this is bbc news. i'm maryam moshiri with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. nasa astronauts splash down to earth in the first crewed us water landing in 45 years. one of president trump's top medical advisers says the us is entering a new phase in the coronavirus pandemic. a bbc investigation has found the number of deaths from coronavirus in iran is nearly three times higher than admitted. and a dramatic end to the british grand prix as lewis hamilton wins after a puncture on the final lap.

hello and welcome. nine weeks after the first commercial rocket to carry astronauts was launched to the international space station, the mission was completed when the craft splashed down in the gulf of mexico. it's the first space capsule to land in water in 45 years, ending a test flight for the new astronaut taxi service provided by the californian firm, spacex. our science correspondent rebecca morelle reports. 200m. brace for splashdown. copy, braced for splashdown. history in the making as the dragon capsule returns home. as you can see on your screen, we have visual confirmation for splashdown. applause. the first private spacecraft to bring astronauts back to earth.

dragon spacex, separation confirmed. theirjourney began from the international space station. this spacecraft‘s owned by us company spacex. inside, nasa's bob behnken and doug hurley are at the controls. as they hurtled through the earth's atmosphere, a heat shield protected them as temperatures reached up to 2000 degrees celsius. then, at last, a glimpse from the earth. we are visual on four chutes out. parachutes slow the rapid descent before splashdown. splashdown. this move to the commercial sector marks a major change. with the spacex reusable rockets and capsules, the cost of space flight is coming down. spacex has done the whole thing, so they can launch, they can dock, they can orbit the earth in a spacecraft and they can return to earth. and if you can do that safely, then anybody who chooses to, and if the company, in this case spacex, accepts their

money, then anybody can pay to send somebody into space. racing to the same, the recovery vessel. local boats have come to take a look, too. the scorched capsule is hoisted on board. there's a slight delay as noxious fumes from the landing are cleared. the hatch is now open. thank you for doing the most difficult part and the most important part of the space flight. then, at last, the first breath of fresh air for two months. both astronauts now out and ready to head home to see their families. it's the end of their mission, but a new era in commercial space flight is just beginning. we all wish you a safe journey home and a happy reunion with your families soon, and we look forward to seeing you in person as well. rebecca morelle, bbc news. 0ur science correspondent jonathan amos explained why the mission was so important.

this is a really important day for nasa. it's a really important day for the future of human space flight as well. you've got to understand what's happened here. nasa has completely changed its philosophy. gone are the days when it used to own and operate its own vehicles. no longer wants to do that, it wants to purchase the service from private companies. and spacex is the first to provide that service, but the boeing corporation also are working on a capsule system that they will introduce. and, you know, they're going to buy tickets in these capsules, nasa is going to buy tickets in these capsules like you and i would go and purchase a ticket to travel on an airliner. and what that's going to do is it's going to bring the cost of space flight down through competition, but it's going to bring the cost of space flight down so nasa saves money, billions of dollars it thinks, that it can then divert to the harder task of taking people back to the moon

and eventually on to mars. yeah, it's not just these two companies. we would hope that in the future many more will come forward to offer transportation services. in a sense, we are already seeing that because we are getting a lot of companies that want to do the robotics stuff as well, not people butjust moving equipment and instrumentation. and in fact when nasa goes back to the moon in the next two years, they have a target of 2024, we will see if they can make that, but certainly this decade, and when they go back they will go with commercial partners. so, you will very likely see nasa astronauts on the surface of the moon but their cargo, their supplies is delivered by the commercial sector. and then who knows, it eventually could be like the movie 2001 and it could be some panam like affair that takes you and i to the moon as well. libby jackson is human exploration programme manager

at the uk space agency. she also underlined the significance of the latest mission. by opening it up to other players, to commercial players is key for innovation. the spacex capital is the first one that's been designed in over 15 years. the space shuttle first flew when i was 15 months old nearly 40 years ago. so, by opening up to commercial players, you see different innovations, you see ways of doing things. but it is important that it's going to bring in new revenue streams. the spacex capsule allows up to seven people to fly. spacex is selling those tickets on the open market. you've got people that are going to have very big pockets, but that funding is going to support the development of the international space station and in, you know, a potential next space station. we're seeing a company looking at building a private one in the future. one of the top doctors on the white house covid—i9 task force has warned that the us has entered a new phase in its fight

against the virus. deborah birx said the disease was now a greater threat than when the outbreak began and cautioned people living in rural areas that they were not immune. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent peter bowes about deborah birx‘s comments. yes, she said the virus is now extraordinarily widespread, and she referred to this new phase and said that the virus essentially is as prevalent in america's rural districts as it is in urban america. you remember at the beginning of the outbreak, as the virus was spreading across united states back in march and april, it was those major cities like new york city that were worst affected. new york was the epicentre for some considerable time. but that's not the case now. it is those urban areas, it's the sun belt of america, those southern states, florida, texas, arizona and here in california, that are the worst affected. and she focused in,

she talked about multi—generational families. people who live in the same home, parents, children and grandparents, and she said that people should consider, seriously consider wearing a mask at all times, even while they're at home. she also talked about returning from holiday, presumably holiday around the country, returning to their neighbourhood. and she again said that those people should consider that they are infected, maybe they haven't had a test but she said they should assume that they are infected, and self—isolate when they get home to stop the spread, potential spread of the virus within their community. how likely is it, peter, given the attitude in america towards coronavirus that people are going to adhere to those kinds of bits of advice? yeah, i think that's the big problem at the moment. and here in california, around the los angeles area, one of the worst of the country right now, where you are supposed to wear a face mask

if you venture outside of your home, and clearly a lot of people are still not doing that. i was at one of the beaches in los angeles county just a few days ago and it was a really busy beach and my estimate was about 5% of people on that beach were actually wearing a mask despite signs posted as you entered the area that it was compulsory to wear a mask. people seem to follow the rules if they are going to their doctor's office or if they're going to a supermarket, but it's in places where there's a perception that they are not in danger people let down her guard. here in the uk, the government has insisted that further coronavirus restrictions will be targeted at local levels, with no plans for a national blanket approach. it comes after reports that new measures are being considered to avoid a nationwide lockdown. ministers will press ahead with plans to reopen schools in england to all pupils in september, despite concerns that it could drive up cases. here's our health correspondent lauren moss.

hello there, ma'am. welcome. it's a one—way system. it is the third day of tougher restrictions in parts of northern england to try and stop the recent rise of coronavirus infections. since friday, families and friends from different households have been advised not to mix. there's speculation even stricter steps could be taken. here in halifax, people are adjusting to the new rules. it's not good for me, because yesterday would've been the first day i could've gone in to where she lives, but obviously, with the new restrictions, i can't go in. looking around at the kids, they've been off school for nearly six months now. will they go back in september? which is more important, schools going back or pubs staying open? two of my family have had it, and both, fortunately, have recovered, but it's a horrible, horrible thing and we've got to try and protect each other from it. reports that millions of people over the age of 50

could be asked to shield if there's a second wave have been dismissed by the government. there's a lot of speculation about what might happen in the future, but what we're concentrating on is a targeted, rather than a blanket, approach, and so if the rate of infection rises to a concerning level, we will take decisive action. and you can see that we've done that in leicester, and we're doing it now in the north west. some experts believe it could mean more specific measures for particular at—risk groups. i have been able to estimate your personal risk of either being admitted to hospital or of suffering from severe disease if you do go into hospital. people might then be able to actually fine—tune their own behaviour in order to minimise the risk based on the true risk estimation. coronavirus cases have risen by about a quarter in the last fortnight, but containing the virus is not just about monitoring our behaviour. according to the scientific advisory group for emergencies, up to one in three people

still might not be aware of what coronavirus symptoms are. anyone with a high temperature of 37.8 degrees or higher, a new or continuous cough, or a recent change or loss of their sense of taste or smell should isolate for ten days and get a free covid test within the first five days of symptoms appearing. with schools in england set to reopen in a month, teaching unions have called for clarity and a plan b if more restrictions are necessary. tonight, a major incident has been declared in manchester following the increase in cases. authorities say it'll allow them to draw on extra resources if needed, but insist there are no alterations to the current guidance. experts have warned we are nearing a tipping point. if we cross it, further changes could be on the way. lauren moss, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. the capital region of the philippines is bringing back a stricter form of quarantine for two

weeks to tackle a surge in covid—i9 cases. it follows a warning from doctors and nurses that the country was losing the fight against the disease. muslim worshippers have performed the last ritual of the annual hajj pilgrimage to mecca, an event that's been overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. no more than 10,000 people were allowed to attend. the saudi authorities say no virus infections were reported. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, lewis hamilton's three—wheeled race to victory at silverstone. music. the question was whether we wanted to save our people and japanese as well and win the war, or whether we wanted to take a chance on being able to win the war by killing all our young men. the invasion began at 2am this morning. mr bush, like most other

people, was clearly caught by surprise. we call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all the iraqi forces. 100 years old and still full of vigour, vitality and enjoyment of life. no other king or queen in british history has lived so long, and the queen mother is said to be quietly very pleased indeed that she's achieved this landmark anniversary. this is a pivotal moment for the church as an international movement. the question now is whether the american vote will lead to a split in the anglican community. this is bbc news. the latest headlines — the first commercial manned mission to the international space station has splashed down

off the coast of florida. one of president trump's top medical advisers has warned that the disease is "extraordinarily widespread" in the us, affecting rural as well as urban areas. the us state of florida is bracing for the arrival of storm isaias, which is expected to hit the east coast shortly. isaias has weakened to a tropical storm after lashing the bahamas, but forecasters warn that it could strengthen back to a hurricane before making landfall. florida governor ron desa ntis has urged people to be prepared. don't be fooled by the downgrade. we do think it will be upgraded back to a hurricane later on this evening. even if it's tropical storm—force winds, you can pretty much be assured that you are going to see power outages. that's certainly a 70 mph wind

will be enough will be enough to take down trees and limbs, and that obviously interacts with power lines. so that will happen, and people should be prepared for that. a bbc investigation has found the number of deaths from coronavirus in iran is nearly three times higher than the government there claims. almost 42,000 people have died with covid—19 symptoms, according to official medical records passed to the bbc by a whistle—blower. iran's health ministry has rejected this, insisting that the country's reports to the world health organization are accurate. behrang tajdin from the bbc‘s persian service has the story. groaning. gasping forair in the last hours of life. this man became iran's first official coronavirus victim on the 19th of february. his brothers were doctors, and they posted this video on social media. after that, officials were left with no choice but to admit that covid—19 was killing iranians.

but it turns out his death from the virus was not iran's first. the bbc has seen what appear to be two official government documents. they contain every hospital patient they think was infected by covid—19 and all those they suspect died with the virus. together, they show iran's epidemic started earlier and was far deadlier than the official said it was. now we know the first death was actually a full month before officials came clean. the data suggests that on some days in february and march, covid—19 deaths were more than ten times higher than what officials were announcing. in total, 41,952 people have died in hospitals after the 20th ofjuly. three times as many as the official death toll. this figure puts iran among the five worst hit countries in the world.

this is an extraordinary leak. the files include a vast amount of personal and medical details, names, addresses, phone numbers and whether they had a history of respiratory or cardiac disease. there are nearly half a million records listed in the two files. and the bbc has made strenuous efforts to authenticate the data. the whistle—blower told that passing on this information was dangerous but worth it. act or's voice: risking my life, i'm sending you the lists of coronavirus infections and deaths in all the hospitals of the country. i urge you to publish these figures as you see fit. so we can save that some patients lives. why would iran cover up the true scale of the outbreak? the pandemic started in the run—up to parliamentary elections in february. it was only after those elections that iran started imposing some restrictions

to stop the spread. as the economy was already in deep recession, the government let businesses reopen in the spring. the leaders of the islamic republic fear any sign maybe that's why they hid the true scale of the pandemic.