this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at seven... care home residents in england will be allowed to have one person, visit them regularly from the 8th of march as easing of lockdown measures start to be revealed. number ten says reuniting families and allowing people to have more social contact will be an absolute priority in easing lockdown after schools reopen. prince charles has visited the king edward vii hospital in central london, where his father, the duke of edinburgh is being treated. a court in russia upholds a decision to jail opposition leader alexei navalny forjust over two and a half years and finds him guilty of a further charge. president biden declares a major disaster in texas, as he unlocks federal funds for a state paralysed by a severe freeze and a huge powerfailure. and a 21—year—old briton has become the youngest woman to row solo across the atlantic.

jasmin harrison rowed from the canary islands to antigua injust over 70 days. good evening and welcome to bbc news. care home residents in england will be allowed to choose one person to visit them regularly from march the 8th, in the first confirmed easing of lockdown. they'll be able to meet indoors and be allowed to hold hands but visitors must wear personal protection equipment and be tested before entering the home. the announcement comes ahead of the prime minister, revealing his road map for easing lockdown, on monday. our health correspondent, anna collinson has more.

a moment of relief during a dark year for 83—year—old barbara abrams. this is the closest her family have been allowed to get to her while visiting her care home in stockport because of covid restrictions. that lack of physical contact has been really difficult for us. my poor mum. her health both physically and mentally has really deteriorated, particularly in the last... since christmas. i think that was like the straw that broke the camel's back. but now, a sign of hope. from the 8th of march, care home residents in england will be allowed to pick one person to visit them regularly indoors. with the government preparing to reveal its road map for easing lockdown on monday, this announcement has been called the first step to getting back to where we want to be. there are some rules. it has to be the same visitor every time, holding hands is allowed, but there can be no kissing or hugging. the visitor must be tested before entering the home and they must wear ppe while inside.

it's welcome news for many families, but too late for those who have lost loved ones during the pandemic. we have tried everything we possibly can and what you have to remember is people in our services have very complex healthcare needs. and so therefore, our primary duty has always been, through all the guidance we get, to keep them safe and to keep our staff safe. from early march, residents in scottish care homes will be allowed two visitors. in northern ireland and wales, the advice varies between individual homes. scientists say a slow and steady approach is needed. there are some families who haven't seen their loved ones in care homes since march. so i really welcome that announcement. i would say we still have to be cautious, let's not forget the the nhs has treated over 100,000 severely ill patients in the last month and we still have almost 20,000 people in hospital. jill has two siblings and says it's unlikely she'll be the chosen visitor because she lives the furthest away, but she doesn't mind.

it's wonderful that one of us will be able to go in and hold her hand and that will make a whole difference to us as a whole whole family. anna collinson, bbc news. let's speak to our political correspondent, helen catt. hi, helen. everybody is talking of this latest move, when it comes to care homes. how significant do you think this is? i care homes. how significant do you think this is?— think this is? i think it's a good indicator of— think this is? i think it's a good indicator of what _ think this is? i think it's a good indicator of what sort _ think this is? i think it's a good indicator of what sort of - think this is? i think it's a good indicator of what sort of pace i think this is? i think it's a good l indicator of what sort of pace we might see perhaps in that road map, when it is outlined on monday. if you look at this, it is very big thing for people in care homes, but there are still a lot of caution around it. full ppe, having to be tested. i think that is likely to be reflected in some of the initial measures that we see on the road map, and certainly in terms of what we might be able to expect. downing street sources have said beyond schools, which we know the prime minister has said is his priority to

reopen on march the 8th, beyond that the absolute priority is to allow wider mixing of families, to allow families to get back together and allow more social contact. initially thatis allow more social contact. initially that is likely to be outdoors, where the virus is understood to transmit less well. one option being looked at is allowing to households to mix. in terms of a timeframe for that, newspaper reports were suggested by easter, the first few days of april. do you get the sense that there is general support for the way this road map is going to be laid out? we will find out on monday, but what are you hearing? i will find out on monday, but what are you hearing?— are you hearing? i think a lot will de-end are you hearing? i think a lot will depend on _ are you hearing? i think a lot will depend on the — are you hearing? i think a lot will depend on the timescale - are you hearing? i think a lot will depend on the timescale and - are you hearing? i think a lot will. depend on the timescale and exactly what is in it. number 10 is very keen to stress they are still nailing down the detail of this over the weekend. there have been, politically, some will in the conservative party who want to see a reasonably swift unlocking,

restrictions lifted by the end of april or may, because that is when it should be tied to the vaccine roll—out and the vaccine roll—out is going well at the moment, so as soon as you have the most vulnerable people vaccinated they should be moving to lift the restrictions, which are having a huge impact on everyday life. there are those that are urging more caution, though, saying we should not throw away the gains we've made by this lockdown under the vaccine programme, and urging against lifting it too swiftly. that is what labour has been warning against as well. i think a lot will depend on the exact timescale set out on monday. thank ou ve timescale set out on monday. thank you very much- _ let's speak to tim beanland from the alzheimer's society. thank you forjoining me on bbc news. your thoughts, first off, and what has been announced for alzheimer's patients who are in care homes? ., , _, homes? so, we really welcome with the news that _ homes? so, we really welcome with the news that meaningful _ homes? so, we really welcome with the news that meaningful visits - homes? so, we really welcome with the news that meaningful visits to i the news that meaningful visits to care homes in england are restarting from the 18th of march. that is

something we have been campaigning on, under half of the people affected by dementia, for months now. we have heard so many people calling the alzheimer's society support line, about how desperate they are to see their loved ones in person. care homes have done the best they can. it visits through screens or, when the weather was better, at windows, have not worked for people with dementia. we know they are deteriorating, because of a lack of visits. so we welcome this announcement today.— lack of visits. so we welcome this announcement today. when it comes to dementia, announcement today. when it comes to dementia. how — announcement today. when it comes to dementia, how important _ announcement today. when it comes to dementia, how important is _ announcement today. when it comes to dementia, how important is it? - announcement today. when it comes to dementia, how important is it? or- dementia, how important is it? or how damaging has the lack of contact from loved ones been to people living with alzheimer's? what is the trigger? 50. living with alzheimer's? what is the triu aer? ~ ., ., living with alzheimer's? what is the tri er? 4' ., ., ., . ~' ., trigger? so, we know that lack of visits for people _ trigger? so, we know that lack of visits for people with _ trigger? so, we know that lack of visits for people with dementia i trigger? so, we know that lack of i visits for people with dementia has had a real impact on their mental abilities, their well—being, their physical abilities. abilities, their well—being, their physicalabilities. people, abilities, their well—being, their physical abilities. people, family carers, they often help provide care, but they provide that social interaction. the news today about

being able to touch is really important, because people with more advanced dementia, which many in care homes will have, they have often lost that verbal communication. with carers, with the staff wearing masks, that is another problem. but being able to touch family visitors, as in the news today, will make a huge difference because it gives a real emotional connection to the person and a way of communicating which will offer a lot of reassurance and comfort. would you have liked to have seen the guidelines go further? you said when you are talking to somebody living with dementia, they can't see your full face, living with dementia, they can't see yourfull face, those living with dementia, they can't see your full face, those expressions, isn't it? it your full face, those expressions, isn't it? , ~ your full face, those expressions, isn't it? , . ., your full face, those expressions, isn't it? , ~ ., ~' your full face, those expressions, isn'tit? , . ., ~ ., isn't it? it is. we would like to see the guidance _ isn't it? it is. we would like to see the guidance go _ isn't it? it is. we would like to see the guidance go a - isn't it? it is. we would like to see the guidance go a little i isn't it? it is. we would like toi see the guidance go a little bit further. this is a welcome step. for example, we would hope in time that the government would allow more than one visitor. it is a bit invidious that one person only is allowed to

visit in the home. we would like to see that broadened. we would like to see that broadened. we would like to see a bit more clarity about how the visits will be worked. broadly, we welcome this news and think it is an important step forward for people with dementia, and those visiting them. at the alzheimer's society, we are pleased with the announcement today. it are pleased with the announcement toda . , , ., , ., today. it is interesting that you said in terms _ today. it is interesting that you said in terms of— today. it is interesting that you said in terms of how _ today. it is interesting that you said in terms of how the - today. it is interesting that you said in terms of how the visitsl today. it is interesting that you i said in terms of how the visits will work, this is obviously going to put additional pressures on staff working out these care homes. have you had any conversations on how they are going to manage visitors coming into the homes? you they are going to manage visitors coming into the homes?- coming into the homes? you are absolutely _ coming into the homes? you are absolutely right, _ coming into the homes? you are absolutely right, this _ coming into the homes? you are absolutely right, this does - coming into the homes? you are absolutely right, this does place | coming into the homes? you are i absolutely right, this does place an extra burden on care home staff to safely test people before they are able to visit. and that does place an awful lot of challenge for care home staff, who are already struggling through the pandemic. we have very much heard that. i think the sector would welcome more support to help with the testing.

from our perspective, it is really vital that people are able to be tested with these rapid tests. and if they are negative, then go on and visit in a meaningful way the person with dementia in the care home. one thatis with dementia in the care home. one that is a big step forward. we with dementia in the care home. one that is a big step forward.— that is a big step forward. we will leave it there. _ that is a big step forward. we will leave it there. tim _ that is a big step forward. we will leave it there. tim beanland, - that is a big step forward. we will i leave it there. tim beanland, there. thank you. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages. 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are the disability campaigner and comedy producer simon minty, and the broadcaster, penny smith. let's have a look at the latest government figures now. and there were 10,1106 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. an average of 11,224 new cases were recorded per day in the last week. 18,462 people are in hospital with coronavirus across the uk. in the last 24 hours, 445 deaths have been recorded,

that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test. on average, 494 deaths were announced every day in the past week. the total number of people who've died is 120,365. more than 370,000 people had their first dose of one of the approved covid—19 vaccines in the latest 24 hour period, taking the total who've now had their firstjab to over 17.2 million people. other news now, and the prince of wales has been to the hospital in london where his father — the duke of edinburgh — is currently being treated after feeling unwell. prince charles arrived this afternoon. his father was admitted to the king edward vii hospital on tuesday evening, as a precautionary measure.

helena wilkinson is outside the king edward the vii hospital in central london. we just saw those pictures of prince charles arriving here at the central london hospital. he didn't come through the front entrance just behind us, it was the rear entrance to the hospitaljust around the corner to where we are. he was wearing a face covering. he was not with any other members of the royal family. he went inside and it was a pretty short visit. he spent about half an hour inside the hospital. we understand that the prince of wales travelled by car from understand that the prince of wales travelled by carfrom highgrove in gloucestershire, the estate there. that is a journey of more than 100 miles to come and see his father here in hospital. the hospital guidelines, in terms of visitors come on their website, they say that visitors are only considered in

exceptional circumstances. in terms of any update from buckingham palace as to how the duke of edinburgh is in hospital, there isn't any update, but they have pointed us back to that earlier statement, the one they gave yesterday and early in the week, that the duke of edinburgh is here at the hospital, being kept here at the hospital, being kept here with an abundance of caution. he is here for observation and rest. he is here for observation and rest. he was brought here of course on tuesday night from windsor castle by car. he walked out of the car into the hospital, and is said to be in good spirits. tonight, the duke of edinburgh, at the age of 99 years old, four months off his 100th birthday, is going to be spending a fifth night here in hospital and we expect him to stay for the rest of the weekend and into next week. thank you very much. the russian opposition leader alexei navalny was back in court today — to appeal against the prison sentence he'd received earlier this month.

the appeal was rejected. mr navalny will go to prison for two and a half years. the jailing of russia's most prominent opposition activist has been condemned outside of russia, and could lead to a new round of western sanctions against moscow. 0ur moscow correspondent steve rosenberg reports. back in court. the kremlin's most vocal critic, russia's most famous prisoner. alexei navalny tried to be upbeat. but his appeal was rejected. the result? two and a half years in prison for fraud and parole violations — charges widely seen as politically motivated. this was mr navalny a month ago, flying home after recovering in germany from being poisoned in siberia. he was arrested on arrival. that sparked nationwide protests, but the russian authorities were in no mood to listen. and there's been a cold response

here to international criticism. this week, the kremlin rejected a ruling by the european court of human rights that mr navalny should be freed. as for talk of more western sanctions, the kremlin has been exploiting that to its own benefit. in vladimir putin's russia, this is how it works. western criticism over the jailing of mr navalny, western pressure, western sanctions, the kremlin takes that and holds it up to the russian people, and says, "look, we told you so, the west has got it in for russia." this in other words, the authorities try to use this to bolster their claim that this is a country under siege. and that is precisely the message in the russian state media. basically, the west is not interested in navalny. the west is just willing to see russia destroyed. and that's the major idea that we have in russia. blaming the west is an attempt to distract attention from problems here? we are not...

yes, of course, we have our problems. but they cannot be even compared with the problems that you have. the kremlin will be hoping that this problem of a rival and a challenger has been dealt with once and for all. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the headlines on bbc news... care home residents in england will be allowed to have one person visit them regularly from the 8th of march, as easing of lockdown measures start to be revealed. number ten says reuniting families and allowing people to have more social contact will be an "absolute priority" in easing lockdown after schools reopen. prince charles has visited the king edward the seventh hospital in central london where his father the duke of edinburgh is being treated. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, has said the shooting of protesters

in myanmar is beyond the pale. emergency services said at least two people have been killed and others injured during protests in the city of mandalay. witnesses say police used live ammunition to disperse the crowd. protests are continuing over this month's arrest of the elected leader, aung san suu kyi, in a military coup which has drawn international condemnation. for more on the situation in mandalay, here's soe win than, editor of bbc burmese. two people died from injuries they received when the security troops fired at the protesters. there were clashes all day. they started off in the shipyard in mandalay where the workers, the shipyard workers, are striking and the security troops turned up and asked them to leave the port. and then they broke onto a ship and they asked the shipyard workers to leave the ship and when they refused, there were clashes. the other protesters joined in and support of

the workers and there was a standoff. police started to fire tear gas and rubber bullets, initially. we saw people running around in the background. the footage has come from mandalay showing that people were running around, they were hiding. loud gunshots, gunfire, were heard in the background. after that, we saw several injured people carried on stretchers and whatever else was around. people were carrying the wounded. two people died. at least 20 people were injured, and some of them were quite serious. we arejust going we are just going to show you some live pictures now. let's cross to spain. this is barcelona. these are riots that have been taking place for a few days now. they have been gathering on the streets of

barcelona. this is the fifth day of protests in support of the spanish rapper pablo hasel, a catalan communist wrapper. he has been jailed over his lyrics and also online comments he made. hundreds of people have been gathering in the central square. you can see some of the riot police. this, being the capital of the catalonia region. now, just to give you some background, pablo hasel was sentenced to two jail terms related to threatening a witness in court, defaming the monarchy and glorifying terrorism in his rap lyrics. those were the allegations. let's show you some other scenes. madrid. this is where these protests have spread. slightly different ambience. you can see some riot police on the left of the screen with riot shields. also in the middle, some dancing that has been taking place. i suppose that is

in tribute to the rap music, a bit of street dancing, break dancing, i am not sure what it is called, and cheering for the show that his supporters are putting on. so, continuing protests taking place in support of the spanish rapper pablo hasel president biden says he'll sign a major disaster declaration for texas, as the full extent of the crisis caused by a severe freeze and a huge powerfailure becomes clear. it would pave the way for more us federal funds to be spent on relief efforts. nearly 60 deaths have been attributed to cold weather, that has swept down across the us this week. on friday, about 180,000 homes and businesses in texas still had no electricity. the bbc�*s lebo diseko reports from dallas. after days battling to find power, texans are now struggling to get clean water.

13 million people, around half the state, are being told to boil what comes out of their taps, some even resorting to heating snow to drink. whoo! awesome! but in any crisis there are helpers like allen — he has brought hundreds of bottles of water for his local community. super important, it really is, this takes the burden off of me having to get out and drive around. so i appreciate this, i really, really do. it has been a gruelling few days for allen, who has dealt with power outages and now has no food at home. i was very cold, and every time i would get out of my car and go back in just to have somewhere to lay down, i had to decide, do i want to be uncomfortable in my car in the warmth or go into a cold home and lay in a comfortable bed? today, i am going to do this water and then after the water, i am going to check and see what type of food people lost and see

what i can do to replace their food. honey, this is more than enough! thank you. it is clear allen is making a huge difference to his community, bringing supplies like water and even electricity generators. but temperatures are expected to triple in the coming days and that could bring new problems — melted ice coming through already damaged pipes could cause flooding. that could see precious supply dwindle even further. officials say some areas in the state could completely run out in the coming days. residents are being asked to ration the little utilities they already have. it has been a long, cold week in the us. several states in this country have been brought to their knees by the severe winter storms. it's too early to definitively link this weather to global warming, but what is clear is that the us needs to be better prepared for a changing climate. leboo diseko, bbc news, dalls, texas.

doctors say ambulance handover delays in england during the surge in covid—19 cases over christmas led to secondary victims in the community. the royal college of emergency medicine says people died of unrelated conditions while waiting hours for help. dr faye kirkland, who is also a working gp, has this report: the first call to 999 was at ten... it's there. 10:25. rose says it was her worst nightmare. then another call to 999. while working a night shift as a nurse this christmas, her teenage children called to say their father was suddenly unwell. it is literally five minutes to the hospital. of course, now he could not move, that was the challenging thing. the family called 999 four times before an ambulance arrived, three hours after the first call. i can't really expect that an ambulance can take such a long time, having been sounded by children.

forget about the person who was sick, the fact was that the children were in the house alone with their dad, who was unwell. robert, seen here celebrating four days earlier on boxing day, died of a stroke before the ambulance arrived. such call—outs should take around 18 minutes. that week, the time it took for ambulances to hand over patients rose sharply with the spread of the kent variant, meaning for some patients there was no ambulance free to respond to their calls. he was frightened and getting sicker and sicker by the minute. angela templeman waited for more than six hours for her partner's ambulance. by the time it arrived, an existing surgical wound had started to break them. you do not know what to do in that situation, you have done everything you can — phoned, called, the gp has said you have to go to hospital and you are too sick to go in a car, with me. so we had to sit and wait

and it was just so frightening. nobody would listen. graham was taken to intensive care with sepsis and is now recovering at home. bbc news has learned ambulance waiting times outside hospitals in some parts of england rose dramatically over the festive period. freedom of information requests show waiting times in london rose by 63% for the two weeks over the christmas period. and by 48% in the west midlands. it is clear that covid is creating a whole bunch not only of covid victims but also secondary victims. the body which represents emergency care doctors said treating patients in the back of ambulances during the pandemic could have been avoided. i think it was preventable. if you run a system on fumes basically you are going to have problems. the idea patients call for help, have been taken in an ambulance and a paramedic hasjudged this is a person who is seriously ill who needs to go to hospital, and they get to hospital and the whole system designed to help them is unable — i think that is absolutely ghastly.

nhs england said services work together to free up capacity despite a significant increase in the number of patients with coronavirus. faye kirkland, bbc news. hsbc says it's reviewing its procedures for fraud victims after a bbc investigation revealed one victim was kept on hold for 20 hours — before they were able to speak to someone. 82—year—old richard had £8,500 stolen. hsbc has apologised for richard's "prolonged" wait and refunded the money. it says any delay in getting through to its scam helpline will be taken into account when it investigates future scams. it's just a bit more than your lockdown run. it tookjasmine harrison 70 days, three hours and 48 minutes to row solo across the atlantic ocean. this makes the 21—year—old swimming

teacher the youngest woman to row solo across the atlantic ocean. originally from thirsk in north yorkshire, she set off on her 3,000—milejourney from la gomera in the canary islands in december. she docked in antigua earlier today. fantastic! now it's time for a look at the weather with ben. it's been an exceptionally mild saturday for many of us, but for some an exceptionally wet saturday as well. parts of wales, western and north western england, and scotland, there are flood warnings in force. the rain falling is now beginning to ease off and will continue to do so through tonight. still some showers into the far north—west of the uk and a band of cloud and rain in the far south—east. brisk winds becoming confined to the north—west of scotland, and temperatures between 6—11 degrees. a very mild night in the south—east. tomorrow, this band of cloud and patchy rain will be across parts of england, drifting west into eastern and southern wales.

northern england should stay bright and mostly dry. northern ireland and scotland seeing a mixture of sunshine and showers, with top temperatures of between 11 and 15 celsius. a little cooler for some on monday, but only a little. on tuesday, some heavy rain will push back into the north—west with the risk of some further flooding. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... care home residents in england will be allowed to have one person visit them regularly from the 8th of march, as easing of lockdown measures start to be revealed. number ten says reuniting families and allowing people to have more social contact will be an "absolute priority" in easing lockdown after schools reopen. prince charles has visited the king edward vii hospital in central london where his father the duke of edinburgh is being treated.

a court in russia upholds a decision to jail opposition leader, alexei navalny, forjust over two—and—a—half years and finds him guilty of a further charge. president biden declares a major disaster in texas — as he unlocks federal funds for a state paralysed by a severe freeze and a huge powerfailure. sportsday is coming up, but, first, it's time for the film review. hello and welcome to the film review with me, mark kermode. reminding you that while cinemas may be closed to lockdown there's still plenty of new movies to enjoy in the comfort and safety of your own home.

in david finch's gone girl, rosamund pike played an enigmatic character behind whose smile lurked dark secrets. now pike is back on spiky form in i care a lot, a gleefully callous thriller packed with vicious gallows humor. good morning, ms peterson. i'm sorry to disturb you so early. the court has ruled that you require assistance in taking care of yourself. but, but i'm fine. i'm afraid it's not up to you to decide. she plays marla grayson, a shark who preys upon the elderly, hijacking their lives and fortunes by becoming their legal state guardian and then milking their assets for all they're worth. i'm here to help. but when marla picks the wrong cherry in the shape of dianne wiest�*s elderly retiree jennifer peterson, she finds herself face—to—face with roman, played by peter dinklage, an ex—russian mafia drug trafficker

with a penchant for cakes,