president trump and the first lady in quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus. the couple will self—isolate in the white house for ten days. their diagnosis comes after one of mr trump's closest aides, hope hicks, also tested positive. the president announced the news in a tweet, saying, "we will get through this together." world leaders have been wishing them well... well, obviously i think we all want to send our best wishes to the president and the first lady, and i've done that this morning, as you can imagine, and i'm sure that they'll both stage a very strong recovery. we'll be asking to what extent mr trump's age, gender and weight make him more vulnerable to the virus, and what it means

means for the presidential election campaign. also this lunchtime... the first minister of scotland calls on one of her mps to stand down, after she travelled by train despite knowing she had coronavirus. this is not a minor breach of the rules, it's not an inadvertent breach of the rules. it's a really flagrant and dangerous breach of the rules. two billionaire brothers from lancashire win a takeover battle for the supermarket giant asda. and, on your marks... elite athletes arrive for this weekend's london marathon, but coronavirus means it will be a race with difference. and coming up on bbc news, one of the biggest names in rugby league, sam burgess, is under investigation in australia after accusations of domestic violence and drug—taking. the player's lawyer says all the allegations are false.

good afternoon, welcome to the bbc news at one. "we'll get through this together" — the words of president trump, after being told both he and his wife melania have tested positive for coronavirus. it comes after hope hicks, one of the president's closest advisers, also tested positive. at 7a years of age, the president is in a high risk group, but his doctor says he and the first lady are well at the moment and planning to stay at the white house for their ten day quarantine. the president has often been criticised for not wearing a mask and underplaying the dangers of covid—19. from the united states, here's peter bowes. breaking news. president trump and the first lady test positive for the coronavirus and are in quarantine in the white house. this is one of

those days, you go to bed one way and you wake up and the world has totally changed. it doesn't seem real, but it totally is. a bombshell like no other — a month before the presidential election, donald trump and his wife melania, the first lady, have tested positive for coronavirus. it followed news that one of his closest advisers, hope hicks, has the disease. she experienced symptoms of covid—19 while accompanying the president at a rally in minnesota. she was quarantined on the presidential plane back to washington. earlier in the week, she'd travelled to cleveland in ohio with mr trump for the presidential debate. she was seen arriving with his team not wearing a mask. last night, mr trump told fox news he found it difficult to maintain social distancing. it is very hard when you are with soldiers, airmen and marines and police officers, i am with them so much, when they come over it is hard to say, stay back,

stay back. it is a tough situation, it isa stay back. it is a tough situation, it is a terrible thing. the president confirmed his diagnosis in a tweet. the first lady later tweeted that they were both feeling good. the president's doctor said both were well at this time and "plan to remain at home within the white house "during their convalescence. "rest assured, i expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering." we have it so well under control. we really have done a very good job. it is going to disappear one day, it is like a is going to disappear one day, it is likea miracle, is going to disappear one day, it is like a miracle, it will disappear. so far, we have lost nobody to coronavirus in the united states. from the start the president consistently played down the seriousness of the virus and has been criticised for opening up

america too soon. at the debate, president trump was pressed on his relu cta nce president trump was pressed on his reluctance to embrace their wearing a face mask. i wear masks when needed. i don't wear masks like him, every time you see him, he has got a mass. you could be speaking 200 feet away from him and he shows up with the biggest mask i have ever seen. mrtrump is now the biggest mask i have ever seen. mr trump is now confined to the white house for an indefinite period and has cancelled a rally scheduled for tonight in florida. this has long been an issue in the presidential campaign with the democrats accusing mr trump of failing to alert the nation of the severity of the disease and ignoring the advice of his medical experts. the virus has killed more than 200,000 americans and multiple states are experiencing a surge in cases. for months, mrtrump states are experiencing a surge in cases. for months, mr trump has been belittling joe biden for isolating himself at home in his basement and for wearing a mask during his public

appearances. the us vice president, mike pence, who would take over from donald trump if he became too ill, has tweeted his love and prayers to the president and his wife. wejoin millions across america, praying for theirfull and millions across america, praying for their full and swift recovery. election law in the us means the country will go to the polls on november the 3rd, but what happens between now and then is far from clear. they talk about the october surprise in american politics, but this is uncharted territory. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. borisjohnson has wished the president and first lady a speedy recovery. the prime minister, who himself tested positive for coronavirus and had to go to hospital, is among a series of world leaders to have sent the couple their good wishes as our diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. donald trump's positive test for covid—i9 may have plunged the american election into turmoil, but it also potentially has consequences for

the rest of the world. an interrupted election is one thing, an incapacitated us leader would be another. one man who knows what the president is going through is borisjohnson, who caught coronavirus in march and became so ill he spent days in intensive care and later said, "it could have gone either way." as he recovered in hospital there was a lot of personal sympathy then for the prime minister. the question now is whether the president will garner similar support, or face fresh criticism for understating the threat of the coronavirus. for now, his namejoins a growing list of global figures laid low by covid. the president of brazil, jair bolsonaro, fell ill injuly after refusing to social distance. the president of honduras and his wife tested positive injune, the president of guatemala tested positive last month. and, of course, closer to home, the prince of wales went into isolation after catching the disease in march.

this morning, amid jittery financial markets, messages of support flooded in from around the world. japan's economy minister spoke of a major impact on the markets and said he hoped mr trump would recover as soon as possible. in a tweet, the indian prime minister, narendra modi, wished president a quick recovery and good health. chancellor merkel of germany said she hoped mr and mrs trump recover well from their corona infection. and vladimir putin, who makes visitors pass through a disinfecting tunnel before they meet him, sent mr trump a telegram saying he was certain the president's vitality, good spirits and optimism would help him cope with the virus. james landale, bbc news. medical experts say president trump is at a higher risk from covid—i9 because of his age, gender and weight. he's 7a, which makes him more likely to need hospital treatment than someone in their 20s.

and at 17.5 stone, he's also categorised as clinically obese, and therefore more vulnerable to the disease. here's our health correspondent, catherine burns. president trump has had an interesting relationship with precautions like face coverings. here he is in my touring and mask factory, but not wearing one. by july, a change of heart, tweeting many people say it is patriotic to wear a face mask when you cannot socially distance. but watch him getting irritated with a mask wearing reporter last month. you are going to have to take that off, please. how many feet are you away? if you don't take it off, you are very muffled, so if you take it off it would be easier. i would speak a lot louder, is that better? it is

better, yeah. now this letter from the president's doctor confirming donald and maloney a trump had tested positive but they are both well at this time. we know the president is tested routinely, so it is likely this has been caught early on. small amounts of people are asymptomatic and of course they would have a very good prognosis. i think we will know more in a week, exactly how the disease has played out. many people with this virus just get mild symptoms. if they get sick they tend to be ill for about five to seven days and then either start to recover, or become more seriously ill and may need hospital care. seriously ill and may need hospital ca re. coronavirus seriously ill and may need hospital care. coronavirus is more of a risk the older you get. people aged 64 to 74 and america are five times more likely to need hospital care and 90 times more likely to die than someone times more likely to die than someone in their 20s. the president is 74, mail and medically obese. all

these factors would put him in a higher risk bracket, but he is also reasonably active with regular games of golf. it is one thing to see a pattern across an entire age group, you cannot really apply that risk to one individual person. the closest i can give you is that he has a one in 25 chance of being quite seriously unwell. but you have to put that in context, he has a 24 out of 25 chance of not being unwell and pulling through this, which i really hope he does. one way of looking at this is to think if someone gets covid—i9 it doubles the risk of dying that year. so by far, most people with the health profile of the president would recover. catherine burns, bbc news. let's speak to our washington correspondent, gary 0'donoghue. election only a month away? what does this mean for the election

campaign? in the immediate future, it means the cancellation of a rally the president was planning today in florida and one at the weekend in wisconsin. there will also be a huge round of testing in the white house now. we have heard from the spokesman from the vice president, that he has tested negative, along with the second lady, karen pence today. mike pence was with the president on tuesday before he went to the debate in ohio in cleveland. also, we know the former vice president, joe biden, who was across the stage from the president on tuesday night, is planning to have a test this morning to see if he picked up anything from the president during that debate. they we re president during that debate. they were socially distanced, but they we re were socially distanced, but they were still eight to ten feet away and they were yelling at one another for quite a lot of that time. there will be a lot of testing, a lot of people trying to work out how they will do thejob with people trying to work out how they will do the job with the president isolating himself. how does the

leader of the free world do the job of president when he cannot see anyone. then there will be the question of whether or not he will need therapeutic treatment if he sta rts need therapeutic treatment if he starts to develop any symptoms. some of those require intravenous application of things like plasma and render some air. would he have to go to hospital? so many questions. 32 days until the election, only two weeks until the next presidential debate, this has thrown everything, and i mean everything here in america, into absolute chaos. thank you very much, gary 0'donoghue, live in washington. the rest of the news now leonardo da vinci: the anatomist let's speak to our washington correspondent, gary 0'donoghue. the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, has called on one of her mps to stand down from parliament after she took a train from london to glasgow despite knowing she had coronavirus. margaret ferrier has apologised

for breaking covid rules, and has been suspended from the party. nicola sturgeon said the mp‘s actions were indefensible. here's our political correspondent, nick eardley. margaret ferrier with nicola sturgeon last year. after travelling from london to glasgow, despite testing positive for coronavirus, she has been suspended from the snp group at westminster and is under intense pressure to resign com pletely intense pressure to resign completely from parliament. her actions were reckless, dangerous and com pletely actions were reckless, dangerous and completely indefensible. i feel very angry on behalf of all of you. i have also spoken to her directly and made crystal clear to her, that i think she should now resign as an mp. i would like to start by paying tribute to all nhs key workers... this is margaret ferrier in parliament on monday. her decision to attend has caused outrage. 0n saturday she had shown symptoms and had taken a coronavirus test. at that point, she should have

isolated. 0n that point, she should have isolated. on monday she felt better and travel to london. after speaking in parliament, she received a positive test result and at that point, by law, she should have isolated but travelled back to scotla nd isolated but travelled back to scotland on tuesday morning by train. it is not if, it is when, margaret ferrier must stand down and resign as a member of parliament. she has no ability now to deliver the message from both governments. she is coming under considerable pressure to quit parliament, not just from her political opponents, from many inside the snp. that would trigger a by—election in her seat. it is not clear when that will take place during the pandemic. crucially, the snp cannot force her to stand down and as things stand, the decision is hers alone. the snp are facing questions about who knew what and when. the party says it became aware of margaret ferrier‘s positive test on wednesday, but not

that she had travelled after showing symptoms and after getting a positive result until thursday. 0ne person in parliament has been told to self—isolate as a close contact. unions have said parliament should ta ke unions have said parliament should take no action. how could somebody put us at risk? we cannot allow for that. the fact is, we advise people what to do, how to behave if you show symptoms, please stay away. if you need a test, go and get a test, but whatever you do do, don't come into the house of commons. margaret ferrier has not made any public comment since her apology last night and for now, it remains an mp. an official survey of coronavirus infections in england has found some evidence that the steep rise in cases last month may be starting to level off, though it's too soon to be sure. the office for national statistics says nearly eight and a half thousand people are contracting covid—i9 every day. the data comes as restrictions in more areas of northern england come into force tomorrow. anna collinson reports.

it has been a week of confusion for many. one in four people in the uk are now living under some form of extra coronavirus restrictions. but the picture varies depending where you are. and from tomorrow new strict measures will be introduced in middlesbrough, hartlepool, warrington and liverpool. while it means further upheaval for struggling businesses, some health officials wanted them to go further. we are seeing the impact on our hospital system already. we know the number of hospital admissions due to coronavirus has increased tenfold since the start of the month. frankly i am worried this hasn't quite gone far enough. to be fair this isn'tjust about rules, this is about people doing the right thing. it is estimated one in 500 people in homes across england had the coronavirus at the end of september. the figure is the same as last week but the office for national statistics said it is too early to say infections are falling. new data from public health england

suggests infection rates are highest in the north west and yorkshire. the government says it is constantly monitoring the situation. we want to strike a sensible and pragmatic balance between controlling the virus and making sure that other things that matter to all of us including protecting livelihoods, education and mental health and our broader way of life can be maintained. what are the latest rules for the uk? in wales 2.3 million people are currently banned from meeting with other households indoors. they are also not allowed to leave the affected areas without good reason. in northern ireland and scotland you cannot meet in someone's home if you don't live with them. new restrictions on businesses are coming in for derry and strabane. in england there are measures in much of the north and midlands. residents cannot mix outside their household in a house or garden. the welsh government has also announced those living in lockdown areas will be allowed to form a bubble with another household and meet them indoors. the idea is indeed to ease some

of that sense of loneliness, isolation, not being able to talk to anyone else. there is more than one form of harm from coronavirus and a sense of mental well—being is an important thing that we can make a difference to through this change. it is claimed a three—tier system of local lockdown measures would simplify an increasingly complicated situation, with different levels indicating the severity of infections. an announcement is expected next week. anna collinson, bbc news. the time is 13:19pm. our top story this lunchtime. president trump is in quarantine in the white house after testing positive for coronavirus. the diagnosis comes just a month before the presidential election. and warnings of a catastrophic threat to britain's ancient woodlands from ash dieback. coming up on bbc news, a good day for ian poulter at the scottish open. five birdies in his second

round moves him towards the top of of the leaderboard at the renaissance club in east lothian. dozens of postmasters have been told that the post office will not contest appeals against their convictions for fraud in the wake of a scandal involving its horizon computer system, which saw cash disappear from local branches and postmasters prosecuted. the post office has apologised for what it called "historical failings," and is now reviewing 900 prosecutions that may have relied on horizon evidence. our legal correspondent clive coleman reports. iand i and delighted to inform you that they are not contesting your appeal. delightfulformer sub they are not contesting your appeal. delightful former sub postmistress jo hamilton, whose life was turned upside down when she was accused by

the post office of taking £36,000 from the village shop she runs in hampshire. today they said they would not contest her appeal against conviction. in 1999 the post office introduced a computer system called horizon to manage local post office finances. over the following 15 yea rs, finances. over the following 15 years, hundreds of postmasters and personages were prosecuted after the system showed cash shortfalls at their branches. they were held responsible for the missing money because they supposedly had sole control of their horizon accounts, but they denied any wrongdoing. many we re but they denied any wrongdoing. many were fired, went bankrupt over even sent to prison. a bbc panorama investigation revealed managers new problems with horizon could make money disappear. the criminal cases review commission reviewed 47 appeals against conviction to the court of appeal and crown court. dozens of postmasters and postm istresses have dozens of postmasters and

postmistresses have been told that the post office will not contest their appeals. oh, it isjust amazing, honestly. 12 years, we have been fighting for this. to have it in black and white that they will not contest it, it is an enormous moment in my life. i cannot believe, andi moment in my life. i cannot believe, and i still don't understand why they pursued as like they did. all they pursued as like they did. all they had to do was sort it out, and when they contacted us theyjust kept going. it is now all but certain the convictions will be quashed. last year the post office paid out £58 million to settle a civil court case brought by 530 postmasters. during the trial, the postmasters. during the trial, the post office admitted remote access to horizon without the postmasters‘ knowledge was possible. in what is a major public scandal, more convictions could be challenged as the post office is now reviewing 900

prosecutions that may have relied on horizon evidence. borisjohnson will hold talks tomorrow with the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, as the two sides seek a breakthrough in post—brexit trade negotiations. formal negotiations end today, and there's still no agreement in sight. let's speak to our correspondent in brussels, nick beake. time really running short now, nick? it is, and that is exactly what ursula von der leyen has said in the pasty minutes, she has called for talks like a —— is intensified because time is running out, and she said both in english and german, where there's a will, there's a way, so optimistic, but the sites are not where they wanted to be. they wanted to be writing to the text of an agreement, which has not happened. we had a meeting of the two chief negotiators this morning ending without an agreement so tomorrow ursula von der leyen and boris johnson will have this call, trying

to chart a future pass. that could involve more discussions, more runs of negotiation. at this point there was some speculation that both sides would take stock of the situation, they would gamble and enter the channel. buy with me, i realise that sounds like a saturday evening game show, but the idea of a tunnel is it isa show, but the idea of a tunnel is it is a period of very intense negotiations, fewer officials involved, a media blackout and then they emerge with a deal. the consensus among eu diplomats is that we are not yet at that point, but as angela merkel of germany said in the last minute, this is a crucial phase. many thanks. asda is being sold to a consortium led by two billionaire brothers from blackburn. the supermarket is currently owned by the american retailing giant, walmart. our correspondent emma simpson is here. what does this mean for asda and its customers? this is the first time in

two decades as they will return to british ownership. it is being bought by two brothers and a private finance company. his brother started up finance company. his brother started up with one petrol station in greater manchester in 2001 and turned a small family business into a global empire, they are successful entrepreneurs. this morning i have been speaking to roger burnley, the boss of ulster, he said it would be a tidbit. -- boss of ulster, he said it would be a tidbit. —— the boss of asda, he said it would be a good fit. they will invest at least £1 billion in asda over the next three years. the transaction has obviously only just been signed this morning, but we're excited to talk to them about our strategy and all the opportunities we have to grow the business together. so these brothers obviously sell a lot of the john so these brothers obviously sell a lot of thejohn the purchase station forecourt so they know a lot about convenience stores, something that

asda does not have, and they're working on a small trial to sell asda projects on its forecourts. that could be one of these big opportunities. i should that could be one of these big opportunities. ishould point that could be one of these big opportunities. i should point out that walmart will still retain a minority stake, but this is a huge, audacious deal pulled out by these brothers, but it might meet regulatory approval. thank you, emma simpson. the national trust has warned ash dieback has become a catastrophe for british woodland, causing permanent damage to our landscape. the charity will spend £2 million pounds this year cutting down affected trees, after the dry spring caused perfect conditions for the disease to spread. woods that inspired beatrix potter and john constable are among those affected, as phil mackie reports. birds tweeting. a healthy ash tree at sunset in shropshire. its leaves are taking on their autumn colours and so far there is no sign of disease. but ash dieback has had a good year, it's spreading fast. these trees in gloucestershire are marked for felling. in this ancient woodland, the disease is rife. you can see the effects

best up in the canopy. the ash are dying and the surrounding trees will come back to life next spring. the crowns have pretty much died back and we getting all the signs of stress, disease and canker. and the same for these here, i guess? matt stanway is a ranger at the ebworth estate. the ash tree makes up a significant number of our trees as a tree species. i think about a fifth of the nation's trees are ash trees. and in this area we have a significant number of ash trees, so for us we are looking to have to fell up to 7000 trees in this part of the cotswolds. the fungus that causes ash dieback arrived here in 2012. it's thought it could kill between 75 and 95% of all ash trees. scientists are working on a solution, finding trees that are resilient, extracting their dna to see if they can breed resistance into the next generation. the trees that are already dying in the british countryside, there's not much we can do to save them. but our hope is that by breeding trees with more resistance, we will be able

to repopulate the british countryside with native ash trees that have resistance to ash dieback. and that will be the long—term solution to this pandemic. even the saplings are affected and in fact, the first sign that ash dieback had reached this part of the cotswolds was in some of this fresh growth. you can see that the branches are dying back to the main stem, the leaves like this are dying off. it's really rather sad. as storm alex rages overhead, the statue, the spirit of the woods, keeps a watchful eye. after a long, dry summer, ash dieback has spread more quickly, and that means his view is going to change. there is hope, you know, that by taking these trees out we have a chance to increase the diversity of the species in our woodlands. you know, species which we would choose are resilient to climate change, are fantastic homes for wildlife and also show great public benefits in terms

of the aesthetic and the landscape. but first, more drastic surgery is needed. the national trust says it already faces a £100 million shortfall in funding because of the pandemic. now it needs to pay for the removal of thousands of trees which present a safety risk. phil mackie, bbc news, gloucestershire. organisers of the london marathon have insisted the event will retain its traditional spirit, despite the unique circumstances of this year's event. to prevent mass gatherings, only the elite competitors will actually race in central london. but thousands of runners who would normally pack the capital's streets will now run the distance in their own towns and villages, asjoe wilson reports. here's how the london marathon can happen. the world's best runners living in a secret hotel. they've been tested — and protected — before race day. they can even train in the grounds of the hotel, day or night. in central london, st james park is encircled. the marathon itself restricted.

it all happens here. well, on sunday morning it willjust be the elite competitors here. they will do 19 laps of the park's perimeter road. but this marathon will meet officials regulations. there won't be anything special to help eliud kipchoge. well, apart from his platform shoes, provided legally by his sponsors. progress, he says. the shoe is good. we live in the 21st—century, whereby first we need to accept change, second accept development goes hand—in—hand with technology, so we need to accept technology in our hearts. a. the women's field is held brigid kosgei, world record—holder and last year's london winner. -- is —— is headed by. remember how it was, how it's always been? thousands on the streets. well, the masses will still run, will still raise money for charity, but distantly. virtual london marathons will be completed far and wide.