landing on mars is not for the faint—hearted. landing on mars is not for the faint-hearted.— landing on mars is not for the faint-hearted. , t, t , faint-hearted. perseverance is the most advanced _ faint-hearted. perseverance is the most advanced rover _ faint-hearted. perseverance is the most advanced rover nasa - faint-hearted. perseverance is the most advanced rover nasa has - faint-hearted. perseverance is the | most advanced rover nasa has ever built and it will be hunting for signs of life. it's got a robotic drill to collect rock samples. the hope is any microscopic creatures that once lived on mars will be preserved. forthe that once lived on mars will be preserved. for the first time nasa will be testing a mini mars helicopter to provide a new bird's eye view of the planet. and back on the ground the rover will store some of the rocks, a future mission will bring them back to earth. this mission provides _ bring them back to earth. this mission provides our- bring them back to earth. ti 3 mission provides our best chance bring them back to earth. ti 1 mission provides our best chance to find the answer whether life existed on mars first though nasa needs to get its rover safely down.- on mars first though nasa needs to get its rover safely down. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear. good afternoon. i thought i would take a look at the debilitating

weather in north america and you can see the blue tones donating —— denoting the cold air is as south as the gulf states, temperatures will not climb above freezing but there are indications the bitterly cold air may release its stranglehold as we go through the weekend and by tuesday we could see temperatures peaking at 21 degrees, that's 70 fahrenheit, above average for the time of year, which links nicely to what we might see as we go through the weekend. not 21, but we may get temperatures above the average for the time of year in one or two spots down in the south, accompanied by some lovely spring sunshine. back to reality now because we have seen some rain around this morning and it's been pushing its way steadily off into the north sea. behind the clouds breaking up quite nicely allowing for some sunshine to come through but always a scattering of showers further north and west, persistent rain may be to the north—west of the great glen. here it stays cool —ish, with around five or 6 degrees, but elsewhere it's a

blustery afternoon with sunny spells and scattered showers and highs of 12 celsius. more rain in the forecast however, a deep area of low pressure expected to move it through the night tonight. it will bring significantly wet and increasingly windy weather, not for all however but for most out to the west. in fact we keep some clearer skies in eastern scotland and eastern england. here, temperatures perhaps tomorrow morning will be in low single figures, something we've not seen of late, but we are expecting it to stay largely fine and dry here. by contrast out of the west we see this relentless rain logging onto west facing coasts accompanied by gale force gusts of wind and so the rainfall totals are going to start to tot up over the next couple of days. in terms of the feel of the weather it's going to be a windy day but in the sunshine we should see ten or 11 degrees quite widely across the country. as we move out on friday and saturday, the weather story hasn't changed. we still got

this conveyor belt of moist air moving out from the south—west but that when the front weakens off and grinds to a halt potentially on sunday. that's the dividing line between this mild air that's pushing up between this mild air that's pushing up from the near continent so if we take a look at the weekend in more detail, a real west is divide may develop as we continue to see relentless pulses of wet weather across west facing coasts so there is the potential maybe for some localised flooding. very saturated, the ground at the moment. eastern areas will stay dry with some sunshine. we'll see 15 or 16 degrees and that leads us into sunday. perhaps not quite as wet out of the west. mild for many lovers and largely dry. —— for many of us. a reminder of our top story... the current lockdown has seen coronavirus infections drop by two thirds across england since january, but scientists say they still need to be lower. that's all from the bbc news at one.

it's goodbye from me. 0n bbc one we nowjoin the bbc�*s news teams where you are. good afternoon — it'sjust after 1.30pm and this is your latest sports news... as we've been hearing — serena willams was knocked out of the australian open. and may have said farewell to the event. around 7000 fans were alowed into the rod laver arena after a five day lockdown in melbourne was eased. and they saw her opponent, japan's naomi 0saka win 6—3, 6—4. fitting that the fans were allowed back in for this one, as they gave seven—time champion here williams a standing ovation. and with a hand—on—heart gesture, her quest to equal the record grand slam total of 2a goes on... and the american faced more questions — on whether this could be her final goodbye to melbourne. i don't know. if i ever say farewell, i wouldn't tell anyone, so... laughter

you were saying about the unforced errors in the match. considering how well you've played to get to this stage, what do you feel caused that? or was itjust one of those bad days at the office? i don't know. i'm done. annabel croft is commentating on the tennis for the bbc and told me — it was understable that williams was so upset to go to go out at this stage. it was heartbreaking to watch her so devastated. we all understand by, she is going after this great record. she wants to extend it. that has been 11 grand slam is now where she is cut short a little bit. she was very emotional. you never quite sure if it is a press conference that soon after the match, she's got a lot of things going through her head. whatever it was, something hit

a raw nerve. you wonder whether the question is about, whether we receive for the last time at the australian open, we don't know. i don't know where she is out. i do hope we see her again, but time is going against her. she is 39 and she lost against an opponent with mental strength, firepower, and 16 years herjunior. strength, firepower, and 16 years her 'unior. ~ . strength, firepower, and 16 years herjunior-— herjunior. what we think of her final opponent? _ herjunior. what we think of her final opponent? they _ herjunior. what we think of her final opponent? they played - herjunior. what we think of her final opponent? they played a l final opponent? they played a terrifie- - - _ final opponent? they played a terrific... the _ final opponent? they played a terrific... the world _ final opponent? they played a terrific... the world number i final opponent? they played a l terrific... the world number one earlier... she won herfirst terrific... the world number one earlier... she won her first tour eventin earlier... she won her first tour event in lexington. she is someone who has worked incredibly hard on the mental aspect of the game. she's got confidence. i'm wondering whether she will surprise people. definitely, you would have to favour

a saka in the final.— a saka in the final. looking to the men's singles _ a saka in the final. looking to the men's singles now. _ a saka in the final. looking to the men's singles now. novak- a saka in the final. looking to the l men's singles now. novak djokovic a saka in the final. looking to the . men's singles now. novak djokovic is cruising through. any surprises there on how they've played? if anyone has seen the match, it looked like a straightforward score line, but it was anything but. this player was ranked 114 in the world. yet never paid a grand slam nature of much before. he was going to in qualifying, this was his ninth match and he was really holding his own against djokovic. things got very edgyin against djokovic. things got very edgy in the second site. djokovic was 51 ahead. it result almost pegged back to five all. it is very trans. he had to draw upon a lot of experience and a lot of strength of character to get himself ahead and try to close at the match. —— it was all very times.

moeen ali has been bought for £700,000 by chennai super kings at the indian premier league auction. the england all—rounder headed home from the test series with india to spend time with his family but will head back out to play in the twenty twenty tournament which starts in april. a number of england players are in the auction — batsman dawid malan sold to punjab kings for nearly £150,000. the tokyo 0lympic organising committee, has a new president. seiko hashimoto, who competed in four winter and three summer games. the former speed skater takes over after yoshiro mori, a formerjapanese prime minister, was forced to resign last week after making sexist comments about women. i'll have more for you in the next hour. you're watching bbc news. to take to the next few hours of our coronavirus coverage and more besides. let's start to that speech a little bit earlier today by the labour leader, keir starmer, who's been setting out his vision for the uk can bounce back from the

pandemic. he's proposed intoducing a "recovery bond" so people who've saved money in the past year, can invest in rebuilding the country. let's hear more of what he had to say. there is an opportunity here to think creatively, to build on this spirit of solidarity we have seen the last year. and to forge a new contract with the british people. the british people invest in building an economy that is more secure, and the government provides financial security for millions of people, many of whom have saved for the first time. if i were prime minister, i would the first time. if i were prime minister, iwould introduce the first time. if i were prime minister, i would introduce a new british recovery bond. this could raise billions to invest in local communities, injobs and in businesses, it could help build the infrastructure of the future. investing in science, skills, technology, and british manufacturing. it has also provide

security for savers. and give millions of people a proper stake in britain's future. this is bold, it is innovative, and it is an example of the active empowering government i believe is needed if we are going to build a more secure economy. the budget is a pivotal moment. but i also want to lift our sights, to talk about the decades to come. under my leadership, labour�*s priority will always be financial responsibility. i know the value of people's hard earned money. i take that incredibly seriously. i know that incredibly seriously. i know that people rightly expect the government to look after their money, to invest it wisely, and not to spend money we can't afford. those are my guiding principles. but

i think that coronavirus has shifted the access on economic policy. but what is necessary, and what is possible have changed. the age in which the government did little but collect and distribute revenue is over. the mistakes of the last decade have made sure of that. i believe people are now looking for more from their government, like they were after the second world war. they are looking for a government to help them through difficult times, to provide security, to build a betterfuture for them and their families. in scotland, there have been 57 deaths from coronavirus and 685 positive tests in the past 24 hours. first minister nicola sturgeon said the daily test positivity rate is 3.8%, down from 5.2% and the lowest

rate for some time. she said these were all signs that the number of cases of the virus in scotland was continuing to decline and that vaccinations are beginning to impact the number of deaths. there's very strong and compelling evidence now that vaccination is starting to work, to reduce the number of people dying. i touched on this yesterday when i updated parliament, but let me just cover it in a little bit more detail. yesterday's national records of scotland figures show a 62% reduction in the number of covid deaths which have taken place in care homes over the last three weeks, and that is a larger decline than we have seen four deaths happening in hospitals or in people's own homes, and as a result of that the proportion of covid deaths, the proportion of the overall number of people dying, taking place in care homes has fallen from 34% around the start of this year to 13% last week.

and with the exception of one week at the end of august when there were only two covid deaths registered overall, care homes accounted for a smaller proportion of covid deaths last week than at any time since march last year. in other words, at any time since virtually the beginning of the pandemic. so that does give us quite strong confidence now that the early vaccination of care home residents and the focus trying to maximise on uptake within older people's care homes is now having the impact we desperately hoped to see it have. now, i know, and i'm always very aware of this, and it sounds jarring to talk about positive news in the context of daily death tallies which remain heartbreakingly high, but this initial indication that vaccination is starting to protect people is undoubtedly really positive news, and we hope that the signs of that protective effect will strengthen the weeks ahead. we are already seeing some early

similar signs in the older age group living in the community, the over 85 age groups saw the biggest reduction in deaths in the figures that were published yesterday. but we hope to see that strengthen in the weeks ahead, and we obviously very much hope to see that deaths will start to fall significantly amongst the other groups that are being vaccinated as well. the care minister, helen whately, has been speaking about increasing the amount of visiting allowed at care homes. she said the government didn't want to have to wait until residents had had theirfull course of the coronavirus vaccination — but insisted that opening up had to be "step by step". as we come out of this national lockdown i really want to enable more visiting so that people can go back to holding hands, being able to have much more normal contact with their relatives

and loved ones in care homes. i think it has been one of the hardest things in this pandemic so i really want us to open up. i don't want to have to wait for the second vaccinations. clearly that is really important to give care home residents maximum protection, but i really want us to be able to open up cautiously and carefully, to enable residents some contact with family members, because i know it is so important. there are calls for new research into the illnesses suffered by soldiers who took part in the gulf war of 1991. operation desert storm only lasted a few months, but had a devastating long—term impact on the health of some of the soldiers who took part — reportedly about a quarter of troops have been affected. scientists have now ruled out the inhalation of depleted uranium as a cause.

the headlines on bbc news... new research shows there's been a strong decline in corinavirus infection levels since the current lockdown restrictions were put in place. sir keir starmer has outlined labour's economic plan, suggesting his government would introduce a new british recovery bond to help raise billions for the treasury. and the duke of edinburgh has spent a second night in hospital after being admitted as a precautionary measure on tuesday evening. brazil remains the second worst—affected country in the world from covid—19. more than 240,000 people have died and 10 million cases have been registered since the start of the pandemic. while the country goes through a difficult second wave, one small town in the south has

begun a world—first study to try and slow the spread of the coronavirus. south america correspondent katy watson reports from se—hana in sao paulo state. this is a small town with big ambitions. over the next couple of months, every adult here, 30,000 people, will be vaccinated. the idea is to see whether by protecting an entire city, it will cut infection rates. serrana was a commuter town closer to bigger cities, the virus hit the community hard. the trial, known as project s was launched this week. it's being led by an institute which hasjointly developed the corona vaccine with chinese laboratory centre. the whole world wants to know when we can relax the restrictions. so how we can get the level

of vaccination that we can take off the mask, that we will not be afraid that people around us will get ill and that way get hospitalised and die, and we can restart life before the pandemic. for those waiting in line to get theirvaccination, it couldn't come soon enough. translation: i got here before eight. l six hours before vaccination started. i wanted to get the first spot. after six people in herfamily got the virus, she is keen to get protected. the trial has attracted huge interest, as well as attempts at playing the system, with people trying to move here to get the vaccine. real estate agent isabella has been on the receiving end. the phone rings, it's

someone from rio. the caller's daughter is a nurse, they claim, and needs the vaccine. translation: the number of inquiries we received - overnight quadrupled. it is desperate. people at whatever cost trying to benefit and get access to vaccines. this town is also full of personal stories, of loss and devastation. for carlos, who was intubated in august, the trial is everything. translation: i'm very close to my family. - i think they're love gave me the strength to recover. i have big hopes for the vaccine. i can't wait. i will be there in the queue. it's a dose that means life for us. in a country whose covid—19 death toll has been brutal, people here are clearly excited, but it's still a very small sample.

everyone here will receive a vaccine, and soon, but that's not the case across brazil. in some cities they have stopped vaccinating because they've run out of doses, and there is growing criticism the federal government is not working hard or quick enough to keep people safe. the usjustice department has charged three north korean hackers with conspiring to steal 1.3 billion dollars in a series of cyber attacks. thejustice department has also linked them to some of the biggest recent cyber attacks. mark lobel reports. witness the scene of the biggest cash heist in us history. around 60 years ago, two gunmen raiding this mail truck for $1.5 million. today's bank robbers are accused of scheming to steal $1.3 billion — with no getaway cars,

just a click of the mouse. the accused come from sanction—hit, cash—strapped north korea, which america'sjustice department describes as "a criminal syndicate with the flag", pointing the finger at three cyber bandits —jon chang hyok, kim il, and mr park. the us says all are member of the north korean's military intelligence agency, the rgb. it retains the ability to conduct disruptive cyber attacks, and several of those cases in the past are quite high—profile and prominent. i'm sorry we're sold out for the interview... it was the release of this comedy six years ago, about a fictional plot to assassinate the north korean leader that sparked cyber attacks, organised by one of the defendants, aimed at the film's maker, sony entertainment pictures, alongside threats of violence against us cinema—goers. with parts of britain's health service plunged into crisis years later,

its computer system crippled alongside tens of thousands worldwide, with ransoms demanded in bitcoins to get them going again. now the troublesome trio are accused of attempting a staggering billion—dollar raid on banks and businesses in over 20 countries, which would pay for half of their country's annual merchandise imports, by trying to redirect other people's money and steal digital wallets of crypto currency. north korea has become one of the most sophisticated cyber actors out there. it has really become adept at hacking international financial institutions and networks and using it to generate revenue, to finance its weapons, nuclear weapons programme, and obtain hard currency. but with the prime suspects thought to be in north korea, there is little chance they will face trial, instead, rather gloomily, experts expect more trying times for global businesses,

with cops left out in the cold from increasingly sophisticated cyber—criminals. mark lobel, bbc news. for the past 12 years, a horse riding stables in south london has provided a place of comfort and therapy for hundreds of young people with disabilities. but, with the landlord wanting to sell, the community have a week left to raise the one—million pounds needed to buy it — or face closure. fiona lamdin has the story. these stables in south—west london have been here for nearly 200 years. for the last 12, they have been helping those with disabilities. but now the owner wants to sell. do you want to give him a carrot? 18—year—old dominic has cerebral palsy. we all want the best for our children but when you get someone like dominic who cannot access anything, just seeing

the joy, what the one activity can give him what nothing else can do, that is why it is so important. sorry. emotional. time is running out. they have just seven days to raise hundreds of thousands and they are desperate for help. i feel enormous pressure because 350 disabled people are relying on us. i absolutely have to do it for them and i feel like i am carrying the weight of them on my back. i feel sick all of the time and i am worried to sleep because i think i am wasting hours when we only have one week left. 14—year—old louis has autism. he says the stables and the horses have changed his life. i get really stressed, panic attacks, and just coming to the stables has really helped,

being around the animals, being able to see them every day. give a pony a hug. show me. and for hannah, who is visually impaired, without the stables, she would be unemployed. it has improved my mental health dramatically. it has allowed me to find out what i am good at. philippa has learning difficulties and she has been riding here for ten years. when i am with the horses, it makes me feel like another person because it makes me forget about everything and gets rid of my worries and everything. the appeal has attracted some celebrity backing. just brilliant the community has come together so quickly to raise

half of the money needed to save it, but £1 million is the target and time is ticking. they have until the end of february. pretty urgent and i so hope the stables can be saved. the message is clear — one they are taking every opportunity to spread. fiona lamdin, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather, with louise lear. good afternoon. yet again, there's plenty of rain to come in the forecast. and if, like me, you're trying to get out, get some fresh air and dodge the wetter moments, it is possible to do so today. you can see the weather front moving its way west to east at quite a pace. and behind it, the cloud is breaking up. so there will be some improving weather if you're under that rain at the moment. and already we've seen it this morning across north wales. some lovely sunshine coming through. there will be a few scattered showers along west—facing coasts as we go through the rest of the afternoon. but also some drier, brighter interludes,

particularly as that rain clears. it'll be a little bit fresher as we go through the afternoon, accompanied by some blustery winds. but hopefully the sunshine will compensate. highs between nine and 12 degrees. but there's more wet weather to come, and this time it'll be really quite heavy, particularly along west—facing coast. it's going to be accompanied by some pretty strong to gale force gusts of winds at times as well. during the early hours of friday morning, that rain arrives into northern ireland — the winds picking up through irish sea coasts and towards dawn, there will be wet weather along western fringes. but sheltered eastern areas are seeing some clearer skies, and temperatures perhaps a few degrees down on where we've seen them just recently — low single figures along the sheltered east coast. so it's going to be a wet and windy start to friday, with gales quite possible out to the west. the rain gradually drifting its way inland, but it never really reaches the eastern half of the uk. temperatures generally at around 10—11 celsius. the rain fairly relentless out to the west, particularly to higher ground.

and there's more wet weather to come into start of the weekend. just like i was telling you yesterday, this pulse of moist air moving up from the south—west, bringing some heavy rain along west—facing coasts. so rainfall totals are going to start to tot up — that may well lead to some localised flooding. the ground is very saturated at the moment. we'll need to keep an eye on that. but you can see things getting a little bit warmer with sunshine across the south and east. that's the story as we go into sunday. that weather front is still wriggling around the northwest, but it will weaken off a touch. but it's the boundary between allowing this milder air to push up to the south and really make a difference, particularly when we get some sunshine. so we could see 16 or 17 celsius through the weekend in the south. take care.

this is bbc news, i'mjane hill. the headlines at 2pm... coronavirus infections drop by two thirds across england during the latest lockdown, but scientists say infections still need to be lower. the big question is, how low can we go to have some residual infection where we can open up safely? there's a call for more financial help — for key workers living with long covid. the labour leader proposes british recovery bonds to help fund the renewal of communities and jobs after the lockdown ends. the coronavirus vaccine — performers and politicians come together to urge people from minority ethnic backgrounds to get the jab.

australia's prime minister says his country won't be intimidated,