this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm aaron safir. as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide reaches 30 million, officials say the rise in europe must serve as a wake—up call. although these numbers reflect more comprehensive testing, it also shows alarming rates of transmission across the region. covid—19 cases are on the rise in france, as doctors warn that hospitals are filling up. the british government considers new national measures described as a circuit break in the battle with the virus. and massive forest fires in the arctic circle. we have a special report on the blazes moving across siberia.

hello and welcome. the number of officially recorded coronavirus cases across the globe has climbed above 30 million. according to figures from johns hopkins university, more than 940,000 people worldwide have died with the disease since it first emerged in china late last year. the worst affected countries remain the united states, india and brazil, but there's been a surge in positive test results across europe in recent weeks. figures from the world health organization show that new weekly coronavirus cases in europe exceed those reported when the pandemic first peaked in march.

it came as spain recorded almost 5,000 new infections in 2a hours, up from just over 3,000 the previous day. almost 2000 were in the madrid region, which is planning targeted lockdowns. in france 10,593 cases were recorded on thursday — marking the highest single—day count since the pandemic began. in the uk, the government announced almost 3,400 new infections on thursday. to help prevent the spread of the virus, almost 2 million people living in the north—east of england are now under new restrictions that came into place an hour ago, at midnight. we'll have a report from our correspondent in marseille, a new french virus hot spot in a moment. but first, let's hear from the who's regional directorfor europe, who says the figures are heading upwards and it's time for action. in the spring and early summer, we were able to see the impact of strict lockdown measures. our efforts, our

sacrifices paid off. injune, cases hit an all—time low. the september case numbers, however, should serve as a wake—up call for all of us. although these numbers reflect more comprehensive testing, it also shows alarming rates of transmission across the region. well, two of france's biggest cities, lyon and nice, have been told by the country's health minister they have until sunday to come up with new measures to slow the spread of coronavirus. and in marseille, the epicentre of france's new wave of infections, doctors say hospital wards in the city are now "nearing saturation" and only a handful of intensive care beds are still available. lucy williamson reports from marseille's main hospital. a warning: there are images you may find distressing. marseille's main intensive care unit has become a changing room again. familiar routines resurrected for a new wave of covid patients. this time, it's a 65—year—old

man on life support. they're putting a camera down his throat, one of the riskiestjobs. the ventilators on their suits purify the air inside their masks. these are the patients' only visitors. his wife calls for news once or twice a day. she's not allowed in to see him. now it's becoming very disturbing, because we are split between the desire to treat the patient, of course, as best as possible, and also to treat non—covid patients in the appropriate way. that is, to find icu beds, to have surgery, to manage trauma patients and so on. so, it's very difficult to manage. marseille is the epicentre of france's new covid crisis. the director of public hospitals here says the system is nearing saturation, with only a handful

of intensive care beds left and 100 extra staff recruited in the past week. this icu, marseille's biggest, is now almost full. the nightmare for units like this one is a sudden rise in the rate of infections. this hospital is sending two covid patients to intensive care each day. a sudden spike would overwhelm them. rates of infection in marseille are now twice that of paris. 0ver10% of those tested here are positive. at this centre today it was first come, first served, but getting a test isn't always easy. this woman told us she'd had symptoms since monday. translation: it's a panic, a real panic. it's stressful. there are no appointments available on the government's testing website and the doctor's website tells me there's nothing until the end of september.

the government admitted today there were bottlenecks in major cities, despite a new system that is meant to prioritise care workers and those with symptoms or contact with cases. the rules in marseille are becoming stricter by the week. groups larger than ten are now banned from beaches and parks. the price of a post—lockdown summer when thousands mingled here together. a summer that swapped isolation for infection, now sending its waves out across france. lucy williamson, bbc news, marseille. and in spain, authorities are set to reveal details on friday about localised lockdowns in madrid, where more than 1,600 new cases have been reported in the last 2a hours. and as our reporter freya cole explains, the poorest neighbourhoods in both the capital and barcelona are suffering the most. it's the final hazy days of summer in spain, but for health workers they hardly caught a break from the pandemic which is flaring up again.

since restrictions were lifted in late june, infections have risen in spain from a few hundred a day, to thousands. madrid's working—class neighbourhoods have the highest volume of new outbreaks. many people don't have the luxury of sick leave or a place to self—isolate. it's a problem, authorities say, that needs to be addressed. translation: i must tell the people of madrid that the situation in our region is not good. in reality, it is getting much worse and we are going to need to make more effort. it's a similar picture in barcelona. people in working class areas line up for a test, but there are fears about the consequence. translation: if a woman has a job off the books, tests positive, she will have to leave and could lose thatjob for good. so if an entire family

depends on that income, it makes sense that people are afraid. translation: i think it's very important that tests are done to identify the asymptomatic cases. but it is true that not everyone is coming here, because they could lose theirjobs. like in many countries around the world, the pandemic in spain is creating deeper divides. and as the outbreaks worsen in the poorest neighbourhoods, it's evidence that the virus does not treat everyone equally. freya cole, bbc news. in what is the uk's biggest regional lockdown yet, large parts of the north—east of england are now living under tougher restrictions on socialising that kicked into effect at midnight. our special correspondent ed thomas reports. hello? hello, grandma, just to speak to you about the new lockdown rules and stuff and see what you think about it.

lives are about to change once again. horrible, i'd onlyjust started sort of going out a little bit. across the north—east, coronavirus cases have been rising since august. and now two million people have been told they will be living by new rules. these decisions will have real impact. as the health secretary applies the brakes. that says we must act now, so we can control the virus and keep people safe stop this means a keep people safe stop this meansa ban keep people safe stop this means a ban on houses mixing and pubs closing at ten p.m.. why has he called up hospitality? why are we having to pay for other people not following the rules? to bring cases down. well, will it bring cases down. well, will it bring cases down? will it do that? because people coming out only from the households, pubs won't survive. we willjust not survive. we willjust not survive. isolating people in and out of the home, i think

it's crazy. i won't be able to see my grandchildren, my great—grandchildren. see my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren. when you see your grandmother... ?|j great-grandchildren. when you see your grandmother. . . ? i will go and see her and see your grandmother. . . ? i will go and see herand make see your grandmother. . . ? i will go and see her and make sure she is safe. even though it is against the rules? most except the bands, but there is still questions of trust and confusion. the pubs close at 10pm, as if the virus doesn't exist prior to that? moving north to the villages of northumberland, it is a quieter pace of life with your cases of coronavirus, but the same rules apply here. —— with fewer cases. three generations of this family will be separated. how much support you rely frighten your mum? i'm a single

parent, so she is a huge help. at midnight everything changes. again. i don't know why we have been included. but what can we do? nothing. i'm so close, but i can't see them. that is what gets us. i don't even want to think about it yet. and in the heart of newcastle's student area, bars and restaurants will close at 10pm tomorrow. the fear is as students return, the virus will come with them. so, what you think about his new restrictions? i don't really think they will make a difference. this time tomorrow, these bars will be empty. life under new rules. the public health officials say are essential to stop the rise of coronavirus cases and protect the vulnerable. ed thomas, bbc news, newcastle. with those restrictions now in place, the latest

from downing street is that the government is now what's been described as a circuit break — a short period of restrictions across the country, to try to slow the second surge of coronavirus. restrictions and closures could be reintroduced on some public spaces nationwide, and parts of the hospitality sector could be forced to close for a period of a few weeks — but schools and workplaces would be kept open. the head of the fbi says russia has been very active in trying to influence the forthcoming us elections. christopher wray told the house of representatives' homeland security committee the russians had been using social media, as well as "proxies, state media and online journals" to spread misinformation. we certainly have seen very active, very active, efforts by the russians to influence our election in 2020

through what i will call more malign foreign influence side of things without social media, use of proxies, state media, online journals, etc. in an effort to sow divisiveness and discord and i think the intelligence community has assessed this publicly, to primarily to denigrate vice president biden and what the russian see as kind of an anti—russian establishment. let's speak to the bbc‘s nomia iqbal in washington. hello, there. give us some more detail on what we heard from christopher wray. yes, christopher wray. yes, christopher wray. yes, christopher wray is one of the most powerful people here in the us, in the intelligence community, appointed by donald trump and it is about less than 50 days to go before the election. he said, he confirmed, that russia is continuing to try and meddle in the 2020 election. and pointing out, as we heard in the clip, that social media, state media and other proxies are trying to

sow and other proxies are trying to sow discord and damagejoe biden‘s and painful is that these are repeated warnings. microsoft earlier this month so there are groups associated with china, russia and iran trying to undermine the election. president trump and several of his top administrative officials are trying to downplay it. they don't want a repeat of 2016, where they can get away from planes that russia had interviewed in the election. and official report that that had happened, that russia had been trying to help trump in 2016, but it was never determined whether it had influenced his victory. it seems russia — russia has a lwa ys seems russia — russia has always denied the allegations of election interference. and the role the rutter and russia's influence on us politics, president trump's attitude towards russia, it has been one of the big stories of the trump presidency. going into the campaign now in its final stages, how does this report leads about? -- play

into that? they are fine to talk about election interference but only to attack the other side. they are trying to play at this period that china is the bad guy and that china is the bad guy and that china is the bad guy and that china is trying to interfere in the election, trying to getjoe biden sue wynn. intelligence officials they way they are concerned by the smoke while they are concerned about china there is no evidence to back what he has that. the thing about election interference is it is nothing new, it happens a lot, the concern is the scale it is happening here in the us. and there was even a report by the pew research group that said that any 5% of americans expected for there to be an inner temperament —— 75% of americans expected for there to be an attempt to influence the election. it's happening at a time when people are relying a lot more on what they are seeing and hearing and sharing online. this information remains one of the biggest concerns in the run—up to the

election. it certainly does, nomia iqbal, and there is plenty of coverage of misinformation and that kind of thing on the bbc news website and covered by you and your collea g u es and covered by you and your colleagues in washington. thank you for your time. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the russian opera singer anna netrebko is admitted to hospital after catching coronavirus. 30 hours after the earthquake that devastated mexico city, rescue teams still have no idea just how many people have died. there is people alive and there is people not alive. we just can help and give whatever we got. a state funeral has been held for princess grace of monaco, at the church where she married prince rainier, 26 years ago. it looked as though they had come to fight a war. but their mission is to bring peace to east timor, and nowhere on earth needs it more badly.

the government's case has been forcefully presented by monsieur badinter, the justice minister. he's campaigned vigorously for abolition, having once witnessed one of his clients being executed. elizabeth seton has spent much of her time at this grotto, and every year hundreds of pilgrimages are made here. now that she has become a saint, it is expected that this area will be inundated with tourists. the mayor and local businesses regard the anticipated boom as yet another blessing of saint elizabeth. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide reaches 30 million, officials say the rise in europe must serve as a wake—up call. covid—19 cases are on the rise in france as doctors warn that hospitals are filling up. unprecedented wildfires

have been burning along the arctic circle for months now — releasing record amounts of greenhouse gases. scientists say the fires across siberia, fuelled by abnormally high temperatures, are contributing to global warming. our correspondent steve rosenberg and his production crew are the first foreign team to be allowed into the remote yakutia region, in north eastern russia, to gauge the effects of climate change, both on local communities and on the planet. in siberia, they call their forests the lungs of the planet. if that is true, our planet is in big trouble. we were given a bird's eye view of a climate emergency. from the air, siberia's forest fires look like armageddon. a heatwave has been fuelling them and they are releasing record amounts of carbon.

and because of the vastness of siberia, fighting them is incredibly difficult. this region alone, yakutia, is 13 times the size of britain. what's happening here in siberia has consequences for the whole world. scientists believe these forest fires are producing huge amounts of greenhouse gases that are changing the climate of the planet. russia has one fifth of the world's forests. if they are burning, the fallout is global. for a closer look, we switch transport and head into the siberian forest with the rangers. it is slow going.

this is a real siberian forest path. not easy to get down, it will take us a while to get to the fire. but we are on the right track. it soon becomes clear that fire has swept through here, destroying larch and silver birch and turning parts of this fairy tale forest into a wasteland. when we catch up with the flames, the forest rangers do their best with what they've got. but no sooner is one fire out... ..another sparks. it is siberia's equivalent of a david versus goliath. this ranger says it is getting hotter here every year.

he is spending more and more time in the forest. translation: i spend nearly all my summers now fighting fires. my wife and three kids awaiting for me at home. but this is a job i must do. for the planet, there is a double danger here. the burning you can see is producing co2, but also underground, fire is thawing the frozen soil or permafrost, releasing even more greenhouse gases. siberia is trapped in a vicious circle of climate change. rising temperatures mean dry forest and more forest fires. more fires mean more carbon emissions being pumped into the atmosphere and more climate

change. climate change affect everyone. we will be shown how it threatens this man's community. we are speeding along a river, the great siberian river shrouded in smoke. every day ivan and his friends patrolled this forest. they recently put out a fire here close to the village. any lingering flame, any hint of danger is pounced on. translation: i don't remember a summer like this. no rain and so hot. the dry grass was like gunpowder. but it is the ground following that worries me. there will be less dry land and our community could end up underwater. life here will

change. siberia and its fires may seem far away. what happens here affect us all. we are one planet and are interconnected. we face the same climate crisis. we face the same climate crisis. fires continue to ravage brazil's pa nta nal wetlands, with more than 150,000 fires detected in the region this year. brazil's national centre for the prevention of forest fires estimates 2.9 million hectares of the pantanal have burned so far in 2020. it's one of the most bio—diverse areas in the world, with some states having declared a state of emergency. but brazil's president, jair bolsonaro argues "brazil should be congratulated for the way it preserves its environment" saying it's the "country that preserves the environment the most." the russian opera star anna netrebko says she has contracted coronavirus and is

in hospital with pneumonia. it follows her recent performances at the bolshoi theatre which had onlyjust re—opened. the soprano reassured fans she was recovering and said it had been her decision to return to work, knowing the risks. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. anna netrebko dominating this stage, as she always does. she performed twice in don carlos wendy bolshoi its doors earlier this month. but only a few days later she had fallen ill. on social media she said she had tested positive for covid—19 and am currently in hospital for medical treatment. i am doing well but also have covid related pneumonia so i need medical supervision. related pneumonia so i need medicalsupervision. she related pneumonia so i need medical supervision. she added i knew there was always going to bea i knew there was always going to be a risk that i might get

infected but i do not regret going back to performing because i strongly believe we need culture now, as ever. the famous russian opera house had been closed since march and special measures were introduced to try and protect both performers and the audience. anna netrebko had expressed her delight at returning to the stage. translation: this was scheduled for the end ofjune but u nfortu nately all for the end ofjune but unfortunately all our plans fell through. we are very happy to have an opportunity, and the theatre is opening. wish us all lot, good health and success. we will be pioneers. three others in the company have also tested positive and are now self isolating. anna netrebko is expected to make a full recovery. her manager says she is singing in hospital. and we wish her a speedy recovery.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @aaronsafir. hello. the current spell of settled weather is expected to continue for a few more days yet and friday promises to be another beautiful day across the uk. for some of us, clear blue skies, may be hazy at times, but on the whole, a fine day. so, high—pressure is in charge of the weather, notjust on friday but through much of the weekend. the south of the country is a little bit closer to the low pressure that may bring a few showers on the weekend. but the short term is certainly looking dry. across most of the uk, friday morning, sunshine pretty much from the word go. a little nippy first thing in the north of england, getting in as low as five degrees early in the morning. so, here is the forecast for friday afternoon. lots of sunshine, that breeze is quite strong,

despite the breeze still 22 degrees in london, 19 in the midlands, 21 degrees in glasgow and edinburgh, and on those winds, gusts possibly up to a0 miles an hour in the south coast of england. that will take the edge off the temperatures. a bit of a bluster there if you're walking along the channel coast. the evening is promising to be fine across most of the uk. here's saturday's weather forecast. notice the weather front just to the south of us linked to this low pressure close to spain and portugal, the weather front will approach the channel coast during the course of the weekend. the initial thinking is that there might be some showers around on saturday, may be cornwall, devon, but the vast majority of the uk will be in for a fine day and again, that breeze quite nagging on some of the coasts, blowing out of the east northeast. but still, 23 in london, a bit fresher in the north around 16 for glasgow and edinburgh and belfast. those showers continue through the course of sunday clipping the south coast of england, again,

midlands is looking pretty much dry and sunny. 20 degrees in birmingham, a little bit fresher there on the north sea coast, newcastle at 15 on sunday. monday and tuesday is expected to be settled again, with high—pressure close by, beyond that, it looks as though the atlantic is turning a little more unsettled and the weather fronts will be heading our way in that doesn't mean the weather will slowly turn more unsettled later, but until then, friday and into tuesday next week, for most of us, the weather looks fine with hints of that unsettled weather in the north.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the number of officially recorded coronavirus cases across the globe has climbed above the 30 million mark. according to figures from johns hopkins university in the united states, more than 940,000 people worldwide have died with the disease since it first emerged in central china late last year. figures from the world health organization show that new weekly coronavirus cases in europe now exceed those reported when the pandemic first peaked in march. the un body has also warned of alarming rates of transmission across the region. officials have described it as a wake—up call for europe. and the british government is considering the imposition of new measures across the country in response to a sharp rise in coronavirus infections. the suggestions include a so—called circuit break — a short period during which restrictions would be