india registers nearly a million new covid infections in just three days, as the country faces acute shortages in medical supplies. hospitals are warning

their patients are dying because of a lack of oxygen. claims by former downing st adviser dominic cummings of what he called "possibly illegal" plans to fund refurbishing number ten — borisjohnson is under pressure to explain. debris from an indonesian navy submarine is found — the military confirm the vessel has sunk, with 53 men on board. and victory for england in the women's six nations gives them their third consecutive title. good evening. a huge surge in coronavirus cases in india has created dire shortages in medical supplies, with hospitals running out of oxygen.

in the last three days, the country has registered almosti million new infections, and set a grim world record for the highest number of daily cases for three consecutive days. with the health care system close to collapse in some areas, the government says it's waiving customs duties on imported oxygen, and deploying the air force to transport supplies. our south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan�*s report contains images you may find upsetting. patients as far as the eye can see but oxygen remains scarce. the situation right now here is really, really worse, critical and out of control. tushar maurya filmed this video inside a crowded delhi hospital, as he took a family member with covid to casualty. it is difficult to provide equal treatment to all the patients. that's why there is a high casualty rate inside, and there's a very negative environment inside. it's the same outside.

every day as cases rise, families face a never—ending search and a terrifying wait. this 17—year—old is taking care of his grandfather as they queue for help at a hospital. he's been here before. his father died while he waited here just a day earlier. "i brought him here in a rickshaw because we couldn't find an ambulance", he said. "my father was gasping for air. he was crying, saying "save me, please, save me, please", but i could do nothing. ijust watched him die." and many have now died because of the supply shortage. doctors have been left in a desperate situation. patients and many people are every time coming in emergency. they want only beds. we have no beds or oxygen and there's a deficiency of a huge amount of oxygen. as the crisis unfolds,

a prime minister under pressure. narendra modi chaired an emergency meeting today, to look at ways to boost supplies of oxygen. but many say it's too little, too late. relatives continue to queue for supplies across india, as thousands continue to die. for every family who gets a canister, there are countless others who won't. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news. here, the latest coronavirus figures show there were?a little over 2,000 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. 2,462 new cases were reported on average per day in the last week. 1,781 people are in hospital with coronavirus. 32 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. on average in the past week, 23 deaths were announced every day.

the total number of deaths is now 127,417. as for vaccinations, just under 120,000 people have had their first dose in the latest 24—hour period, meaning over 33.5 million have now had theirfirst dose. the take—up for the second jab remains high, withjust over 448,000 in the latest 24—hour period, meaning just over 12 million are now fully vaccinated. the prime minister is under pressure to explain how the refurbishment of his downing street flat was paid for, following allegations by his former chief advisor. dominic cummings has claimed borisjohnson considered what he called "possibly illegal" plans to have tory donors fund the work. downing street says mrjohnson paid for the work himself, and that nothing improper took place but labour has demanded an inquiry. this report from iain watson contains flashing images from the start.

out but not down. boris johnson's closest adviser left downing street in november, but now, dominic cummings has not only denied that he leaked some of the prime minister's text messages, he's also opened a pandora's box of accusations against his former boss. the most serious is that the funding of last year's renovation of the downing street flat where the prime minister lives with his fiancee, carrie symonds, wasn't above board, amid reports that costs were spiralling out of control. in a blog, dominic cummings says... and this former conservative law officer, and long—standing critic of borisjohnson, has now entered the fray. my impression is that there has been a constant wriggling about the source of the money

for this refurbishment, and that's just one illustration of the chaos mrjohnson seems to bring in his wake. and the reason for that is because he is a vacuum of integrity. the government says the prime minister has paid for the work himself, and that no codes of conduct or electoral law were broken. the electoral commission is looking into whether there were any undeclared donations. number ten says that all donations that need to be reported, have been. but labour is accusing the government of not playing fair. they want to know if any conservative donor was initially involved in the funding, and are calling for more transparency and an inquiry. publish the details. have the full inquiry. if there is nothing to see here, whether it's the refurb of number ten, whether it's the dodgy contracts, whether it's the privileged access, if there is nothing to see, publish everything, have a full inquiry, because you know, sunlight is the best disinfectant. but a former adviser on standards in government thinks that more information rather than a new inquiry is what is needed.

we have probably got enough inquiries going on. it's actual concrete, hard evidence, which demonstrates where things have gone wrong, which is critical now and cummings mightjust be able to provide some of that. and dominic cummings has a means of communicating what he knows. next month, he'll be able to give evidence publicly to a joint committee of mps on the government's handling of the pandemic. the prime minister's former adviser clearly believes that the best form of defence is attack. he is now questioning borisjohnson�*s competence and his integrity, and dominic cummings says he is happy to have that he sent and received during his time here at number ten published. dominic cummings is showing no signs of getting back in his box, and that could be bad news for his former boss. iain watson, bbc news. president biden has broken with his predecessors and declared the massacre over

a century ago of up to 1.5 million armenians by the ottoman empire an act of genocide. the move risks damaging us relations with turkey, which is an important nato ally. its foreign minister has already said that the move opens a "deep wound" between the two countries. 0rla guerin reports from istanbul. her report contains images you may find upsetting. a solemn ceremony of remembrance in the armenian capital of yerevan. people here see the past as a burning injustice. more than a century on, it has now been recognised by america as a genocide. president biden, seen here today leaving the white house, has taken an historic step, a reckoning with history, and has given his verdict. a statement issued by the white house is damning. the president

refers to the ottoman era armenian genocide and says... these painful images from 1915 show some of the horrors. skulls on public display. armenian is hanging in full view. for decades, turkey has denied this was a genocide and said innocent turks died too, in the turmoil of war. it has reacted angrily to president biden�*s move. i reach the senior adviser to the turkish leader who said president began had tried to talk him out of it and said there would be consequences. —— president erdogan. we could not dissuade him because

once the cat is out of the bag, we feel that this is a bad situation, declaring this as an act of genocide, is going to bring a lot of complications. this genocide, is going to bring a lot of complications-_ complications. this is my grandfather. _ complications. this is my grandfather. he - complications. this is my grandfather. he was - complications. this is my grandfather. he was the | complications. this is my - grandfather. he was the only survivor _ grandfather. he was the only survivor of the armenian genocide. the loan _ survivor of the armenian genocide. the loan armenian mp in the turkish parliament told me that it would mean far more of turkey acknowledged the genocide. i mean far more of turkey acknowledged the genocide-— the genocide. i believe in turkey, turke is the genocide. i believe in turkey, turkey is going — the genocide. i believe in turkey, turkey is going to _ the genocide. i believe in turkey, turkey is going to face _ the genocide. i believe in turkey, turkey is going to face this - turkey is going to face this genocide one day, and we will have thatjustice, i'm sure about it. would you see it in your lifetime? i would you see it in your lifetime? i hope to see it. but two generations have passed, without seeing it. without seeing justice. this will cause breast tension between america and turkey, two nato allies, but the

reality is, relations are already deeply strained over a range of issues including turkey�*s human rights record, and president biden is making it clear he is not too worried about keeping the turkish leader happy. 0rla guerin, bbc news, istanbul. an indonesian submarine which has been missing since wednesday with 53 crew members on board has sunk — the country's navy has confirmed. officials say debris from the vessel has been found. it follows an extensive search of an area north of bali, where the vessel disappeared. here's our correspondent richard galpin. this submarine, the nanggala 402, disappeared four days ago. on board, 53 crew members taking part in a torpedo exercise off the coast of bali. contact was lost after the crew asked for permission to dive. a major operation to find the stricken submarine was launched,

with malaysian and australian ships amongst those helping. today, it became clear all was lost. the indonesian naval chief, yudo margono, told a news conference the submarine had sunk 850 metres down from the surface. but the hull could only withstand the pressure at 500 metres. as a result, he said, the hull cracked. he also announced that some items from the stricken submarine had been recovered, including a piece of the torpedo system and a prayer mat. the navy insists the submarine was seaworthy but it was 40 years old. the search continues to find the bodies of the 53 submariners. richard galpin, bbc news. with all the sport now, here's sarah mullkerrins at the bbc sport centre.

it's three six nations titles in a row for england's women, after victory over france. ireland finished third following their win over italy, and scotland pipped wales to a fifth place finish. but all eyes were on the twickenham stoop with the top two sides looking for the title. 0ur reporterjo currie was there. a fitting stadium for a final showdown. the sun may have been shining but no fans were allowed in to enjoy the spectacle. for england a third consecutive championship in their sites. a third consecutive championship in theirsites. forthe a third consecutive championship in their sites. for the french the chance to recapture a title they have not held since 2018. compared to the group games this was a slow burner with opportunities hard to come by and when they did, they were missed. but then just before the break, a breakthrough. poppy cleall, one of the stars of this year's championship, bulldozing herway one of the stars of this year's championship, bulldozing her way to the line, and off—load and overfor the line, and off—load and overfor the try. england ahead. after the restart, france found their way onto

the scoreboard. whilst both defences stood their ground. the french kept up stood their ground. the french kept up the relentless pressure and were awarded seven minutes from time to set up a nerve—racking finish what england showed composure and keeping the ball, and were awarded a penalty which scarratt dispatched with almost the last kick of the game. champions again. neither a vintage performance orfoul but champions again. neither a vintage performance or foul but england doing just enough in the end to defend their title and claim back to championships for the third time. captain scarratt admitted it wasn't the most flamboyant of scorelines that secured the title but that seem to make the celebration even sweeter. jo currie, bbc news, twickenham. english football has announced plans for a social media boycott as it pushes for action against the online abuse of players. the fa and teams from

the premier league, football league, women's super league and championship — as well as groups like the pfa and kick it out — will switch off their facebook, twitter and instagram accounts next friday for four days. they say they want social media companies to do more to tackle online hate. match of the day follows the news and in scotland it's sportscene, so if you don't want to know the results, look away now. chelsea took a big step towards next season's champions league with a 1—0 win against top four rivals west ham. timo verner scored his first goal in 12 games. the hammers stay fifth, three points behind chelsea. liverpool are still sixth after they drew with newcastle. and watford secured promotion back to the premier league at the first time of asking. a 1—0 win against millwall was enough to do the job. hibs are through to the scottish cup semi—finals after a thrilling win over motherwell. the visitors scored twice in the final eight minutes to level the match before hibs went on to win 4—2 on penalties. the draw for the semi—finals

will be made on monday. there's been a second medal in two days for british teenager jessica gadirova at the european gymnastics championships. the 16—year—old won silver in the vault, to add to her all—around bronze. there were two other medals for britain on the penultimate day of the competition. there's more on the bbc sport website, including olympic champion greg rutherford's attempt to win another gold, this time at the winter olympics. rita. that's all from me. have a good night. goodbye. it has been another they are virtually unbroken sunshine, the warmest of the year so far in northern ireland at 18.4 sent cash back celsius. not good for those fighting the wildfire in the

mourne mountains. some rain in the forecast, but the stronger easterly breeze, it will feel a bit cooler, cloudier, too, but largely clear overnight, will still be the first going into the morning, —3 in the coldest parts of eastern scotland. a little more cloud with xxxx. hello. this is bbc news. firefighters have stepped

up their attempts to tackle a major blaze spreading across the mourne mountains in northern ireland. people are being urged to stay away from the area, amid warnings that further fires could break out this weekend. catherine morrison reports. halfway up the ground is still a light. flames fanned by a steady easterly wind spread quickly across a tinder dry mountain. this is more than 24 hours after the fire started in the battle continues to put it out. these flames on top of the quarry will push right around the mountain by strong winds last night. but the firefighters that i have spoken to say they are not too worried about this fire, it will burn itself out. what they are trying to do is create fire breaks from stopping the flames into the forest. last night a ring of fire circling the mountain could be seen from up to 20 miles away. a site usually associated with the california

mountainside not county down. at one point the fire came close to some properties. around one o'clock this morning there was a good change of the wind and we seen it developed quickly. we came down into the forest here, the ymca centre and one propertyjust come down in the road. we just knocked on doors, we just want to prepare them and get them readyjust in case. thankfully with the wind down died down in the middle of the night it took a change of direction and we didn't have to evacuate. this is a designated special area of conservation. hundreds of factors have been burnt and there are fears for the flora and fauna and the wildlife who live here. we're going to save the forest, i'm fairly confident of that. you could see the scale of the fire burning a ring right around. one of our ground nesting birds are going to be affected. this is the time of year

when they have laid their eggs and they are going to be hatching very soon. it's still unclear if the fire was started accidentally or deliberately. for those fighting economic conditions are challenging. you're either travelling for an hour, hour and a half out in the equipment, can't get water to the scene of the fire. effectively we're taken leaders to up there working small pumps in rivers in areas where we can find small pockets of water and sprayers to address some of that. predominantly it's a physical hard job up there. members of the public were asked to stay away today. a warning most seem to have heeded. but the fire isn't out yet, the fire service expects to be here to tonight and again tomorrow. four astronauts on board elon musk s spacex crew dragon spacecraft have successfully docked at the international space station for a six—month mission. it is the third launch in less than a year for nasa 5 commercial crew programme, which relies

on private sector companies operating from the us. 11 astronauts are now on board the station — the highest number for several years. angus crawford reports we start to see the detail on dragon there as it is closing in. docking just moments away. but endeavour�*s been here before. this its second mission to the international space station. metre by metre, the gap closes. until... dragon spacex on the big loop, soft capture confirmed. the four astronauts blasted off on friday from the kennedy space center in florida. the first to use a rocket booster recycled from a previous flight. checks complete between space station and capsule, time to meet their crewmates for the next six months. confirmation that the crew is go...

making a total of 11 astronauts now on the station. it has not been this busy for years. it is really unbelievable to be here on the space station. the space station has changed quite a bit since last time i was here. i have never seen so many astronauts on board. different spacecraft on board. i think it is a tribute to how strong our programme is going. a new era in space, then. thanks in part to a recycled rocket. station, this is houston, are you ready for the event? angus crawford, bbc news. martin barstow is a professor of astro physics and space science at the university of leicester — and also a director at the institute of space and earth 0bvservation — i spoke to him earlier about the significance of the mission. it's part of the continuing programme of moving more and more space activity into commercial area. there's still a role for governments but actually bringing in private enterprise into developing space

vehicles and providing services to fly to places like the space station is crucial for developing human access to space. i think importantly lowering the cost of that. it's been a very expensive business for a long time. and to make it more democratic and more accessible, we have to bring the cost down. and space is all pervasive. it covers all our lives at the moment, from weather forecast to satellite navigation in our cars and even watching agriculture from space. it's hugely important to humans. is it fair to say we are now in the era of commercial american space exploration? i think we are in a transition phase, at the moment. so the era has started but we are still taking the first few steps along that road. as you heard in the clip, this is the first time the capsule has been reused to travel to international space station. and reusing the hardware is an important part

of bringing those costs down. but of course, using it twice is one thing but using it ten, maybe 15 or 20 times, and turning it into a routine operation is a big step forward. that's still to be taken. how do you reuse the hardware? how does the recycling actually work? if you design it properly then you can take things in and out quite easily. it's what we call modular systems. it's always going to be the case that something may well get old and has to be replaced in these things. and when a capsule comes back to earth, it will be thoroughly inspected and it will be tested. and things that are passed their useful life will be taken out and new versions put in. but the main infrastructure, the structure of the capsule will be used time and time again. just the same way as the space shuttle has been used in the past few decades. fascinating. we've got all these astronauts

on the international space station, 11 at the moment. it's crowded up there. i know they're not all staying there for the few weeks but there a lot, what will they be doing? there is a lot of work to do. there are a lot of science experiments being carried out up there all the time. the international space station is a platform for doing work in low gravity conditions. there are many things that you can't do on earth because gravity stops you from doing it. for example, if you want to grow a very complex structure it's easier to do in space because you don't have gravity tearing things apart when you are trying to build, for example, complicated crystals. also there is the human space flight element. we want to understand how people live and work in space. and indeed survive in space for long periods. because there are ultimate goals to send people back to the moon and eventually to mars,

which is a long journey. it's about a two year round trip to go to mars and back again. you've got to understand how human physiology can survive that trip. and two of the humans who are now up there, a european and a japanese astronaut. tell us why that is important. it's the first time that a european or a japanese astronaut have been flown on a commercial vehicle. the previous ones have carried just americans. 0bviously elon musk is an american that whole operation is based in the united states, but the international space station is what it says, its international. and there is participation from europe, russia, japan and many other countries around the world, including places like the united arab emirates. so it's really important to see the astronauts from the other countries carried up through this new method of getting to the space station. we ll be taking an in—depth

look at the papers with our reviewers — personal finance journalist anne ashworth & the independent�*s economics editor ben chu — that's coming up after the headlines. but first, it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. the temperature rose to 20 celsius in the wales and scotland on saturday in the day of virtually unbroken sunshine once again. plenty of sunshine once again on sunday. ii of sunshine once again on sunday. if you are looking for some rain there is a big coming in the forecast. how much you may feel underwhelmed. high—pressure still around on sunday felt up the flow of air that particularly through ending fleet like england and wales will be a stronger easterly felt up it will feel a bit cooler but especially if you're all along that north sea coast it will be a rather chilly day. even when you do get to see some sunshine. it's cold start to sunday with another frost in many areas away from larger towns in city centres, —3 possible in the coldest

parts of eastern scotland. catchy cloud around a lot will clear away though some areas will stay hazy during the day. some cloud will continue to put them towards