Trump believes vaccine available by end year

US president Donald Trump has said he is confident that there will be a coronavirus vaccine by the end of 2020. Speaking on a Fox News virtual town hall, the president said “many companies are, I think, close” and cited Johnson & Johnson by name. The Hill says Trump acknowledged that medical experts would have advised him not to make such a statement and Politico claims he was “contradicting his own health officials as well as companies developing and testing potential vaccines”. Vanity Fair says America’s willingness to cooperate internationally on vaccine development “remains in question”. The Washington Post focused on the president’s remarks regarding the reopening of states, citing his belief that it is possible to “satisfy both” anti-lockdown protesters and those who are afraid to resume public life.

Pompeo supports Wuhan lab claim

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo told ABC News on Sunday there was “a significant amount of evidence” that the new coronavirus emerged from a Chinese laboratory. But Pompeo also said he agreed with a US intelligence statement, citing scientific consensus, that the virus was not man-made. Last Thursday, as reported in The Guardian, Donald Trump had claimed that he had seen evidence, which he was “not allowed to tell” reporters, substantiating the theory that the coronavirus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Deconfinement around the world

France: as the country prepares for the easing of lockdown on 11 May, when schools and some businesses start to reopen, it has clarified that a rule requiring anyone entering the country to go into isolation for two weeks did not apply to people arriving from EU countries, the Schengen area or the UK, the BBC reports. Italy: phase two of deconfinement allows people to visit relatives within their regions, provided they wear masks, but schools remain closed. Museums and retailers will open again on 18 May, and bars and restaurants on 1 June, The Guardian reports. Spain: adults were allowed outside for solo exercise near their homes for the first time since March 15, according to CNN. Jordan: businesses and industries can resume production, public transport is back to normal, but universities and schools will remain closed and a night curfew still operates, says Reuters. Ghana: daily life is gradually returning to normal in Accra and Kumasi, The Guardian reports.

Global figures, over 1 million recovered

Worldwide, as of 6am on 4 May, there have been 3,506,924 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 247,473 deaths and 1,125,255 patients have recovered, according to the John Hopkins coronavirus resource center. In Luxembourg, as reported in Delano’s rolling coverage, the latest figures show 3,824 confirmed covid-19 cases and 96 deaths. But just 115 people are now hospitalised.

Buffet sheds airline stocks

Billionaire Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate holding company has sold off all its stakes in the four major US airlines--America, Delta, Southwest and United. Buffet told investors on Saturday that the airlines’ problems were “not in any way the fault of four excellent CEOs”. CNBC and Bloomberg have in-depth analysis.

US airport relief created massive disparities

The US Federal Aviation Administration is trying to correct legislation it wrote with Congress that gave $10 billion in funding to airports across the country after massive disparities in the distribution of the fund were revealed. Some tiny airports got enough money to keep them afloat for 50 years, while larger airports only got enough for a couple of months, Politico reports.

EP building houses domestic abuse victims

The Helmut Kohl office building belonging to the European Parliament in Brussels has been turned into a temporary home for 100 women, many of whom are victims of domestic abuse, the Independent and the BBC report.

Iran slams German ban on Hezbollah

Iran has condemned Germany’s designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. German police on Thursday raided mosque associations alleged to be close to the Lebanese group. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi said Hezbollah was “an official and legitimate” member of the Lebanese government and parliament. More from Aljazeera, The New York Times and Deutsche Welle.

Venezuela invasion “staged” says opposition

The Colombian government and Venezuela's opposition leader have dismissed allegations by Venezuelan interior minister Nestor Reverol that “terrorist mercenaries” from Colombia attempted a seaborne invasion of the country. The BBC, Aljazeera and Bloomberg have more.

Specialty coffee growers fear for livelihood

While sales of coffee have soared in countries affected by lockdown, demand for higher graded beans, mostly sold in cafes and restaurants has plummeted. The Speciality Coffee Association has warned that that many small businesses and farmers of mild arabica beans in Colombia fear for their survival. The BBC has a report.

Giant hornets invade north America

Giant Asian hornets with what CNN describes as “freakish eyes and a venomous sting” have been spotted in Washington state and the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Washington Post says they are the size of a matchbox with quarter-inch stingers, while The New York Times cites a beekeeper saying that being stung by the hornets was “like having red-hot thumbtacks being driven into my flesh.”

Walk through 1945 Berlin

A new website takes visitors on a virtual walk through Berlin just after it was liberated from the Nazis in 1945. Images of the Reichstag, Brandenburg gate and Alexanderplatz are layered on top of contemporary pictures. Unfortunately, the English text option doesn’t seem to work, but the pictures tell a thousand words.

The new Saturday night in pictures

From a man in Hawaii teaching his housemate the choreography to ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)’, to a mother and daughter experiencing a rain storm in Japan via a party with life-size cut-out figures in London, The New York Times has a great collection of photos of “the new Saturday night” from around the world.

Lund party stunk

And, if you’re wondering why Walpurgis Night (on the eve of May 1) in Lund, Sweden was so quiet this year, it’s because authorities spread chicken poo in the city’s central park to ward off revellers who might have not have maintained social distancing at the alcohol-fuelled celebration. The BBC, CNN and CBS reported, while Giles Coren in The Times explored the initiative “pure, Swedish genius”.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts