this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. india and bangladesh evacuate millions of people from coastal areas, as a huge cyclone bears down on the bay of bengal. the who defends its handling of the coronavirus pandemic after member states request an independent inquiry. a sombre warning for the uk economy as unemployment rises to its highest level for 20 years, in the wake of the pandemic. it is not obvious that there will be an immediate bounce back. it takes time for people to get back to the habits that they had. and from captain to colonel to knight of the realm, britain's best known fundraiser, tom moore, is to be knighted,

three weeks after his 100th birthday hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. first, india and bangladesh are on high alert as we come on air. they're evacuating milions of people from the bay of bengal — as one of the biggest cyclones in 20 years, powers towards them. cyclone umpun is expected to make landfall later on wednesday. with winds of up to 185 kilometres an hour set to wreak havok on the region, as it still grapples with the coronavirus outbreak. there are fears that those fleeing the cyclone could end up spreading covid—19.

also on the programme — the world health organization has it is still an extremely severe cyclonic storm, and it has the potential to cause devastating impacts across parts of northeastern states of india and also bangladesh. notjust due to the strength of the winds and the huge storm surge across low—lying areas of 4—5 metres high, but it's the flooding rain. now, if we take a look at the latest on the satellite picture, this storm has been forming and growing across the bay of bengal for nearly a week now. it looks likely to make landfall sometime during the latter stages of wednesday across northeastern states of india and into bangladesh. and then it is going to grind to a halt as it comes up to those huge mountainous himalayas in bhutan. that could have devastating impacts here, because the volume of the rain is going to cause significant flooding. now, the bright yellows and greens denoting the intensity of that rainfall, and the storm

is going to be with us for the next few days. let's ge the latest on the ground in kolkata in india, debraj mitra, a reporter covering the cyclone for west bengal‘s widely read english daily, the telegraph. thank you forjoining us. one is it likely to make landfall do you think? the cyclone, this is a live system that has a diameter of almost 700 km, so the entire landfall process is going to take at least 5-6 process is going to take at least 5—6 hours. that is what the weather office is saying. so tentatively, it is expected to start hitting land around two o'clock and by the time the entire system hits land it is going to be i think nine p:m., that is what the weather to permit is saying. and reporters are saying that millions of people are being evacuated from coast and low—lying

areas, what preparations are being made right now? see, the storm is the second strongest storm in two decades in the bay of bengal. so while the area is not entirely... cyclones a re while the area is not entirely... cyclones are not new to this place, but a cyclone of this scale is happening for the first time since 1999. from three districts of bengal, three low—lying districts of bengal, three low—lying districts of bengal, the cyclone is likely to cause maximum damage. already, i think three people are being evaluated, also people are moving to some cyclone shelters and also some schools that have been set up as temporary shelters. obviously, everything is made so much more difficult by covid—19 and the danger

that that poses as well. well, this could not have come at a worse time, you know? a country already grappling with a local pandemic, so it's a challenge for them administration to try to maintain social distancing in these cyclones shelters. used bengal as a district where the cyclone is expected to make landfall in a series, so there are existing cyclone shelters, but what the government has done is they have set up at least 600 additional cyclone shelters, mostly in schools. so they add more options and they will at least try to maintain social distancing protocols if there are more options, if there are more places that people can go to. ok, from the telegraph, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us much for taking the time to talk to us here in bbc news. thank you.

member states of the world health organization have adopted an eu resolution, calling for an "independent probe" into the global handling of coronavirus. it comes, after president trump and the chinese government traded barbs, over each other‘s management of the pandemic. the head of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, said the most courageous approach to the crisis, was to play as a team. the head of the who said, he welcomed an independent evaluation. here's his response. i thank member states for adopting the resolution which calls for an independent and comprehensive evaluation of the international response, including but not limited to who's performance. as i said yesterday, i will initiate such an evaluation at the earliest appropriate moment. well, earlier, i spoke to our global health correspondent tulip mazumdar. i asked how china will be

impacted by the resolution. china wasn't specifically mentioned in this resolution, but if you are looking at how this pandemic started, what happened in those early days — and there has been criticism not just from the world health organisation, notjust from the us, i should say towards the world health organisation, but australian and other countries as well saying saying they were too close to china, that china wasn't transparent at the beginning, and get the who did continue to praise it. i think there will be some investigation into that as well, and certainly the us will be lobbying the hind the scenes very and certainly the us will be lobbying behind the scenes very hard for that to be part of this investigation. but broadly speaking, all the countries that were speaking at the world health assembly over the last couple of days have talked about the importance of solidarity. it's been said again and again that one country alone cannot beat this. countries have to come together and work together to beat this, otherwise it's simply not going to go away. so that is something that will be reinforced, i think, as part of this investigation,

that, you know, blaming, pointing fingers, it doesn't actually help the pandemic now. clearly what needs to happen is to look at how this pandemic was dealt with at the beginning to make sure that lessons can be learned so it doesn't happen again when a virus like this does hit again — which inevitably will. let's get some of the day's other news. president donald trump has defended his controversial use of the drug hydroxychloroquine to ward off coronavirus. mr trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting that he thought it was ‘appropriate' for him to take it because two people who work in the white house had tested positive for covid—19. the syrian government has stepped up its attack on a cousin and former key member of president assad's inner circle. billionaire businessman rami makhlouf has gone public about his rift with president assad. a document apparently signed by the syrian finance minister is circulating online, ordering the seizure of the assets of mr makhlouf, his wife and his children. hungary's parliament has voted

to ban transsexual people from altering their gender on official documents in a move activists say pushes the country back towards the dark ages. individuals will now have to register sex at birth on marriage and death certificates, as well as identity cards. here in britain the chancellor had a sombre warning, about the prospects for the uk economy. rishi sunak says it's "not obvious there will be an immediate bounceback", once lockdown restrictions are eased more fully. it came as the latest figures showed the number of people claiming benefits for being out of work, had soared in april to the highest level since the 1990s. our economics editor faisal islam reports. they aren't cutting jobs at this west midlands fittings factory for shops and libraries, just like the officialjobs numbers, but only 12 workers — a third of employees — are manufacturing the now in—demand protective screens. the other 26 workers remain on the payroll — officially employed,

but at home, with wages paid by the taxpayer. when you look at the alternatives, which is like redundancy or being laid off, then being furloughed is, erm, is a really good thing. it gives business an opportunity to carry on with its workforce. the boss is grateful, and unemployment has been kept down. the furlough scheme has really worked well for us. and if it wasn't for that, i don't know where we would be. the government's crisis job schemes have concentrated tens of billions into controlling unemployment, but officialjobs numbers will soon catch up with the pandemic crisis reality all around us. and other figures today did show how hard thejobs market has been hit. the 865,000 extra people claiming jobless benefits in april was a record monthly increase, taking the claimant count forjobseeker‘s allowance and universal credit to 2.1 million — the highest for 2h years. in some regions, nearly doubling.

emma had been furloughed, but last week was told she'd lost herjob as an office worker at an essex construction firm and is finding getting a new one difficult. to be receiving a letter to say that i've been selected to be redundant, erm, is awful. petrifying. .. sorry, i can't help but get emotional about that, thinking about it. the number ofjob vacancies tumbled by a quarterly record to 637,000, so it will be harder to get a job too. i tried searching forjobs. i've applied for tens, if not hundreds, of positions online, but due to being an office worker, there's no offices open, there's no interviews being taken at the moment. it's... it's a struggle to try and find something. across the economy, thousands of jobs that were furloughed — for example, at the cafe rouge restaurant chain — are now under threat. hundreds have been lost at retailer debenhams,

and also in the transport sector, at british airways and at the ferry company p&o. benefit numbers are surging and vacancies are tumbling. just how far unemployment will shoot up is, for now, being limited by the government paying the wages of one in three workers. that is a bridge for the livelihoods of ten million people that will not last. and now, the chancellor whose schemes are built around the idea of a rapid bounceback in the economy says that it's not obvious that that will occur. so, a significant rise in unemployment can't now be avoided, says the government. i certainly won't be able to protect everyjob and every business. we're already seeing that in the data. and no doubt, there will be more hardship to come. this lockdown is having a very significant impact on our economy. we're likely to face a severe recession, the likes of which we haven't seen. but the opposition said more is needed, especially

for younger workers. we still have to be aware that the costs tend to fall on younger people, notjust because people who have lost theirjobs, but because they haven't been able to move into the workforce to begin with. the pandemic has caused a globaljobs catastrophe. even when lockdowns are lifted, it's when the support is withdrawn that the real picture will emerge. faisal islam, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we meet the somali boxer who's determined to be the first to punch her way to the top for her country.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines. india and bangladesh evacuate millions of people from coastal areas, as a huge cyclone bears down on the bay of bengal. the who defends its handling of the coronavirus pandemic after member states request

an independent inquiry. around the world, families have been struggling with remote learning. new york city has 1.1 million public school children — among them are the poorest and most disadvantaged in the nation. laura trevelyn went to see how the neediest kids are dealing with the challenges of the virtual classroom. ariel loved to collect objects from the world above the sea. eighth grader naobi rodriguez is keeping her siblings busy and thinking about her schoolwork. since the end of march, the girls have been confined to their apartment in the bronx — trying to learn remotely while sharing a laptop. do you miss school? yes, very much. what do you miss the most? i miss my friends and all of the teachers, because i usually, like, i'm very close with the teachers. we are good friends, like, student to teacher. it seems easier to learn in a classroom than having to do it remotely.

growing up in the bronx was challenging even before the pandemic, but now, the gap between rich and poor students has got even wider. new york is the epicentre of the global coronavirus outbreak and the bronx has been hit the hardest. this area was already the poorest in america, now it has the city's highest death toll and mass unemployment. remote learning for kids is just another hardship on top of all the others they already faced. good morning at 53, how are you all doing? miss patel teaches eighth graders in the bronx. she's part of the teach for america organisation, which tries to confront the inequalities in education. the kids are showing so much resilience and strength, and they are growing in different ways that i didn't really think they would. they are really stepping up to the challenge. so they are developing in ways that are different, maybe, to how they would develop in person, but they are still developing. councilmanjoe burrelli is hopeful

that new york city schools can reopen in september. he says the longer this goes on, the worse it is for the disadvantaged students. i see my own child, how some progress he has made in reading and language as a young four—year—old is sort of going by the wayside now as he struggles to deal with computer learning. so i can only imagine how much more this is a problem for students who really don't have the type of environment at home and the technology to concentrate and to be focused on their work. back in the bronx, nioby is determined to keep up her grades as she heads towards high school. like some any students, her graduation ceremony from eighth grade this summer will be remote. i'm very sad about it because i'm like the one in the family that really wanted to graduate so much. what were you most looking forward to about the real graduation? probablyjust like seeing my

principal give a speech to all the eighth—graders, telling us how to move on in the world, and how we can achieve our dreams. nioby wants to become a lawyer and make the world more just. the pandemic is exposing the inequalities in american society, but nioby is resilient and she's dreaming big. laura trevelyan, bbc news, new york. the decision to postpone the 2020 tokyo olympics brought years of hard i know only too well the struggles of home—schooling children. the decision to postpone the 2020 tokyo olympics brought years of hard work and preparation to a temporary halt for hundreds of athletes. but the dream remains. ramla ali is hoping to be the first boxer to represent somalia, and is determined to make the games in 2021. she's continued her training from home in london. the bbc‘s rhodri davies went to meet her. somali boxer ramla ali didn't think her road to the olympics would lead here. she should be competing in qualifiers this month,

but the coronavirus lockdown means she's only practising from home, and having just finished a training camp in the caribbean cayman islands, she found out that the games were postponed. i understand completely why the decision was made, you know, to protect the safety of the athletes. 100% the right decision to be made, but, you know, it doesn't stop the fight, it's quite heartbreaking. last year, ramla ali became africans own featherweight champion and she was aiming to be the first boxer to represent somalia at the olympics in tokyo this summer. but now there are no boxing bags, no dumbbells, no athletics track. ramla does altitude cycling from the elevation of her balcony. she continues with two sessions a day, but with crucial changes. the main difference between pre—lockdown training and lockdown training is missing out on that sparring, which is key in boxing.

yet ramla aims to stay in peak condition, so she can start fighting just six weeks after whenever lockdown and. now that it's going to be postponed for a year, i'm still definitely going to try and qualify next year. ramla is also a model and pre—lockdown used endorsement incomes for her olympic outgoings — costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. during lockdown, potential deals have stopped, post lockdown, she will be forced financially to launch her professional career whilst also training for the amateur olympics. meanwhile, ramla's project as a unicef ambassadore and teaching self—defense classes are suspended. we've all become used to making changes amid we have all become used to making changes amid lockdowns, and for ramla ali, while she is training here in this car park for the olympics, she is also now doing her charity work virtually. back hand, you're going to throw a left hook. which means a weekly zoom boxing

class, for primarily somali muslim females. and as a child, ramla ali fled were in some elliott to refuge in london, so whether or not pandemic excludes her from the olympics, the first muslim woman to win an english boxing title will still strive to represent people from similar backgrounds. rhodri davies, bbc news. an amazing woman. now, to an amazing man. world war two veteran captain tom moore is to be knighted, following a special nomination from the prime minister borisjohnson. captain tom, who celebrated his 100th birthday last month, will be recognised for his extraordinary fundraising achievements after capturing the hearts of people across britain. captain tom raised 33 million pounds for the nhs. that's over $40 million, a guinness world record. he raised the money having walked 100 laps of his bedfordshire garden. let's speak now to ian lush, chair of nhs charities together — which captain tom started raising money for back in april.

ian, wonderful news. it's fantastic. i think the country really wa nted it's fantastic. i think the country really wanted this to happen, it's great to hear what it's been confirmed. expand to audience what exactly makes tom more so special? well, he's broken every single fundraising goal we can find. when he first started off he wanted to raise £1000, which would've been lovely, but in fact it took off partly thanks to lots of good media interest, and i think it captured the hearts of people because there is this 99—year—old as he was then for me turned 100 on the 30th of april, walking up and down his garden, and he's a war veteran and he's just saying "i want to help the nhs through the charities, and i wa nt to nhs through the charities, and i want to make a difference." and people really latched onto it and suddenly, itjust went people really latched onto it and suddenly, it just went wild. people really latched onto it and suddenly, itjust went wild. one day to the next, we were raising £1 million a day than £5 million a day. there was a sense, wasn't there, ian, that the time that he was doing

during the difficult lockdown time forever one, the nhs was obviously under pressure. people needed this story, they needed something like this to give them hope, to make them feel good? yes. also, he's very articulate and very positive, and he kept saying things like remember, tomorrow will be a better day. i think, as you say, people really got to behind him and they loved what he was doing. it was just a great story that everybody wants to get involved with, and we are incredibly grateful to all of the people that gave. millions of people from all over the world, more than 50 countries, people donated. so £33 million, that's about $40 million. where is that's about $40 million. where is that money going to go, what difference will it make? it's making an enormous difference already. so the overall fundraising campaign is 110w the overall fundraising campaign is now over £100 million, which is astonishing, and there's about 230 members of the nhs charities together, all charities like mine, imperial health charity, which support hospitals and other bodies

around the country, the money has gone to support front line staff during the height of the crisis, and 110w during the height of the crisis, and now we are looking at the long—term. so we are thinking about ways of dealing with better facilities for staff with mental health, because we know a lot of staff have been dealing with trauma. we are also helping patients with their recovery, so it's already making a huge difference, in the money is going all over uk. of course, that's the important thing. that is what tom moore really wanted. but having this knighthood, what do you think it will mean to him? i think it will mean an enormous amount. he seems a very loyal... is very much about queen and country. you know, he was a decorated war veteran. i think it will be the icing on the cake. he's had loads of extraordinary stuff happen to him. he's been made an honourary colonel. he had another one single with tom ball, and michael ball, so he's at incredible things, but i think this is what everybody really wanted for him. how important is the light that he has shown on nhs charities? how

important is never nhs charities going forward? it's made a huge difference. i would say that two months ago, the middle of march, we we re months ago, the middle of march, we were a niche in the charity world that wasn't particularly well known. people might‘ve heard of great ormond street, or perhaps the local hospital charity, like sir tom's huxtable charity in his area, but the rest of us were kind of little known. not everybody knows about the nhf charities, and the lot are fattest onto them. it's been lovely to talk to you. thank you very much. thank you. now, with much of humanity in lockdown, the natural world has been stretching its legs a bit. take a look at these pictures. a tour group off laguna beach in california enjoyed seeing a ‘super—pod' of dolphins this past weekend — there were at least a—thousand of the creatures. experts say dolphins live like that to avoid predators like sharks. usually dolphins form pods of a few dozen — but occasionally you see one with hundreds or even thousands

of the graceful mammals. so for the record: social—distancing is important for us hello there. tuesday was very sunny and very warm for some of us but not for all. in fact, and very warm for some of us but not forall. infact, it and very warm for some of us but not for all. in fact, it was the warmest day of the year so far. 26 degrees recorded in st james' day of the year so far. 26 degrees recorded in stjames' park in london. but i suspect wednesday will be warmer still and a little more widespread across the country. however, it's going to be a chance ofa however, it's going to be a chance of a few thunderstorms on thursday, then as we head into the weekend, fresher for all of then as we head into the weekend, fresherfor all of us. but then as we head into the weekend, fresher for all of us. but for the time being, high—pressure, the dominant feature, and it's keeping these weather fronts out in the atla ntic these weather fronts out in the atlantic for the moment. that's allowing ahead of it to southerly feed, a very warm air coming up from the very near continent. so despite a little bit of early morning mist and fog around, it will be a mild start, as you can see, widespread double digits. any murkiness close to the coast will lift quite readily

away, and there will be lots of sunshine coming through the day, just a little bit of fairweather cloud into the north, and maybe some showery outbreaks of rain into the northern isles. here, little disappointing, but the warmth will be quite widespread, low 20s into central scotland, a size 27 perhaps in the southeast, that's 81 fahrenheit. it's worth bearing in mind if you are going to be spending a little more time outside, well you have got the sunshine, we are looking at how uv levels throughout the day. now, as we move out of wednesday into thursday, that whether friend will start to push and from the atlantic, and it's winter bring some outbreaks of late showery ring to scotland. so starting off pretty grey and wet to the west, that will drift its way steadily east, allowing for an improvement. at the same time, it stays pretty hot and humid in the southeast corner, and that could trigger off a few sharp thundery downpours. dodged the showers, keep the sunshine, again, we could see highs of 27 degrees. but the real change arrives on friday. you can

see quite clearly, more of a significant area of low pressure, tightly squeezed isobars around that centre of the low. that means the strongest of the winds look likely through northern ireland and western scotland. gales not out of the question. there will be some sharp showers are longer spells of rain as we go through the day. a little more cloud generally on friday, and as a result, not quite as warm. top temperatures of around 11—20d. that's 68 fahrenheit. so i fresher start to the weekend. but look at this. for england and wales, as we go into next week, the heat is set to build yet again.

this is bbc world news, the headlines... the world health organisation has defended its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, following criticism from the united states. it comes as the who's member states agreed to an independent evaluation of its response. india and bangladesh is evacuating millions of people from coastal areas, as a huge storm bears down on the bay of bengal. cyclone umpun is expected to make landfall later on wednesday. donald trump's former national security adviser has asked a us appeals court to force a judge to dismiss the criminal charges against him. michael flynn had pleaded guilty to charges related to lying to the fbi. global carbon emissions fell by more than a sixth at the height of the coronavirus lockdown, according to a new study. part of the decrease was linked to the reduced use of cars. those are the headlines on bbc news.