of wintry showers later. see you soon. this is bbc news. the headlines at four... more than 30 million people in the uk have now received their first covid vaccine dose, according to the latest government figures. with further easing of restrictions in england tomorrow, the culture secretary says the country's on target — he hopes the lifting of curbs will be "irreversible". at the moment, we are on track, so thanks to the work of the british people and the excellent vaccine roll—out, we are confident both in going ahead with the easings from tomorrow and the next stages. but the national medical director for the nhs in england warns people not to "squander the gains" made against coronavirus. the government says lorry drivers arriving in england from outside the uk will need to take a covid

test within 48 hours and then one every 72 hours afterwards. the prime minister is urged to "swiftly clarify" how many covid vaccine doses the uk is prepared to donate to poorer countries. the un demands international action to stop a shocking wave of brutality against civilians in myanmar. i am terrified of what is going to happen. i think this could be just the beginning of a wave of brutality that is going to be just even more shocking than what we have seen today. the latest attempts to dislodge the ship that's stuck in the suez canal have failed — officials say efforts will continue around the clock. 5,000 people attend a trial rock concert in barcelona — the latest test of how viable large cultural events are during covid.

a new milestone has been reached in the uk barca against coronavirus. —— battle against coronavirus. —— battle against coronavirus. more than 30 million people in the uk have now received the first dose of a covid vaccine. the health secretary matt hancock has said reaching the 30 million threshold was "a phenomenal achievement". it comes as the government says it's "on track" to ease the lockdown in england. the culture secretary 0liver dowden says he's "confident" a further lockdown can be avoided as long as people don't treat the easing of restrictions as a "complete free—for—all". meanwhile, the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, revealed there had been high—level talks across the four nations about the idea of so—called "vaccine passports". here's our political correspondentjessica parker. teeing off the next phase — outdoor sports facilities can open

in england tomorrow. up to six people, or two households, can meet outdoors. morning. this minister speaking of caution, but also confidence, that another lockdown can be avoided. ahead of each easing, we'll of course analyse the situation. we've set out these four key tests... so, they could be delayed. these things could be delayed. well, of course they could be delayed if the situation deteriorates but, at the moment, we are on track. so, thanks to the work of the british people and the excellent vaccine roll—out, we are confident both in going ahead with the easings from tomorrow and the next stages. shops that have been shut, it's hoped, can open from april 12th. pubs could welcome customers indoors from may 17th. all legal limits on social contact could be lifted afterjune 21st. just some of the hoped—for steps ahead, but an expectation cases may rise as rules are relaxed. the question is whether or not those increasing cases

will translate into a large number of hospitalisations and deaths. now, i'm pretty optimistic about this. i think the readout on the performance of the vaccines is excellent and very encouraging, but we have to be careful. there's no question that some of the more pessimistic scenarios out there do allow for a significant third wave, so that's something we have to continue to guard against. could getting these taps flowing again also include so—called vaccine passports? certification proving someone�*s had, say, a test or vaccine. as a review looks at the idea, high—level talks involving all four nations have been taking place. i think there are definitely prizes to be won through domestic vaccine certification, but there are some very big practical and ethical challenges to face as well. some further freedom in wales yesterday, as travel restrictions within its borders were lifted. but with concerns over rising cases in parts of the continent, that's one reason that the outlook is still, to some extent, uncertain.

jessica parker, bbc news. since watching that report, we have had the latest statistics in. in terms of the number of cases, 3862 new cases. they are the lowest numbers since september. also, 19 deaths, much lower death numbers as we have been seeing over the last few weeks. case numbers are the slowest daily for get the six months and that comes just 20 minutes or half an hour after news the government announced 30 million first doses of the vaccine have been given. modern 33 million overall in the drive to vaccinate people with second doses accelerating as well. —— more than 33 million.

a group of influential charities is calling on borisjohnson to start sharing the uk's coronavirus vaccine doses with poorer countries. save the children and the wellcome trust are among the organisations to warn that britain is in danger of "hoarding supplies" while health workers in the developing world go unvaccinated. alex harris is the associate director of government relations at the wellcome trust. we're not going to beat the virus unless we think and act globally. the uk has made really impressive progress with its own vaccine roll—out, with half of all adults here receiving at least one dose. many countries around the world have yet to receive any vaccine doses. nearly 80% of all vaccine doses that have been distributed around the world so far have gone to just ten countries. and why this is concerning and ought to be something that we are all concerned about it this allows the virus to continue spreading, which risks it mutating to an extent where our vaccines and treatments are no longer working and we are back to square one.

we've also been getting reaction from dr ifeanyi nsofor, who's the director of policy and advocacy at nigeria health watch in abuja. as long as there is threat of infection anywhere in the world, no matter where you are, that... and that is why i think that, when the vaccines were still in development, a lot more global effort, coalition, you know, having different leaders — both from the developing and from the developed world — coming together and having discussions as to the best way to ensure that everybody everywhere at least has a fair chance of being vaccinated at the same time. the transport secretary grant shapps has confirmed that from the 6th of april, lorries visiting england from outside the uk for more than two days will need to take a covid test. drivers will have to take a test within 48 hours of arrival and then one every 72 hours after.

mr shapps says this is to make sure the uk can keep track of any future variants of the virus of concern. let's talk to elizabeth dejong, policy director at logistics uk, which represents the freight and logistics industry. thank you forjoining us. when france did thisjust thank you forjoining us. when france did this just at the end of december, it caused absolute chaos. will we experienced something similar now?— will we experienced something similar now? �* , ., ., similar now? because of the lack of notice and the _ similar now? because of the lack of notice and the big _ similar now? because of the lack of notice and the big issues _ similar now? because of the lack of notice and the big issues we - similar now? because of the lack of notice and the big issues we had i notice and the big issues we had just before christmas when 100% of vehicles travelling to france had to be tested, we have infrastructure in place for testing, we have the nationwide information and advice centres, which are the main arteries to our ports. they can be used again for the inbound testing. we will not see what we saw before christmas, we are happy to say. 50

see what we saw before christmas, we are happy to say-— are happy to say. so you welcome this as a way _ are happy to say. so you welcome this as a way of _ are happy to say. so you welcome this as a way of preserving - are happy to say. so you welcome this as a way of preserving the - are happy to say. so you welcome | this as a way of preserving the uk's integrity when it comes to other variants coming in?— integrity when it comes to other variants coming in? whatever testing re . ime is in variants coming in? whatever testing regime is in place _ variants coming in? whatever testing regime is in place and _ variants coming in? whatever testing regime is in place and safeguards - regime is in place and safeguards for good business practices for covid, it is really important to us that it covid, it is really important to us thatitis covid, it is really important to us that it is proportionate to the risk. and our worst scenario would be a quarantine for hauliers. we have been able to keep the country with all it needs during the crisis because there has not been quarantine for hauliers and other transport drivers coming in between borders. so it is really important to us that quarantine is not part of the answer and we think therefore that this is an acceptable set of measures balancing the business impact and also the covid risk. b, impact and also the covid risk. a lot of people would also say that hauliers don't actually mix that much when they are travelling. they

pick stuff up at the depot and might not speak to that many people there either, they are in their cabin and stay in their cabin more or less. yes, quite a solitary type of work, but during the covid crisis, different working arrangements were put in place so that drivers would be in their cabin is even more. there is some guidance that has become mandatory as the 6th of april, so therefore if you are not in your cab, there is a fine of £1000. people will definitely be staying in their cabs and it was about 0.1% of drivers who tested positive when the tests were in place at dover going into france. we know it is a low—risk occupation. these are drivers outside, though, the uk, aren't they, and northern ireland? b majority of those will be european drivers presumably. 0ne

european drivers presumably. one wonders how many of those drivers will be coming through bearing in mind we have that huge cargo ship stuck in the middle of the suez canal. it stuck in the middle of the suez canal. , ., ., _., , stuck in the middle of the suez canal. ,., ., , stuck in the middle of the suez canal. , ., ., , ., canal. it is for anybody coming from continental — canal. it is for anybody coming from continental europe, _ canal. it is for anybody coming from continental europe, so _ canal. it is for anybody coming from continental europe, so it _ canal. it is for anybody coming from continental europe, so it will - continental europe, so it will mainly beat road transport drivers, but also aircrew and maritime will have testing regime for them as well. ., ~ have testing regime for them as well. . ,, , ., have testing regime for them as well. ., ~' , ., , have testing regime for them as well. . ,, i. , . have testing regime for them as well. ., ~ , ., , . ., well. thank you very much indeed for “oininr us well. thank you very much indeed for joining us here _ well. thank you very much indeed for joining us here on _ well. thank you very much indeed for joining us here on bbc— well. thank you very much indeed for joining us here on bbc news. - there's been widespread international condemnation of myanmar after the military there shot and killed more than 100 of its own civilians. defence chiefs from 12 countries, including the us, britain and japan, have issued a joint statement saying armed forces should protect, rather than harm, the people they serve. yesterday was the deadliest since the military coup in myanmar eight weeks ago. 0ur correspondent laura bicker has been monitoring the situation from thailand and sent this report. the protests may be smaller in number, but the pro—democracy

chants were just as defiant. chanting a few dozen people braved the march through this city in the south of myanmar — a remarkably peaceful demonstration, after a brutal 2a hours. chanting 0ver100 people lost their lives yesterday. trained security forces across the country turned their guns on unarmed civilians. some protesters appear to have constructed their own home—made weapons to retaliate. throughout the day, the death toll mounted, along with international condemnation. the us secretary of state said he was "horrified", and that "the courageous people of burma" rejected "the military�*s reign of terror". but the general who seized power last month, min aung hlaing, did not respond. his regime has already been hit by some sanctions,

but now there are calls for more coordinated action. so, just, you know, $1 billion alone each year go into the pockets of the generals from the oil and gas industry. if we were to stop that flow of oil and gas revenue into their pockets, that would make a big difference. un security council sanctions would require russia's signature, and here is moscow's deputy defence minister, with a front—row seat at yesterday's armed forces day parade. russia is an important source of their weapons. diplomats from eight other countries also attended, including from china. the general still has friends... ..but not amongst the vast majority of its people, who are determined to defy their military rulers. laura bicker, bbc news, bangkok. a second mp has defected from the snp to join

the new pro—independence party launched by the former scottish first minister alex salmond. neale hanvey, who represents kirkcoddy and cowdenbeath at westminster, follows the former justice secretary kenny macaskill, who announced yesterday he would stand as a candidate for the alba party. police in manchester have arrested 18 people who blocked tramlines as part of a protest against the government's police and crime bill. greater manchester police said the event was largely peaceful, but "significant disruption" was caused by demonstrators sitting on the metrolink line. protests were also held in bath, falmouth, nottingham, sheffield, brighton and cambridge. another attempt is being made later today to refloat the cargo ship which is still blocking the suez canal. with hundreds of vessels stuck either side of the ship, the egyptian president has now ordered preparations for cargo to be lifted off the ever given.

here's helena wilkinson. it is still stuck. this huge container vessel remains stubborn, refusing to move. 1a tug boats have been used to pull and push this 400 metre—long ship. they have managed a small victory — moving it 30 degrees. sand has also been dredged to try to dislodge it and water has now started running underneath it. but at some point, probably soon, they may have to bring in specialist equipment, including cranes, to start removing containers. the ever given got stuck on tuesday. this satellite image shows the wedged container ship and, around it, more than 300 cargo ships left waiting. 0ne boat's refusal to budge has crippled global supply chains, 12% of which pass through this canal. there is billions of trade held up every single day, so it is a huge effect on the global economy and it is affecting a lot of different supply chains. so we do have fuel tankers there,

a lot of oil going through the suez every single day. and we also have a lot of container vessels and we have bulk cargo, so that will be grains or coal and these sort of things. so it does affect us very, very widely. the worry now is that if tug boats and dredging don't manage to shift this ship, the complex operation to remove containers may be needed — an operation that could last weeks. helen wilkinson, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... more than 30 million people in the uk have now received their first covid vaccine dose, according to the latest figures. with further easing of restrictions in england tomorrow, the culture secretary says the country's on target — he hopes the lifting of curbs will be "irreversible". but the national medical director for the nhs in england warns people not to "squander the gains"

made against coronavirus. sport, and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here's sarah mulkerinns. good afternoon. it looks like england might be heading towads an 0di series defeat against india. it's the closing stages in pune, where they are chasing 330 to win. mark wood took three wickets after england put india in to bat first — but half centuries from hardik pandya and rishabh pant set the challenging total. and it looked like a tough task whenjoss buttler�*s side slumped to 95—11. david malan added some balance to the england innings with a half century, but he was out not long after. liam livingstone and moeen ali offered some resistance, too, but with both of them now out, england's tail will need to deliver with the bat. england currently 218—7 with 16 overs to play. turning attention now to internationalfootball, and both

england and scotland continue their qualifying campaigns for next year's world cup in qatar later. england with the perfect start after their 5—0 win over san marino on thursday night. they're away to albania, kick off�*s at 5 o'clock, where gareth southgate's side can expect a much tougher test. we have to produce every game. we're expected to win every time we play and we have got to make sure that our mentality is like that. so i thought the mentality the other night was very good and we have to be exactly the same. we have got a good opportunity in the next two games to put ourselves in a really good position in the group and we need to make the most of that. after opening with a draw against austria, scotland face familiar opponents israel in tel aviv later. they played them three times last year — twice in the nations league and again in their euro 2020 play—off semifinal, which they won on penalties.

we've not qualified, so obviously that's hard. when you're winning games of football, it's easier to be confident. we've had, as i say, relative success recently. so we should be confident. i think we did get to grips with the game after the first 20 minutes the other night and played well at times. no, we will be confident against israel. as i say, it's a game we are looking to win. in the wsl, chelsea look like they're about to return to the top of the table. they're beating aston villa 2—0 — with around five minutes to go. sam kerr has scored both of chelsea's goals. she now has 1a goals this season. it's been a day to remember for hayley raso, who has scored her first senior hat—trick in everton's 5—0 thrashing of brighton. the australia international�*s first goal of the day the pick of the bunch. the defeat ends brighton's run of four straight wins. britain's adam yates has won the tour of catalunya. belgium's thomas de gent won the final stage in barcelona. but yates finished in the main group to take the overall victory ahead of his ineos grenadier team mates,

richie porte and geraint thomas. boxer dillian whyte kept alive his hopes of a heavyweight world title shot after gaining revenge over alexander povetkin last night. he lost when they met back in august, but whyte knocked povetkin out this time in the fourth round. 0nly anthonyjoshua and wladimir klitschko had previously beaten the russian in 39 fights. i'm a good boxer. i can box. but sometimes... i was boxing good last year, last year there was nothing wrong with the performance last year. there was one mistake, you know what i mean? heavyweight boxing, we have milliseconds to make five or six different decisions. sometimes you make the wrong one, and that's it. i went for the hook, and he come up the middle. but this time, i didn't sit on the front foot. i stayed centre, and i was back and forth, with a bit of balance. so, yeah, easy adjustment. there was disappointment overnight for british number one johanna konta. she was beaten by the two—time

wimbledon champion petra kvitova in the third round of the miami 0pen. konta was on court forjust around an hour, and lost 6—1 6—2. and just under way is the first f1 race of the season in bahrain. you can follow it all on the bbc sport website and app. red bull's max verstappen started on pole and is still leading. lewis hamilton is second. we will have lots more on that and all day's sport through the afternoon again. a number of drivers for meal delivery company deliveroo are planning to go on strike to protest against the way they are employed. it comes as the company prepares to float on the london stock exchange. our business correspondent katie prescott reports. a business cooked up in the uk, making takeaway meals accessible around the world. deliveroo is a home—grown success story. its launch on the london stock market is a huge event, but this is being overshadowed by criticism of how the company employs its delivery drivers

as independent contractors, not entitled to benefits or the minimum wage. some investors say that's putting them off. deliveroo has contractors rather than employees. and as with the uber ruling, there is a significant chance that in due course people who bicycle for deliveroo as contractors will be given the rights of employees and therefore this will impact the long—term profitability of deliveroo. so pressure on the company about this employment model is mounting, as others such as uber make their drivers officially workers, entitled to benefits. deliveroo drivers from one union plan to go on strike over the issue. you'd think business is booming, you'd think these guys would be getting more money as people are starting to rely more and more on deliveries to their homes. but what they're actually seeing for the couriers working out there, is over hiring, money going down, conditions getting worse. but these strikers make up a tiny fraction of the workforce

and deliveroo says... as deliveroo gears up for its share sale, it's not yet clear whether this issue will affect demand. katie prescott, bbc news. and the winner is stroud! stroud in gloucestershire is the uk's most desirable location to live according to the annual sunday times "best places to live" guide. earlier, i spoke with one of thejudges, tim palmer. i asked him why stroud could be the loudest and proudest in the uk. i asked him why stroud could be the loudest and proudest in the uk. stroud is fantastic and has all the basics covered in impeccable style. brilliant schools, amazing transport links, but also has fantastic

countryside around it. there are lovely commons you can go to walk the dog and gaze at endless views across the severn estuary into wales. it also has a fantastic independent spirit and you could not mistake it for any other town. there is brilliant local food, lots of interesting shops and cafes and then, the best thing of all, the thing that brings it together, the farmers' market, which is just a wonder. saturday morning, 50 stalls which bring and attract everyone from towns and surrounding villages to queue up and enjoy the local atmosphere and the amazing local food. how do you do this? are there a team of you going out every day trying out farmers' markets, chatting to locals on park benches? as much as we can. it has been difficult this year because visiting has been hard,

but we have had to do a bit more on the phone. there is a small group of us in the office, sunday times journalists mostly, and experts in education and property, and we also consult widely with people in the property industry and people all over the country. the most important people we talk to are those that live in the places themselves, because it is theirjudgment that counts best. they are the ones that really know what it is like to live there. was stroud a runaway winner or were there close contenders? i am asking because we have pictures of berwick which we will show now. north berwick is fantastic. it is always on our list, it has the most amazing combination of seaside and scenery, and a brilliant high street with some of the best croissants in the country. you have got all that within half an hour's easy train ride of edinburgh.

it has absolutely everything. that is always close. where else? we were also looking very hard at usk in wales, which nearly topped the list. it had great community spirit and fantastic people. when i look at all of these pretty towns, quite chocolate boxey, quite traditional, quite white, not diverse, quite expensive, middle—class. is it reallyjust like the good schools guide for the middle classes? i would not say that is entirely fair. this year, i would say, has been particularly difficult because it has not been a year for cities. normally, we get very excited about the diversity and cultural offering you get in our big cities, but that really has

not been there in the past 12 months. what we have shown this year is that the places that have really come to the fore have been those small towns that are big enough to get everything you want and small enough so everyone feels connected to each other. i know the region well and was brought up there as a child. stroud was quite down at heel a0 or 50 years ago. do you need to be rich to live in these places, as property prices are quite high? no, not all of them, and in fact, what you will not find on this list is a lot of the really expensive places — the places where you have to be an oligarch to live. because we think that they are much less appealing when security gates go up and normal people cannot live a normal life there. we look at places where the lights are on all year and it is not all second homes. lockdowns in each of the four uk nations has meant that leisure travel has been illegal for a number of months.

that remains the case in scotland and northern ireland for now, but the "stay local" rule has been lifted in wales already, and in england, the "stay at home" restriction will end tomorrow. abbiejones reports from the peak district, where preparations are now under—way for a surge in visitor numbers. surrounded by rolling hills, hayfield has been the gateway to the peak district since the 1900s. then an escape for thousands of workers from northern industrial towns and cities, now popular with cyclists and ramblers. in birch vale, lockdown has meant this cafe has been serving locals only... ..who understand the safety measures ownerjo has put in. she is nervous about an influx of visitors. when you get crowds of people, it is very difficult for people to read the signs and to stay safe, essentially. it worries me because the visitors then put off our local regulars. a mile away, in hayfield

itself, they are also gearing up for visitors. many businesses here, particularly those forced to close during lockdown, rely on tourist income to supplement local trade. but they want manageable numbers, not a deluge. tim runs the village newsagent and store and is looking forward to serving new faces. there has been days when i have been tapping my fingers on the counter. but, yeah, i think it will be good to see folks back and we'd like to gear up for that. but you have had some problems in the village with tourists? yeah, there have been some significant problems. i have friends up there who had people parking across their driveways. at one point, we had gridlock last summer up there. we don't really want to repeat that again. this trail in the peak district saw visitor numbers double in the three months following the first lockdown of 2020, compared to the same period in 2019. but that has meant beauty spots

have suffered with miles of cars, piles of rubbish and anti—social behaviour. the peak district national park authority is urging visitors to act responsibly. i think this time i would hope that perhaps, as a nation, we have remembered a little bit more about how we should act and respect our national parks. we really welcome people back to them, they are so important for us, and as long as we respect and protect and enjoy those national parks by following things like the countryside code, i think hopefully we will be better placed this time. forjo and her staff, the message is simple. we definitely do want to welcome the visitors back to the high peak, but we would just like people to be respectful and kind, theyjust need to be kind. abbie jones, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. it certainly well, appeal of summer

for some, it certainly well, appeal of summer forsome, but it certainly well, appeal of summer for some, but it will not last all week. winter can be back for some of us as we