this is bbc news with martine croxall. we'll be live in washington shortly — the headlines at 7pm. president trump's doctors say he is continuing to improve — as he's treated in hospital for coronavirus. they also reveal more details of his condition before he was admitted — he received oxygen twice — but they remain optimistic. if he continues to look and feel as well as he does today, our hope is that we can plan for discharge as early as tomorrow to the white house where he can continue his treatment course. i came here, iwasn't feeling so well. i feel much better. from hospital earlier — the president said he hoped to be back soon, acknowledging that the real test lies in the days ahead. the prime minister says its too early to tell if the latest covid restrictions are working — and urges people to keep

following the rules. thousands ofjobs are at risk as the uk's largest cinema chain considers temporarily closing all of its sites. hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm laura trevelyan. this is the scene at the walter reed hospital in maryland where he president of the united states is being treated for coronavirus. donald trump's medical team says his condition is improving. however, his doctors have admitted he has faced difficulties breathing since being diagnosed with the virus and that his oxygen levels dropped more than once.

he's now being treated with asteroid and an anti—viraldrug. nomia iqbal sent this report from the walter reed medical center. i came here, wasn't feeling so well, i feel much better now. no big rallies, no crowds of supporters but president trump still has his twitter following inside the hospital. after the chaotic handling of the messaging about his health by his staff yesterday, the president clearly decided to do thejob himself and released a long unscripted update on his and the first lady's health. i want to thank everybody, our first lady is doing well, melania asked me to say something as to the respect she has for our country, the love she has for the country. we are both doing well. melania is really handling it very nicely. he even avoided mentioning china, as he usually does when it comes to the virus. we are going to beat this coronavirus, or whatever you want to call it and beat it soundly.

but there were also uncharacteristic signs of hesitancy from a normally bullish president when it comes to his health. so ijust 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 and we will see what happens in those next couple of days. after his performance yesterday, the president's doctor tried again to reassure the american public that the president is really on the mend. as with any illness, there are frequent ups and downs over the course, particularly when a patient is being so closely watched 24 hours a day. we review and debate every finding, comparing it to existing science and literature, weighing up the risks and benefits of every intervention. if he continues to look and feel

as well as he does today our hope is we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the white house where he can continue his treatment course. there has been a real show of support outside the hospital for donald trump which he says he is grateful for but the messaging from the white house is causing real confusion about when he fell ill, who he may have infected and what that means about the president's health. from his team and family, the message remains that he is getting on with hisjob and in charge. but the numbers of cases of people falling ill around him are going up. the latest in his circle is the former governor chris christie who checked himself into hospital last night. he was at the rose garden ceremony last weekend for the supreme court nominee amy coney barrett. it may turn out to be the super spreader event. for the time being, resident trump has for the time being,

for the time being, president trump has to stay inside. he says campaigning for the election has not stopped. operation make america great again is in full swing. and it is also ramping up on the rival side with democratic candidate joe biden hitting the virtual trail last night. both men were meant to meet in 11 days for the next presidential debate which looks increasingly unlikely now. instead, the next few days will be dominated by the question of how ill the president is and when he will be able to return to the fight to hold on to the white house. nomia iqbal, bbc news, washington. as nomia reported, there's been a spate of contradictory information from the white house and doctors treating president trump about how he's been doing. during the briefing on saturday, the doctors insisted the president was "doing very well" and "there is no cause for concern". but those same doctors have just confirmed that his oxygen levels had twice dipped to levels that caused enough concern for them to administer oxygen. well, infectious diseases expert, dr ingrid katz says given the information provided so far, it appears mr trump may have a moderate form of coronavirus. we know from data from very large clinical trials that the medication he is now receiving, dexamethasone, is only really indicated in people who have a need

for respiratory support, and we know from these latest findings that he did indeed need oxygen during this time. so we know, given these two pieces of evidence, that we would at least characterise this as a moderate form of illness. people can be a week or even two weeks out from their exposure before they develop severe symptoms. and in those cases they can often appear relatively symptom—free initially and then decompensate quite quickly, and we have seen this many times over in patients who were in hospitalisation, or mechanical ventilation to support their breathing. and/or mechanical ventilation to support their breathing. this is a very difficult situation. if he were not the president of the united states i probably would err on the side of being cautious and keeping him in the hospital, particularly if he has any need for supplemental oxygen. given that he is the president, i understand the urgency

with which people would like him to return to the white house. and so i think if i could ensure that he would have 24—hour monitoring with an oxygen saturation monitor and supplemental oxygen needed, and ready to be available, with close follow—up, i think it would probably be safe to send him back to the white house. dr ingrid katz there. well, there are concerns whether president trump's diagnosis could disrupt the functioning of government. steve yates worked as a national security adviser to vice president dick cheney during the bush administration. he believes it will be business as usual in the white house. 18 years ago when president bush temporarily had a pause for a medical procedure, vice president cheney was made acting president and it didn't change much for anyone except the men involved.

the national security council remains, the national security council remains doing itsjob is, and in terms of the staff that is there that are meant to support the operations of the presidency. of course, it is different working things from walter reed hospital, but for the most part, everyone that works for a president, republican or democrat, they are pretty much 100% committed tojust doing theirjobs. by all indications so far he does seem to be pushing through this and the symptoms do not seem as severe. we hope that remains the case and he gets back to the job and the election proceeds. it was wise to move him off site for two reasons. one, just in case things got worse he would be where the best treatment is available, rather than moving the treatment to him. and, b, to get the white house cleaned up, if in fact there was infectious bacteria around the white house, it's important to clean up that space and get people out for a time to do that. those are some of the operational

explanations for what was going on. the most compelling message is going to be able to see the president in a day or two, possibly even tomorrow, and how does he come across. if he comes across as healthy and in charge, then that's basically going to be the end of the discourse unless there are facts put in evidence that say otherwise. steve yates. these are live pictures outside the walter reed medical center, his loyal supporters hanging on his doctors' every word, willing him to get better, and it'sjust doctors' every word, willing him to get better, and it's just 30 doctors' every word, willing him to get better, and it'sjust 30 days doctors' every word, willing him to get better, and it's just 30 days to the election. that's the scene as the election. that's the scene as the president is facing a third night in hospital but could be discharged as early as tomorrow. laura trevelyan in the us. well, here in the uk we are awaiting the release of the latest figures on new confirmed cases of the virus — and deaths. yesterday there were almost 13,000 new cases reported —

close to double the previous day's figures — the government has said that was due to a technical glitch that had prevented all the new infections from previous days being recorded. our health editor hugh pym says government sources are saying this is a "serious issue" but is has been "contained". the backlog of cases going back to the week ending 0ctober ist were not properly entered into the nhs test and trace system in england. this meant that people who had been tested positive did get the information but their contacts were not immediately followed up. there was a delay there which sources say was unfortunate and the figures were distorted yesterday as these numbers were put in. i gather that the latest figures out shortly will also be up at that high level, 12,000 or 13,000, and the trend will probably revert back to what it was but this comes at an unfortunate time. it is just when ministers and policymakers and health officials really want to know

what is going on with the spread of the virus, and there have been rows over testing figures. so this comes at a difficult and embarrassing time for ministers. hugh pym, our health editor. borisjohnson has warned that the pandemic would mean a very tough winter — but that he hoped things would be radically different by the spring. boris johnson was speaking in a bbc interview — as the conservative party conference got underway online. this report from our political correspondent iain watson contains some flashing images. how times change. despite a big election victory, many of borisjohnson‘s winning policies have been obscured by the coronavirus crisis. temperature check here. the political temperature is rising with covid cases going up and his poll ratings coming down. today he acknowledged people's frustrations but delivered the grim news that it might not be all over by christmas. they are furious with me and the government but, but, i have got to tell

you in all candour, it is going to continue to be bumpy through to christmas. it may even be bumpy beyond. labour are accusing him of losing control of the virus. he acknowledged testing needed to improve and promised it would. it is not perfect, i'm not going to claim it is perfect. am ifrustrated with it? yes, of course i am. am i going to blame nhs test and trace and attack the thousands of people who are doing a good job? of course i'm not. but i take full responsibility for the service, i think by international comparators, it is really very good indeed. boris johnson will speak online to his virtual party conference this week and some of the faithful want him to reflect on his performance as prime minister. i have been speaking to some long—standing conservative mps and some of the new intake and quite a few of them say they still want further proof that boris johnson, having battled the virus himself, is still up for the job, and some say they would like to see the old boris back, the man who used

to denounce the doomsters and gloomsters but who, these days, seems to be the bearer of bad news. this is a government facing an unprecedented crisis and i think that if people wanted me to approach it with, you know, the sort of buoyancy and elan, and all the other qualities that i normally bring to things, i think people would think that was totally inappropriate. and as for his health... the issue is that when i alas got this wretched thing, i was too fat. but i am fitter than several butchers' dogs! as for other people's health, household and other people have been living under enhanced restrictions since august and some want to know when it will end. if the restrictions are still as confusing, i think it might increase even more because people willjust do their own thing. i do think it's going to destroy 0ldham. pubs are restricting people coming in, people aren't going in. we need to abide by the rules so it won't last longer than it has to.

labour says more clarity is needed on when and why restrictions are imposed. we are not going to blame the british public like borisjohnson tried to do, we are proud of what the british public are doing. we understand why local restrictions may be needed but andy burnham has been saying it's a bit like hotel california, places go into these restrictions, you check in but can never leave. borisjohnson says we should go forward without fear but with common sense, but it seems that balancing act may have to be maintained well into the new year. iain watson, bbc news. more than 5,000 jobs at the uk's largest cinema chain have been placed at risk after cineworld said it was considering the temporary closure of all its venues. cinemas have been hit hard by the release of big—budget films being delayed — most recently the latest james bond which won't now be out until the spring. our business correspondent, katy austin reports. most cinemas have now reopened but social distancing is limiting

capacity and many big—budget films have been postponed. the films that cinema operators have been banking on in order to rebuild the business, in order to generate revenue, pretty much all of them have disappeared and we are now facing a situation whereby between now and at the end of the year there are almost no significant films. james bond... struggling cinemas, or those who still hadn't yet opened, were hanging their hopes on the newjames bond film. on friday, its release was delayed for a second time from november until next april. cineworld, which lost £1.3 billion in the first six months of this year amid the pandemic, is writing to the government saying the industry has become unviable. it is expected to announce it will close its uk sites, potentially putting more than 5,000 jobs at risk. this afternoon, cineworld confirmed it was considering the temporary closure of its uk cinemas and those

in the us but said a final decision had not yet been reached. 0ne cinema industry analyst told me he expected other chains to hibernate their sites. if they remain open, they have to demonstrate they have content to play, so perhaps some arthouse or independents have a different stream of content but for the main stream multiplex cinemas globally, they have to make a sensible decision. without many big movies remaining in this year's schedule, experts are concerned that when delayed movies finally open, there will be fewer places to show them. katy austin, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news. president trump's doctors say he is continuing to improve — as he's treated in hospital for coronavirus. they also reveal more details of his condition before he was admitted — he received oxygen twice — but they remain optimistic. here — the prime minister warns there could be "a very tough winter" ahead, as the country deals with coronavirus. the cinema chain — cineworld —

is expected to close indefinitely in the uk and elsewhere — with more than 5,000 jobs are at risk here. at least two people have died and dozens more are missing after storm alex struck south—eastern france and northern italy — destroying bridges, blocking roads and leaving communities isolated. it's been described as the worst storm to hit the region for more than 60 years. mark lobel reports. catastrophic scenes for this french commune. yelling an 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 out to the lady and tried to tell her to come out, but nothing. and in the end, the whirlwind crashed right through the house and the house floated away, and them with it. france's prime minister has announced financial support and deployed the army to help these crushed communities. "the priority is to find the victims," he says, "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 lucky. a firefighter lost his life, and a 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. and this woman says water came up to her knees, ripping down shelves. as calm follows the storm, they are left to count the cost of the clear—up. mark lobel, bbc news. heavy rain has brought flooding and travel disruption to parts of the uk — with more than a0 flood warnings in place. these are some of the pictures from somerset which has been particuarly badly hit. homes have also been flooded in hampshire, hertfordshire and northumberland. in scotland, safety checks have been carried out during today on railway lines and bridges following heavy overnight rain. hundreds of muslims are being welcomed back into saudi arabia's great mosque

in mecca to perform the pilgrimage of umrah — after a seven—month pause because of coronavirus restrictions. the numbers will be limited but saudi nationals and foreign residents will be allowed to perform the ritual. millions of muslims from around the world would normally arrive in saudi arabia for the pilgrimage. the home secretary has announced the ‘biggest overhaul‘ of the uk's asylum system ‘in decades'. speaking at the conservative party conference — priti patel said the current system is ‘fundamentally broken‘ and promised an overhaul of the laws would be ‘firm but fair‘. ms patel pointed to the failure of successive governments of being unable to control the high levels of migration into the uk. she warned that changes to the system would take time to implement. i will introduce a new system that is firm and fair. fair and compassionate towards those who need our help. fair by welcoming people through safe and legal routes. but firm because we will stop

the abuse of the system. firm because we will stop those who come here illegally, making endless legal claims to remain in our country at the expense of the british public. and firm because we will expedite the removal of those who have no legitimate claim for protection. after decades of inaction by successive governments, we will address the moral, legal and practical problems with the asylum system. because what exists now is neitherfirm norfair. and i will bring forward legislation to deliver on that commitment next year. i will take every necessary step to fix this broken system, amounting to the biggest overhaul of our asylum system in decades. but i‘ll be honest with you, this will take time. the home secretary priti patel. the spanish capital madrid has been put back under partial lockdown because of an increase in the number of coronavirus cases. spain has the highest infection rate

of any country in europe — but the re—imposition of the controls is proving controversial. damian grammaticas reports. in spain‘s capital, what every government, what every scientist has feared — covid—19 surging again. 10,000 new infections every day, a second wave breaking over an already battered country. so what‘s the reason for this resurgence? it seems spain may have been too hasty to lift the original lockdown that brought the first wave of the virus under control, too quick to let people back into bars and restaurants, and too slow to build an effective system to test, identify and isolate new cases. intensive care units are overflowing, extra icu beds again being used. the warning signals are everywhere. psychologically, it‘s the worst thing. because all the people are afraid the tsunami will come again.

spain, like many countries, has been trying to target infection hotspots with local controls. but it‘s not been working. like this part of madrid, home to 200,000 people who already had a fortnight restricted to essential movements only. this wave is not as bad as the height of the pandemic, but one in four tests for covid—19 in madrid has been coming back positive. in recent weeks spain, like the uk, brought in its own rule of six, limiting gatherings to six people, told bars and restaurants to stop serving at 10pm. now the restrictions are being expanded to many other areas. expanded to many more areas. translation: we all went back to work, crammed into trains, metro and buses.

the infections are back because they didn‘t control it. miguel hernan advised spain on its first lockdown and says the new measures may be too little, too late. what we have seen in spain over the summer is a serious warning that we cannot relax, that there is the possibility of a serious second wave all over the world. a warning to london, to new york and other cities? right. so is this what might come to madrid‘s rescue? trials of a new rapid test for covid which costs less than $5 and takes just 15 minutes to get a result. "we needed those tests sooner," says carlos. "this neighbourhood‘s been abandoned." but until testing can be done at scale, and with a health system heading towards saturation, spain may stand as an example of what happens if countries let things slip out of control. damian grammaticus, bbc news, madrid. lecturers and staff at northumbria university

in newcastle are considering taking industrial action, saying their concerns about face to face teaching have been ignored. 770 students have officially tested positive for covid—19 since returning two weeks ago. the university and college union said it warned the university that it was far too soon for a mass return to campus. stuart whincup reports. the testing continues. instructions are inside packs so read them before starting. now they must wait for the results and see if they will follow their friends into isolation. results and see if they will follow their friends into isolationm results and see if they will follow their friends into isolation. it has been quite scary, really. just the possibility of getting locked down in our flat without support is quite hard. i feel like we can't do anything until we do get the results. but once we do i feel like we will be a bit more relieved. results. but once we do i feel like we will be a bit more relievedm has been an absolute nightmare, really. not being able to go out. it is the curfew, really. i sort of

disagree with it a bit because it just means more people have parties so just means more people have parties so it is more likely to spread anyway. but while the students make their feelings known, anyway. but while the students make theirfeelings known, some lecturers are considering taking industrial action. they claim their concerns about face—to—face teaching have been ignored. we saw what other universities were doing in terms of deciding to go more online or delay the start of teaching, our university elected not to do that. we said there would be consequences from this. no one likes to say i told you so but that‘s the situation we have found ourselves in. in a statement, northumbria university says the health, safety and well—being of its staff and students remains its top priority. it says its arrangements for teaching follow government guidance and a key aim of that guidance is to retain face—to—face teaching where it‘s safe to do so. the university says it will discuss any concerns with the unions. stuart bbc look north. —— stuart whincup.

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 seniorfigures who lived around 2,500 years ago. tim allman reports. archaeologically speaking, the sands of saqqara are the gift that keeps on giving. for around 3,000 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. notjust 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. another chapter in the ancient history of a country truly blessed with reminders of its past. tim allman, bbc news. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with helen. hello there. it has been a thoroughly wet two or three days for many parts of the united kingdom. some of the wettest areas have had over 100 millimetres of rain on sunday morning. of rain to sunday morning. that is above the october average

falling in three days and it has kept falling today. there have been some areas where we have seen sunshine around the centre of this low pressure area, but it is such a slow—moving area of low pressure with its bands of cloud, it is only slowly going to meander its way northwards and stay with us so there will be further wet weather. perhaps more showery in nature. there are numerous flood warnings in force at the moment, we expect that number to rise. you can find out more information from our website on where exactly is affected. this is how we have seen the rain through the early part of the afternoon falling across scotland, northern ireland, across southern wales, southern and eastern parts of england. in between that, it is looking brighter but heavy showers coming down and around the periphery of the area of low pressure we have the added complication of strong winds, gusts of around 50—55 mph in the south—west, even stronger through the channel islands. the rain bands continue to meander

around the area of low pressure through this evening and overnight. turning showery and again, temperatures should hold up. it will not be very cold anywhere, six or seven. but some bright weather. even a little bit of mist first thing in the morning. this area of low pressure is going to be with us for the next two or three days. further showers, longer spells of rain, brisk winds. it stays disturbed and unsettled. around the southern area of that low pressure. for monday, it looks like the rain is more showery for some parts where it has been persistent during the day but we could see it returning to northern ireland and wales in western england. in between, though, those showers can be quite heavy with hail and thunder. temperatures a little higher than those of today, particularly notable towards the south because we have more sunshine around. the devil will be in the detail with those showers, the wind whips up again through tuesday across some areas. england and wales, more showers.