president bolsasonaro rejects claims that he's broken the law after firing the head of the federal police. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. first: the uk government's new website for coronavirus tests has been swamped and shut down for hours as it was inundated by key workers. meanwhile, the nhs is launching a campaign to encourage people to seek urgent medical treatment from hospitals or gps — even if it's not related to the coronavirus. a big fall in the number of patients asking for help for other conditions has fuelled concern that serious problems are being missed. jon donnison reports. much of the fight against covid—19 has been about keeping people safe and out of hospital. but today the nhs is telling people not to be afraid of seeking treatment for non— coronavirus conditions. it comes as figures from public health england suggests that people going to a knee in england is down about 50% compared to last year, 1 million fewer visits. we are here for non— coronavirus patients too. so if you are worried about chest pain, you might be having a heart attack 01’ might be having a heart attack or stroke, or you feel a lump 01’ or stroke, or you feel a lump orare or stroke, or you feel a lump or are worried about cancer or area or are worried about cancer or are a parent worried about your child, please come forward and use the health service in the way you normally would. it is going to be better to sort those problems out now rather than leave them for later. meanwhile the new government website on which the workers and their families can website on which the workers and theirfamilies can book coronavirus and theirfamilies can book coro navi rus tests and theirfamilies can book coronavirus tests we this morning after it was inundated with requests yesterday. almost 50,000 people in england tried to book a testjust hours after the website was launched was not 16,000 people did manage to get a drive—through appointment 01’ get a drive—through appointment ora get a drive—through appointment or a home testing kit. in terms of the number of people dying, figures released yesterday suggests that 768 moore reported coronavirus deaths in the uk since the day before. it ta kes the uk since the day before. it takes the total number to more than 19 one—half thousand. it could well reach 20,000 today. because that does not include deaths in care homes or the community, the real figure deaths in care homes or the community, the realfigure is likely to be much higher. two of those to lose their lies are 37—year—old twin sisters katie and emma davis. both had worked in nursing in southampton. both succumbed to the virus this week. they were angels on earth and now they are angels in heaven. best friends. they were my best friends as well. they a lwa ys my best friends as well. they always said that they came in the world to so they would go out together. so that is what they have done. sisters and soulmates, their lies dedicated to caring for others, now cut short. jon donnison, bbc news. —— lives. the death toll in the united states from the coronavirus pandemic is now double the second worst—hit country, italy. more than 50,000 have died, according to johns hopkins university. around 16,000 of those deaths have happened in the state of new york alone. the world health organization has launched a global initiative to find ways of preventing and curing the coronavirus. the united states, though, has declined to participate. it comes as a surreal debate has been brewing in washington, with the president refusing to take questions at the daily briefing after earlier claiming he was being ‘sarcastic‘ when he suggested injecting disinfectants may be a way to fight the disease. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, reports. controversially, some of florida's beaches reopened last week. but maybe it was a smart thing to do. according to new research conducted by us government scientists, sunlight, heat and humidity dramatically reduce the life of coronavirus in the air and on hard surfaces. the scientists said it acted as a powerful disinfectant. and that led the president to muse on whether disinfectant could be used inside the human body to kill the virus. and then i see the disinfectant, that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. and is there a way we can do something like that? by injection, inside, or almost a cleaning? because you see, it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. so it would be interesting to check that. the president's chief medical adviser looked as though she'd have liked harry potter's cloak of invisibility. in a minute, one minute. newsreel: new lysol spray disinfectant... for over a century, lysol has been one of america's top—selling brands of bleach, but today, in 2020, the manufacturers felt forced to issue a statement saying "under no circumstances should people ingest disinfectant." doctors, health professionals and politicians are similarly disbelieving. very clearly, disinfectants are not intended for ingestion, either by mouth, by ears, by breathing them in in any way, shape or form. but today, the president has sought to explain away the controversy by asserting that he wasn't actually being serious. but i was asking a sarcastic, a very sarcastic question, to the reporters in the room about disinfectant on the inside. but it does kill it, and it would kill it on the hands, and that would make things much better. that was done in the form of a sarcastic question to the reporters. another question being asked forcibly is whether now is the right time to reopen the us economy. in georgia today, hairdressers, nail salons, tattoo parlours were able to resume business, even though coronavirus is still a serious problem in the state. the president's defence was that he was being sarcastic to the reporters in the room. but i was at last night's briefing, and that's not what happened. he addresses his remarks entirely to his chief medical officer and the scientists from homeland security — and he seemed deadly serious. the white house has been scrambling all day to come up with a plausible explanation — this doesn't seem to be it. the united nations, political leaders and business leaders from around the world have launched a new initiative, aimed at speeding up the development of treatments and a vaccine for covid—19. a key element of the effort will be to make sure that any vaccine is made available and affordable to everyone in the world but there were some conspicuous absences from the international commitment, as reged ahmad reports. preparations for a second wave of coronavirus infections in germany, even as the country eases its lockdown. while in italy, the russian military releases pictures of its personnel disinfecting hospitals. this pandemic has breached into nearly every corner of the world, and governments have warned we are just at the beginning of this unprecedented crisis. some experts say the only way back to normality might be a vaccine. to that end, in a virtual launch, the un isjoining forces with world leaders and the private sector to speed up development of a vaccine and raise billions of dollars to make it accessible to all. translation: we will only overcome this virus if we join our powers together and build a powerful alliance. health officials have already done this and germany's prepared to support this politically with all of our efforts. we have also developed diagnostics that are being used all over the world. and we are co—ordinating a global trial on the safety and efficacy of four therapeutics against covid—19. the world needs these tools and it needs them fast. there were, though, notable absences. the united states, even as it battles the highest infection rates in the world, will not take part. president donald trump has been highly critical of the world health organization and has already suspended funding. china too, where the pandemic began, was missing from the launch. translation: i hope we'll manage to bring people together with this joint initiative. if i may say so, china and the united states of america. because the fight against covid—19 is in the common interest of the humanity and we cannot be divided if we want to win this battle. even as vaccine trials get under way, one covid—19 treatment study has had a result of sorts. a chinese trial of remdesivir has reportedly failed, but the company behind the drug has disputed the findings, saying the results were inconclusive. it is one example of how much work is to be done and whether a global initiative of this scale could work at a time when global cooperation has been on the decline. turkey has the seventh—most recorded infections in the world, just behind the uk, and more than china. that's despite tough lockdown measures in place in 31 provinces. the authorities say the outbreak is under control but medical sources have told the bbc the real number of deaths is not being reported. from istanbul, our international correspondent orla guerin reports. the new landscape of covid—19. istanbul under lockdown this weekend — like much of turkey, trying to shut out an invisible killer. the official death toll here is relatively low, at 2,600, but medical sources say the real picture could be a lot worse, because turkey only counts those who test positive for the virus. this intensive care doctor tells me he has treated about 100 covid patients. we cannot reveal his identity, and an actor is voicing his words. not all patients test positive. when we try to register patients who test negative in the system, we cannot do it. how many deaths of covid—19 do you think are not actually being recorded in the statistics? only half of our patients who died from covid—19 have that listed as the cause of death. we have to multiply the official number of deaths by two. playing with the real statistics creates a perception that the process is being handled very well. turkey has more intensive care beds than many european countries, and a much lower fatality rate from the virus. it denies deaths have been under—reported. speaks turkish the health minister, fahrettin koca, says the country has given the world health organization the information it wants in a transparent manner, and will continue to do so. but the who recommends that probable cases, like torhan kaya, should be counted. the turkish actor died last month. his son theo told us he had all the symptoms of covid—19 but tested negative, so it wasn't on the death certificate. theo is bereft without him. he was charming. he was a real gentleman and he was an incredible dad, a really good best friend. and i mean he had a lot of people who loved him because of that. he would give you everything and not ask anything in return. no, he was incredible, truly. obviously you have spoken out, and i know you spoke out before on twitter. i wondered, do you feel like this is something you have to do in memory of your father? i do it for my father, but i do it for a lot of people who haven't lost their father yet and i hope they never will. but i do it for my dad, but i do it because i know that my dad would've done the same thing. this is a holiday weekend here, but like no other. the turkish medical association says shedding more light on the number of deaths will help the country emerge from this crisis. orla guerin, bbc news, istanbul. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: how the effort to fight the pandemic has left residents of mexico city struggling with a lack of fresh water. her nothing, it seemed, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government help to build better housing. internationally, there have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them. they've taken the capital, which they have been fighting for for so long. it was 7am, the day when power began to pass from the minority to the majority, when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the uk government's new website for coronavirus tests was temporarily closed after it was inundated by key workers. the death toll in the us has passed 50,000 as president trump backtracks on a suggestion that disinfectant could be used as a therapy to tackle the virus. for much of the world, the pandemic shows few signs of slowing and the lockdown continues. millions of people are forced to stay at home. many businesses have had to shut their doors. but there are glimmers of hope as some countries, particularly in europe, consider easing the restrictions. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. this is mont saint—michel, on france's normandy coast. millions of tourists come here every year, but not this year. for now, it's like a ghost town. empty streets, empty tables. the lockdown in full effect. translation: i would say it was done like a military campaign because at 9 o'clock they just said, "sorry, sir. you're not opening." and that was it. it was done in less than a minute. it was very sudden. so we closed, everyone left, we just dropped everything. it's the same all across the country. this is the place de la concorde in paris, almost completely deserted. but things may soon change, president macron suggesting travel restrictions could be eased as france tries to get back to normal. for belgium, that process is already tentatively under way. in a late night news conference, the prime minister unveiled a detailed timetable to ease the lockdown. most shops and schools will begin reopening next month, although classrooms will be limited to ten pupils and face masks will have to be worn on public transport. translation: if we can present to you with an exit strategy, it's because of the citizens who are also leading the fight against covid—19. restaurant owners in germany have been staging a protest, laying out rows of empty chairs in dozens of towns and cities across the country. they say their industry is in a precarious situation and they don't know when they will be allowed to reopen. and there were tense scenes in austria as around 200 people took to the streets of vienna, calling for an end to the lockdown there. restrictions have been eased but for some, it's just not happening fast enough. tim allman, bbc news, the pandemic has taken over 3,000 lives in brazil so far, but concerns about the virus have not prevented a major political scandal. the country's justice minister resigned on friday after the populist president jair bolsonaro fired the federal police chief. as bill hayton reports, it's left the government in crisis at a crucial time. in the cities of brazil, millions are under lockdown. the country has 50,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and over 3,000 people have died. but in the capital, attention is focused on a political drama. on friday, the government's popularjustice and security minister resigned, accusing president bolsonaro of interfering in the federal police by trying to put one of his friends in charge — potentially a criminal offence. translation: the president told me more than once expressly that he wanted to have a personal contact in thejob, someone he could gather information from, someone he could collect intelligence reports from — whether it be from the director of the federal police or from the superintendent. this is really not the role of the federal police. the president dismissed mr moro's claims as baseless accusations. he said he had never tried to interfere with police investigations, nor shield members of his family from them, but he did say he wanted to know more. translation: i always told him, "moro, i have no information from the federal police. i have to have every day a report of what happened, especially the last 2a hours, in order to decide the future of this nation." i never asked him about the progress of any case. the president has repeatedly downplayed the danger of covid—19 and last week, he fired the health minister because they disagreed over using isolation to contain the virus. there are rumours that other ministers may go, too. translation: the political sphere is already preparing for the resignation of other ministers in the coming days. the way the population reacts to this will determine whether or not brazilians will live through another impeachment of a president. the country now faces a rapidly expanding epidemic with an administration in turmoil. the stock market and the currency have fallen sharply, and mr bolsonaro's government now looks much weaker. bill hayton, bbc news. residents of mexico city are struggling with a lack of fresh water. it's a routine problem for those who live on the outskirts of the mexican capital, but the problem's been exacerbated by government efforts to tackle the spread of coronavirus and reminders for people to wash their hands. it's raised concerns that efforts to tackle the spread of the virus will be hampered by the inability of so many to wash their hands. rich preston has this report. in mexico city, around a quarter of all houses don't have a daily water supply. one in ten only get water once or twice a week, delivered by trucks and stored in communal tanks. the poorer communities in this city of 8.5 million share one of life's essential commodities. they can't even be sure that the water that is available is clean. a lack of running water is bad enough but at the same time mexican authorities, like so many, are telling people to "wash your hands" and "stay at home". easier said than done for some. translation: we recycle the water for the bathroom to clean the dishes, water the plants. i try to save some until the truck comes every eight days. and if the truck doesn't come, the people in these poorer communities have to use what little money they have buying water. translation: we have to continue using it, but we have to buy it. if the water truck does not come, it costs us 15 pesos, but we have to buy it anyway because i have to have water. mexico has the highest per capita consumption of bottled water in the world. the instruction to wash your hands is simple enough. the ability to do it is a much more complicated matter. rich preston, bbc news. australians and new zealanders are observing anzac day — their annual commemoration for their war dead — by holding private vigils at home. the coronavirus pandemic forced traditional memorials to be cancelled for the first time in decades. russell trott reports. anzac day is a day when we do the dawn service, we march, and at the end of that we go away to our various watering holes, pubs and clubs, and we enjoyed oui’ pubs and clubs, and we enjoyed our mates and again that is going to be sad —— and a date that will be sad this year because we will not be able to because we will not be able to be there. for those like ray james who was still able to commemorate anzac day it is a chance to remember their fallen comrades. april 25, 1915. gallipoli. and one of the bloodiest battles of world war i. bloodiest battles of world war i, thousands of troops from the australian and new zealand army corps, the anzacs, took on an allied force that landed on the narrow beaches of the turkish peninsular in an ill—fated campaign that would claim more than 130,000 lives. didgeridoo plays. 105 years later, and thousands of miles away in australia and new zealand, with mass gatherings now banned in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus, political leaders joined the veterans for many services at their homes. it is lovely. i saw things around this morning and a song and recordings on things and it is obvious that people are getting out in force which is lovely, it isa out in force which is lovely, it is a great show of community spirit, i think. last it is a great show of community spirit, ithink. last post plays. so is daylight broke they put their concerns of the coronavirus fight to one side briefly and once more remembered those who fail. in what was called the war to end all wars. contact a veteran, a vetera n all wars. contact a veteran, a veteran who you know and just ask them other ok, especially on anzac day, because they will be lonely because they won't be able to do what they normally do. there's plenty more on all the main stories on our website, plus the bbc‘s visual and data journalism team has put together a map that tracks the global pandemic. you can click on a location to see the number of confirmed coronavirus cases. a reminder of our top story. the uk's nhs is launching a campaign to encourage people to seek urgent medical treatment from hospitals orfamily doctors, even if it's not related to the coronavirus. a big fall in the number of patients asking for help for other conditions has fuelled concern that serious problems are being missed. asi as i said earlier, you can get more information on our website 01’ on our more information on our website or on ourapp. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @sipusey. that is all for now. stay with us on that is all for now. stay with us on bbc news. hello there. after another predominantly dry week for most parts of the uk, the weekend promises plenty more dry weather. but slow, subtle changes, the increasing chance of catching a shower and it will begin to feel cooler particularly across northern areas. but nothing much is changing very quickly at the moment because the pressure pattern is very slack. not many white lines at all on this chart. not many isobars. that means the winds are very, very light. there's nothing really to push the weather along. so we start off the day with a lot of cloud across eastern scotland, the eastern side of england, some misty and murky conditions in place. b ut that should tend to break up, the mist and fog should tend to lift, and all of us should get to see some spells of sunshine. generally speaking, perhaps a bit more cloud than we had over the last couple of days. temperature—wise, generally 17 to 21 degrees but a bit cooler for some northern and eastern coasts. the north coast of northern ireland also having a slightly cooler day and as we go into the late afternoon in the evening, wales and the south—west could see a shower, and in the early hours of sunday, generally there will be more cloud rolling in across the north of scotland. those are your overnight temperatures. most places above freezing. it will be a little bit chilly, i think, across some eastern parts of england. and we go to sunday, and this area of low pressure, quite a weak affair, starts to move its way in from the north. so that does increase the chance of seeing some showers across northern parts of scotland. we've got a frontal system pushing south and a band of cloud and some showery rain possible with that, and ahead of it across the heart of england, part of wales, we could see the odd hefty shower into the afternoon. there will still be a lot of dry weather and sunshine, and another warm day down towards the south, but noticeably cooler across the northern half of the country. and as we move out of sunday and into monday, you see the colder air making some inroads southwards, so lower temperatures for most parts on monday. a band of cloud, frontal system sitting around parts of england and wales. maybe the odd splash of rain, but we could see slightly more significant wet weather developing down to the south later in the day. 21 degrees in london, but the further north you are, a much cooler feel to the weather. and for all of us, it is going to turn cooler as we head deeper into next week. and there is the increasing chance of some rain and some fairly brisk winds as well. that's all from me for now. this is bbc news. the headlines: the uk government's new website for coronavirus tests was temporarily closed after it was inundated by key workers. meanwhile the nhs is launching a campaign to encourage people to seek urgent medical treatment from hospitals or gps, even if it's not related to the coronavirus. more than 50,000 people have now died in the us from coronavirus. meanwhile president trump has backtracked on a suggestion that disinfectant could be used to tackle the virus. he said his suggestion that injections of disinfectant could treat patients was sarcastic. world leaders and the who have launched a global initiative to accelerate work on drugs to treat coronavirus. the head of the who says the biggest health effort in history is needed to rid the world of covid—19. experts say any vaccine that is developed must be made available and affordable.