welcome to bbc news — i'm mike embley. our top stories: police in thailand move in to disperse pro—democracy protesters gathered around government house in the capital. france and germany announce new restrictions, including cu rfews, to try to stop the spread of coronavirus. tough new controls in the uk. schools are closing in northern ireland and pubs and restaurants are also told to shut. the first lady reveals that 14—year—old barron trump contracted covid—19, but suffered no symptoms. could grey power he the x—factor in the presidential election? we report from a retiring — but not exactly shy — battleground in florida. how many of you just want the selection to be over? yeah! --

this election. hello. riot police in thailand have clashed with a large group of anti—government protesters in bangkok. they moved in to clear the streets shortly after the government issued an emergency decree banning all gatherings of more than five people. lines of police with riot shields quickly drove back the lines of protesters and cleared the area around government house — thousands of people had been camping overnight after another day of widespread protests against the king and the prime minister. at least two protest leaders have now been arrested. the government's emergency decree accused the protesters of "inciting chaos and threatening national security", specifically mentioning this moment — when some anti—government demonstrators surrounded and obstructed the royal motorcade

that was carrying the queen — but on wednesday night, before the police moved in, the protest had been much more peaceful, with a large group of demonstrators listening to speeches music. they are calling for reforms to the monarchy and for the prime minister to stand down. here's what two of those protestors had to say. translation: the people are being awakened more and more when it comes to the monarchy. more and more, but on the other hand, with thais being thai, this topic is still hard to push through. translation: this has been rooted in the thai society for a very long time so in order to reform the monarchy we need a lot people on board. northern ireland is to impose the toughest restrictions anywhere in the uk, to try to slow the spread of coronavirus. schools are being closed for two weeks from monday. pubs and restaurants will be limited to takeaway and delivery services only,

for four weeks from friday. officials have suggested hospitals are only ten days away from being overwhelmed. people in parts of the uk with high rates of covid—i9 will be banned from travelling to wales from friday evening. the first minister, mark drakeford, said he'd decided to act — after boris johnson refused his request to stop people travelling in and out of virus hotspots in england. the deputy chief medical officer for england has suggested that greater manchester and lancashire be moved to tier three — the highest level of virus restrictions. pubs would be closed and households banned from mixing. health officials will hold further talks with local government leaders later. germany and france have announced new controls — in france, there will be a night—time curfew for paris and eight other cities. in germany, bars will be forced to close early and there will be limits on people meeting, in areas with rising numbers of cases. simonjones reports. two leaders with two announcements that will have a big impact on the lives of their citizens.

in germany, there is a warning that the disease is growing exponentially. there will be new restrictions in areas with high transmission including more mask wearing, a curfew for bars and limits on people meeting. translation: i'm convinced that what we do and what we don't do in the coming days and weeks will be decisive for the question of how we get through this pandemic, because we can see that the curves on the infection rates are pointing upwards, in parts, quite steeply. translation: we are much closer to a second lockdown than people would like to believe. if we look at how the numbers are developing, then it's high time, maybe not even five to midnight but rather the stroke of midnight, to set the right course. in france, a state of emergency has been declared. there's real concern that hospitals and intensive care units will become overwhelmed.

to try to stop the spread of the virus, there will be no more late night dining in paris. people there and in eight other major cities will have to stay indoors from 9pm to 6am. the curfew will come into effect from saturday and last for at least four weeks. the details were announced at the elysee palace. president macron appeared in front of the cameras with a sobering message accompanied by a rallying cry. translation: we have not lost control, we are in a situation which is worrying and which means we shouldn't remain inactive, but we shouldn't panic. we cannot get through this if everyone doesn't play their part, doesn't do their bit. and in the netherlands, a last hurrah. bars, restaurants and cafe's are closing. the warning there, like in many other european countries, is that if the coronavirus rates don't come down, more drastic measures may be needed. simon jones, bbc news. let's get some of

the day's other news. iranian—backed houthi rebels in yemen have freed two american captives, in what it's reported was a swap involving a number of militants. the white house has welcomed the release of sandra loli and mikael gidada. the remains of a third us captive, bilal fateen, were also repatriated. the president of the european council has said it is in the interests of both sides to have a post—brexit agreement in place before the end of the year — but not, he said, at any price. the uk's prime minister had set a deadline of thursday, but this has been delayed until the european council summit ends on friday. the state department in the us has announced new measures in response to china's crackdown in hong kong. it's already imposed sanctions on 10 people including hong kong's leader carrie lam. now there's a threat of sanctions against global financial institutions doing business with them. two catholic priests have gone on trial in the vatican — it's the first time the city state has prosecuted allegations of sexual abuse. gabriele martinelli is accused of sexually assaulting an altar

boy and enrico radice is charged with covering up the alleged assault. neither man has submitted a plea or commented on the case. president trump's nominee for supreme court, amy coney barrett, has been facing tough questions in the us senate for the third day of her nomination hearing. her likely confirmation will mean a 6—3 conservative majority on the court. the lifetime appointment is being challenged by democrats, saying that the court vacancy should be filled by whoever wins the election. republicans are pushing for a full senate vote before the november presidential election. in wednesday's hearings, judge barrett attempted to reassure democratic senators, worried about her alleged hostility to president obama's affordable care act. well, as i said yesterday, what i can say is that i certainly have no agenda, i'm not on a mission,

i'm not hostile to the aca at all. and if they were on the court and if a case involving the aca came before me, i would approach it with an open mind — just like i do every case — and go through the process that we've discussed. as early voting begins in the election, campaigners in the state of georgia say a historic problem has reappeared. it's called ‘voter suppression‘ and ranges from excessively strict identity requirements to purges of electoral rolls. all of which disproportionately affect black voters. our correspondent, larry madowo reports from atlanta. waiting for hours. long lines at polling locations at the primary elections in georgia injune. i've covered elections in other democracies in africa, like nigeria and south africa, where america is seen as a beacon of democracy. but for some of its citizens, like here in the heart of atlanta, it is a game of cards — and they have been

dealt a bad hand. gary harrison is a nurse who volunteers as a poll worker. he sees people blocked from voting for minor reasons. we may have votes, but a lot of votes are going to be suppressed. and they could be every reason they can use to strike the ballot, like felonies or signatures not matching. officials at georgia's largest county are looking for redemption after accusations of voter suppression. fulton rolled out a mobile voting unit to serve voters who have been frustrated too many times. how are you, sir? fine, are you all right? i'm good, thank you. this is a first in the state of georgia? yes, sir, and we're very proud of it. but a voting station on wheels won't drive away strict voter identification laws that make it harder for minorities to vote. long lines, missing ballots, and voting machine failures at the primary elections were also widely criticised as instances of voter suppression. nearly 200,000 people were incorrectly removed

from the state's voter rolls in 2019, according to the american civil liberties union of georgia. a lot of the rules that seem to be reasonable if you're a middle—class person who works a white collarjob and drives a car, actually end up being voter suppression from the point of view of the person who moves a lot, who's low—income, who's working a minimum wage job. those fighting and documenting what they consider voter suppression here say some tactics are deliberate, others just sheer incompetence. but they say these are all signs of a fragile democracy. they consider it a battle worth fighting, because civil rights in this country have come too far to turn back. officials hope 80% of people will vote early or by absentee ballot to reduce the strain on election day. that was pretty easy. my staff, if you were to go around and ask them if they would participate in any sort

of voter suppression tactics, i think you would get a resounding "no". i mean, that is not... we've done everything — since 2013, when i arrived, the only thing that we've been focused on is enfranchising voters. in death, the civil rights icon john lewis towers over atlanta. nikema williams is a democratic state senator running to replace him in congress. she says she sees a larger problem in how elections are run here. i am very well aware of the leadership that we still have in this state. the legislature is majority republican—control in both chambers, and a republican governor and secretary of state. so we are very much mindful of the fact that we oftentimes have to go to the courts to get relief for voters in this state. thank you for waiting. you're welcome. thank you for waiting. a record turnout is expected in this election but, in the world's most famous democracy, full access to voting is not yet the full guarantee that has been promised. larry madowo, bbc news, atlanta.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: 200 nights in a tent — and counting. the british boy paying tribute to his neighbour — and raising money for charity. 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 foremost of earthly honours.

this catholic nation held its breath for the men they called 'the 33'. and then... bell tolls. ..bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue and chile let out an almighty roar. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: police in thailand have moved in to disperse pro—democracy protesters gathered around government house in the capital, bangkok. france and germany have announced new restrictions, including curfews, to try to stop the spread of coronavirus. it's emerged that barron trump, teenage son of the us president and first lady, tested positive for covid—i9 but suffered no symptoms. in a personal statement, the first lady also described her own symptoms as minimal.

a little earlier i spoke to dr ashwin vasan, who's an epidemiologist and assistant professor at columbia university's mailman school of public health i asked him what he made of the first lady's announcement. obviously, i feel, as a parent, for barron trump. i am glad he has been asymptomatic and i hope he will not have any long—term symptoms, but this is, as dr fauci has said, a documented super spreader event, and it comes directly from a lack of adherence to masks, social distancing, in both indoor and outdoor settings, and it is pretty consistent with the overall lackadaisical approach that this administration has taken to the covid response, sending inconsistent messaging, allowing states to fend for themselves and undermining the number one thing that will help respond to pandemics effectively — consistency and clarity, and communication and adherence to science. so this is kind of consistent with how the president has lived his entire life —

flaunting the rules and not really paying the consequences. and it has emerged that the approach was so lackadaisical, as you put it, that it even kept the senate majority leader away — a very staunch republican. yeah, that's correct. i mean, i think it is pretty telling when mitch mcconnell, who has been donald trump's number one enabler in chief, says i have not been in the white house since august because i don't think they have approached coronavirus in the same way that i think is appropriate for the senate. you know, the white house is pushing a herd immunity approach which is really their attempt to take a failed policy and dress it up as an effective one, prior to an election, but there is a handful of reasons why that won't work. we have asymptomatic and pre—symptomatic spread that will ensure that, if we protect vulnerable communities, like the elderly,

and let everybody else go on with their everyday lives, it will get in resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, strain on our healthcare system and long covid as we have been calling it. we are seeing reports of reinfection. this would lead to cyclical epidemics and we know that controlling epidemics does not work with just focusing our efforts on the vulnerable and particular populations are not having a population wide strategy. they are trying to dressa this as a scientifically sound approach and have even gathered scientists to bear a declaration. but a memo signed by myself and tends of others,

—— tens of other scientists from around the world, and it says we know the way how to control these, population level measures like masking, social distancing, testing and isolation support and it is by protecting vulnerable populations like the elderly and essential workers and there are countries like zealand and japan that have shown this is a viable way to go forward and it is not a choice between lockdown and heard immunity. that is a false choice. dr ashwin vasan. president trump is bouncing back from his coronavirus infection — trying to make up for lost time, just 20 days before the election. at his rallies this week in florida and pennsylvania, supporters have packed in, without any regard for social distancing. and again tonight, the president will be flouting white house guidance. the president tells them there is nothing to be afraid of. but that message is not landing so well with seniors or suburban white women, as our north america editor, jon sopel, reports.

love train by the o'jays plays. it is the morning aqua aerobics class, and these elderly ladies are being invited by the instructor to join the love train. but once they get out of the water, it will be the incessant demands to board either the trump train or the biden bandwagon. but they don't seem happy travellers, as i discovered at an impromptu focus group. how many of you just want this election to be over? cheering. laughs. they all live at the villages, america's biggest retirement community. and when i say big, i mean humongous. it has a population of 130,000, it covers an area bigger than southampton, and sprawls over five postcodes. the preferred mode of transport — golf carts. and early voting is under way. the grey vote is critical for donald trump's reelection. but not all republicans are seeing it as black and white. i am thinking that

biden is going to win. does that make you happy or unhappy? actually i prefer the republican platform, so i am voting for the republican platform is what i'm voting for. not necessarily trump but the platform. this is a very, very important election and i made sure that my democratic joe biden vote got in early and on time. are you confident that he might win? yes. can you be confident with a "might"? i'm confident he will! the parties know how these are doing in these postal votes, and democrats have a spring in their step. the votes that have been cast so far are all vote by mail. and the return is higher than ever before. and well over 50% are democratic. and that says to me that the momentum that we felt building to this moment is still there and still growing. four years ago, donald trump won a huge victory here in the villages. but the latest polls suggest thatjoe biden is well ahead

amongst the over—65s. and if that turns out to be true on polling day, that could be the difference between success and failure in florida. butjust like four years ago, the republicans are saying don't believe everything you read in the polls. trump is a bombastic personality. there are a lot of people who really appreciate that. a lot of people like it, if you ask somebody a question, you get an answer. and donald trump will give you an answer. and i think a lot of people appreciate that. not a blade of grass out of place. it looks genteel but don't be fooled — there is a vicious and unrelenting fight going on that won't stop until november the 3rd. jon sopel, bbc news, florida. here in the uk, a 10—year—old boy has raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity, camping out in his back garden. max woosey has been sleeping under the stars in a tent left to him by his neighbour, rick, who died in february.

max has been there ever since — that's more than 200 days. jon kay has the story. night 205 and, as max goes to bed, once again he is remembering his hero — rick, his neighbour, who died of cancer earlier this year and left max his tent. he was amazing, he loved the outdoors. he said to me, "you've got to promise me that you will have an adventure," and i said, "yes, iwill, i promise you that." and what an adventure he's had. since march, max has slept in the garden every night, despite all the dangers he's encountered. in the middle of the night, i was, like, ooh, that hurts, but fell back to sleep. woke up in the morning with a red ant, loads of bites all around my leg. the tent has had so much use, he has had to get a new one, big enough for diggy the labradoodle to join him from time to time. you've got a house here

with a bedroom, with a nice, warm bed. it's been the tidiest ever! i've never seen it this tidy. are you ever tempted to go inside in the middle of the night? no, no. being able to have your own space instead of your parents checking on you. it's the middle of october now. very soon it's going to be cold and wet and wintry. are you prepared to do this, keep going? yeah, yeah. even if it's snowy, i'll build an igloo and live in it. max says he's going to do a full year under canvas, and there's a very big incentive. he has already raised tens of thousands of pounds for the hospice that cared for his hero. if rick was still alive, i think he would be by my side in a different tent right now. jon kay, bbc news, braunton, in north devon. well done, max. he's the best known playwright of all time

so, what price would you pay for a copy of sha kespeare's first folio? it went under the hammer at the world's leading auction house on wednesday, fetching a world auction record for any printed work of literature. tanya dendrinos has more. an immeasurable impact on english literature and language, this player will be heard forevermore and in part thinks of this collection published in 1623, seven years after shakespearedeath. friends of the bard compiled his tragedies and comedies, including 18 plays that had never been published before. this copy is a complete copy, that means it has all of its places and that is very unusual because shakespeare has been read and read and read so the vast majority of copies are imperfect. this is a first time ina

imperfect. this is a first time in a generation a complete copy has come on the market. it is known as the first folio, and contains plays like macbeth, twelfth night, julius caesar and the tempest. lovers of literature will argue it is priceless but the bedding had to start somewhere. they are only five complete copies known in private hands so it is an extraordinary honour to offer this here at christie's. open the meeting at 2,600,000. to be 01’ the meeting at 2,600,000. to be or not to be... $8,400,000. thank you, fernando. that was just the hammer price, $9.97 million a new world option record for any printed work of literature, far exceeding the previous eye of six point one six million dollars set in 2001. it was bought by an

american private collector and founder of a redbook and photograph shop. a treasured addition. for us, beware of the green eyed monster. —— redbook. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. in a world—first, athletes have dived 120—metres underground into a salt mine in romania. this is the moment the pair leapt into the water — their bodies decelerated from 85 kilometres per hour to zero in almost twice the usual speed, due to the water's high density. mining in the underground bell stopped in 1880, and it has since become a renowned tourist destnation. a reminder of our top story: large numbers of police have been deployed in thai capital, bangkok, after an emergency decree was issued to break up a demonstration outside the prime minister's office. two protest leaders have been arrested. under the decree, gatherings of more than four people have been banned.

thank you for watching, much more on the bbc website. hello there. when you think back to the start of october and just how wet it was, it's probably a good thing, actually, that we are in the midst of quite a quiet spell of weather. for many of us, we will have skies like these, over the next few days — often pretty cloudy, but with some brighter spells at times. high pressure to the north of the uk. low pressure in northern italy. and between these two areas of pressure, we've got north—easterly winds feeding in. and those north—easterly winds are dragging in a lot of cloud from the north sea. thick enough to bring some scattered showers across eastern areas of scotland at the moment. and we've got a few heavy showers just running into north—east england, although these will ease over the coming few hours. temperatures about 5—8 degrees celsius for most, but a bit colder where the skies do manage to stay clearest longest. on into thursday, then, and these north—easterly winds will continue to feed

the cloud in for many areas. the west is best in terms of any sunshine. but i suspect we will have quite a few showers at times through the morning across the wash area. and then the showers probably break out more widely across east anglia, as you head into the afternoon. all the while, we'll see this line of showers, through most of the day, affecting east kent and running on into the channel islands, where, for some, it could be quite wet. although, for many of us, again, away from those eastern areas, it will be a relatively dry day. brisk north—east winds gusting about 30 mph, around some of the north sea coasts, will make it feel rather cool. now, we still have those north—easterly winds for friday but, if anything, they're a little bit less strong. and again, friday is the day with rather a lot of cloud around, a few bright or sunny spells, and we will continue to see an odd shower or two popping up. the majority of these, again, affecting eastern parts of scotland and eastern areas of england. what about the weekend weather prospects? well, a lot more of that cloudy weather on the horizon, with a few light showers from time to time. now, you'll start to notice the winds going round to more

of a northerly direction, across the far north of scotland, bringing the showers in here. so a greater chance of seeing some showers for shetland and orkney, where things will start to get a little bit cooler. otherwise, again, a lot of cloud around, some bright or sunny spells and temperatures 11—14 degrees. sunday sees that colder air moving a little bit further southwards across the north of scotland. so temperatures will be dipping away here. again, a lot of cloud, a few brighter spells, but i think a greater chance of seeing showers across the northern half of the country, turning colder in aberdeen — highs of eight on sunday.

this is bbc news, the headlines: police in thailand have moved in to disperse pro—democracy protersters who have gathered around government house in the capital bangkok. the government has brought in an emergency decree in response to a series of protests. they've banned gatherings of more than five people. france and germany have announced new restrictions to try to stop the spread of coronavirus. a strict night—time curfew has been imposed in paris. in germany, bars will be forced to close early and there will be limits on people meeting in areas with rising numbers of cases. tough new restrictions are coming into force in the uk. schools in northern ireland will be closing for two weeks. all pubs and restaurants, hairdressers and beauticians will also have to shut their doors for a month. officials have suggested hospitals are only 10 days away from being overwhelmed.