to christmas time and i thought, well, i've got to follow through with this and turn up to a trial. so there was never a day where i woke up and thought, this is it, this is going to happen, ijust kind of kept going. how much care do you have to take in changing the way you train and what do you do, what's the difference now? i think i'm still discovering that. because this path is a bit untrodden, then i'm kind of going through it for the first time and having to learn the hard way a little bit. do you have that dream — the podium, the moment? is that in your head? before london and before rio, it was gold or nothing. it felt like the most important thing in the world, being on top of that podium and this time round, i can honestly say that my big picture is very, very different. i'm a mum and we're living in a pandemic and we've got all of these things that daily and constantly remind me that sport

is not the most important thing. it's a real privilege to get to do and it's exciting and i love it, but it's not part of the big picture that's going on right now. well, good luck to her. time for a look at the weather — here's stav danaos. hello, thank you very much, good afternoon. after a very wet night, we saw some localised flooding in places. atrocious conditions on the road but through the afternoon, the cloud has been breaking up. a dry speu cloud has been breaking up. a dry spell for a well, a bit of brightness in the south. we continue with the rain band which has stalled across parts of scotland bringing hill snow. the looms that this milder has been pushing up from the south and west during last night and through today. you can see on the radar picture from earlier, the rain eventually clearing away from the eastern side of the country to stop snow for the pennines and certainly across much of central and northern scotland, where it is still falling

across the grampians and the highlands. a heavy system or rain affecting the east coast of scotland. a whole host of issues there. furthersouth, scotland. a whole host of issues there. further south, the dry spell with a little bit of brightness and very mild air, top temperatures around 14. that will feel springlike, the highest values we have seen this month so far. it won't last long, the next rain band pushing in from the west, spreading across the country overnight followed by some heavy showers across wales, into the midlands and south west. the rain band merges with the existing one in scotland so rain, sleet and with the existing one in scotland so rain, sleetand mountain with the existing one in scotland so rain, sleet and mountain snow. with the existing one in scotland so rain, sleetand mountain snow. in the south, rain and a mild night to come. friday, starting with the rain band in the north and east no on the heels of scott and possibly shari of rain in the south but a slow improvement during the day. although quite a bit of cloud, it should turn drive for many, it's no easing in the north. the colder air in the north will start to sink southwards. it will be milder across the extreme

south of the country. friday into the weekend, a bit of a headache as to what is going on. some uncertainty but it looks like this low pressure will come from the atlantic bumping into the cold air. atlantic bumping into the cold air. a mixture of rain, sleet and snow for northern ireland, wales, the midlands are perhaps the south—east and east anglia. could see some significant snowfall over the hills in wales. this is one to watch. i think it will be generally of rain in the south—west, io think it will be generally of rain in the south—west, 10 degrees in plymouth, so mild here. further north, very cold with plenty of sunshine. a frosty and icy start in places the sunday and then a repeat performance. another area of low pressure will try to push it eastwards into the cold air, bringing further rain, sleet and snow for northern ireland, wales and the midlands, and across the south it could be of rain. a colder day for all areas, it could be of rain. a colder day forallareas, despite it could be of rain. a colder day for all areas, despite it being sunny across the north and east. turning much colder this week without risk of rain, sleet and snow for some of us. thank very much.

a reminder of our top story... the prime minister visits scotland, saying it's important the uk works together in the fight against coronavirus, but criticism from the scottish government about the trip. that's all from the bbc news at one, so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one, we nowjoin the bbc�*s news teams where you are. good afternoon. it's 1.30pm and here's your latest sports news. manchester united have condemned the racial abuse directed at their players on social media following last night's defeat to sheffield united at old trafford. the winning goal was deflected off axel tuanzebe, who went on to be substituted in the 83rd minute after starting his first premier league game of the season. abuse was aimed at his and anthony martial�*s instagram accounts, with a number of users posting racist comments and symbols on old photos.

manchester united have put out a statement today, saying, "everyone at the club is disgusted by the racial abuse received "by players via social media after last night's game." they go on to say that, "identifying these anonymous, mindless idiots remains problematic. "we urge social media platforms and regulatory authorities "to strengthen measures to prevent this kind of behaviour". there's a big game tonight — the champions liverpool go to tottenham looking for their first win in five games in the premier league. jurgen klopp�*s side have slipped to fifth in the table, only a point above spurs and have only scored once in the league since that 7—0 win at crystal palace before christmas. the crystal palace before christmas. challenge is absol a lwa ys the challenge is absolutely fine, always a challenge, but it is how you approach it and we are in it. we are not happy about the situation but we think we can sort it,

whatever. that's what we do. we will fight. england's paul casey has got off to a flying start at the dubai desert classic this morning. he birdied the first, 4 holes of his opening round to go straight to the top of the leaderboard. even when he was in trouble, he managed to rescue himself and was five under after seven holes. butjust a birdie and a bogey followed, which means he lies fifth, a shot off the leaders. england's cricketers are locked down in quarantine in india as they get ready for their test series. they arrived in chennai from sri lanka yesterday and players immediately went into four days of isolating on their own. the first of four tests starts a week on friday so players have been given work—out regimes to do on their own in their hotel rooms. bowlerjimmy anderson says he's using it as an opportunity to get better. i really thrive on trying to improve myself as a bowler,

try and get fitter. i've done a lot of work on sprinting during the last six months of lockdown in england and leading into the series in sri lanka. i've actually got quicker, running as fast as i ever have in my whole career. it is just looking to improve and try and be as good as i possibly can be. there is something inside me which thinks i can be a little bit better. double olympic rowing champion, helen glover, has announced she's attempting a comeback for this summer's tokyo games. glover, who won gold in london and rio in the coxless pairs, would be the first woman to make a british olympic rowing team after having children. the 34—year—old says she got back on a rowing machine during last year's first national lockdown and wants to return after four years away from the elite level. the vendee globe round—the—world sailing race has been won by the man, who finshed third, but was given a bonus of more than ten hours for his role in rescuing a

fellow competitor. yannick bestaven was declared the winner when he arrived in france this morning. he had gone out of his way to help a fellow frenchman, whose boat eventually sank off the cape of good hope during the race in november. the leading british sailor pip hare is expected to finish around 11th february. i'll have more for you in the next hour. thank you, we will see you a little bit later on. you are watching bbc news and i amjane hill to take bit later on. you are watching bbc news and i am jane hill to take you through the next few hours of coronavirus developments and more. let's start with covid this half hour. as we've been hearing, scientists tracking the spread of coronavirus in england say they are concerned the virus is not slowing fast enough, despite the continued fall in the number of positive lab—confirmed cases. the latest data from imperial college london's react study shows a slight decline

in infection levels. swab tests taken from 168,000 volunteers between 6th and 22nd january suggest that 1.57% or i in 64 people had covid during the first two weeks of the lockdown. the data shows a varied picture across england — london had the highest proportion of positive tests where 2.8% of people had the virus. numbers are even higher in younger people across the capital with 4% of people aged between 13 to 17 and 18 to 2a testing positive. borisjohnson said yesterday that there is not enough data available yet to decide when it will be possible to end england's lockdown. he promised ministers would lay out a road map for lifting restrictions towards the end of next month. professor paul elliott is the director of the react programme at imperial college london. he's been explaining why positive covid cases are taking much longer to come down,

compared with the first lockdown. as you say, in the first ten days of our study, we were actually seeing a very flat picture. it has now started to come down, which is good news, but by no means fast enough and certainly not as fast as it came down in the first lockdown. are you gathering any data on why, making any suppositions, on why that is the case? we do collect a lot of information from people. so, not only do people produce a swab for us, but we ask them various questions and we see things such as large households, there is a higher prevalence amongst minority ethnic groups. again, a higher prevalence. and also in more deprived areas. so, there are some hints that the sort of people who we know have been more badly affected by the virus, that does come

through in our data. but we are also seeing differences in regional patterns. very, very high levels, as you say, in london, which is putting tremendous pressure on the nhs in london. but it seems to be coming down in london, the south east and the south west. whereas, in other parts of england, it is pretty flat or even going up in some parts. interesting. talk to us about the prevalence of the virus amongst younger age groups, especially 18—24s. what is going on there? are they less worried about the virus? are they not sticking to the restrictions as much as other age groups? we have seen fairly consistently across our different surveys, we carry out our survey every month, that the rates particularly in the 18—24 year old group have been high and they remain the highest. and then what happens is that we see a spread out to the other age groups. for example, in london, you mentioned 4%, one in 25 people are testing positive for the virus. i should stress this is notjust

people with symptoms but a random sample of the population, whether they are reporting symptoms. many of these people do not know they have the virus and potentially could transmit the virus, which is why the public health message is so important. social distancing, wear a facemask, hand washing and if you have symptoms, you should get tested and if you test positive, you should isolate. this is incredibly relevant when we look at what the prime minister talked about yesterday, talking about schools beginning to reopen more fully. they already have some children but reopen to more pupils potentially from the 8th of march. no one wants to be in lockdown but the prevalence is so high that the pressure on the health service is so high that it is really important we get these rates down

as quickly as we possibly can. we got a hint in the last seven days that things are now moving in the right direction but not fast enough. we just have to do more. as individuals, we have to pay attention to the public health advice about social distancing and so forth. but also, if we don't need to go to work, we should work from home for example. professor paul elliott, the director of the react programme at imperial college london, talking to my colleague, annita mcveigh, earlier. before we continue with our covid coverage, let me bring you news from the city that has only come through in the last half an hour or so. the stationery chain, paperchase, has been rescued in a deal that will secure around 1,000 jobs. it's thought that around 70% of stores will be retained by the new owner.

but 250 jobs at the chain will still be lost. paperchase has blamed the cumulative impact of lockdowns and restrictions on a collapse in sales. not all of the stores will be saved, but 1000 jobs will be saved and about 250 jobs will still be lost. so a rescue deal for a substantial part of the chain. saving about 90 out of eight 127 stores. many parents in england are facing the prospect of at least another five weeks of home—schooling ahead of them. yesterday the prime minister said that schools won't fully reopen until at least march 8th.

schools are open for children of key workers, but most are still shut. graham satchell has been getting reaction from a few of those familiesjuggling learning in lockdown. the news that schools in england won't open again until march at the earliest, a bitter blow for sam. her younger daughter in particular has really struggled. my daughter, in her online pshe class, had to review how she was feeling at the moment, and she's six, and her top concerns were, "i worry i'm never going "to see my family again," and her second was, "i feel sad when i hear how many people die." and for a six—year—old, for those to be the two first things they're thinking about, it's material how much of an impact that's having on her mental health. we're just sat at the kitchen table

working, because we have not done any school work today. working families are really, really, really struggling. it is like that emotional side of it, it is huge, we have got the practical... and once again, vicky is interrupted. vicky is a single mum with four school—age children juggling family, home, and running her own business. it's all getting a bit intense. and now i'm thinking, "stop work now, i'll get back to it, at 7 or 8, and i'll be working until midnight to get it all done." we are all going to reach burn—out, if we carry on like this. i don't know what the answer is, though, i'm not saying open schools, ijust think we need some direction and some hope on the horizon. good afternoon, - thanks forjoining us. the hope had been that schools in england would open again after the february half term, but with cases still high and the vaccine programme nowhere near complete, this from the prime minister... we hope to begin opening schools

on monday the 8th of march. - so what about schools in the rest of the uk? northern ireland is reviewing its plans today. wales will make an announcement on friday. scotland, early next week. the likelihood is schools in all four nations will remain closed for most students. i think everyone is finding it stressful, particularly those trying to work and home school at the same time. in to work and home school at the same time. ~ ., , ., , ., time. in the midlands, laura's two children are _ time. in the midlands, laura's two children are doing _ time. in the midlands, laura's two children are doing their _ time. in the midlands, laura's two children are doing their best - time. in the midlands, laura's two children are doing their best with i children are doing their best with home—schooling. allowing children from two households to mix is too risky at the moment. this from two households to mix is too risky at the moment.— risky at the moment. this is far from over— risky at the moment. this is far from over and _ risky at the moment. this is far from over and as _ risky at the moment. this is far from over and as much - risky at the moment. this is far from over and as much as - risky at the moment. this is far from over and as much as it - risky at the moment. this is far from over and as much as it is. from over and as much as it is uncomfortable and hard, those of us with young people at home, it is a necessary evil and i have resigned myself to it for quite some time to

come. . y ., myself to it for quite some time to come. ., , ., ., , come. can you tell me what it is? don't ut come. can you tell me what it is? don't put me _ come. can you tell me what it is? don't put me on _ come. can you tell me what it is? don't put me on the _ come. can you tell me what it is? don't put me on the news - come. can you tell me what it is? don't put me on the news saying | don't put me on the news saying that? _ don't put me on the news saying that? ., ., ., ., , , don't put me on the news saying that? ., ., , ,, ., that? too late. their two boys sean and aidan are _ that? too late. their two boys sean and aidan are learning _ that? too late. their two boys sean and aidan are learning and - that? too late. their two boys sean and aidan are learning and verbal. and aidan are learning and verbal phrases. the parents want them to be in school but recognise the seriousness of the situation. looking at developments and things, i think we have got our heads around... i think we have got our heads around- - -_ i think we have got our heads around... ~ ., ., ., , around... we had heard rumours sa in: around... we had heard rumours saying after— around... we had heard rumours saying after easter. _ around... we had heard rumours saying after easter. so _ around... we had heard rumours saying after easter. so to - around... we had heard rumours saying after easter. so to me, i around... we had heard rumours. saying after easter. so to me, 8th of march, — saying after easter. so to me, 8th of march, 0k we can head for that. i would _ of march, 0k we can head for that. i would like _ of march, 0k we can head for that. i would like to — of march, 0k we can head for that. i would like to see the teachers being made _ would like to see the teachers being made a _ would like to see the teachers being made a priority to be vaccinated and that could _ made a priority to be vaccinated and that could change things. definitely.—

that could change things. definitel . , ., ., definitely. there is now a political row whether _ definitely. there is now a political row whether vaccinating _ definitely. there is now a political row whether vaccinating teachers | definitely. there is now a political. row whether vaccinating teachers is a priority. however that turns out, parents and teachers are facing the long slog with many more weeks of home—schooling. graham satchell, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... the prime minister visits scotland, saying it's important the uk works together in the fight against coronavirus — but the first minister had already questioned the need for the visit. scientists say they're disappointed that covid infections aren't falling quickly enough in england to ease pressure on hospitals. the government insists there will be no interruption to the uk's vaccine supplies from astrazeneca, in a continuing row with the eu about a supply shortage. social workers are braced for a "tsunami of needs" as the uk recovers from the pandemic, according to a union representing them.

a survey by the british association of social workers suggests that three quarters of its members feel the restrictions have affected their ability to protect vulnerable children and adults. our wales correspondent, tomos morgan, has the story. for the majority of social workers across the uk, caseloads were already close, or already full before the pandemic started. and as restrictions eased, there came a flood of new cases. itjust feels like we are kind of cementing over the cracks but not actually getting to the foundation of what's really going on. minnyjackson, which isn't her real name, is a social worker that deals with children. she has real concerns that a higher workload coupled with social distancing measures that means that face—to—face visits are few and far between could be having a knock—on effect on her work. i think there is that constant worry that am i missing something? is there something here that i'm not seeing? and how can i actually do the meaningful work through a computer screen or through a mobile phone? a special survey released today

by basw union has looked at the effect the pandemic has had on social workers. over two thirds of members working with children said that referrals or their caseload had increased after schools returned after lockdown last year. and the union fears that the workload may increase again after these latest set of restrictions are eased. and over three quarters of members had said that lockdown restrictions had increased their concerns about social workers' capacity to both safeguard and protect children and adults. our fear is that there is going to be an absolute tsunami of need, which will translate into increased referral and increased demand on the profession. the devolved governments across the four nations have said that social work is a priority for them, that workers have played a crucial role in helping communities in difficult circumstances and that there will be investment for further staffing in the future.

but for many other colleagues, the work to help the most vulnerable in our society may take some time to heal. tomos morgan, bbc news. pakistan's supreme court has ordered the release of four men who had been accused of the murder of the american journalist daniel pearl in 2002. the suspects, including a british born man, were acquitted last year, but the pakistani government and pearl's parents had attempted to have that decision overruled. this morning their appeal was dismissed. secunder kermani reports from islamabad. haunting images of daniel pearl after his abduction. the wall streetjournal reporter was in pakistan in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, working on a story about radical groups, he would become their victim. now, 19 years after they were originally found guilty, judges have acquitted four men of the murder, including

omar sheikh, the british man accused of masterminding the kidnapping. there is not a single day that we don't miss our son. daniel pearl's family have described it as a travesty ofjustice. they released this statement last year. we are standing up forjustice, not only for our son but for all our dear friends in pakistan. so they can live in a society free of violence and terror. omar sheikh was born in britain and attended the london school of economics before being drawn intojihadi circles. he first met daniel pearl in this hotel in the pakistani city of rawalpindi. using a fake name, omar sheikh pretended to be a follower of a hardline cleric daniel pearl wanted to interview. he promised to arrange a meeting. in reality, he was laying a trap. pearl was kidnapped outside

a restaurant in karachi, held hostage and then gruesomely beheaded. omar sheikh and three others were detained and charged. there seemed strong evidence he planned the operation, but the legal case against him was riddled with flaws. it's now believed a senior al-qaeda operative, khalid sheikh mohammed, currently in guantanamo bay, was the one who actually carried out the beheading but pakistani authorities, though, deliberately discounted evidence of that. danny was a remarkable human being, he was a great friend... journalist, asra nomani, was a close friend of daniel pearl's and has led efforts to investigate the killing. she says omar sheikh should remain behind bars. omar sheikh is the man responsible for danny's kidnapping and he is the man who set up the circumstances so that danny was ultimately murdered.

danny is only dead because of omar sheikh and omar sheikh has to be held responsible. despite the court's orders, it's not yet clear if omar sheikh will now be released. us officials have indicated they may launch their own proceedings. daniel pearl's gruesome murder, filmed on camera, was a grim precursor to the tactics now common amongst militant groups, a tragic legacy for a talented journalist. secunder kermani, bbc news, islamabad. the us senator bernie sanders says he's raised $1.8 million for charity over the past five days through the sale of merchandise with his image at president biden's inauguration earlier this month. the picture launched hundreds of memes, and the 79—year—old decided to put the "chairman sanders" merch, including t—shirts, sweatshirts and stickers, on his campaign website last week. the first run sold in half

an hour and there is now a long backlog of orders. the money will be distributed to several charities in his home state of vermont, including meals on wheels. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. after a very wet night, conditions have been improving gradually through the day today with some brightness across many central and southern parts of the uk, but the rain band has almost stalled across the north of the uk. here, we'll see further rain and hill snow at times, best of the sunshine for england and wales. and here we've got the mild air pumping in from the south—west so it will almost feel springlike in places given some brightness. the cold air though, holds on across the north of the uk, hence why we have this threat of further snow falling over the grampians and the highlands as this weather front continues to stall here for the rest of the day. further south then, some brightness temperatures 13 or 1a degrees. like i said, it's going to feel almost springlike but more rain waits out in the west and that will push its way northwards

and eastwards as we go through this evening and overnight. again, some heavy bursts in places, it's going to merge with the rain band across the north of the uk, bringing further rain, sleet and some hill snow here. further south though, it will be of rain with the sort of temperatures, there'll be another fairly mild night in the south, versus another cold one in the north with the risk of some ice in places. so for friday we start off that rain band with some further hill snow across the north of the uk, further south clusters of showers but through the day generally friday, it's going to improve pretty much where ever you are. the rain in the north easing down along with the hill snow and the showers in the south also easing, so allow for a little bit of drier and brighter weather. the mild air becoming confined to the south of the country, cold air in the north will advance southwards. as we move at a friday into the weekend, there is some uncertainty on this forecast but it does look as this area of low pressure with this weather fronts

pushes into the cold air across the country, we are likely to see increasing amounts of sleet and snow for wales into northern england, the midlands down into east anglia and the south—east. some uncertainty to this but we could see accumulations to lower levels, certainly accumulations across wales but generally i think in the south—west, where it is milder it will be of rain. further north though, drier, brighter but cold with that sunshine and a pretty cold day for all. it's going to be very cold night to start sunday, some frost, some ice to watch out for and then it's a repeat performance i think, with another weather front trying to push its way northwards and eastwards to bring some sleet and snow for northern ireland, wales, into parts of the midlands, too, perhaps accumulations in places but a very cold day for all areas.

this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines at two. the prime minister visits scotland, saying it's important the uk works together in the fight against coronavirus, but the first minister had already questioned the need for the visit. me travelling from edinburgh to aberdeen to visit a vaccination centre right now is not essential and borisjohnson travelling from london to whatever in scotland he's going to do the same is not essential. and we head straight