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—19 outbreak and if, for any reason, there are risks, then we can take steps to mitigate them. barack obama launches a second scathing attack on the trump administration's response to the coronavirus 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 aren't even pretending to be in charge. the italian prime minister admits his country's taking a calculated risk by easing a number of lockdown measures from next week. spain records 87 deaths in the past 2a hours — the first time it's under 100 since the lockdown began. people in the uk are still being urged to stay away from tourist destinations amid different lockdown rules for each part of the country. in south africa, how the ban on buying alcohol and cigarettes for the last seven weeks has played into the hands of criminal gangs, damaging the fragile economy. # waterloo, i was defeated, you won the war...# 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. the uk government is pushing for the phased reopening of primary schools, but today one of its most senior ministers said he couldn't guarantee safety for teachers returning to work. michael gove said, "there is always, in any loosening of these "restrictions, a risk of people catching coronavirus". former us president barack obama has criticised his successor donald trump's administration's handling of the coronavirus crisis — for the second time during the outbreak. in an online address to graduating college students, he said it had revealed that many

in the us administration, "aren't "even pretending to be in charge". the italian prime minister, giuseppe conte, has admitted that his country is taking a "calculated risk" by rolling back lockdown measures from next week. and in spain, 87 further deaths have been reported in the past 2a hours — the first time that number has been below 100 since the lockdown began there. we'll have more on all the latest developments in a moment. but first this report from our policical correspondent jessica parker on the political row in england over the planned reopening of schools. back to school in denmark looks like this, hand washing and then cut into

small groups. but our primary schools in england safe? and on the line the truth is you can't absolutely guarantee that children won't catch coronavirus, and yet you need the skills to reopen. that is the truth. none of us can guarantee that anyone will be entirely free u nless that anyone will be entirely free unless they are effectively perpetually present in their own home, and therefore what we need to do is make sure people are as safe as possible and in any widespread understanding of the word, schooling for a limited number of children, with social distancing, is a safe environment. a warning as well that you can't keep schools and in the economy locked up for other. but some councils, like liverpool and hartlepool, say early june some councils, like liverpool and hartlepool, say earlyjune is too soon to reopen the gates, so could some areas do things differently? there was a lack of consultation about that 1st of june there was a lack of consultation about that 1st ofjune date and it isa about that 1st ofjune date and it is a little inflexible to say it must happen by then because there are different issues in different

places. again, listen to people locally, work with them and i think we can find a solution, but i think it is the way it has been done that is creating that kind of reaction, particularly here in the north, where the infection remains higher. labour wants more information on the science underpinning the plans and says ministers must deliver on his schools testing programme, but while children so far appear to be at low risk of becoming very ill from coronavirus, how much do they carry it? what we have seen in countries where schools have remained open is that they have not been big outbreaks in schools and where there have been it has been associated with events, you know, where a lot of people gather, not in regular classrooms and it has often been associated with an adult who has had the infection and has spread it. keeping their distance in denmark, the plan for england is conditional on the science. schools in wales went reopen on june on the science. schools in wales went reopen onjune the 1st and may not restart at all until the summer

in scotland and northern ireland. but in england, two weeks before more children could be back behind a desk. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh explained that the risk that children may contract or pass on coronavirus will have been measured against the risk of children in england falling behind with their education. there is a great deal of clinical evidence that shows that children tend not to become severely ill from covid—19. and we have had evidencejust this week that suggest that they may be just as likely to get the virus as adults. the critical question is how likely they are to spread it. now, as we heard injessica's report, schools which have reopened in other countries have not become infection hotspots, but it is early days and there is not enough data to give definitive reassurances that children don't pass on the virus. but those risks, which may turn out to be low, have to be balanced against the known risks of children falling behind in their development from not going to school, particularly

those from poorer backgrounds. the former us president, barack obama, has strongly criticised the trump administration over its response to the coronavirus pandemic. it's unusual for a sitting president to be rebuked by a predecessor, but mr obama said the pandemic had shown that those in charge don't know what they're doing. 0ur washington correspondent david willis sent this report. 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". mike and all those adults that used to think they were in charge and knew what they were doing? to think they were in charge and knew what they were doing7m to think they were in charge and knew what they were doing? it turns out they don't have all the answers. a lot of men 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. julia manchester covers politics for the hill website, shejoins me now. it is unusual for a president to criticise his successor, but not unprecedented. why has he come out though, now, do you think? lets really set the backdrop to this. first of all, we are in the middle ofa first of all, we are in the middle of a highly contested election year. president trump ran a 2016... of president trump ran a 2016... of president 0bama's policies and has personally gone after president 0bama years ago. he started this rumour that he wasn't born in the united states and was born in cameo, so that movement was really started by donald trump. but fast forward to now, we are seeing by donald trump. but fast forward to now, we are seeing that 0bama's former vice president, joe biden,

will be running against donald trump, so we have that aspect to look at. but also, donald trump essentially called for a further investigation into the prosecution and the obama administration's investigation and spying on president trump's first national security adviser, michael flynn. so these two presidents had very much gone head and it has gone very personalfor gone head and it has gone very personal for both of them. there is a racial element of this as well in terms of the victims of this pandemic, and also recent crime events in the us. absolutely, and i think it was very important for this audience that obama was addressing black colleges and black communities in the united states, who we have seen in the united states, who we have seen have been adversely impacted by this pandemic. a lot of that is due to pre—existing conditions and the fa ct to pre—existing conditions and the fact that a lot of low income communities in the united states happened to be low income and black,

so happened to be low income and black, so they don't have the same access to health care that white communities have in this country. not one, thank you very much indeed for joining not one, thank you very much indeed forjoining us here. let's bring you some breaking news we are just getting from scotland in the past couple of moments. the number of covid—19 deaths there, nine deaths have been registered in scotland in the past 2a hours. that is of the people who were tested positive of covid—19, and the total number of deaths using the measurement is now 2103. so nine deaths have been happened in scotland in the last 2a hours of people who have been tested positive for covid—19. in fact, we'll be going to edinburgh in about an hour's time to get a press conference there, half an hour in fa ct. conference there, half an hour in fact. nicola sturgeon will not be getting a press conference today, but we will take that press conference when it starts. let's go

back to the situation around the rest of europe. 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—19 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. italy's wait is almost over. 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 world's largest church 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. donna larsen, bbc news. you're watching bbc news. 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. official 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 111,000 new cases in 2a hours. more than 15,000 brazilians have died. people are still being urged to stay away from tourist destinations and follow the lockdown rules for each part of the uk. staff at the lake district national park in cumbria say they found some people trying to camp overnight and others returning to their second homes — neither of which is allowed under the current lockdown measures in england. our news correspondent andy gill is in the peak district. this is a reservoir at saddleworth near0ldham, a this is a reservoir at saddleworth near 0ldham, a very popular beauty spot. a couple of days ago the local police asked people to consider other destinations because shortly after the restrictions were lifted people flocked in. there was double parking on the roads leading to the

reservoir. of course, people are allowed to travel to beauty spots. the theory is that if too many people come, that make social distancing really difficult. they have tried to do something about it here, because pumping machines are suspended so that people aren't touching them. the message is not getting through to some, as intel said a group of 70 people were broken up by police. they said they we re broken up by police. they said they were shocked that people would care so were shocked that people would care so little what their conduct might lead to. andy gill in the beautiful la ke lead to. andy gill in the beautiful lake district there. the labour party has accused the uk government of "tragically" letting down care home workers, by allowing people to be discharged from hospitals into homes without being tested for covid—19. the party's deputy leader, angela rayner, said this meant the virus was "seeded into care homes". the cabinet office minister, michael gove, said there were "big lessons" to be learned, but insisted the government had ta ken "significa nt steps" to improve the situation. 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 responsibility, 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. 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. let's speak to our south east asia correspondent jonathan head who is in bangkok. took us through what we have seen over the past few hours, then. how much further this is going to be loosened? well, we have seen a return to some kind of normality on a sunday. shopping malls in this very hot part of the world tend to be the public gathering places for many people. we have got some of the biggest malls in asia here. they have opened up. they are putting a lot of restrictions in place. the malls are so supposed to restrict numbers so that there is at least five square metres per person. people are in their temperature is taken, they people are in their temperature is ta ken, they must people are in their temperature is taken, they must wear masks. everyone wears masks here anyway, they have been doing that for weeks. they also have to scan a qr code

into their phones and put down their details so they can be tracked down if it is ita details so they can be tracked down if it is it a shop where somebody is later discovered have been infected with covid—19. it is a very cautious second stage of an easing of a lock and that was imposed nearly two months ago by thai authorities, who are still very nervous about the possibility of a second wave. to put that in perspective, this is a country, you're talking about spain having fewer than 100 as any day, and this is a country that has only had deaths of fewer than 70 during the course of the entire infection, and they got their first infections in january. so on and they got their first infections injanuary. so on paper, the government here has done very well at keeping the numbers and infections down and that radical southeast asia numbers are remarkably low. in neighbouring countries, in vietnam they have had no doubts at all. they are being very careful though because the health systems are much weaker than they are the in the united states. they are... you still can't sell

alcohol investments, the entire night entertainment scene is shattered and the airports are not expecting any overseas flights until at the earliest at the end ofjune, so at the earliest at the end ofjune, so they are not even thinking about restarting the tourist industry at the moment. white a night—time cu rfew the moment. white a night—time curfew there as well. thank you very much indeed. let's look at some of the day's other news. 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—yr—old's wife and son were not with him in israel. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said that his new unity government should apply sovereignty over settlements in the west bank —

the palestinians have categorically rejected such a move. mr netanyahu was presenting israel's new government to parliament — ending a year of political deadlock in which three elections were held. she in south africa, the coronavirus has prompted the authorities to take an unusual step. for the last seven weeks there's been a ban on selling alcohol and cigarettes. health experts say the new "prohibition" has helped reduce crime and injuries — but some argue the ban is playing into the hands of criminal gangs, and damaging south africa's fragile economy. 0ur africa correspondent andrew harding reports from johannesburg. patrol in the dark streets of

johannesburg, south african police trying to enforce rules in the lockdown. they have potted a woman with something on a hand. could she be selling cigarettes? she is bundled into the van. the sale of cigarettes and alcohol is now strictly prohibited here. well, this is how south africa pros back new prohibition is being enforced. police on the streets at night, seeking out anybody dealing or carrying alcohol or cigarettes. it isa carrying alcohol or cigarettes. it is a deeply controversial part of this country's lockdown. the south african government says it's prohibition is working. that by restricting alcohol, they are reducing public violence and keeping hospital beds free for coronavirus patients. but a ban is also fuelling organised crime. these schoolchildren are now selling contraband schoolchildren are now selling contra band cigarettes on schoolchildren are now selling contraband cigarettes on the hearth

of powerful gangsters. these people are quite scary, they? yes, they are very scary. they carry guns around and you can't trust anyone. do you feel ashamed of doing this criminal activity or do you think this is a stupid law? i feel ashamed. activity or do you think this is a stupid law? ifeel ashamed. it is not ok. you would rather have a properjob? exactly. not ok. you would rather have a proper job? exactly. as not ok. you would rather have a properjob? exactly. as for bootlegging, it seems like everyone is at it now. the kitchen general being distilled in suburbs and home—brewed pineapple beer, the only source of income now for a mother of three, who lost herjob because of the lockdown. what would happen to you if you are caught? if they can catch me they will put me in jail. are you afraid of that? yes, i am afraid because he will look after my kids? and those who aren't breaking the new law are in danger of going out of business. in the stunning wine lands around cape town, dozens of vineyards are going bust and

thousands of workers are losing theirjobs. and then there is this. 7 million litres of beer are being poured down the drain. to clear a nation's clock period, another unintended consequence of south africa's divisive coronavirus prohibition. 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. 0ur arts correspondent, david sillito, reports. voiceover: 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 do 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 kingdom. the 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. # love, shine a light in every cornerof my dream...# 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 katrina 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. you're watching bbc news.

that's it from us for the time being. time for us to catch up with the weather now. it has been warming up this weekend, temperatures of 20 degrees in the south of england and some more cloud and patchy rain that the gnoll. it is the northern half of the uk that has seen most of the rain and all of us has seen most of the rain and all of us for a while it will be turning much warmer. as we head into this evening and overnight, the rain is coming back in again across scotland and northern ireland, and it could be quite heavy over the hills for a while. some heavy outbreaks of rain for northern england and perhaps north wales. for the south, still dry and a mild night, temperatures nine or 10 degrees. it is all about building heat over the next few days, as that area of high pressure moves up days, as that area of high pressure moves up from biscay and pushes the rain away and starts to a southerly breeze, which were lifted temperatures nationwide. for the start of the week, we still have

clouds and patchy rain across the northern half of the uk and the more persistent rain should clear away from mainland scotland, where we should get sunshine in the north. southern scotland and northern ireland will see patchy rain coming back in, but likely to get temperatures of 18 degrees in the northern part of scotland in the sunshine, but it is the south of england where we should get sunshine in the north. southern scotland and northern ireland will see patchy rain coming back in, but likely to get temperatures of 18 degrees in the northern part of scotland in the sunshine, but it is the south of england whether temperatures are rising more significantly. rain, bringing some outbreaks in the north—west. high pressure getting closer, pushing away what is left of the rain on tuesday. some patchy rain and drizzle for the northern half of the uk, becoming confined to the north—west and increasing amounts of sunshine for england and wales and that is where you will notice that temperatures picking up more and more. wildly into the low 20s, perhaps 25 in the south—east. 0n 20s, perhaps 25 in the south—east. on wednesday we have a peak of the heat, except for the northern isles, where there will be cloud and for a while some rain. as well, drier and more sunshine across the rest of the

uk and those southerly breezes pushing the warm up into scotland, making it low 20s here, towards the midlands, east anglia and the south—east towards 26 or even 26 7 degrees. well it starts to change on thursday, with some uncertainty and rain possibly trying to push on from the west, showers breaking out, which could be heavy and thundery, but very hit and miss. 0ne place is still likely to be dry, if not quite as warm, in eastern england.

hello this is bbc news. 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. people in the uk are still being urged to stay away from tourist destinations and follow the lockdown rules for each part of the country. the italian prime minister admits the country's taking a calculated risk by easing a number of lockdown measures from next week. spain records 87 deaths in the past 2a hours — the first drop under 100 since the lockdown began.