this is bbc news. the headlines... tens of thousands of small business owners celebrate as the supreme court rules insurers must pay them for covid lockdown losses. a really good day for thousands and thousands of insurants who were left with very little clarity until now. experts advising the government warn that everyone must continue to follow the rules as the latest official estimate shows the uk wide r number is between 1.2 and 1.3. the uk economy shrank by 2.6% in november, when england was in lockdown for a second time. a ban on flights from south america has come into force, as ministers try to prevent

a new variant of coronavirus, which was first seen in brazil. joe root has scored his first test century in over a year as england tightened their grip on the first test against sri lanka in galle. ok, so, here we go. and it's one of the oldest tricks in the book — how magicians are celebrating a century of sawing someone in half. and the fomer man utd star wayne rooney has been appointed derby county manager on a permanent basis. tens of thousands of small businesses are celebrating a supreme court ruling that means they'll receive insurance payouts for losses incurred

during the first national lockdown. thejudges ruled in favour of their appeal in the £1.2 billion legal battle. insurers — who had said the cover was never intended for such unprecedented restrictions — say all valid claims will be settled as soon as possible. our business correpsondent vishala sri—pathma reports. back in march, hundreds of thousands of businesses were forced to close because of restrictions. many worried they would never open again. some were hoping that their insurance policy would cover the cost of the loss of income. much to their surprise, they were told they were not covered. one of them was daniel, who runs a patisserie in belfast and was forced to close because of restrictions. it is a really good day for thousands and thousands of insurants who were left with very little clarity until now. we are extremely proud of thisjudgment and it's a unanimousjudgment,

as well, which is even more telling. with thatjudgment, we can now take our claims forward and look at the future. the financial conduct authority stepped in, taking some insurers to court, pursuing a test case over whether the pandemic was covered by these policies. insurers argue that only the most specialist policies had cover for such unprecedented restrictions. that appeal was rejected by the supreme court today. the verdict will come as a huge relief for the businesses across the country that have been struggling to make ends meet. but with many on the brink of going bust, those payments can't come soon enough. whilst the more complex claims may take a little while, one would hope for a small business that is clearly being shut down, the money can be paid very quickly, within weeks. there is no reason why that should not happen now. the pay—outs will cost the insurance sector hundreds of millions of pounds. the association of british insurers

put out a statement saying... for many businesses, the ruling today will be a lifeline that could mean they are able to continue to trade, but with no sign of when restrictions will ease again, some are worried the payments will not go far enough. earlier i spoke to our business correspondent katie austin. the point of the case was to test a selection of policy wordings in court and really set the parameters of what counts as a valid claim. eight insurers took part in that case, but as many as 60 have sold similar policies with similar wordings. today's ruling does not mean they will pay out in every single case, but in many cases they will. it is a complex ruling, though, so there is no blanket outcome.

it will be a case—by—case basis in the end. the pressure now, though, is on insurance companies who will pay out to do so quickly, because we're talking about losses that were incurred during the first lockdown last year. a lot of these businesses are still struggling and it will come too late to some. the association of british insurers acknowledged the need for speed today, saying that actually, in some cases, the process of settling claims had already begun. but for a lot of firms who feel that their insurers deserted them when they most needed them, they are still unhappy about the way this has unfolded, and this will come as a blow to the reputation of the insurance sector. joining me now is huw evans, director general at the association of british insurers. your response first of all to the ruling. your response first of all to the rulina. ~ . ., ~ ruling. we welcome the ruling. we c00perated — ruling. we welcome the ruling. we cooperated with _ ruling. we welcome the ruling. we cooperated with the _ ruling. we welcome the ruling. we cooperated with the regulator - ruling. we welcome the ruling. we cooperated with the regulator to i ruling. we welcome the ruling. we l cooperated with the regulator to get this case through the court as quickly as possible so there was absolute legal certainty about which claims should be paid and which ones

should not. we will work closely with those who have made claims to work through the claims process and get payments out to those who have made valid claims as quickly as possible. winds lie where they not paid in the first place? there was no clarity in insurance law as to how to deal with this unprecedented situation. we have not had a pandemic in this country for over 100 years and there has not been a national lockdown of the economy. it was never clear how typical insurance contracts should respond to this unprecedented position, and thatis to this unprecedented position, and that is why it is taking 162 pages from the supreme court and 114 pages from the supreme court and 114 pages from the supreme court and 114 pages from the court to make clear what claims should be paid and which ones should not. , ., , should not. does that bring the clarity and _ should not. does that bring the clarity and set _ should not. does that bring the clarity and set a _ should not. does that bring the clarity and set a precedent - should not. does that bring the clarity and set a precedent in l should not. does that bring the i clarity and set a precedent in that regard? clarity and set a precedent in that re . ard? ., , clarity and set a precedent in that reaard? , , ., , regard? the most part, yes. that is very welcome- _ regard? the most part, yes. that is very welcome. it _ regard? the most part, yes. that is very welcome. it was _ regard? the most part, yes. that is very welcome. it was always - regard? the most part, yes. that is very welcome. it was always the - regard? the most part, yes. that is i very welcome. it was always the case that some claims were paid and were not part of the test case. it did

not part of the test case. it did not affect every single claim, but the majority. it does set a precedent. thejudges the majority. it does set a precedent. the judges quashed previous insurance based law that had been in place. they have set new precedents today which will impact not just precedents today which will impact notjust how precedents today which will impact not just how these precedents today which will impact notjust how these claims are settled, but insurance claims in the future and how contracts are written. �* ., x' , future and how contracts are written. �* ., a , , ., written. and how quickly will small businesses receive _ written. and how quickly will small businesses receive that _ written. and how quickly will small businesses receive that much - written. and how quickly will small i businesses receive that much needed money? the businesses receive that much needed mone ? . , businesses receive that much needed mone ? ., , ., ., money? the aim is to do it as soon as possible- _ money? the aim is to do it as soon as possible. each _ money? the aim is to do it as soon as possible. each claim _ money? the aim is to do it as soon as possible. each claim needs - money? the aim is to do it as soon as possible. each claim needs to i money? the aim is to do it as soon | as possible. each claim needs to be assessed individually. that is the law and that is the regulatory requirement. insurers will work closely with brokers and policyholders and others to get the process moving as quickly as possible. those policyholders have already lodged the details of their claims already and supplied information. but claims already and supplied information.— claims already and supplied information. �* , ., , information. but this will not help everyone? — information. but this will not help everyone? know, _ information. but this will not help everyone? know, and _ information. but this will not help everyone? know, and it— information. but this will not help everyone? know, and it is- information. but this will not help i everyone? know, and it is important to remember— everyone? know, and it is important to remember in _ everyone? know, and it is important to remember in the _ everyone? know, and it is important to remember in the original - everyone? know, and it is important to remember in the original ruling i to remember in the original ruling in the high court, thejudges agreed with insurers on six type of policy

wording and those were not appealed. it is also the case that some judges are clear that some cases are valid and some are not. is important that each policyholder talks to their insurer and their broker and see which category they fall into. for some businesses who would have had a valid claim, this will come too late, which is, i'm sure you agree, hugely regrettable. in terms of the reputational damage this has done, how would you assess it? it reputational damage this has done, how would you assess it?— reputational damage this has done, how would you assess it? it has been a really difficult _ how would you assess it? it has been a really difficult episode. _ how would you assess it? it has been a really difficult episode. we're - a really difficult episode. we're not in denial about that. the point about insurance claims is the do not establish the value the product when you get into trouble. we understand this is difficult for those who made a claim and where that claim was not accepted, because the law was as unclear as it was. we clearly have to learn lessons from this and learn ways to make sure contracts are adhered to and we can avoid

uncertainty where possible. it is worth rendering insurance companies expect to pay £1.8 billion in claims because of covid—19. to those whose holidays have been cancelled, events have been cancelled, those who have life insurance policies. the industry is stepping up and paying a significant number of claims. find i significant number of claims. and i imaaine significant number of claims. and i imagine the _ significant number of claims. and i imagine the industry _ significant number of claims. and i imagine the industry as _ significant number of claims. and i imagine the industry as a - significant number of claims. and i imagine the industry as a whole will pay a significant price, literally, and what knock—on impact will that have in terms of premiums in the future? , , . future? insurers are well capitalised _ future? insurers are well capitalised and _ future? insurers are well capitalised and it - future? insurers are well capitalised and it was - future? insurers are well| capitalised and it was not future? insurers are well - capitalised and it was not going to be about not affording them, but the law is unclear about which claims were valid and which were not. all valid claims will be paid and it will not affect the solvency of insurers and i think it is not something we should view as something we should view as something as having a huge impact on forward pricing. the fact remains, unfortunately, the businesses do not

have this type of insurance in the first place, so it only affects a small number of businesses. for those businesses it is very important. those businesses it is very important-— those businesses it is very important. those businesses it is very imortant. ., ., ., . , important. what would your advice be to --eole important. what would your advice be to peeple in — important. what would your advice be to peeple in the _ important. what would your advice be to people in the future _ important. what would your advice be to people in the future consent? - important. what would your advice be to people in the future consent? do i to people in the future consent? do they need to look through the small print, and if so, what for? hot they need to look through the small print, and if so, what for?— print, and if so, what for? not so much small— print, and if so, what for? not so much small print, _ print, and if so, what for? not so much small print, but _ print, and if so, what for? not so much small print, but engaging l print, and if so, what for? not so i much small print, but engaging with their insurer and having a conversation about what is covered. part of the confusion arose from what constitutes an infectious disease and which types of disease are covered and which ones are not. as always really important in any insurance policy, not necessarily to comb through all of the small print, but to have a conversation with the person cellular policy to see what is covered and what is not, particularly with the risks you run. that way, you can have a insurance policy that is suitable to your needs and the insurer knows they are capable of paying out if something goes wrong. capable of paying out if something goes wrong-— goes wrong. thank you for that

clari . a ban on flights from south america has come into force. ministers are trying to prevent a new variant of coronavirus which was first seen in brazil from spreading to the uk. the ban will also affect portugal and cape verde, because of their strong links to brazil. this morning, ten british scientific institutions have begun studying new faster spreading mutations of the coronavirus. katharine da costa reports john from wolverhampton, his wife and daughter are staying with his wife's family in brazil. they'd plan to return to the uk in early february. new restrictions banning travellers from south america don't apply to british nationals and citizens but with few flights operating, he's worried about when they will get home. it is the unknown that is so hard. i'm really struggling to understand when we will be able to come back because with anything with covid, who knows how long things take? coronavirus has swept through brazil leaving more than 200,000 people dead. now a new variant has been detected

that could be even more infectious. from today, travellers from 13 south american countries, including brazil, argentina and chile, have been banned from entering the uk. the ban also applies to portugal which has strong travel links with brazil, as well as the islands of the azores. however, lorry drivers from portugal will be allowed in. the islands of cape verde off the coast of west africa are also included in the ban. we've seen these variants before, there are thousands of them, but some of them which are more easily transmitted are obviously of greater concern. it's really as a precautionary principle. we are so close now, we've got 3 million of these vaccines in people's arms in the uk. we want to make sure we don't fall at this last hurdle. scientists are still trying to understand how new variants behave, how transmissable they are, whether they cause more severe illness, or impact the effectiveness of vaccines.

now researchers from ten british institutions have come together to address those questions. there are so many different variants emerging, so really the point of the consortium is to sort out which we should be concerned about so we can focus attention on that. there is a lot of underpinning science about this spike mutation that's present in some of the emerging variants including the one in south africa and brazil which make us concerned. here there is a glimmer of hope — data from public health england suggests case rates fell in the week to sunday in most regions except the northwest, southwest and midlands. but the number of patients needing treatment is likely to continue rising. even with extra icu beds, hospitals like this one in york are rapidly running out of room. christmas weekend, we had a handful of patients coming in with covid. by new year's, two handfuls and now we open a ward and we fill it in a day. most days, we are at capacity.

we are having to do a lot ofjuggling and moving and praying and hoping to get through to the next day, but in reality, the hospital will be full, we predict, i think, in two weeks' time. the vaccine roll—out will help ease pressure, but right now those on the front line fear it will get much worse before it gets better. the uk economy shrank by 2.6% in november, as england was placed in lockdown for a second time. the office for national statistics said it meant gross domestic product was 8.5% below its pre—pandemic peak. some analysts fear the uk is heading for another recession as our economics correspondent andy verity reports. welcome back... this is an advertisement by the country's biggest gin chain trying to lure members back in the autumn, when it looked like the worst of the pandemic

was behind us. then, after all the effort it had made to make its business safe, it was ordered to shut again after the renewed lockdown of november. left once again with no income, it was among thousands of businesses struggling to pay their bills under renewed restrictions. these are individuals who have taken mortgages out of their own hands, they are individuals who have put their life savings into individual businesses. they just cannot access the type of funding we have. this constant cycle of lockdown is starving these businesses of income. if the government does not step in with targeted support, i really fear over six to 12 months, we will see more and more businesses close and jobs loss. november's lockdown across all four nations saw economic activity shrank by 2.6%, one of the sharpest drops on record, but still only a seventh as big as the lockdown last april. sectors like construction and manufacturing, which temporarily stopped work in the spring, kept going, even growing their business. most of the pain of november's lockdown was concentrated

on customer—facing businesses forced to shut in the crucial pre—christmas period. this prosperous mother and baby clothing chain was able to replace much of its lost sales by ramping up its online business, but in the spring, it will face a crunch point when it will have to pay rent arrears on more than 90 shops that haven't been allowed to generate income for months. we are funding that business from our online sales. and whilst online sales did double, it is still not enough. so overall, in november, our business is about 5% like—for—like down. i understand that is quite good for a retail business relying on fashion, but it goes to show how quickly we have been able to adapt and become more of an online business. which schools shut, the new tougher lockdown we are going through right now will mean it gets even harder for customer—facing firms before it gets easier. there is now a growing chorus call for further government help to tide over stricken companies which should be viable when the pandemic�*s over,

if they can last that long. the headlines on bbc news... tens of thousands of small business owners celebrate as the supreme court rules insurers must pay them for for covid lockdown losses. experts advising the government warn that everyone must continue to follow the rules as the latest official estimate shows the uk—wide r number is between 1.2 and 1.3. the uk economy shrank by 2.6 % in november, when england was in lockdown for a second time. the us president—electjoe biden has set out his plan to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and revive the economy with a huge stimulus package. he has promised a mass vaccination programme, and an extension of unemployment benefits to millions of americans. it's a spending package totalling 1.9 trillion dollars. david willis reports. in the worst—affected nation

on earth, the coronavirus is having a devastating effect. hospitals are at breaking point, as cases have spiralled to around 200,000 a day, food banks are inundated as the collapsing economy has caused many businesses to lay off their workers. joe biden promised to make combating the coronavirus his number one priority, and less than a week to go before taking office, he has unveiled a plan aimed at containing the virus and getting the economy back on track. one that will cost this country nearly $2 trillion. we not only have an economic imperative to act now, i believe we have a moral obligation. in this pandemic, in america, we cannot let people go hungry, we cannot let people get evicted, we cannot watch nurses, educators and others lose theirjobs — we so badly need them. we must act now and act decisively.

a month after the first shots were administered here, america's vaccination programme is off to a sluggish start. mr biden is pledging billions of dollars to expand testing and vaccination efforts and enable schools to reopen safely by the spring. he is also pledging larger sums to help individuals worst affected by the crisis. all of it paid for with borrowed money, but necessary, he believes, in order to prevent the world's largest economy from slipping further into the abyss. all this, of course, at a time of deepening political unrest. packed close together and mostly mask—free, last week's protests at the capitol building were not only another potential super—spreader event, they also underlined the fact that many here still believe the virus is a hoax. forjoe biden, there is more than one kind of healing to be done, and ironically, perhaps, the day that he is due to be sworn

in marks a rather grim anniversary — the anniversary of the first confirmed case of covid—19 in the united states. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. our washington correspondent explains what the response to the president—elect�*s stimulus package could be. well, it is an awful lot of money, almost $2 trillion, and that will make lawmakers wince to some degree, of course. but at the moment, it is going to be funded out of borrowing entirely. money at the moment is cheap, with interest rates quite so low. there are some elements in here that will get bipartisan support. $1400 direct payments to people earning under certain earnings limits. there will be money to extend unemployment insurance. money for schools. the controversial bit will be money for individual states, which republicans hate the idea of, because generally speaking

they believe it goes to democratic states to bail them out for bad decisions. and there are other political matters to address as well. do they threaten to overshadow this for biden? well, of course, the trial of donald trump after his impeachment has to take place in the senate. they are talking about splitting the time in the senate afterjoe biden takes office — half between his legislation like this and his nominations for the cabinet and half on the trial. that will mean everything slows down and his honeymoon period, such as it would be, would be rather spoiled by that process. there is a lot of negotiation to do on that, but democrats are determined to push ahead with that trial because they believe the president is absolutely responsible for those horrendous scenes of the storming of the capitol last wednesday. in the netherlands, the coalition government led by prime minister mark rutte has collectively resigned. an inquiry report blamed

the government for mismanaging childcare subsidies, leading to the financial ruin of thousands of families. the inquiry found that parents were wrongly accused by authorities of fraudently claiming child allowance between 2013 and 2019, forcing many to pay back large amounts of money. but as our correspondent in the hague explains, it could be a temporary halt to the government. in terms of the political implications, there is an election due in two months�* time. this government is expected to carry on in a carry caretaker capacity, handling the pandemic —related issues. there is a high chance that prime minister mark rutte�*s party will do well in the polls. there is a high possibility that very few months, there is a caretaker government, and then he may well be re—elected in two months�* time for a fourth term.

two weeks since the end of the brexit transition period, hauliers travelling betwen the uk and the eu say they are still having problems with customs paperwork and are facing long delays. uk meat exporters have claimed that post—brexit customs systems are "not fit for purpose", with goods being delayed for hours and sometimes days, at the border. caroline davies reports on the move for the moment, but some hauliers taking goods from great britain to the eu are finding they are spending less time driving and more waiting around. there�*s my bed... i spoke to paul, on his 41st hour of waiting at customs in calais. i can�*t have a shower because there is no shower facilities, so we�*re having to wash in the hand basin in the toilets. there�*s only two toilets and there must be at least 100 lorries here now. and the expense is just getting stupid. i mean, i get paid for sitting here but my guv�*nor doesn�*t. we are now four—lanes deep

of parked—up trucks. paul�*s video shows he wasn�*t the only one parked up. his boss says he�*s had delays on all of his deliveries. last week, for me, was probably the worst, most difficult week i have had in thisjob in 20 years. we have lost hundreds of hours, dozens of days already, with our trucks that are waiting unnecessarily. other hauliers have also reported long waits, with lorries parked up empty, waiting for customers to finish their paperwork. covid adds complications, too. this morning the french government said they would no longer accept the 20—minute lateral flow tests for passengers from the uk but instead require pcr tests, which take hours to complete. hauliers are exempt for the moment, pending a coordinated approach between european countries. the government have said that average wait times are currently around 65 minutes at a customs base in ashford heading out to the eu. but some who represent the industry say delays are getting longer. how common are delays at the moment? the problem is this, the red tape that people are having to cope

with if you are an international trader is enormous, and it is very, very onerous. there are not enough customs agents to process the paperwork and the result is lorries get delayed. the government have said now the uk has left the eu customs union and single market, there are new rules and processes businesses will need to follow, and that they will continue to work meanwhile, back in calais, paul has good news. i�*ve finally been given my paperwork and i can now leave, so all i�*ve got to say to that is... horn honks. yeah! caroline davies, bbc news. johan sundstein is the highest—earning e—sports player of all time — with over £5 million in prize money to date.

of thousands of fans — but the pandemic has he normally travels the world competing in stadiums in front of thousands of fans — but the pandemic has forced him to change tack. joe tidy has spoken to him exclusively — asking him about the pressures of the sport — and the challenges he faces. johan sundstein has climbed some of the highest heights in gaming. he�*s lifted the most valuable trophy in esports, not once but twice. they are the top team right now. add to that countless other individual tournament wins, and the 27—year—old tops the list as the richest esports player ever. so, with $7.4 million in prize winnings, what does a gaming—obsessed champion buy? a 17—bedroom gaming complex in portugal is a good start. growing up, i really wanted to revolve my life around games, and now i have this thing dedicated to games. it�*s a wonderful thing. johan�*s been a professionalfor ten years now, playing dota 2, a hugely popular multiplayer fantasy battle game. he�*s known online as notail, and is originally from denmark. wejoin him on a busy

weekend of competition — four online matches in a tournament with $500,000 at stake. well, johan�*s team manager has just kicked us out of the gaming room. the players need complete focus, they don�*t want any distractions, including cameras and us, in the room. so we�*re watching it next door on a projector. this is a feed that�*s being pumped all over the world, hundreds of thousands of people are watching this. in a flurry of spells and fireballs, we watch asjohan�*s og team trounce their opponents. they just called. they just called it. the tournament that madejohan and his team—mates megarich is dota 2�*s the international. it�*s by far the most lucrative event in esports, with a $34 million prize pool the last time it was held. but the pandemic has hit some esports events hard. physical competitions have been cancelled or held without crowds whilst others have gone online. when you go to a big stage and a crowd, it�*s a lot easier to feel that this game really matters. there is a lot of highs in this game, it�*s like the blood starts

going, the adrenaline is there. how much intensity is there at the high level of your sport? there�*s a huge dark side to this, and it�*s the mental strain that it can take, and there�*s also the group aspect to it that amplifies it. i get negative myself, i get very sad. like, sadness is my number one enemy and it keeps saying hi to me. johan and his team—mates are looking ahead and hoping for the return of the international this summer. joe tidy, bbc news. jane dugal will be here with the latest sports news in a few minutes�* time, but first it�*s time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. it isa it is a fairly quiet end of the week, but still cold. temperatures fell to minus 11.8 celsius overnight in north yorkshire. the coldest night of the winter so far are england and still plenty of snow on the ground in northern ireland and scotland. more in the forecast as we go into tonight and tomorrow

morning. the rest of friday, mainly dry, cloud around, best of the sunshine in eastern scotland and north—east england. fog slow to clear, and where it does, temperature struggle to get above freezing. light winds for most, but will be strengthening later in the day ahead of this band of rain that will push its way eastwards overnight. it brings with it a milder air. overnight. it brings with it a milderair. snow overnight. it brings with it a milder air. snow for parts of scotland, northern england later in the night, perhaps into east anglia and south—east england. where there is rain, falling onto already saturated ground, so flood warnings in place. the risk of as well. the temperature starting to rise as the night goes on. snow once again will bring some disruption through tomorrow morning. this is an idea of snow depth. snow overnight topping up snow depth. snow overnight topping up some already significant totals. we could see seven centimetres of snow across parts of east anglia as we head through tomorrow morning.

all tied in with this system, which will be sliding its way south and eastwards through saturday, bringing further heavy rain and snow for a time in the morning because part of scotland, northern, eastern english and south—east england. it will not be as cold tomorrow. temperatures perhaps getting into double figures for some, 1011 celsius. milder than it has been across parts of scotland and parts of northern england. the sunday, a tale of two halves. high pressure across the southern part of the uk, but low pressure close to the uk, but low pressure close to the northern part of the uk. we will see further showers across scotland and northern ireland, some filtering into northern england. further south, mainly dry with sunshine. but quite as cold. temperatures between five and nine celsius. looking at next week, the theme is it will not be as cold as recently, but quite unsettled and windy at times too.

sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here�*s good afternoon. wayne rooney has been announced as the new, permanent derby county manager, calling time on his playing career. rooney — who is england and manchester united�*s record goalscorer — took over as interim manager at derby in november last year. he�*s signed a two—and—half—year deal. i need to put players forward, and if that is doable, great, and if not i have different plans in different ways of working in the transfer window. mr; ways of working in the transfer window. ~ , ., , ., window. my future i feel as a management. _ window. my future i feel as a management. i— window. my future i feel as a management. i have - window. my future i feel as a management. i have had - window. my future i feel as a management. i have had a i window. my future i feel as a - management. i have had a great career and enjoyed every minute, some ups and downs, but i wouldn�*t

change anything i have done in my career as a player and hopefully i can start now to write some history and have a successful managerial career. ~ ., and have a successful managerial career. ~ y and have a successful managerial career. ~ , ,, .,~ , ., career. wayne rooney speaking 'ust a few months ago i career. wayne rooney speaking 'ust a few months ago at i career. wayne rooney speaking 'ust a few months ago at his * career. wayne rooney speaking 'ust a few months ago at his weekly h career. wayne rooney speaking just a few months ago at his weekly news i few months ago at his weekly news conference as the new manager of derby county. an unbeaten century from captainjoe root has strengthened england�*s grip on the opening test match in sri lanka. root is 168 not out and there was also an impressive debut for dan lawrence, who hit a half century. england are 320—4 — that�*s 185 runs ahead. because of delays for rain, play will start 15 minutes early tomorrow. joe wilson reports from sri lanka to everywhere, the world hopes this year might be better than the last. forjoe root, it already has. better than the last. forjoe root, it already hae— better than the last. forjoe root, it already has. sublime, 100 number 18 forjoe root- _ it already has. sublime, 100 number 18 forjoe root. in _ it already has. sublime, 100 number 18 for joe root. in 2020 _ it already has. sublime, 100 number 18 for joe root. in 2020 he - it already has. sublime, 100 number 18 forjoe root. in 2020 he never- 18 forjoe root. in 2020 he never not to 18 forjoe root. in 2020 he never got to 100 _ 18 forjoe root. in 2020 he never got to 100 and — 18 forjoe root. in 2020 he never got to 100 and then _ 18 forjoe root. in 2020 he never got to 100 and then his _ 18 forjoe root. in 2020 he never got to 100 and then his first -

18 forjoe root. in 2020 he never got to 100 and then his first test| got to 100 and then his first test innings of 2021 he made it. it is alljust numbers but look how it changes the mood. watch this short closely. crucially, he hits it into the ground so even though it bounces off his glove, it is not out. the sri lanka coach saw it differently. mickey arthur wears his heart on his sleeve. england batted on. this is dan lawrence�*s international debut, a technique made in essex that seemed to travel beautifully, and joe root at ease in his best attack. batting past 150 and making the highest score for any englishman in sri lanka. young lawrence fell for 73 court but by then the england score was passed 300. living above, the clouds turned to rain and placed up the clouds turned to rain and placed up with england 185 ahead. joe roofs up with england 185 ahead. joe

root�*s not out and as these pictures reveal when the captain is happy the world smiles a long, at least in that dressing room. the former england flanker alex sanderson has left saracens after 17 years, to take over as director of rugby at sale sharks. sandersonjoined sarries as a player in 2004 and became part of the coaching team there 12 years ago. with sale, he�*s back at the club where he made more than 100 appearances, and he succeeds steve diamond, who stepped down in december after a decade in the role. england�*s netballers will be playing a three—match series against a superleague all stars side next week. this replaces the games againstjamaica that were postponed because of the pandemic. the matches will be played behind closed doors at their training base in loughborough, with strict covid protocols in place. they�*ll be up against international stars who play for superleague clubs. ben ainslie�*s ineos team uk have made a great start in their bid we have the last of the quarter—finals at the masters snooker today — ronnie o�*sullivan plastohn higgins later, but at the table already,

stephen maguire is taking on yan bingtao. these are live pictures from milton keynes. stephen maguire lost the first two frames. maguire put out the former champion mark selby, struggling a little against the 20—year—old from china but it is currently 2—1 to yan bingtao. the winner will face defending champion stuart bingham in the semifinals and you can watch the match on the iplayer as well as the bbc sport website and app. that is all the sport for now, back later. news just newsjust in news just in about the number of covid—19 vaccinations in the months to january 14, and the total now the nearly 3.2 million people have received, the majority of that the first dose, of the vaccine, but

almost 3.2 million vaccinations have taken place in england, between december eight and january 14, so an increase in let�*s get some context for that and let her correspond it now, because government figures, we will talk also about the our number, the rate at which infections are growing, is between 1.2 and 1.3. with me now is our health correspondentjim reed. 3.2 million, it puts the government roughly on track to hit the first target is looking at, so by the middle of february they have said they want to vaccinate everyone in they want to vaccinate everyone in the top four priority groups with one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. those groups, just remind you, our anyone over the age of 80, health and social care workers, and anyone who comes into that bracket of extremely clinically vulnerable, so 15 million by the middle of february and then they have to work towards and then they have to work towards and march time trying to vaccinate all over 50s and by the autumn, that is when we should start to get

everyone vaccinated, all adults vaccinated under the age of 50, so roughly 3.2 million, pretty good news for the government has it tries to roll out this vaccine strategy rapidly in the face of what are some pretty nasty case and infection hospitalisation numbers at the moment. and as ijust said, it is the first dose, and you have just clarified that, but in context, and an overall perspective, it is good news for the government in terms of progress being made. that news for the government in terms of progress being made.— progress being made. that is right, and this week _ progress being made. that is right, and this week we _ progress being made. that is right, and this week we had _ progress being made. that is right, and this week we had the _ progress being made. that is right, and this week we had the launch i progress being made. that is right, and this week we had the launch of| and this week we had the launch of the seven mass vaccination centres across england so each of those should be able to start vaccinating at a minimum thousands a week if they get enough of this vaccine in stock, potentially 2000—3000 people a day, so that will increase the amount people should be able to get vaccinated, also available in gp hubs and hospitals, so using all three of those techniques the

government hopes to reach this number of 15 million by the middle of february, middle of next month. and let�*s talk then, the our number. so the our number is very important, when we look at every week, published weekly, and it is complex but it shows you an average for each person infected with the virus, how many people is it passing it on to, and you want the number to be less than one. at the viz less than one it means the outbreak as a whole is shrinking, if it is more than one means the outbreak as a whole is rising, so the figures out today, in the uk as a whole it is between 1.2 and 1.3, so for every ten people who get the virus they�*re passing it on to between 12 and 13 others. it still means the outbreak as a whole is rising but there are some quite big regional variations. is rising but there are some quite big regionalvariations. in is rising but there are some quite big regional variations. in london we saw a reduction in that number over the last week, down to between

0.9-1.2, over the last week, down to between 0.9—1.2, so possibly beneath the figure of one, but in other places, the south—west and north—west in particular, we are seeing a slight rise. 50 particular, we are seeing a slight rise, ., , . particular, we are seeing a slight rise. ., , . ., ., ., rise. so a mixed picture overall for the government. _ rise. so a mixed picture overall for the government. so _ rise. so a mixed picture overall for the government. so that _ rise. so a mixed picture overall for the government. so that is - rise. so a mixed picture overall for the government. so that is a - the government. so that is a retrospective. what about projections moving forward, especially with what you have just said in terms of land and reducing. is there more that we are going to be seeing in terms of reduction? it is a good question because these figures are pretty backward looking so the our number uses data up to 11th january, four days ago. we had the lockdown from first january so we are still sort of waiting for that to start to have an effect on case numbers, and if you look at some of the other evidence, there is another way of measuring this through a phone app, some university of cambridge data out this week and public health data, that is more recent and appears to show potentially a flattening, as we say, in the curve, the peaking of some of

these case numbers. it will take a while of that is happening for that to be reflected in hospitalisation and debts, it is normally a delay or two or three weeks. —— deaths. nevertheless what you are not seeing some of the better news we have seen in some other surveys. back to coronavirus now and a senior doctor has warned that concern, myths and disinformation are likely to be causing some people from the uk�*s south asian communities to reject the covid vaccine. it comes as more than 100 mosques have used their friday sermons today to urge people to get the jab. sima kotecha reports. in bedford, just one of several religious communities offering their space not for worship but for science. today nhs england are warning the amount of this information targeting ethnic minority communities could cause millions not to take the job. we

millions not to take the 'ob. we need to be i millions not to take the job. - need to be clear that people realise there is no meat on the vaccine, no pork in the vaccine, it has been accepted and endorsed by all the religious leaders and councils and faith communities, and that is a really important message, and so collectively we all have a part to play. collectively we all have a part to .la , ~ . ., collectively we all have a part to play. much of the false content is on social media _ play. much of the false content is on social media and _ play. much of the false content is on social media and on _ play. much of the false content is| on social media and on whatsapp. play. much of the false content is - on social media and on whatsapp. the messages that i keep seeing over and over again are that the vaccine contains pork and beef. it is simply not true. i contains pork and beef. it is simply not true. . . , , not true. i am a practising hindu and to read _ not true. i am a practising hindu and to read stories _ not true. i am a practising hindu and to read stories about - not true. i am a practising hindu and to read stories about the - and to read stories about the ingredients in the vaccine actually come from a cow are very disturbing, because cows are very sacred to us as tenders. because cows are very sacred to us as tenders-— because cows are very sacred to us as tenders. ~., . ':: :: .,, , as tenders. more than 100 mosques today around _ as tenders. more than 100 mosques today around the _ as tenders. more than 100 mosques today around the country _ as tenders. more than 100 mosques today around the country will- as tenders. more than 100 mosques today around the country will use i today around the country will use their friday sermons to encourage

muslims to get the jab. muslims to get the 'ab. scepticism exists within h muslims to get the 'ab. scepticism exists within parts — muslims to get the jab. scepticism exists within parts of _ muslims to get the jab. scepticism exists within parts of the _ muslims to get the jab. scepticism exists within parts of the muslim l exists within parts of the muslim community regarding the vaccine and scholars and medical experts have looked into the vaccines, and we are perfectly ok with it. we have said that the covid vaccines are perfectly permissible from an islamic perspective, they are halal. the vaccines minister spoke to the asian network about these concerns. the challenges the 15% who are vaccine hesitant, if i can call it that and want more information, the challenge is to get that information to them, and the other challenges within that 15% it skews heavily amongst the bame communities and we have to work together to make sure we get that message out to be clear

that vaccines are safe and will protect you and your family and community. protect you and your family and community-— protect you and your family and communi . ., . ., ., community. now the challenge for the exerts is community. now the challenge for the exoerts is to — community. now the challenge for the exoerts is to keep _ community. now the challenge for the experts is to keep on _ community. now the challenge for the experts is to keep on top _ community. now the challenge for the experts is to keep on top of _ community. now the challenge for the experts is to keep on top of these - experts is to keep on top of these false messages so they can effectively debunk what they call life—threatening fake news. let�*s speak now to jabeer but, chief executive of the race equality foundation. i wonder what your assessment, your reflection is of this report today. thank you very much, for someone who has experienced a family member dying as a result of covid and as experienced colleagues dying as a result of covid, vaccination is a really good news story and i really welcome one. however, the evidence is also that some communities will be reluctant to come forward, and while clearly the anti—vaccine communities and the myths that are circulating have some impact, the reality is that the issues around

vaccines have been around for longer than just those messages. vaccines have been around for longer thanjust those messages. we know for example from hpv that asian and minority ethnic communities are less likely to take up these vaccines, and that has been around long before the discussion around covid, and i think we really need to address those wider issues that were going to make sure communities come on board. , , ., to make sure communities come on board. ,, ., ., ., to make sure communities come on board. , , ., ., . , ., board. firstly, our condolences for our board. firstly, our condolences for your loss. — board. firstly, our condolences for your loss. and _ board. firstly, our condolences for your loss, and what _ board. firstly, our condolences for your loss, and what are _ board. firstly, our condolences for your loss, and what are those - board. firstly, our condolences for| your loss, and what are those wider issues? how can you address, and what are the main concerns about vaccines in general? in what are the main concerns about vaccines in general?— vaccines in general? in part, it is where communities _ vaccines in general? in part, it is where communities live. - vaccines in general? in part, it is where communities live. we - vaccines in general? in part, it is| where communities live. we tend vaccines in general? in part, it is i where communities live. we tend to live in areas that are poorer than the rest of the country and in those areas the reality is that the health care services and has good as it is elsewhere, so we are more likely to live in an area that the gp practice

is rated as requiring improvement. so there is an element of health care provision. in part it is also to do with how we reach out to communities. just saying a vaccine is available does not necessarily mean people will come up and take it, but i think the final issue is really about trust. do we trust what is being told to us and our way then able to take that up and unfortunately i think this is where the experience of covid has played a part. we have seen the government take a very long time to recognise the disproportionate impact covid was having an black, asian and minority ethnic communities and the response is still comparatively poon response is still comparatively poor. it response is still comparatively toor. ., , response is still comparatively oor, ., , ., response is still comparatively oor, ., ., , response is still comparatively oor. ., ., , , poor. it has a really interesting toint ou poor. it has a really interesting point you raise _ poor. it has a really interesting point you raise so _ poor. it has a really interesting point you raise so how- poor. it has a really interesting point you raise so how best - poor. it has a really interesting point you raise so how best to l point you raise so how best to address that. as you say, we know generally you can�*tjust address that. as you say, we know generally you can�*t just tell the people get the vaccine, that doesn�*t work if somebody is not trusting and doesn�*t have that sort of access as

somebody that really does trust the information, so what should be be doing? should be having more open debate so we can air some of this information in the wider domain and have a more rational debate? that alwa s have a more rational debate? that always helps. _ have a more rational debate? trisgt always helps, getting information out and allowing people to assess it and participate, buti out and allowing people to assess it and participate, but i think the lesson from the past has always been about using trusted channels, trusted voices to actually explore those issues, so we have been calling for some time for a greater work to be done through black, asian and minority ethnic voluntary organisations up and down the country because these are often organisations that have established trusting relationships that can be used to share information but also to encourage people to take up the vaccine. �* , , to encourage people to take up the vaccine. . , , .., to encourage people to take up the vaccine. . , , ., ,, vaccine. and these things can take time. vaccine. and these things can take time- clearly _ vaccine. and these things can take time. clearly your _ vaccine. and these things can take time. clearly your voice _ vaccine. and these things can take time. clearly your voice is - vaccine. and these things can take time. clearly your voice is a - time. clearly your voice is a powerful one but in the meantime if people are not getting vaccinated

what is your message today? it is the same what is your message today? ut 3 the same message i have been giving since lastjuly. as soon as the vaccine is available, we need to take it up, if for no other reason than to protect our family members. covid has clearly demonstrated the detrimental impact communities and it is our duty to take it up and to ensure that we protect everyone. thank you so much forjoining us. the trump administration has cut the number of us troops in afghanistan ljy number of us troops in afghanistan by 2000. senior military officers have expressed doubts about the move especially as far as afghanistan is concerned. two weeks ago congress discussed decided funds could not be used for cutting troop levels in either country below 4000. the

pull—out is also likely to cause problems for the incoming biden administration. let�*s get more on this from scott lucas, emeritus professor of international politics at the university of birmingham. let�*s get a look at where we are if you can set the scene for us in terms of the number of trips specifically in afghanistan. 50 specifically in afghanistan. so ri t ht specifically in afghanistan. sr right now, specifically in afghanistan. 5r right now, we are talking it around about 5000 american troops in afghanistan and iraq and you also have contractors that support those military forces, and that is a level which is down in afghanistan in recent years but are still a significant presence, and the us military liners as work goes and are due to train afghan security forces and because it is still a threat of violence from the taliban. to be honest with you, the trump announcement of drawing down to 2500 is a bit of pr to make donald trump look good as he leaves office and has very little bearing on the military or political situation

there. ,, ., military or political situation there. ., military or political situation there, ., ., , military or political situation there. ., ., , ., there. so what does happen hereon in? the first — there. so what does happen hereon in? the first question _ there. so what does happen hereon in? the first question is _ in? the first question is specifically _ in? the first question is specifically whether - in? the first question is specifically whether the j in? the first question is - specifically whether the pentagon draws down troops. we have a parallel were donald trump announced in 2018-19 that all us parallel were donald trump announced in 2018—19 that all us troops would be withdrawn from syria and the pentagon quietly but effectively pushed back on that and we still have about 1000 us troops in that area of the world going into the tenth year of a very deadly conflict. american forces have remained in iraq despite trump saying he would withdraw all of them and expected to happen in afghanistan as well, but the bigger picture is important, and that is, the question here is whether we have a political settlement in afghanistan. we have questions about the legitimacy of the government and about corruption and most importantly, can we get to a power—sharing agreement between the government and the taliban has no control but half the country? so the important steps to take has been the us envoy to afghanistan has met both

with afghan leaders in the head of the pakistan armed forces about how the pakistan armed forces about how the talks are going. that is far more significant in terms of what will happen than the statement from trump. will happen than the statement from trum ., �* ., will happen than the statement from trum ., . . ., trump. and in the meantime i heard our correspondence _ trump. and in the meantime i heard our correspondence this _ trump. and in the meantime i heard our correspondence this morning - trump. and in the meantime i heard| our correspondence this morning say the humanitarian situation amidst all of this is simply staggering. what are you hearing in terms of what life is like at the moment? you are at the winter— what life is like at the moment? ym. are at the winter season in afghanistan and those viewers familiar with it will no many parts of the country are mountainous and hard to access, but significantly almost 20 years after the taliban were pushed out of kabul, one thing is that infrastructure has not really been rebuilt and much of the country despite much money going into it, and afghanistan is not a single country. there is an area controlled by the government, an area controlled by the taliban in the area controlled by local leaders, and that fractured country means it is very difficult to get a unified humanitarian response. fiend unified humanitarian response. and one does wonder how history will

assess this particular period. how important is afghanistan going to be for the biden administration? afghanistan will always be important notjust afghanistan will always be important not just for the afghanistan will always be important notjust for the biden administration but for many because of its geographic position. the russians still have an interest, but beyond that in terms of what might call the domestic ramifications, there will be the legacy that has dogged every administration since 2001 that you cannot fully get out of afghanistan but you cannot solve the problem. the biden administration will have to deal with that headline. i think your best measures are to try to maintain the talks very effectively on the ground, trying to move towards a political settlement in avoid a confrontation, but don�*t expect a quick solution. confrontation, but don't expect a quick solution.— confrontation, but don't expect a tuick solution. ., ,, , ., , . quick solution. thank you very much for “oinint quick solution. thank you very much forjoining us- _ celebrity chefs, charities and campaigners, including the footballer marcus rashford, are pressing borisjohnson to overhaul the provision of free school meals. in a letter to the prime minister, they call for a strategy to help end

food poverty among children. this week mrjohnson admitted that some food parcels being sent to families in england were "inadequate" after pictures were widely criticised. jon donnison reports. the campaign over free school meals, led by marcus rashford, has already forced the government into several changes of direction. ministers have been accused of coming up with temporary, short—term measures to deal with a long—term problem. now, a number of celebrities, including jamie oliver and emma thompson, havejoined the footballer and over 40 charities and educational leaders to write to the government to call for change. we�*ve signed the letter because the last few months have really shown up the cracks in our school food system. whether it�*s the use of food parcels, or vouchers, or giving people cash during lockdown, or whether indeed to feed children during the school holidays.

and also, most importantly, making sure that every child that lives in poverty is able to access support. the letter calls for the government to conduct an urgent, comprehensive review into free school meal policy across the uk and to provide recommendations for the next spending review. this week, borisjohnson condemned as inadequate a number of meal parcels after images of them were shared on social media. but the government insists it is committed to making sure no child goes hungry, as a result of the pandemic. it is schools' choices how they deliver this support. the schools have the contracts with their caterers. we've given them the choice between doing a parcel, which has to produce the food for the five days for the child. or a local voucher, or a national voucher. on top of that, we've done masses and masses more.

we've put in this covid winter support fund, which is another 170 million support for children, young people and their families all through christmas with parcels and food packages. downing street says the prime minister will respond to the letter soon. jon donnison, bbc news. it�*s one of the oldest tricks in the book — sawing someone in half. this sunday marks 100 years since a magician called percy thomas tibbles performed the illusion. david sillito has more. ok, so here we go. michaelj fitch, who is this weekend just one of many magicians taking part in a global online celebration of a magical moment. ah! there we go. whenever anyone says, you know, "oh, you�*re a magician," the first line, we hear it every day is, "oh, can you saw my wife in half?" or, "can you saw my husband in half?" for some reason, that illusion has

stuck in everybody�*s mind and captured their imagination. ladies and gentlemen, my wife! thank you very much. and this is the man who created that illusion — pt selbit. his real name was percy tibbles, but not everyone was impressed with his new trick. it was performed for the first time on stage without an audience to a bunch of agents and bookers, and nevil maskelyne, who was the owner of one of these, the owner of the very venue the illusion was performed in for the first time, dismissed it. and while this anniversary is a celebration of pt selbit�*s creation, it�*s worth noting this is very much a two person trick. would i be right in saying that a lot of the work is going on inside the box? of course, yeah. all the hard work goes on inside the box. michaeljust has to stand there and put some blades in, or knives in. what?!

he gets the easy part. yeah, definitely. no, that�*s not true! it�*s magic, it�*s magic, and it�*s all me, it�*s magic. so is this another example of men doing all the talking, claiming all the glory, while the woman do the work? well, it's always the way, isn't it? always the way, it's always women who do the hard work, yeah. it is, then, a magical landmark, but 100 years on, it is also perhaps a good time to think about exactly who is doing the magic. david sillito, bbc news, colchester. very good point and i applaud you for raising that very important point. now it�*s time for a look at the weather. rain and snow any forecast through this evening and overnight. morning mist fog really slow to clear and the ones strengthening in the west ahead of the band of rain through this evening and overnight but where the mist and fog are slow to clearly

temperatures will struggle to get much above freezing. overnight this band of rain pushes these words bringing with it some milder air but ahead of it, snow for scotland and northern england and four spots of east anglia and south—east england. a number of flood warnings in place with rain falling on to already saturated ground. ice already a risk ahead of the rain and a temperature by the end of the night starting to rise as the mile they are pushes and from the west. rain and snow to clear south eastwards through saturday morning and behind it some spells of sunshine but further showers will pile in to parts of scotland and northern england and maybe northern ireland but for many sunshine one searing rain clears and feeling quite as cold tomorrow. sunshine one searing rain clears and

this is bbc news. i�*m kate silverton. the headlines... tens of thousands of small business owners celebrate as the supreme court rules insurers must pay them for covid lockdown losses. it is a really good day for thousands and thousands of insurants who were left with very little clarity until now. experts advising the government warn that everyone must continue to follow the rules, as the latest official estimate shows the uk—wide r number is between 1.2 and 1.3. the uk economy shrank by 2.6% in november, when england was in lockdown for a second time. a ban on flights from south america has come into force, as ministers try to prevent

a new variant of coronavirus, which was first seen in brazil, coming here. the fomer manchester united and england forward wayne rooney retires from football after being appointed the derby county manager on a permanent basis. and it�*s one of the oldest tricks in the book — how magicians are celebrating a century of sawing someone in half. tens of thousands of small businesses are celebrating a supreme court ruling that means they�*ll receive insurance pay—outs for losses incurred during the first national lockdown. thejudges ruled in favour of their appeal in the £1.2 billion legal battle. insurers — who had said the cover was never intended for such

unprecedented restrictions — say all valid claims will be settled as soon as possible. our business correpsondent vishala sri—pathma reports. back in march, hundreds of thousands of businesses were forced to close because of restrictions. many worried they would never open again. some were hoping that their insurance policy would cover the cost of the loss of income. much to their surprise, they were told they were not covered. one of them was daniel, who runs a patisserie in belfast but was forced to close because of restrictions. it is a really good day for thousands and thousands of insurants who were left with very little clarity until now. we are extremely proud of this judgment and it�*s a unanimousjudgment, as well, which is even more telling. with thatjudgment, we can now take our claims forward and look at the future.

the financial conduct authority stepped in, taking some insurers to court, pursuing a test case over whether the pandemic was covered by these policies. insurers argue that only the most specialist policies had cover for such unprecedented restrictions. that appeal was rejected by the supreme court today. the verdict will come as a huge relief for the businesses across the country that have been struggling to make ends meet. but with many on the brink of going bust, those payments can�*t come soon enough. whilst the more complex claims may take a little while, one would hope that for a small business that is clearly being shut down, the money can be paid very quickly, within weeks. there is no reason why that should not happen now. the pay—outs will cost the insurance sector hundreds of millions of pounds. the association of british insurers put out a statement saying...

for many businesses, the ruling today will be a lifeline that could mean they are able to continue to trade, but with no sign of when restrictions will ease again, some are worried the payments will not go far enough. the director general of the association of british insurers, huw evans, told us earlier that he was pleased with the judgment of the case. we welcome the ruling. we cooperated with the regulator to get this case through the court as quickly as possible so there was absolute legal certainty about which claims should be paid and which ones should not. we will now work closely with those who have made claims to work through the claims process and get payments out to those who have made valid claims as quickly as possible. why were they not paid in the first place? there was no clarity in insurance law as to how to deal with this

unprecedented situation. we have not had a pandemic in this country for over 100 years and there has never been a national lockdown of the economy. it was never clear how typical insurance contracts should respond to this unprecedented position, and that is why it has taken 162 pages from the supreme court and 114 pages from the high court to unwind that and make clear what claims should be paid and which ones should not. does that bring the clarity and set a precedent in that regard? for the most part, yes, and that is very welcome. it was always the case that some claims were paid and were not part of this test case. it did not affect every single claim, but the majority. it does set a precedent. the judges, in some cases, quashed previous insurance—based law that had been in place.

they have set new precedents today about notjust how these claims are settled, but insurance claims in the future and how contracts are written. and how quickly will small businesses receive that much—needed money? the aim is to do it as soon as possible. each claim needs to be assessed individually. that is the law and that is the regulatory requirement. but insurers will work closely with brokers and policyholders and others to get the process moving as quickly as possible. in many cases, those policyholders have already lodged the details of their claims and supplied information. but this will not help everyone? no, and it is important to remember that in the original in the high court in september, the judges agreed with insurers on six type of policy wording and those were not appealed. it is also the case that some cases are valid and some are not. is important that each policyholder talks to their insurer and their broker and see which category they fall into.

for some businesses who would have had a valid claim, this will come too late, which is, i�*m sure you agree, hugely regrettable. in terms of the reputational damage this has done, how would you assess it? it has been a really difficult episode. we�*re not in denial about that. the point about insurance claims is you only establish the value of the product when you claim. we understand this is difficult for those who made a claim and where that claim was not accepted, because the law was as unclear as it was. we clearly have to learn lessons from this and learn ways to make sure contracts are clearer and we can avoid uncertainty where possible. it is worth remembering that insurance companies expect to pay £1.8 billion in claims because of covid—19, not only to businesses, to those whose holidays have been cancelled,

for events that have been cancelled, those with loved ones who have passed away with life insurance policies. the industry is stepping up and paying a significant number of claims. and i imagine the industry as a whole will pay a significant price, literally, and what knock—on impact will that have in terms of premiums in the future? insurers are well capitalised and it was not going to be about not affording to pay the claims, but the law is unclear about which claims were valid and which were not. all valid claims will be paid and it will not affect the solvency of insurers and i think it is not something we should view as something having a huge impact on forward pricing. the fact remains, unfortunately, that most businesses do not have this type of insurance in the first place, so it only affects a small number of businesses. for those businesses, it is very important. what would your advice be to people in the future concerned? do they need to look through the small print, and if so, what for? not so much the small print,

but engaging with their insurer and having a conversation about what is covered. part of the confusion arose from what constitutes an infectious disease and which types of disease are covered and which ones are not. it is always really important in any insurance policy, not necessarily to comb through all of the small print, but to have a conversation with the person selling you the policy to see what is covered and what is not, particularly with the risks you run. that way, you can have a insurance policy that is suitable to your needs and the insurer knows they are capable of paying out if something goes wrong. a ban on flights from south america has come into force. ministers are trying to prevent a new variant of coronavirus, which was first seen in brazil, from spreading to the uk. the ban will also affect portugal and cape verde because of their strong links to brazil. this morning, ten british scientific institutions have begun studying new faster spreading mutations of the coronavirus. katharine da costa reports.

john from wolverhampton, his wife and daughter are staying with his wife�*s family in brazil. they�*d planned to return to the uk in early february. new restrictions banning travellers from south america don�*t apply to british nationals and citizens, but with few flights operating, he�*s worried about when they will get home. it is the unknown that is so hard at the moment. i�*m really struggling to understand when we will be able to come back, because with anything with covid, who knows how long things take? coronavirus has swept through brazil, leaving more than 200,000 people dead. now a new variant has been detected that could be even more infectious. from today, travellers from 13 south american countries, including brazil, argentina and chile, have been banned from entering the uk. the ban also applies to portugal, which has strong travel links with brazil, as well as the islands of the azores. however, lorry drivers from portugal will be allowed in. the islands of cape verde off

the coast of west africa are also included in the ban. we�*ve seen these variants before, there are thousands of them, but some of them which are more easily transmitted are obviously of greater concern. it�*s really as a precautionary principle. we are so close now — we�*ve got three million of these vaccines in people�*s arms in the uk. we want to make sure we don�*t fall at this last hurdle. scientists are still trying to understand how new variants behave, how transmissable they are, whether they cause more severe illness or impact the effectiveness of vaccines. now researchers from ten british institutions have come together to address those questions. there are so many different variants emerging, so, really, the point of the consortium is to sort out which we should be concerned about, so we can focus attention on that. there is a lot of underpinning

science about this spike mutation that�*s present in some of the emerging variants, including the one in south africa and brazil, which make us concerned. here there is a glimmer of hope — data from public health england suggests case rates fell in the week to sunday in most regions except the northwest, southwest and midlands. but the number of patients needing treatment is likely to continue rising. even with extra icu beds, hospitals like this one in york are rapidly running out of room. christmas weekend, we had a handful of patients coming in with covid. by new year�*s, two handfuls and now we open a ward and we fill it in a day. most days, we are at capacity. we are having to do a lot ofjuggling and moving and praying and hoping to get through to the next day, but in reality, the hospital will be full, we predict, i think, in two weeks�* time. the vaccine roll—out will help ease pressure, but right now those on the front line fear it will get much worse before it gets better.

government figures published today show the r number — that�*s the rate at which infections are growing — is between 1.2 and 1.3. it comes as the vaccine roll—out in the uk continues to accelerate. nearly 3.2 millionjabs have now been given in england, according to provisional nhs england data. our health correspondent jim reed has the latest. by by the middle of february, they have said they want to vaccinate everyone in the top four priority groups with one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. those groups what anyone over the age of 80, health and social care workers, and people who come into the bracket of extremely clinically vulnerable. 15 million by the end of february —— middle of february and then work towards vaccinating all over 50s, and by the autumn, we should start to get everyone vaccinated, all adults vaccinated

under the age of 50. roughly 3.2 million. more good news for the government as it tries to get this roll—out strategy done amid alarming hospital numbers at the moment. that is the first dose. but in context, in an overall perspective, that is good news for the government, in terms of the progress being made. yes, and this week we have had the bunch of the seven mass vaccination centres across england. each should be able to start vaccinating as a minimum thousands of people a week. if they get enough of this vaccine in stock, potentially two or 3000 people a day. that will really increase the amount people should be “p increase the amount people should be up to get vaccinated. it is available in gp hubs and hospitals as well. using all three techniques, covered hopes to reach this number of 15 million by the middle of february, the middle of next month.

lets talk the r number, then. that is very important. _ lets talk the r number, then. trisgt is very important. published weekly, and it shows you, it is a bit complex, but choosing on average, for each person infected with the virus, how many people is that person passing it on to. you want less number to be less than one. if it is less than one, it means the outbreak as a whole is shrinking. if more than one, it means the outbreak as a whole is rising. latest figures out today. in the uk as a whole, it is now between 1.2 and 1.3. ten people, who get the virus, they are passing it on to between 12 and 13 others. it still means the outbreak as a whole is rising. there are big regional variations of that. in london, we saw a reduction in that number over the last week. it is now down to between zero point now and 1.2. possibly beneath the figure of one. other places, the south—west,

north—west in particular, we are seeing a slight rise. a mixed picture overall for the government. that is a retrospective, if you like. what about projections moving forward especially in terms of london reducing? is there any sort of more roving to be seen in terms of more roving to be seen in terms of reductions, do we think? goad of reductions, do we think? good tuestion. of reductions, do we think? good question. these _ of reductions, do we think? good question. these figures - of reductions, do we think? good question. these figures are - of reductions, do we think? (emf. question. these figures are pretty backward looking. the r number uses data up to the 11th of january. four days ago. we have blocked an ingham from the 5th of january. we are still sort of waiting for that to have an effect on case numbers. if you looked of evidence out there, there is another way of measuring this through a phone app, some university of cambridge data out this week and public health england data, it is more recent and potentially shows a flattening of the curve, a pekingese case numbers in these regions. it will take a while if that is happening. —— ap

king ——... pick up to three weeks before we pick up that data. what you are not noticing in the r number is the better news will have seen some of it surveys. == in some other some of it surveys. —— in some other surveys. the uk economy shrank by 2.6% in november as england was placed in lockdown for a second time. the office for national statistics said it meant gross domestic product was 8.5% below its pre—pandemic peak. some analysts fear the uk is heading for another recession as our economics correspondent andy verity reports. welcome back... this is an advertisement by the country�*s biggest gym chain trying to lure members back in the autumn, when it looked like the worst of the pandemic was behind us. then, after all the effort it had made to make its business safe, it was ordered to shut again for the renewed lockdown of november. left once again with no income, it was among thousands of businesses struggling to pay their bills

under renewed restrictions. these are individuals who have taken mortgages out on their own homes, they are individuals who have put their life savings into individual businesses. they just cannot access the type of funding we have. this constant cycle of lockdown is starving these businesses of income. if the government does not step in with targeted support, i really fear over 6—12 months, we will see more and more businesses close and jobs lost. november�*s lockdown across all four nations saw economic activity shrink by 2.6%, one of the sharpest drops on record, but still only a seventh as big as the full—blown lockdown last april. sectors like construction and manufacturing, which temporarily stopped work in the spring, kept going, even growing their business. most of the pain of november�*s lockdown was concentrated on customer—facing businesses forced to shut in the crucial pre—christmas period. this prosperous mother and baby clothing chain was able to replace much of its lost sales by ramping up its online business, but in the spring, it will face

a crunch point when it will have to pay rent arrears on more than 90 shops that haven�*t been allowed to generate income for months. we are funding that business from our online sales. and whilst online sales did double, it is still not enough. so overall, in november, our business is about 5% like—for—like down. i understand that is quite good for a retail business relying on fashion, but it goes to show how quickly we have been able to adapt and become more of an online business. with schools shut, the new tougher lockdown we are going through right now will mean it gets even harder for customer—facing firms before it gets easier. there is now a growing chorus calling for further government help to tide over stricken companies which should be viable when the pandemic�*s over, if they can last that long. the us president—electjoe biden has set out his plan to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, and revive the economy with a huge stimulus package. he has promised a mass

vaccination programme, and an extension of unemployment benefits to millions of americans. it�*s a spending package totalling $1.9 trillion. david willis reports. in the worst—affected nation on earth, the coronavirus is having a devastating effect. hospitals are at breaking point, as cases have spiralled to around 200,000 a day, food banks are inundated as the collapsing economy has caused many businesses to lay off their workers. joe biden promised to make combating the coronavirus his number one priority, and less than a week to go before taking office, he has unveiled a plan aimed at containing the virus and getting the economy back on track — one that will cost this country nearly $2 trillion. we not only have an economic imperative to act now, i believe we have a moral obligation. in this pandemic, in america, we cannot let people go hungry,

we cannot let people get evicted, we cannot watch nurses, educators and others lose theirjobs — we so badly need them. we must act now and act decisively. a month after the first shots were administered here, america�*s vaccination programme is off to a sluggish start. mr biden is pledging billions of dollars to expand testing and vaccination efforts and enable schools to reopen safely by the spring. he is also pledging larger sums to help individuals worst affected by the crisis. all of it paid for with borrowed money, but necessary, he believes, in order to prevent the world�*s largest economy from slipping further into the abyss. all this, of course, at a time of deepening political unrest. packed close together and mostly mask—free, last week�*s protests at the capitol building were not only another

potential super—spreader event, they also underlined the fact that many here still believe the virus is a hoax. forjoe biden, there is more than one kind of healing to be done, and, ironically perhaps, the day that he is due to be sworn in marks a rather grim anniversary — the anniversary of the first confirmed case of covid—19 in the united states. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. our washington correspondent explains what the response to the president—elect�*s stimulus package could be. well, it is an awful lot of money, almost $2 trillion, and that will make lawmakers wince to some degree, of course. but at the moment, it is going to be funded out of borrowing entirely. money at the moment is cheap, with interest rates quite so low. there are some elements in here that will get bipartisan support. $1400 direct payments to people earning under certain earnings limits.

there will be money to extend unemployment insurance. money for schools. the controversial bit will be money for individual states, which republicans hate the idea of, because generally speaking they believe it goes to democratic states to bail them out for bad decisions. and there are other political matters to address as well. do they threaten to overshadow this for biden? well, of course, the trial of donald trump after his impeachment has to take place in the senate. they are talking about splitting the time in the senate afterjoe biden takes office — half between his legislation like this and his nominations for the cabinet and half on the trial. that will mean everything slows down and his honeymoon period, such as it would be, would be rather spoiled by that process. there is a lot of negotiation to do on that, but democrats are determined to push ahead with that trial because they believe the president is absolutely responsible for those horrendous scenes of the storming

of the capitol last wednesday. news coming in about the pfizer covid—19 vaccine, and there have been reports deliveries will slow in late january. it has prompted concern by six european union countries. they have signed a letter to the european commission today to express their severe concern. it has been developed by biontech and pfizer. some ministers from six countries have said in the letter that the situation is unacceptable. they have said it decreases the credibility of the vaccination process and they say they are obliged to inform the public and the particular risk groups that their

vaccination will be delayed. regardless, they say, of the outstanding efforts by our governments, governments, to ensure timely delivery. this will be of enormous concern to many people. i�*m trying to get clarification now intensive what it means for the uk, but presumably, if there are delivery issues, it could impact the delivery issues, it could impact the delivery to the uk as well. that is not clear yet. the officials in these countries say they were informed by biontech and pfizer that deliveries would be substantially reduced in the on weeks. some were given deadlines of february the 8th, but some were not. looking to get more clarification on that for you, but obviously that is of concern and prompting those six european union countries to sign a letter to the european commission to call for more clarification about the vaccine.

nearly two decades after us troops arrived in afghanistan, the american military presence is being dramatically scaled back. the pentagon has confirmed that troop levels in iraq and afghanistan have been cut to 2,500 each. but with violence surging, and the humanitarian crisis getting worse, many are asking if it�*s the right time for international forces to withdraw. our correspondent yogita limaye is in kabul. there are peace talks taking place between the afghan government and the taliban in doha. these are two groups who have been sworn enemies of each other and it has been bit of an achievement to get them to the negotiating table, but it is really unclear if and when a resolution will be found. when i talk to ordinary people here, their biggest fear is that if international forces are to leave before a sustainable peace agreement signed between the afghan government and the taliban, there is a risk that the tower bank could be back in power in

afghanistan. i have been —— tower man. i�*ve been speaking to women�*s rights activists who say they have been attacked by the taliban and they feel kind of rights women would haveif they feel kind of rights women would have if that were to happen. and one of the biggest fears, really, is the humanitarian crisis that is ongoing. we have ourselves been to the only children�*s hospital in afghanistan and the un has told us that half of all of afghan children under the age of five will be facing malnutrition this year. they say six as many people as just four years ago will need life—saving treatment. the worries for this country of postwar and violence and conflict, but what results from that is acute poverty and hunger. results from that is acute poverty and hunger-— results from that is acute poverty and hunter. . , , ., ., and hunger. that is the situation in afghanistan _ and hunger. that is the situation in afghanistan presently. _ and hunger. that is the situation in afghanistan presently. now- and hunger. that is the situation in afghanistan presently. now time l afghanistan presently. now time however. —— now time for the

weather. hello. we�*ve got rain and snow in the forecast through this evening and overnight. through the rest of friday, things are mainly dry. the morning mist and fog really slow to clear, though, across parts of the midlands and east anglia and the winds will be strengthening in the west ahead of our band of rain through this evening and overnight, but where that mist and fog is slow to clear, temperatures are going to struggle to get much above freezing. then overnight, this band of rain pushes its way eastwards, also bringing with it some milder air, but ahead of it, we�*re in the cold air, so further snow for scotland, northern england, later in the night across parts of east anglia and south—east england. a number of flood warnings in place, of course, the rain falling onto already saturated ground. ice also a risk ahead of the rain and temperatures by the end of the night actually starting to rise as that milder air starts to push in from the west. so we�*ve got rain and snow to clear away south—eastwards through saturday morning. behind it, we�*ll all see some spells of sunshine, but further showers will pile in to parts of scotland, northern england, there may be a few across northern ireland, but for many some sunshine once that rain clears and it won�*t be feeling

quite as cold tomorrow.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. tens of thousands of small business owners celebrate as the supreme court rules insurers must pay them for covid lockdown losses. it isa it is a really good day for thousands and thousands who were left with very little clarity until now. experts advising the government warn that everyone must continue to follow the rules as the latest official estimate shows the uk wide r number is between 1.2 and 1.3. the uk economy shrank by 2.6% in november when england was in lockdown for a second time. a ban on flights from south america has come into force, as ministers try to prevent a new variant of coronavirus which was first seen in brazil coming here.

the former manchester united and england forward wayne rooney has retired from football after being appointed the derby county manager on a permanent basis. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here�*s jane. wayne rooney has been announced as the new, permanent derby county manager, calling time on his playing career. rooney — who is england and manchester united�*s record goalscorer — took over as interim manager at derby in november last year. he�*s signed a two—and—half—year deal. i need to put players forward, and if that is doable, great, and if not i have different plans in different ways of working in the transfer window. my future i feel is in management. i have had a great career and enjoyed every minute, some ups and downs,

but i wouldn�*t change anything i have done in my career as a player and hopefully i can start now to write some history and have a successful managerial career. well, the west ham manager david moyes gave rooney his professional debut at everton when he was just 16 years old. he says that management offers a very different challenge but wayne rooney can rise to it. what he could do as a young player from 16— what he could do as a young player from 16 onwards, and everybody knows his career. _ from 16 onwards, and everybody knows his career, manchester united leading — his career, manchester united leading goal—scorer and england's leading _ leading goal—scorer and england's leading goal—scorer and england's leading goal—scorer sleaze has an incredible — leading goal—scorer sleaze has an incredible career. if he is chosen to stop _ incredible career. if he is chosen to stop playing, i'm sure it will be for the _ to stop playing, i'm sure it will be for the right reasons because he wants_ for the right reasons because he wants his — for the right reasons because he wants his future to be in management, and he is going into a different— management, and he is going into a different world now completely. i don't _ different world now completely. i don't always think the best players

become _ don't always think the best players become the best managers but he loves _ become the best managers but he loves the — become the best managers but he loves the game and his drive and attitude — loves the game and his drive and attitude will give him every chance to be _ attitude will give him every chance to be successful. an unbeaten century from captainjoe root has strengthened england�*s grip on the opening test match in sri lanka. root is 168 not out and there was also an impressive debut for dan lawrence, who hit a half century. england are 320—4 — that�*s 185 runs ahead. because of delays for rain, play will start 15 minutes early tomorrow. joe wilson reports. from sri lanka to everywhere, the world hopes this year might be better than the last. forjoe root, it already has. sublime, 100 number 18 forjoe root. in 2020 he never got to 100 and then his first test innings of 2021 he made it. it is alljust numbers but look how it changes the mood. watch this shot closely. crucially, he hits it into the ground so even though it bounces off his glove, it is not out. the sri lanka coach

saw it differently. mickey arthur wears his heart on his sleeve. england batted on. this is dan lawrence�*s international debut, a technique made in essex that seemed to travel beautifully, and joe root at ease in his best attack. batting past 150 and making the highest score for any englishman in sri lanka. young lawrence fell for 73 court but by then the england score was passed 300. looming above, the clouds turned to rain and placed up with england 185 ahead. joe root�*s 168 not out and as these pictures reveal when the captain is happy the world smiles along, at least in that dressing room. we have the last of the quarter—finals at the masters snooker today — ronnie o�*sullivan plastohn higgins later, but at the table already, stephen maguire is taking

on yan bingtao. these are live pictures from milton keynes. stephen maguire has lost the first two frames against yan bingtao. the scot fought back and has gone 3-2 the scot fought back and has gone 3—2 up against the 20—year—old from china. maguire put out former champion mark selby before this match. currently 3—200 can watch this match on bbc iplayer as well as the website and app. that�*s all the sport for now. i�*ll have more for you in the next hour. let�*s see if we can get some clarification as regards the pfizer vaccine and delays. six european union countries signed a letter to the european commission today to express what they said was their

severe concern over delivery delays for the coronavirus vaccine developed by pfizer. they are expressing their severe concern and we have just heard that the european union chief executive has said she has now spoken to pfizer to get some clarification and has been reassured that scheduled covid—19 vaccine deliveries will be made in the first quarter this year despite current delays. she is speaking at the moment and the quote i have is, like many of you i got the quote today that pfizer announced these delays. i immediately called the ceo and he has guaranteed me that all guaranteed those for the first quarter will be delivered. to clarify again, just for those european union countries and for any further qualification we will get, but it seems the issue may well be being resolved as we speak. back to coronavirus now and a senior doctor has warned that concern, myths and disinformation are likely

to be causing some people from the uk�*s south asian communities to reject the covid vaccine. it comes as more than 100 mosques have used their friday sermons today to urge people to get the jab. in bedford, just one of several religious communities offering their space not for worship but for science. today nhs england are warning the amount of disinformation targeting ethnic minority communities could cause millions not to take the job. millions not to take the jab. we need to be clear that people realise there is no meat in the vaccine, no pork in the vaccine, it has been accepted and endorsed by all the religious leaders and councils and faith communities, and that is a really important message, and so collectively we all have a part to play. much of the false content is on social media and on whatsapp. the messages that i keep seeing over and over again are that the vaccine

contains pork and beef. it is simply not true. i am a practising hindu and to read stories about the ingredients in the vaccine actually come from a cow are very disturbing, because cows are very sacred to us as hindus. more than 100 mosques today around the country will use their friday sermons to encourage muslims to get the jab. scepticism exists within parts of the muslim community regarding the vaccine and scholars and medical experts have looked into the vaccines, and we are perfectly ok with it. we have said that the covid vaccines are perfectly permissible from an islamic perspective, they are halal. the vaccines minister spoke to the asian network

about these concerns. the challenge is the 15% who are vaccine hesitant, if i can call it that, and want more information, the challenge is to get that information to them, and the other challenges within that 15% it skews heavily amongst the bame communities and we have to work together to make sure we get that message out to be clear that vaccines are safe and will protect you and your family and community. now the challenge for the experts is to keep on top of these false messages so they can effectively debunk what they call life—threatening fake news. on the delays announced by pfizer regarding delivery of its vaccine, the eu commission�*s president ursula von der leyen has just been speaking in lisbon. let�*s listen to what she had

to say. first of all, it has been a big success that has 27 we have negotiated because otherwise we would never have had access as early and with such a large number of doses. it was the right way and is the right way to work together as europeans. second, of course this is not the first time that we see a delay in this process. we should not forget that normally takes ten years to develop a vaccine and deliver it. now we have reduced this time to less than a year and we are facing all the difficulties we normally face on an extended period of time. it is not the first time that a company announces that it has on a short period of time problems with delivery, and it is not only pfizer but two others had to delay for example their application time on their european medicines agency. so

we have encountered these problems before and we will encounter these problems in this process, but we should not forget the overall process is a big success. we have access to overall 2.3 billion doses of vaccines, so it is enough for the whole european population and their neighbours. this is so important for us that we do not only care for ourselves but also for our neighbourhood beat the eastern, the western or the southern neighbourhood, and indeed we have always said that the large numbers will kick in as of april, when more companies are delivering, pfizer was very fast which is good and an excellent advantage. it is good moderne is on the market and astrazeneca just has applied, we expect the author dies asian at the end of the month —— rack

authorisation. we expectjohnson & johnson pretty soon the show chose that the broad portfolio has mitigated the risks of the problems that always occur when you have these processes at that speed. some sort of reassuring _ these processes at that speed. some sort of reassuring stare _ these processes at that speed. some sort of reassuring stare from - these processes at that speed. some sort of reassuring stare from the european commission president with regards the vaccine delivery. this two weeks since the end of the brexit transition period, hauliers travelling betwen the uk and the eu say they are still having problems with customs paperwork and are facing long delays. uk meat exporters have claimed that post—brexit customs systems are "�*not fit for purpose�* with goods being delayed for hours, and sometimes days, at the border. caroline davies reports. on the move for the moment, but some hauliers taking goods from great britain to the eu are finding they are spending less time driving and more waiting around. there�*s my bed... i spoke to paul, on his 41st hour

of waiting at customs in calais. i can�*t have a shower because there is no shower facilities, so we�*re having to wash in the hand basin in the toilets. there�*s only two toilets and there must be at least 100 lorries here now. and the expense is just getting stupid. i mean, i get paid for sitting here but but my guv�*nor doesn�*t. we are now four—lanes deep of parked—up trucks. paul�*s video shows he wasn�*t the only one parked up. his boss says he�*s had delays on all of his deliveries. last week, for me, was probably the worst, most difficult week i have had in thisjob in 20 years. we have lost hundreds of hours, dozens of days already, with our trucks that are waiting unnecessarily. other hauliers have also reported long waits, with lorries parked up empty, waiting for customers to finish their paperwork. covid adds complications, too. this morning the french government said they would no longer accept the 20—minute lateral flow tests for passengers from the uk but instead require pcr tests,

which take hours to complete. hauliers are exempt for the moment, pending a coordinated approach between european countries. the government have said that average wait times are currently around 65 minutes at a customs base in ashford heading out to the eu. but some who represent the industry say delays are getting longer. how common are delays at the moment? the problem is this, the red tape that people are having to cope with if you are an international trader is enormous, and it is very, very onerous. there are not enough customs agents to process the paperwork and the result is lorries get delayed. the government have said now the uk has left the eu customs union and single market, there are new rules and processes businesses will need to follow and that they will continue to work meanwhile, back in cali, paul has

good news. i meanwhile, back in cali, paul has good news-— meanwhile, back in cali, paul has tood news. . ., , , good news. i have finally been given my paperwork _ good news. i have finally been given my paperwork and — good news. i have finally been given my paperwork and can _ good news. i have finally been given my paperwork and can now - good news. i have finally been given my paperwork and can now leave - good news. i have finally been given my paperwork and can now leave so| good news. i have finally been given| my paperwork and can now leave so i have to say to that is... horn honks. yeah! caroline davies, bbc news. safe travels! let�*s speak now to elizabeth de jong, policy director at logistics uk. what are they telling you? we have just been hearing about 65 minute wait times but reports of it being a lot longer for some. wait times but reports of it being a lot longerfor some. the wait times but reports of it being a lot longer for some.— wait times but reports of it being a lot longer for some. the honking of the horn was _ lot longer for some. the honking of the horn was really _ lot longer for some. the honking of the horn was really good _ lot longer for some. the honking of the horn was really good to - lot longer for some. the honking of the horn was really good to hear. i the horn was really good to hear. two weeks on and we are still very much in this live trial stage for the new processes. significant changes for hundreds of thousands of businesses and no time to test them all, so traders, transport companies, governments in great britain, northern ireland and the eu are all finding out at the moment

whether they are planning was sufficient. some report great difficulties and others report very few indeed, but it is about getting all those different businesses and agents here and in the eu all to be ready with everything that the driver needs as they go through that border. 50 driver needs as they go through that border. ,, ., , driver needs as they go through that border. , , ., border. so will things improve, because i— border. so will things improve, because i hate _ border. so will things improve, because i hate to _ border. so will things improve, because i hate to use - border. so will things improve, because i hate to use the - border. so will things improve, because i hate to use the word | because i hate to use the word teething problems because they are clearly significant for many people and companies. is itjust a question of red tape and people are getting used to the idea? what is your assessment of how it is likely to play out? assessment of how it is likely to tla out? ., assessment of how it is likely to tla out? . , ,, ., ., play out? there are substantial chantes play out? there are substantial changes to _ play out? there are substantial changes to processes _ play out? there are substantial changes to processes and - play out? there are substantial changes to processes and we i play out? there are substantial i changes to processes and we will play out? there are substantial - changes to processes and we will be looking in as government are to every issue and every cause of delay and try to improve processes or systems make sure that information and education, so there are a number of factors which will improve things going forward. we haven�*t yet seen many queues at the border because flows have been so low. about 35%

lower than this time last year and we are expecting more normal volumes to be in place next week, so next week will be a particular testing time as well, so we need to make sure that the paperwork is correct, make sure people have their covid tests for french ports and dutch ports, and some of the checking is getting harder and harder and less leniency for those journeys abroad, particularly journeys leniency for those journeys abroad, particularlyjourneys over leniency for those journeys abroad, particularly journeys over to france, so we have to be super smart on what we have and what we need for those journeys. on what we have and what we need for thosejourneys. thud on what we have and what we need for those journeys-— those “ourneys. and what about that issue those journeys. and what about that issue have not _ those journeys. and what about that issue have not enough _ those journeys. and what about that issue have not enough customs - those journeys. and what about that i issue have not enough customs agents as we were hearing in the report? we hear as we were hearing in the report? - hear less about that, that has not been raised as an issue through our members at the moment. i think a couple of the areas which are raised more frequently is about the business owners, the owners of the

goods, the exporters, having made contact with the companies they are importing to to make sure that those importing to to make sure that those importing in the eu have their paperwork in order, so it is a real focus at the moment, and then also some process issues between having different types of agri—food in the same load and we have been working with government all week, it is called sps group edge and we are really hoping we have new processes and time for flows particularly over to northern ireland and those very important seafood journeys from scotland. important seafood “ourneys from scotland. ., ., important seafood “ourneys from scotland. ., ,, , ., important seafood “ourneys from scotland. ., . ., ,, scotland. thank you so much. thank ou for scotland. thank you so much. thank you forjoining _ scotland. thank you so much. thank you forjoining us. _ it�*s one of the oldest tricks in the book — sawing a woman in half. now, magicians around the world are celebrating 100 years of the classic illusion. our correspondent david sillito reports. ok, so here we go. michaelj fitch, who is this weekend just one of many magicians taking part in a global online celebration

of a magical moment. ah! there we go. whenever anyone says, you know, "oh, you�*re a magician," the first line, we hear it every day is, "oh, can you saw my wife in half?" or, "can you saw my husband in half?" for some reason, that illusion has stuck in everybody�*s mind and captured their imagination. ladies and gentlemen, my wife! thank you very much. and this is the man who created that illusion — pt selbit. his real name was percy tibbles, but not everyone was impressed with his new trick. it was performed for the first time on stage without an audience to a bunch of agents and bookers, and nevil maskelyne, who was the owner of one of these, the owner of the very venue the illusion was performed in for the first time, dismissed it. and while this anniversary is a celebration of pt selbit�*s creation, it�*s worth noting this

is very much a two person trick. would i be right in saying that a lot of the work is going on inside the box? of course, yeah. all the hard work goes on inside the box. michaeljust has to stand there and put some blades in, or knives in. what?! he gets the easy part. yeah, definitely. no, that�*s not true! it�*s magic, it�*s magic, and it�*s all me, it�*s magic. so is this another example of men doing all the talking, claiming all the glory, while the women do the work? well, it's always the way, isn't it? always the way, it's always women who do the hard work, yeah. it is, then, a magical landmark, but 100 years on, it is also perhaps a good time to think about exactly who is doing the magic. david sillito, bbc news, colchester. with me now are international illusionists danny hunt and stepanie clarke, who form the group amethyst magic and illusion.

let�*s just start on that really important point. who really is the person we should be applauding when we see these tricks? especially the sewing in half. [30 we see these tricks? especially the sewing in half-— sewing in half. do you know what, thank ou sewing in half. do you know what, thank you for— sewing in half. do you know what, thank you for having _ sewing in half. do you know what, thank you for having us, _ sewing in half. do you know what, thank you for having us, first - sewing in half. do you know what, thank you for having us, first of. thank you for having us, first of all. thank you for having us, first of alt i_ thank you for having us, first of alt ithink— thank you for having us, first of all. ithink it thank you for having us, first of all. i think it is quite an equal partnership. i think steph would agree _ partnership. i think steph would agree with me. obviously i am the sawing _ agree with me. obviously i am the sawing and — agree with me. obviously i am the sawing and steph is the being sawn in half _ sawing and steph is the being sawn in half. but sawing and steph is the being sawn in half. �* , ., sawing and steph is the being sawn in half. �* ,. . sawing and steph is the being sawn in half. �* ,, . ,, .,~ sawing and steph is the being sawn in half. �* y., ., , , ., ,, ., in half. but you are speaking for her? he likes _ in half. but you are speaking for her? he likes to _ in half. but you are speaking for her? he likes to talk, _ in half. but you are speaking for her? he likes to talk, don't - in half. but you are speaking for| her? he likes to talk, don't you? 100%, it her? he likes to talk, don't you? 10096. it is _ her? he likes to talk, don't you? 100%, it is a — her? he likes to talk, don't you? 10096, it is a partnership. - her? he likes to talk, don't you? 10096, it is a partnership. we - 100%, it is a partnership. we definitely work very much so that everything done is equal, sometimes it is not me and the illusion that sometimes it is danny so we kind of take turns. , , ., ., . ., take turns. very diplomatic and sor , i take turns. very diplomatic and sorry, i couldn't _ take turns. very diplomatic and sorry, i couldn't help _ take turns. very diplomatic and sorry, i couldn't help myself! i take turns. very diplomatic and i sorry, i couldn't help myself! let's sorry, i couldn�*t help myself! let�*s talk about how 100 years is a very

long time in terms of magic but i imagine the past year for you guys has felt as long as that. how has it impacted on the industry and how have you adapted to?— have you adapted to? obviously maticians have you adapted to? obviously magicians all — have you adapted to? obviously magicians all around _ have you adapted to? obviously magicians all around the - have you adapted to? obviously magicians all around the world, | magicians all around the world, their— magicians all around the world, their wark— magicians all around the world, their workjust stopped overnight. i suppose _ their workjust stopped overnight. i suppose the good thing as it has given— suppose the good thing as it has given us— suppose the good thing as it has given us a — suppose the good thing as it has given us a lot of time to be able to create _ given us a lot of time to be able to create new— given us a lot of time to be able to create new ideas and come up with new allusions and new variations on the work— new allusions and new variations on the work on — new allusions and new variations on the work on new material. and personally _ the work on new material. and personally we _ the work on new material. and personally we run _ the work on new material. and personally we run a _ the work on new material. fific personally we run a junior magic club so we spent a lot of time on zoom doing workshops and classes so that has been really wonderful. ththd that has been really wonderful. and that has been really wonderful. and that is something as well, we have -ot that is something as well, we have got 15, _ that is something as well, we have got 15, 20 — that is something as well, we have got 15, 20 very enthusiastic young iiiagiciaiis, — got 15, 20 very enthusiastic young magicians, and one of the big questions _ magicians, and one of the big questions they always say is, when can we _ questions they always say is, when can we cut — questions they always say is, when can we cut someone in half? i igrill can we cut someone in half? i will confess, can we cut someone in half? i will confess. i — can we cut someone in half? i will confess, i still— can we cut someone in half? i will confess, i still don't _ can we cut someone in half? i will confess, i still don't know- can we cut someone in half? i will confess, i still don't know how - can we cut someone in half? iiiii ii. confess, i still don't know how you confess, i still don�*t know how you do it. do you just have to be able to contort? i have no idea. [30

do it. do you just have to be able to contort? i have no idea. do you know what. _ to contort? i have no idea. do you know what, there _ to contort? i have no idea. do you know what, there are _ to contort? i have no idea. do you know what, there are lots - to contort? i have no idea. do you know what, there are lots of - know what, there are lots of variations _ know what, there are lots of variations on the illusion so sometimes if you see the illusion as it was— sometimes if you see the illusion as it was once — sometimes if you see the illusion as it was once performed with those wonderful— it was once performed with those wonderful looking coffins style box and create in the head in the body all out _ and create in the head in the body all out of— and create in the head in the body all out of sight and out of view, but if_ all out of sight and out of view, but if you — all out of sight and out of view, but if you see it performed in modern — but if you see it performed in modern times, particularly one of the versions we do, using acrylic boxes, _ the versions we do, using acrylic boxes, so — the versions we do, using acrylic boxes, so you can see in and see everything — boxes, so you can see in and see everything all the time, it makes it a little _ everything all the time, it makes it a little different. maybe we have to id a little different. maybe we have to go into _ a little different. maybe we have to go into the studio and saw you in half _ go into the studio and saw you in half. 00— go into the studio and saw you in half. ., ., .., ., half. do not even... that could go severely wrong. — half. do not even... that could go severely wrong, although - half. do not even... that could go severely wrong, although my - half. do not even... that could go severely wrong, although my son | severely wrong, although my son would love it. can i take him home a tip or a trick to take home with me today? is there anything you can just show me now that is simple. i can show you a quick trick. maybe not how _ can show you a quick trick. maybe not how it's — can show you a quick trick. maybe not how it's done but we can certainly— not how it's done but we can certainly do a quick trick. obviously not a big illusion but it is a magic— obviously not a big illusion but it is a magic trick, a card trick, but notjust—

is a magic trick, a card trick, but notjust any— is a magic trick, a card trick, but notjust any ordinary is a magic trick, a card trick, but not just any ordinary cards, they are blank— not just any ordinary cards, they are blank playing cards, and kate you have — are blank playing cards, and kate you have to watch very closely with a riiagic_ you have to watch very closely with a magic snap and unbelievably a playing — a magic snap and unbelievably a playing card design will appear right— playing card design will appear right before your very eyes. the only— right before your very eyes. the only thing — right before your very eyes. the only thing as it doesn't have a face, — only thing as it doesn't have a face, so — only thing as it doesn't have a face, so what we have to do is print a face _ face, so what we have to do is print a face design for that beautiful card with — a face design for that beautiful card with a snap like so. unbelievable, a playing card appears, but of course it doesn't have _ appears, but of course it doesn't have a _ appears, but of course it doesn't have a back. we need to print 52 cards _ have a back. we need to print 52 cards with— have a back. we need to print 52 cards with 52 backs and faces and you can _ cards with 52 backs and faces and you can see — cards with 52 backs and faces and you can see right on your camera there. _ you can see right on your camera there. all— you can see right on your camera there. all 52 _ you can see right on your camera there, all 52 cards and 52 backs and 52 faces _ there, all 52 cards and 52 backs and 52 faces it— there, all 52 cards and 52 backs and 52 faces. it isjust there, all 52 cards and 52 backs and 52 faces. it is just a there, all 52 cards and 52 backs and 52 faces. it isjust a magic there, all 52 cards and 52 backs and 52 faces. it is just a magic trick, an allusion _ 52 faces. it is just a magic trick, an allusion and never lasts very long. _ an allusion and never lasts very long. and — an allusion and never lasts very long, and the cards go back to being blank— long, and the cards go back to being blank again — long, and the cards go back to being blank again. | long, and the cards go back to being blank again-— blank again. i love it. thank you so much for bringing _ blank again. i love it. thank you so much for bringing a _ blank again. i love it. thank you so much for bringing a smile - blank again. i love it. thank you so much for bringing a smile to - blank again. i love it. thank you so much for bringing a smile to this i much for bringing a smile to this afternoon. ,., ., a much for bringing a smile to this afternoon-— afternoon. good luck. you, take care. competitive video gaming, or �*e—sports�*, is big business, and one of the highest earning players has been speaking exclusively to the bbc

about his success. johan sundstein has won around £5 million to date, and travels the world competing in front of thousands of fans. but the pandemic has forced him to change tack — asjoe tidy reports. johan sundstein has climbed some of the highest heights in gaming. he�*s lifted the most valuable trophy in esports, not once but twice. they are the top team right now. add to that countless other individual tournament wins, and the 27—year—old tops the list as the richest esports player ever. so, with $7.4 million in prize winnings, what does a gaming—obsessed champion buy? a 17—bedroom gaming complex in portugal is a good start. growing up, i really wanted to revolve my life around games, and now i have this thing dedicated to games. it�*s a wonderful thing. johan�*s been a professionalfor ten years now, playing dota 2, a hugely popular multiplayer

fantasy battle game. he�*s known online as notail, and is originally from denmark. wejoin him on a busy weekend of competition — four online matches in a tournament with $500,000 at stake. well, johan�*s team manager has just kicked us out of the gaming room. the players need complete focus, they don�*t want any distractions, including cameras and us, in the room. so we�*re watching it next door on a projector. this is a feed that�*s being pumped all over the world, hundreds of thousands of people are watching this. in a flurry of spells and fireballs, we watch asjohan�*s og team trounce their opponents. they just called. they just called it. the tournament that madejohan and his team—mates megarich is dota 2�*s the international. it�*s by far the most lucrative event in esports, with a $34 million prize pool the last time it was held. but the pandemic has hit some esports events hard. physical competitions have been cancelled or held without crowds whilst others have gone online.

when you go to a big stage and a crowd, it�*s a lot easier to feel that this game really matters. there is a lot of highs in this game, it�*s like the blood starts going, the adrenaline is there. how much intensity is there at the high level of your sport? there�*s a huge dark side to this, and it�*s the mental strain that it can take, and there�*s also the group aspect to it that amplifies it. i get negative myself, i get very sad. like, sadness is my number one enemy and it keeps saying hi to me. johan and his team—mates are looking ahead and hoping for the return of the international this summer. joe tidy, bbc news. i wasjust asking i was just asking who i wasjust asking who is on i was just asking who is on the weather, — i was just asking who is on the weather, it— i was just asking who is on the weather, it is alina jenkins. parts of scotland and northern england have seen some disruptive snow, more to come this evening and overnight and also across east anglia in south—east england. more thanjust a moment. through anglia in south—east england. more than just a moment. through this evening this band of rain pushing in

from the west bringing milder air but ahead of it cold air so further snow through scotland, northern england and later in the night seeing the snow arriving into the midlands, east anglia and south—east england as well. rain falling onto saturated ground with flood warnings in place and ice warnings ahead of the rain and snow as the temperature falls close to freezing but the temperature recovering as the night wears on. later in the night, we could see some snow falling onto east anglia and here we have an amber weather warning from the met office four 5am saturday morning through until 2pm in the afternoon so while there will be snow across scotland, northern england and south—east england it will be east anglia were most concerned about and some places we may see 5—7 so disruption very likely. all down to this frontal system sliding south and eastward through saturday, should be clearing for northern

ireland through the morning but a scattering of showers and further snow for a time on saturday through parts of scotland and northern england and parts of east anglia and south—east scotland could see a few centimetres. pulling away south and east words with sunshine behind but showers piling into scotland and northern england and for a time across northern ireland through the morning. a windy day particularly the further west you are but not feeling quite as cold. the temperature through tomorrow any range of 5—11 but may struggle above 3-4 range of 5—11 but may struggle above 3—4 across east anglia and south—east england. as we go into sunday, a day of two halves with this area of high pressure building across the south of the uk but meanwhile we keep low pressure to the north so it will keep further showers pushing into much of scotland and the view across northern ireland, maybe one or two across the far north of england, but for much of england, wales and northern ireland it is mainly dry with some sunshine in the temperature and not as low as recently so typical a 5—9. not as

cold as we start next week with spells of rain and windy weather and turning colder later in the week. this is bbc news. i�*m martine croxall. the headlines at four... six european countries express concerns over delays in delivery of the pfizer coronavirus vaccine. the eu commission president says the pharmaceutical giant has guaranteed all vaccines will be delivered. it is very good that the ceo, him personally, has said that he will immediately turn his attention to this question and will do everything that is possible for him to reduce the time of delay and bring further forward the time of catching up. here, tens of thousands of small business owners celebrate as the supreme court rules insurers must pay them for covid lockdown losses. it is a really good day

for thousands and thousands of insurants who were left with very little clarity until now. experts advising the government warn that everyone must continue to follow the rules as the latest official estimate shows the uk—wide r number is between 1.2 and 1.3. the uk economy shrank by 2.6% in november, when england was in lockdown for a second time. and the fomer manchester united and england forward wayne rooney retires from football after being appointed the derby county manager on a permanent basis. pfizer has informed the european union that it will

temporarily reduce its deliveries of a covid—19 vaccine to member states due to constructive work at its plant in the belgian town of puurs. in a statement to the eu commission, pfizer say deliveries in the next three to four weeks will be affected. the german health minister described the announcement as surprising and regrettable. in a statement — pfizer say... the eu commissioner ursala von der leyen has been speaking in the past half an hour. first of all, it has been a big success that, as 27, we have negotiated because otherwise we would never ever have had access to so early and with such a large number of doses. it is the right way to go forward together as europeans. second, of course this is not the first time that we have seen a delay in this process. we should not

forget abnormally it takes ten years to develop a vaccine and deliver it. —— that normally. we have reduced this time to less than the year and we are facing all of the difficulties you normally based in an extended period of time. it is not the first time a company announces that very short period of time problems with delivery, and it is notjust biontech and pfizer, two others had to delay their application time at their european medicines agency is. we have encountered these problems before and will encounter these problems in this process, but we should not forget the overall process is a big success. we have access to overall 2.3 billion doses of vaccines, so it is enough for the whole european population and our neighbourhood. this is so important for us that we do not only care for ourselves, but

also for our neighbourhood, bearded eastern, western southern neighbourhood. —— be it. we have always said that the large numbers will kick in as of april, when more companies are delivering biontech. companies are delivering biontech pfizer was very fast and that is good. it is good moderna is on the market too. astrazeneca hasjust applied and we expect authorisation until the end of the month, and then we expect a delivery can start too. joining me now is richard wilding, professor of supply chain strategy at cra nfield university. welcome. first of all, set into context challenges involved in trying to distribute vaccines, which were after all produced in record time, really. were after all produced in record time. really-— time, really. yes. if you think about the _ time, really. yes. if you think about the state _ time, really. yes. if you think about the state we _ time, really. yes. if you think about the state we are - time, really. yes. if you think about the state we are in - time, really. yes. if you think about the state we are in the | time, really. yes. if you think- about the state we are in the supply chain, it is in a ramp up phase. this isa

chain, it is in a ramp up phase. this is a tide everybody is adjusting processes and getting beat infrastructure processes in place and systems to make sure people are there as well. this is just revealing that pfizer is having to make adjustments to its processes. this is good news in the long run. the problem is, of course, they are having to reduce some of their capacity within the facility. probably because they�*re going to have to shut down particular production lines whilst they upgrade them to increase the capacity. in them to increase the capacity. in the medium—term, the next few weeks or months, they will be a lot more available to everyone. but it shows that the procurement systems in place need to be very robust. it is great the uk has been able to secure the vaccine and, yes, there might be a dip in deliveries at this time, but also, we have been building up stocks. so, if you like, us as the people receiving the jabs should not

notice any differences. the other good news is that we have the astrazeneca vaccine haswell. we actually have two products which are going down that supply chain so that people can receive the jab. there people can receive the 'ab. there are six people can receive the 'ab. there six tu — people can receive the 'ab. there are six eu countries _ people can receive the jab. there are six eu countries which - people can receive the jab. there are six eu countries which have l are six eu countries which have signed this letter to the eu commissioner expressing concern. you are saying the uk will not be affected. notably so. i are saying the uk will not be affected. notably so. i cannot say the uk will _ affected. notably so. i cannot say the uk will not _ affected. notably so. i cannot say the uk will not be _ affected. notably so. i cannot say the uk will not be affected, - affected. notably so. i cannot say the uk will not be affected, but i | the uk will not be affected, but i thought it would be part of the plans for the actual roll—out. if you started thinking about this, we are actually in a very robust situation. you will always have a delivery schedule which will be supplied by the company for any product, whether it is a vaccine or anything else. that�*s delivery schedule may fluctuate. pfizer might have already communicated that there will be a dip in deliveries over a given period of time, but it does

not mean there will not be vaccine available for people to receive theirjabs because, you know, they may have been putting an awful lot of vaccine into the supply chain for storage before that taking place. therefore we have got be vaccine available, it isjust in a different part of the supply chain. a disruption in the manufacturing side and the manufacturing supplier makes no difference whatsoever to the consumers. i�*m sure that will have been factored in during the recent discussions and the process which has been taking place from the uk. to what extent does brexit play to this? is helpful to the uk not to now be part of the eu in terms of keeping supplies going? weill. now be part of the eu in terms of keeping supplies going? well, the toint is keeping supplies going? well, the point is that _ keeping supplies going? well, the point is that we _ keeping supplies going? well, the point is that we will _ keeping supplies going? well, the point is that we will have - point is that we will have negotiated our own contract rather than being part of this big contract

which the 27 nations have negotiated. from a country perspective, i would say it does actually benefit us slightly because we are in a situation where we have been able to do our own negotiation. at times, that can weaken us. you might not get as good a deal on price because you are buying less volume. at other times, it can be advantageous as well. just volume. at other times, it can be advantageous as well.— volume. at other times, it can be advantageous as well. just one final tuestion. advantageous as well. just one final question- we _ advantageous as well. just one final question. we are _ advantageous as well. just one final question. we are talking _ advantageous as well. just one final question. we are talking about - question. we are talking about construction work at a plant in belgium which produces this pfizer vaccine. that is just one factory, surely. why can�*t they switch production and supply to others? so it is notjust produced in one place. it is not 'ust produced in one lace. ., ., . ., place. part of the challenge might be that pharmaceutical _ place. part of the challenge might be that pharmaceutical supply - place. part of the challenge might i be that pharmaceutical supply chains are highly regulated. what happens is manufacturers will approve

certain facilities for certain markets, as it were. there has to be a particular approval process. it may be part of this. you have to make sure you have approval and it may be that they have approval on one particular facility, may be that they have approval on one particularfacility, which is taking place. what we have to remember is pfizer are not saying they will not be delivering anything. they are saying they will be delivering a reduction in deliveries in some nations, to some areas. i think often the key thing from their perspective is, are they communicating with their customers miss i think it is interesting that some of the european countries are asking questions and writing letters about this because he would have thought that they would be aware of this. that may be because of the contract had been, if you like, negotiated at a different level and communication systems down to the individual countries may not have taken place in the wake they could

have done. but i am not involved in it, so it is difficult to guess precisely what is going on. i would have thought that if you are going to upgrade a facility, you would have known that a number of weeks ago. have known that a number of weeks ato. . . ., , have known that a number of weeks ato.�* , ., have known that a number of weeks ato.~ , ., ., ago. and the politicians have to ex-lain ago. and the politicians have to explain this _ ago. and the politicians have to explain this to _ ago. and the politicians have to explain this to a _ ago. and the politicians have to explain this to a public - ago. and the politicians have to explain this to a public being i explain this to a public being encouraged to take vaccine soon as they can. really good to talk you. thank you. some breaking news and the nhs covid figures have just come out. it is saying that the uk has recorded another 1280 deaths, that is people dying within 20 days of a positive covid—19 test. 28 days. that compares with figures on thursday, when 1248 people died. that is an increase of 32. in terms of the number of new covid cases,

there have been in the last 24 hours there have been in the last 24 hours the 5761. quite a big increase compared with those they�*s figures, 48,682. the uk data also shows that 3 million... over 3.2 million of the first covid vaccines have been administered. back in march, hundreds of thousands of businesses were forced to close tens of thousands of small businesses are celebrating a supreme court ruling that means they�*ll receive insurance pay—outs for losses incurred during the first national lockdown. thejudges ruled in favour of their appeal in the £1.2 billion pound legal battle. insurers — who had said the cover was never intended for such unprecedented restrictions — say all valid claims will be settled as soon as possible. our business correpsondent vishala sri—pathma reports. back in march, hundreds of thousands of businesses were forced to close because of restrictions. many worried they would never open again. some were hoping that their insurance policy would cover

the cost of the loss of income. much to their surprise, they were told they were not covered. one of them was daniel, who runs a patisserie in belfast but was forced to close because of restrictions. it is a really good day for thousands and thousands of insurants who were left with very little clarity until now. we are extremely proud of this judgment and it�*s a unanimousjudgment, as well, which is even more telling. with thatjudgment, we can now take our claims forward and look at the future. the financial conduct authority stepped in, taking some insurers to court, pursuing a test case over whether the pandemic was covered by these policies. insurers argue that only the most specialist policies had cover for such unprecedented restrictions. that appeal was rejected by the supreme court today. the verdict will come as a huge relief for the businesses

across the country that have been struggling to make ends meet. but with many on the brink of going bust, those payments can�*t come soon enough. whilst the more complex claims may take a little while, one would hope that for a small business that is clearly being shut down, the money can be paid very quickly, within weeks. there is no reason why that should not happen now. the pay—outs will cost the insurance sector hundreds of millions of pounds. the association of british insurers put out a statement saying... for many businesses, the ruling today will be a lifeline that could mean they are able to continue to trade, but with no sign of when restrictions will ease again, some are worried the payments will not go far enough.

a ban on flights from south america has come into force. ministers are trying to prevent a new variant of coronavirus, which was first seen in brazil, from spreading to the uk. the ban will also affect portugal and cape verde because of their strong links to brazil. this morning, ten british scientific institutions have begun studying new faster spreading mutations of the coronavirus. katharine da costa reports. john from wolverhampton, his wife and daughter are staying with his wife�*s family in brazil. they�*d planned to return to the uk in early february. new restrictions banning travellers from south america don�*t apply to british nationals and citizens, but with few flights operating, he�*s worried about when they will get home. it is the unknown that is so hard at the moment. i�*m really struggling to understand when we will be able to come back, because with anything with covid, who knows how long things take? coronavirus has swept through brazil, leaving more than 200,000 people dead. now a new variant has been detected that could be even more infectious.

from today, travellers from 13 south american countries, including brazil, argentina and chile, have been banned from entering the uk. the ban also applies to portugal, which has strong travel links with brazil, as well as the islands of the azores. however, lorry drivers from portugal will be allowed in. the islands of cape verde off the coast of west africa are also included in the ban. we�*ve seen these variants before, there are thousands of them, but some of them which are more easily transmitted are obviously of greater concern. it�*s really as a precautionary principle. we are so close now — we�*ve got three million of these vaccines in people�*s arms in the uk. we want to make sure we don�*t fall at this last hurdle. scientists are still trying to understand how new variants behave, how transmissable they are, whether they cause more severe illness or impact the effectiveness of vaccines. now researchers from ten british

institutions have come together to address those questions. there are so many different variants emerging, so, really, the point of the consortium is to sort out which we should be concerned about, so we can focus attention on that. there is a lot of underpinning science about this spike mutation that�*s present in some of the emerging variants, including the one in south africa and brazil, which make us concerned. here there is a glimmer of hope. data from public health england suggests case rates fell in the week to sunday in most regions except the northwest, southwest and west midlands. but the number of patients needing treatment is likely to continue rising. even with extra icu beds, hospitals like this one in york are rapidly running out of room. christmas weekend, we had a handful of patients coming in with covid. by new year�*s, two hands full, and now we open a ward

and we fill it in a day. most days, we are at capacity. we are having to do a lot ofjuggling and moving and praying and hoping to get through to the next day, but in reality, the hospital will be full, we predict, i think, in two weeks�* time. the vaccine roll—out will help ease pressure, but right now, those on the front line fear it will get much worse before it gets better. let�*s speak now to christina pagel, director of university college london�*s operational research unit. thank you forjoining us. how difficult is it, do you think, for the public, those of us who are not statisticians or clinicians, to understand these figures that come out that scene as times to be contradictory? we seem to have a growth rate in the virus which is levelling out, perturbing, and yet the deaths are still going up. it is

hard, and the deaths are still going up. it is hard. and i _ the deaths are still going up. it is hard, and i think— the deaths are still going up. it 3 hard, and i think it has been hard the whole time with people making decisions. basically, once infected, you are probably not going to get a test for about five days. that is how long it takes to get symptoms. and already know that the is about a week. it is another ten days before you need hospital and another week, ten days, until you die, if you will die. there are these big likes to a certain extent. people dying now who got it over the christmas period, so nothing now will affect the debt figures for the next week or two. and that is what is so horrifying about someone who is looking at the numbers. —— death figures. i can see it coming and now we are reaping the consequences of delaying decisions in december. you just heard about

the nhs. it isjust how and in december. you just heard about the nhs. it is just how and then out on the front line, notjust for the nhs. it is just how and then out on the front line, not just for the star, but also families having to live through it. the star, but also families having to live through it.— live through it. the death toll is ex-ected live through it. the death toll is expected to _ live through it. the death toll is expected to exceed _ live through it. the death toll is expected to exceed 100,000 i live through it. the death toll is - expected to exceed 100,000 people. each one is an individual tragedy for their friends each one is an individual tragedy for theirfriends and each one is an individual tragedy for their friends and family all over country. were told last year that 20,000 deaths would have been a good result. i say that in quotes. how have we got to 100,000? br; how have we got to 100,000? el: failing to do hard things that are unpopular. we waited too long to lockdown the first time. we did not protect care homes enough. and then, over the summer, we kind of acted like it was over. the government encouraged us to act like it was over and it was not. we had a lot of travel across europe. that is a big factor in europe�*s second wave and all of europe has struggled. the

countries restrict border control have not had it. but countries restrict border control have not had it.— have not had it. but politicians have not had it. but politicians have so many _ have not had it. but politicians have so many things _ have not had it. but politicians have so many things to - have not had it. but politicians| have so many things to juggle, have not had it. but politicians - have so many things to juggle, don't have so many things to juggle, don�*t they? they are trying to keep an economy going, borrowing huge amounts of money to prop up businesses and families who, through no fault of their own, cannot operate or work. there is the mental health factor as well of people being locked down for a very long time. your priorities will be inevitably, won�*t they, very different from the politicians�*? ida. different from the politicians'? no, mine are exactly _ different from the politicians'? iifr, mine are exactly the same. we are not having an open economy or working. we are locked down in a cycle that has been going on for months. the countries acted decisively and early, they got transmission down to zero in their communities and are now open. in new zealand, they had a normal new year and christmas. they had 12 to 15 people around there in the table and

the economies are growing. we do not have that. you get both the economy and mental health benefits. being able to see friends and family and no covid. we have had a year of this experience and we can see which countries have done it and they all have pretty much the same policies to do it. we have not followed it in europe. we to do it. we have not followed it in euro-e. ~ ., to do it. we have not followed it in euro-e. . ., ., ., europe. we are rolling out the vaccine programme _ europe. we are rolling out the vaccine programme now. - europe. we are rolling out the| vaccine programme now. what europe. we are rolling out the - vaccine programme now. what vaccine data would be most useful to have? i want to know the demographics, see how many people are refusing it, particularly among deprived areas and ethnic minorities and key workers, those already vulnerable by being exposed. we have had reports of how asian communities are not taking it up because of false information. we need to understand that so we can change that and change that misinformation and explain it is safe and encourage people to take it up. unless we have the data, or cannot do that.

professor, thank you very much for joining us again this afternoon. the head of the scottish fishing federation has written to the prime minister saying he�*s "failed" the scottish fishing industry. european importers have rejected truck loads of scottish fish since the uk exited the european union, after the need for health checks, export declarations and checks meant they had taken too long to arrive. yesterday the government said the delays are "only teething problems" and it�*s working to resolve the issues. the prime minister has also said that those affected would be eligible for compensation. elspeth macdonald is chief executive of the scottish fishermen�*s federation — she�*s written that letter to the prime minister. i had the pleasure of talking to only yesterday. what has prompted you to write this letter to boris johnson? . ., , you to write this letter to boris johnson? . . , , ., ., johnson? the increasing frustration in the industry. _ johnson? the increasing frustration in the industry, which _ johnson? the increasing frustration in the industry, which is _ johnson? the increasing frustration in the industry, which is a - in the industry, which is a combination of two things. audio on

fisheries delivered that falls very far short of what the promises the others in government have made to the fishing industry, and that, coupled with the excessive amounts of disruption well currently seen in getting fish to market at the moment, that are leading some of our vessels to land in denmark, because thatis vessels to land in denmark, because that is a guaranteed route of getting it to customers on time in fresh conditions. this letter was prompted by the mounting anger and frustration and the increasing loss of the industry is facing. you sa int of the industry is facing. you saying this — of the industry is facing. you saying this letter _ of the industry is facing. you saying this letter that - of the industry is facing. you saying this letter that the deal was not what was promised with the eu. how do improve upon it now? how does the government improve on now? in the government improve on now? i�*i the government improve on now? i�*i the short—term, the government has to work in the talks that are happening this weekend and next week between the eu and uk and norway in terms of bridging the gaps and some of the fish stocks we have as a

consequence of this deal. they are critically important to keep our boats at sea this year. but we also need the government to focus on what actual can be achieved the end of this adjustment period and 2026. there is the prospect of hope of something better by then. but it comes with punitive sanctions that the eu could impose upon the uk, so the eu could impose upon the uk, so the government has to explore every avenue to address these and work with the industry to find a better solution than we have now which falls very far short of what was promised to us.— falls very far short of what was promised to us. how confident are ou promised to us. how confident are you members _ promised to us. how confident are you members did _ promised to us. how confident are you members did everything - promised to us. how confident are you members did everything on i promised to us. how confident are i you members did everything on their side to prepare for this new reality? side to prepare for this new reali ? ~ ., , , reality? well, i think the industry here has worked _ reality? well, i think the industry here has worked hard _ reality? well, i think the industry here has worked hard for- reality? well, i think the industry here has worked hard for this i reality? well, i think the industry| here has worked hard for this new reality. everyone knew leaving the customs union and single market, there would be changes and new administrative and bureaucratic arrangements needed to get product to market and the industry has been closely involved with government for

many months now to do this. part of a problem, a significant part, is the government systems were very late in coming into effect. some only went live late in december. they are essentially being tested in real time. they are essentially being tested in realtime. it they are essentially being tested in real time. it means now that there was not significant time to test them and there is a need for a significant streamlining of these systems and the government needs to act within days to work with the industry to fix this. i act within days to work with the industry to fix this.— industry to fix this. i don't want to be oversimplistic, _ industry to fix this. i don't want to be oversimplistic, but - industry to fix this. i don't want to be oversimplistic, but why i industry to fix this. i don't want i to be oversimplistic, but why cannot the stocks that would normally be sold abroad and have been going to waste be diverted to british markets? those things don�*t happen overnight, but could that be looked at? , ., , , ., overnight, but could that be looked at? , at? this was something we faced back in 2020 when — at? this was something we faced back in 2020 when covid _ at? this was something we faced back in 2020 when covid restrictions - at? this was something we faced back in 2020 when covid restrictions it. i in 2020 when covid restrictions it. similarly, there were very significant volatility in our overseas markets as well as at home.

it is fair to say the continental consumers tend to eat different species than we do, and certainly there is a lot of work under way within the industry in the uk to encourage domestic consumers to eat different species, species that were not necessarily be the most familiar to them. that change will not happen overnight and there are well—established markets for particular species at different times of year.— particular species at different times of ear. ,, n ., times of year. elspeth mcdonald, thank ou times of year. elspeth mcdonald, thank you again _ times of year. elspeth mcdonald, thank you again for _ times of year. elspeth mcdonald, thank you again forjoining - times of year. elspeth mcdonald, thank you again forjoining us. i now it�*s time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. hello. it is a fairly quiet end to the week, but still cold. temperatures fell to minus 11.8 celsius overnight at ravensworth in north yorkshire. the coldest night of the winter so far for england, and still plenty of snow on the ground across northern england and scotland. more in the forecast as we go into tonight and tomorrow morning.

but for the rest of friday, for most, it is mainly dry, quite large amounts of cloud around, best of the sunshine in eastern scotland and north—east england. some of that morning fog really slow to clear through parts of the midlands and eatsern england, and where it does, temperatures will struggle to get much above freezing. light winds for most, but they will be strengthening later in the day ahead of this band of rain that will push its way eastwards through this evening and overnight. it brings with it some milder air. but ahead of it, colder air, meaning further snow for parts of scotland, northern england. later in the night, perhaps into east anglia and maybe south—east england. where we have the rain, falling onto already saturated ground, so flood warnings in place. also, the risk of ice at first tonight, with temperatures falling below freezing. those temperatures starting to rise as the night wears on. snow once again will bring some disruption through tomorrow morning. this is an idea of snow depth. that snow overnight topping up some already significant totals across parts of scotland and northern england. we could perhaps see seven centimetres of snow across parts of east anglia as we head through tomorrow morning, all tied in with this system, which will be sliding its way south and eastwards through saturday, once again bringing further heavy

rain but also snow for a time in the morning across parts of scotland, northern england, east anglia and south—east england. behind it, some sunshine, then further showers piling into scotland and northern england. but it will not be as cold tomorrow. temperatures perhaps getting into double figures for some, ten or 11 celsius. certainly milder than it has been across parts of scotland and parts of northern england. for sunday, it�*s a tale of two halves. we have high pressure building in across southern parts of the uk, but this low pressure still close to the northern half of the uk. so for sunday, we will see further showers across scotland and maybe northern ireland, some filtering into northern england. further south, should be mainly dry with sunshine. again, not quite as cold. temperatures on sunday between five and nine celsius. looking at next week, i think the theme is it will not be as cold as it has been recently, but it will be quite unsettled and rather windy at times, too. goodbye.

you�*re watching a bbc news special with martine croxall, building up to the latest coronavirus briefing from the government, today led by the prime minister, borisjohnson. the headlines: the uk records another 1,280 deaths from coronavirus. the latest figures also show that more than 3.2 millon people have now received their first dose of the covid vaccine. six european countries express concerns over delays in delivery of the pfizer coronavirus vaccine, but the european commission president says the company has guaranteed all vaccines will be delivered. it is very good that the ceo, him personally, has said he will immediately turn his attention to this question and will do everything that is possible for him to reduce the time of delay and to bring further forward the time of catching up.