this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines... the government says it will take "a matter of weeks" to resolve problems in the coronavirus testing system following a warning that nhs staff are having to stay off work, because they can't get tests. we have now carried out over 20 million tests for coronavirus in this country. as we expand our capacity further, we're working round—the—clock to make sure everyone who needs a test can get a test. unemployment hits a two—year high, with young people especially badly hit by the pandemic‘s economic fallout. i wouldn't be being honest with people if i pretended that it was always going to be possible for people to return to the job that they had. a lifeline for some small businesses

as the high court rules insurers should have paid out over lockdown. an urgent warning for humanity to slow what's called an ‘accelerating decline‘ in nature with species heading towards extinction. the leaders of the united arab emirates, bahrain and israel prepare to signing an historic agreement in washington. this is the scene live at the white house where the accord bahrainis set to be signed. radio 2's zoe ball is set to become the highest paid bbc presenter as gary lineker accepts a pay cut. that and more revealed in the bbc‘s annual report.

hospital chiefs in england say nhs staff are having to stay off work because they can't get coronavirus tests. nhs providers say health workers with symptoms are being forced to stay at home as they wait for tests, and that's putting added strain on the service as it gears up for winter. they want doctors and nurses to be treated as a priority. the health secretary matt hancock says officials are working round the clock to fix ‘operational‘ problems, amid widespread reports of people across england struggling to get tests. richard galpin reports. the town of oldham in north—west england has one of the highest infection rates in the country, but people wanting tests are being turned away at sites like this because of a lack of capacity. the frustration palpable. do yourjob! i'm doing myjob! he's had a high temperature, he's supposed to be in school. what do you want me to do, leave him out of school, for indefinite?

i've been trying since the last two days, i've got a message here, says, the system is currently unavailable. that's for the last two days. and what is happening here in oldham is being replicated across the country. critically, the nhs itself is now being affected by the shortage of tests. doctors, nurses and other staff in nhs england who think they may have coronavirus symptoms are unable to confirm if they have been infected. as a result, some are now staying away from work when potentially it's not necessary. we are absolutely at full pelt in the nhs at the moment, trying to recover the services where treatment was understandably but unfortunately, delayed because of covid a few months ago. we are trying to get through those cases as quickly as possible and we simply can't spare members of staff, waiting for tests, not being able to come into work. and this lack of testing capacity is also impacting schools, which have only recently reopened.

already, there have been some outbreaks. without sufficient testing, these cannot be spotted in time to prevent the spread of the virus. my year four teacher, he was sent home last wednesday due to covid symptoms, a persistent cough. there were no tests available wednesday, he kept trying to book during the day and he was given the same places some of my parents have been suggested to go to, like aberdeen and llandudno. apart from them being miles away they are also in scotland and wales and we are in lancashire. he managed to get a fairly local test on the thursday after trying and trying again. according to the latest figures, the number of tests processed per day is getting close to the maximum capacity of 243,817. the latest figure for processed tests is 227,465. the lack of testing capacity is partly because the big laboratories built to help deal

with the epidemic are struggling with the level of demand, and there are reports of staffing shortages. i think you almost have a perfect storm of events that have come together to almost essentially crash the testing system. i think there is a surge in demand, i think capacity is very different, stated capacity is different from actually how many tests can be run on a given day. it's very worrying that we seem to be in a situation now before, really, we have come into autumn and winter, where we have maxed out the number of tests we can do in the country. the government insists the majority of tests are available within a ten mile radius, and that public health england is working night and day to bolster testing capacity. everyone in this house knows we are doing more testing per head of population than almost any other major nation. and i can update the house that we have now carried out over

20 million tests for coronavirus in this country. as we expand capacity further, we are working around the clock to make sure everyone who needs a test can get a test. the government has also suggested that demand from people who did not have symptoms was partly to blame for the current shortages. richard galpin, bbc news. the latest daily coronavirus figures have been released by the uk government, with 3,105 people testing positive for the virus. the data also shows that 27 people have died in the last 2a hours, within 28 days of them receiving a positive test result. that brings the total number of uk deaths from the virus to 41,664. our health correspondent nick triggle is here. let's just reflect on those figures briefly. first of all, the figure of

new cases hovering around the 3000 mark still, which is clearly wearing ministers. yes, that is the average, just over 3000. it's in line with that. a week ago, we are just over 2000, and six week before, we were hovering around the 500—600 mark. that's why ministers have been very concerned about the rise. i would say we are doing a bit more testing, so say we are doing a bit more testing, so that probably flattens that rise slightly. the other thing worth bearing in mind is where we were backin bearing in mind is where we were back in the spring. we weren't testing in the community then. the testing in the community then. the testing was solely focus on hospitals more or less. evidence suggests perhaps 100,000 cases a day, so wealth cases are rising, we're very long away from that peak we're very long away from that peak we saw back then. if we look at somewhere like france, they have around 10,000 cases a day, i think.

we could be heading in that direction, the fear is. ever since the pandemic started, we've looked at what's been happening in countries like italy, france and spain, and we've found ourselves two weeks to three weeks behind where they are. france has seen cases going up and up, spain looks like it was i for a while. there cases have leveled off slightly in the past week or so when ministers announced their rule of six people. the idea was to try and curb some of these rises, but we are entering the time of year when respiratory virus do circulate more, and i think everyone involved with government expects the cases to rise, but hopefully, rising slowly. a continuing row over testing and the government saying pa rt testing and the government saying part of the problem with not enough tests being available is that too many people who aren't actually eligible for tests because they have no symptoms are seeking a test.

indeed. they spent the summer running out those encouraging people to come forward, but what they say they've noticed recently is significant numbers of people who haven't got symptoms. asking for tests, people going on holiday or children returning from school and pa rents children returning from school and parents asking for tests. now demanded outstripping supply. they try to give a clear message, only come forward for a test if you have symptoms, unless a doctor or someone else advises you to do so. but clearly, this issue of shortages of testing has been rumbling on for a couple weeks. this seems to be a quite widespread problem. we hear about doctors and teachers unable to go to work because they can't get these tests. the government is opening up a new lab at the end of the month which will increase testing capacity by about a fifth, so testing capacity by about a fifth, so they say there are solutions coming online. at the moment, it's proving difficult in some areas to get a test up like next time i thank you very much indeed. my

let's take you live to the white house where a signing ceremony is about to take place in which israel has agreed to normalise relations with the uae and bahrain. the deals have been brokered by president trump. there has not been a peace deal for any arab nation with many years, not since the agreement of egypt. the palestinians have condemned these agreements with bahrain and the uae, and they describe it as a stab in the back. we saw a few minutes ago and the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. there will be 700 deaths on the south one of the white house. —— 700 guests. for president trump, is something of a

photo opportunity in a diplomatic coup ahead of november's election, in which he's up againstjoe biden. fern neta nyahu, in which he's up againstjoe biden. fern netanyahu, it's a bit of a boost for him as well. he's facing lots of criticism back home —— for netanyahu. lots of criticism back home —— for neta nyahu. we will lots of criticism back home —— for netanyahu. we will bring you that ceremony when it begins, but that is the scene live now. tougher restrictions have come into force in birmingham, solihull and sandwell, to try to stop the spread of the virus. it means people are banned from meeting others who aren't part of their household or support bubble in their homes or gardens. kathryn stanczyszyn reports. for many in the west midlands, life is changing again. after a rapid rise in coronavirus cases, different households within three council areas must no longer mix at home. birmingham has been on a knife edge in terms of greater restrictions for weeks. now, authorities say residents must

stick to the new rules or risk fines and maybe a future lockdown. from today, the entire city as well as the neighbouring boroughs of sandwell and solihull, 1.6 million people in total, must not spend time in each other‘s homes or gardens. the exception, if you are a lone adult in a support bubble. it doesn't affect schools, workplaces, or social settings like parks and restaurants. i think it's necessary, even though it is quite sad, but i understand why the decision has been made. anything that keeps this pandemic at bay is a good thing. you can go into a pub and mix but you cannot do it in your own house. i don't know. i think they don't know what they're talking about, to be honest with you. not many muslim people will go to a pub to meet their family. it is confusing, you can go shopping, eat out, but you cannot meet in the garden. there has been confusion here in the uk's second biggest city about why it's ok to meet people in social settings like pubs and big public open spaces like this, but not at home.

public health officials say the data clearly shows the main culprit when it comes to transmission is domestic settings. what we are seeing in the majority of cases where we are able to identify transmission is that this is because people have gathered behind closed doors, often for a celebration, most recently i have seen three children in different families and the actual way they caught it from each other was a child's birthday party. that is where the transmission is happening at the moment. and it is childcare that will throw up one of the biggest issues, with people back to work and schools subject to virus closures. liz martin has been looking after grandson seth so her daughter can teach. that is no longer an option. yesterday was their last game in the garden for what could be some time. if she wants to work we have got to break the law, because we cannot think of any other way. we've been very careful. we are very careful. we've still got to get through this and live and i can't bear the stress

on not only my daughter and her husband, but the children as well. all three areas will ask government for an exemption for specific childcare issues in a letter today. for now, it's more tough times for some when they were just getting back on their feet. kathryn stanczyszyn, bbc news. tighter restrictions will be enforced in dublin over the coming months to try and curb the spread of coronavirus. most businesses will stay open and small numbers can gather to attend sporting or arts events. in the irish capital, where cases are more prevalent, only up to six people from two households will be able to meet. pubs in the city will also remain closed when some others across ireland will be able to reopen from the 21st september. the unemployment rate has gone up to 4.1%, with young people among the hardest hit. a further 156,000 people aged 16 to 2a were added to the jobless figures in the three months tojuly.

many fear worse is to come when the government's furlough scheme ends next month. our business correspondent sarah corker reports. so, how close is this to the city centre? 0n the bus, like 20 minutes. the coombes family from liverpool are job hunting. michael and karen both lost their work in retail. they are dropping daughter isabella off at university in manchester. she is looking for bar work while she studies. the economic fallout from coronavirus is affecting every generation. this is the first time i've ever been without a job. you remain optimistic but it gets tough, it gets really hard. michael was a senior retail buyer for a big fashion brand. he was furloughed in march and made redundant injuly. you begin to question yourself, you go, ok, i have a lot of passion for what i do, a lot of experience, but do i need to retrain? am i in the wrong industry? like many young people, isabella is struggling to find a job

in hospitality as hours are cut. just over the last couple of months i was applying for two to three barjobs a day, just through hospitality websites, you might hear back from one or two of them. even then they still cannot guarantee the hours, i mean, they arejust, you know, there is nothing really there. the unemployment rate, the blue line on this graph, grew to 4.1% in the three months tojuly, up from 3.9%. but just look at the rise in youth unemployment. now at 13.4%, the red line here. those aged 16—24 are bearing the brunt of this jobs crisis. since march, nearly 700,000 jobs have been cut and as the furlough scheme winds down, coming to an end in october, more companies are now setting out their plans for redundancy. i think it will get worse before it gets better. i personally feel it will peak because everyone is nervous and you want to survive this so if we survive it, you can grow afterwards. today, labour renewed its calls

for the furlough scheme to be extended or replaced. for millions of workers, for towns and cities under restrictions, itjust isn't possible to get back to work or reopen businesses. that isn't a choice. it is the cold reality of this crisis. so it makes no sense at all for the government to pull support away now. and the government has hinted there could be more targeted support for certain sectors once the furlough scheme ends. throughout this crisis i have not hesitated to act in creative and effective ways to supportjobs and employment, and will continue to do so. there are some positive signs. as the economy opened up, job vacancies in the three months to augustjumped by 30%, but competition for roles remains fierce. sarah corker, bbc news. the chancellor rishi sunak has visited the emma bridgewater ceramics factory in stoke—on—trent to meet workers who have returned

to work after being furloughed. he spoke to our economics editor faisal islam, who asked him about the calls that have been made to extend the furlough scheme. it's clear that the furlough scheme has worked at protecting millions of people because my jobs, has worked at protecting millions of people because myjobs, but i wouldn't be bonus with people if i pretended that it was always going to be possible for people to return to be possible for people to return to thejob to be possible for people to return to the job they have —— wouldn't be honest. i don't think the right thing to do is to endlessly extend furlough. as you can see talking to people here, people don't want to be at home. they want to be in work, and that's why our plans to forjobs are so and that's why our plans to forjobs are so important because they provide people with new opportunities going forward. but protecting people's jobs, opportunities going forward. but protecting people'sjobs, creating newjobs remains top of my mind, and i'm always looking for interesting, creative, innovative and effective new ways to support employment and

people can rest assure that will remain that my number one priority. we didn't have the rule of six, which has just came we didn't have the rule of six, which hasjust came into we didn't have the rule of six, which has just came into force. we didn't have the rule of six, which hasjust came into force. do not think there will be any kind of consequence in sectors of that that would make you change your mind £9 billion to help companies bring back staff from furlough and to work, which most people are very keen to do. we've cut taxes for businesses through to next year, we provided support for the hospitality industry in particular, there's been affected by the restrictions. but we're very focused on finding a way through where we can protect the way we live our lives, support our economy and suppress the spread of the virus. it's a tricky balancing act to get right, but it's one we approach with confidence. the chancellor there. two women have lost their court of appeal challenge against the uk government over

controversial changes to the state pension age. nearly four million women born in the 1950s have been affected by reforms that raised their state pension age from 60 to 66. the women argued this was unlawful discrimination on the grounds of age and sex, and that they were not given adequate notice of the changes. the court of appeal unanimously dismissed the claim. small businesses have been thrown a lifeline after the high court ruled some insurers should have paid out for losses caused by the lockdown. when firms had to close their doors in march, many looked to their insurance to cover them. but some found their claims rejected, with insurers arguing their policies were never meant to include such restrictions. nowjudges have ruled the clauses in some policies should have meant they were covered. kevin peachey reports. like thousands of other owners of small firms, anna and robin smart thought their business interruption insurance policy would cover them for coronavirus—related losses. but when their insurer refused

to pay out, their photography firm literally needed rebuilding. our best bet to save our business was to remove ourselves from our business premises and build a studio at home, which would reduce our costs down massively, so that hopefully we could trade through whatever is coming next. insurers had argued that these policies were not meant for blanket measures such as a government—imposed lockdown. the debate led to a test case in the high court, but nowjudges have given hope to many businesses who thought they would lose out. i am hoping that we get to that point of being able to move forward, progress our claim and just get on with things, because the stress that we are under, not us, collectively, businesses at the moment is absolutely immense. with these businesses desperate for clarity, the 150—pagejudgement is not entirely clear cut, but groups representing policyholders are delighted. i think it is a resounding success for policyholders.

this is why we brought the claim, we have been vindicated, it was the right thing to do for hundreds of thousands of businesses. they will now have a lifeline, we hope for making an insurance recovery from their insurers. insurers say more work is needed before drawing the debate to a close. needless to say, it has been an unprecedented event for the insurance industry. 0verall, firms have been paying out on claims to those customers who do have covid cover, they have paid out over £900 million. they are going to be sitting down with the lawyers and looking very carefully at this judgement indeed. the businesses affected can expect a contact from their insurer in the next week, although for some, it is too late. with insurers facing a bill of many millions of pounds, they may look to appeal against the decision. that should be fast tracked, but that could mean a further wait before people like the smarts are put fully in the picture. kevin peachey, bbc news. two people have been arrested

after a 12—day—old baby was mauled to death by a dog in doncaster. emergency services were called to welfare road in woodlands on sunday afternoon after reports of a dog attacking a child. the baby had been bitten by a dog causing serious injuries. the child was taken to hospital but died a short time later. a 35—year—old man and a 27—year—old woman have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. the former conservative mp charlie elphicke has been jailed for two years at southwark crown court for sexual assaults against two women. he was convicted injuly of one count of sexual assault in 2007, and two further counts against a second woman in 2016. humanity is at a crossroads and we have to take action now to make space for nature to recover and slow its "accelerating decline". that's according to a reportjust published by the un convention

on biological diversity. it sets out what it calls "urgent transitions" that could slow the ongoing decline in nature. 0ur science and environment correspondent victoria gill has more. it is land, it is forest, it is agriculture, it is the ocean, it is pollution. time is running out to repair the damage we're doing to the natural world — that's the message from the un's convention on biological diversity. its latest report calls for urgent action to slow and eventually stop what it describes as nature's accelerating decline. covid—19 has taught us clearly the relationship between human action and nature. so we need to change our production patterns, our consumption patterns. human encroachment into the wild life, into the forest. the picture this report paints is of an unsustainable

relationship between humans and nature. howling. but there are some notes of optimism. conservation in the last decade has prevented some spices from dying out. —— some species. and action on a global scale, the un says, could still turn the tide. a lot has to be done, but it can be done. so next year, in china, we will have the un biodiversity conference, where governments are expected to adopt global commitments to putting nature on that path to recovery by 2030. this will mean that every country will need to make commitments to protect habitats, to produce food more sustainably and eat a more sustainable diet. but we'll have to reduce pollution so that we and wildlife can have clean air and clean water. and we'll have to make more space for greenery and nature, even in our most urban environments. there used to be a main road that

went through this park, with lots of cars, pollution, and we have turned it into a new green space. green space really softens places, makes it much nicer to live, improves the air quality. we really need to connect people back to that nature as well, so that people really value its function. in the years ahead, countries will set out to repair the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but without making space for nature to rebuild, the un says we risk leaving a damaged planet for future generations. victoria gill, bbc news. let's take you live to the white house where a signing now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello there. the highest temperatures today were recorded in the southeast of england with 31 celsius, but the warmth was fairly widespread, it extended as far northwest as the lake district. a beautiful afternoon here

with temperatures in the high 20s. now, we keep some clear skies through the night. one or two scattered showers drifting their way east and a little more cloud perhaps across scotland, northern ireland and northern england. a relatively mild start to wednesday morning in the southeast. a little bit cooler into the north because we've got an area of high pressure that's drifting in across the north of scotland. and it's going to introduce more of a northeasterly airflow over the next couple of days. so the temperatures will start to recede. now, that means the best of the sunshine for wednesday will be across central and southern england and wales. there's always going to be the risk of more cloud through northern england, scotland, northern ireland. and a cooler feel here — temperatures into the mid—teens, but we could see highest values of 26 in the southeast corner. a good deal of dry weather to close out the working week, but notably cooler.

sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. good evening. discussions will continue this week between the culture secretary 0liver dowden and sports bodies about the return of fans to grounds and venues. last week the government restricted spectator numbers at pilot events to 1000, and that beyond that, the plans are under review. its caused a lot of concern across many sports — but in the latest rugby union test event, around a thousand fans were at kingsholm last night, to watch gloucester‘s premiership rugby match against harlequins — they were all socially distanced in groups, with refreshments served in their seats, and gloucester‘s chief executive, lance bradley, says it was proof that more fans can return safely to stadia. we have prepared a report of last night's match from our point of view, the organisation of the game went very well. fans did exactly what they wanted —— we wanted them to do. we believe we have showed it's quite safe to have 1000 fans m, it's quite safe to have 1000 fans in, so the next phases to get more

fa ns in, so the next phases to get more fans in as quickly as possible and we very much hope that we will be allowed another pilot test for our final home game of the season at the beginning of october. meanwhile, the uk's only indoor sport pilot event faces cancellation due to a rise in coronavirus cases. ticket sales for the newcastle eagles test event due to take place this friday in front of around 800 fans have been put on hold over fears the north east could be heading for a local lockdown. it's infinitely harder when you have got to put, you know, a multitude of different breaks in place to make something happen. so one way systems and all sorts of things going on at oui’ venue, and all sorts of things going on at ourvenue, so, we have done and all sorts of things going on at our venue, so, we have done all of that work and then hit this situation, the whole thing is very bad timing anyway, isn't it? this just feels like extremely bad timing and they are punishing you.

—— a bit punishing. meanwhile, the managing director of silverstone stuart pringle says the racetrack needs to get all fans back for next summer's british grand prix. he says this year has been incredibly damaging — and without a full house next year, the future of silverstone itself hangs in the balance: ididn't want i didn't want to run with a reduced audience next year because it will simply make us lose more money quicker. and we cannot sustain that come our balance sheet is not robust enough, and we need to get back to normality. so when the government talk about very positive progress with vaccines and a very expansive testing regime, i hope that one or other or a combination of the pair will see us back to full capacity of the british grand prix in 2021, because if we are not there, silverstone will be in a dire place and we will not be alone. arsenal captain pierre—emerick aubameyang has signed a new three—year with the club, ending speculation about his —— more information on sports day tonight. arsenal captain pierre—emerick

aubameyang has signed a new three—year with the club, ending speculation about his future in north london. the striker‘s decision to stay with arsenal will be good news for manager mikel arteta who said he wanted to build the squad around the gabon international after their victory in the fa cup last month. five stages to go at the tour de france, and slovenia's primoz roglic is still in control at the top of the standings. stage 16 was the first of three steep stages in the alps. but with a harder stage to come tomorrow, the main contenders allowed a breakaway to escape. young german rider lennard kemna responded, with his first stage victory at the tour. tadej pogacar in the white jersey of the best young rider, attacked at the end of the stage but couldn't get away from primoz roglic, who's still a0 seconds ahead of him in the leader's yellowjersey. and dillian whyte will get the chance to avenge his knock—out defeat by alexander povetkin in a rematch on november 21st. the british heavyweight‘s hopes of a world—title fight were dashed by povetkin in august when whyte was knocked out in the fifth round. the first fight was staged as part of the matchroom fight camp

at their hq in essex. but the venue for the rematch is yet to be confirmed. we'll have more for you in sportsday at half past six. i hope you canjoin me then. thank you, see you later. thank you very much indeed. the shortlist of six authors with uk's most prestigious award has been announced today. the shortlist features four debut novelists — while hilary mantel, who had been tipped for a record third win for the mirror and the light, did not make the list. the topics covered by the six nominees are wide—ranging, with me now is lee child — bestselling author of the jack reacher novels and a judge for the 2020 booker prize. thank you so much for being with us. first of all, what was it like being a judge, you have got to read dozens and dozens of books. well, always a pleasure to be talking to the bbc, and more than dozens and dozens, we

read 162, and promised to each other at the beginning and to the authors and to the whole process was that everyjudge would read everywhere to everyjudge would read everywhere to every text. which we did, so we are totally happy and confident that we made the right selections. of course, it was very disappointing that we had to leave sony great titles behind. inevitably, this thing becomes shaped like a pyramid. this year in particular, i think at the top of the peer amid, it was dense and thick with talent and i wish we could have had an extremely long, long list first, and then the long, long list first, and then the long list, and then the shortlist just to recognise all the really great books that there were this year. but these six, we are confident having read them all three times now with close attention. these are the best sex. so you all agree on that, there wasn't ferocious argument the judges? there

we re ferocious argument the judges? there were arguments, you know, we were all very civilized about it, so it wasn't for russia's commit was illuminating, actually. it was a great process. the judges were well chosen. and as much as i felt it was something i missed, then i would recheck it and vice versa. so it was well scrutinised. like i say, you know, you mentioned hillary, wonderful wonderful novel. there we re wonderful wonderful novel. there were many in that category, but these six we felt are the ones to go forward. one of those six we were just interviewing, actually, he wrote about growing up in 80s glasgow, and he was saying as a first—time writer, it is amazing just to be published, let alone to be shortlisted for the booker. yes, what a first item brings though, it's probably the most passion and the most energy they will ever feel. it comes with the

territory of the first book. there four debuts here, all sharing that characteristic, that the nimbleness, the energy, the forward—looking niss of it. even though that is a period piece now, although i'm reluctant to say that because i remember the 80s like it was yesterday. but it was, there is a passion to it, and energy to its, a truth to it thatjust could not be ignored. and as a man who you spend obviously many hours a day writing your own books, do you normally read, not clearly this quantity of literature, but do you read this kind of literature normally? i do. i mean, that's whyi was confident about saying yes to being a judge will stop there were 162 books and i had probably read 90-100 of 162 books and i had probably read 90—100 of them anyway. so i felt that the extra commitment was not much, and it's been a wonderful experience. 0ut

much, and it's been a wonderful experience. out of the 162, there we re experience. out of the 162, there were probably 100 that i would absolutely cheerfully recommend to anybody. certainly once you get up to this stage, if somebody wants to know where writers are, where the novel is now in 2020, this shortlist really, really reflects that, i think, to perfection. and it reflects, as we have said, debut novelists, four i think of the shortlist, but also quite a lot of diversity. do you think that that is a welcome development in 2020?|j diversity. do you think that that is a welcome development in 2020? i do! you know, this is a prize for the english language. so anything that is composed originally in english, and that is international now. we all share its, it's a two week streets, they learn from them, they learn from us. the diversity is not sought, i personally found that reading 162 books, you just got so deeply immersed in words and texts

that we never really noticed or cared who the authors wear until at the end of this process, we raised our heads and said, ok, who is on this shortlist? it was, wow, four debuts, that was a surprise! numerically, that is more than i would've expected. 0n merits, totally totally justified. great to have you with us here on bbc news. thank you so much for your time. sounds like you've had some fun reading those 162 novels. thanks! great to talk to. thank you very much. some breaking news coming to us why we were doing that interview, actually. we'rejust hearing that the entire irish cabinet is self isolating. the speaker of the irish parliament has announced that all members of the cabinets in dublin have to self—isolate. 0ur te, which is ireland's national broadcaster is reporting that the health minister, stephen donnelly contacted his gp

for a coronavirus test after feeling well this afternoon. —— feeling u nwell well this afternoon. —— feeling unwell this afternoon. following very serious information of events today, the cabinet must now self—isolate. parliamentary proceedings have adjourned. so, that is the latest —— latest from our ireland correspondent chris page bringing us that news actually, so the entire irish cabinet currently self isolating. we will bring you more on that as it comes into us. more now on the high court ruling that some small firms should be paid by insurers for losses they incurred as a result of the lockdown. the case was brought by the financial conduct authority, and could affect more than 300,000 businesses. huw evans is director—general at the association of british insurers, and hejoins me now. what are your thoughts about this? well, we have supported the process from the beginning, and we certainly welcome the speedyjudgement up that the court has produced today. the

findings themselves are fairly evenly split between the arguments insurers had put forward in those put forward by the fca on behalf of the policyholders committee think once both sides have considered a fast—track appeal, we are now well on the a to providing the clarity i think we all want to see. and has this come as a surprise to you, would you say? not really because i think we are dealing with an unprecedented situation here. we haven't had a pandemic of this nature in this country since 1918 and we have never been in a position where the government has ordered the shutdown of the economy and society. sol shutdown of the economy and society. so i think it's not surprising there has therefore been a dispute of interpretation about some specific insurance contract and what they cover and what they don't, and this process is definitely the best way to get that clarity, so both consumers and insurers know where they stand going forward. do you think the insurance companies have acted fairly throughout this process ? acted fairly throughout this process? i think they have acted in good faith, and it's important to remember that insurers expect to pick it —— pay out nearly £1.8 billion of claims as a result of hope and 19, some for this interruption, many for cancelled

holidays to travel and companies for people who have booked holidays. —— covid—19. some for cancelled events, some for credit supply failures, and some for credit supply failures, and some sappy for people who have lost their lives with life insurance pay—outs, so there has been a huge response by the insurance industry in terms of paying claims, and they have also adjusted the terms of millions of insurance contract so that people can work from home without any insurance problems, they can become an nhs volunteer to my for example, without it affecting their motor insurance, and that businesses can stay closed for a lot of than 30 days without it avoiding their insurance. so the insurance response is obviously much greater than this one particular case. this case is in important part of finding a way forward with those businesses affected. finding a way forward, but some people would say, you should be able to find a way forward without the financial conduct authority having to bring this case in the first place. well, it's important to note that the insurers agreed with the financial conduct authority to go to court. the fca can quote to court without insurers agreeing, this was our sensible way to resolve

the dispute. 0r this was our sensible way to resolve the dispute. or to gilly because disputes about insurance contracts can easily take years to drag their way through the courts, nobody wa nted way through the courts, nobody wanted that. what this process has offered us the opportunity to get this sorted in months, not years, and thejudgement this sorted in months, not years, and the judgement today is an important step forward. if any appeals will hopefully be fast—track to the supreme court so there is still a chance to get this resolved either by the end of the year or very early next year compared to the yea rs very early next year compared to the years that these things normally drag on for. all right, well, thank you very much for being with us and answering those questions. you eva ns, answering those questions. you evans, director general of the association of british insurers. many thanks. back to the white house now without signing ceremony is about to take place in which israel has agreed to normalise relations with the united arab emirates. now, these are historic deals because they are the first deals between israel and another arab nation since the agreements with egypt and jordan

decades ago, so, very important and the palestinians have described this asa the palestinians have described this as a black day. they say that they have been stabbed in the back by these arab nations and president trump has been saying, actually, more agreements could follow this and potentially 5—6 other arab nations according to president trump could be ready to sign agreements with israel. we know that they are looking at signing a deal with israel. also saudi arabia potentially as well. this is the scene, 700 guests are on the south lawn of the white house for signing ceremony. it's a boost, of course, for president trump because it's a diplomatic coup for him to have got this agreement negotiated and he will certainly be using this as a photo opportunity to help with his reelection campaign. it's also a boost for benjamin netanyahu that i

raise it —— israeli prime minister who has been facing some tough criticism of his handling of coronavirus and also some corruption charges as well. so that's the scene at the white house, we will be back there for the signing ceremony when it happens. and during president trump's meeting in the oval office with the foreign minister from the united arab emirates, he was asked about the position of the palestinians in these discussions and this is what he had to say. well, i think they see what's happening and a lot of countries are joining up, as you know, we don't make payments to them, we are paying a lot of money to the palestinians every year and we were not being treated properly. they were not saying nice things for many years. nobody has ever done this before, but i stopped payments. it's a term that's used for a lot of things, it's called we stopped payments, because if they are not going to respect us or they are not going to speak well of us, we are not going to be involved. they i think are seeing what's happening and we have been given very strong signals that

they would like to be a part of what's happening. so i think we will see the palestinians at some point, but before we see the palestinians, we will see other very important countries come into this transaction. president trump speaking a short time ago in the 0val speaking a short time ago in the oval office. the russian 0pposition leader alexei navalny has posted a picture on his instagram from a german hospital, where he is recovering from a suspected novichok poisoning. here it is — he is surrouded by his family — he said: i can mr navalny‘s supporters believe his tea was spiked at tomsk airport on 20 august. he became ill during the flight, and the plane made an emergency landing. in early september — the german government said navalny had been poisoned with a soviet—style novichok nerve agent in an attempt to murder him. and yesterday — germany's government said that laboratories in france and sweden have now reconfirmed german tests showing that the poison

used on mr navalny was novichok. a spokesperson for alexei navalny also said he plans to return to russia when he's better. our correspondent in berlin damian mcguinness says mr navalny‘s family are pleased by his recovery. they are obviously very happy at the remarkable progress he has made. in that statement, which is the first public comment he's made since he fell ill at the end of august. he said that his progress has been remarkable and said that he is amazed that some of the commentators and seemed very happy indeed. the idea now that he is off mechanical ventilation and that he can breathe independently, that was the case yesterday, and this is remarkable progress because it was only last week he was in a medically induced coma and given that german officials and now french and swedish labs have

also confirmed that it was a very severe novichok nerve agent that was used. doctors are impressed, really, because this is not a given that he would recover at all. they can't rule out there's not going to be some longer terms effects u nfortu nately, but so far, what we can tell from this statement and from what doctors have been saying so far and certainly from the reaction of his family and supporters, this seems to be good news for navalny and his recovery, his path to recovery at least does seem remarkable so far. yet, it does. yeah, it does. and his spokesperson saying, when he is better, of course he will go back to russia. we are sort of saying, well, i'm surprised anyone would doubt that. yet, you would doubt that, wouldn't you ? having being poisoned by novichok whether it was on put in's orders, ——having being poisoned by novichok whether it was on putin's orders, it certainly looks like some sort of state actor who carried out that

poisoning and it's going to take quite an act of courage for him to go back to russia. yeah, that statement is obviously quite defiant. the spokeswoman said, as you say, she was surprised that people kept asking her, will he return? she said, well, of course, he's going to return. it was never put to question really, he always wanted to go back to russia and carry on his work there. now, his supporters say that he is in danger because he has already been the target, they say, of a number of attacks, including another sort of poison. so, you would see this as quite a defiant action. it's not come as you say, it's not really clear who is behind this. experts say that because this is not a chalk which was developed ——it‘s not, as you say, it's not really clear who is behind this. experts say that because this is not a chalk which was developed in the soviet union and is a very complex chemical to use, it does point to some sort of connection, at least, to a state actor. now, there is no evidence so far that this was directly ordered from the top in the kremlin, that is certainly one option which his supporters believe.

let's ta ke let's take you back to the white house, because that signing ceremony is about to take place, in which israel has agreed to normalise relations with the united arab emirates and the stage is set there at the white house south lawn. 700 guests are going to be witnessing the signing, we havejust guests are going to be witnessing the signing, we have just seen president trump and the israeli prime minister and the foreign ministers of the united arab emirates making their way out. they we re emirates making their way out. they were talking little earlier on in the oval office, president trump was saying other arab nations, may be pretty soon, he said, paired to also sign agreements with israel, maybe 5-6 sign agreements with israel, maybe 5—6 other arab states. this is historic because there hasn't been under agreement signed between israel and another arab state since egypt and jordan, and that was many yea rs egypt and jordan, and that was many years ago. both of those agreements. the palestinians are furious with

this agreement between israel and the stars make arab nations. they see it very much as a stab in the back, and they have said that it is a black day for the palestinian cause. nearly all schools in them with every open to children since the start of the month. nick gibbs said 90% of pupils has returned to the classroom and worried —— told pa rents were classroom and worried —— told parents were worried about the child to speak to head teacher about their concerns. teachers and heads have done a greatjob in getting schools ready for young people to return to school. i'm very pleased that 99 — more than 99% of schools are open and welcoming youngsters back to resume their education or catch up on the education they lost on —— when schools were partially coaster students. newly 90% of pupils are attending schools compared to what you expect on an armies —— normal year. it's a very good result and

i'm delighted that so many young people are back in school. there are some parents who are concerned and what i would say to those parents is talk to the head teacher. they will be able to provide the reassurance about all the measures that have been put in place in schools, hygiene, handwashing, hand sanitisers and so on. you know, one—way systems and corridors, bubble systems and so on from lunch breaks, staggered play times, all of those measures that are putting in place in schools right up and down the country are designed to ensure that we minimise the risk of any transmission of the virus in the school premises. the uk is -- the uk is facing a "looming addiction crisis" with millions turning to alcohol to cope with the pandemic, a report warns today. the number of people drinking at "high risk" levels has doubled to almost 8.5 million since february, according to the royal college of psychiatrists. doctors are worried excessive drinking during the pandemic will have a major toll on the health

of the nation for years to come. earlier, i spoke to the president of the royal college — dr adrianjames — who said it was a worrying long—term health concern. we have seen a doubling in the amount of hazardous drinking that's very bad for your mental health, it's bad for your physical health, and it also has a knock on effect in terms of your family, your ability to work. so it has a huge effect on all of us. when you talk about problem drinking in this context, how much of that is serious heavy drinking, but how much of it is actual alcoholism do you think? is it difficult to tell? well, there is a sort of grey area between the two. the most important thing is that these are people who are getting into a pattern of drinking both in terms of the amounts, the frequency, the effect it has on their lives where they really do need to take action, and some of those people will be able to take action themselves,

they will have an honest discussion with themselves, maybe with those around them, say, look, i've got to cut down the amount of drinking, the frequency that i'm drinking and take action, but many people won't be able to take that action themselves and may need additional help which is why we feel that the government needs to invest at this time in addiction services that are so badly needed. and if they don't invest now, people will actually find themselves in a general hospital, so they will be costing money and have a poor outcome for them. so why not invest in services now that can actually help you make the changes that actually most people want to make. the figures are pretty start the next darling, pretty worrying, the figures are pretty ——startling , pretty worrying, doubling, almost, as i say. what do you think are the factors are driving at? is that a combination of depression, loneliness, a lack of structure in people's day because of lockdown and so on? is it anxiety about the future and unemployment? well, we know that levels of depression and of anxiety have gone

up during covid, that people report that their well—being is worse and people turn to the thing that is nearest to them, thinking that it will actually be a solution, when in fact it causes more problems in the end. so there will be some people who have been directly affected by covid, they might have lost somebody close to them, they might have had it themselves. there are also indirect effects, so having lost yourjob, worries about money or future loss ofjob, and also feeling more isolated. so the sorts of things you might do, you might meet with people who can support you. it has been that much more challenging for all of us. so people, unfortunately, turned to drink and need to actually do something about it. briefly, you talk about more spending being needed on addiction services, what sort of addiction services are we talking about here? is this rehab centres and so on? well, these are a range of services so that people can go to an outpatient appointments, they can have day treatment or even inpatient

stay. so, addiction services have lost a lot of their funding, so, addiction services have lost a lot of theirfunding, a so, addiction services have lost a lot of their funding, a quarter of it, in the last five years. and we wa nt it, in the last five years. and we want the government to reestablish that at least to the level of five yea rs that at least to the level of five years ago. we actually need to have an honest discussion with the nation, really about addictions. we really need to have a long—term funding settlement actually across the whole of mental health. so, we need action now. that's doctor adrian james, president of the royal college of psychiatrists talking to me a little bit earlier. the coronavirus pandemic has devastated the nightlife of cities all around the world commanded some places, pubs and world commanded some places, pubs a nd restau ra nts world commanded some places, pubs and restaurants have partially reopened, but most nightclubs remained shot. that's certainly true in berlin, but there may be an opportunity for people there to express themselves on a very very small dance floor. to moment reports now, and it does contain some flashing image. benjamin is a man with a plan. that plan takes the

shape of a dozen no longer in service telephone booths. he calls it the telly disco. 0ne m2 of pure entertainment. translation: the price for one night is 1500 euros. it's a business that makes people happy. for the princely sum of2 people happy. for the princely sum of 2 euros per person, you can dance the night away, well, for a few minutes at least. throwing shapes, cutting arrived and generally having a good time, as long as you don't suffer from claustrophobia. translation i could super, it's great commits the best thing i know! more than one person is allied in at one time which seems to fly in the face of social distancing somewhat, ora face of social distancing somewhat, or a bit too much for some.

translation: 0nce translation: once i got stuck in there, it took a minute to open up, it's terrifying. for now, there are only a handful of these discos, but in the age of covid—19, they provide an escape, one phone booth at a time. tim allman, bbc news. let's take you back to the white house, because there is president trump, and he is presiding over this signing ceremony ofa presiding over this signing ceremony of a historic agreement between israel, the israeli prime minister there, and just make arab emirates, it is the first piece agreements between israel and arab nations since agreement signed many years ago with jordan and since agreement signed many years ago withjordan and egypt. so it is ago withjordan and egypt. so it is a very historic agreement. at the palestinians have described it as a sta b palestinians have described it as a stab in the back and a black day for

the palestinian cause. there will be more on that in the bbc -- next it's the bbc news at six with sophie raworth. but first it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. good afternoon. it's been another day of beautiful september sunshine right across the country. we have seen some glorious weather watcher pictures. i'm showing you one of sissinghurst, kent, because kent had the highest values today with temperatures peaking at 31 celsius. but the warmth was fairly widespread across the country. you can see we have 30 degrees in london, but that warmth extended its way further north and west — mid to high 20s quite widely. now, it does look as though the high pressure that's been responsible for this is continuing to slip its way eastwards. that southerly flow will gradually be cut off that we have seen just recently. high—pressure is starting to move in from the atlantic, but the wind direction will change, and that's going to bring a marked change to the story over the next few days. we have got some weak weather fronts around at the moment, that's going to enhance some cloud and a few scattered showers across northern scotland and perhaps drifting their way through england

through the evening and overnight — a few isolated showers here. it stays relatively mild in the southeast with overnight lows of around 17 degrees. but starting to get a little bit cooler into the north. and the reason being is that area of high pressure as it starts to anchor itself into the far north of scotland will bring a change of wind direction, more of a northeasterly flow and a cooler source down through that north sea. so, yes, we will have some sunshine around on wednesday. the best of the sunshine perhaps across central wales, the midlands and south of that. further north, we keep some cloud and that northeasterly breeze — making it feel notably cooler along that east coast. so, top temperatures in the north likely to peak between 12—18 degrees. further south, we could see the mid 20s on wednesday, but that is probably the last day of the significant warmth. now, as we move into thursday and towards the weekend, we keep the dry story, but it will turn notably cooler

right across the country — with temperatures falling back to where they should be, really, for this time of year. there's still going to be a lot of sunshine around on thursday, a very nice day, dry, settled with highs of 12—21 degrees. so down in some places, a good eight, nine, possibly even ten degrees. heading towards the weekend, the dry theme continues, the fresher feel continues. but as i say, these are the kind of temperatures we should have for this time of year.

the coronavirus testing problems will take weeks to resolve says the health secretary, with the system is facing an "enormous challenge". thousands of people across the uk are struggling to get tests and results after a sharp rise in demand. it's been very stressful, very frustrating. we are still waiting on the results, still self—isolating, not able to go to school, not able to go to work. the pinch point is the laboratories which are struggling with demand. the government is looking to prioritise those most in need. over the summer, when demand was low, we were able to meet all requirements for testing,

whether priorities or not. but, as demand has risen, so we are having to prioritise once again. the home secretary says families stopping to chat and mingle