this is bbc news. i'm david eades with all the latest for viewers in the uk and around the world. lifting of the quarantine: travellers from more than 70 countries can now enter england, wales or northern ireland without having to self—isolate on arrival. mexico's drug cartels deliver aid parcels in the pandemic. they say they're acting where the government has failed. the president wants them to stop. police in california say naya rivera — one of the stars of the american tv show glee — is presumed to have drowned during a boating trip with her li—year—old son. singapore's coronavirus election: voters head to the polls as the country's economy faces its worst—ever downturn. and in italy, tourists from across europe are returning to rome and the vatican city,

but their experience may be some what quieter than normal. —— somewhat quieter than normal. a very warm welcome to all of you joining us from the uk and from across the globe. from today, travellers arriving in england, wales or northern ireland from dozens of countries will no longer have to self—isolate for two weeks. more than 70 countries, in fa ct. however, scotland has said it will keep the quarantine rule in place for countries with a higher prevalence of covid—i9 than its own and warned people not to try to get around it by entering via england. the foreign office has also said travel on cruise ships should be avoided, meaning holiday makers with bookings risk having their trips cancelled. 0ur reporterjohn

mcmanus has more. spain's tourist industry is keen to say hello to british holidaymakers as soon as possible. paul is heading there tomorrow. now we don't have to quarantine coming back in, it isa quarantine coming back in, it is a big help, knowing that we canjust go is a big help, knowing that we can just go out there, we can stay in the hotel, obviously taking all of the precautions such as social distancing and marks and everything and hence sanitiser and everything and the hotel seems to have it mostly under control. i of a hand sanitiser. most of us are more likely to venture abroad now that the travel quarantine has been relaxed but it is not straightforward. take europe. if you arrive from most places you now do not have to self isolate for two weeks. but some of these countries have restrictions when you arrive there. people travelling from anywhere else, including co ntroversially anywhere else, including controversially portable, do still have to follow the quarantine rules. —— portugal.

and people arriving into scotla nd and people arriving into scotland from spain will too. this‘s package holiday to croatia tomorrow is still booked butterfly has been cancelled. —— lives. booked butterfly has been cancelled. -- lives. from what i understand, although some countries have opened up to tourists, a lot of flight are not currently running so although the accommodation is available for tourists, there are no flights to get there. and i think that is where the confusion is. airports will become a bit busier again in the coming weeks. they and the airlines which use them are desperate to get paying customers through their doors and into the air. but the return of international travel won't be plain sailing. the foreign office is advising all britons not to travel on cruise ships at the moment, instructions which it says are based on advice from public health england.

john mcmanus, bbc news. it isa it is a pretty big day for people ever coming in or travelling outside of europe and we will reflect on that later in the bulletin with the business news to see how much booking is going on now that the little hurdle has been overcome. but they could always be setbacks. —— but there could always be setbacks. for example, the australian government has announced it will cut the number of citizens allowed to return from overseas each week by 50%. the prime minister, scott morrison says the measure is being taken due to a surge of coronavirus cases in victoria, the country's second largest state. melbourne is now in a 6—week lockdown. since march, australia has only allowed citizens and permanent residents to return. we also agreed today of a reduction in the number of inbound arrivals into australia across those ports that are able to accept visitors, sorry,

i should say returning australian citizens and residents and of course there are no flights going into melbourne, into victoria, for obvious reasons, to ensure that we are mitigating and managing that risk. they will be cut by just over half across all of the various ports that are taking those visitors. sorry, those residents, returning to australia. that was scott morrison speaking a short while ago. mexico is one of the countries most badly affected by the coronavirus in latin america. the shutdown there has gone on for months, leaving many people unable to work, and the government has been accused of not doing enough to help. now, some of mexico's powerful drug cartels claim they are filling the void. the bbc‘s anne laurent secured exclusive access to one cartel. from dusk to dawn, the sinaloa cartel operations never stop, evenin cartel operations never stop, even in times of coronavirus. the pandemic has not stopped them making money from misery.

from trafficking heroin to smuggling firearms. thousands of lives destroyed. but in the safe house usually used for drugs and weapons, the cartel members now pack tuna, rice and toilet roll. ready for distribution to the poor. each bag bears the name of sinaloa's infamous drug lord now jailed for life in sinaloa's infamous drug lord nowjailed for life in the us. mexican cartels have long used aid and welfare as a way to grow their support. but the lockdown has left many more people out of work, giving the

cartels new opportunity. dozens of drug cartels in mexico have made similar gestures. many are sharing videos of what has been called na i’co videos of what has been called narco philanthropy. 0ther distributions have angered the mexican president. violence driven by drug cartels has led to record murder rates in mexico. since lockdown started, murders have soared to almost 3000 a month. many of them innocent bystanders.

security experts say that the aid packages are not surface a cts aid packages are not surface acts but calculating business moves. the sinaloa cartel itself admits that loyalty is the key to their success. despite the firepower, it is the support of local people that could be the cartel‘s greatest weapon. anne laurent, bbc news, mexico. let's get some of the day's other news. more than 65,000 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the usa injust21i hours — a new daily record. it brings the total number of infections there to more than 3.1 million. there has been a spike in infections in recent weeks, particularly in the south and west. president trump has dismissed

concerns, saying the numbers are high because so many people are being tested. the interim president of bolivia jeanine anez says she has tested positive for the coronavirus but is feeling well. she took the test after several members of cabinet became infected. brazil says it's planning to issue a decree next week, banning fires in the amazon ra i nfo rest for the next 120 days. the government has come under increasing pressure from investors to take action. police in southern california say actress naya rivera is missing presumed dead after her li—year—old son was found alone in a boat in the middle of a lake. the 33—year—old is best known for playing cheerleader santana lopez in the musical tv comedy glee. paul hawkins has more. naya rivera and her li—year—old son. this tender moment between

the two was the last tweet shared by the actress before she went missing. it simply said "just the two of us". her li—year—old son was found alone in a boat in the middle of lake piru some three hours after they hired it on wednesday. —— it on wednesday afternoon. the boy told the police he had been swimming with his mum but she wasn't able to get back to the boat. we've had no indication that, after talking to her son, that ms rivera made it to shore, so the focus of our search efforts are in the water at this time. at this particular lake, in that area, there's a lot of trees and plants and such that are under the water, that can cause entanglements. in 2014, naya rivera married actor ryan dorsey, with whom she went on to have a son, but the couple divorced in 2018. performing is something i love to do... she is best known, however, for playing the cheerleader santana lopez in the musical tv comedy glee.

her co—star heather morris has thanked the authorities who are working right now in the search and recovery of "our naya" while another glee colleague, harry shum jr, simply said, "praying". with its currents, deadly rip currents and southern waves, the lake, which spans five square kilometres, has claimed lives in the past. search teams with more than 100 rescuers, two helicopters and multiple dive teams will continue to search the lake on friday. paul hawkins, bbc news. news in from hong kong where police say they have arrested seven people for, they say, assisting a suspect in the stabbing of a police officer. this was during protests against the new national security law which came into force on the first ofjuly. the demonstrations were on the first ofjuly as well so let's go to hong kong now. martin yip is there for us. this is the

day the new national security law came into play, martin. nonetheless, talk us through these charges in this moment. is it part of the security law? well, at this moment, it is not yet, it doesn't have anything to do with this piece of national security law for hong kong as yet because to begin with, the first suspect, the 24—year—old was arrested and charged with assault. 0n the second ofjuly, he was believed to be on his way flying to london on board a cathay pacific flight and then was intercepted by hong kong police just before the plane took off from hong kong. and now, this very morning, police have confirmed seven people have been arrested and are charged, as you say, under the suspicion of assisting criminals. there

are five men and two women aged between 2a and 71. senior supreme between 2a and 71. senior supreme police officer of the commercial crimes bureau did confirm that one of the arrested is the girlfriend of the main suspect so they have been arrested for assisting him to buy air tickets to fly out of hong kong, getting transported to the airport, as well as tipping him off of police activities under possible arrest and all that. yeah, i mean given the timing, there is a lot of sensitivity around the way that this will work but i get the impression from what you are saying is that this will follow effectively the normal procedure in terms of a criminal act, allegedly, against a police officer, not pa rt against a police officer, not part of the new hong kong security law and therefore presumably different potential sentencing impact? that's

right. and it means in the normal common—law settings, it depends on which courts will be trialling this case. of course we are yet to hear about that. but they would be brought to a magistrates‘ court for what we call hearings to begin with but it will be assigned to a higher court that may affect how heavy the sentence they might receive but at this moment, like you said, the national security law was already there on the date ofjuly the first when this incident happened but unless the police decided to charge any of them with new charges based on this piece of law it is very unlikely they will be brought to trial anywhere else other than hong kong and they will still be tried under hong kong criminal codes, under the common law system and tried by

hong kong courts. martin, thank you indeed. the latest from hong kong. thank you for being with us on bbc news. much more still to bring you. with rules and regulations varying around the world, just how different will your holidays be this year? central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. police say there have been many casualties, and there is growing speculation that al-qaeda was responsible. germany will be the hosts of the 2006 football world cup. they've pipped the favourites, south africa, by a single vote. in south africa, the possibility of losing hadn't even been contemplated, and celebration parties were cancelled. a man entered the palace through a downstairs window and made his way to the queen‘s private bedroom.

then he asked her for a cigarette, and on the pretext of arranging for some to be brought, she summoned a footman on duty, who took the man away. one child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. education is the only solution. applause this is bbc news. the latest headlines: from today, travellers arriving in england, wales or northern ireland from more than 70 countries will no longer have to self—isolate for two weeks. now, an election in the time of covid-19, now, an election in the time of covid—19, people in singapore are going to the polls for the coronavirus election. and the

coronavirus election. and the coronavirus has been one of the dominant themes. in particular, the impact it has had on the city state‘s economy. growth is expected to be harder hit than neighbouring countries, because of singapore‘s exposure to trade and travel. let‘s get the very latest from sharanjit leyl in singapore. given we are in the middle, steel, of a pandemic, given we are in the middle, steel, ofa pandemic, it given we are in the middle, steel, of a pandemic, it seems an interesting time to pick an election stop why now? yeah, i mean, great question, david. it's mean, great question, david. it‘s something many singaporeans were asking themselves as well and an was announced late in june themselves as well and an was announced late injune by the prime minister. singapore isn‘t the first place to have elections during a —— the pandemic, we saw south korea, croatia, and an election in tokyo. so it can be done. authorities are saying people will be able to be kept safe. we went to a season earlier and we saw all of the precautions they put into place. —— a

station. hand sanitiser, you are required to wear masks you have to get your temperature is screened, there is contactless registration with the national id cards, then you have to put disposable gloves on that they give you before you can go into the ballot to cast your vote. so they have put these because it is in place to also ensure that the ballots don‘t get too crowded —— of these precautions in place. everyone has been given a two hour time frame. this morning it is mostly elderly, because they seem to bea elderly, because they seem to be a more vulnerable population when it comes to covid—19. they we re when it comes to covid—19. they were meant to vote but we spoke to some of them and they were complaining that the long lines of overcrowding. so that is an issue around safety. so i am due to vote earlier later, david, so i willjust see how crowded the situation is banned. and the pandemic has been top of mind for a lot of people, but the economy as

well. singapore is very open as an economy, it is very trade oriented. the cost of living has been going up and a lot of those things are at the top of minds of voters here. and it will remain here as you get to cast your vote and you feel it all around you. but the impact, as you say, of the coronavirus, presumably that dominates pretty much everyone‘s view as to what they want out of a government at the moment and how well this government has done? yeah. i mean, as you say, singapore, you know, it‘s got the highest number of infections in the region. about 45,000 infections in the region. about 115,000 people have been infected. that is mainly the migrant worker community. a lot of the workers who have come to singapore to work in the construction industry, mainly from south asia, a lot of their dormitories were incredibly crowded and essentially the virus spread very quickly amongst those communities. but singapore itself has, you know,

it was credited for having done fairly well to begin with stop you had those contact tracing applications, they were amongst the earliest to implement them and it has a low fatality rate as well. 0nly and it has a low fatality rate as well. only 26 fatalities so far. so thejury as well. only 26 fatalities so far. so the jury is out. i think voters will go to the polls, the pandemic is on the top of their mind, the impact it is having on the election, really, it is going to be a referendum on how the government has done so far. thank you, sharanjit leyl, out on the streets in singapore. president trump has said he‘s the victim of a political witch hunt after the us supreme court ruled that his tax returns could be released to new york prosecutors. it made clear that president trump wasn‘t immune from criminal investigations. democrats also wanted congress to investigate the records.

david willis has more. the message is clear enough, the advice of this loan protest on the steps of america‘s highest court might not be easy for lawmakers to follow. 7—2, supreme court justices ruled while the new york prosecutor could gain access to the president‘s tax records, congressional democrats could not, for now, at least. unlike his predecessors, donald trump has refused to release documents relating to his financial activities. his lawyers claiming that as president, he is immune from such scrutiny. the supreme court disagreed, however, reaffirming the notion that america‘s president is not above the law. in ourjudicial system, chiefjustice above the law. in ourjudicial system, chief justice don roberts wrote: "the public has a right to every man‘s evidence. since the earliest days of the republic, everyman, has included the president of united states." the ruling

prompted a flurry of anger presidential suites followed by this denunciation of the court‘s ruling. this denunciation of the court's ruling. frankly, this isa court's ruling. frankly, this is a political witch—hunt, the likes of which nobody has ever seen before. if they witch—hunt, it is a hoax, just like the mueller investigation was a hoax. this is another hoax. this is purely political. two of the justices president trump appointed to the supreme court, brett cava nagh, trump appointed to the supreme court, brett cavanagh, and neil gaughan search were among those who voted against him. prompting democrats to vow they will keep fighting for the release of the president because my financial records. so, here we are, the supreme court, including the president‘s appointees, have declared that he is not above the law. the path the supreme court has laid out is one that is clearly achievable by ours in the lower court, and we will continue to go down that path. a long path it may be, though.

long enough, experts agree, to ensure the public won‘t get to see the documents before they go to the polls in november. legal defeat, though this may be, it might also prove a political victory. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. given the news we have had about the uk and all of the quarantine rules, except for scotland, it is beginning to feel like there is a tourist season to be had across europe after all. it‘s certainly the case in rome, where visitors are returning — many of them arriving from britain, which has been most affected by covid—19 within europe. those who make the journey will find their holidays are altogether less crowded, and more exclusive. 0ur correspondent quentin sommerville, has been checking out some of the sights. temperature chokes, face masks, this is the vatican museum in the time of covid. normally

these millions of tourists a year, now there is hardly anyone. tourists from across europe have been welcome here for over a month, but americans and other overseas visitors are still not permitted. visitor numbers across italy and the vatican remain low. the vatican was one of the first major museums in the world to reopen. it has been open for about a month but it is a very different expense was that there are far fewer tourists here, it must feels like you‘re having a private tour. in fact, before the pandemic, the use to have 4000 people in our income now it is about 400. —— these to let in about 4000 people an hour. notice 400. there‘s a lot more breathing space and room to enjoy all of this. this man says the vatican is ready to welcome back britz.

translation: i want to tell everyone, and in particular, those who come from the uk, that from all of the countries in the world, we are waiting for you with open arms. we guarantee that you will be able to visit this museum in perfect security and have no dangers involved. it‘s now do you to be courageous and travel. and here we are, the sistine chapel, the highlight of any tour of the vatican. normally when you come in here you are crammed in with lots of other tourists. well, not at the moment was that it isa not at the moment was that it is a very different expense. we didn‘t have to queue to get in here, there has been word in the past bringing so many tourists in the past has damaged michelangelo‘s masterpiece. what is no fear of that now, the chapel is almost peaceful, silent and is spectacular. quentin

sommerville, bbc news, vatican city. a nice shot to close there, but we are going to get more. is there really a surge in tourism now? we will follow on in business in just now? we will follow on in business injust a moment. hello. we‘ve had a real mix of weather across the uk so far this week, but things are now beginning to settle down. and certainly by the time we get to the weekend, it should be dry for the vast majority, with some spells of sunshine, because high pressure is going to build its way in. now, that area of high pressure is currently down to the south—west of the british isles. and for friday, well, we‘ve still got low pressure fairly close by, so that means we have got one more showery day to contend with in many areas. now, those showers could crop up just about anywhere. they‘re most likely across northern and eastern areas, so through parts of scotland, northern england, down the eastern side of england as well. some of the showers here could be heavy and thundery, some being blown into northern ireland on this north—westerly breeze. for parts of wales and the south—west, yes, one or two showers, but most places here should be dry,

with some spells of sunshine. but i mentioned the north—westerly breeze. that‘s going to make it feel fairly cool, 15—20 degrees. now, some of those showers will continue during friday evening. into the night, while northern scotland will continue to see some, most other areas will turn dry, with some clear spells, light winds as well. it‘s going to turn into a rather cool night for the time of year. temperatures for many spots getting down into single digits — seven or eight degrees quite likely. but, as we head into saturday, here comes our area of high pressure building its way in. now, notice the way in which the high pressure is focusing itself to the south of the uk, so that‘s where we‘re going to see the best of the sunshine. the further north you are, there will be more cloud, and perhaps just one or two showers. north—west england, northern ireland, particularly scotland, you could catch a shower. but most places won‘t, most places will be dry. i think by the afternoon, we‘ll see a fair amount of cloud bubbling up in the sky, and temperatures,

if anything, still just a touch below par for this point injuly —16—21 degrees. now, on sunday, temperatures are set to climb, particularly across england and wales, where we‘ll see long spells of sunshine through the day. dry to start for northern ireland and scotland, but cloud and rain will then spread from the west. temperatures — 18 degrees in glasgow, but 24—25 possibly down towards the south—east. and monday is going to be another dry and warm day the further south you are across the uk. some rain further north and west, and it looks rather cloudy for most of us on tuesday.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. cleared for take—off: the uk lifts travel restrictions on dozens of countries from today. but will it be enough to save the summer holiday season? plus, too little, too late? uk retailers announce thousands of job cuts, casting doubt over government plans to stave off mass unemployment. let‘s start with the travel industry.

the uk is lifting its advice against all but essential travel to dozens of destinations. from today, travellers arriving in england, wales or northern ireland from more than 70 countries will no longer have to self—isolate for two weeks. however, scotland has said it will keep the quarantine rule in place for countries with a higher prevalence of covid—19 than its own — that includes spain. about half the countries and territories on the list still have restrictions for visitors arriving from the uk. soa so a bit ofa so a bit of a complication there. add to that a recent poll for yougov that suggests a high degree of nervousness about foreign tourists — particularly from the uk — in several uk countries. so is it too early to predict a recovery in the travel industry, or is the summer holiday season really back on? this is someone who should really have an answer to those questions. to axel hefer, chief executive of trivago, the global

accommodation search platform. he‘s on the line from dusseldorf, germany. axel, thank you very much for joining us. tell us, what is your sort of traffic doing after this announcement? in the uk you have seen the significant increase in demand over the last couple of weeks already. and that is basically the same trend we have seen across europe so once you get closer to the government allowing travel, there is more research and people are trying to travel so there is demand for travel. you say there is demand for travel, could you go so far as to say there is a real surge on here? or are we still in that world and i think portugal was a good example where suddenly holidays to portugal were put on hold because lisbon shutdown for a week or two. there is still anxiety and uncertainty as to what lies ahead. i mean, to be honest, but is a special case because england is an island and so what you see pretty much in all of the markets that are

recovering is that local travel is by far the first that has recovered. and then international is lagging. you see a international is lagging. you seea similar international is lagging. you see a similar trend in the uk, lagging a bit, some of the other european markets, but international is much stronger for obvious reasons in the uk but the overall recovery is so far lagging the development in other markets. we have seen one or two surveys suggesting that british visitors to some other eu countries are not necessarily the most popular because there has been a high prevalence of covid—19 within the uk. is that reflected in the uk. is that reflected in the sort of traffic you are getting? i think that is a bit too early to tell to be honest, given the lifting has been very recent. i mean, for sure there isa recent. i mean, for sure there is a lot of local demand but given the local capacity, british people will have to travel abroad. right. it has been a staggeringly difficult time for pretty much everybody

but certainly you are right in the thick of that. how important is it that this ta keoff last important is it that this takeoff last now? i mean, what is the sort of state of play for trivago? from our perspective it will be a long recovery path and it will be two steps forward and one step back but it is important to offer travelling to people and families in particular when it is possible. but we have also seen backdrops in germany with small local outbreaks but particularly in the us where it is clear that the situation is getting worse, travelling is stopping, so we are preparing really for an up and down for a long time and i think that is what everyone should prepare for as well. you mentioned the us and perhaps we should reflect on other big markets further afield, whether it is the japanese market, the chinese market. do you sort of expect those to remain very flat for quite a long time in

terms of coming back over to europe? international travel will stay very, very slow for a long time and i think that is absolutely a fair assumption. and as i said, domestic travel is recovering everywhere very quickly, or domestic leisure travel to nature destinations, coastal destinations and the mountains. city trips are still not really recovering and international trips are pretty much insignificant as of today. axel, thank you very much. axel hefer frm trivago. we have seen the tourists flocking to a lovely, sunny beach haven‘t we, recently? let‘s turn to the uk economy now, because there‘s yet more evidence of the damage being done by the pandemic, and the timing could not have been worse. two big—name retailers have announced thousands ofjob cuts just a day after the chancellor rishi sunak revealed his master plan for protecting jobs. here‘s our business editor simonjack. less tha n less than 24 hours after the

government‘s attempt to stem the tide ofjob losses, boots said it intended to cut 4000 posts, hundreds of managers in the high street storms, quizzes of the optician outlets but the majority at its nottingham headquarters. meanwhile john lewis the great survivor of the last crisis is not immune, it is closing eight stores including this landmark store in birmingham as the virus has accelerated the move to shopping online wherejohn lewis expects to generate 70% of its sales this year and next. how are you? all of this the day after rishi sunak announced plans to reward businesses with a bonus of £1000 for every furloughed worker still in a job in six months time. yesterday we announced our plan forjobs. this is about protecting, creating and supporting jobs across the country. not eve ryo ne across the country. not everyone will be able to go back to thejob everyone will be able to go back to the job they can and we hope as many as possible will be and that is why we have the furloughed bonus. it does not

make economic sense for mark, i wedding supplier, who is grateful for the government support so far but has nine staff on furlough with no income insight. i have to bring my staff back in october but the business is simply not financially viable to pay all of the wages in november and december and january to wait for £1000 per member of staff at the end of january— february is just not sustainable. today‘s announcement means that boots will miss out on £4 million ofjob retention bonus money, perhaps that for sectors like retail undergoing structural change, these government measures cannot stop the tide ofjob losses. meanwhile smaller businesses to not afford to hold onto staff for six months to collect £1000 while those were going to bring back workers anyway may see this as a windfall. the worst economic crisis in living memory is hitting hard and fast. it‘ll wonder perhaps the

chancellor feels that speed is more important than precision and he has left the door open for further measures that it seems inevitably will be needed. simon jack, bbc news. russ mould is investment director at the online broker aj bell. he‘s in brighton. thank you forjoining us. interesting, rishi sunak they‘re talking about his measures being designed to protect, create and morejobs and then we get boots saying we are laying off a few thousand and john lewis and burger king as well in the uk, general electric, it does not look as if they believe that the measures offered are going to make any difference. no, i guess it varies from industry to industry and we have areas like the groceries and logistics industry which is probably looking for people right now as they help keep the nation fed and watered during these difficult times so it isn‘t all bad news but you are right, the pace of unemployment does seem to be accelerating and we have statistics coming up and we have statistics coming up in about ten days time which will outline that in the bank

of england is concerned or perhaps even forecasting that unemployment will more than doubled in one year time so it is something that economist are expecting but it is not nice at all for the people involved in the government is trying to do what it can but with the national debt where it is, it has very little money with which to play. given what you said there, russ, should we expect this christmas as well by january, another raft of layoffs because if any companies do decide to pick up on the bonus, that is when they can then lay off staff after it. i think the first deadline that people are looking forward to all looking at is when the furlough schemes begin to taper in the summeras furlough schemes begin to taper in the summer as that will bring more wage costs onto employers and as you say another deadline coming up next year. i think some of that will depend upon where we are with the economy. we have the chief economist at the bank of england confidently talking up av england confidently talking up a v shaped recovery a couple of weeks ago, looking at real—time data like football and where people are with their mobile

phones, for example, so if the viral outbreak is contained, if the death rate remains very low, the economy bounces back, maybe the worst fears will not be realised —— foot fall. capital economics, an independent think tank says employment may pick up 7% which is still not nice at all, up from 4%, but not as bad as the bank of england were saying soma —— was saying so lots of variables out there. if you look at what boots and john lewis are saying part of the m essa g es we lewis are saying part of the messages we need to make the changes now for survival and boots are looking at it in more ofa boots are looking at it in more of a sort of, and john lewis, the online revolution is here and perhaps this is the time that you have to grasp the nettle, really. doing that now, do you think that there is a longer term benefit actually and it may just longer term benefit actually and it mayjust soften the blow? i guess that is what they will be hoping and remember that boots was acquired for $11 billion at the turn of the

decade and half was in cash and the company has a lot of debt at parents the company has a lot of debt at pa rents level the company has a lot of debt at parents level and it will be making the situation even more difficult for them so there are legacy issues there, debt, moved to online which is also working against many retailers also some big challenges that are being brought to a head by the fact that demand has collapsed now but yes you are quite right, what employers will be hoping to achieve is to save morejobs will be hoping to achieve is to save more jobs and they are losing by acting the way they are but it is not a nice decision to have to take at all. not at all, russ, thank you very much. russ mould from brighton. let‘s go to singapore now, where voting is underway in their general election. the coronavirus pandemic is of course the key issue, and particularly the impact on the city state‘s economy, which is facing its toughest time since independence. sharanjit leyl is there. i know you were going to go and devote a little bit later yourself but sharanjit, is it all about the economy? well, yeah, i‘m in the economy is a big concern here with projections, we even had the

prime minister say that this will be the worst recession since the country achieved independence in 1965 so lots and lots of concerns aboutjust how badly the pandemic has hit singapore‘s economy and it is really interesting because singapore‘s economy is so trade — oriented that it is seen as a good gauge of what goes on in the rest of the region. it is seen as a travel hub, a shipping hub as well. so, you know, we know those are sectors that have been very badly hit by the various lockdowns in the region. so for instance projections made, the monetary authority of singapore, the de fa cto authority of singapore, the de facto central bank, rejected that singapore‘s economy will contract that singapore‘s economy will co ntra ct by that singapore‘s economy will contract by some 5.8% this year. the government and the authorities have also put in place lots of stimulus measures, you know, there has been an unprecedented four budgets with a spend totalling some $67 billion to try to address the issue. one third of those funds are going towards

jobs so essentially, they are trying to ensure that employers don‘t fire their employees and that workers retain theirjobs so lots of concerns that many voters will be taking with them to the ballot box when they do go past —— cast their votes today. sharanjit thank you indeed and we will keep an eye on the way that is going. if you want some good news it is not coming just yet but it is coming! the president of dubai—based airline emirates has told the bbc it‘s cutting as many as 9,000 jobs from its workforce of 60,000. it‘s the first time the world‘s biggest long—haul carrier has put a number on possible job losses. sir tim clark has been speaking to aaron heslehurst about the massive changes the coronavirus pandemic is forcing on the aviation industry. aaron asked him whether it was a mistake to build the business around the huge a380 superjumbo when many rivals are now looking at smaller, more fuel—efficient planes? a380 is essentially the brand

and unintelligible to buy is. it has been an extremely potent brand ambassador for us, hugely successful, and those carriers are getting three 50s and 787 is and have not chosen the path that we took, let us compare the success and profitability of those carriers compared to emirates —— 350s. when it deployed these huge numbers of 380 777 to the exclusion of smaller twins and single unintelligible we have been profitable since we and last year, prior to the pandemic we we re year, prior to the pandemic we were heading for one of our best years ever. this was based on that so the decision to deploy the 380 in the numbers that we did all the super hub network model was unintelligible the right one and this will always be something i will steadfastly maintain. and viewers on bbc world news can see more of that interview with sir tim clark, the president of emirates airlines, on talking business with aaron heslehurst this weekend. the times are on your screen

now, with the first airing at 2330 gmt on saturday. to new york now, and a story of business success during the pandemic, against all the odds. a little bit of that good stuff i was talking about. cross river bank has just one branch, far from the glitzy headquarters of the wall street giants on the west side of the hudson river. but it has become one of america‘s biggest providers of bailout loans under the government‘s paycheck protection program. michelle fleury went to find out how. gregory anderson is the head of bridge street development corporation, a community centre that received a much sought after potentially forgivable loa n after potentially forgivable loan from the paycheck protection programme. part of the us government‘s early coronavirus relief efforts. so we did talk with a number of banks and we actually applied with two. but there were two slow so he took a chance on a bank if you have ever heard of, cross river bank. in new

jersey. he never spoke to a loa n jersey. he never spoke to a loan officer or visited a branch but cross river bank‘s use of technology got him the loa n use of technology got him the loan before the first round of funding ran out. we knew that our application had been submitted. and we found out on the saturday that we were approved. so the speed of giving the application in is the only reason we were able to receive alone in the first round. cross river bank with just one branch in newjersey made more than 130 ppe loans and only three banks in the country have made more. it was able to move so quickly by partnering with more than 30 financial technology start—ups. technology plays a very big pa rt technology plays a very big part and this is truly in our dna. and thanks to this government relief programme, the bank which got its start during the last financial crisis, stands to make 170% more than its entire revenue last year. according to one estimate. the founder of cross

river bank said it was not the motivation. we needed to answer the call for all of these businesses that we felt that if we did not actually originate that loan, as quickly as possible, people were going to lose theirjob. people are going to lose their pay check and it means they would not be able to put food on the table. what the pandemic has revealed is that organisations like the bridge street development corporation have been forced to do things differently. having proven their effectiveness in the age of coronavirus, cross river bank and its partners are hoping that borrowers will continue to turn to them to meet their needs, even when the pandemic is over. michelle fleury, bbc news. good on them, at least. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: after the arrest ofjeffrey epstein‘s former girlfriend, ghislaine maxwell, we look at the many questions that remain about her alleged role in epstein‘s abuse of minors.

central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. police say there have been many casualties, and there is growing speculation that al-qaeda was responsible. germany will be the hosts of the 2006 football world cup. they've pipped the favourites, south africa, by a single vote. in south africa, the possibility of losing hadn't even been contemplated, and celebration parties were cancelled. a man entered the palace through a downstairs window and made his way to the queen‘s private bedroom. then he asked her for a cigarette, and on the pretext of arranging for some to be brought, she summoned a footman on duty, who took the man away. one child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. education is the only solution.

applause this is bbc news. the latest headlines: from today, travellers arriving in england, wales or northern ireland from dozens of countries will no longer have to self—isolate for two weeks. president trump has said he‘s the victim of a political witch—hunt after the us supreme court ruled that his tax returns could be released to new york prosecutors. the arrest ofjeffrey epstein‘s former girlfriend ghislaine maxwell has generated a huge amount of interest in the past week. she‘s facing charges over her alleged role in epstein‘s abuse of minors. ros atkins has taken a look at the many remaining questions for ghislaine maxwell, in the latest of his weekly reports for outside source. he isa he is a story of a woman born into wealth, whose father was a controversial newspaper tycoon who drowned after falling from

his yacht. whose life was full of friends in high places, but faces this allegation. she was a central part of the epstein sex trafficking operation. she played an important role in recruiting, grooming, manipulating... and is now facing usjustice. ghislaine maxwell finally stands charged for her role in these crimes. so, what questions remain for ghislaine maxwell? let‘s work through them. first, the 1990s. ghislaine maxwell‘s living in new york, she meetsjeffrey epstein, works for him, has a relationship with him, and is his best friend according to epstein in this vanity fair profile. she is accused of another role, too. her presence as an adult woman helped put the victims at ease. as maxwell

and epstein intended, this grooming process left the minor victims are susceptible to sexual abuse. then maxwell denies this, but some of the charges she faces relate to the mid— 90s. she will be asked about this period and about prince andrew. we know they would socialise in new york, once on epstein‘s island in the caribbean, and in london, too. this is a monarch and a 17—year—old named virginia roberts giuffre in 2001. she said she was trapped by ghislaine maxwell to have sex with the prince. it was a wicked time in my life. it was a really scary time in my life. i had just been abused by a member of a royal family. ghislaine maxwell denies this. so did prince andrew in his infamous bbc news note interview. i have no recollection of ever meeting this lady. none, whatsoever. you don't remember meeting her? no. she said she met you in

2001. she dined with you, she danced with you, you bought her drinks, you were in trappett nightclub in london, and she we nt nightclub in london, and she went on to have sex with you in a house in belgrave you're belonging to ghislaine maxwell. it didn‘t happen. and there was this, too. he's dead, his girlfriend, ghislaine maxwell, your old friend, was complicit in his behaviour? that bit, i cannot help you with because i have no idea. so prince andrew can‘t help on that, but might ghislaine maxwell be willing to talk about him? this is her friend, laura gold burned. she is always told me she would never, ever, say anything about him. you know, ithink she never, ever, say anything about him. you know, i think she felt that he was her friend and she was never, ever, going to say anything about him. ghislaine maxwell may not talk about andrew, we will see. but we know from andrew himself that she was his link to epstein and

that investigators still have questions for her and for him. there are also questions about who helped epstein. after years of suspect behaviour, in 2019, the authorities moved. today we are announcing and unsealing of sex trafficking charges against jeffrey epstein. weeks later, epstein was gone. the body of jeffrey epstein is taken away from a new york hospital this evening. the multimillionaire sex offender was found dead in his prison cell as he awaited trial for sex trafficking. epstein had taken his own life, but the story continued. any co—conspirators should not rest easy. the victims deserve justice, and they will get it. co—conspirators should not rest easy. and investigating the allegations against ghislaine maxwell was now central to understanding epstein and the power structures that allowed him to escape justice. but she was nowhere to be seen. which leads me to one of the most frequently asked questions, where has she been? her

whereabouts became a story in itself. where is epstein‘s lady of the house, asked bloomberg. vanity fair channelled where‘s waldo, the sun offered £10,000 to help with the search. there was this photo from not long after epstein‘s out. it appeared to show ghislaine maxwell at a bigger place in la, although the authenticity of this photo has since been questioned. after that, nothing. until an arrest at a remote property in new hampshire. and then a statement dripping with disdain from the fbi. we have been discreetly keeping targets on maxwell‘s whereabouts as we have investigated and more recently we realised she had slithered away to a gorgeous property in new hampshire, continuing to live a life in privilege while victims live in the trauma inflicted among them years ago. we all have questions about ghislaine maxwell and other us justice system is giving her a further opportunity to answer them. that was ros atkins there. look, it‘s travel day, isn‘t

it? ina look, it‘s travel day, isn‘t it? in a sense, today was that if you look online and you want to have more detail about where you can go and who can come to the uk, except got in, that is, at the moment was that have a look@bbc.com/news. banks for watching. —— at the moment. have a look stop bbc.com/news. thanks for watching. hello. we‘ve had a real mix of weather across the uk so far this week, but things are now beginning to settle down. and certainly by the time we get to the weekend, it should be dry for the vast majority, with some spells of sunshine, because high pressure is going to build its way in. now, that area of high pressure is currently down to the south—west of the british isles. and for friday, well, we‘ve still got low pressure fairly close by, so that means we have got one more showery day to contend with in many areas. now, those showers could crop up just about anywhere. they‘re most likely across northern and eastern areas, so through parts of scotland, northern england, down the eastern side of england as well. some of the showers here could be heavy and thundery, some being blown into

northern ireland on this north—westerly breeze. for parts of wales and the south—west, yes, one or two showers, but most places here should be dry, with some spells of sunshine. but i mentioned the north—westerly breeze. that‘s going to make it feel fairly cool, 15—20 degrees. now, some of those showers will continue during friday evening. into the night, while northern scotland will continue to see some, most other areas will turn dry, with some clear spells, light winds as well. it‘s going to turn into a rather cool night for the time of year. temperatures for many spots getting down into single digits — seven or eight degrees quite likely. but, as we head into saturday, here comes our area of high pressure building its way in. now, notice the way in which the high pressure is focusing itself to the south of the uk, so that‘s where we‘re going to see the best of the sunshine. the further north you are, there will be more cloud, and perhaps just one or two showers. north—west england, northern ireland, particularly scotland, you could catch a shower. but most places won‘t, most places will be dry. i think by the afternoon, we‘ll see a fair amount of cloud bubbling up in the sky, and temperatures, if anything, still just a touch below par for this point injuly —16—21 degrees. now, on sunday, temperatures are set to climb, particularly across england and wales, where we‘ll see long spells

of sunshine through the day. dry to start for northern ireland and scotland, but cloud and rain will then spread from the west. temperatures — 18 degrees in glasgow, but 24—25 possibly down towards the south—east. and monday is going to be another dry and warm day the further south you are across the uk. some rain further north and west, and it looks rather cloudy for most of us on tuesday.

good morning, welcome to breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. our headlines today: from today, no need to self isolate on returning from holiday as restrictions are lifted for many of the most popular destinations. as the requirement to self isolated —— self isolate is lifted, millions of people want to book their summer holiday. i am of people want to book their summer holiday. iam here of people want to book their summer holiday. i am here at gatwick —— airport to see how different the travel experience will be. club cricket, outdoor shows, beauty treatments and tattoos are all back on in the coming days in england.

good morning. it is time to dig out