this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the uk is officially suffering its biggest recession on record, the fall in output caused by the coronavirus pandemic is thought to be one of the worst among major economies. today's figures show that hard times are here. hundreds of thousands of people have already lost theirjobs, and sadly many more will. students in england may be able to use their mock exam scores if they're unhappy with their a—level grades, ahead of results being released tomorrow. we are just leaving no stone unturned to make sure every student, in whatever circumstances, gets the grade that reflects their ability. what we have now got is a system

which clearly is not looking fit for purpose. the government itself is clearly acknowledging that by announcing more and more changes to it. and you can get in touch with me about any and you can get in touch with me aboutany up and you can get in touch with me about any up to lack of stories using my handle or using the hashtag. senator kamala harris makes history after she's named asjoe biden‘s presidential running mate — the first black woman to be a candidate for vice—president. as new zealand's largest city is put back into lockdown — experts investigate whether coronavirus could have re—entered the country through freight shipments. and many parts of the uk experienced dramatic thunderstorms overnight — with some comparing it to being in the tropics.

good morning and welcome to bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. the coronavirus pandemic has now officially pushed the uk into recession for the first time in more than a decade. figures published by the office for national statistics this morning show that economic output as measured by gross domestic product plunged by a record 20.4% between april and june. the ons says the economy bounced back injune as government restrictions on movement started to ease. but the data indicates the slump is one of the biggest among advanced economies, according to preliminary estimates. shadow chancellor, anneliese dodds, described the figures as a tragedy — the chancellor, rishi sunak, said the figures confirmed that hard hard times were here.

what we are grappling with something thatis what we are grappling with something that is unprecedented. we don't have a playbook for how to deal with it. that's why i think we should have some humility about our ability to precisely predict the economy, or know exactly what the right policy responses. which is why i've been prepared to put aside ideology and dogma, at the beginning of this crisis, and do what i believed was right to protect people's jobs, their incomes and businesses, through what is unprecedented and difficult time. and i think we have done that. our plan forjobs that we outlined last month was a significant set of announcements to support, protect and createjobs across the united kingdom, whether it is our kick—start scheme to support young people who are particularly badly affected by this, new incentives for apprenticeships, oi’ new incentives for apprenticeships, or the it out to help out initiative, to protect 2 million jobs in hospitality. we are going to do everything we can to protect people's jobs in what is a very difficult and uncertain time.

our business correspondent, katie prescott, is here. we had all priced in that the news was going to be bad. but how bad is it? put it in context for us, both historically and comparing the uk to other major economies. we have got used to some very big numbers during the coronavirus pandemic, but this is extraordinary, even though it is what economists predicted. when you look at something like the 2008 financial crisis, we were talking about contractions and economic growth, shrinking over three months, by about 2%. this is 20%. so it is massive, a massive hit to the economy. in terms of where it sits globally, it is about double what other major nations are seeing, america has seen a contraction of 10.5%, america has seen a contraction of io.5%, germany about the same, spain is second only to the uk. and that, people think, is because the uk went into lockdown slightly later and for

slightly longer. we are also extremely dependent on the services sector. of course, with the restrictions in place, that is one area of the economy that really has been suppressed. so those are the reasons, really, that they think the uk has suffered more. take us through, we have some graphics coming up, some through, we have some graphics coming up, some more through, we have some graphics coming up, some more detail on when the economy was really starting to dip. april was the real low point for the economy. i remember breaking a figure a few months ago and it was quite staggering, dropping by 20%. as things started to open up and restriction started to be lifted, the number the economist were really looking at is what happened injune. we can see that bounce, by 8.7%. that is on a really low base. we need to put it into perspective. what we are looking to see now is what happens going forward, when are we going to come out of this economic downturn. the bank of england think it will be the end of next year before we see returns to levels of growth before the pandemic. i think we have another

graphic, showing the recovery. but this is when we were going into recession. i think we got it slightly cart before horse with the graphics. but the debt is happening? incredible to see it looking like that, it does show the depth of it. asi that, it does show the depth of it. as i say, economists now are trying to say that these are backward —looking numbers, we know the economy really struggled during the downturn, and what the restrictions did to businesses. it's what happens next that will be really important. lets talk about this. because lots of people will be asking this morning what does this mean for them? what does it mean for the cost of living, for mortgages, savings etc. what can we say about that? of living, for mortgages, savings etc. what can we say about that7m is interesting, i think a lot of people will know that we are in recession already because they will have felt it. you know, jobs, for example, is going to be one of the things that people are going to really feel. unemployment levels are going to rise. the bank of england

says they could almost double by the end of the year. that is something, i think, that people will really start to be worried about as the furlough scheme, supporting a third of private sectorjobs, starts to be unravelled in october. we are already seeing big companies laying off workers. debenhams, for example, laying off 2500 people yesterday. it's that sort of consumer confidence, i think, it's that sort of consumer confidence, ithink, that it's that sort of consumer confidence, i think, that people will really start to peel. and that concern about those economic issues. briefly, the uncertainty of what happens with the virus as we head towards autumn and winter? indeed, particularly for businesses, if the restriction is will come back again. we saw in the ons data that businesses are not operating at full capacity. it's hard to do so with the social distancing in place. if that unlocking can't happen, it's impossible for the economy to get back to normal. katie prescott, thank you very much. we will have more on that interview with rishi sunak coming up this morning, talking to the senior european

economist at legal and general for more analysis on the figures. just 2a hours before a—level results for england are published, ministers have moved to avert a backlash, by telling pupils unhappy with their grades that they may be able to use their mock exam results instead. the education secretary, gavin williamson, has announced what he called a "safety net" for a—level, btec and gcse students unhappy with their official grades. the triple—lock means pupils can accept the grade they get, based on teacher estimations, or change it for a mark gained in a mock exam, or they can instead choose to take the exam in the autumn. head teachers have attacked the last—minute change as "panicked and chaotic". it comes after ministers in scotland had to apologise before announcing an upgrade in results. our education correspondent dan johnson reports.

with exam halls standing silent this summer, the life chances of a generation were instead to be determined by estimated grades, awarded by teachers but then moderated, standardised and potentially downgraded. listen to the worries of those who are expecting their results tomorrow. my biggest fears are that that grades i get will not be a representation of what i would have been capable of, had i sat the exams. because i'm not applying to university and having a gap year, that means i have limited opportunities and i'm concerned universities will not take me in. my independent ability is going to be underestimated by the standardisation method. what we want... scottish students protested after 75,000 had their results downgraded last week. when it became clear the poorest were hit hardest, the man in charge apologised and reinstated the original estimates.

we set out to ensure the system was fair, we set out to ensure it was credible, but we did not get it right for all young people. before i go any further, i want to apologise for that. it makes a big difference going forward because i can focus on schoolwork this year and university, rather than being doubtful of my results in the past. it's really motivated me for this year. and with that putting scottish results overall up 14% on last year, there were calls for the same to apply to students in the rest of the uk. the u—turn from the scottish government absolutly shows us the system was flawed and was further entrenching education inequality and it was the right move. i hope to see that reflected across the uk. last night, officials in northern ireland promised broader grounds for appeal. students in england will now

face three choices — sticking with the estimated moderated grade awarded tomorrow, sitting an exam in the autumn or appealing to get the results from their mock exams instead. these are major last—minute changes, further complicating a pivotal moment for so many young people who already face difficult decisions, clouded by uncertainty. dan johnson, bbc news. our political correspodent, jonathan blake, is at westminster. 11th hour changes, what has the reaction been? this is a significant change and i think it reflects concern in government about what happened in scotland on the crisis that unfolded there. and a willingness to do what they possibly can to head off a similar situation unfolding when results come for a—level students tomorrow, and gcse stu d e nts a—level students tomorrow, and gcse students next week in england and wales, and northern ireland as well, of course. that is why we have the education secretary for england

gavin williamson making the announcement last night that mock exa m announcement last night that mock exam grades could be the basis for an appeal for a particular student, if they are not happy with the grade they are awarded. the schools minister nick gibb has been explaining the changes further this morning, defending the government's actions in saying that this will be actions in saying that this will be a safety net for only a small number of pupils. our concern was to make sure that — with the best model in the world, there will be students who fall outside it, and we didn't want any student to suffer disadvantage. we apologise to nobody for finding solutions, even at the 11th hour, to stop any student being disadvantaged by the system. the comet has said no system is perfect, it's very difficult to please everyone and be fair to everybody in exam results in normal times, let alone in the midst of a

coronavirus pandemic when no stu d e nts coronavirus pandemic when no students have actually sat their exams. nevertheless, the way that the government matter has gone about this, making the changes so late in the day, has attracted criticism. labour had warned the government risk throwing away the futures of an entire generation if it didn't act. now that this change has been made, labour say it doesn't go far enough and that the system is at risk of being inconsistent for students who are getting their results. the shadow education secretary kate green has been giving her reaction this morning. what we have now got is a system thatis what we have now got is a system that is not fit for purpose, the government back row itself is acknowledging that by making changes to it. students need to have a proper, robust appeals process. while this change has been made, it seems the government has confidence

in the standardisation system that will be used and the overwhelming majority of pupils, they say, it will accept the grade they are given, and it will reflect their ability on the grade they would have got should they have sat exams as intended. but it is a bit of further uncertainty for students expecting their results tomorrow, or next week. on some questions to answer still about how exactly the appeals process will work. just quickly to remind people that this change applies in england, a similar change has come in in northern ireland, relating to mock exam grades, but there will be no changes at this stage to the grading system in wales. you have been getting a touch about the story. let me read you a couple of the comments from viewers. iain says if students can appeal based on their mock exams, what happens when those boundaries are not consistent

across schools? catherine daniels raises a point about international baccalaureate exams, those students have been forgotten in this fiasco, she says, and are now at a shocking disadvantage. she says her daughter has lost her university offers. thank you for getting in touch. we can talk now to the chair of the education select committee, robert halford. good morning to you. thank you for your time today. am i being incredibly cynical to suggest if scotla nd incredibly cynical to suggest if scotland had not changed the way that exams were being assessed there, then the westminster go on and wouldn't have either? well, in mid—july, our select committee published a report on the exam system, and we are urged a much fairer appeal system. we also asked for quual to publish their standardisation model. because we thought that it should be subject to

scrutiny. that won't happen until after the results. but we need an appeal system that is second to none. i don't have a problem with the changes made by the government. perhaps it would have been better to have happened earlier. but what i would like to see is an appeals system in which everyone who feels that their grades are unfair, through their school, through the head teacher signing it off, are able to appeal and there is a very quick turnaround for students. able to appeal and there is a very quick turnaround for studentslj don't quick turnaround for students.” don't want to dwell on this too much. the last—minute nature by this government suggests a knee jerk reaction in response to what has happened in scotland, and that isn't particularly helpful to anyone? well, it is better that the appeal system is widened. as long as it happened before the exams. i'd rather it happened earlier, but at least it has happened. hopefully that will give pupils another opportunity to appeal. we do need a wider appeal system. opportunity to appeal. we do need a widerappealsystem. quualshould

have published their standardisation model some weeks ago. all anybody can ask for in this is accuracy and fairness. what guarantee is there, even with this triple lock, that is what students will get? for example, how can an appeal based on mock exam results be accurate and fair across the board? to be fair to the government, we are in a state of national emergency, because of the coronavirus. and any system developed which happened in a matter of weeks, although there was a fair bit of consultation, is bound to have flaws. and it will be hopefully as fairas have flaws. and it will be hopefully as fair as possible. the indications i have had from the department for education are that the grade is won't to be hugely different, the majority of grades won't be hugely different from last year. but my concern, and i think the most important thing, is that the appeal system is fair and very quick, so that students don't have to wait weeks on end for the results of their appeal, and that it is decided

very quickly. so they can make important decisions about going to university or other forms of education. how exactly will be appeal system work? it will work through the schools. the schools will appeal through quual. i'm worried the appeal system will favour the sharp elbowed and well healed. if you know how to lobby yourmp or if healed. if you know how to lobby your mp or if you know how to work through lawyers and you are pretty well off, you might get a better appeal system. we got to make sure that the appeal system works for everybody, whatever their background, especially students from disadvantaged backgrounds.“ background, especially students from disadvantaged backgrounds. if the schools are in charge, effectively, driving this appeals process, do you not think that will level things? you talk about the sharp elbowed and the well—heeled, that it might favour them, but shouldn't schools be able to make sure that doesn't

happen? yes, but i do think appeal should be signed off by the head teachers of schools, they know what has occurred and they have worked with the teachers he worked very ha rd with the teachers he worked very hard trying to get the correct grades for their system. we have to have an appeal system that is fair and accessible to everyone, and also quick. the exam board to turn it round, in my view, in a couple of weeks, rather than months, so that stu d e nts weeks, rather than months, so that students don't have to worry about the cut—off date to ucas or not get into university. have they got the capacity to turn it around that quickly? well, they must have and they should have. the government have said that they have asked ucas and universities to be flexible. but the exam boards, of which there are a number, should treat this as a massive priority and turn is appeals very quickly. as you mentioned, the universities, although they weren't consulted about this change, the

universities minister has indeed written to universities, asking them to be flexible. labour says that should be a statutory requirement. would you agree with that, and how do you make flexibility statutory? well, i think the easiest solution is to ensure that the exam boards deal with the appeal is incredibly quickly and efficiently. then you won't have these problems in terms of creating new legislation. universities are autonomous and we got to respect that. there will be many students who don't appeal. the thing that i'm glad about is that the government is going to fund those students that are opting for exams, because it's vital that they are taught properly and have the resources , are taught properly and have the resources, and the schools are financed to do this. the detail of that, we have heard a figure from nick gibb this morning, in terms of the detail of that, is that going to

make a real difference, if schools are saying we are already stretched, getting on with next year's teaching, dealing with social distancing and everything else that the pandemic has thrown at schools, you know, will there be the time, the space, the resources, the people to manage resets as well? this is what the government have to ensure. it is something we also recommended in our select committee report. it has to be properly resourced. as i understand, it is about £30 million that has been given to schools to do this. but it has to happen. if pupils are opting to do exams, they need to be taught and given every chance to climb that educational ladder opportunity and get the grade they deserved. thank you very much. the us democratic presidential candidate, joe biden, has chosen the california senator — and one—time rivalfor hisjob, kamala harris as his running mate

for november's election. ms harris is the first african american woman on a major presidential ticket in us history. here's our north america correspondent, david willis. in kamala harris, joe biden has chosen a black running mate 22 years his junior. the first woman of colour ever to appear on a major party's presidential ticket. born in oakland, california, the elder daughter of an indian mother and a jamaican father, kamala harris was a public prosecutor and a california senator before launching her own campaign for the democratic presidential nomination in january last year. she dropped out of the race in december. announcing his choice of running mate, joe biden called her a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country's finest public servants. she vowed that he would unify the american people, and build a country that lives up to our ideals. they've not always seen eye to eye, however.

in the first democratic primary debate, she rebuked him for speaking warmly of senators who had once defended racial segregation. you also worked with them to oppose bussing. and, you know, there was a little girl in california who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools. and she was bussed to school every day. and that little girl was me. that's a mischaracterisation of my position across the board. i did not praise racists. kamala harrisjoins the democratic ticket at a time of unprecedented crisis in america, as the country grapples with the thorny issues of police brutality and racial injustice. since the death of george floyd, she has toughened her stance on police reform, but remains, in essence, a centrist likejoe biden. voters rejected harris... although the trump campaign is already seeking to portray her as a radical left—winger.

and president trump called her selection a surprise. i think a lot of people were saying that might be the pick. i was more surprised, than anything else, because she did so poorly, many people did much better than her in the primaries, she did very poorly in the primaries. and that's like a poll, you know, that's like a poll. were he to beat donald trump in november, joe biden would be the oldest person in american history to become president, thus there is speculation that he might choose to only serve one term. that could lead kamala harris the front runner to lead her party into the presidential elections, four years from now. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. more now on our top story. the coronavirus pandemic has now officially pushed the uk into recession for the first time in more than a decade. hetal mehta is senior european economist at legal & general investment management.

good morning to you. thank you very much for your time today. we know the definition of what a recession is. but what does it really mean to be in recession, both on a macro level and a micro level? it has been all around us to see that the normal activity in our daily lives came to quite an abrupt halt, quite a big change. on a day—to—day level, we saw the normal things we would do, the kind of goods and services we would consume, having to change. so there was a big shift in the way we had to behave as economic agents. on a macro level, i guess that these numbers are not really unexpected. because we have seen the effects, we have seen monthly data confirming how weak the economy has been. and whilst this confirms what we already knew in terms of the technical recession, i think what is really

interesting is how quickly we can actually start to recover. and on that front, i think there are going to bea that front, i think there are going to be a number of headwinds that prevent us from getting back to the pre—virus level. prevent us from getting back to the pre-virus level. there are so many uncertainties ahead. we will come back to that in a minute. but i would like to get your thoughts on why, in terms of the uk economic performance, it is among the worst of major economies. so, i think a large part of that was that we started our lockdown later, particularly if you look at the second quarter, the uk's quarter on quarter gdp was one of the worst months, certainly in major european economies. we had more of our lockdown in the second quarter. other countries started in the first quarter and were able to come out of it faster as well. i think that is a large part of it. the uk got its timing wrong, basically?” large part of it. the uk got its timing wrong, basically? i don't know whether it got it wrong, but if

you like, when we have economic cycles, we also have a virus cycle, and the uk lagged behind the rest of europe. in terms of looking down, we we re europe. in terms of looking down, we were a bit later. relative to the number of cases we had, was that earlier or later than it should have been? i'm sure the biologists will continue to argue that for quite a long time. but we were behind, in terms of the virus cycle. and therefore, the lockdown did happen a bit later. so, it's more a quirk of the timing and the way that economic data cut—offs occur. so we have 01 ending in march, and april until june for o2. ending in march, and april until june for 02. as the fellow scheme comes to an end, as you alluded to, with so much uncertainty ahead in terms of how much of the virus is going to be around, how long do you think it is going to take for the uk to regain its pre—covert trajectory?

perhaps you wouldn't hazard a guess? —— three covid trajectory. perhaps you wouldn't hazard a guess? -- three covid trajectory. it is an occupational hazard that you try to have a guess at these things. i personally think it will take quite a while. we won't even recover back to the pre—covid levels until the end of next year. so we have a number of headwinds, as mentioned. the fellow scheme ending, the end of the vat cuts, stamp duty cuts, all of these things are coming to a head early next year. and then come on top of that, we will have a different trading relationship with the eu from next year as well. as we saw, a bit of a snapshot from the business investment numbers today, very wea k business investment numbers today, very weak business investment. that uncertainty is likely to really prevent us from getting back to the precrisis level, even next year. we think there will be an element of economic scarring, the banks are likely to suffer some losses on the loa ns likely to suffer some losses on the loans they have had to make to businesses. and that is going to

prevent the economy getting back. thank you very much for your thoughts this morning. senior european economist at legal and general. officials in new zealand are reportedly investigating whether or not the coronavirus could have re—entered the country through freight shipments. it comes as the country's largest city, auckland, has been put back into lockdown after recording the country's first coronavirus infections in 102 days. the four new cases are all members of one family, but none had travelled recently. bars, restaurants and schools there have been closed — and workers are being told to stay at home. for more let's speak to shaimaa khalil, who is our correspodnent in sydney. certainly the family had not travelled abroad. they have travelled abroad. they have travelled abroad. they have travelled a bit in new zealand i understand but after 102 days without a case, this is hugely disappointing. tell us more about the investigation into how and why

these new cases might have emerged. i think that is what is concerning the health officials most, is the fa ct the health officials most, is the fact that up until now they haven't really established wide, or the source of the infection, which means that more cases will likely be detected. they are zeroing in on a cool store where one of the family members who tested positive worked and they are doing surface dusting and they are doing surface dusting and investigations because they suspect that this infection might have been imported via freight, but up have been imported via freight, but up until now it is still under investigation, still unconfirmed. i think the second bit that is really worrying health officials as well is that two of the family members had travelled away from auckland into a tourist town, very popular, in the north island. they were symptomatic when they did that. health workers are now scrambling to find out exactly where they have been and

residents of that town have been told to remain vigilant. the whole of the city of auckland is now under lockdown. the big picture of course is that new zealand has fared much better than any other country. these numbers on a global scale arc minute but within the new zealand context, hugely disappointing for a country thatis hugely disappointing for a country that is seen by many as leading the way not just in that is seen by many as leading the way notjust in suppressing the virus and controlling it for a very long time, but at one point actually eliminating debt, and that's why they've gone into this strict lockdown in auckland to try to get it under control. so how are people reacting to these new restrictions, given that for the last 102 days they've been living life as a normal, as the rest of us would love to be? exactly, and i think that is what the authorities and the prime minister has warned against when they march that 100 days with no covid—19 cases. they warned against

complacency. generally there is a general sense of shock, disappointment, but people have been living normally and now have been told to stay home, stay within their bubbles, but they recognise the necessity of that because new zealand throughout the pandemic, the motto has to be go early and go strong and people recognise this. they did think those days were behind them but now they have to get this under control, go with the restrictions. the extension or the easing of the restrictions will depend on whether the health authorities know the source of the infection of those positive cases. thank you for that update from sydney. at 12.30 this afternoon we'll answer your questions on the changes to the way a—level and gcse results are to be decided. send them in to us at yourquestions@bbc.co.uk, or on social media using the hashtag #bbcyour0uestions.

now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. i know not everywhere has been as hot as the south east. hello. the heatwave continues for another few days yet. we've already had five consecutive days with temperatures over 3a celsius. today could bring us the sixth day. it's going to feel hot and humid and there'll be some scattered showers and thunderstorms on the cards, too. thunderstorms already caused flooding issues across parts of eastern scotland. most of those showers are clearing away, but through the day elsewhere, we'll see some scattered showers and thunderstorms. they will be hit and miss — we won't all see them. temperatures will reach the low, possibly the mid 30s once again down towards the southeast — the mid 20s further north. as we move through tonight, then, more heavy showers and thunderstorms, particularly across parts of southern and southwestern england, into wales as well. most of those showers are clearing away, but through the day elsewhere, we'll see some scattered showers and thunderstorms. they will be hit and miss — we won't all see them.

temperatures will reach the low, possibly the mid 30s once again down another tropical night likely in the south with temperatures not falling below around 20 degrees. hot and humid further north, too. through the day tomorrow, we've still got the humidity with us. quite a lot of low cloud and mistiness, especially around the northeast. further heavy showers and thunderstorms, especially in the south. and top temperatures probably just below 30 degrees. bye— bye. hello, this is bbc news with annita mcveigh. the headlines. the uk is officially suffering its biggest recession on record — the fall in output caused by the coronavirus pandemic is thought to be one of the worst among major economies. students in england may be able to use their mock exam scores if they're unhappy with their a—level grades, ahead of results being released tomorrow. senator kamala harris makes history after she's named asjoe biden's presidential running mate — the first black woman to be a candidate for vice president. as new zealand's largest city is put back into lockdown, experts investigate whether coronavirus could have re—entered the country through freight shipments.

sport, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. good morning to you. what do you have for us today? wolves fa ns have for us today? wolves fans are waking up disappointed this morning. after 383 days, wolves‘ season is finally over, but not in the way they had hoped. they were beaten by sevilla in the europa league quarterfinals. they had a great chance to go ahead early on after adama traore was brought down — but rauljiminez‘s penalty was saved. and with two minutes of normal time to go, the spanish side scored the winner, to set up a semifinal against manchester united. it's14 months almost of hard work, competing in the europa league, competing in the premier league, achieving really good things. disappointment is something that... cannot take away all the good things

that we've been doing. and what a season. celtic manager neil lennon was absolultely furious after defender boli bolingoli admitted he'd breached covid—19 rules, putting the rest of the scottish premiership season under serious threat. he flew to spain, failed to quarantine on his return, and then played in a league game on sunday — all without the club knowing. that came after eight aberdeen players had broken the rules — both clubs' next two matches have been postponed and scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon said no further breaches would be tolerated. we were absolutely... livid, appalled. the club have been at the forefront of maintaining good practice, the protocols all in place, trying to get the game up and running, and we have been bitterly and sorely let down by the selfish actions of one individual.

on the pitch, hibs have maintained their 100% start to the season to go top, after a 1—0 win against dundee united — christian doidge with the goal. the rugby league season is also in turmoil. we're waiting to hear if this weekend's super league fixtures involving hull fc and salford will be called off, after six hull fc players and two members of their coaching staff tested positive for coronavirus. five of those played against salford on sunday and all are now in quarantine. the league is looking at the match to determine how many players from each team will also be required to self—isolate under test and trace procedures. the delayed season only started 10 days ago. ronnie o'sullivan isn't confident of making the final of the world snooker championship, despite a superb performance took him into the last four. he dragged himself back from 7—2 down against mark williams to win by 13 frames to 10, but his next opponent is mark selby, who beat him the last time he made the final,

six years ago, and o'sullivan says he doesn't think he'll get past him. i don't expect to beat him because is the ultimate test and i can't see anyone left in the tournament to beat him over that distance, either, and that's just my personal opinion, do you know what i mean? that's not about me taking the pressure off myself, i have nothing to prove and all that, butjust as an insider, a bit of inside information, for me, i cannot see how anyone can beat him, you know? and judd trump is the latest victim of the crucible curse — the defending champion was knocked out in the quarter—finals by kyren wilson. no first—time winner has managed to retain their title at the famous venue. wilson takes on anthony mcgill at one o'clock and there's coverage on bbc two. serena williams has played her first competitive match for six months. she fought back from a set down against another american,

bernarda pera in kentucky. it's all part of serena's preparation for the us open and the re—arranged french open — two chances over the next two months to claim grand slam title number 2a and equal the record. up next for her — a match up against her sister venus. always good to see the sisters going head—to—head on quite. that's all the sport for now. let's get more now on our top story — the uk officially moving into recession after figures published by the office for national statistics showed that economic output plunged by a record 20.4% between april and june. our economics editor, faisal islam, has been speaking to the chancellor, rishi sunak. we were talking a few months ago and isaid we were talking a few months ago and i said that hard times were coming and what do they's numbers show is that hard times are here. hundreds of thousands of people have already lost theirjob and sadly many more it will, but what i would say is

that although tough decisions lie ahead, we will get through this and nobody will be left without hope or opportunity. 0k, nobody will be left without hope or opportunity. ok, but when you see the numbers, —20% is going to change the numbers, —20% is going to change the historical scale on these charts for ever. but it is early days, but it is worse than some of our international competitors. it is worse on the economy, we've also had worse on the economy, we've also had worse comparisons for the underlying pandemic. is there not questions about how your government have handled this, that we are bottom of both tables? it is a fair question to ask on the economic comparison you did. if you look at our economy, social activities, for example, going to have a meal, shopping, see a movie, they comprise a much larger share of our economy than they do for most of our european cousins and ina for most of our european cousins and in a situation where we have locked down and shut down those parts of our economy for three months almost, which is significant, it is

unsurprising that has had an outsized impact on our economy. on the health side i think we have made enormous progress, whether it's on testing capacity, putting in place a testing capacity, putting in place a test and trace operation, or discovering new treatments. the position we are in today is clearly a lot stronger than it was at the beginning of the pandemic. a lot stronger than it was at the beginning of the pandemicm a lot stronger than it was at the beginning of the pandemic. it is such a strange form of recession because ordinarily a chancellor sitting at 11 will say, i can boost the economy in this way or run that course, but you are still waiting on a vaccine or a treatment fundamentally to go back to normal. have i got that bit right? you are right that what we are grappling with is something unprecedented and we don't have a playbook for how to deal with it. that's why i think we should have some humility about our ability to precisely predict the exact path of the economy or to know exactly what the right policy response is, which is why i have been prepared to put aside ideology and dogma at the beginning of this crisis and do what i believed was

right to protect people's jobs, their incomes and businesses through what is an unprecedented and difficult time. and i think we have done that. our plan forjobs that we outlined last month was a significant set of announcements to support, protect and createjobs across the uk whether it is our kick—start scheme or an hour initiative to help drive the economy and protect 2 millionjobs in hospitality. we will do everything we can to protect people's jobs in an uncertain time. will you do everything you can? you talked about the concept of a bridge and thought when you set up these bridges that they wouldn't be needed until the autumn —— they would be needed until the autumn. in some industries they seem to be needed longer. why can the treasury not be more flexible about the furlough scheme, for example because it is just required for longer? what delac are lots of the support we put in place lasts.

cancelled business rates for eve ryo ne cancelled business rates for everyone in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector. some of these things will at last. the furlough scheme has been one of the most difficult decisions i've had to make. if you take a step back, from start to finish, the gum it will help to pay people's wages for eight months. that is a very long time for something like that to happen. i think most would agree that that is not something that is sustainable indefinitely, and in common with other countries this is coming to an end. they are not saying it is indefinite, they said eight months was a reasonable guess, but it could be nine, ten, 11 months. when we extended it, if we had said six, p bush would have said seven or eight. thejob retention bush would have said seven or eight. the job retention bonus bush would have said seven or eight. thejob retention bonus means that employers are rewarded and have a financial incentive to bring furloughed employees back and that will make a big difference especially to small and medium—sized businesses. we also shouldn't pretend that absolutely everybody

can and will be able to go back to thejob can and will be able to go back to the job they can and will be able to go back to thejob they had. can and will be able to go back to the job they had. that is sadly not going to be the case and we are not doing people any favours by pretending otherwise. what we should be doing that circumstances give them new opportunities to chart a new future for themselves and to look forward and that is why initiatives like the kick—start scheme or the apprenticeship incentive, they help people look forward and look for a new opportunities and. are you planning for tax and spend policy, and how can you plan for that certainly, given the possibility of a second wave or seeing some spikes back up again in neighbouring countries? could you contemplate not having a budget in the autumn? our plan is to have a physical event in the autumn and we are continuing to work towards that and one part of that is a spending review where we sat department spending budgets for the next few years. we launch that process a few weeks ago so we are well on track. austerities. .. you talked about hard times. last time a

chancellor talked about this just after the recession, george osborne, that meant additionally cuts, pay cuts. do people have to face that, as well? we have said clearly that they will not be a return to austerity. we will continue to invest in public services. obviously our public finances this year have taken a significant hit and will continue to do so is the ongoing effects of the pandemic reach our economy. so that is going to mean some difficult decisions in the months and years ahead. we cannot sustainably be borrowing at the rate we have done this year but people should be reassured that we will approach difficult decisions with the same spirit of fairness that we have done throughout this crisis. the chancellor speaking to our economics editor a little early this morning. more now on the news that senator kamala harris has been chosen byjoe biden as his democratic vice—presidential candidate. announcing his choice, joe biden described her as "a fearless

fighter for the little guy, and one of the country's finest public serva nts". kamala harris was born in oakland, california to two immigrant parents — an indian—born mother and jamaican—born father. following law school, she was elected the first woman and the first african american to serve as california's attorney general. and in 2017 she was elected as only the second african—american woman to serve in the us senate and after being chosen as the democatic vice—presidential candidate, she is the first black woman on a major presidential ticket in us history. let's speak now to dr shola mos—shogbamimu — lawyer, political and women's rights activist. great to have you with us. lots of people are saying kamala harris ticks all the boxes but that phrase does a disservice to her record of work and what she has done in her career so far. i think that is

absolutely right. look, you have rightly pointed out that she is the first of many to start off with and that her track record is really incredible. but what kamala harris also represents aside from the fact she would be the first female vice president, the first black does the first clean—up present dylan mackin vice president of that descent, she has a credible track record. what joe biden has done here is notjust historic. let's understand this is both transformational, and what you are seeing here is that it will bridge the gap in a way that american politics has not done since donald trump. what you have seen a lot of time in the last four years is that the republican party has represented regression, white identity politics while this biden and harrison tickets is representing and harrison tickets is representing a way forward, a way forward without division and the device of rhetoric

we normally hear that flows from the republican party. yet, in those presidential debates, to decide who would become the democratic nominee, she was not afraid to go on the attack againstjoe biden. what does that say about this ticket? does it say that actually here are two people who can have strong disagreements but still get on? or will that be a point of weakness, will that be a point of weakness, will the republicans really choose not to attack the two of them? let me say this. i think what it represents is thatjoe biden and kamala harris are a force multiplier, meaning that we have seen that harris is not afraid to challenge the status quo, not afraid to speak up. we also see thatjoe biden is not afraid to be challenged, which is so refreshing from the last four years! when you have had a president that is so mean—spirited and holds grudges against everybody. that is exactly what america needs. representation is not easy and representation is not just about colour and

is not easy and representation is notjust about colour and race, gender. it is also about being able to represent diverse views and bring to represent diverse views and bring to the table the kind of thinking that will challenge the status quo and move things forward. it is really, really good to see that biden and harris can create that kind of voice. the republican party will try to use that against them but they will fail because the track record of the republican party in not dealing with challenge, in knocking down and abusing and assaulting those who challenge them, will be held against them. i think what biden and harris represents now is another reason for people to go, i have something to vote for. it is not about voting for biden and harris, but voting for the fact that they no longer want to trump and everything he represents to continue to leave the country, especially with the disaster of the coronavirus, especially with his divisive policies, policies that sought to divide the nation. this

represents something for people to say, we have a power. we have a duo here, a powerful governing partnership that can help us break the mould of the trump republican mess we have enjoyed for the last four years in. let's look at what president trump has been saying about her. he has called hit mean, horrible, disrespectful. his main focus in this campaign through to november it may bejoe biden but the fa ct november it may bejoe biden but the fact that he is using those particular adjectives about kamala harris, what does that say about his reaction to her as a woman as vice presidential contender? donald trump is scared out of his mind! that is what we are seeing here. it's not the first time that he called strong women nasty. in fact, they should all take it as a compliment because clearly he does not have what it ta kes to clearly he does not have what it takes to stand up to the scrutiny of

strong women, particularly black women. he does not handle women of colour well at all. he does not know how to respond or to react to their strength, their intellect. and the fa ct strength, their intellect. and the fact he will not —— whether they will not tolerate nonsense from him. frankly this is more of the same from donald trump and he neverfails to disappoint, he continues to be a president without. .. to disappoint, he continues to be a president without... the level of intellect, the level of understanding required from a leader that can embrace a strength that comes in different forms. i will say this. i think for all women, comes in different forms. i will say this. ithink forall women, kamala harris represents a woman who is going to go into this vice presidential election, this whole ticket, and she has got her game face on. i am looking forward to the debate between her and mike pence. i will get my popcorn ready! it is going to be something to watch. i almost wish she was going to be debating trump. that really would be something to watch. dr shola mos—shogbamimu, thank you so much for your thoughts on that and kamala

harris and joe biden will be appearing in joe harris and joe biden will be appearing injoe biden's home state later on today. let's go back to new zealand. it has put its largest city, auckland, back into lockdown after recording four new covid—19 cases. it ends 102 days without a local infection. residents are being asked to stay at home. kirsteen and matt day moved to auckland from the uk 15 years ago. they now live there with their three children. thank you so much for talking to us on bbc news today. it must be so, so disappointing after the freedoms that you've had for the last 102 days to be now back in the situation of having new restrictions. tell us how it feels. yeah, absolutely. we had almost kind of forgotten about coronavirus but it was in the back ofa coronavirus but it was in the back of a lot of people's minds and we won't really thinking about it much. and so to suddenly go so quickly

from basically being normal levels too then being back to almost a lockdown situation in new zealand. the kids are no longer at school from today. yeah, it has been a very strange experience and people i just... it very flat. very deflated. ican imagine just... it very flat. very deflated. i can imagine that word, flat, deflated. absolutely. how, kirsteen, have your children reacted to it? we have your children reacted to it? we have talked so much about the impact of coronavirus on children around the world, missing out on education. that hasn't really been the case, thank goodness, for your kids for the last while, but even if this is a short period of restrictions, i'd be feeling pretty glum about missing school again because absolutely. particularly with it being the second time around, they were getting back into the swing of regular school and catching up with their friends and all the sport has started up again and unfortunately

for two of our three children there was a regional packet tone and cancelled on friday that they were both going to take part in. lots of disappointment last night when it was announced at 9:15pm that they we re was announced at 9:15pm that they were staying home for the next three days and we would have to wait and see what happened. even the youngest was pretty disappointed that the sudden that you are not seeing your friends at the next day, you didn't get to say goodbye for a few days. it's definitely affected them more at this time because they know what it was like the last time and there has been a lot of mutterings of, oh, no, we don't want to be in lockdown again, don't want to go through that again, don't want to go through that again, home—school. again, don't want to go through that again, home-school. home-schooling, the dreaded words! laughter matt, when jacinda laughter matt, whenjacinda i don't talk is about the team of 5 million in new zealand, new zealanders have been pretty compliant with all the rules and regulations that were introduced in the first place and that has contributed greatly to the su ccesses . contributed greatly to the successes. do you think people will

be as good about it this time around? i think by and large they will be. there is always a small minority that goes against the rules and doesn't want to comply but when we we re and doesn't want to comply but when we were in the last lockdown, eve ryo ne we were in the last lockdown, everyone was really good at maintaining distances when we were doing walks for exercises and that kind of thing. i think that by and large people will comply again, but of course you can't rely on absolutely everyone. briefly, kirsteen, i bet everyone is anxious to get to the root of why these cases have emerged this time. yeah, i think that's it. it was the sudden shock of, well, you've gone from the new normal to actually, we are back where we are, and where did it come from? there's been a lot of press around how tight the boarders have been controlled. the armed forces have been involved around the quarantine hotel and the isolation

facilities for people coming in at the border and sol facilities for people coming in at the border and so i think there was a feeling that that was all relatively well controlled and if it would come and it would come in and be identified earlier on at the border. the fact it is unknown at the moment as to where this community transmission came from, it's probably more disturbing for people, i think, it's probably more disturbing for people, ithink, than it's probably more disturbing for people, i think, than anything else, and because where else could it be in new zealand, how far spread could it be? kirsteen and matt, thank you for talking to us today. i hope those restrictions aren't needed for too long. kirsteen and matt day in auckland. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. it was another uncomfortable night for sleeping last night. it was a tropical night, which means in parts of the south, temperatures didn't fall below 20 degrees all night. and as the heatwave continues, we're likely to see potentially another tropical night this night, it would be the sixth

of the year so far. we've also had five consecutive days with temperatures over 3a celsius, which is thought to be unprecedented in the uk. now, there is a lot of sunshine out. we've also got a bit of mist and fog and low cloud around with all that humidity, moisture in the air. so a hot, humid day with scattered thunderstorms. we won't all see the showers and thunderstorms. they'll be fairly hit and miss. we had flooding earlier today across parts of eastern scotland. those showers and now going to be gradually easing away towards the north and the east. further heavy showers and thunderstorms bubble up this afternoon across parts of england, wales as well. northern ireland should stay mostly dry. temperatures across northern ireland and scotland in the low to mid 20s. but across england, wales, 30 degrees likely, we could even see 32 to perhaps 3a celsius. once again, down towards the southeast into this evening and overnight, then further heavy showers and thunderstorms rattle across parts of england and wales. the green showing the heavy bursts. but don't take the positioning too literally. they will be fairly hard to pinpoint. once again, temperatures for the likes of cardiff and london

staying at about 20 degrees overnight. and further north to it is going to feel really warm, humid as well through the day tomorrow. through the day tomorrow, we've still got humidity, so quite a lot of low cloud. mist and murk so quite a lot of low cloud. around to some sunshine developing, especially across southern and western parts of the uk, but also further heavy showers and thunderstorms, especially across parts of southern england and wales. i think tomorrow during the afternoon, it won't be quite as hot as recent days. temperatures probably staying just about below 30 degrees, but it will feel hotter than this. when you add on the humidity as well. temperatures across scotland and northern ireland in the high teens or low 20s by thursday. looking further ahead into friday, we'll start to see this weather front moving its way. and that's going to bring some unsettled, showery conditions, easterly breeze. so it'll be quite warm, but certainly not quite as hot as it has been over recent days. further heavy showers and thunderstorms. and then things turned gradually fresher as we head through the end

of the week and on into the weekend. that's it for now. bye.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk is officially suffering its biggest recession on record, the fall in output caused by the coronavirus pandemic is on course to be one of the worst among major economies. today's figures show that hard times are here. hundreds of thousands of people have already lost theirjobs, and sadly many more will. students in england may be able to use their mock exam scores if they're unhappy with their a—level grades, ahead of results being released tomorrow. and you can get in touch with me on twitter about any of the stories today, or use the