this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the number of covid—19 cases in the united states passes 25 million, with the number of deaths soaring to nearly 418,000. 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. israel announces it will ban incoming flights from monday evening until the end ofjanuary — in order to try and contain the spread of coronavirus. some enjoy the wintry conditions — as snow and ice sweep across the uk — but severe weather warnings

are in place for many areas. and celebrations in china, as 11 gold miners who'd been trapped underground for two weeks are rescued. hello and welcome to the programme. we begin in the us, which has now recorded more than 25 million cases of coronavirus. that's according to thejohns hopkins university that's tracking the virus. it's the hardest—hit country in the world, with more than a18,000 people dying with the disease so far. new presidentjoe biden has signed executive orders to expand testing and vaccine distribution, increase the production of essential equipment, and guarantee unemployment benefits, as part of his covid action plan

to try get on top of the virus. i'm joined now by our correspodent, nomia iqbal, in washington. so, we have seen a couple of the measures he is laying out. this is a huge task facing joe biden now. it really is, and he knows it. and he has said he believes that the pandemic is going to get worse before it gets better. he has signed around ten executive orders you laid out to try and tackle the pandemic, especially now you have this grim milestone of 25 million cases, that comes days after more than fun —— more than 400,000 people have died. but there needs to be more done and he knows that. so one of the key things he will try to push through is a package which is worth more than $1 trillion through congress. among some of those things, as well as providing a well —— a one—off check to americans, increasing the rate at which americans are

vaccinated. he wants 100 million to be vaccinated within the first 100 days and you need to money for that to happen. and the fear is that with the coronavirus, it could mutate into a strain that all these approved vaccinations so far could resist. so that is a huge concern. it is a bit of a race against time at the moment. figs it is a bit of a race against time at the moment.— it is a bit of a race against time at the moment. as if there isn't enou:h at the moment. as if there isn't enough to _ at the moment. as if there isn't enough to do — at the moment. as if there isn't enough to do right _ at the moment. as if there isn't enough to do right now, - at the moment. as if there isn't enough to do right now, of- at the moment. as if there isn't i enough to do right now, of course, what biden and congress will have to deal with at the same time as this is the impeachment of president trump. is the impeachment of president trum -. ., �* , is the impeachment of president trum -. . �* , ., trump. that's right. the trial doesnt trump. that's right. the trial doesn't begin _ trump. that's right. the trial doesn't begin for— trump. that's right. the trial doesn't begin for another - trump. that's right. the trial. doesn't begin for another couple trump. that's right. the trial- doesn't begin for another couple of weeks, but tomorrow, the articles of impeachment will be sent to the senate in which donald trump is accused of inciting an insurrection and was responsible for the deadly fire ants swizzle at capitol hill in january the 6th. it him two weeks to prepare for his defence. —— the deadly violence. the democrats need

17 republicans on side to convict mr trump in the senate. it will be interesting to see if that happens because there are some republicans who backed mr trump and they realise he is still a hugely important influentialfigure in he is still a hugely important influential figure in the he is still a hugely important influentialfigure in the party. and what the democrats ultimately want to do is stop him from running in office again. but they know that whilst his trial is going on, they have nominees as well to confirm so it will be a lot of stuff to do in the next few months for the democrats.— the next few months for the democrats. �* , ., ., democrats. and in between all that, joe biden has _ democrats. and in between all that, joe biden has been _ democrats. and in between all that, joe biden has been making - democrats. and in between all that, joe biden has been making his- democrats. and in between all that, joe biden has been making his calls| joe biden has been making his calls to other world leaders which happens every time there is a new incoming president. already spoken to prime minister borisjohnson and now emmanuel macron of france. minister boris johnson and now emmanuel macron of france. that's ri . ht, emmanuel macron of france. that's riaht, he emmanuel macron of france. that's right. he had _ emmanuel macron of france. that's right. he had his — emmanuel macron of france. that's right, he had his conversation - emmanuel macron of france. that's right, he had his conversation with. right, he had his conversation with him. it is obviously the traditional thing to do and all leaders want to get in with the us president as quickly as possible. in the phone call, president biden talked about

strengthening the bilateral ties and bolstering transatlantic cooperation when it comes to nato and the european union. and it is not surprising that is happening because joe biden understands that post—3 macro, european leaders look at america quite differently. —— after trump. they may be realise they can't rely on america and have looked to other countries for that. joe biden wants to reset those relationships. after winning the election, the first thing he said was, america is back. he wants to reassert american�*s authority in the world. and let european leaders know that washington is still very valuable partner for them. that washington is still very valuable partnerfor them. so i am not saying that is necessarily what they talked about on the phone call, but that is certainly what he will be hoping, that message he will hope to get out to the rest of the world, especially european leaders. {lila especially european leaders. ok, thanks. the uk health secretary, matt hancock, says 77 cases

of the south african variant of coronavirus have been found here in the uk, but they can all be linked to international travel, and there's no evidence it's spreading in the community. matt hancock also said we are a "long way" from covid restrictions being eased, as scientists warn vaccinated people may still be able to pass on the virus. 0ur science editor, david shukman, reports. all kinds of surprising locations are now mobilised in the push for vaccination — even the black country living museum, near birmingham. used as a set in the drama peaky blinders, this celebration of an earlier age is ready to offer the most modern of medicines, everything prepared for coronavirus vaccines. please, please come and get your vaccine. we are here and we are ready and we are waiting for you. it is vitally important that people protect themselves, protect their families and protect one another. we do know that the injections offer good protection. they boost antibodies in the bloodstream and keep people from getting ill.

but it's not clear if that stops the virus causing infections that can then spread to others. there is some evidence from the astrazeneca vaccine trial, and that did show that a small number were indeed positive for sars—cov—z, despite having no symptoms whatsoever and having had the vaccine. now, it was very small numbers and really hard to see a statistically meaningful result. and another concern is how the virus is changing. a variant in south africa is one of several being checked to see how effective the vaccines are against it. there are 77 known cases of the south african - variant here in the uk. they are under very close - observation, and we have enhanced contact tracing to do everything we possibly can to stop - them from spreading. the majority of those i have had contact with, or come from, south africa, . and that is why we've got such stringent border measures in place.

so, a big question is how to manage the uk's borders. many countries require travellers to quarantine in hotels. there's pressure on the government for stricter controls. on monday, we got this delayed announcement, yet again delayed. we would fully expect the government to bring in tougher quarantine measures, we would expect them to roll out a proper testing strategy, and we would expect them as well to start checking up on the people who are quarantining. only three out of every hundred people who are asked to quarantine when they arrive in the uk actually faces any checks at all. that's just simply not sufficient. and meanwhile, not everyone is getting the message. the police broke up an illegal rave in east london in the early hours and they issued fines totalling £15,000. david shukman, bbc news. israel has announced a week—long ban on most incoming and outgoing flights, to slow the spread of

the new coronavirus variants. the measure will come into force tomorrow night. exceptions will be made for cargo and firefighting flights, as well as trips for medical treatments, funerals and legal procedures. since the rollout of covid vaccines one month ago, israel has vaccinated just over 27% of its population. the german government is reported to have bought a supply of regeneron — the experimental antibodies treatment credited with helping donald trump recoverfrom covid—19. the country's health minister said germany would start deploying the drug next week, the first european union country to do so. it's hoped it will work like a passive vaccination, helping to protect high—risk patients in the early stage against a serious deterioration. peter hotez is an epidemiologist, and the founding dean of the baylor college of medicine. hejoins me now from texas. thank you for coming on the programme. so what do you make of this decision by germany? yes. programme. so what do you make of this decision by germany?— this decision by germany? yes, i think it is fine, _

this decision by germany? yes, i think it is fine, it _ this decision by germany? yes, i think it is fine, it is _ this decision by germany? yes, i think it is fine, it is for— this decision by germany? yes, i think it is fine, it is for people i think it is fine, it is for people in the early stages of covid—19 who we think might be at great risk of severe illness. 0lder we think might be at great risk of severe illness. older individuals, those with co—morbid conditions, underlying conditions. it gives you the antibodies that you would ordinary get through a vaccination, but it could take six weeks for the two immunisations and a week or two afterwards for the antibodies to again and this allows you to give it now with the reduced severity of illness. , , , ., , illness. sorry, but why not 'ust cive the illness. sorry, but why not 'ust give the vaccine in i illness. sorry, but why not 'ust give the vaccine in that i illness. sorry, but why notjust give the vaccine in that case? | illness. sorry, but why notjust - give the vaccine in that case? once ou are give the vaccine in that case? once you are already _ give the vaccine in that case? once you are already infected, _ give the vaccine in that case? once you are already infected, the - you are already infected, the vaccine would take six weeks to have an effect so once you are infected, you need something now, you need to get those neutralising antibodies into your system immediately. it is a question. that is what the antibody does. the problem with it as it is expensive, number one, and you have to give it quite early on in the course of the infection. and

there is a limited availability. but if you are in one of those at risk categories, it is good to get the antibody treatment. part categories, it is good to get the antibody treatment.— antibody treatment. part of the roblem antibody treatment. part of the problem with — antibody treatment. part of the problem with it _ antibody treatment. part of the problem with it its _ antibody treatment. part of the problem with it its it _ antibody treatment. part of the problem with it its it is - antibody treatment. part of the problem with it its it is quite i problem with it its it is quite expensive, so this is not an option available for every country. yes. expensive, so this is not an option available for every country. yes, it is hard to make _ available for every country. yes, it is hard to make a _ available for every country. yes, it is hard to make a luck— available for every country. yes, it is hard to make a luck to - available for every country. yes, it is hard to make a luck to vets, - available for every country. yes, it | is hard to make a luck to vets, they are only purchasing around 200,000 doses and the way things are going in germany, that is about the number of cases they will have in a week —— hard to make a lot of it. they will have to prioritise those they are the most concerned about in the early stages of infection. if you wait too long to give it, there is inflammatory response and it has very little impact. pare inflammatory response and it has very little impact.— inflammatory response and it has very little impact. are there other reliable treatments _ very little impact. are there other reliable treatments like _ very little impact. are there other reliable treatments like this - very little impact. are there other reliable treatments like this other countries could or should be looking at while they are waiting for everyone to be 100% vaccinated? yes. everyone to be 100% vaccinated? yes, so far, everyone to be 10096 vaccinated? yes, so far, the small _ everyone to be 10096 vaccinated? yes, so far, the small molecule _ everyone to be 100% vaccinated? ye: so far, the small molecule drugs have not really panned out as well as we would like so there is another antibody treatment and there will be others to follow. so i think we will hopefully come at the other problem

is going to be what you do about low and middle income countries who don't have access to this. so there will be a priority in terms of trying to scale it to the point where it could be used for some of the low and middle—income nations and that is going to a priority. peter hotez, it is great to have you won, as always, thank you. —— to have you here. won, as always, thank you. -- to have you here-— exit polls in portugal suggest another term for president marcelo rebelo de sousa. the country took to the polls earlier, in spite of a national coronavirus lockdown. i'm joined now by our correspondent, alison roberts, in lisbon. what do expect to happen there? under half the votes counted so far and marcelo rebelo de suarez is on 64% of the vote. exit polls put him on a little less, almost 60%. that is upon his vote five years ago which was 52%. so he is looking good. it is not yet clear who has

come second and third, whether it is the former european parliament socialist member ana gomes or the leader of the populist cheda party, andre ventura. that is not clear. we will have to wait for the results from the bigger cities, lisbon and porto. what kind of leader is he? he is a conservative, centre—right, a former leader of the social democratic party which, despite its name, is on the centre—right, and is currently in opposition. despite that and it being an opposition party, the governing socialist party and socialist government didn't back any other candidates, not even that socialist member ana gomes, because they have been getting on pretty well with him for the last five years and there has been a little bit of friction in recent weeks to do with the government's handling of the pandemic, which has been very bad of late. we had just a new record figure for deaths in one day, 175. and another 11,000 new

confirmed cases. so there has been criticism he himself has not criticised the government, though. so we may see more of that if this victory is confirmed. in general. but he is very much somebody who looks for a consensus across the political spectrum, looks for a consensus across the politicalspectrum, not looks for a consensus across the political spectrum, notjust looks for a consensus across the political spectrum, not just with the socialist government. so i think in the circumstances of such a big pandemic and crisis as a result of it, there is going to be more of that from him if this is confirmed. very quickly, reminders when exactly we expect to know for sure.— we expect to know for sure. probably a coule we expect to know for sure. probably a couple of — we expect to know for sure. probably a couple of hours _ we expect to know for sure. probably a couple of hours from _ we expect to know for sure. probably a couple of hours from now. - we expect to know for sure. probably a couple of hours from now. there i a couple of hours from now. there are one million emigrants register to vote, but not all of those will have done and those votes will not all be counted tonight, butjust from the results from portugal itself, it should be pretty clear in the next couple of hours.- the next couple of hours. great stuff, the next couple of hours. great stuff. thanks. _ the next couple of hours. great stuff, thanks, alison. - the headlines on bbc news: the number of covid—19 cases in the united states passes 25 million — with the death toll soaring to nearly 418,000.

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. some enjoy the wintry conditions — as snow and ice sweep across the uk — but severe weather warnings are in place for many areas. sport, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's... john. bruno fernandez settled the game today with a brilliant free kick after liverpool levelled at 2—2. patrick geary was watching. the noise you hear might be recorded, the fans might seem a little flat, but this is a fixture that could never feel empty. but this is a fixture that could neverfeel empty. there is something on every game, every pass, every

goal. especially that one from liverpool's most seller who was —— his side's there since the last round, ending a dryjanuary. manchester united are the league leaders and they have marcus rashford, a man of vision who spotted mason greenwood, who slotted the equaliser. greenwood isjust 19, the equaliser. greenwood isjust19, the equaliser. greenwood isjust19, the same age as liverpool's rhys williams, still learning sometimes the hard way. after williams missed this, he would know rashford was not going to come to— one. jurgen klopp hoped this game would reignite his team, sometimes the switch only flag when you force it. liverpool lit an old flame, extinguished by magic. bruno fernandes was signed year ago this week precisely to do things like this, so a rivalry built on close geography sustained by a competitive history is sustained by individual quality. the manchester united manager was

full of praise for the scorer of the winning goal, bruno fernandes. goad winning goal, bruno fernandes. good coal, ureat winning goal, bruno fernandes. good goal. great free _ winning goal, bruno fernandes. good goal, great free kick, _ winning goal, bruno fernandes. (13mm goal, great free kick, when you leave him out like i had to do this time, i think he stayed about 45 minutes after the training yesterday shooting free kick so i was quite confident he would hit the target. so he is never happy with me when i tell him to go inside when he is playing the day after so he got some time to practise. salsa playing the day after so he got some time to practise.— time to practise. also today, a hat-trick from _ time to practise. also today, a hat-trick from tammy - time to practise. also today, a | hat-trick from tammy abraham time to practise. also today, a - hat-trick from tammy abraham sent hat—trick from tammy abraham sent chelsea through to the fifth round after beating luton 3—1 in the early kick—off, taking some of the heat from the blues and manager frank lampard. abraham with two goals in the first half. before chelsea keeper —— the chelsea keeper had a moment to forget, letting in jordan,�*s same effort. abraham making the game safe in the second half with his hat—trick and they take on barnsley next. england had their captainjoe rick to thank for another sensational innings in sri lanka, his 186 on day three of the 2nd test keeps them in

contention. he was dismissed on the final ball of the day, his heroics helping his side to 339—9, leaving them 42 runs behind. just butler reached his half—century in england's innings and said the captain led by example.- england's innings and said the captain led by example. quite an amazin: captain led by example. quite an amazing innings, _ captain led by example. quite an amazing innings, to _ captain led by example. quite an amazing innings, to back- captain led by example. quite an amazing innings, to back up - captain led by example. quite an amazing innings, to back up his l amazing innings, to back up his double 100 in the first test both physically and mentally to show the 3pp, physically and mentally to show the app, to go and do it again today, it has been a masterclass really. it has been a masterclass really. it has been a great education for all of us watching on from the sidelines. and we thoroughly enjoyed watching him and gutted for him to get out in that fashion at the end of the day. get out in that fashion at the end of the day-— get out in that fashion at the end oftheda. ~ , of the day. mightily disappointed he did not see out _ of the day. mightily disappointed he did not see out the _ of the day. mightily disappointed he did not see out the day _ of the day. mightily disappointed he did not see out the day in _ of the day. mightily disappointed he did not see out the day in the - of the day. mightily disappointed he did not see out the day in the end, | did not see out the day in the end, but brilliant performance from joe root. that is all the spot for now and you can follow the latest on the bbc sport website including the green bay packers against the tampa bay buccaneers for a place in super bowl lv, tom brady at the age of 43

hoping to reach yet another super bowl. for now, that is all from me. thanks, john. the scottish national party has laid out what it calls a "roadmap" to a new independence referendum. the plan has been shared with the party's national assembly and could lead to a legal showdown with borisjohnson�*s westminster government, which opposes another referendum. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, spoke to andrew marr this morning. he's frightened of democracy. the polls now show that a majority of people in scotland want independence. if the snp win the scottish election in a few months�* time on a proposition of giving the people that choice, then what democrat could rightly stand in the way of that? boris johnson clearly just fears the verdict and the will of the scottish people. 0ur scotland political editor, glenn campbell, has this analysis. well, it's long been the snp's plan a to win the next holyrood election due in may as convincingly as it can, and if there's a majority for independence

in the scottish parliament to watch uk opposition to another referendum crumble. the trouble with that is the current uk government shows no sign of agreeing to what's called indyref 2. and as borisjohnson�*s resistance has appeared to harden, critics of nicola sturgeon�*s leadership within the snp have demanded she sets out a plan b. that's what we have now — the idea that if the snp continues in government, it will press ahead with legislation for an independence referendum, even without uk consent, and be prepared to defend that in court, in the unlikely event of a legal challenge. the snp, to be clear, say they would only actually hold a referendum if it was certified as legal and after the pandemic, but the conservatives say this is just the wrong priority. the entire focus, they say, should

be on recovery from coronavirus. but with opinion polls suggesting support for both the snp and independence is strong, expect a lot more political tension to come over this. let's return to one of our top stories... the united states has now recorded more than 25 million coronavirus cases. it's the hardest hit country in the world, with more than 418,000 people dying with the disease so far. joining us now from the city of atlanta in the us state of georgia is dr jesse 0'shea. he's an infectious disease expert at emory university. thank you. joe biden has outlined his plan, his measures he is putting in place, how much of a difference do you think realistically they will be able to make?— do you think realistically they will be able to make? well, first, i want to reiterate — be able to make? well, first, i want to reiterate coronavirus, _ be able to make? well, first, i want to reiterate coronavirus, covid-19 i to reiterate coronavirus, covid—19 doesn't care about political party or who is president of the united

states. all it cares about is finding a host and replicating and infecting. so that is an important segment to say. the second part is what president biden is doing is putting an emphasis on bringing science back into the forefront of this pandemic and trusting our public health officials. so i do thinkjust by simply that, by having a clear communication and putting science back in the forefront would bring a lot of ease and curbing some of the cases by having a building that trust. presidentjoe biden�*s plan is really seven points and it will take time to go through and implement each one of these points and it also requires funding. so there is a lot to be said that will need to happen.— there is a lot to be said that will need to happen. there is a lot to be said that will need to hauen. , ., , need to happen. sorry to “ump in, we did earlier outline h need to happen. sorry to “ump in, we did earlier outline some _ need to happen. sorry tojump in, we did earlier outline some of _ need to happen. sorry tojump in, we did earlier outline some of the - did earlier outline some of the measures he is taking and is it not the fact it is nowjust about measures he is taking and is it not the fact it is now just about the vaccine and until that is rolled out

to a significant level, it is already too late for these measures? not necessarily. i mean, these cases, they are extraordinary the amount of cases in the united states and we still struggle with the simple measures of wearing a mask, being socially distant and not aggregating in huge public settings, we are still struggling with this. but i agree with you and really the president for that matter that vaccine roll—out needs to be a priority. the way we have been treating the vaccine roll—out is at a snail�*s pace so far and we need to treat it as though we are at war with covid—19 and mobilise every resource possible to get vaccines into people's arms, there is no more excuses come out we have to do this. we really appreciate you coming on, drjesse 0'shea, thank you so much. thank you for having me. in china, 11 gold miners saw daylight today for the first time in two weeks

after an incredible rescue. they were part of a group of 22 people trapped underground after an explosion. last week, rescuers at the mine in shandoong warned the men might have to wait another two weeks before they could be reached. but on sunday, they were bought to the surface. 0ur correspondent steve mcdonell has more. after two weeks trapped underground, he took his first breath of air above the mine. his eyes masked against the glaring light, his gratitude to be alive overwhelming. one of 11 miners rescued today, after a dramatic change in fortune. the first miner out prompted cheers. he was barely conscious, after being found still alive but separated from the main group, which had been receiving food and medicine. soon, others were emerging. there were injuries, but many could walk, with the assistance of those who'd been battling through freezing conditions night after night to reach them. translation: the rescuers checked the miners to see l if they had any injuries and covered their eyes for protection. after lifting up all

the trapped miners, we'll go on with the search for the missing ones. an initial delay of 30 hours in reporting the accident led to the sacking of local officials. then a week later, miners were discovered alive — and a long, thin communication tunnel meant emergency deliveries. one of the main group died from his head injuries and they lost contact with their colleague, trapped below. with underground water rising, it was looking grim when officials said it would take 14 more days to dig a rescue tunnel through 600 metres of granite. but somehow, a large ventilation shaft was cleared which led all the way to them and, within hours, they were being rescued and on their way to hospital. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing. it's been one of the big unanswered questions about covid. why do some people get really sick and others show no symptoms at all?

a team at cambridge university has been trying to answer it by looking for clues in the blood. 0ur science correspondent, richard westcott, went to see why do some people get really sick with covid, whilst others are fine? and could the answer lie in our blood? for months, researchers at cambridge university have been comparing the blood of hundreds of covid patients. some of those patients were hospitalised, others had no symptoms at all. and the researchers could see significant differences. we found that the patients who did well had evidence of an early robust immune response to sars—cov—2, and no evidence of inflammation associated with that — at least, in the blood. in contrast, in people who went on to do badly and who were admitted to hospital, they had a slower response to the virus itself, but enhanced evidence of inflammation. and we saw that, importantly, at the very first blood test we took, often within a couple

of days of symptom onset. inflammation happens when your body sends in the troops to attack invaders, like a virus. but if the immune system overreacts, sending in too many troops, the excess inflammation can make you very ill. so, the people who get very sick, am i right in thinking it's not actually, weirdly, the virus that's making them very sick, it's their body's response to the virus? so, effectively, their body is attacking itself? so, that's effectively true. clearly, the viral infection kicks the whole thing off, but what causes the damage that results, for example, in admission to intensive care is an uncontrolled and excessive inflammatory response — initiated by the virus, but that seems to be sustained in people who do badly. so, the virus might have gone, and your immune system's still attacking your body? certainly, and it appears that the virus is cleared from most patients by the time they're doing badly, if they're on intensive care, for example. so, i guess a key question is, how can you use this information? can you, say, develop a test that people could take so they would know

if they're going to get very sick or not? probably not, based on the evidence we've got, and that's because by the time we see people after they've developed symptoms who are going to get very sick, they're already on their way to getting very sick. but what i think this tells us is that if we are going to try and prevent the development of inflammation early, we have to be treating patients much, much earlier than we thought. it's still early days, but these findings could help us improve treatments and understand the long—term effects of this disease. so, i think the key thing for us now is to keep following this group of patients who we recruited back a year ago, to study the recovery of their immune responses and their immune systems. and we certainly know that by three to four months, there are still profound abnormalities in the immune systems, even of patients who have ostensibly got well and gone home. and the question is, do those abnormalities recover, or are they persistent? and what does that mean, in

the context of so—called long—covid? richard wescott, bbc news, cambridge. today's snowfall in affected four vaccination centres in wales, which had to be closed. travel has been disrupted in many parts of the uk, but some have been out enjoying the snow. from surrey, simonjones reports on your marks, get set, go! a race to get out into the open air, after weeks cooped up inside during lockdown. ijust think it's so important for the soul to get out, enjoy the outdoors when you can. it means literally the world to me because coronavirus has been really hard for people now. these hills in surrey resembled a ski resort, as families came out for their permitted daily exercise. that's despite the met office issuing a severe warning of dangerous conditions underfoot and on the roads. in many places, there have been treacherous driving conditions. the snow has fallen on ground that was already freezing and, in many cases, saturated after days of rainfall.

it's meant that many people have come up here by foot. a gritting lorry overturned in devon, as drivers were warned only to travel if absolutely necessary. the flakes came down thick and fast across large swathes of the uk. this was a snowy scene in newport. four coronavirus vaccination centres in south wales were forced to shut. the met office says by the middle of the week, the cold and wintry conditions will give way to wet and windy ones, leading to fears of flooding. simon jones, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather, with nick miller. hello. still some very difficult conditions on the roads this evening, if you have to be travelling, particularly into the midlands. the snow will eventually clear away southwards tonight. the last of it clearing the far south—east in the early hours, turning very icy behind that. and with these wintry showers that pep up across northern scotland as the night goes on. —7, —8, could be yours, with the deepest snow in the midlands. we start off on monday morning with a widespread frost, widespread ice,

too so still treacherous on untreated roads, pavements, again if you have to be out