lucy williamson reports.tack spread slowly through the quiet streets of conflans last night. the story of a history teacher whose lesson on freedom of expression ended with a playground full of police. the suspect, thought to have been an 18—year—old chechen man, decapitated his victim in a nearby street and posted an image on social media before being shot dead by police. police sources have confirmed to us that the motive may have been a lesson given by the victim to pupils at his school here. it was reportedly a lesson on freedom of speech, and he showed them cartoons of the prophet muhammad, the same cartoons, we think, that were reprinted by the satirical magazine charlie hebdo. parents say the lesson had caused some concern and that complaints on social media had sparked a debate. translation: he asked muslim students to raise their hands and to leave the classroom. my son said he didn't do it to discriminate or offend, but explained that he was going to show cartoons of muhammad and didn't want to shoc

from paris, lucy williamson sent this report. time moves slowly in the cafe around the sorbonne will stop at student social life, virtually unchanged for centuries, has accelerated infections in cities like paris, marseille and lille. mattel is studying management here, and agrees that this curfew is for them, but will it work? i don't think that it will it work? i don't think that it will work. if i didn't have a test, i think will work. if i didn't have a test, ithinki will work. if i didn't have a test, i think i will go out with people and do parties at 21—6 a:m.. i think i will go out with people and do parties at 21-6 a:m.. the cu rfews a re and do parties at 21-6 a:m.. the curfews are being imposed on frans‘s was to places, the paris region and eight other cities, including marseille, toulouse, lille. hotspots which spanned the length and breath of france, these may be targeted local restrictions, but together, they add up to a national problem.

lucy williamson, bbc news, france.national outrage and this local greif. lucy williamson, bbc news, france. the british government has said that brexit trade talks are over and "there is no point" negotiations continuing unless there's a fundamental shift in the eu's position. the prime minister boris johnson says the uk should get ready for leaving without a deal on january first after an eu summit in brussels insisted it is the british who should be making concessions. here's our europe editor katya adler. eu leaders had lots on their mind at this summit — the covid crisis first and foremost. but eyes and ears here were also very focused today on downing street. how would borisjohnson react to their demand that the uk must give way first if a trade deal is to be agreed? the answer — not positively. it is clear from the summit that, after 45 years of membership, they are not willing, unless there is some fundamental change of approach, to offer this country the same terms as canada. and so, with high hearts and with c

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. strongest statement yet in favour of civil partnership for same—sex couples. we were speaking in a new documentary. in the film, which has just been released new documentary. in the film, which hasjust been released in rome, he said same—sex couples have a right to legal protections when forming civil partnerships and also said that they had a right to a family. the film was made director says his film shows the pope to be very humble and capable of admitting his mistakes. it is beautiful to see a leader in his positionjust a humble being he 53; able . say, human being he was able to say, | i: am wrong. human being he was able to say, i. jig gm wrong. which, human being he was able to say, i i zé gm wrong. get ch, human being he was able to say, i i zé gm wrong. get c a ~$ 01’

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.more than 400,000 for the first time on friday — a record one—day increase — with europe emerging as the new epicentre of the virus. the french health ministry has reported a record number of new confirmed cases of covid—i9 on saturday — at more than 32,400. it comes as a night—time curfew affecting 20 million residents across major cities has been implemented — it is set to last for at least four weeks. the czech republic saw more than 11,000 new cases. in response, the army is to build an emergency field hospital in prague. and more than 7,000 cases have been recorded by germany in the latest 24—hour period. in response to germany's record—breaking figures, chancellor angela merkel has appealed for people to reduce social contact and keep non—essential travel toa minimum. translation: we are now in a very serious phase of the coronavirus pandemic. new infections are jumping day by day, the pandemic is spreading again rapidly and faster than at the beginning, six months ago. here in t

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.mber of the union of french muslim democrats political party, told bbc world news why she fears muslims could be unfairly tarnished. so, the mizzen community is concerned because we are — we fear that it might increase islamophobia. we are in a country where muslims have the impression that they are treated differently from the rest of the society, and we — what happened yesterday has nothing to do with our faith. we deeply condemn what happened yesterday, this terror act does not represent what we believe in. and, yes, indeed, we are afraid and concerned about what will happen after this, because it's not the first time that some people, some disoriented and — people with mental issues kill people without — in the name of islam. the muslim community is held responsible for that. daily global coronavirus cases rose by more than 400,000 for the first time on friday — a record one—day increase — with europe emerging as the new epicentre of the virus. the french health ministry has report

restictions saying that the coronavirus infections were growing exponentially in the country. —— lucy williamsonding more mask wearing, a curfew for bars and limits on people meeting in areas of high transmission. she urged young germans to forgo parties for now in order to enjoy life leader. the uk prime minister borisjohnson has insisted his three—tier regional approach to tackling the virus in england is the best way to limit the rise in cases, and to avoid what he described as the "misery" of a full lockdown. latest uk figures show that nearly 20,000 new coronavirus cases were recorded on wednesday — that's an increase of more than 2,000 compared with tuesday. the figures also show there were 137 deaths within 28 days of a positive test. northern ireland is now set to impose the toughest coronavirus restrictions anywhere in the uk. wales is set to ban visitors coming from the worst—affected parts of england, scotland, and northern ireland. but despite the increasing numbers, mrjohnson has rejected opposition calls for an immediate "circuit break", or temporary national lockdown. here's our p

here's our paris correspondent, lucy williamson.ted the man who beheaded a teacher on a suburban street. "drop your weapon", they shout. the suspect shoots at them with a bb gun. the next sound you will hear is police firing back. gunfire today, france's counterterrorism prosecutor named the suspect as abdoulak abouyezidvitch, an 18—year—old chechen man with refugee status in france. he lived an hour's drive away from conflans, the prosecutor said, and had to ask school pupils to point his target out. samuel paty was a 47—year—old teacher of history and geography who decided to use two cartoons of muhammed as part of a class on freedom of speech. investigators say it sparked a social media campaign by one outraged parent and that there had been threats against the school. translation: yesterday there was a state of shock and now the priority for us is to look after the children, because i think it was very hard for them and it still is. translation: memories are going to come back, he's going to say my teacher's not there. and appar

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.t centre. good evening. exeter chiefs are rugby union european champions for the first time. it was an incredible final, behind closed doors in bristol, as they overcame french side racing 31—27. patrick gearey reports. ten yea rs ten years ago exeter won promotion in bristol and now they were back to try to conquer europe. they spent a decade bulldozing through barriers so decade bulldozing through barriers so what chance had the racing 92 defence. simon simmons got a second for exeter chiefs. racing submitted information and finn russell picked out simon zebo. racing had been hit bya out simon zebo. racing had been hit by a coronavirus outbreak in the build—up and threw everything into the second half. simon zebo scored again but all initially afterwards finn russell was rumbled, his pass intercepted and henry slade of england trotted over for the racing still but not relent and with the penalty they were only one point behind. chiefs lost a man to the sin bin butjust as a decisive r

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.otesters in belarus have taken to the streets for the tenth consecutive sunday after a disputed presidential election in august. they are demanding the resignation of long—term leader alexander lukashenko. authorities say more than 100 people have been arrested. the opposition has threatened to call a nationwide strike soon if mr lukashenko refuses to step down. the un secretary—general, antonio guterres, has urged armenia and azerbaijan to observe their latest ceasefire, saying indiscriminate attacks on civilians are totally u na cce pta ble. both countries have accused each other of violating a humanitarian ceasefire in the disputed region of nagorno—karabakh. they'd agreed to a russian—brokered truce starting at midnight local time. but clashes continue, as rayhan demytrie reports from tbilisi in neighbouring georgia. an azeri officer announces to his country's president the liberation of another piece of territory, which for the past 26 years had been under armenian control. the an

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.n the salisbury novichok attack is leaving the force. detective sergeant nick bailey was contaminated with the nerve agent at the home of sergei and yulia skripal, where it had been sprayed on a door handle. but after returning to duty last year, he's tweeted he's "had to admit defeat". new zealand's prime minister, jacinda ardern, has won a resounding general election victory. with nearly all of the votes counted, her centre—left labour party looks likely to be able to form a single party government, something not seen in the country for decades. shaimaa khalil reports. let's keep moving! a big victory in tough times. there was very little doubt that jacinda ardern was going to get a second term. the question was how big she was going to win. and by anyone's standards, this was a remarkable night for her and her party. labour now has enough seats in parliament to form a majority government without a coalition. an unprecedented achievement in new zealand politics since 1996. we will no

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. school teachers is organising a rally on sunday in central paris. its president, jean—remi girard, gave us his reaction to friday's events. we are astonished. it is unbelievable to see that in france in the 21st—century, a teacher can be beheaded in the street for teaching, for doing hisjob. that is very, very shocking. and the teachers in france are in a big state of shock now. i am not surprised that he showed the cartoons. it is something many teachers do in france, since 2015, since the events with charlie hebdo. and that is something really quite usual in order to speak about freedom of speech, about secularism, what we call in french laicite. that is something many teachers do in our country. we need unity. we need unity between teachers, we need unity with parents, with parents' associations, and with of course the prime minister. and that is why we have organised a rally tomorrow, place de la republique in paris. so we can say that altogether we want our school to be safe and

lucy williamson, bbc news, nice. an early stage but prosecutors have established some of the details and have tracked the suspect‘s movements. he was seen on security camera in nice's main railway station at 6.46 on thursday morning. he changed his clothes and then left the station at 8.13. he walked to the basilica, which was around 400 metres away, and went inside at 8.29. he stayed inside forjust under half an hour. in that time, he is suspected of fatally wounding two women and a man. it was the attempt to escape by one of the victims at 8.511, which alerted four nearby police officers. they entered the basilica at 8.57. here's france's anti—terrorist prosecutor, jean—francois ricard describing what happened next. translation: they advanced along a corridor and came across the suspect, who they were able to neutralise. they said he advanced on them in a threatening manner, shouting "allahu akbar". they first used a hand—held electric shock device and then fired several shots with their service weapons. prof berna

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.partial lockdown is also coming into force in germany which includes the closure of restaurants, gyms and theatres. our berlin correspondent jenny hill has the latest. as of monday, this country enters a partial lockdown. as you say, bars, restaurants, leisure and arts facilities will all close for a month. slightly different from the restrictions we saw earlier in the year in that schools, nurseries and shops will stay open. private gatherings are to be restricted, a maximum of ten people from just two households. professional sporting events will go ahead as planned, like the bundesliga, but those matches will once again be played behind closed doors. all this in a country which came relatively successfully through that first wave. if you look at germany's case numbers, you'll see they‘ re still far lower than those we're seeing in france and indeed britain. but two developments are spooking the authorities here in berlin. first, the speed at which this virus is now spreading to the

lucy williamson, bbc news, nice.ropean commission, ursula von der leyen, has said work should start now on preparing the infrastructure for a mass vaccination programme across the entire region. she was speaking during a video conference call with eu leaders, who called for vaccines to be made available europe—wide once they had been approved. paul hawkins reports. lockdown eve brings anger on the streets of paris. translation: we do not want to be locked down. we're sick of the curfew and everything. we understand that it is for the disease but should not get carried away. from midnight tonight we all have to stay—at—home. it is too much, i am not going to. i will stay here. from friday, no—one can leave home unless for essential work or medical reasons. france limiting the liberty it is famous for embracing. this woman goading the authorities, telling them she does not care if she is fined for breaking lockdown. the french president insists a national lockdown is essential to drive down infection rates before hospi

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.d several people injured in the chilean capital, santiago, as a day of largely peaceful protests against economic inequality turned violent. a police headquarters was firebombed and shops were looted. gail maclellan reports. a year ayearon and a year on and once again define and spread quickly as protesters and police faced off. the demonstrators had come to mark the first anniversary of the protest movement that demanded greater equality in chile. the unrest last of the military take to the streets for the first time since the rule of dictator augusto pinochet and resulted in a 30 deaths. sunday's anniversary had begun very differently. there was an atmosphere of fiesta is demonstrators, including whole families, demanded better public services and pensions. many were wearing masks against covid, as they sang and danced, with a sense of optimism in the crowd. translation: it is something wonderful, the feeling ofjoy for the possibility of advancing and achieving a fairerand advancing

lucy williamson, bbc news, france.e again struck azerbaijan's second city, ganja, as fighting continues over the disputed enclave of nagorno—kara bakh. two residential buildings have collapsed, and dozens of people are feared to be dead. in the past few days, both azerbaijan and armenia have accused each other of violating the terms of a ceasefire in the enclave. it's internationally recognised as part of azerbaijan, but is populated and governed by ethnic armenians. konul khalilova from the bbc‘s azeri service has been monitoring the latest developments in ganja. attack on civilians in the second largest city of azerbaijan, ganja, happened around iam local time today. at least two residential buildings collapsed and at least six people have died, 35 injured. i have been watching live tv and i saw a lot of bodies, taken under the rubble by the rescuers. there were children as well, and some people had been wrapped in blankets, obviously they were sleeping at the time when the attack happened. there was a previous strik

lucy williamson, bbc news, nice.ean union are at risk of being overwhelmed by the number of coronavirus cases — unless authorities act quickly. that's according to the head of the european commission — ursula von der leyen. her comments follow those from the german chancellor, angela merkel, who warns hard months lie ahead for the continent. paul hawkins reports. lockdown eve brings anger on the streets of paris. translation: we don't want to be locked down. we are sick of the curfew and everything. we understand that it is for the disease but we should not get carried away. from midnight tonight we all have to stay at home. it's too much. i'm not going to. i'm going to stay here. from friday, no one can leave home u nless friday, no one can leave home unless it is for essential work on medical reasons. france limiting the liberty it is famous for embracing. this woman goading the authorities, telling them she does not care if she is fined for breaking lockdown. the french president insists a national lockdown is int

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris., new covid restrictions have prompted differing responses from regional political leaders. the mayor of london sadiq khan has backed new rules houses in the capital — but the mayor of greater manchester — andy burnham — is resisting plans to place the region in tier 3 — with the toughest restrictions. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. is it too late to stop the north—west‘s doors closing? the government wants bolton and every part of greater manchester in a limited lockdown. pubs and bars shut, travel restrictions, no household mixing. but students dominic and connor say at college, everyone's already ignoring the rules. even though we may have locked down, people are still going out, so what's the point? today i've been mixing with a load of other people, there's no social distancing, no nothing. angela's had enough. i'm sick of it. but georgia thinks a limited lockdown could be worth it. as long as it curbs the stem of coronavirus before christmas and people are able to

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. let's take a look at some of today's other news.stop a terror attack near london bridge last november is to be considered for parole ten months early. steven gallant, who knew the victims jack merritt and saskia jones, was on day release when he intervened to end the attack. michael gove has insisted the door remains "ajar" for the eu, if it changes its position in talks aimed at striking a post—brexit trade deal. the prime minister has said that the uk is getting ready to end the brexit transition period without a deal. but business groups have urged both sides to compromise, saying an agreement is needed to savejobs. the hay literary festival has accused a senior royal in uae — sheikh nahyan bin mubarak al nahyan — of an "appalling violation" after he allegedly sexually assaulted one of their employees. caitlin mcnamara claims the senior sheikh — who is also minister for tolerance — attacked her earlier this year, and she is seeking legal redress. sheikh nahyan, who's 69, has denied the allegations. italy has announced a new raft

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.res for the july to september period, showing a continued recovery from the pandemic with gdp growing by 4.9% on a year earlier. our correspondent in shanghai robin brant has more details. it's the world's second biggest economy and in the past, ——what we've seen from the country's national statistics authority are figures that show growth at around 4.9% for the three months ofjuly, august and september, that's compared to figures in 2019, and the trend certainly is an upwards of one. so we had that calamitous first three months of the year when covid first struck, when the economy here contracted by 6.8%. it grew byjust over 3% in the following three months and now, according the statistics authority, it's grown by a further 4.9%. that is coming in slightly below what expectations were and the government authority releasing the figures this morning, talking of the economy still be in a process of recovery, and huge uncertainty globally. of course, remember, china remains an economy fo

our paris correspondent, lucy williamson, reports.gain, around the figure of marianne, a sea of defiance. this statue, this square, a homing point for a nation whose values have come under attack. since his death on friday, samuel paty, like others before him, has become a symbol of france itself. translation: it's important to be here today to show our collective strength because that's what can help us follow our principles during tough times. translation: we're here to defend the values of the republic — liberty, equality, fraternity and secularism. the government is too inactive. something must be done. the prime minister, jean castex, arrived in place de la republique in a mask printed with the french flag. his message on twitter today read, "you won't scare us, we're france." the newest slogan on posters here, "i am samuel" or, simply, "i am a teacher", an echo of the rallying cry sparked by the attacks on charlie hebdo five years ago. this sombre rally is a show of unity in the wake of samuel paty‘s death, but it's also proof o

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.enia and azerbaijan to observe their latest ceasefire, saying indiscriminate attacks on civilians are totally u na cce pta ble. both countries have accused each other of violating a humanitarian ceasefire in the disputed region of nagorno—karabakh. but clashes continue, as rayhan demytrie reports from tbilisi in neighbouring georgia. an azeri officer announces to his country's president the liberation of another piece of territory, which for the past 26 years had been under armenian control. the ancient bridge leads to the border with iran. kara bakh is azerbaijan, he declares. the armenian defence ministry released this footage, which it claims shows the azeri forces advancing on armenian positions early on sunday, in violation of a ceasefire agreed the day before. but things were quieter on sunday in civilian areas in the disputed nagorno—karabakh region. they have been under constant bombardment from azerbaijan in recent days. dozens of civilians and more than 700 armenian serviceme

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.to monia bouguerra who is a member of the union of french muslim democrats political party, which wants to tackle the under—representation of muslims in french politics. she gave me her reaction to friday's attack. first of all, obviously we are shocked. we were horrified by this terrorist attack and we deeply condemn what happened yesterday. it was just horrible. is there concern among the muslim community of any kind of retribution now given the nature of the attack and the political environment? the muslim community is concerned because we are... we fear that it might increase islamophobia. we are in a country where muslims have the impression that they are treated differently from the rest of the society. and what happened yesterday has nothing to do with our faith, we deeply condemn what happened yesterday. this terrorist attack does not represent what we believe in, and yes, indeed, we are afraid and concerned about what will happen after this. because it is not the first time th

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.partial lockdown is also coming into force in germany — which includes the closure of restaurants, gyms and theatres. 0ur berlin correspondent, jenny hill has the latest. as of monday, this country enters a partial lockdown. as you say, bars, restaurants, leisure and arts facilities will all close for a month. slightly different from the restrictions we saw earlier in the year in that schools, nurseries and shops will stay open. private gatherings are to be restricted, a maximum of ten people from just two households. professional sporting events will go ahead as planned, like the bundesliga, but those matches will once again be played behind closed doors. all this in a country which came relatively successfully through that first wave. if you look at germany's case numbers, you'll see they‘ re still far lower than those we're seeing in france and indeed britain. but two developments are spooking the authorities here in berlin. first, the speed at which this virus is now spreading to t

lucy williamson, bbc news, nice.aykel, an expert on jihadism from the princeton university, says the islamist threat that europe faces is not only homegrown. what it says is that there is a jihadist movement that is global. it's not just confined to france or to muslims in france who are descendents of immigrants. and that this is a movement that is determined to... that has an ideology and that is determined to commit violence throughout europe, notjust in france. so, i think all of europe is at risk from attackers like this and that a single country cannot actually defeat this ideology or the movement. it has to be a global effort. ok, so how do you monitor and fight a threat that is not home—grown? because a lot of countries' attention, their security forces, has been focused on trying to get a grip on this home—grown threat. if they're coming from the outside already radicalised, how do you approach that? well, first, the only way to really to fight this movement is to bring onside the vast majority of muslims wh

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.e salisbury novichok attack is leaving the force. detective sergeant nick bailey was contaminated with the nerve agent at the home of sergei and yulia skripal, where it had been sprayed on a door handle. but after returning to duty last year, he's tweeted that he's "had to admit defeat". jon donnison reports. detective sergeant nick bailey has been a police officer for 18 years, but his life has not been the same since the salisbury attack. as the investigation began, he was one of the first officers to visit the home of sergei skripal, the main target of the poisoning operation. it's not entirely clear how detective sergeant bailey became contaminated, but the nerve agent had been sprayed on a doorhandle. within hours, he began to fall seriously ill. he ended up in intensive care. 0nce i'd come back from the house, the skripals' house, my pupils were like pin pricks. and i was quite sweaty and hot. at the time, i put that down to being tired and stressed. in the two and a half years s

lucy williamson, bbc news, nice.ean union are at risk of being overwhelmed by the number of coronavirus cases unless authorities act quickly. that's according to the head of the european commission, ursula von der leyen. her comments follow those from the german chancellor, angela merkel, who warned hard months lie ahead for the continent. paul hawkins reports. locked down eve brings angers on the street paris. translation: we do not want to be locked down. we're sick of the curfew and everything. we understand that it is for the disease but should not get carried away. from midnight tonight we all have to stay—at—home. it is too much, i am not going to. i will stay here. from friday, no—one can leave home unless for essential work or medical reasons. france limiting the liberty it is famous for embracing. this woman goading the authorities, telling them she does not care if she is fine for breaking lockdown. the french president insists a national lockdown is essential to drive down infection rates for hospitals are

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.ier i spoke to our paris correspondent hugh schofield and he told me more about the reaction across france. well, i don't know how much these will be mass gatherings. i very much doubt tht ey will be on the same scale i very much doubt they will be on the same scale as for example after the charlie hebdo shootings five years ago. though the one in paris brought out a million, a million and a half in the place de la republique and i doubt it will be like that. that said, there is no question the killing has affected people more deeply maybe than other killings. i mean, every killing that comes along is bad enough, but because this was, the symbolism attached to it was so clear, it has moved people in an additional way. the fact this was a history teacher teaching about freedom of expression and that because he did that and used a certain tool, which was the cartoon of prophet mohammed, but it did so warning about its possible effective nature and muslim students offensive nature and mus

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.england are to be allowed to access some of the details of people who've been told to self—isolate by nhs test and trace. the department of health say requests will be dealt with on a case—by—case basis, but the british medical association has warned it might put some people off being tested. john mcmanus reports. the streets of the capital last night, as londoners spent their first evening under the tier two high alert restrictions. it was calm in dalston. but a few miles west in soho the scene was busier. mixing outside is still allowed here, as long as the rule of six is followed. and sitting behind the new alert levels is the test and trace system. it has now emerged that users' data may be shared by police if they are suspected of failing to self—isolate following a positive test for them or those they live with. the government says this will occur on a case—by—case basis, but it has brought criticism from the british medical association and the liberal democrats. their leader, si

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. 0ur berlin correspondent jenny hilljoins us now.even it is having to tighten restrictions? yes, that's right. as of monday, this country enters another partial lockdown. bars, restaurants, arts and leisure facilities will close for a month, although unlike the restrictions we saw early in the air, schools, nurseries and shops will stay open. private gatherings are to be restricted, a maximum of ten people from just two households, professional sporting events like the bundesliga will go ahead but matches will once again be played to empty stadium. all this in a country which came so relatively successfully through the first wave of the pandemic. if you look at the figures, the case numbers, they are still lower than many other parts of europe, for example france and britain too, but the authorities here in berlin are spooked for two reasons, first of all of the speed at which the virus now appears to be spreading, and secondly this country has relied on track and trace, identifying the source of an outbreak and then tracing and brea

from paris, lucy williamson has more. was a 47—year—old teacher of history and geography who decided to use two cartoons of muhammad as part of a class on freedom of speech. investigators say it sparked a social media campaign by one outraged parent and there had been threats against the school. translation: now the priority for us is to look after the children because i think it was very hard for them and it still is. translation: memories are going to come back. he is going to say, "my teacher is not there", and apparently there are photographs going round of the scene. i hope they don't see those because i think they are already going to be affected by this for life. flowers mark the places where lives are shattered. in france, that list has grown a little longer this week. conflans now remembered alongside paris, nice and all the other places where hatred of french values has left blood on the country's streets. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. thousands are already out on the street. this is a little earlier, tens o

lucy williamson, bbc news, nice. so sad, really tough time for people in france at the moment.s election now. there were a few raised eyebrows earlier this week whenjoe biden took his campaign to the state of georgia. traditionally — it's a republican stronghold, so some wondered if was worth wasting precious campaigning time there. the democrats say it shows much the race has swung in theirfavour. let's home in on one district, where the margin between the two parties has narrowed considerably. georgia 7th district is in a suburb of atlanta — and historically a conservative stronghold. but in 2018, the republican incumbent hung on here by fewer than 500 votes, the smallest margin of any congressional district in the country. let's talk now to the republican congressional candidate for georgia's 7th congressional district, dr rich mccormick, he's been personally endorsed by donald trump and joins us from suwanee, georgia. have i said that right? yes ma'am. i knew that, i was in atlanta just last week and i should have realised that. thank you very much for joining me doctor. 41

lucy williamson in paris.gela markel has announced a plan to tighten restictions saying that the coronavirus infections were growing exponentially in the country. there will be new measures including more mask wearing, a curfew for bars, and limits on people meeting in areas of high transmission. mrs merkel urged young germans to forgo parties for now in order to enjoy life later. britain's prime minister boris johnson has insisted his three tier regional approach to tackling the virus in england is the best way to limit the rise in cases, and to avoid what he described as the "misery" of a full lockdown. latest uk figures show that nearly 20,000 new coronavirus cases were recorded on wednesday — that's an increase of more than 2,000 compared with tuesday. the figures also show there were 137 deaths within 28 days of a positive test. northern ireland is now set to impose the toughest coronavirus restrictions anywhere in the uk. from 6pm on friday, all pubs and restaurants, hairdressers, and beauticians, will h

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. the us presidential election is in less than two weeks time.public appearances as the president. but more than a0 million americans have already cast their ballot in early voting, and it's thought to be helping the democrats. tomorrow night, joe biden and donald trump will hold their final debate in nashville, tennessee, from where our north america editor, jon sopel, reports. joe biden onstage in north carolina at the weekend. the last public event that he's done so that he can prep for tomorrow's final debate. the contrast cannot be more exaggerated with donald trump who since then has been in wisconsin, michigan, nevada, california, arizona and last night pennsylvania. although not very happily it seemed. i wasn't coming to erie. i have to be honest, there was no way i was coming. i didn't have to. i would've called you and said, "hey, erie! "if you had a chance, get out and vote." we had this thing won. being an embedded journalist on the biden campaign is turning out to be quite relaxing. just a few months ago before the pandemic during th

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. stay with us on bbc news.vote' is playing an important role in the run—up to the us election. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: donald trump and joe biden know taking part in rival tv appearances right now. a warning to the european union to impose new restrictions to save lives, as the bloc reports more covid cases than the us and india. staying with that and here in england, new covid restrictions have prompted differing responses from regional political leaders. differing responses from the mayor of london sadiq khan has backed new rules which prevent people from visiting each other‘s houses in the capital — but the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, is resisting plans to place the region in tier three, with the toughest restrictions. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. is it too late to stop the north—west‘s doors closing? the government wants bolton and every part of greater manchester in a limited lockdown. pubs and bars shut, travel restrictions, no household mixing. but student

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.in the uk, the opposition labour mayor of greater manchester has continued to clash with the government over lockdown restrictions for the region. andy burnham wants greater financial support if the strictest measures are imposed — and he's accused the prime minister borisjohnson of exaggerating the severity of coronavirus in the area. the cabinet office minister, michael gove, accused mr burnham of inconsistency in his approach. here's our deputy political editor vicki young. waiting for work and waiting to find out what's coming next for greater manchester. taxi driverjohn says, for months, the tighter rules here compared to many other parts of the country have meant fewer passengers. he's worried about the possibility of even more restrictions. we need help up in the north. if you want to bring these things in, you know, we need financial backing cos otherwise it is going to be even worse again. this has been going on for a long time now and nothing seems to be resolved. i know covi