this is bbc news with the latest headlines. a warning that hospitals in england could become overwhelmed with coronavirus cases, if mps don't back new restrictions. the prime minister appoints nadeem isa the prime minister appoints nadeem is a hobby as the minister responsible for coronavirus vaccines. iran's president rouhani blames israel for the assassination of a top nuclear scientist, saying his country won't be deterred from its nuclear ambitions. a worrying weekend for 13,000 workers at some of the uk's biggest retail names — the group that owns top shop, dorothy perkins, and miss selfridge is on the brink of collapse. the perils of gambling addiction — we look at how covid and lockdown has created what experts call a perfect storm for problem gamblers.

good afternoon. cabinet office minister michael gove has warned that hospitals in england could become overwhelmed with new covid cases if mps don't back the planned tougher tiered restrictions due to come in to force next wednesday. writing in the times, mr gove urged them to take responsibility for difficult decisions ahead of the vote. borisjohnson is facing a rebellion by backbench conservatives over the severity of the restrictions and labour hasn't decided yet whether it will back them. with more, here's our political correspondent ellie price. teignbridge in devon has one of the lowest infection rates across england, but it will find itself in tier 2 with the rest of the county. it's a similar story across towns

and villages in england, which is just one of the things that's been irritating conservative mps about the new tier system. we have just lived through lockdown version two and yet we have vastly more people being moved up a phase, despite being told this is the last push, this is the new panacea. but writing in the times today, the cabinet office minister michael gove tried to address the concerns of wavering mps. he said the tougher tiers are grimly inevitably necessary, not least because the previous system had not been effective enough. and without tougher action, the nhs would be broken. then a challenge. and medical experts say the threat to the nhs is real. if we get very large numbers of covid patients injanuary and we have a cold snap, there will be a danger that the nhs gets overwhelmed. so far, around 12 conservative mps have said they will vote against the government

in the commons on tuesday. another 20 or so have publicly voiced concerns. a numberare waiting on a so—called impact assessment, a sort of cost—benefit analysis, that the government are expected to publish in the coming days. but will it be enough? but don't forget there was a sizeable conservative rebellion going into the most recent lockdown measures in england, and that still passed. so any real chance of a government defeat will depend on how labour vote. and so far, they are undecided. i am particularly worried about business. there is no extra support for businesses in tier 3. and the hospitality industry will be really hardly hit at christmas, so we've got real concerns there. —— hard hit. but also we want to know how different parts of the country can come out of their tiers. the government acknowledged the best hope of getting out of any tier system is mass vaccination. and today announced nadhim zahawi as the new minister responsible for covid vaccine deployment. until that's under way, here in england, we are likely to be living under the tier system, which will come into effect on wednesday 02 december. ellie price, bbc news, westminster.

boris johnson has appointed nadhim zahawi as a health minister responsible for the deployment of coronavirus vaccines. downing street said he would take on the role until at least next summer. it comes as hospitals in england have been told to prepare for the roll—out of a coronavirus vaccine from mid—december. nhs providers, which represents hospital trusts in england, says intensive work is going on to prepare for the first doses of the jab, but the time—frame will depend on when and if vaccines are approved by regulators. the president of iran claims the assassination of the country's top nuclear scientist will not slow down its nuclear programme. hassan rouhani has blamed israel for the killing of mohsen fakhrizadeh. he was shot dead on friday in an ambush on his car by gunmen in the town of absard, east of the capital tehran.

speaking at a cabinet meeting, president rouhani accused israel of trying to create chaos but said his country would not fall into a "trap". iran's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei has promised retaliation for the killing, tweeting that the scientist's nuclear work will continue. there have been demonstrations in tehran over the assassination, with protesters calling for revenge against israel and the united states. israel has not commented, but it has previously accused the victim of friday's attack, mr fakhrizadeh, of masterminding a covert nuclear weapons programme. 0ur diplomatic correspondent paul adams reports. angry protests once more on the streets of the iranian capital. people here in no doubt about who was behind yesterday's killing. we demand a hard revenge against america and israel, says there is a university student. the father of iran's nuclear programme is now being treated like a martyr, his assassination on the subject of much

debate. translation: our enemies are becoming weak, he says. assassination is the work of those who have no other options. and they point the finger at donald trump. in his last two months in office, this man says, he is trying to create conditions for war. yesterday's killing is not without precedent. ten years ago, israel carried out a campaign which killed four other nuclear scientists, but the death of mohsen fakhrizadeh poses a dilemma for iran's leadership. retaliate or bide their time? the supreme leader, ali khamenei, says the perpetrators and those who commanded them will be, pursued and published. the country's more pragmatic president struck a different tone. —— pursued and punished. iran would respond in due time, the president said, but would not fall into a trap. they're thinking of creating chaos, he said, referring to israel, but we read their hand and they will not

succeed. iran knows the next american president wants dialogue, not confrontation. but pressure is mounting. iran vowed to retaliate after america killed general major general qasem soleimani in iraq injanuary. it is yet to do so. with another senior figure dead, the desire for revenge is strong. i think iran has no option but to respond to this. if it doesn't, i think this will bring a bigger danger of further actions or even conflict in future. iran's recent progress, stockpiling and enriching uranium beyond the limits allowed by the 2015 nuclear deal, may have triggered this attack on the programme's figurehead. it is a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it is also likely to make joe biden‘s already difficultjob, coaxing iran back into negotiations, that much harder. paul adams, bbc news.

more than 2.5 million vulnerable people in england will be offered free vitamin d this winter. this follows the lead of scotland, which is also providing free supplements to some people. the vitamin helps to keep bones, teeth and muscle healthy, but a new clinical trial has just started looking at whether it can also protect against coronavirus. our science correspondent rebecca morelle reports. a dose of sunshine, helping us to make vitamin d, which is essential for our health. but at this time of year, the sun's in short supply. from october to march, people in the uk are advised to take vitamin d, and now in england people in care homes and those classed as clinically extremely vulnerable will get a free supply too. we know that with things like lockdown measures, people staying indoors much more often, maybe not going out as much because they're shielding, or they're housebound, here i think supplementation is, you know, a relatively easy

and affordable way to sort of protect the health of the general population. but can vitamin d also help with covid? this lab is trying to find out. there's some evidence the vitamin helps with other respiratory infections. now a clinical trial involving more more than 5,000 people is looking at its impact on coronavirus. it's not going to be as powerful as a vaccine, but it might reduce the risk of covid—i9 or the severity of the disease significantly. we only need to demonstrate a modest effect for it to be worth implementing. because vitamin d is very safe and it's very inexpensive. the vitamins for the clinical trial have been sorted into different doses. then they're packed up and sent out to volunteers across the uk. they'll be taking the supplements throughout winter and spring. it's clear that vitamin d is important for general health. the uk government's now asking health authorities to review the existing science around its effect on covid, and should publish those findings

by the end of the year. rebecca morelle, bbc news. face—to—face talks continue in london to reach agreement on a brexit deal between the eu and the uk. the eu's chief brexit negotiator michel barnier said deep divisions remain. borisjohnson has also spoken to the irish prime minister and underlined his commitment to reaching an agreement, which respects the uk's sovereignty. the snp has pledged to extend free school meals in scotland to provide breakfasts and lunches for all primary pupils. the expanded scheme, expected to cost £230 million per year, would run in school holidays, notjust term time. speaking at the party's virtual conference, john swinney, scotland's deputy first minister and education secretary, praised the campaign led by the footballer marcus rashford. the government has appointed the network rail chairman, sir peter hendy, to establish whether the train, road and air networks are ready for people

planning to travel over the christmas period. families will be allowed to make festive trips during a five—day window, between the 23rd and 27th of december. the department for transport will publish measures aimed at easing travel disruption next week. the transport secretary, grant shapps, has already urged people to book tickets well in advance and be prepared for restrictions on passenger numbers. staying in the uk, and around 13,000 people employed by one of the high street‘s biggest retailers, arcadia, are waiting to hear if theirjobs are safe, with the company said to be on the brink of collapse. administrators could be appointed to the group, which owns brands such as topshop, dorothy perkins and burton, as early as monday. here's our business correspondent, katy austin. the festive season is approaching, but there's tough news this weekend for the 13,000 people working for arcadia, with their employer on the verge of collapse. the group had its troubles

before the pandemic, already shedding jobs and closing stores. experts say it had failed to adapt as retail changed. new fashion businesses which are digital native have found it much easier to adapt to the shop and climate now. it's not easy for any big company who's an old company to adapt in the same way as a new do. arcadia's owner, sir philip green, had built a huge clothing empire, but in 2015, he sold bhs for £1, and the department store chain collapsed the following year. do you mind not looking at me like that all the time? it's really disturbing. leaving him first facing fury from mps, then coughing up hundreds of millions to plug the gap in bhs‘s pension scheme. he was definitely a man of his time, but that time has been changing dramatically in recent years, and then we've had the pandemic, which has catapulted it further forward.

his style worked really well some years ago. it's worked less and less well. in a statement, arcadia said the forced closure of its stores during the pandemic had had a material impact on trading across its businesses. if the administration process does kick off on monday, the group's 500 shops will continue to trade when they're allowed to reopen in england and ireland, and a buyer will be sought. the question then is if buyers can be found for arcadia's brands, and who they might be. katy austin, bbc news. the number of coronavirus cases recorded in the united states has passed 13 million, as the pandemic continues to surge. nearly 265,000 americans have died with covid—19. around 90,000 are in hospital. a further spike in the infection rate is expected, as millions have travelled for the thanksgiving weekend, despite public health warnings to stay at home. our north america correspondent david willis reports.

in the worst affected nation on earth, coronavirus cases are growing at an alarming rate. the united states added more than a million new cases of covid—19 in the space of less than a week, and on hospital wards and amongst health care workers, the strain is starting to show. when the news says we've reached a new death toll, i don't understand that. but as a front line health care worker, i can understand, and i can describe the sound a zipper on a body bag makes. health experts urge people to avoid travelling over thanksgiving, fearing the holiday weekend could turn into a super spreader. some chose to ignore that advice, although bargain hunters were noticeably thinner on the ground on what's known as black friday, traditionally america's busiest shopping day of the year.

some, though, see a deadly virus as little deterrent. kyle camped outside a video game store for two nights to get his hands on a cut—price playstation 5. it gave me some big concerns that we would all be squashed up less than six feet together. i try to wear my mask as much as possible to limit the risk of getting covid, in case there was someone who had it. but i felt for the most part pretty safe. away from the shopping malls, online sales are booming this year. by the end of the holiday season, they're expected to reach $10 billion, a 40% increase on last year. whilst his successor has vowed to make tackling the coronavirus his number one priority, the current occupant of the white house has seemed more focused on perfecting his golf swing and disputing the result of the election. donald trump once again found himself in the rough after an appeals court judge

in pennsylvania rejected an attempt to prevent certification ofjoe biden‘s victory there. certainly i will, certainly i will. and having said on thursday that he would leave the white house if the electoral college formalised mr biden‘s victory nationwide, the president then appeared to backtrack, writing on twitter... but whether mr trump likes it or not, joe biden will be the president onjanuary the 20th, at which point he will be responsible for the country's response to a virus which is now spreading so fast that officials in los angeles county, the largest county in the country, are preparing to introduce tough restrictions aimed

at keeping people at home. some wonder here if a long, dark winter might be just beginning. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. the headlines on bbc news: a warning that hospitals in england could become overwhelmed with coronavirus cases, if mps don't back new restrictions. the prime minister appoints nadhim zahawi as minister for the deployment of coronavirus vaccines. iran's president rouhani blames israel for the assassination of a top nuclear scientist, saying his country won't be deterred from its nuclear ambitions. protests are under way in paris against a new french law restricting sharing of images of police officers. the demonstrators argue it undermines the freedom of the press to document police abuses. the government says the law protects security services from receiving online abuse.

the action comes days after the distribution of disturbing footage showing police officers beating black music producer michel zecler. president emmanuel macron called the officers‘ action "shocking". mark lobel reports. pursued by the police for not wearing a facemask, then, set upon in the reception room of his music studio by those he thought were meant to protect him. caught on this cctv footage that has struck a nerve in france, the black french music producer michel zeckler is brutally punched, kicked, hit and allegedly racially abused. the three officers seen here, two in uniform and one plainclothed, have been suspended and questioned in police custody. the violent scenes continued for around five minutes until michel's colleagues emerge and push the police out. france's president emmanuel macron

said, "the images shame us, france must never allow racism to prosper. those who apply the law must respect the law. anger at the treatment of the a1—year—old, who was released without charge after being held for 48 hours, was felt by several members of france's world cup squad. kylian mbappe wrote this. ever since the death in us police custody of george floyd in may, and as the black lives matter movement has grown, tackling police conduct has been

under the spotlight. i certainly think accountability would be a great first step to rebuilding trust in the community. when you first admit and acknowledge there is a problem, then, we need to next fix it, accountability. there should be a disciplinary process that is commensurate with the crime or misconduct conducted by police officers. emmanuel macron‘s condemnation is also intended to quell ongoing protests across france. demonstrators are critical of a police crackdown on migrants and proposed reforms to restrict publishing images of the police they say jeopardises freedom of expression. after this latest incident, there will be even less appetite among protesters for more anonymity for the police. mark lobel, bbc news. today marks the last of three days of national mourning in argentina for diego maradona. the former argentina attacking midfielder was buried in a private ceremony on thursday after a day of emotional scenes in the argentine

capital buenos aires. marcela mora y araujo is a football journalist and joins us from argentina. thank you forjoining us. give me a feel for what the last three days have been like. well, very much like he was in life, in death maradona has awakened an incredibly intense range of emotions and reactions. the sort of unimaginable reality of his passing has sunk in slowly. there have been moments of quite frenetic outbursts of grief. the media interest is as manic as it ever has

been, and the reality of what he does has also, kind of, slowly settled in, been absorbed into a new normality. his body, the coffin was put in the government house for eve ryo ne put in the government house for everyone to go and pay respects, which is in keeping with what happened to peron. in a very kind of maradona way, this wasn't organised asa maradona way, this wasn't organised as a state funeral, so it was a sort of shambolic, haphazard event, where suddenly there were squabbles, there we re suddenly there were squabbles, there were some problems with crowds, there was an issue with cloud control. it was a little bit at times like an intense football game, but this didn't turn into anything bigger. it was all contain. the family had been very insistent on

removing the coffin by about four p mor removing the coffin by about four p m or 5pm local time. there was a lot of discussion about whether that would give people enough time, or whether it would lead to riots or protests, but in the end it didn't at all, and as my mother observed, who was watching very intently, the people were peaceful and they were there to express love. there was no real issue of violence. and then the procession of the coffin to his final resting place in the cemetery turned out to be unexpectedly beautiful and calm with just the family there, close friends from a select period because maradona a lwa ys select period because maradona always had a different group of closeness going on around him, and this was a particular one. but they did catch the last light of the day, so did catch the last light of the day, so it was actually rather beautiful. since then, there has been two sets

of developments. one is an incredibly hectic investigation into the last few hours of his life, which probably we won't hear the end of for some time. exactly what happened, where was he, what were the conditions? it seems he was not under enough medical supervision. and another rather lovely outpouring of quite beautiful thoughts and expressions of grief, love and respect from all sorts of people, all different ages, all different football clu bs. all different ages, all different football clubs. this is not a negligible point. yesterday there we re negligible point. yesterday there were some young boys who support river plate, and normally they are not the most maradona loving folk, but they had been to see the coffin and had thrown things that are close to them, river emblems, ora

and had thrown things that are close to them, river emblems, or a shirt. i think there's a rather interesting then, even in death, he transcends, he defies our nations of standard binary things. it has been an interesting few days. you knew him personally, didn't you question mark how different was his private persona , how different was his private persona, compared to his public one? well, i don't think one can do a division at all between private and public in maradona ‘s case. i think he was never really private. one of the most poignant things about that burial was how small and intimate and tranquil it seemed, compared to how his life had been lived. he was co nsta ntly how his life had been lived. he was constantly in a kind of scrum that was reminiscent of entering or exiting an overcrowded football game, and he had his life play out

in front of cameras from a very young age. there are some lovely images of him going around playing a key prp at the end of the match. when he was very little he was on tv —— keepy—uppy. there seems to be footage of him shaking off crowds that were asphyxiating him, but he also tended to over the years when i met him over the last 25 years, i think every single encounter showed me both sides of this struggle to be a regular guy that is just sitting down, having a chat with a mate, and also craving this euphoria, and

creating it if it is not there. i think more than anyone i have met, certainly, it is impossible to do some distinction between the footballer, the man, the artist, the human being. he was one, everything. he was like the ball, a constant good, bad, ugly. thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us and to reminisce about diego maradona. thank you. charities and nhs services who help problem gamblers say this year has been one of their busiest. more than a quarter of a million people in the uk are thought to be addicted to gambling, with the number of women increasing at double the rate of men. next month, the government is due to launch a review of industry regulations. jeremy cooke reports. gambling to me was as normal as breathing. i was gambling from the first moment i'd wake up in the morning. i would wake up in

the night and gamble. there was no time that i wouldn't gamble or think about gambling. kerry is a recovering addict. it felt like something i couldn't stop. it was part of me, it had control. gambling cost her tens of thousands of pounds. but the true cost has been higher still. what i lost was so much more than that. it was my identity, my self—respect, my values, time, sleep, relationships, my home. the list is endless. i did think of ways to end my life. i didn't want to be here, because i couldn't see a life without gambling. it had me, it had total control. i would just have a little gamble, maybe. breaking the habit is not easy. this is one of the few residential centres in the uk helping gambling addicts. the process starts thinking again. and it's cold turkey. no phones, no internet, no cash. the event, as you know, could be a sporting event. for years, online betting has been

shifting the problem from the bookies to the family home. and then came the covid lockdown. it just amplified the situation. it amplified their feelings, thoughts, and of course their behaviour. it took them to the edge when they were desperate. for most of us, of course, gambling is harmless. but for some it can be disastrous. and now experts say covid and lockdown have created the perfect storm for a growing and deeper problem. before lockdown, our outreach services were reaching about 30 interactions a month. we are now doing about 1,000 a month. the volume is on the increase, but the intensity is ten times greater then it was before. studies show that the number of women living with gambling addiction is growing, and stands at around 75,000 across britain. kerri now works full—time to help as many of those women as she can.

if i hadn't spoken about it, i probably wouldn't be here now, you know? you can recover — it is possible. i never believed it, but i'm living proof. so there is hope, but also fear that this new lockdown once again brings the ideal conditions for gambling addiction to grow and to destroy lives. jeremy cooke, bbc news. now, the weather with chris. hello, thank you. we have had a day of big weather contrasts from one place to the next. across england and wales for the most part it has been pretty murky. still low cloud around and mist and fog patches over the hills, but it has not been like that everywhere. in scotland, look at this picture. clear skies in glasgow, light winds. the satellite picture shows where the sheet of cloud is over england and wales. the cloud is over england and wales. the cloud has been encroaching