as the vaccine roll—out now extends to the over 65's, the prime minister says caution is key. visiting a vaccine centre, borisjohnson warns against rushing out of lockdown in england. we want this lockdown to be the last, and we want progress to be cautious but also irreversible. the number of deaths from coronavirus is thankfully coming down, but there are still more people in hospital

than at the peak in april. also tonight. the first arrivals check into hotel quarantine — we speak to some preparing for their enforced stay. not particularly looking forward to the next 11 days, but i'm just hoping it goes by quickly. risking their lives to play. the children of yemen's civil war being targeted by snipers. and howzat! england are heading for defeat in the second test against india. and coming up on bbc news, scotland's first minister urges football to "make sure your house is in order" as rangers launched an internal investigation after a weekend party was broken up by police.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the prime minister says science is in the ascendency over covid, but he wants any changes to the lockdown in england to be "cautious and irreversible". borisjohnson is due to set out his promised road map for relaxing the restrictions next monday, and hopes to give some provisional dates. but while 15 million people have now received their first covid vaccine, the prime minister says that infection rates also need to be "really, really low" before restrictions can be eased completely. our political correspondent alex forsyth is at westminster tonight. borisjohnson clearly keen to depress any expectations of a quick move out of lockdown. that's right, fiona. with the positive news about the vaccine programme, the obvious question is what does that mean for the restrictions we have all been living under? and the prime minister is expected to set out more detail next monday, including the dates which will be the point that marked the earliest that various sectors can

open. but the government is keen to stress that nothing is definitive, everything will be driven by the data. they are still waiting on more information about the effectiveness of the vaccine which will help shape the decisions they take in coming days, and until then, they warn, everything is speculation, nothing yet is decided. it seems a while since school playgrounds were noisy... ..since these empty pubs were bustling. next week, we'll find out when and how some of this might start to return. for so many families, it's been a long wait. missing work, missing just hugging people, really. driving instructor harvey's business has been parked. his daughter grace can't go to school, and they haven't seen parents and grandparents for months. really it's been about a year since we've actually had them down here. and nobody�*s getting any younger, so you just think let's hope, but i don't want to rush it and be back in this position again.

that's what he is trying to avoid. even with good vaccine news, urging caution. we want this lockdown to be the last, and we want progress to be cautious, but also irreversible. ministers are waiting on data due later this week about the virus and the vaccine before making any decisions about opening up. schools will be the priority. it's hoped they'll start back in three weeks in england. more outdoor meetings could come next, followed by some shops opening, then possibly pubs and restaurants. but there's no fixed timetable or firm plan yet. scotland and northern ireland are going at their own pace, and from wales, a warning — there can be no absolutes. prime minister, you say you want this to be the last lockdown, but can you really give that guarantee given the unpredictable nature of this pandemic? no, i can't give that

guarantee, of course not. people should be very, very much encouraged by what's going on at the moment, but we want to set out a timetable that's realistic. and that means one that is obviously cautious. all the time restrictions last, labour says there must be support. if we are to ease out - of lockdown with caution, you need to put these other measures in place to stop the _ spread of the virus, - like paying people sick pay, like ventilating buildings. i think if you do that, _ then this can be the final lockdown, and it has to be the final lockdown. with the fast roll—out of vaccines, there's pressure from some tory mps to ease restrictions by may. but the prime minister's been accused of getting people's hopes up, overpromising, then under delivering at other points in this pandemic. downing street doesn't want to open up just to have to close down again. they know politically, and for the sake of public health and confidence, they have to get this right.

for holiday and hospitality businesses, it means no certainty just yet. this caravan park in cornwall has a backlog of bookings, but still isn't sure people can come. we are now fully booked for easter, which is fantastic news. and that is 50 families desperate to come and have a holiday. we will know more about the possibilities next week, but for now, nothing is set in stone. so much still up in the air. alex forsyth, bbc news. with the uk passing the 15 million mark for vaccinations, attention is now focusing on offering jabs to the next group of people — starting with those aged over 65 and younger people with underlying health conditions. the government aims to inoculate everyone over 50 by the end of april. but there's concern from some vulnerable groups that they've been missed out in the first phase — people with asthma or learning difficulties, for example. our health editor hugh pym has more. thank you very much, good morning.

visiting a vaccination centre today, the prime minister was keen to praise all those involved in getting more than 15 million people in the uk inoculated with a first dose. if you look at what's happened in the last few weeks, it's been an unbelievable effort by the nhs and the doctors and nurses, the gp surgeries, the hospitals. of course, the army's been fantastic, the pharmacists have done a greatjob. warehouse workers and logistics experts help to get the vaccines to hospitals, doctors' surgeries and other hubs. this company's drivers covered more than 200,000 miles in two months, delivering more than 5 million vaccines in england. people aged 70 and over, nhs and care staff and residents, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable are in the first target groups. on friday, the welsh government was the first in the uk to report that everyone in the top four priority groups had been offered

a first dose of the vaccine. since then, ministers in england and scotland have also confirmed that target has been hit. in northern ireland, officials say everyone in those groups will have been offered it by the end of this month. from today, the next priority groups will be offered vaccinations, starting with the 65—69 age range, nearly 3 million people. then comes those under 65 with underlying health conditions, more than 7 million. next will be the 60—6li—year—olds, nearly 2 million. and then those in their 50s, more than 5 million, with a target of more than 17 million in the uk by the end of april. some with asthma, like ellie, who has to use her inhaler four times a day, did not know whether they would be considered part of the priority group with health conditions. she says the communication�*s been poor. for me personally, it'sjust been the confusion over whether or not you qualify for the vaccine. it's been a pretty stressful couple of months.

officials have said those with severe asthma will be offered jabs at this stage. others like ellie are deemed to be lower risk. come on, good boy. amanda, who has mild learning disabilities, said there was also confusion for her and others about getting the vaccine. i was told i couldn't i have it to begin with. and then ijust kept ringing my gp, and i still got nowhere. _ and this morning, i rang them and they said i could go- to the local centre and have it done. i all this means the latest phase could be more complex than before, with the added pressure of people from the first wave of vaccinations needing their second dose. hugh pym, bbc news. let's have a look at the latest government figures now, and there were 9,765 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. an average of 12,580 new cases were recorded per day in the last week.

23,341 people are in hospital with coronavirus across the uk. in the last 2a hours, 230 deaths have been recorded, that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test. 657 deaths were announced on average every day in the past week. the total number of people who've died is 117,396. as for the latest vaccination numbers, 237,962 people had a first dose of one of the two available covid—19 vaccines in the latest 24—hour period, which takes the number of people who have now had their firstjab to 15,300,151. our medical editor fergus walsh is here. so many reasons for optimism but those numbers also give reason for caution. absolutely, fiona. in terms of daily cases, at their lowest level since early october. but there are still

nearly 3000 covid patients on ventilators in hospital, and 1600 covid admissions every day, and more in hospital than at the peak last april. this time we have the huge success of vaccination, and there are tentative, and i say tentative, early signs that the vaccine may be reducing hospitalisations and deaths in the over 805, but reducing ho5pitalisation5 and deaths in the over 805, but it is difficult to separate that at the moment from the effects of lockdown, and the chief medical officer the effects of lockdown, and the chief medical officer said tonight at the downing street briefing that he wanted to gather a week or two more data on that. but from israel, which is further advanced than the uk in its immunisation, very clear 5igns uk in its immunisation, very clear signs that the pfizerjab that uk in its immunisation, very clear signs that the pfizer jab that they are using there is dramatically reducing symptomatic covert infections and almost completely 5topping serious illness. but the

take—home message from 5cienti5ts advi5ing take—home message from 5cienti5ts advising the government is they want advising the government is they want a very cautious emergence from lockdown, with perhaps a three—week gap between each measure of relaxation so they can calculate the effects. , ., ~ , ., anyone who's arrived in england today after being in a high—risk covid country now has to quarantine in a government—approved hotel. the list of 33 countries includes portugal, brazil and south africa. the aim is to stop new covid variants entering england. the government has secured just under 5,000 rooms in 16 hotels. people will have to pay £1,750 to quarantine for ten days. anyone breaking the rules could face fines of up to £10,000. in scotland, the rule applies to travellers returning from all countries. 0ur transport correspondent caroline davies has been talking to some of the first travellers staying in the new quarantine hotels. a different arrival to the uk. some of the first pa55enger5 destined for quarantine hotels escorted out of the airport through photographers' flashes and onto their hotels.

coaches have been arriving throughout the course of the morning, bringing passengers from heathrow airport to the quarantine hotels. everybody on board will have declared that they've been in a red li5t country in the course of the last ten days. guests won't leave these walls for 11 nights or ten full days. but for those arriving today, there was some company outside their windows. how's the room? good, thank5. it's ok. this man flew from south africa via qatar. he's starting a newjob here in march, and his vi5a only started today. he says that passengers that travelled from red li5t countries and those that didn't were together on the flight and in the airport. i was probably about two seats from someone that doesn't come from a red li5t country. we're all in the same facility, breathing the same air. he split the room with a friend for the 11 nights. we're either going to as really good friends or we're going to hate each other. so, i guess only time will tell.

it's small, might get a bit claustrophobic as time goes on. windows unfortunately don't open. it would have been nice to maybe get some fresh air in. but i guess it is what it is. i'm not particularly looking forward to the next 11 days, but, yeah, just hoping it goes by quickly. there are no internationalflights from northern ireland or wale5 at the moment, but those flying into scotland have to quarantine regardless of which international country they started from. this man and his daughterflew in from america this morning. yeah, hey, whatever it takes. and back in america, i work in the medical field, you know? and even though i got my covid shots already, whatever it takes to make everybody safe, i'm all for it. early indications suggest that the number of passengers flying today was low and that the queues relatively short. but there are concerns that new checks will mean delays,

which could be a risk to passengers and staff. i every additional check the officerl has to do slows up that transaction increases the risk of infection to the officer and to - the traveller from the officer. and as those queues build, i of course the different people mixing with one another, i that builds up and increases the risk from traveller to traveller that the virus willjust spread. - the government has previously said that every airport has a responsibility to comply with social distancing and covid measures. the policy doesn't have an end date, and the number of countries on the red list could still get longer. so these hotels may well see more passengers through their doors in the next few weeks and months. caroline davies, bbc news. as we heard, in scotland, all international travellers will have to go to a quarantine hotel from today. 0ur scotland editor sarah smith is in glasgow. scotland wants to stop all international travellers coming into scotland, but they can still enter via england. are there any plans in scotland to close that loophole?

it isa it is a huge problem because as you say there is this glaring loophole in the middle of the scottish government's policy of trying to quarantine everybody coming in from any foreign country, so there are discussions ongoing with the uk government about this because there is this way out. if you fly directly into scotland you go straight into a quarantine hotel. if you fly to england and travelled to scotland, you are expected to self—isolate at home for ten days and take two coded test but that is much cheaper than staying in a hotel and harderfor the authorities to enforce. nicola sturgeon says it would be better and easier if the rules were the same and all four nations of the united kingdom, but the way to achieve that she thinks is for borisjohnson to adopt her policy of quarantining travellers from any country. there is one other option and that would be if the uk government would enforce quarantine for people coming

into english airports through heathrow, stansted or wherever, into english airports through heathrow, stansted orwherever, make them quarantine regardless of what country they have come from if it is their intention to then travel on to scotland. that would need to be enforced by the uk government as nearas enforced by the uk government as near as possible to the point of arrival into england so that would need cooperation between the administrations, and there are conversations ongoing about that. thank you. our top story this evening. as the vaccine roll—out now extends to those aged over 65, the prime minister says caution is key. and still to come... undeterred by gunfire, protests continue on the streets of myanmar even as the army increases its presence. coming up on sportsday on bbc news... at the australian open tennis — home favourite and the world number one ashleigh barty cruises through to the quarter finals as she bids to become the first australian to win the women's singles since 1978.

yemen is a dangerous place to be, its population suffering from a civil war that's lasted for six years. but the city of taiz is one of the most dangerous places to be a child. human rights workers say more than a50 children have been killed or wounded by houthi rebel sniper fire. the houthis deny it. taiz in yemen's south—west is home to one of the longest—running battles of the conflict. it's under virtual siege, divided between yemeni government forces, supported by a saudi—led coalition backed by the uk and until recently the us, and the iranian—backed houthis, who still control most of the population. our international correspondent 0rla guerin, cameraman goktay koraltan and producer claire read sent this report from the so—called city of snipers. a warning, some of you may find it distressing. in taiz, city of snipers.

a family on the front line. ruweida saleh is eight years old. her big brother amry is ten. she probably owes him her life. here she lay last august after she was shot in the head. who took aim and pulled the trigger, herfamily have no doubt — a houthi sniper. it was amry who dragged her to safety.

ruweida arrived in hospital unconscious and had to have brain surgery. she has made a remarkable recovery, physically at least. but she's still trapped in a city at war, and that's taking its toll, says herfather, saleh bin saleh. in front of the family's home, right where ruweida was shot, kids just want to be kids.

her attack caused outrage. since then, snipers have left the children alone on this street. under armed escort, we travelled to another front line area. human rights workers document every attack. they say houthi snipers have killed or injured more than a50 children in tiaz. than a50 children in taiz. houthi officials say these are completely false accusations by their opponents. the makeshift barricades are to block the snipers' line of sight. well, we have to move carefully here and take cover in these front line districts. nowhere is safe and no one is spared — especially, it seems, the children. you can go from building to building here, from family to family, and hear more stories of children that have been deliberately targeted by snipers.

0ne father wanted to tell us his story, so we followed him to his home. he runs this risk every day. so do his children. this photo of 10—year—old saber was taken last april. days later, he was dead. abdu tells me saber was shot out of a tree after climbing to pick fruit. the bullet passed through his body. saber�*s younger brother mohammed was there and saw him die. he got shot in the stomach. the seven—year—old made it home and hid under a blanket, too scared to tell their mother they had climbed the tree.

while mohammed survived, he's deeply traumatised. his mother says when he's not happy, he tells her, "i'll go to the sniper so he can shoot me again." across yemen the young are at risk from all sides, and death often comes from the skies. air strikes by the saudi—led coalition, which supports the yemeni government and is backed by the uk, kill many children. human rights workers here in taiz say the difference is houthi snipers are systematically trying to kill them. back in ruweida's neighbourhood,

a young boy plays dead. hard to watch. too often here, it's not a game. 0rla guerin, bbc news, taiz. the campaigner peter lawrence, whose daughter claudia went missing in 2009, has died without ever knowing what happened to her. police believe claudia, who was 35 when she was last seen in york, was murdered but her body has never been found. peter lawrence, who was 73, fought to get more rights and support for the relatives of missing people. he died in york on thursday after a short illness. jaguar has announced that it will produce only electric vehicles from 2025. moving away from the internal combustion engine, the company said that by the end of the decade, all of its cars, including land rover models, would be powered by electricity in an effort to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2039. it also said it had no plans to close any manufacturing facilities in the uk.

the former high courtjudge sir william macpherson, who led the inquiry into the murder of stephen lawrence almost 30 years ago, has died. he was 9a. sir william's investigation, examining why the metropolitan police repeatedly failed to catch the black teenager's killers, concluded the force was "institutionally racist". the review led to police forces throughout the uk reassessing issues of race, including the use of stop and search powers. myanmar�*s military has warned protesters across the country that they could face up to 20 years in prison if they obstruct the armed forces. demonstrators are still taking to the streets after the army stepped in to overturn the re—election of the civilian leader aung san suu kyi two weeks ago. last night what sounded like volleys of gunshots were heard as people gathered in cities across the country. jonathan head reports. gunfire. even for a country shocked at being back under military rule, it has been a stressful 2a hours.

rumours of a full—scale army operation were strong, and here in myitkyina, repeated bursts of gunfire from the security forces made people think it was already happening. most of the shots, though, were fired into the air. then, an eight—hour, nationwide internet blackout. for what purpose, we still aren't clear. this morning, the military was making itself visible in yangon and other cities. that didn't stop people from protesting again over their power grab, as they have for the past ten days. if anything, the soldiers provoked people to speak out even more over seeing their democracy crashed by the generals. this armoured vehicle found itself surrounded by hostile traffic, the drivers honking their anger. and here at the headquarters of the party led by

aung san suu kyi, more anger. "release our leaders," they shouted at the police surrounding the building. they haven't forgotten that they re—elected her by a landslide just three months ago. she's still in military custody, her detention extended today for who knows how long. the military�*s plans from now are hard to guess. the soldiers, though, are an ominous sign. these are combat units used to fight armed insurgents on myanmar�*s borders, and in previous unrest to shoot protesters. and they're back on the streets again. jonathan head, bbc news. cricket, and england are heading for defeat in the second test against india in chennai. set a mammoth a82 to win, england lost early wickets to end the day on 53 for three. joe wilson was watching the action.

batting in chennai was near impossible, the pitch near unplayable. remember? no one told those two. after a nought in the first innings, it was unthinkable virat kohli would fail this time. well, certainly unthinkable for him. but who's this? what's that? ravichandran ashwin, having out—bowled england, was now out—batting them. born and bred in this city, spectators loved his 50. well, hold something back. england's spin bowlers stuck at it. kohli lbw�*d to moeen ali, out for 62. but ashwin was still batting, still bashing. he's absolutely nailed that. spectators still counting. not much evidence of social distance, but vivid excitement. he's close to 100. just one more swing of the bat. he has done it.

and that seemed like the ultimate expression of india's position, until their worst batsman started hitting sixes. mohammed siraj, last man in, biggest shot of the day. england's team, like an apollo 11, now chase an uncharted target. well, joe, a82 to win. 0r ten wickets for india. suitable conditions for expert bowlers, it happens everywhere. three wickets here by the close, one of them for the chennai champion. ravichandran will surely end with a win. joe wilson, bbc news. time for a look at the weather, here's matt taylor. and it's getting just a bit warmer at last? it and it's getting 'ust a bit warmer at last? , , ,. , at last? it is indeed, but scenes like this already _ at last? it is indeed, but scenes like this already seem _ at last? it is indeed, but scenes like this already seem like - at last? it is indeed, but scenes like this already seem like a - like this already seem like a distant memory. this is greece today, where they had their worst snowstorm in over a decade.

temperatures in athens are struggling to get over 5 degrees. milder atlantic air is winning in western europe. temperatures will go even higher later this week and look what could be happening in eastern england by saturday, 17 degrees possible. doesn't mean there will be sunshine all the way, and tonight there will be rain developing from there will be rain developing from the south and west as the breeze picks up. some in the far south—east may stay dry. the wind is coming from the south to south—west so temperatures holding at five to 10 celsius. it will be a windy start to tomorrow as well, particularly in western scotland where we see the strongest of the gusts throughout the day. rain could linger in the channel islands and the south—east through much of the day but elsewhere early rain clears and then it is sunshine and showers on and off through the day, but blustery showers thanks to the south—westerly winds which once again will continue

feeding in mild airfor the time of year. maybe not