welcome to bbc news — i'm mike embley. our top stories: the president of brazil, jair bolsonaro, tests positive for coronavirus. in a country ravaged by the disease, he has consistently played it down. the who gave this response. no country is immune and no country is safe and no individual can be safe, but having said this, we wish his excellency, the president, well. the us follows up the earlier threats from president trump with formal notification that it is leaving the world health organization. millions in melbourne are ordered back into lockdown for 6 weeks — there are police checks at the state border between victoria

and new south wales. at the high court in london, johnny depp is suing the sun newspaper for calling him a ‘wife beater‘. he's been tested before and it's come back negative, but now on the 4th procedure, brazil's president has tested positive for coronavirus. jair bolsonaro has spent months downplaying the severity of the virus, in a country that has the second highest number of covid—19 cases and deaths in the world, after the us. he is now taking hydroxychloroquine, a drug he and president trump have promoted but which is unproven as a treatment for the disease. this from our south america correspondent katy watson. brazil's graveyards, a testament to the country's crisis. every day, more tombs are filled, every burial

another number in the country's shocking statistics. tens of thousands of people are falling ill every day, numbers that jair bolsonaro has often dismissed, but now he is one of them. the president went on television to announce the test results. for once, wearing a mask, but leaving very little distance between him and journalists as he shared his experience of the virus. translation: it started on sunday with a certain feeling of unwell that worsened during the day on monday, with malaise, tiredness, a bit of muscle pain and a fever that reached 38 degrees. i did a scan at the armed forces hospital here and my lungs were clear. as he bid farewell, the mask came off. not even covid—19 will make him change his ways. jair bolsonaro is a man who thrives on controversy, meeting supporters and rubbishing global health guidelines from the very beginning. he fired two health ministers

because he disagreed with their medical advice which followed that of the world health organization. today, the health body sent best wishes for a speedy recovery. we are all potentially exposed to this virus. the virus doesn't really know who we are. whether we're prince or pauper, we are equally vulnerable. and i think what it really highlights is our collective vulnerability to this disease. and brazil is more vulnerable than most. the death toll is soaring, but shops, bars and restaurants are reopening. it's what jair bolsonaro has wanted from the very start, the economy back up and running. for so long, jair bolsonaro has tried to brush off this virus. the irony that he has now caught it has not been missed in brazil today. translation: i think he's going to get better. he has the best doctors and the best hospitals. i hope he's well.

translation: bolsonaro has spoke about not catching it and he caught it. it's not just a little flu like he was talking about. this was the fourth test jair bolsonaro had taken for covid—i9. he had a scare early on in the crisis, when he paid a visit to donald trump and several members of his presidential team fell ill. the us president took a test shortly afterwards. the two men have much in common, playing down the virus and leading countries that are now suffering the most. brazil, most famous for its beaches, is becoming infamous for these much darker times. katy watson, bbc news, sao paulo. well, president bolsanoro has been dismissive of coronavirus, but brazil and south america are now the areas of the world that most worry public health officials. our science editor david shukman has this report. a desperate scene in a graveyard in bolivia.

a charity uses a digger to bury the dead because too many people are dying for the authorities to cope. the family of a victim watches on from a safe distance. in peru, there are long queues to get medical help. the country has one of the highest numbers of cases anywhere in the world and it is amongst the least able to handle them. this woman worries that so many are sick they are having to wait outside the hospital. "it's very scary", she says. health experts are now becoming seriously alarmed about what's happening in latin america. of the countries with the largest number of cases, four are in latin america — brazil is number two after the united states. and bear in mind that these are going to be massive underestimates of the true scale because in so many regions there's very little testing going on. there is a similar pattern with the death toll. of the countries with the largest losses,

three are in latin america and all the signs are that things are going in the wrong direction. one reason is overcrowding in the favelas, the slums, where social distancing isn't possible, adding to a worsening global picture. there have now been 11.4 million cases of covid—i9 and more than 535,000 lives have been lost. the outbreak is accelerating and we have clearly not reached the peak of the pandemic. and politics is key. the brazilian president wants growth and freedom, not lockdowns and masks. anotherfactor in an escalating crisis. david shukman, bbc news. as the us posts a new daily record of coronavirus cases, 60,209, the white house has moved, officially, to withdraw the united states from the world health organisation. so the us is breaking ties with the body responsible for global public health at the peak of a pandemic. president trump has frequently criticised the un agency. i asked our north america correspondent david willis

when all this will take effect? in a yearfrom now, it will take effect, mike, and that of course is after the presidential election which is due to take place in november this year. hence the presumptive democratic rival to president trump, joe biden, has come out to say that he will reverse this decision if elected and he will make sure that america remains part of the world health organization. criticism of the decision has come from other leading democrats, including robert menendez who is the leading democrat on the senate foreign relations committee. he said the move leaves americans sick and america alone, and the president of the un foundation elizabeth cousens called the decision shortsighted and dangerous and said it would undermine the global effort to beat the coronavirus.

that's the strange thing of all this, mike, the timing coming just as the united states is poised to announce 3 million cases of the coronavirus here in the united states. if it happens, david, i think it would be a massive blow to the who. it's already seriously underfunded. i think its budget is less than one new york health district and the us is the biggest single contributor. as you say, all this at a time when coronavirus is threatening to overwhelm health facilities in some us states? that's right and we're hearing today of 10,000 plus cases over the last 2a hours in the state of texas alone, that's a new record high. florida, also arizona, california, all showing surges in the coronavirus pandemic in the number of cases. president trump continuing to insist that the situation is under control.

but to go back to your point about funding for the who, absolutely, the united states is by far the biggest financial contributor, more than $400 million a year. the trump administration says that money will be diverted into other public health initiatives, but it raises questions, the us withdrawal, about the long—term financial viability, some are saying, of the who itself, not to mention the projects regarding public health that it is currently undertaking. let's get some of the day's other news. thousands of protesters have clashed with riot police in the serbian capital, over a weekend curfew announced in belgrade. the government's response to a rise in virus infections. crowds stormed the parliament building, demanding the resignation of the president. they accuse him of mishandling the crisis. the government lifted restrictions ahead of an election injune, which was

won by the president's party. the uk will resume selling arms to saudi arabia. ministers have decided the country isn't deliberately violating international law with strikes in neighbouring yemen. campaigners have criticised the move — they managed to get the trade blocked in the high court last year. the war in yemen has killed thousands of civilians in the past five years. it is often described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. the white house has responded dofficially to a so—called tell—all book on the president, written by his niece saying it is full of falsehoods and not fact—checked. mary trump claims donald trump cheated on his university—entry exam by paying somebody else to take it, and says he was destroyed by relationship with his father. the former lead singer of the british rock band kasabian, tom meighan, has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work after admitting assaulting his formerfiancee. a court heard how vikki agers was left with a head injury and bruising after the prolonged attack. victim support groups say

the sentence is too lenient. he's now been sacked by the band. five million people in australia's second biggest city have been ordered back into lockdown after a surge in coronavirus cases. melbourne has recorded 191 new infections in the past 2a hours — the highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic. shaimaa khalil reports from sydney. australia's second—most—populous city, back into stay—at—home lockdown. melbourne has recorded 191 new covid—19 cases in the last 2a hours, the highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic, and for the next six weeks, 5 million people in melbourne and in an area just north of it are expected to remain in their houses except for necessary purposes, such as going to work, giving care, or shopping for essentials.

the state premier daniel andrews has said without reimposing the restrictions, the situation could spiral out of control. this is, i know, further than we went last time but we are in many respects in a more precarious, challenging, and potentially tragic position now than we were some months ago. mr andrews blamed a sense of complacency among some for the current covid—19 spike, adding that nine tower blocks will remain in full lockdown until testing is completed. previously, most cases had involved returning overseas travellers in quarantine. now, more than 80% are caused by community transmission. for the first time in 100 years, the border between victoria and new south wales is set to close, with heavy penalties for anyone trying to violate the rules, but the logistics of closure will be a challenge. there are about 50 crossings between the two states, with some towns sharing the border. the recent spike in victoria is a stark warning that no matter how well a country is doing, the threat from the virus is far from over.

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we take a look at how one us family is mourning its loss after a death in the family from covid—19. central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. police say there have been many casualties, and there is growing speculation that al-qaeda was responsible. germany will be the hosts of the 2006 football world cup. they pipped the favourites, south africa, by a single vote. in south africa, the possibility of losing hadn't even been contemplated, and celebration parties were cancelled. the man entered the palace through a downstairs window and made his way to the queen's private bedroom. then he asked herfor a cigarette, and on the pretext of arranging for some to be

brought, she summoned a footman on duty, who took the man away. one child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. education is the only solution. applause this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the brazilian president has tested positive for covid—19. but jair bolsonaro insists he feels fine. president trump has formally started the process of withdrawing the united states from the world health organization. brazilian president jair bolsonaro is not the only high—profile leader to have first—hard experience with covid-19.

alanna petroff gives us an overview of a range of other leading politicians who have gotten up—close—and—personal with the virus. applause. british prime minister borisjohnson applause. british prime minister boris johnson paying tribute to the country's healthcare workers back in early april, clubbing from his doorstep. just days later, he was in hospital and fighting for his life in intensive care. the country's national health service stepped in to save him, even as it faced a chronic shortage of protective equipment. after his release, he recovered here in his country home, and published a heartfelt message of thanks to the workers who saved his life stop the reason, indian, my body did start to get enough oxygen was because for every second of the night, they were watching. -- the reason, in the end. and they were thinking and they were carrying and making they were carrying and making the interventions i needed. across the atlantic, he

received well wishes from his counterpart. and i want to express our nation's well wishes to prime minister boris johnson as he wages his own personalfight johnson as he wages his own personal fight with the virus. president trump himself has not tested positive for covid—19, but many around him have, most recently, kimberly guilfoyle. showers the girlfriend of the president's sun, donald trump jr. what do you think, kimberly? i think it looks fantastic, and god, we love michigan! up north, canada has received praise for early moves to fight the virus, even so, prime ministerjustin trudeau had to govern the country in self isolation after his wife sophie was diagnosed. across the vast continent of africa, the vast continent of africa, the true spread of the pandemic remains unknown, but we do know that in guinea—bissau, the prime minister announced in april he tested positive. in

burundi, the strongman leader died injune, and many believe covid—19 contributed to his death. in russia, president vladimir putin had avoided the virus, but his newly in store prime minister caught it. in honduras, the president was just recently released from hospital treatment after testing positive for covid—19. around the world, it is clear. political power doesn't guarantee immunity. the director of the fbi says chinese spying and other covert operations present the greatest long—term threat to the future of the united states. speaking in washington, christopher wray said the chinese government had orchestrated a campaign to steal us business secrets and undermine the american way of life. here's our north america editorjohn sopel. chris ray is someone who normally prefers the shadows,

but today he came out and launched a blistering attack on the chinese, saying they were aligned and criminal, but they we re aligned and criminal, but they were using bribery and blackmail to leave our way to get secrets from people, that they were stealing your data, that they were trying to steal the nation's secrets. —— were malign and criminal. he also said that over coronavirus, they were compromising every level of research the us is doing into finding a cure, and he said this about china's ultimate ambition. china, the chinese communist party, believes it's in a generational fight to surpass our country in economic and technological leadership. china is engaged in a whole—of—state effort to become the world's only superpower by any means necessary. there is no way that chris wray would have said this without the blessing of the white house, and it is all part of a piece. donald trump not far away, the secretary of state mike pompeo threatening the social media platform tiktok.

we are seeing relations deteriorated rapidly between the us and china. normally i stand here and say politics is so stand here and say politics is so bitterly divided in the us, on this subject, democrats and republicans think alike, that china poses a serious strategic threat. that was john sobel. china poses a serious strategic threat. that wasjohn sobel. —— sopel the hollywood actor johnny depp has denied that he "regularly engaged in destructive and violent behaviour" in relation to his former wife amber heard. the actor is suing the publisher of the sun, news group newspapers, and its executive editor dan wootton, over an article published in 2018 which called him a "wife beater." he strongly denies the allegations but the publishers say the description of him was entirely accurate as our correspondent david sillito reports. johnny depp arriving in court this morning. he's brought this case to try to clear his name of an allegation that he is a "wife—beater". it was those words that were in a headline in an article in the sun when the journalist dan wootton questioned jk

rowling supporting the casting ofjohnny depp in an adaptation of her fantastic beasts book. the allegations of physical abuse were made byjohnny depp's former wife, amber heard, who also arrived at court this morning to watch proceedings. the heart of this case is johnny depp's reputation. the accusations that he repeatedly assaulted amber heard, that he seriously injured herand, at times, left her feeling for her life. the sun says there was overwhelming evidence supporting her claims. all of this, johnny depp denies. the court was shown this footage, secretly filmed by amber heard, of an angry johnny depp kicking doors and drinking. he was asked in court, "would you agree you are violent?" he answered, "i was violent...with some cupboards." he said there was no violence towards amber heard, and that it was she who had punched him. in one incident he said she had partially severed his finger

after throwing a vodka bottle. libel cases such as this are rare these days and pay—outs are unlikely to compensate for the huge cost. but this is about reputation. i don't think it's going to be about a big libel payment. i think there will be other reasons for doing it, personal reasons for doing it. and reputational reasons. there's not going to be a huge pay—out, i would think. you came today because you crave something new. something different. the trigger for the original article was the decision to recast him in the fantastic beasts movie. the case has shone a light on the private life of one of hollywood's biggest stars. his drinking, his drug use and his temper. he admits the relationship was volatile but denies assaulting amber heard. lawyers say she stands by her claims and disputes his version of events, and she will, in the days to come, give her account to a case which is scheduled to last three weeks. david sillito, bbc news.

more than 130,000 people have died in the united states since the coronavirus outbreak began. that means more than 130,000 families have found themselves in a state of mourning, but often with no way to grieve. even with lockdown measures easing, funerals and other mass gatherings are difficult. the bbc‘s jane o'brien met one mother and daughter who recently lost a loved one, to see how they've been coping. the monotony of lockdown is amplified by grief. christine and her daughter, sam, have experienced loss before. christine's husband was killed in a car crash when sam was a baby. but this is different. grieving right now is, it's not the same as any other time. we're stuck in a moment. like, it doesn't feel like time is moving. after a ten—day illness, christine's mother died from covid — the family unable to share her last moments. we didn't have a normalfuneral. my mother was religious,

she was catholic. we had to let people watch from a link, if they wanted to tune into the service. we were allowed ten people, and we couldn't be near each other. we were all in separate pews. you know, my daughter and i were able to sit together, but i couldn't be with my siblings, i couldn't hug my siblings. at the cemetery, we were separated. that's not normal. nothing is normal in the time of covid. sacred rituals and even the process of grieving have been distorted by social distancing and quarantine. i think under normal conditions, pre—covid, you would have things that kept you busy. that's gone. i'm not working, she's now out of school. there's nothing really to do, other than be alone with your thoughts most of the day. like, there are times when i find myself up

in my room reading, drawing, just watching tv, and ijust start crying. and i think about why i'm crying. this is a different type of quarantine for us. most people are dealing with this the same way, just sitting at home, running to the grocery store every now and then. but it's different because we've had something extra, like, thrown in there with the whole stew, in a way. with so many people experiencing grief and isolation, experts fear a mental health crisis could be on the horizon. it takes time to adjust to the new normal. especially when you don't know what it is, but so many people, in their trauma and their loss, do not know what the new normal looks like until they start living in it. but if we can adapt that life can be ok, even if it's different, i think we won't be damaged. but if we keep holding on to what used to be, i think it'll be incredibly damaging. we won't be able to move forward. going back to school,

if we go back, like, they might be joking about it, they might be saying, "quarantine was stupid. " i did suffer a lot, and they may not have. just like with 9/11, it'll be something people talk about for years and decades, and it'll never go away. so ijust feel like this is always going to be what i remember. and it's going to be hard. jane o'brien, bbc news. that report from jane o'brien. on a slightly lighter note, just before we go, frustrations with lockdown measures got a group of frustrated brides—to—be in italy got dressed in their best and gathered outside rome's famous trevi fountain. they were protesting against italy's ongoing coronavirus restrictions. weddings were allowed to resume in italy in may, but large gatherings are still prohibited. and even at small weddings, masks are mandatory, even for the happy couple, and throwing confetti is banned. there is much more for you any time on all the news, national and international, on the bbc

website and on our twitter fees. thank you for watching. hello. well, we've got another dose of rain on the way for wednesday. it's more southern parts of the uk that will get the rain. now, this is the satellite picture. notice it's actually a conveyor belt of cloud that's stretching from the north sea across the uk, ireland and out into the atlantic, and out here in the central north atlantic, not that it is of any huge significance, but this is actually an old tropical storm that's just feeding in warmth and moisture into this band of cloud and rain that is going to gradually slip across the country from west to east. there is also a lot of mild air to the south, in fact, 15 degrees, that is the early morning temperature on wednesday, whereas in the glens of scotland early on wednesday it could be close to freezing in a few areas. so remember that cloud stretching out into the atlantic, it is kind of spreading across the uk, certainly some rain around at times for wales, the midlands, southern england, eventually into east anglia and the south—east.

but i think much of yorkshire, northern ireland and scotland are in for a bright day, with just a few showers. that trend continues into thursday. it's more southern parts of the country that get the cloud and the outbreaks of rain, so i think for some of us, once again, not a pretty picture, but it's not going to be cold. 20 degrees in london, fresher in scotland with the sunshine, where temperatures will be between 1a and 18 celsius. on friday, there is a weather front out in the north sea. it's actually a low pressure, with its weather fronts, and it will be close enough to drive our weather. i think showers for the north—east of england, certainly through yorkshire and into east anglia, and a bit of a breeze as well. the wind is actually coming out of the north—west on friday, so it could feel a little on the chilly side in some north—western areas. the best of the weather, i suspect, across western wales and the south, as well as the south—west, on friday. now, here's the good news. high pressure is expected to build towards the weekend. not particularly hot weather heading our way with this high

pressure, i think it willjust be pleasantly warm with some sunny spells. so here's the outlook for saturday and sunday. temperatures mostly in the high teens across more northern parts of the country, whereas further south it will probably get up to the low or maybe the mid—20s. that's it, bye—bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the president of brazil, jair bolsonaro, says he's tested positive for coronavirus. he has insisted his symptoms are mild and says he's feeling fine. he's long played down the danger of the virus, saying it's like a little flu. the trump administration has formally notified the united nations that it's withdrawing the us from the world health organisation. it's due to leave on the 6th ofjuly next year. and melbourne in australia is back in lockdown for six weeks because of a reported spike in covid infections. police are stopping drivers from crossing the border between victoria and new south wales at the uk's high court, the hollywood actorjohnny depp is suing the sun newspaper for calling him a ‘wife beater‘. back for calling him a ‘wife beater‘. the case is expectec for back the case is expected to go on for about three weeks.