Women and children bear brunt as drought and extreme weather leave tens of millions short of food

Southern Africa is in the throes of a climate emergency, with hunger levels in the region on a previously unseen scale, the UN has warned.

Years of drought, widespread flooding and economic disarray have left 45 million people facing severe food shortages, with women and children bearing the brunt of the crisis, said the World Food Programme (WFP).

Related: Zimbabwe on verge of 'manmade starvation', warns UN envoy

Unpublished report claims water from contaminated reservoir leaves 3 million in Zimbabwe’s capital at risk of disease

Water being pumped to millions of residents in Zimbabwe’s capital city came from reservoirs contaminated by dangerous toxins, according to a report seen by the Guardian.

A study conducted by South African company Nanotech Water Solutions concluded that the health of 3 million Harare residents may be endangered by the provision of water containing toxins that can cause liver and central nervous system diseases.

Related: Zimbabwe on verge of 'manmade starvation', warns UN envoy

Researchers sound the alarm after statistics reveal almost half of impoverished children in rural areas do not have enough to eat

Poverty has reached unprecedented levels in Zimbabwe, with more than 70% of Zimbabwean children in rural areas living in poverty, a UN study has found.

The report, compiled by Unicef and the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, shows high levels of privation in rural areas, where 76.3% of children live in abject poverty. Statistics seen by the Guardian suggest that almost half of these children do not have enough of the right food to eat.

Related: Zimbabwe on verge of 'manmade starvation', warns UN envoy

Regenerative agriculture can revolutionise the continent. That’s not a pie-in-the-sky utopia, but something we can all bring about

How should we stare down the challenges of a new decade? Where will we find hope and solutions? This is the first piece in a new series in which we ask prominent Australians to write about one thing they think could improve the nation in the 2020s

We need a revolution in Australia. Many can sense that. We’re richer than ever, but when it comes to our environment and the climate we’re in a big hole – and we need to stop digging. We must find new ways of living on this incredible continent we have brought to the brink of climatic and ecological catastrophe. If that sounds bleak, it is. But what if the revolution we need is already taking place; in the space between our ears and the ground beneath our feet?

Related: Farmer wants a revolution: 'How is this not genocide?'

Transitioning to regenerative agriculture isn’t some sort of pie-in-the-sky hoping for a utopia

Will we challenge and transform our thinking, or continue ploughing on towards the cliff edge up ahead?

Related: Look after the soil, save the Earth: farming in Australia's unrelenting climate

David Pocock is a professional rugby union player and co-author of the book In Our Nature with his partner, Emma Pocock

Widespread corruption and deteriorating economy have contributed to rise in sexual bribery, say researchers

Zimbabwe has recorded an unprecedented number of women reporting being forced to exchange sex for employment or business favours.

More than 57% of women surveyed by Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) said they had been forced to offer sexual favours in exchange for jobs, medical care and even when seeking placements at schools for their children.

Related: We were promised change – but corruption and brutality still rule in Zimbabwe | Fadzayi Mahere

Emmerson Mnangagwa makes passionate plea for support as he targets upper middle-income status by 2030

The president of Zimbabwe has appealed for help in pulling his debt-ridden country out of “financial isolation”.

Emmerson Mnangagwa made his passionate call for international funding after he failed to secure new loans from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, African Development Bank and the Paris Club due to outstanding foreign debts of $8bn (£6.2bn).

Related: Zimbabwe urged to prioritise children as record poverty causes food shortages

My mother, Mary Tandon, who has died aged 82, undertook many roles as a lawyer, writer and campaigner. Her life was punctuated by flights from her home because of political violence – and fresh starts in new countries.

She was born in Malacca, British Malaya (now Malaysia). While Mary was at a tender age, she and her mother, Fong Ah Soo, were the sole survivors of a Japanese bombing raid in which the family home and the rest of her extended family were killed.

A year after eastern Zimbabwe was devastated by one of the worst storms on record, many people remain amid the wreckage living in makeshift shelters

The sound of the rising wind and the heavy rain trigger fear at Garikai camp in Ngangu, Chimanimani, eastern Zimbabwe.

Villagers here are haunted by traumatic memories of the aftermath of the cyclone that swept over this region last March, when they were forced to bury the dead in makeshift coffins. Some people have never found their loved ones.

Related: Why were the people worst affected by Cyclone Idai so badly prepared? | Antonio Matimbe

Unable to access state benefits, food and even running water as the country shuts up shop, people in Harare fear the worst

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Nelson Mahunde, 70, trudges along the deserted streets of Harare’s central business district to collect his monthly pension.

In one hand, he clutches a pension letter; with the other, he hold on firmly to his walking stick.

How can we wash our hands regularly when there is no running water?

Related: Zimbabwe's president appeals for help to end country's 'financial isolation'

Court application warns ‘many lives will be lost’ without urgent action to provide face masks

The Zimbabwean government has been taken to court over its failure to provide doctors working on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic with masks.

The Zimbabwe Association for Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) is seeking to compel the authorities urgently to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical practitioners, warning that medics in the country’s troubled health sector will otherwise die.

Related: 'We will starve': Zimbabwe's poor full of misgiving over Covid-19 lockdown

A rise in cases of the mosquito-borne disease poses another layer of threat in a country where the health system is already struggling

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At least 131 people have died from malaria in Zimbabwe in a new outbreak, adding pressure to a country already struggling to deal with Covid-19.

The fatalities occurred in 201 outbreaks recorded across the country, according to the Ministry of Health. Meanwhile Zimbabwe’s lockdown has been extended by two weeks to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Related: 'We will starve': Zimbabwe's poor full of misgiving over Covid-19 lockdown

Migrants trapped in dangerous conditions at frontiers, ports and transit camps

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Tens of thousands of migrants are trapped in dangerous conditions at frontiers, mines, ports and in transit camps across Africa after states shut their borders in an attempt to stem the spread of Covid-19.

Some have been abandoned by smugglers unable to take them further on their journeys to Europe or elsewhere. Others were returning home or moving across the continent in search of work when frontiers were closed in March.

The RAF's display team colour the skies above London red, white and blue to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Nazi commanders surrendered to allied forces in a French schoolhouse 75 years ago on 8 May 1945, bringing the second world war in Europe to an end.

• VE Day 2020: 75th anniversary marked with two-minute silence and Red Arrows flypast – live
  
• VE Day 75 timetable: Prince Charles to lead event with two-minute silence
  

Britain observed a two-minute silence on Friday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day, marking the end of the second world war. Charles, the Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall led the ceremony from Balmoral in Scotland. Political leaders also paid silent tribute at 11am along with the rest of the nation. Nazi commanders surrendered to allied forces in a French schoolhouse 75 years ago to the day.

• VE Day 2020: Britain pauses for two-minute silence as Red Arrows flypast marks 75th anniversary – live
  
• VE Day 75 timetable
  

The legislative council descended into chaos for more than an hour on Friday as opposing lawmakers threw placards and scrambling over each other to take control of a house committee. Politicians rushed to take the seat left empty after the house was unable to elect a new chairperson. The incumbent, Starry Lee, reached the seat first as pro-Beijing and pro-democracy members crowded in

• Hong Kong parliament in chaos as politicians fight for chair

As the lockdown days wear on, it can be hard to find hope amid the gloom. But people across the world are finding reasons to keep their spirits up – from lockdown charity walks and miraculous recoveries, to virtual graduation wishes from celebrities and socially distanced block parties

• Fancy dress to hitting the jackpot: reasons for cheer in lockdown UK
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Dr Michael Ryan, the director of the WHO health emergencies programme, has said there is a way out of the Covid-19 pandemic for communities, adding that 'a careful and measured return' to workplaces and schools with the right precautions could work, but that concerts and other mass gatherings were much more difficult.

He predicted a significant change to lifestyles until a vaccine or effective treatments were found.

• Coronavirus latest: at a glance
  
• UK coronavirus updates – live
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Critics of No 10 warn U-turns undermining efforts to keep public safe from coronavirus

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First people were meant to stay at home to save lives, and then government sources raised the prospect of picnics with pals and sunbathing in the park just before a sunny bank holiday weekend.

Boris Johnson told the nation that scientists thought face masks might help stop the spread of the disease, but no change was made to the government advice that they were not needed outside medical and care settings.

With coronavirus lockdown subduing VE Day, contrasts with 75 years ago were many and varied

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Somehow the quiet made it louder. By rights, marking the 75^th anniversary of VE Day in the midst of a pandemic that has confined us to our homes – forcing us to keep our distance from one another, denying us the right to gather in crowds – should have muffled this commemoration. A celebration in private would surely feel like no celebration at all. Katherine Jenkins singing to an empty Albert Hall, streets with no street parties and the pubs all shut: how could that add up to anything other than a damp squib?

And yet Friday’s marking of the end of the second world war struck a deeper chord than it might, had it been just another sunny bank holiday. Yes, the usual rituals had to be suspended. There could be no wreath-laying at local memorials; instead, Prince Charles and Camilla laid two small wreaths on their own, in a crowdless corner of Balmoral, watched by a lone piper. There could be no veterans’ parades, no reunions for those who had served, no grateful handshakes from the politicians: 102-year-old former staff sergeant Ernie Horsfall had to make do with a Zoom call from Boris Johnson. And there were limited opportunities for silliness: the Winston Churchill impersonators were all dressed up with nowhere to go, forced to perform their cigar-and-V-sign shtick online.

The US and Europe have taken different approaches to tackling pandemic-induced unemployment but which is best long term?

In two, terrible, months the coronavirus pandemic has driven unemployment in the US to levels unseen since the 1930s Great Depression. Did it have to be this way?

Covid-19 has cost more than 33 million Americans their jobs in the last seven weeks – 10% of the entire US population. The official unemployment rate had shot up from 4.4% to 14.7% on Friday – a figure that probably wildly underestimates the true scale of job losses.

Iquitos, still reeling from a dengue fever outbreak and plagued by poverty, relies on air deliveries for medicine, equipment and oxygen

In the final hours before Covid-19 claimed her life, Cecilio Sangama watched helplessly as his eldest sister Edith gasped for breath.

Hospitals across Peru’s largest Amazon city had run out of oxygen, and the shortage had pushed the black market price of a cylinder well above $1,000 (£810).

India’s ‘champagne of teas’ among those affected as country’s tea board estimates output could drop 9%, amid strain in China and Sri Lanka

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Trouble is brewing for the world’s tea producers as the coronavirus lockdown shut down the harvest in several important regions, including the picking of India’s “champagne of teas”.

Despite forecasts of increased demand from drinkers stuck at home across the world, producers have become frustrated by the enforced quarantining of their workforce, with India’s output expected to drop by 9% in 2020.

First the asylum seekers were used to further Turkey’s regional ambitions, now they are made to suffer in quarantine camps

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At the beginning of March, thousands of refugees gathered in the shadow of the Pazarkule border gate in Turkey after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he would “open the gate” to Europe.

The move was a reaction to the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in Idlib province on 28 February and designed to exert pressure on the EU and Nato to support its military operation in northern Syria.

While men and women can go out on alternate days, trans people in the Colombian capital face increasing risk of violent attacks

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A policy of making men and women leave their homes on alternate days during lockdown in Bogotá is fuelling violence towards the transgender community by the police and the public, activists say.

The mayor of the Colombian capital, Claudia López, announced last month that women were permitted to go outdoors for essential tasks on even-numbered days and men on odd-numbered days, in an effort to limit numbers on the streets.

Campaigners warn Shafiqul Islam Kajol faces a lengthy sentence as his family worries about his exposure to Covid-19 in prison

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Fifty-three days after he disappeared, Bangladeshi journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol turned up on Sunday in police custody at a border town 150 miles from where he had last been seen.

“I am alive,” he told his son by phone, the first time the family had heard his voice since his disappearance in early March, a day after a case was filed against him and 31 others under the country’s controversial new Digital Security Act.

The Australian government has arranged four additional Qantas flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai in the coming fortnight. This blog has now closed

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10.10am BST

To recap, this afternoon there were 6,929 Covid-19 cases in Australia, with the death toll at 97.

There had been 16 new cases in the last 24 hours, four of which were related to the Cedar Meats cluster in Victoria.

Related: Coronavirus Australia latest: at a glance

8.21am BST

There are just two people in South Australia considered to be active cases of Covid-19.

No further cases were recorded when the state health department released updated statistics on Saturday, with South Australia’s total tally remaining at 439.

We want people to get out and explore our fabulous regions. It is safe for regional travel in South Australia.

Donald Trump has asserted with no evidence that the coronavirus pandemic will ‘go away without a vaccine’. Without mentioning specifics, he pointed to other viruses and flus that ‘disappeared’ before vaccines were created. ‘They’ve never shown up again. They die, too. Like everything else, they die,’ Trump said. ‘It’s going to go away. And we’re not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time.’

• Global report: Trump says Covid-19 will ‘go away without vaccine’, expects US death toll to top 95,000
  
• Coronavirus US live: Trump fumes as White House staffers test positive and death toll nears 80,000

20m Americans lost their jobs in April; Donald Trump says virus will ‘go away without a vaccine’. This blog is now closed, follow our new blog below

• Coronavirus live updates

1.45am BST

We are closing this blog now, but you can stay up to date with all the latest news on our new global live blog which you can find below.

Related: Coronavirus live news: global cases approach 4 million as US unemployment hits 14.7%

1.13am BST

New Zealand’s cabinet will meet on Monday to decide the future of the country’s tough but effective lockdown – though Kiwis have been told not to visit their mums this Mother’s Day.

Next week, Ardern’s government will plot a path back to something close to normality, meeting to decide a timetable for the removal of social and business restrictions. The prime minister has already released what level two restrictions will look like, including the re-opening of restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, cinemas and public facilities like museums and libraries.

Social restrictions could end immediately, with provisions for schools, business and personal movement more likely to be phased in.

Any decision will come too late for Kiwi mums to enjoy visits from sons and daughters not already in their household bubbles. Ardern has banned socialising outside of existing households, with few exceptions, and told Kiwis this week to “stick to the plan” ahead of Monday’s review.

The Garbage Cafe in Ambikapur, India, is helping to tackle the country’s plastic waste problem – and their novel idea is catching on

On bad days, when his employer made some excuse for not paying him his paltry daily wage, Ram Yadav’s main meal used to be dry chapatis, with salt and raw onion for flavour. Sometimes he just went hungry. For a ragpicker like him, one of the thousands of Indians who make a living bringing in plastic waste for recycling, eating in a cafe or restaurant was the stuff of fairytales.

But last week, Yadav was sitting at a table at the Garbage Cafe in Ambikapur, in the state of Chhattisgarh, over a piping hot meal of dal, aloo gobi, poppadoms and rice. He earned the food in exchange for bringing in 1kg of plastic waste. “The hot meal I get here lasts me all day. And it feels good to sit at a table like everyone else,” he said.

Minibuses that run on Friday evenings and Saturdays buck state’s religious restrictions

Tel Aviv is one of Israel’s most dynamic cities, but the latest local craze could appear fairly humdrum to outsiders – a bus service that runs at weekends.

Packed 19-seat minibuses fill up fast with passengers, who excitedly gossip about the new routes. People patiently queue at bus stops, knowing they might have to wait for two or three buses to pass before there is a space. Still, they are upbeat. “It’s a pleasure,” said Ben Uzan, a 30-year-old electronic engineer. “It’s a blessed initiative.”

Amazon have arrived in force in rapidly expanding Hyderabad, with designs on the currently almost non-existent Indian e-commence market

The futuristic lobby of the new Amazon building in Hyderabad feels as though it should have a permanent orchestra blasting out Also Sprach Zarathustra. The scale is intended to awe. A large slogan on a wall suggests the company is “Delivering smiles”. The only sound that rises above the hush is a synthesised beep, coming from a giant screen playing a video of the campus at various stages of its construction.

Built on nine acres in this Indian city’s financial district, it is Amazon’s single largest building globally and the only Amazon-owned campus outside the US. It can house over 15,000 employees, but its size is its main architectural feature: it resembles the same cube of glass steel and chrome seen in corporate offices across Hyderabad, though a flash of magenta reflected in one of the top floor windows, from a billowing sari across the road, is a nice Indian touch.

The Senakw development aims to ease the city’s chronic housing crisis – and to challenge the mindset that indigeneity and urbanity are incompatible

The scrubby, vacant patch beneath the Burrard Street Bridge in Vancouver looks at first glance like a typical example of the type of derelict nook common to all cities: 11.7 acres of former railway lands, over which tens of thousands of people drive every day.

This is not any old swath of underused space, however. It’s one of Canada’s smallest First Nations reserves, where dozens of Squamish families once lived. The village was destroyed by provincial authorities more than a century ago.

Power struggle between Bashar al-Assad and first cousin sparks rare family fissure and leaves public aghast

A defiant tyrant and his ruthless wife square up against the family oligarch, with the spoils of a nation at stake. It could be standard Ramadan television fare, but not this year. Instead, all the intrigue of Syria’s ruling family has been laid out in a spectacular real-life drama that has gripped the country and the region.

Leading the cast is the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, and Syria’s first lady, Asma al-Assad, but star billing has so far been taken by the president’s first cousin, Rami Makhlouf, who last week took to Facebook to do the unthinkable: air the normally inscrutable family’s dirty laundry.

Former staffer discusses allegation in in-depth interview with the former Fox News and NBC host

Tara Reade repeated her allegations of sexual assault against Joe Biden in an in-depth interview with Megyn Kelly released on Friday, answering questions on who she shared her story with and why she supported the former vice president publicly in the past.

Reade has accused Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993, when she worked as an aide in his Senate office. She told Kelly, a former Fox News and NBC host who memorably sparred with Trump during the 2016 campaign over his treatment of women, that Biden pushed her against the wall in a Senate hallway and digitally penetrated her against her will.

Monetary fund warns the US and China against continuing trade war, saying it could damage coronavirus recovery

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The head of the International Monetary Fund has signalled a possible downward revision of global economic forecasts, and warned the United States and China against rekindling a trade war that could weaken a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, told an online event hosted by the European University Institute that recent economic data for many countries was coming in below the fund’s already pessimistic forecast for a 3% contraction in 2020.

While countries such as Spain and Italy that are lifting restrictions have forced the trend of infections down, in the US cases are rising

• Coronavirus – latest US updates
• Coronavirus – latest global updates

The US may be moving to loosen social distancing restrictions around the same time as several European countries but it remains in a far different, and worse, stage of the coronavirus pandemic.

While infections and deaths from Covid-19 quickly raced to terrifying peaks in Italy and Spain, both countries have managed to arrest the increase and are now forcing the key trends downwards.

Stringent measures to be announced with visitors and returning Britons to be asked to self-isolate

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A 14-day quarantine period for all travellers coming to Britain would have a devastating impact on the UK aviation industry and wider economy, a trade body has said.

The government is expected to announce the quarantine on Sunday as part of measures to prevent a second peak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Christine Lagarde says there could be a 15% collapse after record first quarter output fall

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The head of the European Central Bank has warned that the eurozone could be on course for a 15% collapse in output in the second quarter as evidence of the economic toll caused by Covid-19 pandemic started to emerge, with France and Italy falling into recession.

After news that the 19-nation monetary union area had contracted a record 3.8% in the first three months of 2020, Christine Lagarde said much worse was possible in the April to June period, when the impact of lockdown restrictions would be most severe.

Related: Eurozone shrinking as Covid-19 lockdowns push Italy and France into recession - business live

The euro area is suffering its worst contraction ever, as the French economy suffers its biggest plunge since the second world war

• Latest: 3.8m US initial jobless claims last week
• Eurozone economy shrank by 3.8% last quarter
  
• France in recession as GDP shrinks 5.8%
  
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5.23pm BST

Time for a recap...

A fresh flurry of grim economic data has confirmed that the global economy is falling into its worst contraction in decades, giving markets a jolt.

5.07pm BST

April was a good month for Europe’s stock markets, despite a late wobble today.

The Stoxx 600 index gained 6.2% this month, its best monthly gain since October 2015 (after the Greek debt crisis finally eased). Germany’s DAX gained over 9% this month.

5.03pm BST

Britain’s FTSE 100 has just posted its worst day in a month, at the end of its best month in two years.

The blue-chip index has closed down 214 points at 5901, a drop of 3.5%. That wipes out yesterday’s rally, and half of Wednesday’s gains too!

Related: Shell cuts dividend for first time since 1945 amid oil price collapse

4.42pm BST

Shares in Zoom have dropped over 6% today, after the video-conferencing services admitted it wasn’t quite as popular as thought...

Zoom had initially said it had 300 million daily users, following the surge in remote working. But, it actually has 300 million daily meeting participants.

Zoom shares dropped more than 7% after the company walked back on claims it has 300 million daily active users. $ZM actually reached 300m daily participants, the difference being that meeting participants can be counted more than once.https://t.co/UIVYBP9sqt

4.33pm BST

Despite today’s declines, April has still been a very strong month for the markets.

America’s S&P 500 index has gained almost 13%, trimming its losses for the year to 9%.

The S&P 500 is lower today, but still on pace for its best month in decades

Follow the latest updates > https://t.co/WLOc9YlsXU@naterattner @foimbert @mkmfitzgerald pic.twitter.com/wft4YvkJ9p

4.28pm BST

The US jobs report for April is released a week tomorrow. But we already know it will be grim, thanks to the weekly initial jobs claims numbers.

Capital Economists estimate that America’s unemployment rate has surged to at least 15% this month, wiping out twice as many jobs as were created over the last decade.

We estimate that non-farm payroll employment fell by between 20 and 25 million in April, with the unemployment rate surging to between 15% and 20%.

That would be an unprecedented loss of jobs in a single month, equating to more than double the total decline in employment during and after the financial crisis.

4.00pm BST

Crumbs, the FTSE 100 has now lost 200 points for the day, a loss of over 3%.... Still 30 minutes of trading in which to recover (or get worse).

3.39pm BST

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to hurt the travel sector badly too.

TUI has cancelled holiday trips due to start on or before June 11, meaning disappointment for one million hopeful holidaymakers.

Related: Tui cancels beach holidays until June amid coronavirus crisis

3.37pm BST

Britain’s economy has suffered another blow -- high street retailers Oasis and Warehouse are shutting, with the loss of 1,800 jobs:

Related: Oasis and Warehouse to close permanently, with loss of 1,800 jobs

3.20pm BST

Just in: America’s central bank is expanding one of its many new programmes to help the US economy ride out the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Federal Reserve is expanding the scope and eligibility for the Main Street Lending Program -- which is meant to help small firms access affordable credit, and stop viable companies going bust.

More than 2,200 letters from individuals, businesses, and nonprofits were received. In response to the public input, the Board decided to expand the loan options available to businesses, and increased the maximum size of businesses that are eligible for support under the program.

Fed Reserve to expand loan offerings + qualification for $600 billion lending effort for small, mid-size businesses hit by #COVID pandemic. Main Street Lending Program to allow larger businesses to participate, ease loan amounts. https://t.co/8Nx9mgbIpw

3.08pm BST

All the main American and European stock markets are firmly in the red today - risk is firmly off the menu:

2.45pm BST

Bank shares are falling across the eurozone following Christine Lagarde’s press conference.

Traders have noted her gloomy forecasts -- the possibility that the eurozone shrinks by an unprecedented 15% in the April-June quarter. The deeper the recession, and the slower the recovery, then the longer it will be until monetary conditions can ever normalise.

2.35pm BST

Stocks have dropped at the start of trading in New York too.

The Dow Jones industrial average has dropped 301 points at the open, down 1.2% at 24,332. There’s not much sign of the optimism that lifted shares so strongly in April.

2.30pm BST

Back in Frankfurt, Christine Lagarde is insisting that the ECB has plenty of firepower.

Lagarde says the Governing Council did not discuss whether to buy junk-rated bonds under its asset purchase scheme, or whether to extend its new PELTRO loan programme beyond banks.

HELICOPTER MONEY FOR BANKS. #ECB's Lagarde: €3tn now available to banks at negative rates. pic.twitter.com/gBlpdvKOAm

2.15pm BST

European stock markets are falling deeper into the red.

The FTSE 100 index has tumbled back through the 6,000 point mark, down 143 points or 2.3% at 5972.

2.03pm BST

Oof! U.S. personal spending has plummeted in March by the most on record.

Household spending slumped by 7.5% last month, which is the worst since the Commerce Department started counting in 1959. That’s rather worse than the 5.1% decline expected.

U.S. consumer spending plunges by the most on record https://t.co/NY4TwU96eJ pic.twitter.com/nGfUyGeUe4

2.01pm BST

Christine Lagarde hammers home the point, telling reporters that the coronavirus pandemic has “literally halted economic activity across the globe”.

The hard economic data is only just starting to emerge, she points out.

Lagarde: "frankly, our severe scenario is -15% economic growth in Q2"

1.49pm BST

Newsflash: ECB president Christine Lagarde has warned that the eurozone faces its worst slump in peacetime.

Speaking on a virtual press conference, Lagarde says the region faces an “unprecedented” downturn.

ECB President Lagarde says Europe facing a recession of unprecedented magnitude; GDP could fall between 5-12% this year, depending on duration of containment measures and policies to mitigate the consequences; speed of recovery is uncertain

1.41pm BST

Worryingly, there is a large backlog of Americans trying to sign on for jobless welfare.

Our business editor Dominic Rushe reports:

Another 3.8 million people lost their jobs in the US last week as the coronavirus pandemic continued to batter the economy. The pace of layoffs appears to be slowing, but in just six weeks an unprecedented 30 million Americans have now sought unemployment benefits and the numbers are still growing.

The latest figures from the labor department released Thursday showed a fourth consecutive week of declining claims. While the trend is encouraging, the rate of losses means US unemployment is still on course to reach levels unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Related: Another 3.8 million Americans lose jobs as US unemployment continues to grow

1.34pm BST

Newsflash: Another 3.84 million Americans filed new jobless claims last week, as the coronavirus lockdown continued to drive up unemployment.

That’s more than the 3.5m initial jobless claims that had been expected.

In the week ending April 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 3,839,000 https://t.co/qzeWU4eGpX pic.twitter.com/TxhVqlvfLa

At 3.839M, Initial Jobless Claims came in above the 3.5M estimate, but below last week’s 4.442M level; this was the 4th weekly decline. Claims are still EXTREMELY high, but this leading indicator appears to have peaked on 3/28. https://t.co/maIeV4Rfa2 pic.twitter.com/sNnXRXN8ON

1.13pm BST

The ECB has resisted making any major moves today.

Significantly, it has not increased the size of its new €750bn asset purchase scheme (the pandemic emergency purchase programme, or PEPP), which buys bonds and other assets to stimulate the economy. It has also not widened the programme to include junk-rated bonds.

The Governing Council is fully prepared to increase the size of the PEPP and adjust its composition, by as much as necessary and for as long as needed.

1.10pm BST

Here’s some early reaction to the European Central Bank making its emergency loans package even more generous, to try to help banks lend to the economy.

Very dovish. ECB relaxes further TLTRO conditions with minimum rate reduced to 50bp below deposit facility rate and extends PEPP until the crisis is over. Main interest rates unchanged. https://t.co/IAf9DGh1mZ

#ECB to pay banks even more for borrowing and even if they don't lend on the cash to the economy. A sort of recapitalisation in disguise?

The stimulus package for European Banks. Cheaper bank funding means that ECB is primarily targeting the bank lending channel [+ offsetting impact of negative deposit rates]. Makes sense for ECB... bank lending in Europe more prevalent for financing. Let's hope there's demand $EUR

The main takeaways from today’s ECB announcement: The ECB remains extremely activist, extremely interventionist in risk-managing Eurozone financial conditions. It continues to refine liquidity provisions to the expectation of weakening collateral quality in bank loans. 1/2

But the big question in the room – Italy - remains beyond its powers. Whether we think the ECB is here to close spreads or not, do we think it is here to prevent a political crisis? The requirement for Italy's downgrade is the same as that for EUR membership: M/T sustainability.

1.04pm BST

Newsflash: The European Central Bank has responded to the economic crisis caused by Covid-19 by beefing up its stimulus package.

The ECB’s governing council has decided to launch a new programme dubbed PELTROS -- which stands for pandemic emergency longer-term refinancing operations.

12.38pm BST

Britain will spend more than £100bn this financial year trying to repair the damage caused by the coronavirus, according to the latest estimates.

The Office for Budget Responsibility is tracking chancellor Rishi Sunak’s various pledges - from the jobs retention scheme to business rate relief. And it currently estimates that the total bill is £105bn, with Sunak’s furloughing scheme costing £49bn alone (although the Treasury should get £10bn back in tax)

Key costs in #coronavirus economic pkg according to @OBR_UK

Furlough scheme: £39bn net
Self-employed income support: £10bn
Small Biz Grant: £15bn
Biz rate relief: £13bn
Welfare package: £7bn

DOESN’T include estimate of any losses on various loan schemes

Our new database tracks the Chancellor’s policy interventions to limit the economic damage of coronavirus crisis. So far, the cost in 2020-21 is roughly £105 billion (in cash terms)

Download from our website: https://t.co/x9blRq9Ui0

12.27pm BST

European stock markets have turned south, after another morning of bleak economic data.

In London, the FTSE 100 is down 81 points or 1.3% at 60330, handing back half of yesterday’s rally.

12.05pm BST

Back in the UK, carmaker Nissan plans to reopen its Sunderland factory - the biggest single plant in the UK - at the start of June.

Production at the plant, which produces Nissan’s Qashqai and Juke models and the electric Leaf, has been suspended since 17 March, with many of its more than 6,000 workers furloughed.

Our goal is to navigate through this crisis while maintaining activities critical for business continuity and to make sure we are prepared for the time when business resumes in Europe and we can welcome the Nissan team back to work.

11.58am BST

I missed this earlier, sorry, but Austria’s economy has also been hit by the pandemic.

Austrian GDP shrank by 2.5% in the first quarter of 2020. That’s not as bad as France, Spain and Italy, but still puts Austria halfway into recession.

Austria GDP -2.5%, like Belgium -3.9% yesterday, shows that weakness is widespread in the eurozone, but far from the collapse seen today in Spain, France and likely in Italy. pic.twitter.com/Y58eCCixs5

Belgium GDP falls an unprecedented 3.9% in the first quarter.

Shows how severe the recession is going to be in the euro area. pic.twitter.com/o0kTzdRUYg

11.45am BST

Recessions are bleak things. They typically mean rising unemployment, more company failures, a rise in bad debts, falling asset prices and widespread gloom and despair.

But this time, they also mean that the Covid-19 lockdown measures are being followed.

"Lockdowns work" is the unfortunate economic news from today. Let's hope that loosening the lockdowns has an equally swift impact in Q2. The good news for Germany is, that it's delayed & less severe lockdown will likely leave its economy contracting by "only" 2% or so in Q1. pic.twitter.com/YQYRWB1s7H

11.26am BST

Ouch! The Covid-19 lockdown has wiped out all Italy’s growth since the eurozone crisis, and more!

Italian GDP was down by 4.7% over the quarter in Q1. What surprise me is that it was better than France and Spain, despite Italy started its lock-down earlier. However, while the Eurozone is now back to 2017 level, Italy is now back to early 2000 level. pic.twitter.com/ds2hnj7yfC

11.15am BST

Newsflash: Italy has joined France in recession, after suffering its worst slump in decades.

Italian GDP shrank by 4.7% in the first quarter of 2020, new figures from ISTAT show.

ITALY Q1 GDP -4.7% pic.twitter.com/7azaDfNmsy

10.20am BST

Today’s GDP data only gives us an early sighter of the dark slump which Europe’s economy is falling into.

Economists predict another historic contraction in April-June, as the full force of the Covid-19 lockdowns hit growth.

Eurozone Mar qtr GDP -3.8%qoq as lockdowns hit in Mar. But full impact of lockdowns to show this qtr with GDP likely ~-10%qoq ahead of a return to growth in second half as lockdowns ease
Unemp up only slightly but its a lagging indicator
Fall in inflation. (Bloomberg table) pic.twitter.com/A76zse9FSG

In case the #ECB needed any more bad news for its briefing notes...#Eurozone GDP fell by 3.8% QoQ in the first quarter. And this was only with roughly two weeks of lockdown and supply chain disruptions. Brace yourself for worse to happen.

10.07am BST

The eurozone economy is shrinking even faster than feared, according to Reuters:

The eurozone economy contracted at a record rate and by more than expected in the first three months of the year and inflation slowed sharply as much economic activity in March came to a halt because of the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed on Thursday.

According to a preliminary flash estimate of the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat economic output in the 19 countries sharing the euro in January-March was 3.8% smaller than in the previous three months -- the sharpest quarterly decline since the time series started in 1995.

10.04am BST

NEWSFLASH: the eurozone economy shrank by 3.8% in the first quarter of 2020, putting it halfway into recession.

That’s an extremely grim contraction, worse than during the financial crisis of 2008-09.

Euro area #GDP -3.8% in Q1 2020, -3.3% compared with Q1 2019: preliminary flash estimate from #Eurostat https://t.co/x17Ql1VD2U pic.twitter.com/1fNtPVZokS

EURO ZONE PRELIMINARY FLASH Q1 GDP ESTIMATE -3.8% Q/Q VS CONSENSUS -3.5%, -3.3% Y/Y VS CONSENSUS -3.1% - EUROSTAT

9.58am BST

Here’s a reminder of this morning’s dire French growth figures (for those who weren’t wide awake at 6.30am)

Shocking collapse in French GDP in Q1. Down 5.8%.
Bigger than the financial crisis (Q1 2009 –1.6%)
Bigger than the May 68 strikes/demonstrations (Q2 1968 -5.3%)
Biggest drop since comparable records began in 1949 pic.twitter.com/Bc9yIkOo0N

9.53am BST

Today’s woeful French and Spanish growth figures will have dampened the mood as the European Central Bank holds its monetary policy meeting today.

Sebastien Clements, currency analyst at international payments company OFX, says ECB chief Christine Lagarde and colleagues will be worried about the future.

“Not the ideal start to the day for President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, as both Spanish and French quarterly GDP figures came in at least 1% off the forecasted mark. It won’t be the figure itself that causes a headache, but rather the potential of what may follow…

“Lagarde has already laid her cards on the table with the bulk of the zone’s stimulus options having been delivered in the form of PEPP implementation and collateral loosening, but her job is not yet done. With its back against the wall, is now a good time for the ECB to get ahead of the curve and inject some investor confidence in the form of maintaining a stable monetary position? Just this morning, I spoke with a client at a UK food distributor who has decided to close their European entity and set up in Asia for the sake of supply side ease, cost cutting and licensing issues.”

9.41am BST

Newsflash: A quarter of UK businesses currently trading say that their turnover has more than halved this month.

That’s according to the Office for National Statistics, which has just published its latest ‘faster indicators’ of the pandemic’s impact on the economy.

9.16am BST

These chart from Danske Bank’s Aila Mihr show how Germany’s unemployment total swelled alarmingly this month:

#Corona crisis reaches #Germany's labour market, with largest monthly increase in unemployment claims ever recorded. pic.twitter.com/x046HlXBuM

So 10.1 mln people on short-time work in #Germany, 373,000 more unemployed in April and the unemployment rate is now 5.8% from previous 5.0%
The virus is taking its toll on the German job market

9.12am BST

A boom in disinfectant sales has benefited Reckitt Benckiser, which makes Dettol and Lysol.

“People want cleaner surfaces at home. They are cleaning more, washing more … Some behaviour becomes quite ingrained. There is a reinforcement of hygiene as a basis of health.”

9.08am BST

Back in the UK, the boss of Sainsbury’s supermarket has predicted that disruption from the coronavirus outbreak will last until at least mid-September.

CEO Mike Coupe reckons that physically distanced queues are likely to remain “for the foreseeable future”, dampening hopes of an early end to lockdown restrictions.

Related: Sainsbury's boss says coronavirus disruption will last until mid-September

9.06am BST

Just in: The number of people out of work in Germany has surged.

Germany’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate has leapt to 5.8% this month, up from 5% in May, the Labour Office reports.

German unemployment increased from 5.0% to 5.8% in April. Labor market is supported by extensive use of kurzarbeit, but unemployment is set to increase further. However, Germany has fiscal means and willpower to support growth substantially later in the year #macrobond pic.twitter.com/OwdrhRnQT6

8.54am BST

Shares in Royal Dutch Shell have tumbled 7% this morning after it disappointed investors by slashing its dividend by two thirds.

CEO Ben van Buerden defended the move as a “prudent” response to the “extremely challenging conditions” caused by Covid-19, with oil prices tumbling this year.

“Given the continued deterioration in the macroeconomic outlook and the significant mid- and long-term uncertainty, we are taking further prudent steps to bolster our resilience, underpin the strength of our balance sheet and support the long-term value creation of Shell.

Related: Shell cuts dividend for first time since 1945 amid oil price collapse

8.32am BST

France’s fall into recession hasn’t dampened the mood on the Paris stock market,

The CAC 40 index of leading French companies jumped by 0.9% in early trading to 4,711 points - a seven-week high.

8.23am BST

The latest economic data from China shows that its recovery from the pandemic is being hit by weakness abroad.

China’s official manufacturing PMI (which measures activity in the sector) dropped to 50.8 for April from 52 in March. That shows less growth, as a reading of 50 indicates stagnation.

#China Factory Data Shows Global Slump Undercut Nascent Recovery - Bloomberg
*Link: https://t.co/gNTOU0UIt0 pic.twitter.com/4dycAL5BQc

8.13am BST

Newsflash: Spain’s economy is also shrinking - and faster than feared.

Spanish real GDP -5.2% QoQ, also below expectations with private consumption and investment in free fall, unsurprisingly. https://t.co/HDCZMa2eFg pic.twitter.com/ugSiIBGgGh

Spain also worse than expected (even if less dramatically so): -5.2% vs consensus -4.3%

7.55am BST

More gloom -- French consumer spending has taken a whopping dive last month, as the lockdown forced shops to close.

Consumer spending fell by almost 18% last month, INSEE reports, despite a rise in food spending. It’s the worst drop in consumer spending since at least 1980 (when the data series began).

Manufactured good consumption dropped sharply (–42.3% after –0.6%) and energy expenditure decreased markedly (–11.4% after –0.9%). Only food consumption increased (+7.8% after –0.1%).

The fall in household consumption in March 2020 was essentially due to the implementation of lockdown measures from mid-March onwards.

WOW
France Consumer Spending (Mar) Act: -17.9%, exp: -5.8%, prev: -0.1%

7.49am BST

French bank SocGen has posted a surprise loss, and set aside €820m to cover bad loans - in another sign that Covid-19 is hurting France’s economy.

SocGen also suffered trading losses during the market mayhem of the last quarter. Bloomberg has heard that its traders came unstuck on some dividend futures contracts....

7.39am BST

Several major companies are reporting the impact of Covid-19 on their businesses today.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is slashing its shareholder dividend for the first time since te 1940s. Investors will get just 16 cents per share, from 47 cents per share, after profits plunged in the last quarter.

7.32am BST

France’s grim growth figures are a clear sign that Europe is entering its deepest recession of the postwar era, says Bloomberg.

The economy shrank 5.8%, the most since records began in 1949. The slump shows the dramatic effect of government-ordered shutdowns as just two weeks of closures and restrictions were sufficient to snuff out growth for the entire quarter. Figures for the euro area later on Thursday will probably show the end of a seven-year expansion, and worse is still to come as confinement has continued for the past month.

The virus outbreak has plunged economies across the globe into a tumult that was unthinkable at the start of the year. China’s economy shrank for the first time in decades in the first quarter and the U.S. saw its record expansion come to an end. The IMF expects the global economy to shrink 3% this year, with the euro area dropping 7.5%.

The French economy posts its worst quarter on record https://t.co/zmnqLpeCxx

7.09am BST

A 5.8% plunge in GDP is really, really bad.

As Frederik Ducrozet of Pictet Wealth Management shows here, it wipes out several years of French growth:

We're going to be talking about GDP *levels* more than quarterly growth rates for some time. Better get used to it. pic.twitter.com/MSWHv2VQUm

7.06am BST

Here’s more reaction to France’s plunge into recession this morning.

France enters technical recession.

don't need Q2 to confirm ...

global economy was in dire shape b4 #CV19 pic.twitter.com/pWuSMALwmF

France's economy posted a historic decline of 5.8% and entered a recession. Expect Italy to follow.

7.00am BST

France’s economy shrank even faster than economists predicted, Reuters points out:

The first quarter contraction was the biggest on a quarterly basis since World War II, surpassing the previous record of -5.3% in the second quarter of 1968 when France was gripped by civil unrest, mass student protests and general strikes.

The slump even exceeded most economists’ expectations, which on average were for -3.5%, although estimates in Reuters poll went as low as -7%.

7.00am BST

This chart from INSEE’s growth report shows just how sharply France’s economy shrank:

6.39am BST

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

Newsflash: France has plunged into recession, as the Covid-19 lockdown batters its economy.

...primarily linked to the shut-down of “non-essential” activities in the context of the implementation of the lockdown since mid-March.

Household consumption expenditures dropped (–6.1%), as did total gross fixed capital formation in a more pronounced manner (GFCF: –11.8%). Overall, final domestic demand excluding inventory changes fell sharply: it contributed to –6.6 points to GDP growth.

Exports also fell this quarter (–6.5%) along with imports (–5.9%), in a less pronounced manner. All in all, the foreign trade balance contributed negatively to GDP growth: –0.2 points, after –0.1 points the previous quarter. Conversely, changes in inventories contributed positively to GDP growth (+0.9 points).

French real GDP crashed by 5.8% QoQ in Q1, the biggest drop since the beginning of the series in 1949.https://t.co/ri7LxT1PlA pic.twitter.com/0AdesaH6mR

France officially enters recession, with economy shrinking by 5.8% in the first quarter, @InseeFr says. Worst quarter on record (since 1949)
Consumer spending -6.1%,
Company investments -11.4%
And remember France only went into lockdown in mid-March! @France24_en #F24

Gilles Peterson and Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers pay tribute to the Fela Kuti collaborator, described by Brian Eno as ‘perhaps the greatest drummer who ever lived’

The Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, who is credited with creating Afrobeat along with his old bandmate Fela Kuti, died suddenly at the age of 79 in Paris on Thursday, his manager said. “We don’t know the exact cause of death,” Eric Trosset said, adding it was not linked to the coronavirus pandemic.

“He was in great shape,” said Trosset. “It was quite sudden. I spoke to him at 1pm then two hours later he was sick and taken to Pompidou hospital, where he died.”

Related: Tony Allen: Afrobeat’s master on Hugh Masekela, Damon Albarn and friction with Fela Kuti

The epic Tony Allen, the greatest drummer on earth has left us. What a wildman with a massive, kind and free heart and the deepest one-of-a-kind groove. Fela Kuti did not invent afrobeat, Fela and Tony birthed it… https://t.co/qXqMAP7QzT

RIP TONY ALLEN. THE GOAT AMONGST GOATS. DO YOUR RESEARCH. LEGENDS NEVER DIE. THE INVENTOR OF RHYTHM #Afrobeat

Merci Tony Allen....https://t.co/Oizisc8wWd

Germany’s top coronavirus expert says children play as big a role as adults in spread

• Coronavirus – latest updates
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More countries across Europe are preparing to reopen schools in the coming weeks despite conflicting advice from scientists, some of whom caution against underestimating children’s potential to spread the coronavirus.

Some schools and nurseries in Denmark and Norway have already reopened, and grandparents in Switzerland are allowed to hug grandchildren under 10, following a ruling by the health ministry’s head of infectious diseases that it is safe to do so.

Masterful drummer and co-creator of Afrobeat, the fusion of funk, jazz and African styles that he pioneered with Fela Kuti

On 12 and 13 March there were two concerts in the Church of Sound series at St James the Great Church in Clapton, east London. They were staged in the round, with both the audience and the small band of brass, keyboards and guitar circled around the star player, arguably the finest drummer on the planet.

As ever, Tony Allen looked cool and relaxed, sporting a hat and dark glasses, sitting upright with the rest of his body hardly moving as his hands and feet beat out the thrilling, complex rhythms, or “patterns” as he called them. The music came from his latest album, Rejoice, recorded with his friend Hugh Masekela, and these were to be his last shows.

Two of Europe’s worst affected countries begin careful process of opening up societies again

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Spain and Italy, two of the European countries hardest hit by coronavirus, are beginning to emerge from lengthy and strict lockdowns as Russia and Afghanistan reported their biggest one-day rises in new infections.

In Spain, where 217,466 cases of Covid-19 and 25,264 deaths have been confirmed, adults were allowed back on to the street to exercise for the first time in seven weeks this weekend.

Epidemics of infectious diseases behave in different ways but the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed more than 50 million people is regarded as a key example of a pandemic that occurred in multiple waves, with the latter more severe than the first. It has been replicated – albeit more mildly – in subsequent flu pandemics.

London embassy contradicts health minister as visitors could face 14-day confinement even if asymptomatic

• Coronavirus – latest updates
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French officials have announced that Britons and those from European Union member states will not be placed in 14 days mandatory quarantine if they travel to France, as suggested by the country’s health minister.

In what appeared to be a direct contradiction of Olivier Véran’s statement on Saturday, the French embassy in London tweeted that the measure would not be imposed on those arriving in France from the UK or Schengen area.

Related: France to sell some of nation's antique furniture to support hospitals

US president again criticises Beijing as European countries prepare to ease lockdown

• Coronavirus – latest updates
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Donald Trump has said he is “very confident” there will be a vaccine for coronavirus by the end of the year, revising up his estimate of the final US death toll as several European countries prepare for a cautious easing of lockdowns.

The president used a Fox News “virtual town hall” on Sunday night to repeat his regular virus talking points, including that a vaccine was not far away, Covid-19 was China’s fault and the economy would not only recover but “grow like crazy”.

Related: Mike Pompeo: 'enormous evidence' coronavirus came from Chinese lab

Global coronavirus cases have surpassed 3.5 million with more than 247,000 deaths.

In New York, the centre of the US outbreak, an emergency field hospital erected in Central Park is set to close. Dozens of New Yorkers were fined for violating social distancing guidelines as they flocked to beaches and parks in balmy weekend weather.

China reported three new coronavirus cases, versus two the day before.

Japan’s state of emergency is expected to be extended until the end of the month.

France will not quarantine anyone arriving from the EU, the Schengen area or Britain due to the coronavirus.

New Zealand has reported no new coronavirus cases for the first time.

South Korea plans to ease a ban on some gatherings and events as long as they “follow disinfection measures”.

Brazil has become the first country in Latin America to report more than 100,000 cases.

The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, announced mosques will reopen across large parts of the Islamic republic after they were closed in early March.

Man found to have had virus a month before government confirmed first cases

A French hospital that retested old samples from pneumonia patients has discovered that it treated a man with the coronavirus as early as 27 December, nearly a month before the French government confirmed its first cases.

Dr Yves Cohen, head of resuscitation at the Avicenne and Jean Verdier hospitals in the northern suburbs of Paris, told BFM TV that scientists had retested samples from 24 patients treated in December and January who tested negative for flu.

US and Sweden raise questions over how virus spread in China, while Austria declares outbreak under control

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The World Health Organization has urged countries to look for more early cases of Covid-19 and urged a full exploration of the pandemic’s origins and early path, as Germany took preventive action to head off any future rise in infections.

Related: Coronavirus map of the US: latest cases state by state

Russia cemented its place as the European country reporting the highest number of new infections, with total cases soaring past 155,000, although at 1,451 its fatality rate has remained low compared to other countries.

Hong Kong announced plans to ease major social distancing measures, including reopening schools, cinemas, bars and beauty parlours, from Friday.

Overcrowded, unhygienic prisons in Latin America and the spread of the coronavirus in regional prisons in the US are a source of “major concern”, the UN human rights office said.

India embarked on a “massive” operation using passenger jets and naval ships to bring back some of the hundreds of thousands of nationals stranded abroad.

Virgin Atlantic airline said it was cutting 3,000 jobs.

Customers say they were denied cancellation repayments and pushed to accept unusable vouchers

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Eurostar is to offer more generous cancellation terms and has promised cash refunds after facing a backlash from customers furious at its previous refunds stance.

With French borders still closed to all tourist traffic, Eurostar has been forced to cancel all but two trains a day out of London, leaving thousands of passengers with unusable tickets.

Related: Confusion over French quarantine rules for overseas visitors

Related: UK watchdog flooded with complaints over holiday refunds

Brazil, France and Germany say UN can’t hear complaint against five countries of flouting child rights to clean air

Greta Thunberg and a group of other children have pushed forward their legal complaint at the UN against countries they accuse of endangering children’s wellbeing through the climate crisis, despite attempts to have it thrown out.

The 16 children, including the Swedish environmental activist, lodged a legal case with the UN committee on the rights of the child against Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany and Turkey last September.

Related: Sign up to the Green Light email to get the planet's most important stories

War cabinet papers reveal PM’s concern French ally would pre-empt joint announcement

Winston Churchill believed a disgruntled general Charles de Gaulle intended to pre-empt the allies’ announcement of victory in Europe by 24 hours but felt unable to pressure him to change his plans, according to British war cabinet documents released free online by the National Archives during the lockdown.

The 75th anniversary of VE Day will be celebrated on Friday 8 May but Gen Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme allied commander in north-west Europe, and the Soviet high command had actually received the German surrender in the French city of Reims on 7 May 1945 at 2.41am.