welcome to bbc news. i'm james reynolds. our top stories: donald trump says he's doing well in hospital where he's being treated for coronavirus but expects to remain there for the time being. you don't know, over the next period of a few days, i guess that's the real test, so we will be seeing what happens over those next couple of days. meanwhile, as more senior republicans test positive, we ask — was last week's unveiling of the president's supreme court nominee at the white house a super—spreader event? and in other news, civilian areas come under fire as the conflict in the disputed region of nagorno—karabakh intensifies. at least people are killed and more than 30 missing after storm alex hits parts of south—eastern france and northern italy.

president trump is free of fever and improving after being hospitalised with covid-19 but is not yet out of danger, according to his physician, dr sean conley. in a statement released in the last hour he said mr trump was not yet out of the woods, but his medical team remains cautiously optimistic. earlier the president released a video in which he said he feels much better but that the next few days would be a "real test". let's listen to mr trump now. i want to begin by thanking all of the incredible medical professionals — the doctors, the nurses, everybody — at walter reed medical centre — i think it's the finest

in the world — — for the incrediblejob they've been doing. i came here, wasn't feeling so well. i feel much better now. we are working hard to get me all the way back. i have to be back, because we still have to make america great again. we've done an awfully good job of that, but we still have steps to go, and we have to finish thatjob. i'll be back — i think i'll be back — soon. and i look forward to finishing up the campaign the way it was started and way we've been doing, and the kind of numbers that we've been doing. we've been so proud of it. but this was something that happened, and it's happened to millions of people all over the world, and i'm fighting for them, notjust in the us. i'm fighting for them all over the world. we are going to beat this coronavirus, or whatever you want to call it, and we are going to beat it soundly. so many things have happened. if you look at the therapeutics which i'm taking right now, some of them, and others are coming out soon that are looking like, frankly, they are miracles,

if you want to know the truth. they are miracles. people criticise me when i say that, but we have things happening that look like they are miracles, coming down from god. so i just want to tell you that i'm starting to feel good. you don't know — over the next period of a few days, i guess, that's the real test, so we'll be seeing what happens over the next couple of days. i just want to be so thankful for all of the support i've seen, whether it's on television or reading about it. i most of all appreciate what's been said by the american people, by almost a bipartisan consensus of american people. it's a beautiful thing to see, and i very much appreciate it, and i won't forget it — i promise you that. i also want to thank the leaders of the world for their condolences. they know what we are going through. they know, as your leader, what i have to go through.

but i had no choice, because i just didn't want to stay in the white house. i was given that alternative — stay in the white house, lock yourself in, don't ever leave, don't even go to the oval office. just date upstairs and enjoy it. just stay upstairs and enjoy it. don't see people, don't talk to people and just be done with it. and i can't do that. i had to be outfront. this is america, this is the united states, this is the greatest country in the world, this isthe most powerful country in the world. this is the most powerful country in the world. i can't be locked up in a room upstairs and totally safe and just say, "hey, whatever happens happens" — i can't do that. we have to confront problems. as a leader you have to confront problems. there's never been a great leader that would have done that. so that's where it is. i'm doing well. i want to thank everybody. our first lady is doing very well. melania asked me to say something as to the respect that she has for our country, the love that she has for our country. and we are both doing well.

melania is really handling it very nicely. as you've probably read, she is slightly younger than me — just a little, tiny bit — and therefore, we know the disease, we know the situation with age versus younger people, and melania is handling it statistically like it's supposed to be handled, and that makes me very happy and it makes the country very happy. but i am also doing well, and i think we are going to have a very good result. again, over the next few days, we are gonig to probably know for sure. so i just want to thank everybody out there — everybody — all over the world, specifically the united states. the outpouring of love has been incredible. i will never forget. thank you very much. that is president trump

speaking in his suite at the walter reed army medical centre. several trump supporters have gathered at the hospital. the president will now start his second night in hospital. so what questions does that video answer and what questions does it not answer. here's our north america correspondent peter bowes. well, i think that video was donald trump being donald trump, taking control of a situation after really a day of and mixed messages, at least in terms of our interpretation of what his doctors were saying and what we heard the white house chief of staff had said in a briefing to reporters. his doctors being very positive, saying he was responding to treatment and that his symptoms were going away. but then we heard from the chief of staff, and a line that he gave in a briefing, which seemed to be more reserved and suggest that the course ahead wasn't so clear

and that the president perhaps wasn't out of the woods yet, to interpret those words. well, i think this is now the president taking control. we often say that he describes himself as his best press spokesperson, and i think that's exactly what he is doing. he is there upfront in a video that lasts about four minutes, dressed in a jacket with no tie, as we saw, but looking 0k — a little tired perhaps — but making the point that he went into hospital not feeling well, and he is feeling a lot better now. being positive about the outcome, at the same time acknowledging the next 2a to 48 hours will be crucial. that reflects what his doctors have been saying. but most of all and clearly a message to his many supporters that he wants to be back as soon as possible.

to be back out there working on the campaign, which he says he believes he will be back doing soon, and using that phrase, "making america great again". that's what he sees his job being moving forward. overall this is the president simply wanting to portray a very positive outlook for himself as he battles this condition. talking about being out there, a lot of attention is on that event in the rose garden in the white house on saturday last week, the nomination of a supreme courtjustice. peter, we learned that the number of people at that event have now tested positive. yes, a lot of individuals from republican senators — chris christie, the former newjersey governor, very close to the president. he was involved in preparing the president for the debate that he had earlier in this past week, withjoe biden, and of course in fact he attempted — wants himself to get the nomination for president. he wasn't successful. but he is certainly in the president's inner circle. he has tested positive, and he has tweeted that he has in fact checked himself into hospital. he has underlying health conditions. several people, as you say, at that event just a week ago,

and it does seem to be a focal point of the virus — perhaps a covid cluster, as some people describe it — which must be very concerning for others who were there. who have had tests. the results haven't been revealed yet, but it does show how in a closed confined area this virus can spread extremely quickly. well let's speak now with norman ornstein, a leading us political scientist and resident scholar at the american enterprise institute he joins me now from washington. let's talk about contingencies. the 25th amendment addresses residential incapacity. no—one says it is needed now. —— president. there are two ways with which incapacity can be dealt with. the president directly signed an order that says i am going to be unable to perform my duties for a period of time and i turn them over to

the vice president. that has happened before four a brief period. george w bush twice went for a colonoscopy and for two hours gave the authority directly to the vice president. ifa directly to the vice president. if a president cannot sign such an order, if he's a ventilator oi’, an order, if he's a ventilator or, undergoing dementia, that requires a more formal operation. it requires a majority of the cabinet and the vice president to sign a declaration and have it approved by two—thirds of the house of congress. that obviously is not going to happen because it is very cumbersome. we have a little bit of a great area but right now it is not at all clear when the president is going to be out of the woods and it does

not look great. you have written one scenario in the washington post, there is no pa rt washington post, there is no part in law or the constitution who has presidential authority if both the president and vice president are both on ventilators. the 25th amendment deals with inability or incapacity for a president that has no provision for a vice president. if a president and vice president are unable to perform their duties. we have something else, a law that deals with presidential tra nsfer of deals with presidential transfer of authority, that succession act of 1937 and if you do not have a president or vice president, next in line is the speaker of the house, followed by the senior member of the majority in the senate and then the cabinet in order

of succession. but if they are both incapacitated, there is no mechanism to turn that authority over to the speaker and, of course, the speaker is of the different party to the president and more than likely if nancy pelosi said, i will ta ke if nancy pelosi said, i will take over as acting president, she would have to resign to do that. no doubt the attorney general would say no, you cannot do that. the secretary of state would say i will be in charge, the president chief of staff might say i will take over and, let's face it, the bottom line is, if you have questions about who is on top in the chain of command, who can issue the ultimate orders for the armed forces when you have adversaries looking at this and knowing there is a period of vulnerability, it is a really bad thing and we have not prepared for it. i have tried since 9/11 to get things

change but so far without success. change but so far without success. thank you very much. my success. thank you very much. my pleasure. you can keep up—to—date with the president? condition by heading to our website. let's get some of the day's other news: and in other news, civilian areas come under fire as the conflict in the disputed region of nagorno—karabakh intensifies. our correspondent, jonah fisher, sent this report from the region's capital, stepanakert, which has come under heavy shelling. one of the world's oldest conflicts... explosions ..is very much alive. we are being shelled

in stepanakert, nagorno—karabakh. stepa na kert. it's an ethnic armenian town that under international law belongs to azerbaijan. the reality of life in nagorno—karabakh for the last few days, under assault from the air — it sounds like artillery but there have been drone strikes too. those azeri shells hit this residential building near our hotel, killing one and destroying the homes of dozens of others, like 78—year—old rita, who once had azeris as neighbours. we had many friends from azerbaijan here but now we are enemies. great enemies. i, personally, don't want to live with them and don't want to speak to them. this first week of war

has been marked by azerbaijan's use of military drones striking at will. nearly three decades after losing nagorno—karabakh, the azeris appear intent on claiming it back. they are trying to invade, and they do everything to invade, to terrorise the people and civilians here. that is why they are using drones and aerial strikes in this way? for sure. some have seen enough and are leaving to find safety. anoush tells us her husband has gone to the front line and she must get out with their children. but the aerial threat is never far away. this soldier is warning that drones have been spotted, and shortly afterwards there is an explosion nearby. everybody is scrambling to come in here. a real reminder, as they were fleeing,

as to why this place is increasingly dangerous for people, under attack, day and night. jonah fisher, bbc news, stepa na kert. this is bbc news. our top story: donald trump has tweeted a video from hospital saying he's doing well but still expects to remain at the walter reed medical center for a few more days. at least three people have died and at least 30 are missing after storm alex struck south—eastern france and then moved into northern italy. it destroyed bridges, blocked roads and isolated communities. italy's piedmont region saw levels of rain not seen since 1958. areas of france suffered power outages as winds brought down power lines. mark lobel reports. catastrophic scenes for this french commune, and intense rescue effort to get out in time. roads, bridges and homes

washed away. an elderly couple took refuge on the roof of this house but their home was swept down the river. translation: we tried to convince them to come out and unfortunately, we didn't succeed. the road manager managed to reach his hand up to the lady and tried to tell her to come out but nothing, and in the end the welby and crashed right through the house and the house floated away and then with it. from's prime minister has announced financial support and deployed the army to help these crushed communities. translation: the priority is to find the victims and provide accommodation for those affected. as well as restore the means of communication for those hardest hit. in northern italy, roads

and bridges were swept away too. residents rescued from their roofs. but not everyone was so their roofs. but not everyone was so lucky. a firefighter lost his life and man in his 30s, whose car was swept into a river. beach clubs were flooded. towns destroyed. and on italy's coast, it was not business as usual. this woman says she has to laugh not to cry. this man says his food products are unsellable. as kant products are unsellable. as ka nt follows products are unsellable. as kant follows the storm, they are kant follows the storm, they a re left kant follows the storm, they are left to count the cost of the clear up. mark lobel, bbc news. one place that's avoided flooding is venice, thanks in no small part to a new but long—delayed barrier system that was used for the first time. a network of 78 barriers now guard the entrance to the venetian lagoon and stopped high tide inundating the city with water. venice has suffered with perennial flooding and the multibillion—dollar defence system was supposed

to be up and running in 1999. let's get some of the day's other news. guatemala says it has deported more than 2,000 migrants who entered the country illegally in the past few days as part of a caravan heading north towards the us border. local media reported that hundreds of hondurans agreed to leave, and others were put on military trucks and sent back. a peace deal has been signed between the government of sudan and an alliance of rebel groups, aimed at ending decades of conflict which have left hundreds of thousands of people dead. several heads of state attended the ceremony, which took place in juba, the capital of neighbouring south sudan. the british prime minister borisjohnson and the european commission president ursula von der leyen have acknowledged significant disagreements must be overcome before the two can agree a post—brexit trade deal. the two leaders said they'd instructed their chief negotiators to work intensively to try to bridge the gaps. now let's take a look at all the sports news.

hello, welcome to the bbc sport centre. we start with football, and everton are top of the english premier league after making their best start to a top flight season since 1969. carlo ancelotti's side beat brighton 11—2 with dominic calvert—lewin scoring in the same week that he got a first england call—up. two goals from james rodriguez and another from yerry mina sealed a fourth straight win for everton. the last time they did that in the top flight, they won the league. i think we managed well the situation of the game because they had possession and we had composure with composure defensively, we had opportunity to score and we were good as usual and so i think the performance was complete and this is the reason we deserve to win. the season hasn't started as well for pep guardiola's

manchester city side. they've dropped more points. this time at leeds as their record signing rodrigo cancelled out raheem sterling's opener. 1—1 the final score at elland road. leeds are fifth while city have just one win from their opening three games. of course we are far away from the top of the league. we have to start to winning games and if not we will not be possible and it has become a marathon on with champions league and all of the teams have this situation but yeah, it was emotionalfor me the situation but yeah, it was emotional for me the way we play the last 10—15 minutes and eve ryo ne play the last 10—15 minutes and everyone around so play the last 10—15 minutes and everyone around so i am play the last 10—15 minutes and everyone around so i am so delighted, the performance they did. chelsea beat crystal palace with four second half goals as frank lampard appealed for chelsea's fans to be patient as his new look side takes shape. summer signing ben chilwell scored their opening goal, kurt zouma added a second beforejorginho converted two penalties to make it 4—0. elsewhere, newcastle beat burnley.

transfer news and manchester united are set to sign the uruguayan striker edinson cavani. the 33—year—old is due to fly to england on sunday to complete the move. the deal is yet to be finalised, although it's expected that he will sign a 2—year contract. cavani is a free agent after leaving paris saint—germain at the end of last season. in italy, the local health minister has told napoli they cannot travel to turin for sunday's match against juventus after two players and one staff member tested positive for coronavirus. well, juventus say cristiano ronaldo and co will be on the pitch for kick—off regardless and that the club is ready to play the match. that's despite two members of the club testing positive for the virus. problems too in the nfl as the new england patriots game against kansas city chiefs has been postponed after multiple positive tests. patriots quarterback cam newton is one of the players to contract the virus. the game will be rescheduled to monday or tuesday after more tests.

world number one novak djokovic has eased into round four of the french open. he beat colombian qualifier daniel elahi galan in straight sets, dropping just five games on the way to victory. next up for the world number one is 15th seed karen khachanov for a place in the quarters. there were wins too for greek fifth seed stefanos tsitsipas and 2—time wimbledon champion petra kvitova in the women's singles. and finally to one of cycling's grand tours, the giro d'italia, where britain's geraint thomas finished fourth in the opening stage. the time trial was won by thomas's team—mate filippo ganna, who claims the leader's pinkjersey. thomas, who won the tour de france in 2018, was 26 seconds ahead of british rival simon yates. that's all the sport for now. the authorities in egypt have unveiled dozens of ancient

coffins recently discovered at a burial ground near cairo. it's thought they contain the remains of priests and other senior figures who lived around 2,500 years ago. it's the first such discovery to take place since the coronavirus pandemic. tim allman reports. archaeologically speaking, the sands of saqqara are the gift that keeps on giving. for around 3000 years, the dead were buried here. and now, once more, it gives up its secrets. dozens of ornately decorated coffins, found buried deep below the surface. not just an important historical find, but the source of some national satisfaction, too. i'm very proud that this discovery of today, with 59 wooden coffins in perfect condition of preservation, was done by egyptian mission and egyptian hands. the coffins are believed to date back to the 6th or 7th century bc, around the time

of the 26th dynasty, the last native rulers of egypt before the persian conquest. their occupants were most likely priests, dignitaries, traders, important figures, and there may well be more to come, with other coffins still to be found. so today is not the end of the discovery. i consider it is the beginning of the big discovery. these sarcophagi will now be moved to the soon to be opened grand egyptian museum. —— these sarcophagi will now be moved to the soon—to—be—opened grand egyptian museum. another chapter in the ancient history of a country truly blessed with reminders of its past. tim allman, bbc news. you can reach me on twitter. —— a reminder of our top story, president trump is beginning a second night in the walter reed national military medical centre outside washington. earlier, he released a video on twitter in which he said he had

been unwell but was now feeling better. to stay with bbc news. —— do stay with bbc news. hello there. it's been a thoroughly wet night up and down the country and we continue with more heavy rain this morning, in fact maybe across western and southern areas, where we're likely to see more transport disruption, some further flooding in places. and it's here where the winds will be strongest as well. all tied in with this area of low pressure. you can see where the isobars are closer together across more western and south—western areas, and this is where we will have that weather front as well, bringing that heavy and persistent rain. now, the amber warning across south—west england and wales is likely to persist up until around midday today, so we could see further flooding here through the morning period, whereas further north, the amber warning across eastern scotland should expire early this morning as the rain begins to pivot away and push

towards the west. so we should see a little bit of brightness appearing here as the day wears on. the heaviest of the rain will tend to be across northern ireland, down into wales, south—west england, across the south and south—east as well. but even here, the rain should start to move away as we head on into the afternoon. central areas — lighter winds, some sunshine around. and here we will see some heavy, slow—moving showers. temperatures reach around 15 or 16, and it will be quite chilly across the south—east. into sunday night, it looks like those rain bands begin to spread away from the uk. we will continue to see lots of showers spiralling around the centre of the low. lengthy clear spells in between and when that happens, it could turn chilly in one or two spots — generally 8—10 for most. low pressure still with us as we head on into the new working week for monday. it will be slowly filling, which means it will be gradually weakening through the day, so conditions should slowly improve as we move through the week.

but for monday, again, we will see scattered showers around, the winds not quite as strong, some of the showers that develop could be on the heavy side again. some could merge together to produce long spells of rain. but in the sunshine, again, we could see 15 or 16 degrees, and that is where we could see some of the heaviest of the showers. as we move out of monday, i will show you our area of low pressure, beginning to drift north. it opens a north—westerly wind across the uk which will drive in a few showers, but we should also see good spells of sunshine as well. so i think it's really a slow improvement as we move through the week. that low pressure system moving away. and if anything, by the end of the week, high pressure will start to build in, so that will settle things down.

this is bbc news. the headlines: on his second day in hospital, donald trump has tweeted a video thanking well—wishers, and says he's making progress but admits he still expects to remain at the walter reed medical centerfor a few more days to come. and in other news — despite international calls for calm, fighting has intensified in the disputed region of nagorno—karabakh with reports of civilians being targeted. armenia's president says the country is facing a "decisive moment" as it battle azerbaijan for control of the region. at least two people have died and 25 people missing after powerful storm hit southern france and north—western italy. villagers have suffered damage in nice. the worst flooding in living memory.