this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america, or around the globe. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: china's national people's congress is underway in beijing. subjects for discussion include a new security law for hong kong. it's already been criticised by pro—democracy activists. another 2.5 million americans claim unemployment benefits. now it's middle class suburbia queuing at the food banks. president trump visits a ventilator plant in the key us swing state of michigan. he trades verbal blows with the democratic governor and chooses not to wear a mask in public. getting into greece: we look at how tourists will be screened this summer as hopes rise of reviving the multibillion—pound

tourist industry. hello and welcome to bbc news. china's annual session of parliament has begun in beijing after being delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. in his opening speech, premier li keqiang acknowledged the fight to contain the virus is still ongoing. he joined thousands of delegates in thanking emergency service and medical staff for their work after holding a minutes‘ silence for those who had lost their lives to the illness. he also told the hall that the government hadn't set an economic growth target for 2020. media reports say legislation will be unveiled here to introduce a new national security law in hong kong which looks set to limit

freedoms in the territory. it's likely to be hugely controversial in hong kong, where pro—democracy activists held hundreds of rallies last year. president donald trump has warned that the us would react strongly if the proposals were followed through. here's what a chinese government spokesperson said about the new law. translation: national security is the bedrock of the country's stability. safeguarding national security is the common interest of all people, including hong kong compatriots. a member of hong kong's legislative council from the pro—democracy civic party told reporters the law would be disastrous for the territory. this is the end of hong kong, this is the end of one country, two systems. make no mistake about it, ageing, the central people government have com pletely

people government have completely breached its promise to the hong kong people —— beijing. a promise that was enshrined in the declaration and basic law. and they are now com pletely and basic law. and they are now completely walking back on their obligation, all to the hong kong people. lord patten was hong kong's last governor before the 1997 handover. he thinks the uk should be leading an international response to beijing's announcement. we should make it clear to the chinese that this is outrageous, and the prime minister and the foreign secretary should make that absolutely clear. we should talk to our allies, our friends around the world, all of whom have a stake in two things — first of all, the continuance of hong kong as a great international city in asia, and secondly, in whether or not china can be trusted to keep its word. now, there are all too many examples of that not being the case, the way it has actually used the preoccupation which everybody rightly has with fighting this awful epidemic. they have used that preoccupation in order to bully and harass in other areas,

and one of them is in hong kong. so what does this all mean? this is a proposal at the moment and it will be discussed in china. people may be wondering if it is actually going to happen. here's our correspondent steve mcdonell in beijing. yeah, it will go through. i mean, these types of things, they go to the national people's congress, they're never rejected, so no doubt about it, it will move onto the next stage, which will be that there is a standing committee of this congress, which will sort of further refine it, and then i suppose the process could all be organised by, say, august that this could become a law. now, you know, as an indication, though, of how controversial this proposal is, you know, this is a congress which we thought was to be dominated by the coronavirus and china—us relations — and that will no doubt be a big subject. of course, you can't

get around it. it is the global story at the moment. however, if they thought that they were going to somehow just sneak this law through the session, i mean, it is not happening, and to give you an idea ofjust how sensitive things are in china, our coverage of this is being censored. so whenever we raise the subject, the bbc‘s screens are going to black right across china, just showing you how, well, concerned, i suppose, the government here is about talk of this new national security law. what about the reaction in hong kong? there is bound to be significant reaction to this in hong kong. an earlier attempt to bring such law in via the local —— an earlier attempt to bring such a law in via the local legislative council in hong kong was met with mass protests and the government there gave up on trying to introduce it.

and that is even with — it is a kind of rigged system there, so that the local legislature will always be controlled by what you might call the pro—beijing camp. this was so unpopular, even with that control of that legislative council, they were not able to get it through. and one of the reasons it is so unpopular is that practically speaking, it means that if you are protesting, instead of being charged with rioting or something like that, you are charged with sedition or you're viewed to be challenging the very nature of the state in china. well, all of a sudden, you have gone from just getting into trouble for causing a bit of local havoc or maybe fighting with the police to actually challenging the legitimacy of the communist party and for that, you would face serious jail time. i mean, people could be put away for decades for those sorts of crimes, and so this is

why it makes such a difference. stephen mcdonell there. in america, the number of people who've lost theirjobs is continuing to grow — another 2.4 million in the last week. the total is now almost a0 million since lockdown began. that shows the ongoing painful economic impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on the world's richest country. nick bryant reports. we don't normally go in search of hardship in the tree—lined communities of american suburbia, but now it's easy to find. this, the looping queue for a food bank in new york's commuter belt. cars normally used for school pick—up and the weekly shop now a marker of middle—class need. some had waited more than five hours, bumper to bumper in a queue that stretched more than a mile. come here, now. for organiserjamie scott, traffic control has been a major problem.

eight weeks ago in the early days of the shutdown, he saw 65 families. now, it's 600. and look at the cars. a mercedes, and expensive suvs. you see a lot of starter mercedes, starter bmws, high—end toyotas. the problem is the people have gone now without four or five or six or seven pay cheques and it is starting to catch up. they need food, it is the most basic thing. guys, it's gonna be three families! guys, three families! at the front of the line, we met people who had well—paid jobs... all the way up! all the way up to the girls. ..before the coronavirus brought such economic destruction, people who have never had to rely on aid. michelle fernanda is a florist struggling to make ends meet. we have to pay rent, gas, all that stuff. i mean, you've got a beautiful car. did you ever imagine that you would be lining up for food? no, never. this woman is trying

to feed her kids. have you got any income at the moment? no. no, because i work housekeeping, so people don't want people to get into their houses because they have families, kids, and we have kids, too. so you are not making any money at the moment? no. so you need this food? yes. yes, we need it. we're witnessing the biggest economic shock since the 1930s in a country still feeling the after—effects of the financial crash in 2008. what's been noticeable since the great recession is the dwindling number of parents here who believe their kids will enjoy more abundant lives — that long—held belief in generational progress that gives this country so much energy and so much drive. covid—i9 has dealt yet another body blow to the american dream. what good is it if we save everybody from the virus if we let them all starve to death? with desperation, comes anger.

freedom! liberty! this, an end to the shutdown process in staten island, one of new york's most affluent boroughs. most of these people are small business owners who believe the stay—at—home order from the state's democratic governor has robbed them of their livelihoods and their liberty. members of the middle class not used to mounting protests. open up new york, that's right! and if you can't do it, get these democrats out! 0pen us up! you are killing us. # and i've come to see jesus... this is a convulsion that is shifting the ground beneath our feet. a disruption of immense historicalscale, bigger than the great recession, more consequential than 9/11. even in the most prosperous parts of america, lives have been changed forever. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. donald trump has visited the key swing state of michigan, the site of some the most high profile

anti—lockdown protests in the country. president trump was shown around a ford ventilator factory, —— factory. during the visit, the president denied refusing to wear a mask — a safety requirement within the factory — despite not appearing to on camera. i did wear — i had one on before. i wore one in this back area but i didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it. but no, i had it in the back area, i did put a mask on. did you have the goggles on too, as well, sir? idid. i had goggles. goggles and a mask. and here's another one. why would you not wear it here, sir? because, in this area — why don't you take it? — it's not necessary here. everybody‘s been tested and i've been tested — in fact, i was tested this morning — so it's not necessary. but the executives are wearing them. well, that's their choice. i was given a choice, and i had one on in an area where they preferred it, so i put it on and it was very

nice, it looked very nice, but they said, not necessary here. the president's trip to michigan has seen him clash with senior democrats in the state, over their plans to expand vote—by—mail in the us state. in a tweet, president trump threatened to withdraw federal funding, saying the measures were: "done illegally and without authorisation by a rogue secretary of state". i asked detroit news reporter beth leblanc to break down the issue. up until 2018 in michigan, you had to have an excuse as to why you were voting absentee — that you are out of town or unable to make it to the ballot box that day. and then in 2018, voters ushered in this new process called ‘no—reason absentee voting,‘ meaning that you could get a mail—in ballot no matter what. if you asked the secretary of state for an application, and then they would send you the application, you would fill it out, and then they'd send you a ballot.

the secretary of state, earlier this week, said that she would be sending out that application automatically for the august and november elections to every qualified voters in michigan — so that's about 7.7 million people — and she said it was to kind of cut down on in—person voting in light of the coronavirus and to prevent potential spread at the polling locations. it was greeted with some hesitancy and some real upset by republican lawmakers in michigan and, in more recent days, by president trump. republican lawmakers have expressed concerns about clerks‘ ability to count those ballots in a timely manner on the day of the election. and they've also expressed some concerns about voter fraud and whether or not this opens up the state and makes it more susceptible to voter fraud. that definitely was the concern of president trump when he tweeted yesterday that he would be withholding funding for michigan if the secretary

of state insisted on doing this. but is there any evidence of voter fraud? i mean, when it comes to absentee ballots, it is pretty rare to have voter fraud, but, you know, as recently as last year, there was a clerk in southfield, michigan who was charged with election fraud in relation to absentee ballots and the way they were listed in ballot sheets in her city. but that is kind of a rarity. it doesn't happen very often throughout the us, let alone in michigan. and what about the state itself and the november election? how close do you think it's going to be? i mean, i think we learned enough from the 2016 election to know that it's hard to tell what's going to happen in 2020. michigan has really become the definition of a swing state in recent years. trump was not expected to take

michigan in 2016 and he did, by a very narrow margin. but then in 2018, you know, michigan flipped again and they elected three female democratic lawmakers to the state's highest position — sorry, three democratic women to the state's highest positions. so michigan is very hard to call at this point. definitely the coronavirus has throwing another wrench into things and our governor has kind of risen to a higher profile through all of this — in part because of how hard—hit michigan was, particularly metro detroit, and her interactions with trump throughout the coronavirus pandemic. she's been on national tv a lot and at times has called out the federal government for slow response orfor a lack of personal protection gear for the workers here. so it's definitely become — it's really lived up to its name as a swing state

and one that's going to be very important in november. beth leblanc there. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the changes muslims preparing to mark the end of ramadan are making to cope with a lockdown eid. this morning, an indian air force 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 yet 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 birth for a poor country, and the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it is time to celebrate. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: china's national people's congress is underway in beijing. subjects for discussion include a new security law for hong kong that's already been criticised by pro—democracy activists. another 2.5 million americans claim unemployment benefits as the queues for food banks spread to middle—class suburbia. more than 80 people have died across eastern india

and bangladesh after cyclone amphan made landfall, ravaging the region. west bengal‘s chief minister says the level of devastation is beyond comprehension. as the storm weakens, millions have been left to assess the damage, some, losing everything. tanya dendrinos has this report. a trail of devastation — mother nature's fury unleashed. millions have been impacted by cyclone amphan, the first super—cyclone to form in the bay of bengal in more than two decades, bringing with it lashing winds, torrential rain and flooding. residents in west bengal assess the damage and, while some attempted repairs, others were sifting through rubble, trying to salvage belongings. translation: due to yesterday's rain, my house was wrecked. a tree fell on it. everything is destroyed. where will we stay? with lockdown restrictions still in place, many

were already facing the threat of no work and no income. now, nowhere to live and left wondering where their next meal will come from. translation: there is a lockdown going on for the last two months. we have no way out. we have nothing to eat. the house lost its roof due to be cyclone, how are we going to repair it and what shall we do? this aerialfootage in bangladesh shows abandoned farms with floodwater rising after a levy broke its banks. homes swallowed, now resembling remote islands. while the storm has now lost its cyclone status, weakening as it moves further inland, the possibility of flooding continues, with heavy rain still likely. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. the son of the murdered saudi journalist jamal khashoggi says the family has forgiven his killers. salah khashoggi made

the statement on twitter in what is the muslim holy month of ramadan. jamal khashoggi, a critic of the saudi authorities, was murdered inside the saudi consulate in istanbul in 2018. five people were sentenced to death and three others were givenjail terms for the murder. nato ambassadors will hold an urgent meeting on friday after it said it will withdraw on the open skies treaty. donald trump pulled out of the pact after accusing russia of not adhering to terms. now russia's foreign ministry has insisted it did not violate the treaty. russian media are reporting that a chechen leader has been taken to hospital with suspected coronavirus. the news agency says he was flown to moscow on wednesday for treatment and a

leader who previously fought against moscow as a chechen a nalyst against moscow as a chechen analyst is now a key ally of vladimir putin. muslims around the world are preparing to mark the end of ramadan. they traditionally celebrate eid by visiting friends and family and exchanging gifts but social distancing restrictions put in place because of the coronavirus means this year it is going to be very different. 0ur reporter sodaba haidare has more. empty mosques, deserted streets and markets with no customers. eid is usually the busiest time of businesses and traders, when they make the most money but with shops forced to close, this shopkeeper in pakistan hasn't sold a single garment. translation: look at these garments i bought, they are useless. nothing has value now, i have no idea where to put them. in damascus, syria,

flea markets lie empty. it's where those who can't afford expensive clothes shop but not this year. business is slow in malaysia's kuala lumpur and those who go to the shops must follow strict rules. in the days leading up to eid, travellers want to see theirfamilies but not everyone is following the lockdown restrictions. in indonesia, people waited in the country's largest airport to catch early morning flights, despite the government urging them not to travel. in yemen's capital city of sana'a, shoppers block —flock into the market to buy new clothes and dried nuts. 0nly today, medical workers warned others of the unfolding catastrophe in the city of aden, with many people dying of covid—19.

iraq normally swells with prayers in the last days of ramadan but with the pandemic forcing mosques to close, these men are reciting the call to prayer from door—to—door. after 30 days of fasting, for muslims, eid is the most exciting time but with a deadly virus claiming more lives, it's going to be very different. sodaba haidare, bbc news. now, for many of us living in lockdown, a holiday abroad sounds pretty appealing and greece officially begins its tourist season injune but foreigners could be turned away if the virus isn't under control in their home country. quentin sommerville has more, as athens gets ready to welcome the tourists. when you arrive here at athens airport, this is one of the first things you see. you get a swab test for covid—19. they've been doing this since march 20th. everybody who has the test, me included, then has to go into isolation for 2h hours.

in fact there's been a two week quarantine for everybody arriving in this country, but that's about to end because greece is ready to welcome back tourists. the results are delivered in less than 2a hours. i'm told i'll get mine by early tomorrow morning. this airport now is seeing about 400, 500 passengers a day. last year greece saw something like 30 million passengers — three times the population of the country. it depends on that money. this is a country that's gone through ten years of terrible economic crisis. the last thing it needed was a pandemic on top of that. so from june 15th, tourists will be welcome again, although not those from countries with high infection rates. so, i'm now in my isolation hotel room courtesy of the greek government and i have to stay here for 2h hours and i will be staying here because the fine for breaking that

quarantine is 5000 euros. greece has done relatively well compared to other countries in coping with this pandemic — fewer than 170 deaths. and the rest of europe now is looking towards this country and seeing how it manages that next phase. if it can continue with the success while opening up the country, well, then, that might get us all a bit closer to the lives that we used to lead. the acropolis has already reopened. the country's islands will be next, as greece attempts to return to a time before corona. quentin sommerville, bbc news, athens. a quick reminder of the top story. china looks set to bring in

freedom laws, and they want to bring in policies that will safeguard national security. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @ l vaughanjones. most of us will have at least a little welcome rain through the day ahead, but it does look fresher for all. the south and the east held on to the sunniest weather and the warmth at 28 celsius, but for most it felt a little fresher during the day on thursday. this huge swirl of cloud will be responsible for the transition and for the rain. now, as that comes and it's really quite deep for this time of year so it will bring some unseasonably windy weather, gales are being warned about all ready for part of northern ireland, scotland, met office warning in force here. and it hangs around, as you can see, for much of the weekend, bringing further strong winds and more rain. it looks as if parts of northern ireland and the north—west of scotland could see the highest rainfall totals. in fact, in some of the highlands we could

have a months worth of rainfall over the coming few days. look at the strength of the wind, really, anywhere from north wales northwards, 50mph gusts of wind, which with the trees in full leaf is clearly a concern. very mild to start our friday and as you can see, cloudier with some rain. it clears away, there may be some thundery showers in eastern areas first thing and then the showers rattle in with sunshine in between but the showers will be frequent and heavy in the north and west and even thundery. and as you can see, those strong and gusty winds affecting all areas, 30—a0mph even across the far south. so despite temperatures around about average for this time of year, add in those showers, add in the brisk to strong wind and it will feel much fresher for all. but there'll be some sunshine and some drier weather around. the showers just keep coming though, as we go through the night. but temperatures will fall a little lower than the night we are currently in, slightly fresher air is with us, but still for most, 9 or 10 degrees will be the overnight low and that's because of the strength of the wind, which will still be with us on saturday. that low pressure still firmly

in charge, giving further showers or longer spells of rain across scotland and northern ireland in particular. there'll be plenty of showers further south as well and they could well be on the heavy side, even the odd rumble of thunder. but here, across southern areas the sunny spells will be lengthier in between. another fresh feeling day, given the fact we've got atlantic winds and those showers and those brisk winds too, which will start to ease just a little in the south as we get into sunday but there will be further pulses of rain across scotland and northern ireland, as you can see. but just fewer showers in the south on sunday and lengthy spells of sunshine. temperatures a little higher by that stage as well. there's more online.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: china's political leaders are attending their most important event of the year — the national people's congress. the gathering in beijing was due to take place in march but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. among the subjects for discussion is a controversial new security law for hong kong. another 2.4 million americans have sought unemployment benefits in the past week. the new claims brought the total since mid—march to nearly 40 million — almost a quarter of the workforce. the latest total shows the ongoing painful economic impact coronavirus is having on the world's largest economy. president donald trump has travelled to the key us election swing state of michigan to visit a motor company plant. the president has traded verbal blows with the state's democratic governor during the coronavirus pandemic. he toured the factory, which has been re—cast to produce ventilators, without a mask. it's just after 4:30 in the morning. you are up to date

with the headlines.