this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the health secretary says the uk is at a tipping point, as the government prepares to introduce tough new fines for anyone in england who is told to self—isolate but fails to. it is absolutely critical at this moment that everybody stops, takes a step back and realises we have all got a part to play. president trump says he will nominate a woman within a week — as his choice to replace the supreme court judge, ruth bader ginsburg. anti—government protesters in thailand call for reform of the political system — and the monarchy. 80 years after the battle of britain — a memorial service takes place to remember the pilots and aircrew

who paid the ultimate sacrifice. and in sport — the slovenian todej pogacar is set to be crowned tour de france champion, after a dramatic turnaround. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world 7 do stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. the uk's health secretary, matt hancock has warned that the country faces a ‘tipping point‘ in the fight against the coronavirus, and that if people do not follow the rules, more serious measures will have to be imposed. fines of up to £10,000 are already planned to come into force in a week's time for people in england who fail to self—isolate if they test positive for coronavirus — or when told to by the test and trace service.

in france, 13,500 new infections have been confirmed — another daily record since the start of the outbreak there. the spike mirrors a rise in infections in many other parts of europe. more than 850,000 people living in and around spain's capital madrid are to be put under lockdown after a surge in the number of new infections. with more now on the situation in the uk, rich preston reports. the government's own scientific advisers have suggested that as few as one in five people may be fully following the current self—isolation guidelines. so downing street is taking action. it's placing a legal obligation on those who test positive, or who are contacted by nhs test and trace, to self—isolate. anyone who doesn't can be fined £1,000, increasing to £10,000 for repeat offenders and what the government calls the most egregious breaches.

the fines can also be given to someone for preventing another person from self—isolating, like an employer forcing someone to come into work. the new measures come into effect on september 28th. there are to be discussions with the devolved administrations with the aim of making these rules uk—wide. and there is acknowledgement, too, that self—isolating is easier for some than for others. the government says money will be available for people on low incomes and who cannot work from home — a lump sum of £500 to incentivise self—isolation. the government says some four million people in england will be eligible. in preston, which sees even tighter local restrictions coming into force this week, support for these new national measures. if people are actually going out of their way to ignore the guidelines, i think it's quite fair and proper that they should be punished severely for that. that's really not on, for them to be going out and about, and they should be fined.

the number of confirmed infections in the uk has been steadily rising, with infections in england doubling every 7—8 days. there were over 4,000 new cases reported on saturday, the highest the number has been since the beginning of may. 27 deaths were also reported, bringing the total uk death toll from covid—19 to more than 111,700. prime minister boris johnson has said the uk is now seeing its second wave, and is taking the weekend to consider if and when new nationwide restrictions across england may need to be introduced. but the government is walking a delicate tightrope, keeping coronavirus infections down whilst not causing too much further damage to an already battered economy. rich preston, bbc news. we can speak to our political correspondent jonathan blake. we correspondent jonathan blake. have we correspondentjonathan blake. have been hearing 1 jonathan, we have been hearing today, jonathan, from the uk health secretary and some pretty strong words. that's right, the health secretary has said the country is facing a tipping point and has urged people to follow the rules that are

110w people to follow the rules that are now in place and observe the new legal requirements to self—isolate, which have been backed up by fines, as we have heard, to avoid further restrictions. he has said that they may be necessary if people continue to disobey the rules, or flout the social distancing guidelines that are in place. speaking on the andrew marr programme on bbc one this morning, mr hancock said that a further national lockdown couldn't be ruled out. we face a choice. if everybody follows the rules, and we will be increasingly stringent on people not following the rules, if everybody follows the rules then we can avoid further national lockdown is. but we, of course, have to be prepared to take action if that is what is necessary. very interesting to hear what is necessary. very interesting to heaer what is necessary. very interesting to hear mr hancock asked about this

enforcement policy is welcome and whether people should report others to the police if they see them either breaking social distancing rules or not maintaining self—isolation when they are required to. he was very clear that people should report others to the police saying that that was necessary to ensure people followed the rules. that does contrast slightly to what we heard from the prime minister in an interview with the sun newspaper earlier this week when he said he wasn't a fan of so—called sneaker culture, and only in more extreme cases where there we re in more extreme cases where there were house parties and hot tubs involved, as the prime minister said, should people report others to the police. so a different tone this morning from the health secretary, a tougher tone and perhaps something the government will find itself criticised again for mixed messaging. what about what the labour party are saying about all of this? the labour party is in a tricky position here because it wants to appear to be supporting the government in the national interest allowing scientific advice to contain the

coronavirus pandemic. but it also wants to highlight what it perceives to be the government's failings. speaking on the andrew marr programme again this morning, the labour leader keir starmer said he was ready to support whatever measures the government felt necessary to contain the virus amid the current rise in cases. whatever measures the government takes, we will support it. we did that with lockdown, we did that with local restrictions, and i have said that whatever measures are taken. but listen, if i was the prime ministerl but listen, if i was the prime minister i would apologise for the fa ct minister i would apologise for the fact that we are in this situation with testing. throughout the summer we we re with testing. throughout the summer we were saying prepare for the autumn. instead we have the exams fiasco. i would autumn. instead we have the exams fiasco. iwould make autumn. instead we have the exams fiasco. i would make fixing testing the number one priority and reinstate the daily press conferences so reinstate the daily press conferences so we reinstate the daily press conferences so we all know what's going on. so, challenge there to the prime ministerfrom the labour leader sir keir starmer. national daily briefings should restart and there should be an apology to the public over the way the government

has handled the test and trace programme. i think that is unlikely but it is very clear labour is trying to keep up the pressure on the government over the handling of test and trace, saying that if that had been handled better and was more efficient then we wouldn't be in the position of rising cases and the potential need for further restrictions. jonathan, thank you. jonathan blake, our political correspondent. president trump has said his nominee to replace ruth bader ginsberg on the us supreme court will be a woman, and he'll make the announcement next week. justice ginsberg died on friday, triggering a huge debate over whether her replacement should be announced before, or after, november's presidential election. paul hawkins has more. america's election in a microcosm. a divided nation, liberals vs conservatives, arguing over what is important, and now who gets to decide. replacing the latejustice ginsburg on america's top court was never going to be straightforward in the run—up november's vote. but now we know a little bit more about the president's

pick to replace her. it will be a woman, a very talented, very brilliant woman. applause who i haven't chosen yet, but we have numerous women on the list. but these are the two favourites. amy coney barrett on the left and barbara lagoa on the right, both highly respected by the president, who nominated both to the lower circuits. either would become the youngest serving justice in america's top court. barbara lagoa, a cuban—american, the first hispanic judge on florida's supreme court. she's an extraordinary person. i've heard incredible things about her. i don't know her. she's hispanic, and highly respected in miami. amy coney barrett, meanwhile, is a favourite of religious conservatives, known for her anti—abortion views. she also said thatjudges should not be strictly bound

by supreme court precedents, so she could vote to overturn roe v wade, the landmark decision that gave women the right to choose. and then there is the question of when the republican—controlled senate should vote to confirm the nominee — before the election, or after. however, the democrats have started to threaten that if they win the senate and already control the congress and win the white house, than if the republicans play dirty then they are going to vote to expand the supreme court and add two more seats which would give biden two more nominations. but if the president's choice is installed before the election than the nine—judge supreme court would have six conservatives and three liberals meaning a strongly conservative interpretation of the constitution on big issues like abortion and gun control and civil rights. the future of american society for generations to come is at stake. paul hawkins, bbc news. the reaction from those on the left has been vigorous opposition to any nomination by president trump before

the november election. lisa graves is a researcher who was deputy assistant attorney general at the us department ofjustice in the clinton administration. i think that there are big principles at stake here, in terms of the supreme court and the future of america. and so he may well try to use this vacancy to his political advantage. in fact, he hasn't hesitated to use the post office, the military to political advantage, and i'm sure he's going to try and do the same here. but my concern is that trump's political team is preparing to litigate the results of this election to the us supreme court and he shouldn't be able to choose anotherjuror, in essence, on that supreme court to try to put his thumb on the scale ofjustice to try to win this election unfairly. typically there are many weeks allowed before a hearing on a supreme court vacancy because it's a lifetime appointment. some of the people on donald trump's list are in

their early 50s and so could serve for the next 30 or a0 years. so it is vital that the senate have the time to thoroughly review the records of anyone nominated to the us supreme court. so there are some procedural objections and standards. but it's not clear that these republicans who have been so loyal to trump despite the evidence against him, in many ways, it is not clear these republicans will follow the rules because they've been so bound in loyalty. the results for the election won't be certified constitutionally until early december. and so there is time post election for the republicans to try to push through a nominee, even if donald trump loses and even if that nominee is controversial. was lisa graves, former assistant deputy attorney general at the us department ofjustice. a package containing the deadly poison ricin, that was addressed to president donald trump, has been intercepted. officials say the letter was discovered at a screening facility before it reached the white house. the fbi and secret service are now investigating the source and whether others have been sent through the us postal system.

anti—government protesters in thailand have installed a plaque near bangkok's grand palace proclaiming that the country belongs to the people and not the monarch. protests calling for the resignation of the government and reform of the monarchy have been continuing. activists camped out overnight in a field near the royal palace after tens of thousands joined demonstrations demanding reform. so how unusual are protests like this? the bbc‘s jonathan head is in bangkok. protest movements aren't unusual but this one has gone a whole lot furtherthan any in, ithink, living memory in terms of addressing the issue of the monarchy. now i'm right here in this field called sanam luang. behind me you can see the glittering historic royal palace. this is where the coronation of the current king took place, the funeral of his much loved

father. a little bit over in that direction is where they put down this very small plaque today. a plaque that was actually removed from another part of bangkok, commemorating the overthrow of the absolute monarchy. the monarchy, the history of the monarchy, its place in thai society, its powers, its spending, all of these are on the agenda of this protest movement. they have just dispersed just in the last few minutes but they have held onto this ground for 2h hours. a symbolic challenge, if you like, throwing a glove down to the monarchy itself demanding changes. and they say they will keep it up. they had quite significant numbers of people here, it was a very festive atmosphere. but the seriousness of the points they were raising was lost on no—one because even discussing the monarchy has been taboo in this country for decades. it is considered unacceptable. the government insists that the monarchy‘s status is non—negotiable, that it is untouchable, it can't be mentioned. and yet some of the issues being raised by those people on stage were very personal, they directly criticised the current king maha vajiralongkorn for living overseas in germany, for spending large amounts of money at a time of economic crisis induced by covid—19. they have raised the issues

of his increasing control over units of the military. this is just a debate that people have only ever whispered about. these students are pushing to make it public. in the past, you would quite simply have gone to prison for a very long time, or you might even have lost your life for just saying these things. we just don't know in this current climate with a very unpopular government, how far they are going to allow this protest movement to go. that's jonathan head that'sjonathan head reporting from thailand. tiktok has welcomed president trump's approval of a proposed deal to allow american firms to buy part of its us operation. it said the deal would ensure national security requirements were fully satisfied. mr trump had been threatening to ban the chinese—owned app in the united states, saying users' data was at risk. conceptually i think it's a great dealfor america, they'd be hiring at least 25,000 people. it would most likely be incorporated in texas, it will be a brand—new company. it will have nothing to do with any outside land, any outside country. it will have nothing to do with china.

the headlines on bbc news. tough new fines for anyone in england, who tests positive for coronavirus or is traced as a contact — but fails to self—isolate. president trump says he will nominate a woman within the next week — as his choice to replace the supreme court judge, ruth bader ginsburg. anti—government protesters in thailand call for reform of the political system — and the monarchy. fire has engulfed part of one of africa's best—known universities, makarere, in the ugandan capital kampala. flames have swept through the main administration block, which dates back to the 1940s, and destroyed the roof. the building, which is known locally as the ivory tower, is a prominent landmark in the city. there's currently no word of any casualties. the engineering firm

rolls—royce, which makes jet engines, is considering plans to raise up to £2.5 billion to shore up its balance sheet. last month the firm announced a pre—tax loss of £5.11 billion for the first half of this year, after the coronavirus pandemic caused demand for air travel to slump. one in seven indigenous plant species in the uk is threatened by extinction, according to research from the woodland trust charity. that's why 24—year—old botanist, joshua styles, has made it his mission to bring back local flora. he's already re—introduced 19 endangered species to north west england, some of which disappeared during queen victoria's reign. abbiejones has been to meet him. in the wilderness of this vast peat bog in wigan, plants extinct for over a century are thriving once

again, thanks to a remarkable young man. it might not look it, but this ditch is very, very exciting. this is lesser bladderwort. it used to be extinct. it was extinct in greater manchester for 50 years. manchester for over 150 years. rentroduced it in 2018, and now there's over 185,000 plants on this whole site, which is amazing, yeah. watch your step! a few minutes' walk away on astley moss, another ofjosh's success stories. there they are! they're looking really good. this is great sundew, endangered until he reintroduced it here a month ago. it's really sad because it's an endangered species in england. there are less than 20 sites where you can see it. it feels incredible to see this endangered species back here in its rightful home after over 150 years of being extinct. so it feels wonderful. ecologistjosh has now reintroduced

19 species at 45 sites around the region, including the dune wormwood in sefton sand dunes, the common butterwort in cumbria, and the green—winged orchid in cheshire. he's been studying plants and grasses since the age of seven and grows them in his garden in southport. his work is supported by organisations like chester zoo and lancashire wildlife trust. in two years he has reintroduced nine speciesjust at this one site. increasing the biodiversity more than we would have been able to by ourselves. and until we've got the right plants, we can't reintroduce animals either. what do you want to see? what point do you want to get to in the north—west? my overriding aim is to see over a0 target species that are on the cusp of extinction in the region come back, that i was never able to see as a child, so that other people can enjoy them as much as i do. abbyjones, bbc news, manchester.

opportunities to meet new people may have been hampered over recent months, but a return to old ways of communication has helped some people forge new friendships. among them, 93—year—old care—home resident, madge weatherhead, who began receiving letters during lockdown from six—year old ella, who lives almost 200 miles away. emma baugh has been hearing their story. bridging the gap across the miles and the generations. a unique friendship forged with pen and paper. i started writing because it's kind and it's obviously fun and it's obviously happy, cos when you get letters sent back to each other. well, a pen pal as lovely as ella, i think it's wonderful. it's wonderful. i look forward to her letters. and i look forward

to writing to her. they got together through the friends of the elderly charity, which matches pen pals to make new friends. i really look forward to her letters and we sometimes draw a picture of each other and that's very nice. for each other and that's very nice. this is another picture one. popeye. oh, wow! it's interesting, because that she's not in school and she's in a care home. for the prolific pen pals, age is but a number. 93 and she's six. quite a big difference. but we've got a lot in common. writing to somebody like ella, well, it just makes you feel part of the world again. they hope to meet one day in person, but, for now, it's a virtual farewell.

aren't we having an exciting time, you and i? we're quite celebrities now. but i look forward to your next letter and i shall be writing back to you as well straightaway. hi, madge, i'm excited to see you when it's much safer. emma baugh, bbc news. the slovenian cyclist tadej pogacar is to be crowned the tour de france champion later today, following a remarkable turnaround on the penultimate day of the race. atjust 21—years—old pogacar is set to become the youngest winner of the race in 111 years. adrian timmis is a former 0lympic and tour de france cyclist. he gave me his reaction to pogacar‘s achivement. just unbelievable. just going into the last time

trial it looked like roglicjust had to get on his bike and he was going to win the tour. his team had controlled the race for two weeks but it all fell apart yesterday. i mean, it has made for a fantastic spectacle, hasn't it? tadej pogacar, just tell us a bit about him, he could be a champion for many years to come because he is so young, isn't he? he's already achieved a lot, i think he is 22 tomorrow. he has won stages in grand tours before, he had already won two stages before yesterday. it's how he can get through this next winter because he's going to just be a superstar in the world and in his home country. he's not exactly a household moment at the moment, i have to say, but he is probably going to become one. what are his assets? what are his unique capabilities, do you think? he is young, he is ambitious, he can climb and yesterday, he can time trial.

he had already beaten roglic in their national championships. so the only thing he is lacking is a team behind him because basically for the last three weeks he is more or less had to do everything on his own when it came to the mountains where roglic had his whole team just there around him all day every day. a memorial service is being held at westminster abbey in london this morning marking 80 years since the battle of britain. the battle, fought entirely in the air, was a major turning point in the second world war. 0ur correspondent at the abbey, ben bland, explained that the battle was a dramatic turning point in world war ii. it was a decisive moment in the second world war.

it was at a time when britain was standing alone against nazi germany, america hadn't yetjoined the war effort, and the british army had been pushed out of occupied france. and the german air force had been bombarding britain. london had been enduring the blitz, 57 nights of bombing, and then came 15th september, a crucial moment when two massive attacks by the german air force were successfully defended by the british royal air force. but it was not without significant losses. 1,497 pilots and aircrew died during it. it was the battle about which winston churchill famously said, "never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few". and the names of those who fought and died will, as they have been over the decades, honoured here at the abbey. the roll of honour will be paraded along with the colours, the flags of the squadrons of the air force that took part in that battle.

ben bland reporting. you've been watching bbc news. hello. we've had rather more low cloud, mist and fog this morning, but it is clearing away, there's just a few areas where it will linger. this is how it looked in bradford to start the day. but as i say, for most, the warm sunshine will come through. we still have low pressure circulating towards the south, throwing up some cloud into southern coastal counties of england, the channel islands, those areas at risk of a few showers, this mass of cloud, an approaching weather front, which will bring behind it some quite big changes into the middle of next week. but for the rest of the day, as i say, the mist and fog inland clearing away. this inland mist, low cloud and fog will take a while longer. and it may well linger for some north sea coasts, but it's going to clear away from the east of wales and the midlands. however, the thicker,

low cloud that we have across the western and the northern isles is producing a bit of drizzle, it's sea fog in some areas. so really quite poor visibilities here around northern scotland and into southern eastern scotland and the north—east of england. some could linger all day. but inland away from there and through northern ireland, plenty of warm sunshine. still a keen north—east breeze across the southern half of england and wales. but with all that sunshine around, temperatures again responding and getting in towards the mid—20s, as we had yesterday, but dropping quite quickly overnight as will the winds in the south, finally. we've had three or four days of really quite brisk winds. as they ease away, we'll have the return of some mist and low cloud, but this time some fog as well at lower levels. so it's going to be quite a problem, i think, through the rush hour tomorrow morning across the southern half of the country, northern areas as well, having seen fog recently, we'll see some tomorrow morning. once it clears, and we should have an abundance of sunshine again for england, wales, northern ireland, central, southern, and eastern scotland. but the far north has thicker clouds and some rain and drizzle tomorrow as that weather front that we saw on the satellite picture approaches.

but for the rest of us, temperatures, high teens, low 20s. then, as i say, it's all change midweek. some uncertainty on the timings of these areas of low pressure. but needless to say, as you can see, some wetter, some windier weather and also some much colder weather. temperatures at the moment are well above where they should be for september. as we tap into this northerly wind, we're going to pull down some air from the arctic and temperatures will drop quite dramatically to below average, actually, as we head towards midweek and beyond, where it looks much more unsettled. but you can, of course, as ever, keep up to date on the website.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the british government says the country is at a tipping point, as it prepares to introduce tough new fines for anyone in england who is told to self—isolate but fails to. it is absolutely critical that at this moment everyone stops, takes a step back and realises we have all got a part to play. president trump says

he will nominate a woman within the next week — as his choice to replace the supreme court judge, ruth bader ginsburg. anti—government protesters in thailand call for reform of the political system — and the monarchy. 80 years after the battle of britain, a memorial service takes place to remember the pilots and aircrew who paid the ultimate sacrifice. now on bbc news, in this special programme, some of the bbc‘s news presenters have been looking at the roles their families played in the second world war. to come here today and to see where he spent a part of his life — a very difficult part

of his life — is, i have to say, it's. . . it's