this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. government departments in england are told to get civil servants back into offices as quickly as possible following the coronavirus lockdown, but unions describe the government's attitude as "outdated". several more areas of england — including leeds and middlesbrough — have been added to the

government's watchlist of places with high rates of coronavirus. they'll be closely monitored, and restrictions may be re—imposed. president trump declines to condemn russia over the poisoning of the opposition leader alexei navalny, who's in a coma in a german hospital. experts there say they have evidence he was attacked with a soviet—era nerve agent. it is interesting that everybody is a lwa ys it is interesting that everybody is always mentioning russia and i don't imagine mentioning russia, but i think probably at this point a nation should be talking about much more so nation should be talking about much more so than russia —— i don't mind you mentioning russia. india confirms more than four million cases of coronavirus — making it the third country in the world to surpass that mark, following the united states and brazil. argentina's lionel messi agrees to stay at barcelona football club — ten days after insisting he wanted to leave — admitting it's impossible for any club to meet his £700 million buyout clause.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. i'm shaun ley. stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. we begin in the uk. civil servants in england have been urged to return to their desks, as part of a drive to get people back to work following the coronavirus lockdown. the government has urged officials to "take advantage" of the return of schools this month, amid warnings some cities have become "ghost towns" as people work from home. analysis of mobile phone data last month suggested only i7% of uk workers had returned to the office. one civil service union has said the comments lack "any connection with reality" because a "permanent revolution" in working patterns has taken place. joining me now is

our political correspondent, nick eardley. good to see you again. this message from the uk government's cabinet secretary, the top civil servant, what is he driving at? he is driving at the political message that is coming from borisjohnson which is that they want to see people, where possible, backing offices because, firstly, they think it is good for the workforce that it helps people come up ideas. we know if you have a chat with your colleagues, it can sometimes be beneficial, but more importantly, i think, sometimes be beneficial, but more importantly, ithink, it sometimes be beneficial, but more importantly, i think, it is about the economic impact that people not being in offices is having. if you're go into central london at the moment, when i work, the houses of parliament, whitehall, it is deserted. it is a lot quieter than it normally is and i think there is a feeling in government that they need to lead by example. so by urging civil servants back into the office, on a rota system, not getting everybody back at the same time, but getting people in it

may two days a week, another group in two days a week, another group in two days, they can lead by example and encourage others to do the same. this is a hillbilly divisive subject because whilst there are some people who think it is a great idea —— this isa who think it is a great idea —— this is a really divisive subject. others feel quite different and the unions are this morning saying they think this is the government trying to encourage people to do something that they have left behind. they are working from home is never a thing and it is to do be one. it raises all sorts of questions about not just the economic and cat, but the health risk because we have large numbers of people —— economic impact. school teachers, school pupils and in a few week's time, we will have the university returning. those big scale movements of people are not something we have seen over the last few months. as the government at all worried about there being a risk of encouraging people to go back and then having to reverse that position if we suddenly

see a rise in covid cases. yes, i think that is. i do not think ministers would rule that out. we have seen it across cities in england over the last few weeks and in scotland separately where certain cities where there has been a lot of movement have seen a cities where there has been a lot of movement have seen a rise in the number of cases and some restrictions have had to be brought back in. but i also know that boris johnson is having his ear to adult, quite frankly, by tory mps who are extremely concerned —— his ear chewed off who extreme are concerned about high streets and the busy shopping streets, not becoming full ghost towns, but if you're going to those office—based districts, some are extraordinarily quiet and many tory mps are saying to boris johnson, this needs to be your new patio to. he has to balance that against that health risk —— your new priority. his medical advisers have told him that if you open up too much too quickly, you're going to

have to bring restrictions back in. we know about a month ago the chief medical officer for england, professor chris whitty, was saying that maybe we had reached the limit of what could be opened up safely. there are no easy answers. we talk about it every weekend and we never come up with something simple. what it would be implement a. but in that place now where the government is extremely worried about the economy. it feels it has to move, but it also has more than conscious of the potential health impact at that as well so you're going to see a lot of balancing acts over the next few weeks. yes, trying to lead by example, i guess. weeks. yes, trying to lead by example, iguess. nick weeks. yes, trying to lead by example, i guess. nick eardley, thank you very much. ministers are being urged to set up a scheme to support clinically vulnerable people who can't return to their workplace because the risks associated with coronavirus remain too high. a cross—party house of lords group says such employees should be given a "decent income and job security". charities estimate there are tens of thousands of people who can neither do theirjob from home nor

return to the office. president trump says he hasn't yet seen proof that the russian opposition leader, alexei navalny, was poisoned with a deadly novichok nerve agent. germany — where mr navalny is being treated in hospital — says it has "proof beyond doubt", and is asking the russian government for an explanation. our correspondent, nomia iqbal, reports from washington. alexei navalny supporters claim he was poisoned on the creme and's orders, which raised russia dies. —— alexian, of all supporters, claim he was poisoned ——on the kremlin's ——on the kremlin's orders, which russia denies. germany says novichok agent was used similarto germany says novichok agent was used similar to one that almost killed a former russian spy and his daughter in salisbury two years ago. that assessment received supports from some trump administration officials, including

the head of the white house, national security council. president trump, who had been criticized for not speaking about the case, earlier, said that he would study the evidence. i don't know exactly what happened. i think it's sad. 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 is a nation that you should be talking about, much more so than russia. he went on to say that no—one has been tougher on russia than him, but he stopped short of criticising president vladimir putin, which has been a constant pattern throughout mr trump's presidency. the kremlin has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in mr nalvany‘s poisoning and says it carried out all steps necessary to ensure the best possible care for the opposition politician. here's sergei lavrov, russia's foreign minister, who says the german authorities still haven't provided adequate information. translation: we have nothing to hide. i will recall, once again, that as soon as alexei navalny fell ill on board his flight,

immediate steps were taken to land the plane, an ambulance was waiting for him at the airport, which immediately transported him to the hospital where he was immediately connected to a ventilator. all other necessary measures have also been taken. india has now registered four million cases of coronavirus. the country is 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 front line with no end in sight. the doctor 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 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 small 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 oxford—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 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. even if the vaccine is a success, inoculating more than a billion people will need a lot of time and money. yogita limaye, bbc news, mumbai. protesters from the environmental campaign group extinction rebellion have blockaded printing presses in england to stop some papers reaching newsstands today. they used vehicles to block roads outside the printing works at broxbourne, in hertfordshire, and knowsley, near liverpool. they accuse the newspapers' of failing to "report on the climate emergency". the uk government has announced more than £7 million worth of funding to help some of the world's most vulnerable communities deal with the impact of the coronavirus.

some of the cash will be used for remote health care access for patients in nigeria. the science minister, amanda solloway, says something as basic as ppe would make a big difference to the countries affected. i can't emphasise enough, you know, as an example how life—changing it will be. when i'm talking about the ppe as an example, in terms of masks, that will be significant, that will be transforming in the way that people are able to work and carry out their day—to—day life and, of course, the things that we do seem very, very basic to us and very fundamental, but something like ppe and in the places very basic to us and very fundamental, but something like ppe is going to have significant difference overseas and in the places where we are using it. let's speak to dr walter kazadi mulombo, the new world health organization representative to nigeria sincejune 2020, he joins us from abuja. how important is the provision of

protective equipment in a country like nigeria in containing the spread of covid—i9, particularly among health workers? thank you for having me in the stock. it is very important to provide protective equipment to people in nigeria, especially health workers because we notice that nigeria is one of the countries where a bigger proportion, a large proportion of health workers have been infected. around 10% or so in some places. that support is very much welcome, particularly as the country now has established white community transmission with the authority, the government are trying to control. it is very important that we protect are those front line health workers. so that support is very much needed, it is timely

as the country is resuming progressively economic activities and at the same time to stop the spread of covid—i9. and at the same time to stop the spread of covid-19. what is the biggest problem that nigeria has to deal with at the moment in terms of tackling the covid—i9 virus? deal with at the moment in terms of tackling the covid-19 virus? the nigerian context, it is a large populated country and we had a lot of movement, etc, so observing the intervention has proven to be a bit challenging at the moment. as is testing. nigeria has set a target to testing. nigeria has set a target to test for annoying people by the end of this year and we still need to work with communities to make sure that we improve the demand so

that more people will be tested, so that we can know how the epidemic is going. testing is challenging as people are not coming forward to test themselves spontaneously. but also observance of nonpolitical intervention is proving challenging and that is why the who and all the partners we are working with on covid—i9 to step up this communication and the community mobilisation and the participation of all the communities, all the stakeholders, all of the business people so that we can come together as one and try to control this covid—i9 pandemic. as one and try to control this covid-19 pandemic. thank you very much, doctor. the headlines on bbc news: government departments in england

are told to get civil servants back into offices as quickly as possible following the coronavirus lockdown, but unions describe the government's attitude as ‘outdated'. several more areas of england — including leeds and middlesbrough — have been added to the government's watchlist of places with high rates of coronavirus — they'll be closely monitored, and restrictions may be re—imposed. president trump declines to condemn russia over the poisoning of the opposition leader alexei navalny, who's in a coma in a german hospital. experts there say they have evidence he was attacked with a soviet—era nerve agent. more areas of england — including leeds and middlesbrough — have been added to the government's watchlist of places with high rates of coronavirus. they will now be closely monitored, and restrictions may be re—imposed if infections continue to rise. in some other areas, restrictions are to be lifted . restrictions are to be lifted.

the changes come as scientists warned significant outbreaks linked to universities in the uk are "highly likely". let's speak to james greenhalgh who runs flamingos coffee house in leeds. have i mispronounced your signing? — your have i mispronounced your signing? —— your surname. that is all good. you run a coffee house in leeds, how worried are you by this warning that the city is now under careful watch because of concern at the rise in the number of cases? it is very, very worrying. obviously, for businesses we are starting to recover, we have had some really good help from the government in terms of financial support, eat out to help out, vat cuts. all sorts of different measures which have really provided lifelines to small businesses like mine in leeds.

obviously, as things recover, people still have to be careful and it really is a big worry to us. do you find that people are generally cooperative with the restrictions or are you starting to see evidence of people becoming a little bit perhaps a bit too casual about it? or even downright uncooperative question like i think everyone of us is starting to get fatigued because of all of the measures where having to take. it is hard, a new way of life, a new normal. 99% of our customers are wonderful, it is a bit confusing to start with but once they have been here once, they know how the rules are. we are having some very, very unkind people come into our and yesterday, one of my staff members was a physically threatened by a member of the public and that is absolutely outrageous. all we are doing is asking people to sanitise, asking people to wear face masks, wait outside until they can bring them to a fully clean, disaffected table and we have other measures behind the scenes, but they are the

main things they can see is customers and i don't think there's much at all. my message to people as we had to be responsible, we have to follow these rules. if we do not, people are going to end up losing their jobs, people are going to end up losing theirjobs, or worse, people are going to end up losing theirjobs, orworse, lose their lives. that is really, really serious and my messages to those ignorant people, stay—at—home, do not bother coming into the cities if you do not want to look after each other because you need to be responsible and take care of everyone, not just responsible and take care of everyone, notjust yourself. the council is pointing out today that in leeds, i think and when simon, 44 additional cases. do you have any sense, when you talk to other business people, —— —— i think on wednesday. do you know what might be driving that? there is a certain amount of the day, but his very conscious desire to socialise again? that is kind of pushing against the restrictions? in my personalview, i think we are at a very dangerous point. we are opening up schools, we have pubs open, lots of the economy has opened up again. and something

has opened up again. and something has to give. i was out a couple of evenings ago in leeds. i had a couple of quiet beers and you see people drunk, no social distancing. many of the bars do not really care. they say we do, but if you actually look at what is happening, it is clear that they do not really care, they are more interested in getting money in the till. i would like to see the government take action against these businesses because people like myself running this coffee house that we are doing everything we can, breaking our backs to keep everyone safe and it is hard work. where having to work really ha rd to is hard work. where having to work really hard to do it and if businesses are floating it, what are we going to say to businesses who are not actually going to follow the real question make the answer is thatis real question make the answer is that is not anything being done. that is the main concern that i have and responsible business owners. there is a fitting and i do not blame people for wanting to go out and have a drink. a lot of people do, but this commits support is coming to an end and another could be some really difficult decisions for businesses if we had another lockdown, and it is very serious,

fa rlow is lockdown, and it is very serious, farlow is coming to an end and i cannot guarantee that i will keep on my staff. that is at their livelihood, my livelihood as well. but also people could die. that is really, really important that we bear that in really, really important that we bearthat in mind. really, really important that we bear that in mind. has to be as at home if you want, go into a beer garden, social distance. please, for everyone's sake, be safe. thank you very much for being with is a good luck with the business this weekend. travellers returning to scotland from portugal will now have to self—isolate for iii—day. to self—isolate for 14 days. the country was added to the quarantine list after a rise in infections there — and comes after wales imposed its own restrictions yesterday. nothing has changed for people who live in england and northern ireland. these holiday—makers were on one of the last flights back to glasgow from portugal before the quarantine was reintroduced. we were disappointed that scotland obviously had to quarantine, but england don't so it seems ridiculous. people will fly into england though and drive up the

road. it was a risk, we knew we weren't making a risk anyway. we only lost a day. it is annoying but i'mjust only lost a day. it is annoying but i'm just glad we have made it home in time. we were supposed to come back on saturday, but we paid an extra hundred pounds to come back just in case. we were scared we are going to... i have to look after my mother so we had to come back. 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 for one more year. arguably the world's greatest ever footballer, he said 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. paul hawkins has more. this he is staying... now leaving would have cost him, or another club at 709 euros. it says it in his contract. it was either that affect the club in court —— 700 million euros translation: it was another way and go to trial and i would

never go to court against barcelona because it is the club i love. it gave me everything since i arrived. it is the club of my life, i have made my life here in barcelona. barcelona give me everything and i give it everything. i know that it never crossed my mind to take barcelona to court. messi's contract said it could have left if he told the club badge on ted that he wanted to leave, but he felt that missing the deadline did not matter because the deadline did not matter because the xts and was extended due to coronavirus —— if he told the club beforejune. coronavirus —— if he told the club before june. the president always said that at the end of the season, i could decide if i wanted to go or ifi i could decide if i wanted to go or if i wanted to stay. in the end, he did not keep his word. that will not please the fans. many of whom are welcome to his

decision to stay. translation: if you can say for one more year and we can make the most of him and go see him play at the stadium, for me it is very positive. it is the ideal situation and what i hope for. if next year he wants to leave, he has all the right, as he did this year. translation: i think his contract said he could not leave and it is good he did not leave but without the mess he has created, to be honest, for barcelona it is not very good because he does not get the passion that he wants to play for the team so it is good he is then, but not ideal —— the impression. translation: then, but not ideal —— the impression. translationzlj then, but not ideal —— the impression. translation: ithink then, but not ideal —— the impression. translation: i think it is good news for barcelona because he is the best player in the world. he tried to leave for free, but i think the coach should be happy. perhaps. even though he stuck at the clu b perhaps. even though he stuck at the club he wanted to leave with a president he does not trust. the new coach has to convince messi that any twilight of his career, he is

33, they can win things, even though this is an older team in transition who won nothing last season. the motor barcelona means more thanjust a club. —— moto. this is more than just a transfer study, paul hawkins, bbc news. sir mo farah has broken a 13—year—old record for the longest distance run in one hour. at a diamond league event in brussels, the four—time olympic champion ran more than 21.3 km — that's just shy of 13 and a quarter miles — breaking the ethiopian haile gebrselassie's distance by 45 metres. you're watching bbc world news. now, the weather with sarah keith—lucas. as is the nature with the showers, we are not all going to be seen them. the bulk of the shares will be across north—western parts of the

case of northern ireland, scotland, some of them working across parts of north—west england and north wales too. further south and east across wales you're more likely to dodge the shares and stay largely die with some long spells of sunshine and temperatures between about 14 to 19 celsius. quite windy conditions across the north of scotland. through this evening and tonight, cloud and patchy shabbily rain it would if this was across the uk, when spilling a little lighter overnight. some clear spells around two hours east of england and northern scotland as well temperatures just about down into the mid—single figures. during the day tomorrow, it will be england and wales that silly bulk of the show drifting eastwards. some of them heavy, potentially thundery heavily on “— heavy, potentially thundery heavily on —— sunday later on.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. government departments in england are told to get civil servants back into offices as quickly as possible following the coronavirus lockdown — but unions describe the government's attitude as outdated. several more areas of england — including leeds and middlesbrough — have been added to the government's watchlist of places with high rates of coronavirus — they'll be closely monitored, and restrictions may be re—imposed. president trump declines to condemn russia over the poisoning of the opposition leader alexei navalny — who's in a coma in a german hospital. experts there say they have evidence he was attacked with a soviet—era nerve agent. it is interesting that everybody is a lwa ys it is interesting that everybody is always mentioning russia. i think probably china at this point as a nation that you should be talking about more than russia. india confirms more than four million cases of coronavirus —