'Difficult winter': London tightens lockdown

"Sadly, the number of Londoners dying every day is increasing again..."

London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, warns of a tough winter ahead for Londoners.

As their city joins others in Europe heading into a tighter lockdown... again...to battle a mounting second wave of COVID-19.

It comes into effect from midnight on Friday, when the capital moves from the "medium" to "high" risk category under the government's three-tier system.

It means socialising outside households or support "bubbles" isn't allowed indoors.

But pubs and bars stay open, as do schools and offices.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is playing a balancing act - London is Europe's richest city and a global financial center, and anger is rising over the economic social and health costs of curtailing freedoms.

With the government's former homelessness adviser warning families soon won't be able to "put shoes on" their children.

But other opponents have been calling for tougher restrictions, and criticise the government for being too slow to act when the virus first struck.

The United Kingdom has Europe's highest official death toll of more than 43,000 people.

But cases are soaring across Europe - with about 100,000 infections a day.

Hospital beds are filling up... bars and restaurants shutting down.

Paris and other major French cities will be under nightly curfews for four weeks starting Saturday.

While Germany hit its daily record of more than 6,600 new cases on Wednesday. It has, however been less badly hit than the UK, Spain, Italy and France.