this is bbc news. the headlines at five... 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. 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 is what is necessary. the labour leader says sorting out the problems with testing should be ministers‘ top priority. 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. 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. a fly—past over central london marks the 80th anniversary of the battle of britain, following a memorial service at westminster abbey. and, in half an hour, the incredible stories of the families of the bbc‘s news presenters and their role in the second world war — that's the people's war at 5.30pm. hello and welcome to bbc news. 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—19, 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.

we have got the latest government figures. the latest government figures show there have been 3,899 positive coronavirus tests in the uk in the latest 2a hour period, bringing the total number of cases to 394,257. 18 additional deaths have been reported of those who have died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. that brings the total number across the uk, to 41,777. let's get more now from our health correspondent catherine burns, who can explain more about why the government believe the country has reached a tipping point in relation to the virus. 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.

that was our health correspondent catherine burns. i spoke to the virologist and founder and editor of the naked scientists podcast, dr chris smith. he told me that he was fully expecting a rise in cases. well, i think it's inevitable we're going to see a lot more cases yet. i don't know whether or not we are going to get the level we were at back in march when we were at hundreds of thousands of infections per day. at the moment we are somewhere around about 5,000 or 6,000 and rising, and as catherine burns 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 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 is 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, 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 might 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 as a nuclear option but importantly said this is not a nuclear option they 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 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. 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 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 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 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. aus a usjudge has blocked president trump's in order to block we chat which was set to come into effect

today. it is a messaging app with over1 billion monthly users. president trump issued an executive order against the app last month, claiming national security concerns, but thejudge says claiming national security concerns, but the judge says the ban raised serious questions related to the constitution's first amendment which guarantees free speech. 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, bytedance. britain, france and germany say a us move to re—impose un sanctions on iran over its nuclear programme has no legitimacy. iran says the americans have no authority to reinstate the embargo, since president trump abandoned the nuclear deal two years ago.

the us argues it does have the authority as an original signatory of the agreement. 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. 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. 0ur 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. 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 ministers should apologise for the problems with the testing system — and sorting them out should be its top 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. the scottish government has said it is aiming for schools

to hold exams next year, but there remains a risk of further disruption. newspaper reports have claimed that national 5 exams may be cancelled, and highers could be scaled back. let's tak now to our correspondent alexandra mackenzie. this announcement follows a great deal of speculation, what exactly can you tell us? that is right. what we do know is that pupils were not able to sit their exams this year. they were not able to set their national fives or they were not able to set their nationalfives or hires, they were not able to set their national fives or hires, and the result ended up being based on the teacher's results and not the sqa results. so everyone is in agreement that they want things to go as smoothly as possible for the tens of thousands of pupils who would have been due to sit exams in 2021. the deputy first minister and education secretaryjohn swinney, deputy first minister and education secretary john swinney, he deputy first minister and education secretaryjohn swinney, he has said that he will make an announcement in

the scottish parliament before the 0ctober holidays, before the end of this term, which is then about three weeks. as you say, there has been a bit of speculation on the front page of two scottish newspapers. what they are saying is that the education secretary already plans to scrap the national fives, education secretary already plans to scrap the nationalfives, the education secretary already plans to scrap the national fives, the exams will not be happening in 2021, instead what pupils will do will be based on continuous assessment throughout the year. also there will bea throughout the year. also there will be a bit ofa throughout the year. also there will be a bit of a change to hires, some of the coursework could be scaled back because schools have lost out on some teaching time already. as you said, there has been no confirmation of that so far. we have had a statement from the scottish government and they have said that the ambition is to run the exams in 2021, but there is a risk of some further disruption. i want to come

onto the other political reaction. for those unfamiliar with the scottish exam system, can you just remind us, nat fives and highers, what age groups does that affect? highers would be the one she set just before university. they would be seen as the crucial ones for the older children within the school. the year before that, that is when you would your national fives. they could possibly be seen as slightly less important, but they could be seen as the building blocks at that time to almost have a mock run for setting your highers, which would be the ones that would get you into university. as you said they are, the reaction from other political parties has been a bit mixed today. the scottish conservatives have said that they want the exams to go ahead, that should be plan a. they

have obviously acknowledged that the virus could change things, the figures are going up, there are more cases of coronavirus. but they have said that definitely has to be plan a, and the exams should go ahead if at all possible. the scottish green party on the other hand, they have said that the exams should be scrapped now. the nat 5s should be scrapped now. the nat 5s should be scrapped now. the nat 5s should be scrapped now. they have said it is just too important to leave it to chance. things are too uncertain, so they have said we should commit now to continuous assessment because thatis to continuous assessment because that is obviously going to be a lot of work for teachers to get ready. and also for pupils to get into that mindset of being assessed throughout the year and not working towards those exams next spring. schools have been back a good few weeks in scotland, just briefly if you would not mind, give us a sense of how they are getting on. rings seem to be going not too bad. as you say,

schools have been back for a few weeks. there have been some cases of coronavirus connected to schools but it is definitely a priority to keep the school is open. nicola sturgeon has said that from the outset and she is likely to make an announcement in the next few days about the tightening of some restrictions. but the goal will be very much to keep the school is open if at all possible. alexandra mckenzie, thank you very much. it's not long since pupils returned to the classroom in england after lockdown — but rising covid cases means thousands of them are already isolating — so for many it's back to home—schooling. now, a shortage of tablets and laptops means some are unable to complete online lessons. head teachers say they urgently need more digital devices to prevent pupils falling further behind. fiona lamdin reports. how have you been finding staying at home?

a bit difficult at the same time... yeah. have you been getting on with the work 0k? yeah. keriya is in year 9. she's one of 300 students who must stay at home after another pupil tested positive for coronavirus, but already is worried she's falling behind. what difference do you think having a tablet will make? a massive difference. honestly, it really will. it'll be a lot more easier. i'll be able to work well and be a lot more productive with the work. at the moment, we only have 15 ipads that we can issue to students at home, and it's really a crisis point at the moment because we just don't have any more to give out. if another year group then goes out — heaven forbid that happens — then we don't have any more devices to go around. this time keriya is one of the lucky ones and can borrow one of the precious few school tablets. she's now able to join her lessons, which are being taught from these empty classrooms. i want you to translate those sentences.

we'll do the first one together, 0k? along the corridor, in the library, ethan is in year 11, taking his gcses next summer. he just hopes his year bubble stays well so he can stay in school. he's got six brothers and sisters — sharing the family's only device during lockdown was impossible. during the lockdown, i've missed my english, my maths, my science, all the other subjects. i only got to do two german online classes out of all the time we were off. so it was not good. most of the schools i've spoken with say they're putting contingency plans in place. they're sending home surveys so they know exactly who has and who hasn't got access to devices. and some trusts are so concerned about what lies ahead they're making sacrifices to buy in extra kit. we're investing about

50,000 in new laptops. we might defer from doing some building projects. the worst thing that can happen in the future is if we have a yo—yo system where they are being educated and then not. so, really, we're trying to make sure that even if they're not in school, they're still being educated. but not every school can spare the money. at this primary in bristol, they're relying on charity. thank you. today, they were given 12 laptops. 12 is brilliant, and that means that we could potentially give more families access to computers if we went into a lockdown again. but we definitely need more. we've got 230 children and about 100 families, if we could give one to every family it would make such a difference to us. for thousands going back to school it's been far from straightforward, so devices like these are vital. the problem is therejust aren't enough to go round. fiona lamdin, bbc news. 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 ii 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. 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 1944. 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, ourfamilies 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. a total of 27 sarcophagi buried more than 2500 years ago have been unearthed by archaeologists in an ancient egyptian burial ground. they we re ancient egyptian burial ground. they were found inside a newly discovered well in an area south of cairo. the discovery is being described as one of the largest of its kind, with colou rfully of the largest of its kind, with colourfully painted wooden coffins and other smaller artefacts. the location is a designated unesco world heritage site. now, the weather with susan powell. hello. this week it is the autumn equinox on tuesday and our weather is going to make a dramatic switch through the course of the week from what has been a taste of late

summer most definitely into autumn from mid week onwards. through the evening and overnight, a lot of the low cloud that has been bothering eastern scotland and the north—east of england through recent days pulls off into the north sea, so clearer skies here as we move into the new week. quite a chilly start, actually, to monday. further south, the white you see on the map for first thing monday, an indicator of fog risk across eastern wales, the midlands, into parts of eastern england. that burns off pretty quickly, though. there is a lot of sunshine for the majority on monday. always a bit more cloud towards the far north—west, but much warmer thanks to losing that low cloud along the north sea. up to 20 in newcastle. but big changes, as promised, from mid week onwards. areas of low pressure rolling in from the atlantic, turning things much more unsettled. but the biggest change will be turning things much colder as we start to feed in arctic air. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines:

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. 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 is what is necessary. the labour leader says sorting out the problems with testing should be ministers‘ top priority. if i was the prime minister, i would apologise for the fact we are in this situation with testing. throughout the summer we were saying prepare for the autumn. 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. anti—government protesters in thailand call for reform of the political system and the monarchy.

a hurricane and three spitfires fly over central london to mark the 80th anniversary of the battle of britain, following a memorial service at westminster abbey. 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 quite overwhelming. this is one of the earliest pictures i've ever seen of him cos he would only have been about 20. this is where the miners would work. unbelievable. now, i remember when i joined the family, how pleased he was that i was from an indian family.