has it cheered you up through lockdown? oh, yes! yeah? oh, that's good. care homes closed their doors to visitors seven months ago, but those at teal beck house have assured their families there's no need to worry about them. # and then a hero comes along. # with the strength to carry on. # and you cast your fears aside. # and you know you can survive... # let's have a look at the weather with stav. we started the week with most of the rhine across scotland and northern ireland, but england and wales will now bear the brunt, windy at times. have a look at the radar and satellite picture, wet weather

across northern scotland, not a bad day elsewhere, some sunshine, low pressure a cross day elsewhere, some sunshine, low pressure across ireland generating strong winds through the irish sea and heavy rain across northern ireland, shell is pushing into west and wales, southern scotland, some could be heavy with rumbles of thunder, but not a bad day elsewhere. given some sunshine, despite the breeze, temperatures reaching 19 degrees across some areas, quite mild across the north too. through tonight, cloudy skies for most of us, showery bursts of rain, wetand for most of us, showery bursts of rain, wet and windy across northern scotland, then we look to the south, a new area of low pressure will bring some very wet weather to southern parts of the country later in the night. but it will be a mild night, 9—11; degrees. this new area of low pressure has been named by the spanish weather service as storm barbara, affecting england and wales through wednesday, not causing the same issues as in spain and portugal, but very wet indeed across central, southern and eastern

england, and for a time we could see gale force winds affecting the far south—eastern through the channel, something to watch, it could cause disruption. further north, windy and wet across northern scotland, a few showers in between, may be a bit of brightness here and there, 14—17 , another fairly brightness here and there, 14—17 , anotherfairly mild brightness here and there, 14—17 , another fairly mild day. brightness here and there, 14—17 , anotherfairly mild day. through wednesday night, clearance across the south of the country, good news for the stargazers wanting to look at the meteor shower, because it does look like tomorrow will be better than tonight across southern areas, and through this week it is the peak of the meteor shower as well. that area of low pressure will push away into scandinavia as we head into thursday, a bit of a hang back across the north and east of the country, but a ridge of high pressure building on, things are settling down through thursday. some further showery bursts across the north and east of scotland, one or two showers north and east of scotland, one or two s howe i’s a cross north and east of scotland, one or two showers across england and wales, but generally speaking, drier and brighter than it has been, not quite as mild, temperatures into the

low to mid teens, closer to the seasonal norm. into friday and into the weekend, it looks like it will turn and settled again with a series of low pressure system is pushing in off the atlantic bringing rain to northern and western areas, winds becoming a feature across northern and western areas as we head on into the weekend. for the most part, staying on the mild side. a reminder of our top story. the midday deadline on a deal with manchester for lockdown measures passes — the prime minister will hold a news conference in downing street later this afternoon. good afternoon. it's 1.30pm and here's your latest sports news. there's a big 2a hours ahead for wasps, as they wait to find out

if they can play in this weekend's premiership rugby final. all the players have been tested for coronavirus again this morning, after seven of the squad previously tested positive. our rugby union correspondent is chrisjones. the wasps testing has taken place this morning and the results take 2a hours to come through, so it will probably be in the early hours tomorrow when we find out if this virus has spread even further through their squad and if they can play in this premiership final on saturday. i imagine there are a lot of nervous figures at wasps and bristol. bristol are on standby at the moment. premiership rugby, as well, there will be a lot of people desperate for this game to go ahead as planned, just so the league, the tournament at the competition can retain a semblance of integrity because it would be an outlook of bristol, having been well beaten by wasps, were to end up playing

mbappe premiership final. some people have suggested if wasps can't take part just get the title to exeter because they have earned it. do you think there would be any support of that, just cancelled the final and give the title to exeter? i think it is too late in the day to do that now. in an ideal world that may be most preferable, given exeter have been the standout team, given bristol to tap beaten by wasps in the semifinal. it is just a very unusual sub—ideal look, isn't it, to have a beaten semifinalist given a reprieve? that is not how it should work. the flip side is that this was written down in the regulations back in august, all the club signed up to it, and what is keeping rugby afloat at the moment is television money and the fact is the satellite broadcasters can still have their big day on saturday whoever is involved, people will be watching at home. a lot does go into this, but when you have got

bristol themselves, players, coaches saying in an ideal world it will be wasps against exeter as planned, then you know where the sentiment is and where the light of the land is. most people are behind the fact that it would be much betterfor the integrity of the competition if wasps to get the all clear to play and to have their shot at exeter. even bristol fans might feel it is best if that is how it ends up but we are all in the hands of the results and we will see come wednesday. the champions league is back. manchester united and chelsea play in the group stages tonight. united are away to paris saint—germain, the scene of one of their best european wins in recent years. an injury—time penalty from marcus rashford completed a miraculous comeback to sent them through to the quarterfinals in 2019, but boss ole gunner solskjaer says that win won't influence tonight's game. we're a different team, they are a different team, and it's a different stage of the

competition. of course, also without fans it's going to be a different game, because i thought the last game when we got the first goal early on, that impacted the crowd. it's a whole completely new situation. england's cricketers will be allowed to withdraw from tours if their mental health is affected by living and playing in bio—secure bubbles. that's according to the limited—overs captain, eoin morgan. england's games were played in bubbles this summer and are expected to be needed for the tours to south africa, sri lanka and india next year. morgan says mental health is a priority and he expects players to pull out of future tours because of the added pressures. that's it from us for now, more in the next hour. greater manchester is in limbo after

that midday deadline passed for a deal with the government over moving to tier 3 of the covid rules. we know that andy burnham, the mayor of greater manchester, and boris johnson spoke by telephone at lunchtime. just hearing from lewis goodall, he is the bbc newsnight policy editor. we are awaiting the result of that call. we know there is a news briefing at five o'clock, but this is going to the wire without deadline passing at midday. we understand that it is £75 million that leaders in manchester are seeking from the government before they agree to

upping the restriction in theirarea. we they agree to upping the restriction in their area. we will keep you updated, any developments on bats, but a moving story under may well be movement before the prime minister ta kes movement before the prime minister takes questions at five o'clock. the first minister of scotland has said that 15 deaths after a positive test for coronavirus have been registered in scotland since yesterday. in her daily coronavirus briefing, nicola sturgeon said 824 people with the virus are in hospital, which is 70 more than yesterday. she also said she expects to be able to announce her plans for a tiered system of coronavirus restrictions on thursday or friday. asi as i indicated last week, we will publish this week details of our new strategic approach to tackling the virus. i hope to discuss the outlines at this tomorrow with leaders of the other parties in the scottish parliament and we will then publish our strategic framework at the end of the week before debating it in parliament next week. one of

the things that framework will set out the difference tiers levels of restrictions with may be applied in future either locally or nationally across scotland, depending on how the virus is spreading. we will also indicate based on the latest advice what level should apply to different parts of the country, or potentially all of the country, once the current temporary restrictions on hospitality come to an end on 22nd october. the framework will summarise our work to improve the effectiveness of existing measures to curb covid, for example how we will work to improve compliance with advice, the review testing strategy and how we will continue to support test and protect, and how we will provide support for businesses and individuals so they can comply with all their being asked to do, either now or in the in the future. the publication of the framework is an important step as we

look ahead to the winter and prepare to manage the virus over what may well be, and i would expect to become a very challenging period, so we hope that the framework can command broad support both politically and parliament and across wider society. but this is where i will land. it is worth stressing that although the strategic framework will update our approach to tackling the virus, many of the basic elements of that approach will not change, in particular it will continue to be vital that to slow the spread of the virus all of us as individuals stick to all of the essential rules and guidelines on hygiene, physical distance and limiting contact with other households. in the past half—hour, the welsh economy minister, ken skates, has given an update on financial support to deal with the coronavirus lockdown. he said that there will be nearly £300 million of welsh government funding available to support businesses affected by the two—week firebreak. grants of £1,000 will be available to businesses eligible for small business rates relief and occupying a property with a rateable value under

£12,000, whether or not they are required to close. this has already been acknowledged as a good offer and recognises the acute challenge that our small businesses are facing right across wales. grants of £5,000 will be available to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses required to close during the firebreak and occupying a property with a rateable value between £12,001 and £50,000. businesses will be automatically eligible for these elements and only need to update information and bank details via business wales or their local authority. in addition, discretionary funds of £2,000 will be made available on an application basis for businesses closed or materially affected by the firebreak. and a further discretionary £1,000 grant will be made available to businesses on the same basis where they are materially affected by local lockdown measures for 21

days or more prior to the start of the firebreak. i'm pleased to say a further £20 million is also being put into business grants and we will remove the co—funding requirement for businesses required to close during the firebreak lockdown period. this means £100 million in business grants will be available for businesses of all sizes. and those who are self—employed will be able to continue to access the uk government's extended self—employment income support scheme. however, for some, that support may not be enough, so i'm pleased to say that they will also be eligible to apply for the local authority discretionary grant funding, which will be operated by councils across wales. belgium's health minister fears the country could soon be overwhelmed by new coronavirus infections. 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 owner says, not so good. restaurants are shut too. real catastrophe, because there is not a proven reason, medical reason, that it was in restaurants. belgians must work from home if possible, leaving offices 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 80% over a week and hospitalisations up, it means that belgium's residents are now only allowed to see one other person from outside their household. and a curfew is in place 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 mayors 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, and 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 message is that we are all one globalfamily. a family has the affection and the care and the love and the desire to protect those around you. 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. mark lobel, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: the mid—day deadline on a deal with manchester local leaders on lockdown measures passes — local leaders had asked for £75 million before agreeing to going into tier 3. official figures show the number of weekly registered coronavirus deaths has risen beyond 400. that's an increase of a third in the space of seven days. heathrow becomes the first uk airport to offer covid testing for departing passengers, with the result delivered in around one hour. with cutbacks in trade and foreign aid, it's clear that africa is no longer a priority for america. donald trump has never visited the continent during his presidency.

the repercussions of america's foreign policy towards africa are being felt by thousands of people on the continent, especially women. 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. our africa correspondent nomsa maseko looks at america's relationship with africa and how that is changing. business is booming here. hundreds of workers are producing thousands of garments every day and that is thanks to a us—africa trade treaty which help supportjobs in a0 african countries. the africa growth and opportunity act, agoa in short, has helped revive the textile industry here in lesotho, but it has shortcomings. agoa is benefiting the fdi investors, the foreign direct investors, because all of the money doesn't come to lesotho,

it goes direct to their banks, wherever they are banking. it has been an opportunity that came, but lesotho never benefited as probably it was planned that it would benefit. but america probably won't renew this trade deal come 2025. people here are worried. they could all lose theirjobs. if it ended, it might be that we have to close down because we cannot compete with the outside world. and it is notjust trade. in 2017, president donald trump reintroduced a policy that restricts funding to organisations providing or advocating for abortions, like this closed clinic. since then, there has been a 40% increase in terminations of pregnancy in african countries that depend on us aid. people who benefited are

now deprived of the services. the consequences of that are there because we are dealing with high rates of unintended pregnancies, particularly among young couples, as well as young girls. across africa, clinics like this one have been forced to close down because the us cut its funding. now women in this area can no longer get contraceptives. so a decision taken in washington means many in washington means many women here in africa have nowhere else to turn. this woman is one of them. translation: i used to visit the clinic every month to collect contraceptives, but i've now been forced to buy them because the clinic is closed. i can't afford to do that every month and i fear i will fall pregnant. analysts argue that president trump has a benign disinterest in africa. donald trump has total disregard for africa.

he has not travelled here and if he was to be re—elected i doubt we would see him anywhere on the continent. he figures this is not worth his attention. it is clear that africa has become less of a priority for america. a large amount of the continent's infrastructure, including this road that is being constructed here, is backed by china's funding. china became a major player in africa well before president trump came to power, but its influence here has increased during his presidency. china is building roads, ports, airports all over africa, strengthening its presence. while president trump's mission is to make america great, his administration has largely remained disengaged with one of the world's fastest growing regions. what remains to be seen what the outcome of the upcoming us elections will mean for africa. afg hanistan‘s national security

advisor has told the bbc his country faces the very real threat of a renewed civil war, as the last american troops prepare to withdraw. hamdullah mohib warns that the taliban is not prepared to compromise in order to break an impasse in the us—brokered peace deal to end 18 years of conflict. he's been speaking to our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. we are doing everything we can to give peace a chance. we're looking forward to see if the taliban would be willing to make a compromise and be realistic about what their role in the future of could be. but if they continue to insist that we surrendered the afghan people to them, then we have a defensive plan that will protect the people in our country. so while some afghans are at the table talking peace, you are also preparing for war. i think war and

peace go together. the taliban will never make peace with us in earnest if they don't believe that we can defeat them in war. so what they're doing right now is buying time, because they don't believe in our capabilities. they think that perhaps once the americans have gone, the afghan security forces will collapse, the government will not be able to sustain itself. they still don't believe that the operations we're conducting our operations by the andsf. they claim that this must be the americans helping us. a lot to worry about — what's your top worry now? if we are not able to secure and save afghanistan from civil war, then that would be a big load on my mind that i think would be very hard to live

with. how likely is that threat of a civil war right now? it's very likely, but we are doing what we can to mitigate it. now, the taliban could play smart politics and negotiate in a good way. i don't know if they have it within them, if they have the pragmatism to see that and see that they are going into an area where they will have an even harder time in terms of war. they may be good at the kind of war that instills fear into people and threatens them. it's a different ball game once they get into the more conventional warfare. that's the war where you think you have the advantage. we do. mobile phones have become a vital tool in the lives of billions of people around the world. however, as many of us know, getting a signal may

occasionally be a problem, but now nasa has ambitious plans to change that, somewhere you might not expect. tim allman explains. it was one of humanity's greatest achievements — apollo 11, the mission that sent neil armstrong and buzz aldrin to the moon. butjust imagine if that historic moment had gone something like this. that's one small step for man... mobile phone rings. ..one giant leap for mankind. mobile phone rings. a fairly fanciful notion for 1969 — but perhaps not here in the 21st—century. the finnish telecommunications company nokia has been asked by nasa to set—up a mobile phone network on the moon. in a statement, the company's chief technology officer said...

it's all part of the artemis programme, america's attempt to return to our closest 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, eventually setting up a permanent base. the moon has been a constant presence and a constant mystery but, barring roaming charges, it might soon be just a phone call away. tim allman, bbc news.

now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. northern ireland to scotland has seen northern ireland to scotland has seen the wettest weather today, but it could be england and wales that will get the wettest weather over the next few days. we have had low whack —— low pressure towards the west which has rob green to northern ireland and southern scotland, 12 showers elsewhere but also some sunny spells. through this evening and overnight windy weather is confined to scotland. a lot of clutter on generally and we will see some persistent and heavy rain starting to push up into southern england. the temperature is pretty mild overnight, no lower than ten up to 40 mild overnight, no lower than ten up to a0 degrees for many. this

new area of low pressure was named storm barbara by the spanish maths service. as it moved towards are short it will not be quite as severe, but it will bring quite a lot of rainfall throughout wednesday in parts of england and wales, particularly in the south—east quadrant. we will also see strong winds in the extreme south—east, through the channel there, gusting up through the channel there, gusting up to 60 miles an hourfor a time. further north, one or two showers, and we hang onto the wet weather in northern scotland, here it will be very windy, too. a mild data, maybe not quite as mild tomorrow at three tuesday afternoon, still up to 70 degrees here, still quite cool for the northern isles. that area of low pressure pulls away. still a bit of a hand back as we head onto the start of thursday, but a ridge of high pressure will continue to build them through the day settling things down. we do start off with very breezy conditions in the

north and east, outbreaks of rain for northern and eastern scotland. increasing amounts of sunshine as we head on into the afternoon for england, wales and northern ireland. not as mild as it has been in recent days, closer to the seasonal average, in fa ct. closer to the seasonal average, in fact. heading into friday, more low pressure starts to slip into northern and western areas, china watcher in the west, with gales for all heading into the weekend.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the talking continues as the noon deadline to agree a financial package for tier 3 restrictions in manchester passes. the prime minister will hold a news conference later. health is about more than controlling the virus. if we leave people in a tier 3 lockdown that could go on through the winter, where people can't go to their normal place of work, i think we could end up with a mental health crisis. the number of weekly registered deaths involving coronavirus across england and wales rises by a third in just seven days. some passengers flying from heathrow will be the first to have the option of paying for a 20—minute covid test before checking in. healthy volunteers in the uk will be infected with coronavirus to help the search for a vaccine — the first study of