this is bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories? images of a [and far far away. the intrepid rover sends back previously unseen footage from the red planet. bells toll. washington cathedral bells toll and president biden holds a candle—lit ceremony at the white house — to honour the half a million american lives lost to covid—19. new data shows a single dose of pfizer's covid jab cuts deaths and serious illness in the uk by more than 75 per cent among over 80s. and as protestors take to the streets of myanmar in unprecedented numbers, the us imposes sanctions on two more members of the militaryjunta.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. nasa has released truly remarkable images of its space rover landing on mars, the first of their kind from the planet. it shows those final minutes of last week's tense descent with clouds of dust and grit blowing around as the vehicle is lowered to touch down on mars, 293 million miles. 472 million kilometres from earth. the rover, perseverance, has been sent to an ancient lake crater to search for signs of life, from billions of years ago. our global science correspondent rebecca morelle has the story. the parachute has deployed... from the release of a supersonic parachute, to the shedding of a heat shield... first look at the surface. an out—of—this—world view — mars as never seen before. as the rover nears the surface, the dust is kicked up,

then a change of camera as perseverance is lowered on ropes before touchdown... touchdown confirmed. perseverance safely on the surface of mars! ..and the landing system is jettisoned away. we can't test it on the earth, so this is the first time we've had a chance as engineers to actually see what we designed and ijust can't... it's hard for me to express just how emotional it was and how exciting it was. there are new still images too — a selfie of the rover. and a vista of the alien world it now sits in, providing a glimpse of the terrain it's about to explore. checking the raft of instruments on perseverance is the priority. its drills will gather samples of martian rocks and the labatories will look at

them for signs of life and the technology will try to make oxygen from the carbon dioxide rich atmosphere, essential kit if humans go to mars but first it will be launching this a mini mars helicopter to provide a new view of the red planet. the atmosphere of mars is really thin so it will need to work harder to be able to raise itself so the rotors will spin much faster. but if it works, it will be able to fly off and look ahead at what hazards there may be. it's just got all sorts of potential. this footage is already providing crucial information to scientists and they'll continue to study it as perseverance gets to work. it's just a taste of what's to come. rebecca morelle, bbc news. nasa has also released the first audio from mars, a faint wind sound captured by a microphone on the rover. let's have a listen. deep billow

and that was the sound of martian wind. keith cowing is an astrobiologist and the editor of the us space programme blog nasa watch. he gave me his reaction to the new imagery. interestingly enough, i'm old enough to think back 50 years but when i saw the first image on the surface of mars from the viking lander, this is not neil armstrong walking on the moon, this is one of those moments you will remember, astonishing stuff. a ., , , ' you will remember, astonishing stuff. astonishing stuff. why particularly? _ stuff. astonishing stuff. why particularly? why _ stuff. astonishing stuff. why particularly? why does - stuff. astonishing stuff. why particularly? why does it - particularly? why does it compare?— particularly? why does it com are? ., , compare? the last time we went to mars they _ compare? the last time we went to mars they were _ compare? the last time we went to mars they were pretty - to mars they were pretty pictures but this is half a dozen cameras, all in colour and they've spent the last we bringing the data down from mars and putting it together and as a matter of fact they were making a joke that it looks more real than the animations that we might need

to label the videos saying it's real and animation. that's a startling show of how clear the startling show of how clear the start is. ~ ., ., startling show of how clear the start is. ~ . ., , start is. the martian win is underwhelming _ start is. the martian win is underwhelming in - start is. the martian win is underwhelming in their. start is. the martian win is l underwhelming in their new thing hang on, this is coming from mars. thing hang on, this is coming from mam-— thing hang on, this is coming from mars. , ., ., , , from mars. yes, in a word, yes. so does from mars. yes, in a word, yes. 50 does that _ from mars. yes, in a word, yes. so does that tell _ from mars. yes, in a word, yes. so does that tell you _ from mars. yes, in a word, yes. so does that tell you anything . so does that tell you anything at all? fit, so does that tell you anything at all? �* ., ., , , so does that tell you anything atall? ., ., , , ., at all? a lot of this is not surprising _ at all? a lot of this is not surprising is _ at all? a lot of this is not surprising is that - at all? a lot of this is not surprising is that there . at all? a lot of this is not surprising is that there is wind on mars but there is something about sending our robotic ms aries to other worlds by being able to see things and hear things and it does bring a sort of vicarious connection between all of us on earth and mars, sojust connection between all of us on earth and mars, so just a simple thing like that can mean a lot to a lot of people and it was brought up that a lot of blind people have found interest in this because that is their way of understanding what it is like to experience another world. it what it is like to experience another world.— what it is like to experience another world. it will be quite another world. it will be quite a while before _ another world. it will be quite a while before any _ another world. it will be quite a while before any samples i another world. it will be quite | a while before any samples go back to earth so what you hope

to get those? it back to earth so what you hope to get those?— to get those? it depends on whether they _ to get those? it depends on whether they send - to get those? it depends on whether they send a - to get those? it depends on i whether they send a follow-up whether they send a follow—up mission sooner or later but within six or seven years, when we get these back and if they haven't made discoveries on mars which i'm certain it will, we will have a chance to see with martian rocks in our hands that we know exactly what history happen there over the course of those billions of years and we will be able to see if there is life there and we will likely see it back here on earth in the laboratories. the number of covid—nineteen deaths in the united states has passed half a million. it's the first country to do so. the bells on the national cathedral in washington tolled 500 times to honour the victims. bells toll 500,000 lives are more than were lost by the us in both world wars and the vietnam war — combined.

the pandemic is still claiming 2,000 americans every day, and there has been widespread economic hardship. president biden has ordered flags on federal buildings to be flown at half mast for five days as a mark of respect to those who have lost their lives. just before he and the vice president led a moment's silence, he had these words for americans. as we all remember, i also ask us to act to remain vigilant, to stay socially distanced, to mask up, get vaccinated when it is your turn. we must end the politics of misinformation that has divided families, communities and the country and has cost too many lives already. it is not democrats and republicans who are dying from the virus, it's our fellow americans, our neighbours, our friends, our mothers, ourfathers, oursons, our daughters.

husbands, wives. we have to fight this together, as one people, as the united states of america. i spokejust now to rabia khan. for decades, herfather hameed ullah khan was a leader in chicago's pakistani community. she told me how they lost him to the pandemic. my father came to chicago in 1975 and he was an activist and he created the pakistani parade in chicago and helped out a lot of his community and got people jobs and made sure that nobody felt like they didn't belong in chicago like any immigrant and whoever he could, he helped, so unfortunately he was hospitalised on november the 5th and passed away from covid on thanksgiving day, november the 26 and he actually voted for joe biden on november the 4th so he went to vote and

unfortunately the next day he was hospitalised. so as you say, he died on thanksgiving day and had been in hospital for three weeks and as with so many people, it looked as though he was getting better. was he taking the pandemic seriously? was he aware of the risks? yes, he was. my dad is very educated and he was taking notes about covid and making sure that he stayed at home for the majority of the time, just like a lot of elderly people are, but unfortunately he got covid and we are not even sure how he got covid because he was taking a lot of caution and use to wear his mask and he never went out and we told him a few times, do you want to go to the grocery store? and he would say no and unfortunately he still got covid hand he was actually getting better in november and i remember he went on the ventilator on november the 23rd but the day before, we spoke

with him on the first time in zoom and he had his oxygen lowered down because he was healing and the next day he went on the ventilator. and like so many people you and your family did not really get to say goodbye. that is a terrible feeling. no, we did not. the hospital did not even allow us to see him. in his final moments, even though they said he was going to pass away but they said there was no day he would pass away after he went on the ventilator and that is very unfortunate and it is really traumatising our whole family. it's so difficult within the hospital, especially if they are short of ppe and staff. there is some reluctance within your community and others for the vaccine, and what would you say to people on the basis of your experience? i would tell everyone to get the vaccine and i actually got the vaccine on

february the 11th and i'm due on march the 11th for the next vaccine and i did get sick when i got the vaccine, but it is worth it. we all need to really take care of ourselves because it is a serious issue and lives have been taken and we have reached 500,000 people already, which is a grim milestone. let's get some of the day's other news. italy's ambassador in the democratic republic of congo has been killed in an attack in the east of the country. luca attanasio died along with an italian military policeman and one other person. they were travelling near the city of goma as part of a un convoy when they were attacked and shot. presidentjoe biden�*s nominee to lead thejustice department has said that fighting domestic extremism would be his �*first priority�* if confirmed as attorney general. judge merrick garland said that far—right extremism today was worse than when he investigated the 1995 oklahoma city bombing that left 168 dead. mr garland also pledged to keep the department free of politics.

the wife ofjailed mexican druglord joaquin "el chapo" guzman has been arrested at dulles international airport. emma coronel aispuro, who is 31, is expected to appear in a federal court in washington. she's been charged with drug trafficking. stay with us on bbc news, still to come celebrating cool britannia — the iconic symbols of british culture up for auction. prince charles has chosen his bride and proposed to lady diana spencer three weeks ago and she accepted, without hesitation. as revolutions go, this had its fair share of bullets, bullets outside the sanctuary and the name itself symbolising one of the cruisers regime of modern asia. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal and scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly

that came from a cell from another sheep. warren beatty and faye| dunaway announced the world that the winner of best| film was la la land, the only trouble was it wasn't. the only time the - mistake was put right was between gushing - speeches from the team. not for 20 years have modern locus been seen in this part of africa and some of the swarms have been ten miles long. this is the last time the public will see this pope, and very soon for the sake of credibility authority of the next pope, benedict xvi will be, in his own words, hidden from the world for the rest of his life. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines nassa releases remarkable images of its space rover perseverence landing on mars, the first ever of their kind from the red planet. president biden holds a candle—lit ceremony at the white house to honour the half a million american lives lost to covid—19.

the united states has imposed sanctions on two more members of myanmar�*s military junta, in response to this month's coup earlier this month. us treasury say the burmese military must reverse their actions and urgently restore the democratically elected government. eu diplomats say the bloc has also agreed to impose sanctions. all this as human rights activists make a last—ditch legal bid to halt the deportation of 1,200 myanmar detainees from malaysia to their homeland. 0ur reporter katie silver is in singapore. just on the imminent deportation is, what is going on here? fist deportation is, what is going on here? �* ., deportation is, what is going on here?— deportation is, what is going on here? �* ., ., on here? at the moment we are seeinu on here? at the moment we are seeing trucks — on here? at the moment we are seeing trucks and _ on here? at the moment we are seeing trucks and buses - on here? at the moment we are seeing trucks and buses under. seeing trucks and buses under police escort making their way across malaysia to the western coast and that is because there are three burmese military vessel standing by to take the detainees back to me and

malaysia at the start of the coup expressed its serious concern but it was only a few days later they accepted the offer from days later they accepted the offerfrom nye days later they accepted the offer from nye and days later they accepted the offerfrom nye and ma days later they accepted the offer from nye and ma to repatriate the detainees. in terms of who we are talking about, the 1200 people, the malaysia government says they have all been convicted of offences and it seems the vast majority are undocumented workers and its very common in the region that millions of workers from poorer countries in asia will move to countries where they hope to make money in low skilljobs but it's also the assertion from the un as well as human rights groups that there are refugees in the group so the un says there are about six confirmed refugees and they are calling for access to enter and assess the detainees to work out whether there are more asylum seekers amongst them.— there are more asylum seekers amongst them. and it would be illeual, i amongst them. and it would be

illegal, i think, _ amongst them. and it would be illegal, i think, to _ amongst them. and it would be illegal, i think, to deport - illegal, i think, to deport refugees or asylum seekers? yes, it is and in this sense it's really problematic because they have not had access to these detainees since 2019, may 2019, so it's very hard to ascertain if they are definitely refugees and they say there are no rohingya muslims amongst the groups but human rights groups say there are some members of the christian minority, a persecuted group in myanmar, as well as people from the sian states which are conflict driven states in myanmar, so there are definite concerns and as you say, part of the retribution on this front is that the un are calling to enter as well as the us sanctions imposed. briefly on the sanctions, _ sanctions imposed. briefly on the sanctions, are _ sanctions imposed. briefly on the sanctions, are you - sanctions imposed. briefly on the sanctions, are you are - the sanctions, are you are getting a sense of the impact they might have? the military is very deeply tied in with the

economy in myanmar, isn't it? it is, and the singaporean government have spoken out against what is going on in myanmar and singapore is the largest foreign direct investor in myanmarand the largest foreign direct investor in myanmar and the vast majority to the telecoms and electricity infrastructure are often groups or companies that are funding by the un military, so they have a great connection between the two —— for myanmar military and what the impact would be is unclear and so far they don't seem to see the joint acquiescing, but no doubt that what is driving the sanctions on the new secretary of state to make the announcement is saying of course that there will be no hesitation to put on more sanctions and sanction more people should this upheaval continue. ., ~ , ., people should this upheaval continue-— people should this upheaval continue. ., ~' , ., , . the british prime minister

borisjohnson has been setting out his plan for easing england's lockdown. for now, the stay at home message will continue — but restrictions will start to ease on the 8th march — in step one of the uk government's plan. on that date — schools will reopen to all pupils. five weeks later on the 29th march, the stay at home order will end with outdoor gatherings allowed of up to 6 people with 2 households. step two of the british government's plan will start on the 12th of april — when non—essential retail can open. step three starts on the 17th may — limits on outdoor gatherings will be lifted and on some indoor hospitality. the final stage of the uk government's plan starts on the 21stjune, when it hopes to remove all legal limits on social contacts including large events and weddings. the first analysis in the uk of how effective the coronavirus vaccines are shows that a single jab of the pfizer vaccine cuts the chance of hospital admission, and death by more than 75 percent among the over 80s.

that study was by public health england. a separate study in scotland looking at both the pfizer and 0xford/ astra zenica vaccines showed similarly positive results as our medical editor fergus walsh explains. put your faith in this — a few millilitres of vaccine. one in three adults here already has, and that trust is being repaid. the first real—world data from the uk shows the vaccines offer strong protection for the elderly, as well as younger adults. and that's you done, you've had your first vaccine. right, thank you. we went from having no vaccine for human coronavirus disease at all — ever — to having very effective vaccines in a period of a year. that has never been done before for any other disease. those vaccines, as we now know from the real—world data coming out in the uk and also from israel, are very effective in practice. early results from england suggest that after three weeks, one dose of pfizer vaccine reduced the risk of

hospitalisation and death by at least 75% among the over—80s. a separate study in scotland, looking at the first dose of either the pfizer or astrazeneca vaccines, was similarly impressive. it found four weeks post—immunisation, the risk of hospitalisation among the over—80s was cut by a combined figure of 81%. a separate study of hospital workers in england found that a single dose of the pfizerjab cut the risk of being infected with coronavirus by more than 70%, rising to 85% after the second shot. this shows vaccines may also reduce transmission, as you cannot spread the virus if you're not infected. the vaccines being rolled out now will give a good level of protection, particularly against severe disease.

we think that's in the 75 to 85% ballpark in the short term. and as we get second doses and then new vaccines, that protection will only increase. the evidence on vaccine effectiveness is quite simply stunning. what matters most is keeping people out of hospital, and both the pfizer and astrazeneca vaccines offer strong protection. it'll be even better after two shots. so it's vital that if people are offered the jab, they turn up for both appointments. hello, take a seat... take—up of the vaccine has been lower among black, asian and minority ethnic communities, and a drive is under way to encourage adults of all backgrounds to come forward. france, like several other european countries, does not currently recommend the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine for the over—65s, citing lack of evidence of effectiveness.

the data today clearly shows, for the first time, that the jab does provide strong protection for adults of all ages. fergus walsh, bbc news. meanwhile in portugal, the devastating third wave of coronavirus is subsiding and the country now has one of europe's lowest transmission rates. (00v)the government is aiming to have 70 percent of its population vaccinated by some point over summer. just weeks ago, it was one of the world's worst—hit countries and fellow eu members were despatching emergency medical teams to help portuguese doctors. close to 8 milion people in texas are still experiencing issues with their water supply in the wake of a deadly winter storm last week. a spokesperson for the texas commission on environmental quality said 202 counties still had supply issues as of monday evening, forcing some residents to line up for clean drinking water. two dozen people died in the storm which caused widespread blackouts across texas — a state unaccustomed to extreme cold.

donald trump has been ordered by the us supreme court to hand over his tax returns and other financial records to prosecutors in new york. the former us president has been refusing to release the documents for several years, despite a precedent that presidential candidates should do so. the ruling means prosecutors can move forward with a criminal investigation into allegations that hush money was paid before the 2016 presidential election to two women who said they had sexual relationships with mr trump. there has been no response so far from mr trump who in the past has called the investigation the worst witch hunt in history. britain has always prided itself on being a country that punches above its weight when it comes to culture. this is of course the home of the beatles, james bond and the spice girls. now — an auction is taking place — celebrating seventy years of so—called cool britannia. the bbc�*s tim allman reports. these boots were made

for selling. several pairs, designed by damien hirst, on display and soon to be on sale. part of a major auction highlighting what a cultural powerhouse the uk was and still is. the sale, overall, is a celebration of british creativity from 1950 until now and the idea is we are celebrating all aspects of creativity, so notjust the memorabilia and also prints and multiples. some of those prints are by the notorious street artist banksy and include this one, girl with balloon, expected to sell up to anything up to £150,000. hopefully it won't share the same fate as the original which was famously shredded moments after selling at auction in 2018. and you will hardly have a display celebrating cool britannia without celebrating the coolest of it girls. this fantastic piece titled kate moss, she is

light, pure, has been donated to the sale by chris levine and the supermodel kate moss, very generously, and the estimate on the work is between 20 and £30,000 and all proceeds from the sale will go to 0xfam gb for the fight against poverty. also up for grabs dresses by vivienne westwood and alexander mcqueen and iconic photos of iconic british rock groups. proof that this country's cultural legacy is timeless. tim allman, bbc news. we've seen a lot of pictures of freezing scenes across the united states, but take a look at this. this is what weeks of freezing temperatures has done to niagara falls. mounds of snow and ice have formed all along the banks and people visiting the new york side also caught a glimpse of this rainbow while snapping photos. and though looks like parts of the waterfall have frozen completely, the water actually never stops running beneath the surface.

more for you on the bbc website and our twitter feeds. more for you on the bbc website and our twitterfeeds. thank and our twitter feeds. thank you. hello, northern and western parts of the uk saw some of the best of the sunshine on monday. have a look at this picture from one of our weather watchers in cumbria. beautiful blue skies overhead but i think on tuesday it will look very different because this slice of sunshine is being replaced by a bank of cloud pushing in from the west and the cloud is going to bring a lot of rain across parts of northern ireland, wales, north—west england, some rain maybe into the far south—west of england but the wettest weather is likely to be found across scotland where there is a met office amber warning in force across parts of the southern uplands and the southern grampians. we could see up to 120 millimetres of rain in the wettest places falling on already sodden ground, so a risk of flooding

and disruption and it will be a windy day where ever you are, particularly gusty for western areas with gusts up to 50 or 70 mph for exposed parts of northern ireland or scotland. very mild, ten or 1a degrees, maybe 15 in the south—east but we should say dry with a bit of sunshine. through tuesday night and into wednesday, the stripe of cloud and rain keeps coming, moving very slowly south—east and it is going to be a very, very mild night indeed and those are the minimum temperatures with cardiff and plymouth maybe no lower than 12 degrees. we head on into wednesday and the winds are a little bit lighter, still fairly blustery out there and the frontal system will still be bringing rain across and western areas but to the south—east of the weather front we will be tapping into some very mild air indeed and given any lengthy spells of sunshine temperatures will shoot up to around 16 or 17 degrees across parts of east anglia and the south—east.

the band of cloud and rain still affecting south—west, into wales, southern scotland with sunshine and showers to the north—west of that but as i mentioned, the temperature is 17 degrees possible in london but it is another mild day where ever you are. as we move out of wednesday into thursday, the frontal system will clear east and high pressure will start to build in from the south and we may see weather fronts grazing the far north—west bringing a little bit of rain but for most of us it will be dry to end the week and there will be some sales of sunshine and still mild by day, but rather chilly at night.

this is bbc news, the headlines nasa has released remarkable images of its space rover perseverence landing on mars. it shows the final minutes of last week's tense descent with clouds of dust and grit being blown around, as the vehicle is lowered carefully on to the floor of one of the red planets craters. president biden has held a candle—lit ceremony at the white house to honour the half a million american lives lost to covid—19. the pandemic is still claiming 2000 americans every day and there has been widespread economic hardship. flags on federal buildings are to be flown at half mast as a mark of respect. hundreds of thousands of protestors have taken to the streets in unprecedented numbers across myanmar — despite threats from the military that they could pay with their lives. the united states has imposed sanctions on two more members of the militaryjunta following the coup earlier this month.