this is bbc news with the latest headlines: the astrazeneca vaccine provides limited protection against the south african variant, but scientists say it will still help in the pandemic. it will still help with deaths, hospitalisations and severe forms of the disease. the uk government has no plans to introduce "vaccine passports", according to the vaccines minister, who says the focus should remain on the inoculation programme itself. of course, you have the evidence that you have been vaccinated held by your gp. if other countries require you to show proof of that evidence, then that is obviously up to those countries. a himalayan glacier collapses,

sending a wall of water and rock downriver in northern india. at least nine people have died and over 100 are missing. heavy snow could bring significant disruption to the south—east of england in the coming hours, with weather warnings issued by the met office for large parts of the uk. in the six nations, wales and ireland are about to get underway in cardiff at the millennium stadium. and coming up in half an hour, talking movies presents highlights of 2021's sundance film festival. good afternoon. the scientists behind the oxford astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine say it should still prevent people needing hospital treatment

or dying, despite the emerging south african variant. research has found that the jab offers only limited protection against mild cases of that variant — although that study hasn't yet been checked by other experts. the government says it is looking at ways to deal with covid variants in the long term. our health correspondent, jim reed, reports. surge testing in the midlands to try and stamp out the latest variant of coronavirus. around 100 cases of a version first found in south africa have been confirmed here to date. the worry is, a specific mutation could make our vaccines less effective. now new trial results from south africa appear to confirm that. a small study of 2000 people published in full tomorrow has found the oxford astrazeneca jab only offered limited protection against mild and moderate disease caused by the south african variant. there were too few cases of serious disease to measure in the trial, but the developers say separate blood tests suggest the vaccine

should still be able to prevent hospital admissions and deaths. maybe we won't be reducing the number of cases as much, but we still won't be seeing the deaths, the hospitalisations and the severe disease, and that's really important for health care systems, even if we are having mild and asymptomatic infections. the news today follows similarfindings from other vaccine manufacturers. scientists in oxford are already working to tweak their vaccine and say a new version which can better protect against the south african variant should be available by the autumn. ministers say we may need a differentjab each year to protect the population. we see very much probably an annual or a booster in the autumn and then an annual, in the way we do with flu vaccinations, where you look at what variant of virus is spreading around the world, you rapidly produce a variant of vaccine and then begin to vaccinate and protect the nation. 11 million people have received

a vaccine so far in the uk, but a reminder today that even when that programme is complete, it's unlikely to mean the end of covid. we may well have to live with this virus for many months if not years to come. jim reed, bbc news. earlier, i spoke tojim reed and asked him how worried people should be about this latest news over the astrazeneca jab. it is worth pointing out that this is not a surprise by any means. scientists have been warning about viruses potentially being able to get around vaccines for a good six months, since we started talking about the roll—out process in the summer. what these results are showing is what other manufacturers i'd saying as well, is that there is a specific mutation in the south african variant of the virus, which appears to allow the virus to get

around some antibody protection if you have had the virus but also potentially if you have been vaccinated. that is what scientists are concerned about. some reassurance as well today, they are saying that the oxford astrazeneca vaccine, the data from south africa says it is not showing potentially to stop mild and moderate disease, but the people behind the vaccine think or hope from looking at different blood tests that it will work as well on severe disease, so stopping people going into hospitals. stopping people going into hositals. ., stopping people going into hosnitals-_ stopping people going into hositals. . . , hospitals. that almost sounds paradoxical. _ hospitals. that almost sounds paradoxical, bad _ hospitals. that almost sounds paradoxical, bad news - hospitals. that almost sounds paradoxical, bad news you - hospitals. that almost sounds | paradoxical, bad news you will hospitals. that almost sounds - paradoxical, bad news you will get it mildly, but it will not be fatal as far as they can tell. but it was things like who was in the study that can affect the results, and actually how badly they get the virus in the first place? in actually how badly they get the virus in the first place?- virus in the first place? in the south african _ virus in the first place? in the south african study, - virus in the first place? in the south african study, yes. - virus in the first place? in the south african study, yes. it . virus in the first place? in the l south african study, yes. it was virus in the first place? in the - south african study, yes. it was a small number, only 2000 people. we will get all of the data tomorrow, we have just seen press releases. the average age of the people in the

study was 31 years old, so you're not pick up the serious cases you might have done if you had an older age group. that is part of the issue. jim reed talking to us earlier. doctors in england are to be paid an extra £10 by the nhs for every person who's housebound that they vaccinate. meanwhile, 18 new mass vaccine centres open tomorrow. here's our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. gp george hobbs is headed out to give around 20 of his patients covid jabs at home. they're too ill or vulnerable to come in a for a vaccination. first up is diana garfield... right, 0k. ..who has heart problems and is also losing her sight. there still is a hope in the back of my mind, however old i am, i still have that hope that... ..something will work out. right, cheerio, bye—bye! it's great because i have been a gp for over 27 years and they know me, so i think when they see someone

familiar coming it makes a difference to the experience. but quite a lot of them are quite nervous and then when they see someone they know, that is very reassuring. hello, i am calling - from ashtree surgery. ashtree surgery in carnforth in lancashire is on course to vaccinate its most vulnerable patients by the middle of this month, but that is not the case everywhere. so gps will receive an additional £10 on top of the standard fee for every housebound person they vaccinate. yes, this will be helpful. it does take significantly longer to go out and visit someone and to take the necessary time and precautions in each and every visit, that takes people away from a vaccination centre, where they can do more vaccinations in a similar amount of time. so we do need to recognise that and it is good that nhs england have done that and have provided this additional small amount of funding to enable practices to provide vaccinations to this particularly vulnerable group of people as quickly as possible.

the latest data shows that more than 11.4 million people have received their first dose. that is a rise ofjust over 494,000 on the previous 24—hour reporting period. at this rate of vaccination, the nhs would need to give jabs to an average ofjust under 393,000 people per day in order to meet the government's target of 15 million 1st doses by the 15th of february. and the scottish government has said that it has met its target to vaccinate the over 80s by the 5th of february. there are to be 18 more vaccination sites opening from next week, like the one at blackburn cathedral. the new sites mean the jabs are now available from more than 100 large—scale centres, 1000 local gp services, almost 200 pharmacies and over 250 hospitals. pallab ghosh, bbc news.

the labour mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, is calling for poorer areas of the country, where life expectancy is lower, to be given additional supplies of the covid—19 vaccines. i am not going to sort of find ways of criticising. what i am saying today is just to think of adjusting the approach as we move into the next phase of the vaccination programme, when we are vaccinating those people between 50 and 70, because in my view, if we want to save more lives, as we do, it means notjust looking at age but looking at life expectancy in different parts of the country as well. parts of the uk, in parts of greater manchester for instance, people's life expectancy is ten years behind what it is in other parts of the country. to put it another way, people in their 60s have the same level of health as people in their 70s in more affluent areas. the vaccination programme

needs to take account of that. with infections falling and the vaccine rollout going according to plan, i've been speaking to ben wright about a possible route out of lockdown. february the 22nd is the date in the diary that we are waiting for. that is when borisjohnson welcome to the house of commons and describe where he things... a fortnight tomorrow. where he thinks lockdown will go next. the government will be assembling all of the data about how the roll—out is going, if they are going to hit their target of vaccinating all of the over 70s by mid—february, how farthey vaccinating all of the over 70s by mid—february, how far they will get with the next groups after that. they will be looking at hospitalisations, mortality rates, whether there are any more variants papping up, whether there are any more variants popping up, how they are suppressing the south african variant. all of that goes into the mix and will determine what the government will announce that week after the parliamentary half term, february

22. the other day to be do know is that the government wants english schools to be back by march the 8th. that will be part of their thinking as well, they will have to buy up the extent to which that may or may not make an impact on the transmission rate of the virus. what about this debate _ transmission rate of the virus. what about this debate about _ transmission rate of the virus. what about this debate about vaccine passports? fora about this debate about vaccine passports? for a lot of people, that is a long way off, the thought of a summer holiday or even travel for work, they are all for the future. but the debate is very lively at the moment on this. it but the debate is very lively at the moment on this.— but the debate is very lively at the moment on this. it is, is becoming more so. moment on this. it is, is becoming more s0- the _ moment on this. it is, is becoming more so. the more _ moment on this. it is, is becoming more so. the more people - moment on this. it is, is becoming more so. the more people that. moment on this. it is, is becoming| more so. the more people that are jabbed and think they are inching toward freedom, the more we talk about lockdown, the closer we get to summer, the more people are thinking about holidays was up the greek government say they would like to see british or they make is going their way if they can prove they have had the vaccination. tony blair

said recently that he things this would be inevitable in the future world, and that britain should be on the front foot trying to do this now. but nadhim zahawi dismissed the idea, saying it is not in their current thinking at all. partly because vaccines in the uk are not mandatory, so he doesn't think it would be fair to go down the passport route, and it would be discriminating because he would have one part of the country, the moment the over 70s, who are jabbed and ready and have to start packing go on holiday, and others who are younger who cannot. he things that would be unfair. at least nine people have died and dozens are missing after a crumbling glacier caused flash flooding in northern india. the floods washed away part of a dam in the uttarakhand region of the himalayas. most of those missing are believed to be construction workers. disaster relief forces are trying to reach workers trapped inside a tunnel. 0ur south asia editor,

anbarasan ethirajan, has the latest. this morning, when people witness the deluge of water going through this river, it caused a lot of panic in that area and many people are feared missing. more than 100, and their unknown knobs of people working at the power plants in this area. the pictures showed one part of this dad being washed away. that raised lots of concerns about the welfare of the workers. a short while ago, the government confirmed that they have rescued around 16 workers who were stuck inside a tunnel very close to this power plant. they have been rescued, that is the positive news. but we don't have any information about dozens of people who are missing, most of them believed to be workers. because it

is a lean season, there is not much water. state officials say the threat of floods the downstream areas have now reduced. the headlines on bbc news: the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine offers limited protection against mild disease caused by the south african variant of covid—19. but scientists say it will still help to beat the pandemic. the uk government has no plans to introduce �*vaccine passports�* — according to the vaccines minister — who says the focus should remain on the inoculation programme itself. and a himalayan glacier collapses sending a wall of water and rock down river in northern india.

at least nine people have died and over 100 are missing. sport now, and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. after scotland's shock win over england yesterday and france's crushing win over italy, today it's the turn of wales and ireland to get their six nations campaigns under way. and wales took an early lead at the principality stadium with a penalty, from the boot of leigh halfpenny. these are live pictures from the principality stadium. that is the wales captain back from injury. i think leigh halfpenny took a knock earlier on, so they are just regrouping there. the match is live on bbc one and across bbc platforms. wales leading 3—0 with just ten

minutes gone. spurs have ended their miserable run of three straight premier league defeats. harry kane was a surprise in their starting line—up as they beat struggling west brom 2—0. jim lumsden reports. a sight for sore spurs ayes. harry kane back after shrugging off ankle problems. how they have missed him. losing three league matches on the bounce. west bromwich micro—woes were worse, one place off the bottom of the table. they have won just one in 12. kane's influence was immediately apparent, almost putting his side ahead. they dominated in the first 45 minutes, by just forced the first 45 minutes, by just forced the one save. indeed their opponents held firm. and then a rare visit to the other half bore fruit. spurs looked aimless without harry kane against chelsea the other week, but the difference today was clear. if

you menace later, it was 2—0. spurs mseason is back on track. but west bromwich slide into the abyss at a gathering pace. three more games today. wolves and leicester are into the second half of their match. still no score in that one. the big one is at 4:30pm, with defending champions liverpool hosting league leaders manchester city. later, at 7:15pm, bottom side sheffield united play chelsea. the scottish premiership's bottom club, hamilton academical, snatched a late draw at home to title—chasing rangers. steven gerrard's side weren't at their best and needed an own goal from hamilton to take the lead. borna barisic�*s cross turned in by brian easton. but hamilton got their equaliser in the fourth minute of injury time. ryan callachan drew them level. they're now three points behind ross county. rangers are 21 points clear of celtic at the top. england have been piling the pressure on india in the first test —

four wickets for dom bess meant india finished day three 321 runs behind. adam wild rounds up the action: before the play, the plotting. this was england planning an all—round team performance. first with the bat and adding as many possible to their already impressive total. this helped them towards 578 before the clatter wickets signal the start of phase two of the day's plan. england's bowlers taking early wickets. he wasjofra archer, right on schedule. at lunch, england on top and still revising that strategy. alma best showing exactly how he intends to trap them. isn't it great when a plan comes together? but you cannot always bank on brilliance, except perhaps when it comes to joe brilliance, except perhaps when it comes tojoe root. already inspirational with the bat, this catch to was quite magnificent. if

anything, that spurred india on. this approach was less subtle but effective. but nothing can save a batter from sheer bad luck. this shot ricocheted into the hands of an england fielder. eventually one risk too many come out for 91. india ending still more than 300 behind. another good day for england, after plot another tomorrow. a good day for dom bess then — well, on the field anyway. how do india stop him? loose advertising boards, maybe? here he is in the post—match press conference, minding his own business. when — whack! luckily no lasting damage, and the england media rep was on hand to prevent any more mishaps. you can find more on all those stories, plus news of dan evans' first

atp title victory in melbourne, on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. but that's all the sport for now. it isa it is a good job all of the backgrounds behind us are real, isn't it! heavy snow is forecast to bring significant disruption to the east and south—east of england later today. snow is moving in and weather warnings have been issued by the met office for large parts of the uk, with predictions of possible travel disruption. vishala sri—pathma reports. the sledges are out in full force, as are the carefully crafted snowmen and rather large snowballs. it might be sub—zero temperatures in parts of britain, but the snow appears to be bringing some of us

a little light relief during lockdown. but for parts of the south—east of england, it's not all fun and games, with roads disrupted and trains cancelled. the train company southeastern have closed some lines for all of sunday and monday, and are asking passengers to stay at home. in essex, some coronavirus testing sites have been forced to close, with vaccination centres remaining open for now. the met office have issued an amber warning for these parts of england, meaning that travel upheaval and power cuts are expected. and a yellow alert for much of scotland and northern ireland. in the meantime, dogs or human, we all need to be a bit more careful while going on our daily walks. vishala sri—pathma, bbc news. labour peer lord falconer has apologised for comments he made, calling the pandemic a "gift that keeps on giving" for lawyers. the shadow attorney general

made the comments during a briefing for a city law firm. he says he was talking about the pace at which the government is making changes to the law, and the legal questions that gives rise to. but he said he very much regrets his choice of words, and that he's sorry. the engingeering giant rolls—royce is proposing to temporarily close its factories making jet engines this summer in a bid to cut costs because of the pandemic. the shutdown, which is thought to be a first for the firm, would affect 12,500 workers in the uk and last a fortnight across its civil aerospace division. concern is rising about the mental health of people working in agriculture. according to the office for national statistics, more than 130 people working in the industry in britain took their life in 2019. since then, covid restrictions on events and markets have left farmers and farm workers more isolated. but mental health groups say young farmers are changing the way the issue is discussed and viewed, as our rural affairs correspondent, claire marshall,

has been finding out. i don't think i'd be here myself if it wasn't for my daughter. andy and his daughter vicky are a team, running the family farm in leicestershire. i have lost some friends through suicide. that sort of hits home. vicky was once a beautician. shejoined him when he felt he couldn't cope any more. we tend to sort of have this image of big, butch rugby players, or big men. but mental health doesn't discriminate against anybody. it's hard to take advice when you're in that dark, dark place. i still have bad days, as we both do. it'sjust coping through the bad days. and at least now we have more of an understanding of each other. the coronavirus pandemic is having a huge impact. it was shows like this, key events in the countryside calendar, that would help to keep the agricultural community together. most were cancelled. livestock markets are limited. on top of that, the weather. climate change is altering the seasons. it's been the coldest january

for almost a decade and this after a wet summer when crops didn't grow well. there's lots of talk about all the subsidies farmers get. they make very, very little money. most of them subsist on a level that you and i wouldn't be willing to accept. you're not listening to me, all right? i can't stand it when you don't listen. you're doing my head in. this is a mental health awareness campaign. at long last, it's no longer a taboo subject. mental ill health is the biggest hidden problem in farming today. we also know 90% of them actually agree that talking about it will remove any stigma that's attached to it. the largest survey ever undertaken into the mental health of those in agriculture has just been launched. bad days aren't the end of the world, everyone has them, whether they are struggling with mental health or not, really. vicky hopes her and herfather�*s story will help others to see there can be a bright future infarming. it'sjust remembering that the bad days do end.

tomorrow is a new day. claire marshall, bbc news. and for details of organisations which offer advice and support with mental health, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline. as the lockdown continues and new covid variants emerge, the government is constantly looking at what restrictions are needed to bring the virus under control. one thing that's so far been ruled out is axing the bubble system — because, for many, bubbles have represented a lifeline during the pandemic. hope bolger has been taking a look at how they've helped. it's been a lifeline. i don't know how people are doing without it. the difference it has made it to our quality of life, to her quality of life, is huge. it has actually saved my life. coronavirus has caused many of us to feel isolated at times. during the first lockdown some people spent weeks without any real human contact. alex was one of them. the most meaningful conversation

i had was with the lady in the co—op over the road about eggs. it was incredibly isolating, it got really, really lonely. when support bubbles were brought in lastjune, they offered people in similar situations a vital chance to reconnect. it has actually saved my life. had the situation of being on my own, being away from people, gone on for much longer, i don't know what state i would have ended up in. honestly, i owe my friends who said "come over" a world of gratitude. because without them, we might not be having the conversation. the rules across the uk differ slightly. in england, wales and scotland, you can form a support bubble if you are the only adult in the house. separately, england has childcare bubbles for families with kids under 1a. scotland lets couples who live apart bubble, even if there are other people in their households and in northern ireland two

households of any size can form a household bubble. it's even really difficult thinking back to it, just how much of a struggle it was. with a tantruming, really needy two—year—old, it was so, so, so difficult. nessa runs a new business and is a university lecturer, all while looking after her toddler, jacob. she gets help from her mum, pam. it's been a lifeline, i don't know how people are doing without it. my business definitely wouldn't have been able to survive because we are a new business, i do need to go on to site quite often. at a time when schools are closed, shops are shut and pubs are empty some have raised concerns that bubbles contribute to the spread of the virus, but would ditching them lead to more problems? in the last few weeks the government has dismissed rumours it might suspend bubbles. the bubbles that we have in place, the childcare bubbles, the support bubbles, are very important and we are going to keep them. experts say it's a case of weighing up the risks.

so it's really important that you form the bubble with the right people to optimise your mental health and at the same time to reduce your chance of contracting the virus. what would you do if we couldn't come round and make your dinner for you? starve. 93—year—old margaret worked in the land army during the second world war. this support bubble has really allowed us to actually keep her independent in her home because the reality is if it didn't exist she'd have to go into a home or she'd have to move in with us, which she vehemently does not want to do. as with everything during this pandemic, it's about finding the right balance, but for those in bubbles their importance cannot be overstated. hope bolger, bbc news. a 70—year—old grandfather from old ham has become the oldest man to complete a solo row across the atlantic. frank rothwell arrived in antigua yesterday, completing his journey in 56 days and a week ahead of schedule.

frank has raised more than £600,000 for alzheimer's research uk and mike bushell has been following his progress. the coral waters of the caribbean. a paradise after the atlantic. and the same view of sea and sky for two months and nearly 3,000 miles. applause and 70—year—old frank rothwell arrived in nelson's dockyard in english harbour in antigua as a world record holder, the oldest person to complete this atlantic challenge and oldest person to row that ocean solo and unassisted. # i'm the kind of guy who will never settle down! # because you know that i'm around! and after 55 days, two hours and 41 minutes at sea, you might expect frank to show some signs of tiredness. but not him. the life and soul of any party. i am now a world champion. how about that?

i am absolutely overwhelmed! you know, the reception we got here. we came into the english harbour in antigua and all the ships, all these massive millionaires' yachts, all sounded their hooters as i came over the line. it was fantastic! # walking down the street... # after leading those allowed to be dockside in a spontaneous bit of karaoke, it was time to be reunited with his wife, judith, after their first christmas apart in 50 years of marriage. after living on freeze—dried food, especially macaroni, after all these weeks, frank is now hoping for a fish salad and a proper bed. but any hardship, he says, has been worth it. he has already raised over £600,000 for alzheimer's research uk. mike bushell, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear.