this is bbc news, i'm nancy kacungira with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. another record jump in coronavirus cases in the united states. we report from arizona — where infections are surging. arizona is now the coronavirus hotspot, notjust in the united states but the world. britain's mrime minister appears in a mask for the first time in public, hinting at a tightening of the rules. turkey's president signs a decree converting one of the world's most iconic buildings, istanbul's hagia sophia, back into a mosque. amazon says an email asking employees to remove tiktok from their mobile devices was sent in error. and on the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the battle of britain, the schoolgirl from london

who helped the raf, beat the luftwaffe. total of global coronavirus infections, and nowhere has been hit harder than america. the country's top health official for infectious diseases now says some us states should delay ending their lockdowns. this graph shows the number of daily cases since the start of the pandemic, the number was falling towards the end of last month, but now there's a steep rise, topping 60,000 in recent days, the highest single—day tallies for any country, since the pandemic began. the states in darker blue have had the most cases per head of population in the last week,

with the worst hit being south carolina, with an average of 305 daily cases per million people. louisiana with 321 and florida with 423. but the state with the most cases is arizona, from where our correspondent, sophie long reports. 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—19, you've missed your opportunity to intervene and get them into isolation so they don't infect theirfamily 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. of who gets to get that 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. 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 british 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. 0ur 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. 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. 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. tropical storm fay has made landfall in newjersey, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. it forced the closure of a number of beaches in delaware while roads were flooded in ocean city and a number of coastal towns in new jersey. heavy rain also fell in new york city as the storm moved north. president trump said the storm was being closely monitored. president erdogan of turkey has signed a highly controversial decree, turning one of the world's most historically significant buildings — the hagia sophia — back into a mosque. the unesco world heritage site has remained the spiritual home to 0rthodox christianity since it was built in the sixth century, with the move drawing comdemnation from both religious and heritage groups. from istanbul, 0rla 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 0ttoman 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 0rhan 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—i9. but many in the international community say it belongs to humanity and should have been left unchanged. 0rla guerin, bbc news, istanbul. ghislaine maxwell, the former girlfriend of the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein, has strongly denied charges that she helped him sexually exploit girls as young as 14 and even participated in the abuse. her lawyers have requested her release from a us prison on $5 million bail. 0ur correspondent nada tawfik has more. this court filing by ghislaine maxwell's attorneys comes ahead of a court hearing

planned for tuesday, where a federaljudge will decide if she can be released from prison pending trial. and so, this was really an argument against the government's position that she is a flight risk. they say that she is not a flight risk, that she hasn't left the united states in the past year, and that in fact, afterjeffrey epstein‘s arrest, she had actually reached out to prosecutors through her counsel. she said instead, she should be released on bail with a bond of $5 million, that she would surrender her travel documents and not leave the new york area, and that she would also agree to home confinement with electronic gps monitoring. now we know prosecutors will be arguing strongly that she should remain in custody, given the horrendous crimes she faces and the lengthy amount of prison time if convicted, along with the three passports

she has and her wealth. now another interesting part of this profiling was that it really gave an insight into the defence‘s strategy. what they said here is that ghislaine maxwell is being wrongfully substituted for the deceased epstein. they say that she is not jeffrey epstein, and that in fact, she hadn't been in touch with him for more than a decade before his death. so clearly trying to distance her from jeffrey epstein and his crimes. what also was very fascinating about this filing was that they said they planned to challenge legally a lot of this indictment. in part, they want to challenge her prosecution in general, saying that she is essentially protected by a nonprosecution agreement that epstein reached with the department ofjustice in 2007 where any potential co—conspirators could not be tried. so it's an interesting tactic here — you have her attorneys saying they will legally

challenge the prosecution, but also that they will vigorously defend her innocence. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: in thejohnny depp libel trial, more allegations of arguments and violence with his ex wife amber heard. after months of talks and missed deadlines, a deal has been struck to keep greece within the eurozone. the immediate prospect of greece going bust in the worst crisis to hit the eurozone has been averted. emergency services across central europe are stepping up their efforts to contain the worst floods this century. nearly 100 people have been killed. broadway is traditionally called the great white way by americans, but tonight it's completely blacked out. it is a timely reminder to all americans of the problems the energy crisis have brought to them. leaders meet in paris for a summit on pollution, inflation, and third world debt.

this morning, theyjoined the revolution celebrations for a show of military might on the champs—elysees. wildlife officials in australia have been coping with a penguin problem. fairy penguins have been staggering ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on a huge shoal of their favourite food — pilchards. some had eaten so much they could barely stand. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines. the us has recorded another record jump in coronavirus cases, with more than 65,000 confirmed in a single day britain's prime minister appears in a mask for the first time in public, hinting at a tightening of the rules. the online retailer amazon says an email sent to its employees asking them to remove tiktok from their mobile devices

was sent in error. the app is owned by a chinese company and has come under scrutiny because of fears it could share data with china. with me is our reporter freya cole. has amazon given any more detail about this e—mail mix—up? detail about this e—mail mix-up? amazon has backtracked. roughly five hours after the initial e—mail was sent, a company spokesman said it was sentin company spokesman said it was sent in error and that there was no change in policy with regard to tiktok. to give context, earlier in the day, the company sent out a staff e—mail saying to remove the app from any mobile phone device which also had access to company e—mails. the e—mail said, as you said, there were security risks and staff had to delete the app. amazon is now

saying that was all a mistake and is yet to shed any real light as to how the mistake was able to occur. this is in the first time that tiktok is coming under scrutiny when it comes to security concerns. no, there has always been paranoia about the chinese owned app and certainly this year that paranoia has grown and there have been several issues that have been several issues that have come to light. us secretary of state mike pompeo has banned his department staff from downloading the social media app, and he has revealed the us administration is considering a us ban as well. an australian politician shares those concerns of privacy and data breach but i suppose most notably for tiktok last week, india bound the app. india is the social media's firms largest market by far, it has an estimated 611 million

downloads so that is a huge loss to tiktok. was that over security concerns? the indian official said it was over security concerns but tensions have been rising between india and china after a squamish on the himalayan, the disputed hit the himalayan, the disputed hit the main border. —— the disputed himalayan border. it has become clear that tiktok is like a geopolitical tool of conflict between china and several other countries around the world. thank you very much. venice has been carrying out the first full test of its multi—billion dollar flood defence system. the project is made up of 78 mobile barriers, which can be raised in the lagoon to stop tidal surges from the adriatic sea. the system won't come into full operation for at least another year—and—a—half. the high court in london has been hearing details of arguments between the actor johnny 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 evidencejohnny 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 orfour 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 with flags as they waited to honour dame vera. there was also a private service at the crematorium chapel which included music from a buglerfrom the royal marines. it's emerged a schoolgirl from london had a hand in the raf‘s victory in the battle of britain. she helped improve the firepower of the airforce's new fighters, the spitfire and the hurricane, which were key to defeating the german luftwaffe. sophie raworth explains. newsreel: way up in the sky there are messerschmitts, junkers, heinkels and dorniers, that are going to get the thrashing of their lives. july, 1940, and nazi germany is beginning the first of many bombing raids in what became known as the battle of britain. but the raf‘s pilots managed to fight off the luftwaffe and defend these shores in their spitfires and hurricanes. it is the most famous plane from world war ii. it played a crucial role in the battle of britain. but what we didn't know

until now, was the role that a 13—year—old girl played in this design. this new generation of fighter plane had originally been designed with just four machine guns. but this man, captain fred hill, a scientific officer in the air ministry, became convinced that four guns would not be enough. each plane needed eight. he faced stiff opposition. most thought eight guns would be too many, impossible to fit on the planes, but captain hill was convinced he was right, so he turned to an unlikely person for help — his 13—year—old daughter, hazel, a talented mathematician. together, around their kitchen table, they worked through the night on complex calculations to prove that eight guns firing at least 1000 rounds a minute was essential for success. they talked about burning the midnight oil and coming into the office late after everybody‘s gone,

to carry out further calculations and borrow some bits of equipment to carry out experiments, more or less of their own bat, working very long hours because they were really dedicated to these things. and of course, people taking their work home. hazel told her sons about her role when they were growing up. amazing that history hangs on so fine a thread. you know, if she got the calculations wrong or if she hadn't been asked to help, and the decision had not been made to go with eight guns, who knows what could have happened. this graph, presented to the air ministry in 1934, was the result of hazel‘s calculations. with eight guns firing, the fighters typically had just two seconds to hit their target before pulling away. they had to get incredibly close to the enemy planes, just 250 yards away, to stand a chance of shooting them down. hazel‘s calculations meant the government changed its mind. so you got three german fighters that day? 98—year—old squadron leader

alan scott flew both the spitfire and hurricanes. the battle of britain proved to be a turning point in the war. it was the bravery and success of the pilots that made victory possible, but without the support of many others, the battle may not have been won. what a great inspiration for young people today, young girls in particular, that can look upon someone like hazel in the early 1930s making such an important contribution to our later success in the battle of britain, which was vital to this country's survival. 80 years after the battle of britain, hazel hill is finally getting the public recognition she deserved. a reminder of our top story: the world health organization has reported a record daily total of global coronavirus infections, and nowhere has been hit harder than america. the country's top health official for infectious diseases, now says some us states, should delay ending their lockdowns.

that's it for now. keep it here on bbc news. thanks for your company. hello. if you were hoping to stay dry 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 parfor this time of year, but in the sunshine, it won't feel too bad, 17—21 celsius. a bit of rain will skip across 0rkney 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 24 down towards the south and the southeast of england. 0ur 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.

this is bbc news. the headlines...

the world health organization has reported a record daily total of global coronavirus infections, and nowhere has been hit harder than america. the country's top health official for infectious diseases, now says some us states, should delay ending their lockdowns. arizona reported 65,000 coronavirus cases in a single day. as face coverings become mandatory in shops in scotland, borisjohnson hints that england could face similar measures. at the moment, they're only mandatory on public transport, but the british prime minister says the scientific advice on masks has shifted. unesco says it deeply regrets a decision by turkey to turn one of the world's most famous buildings — hagia sophia in istanbul — back into a mosque.