good afternoon. the government has warned the european union that any attempt to block the export of doses of coronavirus vaccine to the uk would be "counterproductive". the defence secretary ben wallace told the bbc there's a risk of reputational damage to the eu

if it stops vaccine manufactured there from leaving. frustration is widespread in continental countries that they're not receiving the doses they need. here's our political correspondent, jonathan blake. jab afterjab, the uk's population is getting vaccinated against coronavirus. despite some delays, more than half of adults have had their first dose, and covid cases remain relatively low. but in europe, rising cases and slower take up of the vaccine has seen restrictions reimposed in some countries, led to a warning that the eu could block vaccine supplies being exported to the uk. alarmist language, according to one cabinet minister, who said it was time to work together. you know, if you're a country around the world and you see this type of language being deployed by the commission, it will be counter productive, and what we know about our manufacture of our vaccine, it is a collaborative approach. the astrazeneca ip was developed oxford, parts of the supply chain are in europe,

some of it is in india. i think, you know, trying to sort of balkanise or build walls around this would only damage both eu citizens and the uk. after a week of tension over this, from the eu side today a call for calm, but no going back on the threat to restrict supply. what's terribly important this week, as you say, there is an increase in infections across europe, alarming for everybody, but the leaders will meet this week and they will make an assessment of the current situation about the roll out of vaccines, and perhaps make decisions. but as the president of the commission said herself, everything is on the table but there is no decision. opening borders and allowing people to travel is one big reason why the vaccination programme is so important. if other countries continue to lag behind, the chances of foreign holidays this summer could be less likely. some already say it's unrealistic. i think the government is right to say we should be

guided by the science. i've been troubled by the fact that the prime minister privately seems to be saying to some of his rebels that he's keen to get this done quickly. we do need to be careful, we do need to be cautious and, you know, frankly i haven't booked a foreign holiday for this summer and i won't be doing so because i don't think we're there yet. ministers are stressing that the 17th may remains the very earliest it will be possible to travel abroad, and that booking anything now is risky. there's still hope that summer holidays can happen, but it's by no means guaranteed. jonathan blake, bbc news. with no further clarity yet on foreign holidays or travel to visit family abroad, there's a warning today that some coronavirus restrictions could last years. with me is our health correspondent, jim reed. what sort of things are we talking about? , ., _, , ., , about? this warning comes from dr mary ramsey. _ about? this warning comes from dr mary ramsey. of — about? this warning comes from dr mary ramsey, of public— about? this warning comes from dr mary ramsey, of public health - mary ramsey, of public health england. she says it might be a long period of time until life can return to normal in the uk, she said we might have to live with less sever

restrictions so mask wearing, social distancing rules for a few years, as she put it. interesting she was asked what is the single biggest risk to the vaccination programme in the uk, and she said it is the rise of the variants or mutations of the disease, in other countries, scientists are particularly concerned about one first discovered in south africa, now looks like it might be spreading in france and other european country, some it could make a vaccine less effective dr ram say saying we don't want to jeopardise the successful roll out of vaccines here by allowing them to circulate. she was asked could this impact summer holidays, she said look, it is too early to say, how this could impact everything going forward this summer. jim reed, thanks very much. buckingham palace is reviewing its diversity policies in all of the royal households. palace sources have told the bbc that although the work has been under way for some time, it would now include looking

at the allegations of racism made by the duke and duchess of sussex in their recent tv interview. the sources said there are already policies in place, but there's an acceptance that more needs to be done. the work is said to have the full support of the royal family. in australia, thousands of people have been told they should be ready to leave their homes in low—lying suburbs of sydney because of the worst flooding the city has seen in decades. seven emergency shelters have opened across the state of new south wales. torrential rain and strong winds are forecast to continue, and floodwaters are not expected to subside until thursday. phil mercer reports. in new south wales, officials had warned sydney was potentially facing a rain bomb. torrential downpours have turned roads into rivers and fields turned into lakes. homes have been swamped, and emergency crews have responded to thousands of calls for help. for the first time in years, sydney's main reservoir

is overflowing, putting suburbs at risk of flooding. we worry about do we escape or stay here? we don't know. this is the worst i've seen it. last year, just after christmas it was pretty bad as well, but not this bad. there's going to be a lot. of people that maybe don't get their houses flooded, l but they won't get to work, the roads will be wrecked as well. 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. i just want to say to everybody in new south wales who is experiencing that fear and anxiety, that our thoughts are with you and we'll get assistance to you as soon as we can, to help people communicate. near the town of taree a house was washed away down a river by floodwaters. it's a day the owners will never forget. 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—i9 vaccinations. more storms are expected in the next few days. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. over the past year, millions of people in england who were told they were clinically extremely vulnerable have been shielding at home to protect them against coronavirus. that shielding will now end for nearly 4 million on the 1st april. our north of england correspondent, judith moritz, has been speaking to two people who have been shielding. this is my kitchen. over here is my dining room. it's also my study. there's not much chance to get away from work. for the last year, these four walls have been philip's whole world. he started shielding last march and has barely been outside since. it's really frustrating being stuck inside when it's such a nice day. philip has the blood disorder aplastic anaemia,

which makes him extremely vulnerable to covid. he has chosen to shield even at times when the guidance has been relaxed. i live by myself, i've had very little human contact over the past year. given that, what's it felt like? have you had cabin fever? ifelt really, you know, confined at the start of lockdown but i think it's something that i've gradually got used to. it's almost now, it's the anxiety of when i finally do go out into the real world, i think that's preying on my mind more than being isolated for so long. for so many people, meeting online has been the only way of socialising. what fairy tale character has really long hair? rappunzel. well done. the vibe group in liverpool is for adults with additional needs, some of whom are shielding. the weekly quiz and karaoke gives them some much—needed time together. i love meeting new people in vibe. some days it's good to meet

up and see everyone. love you all, love you all. i like to come to vibe very much. bye guys. bye. i'm escaping the house for five minutes to have a little walk round the garden. the size of rachel's world has also shrunk, as her severe asthma put her on the shielding list. today we are going to continue to look at macbeth. rachel is a teacher. currently her pupils are at school and she's teaching them from home. ..on page 16 in your booklet. but over the last year, the advice to shield has changed several times, and she's had to change with it. i've ended up kind of jack—in—the—box shielding. it's difficult to get your head round how it's safe to be in the classroom one day, and then the next day it's not and you've got to shield, or like, currently, it's not safe for me to be in the classroom on 31st march but on 1st april, which is the last day of term, i can go into school, and the school will have done nothing different on either

of those days. rachel can't wait to get back out into the world, and says despite it all she feels lucky. having lost friends to covid, she is just grateful to be safe. judith moritz, bbc news. that's it for now, the next news on bbc one is at the earlier time of 4:05. bye for now. hello there, it's ten past one and i'm sarah mulkerrins with your latest sports news from the bbc sport centre. both rangers and celtic�*s players opted to stand rather than take the knee before today's old firm derby. rangers captainjames tavernier said before the match:

"the message isn't strong enough. "we believe standing up will send a bigger message that we need "action against racism." as for the action on the pitch mohamed elyounoussi gave celtic the lead with a diving header in the 23rd minute. rangers equalised through alfredo morelos seven minutes before half time. the fa cup quarterfinals continue today. well find out who'lljoin manchester citry and southampton in the last four. chelsea host sheffield united — that match kicks off in about 20 minutes, then at five it's leicester v manchester united. both matches are live on bbc one with coverage of the chelsea game on 5live sports extra, and the leicester—manchester united match on 5live. it isa it is a quarterfinal. we want to

take the next step. play with the attitude and the ethic that we have, and it gives as an opportunity. you always have to have an eye on the history of the club. this is the chance of creating our own history, thatis chance of creating our own history, that is what this team is going to do. every game is a game that you had to dil every game is a game that you had to dig deep— every game is a game that you had to dig deep to _ every game is a game that you had to dig deep to win. this is another one _ dig deep to win. this is another one we — dig deep to win. this is another one. we know that we have to defend well. one. we know that we have to defend welt they _ one. we know that we have to defend well. they have got jamie vardy. we have got _ well. they have got jamie vardy. we have got a _ well. they have got jamie vardy. we have got a game on our hands. and two matches in the premier league today. west ham host arsenal at 3, while at 7.30 under—pressure jose mourinho takes his spurs side to aston villa. fast bowlerjofra archer will miss england's upcoming one—day

series against india and the start of next month's indian premier league because of his ongoing elbow problem. the elbow "deteriorated" during the five—match t20 series, and archer will return home for treatment. the three—match series starts on tuesday with lancashire spinner matt parkinson now added to squad. archer is due to play for the rajasthan royals in the ipl, which runs from 9 april to 30 may. wales will be reflecting on a heartbreaking dramatic finale to their six nations match in paris last night which saw them lose to france in the last play of the game. wales needed to win to complete the grand slam, and they led by ten points with less than four minutes left. but with two men sinbinned they couldn't resist sustained french pressure in the closing stages. france went over for two late tries in a chaotic finish and they could now win the title with a big bonus point over scotland.

we have to be proud of the performance, proud of the effort they put in. we have to wait and see they put in. we have to wait and see the outcome of next week's game. here's a look a look at the six nations table with just one match to play. france must now beat scotland in friday's rearranged final game of the tournament, with a bonus point and by a margin of more than 20 points to be crowned champions, so wales still very much in contention to win the title. scotland could still finish second with a win. two time olympic taekwondo gold medallistjadejones is unhappy that overseas fans won't be allowed into this year's delayed tokyo games.

she told us earlier on breakfast, she will especially miss her family while out in japan, but that she's motivated to bring home another gold for them. iam i am truly gutted. my family have been there from their youth olympics, the london olympics, and the rio olympics. it is four years already. this time it has been five years. i am going into it older than i would have before. definitely want to get it done. it is still i—i to get it done. it is still 1—1 in that old firm derby between celtic and rangers. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website.

the defence secretary has said summer travel abroad is looking increasingly unlikely. speaking this morning, ben wallace said the uk can't ignore what is happening elsewhere and risk the progress of the country's vaccination programme. earlier i spoke to sir david king, former chief scientific adviser to the uk government, and chair of the alternative scientific advisory group for emergencies. he told me that now is not the time to relax when it comes to restrictions. this is a very simple, clear message. one year on we cannot be complacent despite the vaccine roll out. let us not forget that we are still getting 5000 new cases of covid in this country. that new variant that is now spreading across europe, of course began in this country. secondly, we still have more than 100 deaths per day. there is no reason for complacency here.

we know that new variants have appeared in france, california, the philippines, brazil. in the uk there are now already 300 cases of the south african variant. we cannot be complacent about any of this because we do not know what the efficacy of the vaccine is with these new variants. we need to be very cautious in the management of the travel business. i believe serious consideration must be given to vaccine certification for overseas travelling, as for example other governments in europe are now discussing amongst themselves. the greek government, particularly with the british government, they are saying, they would let british people come in if they had vaccine certification. i think that is a good way forward. the difficulty though, given your point about we do not know about the

efficacy of the vaccine for dealing with new variants, the vaccine certification is not going to be enough, if you have had to vaccine jabs, the new variants are potentially more problematic, even if they had the vaccine? you potentially more problematic, even if they had the vaccine?— if they had the vaccine? you might arc ue if they had the vaccine? you might ara ue that if they had the vaccine? you might argue that but _ if they had the vaccine? you might argue that but the _ if they had the vaccine? you might argue that but the real— if they had the vaccine? you might argue that but the real question i if they had the vaccine? you might argue that but the real question as to what extent are the new variants, not the one going across europe, but other new variants, present in our country already? more than 300 cases of the south african variant. shutting down our borders completely to travel across europe, would seem to travel across europe, would seem to me to be based on an understanding of that level of these other variants in these countries. but we also need further analysis to see how the existing vaccines are being used in the united kingdom can

being used in the united kingdom can be used against these, for example the south african variant, we know that the vaccines being rolled out in the uk have at least 50% efficacy them. it is likely that the death rate, for example if you do get the illness of the new variants, will not be as high. in other words, we have some immunity which is still relevant to this new variant. 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 by 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. 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. details of every adult and child in england, wales and northern ireland are being collected today as part of a once—in—a—decade census. by law, everyone has to be accounted for — in order to provide the government, local authorities and other organisations with information needed for future planning. the bbc�*s home editor,

mark easton, has the details. voiceover: the census builds a picture of your community. l when you fill in yours, l you help make decisions about services likej local transport and healthcare. almost every decade since 1801, the uk has held a census, a detailed snapshot of our society that helps governments plan and fund the local services we need. schools, gp surgeries, roads, transport and housing. but for only the third time in its long history, part of the country will not be participating in this census day. in scotland it has been delayed for a year because of concerns the results would reflect the abnormal circumstances of the pandemic and prove less useful in the longer term. lockdown means people are not necessarily staying in their usual household, or have left the country during the health emergency. but the event goes ahead in the rest of the uk, with the justification that understanding the impact of life under covid will be vital in distributing funds where they are needed most after the pandemic is over.

it's easy to complete the census online. i you can do it on a computer, you can do it on a tablet, - or phone. this census, for the first time, will be conducted primarily online. 90% of households will have received a letter with a 16—digit code to access a secure website page. but paper forms are available for those who need them. the 2021 census includes one new question, counting military veterans, and extra categories on sexual orientation and gender identity. it's a legal requirement to complete or be included in the census by the end of today, although officials will go door—to—door to offer support before prosecuting those who refuse to comply with a fine of up to £1000. mark easton, bbc news. a little earlier i spoke to stian westla ke, who is the chief executive of the royal statistical society. a little earlier i spoke to stian westla ke,

the census provides invaluable information to help plan how many gp surgeries we need, how many schools we need, hospital coverage. it is also used by businesses, if you are planning a new supermarket, leisure centre. all of these things rely on census data to tell us where people live, how old they are, where they are. why does the census ask about people who do not live at the address that mightjust be staying the night? they do not need to know that figure for services provided in that area. it is a good question. the reason is, as well as knowing local details, we also need to know about population of the uk as a whole. if someone is not in their place of residence, we want to know about who is there, and where they are, so that everyone gets counted. on this question of being counted, there are some famous historic examples of people who have used the census as a political exercise. the suffragette who smuggled herself into the house of commons and then

registered herself as living in the house of commons as part of the campaign to get women the vote. but census questions also reflect the times? that is right. one of the things that the ons looks at is thinking about what questions need to be asked, making sure there are clear questions. how are they varying the questions to reflect current interests? there are not too many changes, they change relatively slowly. this yearfor the first time there is a question on military veterans. have you served in the military before, been a reservist? that allows us to understand the background of people in the country. this is an unbroken exercise stretching back in this country for 200 plus years. how significant is it as a historical tool?

anyone who is interested in genealogy knows that the census provides information about our ancestors. if you are curious about who lived in your flat or house in previous years. that is interesting. also, from a more serious point of view, it is important to know about how our population is changing, demographic structure is changing, diversity is changing. people asking do we still need a census? it was originally conceived at the time when government kept very little information about people. now it has limitless amounts of information about where people live, where they are registered with a gp, all kinds of things. why do we need the census as a separate, possibly quite pricey exercise? this is a question that statisticians are looking at carefully. there is the question, can we use other forms of data,

new technologies to collect information on a rolling basis. people are looking at ways we could replace it. it is possible in the future we might not need it. but for the time being, to make sure we have complete coverage of everyone, the 2021 census is necessary. thank you. 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. our correspondent anna holligan reports. 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 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. i miss it very much because i really love dancing. so for me personally, it is a big missing, to miss it. so, yeah, i love it! i enjoy it. we have missed each other and now we can go to a party again. this feels like a revelation of freedom again. - we are really happy. to be able to meet like this again. it's all so surreal. meet different people, and handshake, and hugging. have you been doing a lot of hugging, then? yeah, really!

everyone, everyone! they will be tested again next week to see if this event has been the source of an outbreak — although on previous occasions, not everyone showed up for the second test. looking ahead to festival season, this might be a model for other countries to follow. anna holligan, bbc news. the largest asteroid to pass by earth this year will reach its closest point later on sunday, giving astronomers an opportunity to observe a space rock that formed at the dawn of the solar system. he 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.