the headlines. the world health organization says intense transmission of coronavirus is now restricted to a handful of countries, but warns people not to be complacent as global cases continue to rise. a chinese scientist suspected of visa fraud and concealing ties to the military is reported to have fled to china's consulate in san francisco. prosecutors allege china is sending undercover army scientists to the us. face coverings will be compulsory in shops and supermarkets in england from friday. full guidance has been published and venues such as restaurants, pubs and gyms will be exempt. and the latest round of brexit trade talks has ended, with the uk saying there was no prospect of a deal this summer, and the eu calling on britain to be more willing to compromise. you are watching bbc news.

a very warm welcome to you. we will carry on now with use from the uk. —— news from the uk. the uk's nhs test and trace system is falling short of reaching the number of people infected with covid—19 it needs to get to, to be effective. latest figures suggest just under four out of five people are being contacted, that's around 78%. experts say it should be at least 80%. all this comes as 53 more people have died in the latest 24—hour period, bringing the total number of deaths in the uk, to 45,554. on average in the past week, 62 people have died every day from covid 19. meanwhile 200 walk—in test centres are to set up across england in time for winter. here's our health editor, hugh pym. this family on their way to walk and testing centre, they want to get a

coronavirus test because there was a case at his son's nursery. they must provide personal- details provide personal contact details then they take the kids and get the swa bs then they take the kids and get the swabs which are sent onto the labs. they are told results should be back the next day. they set the whole process was straightforward. easy, convenient. i would advise people to come in and get them tested. if they have any symptoms. this was one of the first walking sites, the idea you could come in without booking and it is open 2a hours a day. the bosses have set up a major task rating a network like this around citizen on the country in time for winter with all the pressures that will bring. the executive leading the test and trace programme in england explained it was all about better access. we want to make sure the majority of people living in urban environments and within —— are within 30 minutes walk of a testing centre. we already have good access

for driving testing and we will continue to expand that but for lots of us who live in big cities who don't have cars, we don't drive. the top ten highest uk infection rates in the week ending july 18 were on england. back burn and darwen had the highest number of cases, an increase of 32. leicester has 7a cases, a significant drop of 51. herefordshire also saw a fall in infection rates, a couple have seen decreases and the rest has seen increases. it remains to reach context of those who have tested positive so they could be told to set in fisa late but in blackburn and darwen, they said the system was not getting to about half of the contacts. he felt it wasn't really delivering in that area, what you say to that? it is a team effort contact tracing and it is really important that we work together locally and nationally. 0n

important that we work together locally and nationally. on average between 70 and 80% of contacts and reach by national teams. the work in creating testing sites and laboratories to test swabs have been welcomed by world leaders though some argue it was started too late. there have been some improvements but i think we are paying the price for the initial stop start approach of government in testing. so when the pandemic first broke, we didn't have a comprehensive approach to how we we re have a comprehensive approach to how we were going to test and trace. experts have warned that a robust test in tracing system must be in place for the possibility of another surge in cases. hugh penn, bbc news. the eu's chief brexit negotiator, says there's a real risk a trade deal cannot be agreed with the uk, by the end of the year. after the latest round of negotiations in london, michel barnier said the two sides were "still far away,"

with a major sticking point being the access of eu fishing boats to british waters. the government has confirmed there is a "considerable" divide, between no 10 and brussels but they are committed to more talks through august and september. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young has the details. the days of noisy protests — the anger, thejubilation — seem a long time ago. we've left the eu, but the changes won't come until the end of the year. after another round of talks in london, the eu's chief negotiator wasn't exactly upbeat. this week, again, the uk did not show a willingness to break the deadlock. by its current refusal to commit to the condition of open and fair competition and to a balanced agreement on fishery, the uk makes a trade agreement at this point unlikely. there are small signs of progress towards a brexit trade deal —

the structure of the agreement will now be simpler after the uk dropped demands for several separate deals, negotiators are closer to agreeing a limit to the role of the european court ofjustice. but there is still deadlocked over fishing and competition rules designed to stop businesses in one country undercutting those in another. we will negotiate energetically, we've got a round in august, in fact, and we will certainly talk through september if we can. we will have to see what can be done. obviously, we must prepare for every outcome, and it is possible that we won't reach agreements, but we're going to work very energetically to try to do so. michel barnier will be back here next week for more talks, so although the language today was quite negative, the two sides are still negotiating, and uk insiders say the progress is genuine. a breakthrough might not be imminent, but a deal in the autumn is still possible. the relationship with our closest neighbours will soon change. what happens over the next few months will determine how dramatic the shift will be.

vicki young, bbc news, westminster. more people are being lured to activities on britain's rivers, as lockdown measures ease. open—water swimming, kayaking and angling are enjoying a surge in popularity. it comes as proposals to strengthen public access to rivers in england are being considered by parliament. our environment correspondent, claire marshall reports. earlier today, the river avon. the wiltshire wild swimmers are out. it's an escape. it's like swimming in silk. this morning they took me with them. caroline is a nurse. she works in a bristol hospital. she first took the plunge here during lockdown. it's had a real effect on my mental health. i've been able to come off anti—depressants i was taking for a couple of years within a few weeks of swimming two to three times a week.

according to government data from may, almost half of adults say nature and wildlife are more important than ever to their well—being. it's really difficult to know where you're allowed to go on a river. i mean, there's no footpaths and it can be very easy to end up breaking the law and trespassing. but you see everybody having such a good time and you can understand the arguments for wanting to open it up to everyone. i've picked up nappies, there's plastic cups... but look at the downside. across the country, familiar post—lockdown scenes. an online map of wild swimming spots was recently taken down after local communities said they were overwhelmed. some believe our rivers, particularly smaller ones, should be treated with more respect, largely left in peace. unfortunately, it's always a delicate balance. the more humans you throw at nature, the less nature tends to do well and so we have to really make sure

that access is balanced to preserve the beauty of the rivers in their fragile state as they are. however, one landowner in somerset believes bringing humans closer to nature is key to conservation. on a really busy day maybe 1,000 people come through the gates. and that's despite johnny palmer's own experience. stop leaving rubbish. it's actually disgusting, and it ruins places like this. he believes it's about cultural change. the more we use rivers, the more we're aware of our environment. if you're in a river, you think a lot about where does your sewage go. you think about what might be in the river. you instantly start taking a massive interest in other aspects of your environment. so the more people engage with rivers and waterways, the better in my view. the pandemic has changed us. we're exploring closer to home. the question is whether we'll work together to share the land and the water. claire marshall, bbc news, somerset. a cigarette case and personal letter

gifted to lionel logue from king george vi has been sold at auction. the lot was expected to sell for around £4000 but proved to be a little more popular than expected in the auction room as jack surfleet reports. colin firth and geoffrey rush in the kings speech for some. it wasn't just therapy, it was a friendship, one that lasted decades as the king sought help for all his mean speeches and broadcasts such as here at his coronation in 1937. the king is crowned. as a way of thinking him, the king gifted him the cigarette case personal letter. both went up for auction this morning in salisbury. i think it's incredibly

significant. the secret case on its own, not so much, they were general broke gifts that king george would've given to number of people. but the fact that it comes with this leather, dispute for 3—page letter to him from the king, it is a very genuine heartfelt letter stop you don't often get the opportunity to promote something like this, something that resonates with so many people. and see it go off to eat good home for some it was expected to fetch between four and £6,000 but after winning the collective pa rt of £6,000 but after winning the collective part of the audience... thank you very much. the letter and case fetch more than ten times that in the art good shrimp —— auction room.

face coverings will be compulsory in shops and supermarkets in england from tomorrow and you've been sending in your questions. my colleaguejane hill has been going through some of them. so face coverings are compulsory in shops and supermarkets in england from friday already compulsory in scotla nd from friday already compulsory in scotland of course and we have been getting an awful watt of questions about facemasks and face coverings. let's get there as many as you can with doctor simon williams who is a senior lecturer and researcher in public health at swansea university and by doctor elizabeth, virologist

at saint georges university of london. i warm welcome to both of you and a lot of questions. simon i will start with you, we have a question opening from debjordan who says "why do you have to wear a mask asa says "why do you have to wear a mask as a shopper but not if you are the person working in a shop?" at the moment that's exactly right, it is not compulsory for shopper supermarkets have to wear face currents but it bears noting that they are recommended to use masks specifically where other medications are not in place. so that's where you will see the screens, the visors that many staff have used. in insta nces that many staff have used. in instances where the staff are behind the screen, they are encouraged to wear face coverings, this the screen, they are encouraged to wearface coverings, this is the screen, they are encouraged to wear face coverings, this is a set out in the government's covid—19 secure guidelines. it's not

compulsory but measures are being taken in stores for the safety of employees. it is encouraged. there is quite a wide ranging question here our second question someone asking "is there a chance from infection from contaminated discarded masks?" infection from contaminated discarded masks? " unfortunately infection from contaminated discarded masks?" unfortunately seen them lie around already, aren't we? what are your thoughts on that?“ we think about how a facemask or covering works which is to trap the droplets when we cough, speak or sneeze, droplets when we cough, speak or sneeze, a droplets when we cough, speak or sneeze, a discarded mask does have the potential of carrying a virus and therefore if we touch it then we come into contact with the virus. it is quite important to say the virus does not enter our bodies by the skin. so the danger of touching is we touch the mask and then we touch out we touch the mask and then we touch our noses and face. recommendations, absolutely if you can avoid touching absolutely if you can avoid touching a mask that is not yours but also

yours when you wear it, don't do it but also masks themselves. anytime you handle a mask before after wearing it, do wash her hands. face coverings do not work by themselves, we still need to implement the handwashing. interesting that you say that because sometimes handwashing has gotten forgotten about over the last few weeks. so handwashing is still vitally important, one of the most important tools in all of this? absolutely, the virus is still the virus that we got to know in january. it still has this living bilayer outside of it which can be killed by soap and gel, soap is still a fantastic tool when it comes to getting rid of the virus oi'i it comes to getting rid of the virus on hands and services. simon i will give a question to you from mark goddard which sounds like a politician bonsai question but i will ask you anyway, it's an interesting one. "who is supposed to

enforce these rules with michael's what he says he commutes into went everyday and he reckons still 20% of people on the tube aren't wearing a mask and it has been compulsory on public transport for a while so your thoughts on that? the short answer is those responsible are the police. various transport police are primarily the ones in tasks, legally it will be the enforcement of those face coverings on public transport with the ability to find people that are not complying £100. his observation is that is about right, research has shown about 90%, 80—90% of travellers on public transport are wearing face coverings, so i'm somewhat surprised to see a minority that aren't generally speaking because the government has followed through with engagement rather than enforcement where they stipulate they want people to adjust to the new rules and i think we might expect something similar with the

face coverings in shops where enforcement is tightened up after this initial adjustment period but as with public transport, those who are responsible for enforcement really aren't the shop keepers although it will be on the doors of shops, it will be the police although those working in shops have the discretion to refuse entry for example if people are not wearing face coverings. i did not know that there were already stats on it, and there were already stats on it, and there are exceptions for some people which we will mention later. some of those people might have a legitimate extension but 20% sounds quite a lot doesn't it? we try to use the word face coverings because we do not wa nt to face coverings because we do not want to apply the someone has to go out and pay a lot of money for the shop bought mask but an interesting point elisabetta from avril who has contacted us to say "is of vice are regarded as an acceptable face covering chris michael's will and i am assuming she is talking about the large plastic visor that attaches around the head here. does that

count? it counts but it is not enough by itself. the recommendation actually, the advice from the uk government is specific about something that covers not only the face and mouth but securely fits around the side of the face. face coverings, homemade, amass, even a scarf, visors by themselves is not enough. that is really interesting. and john bradley is asking elisabetta i was there with you in this because he is saying "why do we have to wear face must know when new infections are fewer than 1,000 away and we did not have to wear when at the height of the pandemic?" interesting question from john bradley. if we look back at the height of the pandemic about the most important thing for all of us do was to stay at home, was to drastically limit the interactions we had with any person who was

outside our households. now that we have fantastically reduce the number of new infections but also the numberof of new infections but also the number of new cases, we are looking ata number of new cases, we are looking at a different context. we are looking at how to start interacting with people, how to coexist with the virus and in this context, face coverings to have a role. 0k. simon question from this isjohnson. i think alluding to the fact that the rules have been fairly confused from time to time. liz says "why haven't they just said wear time to time. liz says "why haven't theyjust said wear a mask in public at all times apart from when you are eating and drinking?" at all times apart from when you are eating and drinking? "ij at all times apart from when you are eating and drinking?" i am not a politician but i think we can discuss how the advice has been over the course of the pandemic. but i think in regard to this question, the two related factors the first is as long as people are able to physically distance, we can be in public and quite easily maintain

ideally a two metre plus distance between other people, also we may be in public in a fairly open space. the risk of transmission here is relatively low so in these kind of insta nces relatively low so in these kind of instances mass where he may not be necessary. i think the related point to this is that we have known from behavioural sciences that the introduction of the new behaviour and safety behaviour leads people to bea and safety behaviour leads people to be a bit complacent. the other safety behaviours take more risks. i think the rationale here is if we just say we should wear masks in public consistently and always, thin people might be likely to go out more than they otherwise would or as elisabetta was saying they might be a little less stringent with their hand hygiene and social distancing. and we have to remove or all of those points. elisabetta a question from kath pearson about question, "why is it a face covering must be worn by anyone who is over the age of three if you are going into hospital but when we talk about shops and transport, it is 11? was

quote why is there discrepancy? the guidelines of the uk governments for children between the age of three and 11 is not about wear. it is about a general guidance of if you have children between that age group, it is highly recommended to make them wear masks, face coverings is not compulsory. i think when it comes to children, it is quite important to work with them instead of making something compulsory. 3-11, it of making something compulsory. 3—11, it doesn't matter if you are going to the hospital or shops, try to engage with the children and try to engage with the children and try to explain why there are a good thing but also try to give them the freedom to adjust to the change. what is very important is under three in england and under five in scotland. for them therefore too young to wear a mask safely so definitely they are the absolute exception for some i will stay with

you macro because an interesting point from a postman c parkinson says "i prefer a number of shops. but i've literally walk in straight ina straight but i've literally walk in straight in a straight out. as a military for me or any post—man or woman to put a mask on every time i go into a shop when i am dropping off male?" —— is it important for me... he is working asa it important for me... he is working as a postman. he enters a shop as pa rt of as a postman. he enters a shop as part of hisjob so not as a customer. so the compulsory face coverings do not apply to him because he is performing hisjob. the guidance is less clear when it comes to wearing face coverings while you perform yourjob. in this instance where it comes down to the individual employers and employees to assess the situation and see what works, and i think it is quite important to see that they need to assess the situation that this particular gentleman is finding and

because of course, just entering is possibly a much smaller risk than if you go in and start trying on things or do you go in and start trying on things ordoa you go in and start trying on things or do a little bit of window shopping from the inside. thank you steve for that question and thank you two postal workers who have kept going during lockdown of course, very important work. simon i come back to you a question from helen who says "my daughter works in retail. she is asthmatic and uses an inhaler every day. she has been told she has to wear a mask from friday. surely she should be exempt? " your thoughts on that. the short answer is possibly for some i think the mass guidance from asthma uk has said that people with asthma who can work and where facemask without problems in relation to breeding should do so. the official wording of the guidance for exemptions in

disregard would be those were not able to put on or wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness, impairment or disability. what they recommend is perhaps you can try it on at home, a facemask orface perhaps you can try it on at home, a facemask or face covering, walk short walks around the block and if you are impaired, it depends on the severity of the nature of the asthma if it is storable than they recommend that she wears it. otherwise it is possible to get exemptions. you take us nicely onto the whole question of exceptions because it's important and something we wa nt because it's important and something we want to talk about. i think i will stay with you simon, a question from louise, "how can we show shopkeepers that we are exempt? is there an official card we should be carrying or is a shop worker adjustment to take our word for it that we are indeed exempt in the category of people that is not obliged to wear one?" it is

important for people in this category, your thoughts on that simon for some unfortunately i think this is one of the instances where there might be difficulties and challenges both for those trying to enforce and thus are legitimately exempt. to the best my knowledge it is not official card of proof that is not official card of proof that is required to show you are exempt from the rule set out by the government. i think it does come down to discretion of the individuals and the shopkeepers. there is a card that the charity hidden disabilities noble which cost about 55p that people can buy which isa about 55p that people can buy which is a form of proof that te marker but it is unofficial. i think it become done to individual cases and there could be some challenges from this. it is worth mentioning i spoke toa this. it is worth mentioning i spoke to a lady earlier in the day and said that on the main cap website,

you can download take a photo of something that you can show to people on your website if you are indeed exempt to find it uncomfortable to wear a facemask or if you have a learning disability or certain people who do not have to wear one and you can make the point you could go to the website and access that as well. some give—and—ta ke for access that as well. some give—and—take for all of us really in these unusual times. as ever very good to talk to both of you, thank you very much for both of you. doctor simon wayans from swansea university and doctor elisabetta groppelli from saint georges at the university of london. thanks again. —— simon williams. hello, good evening. if you were hoping for a prolonged spell of dry, settled, sunny, warm weather over the next few days, what that is not what we are going to get. the area of high pressure that would bring us that is centred

a long way to our south across the azores. you can see the clear skies on the satellite picture. but in our neck of the woods we have these various stripes of cloud working in from the atlantic, various frontal systems but we are over the next 24 hours going to see a bit of a gap between those weather systems. so one sliding away as we go through tonight taking rain with it. i think we will have a lot of cloud left across southern parts of england and south wales, maybe a bit misty and murky for some as well. but mild, 15 degrees for plymouth, cardiff, 16 in london. further north, it will be that bit cooler. because the skies will be clearer and that is where we see the best of the sunshine tomorrow morning. a fairamount of the sunshine tomorrow morning. a fair amount of pride in southern england in south wales which could produce the on shower and a small chance for white shower and east of england. but for many of us a fine day with sunny spells although thicker cloud will introduce heavy bursts of rain in northern are going through the second half of the afternoon. very warm with temperatures in between 18—24, but

during friday night that wayne in the west of northern ireland will sweep its way eastwards and very heavy thundery bursts of rain heralding the arrival of low— pressure heralding the arrival of low—pressure just—in—time for the weekend. it is not going to look or feel very much like summer. it will be unusually windy for the time of year, some sunny spells but also very heavy showers and a longer spells of rain. saturday morning we will take the overnight band of rain away and northeastward spy through the day i want of heavy thundery shares will pop up. if you do catch one of those downpours they could give you a watch of rain... some sunny spells between the showers, a little bit cooler further west you are and into sunday, low—pressure still in charge. showers particularly towards the north—west, a better chance of staying drier the further south and ecr but another blustery day with the windiest weather towards the north—west of scotla nd weather towards the north—west of scotland and for most of us it is going to feel fairly cool, 17

degrees for glasgow and belfast may be getting up to about 23 in london and norwich.

hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. welcome to outside source. we start with a new warning from the world health organisation. it says intense transmission of coronavirus is now restricted to a handful of countries, but says people shouldn't be complacent as global cases continue to rise. more than 15 million cases of covid—19 have now been reported to who. the us now has over four million confirmed cases of the virus. we'll bring you a comprehensive global round—up. prosecutors in the us say a chinese scientist accused