this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. donald trump is accused of deliberately downplaying the danger posed by coronavirus. he says he didn't want to panic people. and i don't want people to be frightened, i don't want to create panic as you say. tough new coronavirus rules could be in place for months says borisjohnson. greek officials blame migrants for the fire at a camp that's left thousands homeless. and san francisco glows orange as devastating wildfires rage across the western united states.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. i'm kasia madera, do stay with us for the latest news and analysis. we start in the us where donald trump has been accused of deliberately misleading the american people about the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic. the claims come in a new book by the journalist bob woodward. but they've now been picked up by the democratic presidential candidate joe biden. he's accused president trump of lying to the american people for months about and failing to do hisjob. nick bryant reports from new york. even as the coronavirus began claiming scores of american lives, the us president publicly talked down the threat. it will go away. you know it is going away and it will go away and we will have a great victory. but at the same time, donald trump was telling the legendary watergate journalist bob woodward that he had

deliberately played down the pandemic, even though he understood the deadliness of the virus. well, ithink, bob, to be honest with you... sure, i want you to be. i wanted to always play it down. i still like playing it down, because i don't want to create a panic. this was impossible to dismiss as fake news and instead, the president tried to explain his comments. i am a cheerleader for this country. i love our country and i don't want people to be frightened. i don't want to create panic, as you say. and certainly, i'm not going to drive this country or the world into a frenzy. his democratic rivaljoe biden is already leading in the polls and he immediately weaponised what the president's critics will seize upon as a covid smoking gun. he lied to the american people. he knowingly and willingly lied about the threat it posed to the country for months. he had the information.

he knew how dangerous it was. and while this deadly disease ripped through our nation, he failed to do hisjob on purpose. donald trump keeps on trying to change the conversation to law and order, but we keep on returning to the health crisis that has claimed the lives of more than 190,000 americans. this feels like a covid campaign. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. 0ur correspondent in washington, nomia iqbal, joins us. so we saw the president they are saying that he was trying to not panic the people, but we havejoe biden immediately picking up on the. yes. the coronavirus pandemic is something that donald trump wants to get away from. this is the main issue that is still one that americans care about, the death toll of covid—i9 is more than 190,000.

of covid—19 is more than 190,000. and it is been his weak spot throughout. they were republican national convention, the dimmick was hardly mentioned. instead donald trump is been really trying to drag the democratic party onto the ground. —— the pandemic was hardly mentioned. he wants to better from law and order. the coronavirus has come back into the headlines with these damaging allegations by bob woodward in which you can hear donald trump saying that he wants to downplay the pandemic, but as she heard there, he said, i didn't want to panic people and he really want to panic people and he really want to show americans that he is the tough leader. ultimately also, he wa nts tough leader. ultimately also, he wants them to go out and vote. he wa nts wants them to go out and vote. he wants them to go out and vote. he wants them to go out and vote. he wants them to go out physically to the polls and he doesn't want them to worry about the virus. what kind of impact if any will this have on november? it really depends on which

voter we are talking about. a lot of real loyal trump supporters will probably take this on board in her way up this in the same way they have weighed up a lot of other things which have been damaging about donald trump and maybe make a decision that believed him when he says i just didn't want to panic people. ultimately it comes down to those voters and those key battle ground states where the election is ultimately decided. those suburban voters who are worried about this pandemic who have lost family members and friends because of this pandemic. if they weigh up these allegations or listen to the audio for themselves and decide that donald trump has not shown the leadership that they wanted, then it isa leadership that they wanted, then it is a problem for the trump campaign tea m is a problem for the trump campaign team and they know it. thank you. as alarm mounts over the quickening pace of coronavirus infections in the uk, it's been officially announced that social gatherings of more than six

people will be banned in england from next week. senior health advisers are warning the new rules are likely to be in place for months rather than weeks. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg has more. glimpses of something like normal life, but the threat of another surge of the disease has been hiding in plain sight. reminders to take care have been all around, but replaced today by new instructions with the threat on the rise. i know that over time, the rules have become quite complicated and confusing. we are simplifying and strengthening the rules, making them easier for everyone to understand and for the police to enforce. in england, from monday, we are introducing the rule of six. you must not meet socially in groups of more than six and if you do, you will be breaking the law.

and anyone breaking the rules risks being dispersed, fined and possibly arrested. it does not include schools or work places, and some team sports, weddings and funerals can go ahead, but this is a big change after weeks of the rules being relaxed. i am sorry about that, and i wish that we did not have to take this step. but as your prime minister, i must do what is necessary to stop the spread of the virus and to save lives. and as we head into autumn and winter, we may be in it for another long haul. we will collectively as a nation have to look again at where things are and work out what are the right things to do. so people should notjust see this as a very short—term thing. they should see it over the next period but i think putting an exact time on it is very difficult. so from monday, police in england would have the power to break up nights like this — a party in bristol on saturday night.

cases have risen most dramatically among the young, but their power to pass the virus on is where bigger danger lies. you've admitted today the advice has been confusing, so why should the public listen to you today? for the last few weeks, you've been telling people to go back to work and go to eat out and suddenly, you are putting limits on people's lives again. we are dealing with a pandemic that has evolved over many months and in that period, we have been responding to the disease in its various phases. this is not the start of another nationwide lockdown, but for many like marion, who wanted to bring everyone together next month to celebrate her 90th birthday, for families and friends, it means plans on hold again. people that i have not seen for a long time were all going to come and they were all saying, "it won't be postponed, will it, because of covid because we've had everything else cancelled 7 " i said, "no, i think it will be ok by october", but unfortunately, it is not going to happen.

while families will have to grapple with the new rules, labour backs the tightening. i think the government has now acknowledged that their poor communications were a large part of the problem, so that has got to be fixed. but they also need to recognise that the testing regime is all over the place at the moment. they can't pretend that is not the problem. that needs fixing as well. we support the principle of the measures and we ask everybody to follow those rules. tighter rules will stay in place in areas with the worst outbreaks, like bolton in the north west of england. in wales, up to four households can get together, but the rules that allow up to eight people from three different families in scotland to meet could yet change. we are carefully reviewing existing guidance and regulation as well as considering what new steps may be necessary to keep covid under control. and while race day fashion was matched with masks at doncaster races today, tomorrow, horses and riders will run in front of empty stands. the government ready to put more limits on our lives

rather than take a gamble. some other top stories this hour. brussels says it's holding an emergency meeting with britain on thursday, over borisjohnson‘s proposals to rewrite part of the brexit deal which he signed injanuary. the british government is planning new legislation, which would effectively overturn the withdrawal deal‘s carefully crafted compromise on customs and the northern irish border. the european commission president ursula von der leyen has said she's "very concerned" about the proposal. the crisis in belarus continues to escalate, with another prominent opposition leader being detained. maxim znak is a key figure in what the opposition calls its co—ordination council. his disappearance comes after maria kolyes—neekova was snatched by masked men on monday. the authorities are targetting the opposition after weeks of anti—government protests over last month's disputed election. the organisation behind

the oscars film awards is changing its rules to try to encourage diversity and inclusivity. from 2024, any film competing for the best picture award will have to meet specific targets on and off—screen, for people of colour, women, people with disabilities or members of the lgbtq community. the academy awards had previously been criticised for being ‘too white'. thousands of migrants on the greek island of lesbos have been left without shelter, after fire swept through europe's largest refugee camp. the moree—a refugee camp, which housed more than 12,000 people, has been largely destroyed. the camp had been placed in quarantine last week, as several cases of coronavirus were confirmed among residents. mark lowen has more. a camp often called a ticking time bomb has exploded. moria, four times over its capacity,

has been almost completely destroyed, an inferno in a place where life was already hell. the 13,000 migrants here, mostly afghans, fleeing again, this time in europe. my house is finished. many... all finished. at first light, it seemed the sun itself was on fire as a desperate attempt to douse the flames continued. inside, homes now a wasteland. pictures from the charity medecins sans frontieres show the gutted remains of europe's largest migrant camp. the government said the fire was started deliberately, a protest after 35 migrants who had tested positive for coronavirus were isolated. strong winds fanned it. the prime minister hit out at arsonists. translation: i express my sorrow over yesterday's events in moria.

i recognise the difficult conditions. however, nothing can become an excuse for violent reactions to health checks, and even more so for such extensive unrest. hundreds of thousands have passed through here, waiting for asylum claims that went nowhere. there were repeated warnings that the bottleneck couldn't last, its charred remains a symbol of how the eu turned a blind eye. lesbos is now in a state of emergency in a scramble to house the migrants and quarantine those infected. they had barely anything, but at least they had shelter. no more. mark lowen, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: thick smoke from wildfires turns the midday sky over san francisco, blood red.

the inquiry into the manchester arena bombing, in which 22 people were killed and hundreds injured, has been told that the attacker had been flagged for further investigation. 0ur correspondent fiona trott reports. the inquiry is focused on another question, could this attack have been prevented, and to answer that we've been told that over the coming months evidence will be scrutinised from m15. what intelligence was available, how is it assessed, what steps were taken as a result, and this is all because we heard during the inquiry that abedi was linked to people of interest, a friend did notice that he had more extreme views, was wearing more traditional clothing and talked about supporting is. he visited an extremist in prison and was talked about meeting this threshold of someone that needed

further investigation. that was due to start in may, but was overtaken by events nine days earlier we were told due to the arena bombing. this is bbc news, the latest headlines. the us democratic presidential contender, joe biden, accuses donald trump of lying about coronavirus, after a new book said the president deliberately underplayed the threat that it posed. and tighter restrictions are revealed in england to try and curb the spread of coronavirus — the prime minister says only six people will be able to meet at any one time. wildfires in california have turned the sky blood—red over san francisco. fires are burning out of control across swathes of california, along with other pacific coast states of washington and oregon, fuelled by strong winds and searing temperatures. let's and searing temperatures. crossover to speak to d willis let's crossover to speak to david willis come our north american correspondent whojoins

willis come our north american correspondent who joins us live now. they become of the images are absolutely staggering. the destruction is immense. —— it totally is. thousands of people here awoke to a apocalyptic grey or in some cases orange skies this morning. the arising cloud by a thick layer of smoke. california, 0regon thick layer of smoke. california, oregon and washington state, the worst affected, and it is very rare for fires of this ferocity and washington state because of the cool and wet climate there. yet the 0regon and wet climate there. yet the oregon state governor kate brown is warning of the worst fire season in history in that state. both in terms of the number of buildings destroyed in the number of lives lost. she has not specified however how many people have died in these current fires. 16,000 people have been evacuated, including as well as three prisons up there in oregon. a

more evacuations are expected in the next few hours. we are hearing comments from the california governor gavin newsom who is saying that he has no patience for climate change deniers saying their view is, they see something so completely different to anybody who feels that way. it is quite incredible what we are saying when it comes to the destruction from these fires. yes. gavin newsom has called us to a historic fire season, the largest in modern history as he put as far as the of acres destroyed is concerned. and mr newsom, who is hearing that so because santa ana seasonal winds will whip up some of those fires and make the situation even worse in the days ahead has said that if you have any doubt at all about the existence ofa any doubt at all about the existence of a global warming, you should come here to california and watch these fires and see for yourself. what i

would looking at in terms of the future, getting the fires under control? that's what i would like get. 14,000 firefighters deployed here in california alone. that includes firefighters from out of state and from other countries including israel and canada. the governor gavin newsom is putting some of his hope that the seasonal winds look to be perhaps not as ferocious as some had feared, but they are still some very big fires that are burning out of control, including karen california, two of the largest ever on record. —— including here in california. incredible. thank you, david. india has one of the highest suicide rates in the world and campaigners say it can be difficult to know where to turn in times of crisis. to coincide with world suicide prevention day, the country has launched its first ever national helpline, operating in 13 languages. ishleen kaur reports on the personal tragedy that helped to bring it into being.

this was just six days before 18—year—old raga took his life. january six, 2019 changed everything for his family, including his sister. it was very sudden. it was shocking. none of us saw it coming. so my family, we were shattered. we were broken. and it took us a long time to even sort of come to terms with what had happened to us. according to the latest report by the national crime records bureau, the number of indian men who took their own life was more than doubled than that of indian women. the public health foundation of india say that while it is true

that more indian men die from suicide every year, more women are attempting suicide. raashi started researching on suicides in india. and a helpline number she found in an internet search didn't work. what if my brother googled a helpline number, what if he tried calling the helpline number and he did not get a response? from that deep wound spawned a fierce determination. she started a petition to create a national helpline for suicide. the helpline, named kiren, is india's first ever national mental health helpline. when it got launched for the first time, i was able to take that sort of breath and just sit with that victory, sit with that win, and i guess i felt, my mum was next to me, and we bothjust broke down and we started crying

because in that moment, we truly, truly missed him. she feels there is a deep—rooted stigma around mental health in the society. today, she is a mental health advocate and works for campaigns around suicide prevention. while her pain of losing a younger sibling to suicide a younger sibling to suicide may never go away, she has found meaning and purpose in her efforts to ensure that more innocent lives are not lost in such unfortunate circumstances. if you've been affected by a mental health issue, help and support is available. visit befrienders worldwide for more information about support services. or in the uk you can call the samaritans free on 116 123. covid—19 may have crippled economies and industries worldwide, but it hasn't slowed down the illegal wildlife trade. experts say the trade in illegal

bush meat has exploded and believe poachers are stockpiling ivory until sea cargo returns to normal levels. so the launch of a new wildlife centre in singapore has come at a good time. authorities there seized nine tonnes of ivory worth more than 13 million us dollars in 2019. the haul was recently crushed and the process live—streamed on the internet. but before they destroyed it, researchers carried out dna testing on the ivory in a new facility designed to help wildlife detectives track down those responsible. my next guest is part of that project, sam wohser is the director of the centre for conservation biology at the university of washington and joins us from seattle. thank you forjoining us. before we talk about the ivory that you guys located, back in 2019, i want to ask you a general question, covid—19,

how has it affected the illegal wildlife trade? covid-19 has essentially eliminated tourist dollars a month protected areas across africa and one of the things that has resulted in is there are very few salaries left for rangers to patrol areas. so poaching has increased and in some areas, but the biggest increase that we have been saying as increases in bushmeat, this may be due to the need for extra income, orjust this may be due to the need for extra income, or just for food this may be due to the need for extra income, orjust forfood to feed yourfamilies, extra income, orjust forfood to feed your families, but there is a dramatic increase in bushmeat poaching that we are seeing across the continent. when it comes to the ivory, which was located, the nine tonnes of ivory that was then crushed in the whole process with livestream, what was it about the dna process that you and your team carried out that enabled you to

track where this came from? that work is still ongoing. but historically, what we have done or what we are doing with this seizure is we genotype a random sample of task from the seizure, generally around 200 task out of a seizure like this where there is maybe 1000 tusk total, and we are able to compare the genotypes of those test toa compare the genotypes of those test to a dna reference map that we have made for elephants across the africa. so that comparison allows us to pinpoint with pretty point that high accuracy were the ivory was actually post and the other thing we are able to do because now we have analysed so many seizures and collaborations with the singapore government and other governments that we can actually see where they tusk for the same family members are found between shipments and that allows us to connect shipments to multiple shipments to individual traffickers, as well as connect big

traffickers, as well as connect big traffickers to one another. and with the centre in singapore, it is made a record number of seizures are penguin skills and ivory. what is driving this increase? is a better law—enforcement or sadly more poaching? —— law—enforcement or sadly more oa ' law—enforcement or sadly more poaching? —— penguins goals. law—enforcement or sadly more poachi 7 —— ' law—enforcement or sadly more poaching? -- penguins goals. ithink it is more poaching. penguins are of course the most post animal in the world right now, and the night—time ivory seizure that you mentioned included 12 tonnes of penguins. —— penguin scales. in one of the things that we are finding is that about 2596 that we are finding is that about 25% of these large penguins seizures are co—mingled with ivory. we have seen a dramatic rise in the poaching of both penguin scales but also in imports of ivory. i wish we could and a more positive note but it is good to hear the word that you are.

thank you forjoining us like to talk to us about it. a lot more on our website. thank you for watching. following the latest changes to coronavirus rules announced by the government, we here on the bbc news channel want to help get your questioned answered. you may be confused about how the six person rule could affect you or maybe you run a hospitality business and have a question about managing contacts. whatever the query, you can get in touch with us by emailing yourquestions@bbc.co.uk or by using the hashtag #bbcyourquestions on twitter. good evening. the cloud and the odd spot of drizzle that we have had over our southern parts through today is clearing away, that is a weak weather front and it is weak because we have got a ridge of high pressure building across the uk at the moment and that is also reducing the amount

of showers that we are seeing in the north, they are becoming confined to the north—east of scotland. and actually, the cloud will tend to melt away as we go through the evening and overnight notjust the cloud either melting away but the winds will fall light. so, ingredients are there for a chilly night. it was quite muggy in the south in particular last night. it will be distinctly chilly overnight. the glens of scotland are expected to fall to freezing in a few spots. and further south through the countryside areas, into low single figures. the towns and cities as you can see here are low enough. so, a distinctly chilly start to our thursday morning. there could be a little mist around, even a little shallow fog and some of the river valleys. but that should clear and we should have plenty of sunshine, an abundance of sunshine first thing. the cloud will tend to build up through the day. it mightjust produce the odd shower for northern ireland but more so for western and northern scotland. further south and east, mostly dry and staying mostly dry for england and wales but notably, the temperatures are several degrees down on recent days. i still think it will feel pleasant enough because of the light winds and the sunshine.

it's still early september but it's a notable change. and so a chilly night will follow in the south tomorrow night but by that time, we have got low pressure establishing itself. so, showers merge into longer spells of rain, and quite heavy and substantial rain across the scottish mountains and also for northern ireland. northern england will also see some rains before it brightens into showers in the north but again, further south and east, largely settled and dry on friday, just a bit more cloud around. that weather front just about fizzles away, then, through friday night as it crosses into southern england but again to the north, we are watching that next pulse of rain come in on our next area of low pressure. so, initially starting as showers end of saturday. by the end of the day, it looks like we will see heavy rains spilling back into probably northern ireland, more so scotland. whilst elsewhere, parts of eastern scotland, much of england and wales largely dry, feeling warm with the light winds. and then as we change our up our wind direction into a more southerly for sunday, we will see it warm up again and our first pulse of rain clears away saturday night, so quite a wet night and potentially

some more rain for the far north—west than into sunday. but by that stage 24 in the south. this is bbc world news. the headlines: democratic presidential

contender, joe biden, has said donald trump knowingly and willingly lied about the threat posed by coronavirus. it follows the publication of excerpts from a new book by the journalist bob woodward, who spoke to mr trump in february and march as the virus was taking hold. tighter restrictions have been revealed in england to try and curb the spread of coronavirus, with the prime minister saying only six people will be able to meet at any one time. a fresh fire has broken out on the greek island of lesbos, destroying what was left of the country's biggest migrant camp. an earlier blaze had already spread through the site, leaving 13,000 people without shelter. wildfires have turned the day sky blood—red over san francisco. fires are burning out of control across swathes of california, along with other pacific coast states of washington and oregon.