this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government is facing more questions over whether or not people can plan forforeign holidays. the cabinet minister, ben wallace said summer travel abroad is looking increasingly unlikely. it would be premature to do that. it would be potentially risky. we are seeing a growth in variance. we have done a huge amount of work, taxpayer, nhs staff, my constituents who have been unlocked out in september, i do not want to throw that away. the uk government has been warned that its decision to slash billions of dollars from its overseas aid budget is illegal. a snapshot of life in england, wales and northern ireland — millions of people are to take part in a once—in—a—decade census. homes washed away in australia

as heavy rain and flash floods batter the east coast — thousands of people are ordered to evacuate. over a thousand people allowed to ignore lockdown and social distancing restrictions to attend a music festival in the netherlands, is part of an experiment to see if infections can be avoided. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the uk government is facing questions about whether or not people can plan for foreign holidays, especially to european destinations, over the summer. the cabinet minister, ben wallace, has insisted that the uk needs to preserve the gains of its covid—19 vaccination campaign "at all costs". more than half of all adults in the uk have now received their first coronavirus vaccine.

but there is concern about the threat of imported cases, as areas of continental europe face a third wave of infections, as john mcmanus reports. it's been a record—making week in the uk, at least as far as covid vaccines are concerned. on friday, more than 711,000 doses were administered to the public. that means more than half of the uk's adult population have now received their firstjab. the government says the vaccination programme is a phenomenal achievement and it insists it's on track to offer jabs to all of the over—50s by mid—april. 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 we also know that they protect those around you, and

make it less likely that your loved ones will catch coronavirus too. of course for all of us they are our route out. i am delighted that so many people are coming forward and getting the jab. over the past year, the uk has suffered the highest death toll in europe. now numbers of infections and deaths are dropping. but in parts of mainland europe, the virus is reasserting its grip. in response, parts of poland and france have reintroduced partial lockdowns. preventing those different variants of covid entering the uk has led to a warning from scientists that holidays overseas this summer are extremely unlikely. if we were doing better with the vaccination campaign in the eu, the story may be a little bit different, as to where we might be in terms of being able to travel. it has been hugely damaging in the eu. i think it is mixed messaging. the key thing to me is get as many people as possible to take the vaccine as rapidly as possible so that we can get to high levels of protection rapidly, so that we can open up, which hopefully in the longer term will include travelling

internationally again. it is notjust holiday—makers who want to travel. those with families living abroad are keen to swap online chat for the real thing. one way of achieving that might be a traffic light system where travellers are given the green light to visit less risky countries, while others remain on red. ben wallace — the uk's defence secretary — has also urged the european commission to meet its obligations over vaccine exports. earlier our political correspondent jonathan blake spoke to me about the continuing row between the eu and uk over covid vaccines. it has been a flashpoint in the last week or so between the eu and the uk. concerns not only about the safety of the astrazeneca jab, but also about the supply of vaccines coming to the uk from eu countries. comments from european commissioner ursula von der leyen earlier in the week that amounted to a threat, that is how it has been interpreted here, that the supply of vaccines

from the eu to the uk could be cut off. the uk has argued that cuts across previous assurances. again this morning we had a minister, in this case defence secretary ben wallace, calling on the european union to uphold its legal obligations, just to tone down the language also. what should happen is that both the european commission and the united kingdom should live up to their obligations. the european union stands for the rule of law. we should all abide by our contracts. we are legally obliged, both supplier and purchaser. i think the european commission also recognises that the world is watching. what are the values of the eu that they profess? if you are a country around the world and you see this kind of language, it will be counter—productive. what we know about the manufacture of our vaccine, it is a collaborative approach, the astrazeneca vaccine

was developed in oxford, parts of the supply chain are in europe, parts are in india. trying to build walls around this would only damage both eu citizens and the united kingdom. the european union leaders will meet this week and there will be a decision of some sort. we'll have to see if they follow through with what has been perceived here as a threat to cut the supply of vaccines. it is a two—way street but difficult to establish if any vaccines have been exported from the uk and in what number at this point. the entire issue is crucial of course because only if you have an effectively vaccinated population can you start to lift restrictions and allow travel, which brings us to another hot topic. everyone wants to know whether they can or should book a holiday, what are the chances of international travel being allowed, and how widely, later this year. the 17th of may is the earliest date the government has said travel abroad will be allowed. a lot of questions. if you look at what is happening in europe in terms of a third wave of coronavirus and

the vaccine roll—out having been far slower than it has in the uk, aboutjust how widely people will be able to travel. lisa nandy, speaking for labour this morning, the shadow foreign secretary, suggested she won't be packing her suitcase any time soon. i know everyone is desperate to go on holiday but we have to proceed with caution, we cannot allow the good work to be unravelled by unlocking too quickly or by failing to secure our borders, we have seen problems with that in the past. the government is right to say we should _ the government is right to say we should be — the government is right to say we should be guided by this science. i have been troubled by the fact the prime minister privately seems to be saying to some of his rebels he is keen to get this done quickly. we need to be careful. we need to be cautious.

frankly, i have not booked a foreign holiday for the summer and will not be doing so because i do not think we are there yet. hoping to get the answer to some of those questions following a government review, on the 12th of april. let's talk to lisa minot, who is the travel editor at the sun. what are you going to be writing about this summer? i hope will be writing about the gradual slope resumption of international travel. it is too soon to say we can completely write off the summer. it will be a very slow process. but we will not know anything until april 12, when the travel task force the government has put together will be reporting back. i can see a summer of restrictions, there will be testing involved, we will see different countries coming on and off travel, other type list yet again. i think there is hope that we could see some small amount of international travel this summer. i was doing an interview earlier,

the interviewee from the economist, deputy foreign editor, saying there are efforts under way to come up with something that would be recognised by all airlines, conceivably all airports. how actively are those discussions going on at the moment? the very much are- — going on at the moment? the very much are- they — going on at the moment? the very much are. they are _ going on at the moment? the very much are. they are forming - going on at the moment? the very much are. they are forming part . going on at the moment? the very| much are. they are forming part of the idea that the travel task force, thatis the idea that the travel task force, that is one of the things they are talking about, we have a ready scene european commission come out with the idea of a green travel certificates, which would have vaccination or a negative covid test details in digital and paperform. they are looking to align with that and have some similar for british citizens. it will be necessary, we are increasingly seeing customers saying they are resuming services, cruise firms, they are saying, they are going to start again, but only

two in vaccinated passengers. we have the same with some airlines, saying they will fly vaccinated passengers. it does seem to be at the moment that will be the start of the moment that will be the start of the resumption of travel. clearly there is a lot of imagination being deployed. i was talking to the owner of a travel company yesterday, she was saying, a lot of the cruise companies are bringing ships over to the uk and they will be doing cruises around they will be doing cruises around the coast of the uk, as a kind of alternative to docking in foreign climes. we'll still be a demand for those sort of things or are we so attached to our foreign holiday in the sunshine that it will not be enough to pacify people? it depends on what you are going on holiday for. cruises traditionally always had a loyal following, so holiday for. cruises traditionally always had a loyalfollowing, so i think a lot of people will be willing to get back on board. but i was speaking to the boss of a cruise company, he was saying that the

government are saying they can sail into british or european waters, when they are doing the ceilings, they could perhaps even sail as far as the coast of spain, chasing that sunshine, because they know that is what is wanted on board. as long as they are within 72 hours of a uk port they have been told they are allowed to do that. they are having to make difficult decisions as to whether or not that is enough to just have a summer holiday that will be at home, and perhaps not with the same kind of weather. let us all pray for a lovely sunny summer here in the uk. 0ne summer here in the uk. one final point. there is a danger politically that this becomes a them and as thing, if you are somebody older like me, who does not have family commitments, you are free to travel at all times, you are able to do vaccination, you may be able to afford to do the quarantining that you have to do at one end or the other. anybody who has kids from

school age, forget it. those people are more vulnerable presumably to the rules, that they cannot go, because they cannot take the time. exactly that. it is unfair. especially when children and parents who have been home—schooling over the last long months, that will be a real disappointment to them. that's why i am saying it is too early to actually see that we are not going to have any kind of summer. it might be later summer but i think we can have one. we are going to have all adults are faceted by the end of july. the government seem to think they are still on target for that. —— vaccinated by the end ofjuly. i think there is plenty of time for us to see the picture clearer as we get closer to the summer itself. nice to end at least on a note of optimism. thank you, travel editor of the sun newspaper and website. as we've been hearing, more than half of all adults in the uk have now received their first coronavirus vaccine. but europe is facing a third wave of infections — in poland there were 21,819 new cases reported this weekend —

a 27% rise from the number reported one week ago. jeremy brown is a professor of respiratory infection at university college london and sits on thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation. he is speaking today in a personal capacity. thank you for being with us. let us start with poland. what do you make of that level of infection, that increase the number of cases in one week? i think it is happening across europe. there is an expense shall rise, a rapid ramping up of cases in a short period of time. the first wave, the second wave, you can see on the graphs on news channels, the very steep ramp up of numbers of cases over a short period of time. this is what happens with viruses when they go to that exponential

fees. 0ne fees. one of your colleagues who i spoke to at the beginning of the year, said no matter how quickly you vaccinate, april and may, they said, it is almost a race between vaccination and some form of herd immunity, people who get through this without suffering what some have suffered, or even death. their wa to have suffered, or even death. their way to think — have suffered, or even death. their way to think about _ have suffered, or even death. their way to think about it _ have suffered, or even death. tue: " way to think about it possibly have suffered, or even death. tte: " way to think about it possibly is that the first phase of the vaccination programme is designed to prevent large numbers of people being at high risk of getting severe disease. by vaccinating a high proportion of the over 50s we have largely achieved that. we need the second doses to maximise that

protection. that is coming. we will be in a position where large numbers of people in the vulnerable parts of the population. even if you have 5% of people and vaccinated, or in the small minority of people who have been vaccinated but the vaccination may not have worked as well as in the rest, then if there was a high level of infection occurring in the community, those people are still at a higher risk of dying or ending up in hospital. the second wave of vaccinations for younger adults, in hospital. the second wave of vaccinations foryoungeradults, it vaccinations for younger adults, it is vaccinations foryoungeradults, it is partly to protect them against disease, also partly to suppress this infection spreading to the community situation. that will happen but it will take more time. we will be heading towards summer, late summer, when that may be finished. 0ne late summer, when that may be finished. one final late summer, when that may be finished. 0ne finalthought late summer, when that may be finished. one final thought on the new variants. how much effort is

being made in understanding the differences, adapting the vaccines? a lot. the epidemiology is very important. we need to know where a new variants are, we need to know what the immune response to the existing vaccine how effective it is against new variants. those variants —— those details are coming possibly over time. there are moves afoot within the vaccine companies to use the new variants in new vaccines to modify vaccines. the question is, which one of the new variants is the one to use. parts of new south wales in australia have been hit by the worst flooding in a century — and the torrential rain and wind is forecast for days to come. about a thousand people in sydney have been urged

to evacuate their homes — and thousands more have been told they need to prepare to leave. from sydney, phil mercer reports. in new south wales, officials had warned sydney was potentially facing a rain bomb. torrential downpours have turned fields into rivers. homes have been swamped. emergency crews have been responding to hundreds of calls for help. the main reservoir in sydney is overflowing. suburbs are at risk of flooding. we worry about do we escape or stay here. so what about now? we prepare my handbag and some things, ready to move. we are just inundated at the moment. the water is still rising, about one foot in the last hour. this is the worst i have seen it.

last yearjust after christmas it was pretty bad as well but not this bad. lots of people might not get their houses flooded but will not get to work, the roads will be wrecked. across new south wales, australia's most populous state, residents in many low—lying areas have been told to leave. communities to the north of sydney have been badly affected. in parts of the mid and north coast regions which are experiencing a one in 100 year event there has been sustained damage to infrastructure, to how people communicate and move around. everyone in new south wales who is experiencing that fear and anxiety, that our thoughts are with you and we will get assistance to you as soon as we can. a house washed down the river by flood waters. the owners will never forget it, they were supposed to get married but the bride and groom were kept

apart by the floods. the wild weather has delayed the roll—out of covid vaccinations. more storms are expected in the next few days. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. a court in pakistan has sentenced two men to death for a rape which triggered public outrage. abid malhi and shafqat ali bagga attacked the pakistani—french woman when she was stranded in her car on the side of a motorway — with her two children. police had questioned why she was alone so late at night. these comments sparked a public outcry — with thousands of women demanding justice and better protection for women. thousands of people are continuing to protest against the self—imposed military rule in myanmar — despite escalating violence. videos uploaded to social media show large crowds of people in the country's capital — naypyidaw — fleeing from live ammunition. according to the un, at least 149 people have died since the 1st of february — though the actual figure is thought to be much higher.

large numbers of mourners in tanzania have been paying their respects to the late president, john magufuli, who died on wednesday. thousands have been filing past his flag—draped coffin at uhuru stadium in dar es salaam. there is no social distancing and few of the mourners or security officials were wearing masks to guard against the potential spread of covid—19. mr magufuli had played down the risk posed by the disease, and his government stopped providing figures early in the pandemic. the official cause of his death was heart failure. the uk government has been warned that its decision to slash billions of dollars from its overseas aid budget is illegal. britain's former top prosecutor ken macdonald said the commitment to meet a un target of spending 0.7% of national income on foreign aid was enshrined in domestic law. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale told us more about the case. it comes down to an analysis of the

existing law, the international development act. the government says this allows for the 0.7% target of national income on aid every year to be missed. that's what this judgment says is, yes you can't miss it inadvertently, by mistake, then come to parliament, explain why you made that mistake, what you are going to do to correct it. this judgment says, what you cannot do is say you are going to miss the target in future deliberately, reduce the target down to 0.5. the law does not give you the power to do that. you can only do that if that is new legislation from parliament. that is my what has happened is unlawful. it's census day today in england, wales and northern ireland. all households are obliged to provide background details for every adult and child. the once a decade count provides useful information on uk society

for the government and other organisations providing key services. the census in scotland has been delayed until 2022. a music festival is going ahead in the netherlands this weekend, despite the rest of the country being under a covid—19lockdown. the two—day event is an experiment, to try to work out whether there's a safe way to allow large social gatherings without increasing the spread of the virus. but with the average number of new infections in the country up by 25% since last week, questions are being asked about the wisdom of holding a festival during a pandemic. 0ur correspondent anna holligan sent this report from biddinghuizen near amsterdam. surreal as it might look,

a reminder of what life was once like, and an opportunity to pilot a way back to this. i'm just really happy, we can party again! what does it feel like? euphoric! 1500 people managed to get a ticket for this, and everyone here had to show a negative test before they were allowed in. everyone is meant to be wearing a mask, though, and as you can see, they aren't. they either don't realise or they don't care. and of course the risk with an event like this is when people stop following the rules, that could potentially affect everyone outside this controlled environment. soon they were all mixing, and the masks had mostly vanished. once you're into the mood of dancing and partying, they fly away in no time. they become a party

hat, as i usually say. as all these people are tested and known negatives, of course this is not a normal situation. you have to see them as test bunnies during an experiment. this is not a normal life. there will be people who think it's unethical to use these young people like guinea pigs. what do you say to them? uh, all these people, all the participants, know that there's a minor risk, they're well aware of it. we believe from the first data that we can say the risk is not much higher than staying at home. these are motion sensors designed to track the group dynamics, and the government is paying for the scientific research. this event will inevitably raise eyebrows and questions about how ethical it is, especially when neighbouring nations are locking down. here in the netherlands, the infection rate has gone up by 25% since last week.

in what sense is this valuable when the risks are still so great? yeah, it will only give us the data to reopen society. if you plan it right, you can do safe things. so this is not an unsafe event. the entertainment industry in the netherlands and around the world has been shut down by measures to stop our social interactions. the isolation has huge consequences for businesses and our mental health. the asteroid — which was first discovered twenty years ago — is about nine hundred metres in diameter. the american space agency nasa says that at its nearest point, it will still be two million kilometres away. and finally wales has found itself welcoming an unexpected visitor. a giant walrus has been spotted in pembrokeshire,

thousands of miles from its home in the arctic circle. it's thought it's the same animal that was spotted off the coast of county kerry in ireland last week. biologists believe there's a chance it fell asleep on an iceberg and was then carried south. here is the weather. drier today. a quiet start. expect to see more rain towards the north and west of the country. southern and west of the country. southern and eastern areas will stay largely dry. that shows up on our rainfall chart for the week. blue colours influence rainfall. lack of blues in eastern areas, indication of that continuing dry theme. that weather front pushed through in the night, that has introduced more northerly winds. you will notice the cooler

feel across eastern coasts of england. morning cloud continuing to break up for many. most of you will see sunny spells during the day. winds will be lighter. temperatures down on the last few days, still pleasant in the sunshine. chilly in east anglia. this evening and overnight, with clear skies by night, temperatures will drop further. there will be mist and fog patches and a greater chance of frost. 0utbreaks patches and a greater chance of frost. outbreaks of rain in the far north of scotland. temperatures just above freezing in city centres. high pressure still with as. more of a breeze here through monday. spots of

rain every now and again. dry on monday, sunny spells, a brighter day in eastern areas. those winds coming in eastern areas. those winds coming in from the south—west will pick up further on tuesday. tuesday should be dry for most. sunny spells in the east, more cloud in the west. weather fronts will push eastwards as we go through tuesday night into wednesday, bringing a change for the rest of the week. rain at times for scotland and northern ireland. could even be wintry on friday.

things will stay alive is the dry. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: the uk government is facing more questions over whether or not people can plan forforeign holidays. the cabinet minister, ben wallace said summer travel abroad is looking increasingly unlikely.

it would be premature to do that.