this is bbc news. i'm david eades with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the first lady's endorsement. melania trump gives the keynote speech on the second night of the republican national convention. i believe that we need my‘s leadership now more than ever in order to lead us back once again to the greatest economy and the strongest country ever known. —— my husband's leadership. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, praises president trump's foreign policy — and his handling of china. the president has held china accountable for covering up the china virus and allowing it to

spread death and economic destruction in america and around the world. the family ofjacob blake — the black man shot by police in wisconsin — appeal for an end to the violence sparked by his shooting. africa is declared free from polio — a disease that used to leave tens of thousands of children, paralysed every year. he thinks it's all over. lionel messi, barcelona's all—time great, says he wants to leave the club with immediate effect. but barca say he can'tjust go. the us first lady, melania trump, has told republicans that women must be heard and the american dream must continue to thrive, in her address to the national convention. polls have shown that support for donald trump is lagging among female voters.

speaking from the white house, mrs trump said her husband wouldn't stop fighting until there was an effective treatment for covid—i9 and thanked frontline workers during the pandemic. earlier, secretary of state mike pompeo praised mr trump's america first foreign policy. melania trump also used her speech at the white house to make a plea for racial unity. i like to call on the citizens of this country to take a moment, pause and look at things from all perspectives. i urge people to come together in a civil manner so we can work and live up to our standard american ideals. i also ask people to stop the violence and looting being done in the name of justice. looting being done in the name ofjustice. and looting being done in the name of justice. and never looting being done in the name ofjustice. and never make assumptions based on the colour ofa assumptions based on the colour of a person's skin. the us secretary of state,

mike pompeo praised mr trump's america first foreign policy and criticised the chinese government during his recorded speech from jerusalem. this president has led bold initiatives in almost every corner of the world. and china he has pulled back the curtain on the predatory aggression of the chinese communist party, the chinese communist party, the president has held china accountable for covering up the china virus and allowing it to spread death and economic destruction in america and around the world. and he will not rest untiljustice is done. joining me now from washington is elizabeth harrington, she's the republican national committee spokesperson. thank you forjoining us. the first lady has, according to the latest polls, a higher approval rating than any other republican speaker in at the convention. i presume this was very much a moment to put forward a warm human face to mr

tom's time in office. that mr trump's time in office. it was a moment for our great first lady to talk about our great country and her experience in living the american dream and what she has been able to accomplish. it was a moment to bring healing, it culminated in the first lady ‘s speech in that clip that you played where she said let's pause, so much about what is wrong in our culture right now, this cancel culture right now, this cancel culture is this rush to judgement, the intolerance of freedom of thought and no free conscience. that is not what this country has ever been about. we heard from so many great voices from real americans who have lived under this tyranny of oppression of the four police online and of course these great healing moments of a redemptive story, bringing law enforcement and people with a past together. we

had at the pardon of a bank robber, joined in the white house, to have his name cleared with the fbi agent who arrested him. that is the american story. it is healing, it is redemptive and what this country has always been about. is milani's story also, as many commentators would say, the role of bringing on board american mothers, basically and middle—aged women who donald trump perhaps struggles to attract. that is the perceived view. would you share that? these issues really cross party lines that are fundamental and what we see right now in our country with the far left movement is defunding the police in los angeles and new york city. but on that point, on that point that i asked you, is milani trump seen as if not a secret weapon, a very strong weapon in terms of attract a

certain suburban female voter into the republican camp? she is our first lady. she is the best advocate for president trump because she is his partner, she knows him well so of course she is going to speak and what is true about not only her husband but the country and what we say is these issues are fundamental and they cross party lines and she cares deeply about them. we talk about safety for our children, the idea of having a choice in education, these are foundational issues that are very important to our party, very important to our party, very important to americans and they see what happens when, u nfortu nately, they see what happens when, unfortunately, many politicians have taken power during this pandemic, they shut down schools, they shut down churches, they are not allowing americans to do what we do best which is fight and adapt and win. and that is the message that came across. the other

thing that struck me was when she said she does not want to use the precious time to attack the other side and she put a warm and human face on her views but that was, let's be honest, and sharp contrast to eric from mac who was short while earlier had delivered what be called a hatchetjob on joe biden. what be called a hatchetjob on joe biden. he has his own style, much like his father but milani, our first lady, said whether or not you like it you get what you get with president trump and he speaks his mind, he will tell you why he is making a decision and what he believes and that is so refreshing in our politics. last time we saw the same old rhetoric, build back better when they cannot even build a functioning city, in chicago or new york or all these places where they have run for decades. we have a better vision and president trump

fights for this country and that came across in the contrast in the selection certainly came across an president trump is the right man at the right time. you very much indeed. the mother of jacob blake, the black man shot by police in the us state of wisconsin, has appealed for an end to the violence sparked by his shooting on sunday. a curfew is in force for a third night in the city of kenosha. our north america correspondent, aleem maqbool is there and a warning — his report contains images that some may find distressing. another american city turned into a conflict zone after the police shooting of a black man. it was the turn of kenosha, wisconsin, to feel the wrath of angry demonstrators. the start of a curfew only made more pour onto the streets to confront police, who reacted with force. it has gotten extremely tense since the curfew passed. you can see tear gas, pepper spray being fired

by the police outside the courthouse here. it's being thrown back by some of the protesters who have been lobbing plastic water bottles, sometimes even fireworks fired at the police. and demonstrators were undeterred and caused more destruction. it wasn't long before vehicles were set on fire, even buildings. many told us they felt this was the only way people would take notice of them. it feels like a breath of fresh air, honestly, because we finally get to say what we've always wanted to say to them. i've been stopped and harassed by the police many times in my own town, and just because i look like someone that i'm not. and that's...| don't want to feel that way. are you prepared to come out for... weeks and weeks, months and months, as long as we get the justice that we need forjacob. jacob blake, seen here walking around his car, followed by two officers. when he opens the door, he is shot several times at close range in the back.

his children were in the vehicle at the time. that man literally just grabbed him by his shirt and looked the other way and was just shooting him! with the kids in the back, screaming! they shot my son. seven times, seven times. like he didn't matter, but my son matters. he's a human being, and he matters. do jacob justice on this level and examine your hearts. we need healing. but the protesters didn't heed that plea.

by day, it was clear to see the destruction of government buildings and millions of dollars of damage to many private businesses. not everyone is understanding. oh, it's definitely terrorism, to me. terrorism is a violent act with intimidation with a political gain. but some of those young people were saying this is the only way they can get their voice heard. but there's other ways. though we still don't have a police explanation for the shooting, it's likely the protests will go on, particularly as we get to know more about how it's all affected the life of jacob blake. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in kenosha, wisconsin. with so much focus on the impact of covid—i9, it's heartening to report a very positive story about eradicating a disease. africa has been declared free from naturally occuring polio, which used to leave tens of thousands of children paralysed every year. nigeria was the last country on the continent to have a case

of wild polio four years ago. now, there are just two countries on the planet, where the disease is endemic. here's our medical editor, fergus walsh. just two drops of vaccine can prevent polio, and now africa's children are protected. polio can cause lifelong paralysis. these men in nigeria part of a para— soccer league are powerful advocates for immunisation. as polio survivors we know the difficulties we have faced for many years and today i'm happy that we are no longer going to have any polio in our continent. there are still some cases of vaccine derived polio in africa which occur in low immunisation areas. but naturally occurring polio has been eradicated. back in 1988 when the global eradication initiative was launched, polio was endemic in 125

countries, more than a thousand children per day used to be paralysed. since then cases have fallen by 99.9% when india was declared a polio free, that was a big moment, and it is now circulating in just two countries, pakistan and afghanistan. there have been more than 100 cases of wild polio there this year. this is an extraordinary achievement for public health and for the african continent and it shows what can be achieved when countries work together, together with international organisations, with civil society with industry, to actually achieve a common goal. there's also been progress with other vaccine—preventable diseases. back in 1990, there were 700,000 deaths a year from measles, a highly contagious virus. those have fallen by three—quarters, although cases have

since risen sharply. there's also been a fall in deaths in two bacterial infections — whooping cough and meningitis. so vaccines have saved more lives in public health in the last 25 years than any other intervention, apart from clean water, so just to give an example, in 1990, i in 11 children used to die before their fifth birthday — that is now down to i in 25. most countries are now using an injectable polio vaccine, as global eradication inches closer. the aim, to consign polio to history. fergus walsh, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. the health minister in the democratic republic of congo has declared an end to the world's biggest outbreak of measles which killed more than 7,000 children injust over two years. after a decade of recurring outbreaks, the number of infections increased

significantly in june last year, prompting a huge vaccination programme. at least 18 million children were immunised. american airlines has become the latest firm to warn of huge job losses because of the coronavirus pandemic. the company said it would lay off nineteen thousand staff if the us congress didn't continue a wage support scheme. in england the government has set out changes to its guidance on face coverings in secondary schools. pupils in parts of the country where tighter lockdown restrictions remain in force, such as most of greater manchester, will be told to wear masks when moving between lessons. in other areas, head teachers are to use their discretion. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: accusations that southern states are watering down us laws banning racial discrimination in voting.

he's the first african american to win the presidential nomination of a major party, and he accepts exactly 45 years ago to the day that martin luther king declared, "i have a dream." as darkness falls tonight, an unfamiliar light will appear in the south—eastern sky — an orange glowing disc that's brighter than anything save the moon — our neighbouring planet mars. horn toots there is no doubt that this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor as the world's newest nation. cheering it will take months and billions of dollars to re pair what katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is the longest the great clock has been off duty in 117 years. so it was with great satisfaction that clockmakerjohn vernon swung the pendulum to set the clock going again.

big ben bongs this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: the first lady moves centre—stage — melania trump gives her endorsement of her husband on the second night of the republican national convention. the family ofjacob blake — the black man shot by police in wisconsin — appeal for an end to the violence sparked by his shooting. half a million people have been ordered to evacuate their homes in the us states of texas and louisiana as hurricane laura barrels towards them. the storm is expected to move from cuba through the gulf of mexico, hitting both states by wednesday.

lengthy queues on the coast and residents hitting evacuation orders and getting out while there is still time. from a historical perspective, laura is shaping up to look like the hurricane 15 years ago, in terms of its forecasted intensity and the forecasted spot where it will make la ndfall spot where it will make landfall in south—western louisiana and we do not say that to scare anybody at that point of reference sometimes helps in order to make sure people understand the seriousness of the situation and that they take the necessary precautions. this storm is expected to move through the gulf of mexico and make landfall as a category three hurricane. laura and marco, which struck louisiana on monday have already lashed the caribbean, destroying homes and killing at least 20 people. bringing strong winds and lashing rain, more than 500,000 residents have been told to

leave cities in louisiana and texas as both dates brace for the worst. there will be a lot of devastation upon texas at the storm sweeps through, especially east texas, as well as lingering challenges that will result. 0ne as lingering challenges that will result. one and first, will result. one and first, will be the water surge. there will be the water surge. there will be the water surge. there will be a water surge as perhaps as high as ten feet, wherever the hurricane comes ashore. while some made the most of the calm before the storm, for many, it was about preparation. nursing home residents were moved to safety while businesses were boarded up while businesses were boarded up and residents field sandbags. from this point on, i will be surprised that it will either be not as bad as i thought all what i thought it was going to be. the coronavirus adding another layer of complexity with hotels being used for shelters for

evacuees, where ever possible. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. this friday is the anniversary of the 1963 march on washington, at which the civil rights leader dr martin luther king made his famous ‘i have a dream' speech. sweeping civil rights legislation was passed in america soon afterwards but a key provision of the law which banned racial discrimination in voting is no longer in effect, struck down by the supreme court. now there are accusations by voting rights advocates that southern states have reintroduced laws which have the effect of supressing black voters. a court order on voter registration. . .. alabama in the early 1960s, black americans trying to register to vote are beaten by police and in the summer beaten by police and in the summer in 65, the marchers of civil rights are brutally attacked by state troopers. the images shocked the nation, mobilising congress to pass the

voting rights act. president johnson signed the law, the achievement of doctor martin luther king achievement of doctor martin luther kinng. achievement of doctor martin luther king jr. and achievement of doctor martin luther kinng. and his followers. the 1965 voting rights act is considered one of the most successful civil rights acts, so, before 1965, you had pervasive discrimination in voting, you have the application of things like literacy tests, preventing african—americans to like literacy tests, preventing african—america ns to vote. like literacy tests, preventing african-americans to vote. in 2013, the supreme court struck down a provision of the voting rights act, acquiring mostly southern states to get federal approval before they change voting laws, thejustices in majority argued that times are changed and the latejohn lewis, he let the marchers in selma, it was an ominous moment. history cannot repeat itself by i say stay calm and walk in my shoes. the voting act of 1965 which followed the march on washington and all of

doctor martha luther king ‘s activism with mentor and discrimination in voting but some of those legal protections have been moved and so now, as america faces both a national reckoning over racial injustice and a high—stakes presidential election, there are increasingly questions about whether barriers to voting, based on race, i've really been removed? the based on race, i've really been removed 7 the court based on race, i've really been removed? the court called it the most restrictive voting law north carolina has seen since the error ofjim crow, thank the error ofjim crow, thank the lord provisions target african—americans the lord provisions target african—america ns with the lord provisions target african—americans with surgical precision. states that could not amend voting laws without approvalfrom the not amend voting laws without approval from the justice department have now tried to introduce changes, claiming they will prevent voter fraud. you have seen and ushering of many different kinds of requirements that make it more difficult for low—income people and people of colour to vote. they are things like i'm getting rid of early voting, closing polling stations, and particularly, closing these polling stations in minority neighbourhoods. more than half

a century after the march on washington, the legal barriers against racial discrimination in voting which civil rights leaders fought so hard for i no longerfully leaders fought so hard for i no longer fully intact. will those changes affect turnout in the 2020 election? all the activism over present—dayjustice lead to more black americans voting? --all to more black americans voting? — —all be to more black americans voting? — — all be activism laura trevelyan, bbc news. one of, if not, the best footballer in the world says he wants to leave the club he's been at since he was 12 years old. lionel messi's told barcelona he wants to leave this summer for free but the club believe he's going nowhere without a hefty transfer free. paul hawkins has more. he is arguably the best football player in the world, possibly ever, but after 1a years at the only club he has ever played for as a professional, lionel messi has said that he wants to leave barcelona. ten days ago, they were thrashed 8—2 by bayern munich in the champions league, messi calling the team weak and vulnerable.

it was the oldest team they ever fielded in the competition, barcelona finishing the season trophyless. last week, they brought in a new manager, ronald koeman, to oversee big changes in the first team, changes that lionel messi doesn't want to be a part of. some fans blame the management. translation: the situation has been uncomfortable for everyone. this board of directors should have resigned a long time ago. bad results, bad management, nothing positive about them, they are destroying the club. it is normal that messi wants to leave. the management has been absolutely disastrous! messi is the little happiness we can have right now. he cannot leave, least of all this way. he is an institution! it is practically the symbol of barcelona! few would disagree but what happens next is unclear. the player says he can leave immediately for free

because of a clause in his contract but the club say that clause expired onjuly 10th, so he is still contracted to them until summer 2021, meaning anyone wishing to sign him before then would have to pay almost $830 million. however, the player says that july deadline should be extended to cover the prolonged season because of coronavirus. as for where he goes, manchester city and paris saint—germain are realistic opportunities, both with the money to pay for him and both with links to messi. before that thought, how he leaves barcelona needs to be dealt with, possibly in court. paul hawkins, bbc news. we will see where that one goes. there is always and other little genius coming up the ra nks though, not necessarily in the same sport though. here is that swindling game where you move the ball

between three cups, and the person watching has to try and follow the ball? well, this is the basketball equivalent. they are chinese kindergarten stu d e nts practising the art of dribbling with both hands. pretty good, aren't they? somewhere in there, there's the yao ming of tomorrow. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ bbc david eades. business news up next. hello. storm francis battered a large swathe of the uk through tuesday. we had a gust of 79mph at the needles on the isle of wight. for many southern and western coasts, scenes like these. all tied in with this area of low pressure, and through the early hours of wednesday morning, it tracks its way eastwards into the north sea, taking the strongest winds and the heaviest rain with it. still some gusty winds for a time down eastern coasts through the morning. some leftover rain for a time for southern scotland. that will soon ease. and for most, mainly dry and spells of sunshine. a few afternoon showers developing in northern ireland, a few across northern scotland, perhaps a couple developing

along the spine of england, but for most, it is dry. and crucially, the winds will not be as strong on wednesday as they have been on tuesday. still, some gusts initially alongside eastern coasts, which will ease through the afternoon. feeling a bit warmer as well — 22, 23 celsius. quite widely in the high teens for many. still around 13 or 1a for the far north of scotland. showers keep going overnight across parts of scotland, northern ireland, a few into north wales and north—west england. 0ur eyes once again turn to the atlantic. another area of low pressure heading our way as we move into thursday. that will mean we'll start the day with rain across northern ireland and northern england, it could be heavy for a time. and rain starts to arrive into wales and south—west england in the afternoon. ahead of this, showers, but driest across england, and northern scotland as well. temperatures, though, a little bit lower on thursday compared to wednesday. this area of low pressure still with us on friday. tracking its way eastwards. notice how the isobars just start to move closer together, so the winds will be strengthening once again on friday.

heaviest of the rain at this stage probably across northern england and into north wales and the midlands, but also some heavier rain developing across parts of southern and south—west england through the day. dry through the north and west of northern ireland and much of scotland. we cannot rule out a few showers. as i mentioned, the winds will be picking up once again. quite wet and blustery, and along eastern coasts, temperatures are going to struggle in places to get much above 1a or 15 celsius. for the weekend, the rain will slowly ease from eastern parts of england. the winds will ease down too. and for most, it's dry. some sunshine, but there will be some chilly nights. and this isjust an indication of the overnight temperatures on saturday across parts of the uk. that's all for me. bye— bye.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. 50 of the uk's biggest employers say they don't plan to return all their staff to the office in the near future. turbulence for american airlines, as the world's biggest carrier announces it's cutting 19,000 jobs. and in the uk, it's the last week of eat out to help out. the scheme has been a huge success but will the restaurant boom continue?

let's start here in the uk, where 50 of the country's biggest employers questioned by bbc have said they have no plans to return all their staff fulltime to the office in the near future. one of the main reasons given was that firms could not see a way of accommodating large numbers of staff while social distancing regulations were still in place. some 2a firms said that they did not have any plans in place to return workers to the office. royal bank of scotland, for example, is to allow 50,000 staff to work from home for the rest of 2020. however, 20 have opened their offices for staff unable to work from home. so what will your return to work eventually look like? 0ur reporter nina warhurst has been chatting to one couple from wales about the ups and downs of working from home and what they think the future of their work might look like. meet the right family. dave is

an account manager, gus and hamish... posing for us is not his top priority. since the end of march, they have been working from home. it has been a mixed bag. it was an initial challenge and we had to very quickly work out when we were working and when we were pa rents. working and when we were parents. the boys, all they wa nt parents. the boys, all they want is for us to be home all the time so they were happy and that made everything so much easier. it has been difficult finding that balance between work and where work stops and parenting begins but we have been very lucky that we have been very lucky that we have been able to split our work through the day so there has a lwa ys through the day so there has always been one parent with the children. i feel that always been one parent with the children. i feelthat we always been one parent with the children. i feel that we can give ourselves a pat on the

back. we have kind of managed it. if you didn't get stressed it's more than a pat on the back, you should get a medal! 0bviously everybody else's the same situation and that help. ideally i think we would all like to mix the both. ifeel like to mix the both. ifeel like i have learned how to be a better mother and separate things a bit more. because of lockdown do you think that balance will be better? being able to say that this is work and this isn't? i think we are better at that. but that is finished now. right now i am just mum and that is that. finished now. right now i am just mum and that is thatm you survive homeschooling you are made of tough stuff. joining us now from wiltshire is tamzen isacsson, who's the chief executive of the management consultancies association. thank you forjoining us. i suppose we should not be surprised. it is a mixed picture and every company, and

i guess every member of staff has their own story, their own consideration. absolutely. and the situation evolves as the number of infected covid—19 cases develops and as we see the spike in europe as well. but what we do see at the moment is a flexible operation across many of our companies and working from home has worked very successfully for the vast majority of people and will continue. it has delivered increased productivity, efficiency but there are, you know, a number of people who have wa nted know, a number of people who have wanted to work in offices and either do not have the workspace to work from home or have felt very isolated and many of our members are for those reasons have opened up offices carefully and in line with scientific and government advice. you use the word flexibility there. from the

research that we have been doing, pretty much half of the number, 2a of 50 have no plans to bring staff back yet and as you point out, some staff really do want to get back. absolutely. and the main thing is that our businesses able to deliver? can they meet the results targets, our client satisfied with work and what remote working has shown is that this can be delivered top it really has some major ramifications. both in terms of the competition, nowadays you do not need to be on—site to deliver, we have proven that it will open up regional talent pools and enable people to work for different companies from all over the uk and, importantly, it will improve diversification so where people need flexibility, whether they are looking after young children or elderly parent, then a battle work—life balance

and cutting down on the commute can be beneficial for and cutting down on the commute can be beneficialfor both employees and employers in trying to attract the best talent. and you can see people who are saving hours a day without having a commute, and saving money in their pockets, a lot of good reasons for this to bea a lot of good reasons for this to be a permanent change of lifestyle. absolutely. and i do think it will be permanent for many sectors that are able to adopt digital and remote working with all the tools that are available. and there are, you know, there are consequences both in terms of benefits for individuals but also for firms and also our carbon footprint. by reducing travel, by reducing travel costs, that in effect not only the environment that benefits our clients who are not paying for lots of travel time. it in many cases it is a win—win. for lots of travel time. it in many cases it is a win-win. one thing you can certainly do from home is play on the markets if thatis home is play on the markets if that is what you like. in asia,

the markets slipped from two—year highs as investors showed caution after a mixed bag of economic data. as for the united states we have seen extraordinary figures there is the s&p 500 and the nasdaq again" highs despite us consumer confidence falling unexpectedly in august to hit a six year low. now, and group is known for running a popular mobile pay system in china, known as alipay. it has now filed to list shares in hong kong and shanghai and the firms expect to raise as much as $30 billion making it the world's biggest ipo. let's head over to our asia business hub. we are joined from singapore there.

give us the secret. it is not just any old company, this. no, not at all. it is actually a sister company of china's e—commerce giant alibaba which owns about a 33% stake and they are both owned by one of the world's richest man, jack mark. some viewers may not realise how massive it is so let me try and put this into context. it processed $17 trillion worth of transactions just last year. that is double that of visa. and it is notjust used for payments. amid the pandemic, the app is used to enter buildings and stores in china so buildings and stores in china so it is a massive part of the day—to—day activities there and, as you say, analysts expect the company to raise as much as $30 billion which would make it the world's biggest ipo overtaking saudi aramco and that will also put the

company's that will also put the compa ny‘s market cap that will also put the company's market cap about 250 billion us dollars which is more than many top banks in the united states. interestingly, the company chose not to list in the us amid the ongoing trade war and the trump administration really cracking down on us listed chinese firms so down on us listed chinese firms so that is why many people are saying that this is a major win for china's manager services industry. understandable also about backing away from the us. thank you very much. american airlines has said it will cut 19,000 jobs in october when a government wage support scheme extended to airlines during the pandemic comes to an end. the world's biggest carrier said the cuts, on top of voluntary departures and leave, would leave its workforce 30% smaller than it was in march. 0ur north american business correspondent michelle fleury has more from new york. given the news out of the

airline industry perhaps we should not be surprised that us consumer confidence fell to a six year low as people continue to worry about the jobs market. american airlines said it plans to cut 19,000 jobs by october one. when you factor in redundancies, temporary leave of absence, that leaves the airline about 30% smaller than it was at the start of the pandemic. and its announcement comes a hot off the heels of another from delta airlines which one day earlier said it plans to furlough nearly 2000 pilots in october. you may recall airlines receive $25 billion in government stimulus money. it was designed to cover employee pay but it runs out next month. and here is the thing, air travel has not returned during the pandemic. just ask yourself this, how co mforta ble just ask yourself this, how comfortable are you flying at the moment? are you travelling in the same way that you used to? apparently the answer is no full look at american airlines. it said it plans to fly only

half of its regular schedule in the fourth quarter full make no mistake, this is notjust the us carrier problem. the global aviation industry is expected to make a record loss of $81; billion this year. and aviation experts predict it could be yea rs before we experts predict it could be years before we see a full rebound in air travel. the winner of the international booker prize forfiction will be announced today during a digital ceremony. the original date of the 19th may was postponed as the organisation couldn't get physical copies of the books to the judges in time due to the spread of coronavirus. but the pandemic proved to be something of a boon to publishers — with over 100 countries imposing lockdowns, billions of people were stuck at home, many of whom turned to reading. we're now joined by james daunt, the ceo of waterstones. thank you very much forjoining us. i was going to ask how valuable these prizes are for

boosting book sales but i guess they are as nothing compared to a lockdown. a lockdown is one of the few reasons that everybody runs a bit more. although someone who runs a physical back —— bookshop it has not been useful to have them all closed. they are reopening now. is there still a knock on from the change of environment and people basically more introspect, really? certainly that. for us it depends entirely on whether shops are. if they are shops close to where people live they are doing well. in metropolitan city centres, office workers and tourists absent, it is a different story. by and large is it the world of e—books that has benefited most, would you say or are there lots of hardbacks say or are there lots of hard backs and paperbacks getting out there as well? during the lockdown and until

recently it has been online that has been doing exceptionally well so people receiving books and ordering them online and receiving them through the letterbox. now that the rollcall of the great literary prizes is starting, people are returning to the shops. that is helpful. i see also by the very nature of things that educational books have had a great spike, unsurprisingly, whether that is through home learning or keeping children occupied full can you see a way that can be maintained? i think reading is one of those things that becomes a habit and, also, when you return to it you suddenly discover the pleasures again. the demand for books has been extraordinarily strong and has been sustained. for children, i think, there is a particular

difficulty being locked up at home with much less time with their friends home with much less time with theirfriends and, home with much less time with their friends and, no doubt, pa rents their friends and, no doubt, parents becoming exasperated with too much springtime. so they are encouraging reading. books have been wonderfully important and we will see now as children return to school whether that particular continues but i am domestic stop a good book is something that gets you back to reading another good book. are you getting more new titles onto your shoulders? i wonder what publishers are doing at the moment. are they on the market for getting more books out or is everyone reticent at the moment? while we were closed and the publishing schedule almost stopped so very little was published through spring and summer. we have now entered the peak publishing time and there is always fastly too much published at this time, a deluge but it is dramatic this year, probably about 30% more books being published at the moment than has been the case

historically. and that is because the catch up is taking place. it is exciting somewhat challenging for us as booksellers to sift through and cu re booksellers to sift through and cure that. it pays your money, you take your choice and there isa you take your choice and there is a bigger choice than ever. thank you very much, james. stay with us here on bbc news. coming up, the news for gamers, the world's top—selling console franchise, all of duty its new game today. stay with us, we will tell you all about it. —— call of duty. more than 250 psychologists and after drop finds about not returning to school and has said many students have struggled to go to school. they say that the fines will only be

used as a last resort when classes resume after the shutdown. teaching unions say that ministers still have questions to answer after the chaos surrounding a level and gcse grades. they had has resigned after the confusion about altered grades meant that many students missed out on their university places. heavy rains and winds from storm francis have been sweeping across the uk and flooding homes and travel disruptions, and the met office recorded gusts of 7a mph, the highest in the month of august since 1994. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: the first lady's moves centre—stage — melania trump endorses her husband on the second night of the republican national convention. the family ofjacob blake, the black man shot by police in wisconsin, appealfor an end

to the violence sparked by his shooting. the gaming sector has benefitted from the pandemic lockdown with a large portion of the world's population confined to the couch for the first half of the year and it's not surprising that many took to the virtual world of gaming. call of duty is the world's top—selling console franchise, and has been for over 10 years. it's now time for the next call of duty game, which is officially titled black ops cold war. it will be revealed online today. joining me now is george jijiashvili, who's a senior analyst at 0mdia. the lockdown certainly benefitted the gaming sector, but will that surge of new players be short lived when things get back to normal? i know one thing about the game call of duty and that is that they call it cod. how big a deal is this today? this is a

massive deal, one of the biggest franchises in the world, bringing billions of dollars for the owner, active vision. a great time to be throwing this out and what is the secret to the longevity because ten years in any format these days seems a lifetime? exactly. the first call of duty game came out in 2003 —— call of duty, so they have been in this game for 17 years and their success has been due to their success has been due to their ability to adapt to the modern trends, adding new mandates, or increasing different plays of the games on mobile to attract a larger audience. let's be honest, there is a lot of shooting and blowing up and killing going on which, frankly, always love,

don't know how many girls play call of duty, maybe they do as well, but that point you make about keeping up with the technological trends, critical i presume? definitely. for example, when it comes to marketing the game, a lot has changed over the last 17 years and the gaming industry has become more complex, you cannot just market the game in the traditional channels as you would before. now you have to think how you can do that through things like using videogame streamers on twitch in order to promote the game because they are very popular and they can reach massive numbers of the audience. what is the next step if you like in terms of what to expect from gaming? how much interactivity is essential now for any game to had a chance? well, games have always been interactive

and social so when we look at games like fort knight, all they do is for the social activity at the forefront and i expect to see games in the future that have thousands of players playing the same game at the same time interacting and socialising in a virtual environment —— fortnite. and socialising in a virtual environment -- fortnite. we will see how the launch goes later in thej. thank you for joining us. let's get some of the day's other news. honda motors has agreed to pay $85m to settle an investigation by most us states over its use of potentially defective takata airbags. at least 25 deaths around the world and nearly 300 injuries have been linked to the faulty takata inflators. airasia has posted a record quarterly loss as it deals with the coronavirus pandemic. the region's second—biggest budget carrier saw sales down 96% in the april

to june quarter. some signs of a recovery are emerging for aviation in the region. singapore and malaysia have agreed to form travel bubbles to allow people to move between the two countries. the israeli pharmaceutical group teva has been charged in the us with conspiring to fix the price of generic drugs, after it refused to settle with the us department ofjustice. teva has denied the allegations and says it will contest them in court. over 64 million people in the uk used the ‘eat out to help 0ut‘ scheme in its first three weeks, according to the latest treasury figures. the scheme, which is now in its final week, offers customers in restaurants, pubs and cafes 50% off their meal, up to a maximum of £10 per head. we're nowjoined by kathleen brooks, who's the founder & director of minerva analysis.

that is that a lot of people are eating out to help out, getting a good deal in the process , getting a good deal in the process, does this go down as an unmitigated success?” process, does this go down as an unmitigated success? i think it will go down as one of the best games to help out their hospitality sector and a very innovative way, very inegalitarian, open to everyone, easy—to—use, you don't have to cut out a voucher and it had a huge impact. you mentioned 64 million meals, we have seen a 60% increase in monday to sunday trade, a huge increase in obviously more people are here then going on holiday but it showing that in the economic data consumer spending is up 7% in the first two weeks of august, primarily down to the scheme. and the pmi survey, a flash early indicator on how august is going on the

economy and the service sector reached its highest level since 0ctober reached its highest level since october 2013 and undoubtedly that was to do with this scheme. huge impact. that all sounds encouraging. the last day is next monday? the bank holiday monday? chance to boost the numbers further. because it served its purpose or do you think it really ought to be extended their further? interesting question. using some of the and they have said they were higher some of the people permanently on the back of this but we have to remember that one aspect of the success of the scheme has been the good august weather and we have been able to dine outdoors, adding advantage to this game but as the weather turns, whether people are not will be encouraged to go out to restau ra nts a nd encouraged to go out to restaurants and eat indoors, thatis restaurants and eat indoors, that is the key thing, so there isa that is the key thing, so there is a good body of evidence, suggesting it should be extended for one more month to encourage people to get inside restau ra nts encourage people to get inside restaurants rather than eating outside but it had a huge

impact on the hospitality sector already and there will be many other sectors desperate for this kind of scheme and this type of in centralisation to get customers back to them, transport for example. i think the hospitality sector will have a fight on its hands to get it extended, especially with so many sectors of the economy under pressure. have you used at? incidentally one day but i did try to get a booking for tonight and i cannot do it, it was packed out! a good sign, would you carry on using it? you talked about people being reluctant to go inside, would you be?” about people being reluctant to go inside, would you be? i do think so, i have died inside a few restaurants think so, i have died inside a few restau ra nts a nd think so, i have died inside a few restaurants and i've been co mforta ble few restaurants and i've been comfortable with the measures in place —— i have dined inside. i think restaurants have managed this brilliantly i have managed this brilliantly i have to say and everywhere i have to say and everywhere i have been i have felt safe.

it's all about what they have in place but it seems like the hospitality sector have a really good hold on the. 64 million viewers cannot be wrong, can they? join us for more bbc news. hello. storm francis battered a large swathe of the uk through tuesday. we had a gust of 79mph at the needles on the isle of wight. for many southern and western coasts, scenes like these. all tied in with this area of low pressure, and through the early hours of wednesday morning, it tracks its way eastwards into the north sea, taking the strongest winds and the heaviest rain with it. still some gusty winds for a time down eastern coasts through the morning. some leftover rain for a time for southern scotland. that will soon ease. and for most, mainly dry and spells of sunshine. a few afternoon showers developing in northern ireland, a few across northern scotland, perhaps a couple developing along the spine of england, but for most, it is dry. and crucially, the winds

will not be as strong on wednesday as they have been on tuesday. still, some gusts initially alongside eastern coasts, which will ease through the afternoon. feeling a bit warmer as well — 22, 23 celsius. quite widely in the high teens for many. still around 13 or 14 for the far north of scotland. showers keep going overnight across parts of scotland, northern ireland, a few into north wales and north—west england. 0ur eyes once again turn to the atlantic. another area of low pressure heading our way as we move into thursday. that will mean we'll start the day with rain across northern ireland and northern england, it could be heavy for a time. and rain starts to arrive into wales and south—west england in the afternoon. ahead of this, showers, but driest across england, and northern scotland as well. temperatures, though, a little bit lower on thursday compared to wednesday. this area of low pressure still with us on friday. tracking its way eastwards. notice how the isobars just start to move closer together, so the winds will be strengthening once again on friday. heaviest of the rain at this stage probably across northern england and into north wales and the midlands, but also some heavier rain developing across parts of southern and south—west england through the day.

dry through the north and west of northern ireland and much of scotland. we cannot rule out a few showers. as i mentioned, the winds will be picking up once again. quite wet and blustery, and along eastern coasts, temperatures are going to struggle in places to get much above 14 or 15 celsius. for the weekend, the rain will slowly ease from eastern parts of england. the winds will ease down too. and for most, it's dry. some sunshine, but there will be some chilly nights. and this isjust an indication of the overnight temperatures on saturday across parts of the uk. that's all for me. bye— bye.

good morning. welcome to breakfast with dan walker and naga munchetty. 0ur headlines today. face coverings will have to be worn in secondary schools in england but only in areas which are under local lockdown. footballer harry maguire is dropped from the england squad after being given a suspended prison sentence in greece. the manchester united captain is to appeal the verdict. harry maguire says he and his family are the victims and he has the backing of his club. us first lady melania trump takes centre stage at the republican convention and calls for americans to come together.