the headline said apm. this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 8pm — 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 10 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 2.5 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 it 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 health care 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 i 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 family. anna collinson, bbc news. michele carey's great—grandmother is in a nursing home in walsall. thank you very much forjoining us. how is renan? she thank you very much for “oining us. how is renanvfi thank you very much for “oining us. iiow is remit how is renan? she is quite well. in that she- -- — how is renan? she is quite well. in that she--- i— how is renan? she is quite well. in that she... i don't _ how is renan? she is quite well. in that she... i don't know _ how is renan? she is quite well. in that she... i don't know if - how is renan? she is quite well. in that she... i don't know if you - how is renan? she is quite well. in| that she... i don't know if you know but she has tested positive for coronavirus three weeks ago. at the care home. she has remained in the care home. she has remained in the care home. she has remained in the care home and her symptoms have not been too severe. she has not been due any hospitalisation. considering that, she is quite well really. what

that, she is quite well really. what do ou that, she is quite well really. what do you make _ that, she is quite well really. what do you make of — that, she is quite well really. what do you make of this _ that, she is quite well really. what do you make of this announcement that one person soon will be able to visit and hold hands? i that one person soon will be able to visit and hold hands?— visit and hold hands? i was very leased visit and hold hands? i was very pleased to _ visit and hold hands? i was very pleased to hear _ visit and hold hands? i was very pleased to hear that. _ visit and hold hands? i was very pleased to hear that. i'm - visit and hold hands? i was very. pleased to hear that. i'm pleased the government have made it a priority. i am looking forward to seeing her and i priority. i am looking forward to seeing herand i am not priority. i am looking forward to seeing her and i am not sure who are does a person will be in the family. i would welcome it if it was me, so i would welcome it if it was me, so i was delighted to hear that, yes. on the other hand, i am still slightly cautious. i do worry about a number of visitors coming in and out of the home and risking the well—being and health of the residence there, particularly if you think that might nan manage to get coronavirus when the home was in lockdown and had no visitors. obviously very vulnerable people there. but it has not come soon enough for us recently, really, because i think my grandmother is the stage where she needs that contact with her family. the stage where she needs that contact with herfamily. and in fact

we managed a zoom call with her on monday. it is the only zoom call we have had during this. i asked her to hold on. she has become very thin. she has not got much of an appetite and does not eat much. i asked her to try to eat and said he rolled on most of it would not be too long before she could have somebody come visit her and she was quite excited about that. and this is before we heard the announcement today, she said i will make an effort if i know that you are coming to see me. and i think that's ringing in my ears at the moment. 50 think that's ringing in my ears at the moment-— think that's ringing in my ears at the moment. ., ., ., the moment. so the isolation from famil , he the moment. so the isolation from family, he would _ the moment. so the isolation from family, he would say _ the moment. so the isolation from family, he would say has _ the moment. so the isolation from family, he would say has definitelyi family, he would say has definitely had an impact. family, he would say has definitely had an impact-— family, he would say has definitely had an impact. definitely. my nana went into care _ had an impact. definitely. my nana went into care home _ had an impact. definitely. my nana went into care home at _ had an impact. definitely. my nana went into care home at the - had an impact. definitely. my nana went into care home at the end - had an impact. definitely. my nana went into care home at the end of. went into care home at the end of august or start of september. and the deterioration has been obvious. she has been very well cared for their book but she has moved from being with her family into a their book but she has moved from being with herfamily into a care home with no contest at all except through a close window. at one time with a screen set up but we are

wearing masks and you cannot communicate to well through that. or through a close window where we are sitting outdoors. and we have managed a few phone calls with her. sorry to interrupt but you mentioned earlier about things that could have been done differently, that you are concerned in terms people entering the care home. you are happy about the care home. you are happy about the fact you can but obviously more people will be coming into the care home who may not necessarily be vaccinated. do you think then this could have been done differently? taste could have been done differently? - don't really know how it is going to be done at the moment. we know you have to wear ppe and you have to have to wear ppe and you have to have a test. i suppose really we are waiting to see the details of this and my concern is are the care homes able to manage this? will it be a burden to them and their actual workload as well and take them away from caring for the residents. like

lots people, i am feeling cautious about it but at the same time quite excited about seeing her and being able to hold a conversation with her face—to—face in the same room. {guild face-to-face in the same room. could i ask ou, face-to-face in the same room. could i ask you. the — face-to-face in the same room. could i ask you. the care — face-to-face in the same room. could i ask you, the care home _ face-to-face in the same room. could i ask you, the care home that - face-to-face in the same room. could i ask you, the care home that nan - face—to—face in the same room. could i ask you, the care home that nan is in, have all the staff been vaccinated, the care staff? i don't know if all— vaccinated, the care staff? i don't know if all of _ vaccinated, the care staff? i don't know if all of them _ vaccinated, the care staff? i don't know if all of them have. - vaccinated, the care staff? i don't know if all of them have. i - vaccinated, the care staff? i don't know if all of them have. i don't l know if all of them have. i don't know if all of them have. i don't know is my answer. i know some have and they have talked to me about their experience of having a vaccination but i have not asked if all have at it. i don't know.- all have at it. i don't know. would ou like all have at it. i don't know. would you like them _ all have at it. i don't know. would you like them to _ all have at it. i don't know. would you like them to because - all have at it. i don't know. would you like them to because of- all have at it. i don't know. would you like them to because of who i all have at it. i don't know. would . you like them to because of who they are caring for very little people? i would like them all to —— very vulnerable people. by nan has tested positive for weeks ago and there have been no visitors and that has had to come from somewhere so i guess i would like everyone to have a vaccination he was working with my grandmother and the other residents there. ~ ., ., , grandmother and the other residents there. . ., .,, ., , , there. what has the atmosphere been like in the care — there. what has the atmosphere been

like in the care homes? _ there. what has the atmosphere been like in the care homes? do _ there. what has the atmosphere been like in the care homes? do you - there. what has the atmosphere been i like in the care homes? do you know? your mum had covid—i9. there are elderly people who are discharged from hospital and you're nan would inputin from hospital and you're nan would input in the isolation anyone discharge from the hospital would input into isolation. what sort of impact does it have on the elderly? it has a huge impact. my nan has been isolation about three times now because she was moved into the care home in september so she had to have two weeks isolation and then she had a fall and went back to hospital and another two weeks isolation back at the care home and then recently because she has tested positive another two weeks isolation. she is able to tell you herself that she does not feel well because she is unable to talk people and there is they want to speak to when i'm asleep people pop in and out, cleaners, nurses, carers and she has a quick conversation but they are busy and nobody to talk to. it has had a huge impact on her and she has not been eating any see her getting

a lot thinner and her memory of things is becoming a little bit sketchy because she is not good people who know her to talk about the things and she is forgetful of peoples names now. that has never happened before. that peoples names now. that has never happened before.— happened before. that stimulation, is it not? hopefully _ happened before. that stimulation, is it not? hopefully you _ happened before. that stimulation, is it not? hopefully you get - happened before. that stimulation, is it not? hopefully you get further| is it not? hopefully you get further details following the statement the prime minister on monday but for now from us, thank you very much. thank ou. earlier, i spoke to our political correspondent helen catt. i asked her how significant these changes are. i think it's a good 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 a very big thing for people in care homes, but there's still a lot of caution around it, isn't there? it's full ppe, having to be tested. so i think that is likely to be reflected in some of the initial measures that we see in the road map and certainly in terms of what we might be able to expect. while downing street sources have

said that beyond schools, which we know the prime minister has said is his priority to reopen on march the 8th, that beyond that the absolute priority is to allow wider mixing of families, to allow families to get back together, allow more social contact. now in the first instance, that is likely to be outdoors because that is where the virus is understood to transmit less well. one option that's being looked at is allowing two households to mix. in terms of a timeframe for that, newspaper reports were suggesting perhaps by easter, which is the first few days of april. do you get the sense that there's general support for the way this road map is going to be laid out? we'll find out obviously on monday, but what are you hearing? i think a lot will depend on the timescales and exactly what is in it. number 10 very keen to stress that they are still nailing down the detail of this over this weekend. there have been, politically, some within the conservative party who want to see a reasonably swift

unlocking, they want to see restrictions lifted by the end of april or may time, because they say that it should be tied to the vaccine roll—out and the vaccine roll—out is going well at the moment, that as soon as you have the most vulnerable people vaccinated, then they should be moving to lift the restrictions, which of course are having a huge impact on everyday life. there are those that are urging more caution, though, saying we shouldn't throw away the gains we've made by this lockdown, by the vaccine programme, and urging against lifting it too swiftly. certainly, that is what labour has been warning against as well. i think a lot will depend on the exact timescale that is set out on monday. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30pm and 11:30pm this evening in the papers. our guestsjoining me tonight are the disability campaigner and comedy producer simon minty and the broadcaster penny smith. i hope you join us for that.

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. our correspondent helena wilkinson gave us this update from outside the hospital. he didn't come through that front entrancejust behind us. it was a rear entrance to the hospitaljust around the corner to where we are. he was wearing a face covering. he wasn't with any other members of the royal family. he went inside, and it was a pretty short visit. he spent around half an hour inside the hospital. now, we understand that the prince of wales travelled by car from highgrove in gloucestershire, the estate there. and that's a journey of more than 100 miles to come and see his father here in hospital. the hospital guidelines, in terms of visitors,

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, well, there isn't any update, but they have pointed us back to that earlier statement, the one they gave yesterday and earlier in the week, that the duke of edinburgh is here at the hospital, being kept here with an abundance of caution. and he's 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, said to be in good spirits. but 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. 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 2.5 years. the jailing of russia's most prominent opposition activist has been condemned outside of the country and could lead to a new round of western sanctions against moscow. our 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? 2.5 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." 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, west is not interested in navalny. 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. it is 8:17 p:m.. 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 10 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.

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. the protests follow the arrest earlier this month 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. it started off in the shipyard in mandalay, where 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. when they refused, then there were clashes. the other protesters joined in and support of the workers, and there was a standoff. and police started to fire tear gas and use rubber bullets, initially. we saw people running around in the background. the footage has come from mandalay showing that people were running around, people were hiding and taking cover. and 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. in the us, 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 power failure becomes clear. it will 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, that's around half the state, are being told to boil what comes out of their taps. some are even resorting to heating snow to drink. whoo! awesome! but in any crisis, there are helpers like allen. he's bought 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's been a gruelling few days for allen, who's 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 injust 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'm going to do this water, and then after the water, i'm 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's clear allen's making a huge difference to his community, bringing supplies like water and even electricity generators. but temperatures here 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's 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. lebo diseko, bbc news, dallas, 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. the bbc�*s dr faye kirkland, who is also a working gp, has this report.

the first call to 999 was at 10... 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 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 he was 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 down. you don't know what to do in that situation. you've done everything you can. you've 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's clear that covid is creating i a whole bunch not only of covid victims, but a whole bunch of secondary victims. - the body which represents emergency care doctors said treating patients in the back of ambulances during the pandemic could've been avoided. i think it was preventable. if you run a system - on fumes basically, you're going to have problems. ithe idea patients call for help, i have been taken in an ambulance and a paramedic hasjudged this | is a person who is seriously illi who needs to go to hospital, and they get to hospital- and the whole system | designed to help them is unable to help them — - i think that's absolutely ghastly. the nhs in england said services work together to free up capacity despite a significant increase in the number of patients with coronavirus. faye kirkland, bbc news. they're one of the most recognisable couples in the world, but it seems the seven—year marriage of kim kardashian and kanye west is over. the reality tv star is reported to have filed for divorce

from her rapper husband. our north america correspondent david willis has the latest from los angeles, and his report contains some flashing images. it was a made—for—tv marriage, the rapper and the reality star. the union of two people uniquely gifted in the art of self—promotion. kim kardashian west! both destined to strike an improbable alliance with another star of reality television, although politics was, its thought, just one source of disagreement. she, a democrat... i love this guy right here! he, an increasingly vocal conservative, seen here sporting a make america great again hat in the oval office before going on to announce an ill—fated run for president. that led, in july last year, to a barrage of worrisome tweets,

including one in which kanye west likened his mother—in—law to the north korean dictator kim jong—un and even accused herfamily of trying to lock him up. it's being reported - that kim had been over the marriage for a long time, but she felt that last year- was not the right time to file for divorce, - because kanye, in her mind and in that of a lot - of the public, was struggling. both are said to be worth more than $1 billion — he through music and fashion lines, she as a tv star and entrepreneur. it's thought the couple has a prenuptial agreement which neither side plans to contest. neither side has commented on the divorce, but kim kardashian is expected to discuss it later this year, where else than on her own reality tv show? david willis, bbc news, los angeles. 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 £8500 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. princess eugenie and jack brooksbank have named their son august philip hawke brooksbank. the couple released this photograph with their baby boy, who was born at the portland hospital in central london on the 9th of february. sharing the photo on instagram, princess eugenie said it was taken by their midwife, and she thanked well—wishers for their messages. he is 11th in line to the throne, though will move down to 12th upon the birth of prince harry and meghan's second child. 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. originally from thirsk in north yorkshire, she set off on her 3000—milejourney from la gomera in the canary islands in december. she docked in antigua earlier today. two women in florida have been caught trying to dupe health authorities into giving them a coronavirus vaccine by dressing up as grannies. the state's department of health said the pair arrived at a vaccine center wearing bonnets, gloves and glasses to try and disguise themselves, but were caught out because they'd confused their dates of birth. they were given a trespassing warning and thrown out of the vaccination center

with a warning not to return. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. 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—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.