welcome to bbc news — i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: president trump attacks his own top coronavirus adviser — describing the highly respected expert anthony fauci as a "disaster". could china's covid success drive it further apart from the united states — we have a special report. belgium's health minister warns the country could soon be overwhelmed by new coronavirus infections as cases there soar. one small step for man — one giant phone call for mankind. why there may soon be mobiles on the moon.

donald trump has taken a swipe at the country's top infectious disease expert, dr anthony fauci, allegedly calling him a "disaster" on a campaign staff call and suggesting people are tired of listening to him. it comes a day after the highly respected dr fauci told the media he wasn't surprised trump caught covid—19. here's the president being asked about the matter shortly after touching down in arizona on monday. i think the doctor is a very nice man that we let him do what he wants to do and he gets a lot of television, he loves being on television. sometimes he says things that are a little off and they dealt built up, unfortunately, he is a nice quy up, unfortunately, he is a nice guy andi up, unfortunately, he is a nice guy and i like your body is made of lot about called city he said don't wear a mask and he said don't wear a mask and he said don't ban china. i don't hold that against him. i think he is a

nice guy to do i do want to hurt him. he has been there for about 350 years. i don't want to hurt him. well, against the background of the political arguments, the numbers of cases in the united states are continuing to rise. we're joined from baltimore byjustin lessler, associate professor of epidemiology atjohns hopkins. let's leave the politics out of it and stick to the numbers. the cases arising across the country but give us a picture of what is happening. what areas are you most worried about? we are seeing rises almost everywhere. for a few weeks now it has really been the western states, the great plains states in the middle of the country, dakota, wuhan, montana where we have seen rises but now we have seen them almost everywhere. 0nly rises but now we have seen them almost everywhere. only a few states seem to be petering along at a level pace like we

had been four months. what are some of the reasons behind this rise? a few things are going on. one is that much of the social distancing measures that had been put in during spring have slowly been let off. month by month a little less. during the resurgence is in the summer, the resurgence is in the summer, some the resurgence is in the summer, some returned but mostly they are being let off and that is part of what is going on. also it is the weather. people are being forced back inside, it is getting cold and all those people who had socialised outside a socially blazing inside where transmission is easier and for some viruses like influenza, is easier in cold weather, biologically. we don't know if that is yet true for coronavirus but we have some indications it may be to do what measures you now need to be implemented? we need to think about re— implementing mild social distancing

measures, perhaps increasing mask mandates so we can start getting a control of this increasing epidemic curve before it gets out of control. my before it gets out of control. my fear is that if we let things get truly out of hand, we may have to go back to the age of stay—at—home orders and blanket business closures and nobody wants that. so we need something now to get things under control. doing something now requires, of course, compliance from people did it do you get the sense that there isa do you get the sense that there is a bit of fatigue? there is certainly a bit of fatigue and the way public health is structured in the united states we do not have a unified system like you guys over there. the is structured here leads to some challenges with messaging. every state has their own public health agency that is independent and even within the states the local county or city public health agencies are powerful and

that can lead to a bit of problems with unified messaging and combined with the fatigue of fighting this for so long i think it is hard to get everybody to work as one to combat this thing which is really what we need to do. and the only real way out is a vaccine to take your thoughts ona timing vaccine to take your thoughts on a timing for that? i do not wa nt to on a timing for that? i do not want to predict the future. we are in better shape than we have ever been so soon after discovering a virus. we have multiple vaccines in phase three trials, the last stage before you can broadly start distributing them through the population. but nothing is authorised yet and there will be heavy logistical challenges to getting them out to enough people. so i do not think, i do not think anyone should depend on that to get us out of the woods in the near term but

things look more hopeful than one could have expected. thank you very much. china's latest financial figures show that its economy grew by 4.9% in the past three months, another sign of how effectively it has brought the coronavirus under control. meanwhile, the us is struggling in comparison, with the widening gap in performance only likely to fuel hostility between washington and beijing. this week across bbc news we are exploring whether president trump's "america first" strategy has changed the world, and what the result of the election will mean for america's friends and foes. 0ur china correspondent, john sudworth, looks at how the us election is being viewed in china. china has conquered covid its way. normality restored, with barely a murmur of public debate and, of course, not a single vote for or against the leaders who have delivered it. state propaganda drives

the message home. with americans voting amid protests and a still uncontrolled pandemic, democracy is presented not as an alternative but a disaster. the virus has widened the growing gulf between the us and china. and christian is one of the casualties. he had his us visa temporarily revoked by a us administration that now sees chinese students as potential spies. "i worry it might happen again," he says, telling me he is now thinking of studying in the uk instead. who do you want to win the election, trump or biden? of course biden. and you might think this man would agree. despite the initial warmth... my feeling towards you is an incredibly warm one... ..within months of this meeting, relations were in

the deep freeze, but it is notjust donald trump who has come to view china's system as a threat. it is this system that now lies at the heart of one of the defining ideological rivalries of our time. china will know that ifjoe biden wins, he may be more effective than his predecessor at building coalitions with like—minded allies against it. the communist party's initial cover—up of the virus, its incarceration of minorities and its tightening grip on hong kong means — trump or biden — the us—china rift is likely to widen. and over trade, too. the beijing car show — more proof of the success of china's draconian lockdowns and mass virus testing, it is also a demonstration of the country's rising economic power.

this chinese car costs £65,000. some analysts believe trump is actually giving china an advantage. trump or biden? well, if you ask me for china's own interest, i will prefer to have trump there rather than biden. seems to me that trump will undermine the us much more than cause trouble to china. in the chaos of the us covid election, china sees the possibility of an unlikely winner — xijinping, and signs of a long anticipated us decline. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. i've been talking to wang huiyao, president of the centre for china and globalisation. i began by asking him if he thought donald trump was good or bad for china. president trump

has actually brought some hopes because he isa brought some hopes because he is a businessman and more pragmatic, more business oriented and he has said many times that president xi jinping is his friend. but u nfortu nately we ca n is his friend. but unfortunately we can see that has soured quite a bit because there was a trade war and he also has many hawkish advisors and many active proposals and sanctions on china though it has turned down the atmosphere quite a lot. it is not the us we used to know, it is more unilateral, more american first, and undermined the law today and it continues to the relations have been

badly damaged. given that, with this election do you think it is better now for donald trump to stay in power orforjoe biden? from a chinese perspective? they have their pros and cons. for president trump, he will continue his success and he will carry phase ii and phase three hopefully and he will be more business oriented again i think you will be more relaxed compared to his first term and he will pursue more of american business interest. so for that i think china administrators and the negotiations will continue and some progress can be made there. stay tuned to bbc news over the next few days for more from that series. we'll be live in kabul to focus on america's military disengagement as well as reporting on the us role in africa. president trump says he is ready to remove sudan from a us list of state sponsors of terrorism after the new government agreed

to pay millions of dollars in compensation to american victims of attacks. the payment relates to al qaeda's bombing of american embassies in kenya and tanzania in 1998. al qaeda leader 0sama bin laden had been welcomed by the then sudanese president 0mar al bashir. six russian military intelligence officers have been charged in the united states with carrying out cyberattacks on ukraine's power grid, the 2017 french elections and the 2018 winter olympic games. the usjustice department says they also attacked computers of businesses worldwide, causing nearly $1 billion in losses to three us companies alone. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we'll find out what inspired this musical work, performed for the first time by an orchestra of young black, asian and ethnically

diverse musicians. a historic moment that many of his victims have waited for for decades. the former dictator in the dock, older, slimmer, and, as he sat down, obedient enough. dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of night on the plain outside korem, it lights up a biblical famine, now, in the 20th century. the depressing conclusion, in argentina today, it's actually cheaper to paper your walls with money. we've had controversies in the past with great britain. but as good friends, we've always found a good and lasting solution. concorde bows out in style. after almost three decades in service, an aircraft that enthralled its many admirers for so long taxis home one

last time. this is bbc news. the latest headline: president trump attacks his own top coronavirus adviser, describing the highly respected expert anthony fauci as a "disaster". belgium's health minister fears the country could soon be overwhelmed by new coronavirus infections. new measures are now in place as it's feared soaring case numbers are close to quote "a tsunami" where authorities "no longer control what is happening". meanwhile, infection numbers are climbing across europe, prompting lots of new restrictions. mark lobel reports. last orders have been called

in belgium's bars, now closed for four weeks. with alcohol sales elsewhere banned after 8pm each night, asked how he feels now, this pub owners is not so good. restau ra nts this pub owners is not so good. restaurants are shut as well. the real catastrophe is there is not a proven reason, a medical reason that it was in restau ra nts. medical reason that it was in restaurants. belgians must work from home if possible, leaving officers empty. having been one officers empty. having been one of the worst hit countries during europe's first wave of coronavirus earlier this year, this second scare, with cases up this second scare, with cases up 80% over a week, and hospitalisations up, it means that belgian‘s residents are only allowed to see one other person from outside their household. and a curfew is in place from midnight until 5am as the government wrestles to get on top of a looming health crisis. translation: that's life. like some people say, there are quite a few people

who don't take enough precautions i would say. in italy, there are also new rules for restaurants, alongside new restrictions that allow me as to close public areas and changes to secondary school hours. and in france, nine major cities have been placed under curfew. meanwhile in the czech republic, where facemasks will be mandatory outdoors from wednesday, which has the highest infection rate on the continent, the government is considering a full national lockdown. to lift spirits to tackle the virus, the world health organization's new m essa 9 es health organization's new messages that we are all one globalfamily. afamily is a family is the affection and ca re a family is the affection and care and love and desire to protect those around you, and with this pandemic, to me it has brought the whole world

together as a family, it really has. spotted in a now deserted brussels, one moment that suggests by pulling together, getting through this second act may feel easier. in dublin, the irish government will impose the highest level of restrictions across the entire country for the next six weeks. measures to ban households mixing and to close non essential businesses will come in at midnight on wednesday. this is after a surge in cases over last two weeks. here's our ireland correspondent emma va rdy. the arrival of a second lockdown for many was an unwelcome inevitability. what remains of dublin's nightlife will soon disappear once more. it's just confusing, but it is, like, understandable because of all the cases. also, it's kind of annoying for young people because there's no outlet for young people and we're constantly being criticised and cases are rising but, what do you expect?

why shut shops if you're not shutting schools? you have teachers and classrooms and they're full. like, you can't social distance in them. counties along the irish border have been some of the worst affected, as cases of the virus have climbed for a second time. for micheal, who doubles as a funeral director and shop manager in the village of inniskeen... hello, good afternoon. how are you doing? ..the virus is feeling increasingly present. it's coming very close in the local community here. it's coming practically nearly to every house. do you think it will be harder this time around? coming into the darker evenings and that, people are housebound. they can't go out for a walk, they can't walk the dog, they can't exercise. so, they're be stuck inside their house and they have no comfort or whatever. ireland has a tiered system. this county is in tier four. people have been told they'll have a few days to prepare before they're moved to tier 5, the highest level of restrictions and close to where things were back in march. tonight, the irish prime minister announced that

nonessential businesses must close across ireland for six weeks. restaurants, cafes and bars will be permitted to provide takeaway services only. only essential retail may remain open. everyone in the country is being asked to stay at home, with exercise permitted within a five kilometre radius of your home. only essential workers whose physical presence in the workplace are permitted to travel to work. those who can work from home must do so. it comes after a wave of new restrictions in northern ireland began on friday. but while the republic of ireland will keep schools open, northern ireland closed schools from today, an extra week on the half term break. certainly if this break was to continue beyond two weeks, i think the pressures that would be brought to bear would be enormous. we really have to try make a change for this year because it's just, you know, it's proving to be impossible to provide those children

with the level of education they would require. in the irish counties with the highest rates of infections, food and hospitality businesses have already shut. but the government believes these localised measures aren't working. so, tonight, much more of ireland is braced for a near total return to the lockdown of before. emma vardy, bbc news, dublin. the government of wales has announced a two—week lockdown to control the spread of the coronavirus. announcing the measure, the welsh first minister, mark drakeford, said that apart from essential workers, everybody in wales would be required to stay at home from friday evening. britain's first mainly black, asian and ethnically diverse orchestra, chineke, has performed the world premiere of a work inspired by a black demonstrator who came to the aid of a white protester during a black lives matter protest earlier this year. the image of patrick hutchinson's act of kindness went viral on social media.

our arts editor will gompertz went to the dress rehearsal. i will stare at this image numerous times, my eyelids will pull and plead to blink to quell this heat slowly rising... it takes you somewhere, it allows you time to breathe. it allows some truth to come out. like the same programmes every festive season... this is remnants, a new piece of music and poetry watched for the first time by patrick hutchinson, the man who inspired it for the action he took injune when he carried a counter protester to safety from a black lives matter demonstration in london. can you relate what happened here with what you have just heard in there? yes, ican. with the combination of the spoken word, with the powerful music, 100%. on the day, if you were there, amongst the melee, it was hectic, there was a lot of

confusion. there was a mixture of love and hate because there were people trying to protect him and there were also people who wanted harm to come to him. and that resonates really a lot with what happened inside there, i really felt it. the history of black composers in what we call classical music has really been forgotten but i think there is a real hunger in this industry to kind of right that wrong and to also welcome everybody into the world of classical music. i had this... the sort of hairs went up on the back of my neck because i knew this was a piece to be reckoned with. it's got such dynamism and such angst and passion in it, that it just took flight. i knew we were in for something very

magical and very special. i'll laugh at the joy of the hero's children... remnants is not so much a celebration of an act of kindness, more an invitation to ask the questions that arise from it, about representation, social anxiety and equality. it is very much of and about the world today. will gompertz, bbc news. mobile phones have become a vital tool in the lives of billions of people around the world. however, getting a signal may occasionally be a problem, but now nasa has ambitious plans to change that — somewhere you might not expect. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. it was one of humanity's greatest achievements, apollo 11, greatest achievements, apollo ii, the mission that sent neil armstrong and buzz alter into the moon. just imagine if that

historic moment had gone something like this... one small step for man,... phone rings. one giant leap for mankind. a fairly fanciful notion for 1969, but perhaps notion for 1969, but perhaps not here in the 21st century. the finished telecommunications company nokia has been asked by macro to set up a mobile phone network on the moon. —— asked by nasa. in a statement... it's all part of the artemis programme, america's attempts to return to our nearest celestial neighbour. nokia says

the system, initially only operating using 4g technology, should be set up by the end of 2022. then, if all goes to plan, astronauts will arrive two years later and eventually setting up a permanent base. the mood has been a constant presence, and a constant mystery, but barring roaming charges, it may soon be just a phone call away. phone rings. the hollywood actor, jeff bridges, has announced he has been diagnosed with lymphoma. the 70—year—old star of films including the big lebowski, crazy heart and true grit said he was starting treatment. he promised to keep fans updated and said the prognosis is "good". there's plenty more on the website, do check that out. you can reach me on twitter —

i'm @ lvaughanjones. this is bbc news, goodbyes. very, very mild out there at the moment. and tuesday promises to be a very mild day too. we have southerly winds across the uk, and the air is coming all the way from spain and portugal, in fact. there's a bit of rain in the forecast too. quite a lot of it. you can see this big low pressure there sweeping in from the south of the cloud, that is with the air is coming from, all the way from iberia. so, with the winds it will be a very mild morning, with a lot of cloud and outbreaks of rain too, it'll have been a very wet night in northern ireland, and parts of scotland but these are the morning temperatures. 13 in plymouth, double figures also across some northern part of the uk. the rain will be intermittent, it will come and go across most parts of england or wales. but northern ireland in the afternoon could see persistent heavy showers and probably clip parts of southwest

scotland as well. but aberdeen will be a little bit brighter. but look at the temperatures. we are pushing 20 in the southeast. it's more likely to be 17 to 19 degrees there. now, on wednesday, another low pressure comes in. remnants of storm barbara which will have swept across parts of portugal, spain, the bay of biscay. we are not too sure how much wind this weather system will bring. the thinking is it will certainly bring a fair bit of rain and you see the dark blues there, but the wind could be for a time quite strong in the extreme southeast of the country. further west and north, a different weather pattern and more sunshine for the lake district, but not completely dry. there are some showers around across the northwest of the uk. it is still going to be mild and the weather system are still coming in from the south. thursday, we have a bit of a break in the weather, and between weather systems. you can see fewer isobars on the weather map. the white pressure lines.

that means that winds will be a lot lighter with some sunshine around and thursday is promising to be a pretty decent day across most of the uk. you can see the weather system out there in the north sea and one in the atlantic with a bit of wet weather to the south of us and we're in between so there will be more sunshine around. temperatures will be around 12 to 16 degrees. a little bit fresher. you can see the temperatures peaking on tuesday. from then onwards, it looks like it will cool off a tad bit. overall, staying on the mild side. that is it for me. goodbye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump has reportedly described the us government's top coronavirus adviser as "a disaster". dr fauci had previously said he wasn't surprised mr trump caught covid—19. the president has repeatedly clashed with dr fauci — a highly respected infectious diseases expert. it's little more than two weeks now until the us presidential election, and early voting has begun in several states. florida, arkansas, idaho, north dakota and colorado have opened their polling stations, joining several other states who had already done so. election day is november the 3rd. belgium's health minister fears the country could soon be overwhelmed by new coronavirus infections. new measures are now in place as it's feared soaring case numbers are close to a tsunami, where authorities no longer control what is happening. at the public inquiry into