this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. our top stories... thousands of students across the uk are forced to self—isolate due to coronavirus outbreaks. the labour party calls on the government to promise students will be able to go home for christmas. it would be a really desperately sad situation if these young people cannot be with family and friends at christmas. i urge the government to make sure that testing capacity is in place. president trump nominates the conservative judge, amy coney barrett, to fill the vacant seat on the us supreme court. she is a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials and unyielding loyalty to the constitution. detectives investigating the fatal

shooting of a police officer in south london on friday, say four crime scenes are being searched. fresh anti—government protests are expected in belarus, as president macron of france joins calls for alexander lu kashenko to step down. and sir david attenborough attends a private viewing of his new documentary at kensington palace, hosted by the duke of cambridge. hello and welcome to bbc news. for viewers in the uk and around the world, stay with us for the latest analysis from here and around the globe. thousands of students across the uk are being forced to self—isolate after a rise in coronavirus infections. the health secretary for england, matt hancock, has refused to rule

out a ban on students returning home for the christmas holidays. the government says it's monitoring the situation closely. the bbc‘s political correspondent jonathan blake has more. it has been a hard start to university life for many this year. confirmed cases of coronavirus have meant many students are confined to their accommodation. there is a social side of university along with the educational side, and we are completely stuck here. so there's no freshers‘ week, no interacting with other people. all we have is online lectures. and i've been looking forward to moving here for years. i've worked very hard to get where i am. and... it's very annoying that, um... i just feel completely neglected, i guess. in england, labour claims the government should have seen this coming, and has accused ministers of not doing enough to prepare. cases are rising, they say,

and the situation is critical, warning it must not be allowed to continue unchecked. the shadow education secretary, kate green, has written to gavin williamson, saying he should consider delaying the start of term or pausing the arrival of students to allow improvements in testing capacity and remote learning. with little warning before they were asked to isolate, some students are worried about getting supplies. as for staying put over christmas, which the government hasn't ruled out, labour say that would be unthinkable. it's really difficult. i'm personally from near london, so my family is really, really far away. so it's not like they can just come and see me through the gate. we didn't have time to go to the food shops before security came in, so it's put us in a really, really difficult situation. and just the lack of knowing what's going on, really, it's difficult. the department for education said it was monitoring the situation very closely and working with universities to ensure they were well prepared for the return of students,

who the government says should follow the latest health advice just like the wider public. jonathan blake, bbc news. our political correspondentjessica parkerjoins me now. this whole issue of students potentially not being able to come home for christmas is hugely emotive. matt hancock, the health secretary, was asked about this earlier this week. he said he has learned to rule nothing out. it was not the government's hope or aim but there is concern about spreading the virus between generations. if you have thousands of university stu d e nts have thousands of university students going home after being on university campuses fanning out across the country. what labour is trying to do with associated plant with another group of students with this group of students. they talk in a letter overnight about the exams fiasco over the summer affecting a—level and gcse students. there is

an effort here to apply some political pressure on gavin williamson. education is a devolved issue. i do not think gavin williamson will be the only minister andi williamson will be the only minister and i do not think the conservative party will be the only party to come under pressure. to what extent that ramps up potentially depends on whether we see more and more cases of stu d e nts whether we see more and more cases of students having to self—isolate in student halls for two weeks, which is obviously difficult for stu d e nts which is obviously difficult for students and the broader question about whether they feel they are getting value for money out of their education. thank you. president trump has picked a conservativejudge — amy coney barrett — as his nominee to fill the supreme court seat left vacant by the death of the liberaljudge, ruth bader ginsburg. the decision has been condemned by democrats who say he is trying to force through a judge who would help to destroy public

healthcare and abortion rights. donald trump's presidential rival, joe biden, says the senate shouldn't vote on the matter until after november's election. ifjudge barrett is confirmed, conservative—leaning justices will hold a 6 to 3 majority on america's highest court. nomia iqbal reports. inside a packed rose garden, president trump confirmed who wants to see replacejustice ginsburg. todayit today it is my honour to nominate one of our nation's most brilliant and gifted legal minds to the supreme court. she is a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials and unyielding loyalty to the constitution, judge amy coney barret. that nomination was no surprise.

she had been linked to the seat made vacant in 2016 when conservative justice scalia died. i collect for justice i collect forjustice scalia and the lessons learned still liberates. this is what worries liberals. the mother of seven is described as a devout catholic who, according to an article in 2013, said that life begins at conception. this makes her a favourite among religious conservatives keen to overturn the supreme court decision that a legalised abortion nationwide. she has also taken conservative positions as a judge on the court of appeals on gun rights, immigration and health care. judge barrett sought to reassure those who are critical of her.“ confirmed, i would those who are critical of her.“ confirmed, iwould not those who are critical of her.“ confirmed, i would not assume the role for those the sake of those in my own circle and not for my own

sake. it would be about serving you. i would discharge the judicial oath which requires me to administer justice without respect to persons, to equal rights for the poor and rich. the democratic party don't want any of this to happen during the election, in the same way that republicans stopped them in 2016. presidential rivaljoe biden focused on concern over health care. he said the senate should not act on the vacancy until after the american people select their next president. long after the controversy is over and long after many who watch the ceremony have retired or even gone, amy coney barrett will be on the us' highest court, with her fellow conservative justices, making decisions about how americans live their lives. that's why this pick is considered one of the most important decisions of donald trump's presidency. after the announcement, he spoke before applying to a key battle ground, pennsylvania.

before applying to a key battle ground, pennsylvanialj before applying to a key battle ground, pennsylvania. ithink she has a great future, brilliant. when the professor at notre dame said, that there student he has ever had, that there student he has ever had, that means something. first in her class and all of that. —— the best student. president trump knows delivering a third conservative judge on the bench is something his supporters want, and before the election. amy coney barrett will be questioned by democrats and republicans in a series of hearings in the coming weeks. only 51 republican senators need to confirm her to the bench, and right now the party has the numbers. dr richard johnson is senior lecturer in us politics and policy at queen mary university london. well, three conservative judges appointed by donald trump in four yea rs. if appointed by donald trump in four years. if this does go through, how significant do you think this appointment to the us supreme court

will be? this is very significant, generation defining. it is the most significant decision donald trump is likely to make in his pregnancy. his previous two mac appointments were replacing republican supreme court justices and ns pace he is replacing a democratic appointed justice. —— and ns pace. we can suspect amy coney barret can be on the supreme court for 30 years to come. there are republican senators having that in mind when they are thinking about whether or not to confirm this person. do you think it will go through? the democrats have said they do not want it to go through, be confirmed until after the november election. can they stop this appointment? it will be very difficult for the democrats to stop this. president trump has said there are 53 republican senators and they

only need 50 to get the person through because of the tie—breaking vote of the vice president p. she was already confirmed by the senate two or three years ago to be on the lower tier of the federal court, the circuit courts of appeal. in that that she won 55 votes. in fact three democrats voted for her to be on the federal bench and two of them are in the senate today. it is very likely they have the votes. as to the timing, iam they have the votes. as to the timing, i am not entirely convinced that donald trump wants this final date before the election. i think he wa nts to date before the election. i think he wants to macro he wants the process to start. he might want the committee to vote, thejudiciary committee to vote but i think he wa nts committee to vote but i think he wants the seat to be open on polling day so he makes a clear choice for voters that if they vote for him he will ensure this person gets on the supreme court. then there could be

about a few days after the election. in the us, the new president doesn't come in until the 20th of january. there is still time between election day and the swearing in of the new president to get her in on court.“ the results of the election are disputed, the supreme court could decide on the legality of it all. in 2000, the 2000 election where the recount of florida was disputed but was ultimately decided in a 5—4 decision which ended the recount and ensure florida's electoral votes by a majority of 537 were delivered for george w bush. at this point, already, there is a republican appointed majority on the court without amy coney barret, so he may not need heather anyway. i think if he were asked quickly after election

day, you could have her on the court before the actual legal dispute about recount or postal votes actually comes to the court, it is a tight timeframe but that is the way, ifi tight timeframe but that is the way, if i were a donald trump strategist, thatis if i were a donald trump strategist, that is how i would want it to play out, i would think. thank you for your thoughts and thank you for your time. thank you. police investigating the fatal shooting of a police officer in south london say four crime scenes are being searched as they try to piece together what happened. sergeant matt rata na, died in hospital on friday after being shot in croydon as a handcuffed suspect was being taken into custody. the metropolitan police says the investigation will be lengthy with searches expected to take days. over the last two days we have been working around the clock on our murder investigation. at this time, the suspect remains

in hospital in a critical condition. due to his state, we are not yet able to speak to him. to the political crisis in belarus — and the french president, emmanuel macron, has said president lukashenko must step down. mr macron praised the protesters who have taken part in rallies every weekend since the disputed election in august. the belarusian foreign minister has accused western countries of trying to sow anarchy. 0ur correspondent in minsk, jonah fisher analyses if president macron's comments were likely to have any impact. it might make the demonstrators feel a bit better about themselves when they go in protest today but in terms of the big picture here in belarus, which we've seen for the last seven weeks since the disputed election, it changes very little. we still have large demonstrations taking place here, particularly at the weekend. there is going to be another very big one we expect this afternoon.

president lukashenko, the man who claimed victory in the disputed election in early august shows no sign of stepping down or open negotiations with any of the opposition figures who have emerged over the last several months. we have this effectively, an impasse. president lukashenko seems to have support from the security forces, the military. he inaugurated himself earlier this week to begin a sixth term in office. the opposition, the demonstrators, they seem to be able to come out in very large numbers when they want to when we will probably see that again today. —— and we will. at the moment there is no real strategy on the part of the opposition as to how they are going to translate that control of the streets with a huge crowd they are getting in demonstrations into actual further pressure and further efforts to get president lukashenko to think about seriously stepping down.

the headlines on bbc news. as thousands of students across the uk are forced to self—isolate due to coronavirus outbreaks, the labour party calls on the government to promise students will be able to go home for christmas. president trump has nominated the conservative judge, amy coney barrett, to fill the vacant seat on the us supreme court. detectives investigating the fatal shooting of a police officer in south london on friday say four crime scenes are being searched. now to israel where thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the home of the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, to protest about his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. that's despite a nationwide lockdown that prevents large gatherings. police fined dozens of people for flouting the rules as paul hawkins reports. more anger on the streets of jerusalem as thousands gathered on

saturday evening demanding the resignation of their prime minister. they are unhappy with corruption charges brought against him, charges he denies, and his handling of the coronavirus crisis. even though organisers are urged those taking pa rt organisers are urged those taking part to stick to social distancing and wear masks, dozens were fined for flouting the rules. and wear masks, dozens were fined forflouting the rules. the protests, coming a day after the country tightened its lockdown restrictions, aimed at stemming the surge of coronavirus cases. earlier in the day, there were long traffic jams as protesters from around the world converged on the city. coming from all over israel to say what they feel about the situation in israel right now. to save israel from becoming a dictatorship, to save democracy. i really fear that the old people of my society and the people around me and the people who are living here will not be able to express themselves, will not be able

to live a normal life any more. but the prime minister insists the restrictions brought in a week ago are necessary. israel has the world's highest coronavirus infection rate per capita, which is why restrictions were tightened on friday. with limits placed on travel abroad and in your prayers. not that benjamin netanyahu abroad and in your prayers. not that benjamin neta nyahu has abroad and in your prayers. not that benjamin netanyahu has got everything he wanted. the israeli parliament blocking his plan to limit large protests like this to 20 people or less within one kilometre of where they live. the pm calling parliament's move of where they live. the pm calling pa rliament‘s move populist. of where they live. the pm calling parliament's move populist. this is a country struggling to contain the virus and a prime minister under pressure. the australian city of melbourne is preparing to lift a night—time curfew imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus following a drop in the number of infections. it's one of a number of restrictions that are to be eased — primary schools will be allowed to reopen in two weeks' time

and staff in a number of industries will be able to return to work. melbourne was placed into a second lockdown injuly because of a spike in covid—19 cases. the state's premier says that other restrictions may be eased sooner than expected. this is a strategy that is designed to get us to a covid normal christmas. we are well on track, in fa ct we christmas. we are well on track, in fact we are ahead of time when it comes to achieving that outcome. that is a credit to every single victorian, who is staying the course, working hard, making sacrifices. we had to get this done, we have to complete this task. there are no short cuts, no easy way to defeat this wicked virus. swiss voters will decide today whether to keep their free movement of people agreement with the european union. those wanting to ditch it say the move will allow switzerland

to control its borders and select only the immigrants it wants, while those in favour of keeping the treaty argue losing it will plunge a healthy economy into recession, and deprive swiss citizens of their freedom to live and work across europe. armenia has accused its neighbour azerbaijan of launching an attack on civilian settlements in the disputed nagorno—karabakh region. armenia's defence ministry says its troops have destroyed three tanks and shot down two helicopters. the two former soviet countries have been in conflict for more than a quarter of a century over azerbaijan's breakaway region which is mainly inhabited by ethnic armenians. let's return now to the impact that coronavirus is having on students at universities. 1700 students at manchester metropolitan university are self—isolating after 127 students tested positive for the virus in two of the universities accommodation blocks.

first year fashion student, anna billany, moved from newcastle two weeks ago and is now in lockdown. she's recorded a video diary of her experience. there is ten of us to a flat in this particular hall. it's very hard to social distance when there's ten of us and there's only, like, one kitchen and two bathrooms. it's incredibly difficult to step up from everyone when you're in such close quarters. —— stay apart. we were told on friday we had to self—isolate for 1h days, to not interact with any of the other flats. the furthest we are allowed to go outside is to the courtyard. we are not allowed past the gates. this is our home for the next 1a days. this is the courtyard that we are allowed to walk about in and this is the only outdoor space that we have. i'm studying textile design. i can't do that from my bedroom, sadly. i just feel completely neglected, i guess. there's been little in the way

of pastoral care for these students. i felt like... i feel like this lockdown will have a big impact on mental health of a lot of the students. labour has said the government must promise university students will be able to return home to their families at christmas. joining me now is labour's shadow education secretary. thank you for being with us. why are you asking for that guarantee? they have secretary matt hancock was saying earlier this week, he does not like to rule anything out in this crisis. surely that is a sensible position. i understand we do not know what will happen with this pandemic that we have also heard already the effect on students mental health and well—being, of

being in isolation in lockdown. and iam very being in isolation in lockdown. and i am very concerned about the situation and how they will be feeling if they think they will not be able to get back home to be with family and friends at christmas. that is why we are calling on the government to make sure testing is in place, is available, so they can go back home safely. nobody is saying public health should be... if someone tests positive, of course it is important that they are isolated and they won't be able to travel. much, much more can be done to put testing in place so more students can hope to get back over christmas. we cannot predict the future in december, surely. if a student is in the middle of a huge outbreak, returning back to their families could endanger lives. sure. what we can do and what the government should be doing is putting into place a comprehensive testing programme so we know much more clearly when someone is infected and they can be isolated quickly and

those who are not infected kanban travel, or get on with their lives. it is about the lack of capacity in the testing system fundamentally. not that we want some random promise from the government, we want them to put into place the proper testing and tracing system, notjust for stu d e nts and tracing system, notjust for students but the whole country, so people can know if they are positive they can take action quickly and that other people will know if it is safe for them to move around, to go back to work or travel home at christmas. some viewers will find it ha rd to christmas. some viewers will find it hard to take whatever you say seriously after you are quoted as saying that we think we should use the opportunity, the labour party should use the opportunity of the coronavirus crisis, do not let a good crisis go to waste, which you we re good crisis go to waste, which you were reported as saying. you have apologised for that as well. were reported as saying. you have apologised for that as welllj were reported as saying. you have apologised for that as well. i very much regret those remarks was that they will have caused a lot of pain and offence to those who have suffered a lot in this pandemic. i

should not have said that. what i would say is our public services are doing a phenomenaljob at what the crisis is exposing is where we have under invested in lab capacity, underinvested in schools which do not have the resources to employ extra staff, to keep children in socially distanced basis, we had underpaid and undervalued people who are very important key workers in our economy and i think that is a really important point, that this crisis is exposing a great deal that has been wrung over the last ten yea rs of has been wrung over the last ten years of austerity in terms of making sure we have the public services we need and want to when i am whena services we need and want to when i am when a crisis like this hits us. thank you. sir david attenborough has been at kensington palace for a private viewing of his new documentary with the duke of cambridge. prince william and the veteran broadcaster sat together to watch the programme "a life on our planet". sir david then chatted

to the duke and duchess and their three children, and presented prince george with a fossilised giant tooth from an extinct shark. you have been watching bbc news. there are concerns that the 10pm curfew placed on pubs and restaurants in england and wales, could place the future of some venues into jeopardy. the pub chain, greene king, has said trade has dipped significantly since the restrictions came into force. katy austin reports. the new saturday night. at 10pm, the doors of pubs, restaurants, bars and casinos had to close. fresh restrictions, including mandatory table service, applied in england since thursday, and in scotland since friday. when the rules were announced, trade association uk hospitality said to be forced closing time would be bad for business and damage customers' confidence. a group representing bars and other night—time economy venues said there had been a huge drop in trade.

they're in a very precarious position. they've had a lot of their revenue sort of taken away from them by the reduction of these hours, and all they've tried to do is practically work with government to get to a point where they can open, and now what's happening is they're reducing that position by taking hours away and making it more challenging. pub chain greene king said the impact on food sales had been bigger than expected. it wants the government to provide further targeted support. it also said customers were leaving all at once, making managing people's safety when they left a challenge. this week the government announced a new scheme aimed at protecting viable jobs after the furlough scheme ends, by subsidising the wages of people working reduced hours. there will be extensions and changes to coronavirus loan schemes for businesses also, and a vat cut to hospitality will continue for longer. but many in this industry feel unfairly targeted by the new restrictions, which the prime minister has warned could be in place for six months,

and they worried support on offer will not prevent furtherjob losses. katy austin, bbc news. we'll be looking at the sunday newspapers in the next few minutes. 0ur reviewers will be anna mikhailova, the deputy political editor at the mail on sunday and james rampton, features writer at the independent. that's coming up on bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. hello. another day of very mixed fortu nes hello. another day of very mixed fortunes across the uk today. for some of us, plenty of sunshine around that more cloud around the eastern counties in particular with a brisk northerly wind around here. in scotland in the afternoon clouds we re in scotland in the afternoon clouds were banned back towards the aberdeenshire coast. gusty in the north and east. after a cold start some sunshine this afternoon. northern ireland and north—west

england are still seeing dry and bright conditions continuing into wales. look at the gas of wind! into this evening and overnight, the winds in the east. to liaise away. more cloud and rain working in from the north—west. —— will start to ease away. single figures for many first thing monday morning. this band of patchy cloud will move eastwards. a much improved day in the east. temperatures 1a to 19 degrees. this is bbc world news, the headlines. as thousands of students across the uk are forced to self—isolate due to coronavirus outbreaks, the labour party calls on the government to promise students will be able to go home for christmas. it would be a desperately sad situation if these young people cannot be with their families and friends at christmas and so i urge

the government to make sure that the testing capacity is in place. president trump has nominated the conservative judge, amy coney barrett, to fill the vacant seat on the us supreme court. detectives investigating the fatal shooting of a police officer in south london on friday say four crime scenes are being searched. fresh anti—government protests are expected in belarus, as president macron of france joins calls for alexander lu kashenko to step down. time for the latest sport round up now — with jane dougall. the handball law had everybody talking yesterday as two penalties decided two games — one leaving a premier league manager absolutely fuming. amid the var bedlam, the four games shared 15 goals with everton top of the table, chelsea scrambling a draw and manchester united leaving it very, very late to beat brighton.