welcome to bbc news, my name's mike embley — our top stories: in my view we've already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis. we can't wait any longer. he calls it an existential threat — a warning from president biden as he signs a series of executive orders to make climate change a foreign policy and national security priority. european union officials attack astrazeneca over a shortfall in vaccine doses but fail to get the company to hand over supplies marked for the uk. how did the pandemic start? world health organization experts finally end their quarantine in wuhan, and prepare to investigate covid's origins. how the shares in one struggling online game company sparked a war with hedge funders.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. president biden has set out his plans to try to deal with climate change, describing it as an existential threat. he said the us had waited too long to confront the climate crisis, and must lead the global response. mr biden has signed a raft of executive orders, in sharp contrast with the policies of the trump administration. among them, a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on public land and making climate considerations a focus of american foreign and national security policy. our chief environment correspondentjustin rowlatt reports. if ever america needed a warning of what climate change could mean for the country, it got it last year, with record wildfires and an unprecedented series of hurricanes.

there is no time to waste, president biden said today. we can't wait any longer. we see it with our own eyes, we feel it, we know it in our bones, and it's time to act. and by appointing one of the country's most senior politicians, john kerry, as his climate envoy, joe biden is demonstrating once more that tackling climate change will be at the heart of his presidency. it is clearly one of his very top priorities. it's why he rejoined the paris agreement within hours of being sworn in as president. it's why today he's issued executive orders, mobilising every department, every agency of the united states government to focus on climate. california has experienced record droughts, as well as record fires, in recent years — evidence that even one of the richest states in the richest nation on earth can't immunise itself against the kind of weather climate change

is expected to bring. heat, cold, all of these weather patterns aren't in and of themselves that strange. it's the frequency with which they're happening, and how unpredictable everything is, and it's very difficult for a farmer. john kerry was instrumental in negotiating the landmark global climate accord in paris in 2015, when he was president obama's secretary of state. he says a key objective now is to try and persuade other nations to raise their carbon—cutting game in the run—up to the big global climate summit glasgow will be hosting in november. glasgow will be extremely important. in fact, i would say in myjudgment it is the last best chance the world has to come together in order to do the things we need to do to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis.

the uk government, as host of the glasgow conference, will be hoping mr kerry's efforts pay off. in his first interview since becoming full—time president of the summit, alok sharma says having a us administration that's really engaged on the climate issue is good news indeed. i think it's great to have the us administration back at that table on the global fight against climate change. i think what's incredibly encouraging is that, within hours of the inauguration being completed, president biden, one of the first executive orders he signed was to rejoin the paris agreement. it is only a week since the new administration took power, and it has already taken big steps to reverse trump's policies on climate, but the agenda is ambitious, and bothjoe biden and john kerry know their efforts will have to overcome opposition from within the us. justin rowlatt, bbc news. senior officials from the european union are saying

the drug company astrazeneca should honour a contract to supply vaccines by using its british factories to make up a shortfall. the european commission is angry that the company might provide the eu with up to 80 million fewer doses than it promised at first. mark lobel reports. du's rollout of the astrazeneca vaccine it hopes to approve on friday is already in doubt. the block is fuming after suggestions it may only get around a third of what it expects. pharmaceutical companies. _ expects. pharmaceutical companies, vaccine - expects. pharmaceutical- companies, vaccine developers, have moral, societal and contractual responsibilities of the needs to uphold. astrazeneca has reported production delays in the netherlands and belgium. the eu says these unaffected production sites in the uk should provide shortfall. the should provide shortfall. tue: uk factories are part of should provide shortfall. tte: uk factories are part of our advance purchase agreements and this is why they have to

deliver. this is why they have to deliver-— this is why they have to deliver. �* ~ , . ., , deliver. but astrazeneca has other customers _ deliver. but astrazeneca has other customers too, - deliver. but astrazeneca has l other customers too, including the uk. they could be affected in a tit—for—tat threat dubbed vaccine nationalism if the eu restricts exports of other vaccines made in the block to deal with the shortfall. we are very confident _ deal with the shortfall. we are very confident in _ deal with the shortfall. we are very confident in our _ very confident in our suppliers, we are very confident in our contracts and we are going to head—on that basis. we are going to head-on that basis. �* , . u, we are going to head-on that basis. ~ , . u, , basis. astrazeneca denies eu claims it is — basis. astrazeneca denies eu claims it is backtracking - basis. astrazeneca denies eu claims it is backtracking on i claims it is backtracking on its commitments in order to sell its vaccines for profit elsewhere. but as this bitter row grows, the eu wants its contract with astrazeneca, which the pharmaceutical company says was signed three months after the uk agreed to theirs, to be made public. it theirs, to be made public. tit may be that the uk has got favourable contractual terms and actually, you know, has benefited from being first in line. and actually the eu has more of a, as we have heard, a reasonable endeavours because in the contract on the part of

astrazeneca, such that it is not in such a tight contractual mechanism. not in such a tight contractual mechanism-— not in such a tight contractual mechanism. �* . , . ., , mechanism. but as eu countries suffer other _ mechanism. but as eu countries suffer other delays _ mechanism. but as eu countries suffer other delays with - mechanism. but as eu countries suffer other delays with other i suffer other delays with other vaccines, du's health commissioner says this current row shouldn't come down to first—come, first—served. he says that logic may work in the butcher's shop but not for these advance purchase agreements. mark lobel, bbc news. the first official covid briefing with president biden was better than with president trump. he helped to lead the american response. there are renewed emphasis on medical expertise comes as the situation the us starts to look more promising. since january 12, the number of people hospitalised with covid in the us has been steadily decreasing with just under us has been steadily decreasing withjust under 110,000 in with just under 110,000 in hospital. withjust under 110,000 in hospital. improving. the same story with the infection rates,

on the seventh of january, 200,000 cases a covenant in a number has now harvested just under 50,000. at their briefing, the new head of the cdc said she was encouraged by the numbers, but cautious. while the numbers, but cautious. i am encouraged by thl while i am encouraged by the strands, our case rate remains extraordinary high and now is the time to remain vigilant. if we are united in action, we can turn things around, continuing to expand safe and effective vaccination is key to ending covid—19 pandemic and wringing our country back to health. let's get some of the day's other news. there have been protests in cities across poland after the government said its controversial law introducing a near—total ban on abortions would come into force. terminations will now be allowed in poland only in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother's life is in danger. the un's refugee agency has strongly condemned what it called systematic efforts by a growing number of european states to prevent migrants

from seeking asylum. the unhcr said there were continuous reports of expulsions and of refugees being turned back at land and sea borders. un officials highlighted such practices in greece, italy, malta and croatia. the international olympic committee says it's fully committed to holding the tokyo 0lympics this summer, despite the pandemic. ioc president, thomas bach, said no—one could know what the global health situation would be in a few months' time, but efforts were being made to prepare for every possibly scenario. the boeing 737 max has been approved to return to service by eu regulators. it's already flying again in the united states. the plane was grounded nearly two years ago after flaws in its software and sensors caused two crashes that killed 346 people. across the world, comemmorations are taking place to mark holocaust memorial day. it's 76 years since the liberation of the

auschwitz—birkenau death camp in poland and at a time when survivors are unable to come together due to lockdown, this year's theme asks people to �*be the light in the darkness'. fergal keane has been speaking to three survivors of the holocaust. auschwitz today. no rituals of remembrance in the time of the pandemic. violin plays. but for the survivors, a dwindling generation, commemoration is taking place in small groups. here, at a london retirement home run by the charityjewish care. behold, god of abraham, god of mercy. open your eyes as you have opened mine. open your eyes and see what i've seen. singing. memory does not live within the boundaries of a single day.

my father, who was not a religious man, he took me by the hands — i'll neverforget this, what he said to me. "god will protect you." so then i kissed my brother and they were already there with their bayonets trying to push us apart, and i saw them leaving. and you never saw your brother again? that was it. yeah. holocaust memorial day remembers the dead, but it's also a warning for all times about the price of extremism, the bloody cost of promises built on hatred. after auschwitz, when we came back, people said, "we've learned our lesson. never again, auschwitz." that was the motto,

but look around. i think there is more discrimination, more hatred than ever before. this is a day of great absences. it took me 50 years, 5—0. i kept on and on, "i want to see a photograph of my mother." i don't know what emotions i have, really. sad. especially on days like holocaust memorial day, when families are together, and i sit there alone. singing genocide begins with the plans of powerful men. but always ends in the ruin of individual lives. millions upon millions of them. fergal keane, bbc news.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: south africans have been hit by a deadly covid variant — but are they being treated fairly over vaccines? the shuttle challenger exploded soon after lift—off. there were seven astronauts on board, one of them a woman school teacher. all of them are believed to have been killed. by the evening, tahrir square, the heart of official cairo, was in the hands of the demonstrators. they were using the word �*revolution�*. the earthquake singled out buildings and brought them down in seconds. tonight, the search for any survivors has an increasing desperation about it as the hours passed. the new government is finally in control of the entire - republic of uganda.

survivors of the auschwitz concentration camp have been commemorating the 40th anniversary of their liberation. they toured the huts, gas chambers and crematoria, and relived their horrifying experiences. oui’ our �*s this is bbc news, the latest headlines: president biden has signed a series of executive orders to tackle climate change — which he's described as an existential threat. the eu has insisted that astrazeneca come up with a clear plan to deliver on their contractual obligations to supply

covid vaccines. a team of world health organization experts investigating the origins of the pandemic are preparing to begin work in wuhan. they've been isolating in the chinese city for the last two weeks. 0ur china correspondent, stephen mcdonnell, looks at what the group of scientists will be doing in wuhan now they are out of quarantine. practically it means they can have some face—to—face they are saying they started having meetings via video link and the like they will be able to come out of quarantine, move around the city. but i'm going to make a bit of a bold prediction here and say that at the end of this visit, they are not going to come out and tell us they have discovered how the coronavirus started. that's because it is a very difficult thing to work out and the who has already been stressing how much time is going to be required,

how complex the task is. one of the things they won't be doing is even looking at the theory of a lab leak. well, if they are, it certainly isn't in any of the documents i have seen associated with this trip. it is more like examining the possibility that this virus jumps from some sort of animal, maybe via an intermediary animal, and then into humans. another thing they won't be doing is their own research. what it mostly is a trip looking out the work that has already been done by chinese scientists and then trying to map out where the holes might be to try and see, 0k, what else needs to be done to get back to the origins of this coronavirus. they have even said that after wuhan, naturally, it started here because this is where the first clusters were, where the outbreak started. but actually, the scientists are saying, in theory, it could have come from somewhere else. so they are not ruling out the possibility that after this trip, they will go to another chinese city or even another country to try and get to the bottom of the origins of this virus. now that obviously makes the chinese government very happy to hear language like that because that is the line that is being pushed quite a bit by the communist party. we have even had a foreign ministry spokesman here saying

that it definitely came from overseas. either way, we have had politicians and government officials, especially from the us and china throwing mud at each other over this issue, spreading conspiracy theories over the coronavirus, what many will be hoping though is that this group of scientists can somehow get above the clamour of the politics and find a way to discover what the real origins of this debilitating virus have been. but really, it's not going to be easy and it's not going to be quick. south africa has called for a fairer global distribution of covid19 vaccines, telling the bbc that britain and other wealthier nations won't be safe until "everyone is safe." britain has moved to restrict travellers from south africa, because of an aggressive new mutation of the virus there. but one of south africa's top

scientists has described the move as "silly." 0ur africa correspondent andrew harding reports from johannesburg. live samples of covid—19 handled in a secure south african laboratory. scientists here are racing to understand more about a sudden surge of mutations. the virus has already become far more infectious. there are signs it may also have at least some resistance to current vaccines. when we look at the 501yv2 variant. �* ~ variant. but south africa's leadin: variant. but south africa's leading covid-19 - variant. but south africa's leading covid-19 expert i variant. but south africa's i leading covid-19 expert has leading covid—19 expert has told me his biggest concern is the virus is mutating so fast. we will see this occurring much more commonly, that's the message, and if it's going to occur more commonly, we're going to have to ensure that

our vaccines are able to utilise them because if they are not, that means we are back to square one. are not, that means we are back to square one-— are not, that means we are back to square one. right now, south african hospitals _ to square one. right now, south african hospitals are _ to square one. right now, south african hospitals are battling - african hospitals are battling a huge second wave of infections driven by the new mutations but scientists who have criticised today's move by britain to restrict travellers from south africa, saying there is no point in singling out countries or even regions. t countries or even regions. i find it almost like silly, is trying to block a country because we know how fast this virus spreads and how many places. 50 virus spreads and how many laces. ,y y., , places. so by the time you try to block visitors _ places. so by the time you try to block visitors from - places. so by the time you try to block visitors from one - to block visitors from one country, it's too late? that's what the _ country, it's too late? that's what the pandemic - country, it's too late? that's what the pandemic shows. l country, it's too late? that's i what the pandemic shows. and there is another _ what the pandemic shows. and there is another key point that south africa is making today about the rollout of vaccines, urging richer nations not to be selfish, not to hoard supplies because if that happens, of i straw remain free keep

circulating and mutating and threatening all of us. so fundamentally, there is a mistaken belief by some countries that they can vaccinate their populations and they will be safe. it vaccinate their populations and they will be safe.— they will be safe. it simply is not true- _ they will be safe. it simply is not true. in _ they will be safe. it simply is not true. in this _ they will be safe. it simply is not true. in this world - they will be safe. it simply is not true. in this world that l they will be safe. it simply is| not true. in this world that we live in, with this coronavirus, no—one is safe, until everyone is safe. in no-one is safe, until everyone is safe. ., , ., is safe. in the world show the kind of unity? _ is safe. in the world show the kind of unity? here _ is safe. in the world show the kind of unity? here in - is safe. in the world show the kind of unity? here in south | kind of unity? here in south africa, more than 100,000 deaths are now being linked to the pandemic. a fast mutating virus requires an aggressive and collective global response. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. wall street became a battleground this week — with a fight between an army of small investors on social media versus the big hedge funds. the day traders connected on sites like reddit — realising that big—time investors had placed bets on the stocks of poorly performing companies, predicting they would

lose their value. and that's where the video game retailer, gamestop comes in. already suffering from the shift to online shopping, it's been badly hit by the pandemic and it's closed 800 stores in the last two years. at the start of the year it was an unlikely contender for hottest stock of 2021, it was worth less than $20 dollars. this week as the reddit army piled in — the price is now well above $300. so is this a victory for the little guy? let's speak to michael goodman who's founder and president of wealthstream advisors. i know you are a busy man and you've been waiting a while to come on out for us, so thank you for that. from the outside, this looks kind of quite entertaining, like a sort of fantasy gambling but there are real—world consequences for this? real-world consequences for this? ., ., , . this? no doubt. there are real-world _ this? no doubt. there are real-world consequences. this? no doubt. there are l real-world consequences. it real—world consequences. it will be very interesting to see other regulators handle this and whether or not the little guy gets to continue to push around some of the big guys. how is this working?-

around some of the big guys. how is this working? well, it's workin: , how is this working? well, it's working. you _ how is this working? well, it's working, you have _ how is this working? well, it's working, you have a _ how is this working? well, it's working, you have a stock- how is this working? well, it'sj working, you have a stock that probably not having a lot of volume typically, a lot of trading volume, and have massive amounts of people pushing the stock higher by buying it a regular basis where typically there is just not a lot of trading going on in a stock like this.— lot of trading going on in a stock like this. and i guess ou've stock like this. and i guess you've got. _ stock like this. and i guess you've got. to _ stock like this. and i guess you've got, to some - stock like this. and i guess| you've got, to some degree stock like this. and i guess i you've got, to some degree of least, day traders who perhaps spent quite a lot of time on social media wanting to give a bloodied nose to some wall street fatcats? trio bloodied nose to some wall street fatcats?— bloodied nose to some wall street fatcats? no doubt, no doubt. street fatcats? no doubt, no doubt- i'm — street fatcats? no doubt, no doubt. i'm sure _ street fatcats? no doubt, no doubt. i'm sure the - street fatcats? no doubt, no doubt. i'm sure the disparity| doubt. i'm sure the disparity of equality and wealth around the world is sort of spurring this a bit. wall street has been a bit of a punching bag for different reasons over many years, there is no question about that stop i think we have sort of two different scenarios here. what's going on in a fuelled engagement of fire right now and then of course, there are real day traders who actually do this on a regular basis and unfortunately we are also probably seeing some people who think they can get in on this and make some quick

money. they might, but they might also lose a lot of money. it is scary for some. what are you staying to normal investors, steer clear? that is the most _ investors, steer clear? that is the most important _ investors, steer clear? that is the most important messagel investors, steer clear? that is i the most important message and yes, steer clear. if you're a long—term investor, stay far away from this because this is not investing. i don't even know if it's called gambling. you just don't know, it's like trying to catch the falling knife and what you want to do here if you are a long—term investor, stated course in your diversified portfolio, holding thousands of stock, just a handful of very volatile small stock. i handful of very volatile small stock. ~ ., . , ., , stock. i know that shorting is alwa s a stock. i know that shorting is always a high-risk _ stock. i know that shorting is always a high-risk game. - stock. i know that shorting is| always a high-risk game. are always a high—risk game. are some of the big hitters taking about it, getting a bloodied nose? ~ ., about it, getting a bloodied nose? . ., , nose? we saw one big hedge fund that had to _ nose? we saw one big hedge fund that had to get — nose? we saw one big hedge fund that had to get bailed _ nose? we saw one big hedge fund that had to get bailed out - that had to get bailed out recently so it seems quite real, it's almost shocking to see this be able to happen. and thatis see this be able to happen. and that is a scary game but a lot of these hedge funds, they have the ability to make lots of

money so it doesn't surprise me that it's possible that they would lose money. we've seen this happen in the past with long—term capital management and other sort of respectable hedge funds get beat up maybe not because of something by this but markets moving quickly in another direction. shill this but markets moving quickly in another direction.— in another direction. all of this is unlikely _ in another direction. all of this is unlikely to - in another direction. all of this is unlikely to end - in another direction. all of this is unlikely to end withj this is unlikely to end with gamestop, isn't it? do you see echoes of the tech bubble in 2000? �* , , echoes of the tech bubble in 2000? �*, , hh~. 2000? it's funny, back and then there were _ 2000? it's funny, back and then there were different _ 2000? it's funny, back and then there were different things - there were different things going on, we didn't have the ability to trade stocks the way we can today with an app on the phone and $10 but i do feel that things are a little bit 1999, there are some familiarity is and i would say most of the familiarity is come from individuals. you have individuals that never owned individuals that never owned individual stocks, maybe not gamestop, maybe some bigger companies, those getting into the mix that historically would never want to do that and some arejust wanting to never want to do that and some are just wanting to enjoy the race and the insight ——

excitement of what is going on but this is not where you would take your retirement account and long—term family money or kids through college. and long-term family money or kids through college.— kids through college. thank ou. apple has hit another sales record with reported revenues of more than $110 billion in the last three months of 2020, a rise of 21% on the same period last year. the gains come as consumers are confined to their homes during the pandemic, driving work, shopping and leisure activities increasingly online. the new 5g—enabled iphone 12 also boosted sales. the french sailor charlie dalin has become the first competitor to complete the gruelling vendee globe round the world yacht race. dalin crossed the finish line at les sables d'0lonne in france after eighty days and six hours at sea. the vendee competitors have covered nearly twenty—five

—— 25,000 nautical miles since setting off in november. some of dalin's closest rivals could yet snatch victory. hello there. a bit of the weather tussle going on in the skies above the uk of the next few days between cold air to the north and east of us in milder air to the south and west. during the next 2a hours, the milder air will come through for many but on this dividing line going to see quite an active weather system and that's going to produce on one side pretty heavy rainfall. 0n the colder side of our weather system the hills of northern england, southern scotland and into central and northern scotland we could see significant snow which could have an impact on some of the higher road. it's here where we start the day. coldest of all.

maybe temperatures as low as —6 degrees compared to 10 or 11 in parts of cornwall. there is the dividing line that area of rain, sleet and hill snow through the morning rush hour pushing its way northwards. drying out and brightening up to the song. quite misty and murky underneath that weather front but you can see that it's on the higher site were more likely to see the snow. that rain—sleet—snow mix is going to hang around across parts of central scotland moving into northern scotland as we go through the day. skies will brighten between england and wales mostly misty and murky in the north but with sunnier skies is to live a bit of a breeze. it can be incredibly mild average is up to 1a degrees stay nice and dry. should stay dry and brighter much of the day for another batch of rain comes through thursday evening for that rain rather than snow. milder air snow continues

to fall in northern parts of scotland. some heavy, thundery showers into the first part of friday morning. we've still got those north—south contrast as far as temperatures are concerned. widespread frost in the far north of scotland where you've got some snow and icy conditions to start. that will still be there on friday morning. rain across southern scotland, northern england fizzling out. a few heavy, maybe thundery showers across the south but a bit of sunshine through friday. temperatures still in double figures in the south but the colder air starting to fight its way back. it will continue to try and push back as we go into the weekend. notice how it's pushing its way southwards. this swirl here is an indication of a weather system which could bring another mix of rain, sleet and snow on saturday across england and wales head of a potential another one late on sunday.

this is bbc news, the headlines: president biden has signed a series of executive orders to tackle climate change which he's described as an existential threat. mr biden designated it a national security priority and said the us must lead the global response. among new measures announced is a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on public land. the row between the pharmaceutical company astrazeneca and the european union over a shortage of coronavirus vaccines has escalated. the eu's health commissioner has insisted that astrazeneca come up with a clear plan to deliver on their contractual obligations to supply vaccines. a team of world health organization experts in wuhan are to begin investigating the origins of the pandemic. they've been isolating in the chinese city for the last two weeks — and will study research institutes, hospitals and the seafood market linked to the initial outbreak. now on bbc news, wednesday in parliament.