this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm david eades. after hundreds of arrests in hong kong, in protests against china's new security laws, up to 3 million residents could be granted new rights to live and work in the uk. just a political hoax — president trump dismisses the taliban paying russia to deal troops. i think it's a hoax by the newspapers and the democrats. putin poised to keep power — for a very long time. 90% of voters are reported to

have approved a constitution which could keep the president in powerfor at which could keep the president in power for at least another decade. a symbol of secular turkey, but for how much longer? millions of muslims say they want hagia sophia to be returned for its original use as a mask —— mosque. and the amazon's deforestation rate higher this year than last year. hello. if anyone in hong kong was wondering what china's new national security law would mean, they didn't have long to wait. protesters took to the streets on the first day of it coming into force, and hundreds of arrests soon followed. tens of those arrests were under the new legislation, which could allow for

punishments of life imprisonment. john sudworth reports. 23 years after china took control of hong kong, it was an anniversary marked with tear gas and arrests. familiar scenes, but the stakes for protesters are now so much higher, with the new national security law in force. for hong kong's pro—beijing leaders, though, this was a day to celebrate, with a flag—raising ceremony and a champagne toast with chinese officers. for beijing, this is all about sovereignty, with china denying that the new law breaches its promise to britain to uphold hong kong's freedoms. but the uk government clearly disagrees, and it is now pushing ahead with its plan to offer up to 3 million hong kongers eligible for british national overseas passports, or bnos, a route to citizenship. we will grant bnos five years' limited leave to remain,

with a right to work or study. after these five years, they'll be able to apply for settled status. and, after a further 12 months with settled status, they will be able to apply for citizenship. senior chinese officials, though, had already made it clear they've no time for what they see as foreign meddling. translation: we are making a law concerning a region of china to safeguard its national security. it's none of your business. hong kong's protesters, though, are certain that something fundamental is being lost. i'm angry at the disrespect for human rights that this national security legislation brings. i think, very obviously, the purpose of the law is to change hong kong from

rule of law to rule of fear. this photo shows the first man arrested for advocating independence from china. and new police banners were on display, warning that such slogans could constitute secession or subversion — new offences punishable with up to life in prison. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. of course there is international response to events there. in response, the us house of representatives has unanimously approved legislation seeking tough sanctions against chinese and hong kong officials involved in human rights abuses — the so—called hong kong autonomy act. house speaker nancy pelosi said the new security law signalled the death of the one country, two systems principle. when beijing announced its intention to pass the so—called national security law, so—called, we were concerned. it was frightening.

it is nothing short of an all—out effort to negate the rights of the people of hong kong, in violation of the agreements made under the one country, two systems. we were concerned of what it might be, and it exceeds even those horrors. the law is a brutal, sweeping crackdown against the people of hong kong, intended to destroy the freedoms they were promised. that is nancy pelosi there. we will stay with the us for the moment. president trump has claimed he was never told by the us secret services about intelligence reports that russia paid afghan taliban militants to kill american soldiers. how that intelligence was conveyed has been highly contentious. let's speak to the bbc‘s north america correspondent, david willis. this story has been doing the

rounds very few days, david, but it seems to be moving from that real, core shock, topline armour to one of political intrigue about what the president really new. absolutely. what did he know, and when? the white house continues to insist that that piece of intelligence information was unverified then and is unverified now. this is about bounties being placed on us soldiers by russia. indeed, the president himself has made the president himself has made the point, as you said, that this is all a hoax. but why didn't he know if it was contained in the written briefing? not the oral briefing that was given to him by the caa, but the written briefing -- cia, but caa, but the written briefing —— cia, but the written briefing presented to the president of the united states ever since the days of harry truman. despite rumours to the contrary, the white house press

spokesperson said the president doesn't read his classified written briefing every day and —— does, and this is what president trump himself had to say about the matter. we never heard about it, because intelligence never found it to be of that level where it would rise to that... when you bring something in to a president, and i see many, many things, and i'm sure i don't see many things that they don't think rose to the occasion — this didn't rise to the occasion. and from what i hear, and i hear it pretty good, the intelligence people didn't even — many of them didn't believe it happened at all. i think it's a hoax. i think it's a hoax by the newspapers and the democrats. well, you would expect, david, that the democrats would seize on this. there is potentially huge political capital. what is the republican view, though, of these goings—on? the republican view, though, of these goings-on? a lot of them

are very concerned , these goings-on? a lot of them are very concerned, david, because it doesn't look particularly good either way. did you not know about this or did he know about it and ignoring it? as you can imagine, the presumptive democratic presidential rival has been having a field day with all of this, joe biden, he accused the president of dereliction of duty and said when he was vice president both he and barack obama read the written classified briefing from cover to cover. the white house press spokeswoman was asked today if options were being prepared for the president regarding retaliation if this piece of intelligence proved true. she didn't want to get ahead of information she said was unverified. house speaker nancy pelosi is already calling for us sanctions on russia because of all of this, david. david, thank you very

much for that indeed. david willis joining much for that indeed. david willisjoining us there. staying on issuesjoining president trump for a moment, a new york court has lifted a restraining order on a book published by his knees. this is according to the new york times and associated press. it seems to enable the publisher to carry on printing and distributing the insider account by mary trump. the restraining order on her seems to be in place and that opens her possibly to being sued for breach of a nondisclosure agreement. that familiar chant, four more years when presidents win their elections, well, how about extending more years? —— extend —— 16 more years?

preliminary results suggest that voters will overwhelmingly approve vladimir putin's move to change the russian constitution — which would allow him potentially to stay in the kremlin until 2036. first returns suggest his referendum has won a three—to—one majority backing. but his rivals say it's just a blatant power grab. our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg has the story: in russian polling stations right now, rule number one — put on face masks and gloves. rule number two — if you're vladimir putin, ignore rule number one. the president called this vote to change russia's constitution, to make the country stronger, he says. to protect russia's history and its heroes. to guard its natural resources. to keep the animals happy. but critics say the smiles are a smokescreen for the kremlin‘s main objective. putin himself, and his people, they pretend that the major change is about this, about strengthening russia. but the main purpose is to allow mr putin to stay and to occupy the position as a president forever. two terms — it means forever. for the barabanov family,

that's a worrying prospect. in a polling station that looks more like a clinic, they voted no to the new constitution, but with little hope of winning. after all, campaigning against the amendments had been banned. and the vote itself lacks independent observers. russia is going the wrong direction. this direction is to dictatorship. i think it's a sad day. there will be less political freedom. that's very bad for us. i think, for putin, he's not acting in our best interests, and he needs to step down. critics of the vote say that what is happening here is nothing more than a show, and here's one example. even before polling began, copies of the new constitution

were printed and published and available in the shops. it says here on the cover, "valid when the official results are announced." in other words, what that result was going to be was never in doubt. some russians believe that putin forever is a good thing. when an experienced politician is staying in power, especially in a country as difficult as russia, i think it doesn't hurt if he is supported by the people, and that is exactly the case. the president said he would never change the constitution to stay in power. well, never say never. so you could see more of this, only next time, it'll be the new constitution. to bring you up—to—date with the situation regarding coronavirus as well of course, new infections reported in the

us have exceeded 50,000 for the first time. california alone recorded nearly 10,000 in the last 24—hour period. the governor of california, gavin newsom, has reintroduce large parts of coronavirus lockdowns, which were being lifted. cinemas, bars, restaurants, all closed for at least three weeks. the number of people who have died from coronavirus in mexico has reached more than 28 one—half thousand, its death toll is now higher than spain's -- 28,500. the judith toll is now higher than spain's —— 28,500. thejudith daley is likely to be significantly higher than the confirmed cases —— the true total. mr clarke from the new zealand government said his presence in his role as health minister was distracting from the new

zealand government's performance of its plans. we go to the world's smallest pub as it prepares to reopen after lockdown. 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 3h years. and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: police in hong kong have made several arrests under china's new national security laws, on the first day they came into force. president trump dismisses reports that the taliban killed american troops. he says it is a hoax. a turkish court will be ruling on whether to convert the mask

ina building on whether to convert the mask in a building that through the heart and i buy than tyne and 0ttoman empires. 0ur international correspondent said of this an architectural wonder that has enjoyed through the ages. hagia sophia outlasted the ottoman era and since 1935 it's been a museum, a symbol of secular turkey but for how much longer? step inside as so many tourists have, beneath the soaring golden dome and see mosaics of the virgin mary alongside islamic calligraphy. after 900 yea rs islamic calligraphy. after 900 years as islamic calligraphy. after 900 yea rs as a islamic calligraphy. after 900 years as a cathedral, it was conquered by the ottomans and converted to a mosque. the turkish president has been vowing to conquer it anew.

translation: they changed hagia sophia from a mosque to a museum a while ago, said recep tayyip erdogan. god willing, we will change it back! some can hardly bear to wait. this islamic grassroots organisation has been praying outside once a year. its leader told us hagia sophia should be back in muslim hands. translation: i want this place to bea translation: i want this place to be a mosque. all muslims wanted. look at the structure. ask anyone in the world what does it look like to you? there is only one answer. this is a mosque. that is not how christian leaders see it. at

the church of the 12 apostles, in istanbul this week, a gathering of greek orthodox. the faithful came to market a feast day and hear a warning from patriarch bartholomew, who leads the orthodox church worldwide. he says hagia sophia belonged not just to worldwide. he says hagia sophia belonged notjust to turkey, but to humanity. the conversion of hagia sophia into a mosque will disappoint millions of christians around the world. more so at a time when the afflicted and suffered mankind during the deadly pandemic of the coronavirus is in need of unity and common orientation. this is a towering monument to faith but critics say what is happening here is about far more than religion. they say

the president recep tayyip erdogan is using it to bolster support and say it makes a great distraction from the damaged on to the economy covid—19. and instructions do not come much bigger than this. the us opposes any move to convert hagia sophia from a museum to a mosque. it says this remarkable building should remain asa this remarkable building should remain as a much—needed bridge between different faiths. let's get some of the day's other news: at least 2a people have been killed in a drugs rehabilitation centre in mexico ina rehabilitation centre in mexico in a central state. it is one of the most serious attacks since the president took officers some 19 months ago. he pledged to reduce the record levels of violence. killings

are ata levels of violence. killings are at a record high. police have arrested dozens of people in sell out all as they cleared an area taken over by protesters —— seattle. the town there ordered the move and the protest began in seattle in response to the death of george floyd in minneapolis, in may. at least 350 elephants have died in botswana, but why is still a mystery. you may find some of the images coming up, pretty upsetting. you have been warned. the cluster of deaths was first reported in early may this year, in the north of botswana, around the 0kavango delta. by mid june, the number had more than doubled. scientists have described this incident as "completely unprecedented" and a disaster for africa's declining elephant population. botswana's government has ruled out poaching, noting the tusks were not removed.

the two most likely causes are poison of some form either laid by people or something that is occurring naturally, such as anthrax which is in the soil. or a disease, a pathogen. either is very concerning, but from a conservation perspective and a public health perspective as there are significant populations of people living nearby. in a time of covid—19 were everyone is focused on the fact that diseases can pass from animals and people and can have catastrophic consequences for the global economy, but the conservation situation it is quite complicated and the current administration have gone to great lengths to try and demonstrate to rural people in botswana that they do not put the lives of elephants before the lives of people. they're trying to encourage people to think that the government is looking after them and not solely focusing on wildlife. the problem with that, for me, is that this is not necessarily a wildlife situation, this is potentially a public health situation and catastrophic for the economy as well.

that was a doctor from the national park rescue. the number of fires in brazil's amazon rainforest has hit a 13—year high for the month ofjune, according to new government data. deforestation levels are also higher this year. conservationists are gravely concerned about the ecosystem, as freya cole reports. the slow and destructive burn. the amazon rainforest is riddled with fires, an ecological disaster, eclipsed by the coronavirus pandemic. brazil has now reported 60,000 deaths linked to covid—19 and at the same time is witnessing widespread loss of one of the world's most important ecosystems. translation: deforestation in 2020 will be larger than it was in 2019. according to data from brazil's

government funded space agency the impe, there were 22118 fires in the amazon thisjune. that is a 20% rise compared to the same time last year. and, for the first five months of 2020, deforestation is up 34%. translation: the clearing of land already represents a serious health problem. if we have land clearing and covid—19 together, this could bring catastrophic consequences for the residents of the region. the dry season will soon be upon the amazon. fires will increase. this smoke will get worse. it heightens the threat to some of brazil's poorest communities whose livelihoods rely on the health of the rainforest. freya cole, bbc news. this weekend, pubs in england

are reopening since mid—march. social distancing rules are a challenge for all venues but what about the smallest of them all? pubs will be open again this weekend when it comes to social distancing, this one in cleethorpes was always onto a loser. welcome to the signal box in, the world smallest pub the planet! would you like a guided tour? not seen you before? excellent! here is the entrance and the exit. he was next? measuringjust entrance and the exit. he was next? measuring just 2.4 metres squared, this pub has been the home of a cosy behind for 16 yea rs home of a cosy behind for 16 years and because of its size it presents all sorts of problems. sorry, joe! but this tight space is something they are already used to hear. just checking the distance. yes, thatis checking the distance. yes, that is two metres. how many drinkers can you fit in here? co mforta ble drinkers can you fit in here? comfortable six. when it is really foul weather outside, 14

and there always seems to be a dog. the most was cleethorpes by dog. the most was cleethorpes rugby team and there were 33 in here and they all had a drink. they were everywhere! stacked on top of each other, right the way up, on top of the bar, on the seat, on the floor and it was literally arms and legs all over! the pub which in its previous life trains running the school for, is part of the light railway and volunteers are now back at work preparing for its reopening on saturday. it will now include much larger beer garden. i cannot wait, i cannot wait to get the doors open and get the first people writing on the trains. it's a warming feeling you get inside your heart and we love the pub, is such a great addition to the railway and it's so unique and special. when the distancing rules change, one metre plus will be just enough to allow

alan and another staff member to work together and serve drinks here. ok, folks, almost seven o'clock, and today, it's time for orders! head for the beer garden, that is my advice! hello. 0ur weather is set to serve up some pretty mixed fare in the days ahead. the general theme is that things are unsettled and there will be spells of rain affecting all areas at some stage and it will be pretty windy and our temperatures are looking distinctly lacklustre. if anything, perhaps thursday, one of the quieter days of the three or four ahead. this is the area of low pressure that will come barrelling in on friday. thursday, we have a couple of weather fronts working their way south across the uk. cloud and rain to start the day in southern scotland, northern ireland. drifting into northern england. through the afternoon we then start to see the front breaking

up and the rain turning increasingly into showers. a little bit of warmth in the atmosphere, those showers can really get going through the afternoon across the midlands and eastern england and some heavy and thundery downpours to come. not all areas seeing them, but pretty punchy where they do break out. here are thursday's top temperatures. 12 across northern scotland despite more in the way of sunshine here. in the south, we could get up to 20 degrees but the temperatures of course will plummet if you get caught in a heavy shower. thursday evening, we will see many of those showers dying away, any stray showers from scotland clearing as well but then we look to the west into the early hours of friday for that big area of low pressure starting to show its hand, rain by the end of the night into south—west scotland and northern ireland. 0vernight lows, about 11 to 14 just about covering it. wind strengthening already first thing on friday. it will be a windy day across the board. a set of weather fronts will mean some fairly persistent rain across the northern half of the uk, just a chance the south—east of england may stay dry throughout despite building cloud here.

some of this rain for wales, northern england and northern ireland and scotland is going to be heavy and it will get significant totals by the time the day is out. top temperatures, typically in the mid to high teens. feeling cooler in the rain. 21 with a bit of brightness in the south—east. and here is the weekend. low pressure still doing its business sending a series of weather fronts our way. the positioning of those at the moment is quite difficult to pin down but a rough rule of thumb at the moment, it looks like like the wettest of the weather on saturday will be across the southern half of the uk and shifting further north for sunday. it stays unsettled and rather cool even on into next week.

hello, this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. fired — and now hired. us employers took on an estimated 3 million staff in june. but with infections on the rise again, can america's economic recovery last? plus, holiday hold—up. travel bookings surge across europe, still no official word, though, from the uk government on easing quarantine restrictions.

hello, thanks for joining hello, thanks forjoining us. we start in the us, where despite growing concerns about a resurgence of virus infections in many parts of the country, we are expecting more evidence the economic recovery is continuing. 0fficialjobs figures are set to confirm another surge in hiring last month, as america's employers emerged out of lockdown. let's show you the kind of numbers we are expecting here. according to economists polled by reuters, employers probably adding another 3 million people to their payrolls injune. that's on top of the 2.5 million they took on in may. that would take the us jobless rate down to 12.3% from 13.3% in may — still an eye—watering figure. it would also mean more than a quarter of the 20 million who lost theirjobs in march and april are now back in work.

for all the others, though, it's a daily struggle, particularly to pay the rent. samira hussain reports from new york. when the pandemic hit, deborah metts canvassed her neighbours, marshalled a tenant association and started a rent strike. hello! she wanted to help her neighbours facing financial hardship because of coronavirus. in the middle of organising, deborah lost her job and became one of those needing help stop you could evict everybody, there is no money right now. even from the best people. lisa macauley joined the rent strike, although she is still fortunate enough to have herjob and afford to pay, this mother of two teenage boys believes it is important to support her neighbours. it's bound to make more of an impact than just the few people who are financially struggling who cannot pay, who

face eviction, it's really about us coming together to support each other to see our neighbours are not displaced. this problem is not unique to new york city, it is happening all across the country. people have lost theirjobs, they can't keep up with all of their bills and are unable to pay the rent. local governments have stepped in to help protect renters from losing their homes during the pandemic, but a lot of those eviction moratoriums have expired, leaving renters worried about what comes next. but renters are only part of the equation. joanna wong is a landlord in brooklyn. she has been working to accommodate her attendance affected by covid—19, but she still has bills to pay, too. we still have real estate taxes, insurance, water, sewerage, we have to maintain the buildings, all of our expenses up to much vexed and they are still due on the same schedule. —— fixed. while the cause of the economic

colla pse while the cause of the economic collapse in 2008 was different, without some kind of government intervention, the impact this time could be the same. until such aid is made available, it will be up to individuals like lisa and her neighbours to fight for what they need. samira hussain, bbc news, new york. a bit ofa a bit of a reality check for so many people there. chris beauchamp is chief market analyst at ig. if we start on the number of jobs being created injune and what that says about the flexibility of yes, the workforce, but also the american system? yes, it is incredible to see 3 million jobs created, that will be the best number ever. last month was the best number ever instilled today, if we do get on top of that 2.5 million. that shows great strength in the us economy and partially in the us economy and partially in the uk as well, we have seen these big drops in employment but also big increases. it's a

sign that you can see a great economic bounce back if the demand is there. certainly what we're seeing for the time being as you out, there was a bit of a dent in the unemployment figure, which remains at a record high level. that is unlikely to come down for quite some time. so it's both good news and bad news, really, with these numbers coming through today. and with the bad news, it is a, whether it is a second wave or further lockdowns, which is happening across the united states at the moment, and, b, so many of thejobs that have gone are simply not going to come back? this is the point i think made earlier in the week by borisjohnson about the week by borisjohnson about the fact that the uk and other countries will have two fine jobs for these people. —— have to find, there have beenjob losses and it will take quite some time for these people to find newjobs. how governments are and central banks provide

physical support in place, we know this furlough scheme is supposed to last until the end ofjuly, that is going to be a major issue. do governments continue to spend huge amounts of money to keep people provided with funds in that time while they are still searching for newjobs? because we know, yes, a lot of them won't be coming back. you made the point there about the furlough scheme, it's great in the short term, isn't it, but the short term, isn't it, but the longer it goes on the more unsustainable it becomes and perhaps the more that american model looks like a better bet, possibly? well. i think the risk is of course if you don't do enough to save the economy and save people's incomes, there won't be an economy to go back to. there's a big realisation from governments over the year that you have to do something on a grand scale to really cushion this huge blow they were facing. but if you take that support away too soon you you take that support away too soon you will simply be delaying the crisis for a few months and it will be a major

problem for everyone. do you continue borrowing his huge amounts of money to provide the support schemes, or do you run the risk of creating a much worse economic crisis we have seen worse economic crisis we have seen already if you cut back on that support and leave people without that income. if people don't spend money, then things will get worse and worse and i think that is a major risk heading into the rest of this year in 2021. and we talked about flex ability of the workforce at the start. the flexibility of a government to adjust policy is critical. when frankly, we don't know where we are going. no, we are in entirely uncharted territory. i think there has been a realisation for everybody that this crisis is very much only in the beginning and it is going to take a lot longer for things to be worked out and things to be worked out and things to be worked out and things to get better or back to anywhere like where they were injanuary and february of this year, which essentially means we're going to live in a world of major government support for the economy for a long time to

come. yes, it that way. chris, great to see you. chris beauchampjoining great to see you. chris beauchamp joining us there. beauchampjoining us there. —— yes, it seems that way. the us house of representatives has unanimously passed legislation that would penalize banks doing business with chinese officials who implement the new national security law in hong kong. the us senate passed similar legislation last week — but it's not clear whether it will get the support of president trump or face the veto he might wield. what will it mean for us china relations? mariko 0i and our asia business team have been looking at this in singapore. that is a big veto. and if it does go ahead beijing won't be happy. the us and china have been locked in the trade war, and that has been ongoing for a couple of years now. and with theissue couple of years now. and with the issue of hong kong in particular, the us has already started eliminating the city's special status. so holding defence exports as well as

restricting the city's access to high—technology products. now hong kong is practically treated like any other chinese city by washington. the two countries have also been imposing these restrictions on each other so i think it's tensions will escalate. the uk, as we have been reporting, is offering up to 3 million hong kong residents the chance to apply for citizenship, although it is worth noting many of the protesters are under the age of 20, they don't qualify. dominic raab, renewed his criticism of hsbc, which threw its weight behind the law a couple of weeks ago. businesses are of course in a very tricky position now that this law comes into effect, because it applies to them not only for local employees but also foreigners. when cathay pacific said last year is employees have the right to protest, that

boss was removed. so, an enormous amount of pressure on how to navigate that situation, and that may explain why we haven't really heard from many businesses operating in hong kong, reacting to this law. no. you have to wonder what you are going to say, thank you, mariko oi. ok, 0k, we're intojuly, into the holiday season. industry bosses are demanding clarity from the uk government over plans to lift quarantine restrictions. currently, most people arriving into the uk have to self—isolate for two weeks. that's at the moment. last weekend, the government said it would relax the rules for countries seen as low—risk, but there has been no official announcement yet. meanwhile, travel bookings have been surging, as the boss of europe's biggest airline rya nair confirmed on wednesday. a very strong uptake in bookings over the last few weeks leading up to today's mmp weeks leading up to today's ramp up, today we are running 1000 flights about. about

500,000 passengers will fly with us today, it will be a good start, 40% of importantly, it paves the way for us to grow to about 60% of normal august capacity and beyond. 0livier ponti is from the travel data research company forwardkeys. he's in valencia, in spain. it's very good to see you there. i was amazed, actually, how many flights were still taking place over the course of june. but it's a massive drop off from where it needs to be. what are the prospects? well, indeed there has been a massive drop in the number of seats available for consumers in the past few months. from july onwards, things start to look better. we are seeing a

progressive increase in capacity, but it's clear airlines need time to adjust to the changing situation. clarity is what airlines and consumers need to get people flying again. so, from the data, looking at where people are going, does it come down simply to that? the ones that are very clear, the green light to say come in, they are getting visitors, and if they cannot offer a very clear green light, they are not coming in? we can clearly see a link between the... clarity of government communication and people booking. the three countries that were communicating early on reopening, which were greece, spain and portugal, started communicating on their reopening at the end of may.

and immediately, we saw a surge in bookings to these destinations. at the same time, the uk was implementing new travel restrictions, putting quarantines in place, which basically translated into a flat line when it came to new bookings. so, in the first 2—3 weeks ofjune, we could see a clear differential building up between destinations that were ready to reopen for business, and destinations that could not communicate on a reopening date. right. thought quite telling to see that when looking at the top ten of most booked destinations in europe, injune, london, which is typically number one in the ranking, dropped to the 10th place and lisbon, which usually

is at the bottom of these rankings is now in first position. right, well lisbon has had a bit of a setback as well in the last few weeks, so that might affect it. in terms of the traveller, 0livier, is health a top priority, or is it frankly sunshine, each resort? what are they basing their decisions on? —— beach resort. people need to feel safe when they travel, they need to be assured their flight will depart as well, but it will not be cancelled at the last moment. they need the money to travel. at the moment, they still have it, we don't know how long that will last, but there is still enough disposable income for travel. so, the conditions need to be right. they need planes to get them to their destinations, they need money in their pockets, they need to have this feeling that they will be safe when at the destination. 0nce

this is in order, it's clear that there is a strong desire to travel. we have seen people searching for flights during the quarantine period, during confinement periods in many european source markets. people, when at home, werejust very, very often looking for destinations that they could perhaps visit. they are. so there is strong, pent up demand. olivier, thank you. 0livier ponti in the lovely city of valencia. let's get some of the day's other news: tesla has become the world's most valuable car maker, overtaking japan's toyota for the first time after its stock hit a record high. its stock market value hit almost $210 billion during wednesday trade. and that's despite toyota selling around 30 times more

cars last year and making revenues about ten times higher than tesla's. if you want to keep up with the main business issues, we have it all on the website and we have a feature for example on the problems the pandemic is causing for government tax credit schemes. go to this website. you can also download the bbc news app, of course. schools in england are expected to be told to overhaul the curriculum, stagger break times and group children into ‘bubbles' when they return to the classroom in september, according to guidelines set to be published by the government today. education secretary gavin williamson is due to announce the plans for getting all pupils back after the summer following up to six months at home and there will be a special press conference with questions from the public.

the welsh government will announce today that pubs, cafes a nd restau ra nts will be allowed to re—open however, only licensed outdoor areas can be used. the welsh government says it will consider the use of indoor spaces at a later date. sir paul mccartney, sir rod stewart, annie lennox and other big names in the music industry have signed an open letter appealing for government support to avoid mass insolvencies. their demands include an extension to the furlough scheme for those working in the industry and the removal of vat from tickets when gigs can take place again. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: police in hong kong have made several arrests under china's new national security laws, on the first day they came into force. president trump dismisses reports that russia paid the taliban to kill american troops as just a hoax.

officials in regions in the uk with high infection rates for coronavirus have said they are working hard not to follow leicester into lockdown. officials in manchester, bradford and barnsley say they don't expect to bring in new restrictions. leicester is the first city to experience a local lockdown after a recent surge in cases. local health officials are urging people to visit newly set up testing stations if they have symptoms, as our correspondent sian lloyd reports. life in leicester under lockdown. there were fewer people to be seen in the city centre today, but everyday life continues for those shops and businesses not forced to close. the message here is stay home unless travel is essential, if the virus is going to be controlled. it comes down to whether the public will behave themselves. the vast majority have done a fantasticjob.

they've done everything that was asked. but a small minority didn't, and that's why we're getting it. i kind of want to see more kind of enforcement presence. i want to see the police out asking people why they're out. a little bit more clarity would be nice. a bit confusing. they're looking for answers in this community, too. in thurnby, one side of the street falls within the new local lockdown rules, the other sits outside. and life here has suddenly become more complicated. do you know what, we actually don't understand anything about it because we're confused, our customers are confused, but they said apparently the boundary sort of stands here and we're out of the boundary, but what our customers do? claire crosses the invisible red line for essentials, but her friends are now out of bounds. they live on that side, i live on this side so, unless i'm going to the shop to get essentials, i can't leave. crisp—maker walkers today

confirmed 28 staff have tested positive for the virus. it said the cases reflected transmission in the community and there is no issue on—site. affected staff are self—isolating on full pay. the company believes the rise coincides with the uptake of testing in the city. public health officials say widespread testing is key to containing this virus. i want to encourage people, if they have got symptoms, to make sure they are tested, because if they have symptoms they really shouldn't go to work. if they are positive, they then need to self—isolate and their family members also need to self—isolate. that is the way we're going to get on top of this infection. and that's something this city desperately wants. the question is how long it will take to get there. sian lloyd, bbc news, leicester. now, despite an easing of lockdown restrictions in a number of african countries, it appears that cases of covid—19 are on the rise. in south africa, the epicentre has shifted from the cape coastal region to the province of gauteng, the country's

economic hub. the bbc‘s southern africa correspondent, nomsa maseko, explains what's behind the dramatic rise in cases. in south africa, the number of covid—19 cases continues to rise. according to the health minister, the country is heading towards the eye of the coronavirus storm. south africa has recorded 151, 209 cases and 2056 deaths. the last 24 hours, nearly 7000 new cases and 128 fatalities are recorded. until now, the western cape province, cape town and the winelands has been the epicentre of the outbreak here, but that is beginning to change. the areas that includes pretoria and johannesburg where i am now is

fast becoming the biggest hotspot, recording more covid—19 cases a day then the western cape has at any point. since the medium ofjune, numbers have skyrocketed. as you can see, the red line is getting steeper and steeper. 0ver getting steeper and steeper. over 2000 healthcare workers in the local hospital have already contracted the virus, more than any other province, so what are the factors behind the search? easing the lockdown has meant more people can move around and conduct business. i call major cities, there is a lot of migration, people coming from other areas. the metros are heavily populated and there are claims that many people are simply ignoring social distancing guidelines. now we see people making, organising parties. we see people organising informal gatherings and that is something we discourage totally. so far, the gauteng death toll has remained low but a long less of

hospitals are full and they are not admitting any new patients. —— sucha not admitting any new patients. —— such a long list. why is this a big deal? the provinces at country ‘s economic hub. the businesses are forced to close down again, the knock—on effect of the economy will be severe. there is an 30% unemployment rate. so what is being done to do with the spike and slow down the spread? hospital wards are being repurposed and more nurses are being hired. meanwhile, the message in gauteng is to comply with regulations and stay home, where possible. the current coronavirus wave is expected to peak in august. nomsa maseko, bbc news. archaeologists in australia have discovered two settlements under water, scientists say they include hundreds of tools and grinding stones made by the indigenous population at least 7000 years ago. the site off the coast of western australia we re the coast of western australia were flooded after the last ice

age. white nasa has released ice age —— footage of the sun, capturing over 10 million images capturing the sun layer since february 2010. that is an extraordinary image! it ca ptu res extraordinary image! it captures the rise and fall in solar activity eruptions and the transit of mercury and venus across the face of the star. and here are some amazing images and here is another. this ancient spa treatment seems to work on these rare rhino injibe are, the rare mail was spotted injava and you never see this, and it has created joy for the park rangers and indeed for this one rhino! the police! —— the

bliss! more soon on bbc news. hello. 0ur weather is set to serve up some pretty mixed fare in the days ahead. the general theme is that things are unsettled and there will be spells of rain affecting all areas at some stage and it will be pretty windy and our temperatures are looking distinctly lacklustre. if anything, perhaps thursday, one of the quieter days of the three or four ahead. this is the area of low pressure that will come barreling in on friday. thursday, we have a couple of weather fronts working their way south across the uk. cloud and rain to start the day in southern scotland, northern ireland. drifting into northern england. through the afternoon we then start to see the front breaking up and the rain turning increasingly into showers. a little bit of warmth in the atmosphere, those showers can really get going through the afternoon

across the midlands and eastern england and some heavy and thundery downpours to come. not all areas seeing them, but pretty punchy where they do break out. here are thursday's top temperatures. 12 across northern scotland despite more in the way of sunshine here. in the south, we could get up to 20 degrees but the temperatures of course will plummet if you get caught in a heavy shower. thursday evening, we will see many of those showers dying away, any stray showers from scotland clearing as well but then we look to the west into the early hours of friday for that big area of low pressure starting to show its hand, rain by the end of the night into southwest scotland and northern ireland. 0vernight lows, about 11 to 14 just about covering it. wind strengthening already first thing on friday. it will be a windy day across the board. a set of weather fronts will mean some fairly persistent rain across the northern half of the uk, just a chance the southeast of england may stay dry throughout despite building cloud here. some of this rain for wales, northern england and northern

ireland and scotland is going to be heavy and it will get significant totals by the time the day is out. top temperatures, typically in the mid to high teens. feeling cooler in the rain. 21 with a bit of brightness in the southeast. and here is the weekend. low pressure still doing its business sending a series of weather fronts our way. the positioning of those at the moment is quite difficult to pin down but a rough rule of thumb at the moment, it looks like like the wettest of the weather on saturday will be across the southern half of the uk and shifting further north for sunday. it stays unsettled and rather cool even on into next week.

good morning. welcome to breakfast, with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. the government to unveil detailed letter for stayt. the government to unveil detailed letterfor more stayt. the government to unveil detailed letter for more than 8 million pupils in england. in leicester, a local lockdown to deal with a surge in coronavirus cases wealthy schools closed today to all the children of key workers. good morning. all packed but where to go. holiday companies say the government's lack of clarity on where we can travel to without having to quara ntining where we can travel to without having to quarantining on return is causing anxiety and could cost more