this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 8pm: a warning that the country is at a critical moment in the coronavirus pandemic, as thousands of students prepare to return to universities across the uk. tighter coronavirus restrictions for bolton this evening as the council says the city's infection rate has risen to 99 cases per100,000 people, perweek, the highest in england. government departments in england are told to get civil servants back to the office, quickly but unions say the attitude is outdated. borisjohnson criticises protests by environmental campaigners, extinction rebellion, targeting three printing presses owned by rupert murdoch.

in sport, we'll have all the action from the nations league, as raheem sterling's late penalty gives england a dramatic win against iceland. good evening. as thousands of students are preparing their return to university, data now shows the highest number of detected infections of coronavirus is in young people. a leading epidemiologist said today she believes the country is at a critical moment in controlling the spread of the virus. this evening, bolton has announced tighter restrictions. the council says the town's infection rate has risen to 99

cases per 100,000 people, per week, the highest in england. residents have been asked to only use public transport for essential purposes and not to mix with other households in any setting but this doesn't apply to support bubbles. in leeds, young people are being urged to take responsibility for controlling the spread of coronavirus following an increase in house parties in the city.leeds was added to the public health england areas of concern as covid rates rose to 32.5 cases per 100,000 people. 0ur correspondent richard galpin reports. the new university year is approaching for students here in leeds. but it is feared the movement of thousands of students to universities could lead to a surge of coronavirus cases. the virus has much less impact on the young,

but they can spread it to other people. i'm a bit worried about the population, that they might bring something with them because they're from all over the uk and america and things, and we don't know if they're carrying it, so i feel like they need to be tested before they can be allowed back in universities. as long as i limit my interaction and use my mask and stuff, i'm not really that concerned about spreading it to anyone else. but experts believe it is likely there will be significant outbreaks. this is indeed a critical moment. we are seeing the highest numbers of infections, or at least detected infections, in younger people. universities are having to put in place important measures to make sure they have testing capacity and also thinking about how they teach their students. leeds is already being seen as a coronavirus hotspot. it's now been added to the watchlist of areas of concern.

0fficials here are urging young people to take responsibility for controlling the spread of the virus. whereas we were focusing more on specific communities at the beginning, it's now clear that the pattern is changing, and a very strong message from us to avoid having further restrictions put on us. the watchlist of hotspots is growing. south tyneside, middlesbrough, rossendale, corby, kettering and norfolk are also now on the list after increases in cases. it is another busy day here at the flamingo's coffee house in leeds. social distancing, as in all cafes, pubs and restaurants is vital. but the owner here says there are still people who ignore it. 99% of people want to do the right thing and they want to follow the rules and keep everyone safe. people are getting fatigued from coronavirus, everyone,

me included, we slip up a bit, it's hard to keep everything going, and also there are some people that don't want to socially distance. and as long as that continues, then leeds like other affected cities and towns will not be rid of the virus. richard galpin, bbc news. corby in northamptonshire is one of the places added to public health england's covid watchlist as an area of concern. corby borough council's leader, tom beattie, says he wants to avoid a local lockdown. i think it would be very damaging. it would affect business confidence, it would affect the ability for local businesses to get back on their feet after having spent time in lockdown already, and it would be a knock to the confidence of people in the town if we had to go on lockdown again, so i would want to avoid that very much, and we do see it as a damaging thing and we are trying to avoid it.

why do you think corby has been put on this watchlist? it is because the incidents in corby have risen and they have been rising for the last couple of weeks. this week we will put on a watchlist by the government because the case numbers have actually increased to the position where the government now consider us an area of concern, and there is still some time for us to improve the situation before we need to move to what would be the most draconian sanction — a lockdown. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are political commentatorjo phillips, and nigel nelson, the political editor of the people & sunday mirror. the latest government figures show there were 1,813 new confirmed

coronavirus cases across the uk in the latest 2a hour period. as you can see, the rate is continuing to slowly rise, with the average number of new cases, per day in the past week being 1,630. the deaths of 12 people were also reported under new rules recording those who've died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, seven deaths have been announced each day. that means the total number of people who've died, across the uk, is now 41,549. civil servants in england are being urged by the government to return to work in their offices. in a letter seen by the bbc, the government wants 80% of civil servants to be at their workplace at least once a week, by the end of the month. unions have described the

government's attitude as outdated. 0ur political correspondent chris mason has more. usually vibrant, bustling, dynamic, and yet for much of the last six months many of our city centres have looked like this. it's time for that to change, says the government. the head of the civil service, sir mark sedwill, says the prime minister believes... this is whitehall, home to loads of government departments. it's actually relatively busy here today but still pretty quiet on weekdays. the government wants four in five civil servants in england to be back at their desks for at least some of the week by the end of this month with more and more people worrying that unless public and private sector workers return to the office there could be huge economic consequences. if we don't see workers coming back until the new year, and workers are a big driver of footfall in city centres,

particularly on a monday to friday, then we might see a huge wave of closures and a huge wave of redundancies as a result. but some believe changes in where many people have worked in recent months will be permanent. what the government are doing are virtue signalling, using the civil service, not because it's a more efficient way of operating, but because they want to send a signal to the private sector. they are dreaming about a world of work which has, quite frankly, gone. in scotland, wales and northern ireland, the message is still to work from home if you can. but in england, the government is hoping that more people can be persuaded back to their workplace. that was chris mason reporting, and chris further explained the government's position to me a little earlier. their argument is that our city centres where the economic ecology is dangerously close to extinction, that relationship that exists between the office worker and a sandwich shop,

the hairdresser, the fish and chip shop, the restaurant, the cafe has broken down because so many of those office workers are not there, said they want to encourage people back into offices where it is safe and they have concluded that they have got to show as well as tell on the one element of the workforce they are directly responsible for, those working for the country in the civil service, so they have set up this timetable to haul more people back in. i was talking to a minister who said his team have been working long hours from home and they have been doing it well, but as soon as quite a few were back in the office face—to—face the benefits of human interaction face—to—face are far greater than faffing about on your laptop and staring into your smartphone and ideas bounce around in a more organic way than they do when you are operating remotely so from the government's perspective it wants to encourage the civil to return to work in the hope that that encourages the private sector employers as well without being seen

to mandate or tell people what to do when obviously in the private sector employers can decide and employees can decide what is best for them and their business. another union is apparently threatening legal action as a last resort so what have we heard from business leaders? there is that threat from some unions. they will be watching very keenly when lots more people start arriving. tonight, an interview in the financial times with the leader of the cbi, they are saying they want to hear more from the government about encouraging people back into office environments for all of the reasons that the government is already making. she is also saying that with the thurlow scheme due to end at the end of next month, there is going to have to be some alternative support for the government for some sectors

of the economy otherwise very soon we will see significant redundancies because of the notice period required for that and that could start happening now if businesses conclude that once the tap is turned off at the end of next month a job might be unviable. she said this is not about the government propping up jobs that are unviable because it would not be a wise use of taxpayer money, but in her view there will be a need for additional support to help those who might need it. this is an argument that has been made by the labour party for some time, it will be interesting to see what the government says in response because that is a hugely important economic moment, but a massive support package that the government has had in place for several months now, thejob retention scheme, stops as it is due to relatively suddenly, there has been a slight tapering of support offered but it will come to an end in a matter of seven or eight weeks' time with potentially profound economic consequences.

the prime minister has condemned environmental activists for preventing the delivery of millions of newspapers earlier this morning. extinction rebellion targeted newspaper printing presses in england and scotland — accusing the media of failing to report on climate change. 80 people have been arrested. 0ur chief environment correspondent, justin rowlatt reports. what a turnout! it was late last night when vans containing dozens of extinction rebellion protesters blocked the entrances to three printing presses owned by rupert murdoch's news corp. some demonstrators locked themselves into elaborate bamboo structures, others chained themselves together. as well as this plant in hertfordshire, activists targeted presses in merseyside and in north lanarkshire. the protest meant delays delivering millions of newspapers this morning, including the sun, the times, the daily mail and the daily telegraph. we are here because we feel

the british media and political establishment have been complacent about the most existential threat britain has ever faced. 72 people were arrested as police cleared the roads. newspaper editors described the actions as an outrageous attempt to gag the press. the actions of these protesters are so absurd that it would be considered laughable if it wasn't so serious. they need a good lesson in history and how the world works to understand, and one presumes they don't understand, that these are the actions of totalitarian dictators and authorities throughout the world and history — shut down the message, attack a free press, which is exactly what they have done here. this is the fifth day of protests by the environmental campaign group. on tuesday, perhaps 3,000 activists congregated outside parliament, blocking the roads, amongst them the former archbishop of canterbury, rowan williams.

the police have begun to come into the crowd here at parliament square and arrest protesters. there were clear guidelines about how this protest could be conducted, and one of the rules was, do not go into the road, but right at the beginning of the demonstration when the protesters first congregated here in parliament square, they were encouraged to come into the road and block the streets. there have been more than 600 arrests in london alone. you're under arrest for criminal damage! extinction rebellion says five more days of actions are planned. activists say targets will include fossilfuel companies, the fast fashion industry and government, so expect more disruption. justin rowlatt, bbc news, london. ten people have been arrested following clashes between anti—migra nt demonstrators and police in dover. dozens of demonstrators

blocked a dual carriageway bringing traffic to a standstill — calling for tighter immigration restrictions. rival protesters also gathered in the town, in support of the thousands of migrants who've been arriving in the uk in small boats. the headlines on bbc news... a warning that the country is at ‘a critical moment‘ in the coronavirus pandemic as thousands of students prepare to return to universities across the uk. tighter coronavirus restrictions for bolton this evening as the council says the city's infection rate has risen to 99 cases per100,000 people, perweek, the highest in england. government departments in england are told to get civil servants back to the office, ‘quickly‘ — but unions say the attitude is ‘outdated'.

memories of euro 2016 may still haunt the england set up — but tonight, it was iceland left full of regret. with gareth southgate's side down to ten men, both teams were awarded penalties during the final few minutes of the nations league showdown. 0nly raheem sterling made his count, while iceland failed to equalise. andy swiss was watching. no fans but ultimately no shortage of drama. england's long—awaited return had seemed to be falling rather flat. harry kane's early effort ruled out for offside when replays showed he was on, but no var meant no goal. england's frustration only grew from there. declan rice fluffing a glorious chance to leave england almost literally kicking themselves at the break. after it, their problems deepened. a second yellow card by kyle walker and he was off, but that only teed up an extraordinary finale. first, an iceland handball and a penalty to england

which raheem sterling then coolly dispatched, butjust seconds later, with the game into stoppage time, joe gomez tangled and this time it was iceland's penalty. birkir bjarnason with a chance for a last—gasp draw... ..but he blew it. a remarkable finish to a largely unremarkable match, but england are back with a win. andy swiss, bbc news. france has registered its highest daily infection rate since the start of the pandemic. the latest figures, over 2a hours between thursday and friday — show almost 9,000 new cases of covid—19. transmission is mainly among young people which means hospital admissions aren't nearly as high as they were back in march. the increase is partly a result of more testing, but there are concerns, as 12 million children in france went back to school this week. 0ur europe correspondent,

damian mcguiness explained more. schools have gone back, dozens have had to close again because they have had a couple of outbreaks there as well. as life has got back to normal in france and as people have gone back to work, infection rates have risen. this number, almost 9,000 over 2a hours between thursday and friday, is the highest we have seen at any point during the pandemic. it is a very worrying record. back in march, at the height of the pandemic, at the strictest point of the lockdown, there were 7,500 daily infection rates. this is a sharp increase in daily new infections. that's partly because of a sharp increase in testing as well. we are seeing a more realistic view of the figure. we are also picking up in france a lot more people who are possibly not showing any symptoms, so it is showing a more realistic view of the actual situation. the other thing happening is a lot more younger people are transmitting

the virus between them — that is very serious because it means it is spreading throughout the population, but the good news is they are less likely to suffer severe complications so, even though we are seeing a slight rise in hospitalisations, it is not as dramatic as the total rise in infection rates. it is a more realistic picture, but it is a worrying trend because we are seeing across europe a sharp rise in daily infection rates. india has confirmed more than 4 million cases of the coronavirus — making it the third country in the world to pass that mark, following the united states and brazil. dr ramanan laxminarayan is director of the ‘centre for disease dynamics, economics & policy‘ in delhi. he‘s been explaining how the virus has been spreading around the country. the first cases were mostly in urban areas where people are living cheek byjowl and things transmit quickly, but over a period of time the disease has also

spread to rural areas, and you have to remember that most of india lives in rural areas where health care facilities are poor, testing facilities are not great and for a while it is going to be an invisible epidemic in rural india, but it will show up in the form of hospitalisations when these are possible and obviously a very large caseload as well. the medicaljournal, the lancet, has published data on the phase—0ne trial of the vaccine for covid—19, developed by russia. russian researchers say early tests showed signs of an immune response — and that every participant developed antibodies with no serious side effects. professor peter 0penshaw from imperial college london told us these findings are reassuring, to some extent. i think this is a perfectly credible vaccine. it‘s based on similar sorts of technologies to the vaccine that

has been developed in oxford and which has recently published some similar phase one results. the thing about this one is that they have been getting two doses separated by a few weeks of some very potent virus, and they have inserted a bit of the sars coronavirus into it so that it generates a powerful immune response. hundreds of people have joined anti—lockdown protests in melbourne, as tensions rise over the state s handling of the pandemic. at least 15 people were arrested as some demonstrators clashed with police. freya cole reports. chanting: freedom! chanting for their freedom, which these protesters say has been taken away from them. in return, police form a barrier, pushing back against a crowd which has no regard for the coronavirus

lockdown in place. it is not safe, it is not smart, it is not lawful. in fact, it is absolutely selfish for people to be out there protesting. the only protest we should be engaged in, the only argument, the only fight we should be engaged in, is against this virus. it didn‘t take long before things turned ugly. more than a dozen people were arrested. in some cases, there was violence. melbourne is coming to the end of its second six—week lockdown. covid cases have fallen dramatically. there were 89 new cases in the last 2a hours. the restrictions are due to end next week, but the premier hasn‘t ruled out an extension. human rights matter! divisions are growing deeper — a bitter rift between anti—lockdown protesters and those willing to comply. hundreds of people have

demonstrated in edinburgh against the wearing of face masks and coronavirus lockdown restrictions. the rally was organised by a group called saving scotland. they said the way covid—19 is being dealt with is an overreaction, which is killing and harming more people than the virus and is destructive to the economy. scotland‘s national clinical director, professorjason leitch described their actions are irresponsible. president trump is facing a backlash over reports he mocked american soldiers killed in action. mr trump has strongly denied the accusations, which emerged on thursday, but the row doesn‘t seem to be going away, with some veterans and relatives condemning the president. in 2018, mr trump visited an american cemetery during a visit to france, to mark the centenary of the end of world war one. but he cancelled a visit to a different cemetery on the same trip.

the atlantic magazine alleges that he said he didn‘t want to go, because it was "filled with losers". the publication also says, mr trump described the 1800 marines who died in the battle mr trump described the 1800 marines for getting killed. here‘s what mr trump had to say about the claims. to think that i would make statements negative to our military and our fallen heroes, when nobody‘s done what i‘ve done with the budgets, with the military budgets, with getting pay raises for our military — it is a disgraceful situation by a magazine that‘s a terrible magazine, i don‘t read it, but ijust heard about it. they made it up, and probably it‘s a couple of people that have been failures in the administration that i got rid of, and i couldn‘t get rid of them fast enough. democratic presidential candidate joe biden gave this response. if what is written in the atlantic is true, it‘s disgusting,

and it affirms what most of us believe to be true — that donald trump is not fit to be in the job of president, to be the commander—in—chief. my son volunteered and joined the united states military as the attorney general, he went to iraq for a year, won the bronze star and other commendations — he wasn‘t a sucker. the servicemen and women he served with, particularly those who did not come home, were not losers. computer problems and a huge backlog have meant thousands of learner drivers in england and wales have had their tests cancelled or delayed. despite bookings for tests resuming two weeks ago, for many learners it‘s been a struggle to get a slot. adam mcclean reports. it‘s jack‘s first time on the road since march. his test was cancelled and lessons suspended and only now can he make

up for lost time behind the wheel. have you checked everything? you‘re happy with your mirrors? yep. you can move off when you‘re ready, jack. at the end of the road, we‘re turning left. my original test was booked in april, the start of april. obviously everything went into lockdown, which then got rearranged for august, and then i got told just to wait for their reply and they will tell me when it was. after spending more than four hours in an online queue, jack tried to book in the early hours of the morning and managed to get a test on the 30th of september. it was an early rise, but it got the job done. i booked it for a month's time from when i had to press the link. we were pleased that we were allowed back to work. that was the big plus for us. but then we came back, obviously we‘re dealing with the problems we‘ve got with trying to book a driving test. we‘ve not got anything for the pupil to aim for so trying to get

the lessons sorted out is really difficult. before march, there were nearly 11,500 driving tests in great britain every day. there is now a huge backlog of people whose tests have been postponed or cancelled. to help more people book a test, the dvsa says that it‘s increasing the number of tests each examiner does every day from five to six and from the 14th of september, it‘ll be possible to book a test as far as 18 weeks in advance as opposed to the current six—week limit. i waited all this time to then realise there‘s, like, half a million other people in the exact same boat and we just can‘t do anything about it. i just feel like we‘re not getting anywhere. i don‘t think i‘ve seen anyone actually book a driving test. and while practical tests have been suspended, the theory tests of provisional drivers have been expiring. those certificates won‘t be extended beyond the two—year limit, meaning many who were close to taking the practical test will have to retake their theory test. it‘s so frustrating,

especially the point, the driver and vehicle standards agency says that all 210,000 candidates who had a test booked in march have been re—invited to book a test and that from the 14th of september, a further 375,000 testing slots will be available to book. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. it's it‘s been a day of sunny spells and showers. further south in devon, we had some sunshine whilst across in northern ireland, you can see a lot more cloud. here it is from early on in the day, the cloud with drizzly rain, we‘ve got showers break out ahead of it and i was generally going to push slowly southwards and eastwards and into the south west of scotland, showers in the north—east through this evening, those showers

filtering southwards across some parts of england and wales, the cheshire cat into the midlands, potentially into london. a lot of dry weather to be found here. turns chilly as they showers diminish across parts of scotland and where we keep more cloud committed on the cool side but probably holding a ten or11. cool side but probably holding a ten or 11. that does mean we will start sunday with quite a bit of clarinet with a friend here and showers. high pressure starting to build in. that will ease the shower activity across the northern half of the country so if you are showers for scotland and northern ireland by the winds will ease right across the uk. with lighter winds and for scotland and northern ireland, fewer showers and more sunshine, it will feel warmer, although we have a northerly breeze instead so near the north sea coast, quite cool. not altogether dry, night of the showers across northern england and wales and meandering southwards through the day. sunshine in places, it will be a little warmer than today because the winds are light as well. the high pressure

holds the weather