welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: president trump's doctor confirm says he's been taking an unproven drug to prevent coronavirus. i happen to be taking it, i happen to be taking it. hydroxychloroquine? hydroxychloroquine. the world health organisation pledges an independent inquiry into the pandemic, but the us renews its criticism. the british government adds loss of smell or taste to its official list of symptoms — doctors say it should have been done weeks ago. cyclone amphan powers towards india and bangladesh. two million people are fleeing the coast.

in the last hour, a white house doctor has confirmed that he prescribed the president with an anti—malarial drug as a precaution after a member of staff was confirmed to have coronavirus. the us food and drug administration warns against the general use of this drug for this purpose. mr trump, who's tested negative several times, earlier told reporters he's been taking hydroxychloroquine for a week and a half. a lot of good things have come out about hydroxychloroquine. a lot of good things have come out. and you'd be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the frontline workers, before you catch it. the frontline workers, many, many are taking it. i happen to be taking it, i happen to be taking it. hydroxychloroquine?

i'm taking it, hydroxychloroquine. right now, yeah. a couple of weeks ago, i started taking it. because i think it's good, i've heard a lot of good stories. and if it's not good, i will tell you, you're not going to get hurt by it. it's been around for a0 yea rs, it. it's been around for a0 years, for malaria, for lupus, for other things. i take it, frontline workers take it, a lot of doctors take it. i take it. i hope to not be able to ta ke it. i hope to not be able to take it soon, because, you know, i hope they come up with some answer. peter bowes is our north america correspondent. peter, this is going to be a baffling and disturbing situation for many people, isn't it? the president says "a lot of good things, a lot of good things have come out about this drug", yet it hasn't had full clinical trials and in effect, his own administration warns against the use of this kind of drug. it was quite a jawdropping statement from the president, as you could tell from the response of the journalists in the room. and as

you correctly say, mike, it does seem to fly in the face of what we are hearing from the us administration, the advice being that this drug simply has not been proven to help people with covid—i9, and indeed, further than that, it could potentially be dangerous for some people, causing heart rhythm problems for some patients, if this drug is used in combination with other drugs. there was some scepticism, when we first heard from the president about this, whether he was actually taking the drug, but that now seems to have been confirmed. i refer you to the statement we have seenin you to the statement we have seen in the last hour or so from the president's physician at the white house, and he talks about the fact that a member of staff there was tested and proved to be positive for covid—i9 in the last couple of weeks, and the implication of that, just the very fa ct implication of that, just the very fact that it was mentioned, might suggest this is indeed a response to that. he says he under the president discussed the pros and cons of using this particular drug, and

saying that they decided that the potential benefits outweighed the relative risks, and those risks, we have been hearing a lot about, from many, many other doctors around the country in the last couple of hours, who are strongly advising people but this drug simply isn't to be used for this purpose. but of course, peter, there is bound to be concerned that a bunch of people may put themselves at risk if they can get hold of the drugs, by taking it, saying, well, if it is good enough for the president? the president said, "what is there to lose?" president said, "what is there to lose? " and president said, "what is there to lose?" and i think that is a phrase that might resonate with some people who are inclined to believe what he says, and to follow his lead. and there is a tremendous amount of concern among doctors up and down the country that people will take to their hearts what the president said. those people who are perhaps very worried about their own health, the health of members of their family, as this pandemic continues. the country is slowly beginning to get back to

normal, the number of deaths in the united states has now surpassed 90,000. this is a pandemic here and indeed around the world that is far from over, and there isjust the world that is far from over, and there is just that fear that some people may be feeling so desperate with the situation but they are inclined to try this drug, as the president is, without any scientific backing. peter, thank you very much for that. let's get some of the day's other news. india and bangladesh are preparing to evacuate more than 2 million people as a cyclone amphan heads towards their coasts. forecasters say the "super—cyclone" will reach wind speeds in excess of 200 kilometres an hour. amphan is expected to weaken slightly when making landfall on wednesday. france and germany have proposed a european recovery fund worth more than $500 billion. speaking after talks with president emmanuel macron, chancellor angela merkel said the bloc should act so countries get out of the coronavirus crisis "well and strengthened." the fund would offer grants to the countries and regions hardest hit. the supreme court in

el salvador has ordered the immediate suspension of the state of emergency declared by president nayib bukele. the president, who has been accused of exceeding his powers, had ordered the state of emergency on saturday, when previous orders were set to expire, without congressional approval. clubs in the english premier league have voted unanimously to let players restart training in small groups and without any contact from tuesday. the season was suspended in mid—march, and while they'd like to restart games onjune 12th, it's widely thought this will need to be pushed back. praise and fierce criticism have been heaped on the world health organization. the online meeting of its governing assembly was attended by more than 190 countries, with china pledging $2 billion over two years to fight the coronavirus. leading the charge against the who was us health secretary alex azar. he accused the agency of "failures" that cost lives.

we saw that who failed at its core mission of information sharing and transparency, when member states do not act in good faith. this cannot ever happen again. the status quo is intolerable. who must change and it must become far more transparent and far more accountable. professor lawrence gostin is the director of the world health organization center on national and global health law. he joins me from washington. first of all, china now seems to be willing to support a review of the pandemic, an enquiry. it has been very resista nt enquiry. it has been very resistant up until now. what has changed, do you think?” think what has changed is there has been a lot of political pressure placed on china. you really have to read between the lines here. it is quite important, because china is not agreeing to look at what the origins of the coronavirus were, and it is also not agreeing to do an enquiry right

now. it is going to wait until after the epidemic is contained. that could of course be years from now. so it is really deflecting, i think that the european motion, along with australia and others, to have an independent enquiry right now makes most sense. notjust for china or who, but the world's response, including the united states' response. what do you make of the united states' criticism of the who china relationship? mr trump is called the who a puppet of china. more generally, outside the united states, there was great concern about the who being rather lax, rather light on china, certainly in the early days. well, you know, the who in the early days did praise china. i believe they

we re praise china. i believe they were doing that for smart diplomacy, to try to coax china into more cooperation. i mean, it probably shouldn't have done that. it should have said, these are the data that china has reported, we have no means to independently verify it. otherwise, who has really acted admirably. they have been highly transparent. they gave the world more than ample notice, many, many times. they have put out evidence—based guidelines. overall, iwould give who very high marks, but actually give china and the united states, for its political battle putting the who in between it, very low marks, frankly. how damaging has this spat been to world health, would you say, and to who? i mean, it is already underfunded, i think it's budget is less than the average health district in new york, isn't it? it is actually less

than a major hospital in new york. which is really a stunning point. it is way underfunded. but, you know, in this case, money is not the biggest issue with what the united states and china are doing. what the biggest issue is, it is a huge political destruction. i think the who leadership is dispirited by it, understandably so. and in the middle of a pandemic, when the world needs to unite, we are falling apart. when the world needs to support its —— it is blaming. this is, i think, unforgivable, in the face of a once ina unforgivable, in the face of a once in a sensory unforgivable, in the face of a once in a sensory event. we all need to get behind who. we all need to get behind who. we all need to get behind who. we all need to work together. frankly, these two countries are acting like children. professor, very good to talk to you. thank you. of course, thank you. and

thanks to you for being with us. to stay with us if you can on bbc news. there is much more to come, including this. he toured with stevie wonder and with prince, but now a lack of gigs mean this top jazz artist ‘s performing for his neighbours. this morning, an indian airforce plane carrying mr gandhi's body landed in delhi. the president of india walked to the plane to solemnly witness mr gandhi's final return from the political battlefield. ireland has voted overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage. in doing so, it has become the first country in the world to approve the change in a national referendum. it was a remarkable climax to what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. it has been a peaceful funeral demonstration so far, but suddenly the police are teargassing the crowd.

we don't know why. the prelaunch ritual is well—established here. helen was said to be in good spirits, butjust a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor has become the world's newest nation. it was a bloody start for a poor country, and the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it is time to celebrate. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a white house doctor has confirmed that president trump has been prescribed and antimalarial drug as a preventive, after an aids tested positive for coronavirus. the us government has strongly attacked the world health organization again, accusing it of costing many lives by failing to provide information at the start of the pandemic. here in the uk, the government has changed its guidelines

for symptoms of the coronavirus. a loss of taste or smell is now classed as a major sign that you have the virus, in addition to a high temperature and a new, continuous cough. some doctors say that these symptoms should have been added weeks ago and hundreds of thousands of cases may have been missed as a result. the daily toll of officially recorded deaths has risen by 160 to nearly 3a,800. our medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. we would spray some pepper spray into this hood, and if we could smell it, then the mask wasn't fitted properly. surgeon sinan barazi realised he had lost his sense of smell when he was being fitted with personal protective equipment. he kept on working and it was only days later, when he'd developed a fever, that he was swabbed and found to have coronavirus. i couldn't smell it, after 20 or 25 sprays. clearly if you're walking around unaware that you're covid positive, then you're a potential source of spread of the virus. so, i could have infected colleagues, i could have infected patients

without knowing it. until today, the only coronavirus symptoms people in the uk were told to self—isolate with were a high temperature or a new and continuous cough. now, loss of taste or smell have been added, but that's weeks after the world health organisation included them as symptoms. the who also lists tiredness, aches and pains, sore throat, diarrhoea, conjunctivitis, headache and skin rash as other possible warning signs. on the first of april, this symptoms app from king's college london found that six in ten users who tested positive for covid—i9 had reported a loss of smell or taste. researchers say the uk has been slow to act and so missed a huge number of cases. we're talking in excess of100,000, maybe 200,000 cases, would have been missed, would have been out there infecting other people, increasing the r value,

and i think this hasjust made the problem worse, caused problems in care homes and hospitals, that we will regret we didn't act earlier. loss of smell — technical term anosmia — was added only after government scientists were sure it would help improve detection. how many cases of covid—i9 do you think have been missed as a result of not including this earlier on? the important thing was to work out if this would add any sensitivity to the diagnostic cluster we were using, and the answer is, it makes a small, very small, difference, and we have therefore decided to do it. former love island star rachel fenton was another whose loss of taste and smell was her main symptom. a nurse, she later tested positive for covid—i9. it was very difficult for me at the time because i didn't have anything to refer to, i didn't realise it was a symptom.

it was so severe, i could have literally drunk a cup of vinegar, the loss of taste and smell was so strong. adding loss of sense of smell as a key symptom should ensure fewer positive cases fall through the net — crucial, if the epidemic is to be brought under control. fergus walsh, bbc news. italy has been one of the worst affected countries in europe, with nearly 32,000 dead. but in recent weeks the numbers of infections and deaths have been consistently falling. now, after a io—week strict national lockdown, shops, restaurants bars and hairdressers have been finally opening up. mark lowen reports from milan. a plea for guidance as they emerge from the darkness. in milan, where europe's coronavirus plague exploded, they came today for solace, to the first mass since public church services resumed, after the world's longest national lockdown. this parish alone

has lost 80 people. a 2,000—year—old church now has new traditions. the communion wafer is passed between unsullied hands. no longer directly on the tongue, but the palm, not a tissue. for some, it's hard to adjust. translation: it's a bit strange to hold the body of christ with the gloves, but it's important that people can come here to regain spiritual and moral strength, after all this suffering. for the faithful, a relief. "it seems like a new world," he says. "to start again like this is so moving. we missed it." "i felt so good," this lady says, but emotions stop any more words. it's been a long ten weeks for hairdressers and beauty salons, for restaurants and cafes, and for shops, like italy's oldest department store, appropriately named rinascente — rebirth.

the new regulations are pretty strict. anybody coming in has their temperature checked. grazie. staff use an app to show them how many customers are in the store at any one time. there are hand sanitising points everywhere. and no more testing of make—up. and upstairs, there's more. changing rooms are disinfected after each use, and clothes tried on aren't put back, but are taken to a separate room, themselves quarantined. this, too, is helping italy's recovery. a hotel used to isolate infected cases as they wait to test negative, further halting the spread. after 20 days here, jacqueline is ready to go home. a step closer to this country healing.

mark lowen, bbc news, milan. in spain, large portions of the country have moved to the next phase of the lockdown relaxation. groups of up to 10 people now free to meet, while bars and restaurants can open outdoor areas, as long as seating is at 50% capacity. separately, officials plan to introduce a basic income of about $500 us a month for those most affected by the crisis. having continued with a stricter lockdown than england, northern ireland has now decided to relax its lockdown more than any other part of the uk. from tuesday, groups of up

to six people not from the same household will be able to meet outdoors. drive—in church services and cinemas will also be allowed. emma vardy is in belfast. belfast has been like a ghost town but tomorrow six people from different households will be able to meet outdoors, far more than in england, where you can only meet one person from another house. the northern ireland executive says it's down to changing scientific advice, they say there is less chance of the virus being passed on outdoors, so they will now allow drive through church services and cinemas, golf and tennis to restart. we are told that outdoor activities are able to be accommodated because the virus does not spread as easily outdoors as indoors,

and so we have been told that we will revisit this issue again and we will keep it under constant review. we understand that whenever people look to the pathway document which we set out, where in the first phase we had identified the families could get together, so we understand people would be disappointed, people are desperate to get together. northern ireland had been moving more slowly than england in lifting their restrictions, but now that is starting to change, but it is do a balancing act, leaving things too long can leave a greater effect on the economy while political leaders here still worry that moving faster could see the transmission of the virus starting to rise again. there's a nice fish. anglers arrived at dawn as fishing lakes were also reopened. the first catch of the day, and the first since the lockdown for billy, who wasted no time and arrived here at dawn. to get out today, it's better than a lottery win. it's a medicine that you can do

without a prescription. it's fantastic. once, this might have looked bizarre, but today, for gardeners, it feels like a return to normality. fabulous. i love walking round garden centres and looking at the plants. and queues formed outside recycling centres. what is the purpose of your trip? well, the legislation allows people from northern ireland to make a day trip to the republic of ireland. if they decide to come down here, well, then they become subject to the legislation here in the republic of ireland. widespread testing is a key part of the republic's strategy. although some small slices of life are being unlocked, the advice is still to remain home as far as possible. emma vardy, bbc news. frederic yonnet is a jazz musician who toured the world with prince and stevie wonder. now he's playing for audiences closer to home. he's been performing for his neighbours in washington, dc, bringing weekend joy during these troubled times. here's his story.

my my name is frederic yonnet, i'm a french harmonica player. i moved to washington, dc, in 2001. i've toured with prince for a few years and stevie wonderfor a few years. for a few years and stevie wonder for a few years. i am trying to make harmonica popular again. we were about to get on the road with the band to do get on the road with the band todoa get on the road with the band to do a tour and some private events around the country when covid—19 hit. the necessity of playing turned into this opportunity to create a space where we could actually respect the rules of covid and still be creative, still practice our music. we've been calling those sunday frederic yonnet sessions

—— those sunday sessions eavesdrop, not because we wa nted eavesdrop, not because we wanted people to come and watch the show, but for them to listen from their property. when we first started this, we we re when we first started this, we were a little concerned and worried about what kind of reaction we were going to get from people. i have lived in this neighbourhood for quite some time and now, thanks to this, we are meeting more neighbours than i've ever met since i moved here. i think we all need joy, happiness and love in this time. it's not the end of the world and ijust wa nt end of the world and ijust want to have human connection, so want to have human connection, sol want to have human connection, so i feel good. this whole social distancing, distancing

ruler has been cancelled by the power of music. it's become physical distancing, but the social aspect has been reinforced. my hope is once this is all over we are finally going to be comfortable giving each other hugs again and gathering in small places to enjoy live music with one another. music is universal, a universal language, and it needs to be spoken. especially in difficult times like this. frederic yonnet in washington, dc. and as businesses across the us slowly reopened the doors, many have had to get creative when it comes to maintaining social distancing. this restaurant is using bumper ta bles this restaurant is using bumper tables strapped to customers to stop them getting close to each other. social distancing can be kind offun,

other. social distancing can be kind of fun, if not that flattering. thank you so much for watching. hello there. on monday, the temperature reached 25 celsius in suffolk, and over the next couple of days, the heat will continue to build. the peak of the temperatures is likely to be on wednesday. things start to break down a bit after that. chance of thunderstorms on thursday before we all turn cooler and windier by the end of the week. pretty mild out there at the moment away from northernmost parts of scotland. these are the temperatures by the end of the night, and as you can see, still a lot of cloud around. some outbreaks of rain, too. that rain continuing to affect the northern half of the uk mainly during tuesday morning. slowly petering out, many places becoming dry during the afternoon. the cloud thinning and skies brightening. the best of the sunshine

likely to be across wales, the midlands and southern england, where temperatures will peak at 25 or 26 degrees. but on the whole, it should be a slightly warmer day across the uk than it was on monday. and those temperatures continue to climb for wednesday. that area of high pressure is sitting over the uk. it's pushing the cloud and rain away, and we're going to be drawing up a gentle southerly breeze that will bring the heat northwards all the way from spain and france and move its way across the uk. northern areas start quite cloudy on wednesday. some rain to clear away from the northern isles, the cloud thins and breaks, and sunshine develops more widely. and in the afternoon, we're likely to find temperatures of 23 degrees through central scotland, 20 or so for northern ireland, the highest temperatures across the midlands to the south—east of england, 27 or 28 degrees. things start to break down a bit on thursday. there's a bit of rain trying to come in from the west. that may not make it too far. these showers are likely to break out from the south—east of england, heading towards the midlands, lincolnshire and east anglia, and they could be heavy and thundery. and that will knock the temperatures down.

for many of us, it's still quite a warm day on thursday, just not quite as warm as wednesday. and then things start to change more widely, i think, for the end of the week, because we've got this area of low pressure. it's winding itself up, the winds will be strengthening and this weather front will be bringing some rain. that's going to move its way eastwards across the uk during friday, but there won't be much rain, i think, for england and wales, and the more persistent rain soon sweeps away from mainland scotland. the winds, though, will be stronger. gales likely in the north—west, and this is where we'll see most of the showers. otherwise, there'll be some sunshine, a cooler and fresher feel, but still 21 in eastern england.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: the white house physician has confirmed that president trump has been taking an unproven drug, hydroxychloroquine, in the hope of preventing infection with coronavirus. the drug is intended to prevent malaria and the us food and drug administration has warned that it could have serious side effects. the world health organization has again been attacked by the trump administration for its early response to the pandemic. the us accuses it of failing to provide the necessary information. in response, the agency's director—general said they had sounded the alarm early and often. revised guidance from the uk's health services anybody who has lost their sense of taste or smell should self isolate for seven days to reduce the risk of spreading covid—19. the symptoms have been added to the list of signs but somebody may have caught the infection.