welcome to bbc news — my name's mike embley. our top stories: a second fire breaks out a camp in lesbos as greek officials blame migrants for the blaze that's left thousands homeless. donald trump is accused of deliberately downplaying the dangers of coronavirus. he says he didn't want to panic the american people. and i don't want people to be frightened, i don't want to create panic as you say. the us speaker of the house warns britain there'll be no trade deal if the uk undermines the good friday agreement. and san francisco glows orange as devastating wildfires rage across the western united states.

hello to you. firefighters are battling a new fire on the greek island of lesbos a day after a huge blaze devastated the moria migrant camp. firefighters are trying to control the new blaze, which is destroying the remains of camp that at the start of the week was the only shelter for more than 12,000 refugees — europe's largest refugee camp. 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. the blaze has reignited calls for the eu to rethink it's asylum policy and take in far greater numbers of refugees to take the pressure of camps like moria. thousands of people rallied in berlin on wednesday, calling on the german government to increase its own refugee intake and use its power at the negotiating table in brussels to bring about reform — something the german foreign office has said is a priority in the wake of the crisis. avril benoit is executive director of medecins sans frontieres. she gave us her reaction to the events at the moria camp. it is absolutely shocking, isn't it? 12,000 people in what we have been describing for the last

five years as akin to an open—air prison, a place of despair, of children not having much of a life and then with the lockdown for the last several months making the conditions and detention all the worst. in some ways we're going to say anything but it is an absolutely shocking situation and as the people were fleeing they had nowhere to go on monday night. the fire was raging all night long so for a group of people who were already quite traumatised by everything they have gone through, the sense of hopelessness of being in this place with no sense of ever being able to move on with their lives, of reaching a place of safety in europe which was the destination, they, you know, now have a devastating

circumstance where it is not entirely clear what will happen to all of them now. do you think it is most likely the people living within the camp did set the fires that destroyed it to whether out of frustration, or perhaps to force the issue to get moved? i cannot answer that question and not from my vantage point. we know there were protests and the protest have been a long time coming. it has been an extremely difficult situation for these people to be trapped in. that is not forget that although they have fled afghanistan, or many other countries at war, we have unaccompanied minors in this group, we have people with covid—19 in this group and so the conditions that they were living in, in the sense that there was just no out and they would be trapped in this place had led to protest. i don't know what the link to the fires

is for sure we could sense that it was at an end point in terms of patience with the situation. for us, the human tragedy of the camp, the very existence of the camp is what we need to pay attention to and how we can move these people to a place of safety following due process and also respecting that they have rights to the dignity, to the services, to the healthcare that has been so limited over the last many years that so many of them have been dropped there. the camp was way over capacity, four times the number of people expected to be there and it seems the greek government recently added to the numbers. it also seems odd that if people can be moved now, why could they not have been moved earlier? that is certainly something that we have been calling on and other organisations as well.

many grassroots organisations have been saying this, that these people need to be moved on. many of the tent shelters and the structures were housing families of seven and then with the lockdown you can imagine how difficult this has been for them and with children so afraid of this virus that they do even want to go out themselves to it has been a circumstance where for five years we have been saying that this is untenable, why do we do this to human beings? why do we not find a solution for them whether it be on the mainland or other parts of europe. there are so many other options than the inhumanity that has befallen these people. that was avril from medicine sons frontier. it's emerged that donald trump deliberately played down the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic because, he said, he didn't want to cause panic.

the news comes from taped conversations with the journalist bob woodward, for a new book. 0n the tapes, the president describes the virus as "deadly stuff, certainly more serious than seasonal flu." at the time he was saying something very different, repeatedly, in public. more than 189,000 americans have since died from covid—19. from new york, the bbc‘s nick bryant. 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 his job 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. let's dig a little into the. doctor rishi desai is chief medical officer for the healthcare education platform 0smosis. doctor, i know you were previously an epidemic intelligence officer with the us centers for disease control, your backgreound is in public health. telling millions of people something you know is not true, evenif something you know is not true, even if your intentions are good, you want to avoid them panicking and keep them calm, it isa panicking and keep them calm, it is a risky strategy, isn't it? yes, i wouldn't even holiday strategy. i think it was basically a very dangerous thing he did and frankly i think it led to many, many more people dying and getting sick of covid. especially if you think about the fact that he knew about it, he knew it was very dangerous and deadly long before it was kind of widespread. that information was widespread. and then on the other hand, he was also

advocating for less testing. you put those two things together, that you know it is dangerous and trying to get less testing for it, then yes, it isa less testing for it, then yes, it is a really dangerous strategy and that is what he did. it is how we got here. let's west africa. if the president said publicly, what we now know he was saying in private —— let's talk this through. he may have provided lockdowns and made people wear masks and enforce social distancing. so to put it blu ntly, distancing. so to put it bluntly, if the president had told the truth in public, thousands of lives may have been saved? i will go a step further. not might have been, would have been. his actions clearly lead to a far more disastrous situation than when we are at. his point about panic is interesting ones. i don't think people panic with bad news. they panic when there is absent leadership and they panic when there is bad leadership stop so i think, if anything, a lot of the panic

that we see is a direct response to his failed leadership on this. there must bea leadership on this. there must be a risk too, this lack of transparency, this mixed messaging to put it politely will affect the ta ke—up messaging to put it politely will affect the take—up of any factory, —— vaccine, if there is one? you can do a good comparison, side—by—side, of doctor that she and donald trump on the virus. the types of messaging you have gotten from those two different people. doctor that she has been on a point on target and strong leadership throughout this entire time. he has not gone back and forth whereas donald trump has withheld valuable information and even gone out of his way not to wear a mask and withhold testing. very interesting to talk to you. thank you very much. thank you. the speaker of the us house of representatives has bluntly told the government in london there is absolutely no chance of a trade deal between the us and uk if borisjohnson

overrides the brexit deal he agreed and signed, with brussels, injanuary. the prime minister is proposing changes to the deal which might affect the good friday agreement, which helped bring peace to northern ireland. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young reports. do you still trust the british government, mr barnier? here to talk about a future trade deal, but the eu's chief negotiator arrived in london today with a huge row raging over an agreement that he thought was done and dusted. are you happy to break the law, prime minister? yesterday, the government shocked mps, admitting it was ready to break international law and override parts of the brexit treaty it signed with the eu injanuary. the prime minister denied that he was tearing it up. this uk internal market bill is about protecting jobs, protecting growth, ensuring the fluidity and safety of our uk internal market and prosperity throughout the united kingdom. and the former conservative

prime minister sirjohn major had a stark warning: the withdrawal agreement included unique arrangements for northern ireland trade to avoid a hard border with ireland, which is in the eu. but goods going back and forth between northern ireland and the rest of the uk will need extra checks and tariffs so that this trade doesn't interfere with the eu's single market. but now the uk government has published the internal market bill, which gives british ministers the power to decide for themselves how it will work. and the irish prime minister suggested this could all derail trade talks. unilateral actions which seek to change the operation of measures already agreed, included in an international treaty and incorporated into domestic law, do not build trust. when he met mrjohnson last month, talks were cordial.

according to dublin, when the two men spoke tonight, the taoiseach set out his concerns in forthright terms. so why has the government taken this incredibly provocative action? well, it thinks that the eu will have too much say over trade notjust in northern ireland, but the rest of the uk too. it wants to put pressure on the eu to compromise and even if the trade talks all collapse in acrimony, there are plenty in the conservative party perfectly happy with no deal. even conservative mps are unsure whether this is all a negotiating strategy. not for the first time, downing street is keeping everyone guessing. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. stay with us on bbc news — still to come: fire and disease — the twin tragedies affecting the lives of millions of people in brazil. george w bush: freedom itself

was attacked this morning, and freedom will be defended. the united states will hunt down and punish those responsible. bishop tutu now becomes spiritual leader of 100,000 anglicans here, of the blacks in soweto township, as well as the whites in their rich suburbs. we say to you today in a loud and a clear voice, "enough of blood and tears. enough!" translation: the difficult decision we reached together was one that required great and exceptional courage. it's an exodus of up to 60,000 people caused by the uneven pace of political change in eastern europe. iam free!

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: a second fire breaks out a camp in lesbos, as greek officials blame migrants for the blaze that's left thousands homeless. the us democratic presidential contender, joe biden, has accused donald trump of lying about coronavirus, after a new book said the president had deliberately underplayed the threat that it posed. sorry, we didn't fall asleep. we got some technical gremlins. we got some technical gremlins. we are still trying to sort them out but i willjust move

on. wildfires are still burning out of control along parts of the west coast of the united states. the governor of oregon says they could bring about the greatest loss in human lives and property in her state's history. in california, smoke and ash have turned the sky a dark orange. in butte county a sheriff reports 3 people in 2 different locations have perished there. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. this is san francisco in the middle of the day. the city by the bay, almost unrecognisable. look at the golden gate bridge, the same colour as the dark orange skies surrounding it. smoke and ash blocking out the sun, making it feel like the end of the world. 11:15am. crazy. 11:15 in the morning and it is like the middle of the night, almost. they're saying it is coming all the way from oregon, which is hundreds of miles away. and it looks like the apocalypse right now. it's like nighttime in the daytime.

in los angeles, the sky is a more normal colour, but the smoke is still there, a hazy mist enveloping much of the city, and this is the reason — just one of the fires burning out of control, here, in california and also further north. this was a trailer park in the town of medford, 0regon. there's not much left of it now the fire has ripped through it, destroying property, destroying lives. sheriff's coming through, going, "level three, get out, get out, and, yeah, grabbed some papers... grabbed some papers and stuff and this is it. this is what i've got. what you are wearing right now? this is what i've got... i am so sorry. for 0regon, this has been described as a once in a generation event, and it is a similar story for neighbouring states. this fire season is unprecedented, the flames continue to burn. tim allman, bbc news.

when it comes to the global pandemic, latin america has some of the worst affected countries in the world. brazil has recorded more than four million infections, 127,000 deaths. most recently the virus has been spreading inland, to areas near the amazon which are already enduring a crippling fire season. katy watson has been looking at the impact of dual tragedies. brazil's amazon is once again going up in smoke. a year after international outrage over the extent of the fires, they are back and as devastating as ever. but they are not just killing the rainforest, they are also choking its people. dr victorino has been working relentlessly for six months, dealing with covid—19. he is the best chance for the town's residents, who otherwise have to travel eight hours

to the nearest intensive care bed. the situation is not easing here, he says, he's still seeing new cases every day, but now it is fire season and the team is not just battling covid—19. translation: every day i have patients returning with breathing problems that are getting worse because of pollution and the fires in the area. they do not know it is because of the smoke, they think they've got covid—19 again. across town, dr lucas has taken an emergency call. to get there, we have to take a boat. it is not straightforward. we are trying to get across this river to follow an urgent case of suspected covid—19, but the ferry has gone — it won't come back and is not expected to return for another hour. this is the reality of emergency services in the amazon. finally, we are on our way.

dr lucas has been thrown in the deep end — the day after he graduated in march, the world health organization declared a pandemic. 62—year—old 0delli has all the symptoms of covid—19 and her son is in hospital with the virus. the team test her but the result is negative. it could be two things, the dr lucas tells 0delli, perhaps it is too early to do the test. in these parts of the amazon they only have access to rapid tests rather than the more reliable swab test, or dr lucas suggests it could be smoke inhalation. translation: i am not ruling covid—19 out because her smell and taste are affected and the patient has a cough, coronavirus is still coursing its way through the community, but their problems are bigger than just covid—19, people here are on the frontline, living on the crosshairs of both the virus and the fires. katy watson, bbc news.

hundreds of farmers and peasants have seized control of a dam in the north of mexico after violent clashes with the national guard. protesters threw petrol bombs and stones, the troops responded with teargas and rubber bullets before escaping. tensions have been rising since sunday when authorities decided to open the gates of the dam — in chihuahua state — to divert water towards the united states. this from our correspondent, will grant. water is so scarce in this part of northern mexico that blood was spilt over it. armed with little more than pickaxes and machetes a group of local farmers and agricultural workers descended on the dam to force out the national guard who had taken over the site. at least one protester was killed, another injured in the clashes. this is a reaction from

citizens defending their homeland, said one protester. what is everyone's heritage, it belongs to everyone in chihuahua, to all mexicans, he added. specifically, they are furious over a treaty reached with the united states in 19114 over the region's water. the mexican border authorities say that under the terms of the agreement they have two divert much of the precious resource to the richer neighbours. they are suffering from the widespread drought and this is no time to send any water north. translation: we are not going to have water for our crops. if we don't have waterfront crops, people from the town can't eat little obviously not being a very big economic problem for the state. even the president chimed in on the cross—border water conflict and defended the actions of his troops. translation: it's very u nfortu nate troops. translation: it's very unfortunate what happened. and a prudent manner, the national guard left the scene so as to

avoid confrontation stop you consider it an adequate response to the guardsman. may be the president considered the response adequate but the people who live around the dam do not, and the attorney general‘s office has opened an investigation into the death of the protester. in the meantime, the protester. in the meantime, the majority of the state of chihuahua is in drought. with many mexicans already in dispute with the trump administration over issues of a free trade and immigration, it seems sharing water may be the source of more conflict ahead. will grant, bbc news. india has one of the world's highest suicide rates and as for so many, in so many countries, it can be difficult to know where to turn in times of crisis. to coincide with world suicide prevention day, india has launched its first national helpline, operating in 13 languages. ishleen kaur reports on the personal tragedy that helped 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 was born 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 both just 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 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. time now for the weather. hello. for many, wednesday was a reasonable day but for some, and this was the scene and st ives round about the sort of the lunch time period, it was notjust a sparkly as it might‘ve been.

we've got this chilly start because the skies have cleared under the little ridge of high pressure, wednesday's front into the near continent stopping the best of the morning sunshine, eastern side of scotla nd morning sunshine, eastern side of scotland and england under the southern counties too perhaps, but come the afternoon, we will thicken the cloud through the afternoon and the rain certainly gets into finish off the afternoon through northern and western parts of scotland, notjust as warm as we have had it of late. got a wet night comfort scotland, northern ireland, thursday into friday and a wet day at least for a time because that rain is going to take a time to pull through scotland, northern ireland to eventually get into the north of england and north wales. brighter skies with a shower or two and a blustery day following along behind. further south a dry day throughout with a wee bit of sunshine, you could make 20.

this is bbc news — the headlines: firefighters are battling a new fire on the greek island of lesbos a day after a huge blaze destroyed the moria migrant camp — europe's largest. there's an international effort to help the greek government cope and a state of emergency has been declared. it's emerged that donald trump deliberately played down the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic because, he says, he didn't want to cause panic. in taped conversations with the journalist bob woodward, for a new book, the president describes the virus as "deadly stuff," certainly more serious than seasonal flu. at the time he was saying something very different, repeatedly, in public. the speaker of the us house of representatives has warned the government in london there is "absolutely no chance" of a trade deal with the uk if boris johnson overrides the good friday agreement that helped bring peace to northern ireland. mrjohnson wants to overturn parts of the brexit deal he negotiated with the eu.