this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm celia hatton. fighting the latest surge — spain and italy introduce new emergency measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus. translation: the freedom of movement of people is prohibited from 11pm to 6am throughout the country. it will only be possible to circulate in this time zone for the justified reasons established in the regulation. a special forces unit detains a group of stowaways who threatened the crew of a tanker off the uk's south coast. police in belarus fire stun grenades at protesters calling for the resignation

of president alexander lukashenko. and the polls close in chile as the nation votes on whether or not to rewrite the country's constitution. hello, and welcome to bbc news. tough new restrictions are being introduced in spain and italy. in a moment, we'll hear from our correspondent in rome. but first, this report from the bbc‘s guy hedgecoe in spain, where the prime minister's approved tighter measures that will be in place for a month. seven months after spain's government introduced a state of emergency to tackle coronavirus, it is doing so again. in the spring, the measure was used as a legal framework to implement a strict national lockdown. this time, the measures will not be quite as tight, although a national curfew

is being introduced. translation: the freedom of movement of people is prohibited from 11pm to 6am throughout the country. it will only be possible to circulate in this time zone for the justified reasons established in the regulation. for example, to acquire medicines, to carry out one's work or professional obligations, to return home or to take care of adults or minors. also local authorities will be able to restrict movement between regions and take other measures they deem necessary. spain has become the first european country to surpass i million cases of covid—i9. there is concern that in some areas, such as the northern regions of navarre, high infection rates are putting renewed pressure on health care services. guy hedgecoe, bbc news, madrid. waiting, not on tables

but on news of their future. worried staff at a prime roman restaurant in a crisis meeting over new measures. inside, they prepare the last suppers. from tomorrow, they will close from 6pm, only takeaway after that. the family business was just starting to recover from the first wave. we are really, really worried about it, for sure. you know, it's a very difficult situation, and september was the first month for us that started to go in the right way. so, now we have to stop again. all our life is here. we are four families, with sons, children, with babies and we love this job. the prime minister announced a looser lockdown than last time. a maximum of four people at tables, gyms, pools, cinemas and theatres closed, italians advised to move around only if necessary. he knows patience is wearing thin. protests by fringe groups against restrictions turned ugly this weekend.

its economy already forecast to shrink by 10% this year, italy can't afford a second shutdown. but with soaring cases, the government says italy needs another push to get the virus under control. its management of the pandemic has been widely supported here, but with venues closing again, the mood may change and there will be no gyms to let off steam. of course, that will undermine our... just overall sanity, i think, both physically and mentally, and i think amongst the many decisions which could have been taken, i think this one in particular was perhaps, yeah, a bit rash or not really necessary. it could have been dealt with differently. it's too serious not to act. over 1200 are now in intensive care, up almost 1000 since last month.

the first country in the west crushed by the pandemic is seeing a grim history repeating itself, and hopes it's not too late to turn the tide. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. here in the uk, a military operation onboard a tanker in the english channel has ended with the arrest of seven people after special forces stormed the ship. it's thought stowaways were causing problems on board the vessel, which had sailed from lagos in nigeria. the bbc‘s duncan kennedy has the latest. it really has been an extraordinary few hours ending with this special forces raid on a tanker in the solent behind me here. that raid involved four helicopters with teams of what's called special boat service, sbs, specialforces. they're based about 50 miles, about 70 km down the coast here. and they landed on the deck of this vessel in their four helicopters and used what was described as "overwhelming force" to retake the ship.

they detained seven individuals, and we're told the whole operation only took around nine minutes, so a very quick operation. an extremely highly proficient professional service, the sbs. very well—known in many parts of the world. we're also told that no members of the crew were hurt during this operation. it was authorised by the home secretary and the defence secretary earlier on this evening at the request of the local police force, hampshire police, and presumably in the intervening hours, that operation was planned and eventually executed this evening. it's not clear what happened with those seven individuals, whether they've since been taken off the tanker and brought ashore or if they're still on board. it all began at 9pm local time here when the crew reported there was some kind of confrontation with stowaways who were on board. they knew the stowaways were there, vut for some reason the stowaways,

in the words of the crew, became violent towards the crew, which led the crew to take refuge in a special lock—up room on board the ship. the use it to protect themselves against pirates on the high sea. they were then able to alert the authorities. a couple of coastguard helicopters were sent out to assess the situation, and at some point the police decided they weren't happy with what was going on, contacted the authorities, the government and the special operation was authorised. now, tonight, both the home secretary and the defence secretary have issued statements thanking the armed forces for their operation and making sure that nobody was hurt in this situation. let's focus on chile now. polling has just closed in a referendum on whether to change the country's constitution. despite some bad weather, voters waited patiently in the long queues which built up because of the need for social distancing. president sebastian pinera agreed to hold a referendum after major anti—government protests broke out last year. i'm joined now

by our south america correspondent katy watson. polls have closed as ijust said. are there any indications which way the vote might go? well, it's still early days for accounting. around 11% of votes have been counted but at the moment we are talking more than 70% for yes to a new constitution and around 20 odd percent for know. and if we look at the images of people in the centre of santiago, the big square, certainly a great deal of expectation that it will be aes to a new constitution. this is been one the central demands of it so many protesters since these mass antigovernment demonstrations started a year ago. this time a year ago, the scenes were pretty similar but much more of an antigovernment kind of anger and frustration that things needed to change. this is been the culmination of

those demands for that change. and if voters will decide they wa nt and if voters will decide they want a new constitution, is there a clear path forward to decide what happens next and how that new document comes into being? there is a clear path forward but it will be a long drawn out process. so by april, there will be the body drawn up to be able to draw up the constitution. they will be voting for that in april and then there will be a referendum with a new draft of the constitution in 2022. so we are talking a long process. in the meantime, there will also be presidential elections and that is one of the criticisms of rewriting the constitution. those who did not wanted to change were concerned that it would bring a lot of instability and uncertainty in a country that has actually flourished economically. the poverty gap has followed, the poverty gap has followed, the poverty rate has fallen but has also led a lot of people behind. there are deep inequalities in the country in

a course that is what has helped to drive these protest and drive the demands for change. and the demands for that new constitution, what did the majority of people want that constitution to contain? well, currently, the 1980 constitution which was drawn up underformer dictator constitution which was drawn up under former dictator augusto pinochet, there were a lot of provisions made for private businesses to provide things like health care, education, pensions and the complaint was that that has left people behind and met people had to pay for schooling, to pay for health care, all of these things cost money and that made life much harderfor the average chilean. so the privileged few have benefited but many more people have struggled to pay. and that is one of the things they wanted to shake up, that much more equal provision for basic services. even water was one of the big rights, that it was in private hands and that is

something that symbolised the ills of chile, the need to be much more equal and available to far many more chileans. something to watch there. thank you. riot police in belarus have fired stun grenades at demonstrators in the capital, minsk, hours before the expiry of a deadline set by the opposition calling on the country's long—term leader, alexander lukashenko, to resign orface a general strike. from moscow, here's stephen rosenberg. this was the moment the centre of minsk descended into chaos and violence. banging. what you can hear are stun grenades fired by the riot police. what you can see is blind panic. anti—government protesters run for cover. they'd come out to deliver an ultimatum — either

alexander lu kashenko agrees to resign, or from monday, there'll be a nationwide strike. from the authorities, the response, as you can see, was no. police sparked terror as they hunted down protesters in apartments. earlier, tens of thousands had taken to the streets to accuse mr lukashenko of stealing the presidency. the strength of feeling against him seems as strong as ever. but will the belarussian people heed the call for a national strike? svetla na ti kha novs kaya, the opposition leader who's been forced into exile, hopes they will. i think that the will of the belarussian people can be changed. and even if we do not

succeed or if we do not get the effect we are waiting for, people will be looking for another kind of struggle, another kind of protest, but we will not stop. last week, mr lukashenko accused protesters are behaving arrogantly and warned they would face the consequences. so the use of force is no surprise. but it was a violent crackdown on peaceful protesters that helped spark the mass protests back in august. it is unlikely to end them now. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. alena kudzko, director of the glob—sec policy institute, a think tank based in bratislava, slovakia, told us it is difficult to predict how the strike will go. a lot of people are going to strike. are going to take off to express solidarity with the strikers.

but we should also understand the difficult situation in which the people of belarus are. striking has been a very difficult and risky enterprise in the country. the government has taken every possible measure to intimidate people and prevent strikes from happening. a lot of leaders of the striking committees were arrested, and some of them had to flee the country. people who intended to strike were fired. workers are facing a very difficult choice. as jobs are very scarce, especially outside minsk, and the government controls most of thejobs. even private companies are facing persecution for being closed down on the strike days. hence, it's very difficult to predict what's going to happen tomorrow. but this by no means implies that the protests are going to decrease in number or scale. indeed.

you mentioned, though, that so many opposition leaders have been arrested or have been forced to flee the country, so what state is the opposition in? we have a very interesting situation in the country. we have the opposition that is very resilient and has not lost its resolve, and we have the government that is not budging. so we definitely have a stalemate, and each side is trying to break it. the opposition, for its part, is trying to come up with more and more creative strategies that are keeping the government off—guard and forcing the government to make more and more mistakes. this deadline that it set for today is one of the strategies to put more pressure on the government. is there any indication the government's bending at all? not so far. the government has responded with more and more violence, but on the other hand, it also had to adapt its tactics. over the past weeks, the government has been very brutal with the protesters, including the use of violence. it also has fired a lot of people. a lot ofjournalists were stripped of their accreditation.

but interestingly, recently, lukashenko has met several political prisoners for what he claims was an attempt to negotiate with the opposition. he seems to be succeeding in co—opting a couple of them in trying to pose as legitimate representatives of the opposition while sidelining the rest of the movements. but the arrest of the country does not seem to be buying anything. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, 0n the final furlong, we report from the states may make the difference in the us presidential election. indira gandhi, ruler of the world's largest democracy died today. 0nly yesterday she spoke of dying and service of our country and said i will be proud of it. every drop of my blow contribute to the growth of this nation. after 46 years

of this nation. after 46 years of unhappiness, these two countries have included a chapter of history. no more suspicion. no more fear. no more uncertainty. of what each day might bring. ignition and lift off of discovery with the crew of six after not heroes and one american legend. this is beautiful. a milestone in human history. born today, this girl in india is the 7,000,000,000th person on the planet. this is bbc news. the latest headlines — fighting the latest surge — spain and italy introduce new emergency measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

a special forces unit detains a group of stowaways who threatened the crew of a tanker off the uk's south coast. the united states says armenia and azerbaijan have agreed a third attempt at a ceasefire in the conflict over the disputed territory of nagorno—karabakh. in a joint statement released with the two governments, the us state department said the truce will come into effect in the coming hours after intensive negotiations in washington between the countries' foreign ministers. fighting has taken place over the territory for almost a month. funerals have been held for the victims of saturday's suicide bombing in the afghan capital, kabul. the number of dead has risen to 24. most of the victims were students at a private education centre. the islamic state group said it carried out the attack. the un described the bombing a senseless war crime. secunder kermani's report contains some flashing images.

the narrow street outside the tuition centre was packed when the suicide bomber struck. fear, panic and shock amongst the students. like this 18—year—old, many were preparing for their university entrance exam next year. translation: i was walking towards the centre when i heard a huge bang. i fell unconscious. when i woke up, i saw my classmates and friends wounded and lying down on the ground. everyone was crying. at the scene today, abandoned textbooks and shattered glass. the suicide bomber was coming down this alley, trying to get inside that gate to the tuition centre when he was challenged by some of the guards and he blew himself up. you can still see some of the marks left by the shrapnel in the wall and the impact the explosion had. most of the residents of this area belong to afghanistan's shia minority.

they've been repeatedly targeted by the islamic state group. still, there's defiance. translation: i don't feel safe, but i won't surrender. if the taliban or daesh fight with weapons, i will fight with my notebook, my pen and my education. i have faith that i will win. there's been a surge in fighting in the country over the past few weeks, largely between the afghan government and the taliban. peace talks have started, but seem to have stalled. is is much less powerful than the taliban and is not part of those negotiations. they can still carry out deadly attacks. today, the young victims of this latest atrocity were laid to rest. written on one of the placards, a simple question — what was my crime? secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. here in the uk, the government is resisting pressure, including from some of its own mps, to extend free school meals for vulnerable children in england into half—term,

which for many begins tomorrow. minister brandon lewis insisted that the government's decision to give £63 million to local councils so that they could provide was "the right way to do it". 0ur political correspondent nick eardley reports. 0n the eve of the half—term break, fiona crump is preparing meal bags. these will be given to local children in falmouth in cornwall over the next few days. there are fears that with schools closed for the holidays and the pandemic hitting people's incomes, some families are struggling to put food on the table. show you what i've got in the fridge. people like claire, a single mum of three, who says the next few days will be a struggle. i'm really anxious because i'm just like, "have i got enough that's going to last till i get that payment on the last day of the month when i can go and do my shopping?" you know, it's very stressful, very ha rd. is there any cheese left?

and the government is facing increasing pressure for not stepping in, like it did earlier this year. ministers have spent colossal sums in recent months to keep people injobs and businesses open. but now they're facing claims that they're failing to provide the money needed to feed vulnerable children. we support local authorities to do it. that's what the £63 million is there for. and it's notjust £63 million, of course, andrew, it's on top of the hundreds of millions we've put into local authorities to support those most in need. so, no u—turn, no change, in a word? i think we have the package in place that means people have got the support they need during the school holiday. but conservative mps are increasingly nervous. some think ministers are losing the argument, and a few have broken rank to say they are prepared to vote against the government if the issue comes back to parliament. i think it was just much easier to carry on with what is a simple and effective scheme

which most people understand, and there's a certain sort of totemic status around free school meals along with the nhs, for example, so for goodness sake, why didn't we just do it? manchester united's marcus rashford has been the figurehead of the campaign. his social media feed in recent days, a long list of businesses and local councils pledging to offer free meals. the government praised them today, but labour says if ministers don't step in, support will depend on where you live. not every council has stepped up, which means it becomes a postcode lottery for some children, so some children will benefit from sitting and living in a council where they've decided to prioritise free school meals, but other councils, for various reasons, mightjust decide that money needs to go elsewhere. labour intends to force another vote in the coming weeks. the cost of providing free meals in england over the half term break would be about £20 million was tiny amount in the greater government spending of

recent months but tonight ministers are holding firm, saying the measures they have put in place means it will be a safety net for those who need it. there are a number of tory mps increasingly uneasy about that position and predicting that position and predicting that if not now, by christmas holidays they will have to be a change of heart. nick eardley, bbc news, westminster. in nine days' time, a poloraised united states will choose its next president. the bbc‘s clive myrie will be bringing you a series of special reports looking at the key issues for voters as they choose between donald trump and his democratic party rival, joe biden. here's a preview. america isn'tjust a place. it's an idea. and the enduring power of the american dream is that it's universal, the craving for a better life. i'm the last mohican. donald trump said the dream was dying, and he'd make america great again. i know that we will win! they want to rob you of your hope.

but how great is america now, as trump seeks re—election? the guy in the white house right now is crazier than a loon. i'll be reporting from arizona, america's backyard with mexico, and a state now threatening to back the democrats after voting for donald trump in 2016. i'll explore policies on immigration... the worst of the worst is coming through this area. ..on race... the hearts of people have held on to relics of the past. ..and covid—19. people are dying here in the camp? yeah. yeah, every day. as america chooses a president. # this is america. # don't catch you slippin' now. # look what i'm whippin' now...#

you can keep up with all the headlines on our website and on the app. you can reach me on twitter. bye—bye. hello there. i'm sure you don't need me to tell you it was a very wet weekend. persistent rain on saturday gave way to hefty showers on sunday. you can see those speckled shower clouds on our earlier satellite picture spinning around an area of low pressure. now, behind me, we have ex—hurricane epsilon, and that is going to continue to drift its way northwards. not a hurricane any more, but still an extremely deep area of low pressure. and this is going to drive further outbreaks of rain in ourdirection. some very brisk winds at times, although be thankful that the centre of the storm is staying well out to sea because gusts of wind in the centre of that storm will get quite close to 100 mph or even more. nothing that windy here, but it will be fairly blustery this week, with rain at times. turning a bit milder

later in the week after a rather cool start. so, through monday, it's another day of sunshine and showers. those initially most plentiful in the west, but i think they'll tend to migrate eastwards through the day. some of them heavy with a chance of hail and thunder. something drier developing, though, through northern ireland, wales, the south west. not as many showers here by the end of the day. it stays fairly windy the further south you are, but further north, those winds ease, particularly across scotland. a fairly cool feel to the weather, though. ten degrees for lerwick, for stornoway. 14 the top temperature in plymouth. now, as we move out of monday and into tuesday, our area of low pressure from the weekend, that finally spins away. the showers fade. a little temporary ridge of high pressure builds its way in, so that's going to calm things down for a time through the early hours of tuesday. could be the odd fog patch. it will be quite a chilly start to tuesday, but that calmer interlude doesn't last long. you can see this rain already splashing into the west through the first part of the day, and this band of heavy rain will then push its way eastwards.

again we'll have some blustery winds, and those winds travelling a long way across the atlantic are going to whip up some very rough seas. there could be some big waves crashing into western coastal areas. northern scotland likely to hold onto some brightness through the day, 10—15 degrees. and then as head into wednesday, this deep area of low pressure continues to spin to the north—west. it'll feed further showers or longer spells of rain across the british isles. it stays unsettled towards the end of the week, but temperatures climb. 18—19 in the south on friday.

this is bbc news, the headlines. coronavirus measures are hardening across europe — as countries struggle with rising infections. spain's prime minister has announced a national emergency and imposed a night—time curfew. all bars and restaurants in italy will close from 6pm on monday. and france has seen a record number of cases. initial results in chile's referendum suggest people have voted in favour of changing the country's constitution — which was drafted under the former military dictator augusto pinochet. partial results show more than seventy—seven per cent of people want a new charter. the vote was called after anti—government protests last year. the bela rusian president alexander lu kashenko has defied an ultimatum set by the opposition which called on him to step down orface a general strike. on sunday, riot police fired stun grenades at demonstrators now on bbc news, it's hardtalk.