good afternoon. one person is being admitted to hospital with coronavirus every 30 seconds, according to the head of the national health service in england, sir simon stevens.

he says the nhs will be under intense pressure for several weeks to come, despite the vaccine roll—out. but the good news is that four times as many people are now being vaccinated in england as are contracting coronavirus. ten new vaccine hubs have been unveiled across the country, which will be operational from tomorrow. here's our health correspondent, jim reed. the pressure on hospitals this winter shows no sign of easing up. the person in charge of the nhs in england said the service is now in the most precarious position in his 72 year history. == the most precarious position in his 72 year history-— 72 year history. -- in its. this christmas _ 72 year history. -- in its. this christmas day, _ 72 year history. -- in its. this christmas day, we _ 72 year history. -- in its. this christmas day, we have - 72 year history. -- in its. this christmas day, we have seen| 72 year history. -- in its. this - christmas day, we have seen another 15,000 increase in the patients in hospitals across england, the equivalent of filling 30 hospitals are full of coronavirus patients. staggeringly, every 30 seconds across england, another patient is

being admitted to hospital with coronavirus.— being admitted to hospital with coronavirus. , , ., ., coronavirus. new figures show of the 100,000 nhs _ coronavirus. new figures show of the 100,000 nhs workers _ coronavirus. new figures show of the 100,000 nhs workers off _ coronavirus. new figures show of the 100,000 nhs workers off sick - coronavirus. new figures show of the 100,000 nhs workers off sick in - 100,000 nhs workers off sick in england last week, half either had the virus or were self—isolating. tomorrow, this vaccination centre at blackburn cathedral will open offering thousands ofjabs a day to nhs staff as well as care workers and those over 80. or by invitation only at this stage. we and those over 80. or by invitation only at this stage.— only at this stage. we felt it would be really appropriate _ only at this stage. we felt it would be really appropriate to _ only at this stage. we felt it would be really appropriate to offer- only at this stage. we felt it would be really appropriate to offer this | be really appropriate to offer this space _ be really appropriate to offer this space up— be really appropriate to offer this space up as a place where people could _ space up as a place where people could come and feel safe and secure. a place _ could come and feel safe and secure. a place that — could come and feel safe and secure. a place that they know. it is one of ten new regional vaccination centres opening across england next week. as well as blackburn, sites are in taunton, saint helens and bournemouth, slough, norwich, wickford and essex, lincolnshire, york and wembley in london. they join the existing seven sites already opened in places from manchester in the north west to surrey in the south east. large

vaccination hubs are already open across wales, scotland and northern ireland, with many more planned. it is part of a uk—wide drive to vaccinate the 15 million people most at risk from the disease by the middle of next month, with all adults in england offered thejob by september. there are some early signs that lockdown measures might be working and infections are starting to fall back in some places. it is more positive news, but it will take time to be reflected in hospital admissions, meaning the pressure on nhs services is likely to continue for weeks to come. jim reed, bbc news. airports are to be offered financial support in england, as the government closes travel corridors in the uk from tomorrow. up to £8 million will be available to help them cover costs such as business rates. heres our business correspondent, katy austin. from tomorrow, nearly all arrivals to the uk will have to quarantine

for ten days because the travel corridor system will be suspended. it is another blow for travel and tourism. last night, the aviation minister acknowledged the impact of tighter restrictions would have said pre—— and said a preplanned grant scheme for england will open within the next fortnight. the airports trade body said this was welcome, but with traffic still extremely low, more support would be needed. we understand that it will be a grants towards fixed costs such as business rates and it will be equivalent to business rates, but up to about 8 million. so very, very usefulfor a number of our to about 8 million. so very, very useful for a number of our airports but clearly for some of the very large airports, it is actually quite a small amount financially. heathrow, they pay 120 million a year business rates. government has said the enforcement _ year business rates. government has said the enforcement of _ year business rates. government has said the enforcement of quarantine l said the enforcement of quarantine will now be stepped up. temporary stricter isolation rules have been in place before, in delhi last year,

some travellers returning from wuhan in china or houston nhs hospital facilities after police escorts. today, the government was asked if they would now require arrivals to quarantine in hotels.— quarantine in hotels. there is a challenge _ quarantine in hotels. there is a challenge in — quarantine in hotels. there is a challenge in the _ quarantine in hotels. there is a challenge in the workability - quarantine in hotels. there is a| challenge in the workability and deliverability, but we need to look at that_ deliverability, but we need to look at that based on the account of the experience — at that based on the account of the experience. i don't accept we have been _ experience. i don't accept we have been too _ experience. i don't accept we have been too slow in this, we are broadly— been too slow in this, we are broadly the same pace as canada and germanx _ broadly the same pace as canada and germany. we will keep other potential measures under review, but they have _ potential measures under review, but they have got to be workable. a they have got to be workable. requirement for travellers to show a negative covid test before travelling to the uk also kicks in tomorrow. the travel industry accepts the public health need for tighter rules, but it says a pathway out of the crisis needs to be mapped out. katy austin, bbc news. labour has accused the prime minister of "running scared" of his own backbenchers, ahead of a vote on universal credit in the house of commons tomorrow. conservative mps have been told to abstain on labour's demand for the temporary £20 a week increase in universal credit

during the pandemic to be extended beyond april. 0ur political correspondent, jonathan blake, is here. jonathan, how much disquiet is there about this? well, plenty. and it is potentially another example of the government putting in place temporary measures during the pandemic only to come under pressure to keep them in place for longer or permanently. in april last year, the government increased by £20 a week the amount people could claim an universal credit, thatis could claim an universal credit, that is due to come to an end in april, but labour and others say it should continue, arguing this is not the time, as they put it, for the chancellor to be bringing down economic support. but crucially for the government, there are a good number of conservative mps who are uneasy about the support coming to an end as well. labour is holding a debate and a vote on this tomorrow in the house of commons, not binding on the government, but potentially embarrassing given the number of conservative mps who might have felt strongly enough to vote with labour and against the government. they are being allowed to abstain, which

diffuses that slightly, but the issue certainly is not going away and the government has today said it has consistently supported low income families and will continue to do so, but keeping this support in place would cost £6 billion a year. so an expensive and potentially politically sensitive decision for the chancellor by the budget in march. . ., the chancellor by the budget in march. ., ~' ,, the chancellor by the budget in march. ., ~ ., ., the chancellor by the budget in march. ., ., ., march. thank you, jonathan blake, our political— march. thank you, jonathan blake, our political correspondent. - all 50 us states are on alert for possible violent protests today, ahead of president—electjoe biden's inauguration on wednesday. members of the national guard are patrolling the streets around the capitol in washington, following the storming of the building by supporters of donald trump. protesters are expected to descend on statehouses across the country today. the government is planning new laws to give protection to historic statues in england. the communities secretary, robertjenrick, says monuments which have stood for generations shouldn't be, in his words, "removed on a whim or at the behest of a baying mob". the legislation would require

planning permission for any changes, and a government minister would be able to veto the move. from bristol, jon kay reports. it was one of the key moments of 2020. in bristol, the toppling of edward colston's statue last summer. a 17th—century slave trader thrown into the city's harbour. as the figure was recovered and restored, a debate ensued across the uk about how we memorialise controversial figures from our past. and now the government's planning new laws to protect statues in england, with planning permission and public consultation required before they can be removed by local people or councils. writing in today's sunday telegraph, the communities secretary, robertjenrick, says...

critics question whether changing the law like this would prove —— really make a difference, and whether it would stop impulsive moments of protest. in the last few months, the future of statues across the country has been challenged, from cecil rhodes in oxford, sir francis drake in plymouth, sir winston churchill in parliament square. the government's plans will be outlined inside parliament tomorrow. jon kay, bbc news. england's cricketers remain on course to win the first test against sri lanka in galle, but they're making hard work of it. set a target of 7a to win, england lost three quick wickets in their second innings to close on 38—3, needing another 36 runs to go one up in the series. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel.

the next news on bbc one is at 5:35 this afternoon. bye for now.

good afternoon. now the latest from the bbc sports centre. it's been a fascinating day's cricket between england and sri lanka on the fourth day of the first test in galle. it looked like england would coast towards a straghtforward victory, but there's been a sting in the tail, asjoe wilson reports. what stood in galle between england and victory? first, thirimanne e. sri lanka's batting was the story of the morning with thirimanne are making it to 100. now a significant

moment, not because the ball squeeze through safety to the boundary but those four runs took sri lanka into the lead, five wickets down. there's the lead, five wickets down. there's the england bowler and the sri lanka dressing room. was there much turning? sharp catch from buttler, yes, dom bess. nowjack leach deceived shanaka. azarenka was the eighth to fall. angelo mathews experienced, defined in scoring. while he remained the sri lanka lead increased. jack leach lowered him to the edge was the his fifth wicket and sri lanka were all out. now england just needed 7a to win his top hold your nerve, win the test. 0h top hold your nerve, win the test. oh dear, dom sibley gone. 3—1. next, zak crawley court, 12—2. still, there was the captain. no, there wasn't. joe root in a strangling, tangling —— for a wasn't. joe root in a strangling, tangling —— fora run wasn't. joe root in a strangling, tangling —— for a run which he did not make. check the mood. the faces

of stone, nerves in tatters. dan lawrence en debut stood firm, watched and waited. the umpires saw bad light. england remainjust three down, just 36 to win. the end is close. joe wilson, bbc news. more tennis players will be confined to their hotel rooms ahead of the australian open, after a positive coronavirus test result on a third flight bound for the tournament. 0ur tennis correspondent russell fuller is here. russell, this is fast becoming a big problem for organisers? hello, yes. 72 players have now been affected across three flights. this latest one that returned a positive test was one that arrived in melbourne from doha at 530 australian time on saturday morning. as a result, those players, like the others, cannot leave their rooms for five hours per day to practice, they must stay in their rooms for the full 14 must stay in their rooms for the full 1a days. there are 256 players

in the singles draw, the same number playing doubles across the men's and women's events. still a significant percentage, albeit a minority, who are affected will stop the players are affected will stop the players are not happy, what will they do? could tennis australia perhaps create a situation like we saw at the us open where some players who have deemed to be in close contact with a certain french player, were allowed out to practice off—site in allowed out to practice off—site in a secluded venue, when he tested positive, and actually play some matches as well. that privilege was later withdrawn. as we know, the australian authorities are doing everything they possibly can to keep all cases out of the country. that is just speculation on my part at the moment. maybe something tennis australia will be hoping they can do but absolutely no guarantee at all that will be possible and as it is players will have to resort to showing us their might in their

rooms on social media and their creative attempts to exercise with some even trying to run a full five kilometres from one wall to another. 14 kilometres from one wall to another. 1a days in a hotel room is a very long time. thanks for bringing us up—to—date, russell fuller, our tennis correspondent. 0nto the football... rangers can extend their lead over celtic at the top of the scottish premiership to 23 points today. to do that, they'll have to beat motherwell, and they're actually behind at the moment. devante cole — son of manchester united legend andy cole — with the only goal of the game so far. second half has just kicked off in that one. there are six games in the women's super league today including a top of the table clashe between chelsea and manchester united. a couple of games already underway, including... manchester city are playing aston villa. these are live pictures from the academy stadium and city are well on top. another goal going in for manchester city. just coming up to half time, the score is 6—0 to city — ellen white, england striker, with

another goal for manchester city. city are fourth in the wsl at the moment, trying to close the gap at the top. watch it live via the bbc red button, and the bbc sport website. you might be aware of sir ben ainslie's attempts to qualify for the america's cup in march. his british team are competing in the challenger series for the right to face the holders team new zealand for the main prize. they're competing against two other teams, one of those, american magic, who got into some difficulties in one of their races as their boat tipped over. the boats designed to fly above the water on hi—tech foil arms. conditions haven't been great in new zealand where they're racing, but things going well so far for ben ainslie, better than the american crew, who were all 0k. just to show you the fine margins on which they are racing, the american crew tipping over. and the final of the masters snooker is about to start. john higgins up against china's debutant yan bingtao. higgins going for a third title.

atjust 20 years old yan would be the youngest winner since ronnie 0'sullivan in 1995. you can watch it live on bbc two, and via the bbc sport website and app. we will keep you updated here on bbc news. back to you, ben. there have been warnings that the eurostar train service is in a critical condition, after a massive drop in passenger numbers caused by the pandemic. the service runs from london st pancras to paris, brussels and amsterdam and is widely seen as having been a commercial and cultural success story. the uk sold its stake in the business in 2015 — but now there are calls for the government to step in to help eurostar survive the pandemic. 0ur correspondentjohn mcmanus says the warnings about the tenuous financial state of eurostar first emerged towards the end of last week.

no eurostar, normally extremely profitable, amazingly it has been going more than a quarter of a century, it started in going more than a quarter of a century, it started “119911. it normally runs at least two trains per hour between london, brussels and paris. before the pandemic began it had expanded services to amsterdam as well. now, because of travel restrictions, including new quarantine rules and the fact there are very few passengers, it has reduced to running just two trains per day between london and mainland europe. 0bviously, its revenues are in serious trouble and a warning was first sounded on friday by an executive from the french rail company sncf, which is the majority stakeholder in eurostar. he said passenger numbers had dropped an amazing 85% in 2020 compared to 2019 and said the group is now in what he called a direct is now in what he called a drip and needed more money to survive. he said he believed it had been hit harder by the airline industry and it was trying to negotiate a loan with the uk government.

that's interesting because although britain did help bring about eurostar, the then—chancellor george osborne sold the uk's stake in eurostar in 2015 as part of his austerity drive, begging the question whether the uk taxpayer should now help bail out a company owned by french railways, belgian railways and a couple of pension and hedge funds. the letter today, which has been published in part in the sunday telegraph by a group of business leaders and city firms who are no doubt interested in thriving transport links between london and the continent says that, yes, the government should do something. they have written to chancellor rishi sunak and transport secretary grant shapps to say, the government must do something to help eurostar. one other thing to bear in mind, the government says it has been allowing mostly the transport industry to stand on its own two feet but earlier this month british airways secured a £2 billion loan, privately, but backed by the government. british airways, like eurostar, is a private company owned by shareholders across the world,

so some people will think, what is the difference. john mcmanus, thank you. the number of coronavirus deaths in france has now exceeded 70,000. britain and italy are the only european countries with a higher number of deaths. all of france is now under a 6pm curfew, advancing the earlier restrictions by two hours. daniel wittenberg has more. the shutters came down early on the champs—elysees and deserted streets all over france, as the country met another unwelcome coronavirus milestone. at the start of the pandemic, president emmanuel macron said the nation was in combat with an invisible enemy. since then, with more than 70,000 casualties, france's death rate has been higher than on the battlefields of the second world war. its latest strategy in the battle to curb infections, the curfew has been brought forward by two hours to 6pm for the whole country for at least the next fortnight. the number of positive tests has hit 20,000 a day

and the extension is being received with relative approval. translation: i am not an expert| but i suppose if so many scientists agree on the curfew, it must mean its effective. translation: well, as a parent, i think 6pm isn't a problem. - it's bath—time so we will be heading home. but i'll probably change my mind on monday when the working week starts again. while people will be able to travel after hours for work and urgent appointments, it's more bad news for shops. parisien optician mickael levy called on the government not to lose sight of businesses' needs. translation: this is yet another restriction and once again, - it is a loss of revenue for us. we need to reorganise our staffing and we don't know how we will get financial help for that. in the daytime, the fairly rare

spectacle of snow coating the french capital provided light relief for some, though with hospital admissions continuing to rise and concern over new variants of the virus, it seems there is still a long winter ahead. daniel wittenberg, bbc news. the leading kremlin critic alexei navalny is leaving germany to return to russia for the first time since he was struck down by a nerve agent attack. mr navalny has been recovering in germany from being poisoned with a nerve agent in russia last august. the russian authorities have threatened him with arrest on arrival in moscow for breaching the terms of a previous suspended sentence. nasa has tested four huge engines for its new megarocket, which it hopes will one day take astronauts to the moon. but the exercise — designed to replicate the power necessary for take off — was stopped early, and it's not yet clear why.mark lobel has more. take off.

it's one of the most anticipated moments of any space mission. here, igniting all four engines together for the first time to simulate the sls rocket�*s rise into orbit for the first manned trip to the moon in decades. and here they go. gearing up to one day reach 8.8 million pounds, or to those in the know, 39.1 mega newtons of thrust, to make it the most powerful rocket ever to fly to space. and to put you out of your misery, this is what lift—off should look like. later this year it is hoped these rockets will send nasa's next generation 0rion spacecraft for an unmanned spin around the moon.

the artemis missions should eventually lead to the first woman on the moon in three years or so to search lunar soil for earth—shattering scientific discoveries with economic benefits as well. but back on earth, thisjoint nasa and boeing test, already years late in a project billions over budget well, er, quickly lost its sparkle as it was aborted early. and we've got to shut down. seven minutes early in fact, afterjust a minute or so. just when we were going to see the rocket start to pivot. no—one ever said travelling to the moon was easy. nasa denies the exercise was a failure, despite the as—yet unexplained white flash that caused the shutdown. mark lobel, bbc news. winter in rome means starling season,

when up to 4 million birds gather in the italian capital on their migration from europe to africa. their murmurations in the skies are beautiful — but their droppings create a hazard, and the city authorities are trying new methods to move them on. here's our rome correspondent, mark lowen. in the roman twilight, nature's great dancers flock to the stage. the acrobatic twirls like wisps of smoke. a synchronised spectacle of breathtaking beauty. the starlings migrate in winter south to africa. nesting at night in central rome for warmth, flying in formation to avoid predators.

a murmuration, it's called, and this city of art marvels at the show. but beneath their charm, rome is rotting, and it's a hell of a mess. in the cold light of day, the other side of these gorgeous birds is clear, and for those unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's not exactly sightly, it can be a safety hazard, and i can tell you that even with the mask, the stench is rancid. "i slipped on the droppings when it was muddy", this man says. "the world has invented everything, just not bird underpants." beside the ancient forum, a new attempt to try and solve the problem. city officials shining lasers onto trees, which the birds dislike, prompting them to move on. the project is focused on rome's

tourist heart in a bid to clean up its image. translation: this doesn't cause the birds any stress. _ it is more like a nuisance for them. i do this work, but i'm actually a nature lover. we are not stopping them from sleeping. we are just telling them to find another location. and it works. this tree used to be completely full and now there are about 10% of what there were. even the starling fans seem supportive. i personally love to see them, like it's amazing, but as long as it is not hurting the birds, i think it's a good system. while the lasers are harmless, fireworks are not. this last new year's eve here, starlings were caught and killed by the firecrackers, pictures going viral. not managing the issue can end in tragedy. in ancient rome, the starlings were seen to auger the gods wishes. centuries on, these dazzling creatures keep visiting. how man and nature can coexist

is the eternal problem of the eternal city. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. beautiful blue skies in rome filmed by mark lowen. i wonder what they are doing here. now it's time for a look at the weather. we started with blue skies, particularly across england and wales this morning but the weather has been changing a bit. you can see in gloucestershire how we have this shield of generally high cloud and further north—west into western scotland the cloud is thickening up and we have had showers which are getting longer spells of rain. looking at all this ground coming from the atlantic, it's mostly high cloud, spilling eastwards, so sunshine is hazy at best and the best of the sunshine probably to the south—east of the uk. the north—east

turning wetter, breezy as well with temperatures of 6—8 . this evening looking wet in scotland and northern ireland. before we replace the rain with showers will stop a view showers and more cloud pushing into england and wales. a bit of a breeze as well and on the whole it should be just about frost free although there is the risk of a few icy patches. tomorrow, a line of rain across southern scotland. to the north of it, sunshine and showers and wintry over the hills. elsewhere, brighter skies for a while with the odd shower but cloud thickening from the south—west, blowing rain into south—western gwent, south wales and eventually to the west country was up 10 degrees in the south—west where it turns misty with rain elsewhere, more chile, 5—7. things getting worse overnight into tuesday and wednesday with heavy rain developing over many parts of england and wales and unfortunately there is the risk of further flooding. unfortunately there is the risk of furtherflooding. the main area of concern is shown here, quite a small area but impacting a lot of people, and amber rain warning from the met

office and snow melt as well as rain, that rain in place firmly across northern england and northern ireland, turning wetter on tuesday in wales and the south—west. drier to the south—east, it will be windy and very mild with temperatures of 11 or 12. chile are further north in scotland as wetter weather pumps and very mild with temperatures of 11 or 12. chile are further north in scotland as wetter weather pumps into colder air with snow over the southern uplands. eventually, rain coming from the south—west. those weather fronts will continue to bring some rain for england and wales overnight and into wednesday. again, heavierand more wales overnight and into wednesday. again, heavier and more persistent rain will be across wales and northern england with rain adding up at this stage. a mild day for england and wales especially to the south—east where it is drier and much colderfor south—east where it is drier and much colder for scotland and northern ireland. here it should be generally dry on wednesday. the colder air will play a part later in the week because as the wetter weather starts to move through it will hit colder air and we will find snow arriving on wednesday night

into thursday, mainly in scotland and northern england.