this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the the latest headlines. government says the country at the government says the country is ata the government says the country is at a tipping point as it prepares to introduce tough new fines for anyone who fails to self—isolate. introduce tough new fines for anyone who fails to self-isolate. if eve ryo ne who fails to self-isolate. if everyone follows the course then we can avoid further national lockdown. but of course we have to be prepared to ta ke but of course we have to be prepared to take action if that is what is necessary. labour leader says sorting out the problems with testing should be the government's number one priority. ifi testing should be the government's number one priority. if i was the prime minister i would apologise for the fact that we are in the situation with testing throughout the summerwe situation with testing throughout the summer we were situation with testing throughout the summer we were seeing prepare for the autumn and instead we had the exams fiasco.

president trump says he will nominate a woman within the next week as his choice to replace the supreme court judge, ruth bader ginsburg. a mass protest in the thai capital, bangkok, has ended with an unprecedented call for reform of the monarchy. at the close of the two—day demonstration, activists handed over their demands to the city's police chief. a hurricane in three spitfires flight over central london to mark the 80th anniversary of the battle of britain after a memorial service at westminster abbey. a shortage of tests plus the controversial internal market bill are two of the items on the agenda in the week in parliament. the health secretary matt hancock says further national lockdowns cannot be ruled out if people fail

to follow the rules on tackling coronavirus. he was speaking amid growing concern at the rise in the number of infections in the uk. yesterday fines of up to £10,000 were announced for those who repeatedly fail to self—isolate if they test positive. labour said the government's test and trace system was "near collapse". 0ur political correspondent, jonathan blake, reports. rules and restrictions are everywhere to see, but there is concern too many people are ignoring the advice and coronavirus cases are rising as a result. now, ministers believe it is time to get tougher. the health secretary, matt hancock, warned the country is at a tipping point. if everybody follows the rules, then we can avoid further national lockdowns, but we, of course, have to be prepared to take action, if that's what is necessary.

so we might be facing a further national lockdown if people don't obey the rules? that's exactly right. i don't rule it out, i don't want to see it. in england, anyone who tests positive for covid—i9, or is found to have had close contact with someone who has, will be legally required to self—isolate. a £500 payment will be available for those on benefits, and fines of up to £10,000 for those who break the rules. we have all got a responsibility really, to make sure that we don't spread the virus. and the people going out of their way to ignore the guidelines, i think it is quite fair and proper that they should get punished quite severely for that. i think the rules now are really, really complex, and it's hard to find out if you have been in touch with somebody who might be positive, should you be staying in, should you be isolating? it's not easy. we looked them up the other day and it's not easy to understand what you should be doing.

ministers have been accused of mixed messages on whether people should report neighbours that they see breaking the rules. the health secretary was asked if he would call the police. yes, and for the self—isolation part, that is absolutely necessary, because that is how we break the chains of transmission. the test and trace system is crucial to slowing the spread of coronavirus, but recently it has struggled to meet demand, and labour say the public is owed an apology. whatever measure the government takes, we will support it. if i was the prime minister, i would apologise for the fact that we are in this situation with testing. throughout the summer, we were saying prepare for the autumn. instead we had the exams fiasco. i would make fixing testing the number one priority, and reinstate the daily press conferences, so we all know what is going on. persuading people to change their behaviour may make a difference, but, if cases continue to rise, ministers will have no choice but to act. jonathan blake, bbc news.

our health correspondent catherine burns explained why she thought the government was seeing this is as such a tipping point. the thing they are looking at is other countries. really simply, there is a time lag between numbers of cases going up and numbers of deaths going up, so we know that, in the worst cases it tends to pan out over 2—3 weeks, someone gets sick, they try to recover at home, then need to go to hospital, then they sadly die, so the numbers of deaths we are seeing now are probably people who got sick around the start of this month. and we know this because we saw it happen here in the springtime and now we are starting to see it happening in other countries across europe. so, matt hancock was asked about this and he pointed to spain. he said cases there shot up and that was followed by a rise in hospital admissions and an increase in deaths. the government also likes to give what it sees as a slightly more positive comparison and that is to belgium. this is interesting, because there was a spike in cases there, and the government brought in a curfew and started reducing the number of people who could meet

up, and it seemed to work, but there's a sting in the tail, because the numbers there are starting to rise too. so for now, where are we at? in terms of actual cases spread across the population our numbers are not as bad as these countries. the government wants to keep it this way. let's speak now to the virologist dr chris smith, he's in cambridge. good to have you with us. it seems we have reached this critical moment, a tipping point is the health secretary calls it. how concerned are you? i think it's inevitable we're going to see a lot more cases yet. i don't know whether oi’ more cases yet. i don't know whether or not we are going to get the level we we re or not we are going to get the level we were at back in march when we we re we were at back in march when we were not hundreds of thousands of infections per day. at the moment we are somewhere around five or 6000 and rising and as catherine was just saying, although we don't have very

much activity in hospitals yet, that is no reason for complacency. because what happens generally is that you have infections and they are followed over a three or four week cycle by hospital admissions. so what we do today, we will not see the effects of for three or four weeks hence so it's important to bear that in weeks hence so it's important to bearthat in mind weeks hence so it's important to bear that in mind and also keep in mind that other countries across the european states have actually seen very big escalations in their cases and we are following along behind them. so i think what's happening here as politicians are seeing what other countries are doing, seeing what's happening in those countries and saying, it's almost certain we are following the same trajectory, thatis are following the same trajectory, that is where we will be if we do not turn the taps off now and that's why they are trying to do this i think. one of the ways that night andi think. one of the ways that night and i stress the word might turn the ta ps and i stress the word might turn the taps off is a second national lockdown which matt hancock has raised the possibility of. as a virologist would you recommend that?

the government have described this asa the government have described this as a nuclear option but importantly said this is not a nuclear option may have taken off the table, so it still remains a possibility. i'm not sure that it's the right way to go based on where we are at the moment. i think it would be very destructive, i think it be very destructive, i think it be very destructive psychologically, i think it would be very destructive educationally, i think it would be very destructive economically. i'm hoping that the measures that are being introduced will be sufficient and will rein in the numbers and i'm hoping that the current trend which is that most of the infection is in younger people, although not exclusively, who are at very low risk, it stays that way and we don't see it filter into older people who are more at risk. but at the end of the day, this is a very fluid situation and we just don't know. so we have to plan for the worst but hope for the best. what about this idea of a circuit break? perhaps a short period of lockdown. would that

make a difference or is thatjust delaying the inevitable? that is an element of kicking the can down the road with all of this because you could say we had all this in march and toa could say we had all this in march and to a certain extent we're still in it. and what have we done? we suppress things, at huge psychological and economic cost, and now we remain a population highly vulnerable to infection and as soon as you release those measures, this thing comes back with flourish and that's happening all over the world. singapore tried this idea of what they are dubbing a circuit break. the idea being you have a short speu the idea being you have a short spell which is roughly mapped onto the same period as the incubation period, hence two weeks, you lock everything down for that short predictable time, the idea being the destruction is quite minimal but the impact can be destruction is quite minimal but the impact can he therefore to break the chain of transmission and you interrupted the growth of the virus but singapore is a much smaller country. moving in a more homogenous

way, in other words people go about their business in the same way. it's different when you tried on a scale of the country of this one but it might work but it might be very disruptive and if we can avoid having to take that course that would be my preference and i'm sure the preference of most people watching. let's have a word about tests because as a virology stew need to know who has got it. what is your view on how the test, trace and isolate system is working? our most realistic prospects for a vaccine talking to industry experts and i have done this week are that we're not looking at having a widescale adoption of a vaccine until least midway through may bejune of next year. that means the only options open to us our public health measures. that is things like physical distancing, handwashing, and possibly cu rfews physical distancing, handwashing, and possibly curfews and lockdown. so realistically, one thing we can do is to keep very close tabs on who

has it, where they are going and what they are doing and that means having a well—developed test system andi having a well—developed test system and i think that's the only thing that we can throw a test enables us to have informed decisions and so testing is critical. the system has been overwhelmed recently and it has been overwhelmed recently and it has been overwhelmed recently and it has been overwhelmed by catchment for a number of reasons. the most common one being we're going into autumn and schools go back, workers go more public transport, population catchment population contact. you see them usual vital socialists oh suspects, the common cold and there are hundreds and the average person —— the usual suspects. so unsurprisingly we getting a surge in these symptoms are very similar to coronavirus or people are doing exactly as they should and getting a test in case it's coronavirus and u nfortu nately test in case it's coronavirus and unfortunately it's completely broken the system and we have been overwhelmed but we are not alone. 0ther overwhelmed but we are not alone. other countries are finding themselves, even germany, under pressure. germany have said they are only going to start testing people

with symptoms from october. so every country is finding that this is a very tough nut to crack. thanks for your thoughts and insights. pleasure. good to talk to you. president trump has said his nominee to replace ruth bayder 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 reports. america's election in a microcosm. a divided nation, liberals vs conservatives, arguing over what's 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 to 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 on america's top court. barbara lagoa, a cuban—american, the first hispanic judge on florida's supreme court. 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. the democrats have started

to threaten that if they win the senate, and they already control the congress and win the white house, then 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 then 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. paul hawkins, bbc news. president trump says he's approved, in principle, a deal that would allow the video sharing app tiktok to continue functioning in the united states. he'd threatened to ban it, describing tiktok as a security threat. under the plan, two american companies, oracle and walmart, will both acquire stakes in tiktok, as well as the company's chinese owner, byte dance. a man's been arrested

on suspicion of attempted murder after a number of people were hurt in a knife attack in plymouth. five people were taken to hospital, including a man with potentially life—changing injuries, following the attack outside a pub. police were called to the railway inn in the stoke area of the city at about 10pm on saturday. officers say it was an isolated incident and is not being treated as terrorism related. the headlines on bbc news... the 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. the labour leader says sorting out the problems with testing should be the government's number one priority. president trump says he will nominate a woman within the next week as his choice to replace the supreme court judge,

ruth bader ginsburg. thousands of students in many parts of the uk will be starting at university this week, but a very different freshers‘ week experience is in store, with social distancing rules meaning most lectures and classes are taking place online, and students are only allowed to mix with those in their social "bubble". and a new survey suggests full—time residents in england's university towns fear a rise in coronavirus cases as students return. so how will all of this impact on teaching standards and student experiences? we can talk now to zoe thomas, the principal author of this year's sunday times good university guide. thanks forjoining us. hundreds of thousands of students heading to university this month. what will they find when they get there? they

will find it's quite a different experience. it still course worth having and this is a huge milestone in any young persons life and for theirfamilies as in any young persons life and for their families as well. so they are some excited and looking forward to it but they will discover they will not have the big lecture hall experiences that would have happened in previous terms. because as you said in your introduction so much is now being done online. there is still some face—to—face teaching but it will be on a smaller scale in groups and students will be living and studying in bubbles. and these as restrictions may get tighter the bubbles may have to get smaller. halls of residence are less full, to ta ke halls of residence are less full, to take into consideration, some universities are hopeful they have been more sedate, it might positively impact students

proclivities for drinking and reckless behaviour so there may be some positives to come out of this. what we have seen is a lot of development in the higher education sector looking at what will work going forward and the health pandemic is going to put the fast forward button on that because things like the hoarding of lectures we re things like the hoarding of lectures were already taking place and for a lot of educationalists the notion of being on stage is outdated, perhaps not the best way for students to ta ke not the best way for students to take in information so some universities are quite looking forward to them not going back to those and to use smaller scale teaching environments and recorded lectures instead. there are two sites of the coin. teaching and socialising and they will be different for students as you say. what impact is the virus had on student admissions this year? so far we all thought it was going to be

hugely different and it has not impacted as much as we thought. what the predictions where was that there would be so many people putting off going to university until 2021 and 2022 but in fact the deferrals are only up 4% so the impact hasn't been as great. what we are seeing is that people still want to get on with their lives, they want to go to university, the universities still wa nt university, the universities still want their undergraduates, they want them paying their fees, want their undergraduates, they want them paying theirfees, keeping up thing going, it's vitalfor them that everything returns to something like normal, and the fees keep getting paid and everything keeps moving forward. we were just mentioning the fact that there are people living in some university towns and cities who might be concerned about students arriving and perhaps spreading coronavirus. but on the flip side, i wonder what you think about student satisfaction and whether they well end up feeling they are getting value for money?|j

can they are getting value for money?” can see your point but i think partly student have got used to learning online before they arrived at university. i think the universities are working very hard to provide very good online learning, so it remains to be seen how it will pan out. universities know they have to be providing value for money, students may think they actually get more face time, albeit through a screen with academic staff than they did previously. so universities will be hugely working very ha rd to universities will be hugely working very hard to make sure that teaching standards do not drop and cannot, we will find out next summer, there is the national survey of students which takes place, the results will come out next summer and we will be able to gauge responses better. in the meantime, doubtless universities will be testing the temperatures of how students are feeling internally anyway. but so far, so good. the

universities have had all of the summer to get prepared. they are very, all of their separate systems are in place, they are looking forward to giving excellent service and the students are excited to start university. i think it's, it would be horrible to think this is going to be some terrible year for them. universities are looking, thinking about mental health, student services have been going online and some students have said they find it easier to access things like counselling by being online rather than going to an office and so forth. so i think we have to assume that everyone is going to make a really good fist of it and try very hard to still make the best of what is a life changing time of life. it's a wonderful thing to go to university, to be on the cusp of all that learning and start a new stage in your education. we must leave it there, great to talk to you, thanks. thanks, goodbye.

let's return to our main story this hour. the health secretary matt hancock says the country has a choice of whether to follow the pandemic rules, or face further restrictions. speaking on the andrew marr programme on bbc one, he said demand for tests had increased due to people without symptoms trying to get tested. he said it was really important to make sure tests were available for people who really needed them. we face a choice. right? if everyone follows the rules, everybody follows the rules and we will be increasingly stringent on the people who are not following the rules, if everyone follows the rules, then we can avoid further national lockdowns, but we of course have to be prepared to take action if that is what is necessary. so we might be facing a further national lockdown if people don't obey the ruels? that is exactly right. i don't rule it out. i do not want to see it. and i understand the economic and other downsides of it. let's look at the routes

out of this, if i may. give people something to hope for. dido harding has said a million people a day are asking for tests. how many actual people a day are actually being tested at the moment? just over... we have a capacity ofjust over 250,000. yeah, not capacity, but people. over 200,000. more than 200,000 actual people being tested at the moment every day? yesterday it was 226,000. so that is about 20% of those asking for tests every day. thankfully the demand has come down a hit this week since the figures that dido talked about and the reason for that is that we saw this spike in people who do not have symptoms and are not eligible coming forward for a test and we have been and are not eligible coming forward for a test. the labour leader, sir keir starmer has said that the pm should personally apologise for what he described as the near collapse of testing," saying that if he were the pm he would apologise for the fact that we are in this

situation with testing." whatever measure the government takes, we will support it. we did that with lockdown. really? we did that with local restrictions and i have said that whatever measures are taken. but listen, if i was the prime minister, i would apologise for the fact that we are in this situation with testing. throughout the summer, we were saying, prepare for the autumn. instead, we had the exams fiasco. i would make fixing testing the number one priority and reinstate the daily press conferences, so we all know what's going on. because up and down the country, people are really concerned about the fact that the testing system is near collapse. so you are in favour of tough decisions, what i'm asking you is what tough decisions you would take now? you've given a very good assessment of where we are, an analysis of the government, but nonetheless, politicians have to say, is this time for a lockdown? would you ask pubs and restaurants to close now to save lives? andrew, i'm not giving you my view on that for this reason. it's not to duck it.

one of the very important things in a pandemic is clarity of communication, so people know exactly... it is the reason i have said i will support the government. the government has their scientific advisers and they will make their decision. now, i may, sometimes we look at decisions... so here's... let me finish, this is really important. they make a decision, we will follow that and we will reinforce communications, because in the end this is not about party politics, it is about getting the nation through this virus. if the government takes action, we will support it and their message because what i want, like the government, is for this virus to come back under control, but the single biggest problem is testing. anti—government protesters in thailand have installed a plak 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. our correspondent jonathan head reports. they had camped overnight under the shadow of the old palace. protesters of all ages from the city and the countryside with a message for the government, the military and the king. they want sweeping changes to how power and resources are allocated in thailand. here, in what you might call king vajiralongkorn‘s backyard, they laid a brass plaque with an inscription that the country belonged to the people, not the monarch. theyjoined in singing the national anthem. "we are patriotic," they say, "not nation haters," an accusation made by some royalists. but their hunger games salute has become a potent symbol of dissent in one of the world's most unequal societies. they have been allowed to occupy this park, site of the most illustrious royal ceremonies, but as the protest moved

towards the grand palace, they found their way blocked by the police. 22—year—old student panusaya sithijirawatta na kul, who last month stunned thailand by reading of a ten—point manifesto for royal reform, was left to deliver her letter, addressed to the king, to the police commander with instructions to pass it on. the party—like atmosphere we have seen here belies the seriousness of the challenge that these protesters are throwing down to the monarchy, notjust the occupation of one of the most important royal sites here in bangkok, but also some of the critical comments made about king vajiralongkorn from the stage. stronger than anything i think most thais have heard said in public before. what we cannot guess yet is how the palace and the authorities are going to react. in the two months since these protests began, they have transformed the political debate in thailand, saying things once thought unsayable.

there is an understandable sense of elation in watching taboos being broken, but there are plenty of risks, too, when a near sacred institution is confronted and questioned like this for the first time. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. a memorial service marking 80 years since the battle of britain has been held at westminster abbey. the battle was a dramatic turning point in world war two when 1500 pilots and aircrew lost their lives fighting the german airforce. today's service was the abbey's first major event since lockdown although fewer than 100 guests attended. sarah campbell reports. sir winston churchill famously called the young pilots "the few", and the stakes couldn't have been higher back in 1940. archive newsreel: hurricanes and spitfires roar into action. it was the first time a pivotal military battle was fought in the air. the nazis' plan to overwhelm the allied air defences and then

launch a land invasion. their plan failed. today the prime minister arrived at westminster abbey to remember the sacrifices made, along with the leader of the opposition, all in masks, in this, the first major service to have taken place at the abbey since lockdown began in march. usually, 2,000 people attend the service of remembrance which has been held here every year since 19114. not so this year due to the pandemic. just one of the few is still alive, but their legacy and what they achieved against the odds lives on. some events, some people are not just significant, they are pivotal. the battle of britain was one of those pivotal events, and likewise, those who served in it, ourfriends from other nations, those working on the ground, our families at home, every one of them.

escorted by raf cadets, the battle of britain roll of honour, bearing the names of the 1,497 pilots and aircrew killed in what would be seen as a turning point in the course of the war. last post plays as the service ended, a fly—past above london. the heroism of those who took to the skies 80 years ago remembered. sarah campbell, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. a lot of sunshine this weekend and there is more to come monday and tuesday as well. feels like summer is lingering very nicely but don't be filled. by the end of the week it will look and

feel very different. for the rest of the day