this is bbc news, the headlines at 5: reaching a milestone — half of all adults in the uk have now had a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. the vaccination programme is our route out of the pandemic. it will help us to protect people, and we know that these vaccines protect you, and they also protect those around you. europe braces itself for a third wave of coronavirus infections, with fresh lockdowns in france and poland. protesters opposed to the coronavirus lockdown march through central london. scotland yard says london remains in a health crisis, and urge people to stay at home. and coming up in half an hour, highlights from this year's bbc young reporter competition.

we hear from some of the young people reporting for bbc news. welcome to bbc news. the health secretary, matt hancock, has announced that more than half of adults in the uk have now had a first dose of covid vaccine. more people received the jab yesterday than on any other day. despite this, a scientist on a government advisory body warns summer holidays overseas are "extremely unlikely" because of the risk of travellers bringing coronavirus variants back to the uk. it comes as france and poland have reintroduced partial lockdowns, as both countries battle a sharp rise in infections in recent weeks. here's what the health secretary had to say earlier. well, we are committed that

all adults will be offered the first dose of the vaccine by the end ofjuly. we are on track to deliver that, and i am delighted that today half of all adults have now been vaccinated, including the prime minister yesterday. yesterday was, in fact, the biggest day of vaccinations in this country in our history. the team are doing an amazing job. is this enough to avoid a third wave? the vaccination programmes are our route out of the pandemic. it will help us to protect people, and we know that these vaccines protect you, and we also know that they protect those around you and they make it less likely that your loved ones will catch coronavirus. and, of course for all of us, they are our route out, so i'm delighted that so many people are coming forward and getting the jab. when you see what's happening in europe, warnings of a lockdown in paris, do you feel concerned? weill.

paris, do you feel concerned? well, of course. — paris, do you feel concerned? well, of course. we've _ paris, do you feel concerned? well, of course, we've got _ paris, do you feel concerned? well, of course, we've got to _ paris, do you feel concerned? well, of course, we've got to be - paris, do you feel concerned? -m of course, we've got to be vigilant because we know that this virus spreads ruthlessly. we have set out the road map to be cautious but i very much hope irreversible exit from these lockdowns. we have set out the dates carefully. the first big step will be on april 12th, if the data shows that it is safe to make that move. after of course children going back to school a couple of weeks ago. the whole point of the road map is to be cautious, careful, the virus lives only to spread, and of course it's the vaccine that allows the road map to be there at all. the rising numbers of vaccinations in the uk is in contrast to increasing cases across europe. ina

in a moment we willjoin viewers on bbc one for a full summary from the national news. but first. earlier, ricardo mexia, vice president of the european public health association's infectious disease control department, told me what's driving this rise. well, i believe that the fact that we are trying to get back to normality in some of the activities that have now been taking place, that probably accounts for some of the increase in the numbers. and also the fact that people are somehow tired of all the covid—i9 stress over the last year, that probably tends to get them to have different approaches and eventually not implement fully the recommendations of social distancing and all the others that somehow we have been having to deal with over the course of this. so i guess it is happening more or less across europe and hopefully

we will manage to control it over the next couple of weeks. it is a different setting in different countries, but still there has been somehow this fourth wave that several countries are now facing. and what about the new variants? how much are they a factor in all of this? we believe that the variants can play some part in increasing transmission, but we still have a significant amount of cases that are, let's say, from the older variants of the outbreak. indeed, there's an increase in the spread of the disease due to these variants, but it does not account for all the transmission, and therefore we are very concerned over the biological surveillance to be able to detect as early as we can those different variants so that we can adjust policies in order to contain the transmission. what is the picture where you are in portugal? in portugal, things have

evolved quite quickly over the last couple of months. during january, we had an absolutely dramatic situation and were the worst in the world with very high incidence and a very high mortality, but during february numbers have tended to go down. this was due to very strict lockdowns, which were only lifted earlier this week on monday, which was when schools started back, and several activities are starting, and we have a plan to implement other activities over every fortnight. but things are still quite restricted here. but now the incidents are low, and transmissibility of the disease is also low. so we hope we manage over the next few weeks, while we increase the number of activities that are working, we managed to contain the numbers in a manageable size.

one contributing factor is links to brazil that led to some european countries isolating portugal amidst concerns that portuguese speakers from brazil were coming in and may be bringing new variants. has that problem established itself? have you had much of an issue particularly with the pi variant, the one people have been worrying about in the uk, the one that is most aggressive and most easily transmitted? yes, we have managed to identify it, but we have not had a significant number of cases. they have been contained in some transmission chains. but the big problem here actually, after christmas and new year, was a steep increase in the uk variant, which is now the most prevalent variant here. but for the other variants, we do have some cases, but it is not very significant overall. and vaccinations, how is that progressing? unfortunately, the rhythm of vaccination is very slow due

to the lack of vaccines. the arrival of the vaccine in portugal, as i guess in other european countries, other eu countries, it is very low. we have had also, as other countries did, the suspension of the astrazeneca vaccine for one week. but considering that the rhythm of arrival is very low, we will be able to compensate for that interruption over this last week in the next few days. roughly only 5% of the population is vaccinated so far. the premier league, yet they are on this great cup run.— this great cup run. yes, they seem to be enjoying _ this great cup run. yes, they seem to be enjoying themselves - this great cup run. yes, they seem to be enjoying themselves and - this great cup run. yes, they seem | to be enjoying themselves and their good players seem to be standing up and being counted. i thought redmond was outstanding. the skipper was

brilliant. that is a massive difference. and then he has measured it into the far post.— it into the far post. nathan redmond. _ it into the far post. nathan redmond, really _ it into the far post. nathan redmond, really good - it into the far post. nathan j redmond, really good skill it into the far post. nathan - redmond, really good skill finishing the top _ redmond, really good skill finishing the top corner was brilliant from him _ the top corner was brilliant from him he — the top corner was brilliant from him he is — the top corner was brilliant from him he is a _ the top corner was brilliant from him. he is a confidence player so it is really— him. he is a confidence player so it is really good

good evening. official figures show that there have been a record number of coronavirus vaccinations in the uk for a second day in a row. the health secretary has said the uk is on track to ease lockdown measures, after announcing that over half of all adults in the country had now had at least one vaccine dose. in the latest 2a hour period alone — nearly 600,000 people had theirfirstjab, bringing the total to more than 26.8 million. and just over 2.1 million have now had both doses of the vaccine. despite these record numbers of vaccinations, a scientist on a government advisory body warns summer holidays overseas are "extremely unlikely" — because of the risk of travellers bringing coronavirus

variants back to the uk. richard galpin reports. here in germany the authorities are warning the country is now facing a third wave of coronavirus. infections rising exponentially. particularly worrying as just 8% of the population has had a first dose of vaccine. lockdown measures are now expected. the situation also serious here in france as well as poland and other eu countries, with covid cases surging. because of the spread of the uk variant of the virus.— variant of the virus. infections startin: variant of the virus. infections starting in _ variant of the virus. infections starting in western _ variant of the virus. infections starting in western europe . variant of the virus. infections| starting in western europe and moving gradually east and we are seeing this particular variant, being more severe in terms of the clinical picture is leading to bigger pressure on hospitals. europe's problems are in part a result of a faltering vaccine programme and problems with deliveries, made worse by the recent

suspension of the astrazeneca vaccine by the eu, but many eu countries are now using it again. the situation in britain is very different from that in the eu with covid cases right down and people hoping to be able to go on a summer holiday abroad, but will it be possible given the covid situation in the eu and other countries? indie in the eu and other countries? we have to in the eu and other countries? - have to be vigilant and we have set out the steps in the road map that they should be no international travel unless it is absolutely necessary until the 17th of may and then the global travel taskforce will make a judgment and work with the industry on how quickly and whether we will be able to reopen and how we can reopen. so whether the government _ and how we can reopen. so whether the government will _ and how we can reopen. so whether the government will allow _ and how we can reopen. so whether the government will allow holidays. the government will allow holidays abroad this summer remains very uncertain. unless there is a dramatic reversal in the covid situation in europe in the coming months, it may not be possible to

travel to the popular european destinations. richard galpin, bbc news. other official data out today shows there were 5,587 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 5,350. the number of patients in hospital with covid continues to fall, now down to 6,162. there were 96 deaths reported of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test — which means on average 94 deaths were reported every day in the past week from coronavirus. taking the total number of deaths so far to 126,122. a mass demonstration against lockdown has taken place in central london — as dozens of mps urge the government to change the law to allow peaceful protest. police say thousands have taken to the streets — with some being detained. our home affairs correspondent tom

symonds has the story. a year since the lockdown began and became a part of our lives, and thousands took to the streets to protest against it. they called it a vigil for the voiceless, a protest against it. they called it a vigilfor the voiceless, a loose coalition of many people with many different views, which include a long list of conspiracy theories, but may be one thing united them, a feeling that individual rights have been casualties of the battle against covid, including the right to protest. the police commanderfor today's events said he had weighed the right against the covid rules, the right against the covid rules, the blanket ban on gatherings. his view, everyone he is breaking the law. . ., , ., . ., law. the current health protection regulations. _ law. the current health protection regulations, coronavirus - regulations, coronavirus regulations, coronavirus regulations, are very clear that it is unlawful to meet more than one person outside or one household to another household which you can do for recreational purposes and there are some exemptions but protest is not one of those exemptions. of

course everyone has a right to protest, that is not unlawful, but gatherings of this size are not safe. , ., ., ., , ., ., safe. they are not a -- they are not enou:h safe. they are not a -- they are not enough officers _ safe. they are not a -- they are not enough officers to arrest everyone i enough officers to arrest everyone taking part but police did manage to get the numbers down as they said. there were protests around the world, this was germany and austria. back in london this evening, the protesters had broken up into smaller groups, and the police say it would have been much better if tom symonds, bbc news. authorities in australia are warning of "life threatening" flash floods as torrential rains batter parts of the east coast. police say hundreds of people have flocked to evacuation centres in areas north of sydney. across the country's most populous state, new south wales, dozens of people have been rescued from floodwaters and residents in many low—lying areas have been ordered to leave.

the bbc�*s director—general, tim davie, has suggested that over—75s who do not pay the tv licence fee will not be threatened with legal action. the right to a free tv licence for the elderly ended last august for all except those who receive the pension credit benefit. a volcano in south—west iceland has erupted, releasing streams of lava from under the earth's surface. the fissure, 20 miles from the capital, reykjavik, is more than 500 metres long. it's the first eruption in the area in centuries and follows thousands of small earthquakes over recent weeks. our europe correspondent jean mackenzie visited the volcano last week. the lava bursting through a long crack in the earth's crust, the moment icelanders have been bracing for turns into a spectacle, rather than a threat. translation: the nation has than a threat. translation: tue: nation has been than a threat. translation: tte: nation has been waiting than a threat. translation: "tte: nation has been waiting with than a threat. translation: t'te: nation has been waiting with bated breath now for three weeks for this

to happen and it's been 15 months since seismic activity began increasing significantly on the peninsula. increasing significantly on the peninsula-— peninsula. since the activity ratcheted up three - peninsula. since the activity ratcheted up three weeks i peninsula. since the activity i ratcheted up three weeks ago, iceland has recorded more than 50,000 earthquakes, assigned this eruption was imminent. we visited the volcanic area just 20 miles from the volcanic area just 20 miles from the capital reykjavik last week. the eruption is going to happen most likelyjust beyond that ridge. this island which straddles two tectonic plates is used to eruptions. but not here, because this area has sat dormant now for centuries. this is very different to the explosive eruption in 2010 that blanketed the skies of europe in ash for weeks. the biggest threat this time is the pollution from the gas is released. with residents being asked to keep their windows shut. translation:

people have been growing tired of the significant earthquakes that are constantly keeping us awake, growing anxiety and some residents said, if there's going to be an eruption, it might as welljust happen. icelanders have nicknamed the pretty eruptions tourist eruptions but with no tourists around to witness this one, it is the locals who get to marvel at their latest geological wonder. jean mackenzie, bbc news. rugby now — and wales could win the grand slam with victory over france later. england are playing ireland now while earlier scotland's win over italy was their biggest margin of victory in the six nations. our sports correspondentjoe wilson was watching. you know where to find murrayfield, the scenic outskirts of edinburgh, but where are scotland in world rugby? it's italy in blue shirts, and it is their captain luca bigi going over to give his team the lead.

commentator: well, well, the game changed rapidly, remember scotland began the six nations by beating england? duhan van der merwe finishing here in his own time. when you watch scotland's quick hands and faster feet it is easy to forget they have also lost twice in the tournament. too much for italy here. inside half an hour they had their fourth try and their bonus point. the second half began with scotland's hooker dave cherry getting his second try, just the performance scotland needed and the one italy feared. it's been a gruelling tournament for their new coach. in terms of points and tries conceded, it's italy's worst ever six nations. scotland score passed 50. try number eight! thank goodness for facemasks. lip—reading impossible. scotland's final game in paris might tell us more about their true global status but in the six nations, well, they've never won so thoroughly. joe wilson, bbc news. we're back with the late

news at ten fifteen. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are.

this is bbc news. the tokyo 2020 olympic organising committee has said that international spectators will not be allowed to enterjapan during the olympic games, which are scheduled for this summer. the decision will ensure the four—yearly spectacle will be a largely televised event this year. earlier on i spoke tojoseph choong, a british modern pentathlete who will be competing at the games in tokyo. obviously being a minority sport, modern pentathletes are generally used to not competing in front of massive crowds. but when it comes to the olympics, it's the big event every four years where we will have a big crowd. we'll have a sold—out arena, like the rugby sevens who we often share the stadium with, or any other big sport. so that's part of the thing that makes our sport so special at the olympic games. obviously when it comes to actually competing, the important thing with the spectators and the crowd is you have to sort of drown it out. they are almost like a negative impact, because if you're focusing

on them, you're not thinking about what you're doing. that's a really interesting point, because i suppose a lot of people who go along to these events think, oh, i'm cheering him on, i'm giving him lots of encouragement, or her, whoever it might be performing. actually, you know, although i'm sure you really appreciate their goodwill, it actually can be a bit of a drawback! absolutely. i think if i heard my parents shouting too loudly on the sidelines, i'd probably get a bit distracted from what i was trying to achieve. so, yeah, the key during the competition is to drown it out. aside from that, outside, when you're around the olympic village, that is part of what makes it special, having all the fans and spectators just being there to create the atmosphere. what was rio like? obviously it was my first olympic games, i was four years younger, one of the younger members of the team. but for me, it was just all about the experience and enjoying it. obviously, i went to do as well as i could, but i absolutely

loved being able to go on little sort of skirmishes outside the olympic village to see the city, like, go to ipanema beach or whatever. and just enjoy a different sort of culture and environment. for me, yeah, it was incredible to experience that and it will be a massive shame that in tokyo we won't be able to experience the same thing. learning a language might have been an aspiration for many of us in lockdown, but now new figures here in the uk show there's been a boom in people learning one in particular — welsh. and notjust in the uk — people have been learning it all over the world too. tomos morgan reports. i ddysgu cymraeg nawr, to learn welsh now,

the classroom's gone online, just like everything else over the last year. since i was a baby. but these classes aren't just for those living here in wales that can't speak the language. they're full of learners from all over the world. i will give you an eight out of ten for that, that's pretty good. people like student nicole gallegos who lives in, yes, you guessed it, costa rica. not your usual hotbed for celtic languages, i'lladmit. she began studying in october on a language app after realising that her surname has a welsh connection. i heard that the gallegos people are like a compilation of spanish and welsh people that came to the land many years ago, so gallegos kind of has a little bit of welsh in it. and heraim?

to be fluent and to come and study in cardiff in the future. it would be super, super cool if i could go and study there after i finish studying here. the royal welsh college of music and drama in cardiff, is it? yes, that's right. i wasn't quite good enough to get in there, so if you do, you'll have done very doing well. thank you. last year, welsh was the fastest—growing language in the uk on duolingo, and the number of users worldwide learning welsh has increased by 100,000 since october, with a fifth of all students based in america and even someone in antarctica. so we're here just outside boom in the netherlands... back to a more familiar time zone in holland and jen bailey, an australian music conductor, has also taken to studying one of the oldest languages in europe over the pandemic. without the social interaction of the orchestra over the last year, the added interaction online, on facebook, has been a huge relief for her.

some people live in wales and some of them like me, come from across the world, no particular family connection, no reason whatsoever to learn welsh, and that gave a tribe and it gave validation, it's not completely weird to learn welsh. but this increased interest has meant that online classes have been overwhelmed with a lack of teachers to meet the demand. we were surprised initially that anyone would be interested in wanting to learn online. i've been running online chat clubs all over the world, people from all over the world connecting and ijust put up the chat club and it fills up within a few hours and then i have to turn people away. as face—to face socialising begins again, will welsh continue to flourish as the pandemic eases? for now, there's still plenty of grammar yet to be learned. tomos morgan, bbc news, cardiff.

time for a look at the weather. hello. today turned into a dry day for most of us, but it hasn't been sunny everywhere. many spots have been stuck with a lot of cloud. you can see that on our earlier satellite image. best of the sunshine across north—east england, south—east scotland. that's where we have seen some of the highest temperatures as well. we've also got a frontal system pushing down from the north, and overnight that will bring a band of thick cloud and the odd spot of rain, but many spots staying dry through the night and with some clearer skies following behind that frontal system, it will get quite cold in one or two spots in central and southern scotland, for example. temperatures could get all the way down to freezing. tomorrow, is that frontal system clears we will be left with more in the way of sunshine in many areas. still some patchy cloud around and with a slight shift in the wind direction, it's not going to be as warm as it was today across eastern scotland or north—east england. 9, 10 or 11 degrees at best. it stays mainly dry into the start

of the new week but things will change from midweek onwards. it will turn more unsettled, some rain at times and some brisk winds as well. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: reaching a milestone — half of all adults in the uk have now had a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. europe braces itself for a third wave of coronavirus infections — with fresh lockdowns beginning in france and poland. protesters opposed to the lockdown here have been walking through central london to westminster. scotland yard urge people to stay at home saying london remains in a health crisis. organisers of this summer's tokyo olympics and paralympics say no international fans will be allowed

because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.