this is bbc news i'm kasia madera. the headlines at 8pm. tougher restrictions in scotland — as pubs, restaurants and cafes that sell alcohol across the country's central belt — including glasgow and edinburgh — are ordered to shut to slow the spread of coronavirus. without action, and this is perhaps the starkest warning in today's evidence paper, we are likely to return to the peak level of infections we had in the spring by the end of this month. and, the new restrictions mean no unnecessary journeys on public transport and face coverings will soon be mandatory when moving around workplaces in scotland. as infection rates soar in some cities — there are warnings that some hospitals in northern england are already seeing admissions levels similar to those back in april. four men have gone on trial over the deaths of thirty nine

vietnamese migrants found dead in a lorry in essex. two ex—british alleged islamic state militants are charged in the united states over the killing of four american hostages. could tonight be the most important us vice presidential debate in history? mike pence and kamala harris prepare to go head to head on live tv. and all aboard for one of the last surviving d—day veterans — harry billinge is honoured with a high speed train in his name. good evening, and welcome to bbc news. pubs, restaurants and cafes that sell alcohol in glasgow, edinburgh and the central belt of scotland have been ordered to close for 16 days

from friday to try to slow the spread of coronavirus. in the rest of scotland licensed premises must shut by 6pm and cannot serve alcohol indoors. the first minister, nicola sturgeon ruled out a return to full lockdown but she warned that without swift action, infection rates could return to peak levels by the end of the month. in recent weeks there has been a sharp rise in new cases across scotland — with new positive cases exceeding 100 a day across the belt between glasgow and edinburgh. the new restrictions come into force at 6pm this friday — the start of many school holidays — and last more than 2 weeks. restrictions are tightest in the central belt — where licensed bars, restaurants and cafes will only be allowed to offer a takeaway service to more than 3 million people who live there. in the rest of scotland a curfew‘s being imposed from 6am to 6pm for all indoor hospitality — and no alcohol can be sold indoors.

rules on face coverings are being tightened too — in coming weeks they must be worn indoors in all communal settings like workplace corridors and canteens. here's our scotland editor, sarah smith. they will not be any of that this weekend. there will be no drinking and side bars and restaurants in scotland for over a fortnight. the news that no one wanted to hear from a politician that knows this will be unpopular but she says short sharp measures are required. without them there is a very real risk that the virus will run out of control by the end of this month. but with them we hope to slow down its spread and that will help us keep schools and businesses including hospitality open over the winter and fundamentally it will save lives. it is an announcement that could be hard to swallow.

if it is a short—term fix, then so be it, let's have it but if it carries on for the next few months it is obviously not going to be ideal. i probablyjust will not see people, that is the hard truth. if you are stopping alcohol at that time people are going to be forced to go into each other‘s houses anyway. s i don't really see the point. venues like this take so many anti—paper—mac precautions they do not think they pose a risk. we have not had it happening here. we have rules and regulations and face masks and hand sanitiser. we are protecting our customers and staff and people are not doing that in homes and where they are going and gathering in groups. it is already the case that we cannot meet to socialise in each other‘s homes in scotland. now people cannot meet for a drink in a bar or license restaurant either. it's pretty harsh. but the scottish government see if it wasn't for the need to think aboutjobs and people's well—being

they would go further. aboutjobs and people's well—being to explain why it is shutting down much of the hospitality industry the government published some of their scientific peak levels of infection by the end of the month and includes data showing that about a fifth of people with coronavirus have visited bars and restaurants. but that does not prove they are being infected in places like this. you cannot put people out of a job on a hunch. without the science to back it but and the fact it is incredibly well policed do not understand it and we are not being told why. faced with rapidly rising infection rates the scottish government feel the need to act. in terms of this virus, we are trying to restrict households meeting indoors where we know with airborne transmission, poor ventilation, physical distancing being difficult, the virus has a chance to spread. we already cannot meet in each other‘s home, so what is the next likely candidate?

the next likely candidate, unfortunately it is hospitality especially where alcohol is being sold so that is the research bases for where these measures are being introduced at the current time. glasgow has the highest coronavirus rates in scotland and now, along with the rest of central scotland, some of the tightest covid restrictions on the whole of the uk. sara smith, bbc news, glasgow. the government is likely to tighten coronavirus restrictions for parts of england on monday — including the possibility of closing pubs and restaurants, the bbc understands. the government is expected to introduce three tiers for local lockdowns — but ministers are now discussing how severe the top tier should be. meanwhile, the infection rates are climbing — on average across england there are now 55 cases per 100,000 people. but across northern england the situation is much worse. (ani but across northern england the situation is much worse. manchester has 561 cases per 100,000 —

in liverpool there are 516 per 100,000. and now there are signs of an increase further south, in the midlands and east midlands with nottingham now recording 440 cases per 100,000 people — 0ur correspondent, dan johnson has spent the day there. in some of our biggest cities there is fear. it is terrifying because we do not know how long this is going to go on for. i didn't really want to come here today because they had gone up so much but we risked it. there are appeals for more action. we do have to do something. hopefully not a fill up their own but who knows? —— hopefully — — hopefully not —— hopefully not a full lockdown like we did last time, but who knows. restrictions to get it over with and reduce the spread. it is not ideal. it's not what i would like. calls for greater clarity. i look at what the scots are doing and that seems to be clearer messaging from the scottish government it is the balance between public health and keeping the economy going. how long is it going to go on for if people are not

taking it seriously? that's what i'm worried about a lot. case numbers have surged here pushing nottingham to fifth in the country. this has been the quietest day since we opened injuly. and sam is seeing the impact. i think it is quieter today than yesterday because of the rise in cases. that is more than fair to say. people are afraid to come out? i think so. yeah. the cry for help tightening the rules comes right from the top. i think whatever restrictions come and i would plead with the government to make them straightforward and easy to understand. some people, a small number of people, are ignoring the restrictions now, but others are confused. i have had many emails this morning asking what people should do. in leeds extra measures are already in place but cases have kept rising. ijust hope it does not come back to a full lockdown again where people can at least come and have some sort of socialising, some sort

of eating out experience. it is very sad because our lives are our children and grandchildren and we cannot see them and we are old. i do not see how they can restrict me even more. i do not mind if the close pubs altogether. backin back in the midlands, there are voices urging a different approach. all you are doing is stopping business, stopping people enjoying themselves, and they have achieved nothing as far as i can see. what do you think should happen? let things go back to normal, take all the restrictions away. but further restrictions on the way as the city and others struggle to keep the virus control. danjohnson, dan johnson, bbc news, danjohnson, bbc news, nottingham. the latest government coronavirus data shows there were — 14,162 new coronavirus infections recorded

in the latest 24—hour period — a similar number to yesterday. it means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is 13,002. hospital admissions jumped significantly on sunday — now on average 496 people are being admitted every day over the past week. this number doesn't include scotland. 70 deaths have been reported — that's people who died within 29 days of a positive covid—19 test — again a similar number to yesterday. it means on average in the past week — 53 deaths were announced every day — which takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 42,515. our health correspondent catherine burns has been looking in detail at the figures. all markers of how bad the virus is right now, whether it's rising, and by all these markers, over the trend, yes, it is rising.

a really interesting one to look out for is hospital admissions because that tells us who is so sick that they need to be in hospital right now. so our most recent figures for that were 508 people. now, to put that in context, the beginning of april when we were at the peak, there were about 3000 hospital admissions a day, so we are about a sixth of the level we were at then. but, still, we know that numbers, overall, if you take the trend, are rising. so, the most recent figures we have for the numbers of people and hospital were on monday, and on that day, there were 3145 people in hospital. if you go four days back, there were ,2447, so you can see that there is this increase. another thing i also think is interesting to look for is the number of people on ventilators. so that's the most second. right now, there are 410 of them. —— so, that's the most sick. northern ireland's chief medical officer has said the rate of the increase of infections there is "alarming". dr michael mcbride has warned that if the current trend continues, in two weeks‘ time hospital

admissions in northern ireland will be "as high as they were back in march" during the first wave of the pandemic. dr mcbride says the public‘s actions in the coming days will determine how bad the situation becomes. and the chief executive of nhs england has warned today that increasing coronavirus cases will make for a tough winter ahead — and said the health service will have to be "agile" in its approach to a second wave of infection. sir simon stevens told the nhs providers annual conference, that 2020 had been ‘without doubt the most challenging year in the history of the nhs‘. nhs providers as a foundation for nhs providers as a foundation for nhs trust in england. chris hopson is their chief executive. joining us live now, certainly extremely challenging. we are hearing these discussions of potentially restrictions being tightened across england. something potentially the prime minister will

be announcing on monday. is that something that your members will welcome? well, i thought your health correspondent‘s bit earlier was interesting, because what she was concentrating on where the national figures, but when you talk to chief executives of hospitals in the northeast, north—west and yorkshire asi northeast, north—west and yorkshire as i was doing today, what they are saying to us is, those figures are skewering the fact that actually come in their regions, they are as busyin come in their regions, they are as busy in terms of number of hospital admissions from coronavirus patients, some of them are as busy as they were in the peak of coronavirus. so we just need to be careful about just focusing on national averages or a national aggregate pictures when actually, this definitely is something that is affecting each region differently and we know that in some regions, this really is the transmission rates, but also the hospital admission rate is rising very rapidly. equally, there are some regions where, actually, it is fine at the moment, and will —— you

haven't got a transit —— significant transmission rate. where they are under pressure is saying, yes, they can see there is a real case for having tighter lockdowns in those areas to ensure that the nhs can deal with the volume of people coming into hospital. so, in that case, you are welcoming the kind of regional lockdowns and spotlights on particular areas there? yes, but what is quite interesting is if you talk to chief executives and other people as well, what they will say is what they're nervous is and concerns are coming from is the fact that some of these areas have been in local lockdown for a considerable period of time but it doesn't seem to be having the kind of impact that is needed in terms of bringing the transmission rate down to where it needs to be. so there are local lockdowns and there are local lockdowns. in other words, you need to be very clear about how tight and how tough those lockdowns are going to be. i think we all recognise that

all of us wouldn't like to be here and that we can see the frustration that some people have. again commit was featured in your package that some people have around chafing against wanting to actually get out of these restrictions, but the reality is if we are to ensure that we get this transmission rate under control, and that we don't have very large numbers of people coming into hospital about the nhs will struggle to deal with, we will need tougher lockdowns in some places. so, yes, we are expecting to see that. we need to see that announcement quite quickly. to go back to your points, in some places where you do have restrictions, the numbers are still not going down and you are still seeing cases arise. what is not working in those particular areas there? well, it's difficult to tell, because there are differing arrangements in different parts of the country, and what is clear is you just look at the data in terms of transmission rates but also

hospital admissions. of transmission rates but also hospitaladmissions. but of transmission rates but also hospital admissions. but we know there are some places of examples in there are some places of examples in the northwest that have had restrictions in place for a long time, but actually, the admission rate is still kind of climbing, and we do know that in some areas, it is difficult to make the restrictions stick. a number of different reasons, partly they will be because people are fully aware of what the restrictions are, partly because they will be because people aren't observing restrictions. so, you know, all of us in the nhs would say to people, "please, please, if there are to people, "please, please, if there a re rules to people, "please, please, if there are rules in place, to observe them." and the people we do need to be really careful about, again, so one of the things that we know, that young people, certainly the opinion poll evidence seems to suggest that young people are feeling, welcome actually come if i get this, it won to bea actually come if i get this, it won to be a problem, but i think wejust need to recognise that as soon as you start interacting with particularly more bondable people and older people, than you do have the risk of passing on the transmission, and clearly, we know this because of the way the evidence

shows that the older you are and the more you have, for example, obesity, 01’ more you have, for example, obesity, orfor example more you have, for example, obesity, or for example that you are from a black and ethnic minority background, the risk increases. so although there are some people who aren't affected by this virus, we just need to be really careful about passing it on to others who are considerably more vulnerable. can also ask you in that case, when it comes to the more vulnerable, it particularly with reference to the barrington declaration from it this focused protection of the vulnerable, is that something that your members would like to see? well, so, again, there is clearly an argument going on, a debate going on, and international debates going out about the best way of tackling this, and we kind of know, given that we are in the second peak for the first time, in a sense, it's legitimate that there is a debate. the nervousness i have about the people who signed the great barrington declaration is that, actually, if you don't put those tough lockdown arrangements into place and you just say all we need

to do is protect the most vulnerable, you still don't cut the transmission rates, and i think there's quite a strong argument that in particular, if you want to protect those people, and you want to ensure that the nhs can carry on not just treating covert to ensure that the nhs can carry on notjust treating covert patients, but also a particularly as we go into this busy winter period, ensure that we can treat people who get ill overwinter, we need to ensure that we cut the transmission rate, therefore, i think the vast majority, all of our members would be saying that tougher lockdown is clearly one—way, probably the best way of achieving that. and we saw that, didn't we, when we had the first phase, what stopped it was having a very tight lockdown. chris, we will have to leave it there. the chief executive of nhs providers. thank you so much for your time, thank you. thank you. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has accused the government

of lacking clarity in its handling of the coronavirus crisis. speaking at prime minister's questions, sir keir said people couldn't understand why some communities were under local restrictions and others weren't. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. masks in the morning. for the commons speaker and his entourage. a sign you can see that once more the pandemic is at the front of parliament's mind. the question is the prime minister... with doubts here over whether ministers' strategy is really working at all. 20 local areas in england have been under restrictions for two months. prime minister, in 19 of those 20 areas, infection rates have gone up. something has gone wrong here. i wish i could pretend, mr speaker, everything was going to be rosy the midlands or indeed in london, where alas we are also seeing infections rise and that is why we need a concerted national effort. not enough for labour...

so will he level with the people of bury and bolton and tell them what he thinks the problem is? what we are doing a combination of national and local measures which one week he comes to this house and supports and the next week mysteriously he decides to whisk his support away. whether in sunderland or salford, more than 17 million people in the uk are living with extra limits already. nearly 30 million in england. but as the disease spreads might there be more? everyone round here is desperate to avoid another national lockdown but with cases still rising, further clamp—downs are likely to be on the way. the treasury is nervous about extra rules talking of the economy so is looking at extra support for pubs in the north of england and beyond if they had to close. for their part, the department of health is keen on a system of different tiers — where

parts of the country would be put into different clear categories but the opposition and tory mps are getting more and more sceptical as each day goes by and whatever the government is proposing. there are a lot of complicated factors here and number 10 has yet to decide. as the need to act further seems to become more urgent in westminster, tensions are rising among the politicians who will have to deal with restrictions on the ground. too much is being decided behind closed doors without the detail being provided to council leaders and mayors, and that is not acceptable given the seriousness of the situation. the government is moving to a different phase but with no announcement perhaps until monday the detail will have to wait. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. much mind altering a virus to its on oui’ much mind altering a virus to its on our website. the european council president has told borisjohnson it's "time for the uk to put its cards

on the table" in post—brexit trade negotiations. charles michel spoke to the prime minister this afternoon. both sides agreed that "significant areas of difference remain" in trade talks. downing street said mrjohnson told the council president that businesses and citizens needed "certainty very soon". two former—british islamic state prisoners are travelling to the us to appear in court in connection with the killing of western hostages. alexanda kotey and el shafee el—sheikh are accused of belonging to an is cell dubbed "the beatles" involved in kidnappings in iraq and syria. earlier, the us assistant attorney—generaljohn demers had this to say. kotey and el shafee were members of the notoriously brutal aces hostage kotey and el shafee were members of the notoriously brutal isis hostage taking cell that became known as the beatles — named by their captives gave to them because of their british accents.

the defendants are charged with terrorism offences related to hostage taking and killing of four americans as well as citizens of great britain and japan. for over a year, kotey and el shafee were held in iraq by the us military under the law of armed conflict. i'm pleased to confirm that they are now in fbi custody and will soon appear in federal court in the eastern district of virginia. today is a good day, but it is also a solemn one. today, we remember the four innocent americans whose lives were taken by isis. james r foley. steven joel sotloff. peter edward kassig. kayla jean mueller. many around the world are familiar with the barbaric circumstances of their deaths. but we will not remember these americans for the way

they died, we will remember them for the way they lived their good and decent lives. as for kotey and el shafee, like many other terrorists before them, they have underestimated the american resolve to obtain justice for our fellow citizens who are harmed or killed by terrorists anywhere in the world. these men will now be brought before a united states court to face justice for the depraved acts alleged against them in the indictment. as for their ringleader, mohammed emwazi — known asjihadi john — he faced a different kind of american resolve, the mighty reach of our military— which successfully targeted him in an air strike several years ago. the police officer who was filmed kneeling on the neck of the black man, george floyd, before he died in minneapolis in march has been released from jail. court documents show derek chauvin met his 1 million dollar bail bond.

he's and three other officers are due to go on trial next year. four men have gone on trial at the old bailey in connection with the deaths of 39 vietnamese migrants who were found in a lorry trailer in essex last year. the jury was told the four had allegedly already been involved in successful trips to smuggle migrants across the channel. they face charges of manslaughter and conspiracy to facilitate illegal immigration. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford reports. at court today to see justice done, relatives of some of the vietnamese people who died on the back of a sealed lorry trailer last october. all 39 died of a lack of oxygen. the two youngest were 15, the oldest 44. they were in the sealed trailer for some 12 hours, as the temperature rose to over 38 degrees centigrade. 0n trial today, facing 39 counts of manslaughter, were british romanian gheorghe nica

and eamonn harrison, a young lorry driver from northern ireland. irish haulier ronan hughes has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter, as has maurice robinson, another young northern irish lorry driver. it was maurice robinson that had picked up the trailer from purfleet port that night. ronan hughes had messaged him, give them air quickly, but don't let them out, so he'd stopped and opened the door. the prosecutor, bill emlynjones, said to the jury, what he found must haunt him still. for the 39 men and women inside, that lorry had become their tomb. one of the dead, 28—year—old 28—year—old pham thi ngoc 0anh, had tried to send a message. "maybe going to die in the container, can't breathe any more, dear." it was found unsent on her phone. this was the ferry that brought the trailer, unaccompanied, across the channel. both eamonn harrison and gheorghe nica deny charges of manslaughter. the trial is expected to last 12 weeks.

daniel sandford, bbc news, the old bailey. with all the ongoing uncertainty over the health of donald trump, it is easy to forget sometimes that the us presidential election is less than a month away. tonight in utah, the democrat vice presidential candidate kamala harris and current vp mike pence, will go head—to—head in a debate. 0ur north america correspondent, sophie long, has more. judge kavanaugh, i am concerned whether you would treat every american equally. she is a senator from california, known for her incisive questioning of president trunp's nominees for the supreme court. i know full well the importance of presidential leadership. he has been president trump's right—hand man for the past four years. tonight, they will take to a specially adapted stage for a debate that will be watched by tens of millions of voters. vp debates are not normally the headline act of a presidential election campaign, but this one

is anything but normal. given the age of their bosses, and the fact that president trump's recent hospitalisation with coronavirus means we don't yet know whether the remaining two presidential debates will even take place, tonight's meeting between kamala harris and mike pence will be the most important of its kind in history. they take over under the death or the resignation of the president of the united states. when you have one candidate that is fairly old and one candidate that is sick right now. everyone is talking about it. there is no way you can't talk about that particular issue, because there is at least some track where one of these two candidates could end up being president of the united states. we are an independent collection of latter— day saint women from across the political spectrum who speak for ourselves. in this deeply religious state, president trump's first term and his reaction to covid—19 has led lifelong republicans to look for something different. i wish no ill towards him, but i think that it is a time for us to once again think

about doing better. this should have never been a political issue. coronavirus should have been something where we all come together and work together for the good of everyone. that is why character matters in a president. but at this pro—trump potato bar — yes, there is such a thing — people think his personal handling of the pandemic is a show of strength. when you are a soldier and you are at risk and you are at war and you are fighting something, you go in there and you've got to rally your troops. you've got to build the morale of the troops. you've got to be victorious. you can't be afraid. and that is what i look at it as. and unfortunately, some soldiers when they go to war, they get wounded. tonight, mike pence will go into battle for the current commander—in—chief against a former prosecutor fighting for his competitor, joe biden. with less than a month to go and the campaign thrown into chaos by covid—19, the stakes are high. sophie long, bbc news, salt lake city.

and you can follow the us vice—presidential debate live, in a special programme from 1:30am here on bbc news and via our website. if you don't fancy staying up through the night, you'll be able to watch from breakfast time on the bbc iplayer. it will be shown again. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen. hello. we've seen a lot of dry, quite sunny weather today with fewer showers around. and that's because we've been watching out to the atlantic this next low—pressure coming in. so through this evening it turn progressively wet across many parts, except scotland. the south of scotland, i think, will see the rain, but for many other areas here, it's clearer, it's drier, it's chillier, but with all this rain in the south and a strong wind to go with it, it will be a relatively mild night — lots of hill fog as well. we could see up to 30—40 milimetres of rain, some quite heavy rain over the hills of wales, and it's still with us on thursday morning before it slowly starts to peter out. still quite heavy in the south before it clears.

as it does so, the drier weather than will follow with some sunshine. further north, however, after the drier start, the showers start to pack and into the afternoon. temperatures will be similar to those of today, but as i say with some sunshine in the south, it will feel quite pleasant once that rain has cleared away. perhaps some more rain pushing into central areas and then southwards during the course of friday. as ever, there's more on the website. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... tougher restrictions in scotland as pubs, restaurants and cafes that sell alcohol across the country's central belt, including glasgow and edinburgh, are ordered to shut to slow the spread of coronavirus. this is perhaps the starkest warning in today's evidence paper, we are likely to return to the peak level of infections we had in the spring by the end of this month. and the new restrictions mean no unnecessary journeys on public

transport and face coverings will soon be mandatory when moving around workplaces in scotland. as infection rates soar in some cities, there are warnings that some hospitals in northern england are already seeing admissions levels similar to those back in april. four men have gone on trial over the deaths of 39 vietnamese migrants found dead in a lorry in essex. two ex—british alleged islamic state militants are charged in the united states over the killing of four american hostages. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here'sjohn watson. good evening. england manager gareth southgate has confirmed the trio of tammy abraham, ben chilwell and jadon sancho will miss england's friendly against wales tomorrow night after breaking coronavirus rules. they could also miss sunday's game

with belgium depending csouthgate says he's again warned players of what is expected of them. we talked about the responsibility of being in england player, how the spotlight is different when the story was in the paper earlier in the week. there was no mention of the week. there was no mention of the clubs. even though they went with us, so that the landscape we work with. players have to work with that. we've got ten this time who are with us, they've done a lot of good work with us within their clubs and communities. some of the younger ones haven't got results yet, and they don't have that credit in the bank. they've but to prove themselves and they need to remember

that it themselves and they need to remember thatitis themselves and they need to remember that it is an honour to play for england as we select squad moving forwards. do play a part in your thinking. coronavirus has struck the scotland squad and their chances of reaching the euros next year. stuart armstrong, kieran tierney and ryan christie will miss their play—off semi—final against israel tomorrow. it's because armstrong tested positive for the virus and tierney and christie have been identified as close contacts and must self—isolate for 14 days. as well as the israel play—off, the three players will also miss the nations league matches with slovakia on sunday and the czech republic on wednesday. if you look at the way of the virus spread, its if you look at the way of the virus spread, it's becoming more prevalent as restrictions were eased, which i think everyone expected. there is no reason why it can't infiltrate our football camp, no matter how secure the bubble is. everyone else is

involved has gotten a negative test and we look forward to the game. well, arsenal are seeking clarification about why kieran tierney has to self—isolate. tierney himself has released a statement saying: sale sharks have missed the chance of reaching the premiership play offs having forfeited tonight's game with worcester warriors after 19 covid cases in the sharks camp forced sunday's match to be postponed. a further six players have

also tested positive. in a statement, the club say: worcester have been awarded the win, with bath the beneficiaries, as they qualify for the play offs. now to the french open, where novak djokovic is in action in his quarterfinal against pablo ca renno—busta. he got off a stuttering start losing the first set 6—4 and there were questions whether he might be injured, but he's been looking more like himself since then winning the next two sets. and he's a break up, at 4—3 in the fourth. the winner of that matchwill meet stefanos tsitsipas in the semi—finals. the greek had to hang on to win the opening set but ended up coming through in straight sets.

will 7-5, 6-2, 6-3. former wimbledon champion petra kvitova is also through to the semi finals. she saw off germany's laura siegemund in straight sets. kvitova will play sofia kenin next. that's all the sport for now. more now on our main story and the tougher restrictions which have been announced in scotland today. pubs, restaurants and cafes that sell alcohol in glasgow, edinburgh and the central belt of scotland have been ordered to close for 16 days from friday to try to slow the spread of coronavirus. in the rest of scotland, licensed premises must shut by 6pm and cannot serve alcohol indoors. the first minister, nicola sturgeon warned that without swift action, infection rates could return to peak levels by the end of the month. i am well aware that the measures i have outlined today are disruptive to many businesses, obviously, especially

hospitality businesses, and they will be unwelcome to many people across the country. but although they are significant as they need to be to make an impact, they do not represent a lockdown. we're not requiring people to stay outside all day as we were earlier in fact, they are designed to reduce the likelihood of a future lockdown. we're not requiring people to stay outside all day as we were earlier in the year, schools will stay open, learning will continue in our universities and colleges, shops will continue to trade, businesses like manufacturing and construction will continue. and these new restrictions are intended to last for 16 days. they are intended to be short, sharp action to arrest a worrying increase in infection. the chair of the scottish tourism alliance, stephen leckie, says the new restrictions will have a catastrophic effect on the industry. many businesses will simply just not open this month, at the end of this month, and it's a realfailforthem. and the damage caused not only to the specific businesses mentioned this afternoon,

but the knock—on effect. so we're hearing harrowing stories of many city centres and attractions receiving cancellations. there is now less reason to visit a city if you cannot go out, and so the knock—on effect to the supply chain, for example, visitor attractions, they will also go quiet. then, of course, all the food and the staff and the people that have been booked in, the cancellations, all that will take a significant amount of money and time to wade through all that and figure out what the next step might be. well, snp councillor kate campbell is the housing, homelessness and fair work convenor at edinburgh city council. just picking up on some of those points by stephen leckie, saying these measures will have a catastrophic effect on the industry. i don't need to tell you how important that is for edinburgh.

this could potentially be the end of so many businesses. we are so aware of the importance of the hospitality sector. i agree with the point about the water supply chain and the impact that has, that it's a very interwoven and interconnected ecosystem and it's notjust hospitality. it includes hotels and bars and restaurants, but also creative sectors, live music, theatre, comedy and beyond, so i think we are very aware that there will be a significant impact and we have to do everything as an authority to do we can to support those businesses. i think we understand, i think it's hugely welcome but the first things is to recognise it will have an impact on hospitality. and we are in conversation and how we can make sure how those businesses can be properly supported, and a whole

range of measures we put into place to try and support businesses as well. it's a very difficult part of this pandemic and what we're going through, and something we are very mindful of. on that package that was announced by the first minister, there's been criticism by scottish conservatives, saying there is a lack of detail as to where that money will go. can you clarify as to who will be receiving the help for this period? that's clearly a question for the scottish government, and i'm a counsellor so i can't answer that now but i know that we will be making the case significant labour businesses most impacted. i think that's the difference you can see between sadat ‘s government approach and the uk government approach —— a scottish government approach —— a scottish government approach. it's taking the

action it needs to take because of the public health requirements, and that's really, really important. that's actually a decision that governments across the world are making, but governments across the world also have all the control about putting in economic support and unfortunately, the scottish government doesn't have that. the uk government doesn't have that. the uk government has that. actually we can see is the furlough scheme comes to than in, thejob support see is the furlough scheme comes to than in, the job support scheme see is the furlough scheme comes to than in, thejob support scheme is doing the opposite. not supporting sector that needed the most. it's actually making it very difficult for those sectors to access the support. i'm sure they will be speaking to the local authorities. we will have those conversations and make the case to why particularly, businesses in edinboro and that support right now. at that support is there and that's not been given by the uk government. i think that's where the real problem lies. are you having conversations with member of the public? these are very strict restrictions that will kick in. do you think you will carry the public support for this? this is a very

difficult situation for everyone, and we have to keep... we have to talk to people about what's happening and the first minister set out very clearly the reason why she's taken this decision today. as a local authority, we have to respond in every way we can with all the support we can put in place. for example, we've been running campaigns, we've been working with the tourism sector, we got business gateway to help support the small businesses about the options available to them. we're looking at bringing in an edinboro guarantee to work with other people in the city who need to find additional work or looking to help with training, and we appreciate our licensing department is ready to work with businesses while these restrictions are in place. i appreciate your

position is a counsellor, but what if these restrictions continue past the 25th of october? there's no guarantee there will end there? that's again a question for the scottish government and i can only give the council perspective. we respect those very difficult decisions have to be made, and they're being made because of help on my public health requirements. about saving lives, but it's also about the other you act the more likely you are to control the spread of the virus and the more likely you are to be able to ease research is earlier. but that's a question for the scottish government to make sure that we're doing everything we can locally to support those businesses, and particularly those individuals that have so much uncertainty at the moment and work as a city to try and protect and support people who are being affected. kate campbell, thank you so much for your time.

carina contini is the owner of contini restaurants in edinburgh, and has been giving her reaction to the new restrictions. here we go again. i thought we done that once in a lifetime... close, recover and here we are again. it's tough. this is going to be hard for our business, hard for many, many businesses. many businesses will not recover from this. it's going to be a real challenge to pick up consumer confidence, even once we open. 16 days is a long time, but we weren't expecting it to be as bad as this. 0ne one of the restaurants in edinboro, colin drysdale is the managing director of allson wholesale, of allson wholesale, which supplies thousands of bars, pubs and restaurants across scotland with drinks and snacks. how will you be impacted?m

how will you be impacted? it will be hugely detrimental. it's been another very difficult day for the industry. the first minister was right when she said this would be unwelcome two unwelcome news. it's been very unwelcome. with us being in the supply chain, food and drink wholesale is worth a staggering £2.9 billion to the scottish economy. that's a figure that should not be forgotten that has been forgotten. the size of the wholesale sector. the size of the wholesale sector. the facts and statistics are only 45% of scottish food and strength wholesalers have received any kind of financial support during the situation —— food and drink. 0ur of financial support during the situation —— food and drink. our own business, we've received no financial support whatsoever, nor have we received any business rates relief, so it's been very difficult and looks like it's going to continue to be difficult. unless we get some sort of support with in the

supply channel, i can see failure in the future. when you hear about this £40 million support packets that was announced by the first minister, you're saying you had no support so far. what do you need? the £40 million of that i believe have been very busy, i haven't been able to pay very much attention to the target. but to me, £40 million is not nearly enough money. £40 million isa drop not nearly enough money. £40 million is a drop in the ocean. pubs, clubs and hotels need far more. they suffered enormously since march, some of them are just cleaning on by their fingertips. some of them are just cleaning on by theirfingertips. they've invested what meagre resources they have left in social distancing measures. they've done a tremendous job, and then the fact for a hearing to the rules and spending every last penny we have is to be closed once again.

so my belief is 40 million does not even look at it, the hospitality trade, pubs, clubs and hotels, try 400 million. that would maybe have a better impact. and they need it now, they can't wait days or weeks. they need this injection immediately. with these increasingly strict restrictions, these will in theory and on october 25, butjust looking forward , and on october 25, butjust looking forward, looking ahead to the christmas period, what's your diagnosis? that's a terrifying prospect. 16 days is a nightmare for everyone. if it continues any further than the 16 days, then we will be facing a catastrophe in the industry. i think the biggest problem, and i think the scottish government have looked into it, is

the furlough system ending at the end of october. if that happens and if hospitality is still in some form of lockdown, then it's going to be an absolute catastrophe. there has been the introduction of the newjob support scheme, but to be honest, i don't think that's worth the paper it's written on. that's going to help their little people, and certainly not to help the hospitality industry that's been lockdown yet again. on that note, calling, we have to leave it there. thank you. next year's national five exams which are sat by 15 and 16—year—olds in scotland are to be cancelled. they'll be replaced with teacher assessments and coursework. scotland's education secretary, john swinney, said sitting the exams during the pandemic was "too big a risk." higher and advanced higher exams will go ahead, but slightly later than usual. here's our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon. how are you doing, class? afternoon. at port glasgow high school, these 4th year pupils are studying for their national 5

qualifications, which are broadly equivalent to gcses. now, the exams they've been working towards have been scrapped, their grades to be based on continuous assessment instead. i think it's pretty bad. because it's very difficult for us to go on and we'll be thrown in at the deep end with our higher exams. tests in class aren't that bad, but i think it'sjust too much pressure to have, like, one big test determine your whole life. scotland's education secretary insists this is a system of awards that can be delivered despite the disruption caused by coronavirus. it has evidence at its heart, it puts a robust system of quality assurance in place, and it works with teachers to award on the basis of their professional judgment. i believe it is fair, i believe it is rigorous and, of greatest importance, it gives us the opportunity to recognise the achievements of young people in scotland in these challenging days. at this school, they already had plans in place in case

any exams were dropped. we knew that this would be a year of disruption. we knew there would be young people who might have to self—isolate for a significant amount of time. and, therefore, from day one, we have talked about in school about continuous assessment, about how we gather evidence. scotland was the first to reverse the controversial results from last year's cancelled exams to base them instead on teacher's estimates. it's now become the first to decide what to do about next year's exams as well. schools in england are expecting a decision on this within the next few weeks, with wales and northern ireland to follow, giving clarity to young people, at such a crucial time of their lives. lorna gordon, bbc news, port glasgow. let's bring you up—to—date with the events in the united states because the us president donald trump has entered the white house 0val the us president donald trump has entered the white house oval office. this of course is the first time that he has entered the oval office.

we don't have images of it yet. i'm assuming pictures will be released, but of course this is the first time he has entered the oval office after his rather extraordinary few days, actually over the fast few days. he was admitted to walter reed military medicalfacility was admitted to walter reed military medical facility where he was administered treatment for coronavirus after having tested positive. we then had that rather extraordinary drive past where he was ina extraordinary drive past where he was in a convoy of cars, which took him just for a drive back to the walter reed hospital. he then returned back to the white house via helicopter, and we saw those remarkable images there. we've now had a tweet from the president saying he is being briefed at the 0val saying he is being briefed at the oval office and i think we will all be very interested to see images of that. oval office and i think we will all be very interested to see images of that. a lot of concern as to the

safety of people around him because of course, he has tested positive with coronavirus, and he is receiving treatment. this all of course comes ahead of the vice presidential debate, which we are expecting later on tonight. there was a lot of concern and discussion about whether plexiglass would be used to divide up the two candidates. we have lots more coverage of that. we will have live coverage of that. we will have live coverage from 130 in the morning here on bbc news. the president of the united states have entered the white house. the head of the nhs in england says hundreds of thousands of people could have a condition known as long covid. for most people who catch coronavirus, it's a brief and mild disease, but many are left struggling with symptoms for months afterwards. some exhausted afterjust a short walk, others can be much more seriously affected as our medical editor, fergus walsh, explains.

so, initially, i couldn't even climb a flight of stairs. this is what long covid can look like. 0k, arms across your chest. suji yathindra is a doctor in a&e. he got only a mild illness with covid, yet its left him so exhausted he's been off work for three months. i get out of breath quite easily. lots of muscle aches, joint pains. that's it, really. if i do exercise, the next day i'm out of it. i'm going to time a minute... this post—covid clinic at london's university college hospital, is diagnosing a vast array of physical, mental and cognitive problems, all stemming from coronavirus infection. so, we're seeing people with really severe fatigue and really significant breathlessness. you know, people who were running marathons at the beginning of the year, previously fit

and well, didn't need any hospital admission for their covid. but, six months on, are too fatigued to even get to the shops to buy food. long covid is a huge emerging health problem. doctors say there's an urgent need for research into what drives the condition, and produces such a wide variety of serious, debilitating symptoms. many people are struggling to get help with the after—effects of coronavirus. the boss of nhs england says £10 million will be spent on setting up more long covid clinics across england. it's clear that there are tens of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands of coronavirus patients with these long covid symptoms. so, we need specialist clinics like this, but also rehabilitation services across the community to both support those patients and to learn more about the best treatments for them. like so many with long covid, robert moore had only a

minor coronavirus infection. yet the 30—year—old suffers repeated muscle and joint pain, brought on by any physical activity. soon as i do anything, whether that's going for a walk, or preparing something to eat, or doing any form of cognitively difficult tasks, i'll just find a huge amount of fatigue the next day, whether that's muscular orjust a generalfatigue. so far, the focus has been saving lives in the pandemic. but covid is leaving a bitter legacy for many that may stay with them for months or even years. fergus walsh, bbc news. a high speed train has been named after one of britain's last surviving d—day veterans to honour his bravery and fundraising work. 95—year—old harry billinge from st austell has raised more than 25 thousand pounds to build a national memorial forfallen comrades. john maguire has the story. harry billinge was one of the first d—day soldiers to land on what was given the code name gold

beach. he was just 18 years old. he's been back to the normandy coast line in recent years to honour and to remember his friends and comrades who fought and died alongside him. just before lockdown, he was awarded the mbe by the queen, in recognition of his tireless fundraising. there's about 35 quid there, harry. collecting donations for a british memorial to the tens of thousands who were killed on these sands in 1944. for the preservation of this wonderful memorial to our wonderful men that died on that terrible normandy campaign. and, this morning, another special occasion for this very special man. # doing the lambeth walk! # hey! greeted at the railway station in his home town of st austell in cornwall, harry was about to travel to penzance on board a train

named in his honour. what you think of having your own train, harry? marvellous! 0verwhelming. never expected that. alongside his name and his designations as a member of the british empire, and the french award the legion d'honneur, are ten berets of the royal engineers, one for each of harry's team on d—day. there's no words to describe it, really, is there? i'm moved beyond measure. lovely. i'm very proud to be able to say that. the british normandy memorial is now close to completion. it's due to be officially opened around the d—day anniversary in june. harry is determined to be there. john maguire, bbc news, cornwall. congratulations to him. let's have a look at the weather with helen. hello. we've seen a lot of dry,

quite sunny weather with fewer showers around, and that's because we been watching out to the atlantic for a low pressure coming in. this evening will turn aggressively wet across many parts, except scotland. the south of scotland, i think we'll have either rain but for many areas, it's clear and drier and chillier. with all this rain and the strong wind, it will be a mild night with lots of hill fog as well. quite heavy rain over the hills of wales, it still with us on thursday morning before it slowly starts to peter out. still quite heavy and south of work clears. the shower start to packin work clears. the shower start to pack in to the afternoon, temperatures similar to those of today, but with some sunshine in the south, it will feel quite pleasant once the rain cleared away. perhaps a more rain pushing into central areas during the course of friday. there's more on the website.

this is bbc news — two members of the so—called islamic state group arrive in the us — charged with the brutal killing of four american hostages. alexanda kotey and el shafee elsheikh are accused of belonging to a cell that carried out kidnappings in iraq and syria. we'll speak to the mother of james foley, one of the hostages who was murdered, and get her reaction to the news. the vice presidential debate doesn't usually get much attention. but given the age and health for the two presidential candidates, tonight's event will be very different. also in the programme.... how how would joe biden change us foreign relations. we will speak to one of the men whose name is mentioned as a possible secretary of state. and we will focus on those who would seek to exploit the coronavirus outbreak

in the white house.