this is bbc news. i'm david eades with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world: it's the ticket to take on trump — joe biden teams up with his new election running mate, kamala harris, to launch their bid for the white house. i have no doubt that i picked the right person tojoin me as the next vice president of the united states of america, and that is kamala harris. i am incredibly honoured by this responsibility and i'm ready to get to work. i am ready to get to work. there's no holiday from coronavirus across much of europe. as cases surge, how do you salvage something from this summer's tourism and holiday trade? the cost of coronavirus misinformation — evidence points to 800 deaths

in the first three months of the year as people followed false advice on how to beat the disease. a bela rusian protester dies in police custody — the second death since clashes with the police erupted over the disputed presidential election. hello and thank you forjoining us. brace yourselves because the race to win the next us presidential election has just gone into full swing. the democratic candidate, joe biden, has officially unveiled his running mate, kamala harris, at a special event in the state of delaware. senator harris is the first black and asian american woman on a presidential ticket and she wasted no time criticising mr trump's performance in office, as she said the us was crying out for leadership.

our north america correspondent david willis reports. events of this kind normally ta ke events of this kind normally take place before large and adoring cards but normal times, these are not, and the first black woman ever to appear in a us presidential ticket was forced to make her campaign trail debut in a largely empty high school gymnasium. nonetheless, the man who appointed her said kamala harris should serve as an inspiration to others. this morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up, especially little black and brown girls, who so often feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities. but today, today just may be, their communities. but today, todayjust may be, they are seeing themselves for the first time ina seeing themselves for the first time in a new way. as the stuff of president and vice president. the daughter of an indian mother and jamaican father, kamala harris is been

looked upon as someone who can energise the joe looked upon as someone who can energise thejoe biden campaign and extend the democrats' appeal to independent voters and even moderate republicans. this is a moment of real consequence for america. everything we care about, our economy, out everything we care about, our economy, our health, our children, the kind of country we live in, it is all on the line. a former public prosecutor, she went on to challenge what she called donald trump's racist rhetoric and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. america is crying out for leadership. yet, we have a president who ca res more yet, we have a president who cares more about himself then the people who elected him. a president who is making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve. ready to go to work? this is the moment he offered his longtime rivalfor the democratic presidential nomination thejob as

the democratic presidential nomination the job as his running mate. the job is absolutely yes! the early signs are the choices popular. on the 24 are the choices popular. on the 2a hours since then, the campaign has raked in $26 million in contributions. meanwhile, president trump has maintained his attacks, drawing on kamala harris's criticism of joe biden during the democratic primary. she is the horrible things aboutjoe primary. she is the horrible things about joe biden. primary. she is the horrible things aboutjoe biden. she said far worse about joe things aboutjoe biden. she said far worse aboutjoe biden then eitherdid! and said far worse aboutjoe biden then either did! and now she is running as vice president. joe biden called the election a battle for the soul of america. depending on the spread of the coronavirus, his new running mate is seen hoping to head out into the swing states, with just over 80 days to go before the election. david willis, bbc news. let's speak to matt mackowiak, a republican strategist and communications consultant. thank you forjoining us. we got a little bit of donald trump's response to kamala harris there. other words are

used, he described her as angry, mad, "the meanest member of the senate". there is a clear strategy in that. what more though can the republican campaign do to convince voters that they also have a very balanced ticket? you will also see additional efforts to define this vice presidential candidate but i think the race will turn back to donald trump versus joe will turn back to donald trump versusjoe biden. will turn back to donald trump versus joe biden. it will turn back to donald trump versusjoe biden. it is true that kamala harris, according to independent analysis, has either the most liberal or second most liberal voting record in the last two years in the united states senate, different to the descriptions, calling her a moderate. she does have fairly progressive views on energy issues, immigration, taxes et cetera. , the opportunity for donald trump is too full, he have to go from worries now, a 6—point deficit nationally to a two or three point deficit nationally

to get the chance to win the ballot round states and electoral college votes and he can do that by focusing selection back on the economy, who the best candidate is to rebuild the economy, and the hope for him is by the time the debates come in january, hope for him is by the time the debates come injanuary, the economy is in better shape, we have a better hold on coronavirus and his job approval, it instead of being in the low 40s is in the high 40s and if that happens there will be a part for him to get re—elected, it is narrow, joe biden has the lead, no question. donald trump has been rising a little bit, piece by piece in a steady wave over the last few weeks. right, we will look at the polling figures in a moment but it is interesting the use of the term liberal, which they'd dirty word in the republican circle, if you like, and there will be those in the democratic cam hill say she is pretty centrist actually, as far as we say it. nonetheless, where does donald trump go or at all in terms of the african—american voters because

thatis african—american voters because that is the obvious attraction? isn't it? there is a message, symbol, a picture for them here to work with? yes, and we will see whether choosing an african—american female, whether that motivates african—american voters. i think it did when barack obama was a presidential nominee but in the modern era we can think of maybe one example of a time when a vice president made a difference electoral relief in the united states, usually simply does not make a matt lauer. —— electorally. we will also hear questions about his health, and age, that ofjoe biden but i do not think mike pence will matter at all and both mike pence and donald trump are trying to improve margins, they've been pointing to signing the reform bills and the african—american employment rate was low before coronavirus heat and because the economic colla pse we heat and because the economic collapse we have seen over the last few months. briefly,

because we have run out of time but the polling, as we said, it very much is injoe biden‘s weber at the moment and it will bea weber at the moment and it will be a big effort to narrow that down? he is a frontrunner right now and the biggest lead of a front runner and that would heighten in september as a go from registered voters which ca ptu res from registered voters which captures the enthusiasm of donald trump and his support base. it'll be settled about the debates and a question of whether the country is ready to move on from donald trump and whetherjoe biden is up to being the president of the united states, that will be the two questions answered in the televised debates. matt mackowiak, thank you. it's the middle of august, the peak of the european holiday season and the worst news possible is emerging. germany, france and spain have all registered a record number of daily coronavirus infections. they are battling to stop a surge in new cases with all the knock—on impact that implies, as paul hawkins reports.

germans flying off to spain on holiday. the government says they are part of the reason the country is seeing a rise in coronavirus cases. more than 1200 were reported in germany in the past 2a hours. so the government has warned against non—essential trips to parts of spain, but that has not put these tourists off. translation: i said to myself that i could getjust as easily infected in germany! when i plan to get a test done at the airport and then another test a week later. i think that that will be a safe bet. translation: we are using all the options available to disinfect ourselves. we are going to an airbnb instead of a hotel, i would have cancelled ina hotel, i would have cancelled in a hotel but the only stressful thing is the airport. france is also seeing a rise,

2224 cases in 24 hours, the highest daily rise since lockdown was lifted in may, and thatis lockdown was lifted in may, and that is why the paris marathon, rescheduled for november, has now been cancelled. like other french cities, it has made face masks compulsory in busy outdoor areas. spain meanwhile is facing the worth coronavirus infection rate in western europe with 1690 new infections on wednesday. there was also a daily record rise four cases increase. every increasing number making it more and more difficult to fully reopen society. —— in greece. paul hawkins, bbc news. a newly published scientific study says at least 800 people have died around the world as a result of coronavirus—related misinformation in the first three months of this year. the paper, published in the american journal of tropical medicine and hygiene says more than 5,800 more were hospitalised as a result of false information they had seen on social media.

the authors say rumours, conspiracy theories and cultural stigma all contributed to additional deaths and injuries. joining me now from sydney is dr holly seale, a contributor to the recently published report. she's also a senior lecturer at the school of public health and community medicine at the university of new south wales. thank you very much forjoining us. thank you very much forjoining us. i wonderfirst thank you very much forjoining us. i wonder first of all, misinformation, can you give me exa m ples of misinformation, can you give me examples of what people have done based on this misguided information? yeah, this is the concerning thing because the outcomes of receiving or being subject to a rumour or misconception can range from something as simple as may be not just following the something as simple as may be notjust following the public health advice. to the way that it should be or may be stopping it should be or may be stopping it following the advice but at the other end of the spectrum what we found is that there have been deaths, hospitalisations associated with people following really

bad advice such as people taking methanol or cleaning products to try and read themselves of a suspected infection — just get rid of. other practices like drinking tea made from a normal product or you're in tea made from a normal product oryou're in —— tea made from a normal product or you're in —— you're in or herbal remedies in ways they should not be used and the number of hospitalisations and deaths may actually be —— you're in under representing the dire consequences that some of these rumours that had.|j was going to ask you about the figures because it must be very difficult to collate accurately which of these individuals have actually died from misinformation or some other calls and those who have ended up calls and those who have ended up in hospital. how do you do that? and that's where we have

to acknowledge the data is based on what we can find out there in the literature. from our surveillance using report, and drawing on data from newspaper articles, from published literature and other medical reporting websites, we we re medical reporting websites, we were able to collate and cross tabulate these numbers but, definitely, we acknowledge that may be just a smaller proportion to what the actual numbers are and of course we don't encapsulate any of the people who have stopped using or complying with the public health measure and have gone on to bea health measure and have gone on to be a covid—19 case. health measure and have gone on to be a covid-19 case. and who knows how many that may be! i suppose the question is you are providing the evidence. do you have any providing the evidence. do you have a ny a nswe i’s providing the evidence. do you have any answers as to how you actually stop this? that is the trouble with social media, isn't it? and that is the challenge many of the agencies are currently coming up against now but there is some work being done so the two recently

convened —— the world health organization convened to bring together social scientists and epidemiologists and communication experts to work out strategies to target misinformation or conspiracy theories. some of the strategies involve going back to the platforms themselves, working with facebook, twitter to try and get them to take off this misinformation and they are doing that now. but otherwise, we have to do this more locally and then involves working with local health departments to make sure we have accurate information that is available in a range of languages, getting out to the people. everyone has to play their role. thank you very much indeed. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the virtual art installation celebrating the influence immigrant communities have had

on the london arts scene. the big crowds became bigger as the time of the funeral approached. as the lines of fans became longer, the police prepared for a huge job of crowd control. idi amin, uganda's brutal former dictator, has died at the age of 80. he's been buried in saudi arabia, where he lived in exile since being overthrown in 1979. two billion people around the world have seen the last total eclipse of the sun to take place in this millennium. it began its journey off the coast of canada, ending three hours later when the sun set over the bay of bengal.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: democratic presidential candidatejoe biden teams up with his new election running mate, kamala harris, to launch their bid for the white house. no holiday from coronavirus across much of europe — as cases surge, governments are trying to salvage something from this summer's tourism and holiday trade. the president of belarus has dismissed the people protesting against his re—election as ‘criminals and unemployed.‘ violent demonstrations have been held since alexander lu kashenko's victory, which several groups say was rigged. after a third night of residents against protest against the president came protest against the police. to

the sound of car horns in the several hundred women wearing white and holding towers joined hands against his brutality the night before. demonstrators we re night before. demonstrators were beaten. police using stun grenades as they chased peaceful protesters through the streets with tear gas and batons. neither where the media spared. this bbc team attacked by the police who ordered them to stop filming. and in the city of rest, life alerts were used by the authorities. the un has condemned the use of violence by the authorities. so far 200 people have been wounded and 6000 detained. the families of some detainees chanting heroes, hold on. translation: i only managed to tell my husband that the police are coming our way. they came to us and they told my husband come with us. we asked why and they were already taking him, twisting his arms and taking him to the police van.

translation: we just want to know where our children are, thatis know where our children are, that is all we need. they are not giving them food. this morning some boys said the police beat them a little less if they were quiet. there were up if they were quiet. there were up to 40 people in the cell and every 30 minutes they would bring them a litre of water, 1.5 litres for all of them. translation: there is currently a genocide taking place in this country. i am not afraid to use that word. the special police forces are that word. the special police forces a re brutally that word. the special police forces are brutally beating people and all we can do is protest peacefully. we want peaceful changes and we want to prove that right to change peacefully. the president is unrepentant. translation: the co re unrepentant. translation: the core of all the so—called protesters today comprise of people with a criminal history, and the unemployed. if you do not have work then walk the streets and roadsides. i politely ask everyone to find work, those who are unemployed.

for the fourth night in a row, on wednesday there were more protest. but these were smaller than previous night. meanwhile, presidential candidate svetla na remains in lithuania out of fear she will be arrested if she returns to while the eu which is considering sanctions says the election on sunday was neither three north there. but lukashenko disagrees. neither three north there. but lu kashenko disagrees. known neither three north there. but lukashenko disagrees. known by some as the last dictator of europe he seems determined to hold onto that title. time to visit the bbc sports unit. hello, i'm tulsen tollett and this is your thursday sport briefing. where we start with the footballing news that paris saint—germain are the first team through to the champions league semi—finals after they scored two late goals to beat atalanta 2—1. mario pasalic had given the italians what looked like being the match winning goal before late strikes from marquinhos and then a stoppage time winner from eric maxim choupo—moting sent the french side through.

chris froome returned to the the criterium du dauphine on wednesday as he looks to secure his place in this year's tour de france. the race nearly ended his career last year after a bad crash but he's already lost ground on team ineos rival egan bernal — he finished third behind in—form belgian rider wout van aert, who took the first stage for jumbo—visma. ronnie o'sullivan holds a slight advantage over mark selby in their semi final at the world snooker championship. the rocket got off to a quick start in the best of 33 frame encounter at the crucible theatre in sheffield, and holds a 5—3 lead although selby will feel he's been the more fortunate. the champions league quarter—finals continue on thursday and atletico madrid have trained as normal ahead of their tie with rb leipzig, after two of their players tested positive for covid—19 earlier this week. angel correa and sime vrsaljko are now isolating at home.

meanwhile the german side are in the knockout stages of the competition for the first time and victory would set up a last four clash with paris saint—germain. england will be looking to wrap up their series against pakistan when the second test gets underway in southampton shortly. england who won the opening match in manchester will be without their talisman, ben stokes, who's had to travel to new zealand "for family reasons". unsurprisingly captain, joe root, says he's a hard man to replace. i think it does create opportunities for the guys who come in and try to show what they can do, not necessarily they can do, not necessarily the role that he plays in but within the team and how it looks without him because there may be periods in the future where he is missing or injured and we need to find ways of quys and we need to find ways of guys stepping in and filling those very big boots of his. it isa those very big boots of his. it is a big loss, obviously, he is vice captain and born leader and his performances have been outstanding and we all miss him

at this time. golf's scottish open gets under way soon at the rennaissance club near edinburgh, and american danielle kang is going for her third—straight win on the lpga tour. it's a feat no—one has achieved since thailand's ariya jutanugarn in 2016 and kang is approaching it in a pragmatic way. approaching it in a positive way and giving yourself positive reinforcement has been really good. at the same time i ama really good. at the same time i am a realist so there are things i must always work on and get at and looking at statistics, analysing your game, being introspective about how you are on and off the golf course, things like that have elevated my golf game. rugby union returns in england on friday for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic halted everything, and the occasion has been marked on the pitch at twickenham stadium — the home of rugby in the uk. three large faces of players were painted by hand on the turf over 24 hours by eight artists. the portrait of faf de klerk, maro itoje and joe marler is the uk's biggest

outdoor painting. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest of the team that is your thursday sport briefing the work by the artist, hormazd narielwalla is currently being featured in a new exhibition in london but like many other things at the moment — the show has gone virtual. the gallery hosting it celebrates the influence immigrant communities have had on the capital's arts scene, as our correspondent brenda emmanus has been finding out. it would be wonderful if we could achieve the feeling of capturing a piece of the sky in a box. the thoughts and work of hormazd narielwalla, the london based artist works primarily in collage, creating original prints books and sculpture from

bespoke paper patterns. the artist is one of several featured in a new online exhibition called midnight‘s family. midnight's family present fides a snapshot of first and second generation indian artist in britain over the last 70 years. it is a creative community that varies in the style of work and interpretation of their identity. when you live in a country for more than ten years you are like a sponge, soaking the culture. you take it on and i feel i the culture. you take it on and ifeel i am the culture. you take it on and i feel i am comfortable by saying i am british indian. sometimes when i look at politics may be that feeling is not the same but it doesn't deter me from aligning myself to great artist that have been produced. the virtual museum explores the jewish

produced. the virtual museum explores thejewish and immigrant contribution to the visual arts in britain since the 1900s. this is theirfirst digital show focused on a non—european community. they are artist's first. they have a heritage and the express themselves in the way that they wa nt to themselves in the way that they want to express themselves which is so diverse and unpredictable and of course their identity comes through. that's why the strapline is art identity and migration. that mix and it is an exciting dynamic mix. perhaps one of the globally recognised indian artists is anish kapoor who is has worked celebrated among key figures. the artists in the exhibition, many of them are very prominent within the art scene and i think inspired each artist has contributed to enhance their life, to be a

pa rt enhance their life, to be a part of the broader british culture. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @bbcdavideades. hello. wednesday brought a real mishmash of weather across the british isles. a lot of heat and humidity again and yet, into saint ives and a number of coastal areas, were plagued with low cloud and fog, and then, as the day wore on, so the thunderstorms popped off, and that prospect is there again, through thursday. hot and humid weather with that risk of thunderstorms, especially so, although not exclusively, across the southern half of the british isles, because this overall set up of the low pressure, with the heat from the continent and the moisture from the surrounding seas, is still the dominant feature. and we start with the temperature somewhere in the teens for many, if not twenty degrees in one

or two spots in the southeast. and from the word go, there could well be some thunderstorms for central and southern parts of england, getting across the border into wales. quite a bit of murk there to the eastern side of the pennines, effecting some of the east and northern counties of scotland. best of the sunshine out west, later on in the day, pushing the temperatures to 22. similar sort of prospect in parts of northern ireland and somewhere again across central and southern parts of england will be pushing close to 30 degrees and the thunderstorms continue apace. there are warnings from the met office already about the potential for disruption from those storms. in fact, that continues right on into friday as well. another murky, muggy night to come, widely across the british isles. friday, a really cloudy start with a shield of cloud coming in from the north sea to affect many areas. only beginning to break as we get on into the afternoon. and still that prospect, particularly across southern britain, of some really quite sharp thunderstorms. the temperatures beginning to fall back a touch, but it will still feel very close, very oppressive,

simply because that overall situation really not changing, even as we move towards the weekend, southern britain still at risk from these thunderstorms. further north, it should be dry, thanks to the influence of the high pressure. but again, some of these northern and eastern—facing coast could well be affected by some low level mist and murk, which will temper the feel of the day, but with some sunshine in the north, you'll be looking at 22, possibly 23 degrees. and we don't really change things even as you push right through the weekend and into the start of the forthcoming week. take care, bye—bye.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. facing irreversible damage — travel bosses call for countries to work together to save their industry and the 330 million jobs that depend on it. plus, the bulls take control on wall street as us shares close at their highest since february, all but wiping out their losses from the pandemic. we start with travel and tourism — or the lack of it —

because industry bosses have written to the leaders of the g7 group of top economies, calling for unprecedented international co—operation to save their business. the world travel and tourism council, backed by 100 heads of airlines, airports, hotel chains and tour operators, is warning the industry faces irreversible damage and it says blanket travel restrictions imposed by individual countries are making the situation worse. tom jenkins is ceo of the european tourism association. he joins me from the village of pennal, in mid wales. what a lovely place to be, time, buta what a lovely place to be, time, but a pretty miserable morning in terms of what you we re morning in terms of what you were faced with, whether that is the figures you have been reporting from the likes of spain, germany and france of coronavirus cases on the rise are alone and magnifying is almost impossible uncertainty that you have to work with —— on the rise again. it is

obviously a unique situation we are facing. the industry, the inbound european industry is facing a 95% drop in business. that is long haul flights coming in from beyond europe? those are the people trying to sell europe to america, japan, china et cetera, but even the intra— european business and you'll probably hear the results, even the intra— european business is looking at shortfalls in the 60— 70% range and this is catastrophic drop in business. that given the way in which this coronavirus is moving and working and changing, what are the sort of measures, realistically, that governments together can do?|j think governments together can do?” think it should start working together. at the moment, we are looking, even within the european union, governments

acting very much to their domestic audience. when governments look inward, this tends to be terribly bad for tourism business. one thing they could do is be much much more sophisticated in the way they introduce bands. all quarantine measures. —— bands is interesting the uk introduced quarantine on belgium as a whole in germany at the same time is if you have been to antwerp you should solve quarantine so a different level of sophistication and nuance taking place even within europe. but it has to work, doesn't it? it's all well and good to say quarantine yourself but you need a test and trace system or something that backs up system or something that backs upa system or something that backs up a little bit more freedom in terms of the way in which you try and marshal this? terms of the way in which you try and marshalthis? you have to do also credit people with a degree of intelligence and sometimes these bans, particularly the one in the uk

from the polymeric islands didn't make sense at all. you cannot man these bands you have to make sure they are good and sensible and sometimes they are not good insensible. the longer haul than to europe, that is not going to change, whatever the terms, is that, tom? people are made up their minds they are made up their minds they are not going on a long flight for the moment? i think you are right. the situation is one where we will have to wait for a vaccine for a full recovery of confidence in that area. so that we are looking at 2021 for any form of recovery in that market. thank you for talking to us. let's turn to the markets now — because a surge in virus infections around the world and a slew of catastrophic economic data seem to be doing nothing to deter bullish investors. leading shares in the us have

all but wiped out their losses from the pandemic, the s&p 500 closing at its highest level since february. traders are betting more financial stimulus measures are imminent in the us, despite the political deadlock over the legislation. shamik dhar is chief economist at bny mellon investment management. very good to see you. i was still stuck in that well where investors assume, they know the stimulus is coming so they kept putting the money in —— stuck in that world? i think that's pa rt in that world? i think that's part of the reason that some news, regarding recession, is old news as far as the markets are concerned. we have known this for three orfour are concerned. we have known this for three or four months. markets look at and instead and against what they are saying is that they think there will be some sort of reasonable recovery over the next 6—12 months. interest rates will

stay low and as you say, with comes to worse, we are likely to see central banks and government stepped in again if that happens. right, we have had all this discussion about the shape of the recovery, people talk about the these shape recovery, it will go up as quickly as going down and then a sense that that is unrealistic and it will be a slower recovery , unrealistic and it will be a slower recovery, do you think that if we are on the v shape recovery, markets will be more bullish? i think they probably will be. i have not completely discounted dv shape recovery, as long as you carefully define what mean by it. if you mean by it you will get back to the level of spending back to before the virus hit back to the middle of 2021, i think thatis the middle of 2021, i think that is possible. both suspect that is possible. both suspect thatis that is possible. both suspect that is roughly what markets us inspecting as well. i must say it's a bit more optimistic than what the central banks are assuming but not usually optimistic. having a look at

the market and the board, bringing this up for a second. everything is pointing upwards andi everything is pointing upwards and ijust everything is pointing upwards and i just wonder, everything is pointing upwards and ijust wonder, although we are saying we're back to where we we re are saying we're back to where we were in february, are we really? the money going in different areas then it was four, five, six months ago? yes, it is. there is a huge if you like, break within the market between essentially those industries that have done well during lockdown and those who have suffered and he just heard about the travel industry, for instance. a number of companies that have suffered quite badly whereas a lot of this growth has been driven by tech companies, in particular, which of course we have seen online during the crisis. this exhilarated and underlying trend towards digitisation and alternation which markets clearly like. in terms of trends, would you say

what we are seeing now will persist over the course of the weeks and months ahead because as you say, we have seen the worst of the recession and it's probably not going to get worse than what we have just seen? yeah, ithink than what we have just seen? yeah, i think the market could well make steady progress. i don't think we will see it do as dramatically well as it has in the past few months and although i remain, you know, reasonably optimistic compared with many people, i'm still aware there are huge risks out there so it won't take much to destabilise the markets again. sorry, we will have to leave it there. thank you again for your wisdom. chinese tech giant tencent has been facing questions from investors following president trump's executive order banning transactions with its wechat messaging app. tencent has reported a 37%jump in profits for the second quarter but markets remain concerned by an escalation of us—china

tensions into the online world targeting chinese—owned apps, including tiktok and wechat. joining us now from singapore is mariko and this is a balancing act, mariko? the tech market really benefited from lockdown and we will hear from ali barber, the top search engine and they have seen demand rise and tencent is the biggest videogames make is that the company benefited from people staying at home if you look at the numbers closely, and revenue from online games which accounts for one third of total sales, it jumped 40% which accounts for one third of total sales, itjumped 40% in the second quarter but the us has been cracking down on the

chinese tech giants, starting to worry investors. tencent has said that he did not believe the us banning on we chat would apply to its domestic platform and analysts agree, that the overseas revenue is not that big. the us only accounts for less tha n big. the us only accounts for less than 2% of its revenue but the proposed ban could have an impact on these tech giants longer term plans, especially expansion plans overseas, for example, with just about a month until the deadline, many speculation on who may purchase the us operation of tick—tock, whether it be microsoft or twitter, because it became hugely popular in the us as well —— tiktok. the uk has fallen into its largest recession on record because of the coronavirus lockdown — it contracted by more than 20% between april and june — the biggest slump of any major global economy.

the recession, defined as six months in a row of falling output, is the first since the 2008 financial crash. the uk's finance minister, the chancellor rishi sunak, said the figures confirmed hard times are here and he said he expected many more people to lose theirjobs. here's our economics editor faisal islam. this is a recession like no other, a consequence of having to shut the economy down. the result is an unprecedented hit, the hope that it proves to be short—lived. at this somerset outdoor events manufacturer, what remains of dozens of music, sports and cultural events that never occurred. this shed would normally be completely empty at this time of year. recovery here, far from assured. it's heartbreaking a lot of it. the march, april, may time — it was really rough. you try and stay positive, but for some of our staff, they couldn't stay with us longer term, and that's horrible. a fall of over 20%

isn't just a record, but it's off all historical scales. the last recession, the great financial crisis of 2008/9, saw a worse three—month fall ofjust over 2%. go back the entire history of official calculations and there's never been a fall bigger than 3%. i said that hard times were coming and what today's numbers show is that hard times are here. hundreds of thousands of people have already lost theirjob and, sadly, many more will. in june, the economy did bounce back a bit, making up about a third of the shutdown slump. that can be seen here in bath, where only some of the lost international tourism has been replaced by domestic tourists, tempted out by the chancellor's cheap meals. we are maybe 35% to 40% of normal. in nearly four decades here, the local antique shop has seen nothing like this. there's a shop here that's closed. i don't know when they are reopening. another one there, closed down. i think it has gone under. i don't think they'll be back. in the main street there are several.

so people are kind of holding on? yeah. the government said that they had a bridge to the other side, but not everyone is going to make it through? not everyone will to make it through. the official confirmation of a recession is no surprise, but the number reported this morning was simply staggering. a colossal hit to the economy affecting every high street and home, up and down the country, mainly in march and in april. since then, the economy has started to grow a bit again, but not all the lights that were switched off, to protect public health, will turn back on. while the recession was inevitable, it doesn't explain why the uk has been amongst the worst hit of major nations, both in terms of health and the economy. this morning's number the worst of the major g7 economies reporting so far, from france to the us, with canada and japan also forecast to confirm smaller hits. are there not some questions about how your government has handled this, that we are bottom of both these tables? social activities —

for example, going to have a meal, go shopping, go and see a movie — those kinds of activities comprise a much larger share of our economy than they do for most of our european cousins. the opposition said the recession showed the need to retain the furlough job scheme beyond the autumn. we need to have targeted financial backing. we haven't had that sufficiently yet from the conservative government and we really need it. i think, until we have that, we will continue to see, potentially, a deeper recession in the uk than in other countries. but the chancellor, adamant today, that the scheme will not be extended, that the economy and people will have to adapt, that somejobs will not return after this record pandemic recession. faisal islam, bbc news, in bath. let's get some of the day's other news. the us says it will hold off on a threatened hike in tariffs on $7.5 billion worth of european and uk goods, imposed as punishment for subsidies for plane—maker airbus.

the move comes as the two sides wrestle to put an to end their 16—year trade battle over state aid for airbus and american rival boeing. the us last year raised border taxes on more than 100 items, including jumpers, single—malt whiskies and cheese. airbnb says revenue plunged 67% in the three months tojune as the pandemic hit travel demand. but the home rental company is pressing ahead with plans for a stock market debut before the end of the year — according to a report by bloomberg — and could file the application this month. coming up injust a moment, move coming up injust a moment, m ove over coming up injust a moment, move over social media influences, why live streaming is the hot new thing in online retail. officials have pledged to find out what caused a train to derail in aberdeenshire, killing three people

and injuring six others. the 6.38 aberdeen to glasgow queen street service crashed near stonehaven yesterday morning amid heavy rain and flooding. among the dead were the train's driver as well as the conductor and a passenger. warnings of severe thunderstorms are in place across much of the uk after some areas saw the longest stretch of high temperatures since the 1960s. it comes after torrential rain and lightning lashed large parts of scotland on tuesday night. an amber storm warning has been issued for most of wales, the west midlands and parts of the north west. a revamped covid—19 contact—tracing app will begin public trials in england today. technology supplied by apple and google has been used to update the software, after an earlier version, tested in may, failed to recognise most iphones.

coming up at six o'clock on breakfast, charlie stayt and naga munchetty will have all the day's news, this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: demcratic presidential candidatejoe biden teams up with his new election running mate, kamala harris, to launch their bid for the white house. no holiday from coronavirus across much of europe — as cases surge, governments are trying to salvage something from this summer's tourism and holiday trade. transport app company lyft says it's still on track to make a profit next year, despite a 61% slump in revenues in the three months to june. like its bigger rival uber, lyft has been hit hard by the lockdown which brought business and travel to a standstill, but it has other problems too, as michelle fleury reports. the financial cost of shutting down the economy to address the health crisis has had profound

effect which makes money from ride hailing as well as scooter and bike sharing. and unlike its rival it does not have a delivery business to make up for that drop in ridership. however, when the company released its quarterly result for a period between april and june it did see room for optimism, pointing toward signs of recovery and saying that in june the ridership was up 78% from april and it's like sharing business has seen a 200% increase injune from april. the company, which cuts 17% of it workforce between april and june has been forced to adapt, launching a delivery service for essential items and to try and make rioters and riders feel comfortable they introduced a number of new measures including making it mandatory for riders and drivers to wear a mask during trips. but in california, regulators want the company to do more for drivers, to treat them as employees not contract.

on monday, a california court issued an injunction that requires both uber and lyft to classify drivers as full employees with an offence. it threatens to add significant cost to the company. addressing this issue, but one mac said it may have to cease operations in the state if efforts to challenge the ruling failed. during the call with investors, the executives tried to strike a positive note. they said it would be a long road to recovery but that managing in the face of adversity was part of the compa ny‘s the face of adversity was part of the company's dna. online shopping has been one of the major business winners during lockdown. but in asia — it has also become entertainment — thanks to the boom in ‘live streaming‘. think charismatic sellers hosting online product demonstrations you can watch on your phone. so move over ‘social media influencers‘. companies are now investing big money in finding and training the next generation of stars, who use their charm to sell

you everything from makeup to shoes. this is only 115 pesos! i am one of the pioneers of live streaming here in the philippines. you can get this on sale if you purchase it now. welcome to another weekly check—in session with me. i a lwa ys check—in session with me. i always tell them that there is going to be a lot of live streamers out there who may even be better than you. but what will set apart from the rest? my friends and followers... eyeshadow. girl.

translation: my dream is to become a famous lawyer and also a popular online star. my plan after graduation is to do the two jobs after graduation is to do the twojobs at after graduation is to do the two jobs at the same time. live strea m two jobs at the same time. live stream is the new mainstream and we believe it is the next big thing in southeast asia. you are entertained by it, you are informed by and you simply,

with one click, can buy it, pay for it and have it delivered to your door. sincerity, integrity and hard work. it‘s always the right time to try something new. you get sincerity and integrity right here on the bbc. now as western cities see statues of slaveholders and colonialists toppled, the west african country of benin is bucking the trend. the coastal town of ouida is embracing its past. to educate people on what happened but also to bring in tourist

revenue. for benin it is a time for remembrance. the country, which has just celebrated its 60th year of independence, is also remembering a past marked slavery and, while across the world statues of former slavers are being debunked, the small coastal town of ouidah has decided to restore its monuments, to tell its painful story, from the slave trade to colonisation. a story to which visitors pay tribute to in an exhibition. carts, drafting guns, chains, but also the possible altars used for the ceremonies of the kings of ancient dahomey. translation: this emotion that i have every time i see those chains that were used to chain the slaves, ourgrandparents, our ancestors, who were deported by the colonisers, and every time it makes me relive things that i don‘t like to relive.

it hurts a bit but it is our story and you have to accept it. translation: these are not things we are usually taught at school or in everyday life. i think that, if it continues like this, we will have some very beautiful things and we will be able to properly represent our country because we have to. with its afro—brazilian architecture, beautiful beaches, the city of ouidah is today at the heart of a billion—dollar tourist development project. translation: ouidah is the most remarkable city in the history of slavery. that‘s why beyond the movements claiming the cause of black people, we want the sites of that to have known history to be restored so that the history does not die. but the expansion ofjihadism in the region has put a break on this project in recent years, a situation made even worse by the covid—19 pandemic. until then, the renovation

of these places will serve to better illustrate the fabric of history, to pass it on to future generations. clarisse fortune, bbc news. hello. wednesday brought a real mishmash of weather across the british isles. a lot of heat and humidity again and yet, into saint ives and a number of coastal areas, were plagued with low cloud and fog, and then, as the day wore on, so the thunderstorms popped off, and that prospect is there again, through thursday. hot and humid weather with that risk of thunderstorms, especially so, although not exclusively, across the southern half of the british isles, because this overall set up of the low pressure, with the heat from the continent and the moisture from the surrounding seas, is still the dominant feature. and we start with the temperature somewhere in the teens for many, if not twenty degrees in one or two spots in the southeast. and from the word go, there could well be some thunderstorms for central and southern parts of england, getting across the border into wales. quite a bit of murk there to the eastern side of the pennines, effecting some of the east

and northern counties of scotland. best of the sunshine out west, later on in the day, pushing the temperatures to 22. similar sort of prospect in parts of northern ireland and somewhere again across central and southern parts of england will be pushing close to 30 degrees and the thunderstorms continue apace. there are warnings from the met office already about the potential for disruption from those storms. in fact, that continues right on into friday as well. another murky, muggy night to come, widely across the british isles. friday, a really cloudy start with a shield of cloud coming in from the north sea to affect many areas. only beginning to break as we get on into the afternoon. and still that prospect, particularly across southern britain, of some really quite sharp thunderstorms. the temperatures beginning to fall back a touch, but it will still feel very close, very oppressive, simply because that overall situation really not changing, even as we move towards the weekend, southern britain still at risk

from these thunderstorms. further north, it should be dry, thanks to the influence of the high pressure. but again, some of these northern and eastern—facing coast could well be affected by some low level mist and murk, which will temper the feel of the day, but with some sunshine in the north, you‘ll be looking at 22, possibly 23 degrees. and we don‘t really change things even as you push right through the weekend and into the start of the forthcoming week. take care, bye—bye.

good morning. welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines today: hundreds of thousands of students get their a—level results today for exams they didn‘t sit, as ministers prepare for a backlash over predicted grades. for those receiving vocational qualifications, hairdressing, hospitality, engineering, what would a covid job market look like? an investigation begins into the aberdeenshire rail crash in which three people died. another night of dramatic thunderstorms,