this is bbc news — the headlines: president trump has said it's horrible that the number of deaths from coronavirus in the united states has exceeded 200,000. but mr trump said his intervention had helped reduce the toll. democratic critics have highlighted what they say is mr trump's ineffectual response to the pandemic. the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has used a national television address to call for a ‘spirit of togetherness' — urging people to observe the new rules he's bringing in to combat the rapid rise in coronavirus infections. he said the country faced an unquestionably difficult winter ahead. the body that represents the airline industry is calling for all passengers to be tested for coronavirus before they travel. the international air transport association says it would be a better alternative than putting people in quarantine. the industry is facing huge losses as a result of the pandemic.

the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has urged voters who deserted the party in recent years, to give labour another chance. in his first annual conference speech as leader, delivered online, he told labour it was time to get serious about winning the next election and said the uk was being held back by what he called the government's ‘serial incompetence'. 0ur chief political correspondent vicky young reports. this is sir keir starmer and he really, really wants you to know that jeremy corbyn is no longer leader of the labour party. a conference speech in an almost empty room, after four election defeats, presents many challenges. but sir keir‘s message was blunt. never again will labour go into an election not being trusted on national security, with yourjob, with your community and with your money. that's what being under

new leadership means. he didn't mention jeremy corbyn‘s name once but he talked about the importance of patriotism and security, seen as weak points for his predecessor. let's be brutally honest with ourselves. when you lose an election in a democracy, you deserve to. he didn't hold back on criticism of the prime minister, either, comparing his own legal background with mrjohnson‘s time as a journalist. it was all about character, he said. this is the big difference between the prime minister and me. whilst borisjohnson was writing flippant columns about bendy bananas, i was defending victims and prosecuting terrorists. once upon a time, keir starmer led parliamentary calls for a second brexit referendum. he didn't dwell on that today and seemed to acknowledge it was a policy that drove away many traditional labour voters. to those who have turned away from labour, i say this... we hear you. never again will labour take you or the things you care about for granted.

and i ask you, take another look at labour. keir starmer wants to show he's made a break with the past, but many former labour voters in leave seats will still see him as the arch remainer who fought brexit tooth and nail. the policy details will come later. today was all about laying out his personal values and trying to rebuild labour's brand after so many election defeats. the speech was dismissed as a mixture of slogans and platitudes by the left—wing of the party, but sir keir starmer thinks he has plenty of time to explain his plan to voters. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. now on bbc news, our world reveals what life is really like inside iran during the coronavirus pandemic. iran is a mystery to many — and its rulers like to keep

it that way. collaborating with foreign journalists is strictly prohibited. coronavirus has hit the country hard. and the regime has gone to great lengths to keep the outbreak hidden from view. but with the help of social media and the videos posted by its people under lockdown, we are going to take you inside. this is iran like you've never seen it before. it's january 3, 2020 and iran's top military general, qasem soleimani, has been assassinated by a us air strike at baghdad airport. it's a huge loss to the establishment.

but his death has brought millions together in mourning. a show of strength for a regime recovering after weeks of anti—government protests. a funeral tour is held across the country. among those covering in the holy city of qom, is ali. a journalist and regime supporter who is documenting the crowd for his youtube channel qom news.

little does he know that another killer has arrived on a plane from china. in mid—february, a video emerges on social media of a patient at qom hospital. a day later, the family announced that he has died. the government know that his death was caused by coronavirus but with an election looming, they deny it and cry fake news instead. to further suppress news of the pandemic, restrictions

are placed on journalists. but ali continues to report for his youtube channel, qom news. he's backed by iran's religious establishment and wants everyone to go to the polls to show their support for the regime. it's only after millions turn out for the election that ali turns his attention to the virus.

before ali can reveal why the situation is so severe, his youtube channel falls silent. he thinks he has contracted the virus. then footage emerges on social media showing scores of body bags lining up in the qom mortuary.

with news of the fatality starting to break, lida, a young woman from tehran, is worried about catching the virus. we've changed her name to protect her identity and her words are spoken by an actor. lida recently married her long—term partner, amir. after several years battling cancer, it was supposed to be a fresh start for the couple.

still, warned about illness, they have no choice but to shield at home. for lida that means quitting herjob. eventually, on march 23, president hassan rouhani announces a lockdown in all major iranian cities. the streets of tehran fall silent.

music plays but after weeks of official statements downplaying the virus, not everyone is taking the lockdown seriously. music plays among those partying in tehran are lida and amir‘s neighbours. his words are also spoken by an actor.

0ther rich iranians flock to beach resorts on the caspian sea to celebrate the iranian new year. among them is the parkour athlete alireza japalaghy. with little else to do under

lockdown, he starts posting content on his social media, including an intimate video dedicated to his girlfriend. it's a risky move in a country run by religious conservatives. and one that doesn't go unnoticed. for the first time ever, shia places of worship have been closed to the public in iran. a move that sparks protests in the holy city of qom. while many iranians move and gather freely, shops and businesses remain closed. and the impact on the country's

economy is devastating. after one month, and with an official death toll ofjust under 5,500, the iranian government announced the easing of lockdown. by the end of ramadan, all coronavirus restrictions are lifted. according to president rouhani, the virus is under control.

there will it's been two months since lockdown restrictions restrictions were lifted in iran and the hospitals have seen another surge of cases. coughing

a person from the biggest hospital in tehran posts videos online showing beds and medicines in short supply. the nurse's words are spoken by an actor to protect his identity.

the government admits that iran is in the middle of a second wave. they are losing their grip on the pandemic and discontent is rising. a crackdown begins against citizens who have defied the regime. among those rounded up is parkour athlete alireza, who according to the authorities, posted indecent images on his social media account during the lockdown.

he hasjust escaped bail and is now headed to turkey where he hopes to be granted refugee status. alireza attempts to cross the border at night with a group of afghan migrants.

but they are ambushed by iranian soldiers. he retreats and seeks refuge in a local village. 0njuly 21, iran announces a record 229 deaths in a single day. but the official mortality rates don't add up. having recovered from the virus, journalist ali decides to investigate for his youtube channel. as a hardliner, he wants to hold president rouhani's

moderate government to account. officially, just 14,000 are said to have died from coronavirus. they avoid scrutiny over the death toll for now. but an economic crisis is looming. the economy had already been suffering ever since president donald trump reimposed sanctions in 2018.

but the currency is now in freefall after the white house placed even more trade restrictions on iran, amid the pandemic. having quit herjob at the start of the crisis, lida and her husband amir are struggling to afford their weekly shop. with 20,000 tomans to the dollar, the goods appear cheap. but the average wage iran is just $150 per month and every cent counts.

the government cannot afford to reimpose lockdown. instead, they blame the new spike in coronavirus cases on the public, who are not obeying the rules around social distancing.

but resisting the iranian regime does come at a price. it's been a month since parkour athlete alireza tried to cross the border into turkey. there have been no social media posts since and no—one knows where he is.

it's feared that he has fallen back into police custody. ali's theory about the excess mortality figures proves to be true. the leaked documents reveal that there was already an outbreak of coronavirus back in january, as millions gathered to mourn the death of qasem soleimani. the first officially recorded

death was exactly two weeks after his funeral. eight months later, and with the cases continuing to rise, thousands have once again taken to the streets. it's muharram, a month of remembrance that is sacred to shia muslims.

some lessons have been learned since the last period of mourning. but as the crowds grow ahead of ashoura, the 10th day of muharram, and the biggest day in the shia calendar, so does talk of a third wave. hello there. tuesday marked the autumn equinox, and also the last of these very warm and sunny days. we saw 26 degrees in

santon downham in suffolk on tuesday afternoon. by friday, it looks like temperatures in suffolk will only manage to make around 12 or 13 degrees. so, noticeably colder as we end the week. and the change comes behind this cold front, which is slowly spreading its way southwards and eastwards early on wednesday. ahead of it, there will be a lot of cloud around. some showers too, longer spells of rain, some of which could be on the heavy, maybe thundery side. but for scotland and northern ireland, skies will be clearing behind the weather front. so we start wednesday off on a chilly note here. but again, for england and wales, where we have the weather fronts, the cloud and rain, it's going to be quite mild, 12—15 degrees to begin the day. but a lot more cloud on wednesday for england and wales. outbreaks of rain tending to become more persistent as it pushes eastwards. some heavier bursts again across the south—east, and winds will pick up as well probably the best of the sunshine through the day will be scotland and northern ireland,

but it will be chillier here, low teens celsius, 1a to maybe 19 across the south—east. but it looks like it could be quite went across the south—east of england into the evening. persistent rain here, winds also picking up across the north sea coast, across the south—east and across the south coast as well. that's because area of low pressure will eventually push off towards scandinavia, and a new area of pressure will arrive just in time for thursday. now, this one's going to bring some windy weather too. showers or longer spells of rain, some of which could be quite heavy. there will be some sunshine around, probably the best of it across the northern part of scotland, but the winds will become a feature across south wales and south—west england, 40, 50mph. and it's going to be cool, 11—14 celsius across the country. as we move out of thursday into friday, that area of low pressure continues to push over towards the north sea and the near continent. then we're in the run of pretty cool, brisk northerly winds. looks like most showers will be packing into northern and eastern areas closer to that area of low pressure. the further south nd west you are, the better chance

of seeing some sunshine, actually. not feeling too bad in the sunshine, but in some shade in that northerly wind, it will feel cool. things look like they'll settle down a little bit thanks to a ridge of high pressure into the weekend but it's still going to remain on the cool side, both by day and by night.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: another momentous number — as the death toll in america rises, 200,000 have now lost their lives. new covid restrictions in the uk. more masks, less socialising and bigger fines for those who don't adhere to the rules. never in our history has our collective destiny and our collective health depended so completely on our individual behaviour. another 200 whales become stranded off tasmania, making it australia's biggest beaching in modern times. and — one giant step for a woman?

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