this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at eight: 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. violent clashes in paris as thousands protest against a new law to restrict the sharing of images of police officers. it comes days after footage emerged of officers beating up a black man. a worrying weekend for 13,000 workers at some of the uk's biggest retail names — arcadia — the group that owns top shop, dorothy perkins, and miss selfridge is

on the brink of collapse. and coming up in half an hour — we'll be going behind the scenes of finland's coalition government — led by five women. good evening. the cabinet office minister, michael gove, has warned that hospitals in england could become overwhelmed with new covid—19 cases, if mps don't back the planned restrictions in a vote in the commons on tuesday. writing in the times, mr gove urged them to take responsibility for difficult decisions, ahead of the new rules coming into force next wednesday. england will be split into three

tiers from december 2nd — medium, high and very high. areas have been put into tiers depending on the total number of cases, the number of cases in people over 60, and pressure on local nhs services. 99% of england will enter the highest two tiers, with tight restrictions on bars and restaurants and a ban on households mixing indoors. some conservative mps are unhappy about how the tiers have been allocated, and labour hasn't yet said if it will back the plans. with more, here's our political correspondent, iain watson. teignbridge has one of the lowest infection rates in the country, and yet from next week it will be in tier 2, not tier 1, because the same restrictions are imposed across the whole of devon. it's a similar story in other counties, where some areas with a low level of the virus can still face tough rules. the government's advisers say

a countywide or regional approach is more effective than more local restrictions. but you can't keep politics out of a pandemic, and there is pressure from some of the government's own mps for a rethink. the big question we have to ask ourselves, we had tier version one a couple of months ago. we've just lived through lockdown version two, and yet we now have vastly more people being moved up a phase, despite being told, "this is the last push, this is the new panacea." in the times today, cabinet minister michael gove warned wavering mps not to rebel on tuesday when parliament votes on the restrictions. he said the tougher tiers were "grimly, inevitably necessary," and without tougher action "the nhs would be broken." fears that the nhs could be overwhelmed might restrict the size of the conservative rebellion next week, but hope can also be a powerful weapon. so ministers have been hinting that some areas might get an early christmas present and move out

of tier 3 when the restrictions are reviewed in mid december. this isn't guaranteed, because i'm told that government scientists are extremely sceptical about whether this could or should happen. and the government's keen to show mps it's getting on top of the virus. today the business minister, nadhim zahawi, was transformed into minister for vaccines, focusing on rolling out the inoculations once they're approved. i don't want to make any promises at this stage. i need to make sure the whole system is working properly, and that is what your viewers and the nation will expect from any minister, to make sure that everything is in place, that the vaccine safety procedures have gone through, we need to make sure all of that hard work is done and then we can begin deployment. mass testing, seen as a means of exiting tier 3, is being extended to redcar and cleveland on teesside. if all this doesn't keep the rebellion down on tuesday, the government might need labour votes,

but these will come at a price. there's no extra support for businesses in tier 3, and the hospitality industry will be really hard hit at christmas, so we have real concerns there. but also we want to know how different parts of the country can come out of their tiers. borisjohnson says he wants to squeeze the disease, but first he'll have to try to squeeze the rebellion in his own ranks. well, iain watson has been telling me more about the parliamentary votes on restrictions. it could come down to labour. around 43 conservative mps would tough to vote against their own government to wipe out boris johnson vote against their own government to wipe out borisjohnson ‘s majority and make him dependent on labour votes. 0n the national lockdown restrictions themselves, 35 conservative mps voted against so not that far off wiping off the

majority. 0ver not that far off wiping off the majority. over this weekend, so he isn't dependent on labour votes we will see a big push to try to make the case to their own mps to fall into line. partly it is warnings about the state of the health service, partly if you can just hold your nerve, just around the corner, the new vaccines, so there is an attempt to say, just let these restrictions go through, you won't have too live under them for much longer. whether that will be enough, there is an awful lot of restlessness and labour are playing their cards close to the chest. in truth, they will back this, we will get those restrictions but they will make the case for more help for tier 3 areas. 50 labour's caution is make the case for more help for tier 3 areas. so labour's caution is more about financial support, is it? they wa nt about financial support, is it? they want more detail. they say they also wa nt want more detail. they say they also want more detail. they say they also want more detail. they say they also want more detail on how they will improve the test, track and trace

system. in redcar and cleveland getting mass testing, whether they can extend that to all areas in tier 3, that will be a big challenge but they want more details on that. they also want to see a clear criteria for coming out over the tores. the government will be able to satisfy them. some of it is will they put more money into the areas under the most severe restrictions. let's see. many of these seats conservative one for the first time. let's turn to nadhim zahawi and his new appointment. this is on top of his dayjob. what does he bring to the job in terms of experience? after the scandal, the fall out with the ppe wasn't appropriate and test and trace, you can't mess this one up in terms of rolling up the vaccine. no, it is one of the most challenging

jobs in government. he may well be embracing it but he will be really in the firing line if he gets this wrong. this time they have got a minister who is not a conservative peen minister who is not a conservative peer, not from outside but a government minister who will be under a great deal of scrutiny. it's a bit ofa under a great deal of scrutiny. it's a bit of a double—edged sword, but in terms of experience, he used to bea in terms of experience, he used to be a marketing directorfor a big company, also set up the yougov of polling company so he would say he brings business acumen to that role. how good he is necessarily with logistics, he will be a health minister notjust a business minister, so again how experience he will be in terms of the regulation of these vaccines, that is something you will have two devolve all that to scientists and medical advisors but it will be his job to make sure the vaccines, once approved, get

from the laboratories into our arms. the latest government figures show there were 15,871 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 16,153. there were 1,551 people admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last tuesday. and a79 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that means on average in the past week, a87 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 58,030. more than 150 people have been arrested at an anti—lockdown demonstration in central london. many protesters were not wearing

facemasks and refused police requests to go home. protests are currently not permitted under lockdown rules in england. and you can find out what the restrictions are in your area by using the postcode checker on the bbc news website. and we'll find out how coronavirus — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are the political editor of the sunday mirror and people nigel nelson, and the political commentatorjo phillips. iran has vowed to retaliate in its own time, for the assassination of its top nuclear scientist. president hasan rouhani has blamed israel for the killing of mohsen fakhrizadeh and says the country's nuclear

programme will continue. the scientist was shot dead on friday, when gunmen ambushed his car in the town of absard, east of the capital tehran. israel hasn't commented, but it has previously accused mr fakhrizadeh of masterminding a covid nuclear weapons programme. here's our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. 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 this university student. the father of iran's nuclear programme is now being treated like a martyr, his assassination the subject of much debate. "0ur 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 punished. the country's more pragmatic president struck a different tone. translation: this savage act shows that our enemies feel that global conditions are changing and it is important for them to make the most of the remaining few weeks that they have to create uncertain conditions in the region. but our brave nation is smarter than to fall into the trap of zionists. but pressure is mounting. iran vowed to retaliate after america killed 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. a largely peaceful protest in paris has been marred by what the french interior minister has described as "unacceptable" violence. protesters clashed with police, who fired tear gas at demonstrators, opposing a bill which would restrict the public‘s right to film

police officers' faces. the demonstrations come days after footage emerged showing police racially abusing and beating a black music producer. 0ur correspondent sangita myska's report contains images from the start, which some viewers may find distressing. tens of thousands gathered in paris and across france to peacefully protest against proposed laws that they say will limit press freedom and encourage police brutality. if passed, it will be a crime for the media to publish video or photographs showing the faces of police officers involved in wrongdoing. that includes images like this, released last week. the cctv shows three french policemen, two in uniform and one plainclothed, confronting a black producer in his own studio for allegedly not wearing a mask. for 12 minutes, the music producer

is badly beaten and racially abused. he was never charged with a crime. today there was at times an escalation of force on both sides as french police fired tear gas at protesters, who threw fireworks and built barricades in the capital. with president macron preparing for his next presidential run, protesters here claim his attempts to look tough on crime have backfired. sangita myska, bbc news. 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.

the ethiopian prime minister has claimed his forces have taken control of mekelle — the capital of tigray province — where leaders of the opposition tigray people's liberation front are besieged. abiy ahmed said the military operations were completed — but ethiopian police would apprehend members of the tplf. the reuters agency is reporting the leader of tplf says the group will continue fighting. with communications to tigray province cut, it's hard to confirm mr abiy‘s assertions, but ethiopian forces had been advancing from the north — with reports of shells targetting mekelle. the ethiopian army has been locked in conflict with the tplf for weeks. i've been speaking to

billene seyoum — press secretary for the ethiopian prime minister, abiy ahmed. she gave me more details about the military operation in mekelle. so what we have right now is that over the past day or so, the national defence forces have made a lot of advances towards mekelle, the last hideout of the tplf clique. today a series of operations were undertaken and unlike the statement that was made in your news statement, there was no shelling of the city. there were specific targets that were identified. in the mechanisms by the national defence forces have been subdued so what the chief, the prime minister has announced is that the mission with regard to the military operation has seized and has been finalised with the control of the city, in particular at the airport

and keep public infrastructures and key sites in the city have been secured as well turn out this goes onto the next phase which is for the federal police to apprehend the tplf clique so the focus now has shifted, the military intervention has ceased with the full control of mekelle city. could you confirm for me, it sounds as though you have entered mekelle. this has taken a few days, because last week the offensive had begun and there was some confusion because of the communications cut—out. when you say this is completed, are you confirming that you have entered mekelle, or that the tigray forces have surrendered? over the past two days, the information we have received from the defence forces at the front is that thousands of tplf militia have also been surrendering. the confirmation that's been transmitted today is that the national defence forces

are within the city, have taken command and it is under federal command. what will happen next? if this is not resolved in terms of speaking to the tplf, tensions will resume once again. what has been put in place for the regional players? this has nothing to do with speaking to the tplf because the target what is next is that there have been matters which are been settled constitutionally. this last stronghold is now under federal control as well,

so there will be undertaking the critical task of resuming the services that have been interrupted in the last two weeks of the operation, particularly because the administration had fled. now the focus is transitioning to humanitarian assistance and ensuring that all the city is under scheduled command. we have stated this is being coordinated by the ministry of peace but now there would be the possibility for a lot of other agencies because we are secure to go in and provide assistance. that is priority. also rehabilitating those that have fled from the conflict.

already over the past few days there has been establishment of camps. 0k, that's great, you have answered my next question in terms of civilians and humanitarian assistance that ethiopia will be putting in place. to help this, re—establishing communications within tigray would help make things more transparent and help families concerned about their members who were either remaining within tigray or who have fled across the border to sudan. we have spoken to many members here in the uk who say they don't have news and they are very worried. could you confirm when communications will be re—established, certainly with the humanitarian corridor, the eu were not aware a corridor had been put in place? with regards to confirming when communication would be

restored, first we need to establish why it was interrupted, we would like to reiterate that upon the attack by the northern command, one of the key strategic things they had done to disrupt communication was destroying communication infrastructure within mekelle. that needs to be understood. part of the next stage that i had indicated earlier, ensuring that what i was referring to, focus on rebuilding communication infrastructure and all other infrastructure destroyed by the militia, that is part of the next step. ensuring everything is put in place for the people of tigray. finally, the were in

ethiopia 48 hours ago. are you going to sit down and speak with the tplf? is there going to be negotiations? there is no negotiations with the tplf because it is a criminal entity. there is discussions with the provisional administrations of tigray which is an amalgamation of different political parties that are active in the region. they are the constitutionally mandated government that would be in the region until elections go through. just updating us on the latest situation in toy group province. just an update on the tier system.

borisjohnson has written to mps. he is facing a rebellion from some of his own mps on tuesday to that new tier restriction. he has written to them to reassure them that the review of the system in mid—december could see some areas move down a tier and he has promised them a new vote in january on tier and he has promised them a new vote injanuary on the whole system. 0ne vote injanuary on the whole system. one of the main points of the letter is that as it is quoting, regulations have a sunset of the 3rd of february, so the new tiering measures will be kept under constant review with a specific requirement to review local areas chase every fortnight. regulations, one of the key points of this letter have a sunset of the 3rd of february. and that some areas will or may be able to move down a tier from the 16th of

december. by this first viewpoint, he says, we will have a fuller picture of the impact of national restrictions and will review each region against the five indicators. the vote is on tuesday, february the 3rd of next year is a sunset to the regulations and some areas can move down a tierfrom regulations and some areas can move down a tier from the 16th of december. of course there is that bubble day to cover the christmas period. 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. britain and france have announced an agreement to double the number of police officers patrolling beaches in northern france to stop migrants attempting to reach the uk in small boats. under the deal the uk will contribute around £28 million, towards a series of preventative measures. our correspondent, simonjones, gave us more details

about the agreement. so far this month, around 700 migrants have succeeded in reaching the uk by boat. the total for this year is around 8,000 people. that is a big increase on the whole of last year, and about four times more so far this year. priti patel, the home secretary, has been under pressure, not least from her own conservative mps, to get to grips with this issue. she has held a virtual meeting with her french counterpart, and agreed a series of measures that britain will pay for. the chief one will be stepping up patrols by french officers on beaches in northern france. it is a huge area of coastline there. we are not being told how many officers will be working on that patch, but we are told it is a significant uplift. on top of this, britain will also provide additional equipment, such as drones and night—vision binoculars that will be used by the french authorities to try to patrol these areas. there will also be money

for accommodation to move migrants away from the calais area, to places to live away from that area, to take them away from the temptation of trying to cross the channel, and also from the people smugglers who are also organising a lot of these crossings. priti patel has described this development as significant. this new package today that i have just signed with my french counterpart, the french interior minister, effectively doubles the number of police on the french beaches. it invests in more technology, more surveillance and radar technology, which supports the law enforcement effort. on top of that, we are sharing in terms of toughening up our border security, so in the french side in particular they are now focused on strengthening their border security because we are seeing fewer migrants now in small boats, but we are seeing displacement into other areas, such as lorries. so priti patel talking this up, but a note of caution —

in the past couple of years we have had a number of agreements between britain and france, they have talked of working more closely than ever on each occasion to try to stop these crossings, but the number managing to reach the uk has continued to go up. so i think although priti patel is really giving the virtues of this agreement, i think the key thing will be the numbers that continue to arrive in the coming months. i spoke to one group that supports refugees once they arrive in the uk and they say, "well, you can throw money at this problem or this issue — millions of pounds we are talking about here — but it's necessary stop the desire of people to get to the uk." the archbishop of washington dc, has been made the first african—american cardinal in the catholic church. wilton gregory was confirmed by the pope at a ceremony in the vatican. the archbishop is known for his outspokenness on many issues — including sex abuse scandals.