welcome to bbc news — i'm mike embley. our top stories... less than two weeks after testing positive for coronavirus, president trump is back on the campaign trial — addressing an election rally in florida. i feel so powerful, i will walk into that office. i will walk in there, i will kiss everyone in that office. democratic party senators in the us say the confirmation of amy coney barrett, to the supreme court would be a disaster for the rights of ordinary americans, as she makes a pitch for thejob. i believe americans of all backgrounds deserve an independent supreme court. that interprets our constitution and laws as they are written. i believe i can serve my country by playing that role. we report from the devastated region of nagorno—karabakh

as a ceasefire between armenia and azerbaijan comes under more pressure. the protests continue in belarus despite a government warning that police can use lethal force if necessary. hello, welcome to the program. president trump has returned to the campaign trial for the first time since his coronavirus diagnosis less than two weeks ago. mr trump appeared energetic as he told the large crowd in florida that he wanted the experimental medicine he received during his treatement to become widely available. and amongst a series of his usual attacks on joe biden, he told supporters that it felt "great to be back" campaigning. one thing with me, the nice part, i went through it, now they say i'm immune, i feel so powerful. i will walk into that audience!

cheering. i will walk in there, i'll kiss everyone that audience. i'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women and everybody. i'lljust give you big fat kiss. no, but there is something nice, i don't have to be locked up in my basement, and i wouldn't to allow that to happen anyway. i wouldn't allow it to happen. when you are the president, you can't lock yourself in the basement and say, "i'm not going to bother with the world." you've got to get out there. it's risky, it's risky, but you've got to get out. but it does give you a good feeling when you can beat something and now they say you're immune. i don't know for how long, some people say for life, some people say for four months. and every time i think about it, every time i hear that it gets shorter and shorter and shorter, they want it to be as bad as possible. while the president is in florida, his opponent joe biden has been speaking in another possible swing state — the midwestern state of ohio — where he continued to focus on the president's handling of the pandemic.

as a consequence of months of overwhelming lying, misleading and irresponsible action on the part of donald trump, how many empty chairs are going to be around the dinner table tonight because of their negligence? how many? how many brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, mums, dads are gone? folks, we are so much better than this. despite the crisis we face, we have an enormous opportunity, like america has done, unlike any other country after every crisis, we have always come out of the crisis stronger than we were before we went in. that's the uniqueness of who we are. and we now have an opportunity to build back and build back better to give everyone a fair return on their work, an equal chance to get ahead, begin to reward work not just wealth.

we have heard from president trump, we have heard from joe biden. let's hearfrom some neck donna jean who is a businesswoman in florida, and will be voting for trump in this year's election. donna jean, what difference will the rally have made in your state tonight? ——iam —— i am guessing you don't necessarily believe those polls. that's true. i didn't believe them last time when up to the time they were counting the ballots. they were saying that he was losing. what is behind your decision to vote for him? i wonder, you behind your decision to vote for him? iwonder, you know, he comes with a lot of baggage for a lot of people. if you manages to submita a lot of people. if you manages to submit a conservative majority on the supreme court as looks very likely come as you know, that can decide what the country looks like for a generation. do you still need to elect mr trump? we are thankful to have mr trump. do

you want me to say some of the things — the reason we are, was that your question? i would be very interested to hear them. well, yes, it's unfortunate that across the world, you hear bbc and cnn and cnn does not tell the truth. so we have had the best job unemployment tell the truth. so we have had the bestjob unemployment ever — record—setting— for all cultures. for hispanics for women, for everyone. we were doing fantastic when covid hit and we are almost getting back up and we are almost getting back up again. the stock exchanges fantastic, almost record—breaking. he's been instrumental in the immigration... and building that wall, which is obviously what i want to because that's what i want to because that's what he's doing and the crime that went with so much of it. he's for the police protection—

which we are for. i don't understand how anyone cannot be. but the first steps with communism and socialism is to defund the police. these cities that we have in the united states that are large and i'm sure you've seen them under fire and murders, tearing down peoples businesses they spent their life building and they call it a peaceful protest. well, that's not a peaceful protest. if you get on auntie for‘s website commits as donate to the democratic party. so, our president is for peaceful, lifelike, we know it, we want to keep it. we don't want people coming and breaking down your gates and coming to your door and telling you they are going to kill you and they will be sleeping in your house tonight. it should be said that joe biden has made it absolutely clear that he doesn't support defending the police, in even those who are talking along those kind of lines, they are talking about trying to divert funds so the police to some other things, so that those funds go to summer

specialist people. you mentioned covid, i understand those other things are important to you, butjust looking at the latest figures, infections in the us are still running about 40,000 a day. you are running about 40,000 a day. you a re clearly running about 40,000 a day. you are clearly a smart woman, you —— the us has four —— it accou nts —— the us has four —— it accounts at the moment for more than 20% of global covert infections, five times more than you might expect. in what way is that a good result? well, i think that there are countries that are doing a lot worse than we are with covid. i'm thankful that our president to stop the people coming in from china and other countries right off the bat. so we didn't have to continue bringing it in. so, yes, we are losing people, but so is everyone. this is a pandemic, worldwide pandemic, notjust us. we are doing everything that is possible to do. forgive me, i don't mean to interrupt you, does it where you at all, he is

a successful businessman, but ina way, a successful businessman, but in a way, that's not true, is it? the reason he's paying almost no taxes is because he's losing through his businesses massive amounts of money and huge amounts of his debt he is personally liable to. does the prospect of conflicts of interest, possibly people leaning on him because of the money he owes, does that not where you? not one bit. that is a falsehood that says he hasn't paid taxes because he has paid millions in taxes. we don't see the other people who have been presidents tax returns, but they certainly want to see this one. we didn't see the last ones, and never have. so our president is... we needed a businessman desperately. i don't think we could've had a better negotiator for us than what we've had in donald trump. just by the fact that the work he's done with china when we used to have to pay to send things over but they didn't,

now they have to. you know, do they want a democrat in? absolutely. they want to get back to paying off and not having to pay the united states for paying the people and politics. we have had, u nfortu nately, politics. we have had, unfortunately, a terrible run of all of that, and it's come too late because of our president. down a gene from a very interesting... to talk to you. thank you so much. you are so welcome. thank you. democratic senators have told judge amy coney barrett's confirmation hearing that it would be "disastrous" if she were to take a place on the us supreme court. donald trump's pick is a staunch conservative and devout roman catholic. aleem maqbool reports from washington. if confirmed, amy coney barrett will play a huge role in shaping society for her seven children, and for generations to come. the stakes are that high. the republican chair of the senate committee making the decision once promised not to try and confirm a supreme

courtjustice in the last year of a presidential term. but he has reneged on that. this is going to be a long, contentious week. i would just ask one thing of the committee. to the extent possible, let's make it respectful. in their opening statements, democrats focused on what they called extremist views held by amy coney barrett. they said these would threaten the health care provision for millions of americans, and many other aspects of american life. with this nomination, equal justice under law is at stake. 0ur voting rights are at stake. workers' rights are at stake. consumer rights are at stake. the right to a safe and legal abortion is at stake. one man is dead set on making sure that amy coney barrett is appointed before the election, heavily tilting the supreme court conservative. the gathering he had

to announce her nomination just over two weeks ago is now thought to have been a coronavirus super spreader event. controversially, some of those who tested positive there participated in the hearing today. thank you, mr chairman. some democrats said that the process should have been postponed but kept returning to the way in which amy coney barrett would shape policies, something that she said would not be herjob. but courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life. the policy decisions and value judgements of government must be made by the political branches, elected by and accountable to the people. her nomination comes after the death of ruth bader ginsberg, the iconic and pioneering progressive justice. some of those protesting the new nomination feel strongly that the american people who have already voted in their millions, should be the ones to decide

whether the next justice is conservative or liberal. republicans say the public already recorded their view and they voted for donald trump four years ago. aleem maqbool, bbc news in washington. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we report from the devastated region of nagorno—karabakh as a ceasefire between armenia and azerbaijan comes under more pressure. parts of san francisco least affected by the earthquake are returning to life, but in the marina area — where most of the damage was done — they are more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. in the 19 years since he was last here, he has gone from being a little known revolutionary to an experienced and successful diplomatic operator. it was a 20 pound bomb which exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel — ripping a hole in the front of the building.

this government will not weaken, democracy will prevail! it fills me with humility and gratitude to know that i have been chosen as the recipient of this this prestigious honour. this catholic nation held its breath for the men they called the 33. and then... bells toll. ..bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue, and chile let out an almighty roar. this is bbc news, the latest headlines... less than two weeks after testing positive for coronavirus, president trump is back on the campaign trial — he addressed an election rally in florida. us democrats have attacked the nomination of amy coney barrett to the supreme court during the first confirmation hearing.

a vaccine study being conducted byjohnson and johnson in the us has been paused because of unexplained illness. the company says in a statement the study has been paused to ensure the safety of all involved — but says illnesses are an expected part of vaccine trials. the study has 60,000 participants — it's one of many vying to produce a vaccine for covid—i9. researchers have reported the first confirmed case of coronavirus reinfection, in the united states. writing in the journal lancet infectious diseases, they say the twenty five year old man's symptoms were much more serious the second time round. the scientists say the man, in nevada, had no known health problems or immune defects that would make him particularly vulnerable. the case raises questions about how immunity may be built up — or not. it is the fifth confirmed reinfection worldwide. others have been reported in belgium, the netherlands, hong kong and ecuador.

in europe, two of the countries worst hit by coronavirus have seen a big jump in cases and hospital admissions. spain has registered nearly 28,000 more cases since friday, bringing the total recorded infections to nearly 900,000. two hundred people died over the weekend, taking the total deaths to more than 33,000. france has placed the southern cities of toulouse and montpelier under maximum alert, along with paris, marseille and lille. here in the uk, the prime minister has introduced a three—tier alert system — putting every area on medium, high or very high alert. the liverpool region is under a "very high" or tier—three alert level. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. stand by. we cannot see clearly what is ahead. but the prime minister is, reluctantly, marking the way to a tighter phase.

the lecterns back in their place, despite repeated rule changes, coronavirus is not in retreat. the number of cases has gone up four times in four weeks, and is once again spreading among the elderly and vulnerable. these figures are flashing at us like dashboard warnings in a passengerjet, and we must act now. we are today simplifying, standardising and, in some places toughening local rules in england by introducing three levels of covid alert. only 1.5 million or so people in the liverpool city region will be in the toughest category, but in england more than 4 million people face extra limits from this week. no one wants to impose these kinds of restrictions, least of all me, erosions of our personal liberty. but i am as convinced as i have ever been that the british people have the resolve to beat this virus and that, together, we will do just that.

so, liverpool's pubs will be shut by the time it is sarah's actual birthday later this week. their wedding business has not had a job for six months, so she is taking on extra shifts as a nurse. like many, they are worried about paying the bills and protecting their family too. i worry about my kids not being able to socialise, go out and see their family and friends. so it has a big impact. where businesses are forced to close, the treasury will pay some of the wages, but only two thirds from the start of next month. rebecca owns the bar and worries it is not enough. a lot of our staff only do 17 hours a week, so if they are only going to be paid 63% of that, they're not gonna be able to afford to live. but as cases rise, could we be stuck in a painful holding pattern? prime minister, you have said many times you want to avoid a national lockdown, but it seems every week you introduce new rules and cases still rise. are you just delaying the inevitable? i really hope we are not going to have to go back into any kind of national

lockdown like the kind we did in march and april. we could go for a national lockdown again, but i think many people would think that was extreme. and it would do a great deal of extra harm to our economy. professor whitty, are you confident what is being announced now is really enough to slow the spread of the disease? i am not confident, nor is anybody confident that the tier 3 proposals for the highest rates, if we did the absolute base case and nothing more, would be enough to get on top of it. that is why there is a lot of flexibility. not exactly a ringing endorsement. and westminster wants local leaders to make some of the toughest calls. here in the west midlands, many are unhappy about how the government made its decisions. the tory leader, cross that mixing with other households

is being limited here. i think it is very disappointing. in my view, it is not the right decision for the health and livelihoods of citizens across the west midlands, and quite simply, there is very little evidence that locations like this pass on the disease. rules vary still in wales and northern ireland. but scotland has already closed many pubs. we will be looking to align as closely as possible with the other uk nations. i think it is important, and it makes sense to try to do that. labour does back the approach, but not how thejob is being done. i am now deeply sceptical that the government has actually got a plan to get control of this virus. but it increasingly feels like the prime minister is several steps behind the curve. the threat from this pandemic is sadly familiar, but the political climate is so different. rather than step confidently forward, this place feels riven with doubt. there's been more violence between ethnic armenian forces and azerbaijani forces, around the disputed region of nagorno—karabakh just days after a ceasefire.

both sides accuse each other of breaking the truce. the region is internationally recognised as azerbaijani territory, but ethnic armenian forces control the region. our correspondent, steve rosenberg, has been talking to people trying to live under constant shellfire in the city of ste pa na kert. when you drive into karabakh, the first thing you notice is the beauty of the place. it's different in the towns. what you see here are signs of war. in the town of martuni, armen shows me his house, or what's left of it. despite the ceasefire, a shell landed here and killed his father. he blames azerbaijan. in the last karabakh war in the 1990s, armen lost two brothers. "it is politicians who make war," he says, "and ordinary "people who suffer."

suddenly, air raid sirens. we head for cover. officially, nagorno—kara bakh is part of azerbaijan, but it is controlled by ethnic armenians. ophelia has spent more than two weeks down in the shelter. "my house was destroyed and there is bombing "every day," she says. "where else can i go?" "the graves of our grandparents and great grandparents "are here," says vladimir. "we are not leaving karabakh." i asked this lady, could she imagine peace between armenians and azerbaijanis? "that's impossible," she says. "we've lost so many young people, sons and brothers". in this conflict, there is a lot of history,

a lot of raw emotion, as we have been hearing, and a lot of violence. what there isn't much of it all, though, is trust, and until that can be somehow created and built between armenians and azerbaijanis, this is a conflict which is going to be very difficult to resolve. and in this conflict, the other side is grieving, too. norsin and her husband anar were killed on sunday in a missile attack azerbaijan blames on armenia. this ceasefire between them isn't in ruins just yet, but it is extremely fragile. building a lasting peace in the south caucasus is a huge challenge. steve rosenberg, bbc news, in nagorno—karabakh. let's get some of the day's other news... facebook is to ban any content that denies or distorts the holocaust, in an update to its

policy on hate speech. mark zuckerberg said it was responding to a rise in anti— semitism, and what it called an alarming level of ignorance about the holocaust, especially among young people. a british—born italian teenager, who used the internet to express his love of religion, is one step away from becoming the world's first millennial saint. carlo acutis, who died aged fifteen in 2006, was beatified in a ceremony in assisi after he was claimed to have cured a sick brazilian boy. the australian cardinal, george pell, has met pope francis for the first time since he was acquitted, on appeal of child sex abuse. cardinal pell had been given extended leave to fight the charges, which he always denied. senior officials said he had returned to the vatican not after being summoned by francis, but of his own volition. there have been more protests in belarus, despite a government warning that police are now authorised

to use lethal force. the deputy interior minister said the anti—government protests had become radicalised. this from aruna iyengar. they came with flowers and with bibles. it was now the turn of minsk‘s pentioners to make their heard. hundreds marches with messages like this, "grandmothers and grandfathers, let us help our children get a future." this was the response. shouting. and now president lukashenko has given police extra powers to use combat weapons at protests. translation: it is obvious they are trying to plunge belarus into the chaos of the 1990s, to force us to go through the sad path of the republics that have experienced colour revolutions. i declare that we will not leave the streets and will ensure order in the country. employees of the internal affairs bodies and serviceman of eternal troops, if necessary, will use special means and military weapons.

tens of thousands of bela russians have demonstrated every weekend since the election in august. president lukashenko was declared the winner, but his opponents say the vote was rigged. the president has been in power for 26 years and has turned to russia for financial support to keep power. translation: it hurts me that the authorities are doing god knows what to our children. i want our children to have a say, to have rights. they must be able to protect themselves. i want us to have a new, free election and political prisoners to be freed. the belarus protesters have been shortlisted for the przce of freedom of thought by the european parliament. it honours those who defend human rights. but for these people, the battle is still to be one. aruna iyengar, bbc news.

much more news for you any time in our bbc website and on our 20 feeds. thanks so much for watching. —— twitter feeds. good morning. it really wasn't the best start to a working week in terms of weather, was it? with the majority of the country seeing outbreaks of rain at times, slowly spreading its way southeast. this weather watcher picture from whitby, north yorkshire, tends to sum up monday afternoon for many. but i can offer a glimmer of good news as we head throughout the week, gradually turning a little bit drier, but staying on the chilly side for the time of year. now, for today, however, we're still under this area of low pressure. it's a bit of a messy weather story to try and tell, but here goes. once this weather front sinks its way steadily south through the day, we will start to see an improving picture gradually through scotland and northern ireland, but a brisk northeasterly wind here will make it feel

on the cool side. the low pressure sinks its way south, spiralling around that low, plenty of showers, a little bit like clothes in a washing machine spinning around. you'll probably feel it's going to dry up, and then there will be more showers flying in through the afternoon. so, it's a messy story across england and wales, and the temperatures, unfortunately, are not going to be particularly great either. top temperatures through the afternoon of around 10—13 celsius. now, as we move out of tuesday, we'll start to see those showers pushing their way a little bit further north and west back into southern, central and eastern scotland overnight. we also run the risk of a few showers just plaguing channel coasts. sandwiched in between the two, there will be some clearer slots, and we will see temperatures dipping into single figures. so, again, it's going to be a chilly start to our wednesday morning, but wednesday shows signs of the first spot of improvement. a weak weather front will move through, but high—pressure starts to build once again, and that's going to be responsible for quieting things down as we move towards the weekend. so, there is a risk of that northeasterly breeze just driving in some showers

through the morning — chiefly on the east coast to start with, but then some of those showers may well just filter a little bit further inland as we go through the day. maybe scotland and northern ireland — already under that influence of high—pressure — fairing best. top temperatures of around 15 celsius. but as we move out of wednesday into thursday and towards the weekend, you can see the dryer story kicking in. however, as we go towards the weekend, it's going to be bright rather than sunny. but i'll take that. take care.

this is bbc news, the headlines... president trump has

returned to the campaign trailfor the first time since his coronavirus diagnosis less than two weeks ago. he told the crowd in florida that he wanted the experimental medicine he received during his treatement to be widely available. president trump's nominee for the supreme court, amy coney barrett, has told a senate confirmation hearing that she'll approach cases based on the law, not her personal values. she is a staunch conservative and roman catholic. her nomination is highly controversial so close to a presidential election, and if approved, as looks likely, she would cement a conservative majority on the nation's highest court. with more virus cases now in hospital in the uk than there were before the full lockdown in march, the uk's prime minister has outlined a three—tier system which will impose stronger restrictions on areas with the highest rates of infection. liverpool city region will be under the strictest measures. there were warnings that as the number of