this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america, or around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: a coronavirus warning — the leading american virus expert says case numbers in the us are going in the wrong direction. we are now having a0,000—plus new cases a day. i would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day. hong kong marks the 23rd anniversary of the former british territory reverting back to chinese sovereignty, as beijing imposes a tough new national security law. the new research which suggests the virus can lead to strokes and long—term brain damage. hi, my name is kaitlyn. i am nine years old, and i'm a figure skater. grace, poise, and a message of hope. the young skater capturing

the hearts of millions, on black lives matter plaza. hello and welcome. the democratic presidential candidate, joe biden, has made a scathing attack on donald trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. from his hometown of wilmington, delaware, mr biden said the president was in retreat, with more than 126,000 americans dead and infection rates surging in many states. the leading american expert on infectious diseases, dr anthony fauci, has warned that unless the country can bring the pandemic under control, the number of cases could more than double to 100,000 a day. here is our north america correspondent peter bowes.

a nation on edge again. the coronavirus outbreak is worse than ever. the southern and western states of florida, arizona, texas and california account for about half of all new cases. some hospitals are running out of intensive care beds, and experts are warning ofa beds, and experts are warning of a looming catastrophe if the outbreak isn't brought under control. testifying to a senate committee on the effort to reopen schools and businesses, the us government's leading expert on the virus, doctor anthony fauci, said he feared the situation could get a lot worse. we can'tjust the situation could get a lot worse. we can't just focus the situation could get a lot worse. we can'tjust focus on those areas that are having the surge. it puts the entire country at risk. we are now having 40,000 plus new cases a day. i would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around, and so this does not turn around, and soiam this does not turn around, and so i am very concerned. stepping up his campaign for the presidency, joe biden has

launched a blistering attack on donald trump's handling of the pandemic. he said covid—19 posed an ongoing threat to the health of the country, despite what he called the trump administration's propaganda that its response to the virus should be a cause for celebration. mr president, the crisis is real. the crisis is real, and it's surging, mr president. your promises and predictions and wishful thinking, pulled out of thin air, are not only doing the country no good, but making them lose even more faith in their government. america knows this crisis isn't behind us, evenif this crisis isn't behind us, even if you don't. they see what's happening, even if you refuse to, mr president. without responding directly to the former vice president, mr trump once again blamed china.

with no end in sight to the covid crisis, and a holiday weekend approaching, the worst effect that states are now renewing some lockdown measures. in texas, the closure of bars has provoked a backlash from some, but weary acceptance from some, but weary acceptance from others. it's not worth it to open, and that's the way what i —— way i see what the governor is doing. the benefit of opening outweighing the risk to the community? and no, it is not. it is obviously spreading in bars, so if we have got to spread it —— shut it down for the betterment of the community, that's what we got to do. right now we are the first guys to get shut down, the last to open, and they are not hearing us. and if we've got to scream it as loud as can be, we want to be heard. in california, the beaches have

been shut down again, and people urge to stay at home. there will be little to celebrate this independence day. texas, recently a leader among states peeling away restrictions designed to control the pandemic, is now seeing some of the biggestjumps in new cases. texas reported more than 6,000 on monday alone, and the state has seen a record number of hospitalisations for 13 days straight. to keep people off the streets of galena park, about 12 miles from houston, there is a curfew in effect from 10:00pm at night to 5:00am in the morning. the mayor of galena park, esmeralda moya, told us more about what she is doing to try to stem the numbers. the number of cases in houston are up to 47,421, with 630 deaths. just in our city of galena park, there has been 43 new cases since 1june. the current numbers here in our city since 30 june at 4:00pm are 66 confirmed.

we have averaged 7.6 cases a month in the first three months of this disease, and we are currently on pace to see almost six times that amount in a single month. every age group in the city has seen cases of this disease, from infants to 80 years of age and up. let's keep in mind that this disease continues to be an issue. hospitals are seeing a large amount of patients, and their capacity is filling up quickly. that's why i placed a curfew, because this is manageable. we're trying to keep the people out of the hospitals, and if people limit their interactions with people, we may be able to bring back some of the curve. the new mask order and the city curfews will help, but it will require time to work, and for the people to stay home. the next two weeks will be critical, and we can turn the numbers around.

we have to remember that this disease that is really spread in droplets, and when we have close contact, we need to remember to always, always wear a face mask, avoid large crowds and maintain good hygiene. we have to continue practising the social distance and stay home as much. so we're hoping the business curfew will take care of those issues. we have implemented a curfew in the past, and we've seen a steady pace in the number of cases, and i believe this will be helpful. hong kong's leader, carrie lam, has described the severe new security law imposed by china as the most important development since britain handed back the territory. at a ceremony marking the 23rd anniversary of the handover, she called the law a turning point from what she termed chaos to, as she put it, being governed well. western governments have condemned the move as an unprecedented assault on hong kong's liberties and autonomy.

beijing's new security laws are now a reality. many things seen until now as civil rights are now crimes punishable by life in prison. pro—democracy groups are dismayed, but china is insistent that its laws must be followed. john sudworth reports. this was the moment china tightened its grip on hong kong. the process itself spoke volumes. 162 votes in favour, none against, for a new law, the text of which was kept secret until after it was passed. this is what it is designed to stop. under the national security law, many of the acts of protest that have rocked hong kong over the past year could now be classed as subversion or secession, and punished with up to life in prison.

the legislation will not undermine... via video link to a un human rights council meeting, hong kong's pro—beijing leader said the law was long overdue. the question of how long we could tolerate such a gaping hole in national security has to be asked and answered. since lastjune, hong kong has been traumatised by escalating violence, fanned by external forces. when the uk handed over control of hong kong in 1997, china promised to safeguard the city's freedoms for 50 years. butjust 23 years on, the balance is shifting. a national security commission will be above the law. suspects can be extradited to the mainland. for beijing, a rising, wealthy superpower, this is all meant as a show of confidence.

it could, though, also be seen as the opposite. for a system built on denying people a voice, the resistance and dissent in that unruly city to the south presents a real threat. the impact has been immediate. activists like youth leader joshua wong have announced they are stepping back from politics. you've been arrested yourself... this protester‘s words are spoken by an actor. people will feel the fear. this will have a chilling effect on hong kong society. many people just stop talking about politics. with just a few hours before the law took effect, protesters in hong kong made their opposition known, a small, brave gesture in a city at risk of losing its voice. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. victoria hui is a china and hong kong analyst at the university of notre dame in indiana, as well as a hong kong native and author.

she says she is extremely disappointed at the events. it's really horrifying, because in one go, beijing has killed hong kong. now, we should always remember that in 1984, when china signed its british joint declaration with london, the mood in beijing at the time was to reassure notjust britain, but also hong kong people and the rest of the world that — you know, don't worry about china. don't worry that we're going to kill hong kong. everything will be fine. but today, essentially, while the law is named the national security law, it really is meant to serve for the regime. it's to make hong kong safe for the ccp. it is a regime security law. this is a big change. do you think there is anything — it is possible to do anything about it, really? is any pushback possible? well, people are going to push back. we know that a lot of the activists already announced

that they are going to continue with the annual 1 july protest, which they've been doing every year during the handover ceremony. and on the other hand, though, today in hong kong, when people do this, they are going to be subject to charges of subversion. and the definitions of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion in this law, they are very, very loose. early on, the report suggested that beijing explained that this is really going to try and stop any violence in these street protests, except that the law will cover notjust violence, but any activity. incitement, provision of service, provision of materials, provision of training and financial support — almost anything can be seen as a version of the regime. but of course, we have seen many high—profile protesters backing out of their public role just in the last few days, deleting posts, as well. and china is such a power in the world, isn't it,

economically and politically. the rest of the world's made very little difference to chinese policy in xinjiang or in tibet. can it really make much difference to hong kong? this is a very good question. china is — beijing doing this to hong kong because, given what it has done to xinjiang, with the "re—education camps," and also sending people to these forced labour facilities, and also total domination, repression of tibetans, the world so far, the international community, has only issued verbal condemnation and not taken any action. and so beijing was expecting that the world would continue to do this. i think that when borisjohnson said that we're going to give a path to hong kong people born before 1997, a path to citizenship, and also, the us has also revoked hong kong's special economic status, these actions really have taken by surprise beijing.

but they're still betting that, 0k, they‘ re basically all talk, no real actions. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: grace, poise, and a message of hope. the young american skater who has captured the hearts of millions of people on black lives matter plaza. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that was cloned in a laboratory using a cell from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit at the start of a new era of cooperation in space.

challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering a record that had stood for 34 years. and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: america's leading virus expert issues a stark warning that cases are going in the wrong direction, as infections soar in some us states. hong kong marks the 23rd anniversary of the former british territory reverting back to chinese sovereignty, as beijing imposes a tough new national security law. authorities in ecuador have started using artificial intelligence to track people in the capital city, quito. there has been a rise

in new coronavirus cases in parts of the city, which authorities hope to get under control. freya cole has more. it is like a game of trigonometry, measuring the distance between people, and if you are caught too close, authorities will be watching. the high—tech security software is being funded by the inter—american development bank. it's being used first in ecuador, where coronavirus has infected more than 55,000 people. translation: we think roughly 90% of citizens use a facemask but we don't know if they're beinig used correctly, and we can see out on the street that in many areas, social distancing is not practised. it's just not being done. lockdown measures have eased across ecuador but there are new outbreaks in parts of quito. translation: we're very concerned with the increase

in infections in some suburbs of the capital. in co—ordination with the authorities, there are to be restrictions in the historic centre. unfortunately, that's where there has been an increase. the world health organization says the virus is yet to peak across south america, and one of the biggest fears is widespread complacency. freya cole, bbc news. we're still at a very early stage of knowing what the long term effects may be on those who survive covid—19. a team of specialists based here in london believe it may be causing strokes and other severe neurological damage. medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. paul milray will never be able to go diving again, but he feels fortunate to be alive. covid—19 first attacked his lungs and then caused two massive strokes. the 64—year—old has made an astonishing recovery, which doctors put down

to his high level of fitness. i have four weeks of my life that is absent. i don't remember it. when i came round, i couldn't really get out of bed and i couldn't read anything, so i'm lucky in the physical terms. i've still got a bit of problem on the right—hand side, but it's minimal. i can read now, but it's tough. i forget what i've done. i've done something and then suddenly i forget what that is. so, paul, welcome to your cognitive rehab session. paul is not alone. in just two weeks, doctors at the national hospital for neurology in london treated six covid patients who suffered strokes, all triggered by unusually sticky blood. this is the area that has been affected by the stroke, this is the acute stroke...

after his first stroke, paul was put on blood thinners but despite that he suffered a second, even bigger stroke. to their surprise, doctors found clotting markers in the blood hundreds of times higher than normal. it's not the likes of anything we've seen before in stroke. certainly from a treatment perspective, certainly from the clotting factor perspective. i don't know if we exactly know, but something about this illness is causing a hyper clotability, causing clots in the legs, lungs and brain, like we've seen here. neurologists are also seeing covid patients with extensive inflammation of the brain, caused, they think, not by the virus but by the body's immune system overreacting to the disease. we were quite concerned that we are starting to see effects of covid on the brain that we haven't seen before. for some people, it's going to be a devastating, life—altering illness

and i think we need to be prepared for decades of impact on people's brains and mental health. there's so much yet we don't know about how coronavirus attacks the body, but it's clear the brain is vulnerable. paul's recovery is exceptional, others are not so fortunate. fergus walsh, bbc news. to russia now, where wednesday marks the final day in a week—long vote on changing the constitution. the document contains dozens of proposals, but the headline—grabber is the one which would let vladimir putin run for office again. that could leave him in the kremlin until 2036, should he want to try. his critics say it's just a blatant power grab. sarah rainsford reports. all week, russians have been voting on the biggest package of reforms to their constitution since the 1990s, and it's taking place in venues like this — not the most formal—looking setting for such an important vote. it's also taking place,

of course, in the midst of the covid—19 pandemic, so there are extra precautions. 0n the side of the tent here is an explanation of what people are actually voting on, some of the amendments, and the headings look pretty attractive — there's access to quality medicine for all, the defence of russia's territorial integrity, even environmental rights, but it all looks like fairly attractive wrapping for the key amendment here for the kremlin, article 81, this would allow president putin to run for office for two more terms. he could, in fact, stay in the kremlin until 2036 if he chooses. we've driven even deeper into the countryside now, and the vote here looks even more makeshift. 0pposition figures here have

dismissed it as a joke, some have even called it a constitutional coup, but it is taking place across the country at places like this. well, this tent was supposed to be here three more hours, but we've just been told the election officials are taking the ballot box and they're going around the houses instead. the kremlin seems to have been in a rush with this vote from the very start. that could be because vladimir putin's approval rating, although still high, has begun to slide and this coronavirus crisis isn't going to make anything easier. so if this vote is about extending his time in power, what do people here actually think about that?

one of the odd things about this process is that russia's new constitution is already printed and on sale in all the bookshops here. now, in theory, the result of a popular vote could see this entire project scrapped but the fact it's already in print suggests the authorities here are pretty confident. the area outside the white house in washington has been the scene of sometimes violent clashes recently but 9—year—old skater kaitlyn saunders saw something different. for her, the road surface known as black lives matter plaza became a place to perform. she and her mother have been telling us about her inspiration. my parents were talking to me about the black lives matter protests, and i decided i wanted to do something.

hi, my name is kaitlyn, i'm nine years old, and i'm a figure skater. i was in awe watching her skate across black lives matter plaza. i wasn't sure as a parent how much she really understood about what was going on in the world. we had talked to her about some of the things, but to see her think about how she was feeling and express yourself in that way, and put those into her skating was incredible. there's some messages that are coming in, saying that people are watching it before they start their day, before they get up — just to have hope for the day. so it's inspiring to us, just the outpouring. well, there are thousands of thousands of comments, and they really make me smile. we went through it a few times and itjust got more powerful each time. and i think that the words "black lives matter"

being written on the street while she was performing was definitely a game—changer. i asked her afterwards if the words were not there, would she have skated the same way? and she says she doesn't think she would have, because the words gave her the freedom and the power to kind of go all out. and the idea that people had been down there protesting, and the thought that she could have a voice in that was really powerful. a reminder of our main story, anthony foundry, the leading expert on coronavirus, has warned coronavirus cases in the us could double to 100,000 a day if lockdowns are not contained —— anthony foundry. 16 southern and western states have been urged to pause their

opening plans —— anthony found she. hello there. the rest of this week is looking fairly unsettled with pressure always a little bit lower. that'll bring showers through today, and also thursday, and on friday, we'll see another area of low pressure bringing some wet and windy weather to many of us. now, this is the weak area of low pressure i was talking about. across the country today, it's a weather front bringing more persistent rain to start the day across parts of central southern scotland, northern ireland and the far north of england. this tending to break up into showers, which could turn out to be heavy into the afternoon. england and wales may see the sunshine breaking through that cloud — all that'll do is set off some heavy, maybe thundery showers. temperatures reaching the high teens, low 20s in the south, but a chilly feel to things across northern and eastern scotland and northeast england with a northerly wind here, so, temperatures at best around

the mid—teens celsius. looks like the showers will tend to merge together to create longer spells of rain across southern scotland, northern england, the midlands, and northern wales during wednesday night. it'll be milder in the south, further north with some clear spells with single figure values. again, it'll be chilly where we have our northerly wind. 0n into thursday, this weather front continuing to bring further showers particularly towards england and wales, but a brief ridge of high pressure will be trying to nose into scotland and northern ireland. so, here through the day, it should turn drier with light winds and sunshine. so a better day here, but for england and wales, again the threat of heavy, it may be thundery showers developing through the midlands into east wales, and across into the south—east. temperatures reaching again the low 20s in the south with sunshine, a little bit better further north—west, but still chilly near those north—east coasts. as we head on into friday, here it is, the next area of low pressure starts to push in off the atlantic. lots of isobars on the charts, so it'll turn windier initially across the west, then spreading its way eastwards through the day. the rain will be persistent — northern ireland, especially western scotland, into the cumbrian fells, perhaps north—west wales.

but i think central and eastern areas should tend to stay dry with variable amounts of cloud and some sunshine. so here again, 20—21 celsius, mid—to—high teens further north. into the weekend, it remains unsettled with the pressure always lower, so it'll be quite windy at times and there will be rain around, particularly across the north and the west of the country. here, it will be windier and wetter, whereas further south and east you are, especially on sunday, it could be a bit brighter and feel a little bit warmer.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the leading american expert on infectious diseases, dr anthony fauci, has warned that coronavirus cases in the us could double to a—hundred— thousand a day if lockdowns are not maintained. the surge has forced at least 16 mainly southern and western states to pause or reverse reopening plans. hong kong has marked the 23rd anniversary of the former british territory reverting back to chinese sovereignty — as bejing's new security law comes into force. many things seen until now as civil rights, including pro—democracy protests — can now be deemed subversion, terrorism or secession — punishable by life in prison. president trump is denying reports from many sources that he or his close advisers were briefed on intelligence suggesting russia covertly offered taliban militants money to kill us troops in afghanistan last year. the white house says there's no consensus in the intelligence