tougher immigration rules promised — as the government announces what it calls "the biggest overhaul of the uk's asylum system in decades". as more people make the hazardous journey across the channel — the home secretary says the current asylum system is collapsing under the pressure. persistent failure to impose immigration laws with a system open to exploitation by criminals is eroding public trust and disadvantaging vulnerable people who need our help. we'll be getting reaction to the government's proposals. also this lunchtime: as a third wave of covid sweeps europe, a leading scientist here remains confident that we'll be heading back to normality from the summer — but there's no room for complacency. the great suez snarl—up: the 200,000—tonne vessel

that's run aground and blocked one of the world's most important trade routes. a game—changer in spotting sporting injuries: the pitchside test which is 94% accurate in diagnosing concussion. newjob title: prince harry's going to be a salaried life coach for a californian tech firm. and coming up on bbc news, the latest from the quarterfinals of the women's champions league, as manchester city hope to gain the upper hand in theirfirst leg against barcelona. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the home secretary has defended new plans for how asylum seekers are to be treated — after charities condemned them as "inhumane" and "unreal".

under the proposals, people who enter the uk illegally will no longer have the same entitlements as those who arrive through government schemes. priti patel says the measures are designed to crack down on people smuggling — but campaigners say potential refugees should be assessed on what protection they need, not how they reach the uk. june kelly reports. dover this morning and the latest arrivals have been picked up from their inflatables aren't brought to you. migrants pay thousands of pounds to traffickers for the final pirates leg of the journey to the uk. last year 8500 people arrived here by crossing the channel in small boats. the majority of them are said to have claimed asylum. an are said to have claimed asylum. an end are said to have claimed asylum. in end to end reform who are fleeing persecution, and stop them from being put in the hands of people

smugglers and criminal facilitators which we are seeing on a daily basis. ., , .., basis. under what is new -- called the new plan _ basis. under what is new -- called the new plan for— basis. under what is new -- called the new plan for immigration - basis. under what is new -- called the new plan for immigration the l the new plan for immigration the home secretary says if people arrive illegally it will be having fewer family reunion rights and limited access to benefits. they will be regularly reassessed for removal from the uk. closing up a radio that people might use for people to rebuild their lives safely. it is not what the refugee convention really requires. it is not what the public would see as a fair system. hassan, who fled the conflict in syria, documented hisjourney by boat, in what became an award—winning film. now settled in this country, last year, he signed

up this country, last year, he signed up as a hospital cleaner during the pandemic. he has described himself as a labour supporter. it pandemic. he has described himself as a labour supporter.— as a labour supporter. it will put --eole as a labour supporter. it will put peeple off. _ as a labour supporter. it will put peeple off. but _ as a labour supporter. it will put people off, but sadly _ as a labour supporter. it will put people off, but sadly it - as a labour supporter. it will put people off, but sadly it is - as a labour supporter. it will put people off, but sadly it is going i as a labour supporter. it will put | people off, but sadly it is going to create a two tier system and when people are in desperate situations, they tend to make extraordinary measures to get safety. the they tend to make extraordinary measures to get safety.- measures to get safety. the uk government — measures to get safety. the uk government says _ measures to get safety. the uk government says that - measures to get safety. the uk government says that under - measures to get safety. the uk government says that under a l government says that under a resettlement programme it has given home to over 20,000 people who have escaped the syrian war. they have travelled through official routes. now, the government message to those from syria and other countries who use the channel route is that, in future, they will not be made welcome. june kelly, bbc news. the leading scientist whose work on pandemics inspired the first lockdown says the uk should be getting back to normal by the summer. professor neil ferguson said he expected rules on social distancing and face masks to be scrapped later this year. but he's warned restrictions on foreign travel would be the last to go, as europe struggles with new variants of coronavirus. jim reed reports.

the welcome sight of spare beds, hospitalwards. around 400 a day are still being admitted with covid but that is down from 4000 a day injanuary. after a year of lockdown, scientists are confident we are now returning to some form of normality. it is not going to be an event, it is going to be a process, a gradual getting back to normality. i think i am optimistic we will be able to start seeing each other again in the next month which is within development plan. you know, iam personally looking forward to the haircut, which will be a nice side of normality! and it will be a gradual process. in mainland europe it is a different situation. countries are now grappling with the third wave of the virus. the prime minister has warned we could see those infections wash up on our shores. 0ne concern is that a mutation or variant of the virus first found

in south africa and now more common in countries like france, could make our current vaccines less effective. we are making very good progress in this country in terms suppressing this virus and rolling out the vaccine programme. that is not the case elsewhere. there is still a big risk of importing variants and just importing cases generally. it comes as the european commission has published tougher rules to control the export of covid vaccines from the block. the plans to go before eu leaders tomorrow stop short of a ban but could inflame tensions with the uk. the eu still faces a very serious epidemiological situation and continues to export significantly to countries whose epidemiological situation is less serious than ours. accordingly we have today adopted adjustments to the existing mechanism. these are necessary to achieve our objective of ensuring timely access of covid vaccines for eu citizens.

it has been reported that borisjohnson told a private meeting of tory mps last night that the success of our vaccine programme was down to capitalism and greed. but sources said the prime minister's comments were meant to be a joke. he had withdrawn them immediately, and they were not connected to the eu row over vaccine supply. this morning the government said it is now planning for the longer term and setting up a new agency which will be tasked with stopping another pandemic like covid catching hold in the future. i want everybody to wake up every day with a zeal to plan for the next pandemic. that sort of focus is vital. it is vital when the crisis is live like now but in a way that is the easy bit. the hard bit is keeping that focus in the good times, too. the overall message at the moment then is one of cautious optimism. life will return to normal but government scientists say there will be bumps and twists

on the road ahead. jim reed, bbc news. in europe it's a different picture. many countries there are suffering a third wave of covid — including the uk and south african variants. the eu is trying to speed up its vaccination campaign after a sluggish start — as it outlined its plans to tighten controls on covid vaccine exports. let's go to our correspondent nick beake in brussels. what have they been saying? on the rate of infection _ what have they been saying? on the rate of infection in _ what have they been saying? on the rate of infection in europe, - what have they been saying? on the rate of infection in europe, in - what have they been saying? on the rate of infection in europe, in the - rate of infection in europe, in the eu countries, more than half now are reporting an increase in the number of people going into hospital with coronavirus, so that is a real concern. you mention some of the variants, the british strain of the very —— virus is now the predominant one in european countries so, as part of this, they are trying to desperately get hold of their vaccination programmes which as we know have been very slow. there has been a shortage of supply. today the commission, the people based on the building here, have been talking tough, orat least

building here, have been talking tough, or at least trying to saying that they are going to tighten measures when it comes to vaccines leaving european soil, so, from now on, they will be looking at the vaccination rates of the country where any shipment may be going. also the number of covid cases so if you apply that to the uk were clearly the vaccination roll—out has gone extremely well, could the uk be in the sights of this new proposal? this was asked of officials here today. at this point it is unclear today. at this point it is unclear to see how this would be affected. the big thing would be if the fire is a jab is in some way restricted, but there is no guarantee that that would happen —— the pfizerjab, that the pfizerjab made here in belgium to the uk would be blocked in any way. to the uk would be blocked in any wa . ~ . to the uk would be blocked in any wa , ~ ., ., to the uk would be blocked in any wa . ~ ., ., , . ., way. what are we expecting after the meetin: of way. what are we expecting after the meeting of eu _ way. what are we expecting after the meeting of eu leaders _ way. what are we expecting after the meeting of eu leaders tomorrow? . meeting of eu leaders tomorrow? angela merkel and the irish leader, and borisjohnson certainly publicly, have been trying to calm tensions, and talking about the intricate global supply chains of vaccines and all the parts that go

into them. and the message has been, they need to avoid a vaccine war. that would not help anyone. it is a video conference now tomorrow, that they will be talking at, and president biden will be joining them, which underlinesjust president biden will be joining them, which underlines just how this is a global struggle. hick them, which underlines 'ust how this is a global struggle.— is a global struggle. nick beake in brussels, thank _ is a global struggle. nick beake in brussels, thank you _ is a global struggle. nick beake in brussels, thank you very - is a global struggle. nick beake in brussels, thank you very much. i well let's go tojenny hill in berlin — and jenny, yesterday we were talking about angela merkel�*s plans to tighten restrictions over easter. but there's been a change? yes, there was an extraordinary moment this morning. angela merkel called a press conference, very last minute, stood in front of the cameras and said she had made a mistake, she was performing a u—turn and apologising. that she was alone responsible for having decided to implement this shutdown over easter, which she said wasn't practically possible. and its watery moment for many reasons. let's deal with the substance of what this reverse was

all about. yesterday in the early hours of the morning angela merkel after 11 hours of talks with regional leaders who disagree violently about how germany should respond to the third wave of the pandemic announced that germany, which usually takes a three—day holiday over easter would actually have a five day shutdown, meaning that businesses like these tourist businesses who are hoping to prepare for something like a summer season would not be allowed to even offer food and drink outside to day—trippers. now angela merkel has said after uproar from business leaders that it is simply not viable to go ahead with that plan, and apologised for having come up with it in the first instance. i think there will likely beat two effects of what happened this morning. first, and angela merkel is conscious of this, public trust in her government's response to the pandemic is wavering. this chaotic response will no doubt provoke more concern about that. but also uncertainty. i walked along the

beach and saw some chaps putting on a beach bar. i said to them that angela merkel has changed her mind about this easter shutdown and they said to be honest, we have no idea what is happening, we arejust cracking on and hoping for the best. jenny hill, thank you very much. a seven year—old girl has been shot dead by security forces in myanmar — the youngest person to have been killed during protests against february's military coup. family members said the child died during a raid on their home in mandalay. the charity, save the children, says more than 20 youngsters are among those to have been killed by security forces. mark lobel reports. almost two months since the start of this brutal coup, aid workers warned children are being killed on an almost daily basis. accusing security forces of the complete for human life. the youngest person to reportedly die at the hands of the myanmar military is seven—year—old khin myo chit. her older sister was in their house

with her and herfather when soldiers stormed it. she described what happened. translation: they went upstairs and asked, will you open the doors or not? and then they asked, who else is in this house? when nobody opened the door, my dad replied, no—one else. that's all. they said, don't lie, and they fired gunshots while my sister was sitting against my dad's chest. they brutally shot a seven—year—old child. that followed the reported fatal shooting in the chest of this mother's 14—year—old son, tun tun aung, a day earlier, by thejunta in their low—cost housing complex. translation: my son tends to be the one who closes and locks the door. i feel so heartbroken by his death. this mother's 15—year—old son, zaw myo htet, was also reportedly fatally shot in the head by the military

as he was leaving this local tea shop where he was a waiter. translation: i feel heartbroken by this military i want to kill them, as they killed my son. i want them to lose their lives like my own son did. charity save the children says it is horrified and that... the military expressed sadness at the death of protesters but blame them for bringing anarchy to the country. they say 164 people have been killed in protests, but activists fear the number could be much higher. mark lobel, bbc news. it's one of the world's most important shipping routes — and it's blocked. a giant container ship ran aground in the suez canal after losing power. and at 200,000 tonnes and over a00m long, the ever given is going to take some shifting. 50 ships a day normally pass through the canal, carrying i2% of the world's trade,

so the pressure's on to get her re—floated and as richard galpin reports, a rescue operationis under way. one of the world's biggest container ships, blocking the suez canal. one of the world's most vital trade routes. the ship, operated by a taiwanese company, evergreen, heading north through the canal towards the mediterranean when it lost all power and steering. so what were the possible reasons for this? one of them is engine failure. you lose control due to engine failure. you would lose control due to a steering failure. or you would lose control, which appears to be the case here, because they have been, they have experienced high winds. the dots here show the congestion that has already built up as other large ships and oil and gas containers arrive in the area

but can go no further. the position of ever given totally blocking the route. it is an unusual situation and it is very dire one as this is largest vessel ever to go aground in the suez canal and she has gone sideways in the canal blocking both north and south passage. it is going to have huge ramifications for global trade especially between asia and europe. but latest reports say the ship has now been successfully refloated and is reported to have been moved. a huge relief for shipping companies, as 50 ships a day pass through the suez canal, providing up to i2% of world trade. the only other route between asia and europe would be around africa. what could have been a serious crisis has now been averted. richard galpin, bbc news. john lewis is to shut eight more stores, putting over moo jobs at risk. the closures are part of its new strategy to adapt to online shopping. let's speak to our business

correspondent, alice baxter. a correspondent, alice baxter. lot ofjobs at risk novi right, a lot of jobs at risk now. that's right, another _ a lot of jobs at risk now. that's right, another blow _ a lot of jobs at risk now. that's right, another blow today - a lot of jobs at risk now. that's right, another blow today for l a lot of jobs at risk now. that's i right, another blow today for the high street with moo jobs at risk asjohn high street with moo jobs at risk as john lewis high street with moo jobs at risk asjohn lewis announces these eight store closures up and down the country. they include four of their at—home stores in ashford, basingstoke attachment in which wells and thought large department stores in aberdeen, peterborough, sheffield and york. the company says for all of those little over moo jobs at risk huge efforts will be made to find those employees employment elsewhere within the company. they also say that all of those eight locations were struggling before the pandemic hit but yes, they will not be reopening after restrictions left as per government guidelines vunipola i2 government guidelines vunipola 12 but put the company says they will do instead is invest in smallerjohn

lewis outlets on our high streets around the country to reflect a changing shopping habits they conducted a huge amount of research which they say shows up to 70% of us are choosing to dojohn lewis shopping online and 50% of us like to mix and match so they will also invest in a click and collect service through which is shops and other third—party outlets as well. so these eight store closures are a reflection of our changing shopping habits and also a reflection of which stores were struggling even before the covid pandemic hit but yes, another bloke for the high street today. yes, another bloke for the high street today-— yes, another bloke for the high street today. yes, another bloke for the high street toda . . , . street today. thanks very much. -- another blow. _ our top story this lunchtime: the home secretary has defended new plans for how asylum seekers are treated after charities condemned them as "inhumane" and "unreal". and how british scientists are at the forefront of efforts to track new covid variants. coming up on bbc news: gareth bale says playing at a world cup for wales would be a dream come true

ahead of their opening qualifier. they face against the world's top—ranked side, belgium, later this evening. a pitch—side saliva test for concussion has moved a step closer after a trial among elite rugby players. using microscopic dna markers in saliva, scientists have created a test which can show whether a player has suffered concussion, with 94% accuracy. it has been described as a "game—changer", as laura scott reports. physically demanding, at times brutal, rugby has become a game of collision, not a vision in the eyes of some. — not evasion. red cards for foul play and players taken off after blows to the head during the six nations highlighted the issue of head injuries, but the way concussion is diagnosed in future could significantly change following a medical breakthrough using a saliva—based test.

this is a game changer because a lot of the studies that have been done on bloods and blood is much more difficult to work with and doesn't really work as a pitch side test, it doesn't work for children, it doesn't work for austere environments. the bbc followed the start of the trial in 2017 and over the course of two seasons, it has involved more than 1000 elite male players in the premiership and championship. 156 of whom underwent head injury assessments. the test predicted the result of that assessment with 94% accuracy. it's currently laboratory based, but the hope is that one day it can be carried pitch side delivering instant results. we've seen during the pandemic that science can move very quickly and one of the challenges here is to operationalise the test. we couldn't imagine 12 months ago that we could get tests for potential covid in 15 minutes, could we?

so i don't want to say it's years. we want to move on this as fast as we possibly can. it's not rugby's first attempt to address the issue of concussion, with pitch side reviews introduced to monitor head injuries, but given high profile cases of players suffering long—term after—effects and legal action threatened, it cannot stand still. now there is living proof of what it is like to live with early onset dementia, i think if someone came to me and told me on the eight to ten occasions i would certainly have left that pitch thinking, i want to have a life after rugby. due to a lack of data, the tests cannot yet be used on women. in future the aim is for it to be a stand—alone test for all levels of rugby. beyond its impact on sport, those involved believe it could even help in military and health—care such as car crashes. just a few drops of saliva could play a pivotal role in helping players and patients alike.

israel's fourth election in two years has again failed to produce a clear winner. with most of the votes counted, the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, is expected to fall short of a parliamentary majority. our correspondent, yolande knell, is injerusalem. not the resolution that they were after? it not the resolution that they were after? . , not the resolution that they were after? ., , , ., not the resolution that they were after? . , , ., ~ not the resolution that they were after? ., , , ., ~ , after? it really is not. we 'ust have plenty i after? it really is not. we 'ust have plenty more i after? it really is not. we just have plenty more political- after? it really is not. we just i have plenty more political drama about who exactly is going to sit in the parliament over there and especially he was going to be in charge. bench and not know you party has the biggest number of seats, a quarter of the total but it will still have to build a coalition with smaller parties. it looks like the best path for the prime minister to secure another term in office would be to team up withjewish culture orthodox and arab parties, something

never seen in israel before and it is not clear if the government like that could work this is shown once again that israel is deeply divided between those who skip support benjamin netanyahu and those who oppose him and say he should go because he is on trial for corruption. he denies doing anything wrong and at the moment as well as a lot wondering if this is going to be another inconclusive vote and whether the period of political stalemate here will finally end. british scientists are at the forefront of efforts to track how coronavirus is mutating. teams at the wellcome sanger institute in cambridge analyse the virus�*s genetic code when it's found on a positive test — and that helps them to see how the disease is spreading. here's our science correspondent, richard westcott. this is one of the most important rooms in the country for finding potentially dangerous new variants of covid. if you have tested positive, there's a chance a little bit of your virus ended up in one of these machines.

having its genetic fingerprint taken. they read all the dna of each individual virus, known as its genome. the virus genome is much smaller than the human genome, maybe about 100,000 times smaller. and every these machines is able to look at 1500 samples every 2a hours. there are 20 of these machines and they are working 2a hours a day, seven days a week. starting from scratch a year ago, they've set up by far the biggest genome monitoring system in the world. going from 90 covid test samples in week one, to 20,000 per week today. from all over the uk. you've been doing this for a year, you are one of the key people who set it all up in the first place. what was it like back then?

it was absolutely crazy. it was all new to us and how we could do it and also the pressure and importance of it certainly weighed on my shoulders. this is how they spotted the more infectious kent variant that swept britain. why is speed so important to this process? the sooner that we have identified that that positive case was actually a variant of concern, the sooner action can be taken to further identify that individual�*s contacts. test them, you know, surge testing, and make sure that has not got the opportunity to spread further. there are thousands of different types of the sars—cov—2 virus. all with slightly different genomes or genetic fingerprints. if two people have different types, they didn't catch it from each other. that is really critical information because that allows you to understand potentially how the virus is transmitting in a location. so it might be within an outbreak in the workplace. if everyone has got the same virus, then the chances are that is happening inside the workplace. but if it is all different viruses, then it is likely

it is happening in the community. so that allows you to make decisions about how you manage an outbreak. so this is like the world's biggest reconnaissance system, keeping tabs on how the enemy is changing and moving around. critical information if you want to stamp out future waves before they take hold. richard westcott, bbc news, at the wellcome sanger institute in cambridge. the last year has shone a spotlight on the uk's system of devolution. governments have taken different approaches to tackling the pandemic — and decided their own rules for lockdowns. ahead of elections in may, our correspondent alex forsyth has asked people in wales whether running separate covid strategies has worked. in north wales, wrexham sits just a few miles from the border with england. local mums carly and becca have always known they live in a border town, but it's become more apparent this past year, given the different covid rules in each country. i don't think it was as obvious as it is now. you know, we are all doing our own

thing now which i don't think everybody was aware that we had the power to do before. but have there been benefits to wales making its own choices in the pandemic? yes, because i think the numbers in england compared to wales are two completely different things. i think they've handled it really well. we should be able to make her own decisions, but i feel we should work in collaboration with each other. not far away, the coastal town of rhos—on—sea is popular with tourists. butjust off the promenade, the peacock lounge sits empty. owner philip has been frustrated with how his business has been affected by differences in rules. it's made him think there is little point in a welsh parliament. cardiff is 185 miles away from us, we are 30 minutes from chester, yet all the tourists from chester are coming here thinking the rules are the same, when they're not. it should have been one person leading. this devolved stuff just isn't working. many people do support devolution, which is the transfer of powers from westminster to cardiff. some want wales to have more clout,

a debate which has stretched back decades isn't yet settled. this pandemic has really shown how having different governments for different parts of the uk actually works in practice. for some, that has been a good thing. for others, less so. but for many people we have spoken to it has made them think about who is best to make the decisions that affect their lives. further south in the heart of the rhymney valley, we met evan. he believes the pandemic has shown the potential wales has to make more of its own decisions as an independent country. i think with the mindset of independence, wales can thrive. he will be able to vote for the first time in may, when 16 and 17—year—olds can have their say in elections for the welsh parliament. i think the younger generation through social media alternate news have reached their own conclusions and i think that has helped support for independence rise massively. the idea of independence might have gained momentum but it is still a minority view.

in newport in the shadow of the road that connects wales to england, stuart is concerned about division in the uk. i'm happy for there to be a welsh government to look for the heritage parts of wales. i think that is a good thing. but it goes too far and i think the more power we give them, i think the worse it's going to get. we are part of the united kingdom and that is how it should be. the virus has not been bound by borders. but for some, it has brought them home is different parts of the uk have moved at a slightly different pace. the question is whether or not that has any political consequence. alex forsyth, bbc news. the american actor george segal has died from complications after heart surgery. he was eighty seven. segal was nominated for an oscar for his role in the 1966 film who's afraid of virginia woolf, and secured a golden globe for his performance in a touch of class in 1973. the duke of sussex has a new title —

he's to be the first �*chief impact officer' at a professional coaching firm in california. he'sjoining the firm betterup — and will be focussing on the issue of mental health. his new boss says he's pleased with his new signing. i had obviously never talked to royalty before in my life and i think the most impressive thing has just been his focus, singularly, on how can he be of service, how can he advance his vision. so i have a feeling he'll work out. we are partners here, he likes to be called harry in the workplace. so we just address him as harry. lots can be said on, as we call in the us, the modern performance review, we have a really open relationship and constant feedback and communication so i think we won't have any trouble there. time for a look at the weather. sarah keith—lucas is here. for some of us we have some springlike

sunshine. this is the picture at the