this is bbc news the headlines at seven. the government defends its decision to allow students to return to university despite several outbreaks of coronavirus — leaving many confined to their rooms. it's important that students not have to give up a year of their lives by not going to university. they are going to university and are paying the fees accordingly. cardiff and swansea have gone into local lockdown tonight, with another three areas in wales facing new restrictions from tomorrow. louis de zoysa is named as the suspect in the killing of police sergeant matt ratana. the 23—year old remains in a critical condition in hospital. more than a hundred people are arrested in belarus, as there's no let up in weekend protests against president lukashenko.

good evening, welcome to bbc news. the government has defended its decision to allow hundreds of thousands of students in england to return to university for the new term, despite several outbreaks of coronavirus on campuses. thousands of students have had to be confined to their rooms, but the culture secretary, oliver dowden, says it's important their studies aren't sacrificed because of the virus. but a member of the government's advisory body modelling the spread of the pandemic, says the consequences of allowing students back have been ‘entirely predictable‘. dan johnson reports now, from manchester. for the student in need, there's one emergency service that always delivers. parents have stepped in when supermarket slots ran out. it's just really rough

at the moment, and we're really disheartened by the whole entire situation. these first year nursing student say they're already rationing food. people wanted to drop out, we're not getting the right uni experience. and we're not talking about going out and partying, we're not getting the right education. people are really struggling, especially with anxiety and depression. it is really hard for those to calm themselves down and relax, because they are being told they're locked up. it's basically claustrophobic, and you feel like you can't get out of here because you're not allowed to. max got a family drop off on the third day of a fortnight in isolation here. do you think there might come a time when you need to take him back? if it was an option and he wanted to, and felt uncomfortable here, yes. while case numbers are so farlimited... if enough of you come out, they're not going to do anything.

the voices of concern are getting louder. students have been done over on their a—levels, they've been done over on freshers' week. the government is now threatening to lock them up at university. and, very worrying for them, when they graduate we may be looking at long—term youth unemployment. it's no surprise that students living on top of each other will share the virus. and scientific advisers did predict university spikes. they showed quite clearly that the risk areas were particularly first year students in halls of residence, as well as face—to—face teaching. it was very predictable and it was modelled. while some may be questioning this situation, universities say it's all about keeping them and communities safe. we are doing that in order to reduce the spread of the disease and enable them to go back at all. it's important for students not to have to give up a year of their life by not going to university. and they are going to university and paying fees accordingly. of course, this is no start to the new term for these students, and there are likely to be others who suffer similar disruption. but what's the alternative? there are no good options here, really. unless everyone is to be denied even the chance of a university

experience this year. and, in newcastle, these are the latest arrivals. i'm still excited, i still think there will be plenty going on. i'm excited, but quite nervous, just because you don't really know what to expect. in glasgow, tess has the virus and is one of around 1000 students isolating across scotland. the reason why is is spreading out from murano is because people from other unis, or people who can't go don't even go to uni, are coming to murano for a night out, which is ridiculous. there are questions about seeing family at christmas and calls to get enough testing in place to allow that to happen safely. danjohnson, bbc news, manchester. we can now speak to aamer anwar — lawyer and former rector of university of glasgow. thank you forjoining us. how sensible was it to allow students back to university? it is

dangerously incompetent, i believe they breach the duty of care to university students and the real question that should be asked of principals across this country, what exactly were they preparing over the last six months when the staff associations and unions and student leaders were predicting this, as we re leaders were predicting this, as were health experts? what did they expect to happen when you have 1500 stu d e nts expect to happen when you have 1500 students crammed in like sardines in glasgow holes of residents, no one—way systems, what did they expect to happen with this highly infectious disease other than it would spread fast, especially in flats where there are up to 12 people sharing a bathroom and kitchen? in the last two days, they have been trying to backtrack and apologise for all the various statements, let me be blunt, you cannot hold students hostage. you cannot hold students hostage. you

cannot treat them as cash cows and tell them to come to university when most universities in new they would deliver online teaching. they put the lives of students at risk and the lives of students at risk and the lives of the wider community. sorry to interrupt but that is what some universities would argue they are trying to prevent, putting anyone at risk. manchester metropolitan saying there are certain students going into self isolation and they admit they cannot prevent students leaving the holes of residents but we have spoken to some students saying there are security guards at the door. what is the law say about the right to come and go? there is no law in place regarding coronavirus regulations to separate students from the rest of the population. you cannot hold people hostage in laws of residents, it is against the law. if security guards are taking this action on behalf of senior management, they

could be arrested for that, they should be held to account. students are well within their rights under coronavirus registry —— legislation to terminate their contracts and return to their families because they have been treated as cash cows. why would any member of society want tojoina giant why would any member of society want tojoin a giant pete reed —— when they could carry on their university career with online classes from home. —— join a giant petri dish. these accommodations are run by private developers, overseas billionaires who have no concerns for safety concerns. when you look at the university providers, these are all full. what have they been doing the last six months when they had the university buildings, one—way systems, congestion

assessments and yet these halls of residence were packed full and nobody thought of having 50% less. if you have signed up for release, left home and gone to university, what right do you have to terminate a lease and expect a refund on that accommodation? what right do you have? you have absolutely every right under the law. let us draw a parallel, if you are going to stay ina parallel, if you are going to stay in a hotel and the hotel owner said you will stay in the hotel for two months, you cannot go out, you have to order online, you cannot see your family, you would say i will not do that. you are actually more at risk of being in this giant petri dish. you are entitled under the law to terminate your lease. university did not sell this on the basis that everything was safe. it did not carry out proper infection control

that retired —— required or even sanitation control. what exactly are they doing this accommodation provider, they are not carrying this out to the appropriate level and there must be an independent inquiry. they should have listened to the staff and students whose lives are being put at risk by senior management, sitting their ivory towers with salaries up to £300,000 yet students have been charged extortionate fees where for example at glasgow university, they have offered a full rebate on accommodation fees which is something every other university in the country should be considering. it begs the question, why would any university want students to come along on the basis of a lie, saying they need to be present at university when they find out they could be sitting at home doing classes online. so some advice to stu d e nts classes online. so some advice to students who hopefully are watching

this, what would you tell them to do, if they are stuck in halls of residence and would rather not be?” would advise any member —— my any student as well as any member of society follow the guidelines in relation to the law. if you have a lease, check with your student councils because you will have a termination cat —— termination clause. anyone telling you you will leave your place at university, that will be legally challenged. when it comes to universities using security guards and asking the police to come down and broadcast, the police have much better things to be concentrating on other than universities trying to use them to control halls of residence. you cannot hold students being held hostage, we have reports of gates being locked and security guards stopping students going out. they are breaking the law. usual mobile

phones and get information, go to the student universe —— unions, this is an absolute shambles. this is the tip of the iceberg because coronavirus as we have been told by government advisers, is not going away. this will continue in the next four weeks in the run—up to christmas so we should be asking the question, do we want thousands of stu d e nts question, do we want thousands of students crammed into halls of residence when it is obvious we will be back in the same situation in the next few weeks and we could see this speu next few weeks and we could see this spell out to the local population. thank you very much for your time this evening. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — our guests joining me tonight are rachel cunliffe — comment & features editor at city am and george eaton — senior 0nline editor at the new statesman. the two biggest cities in wales have gone into lockdown tonight. the new measures have just come into force in swansea and cardiff. neath port talbot, torfaen

and vale of glamorgan will also have tighter restrictions imposed from 6pm tomorrow.it follows the first localised lockdown in wales, in the town of llanelli in carmarthenshire, which came into force on saturday evening. it means almost two million people in wales — or two—thirds of the population — will be under local lockdown rules by 6pm tomorrow. from cardiff, here's tomos morgan. as another autumn begins, so does another lockdown in another part of wales. cardiff will become the first uk nation capital to go back under lockdown measures this evening. as a capital, yes, there is a particular focus. you know, i'm particularly conscious that we are the economic dynamo of the city region. indeed, probably all of wales. so there is an impact and i am disappointed, in that regard. as the economy came to a standstill earlier this year, several industries have been struggling, regardless of the furlough scheme, with many being made redundant as restrictions persist.

the younger generation though, starting their careers, have been particularly affected and have had to use the pandemic as an opportunity to create their own job security. i started a newjob and then i got put on furlough straightaway. so, it was in the back of the mind, oh, am i going to be kept on at thejob, or am i going to need to be let go because i'm new? so that was at the back of my mind, to be fair. along with cardiff, from tonight extended households, or bubbles, must also end in swansea as local restrictions come into force there. nobody will be able to leave either city area without a valid reason, such as work or childcare. the first minister, mark drakeford, has pursued with local lockdown measures for now. however, the welsh government has made the unexpected announcement this sunday afternoon that another three local authorities will be placed under instructions from tomorrow evening. figures have continued to deteriorate in those three

areas over the weekend. we signalled on friday that we were keeping them under very close scrutiny, and the advice we have had is that now is the moment. we need to act and local restrictions will apply in those three areas, torfaen, the vale of glamorgan, and neath port talbot county borough councils, from 6pm tomorrow evening. that will mean by tuesday that almost 2 million people, two thirds of the population in wales, will be under local lockdown. with cases continuing to rise and the first minister refusing to rule it out, the prospect of another wales—wide lockdown becomes even more of a realistic possibility. tomos morgan, bbc news, cardiff. the latest government figures show there were 5,693 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 2a period. that means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is 5,816. 17 deaths

were reported, of people who died, within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test, so on average in the last week, 30 deaths were announced every day. that takes the total number, across the uk, to 111,988. the health secretary matt hancock has taken to twitter to praise what he calls a ‘fantastic response' to the governments track and trace phone app. in his tweet, mr hancock said that over 10 million people have downloaded the nhs covid 19 app in just three days. the suspect in the killing of police sergeant, matt rata na, is being named as louie de zoisa, who‘s 23 and from norbury in south london. he remains critically ill in hospital following the shooting. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds has the latest. police memorial day commemorates all of those who‘ve died

while serving, but the killing of an officer is a particularly traumatic event. the home secretary and the mayor of london laid wreaths, but the metropolitan police commissioner, dame cressida dick, was remembering an officer she had personally served alongside. matt ratana, she said, was extraordinary, firm but supportive of those needing help. if some good can come out of this terrible incident, it would be that more people understand a little bit about the challenges of police work and see us police for who we are. you know, human beings who go to work to help people, to support people and to protect people. and matt was the epitome of that. matt ratana was killed when shots were fired by a handcuffed suspect inside a secure police custody facility. the bbc has been told louis de zoysa, who‘s 23, is the man of murdering him. this morning, searchers continued

at his family home in south london. police were also at a rural property in surrey, where early yesterday morning local residents heard what was later described to them by police on the ground as a controlled explosion. as the investigation gathers pace, a man has been arrested in norfolk on suspicion of supplying a gun. matt ratana was as dedicated to rugby as he was to policing. and today, several clubs were remembering him, including east grinstead, where he was head coach. two families, rugby and police, will never forget their loss. tom symons, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... the government defends its decision to allow students to return to university despite several outbreaks of coronavirus, leaving many confined to their rooms. cardiff and swansea have gone into local lockdown tonight — with another three areas of wales facing new restrictions from tomorrow. the murdered police sergeant

matt ratana is remembered at the rugby club where he was head coach, as the suspect is named as 23—year—old louis de zoysa. in belarus more than 100 people have been detained after riot police tried unsuccessfully, to disrupt demonstrations against president lukashenko. tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across the country, demanding he steps down. belarus has seen daily protests, since a disputed election in early august. from the capital, minsk, jonah fisher reports. seven weeks after the disputed election, belarus‘s protests now have a certain rhythm. sundays are the big ones, and there was once again tens of thousands on the streets of the capital, minsk. over the weeks, the protesters‘ outfits have evolved, as have the jokes and the insults. why have you got a rat on a cross?

it‘s our president! president lukashenko is widely thought to have lost august‘s vote to sviatla na tsikhanouskaya. they chant for her, but a crackdown has all but destroyed the opposition leadership. sergei dylevsky, a tractorfactory worker and trade unionist, is pretty much the only leader who is neither injail or in exile. and he‘s worried. while we are with him, his wife calls twice to make sure he hasn‘t been picked up. at the moment, there is no organised opposition inside belarus, he tells me. but if you call the people of belarus the opposition, then the opposition is stronger than ever. while the police and military remain loyal, and willing to use

force, it‘s hard to see president lukashenko going. so, this is what we have seen repeatedly here. excuse me, sir. basically, these masked guys, nothing on them which says who they are, disrupting demonstrations. detaining people, taking them into vans. where are you taking these people? this was a women‘s march yesterday. what is happening to you? she says she was just standing next to a cafe. what is your name? we showed you our name. no name. no name? why not? no name, no face? why don‘t you show your face? 0n europe‘s eastern flank, the men in masks are still very much in charge.

jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk. a bit of breaking news regarding the situation for students in universities in scotland and whether they should bellator go back home for a weekend or longer visits. the scottish government has said that stu d e nts scottish government has said that students are advised to remain in their current accommodation if possible and not to visit family at home. if students do return home permanently or because they need help to self—isolate then the whole family should self—isolate as well. though self isolating should not use public transport. students have now formed a new household with those they are without universities were unable to stay overnight with their family home, there are exceptions

for special occasions. the national stu d e nts for special occasions. the national students union say they welcome this new guidance but it isn‘t what stu d e nts new guidance but it isn‘t what students signed up for. if they want to break their contracts and return home they should be fully refunded for their costs and if they want to postpone their study until next year, they should be supported to do so. year, they should be supported to do so. so guidance from the scottish government but certain to set —— to satisfaction from the national of stu d e nts satisfaction from the national of students in scotland. —— this satisfaction. the democratic presidential candidatejoe biden has accused donald trump of rushing to install a new supreme courtjustice to ‘eliminate the entire affordable care act‘, known as 0bamaca re. president trump nominated justice amy coney barrett on the supreme court on saturday giving conservatives a 6 to three majority if the senate approves. the move has drawn criticism because the nomination is so close to november‘s presidential election. never before in our nation‘s history has a supreme court justice been nominated and installed

while a presidential election is already under way. it defies every precedent, every expectation of a nation where the people, the people are sovereign and rule of law reigns. but yesterday, before justice ginsburg could be laid to rest and after 100,000 americans had already cast their ballots, the president nominated a successor to her seat. it is no mystery about what is happening here. president trump is trying to throw out the affordable care act. he has been trying to do it for the last four years. the republican party has been trying to eliminate it for a decade, twice already the supreme court has upheld that law, the affordable care act. and the congress,

expressing the popular will of the american people, has rejected president trump‘s efforts as well. now, all of a sudden, this administration believes they have found a loophole, in the tragedy ofjustice ginsburg‘s death. we have some pictures to show you all the new fire that started in northern california, the napa valley, famed for its wine production, 50 miles north—east of san francisco. these are live picture and show the sheer scale of this fire, a new wildfire that broke out this weekend, it is being called the glass fire. it began early on sunday morning. the sheriff office hasissued sunday morning. the sheriff office has issued an evacuation order for homes and businesses in parts of this area. the fire agency say the

fire had a dangerous rate of speed and looking at these pictures, you can well believe it. we have seen for months now that parts of california and oregon have been battling to contain these wildfires as part of the ongoing drought at california is suffering. the national weather service in the united states said drive fuel and winds are causing significant fire weather concerns so winds are causing significant fire weather concerns so all the worst conditions coming together to enable that wildfire to take hold. there are fears that the 10pm curfew placed on pubs and restaurants in england and wales, could place the future of many 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 the new saturday night. 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. scientists at cambridge university have developed a faster way of testing drugs to fight covid. it involves putting parts of human cells onto microchips, which allows them to watch the virus as it attacks. richard westcott reports. starting with human cells in a petri dish. this cambridge team has developed a new, quicker way of finding drugs to tackle covid. first they separate the outer layer or membrane of the cells because that is the bit the virus attacks first. then a unique device comes in.

normally when you test drugs on cells, you have to wait for the results to come back. you look at the aftermath of what has happened. by putting them on this microchip here, this team is able to see what is going on in real time, as it is happening. the chip monitors electrical activity. wait for it. this spike tells us when the cell gets attacked by the virus. the spikes mean the virus has successfully breached the cell‘s defences and got inside. by putting different drugs on the cells they can see which ones keep the virus out. you can also watch these attacks happening under the microscope. when you see these flashes of light, you are seeing the virus fusing with the cell membrane. that has an electrical field around it and when the virus fuses it

disrupts the membrane and we are able to measure that electrically and see it optically. every pinprick of light is a virus attacking a cell. yes, exactly. this video shows flu attacking kidney cells but the technique works just as well with coronavirus and they can use a form of the virus that is not infectious. this technology allows us to quickly test drugs against covid — may be some that are already developed or some new ones. the good thing about this new technology as we are using human membranes, so we don‘t have to maybe do some irrelevant experiments on animals and it is much more relevant to our systems if we develop a drug that works on us. the real goal is to find promising drugs are easily available and that we already know are safe for humans to use. sir david attenborough has visited kensington palace for a private viewing of his new documentary with the duke of cambridge. prince william and the broadcaster sat together to watch the programme "a life on our planet". sir david has been speaking to bbc breakfast. i‘ve been making television

programmes, and certainly for the last 20 or 30 years i‘ve ended each of them by saying, "look, the world is in peril, look, we‘re damaging it, and it‘s all our, humanity‘s, fault." and very little has happened. and yet suddenly within the last five years, maybe, suddenly it‘s as though people have woken up. and it‘s young people, really, young people who have shaken our consciences, and not before time. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. hello. good evening. a lovely sunset behind me in shropshire. this is where the frost will develop tonight, sunshine and clear skies through the days, temperatures dropped as low as minus three and minus four for northern

england and southern scotland.