hello, i'm karin giannone, this is outside source. tests suggest russian opposition leader alexei navalny was poisoned, says the german hospital treating him. in the us, it's all about one man as the republican national convention kicks off —— and he's been formally nominated to fight the november election. if you want to drive them crazy, you say 12 more years. used more widely and we will look at how effective this is.

a german hospital treating the russian opposition leader alexei navalny says tests they've carried out indicate he was poisoned. in a statement they said: "the clinical findings indicate poisoning by a substance from the group of active substances called kolin—ester—ase inhibitors." while the doctors have not yet identified the specific substance, they suggested it has been designed to impede brain activity. here's jenny hill with more. he is still, those nursing his condition is serious and although it is not life—threatening, at this stage they say it cannot be sure that he will make a full recovery. there may be some long—term consequences for his health. they

been examining him ever since he arrived on saturday for treatment. he said it would take some time to get to the bottom of what happened to him and we still do not have all the answers. he still cannot tell us exactly what the substance is, just that they are treating him now with an antidote and as they say, his condition isn't thought to be life—threatening. condition isn't thought to be life-threatening. the russian news agency has reported that doctors in the city were the plane he was on made an emergency landing saying that he tested negative for those inhibitors ended in a tweet, his press secretary said that the fact that he was poisoned was confirmed in a tweet, mr navalny‘s press secretary said: the fact that alexei was poisoned was confirmed by us from the very beginning, despite the statements of the omsk doctors and state propagandists. now our words have been confirmed by analysis in independent laboratories. the poisoning of navalny is no longer a hypothesis, but a fact." used more widely and we will look at how effective this is.

now, remember mr navalny is a politician and blogger who has long been the most prominent face of opposition to the russian he fell ill on a domestic flight last week. here you can see footage of him being wheeled into an ambulance on the tarmac. his supporters suspect he drank poisoned tea at the airport before departing and witnesses on the plane reported he was screaming in pain. he was later flown to berlin for treatment. last week, the russian government said claims of poisoning are "only assumptions" until testing proved otherwise. it's worth remembering that the kremlin has been accused of carrying out poisonings before, and on each of those occasions it has denied any involvement. back in september 2018, german doctors treating pyotr vur—zil—uhf said it was "highly plausible" he'd been poisoned. he's involved with the anti—putin band "pudsey riot". earlier in 2018, former russian double agent sergei skripal and his adult daughter were found unconcious

on a park bench in england. while they both survived, british police said they were poisoned a kolin—ester—ase inhibitor. going further back to 2006, another former russian spy, alexander litvinenko, died in london after drinking tea laced with highly radioactive polonium. the head of a subsequent british government inquiry issued this finding. taking full account of all the evidence and analysis available to me, ifind that the fsb operation to kill litvinenko was probably approved by fsb director nikolai patrushev and also by president putin." 0ur correspondent sergei goryashkojoins me now from moscow. has there been any response to what the german doctors are saying that he was poisoned? well the one that we got this that there was no

inhibitors in the analysis and in the substances so the only one response i heard is the one i got from the international affairs and russian higher level of parliament and they told me that he doesn't believe in any poisoning claims and thinks that german doctors are biased and russian governments, if they had to cover up any poisonings any traces of poison, which is why he is pretty sure and confident that he is pretty sure and confident that he has not been poisoned and that he has just fallen ill as president pruden referred to his european counterpart, he only said that he just has fallen ill and that's it. if it is confirmed that the

su bsta nces if it is confirmed that the substances in blood, to saving really change, because as we have seen really change, because as we have seenin really change, because as we have seen in previous suspicions of poisoning cases, there is nothing but a blanket denial. sure it does because there's a reason why he has been held and supporters believe that doctors in russia have started to keep him in the siberian city to cover up to keep him in the siberian city to cover up the traces of any poisoning after that they will let them travel to germany or to other countries to be treated, but there will be no claims that navalny has been poisoned or traces of toxins blood but it seems there have been some traces, which is why it is a pretty bad situation for the kremlin because he will be asked to find who is accountable, who perform this attack on the leader in russia and of course, the kremlin will be held responsible either way even if not connected over this poisoning, they

will be held responsible to find who are involved in that, who ordered this attack. so if they do not find it, there must be problems for the kremlin himself because in any meeting, any european leader will ask what happened to your opposition leader, what happened to rifle, why haven't you found anyone responsible for the attack and so on and so on. which is why it is a difficult situation, which is why they remain silent for now. republicans in the united states are holding their convention ahead of november's presidential election. just like the democrats' event last week it will be a mostly virtual affair. but the republicans are still conducting some in—person business. this is the physical convention hall in charlotte, north carolina. 336 delegates are meeting there, a fraction of the 2—and—a—half—thousand who would have been there in person were it not for covid.

they've renominated donald trump and mike pence for president and vice—president. have a listen. michigan, the great lakes state, it's all going to cast the vote for donaldj it's all going to cast the vote for donald j trump. it's all going to cast the vote for donald] trump. all of idaho, 32 votes for donald john trump. donald] trump. all of idaho, 32 votes for donald ]ohn trump. iowa full sentence unanimously all of our votes to renominate you to lead our country, america, under god, for four more years. mr president and mr vice president, you are rehired. most of the speeches will be delivered remotely. for example, president trump will be delivering his acceptance speech on thursday from the white house. but he is also spending some time in charlotte. here's how his speech started today. now, if you really want to drive them crazy, you say 12 more years.

so, that was president trump trying to stir—up democrats. constitutionally he would only be able to seve for four more years, not 12. he went on talk up his chances in november. here's some more. we have tremendous enthusiasm, record enthusiasm. we have a base for the likes of which nobody has seen, including these people. the wall streetjournal that are fantastic stories. this we can fantastic stories. this we can fantastic cover story and an incredible base. everyone here is going to vote. everyone in our base is going to vote, we have a tremendous base. they have no enthusiasm for their candidate. despite that claim, donald trump is trailing joe biden in the polls. that's been the case for a while now. this graph shows the trend based on the average taken from different polling companies. the president has been trailing his opponent since march, and is currently eight points behind. this week's convention gives him a prime—time opportunity to turn that around. here's more from our north america

correspondent nada tawfik. the democrats had their turn breaking in convention to put on a virtual show which format was an unexpected hit. it raised the stakes as republicans begin their convention. president trump will have four nights the counterjoe biden‘s message and convince undecided voters. his most loyal supporters are not worried, across the country, they have organised their own events just as this boat parade in newjersey. their own events just as this boat parade in newjerseylj their own events just as this boat parade in newjersey. i think is going to win overwhelmingly. she believes that donald trump will set a victory despite the dark cloud of the coronavirus and reinstallation. she does not believe the polls that show him behind joe biden nationally. there is a line in the sand that is been drawn and to be careful you vote for because the result of that election can change everything that we are familiar

with. if president trump loses, what is the fear stop you life your socialism, the destruction of small business, i fear that there'll be more destruction of the family structure. but president trump may have a mountain to climb the swing voters. donald trump narrowly won wisconsin in 2016, securing him the electoral college and though he lost the popular vote, we cannot do supporting key battle ground states, pennsylvania placed was strengths with old or more working—class voters, but even here, they show that he is behind joe biden. normally, the convention is where the party hammers out its electoral platform. but republicans have decided against drafting a new platform at all this year. they say they don't want a small contingent of delegates deciding on policy for the whole party. instead the republican national committee has issued a resolution stating that it. "continues to reject the policy positions of the 0bama biden administration" it goes on to say the

party will, "continue to enthusiastically support the president's america first agenda". so the republicans are running on the president's record. here are some of the delegates on that. there are a lot of things you can point to, foreign affairs and the economy, lots of problems, sure. but lots of solutions. i think there will be a very different vision of america that donald trump has versus the democrats. 0ne america that donald trump has versus the democrats. one of positivity, one of greatness in one of excitement for our country. so, this week is all set to be the trump show. a member of the president's family is due to speak each night at the convention, starting with his son donald trump jr. let's bring in our senior north america reporter anthony zurcher. how important is this convention for

him? this is the start of the home stretch of the presidential campaign. just a few more months after this initial mentioned, the pulse ofjim trilling joe biden have been remarkably stable over the past seven 01’ been remarkably stable over the past seven or eight months. it is important to change the dynamic of the best way to do that, is that the biggest audience in this convention, debate in a month and a half, is also going to be important, but to getan also going to be important, but to get an unfiltered message to the people where you have blocks of time in our night on monday and thursday, republicans aren't going to get a chance better than that. we know how much donald trump loves the big rallies, he's not going to get that this time around, as that is that a setback or disadvantage for him? he tried to have that rally in tulsa that ended up being a disaster with lower turnout and many people getting the coronavirus and leading to an outbreak and it seems that city, he uses these rallies as a

sounding board to figure out what his base wants, but his lines and strategies are. the campaigns are going to try to use a modified rally and just last week they went to some cities in the us are donald trump came in on this plane and spoke to a smaller cloud in an airport hangar andi smaller cloud in an airport hangar and i was in the pool, following donald trump in which wisconsin and you could tell that donald trump got energy from that. he was beaming when he got on board air force one. soi when he got on board air force one. so i think he was in the campaign do more and more to replicate the feeling that he had at the big ones. is senior adviser has just departed, but is been going on? kelly and conway was donald trump's campaign manager during the home run into the 16, the first woman to successfully lead in the presidential campaign. she has been in the white house of since and she has been clashing publicly with her husband, who was a conservative but does not like donald trump it all on social media just recently, one for 16—year—old

daughter started speaking out on social media about how she did not approve of her mum boss boss time of the white house. so, i think this puts a lot of stress. being at the white house puts less stress on any when i think she is legitimately stepping back to pay more attention to herfamily stepping back to pay more attention to her family and that is what our top priority is. you have to understand, it is not easy to be in the spotlight for that long, especially with controlling white house hours. now an update on covid—19 around the world — starting in hong kong, where researchers say they have proved that a man living in the territory was infected with covid—19 for a second in the territory was infected such documented case. the research comes from the hong kong university's school of medicine. in a tweet, it says the case "suggests that "immunity can be short—lasting after natural infection" & that covid—19 may persist in the global human population" like the common cold.

the full research paper has not yet been published so some aspects of this case are not yet clear. this is the warning from the world health organization on that. we need to notjump to any conclusions if and if this is the first documented case. to the us, where the food and drug administration has given emergency authorisation for the use of plasma to treat coronavirus patients. the technique uses antibody—rich blood plasma from people who've recovered from the disease, and has already been used on over 70 thousand people in the states. the fda says early trials indicate it is safe, although more trials are needed to prove its effectiveness — and there's concern that pressing ahead with the treatment now could hinder the collection of more data. using antibody rich blood plasma is a technique that dates back to the spanish flu pandemic of 1918 and was more recently approved by the world health organisation to combat the outbreak of ebola in west africa.

trials on the use of blood plasma to combat covid—19 are underway in the us, uk, india, china, germany and france. but so far, there 5 little evidence that plasma actually helps coronavirus patients, and there is the risk that the donor could pass on other illnesses to the patient. this is the latest update from the world health organization on plasma trials. results are, the trials have been relatively small. with all therapies, there can be risks and thatis therapies, there can be risks and that is one thing that everyone is to consider, but plasmid, there are numberof to consider, but plasmid, there are number of side effects for fevers they could be associated with it or severe lung related injuries. here's professor richard haynes from oxford university to explain how it works. when you give those antibodies to a

patient with coronavirus, it may give their immune system a jump—start. give their immune system a jump—sta rt. they may give their immune system a jump—start. they may not have their own antibodies yet, but if you give them this big dose of antibodies from somebody else, and they might help and kill off the virus more quickly than they otherwise could stop them from getting so unwell. research in britain shows that it's not certain the treatment can work. our medical editor fergus walsh reports on the trials happening here. this is convalescent plasma. thousands of patients who have recovered from code of have been been donating theirs. like paul, who was in intensive care in manchester for two week, his contains the highest level of covid—19 antibodies doctors have seen. it is an hour out of your day, you can help other people not go through what i went through, fantastic, i hope it helps. and sue who was in hospital in london, she's donated plasma five times.

why do you keep come back? because i can't put a price on what the nhs has done for me. i'm getting upset now. they were so good. it is the antibodies against coronavirus which doctors want. they are found in plasma, this yellow liquid. i tested positive for antibody, and so volunteered. so i'm about half way through my plasma donation, what happens is my whole blood is taken out, and then the plasma is filtered off, and then the red cells, white cells and platelets are fed back in to my body. and this is the whole point of donation. to help patients like bernard, in hospital in chesterfield. he's part of a trial assessing whether antibodies in plasma can help covid patients like him get better faster. he is grateful to all the donors.

they've done their bit, so i thought, well, all in all, i'll try and do my bit. the us has given emergency approval to plasma as a treatment for covid but those running the trial hearse say that is premise children. but those running the trial hearse say that is premature. we really want this to work. we think it is good reasons why it might, but we don't know that from the data presented. so i think we need more data to show it is effective and importantly, before we start giving this treatment to tens or hundreds of thousands of people we need to show it is safe. thousands more donors and covid patients are needed. it will be months before we know if plasma is another weapon against coronavirus. to europe where france and italy had a record number of daily cases over the weekend. france has reported its highest daily number of new confirmed cases since may.

italy is also seeing its highest rise in cases since may. but when we look at this graph — which shows the number of confirmed cases per 100,000 people — italy drops below spain, france, the uk and germany. meanwhile, france will soon impose a 14—day quarantine on all arrivals from the uk, to mirror the restrictions imposed by the british government earlier this month on people arriving from france. the measures will be decided in the next few days. next to south korea — it's been held up as a model for its response to covid—19 — but now, officials say it's on the brink of a new nationwide outbreak. the virus has spread to all 17 provinces of the country for the first time. the cases have stemmed from a right—wing presbyterian church — you can see it here. and here you can see police officers standing guard outside. this is another church in seoul being disinfected as a precuation. the number of new daily cases has been in triple digits for more than a week and a half.

the majority of new cases are all close to seoul, the heavily populated capital city which is home to more than 10 million people. one of the biggest concerns is that many of the far—right worshippers who are potentially infected believe the virus was planted as part of a conspiracy to close it down. many are refusing to be contacted, let alone tested. to new zealand which has extended the lockdown of its biggest city auckland. auckland went into lockdown on august 12, a day after the virus re—emerged in the city and ended new zealand's run of 102 days without local transmission. prime ministerjacinda ardern says stay—at—home orders will remain in place until at least late sunday, instead of restrictions easing late wednesday as originally planned. here's more of what she's said. i know there are many who found it harder this time. i mention to remind this the road reality in

covid—19 is a prison and it's part of it. it is a hard reality to accept. here in england the prime minister has urged parents to send their children back to school when classes return next week. borisjohson has warned that it's far more damaging for children's development to stay out of class any longer. here's our education editor bra nwen jeffreys. the first day back for some northern ireland. relief at seeing friends again popular ulcerated to come back at the 1st of april comes under so excited to have everyone back. at the 1st of april comes under so excited to have everyone backm at the 1st of april comes under so excited to have everyone back. it is not going to be the same for a while and we need to keep in place of the safety protocols. all of the pupils will come next week when the schools will come next week when the schools will also reopen. but it is on highway covid—19 alert. increasing over the weekend. the students hope to start next week. the school is going to stagger start times and was pupils get there by bus and train. but they need more advice to plan for the challenges ahead. we have

not had a local locked on most schools of been fleet fully open. we hope that schools become a priority and if we can lock down of the things and still enable schools to open, i think pupils really need to be in school with their teachers. to get pupils back, one union leader told me that ministers need to be realistic. to consult with the government and the government consulting with us about the possibilities of how schools are going to run in that area. it is really important. they hate teachers know what those plans are, the pa rents know what those plans are, the parents know what those plan —— the head teachers. we have to make sure they're planning, to make sure that children do not miss out on their education if they are not in school and are continuing to educate when they're at home. more guidelines are

expected, but will they arrive before school is open? schools and how to keep the classroom safe is also on the agenda in scotland. we're told final consultations are under way to introduce face coverings into secondary schools. however the rule will only apply to corridors and communal areas as students move between classes. here's first minister nicola sturgeon. are consulting with this measure because firstly, the mixing between the groups is more likely between communal areas and potentially increasing for transmission. close contact in these areas is more likely and voices could be raised, resulting in greater potential for creating transmission. and also effective ventilation in these areas. this is a position where, if we can put it as we expect to do, that would reflect and slightly be beyond current who guidance.

don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @karinbbc hello. at its best, monday has not been a bad start of the week, the problem is that the skies were not just disclose that but throughout the day every day, there were passing showers. but all of them will be forgotten once we get com pletely will be forgotten once we get completely engulfed by this massive cloud is a closes in on the british isles and as you may have heard, thatis isles and as you may have heard, that is storm francis, bringing the usual combination of name storms with a lot of rain and some pretty strong winds as well. certainly will be feeling the effects of that in northern ireland, england and wales of the course of the night is low pressure gradually trembles to the heart of the british isles is very wet start to the day, save for the greater part of northern scotland and of northern isles where the

conditions were not reached during the week. it is on the move and it comes to rest across the heart of scotla nd comes to rest across the heart of scotland done to northern ireland come officially to the west of england. and these are the gusts, the feature of the weather and around sea, it will be