possibility of a resurgence of the coronavirus, even though, on paper, it looks like they have been very successful. as you mentioned, the gradual easing of the lockdown but it is only partial, isn't it? quite a lot of places are very much closed still. yes, for example, you can eat ina still. yes, for example, you can eat in a restaurant but at the restau ra nts in a restaurant but at the restaurants have to have such strict spacing, some of them nearly literally only allowed one person per table, others have erected plastic see—through screens so diners can sit opposite each other. officials come round and expect them. they cannot serve alcohol either. you are simply not getting a return to the way the economy was operating two or three months ago. the authorities are not allowing that. there is a whole range of other areas of activity. you can open fitness centres but only put limited activities. no kind of team sports are allowed. this is still a country which is very wary of com pletely country which is very wary of completely restarting the economy. jonathan head reporting from bangkok. let's get some of

the day's other news. the daily death toll from coronavirus in spain has dropped below 100 for the first time in two months. according to the nation's health ministry, 87 people died on sunday. that brings the total number of deaths in the country to 27,650 people. officials in russia have recorded 9,709 new coronavirus cases in the past 2a hours. that's a rise of more than 500 cases compared to the previous day. earlier this week, millions of workers returned to factories and building sites after the government loosened lockdown rules. officials figures from brazil suggest that the country now has the fourth largest number of confirmed coronovirus cases in the world behind the us, russia and britain. brazil recorded over 1a,000 new cases in 2a hours. more than 15,000 brazilians have died. the government in chile has imposed stricter lockdown conditions in the capital, santiago, after a reported 60% spike in the number of coronavirus

cases in a single day. residents will only be allowed to leave their homes five times in a week. permits will be required to be issued by the local authorities. religious services are resuming in parts of australia under strict conditions, as lockdown measures are gradually being eased. but many churches, synagogues and mosques have decided to stay closed over concerns for older members. our correspondent in sydney phil mercer told me more about how australians are adapting. across mostjurisdictions in australia's states and territories, here in new south wales for example, places of worship can now be attended by ten people. limited numbers, fewer than members of a football tea m numbers, fewer than members of a football team but for many parishioners, it is a start. there are churches here in sydney who are asking people to phone ahead to book asking people to phone ahead to book

a spot because of those limited places available. as you said, there are large numbers of synagogues, mosques and anglican churches, certainly here in the state of new south wales, who have decided to stay closed because of concerns for older members of their congregations. and also some of those authorities controlling those churches and mosques are thinking that to open just for ten people isn't really worth it. so they are hanging on. many of them are delivering services, live streaming and recording them online as well. that will continue until further restrictions of australia's coronavirus lockdown is announced in the coming weeks. talk to us more generally about the easing of the lockdown in australia. churches and places of worship have been reopened and many australians hold a religious zeal for drinking coffee

so certainly here in new south wales, the easing of restrictions on cafes a nd restau ra nts wales, the easing of restrictions on cafes and restaurants will be welcomed by many australians. they can now accommodate up to ten diners at any one time. it is a step in the right direction and to of course, australia being a federated system, there is no uniform approach to coronavirus disease controls across the country. the state of victoria, for example, is still keeping its cafes a nd restau ra nts for example, is still keeping its cafes and restaurants are closed until the 1st ofjune. in the northern territory, bars have reopened and they say up there that ten people are allowed around each table so certainly the restrictions are varying from place to place put the northern territory chief minister is a man called michael gunner who said pubs in that part of australia have been closed for a 53 days and that people deserve to have a beer. and more generally what are

people saying about the government to's handling of the crisis there?|j think to's handling of the crisis there?” think if you look at the numbers, most australians would agree that the government's response has been pretty good compared to the situation in other countries. australia has had around 7000 confirmed coronavirus cases, the vast majority of those patients have recovered. we have had around 100 fatalities from covid—19. the reason for that, there has been an awful lot of testing in this country, more than a million coronavirus tests have been carried out. australia also in march announced these very strict lockdown is around the country, shutting its international borders, so all of those things combined have effectively allowed australia to use its geography to try to keep out more cases of the disease. but of course the big challenge for countries like australia and across the tasman sea in new zealand, how do they safely

reopen their international borders at such time as the government believes that international travel should resume? phil mercer reporting from sydney. israeli police say china's ambassador to israel has been found dead in his apartment in tel aviv. a police investigation has so far revealed nothing suspicious about the death of du wei, who only took up his post in february. the 58—year—old's wife and son were not with him in israel. it was eurovision last night, but not as we know it. the competition was cancelled because of covid—19 but replaced with a special programme, featuring every song that should have been performed live in rotterdam. so that meant no cheering crowds, no endless scoring and no "nul—points". our arts correspondent, david sillito, reports. voiceover: from from hilversum, the netherlands, this is eurovision: europe shine a light. eurovision 2020 — no crowds, no voting and the only people on the live stage

in the netherlands, three presenters, standing well apart. and the mood? reflective, rather than the normal eurovision exuberance. we do have a very special show for you. in spite of everything, it feels great to be here together, live across europe. this event live from hilversum replaced the show that should have been taking place in rotterdam's ahoy concert hall. that venue is now an emergency hospital. but all the contestants did get a chance to say hi, and play a bit of each song. # baby, i can't wait to know what you think about me...# normally, the message of the satellite linkups is how much everybody likes the show. this time it was stay safe. the main thing is just to worry about people's health and, once they get that under control, then people will always need music. stay home a little longer and stay safe because you're doing this for you and for everyone. smile and stay healthy.

# my— my at waterloo napoleon did surrender...# but earlier in the evening, there was a chance to vote in the united kingdon. bbc‘s poll of the greatest eurovision song of all time was won, unsurprisingly, by abba and waterloo. and bjorn from abba also had a message for the eurovision audience. everybody knows why there could not be the usual eurovision final this year, but we hope this show will comfort you in some small way, knowing that it will be back next year. # shine a light...# so, not eurovision but at least there was a reminder of a time when the uk last won. the big finale of the evening, a rendition of kathrina and the waves' love shine a light from 1997. # let our love shine a light in every corner of my dreams...# david sillito, bbc news.

those moments that were ordinary a few months ago, like a trip to the pub or even the school run, now seem unrecognisable for many people. now the hashtag "last normal photo" has been trending worldwide. it was actually started by the bbc, which has encouraged people to share the last smartphone snap you took before life changed as a result of the coronavirus. eileen sent us this picture of their last family get together before the lockdown here in the uk on march 1ath. this picture shows elaine struthers having a girls night in with her granddaughter millie. sadly they haven't been able to meet up again since. and finally, laura and richard dyer sent us this lovely photo of them taking their twin boys home from southend hospital. so what's the future for large scale events? will major sporting events ever be the same again? we'll be putting your questions to two sports experts

after three o'clock bst, that's four o'clock gmt. get in touch with the hashtag #bbcyourquestions on twitter, or you can email yourquestions@bbc.co.uk. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. good morning. quite a lot of cloud and rain to come across northern ireland and scotland, england and wales brightening up with sunshine and what a glorious start to the day it was across the south coast. over the next few days, the weather is going to become drier, sunnier and warmer indeed, by wednesday temperatures reaching 27 celsius. the hottest weather we've seen so far this year. 27, into the early 80s fahrenheit. not that hot today. extensive cloud across the north and west of the country and that is rain bearing cloud, damp weather this morning affecting

northern ireland and scotland, and a few patches across wales and northern england but increasingly into the afternoon you will see sunny skies and the south, though sunny breaks develop across england and wales with most areas enjoying bright conditions. rain eases off in scotland and there will be some sunshine this afternoon. in northern ireland, staying pretty cloudy throughout. although the rain will ease off for a time, more wet weather on the way to the latter part of the afternoon and evening. overnight, that rain spread to scotland, in across parts of northern england, maybe the midlands and wales seeing some damp weather. temperatures of 9—11dc. then into the week ahead, the high pressure will slowly drift eastwards. as it does, you'll start to draw up more of the southerly winds bring in the warmer air or across the uk. monday, some of that warm air arrives. temperatures boosted here. otherwise, across wales, northern england, northern ireland and scotland, a bit of cloud and further outbreaks

of rain at times. temperatures, 18 celsius in aberdeen so feeling pleasant in the sunshine here but up to 2a celsius across london and south—east england. tuesday, more seeing dry weather and more of us seeing more sunshine in those temperatures. still some rain affecting western scotland with that where the front being steered out of the way. in belfast, turning warmer here. 18 celsius. wednesday will be the warmest day of the week. 27 around london. more unsettled around the northwest some rain returning.

hello. this is bbc news with ben brown.

the headlines. the uk government defends plans to begin reopening primary schools in england from next month — it says there'll be measures to ensure the safety of children and teachers. barack obama has launched a scathing attack on the trump administration's response to the coronavirus crisis. borisjohnson has acknowledged the new lockdown guidelines in england are more complicated than the previous message to "stay at home" — saying he understands people will feel frustrated with the new rules. the government is to spend millions of pounds on accelerating the mass production of a vaccine but the prime minister has warned a vaccine may never be found. the italian prime minister admits the country's taking a calculated risk by easing a number of lockdown measures from next week.