hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: more than 70 cases of the south african variant of covid are identified in the uk — amid concerns the vaccine may be less effective against it. ministers say numbers are being closely monitored. we have an enhanced contact tracing to do everything we possibly can to stop them from spreading. the number of covid—19 cases in the united states passes 25 million — with the death toll soaring to nearly 418,000. israel announces it will ban incoming flights from monday evening until the end ofjanuary — in order to try and contain the spread of coronavirus. celebrations in china — as 11 gold miners who'd been trapped underground for two weeks are rescued. some enjoy the wintry conditions as snow and ice sweep across the uk — but severe weather warnings are in place for many areas.

now on bbc news it's time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm gavin ramjaun. here's what's coming up on this evening's show. it's proving to be a thriller at old trafford — as manchester united and liverpool battle it out, in the fa cup fourth round. so close — but still a masterclass from england captainjoe root — who just misses another double century in sri lanka. and tyrrell hatton�*s stunning final round helps him clinch the abu dhabi championship — and with it crucial ryder cup ranking points.

hello and welcome to sportsday — thanks for spending your sunday evening with us. another busy day in the fa cup to start. and the big tie of the day is taking place at old trafford. manchester united and liverpool in action — the two great rivals of english football. liverpool opened the scoring after roberto firmino�*s brilliant pass found mo salah who made the finish look easy. not to be outdone, marcus rashford hit a fantastic ball into mason greenwood who ended a run of ten games without a goal. united scored again after the restart after a mistake from young defender rhys williams allowed rashford to make it 2—1. but liverpool levelled through mo salah's second of the game which went through the legs of united's dean henderson. and that match — into the second half there — these the live pictures, from the game, which is over on bbc one, if you fancy catching

the rest of the 90 mins after sportsday of course! a tammy abraham hat—trick gave chelsea a 3—1win over luton at a snowy stamford bridge. the victory eases some of the pressure on frank lampard and his side who've lost five of their last eight premier league games including defeat to leicester on tuesday. craig templeton reports. the fa cup is a competition that provide many things. frank lampard might have been wishing it would provide distraction. but in truth, prior to the game there may distraction it was the difficult conditions. but the sky cleared up and with the pits cleaned up, it wasn't long before chelsea were clean through. werner unselfishly to abraham, simple, right? well, not exactly, is replaced so they were effects to balls on the pitch the build—up. putin farfrom happy. effects to balls on the pitch the build—up. putinfarfrom happy. in their mood was not improved when it reached james scoop to the ice for

tammy abraham second goal. two goals in the opening — tammy abraham second goal. two goals in the opening 16 — tammy abraham second goal. two goals in the opening 16 xmas _ tammy abraham second goal. two goals in the opening 16 xmas lieutenant - in the opening 16 xmas lieutenant managed to find a way back tojordan clark, although not for the first time. ., . ., �* ., time. -- luton. he could've done better. time. -- luton. he could've done better- he _ time. -- luton. he could've done better. he would've _ time. -- luton. he could've done better. he would've thought - time. -- luton. he could've done| better. he would've thought luton would've been itching to restart after that goal, there were nearly five minutes late for the second half. with rumours of a broken clock in the dressing room. when plated did finally continue, it was capa who got his timing is right. a massive opportunity missed. it would be proved to be costly chelsea put together the match resulting in abraham's hat—trick. em together the match resulting in abraham's hat-trick. an absolutely sensational— abraham's hat-trick. an absolutely sensational goal! _ abraham's hat-trick. an absolutely sensational goal! rugged - abraham's hat-trick. an absolutely| sensational goal! rugged teamwork from chelsea!— from chelsea! came over and apartment — from chelsea! came over and apartment penalty _ from chelsea! came over and apartment penalty should - from chelsea! came over and i apartment penalty should have from chelsea! came over and - apartment penalty should have made it more. a strike indicative of a man low on goals and low on confidence. —— timo werner. a blip for the blues and for him, a positive ending to a difficult week.

craig templeton, bbc news. brentford surprised leicester by taking an early lead — when mads sorensen put them ahead after six minutes. but the premier league side overwhelmed their championship opponents with three second half goals, james maddison completing a 3—1win. they'll face brighton next. burnley were in a happy place after a 3—0 win over top—flight opponents fulham. jay rodriguez headed homejack cork�*s cross. he got his second from the penalty spot — before kevin long got the third, in the final ten minutes. they'll face either bournemouth or crawley town in the next round. manchester united have gone to the top of the women's superleague thanks to a 2—0 win over birmingham city. leah galton put united ahead in the opening minute of the second half. ella toone sealed the win with ten minutes left. united are now three points clear of second—placed chelsea, whose match was postponed because of the weather. in the day's other game manchester city thrashed brighton 7—1. it's the second league game in a row they've scored that many. caroline weir and steph haughton both struck twice. city are up to third

because arsenal's game was also called off because of the weather. livingston have secured a place in the scottish league cup final after beating st mirren one nil. scott robinson's early header ultimately made it 11 games unbeaten under david martindale. the club reached just their second majorfinal and will play stjohnston. away from the on—field action — arsenal midfielder mesut ozil has completed his move to turkish side fenerbahce. the 32—year—old former germany international spent eight years at the emirates and won three fa cups but hasn't played for the first team in nearly a year. ozil has signed a three and a half year contract. another outstanding batting performance from england captain joe root kept his side in the second test with sri lanka in galle earlier. his side now on 339 for nine... just 42 behind the hosts going into day four. here's our sports

correspondent, joe wilson. he's one face of england cricket's winter so far. here is how the captain managed to make another 100 against sri lanka. there were lots of shots like that. you see his perfect timing when you slow it down. root had support from jos buttler. the ball was travelling for a while. sri lanka could have used an extra fielder. turn pace not built to catch. sri lanka grabbed this chance to get rid of butler. replays revealed the ball bouncing from bat to boot. it didn't hit the ground, so he was out for 55. and when were six down. —— england were six down. here is another face of the series. england depended on their captain, butjoe root was feeling the wear and tear after hours in the middle. forfor don for for don best. as england gradually neared sri lanka's score.

joe root knew the way. with this shot, another celebration. his score to 150. batting from sunrise to sunset, almost. he kept improvising, kept scoring. best felt like many others. the final minutes of the day. root forward and scribbling back. replays showed the bail coming off before his bat reached the crease. 186 and gutted. joe wilson, bbc news. so close there for root — just missing out on another double century. it was an education, and lesson in skill for others to follow — according tojos buttler, who reached his half century in galle. quite amazing endings. to back up its double hundred in the first test, both physically and mentally, showing the application to go into it again it's been a master class

for early and betting against men and it's been a great education for all of us i think watching from the sidelines and we have thoroughly enjoyed watching him to get out in that fashion at the end of the day. —— and thoroughly gutted watching him get out in that fashion. quick round up of some of the day's other sports stories and. afghanistan took a 2—0 series lead over ireland with a crushing seven—wicket win in abu dhabi. rahmat shah made a 103—ball century as the afghans chased down ireland's total of 259 with nearly five overs to spare. 0spreys beat connacht by 26 points to 20 in the pro—14. they ran in four tries, with two for rhys webb. the result giving them a sixth win in seven matches — with 0spreys third in conference a. having already won the three match series, england are playing a final game against a superleague all stars team. it got under way a few minutes ago in loughborough. england lead 4—1. england's tyrrell hatton produced a stunning final round, to win the abu dhabi championship.

it was extremely tight at the top of the leadboard at the start of the day, but hatton surged ahead with a six—under—par 66. 0vernight leader rory mcilroy finished five shots back. hatton said it was a big boost to win so early in the season, especially with ryder cup points at stake. surreal to be honest. i think even there knocking it on the 18th even seem like i won the tournament. but obviously it is amazing. i've always loved starting my season here in abu dhabi. now add my name on that trophy come with so many great champions before me, it is a huge honour. former two—weight world champion conor mcgregor was left stunned on his return to the ufc as dustin poirier claimed victory in their rematch. mcgregor came out of retirement for a third time to face poirier. and looked good in the first round, but the american came on strong in the second,

sealing a technical knockout win after a flurry of punches. the irishman said afterwards that it was a "tough one to swallow" — but conceded his opponent put on a "phenomenal performance". and... elvyn evans failed to end britain's 53 year wait for a monte carlo rally winner. he'd already surrendered the lead yesterday, to his toyota team mate and world champion sebastien 0hzhey. and the frenchman ran away with it today, winning three of the four stages. to claim a record eighth victory in the event. evans finished runner up 32 seconds behind. maybe i didn't push quite enough to really challenge him for the factory. very good this weekend. 0bviously at the home ground was still you have to drive the thing so a lot of credit them. for the team it is a fantastic start. we can be happy with the points but of course set here now you always more. hopefully next time that we can do

better. update from the fa cup clash between manchester united and liverpool at old trafford and in the last few minutes united have retaken the lead, a free kick from bruno fernandes has given them a 3—2 lead. a little less than ten minuts to go. there is a round of five minutes or so left in the game. united are up. that's all from sportsday. now, it's time for the film review. hello, and welcome to the film review with me,

mark kermode, reminding you that whilst cinemas may be closed due to lockdown, there's still plenty of new movies to be watched in the comfort and safety of your own home. in the 2014 film 99 homes, writer—director ramin bahrani focused on a single father who'd been evicted from his florida home by an unscrupulous businessman to dramatise the wider economic recession that had sent shockwaves around the world. now in his latest film, the white tiger, adapted from aravind adiga's 2008 man booker prize—winning novel, bahrani investigates a culture of servitude and inequality in modern india as seen through the eyes of a low caste villager who dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur by making himself indispensable to the rich

masters for whom he works. do you know what the internet is? no, sir. but i could drive to the market right now, sir, and get as many as you want. no, it's ok. thank you. do you have facebook? yes, sir, books, i always have books, sir. yeah, i heard you can read. have you ever seen a computer? yes, sir. actually we have many of them in the village, with the codes. very advanced to use computers. i could tell from their faces i had made a mistake. actor—musician adarsh gourav is terrific as balram, the narrator who hitches his fortunes to rajkummar rao's ashok, a young gun recently returned from america with his bride pinky, played by priyanka chopra. you are the new india, balram. i am the new india, sir. having been raised to serve, balram does everything he can for his master, including taking the rap for a drunken accident in which he played no part. but when his dedication

is thrown back in his face, balram resolves to become like the famed titular beast,