this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. england's health secretary has given a new warning that the national health service could soon be overwhelmed by the spread of coronavirus. it echoes concerns from england's chief medical officer, who says if hospitals are overwhelmed, this will lead to avoidable deaths. we can all do something to help, stay at home. every time you flex the rules, that could be fatal, and we all have a part to play. the labour leader, sir keir starmer is calling on the government to bring back daily briefings, to help reiterate the "stay at home" message to the public.

we have had mixed messages, i'm afraid, which is why we have got problems. i would like to see the prime minister out every day with a press conference , prime minister out every day with a press conference, making sure the absolutely getting through, because thatis absolutely getting through, because that is the most crucial thing. asymptomatic testing in the uk is ramped up, and more than half a million people over the age of 80 are invited to mass vaccination centres. rescue teams in indonesia have found the flight recorder for the boeing passenger plane that crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff. 62 people were on board. president trump will face impeachment proceedings this week for the second time, accused of inciting the storming of congress. and a special report from south africa following the people committed to saving one of the world's most endangered and trafficked creatures — the pangolin.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. here in the uk, the health secretary, matt hancock, has said the nhs could soon be overwhelmed by the spread of coronavirus and warned people must stay home. mr hancock said every time someone tried to flex the lockdown rules, it could lead to another person dying of the disease. his message was echoed by england's chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, who said the new variant of the disease is spreading rapidly across the country, leaving some areas facing "the most dangerous situation anyone can remember." the labour leader, sir keir starmer has urged the government to reinforce the "stay at home" message, and called for a return of the daily downing street briefings, fronted by the prime minister. the british government is rolling out rapid flow tests to all areas of england. the tests, which can return results in 30 minutes, will be prioritised for those who can't work from home. and thousands of people in england

aged over 80 are being invited to book an appointment to get the jab at one of seven mass vaccination centres. matt hancock said he hoped all adults in the uk would be offered the vaccine by the autumn. our political correspondent nick eardley said the government's core aim was to reiterate the "stay at home" message. chris whitty, england's chief medical officer, is warning the situation is worse than it has been throughout the pandemic. if the trajectory, the number of cases increasing, continues, then the nhs could be overwhelmed and the impact of that, according to chris whitty, would be severe. it would mean some people would not get the care they needed, their doctors can't see as many patients as they like, and ultimately it would lead to unnecessary deaths. the big question the government is facing today is, what are they going to do about it?

matt hancock, the health secretary, has been on andrew marr this morning saying they cannot rule out further restrictions. the view in downing street is you cannot categorically rule these things out, but there is more you can do, closing nurseries potentially, or restricting who can go to work. but we are hearing more about urging the public to follow the rules. there is a fear perhaps people are not taking this as seriously as they did in march last year, when the first full "stay at home" lockdown came in. have a listen to matt hancock, the health secretary. my gratitude, all of our gratitude, goes out to the team working across the nhs and working harder than it has ever worked before, and we could all do something to help, which is to stay at home. every time you try to flex

the rules, that could be fatal. and we all have a part to play. that was health secretary matt hancock, giving encouraging figures around the number of people vaccinated, around two million. we get the full figures on a monday, but it is around two million. at the moment the big question is how you ramp that up significantly, how you get to a point where you have a large part of the population vaccinated. the health secretary was saying the aim is to get 200,000 vaccinations per day pretty soon. we know that mass vaccination centres are being opened up in parts of england. what i found really interesting was we know the government is planning to getjabs in the arms of the most vulnerable by the middle of february. matt hancock saying by autumn

every adult in the uk will be offered a vaccine, as they have. that is a pretty significant commitment, if it is met, in getting back to something approaching normal. now, labour saying the government too slow to impose lockdowns? we heard from sir keir starmer, the labour leader, saying the government has been too slow at points. he says people need to take the "stay at home" message seriously but also suggesting more measures are going to have to come, that probably some of the things that have been kept open are going to have to close in england, in particular pointing to nurseries as a potential other way in which the government could stop people moving about, by closing nurseries for most people. have a listen to the labour leader. they are tough and necessary.

they may not be tough enough, but in a sense i think the most important thing is for people to get the message about stay at home. it is up to the government to put the message out there the whole time. we've had mixed messages, i'm afraid, for the past nine months, which is why we have a problem. i would like to see the prime minister out there every day with a press conference making sure the message is getting through, because that is the most crucial thing. nick, one of the weapons the government is trying to use against coronavirus is testing, testing especially people who do not have symptoms. one of the things that really worries people in government and some of the medical experts is potentially one in three people who have coronavirus are asymptomatic, they do not show the main symptoms, so one of the things being introduced by the government is mass asymptomatic testing, rapid flow tests you get for people

still having to go to work. every local authority in england will be given some of these tests, be able to distribute them as they see fit. it does not mean everyone still going to work at the moment will get one of these tests, but the idea is to try and figure out people who are not showing symptoms but have and can transmit the virus, who they are, and can keep them at home. they do not show every case but the hope is they will catch more than is the case at the moment. nick ea rd ley, eardley, our political correspondent. the indonesian authorities say they've located the black box flight recorders of the plane that crashed into the sea on saturday, minutes after take—off from jakarta. it could hold the clues as to why the boeing 737 aircraft went down. the navy has already recovered pieces of fuselage and some body parts from the sea off the coast near the indonesian capital. 62 people were on board the sriwijaya air jet, which was flying to borneo.

mark lobel reports. could these be vital clues as to what happened to sriwijaya air flight sj182? divers from ten navy ships, assisted by military helicopters, are slowly piecing together the wreckage from their ongoing search of the waters where they believe the plane fell. translation: we will do our best to find the victims. together let's pray they can be found. in the name of the government and the indonesian people, we would like to express our condolences. as the flight—tracking app flightradar shows, four minutes after the 26—year—old boeing 737 took off from jakarta on saturday afternoon, with 62 passengers on board, including seven children and three babies, contact was lost, as it reportedly plunged 3000 metres in less than a minute. before its disappearance, its operator said no problems had come to light.

translation: based on the information i have, the plane was in a good condition when it was flown from pontianak, pangkal pinang, and this was the second route back to pontianak. there shouldn't have been any problem, and the maintenance report was also fine. in a significant development, the chief of the country's search and rescue agency has told reporters his teams have detected signals in two points, which could be the plane's black box, which he is now investigating. the black box is going to be critical, because that is going to determine whether or not there were sounds in the cockpit of perhaps an explosion, they're going to look at the wreckage and find out how the metal was bent, whether it was bent in or out, which could be a potential explosive device, were there missiles in the area? we saw thatjust over a year ago with the ukrainian 737 that was shot down. relatives and friends of those

on board now have a painful wait for more answers. ajakarta police spokesperson said rescuers have handed over a bag containing passengers' belongings and also another they believe contains body parts. after flight sj182 delayed its take—off due to heavy rain, and never sent a distress signal, what these rescue teams can now salvage from the seas is more important than ever. mark lobel, bbc news. i asked our south east asia correspondentjonathan head, if there are any clues yet as to what might have happened. none at all. we know it was something very catastrophic, we have seen the pieces of wreckage that the search teams have pulled out of the water, and there is no doubt they are from the plane, it obviously came down from data we have seen on flight—tracking apps, very fast from 11,000 feet into the sea in the matter of 20 seconds in the last stages of its flight.

it is impossible to imagine anyone surviving that, so it is just a matter of picking the wreckage up. they knew the location of the fight, not far from the airport, four minutes in, the sea is shallow. they know where the fuselage is, they will be able to retrieve large parts of the plane, and probably the flight recorders, and we will get answers within perhaps weeks or months. at this stage, no distress call from the pilots, an old plane, but had it been maintained properly, no particular reason for a problem. the investigators will have to look at every possibility. there could be something quite catastrophic that the pilots might have done, something mechanical wrong with the plane, or even the possibility of some sort of outside factors like an attack. we do not know at this stage and sadly the families will not get answers for some time, most likely. outgoing vice—president mike pence will attend the inauguration ofjoe biden on january 20th. it's in contrast to donald trump

who's said he won't be at his successor‘s swearing—in, breaking with tradition. meanwhile, democrats in the house of representatives say they'll start impeachment proceedings against president trump in the next 2a hours. they've accused him of inciting his supporters to storm the capitol building in washington. our north america correspondent peter bowes reports. the images that shocked america and the world. video and photographs that are now being scrutinised by the authorities to bring those responsible to justice. this man, dressed in a bearskin headdress and carrying a six—foot spear, was among those that stormed the us capitol and gained access to the senate chamber. prosecutors say he is jacob chansley, a prominent follower of the baseless conspiracy theory qanon, now in custody for charges that include violent entry and disorderly conduct. adam johnson was pictured carrying the lectern used

by the house speaker, nancy pelosi. he is now in custody in florida. protests for and against donald trump have continued this weekend. heavily armed supporters of the president gathered in minneapolis. we want donald trump to resign! ..while in chicago, opponents of the president rallied outside the city's trump tower. in washington, there is now intense security. the national guard is on patrol around the capitol, wherejoe biden will be inaugurated as the nation's next president in ten days' time. donald trump has said he won't be there, but the vice president, mike pence, and his wife, do plan to attend the ceremony. in the meantime, democrats plan to move forward with a second impeachment of the president, starting on monday. it was an act of sedition that was incited and encouraged by donald trump, and that is why he must be held accountable to the full extent of the law.

the claim in the draft articles of impeachment is that donald trump's behaviour "gravely endangered the security of the united states." but some republicans think the process could fuel further unrest. others argue there simply isn't enough time. i've got enough decisions to make about things that can happen rather than to spend time on things that can't happen. if the house of representatives votes to impeach the president, the earliest the us senate could begin a trial of mr trump is january 20th — the day he is due to leave office. peter bowes, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: england's health secretrary has given a new warning that the british national health service could soon be overwhelmed by the spread of coronavirus. it echoes concerns from england's chief medical officer — who says if hospitals are overwhelmed, this will lead to avoidable deaths. the labour leader,

sir keir starmer is calling on the uk government to bring back daily briefings to help reiterate the "stay at home" message to the public. it comes as asymptomatic testing in the uk is ramped up and more than half a million people over the age of 80 are invited to mass vaccination centres. when the coronavirus was still in its early stages, one of the theories about its origins involved a rare animal — the pangolin. they're among the most trafficked mammals in the world. our africa correspondent andrew harding reports on south africa's efforts to rein in the illegal trade. get on the ground! get on the ground now! a sting operation by south african police. they've lured a gang of suspected smugglers to this car park in order to arrest them. one, two, three, four, five,

six, seven arrested. inside the car, still alive, a strange and precious victim is rescued. whose animal is this? this is a pangolin — one of the world's most endangered, most trafficked creatures. its thick scales prized in traditional chinese medicine — but on no scientific basis. injured and weak, the elderly male is rushed to a dedicated pangolin clinic in johannesburg, but too late to be saved. this is the worst we have seen. this is the worst male we have seen. he's really dehydrated. and his wounds are terrible. unfortunately, when they've been in the trades for long, their immune system is compromised. so, um, healing takes a lot longer, and they get worse infections. this is an acutely sensitive and ancient species. few survive an ordeal that resembles a kidnapping, complete with proof—of—life videos like this one, sent by the poachers

to potential buyers. sorry, but you are partand parcel, eh? today, six suspects are taken into custody, a small blow against a criminal trade that involves huge sums of money and enormous cruelty. you know, when we get them out of the trade, they are absolutely terrified. they've got no real natural enemies — and now man is their absolute downfall. you know, teriffic. this adult female was rescued and survived. now she's well guarded at a secret location. the species has gained new prominence after scientists began investigating possible links between pangolins and covid—i9. these are some of the most harmless creatures on the planet. but there is new evidence from china that pangolins may have helped incubate and transmit covid—i9 to humans who ate the animals. there's also the suggestion that

by studying these animals, we may learn more through their immune systems about the virus itself. in the meantime, a new arrival is nursed at the clinic. three months old, her family trafficked. the pangolin has lived on this planet for more than 80 million years. it's in the headlines today because of covid, but humans have hunted it to the brink of extinction. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, says he's ending long—standing restrictions on official contact between the us and taiwan. the announcement is likely to anger china, which sees taiwan as part of its territory. our taiwan correspondent, cindy sui, explains what the changes could mean. the taiwanese government has welcomed this and expressed

gratitude towards pompeo and the trump administration, some say it is a long time coming, those who want to see a normalisation of relations between taiwan and washington, dc. they see it as operating on a strange situation where the two sites cannot easily have contact with each other. but on the other hand, there are people in taiwan who are increasingly worried about the unprecedented tensions between beijing and taipei, since trump came into office, and under the president in taiwan, that the love affair has created a really bad relations between beijing and taipei, and are necessarily china to a point where it is flying military aircraft near the island almost on a daily basis. forget robocop — how about a robodoc? scientists think robotic health care assistants could soon become a reality. a team at the university of sheffield in the uk are developing ways of using new technology in hospitals

and care homes, as luxmy gopal has been finding out. this is benny the robot. he's in a home lab in sheffield, but he is being controlled in real time from manchester. through the technology, anyone anywhere can immerse themselves in the robot. i become the robot simply by putting on a vr headset. and now i can see everything the robot sees. and i can control its arms. robotic firm cyberselves has developed a versatile, more user—friendly programming system, so what robots can't yet do alone can be done with the help of human controls. they hope it will revolutionise health tech. there is an increasing use of robots now in health care, but the artificial intelligence that powers those robots isn't up to scratch, and the programming is very, very hard, it requires incredibly specialist degrees to programme robots. so what we're trying to do is simultaneously make it easier to control robots and also to make up that gap for the artificial intelligence.

so a robot moving around a hospital, say cleaning a ward, will get stuck and won't know how to do a certain task. a human being can enter into it, perform the task and the robot can then learn in the future from that as well. the same system can be used to control any number of robots to perform a whole range of different tasks, from surgery to bomb disposal, orfor example in care homes, as a way of having covid—safe company. no social distancing needed here. it's the closest to being with someone without actually being there and opens a world of possibilities. how are you today? i've got your medicine right here. thank you. the doctor could be hundreds of miles away, it could be some specialist that you would like to see a patient and they might be in new york, and theyjust need to put on a vr headset and they could be in sheffield looking at this patient. can you look to the left for me, please? and now to the right?

it's saying can you show me your leg and you can look at the leg you know at the leg, you know, looking at this patient. it is the naturalness that is going to make a difference and the spontaneity. here in italy guiding people with limited mobility through tasks and drawing conversation from autistic youngsters who otherwise struggle with social interaction. they have now received government funding to explore new ways of helping health care through robots like benny here luxmy gopal... and benny, for bbc news, in sheffield. spanish authorities say at least four people have died after the country's most intense storm in 50 years. half the country is on red alert for more bad weather. swept away, two people died after the storm struck this road near malaga in southern spain. another

two people froze to death in the capital and an eastern city. we are amidst the worst snow storm that has hit the country since records began. in places like madrid, we have seen the biggest snowfall in recent decades. this is an exceptional situation that has exceeded even the most pessimistic forecasts. around 20,000 kilometres of road were affected. 1500 people trapped in ca i’s affected. 1500 people trapped in cars needed rescuing. with the police, civil guard and the military‘s emergency unit all in action. passengers were snowed in at spain's main airport. translation: we had to sleep here, they didn't give us food or drink, we had to lie on the luggage belt and desks. before this, some parts of the northeastern aragon region hadn't seen snow for years. translation: it hasn't snowed in

za ragoza translation: it hasn't snowed in zaragoza since 2005! alike the same story in central spain too. translation: never have i seen it so snowy, translation: never have i seen it so snowy, never. translation: never have i seen it so snowy, never. collide and there is curiosity from these creatures too. revellers in madrid to say this has been like a dream come true. snow enveloping iconic buildings and landscapes, including museums, parliament, and the main thoroughfare. for now, it has become a ski slope. translation: it is magic, i don't think there is an exaggeration to say there is a lot of people in the street despite the pandemic, and the situation is such fun. caletti heaviest snowfall since the 1970s has also made access to hospitals had, although ministers insist it will not hinder the delivery of new coronavirus vaccine supplies. but there is concern that this record

amount of snow could lead to both icy conditions as well as more flooding in the days ahead. let's check out the latest forecast in the uk. this morning was not as cold as yesterday morning but it has started frosty and foggy across some parts of the uk. through the day, milder air pushing in across most areas as the westerly breeze drags in more cloud. with the frost and fog lifting across southern areas, it may brighten up a touch but generally lots of cloud. the rain turning heavier in western scotland, temperatures here are eight — five or six fairly typical, maybe lower in the south east. a cold day here but not as cold as yesterday. for many overnight, we keep cloudy skies, some rain and drizzle around, wetter weather in western scotland, threatening flooding as we get snow melt as well. for most parts of the country,

temperatures just above freezing. with the cloud thinner in the south east and the air colder, could see frosty and still some cold weather in shetland with snow showers continuing. on monday, milder air spilling in across most areas as we get a stronger west to south—westerly wind. the weather front in the north is crucial, the boundary between the milder air and the cold air sitting across northern areas. snow in northern most parts of scotland, rain, wetter in northern ireland, west of england. dry towards the south of england. temperatures of 7—8, could make double figures in belfast on monday. the milder, cloudy, wetter weather could push southwards during the evening and overnight, clearing away for most areas in time for tuesday. briefly, colder air returning and perhaps a frost in scotland,

northern england, perhaps northern ireland. more cloud to the south, rain and drizzle hanging on to the south—west of the uk, temperatures reaching ten. eight in london. further north, colder at 4—6, but at least some sunshine. frost developing early in the night before the weather fronts come back in from the atlantic bringing milder air on wednesday and more cloud and outbreaks of rain eastwards to most of the uk. the rest of the week looks largely dry. last week these temperatures were around 1—4. this week will be much milder.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines.

the health secretrary has given a new warning that the nhs could soon be overwhelmed by the spread of coronavirus. it echoes concerns from england's chief medical officer — who says if hospitals are overwhelmed, this will lead to avoidable deaths. we can all do something to help which is to stay at home. every time you flex the rules that could be fatal. we all have a part to play. the labour leader, sir keir starmer is calling on the government to bring back daily briefings, to help reiterate the stay at home message to the public. we have had mixed messages for the last nine months which is why we have had a problem. i would like to see the prime minister out there every day making sure the message is getting through. that is the most crucial thing. it comes as asymptomatic testing is ramped up and more than half a million people over the age of 80

are invited to mass