this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines... the duke and duchess of sussex have told the queen they will not be returning as working members of the royal family. borisjohnson will pledge to donate most of the uk's surplus covid vaccines to developing countries, at the g7 summit this afternoon. wales�* stay at home rule may end in three weeks, says the first minister, and the youngest pupils will return to school on monday. the coronavirus reproduction number, or r value, continues to fall across the uk, suggesting the spread of the disease is slowing across the uk. the supreme court rules that uber drivers are employees, not third party contractors, in a decision with wide implications for the gig economy.

and, why max the springer spaniel is getting an award, after helping thousands of people cope with lockdown. max helped me from recovering from depression and if he can help others now, and our other dogs, if they make people smile, then i say bring it on. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. the duke and duchess of sussex have confirmed to the queen that they will not be returning as working members of the royal family. as a result the couple will now no longer hold the honorary military appointments and royal patronages given to them by the queen. in a statement buckingham palace said that "in stepping away

from the work of the royal family it would not be possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service. "prince harry and meghan have committed to continue supporting the organisations they have represented saying �*service is universal�*." andy moore reports. ever since meghan and harry moved to north america, their long—term role in the royal family has been uncertain. last january, they announced they would step back as senior roles and work to become financially independent. there was a period of reflection and assessment on both sides. now there is a definite breach. meghan and harry will no longer be returning to work as members of the royalfamily. the news about their future comes ahead of an interview to be broadcast next month with oprah winfrey and only days after the couple announced they were expecting a second child.

i don't think anyone would be surprised. it is untenable to live on the west coast of america and retain duty here. it was never going to work. now they have decided this is the future they want, away from royal duties. it was inevitable. it was inevitable. a spokesperson for the duke and duchess of sussex said... prince harry served in military and honorary military appointments, but they will now be formally returned to the queen, and they will be distributed among other working members of the royal family. the palace announcement

said everyone it was confirmed that harry would be stepping down from the rugby football union. they greatly value his contribution to supporting the game. the national theatre also thanked the deckchairs for her work as patron. she championed work to make theatre accessible to all and her work begin people across the uk —— the national theatre also thanked the the palace announcement said everyone was saddened by the decision of meghan and harry, but they would remain much loved members of the family. our royal correspondent sarah

campbelljoins us now. there is a certain sense of inevitability. how it played out was last january, inevitability. how it played out was lastjanuary, when inevitability. how it played out was last january, when we first heard that they had this planned to step back from the royal family, they put forward their plan for what would happen, which is to use their money, but also continue with their royal work. there was a summit at sandringham. it became clear that that simply wouldn't work. you couldn't have a half in, half out. the result was the stepping back. there was a 12 month periods to see how it would work out. that was due to end at the end of march, but this statement has come out earlier than that. it's obviously been a strange year. perhaps they would not have spent so much time abroad consistently due to the pandemic, but they have been out of the system. they have been building and creating their own lives. they have

signed a multi—million pound deals with netflix, they've got a multi—million pound deal with sparta five. then came the news that megan and harry would do this big six down with oprah winfrey. they are building their own lives. this was almost inevitable, this was coming together. it says in a statement today released by buckingham palace, while we are saddened by the decision, they remain much loved members of the family. there is still a sense that they are still royal family members, still a sense that they are still royalfamily members, but still a sense that they are still royal family members, but they are not working royals. fix, royal family members, but they are not working royals.— not working royals. a quick thought about what it _ not working royals. a quick thought about what it means _ not working royals. a quick thought about what it means for _ not working royals. a quick thought about what it means for other - about what it means for other members of the family, other responsibilities, duties, and jobs, which are helpful to others, to pick up which are helpful to others, to pick up the slack in terms of the extensive roster of royal duties. you are right. it means more work for other members of the royal families. peach niches will be distributed amongst the other

members. harry, of course, which will be a particular sadness for him, because of his years of service with the british army, he is no longer captain general for the royal marines. that is a patron and she took on from the duke of edinburgh, who how that role for decades and decades. he also uses the roles in the royal naval command small ships and diving. because of harry's links with the military, i think a be particularly painful for him. with the military, i think a be particularly painfulfor him. i think the queen's commonwealth trust is one that is interesting to think about. he was the president, she was the vice president. as members of the vice president. as members of the royalfamily, there was the vice president. as members of the royal family, there was a the vice president. as members of the royalfamily, there was a real sense that they could do great work in that role, really spreading themselves across the commonwealth. there was talk at one point that harry and megan might move out of the uk. they seem to be keyed to the commonwealth, but they are losing

theirs patronage is. is that megan will lose, aren't the royal patronage as she took on. the royal national theatre that she took on from the queen, and the commonwealth universities. sibiu might be thinking, what about the victors games, these are private patronage is. from the chest�*s perspective, she keeps smart works and an animal charity —— from the dutchess's perspective. harry will also be keeping some. let's get more on this from victoria howard, founder and editor of the royal website the crown chronicles. what do you make of this, even if it had been anticipated? your thoughts

on the if this is a striking day. i think this is interesting. a lot of people knew this was coming. it is not a surprise to many people who follow the royal family. not a surprise to many people who follow the royalfamily. it not a surprise to many people who follow the royal family. it come slightly before the transition period that had been put in place. that is interesting. they did not go the full 12 months before making this decision. it suggests that this is something they had agreed on, or come to the realisation that that was the power forwards. come to the realisation that that was the powerforwards. also come to the realisation that that was the power forwards. also the fact that the palace statement specifically mentions that they are still members of the family, they are still loved. i think there is still trying to make it clear that just because they have gone down this commercial route, moved to the us, they are stepping back completely from all the royal work, but that doesn't mean that the royal family have broken it off with them. it is just family have broken it off with them. it isjust a family have broken it off with them. it is just a change of circumstances. wright what you think of their future in california? [30

of their future in california? do ou see of their future in california? do you see them remaining? is that their home and now? of the second child is born there, there is the issue of us citizenship as well? what do you make about their future? i think california is probably where they will stay. megan is from the area. her mother is based there. they seemed to have built up quite a network of friends there. oprah winfrey, the clunes. there is a hollywood aspect of it. the netflix deal, which makes a lot of sense for them to be going down that commercial route. i think it's a need to remember in terms of the second baby. that baby might be born without ever meeting its great—grandparents, which i think is quite sad. archie could be growing

up quite sad. archie could be growing up without that side of the family and the second baby potentially as well. wright know there are lucrative deals in the pipeline, the deals they have already signed. some of the figures involved a very high. their costs are going to be enormous. this year cost of security alone, if you are paying to protect that family for the rest of time. that is an enormous bill. they will need to earn an awful lot, one day? that is one thing that's never been fully discussed or made public. braille — fully discussed or made public. braille security is not something that is_ braille security is not something that is often made public. it's how and who— that is often made public. it's how and who is— that is often made public. it's how and who is funding that. is it something that will full to the american state? it is in their area? with_ american state? it is in their area? with the _ american state? it is in their area? with the couple have to privately fund this? — with the couple have to privately fund this? it is a huge amount of money — fund this? it is a huge amount of money. they are such targets. even though— money. they are such targets. even though they— money. they are such targets. even though they are no longer working royals, _ though they are no longer working royals, they are important public

figures, _ royals, they are important public figures, who are worth something in terms _ figures, who are worth something in terms of— figures, who are worth something in terms of ransom, or a figures, who are worth something in terms of ransom, ora message figures, who are worth something in terms of ransom, or a message if they— terms of ransom, or a message if they were — terms of ransom, or a message if they were to be targeted for various numbers— they were to be targeted for various numbers of— they were to be targeted for various numbers of attacks. it is a huge deat _ numbers of attacks. it is a huge deat they— numbers of attacks. it is a huge deal. they will really have to consider _ deal. they will really have to consider how this works. in terms of logistical— consider how this works. in terms of logistical security for them. it is an enormous undertaking that they have never— an enormous undertaking that they have never had to consider before because _ have never had to consider before because it — have never had to consider before because it was all done by the met police _ now we will be talking about coronavirus and particularly g7. the prime minister is this afternoon pledging to donate the majority of the uk's surplus covid vaccines to developing countries. borisjohnson is chairing a virtual summit of the g7 nations, where he'll encourage other leaders, including us presidentjoe biden, to follow suit. one anti—poverty pressure group says wealthy countries have secured more than three billion doses, a third more than they need to fully vaccinate their populations.

our global health correspondent, naomi grimley reports. covid—i9 vaccines are undertaking some tortuous journeys to get where they need to be. this is the northern brazilian state of para where health care workers have set up a makeshift clinic for the indigenous community here. but 130 countries have yet to administer a single jab at all. that's a far cry from the uk, which has now already vaccinated the majority of over 70—year—olds. britain has pre—ordered 400 million doses of vaccines in all. today the prime minister will broach the issue of giving some of the uk's surplus vaccines to developing countries and suggest other industrialised nations do the same. we know that we are going to have surplus. we don't know exactly when and we can't say exactly how many because that will be dependent on which vaccines ultimately get

the green light from the regulators, but it does mean that we will be able to both protect british people, which is our first duty, but also be a good player on the international stage, be a real force for good. new figures from the anti—poverty pressure group the one campaign revealed that australia, canada, japan, the uk, the us and the eu have already secured more than 3 million doses, 1.2 billion more than they need to give their entire — three billion doses 1.2 billion more than they need to give their entire populations two shots. this is for our long—term safety. none of us is safe until all of us are safe, so it is in the interests of people in this country that we really accelerate global efforts to end this pandemic. the uk has given half a billion to covax, the un—led programme to get vaccines out to poorer countries. but the project has been slow off the ground and even if it works,

it will only cover 20% of each nation's population. many middle income countries like argentina have looked to russia with its sputnik v shot to fill the gap. others have ordered the chinese vaccines. the big problem is uncertainty. will extra doses be required? will new vaccines need to be developed? no country wants to give away its stocks until it's sure of what is happening at home. naomi grimley, bbc news. in wales, the first minister mark drakeford has been setting out plans for lifting lockdown restrictions. if covid cases continue to fall, the stay at home order could end in three weeks. the easing of restrictions will begin with schools, which will gradually reopen. younger primary children will return on monday, and older pupils could join them on march 15th if infections continue falling. here's our wales correspondent, tomos morgan.

with the lowest virus rates of all the uk nations, and the most first dose vaccination is given, the pandemic in wales seems to now be going in the right direction. on monday, the youngest learners will be going back to the classroom and today, the first minister has announced that the rest of primary school children over seven years old could return on the 15th of march along with exam grade pupils in high schools. i am very grateful to everyone who has been involved in this work to prepare for the return of face—to—face learning. getting children back into school remains the welsh government's top priority. the r rate in wales is now below one, which has allowed the welsh government to also consider opening nonessential shops, beauty parlours, and hairdressers next month. it is a cautious welcome for those in the industry that will still probably not be able to recoup the full profits when they reopen. we are going to only be able to have limited capacity.

possibly only 50%—70%. we're also going be opening with more debt than we have ever had before. so when you are combining the two, i know after speaking to a lot of other salon owners, it is whether or not it will be viable. so while most of the high street prepares to reopen by the 15th of march, there is still no word or sign yet of the hospitality sector reopening in wales soon. is we didn't plan to be open sometime in the easter holidays, or maybe, orjune, then we need to prepare for that. it's notjust in case of giving it a week's notice and open the doors. if continues to go well here, the next phase of reopening will include self catering accommodation in the tourism industry the run up to easter with a nod also to be potential and to stay—at—home rules. potential end to stay—at—home rules. further information on those decisions will come in the next review in three weeks' time. if 2020 has taught us anything, a lot can change in just a few weeks during a pandemic. let's speak now to welsh health

minister vaughan gething. good afternoon. good afternoon. in terms of society _ good afternoon. good afternoon. in terms of society very _ good afternoon. good afternoon. in terms of society very gently - good afternoon. good afternoon. in terms of society very gently easing | terms of society very gently easing up, the absolute priority seems to be on education, is that right? that has been our _ be on education, is that right? twat has been our stated priority for the headroom we have to make progress. how do room has only been provided because people have stuck to doing the right thing. you will recall we had extraordinarily high levels of coronavirus before christmas. we are now down to the lowest in the uk at present. but we are relatively high compared to the summer. our youngest children, that is year two in wales, seven—year—old and younger, going back. we had to have the whole of primary school back in school by the 15th of march and exam years in secondary school. steady steps, but i think notjust for parents and

carers like myself with young children, but also for the rest of the country to see that we are now making definitive steps forward because of our collective sacrifice and effort. because of our collective sacrifice and effort-— because of our collective sacrifice and effort. , , ., , and effort. everybody wants some ositivi . and effort. everybody wants some positivity- you _ and effort. everybody wants some positivity. you will _ and effort. everybody wants some positivity. you will know - and effort. everybody wants some positivity. you will know that - positivity. you will know that earlier this week we were talking about a whole raft of data that showed some of the highest infection rates at the moment are actually among very young children and late teenage. you are talking about, as others have, about a very small children trying to get back to school swiftly. do you feel you can monitor that very closely and you can keep an eye on what that does to infection rates? that can keep an eye on what that does to infection rates?— infection rates? that is why we are doinu infection rates? that is why we are doin: this infection rates? that is why we are doing this one _ infection rates? that is why we are doing this one stage _ infection rates? that is why we are doing this one stage at _ infection rates? that is why we are doing this one stage at a _ infection rates? that is why we are doing this one stage at a time. - infection rates? that is why we are doing this one stage at a time. we| doing this one stage at a time. we will start from monday. we will then have a three—week gap to the next phase and will be planning from the 15th of march. in that three weeks, we should be able to pick up what is happening with the children who are in schools, with their families and staff who are working in schools

face—to—face. we've got ways of working to minimise contact, but with our youngest children, social distancing isn't really possible. we've also got regular additional testing bought school—based staff to give confidence to pick up asymptomatic coronavirus cases as well. that three weeks will help us learn and understand the next step. that's different to england. they are proposing to have all schools return on the 8th of march. what we're doing is different because we have followed the advice we have had from our public health professionals and scientific advisers. we believe this way is a sustainable path to returning. once we get full time education returned, we will then have other options if we keep the virus suppressed in the way that we have been able to do successfully over a period of time, but it does require all of us to behave in what is still a very unusual way, but is making a difference in helping us save lives. like macular having a

little bit more outdoor mixing, but you are saying, don't go crazy, don't do than that. is you are saying, don't go crazy, don't do than that.— you are saying, don't go crazy, don't do than that. is that fair? yes, don't do than that. is that fair? yes. there _ don't do than that. is that fair? yes, there is _ don't do than that. is that fair? yes, there is still _ don't do than that. is that fair? yes, there is still a _ don't do than that. is that fair? yes, there is still a long - don't do than that. is that fair? yes, there is still a long way i don't do than that. is that fair? yes, there is still a long way to j yes, there is still a long way to go. when we first came out in spring, there was a step to step approach. but each of these steps taken approach. but each of these steps ta ken successfully will approach. but each of these steps taken successfully will put us on more of a sustainable route out of this. the last thing anyone wants is to have a search of the virus and have to close everything down. step—by—step to be clear with the public with what we are doing and why. the data supports the choices we are making. it asks all of us to carry on doing the right thing. a few more weeks to stay at home and then we should be in a position to do more things after that. i am delighted that people in wales have stuck with us this far, and we're still now asking people to keep on doing this one more time and more freedom for all us. tsine doing this one more time and more freedom for all us.— freedom for all us. one final thou~ht

freedom for all us. one final thought about _ freedom for all us. one final thought about businesses i freedom for all us. one final. thought about businesses and planning. you would have heard the person in our peace beforehand which said we can welcome people, run our holiday businesses, but we do need time to plan. you will know that is a familiar call. are you confident that you can give business owners that you can give business owners that time that they need? advance warnings. brute that time that they need? advance warninus. ~ . ~ that time that they need? advance warninus. ~ ., ,, ., warnings. we are thinking about whether in _ warnings. we are thinking about whether in six _ warnings. we are thinking about whether in six weeks' _ warnings. we are thinking about whether in six weeks' time, - warnings. we are thinking about whether in six weeks' time, forl whether in six weeks' time, for easter, but whether we will be able to have some part of self—contained accommodation available. we don't think all hospitality will be ready to open at that point, but because we don't think we'll have enough headroom for it. we are already talking to the tourism industry to see what might be possible. as we've done before, we will have time to speak to businesses in advance to make sure it is done on a sustainable basis. as you know, the worst thing possible is to get everything ready to open and then after a few weeks of operations, everything has to close down again. it is difficult. people are really

frustrated, as i am to, but to deal with where we are in a sustainable way is the best thing for all of us from a public health point of view, and crucially for our economic future as well. but i think very much indeed. the coronavirus reproduction number, or r value, across the uk is between 0.6 and 0.9, according to the latest government figures. last week, it was between 0.7 and 0.9. as it comes under pressure to ease the lockdown in england, the government has said it will be guided by data not dates. so what are the figures suggesting? our health correspondent katharine da costa is here. overall, the data is moving in the right direction.

the data suggest that it might be coming down more slowly in some areas than others. it might be coming down fast in london and the south—east, the areas that were put under tougher restrictions first. perhaps a bit slow in the north—east, in yorkshire. it backs up, overall, the ons survey which suggests that infections are continuing to fall in all four uk nations. that survey looks at those with and without symptoms, and it takes a cross—section of the population. a week to last friday found that one in 115 had the virus. it was won in 125 in wales. 19 in northern northern ireland, and in scotland it is one in 180. there is still high prevalence of coronavirus across the uk in hospitals. after

peak in earlyjanuary, across the uk in hospitals. after peak in early january, patient numbers fell back to about 20,000. that is similar to the peak of the first wave last april. hospital leaders think they will be under pressure for another couple of months. that is despite the success of the vaccine roll out. nearly 16.5 million have had theirfirstjab. there are some early signs that that will have an impact on the number of people dying. that's among the over 80s have fallen by 54% since the end of january. 80s have fallen by 54% since the end ofjanuary. they 80s have fallen by 54% since the end of january. they are falling faster than younger age groups. we are expecting to get clear evidence of the effects of protection of vaccination in the next week or so. the signs are encouraging, but it is worth remembering that nearly half the coronavirus patients in hospital are under 70. those are still to be immunised. lifting restrictions too quickly risks is another surge of patients, and no one wants to see

another lockdown.— another lockdown. thank you very much. the supreme court has ruled that uber drivers should be classed as employees, rather than self—employed contractors. the decision means tens of thousands of drivers could now be entitled to the minimum wage and holiday pay, and leaves the company facing a hefty compensation bill. it also has wider implications for the gig economy let's speak now to pauljennings, one of the solicitors representing the former drivers in the case. festival, in terms of your clients, have you spoken to them? what is the response? what are you feeling about the decision today? we response? what are you feeling about the decision today?— the decision today? we are delighted- _ the decision today? we are delighted. the _ the decision today? we are delighted. the two - the decision today? we are delighted. the two lead - the decision today? we are - delighted. the two lead claimants have fought a battle against a multinational company, a multi—million dollar company, for nearly half a decade. today we have

a definitive, unanimousjudgment. a definitive, unanimous judgment. we're a definitive, unanimousjudgment. we're over the moon. it is a hugely significantjudgment and we are incredibly pleased. itruiiiiii significantjudgment and we are incredibly pleased.— significantjudgment and we are incredibly pleased. will they and others aet incredibly pleased. will they and others get some _ incredibly pleased. will they and others get some form _ incredibly pleased. will they and others get some form of- others get some form of compensation? depending how long they worked with uber.— they worked with uber. absolutely. the judgment _ they worked with uber. absolutely. the judgment makes _ they worked with uber. absolutely. the judgment makes clear- they worked with uber. absolutely. the judgment makes clear that - they worked with uber. absolutely. the judgment makes clear that alll they worked with uber. absolutely. l the judgment makes clear that all of the drivers are workers, which gives them access to the national minimum wage, paid holiday, working time regulation, paid breaks, anti—discrimination protection. it engages a whole suite of important rights. what we will now see is a very significant ground swell of claims, while drivers will come forward and they will claim back pay forward and they will claim back pay for the value of those claims and that will be enormous. i for the value of those claims and that will be enormous.— that will be enormous. i am interested _ that will be enormous. i am interested in... _ that will be enormous. i am interested in... i— that will be enormous. i am interested in... i appreciate j that will be enormous. i am - interested in... i appreciate you were involved in this specific case, but everyone involved is fascinated for what this may mean for the wider

gig economy. there are other cab firms which work in a not dissimilar way and there are lots of other firms that we can all think of and name which operate on this system, where they say that they are giving the worker the freedom and flexibility, if they want to work one day a week they can, if they work seven days a week, they can. the ramifications are potentially very big, aren't they? get yes. many big employers _ very big, aren't they? get yes. many big employers operating _ very big, aren't they? get yes. many big employers operating in _ very big, aren't they? get yes. many big employers operating in this - big employers operating in this space have models that are comparable to that of uber. the powerfuljudgment sets and policies and guidelines that will inform the way in which this sector of the economy operates. i think all gig employers will be looking at this very carefully to ensure that their practices are lawful. i5

very carefully to ensure that their practices are lawful.— very carefully to ensure that their practices are lawful. is there ever a negative _ practices are lawful. is there ever a negative to _ practices are lawful. is there ever a negative to this? _ practices are lawful. is there ever a negative to this? there - practices are lawful. is there ever a negative to this? there are - a negative to this? there are perhaps some younger people who are perhaps some younger people who are perhaps still studying, and you really want a flexible job that does not have ties on you. you might want to work many days one week and not many the next week and that benefits you and the company and everybody wins. could we see a strangle put on a flexibility that can work, may be in a minority of cases, but it can work for some people. that in a minority of cases, but it can work for some people.— in a minority of cases, but it can work for some people. that is an excellent question. _ work for some people. that is an excellent question. the - work for some people. that is an excellent question. the reality i work for some people. that is an excellent question. the reality isj excellent question. the reality is that this judgment have no excellent question. the reality is that thisjudgment have no bearing on the degree of flexibility that over and over drivers have. flexibility is at the heart of the business model and this judgment does not speak to that flexibility. nothing in thisjudgment does not speak to that flexibility. nothing in this judgment will prevent people from working part—time, flexibly, as and when they choose to. really, what it is about is when these people are working, do they have basic protections to make sure they are not exploited? a significant proportion of uber drivers rely on this to feed their families, pay

their mortgages, it is a dependent economic relationship. that is at the heart of this judgment. it is saying that these people need protection because they are vulnerable to expectation, but nothing in the judgment quashes or affects the degree of flexibility that drivers have. what might be interesting to talk to you. thank you very much. he represented two former hoover drivers in that case earlier today. a very busy afternoon here today. let's turn to another story. the union representing senior civil servants is launching legal action, seeking to overturn the prime minister's decision that priti patel did not breach the ministerial code of conduct after allegations of bullying early last year. borisjohnson chose to stand by ms patel and went against the advice of his adviser, sir alex allan, who had found her behaviour had amounted

to bullying and that it had been in breach of the code. let's talk to our political correspondent, helen catt, whojoins me now. let's see if we can unravel all of this. people might remember all of this. people might remember all of this involving a very senior cabinet minister. explained what the development today means. well, to reca - development today means. well, to reca as development today means. well, to recap as you — development today means. well, to recap as you started _ development today means. well, to recap as you started to, _ development today means. well, to recap as you started to, this - development today means. well, to recap as you started to, this was - recap as you started to, this was earlier last year that these allegations of bullying were made against the home secretary priti patel. it filed the resignation of the most senior civil servant in the house office. at the time boris johnson commissioned an investigation. sir alex allen reported in november and as you said he had come to the conclusion that some of her behaviour including swearing and shouting at staff did amount to bullying. that is the code

that minister's cars supposed to live by. borisjohnson is the arbiter of the code as prime minister. he decides if it's broken or not. he decided that priti patel�*s behaviour was unintentional and he leave she had not broken the code of conduct. she issued an apology. there is this legal action. they want the court to rule that borisjohnson made an error, i'm misinterpreted the definition of the ministerial code of bullying. bullying does not need to be intentional to be bullying. and they say if this decision stands, while you end up with a two tier system. here is what dave pittman had to say. you've got no choice. we don't want — had to say. you've got no choice. we don't want to — had to say. you've got no choice. we don't want to be _ had to say. you've got no choice. we don't want to be in _ had to say. you've got no choice. we don't want to be in the _ had to say. you've got no choice. we don't want to be in the courts - don't want to be in the courts

dealing — don't want to be in the courts dealing with this. we would much rather— dealing with this. we would much rather have a dialogue with government, but we cannot leave it like this— government, but we cannot leave it like this because minister's essentially have a get out clause. at the time downing street said that they pointed to mitigating factors. priti patel have thejeanette may not always felt supported by her department. the home office has not commented on the legal action. helen, thank you very much for now. our political correspondent. now, goodness as i say a very busy afternoon. let's catch up with the sports new. some tales of tennis. good afternoon. fulham manager scott parker says the surprise birthday party thrown for defender terence kongolo was "not acceptable", and he won't feature in the squad for tomorrow's game against sheffield united.

it's alleged that kongolo returned to his flat in the early hours of monday morning after their win at everton to find a group of friends there. parker says the club will investigate the matter. the chair of football's anti—discrimination group — kick it out — says he supports the decision of crystal palace striker wilfred zaha to stop taking a knee before matches. sanjay bhandari says he understands his frustration and agrees that while such gestures are valuable to attract attention, they have a shelf life. zaha believes taking a knee has lost its meaning. growing up, my parents let me know that i should be proud to be black, no matter what, and ijust feel like we should just stand tall. i think it's becoming something that wejust do now, you know? that's not enough for me, i'm not going to take the knee, i'm not going to wear black lives matter on the back of my... because it feels like it's a target. we're isolating ourselves, we're trying to say we're equal, but we're isolating ourselves with these things that are not even working anyway. scotland's women are playing cyprus in a euro 2022 qualifier.

the scots can't make the finals but this is an important game nonetheless, with interim head coach stuart mclaren taking charge for the first time. and they're running riot at the moment — into the second half now — they lead 10—nil, erin cuthbert with her first — putting them ahead afterjust 11 minutes. she later got a second. martha thomas, caroline weir, kirsty hanson and lizzie arnot and clare emslie here have all got on the scoresheet. jane ross has also added a couple after coming off the bench. they face portugal at the same ground next tuesday in their final qualifier. you can watch this match on the bbc sport website or bbc alba. you can see if there are any more goals, there probably will be. i reckon it could be 12 or 13—0, who knows. england's most capped player fara williams, has revealed that she's been battling a rare kidney condition, called nephrotic syndrome, for almost a year. she said it "broke" her — and williams told us, she pushed herself too hard, to return to action. through many different times throughout my career,

football has been my go—to. so, maybe i also believed that i needed to be in it to get through this illness, but actually, on reflection, i didn't need to be in it, and i was ok in dealing with it away from there. and probably when i did take the time off, i could recover my mind better, took a few weeks out and actually mentally feel so much more refreshed and ready to go. whereas i think dealing with it at the time, just keep trying to push as much as i was, but feeling like i was just failing at every attempt. now to tennis... daniil medvedev has beaten stefanos tsitsipas in straight sets, to reach the final of the australian open. the tight contest we were expecting didn't materialise. after sailing through the first two sets, medvedev was given more of a work—out in the third, but he never looked in trouble. he'll now face novak djokovic for the title on sunday. the russian is on a great run of form — this is his 20th victory in a row — but he's yet to win a grand slam and he said this victory wasn't as straight—forward as it looked.

i got a little bit scared, i should say, and tired because it is a semi final, and for us it is not... not for novak, but i'm happy i managed to turn my game on, even though was an easy, some moments on my serve, and i'm happy to be in the final. and joe salisbury, won the battle of the brits in the men's doubles — he and rajeev ram, who are the defending champions, beatjamie murray and bruno soares to reach the final. that's all the sport for now but there's more on the bbc sport website, including live coverage of the welsh open snooker. it's shaun murphy against stephen maguire. currently three frames all there — so finely poised — first to five wins it. this for a place in the semi—finals. it is also time— zero. —— 10—0. a nasa spacecraft has

begun its mission to look for life on mars, after landing on the planet last night. the perseverance rover has been sending back images of the crater where it touched down. it will spend the next two years drilling into rocks, to look for evidence of activity by micro—organisms — which would be proof of life. here's our science correspondent rebecca morelle, whose report contains flashing images. perseverance is going about one kilometre per second. a nerve—racking wait at mission control. perseverance is safely on the surface of mars. then celebrations as a signal is received from mars. it's touchdown for nasa's perseverance rover. and these are its first images, a view of its landing site. the rover has even started tweeting. there really is no good way to describe that moment when it's over, and you hear those words, touchdown confirmed.

it's just a remarkable feeling of pride in the team, relief, and, and reallyjoy, thinking forward to this remarkable service mission we have coming up. it survived a fiendishly difficult landing, burning through the atmosphere at the speed of a bullet, before a complex landing system brought it to the ground. the rover will now be seeking answers to a crucial question. this mission is all about finding signs of life. and the best place to do that is here, thejezero crater. today it's dry and dusty, but billions of years ago it was a huge lake, and you can clearly see a river running into it. this gives you an idea of what it would have looked like. if we zoom in a bit more, these green areas on the edge of the crater were once beaches on the lake's shore, and the hope is any microscopic creatures that once lived

there are still preserved. perseverance is the most advanced rover that nasa has ever built, and it's jam—packed with instruments. its robotic arm is equipped with a drill to collect rock samples. so what forms of life could they contain? i'm not talking about martian little green men. probably not even fish. we are looking for microbial life, maybe microbes that have made a little mat or a slime, the sorts that you might find on the bottom of a pond. those are the types of things that are likely to, well, they did exist on earth 3.5 billion years ago. the question is, did they exist on mars at the bottom of lakes? and in a first, nasa's mini mars helicopter will take off. it's a new way to view the planet. its test flight will be in a few weeks. but getting to the red planet is just the start. now the hard work begins on a mission that could transform our understanding of mars. rebecca morelle, bbc news.

joining me now is professor mark mccaughrean, senior scientific adviser at the european space agency. good afternoon. good afternoon. have you had much sleep?— you had much sleep? well, you sleep well after one — you had much sleep? well, you sleep well after one of _ you had much sleep? well, you sleep well after one of these _ you had much sleep? well, you sleep well after one of these things - you had much sleep? well, you sleep well after one of these things goes i well after one of these things goes well. congratulation to nasa for pulling it off again. getting this incredibly complicated technology. it is not like coming down under a parachute. congratulations to them for getting back on the ground again. it for getting back on the ground aaain. , ., for getting back on the ground aaain. , ._ ., , again. it is the next two years. they are _ again. it is the next two years. they are hugely _ again. it is the next two years. they are hugely exciting, i i again. it is the next two years. i they are hugely exciting, i guess. i think the thing that was not mentioned previously that is most exciting for the european space agency is that the perseverance rover is not only going to be looking for a past life on mars and analysing it there, it is actually

going to be packaging samples up and leaving them on the surface and in a few years time, we will be going back with nasa and he will provide a small rover which will drive around and pick up those samples, they will be packaged into a rocket which nasa has supplied, launched into mars�*s orbit and then a big european orbital will pick those samples up and bring them back to earth. that for many sentences, the real dream because the instruments we have available on the earth are so much more capable than we could ever miniaturise and package. this is one great step in a long journey which will end up with samples on earth from mars. it will end up with samples on earth from mars-— from mars. it is fascinating how it all works. from mars. it is fascinating how it all works- i— from mars. it is fascinating how it all works. ithink— from mars. it is fascinating how it all works. ithink i _ from mars. it is fascinating how it all works. i thinki am _ from mars. it is fascinating how it all works. i think i am correct i from mars. it is fascinating how it all works. i think i am correct in l all works. i think i am correct in saying that there have recently been other countries attempts and projects to mars, i guess i'm interested in the balance between cooperation and you have just described some of it, and sort of

healthy competition between nations when it comes to all of this. we healthy competition between nations when it comes to all of this.- when it comes to all of this. we use this word that _ when it comes to all of this. we use this word that is _ when it comes to all of this. we use this word that is a _ when it comes to all of this. we use this word that is a mashup - when it comes to all of this. we use this word that is a mashup of- this word that is a mashup of cooperative titian and cooperation. there is european hardware on the perseverance rover and there will be us hardware that goes on our hardware that will go out tomorrow. we are going to be drilling two metres down under the surface and two metres is very important because you heard in the piece about the signs of life which might be preserved in the soil, but they get readily destroyed close to the surface by radiation from space. going deeper will pull that material up going deeper will pull that material up and it might be more intact. china is going to be putting a rover down in the next couple of months on mars. it is a mix of cooperation and competition. i think we are all

pulling behind this particular mission, not only because it is in collaboration with us but because it is a great step forward to finally finding out answers about life on mars. ., ., ~' , ., finding out answers about life on mars. ., w , ., , mars. that takes me to my next oint. mars. that takes me to my next point- we _ mars. that takes me to my next point- we talk— mars. that takes me to my next point. we talk about _ mars. that takes me to my next point. we talk about finding i mars. that takes me to my next i point. we talk about finding proof of life, this is what we are driving at. the data that will eventually come back to us, will it tell us much more than that? what are some of the other aims or is this specifically purely about that proof of life issue? it is specifically purely about that proof of life issue?— of life issue? it is an interesting . uestion of life issue? it is an interesting question because _ of life issue? it is an interesting question because one _ of life issue? it is an interesting question because one of- of life issue? it is an interesting question because one of the i question because one of the possibilities, i mean it sounds a bit science fictions, but one of the possibility is that life was exchanged between earth and mars in the very early phases billions of years ago. we have meteorites on earth today which we know are rocks that came from mars. they were ejected in big collisions with asteroids hitting the surface. there is at least the possibility of that

life, if we do find it on mars, that it will share commonalities with earth because it is actually the same life separated billions of years ago. other people are interested are and whether life started separately on mars or may be in the lake of titan. under the ice of the moons ofjupiter and saturn. it is part of a big question about whether life forms multiple times in the universe. ibig whether life forms multiple times in the universe-— the universe. big questions. thank ou so the universe. big questions. thank you so much- _ the universe. big questions. thank you so much. really— the universe. big questions. thank you so much. really good - the universe. big questions. thank you so much. really good to i the universe. big questions. thank you so much. really good to talk l the universe. big questions. thank| you so much. really good to talk to you. he is the senior scientific adviser at the european space agency. now to the united states. now to the united states. texas senator ted cruz has defended his decision to take a family holiday to mexico amid a winter storm that has left millions in his state without power. mr cruz said he planned the trip for his daughters, but had returned because it "didn't feel right".

lebo diseko reports from houston. this is one of the richest states in one of the richest countries in the world. around half of texans are experiencing disruptions to water supply. for others, burst pipes and melting snow have caused flooding. we've literally now been below freezing for the better last night we finally got water, before we didn't have water and now we've got water everywhere. water companies have battled with frozen wells, treatment plants have been hit by power outages. it's meant 13 million people have been told to boil their water before drinking it. the supply of electricity is slowly being restored, but there are still at least half a million people without it. we know that because of the storm that will continue to sweep across texas tonight that we are not yet out of this, but we are closer to this challenge being behind us.

we will not stop until normalcy is restored to your lives. until that moment comes, though, i ask all texans to continue your efforts to take the proper precautions that are needed to stay safe and to stay warm. if they manage to do that, and find water, getting food may still be hard. supermarket shelves are running dangerously low on supplies. while ordinary texans were freezing, their senator ted cruz headed for the beaches of mexico. it was obviously a mistake and in hindsight i would not have done it. i was trying to be a dad and all of us have made decisions when you've got two girls who have been cold for two days and they have not had heater power and they said we don't have school, why don't we go, let's get out of here! i think there are a

lot of parents who would say ok, if i can do this, great. that is what i wanted to do. back now after a public outcry over his absence while his state was in crisis. lebo diseko, bbc news, texas. it is the start of the g7 summit all happening virtually of course. let's just see... i believe we havejust had the first images in of boris johnson opening the virtual summit. he called on leaders to come up with a plan to rebuild the global economy in the wake of the covid—19 pandemic. also welcomed, there is a sense of how it is all going. he also welcomed some of the new leaders particularly presidentjoe

biden. we can see the prime minister of canada. we want to work together on building back betterfrom the pandemic, said the prime minister. he said he thinksjoe biden has used that phrase several times. i think he might have nicked it from us, but then i certainly nicked it from somewhere else. you can get the essence of the opening g7 summit. lots of talk about the coronavirus pandemic and we know that the prime minister is pledging to give the vast majority of the uk's surplus vaccine supplies to developing countries and he's going to be asking other rich countries to do similarly. we will talk more about that after 3:00pm. the g7 summit unlike those we normally see, but thatis unlike those we normally see, but that is how it is all working virtually. we will talk more about that after three. with schools closed to many pupils around the world, there are continued fears about the impact of the pandemic

on millions of children. ros atkins looks at what role schools play in the transmission of covid—19, and how they could safely re—open. hundreds of millions of children around the world are not at school. the un's children's charity unicef estimates that at the start of the pandemic 1.6 billion children in 192 countries were sent home. by december one in five schoolchildren, 320 million, were still out of school, but how to get the schools open is connected to how we understand this virus. the world health organization says the way covid—19 spreads inside schools is directly connected to how it is spreading in the community. there are many countries around the world in which schools are reopening successfully and safely because countries have dealt with the real problem, community transmission. in other words, it's community transmission that sets the risk level, not schools. then there is whether children may pass the virus on to others, including teachers. that varies according

to a child's age. there appear to be differences in transmission among the youngest children transmitting less to each other, compared to teenage children, which appear to transmit at the same rate that adults do. every decision around schools is part of a broader calculation. scotland is currently in lockdown, but some of its schools are about to go back. being able to get children back to education may mean the rest of us living with some other restrictions for longer. these are all calculations, judgments, and part of that equation is using measures in schools to reduce the risk for teachers and children. part of it is the cost of not opening schools. we need to do everything we can to be safe, but there could be an epidemic of educational poverty, a growing digital divide, and a safeguarding crisis with vulnerable children being affected by mental health. the push to get schools open again is on because while there are many elements of this pandemic we don't

fully understand, the detrimental consequences of closing schools are already in plain sight around the world. the united states is about to formally re—join the international effort to tackle global warming. president trump withdrew the us from the paris agreement, saying the country had been given a bad deal. but president biden asked to be readmitted, and that formally happens later today. here's our environment analyst roger harrabin. as california burned last year, the presidential debate was also heating up, donald trump denying the influence of climate change, joe biden promising to tackle america's carbon emissions that are fuelling global heating. on day one i signed the paperwork to rejoin the paris climate agreement. we are taking steps, led by example, of mitigating climate objectives across all of our diplomacy.

us emissions actually fell over the past year, partly because of the covid effect on the economy, partly because of previous energy efficiency standards on vehicles, and partly because of the plunging fall in the cost of renewables. now the pressure is on president biden to deliver a $2 trillion clean energy package that he will have to get through congress and to formallyjoin other nations in pledging to reduce emissions to almost zero by 2050. rejoining the paris agreement is only a first step, but i think we are seeing some pretty clear signs from the biden administration already that they are very serious about this and prepared to go well beyond even the obama administration in terms of action. the usa will also need to put pressure on oil—producing nations such as saudi arabia to cut their emissions too. at the triumphant paris climate accord five years ago,

the usa played the role of global enforcer, using its influence to corral reluctant nations into agreement. but time is short. some scientists warn that ice at the poles is melting faster than previously thought likely. it is not clear yet if politicians can respond fast enough, whether the us is part of the climate accord or not. roger harrabin, bbc news. dogs have helped millions of us to get through the last year or so, but you don't necessarily have to own one to feel the calming benefits of man's and woman's best friend. max the springer spaniel has been sharing his walks with the world via social media. and now he's become the first pet dog to receive a very special award. tim muffett has the story. max lives with his owner in the lake district,

but has fans across the world. the 13—year—old springer spaniel belongs to kerry irving who's been live streaming their walks during lockdown. maxie. we started doing live feeds on our daily walks because we've got the lake district here, this is our home, this is where we can walk and exercise, but some people are trapped in cities, tower blocks. max's walks with fellow springer spaniels paddy and harry have brought comfort to hundreds of thousands of people and max's companionship to kerry has been life changing. following a road traffic accident 15 years ago he was suffering from severe depression. the anxiety it caused me to walk out of the door on my own and not have somebody with me was for me a terrifying experience. every step i took max was with me

and every time i stopped and faulted he stopped with me too. the pdsa order of merit rewards animals that show outstanding contribution to society. you can see how max has not only had a massive impact on kerry's life, but his activities, all those kerry has been filming with them, have reached the lives of hundreds of thousands of people right across the world. four—year—old evelyn is one of them. # happy birthday to max...#. kerry and max's videos have been an absolute godsend to us in lockdown and helped us to be stress—free at the end of the day and made every day during lockdown a fresh start. evelyn suffers from the febrile convulsions, seizures that can happen at any time. her mum hannah believes max has had a profoundly positive impact. do you want to see max's videos? how does max make you feel? happy.

the impact that dogs have both on mental well—being and on general well— being is fantastic. the animal equivalent of an obe, richly deserved. tim muffet, bbc news. the story of the day, isn't it? especially on a friday. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello, there are two sides to the weather stories this weekend. on the one hand it is going to be very mild, on the other, there is some very heavy rain particularly in the west with some brisk wind. the rain keeps coming this evening and tonight across the southwest of england, wales, northern england as well. for northern ireland and scotland it should dry out for a time with some clear spells. a bit chilly across the far north of scotland, but generally speaking, a mild night and

scotland, but generally speaking, a mild nightand mild scotland, but generally speaking, a mild night and mild start tomorrow. the rain will pile up across the hills in the west. there is an amber warning in effect. all the while for the southeast it should stay mostly dry. windy especially in the west. those are the gusts we can expect. top temperatures between ten and 16 degrees may be. sunday, another relatively mild day, a bit of rain here and there, but for many, it will be dry with some sunshine.

this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines at three... the duke and duchess of sussex have told the queen they will not be returning as working members of the royal family. borisjohnson opens the virtual g7 summit by urging global leaders to ensure coronavirus vaccines reach everyone around the world. wales' stay at home rule may end in three weeks, says the first minister, and the youngest pupils will return to school on monday. the coronavirus reproduction number, or r value, continues to fall across the uk, suggesting the spread of the disease is slowing across the uk. the supreme court rules that uber drivers are employees, not third party contractors — in a decision with wide implications

for the gig economy. and, why max the springer spaniel is getting an award, after helping thousands of people cope with lockdown. max helped me from recovering from depression and if he can help others now, and our other dogs, if they make people smile, then i say bring it on. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. the duke and duchess of sussex have confirmed to the queen that they will not be returning as working members of the royal family. as a result the couple will now no longer hold the honorary military appointments and royal patronages given to them by the queen. in a statement buckingham palace said that "in stepping away

from the work of the royal family it would not be possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service. prince harry and meghan have committed to continue supporting the organisations they have represented saying �*service is universal�*. andy moore reports. ever since meghan and harry moved to north america, their long—term role in the royal family has been uncertain. last january, they announced they would step back as senior roles and work to become financially independent. there was a period of reflection and assessment on both sides. now there is a definite breach. meghan and harry will no longer be returning to work as members of the royalfamily. the news about their future comes ahead of an interview to be broadcast next month with oprah winfrey and only days after the couple announced they were expecting a second child.

i don�*t think anyone would be surprised. it is untenable to live on the west coast of america and retain duty here. it was never going to work. now they have decided this is the future they want, away from royal duties. it was inevitable. a spokesperson for the duke and duchess of sussex said... prince harry served in military and holds honorary military appointments, but they will now be formally returned to the queen, and they will be distributed among other working members of the royal family.

it was confirmed that harry would be stepping down from the rugby football union as patron. they said they greatly value his contribution to supporting the game. the national theatre also thanked the duchess for her work as patron. they said she championed work to make theatre accessible to all and her work begin people across the uk the palace announcement said everyone was saddened by the decision of meghan and harry, but they would remain much loved members of the family. our royal correspondent sarah campbell explained a little earlier what this means for harry and meghan�*s future. there is a certain sense of inevitability. how it played out was, lastjanuary, will heard

inevitability. how it played out was, last january, will heard that megan and harry had a plan to step back from the royal family and they put forward their plan for what they hoped would happen, which was to make their own money but also continue with their royal work. it became clear quite quickly, there was a summit at sandringham, there was a summit at sandringham, there was a summit at sandringham, there was a feeling that that couldn�*t work. they couldn�*t be half in, half out. the result was a stepping back. there was a 12 month period of grace to see how it would work out. that was due to end at the end of march, but this statement has come out earlier than that. it has been a very strange year. perhaps they would not have spent so much time consistently abroad, where it�*s not for the pandemic, but they have very much been out of the system. they have been building and creating their own lives. they have signed these multi—million pound deals with netflix, they have got a multi—million pound deal with a spot of eye. then came the news that megan and harry would do a big sits

down with oprah winfrey. they are very much building their own lives. there is a feeling that this was inevitable. in a statement today released by buckingham palace, it says, while we are all saddened by this decision, the duke and duchess remain much loved members of the royal family. remain much loved members of the royalfamily. they remain much loved members of the royal family. they will not be working royals, but they are still members of the family. fight! working royals, but they are still members of the family. and quick thou~ht members of the family. and quick thought on _ members of the family. and quick thought on what _ members of the family. and quick thought on what this _ members of the family. and quick thought on what this will - members of the family. and quick thought on what this will mean i members of the family. and quick| thought on what this will mean for other members of the family, in terms of duties, jobs, that will now full to others, to pick up the slack in terms of the extensive roster of royal duties?— in terms of the extensive roster of royal duties? you are exactly right. it means royal duties? you are exactly right. it means more _ royal duties? you are exactly right. it means more work— royal duties? you are exactly right. it means more work for— royal duties? you are exactly right. it means more work for other i royal duties? you are exactly right. i it means more work for other members of the royalfamily. the patron edges will be distributed to other members of the royal family. edges will be distributed to other members of the royalfamily. harry, of course, did years of service with the british army, and i think this will be a particular sadness for him. he is no longer the captain at general of the royal marines.

particular sadness, because that is a patronage that he took on from the duke of edinburgh, who have that role for decades and decades. he also loses his role in the royal air force, and others. because of harry�*s links with the military, i think that�*ll be particularly painful for think that�*ll be particularly painfulfor him. i think the queen�*s commonwealth trust is one that is interesting to think about. he was president, she was the president. as members of the royal family, president, she was the president. as members of the royalfamily, there was a real sense that they could do great work in that role, spreading themselves across the commonwealth. there was talk at some point that harry and megan might move out of the uk. that seemed key for the commonwealth. they are losing theirs patron edges. the ones that megan will lose are the two royal patron edges she took on. the royal national theatre, which she took on from the queen, and the commonwealth universities. some people will be

thinking about the invicta skeins, but these are private patronage is that in charities that they have personal links too. the duchess keeps smart works, which is what addresses women to go to job interviews, and an animal charity. harry keeps the ones that he has been particularly associated with, like well child, and in victors games, which he set up. the prime minister has urged world leaders to work together to ensure the whole world is vaccinated against coronavirus. chairing a virtual summit of the g7 nations from 10 downing street, borisjohnson said: science is finally getting the upper hand on covid and called it a great, great thing that was long. mrjohnson went on to urge all nations to work together and help bolster vaccine supplies the world over. i know that several colleagues have already announced that ideal. we in the uk strongly support it.

of course, we also want to work together on building back better from the pandemic, a slogan that i thinkjoe has used several times. i think he may have nicked it from us, but i certainly nicked it from somewhere else, probably some un disaster relief programme, but we want to build back better from the pandemic. i think this is the right moment for us all to focus on the other great natural challenge, but which we have been warned time and time and time again. we can�*t ignore it. the warnings have been even clearer than they were full coronavirus, and that is the problem of planets change, and that�*s why we are going to be working very hard to get some great things done at g7 on our plans for the summit that we are holding with our italian friends in glasgow in november.

it�*s great, by the way, thatjoe has brought the united states back into the paris climate change accord. a great step forward. well, we can speak now to amanda glassman, executive vice president at the center for global development, whojoins me from washington. what we been talking about a lot here today in relation to the british prime minister, urging countries to their surplus coronavirus vaccines to developing nations, is that a key thread of this g7 summit? is that priority as far as you are concerned? it is

certainly _ far as you are concerned? it is certainly a _ far as you are concerned? it is certainly a priority _ far as you are concerned? it is certainly a priority to - far as you are concerned? it 3 certainly a priority to get vaccines up certainly a priority to get vaccines up to the rest of the world. as people often say, no one is safe until everyone is safe. i think the form of sharing vaccines is two ways. one is is financial contributions to covax. the uk has given a lot of money and so has the us. there is also a timing issue here. we know variants are spreading rapidly, so we would like to see countries that have already bought vaccines, who might have surplus vaccines, who might have surplus vaccines after they vaccinate their own populations to share that already purchased vaccines with people who cannot afford it or cannot access it in time. do you feel that the — cannot access it in time. do you feel that the system _ cannot access it in time. do you feel that the system can - cannot access it in time. do you feel that the system can work. cannot access it in time. do you l feel that the system can work and should work? there is a time factor here. again, going back to your point, no one is safe until it least

everyone has had one dose. it is about distribution, which is easier in some countries than others. absolutely. i think, in some countries than others. absolutely. ithink, unfortunately, the distribution of the vaccine has been too much of an afterthought. part of that has to do with the timing of the financial contribution to the purchase of the vaccine the first place. i think we all wish that covax had been fully funded in march of 2020. we�*d be in a different position today in terms of manufacturing capacity if we were able to put more money up front. it is understandable that things happen the way they did, but we would be in a different place if we were able to access full funding early. now that we have vaccines online, the issue is to employ what we have as equitably and efficiently as possible so we can get to global herd immunity sooner rather than later. that will require an enormous logistical effort by all the different people involved, but also more transparency. we need to know what is being produced where and when will it be delivered to in

order to coordinate all our efforts to get to herd immunity faster. t0 to get to herd immunity faster. to you still have concerns that it is almost a human inclination, if you like, even if it is something not to be proud of, that if you are running a country, your inclination is to think about that nation first and foremost? you want that country, every minute, to get thatjab. it is almost an instinct, whether that be right or wrong. almost an instinct, whether that be right or wrong-— almost an instinct, whether that be right or wrong. exactly. but we have to think what _ right or wrong. exactly. but we have to think what is _ right or wrong. exactly. but we have to think what is the _ right or wrong. exactly. but we have to think what is the fastest - right or wrong. exactly. but we have to think what is the fastest way i right or wrong. exactly. but we have to think what is the fastest way to i to think what is the fastest way to herd immunity for all of us? even if we blanket all of the uk or all of the united states with the vaccine, there will still be people who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons, over whom we do not have a vaccine. children, for example, we don�*t yet know what is safe for children to receive in terms of the vaccine. we really do have to think about what is the fastest way to get all of us safer. that might mean reaching the most vulnerable first,

everywhere, reach and health workers first everywhere, before we vaccinate young populations, for example. but scientists have to work this out in real time.— this out in real time. thank you very much _ this out in real time. thank you very much for— this out in real time. thank you very much for your _ this out in real time. thank you very much for your time - this out in real time. thank you very much for your time this i very much for your time this afternoon. in wales, the first minister mark drakeford has been setting out plans for lifting lockdown restrictions. if covid cases continue to fall, the stay at home order could end in three weeks. the easing of restrictions will begin with schools, which will gradually reopen. younger primary children will return on monday, and older pupils could join them on march 15th if infections continue falling. here�*s our wales correspondent tomos morgan. with the lowest virus rates of all the uk nations, and the most first dose vaccinations given, the pandemic in wales seems to now be going in the right direction. on monday, the youngest learners

will be going back to the classroom and today, the first minister has announced that the rest of primary school children over seven years old could return on the 15th of march along with exam grade pupils in high schools. i am very grateful to everyone who has been involved in this work to prepare for the return of face—to—face learning. getting children back into school remains the welsh government�*s top priority. the r rate in wales is now below one, which has allowed the welsh government to also consider opening nonessential shops, beauty parlours, and hairdressers next month. it is a cautious welcome for those in the industry that will still probably not be able to recoup the full profits when they reopen. we are going to only be able to have limited capacity. possibly only 50%—70%. we�*re also going be opening with more debt than we have ever had before. so when you are combining the two, i know after speaking to a lot of other salon owners, it is whether or not it will be viable.

so while most of the high street prepares to reopen by the 15th of march, there is still no word or sign yet of the hospitality sector reopening in wales soon. if we plan to be open sometime in the easter holidays, or maybe, orjune, then we need to prepare for that. it�*s notjust in case of giving it a week�*s notice and open the doors. if all continues to go well here, the next phase of reopening will include self catering accommodation in the tourism industry the run up to easter with a nod also to be potential end to stay—at—home rules. further information on those decisions will come in the next review in three weeks�* time. if 2020 has taught us anything, a lot can change in just a few weeks during a pandemic. the coronavirus reproduction number, or r value, across the uk is between 0.6 and 0.9, according to the latest government figures.

last week, it was between 0.7 and 0.9. as it comes under pressure to ease the lockdown in england, the government has said it will be guided by data not dates — so what are the figures suggesting? our health correspondent katharine da costa explained that the cases are dropping at different rates around the country. the latest r number in the uk is below one, which suggests that the epidemic is shrinking. in england, the latter below one in all regions. but data suggest that it is coming down more slowly in some than others. in london in the south—east of england, the areas that were put into tier 4 first, they are coming down the fastest. a bit slower in the north, in yorkshire. this backs up the ons survey which says that numbers

continue to link to full in all four uk nations. these are from swabs taken with or without symptoms, and it takes a cross—section from the population. in england, won in 115 had the virus. one in 125 in wales. one in 105 in northern ireland, and in scotland, it is one in 180 with the virus. there are still large numbers of patients with coronavirus in hospitals across the uk. if we after a second peak in early january, patient numbers fell back to around 20,000. that is similar to the peak of the first wave in april last year. hospital leaders think they will be under pressure for another couple of months, despite the success of the vaccine roll—out. nearly 16.5 million have had their firstjab. there are some early signs that that is having an impact on the number of people dying. that�*s among the over 80s has fallen

by 54% since the end of january. they are falling faster than younger age groups, where they are down 45%. we are expecting to get clear evidence of the effective protection of vaccination in the next week or so. the signs are encouraging, but it is worth remembering that nearly half the coronavirus patients in hospital are under 70. those age groups are still to be immunised. health experts say lifting restrictions too quickly risks and surge among patients, and no one wants to see another lockdown. the high court has ruled the government acted unlawfully when it did not reveal details of some of the covid contracts it had signed while procuring personal protective equipment. the challenge was brought by campaigners and a cross—party group of opposition mps. the department of health and social care said it had been forced to sign deals within very short timescales and against a background of unparalleled global demand.

the government borrowed £8.8 billion last month, the highestjanuary figure since records began in 1993. financial support given to businesses during the pandemic means government borrowing has reached £270 billion for this financial year, up 220 billion in a year. it�*s the first time in ten years that more has been borrowed in january than collected through tax and other income. around four million people in the uk sufferfrom diabetes, including around a million who have not been diagnosed, according to the charity diabetes uk. and while it�*s already known that diabetics are more at risk of suffering severe cases of covid — new evidence suggests the virus could actually be triggering the condition in some patients. olivia sopel reports. first step is taking my blood sugar...

this isjordan charles�*s daily routine. after contracting covid—19 last year, he developed type two diabetes, which went undiagnosed for months, and resulted in a 23 day hospital stay and being put in an induced coma. a normal blood sugar is between kind of five and seven. they would usually say you have diabetes if you have a blood sugar of between 15 and 20. when i went into hospital, my blood sugar was 127. it was the highest blood sugar they had ever seen in that hospital. it was incredible. they said if i had waited another hour before i went into hospital that i wouldn�*t have made it. jordan�*s case is just one experience. there is still much scientists don�*t know about what triggers the condition. this professor has been studying the connections between coronavirus and diabetes, and has established a global

registry for medical professionals to track cases. the coronavirus that causes covid—19, combined in cells, not only the airways, where it could cause pneumonia and other problems, but also to sounds in other tissues, but also to cells in other tissues, including the pancreas, liver, even the gut of the adipose tissue. of course, those organs are crucial for sugar metabolism. if the virus were able to cause dysfunctions there, then obviously one could expect problems. in england, as many as 5% of people hospitalised with severe covid—19, have developed type one or type two diabetes. although it is a serious condition affecting 4 million people in the uk, around one in eight are thought to be undiagnosed and this was the case atjordan. pretty much every organ in my body failed. i was put on a ventilator, i had pancreatitis, i had kidney injury. all of this had come from this diagnosis that i

didn�*t know i had, which was diabetes. that had been triggered by me having coronavirus all of the way back in march. from march up until september, i had been living with diabetes and not knowing it. we have had people living for up to ten years without being diagnosed with type two diabetes. what that means is that they are more at risk of being diagnosed when they have complications already. complications can be things like heart problems, sight loss, nerve damage, that kind of thing. it is really important to identify it early and get the right treatment and management. first thing in the morning, i take out this... since his diagnosis, jordan�*s life has completely changed, from taking various different medications, to injecting insulin every day, and having to strictly control what he eats and drinks. diabetes is a condition... experts are continuing to study the connection between coronavirus and diabetes, and research into the links between the two diseases is still in the early stages. in the meantime, anyone

concerned that they have symptoms of diabetes is advised to ask their gp for a test. let�*s get more on this now from guy rutter, professor of cell biology at imperial college london. is more about these findings. it is staggering to think that coronavirus could potentially actually trigger diabetes. is this something we are very much still learning about? taste]!!! very much still learning about? well as our very much still learning about? well as your piece _ very much still learning about? -ii as your piece mentioned, we have known for some time that people with coronavirus had a risk of more severe outcomes in terms of diabetes. the new study that are emerging with his started with anecdotal reports of people appearing to have diabetes after being admitted to hospital. but

there has been a matter analysis of a lot of studies, which is, to try and see if there is robust evidence of this being a phenomenon. there is a study in canada, which was condensed down from 100 studies to eight from the us. as many as 14% of people who are admitted into hospital with severe coronavirus symptoms, have diabetes, having had no serious history of the disease. there are some caveats. it is quite difficult to make sure that they didn�*t have the disease before going to hospital. statistically, it seems likely that it could appear and that the virus is in fact provoking diabetes in people. there are many ways in which people could imagine that could happen. we now know that the virus prompts spikes in diabetes in people. perhaps not a huge

surprise, we know that there are receptors, through which the virus finds to get entry into cells, which make insulin, as well as on other tissues, which are relevant to glucose control. in addition, we know that in advanced stages as the disease, you get something called a cytokine storm, whether you�*ve been system attempts to clear the disease, and this can paradoxically attack for tissues which are trying to maintain glucose levels low. that�*s why some drugs, such as dexamethasone are quite effective in reducing complications of the disease. we think that the virus is interacting with those tissues to impair the secretion of insulin, and the impact of fencing on critical tissues like the liver, reduced their glucose levels. in tissues like the liver, reduced their glucose levels.— tissues like the liver, reduced their glucose levels. in terms of how ou their glucose levels. in terms of how you react — their glucose levels. in terms of how you react and _ their glucose levels. in terms of how you react and what - their glucose levels. in terms of how you react and what we i their glucose levels. in terms of how you react and what we do i their glucose levels. in terms of i how you react and what we do know so far, is there an argument for saying

that this is perhaps another category of people to priority access to vaccine? we are in the middle of the vaccine programme, but it is tricky. i wonder what medics can do with what is known so far, whilst i absolutely take your point of that there is a lot to learn? share of that there is a lot to learn? are a little difficult _ of that there is a lot to learn? site: a little difficult to predict of that there is a lot to learn? 9.9 a little difficult to predict who will get diabetes as a result of coronavirus. it is not the same as being able to predict carefully of those people who will catch coronavirus, for instance, those people who are older, and so forth. it is a little difficult. but when should be doing is ensure that anybody who has had coronavirus should be having their blood glucose levels attacked. you can do that by going to your gp and getting your blood levels checked. go to any pharmacist and find a clue, to. i

think the advice should definitely be to be ready for this and it should perhaps be systematic that people are checked for diabetes after having coronavirus. more than two million people in the uk have been denied a refund for flights they were unable to board because of coronavirus restrictions, according to research by the consumer group which. it found that — even though the law prevented travel during lockdown — passengers were not legally entitled to money back or guaranteed a successful insurance claim, because the airline did not cancel the flight. "which" is advising that we wait until the situation is clearer before booking a summer holiday — and that we consider package holidays over flight—only trips. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with ben rich.

there are two sides to the web destroy this weekend. on one hand, it will be very mild. on the other hand, there will be very heavy rain on the way. taking the west, there will be brisk winds as well. the rain keeps on coming tonight across the south—west of england, wales, and northern england too. a little bit and northern england too. a little bhdw and northern england too. a little bit dry across the south—east and it should dry out across northern ireland as well. it�*ll turn a bit chilly. i�*ll start to tomorrow. there is an amber warning in effect. all the while for the southeast, it should stay mostly dry, windy, especially in the west. those are the gusts we can expect. top temperatures between ten and 16 degrees may be. sunday, another relatively mild day, a bit of rain here and there, but for many, it will be dry

with some sunshine.

hello. this is bbc news. i�*mjane i�*m jane hill. the headlines... the duke and duchess of sussex have told the queen they will not be returning as working members of the royal family. borisjohnson opens the virtual g7 summit by urging global leaders to ensure coronavirus vaccines reach everyone around the world. wales�* stay—at—home rule may end in three weeks, says the first minister and the youngest pupils will return to school on monday. the coronavirus reproduction number — or r value — continues to fall across the uk — suggesting the spread of the disease is slowing across the uk.

sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here�*s gavin. hi gavin. hi there, good to see you. scotland women have thrashed cyprus 10—0 in european championship qualifier — to give stuart mclaren victory, in his first match as interim head coach. scotland can�*t qualify for the euros, but laid down a marker in mclaren�*s first match in temporary charge. erin cuthbert putting them ahead with one of five first half goals. five more followed, with clare emslie here getting the seventh. and jane ross came off the bench and scored twice, rounding off the victory with the 10th goal here. her 62nd international goal. what a result for them. meanwhile, england have added arsenal�*s beth mead and manchester united�*s millie turner

to their squad for the friendly against northern ireland next week. england�*s interim manager hege riise initially left mead out of the squad, sayinig herform "hasn�*t been that great". england�*s most capped player fara williams, has revealed that she�*s been battling a rare kidney condition called nephrotic syndrome for almost a year. williams said it "broke" her and she�*s told us she pushed herself too hard, to return to action. through many different times throughout my career, football has been my go—to. so, maybe i also believed that i needed to be in it to get through this illness, but actually, on reflection, i didn�*t need to be in it, and i was ok in dealing with it away from there. and probably when i did take the time off, i could recover my mind better, took a few weeks out and actually mentally feel so much more refreshed and ready to go. whereas i think dealing with it at the time, just keep trying to push as much as i was, but feeling like i was just failing at every attempt. fulham manager scott parker says the surprise birthday party thrown for defender terence kongolo was "not acceptable".

and he won�*t feature in the squad for tomorrow�*s game against sheffield united. it�*s alleged that kongolo returned to his flat in the early hours of monday morning after their win at everton, to find a group of friends there. parker says the club will investigate the matter. the chair of football�*s anti—discrimination group — kick it out — says he supports the decision of crystal palace striker wilfred zaha to stop taking a knee before matches. sanjay bhandari says he understands his frustration and agrees that while such gestures are valuable to attract attention, they have a shelf life. zaha believes taking a knee has lost its meaning. growing up, my parents let me know that i should be proud to be black, no matter what, and ijust feel like we should just stand tall. i think it�*s becoming something that wejust do now, you know? that�*s not enough for me, i�*m not going to take the knee, i�*m not going to wear black lives matter on the back of my... because it feels like it�*s a target. we�*re isolating ourselves, we�*re trying to say we�*re equal, but we�*re isolating ourselves with these things that are not even working anyway. daniil medvedev has beaten stefanos tsitsipas in straight sets, to reach the final of the

australian open. the tight contest we were expecting didn�*t materialise. and after cruising through the first two sets, medvedev was given a bit more of a work—out in the third. but never looked in trouble. taking that one 7—5. he�*ll now face novak djokovic for the title on sunday. the russian is on a great run of form — this is his 20th victory in a row. but he�*s yet to win a grand slam and he said this victory wasn�*t as straight—forward as it looked. i got a little bit scared, i should say, and tired because it is a semi final, and for us it is not... not for novak, but i�*m happy i managed to turn my game on, even though was an easy, some moments on my serve, and i�*m happy to be in the final. and joe salisbury, won the battle of the brits in the men�*s doubles — he and rajeev ram, who are the defending champions, beatjamie murray and bruno soares, to reach the final. and stephen maguire is through to the semi finals of the welsh open snooker after winning a final frame decider

against shaun murphy to come through 5—4 at celtic manor. maguire wrapped things up in style with a total clearance of 133 to reach the last four. ronnie o�*sullivan is also through to the semi—finals after his scheduled opponent ali carter withdrew from the event due to health reasons. that�*s all the sport for now. i�*ll have more for you in the next hour. thank you very much, gavin. let�*s just bring you something an update on that disturbing story that we heard about earlier in the week, the whereabouts of princess latifah, the daughter of the ruler of dubai. our diplomatic correspondent was just telling us that a very brief statement has come through from the uae embassy in london. it says in response to media reports regarding princess latifa. we want to thank

people who have expressed concern for her well—being. despite the coverage, which certainly is not reflective of the actual position, thatis reflective of the actual position, that is what the statement says. one further line, herfamily that is what the statement says. one further line, her family has confirmed that her highness is being cared for at home, supported by her family and medical professionals. she continues to improve and we are hopeful that she returns to public life at the appropriate time. that statement via the uae embassy in london says that princess latifa is essentially at home. with her family and medical professionals. you may well know that yesterday the united nations requested proof of life, they said after those disturbing reports and the video which was shown on the bbc at the start of the week. they said they raise the case yesterday and they are asking proof

of life and that is all following on from the video footage that you might rememberfrom the from the video footage that you might remember from the start of the week. interference. that video had been shot several months ago. and all the friends that panorama spoke to express the norm is concerned because they had not heard from her for several months. d�*you and yesterday did ask for proof of life. from what we are reading from the statement, there simply is no proof of life, just a statement that says she is with herfamily of life, just a statement that says she is with her family and of life, just a statement that says she is with herfamily and being cared for at home. remember she has not been seen in public since 2018. that statement just through via the uae embassy. just those couple of sentences. we will see whether there is perhaps any response to that from

the government, from the united nations or indeed whether any more detail is forthcoming. we will talk a little bit more about that ruling from the supreme court this morning. the supreme court has ruled that uber drivers should be classed as employees, not independent third party contractors. the decision means tens of thousands of drivers could now be entitled to the minimum wage and holiday pay, and leaves the company facing a hefty compensation bill. it also has wider implications for the gig economy, as our business correspondent theo leggett reports. for years uber has been claiming it�*s a simple intermediary, a technology platform connecting self—employed drivers with potential passengers. but now the highest court in the land has ruled that isn�*t the case. it says those drivers are not independent contractors, but are workers acting directly on behalf of the company. as such, they should be entitled to benefits such as the minimum wage and holiday pay. the transportation service performed

by drivers and offered to passengers through the uber app is very tightly defined and controlled by uber. drivers are in a position of subordination and dependency in relation to uber, such that they have little or no ability to improve their economic position. the case was originally led by two drivers, yaseen aslam and james farrar. they took their claims to a london employment tribunal in 2016 and won. uber fought them through appeal after appeal until the two sides ended up before the supreme court. we have drivers working very long hours, taking home gross about £30 to £50 and that can�*t be right, especially for a company making a lot of money on the back of these workers with absolutely no liabilities and all the liability is shifted onto the worker. uber has 60,000 drivers working in the uk and lawyers say the case may set a precedent for thousands of other claims. but the company insists the ruling focused on a small number of drivers

who used its app in 2016. it says since then it has made changes to its business, giving drivers more control over what they earn and providing new protections, such as free insurance in case of sickness or injury. the question now is whether the case has implications beyond uber, potentially affecting millions of other people doing short—term or flexible work in the so—called gig economy. there needs to be taken into account the facts that are mentioned by the supreme court, have a look at their business model, work out what level of control they reasonably need over people using their platform and whether because of the level of control that is required that might mean these people are workers under law. this case clearly sets a legal landmark, but with the world of work changing so rapidly it�*s likely many questions remain unanswered. theo leggett, bbc news. minor changes are being made to the lockdown in wales — although the "stay at home" message

will remain in place for at least the next three weeks. from tomorrow, four people from two households will be able to exercise together outdoors. the welsh government has also said it hopes that primary school children aged eight and over may be able to return to school from 15 march. vaughan gething is the welsh health minister and earlier, i asked him if getting pupils back into school was the priority. that has been our stated priorities for how we make progress. people have stuck to doing the right thing. we had an extraordinary high levels of covid just before christmas we are now down to the low 80s, the lowest in the uk. still relatively high compared to the summer when we were down to... our youngest children, a seven—year—old and

younger will be going back. we hope to have the whole of primary back in school by the 15th of march and exam years in secondary and third. steady steps, but this is good news for the rest of the country to see we are making definitive steps forward because of our collective sacrifice. everyone wants some positivity. earlier this week we were talking about a whole raft of data that showed some of the highest infection rates at the moment are among very young children and then late teenage. you are talking about very small children trying to get back to school swiftly. do you feel you can monitor that very closely and that you can keep an eye on what that does to infection rates? that you can keep an eye on what that does to infection rates?— you can keep an eye on what that does to infection rates? that is why we're doing — does to infection rates? that is why we're doing this _ does to infection rates? that is why we're doing this one _ does to infection rates? that is why we're doing this one stage - does to infection rates? that is why we're doing this one stage at i does to infection rates? that is why we're doing this one stage at a i we�*re doing this one stage at a time. we will start from monday, we will then have a three week gap

until the next phase. we should be able to pick up what�*s happening with those children who are in school during those three weeks with their families and with staff who are working and our schools face to face. we have got ppe and ways of working to try and minimise contact. with our younger students social distancing is not really possible. we have also got regular testing for school—based staff to give extra confidence and pick up a symptomatic coronavirus cases. those three weeks are for us to learn to see what the next step will be. what we are doing is different from other places because we are following the scientific advice and our public health care professionals. we think that this way is a sustainable path to return and once we have full—time education returned to face—to—face, we will have other options as long as we keep the virus suppressed in the way that we have been able to

do. it requires all of us to behave and what is still a very unusual way, but it is making a difference in helping to save lives. you way, but it is making a difference in helping to save lives.— in helping to save lives. you are auoin to in helping to save lives. you are going to allow — in helping to save lives. you are going to allow a _ in helping to save lives. you are going to allow a little _ in helping to save lives. you are going to allow a little bit - in helping to save lives. you are going to allow a little bit more | going to allow a little bit more outdoor mixing, but you are saying do not go crazy, do not do any more than that because there is still a long way to go. i5 than that because there is still a long way to go— than that because there is still a long way to go. is that fair? yes. when we came — long way to go. is that fair? yes. when we came out _ long way to go. is that fair? yes. when we came out of— long way to go. is that fair? yes. when we came out of the - long way to go. is that fair? yes. when we came out of the first i long way to go. is that fair? yes. | when we came out of the first big lock we had a step—by—step approach. outdoor was safer than indoor. each of these will take us out of the... the last thing anyone wants is to have another lockdown and a bigger surge. have another lockdown and a bigger surue. , :, :, surge. here is a reminder of the headlines- _ the duke and duchess of sussex have told the queen they will not be returning as working members of the royal family. buckingham palace says it is saddened by the decision, and harry and meghan remain �*much loved members of the family�*.

borisjohnson opens the virtual g7 summit by urging global leaders to ensure coronavirus vaccines reach everyone around the world. wales�* stay at home rule may end in three weeks, says the first minister — and the youngest pupils will return to school on monday. the union representing senior civil servants is launching legal action, seeking to overturn the prime minister�*s decision that the cabinet member priti patel did not breach the ministerial code of conduct after allegations of bullying early last year. the prime minister chose to stand by ms patel and went against the advice of his adviser, sir alex allan, who had found her behaviour had amounted to bullying, and that it had been in breach of the code. our political correspondent, helen catt explained more about the case. well, to recap as you started to, this was earlier last year that these allegations of bullying were made against the home

secretary priti patel. it followed the resignation of the most senior civil servant in the house office, sir philip rutnam. at the time, borisjohnson commissioned an investigation from sir alex allan who was his independent adviser on ministerial standards. sir alex allan reported in november and as you said he had come to the conclusion that some of her behaviour, including swearing and shouting at staff, did amount to bullying and that her behaviour did breach the ministerial code. that is the code of conduct that ministers are expected to live by. borisjohnson is the arbiter of the code as prime minister. he decides if it�*s broken or not. he decided that priti patel�*s behaviour was unintentional and she had not broken the code of conduct. sir alex allan resigned, priti patel stayed in herjob and she issued an apology. what the fda union is doing, they have started this legal action.

they want the court to rule that borisjohnson made an error, and misinterpreted the definition of the ministerial code of bullying when he made that decision. they say in the home office code of conduct for civil servant, it is made very clear that bullying does not need to be intentional to be bullying. and they say if this decision stands, while you end up with with a two—tier system for ministers and civil servants. here is what dave penman, the general secretary for the fda union had to say. we've got no choice. we don't want to be in the court dealing with this. we would much rather have a dialogue with government. we cannot leave it in the situation where ministers essentially have a get out clause under the ministerial code. they should be held to the same standard as civil servants are regarding their behaviour. at the time downing street pointed to what they said were mitigating factors. they pointed to comments and sir alex allen�*s report that priti patel had legitimately not always felt supported by her department. the home office has not commented

on the latest legal action. a nasa spacecraft has begun its mission to look for life on mars, after landing on the planet last night. the perseverance rover has already been sending back images of the crater where it touched down. here�*s our science correspondent rebecca morelle — her report contains flashing images. perseverance is going about one kilometre per second. a nerve—racking wait at mission control. perseverance is safely on the surface of mars. then celebrations as a signal is received from mars. it�*s touchdown for nasa�*s perseverance rover. and these are its first images, a view of its landing site. the rover has even started tweeting. there really is no good way to describe that moment when it�*s over, and you hear those words, touchdown confirmed. it�*s just a remarkable feeling of pride in the team, relief,

and, and reallyjoy, thinking forward to this remarkable service mission we have coming up. it survived a fiendishly difficult landing, burning through the atmosphere at the speed of a bullet, before a complex landing system brought it to the ground. the rover will now be seeking answers to a crucial question. this mission is all about finding signs of life. and the best place to do that is here, thejezero crater. today it�*s dry and dusty, but billions of years ago it was a huge lake, and you can clearly see a river running into it. this gives you an idea of what it would have looked like. if we zoom in a bit more, these green areas on the edge of the crater were once beaches on the lake�*s shore, and the hope is any microscopic creatures that once lived there are still preserved. perseverance is the most

advanced rover that nasa has ever built, and it�*s jam—packed with instruments. its robotic arm is equipped with a drill to collect rock samples. so what forms of life could they contain? i�*m not talking about martian little green men. probably not even fish. we are looking for microbial life, maybe microbes that have made a little mat or a slime, the sorts that you might find on the bottom of a pond. those are the types of things that are likely to, well, they did exist on earth 3.5 billion years ago. the question is, did they exist on mars at the bottom of lakes? and in a first, nasa�*s mini mars helicopter will take off. it�*s a new way to view the planet. its test flight will be in a few weeks. but getting to the red planet is just the start. now the hard work begins on a mission that could transform our understanding of mars. rebecca morelle, bbc news. the metropolitan police and national crime agency have siezed cocaine estimated to have a street value

of £230 million, which was hidden in a consignment of bananas from colombia. armed officers discovered the haul at an industrial estate in north london, in one of the uk�*s biggest ever drugs raids. tom symonds reports. inside control during a big police drugs operation. two males outside, gone in to the smaller shutter... they are caught industrial unit under surveillance. we cannot report the full details, but they are monitoring everything that is going on. we started to gather the intelligence last weekend into what was going on, and we have worked really hard almost 2a hours a day since then to achieve what you�*ve seen this afternoon. yeah, the lorry is not in view yet, but i believe they�*ve directed them to come in. go ahead. a suspected gang has allegedly arranged a shipment

of more than two tonnes of cocaine from columbia after portsmouth. the crucial decision for thisjoint met and national crime agency team, when is there enough evidence to make a move? these are specialist counterterrorism fire officers. inside, 41 pallets used to transport the load, but these are dummy packages. the police seized the real drugs in portsmouth. we are talking about one of the biggest seizures of cocaine ever in the uk. we think about 2.3 metric tonnes. by the time that is divided down into deals, we could be talking about 5 million deals. it is roughly half the average cocaine seizure for a whole year in the uk. drugs which now won�*t be sold on streets across britain. dogs have helped millions of us to get through the last year or so — but you don�*t necessarily have

to own one, to feel the calming benefits of man�*s and woman�*s, best friend. max the springer spaniel has been sharing his walks with the world via social media. and now he�*s become the first pet dog to receive a very special award. tim muffett has the story. max lives with his owner in the lake district, but has fans across the world. the 13—year—old springer spaniel belongs to kerry irving who�*s been live streaming their walks during lockdown. all right, maxie? we started doing live feeds on our daily walks because we�*ve got the lake district here, this is our home, this is where we can walk and exercise, but some people are trapped in cities, tower blocks. max�*s walks with fellow springer spaniels paddy and harry have brought comfort to hundreds of thousands of people and max�*s companionship to kerry

has been life changing. following a road traffic accident 15 years ago, he was suffering from severe depression. the anxiety it caused me to walk out of the door on my own and not have somebody with me was for me a terrifying experience. every step i took max was with me and every time i stopped and faulted he stopped with me too. the pdsa order of merit rewards animals that show outstanding contribution to society. you can see how max has not only had a massive impact on kerry's life, but his activities, all those kerry has been filming with them, have reached the lives of hundreds of thousands of people right across the world. four—year—old evelyn is one of them. # happy birthday to max...#. kerry and max's videos have been an absolute godsend to us in lockdown and helped us to be stress—free at the end

of the day and made every day during lockdown a fresh start. evelyn suffers from the febrile convulsions, seizures that can happen at any time. her mum hannah believes max has had a profoundly positive impact. do you want to see max's videos? how does max make you feel? happy. the impact that dogs have both on mental well—being and on general well— being is fantastic. the animal equivalent of an obe, richly deserved. tim muffet, bbc news. how would he have survived the last few months without them? now it�*s time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. there are two sides to the weather stories this weekend. on the one hand, it is going to be very mild. on the other, some very heavy rain, particularly in the west, on the other hand, some parts

of the uk are going to see some very heavy rain. this chart shows the rainfall accumulation through the weekend. some parts of eastern england could stay completely dry, but out west, especially over the hills, a lot of rain piling up, that brings the risk of flooding, especially across the south of wales. the met office has issued an amber warning here through tonight and into tomorrow. the risk of flooding and travel disruption. this is the reason why. low pressure dominating the scene. this stripe of cloud, a very slow—moving weather front bringing pulses of heavy rain, very strong winds to the rest of the day. those are the gusts. we can expect 50 to 60 mile per hour gusts for some western coast. and the temperatures as we end the day between nine and 11 degrees. the wet weather keeps on coming through this evening and tonight especially across the southwest of england, the northwest of england and over high ground in southern wales. northern ireland and scotland, drying out for a time with some clear spells. a little bit chilly across northern scotland. generally speaking, it is a very mild night and a very mild start to tomorrow. but this frontal system will still be wriggling around on saturday.

bringing further pulses of very heavy rain in similar areas, really, the southwest of england up into wales, parts of northern england. rain returning for a time to northern ireland. it can be very wet here for a time and also pushing north across scotland. whereas east anglia and the southeast could well stay dry. with some spells of sunshine. it is another windy day, especially once again for coasts in the west, but the winds coming up from the south bringing some mild air for all and if you do see some sunshine towards the southeast, you could be looking at highs of 16 celsius. our weather front will still be with us for the second half of the weekend, but for anything, it will edge a little further towards the east. there is some uncertainty about the front on sunday, but central, southern england into the midlands could see some rain at times. to the east of that front, it should stay dry with some sunshine. to the north and the west, a mix of sunshine and showers. and another mild day. mild is the theme as we head into next week. perhaps briefly a bit cooler at first. we will see some rain

towards the north and the west, but temperatures could climb to 17 degrees.

this is bbc news. i�*m reeta chakrabarti. the headlines at four. the duke and duchess of sussex have told the queen they will not be returning as working members of the royal family. borisjohnson opens the virtual g7 summit by urging global leaders to ensure coronavirus vaccines reach everyone around the world. wales�* stay at home rule may end in three weeks, says the first minister, and the youngest pupils will return to school on monday. the coronavirus reproduction number, or r value, continues to fall across the uk, suggesting the spread of the disease is slowing across the uk. the supreme court rules that uber drivers are employees, not third party contractors, in a decision with wide implications for the gig economy. the dubai royalfamily says princess latifa is "being cared

for at home" after the bbc obtained videos in which she accused them of holding her hostage. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. the duke and duchess of sussex have confirmed to the queen that they will not be returning as working members of the royal family. as a result the couple will now no longer hold the honorary military appointments and royal patronages given to them by the queen. in a statement buckingham palace said that "in stepping away from the work of the royal family it would not be possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service. " prince harry and meghan have committed to continue supporting

the organisations they have represented saying �*service is universal�*. andy moore reports. ever since meghan and harry moved to north america, their long—term role in the royal family has been uncertain. last january, they announced they would step back as senior roles and work to become financially independent. there was a period of reflection and assessment on both sides. now there is a definite breach. meghan and harry will no longer be returning to work as members of the royalfamily. the news about their future comes ahead of an interview to be broadcast next month with oprah winfrey and only days after the couple announced they were expecting a second child. i don�*t think anyone would be surprised. it is untenable to live on the west coast of america and retain duty here. it was never going to work. now they have decided this is the future they want, away from royal duties. it was inevitable.

a spokesperson for the duke and duchess of sussex said... prince harry served in military and holds honorary military appointments, but they will now be formally returned to the queen, and they will be distributed among other working members of the royal family. it was confirmed that harry would be stepping down from the rugby football union as patron. they said they greatly value his contribution to supporting the game.

the national theatre also thanked the duchess for her work as patron. they said she championed work to make theatre accessible to all and her work begin people across the uk her work with young people across the uk. the palace announcement said everyone was saddened by the decision of meghan and harry, but they would remain much loved members of the family. our royal correspondent sarah campbell explained a little earlier what this means for harry and meghan�*s future there is a certain sense of inevitability. how it played out was, lastjanuary, we heard that megan and harry had a plan to step back from the royal family and they put forward their plan for what they hoped would happen, which was to make their own money but also continue with their royal work. it became clear quite quickly, there was a summit at sandringham, there was a feeling that that couldn�*t work. they couldn�*t be half in, half out.

the result was a stepping back. there was a 12 month period of grace to see how it would work out. that was due to end at the end of march, but this statement has come out earlier than that. it has been a very strange year. perhaps they would not have spent so much time consistently abroad, where it�*s not for the pandemic, but they have very much been out of the system. they have been building and creating their own lives. they have signed these multi—million pound deals with netflix, they have got a multi—million pound deal with a spotify. then came the news that meghan and harry would do a big sit down with oprah winfrey. they are very much building their own lives. there is a feeling that this was inevitable. in a statement today released by buckingham palace, it says, while we are all saddened by this decision, the duke

and duchess remain much loved members of the royal family. they will not be working royals, but they are still members of the family. the prime minister has urged global leaders to work together to ensure the whole world is vaccinated against coronavirus. chairing a virtual summit of the g7 nations from 10 downing street this afternoon, boris johnson told his fellow leaders that �*science is finally getting the upper hand on covid�*. mrjohnson went on to urge all nations to work together and help bolster vaccine supplies i know that several colleagues have already announced that ideal. we in the uk strongly support it. of course, we also want to work together on building back better from the pandemic, a slogan that i thinkjoe has used several times. i think he may have nicked it from us, but i certainly nicked it from somewhere else, probably some un disaster relief programme, but we want to build back better from the pandemic. i think this is the right moment

for us all to focus on the other great natural challenge, about which we have been warned time and time and time again. we can�*t ignore it. the warnings have been even clearer than they were for coronavirus, and that is the problem of planets change, and that�*s why we are going to be working very hard to get some great things done at g7 on our plans for the summit that we are holding with our italian friends in glasgow in november. it�*s great, by the way, thatjoe has brought the united states back into the paris climate change accord. a great step forward. the united arab emirates embassy in london says princess latifa, the daughter of dubai�*s ruler is alive and being cared for at home by herfamily

and medical professionals. it comes after the bbc obtained videos in which princess latifa accused herfather of holding her hostage in dubai since she tried to escape in 2018. the un human rights office had asked the united arab emirates for proof that princess latifa is alive. the statement from the dubai royal family says that princess�*s health is improving and that she will return to public life at the appropriate time. in wales, the first minister mark drakeford has been setting out plans for lifting lockdown restrictions. if covid cases continue to fall, the stay at home order could end in three weeks. the easing of restrictions will begin with schools, which will gradually reopen. younger primary children will return on monday, and older pupils could join them on march 15th if infections continue falling. here�*s our wales correspondent tomos morgan. with the lowest virus rates of all the uk nations, and the most first dose vaccinations given, the pandemic in wales seems to now be going in the right direction.

on monday, the youngest learners will be going back to the classroom and today, the first minister has announced that the rest of primary school children over seven years old could return on the 15th of march along with exam grade pupils in high schools. i am very grateful to everyone who has been involved in this work to prepare for the return of face—to—face learning. getting children back into school remains the welsh government�*s top priority. the r rate in wales is now below one, which has allowed the welsh government to also consider opening nonessential shops, beauty parlours, and hairdressers next month. it is a cautious welcome for those in the industry that will still probably not be able to recoup the full profits when they reopen. we are going to only be able to have limited capacity. possibly only 50%—70%. we�*re also going be opening with more debt than we have ever had before.

so when you are combining the two, i know after speaking to a lot of other salon owners, it is whether or not it will be viable. so while most of the high street prepares to reopen by the 15th of march, there is still no word or sign yet of the hospitality sector reopening in wales soon. if we plan to be open sometime in the easter holidays, or maybe, orjune, then we need to prepare for that. it�*s notjust in case of giving it a week�*s notice and open the doors. if all continues to go well here, the next phase of reopening will include self—catering accommodation in the tourism industry the run up to easter with a nod also to a potential end to stay—at—home rules. further information on those decisions will come in the next review in three weeks�* time. if 2020 has taught us anything, a lot can change in just a few weeks during a pandemic. the coronavirus reproduction number, or r value, across the uk is between 0.6 and 0.9, according to the latest

government figures. last week, it was between 0.7 and 0.9. it follows a decrease in the number of infections across the country. figures from the ons show — one in 115 people in england had coronavirus in the week up the 12th february — down significantly from the week before. in wales — it is one in 125 — compared to one in 85 the week before. in northern ireland it�*s one in 105 — and in scotland it�*s one in 180. both down from the previous week. the high court has ruled the government acted unlawfully when it did not reveal details of some of the covid contracts it had signed while procuring personal protective equipment. the challenge was brought by campaigners and a cross—party group of opposition mps. the department of health and social care said it had been

forced to sign deals within very short timescales and against a background of unparalleled global demand. it comes on the same day as nearly 20 organisations representing health care workers have appealed to borisjohson and the health ministers in all the uk nations to provide staff with better protection from coronavirus. the group, which includes the british medical association and the royal college of nursing, says a measures to prevent the spread of the virus through the air are inadequate. let�*s speak now to mike adams, england directorfor the royal college of nursing. good afternoon. tell us about your concerns. ,:, :, :, :, :, good afternoon. tell us about your concerns. :, : concerns. good afternoon. well, we have seen the _ concerns. good afternoon. well, we have seen the huge _ concerns. good afternoon. well, we have seen the huge impact - concerns. good afternoon. well, we have seen the huge impact of- concerns. good afternoon. well, we have seen the huge impact of the i have seen the huge impact of the virus on our health care workers across the uk, and sadly, we have lost around 930 health care workers to this disease. as we learn more about the virus, we are learning

that it about the virus, we are learning thatitis about the virus, we are learning that it is more airborne, there is more research being developed around the risks associated with this. we are looking at the different settings that our members and other health care workers are working in. we really feel there is a case now that higher levels of protective equipment need to be standardised as a precautionary response to keep everybody as safe as possible. this is very interesting. at the beginning of the pandemic last year, we heard a lot about the lack of ppe. then one that went quiet as supplies seem to increase. i suggesting that there is again a lack of availability, or that it isn�*t of the right quality? tlat isn't of the right quality? not necessarily. _ isn't of the right quality? not necessarily. the _ isn't of the right quality? iifrt necessarily. the issue at the moment is that the current uk guidance, which leads to the determination and selection of this ppe across the uk, does not take into consideration,

the airborne risks. for example, when health care workers are staying overnight, it is not taken into account the adequate need for ventilation, this new knowledge that we have. it�*s more about the guidance rather than the availability of equipment. early in the pandemic, it was a very much high profile areas, like intensive care units that were the most exposed to this virus were prioritised. but we feel there is more known risk now to what a wider area of health care settings, where health care workers are using surgical masks in environments where we now know the virus may well be more airborne rather than setting on circuses. in more airborne rather than setting on circuses. , :, :, circuses. in your letter to the prime minister _ circuses. in your letter to the prime minister and _ circuses. in your letter to the prime minister and the i circuses. in your letter to the prime minister and the full i circuses. in your letter to the i prime minister and the full health secretaries of the uk nations, what is it you are asking for?—

is it you are asking for? namely, there are five _ is it you are asking for? namely, there are five asks. _ is it you are asking for? namely, there are five asks. looking i is it you are asking for? namely, there are five asks. looking for. there are five asks. looking for care providers, to assess and improve the quality of ventilation in all settings, to prevent the risk of airborne spread. we feel they need to be more amendments to the guidance, that ijust said, to reflect an increased level of respiratory protection against the virus. we think that it needs to be developed in more of a collaborative approach with more multidisciplinary voices in there. and also, we need to see a more accessible form, the scientific evidence around airborne transmission that is available. if there is not enough available, we need to take more research to fill in any gaps in the knowledge. thanks ve much. in any gaps in the knowledge. thanks very much. you'll— in any gaps in the knowledge. thanks very much. you'll have _ in any gaps in the knowledge. thanks very much. you'll have to _ in any gaps in the knowledge. thanks very much. you'll have to leave i in any gaps in the knowledge. thanks very much. you'll have to leave it i very much. you�*ll have to leave it there. some news about the duke of

edinburgh, who has been in hospital for a few days, to be under surveillance, we have some news from our royal correspondent, who says that a source has told the bbc that following consultation with his doctor, the duke of edinburgh is likely to remain in hospitalfor observation and rest over the weekend and into next week. as said previously, the doctor is acting with an abundance of caution. the duke remains in good spirits. an update there on the condition of prince philip, from our royal correspondent. a lot happening this afternoon. we also have the latest coronavirus cases. i can tell you that cases and new infections and deaths are down compared to last friday. there are a few figures here. so there are 533 deaths today,

and that is down nearly 30% compared to last friday. in terms of new cases, there are 12,027, and that is down just over 20%, compared to last friday. just a run through those figures again, deaths are down by nearly 30%, compared to a week ago, and new cases are down by over 20%. now, i�*m going to take you straight to munich, where there is a security conference going on. the munich security conference that is being addressed by presidentjoe biden. let�*s listen in. addressed by president joe biden. let's listen in.— addressed by president joe biden. let's listen in. from the washington persoective. — let's listen in. from the washington persoective. we _ let's listen in. from the washington perspective, we spent _ let's listen in. from the washington perspective, we spent the _ let's listen in. from the washington perspective, we spent the morning i perspective, we spent the morning together, but i want to say hello to everyone at the munich conference, and thank you for hosting. for decades, as you pointed out, i have

participated in the munich security conference. as a us senatorjoining my colleagues on both side of the aisle, to affirm the importance of a transatlantic partnership. delivering the first international policy address of the bite on obama administration, and two years ago, as you point out, when i last spoke in munich, i was a private citizen. i was a professor, not an elected official. but i said at that time, we will be back. and i am a man of my word. america is back. i speak to you today as president of the united states. at the very start of my administration, and i am sending a clear message to the world. america is back. the transatlantic alliance is back. the transatlantic alliance is back. the transatlantic alliance is back. we are not to looking backwards. we are looking forward. together. it comes under this, the transatlantic alliance is a strong

foundation. the strong foundation on which our collective security and our shared prosperity are built. a partnership between europe and the united states, in my view, is, and must remain, the cornerstone of all we hope to accomplish in the 21st century. just as we did in the 20th century. just as we did in the 20th century. the challenges we face today are different. we are at a reflection point. when i spoke to was a senator, and even as vice president, the global dynamics have suggested. new crises demand our attention. we cannot focus only on the competition among countries that threaten to divide the world, or only on global challenges that threaten to sink us altogether if we fail to cooperate. we must do both. we must work with our allies and partners. let me erase any lingering doubt, the united states will work closely with our european union partners, and with capitals across

the continent, from rome to riga, to meet the range of shared challenges that we chat share. we continue to support the goal of being free and at peace. the united states is completely committed to our nato alliance. i welcome your�*s investment in military capabilities and enable our shared defences. you know, to me and to the united states, and to us, we will keep faith of article five. it is a guarantee. an attack on one is an attack on all. that is our unshakeable vow. the only time that article five has been evoked, was after the united states was attacked on 9/11. you, our allies, joined us to fight al-qaeda. the united states committed to consulting closely with our allies on afghanistan. my

administration, strongly supports the diplomatic process is under way and to bring an end to this more thatis and to bring an end to this more that is closing on 20 years. we went committed to make sure that afghanistan never again provides a base for terrorist attacks against the united states and our partners and our interests. our european partners have stood with us to come to isis. just this week, nato defence ministers endorsed significance expanding, training and advisory missions in iraq, which will be writing to the ongoing fight against isis. we cannot allow isis to reopen and regroup, threaten people in the middle east and europe and the united states and elsewhere. once the united states is undergoing thorough review of our own forced posture around the world, i ordered the halting of the withdrawal of american troops from germany. i�*m also lifting a cap imposed by the

previous administration on the number of us forces able to be based in germany. i know the past few years have strained and tested our transatlantic relationship. but the united states is determined to re—engage with europe, to consult with you, to earn back our position of trusted leadership. earlier today, as was referenced, i participated in the first meeting of the g7 leaders, when i spoke about the g7 leaders, when i spoke about the diet needs to coordinate multilateral action to address covid—19, the global economic crisis, and the accelerating climate crisis, and the accelerating climate crisis, and the accelerating climate crisis, and so much else. achieving this goal is is going to depend on a court strategic proposition. that is the united states�*s must renew america�*s and enduring advantages. we can meet today�*s challenges from a position of strength. that means

building back better our economic foundations, reclaiming our place in international institutions, lifting up international institutions, lifting up our values at home and speaking out to defend them around the world. modernising our military capabilities, whilst leaving with diplomacy. revitalising america macrocosmic network of alliances and partnerships that have made the world safer for all people. i hope our fellow democracies are going to join us in this vital work. i will partnerships have endured and grown it through the years because they are rooted in the richness of our shared democratic values. they are not transactional, they are not extractive. they are built on a vision of a future where every voice matters, where the rights of all are protected, and the rule of law is upheld. none of this has fully

succeeded, none of us has fully succeeded, none of us has fully succeeded in this division. we continue to work towards it. in so many places, including in europe and the united states, democratic progress is under assault. i have known many of you for a long, long time. i know that i speak my mind. let me be very straightforward with you all. we are in the midst of a fundamental debate about the future and direction of our world. we are at an inflection point between those who argue, given all the challenges we face, from the fourth industrial revolution, to a global pandemic, to autocracy —— that autocracy is the best way forward, they argue. does it understand that democracy is essential to meeting these challenges. historians are going to examine and write about this moment as an inflection point, as i said. i

believe that every ounce of my being, that democracy will and must prevail. we must demonstrate that democracy can still deliver for our people in this changed world. that, in my view, is our galvanising mission. democracy doesn�*t happen by accident. we have to defend it. fight for it, strengthen it, renew it. we have to prove that our model isn�*t a relic of history. it is the single best way to revitalise the promise of our future. if we work together, with our democratic partners, with strength and confidence, i know we will meet every challenge and outpace every challenger. e—mail, we must prepare togetherfor challenger. e—mail, we must prepare together for long challenger. e—mail, we must prepare togetherfor long term challenger. e—mail, we must prepare together for long term strategic competition with china. how the united states, europe, and a work together to secure the peace and defend our shared values, and

advance our prosperity across the pacific, will be among the most consequential efforts we undertake. competition with china will be stiff. that�*s what i expect. that�*s what i welcome. because i believe in the global system in europe and the united states together, with our allies, in the end of the specific work so hard to build over the last 70 years. we can own the race for the future. but to do so, we have to be clear about the historic investments and partnerships that this requires. we have to protect. we have to protect the space, for innovation, for intellectual property, and the created genius that thrives with the free exchange of ideas in open, democratic societies. we have to ensure that the benefits of growth are shared broadly and equitably, notjust by a few. we have to push back against

the chinese government�*s economic abuses and coercion that undercut the foundations of the international economic system. everyone must play by the same rules. us and european companies are required to publicly disclose corporate governance structures and abide by rules to deter corruption and monopolistic practices. chinese companies should be held to the same standard. we will shape the rules that govern the advances of technology and the norms of technology in cyberspace. artificial intelligence, biotechnology, so that they are used to lift people up, not used to pin them down. we must stand up for the democratic values that make it possible for us to accomplish any of this, pushing back against those who would monopolise and normalise repression. this is also how we�*re

going to be able to meet the threat from russia. the kremlin attacks our democracy and recognises corruption to try to undermine our system of governance. russian leaders want people to think that our is more corrupt, oras people to think that our is more corrupt, or as corrupt, as there is. world knows that isn�*t true. including russia�*s own citizens. putin seeks to weaken european projects and our nato alliance. he wants to undermine the transatlantic unity and our resolve. it is so much easierfor the kremlin to bully unity and our resolve. it is so much easier for the kremlin to bully and threaten individual states than it is to negotiate with a strong and closely united transatlantic community. that is why we are standing for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of ukraine remains a vital concern for europe and the united states. that is why,

addressing recklessness, russian recklessness and hacking into computer networks in the united states and across europe and the world has become critical to protecting our collective security. the challenges with russia may be different than the ones with china, but they are just as real. it is not about pitting east against west. it is not about conflict. we want a future where all nations are able to freely determine their own path, without a threat of violence or coercion. we cannot and must not return to the reflective opposition and rigid blocks of the cold war. competition must not lock out cooperation on issues that affect us all. for example, we must cooperate if we are going to defeat coronavirus everywhere. my first presidential memorandum focuses on

defeating coronavirus and to better prevent and prevent for the next pandemic. —— and prepare for the next pandemic. today, i announce that the united states is making a $2 million pledge to covax. even as we fight to get out of that span than, the resurgence of ebola in africa is a stark reminder that we must simultaneously work to finally finance health security, strengthen global health systems, and create early warning systems to prevent, detect, and respond to future biological threats because they look to keep coming. we have to work together to strengthen and reform the world health organization. we need a un system focuses on biological threats that can work quickly to cricket action —— to

trigger action. quickly to cricket action —— to triggeraction. similarly, quickly to cricket action —— to trigger action. similarly, we can no longer delay or do the bare minimum to address climate change. this is a global existential crisis. we will all suffer the consequences if we fail. we have to rapidly accelerate our commitments to aggressively curb our commitments to aggressively curb our emissions and hold one another accountable for meeting our goals and increasing our ambitions. that is why, as president, i am immediately rejoining the paris agreement, and as of today, the united states is officially, once again a party to the paris agreement which we have to put together. on earth day, i will host a leader�*s summit to help drive more ambitious actions, including domestic climate actions, including domestic climate action here in the united states. i am gratefulfor action here in the united states. i am grateful for europe�*s�*s continued leadership on climate issues of the last four years. together, we need

to invest in the technological innovations that are going to power our clean energy futures and enable us to build a the threat of nuclear proliferation also continues to require careful diplomacy and cooperation among us. we need transparency and communication to minimise the risk of strategic misunderstanding or mistakes. that is why the united states and russia notwithstanding competition extended the new start treaty for an additional four years once i was sworn in. that is why we said we are prepared to re—engage negotiation with the p5 plus one and arrange —— on a rand�*s nuclear programme. we must also address their destabilising actions across their destabilising actions across the middle east. we are going to work with our european and other partners as we proceed. we will work together to lockdown radiological

mid—tier to prevent terrorist groups from acquiring and using it. the range of challenges europe and the united states must take on together is broad and complex. i am eager to hear nneexx for my good friends and outstanding leaders angela merkel on her thoughts on the way together. we cannot include self—doubts to hinder our ability to work together. the last four years have been hard. when you�*re up in the united states have to lead with confidence once more. with face in our capacities commitment to our own renewal with trust in one another in the ability of europe and the united states to meet any challenge to secure our future together. i know we can do

this. we have done it before. just yesterday, after a seven month 300 mile journey nasa successfully landed the perseverance rover on mars. it is a mission of expiration with elements contributed by our european partners to seek evidence of the possibility of life beyond our planet and the mysteries of the universe. over the next few years, perseverance will range and collect samples from the red planet and pile them up so another mission and rover envisioned as a joint effort between nasa and the european space agency will retrieve this trove of scientific wonders and bring it home for all of us. that is what we can do together. if our unbound capacity

to carry as to mars and back, don�*t tell us anything else. we can meet any challenge. that we can face on earth. we have everything we need. and i want you to know the united states will do our part, we will stand with you. we will fight for our shared values. we will meet the challenges of this new moment in history. america is back. so let�*s get together and demonstrate to our great, great grandchildren when they read about us that democracy, democracy, democracy functions and works. and together there is nothing we cannot do. so let�*s get working. thank you all very much. that we cannot do. so let's get working. thank you all very much.— thank you all very much. that was resident thank you all very much. that was president joe _ thank you all very much. that was president joe biden. _ thank you all very much. that was president joe biden. in _ thank you all very much. that was president joe biden. in a - thank you all very much. that was president joe biden. in a day i thank you all very much. that was president joe biden. in a day of i presidentjoe biden. in a day of appearances and international

conferences. he was at the g7 summit, virtually this morning at the munich security conference. a strongly worded speech speaking about the transatlantic alliance. being back. he said i know the past few years have tested and strained the transatlantic relationship, we are determined to re—engage. strong words of criticism for both china and russia. talking about china's methods of coercion as he put it and russian leaders wanted to suggest to people that our system is as corrupt as theirs. a strong defence of democracy from presidentjoe biden. let's leave that there and catch up with all of the sport now be me were going to go over to the bbc sport centre with gavin. thank you very much indeed. scotland women have thrashed cyprus 10—0 in a european championship qualifier to give stuart mclaren victory, in his first match as interim head coach. scotland can't qualify for the euros but laid down

a marker in mclaren�*s first match in temporary charge. erin cuthbert putting them ahead with one of five first half goals. five more followed, with clare emslie here getting the seventh. and jane ross came off the bench and scored twice, rounding off the victory with the tenth goal here. her 62nd international goal. meanwhile, england have added arsenal's beth mead and manchester united's millie turner to their squad for thee friendly against northern ireland next week with chelsea's millie bright and fran kirby both ruled out. england's interim manager hege riise initially left mead out of the squad, sayinig herform "hasn't been that great". england's most capped player fara williams, has revealed that she's been battling a rare kidney condition called nephrotic syndrome for almost a year. williams said it "broke" her and she's told us she pushed herself too hard, to return to action. through many different times throughout my career, football has been my go—to. so, maybe i also believed that i needed to be in it to get through this illness, but actually, on reflection,

i didn't need to be in it, and i was ok in dealing with it away from there. and probably when i did take the time off, i could recover my mind better, took a few weeks out and actually mentally feel so much more refreshed and ready to go. whereas i think dealing with it at the time, just keep trying to push as much as i was, but feeling like i was just failing at every attempt. fulham manager scott parker says the surprise birthday party thrown for defender terence kongolo was "not acceptable". and he won't feature in the squad for tomorrow's game against sheffield united. it's alleged that kongolo returned to his flat in the early hours of monday morning after their win at everton, to find a group of friends there. parker says the club will investigate the matter. the chair of football's anti—discrimination group — kick it out — says he supports the decision of crystal palace striker wilfred zaha to stop taking a knee before matches. sanjay bhandari says he understands his frustration and agrees that while such gestures are valuable to attract attention, they have a shelf life.

zaha believes taking a knee has lost its meaning. growing up, my parents let me know that i should be proud to be black, no matter what, and ijust feel like we should just stand tall. i think it's becoming something that wejust do now, you know? that's not enough for me, i'm not going to take the knee, i'm not going to wear black lives matter on the back of my... because it feels like it's a target. we're isolating ourselves, we're trying to say we're equal, but we're isolating ourselves with these things that are not even working anyway. daniil medvedev has beaten stefanos tsitsipas in straight sets, to reach the final of the australian open. the tight contest we were expecting didn't materialis after sailing through the first two sets, medvedev was given more of a work—out in the third but he never looked in trouble and he produced what's been described as the shot of the tournament on his way to closing out the match. he'll face novak djokovic for the title on sunday. the russian is on a great run of form — this is his 20th victory in a row —

but he's yet to win a grand slam — and he said this victory wasn't as straight—forward as it looked. i got a little bit scared, i should say, and tired because it is a semi final of a slam, and for us it is not... not for novak, but i'm happy i managed to turn my game on, even though was an easy, some moments on my serve, and i'm happy to be in the final. and joe salisbury, won the battle of the brits in the men's doubles — he and rajeev ram, who are the defending champions, beatjamie murray and bruno soares, to reach the final. ronnie o'sullivan is through to the semi—finals of the welsh open snooker — his opponent today, ali carter, withdrew from the event due to health reasons... alsojoining o'sullivan is stephen maguire. he won a final frame decider against shaun murphy to come through 5—4 at celtic manor. maguire wrapped things up in style with a total clearance of 133 to reach the last four. mark selby is also out.

that's all the sport for now. the supreme court has ruled that uber drivers should be classed as employees, not independent third party contractors. the decision means tens of thousands of drivers could now be entitled to the minimum wage and holiday pay, and leaves the company facing a hefty compensation bill. it also has wider implications for the gig economy, as our business correspondent theo leggett reports. forr years uber has been claiming it's a simple intermediary, a technology platform connecting self—employed drivers with potential passengers. but now the highest court in the land has ruled that isn't the case. it says those drivers are not independent contractors, but are workers acting directly on behalf of the company. as such, they should be entitled to benefits such as the minimum wage and holiday pay. the transportation service performed by drivers and offered to passengers through the uber app is very tightly defined and controlled by uber.

drivers are in a position of subordination and dependency in relation to uber, such that they have little or no ability to improve their economic position. the case was originally led by two drivers, yaseen aslam and james farrar. they took their claims to a london employment tribunal in 2016 and won. uber fought them through appeal after appeal until the two sides ended up before the supreme court. we have drivers working very long hours, taking home gross about £30 to £50 and that can't be right, especially for a company making a lot of money on the back of these workers with absolutely no liabilities and all the liability is shifted onto the worker. uber has 60,000 drivers working in the uk and lawyers say the case may set a precedent for thousands of other claims. but the company insists the ruling focused on a small number of drivers who used its app in 2016. it says since then it has made changes to its business, giving drivers more control over

what they earn and providing new protections, such as free insurance in case of sickness or injury. the question now is whether the case has implications beyond uber, potentially affecting millions of other people doing short—term or flexible work in the so—called gig economy. there needs to be taken into account the facts that are mentioned by the supreme court, have a look at their business model, work out what level of control they reasonably need over people using their platform and whether because of the level of control that is required that might mean these people are workers under law. this case clearly sets a legal landmark, but with the world of work changing so rapidly it's likely many questions remain unanswered. theo leggett, bbc news. around four million people in the uk sufferfrom diabetes, including around a million who have not been diagnosed, according to the charity diabetes uk.

and while it's already known that diabetics are more at risk of suffering severe cases of covid — new evidence suggests the virus could actually be triggering the condition in some patients. olivia sopel reports. first step is taking my blood sugar... this isjordan charles�*s daily routine. after contracting covid—i9 last year, he developed type two diabetes, which went undiagnosed for months, and resulted in a 23 day hospital stay and being put in an induced coma. a normal blood sugar is between kind of five and seven. they would usually say you have diabetes if you have a blood sugar of between 15 and 20. when i went into hospital, my blood sugar was 127. it was the highest blood sugar they had ever seen in that hospital. it was incredible. they said if i had waited another hour before i went into hospital that i wouldn't have made it. jordan's case is just one experience.

there is still much scientists don't know about what triggers the condition. this professor has been studying the connections between coronavirus and diabetes, and has established a global registry for medical professionals to track cases. the coronavirus that causes covid—i9, combined in cells, not only the airways, where it could cause pneumonia and other problems, but also to cells in other tissues, including the pancreas, liver, even the gut or the adipose tissue. of course, those organs are crucial for sugar metabolism. if the virus were able to cause dysfunctions there, then obviously one could expect problems. in england, as many as 5% of people hospitalised with severe covid—i9, have developed type one or type two diabetes. although it is a serious condition affecting [i million people in the uk, around one in eight are thought to be undiagnosed and this

was the case atjordan. pretty much every organ in my body failed. i was put on a ventilator, i had pancreatitis, i had kidney injury. all of this had come from this diagnosis that i didn't know i had, which was diabetes. that had been triggered by me having coronavirus all of the way back in march. from march up until september, i had been living with diabetes and not knowing it. we have had people living for up to ten years without being diagnosed with type two diabetes. what that means is that they are more at risk of being diagnosed when they have complications already. complications can be things like heart problems, sight loss, nerve damage, that kind of thing. it is really important to identify it early and get the right treatment and management. first thing in the morning, i take out this... since his diagnosis, jordan's life has completely changed, from taking various different medications, to injecting insulin every day, and having to strictly

control what he eats and drinks. diabetes is a condition... experts are continuing to study the connection between coronavirus and diabetes, and research into the links between the two diseases is still in the early stages. in the meantime, anyone concerned that they have symptoms of diabetes is advised to ask their gp for a test. a nasa spacecraft has begun its mission to look for life on mars, after landing on the planet last night. the perseverance rover has been sending back images of the crater where it touched down. it will spend the next two years drilling into rocks, to look for evidence of activity by micro—organisms — which would be proof of life. here's our science correspondent rebecca morelle, whose report contains flashing images. perseverance is going about one kilometre per second. a nerve—racking wait at mission control. perseverance is safely on the surface of mars. then celebrations as a signal

is received from mars. it's touchdown for nasa's perseverance rover. and these are its first images, a view of its landing site. the rover has even started tweeting. there really is no good way to describe that moment when it's over, and you hear those words, touchdown confirmed. it's just a remarkable feeling of pride in the team, relief, and, and reallyjoy, thinking forward to this remarkable service mission we have coming up. it survived a fiendishly difficult landing, burning through the atmosphere at the speed of a bullet, before a complex landing system brought it to the ground. the rover will now be seeking answers to a crucial question. this mission is all about finding signs of life. and the best place to do

that is here, thejezero crater. today it's dry and dusty, but billions of years ago it was a huge lake, and you can clearly see a river running into it. this gives you an idea of what it would have looked like. if we zoom in a bit more, these green areas on the edge of the crater were once beaches on the lake's shore, and the hope is any microscopic creatures that once lived there are still preserved. perseverance is the most advanced rover that nasa has ever built, and it's jam—packed with instruments. its robotic arm is equipped with a drill to collect rock samples. so what forms of life could they contain? i'm not talking about martian little green men. probably not even fish. we are looking for microbial life, maybe microbes that have made a little mat or a slime, the sorts that you might find on the bottom of a pond. those are the types of things that are likely to, well, they did exist on earth

3.5 billion years ago. the question is, did they exist on mars at the bottom of lakes? and in a first, nasa's mini mars helicopter will take off. it's a new way to view the planet. its test flight will be in a few weeks. but getting to the red planet is just the start. now the hard work begins on a mission that could transform our understanding of mars. rebecca morelle, bbc news. the future of a london riding stables has been secured — following an ambitious campaign to stop it from closing. the centre — which supports young people with disabilities — was under threat when its owners decided to sell. but its supporters rallied together and managed to raise more than £1 million in just seven days. fiona lamdin explains. all day, the money just kept coming in. that's really kind of you. by phone, in person, and online. well over tens of thousands of separate donations.

that's so kind of you, i must say. they had just seven days to raise the rest of the money, half a million, so they could keep these stables. and unbelievably, by mid—morning, they did it. we did it, we did it, we did it! oh, you arejust amazing. honestly, we did it. dominic, we did it, didn't we? is—year—old dominic has cerebral palsy. this is the only place where he can exercise. you know what, wejust didn't expect, we didn't expect that reaction. so when we got closer and closer, we screamed every £10,000, it was just amazing. and then, and then i cried, because it was just so huge. ijust thought, oh, dominic, your life is no longer locked down. and celebrations were soon in full flow. i'm just really overwhelmed,

i can't really put it into words. it'sjust, like, we had nothing. we've always got nothing. and very few people believed in us. i can't believe it, that we've made it. and we've still got a few days to spare. well done, everybody! and it wasn't long before word got out. and soon, celebrities were also sending their congratulations. with a week to go, they have raised over £1 million, it might lift your heart, make you want to chip in to guarantee the future of this very special place for all the people to whom it means the world. people like louis, who is autistic. he says this place has stopped him from having panic attacks. i feel so happy that we'll be able to be here forever, without having to worry about moving. does it feel like christmas? it feels better than christmas. and for hannah, who is visually impaired, she's kept herjob. i feel totally elated at the moment.

that we get to keep the horses' house, and we get to stay in the community forever. and even though they reached the target... oh, thank you so much! people kept on giving. i'm so happy. i'm over the moon. when i saw it go, i was like, yay! the stables are saved forever! the horses are saved forever! and so instead of being rehomed, these horses and those who love them so much can now definitely stay together. fiona lamdin, bbc news. lovely news there from fiona. now more animal news... now more animal news... dogs have helped millions of us to get through the last year or so — but you don't necessarily have to own one, to feel

the calming benefits of man's and woman's, best friend. max the springer spaniel has been sharing his walks with the world via social media. and now he's become the first pet dog to receive a very special award. tim muffett has the story. max lives with his owner in the lake district, but has fans across the world. the is—year—old springer spaniel belongs to kerry irving who's been live streaming their walks during lockdown. all right, maxie? we started doing live feeds on our daily walks because we've got the lake district here, this is our home, this is where we can walk and exercise, but some people are trapped in cities, tower blocks. max's walks with fellow springer spaniels paddy and harry have brought comfort to hundreds of thousands of people and max's companionship to kerry has been life changing. following a road traffic accident 15 years ago he was suffering from severe depression.

the anxiety it caused me to walk out of the door on my own and not have somebody with me was for me a terrifying experience. every step i took, max was with me and every time i stopped and faulted he stopped with me too. the pdsa order of merit rewards animals that show outstanding contribution to society. you can see how max has not only had a massive impact on kerry's life, but his activities, all those kerry has been filming with them, have reached the lives of hundreds of thousands of people right across the world. four—year—old evelyn is one of them. # happy birthday to max...#. kerry and max's videos have been an absolute godsend to us in lockdown and helped us to be stress—free at the end of the day and made every day during lockdown a fresh start. evelyn suffers from the febrile convulsions, seizures that can happen at any time.

her mum hannah believes max has had a profoundly positive impact. when you want to see max's videos, how does max make you feel? happy. the impact that dogs have both on mental well—being and on general well— being is fantastic. the animal equivalent of an obe, richly deserved. tim muffet, bbc news. lovely. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. there are two sides to the weather stories this weekend. on the one hand, it is going to be very mild. on the other, some very heavy rain, particularly in the west, this chart shows the rainfall accumulation through the weekend. some parts of eastern england could stay completely dry, but out west, especially over the hills, a lot of rain piling up, that brings the risk

of flooding, especially across the south of wales. the met office has issued an amber warning here through tonight and into tomorrow. the risk of flooding and travel disruption. this is the reason why. low pressure dominating the scene. this stripe of cloud, a very slow—moving weather front bringing pulses of heavy rain, very strong winds to the rest of the day. those are the gusts. we can expect 50 to 60mph gusts for some western coasts. and the temperatures as we end the day between nine and 11 degrees. the wet weather keeps on coming through this evening and tonight especially across the southwest of england, the northwest of england and over high ground in southern wales. northern ireland and scotland, drying out for a time with some clear spells. a little bit chilly across northern scotland. generally speaking, it is a very mild night and a very mild start to tomorrow. but this slow—moving frontal system will still be wriggling around on saturday. bringing further pulses of very heavy rain in similar areas, really, the southwest of england up into wales, parts of northern england.

rain returning for a time to northern ireland. it can be very wet here for a time and also pushing north across scotland. whereas east anglia and the southeast could well stay dry. with some spells of sunshine. it is another windy day, especially once again for coasts in the west, but the winds coming up from the south bringing some mild air for all and if you do see some sunshine towards the southeast, you could be looking at highs of 16 celsius. our weather front will still be with us for the second half of the weekend, but for anything, it will edge a little further towards the east. there is some uncertainty about the front on sunday, but central, southern england into the midlands could see some rain at times. to the east of that front, it should stay dry with some sunshine. to the north and the west, a mix of sunshine and showers. and another mild day. mild is the theme as we head into next week. perhaps briefly a bit cooler. at first, we will see some rain towards the north and the west, but temperatures could climb to 17 degrees.

this is bbc news. i'm reeta chakrabarti. the headlines at five... the duke and duchess of sussex tell the queen they won't be returning as working members of the royal family. royal sources tell bbc news that the duke of edinburgh is likely to remain in hospital over the weekend and into next week. borisjohnson urges global leaders to ensure coronavirus vaccines reach everyone around the world as he opens a virtual g7 summit. the latest data suggests the spread of coronavirus is slowing as the reproduction number — or r value — continues to fall across the uk. the dubai royalfamily says princess latifa is "being cared for at home" after the bbc obtained videos in which she accused them of holding her hostage.

the supreme court rules that uber drivers must be treated as workers