this is bbc news, i'm nancy kacungira with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. turkey's president signs a decree converting one of the world's most iconic buildings, istanbul's hagia sophia, back into a mosque. another record jump in coronavirus cases in the us. we report from arizona where infections are surging. arizona is now the coronavirus hotspot, not just for the united states, but the world. singapore's opposition party makes record gains in a general election as the country votes on the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. and britain's prime minister appears in a mask for the first time in public, hinting at a tightening of the rules.

president erdogan of turkey decree turning one of the world's most historically significant buildings, the hagia sophia in istanbul, back into a mosque. the unesco world heritage site has remained the spiritual home orthodox christianity since it was built in the 6th century, with the move drawing comdemnation from both religious and heritage groups. from istanbul, orla guerin reports. change is coming to hagia sophia — jewel of the byzantine empire, a great monument to christianity conquered by the ottomans, later a museum bearing testimony to layers of history. but president erdogan,

who presents himself as a modern—day conqueror, has announced a new chapter. "anyone who doesn't like it," he says — and plenty abroad don't — "is attacking turkey's sovereignty." under its soaring golden dome, hagia sophia will now become a mosque, as in ottoman days. but turkey says christian emblems, like mosaics of the virgin mary, will remain, and everyone will be welcome. making changes here is profoundly symbolic. it was kemal ataturk, founder of modern turkey, who decreed that hagia sophia should be a museum. now president erdogan is taking one more step to dismantle ataturk‘s secular legacy and remold turkey according to his vision. and that's a vision that alarms the turkish nobel

laureate orhan pamuk, who has gazed lovingly at hagia sophia from his balcony for the past 25 years. turks are proud to be a secular muslim nation. now, converting hagia sophia into a mosque will take away that pride from the nation. there are millions of secular turks like me who are crying against this, but their voices are not heard because we don't have enough free speech and democracy in turkey, unfortunately, any more. back at hagia sophia, british tourists visiting today were unconcerned by the change. that'sjust part of the history of turkey, and it's up to the turkish government, i think. i'd visit it whether it's a mosque or a museum. it doesn't bother me. and you think it's for the turks to decide? absolutely, absolutely. reclaiming hagia sophia plays well with the turkish leader's base and distracts from the economic

damage done by covid—19. but many in the international community say it belongs to humanity and should have been left unchanged. orla guerin, bbc news, istanbul. earlier, i asked unesco's matthieu guevel about how this decision would effect global public access to this precious historical site. first of all, i wish to say unesco deeply regrets this decision of the turkish authorities, which was made without prior dialogue, without prior discussion, and recall for the universal value of this splendid world heritage should be preserved. indeed, this decision raises the question of the outstanding value that will have to be discussed by the world heritage committee and we deeply regret that this was taken without any discussion. more regarding that status,

because this has been a world heritage site. what happens now from your position as unesco? can it continue to have that designation now that it is a mosque? first of all, we need to establish or reestablish a dialogue, and recall on the turkish authorities to restore the dialogue. scholars shared their concerns over several letters for the discussion, and regrettably, this decision has been taken without this consultation, because this is the purpose of unesco and of world heritage sites. bring people together around universal values. and this is what we work for and what should be back on the table. when it comes to some

of the nuances of this decision, we can consider for instance some of the original byzantine iconography that is within the museum, now mosque. but will happen to icons like those? that is why we need a dialogue, because we don't know, and when the turkish authorities decided and asked for the world heritage committee to consider this splendid monument as a world heritage site, it agreed to abide to a certain number of obligations, under international laws, and these are if turkish authorities decide to change an aspect of that heritage, we need to discuss first. indeed, there could be several impacts, including the fact that world heritage sites must ensure inclusive and effective participation of all communities

involved, and this has to be, this is very clear, and this is part of the outstanding universal value of the site. the second thing is that anything that affects the access, the physical integrity, the intangible elements that are inside the monument and the way it is managed, can affect the outstanding value, and so we need immediately to restore the constructive dialogue, to see how this effect the site. there's been no announcement yet about what will happen next the united states has once again breached a new daily record for confirmed coronavirus infections. cases were falling towards the end of last month, but they are now rising steeply again, exceeding 65,000, making these the greatest single day tallies for any country since the global pandemic began.

the spike in infections has been particularly bad in the south and west of the country with the state of arizona recording the most cases. our correspondent sophie long has been there. music plays. when the governor of arizona lifted the state's stay—at—home order, people partied, pre—pandemic style. it was a joke to us. we werejust like, "covid's fake news." days later, many woke up to what will probably be the worst hangover of their lives. never imagined in my life i'd be in a hospital, you know, on a breathing, oxygen tube. and i felt like i was going to die. the bars and nightclubs have now been shut down again. the pumping music replaced by an eerie silence. but the damage has been done. at the beginning of the pandemic, some hoped the summer heat might help slow the infection rate. well, if you want proof that

that is not happening, it's here. it's currently around 44 celsius in phoenix. the temperature is rising, and so are the number of confirmed covid cases — at an alarming rate. arizona is now the coronavirus hotspot, not just for the united states, but for the world. and yet people here are still queueing many hours for tests and waiting many days for the results. they're getting results back in eight days. well, eight days, that's not actionable information. you can't use that information any more. if the person was infected with covid—i9, you've missed your opportunity to intervene and get them into isolation so they don't infect their family members and co—workers. those who have lost loved ones in this sudden surge find ways to express their grief and their anger. this person's father died alone in hospital last week. i don't want my father to just be another number. the reason why people are getting sick and numbers are skyrocketing here,

and we are number one not only in the entire country, but the entire world, is not because of lack of individual responsibility. it's because of lack of leadership. and it's the tired hearts of medical staff that are breaking as they're forced to make decisions they hoped they never would. sometimes you just have to go into crisis mode, and what that means is basically having the triage, like in a military setting, having a triage of who gets to get that resource and who doesn't. but you have very limited resources and you know a bunch of sick patients need it, you have to pick and choose who gets that life—saving intervention. that's a horrible situation to be in. i've never had to be in that situation. some hospitals here are now preparing to operate at up to 150% capacity, an indication that arizona is expected to continue to be the epicentre of this explosion of new cases, and the impact on people across the state could get even worse. sophie long, bbc news, phoenix, arizona.

let's get some of the day's other news. hong kong's bureau of education has announced that all schools will be closed from monday because of a spike in locally transmitted coronavirus cases. the city reported 42 new cases on thursday, of which 3a were locally transmitted, marking the second consecutive day of rising local infections. the former girlfriend of the late financier and convicted paedophile jeffrey epstien has denied that she helped him to abuse underage girls, saying she will forcefully contest the charges against her. maxwell's lawyer have also sought to overturn a denial of bail, citing the health threat of covid i9 in prison, but prosecutors say she is a clear flight risk. reports from china say at least 140 people have died or are missing, following days of intense flooding. four cities along china's yangtze river have declared severe flood warnings.

nearly 300,000 people have been evacuated, as homes have been destroyed, roads blocked and many left stranded without food or electricity. more heavy rain has been forecast in parts of the country. britain's prime minister borisjohnson says he may have to tighten the rules on face coverings in england, encouraging their use in confined spaces, like shops. at the moment they're only mandatory on public transport, but the prime minister says the scientific advice on masks has shifted. he also urged people to go back to work if they can, instead of working from home. our science editor david shukman has the story.. the message is obvious, when the prime minister is pictured in a mask. it means you can expect new rules in england for where you have to cover your face — no longerjust on public transport. we need to be stricter in insisting that people wear face coverings in confined places. we're looking at ways of making sure

that people really do have face coverings in shops, for instance, where, you know, there is a risk of transmission. hello! the pressure has been building for a change. the chancellor, rishi sunak, was widely criticised for not covering his face earlier in the week at this photo opportunity. and scotland is already going further than the rest of the uk by requiring masks to be worn in shops right now. i think it reminds people that they need to be taking precautions. i think it's a good thing because it protects people. yeah, of course, yeah. anything that stops this virus is a good idea. the reason is that anyone infected can spread the virus with coughs, sneezes or even by speaking loudly. the risk is greatest indoors, especially in crowded spaces with bad ventilation. that's where scientists say that face coverings

can make a difference. those clouds are caught by the mask, and so, most of the clouds then don't go on to infect other people around me. now, some of the droplets might escape through the sides of the mask, but then they would fall down to the area around me. the latest figures show that masks now have to be worn everywhere in public in as many as 71 different countries. they are becoming more widely accepted. it's estimated that in italy, 80% of people now wear them, in the us, 70%, and in spain, 65%, while in the uk, the figure is 25%, though that may now be a bit higher since that data was gathered. and a new voice has entered the debate. with tourist destinations struggling, like the almost empty amalfi coast in italy, the travel industry now says that face coverings should be mandatory,

whatever different governments may think about that. the use of facemasks should not be political. there should not be stigma around it. it is just the way we go forward, to be able to move around freely while protecting others and also protecting ourselves. it's a big step to order face coverings to be worn beyond public transport, but as we learn more about how easily the virus can spread, masks are becoming part of the new normal in more aspects of our lives. david shukman, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: as the us supreme court rules that about half of oklahoma belongs to native americans, we get reaction from the state's attorney general. central london has been rocked by s

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 host of the world cup. in south africa, the possibility of losing had not even been contemplated. the man entered the palace between —— and made his way to the queens private bedroom. she summoned a man oi'i private bedroom. she summoned a man on duty who took the man away. one child. one teacher. one book. and one pan. they can change the world. education is the only solution.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines... turkey's president erdogan has signed a decree to turn one of country's most important buildings — aya sofya in istanbul — back into a mosque. the us has recorded another record jump in coronavirus cases — with more than 65,000 confirmed in a single day. results are starting to come in in singapore's election which has been conducted under strict social distancing conditions. the election is being seen as a referendum on the government's handling of the virus pandemic amid a backdrop of global economic crisis. i spoke a short while ago to sharanjit leyl in singapore as the results came in. yeah, i'm in a constituency that is a stronghold for the opposition party, and for the last couple of hours, the people here have been celebrating. i can barely hear you, i'm sure you can hear them. but essentially,

they been celebrating and really, you would think that they've had a big win, but in actuality, couldn't be further from the truth. it actually lost, but in singapore, where there is only ever been one party that has ruled, and that is the people's action party, the fact that the opposition workers' party has managed to pick up ten seats is actually a historic win since independence. so this is going to prompt a lot of soul—searching from the ruling part of the pap. any sort of shifts in terms of how they do tends to result in changes of policy, etc. and as you say, this is the pandemic election. it's been dubbed the pandemic election. the economy has been a chief worried for many people. singapore, of course, is a very open economy. it's a very trade—oriented economy, and the pandemic and the various lockdowns here as well as the rest of the world have really impacted it very, very badly.

they're expecting some of the worst numbers since independence. what's really interesting as well, we're right in the midst of this. it's a city with really strict rules, but we've been seeing in the last couple hours, there've been lots of flouting of the social distancing rules because of course, we are right in the middle of a pandemic. so potentially, this could cost them, but it's interesting to see the celebration going on. it's unusual in this city. in the united states, the country's top court made a historic ruling seen as a major victory for native indigenous tribes relegated since the 1800s to parcels of land in oklahoma. the supreme court ruled that nearly half of the state, including its second biggest city, tulsa, falls within native americanjurisdiction. the ruling stems from a 1997 sentence by an oklahoma court ofjimcy mcgirt

for sexual crimes. he challenged his conviction on the ground his crime took place on muscogee creek territory and therefore falls outside of oklahoma's jurisdiction. the 71—year—old argued successfully that only federal courts could rule on his criminal case as part of a treaty between native tribes and the us government. thejustices ruled 5 to 4 in favour of mcgirt. the ruling reaffirmed the jurisdiction of native tribal reservations in nearly half of oklahoma. the muscogee creek nation reservation encompasses 1.8 million people and spans three million acres. attorney general of oklahoma, mike hunter, says historic convictions in the state could now be challenged. well, the state found that the status quo, the relationship between the tribes and the state and the state having criminaljurisdiction over the tribal members and

non—tribal members was preferable to the outcome of the case but we were not surprised, we've actually been in negotiations with the five tribes in addition to muscogee creek. the ruling in thejimcy mcgirt case will likely be applied to, as you say, most of the eastern part of the state. we are very confident that they are going to be some hurdles, with respect to ensuring that individuals whose sentences are maybe impacted by this, will receive attention by federal law. the outcome here is thatjurisdiction over crimes within the muscogee

creek nation reservation lands is a shared responsibility between the federal government and the tribes. so, there will be some issues that we need to address, likely some of these people are going to have to decide whether they want to be retried or whether they will allow themselves to continue mistake —— state custody. we are confident that working with the tribes, the history, particularly in recent yea rs, history, particularly in recent years, is something we are very proud of and we are going to build on that. can you tell us a bit more about some of the steps you will be taken in the coming weeks and months that are going to be a direct result of this ruling? so, in the near term, we will be spending a good amount of time with state and local law enforcement to make sure they understand the ambit of the decision, the extent to which they are going to be working with the muscogee creek nation and their law

enforcement agents to make sure that public safety is a priority. with regard to the future, there has been months of work in anticipation of an outcome in this case with the five tribes to develop a proposed piece of legislation that will provide clarity to both civil and criminal jurisdiction in the treaty lands going forward. so, we are hopeful, we already have an agreement in principle that we are going to be submitted to congress and our hope is that we will be able to win passage of this before congress adjourns. the outcome will be that the state and the tribes will have concurrent jurisdiction the state and the tribes will have concurrentjurisdiction over crimes and the shared civiljurisdiction regime which i think we will all be very comfortable with.|j regime which i think we will all be very comfortable with. i was speaking to michael hunter, oklahoma's attorney general.

the high court in london has been hearing details of arguments between the actorjohnny depp, and his ex wife amber heard. mr depp has been giving evidence for a fourth day in his libel trial. he's suing the sun newspaper, for calling him a "wife beater". david sillito was in court. johnny depp and a fourth day of questioning about his turbulent relationship with his former wife amber heard. this case for libel against the publishers of the sun was triggered by an article that described johnny depp as a wife beater. in court, johnny depp was questioned about those alleged assaults. he was shown photographs and texts, all of which amber heard says is evidence she was attacked, and which he says is an elaborate hoax. he was asked about an incident involving a phone in may of 2016. it was put to him... he was shown this photograph and asked...

a police officer who was called at the time said her face was, she felt, flushed and red and from crying but there was no sign of any injury. it is part of a whole series of photos and text that have been shown to the court. johnny depp describes the evidence as a choreographed hoax, but news group newspapers says there is overwhelming evidence johnny depp assaulted amber heard in a relationship we heard today ended with an incident when cleaners discovered a deposit in their bed. the couple had yorkshire terriers, butjohnny depp said it wasn't left by a three or four lb dog. it was, he felt, a fitting end to their marriage. david sillito, bbc news. here in the uk, hundreds of people have gathered to pay their respects at the funeral of the world war two forces' sweetheart, dame vera lynn, who died last month at the age of 103. her cortege was accompanied by a battle of britain flypast as it travelled through her home village of ditchling in east sussex.

representatives from the royal british legion stood hello. if you were hoping to stay during friday, in many parts of the uk, the weather had a different idea. there were some heavy downpours to be dodged, and actually, over the last few days, you can see on the satellite picture all these different clumps of cloud that have worked through, bringing outbreaks of rain. but now, a gap appearing between the clouds. an area of high pressure building its way just in time for the weekend. that means it is looking dry for the vast majority. there will be some areas of patchy cloud with one or two showers, but most places will be fine with some spells of sunshine. saturday morning getting off to a rather chilly start. some spots down in single digits, but through the day, we're looking at long spells of sunshine. i think we'll see a bit of patchy clouds tending to bubble up as the day wears on. look closely, there may be one

or two showers in northwest england, northern ireland and scotland. even in these areas, the majority will stay dry. a noticeable west or northwesterly breeze. temperature is just a touch below par for this time of year, but in the sunshine, it won't feel too bad, 17—21d. a bit of rain will skip across orkney and shetland during saturday night. otherwise, it's dry with clear spells into the early hours of sunday. another rather cool start on sunday morning, but with our area of high pressure still in charge sunday, it going to be another dry day for most. the high pressure centre down to the south, where we'll have the best of the sunshine. more cloud further north, and behind me, you can see this frontal system. that will introduce something of a change very late in the day to northern ireland and western scotland. some splashes of rain getting in here by the very end of the afternoon, but for most, it stays dry. it's a warmer day on sunday as well. 19 degrees for glasgow, 23, maybe 2a down towards the south and the southeast of england. our area of high pressure tries to hold on into monday, but i

think this frontal system will make some progress southeastwards. bringing some splashes of rain on and off, the rain quite showery, quite sporadic in nature. there will be some dry spells as well. towards the southeast of england, it should stay dry for a good part of the day. still warmer here, but slightly cooler and fresher further north and west. through the week ahead, there is going to be a lot of dry weather. there'll be some spells of sunshine, the warmest weather down towards the south. some rain at times, most of that towards the north and the west.

as face coverings become mandatory, borisjohnson hence as face coverings become mandatory, boris johnson hence england as face coverings become mandatory, borisjohnson hence england could face similar measures. travellers arriving in the uk are no longer required to quarantine for two weeks, making it easier to go on holiday. after more than 65,000 coronavirus cases are confirmed in a single day in the us, we report from the worst hit state and ask what made the sun belt a covert hotspot. in thejohnny depp libel trial, more allegations of arguments and violence with his ex wife heard.