hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: did you leave the family home in durham? the prime minister bris johnson stands by his chief advisor, rejecting calls for his resignation over allegedly breaking coronavirus lockdown rules. according to mrjohnson, dominic cummings was "following instinct" in travelling over 250 miles, for childcare, when his wife showed coronavirus symptoms. i believe that in every respect, he has acted responsibly and legally and with integrity.

the labour party has responded angrily to the developments. sir keir starmer said if he was prime minister, he would have sacked mr cummings this was a huge test of the prime ministerand he this was a huge test of the prime minister and he has just this was a huge test of the prime minister and he hasjust failed that test. he has not sacked dominic cummings, he has not called for an investigation and he is treating the british public with contempt. more than a hundred are arrested in hong kong, during protests against beijing's new proposed security laws. turkey — which had one of the fastest growing coronavirus outbreaks in the world — says it is turning the tide. now on bbc news, the latest edition of global questions. hello, i'm zainab badawi. welcome to london for this edition of global questions. covid—i9 is a global threat, yet there seems to be no global consensus or blueprint on how to ease lockdown. some countries have reopened schools, restaurants and shops whilst, for instance,

here in london, these remain firmly shut. plenty of dilemmas and questions that we'll be exploring. that's on coronavirus crisis: lifting lockdown. how far, and how fast, is it safe to do so? well, i'm now inside the bbc headquarters here in central london and all our guests, of course, come to us via video link. let me tell you who's in the hot seat this week, giving the answers to our audience members, who join us from all over the world. two former prime ministers. britain's tony blair is still very much a mover and shaker in global affairs and, through his institute for global change, advises

governments around the world. and paolo gentiloni stepped down as prime minister of italy two years ago and is now the european commissioner for the economy. welcome to you both and, of course, also to our audience members from all over the world and to you wherever you'rejoining us. and don't forget, you too can join the conversation. it's #bbc global questions. let's get right down now to ourfirst question, and it is mesan rahman, who joins us from the capital of bangladesh, dakar. mesan, over to you. when deciding to leave lockdown, what should come first — life or livelihoods? what comes first — lives or livelihoods? tony blair. so, i mean, obviously, lives. but i think that the most important thing, mesan, that we have to do here is to recognise that you can't look at the risks we're taking just by focusing on covid—i9 alone,

because the lockdown also has a lot of consequences — big economic consequences, social consequences and health consequences. so, for example, my institute‘s going to publish a report today on africa which shows you precisely what their dilemma is. yes, they have to focus on trying to eliminate and contain the disease — the coronavirus — but, at the same time if, in doing that, they're causing huge problems around food supply, if in doing that, there are other health diseases that are not being tackled properly — hiv, tuberculosis, malaria, which kill hundreds of thousands of people every year, each of them in africa — then the risk is that if the lockdown is too severe and we don't start to get things back to normal and make sure that we look after the other aspects of life then, in the end, you know, you will do damage not

just to livelihoods, but to life. so, i think my belief is that, you know, when people talk about "is it lives or livelihoods? i think in some ways, it's a kind of false choice. because in the end, if we imperil livelihoods, particularly in the poorest parts of the world, over a long period of time, we will also damage life and we will damage our capacity to deal with other diseases. thank you very much indeed. paolo gentiloni, this is the kind of thing that you are grappling with. and of course, in your native italy, they are ahead of the curve in how they can lift the lockdown. what comes first — lives or livelihoods? how do you answer mesan? well, i think the answer, as tonyjust said, at the beginning of this pandemic was very clearly life comes first. and this is the reason why we adopted such

unprecedented lockdowns. in my own country, italy, we had also the experience to be first among western countries to take these decisions, unprecedented decisions. but just think to the fact that sadly, despite these decisions, all over europe, we had more than 150,000 people dying in these last couple of months. so now, we are in a different phase, a transition one, and all the relation with life first and danger in our economies are coming to the surface and we have to manage them. all right. let me just ask you both very quickly. on social media, jake kearsley, from here in the uk, says, "it seems sensible, for me, to put measures in place for a limited lockdown for the at—risk groups to rightfully

protect them, but allow the rest of the economy to function as normal as possible." just very quickly, that's something that you hear young people in particular say very often. tony blair, briefly on that one. yeah, i agree with that. so, i think it's very important that we distinguish between the groups that need to be protected very clearly and particularly for young people. i mean, obviously, they've got to make sure they're not spreading the risk, the disease, to older people. but, no, i think it's absolutely right. you've got to deal with this in a way that looks at the evidence and discriminates between different types of activity, different age groups, different localities, so that you've got as much normal life going on as possible. paolo gentiloni? er, yes. and indeed, let me only add to what tony said that this is more difficult than a total lockdown for authorities, but also for citizens, because a total lockdown is a clear message, 0k?

you can't... you can't move. stay at home. and now, we are in a more complicated situation, but we have to manage it, both authorities and the citizens. 0k, thank you very much indeed. let's go to our second question, and it's from a medical doctor, minesh khashu, whojoins us from dorset, in england. doctor, what do you want to ask? my question is largely about lifting lockdown, which i guess is dependent on how well we minimise community transmission through large—scale testing, contact—tracing and isolation. and i would like to know why our united kingdom has not fared as well as some other countries, like germany or korea? paolo gentiloni, you do see quite a difference in approach, don't you, across countries? it's a global threat, covid—i9, but there seems to be no global blueprint. overall, in europe, most

of the countries reacted, despite the fact with different timing, at the end, ina similarway. and i do hope that this will happen, and it is more difficult, also in the next phase to have these deconfinement measures in a coordinated way, because if we want to have travel, tourism exchanges, we need to coordinate this deconfinement, this end of the lockdown. tony blair, question there is, the uk hasn't fared so well on large—scale testing, tracing and isolation like other countries. for instance, germany. the uk is now putting in place the testing capacity that it needs. but ijust want to make one point. i think we need testing at a mass scale. i don't think there's any way you're

going to be able to give people the confidence to go back to work unless you're providing large numbers of tests, and that's why we've really got to look at how we get easy—to—use — particularly pcr antibody testing — easy to use, that people don't have to be qualified healthcare experts to use. because if you can't give people a clear sense of their position in relation to the disease — have they got it, have they had it, are they potentially immune from it? — then it's going to be very hard to get people back. so, i think britain's got some way to go although, to be fair to the government, they're now, i think, catching up with where they started. let us go to cambodia now for our next question. vidisha narith. vidisha, what's your question? what are the re—assurances in going back to school or work when the lockdown is lifted, especially when there is no vaccine to guarantee their safety, as they may feel unsafe or insecure?

thank you very much indeed. gentlemen, just before you answer, i mean, we've had a lot of points on this from social media. for example, kate's asked, "when do you propose the lockdown will end, and will people be able to manage the fear factor?" so, there's a lot of concern there. somebody else says, "how can lifting lockdown be an option when the daily death toll is still in the hundreds?" that's in the uk here. fleming asks if it feels simply too fast at the moment. "are we going to get a second longer—term wave?" and somebody else asks, "everything seems to be reopening quickly. is it a case of too much too soon?" paolo gentiloni, so, how do you strike that balance? i think that we are not doing this too soon or too quickly. i think we are doing it at the right moment. but we should keep very, very high the attention and the monitoring in the next weeks. very highly. paolo gentiloni, i mean, reassuring people is quite difficult again when they see other countries doing different things, you know. do you distance at one

metre or two metres, like here in the uk, or one metre that you have in italy? it's all very confusing. and i think, you know, on social media, we've had people sort of saying everything seems a little bit directionless. no, i understand this. for example, in my home country in italy, you have to to have masks. in shops where i'm living in brussels, you have to have masks only in public transport or supermarkets. but it is also true that we can't give rules that are the same for all countries, even in european union. it's very difficult to give the same rule for a beach in amalfi and a beach in the northern sea. you have different dimensions and different situations. tony blair. so, i know it's a really difficult balance to strike but, in the end, if we don't... if we're not able to start

moving out of lockdown — for example, getting schools functioning again, getting people back to work — then the economic damage is going to be so large, it's going to affect every other walk of life, including healthcare. so, this is why i think it's really incumbent on governments to explain to people how you calculate risk and to give people confidence that if they are being asked to go back out again, the risks are manageable. thank you both very much indeed, gentlemen. so, we're now going to go to thailand, but our question is from a ghanian who lives there. james. my question is so simple and very precise. will the next phase be more challenging after lifting the lockdown and, if so, what will be the implication? will the next phase be more challenging after lifting the lockdown and what will the implications be? well, that's a very, very wide question there. paolo gentiloni.

yes, indeed, it will be more challenging but, obviously, it will be also much better because we will remember these weeks of lockdown as a really incredible experience. we never had such an experience in our lives. we are not back to normal. we have the need to coexist with the virus for a few months, at least, and maybe several months. but at the same time, we have to reopen our activities. we have even to have a summer tourist season in europe, for example, and we have to re—begin to travel. so, it is not easy. we need serious decisions. and first of all, we need global and local cooperation.

tony blair, how would you answerjames? yeah, james, it's a great question, actually, really important. so, paolo's absolutely right in saying there's going to be a new normal that we get back to. it's not going to be the old normal. and our prospects of dealing with the disease coming back again is absolutely dependent on the containment strategy. in other words, if you've got testing capability and tracking and tracing and you are, for example, providing masks for people where it's necessary, you've put in place a proper shielding policy. i mean, our chances of dealing with a second wave will depend completely on whether we've applied the lessons we've learnt from the first wave. so, that's my simple answer to it. and i think it is possible to deal with it. dealing with it across borders — i mean, again, i really doubt whether you're going to get international travel back,

unless you have very simple, almost immediate abilities to test people. i think if you want to get flights going again, airlines moving again, you're going to need the capability. paolo gentiloni, do you think wearing masks should be compulsory, so people can travel? yes. absolutely compulsory in public transportation. train, underground, flights. and from my point of view, i would encourage governments to decide to use masks also inside shops, supermarkets — at least, in these weeks. right. thank you. yeah, because a lot of people asked this about, you know, will social distancing and wearing masks remain? very quickly, back to you, james, do you want to say anything? yeah, ithink... i mean, i agree with them on a certain point, because what they were trying to say is, this is going to be a global and a collective idea.

and that if we can alljoin hands together and work globally in a collective point, i think we can accomplish... i think after lifting the lockdown, we will all be safe and we will all be back on the track and work again. so, i think i agree with them, and that's really good. thank you for the answer. thank you, james. let's now go to the capital of liberia, monrovia. and what do you want to ask? what now is the immediate strategy to slow down this epidemic, after lockdowns worldwide? wow! so, how... you're getting all the big questions today, gentlemen! what are the immediate strategies to slow down the pandemic? i should say, of course, that neither of you is a scientist, but maybe just give us a broad—brush answer on that one briefly, if you would. let's go to tony. er, yeah. look... it's the same questions people are asking everywhere, by the way, in every country.

i mean, obviously, go back to what what was being said earlier around testing and tracing, tracking and so on. i mean, clearly, the search for a vaccine, a workable vaccine, is vital. there are probably, i think, out of all the different vaccine attempts around the world, there are maybe ten or 12 that look really promising. if there's a therapeutic drug that allows us to reduce the severity of the disease, that's also really important. and, you know, making sure that we're in a situation where, you know, people just are taking the measures that are sensible to make sure, as paolo wasjust saying earlier about shops and so on, taking all those measures that are likely to constrain the disease. so, all of these things will have to remain in place whilst we search for a vaccine that works and that works at scale. and then, by the way, we're going have to make absolutely sure that that vaccine is available throughout the world, including to the poorest parts and notjust the wealthy parts. all right, thank you. paolo gentiloni.

i think we'll have to concentrate on preventing the risk that the curve — that began in east asia and then took europe and then america, north america and south america — will not have a new surge in central asia and in africa, because this is a real danger for these countries and for the global situation. thank you very much indeed. i hope that answered your question. let's go now to yangon and myanmar, and danish. danish, over to you. my daughter wanted to ask a question. how will our privacy be affected after the coronavirus, keeping in mind the privacy being affected after 9/11? oh, so, she's worried about surveillance. all right. thank you very much indeed. paolo gentiloni.

i know that here again, we need a balance between two different fundamental targets and rights — the right to privacy and the right of safety in our communities. but you can break this balance only in the cases when an outbreak is there, and in extraordinary circumstances. we can't use measures against privacy in a massive and permanent way. tony blair, do you agree with what paolo gentiloni has been saying? i agree with paolo, yes. i think that it's a balance that you're going to strike. and, dinesh, it's actually a very good question people ask everywhere. the problem is, i think most people in principle think it's a good idea

that you're able to track and trace, but it depends on the government itself in your own country to the degree to which they're prepared to operate the system in a fair way. so, what i would say is, you know, you need to have proper rules around it and you need the government to be accountable because, obviously, it is a very powerful tool in the hands of government. therefore, it's got to be used responsibly. but i'm afraid whether that tool is used responsibly and fairly will depend on the government itself. but this would be something where it would be sensible to try and get some global rules around it. i hope that your daughter, when she hears this answer, will be content with what she's heard. thank you very much indeed there from myanmar. now we're going to go to paris, france. murielle, what do you want to ask our two panelists? good morning. did coronavirus taught us the good side of the holistic societies where the group's interest

rises above the individual, compared to modern societies, where the individul is put forward most of the time. is it a good life lesson? oh, well, there you are. of course, there's got to be something a bit philosophical coming from france, which is what we should expect. thank you very much indeed, murielle. tony blair, briefly on that one, if you would. yes, it's a good point. i mean, by the way, we're going to need that same spirit of collective endeavour to deal with the aftermath of covid, because the economic and social costs are going to be so great. we're going to have to look after some of the poorest, most vulnerable people, who are going to be most at risk in the aftermath, notjust from covid itself. so, let's hope that we have learnt this philosophically within our own societies and then, frankly, it would be great if the world would show a greater commitment to global cooperation in the aftermath as well. paolo gentiloni, is this a good lesson for europeans?

murielle asks. because, you know, in europe, compared to other parts of the world, asia, africa, there is a greater emphasis, isn't there, on the individual rather than the community, broadly speaking? oh, yes. the individual, for sure, is so important in our societies. but we perhaps rediscovered in these weeks the importance of cooperation, both at community level and at international level. i hope that in the post—pandemic world, we will keep these lessons. this means to fight against solitude in our communities and to use multilateralism and cooperation at a global level. if we do so, i think that the two enemies that we have — selfishness and nationalism — could have bad results from this pandemic. but it will be a fight. it's not something that we have for sure. murielle, do you hope that that will be the outcome —

more emphasis on the community rather than individual — is that what you want to see? yes. i feel there is a change in mentalities, where we realise we are all humans and we are vulnerable, and that's a step forward. 0k. thank you very much indeed. so, now our final question comes from delmarjoseph, who is indian, but currently residing in the united arab emirates. delma. would change be for better or worse? i'll go to you, paolo gentiloni. we have to to to keep the lessons of these weeks very, very strong. and one of these is the importance of public health care. we saw how important this is for facing these risks. a second one is the importance

of a safety net forjobs, which will demonstrate its importance in the next weeks. and the third one is the importance of democracy, of transparency, of the rule of law. and i have to say that these are also three assets very important for europe. tony blair. so, i think there are opportunities to make things better coming out of covid, i mean, if we take them. so, first of all, obviously, we should be prepared for the next pandemic. we should be making sure... because these things will happen again. so, we should be building the infrastructure nationally and internationally, in order to deal with it better. secondly, i think we've shown what can be done and how

you can mobilise people and resources to focus on problems. so, maybe you need to take some of those lessons from, as it were, wartime and apply them to peace time and think how, for example, when you're dealing with the question, the environment, for example, could you also be dealing with that with the same urgency that we dealt with covid—i9? and then i think the third thing that would be really interesting is, i think there's going to be a massive acceleration of technological development. and i think the biggest challenge for the developing world and the biggest opportunity is — how do they take the technology that's being developed around the world and apply it to accelerate economic and social development in their countries, bypassing the legacy systems of the west. and i think if we, if we look at this crisis, as also offering an opportunity, we can make good things happen out of it. thank you very much indeed. tony blair and paolo gentiloni. so, i hope we brought you some answers to some pretty difficult questions about lifting lockdown. thank you very much

indeed to my panellists. ant to my listeners, whojoined us from course from all over the world and to you also. wherever you're watching or listening to this programme. and don't forget, if you'd like to be part of the programme or submit a question to our panel for our next programme, then please e—mail globalquestions@bbc.co.uk. but for now, for me, zainab, badawi and the rest of the global questions team, goodbye till the next time. don't forget, we are the programme that brings you the global trend lines behind the headlines. hello, it has been an improving picture through the day across much of the country. the early morning cloud continued to melt away with increasing sunshine as high pressure built back in. tonight, it will be dry for most with a light wind as high—pressure moves across much of the uk. you can see widespread clear skies of england and wales and into northern ireland, parts of scotland as well, fairly cloudy and breezy

across the northern isles. with the lighter winds in the clear a bit chilly at night. temperatures down in single figures for many and a bit of mist and fog across south—western areas. on monday, high pressure is backin areas. on monday, high pressure is back in the driving seat and the weather fronts come into play later in the day across the north west. early mist and fog clears away very quickly and then it is a sunny day for most, cloud and breeze pick—up across west of scotland, northern ireland and rain pales in into the afternoon. temperatures around the mid—teens celsius because of the cloud, rain and the wind and further south and east, very warm, the mid 20s across the south east. that rain and cloud across the north west moves south eastwards as we head through the course of monday night. lying across central areas by the end of tonight and because there will be more cloud cover, temperature is perhaps a bit up, in double figures for most. into tuesday, still largely dominating, but this is where the front is in central areas and brings that band

of cloud. a very weak feature, bury anything on it, and it moves south eastwards, skies breaking behind it across scotland and northern ireland. fresh are generally across scotla nd ireland. fresh are generally across scotland and northern ireland on tuesday, the mid—teens celsius. still the warm air mass across southern and eastern areas, 25 or 26 degrees despite more cloud. on wednesday, a new weatherfront pushes into northern ireland and central and west of scotland that could bring further outbreaks of rain, but much of england and wales, another dry and sunny day thanks to high pressure and warm as well, closer to the mid—teens celsius for northern scotland and i for northern ireland. the area of high pressure shifts eastwards and draws up southerly winds in the near continent and that drives the warmer air northwards into scotland and northern ireland, so i think there and friday look warmer across the board. low 20s in the north and mid 20s further south.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk prime minister boris johnson stands by his chief advisor, rejecting calls for his resignation, over allegedly breaking coronavirus lockdown rules. according to mrjohnson — dominic cummings was "following instinct," in travelling over 250 miles, for childcare, when his wife showed coronavirus symptoms. i believe that, in every respect, he has acted responsibly and legally and with integrity. the uk labour party have responded angrily to the developments. this was a huge test of the prime minister, and he has just failed that test.