this is bbc news — with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm kasia madera... donald trump is not backing down, he questions if the presidential election can be honest, despite senior republicans distancing themselves from his comments. we want to make sure the election is honest and i'm not sure that it can be. i don't know that it can be. a race against time in france to avoid another deadly coronavirus wave — as the country reports a record number of new cases. the uk government unveils a plan to top up workers‘ wages — as covid cases rise and fears of mass unemployment grow. and — the sudanese film—maker behind bars — why artists and creators are being targeted — despite the country's revolution.

president trump has continued to cast doubt on the results of the upcoming election in the united states telling reporters that he's not sure the vote can be honest. in the past 2a hours senior republicans distanced themselves from his reluctance to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses in november. mitch mcconnell, the republican leader in the senate, tweeted "the winner of the november 3rd election will be inaugurated on january 20th. well speaking a short while ago, the us president said he had good reasons to be sceptical about the result. we want to make sure that the election is

honest and i don't know that it can be. i don't know that it can be with this whole situation, unsolicited ballots, unsolicited, millions being sent to everybody. that comment has provoked even more reaction. here's our us correspondent david willis. absolutely a bit of a sense of deja vu all over again. back in 2016 donald trump then said that they would only be one situation under which he would lose the presidential election and that would be if there had been fraud committed. to challenge publicly anyway, the outcome of the popular vote saying that millions of people had voted illegally even though there was no evidence of such. now he is taking issue

with postal ballots. which are expected to form a key part of this coming presidential election just a0 days‘ time. mr trump believes that they are potentially fraudulent and that may be because they tend to favour his rivals the democrats. and mr trump is making it very clear that he wants to see an election result on election night. in addition to which, there has been this additional question, will he concede if he loses the election? and the lack of equivocation on that issue last night has caused some concern. hence we have republicans, senior republicans now weighing in to say that there will be an orderly transition of power come the 3rd of november or thereafter. talk us through the mood in the united states there. bear in mind this is coming from the president himself, it's quite extraordinary. it really is. it accelerates or if further reinforces the polarisation in this country. at a time when there is a lot

of concern about a number of issues the coronavirus, racial inequality and so on. now we have this doubt cast. of course it is in a sense classic donald trump. we have the additional issue of a new supreme court justice following the death of ruth bader ginsburg. and that is also very significant potentially it could be the highest court in the land that gets to determine the outcome of this presidential election should there be a contested result. of course we saw that back in 2000 with gore versus bush. this could go on for a lot longer than that one. the french prime minister has warned that it is a race against time to avoid a second coronavirus wave as bad as the first. jean castex said the public must act now to stop a repeat

of the peak in spring. it comes as the country records a record number of new cases sinse mass testing began. 16,096 cases were confirmed in the last 2a hours. 0ur reporter mark lobeljoins me now. how is the situation in france developing? how is the the prime minister is urging the public to be attentive. this is the fourth breach of the 13,000 marking terms cages and just a week. if we look at some of the figures there were 52 deaths linked to coronavirus in last 20 for hours. that's up from 43 with a thousand and 48 covid—19 patients in intensive care. and 6000 hospitalized. that's the highest it's been for two months but it is still five times lower than the peak in april when there was a stricter lockdown. 0ne in april when there was a stricter lockdown. one of the strictest lockd owns stricter lockdown. one of the strictest lockdowns in europe. the sense that a national lockdown isn't necessary yet. so how is the government reacting? the prime minister is hinting that if the public

don't react, if things are done quickly there will be more severe restrictions on the way and quite soon. politicians in paris have already put france's second city marce on what they call it maximum alert. so from saturday all the restaurants and bars and gyms will be closed for at least two weeks. that has caused a lot of upset restau ra nt that has caused a lot of upset restaurant tours, local politicians and residents. they've been out venting their fury suggesting that if you close the restaurants the problem isjust good move elsewhere. the friends prime minister was on french tv on thursday defending those decisions. 0ther thursday defending those decisions. other cities have been put on what's called an elevated alert. penn fleet at paris in ten other cities where they will bring in a curfew and have a rule on pubs and restau ra nts. have a rule on pubs and restaurants. bringing a curfew for those and a rule of ten for people in public and private gathering. and for sporting events, the health ministry had announced on wednesday that 1000 people would be the maximum for key sporting events. there was some? 0ver whether the french open which

sta rts whether the french open which starts on sunday would have a more dispensation. the prime minister firmly more dispensation. the prime ministerfirmly said no more dispensation. the prime minister firmly said no to that. there will only be 1000 people a day allowed there. when numbers reach 37 a day reach last year. are we actually seeing a second wave emerging across europe. we've got now over 3 million cases in the eu and the uk. top of the listed spain with 700,000 cases. as we were discussing and marce there is a hotspot in madrid and southern district of madrid. in the spanish government has announced an extensive lockdown where you can't leave your house unless you are essentially needing to go to work off medical reasons. in the uk we had the highest daily figure since mass testing began. 6630 for cases. it's not an all—time high, there are probably an estimated 5000 cases when they were at their peak in the uk. but in order to deal with this rise which we are seeing deal with this rise which we are seeing across deal with this rise which we are seeing across all these countries, the uk government is bringing a new restriction such as speak to them at the curfew

but a rule of six in public gatherings and also inside the house. also working from home telling people to stay back at home having asked them to go to the office if they could. thanks for bringing us up to date. mark was mentioning the uk let's have a closer look because more than 1 uk let's have a closer look because more than1 million people have already downloaded the governments contact tracing app for england and wales. 0n its first day of release was to have anyone over 16 is being encouraged to use it on their smartphone. it can warn you if you have been in close contact with someone who has been infected. but the health secretary says it won't be a legal requirement for people to self—isolate if the app says that you should. here is our medical editor fergus walls. it's advert: now based on apple and google's privacy preserving technology, the app will help us safely live our lives, protecting you and others. much delayed, but finally available for download in england and wales. the nhs covid—19 app can be

used to check in at bars and restaurants and tell you the coronavirus risk level where you live, but its main function is contact tracing. the app uses bluetooth and if you come into contact with others who've downloaded it, that will be recorded on each of the phones. let's say i test positive. that result will be sent anonymously to the nhs. if i'd been within two metres of someone for at least 15 minutes, perhaps sat near them on a train, they'll be sent an alert telling them to self—isolate. the app keeps secret who's received those alerts, so self—isolation will be voluntary, unlike those contacted through nhs test and trace, where it's mandatory. this allows us to find, all of us, to find contacts that we wouldn't otherwise know. because if you've been sitting near somebody on a bus, for instance, you might not know who they are, so if you test positive, you couldn't

tell the contact tracers that. a million people downloaded scotland's tracing app within a week of its launch. northern ireland's app has also proved popular. for those with covid symptoms, finding out fast whether they are infected is vital so that contacts can be traced. new figures show that fewer than one in three people in england who attended a covid testing site are getting their results within 24 hours. it was a return to home—schooling for the mcguire family from cambridgeshire last week, after two—year—old sian got a fever. they managed to book a test slot. getting a test like that and one that we didn't have to travel 150 miles for, it was a half an hour drive so, actually, i thought, "this is really good". but a week on, they never heard back. we still don't have the government's test and trace result — day eight. it's so frustrating. actually, it felt so much worse than the original lockdown. in the end, they paid £150

for a private test and got the result last night. negative! yay! yay, you can go back to school. the government set a target of 500,000 tests a day by the end of october, double the amount done now, but making sure people get their results back quickly will be another challenge. fergus walsh, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news one of the most powerful officials in the vatican, cardinal angelo becciu, has unexpectedly resigned from his office. the cardinal, who's a close ally of pope francis, had become embroiled in a scandal involving the purchase of luxury property in london. the matter, which is now under investigation, has already led to others stepping down. cardinal becciu denies wrongdoing. boris johnson's world leaders to commit to deeper cuts in carbon emissions once the coronavirus crisis is over, and said he wants to bring forward the date for phasing out new petrol and diesel cars.

in a virtual meeting of the un climate action group, he said the uk would generate hundreds of thousands of newjobs with a green industrial revolution. but environmental experts have expressed scepticism. the former wimbledon champion, boris becker, has been warned he could be jailed for up to seven years if found guilty of concealing information about his financial assets. the 52—year—old, who was declared bankrupt in 2017, is accused of not disclosing details about bank accounts, share holdings, and a flat in london. he pleaded not guilty to 19 charges at westminster magistrates court, and was bailed to appear in court next month. stay with us on bbc news — still to come... as tensions continue to rise over the death of breonna taylor — louisville braces itself for another possible night of protests.

music. ben johnson, the fastest man on earth, is flying home to canada in disgrace. all athletes should be clean going into the games. i'm just happy that justice is served. it is a simple fact that this morning, these people were in their homes. tonight, those homes have been burnt down by serbian soldiers and police. all the taliban positions along here have been strengthened, presumably in case the americans invade. it's no use having a secret service which cannot preserve its own secrets against the world. and so, the british government has no option but to continue this action, even after any adverse judgement in australia. concorde had crossed the atlantic faster than any plane ever before, breaking

the record by six minutes. this is bbc news. the latest headlines — donald trump has again questioned if the presidential election can be honest. that's despite senior republicans distancing themselves from his comments. france reports a record number of new covid cases since mass testing began. more than 16,000 cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours. authorities in kentucky have charged a suspect over the shooting of two police officers during protests in louisville. nearly 130 people have been arrested after protests turned violent last night. they took to the streets after a grand jury announced it would not prosecute the officers who killed breonna taylor, an african american medical technician, back in march. here's what two of the protesters told the bbc. if i'm a citizen and i

commit a crime i'm held accountable for their crime. they need to be held accountable the same way that we are held accountable. and that's what were out here fighting for, socialjustice. all the injustices, all the racism, all the everything, this isjust as being tired. nojustice! no peace! barbara sexton smith is a councillor in louisville, kentucky. she gave me her reaction to last night's protests. last night was very difficult. it was around eight or 830 2 police officers were shot and the suspect was immediately apprehended. i'm happy to say that our officers were immediately treated and in stable condition. so thank you for the thoughts and the prayers. as the night went on we did not have any other shootings and harm done on that level. however, more than 130 people were elected to leave arrested last night. that is because our local law enforcement made a very clear early in the day before

they were not going to tolerate any danger to the public. they were not going to tolerate blocking our streets. so people were arrested for doing that. and then i am aware of one building where the windows were broken. we did not see the mass distraction that we did prepare for. and then late through the evening and all day today up until now, it's been fairly calm here in louisville. i am beginning to hear the helicopter starting to fly over because where i am, where i live it'sjust a couple of blocks from the centre of attention that is jefferson square park. what do you make of the response from the officers? i've read of accounts of pepper balls being thrown at protesters, officers in riot gear is with rifles swarming areas. what is your take on the level of reaction? yes, the officers were in their protective gear throughout yesterday.

what that was for, is there was preparation with the fbi, the alcohol tobacco and firearms, the kentucky state police, national police in louisville police who were preparing for the absolute worst case scenario. so they did have that gear on. i'm hoping that this evening will continue to have protests. my message is very clear, i want the peaceful protest to continue. we need hundreds and thousands of people all across the united states to continue marching in the streets and demanding complete total criminaljustice reform. what is happened is completely devastating. breanna taylor's mother, mrs palmer did not get justice yesterday. her daughter died in her hallway in her home and no one has been charged with that murder. we have to change the laws. the uk government has

outlined plans to try to protect millions ofjobs and the economy over the next six months as coronavirus restrictions limit growth. everything close everything emptied around the beach. since march nearly 13,000 people had their wages by the taxpayer. in this one part of the world. jobs are already hard to find by the seaside but it was winter comes there is worry about what's coming next. are you all united behind this plan? with a union and a business boss alongside him the tory chancellor was determined he wouldn't bankroll up millions ofjobs forever. he wouldn't bankroll up millions of jobs forever. how are you going to pay for all of this, chancellor? support for incomes will decline but it will not disappear. no promise of bounce back any more. our economy is now likely to undergo a more permanent adjustment. as the economy reopens it is fundamentally wrong to hold people injobs

that only exists inside the furlough. and that means supporting people to be in viable jobs which provide genuine security. a more diplomatic way of saying the government won't spend public money onjobs that government won't spend public money on jobs that might not have a future. no more 1—size—fits—all everyone furlough. i am announcing today the newjobs furlough. i am announcing today the new jobs support furlough. i am announcing today the newjobs support scheme. the government will directly support the wages of people in work giving businesses who face depress the option of keeping employees in a job shorter hours rather than making them redundant. if boxes bring back workers part—time the government will help top up their wages with employers to at least three quarters of their full—time pay. at least three quarters of theirfull—time pay. they will extend backing for them loans and lower rate of vat but there isa and lower rate of vat but there is a big cut and support for the self—employed. is a big cut and support for the self-employed. we have so often spoken about this virus

in terms of lives lost. but the price of our country is paying is wider than that. what was true at the beginning of this crisis remains true now. it's on all of us and we must learn to live with it and live without fear. but living with it means closing the doors for the winter. for the bishop family who run this hotel for decades. they had furloughed their staff and took a government backed loan but with restrictions coming back business has just disappeared. there is no point in keeping their staff on now. sadly, there is no trade and all of our staff have been given their redundancy notices from the 3ist redundancy notices from the 31st of october. at some of them have been with us for 20 for years. we feel terrible, we are letting everybody but down but there is no viable solution. opposition parties had been pushing the government

to keep the furlough coming clea n to keep the furlough coming clean at going for firms just like chains. the real question in particular is whether that wage support scheme is going to incentivize employers to keep employees on foot up and i'm not convention. there have been missed opportunities and what the chancellor has said. some of course will welcome but has not as good as the furlough scheme before and there are other issues left unaddressed. it's just too late for many people. three quarters of a millionjobs have people. three quarters of a million jobs have already gone. carol's disappears tomorrow. after months on furlough she is now one of 5000 people in this area looking for work. it is actually difficult. i think it knocks your confidence a little bit. there's very fewjobs for me to actually apply for. i'm a really positive person but it is bleak. not just really positive person but it is bleak. notjust for me but for many people that find themselves in the same position as me. how much difference does the chancellor really expect to make? many people are very worried about this. have a job do you think this scheme can

save? my expectation and hope is that this new scheme will be able to benefit a large number of people and help protect their jobs of people and help protect theirjobs to the difficult winter months. this is all designed to stop the country waking up to a real nightmare if mass unemployment. in normal times this would be a huge step with a potentially very hefty price tag. but nothing is normal right now. and it's a political choice to shrink the support that's been available under the breathtakingly expensive furlough. there is no pretence tonight that jobs won't go. the call to stem unemployment has been partly a nswered unemployment has been partly answered but with the virus rising it could be a long wait for brighter skies. nearly a dozen artists in sudan have been sentenced to 2 months in prison after a court found them guilty of causing a public nuisance after their play rehearsal was broken up by attackers in august.

there's concern that despite sudan's recent revolution and efforts to democratise the country — creatives and activists are still being targeted. the bbc‘s africa correspondent catherine byaru hahnguh has this report. the bbc received these exclusive images of this film—maker secretly filmed from the prison where he spent the past week. he says he's been beaten and his once knee length dreadlocks have been forcibly cut in half. in an audio recording he reassures his supporters that he and his coaccused are being treated better after their case drew local and national attention. i hope it's going to make a huge change for all artist and all activators. in actually all the prisoners and all the people who are suffering from these rules that imprison people and give power to the court system that is beyond what is included

in human rights. the 44—year—old rose to prominence in 2014 with his film beats of the antonov which tells the story of the people where rebels have for sudan government for nearly a decade. it's won the people's choice award for documentary at the toronto international film festival. in august he was arrested with ten others during a play rehearsal and have now been sentenced to prison terms over public disturbance charges. they believe they have been targeted for their politics. he was inducted into hollywood's academy of motion picture arts and sciences earlier this year. itjoined causes from film makers around the world for the groups release. sudan is in the middle of a delicate political transition. mass protest last year toppled

this years 30 year regime. he and his coaccused were heavily involved in the movement. joint military and civilian authority has since taken over. but campaigners are pushing for deeper social and democratic reforms and say some artists and activists continue to be targeted. women rights and human rights and are still very volatile. fragile situations. the actors worried the police and the law the law itself within the framework itself, this is still —— reform or change. the transitional government has yet to comment on his case. the artists hope they will be released on appeal but say they are happy to serve out their sentences if only to show that more reforms are needed instead.

more is always on our website. iamon more is always on our website. i am on social media if you'd like to get in contact. hello again. if you went outside on thursday, i'm sure you noticed a certain autumnal chill in the air. but was it really cold enough for snow? well, actually, this wasn't snow, it was a massive hail storm that went through the bradford area and the 0tley area, quite close to leeds in west yorkshire. and you can see the roads and the pavements turned white as those accumulations of hail built up. it must‘ve been quite some storm. now, the satellite picture shows low pressure over the uk with storm clouds rotating around it, and over the next few hours, we are going to see plenty more of those big showers. areas to watch out for, well, west wales in pembrokeshire and also into cornwall, could see some particularly heavy showers here. we're also going to see a band of persistent rain affecting parts of east anglia. now, as we go on through

friday, pressure builds actually in the west, and this area of low pressure's slow—moving. so, the isobars are going to pinch together. the winds are going to blow even more strongly. it will feel even colder. yes, a day of sunshine and showers, but prolonged outbreaks of rain across parts of eastern england. and there's going to be some very strong winds in east anglia. gusts could reach in excess of 60 mph, strong enough potentially to bring down a tree or two, so there could be some transport disruption. and there's heavy rain in the forecast, too, particularly lincolnshire into parts of east anglia with around 20—40 millimetres orso, perhaps a bit more in places. we could also see some localised flooding, but away from the east, some sunshine, feeling really cold, though, given the strength of those northerly winds. and those northerly winds continue to blow into saturday, albeit slightly less strongly. it's going to be another cold start to the day, and there's the threat again of a bit more rain running down into parts of east anglia in particular. futher west, actually, pressure's building a bit, so it should be a drier kind of day, showers fewer

and farther between. temperatures, though, still struggling and still feeling cold in the wind, and we're going to have cold nights around as well. as we head through saturday night, it'll be cold enough for some frost patches in the countryside in scotland. we've still got those northerly winds with us as well across eastern parts of england. still potentially a few showers or spots of rain. further west, it's brighter with some sunshine. the winds turning a little bit lighter here, so perhaps not feeling quite as chilly. now, looking into the forecast into next week, it stays unsettled with low pressure with us. those temperatures coming up, though, a few degrees. that's your weather.

this is bbc news. the headlines — republican leaders in congress have said there will be an orderly transfer of power should president trump lose november's election. he appeared to cast doubt on the transition on wednesday, again raising questions about the probity of the vote with so many ballots likely to be cast by mail. the french prime minister's warned it is a race against time to avoid a second coronavirus wave as bad as the first. it comes as the country records a record number of new cases sinse mass testing began, with more than 16,000 people testing positive in 24 hours. the british chancellor of the exchequer‘s announced plans to replace the current furlough job support scheme for workers as the country tries to contain coronavirus infections. rishi sunak said his primary goal remained to support the labour market, but he warned he wouldn't be able to save everyjob.