this is bbc news. i'm tim willcox with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a cheap and widely available steroid drug is hailed as a major breakthrough in the treatment of patients seriously ill with covid—19. we return to wuhan, the chinese city where the pandemic started, to see what lessons have been learned there. china is determined that this place will not be remembered for a cover—up that put global health at risk, but rather as the cornerstone of a great national victory. after the protests, an executive order on police reforms from president trump, as he bans chokeholds unless an officer's life is at risk.

victory for footballer marcus rashford, whose campaign to extend free school meals in england this summer has prompted a major government u—turn. and the english premier league makes a return on wednesday, but what will it be like without the fans? the world health organization has welcomed the results of a clinical trial in britain that showed a widely available steroid dramatically lowered mortality rates in patients with severe covid—19 symptoms. the who called the research on the drug dexamethasone, a life—saving scientific breakthrough. it said it was the first treatment shown to cut mortality in serious cases.

our medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. for those laid low by covid—19, for the very sickest hospital patients, at last a drug that can tip the odds in their favour. 6,000 nhs covid patients were part of the trial and the results were so overwhelmingly positive, they were rushed out days after the study was completed. it found that dexamethasone saves one life for every eight patients on a ventilator and one life saved for every 25 patients on oxygen. if it had been used from the outset of the pandemic it's thought it could have saved 4,000—5,000 lives in the uk. catherine milbank from buckinghamshire spent 12 days on a ventilator with covid—19. she received dexamethasone after her husband paul gave consent over the phone for her to take part in the trial.

when someone tells you that your wife's hanging on the edge of something that could go either way, and you know that there is current, proven drugs that are already in the medical industry already that are prescribed to people, when you know that they are around and there's a chance it might help, you grab it. without trying these things... the researchers, us, no—one's going to get anywhere in finding out the right drugs to help the pandemic that's happening and still going on. as we're coming through it, i'm eternally grateful and will be for the rest of my life. dexamethasone has been around for decades. a steroid, it's widely used for arthritis, asthma and other conditions. this is a genuine breakthrough in the treatment of covid—19. dexamethasone, either in tablet or injectable form, is available in every hospital pharmacy. the treatment costs around £5 on the nhs and will be even cheaper

in developing countries. so this drug has the potential to save lives across the world. we've been on a huge search for treatments that actually will improve survival for patients with covid. this is the first drug. not only is this the first drug that improves survival but it is available worldwide immediately and is affordable. that's fantastic news for patients. the drug helps stop the immune system from overreacting to covid. it's not a cure, but it will help more of the sickest patients to overcome this disease. fergus walsh, bbc news. beijing is re—imposing restrictions in many parts of the city in response to a new cluster of covid cases. as other countries emerge from months of lockdown, the new outbreak is a reminder of how difficult the road to recovery could be. questions are still being asked about china's early handling of the outbreak. the first case of covid—19

was in the city of wuhan, probably at the beginning of december last year. in total, there were nearly 4,000 deaths and over 50,000 infections there. 0ur china correspondent john sudworth has just returned from a visit to wuhan, and sent this report. for two months, time stood still in this city, as it endured one of the world's harshest lockdowns. now, it seems a distant memory. interrupted lives have resumed again. but beneath the appearance of normality, the authorities are on edge. people we arranged to meet are followed by plainclothes police who block our car. why are they doing this? we're stopped from filming.

we can't leave? and at this apartment block a group of officials keeps a careful eye on us. are we being detained? during the lockdown, anger erupted here over how it was managed, with a national vice minister heckled on an official visit. "it's all fake," they shout. it was a sign of how the crisis shook the foundations of a system, one now firmly back in control. "no interviews," she's told. "people may say something they don't mean," this official says, explaining his concern about ourfilming. injanuary, wuhan‘s health service was the first to experience the onslaught. but despite evidence the disease was spreading, the public was given little

warning. doctors were silenced by the police, and one of them, li wenliang, later died. at a small shrine, and offering is made to a dead brother. at a small shrine, an offering is made to a dead brother. ms wong, who doesn't want to use her full name, has been told by the police not to talk to the foreign media, but has chosen to ignore that warning. 44—year—old wong died in early february in the same hospital as dr li wenliang. "they should have warned the public in time," his sister tells me. "if they hadn't covered it up, my brother might be alive now." anyone asking similar questions too publicly is quickly silenced. for china, there is now

only one narrative that matters in wuhan — the undoubted success in eventually bringing the virus under control. china is determined that this place will not be remembered for a cover—up that put global health at risk, but rather as the cornerstone of a great national victory, one that demonstrates not the weaknesses of tight political control, but its strengths. in this night market, business is slow. but by the crayfish stalls, there is only patriotism and praise. "chinese people united to control the epidemic," this man tells me. "but you foreigners don't know how to protect yourselves." here's another difference. 0utside one of the hospital

is one of the nurses we've just interviewed is intercepted by the police and questioned. they're pulling her over. of course if it brings you trouble, we won't use your interview. she calls us later and asks us to delete the interview. it is harder to fight a virus in the face of public criticism and democratic debate. but without them, might china miss the signs of the next public health crisis, too? 0ur china correspondentjohn sudworth reporting from wuhan. in the next report, he will explore how the virus might have originated — from animals as most scientists believe, orfrom a chinese lab from which the us claims the virus was leaked. has indeed do some others.

the trump administration is suing the president's former national security adviser john bolton to block the release of a book about his time in office. the justice department said the memoir of the veteran republican state official, contained classified information that would compromise national security. the book is belived to contain allegations that president trump committed a number of impeachable offences. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes has more on this for us. peter, according to the publishers, i suppose the old—fashioned way publishers, i suppose the old —fashioned way is publishers, i suppose the old—fashioned way is to say it's pretty juicy. old—fashioned way is to say it's prettyjuicy. yes, the book is called the room where it happened, a white house memoir. that's quite a —— he was often very close with president trump during his time at the white house. he's privy to some incredibly important

decisions and especially foreign policy during that period of time. the white house is saying that he failed to get the text of his book vetted and thatis the text of his book vetted and that is in breach of his agreement and employment contract with the us government. also, in breach of —— breach of the contract he agreed to be privy to such important classified information. the suggestion in this lawsuit is the book could contain such information that could be a risk to national security. ajudge is being asked to put a stop to the publication of the book. it is the 11th hour, the publisher says it's already being shipped to warehouses. if due to be published at some point next week. and this would help make it even more of a bestseller if there is this battle, and it is published, presumably john bolton really was an insider.

he was there at the beginning right the way through. he would presumably have had to submit the text to be vetted and censored. it was that process still going on? yes, exactly. that is precisely the argument of the government that there is a process and it seems as if that process was under way, the vetting was happening, but it was happening at quite a slow pace. apparentlyjohn bolton became impatient with that and essentially took matters into his own hands, which led to the book on the verge of being published. it has certainly been a very much hyped book because of the seniority of john bolton, the fact he had that proximity to the president for such a long time. he is a p pa re ntly for such a long time. he is apparently making such stunning claims against the president in this book, and the central one seems to be that he believes the president should have been

impeached on a number of accounts. we know he was impeached —— mr bolton argues the house of representatives failed in itsjob in terms of impeaching the president, because there were other issues. he said he could have been impeached. peter, keep us posted. president trump has signed an executive order on police reform three weeks after the death of george floyd, an african—american who was being detained by police, caused international outrage. the changes will seek to tackle misconduct and improve the training of officers. 0ur north america correspondent nick bryant reports from new york. gunshots right, here we go. in this summer of racial turbulence, demonstrations aimed at ending police brutality have often ended up exposing the problem. this was a police charge on the doorstep of the white house,

this was buffalo in upstate new york where a 75—year—old protester suffered a fractured skull after being pushed by police. another viral video that suggested this was a systemic disease. throughout this crisis donald trump has cast himself as a law and order president and as he signed an executive order creating a national database for officers accused of misconduct he delivered a staunch defence of the police. americans know the truth. without police, there is chaos. without law, there is anarchy. without safety, there is catastrophe. he has a signature that looks like it's recorded some seismic event and that's precisely what we felt here during the past three weeks. the president acknowledged he had to take action. # we shall overcome... in the struggle for black equality police brutality caught on camera has long been the catalyst for racial change, pricking the conscience of white america.

the aggression of officers in birmingham, alabama, helped bring about legislation ending southern segregation. the police beatings in selma produced a landmark fact guaranteeing black americans to vote. —— landmark act. but the modest reforms from donald trump won't satisfy a protest movement where some are calling to defund the police. you're trying to put a band—aid on a gaping wound. so, yeah, it might help stop the bleeding a little bit but there's a lot more that needs to be done. it's a start but there needs to be much, much more because it's been so long coming. in postwar american history these kind of racial convulsions have often produced transformative legislative reform, but critics of donald trump will complain, his words and his actions do not meet the needs of this dramatic national moment. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. let's get some of the day's other news. indian officials say at least 20 soldiers have

been killed in clashes with chinese forces in the disputed kashmir region. china did not confirm any casualties, but accused india of crossing the border. it's the first deadly clash in the border area in at least 45 years. the violence follows weeks of escalating tensions, with both sides deploying thousands of extra troops. the head of the us central bank has warned that the path to economic recovery remains uncertain due to the coronavirus. jerome powell said low—income households had seen the sharpest rise in unemployment. his comments come as us retail spending figures showed a record monthly increase of nearly 18% in may, as shoppers returned to stores. that's 6% down year on year. the british government has announced plans to merge the department for international development with the foreign office. prime minister boris johnson says the shake—up will create

a super—department, which will project uk values interests overseas. but three of his predecessors, tony blair, gordon brown and david cameron, have all criticised the move. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: playing to empty houses, but the english premier league is back tomorrow with the first matches since early march.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a cheap and widely available drug has been shown to cut the risk of dying from coronavirus for severely ill patients. president trump moves to ban us police from using chokeholds unless an officer's life is at risk. around 1.3 million children in england will be

able to claim vouchers for free school meals during the summer holidays, following a campaign led by the manchester united footballer marcus rashford. politicians had previously said they would not agree to free school meals vouchers outside term time. the uk prime minister borisjohnson praised mr rashford's ‘contribution to the debate around poverty‘. 0ur chief political correspondent vicky young has more details. he's used to taking on opponents and winning. but this campaign has been unlike any other for marcus rashford. he's spoken about his own experience relying on free school meals, and he's raised millions of pounds to provide for families in need. in leicestershire, dev and his brother say they want to concentrate on exams, not worry about their next meal. without free school meals, i wouldn't even have access to the healthy, nutritious food taht i have. i'd be eating such cheap, unhealthy food — the type of food that keeps you full for an hour. it leaves me feeling

more hungry and wanting more unhealthy food. and it's really a safety net for families like mine. after initially refusing, the government now says eligible children in england will get a food voucher worth £15 a week over the summer. you've talked a lot about levelling up and tackling inequalities in britain, but it's taken a campaign by a 22—year—old footballer to force you into action on free school meals. have you lost touch with those you promised to help? i talked to marcus rashford today and congratulated him on his campaign which, to be honest, i only became aware of today. i thank him for what he's done. i do think it's right that we should be looking after the families of the most vulnerable, the neediest, right now. and that's why we've got the covid summer food plan which we've announced today and i hope it will make a big difference to those kids and to those families. prime minister, will children

go hungry this summer? faced with questions like that, politicians need to come up with answers and a twitter spat with the young, popular international footballer was unlikely to help. when marcus rashford urged people this morning to think about families who couldn't have a hot shower, one cabinet minister sounded unsympathetic, replying that water cannot be disconnected. but the tone soon changed and so did the policy — a move welcomed by labour. it was obvious that there was a need for these free school meals. they never should have put that in jeopardy. we had to push them all the way. marcus rashford played a really important part in that. but i welcome the fact that there's a u—turn. that's the right thing to do. so right now, the 1.3 million children who need free school meals will get them. conservative mps are wondering what the government resisted the move for so long. they fear that this and other recent u—turns make it look like the prime minister is being reluctantly pushed into things, rather

than taking a decisive lead. of course, in an unprecedented health and economic crisis, the pressure on the prime minister is enormous. but at times, they seem to be making it harder for themselves. marcus rashford said the government have done the right thing, and this shows what happens when people come together. vicky young, bbc news. the english premier league makes a return later on wednesday. aston villa will take on sheffield united, and manchester city will play arsenal in the first matches since the beginning of march. but there'll be no spectators in the grounds, as our sports editor dan roan reports. it's the same competition, but with a new look. banners and seat coverings in place of supporters and the only fans inside, projected onto giant screens. we were granted exclusive access to villa park as it prepares to host the premier league's eagerly awaited return and the man in charge here told me how much it meant. we do have the eyes of the world on us tomorrow night.

the level of planning and preparation that's gone in makes me extremely confident. we've been starved of sport of all descriptions but particularly our national sport, football, so i think there is going to be a huge level of interest. relegation threatened aston villa featured in the last match before the season was suspended. they were one of the clubs most uneasy about a resumption but they've now got behind it. we need the premier league to protect its revenues because that's at the centre of the football ecosystem. whilst very rich at the top, it's struggling hugely below and that's why i felt getting the premier league back up and running was important for the whole of english football. arguably the greatest challenge the premier league has ever faced, there's been times when project restart has been in doubt but it's happening and it will be notable for other reasons, too. clubs have already paid tribute to the black lives matter movement during training. in europe, goal celebrations have been dedicated to it. and now the phrase black lives matter will feature

on the players' shirts rather than their names. from top to bottom, things need to change. we need to change the mindset of people. we just need to keep pushing it now. we're in the situation where for the first time really we've properly got a voice. there's other changes, too. players must keep their distance after goals and will have a special camera for celebrations. with social distancing in mind they cannot crowd around match officials. and broadcast innovations will give fans a virtual presence in the ground. listen on the radio, watch on tv, if you can. and by turning up to the game you're potentially putting it atjeopardy, something we've worked really hard for, which is to play those matches at home and away. liverpool, meanwhile, could be crowned premier league champions for the first time on sunday if results go their way. for some, the return can't come soon enough. dan roan, bbc news. and before we go, the findings of two very

different polls reveal that americans are sad, but marriages are holding up. americans are sad but marriages are holding up. according to a survey from the university of chicago, just 14% of adults say they're very happy. that's the lowest in nearly 50 years. no surprise, given the ongoing pandemic, economic uncertainty and general fear out there. but the institution of marriage is standing strong. according to a monmouth university poll, half of couples in the us expect to come out of the coronavirus crisis with an even better relationship. and if you want to look at these two polls another way, perhaps it‘s true, ‘misery really does love company'.

from me and the team, but is it from the submission —— this addition. goodbye. hello there. expect a stormy spell of weather over the next few days. not just for the uk, across much of central and eastern europe. we‘ve seen some sharp, thundering downpours. we start off quite promising but then showers are likely to develop in the uk as we go through the day. after a sunny start, afternoon thunderstorms could be an issue and because we have light winds, it could be slow—moving. so, localised flooding not out of the question. we could start off with low cloud, mist and fog. that burns its way back to the east coast where it may well linger, but elsewhere, lovely spells of sunshine but as the heat builds, the showers will arrive. they should be few and far between across scotland and northern ireland. the most frequent ones through wednesday will be

across england and wales. through the afternoon, you can see just a brighter colour denoting the intensity of those showers. slow—moving, a lot of heavy rain and some hail and thunder and lightning. it will be quite warm and humid out there. temperature is likely 22 degrees, 72 fahrenheit. the showers will continue for a while through the early evening, hopefully starting to ease away before during the night, we could see more persistent rain pushing in from east anglia through northern england. as we go through the day on thursday, rain to the north of england, then that‘s going to be replaced by some pretty intense thundery downpours across england and wales. in the space of two or three, we could see a couple of inches of rain. so, weather warnings have been issued by the met office, certainly worth bearing in mind if you‘re going out and about. slightly quieter day in scottland 17 to 22 degrees the high. as we go into friday, england and wales will see the quietest of the weather.

fewer showers around, but more frequent showers unlikely through northern ireland and scotland. some of these will be heavy and thundery. i7—23d as the high. we could do with some slightly quieter weathers. we may well get it between england and wales for the start of the weekend as high—pressure builds, but this area of low pressure could spoil the story a little bit further north and west. there‘s a chance this weekend of more rain, but it‘s drier elsewhere with the heat set to build across england and wales as we gointo next week. take care.

this is bbc news, the headlines for the first time — a drug has been found — that reduces the risks, of severely ill patients from dying corona virus. trials show that dexamethasone, a cheap and widely available steroid, reduced deaths by a third among patients on a ventilator. after weeks of protests — president trump has signed an executive order to reform policing in the us. it includes banning chokeholds —— unless an officer‘s life is at risk and creating a database to trace officers with complaints against them. critics say the reforms don‘t go far enough. a campaign by the manchester united footballer marcus rashford has persuaded the uk government to give more than a million english children vouchers for free meals this summer. the government reversed its policy —— after rashford called on ministers to show their humanity.