president trump has responded to criticism over his plans to celebrate american independence day at mount rushmore — with no compulsory face masks or social distancing — saying the monument will never be destroyed. he also condemned what he called a merciless campaign to wipe out america's history and defame its heroes. as pubs in england reopen on saturday, the prime minister has issued a warning to the public not to be complacent. borisjohnson says the public "must not let them down" on social distancing and that he won't hesitate to reimpose restrictions. police brutality is in the spotlight in mexico — with a teenage soccer player shot by an officer from a parked patrol car. in another instance, a man died when an officer knelt on his neck. police brutality is an ongoing problem in mexico. 400 staff at the national theatre

have been told they'll no longer have jobs after the end of august. it follows concerns expressed by actors, directors, and producers over the loss of live shows during the lockdown. judith moritz reports. at theatres from belfast to cardiff, edinburgh to london, the only thing on show today was this artistic project by a group of stage designers. they've also wrapped manchester's royal exchange and say they are highlighting the plight of theatres which have been devastated by having to close during the pandemic. it's not just people who work in the building, it's the freelancers and also costume hire. there's, like, so many places that we rely on to work with all the time and that is all part of the wider economy. and itjust seems a real shame... it doesn't feel like that's been acknowledged. since this theatre closed its doors, one production after another has been cancelled and millions of pounds of revenue lost.

now, the royal exchange‘s managers say that it's fighting for survival and there's the possibility they may have to make up to 65% of the staff here redundant. last year, julie hesmondhalgh starred in mother courage at the royal exchange. it's really emotional, actually, being here with all the lights off. today, she sat on its empty stage and called for increased government support for the theatre industry. it's notjust about people having a lovely night out in the west end, it's about the infrastructure of the creative industries in this country and about people's jobs, jobs that will go forever unless they step in now. i want to be back in this theatre either on this stage or in one of those seats as soon as possible, and more than that, i want the people that are the beating heart of this building, which are the staff, reinstated as soon as possible. today, the scottish government announced a £10 million fund to support the performing arts. the uk government says it's given unprecedented financial

help to thousands of arts organisations — and next week, it'll give venues a timetable to prepare for their safe reopening. at sadler‘s wells in london, they say that unless something's done quickly, they could close by the autumn. like many theatres, they depend on most seats being full to break even. in a social distancing environment, we are probably down to about 20% or 30% of our house, so that's quite difficult to do in theatre because of the finances you need onstage to make a show happen. so, really, we're thinking about how we might make some special programmes that we can do in that circumstance, but what we really need is to get back to full capacity. today, the national theatre said it would not be able to employ its 400 casual staff beyond the end of august. and for southampton‘s nuffield theatres, it's already too late. despite its new building only opening two years ago, lockdown has created cash flow so severe, their stages will now stay dark for good.

judith moritz, bbc news. now on bbc news: more than 25 million people go on cruises each year. as coronavirus began to spread, cruise ships suffered devastating outbreaks that resulted in thousands being infected and dozens dying. here's our world. this is the story of three cruise ships was that sail betweenjanuary and march of this year. it was a regular and relaxing vacation at first. they would it have devastating outbreaks of coronavirus resulting in the deaths of dozens of people. we would have acted differently if we knew what was happening. all three ships were owned by carnival, the world's largest cruise company. they let people on that ship, when they shouldn't have, i think. and how can

bruising be made safe again? january 20, 2020. nearly 3000 passengers on the diamond princess are played from the quayside in yokohama in japan, about are played from the quayside in yokohama injapan, about to leave on ais yokohama injapan, about to leave on a 15 day cruise around south—east asia. for cruise veterans can and rebecca frazier, it's a chance to see the sides. disneyland hong kong, vietnam, taipei. but on february one, on their way back to yokohama, everything changes when it is announced a passenger who had left the ship in hong kong six days earlier has tested positive for the dangerous new coronavirus sweeping through china. it still was really unclear about point if we were in some sort of danger. the ship

returns early to japan and is bordered by health officials who start testing passengers. if you had a high temperature, you were taken aside and given the actual coronavirus tests. now back in your hummer, passengers are told by the ship was made captain to stay in their cabins as the virus starts to spread. does make the ship's captain. —— now back in yokohama, passengers are told by the ship's captain to stay in their cabins as the virus sta rts stay in their cabins as the virus starts to spread. during the first few days of quarantine, the number of those infected, both passengers and members of the ship's grew, sta rts and members of the ship's grew, starts to rise. by february seven, 61 people have been infected. during

their enforced confinement, passengers are allowed out for only one hour every day. food is brought to their cabins. so we got more news from outside the ship than inside the ship. japan's ministry of health, labour and welfare has confirmed three new coronavirus patients onboard the diamond princess, ending the total number to 64. -- princess, ending the total number to 64. —— bringing. princess, ending the total number to 64. -- bringing. rebecca got the news they were fearing. we found out from a reporter that more and more people had been testing positive for coronavirus. and we came to phone dale i was one of those 41 people —— we came to find out i was one of those 41 people. an hour later, having packed her clothes she is taken off the ship into isolation in

hospital. love you! see see you later. i remember seeing her walk down the hallway when she left and turning the corner and i didn't know when i would see her again. over the coming days, the ship becomes the single biggest source of new cases in the world outside of wuhan, where the coronavirus had first started. you could tell what kind of date was going to be just by looking outside onto the dock. you could see the ambulances lined up. having completed his quarantine, and showing no symptoms, can frazier was finally allowed to leave the diamond princess. —— can frazier. the nightmare is over. it would be

another two weeks before his wife, rebecca, would be able to leave hospital when the couple were able to travel back to the united dates. there have been at least 700 cases confirmed on the diamond princess, resulting in 13 deaths, and the reality is quara ntining resulting in 13 deaths, and the reality is quarantining onboard a ship is one of the worst ways to control the virus. the rapid spread on the cruise ship i think is partly due to the high population densities which actually facilitate a lot of contact which actually facilitate a lot of co nta ct of which actually facilitate a lot of contact of people onboard. professor rockwell has found each infected person on the cruise ship was infecting as many as 15 others. four

times the reproduction rate in wuhan. quarantining onboard a ship is probably one of the least effective quarantine environments. it would be much more effective to spread people out and try to isolate them. we asked princess cruises to ta ke them. we asked princess cruises to take part in this programme. they declined, but gave a statement. japanese officials have since said their plan was flawed, but they did their plan was flawed, but they did their best in a fast moving situation. all over the world, the coronavirus is now spreading. but the beginning of march, the number of cases is approaching 90,058

countries. —— 90,000 in 58 countries. —— 90,000 in 58 countries. but many cruise companies are sitting sale. a grim foretaste of what is to come. —— cruises are setting sail. as i learn more about the spread of this insidious disease, ship by ship i became more and more horrified by the plight of these passengers literally on potential death ships. the cruise industry is now one of world tourism's biggest success stories. put into the body that represents the industry, globally it employs more than1 the industry, globally it employs more than 1 million the industry, globally it employs more than1 million people the industry, globally it employs more than 1 million people and the industry, globally it employs more than1 million people and makes an economic impact of more than $120 billion a year. miami, florida, the centre of the cruise industry and the headquarters of carnival, the world's largest cruise liner, owner

of princess and eight other companies. carnival operation, more so than any other company have front—line seeds to get this virus. from that point on, it is difficult to understand how bruising was able to understand how bruising was able to continue to operate. —— cruising. princess cruises told 0ur to continue to operate. —— cruising. princess cruises told our world: its early march, 2020, and another princess cruises ship, the grand princess, with 2500 people onboard, has been on a two week cruise around hawaiian islands. among the passengers is michelle hecker, who is travelling with her and parents.

she has been given a holiday is a graduation present. we were a little bit concerned, especially since cruise ships are such contained spaces. we were confident in our ability to stay safe and take the precautionary measures. itjust felt like a regular, relaxing vacation at first. but all that changes when the authorities back in california are alerted that e—mail passenger who had been on an earlier cruise to mexico on the grand princess may have infected passengers who stayed on the ship for the hawaiian cruise —— that a mexican passenger. on the ship for the hawaiian cruise -- that a mexican passenger. we were told this would be our last meal in the dining rooms and we would finish the dining rooms and we would finish the remainder of the cruise in our rooms. it was a pretty scary time. princess cruises told 0ur rooms. it was a pretty scary time.

princess cruises told our world: 0ut out at sea, and other passengers are now starting to show symptoms that they too may have caught the virus. off the coast of california, a coastguard helicopter flies out you drop off testing kits and medical supplies, including dozen face masks —— flies out to drop off. with a number of infections increasing, the authorities seem reluctant to allow the ship to return to land california has declared a state of emergency, and at first, the governor says it cannot dock. confined to their cabin as the ship waits to be allowed to return, michelle and her grandparents are now making their own amusement and the best of the situation. 0nline origam|,

tai chi and zumba. i've been writing some songs on my ukulele because i brought a ukulele for lessons but they were going to provide on the ship, since it was a hawaiian cruise. sings. 0n on march ten, four days later than scheduled, the grand princess is scheduled, the grand princess is allowed back to land. to 0akland. because of their possible contact with someone who had the virus, all 2000 passengers from the united states will now be spending a further two weeks in quarantine at various military bases. in japan, the strategy was to keep everyone on board and detest everyone there and make sure that everyone was quarantined in their rooms and remained on the ship. whereas in the case of the grand princess, once it

was able to come into port, the strategy was really to get as many people off the ship as possible. this is an industry that has doomed. passenger numbers are up this is an industry that has doomed. passenger numbers are up by more than 30% over the last five years. attra cted than 30% over the last five years. attracted in part by ever larger ships that are their own holiday destinations. the swimming pool, miniature golf courses, now even a ship with its own roller—coaster. but across the world, cruise ships we re but across the world, cruise ships were by now being refused access to ports and cities. as fears increased their ships might not be harbouring their ships might not be harbouring the virus on board but actually spreading it when their passengers landed. by march eight, when us health authorities were warning all americans to stay away from cruise ships, it begs the question why

cruise companies continued to operate. much eight, sydney. and another princess cruise ship, the ruby princess, has just dropped off passengers before embarking on a two—week christian new zealand —— cruise to new zealand. it is late leaving but there is no official reason why. the ruby princess docked that morning so it was just utter chaos and there were people and bags everywhere. cues. all we knew was that they had some health issues on board. the departing passengers did not know is that the ship had informed new south wales health authorities that they had been as many as 150 86 passengers on board. everybody was crammed in, check to jail. they kept saying everything is fine. princess cruises told our

world... so on the ship and we set sailfrom world... so on the ship and we set sail from sydney there were 2700 passengers and about 1000 crew and it felt like the ship was packed. six days into the trip, while visiting new zealand, it is announced the cruise is being shortened. because of the coronavirus, new zealand has introduced a ban on all international travel, including cruise ships. ruby princess will be going back early to sydney. when we got turned around, everyone started to get a little bit nervous. 0n the last night in the main dining room, they have a conga line of servers and the restaurant staff, dancing around to music. and it was like being ina around to music. and it was like being in a high school disco.

despite the celebrations, at least 100 passengers have fallen sick and several have been tested for coronavirus. but on march 19, all 2700 passengers were let off the ship in sydney. even the ones that we re ship in sydney. even the ones that were awaiting test results for covid—19. were awaiting test results for covid-19. we got downstairs to collect our luggage, collected our luggage and walked out. there were no temperature checks, there won't even passport checks. we saw an ambulance. 0n the dock and at the time, we didn't think anything about it. it was like we were being rushed off the ship. flying back to london, the world now in the midst of a global pandemic. we got to sydney airport about nine o'clock in the morning. breezed through check—in and security and when we went to board ourflight, and security and when we went to board our flight, again, and security and when we went to board ourflight, again, no temperature checks. and then we got

back to london heathrow. and it was while i was at the luggage collection that i turned my phone on for the first time since leaving sydney. i had a notification after notification from people saying were you on the ruby princess? we came straight home. pretty much locked the doors and did not leave the house for two weeks while we got sicker and sicker. my cough got worse. as did my husband's sicker and sicker. my cough got worse. as did my husbands and we both started to ache. 0f worse. as did my husbands and we both started to ache. of the six of us both started to ache. of the six of us that travel together on the ruby princess, five of us got sick. she believes that she had covid—19, although she was never tested. 900 people on board that ship were from overseas so to think that they disembarked in sydney, potentially with the virus, and then they travelled in taxis and berbers to

the airport, got on other flights, travelled on aircraft to their home country and in the process potentially infected hundreds of people —— ubers. potentially infected hundreds of people -- ubers. the ruby princess is not the only ship whose passengers and crew have been infected by the coronavirus. but the scale of those who fell sick marks her out. the company should never have let the crews go ahead. we definitely would have acted differently if we had known what was happening and how it was spreading on the ship —— cruise. happening and how it was spreading on the ship -- cruise. the ruby princess estate in australia. there we re princess estate in australia. there were too many sick crew to leave. and by now, other questions were emerging. why have the authorities allowed the ship to disembark its passengers? and had they been given the full picture about the number of passengers that had been showing symptoms on board? there has been a real void of information, especially

from the ship's operator, about exactly what happened on that ship. three weeks after the ruby princess docked, police raided the ship to seize its black box and question crew members. police said they were investigating potential discrepancies as to whether the ship's owners had been transparent about the health of the passengers on board. this is a ship that was failing when coronavirus had been declared a global emergency. they knew about the risk that these passengers faced and they did not disclose the risk to the passengers. apart from the police investigation, there is also a separate commission of enquiry to look into the actions of enquiry to look into the actions of the ship, its owners and the various australian authorities. 0ne e—mailfrom the various australian authorities. 0ne e—mail from the general manager of the port authority claims that when

the port authority claims that when the ruby princess docked on much eight, the ship had given conflicting information about whether there were six passengers on board —— march eighth. and when questioned on video about the ship's later returned to sydney on march 19, the ruby princess's doctor said that if it had been her decision, she would not have let the passengers showing symptoms get off the ship until the test results had come back. vicki is acting for claimants seeking compensation. more than 500 passengers have contacted herfrom all over the than 500 passengers have contacted her from all over the world. than 500 passengers have contacted her from all over the worldlj than 500 passengers have contacted her from all over the world. i will certainly be very interested to see whether there was an attempt at cover—up of information by the ship's owners and operators so they could get in and out of sydney harbour very quickly. princess cruises told our world:

the authorities in new south wales admit that they made mistakes and that things should have been handled differently. in washington, senior politicians are now calling for carnival to release its own internal correspondence, what they knew and when they knew it. we need to know whether or not any relevant information was concealed or deceived. we need to know whether there was any deception or misleading information. for now, the future of cruising is uncertain. in manila baye in may, some of the

wild's largest and most luxurious ships were laid up as their filipino crews we re ships were laid up as their filipino crews were quarantined. —— bay. ships were laid up as their filipino crews were quarantined. —— baym is difficult to know exactly what cruising will look like when it resumes. the company has not yet announced any procedures it will ta ke to announced any procedures it will take to protect passengers and crew from covid—19. i think at the minimum, we can expect the same changes we are seeing on land. on carnival‘s website, while there is recognition of coronavirus, there is also bright optimism that cruising might soon be able to resume. these cruise lines need to heed predictions and advice of those same experts, the scientists, make their decisions data driven, not—for—profit ribbon or investor driven. —— not profit driven. princess was not the only cruise line to have ships whose passengers and crew had been infected. and the

company says it is confident that it has acted properly. research by the miami herald says that for the industry as a whole, more than 60 cruise ships were affected by the coronavirus pandemic, causing more than 3000 infections and at least 80 deaths. pandemic, causing more than 3000 infections and at least 80 deathslj think it is going to change the face of the cruising industry for a long time. i don't know if i will step on a cruise again. it may have been my last. because... i neverwant a cruise again. it may have been my last. because... i never want to get that sick again.

hello there. there's no sign of our weather settling down any time soon and this weekend, it stays certainly unsettled with cloud and rain on the way, and there will be some strong winds as well, particularly as we head into sunday. scenes like these, i think, be quite commonplace over the next 24 hours. you can see extensive cloud racing then across the atlantic, but this area of cloud in the west atlantic, a puny area, a weak area of low pressure at the moment, but it's going to rapidly deepen as it races towards the british isles and by sunday, it will be bringing gales across northern areas. the winds strong enough to bring down some trees, so there is the risk of some transport disruption,

particularly in the north. so this weekend — unsettled, windy, especially on sunday. rain at times. a lot of cloud around. 0ccasional brighter spells. that's what we've got on the weather menu. now, over the next few hours, we've got cloud and rain with us across england and wales. some dry weatherfor a time in scotland. 0ccasional clear spells here. it's a warm night, particularly in the south, with temperatures around 15 to even 17 around liverpool and manchester, whereas further north, a fresher 9 or 10 degrees. now, through saturday, this rain that we start off with will tend to ease. we'll still have some damp stuff around. a little bit of light rain and drizzle just about anywhere but more especially around the western coast and hills. perhaps a little bit of sunshine poking through in scotland. here, though, there will be a few passing showers the afternoon. —— here, though, there will be a few passing showers through the afternoon. temperature—wise, well, we're looking at highs around 16—17 across the north, england and wales, up to around 22 in the warmest spots. then saturday night, our area of low pressure begins to flex its muscles and by sunday morning, we're looking at a swathe of strong winds. the winds will be strongest quite

early on sunday morning, working way across the north. —— working across the north. so especially for scotland, but also getting very blustery over northern england on and to the east of the pennines. gusts of wind could reach 50 or 60 mph. if this low pressure deepens, then the winds could be stronger than this, mind you. but either way, winds this strong are capable of bringing down a few trees and certainly causing some transport disruption. it's guaranteed that we'll have some speed limits, for example, on the bridges, and the ferries could be affected. even as the rain and the winds begin to ebb away, we're looking at blustery showers following in to the north—west as we head through sunday afternoon. but nowhere's really immune from seeing the odd afternoon downpour on sunday. beyond that, well, it stays unsettled. we are looking at further showers around at times, particularly in the north and west.

welcome to bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: president trump uses his independence day address at mount rushmore to condemn what he calls a merciless campaign to defame america's heroes. i am here as your president to proclaim before the country and before the world, this monument will never be desecrated. as pubs in england reopen on saturday, the prime minister boris johnson issues a warning to the public not to be complacent. police brutality in the spotlight in mexico, with a teenage soccer player shot by a policeman from a parked patrol car.