Are arrested by the military in an apparent coup attempt. Countries led by women fare significantly better in the fight against covid i9. A new study shows female leaders reacted more efficiently and more effectively. Hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. Were covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. First, on the second night of the predominantly virtual Democratic National convention, joe biden has been officially nominated as the partys candidate for the presidency. The convention heard, among others, from his wife, and former president bill clinton. Joe bidens wifejill biden ended the second day of the convention saying how her husband will bring the country together. How do you make a broken family hole . The same when you make a nation whole, with love and understanding, and with a small act of kindness, with bravery, with unwavering faith. You show up with unwavering faith. You show up for each other, in big ways and small ones, again and again. It is what so many of you are doing right now, for your loved ones, for complete strangers, for your communities. There are those who want to tell us that our country is hopelessly divided, that our differences are irreconcilable, but that is not what i have seen over these la st what i have seen over these last few months. The bbcs Laura Trevelyan had this assessment ofjill bidens speech. It was interesting, she used the silence of the classroom, which she put down to the pandemic and to the failure of donald trump and she said that joe biden would bring america back and she used the tragic story of the death ofjoe bidens wife and daughter in the car crash and how she came on the scene at the age of 26 and then she drew parallels with america, abdrabbuh make a broken family whole . The same way you make a nation whole, with love and understanding. So she has said she has witnessed joe biden first hand bring a broken family together and that she knows he can do that for america. Nothing about policy specifics, all an entirely emotional appeal to americans, fraught with anxiety over coronavirus and this is the picture fromjill coronavirus and this is the picture from jill biden that joe biden will be a reassuring man who can unite us and the question is, will this work . Are people open to this approach . She was certainly a very powerful advocate for her husband there. Joining me now is Amanda Renteria who worked as National Political director for Hillary Clinton during her 2016 president ial run, and is now the ceo of code for america. Thank you for being on the programme. First of all, give us programme. First of all, give us your take on how the second night has gone . It was a great night, you know i think there we re night, you know i think there were many questions as to how much the programme would be about donald trump and how much it would be about the Democratic Party and what you thought today was really the conversation around who we are asa conversation around who we are as a party and who we are as a country. It was the first time in the country we have ever done a rollcall that really changed the feature of the different states and there was a lot of talk about what a wonderful display that was, not only the different state think voices but the new leaders of the party. And then the and sink the engine with doctor jill biden really tell the story that showed not only who jill biden is at the heart of the family and their story and how it matches todays time. I think it was a really fantastic day also and pulled on the heartstrings that you really need at this point in the country and at this point in the election. Earlier in the evening we heard from former president bill clinton stop of course, Hillary Clinton was running last time and you working with her. How is the biden couple say different to the clintons and is that difference going to make the difference going to make the difference in november . difference going to make the difference in november . I think the country knows bill and hillary really well, they knew them very well going into it. What was interesting about tonight, yes, people knowjoe biden but they are getting to know the full depth of his career, the depth of the relationships he has had but tonight was about getting to know tonight was about getting to knoinll biden, what would it be like to have doctorjill biden as first lady and people got to see a teacher, a mother, a mother step into a heart wrenching story about a family that really faced some tragedy and so, i think that, that very story was quite different with what you saw with the clintons but there are also some connections that are the same. Bills ability to connect with people on screen, joe biden s ability to connect with people on screen, that is something that shows to be a successful path for any president. You talked about the new leaders, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez also spoke today, this particular evening, she only got 90 seconds. Would you say that was very specific, that she would not get much time because she is from the far left and we dont want to see the biden s as puppets of the left . I think there is quite a bit of conversation about that and i probably think personally she should have had more time than that. On the other hand, it doesnt take a lot of time on these new Convention World to get your point across and when she talked about racism and homophobia, it made a huge difference, not only for those listening out there but really what will be a continual conversation on the party, particularly for a Younger Generation to make sure that any new leadership is held accountable for pushing the country accountable for pushing the cou ntry forward accountable for pushing the country forward and i think she did that in the 90 seconds she had and certainly i think there will continue to be a discussion and this election cycle, how much isjoe biden talking to the young progressives and how much is that he bringing on new voices and what i know about winning and what i know about winning an election, you need all of it and particularly in this election cycle. Commander, thank you for talking to us you. Thank you for your analysis. Just to say, so much detail on that on the website they do take a look amanda, thank you for talking to us. President Ibrahim Boubakar keita has appeared on state tv in mali to announce his resignation, and the dissolution of the government and parliament. He and the Prime Minister were arrested by the military, in an apparent coup attempt. The move has been condemned by the United Nations secretary general and france, the former colonial power. Paul hawkins has more. Malis rebel soldiers taking malis leaders under arrest away from the president ial palace in the capital, bamako. Inside the car, president Ibrahim Boubakar keita and Prime Minister boubou cisse. No one knew where they were going, and in the early hours of the morning came this broadcast on state tv. The president resigning and dissolving the countrys national assembly. I want no blood to be spilled to keep me in power, he added. In recent months, huge crowds led by this populist imam, mahmoud dicko, have been calling on the president to step down. A country of 19 Million People beset by corruption, a flagging economy, and insecurity caused byjihdists in the north. Which is why the rebel soldiers had their supporters. Translation the whole of mali has been liberated by a republican force. The malian people support them from above and from below. We are really very, very happy. There is no education, there is no health, there is no security. He does not want to listen to these people. Translation we are very happy, because this is the liberation of the people of mali. All of malis people were waiting for this day. All of malis people were waiting for the big chief and his men to allow us to breathe. Today, honestly, we dont have any words to express what is in our hearts. Thank god. The president s arrest had been condemned by the Economic Community of west african states, the african union, the un and france the former colonial power which has troops based there. Many feel this is a rerun of 2012 when the governments mishandling of a rebellion led to another coup. Violent jihadists took advantage of that chaos to seize northern mali and they are still there today. The seeds of this current coup sown during the previous one eight years ago. Many will be hoping now for a smooth transition of power. The disputed president of belarus, alexander lu kashenko, has accused the opposition of attempting to overthrow him by setting up a Coordination Council to facilitate a transfer of power. Hes threatened action against the 35 members appointed by his main opponent, svetla na ti kha novs kaya, saying he had the means to cool down hotheads. Ireland has significantly tightened its nationwide coronavirus restrictions after a rise in new cases, asking everyone to restrict visitors to their homes, avoid public transport and for older people to limit their contacts. And france, which is also facing a rising infection rate, has made facemasks compulsory in most workplaces from the first of september. The new rule is likely to apply to all shared spaces in offices and factories where there is more than one employee present. New research out of the university of liverpool has revealed countries with female leaders have had significantly better covid i9 outcomes, locking down earlier and, on average, suffering half as many coronavirus deaths as male leaders. The study analysed cases and deaths across 194 countries, of which 19 are led by women, considering a number of factors including gdp and population density. New zealand, led by Prime Ministerjacinda ardern, was the first country to record zero cases over consecutive days. While germany, led by chancellor Angela Merkel was the first to resume competitive top level sports. Professorjennifer curtin is the director of the Public Policy institute at the university of auckland and shejoins me now. Good to talk to you. So this is a study that now puts on paper as it were what people have been discussing for quite a few weeks around the world. Tell us more about what the university of liverpool found . More about what the university of liverpool found . Was very interesting about the study is that they have put as many countries as possible into their study so before it was, if you only looked at women lead countries, then yes you got a good news story but u nless got a good news story but unless you compare them with the countries led by man, you could not really say for sure whether gender was a factor. What they have found is that, yes, Women Leaders do make a difference and their reasoning or speculation or hypothesis for why this may he is that it looks like Women Leaders may be more risk averse to the human cost of the disease, visibly, the Economic Cost and what they do is look at the scholarship on leadership and that historically at least, mail leaders are meant to be more risk averse on economic factors which is why they left the borders open and the economy to run longer and as a result there have been higher human cost male leaders. There have been higher human cost male leaders. Also, does the study take into account differences between countries, for example, many would argue it is unfair to say, well, look how well new zealand has done, led by jacinda ardern, compared to the uk, led by borisjohnson, both islands but completely Different Countries with Different Countries with different pressures and Decision Making, Decision Making, Decision Making is a different process in Different Countries, surely . They have tried to counter that by doing paired comparisons of like it versus like, that they have paired new zealand with ireland, for example, and they have paired the uk with germany and other such pairings. What this study does because of the kind of things they are interested in testing, what they leaves out is not just testing, what they leaves out is notjust the islands factor but also the preservation of governments that these Women Leaders are in charge of, so they are not traditional neoliberal style governments, so neoliberal style governments, so they are slightly more progressive and slightly more likely to think that the role of the state is about looking after people in both a healthy sense as well as an economic sense, instead of focusing just on the economy. Really interesting. Professor, thank you for your time. Stay with us. Still to come researchers uncover the unseen scale of plastic pollution clogging the Atlantic Ocean. Washington, the worlds most political city, is today assessing the Political Health of the worlds most powerful man. Indeed i did have a relationship with ms lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong. In south africa, 97 people have been killed today in one of the worst days of violence between rival black groups. Over the last ten days, 500 have died. Chanting czechoslovakia must be free czechoslovakia must be free chanting czechoslovakia must be free russia is observing a national day of mourning for the 118 submariners who died on board the kursk. We all with them now, within our hearts. The pope has celebrated mass before a congregation of more than 2. 5 Million People in his home town of krakow. Stay with us, stay with us, chanted this ocean of humanity. Well, well, joked the pope, so you want me to desert rome . This is bbc news. The latest headlines on the second day of their virtual convention, the Democratic Party in the United States formally choosesjoe biden to be its president ial nominee. The president of mali appears on state television to announce his resignation after he and the Prime Minister are arrested by the military in an apparent coup attempt. The problem of plastic pollution in the seas is well known. But new research has suggested that there could be many more tiny particles of the waste floating just beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean than scientists had realised. The findings, based on an analysis of samples, and on computer modelling, highlight the largely invisible scale of the pollution clogging the worlds second largest ocean. Victoria gill reports. A common sight on any beach walk. Plastic that weve thrown away littering the shore, and in the decades that our discarded Plastic Waste has been finding its way into the environment, some of it has broken down into tiny pieces that wildlife can mistake for food. So scientists set out to find all that microplastic, particles smaller than the diameter of a human hair, floating in the atlantic. On an expedition from the uk to the falklands, researchers sieved the top 200 metres of the ocean at different locations and found that between i2 and 21 Million Tonnes of plastic is floating in the upper layers of the atlantic. By measuring the mass of very small microplastic particles in the top 200 metres of the Atlantic Ocean, we arrived at a new estimate of the load of plastic in the entire atlantic, which is much larger than the previous estimate of 17 Million Tonnes that we thought we had put in in the past 65 years. The team only searched for the three most commonly used packaging plastics, so they say their estimate is likely to be conservative. But what all these microscopic fragments show is that decades of our plastic pollution has been washed out of rivers or even blown on the wind into the ocean. Some of that is Plastic Waste we buried years ago. This is an old legacy landfill site, so this hump of earth is a landfill site that is not in use anymore, but all of the rubbish that was buried here, you can see, a lot of it was plastic isjust coming out of the ground as the sea erodes this away. So even when this plastic is disposed of formally and put into landfill, its finding its way out of the ground and into the sea. Even through the coronavirus pandemic, volunteers have continued to pick up plastic litter from beaches. Some environmental groups say the pandemic itself has reignited our addiction to single use plastics. The disposable mask is now more pervasive than ever. We find more disposable masks than plastic bags on beaches. What were really asking is that, as much as possible, for people to reduce their use of single use plastic and if people can dispose of it carefully. Over the years, much of this pollution has become too small to see. But as this research reveals, it isnt going away. Victoria gill, bbc news. The postmaster general of the United States has said hes suspending changes to the Postal Service, which had led to claims that he was trying to interfere in novembers president ial election. Louis dejoy a financial donor to President Trump said no changes would be made until after the poll and he expected postal ballots to be delivered on time. Tanya dendrinos reports, in the age of coronavirus, the American Postal Service will play a central role in delivering democracy. And how it does that has been a big political issue. First, the president said no to any additionalfunding. President said no to any additional funding. They want 3. 5 billion dollars for universal male in voting for the country. We have hundreds of millions of voters. They cant do a little race with 20,000 people. Now they want to ta ke 20,000 people. Now they want to take it countrywide, it will be the greatest fraud in the history of elections. They are not just history of elections. They are notjust me then on monday he tweeted, telling voters in minnesota he was going to strengthen the service. Now, this man, the head of the us Postal Service, general louis dejoy, a republican donor, said he is cancelling cost cutting measures, including removing mailboxes, cancelling delivery ru ns mailboxes, cancelling delivery runs and closing down sorting centres. I am glad that they are backing off making these changes. But you will forgive me for being a little bit sceptical. We are still going to return to washington on saturday, we are still going to pass this legislation, we will send it to the senate, and if louis dejoy and donald trump are serious about protecting the Postal Service, they will give his blessing to the legislation and donald trump will sign. A recent morning console poll found 80 of americans like the Postal Service. I think trump is trying to say because it didnt happen the way he wanted it to happen. I would rather go postal, yeah. It could be because of the election, because of the election, because of the election, because of what is going on with the voting and all that stuff, so i kind of figure, but it shouldnt have to affect our everyday lives. All eyes now will be on whether congress can deliver the money the Postal Service needs to live a democracy safely. To deliver democracy safely. To deliver democracy safely. Tanya dendrinos, bbc news. Time now for the latest sport. Hello. Im tulsen tollet, and this is your wednesday sport briefing, where we start with the footballing news that Paris Saint Germain are through to their first ever Champions League final after a 3 0 win over rb leipzig. Marquinhos and angel di maria had given them a comfortable half time lead before juan bernat added a third after the break, taking the french side through to sundays final against either Bayern Munich or lyon. The opening game of the new french season has been postponed because of four positive coronavirus tests at marseille. They were supposed to face st etienne on friday before several members of their squad returned positive tests for covid i9. It was the first of eight fixtures due to be played this weekend. No League Football has been played since the last campaign ended early back in april because of the pandemic. The former Manchester City goalkeeper, joe hart, has joined tottenham on a free transfer. This is the announcement video from social media. Hes signed a 2 year deal after leaving burnley at the end ofjune and will provide back up to first choice goalkeeper hugo lloris. Dutch cyclist fabiojakobsen says hes glad to be alive after his crash at the tour of poland which will require multiple facial surgeries. Jakobsen was pitched into the barriers at the finish of the first stage by his compatriot, dylan groenewegen. He spent a week in a coma, and earlier this week, his team mate, remco evenepoel, broke his pelvis crashing off a bridge during a race in italy. Iam doing i am doing very well for the moment, i had a good transfer toa moment, i had a good transfer to a belgian hospital now. First of all, i want to thank all the people who supported me and held me in the last couple of hours starting from the moment of the crash until now, actually, and, yeah, u nfortu nately, actually, and, yeah, unfortunately, my season is over 0 unfortunately, my season is over so far, but we have no rush, and we have all the time to plan a good comeback. Bayern munich and lyon will battle it out later for the right tojoin psg in the Champions League final. Bayern thumped barcelona 8 2 in their quarterfinal and the german champions are looking to complete a trophy treble this season. We know they have beaten juventus and Manchester City, who i think both of the teams we re who i think both of the teams were the favourites. It looks like we are the favourites now so we like we are the favourites now so we have to be careful. Not to let them beat us. But we know unless someone counter if attacked, they are good defensively so we have to be on our front foot from the first minute and try to play a good game. Ronalo koeman has arrived in barcelona ahead of his expected appointment as their new head coach. The current boss of the netherlands has been linked to the post since the catalan side were thrashed 8 2 by Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League on friday and three days later, they sacked quique setien. You can get all the latest sports news at our website thats bbc. Com sport. But from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest of the team, that is your wednesday sport briefing. And your Business Briefing is coming up next as well. I will be back injust a moment coming up next as well. I will be back in just a moment with all the top business stories. See you soon. Hello there. If this was autumn or winter, this Weather Forecast wouldnt look particularly unusual, but, of course, it is summer. The winds over the next few days are going to be exceptionally strong for the time of year, it could cause some problems. Low pressure is in charge, the centre of the low up here, this swirl of cloud. You can see these different lumps of cloud just being scooped up by the low and sent in our direction. This one is going to bring some very windy weather through wednesday night and thursday. This lump of cloud bringing rain into the south west through the first parts of the day. Ahead of that, some areas starting off with some mist and fog, but there will be a lot of dry weather, some spells of sunshine. However, this heavy rain will drift its way northwards across england and wales, getting into northern ireland, and perhaps into southern scotland by the end of the afternoon. The winds will be strengthening all the while, particularly down to the south west. Temperature wise, 19 23 degrees, quite a humid feel as well. Then as we head through wednesday evening, we see this band of rain continuing to journey northwards. More wet weather pushing in from the south west and the winds really will start to strengthen. Now, this area of low pressure has been named by the Irish Weather Service storm ellen. See all of the white lines, the isobars on this chart, squeezing together. This shows that we have a very deep low, which for the republic of ireland, could well bring damaging winds, exceptionally strong winds for this time of year. But as you can see, those strong winds are also likely to effect western parts of the uk. Not as windy as it will be for the republic of ireland, but as we head through wednesday night and through thursday, we are likely to see wind gusts of 40 50mph, a little more than that in exposed spots in the west. The winds not as strong further east. We will see some outbreaks of rain clearing northwards across scotland, then some sunshine and some showers, temperatures between 21 and maybe 26 degrees in parts of eastern england. Some warm air being sucked up ahead of this area of low pressure, and the low stays with us into friday. Still plenty of white lines on this chart, plenty of isobars, so we will see some pretty strong winds continuing. In fact, for some of us, friday is set to be the windiest day of all. Showers or longer spells of rain particularly up towards the north west. Largely dry the further south and east you are with some sunshine. Top temperatures of 18 24 degrees. So, some unusually windy weather ahead. This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. Us retail sales are now above their pre pandemic levels, with walmart and others showing a huge rise in online sales. And, computers for kids singapores government readies itself for more Online Learning in the face of the pandemic. Freezing production or opening the taps . Opec members meet to chart the future of oil. Well be live to the middle east. Judging by the latest set of retail figures from the us, the coronavirus lockdown has seen millions of people stuck at home with little else to do but shop online us retail sales are now above their pre pandemic levels, with stores such as walmart showing a huge rise in online sales. On tuesday americas largest retailer posted a la rger than expected profit, suggesting that government cheques to help cushion the impact of the pandemic did indeed get spent. Consumer spending is particularly important to the health of the us economy but with government assistance for the unemployed now cut, should retailers brace for a gloomy autumn . He americans have been shopping during the pandemic but where they have been shopping has changed dramatically and whether or not the shopping spree will continue is subject to doubt. Walmarts earnings for the Second Quarter of the year revealed it is clearly the world s biggest bricks and Mortar Retailfirm, world s biggest bricks and Mortar Retail firm, doubled online sales compared to last year same time online sales compared to last yearsame time and online sales compared to last year same time and american shoppers are clearly taken their retail habits onto the web in huge numbers. But walmart also saw overall sales growth slowed down injuly and this coincided with when the extra Unemployment Benefits from the government ran out. Those are extra benefits that the two parties in Congress Still cannot agree to extend and that suggests that the slowdown in sales will continue and probably get worse if the government will not help. Walmart acknowledged that what washington does or does not do next will be key but it declined to make any forecast about earnings for the rest of the year. Next is the turn of target another one of americas big retailfirms target another one of americas big retail firms and target another one of americas big retailfirms and it target another one of americas big retail firms and it will be reporting earnings on wednesday and everyone will be looking to see if it also boosted online sales. Joining me now is hitha herzog, retail analyst and author. Are you based in new york a . |j am in new york. Because you have stayed up for us. Give us your take on what has been seen asa your take on what has been seen as a bit ofa your take on what has been seen as a bit of a boom for walmart and amazon, a massive retailer, and amazon, a massive retailer, and americans are spending right now but for how long . What walmart did as well as target is that they during the pandemic and you know that in the United States new york city was the epicentre of the pandemic in the United States so pandemic in the United States so what walmart and target deed was they position themselves as essential retailers and basically what that means is that while everybody during the month of march, april and may, when they needed cleaning products, toilet paper, paper towels, they went to these retailers and walmart in the last few years have spent upwards of billions of dollars making sure that their Capital Expenditure was going towards online infrastructure so they originally had wanted to take away market share away from amazon that having built that online infrastructure, garnered these 97 e commerce gains. We did see incredible numbers coming out of retailers that we have to remember that as people we re have to remember that as people were investing in the companies and consumers are watching the companies, retailers are bifurcated, you have retailers focusing on Consumer Products and then you have those focusing on discretionary goods. But also you would expect the likes of walmart to do well. As you say, it felt all the essential stuff americans need, at a price they can americans need, at a price they ca n afford americans need, at a price they can afford and as you say they invested so much in online, in particular click and collect, a fairly safe way to shop in this environment and there is a warmup virtually down the road wherever you. In a sense, all that investment they did prior to covid has really paid off for them, hasnt it . Absolutely and they were really trying to ta ke and they were really trying to take away market share from amazon, that was the impetus for that investment. But as you saw, where shopping is going now is not necessarily about the retail in store experience but all about online experience and when youre talking about clicking collect, you are absolutely right. This is a concept that has been tested in the United States over the past couple of quarters and in, most recently in the last four years but really came into play during the pandemic and i think its really taken hold. I know this is a concept in europe that many european consumers engage in, they go and have centres all around that you can pick up your packages and have third that facilitate that but retailers in the United States arejust kind of retailers in the United States are just kind of getting into that whole concept of pay for something online and then pick it up curbside. Now it is becoming a thing. Just quickly, another trend in the uk, we had the big announcement at knox and spencer, it seems to be a daily announcement, laying off workers because they do not need the bodies in the store so much because the movies to online shopping. Is that something happening in the us as well . Absolutely. Oracle came out with a study that said basically we were seeing this u pta ke basically we were seeing this uptake in spending during the month of march april and may online so you are seeing all of this mechanised online as well. Again, to your point, Marks Spencer is very different then a walmart and i spent some time in london and went to the London School of economics and spent a lot of time in Marks Spencer, so, the equivalent he would be may be a Department Store and definitely seeing those flashes in jobs store and definitely seeing those flashes injobs in Department Stores but on the other hand, you think amber is on at 3500 jobs in york alone because amazon because they know that all the shopping will be online. Everything is changing. Good to talk to you. Thanks for staying up late in new york right now. These are the Financial Markets at the moment. You can see the price of oil going up and we will talk about that later in the programme but basically, asian shares are climbing to a seven month peak today, fuelled by the record breaking night before on wall street and we will show you wall street. The s p 500 closing at a record high, managing to regain the ground since the pandemic crash in february and march and then at the open it without a record as well and it is all about the tech stocks and the news from walmart, the strong sales it reported, coming from home and coles as well, really helping wall street to start on a strong note when it opened yesterday. James, come on, are you making lots of money . No, because i will be the first to admiti because i will be the first to admit i did not see record highs in the s p coming a few months ago some absolutely not making that sort of money this is the amazing thing we have with this market, we have an enormous rally, these markets now, the s p 500, the dow jones, are officially in a bull market, though not in bear market, though not in bear market negativity, they are in bull market territory and we are seeing a continuation of massive strength but sometimes you have to look at some of the reasons why we you have to look at some of the reasons why we are you have to look at some of the reasons why we are in this position because if he looked at the economics or you looked at the economics or you looked at the economics or you looked at the key fundamental stories driving this market, you have got tension between the us and china, which is obviously been a massive story for a number of yea rs now a massive story for a number of years now but of course the coronavirus story is enormous the Economic Performance of the us, wejust do not know the Economic Performance of the us, we just do not know about, but what you have any background is around 3 trillion worth of economic stimulus which has been pumped into the economy by both the Federal Reserve and the us government. Now, that has been needy, we know that because of what the pandemic has done to the economy but what that does as well as helping the economy is it artificially boosts the stock market. This has actually been a theme since donald trump has been in power but it has been needed more now because of what has happened to. s theyre going to be a bubble bursting anytime soon . Some of the stocks have gone up and up and up and you understand why people are buying into amazon and netflix but what about the other tech stocks storing right now . Word storing right now . That is a question, not all tech stocks have all of the power of the 1 trillion valued companies. But what we do have isa companies. But what we do have is a government that we do absolutely anything to pump money in the economy. There is a lwa ys money in the economy. There is always a fear the market will sell off and some of the big stocks may fall away but if they have not fallen away aggressively in the current pandemic climate that we are m, pandemic climate that we are in, it would take a hell of a lot to make them sell off now what do you think will happen next . How long will the bull run last four . Markets are strong at the moment and when markets are strongly have to go with it. Look at the earnings coming out the last few weeks, it is over 74 of them have been, have beating expectations are not necessarily being good in terms of overall profits for overall reasons but begin expectations so another way with the expectations and in the minds of traders that is a positive and markets get higher. If unemployment starts to actually, the negativity around the unemployment figures start to plateau and we get an improvement, this could go on for a lot longer and it actually depends he wins the election in november, that is the big thing. If donald trump wins, donald trump winning the election may not be good news for many people but it is good news for market. Ok, i will hold you to your predictions nice to see you. By next year, singapore plans to put a government subsidised computer in the hands of every secondary school student. The scheme to raise Digital Literacy and improve social mobility was originally set for 2028 but covid i9 accelerated the timeline after weeks of home based learning exposed how many lower income families lacked the technology. Sarah toms reports from singapore. When singapore went into lockdown in april, schoolchildren were sent home to study online. Compared to many countries, singapore was well prepared. It had an existing Online Learning platform that was ramped up as the pandemic hit but not all stu d e nts the pandemic hit but not all students had access to the e learning system so schools loaned out more than 20,000 digital devices. Nonprofits like engineering good stepped in helping some like this 15 year old he had been sharing one laptop with his four siblings. I need to learn because i will not need to share the laptop with my siblings anymore and i can finish my school work on time. Stu d e nts finish my school work on time. Students are now back at school but home based learning will keep playing a part in singapore s renowned education system. Widespread access to technology is meant to help schoolchildren develop new skills for the future and also to ensure that students from poorerfamilies are to ensure that students from poorer families are not excluded. That is why the singapore government has given all secondary students to get low cost laptops or all secondary students to get low cost la pto ps or ta blets all secondary students to get low cost laptops or tablets by next year and combining technology with education was a lwa ys technology with education was always pa rt of technology with education was always part of the plan for singapore. Rather than phasing in the use of laptops and ta blets, in the use of laptops and tablets, the pandemic pushed it forward by seven years. Covid. Ina forward by seven years. Covid. In a position when all the teachers really had to work online overnight and they rest to the occasion and we found that after covid with the level of acce pta nce that after covid with the level of acceptance with adoption it did not make sense to spread it anymore we may as lodges get it done. Education experts say singapore is as efforts are an Excellent Initiative but much depends on how well students adapt. In an asian context, the authority of the teacher is a very important ingredient of the effectiveness of the learning environment so if it disappears, then students have to rely on their own discipline. Im not sure that a system which is excellent in one way but also will be excellent in other ways. For stu d e nts excellent in other ways. For students like these, staying on top of school work means being connected to the Digital World but for singapore, finding the right balance between home based and in School Learning will be the true test. Sarah toms, bbc news. Lets talk about the japanese economy. If you are watching earlier this week, you will have seen their growth contracted significantly in the Second Quarter. It is looking at exports today, which has seen a at exports today, which has seen a double digit slump into a fifth straight month injuly. This is the coronavirus pandemic and it takes a heavy toll on shipments to the United States. This dashes hopes for a trade lead recovery injapan for what is now very deep recession. Lets discuss this now. You are the prophet of doom this week, iam afraid. The prophet of doom this week, i am afraid. I am indeed, sorry to say. Really, it isjust i am afraid. I am indeed, sorry to say. Really, it is just an illustration of the times we are in. As you say, it is the worlds Third Largest economy, and fora worlds Third Largest economy, and for a trade oriented country like japan, falling exports is a big blow. Injuly they fell from last year and thatis they fell from last year and that is due to week auto demand and shipments drag down those exports. Japan has some of the Worlds Largest carmakers, toyota, honda, and specifically exports with those in its crucial trade with the us that remained weak. As intervals or perhaps just how weak the American Market has become because of the pandemic. So shipments specifically to the us, we saw them plunge over i9 . Get this. Japanese exports to china, which is its largest trading partner by the way, actually rose. They were up over 8 , and that is the first increase in seven months because of chinas demand for manufacturing equipment and ca rs. Manufacturing equipment and cars. Another big indicator we got from japan this morning was machinery orders. Yes, you may think it is a fairly obscure measure but it is actually a very good gauge of future business spending. It actually fell quite unexpectedly to a low in june. That fell quite unexpectedly to a low injune. That is a sign that domestic demand within japan isnt helping either. So we saw machinery orders falling and that bodes ill for Capital Spending from big firms stop recall i have been telling you all about this this week, they are suffering a record fall in april tojune, are suffering a record fall in april to june, and it are suffering a record fall in apriltojune, and it is are suffering a record fall in april tojune, and it is going to remain that way has worries about a resurgence of infections will likely put a lid on demand both at home and abroad. Absolutely. Thank you very much indeed. And as we we re very much indeed. And as we were talking with james earlier, markets in japan were talking with james earlier, markets injapan going up earlier, markets injapan going up despite all that news, though a bit muted compared to other markets in asia. Lets get some of the days other news President Donald Trump says it was he who called off last weekends trade talks with china. I cancelled talks with china, trump said on tuesday in yuma, arizona. I dont want to talk to china right now. Trump has been stepping up complaints about china lately, particularly over the spread of the coronavirus, which he regularly calls the china virus. Staying with him again. Us President Donald Trump has weighed in again on a tiktok purchase, backing interest from oracle in taking over the chinese owned social media app in the United States, australia and new zealand. Oracle generates the bulk of its sales from cloud offerings and software licensing. Its ceo, larry ellison, has been a vocal supporter of President Trump. Frances champagne makers have struck a last minute deal to reduce the amount of grapes they will harvest this year in a move to shore up prices. With harvesting already off to an early start, producers agreed to produce just 8,000kg of grapes per hectare, down more than a fifth from last year. Stay with us on bbc news. Still to come opec members meet to chart the future of oil well be live in the middle east. We in the middle east. Will find out what they may say. Some other stories making the news today ministers are facing growing pressure to increase the number of university places to study medicine in england so more students can be accommodated following the unexpected rise in a level grades. The move would have a significant Financial Impact on the government because the courses are subsidised. The captain of a japanese ship that spilled hundreds of tonnes of oil off the coast of mauritius has been arrested and charged with endangering safe navigation. Crew members told police thered been a Birthday Party on the day the vessel ran aground last month. The ship split in half over the weekend and its bow is being towed away from the reef. Actor ben cross, who was best known for playing athlete Harold Abrahams in the film chariots of fire, has died at the age of 72. This is bbc news. The latest headlines on the second day of their virtual convention, the Democratic Party in the United States formally choosesjoe biden to be its president ial candidate. The president of mali appears on state television to announce his resignation after he and the Prime Minister are arrested by the military in an apparent coup attempt. The Oil Producers cartel opec, together with allies like russia a group known as opec is holding a Ministerial Panel meeting today when they will review whether countries are sticking to their production pact on oil output cuts. Oil prices have started to pick up in recent months, but considerable uncertainty remains around future demand. Joining me now is our middle east business correspondent, sameer hashmi. Nice to see you. What will opec say today, do we think . This meeting is going to be more focused on reviewing the compliance, and also whether the countries have stuck to the quotas of complying that were set out three months ago, because it made opec, in a historic announcement, decided to cut Oil Production by 9. 7 billion barrels a day, and every country was supposed to make cuts based on the production, but some countries like nigeria did not stick to their quota the last three months in siberia and russia we re months in siberia and russia were leading, opec were quite upset about that. It will review that. As far as announced, that is not expected. If you look from this month in august, some have been reduced from 9. 7 barrels and has been brought down to 7. 7, and it is unlikely that there will be any new announcements right now, because the markets have stabilised a bit, the crisis, so it will be more reviewing and seeing or adopting a wait and what policy for now. Just briefly then, well Oil Prices Remain stable for the time being . If you look at all the reports that have come out, it seems like the recovery is lower than expected because demand has not picked up, airtraffic is because demand has not picked up, air traffic is not picked up up, air traffic is not picked up on the re emergence of the virus in some parts of europe, so now virus in some parts of europe, so now they expect the recovery will take a longer time, maybe 2022. Whether it will remain, it is difficult to say. A lot depends on whether demands shows some sort of uptick in the next couple of months. If it doesnt, may opec will have to come back and reconsider the production levels on this point of time. Whether they make further cuts again in order to stabilise prices. Ok, thank you. We will speak to you soon. Indias farm exports rose by over 23 over 3 billion between march and june this year. While there are encouraging signs, exports in other sectors continue to be severely strained. Arunoday mukharji has more from mumbai. The government claims is rising five thanks to the recent measures it has taken to try and revive revive the sector especially in the middle of the rising number of coronavirus cases. This not only helps in shore up its Foreign Exchange reserves , shore up its Foreign Exchange reserves, but it helps the Indian Government achieve this larger goal it has been talking about towards becoming self sufficient. The Prime Minister najib government has reiterating that need to be promoting local businesses in orderfor india to be more self reliant. Concerns remain over the merchandise exports which fell for the fifth conservative month by over 10 and imports dipped by over 28 , dragged down by a fall in global demand. In the apollo trade that stands in the apollo trade that stands in the apollo trade deficits and the nearly 5 billion. In june, trade deficits and the nearly 5 billion. Injune, india recorded a trade surplus of 790 million for the first time in more than 18 years so the rising above coronavirus cases continues to pose a challenge to the sector. This is not a problem for india, but according to the world organisation, global merchandise trade is likely to dip by 13 to 32 this year because of over 19. That brings this business round up to an end. Thank you for your company. Stay with us here on the bbc. We will update you at the top of the hour on all the latest. Hello there. If this was autumn or winter, this Weather Forecast wouldnt look particularly unusual, but, of course, it is summer. The winds over the next few days are going to be exceptionally strong for the time of year, it could cause some problems. Low pressure is in charge, the centre of the low up here, this swirl of cloud. You can see these different lumps of cloud just being scooped up by the low and sent in our direction. This one is going to bring some very windy weather through wednesday night and thursday. This lump of cloud bringing rain into the south west through the first parts of the day. Ahead of that, some areas starting off with some mist and fog, but there will be a lot of dry weather, some spells of sunshine. However, this heavy rain will drift its way northwards across england and wales, getting into northern ireland, and perhaps into southern scotland by the end of the afternoon. The winds will be strengthening all the while, particularly down to the south west. Temperature wise, 19 23 degrees, quite a humid feel as well. Then as we head through wednesday evening, we see this band of rain continuing to journey northwards. More wet weather pushing in from the south west and the winds really will start to strengthen. Now, this area of low pressure has been named by the Irish Weather Service storm ellen. See all of the white lines, the isobars on this chart, squeezing together. This shows that we have a very deep low, which for the republic of ireland, could well bring damaging winds, exceptionally strong winds for this time of year. But as you can see, those strong winds are also likely to effect western parts of the uk. Not as windy as it will be for the republic of ireland, but as we head through wednesday night and through thursday, we are likely to see wind gusts of 40 50mph, a little more than that in exposed spots in the west. The winds not as strong further east. We will see some outbreaks of rain clearing northwards across scotland, then some sunshine and some showers, temperatures between 21 and maybe 26 degrees in parts of eastern england. Some warm air being sucked up ahead of this area of low pressure, and the low stays with us into friday. Still plenty of white lines on this chart, plenty of isobars, so we will see some pretty strong winds continuing. In fact, for some of us, friday is set to be the windiest day of all. Showers or longer spells of rain particularly up towards the north west. Largely dry the further south and east you are with some sunshine. Top temperatures of 18 24 degrees. So, some unusually windy weather ahead. Good morning. Welcome to breakfast with dan walker and louise minchin. Our headlines today. A letter from universities to the education secretary calls for urgent clarity on how they can offer more places to students without breaching social distancing guidelines. Night vision footage released by the police shows a party held in breach of coronavirus restrictions the organiser is fined £100. The wife of pc Andrew Harper speaks out about the loss of her husband, and her campaign to change what she says is a broken justice system. If a person commits a crime and as a result of that crime, you know, a front line worker is killed, then the sentence