tonight at ten: the eu braces for a third wave of coronavirus — as its faltering vaccination roll—out resumes. large parts of france are back in lockdown this evening as intensive care units feel the pressure. translation: it's not over, we're still facin: translation: it's not over, we're still facing the _ translation: it's not over, we're still facing the variants _ translation: it's not over, we're still facing the variants and - translation: it's not over, we're still facing the variants and people | still facing the variants and people should realise the seriousness the disease. the french prime minister has the oxford astrazeneca jab in a bid to reassure people after its brief suspension. here, borisjohnson does the same at the london hospital where he was treated for covid a year ago. almost half the uk's adult population has now been vaccinated. also tonight...

scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon faces growing calls to resign after a committee of msps concluded that she misled them. the army's new specialist unit designed and equipped to fight the wars of the future. sunday is census day, the compulsory survey painting a picture of the population. for the first time sexuality is included. and coming up in sport on bbc news: rachel blackmore makes history as the cheltenham festival's top jockey, but she's beaten in the gold cup by minella indo. good evening. continental europe is preparing for a third wave of coronavirus amid a surge in new cases and a shortage of vaccines that can reduce the spread of the disease. large parts of france are going into lockdown again

tonight amid a sharp rise in cases. only 8% of the population has been vaccinated. switzerland is extending its restrictions. poland, where the surge is being driven by the variant from southern england, is going into partial lockdown. the german chancellor angela merkel has today said it's now probable that restrictions will have to be reimposed. the vaccine roll—out across the eu has been slow, with around 10% of the population vaccinated so far. confidence has been shaken after more than a dozen eu countries suspended the roll—out of astrazeneca over concerns about blood clots. the roll—out is being resumed in several countries but not yet all. here's our paris correspondent lucy williamson. never mind the prime minister. in france, it was the astrazeneca jab that needed a shot in the arm today. after weeks of shifting guidelines, the message was meant to be clear — it's safe and it works. but only an hour before he received it, france's health authority said

a possible link to blood clots in younger patients meant the jab should only be used for those over 55. last month, it said only those under 65 should take it. lucky for mr castex that he turned 55 last year. but only 20% of french surveyed this month said they trusted the astrazeneca jab. as president macron held off announcing a new lockdown, cases spiralled, and paris hospitals are now scrambling to find space for patients who need intensive care. a lockdown lite has been imposed on the worst affected areas from tomorrow. translation: it's not because it's nice out, | because it's spring, that we put our lives in danger. it's not over. we are still facing the variants, and people should realise the gravity of the disease. across the border in germany, angela merkel said she, too, would have the astrazeneca jab.

germany had been hoping to lift some of its restrictions next week, but with infections soaring there, a warning from the health minister — public opinion is only half the problem. translation: there are not yet enough vaccines in europe - to stop the third wave through vaccination alone. even if deliveries of eu orders are now reliable, it will still take several weeks before the risk groups are fully vaccinated. only then can we talk about wider openings in society. poland is also facing a surge in cases with the british variant expected to account soon for 80% of infections. a partial lockdown will come into force there from tomorrow. shops, hotels and cultural and sporting venues will close. there is acceptance breaking across europe that it's facing a third wave of this pandemic. hope that the vaccines might outpace the virus has been crushed by a grinding lack of momentum, supply and public trust.

as europe prepares for more restrictions, criticisms are mounting along with costs. empty streets can help save patients, but delays in vaccines are expensive, and politicians could still pay the price. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. here, the prime minister returned to the hospital where he was treated a year ago in intensive care — this time to have his astrazeneca jab. borisjohnson urged everyone offered the opportunity to have the vaccine to do so. the latest data shows cases continuing to fall but there remain regional hotspots with stubbonly persistent case numbers. here's our health editor hugh pym. the prime minister gets his jab, and it was astrazeneca, with a personal thumbs up, after days of debate about side effects, with europe's medicines regulator saying it was safe and effective. i cannot recommend it too highly. everybody, when you do get your notification to go for a jab,

please go and get it. it is the best thing for you, the best thing for your family and for everyone else. the vaccination programme at clinics like this one at a mosque in doncaster is pushing ahead. nearly half the uk's adult population has had a first dose, and virus cases are coming down, though not everywhere. the latest survey of community infections by the office for national statistics suggests that in england last week one in 340 people had the virus, with case rates coming down, but there were signs of an increase in the east midlands. in wales, it was one in 430, again with numbers coming down, but in scotland at one in 275, case rates were increasing. in northern ireland, one in 315 had the virus, with no change over the week. the latest r number range — anything above one suggests the virus is accelerating — was between 0.6 and 0.9, up a bit over the week. scotland's slight increase

could possibly be linked to some schools reopening, which brings more contact between people in their communities. the schools have been back three weeks, so that might be part of it, and that's just the primary school pupils, youngest pupils, i emphasise. and obviously there is moving around — it's not so much we've had outbreaks in schools, very few, but it's what's associated with that. and even with the vaccination roll—out going well, some experts are cautious about where things go from here. i am worried it feels a little bit precarious that, you know, we could go eitherway, and i think at the moment what worries me is we seem to be relying entirely on vaccination. i think if we put in a few more public health measures, we could make it a much safer reopening than it is now. i think we have to have stronger border control. one measure of the covid impact is overall excess death rates. in june after the first wave, england had the highest in europe with just over 7%

above the five—year average. the uk's other nations were also in the top ten for excess deaths. but by december poland had the highest, and england had fallen to seventh place, and scotland a bit below, with northern ireland and wales dropping out of the highest ten in europe. so just a few questions that i need to ask you before... since then vaccines have become widely available, and what's not clear is how the uk's nations will stand on those comparisons this year, and with the virus spreading more widely in parts of europe. hugh pym, bbc news. the latest coronavirus figures show there were a,802 new cases recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 5,343. the number of patients in hospital with covid continues to fall, now down to some 6,500. there were 101 deaths reported of people who died within 28 days of a positive

covid—i9 test, which means on average 98 deaths were reported every day in the past week from coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths so far to 126,026. the uptake for vaccinations remains high — more than 528,000 people had their first dose of a covid vaccine in the latest 24—hour period, bringing the total close to 26.3 million — that's almost half the adult population. and just over two million have had both doses of the vaccine. our health editor, hugh pym, is with me now. so, millions more people vaccinated. the eu is bracing itself for a third wave. will the uk be protected? senior health officials today are saying the situation is a little fragile in the uk and there is a potential vulnerability. they note that there are variants spreading in certain hotspots in europe and in the past, when you've seen cases go upping countries like france, italy and germany, there has been a

follow—up in the uk. a report today from public health england said last summer when there were travel corridors with countries like greece, that contributed to cases coming back into the uk with holiday—makers returning. but there is no inevitability about this. the view is that things are generally moving in the right direction in the uk. a very close watch by officials on the impact of schools reopening in england on march the 8th. you wouldn't expect any spread of infection to be picked up until a couple of weeks after that. cases going up doesn't necessarily mean that it going up doesn't necessarily mean thatitis going up doesn't necessarily mean that it is unexpected. because there is a slight breakage in the link with serious illness because of the vaccination programme being rolled out. fewer people will become seriously ill and hospital admissions we should note are down 23% week on week.— the leader of the scottish conservatives at holyrood — ruth davidson — has called

for nicola sturgeon to resign as first minister, saying it was clear she misled parliament. a majority of the committee investigating the scottish government's handling of harassment claims against alex salmond is understood to have voted last night that she didn't give them accurate information. a spokesman for nicola sturgeon has accused the committee of peddling baseless smears. the final report is due to be published on tuesday. nicola sturgeon says she stands by every word of her evidence. our scotland editor sarah smith reports. facing calls for her resignation, nicola sturgeon is adamant she told the truth, dismissing leaks that say a holyrood committee has concluded she gave them an inaccurate account of a meeting with alex salmond. she may face a vote of no confidence next week. the opposition thinks she should go now. the parliament was misled by the first minister. now, that is, to me, a clear breach of the ministerial code. and i think that if she had a shred of integrity, nicola sturgeon would be considering her position. she has every opportunity to resign. a spokesperson for the

first minister said... even the scottish government's daily covid briefing has become a battleground in this ongoing row. i do not believe the first minister should resign. i do not believe she has misled parliament. and i have absolute confidence in the veracity of what she said in those eight hours of evidence to that committee, in her integrity and in her professionalism. and i am not going to comment on unattributed briefings about a report which has not yet been published. the harassment committee report will not only say that nicola sturgeon was inaccurate in one part of her evidence but also that it's hard to believe she didn't know of concerns about inappropriate behaviour from alex salmond before november 2017. and that she should have reported meetings she had with him to the civil service much earlier than she did. there are now angry recriminations within the committee itself. the four members from the snp are furious

that they were outvoted by five opposition msps, where the report's critical of the first minister. on a visit to glasgow, keir starmer stopped short of demanding a resignation. if there is a finding _ that the first minister misled parliament, potentially was in breach of the i ministerial code, then i that is incredibly serious. obviously, all the attention is on nicola sturgeon, - but this goes to the integrityl of the office of first minister, the integrity of parliament. the bitter battle between these former friends is putting nicola sturgeon under huge pressure. next week, two separate reports will publish their findings on whether she broke any ministerial rules in her dealings with alex salmond. the first minister's fate may rest on which one of them is judged to have been telling the truth. sarah smith, bbc news, glasgow. and you can find out more about the background to this story on panorama: salmond v sturgeon, available on iplayer now.

the supreme court has ruled that care workers across the uk who have to sleep at their workplace in case they are needed are not entitled to the minimum wage for their whole shift. if the case had been successful, care providers would have face a £400 million bill for backpay which they said they could not afford. unions say the ruling underlines the low pay that care staff get. our social affairs correspondent alison holt explains. 20—year—old georgia works with people who have learning disabilities. on this shift, she will sleep in overnight, just in case one of the residents needs help. we have a monitor beside our bed on a night and someone will support with medication. today's court case is about how much someone like georgia should be paid for a shift where the expectation is that she will sleep. she gets the minimum wage for being here. elsewhere, staff may only get a £30 flat rate. if our gentleman was to

have a seizure, we'd have to jump straight out of bed, put our ppe on, and return to that professional mode of knowing how we deal with the seizures. the woman who brought today's case says the court decision that care workers like her don't have to be paid the minimum wage for sleep—ins was a blow. said the health and social care workers do one of the most importantjobs —— the health and social care workers do one of the most importantjobs that anyone could ever do — they look after other people. and it's the ultimate betrayal, because, basically, it's saying that they aren't undertaking work when they're doing these sleepover shifts. this supreme courtjudgment is very clear that the law provides an exemption that means people on sleep—in shifts are not entitled to the national minimum wage. nevertheless, this case highlights wider questions about care worker pay. the head of the charity mencap is relieved they won't now face a huge bill for backpay, but says it's exposed the underfunding of care.

this has to be a moment in time when we all unite together- and ask our government and those in power to seriously look - at the pay of the social care workforce. - i'm just about to put my ppe on... the government says it supports the vital work of staff like georgia and has provided billions in extra care funding during the pandemic. now it's time for me to try and get some sleep... alison holt, bbc news. goodnight. a year ago as the pandemic took hold few would have imagined 12 months later covid vaccines would not only have been developed but also rolled out so fast across the uk. science was always going to be the way out of this pandemic. our medical editor fergus walsh looks back at the role science has played throughout. and a warning — his report contains some flash photography. within days of the first reports of a new virus emerging in china, vaccine scientists around the world sprang into action. in oxford, their covid vaccine was designed over a single weekend, two months

before a pandemic was declared. so we took that information, that tiny bit of the sequence from the coronavirus, and used that to put into our platform vaccine technology. this was only possible as they'd spent years researching the processes needed. in april, vaccine trials got underway in oxford. other groups around the world were following suit. developing vaccines can take five years or more. government and industry funding helped cut out delays, and manufacturing began even while trials were continuing, but no corners were cut on safety. the uk vaccine task force pre—ordered hundreds of millions of doses from seven different companies. we prioritised the vaccine landscape quickly. we approached the various companies and we were then the first to sign with oxford—astrazeneca, with pfizer—biontech.

in november came the first confirmation that a highly effective covid vaccine was coming. it's such a great day for science and humanity. soon other impressive results followed, showing several vaccines were both safe and could prevent serious disease. medical regulators here were the first to approve the pfizer and oxford—astrazeneca vaccines. and in december, margaret keenan became the first person in the world to receive the pfizerjab outside of clinical trials. the vaccine roll—out here has been a huge success, although a slowdown next month will mean the under—50s may have to wait until may for their first dose. at every vaccination centre i've been to, there is the same spirit of gratitude and optimism from those receiving theirjab — me included. thank you, bruce. you're all done, sir.

and, ultimately, it is science we have to thank for giving us this route out of the pandemic. preventing covid—19 through vaccines is the ultimate goal, but effective treatments for those who fall ill are also vital. the nhs, more than any other health system in the world, has helped reveal which drugs work against covid. nearly 40,000 patients in 180 nhs hospitals have taken part in trials set up by a team at oxford university. injune, they discovered the first blockbuster drug against covid — dexamethasone, a cheap steroid which cuts the risk of dying by up to a third. it's now the standard hospital treatment across the world. as well as improving survival, it actually will decrease the number of people who need to come to intensive care. other repurposed treatments have followed, like tocilizumab, normally used for arthritis.

but, just as importantly, they ruled out drugs that didn't work. coronavirus is here to stay. mutations like the south african and brazilian variants will keep cropping up. we'll always be playing catch—up against the virus. but the uk is a world leader in gene—sequencing, meaning the spread of mutations can be tracked in real time. booster vaccines are being developed, which will be ready by the autumn, if needed. the goal of immunising all uk adults is now within reach, but vaccinating the world will be a far bigger challenge. fergus walsh, bbc news. an off—duty police officer who assaulted a woman while she was walking home has been ordered to pay £500 compensation and has been given a 14—week curfew. pc oliver banfield from west midlands police grabbed and manhandled emma homer lastjuly while he was drunk. ms homer criticised warwickshire police's

handling of her complaint, saying that despite reporting the assault within hours of it happening, it took nine days for an officer to come and see her. the force has apologised. our correspondent phil mackie has more. yes, emma homer said yes, emma homersaid it felt like oliver banfield was fulfilling some sort of violent cult movie fantasy when he attacked her in warwickshire between the two night lockdowns last year and she says she is still suffering the after—effects of that attack. she says she is disappointed in the sense that she said that simply it is during lockdown and a curfew is hardly any punishment at all. yes, warwickshire police have apologised for what they said was not a very swift response to her own initial complaint, because not only did they not take statements quickly, they didn't interview witnesses quickly, and eventually when they passed on a foul to the crown prosecution service they said there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute and it was only after she appealed further inquiries were made

and that led to the successful criminal case we saw today. it's not all over for oliver banfield either. all over for oliver ba nfield either. he all over for oliver banfield either. he is now suspended from duty and now that the criminal investigation is over, the disciplinary process can begin and he faces a disciplinary procedure from west midlands police. he faces charges of gross misconduct and that could mean ultimately the end of his career. phil, thank you. in other news, the bbc says it is extremely concerned about one of its reporters in myanmar, aung thura, of its burmese service, who was picked up in the capital — and taken away in an unmarked van. the bbc said it's doing all it can to find him. the white house say president biden is fine after he stumbled several times as he was walking up the steps of air force one to board a flight from washington. a spokesperson saie high winds at the air base near washington may have been a factor and stressed the 78—year—old was doing "100% fine." the queen's official birthday celebration, trooping the colour, has been cancelled for

a second year running. last year the queen viewed an alternative parade at windsor castle due to the pandemic. buckingham palace says it's considering something similar again. the united nations has warned about a serious crisis in ethiopia, as an investigation has been launched into allegations of human rights abuses. a brutal conflict in the northern region of tigray began in november, with regional groups fighting against the ethiopian government forces, backed by eritrea. the number of people who have been killed is unknown, but opposition political groups claim it's more than 50,000. and according to the un, more than half a million people have been forced to flee their homes. the bbc�*s kalkidan yibeltal gained rare access to the region and has sent this report. the signs of violence and devastation dot the landscape in tigray.

the full story of the conflict hasn't yet been told. four months after fighting erupted, many have fled. we are on the road into shire, the centre of the displacement crisis. some of these areas in mountainous tigray, that we are passing through witnessed heavy fighting. particularly in november, during the height of the conflict. and the marks of the conflict can easily be seen and felt. this is where many people have come to, looking for safety and support. thousands of packed classrooms and school compounds. many walked here for days. one of them is this betel. her mother and grandmother were both killed in the fighting, and she lost both of her legs. her father spent his savings on her treatment, and now he says he's helpless.

in another part of the city, another camp with more people. in this town alone there are six camps, and according to estimates by aid agencies close to 200,000 displaced people with hundreds and sometimes more arriving each day. we can see a lot of children here and families as well. so, you know, seeing these and talking to those people, one gets the feeling how complex it's going to be to solve this issue. a lot more is going to be needed to address, particularly, the humanitarian side of this conflict. atsede mebrahtom had to run for her life when the conflict reached her hometown. with her were her children, their spouses, and her grandchildren.

many people in shire's camps have their own tale of loss and tragedy. in four short months, their lives have been turned upside down, and no one knows when total peace will return to tigray. kalkidan yibeltal, bbc news, shire. the british army is setting up a new specialist unit which it says is designed and equipped to fight the wars of the future. the new ranger regiment is the result of a wider defence review, details of which will be announced on monday. the review is expected to lead to cuts in the overall size of the army, to fund its modernisation. our defence correspondent jonathan beale reports. this is how britain's armed forces believe they'll be fighting the wars of tomorrow. robots and drones, all connected to troops on the ground, feeding them information. and instead of large—scale manoeuvres, more discreet missions involving specially trained troops. as well as royal marines, this is how the british army

is expected to operate in the future. small teams of well—equipped troops, who can be sent anywhere in the world. but to fund this high—tech new model army will require cuts elsewhere. the defence review�*s expected to see cuts to the number of tanks, armoured vehicles and troops. the regular army, already at its smallest in 400 years, could shrink from 80,000 to 70,000 soldiers. so the question. does size no longer matter? so i'd ask them to focus less on size and shape. i'd ask them to focus on the output. the lethality, the readiness, the resilience and the relevance of the force that is announced. because ultimately that's what our opponents will respect. the space abilities and cyber capabilities

are above this classification. the armed forces believe its information, electronic and cyber warfare that will give them the edge in the future. the mod has been given an extra £16.5 billion over the next four years, but some of that money will have to fill a black hole in its budget. and there are still concerns the defence review will leave the ranks of the army depleted. we will find throughout the army there will be some up arrows and some down arrows. and numbers will be down? there will be some up arrows of people and there will be some down arrows and other parts of the army. of course, as we shift to deal with the threat, we'll be investing in more people to deliver some things and we'll need less people to deliver other parts. details of the defence review will be unveiled on monday. borisjohnson promises it'll end an area of retreat, but can the armed forces really do more in more parts of the world with fewer people? jonathan beale, bbc news, bovington. the 9—1 shot minella indo has won

the cheltenham gold cup. ridden by the jockeyjack kennedy, minella indo finished ahead of rachael blackmore's a plus tard, and the 2019 and 2020 winner al boum photo. earlier blackmore picked up her sixth win of the week on board kill—ix—ious in the triumph hurdle. sunday, for most of us, is census day — the once—in—a—decade compulsory survey that aims to provide an up—to—date picture of much of the population. and this time there's a new voluntary question on sexuality for over—16s. there's also one asking whether your gender identity matches your sex registered at birth. jessica parker reports. census, 1951. this snapshot usually takes place every ten years. archive: thus, it will be possible to answer mechanically _ such varied questions as, how many married women are doing part—time work? running for over two centuries,

things have moved on. thank you, babe. welcoming the new questions, keland lisa. we are counted now, in a way that we haven't been previously. yes, it does feel that statistics have been guestimated, to some extent, but now we're going to have, hopefully, accurate representation. do you think it's a bit nosy? it'sjust representative of life in britain. yeah. it might feel nosy, but the census in itself is a nosy document, isn't it? yeah, how are those two new questions any different to anything else that's on that census document? they're not. taking calls, a charity in brighton, offering advice to lgbt people, and some reassurance. this is the first year - that the census is online. there's probably a little more anxiety as to where that - information is going. that kind of idea that - their information isjust kind of, you know, out in the big, wide world. j and it's specifically, if you're not out to anybody or you're not - out to your household, - that can be really, really scary. the picture emerging won't be 100% accurate, although anyone not out to their household can ask for a private access code.

overall, it is hoped this census will provide a clearer view.