this is bbc news, i'mjane hill. the headlines at two. new restrictions announced for parts of the north of england including liverpool and middlesbrough following a rise in infections. we've had to take difficult but necessary decisions to suppress the virus. the only alternative to suppressing the virus is to let it rip. and i will not do that. in the largest study of coronavirus cases in england, scientists suggest the spread of the virus is slowing — but warn that levels of infection reamain high in all areas of the country. the eu begins legal action against the uk government — because of its plans to override parts of the brexit withdrawal deal. the commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to the uk government.

this is the first step in an infringement procedure. how italy — once the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic — has managed to get its infection rate lower than many european countries. protestors demonstrate against the decision to cut down almost half an ancient woodland to clear the way for hsz. and, at the start of black history month, its organisers say it's more important than ever, in the wake of the black lives matter movement.

restrictions on households mixing indoors, already in place in parts of the north east of england, are to be extended to liverpool, warrington, hartlepool and middlesbrough. the announcement from the health secretary matt hancock means about a quarter of the uk is now under stricter measures to try to curb the spread of coronavirus. it comes as official figures show the government's test and trace strategy in england is still failing to reach nearly 30% of the contacts of people who've become infected. but there has been some hopeful news. a major study by scientists at imperial college london indicates the growth rate of infections could be slowing. their react study estimates the r number, the virus‘s reproduction rate, appears to have fallen to 1.1 since government measures such as the rule of six were introduced. our first report is from our health correspondent richard galpin. the infection rate here in liverpool has shot up.

a 13—fold increase in a month. people partying are not following social distancing rules, part of the problem. there has been a surge of people moving into and around this city recently, including students, but now all that is about to change. the rules across the liverpool city region — warrington, hartlepool and middlesbrough — will be as follows. we recommend against all social mixing between people in different households. we will bring in regulations, as we have in the north—east, to prevent in law social mixing between people in different households in all settings except outdoor public spaces like parks and outdoor hospitality. people here in liverpool had been expecting tougher measures to be brought in now. i think it needs to happen because when all the students come back it has gone higher, it has spiked definitely. nothing has really been done about it. closing pubs at early hours,

i don't really see the point in it but i do think it's in the best interest to keep the public safe, yeah. all this a huge blow for the city, and the authorities want help from the government. the hospitality sector will be seriously hit hard in liverpool, and that is a big...we are very heavily dependent, as are leeds and manchester and the big cities, dependent on hospitality. they help pay for our business rates, help support the local economy and jobs. but it's notjust liverpool facing a rapid rise in coronavirus cases. this town knowsley on merseyside is in the unenviable position of having the second highest rate of the virus in the country. and these latest restrictions being imposed by the government are not going down well in some parts of england. what is most frustrating and annoying and potentially damaging to our area is the fact that this decision is being made without any consultation with us.

there's a myth being bandied around that there has been lots of exchanges of information and ideas, and it's categorically untrue. but also today a potentially positive development in the battle with the virus. a survey by imperial college london has found some early evidence the growth of new cases may have slowed. it could mean measures to try to control the virus are working. really important to differentiate between the numbers with the virus which has gone up substantially, and that's why we are in a really critical phase right now, and the rate of rise of the virus, which was going up exponentially from the beginning of september, and that rate of rise seems to have slowed down in the very, very recent data. latest figures from the test and trace system show more people getting test results back within 2a hours.

but also more than 30,000 people tested positive for the virus in england in the week to september the 23rd, an increase of 61% on the week before. the highest weekly number since test and trace was launched. richard galpin, bbc news. let's speak to our political correspondent, nick eardley, in westminster. not many surprises but very sobering? we headed from the prime minister yesterday that the government increasingly thinks that there are certain outbreaks in certain areas which could be contained and controlled by putting that downward pressure and by bringing those restrictions in in certain parts of the country. the thing is, it is happening in more and more areas. as you thing is, it is happening in more and more areas. as you were thing is, it is happening in more and more areas. as you were saying, there is now almost a quarter of

england seeing these new restrictions being brought in. the big challenge for ministers now i suppose is to explain why the rules are more complicated and to try and persuade people that they are necessary. we have seen issues with that this week, the prime minister for example on tuesday struggling to detail what some of these new restrictions were. but there is also a bit of tension i think with some local authorities on exactly how they should be done. the mayor of middlesbrough saying he rejects the new measures that are being put in by the government in his area. to be clear, he cannot do that, the rules will still come into force there on saturday. it shows not everyone is on the same page. the mayors of liverpool saying they want to be a more central part of the process, they have not for example they say seen they have not for example they say seen enough data on why these decisions are being made and suggested they may have to go further in the next few days. we are

at this really crucial and complicated part of the response to the pandemic. and there is some tension over exactly what it should be done and accept me how it is explain. we will talk more a little later. we can speak now to drjason 0ke, who's a senior statistician at the nuffield department of primary care health sciences at university of oxford... dr0ke, dr 0ke, good afternoon. from everything you have been watching and modelling, is there any surprise for you in those new announcements today that affects liverpool, middlesbrough and elsewhere? today that affects liverpool, middlesbrough and elsewhere ?|j suppose middlesbrough and elsewhere?” suppose the only surprise is from yesterday, from the press briefing, looking at the results from the study, encouraging news that it is slowing down already. that would correspond with some of the data we have seen when we look at cases

overall and hospital admissions. let's talk about the react study, imperial college london study, looking at the are right. explain what you think this is encouraging. --r what you think this is encouraging. —— r right. even though there has been a sharp increase at the beginning of september, signs it is going down. having read that very quickly this morning it suggests the most quickly this morning it suggests the m ost rece nt quickly this morning it suggests the most recent estimates of the r number, they were 1.1. people watching would remember the early months of all of this, time and again we were told the figure must get below one, that is what you want

to rtain, get below one, that is what you want to rta i n, less get below one, that is what you want to rtain, less than one. clearly not at that point but as you point at least it is coming down? exactly. it is coming down. a difficult number to estimate, cannot be too precise. 1.1 to estimate, cannot be too precise. i.i might correspond to cases not growing exponentially and stabilising. going back to where we were. . . stabilising. going back to where we were... does this all tie in with the sense that there is inevitably a lag in terms of statistics and keeping up to date with the data? i think people are trying to follow this but it is quite hard to keep up with it still is that what politicians are having to make, crucial decisions the like of which we are discussing today on the basis of inevitably figures from a week up to three weeks previously? that is right. things happen so quickly, when we looked at yesterday the data

presented linked to over a week ago. it is almost already out of date. it does not take into account the most recent trends. it is difficult to do this and keep up—to—date, absolutely. 0k, dr 0ke, i am sure we will speak again. senior statistician with the university of 0xford. just as we were talking some figures have come through from nhs england. a further 44 people who had tested positive for have died in died in hospital england, england and the dash only, these figures. total confirmed death in hospitals 35,049. a further 44 people dying having tested positive for covid. worth mentioning i think that those

who died were all aged between 60 and 99 and all had underlying health conditions, and that is quite an interesting factor and something we talked about so much and focused on so talked about so much and focused on so much in the early weeks and months of this pandemic. underlying health conditions, such an important factor in this. age between 60 and 99, all with underlying health conditions. doubtless more data will emerge over the course of the afternoon because that is how information tends to emerge, but the latest from nhs england specifically. the european union is taking taking legal action against the british government, over the brexit withdrawal agreement. ministers at westminster have admitted a planned new law will breach part of the agreement reached between borisjohnson and brussels. the european commission president,

ursula von der leyen, said the eu had asked the uk to remove the problematic parts of the internal market bill by the end of september, and that deadline had now passed. as you know, our uk friends intend to breach the withdrawal agreement with the draft internal market bill. we have given them one month to withdraw the difficult parts of the internal market bill. this has not happened. and therefore, the european commission is launching an infringement procedure now. as the withdrawal agreement foresees, we have sent is now a letter of formal notice —— formal notice to our british friends because we want this situation covered. in the meantime, of course we are working hard to

have the withdrawal agreement implemented fully and timely because it is necessary and we stand by our commitments. nick beake is our correspondent in brussels. legal action, what does it all mean? it is interesting, we have to step back and look at what is happening here because at the moment trade talks are under way once again. as we have seen from what has happened this money, there is now this legal process under way. it is interesting to look at both aspects and try and decipher the messages that are coming through. in terms of what the eu said to say and ursula von der leyen talking just a second ago as we heard, it is inevitable that the eu did this, they had given the uk and automating to withdraw the controversial parts which override the brexit divorce deal, london did not do that. they had to put their money where their mouth was and

commenced legal procedures. procedures would take months and months, any resolution would come away after the transition period we are in at the moment comes to an end at the end of the year. for now, i think the focus is on trade talks in the hope is on both sides they can smooth out their differences and so further legal action can be avoided. just as we are talking, the reuters news agency is quoting an eu official as saying, there is no sign official as saying, there is no sign ofa landing official as saying, there is no sign of a landing zone on fisheries,. fishery is a key element in all of this. that is interesting because earlier there were some reports from elements within london that a so—called landing zone, basically an area where both sides can reach agreement, was inside on certain things. we know the big stumbling blocks have been fishy —— fisheries and state eight subsidies. the eu

welcome a more positive tone from london but have not seen it being backed up by any manifestly different change in the negotiations, which have been going on this week. we will see over the coming days and weeks noises emerging from different quarters in brussels and london, people saying a deal can be done but we need to look out for both sides saying, we are ready to compromise it is just that the other lot is not ready to give ground, they are holding things up. it isa ground, they are holding things up. it is a political game as ever, china. we will see what else emerges and you and i may speak again in the next hour or so. the headlines on bbc news. new restrictions announced for parts of the north of england including liverpool and middlesbrough following a rise in infections. in the largest study

of coronavirus cases in england — scientists suggest the spread of the virus is slowing — but warn that levels of infection reamain high in all areas of the country. the eu begins legal action against the uk government — because of its plans to override parts of the brexit withdrawal deal. a 28—year—old man has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 40 years after being convicted of double murder. drug dealer 0bina ezeoke was sentenced following an unprecedented five successive trials at the old bailey over four years. he murdered annie ekofo and her nephew bervil in a flat in north london in 2016. a former headteacher has been jailed for a minimum of 31 years

after murdering his estranged wife and her new partner on new year's day. rhys hancock repeatedly stabbed helen hancock and martin griffiths as they lay in bed at their home in derbyshire. his mother warned policejust after four o clock in the morning that hancock had taken two knives and left the house threatening to kill the pair. a building inspector who signed off the grenfell tower refurbishment failed to properly read a string of product specifications while considering the materials to be used for the work. john hoban told the grenfell inquiry that he was under pressure following spending cuts in his department, and that at times he was working on 120 to 130 projects at one time. ministers are understood to be considering plans to house asylum seekers on disused ferries moored off the british coast, while their claims are assessed.

new figures reveal more than 1900 migrants reached the uk by boat in september — more than in the whole of last year. simonjones reports. destination dover. this boat carrying 20 migrants, which set off from northern france, was being tracked by a military drone. but despite a pledge by both the british and french authorities to make the route unviable, people have been crossing the channel in boats in record numbers. now the british government is said to be considering bringing into service disused ferries to house migrants while their asylum applications are considered. number ten and the home office have been clear that they are going to take whatever action is necessary to put a stop to these small boats' crossings, and that includes addressing what is called the draw factors — the things that make britain an attractive place to come to. they're looking at a whole range of things from cruise ships and ferries through to offshore fast—track assessment centres, through to changing the immigration law. so far this year, more

than 7000 migrants have reached the uk by boat. in september around 1950 people made the crossing — that's a higher figure than for the whole of last year, when 1835 migrants crossed the channel. the home office doesn't like to use the word crisis, but it admits it's facing a crisis in the asylum accommodation system. it's currently providing shelter for 60,000 people. that number has gone up considerably during the coronavirus pandemic due to delays in processing asylum claims. the home office is already using this former barracks in folkestone to house asylum seekers, and another site in pembrokeshire. a group supporting migrants say the idea of turning to ferries is ludicrous. it's another one of the government's crazy schemes. i don't think it will come to anything. we used prison ships in the victorian era and there's a reason we don't do that any more. it's because it's not an acceptable way to keep fellow human beings. the government says it wants to provide protection to those

who need it while preventing abuse of the asylum system. the un says in the context of overall european migration, the numbers reaching the uk are manageable. simonjones, bbc news, dover. one of the most contentious battle grounds in the us election campaign is that of race. in yesterday's tv debate president trump refused to condemn far right groups, and said it was left wing groups, who he called antifa, who were responsible for the violence in many us cities. 0ur correspondent aleem maqbool has been to portland in 0regan to talk to both sides. there are flashing images in his report. it's become the us capital of radicalism. most american cities have seen some demonstrations this year, but here they haven't stopped. and it's become a huge election issue. well, this is what almost every night has looked like,

here in downtown portland, in the four months since the police killing of george floyd in minneapolis, with hundreds of protesters on one side, law enforcement agents on the other, some feel over aggression by the security forces has exacerbated tensions, but the white house says this isn't demonstrating about racial justice, just rioting by anarchists or antifa. a riot is the voice of the unheard. so if you don't want riots, maybe you should listen. it's not antifa in the streets. it's the people in the streets. it's the people that are being pushed around, the people that don't have food, the people that can't pay their rent. but it has led to loss of life. in late august, a large convoy of trump supporters drove past the protesters in portland, some firing paintballs at them. later that day one trump supporter from a far—right group was shot dead.

the left—wing activist who is suspected of killing him died in a police raid on his home. it's partly why the neo—fascist group the proud boys earlier this week decided to hold a rally in portland. they'd predicted thousands would attend. in the end it was a few hundred. we're here to shut down this violence and bring awareness, national attention. hopefully donald trump sees this and he's already decreed this an anarchist city, which is great, because it's true. in the debate, when asked to condemn the actions of white supremacists, the president could only manage this. what do you want to call them? give me a name. white supremacists, proud boys, proud boys. proud boys, stand back and stand by, but i'll tell you what, i'll tell you what, somebody‘s got to do something about antifa and the left because... the proud boys have revelled in his response. back in portland, at the same time as the proud boys gathering, an illustration of the totally different worlds on display

in the us these days. a rally still focused on why so many black people are killed by the police. they're trying to say we're trying to destroy america and democracy, but they know that's garbage. they are just falling behind the rhetoric that dehumanises us so that can lower the value of our lives to justify committing acts of violence against us. it's those at this rally who've been taking to the streets night after night. many americans support their efforts to bring about change, but for many others these scenes are making them all the more determined to vote for donald trump. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in portland. the commission that oversees us presidential debates says it'll introduce new measures to ensure the remaining two encounters between donald trump and joe biden are more orderly. tuesday's debate saw the two candidates talking over each other and exchanging insults.

president trump interrupted his opponent 73 times. new figures coming through from wales, public health wales telling us wales, public health wales telling us the total number of confirmed cases 24,000 383. public health wales also saying six further deaths have been reported, bringing the total number of deaths across the pandemic to 1622. very nearly 400 more cases in wales, according to public health wales. —— 24,383 confirmed cases in total. six months ago, italy was the global epicentre

of the coronavirus pandemic — the first country in the west to see widespread transmission, and the first in the world to impose a national lockdown. but now italy's infection rate is considerably lower than that of many other european countries. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen has been finding out why. covid's once global epicentre isn't letting down its guard. spot checks by italian police to ensure rules on overcrowding and mask—wearing are followed. it's one of the tools italy has used to get infection rates down to some of the lowest in europe, keeping the virus in check while others struggle with a fresh spike. "we issue fines when needed," says giovani cipriani, "but none today. usually everyone wears masks." awareness of the consequences of breaking the rules has helped instill a sense of discipline here. but in reality, police have had to intervene relatively rarely, as italy has on the whole followed restrictions, and now it's reaping the benefits. italy is taking safety

as seriously as its food. many restaurants have screens, disposable or digital menus. customers are recorded for contact tracing. it's given them the freedom to stay open and busy, unlike others in europe. the trauma of covid frightened italians into compliance. because we were the first and we had a very long quarantine and we really felt it, and it was a very strong period for everyone, so we really felt it. and there were many, many people dying and we could see all the... not here but on the news, those people dying alone. it has been very strong. the government's reward for a lower infection rate has been broad public support, but it knows success is fragile. i'm really proud of italians because they did follow the rules. but, you know, the war is not over yet. so we need still to wait and see what's going to happen in october,

november, and during the winter. but right now, i think things are going very well. alert to the fact schools reopened later here than elsewhere in europe, there's now mass testing for students and teachers. this at a high school near rome. rapid results come within 30 minutes. tests, rules, compliance — a formula italy hopes can halt a second wave and ease the legacy of pain from the first. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. now, the weather with matt taylor. hello there. developing wind and rain for many of you to go through friday and into the weekend. today, the relative quiet. there is some rain top and tail of the country, certainly developing later on towards wales and the south—west. but in between, clearer skies, some sunshine. just one or two showers to see the day out. let's go into this evening and overnight. rain remains in place in the far north of scotland. it's set to turn wetter and windier

towards the english channel and southern counties of england. in between, though, where we've got the clear skies tonight, just a word of warning, it is going to be a chilly night. a widespread frost, some patchy mist and fog. but all eyes to more really towards the south because potentially some damaging winds around english channel coast. potential flooding rains around some southern counties as well as this storm alex winds itself up. bring in more wind and rain through the day, pushing northwards into wales and parts of the midlands. may edge a bit further northwards may still a bit further southwards. but the general story for the northern half of the country after some early rain in northern scotland is for a dry day with some sunshine. that will change as we go through to the weekend after a wet night in england wales. the rain spread northwards into scotland for saturday.

hello this is bbc news, the headlines. new restrictions announced for parts of the north of england including liverpool and middlesbrough following

a rise in infections. we've had to take difficult but necessary decisions to suppress the virus. the only alternative to suppressing the virus is to let it rip. and i will not do that. in the largest study of coronavirus cases in england — scientists suggest the spread of the virus is slowing — but warn that levels of infection reamain high in all areas of the country. the eu begins legal action against the uk government — because of its plans to override parts of the brexit withdrawal deal. protestors demonstrate against the decision to cut down almost half an ancient woodland to clear the way for hs2. sport now, and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. in the last half hour —

manchester united captain harry maguire has been recalled to england's squad for games against wales, belgium and denmark. he was dropped for last month's matches after being found guilty of assulting a police officer, swearing, resisting arrest and bribery in greece — charges he denies and has appealed. however manchester city midfielder phil foden and united forward mason greenwood have been left out. they were fined by local police in iceland after breaching covid—19 rules when on international duty last month. southgate says "trust needs to be rebuilt" with the pair.. they are two very talented players, i think with what happened there are two parts, one is we have to send a message to all the players in our teams at every age level that that sort of thing is not how we do things with england. but then we

also have to rehabilitate these two boys, young people will make m ista kes boys, young people will make mistakes and i do a lot of work with the princes trust, they are brilliant at helping youngsters get back on theirfeet brilliant at helping youngsters get back on their feet when things have not gone right, and these lads have suffered, we did not think it was right and they need this period of reflection which gives them the opportunity to get back on their feet. and there are first call up's for everton striker dominic calvert—lewin, who has scored eight goals in the opening five games of the season, as well as leicester's harvey barnes and bukayo saka of arsenal. a full list is on our website. a second division side in the us, san diego loyal, walked off the picth and forfeited a match against pheonix rising last night in protest over an alleged homophobic comment aimed at openly gay midfielder collin martin. san diego players left the field, with the club explaining the decision on social media. it meant they forfeited the match, in a game which they were leading

3—1 — ending their hopes of reaching the play—offs. the club then released this statement via twitter, saying they had to act. the side are led by the former everton midfielder landon donovan 0ur guys to their immense credit said they weren't going to stand for it. they were very clear in that moment that they were giving up all hopes of making the play—offs. they were beating one of the best teams in the league but they said it didn't matter. there are things more important in life may have to stick up for what we believe in, and so they made the decision to walk off and i have tremendous pride in this group. champion jockey 0isin murphy says he will "fight to clear his name" after testing positive for cocaine. the positive result came in france in july, with murphy strenously denying he's ever taken the drug. he's currently awaiting the result of a b sample. if he's not cleared, he'll face a ban of up to 6 months. he has 4 rides at chelmsford

today, and is due to ride at ascot tomororw. england will be without centre manu tuilagi for the finale of the six nations and the autumn nations cup after being ruled out for six months because of injury.sale director of rugby steve diamond says tuilagi will undergo surgery next week on a torn achilles, picked up in the club's premiership victory over northampton earlier in the week. to the french open where world number one novak djokovic is currently in action in the second round against lithuania's ricardas berankis. and the world number one is in total control. he took the first set 6—1 in 22 minutes is a break up in the second, 3—2 the score. you can follow it on our website. in the womens draw — number two seed karolina pliskova is out. she was beaten in straight sets byjelena 0stapenko — who won the title at roland garros back in 2017. former wimbledon champion petra kvitova is also into round three. the scottish 0pen is also underway at the renaissance club in north berwick.

keep up to date with that and the rest of the day's sports news on the bbc sport website. more now on our main story. a ban on different households meeting indoors has been extended to more areas of northern england. the health secretary, matt hancock, told the commons it would be illegal to meet in pubs and restaurants in the liverpool city region, warrington, hartlepool and middlesbrough. 0ur correspondent, andy gill, said the mayor of liverpool had asked for stronger measures to combat rising case numbers there. the reaction from politicians and business people here in liverpool is a mixture of concern and dismay. concern that the measures might not be enough to squash the virus. leaders of the six local authorities here say it's a step in the right direction, but they question whether it's enough to stop the escalating virus.

and they want to see the science that the government is used to base these decisions on. the dismay comes on from the announcement that mr handcock made where he failed to give any financial support to the hospitality industry. yes, the six local authorities will get their share of a £7 million package, but nothing for pubs, clu bs a nd restau ra nts. and hospitality is really important to the liverpool area. it's worth £5 billion a year. it supports 57,000 jobs. and the political leaders say without urgent intervention, there could be irretrievable damage to the hospitality industry. they want urgent, further talks with the government about trying to get financial help for that sector. we've spoken to one restaurant owner here in liverpool who says the announcement today is the worst of both worlds. the fact that households now can't go out and mix together and go out and eat, he says, will hit 80% of his trade. he's called it death by attrition. and he says that this comes at a time when his custom had been going back up.

meanwhile in wales, new restrictions will come into force across conwy, denbighshire, flintshire and wrexham at six o clock tonight. it means those living in the areas will not be able to leave or enter without a "reasonable excuse" such as work or education. 0ur wales correspondent, hywel griffith, gave us this update from llandudno. frustration and anger in some quarters at this, local lockdowns being applied in an area that depends so much on people being able to travel in and out of the county. i'm told there are 15,000 bed spaces in its hotels, many of them on this prom. but after 6:00pm tonight, well, people shouldn't be visiting the area and they shouldn't be leaving either. so people can return home if they are here on holiday. but some of the hotels being show me their bookings basically wiped out for the next two weeks, potentially for the month. no one knows how long this local lockdown will last. other restrictions, well, as in parts of england, restrictions

on who can meet indoors in wales, the local lockdown laws mean you cannot meet anyone you don't already live with inside if you live in a local lockdown area. more coming up after 3pm, talking about middlesbrough specifically and your questions answered. october is black history month in the uk. for more than 30 years, the annual event has celebrated the achievements and contributions of people of african and carribbean descent. and this year, its organisers say the huge growth of the black lives matter movement means it's more relevant than ever. greg mckenzie has been to meet some of the people involved in this year's events. waiting to be disturbed by the next person who sees in my skin a good reason for a tone

dive into condescension. newsreel: arrivals at tilbury, the empire windrush brings to britain 500 jamaicans. from slavery to windrush, britain's black history month isn't about far—away people. it's about uk history. launched back in the 1980s, over seven days, it was a chance to educate and inform people about black history, which wasn't being taught in our schools. the black cultural archives in brixton, south london, holds a treasure trove of research and information, stemming back some 2000 years. there's a lot more that needs to be done to understand that black history is not confined to a month, it's not confined to particular periods, especially of recent history in britain, but there's this influence and contribution, you know, stretching back thousands of years. the month of october isn't about creating a separate history, it's simply about remembering a history that already exists.

i drown it out with music, screaming at how often i scrape its breath into my palm and will it to beat slower. tolu is a poet, and today, a collection of her works will be published as part of the 20 in 2020 campaign. i mean, if we look at the history of the uk, black people in particular have played a particular part in building the infrastructures of this country. it's either been built by them or on their backs, and so, black history month is a time to remember that. there will be many events taking place throughout the month of october, up and down the uk, including phenomenal women at the southbank centre in the capital. the exhibition honours the achievements of black women in academia. we both wanted to capture these women as powerful, as symbolising something also

about their professions, because if we're going to take the time to do an exhibition, it's really important that their stature and their authority was reflected in the portraits. the recent black lives matter protests have highlighted the reality of the global injustices and systematic racism that black people have faced for years. black history month is a time to look forward and celebrate the here and now, as well as a time to reclaim history and reimagine how shared history will be told in the future. greg mckenzie, bbc news. joining me now is professor kyehinday andrews, professor of sociology and black studies at city of birmingham university. watched as black history month mean to you? it is a shame that this is

how we celebrate black history month and the conditions which created it asked with us and if you do not have the month then you have a narrow eurocentric way of understanding. it is better than the alternative but is better than the alternative but isa is better than the alternative but is a sad it is an alternative which is a sad it is an alternative which is still needed. you mentioned schools, where are you with the curriculum in this country? what more needs to be done to teach black history firmly ensconced in the curriculum? it is not a question of what more needs to be done, it is what more needs to be done, it is what needs to be done. full that have been many attempts to introduce it into the curriculum, about slavery and the more positive things and the response has been in gcse history you can learn a bit about

slavery but only about 11% of stu d e nts slavery but only about 11% of students learn anything other than a very eurocentric history so it is not what more can be done, it is what can be started. i take your point on that and who should be doing that, who needs to play a role in that? everybody? we should, one of the problems people have as it is tokenistic and we celebrate, separate black history from everything else when actually the proper accounting of the british empire is not black history, it is british history and so it is history for all. given the events of this yearin for all. given the events of this year in particular and a lot of it in the us, and we are still talking about it today with the presidential tv debate we just saw, despite

everything i take on—board you said, is there any sense in which this 0ctober, is there any sense in which this october, this black history month could see a slightly different sense by which i mean could it be about looking forward and marking a shift in attitude, could it'sjust looking forward and marking a shift in attitude, could it's just be little different? it would be nice to think so and there were some things post george floyd were reparation was being talked about but that died about really quickly, we spent a whole week talking about rule britannia and the proms, it seems like many ways we have gone backwards since the big fool around george floyd and that is how we deal with racism and black history, have a peak of interest and everything goes back to normal so i will be very surprised if there is anything lasting that comes out of this year.

you really think that george floyd and so many other regrettable insta nces we and so many other regrettable instances we could name out of the us particularly is about to be forgotten. i think it has already been forgotten and the nearby problem as we look to the us and george floyd but let's look at what is happening in the uk that people are more likely to be killed by the police, issues with covid—19, the economic impact when inferno ends, we have this american distant way of understanding racism and it does not a lwa ys understanding racism and it does not always help us understand what is happening here today. very interesting to hear your perspective, thank you for your time. almost half of an ancient woodland, which is said to have inspired roald dahl to create fantastic mr fox, is to be cut down to clear the way for the hs2 high speed rail network. protesters have been demonstrating against the decision by camping in

jones hill wood in buckinghamshire. hs2 said work to "translocate" ancient woodland is due to start today and this morning hs2 security contractors and police, arrived to start evicting the protestors. let's cross to our correspondentjo black who is near the protest injones' hill wood, near great missenden in buckinghamshire. give us a sense of how many people and there and what they are trying to achieve. we are here injones hill wood which is around eight miles from aylesbury and this is an ancient woodland, many people concerned about its future and what will happen when hs2 goes through here. people have been living here in the woods for around six months, maybe longer, a hardcore of around eight protesters are staying here but they told me today you can come

on some nights and there will be around 40 people, lots of local people coming and going to lend their voices and support to what has been going on. an eviction has been taking place since 6am so i will step out so you can see what is going on. there are tense and this would people have been staying but also looking into the trees, there are tree houses, structures that have been made and people are genuinely in these tree houses and are refusing to come down. it is pretty tricky from our camera position where we are to show you but what i can see is a couple of security guards that have gone up in a cherry picker and they are a dismantling one of the tree houses, one of those structures as i speak. we have also been told by the protesters that some of the demonstrators have been brought down and taken demonstrators have been brought down and ta ken away. demonstrators have been brought down and taken away. i spoke to one woman

today who was really emotional about the campaign, said she cannot understand the logic behind the project and said this is more than just a story about a rail line, it is wrapping up the countryside. i spoke to some other demonstrators and protesters and campaigners today. over the last year or two what i have come to think as this whole thing is out of control and when borisjohnson this week talked about trying to protect 30% of the british countryside, make it protected, but gives this the go—ahead and in the same week that he said we are going to protect the environment and save the climate, hs2 are taking down more than we can ever replace at the moment. i find that so hypocritical. all it will do rather than help the public transport system is unable rich to have a toy train set and that is

about it and they will destroy countryside, do it under the cover of covid—19 when it is illegal to protest and people are frightened to protest and people are frightened to protest and people are frightened to protest and everyone will say it is a public transport, why are you objecting but this isjust a public transport, why are you objecting but this is just for a very select rich group of people do not want to go on old—fashioned trains, what their own stations. it will not connect with the rest of the public transport, it is completely ill thought out and everybody knows it except the people who are going to make a lot of money out of all the development that goes with it. this protest is getting quite vocal and i just looking and can see purple smoke so may be a flare has been set off, lots of people shouting, this will go on for several hours. i spoke to one police officer who said he did not know what time he will be going home so i do not know how long now take. i must give you some words from a statement from hs2, they said

these illegal trespassers are a danger to themselves, our staff and the general public and put an unnecessary strain on the general services. the land atjones hill wood is legally owned by hs2 and we need safe access to begin archaeology and ecology work. all wildlife organisations agree that climate change as the biggest change to habitat in the uk and by providing a cleaner and greener right to travel hs2 will cut the number of cars and lorries on our roads, cut demand for domestic flights and help the fight against climate change. i have spoken to campaigners and asked him how long they will stay and they said they will stay until the bitter end until every tree has gone and that will break their hearts. a ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds has come into force in england. it will now be illegal for businesses to supply them to customers, though

there are exemptions to protect people who need items because of medical conditions. most zoos and aquariums say they're finding it impossible to get money from the government's coronavirus bail—out scheme. only one zoo out of about 300 in england has successfully made a claim, and some fear that without more support they'll go bankrupt. ministers insist their rescue package will provide a safety net if zoos get into really serious financial difficulties. justin rowlatt reports. oh my god, look at this! it may not look like the perfect first date, but for rare southern white rhinos this meeting is significant. two female rhinos have arrived at whipsnade zoo as part of a worldwide breeding programme for endangered animals and they've been introduced to the resident male, sizzle. breeding threatened species is a key part of what modern zoos do. more and more we're finding that these conservation breeding programmes are acting as an insurance population

for species facing imminent extinction in the wild. but britain's zoos are under threat as never before. lockdown hit them hard. they endured a double whammy — no visitors, but of course they still need to feed the animals. it costs up to £1 million a month just at london and whipsnade zoos, and most british zoos, london included, get no public funding. wow, look at that. many zoos are now relying on charitable donations just to stay afloat. london zoo expects to be £20 million down by the end of the year, and restrictions on visitor numbers because of social distancing mean it cannot expect to get that money back. back injune the government announced a £100 million rescue package for england's zoos and aquariums, but the bbc has learned just one zoo out of around 300 in england has managed to access the cash. there's a stipulation that they must

be down to their last 12 weeks funding of reserves, and by the time they get to that point any good zoo will have been putting contingency plans in place, so plans to rehome their animals and to scale down their collections, just to maintain their animal welfare and their care standards. so effectively by that time the zoo would be on its way to closure already? that's right, that's far too close to closure for it to be beneficial to most of our zoos and aquariums. the government says it believes its rescue package will provide zoos with the safety net they need if they're in serious financial difficulties. but many zoos are still worried about how they'll survive. hi, baby ede! a super rare baby okapi takes its first teetering steps at london zoo. her keeper, gemma, who shot this footage, has called her ede. with some zoos themselves facing extinction, ede could be one of the last beneficiaries of the international breeding programme. justin rowlatt, bbc news, london zoo.

a huge naval exercise involving ships, submarines and aircraft from nearly 20 countries is beginning in a loch on the west coast of scotland this weekend. but, as well as hosting the uk's nuclear—armed submarines, gare loch has also become home to a pod of whales — the race is now on to herd them safely to sea, as lorna gordon reports. they are creatures of the deep. the northern bottlenosed whale would not normally be found in shallow coastal waters, but for the last month this pod has been in a sea loch in argyll, and now a flotilla of boats is going to try to herd them on a 30—mile journey to safety. we are going to create a noise, not to disturb or distress the whales but to encourage them to move away from this area, and we will do that with boats within the gare loch and out — we have boats meeting us in deeper

water to block off access to the other lochs that the whales have been seen in. whales are particularly sensitive to underwater sound. the operation to move the cetaceans has been given added urgency because a large military exercise is due to begin shortly involving warships and submarines. vets are on hand, as are flotation devices in case any of the whales get stranded during the rescue operation. more boats will also be deployed to stop the pod swimming up the clyde into glasgow. but it will be some time before we know if this has all been successful, given the distance that needs to be covered before the whales are returned to the open sea. lorna gordon, bbc news. now the weather with matt taylor. hello, strong winds and heavy rain will feature in the forecast through friday and into the weekend at times for many of you.

today is the relative quiet day. rain will start to become more abundant across south wales and south—west england later and it will stay wet in the north—east of scotland, but as we finish the day into the evening, clear skies and one or two showers for many in between. as we go through tonight, frost is likely in southern scotland and northern england and across northern ireland. rain in the north keeps things milder and then we turn our attention to what's happening in the south. through tonight and tomorrow morning, storm alex named by the french weather service because the impact there will have some disruption for us, we suspect. particularly around the english channel. the likes of the channel islands, southern counties of england, strong wind and heavy rains. you can see the extent of the rain, some of which will be heavy around the channel is where we will see the strongest winds. channel islands could see 70mph gusts at times, brightening up for some along the south and east through the afternoon, as that rain spreads its way into the midlands and across parts of wales. the northern half of the country, it's a different day, a

bit of frost and fog to begin with, lots of sunshine, showers in the west easing away but we will see rain edged towards the likes of the m62 corridor as we finished the day. a bit further north or a bit further south, keep an eye on the forecast but either way, where you are in the sunshine or wind and rain, it is a cool day. storm alex loses its potency and heads off into france, replaced by another area of low pressure through this weekend and around that more of you will see wind and rain develop. on saturday, a wet night for england and wales, the rain spreads its way westwards, so after a bright start here, it will turn wetter, turning wet across scotland as the breeze picks up. strongest winds on saturday down towards wales, south—west england and the channel islands. maybe brightening up towards the south—east later. saturday night into sunday, heavy rain across northern and western areas and that will become confined around the periphery where we see some of the strongest winds. heavy, slow moving showers for england and wales but some of you have some longer, sunny spells on sunday compared to saturday.

it may be the drier of the two days for some of you but over the next few days, as you can see from our rainfall chart, rain is expected everywhere, but could be 100 millimetres of rain in places.

this is bbc news, i'mjane hill. the headlines: new restrictions announced for parts of the north of england including liverpool and middlesbrough following a rise in infections. we've had to take difficult but necessary decisions to suppress the virus. the only alternative to suppressing the virus is to let it rip. and i will not do that. in the largest study of coronavirus cases in england — scientists suggest the spread of the virus is slowing — but warn that levels of infection remain high in all areas of the country. the eu begins legal action against the uk government — because of its plans to override parts of the brexit withdrawal deal. the commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to the uk government.

this is the first step in an infringement procedure. how italy — once the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic — has managed to get its infection rate lower than many european countries. arrivals at tilbury. the empire windrush brings to britain 500 jamaicans. and, at the start of black history month, its organisers say it's more important than ever, in the wake of the black lives matter movement. restrictions on households mixing indoors, already in place in parts of the north east of england, are to be extended to liverpool, warrington, hartlepool and middlesbrough.

the announcement from the health secretary matt hancock means about a quarter of the uk is now under stricter measures, to try to curb the spread of coronavirus. it comes as official figures show the government's test and trace strategy in england is still failing to reach nearly 30% of the contacts of people who've become infected. but there has been some hopeful news — a major study by scientists at imperial college london indicates the growth rate of infections could be slowing. their react study estimates the r number, the virus's reproduction rate, appears to have fallen to 1.1 since government measures such as the rule of six were introduced. our first report is from our health correspondent richard galpin. the infection rate here in liverpool has shot up. a 13—fold increase in a month. people partying are not following social distancing rules, part of the problem. there has been a surge of people

moving into and around this city recently, including students, but now all that is about to change. the rules across the liverpool city region — warrington, hartlepool and middlesbrough — will be as follows. we recommend against all social mixing between people in different households. we will bring in regulations, as we have in the north—east, to prevent in law social mixing between people in different households in all settings except outdoor public spaces like parks and outdoor hospitality. people here in liverpool had been expecting tougher measures to be brought in now. i think it needs to happen because when all the students come back it has gone higher, it has spiked definitely. nothing has really been done about it. closing pubs at early hours, i don't really see the point in it but i do think it's in the best interest to keep the public safe, yeah. all this a huge blow for the city, and the authorities want help

from the government. the hospitality sector will be seriously hit hard in liverpool, and that is a big...we are very heavily dependent, as are leeds and manchester and the big cities, dependent on hospitality. they help pay for our business rates, help support the local economy and jobs. but it's notjust liverpool facing a rapid rise in coronavirus cases. this town knowsley on merseyside is in the unenviable position of having the second highest rate of the virus in the country. and these latest restrictions being imposed by the government are not going down well in some parts of england. what is most frustrating and annoying and potentially damaging to our area is the fact that this decision is being made without any consultation with us. there's a myth being bandied around that there has been lots of exchanges of information and ideas, and it's

categorically untrue. but also today a potentially positive development in the battle with the virus. a survey by imperial college london has found some early evidence the growth of new cases may have slowed. it could mean measures to try to control the virus are working. really important to differentiate between the numbers with the virus which has gone up substantially, and that's why we are in a really critical phase right now, and the rate of rise of the virus, which was going up exponentially from the beginning of september, and that rate of rise seems to have slowed down in the very, very recent data. latest figures from the test and trace system show more people getting test results back within 24 hours. but also more than 30,000 people tested positive for the virus in england in the week to september the 23rd, an increase of 61% on the week before. the highest weekly number since test

and trace was launched. richard galpin, bbc news. let's speak to our political correspondent, nick eardley, in westminster. i suppose no surprise, nick, in terms of what matt hancock had to announce a little earlier but it is very sobering? i think that is right and we are seeing more and more of these announcements, big restrictions which have a huge impact on people's lives, particularly at the moment in the north of england. we know because we heard yesterday from the prime minister, his experts, the government believes that the moment there are certain areas where there are spikes of the disease, where if these measures are put in place it may help to avoid further measures more nationally across england having to be brought in. the strategy at the moment is to look at those areas where there are big increases in the virus, bringing

those controls wherever possible. there are increasingly, they are affecting a much larger number of people, almost one in four people in england now are seeing those increased restrictions being brought in. on that point where government messaging is really important, being able to explain what the rules are and why they are being brought in, there is the tension. we headed in there is the tension. we headed in the peace there, local leaders saying we are not being consulted enough, asked enough about what impact these measures would have. we have local leaders in liverpool today saying they need to see more data because they are worried that they might need more restrictions brought in in the next few days and weeks, on the other hand middlesbrough, the mayor saying he rejects the measures completely. he does not believe the measures are necessary , does not believe the measures are necessary, to be clear that he has no legal site, the restrictions will still come in from one minute past midnight on saturday in all of those

areas mentioned today. it does mean that as we reach the point, the response to the pandemic where the government is trying to do more complicated, more nuanced things, there are increasing conversations, public ones about what those should be. let's try to understand the numbers. professor sir david spiegelhalter, who's advised the government's scientific advisory committee, sage, on covid 19. i only attended one sage meeting. thank you very much for absolutely clarifying that. we are spending all day, as you would expect, talking about liverpool, middlesbrough, more besides, restrictions affecting lots of people in lots of parts of the country. what is your assessment of

where we are, and those decisions given the statistics and the data that you look at? as all the reports we have just heard show, we are awash with data and statistics at the moment, it is challenging for people to make sense of it. your previous corresponding used the term complicated. i think that is an essential issue of this. we are very different from where we were back in march, essentially a simple message, uniform over the whole country was appropriate. now we know about all these different variations between different ages, vulnerability to the virus. we know and are seeing huge variations across the country in what is going on in terms of the number of infections. inevitably the responses are going to be complicated. we have just responses are going to be complicated. we havejust heard responses are going to be complicated. we have just heard they are going to introduce a traffic light system which with luck might make these varying interventions simpler to communicate. it is

complicated. is it right... i have just illustrated it is comp located by strangling my next question. i am thinking back to yesterday, we all sat through, watched another news conference, prime minister alongside chris whitty and patrick balance, it is complicated but if i could try to summarise everything we sat and watched for the hour, the two scientists were in essence saying things were going in the wrong direction. we could extrapolate, it is tricky in different areas, they acknowledge that depending on where you live, but basically things are going in the wrong direction. is that the simple way to think about it? this is serious. but it is not like march. it is difficult to disentangle, the coloured lines, but one of the most powerful images and

animation, showing how the virus erupted all over the country, almost simultaneously when people came back from holidays in france and spain. now it is more tightly focused on certain areas. the way it has always beenin certain areas. the way it has always been in italy and france. some of the graphs when you looked more carefully, strongly illustrated the bulk of the infections at the moment are happening in younger people, people going back to university and so on. people going back to university and so on. these people are though risk of hospitalisation and we not seen a big rise in deaths. —— low risk. even those are starting to increase as the new infections are getting into the older community, which is what people have been most worried about. i thought it was interesting, they talked about there has not been significant injuries among school—aged children when you think about how much hand—wringing there was around schools, that is fascinating. something many people have been saying for a long time,

the low vulnerability of schoolkids, and they four have died of covid. the fact they are plateauing in terms of positive tests among the young, children, deeply encouraging. and a clear determination of the government to keep schools open, we all look back on this, do all the postmortems, it has been suggested that maybe schools should never have been closed, certainly primary schools. that is surely interesting. when you say when we look back on this, i wonder if it is only when the history books come to be written, we can truly drill down and getan written, we can truly drill down and get an accurate sense of all the statistics but within this country and how we compare ourselves to other countries. very challenging indeed especially in the longer term effects on the health service, dropping its service so much to

non—covid cases, delays in cancer treatment and so on, we will be disentangling this for a long time in the future. thank you, professor. from the university of cambridge. your questions answered coming up just after half past. the european union is taking taking legal action against the british government over the brexit withdrawal agreement. ministers at westminster have admitted a planned new law will breach part of the agreement reached between boris johnson and brussels. the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, said the eu had asked the uk to remove the problematic parts of the internal market bill by the end of september, and that deadline had now passed. as you know, our uk friends intend to breach the withdrawal agreement

with the draft internal market bill. we have given them one month to withdraw the difficult parts of the internal market bill. this has not happened. and therefore, the european commission is launching an infringement procedure now. as the withdrawal agreement foresees, we have sent now of formal notice to our british friends because we want this situation clarified. in the meantime, of course we are working hard to have the withdrawal agreement implemented fully and timely because it is necessary and we stand by our commitments. earlier i spoke to our correspondent, nick beake in brussels. it is interesting, we have to step back and look at what is happening here because at the moment trade talks are under way once again.

as we have seen from what has happened this morning, there is now this legal process under way. it is interesting to look at both aspects and try and decipher the messages that are coming through. in terms of what the eu said today and ursula von der leyen talking just a second ago as we heard, it is inevitable that the eu did this, they had given the uk an ultimatum to withdraw the controversial parts which override the brexit divorce deal, london did not do that. the eu had to put their money where their mouth was and commenced legal procedures. procedures would take months and months, any resolution would come away after the transition period we are in at the moment comes to an end at the end of the year. for now, i think the focus is on trade talks and the hope is on both sides they can smooth out their differences so further legal action can be avoided.

just as we are talking, the reuters news agency is quoting an eu official as saying, there is no sign of a landing zone on fisheries. fishery a key element in all of this. that is interesting because earlier there were some reports from elements within london that a so—called landing zone, basically an area where both sides can reach agreement, was in sight on certain things. we know the big stumbling blocks have been fisheries and state aid, government subsidies. the eu welcome a more positive tone from london but have not seen it being backed up by any manifestly different change in position in the negotiations, which have been going on this week. we will see over the coming days and weeks noises emerging

from different quarters in brussels and london, people saying a deal can be done but we need to look out for both sides saying, we are ready to compromise, it is just that the other lot is not willing to give ground, they are holding things up. it is a political game as ever, jane. the headlines on bbc news. new restrictions announced for parts of the north of england including liverpool and middlesbrough following a rise in infections. in the largest study of coronavirus cases in england — scientists suggest the spread of the virus is slowing — but warn that levels of infection reamain high in all areas of the country. the eu begins legal action against the uk government — because of its plans to override parts of the brexit withdrawal deal. a 28—year—old man has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 40 years after being convicted of double murder.

drug dealer 0bina ezeoke was sentenced following an unprecedented five trials at the old bailey over four years. he murdered annie ekofo, and her nephew, bervil, in a flat in north london in 2016. a former headteacher has been jailed for a minimum of 31 years after murdering his estranged wife and her new partner on new year's day. rhys hancock repeatedly stabbed helen hancock and martin griffiths as they lay in bed in her home in derbyshire. his mother warned policejust after four o'clock in the morning that hancock had taken two knives and left the house threatening to kill the pair. a building inspector who signed off the grenfell tower refurbishment failed to properly read a string of product specifications while considering the materials to be used for the work. john hoban told the grenfell inquiry that he was under pressure following spending cuts

in his department, and that at times he was working on 120 to 130 projects at one time. ministers are understood to be considering plans to house asylum seekers on disused ferries moored off the british coast, while their claims are assessed. new figures reveal more than 1,900 migrants reached the uk by boat in september — more than in the whole of last year. simonjones reports. destination dover. this boat carrying 20 migrants, which set off from northern france, was being tracked by a military drone. but despite a pledge by both the british and french authorities to make the route unviable, people have been crossing the channel in boats in record numbers. now the british government is said to be considering bringing into service disused ferries to house migrants while their asylum applications are considered. number ten and the home office have been clear that they are going to take whatever action is necessary to put a stop to these small boats' crossings, and that includes addressing

what is called the draw factors — the things that make britain an attractive place to come to. they're looking at a whole range of things from cruise ships and ferries through to offshore fast—track assessment centres, through to changing the immigration law. so far this year, more than 7000 migrants have reached the uk by boat. in september, around 1950 people made the crossing — that's a higher figure than for the whole of last year, when 1835 migrants crossed the channel. the home office doesn't like to use the word crisis, but it admits it's facing a crisis in the asylum accommodation system. it's currently providing shelter for 60,000 people. that number has gone up considerably during the coronavirus pandemic due to delays in processing asylum claims. the home office is already using this former barracks in folkestone to house asylum seekers, and another site in pembrokeshire. a group supporting migrants say the idea of turning to ferries is ludicrous. it's another one of

the government's crazy schemes. i don't think it will come to anything. we used prison ships in the victorian era and there's a reason we don't do that any more. it's because it's not an acceptable way to keep fellow human beings. the government says it wants to provide protection to those who need it while preventing abuse of the asylum system. the un says in the context of overall european migration, the numbers reaching the uk are manageable. simonjones, bbc news, dover. one of the most contentious battlegrounds in the us election campaign is that of race. in yesterday's tv debate, president trump refused to condemn far right groups, and said it was left wing groups, who he called antifa, who were responsible for the violence in many us cities. 0ur correspondent aleem maqbool has been to portland in oregon to talk to both sides. there are flashing images in his report. it's become the us capital of radicalism.

most american cities have seen some demonstrations this year, but here they haven't stopped. and it's become a huge election issue. well, this is what almost every night has looked like, here in downtown portland, in the four months since the police killing of george floyd in minneapolis, with hundreds of protesters on one side, law enforcement agents on the other, and there have been many flashpoints of violence. some feel over—aggression by the security forces has exacerbated tensions, but the white house says this isn't demonstrating about racial justice, just rioting by anarchists or antifa. a riot is the voice of the unheard. so if you don't want riots, maybe you should listen. it's not antifa in the streets. it's the people in the streets. it's the people that are being pushed around, the people that don't have food, the people that can't pay their rent. but it has led to loss of life.

in late august, a large convoy of trump supporters drove past the protesters in portland, some firing paintballs at them. later that day, one trump supporter from a far—right group was shot dead. the left—wing activist who is suspected of killing him died in a police raid on his home. it's partly why the neo—fascist group the proud boys earlier this week decided to hold a rally in portland. they'd predicted thousands would attend. in the end it was a few hundred. we're here to shut down this violence and bring awareness, national attention. hopefully donald trump sees this and he's already decreed this an anarchist city, which is great, because it's true. in the debate, when asked to condemn the actions of white supremacists, the president could only manage this. what do you want to call them? give me a name. white supremacists, proud boys, proud boys. proud boys, stand back and stand by,

but i'll tell you what, i'll tell you what, somebody‘s got to do something about antifa and the left because... the proud boys have revelled in his response. back in portland, at the same time as the proud boys gathering, an illustration of the totally different worlds on display in the us these days. a rally still focused on why so many black people are killed by the police. they're trying to say we're trying to destroy america and democracy, but they know that's garbage. they are just falling behind the rhetoric that dehumanises us so that can lower the value of our lives to justify committing acts of violence against us. it's those at this rally who've been taking to the streets night after night. many americans support their efforts to bring about change, but for many others these scenes are making them all the more determined to vote for donald trump. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in portland. the commission that oversees us presidential debates says it'll

introduce new measures to ensure the remaining two encounters between donald trump and joe biden are more orderly. tuesday's debate saw the two candidates talking over each other and exchanging insults. during the debate, president trump interrupted his opponent 73 times. six months ago, italy was the global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic — the first country in the west to see widespread transmission, and the first in the world to impose a national lockdown. but now italy's infection rate is considerably lower than that of many other european countries. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen has been finding out why. covid's once global epicentre isn't letting down its guard. spot checks by italian police to ensure rules on overcrowding and mask—wearing are followed. it's one of the tools italy has used to get infection rates down to some

of the lowest in europe, keeping the virus in check while others struggle with a fresh spike. "we issue fines when needed," says giovani cipriani, "but none today. usually everyone wears masks." awareness of the consequences of breaking the rules has helped instill a sense of discipline here. but in reality, police have had to intervene relatively rarely, as italy has on the whole followed restrictions, and now it's reaping the benefits. italy is taking safety as seriously as its food. many restaurants have screens, disposable or digital menus. customers are recorded for contact tracing. it's given them the freedom to stay open and busy, unlike others in europe. the trauma of covid frightened italians into compliance. because we were the first and we had a very long quarantine and we really felt it, and it was a very strong period for everyone, so we really felt it. and there were many, many people

dying and we could see all the... not here but on the news, those people dying alone. it has been very strong. the government's reward for a lower infection rate has been broad public support, but it knows success is fragile. i'm really proud of italians because they did follow the rules. but, you know, the war is not over yet. so we need still to wait and see what's going to happen in october, november, and during the winter. but right now, i think things are going very well. alert to the fact schools reopened later here than elsewhere in europe, there's now mass testing for students and teachers. this at a high school near rome. rapid results come within 30 minutes. tests, rules, compliance — a formula italy hopes can halt a second wave and ease the legacy of pain from the first. mark lowen, bbc news, rome.

a line from buckingham palace, in line with current government guidelines and as a precaution, there will be no large—scale events at buckingham palace or windsor castle for the rest of the year. that is the decision there, a variety of possibilities were examined to see whether it would be possible for investors to safely ta ke possible for investors to safely take place in line with guidelines but sadly because of the large number of people at those events, it is not possible to find a way to do that. recipients will be contacted directly. in line with so much in life at the moment, no events at buckingham palace or windsor castle until the end of the year. now, the weather with matt taylor. hello there.

developing wind and rain for many of you to go through friday and into the weekend. today, the relative quiet. there is some rain top and tail of the country, certainly developing later on towards wales and the south—west. but in between, clearer skies, some sunshine. just one or two showers to see the day out. let's go into this evening and overnight. rain remains in place in the far north of scotland. it's set to turn wetter and windier towards the english channel and southern counties of england. in between, though, where we've got the clear skies tonight, just a word of warning, it is going to be a chilly night. a widespread frost, some patchy mist and fog. but all eyes tomorrow really towards the south because potentially some damaging winds around english channel coast. potential flooding rains around some southern counties as well as this storm alex winds itself up. bringing more wind and rain through the day, pushing northwards into wales and parts of the midlands. may edge a bit further northwards may still a bit further southwards. but the general story for the northern half of the country after some early rain in northern scotland is for a dry day with some sunshine. that will change as we go through to the weekend — after a wet night in england

and wales, the rain spreads northwards into scotland for saturday. hello this is bbc news.

the headlines. new restrictions announced for parts of the north of england including liverpool and middlesbrough following a rise in infections we've had to take difficult but necessary decisions to suppress the virus. the only alternative to suppressing the virus is to let it rip. and i will not do that. in the largest study of coronavirus cases in england — scientists suggest the spread of the virus may be slowing — since the rule of six was introduced. the eu begins legal action against the uk government — because of its plans to override parts of the brexit withdrawal deal. protestors demonstrate against the decision to cut down almost half an ancient woodland to clear the way for hs2. sport and for a full round up,

from the bbc sport centre, sport centrhere's katherine downes. england manager gareth southgate has left manchester united's mason greenwood and city midfielder phil foden out of their squad for games against wales, belgium and denmark. foden and greenwood made their senior debuts last month but then broke covid—19 rules before the match against iceland. they were fined by local police and sent home. southgate says "trust needs to be rebuilt" with the pair.. they are two very talented players, i think with what happened there are two parts, one is we have to send a message to all the players in our teams at every age level that that sort of thing is not how we do things with england. but then we also have to rehabilitate these two boys, young people will make mistakes and i do a lot of work with

the princes trust, they are brilliant at helping youngsters get back on their feet when things have not gone right, and these lads have suffered enough, we did not think it was right and they need this period of reflection which gives them the opportunity to get back on their feet. meanwhile southgate has recalled manchester united captain harry maguire to the squad. he was dropped for last month's matches after being handed a suspended jail sentence for assulting a police officer, swearing, resisting arrest and bribery in greece — charges he denies and has appealed. and there are first call up's for everton striker dominic calvert—lewin, who has scored eight goals in the opening five games of the season, as well as leicester's harvey barnes and bukayo saka of arsenal. the full squad is on our website. a second division side in the us, san diego loyal, walked off the picth and forfeited a match against pheonix rising in protest over an alleged homophobic comment aimed at openly gay midfielder collin martin.

san diego players left the field, with the club explaining the decision on social media. it meant they forfeited the match, in a game which they were leading 3—1 — ending their hopes of reaching the play—offs. the club then released this statement via twitter, saying they had to act. the side are led by the former everton midfielder landon donovan 0ur guys to their immense credit said they weren't going to stand for it. they were very clear in that moment that they were giving up all hopes of making the play—offs. they were beating one of the best teams in the league but they said it didn't matter. there are things more important in life may have to stick up for what we believe in, and so they made the decision to walk off and i have tremendous pride in this group. champion jockey 0isin murphy says he will "fight to clear his name" after testing positive for cocaine. the positive result came in france

in july, with murphy strenously denying he's ever taken the drug. he's currently awaiting the result of a b sample. if he's not cleared, he'll face a ban of up to 6 months. he has 4 rides at chelmsford today, and is due to ride at ascot tomororw. england centre manu tuilagi will miss the finale of the six nations and possibly the entire 2021 tournament after suffering a achilles injury..he'll undergo surgery next week after tearing his achilles when playing for his club sale in the premiership on tuesday. it'll keep him out for six months meaning he'll also miss the autumn nations cup which starts in november.. and to the french open where world number one novak djokovic has eased into the third round at roland garros. he beat lithuania's ricardas berankis in straight sets — dropping just five games.. the match lasting just an hour and 23 minutes.. he'll face world number 153 daniel elahi galan next. in the womens draw — number two seed karolina pliskova is out. she was beaten in straight sets byjelena 0stapenko — who won the title at roland garros

back in 2017. former wimbledon champion petra kvitova is also into round three. a reminder golf's scottish 0pen is also underway at the renaissance club in north berwick. keep up to date with that and the rest of the day's sports news on the bbc sport website. the inquest has just opened into the death of a police officer who died last week, we are just heeding the details and confirmation from a

thorough military postmortem examination saying that he died from a gunshot wound to the chest. 54 yea rs a gunshot wound to the chest. 54 years old, long service with the metropolitan police and so many tributes paid to matt ratana since his death, the preliminary postmortem exam results being read at croydon coroner's court. let's return to our top story — the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has welcomed the introduction of new local restrictions in parts of the north of england —— of the north of england — but has said the government must have a road map to ensure these areas aren't under tight restrictions for a long time. he said a rapid review of local lockdowns was needed as well as further financial support

for the areas affected. when it comes to lockdown either national or local it is very important that is just one message because people are struggling with the rules as it is and i think if the rules as it is and i think if the opposition starts saying something different to the government and makes a difficult situation more difficult so we have supported these restrictions but we now have after this morning over 50 areas and local restrictions and over the weeks and months only one area has come out of these restrictions and so we need a strategy, a road map, people need to have hope this will work on the government needs a strategy and a road map and to massively improve the communications. the other thing missing is a local restrictions are going in but no economic support and they need to be brought together so whether are restrictions on there is support at the same time. you are

talking about concerns of an exit strategy, what is the alternative to local lockdown? we need a rapid review of local lockdown because what we are seeing as in some areas and lockdown the infection areas are going up and not down and that is worrying, and other areas they have been and local lockdown for months and so there needs to be a rapid review of what is working and what is not working, what the science tells us but people need to know the exit strategy and whilst we are unlocked and we need a support package for the businesses and individuals rather able to work. people and those areas not abiding by rows? —— rules? people and those areas not abiding by rows? -- rules? no, it was an inevitable risk that when children are back to school and students back to university and people back to work that the infection right might

go back to work, that was a known risk and we were saying to the government to make sure you plan for this and that track and trace is effective, you do not have to wait a long time for a test. none of that has happened so trying to shift the blame to the public is the wrong thing to do, the lack of planning as the government responsibility. do you support the 10pm curfew? we support the package but andy burnham in particular has questioned whether the curfew is working as intended, he has pointed to lots of people coming out of venues at the same time andi coming out of venues at the same time and i would suggest it is a goodidea time and i would suggest it is a good idea for the government to reflect on what he said and ask themselves the question of whether that should stay in place. now on bbc news, it's time for your questions answered.

the countdown to the end of the governments furlough scheme has begun. in november it will be replaced with the newjob support scheme. now we'll answer your questions about how to navigate the end of the furlough scheme — with michelle 0vens, director of small business britain; and to talk about the big picture with coronavirus, dr elisabetta groppelli, a virologist and lecturer in global health at st george's university of london. welcome to both of you, lots of questions to go through. from charlotte, i have been shielded

since april and now my consultant has instructed me to continue. i am a 46—year—old nurse with a husband and four children. i have had to fight through my union for the furlough scheme. when the furlough scheme ends i am going to be in an impossible situation. what are the plans for someone in my position? referral scheme ending at the end of 0ctober, referral scheme ending at the end of october, the referral scheme ending at the end of 0ctober, thejob referral scheme ending at the end of october, the job support scheme is quite different and the focus is on aimed at the businesses who want to keep staff on through a reduced demand over the winter. as a nurse thatis demand over the winter. as a nurse that is quite the situation you are going to be in so i am not an employment lawyer but i would suggest you speak to acas about this and to your union so you do not say who your employer is whether you work for the nhs or privately but as

a nurse you should speak to your union and acas, that is the job support programme in place whether it is relevant but if you are shielding you will be entitled at least two statutory sick pay but absolutely you need to have that conversation with your employer. statutory sick pay we know is by no means a huge sum of money so that as a challenge potentially coming down the track for a lot of people. absolutely, the job support scheme is not a direct replacement for the furloughed scheme 80, for businesses that put stuff on it —— staff on it, the employer pays some of the salary and adjournment chips in the employee loses some salary if they are not working full—time and the goal of the scheme is to support

jobs that have reduced demand over the winter but the businesses want to keep the staff on and that is quite a different scheme to the furloughed scheme which was about supporting employers and employees over the first lockdown, anyone who is concerned should speak to their employer and give acas a call. what comparisons have been made between flu and covid? in the lab we compare them and have found out they are very different viruses and look very different. when it comes to the disease they cause we can say they are both very similar but also different in the sense that the major symptoms like

fever or can cough are caused by both viruses but we have seen that the coronavirus can have more manifestations, clinical manifestations, clinical manifestations more varied. we have seen manifestations more varied. we have seen the vascular system affected, and the skin and especially in children where there is more gastrointestinal symptoms more than with flu. the bottom—line is that when there is only fever that the only thing we can use to discriminate between one virus and the other is the diagnostic test but as specially as we go into what we used to call flu season now both viruses, influenza and corona are requiring our attention and best

effort to protect ourselves and each other. with the ntia, warning that 60% of the uk nightclub industry may collapse and over 9 million workers risk redundancy, will rishi rethink of a new viable plan to prevent this from happening? i cannot tell you everything the chancellor is thinking, there are a number of measures in place for hospitality over the course of winter and what we have seen as the government is keeping a close eye on this sector and knows that as a significant risk. helping businesses to keep staff on fa do not have

demand. the hospitality industry had a number of measures in place so for example reduction of vat from 20% to 596, example reduction of vat from 20% to 5%, that has been extended until the end of march. to give the hospitality sector a bit of breathing space. there is a general understanding it is going to be a difficult winterfor a understanding it is going to be a difficult winter for a number of sectors and the nightclub industry is being hit by the 10pm curfew quite significantly. we have to keep a watch over that but what we have seen over a watch over that but what we have seen over the last lockdown is the government has responded as the situation has changed and we expect will continue to change over the coming months, i do not think we have heard the last from the government on this one.

we have a shop that does takeaway and eat in, and have customers coming in from places like wigan and newcastle. quite often they do not wear face coverings and when asked by our staff to put one on, their answer is no. these same people refuse to track and trace for same reasons. what are our rights as a food outlet? firstly you are perfectly within your rights to not allow entry, these are legal requirements that these are legal requirements that these customers are expected to do so these customers are expected to do so you these customers are expected to do so you are these customers are expected to do so you are completely within your rights to not allow entry. we not expecting to police people but you are protecting yourself and your staff and other customers so it is reasonable to not allow entry. i

know that is a difficult thing for a business when times are difficult and you are worried about getting enough customers through the door but i think that most customers will be appreciative and recognise you are trying to protect them and over thatis are trying to protect them and over that is a good thing so do not feel bad about not allowing entry.” guess it is hard because it is custom and that ties in with the economic situation we are talking about. from a health perspective thatis about. from a health perspective that is a reason and individual is asked to wear a mask or give their name and phone number. absolutely, the major reason for wearing a face covering as clear, and prevents transmission if you have the virus so transmission if you have the virus so it is protecting others. when it comes to the system there is an interest for the individual and the

public that details are shared because if you have come into contact with the virus surely you would like to know because then you can take action and to care about your health. because this is a highly transmissible virus we were due to self—isolate so that further transmission is prevented so i of the fundamental science underlines face coverings and sharing details so face coverings and sharing details so is quite important to understand this and it is for the benefit of individuals and the public. i was shielding but have returned to work. i have not seen of heard any further advice about shielding. is there further advice for people who were shielding? from steve harrington. at the moment the polls in shielding

that have been implemented have not changed in the sense that a few have been advised to shield during the pandemic and report it was not necessary any more, that still stands. it is not advisable at the moment so the advice is not that you have to shield. some local support is still available in the sense that for example collecting prescriptions, local volunteers are helping with that but the idea is that if you have to go to work and cannot work from home then as long as your physician allows then you can do that. it is quite important that the details of all the people who have been advised to shield to start with that those names are kept securely in the nhs shielding database securely in the nhs shielding data base and they securely in the nhs shielding database and they will be used

should the situation changed and it is quite important to stress that the situation can change and will change and we need to be attentive about what new advice will come when it comes to shooting. it is an area that could be a challenge for business owners and employers. yes, and it was during the last lockdown because events happen so fast, the lockdown particularly small businesses did not know what to do, what was expected of what was appropriate or even what was available. most employers want to look after their staff, not put them in harms way and what's of employers have put in place a lot of safety procedures over the last few months to make their staff feel comfortable and safe at work. but certainly if you do not feel safe it is worth having that conversation with your employer and look for a way forward

perhaps working at home on working ina perhaps working at home on working in a different way. are asymptomatic cases driving numbers up increasing transmission ? surely mass testing is needed ? from sue daley yates. in terms of driving a transmission, not necessarily its original have an indication that is the case, but we are certainly asymptomatic is certainly part of the transmission chain in the sense we know that the virus can be transmitted before symptoms occur for those who are very lucky symptoms simply do not happen but transmission can so they are a very important part of the bigger picture when it comes to identify how much transmission that is and whether new cases are. the challenge is how to identify how people carrying the virus can spread it symptomatically and we have seen

approaches from other european countries that are testing people who are at high risk of coming into contact with the virus, either because of theirjobs like health ca re because of theirjobs like health care workers or simply because they have been to places of high prevalence and again this is about identifying people who are at risk and regularly and frequently testing. the uk is potentially starting health care workers to identify if they do not have symptoms but can't transmit to patients but there is not quite there, in rolling out not only the mass testing but also repeated regular testing that is required. thank you both so much, there are so many questions we could have got through but thank you, we will talk again. thank you, your questions

answered. hello, strong winds and heavy rain will feature in the forecast through friday and into the weekend at times for many of you. today is the relative quiet day. rain will start to become more abundant across south wales and south—west england later and it will stay wet in the north—east of scotland, but as we finish the day into the evening, clear skies and one or two showers for many in between. this is where we'll see the coldest conditions, as we go through tonight, frost is likely in southern scotland and northern england and across northern ireland. rain in the north keeps things milder and then we turn our attention to what's happening in the south. through tonight and tomorrow morning, storm alex named by the french weather service because the impact there will have some disruption for us, we suspect. particularly around the english channel. the likes of the channel islands, southern counties of england, strong wind and heavy rains. you can see the extent of the rain, some of which will be heavy causing minorflooding. around the channel is where we will

see the strongest winds. channel islands could see 70mph gusts at times, brightening up for some along the south and east through the afternoon, as that rain spreads its way into the midlands and across parts of wales. the northern half of the country, it's a different day, a bit of frost and fog to begin with, lots of sunshine, showers in the west easing away but we will see rain edged towards the likes of the m62 corridor as we finished the day. a bit further north or a bit further south, keep an eye on the forecast but either way, where you are in the sunshine whether you are in the sunshine or wind and rain, it is a cool day. storm alex loses its potency and heads off into france, replaced by another area of low pressure through this weekend and around that more of you will see wind and rain develop. on saturday, a wet night for england and wales, the rain spreads its way westwards, so after a bright start here, it will turn wetter, turning wet across scotland as the breeze picks up. strongest winds on saturday down towards wales, south—west england and the channel islands. maybe brightening up towards the south—east later.

saturday night into sunday, heavy rain across northern and western areas and that will become confined around the periphery where we see some of the strongest winds. heavy, slow moving showers for england and wales but some of you have some longer, sunny spells on sunday compared to saturday. it may be the drier of the two days for some of you but over the next few days, as you can see from our rainfall chart, rain is expected everywhere, but could be 100 millimetres of rain in places.

this is bbc news. the headlines... new restrictions announced for parts of the north of england including liverpool and middlesbrough following a rise in infections. we've had to take difficult but necessary decisions to suppress the virus. the only alternative to suppressing the virus is to let it rip. and i will not do that. people need to know what's the exit strategy from this, and whilst we're in lockdown, we need a support package for the businesses and individuals who are not able to work. in the largest study of coronavirus cases in england — scientists suggest the spread of the virus may be slowing — since the rule of six was introduced. the eu begins legal action against the uk government — because of its plans to override parts of the brexit withdrawal deal.

the commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to the uk government. this is the first step in an infringement procedure. how italy — once the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic — has managed to get its infection rate lower than many european countries. arrivals at tilbury. the empire windrush. .. and, at the start of black history month, its organisers say it's more important than ever, in the wake of the black lives matter movement. good afternoon. restrictions on households mixing indoors, already in place in parts of the north east of england, are to be extended to

liverpool, warrington, hartlepool and middlesbrough. the announcement from the health secretary matt hancock means about a quarter of the uk is now under stricter measures, to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus. it comes as official figures show the government's test and trace strategy in england is still failing to reach nearly 30% of the contacts of people who've become infected. but there has been some hopeful news — a major study by scientists at imperial college london indicates the growth rate of infections could be slowing. their react study estimates the r number, the virus's reproduction rate, appears to have fallen to 1.1 since government measures such as the rule of six were introduced. our first report is from our health correspondent richard galpin. the infection rate here in liverpool has shot up. a 13—fold increase in a month. people partying are not following social distancing rules, part of the problem. there has been a surge of people moving into and around this city recently, including students,

but now all that is about to change. the rules across the liverpool city region — warrington, hartlepool and middlesbrough — will be as follows. we recommend against all social mixing between people in different households. we will bring in regulations, as we have in the north—east, to prevent in law social mixing between people in different households in all settings except outdoor public spaces like parks and outdoor hospitality. people here in liverpool had been expecting tougher measures to be brought in now. i think it needs to happen because when all the students come back it has gone higher, it has spiked definitely. nothing has really been done about it. closing pubs at early hours, i don't really see the point in it but i do think it's in the best interest to keep the public safe, yeah. all this, a huge blow for the city, and the authorities want help from the government. the hospitality sector will be

seriously hit hard in liverpool, and that is a big...we are very heavily dependent, as are leeds and manchester and the big cities, dependent on hospitality. they help pay for our business rates, help support the local economy and jobs. but it's notjust liverpool facing a rapid rise in coronavirus cases. this town knowsley on merseyside is in the unenviable position of having the second highest rate of the virus in the country. and these latest restrictions being imposed by the government are not going down well in some parts of england. what is most frustrating and annoying and potentially damaging to our area is the fact that this decision is being made without any consultation with us. there's a myth being bandied around that there has been lots of exchanges of information and ideas, and it's categorically untrue.

but also today a potentially positive development in the battle with the virus. a survey by imperial college london has found some early evidence the growth of new cases may have slowed. it could mean measures to try to control the virus are working. really important to differentiate between the numbers with the virus which has gone up substantially, and that's why we are in a really critical phase right now, and the rate of rise of the virus, which was going up exponentially from the beginning of september, and that rate of rise seems to have slowed down in the very, very recent data. latest figures from the test and trace system show more people getting test results back within 24 hours. but also more than 30,000 people tested positive for the virus in england in the week to september the 23rd, an increase of 61% on the week before. the highest weekly number since test and trace was launched.

richard galpin, bbc news. let's speak to our political correspondent, nick eardley, in westminster. nick, we are obviously seen changes in the overall numbers of the virus, as everybody predicted for this time of year, but the political reaction, the political pushback in the government, coming both from local politicians but also within the conservatives is very difficult, isn't it, for the government to manage? i think that is right. we are at that kind of crucial points in the response of the pandemic where messaging is really important because the rules are more complex and explaining them and the rationale behind them becomes even more important and when we heard the prime minister and his advisers saying yesterday in downing street that they think that increasingly they can focus on those spikes in local areas and increased activity

in those areas, trying to push down the virus, could have the impact that they want. that is why we have seen it in the north—east, the northwest. that is why it is being extended to other parts of the north of england today. but at the same time there are increasing questions being asked. as you mentioned, there are some being asked by boris johnson's own party, although i think he has gone some way to placate them with giving mps a vote on elements of what is happening that you have also got it from local politicians who are concerned that some of the decisions being made aren't being made without local expertise. so we have local leaders in liverpool today saying that they wa nt to in liverpool today saying that they want to see more of the data behind the decisions that are being made. they think they might have to go further at some point. at the other side of the spectrum you have got middlesbrough's mayor saying that he doesn't agree with this at all, he doesn't agree with this at all, he doesn't think they need to be these extra restrictions on his part, and that actually saying to people that he doesn't think they need to be

followed. now, to be clear he doesn't have any control over that and those measures will still come in at one minute past midnight on saturday but it shows the complexity of the stage of the response. different parts of england are seeing different measures brought in and there is different views on the extent to which all of them are necessary and working. just to illustrate this sense of difficulty vanish politically for the government and for everyone really, just to show a couple of front pages today. the sun has got a picture, we don't know exactly when this was taken, the son say it was taken on saturday ofjeremy corbyn at a dinner party of nine people when of course the rule of six had already come in and then borisjohnson's father stanley in a newsagent without a mask and just, you know, following the rules, making sure that everyone is willing to go along with them, knows what they are as they keep changing. as the government looking at a more simplified picture that it will have to do, you know, enforce nationally

or perhaps across wider regions?” mean, there are suggestions that we are going to see some sort of tier system. we know the government has been working on it and we think they have finalised something now which would involve different levels of restrictions based on the number of cases going all the way up to something approaching a lockdown which would see schools in some workplaces stay open but other parts of the economy closed. i think it is ha rd to of the economy closed. i think it is hard to come up with a completely simplified system. you know, back in march we saw full lockdown, fairly straightforward messaging, most people abiding by it. we saw the government trying to come up with the rule of six as a way to simplify it again but clearly the jeremy corbyn that wasn't as simple as it could have been and, as you say, boris johnson's own father pictured ina shop boris johnson's own father pictured in a shop and at a mass gun should say that downing street has made perfectly clear it thinks everybody needs to follow these rules, a similar message from the labour leader when it comes to those things as well. but i think that i'm going

to be complexities to this over the next few weeks and months because the government is desperate to avoid taking radical national action if it doesn't need to. it doesn't want to see the same sort of things we saw happening match where we were all told to stay at home. it wants to try and do this locally if it can, and that is going to mean that there are some potential inconsistencies, some potential questions asked. the big challenge for the government is persuading everybody, as i say, that those measures that are being brought in are necessary, that they make sense in getting people to follow them. i will in westminster, thank you very much indeed. just to let you know some of the latest stats we are getting in, reports that there have been 59 covid—19 deaths within 28 days in a positive covid—19 test. according to government data 71, they are saying, on wednesday. and, also, the uk

reporting 6914 cases of covid—19, 7108 on wednesday. not totally clear what the difference between those numbers is what they are obviously very clear it is around 7000 cases a nyway very clear it is around 7000 cases anyway at the moment and of course the numbers have been going up other the numbers have been going up other the recent study from imperial suggests that they are right may be coming down a bit since that will of six was introduced by the government. lets talk more about the numbers that we are getting in with... dr sarah pitt is a virologist at the university of brighton and a fellow of the institute of bio—medical science. thank you very much forjoining us. there are a lot of graphs and data centre by the government, of course, and it is varying by region, by sitting in my area. what is your overall impression of whether uk is at the moment? —— bite city and by area. my overall impression is that the number of new cases is rising

and that we have in quite a dangerous position. even though the number of cases, you can argue, that the 7000 number of new cases is... might be because we are doing more testing than we were back in march, so, although we are saying every other day we are saying, you know, this is the highest number of cases that we have had during the pandemic, back in march we were not testing as many people, and there have been estimates from the data we saw yesterday that perhaps as many is 100,000 people were positive back in march. we don't know that that the share. and we will never know, really, because we were not able to test at that time. but even though the number of, the rate of new cases is not going up, it is still going up, it is still going up and i think the really interesting thing that came out today from the study that showed that the rule of six, the number of cases going down since we introduced a bill of six just kind

of shows that doing the measures that we are putting in place to try and control the virus are actually working so i think people should perhaps take heart from that. i know all our lives are restricted and non—others are doing what we really wa nt to non—others are doing what we really want to do most of the time —— none of us, but it shows that if we do put measures in place they can actually help to slow the spread of the virus and we really need to do that because we are at a very dangerous tipping point, i think. just for a little bit more detail on that, just looking at the imperial couege that, just looking at the imperial college findings, they said they are rate decreased from 1:71.1 but with a white possible range of not .70 1.5. 0bviously anything over one means the cases will continue to write, the point is that following the rule of six has already had an impact. which is why, yes, we shouldn't go, oh well the number of

new cases is going down so we can all relax. what it shows as it is working so we need to keep doing it for a little bit longer until we are really sure that there are number is well below that one. as you say, the r number needs to be below one in order to make sure that we actually have got that virus back under control and we talked a lot about the r number back in march and april and these days we're talking about the number of cases per 100,000 because we are looking at more local areas, but, actually, people shouldn't forget about the r number, thatis shouldn't forget about the r number, that is still really important and we still need to make sure we keep an eye on that and that really needs to be below one and consistently well below one before we are really out of the woods. what do you read the fact that the virus, you know, the fact that the virus, you know, the numbers were higher in the north—west in the north—east, possibly in london to? is that you simply density of population and type of housing, type of interactions? i think it is one of those things we don't really know. it could be all of those things. and

the combination of things and just bad luck, sometimes, and... i don't think we can really... a los of the questions that people are asking about the numbers are things which we will be able to answer in retrospect, you know, in given 18 months' time when the scientists can really drill down into the fine details of the data so u nfortu nately, details of the data so unfortunately, i know that is not a particularly satisfactory answer for you. but we just don't know i think. i you. but we just don't know i think. , don't worry, it is very complex. cani , don't worry, it is very complex. can i ask you seconds, the other line that i spotted in this report from imperial college. similar to the previous report, black and asian people are found twice as likely to be infected those white people and thatis be infected those white people and that is despite we have known this for a few months and that fact isn't changing. and yes, and that is one of the things that we don't know because it is really interesting that we are seeing that but we're

not saying that across the whole of the world, you know, for example, they are saying the number of cases in some parts of africa alone, but that could be because they're not testing, but then the number of cases of people being in hospital and diagnosed with covid is lower lower in some parts of africa, and we don't really know why that is. but what it does go to show is that nothing is really changed about the virus. nothing has really changed about the risk to everybody in the country, and nothing has really changed about the individual risk to particular groups, so that whatever was true back in march is true now and so people should definitely follow all the government guidelines, follow all the precautions, it is a very dangerous virus, keep your distance, where a mask, wash your hands, take care of other people as well as yourself by wearing a mask as far as you can, because nothing has really changed about it in that sense. and we really haven't got this under control right net but we really do

need to. that was a virologist at brighton university. thank you very much for your time. the inquest in to the death of metropolitan police officer matt ratana has heard that the custody sergeant died from a gunshot wound to the chest. sergent ratana was killed last week inside a custody centre in croydon in south london. the 54—year—old was allegedly shot by 23—year—old louis de zoysa who remains in a critical condition in hospital. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, is at croydon town hall where the inquest is taking place... there has been so much attention and great sadness at what happened last week, daniel. just because up—to—date on what is happening with this inquest. this was the formal opening and adjourning of the death of sergeant matt tanner. the senior

governor was sitting here in the council chamber at croydon town colt so if you he was very socially distanced following on from your previous item. —— matt mratana. she heard from the officer in charge of the murder investigation into sergeant matt rata na the murder investigation into sergeant matt ratana that last thursday friday morning a 23—year—old man was stopped in south london, found to have a controlled substance, and some ammunition on him so he was handcuffed to the rear, taken in a police vehicle to the croydon custody centre where he was held in a holding area, and he was held in a holding area, and he was about to be searched when he produced a firearm and fired, in the words of mick blackwood, several times, injuring both sergeant matt rata na and himself. times, injuring both sergeant matt ratana and himself. both were taken to hospital and it 0410 in the morning sergeant matt ratana's life was pronounced in extinct and a

preliminary postmortem examination later that day it established that he had indeed died as we had all suspected from a gunshot rule that might bring to the chest. so this is a formal cause of death for sergeant matt ratana. a formal cause of death for sergeant matt rata na. interesting a formal cause of death for sergeant matt ratana. interesting that the inquest heard that several gunshots we re inquest heard that several gunshots were fired, there was not an official number put on that, and of course we all know that the 23—year—old man remains in a critical condition in saint george's hospital in tooting. police have still not been able to talk to him. the inquest was formally adjourned but not before the senior governor said that sergeant matt ratana's son was listening in from australia, where he now lives. he was able to dial in and listen to the inquest hearing. the inquest is adjourned because now they will be a police murder investigation and only once thatis murder investigation and only once that is complete will the senior governor consider whether to resume the inquest. i will correspond

croydon. many thanks indeed. a 28—year—old man has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 40 years after being convicted of double murder. drug dealer 0bina ezeoke sentenced following an unprecedented five trials at the old bailey over four years. he murdered annie ekofo, and her nephew bervil, in a flat in north london in 2016. a former headteacher has been jailed for a minimum of 31 years after murdering his estranged wife and her new partner on new year's day. rhys hancock repeatedly stabbed helen hancock and martin griffiths as they lay in bed in her home in derbyshire. his mother warned policejust after 4 o' clock in the morning that hancock had taken two knives and left the house threatening to kill the pair. a building inspector who signed off the grenfell tower refurbishment failed to properly read a string of product specifications while considering the materials to be used for the work. john hoban told the grenfell inquiry that he was under pressure following spending cuts in his department, and that at times

he was working on 120 to 130 projects at one time. one of the most contentious battle grounds in the us election campaign is that of race. in yesterday's tv debate president trump refused to condemn far—right groups, and said it was left—wing groups, who he called antifa, who were responsible for the violence in many us cities. 0ur correspondent aleem maqbool has been to portland in 0regan to talk to both sides. there are flashing images in his report. it's become the us capital of radicalism. most american cities have seen some demonstrations this year, but here they haven't stopped. and it's become a huge election issue. well, this is what almost every night has looked like, here in down town portland, in the four months since the police killing of george floyd in minneapolis, with hundreds

of protesters on one side, law enforcement agents on the other, and there have been many flashpoints of violence. some feel over aggression by the security forces has exacerbated tensions, but the white house says this isn't demonstrating about racial justice, just rioting by anarchists or antifa. a riot is the voice of the unheard. so if you don't want riots, maybe you should listen. it's not antifa in the streets. it's the people in the streets. it's the people that are being pushed around, the people that don't have food, the people that can't pay their rent. but it has led to loss of life. in late august, a large convoy of trump supporters drove past the protesters in portland, some firing paintballs at them. later that day one trump supporter from a far—right group was shot dead. the left—wing activist who is suspected of killing him died in a police raid on his home. it's partly why the neo—fascist

group the proud boys earlier this week decided to hold a rally in portland. they'd predicted thousands would attend. in the end it was a few hundred. we're here to shut down this violence and bring awareness, national attention. hopefully donald trump sees this and he's already decreed this an anarchist city, which is great, because it's true. in the debate, when asked to condemn the actions of white supremacists, the president could only manage this. what do you want to call them? give me a name. white supremacists, proud boys, and right—wing militias. proud boys, stand back and stand by, but i'll tell you what, i'll tell you what, somebody‘s got to do something about antifa and the left because... the proud boys have revelled in his response. back in portland, at the same time as the proud boys gathering, an illustration of the totally different worlds on display in the us these days. a rally still focused on why so many black people are killed by the police.

they're trying to say we're trying to destroy america and democracy, but they know that's garbage. they are just falling behind the rhetoric that dehumanises us so that can lower the value of our lives to justify committing acts of violence against us. it's those at this rally who've been taking to the streets night after night. many americans support their efforts to bring about change, but for many others these scenes are making them all the more determined to vote for donald trump. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in portland. the commission that oversees us presidential debates says it'll introduce new measures to ensure the remaining two encounters between donald trump and joe biden are more orderly. tuesday's debate saw the two candidates talking over each other and exchanging insults. during the debate, president trump interrupted his opponent 73 times.

the european union is taking legal action against the british government over the brexit withdrawal agreement. ministers at westminster have admitted a planned new law will breach part of the agreement reached between boris johnson and brussels. the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, said the eu had asked the uk to remove the problematic parts of the internal market bill by the end of september, and that deadline had now passed. as you know, our uk friends intend to breach the withdrawal agreement with the draft internal market bill. we have given them one month to withdraw the difficult parts of the internal market bill. this has not happened. and therefore, the european commission is launching an infringement procedure now. as the withdrawal agreement foresees, we have sent now a letter of formal notice to our british friends because we want this

situation clarified. in the meantime, of course we are working hard to have the withdrawal agreement implemented fully and timely because it is necessary and we stand by our commitments. earlier i spoke to our correspondent, nick beake in brussels. i think it's interesting. we need to sort of step back and look at what is happening here because at the moment trade talks are under way once again in brussels and what, as we have seen for what has happened this morning there is now this legal process under way and i think it is necessary to look at both processes and try and decipher the messages that are coming to. in terms of what the eu and are still a bond alliance said today, talking just a second ago as we heard. i think it was inevitable that the eu did this because they have given the uk an ultimatum to withdraw these controversial parts which would

override the brexit divorce deal. london, you know, didn't do that and i think the eu had to, sort of, put its money where its mouth was and commence these legal procedures. however, proceedings would take months and months. any sort of resolution would come way after the transition period that we are in at the moment comes to an end at the end of this year so for now, i think the focus is on the trade talks and the focus is on the trade talks and the hope is really on both sides that they can smooth out their differences so that further legal action can be avoided. let's get more now on the impact of local restrictions. bolton has been in lockdown for three weeks and let's get the latest on what the impact of that has been. here is rebecca, a business owner. she runs little bolton town

hall with her husband. is it empty for the last few weeks? yes, we are based on the outskirts of bolton so we have not been able to do anything at all. close the door the morning after we were told and yet, we had not been able to come back since. built bolton is going to be brought in line with measures throughout the rest of greater manchester now, isn't it? what is that going to mean for you? we heard today that thankfully our plight, our voice has finally been heard, which we are very thankful for, so we have come into line with the rest of greater manchester which means from saturday we can open again. we are, obviously, then bound by the same rules and restrictions that we have got the 10pm curfew, we have got table service. we are just waiting to find the finer details of the numbers, whether they are a single household or the rule of six but, at the moment, we can open on saturday. and you have got a bar and what else. well, we have got here

notjust a bar what else. well, we have got here not just a bar but event space and the new business was going to be the weddings and corporate events ring which is very much on hold at the minute because there is still a cloud over the six months with the limited numbers for that. we have got a big thing that can hold, you know, hundred and 50 people so with 15 people it isjust not commercially viable. how have you been managing? are you supportive of the restrictions even though they must economically and financially very hard? they are devastating in a lot of ways and that is financially and emotionally, it is exhausting to kind of wake every day and wonder what, if any, kind of wake every day and wonder what, ifany, part kind of wake every day and wonder what, if any, part of your business will survive. but, of course, we wa nt will survive. but, of course, we want people to be safe. 0f will survive. but, of course, we want people to be safe. of course, that's the key that everybody is striving for. i think the issues, potentially are if hospitality is blamed, which it very much feels

like it has been recently, that ongoing negative effect continues. so, you know, people potentially don't come out as much and are fearful, and that then negative impact on revenue and income continues through no fault of our own, no matter how cold it secure we make ourselves. we need people to come and visit us. have you had to put people on fellow? how close you to the financially? these last few weeks has been a really scary time for us. they came out with a policy that says you are shutting down overnight, but alongside that there was no information coming through of support which, you know, they should have put the support package in straightaway to say, you know, we'll help you get through this. so all the staff back on furlough scheme overnight. all our overheads were still coming in, it is an expensive place just to stand still, this, so with three weeks not knowing if we

could open again it's good news today and it is a step in the right direction but ijust don't... but it isa direction but ijust don't... but it is a bigger battle, isn't it? but it is a bigger battle, isn't it? but it isjust not is a bigger battle, isn't it? but it is just not enough is a bigger battle, isn't it? but it isjust not enough to make a survive for the next few months. what you need? what you think the government of the local authorities could do to help you to safe and affordable?” mean, ithink help you to safe and affordable?” mean, i think everybody knows there is no answer book, isn't there, for this? we are alljust kind of trying to find a way. first and foremost, it is, kind of, communication of what the measures are when you go into lockdown, how you get out of it is vital to understand. in terms of support packages, obviously, i really do believe they need to be localised because hospitality is an industry is hugely affected by any lockdown and then the furlough scheme is potentially built—in, local areas to support staff. 0bviously, end of october comes and the furlough scheme ends, and the difficulty for that is we've got to try and maintain a business, help

people keep theirjobs, and things could change again overnight at any point because it's not the last time a lockdown might come, so it's a little bit of clarity of, if things change again, and that has to be done, obviously we will do what we have to do but we need, kind of, immediate support, financially. connection interrupted. system in place doesn't really help hospitality because you've got to give in the hours and then you have got to pay either mesquite and there. i don't think that was really focused very well and i'm hospitality. ok. chris, the better we feel your pain. thank you very much indeed forjoining us. thank you. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines:

new restrictions announced for parts of the north of england including liverpool and middlesbrough following a rise in infections. we've had to take difficult but necessary decisions to suppress the virus. the only alternative to suppressing the virus is to let it rip. and i will not do that. people need to know what is the exit strategy from this and whilst we are in lockdown, we need a support package for the businesses and individuals who are not able to work. an inquest has heard a police sergeant, matt rata na, who was killed at a custody centre in south london while on duty, died from a gunshot wound to the chest. the eu begins legal action against the uk government, because of its plans to override parts of the brexit withdrawal deal. protestors demonstrate against the decision to cut down almost half an ancient woodland to clear the way for hs2.

just to let you know a little bit more on the rules coming from government. it has been announced that the maximum fine for repeatedly breaching the travel quarantine in england is set to rise from £3200 to £10,000. that is the maximum fine if you repeatedly breach quarantine. the fine for a single offence will remain at £1000 but if someone commits a second offence it would rise to £2000, a third offence it would be £4000, and for a fourth or subsequent offence, the fine would be £10,000. that's coming from our travel correspondent. more now on the extension of local lockdown measures in the north of england. households in warrington, middlesbrough, hartlepool and the liverpool city region will now only be able to mix in outdoor public spaces. i'm joined now by professorjennifer rogers, vice president for external affairs, at the royal statistical society — she is also a member of the covid—19 task force.

thanks forjoining us. there has obviously been a lot of confusion and complaints about the varying nature of all these restrictions a lot of people finding them too restrictive. do you think they are necessary? well, when we saw the government briefing yesterday, and we saw that interactive plot that they showed of the uk, and the way that the virus has spread, when we had the first wave of coronavirus, it was very much uniform throughout the whole country, whereas this time it's very different. we are seeing these more localised outbreaks. it's not spreading uniform across the whole country, like it did before, and so they need these more localised restrictions in response to that. and is that down to the way that people live, the density of the population, multi—generational households, how is it explained, these regional shifts?” households, how is it explained, these regional shifts? i think it

will be a combination of all of those things. so throughout the whole country, populations are different, and we have different cities that have different entities, as you said, some areas of the country have got multi—generational families or living together under one house, under one roof, so the country make up is very, very different, and the different geographical areas, and all of that combined is going to have an effect. and hearing there are more restrictions needed in some places and yet according to the imperial study that has come out today, the r number does seem to have gone down a bit in response to this rule of six, possibly? yes, it does seem to suggest that, however, it still is above one, and anything that is above one, and anything that is above one, and anything that is above one means that the infection is growing. ideally you will want that r number to be one or below one, meaning the disease is

diminishing but whilst ever it is above one, it is still growing. yes, i think the estimate went from about 1.7 to about1.1, i think the estimate went from about 1.7 to about 1.1, so it seems like the increase in cases is slowing down, but it doesn't mean that the increase is stopping. we are still seeing this increase in cases. and what about the hospitalisation numbers, because obviously fortu nately numbers, because obviously fortunately the hospitalisation and mortality figures have not been what they were in the spring but again they were in the spring but again they have been going up, and across different age groups. yes. they are not the same as what we saw right at the very beginning in the first wave. the reason for that, though, is that at the moment we have seen that the number of cases have mainly been increasing in the younger generations, and we also know that the younger generations are those that are least likely to need hospitalisation, which is why this increase in cases isn't then leading into a corresponding increase in hospitalisation. the latest data we

saw yesterday did suggest that the number of cases is now starting to increase in those older generations, we have started to see an increase in hospitalisations in the north—east and yorkshire, the north west and the midlands, so it might be that in the coming weeks we start to see that as the cases increases in the older generation, we are going to see a follow on increasing the number of hospitalisations too. finally, when you look at the overall patterns in the numbers in the last few days and weeks, do you think it is inevitable that we are going to see much bigger numbers, or do you think it is still possible to control it? well, i think we have seen this slowdown in the increase that has been very much generated by this rule of six, the local lockdown measures. the hope is that if we can try and introduce more measures like this, then we cannot have the increase in numbers that we saw last time around. and what we also must

highlight is in the first wave, the testing was very different to what the testing is now. in the first wave, the number of reported cases was likely to be a huge under estimate of what the true number of cases was because they won't testing as many people. now we are testing a lot more people, and so the increase in numbers we are seeing, the true number of cases is actually closer to the reported number of cases, so i think we are not actually having as many cases this time round as we are first time round. professor jennifer rogers from the royal statistical society, thank you very much indeed. the government has announced that 6,914 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the latest 24 hour period. another 59 people have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test result — bringing the total number of uk deaths to 42,202.

october is black history month in the uk. for more than 30 years, the annual event has celebrated the achievements and contributions of people of african and carribbean descent. and this year, its organisers say the huge growth of the black lives matter movement means it's more relevant than ever. greg mckenzie has been to meet some of the people involved in this year's events. waiting to be disturbed by the next person who sees in my skin a good reason for a tone dive into condescension. newsreel: arrivals at tilbury, the empire windrush brings to britain 500 jamaicans. from slavery to windrush, britain's black history month isn't about far—away people. it's about uk history. launched back in the 1980s, over seven days, it was a chance to educate and inform people about black history, which wasn't being taught in our schools. the black cultural archives in brixton, south london, holds a treasure trove of research and information, stemming

back some 2,000 years. there's a lot more that needs to be done to understand that black history is not confined to a month, it's not confined to particular periods, especially of recent history in britain, but there's this influence and contribution, you know, stretching back thousands of years. the month of october isn't about creating a separate history, it's simply about remembering a history that already exists. i drown it out with music, screaming at how often i scrape its breath into my palm and will it to beat slower. tolu is a poet, and today, a collection of her works will be published as part of the 20 in 2020 campaign. i mean, if we look at the history of the uk, black people in particular have played a particular part in building the infrastructures of this country.

it's either been built by them or on their backs, and so, black history month is a time to remember that. there will be many events taking place throughout the month of october, up and down the uk, including phenomenal women at the southbank centre in the capital. the exhibition honours the achievements of black women in academia. we both wanted to capture these women as powerful, as symbolising something also about their professions, because if we're going to take the time to do an exhibition, it's really important that their stature and their authority was reflected in the portraits. the recent black lives matter protests have highlighted the reality of the global injustices and systematic racism that black people have faced for years. black history month is a time to look forward and celebrate the here and now, as well as a time to reclaim history and reimagine how shared history will be told in the future. greg mckenzie, bbc news.

a bit more on coronavirus restrictions in the uk. the bbc understands northern ireland's devolved government has decided on new restrictions for the derry and strabane new restrictions for the derry and stra bane council area. pubs, new restrictions for the derry and strabane councilarea. pubs, cafes, restau ra nts a nd hotels strabane councilarea. pubs, cafes, restaurants and hotels will only be open for delivery and outdoor dining. the area has the highest cases of coronavirus in northern ireland. residents will be strongly advised to work from home where they can, and to avoid unnecessary travel to and from this area. this is the dairy and stra bane to and from this area. this is the dairy and strabane cancel area and within it, schools and other educational settings will stay open and it is understood the measures will come into force from next week. that is according to chris page, our ireland correspondent at the bbc. we will bring you more details as we get them.

the young actor archie lyndhurst has died at the age of 19, his family has confirmed. archie was best known to young audiences for his role as 0llie, in the bafta—winning cbbc comedy show ‘so awkward'. he was also the son of only fools and horses star nicholas lyndhurst. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba reports. as 0llie coulton, he was one of the stars of the bafta—winning children's comedy so awkward. and this was archie lyndhurst in this week's episode. showing off his consummate comedy skills. i have an egg... sandwich? no, an egg... and bacon toasty? no, an egg... custard ? why would i want an egg custard for my main course? i don't know, why would you want an unimaginative font for our newsletter? oh, and it comes back to that. you just can't let it go, can you? have you met your mum? she hugs. and you know how ifeel about huggers. he'd been in the show since episode one, in 2015. oh, gosh. it sounds like such

a wonderful evening. don't tell me i can get this? and younger viewers have followed him and his friends ever since... i'm never going to get this. ..as they navigated the challenges of school and of growing up. thanks, ladies. thanks for your time. the man prevents you from rocking the boat. acting, of course, ran in the family. that's how the world changes. and, in one episode, the guest star was his father, nicholas lyndhurst. can i interest you in an abacus app? he frequently played a young jack whitehall, including taking on the role in bbc comedy bad education, and in an introduction video played on one of the comedian's sell—out tours. my troubled upbringing. laughter and he developed beyond comedy, with one off dramatic roles in shows like casualty,

where he played a troubled teenager. so i guess we'lljust have to try our best to muddle through. like a normal family, hey? you think? from the age of eight, archie lyndhurst knew he wanted to act. and his was a career full of potential, cut short at such a young age. archie lyndhurst has died at the age of 19. the headlines on bbc news. new restrictions announced for parts of the north of england, including liverpool and middlesbrough, following a rise in infections. an inquest has heard a police sergeant, matt rata na, who was killed at a custody centre in south london while on duty, died from a gunshot wound to the chest. the eu begins legal action against the uk government, because of its plans to override parts of the brexit

withdrawal deal. a ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds has come into force in england. it will now be illegal for businesses to supply them to customers, though there are exemptions to protect people who need items because of medical conditions. despite their opposing views, both us presidential candidates want to change how social media platforms operate and make tech firms more accountable for illegal and harmful content. debates are raging on and offline about what sort of model is best but one system adopted by germany is increasingly being discussed around the world. 0ur cyber reporterjoe tidy has been taking a look at whether it's worked, and the possible dangers of policing public spaces online? there aren't many things these men agree on but when it comes to social media, they are strangely in step. thank you very much. we are here today to defend free speech from one of the gravest dangers.

both donald trump and joe biden want to take away the us law that protects platforms from being liable for what their users post. donald trump wants to repeal it to reduce censorship. joe biden wants to get rid of it to compel companies into doing more to tackle harmful content. whoever wins the presidency, it seems change is coming to social media in the us. elsewhere, lawmakers around the world are also trying to battle with the issue of hate speech and harmful content. increasingly, many are looking here for answers. germany. it's been nearly three years since a pioneering new law was passed here in germany to regulate social media. it's called the netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz, or netzdg for short. and many countries around the world have seen it as a benchmark for tackling something they are all trying to deal with — hate speech and fake news — on social media. according to danish human rights think tank, justitia, at least 25 countries around the globe, including the uk, have discussed or even adopted

regulation models similar to netzdg. the three main principles of the law are that obviously illegal content must be deleted within 24 hours, or platforms face a maximum fine of 50 million euros, £46 million. networks must make it easy for users to flag offensive posts and they must provide a report on the blocked items every six months. according to a new independent report, commissioned by the german government, the law has broadly made a positive difference. the netzdg evaluation found no evidence that social networks overblocked content but has there been any trickle—down effects to make social networks generally safer and nicer for everyday users? verina is an influencer. she says the majority of online life is positive but if netzdg was meant to reduce nastiness online, it has not worked. i get a lot of hate comments, like people say that i look like a whale or i'm like an elephant. have you noticed a difference between 2018 when netzdg came in and now?

maybe on facebook. but not on instagram. and not on tiktok. critics of netzdg, including the social networks themselves, argue it's too strict and is harming free speech in germany. and there are concerns the law is being used as a template for censorship in other less free countries like turkey which recently passed a similar law. it's a trend that's troubling german lawmakers. if there is no freedom of speech anywhere in your country, or it's restricted, then, of course, yes, netzdg will help you to do the same restriction of free opinion. whilst many countries have looked to germany for answers, soon, all eyes may turn here. joe tidy, bbc news. it's the final weeks of the bbc young reporter competition and the team are looking for unique stories from 11 to 18 years olds around the uk. in its third year, it's an opportunity for young people to highlight the issues that matter

to them, as well as work with teams across the bbc to get their voices heard. joining me now is newsround's ricky boleto, who serves as a judge for the competition, and alex house — alex was the gold winner in the south west region in last year's competition, with her report on support for young people whose parents serve in the armed forces. before we speak to alex, let's take a look at her report. my my name is alex. i am 17 and my dad james is in the royal navy. when i was two, he was deployed to the persian gulf. shall we go and cross off the day? yeah. for when daddy comes home. yeah. i sat down with my dad and worked out how long he's actually been away for in the span of my life, and it's been six years he's been out of the country. it was really challenging to not have him here and be able to have that

connection and notjust pick up the phone and hear his voice. that was the hardest thing for me is to just not hear his voice when i was younger. now i'm going to get emotional. take it easy. just breathe. secondary school was difficult for me with my dad being away so much. i want to know what supporters out there and is it enough. i am supporters out there and is it enough. iam meeting supporters out there and is it enough. i am meeting with four young people from the military kids club. i think the transition from primary school to secondary school is quite big anyway. in my school in particular, i don't really get included in much as a veteran child. icame included in much as a veteran child. i came from a really good military school before, where there is a club every single day. now, there's barely a club once a month. we do have inclusion at our school personally, and we have people who come in and talk about mental health, but it's not the same. the roots of problems aren't the same.

do you find it hard to relate to other students who don't have a pa rent other students who don't have a parent in the services? a lot of the time, yes, because of how much they don't understand where we are coming from and why react the way we do.” also found it difficult to relate to other students with civilian pa rents. other students with civilian parents. when asking counsellor chris penberthy how it helps young people like me he tells me they meet with military children every month. what they say is always very, very carefully listen to, and we have come on and we are on a journey, everyone is on a journey. i want to see more engagement with young people in the city and i want to see more schools doing more because we need to look after the families of our armed forces. we would go to matin cove to see the ship when dad deployed. i can't imagine how my children have waved goodbye to their pa rents children have waved goodbye to their parents in the services from here or at devils point and i know that is not something that will change in the future but what i hope does change is the support there for teenagers with parents in the

services because they think it is really important. that was alex house reporting — congratulations, really interesting piece. alex, istart congratulations, really interesting piece. alex, i start with you, because you started with something very personal, you revealed very private emotions there on screen for eve ryo ne private emotions there on screen for everyone to see. was that hard to do for you? yeah, it was. i think, for me, having to process those emotions without loads of support when i was like 13, 14, was really challenging, and being able to talk to other stu d e nts and being able to talk to other students who have had those emotions too and can have that experience of being ina too and can have that experience of being in a group and sharing those emotions was absolutely fantastic. and you went from your story, you have made that report, just tell us what the process was, who you work with and what did you take from it? soi with and what did you take from it? so i started off writing a short 500 word piece about what i wanted to

write about, why i wanted to write it, and it was really accessible and really quite easy, but obviously very difficult to share those thoughts and feelings, and then once i found out that i got shortlisted, i was put in touch with rebecca, the fantastic reporter at bbc spotlight down in plymouth, and she helped me story brought the whole thing and scripted, and then we started filming it. obviously it was at my home, and then we went over to the different points and interviewed the other students as well, and the whole experience was absolutely fantastic. i can't fault it at all. very good to hear. and ricky, did you have a lot of fantastic entries? are you still taking entries? we absolutely are, we have had so many entries coming to us. this is the third year we have been running the competition and every year it does seem to be getting bigger and better. the deadline is at the end of this month, so the 31st of october. but really the push this year, we've got three categories

that we want young people to enter to tell their stories, so we are looking at uplifting stories, those kind of stories that are inspiring and upbeat. coronaviruses another category this year because obviously the pandemic will be affecting young people's lives in so many different ways, and then the me and my world category which is pretty self—explanatory. category which is pretty self—expla natory. the important thing is that young people don't feel they have to send us a polished piece. this isn't something that needs to run on the ten o'clock news tonight, this is something that we can then adapt and work with all of our different teams can then adapt and work with all of ourdifferent teams in can then adapt and work with all of our different teams in and amongst the bbc, so we are talking about newsround, newsbeat, the one show, a local radio, online, digitalas well. sojust get local radio, online, digitalas well. so just get that story into us, make sure it is original, to something maybe we haven't really cove red something maybe we haven't really covered before and then hopefully we will be in touch. i am one of the judges and i get to judge will be in touch. i am one of the judges and i get tojudge alongside huw edwards and alex jones and some fantastic journalists and hopefully will have some more fantastic pieces

from young people on the bbc next march. absolutely, i can see the ten o'clock news team over there so i can ask them about your piece tonight, alex. iwanted can ask them about your piece tonight, alex. i wanted to ask you more broadly, alex, for you and your friends, do you watch bbc news or other news sources, do you think people want impartial, neutral news or do they want more sort of polemic, more opinion at the moment, or more personal stories like yours? i think it is a bit of a mix, to be honest. me and one of my best friends are really into current affairs and learning about what goes on in the world around us, and i think everybody is so focused on the big issues that are happening, and obviously rightly so, like the presidential election in the us and coronavirus obviously being a massive thing, but also focusing on the smaller stories that are going on that might not necessarily get the media attention that they should, like some of the stories that we are sharing through the competition last year, like

struggles with mental health, and obviously stories like mine that are more regional and more focused around the country but are also still really important and really releva nt to still really important and really relevant to young people of today. alex, are you going intojournalism professionally? i really, really would like to. ijust had the fantastic news that i am actually going to be starting a career in media on monday, so i'm going into pr to begin with, which is aptly fantastic. congratulations, we are here to lure you into journalism, lots of people will be picking up the phone watching. you both so much. let's have a look at the weather now with matt taylor. hello there. developing wind and rain for many of you to go through friday and into the weekend. today, the relative quiet. there is some rain top and tail of the country, certainly developing later on towards wales and the south—west. but in between, clearer skies, some sunshine. just one or two showers to see the day out. let's go into this evening and overnight. rain remains in place in the far north of scotland.

it's set to turn wetter and windier towards the english channel and southern counties of england. in between, though, where we've got the clear skies tonight, just a word of warning, it is going to be a chilly night. a widespread frost, some patchy mist and fog. but all eyes tomorrow, really towards the south because potentially some damaging winds around english channel coast. potential flooding rains around some southern counties as well as this storm alex winds itself up. bringing more wind and rain through the day, pushing northwards into wales and parts of the midlands. may edge a bit further northwards may still a bit further southwards. but the general story for the northern half of the country after some early rain in northern scotland is for a dry day with some sunshine. that will change as we go through to the weekend — after a wet night in england and wales, the rain spreads northwards into scotland for saturday.

this is bbc news. the headlines... new restrictions announced for parts of the north of england, including liverpool and middlesbrough, following a rise in infections. we have had to take difficult but necessary decisions to suppress the virus. the only alternative to suppressing the virus is to let it rip, and i will not do that. people need to know what's the exit strategy from this, and whilst we're in lockdown, we need a support package for the businesses and individuals who are not able to work. ministers at stormont agree new restrictions for parts of northern ireland, with pubs and restaurants in the derry and strabane council area only allowed to open for takeaway and outside dining. the inquest into the death of a police officer in croydon hears that sergeant matt ratana died from a gunshot to his chest