this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk signs its first major post—brexit trade deal with japan. the government says 99% of exports to the country will be tariff—free. what i am announcing today is that we have successfully reached agreement, in principle, on the japan trade deal, which will enable british businesses to have more opportunities overseas. it comes as trade talks between the eu and the uk are set to resume next week — despite the bitter rift over the uk's government's plan to change the brexit withdrawal agreement. face coverings in shops and indoor public spaces are to become compulsory in wales for the first time. the uk economy grew

by more than 6% injuly but it remains well below pre—pandemic levels. if you would like to get in touch with us... also this hour. thousands of migrants are still being left to sleep in the open after their camp on the greek island of lesbos burned down. microsoft says it has thwarted cyber—attacks from russia, china and iran targeting the us presidential election. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world 7 and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe.

i'm annita mcveigh. the uk has announced it's signed its first major post—brexit trade deal with japan. the government says 99% of exports to japan will be tariff—free — boosting the british economy by an estimated £15 billion. meanwhile, trade talks between the eu and the uk are due to resume next week despite the bitter rift over the government's plan to modify the brexit withdrawal agreement. joining me now from westminster is our political correspondent, jessica parker. talk us to do nuts and bolts of this deal with japan and how does it differ with the deal with japan that the uk had as part of the eu? good morning. you will hear a lot from the government over the coming days about this. the first major post brexit trade deal agreed. they say it will bring a boost of £15 billion to the uk economy and, after a few false starts and it has been now

agreed in principle. what the government is saying, it is notjust a copy and pastejob government is saying, it is notjust a copy and paste job from what the eu had with japan, but there are provisions which take it further, advancing, they talk about a deal that sees tariffs falling on pork, beef, salmon and a range of other products, they talk about benefits in terms of data provisions and improve market access for uk financial services. so this will be seen as financial services. so this will be seen as a financial services. so this will be seen as a win for the government but it is worth contextualising it a little. japan makes up around 2% of uk exports. and an entity that makes up uk exports. and an entity that makes upa larger uk exports. and an entity that makes up a larger percentage of uk exports is of course the european union. you mentioned before, those trade talks are still going on. they are set to resume next week under a cloud of a dispute about what the government here is trying to do regarding what was agreed in the past around the withdrawal agreement, ministers trying to give themselves powers to

matter one part of that agreement to keep the uk eternal market free and flowing in the event of no—deal, and it was an issue put to the international trade secretary liz truss this morning. what i've said is it is very important we protect the good friday agreement. that is a key aspect of the peace process. and thatis key aspect of the peace process. and that is what we are determined to do. and what i'm announcing today is that we have successfully reached agreement in principle on the japan trade deal, which will enable british businesses to have more opportunities overseas. liz truss mentions the good friday agreement. we have heard very clearly from another, bigger trading partner, we have heard very clearly from another, biggertrading partner, the usa, that if the government goes ahead with its plans that, then, there will not be a us— uk trade deal post brexit. giving those sorts

of noises, and the rumbles of discontent coming from conservatives in the house of lords, how much difficulty as the government going to have, to actually do what it wa nts to to have, to actually do what it wants to do? it's a really good question. there are rumblings in the house of commons, amendment set to go down, to try to challenge the government on the planned legislation that it is putting forward , legislation that it is putting forward, and some pretty loud rumbling in the house of lords from lord howard, the former conservative leader, a prominent brexit supporter, but yesterday he echoed concerns we have heard more broadly that going against international law, as ministers have admitted this would do, in a specific and limited way, there is a fear amongst some that it would damage the uk's reputation abroad, and damaged trust in the uk that it can stick to its agreements. ministers say they are committed to the withdrawal agreement and what is known as the northern ireland protocol stop they need to make these potential modifications in order to protect

peace in northern ireland and the uk's internal market. it will be interesting to see next week the passage of the bill through the house of commons, to what extent potential rebels have in drumming up support, of course johnson potential rebels have in drumming up support, of coursejohnson has an 80 strong majority, and whether the discomfort and anger in the house of lords translates to them trying to do something about it, so you could potentially see more amendments coming from the house of lords when the legislation reaches that chamber as well. so there could be attempts to water down what the government is doing. for the government's park, they don't have time on the side. they've said to the eu they want agreement by mid—0ctober in order to have future trade talks ready to go by then, in order to implement that by then, in order to implement that by january one, 2021, by then, in order to implement that byjanuary one, 2021, and by then, in order to implement that by january one, 2021, and they want to get this legislation in place by then, as well. thank you very much, jessica parker at westminster.

people in wales must wear face masks in shops and other indoor public spaces from monday. the first minister mark drakeford said the change came as 20 people in every 100,000 in wales now has coronavirus. wales will also follow england and scotland and ban indoor gatherings of more than six people from monday. the new rules mean that only up to six people aged 11 plus will be able to meet indoors in wales. groups of up to 30 will still be allowed to meet outside, unlike other parts of the uk. and face masks will now be mandatory in shops and in other enclosed public spaces. there have been recent changes in scotland too. there, first minister nicola sturgeon announced yesterday that up to six people will be allowed to meet indoors and outdoors, from monday. this will not apply for those younger than 12 years of age. in northern ireland, six people from two households are able to meet indoors. and the maximum number of people who can meet outdoors has been reduced from 30 to 15.

and new stricter local restrictions have been reintroduced in parts of northern ireland, including parts of greater belfast. in england, the prime minister, borisjohnson, announced this week that from monday a new rule of six will apply for indoors and outdoors. later today public health england is expected to release data showing which local authorities in england have seen covid increases. newcastle and gateshead councils have already confirmed they will be added to the so—called watchlist. jon donnison reports. newcastle and gateshead councils have already confirmed they will be added to the updated list, which will be published later. gateshead said cases had more than tripled in the past seven days, with 113 new ones in the first week of september. around 55 cases per 100,000 people. the mayor of liverpool, joe anderson, said he fears the whole of merseyside will be joining them because

of rising infection rates there. areas on the so—called enhanced support watchlist are given additional resources by the government such as greater levels of testing, in order to avoid stricter local restrictions being brought in like we've seen in some parts of the country. in england, it already includes major cities like birmingham and leeds. in wales, merthyr tydfil and rhondda cynon taff are being watched closely. meanwhile yesterday, northern ireland took the decision to impose restrictions on ballymena and parts of belfast. so we have the opportunity now to push down on this rising curve of infection and we must take that opportunity. we all know that we are facing into the difficult autumn and winter months which traditionally see pressures on our health services and our decisions today will protect those services and we believe also save lives.

this morning, wales has announced it's limiting the number of people who can meet indoors at any one time to six and all must belong to the same extended household group. yesterday, scotland joined england with its own rule of six — no more than half a dozen people from two households can meet, although children under 12 are exempt. jon donnison, bbc news. earlier i spoke to the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, about the changes to regulations there. in relation to young children and meeting indoors, you our evidence is that young children do not pass on the virus to others in the way that adults do, and don't sufferfrom coronavirus in the way that older people do. and it wasn't proportionate to prevent them from meeting with olderfamily members indoors, so we are not including them in the rule of six, and we don't have evidence, in wales, that the virus

is being passed to other people when they meet outside in the open air. we have long had evidence here that that the virus doesn't spread in the fresh air, in the sunlight, in the way that it does indoors, and it wasn't proportionate to prevent people from getting together outside while the weather is still making that possible. looking at what you deem to be proportionate, what you said about young children and the evidence you have that they don't pass on coronavirus in the same way, and therefore, for example can meet grandparents and other older relatives, really interesting. tell us the evidence you have on that, because lots of people have been concerned in england, for example, about children not being able to see grandparents. there is more than one form of harm from coronavirus. there is the direct harm from people who catch it, but there is the social and emotional harm from families not being able to meet one another.

it is only in quite recent weeks that in wales we have been able to move to a position where extended families can get together in a single extended household, but we are having to narrow down the numbers that can meet indoors, at any one time. we want to limit the damage that that will do to children and wider family members from over— restricting their ability to gather, whilst the virus in many parts of wales remains very effectively suppressed. that is why you see different regimes in different parts of the uk. the level of coronavirus is different in different parts, also. attempts are continuing to find shelter for almost 13,000 migrants stranded after their camp on the greek island of lesbos burned to the ground. france, germany and the netherlands have offered to take in a small number of unaccompanied children.

bethany bell reports from lesbos. these migrants have spent another night sleeping rough on the side of streets, some people sleeping in fields and olive groves. this is one of the main streets are the sea in lesbos, you can see behind me, people have been camping out on the side of the roads, and car parks, petrol stations and supermarkets. we have seen some aid workers coming and bringing people food and water, but people have been struggling to wash themselves, using little plastic bottles. the locals here, the greeks, are very worried about the greeks, are very worried about the prospect of another temporary camp being built here, and some roads on the island have been blocked because of protests from the locals, and if you speak to the migrants as well, they say they do not want to stay here, either. they wa nt to not want to stay here, either. they want to go somewhere else to be able to have a better life, so the

authorities are struggling with these very difficult questions. in these very difficult questions. in the meantime, the people here fear that they will be facing more nights sleeping out in the open. bethany bell on the island of lesbos. there have been more changes to quarantine rules, as travellers returning to england and northern ireland from mainland portugal will now have to self—isolate for 1h days from early tomorrow morning. wales and scotland had already imposed the mandatory two weeks of quarantine for portugal earlier this month. the new rules also apply to travellers from hungary, who will also be required to self—isolate from 4am on saturday. but sweden has been made exempt from quarantine for england, northern ireland, wales, and scotland. let's speak about first country on that list. joining me now is sophie sadler who is the editor of tomorrow magazine, an english language publication based in western algarve. thank you very much forjoining us.

how big a loss will be in canby for portugal from tourists in this month in particular —— how big a loss will the income be. it is going to be fairly devastating. i think everyone is upset. we literally have just gone on the safe list on the 22nd. we were really hopeful that business owners could claw back some of the lost income, and now we are back on the quarantine list and although it wasn't unexpected because we have seen a wasn't unexpected because we have seen a rise in cases, those cases have very much been centred around lisbon and the north and centre of portugal and yet it is the algarve that suffers the most because we are so that suffers the most because we are so reliant on tourism. just to give you an example, i have been talking to local business owners whose

takings are down on average between 70-80% takings are down on average between 70—80% year on year. 60% of most people's business during the peak months is british. so, although we did see more visitors in august, the loss of the british is very devastating and it means that most businesses probably will not open again next year. are those businesses hopeful that they may claw back some money if after the school holiday period there are still people prepared to come even if they have to quarantine on their return to the uk? it is a different demographic that comes to the algarve, apart from just holiday—makers. we see a lot of second home owners or people that spend the winter here over the

winter therefore quarantine when they go home might not be such a big issue to them, and spending longer periods here. that will hopefully save some income, but probably not enough because a lot of the businesses are very hand to mouth. they rely for the majority of their income on the peak summer months. the other thing is the social impact it is having locally on the population as a whole. in portugal, we have this situation, particularly in the algarve, where people on the minimum wage live on benefits throughout the winter then they get jobs in march, april time, when the season starts, so, when they would have normally started work, covid hit, so a lot of these people have been out of work since last winter

so, we been out of work since last winter so, we are been out of work since last winter so, we are seeing been out of work since last winter so, we are seeing a been out of work since last winter so, we are seeing a lot of problems with unemployment. increasingly these people are going to lose their homes, they cannot afford the rent, i have been talking to a woman last night he was saying that a lot of these people are now in total despair. it is a long period to struggle through, isn't it? it must be incredibly frustrating for the sort of business owners that you have been talking to. they will be unsure about whether their businesses can keep going after the winter, even though they know that eventually, once we get through the pandemic, the demand would return. is there any kind of assistance? we've been talking about the further scheme in the uk. is there any kind of assistance, financial help, to tide them through this period? there was initially although that

finished. that helped people through until they were able to open again after lockdown lifted. but most business owners and tell me that it's probably not enough. many are trying hard just to keep going, to keep their staff in employment. and we will have to wait and see whether people will be able to continue, and what sort of visitor levels will help over the winter, because, for example between april and june flights into faro, the traffic drop by 97%, which shows you how huge it was. so, we will have to see. and it is the uncertainty, of course. we saw lots of people booking again when we were on the safe list and talking to hotel owners, we have to question whether people are going to rebook because there is so much

uncertainty. hopefully, the people who spend their winters here will still come but we are still reliant on the main tourism trend and the people that come out for their holidays. very interesting to talk to you, sophie. thank you for telling us about the situation there, editor of tomorrow magazine which is based in the western algarve. the uk economy has continued its recovery — it grew 6.6% injuly 2020. but that was a little slower than in june, and the economy is still nearly 12% lower than pre—crisis levels. earlier i spoke to our business presenter, ben thompson who is in the city of london for us — and i asked him to put these figures into context for us. there's lots of explaining to do about what these figures tell us. we have a glorious vantage point across the city of london. here, like everywhere, they will be trying to digest the numbers to make sense of what they mean for our day—to—day lives.

it is easy to get caught up in percentages and headlines, but what this tells us is that whilst the economy grew 6.6% in july, the overall economy still is 12% smaller than it was before the coronavirus pandemic began. we know that businesses were hit hard when they were shut during lockdown and they have struggled to reopen, they've had to reduce capacity, many businesses still not able to get back to full, normal business, especially talking about things like travel and tourism. huge problems for getting the economy working again. the july figures tell us that the economy is on the mend. more of us able to go back out and spend or to get back to the office or usual workplace, pubs and restaurants able to reopen injuly as well, so some good news, but still a lot of work to do to get back to where we were before this began. earlier i spoke to the head of equities here at schroders, and she said it could be 2021, or 2022, before things start to feel normal again.

this is a very open question. much depends on the state of the virus, how much confidence people have got, what restrictions are in place, and allow the economy to start to regain some of that normalcy. and i think it is going to take the balance of this year and next before we can re cover this year and next before we can recover the ground lost so, for 2020, we will still have an economy that could be one tenth smaller, 10% smaller, than what we had in 2019, and that has implications forjob prospects and the wealth and opportunity for many people in this country. you talk about those opportunities. jobs in focus now, lots of people worried about whether they will still have a job at the end of the year, and because for the chancellor to extend that further scheme. the real pain is still to

come as far asjobs scheme. the real pain is still to come as far as jobs are concerned. people who are on furlough, about one quarter of those, people still one quarter of those, people still on furlough, feel quite uncertain about theirjob prospects. they feel vulnerable to being made redundant. and so that is really the key. how quickly can those people find new jobs's quickly can those people find new jobs 's and what happens to people on furlough? the chancellor will have big questions to answer, as to whether it is right to extend or whether it is right to extend or whether the tapering at the end of october is the end of the furlough support. the uk's chancellor, rishi sunak, has been urged by a cross—party group of mps to consider "targeted extensions" to the coronavirus furlough scheme. the coronavirusjob retention scheme, which has supported millions of workers temporarily laid off because of the pandemic, is due to end on 31st october.

some fear that could lead to mass unemployment. mel stride, conservative mp and chair of the treasury committee, joins me now. thank you forjoining us. how would this targeted extension be assessed ‘s which businesses with a little extra help could come out of the other side of covid as sustainable, and given that the government could need to borrow up to 390 billion in the coronavirus financial year, the assessment of the office for budget responsibility, can it afford more debt? in terms of can it afford more debt, it is certainly racking up a lot of it but at the moment interest rates are very low and governments are able to service that debt at an attractive rate. it needs to make sure it can continue to do that but the signs are that it will be able to do so, for some time. to come to your point about furlough, what the

committee is suggesting is not wholesale extension of existing arrangements which which would be very expensive but a targeted approach recognising that there are some companies and businesses that have done quite well out of the virus, these conditions have suited them, thinking of online retailfor example. there are other areas where, as we go through this recovery, the new economy is just not going to work in terms of their own business models and they will not be able to survive and then there are businesses where we can target support, which are going to be able to survive in the medium to long term but need additional help to get through the remainder of the crisis. some questions as to which businesses those are, that is a difficultjudgment to businesses those are, that is a difficult judgment to make businesses those are, that is a difficultjudgment to make because it depends on where you think the virus is going and what you think the structural changes to the economy will be as a result, but these are the things the treasury needs to think deeply about using

its models, using all of the intelligent people who work in the treasury. it needs to be done very quickly. the chancellor has been very cautious when asked about possible extensions to the furlough scheme has the context changed given what we heard in the downing street news co nfe re nce what we heard in the downing street news conference on wednesday with a chief medical officer saying this is not a short—term thing, talk of current restrictions possibly going into next spring. do you think that is going to persuade the chancellor that he needs to take a fresh look at possible extensions? quite possibly. 0ur belief is that he really needs to do that. if you look at the way the chancellor has responded to this crisis, he came out very quickly with very bold measures, at scale and pace, and those are the right things they have done, bringing infurlough, and he has shown ability to adapt as the situation has changed, so one looks at the loan scheme is the treasury came forward with, all sorts of changes made there, and making sure

that money got out of the door fast enough, so we need to see that very much now in terms of targeting further support. do you think he'll listen now because this is the second report from the committee on the economic impact of covid and he did not follow through on recommendations from your last report on gaps in support, the group of people calling themselves excluded we didn't qualify for the furlough scheme. obviously, that group of people, you are concerned about what is going on for them, aren't you? absolutely. we had a full inquiry and produced a report as you said into the gaps in support. 0ver as you said into the gaps in support. over a million people we believe should have had support. principally self—employed people, freelancers, soul company directors who should have received support and didn'tand we who should have received support and didn't and we have been disappointed about that and made it clear in our second report but, as to targeting

measures around furlough and other elements of the report such as some elements of the report such as some element of debt forgiveness or how we handle the way that mark rutte will emerge from the crisis saddled with debt and at the same time expected to take on employment and drew thejobs of expected to take on employment and drew the jobs of the future, how are thoseissues drew the jobs of the future, how are those issues are addressed and there isa those issues are addressed and there is a lot in the report around that. lots for the chancellor to think about stop can be nimble footed stop i think he is a good minister and i hope that a number of recommendations here will find favour with him. you recommend action to boost consumer spending after eat 0ut action to boost consumer spending after eat out to help 0ut. do you have specific ideas on that? what the chancellor has done so far is targeting the cut in stamp duty for property, which has seemed to move the property market in a positive direction. you mentioned eat 0ut the property market in a positive direction. you mentioned eat out to help 0ut. direction. you mentioned eat out to help out. there are a number of fiscal measures he could consider.

changes to national insurance, for example, which is a tax onjobs effectively at a time when we need jobs to be expanding. he could look at measures around vat, which has the advantage of injecting very quickly fiscal support and stimulus into the economy. there are a range of tools in the box and the point remains, he needs to look carefully at what happens over the coming weeks, to see what is happening to demand, going into 0ctober, weeks, to see what is happening to demand, going into october, as eat 0ut demand, going into october, as eat out to help 0ut has come to an end, where the economy is, and to react quickly. frankly, he needs to come to the house of commons on a regular basis to make changes. that is not a sign of weakness. that will be a sign of weakness. that will be a sign of weakness. that will be a sign ofa sign of weakness. that will be a sign of a chancellor adjusting to rapidly changing circumstances. while we have got you with us, i also want to ask about government plans to change the brexit withdrawal agreement, if i may. we have heard about the japan trade deal signed in principle. that is

going to be a boost for digital trade, financial services, but at 0.07% of gdp, it is a fraction of what the uk would stand to lose for forgoing the relationship with the eu, and, given the concerns expressed by other significant post brexit trading partners, the uk hopes, like the usa, about changing the brexit withdrawal agreement, do you think this hardball approach we are seeing from the government at the moment is wrong?|j are seeing from the government at the moment is wrong? i have to say that, to be in a position where the government minister is standing up in the house of commons and says the government intends to breach an international treaty is not something i am at all comfortable with. i think, something i am at all comfortable with. ithink, in something i am at all comfortable with. i think, in terms of the ramifications for the brexit deal, it is difficult to tell. i am not on the inside of that. it could cut one of two ways. it could be detrimental

to getting a deal, or it could focus minds. who knows? it is certainly the case that the japanese deal is very welcome indeed, at the same time the point you have made is absolutely right. to get a good trading deal with our biggest partner right on our doorstep is an absolute priority. and i don't think we wa nt absolute priority. and i don't think we want to be going down the route of no—deal, so i'm just hopeful that the government and the eu will come together at the 11th hour, and come together at the 11th hour, and come toa together at the 11th hour, and come to a sensible arrangement. and if they do not, if there is legal action from the eu, if it plays out in that direction, do you believe it ultimately will be bad for the uk economy? what will be bad for the uk economy? what will be bad for the uk economy is if there is a new deal when there's an opportunity here to have a sensible trade deal with the eu. if we come out without a deal, there would be two major implications, one would be friction on our borders, and if relations with the eu have soured, whilst we

may get the right approach outside of our side of the border it does not mean that the other eu 27 will be helpful when it comes to getting traffic moving on their side of the border, and the second thing is tax. —— the second thing is tariffs, if there is no deal, then substantial ta riffs there is no deal, then substantial tariffs on cars and agricultural products and other important export items for us will come into play and that could be very painful. will you vote against the bill next week? the bill will come on monday for a second reading. iam bill will come on monday for a second reading. i am going to be focused on the committee work we are discussing now. iwill focused on the committee work we are discussing now. i will be looking at it very closely over the weekend and taking decisions next week, as the bill makes its progress through the house of commons. you're not prepared to say yet. house of commons. you're not prepared to say yetlj house of commons. you're not prepared to say yet. i need to have a close look at this. it is a very big call. an important piece of legislation. i absolutely want to go

into detail and i will be doing that this weekend and i the critical phase for the bill will be actually in committee to look at the kind of amendments that may be put down at that stage, and particularly to take decisions at that particular moment when i see what that detail is. the chair of the commons treasury committee, mel stride mp, thank you for your time. the chief executive of one of the world's biggest mining companies rio tinto has announced he is leaving the firm after a scandal in australia. in may, the world's biggest iron ore miner destroyed the sacred aboriginal sites in pilbara, western australia. they were among the oldest historic sites in australia. 0ur correspondent in sydney, shaimaa khalil, has more details. ithink, you know, this controversy has just been run —— rumbling on for months now, and there are two main elements to it. one, of course, is the historical significance of thejuukan gorge

shelters, but also how rio tinto has handled this whole scandal for weeks and weeks with back—and—forth, notjust with government leaders, and with aboriginal groups and elders, but also with shareholders, as well. the most that they have done before what happened today was that last month they actually stripped these three executives of their multi—million—dollar bonuses, and that has actually backfired, with many saying this as completely divorced from reality, to cut the pay of already significantly highly—paid executives and, of course, these are some of the most, or were, should i say, one of the most significant historical sites. these dated back 116,000 years back. some of the artefacts that were found there were between 28,000 years, 4,000 years, so the history is of a great significance, and so, of course, is the loss. yeah. many people, of course, would say that the — you might call it the economic miracle of australia over the last couple of decades has been built

on extracting minerals from the soil. that's what they do, they've done it very effectively. this is the price you pay. well, and i think that scandal really highlights it, and it highlights it in the most stark of lights, if you will. this balance that this country of so many significant resources where it actually built its riches up against its historical sites, the historical significance, and the respect it should pay for its aboriginal community, that dates back 50,000 years on this land, and i think this case is really highlighting this power imbalance, if you will, between the mining industry, a very influential industry here in australia, and what the government is called on to do to protect traditional owners of this land and their ancestral sites. six months ago today the world health organization declared covid—19 to be

a global pandemic. no continent has been spared, hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives and the economic impact has been devastating. infections are growing faster in india than anywhere else in the world. it has just reported its highest single—day spike in new cases with 96,551. for the last ten days there's been more than 1,000 deaths every 2a hours. here's yogita limaye. india now has consistently the highest number of new coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, every day. back in march, it was one of the countries that had imposed quite a stringent lockdown relatively early, and in those initial months it had seemed as though this had at least slowed the spread of the virus. but health experts say not enough was done then to aggressively track and test, and that's why the country has not been able to curb the spread of covid—19. its graph remains on an upward

trend, and it is growing steeper as the economy opens up further. earlier this week metrorail systems were opened up in cities across the country. later this month gatherings of up to 100 people will be allowed. schools and universities remain closed and international travel still has not been allowed. so, six months on, how has the virus been managed in different countries? we can speak now david dowdy is associate professor in the department of epidemiology at the bloomberg school of public health at the johns hopkins university. good to have you with us today on bbc news. the situation as we heard in india is indeed a desperate one. six months ago when the who declared this a global pandemic, do you think anyone had any idea we would get to this stage? i think that people knew this would bea i think that people knew this would

be a big problem. maybe eight months ago so much but six months ago i think many people thought this could bea think many people thought this could be a really big deal throughout the world. talk to us about the way different countries have handled this virus. we knew from the outset there was lots we did not know about covid—19, there is still lots we don't know in terms of how it behaves although treatments within hospital settings have evolved. looking at how different places in the world have handled it, is it possible at this stage to say which have been better? certainly there have been wide differences in the way this has been handled, we have seen very strict responses from countries like china, very aggressive responses from south korea, vietnam, and much more lenient responses in other countries like sweden and here in the united states. it may be a little too early to say

which of these has been better. but we do know that in general those that have had more lenient responses have had more deaths and cases to date. that leads me on to questions about the subject of herd immunity which was discussed widely at the beginning of the pandemic. is it much too early to say whether herd immunity is building at all? certainly immunity is building in the population but it is a slow process. it is unlikely that in any country right now any large country, that we have levels of immunity that are higher than maybe 25%. and so we probably need to get further along than that to say that we have population herd immunity. it is building slowly and we still have a long way to go. can we even say it is possible to

have herd immunity from covid—19, and where we are seeing some level of immunity, would you say it is happening more slowly compared to other viruses? it is certainly possible to have herd immunity. 0ne it is certainly possible to have herd immunity. one could argue it is inevitable, inevitably we will get there, whether it is through having cases and deaths for many months, or through a vaccine. i think it is a matter of how we get there and how we get there with the least amount of suffering and death as possible. we looked earlier at the different approaches from various countries around the world, and where there have been really strict measures. thinking of south africa which had an incredibly tough regime to begin, but once that was eased the cases started to rise quickly.

what do you think about the pattern of the behaviour of the virus as various countries take a more targeted approach to deal with localised spikes? if anyone tells you they know exactly what will happen with the virus in the next few months, they are probably not telling the truth. what we have learnt about this virus is it is unpredictable, and as you say, as responses become more targeted, countries in the northern hemisphere which i did with schools coming online and opening, it is difficult to say what will happen in the next few months. we could see a dramatic spike in cases, we could see continued flattening of the pandemic. is it your sense of this virus is more unpredictable than others you have looked at? it is certainly the most unpredictable we have seen in the

past couple of decades. it is a com pletely past couple of decades. it is a completely new virus so we have nothing to go on. ican nothing to go on. i can look to how the flu has spread in past years and have a sense of how it might spread this year but i have no idea what has happened with the new coronavirus because we have never seen the new coronavirus because we have never seen it before. therefore, until and if there is a vaccine, impossible i guess to say when we might be through the worst, ina when we might be through the worst, in a global context? i think it is difficult to say. i am hopeful that we might be through the worst of it on a global scale. but we are certainly going to see large outbreaks and still see thousands of deaths every day. so we still have a long way to go. thank you very much for your time.

earlier this year, spain was one of the hardest hit countries in europe by the covid outbreak. the country brought in strict lockdown measures, and for a while they seemed to be working. cases were down, and life started going back to normal. a bit. but there's been a resurgence of new infections in recent weeks, even as children have started going back to school. guy hedgecoe reports from madrid. for this seven—year—old, this is a big day. a national knock—down followed by the long summer holiday have meant she is going to school for the first time in six months. 0ver for the first time in six months. over 8 million spanish children are going back to the classroom this month. they want to come back to school because they miss their friends, their teachers. it is a nice moment for them. the return to school is being staggered according to age groups as pa rt staggered according to age groups as part of efforts to prevent the

spread of coronavirus. it is just spread of coronavirus. it isjust one spread of coronavirus. it is just one of many new measures. children aged six and over must now wear face masks. at children aged six and over must now wearface masks. at this primary school, and in all schools across spain. i think what is going to happen is we are going to open the schools this week and probably start closing, opening, closing, opening, like that, an intermittent model. this second wave of the virus is affecting younger people more than the first wave. although infections have been rising steadily, the death rate has remained relatively low and hospitalisation rates are still well below the levels of march and april. the response to the recent resurgence of coronavirus in spain has been for local authorities to reintroduce restrictions in those areas affected. for example in madrid a few days ago a local

government announced new limits on social contact in public spaces such as bars and restaurants. my worry is we reach autumn and winter and my worry is we reach autumn and winterand then our my worry is we reach autumn and winter and then our behaviour changes, we become more indoors, we meet with friends, family, go to pubs and restaurants indoors. a perfect place for transmission. after a tragic spring and a difficult summer, spain is desperately hoping for something like a normal autumn. hackers linked to russia, china and iran are targeting people and organisations involved in the upcoming us presidential election, including the campaigns of both donald trump and joe biden. that's according to a report from the technology giant microsoft. the company says that the majority of these attacks were detected and stopped and that those targeted have been notified. nomia iqbal reports from washington. election campaigning

is well under way in the us but something the republican and the democratic parties both have in common right now are threats to undermine their campaigns. in a blog, microsoft identified russia, china and iran. it suggests that strontium, a russian group also known as "fancy bear", has gone after more than 200 organisations, including political campaigns, advocacy groups and political consultants. it's thought to be the same one which targeted hillary clinton's campaign in 2016. elsewhere, a chinese based group known as zirconium has attacked high—profile individuals involved in the election, including those linked to thejoe biden for president campaign. and a group operating out of iran, known as phosphorus, is thought to be targeting personal accounts of the people close to donald trump's presidential campaign. microsoft also said the same cyber attackers also targeted british political parties, but the us has

been here before. there was no collusion between us and russia. intelligence agencies concluded that russia had interfered in the 2016 election, though it was never determined whether mr trump's victory was influenced by it. facebook had testified that russian—backed content reached more than 126 million americans. microsoft says most of these attacks have been unsuccessful, and that nontargeted voting infrastructure or election systems. it's boosting security but has called for more help for states across the us to better protect themselves, especially as early voting is taking place. in a statement, the department of homeland security's top cyber official christopher krebs said: and reinforces that "this is an all of nation effort to defend democracy." although hackers frequently

target countries around the world, the difference here is the scale at which it is happening online. there is concern about how it is deepening discord in a society already divided, and in a time of social distancing due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, voters are paying attention to what they see, hear and share online more than ever. nomia iqbal, bbc news washington. the first formal peace talks between afghan officials and the taliban are set to begin in qatar tomorrow. us secretary of state mike pompeo will be amongst those attending — and called it a "historic opportunity" to end decades of conflict. the two sides were meant to begin negotiations back in march, but there have been repeated delays. the talks follow the signing of an agreement between the taliban and the united states earlier this year. secunder kermani reports now on some of the challenges ahead. two bitter enemies who have fought for the past two decades reached a historic agreement in february. but on the ground in afghanistan

fighting has continued. the agreement between the united states and the taliban wasn't a peace deal, just a step towards one. it set out a provisional timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces and was meant to kick—start separate talks between the militants and afghan officials. after months of wrangling over a prisoner exchange plan, those negotiations look set to finally begin. the two sides will be discussing a ceasefire in trying to reach a political reconciliation. this is a campaign suggesting red lines which should not be sacrificed in the process. afghans are tired of conflict but also worry any settlement could mean the rolling back of fragile progress on issues such as women's rights. translation: the taliban have to accept the reality

of today's afghanistan. if they don't accept it i don't think these peace talks will have a real result. and instead the situation could become even worse. 0ur rights were taken away by the taliban during their five years in power. we weren't treated as human beings. before the taliban, we had a good life and we fought for our rights. people should remember that history. the taliban ruled over most of afghanistan from the mid—1990s until they were overthrown by a us—led invasion in 2001. they governed using a brutal interpretation of sharia law. the group insists it has changed but it is not clear how much. i met one of their chief negotiators last year and tried to pin him down on exactly what form of future

government they want to see. would it be an islamic emirate as they had previously established. would you accept democracy? i cannot say no because there are many types of government which were tested in afghanistan. the views are different. so some people they want an emirates system, some people want a presidentialform of government, some want a parliamentary system. but it will be everybody as the majority. and how do you find out what the majority want? it will be discussed, the dialogue is going on. the form of government comes under discussion. we will see how many support this. the talks could last many months. president trump has made clear he wants us troops back home as soon as possible. that leaves some worried it leaves the taliban with the upper hand. secunder kermani, bbc news. let s get some of

the day's other news the foreign ministers of india and china say they have agreed that troops from their two countries must quickly disengage from a border standoff. they held talks in moscow on the sidelines of a regional conference, mediated by the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov. it was their first meeting since the months of tension along the frontier turned deadly injune. more than half—a—million people in the us state of oregon are fleeing deadly wildfires raging across the pacific north west. the blaze has destroyed hundreds of homes and killed at least ten people in california. security sources in jordan say there have been a series of large explosions at an army base in the city of zarqa — near the capital amman. a jordanian security official said two people were killed and another three injured. the home of britain's war time leader sir winston churchill reopens to the public on monday after a multi—million—pound restoration of some of the national trust property.

the work was only possible thanks to those who knew churchill and the house — and matt taylor has been to meet one of them. this wall over here is exactly as i remember it. nonie chapman's relationship with chartwell spans six decades. the old—fashioned typewriter and the switchboard which is exactly as it was. the office here was a hive of industry. and all the sounds you remember at the time. absolutely, you can hear the typing going on in the background. after starting work at chartwell in the early 1960s, nonie went on to play an important role supporting the family working alongside his wife after sir winston died. winston used to love to feed the golden orfe in the pools. and i used to have to collect the live bait he fed them with. and one of myjobs once a week, i used to take these big tin boxes of films, big film reels, with me to the station. i think it was on a friday.

and i would collect the new films which would be shown at the weekend. her experiences helped the national trust unlock some of the secrets and stories behind hundreds of items acquired and soon to be on show here. so this is winston churchill's study. it is one of the most important rooms in the house and this is where he would spend hours of his time. amongst others, a beautiful painting of blenheim palace where he was born. a speech box which housed the notes that would inform the words that would inspire a nation. this is one of the most important objects in our whole collection. it charts visitors to chartwell between 192a and 1964. with over 700 signatures it is a who's who of the early 20th century. among the signatories are charlie chaplin, and my favourite is a lesser—known figure, a gentleman called fabian von schlabrendorff.

he was a member of the german resistance who was informing churchill in the lead—up to the second world war and visited chartwell afterwards. and he was actually involved in an assassination attempt on hitler. so, a really interesting individual. volunteers have given up 6,000 hours of their time to help with the project. their research, as well as new items to the house have really put the essence of churchill back into chartwell, but what better resource did the national trust have than the people who knew him best? lady churchill was, i adored her, she was a wonderful character, a very strong character. and i often used to think, it amazed me, how two such strong characters must have lived together in such harmony. the atmosphere was fantastic. it was such a happy atmosphere. lady churchill loved flowers. there were always flowers everywhere, log fires burning, you could just go where you wanted to. everybody was happy here.

now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. we have a mixture of weather today. in scotland and northern ireland, rain and brisk winds thanks to low pressure. this cold front pushes southwards will weaken significantly. not all of us will see rain. across southern wales, east anglia, staying dry with broken cloud and sunshine. rain through the afternoon moves into the north west but the weather front is weakening. the rain will clear in scotland and northern ireland, staying breezy with sunshine and passing showers.

top temperatures, 20 in the south east. overnight, the weather front slides south eastwards. with little rain left on it. those showers will continue across the north west of the uk. this weekend, we have a mixture of weather, some rain for scotland and northern ireland but also some sunshine. for england and wales, dry throughout and set to get much warmer. saturday, patchy cloud from the front across southern areas clearing. sunshine for most of the day. sunshine and showers in scotland and northern ireland but later we will see some rain returning to the north and west. that will turn really heavy and persistent overnight with the rain lasting in the highlands into sunday with large rainfall totals,

some localised flooding. elsewhere on sunday, plenty of sunshine for england and wales. temperatures are on the rise, with highs into the mid—20s across eastern england. getting warmer in the early part of next week, high pressure moving eastwards allowing these south—easterly winds bringing heat in from the continent. monday, thickest cloud across north—western areas with outbreaks of rain. particularly in the afternoon. otherwise, dry with sunshine, turning hotter, up to 28 in london, lasting into tuesday.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. face coverings in shops and indoor public spaces are to become compulsory in wales for the first time. more regions in england look set to face extra measures to fight spiralling coronavirus cases. the uk signs its first major post—brexit trade deal with japan. the government says 99% of exports to the country will be tariff—free. what i am announcing today is that we have successfully reached an agreement in principle on the japan trade deal, which will enable british businesses to have more opportunities overseas. the economy grew by more than 6% injuly, but it remains well below pre—pandemic levels. thousands of migrants are still being left to sleep in the open after their camp

on the greek island of lesbos burned down. microsoft says it has thwarted cyber attacks from russia, china and iran targeting the us presidential election. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world ? and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. people in wales must wear facemasks in shops and other indoor public spaces from monday. it will also follow england and scotland and ban indoor gatherings of more than six people from monday. the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, has said the changes are needed as 20 people in every 100,000 now has coronavirus.

the new rules mean that only up to six people aged 11 plus will be able to meet indoors in wales. groups of up to 30 will still be allowed to meet outside, unlike other parts of the uk. and facemasks will now be mandatory in shops and in other enclosed public spaces. there have been recent changes in scotland too. there, first minister nicola sturgeon announced yesterday that up to six people will be allowed to meet indoors and outdoors, from monday. this will not apply for those younger than 12 years of age. in northern ireland, six people from two households are able to meet indoors. and the maximum number of people who can meet outdoors has been reduced from 30 to 15. and new stricter local restrictions have been reintroduced in parts of northern ireland, including parts of greater belfast. and in england, the prime mininister, borisjohnson, announced this week that from monday a new rule of six will apply for indoors and outdoors. 0ur news correspondent,

catherine burnsjoins me now. even reading it out, it is easy... quite hard to follow that. why are we getting such variations across all the nations? given the health data must be pretty similar.|j all the nations? given the health data must be pretty similar. i am calling this the rule of six —ish. you can see everyone is taking similar steps but they are changing things slightly. health is devolved, which means each nation can make their own decisions by looking at their own decisions by looking at their situation on the ground. you can see, even within england, there isa can see, even within england, there is a vastly different situation in various bits of the country. they are reacting to what they have got and making their own decisions. it is complicated. in england, the role of sex includes children, it does not in england and scotland and wales. northern ireland has restrictions in local areas, it is complicated. people have to look at the situation where they are and follow a local guidance. we are

expecting more data today. what are we expecting? it is going to be a snapshot of where we are at with the virus. various reports which will give us more information. we know to exert an extent what to expect. cases are starting to rise, we will find out today how fast. we will find out today how fast. we will find out today how fast. we will find out exactly which bits of the country, especially in england, are going to be put under more protective measures. already today, we have seen newcastle and gateshead, the councils have come out and said they will be on the list. they are expecting to go on it. the mayor of liverpool says he expects the whole of merseyside to go on it. sunderland and tyneside, have stopped hospital visits. we need to look out for birmingham and the west midlands. if we look at the hotspot reports, the number of cases per 100,000 hotspot reports, the number of cases per100,000 birmingham, hotspot reports, the number of cases

per 100,000 birmingham, the hotspot reports, the number of cases per100,000 birmingham, the number is 85 in birmingham. the increase is 619. cash and thank you very much. as we have been reporting, more regions in england do look to face those extra measures to fight coronavirus. let's speak now to alice wiseman, director of public health at gateshead council in the northeast of england. thank you forjoining us. what are you announcing today? what are you expecting today? we are expecting to be on the government's watch list. we have been concerned ourselves over the last few weeks around the rapid rise. this has not been a surprise to us. we welcome the opportunity to work closely with government to ensure we are doing all the things we can to put protection in place to stop the spread in our communities. we have already ta ken spread in our communities. we have already taken quite robust steps. a week ago, last friday, when i saw the numbers are increasing, we

stopped visits to care homes, obviously with some exceptions for end—of—life or other situations where it would be particularly detrimental. we have also tried to increase our communication. i think munication has been a real challenge throughout the pandemic, and being really clear with our community about what the measures are, what it means to them, but also by it is important. i think that is something we potentially lost over the last few weeks. it is important to all of us because we might not be at risk of becoming severely unwell, but we each play a role in potential transmission. the leader of my council has written out to every single resident, so a letter should be with many of our residents today, if not by tomorrow at the latest, written out to every business as well. we have got some great businesses in gateshead that are working with us, really responsible, and reminding everybody that this is far from over. we really need to go

back to basics to make sure we have not all of the arrangements in place to protect our communities. what are the numbers in gateshead? to protect our communities. what are the numbers in gateshead7m to protect our communities. what are the numbers in gateshead? ifi give you an illustration of the numbers, the last week injuly you an illustration of the numbers, the last week in july we you an illustration of the numbers, the last week injuly we only had two cases in that week, confirmed cases. by the end of august, it was up cases. by the end of august, it was up to 32. the first week in september, we saw 130. it is the speed of the rise in cases that we are most concerned about. we also know that in the first week in september, we had a reduction in testing capacity, so there were 1300 less people tested in the first week in septemberthan the less people tested in the first week in september than the last week in august, yet we saw that higher number. i remain really concerned that we may well have missed some covid positive cases in our community because people were unable to access testing. in terms of what age profile of people are being affected here, do you have that data? we affected here, do you have that data ? we have affected here, do you have that data? we have seen nationally that

it seems to be among the younger age group, and are you seeing more hospitalisations? we mirror the national picture to a large extent in that we have seen an increase in the age proof profiles at the moment, the average age is 37. certainly, there are very few children, but a small number, and equally a small number of older people. about 70% of our cases are within working age population. unfortunately, i am sad to say we have seen an increase in hospitalisations. this is not necessarily being seen elsewhere in the country but as of this morning, we have five people who are at different levels of severity as inpatients and our local hospital. we we re really inpatients and our local hospital. we were really concerned it would start off in the younger populations and quickly move into our more vulnerable groups, which is why i welcome the opportunity to be really robust and see what more we can do to tackle this before it becomes the problem that it did earlier on in the year. you have talked about the lack of clarity in messaging, the

lack of clarity in messaging, the lack of clarity in messaging, the lack of testing, what do you want the government to do now? there has been a very mixed set of messages, understandably, from government, trying to balance health and the economy, trying to give people more freedom over the summer. what needs to happen now? schools have gone back and pubs are still open. there's a whole range of things within that and it is complex. there is not one silver bullet. there is a to balance our need for social contact with people, our well—being with the economy that we know has a longer—term impact on health and well—being, longer—term impact on health and well— being, and also longer—term impact on health and well—being, and also put on measures to mitigate the virus. i think what we could do is get better at communicating why it is complicated and why some of the decisions are made. i think it is really important that schools are back, i worry greatly about the inequality increased inequalities for children who are not in households settings where they are able to provide them with the space to study whilst they we re with the space to study whilst they were at home. i am really pleased

that our schools are back, but actually i am more challenged around some of the weight that businesses are operating. like i say, the majority are really compliant to working with is, but there are a minority of pubs and bars that are potentially putting some of their customers and the rest of the community at risk. what we intend to do is be really room robust on the enforcement. we have set up a small task force between police and environmental health officers so that we can be much more proactive in the way we are able to tackle those businesses that are putting the rest of the businesses that are being responsible at risk of closure. on testing, how short are you of tests? if someone is getting sick now in the area, what happens? obviously if they are very unwell, we have testing capacity in our local hospitals and we are trying to use the local hospital testing capacity to target it. maybe using the local hospital testing capacity in care homes, for example, where we

really wa nt in care homes, for example, where we really want to act quickly. certainly asked government to invest in local testing capacity. it makes no sense for our test to be taken in guest gateshead and transported down to milton keynes, as it is. i understand... i haven't looked today but residents were still contacting me yesterday to say we have tried desperately to get a test and we are being eithersenta desperately to get a test and we are being either sent a long way from home or we are being told to try again later. i recognise there is a real issue with testing and that there is a real issue with capacity across the country and resources across the country and resources across the country and resources across the country. but if it was for me, i would invest in our local nhs testing capacity. we have got the knowledge, expertise, skills, infrastructure, gateshead does testing on hpv for example across the whole of the north—east region. it investment and that would provide for the whole of the north—east.

thank you very much. the uk has announced it's agreed in principle its first major post—brexit trade deal with japan. the government says 99% of exports to japan will be tariff—free. meanwhile, trade talks between the eu and the uk are due to resume next week despite the bitter rift over the british government's plan to break international law and override the brexit withdrawal agreement. joining me now from westminster is our political correspondent, jessica parker. jessica, first of all, on the japan deal, what is that going to mean? is it going to be a net gain? the government are certainly going to be talking about this a lot over the coming days. they will see this as a big win, the first major post brexit tape trade deal signed with a major economy. what they are saying is that it economy. what they are saying is thatitis economy. what they are saying is that it is notjust a deal that mirrors what the eu have with japan but goes further, and therefore will bring new tangible benefits to the uk economy. but having said all of

that, of course, one of the other trade deals they are trying to broker at the european union, and a big cloud hanging over those talks at the moment because the government is pushing ahead with this planned, thatis is pushing ahead with this planned, that is very controversial, to try and modify parts of the divorce settle m e nt and modify parts of the divorce settlement that they signed with the european union. they say that is to protect the internal market, protect peace in northern ireland, should a deal not be reached on various issues not resolved in time. it was an issue that was put to the international trade secretary this morning. what i've said is it is very important that we protect the good friday agreement. that is a key aspect of the peace process, what i've said is it is very important that we protect that is what we are determined to do. what i am announcing today is that we have successfully reached an agreement in principle on the japan trade deal, which will enable british businesses to have more opportunities overseas. 0n

on one of the questions will be to what extent trade talks, which will resume next week in brussels, between the uk and eu can push ahead whilst this issue of what the government is trying to do regarding the agreement goes on. but also there are concern from mps and lords who are pretty unhappy with the plans, as well. the legislation set to start going through the house of commons next week. i think there will be attempts to water it down, soften it a little bit. we will have to wait and see if those attempts are to wait and see if those attempts a re successful. to wait and see if those attempts are successful. jessica, thank you very much. attempts are continuing to find shelterfor almost 13,000 migrants stranded after their camp on the greek island of lesbos burned to the ground. france, germany and the netherlands have offered to take in a small number of unaccompanied children. bethany bell reports from lesbos. these migrants have spent another night sleeping rough on the side of streets, some people also sleeping in fields and olive groves. this is one of the main streets along the sea in lesbos, you can see behind me,

people have been camping out on the side of the roads, in the car parks of petrol stations and supermarkets. we have seen some aid workers coming and bringing people food and water, but people have been struggling to wash themselves, using little plastic bottles. the locals here, the greeks, are very worried about the prospect of another temporary camp being built here, and some roads on the island have been blocked because of protests from the locals, and if you speak to the migrants as well, they say they do not want to stay here, either. they want to go somewhere else to be able to have a better life, so the authorities are struggling with these very difficult questions. in the meantime, the people here fear that they will be facing more nights sleeping out in the open. joining me now from lesbos is marco sandrone from medecins sans frontieres.

i gather you actually saw what happened this week when the fire took hold. what did you say? we were in the clinic to assist this absolutely horrible image of all the cap on fire. it has been two days of fire that has taken down all the camp, and people are displaced everywhere. people in the streets. asa everywhere. people in the streets. as a colleague was seeing, everybody todayis as a colleague was seeing, everybody today is living in the streets without shelter, under the sun. a lot of children and elderly people among them. this is a horrible image to witness. it has been months and yea rs to witness. it has been months and years that we have been advocating for a sustainable solution for these people who are seeking refuge, seeking asylum in europe. today, the conditions they are living in are even worse than before. the camps that for years have trapped them in

inhumane and unhygienic conditions, today these people do not have access to any toilet, shower, basic needs. the situation is untenable and the only solution... these people, vulnerable people from greece need to go to any other european country who are able to receive them and accept them with human procedures and solidarity. this is what they need. france and germany are saying they will take in about 400 unaccompanied minors. the eu will take from lesbos. is that enough? is that the right solution? this is the first step but it is not enough. we cannot start to choose among these people. they are all desperate, they are suffering enough, they have been through traumatic experiences. still thousands of children. the children that we see every day, they are telling us horrible stories. we cannot select, it is not a moment to

choose, it is the moment to move them all to the mainland, move them all to other countries to make sure they will not suffer any more here in greece. in terms of what is happening right now, are you able to give people food and shelter to get through the next hours and days? the access to these items is very limited. the government promised that they will be provided with these items, but we still see that there is a lack of these needs. we are trying to get ready, we are moving with our teams, setting up mobile clinics. 0ur clinic is open but it is a problem to access these clinics. there are several checkpoints in these area and the people are confined. access to our patients is the most critical problem at this moment. is covid a problem at this moment. is covid a problem also amongst this population? is that less of a concern? we should not forget covid.

it has not reached a level of an outbreak, a pandemic, but it is still a reality for lesbos. and the unhygienic conditions these people are forced to live in, even more now they are displaced in the streets, is something the government should ta ke is something the government should take care of. that is one reason on top of the other many to have these people leaving lesbos today. there has to be a concern for the local population, as well, for how much countries like greece, italy, other countries like greece, italy, other countries where migrants are initially coming to, how much they can physically cope with new arrivals of people. this is an ongoing crisis, isn't it? yes, it is a chronic crisis, and the people of lesbos are frustrated. the island is not a sustainable solution to keep thousands of people in such a place. today, even more than before, they are seeing the government unable to

face the reality, unable to propose a sustainable solution, that is why the tension is rising and the polarisation among the locals is still very worrying. 0nce polarisation among the locals is still very worrying. once more, the solution, at all levels, needs to be only one and this is the evacuation of all the migrants as asylum seekers from lesbos as soon as possible. thank you very much. well this morning, the european commission vice president margaritis schinas has said that the destroyed camp will be replaced by a modern facility — a plan strongly opposed by authorities on the island. here's mr schinas a short while ago. the clock has run out on how long europe can live without a migration policy. now is the moment to change this. we tried, back in 2016, and we failed because a number of governments blocked a european

agreement. this cost of non—europe is now evident by the situation on lesbos. lets get more now on the brexit debate. the uk has announced it's agreed in principle its first major post—brexit trade deal with japan. the government says 99 per cent of exports to japan will be tariff—free. meanwhile, trade talks between the eu and the uk are due to resume next week despite the bitter rift over the british government's plan to break international law and override the brexit withdrawal agreement. 0ur economics correspondent dharshini david has been crunching the numbers on this deal. it isa it is a relatively small amount of gdp, not .07%, but still it looks like a deal is being agreed. a deal has been agreed. you might remember this is something we have had our

hopes raised about before but we are now they are. a huge sigh of relief in westminster, and indeed business groups across the country because 99% of goods sold by britain into japan will be tariff free. this largely replicates the deal that already exists betweenjapan and the eu, but there are some added bits. for example, things like digital trade, more access potentially for financial services companies, and clamping down on other things. there are some potential gains they are. as you say, we should not lose sight of the bigger picture. the government's loan figures are saying that the boost to our income, gdp and 15 years time will be 1.5 billion pounds. not to be sniffed at but it is just 0.07% of gdp. that is a tiny fraction when we forego our existing relationship with the eu. hence why you do tend to see all eyes on those negotiations with

brussels at the moment. we should not lose sight of the fact that this is quite an achievement for both sides. overall, the boost to trade to both countries is expected to be about £15 billion. interestingly, the majority of that will go to japan. you can see why tokyo, as well as london, has been very keen indeed to see this one go over the finish line. does this help get others over the line? does this boost confidence, does it provide a template? it is really interesting because when you look at what is going on, for example, with the us where the talks are still ongoing on a deal there. that is something that both sides have drawn up from scratch. they have been talking for a couple of years, so this is not new stuff by any means, but we are looking at the deal with japan is really a replication of a deal that already exists with a few added bits and pieces that suits both sides, hence why things like digital trade have been in the forefront. what we

also know, for example, there has been some sticking points in recent weeks. that is about things like access for british farmers to japanese markets. that gives us a very strong signal indeed that when we look at the other know glaciations going around there are likely to be bumps on the road, they will not be straightforward, and with radio set is all about compromise and careful negotiations and you do not always get exactly what you always want. thank you very much. sir desmond swayne is the conservative mp for new forest west — he's a brexiteer but would like to see us leaving with a deal. what is your take on the government's decision on potentially changing the withdrawal agreement? is there something you think is necessary if a deal is not able to be reached? it is a wise precaution. the provisions of the bill are entirely precautionary. the government might exercise those powers if we left with no agreement

and the european union used its position on the northern ireland joint committee under the protocol to designate british goods as being at risk. effectively excluding our trade from northern ireland. that is the threat, i understand, that has been issued. therefore, the government is quite right in taking the precaution of having those powers at hand should it need them. the notion that having that precautionary power reaches any international obligation is for the birds. the reality is there would be a question of whether we had breached the obligation if it actually implemented the powers and use them. my own view is that it would not. we have seen the government admit that it is going to be breaking international law if needed. we have seen the government's most senior lawyer within government resigning. we have seen a within government resigning. we have seen a lot of criticism from former ministers and prime ministers on

this. i presume you have invited me on for my opinion, and my opinion is that they are wrong. the reality is that they are wrong. the reality is that they are wrong. the reality is that the binding obligation of the agreement on both parties is to negotiate in good faith, to achieve by their endeavours the state of affairs set out in the political declaration. both sides have already, effectively, been accusing each other of having breached that obligation. if we were to get to the state of there being no deal, that would be the proof in the pudding. the agreement would actually end up having been voided by that process, by the abandonment of good faith and by the abandonment of good faith and by best endeavours. there would be no agreement, there could therefore be no obligation binding on us. just to be clear because it is incredibly

complex. are you arguing that this is not illegal, any breach, because you are seeing the eu are negotiating in bad faith? sign that iam seeing negotiating in bad faith? sign that i am seeing two things. first of all, passing the bill itself does not breach any obligation. the only question of reaching an obligation arises if we actually use the powers in the bill. you are correct. i am saying, if we get to that stage of having to use the powers that are set out in the bill, the withdrawal agreement will have been voided by the abandonment of the binding obligation on the parties to negotiate in good faith to achieve by their best endeavours the agreement. how do you prove, in legal terms, whether the eu have been negotiating in good faith or not? what gives you any legal or political grounds to say that?|j not? what gives you any legal or political grounds to say that? i am not a lawyer and i am not sure what

caught such an interpretation could ta ke caught such an interpretation could take place. but i think international opinion would be pretty well on britain's site and looking at what has happened over the last couple of years. nancy pelosi has argued the opposite. she has said this will not... she is specifically referring to the northern ireland, good friday agreement, andl northern ireland, good friday agreement, and i do not think this will affect the provisions of the good friday agreement. can ijust move on from this to what is happening on coronavirus because we are expecting a lot of data today. we have seen the government announced this change introducing the idea of a row of six from monday. your position on that? because again there are some people who feel the government is going too far, others who feel they have got to clamp—down as a virus infections go up. i am in the opposite camp. i do not believe the government's policy is the right one. i accept that i am in a minority in that

respect. according to the opinion polls, most people support the government's measures and its precautions. i think we are pursuing a strategy that is actually worse than the disease. but these are things that should be examined and debated in a free parliament. we have just had this huge intrusion into our personal lives, family lives, our rights to meet others. we are apparently to be marshalled in the streets by marshalls, whatever that may mean. and yet, this has been made by order without a debate in parliament, without a vote in parliament, that is what i think is shocking. we are supposed to be a democracy, and yet our liberties are being taken democracy, and yet our liberties are being ta ken away democracy, and yet our liberties are being taken away without even a debate, never mind a vote. right back but the government has to act very quickly on fast changing data to protect the public. that is one of its first duties, isn't it? i do not believe that is the case. if the

government had to act fast, would it have waited until monday to implement this change? why did not it implemented immediately on thursday or on wednesday when it was first mooted? i think the infection rates are not as high as they were backin rates are not as high as they were back in spring but they are worried about the direction of travel. so you believe that people needed time to cram in their parties of more than six before monday? people can be responsible, of course, they don't have to. sign that i know they don't have to. sign that i know they don't have to. i believe the policy is wrong. sign that i believe it should have been debated in a free parliament and i do not believe the government should be using these powers in the way that it has. but arbitrary government. some breaking news that we are hearing from the department of health, that the coronavirus app will be launched on september 2014

england and wales, according to the government. businesses are being urged to ensure that they have nhs posters visible on entrances so that customers can use their smartphones to check in. the government is saying that ongoing trials in london and on the isle of wight is highly effective when used alongside traditional contact tracing to identify contacts of those who have tested positive. we have been waiting a long time for the covid app, and criticism of the delay for the roll—out of this app because test track and trace is seen as crucial for getting test track and trace is seen as crucialfor getting on test track and trace is seen as crucial for getting on top of covid as we go into a potentially risky autumn and winter. the health secretary has described the launch of the app is a defining moment and said it will help contain the virus ata said it will help contain the virus at a critical time. he said we need to use every tool at our disposal.

we are hearing that the app will be launched later this month, on the 24th of september. the uk economy has continued its recovery — it grew 6.6% injuly 2020. but that was a little slower than in june, and the economy is still nearly 12% lower than pre crisis level. earlier i spoke to our business presenter, ben thompson, who is in the city of london for us — and i asked him to put these figures into context for us. there's lots of explaining to do about what these figures tell us. we have a glorious vantage point across the city of london. here, like everywhere, they will be trying to digest those numbers to make sense of what they mean for our day—to—day lives. it is easy to get caught up in percentages and headlines, but what this tells us is that whilst the economy grew 6.6% in july, the overall economy is still 12% smaller than it was before the coronavirus pandemic began. we know that businesses were hit hard when they were shut during lockdown and they have struggled to reopen, they've had to reduce capacity,

many businesses still not able to get back to full, normal business, especially talking about things like travel and tourism. huge problems for getting the economy working again. the july figures tell us that the economy is on the mend. more of us able to go back out and spend or to get back to the office or usual workplace, pubs and restaurants able to reopen injuly as well, so some good news, but still a lot of work to do to get back to where we were before this began. earlier i spoke to sue noffke, the head of equities here at schroders, and she said it could be 2021, or 2022, before things start to feel normal again. this is a very open question. much depends on the state of the virus, how much confidence people have got, what restrictions are in place, to allow the economy to start to regain some of that normalcy.

and i think it is going to take the balance of this year and next before we can recover the ground that's lost so, for 2020, we will still have an economy that could be one tenth smaller, 10% smaller, than what we had in 2019, and that has implications forjob prospects and the wealth and opportunity for many people in this country. you talk about those opportunities. jobs clearly in focus now, lots of people worried about whether they will still have a job at the end of the year, and calls for the chancellor to extend that furlough scheme. the real pain is still to come, as far as jobs are concerned. yes, so, people who are on furlough, about one quarter of those people still on furlough, feel quite uncertain about theirjob prospects. they feel vulnerable to being made redundant. and so that is really the key.

how quickly can those people find newjobs, and what happens to people on furlough? the chancellor will have big questions to answer, as to whether it is right to extend or whether the tapering off at the end of october is the end of the furlough support. our business presenter speaking to sue noffke of shroders. six months ago today the world health organization declared covid—19 to be a global pandemic. no continent has been spared, hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives and the economic impact has been devastating. many countries are struggling with rising infection rates alongside public fatigue with keeping to restrictions.we can bring you our reporters' views now from the three worst—hit countries — the us, india and brazil, starting with nada tawfik in new york. six months in, and the united states

is still struggling to keep infection rates down in certain places. the mid west has been the hardest hit recently, with iowa, north dakota and south dakota the latest hotspots. here in new york, the state once most affected, the infection rate has stayed below 1% for more than a month. it has allowed for an easing of restrictions. still, the city is one of the few places in the nation with a complete ban on indoordining. after weeks of back—and—forth discussions between officials and restaurant owners, it is set to resume on september 30, with just a 25% capacity. now, health officials are warning americans not to become complacent as a second potential wave looms, and there has been increased scrutiny over the president's handling of the crisis. president trump admitted that he downplayed the threat to the public as early as february, to avoid panic. india now has consistently the highest number of new coronavirus cases and deaths

in the world, every day. back in march, it was one of the countries that had imposed quite a stringent lockdown relatively early, and in those initial months it had seemed as though this had at least slowed the spread of the virus. but health experts say not enough was done then to aggressively track and test, and that's why the country has not been able to curb the spread of covid—19. its graph remains on an upward trend, and it is growing steeper as the economy opens up further. earlier this week metrorail systems were opened up in cities across the country. later this month gatherings of up to 100 people will be allowed. schools and universities remain closed and international travel still has not been allowed. here in brazil the transmission rate has started to slow and the death toll has started to fall but it has been a long time coming because, for months, more than 1,000 people

were dying each day, and much of the criticism has been pinned on presidentjair bolsonaro, who from the very beginning has tried to downplay the virus. meanwhile, regional governments have imposed quarantine and closed public spaces and schools. but the mixed messaging has been criticised. people not knowing which guidelines to follow. now restaurants and bars have started to reopen, but scientists have cautioned against saying that the worst is over here in brazil. now, the headlines have been very much focused on brazil. this is the largest country in the region. but other countries are suffering also. in argentina, they are seeing cases rise and, in peru, they have registered the highest per capita death toll of almost any other country in the world.

two major research projects studying the spread of coronavirus in schools here in the uk are set to begin within weeks. scientists at bristol university and imperial college london hope the studies will help schools understand much more about how the virus is transmitted. here's our education editor bra nwen jeffreys. this is the only testing done so far in schools, swab samples ta ken in the summer term. the level of coronavirus cases was low then. now, all pupils are back in school in england, cases are rising in the wider community but still, little is known about children so, in bristol, researchers will use saliva tests. 4,000 pupils, 1,000 staff, once a month for six months. i think the main thrust of the study is really to understand the rates of infections, and to be able to jump on them very quickly, so we are giving the head teachers tools to be able

to spot infection early and to keep their schools open and permit the continuity of education that is so important to them. catching cases early could mean fewer pupils isolating. another study in london would investigate more, following up on confirmed cases in pupils, looking in detail at youth and how they pass it on. branwen jeffries, bbc news. let's return to the news now that the uk economy has continued its recovery — it grew 6.6% injuly 2020. but that was a little slower than in june, and the economy is still nearly 12% lower than pre—crisis level. let's talk now to ana boata, head of macro—economic research at international financial services provider, allianz. thanks forjoining us. we've long been looking ahead to the autumn as a period of particular difficulty to what are the numbers telling us on the economic front? its actually

worrying to see that injuly, when the easing of lockdown has happened at full speed, we see an economy slowing down. we have a divergence, because this is not the case in other european economies. 6.6 is not so other european economies. 6.6 is not so bad, but again, it is not fully and well distributed among sectors. we have stronger catch up effects and contraction, which is normal, because activity has been closed for so because activity has been closed for so long. and also services, which is normal, because the government has implemented short—term schemes, so it's normal to see divergence, but it's normal to see divergence, but it is also worrying to see that the industrial sector is not recovering. i guess it's not only about the restrictions and the effects from the crisis but it is about confidence effect on the fact that we see that there are reasons to be worried in autumn with the new

sanitary restrictions with brexit and the global economy not growing at full speed to be able to invest, for example. a company today still has very depressed investment intentions in the uk, and this is for me one of the striking points, andi for me one of the striking points, and i guess it is an alarm ringing to the government to introduce more stimulus. the uk lags the other economies in this, in terms of how much they have put on the table to stimulate the economy. i guess the next steps would be what the bank of england will do in november or december, should they cut rates to negative territory, increase the quantitative easing programme, because we see a tightening of credit conditions. it is the government going to spend more? is it doing supply—side reforms? do they cut tax rates for companies? do they cut tax rates for companies? do they do more public investment? for sure, 1.5% of gdp is not enough to

grow out of a double—digit recession, especially in a brexit environment. in terms of people's actualjobs, job losses is what people are most worry about. we know it is harder to get mortgages and loa ns it is harder to get mortgages and loans at the moment. the end of furlough is coming. what are you expecting? we have done analysis is that looking at the sectors that are likely to remain impaired in the long run, meaning by the time we have of acting —— we have a vaccine. we have some parts of industry, services and construction. if we look at the sectors and how much they lost in terms of output, and how much they can gain because we will have a plateau sooner or later in economic activity, we can calculate the share of employment that people that testing of people that people that testing of people that have been on employment schemes, and they might lose their

job at the end of 2021, so we talk here about more than 1.5 million people, and in our estimate, in any case, the unemployment rate will be above 8% in 2021. 2021 for me is a very difficult year, because a soft brexit or a hard brexit, the environment will change. obviously much less in a soft brexit environment, in a free trade agreement with europe, but we will still have some limited disruption and we will need time to adapt to this new environment. for me, this is the key uncertainty and downside risk to 2021, which obviously will have an impact on employment trends. we also see that unfulfilled job vacancies in the uk have gone down by more than 60%, much more than in germany and france, and i don't see a reason for which companies would start to hire much more in the short—term, at least not until the

middle of 2021, when all the environment will be in a way normalised. we don't see a catch up in terms of gdp levels before 2024 — 25 for the in terms of gdp levels before 2024 — 25forthe uk, in terms of gdp levels before 2024 — 25 for the uk, so this is at least three years later than european countries in the us. many thanks. meanwhile, the chancellor rishi sunak has been urged by a cross—party group of mps to consider "targeted extensions" to the coronavirus furlough scheme. the coronavirusjob retention scheme, which has supported millions of workers temporarily laid off because of the pandemic, is due to end on 310ctober. some fear that could lead to mass unemployment. the former prime minister gordon brown told the bbc that there needs to be more done to deal with unemployment in the wake of the covid—19 outbreak. if we have this cliff edge on the

3ist if we have this cliff edge on the 31st of october, there could be massive unemployment after that, and if at the same time we have still got these health restrictions, some of them coming back in, companies and workers cannot get back to normal economic activity and cannot be expected to do so when we put number restrictions on meetings and everything else, so we need a recovery plan, we need the same spirit of consensus that brought about the rescue plan now for a recovery plan. i got to be honest — what is being proposed at the moment is totally inadequate. we will loose skills, capacity, we will put families at risk in consumer spending will go down if we don't do three things. one, we have to extend the furlough, mainly on a temporary, part—time basis, the furlough, mainly on a temporary, pa rt—time basis, perhaps the furlough, mainly on a temporary, part—time basis, perhaps linked to a retraining programme for people who may have to move jobs. second, retraining programme for people who may have to movejobs. second, we have to do something about youth unemployment. 500,000 young people

lift education, 250,000 looking for jobs, and the kick—start scheme is just not enough. thirdly, we have to help companies themselves recover. they cannot pay back these loans they have taken and invest in the future. we have to help them to do so. earlier this year, spain was one of the hardest hit countries in europe by the covid outbreak. the country brought in strict lockdown measures, and for a while they seemed to be working. cases were down, and life started going back to normal. a bit. but there's been a resurgence of new infections in recent weeks, even as children have started going back to school. guy hedgecoe reports from madrid. for this seven—year—old this is a big day. a national knock—down followed by the long summer holiday have meant she is going to school for the first time in six months. 0ver eight million spanish children are going back to the classroom this month. they want to come back to school because they miss their friends, their teachers.

it is a nice moment for them. the return to school is being staggered according to age groups as part of efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus. it is just one of many new measures. children aged six and over must now wear face masks at this primary school, and in all schools across spain. i think what is going to happen is we are going to open the schools this week and probably start closing, opening, closing, opening, like that, an intermittent model. this second wave of the virus is affecting younger people more than the first wave. although infections have been rising steadily, the death rate has remained relatively low and hospitalisation rates are still well below the levels of march and april. the response to the recent resurgence of coronavirus in spain

has been for local authorities to reintroduce restrictions in those areas affected. for example in madrid a few days ago a local government announced new limits on social contact in public spaces such as bars and restaurants. my worry is we reach autumn and winter and then our behaviour changes. we become more indoors, we meet with friends, family, go to pubs and restaurants indoors. a perfect place for transmission. after a tragic spring and a difficult summer, spain is desperately hoping for something like a normal autumn. guy hedgecoe, bbc news. the chief executive of one of the world's biggest mining companies, rio tinto, has announced he is leaving the firm after sacred aboriginal sites in western australia were destroyed. the company went ahead with the destruction of thejuukan gorge rock shelters despite the opposition of aboriginal traditional owners.

they were among the oldest historic sites in australia. shymaa khalil has the story. a land that dates back millennia destroyed by a mining giant. the blast of the gorge shelters was legally sanctioned for the expansion of one of rio tinto's ion or mines. it went against the wishes of the land's traditional owners, who said they were shocked and devastated. the caves, seen as one of australia's most significant archaeological research sites, had shown evidence of continuous human habitation dating back 46,000 years. they also sat on nearly 8 million tonnes of high—grade iron ore with an estimated value ofjust under $100 million. the incident itself, asi $100 million. the incident itself, as i said, was approved by the last liberal national government in 2013. it was obviously a very disappointing decision, and as we have set from the very beginning, it

was very have set from the very beginning, it was very unfortunate this took place, and obviously these caves in this history cannot be replaced. rio tinto has been heavily criticised for its handling of the scandal. last month, it was slammed for not going far enough when it stripped three executives of their multi—million dollar bonuses but kept them on. now, after months of escalating pressure from aboriginal groups and top shareholders, the ceo, john sebastienjack, groups and top shareholders, the ceo, john sebastien jack, along groups and top shareholders, the ceo, john sebastienjack, along with two other bosses, announced their departure. rio tinto's chairman said the company wanted to ensure this never happens again, but there is still cool b00|ng for further action. we don't think it is enough. we are also calling for a forensic review of their systems and processes. their processes and policies. in relation to the aboriginal land. i have been talking to mining companies recently, . .. we

have been talking to mining companies recently,... we need change. the scandal has raised questions about the government's responsibility to historical ancestral areas. it also highlights the great imbalance of power between the great imbalance of power between the mining industry and traditional landowners. a difficult tussle for a country with a wealth of natural resources and ancient sites dating back tens of thousands of years. the home of britain's war time leader, sir winston churchill, will reopen to the public on monday after a multi—million pound restoration of some of the national trust property. the work was only possible thanks to those who knew churchill and the house — and matt taylor has been to meet one of them. this wall over here is exactly as i remember it. nonie chapman's relationship with chartwell spans six decades. the old—fashioned typewriter and the switchboard which is exactly as it was. the office here was a hive of industry.

and all the sounds you remember at the time. absolutely, you can hear the typing going on in the background. after starting work at chartwell in the early 1960s, nonie went on to play an important role supporting the family working alongside his wife after sir winston died. winston used to love to feed the golden orfe in the pools. and i used to have to collect the live bait he fed them with. and one of myjobs once a week, i used to take these big tin boxes of films, big film reels, with me to the station. i think it was on a friday. and i would collect the new films which would be shown at the weekend. her experiences helped the national trust unlock some of the secrets and stories behind hundreds of items acquired and soon to be on show here. so this is winston churchill's study. it is one of the most important rooms in the house and this is where he would spend hours

of his time. amongst others, a beautiful painting of blenheim palace where he was born. a speech box which housed the notes that would inform the words that would inspire a nation. this is one of the most important objects in our whole collection. it charts visitors to chartwell between 1924 and 1964. with over 700 signatures it is a who's who of the early 20th century. among the signatories are charlie chaplin, and my favourite is a lesser—known figure, a gentleman called fabian von schlabrendorff. he was a member of the german resistance who was informing churchill in the lead—up to the second world war and visited chartwell afterwards. and he was actually involved in an assassination attempt on hitler. so, a really interesting individual. volunteers have given up 6,000 hours of their time to help with the project.

their research, as well as new items to the house have really put the essence of churchill back into chartwell, but what better resource did the national trust have than the people who knew him best? lady churchill was, i adored her, she was a wonderful character, a very strong character. and i often used to think, it amazed me, how two such strong characters must have lived together in such harmony. the atmosphere was fantastic. it was such a happy atmosphere. lady churchill loved flowers. there were always flowers everywhere, log fires burning, you could just go where you wanted to. everybody was happy here. a brazilian daredevil has improved her own world record for the biggest wave surfed by a woman. riding a 73.5 foot wave in portugal, maya gabeira was towed byjetski

into her winning wave during a world surf league big wave competition. her ride was also the biggest wave ridden by any surfer in the past year. you're watching bbc news. now, the weather with chris fawkes. a mixture of weather to come through the day today. in scotland and northern ireland, rain and brisk winds thanks to an area of low pressure, this area of cloud you can see here. the cold front pushes south towards england and wales and will weaken significantly. not all of us will see the rain at all. across southern wales, the midlands and east anglia, it stays bright with broken cloud and spells of sunshine. rain moves in to the north west of england and wales in the weather front is weakening by this stage. the wrinkly of scotland and northern ireland, staying busy through the afternoon with sunshine and a few passing showers. the top

temperature, 20 celsius towards the south—east. overnight, the weather front weakens as it slides south—east, so very little if any rain left on it as it moves across east anglia into parts of southern england overnight. the showers will continue across the north west. this weekend, a mixture of weather around. there will be some rain on the way for scotland and northern ireland, but also some sunshine around this weekend, as we'll see in around this weekend, as we'll see in a moment. in england and wales, dry throughout, and set to get much warmer as we go through the weekend as well. saturday cosmic forecast, patchy cloud left from that week mike front. showers for most places in england and wales, and a day of sunshine and showers for scotland and northern ireland. later in the evening, rain returning to the north and west. that rain will turn heavy and west. that rain will turn heavy and persistent overnight on saturday night, lasting well into sunday, particularly in the highlands, with large rainfall totals building up, and we could see localised flooding.

elsewhere, plenty of sunshine for england and wales, and brightening up england and wales, and brightening up in southern parts of scotland and northern ireland. temperatures are on the rise. we should see highs climbing into the mid 20s across parts of eastern england. it gets even warmer into the early part of next week, high—pressure moving eastwards in europe, allowing these south and south easterly winds to drag some of that heat in from the continent. 0n drag some of that heat in from the continent. on monday, still the thickest cloud across northern and western areas of the uk, outbreaks of rain at times developing, particularly through the afternoon. otherwise, dry with spells of sunshine, and turning hotter, temperatures reaching 28 celsius in london, the hot and sunny weather lasting for some of us into tuesday. powers in the way that it has. but arbitrary government.

this is bbc news. the headlines... face coverings in shops and indoor public spaces are to become compulsory in wales for the first time. more regions in england look set to face extra measures to fight spiralling coronavirus cases. the long—awaited covid—19 contact tracing app will be launched across england and wales on september 24th. the uk signs its first major post—brexit trade deal with japan. the government says 99% of exports to the country will be tariff—free. what i am announcing today is that we have successfully reached an agreement in principle on the japan trade deal, which will enable british businesses to have more opportunities overseas. the economy grew by more than 6% injuly, but it remains well below pre—pandemic levels.

thousands of migrants are still being left to sleep in the open after their camp on the greek island of lesbos burned down. people in wales must wear face masks in shops and other indoor public spaces from monday. it will also follow england and scotland and ban indoor gatherings of more than six people from monday. the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, says the changes are needed as 20 people in every 100,000 now has coronavirus. the new rules mean that only up to six people aged 11 plus will be able to meet indoors in wales. groups of up to 30 will still be allowed to meet outside, unlike other parts of the uk. and face masks will now be mandatory

in shops and in other enclosed public spaces. there have been recent changes in scotland too. there, first minister nicola sturgeon announced yesterday that up to six people will be allowed to meet indoors and outdoors, from monday. this will not apply for those younger than 12 years of age. in northern ireland, six people from two households are able to meet indoors. and the maximum number of people who can meet outdoors has been reduced from 30 to 15. and new stricter local restrictions have been reintroduced in parts of northern ireland, including parts of greater belfast. and in england, the prime minister, borisjohnson, announced this week that from monday a new rule of six will apply for indoors and outdoors. well, a little earlier today i asked our health correspondent catherine burns why the lockdown restirictions differ so much around the country. i am calling this the rule of six—ish. you can see everyone is taking similar steps but they are changing things slightly. health is devolved, which means

each nation can make their own decisions by looking at their situation on the ground. you can see, even within england, there is a vastly different situation in various bits of the country. they are reacting to what they have got and making their own decisions. it is complicated. in england, the rule of six includes children, it does not in england and scotland and wales. northern ireland has restrictions in ballymena and belfast, it is a complicated picture. but i suppose the thing for people to do is look at the situation where they are and follow local guidance. we are expecting more data today. it's going to be a big day today. what are we expecting? it is going to be a snapshot of where we are at with the virus right now. various reports which will give us more information. we know to a certain extent what to expect. we know cases are starting to rise, we will find out today how fast. we will find out exactly which bits of the country, especially in england, are going to be put under more

protective measures. already today, we have seen, for example, newcastle and gateshead, the councils have come out and said they will be on the list. the list has not been announced yet but they are expecting to go on it. the mayor of liverpool says he expects the whole of merseyside to go on it. sunderland and tyneside, have stopped hospital visits. one to look out is birmingham and the west midlands. if we look at the hotspot reports, the number of cases per 100,000 in birmingham — always the key thing to look out for — the number is 85 in birmingham. the increase in cases from this time last week — 619. that's quite a jump. the department of health and social care says a covid—19 app will be launched across england and wales on september 24. ahead of the roll—out, businesses including pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and cinemas are being urged to ensure they have nhs qr code posters visible on entry so customers who have downloaded

the new app can use their smartphones to check—in. the uk economy has continued its recovery — the uk has announced it's agreed in principle its first major post—brexit trade deal with japan. the government says 99% of exports to japan will be tariff—free. meanwhile, trade talks between the eu and the uk are due to resume next week despite the bitter rift over the british government's plan to break international law and override the brexit withdrawal agreement. this is what the international trade secretary liz truss had to say on the issue. it is very important we protect the good friday agreement. that is a key aspect of the peace process. and thatis aspect of the peace process. and that is what we are determined to do. what i am announcing today is that we have successfully reached agreement in principle on the japan trade deal, which will enable british businesses to have more opportunities overseas.

alan winters is professor of economics and director of the uk trade policy observatory in the university of sussex. thank you forjoining us. how significant is this deal? it is nice to have a positive. it is going to increase output and exports a little bit, but it is small compared with the costs of pulling out of the european single market. so a plus, but not a big plus. what will it mean precisely for businesses? well, precise is not the place we are at at the moment. they have agreed in principle, and we have seen very few details. the sorts of things which are in the press release talk about liberalisation so far as digital trade is concerned. that is good news. that is the coming way of doing trade. financial services seem to have some advantages. they say there are going to be some

improvements in rules of origin, which is what you have to satisfy. will she have to satisfy in order to get zero tariffs within a free trade agreement. they are very difficult, very sensitive, and i do not know quite what has been agreed. some tariff reductions in pork and beef. i think almost certainly little progress on stilton cheese, which had become a bit of a cause for mistrust. and in terms of the wider trade deal picture, what is your sense of how things are progressing? what are you expecting to see in the coming weeks? so far as the coming week is concerned, i think all the attention is coming back onto the european union. the eu accounts for 50% of our trade still and we are heading faster towards a no deal thanl heading faster towards a no deal than i thought we were even a few days ago. i think the critical issue

is what the deal we get with europe over this 50% of trade that you have with them. rather than the 2.2% that you have with japan. in terms of the eu, obviously we have heard endless arguments about this, but in terms ofjobs and the position everyone is in with the global economy and even more difficult place, how much is whether we get a deal or not on the brexit front going to affectjobs and peoples's standard of living immediately? brexit itself is going to impose costs on the long run. pulling out of the single market, free mobility of labour, no standards, or border formalities. that will cut gdp, we think, five or 6% relative to where it would have been. if we get a free trade deal of the sort the british have asked for, if you look at their draft treaty from me, what they are asking for,

we reckon that is worth about one and a little bit percent of gdp. —5, -6 if and a little bit percent of gdp. —5, —6 if you have no deal. —4 and a bit if you have a deal. so it is valuable. 1% of gdp is a big number, but it does not undo the economic stress which brexit itself is going to cost. many thanks indeed for your time. let's treturn to news that the department of health and social care says a covid—19 app will be launched across england and wales on september 24. let's get more now from our technology correspondent rory cellan—jones. how will this app work? it has been long and tortuous, the process towards it. one version which they trailed in the isle of wight back in the summer, they decide that that was not working. they switched course completely. they have got this new version, which again is being tried out on the isle of wight

and in the london borough of newham. it will enable you to know, or to have some certainty if you come into contact with someone who is infected with the virus, and the two have the app. you will get a notification telling you to self—isolate. they are putting a lot of stress on another aspect of this at, which is the facility to login at places you visit using a qr code. the call they are making today is for all businesses, pubs, restaurants, hotels etc to download these qr codes so that customers will be able to scan, login, and if people do turn out to be infected, it will be easier to contact them. will it tell you where it is that you might have beenin you where it is that you might have been in contact with the person that is confirmed to have an infection? if, for example, you find out it is from a contact in a pub, but you do

not think you are standing very close to those people, that might give you a different sense of worry thanif give you a different sense of worry than if it is in a school were you have been sitting to connect your best friend who has come down with it. that is not how it works. there isa it. that is not how it works. there is a decision within the app, in the technology of the app, as to what constitutes... this is what is so difficult to grade in the technology. what constitutes a significant contact with an infected person. it will not allow you, you may have been any pub where someone had the virus. you will have had to have been sitting next to them for ten minutes for the alert to come out, but you will not know who that person was or where it happened. you will just person was or where it happened. you willjust get person was or where it happened. you will just get an person was or where it happened. you willjust get an alert telling you to self—isolate. willjust get an alert telling you to self-isolate. they must be very confident it is going to work. we have heard about all the teething problems, too many people potentially being contacted on the isle of wight. this is something

that people are hoping will really help going into the autumn and winter. i think it has been a very long journey. right at the beginning, when matt hancock announced that we were going to have this, this was going to be the be all and end all. this would be the key weapon. it the excitement has been dampened down further and further, described as the cherry on the cake rather than the cake itself. it is being thought of as a useful addition, but they are desperate now not to over hype it because it proved so disappointing when it was originally tried out. they have had to change tact of course. they try to ignore where everybody else was going, using a tool kit supplied by apple and google. they have now done that. they are coming to this after scotla nd they are coming to this after scotland and northern ireland have already released their own apps. do we know what the numbers are, the percentage of the population that has a smartphone? it is about 8096.

it will work for most people. again, at the beginning, it was said that you would need a very large percentage of the population to download this kind of app for it to have any effect. they have come back a bitand have any effect. they have come back a bit and said that any contribution will help. i think they believe that this qr code idea will be a real selling point of the app, notjust for individuals but for all sorts of businesses, which have now been told that they have got to be much more serious about logging who visits.|j am gladi serious about logging who visits.|j am glad i can ask anything and you will know the answer. thank you much indeed. two major research projects studying the spread of coronavirus in schools here in the uk are set to begin within weeks. scientists at bristol university and imperial college london hope the studies will help schools understand much more about how the virus is transmitted. here's our education

editor bra nwen jeffreys. this is the only testing done so far in schools. swab samples taken in the summer term. the level of coronavirus cases was low then. now, all pupils are back in school in england. cases are rising in the wider community. but still, little is known about children. so, in bristol, researchers will use saliva tests. 40 0 0 bristol, researchers will use saliva tests. 4000 pupils, 1000 staff, once a month for six months.|j tests. 4000 pupils, 1000 staff, once a month for six months. i think the main thrust of the study is really to understand the rates of infections and to jump on them very quickly. so we are giving the head teachers tools to be able to spot infection early and keep their schools open and permit the continuity of education that is so important to them. catching cases early could mean fewer pupils isolating. another study in london

will investigate more. following up on confirmed cases in pupils, looking in detail at f and how they pass it on. there have been more changes to quarantine rules, as travellers returning to england and northern ireland from mainland portugal will now have to self—isolate for 14 days from early tomorrow morning. wales and scotland had already imposed the mandatory two weeks of quarantine for portugal earlier this month. the new rules also apply to travellers from hungary, who will also be required to self—isolate from 4am on saturday. but sweden has been made exempt from quarantine for england, northern ireland, wales, and scotland. a government department has failed to keep staff safe from covid—19, according to an official inspection. the health and safety executive says it has seen poor social distancing and a lack of one way systems at the department of work and pensions in leeds. the dwp says it's taken "urgent action" to deal with the problems. let's go to edinburgh now where scotland's first minister

nicola sturgeon is giving an update on measures to reduce coronavirus cases. good afternoon, everyone. thank you for joining good afternoon, everyone. thank you forjoining us. i am joined today by the deputy chief medical officer, doctor nicola steven, who will say a few words shortly. i will start with the usual run—through of the daily statistics. an additional 175 positive cases were confirmed yesterday. that represents 2.7% of people who work nearly tested yesterday and the total number of cases is now 22,214. 80 of today's cases is now 22,214. 80 of today's cases are in glasgow and clyde, 39 in lanarkshire, 12 in ayrshire and arran. the remaining 20 cases are spread across another six health board areas. i should flag up that the situation in lanarkshire is causing some particular concern today. there will be expert public health discussions over the course

of today, and depending on the judgments and conclusions that they arrive at, it may be that some additional restrictions will have to be applied they are. we will, however, keep people updated. i can also confirm that 269 patients are currently in hospital with confirmed covid, that is three more than yesterday. eight people are in intensive care, that is one more than yesterday. but i am pleased to say that no deaths were registered of patients who had tested positive in the last 24 hours. the total number of deaths therefore remains 2499. that total always reminds us that this virus has had a terrible impact, andi that this virus has had a terrible impact, and i want again to convey my condolences to everybody who has lost someone. today, i want to focus on the two key announcements that we made yesterday, just to underline the importance of both. firstly, to protect scotland app, as you

probably heard, launched yesterday. it is now available for download. more than 600,000 people have already downloaded the app, so if you are one of those thank you for doing so. but for the app to be as effective as possible, to help us in the fight against covid and also help us live a bit more normally, then we need as many people as possible across scotland to download it and use it. if you have not yet done so, you can download it via the protected dot scott website. you will see that on the front of the podium or you can go to the apple or google play app stores and simply search protect scotland and you will find the app there. the process for downloading it is really quick and simple. you do not need to provide any personal information, the way that the app works is also really simple. if you test positive for covid, you will be given a code by test and protect that you will enter

into the app. 0nce test and protect that you will enter into the app. once you do that, the app automatically identifies any other app users that you have been in close proximity with. that means anyone you have been within two metres of four more than 15 minutes within a particular timescale. the apple then immediately alert those people that a contact of theirs has tested positive. they will not know who that is, and it will provide them with information and advice on self isolating. similarly, you will receive an alert if a contact of yea rs has tested receive an alert if a contact of years has tested positive, but again you will not know who they are. everything about the app is anonymous and confidential. it does not replace the current test and protect system, instead it is an enhancement of that. and it will be particularly useful for settings like public transport, where we tend to spend time in close proximity to people we do not know. so we would not be able to give the details of these people to a contact tracery

us. we also think it will be very valuable as students start to arrive back at college and university. if you're a student about to about to go to college or uni, make sure you download the app because it will help with you having a bit of normality and how you go about your daily life. if you have relatives that are about start college or uni, make sure you remind them to go on and download it. one of the crucial things about it is that it helps to reduce the time it takes to notify contacts. reduce the time it takes to notify co nta cts. if reduce the time it takes to notify contacts. if you think about it, our manual contact tracing system is excellent, it is doing a greatjob, but by definition the time taken to phone some day, take the details, and then contact those people takes and then contact those people takes a bit of time. by contrast, the app provides contact with an almost immediate notification which will then be supplemented by advice as necessary from the test and protect team. for all these reasons, necessary from the test and protect team. forall these reasons, i really wa nt team. forall these reasons, i really want to stress this, this app isa really want to stress this, this app is a really important way in which

all of us can support test and protect and the efforts that they are making, but also a really important way for all of us to keep our communities safe. nicola will talk a bit more about this shortly, but in the face of covid, we can all feel a little bit powerful, but this isa feel a little bit powerful, but this is a way of us doing something positive that helps in that collective effort. let me just stress again, because i know there are some people, understandably, that have concerns about any technology. this app has been designed with privacy absolutely in mind. it is anonymous and confidential, as i said, it does not track your movements, it does not know where you are or track your location, apart from the most minimal of data it needs to work it does not collect or pass on data. your data will not be passed to the dwp or hmrc or anybody else. somebody like me cannot go and look at anything about you because it does not identify you personally at

all. it is a really good innovation and a good enhancement of this vital test and protect system, as we go into winter, becomes ever more important. i will come back to the simple fact i started with, the sign up simple fact i started with, the sign up rate that we saw yesterday and overnight and entity is excellent, probably beyond our initial expectations. but we have got to keep that going, we have got to keep the numbers growing. because the more of us who download and use it, the more effective it will be, and the more effective it will be, and the more effective test and protect will be overall and helping us to tackle covid. i would encourage you to visit the website, download the app and spread the word to all of yourfamily and app and spread the word to all of your family and friends. it is a really simple thing we can do, but it is really important all of us can do as individuals to help protect scotla nd do as individuals to help protect scotland as a whole. the second issue i want to highlight are the new rules and guidelines that were announced yesterday. and particularly, i want to emphasise

the new rules on social gatherings. you know that since july, the new rules on social gatherings. you know that sincejuly, up to eight people from three households have been able to meet in dos, the limits area have been able to meet in dos, the limits are a bit higher for outdoor gatherings. these limits are no longer apply. a maximum now of six people from a maximum of two households will be able to meet together. i know that is a really tough restriction. that is why i wa nt to tough restriction. that is why i want to assure you that the decision we made on this was not taken lightly. at the moment, we believe this is necessary to try to limit and restrict as much as we can the transmission of the virus between different households. to put it blu ntly, different households. to put it bluntly, this virus wants to find new households to infect. that is pretty much on that cares about, and to survive it has to transmit from person to person and household to household. in order to push it into retreat, as we did over the summer, we have to limit the opportunities

for it to spread between households. whether this virus arrives or dies is down to the opportunities we give it or deny it. to reduce transmission and also to simplify the rules, this new little limit will apply indoors, in houses, pubs and restaurants, and also outdoors, including private gardens. there are some limited route in... there are exceptions to allow up to 20 people to attend funeral weeks or wedding and civil partnership receptions. any children under 12 years old, who are part of two households meeting up, do not count towards the limit of six people. our initial decision, for the reasons i've talked about, trying to limit that spread between households, is that children under 12 do count towards the household number. children from several different households cannot gather together in your home. however, i

have asked for some additional expert advice to see if insert in some circumstances we could exempt children from the two households rule as well. for example, children's birthday parties could go ahead, even on a limited basis as long as adults complied with the limits. we intend to clarify this over the next few days. hopefully in the early part of next week. that indicates that we do not want his role is to be applied any more severely than they have to be, but we have to make sure that they are being applied stringently enough in order to have the desired effect. that is why some of these decisions are quite difficult and we need to think carefully about them. the basic rule, though, just to remind people is that in any setting, indoors or outdoors, you should not meet inboard of that six people from a maximum of two households. the rug realisations that will give legal effect to these measures will come into force on monday and more detail

will be available on the website. i would encourage people to start sticking to them now rather than waiting for them to take legal effect on monday. of course, for now, for people living in glasgow, dunbartonshire, renfrewshire, the advice is not to visit other people's households at all. i know all of this can be really hard to understand. as you might have heard me say on one of the briefings earlier in the week, an earlier stage of this pandemic we were sent to all of you stay at home. that was quite easy for people to understand, how to abide by but easy to understand. it is a bit more difficult now. and i get that. we are trying to simper by the rules as much as possible. but the point i wa nted much as possible. but the point i wanted to briefly touch on right now is the fact that i know sometimes these rules seem to be inconsistent. 0ne these rules seem to be inconsistent. one of the young people in my own life messaged me this morning to ask, pretty forcefully, why she can be with her friends at school all

day today but she can't be with her friends after school later on. to be fair, that is not an unreasonable question. but the basic answer is this, we are having to restrict interactions in the population generally to try to keep the virus ata generally to try to keep the virus at a low enough level to keep schools open. because we know being at school is so important for young people, educationally and socially. what can sometimes appear to be inconsistencies are actually just the essential trade—offs that we need to make to avoid going back into lockdown more completely and to avoid, if at all possible, having to close schools again. i know this can be difficult to understand but i would ask you, or seek to give you an assurance, that you do think carefully about all of this. well it can sometimes be difficult to fathom it, there is a rationale behind the decisions that we are taking. yesterday, of course, we also decided to implement two additional measures to reduce the risk of

transmission in the hospitality sector. again, these will take effect legally from monday but there is no reason why people should not start to abide by these straightaway. firstly, it will become mandatory for customers and hospitality premises to wear face coverings when not eating or drinking. for example, when they enter and go to their table or when they leave the table to go to the bathroom. second, it is recommended in guidance at staff working in hospitality pray wear face coverings. but from monday, that advice, subject to some exemptions, the same exemptions that apply elsewhere, will become law. the hospitality sector has put an awful lot of effort into making it safe for people to go out and meet up, and i'm very grateful to them for that. these additional protections are all about helping to ensure that the sector can remain open because that matters for the large numbers of people who work within it, as well as the people who enjoy the services it provides. the final

point i want to meet before handing over is that the changes that were announced yesterday, i know are really unwelcome. i did not want to announce them and i am sure that none of you wanted to hear them. but in ourjudgment none of you wanted to hear them. but in our judgment imposing restrictions now on how people meet up restrictions now on how people meet up as necessary to avoid a stricter lockdown later. 0ver up as necessary to avoid a stricter lockdown later. over the past month and a half, the average number of cases recorded in scotland each day has been more than trebling every three weeks. that is not sustainable if we are to keep schools and businesses safely open. we have to act now in order to try to stem that increase and avoid more restrictive measures coming necessary later. the other point that i made yesterday that i want to stress today, this is all really frustrating and tiresome for everyone will stop but on the upside, we are in a stronger position now than we were back in march. cases are not rising as

quickly and that is partly because we have test and protect operating, and people are much more used to having to do all the basic things to try to limit the spread of the virus. we are in a stronger position but we must protect the progress we have made and try to stop the virus running out of control again. particularly because we have always known, going into winter with calder, damper temperatures and damp conditions, we are likely to see this virus spread again more quickly. please stick to the new rules of six people and two households, do not wait until monday, do that now. always remember the other measures that will minimise the risk of you passing the virus on other people. nicola sturgeon with the briefing in scotland. all the nations have slightly different rules, but nicola sturgeon stressing that six people from a maximum of two household can gather from monday, but

from a maximum of two household can gatherfrom monday, but people from a maximum of two household can gather from monday, but people can start taking that advice now, that is better. also talking about the new app that is about to launch, and saying that will be really helpful for people on public transport, stu d e nts for people on public transport, students coming into universities. she stressed that the information was anonymous, confidential, and that people shouldn't be worried that people shouldn't be worried that their data will be tracked and given to hmrc or the dwp. no one can be individually identified. we are expecting a lot more data on covid numbers today across the uk, showing the gradual tracking up of the numbers, as expected perhaps, with people meeting more indoors. that is why the app, due to launch across the uk on the 24th of september has been announced. we are waiting for

the briefing to start from wales, from cardiff, from mark drakeford. we will go to that in a moment as soon as we will go to that in a moment as soon as it starts. let's continue to listen for the brute —— to the briefing in scotland. at the very beginning of this pandemic, we obviously knew very little about this new coronavirus, and i think that made us all, as human beings, feel... sorry, let's cross to cardiff. this is the eighth time that i have reported the outcome of the 21 day review of coronavirus regulations in wales. but this is the first time that i have had more bad news to report than good news. coronavirus is on the rise again in wales after many weeks of being in decline. the wales wide new case rate has reached 20 per 100,000 people today. this is the rate at

which quarantine requirements, for example, are introduced when people return to wales from countries in other parts of the world. it indicates that there is a serious risk of the virus spreading more widely once again. that is why, in this review period, it has been a signal to us that we have to focus on tightening restrictions across wales. so that once again we can work together to prevent cases from rising even higher and so prevent the problem from worsening further as well. underneath a headline of rising welsh case rate lies a more complex picture. some parts of the country have seen rapid rises in cases. in some local authority areas, the increases have been low, areas, the increases have been low, a handful of cases only each day. and in some parts of wales,

coronavirus is still falling. and thatis coronavirus is still falling. and that is why the measures being announced today have been very carefully chosen. they respond to the challenges we face, but they are proportionate to the position here in wales. now, we have a number of hotspot areas, most notably the three areas in caerphilly borough, merthyr tydfil and rhondda, where cases of coronavirus have risen sharply. you can see in the red line on the slide, the very sharp increase in caerphilly over recent days. local restrictions have been introduced in caerphilly borough as of tuesday evening, the local authorities in merthyr tydfil and rhondda last night introduced a series of local actions to address the clusters of cases in their

areas. community testing started in the lower rhondda yesterday, and we will continue again today. as you can see from the slide, that blue line in merthyr tydfil demonstrates how earlier in the year it is possible to have a very rapid upward spike followed by a very rapid decline, provided we do all we need to get on top of a spike in cases as quickly as we can. of course, we are monitoring the situation closely and working with those local authorities to determine if further actions are needed to protect people's health and prevent ongoing spread of coronavirus. at the same time, we have to be alert to the international context. more countries are being added to the quarantine list as coronavirus takes hold again. as i said three weeks ago, wales is not immune from the spread of coronavirus elsewhere in

the united kingdom. as difficulties deepenin the united kingdom. as difficulties deepen in other uk nations, we must expect to see an impact here too. 0ver expect to see an impact here too. over the last few weeks, we are fortu nate over the last few weeks, we are fortunate that we have not seen more people admitted to hospital or an increase in deaths from coronavirus in wales. but i have to be very clear. if coronavirus gets a grip again in our communities, we will inevitably see an increase in serious illnesses, in hospital admissions, and indeed in deaths here in wales again. the new measures we are introducing today are designed to prevent a new coronavirus crisis here in wales. we have, i believe, a short window to get ahead of a gathering storm and

to help us avoid more draconian measures. these actions are even more important as schools return to full capacity and students prepare to return to colleges and universities. the new measures we are taking fall into four main areas. we will reinforce our message to people to work from home wherever possible. it has never been our policy to encourage people to return to their workplaces in wales if they can continue to work successfully from home, or to work remotely. many of you, i know, will have heard the message across our border to get back to the office. this is not and never has been our message in wales. we wa nt never has been our message in wales. we want people to carry on working from home if they can, and to do so

successfully. the fewer people with whom we come into contact, the lower the risk of the virus spreading. secondly, we want to reduce the number of people meeting indoors. 0ur number of people meeting indoors. our test trace protect system has shown that the main cause of the upsurge in transmission of the virus in recent weeks has become through people meeting other people indoors. it has been at the heart of the rise in cases in caerphilly, and we've seen in cases in caerphilly, and we've seen other cases in wales. to help break this cycle of infection and prevent the spread of coronavirus, we will change the rules on meeting indoors. as from monday, as you will have seen on the slide, a new limit of six people will be introduced on the numbers who can meet indoors at any one time. and all six must belong to the same exclusive

extended household. extended households which in wales can be made up of any four households joining together. but in future, from monday, only six people from that extended household will be able to meet indoors at any one time. children under the age of 11 will not be included in our rule of six. as from monday, indoor gatherings of more than six people will be against the law here in wales. 0f more than six people will be against the law here in wales. of course, different rules apply in caerphilly, where more serious restrictions have already been put in place. a third measure we will take from monday will be to make face coverings compulsory in wales in indoor public places such as shops. there will be exemptions from primary age children, and for people with health conditions. and let me be clear —

people who knowingly and deliberately flout the law in wales will face fines of up to £1920 for repeat offences. finally, as from monday, we will give local authorities new powers to take action themselves to reduce the spread of coronavirus. most people in wales have worked hard and complied with the rules. but a small minority have not done so. these new powers, which come into force on monday, will allow local authorities to close premises or prevent events from happening on public health grounds. these powers will enable local authorities to move quickly, to respond to outbreaks of the virus in their areas when, for example, a number of cases are linked to a particular premises, or as a preventative measure when there is a

high risk of outbreaks. now, i said at the start of this review that the period has produced more bad news than good about the position in wales. but we continue to plan for better days ahead. 0ver wales. but we continue to plan for better days ahead. over the course of the next three weeks, we will learn the lessons from the three pilot events which have already taken place with small audiences at a rts taken place with small audiences at arts and sports events in wales. and we will work with those sectors of our economy which are yet to resume operations to help them back to business if the conditions are right. these past few weeks have been a setback, but it is not inevitable that things will worsen further. if we all work together, follow the rules and do the simple things which protect ourselves and our loved ones, then together we can

still keep wales safe. happy now to ta ke still keep wales safe. happy now to take some questions. and on my list, the first question this afternoon is to come from james williams at bbc wales. face coverings - to have been calls from all quarters for you to make face coverings mandatory in public spaces indoors for some time, from welsh conservatives, medical professionals, and that the balance of evidence was in favour of doing so. of evidence was in favour of doing so. are you now agreeing that they can make a difference? you were previously saying that you didn't wa nt previously saying that you didn't want to go there because there were concerns that it could lead to people being more risky with their behaviour, perhaps being more likely to get coronavirus because they are not following just metres and so on.

if you still believe that, is now the time to introduce face coverings, because the spread is more why because mike james, i think the bbc itself reported on the 11th of august, and i said then, that if there were to be a rise in the numberof there were to be a rise in the number of people suffering from coronavirus in wales, that would strengthen the case for making face coverings mandatory. and that, i'm afraid, is exactly what has happened over the last three weeks. we have reached a threshold where the balance between the advantages and disadvantages of face coverings has swung in favour of making them mandatory, so i have my mask with me here this afternoon. we are all going to have to get used to having them with us when we go outside into shops or into enclosed public places. while the number remains elevated here in wales, we will make them mandatory because they help us to prevent the wider spread of the

virus. if the numberfalls to prevent the wider spread of the virus. if the number falls again and is reliably below 20, then once again we will be able to revisit the advice we provide to welsh people. and cani advice we provide to welsh people. and can i turn to the rule of six from four extended households. if you are in an extended household with somebody, why can you not meet the rest of those people in the extended household, because they are the only people you are supposed to be meeting anyway? the more people we meet, the more opportunities there are for the virus to spread, and that risk is greatest in certain contexts, and greatest of all when we meet in one another‘s houses. because, understandably, we revert to the way that we are used to meeting when we are in and out of one another‘s houses, and the

evidence is, strong evidence from caerphilly and other places, that coronavirus is spreading in wales in those domestic contexts. we've chosen the figure of six because of simplicity of messaging. when you have a population as we have in wales that is close to our border and we'll be hearing all the time from news outlets across our border about the rule of six, having the same number here in wales allows us to have a simple and common message, and we know that messaging is itself and we know that messaging is itself an important part of responding to a public health emergency. so, we have chosen the number for that reason. we have chosen indoor settings to reduce the number because that is where coronavirus is taking hold in wales, and we have to act now to make sure that the problems we are experiencing don't spread to other parts of wales and don't get even more serious. 0ver parts of wales and don't get even more serious. over to adrian masters

at itv wales thank you. how long do you anticipate the rule of six being in place? england's chief medical officer has talked about them being in place there until at least into the spring. can you confirm a similar timescale for the welsh restrictions and what that might mean for families over christmas? we will review it all the time, and if it is no longer proportionate to the problem, if we no longer need to have that restriction, then we will look to lift it here in wales stop if it remains necessary, it will remain in force, and if it remains necessary, it will remain inforce, and if if it remains necessary, it will remain in force, and if that takes us through the rest of this year, reg retta bly us through the rest of this year, regrettably that is what we will have to do. as far as christmas in wales is concerned, it is important to just identify another difference between our position and that across our border, which is that the figure

of six does not include young children under the age of 11 in wales. so, family gatherings where children, parents and sometimes grandparents will want to get together for christmas will still be allowed in wales under the rules that we have announced the day, and that we have announced the day, and thatis that we have announced the day, and that is because all the evidence we haveis that is because all the evidence we have is that children do not transmit the virus to others in the way that older people, and nor do they suffer from it in the same way. thank you. and i understand that you have now spoken to the prime minister for the first time since may. can you tell us a bit more about the conversation? did he ask your thoughts about the rule of six? i hear what you said about messaging. where you bounced into that decision? my conversation with the prime minister was with the other first ministers, scotland and

northern ireland. it was several weeks ago now. it is the only occasion i have spoken to him since the 28th of may. i have spoken twice this week with the other first ministers and with michael gove at the cabinet office. we did have an early indication from him of the thinking that lies behind the changes that have been made in england. we are not bounced into it by decisions that other people make. it is helpful when we are informed about them and can exchange views on the different contexts that each of us face. as in other parts of the uk, numbers are rising again in wales, not as fast and not as seriously as is faced elsewhere, but rising nevertheless. that is the reason why we have made the changes we have made in wales, not because of decisions others are making in the context that they themselves have to respond to thanks, adrian. over to dan bevan at lbc. local

lockdown measures have come into place in caerphilly county as you have already mentioned, and cases are looking worryingly high in rhondda and merthyr tydfil. if they we re rhondda and merthyr tydfil. if they were continue to look like an —— to continue on the trajectory, how far away are we from another lockdown — weeks or days? the local outbreak tea m weeks or days? the local outbreak team that met yesterday endorsed those local measures that the leaders of those councils have instituted in rct and merthyr. i wa nt to instituted in rct and merthyr. i want to add my voice that there is in urging local people in those areas to follow the advice they have now been given, because if they do, there is a chance that we will be able to avoid taking more stringent national measures to deal with the outbreak. the imt, the team that gets together to review things, will meet again on monday. it will review the evidence that will have come in

over the weekend, and the latest figures from the testing, and that will give us an idea as to whether those local measures are being effective or whether we need to do more stop so, it's not a matter of waiting weeks, we review these things daily, and that interdisciplinary team will get back together on monday and we will take our advice from them. thank you. we've also seen rising cases in places like wrexham, anglesey and previously merthyr. you managed to stop those reaching... you want able to do that in caerphilly. i wonder why that might be the case. there is an important difference between the two contexts, an important one to outline. where an outbreak can be

traced to specific premises, as it was in anglesey, or when you know that the numbers are rising because ofa that the numbers are rising because of a particular cluster of people who have already been contacted by our trace, test protected system, thenit our trace, test protected system, then it is possible to deal with those things by local measures that don't intrude into the lives of the wider community. when the virus begins to spread beyond particular premises or particular groups of people,, then you have to introduce measures the wider population are obliged to follow, and that is what has happened in caerphilly. we are no longer dealing with a particular factory or workplace, or indeed with particular groups of people. we have got levels of community spread that can only be tackled by community action. if we can continue to deal with the rising numbers in martha and an rct by getting on top of the

particular groups and workplaces that are behind the rise in those numbers, we may yet be able to avoid those wider community measures on a national basis, but the jury will not come in on that until after the weekend. dan, thank you. 0verto lizzie button of the daily mirror. welcome. sorry, i have failed to go to wales cap my online. will hayward. thank you, first minister. elective operations haven't got going in wales yet and many people are living with severe pain and have no idea when their life changing procedures will happen. the royal couege procedures will happen. the royal college of surgeons has called on the welsh government to create hospitals that will be able to keep working if there is a second wave to keep working through the backlog. it could lead to a postcode lottery.

what is the strategy for getting through these long waste though it might waiting list for elective operations? it is set out in the documents we publish every quarter when we bring together the health plans. it is right that health boards take responsibility for making the decisions about who will be treated and when, because they are much closer to those patients, and it's not a decision i think that needs to be made in a health minister past my office here in cardiff. what we are doing is creating within hospitals covid secure creating within hospitals covid secure areas where work can continue free of the risk of coronavirus or people who are suffering from the disease. at the moment, that seems a more effective and efficient way than creating her hospitals for that purpose. the decision continues to be under review. i have to be clear with people in wales — there is no quick way back to providing

treatment on the scale and at the speed that we were able to while coronavirus is still with us. an operating theatre which before coronavirus could carry out a procedures a day now, when everything is working, is probably down to three procedures a day because of the way in which operating theatres have to be cleaned between each operation, then we which ppe has to be deployed and so we which ppe has to be deployed and so on, so while we will always make sure that those who are in the greatest need get to the front of the queue here in wales, nobody, i'm afraid, should believe that there is an easy pathway for anybody back to the levels of treatment which were possible in a pre—thing—mac world. —— in the world before covid. possible in a pre—thing—mac world. -- in the world before covid. some people in cardiff have been set as faras people in cardiff have been set as far as inverness for a test. parents and children are unable to go to school work because they can't get a test or are waiting for results. the

lighthouse labs are not run by the welsh government, so can i ask for your reactions to their shortcomings and ask what you will do to make up for the shortage of tests even worse. the point of clarification — how does the six person real affect funerals and weddings coming up? funerals and weddings are not affected by the six person rule and will be able to continue as they have previously. you are right that lighthouse labs are a uk resource. it is not long ago that the welsh government was being urged to make more use of them, and we have. 0ne of the ways we will respond to the difficulties that lighthouse labs are covering only experiencing —— currently experiencing is to move more testing back into welsh laboratory capacity that we are still able to use here in wales. there are a difficult few weeks ahead for lighthouse labs, but there are plans in place and you will have heard it from the uk government to

strengthen that system further, expand the numbers of lighthouse la bs expand the numbers of lighthouse labs and get the turnaround times that they were achieving only two or three weeks ago back up to those levels. moderate forward -- mark dra keford, levels. moderate forward -- mark drakeford, saying levels. moderate forward -- mark dra keford, saying they levels. moderate forward -- mark drakeford, saying they have a short window to get ahead of a gathering stop with a rise in numbers to 20 per 100,000, stop with a rise in numbers to 20 per100,000, —— stop with a rise in numbers to 20 per 100,000, —— get ahead of a gathering storm. he is urging people to work from home and that only six people can meet indoors, as in other parts of the uk. now, the weather. i make of weather today. scotland and northern ireland will have rain and northern ireland will have rain and brisk winds thanks to an area of low pressure. this cold front, as it pushes south towards england and

wales, will weaken significantly. not all of us will see the rain. not all of us will see the rain at all. across southern wales, the midlands and east anglia, it stays bright with broken cloud and spells of sunshine. rain moves in to the north west of england and wales in the weather front is weakening by this stage. the wrinkly of scotland and northern ireland, staying busy through the afternoon with sunshine and a few passing showers. the top temperature, 20 celsius towards the south—east. overnight, the weather front weakens as it slides south—east, so very little if any rain left on it as it moves across east anglia into parts of southern england overnight. the showers will continue across the north west. this weekend, a mixture of weather around. there will be some rain on the way for scotland and northern ireland, but also some sunshine around this weekend, as we'll see a moment. in england and wales, dry throughout, and set to get much warmer as we go through the weekend as well. saturday's forecast, patchy cloud left from that week mike front. showers for most places in england

and wales, and a day of sunshine and showers for scotland and northern ireland. later in the evening, rain returning to the north and west. that rain will turn heavy and persistent overnight on saturday night, lasting well into sunday, particularly in the highlands, with large rainfall totals building up, and we could see localised flooding. elsewhere, plenty of sunshine for england and wales, and brightening up in southern parts of scotland and northern ireland. temperatures are on the rise. we should see highs climbing into the mid 20s across parts of eastern england. it gets even warmer into the early part of next week, high—pressure moving eastwards in europe, allowing these south and south easterly winds to drag some of that heat in from the continent. on monday, still the thickest cloud across northern and western areas of the uk, outbreaks of rain at times developing, particularly through the afternoon. otherwise, dry with spells of sunshine, and turning hotter, temperatures reaching 28 celsius in london, the hot and sunny weather lasting for some of us into tuesday.

one of the top areas on the list is expected to be birmingham, but with other areas also thought to be of concern. people in birmingham are braced: it is strange because we had already got used to the lockdown, come out of the lockdown and feels like we are probably going to go back into it, as well. at least we are prepared this time. we'll bring you all the latest on the areas that could be looking at tighter restrictions. also this lunchtime. the government announces that a new covid—19 contact—tracing app will now be launched in england and wales later this month. in wales, face masks will be mandatory in indoor public spaces from monday,