welcome to bbc news — i'm james reynolds. our top stories: as india hits four million coronavirus cases — experts warn the pandemic could spiral out of control. even could spiral out of control. at a low death rate, if the even at a low death rate, if the virus continues to spread, but still means hundreds of thousands of indian lives are at risk. lebanon marks a month since the explosion that destroyed large parts of beirut, killing nearly 200 people. the former australian prime minister tony abbott is appointed as a trade adviser to the uk — despite critics describing him as a misogynist and a climate change denier. and barcelona superstar lionel messi changes his mind over leaving barcelona, now he says he doesn't want to drag the spanish club into court.

hello and welcome. india has now registered four million cases of coronavirus. the country is currently recording almost 82,000 new cases per day — that's a five—day rolling average — compared with nearly a4,000 in brazil and just under 40,000 in the united states. but while india's struggle with the pandemic continues, it could also be part of the solution, as our correspondent yogita limaye reports from mumbai. another day on the covid frontline, with no end in sight. dr sumit ray, who sent us this video, has been treating critical patients for months now. he's had to tell dozens of families their loved ones have died. exhaustion is beginning to wear india's doctors down. a few weeks ago, it had seemed

as though the capital was coping with the pandemic — but once again now, resources are falling short. now we are seeing a second surge which is notjust in delhi, but from smaller towns around delhi. those we are not able to provide the life—support systems will die. if we have to, if we reach a point like that, that is what worries me, that is what distresses all of us as doctors. this 42—year—old succumbed to covid earlier this week. he died in pune, a relatively smaller city which is now the worst affected in india. his family says there's a shortage of facilities. "if an ambulance had been available to take him to a critical care hospital, my brother would have been alive," his sister says. india's doing more than a million tests a day, but that's not been enough to curb the spread. another lockdown is not an option for an economy already in turmoil.

the government has been highlighting that the number of deaths in india, compared to the size of its population, is lower than other countries badly hit. so far, there are only speculative theories about why that might be the case, and the thing is, even at a low death rate, if the virus continues to spread, that still means hundreds of thousands of indian lives are at risk. and so all eyes are on a vaccine — and india could be a big part of the global solution. this is a factory of the world's biggest vaccine maker. including 0xford—astrazeneca's covishield, it's already producing tens of millions of doses of five covid vaccines each month. 70% of the world's vaccine capacity is from india... i asked the company's chief executive adar poonawalla when a vaccine might be ready. it takes three to five years normally to make a vaccine, and we're all rushing it.

well, i think in about two and a half to three months, there will be vaccines licensed. will they be the best vaccines? i don't know. but even if the vaccine is a success, inoculating more than a billion people will need a lot of time and money. let's get some of the day's other coronavirus news. borisjohnson has insisted that the uk is, for the most part, "proceeding as one" on coronavirus travel restrictions — despite the home nations imposing different rules on people returning from portugal and parts of greece. wales and scotland have asked arrivals to isolate for 14 days — england and northern ireland have not. new zealand says a man infected with covid—i9 has died — the first such death in the country since may. the country's health officials said the patient, who was in his fifties, was being treated for the infection in an intensive care unit. he's the 23rd person to have died with the coronavirus in new zealand since

the beginning of the pandemic. meanwhile france says it has reported nearly 9,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases on friday, setting an all—time high of daily additional infections since the start of the pandemic. french authorities say the number of covid—i9 patients hospitalised for the disease has also gone up for the sixth day running, at over 4,500. the world health organization says it doesn't expect widespread vaccination against coronavirus until the middle of next year. a spokeswoman urged countries not to ‘sit there waiting for a vaccine‘. in a briefing to journalists, margaret harris said rigorous checks would be needed on any vaccine‘s effectiveness and safety. rescuers in beirut have been digging through the rubble of last month's massive explosion, after a scanner suggested someone could still be alive in the wreckage. one month ago, a fire in a warehouse led to a devastating blast which killed nearly 200 people and left tens of thousands more without homes. 0ur correspondent 0rla guerin has sent this report from beirut.

probing for signs of life, deep in the rubble. hidden from view, sensitive scanning equipment, in the hands of a specialist rescue team from chile. on thursday morning, they picked up what seemed to be breath sounds. and for two days, they have been searching. painstaking work, much of it done by hand, clawing away at a ruin that could collapse any second. the dust and debris being sucked out to clear a pathway to the second floor, the focus of the search. the work is continuing here hour after hour. they are trying to lift away the rubble with extreme care. and they are still trying to work their way down through about five layers of concrete.

some local people have been here right through the night, unwilling to leave, hoping that today of all days a survivor might be found. the lebanese filmmaker nadine labacki was one of them. she came here straightaway. you want to believe ina miracle. ijust wanted to come... it was an instinctive reaction to just come and see. i think we are all holding onto the small ray of light after everything that has happened to us. this was the signal to call for complete silence, so rescuers could scan again for signs of life. but late this afternoon, they could no longer detect any breathing. hopes of a miracle were fading as lebanon approached 18:06pm local time, the moment of the blast a month ago.

bells toll church bells tolled near beirut port to honour the dead. some stood in silence, remembering lost friends and colleagues. 0thers stood with ropes in their hands, a noose for the entire political leadership here. the former australian prime minister tony abbott has been appointed as an unpaid trade adviser to the uk government. it comes after days of pressure to rethink the plan over allegations of misogyny and homophobia. 0ur political correspondent ben wright has more. tony abbott recently flew into the uk to meet ministers and face flak about his possible appointment as a trade adviser here. but, today, borisjohnson trumpeted mr abbott's credentials. this is a guy who was elected by the people of the great liberal democratic nation of australia. and you've been to australia —

it's an amazing country, it's a freedom—loving country, it's a liberal country. um...there you go, i think that speaks for itself. yes, i've had some discussions with members of the british government... the confirmation of mr abbott's appointment as an unpaid trade adviser comes after he was given a rough ride by a committee of mps earlier this week. in 2012, you said that men are, "by physiology or temperament, "more adapted than women to exercise authority "or to issue command." look, i'm not sure that i ever did say that. tony abbott is from the right of australia's raucous politics. ditch the witch! a climate change sceptic, who spoke at this rally, mr abbott incurred the wrath of his political opponents for his reported views of women. he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern australia. he doesn't need a motion in the house of representatives, he needs a mirror. and here it is not only labour mps who have spoken out on

mr abbott. he is a misogynist, he has a poor record on lgbtq rights, and i just don't think this is a man who should be anywhere near our board of trade. but he will be on the advisory group. this brexit—focused government have decided that his experience cutting trade deals for australia trumps complaints about the man's character. it's the news that barcelona fans had been praying for — 10 days after saying he wanted to leave the club, lionel messi says he's now staying. arguably the world's greatest ever footballer, he told the website goal.com no—one could pay the 700 million euro release clause in his contract, and he didn't want to take the club he loves to court.

with me is our reporter paul hawkins. for a fora man for a man who is staying at the clu b for a man who is staying at the club he says he loves, he didn't look that happy. you would not be would you if you have gondola boss, said i think it is about time i need to leave, things are happening to me anymore, the boss says you

can leave and then he turns around when you put in your tra nsfer around when you put in your transfer request and says "someone will have to cough up 700 million euros for you to go". you can understand why there would be some trust issues, and you are stuck at the club for a year you do not wa nt to the club for a year you do not want to be at, with a president who you don't really get on with. ouch. the league starts on the 12th of september, the new manager, who is himself a barcelona legend, how does he motivate messi who clearly does not want to be there? if you are ronald koeman you say i will turn things around and make you the centrepiece, you will end your glittering career here, i will strengthen your midfield and defence, we are a tea m midfield and defence, we are a team that is going places and we can make this transition happen quick enough so the end of your career is as bright as the rest of it, that is what ronald koeman will be wanting to do. and he has to do that with the rest of the team as well. yeah, when they were

thrashed 8—2 by bayern munich as the champions league a field of the step aside and that competition, the average age was 29 which is quite old for football, so that was an old side they fielded and replacements need to come in. they have young players coming through but they need some senior players, they need to buy senior players to give the side that kind of confidence when things aren't going for it. can we pick up our debate that we got cut short last hour, you said he is the greatest football player in history, and you said arguably twice. we will have people saying pele, maradona, astana rinaldo. you would say maradona? i would say maradona 86 is the greatest ever, but make me the case for messi? messi for the last ten years, he holds the records now, he has not won the world cup but he holds all the trophies and has done a year in and year

out. last year he finished as top scorer in the spanish league in one of his worst seasons. what happens at the end of this season, he gets through it and does 0k even if he gets awkward, can those clu bs he gets awkward, can those clubs who wanted him this year pounds next year, lake manchester city? for free? yeah, they don't have to play 700 million euros. —— pay. the only difficult thing will be his wages, he is paid i million euros a week. a week? a week at barcelona. will he still be able to do it, he will be 33, 34, probably in terms of a business deal what you make in terms of image rights and having that kind of player at your club, you would easily recoup that. paul hawkins, a pleasure, thank you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we talk to jazz legend wynton marsalis about his new album and his collaborative song created on mobile phones during lockdown.

she received the nobel peace prize for her work with the poor and the dying in india's slums. the head of the catholic church said mother teresa was a wonderful example of how to help people in need. we have to identify the bodies, then arrange the coffins and take them back home. parents are waiting and wives are waiting. hostages appeared. some carried, some running, trying to escape the nightmare behind them. britain lost a princess today, described by all to whom she reached out as irreplaceable. an early morning car crash in a paris underpass ended a life with more than its share of pain and courage, warmth and compassion.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: india has now registered 4 million coronavirus cases, with record levels of infections being broken almost every day. experts are warning the pandemic in the country, could spin out of control. a minute's silence in beirut for the victims of the massive explosion, as rescuers search the rubble for a possible survivor, one month after the blast. president trump has spoken for the first time since the hospitalisation of russia's leading opposition leader, alexei navalny. german experts say the kremlin critic — who's in a coma — was poisoned with a soviet era nerve agent. mr trump said he would look into what had happened to mr navalny — before suggesting that reporters should focus their criticism on china. so, i don't know exactly what happened. i think it's tragic, it's terrible. it shouldn't happen.

we haven't had any proof yet, but i will take a look. it is interesting that everybody‘s always mentioning russia. and i don't mind you mentioning russia, but i think probably china at this point is a nation that you should be talking about much more so than russia, because the things that china's doing are far worse — if you take a look at what's happening with the world, look at what happened with the china virus. look at what they did by not keeping that within the confines of china. they should've kept it in the confines of china. look what they've done to 188 countries all over the world. 0ur correspondent nomia iqbal is in washington. so as you heard, dotted tropics like donald trump didn't necessarily answer the questions. he has been criticised heavily for not reacting to the poisoning of

alexei navalny a lot earlier but some white house officials had commented, had to germany's assessment, he remained silent assessment, he remained silent as he sat there, although he didn't doubt what germany was saying, he would need a lot more proof that it have to look into it before, as you heard there, pivoting towards china and in his eyes, china is the biggest threat. he stopped short of criticising president vladimir putin, which is pretty much been the constant pattern of his presidency. during this current pandemic artists have been thinking creatively of how best to make sense of these extraordinary times. jazz legend wynton marsalis has used the lockdown restrictions to join up dozens of musicians from their sitting rooms to help reimagine one of the songs from his new album. marsalis is a multi—grammy winning musician and his blood

on the fields was the first jazz composition to win the pulitzer prize for music. he is the only musician to win a grammy award injazz and classical during the same year. upbeat jazz music plays # i said, everybody wear that mask. # boy, you gotta wear that mask. # i said, everybody wear that mask. # boy, you gotta wear that mask. # i said, everybody where that mask. # boy, you gotta wear that mask # i said, everybody wear that mask. ..# well earlier i asked wynton marsalis to explain the back story and making of the video. that song is part of a larger piece called the the ever funky lowdown, and everybody wear that mask, the piece was actually written in 2018 and everybody wear they mask is actually

something that goes with one of the prizes in the game called the ever funky lowdown. so you prophesied the future, you wrote a song about masks before you knew what was going to happen this year? well, in the piece, the mask is a mask of surveillance so we just repurposed it to fit this time. and it came out well with those people, what do you think? yeah, the orchestra members are fantastic, and it was members of our staff, jazz at lincoln center, everybody at home, dancing and stuff, a great way for us to stay together. well, we were almost dancing in the studio. how do you make music? i know you did a lot of this beforehand but how do you do this in a lockdown or a pandemic year? well, we communicate with each other and we record pieces, we start with the rhythm section, the bass, drums and piano and they record a track and the rest of us play our parts with a large orchestra. we have a meeting, and we go through the lead parts and then record everything. is there any benefit to the circumstances of this year for someone

who is a composer? you must have had more time trapped at home, trapped next to the piano, presumably, when other years you might have been driving around the country. for me, no, because i'm trying to help our organisation survive, jazz at lincoln centre we're called, in new york city, and for arts organisations and musicians, we're not playing, but in the case of our organisation, we've lost the ability to make any money, any revenue, and we still have a lot of expenses, so we're all killing ourselves to stay alive. you've written in the past about jazz. jazz, you said, is all about listening. do people listen this year, in general, in society? no, man. we're not listening. we're too busy hating each other from different perspectives. listening takes a lot of patience, a desire to understand a person perceived to be another. it requires the willingness to develop a greater acuity. there has to be the thought that you could perhaps be

incorrect, and that there could be something to learn from listening to another person, and the desire of being part of an us instead of me versus you. what can jazz teach us about the world? well, the music has three fundamentals. one is improvisation, which is about developing a love yourself and understanding of yourself. and swing, which is about nurturing the common space, and understanding how to make adjustments and little things that are required to balance. we all have to find balance in our lives, and our lives with others. and the third is the blues, which gives us an optimism that's not naive. it allows us to face a tragic circumstance with will, and a belief that we will overcome. are you an optimist? yeah, jazz, you know? i mean, that's what our music is about. if we weren't optimistic, we wouldn't play the music. we'd be much more commercial. where does the inspiration come from when you sit down and write? i mean, i write music everywhere, but it comes from people,

from life experiences. my father was a musician. i am from new orleans and people and musicians all over the world. they are deeply human things. my music is not really topical. it seems like this particular piece, it's the ever funky lowdown i wrote, was topical but it was written lowdown i wrote, is a topical piece, but it was written before the pandemic. what would you say is a good way to calm an unhappy element? meet pakistan's only asian elephant. he is getting ready to move to his own home, a century in cambodia. the 35—year—old elephant has spent most of his life in a small enclosure in islamabad zoo. his plight drew international condemnation and in may, it was ordered that he be moved. plans are now under way to shift him

toa are now under way to shift him to a 25,000 acre century in cambodia. austria —based animal welfare and rescue group for paws international is helping with the move but first, they need to assessed if kevan is in a place to make the large journey. what you can see from outside as he is obese, really needs to lose weight. he is really obese. his nails are in very bad shape, they are overgrown , very bad shape, they are overgrown, they are malformation, so he has to receive very urgently foot trimming, foot care. moving in overweight bull elephant is not an easy task. for pause experts via darts with a sedative to give a sleepy animal a checkup. kevan showed signs of agitation. this vet has worked in warzones to rescue animals. he found his unique way of

calming kevan. so i am not a good singer but i started to ta ke good singer but i started to take him behind and to train him and to sing to him, to accommodate and have a relationship and he likes the song frank sinatra, i got to know i do it my way and this was my breakfast with him all the last days and into the night. i think he hate me and he hate frank sinatra now. ever since kevan lost his mate in 2012, the elephant has been unhappy. hopefully a happy future awaits him. another question from me. how far can you run in one hour? i guarantee you cannot run as far as biggest champion sir mo farah was broken the world record for the one hour one. he beat the time in brussels,

making a 21,330 metres. do say with bbc news. hello there. it looks like we're all in for a dose of cooler, fresher weather, a good weekend to sing some rainbows, as we saw this weekend by weather watcher in scotland. further it's been milder and muqqy' further it's been milder and muggy, temperatures ahead of the cloud and drizzle was high as 23 degrees in the south—east of england. it is a cooler start to friday, temperatures in the clear skies, typically 9-11 in the clear skies, typically 9— 11 degrees. more blustery showers in northern scotland and towards the south—west, this cloud never really clears away, comes back into the south—west of england and wales, eastwards towards the midlands in south—east england, a bit of light rain and drizzle. further north, brighter skies, sunshine and

showers, showers 20 more widespread in scotland and northern ireland, pushing into the far north of england. disappointing temperatures, 17, 18 degrees valley typically, would make 20 in the south—east ahead of any rain that arrives in the evening. as we head into the weekend, high—pressure spy but it's towards the south—west of the uk, leaving us with a run of north—westerly wind, driving in cooler air temperatures on saturday could be even lower during the day as well. a chilly start to the day as well. so a cool weekend ahead, this mixture of sunshine and showers continuing. most of the showers will be on the north and west of the uk, quite a few showers actually cross northern scotland but a few showers were northern ireland, they will stream over the irish sea into north—western parts of england and wales so for the south and east, it should be largely dry. some sunshine at times but those temperatures could be even lower, taking 40 degrees at best through the central belt of scotland, 18 in the south—east of england. more showers continuing overnight and into sunday, should be a

drier data northern ireland, a dry day for scotland, most of the showers across england and wales, some of those could be happy as well. which is pegged backin happy as well. which is pegged back in those showers but problem the one or two degrees higher on saturday across scotla nd higher on saturday across scotland or northern ireland but only 16 degrees. those showers do move away during the evening as we head into the early pa rt evening as we head into the early part of next week, lower pressure to the north of the uk, the fronts on the scene, high—pressure into more southern areas. that means for the first few days of next week, it's going to remain u nsettled week, it's going to remain unsettled the northern areas, wind, rainfrom unsettled the northern areas, wind, rain from time to time and further south, largely dry and further south, largely dry and warmer, temperatures into the mid—20s.

this is bbc news. the headlines:

india has now registered four million cases of coronavirus, with figures reaching record levels almost every day. among the world's most affected countries, the number of new infections is growing fastest in india by some margin. india is currently recording almost 82.000 new cases per day people in lebanon have observed a minute's silence a month after a massive explosion in beirut killed almost 200 people and left 300,000 homeless. rescuers are continuing to search in the rubble for possible survivors after some signs of life were heard on thursday. there's been condemnation of the appointment of the former australian prime minister tony abbott as an advisor to the new uk board of trade. he has previously been accused of homophobia and misogyny. downing street said that he negotiated a number of trade agreements while pm. they defended him.