of the biggest teaching unions have called for tougher covid measures in schools in england to combat a rise in infections. a welcome from england's city regions outside london — for an announcement of nearly £7 billion to improve their transport networks but they say more money is needed. ministers promise £0.5 billion to support families in the budget, but the labour party calls it a smokescreen. court documents reveal that alec baldwin was told a prop gun was safe moments before he accidentally killed a crew member on a film set. now on bbc news, it's time for our world: lebanon on life support. lebanon, on the eastern coast of the mediterranean. after decades of corruption and financial mismanagement, the small nation is now facing a humanitarian crisis. we have gone through war, we have gone through strikes, but this is the worst...the worst that we have gone through. for much of the last year, there has been no government. almost 80% of the population is now living in poverty. the country's public hospitals, a lifeline for many, are struggling to manage. the patients who are received at the hospital have no other place to go to. just being there is a must. this is the story of lebanon's fight for survival. if lebanon does run out of fuel, a lot of people will lose their lives — it's as simple as that. you realise that you're not the reason they are dying, it's the country they're living in. you can't not fall in love with lebanon. beirut is a place for free spirits to flourish, full of beautiful diversity. it was a true home for me. dr ghaidaa al—saddik is a second—year resident. she has spent much of the last year working on the hospital's covid ward. i chose medicine because i wanted to deal with my community, my society, my people, my home. i got to live that career and the city i look up to. this is rafik hariri university hospital. it's lebanon's largest public healthcare institution. every year, it treats thousands of the country's poorest patients. i love working in rafik hariri university hospital because it simply receives and hosts those vulnerable populations that are the most in need. even if it's not to the highest of standards or to the best of quality, just being there is a must. dr firas abiad is the hospital director. he was appointed in 2015 and has been widely praised for his work on strengthening the once—neglected institution. during the covid—i9 pandemic, he became a household name as the hospital took the lead in the country's response. every monday morning, dr abiad tours the hospital wards not to see patients, but to make sure the hospital is still functioning. i think that we are passing through a most difficult situation. so, as our circumstances are becoming more difficult, the demands on us by patients is increasing, and that has really put us in a very precarious situation. in late 2019, spiralling national debt contributed to the collapse of lebanon's economy. now, the country is facing the highest levels of inflation seen anywhere in the world. almost entirely reliant on imports, the country is now facing massive shortages. a nationwide shortage of fuel has led to sweeping power cuts. at the hospital, this means relying on their back—up generators for up to 23 hours a day. jihad chihimi is the head of engineering. it's his responsibility to keep the generators running. the lives of the hospital's patients depend on them. if lebanon does run out of fuel, a lot of people will lose their lives — it's as simple as that. with the majority of lebanon's medications also imported, the hospital's pharmacy is running on critically low supplies. here we have the lovenox. we give that for a patient when he is bedridden. he should take some — at least one of these so that he will not have a blood clot. we have here the dextrose — the 30% dextrose, not available any more. raida bitar is the hospital's chief pharmacist. the shortages have made her work almost impossible. the suppliers say that they are not being able to import the medications because the central bank is not giving them the needed facilities, while the minister of health says that the medications are at the suppliers but the suppliers are not delivering, so that they can sell it at a higher price. every day, i receive calls from doctors and they are asking for certain medications. sometimes, these doctors are asking for the medications for themselves, for their families. but when a medication is not available, it's not available anywhere. these shortages mean a black market for drugs has developed, for everything from simple painkillers to cancer medications. i have been working here for 16 years and never, never have we passed a certain time like this. we have gone through wars, we have gone through strikes, but this one is the most difficult. the world health organization recently claimed that 40% of doctors have already left the country. those that remain are fast becoming the minority. i have encountered a lot of doctors and physicians that i admire for staying, that have chosen to step over the income they receive or the conditions they live in, just because they want to be there for the people, for their own communities. if you leave and i leave and everybody leaves, who is going to stay behind to carry on the burden of the healthcare system as a whole? over the last two years, the local currency, the lira, has lost almost 90% of its value. before the crisis, a junior doctor here would have earned around $1,000. now, with inflation, it's less than $100. the junior doctors have decided to strike, calling for part of their shrinking salary to be paid in dollars. if the strike continues, the hospital risks having to close down essential services. the director has called in members of his staff to explain to them why the hospital can't agree to the demands. now, we have already raised their salaries — we've given them almost 70% extra — but they want to have 25% of their income in fresh dollars, which is an impossibility because as a hospital, we get paid in lebanese liras. when you are passing through hardships, it's very important to make sure that we are all rowing in the same direction. unfortunately, that is not what is happening at the moment. 0n the covid ward, a shortage of space means treatment is longer guaranteed. rasha left syria at the start of that country's civil war ten years ago. lebanon became her new home. for the already vulnerable refugee population, the crisis has been particularly hard. there will be a delay in the management of this baby because there is not a place in the hospital. a delay in management would lead to complications, maybe he will need to be intubated, maybe he needs — he's gonna — he's gonna — one of the complications is probably him dying if he is not transferred to another hospital. cries. the logistics and the bureaucracy of the healthcare system as a whole is killing our chances of being good doctors. i think a medical system — successful, proficient system — has many building blocks under it. one of them is the availability of resources, other is the technology present, others is the logistics, then you have the human resources and so on, and what you see right now is those building blocks crumbling down or disappearing bit by bit. lebanon has been without a government for over a year. essential services and public institutions have become increasingly reliant on international aid. i think unfortunately not only this hospital, i think at the moment all of lebanon is dependent on aid and i think that the aid that was initially coming mainly for the refugee population now is needed also by the lebanese population as well. but we have to think medium and long—term. this aid definitely is not sustainable. we need to find a way out. the hospital needs to bring the junior doctor strike to an end. they have offered a 100% pay rise, but none of that will be in dollars. 0k. bye. 0k? back on the covid ward, it's another busy shift for dr ghaidaa. so there is a cardiac arrest in the er and they need a physician to carry on the procedure and, like, know what kind of medication to give and start compressions. i was a bit shocked because i saw the patient yesterday in the morning and he was fine. he wasn't even complaining, if anything, so to just drop dead like this, it's a bit of a shock to us and i was a bit aggressive because i really wanted him to carry on, but it just didn't happen. but, i mean, this is how it goes. we usually were like "somebody�*s dead? ok, so it's a free bed", right? so... yeah, sorry. there were several nights during my duties where i found myself alone with dying patients and then you look at them and you realise that you're not the reason they're dying, it's the country they're living in. as the hospital continues to struggle, a surprise breakthrough has seen the formation of a new government. many of those in the new cabinet are from traditional political parties, blamed by many in lebanon for the current crisis. but there were a number of new faces, including dr firas abiad, the hospital director... ..who has been appointed the new public health minister. i think it feels like it's a big responsibility now on my shoulders. i think that there is a lot of expectations, a lot of need in the country. on one side, i think we are very angry, looking at the state of our country. some of us are very depressed. and at the same time, i feel determined. we don't think that what we are living in is a destiny. if we work hard, we will be able to change this situation. across lebanon, reaction to the new government is mixed. for dr ghaidaa and her colleagues, hope is in short supply. for so many young people in lebanon, thoughts of their future are now focused on when to leave the country. laughs. i genuinely — genuinely, from the bottom of my heart — i do not want to leave. i can adapt, i can go through that, i'm resilient, i can bear. but, i mean, once you realise that i cannot be a well—equipped, efficient, giving doctor, i had to decide to leave. i realise that i am leaving people behind that are going to suffer. i am in a constant state of guilt. hello, temperatures are edging a little higher— hello, temperatures are edging a little higher this _ hello, temperatures are edging a little higher this weekend, - hello, temperatures are edging a . little higher this weekend, although with a _ little higher this weekend, although with a lot _ little higher this weekend, although with a lot of— little higher this weekend, although with a lot of cloud _ little higher this weekend, although with a lot of cloud around _ little higher this weekend, although with a lot of cloud around and - little higher this weekend, although with a lot of cloud around and it - little higher this weekend, although with a lot of cloud around and it is l with a lot of cloud around and it is looking _ with a lot of cloud around and it is looking mild — with a lot of cloud around and it is looking mild in— with a lot of cloud around and it is looking mild in the _ with a lot of cloud around and it is looking mild in the week- with a lot of cloud around and it is looking mild in the week ahead. l looking mild in the week ahead. there _ looking mild in the week ahead. there will— looking mild in the week ahead. there will be _ looking mild in the week ahead. there will be some _ looking mild in the week ahead. there will be some rain, - looking mild in the week ahead. there will be some rain, windy. looking mild in the week ahead. i there will be some rain, windy at times, more of these colourful autumn leaves will be falling to the ground. this is how things are looking for part two of the weekend, and after a wet night in northern ireland and scotland, the rain will move across england as the day goes on. the rain will become increasingly patchy and showery and increasingly patchy and showery and in parts of east anglia and the south—east. behind the weather system, it will brighten up, a much brighter day in scotland and northern ireland, with sunny spells but with one or two heavy showers around and temperatures around 1a to 16 celsius, still quite blustery out there. into sunday night, the weather system clears. little troughs moving through the weather pattern on monday which means there will be a chance of catching showers. a bright, breezy day on monday with bands of showers spreading from west to east. if you catch them, they will move through fairly quickly. temperatures little lower on monday, it will bring a bit fresher, chili and i had to come on monday night and into tuesday morning. as we go on into tuesday, look at this area of low pressure approaching from the west, for tuesday and the rest of the week, the dip in thejet tuesday and the rest of the week, the dip in the jet stream will become established to the west of us and very slow moving. that means we will end up with a weather system draped across the north and west so it starts to move in on tuesday, will see outbreaks of rain pushing across particular the northern half of the uk, especially to scotland and turning wet in north—west scotland in the later part of the day and in the south—east of england, sunny spells around, this is where we will see the temperatures. it is looking mild for all because along the area of low pressure to the west of us, again while they're coming in from the south—west. that doesn't translate into sunshine everywhere because we had this weather system just across the north and west of the uk, it may not be in exactly this position on wednesday but in parts of scotland, northern ireland, northern england and wales, you will see outbreaks of rain. eitherside and wales, you will see outbreaks of rain. either side of it, some sunny spells and the warmth in the sunshine will be very noticeable when you get sunshine up to 18 degrees also. the rain could pep up again and shunted back further north so we'll keep an eye on that but it could turn wet in parts of northern ireland, north—west england and again into scotland. these temperatures are well above average for the time of year. this weather system are sitting towards the north and west of us for a large part of the week ahead. that means there will be some rain but not evenly distributed across the uk. there will be some across parts of the east and south—east of england, very little rain, just the chance and a few showers occasionally. it does look as if going into next weekend, the step in address shame dashed jet stream, will migrate across the uk, give a chance of seeing wayne wear for much the way, it has been dry, it will also begin to lower temperatures as well. so, an unsettled outlet, mild, then cooler. tasha unsettled outlook. this is bbc news. a welcome from england's city regions outside london — for an announcement of nearly £7 billion to improve their transport networks — but they say more money is needed. a senior government adviser on covid warns the uk could face another lockdown at christmas — and tells people they shouldn't wait for ministers to take action. do everything possible in your control to try to reduce transmission. don't wait for the government to change policy. and the sooner we all act, the sooner we can get this transmission rate down, and the greater the prospect of having a christmas with our families. the warning comes as two of the biggest teaching unions have called for tougher covid measures in schools in england to combat a rise in infections. a warning that dog owners are pretending their lockdown pets

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