jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund.hree—month delay caused on sunday after a three—month delay caused by coronavirus. the event at darlington raceway in south carolina normally attracts thousands of race fans but will be held behind closed doors. each team has been limited to just 16 personnel including the driver and strict social distancing measures have been put in place. the teams are set for a busy period to make up for lost time with seven races in 11 days. the winner of this year's eurovision song contest should have been crowned in the netherlands this evening, but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. instead, the bbcjoined broadcasters across europe to celebrated acts that were due to take part, and best songs from past years. alasdair rendall is president of the world's biggest eurovision fanclub, 0gae uk. he gave us his reaction to the show. the shine a light programme, where the bbcjoined up with other broadcasters across europe, was an amazing show. i wasn't the only fan who was sitting there watchi

jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund.ickly booking tickets for the cinema or a music concert, while others will yearn for some theatre. in the uk, the creative industries are worth more than 100 billion pounds to the economy. so, how can the arts adapt, and can they survive? here's our culture correspondent stephen smith. singing the soprano sings puccini's lumber ham. the dnr plans to perform the as a driving opera, safely cocooned opera fans in a cloud park, this autumn. music really matters. it touches the soul ina really matters. it touches the soul in a way no other art can andi soul in a way no other art can and i think it is something incredibly special. whether you like pop, rock, it does not matter what style, i think music is a big consolation for us music is a big consolation for us all at the moment. # i walk along the street of sorrow, the boulevard of broken dreams... #. the theatre are dark in the west end of london, crushing disappointment for performance and audiences also to the economy. arts and culture

jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund.more than £100 billion to the economy. so, how can the arts adapt, and can they survive? here‘s our culture correspondent, stephen smith. # i love to go alone along the street...# soprano rhian lois sings part of puccini‘s la boheme. the eno plans to perform the work as a drive—in opera, to car loads of safely cocooned music lovers, in the ally pally parking lot, this autumn. music really matters, and now more than ever i think music touches the soul in a way that no other artform can, and i think it is something incredibly special. whether you like pop, whether you liek rock, it doesn‘t matter what style of music you enjoy listening to, i think music is a big consolation for us all at the moment. # i walk along the street of sorrow, the boulevard of broken dreams. ..# the theatres are dark in the west end of london — a crushing disappointment for performers and audiences, but also a blow to the economy. arts and culture as a whole contribute to almost £11 billion a year and provides m

jenny hill in berlin.sed europe's worst economic shock since the great depression. it's predicting a contraction of the eurozone economy of 7.5% and is warning of a recession of historic proportions. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: a public sign of appreciation from the world's most private artist. banksy leaves a work for hospital staff in the uk. you're watching bbc news. our latest headlines: president trump reverses a decision to disband the white house coronavirus task force, saying he didn't realise how popular it was. and the uk becomes the first country in europe to record more than 30,000 coronavirus deaths. in brazil, there's growing pressure on president jair bolsonaro over what's been described as his "chaotic" response to the pandemic. south america's largest nation has seen 11a,000 cases and almost 8,000 deaths, with rates still increasing. despite this, though, and a health system under immense strain, the president continues to deny there's a serious problem. 0ur correspondent katy

jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund.ay after a 3—month delay caused by coronavirus. the event at darlington raceway in south carolina normally attracts thousands of race fans but will be held behind closed doors. each team has been limited to just 16 personnel including the driver and strict social distancing measures have been put in place. the teams are set for a busy period to make up for lost time with 7 races in 11 days. abba's waterloo has been named the greatest eurovision song of all time by bbc viewers. eurovision: come together saw the uk public vote for their favourites, on the night that this year's song contest was due to take place. the competition was cancelled in march amid the coronavirus pandemic. speaking later on a europe—wide broadcast, bjorn ulvaeus from the band, made a special appearance from his home. and it still remains one of the most genuinelyjoyous events of the tv year. and it is so disarmingly european, it allows you to escape and be happy, even forget about the coronavirus for a little wh

jenny hill in berlin, many thanks.is chaotic response to the pandemic. south america's largest nation has seen iia,000 cases and almost 8,000 deaths, with rates still increasing. but despite this, and a health system under immense strain, the president continues to deny there's a serious problem. 0ur correspondent katy watson reports from the east of sao paulo, the country's worst—affected area. lives are precarious in brazil's poor and violent favelas, but covid—i9 is a new kind of killer, weaving its way into these narrow streets. alini used to earn $5 a day as a cleaner. now both she and her husband are unemployed, bringing up three little girls on hand—outs and donations. social distancing isn't an option here, and authorities aren't around to enforce any rules. they're angry with how their president's dealing with this crisis. translation: bolsonaro is wrong. he tells people to go to work, then people die. and then he'lljust say, another one died, well, it's not my son. what he should say is, stay at home. jair bo

yes, our correspondent jenny hill is in berlin this afternoon, one of jenny hill is in berlin the andalke in what is a local derby but it will be different from your average match. —— borussia dortmund will take on schalke. the bundesliga is back, big day for germany but these will be so called coast games place to empty stadium. fan not allowed anywhere near. very disappointing for a lot of fans. —— so—called ghost games taking place an empty stadium i was fans not allowed nearby. a cross daily, number of players and staff have tested positive with others breaking social distancing guidelines, coaches having to temporarily stand down after admitting nipping out of the hotel to buy some toothpaste. it is very difficult for players to maintain social distancing on a pitch they will be expected to but players will say there will be no victory pile on should they manage to score a goal. frankfurt the team say there will be disinfecting the balls at half—time but this is a nation which is quite concerned. they managed to get this outbreak under control and now. germany say it isa under co

jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund.wned in the netherlands this evening, but the event was, of course, cancelled due to the pandemic. instead, the bbcjoined broadcasters across europe to showcase the 41 songs which would have competed this year. no winner was chosen — but bbc viewers voted abba's waterloo their favourite eurovision song ever. the band's bjorn ulvaeus made a special appearance from his home. and it still remains one of the most genuinelyjoyous events of the tv year. and it's so disarmingly european. it so allows you to escape and be happy. even forget about the coronavirus for a little while. eurovision commentator, ben royston, watched the event. definitely worth the effort. something had to happen tonight to have eurovision night without eurovision. .. it would've been unthinkable. and i think the broadcaster over in the netherlands had put so much work into organising eurovision this year, all the songs had been chosen from all of the competing countries and it was only right that those artists got th

jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund.e hope is that the test results can allow the authorities to map their way out of lockdown. it comes in a week where president vladimir putin announced that the full, nationwide lockdown was over and instructed regional leaders to decide when to lift restrictions. moscow correspondent sarah rainsford has visited one of the testing centres. moscow has just begun a mass screening programme for covid—i9 antibodies, and this clinic is one of those that signed up and people are being invited here randomly, sent texts across the city and invited to come here for a test. so, you can see they‘ve marked red crosses on the floor if queues built up here so people can keep a safe distance as they head inside to give blood. there giving intravenous blood samples, which are then sent to a laboratory and tested for antibodies against coronavirus to show if they‘ve been sick with the virus in the past and potentially may have some immunity in the future. now, at the same time, in this clinic, they als

jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund. that's all from me. goodnight. hello. defended its plan to reopen schools in england next month, and warned that the longer they are closed, the more children will miss out. primary children in denmark have been back at school for a month now. it was the first country in europe to reopen its primary schools, after containing the virus early on. earlier i spoke to metta rose nielsen, a primary school teacher on the outskirts of copenhagen. she told me staff and pupils had adapted well. there is the dilemma, the fact that you have to allow children to be children. we have had to structure a lot of things in the schools under a great deal of logistics to make it work. and also to be very aware of the children's well—being. and one of the things that we do to structure the day for the children, to prevent them being too close together, prevent the transmission, of the disease, if there is any, is, for example, to divide the children into little groups of ten children. and then we have kind of this bubble where the children pl

jenny hill, bbc news.me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @bbcmaryam thank you for your company, we will be back in a couple of minutes. goodbye. good evening. it certainly has been a week of contrasts. we start off with a cloudy, cool note. that northeasterly flow really having an impact on the feel of the weather, with temperatures struggling perhaps in some places to get into double figures. then we had clear skies and night—time frost. in actualfact in northern ireland, it was the lowest may minimum for nearly a0 years. however, slowly but surely, the temperatures have recovered a little, and we close out the week with one or two of us seeing potentially 20 celsius. high pressure will dominate across england and wales, but as we move into the weekend, this weather front will bring more significant rain, particularly to the extreme northwest. we start off saturday with some showers across north west scotland, a few showers into northern ireland, i—2 maybe into northwest england, as well, and still p

jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund.it the tower of london. now it's empty — apart from the yeoman warders who live there all year round. the tower has been closed to the public for the longest time since the second world war. but throughout those weeks, there have still been jobs to do. wendy hurrell reports from the tower. normally from the tower. by this time we had hundreds normally by this time we had hundreds of people coming through the door and queuing up for the crowds. as you see around you at the moment it is empty, it is quiet and very, very peaceful, really. but the daily rituals continue within the tower of london swallows. when on duty assistant raven master shady lanes that first job in the morning is to feed the ravens. poppy, george, erin, rocky, great merlin and jubilee. then they are set free to amuse themselves. jubilee. then they are set free to amuse themselveslj jubilee. then they are set free to amuse themselves. i think they are missing the public. they do interact with the public when the publi

jenny hill, bbc news.ean has given up one of its secrets off the coast of hawaii. these pictures show what remains of the uss nevada — an american navy ship that survived the d—day campaign, and the attack on pearl harbour. the nevada was later used in training, earning a reputation as being ‘too tough to die'. she was sunk during military exercises 70 years ago, don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter i'm @bbcmaryam hello, if it's warmth year after it there is some in this forecast eventually for all. if the rain that is only coming for some. saturday's weather looks to be a complete repeat of what we had on friday for that warm sunny spells at times from cloud the chance for a shower. things are those steadily changing. we are going to bring warmer air into the uk. as the weekend goes on we won't widely into next week there will be a bit of rain and places is that transition takes place especially across parts of scotland and northern ireland. let's take a look at matt l

jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund.s. ‘eurovision: come together‘ saw the british public vote for their favourites on the night that this year's song contest was due to take place. the competition was cancelled in march amid the coronavirus pandemic. speaking later, on a europe—wide broadcast, bjorn ulvaeus from the band, made a special appearance from his home. and it still remains one of the most genuinelyjoyous events of the tv year. and it is so disarmingly european, it allows you to escape and be happy, even forget about the coronavirus for a little while. alasdair rendall is president of the world's biggest eurovision fanclub. he gave us his reaction to the show. the shine a light programme, where the bbcjoined up with other broadcasters across europe, was an amazing show. really quite emotional. i wasn't the only fan who was sitting there watching the tv tonight with a tear or two in the eye. it really hit the right tone and it was a really well put together programme. do you think it was the right thing to do so

jenny hill, thank you.or many of us, and for people living in high rise flats the experience is even more restrictive. in march, fiona lamdin spoke to residents of a block of flats in bristol — seven weeks on, she's been back to find out how they've been coping with lockdown. these children living on the 15th floor have been stuck inside for 50 days. i spoke to the family from the bottom of the tower block. there is no space to play on. sometimes they try to play on the sofa, on the bed, on the tables. so that's why they've broken some stuff. mohammed is worried his children will catch the virus if they go out. his daughter is five years old. i asked her what she misses the most. park! she misses the park. we've met samuel and his two boys, who live next door, before. they do go out but now, with one of the lifts broken, sometimes they are forced to take the stairs. step, step, step, step, step, turn. you can imagine going up. going down it's ok, but going up, that's a slog. i have to carry this one, carry

jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund.ly hit by coronavirus, has come up with a poignant way of remembering many who‘ve died, as jon kay reports. sheila died with coronavirus last month. she was 83. she was a kind and open person and she loved being in the mountains and forests. i think becky is somewhere as well. her husband david and granddaughter becky told me they wanted sheila to be remembered for who she was — not just as another statistic. she was always smiling, laughing, right to the end. she definitely had a lot of giggling fits. i think that isjust credit to her beautiful personality, really. unable to have the funeral they wanted, the family put this yellow heart in the window in sheila‘s memory and then shared a picture of it on social media. within hours, hundreds of other grieving families across the uk were doing the same for their loved ones — every heart representing a victim of coronavirus. we‘ve hit a nerve. as people walked around their neighbourhood they could see the extent of the suffering throughou

jenny hill. follow that!ll be the largest fiscal boost to the american economy so far, all because of the coronavirus pandemic. the bill made it through a narrow vote in the house, with 14 democratic representives breaking ranks to oppose the plan. both the president and republican senators say the heroes act, which could see direct payments being sent out, increase to as much as $6,000. they are not prepared to let it pass. so where does the us economic response to the pandemic go from here? here‘s our north america correspondent david willis. congress has already passed, of course, a $3 trillion spending to attempt to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus. a lot of that money is going to keep small and medium—sized businesses afloat, and democrats, of course, have been arguing for more money for individual states and private citizens here. tonight, the democratic —controlled house of representatives passed another $3 trillion stimulus bill, one which does provide more money for state governments, direct p

jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund.sunday after a 3—month delay caused by coronavirus. the event at darlington raceway in south carolina normally attracts thousands of race fans but will be held behind closed doors. each team has been limited tojust 16 personnel, including the driver, and strict social distancing measures have been put in place. the teams are set for a busy period to make up for lost time with seven races in 11 days. the winner of this year's eurovision song contest should have been crowned in the netherlands on saturday evening, but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. fans, though, were still able to hold eurovision self—isolation parties. as the bbcjoined broadcasters across europe to showcase all 41 songs that would have competed this year. bbc viewers also named abba's waterloo as the greatest eurovison song of all time. the band's bjorn ulvaeus made a special appearance from his home. and it still remains one of the most genuinely joyous and it still remains one of the most genuinelyjoyous

jenny hill in berlin for us.r eased social distancing restrictions with gatherings of up to eight people now permitted and many bars and gyms opening up again. but as normality returns, all eyes will turn to the city's pro—democracy movement, recently stifled by the pandemic, but one which saw huge and often for more wen can speak to antony dapiran, author of city on fire: the fight for hong kong. thank you for your time. relatively low infection rate in hong kong but it seems enough to dampen the protests, but the police have been busy. bring us up to speed. hong kong never had the kind of lockdowns we saw in other countries but they were restricting public gatherings of more than four people, so that meant the very large protests and rallies we had in hong kong were prevented over the last several months and in particular last weekend, ora and in particular last weekend, or a couple of weekends ago, when people tried to gather, police were very aggressive in. halting those gatherings and finding people and disp

jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund.. it's the first big production to go on ice because of the ongoing coronavirus lockdown. broadway theatres were shutdown in march and, with new york city one of the hardest hit areas in the country, they are not expected to reopen until at least september. peter marks is the chief theatre critic for the washington post, and hejoins me live from new york. thank from new york. you for being with us. what thank you for being with us. what is the direction to the fa ct what is the direction to the fact that forzen is on ice permanently? —— frozen. fact that forzen is on ice permanently? -- frozen. it has sent the proverbial shock waves ina sent the proverbial shock waves in a broadway. devastating for those who think what is going to be in the prognosis for other shows, expensive, to be in the prognosis for othershows, expensive, multi— million—dollar projects that are all on ice as well. is the thinking now that it could be the first of maybe not many but at least several? no, yes. it is

let‘s speak to our correspondent jenny hill who is in dortmund. she will also be watching. esting question. you know, football is back, but the immediate difference is already clear. it is just a few hours to kick off. not a fan in sight. of course, they are not allowed into the stadium for the so—called ghost games. there will be no cheering echoing around the arena, no fans coming through the turnstiles, and interestingly, polls suggest that the majority of germans we re suggest that the majority of germans were not really in favour of the bundesliga resuming so soon, which is astonishing in such a footballing nation. it will be very different the rest of this season, very different for the players, of course, who will be playing to those empty stadium. there are questions about their match fitness. they have just had a two—month enforced break from pretty much all training, and very different for teams too, expected to quarantine for a week before they play the matches, expected to stick to the social distancing rules by and large off the pitch, of course. there are big q

jenny hill is in berlin. some restrictions. yes. and i think the headline would be, my goodness, germany is going to squander the initial apparent success it had in trying to contain this outbreak. that would be a simplistic reading. over the weekend we saw the r number rise above one. the experts here are saying these are the people who are advising angela merkel, it is too soon to draw conclusions. it might be this as an administrative, statistical blip. it may be the number, which is notoriously prone to fluctuation, particularly because it is based on numbers of real cases which are falling and becoming very low here, it may be due to that. or it may mean germany is going to have a problem. the experts say it is too soon to tell. angela merkel will be watching very cautiously and very anxiously, i expect. she didn't really wa nt anxiously, i expect. she didn't really want germany to lift the restrictions on the way it has in recent days and weeks. she doesn't have the power to determine how and when restr

anchor: jenny hill. ross has been looking into rmany and other developments. what have you found?orter: we will start by coue ohe this pandemic. the european commissioner came out with a warning that said is experiencing the wor economic shock since the great depression of the 1930's and the eventual outcome could bese w thhat. every country is being mindfulug of theeconomic costs of this lockdown and they are mindful of a possible new ske in cases if restrictions ease toouickly. let's hear from germany'smi economicster. >> when you have to switchm f liberalizing to shut down again two or three times, it would have disastrous consequences. ross: here is the bbc's reporter why germany will need longer than measures that have been >> it is expected to see economic activity to rebound quickly but the experts i speak to our quick to remind us the german economy is a manufacturing econy. they are reliant on the rest of the world, china and the u.s. germany needs a healthy chinese and u.s. economy to rebound quickly. on the other side of the. e going, you have greece, spain and italy, w

jenny hill, bbc news. anchor: that is all we have time for. thank you for your company.ye for now. narrator: funding for this presentation of isis program rovided by... language specialists teaching spanish, french d more. raymond james. the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. narrat: you'♪ watching pbs. mr. rogers: ♪ it's a beautiful rl: we are the curious.. ♪ ♪ woman 1: wow! man 1: the adventurous. man 2: oh! daniel tiger: grrr! woman 2: those venturing out for the first time. all: blast off! t man 3: ase who have never lost our sense of wonder. man 4: whoa! man 5: are you seeing this? ♪ [quacking] vo: were the hungry. cookie monster: cookie! man 6: the strong.mm mu ali: i must be the greatest! ♪ vothe joyful. bob ross: a happy little cloud. ♪ man 3: we believe there always more we can uncover. girl: more we can explore. woman 3: we beeve... man 6: ...in the capacity for goodness. vo: and the potential for greatness. ♪ t

jenny hill, thank you. confirmed the white house coronavirus task force is to be disbanded within weeks. that's despite the number of new infections continuing to rise and 70,000 deaths. mr trump says a different group will replace it focussing on reopening the us safely. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. a rare trip out of washington for donald trump. after being holed up at the white house during the pandemic, the president toured a factory in phoenix that's making medical—grade face masks. like the executives he met, he chose not to wear one, only safety goggles. according to a sign in the facility, staff there are required to wear face masks. during his visit to arizona, a state which will be a key battle ground in november's presidential election, mr trump confirmed that the coronavirus task force was winding down. the group has been co—ordinating the us response to covid—19. our country has to go back to being our country again. you have people that are not going to stand for this,

it is also, as far as many here are concerned, a bit of a gamble. jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund. unlimited exercise, and travel, in order to enjoy the open air. but the rules vary, depending on where you live in the uk. so while you can take longer journeys in england to facilities like tennis courts and golf courses, in northern ireland, you can drive somewhere to exercise — but you can't stray too far from home, while in scotland and wales, you have to stay in your local area. and you can't meet up with members of different households, a rule that also applies in northern ireland. whereas in england, you can meet one other person outside, adhering to social distancing rules. are you confused? so are many of us. well, the easing of england's guidelines has been welcomed by some, but others in tourist areas worry about a possible big influx of people, as sian lloyd reports. these residents of stratford have been a fixture for generations, but, for the past eight weeks, their surroundings have been significantly quieter than usual. the historic town is a magnet for tourists from f

in a minute we'll hear about how france and russia are marking ve day, but first jenny hill is in berlineichstag was in ruins, berlin was destroyed and germany defeated. today, berliners have a public holiday as this country commemorates not victory over, but liberation from, the nazis. germany's past still overshadows society and politics today. it's one of the reasons, for example, that germany has been reluctant to assume a more significant military role in overseas conflicts. today, 1600 international guests should have gathered here for commemorations. instead, because of the corona outbreak, events are rather more low—key. but today is still a chance for this country to reflect on the atrocities perpetuated in its name which, to this day, for many germans, remain a great source of shame. well, in russia, it's may 9th which is celebrated as victory day, and it was a victory secured at enormous cost here. more than 27 million soviet citizens were killed in what russians refer to as the great patriotic war. and normally on victory day there are big patriotic events taking place all ov

in a minute, we'll hear from our correspondents in paris and moscow, but first, jenny hill is in berlinuins, berlin was destroyed and germany defeated. today, berliners have a public holiday as this country commemorates not victory over but liberation from the nazis. germany's past still overshadows society and politics today. it's one of the reasons, for example, that germany has been reluctant to assume a more significant military role in overseas conflicts. today, 1600 international guests should have gathered here for commemorations. instead, because of the corona outbreak, events are rather more low—key. but today is still a chance for this country to reflect on the atrocities perpetuated in its name which, to this day, for many germans, remain a great source of shame. well, in russia, its may 9th which is celebrated as victory day, and it was a victory secured at enormous cost here. more than 27 million soviet citizens were killed in what russians refer to as the great patriotic war. and normally on victory day, there are big patriotic events taking place all over russia. but not

next here's the bbc‘s jenny hill in berlin tweeting earlier about on one possible way for german restaurantso reopen. there's hospital capacity to spare but that's what angle a miracle under pressure. the leaders of the 16 states desperately want to restart their local economies. at that meeting today, we are told it was indeed very stormy. they agree they can open shops, restaurants, hotels, albeit with strict social distancing measures. and germany's professional lead the bundesliga must resume but they must be held behind closed doors. people can't just meet up with whoever they want to. they still have to wear face mask on public transport and in shops. the authorities will continue to test and contact trace aggressively. additionally, anglo merkel —— and the firm of an emergency brake. what that means is should infections arrive above subscribe limit, the local authorities will be a required to immediately reimpose restrictions. 's immediately reimpose restrictions. '5 holds a suspect most germans have supported her approach so far. today she said germany put the first phase of the pand

jenny hill has this report from dortmund. they'd love to pack the stands to welcome football home. watching at a distance. "the thrill is gone," he tells us. "football without spectators isn't for me." dortmund's team in training and in quarantine before their match. players and staff at other clubs have tested positive in recent weeks. there's still no guarantee the season won't be called off again. dortmund's amateur pitches are out of bounds but at this children's club we met one of the few people allowed into the bundesliga match to work this weekend. translation: it's great it is restarting, people need entertainment and professional athletes are like modern gladiators, they can help distract people from coronavirus or money worries. this country is taking tentative steps towards a new normality but surveys suggest a majority of germans think it is too soon for football and there is still no live ballet, opera, theatre. for a dancer, i think this should also be the same measures as football, it doesn't matter whether it is football or ballet, it should be treated the same way.

that was jenny hill a little earlier. at the stadium there. kick—off is in less than ten minutes. normally you would expect crowds of people inside, and indeed outside the stadium. this is the biggest football stadium in germany. a big fixture like the fixture ahead could attract a crowd of up to 80,000, i think the capacity is 82,000. as you can see, deserted, apart from a view of security guards and stewards. the game, of course, is being broadcast toa game, of course, is being broadcast to a large audience around the world, but supporters are shut out of what the germans are calling these ghost games. so, what's the future for large—scale events? will large—scale music festivals, and other major sporting events ever be the same again? we'll be putting your questions to two guests working in the events industryjust after a o'clock gmt. get in touch with the hashtag #bbcyourquestions on twitter, or you can email yourquestions@bbc. co. uk. a leading medical expert has told the bbc that nearly a third of patients who are s

jenny hill in berlin.ut from the coronavirus pandemic has hit the united states harder than the japanese bombing of pearl harbor or the 9/11 terror attacks. he was speaking shortly after his secretary of state, mike pompeo, again criticised china for failing to warn the world about the virus in time to prevent a global catastrophe. let's speak to our north america correspondent, david willis. so he was going to disband the coronavirus group and 2a hours later, he changed his mind. why coachella a p pa re ntly his mind. why coachella apparently because it is so popular. quite how the president assesses popularity in this regard is a mystery. and you are right, 2a hours after announcing it would be disbanded, he said it would continue. he said its emphasis will shift slightly, though, to questions of safety and rebuilding the american economy. that's president trump's hobbyhorse at the moment as we near that election and his bid for reelection in november. but people like dr anthony fauci who, at times, have

for more on that here's jenny hill in berlin. weekend is that the reproduction rate of the virus has risen above the value of one. statistically speaking it means for every person who has the virus, they will pass onto one of person and it is being used by a lot of countries as a determining factor to see just how likely that virus is to spread exponentially. the general acceptance is below one, the virus is under control. above one, it becomes a problem. it's risen above one twice over the weekend. on the face of it you'd think that's cause for huge alarm and yes, the government, scientists, experts are worried but it is also worth pointing out that this reproduction rate is based on data which is relatively old. so, it doesn't really reflect the situation at the moment. it's also a figure which tends to fluctuate a lot and scientists here say actually, those fluctuations increase the lower the number of actual cases, and the number of new daily cases here is continuing to fall. here in the uk the government has been clarifying

in a moment, we'll hear how france and russia are marking the day, but first here's jenny hill in berling was in ruins, berlin was destroyed and germany defeated. today, berliners have a public holiday as this country commemorates not victory over, but liberation from, the nazis. germany's past still overshadows society and politics today. it's one of the reasons, for example, that germany has been reluctant to assume a more significant military role in overseas conflicts. today, 1,600 international guests should have gathered here for commemorations. instead, because of the corona outbreak, events are rather more low—key. but today is still a chance for this country to reflect on the atrocities perpetuated in its name, which, to this day, for many germans, remain a great source of shame. well, in russia, it's may 9th which is celebrated as victory day, and it was a victory secured at enormous cost here. more than 27 million soviet citizens were killed in what russians refer to as the great patriotic war. and normally on victory day, there are big patriotic events taking place all over r

that was jenny hill that wasjenny hill in berlin for us.part, on his administration's announcement that country's coronavirus task force was set to be disbanded. the president told reporters that he hadn't realised how popular the task force was until he publicly spoke about winding it down. we could wind it down sooner, but i had no idea how popular the task force is until actually, yesterday, when i started talking about winding it down, i got calls from very respected people saying "i think it would be better to keep it going commenced on such a good job. " it's a respected task force. i knew it to myself i didn't know whether or not it was appreciated by the public, but it is appreciated by the public. you look at the job we have done everything, and supplies, on everything, . everything,. that was the president and the last little while. it comes as the secretary of state, mike pompeo, said again that there was mounting evidence that the virus originated from a wuhan lab. the us secretary again is returning to the claim we heard before

next here's the bbc‘s jenny hill in berlin tweeting earlier about on one possible way for german restaurantso reopen. food is to be covered when serve, waiters and gloves and mask and one and a half metres between tables and diners can't stay over two hours, also no groups. this is a proposal from the association of hotels and restau ra nts. from the association of hotels and restaurants. here's more from ginny. this country is in a good position. the infection rates have been steadily falling, there is hospital capacity to spare. but that's put angela merkel under pressure from the leaders of germany's 16 states who desperately want to restart their local economies. at that meeting today we were told it was indeed very stormy. they agreed that it can open shops, restaurants, hotels — albeit with strict social distancing measures. and that germany's professional football league, the bundesliga, can resume matches although they must be held behind closed doors. now, there are important caveats. people here can't simply go out now and meet up with whoever they'd like to. they still have to wea

lets speak to our correspondent in berlin, jenny hill, for more on this.s case because it was a one man who took volkswagen to court saying that he basically wanted his money back having bought a car on a false premise. yes, you're quite right. this was a pensioner who bought a vw car back in 2014 and he butted in good faith, he said, and once the emission scandal came to light, he went to volkswagen and said he wa nted went to volkswagen and said he wanted them to take the volkswagen back of him and refund his money. germany's top civil court has by and large agreed with him. they say that vw must buy the car back. but the money that the men will get will be a little less than the vehicle's original value, that is to compensate for wear and take —— wear and tear, depreciation and son. he will get around 25,000 euros now. that is quite a big moment here in germany because there are around 60,000 other vw owners out there who have launched similar complaints i in the courts and this could, in some respects, open the floodgates toa some respects, open the fl

our correspondent jenny hill is in berlin. a significant moment, jenny...e been falling significantly for a number of weeks. they don't appear to have been impacted by some of the relaxation of restrictions we have experienced so of restrictions we have experienced so far. for example, the reopening of small shops, some religious services starting up again, museums reopening and so on. angela merkel today has a big meeting and she has been under pressure from those 16 regional leaders who are impatient to get their local economy started again. so impatient many have published their plans ahead of the meeting. but by and large, it is expected that after this afternoon's meeting, mrs merkel will announce a return to as near normality as can be expected in these times. hotels, restaurants, pubs, gradually starting to reopen, children going back to school. it is thought by and large all of them before the summer holidays. but that all comes with a caveat and this morning we have seen the health minister on breakfast tv here saying, look, the pandemic is not yet

in a minute we'll hear about how france and russia are marking ve day, but first, jenny hill is in berlin was in ruins, berlin was destroyed and germany defeated. today, berliners have a public holiday as this country commemorates not victory over but liberation from the nazis. germany's past still overshadows society and politics today. it's one of the reasons, for example, that germany has been reluctant to assume a more significant military role in overseas conflicts. today, 1600 international guests should have gathered here for commemorations. instead, because of the corona outbreak, events are rather more low—key. but today is still a chance for this country to reflect on the atrocities perpetuated in its name which, to this day, for many germans, remain a great source of shame. well, in russia, its may 9th which is celebrated as victory day, and it was a victory secured at enormous cost here. more than 27 million soviet citizens were killed in what russians refer to as the great patriotic war. and normally on victory day there are big patriotic events taking place all over russia.

jenny hill reporting for us as football recommences in germany.style. she passed away, aged 81, in germany on wednesday following a short illness. just a few weeks after captain tom moore hit the top of the charts, another centenarian has become a record—breaker. dame vera lynn has become the oldest artist to have a top 40 album in the uk. the 103—year—old saw her greatest hits album re—enter the chart at number 30, boosted by last week's 75th anniversary of ve day. we have been hearing the quote "stop squabbling", and get children back to school in england. that's the message from the children's commissioner, to the government and school unions. there are concerns the government's target ofjune 1st for the return of some primary school pupils, is too soon. anne longfield is urging both sides to find a solution and she joins us now from leeds. good morning, and thank you for talking to us on breakfast. quite strong words. what made you feel that you had to intervene and have a word with all sides? well, obviously this is a really huge step for chi

jenny hill in berlin, an hour or so ago.en. just to tell you that germany's chancellor has said "we can say we have reached the goal of slowing the virus and protecting germany's health care system". so those are just some of the comments that are emerging as we talked a little bit about some easing potentially of lockdown measures there in germany. one aspect of covid—19 that medics are trying to understand is why it affects people so differently. for many, the symptoms are mild, but for others the virus is much more serious. and some people struggle to shake off the symptoms for many weeks — leaving them exhausted and anxious. more details from our health correspondent dominic hughes. i have suspected coronavirus. what i was not prepared for wasjust excruciating leg pains. it's been seven weeks now. that feeling of being so diminished and so weak. seven weeks now. that feeling of being so diminished and so weakm came back on week four. in the fifth week of being ill, my partner had a call out a&e. week seven, i relapsed ag