the headlines: more details have emerged on how the actor alec baldwin accidentally shot dead a crew member on the set of his latest film. court documents suggest mr baldwin was told the gun was safe just before halyna hutchins was killed. the director, joel souza, was injured when a gun being used as a prop went off. the eu has accused belarus of recruiting migrants in the middle east and pushing them into europe, and said the government there is planning to issue visa waivers to even more countries. eu leaders said the matter will lead to them taking further action against minsk. scientists advising the british government say stricter covid measures should be made ready for "rapid deployment." however, prime minister boris johnson has insisted plan b for england isn't needed yet. the latest estimates suggest 1.1 million people in the uk had the virus last week.

scientists advising the government here in the uk say plans for the reintroduction of stricter coronavirus measures should be ready for "rapid deployment." new figures suggest that 1.1 million people were infected across the uk last week, the highest number since january, and a figure much higher than other countries in western europe. prime minister borisjohnson says the situation is under constant review, but there are no plans to implement tighter rules. here's our health editor hugh pym. vaccines boost our community and protect us from dangerous viruses. it is a new government campaign to push people who haven't had a jab to get one and those eligible to get a booster. the continued

vaccination rollout is at the centre of the prime minister's strategy for england, but there have been growing calls from experts for what is branded plan b, wider mask wearing, or working from home and vaccine passports. but borisjohnson said today he wasn't yet ready to activate the plan. we keep all measures _ to activate the plan. we keep all measures under _ to activate the plan. we keep all measures under constantl all measures under constant review. we do whatever we have to do to protect the public. but the numbers we are seeing at the moment are fully in line with what we expected in the autumn and winter plan. what we want people to do is come forward and get theirjabs. but forward and get their “abs. but cases in forward and get theirjabs. but cases in major european countries like italy are much lower than in the uk, and members of the experts sage committee according to papers released today noted they have tougher restrictions, including proof of vaccine and testing status. sage says early intervention may reduce the need for tougher measures in future. one member of a government advisory committee not sage, seth plan b or

something similar is needed very soon. iii something similar is needed very soon-— very soon. if we try to rely siml very soon. if we try to rely simply and _ very soon. if we try to rely simply and solely - very soon. if we try to rely simply and solely on - very soon. if we try to rely simply and solely on the l simply and solely on the vaccine programme to bring this things under control this winter, we stand a really high risk of getting into serious trouble. something has to be done to communicate with the public and encourage them, and if necessary, i guess i suppose by them to do some of these things if we are going to stop getting into a really bad mess again. getting into a really bad mess aaain. . , . ., again. the latest infection survey by _ again. the latest infection survey by the _ again. the latest infection survey by the office - again. the latest infection survey by the office for i survey by the office for national statistics show that last week in england one in 55 people had virus. that was an increase. in wales, one in a5, northern ireland, one in 130, the trend was said to be uncertain. in scotland, one in 90 had the virus. that was down on the previous week. this map shows in more detail varying infection rates around the uk. the lighter colours show the lowest rates, the darkest colours, the highest, including north—west england and parts of south wales. covid case increases have been largely

driven so far by infections among schoolchildren. though vaccinations of the 16 �*s have only been under way for a month. data for england last week from the ons says the sharpest rises in case rates were among children, but there were among children, but there were slight increases recorded as well amongst some older age groups. covid hospital admissions are also rising, near 20% week on week. the sage experts say it is unlikely they will go higher than the peak in january, but planning for possible new measures should begin now. hugh pym, bbc news. now on bbc news, it's time for our world: lebanon on life support. lebanon, on the eastern coast of the mediterranean. after decades of corruption and financial mismanagement, the

small nation is now facing a humanitarian crisis. we have . one humanitarian crisis. we have gone through _ humanitarian crisis. we have gone through war, _ humanitarian crisis. we have gone through war, we - humanitarian crisis. we have gone through war, we have l humanitarian crisis. we have - gone through war, we have gone through strikes, this is the worst... of the worst that we have gone through. for worst... of the worst that we have gone through. for much of the last year. — have gone through. for much of the last year, there _ have gone through. for much of the last year, there has - have gone through. for much of the last year, there has been i the last year, there has been no government. almost 80% of the population is now living in poverty. the country's public hospitals are a lifeline for many, struggling to manage. the atients struggling to manage. the patients i _ struggling to manage. the patients i receive - struggling to manage. the patients i receive at - struggling to manage. tue: patients i receive at the hospital have no other place to go to. just being there is a must. , , , ., , ., must. this is the story of lebanon's _ must. this is the story of lebanon's fight - must. this is the story of lebanon's fight for - must. this is the story of. lebanon's fight for survival. lebanon's fight for survival. lebanon does run out of fuel, a lot of people will lose their lives, it is as simple as that. you realise that one reason they— you realise that one reason they are _ you realise that one reason they are dying. it is the country— they are dying. it is the country they are living in. —— that— country they are living in. —— that is— country they are living in. —— that is not— country they are living in. —— that is not the reason they are dying —

you can't not fall in love with babylon _ you can't not fall in love with babylon. —— lebanon. it is less forfree— babylon. —— lebanon. it is less for free spirit to flourish, futi— for free spirit to flourish, full of— for free spirit to flourish, full of beautiful diversity. it was — full of beautiful diversity. it was a — full of beautiful diversity. it was a true home for me. dr firas was a true home for me. firas abiad was a true home for me. d firas abiad is a second—year resident. she has spent much of the last year working on hospital's overboard. == the last year working on hospital's overboard. -- covid ward. i chose _ hospital's overboard. -- covid ward. i chose my _ hospital's overboard. -- covid ward. i chose my city - hospital's overboard. -- covid ward. i chose my city becausel hospital's overboard. -- covidj ward. i chose my city because i wanted to deal with my community, my society, my people, my home. i got to live that career and the city i look up that career and the city i look up to. that career and the city i look u- to. , , that career and the city i look u . to, , , ., ~' that career and the city i look uto. ,, ., ~ ., up to. this is rafik hariri university _ up to. this is rafik hariri university hospital, - up to. this is rafik hariri - university hospital, lebanon's largest healthcare public largest healthca re public institution. largest healthcare public institution. every year it treats thousands of the country's poorest patients. t

country's poorest patients. i love working at rafik hariri university hospital because it simply receives and hosts those vulnerable populations that are the most in need. even if it is not to the highest of standards or to the best of quality, just being there is a must. or to the best of quality, 'ust being there is a must. dr firas abiad is the — being there is a must. dr firas abiad is the hospital— being there is a must. dr firas abiad is the hospital director. | abiad is the hospital director. he was appointed in 2015 and has been widely praised his work on strengthening the ones neglected institution. during the covid—19 pandemic, he became a household name as the hospital took the lead in the country's response. every monday morning, dr firas

abiad tours hospital wards, not to see patients, but to make sure the hospital is still functioning. i think that we are passing through a most difficult situation, as our circumstances are becoming more difficult, the demands on us by patient is increasing, and that has really put us in a very curious situation. —— precarious. in situation. -- precarious. in late situation. —— precarious. in late 2019, spiralling national debt contributed to the collapse of lebanon's economy. now, the country is facing the highest levels of inflation seen anywhere in the world.

almost entirely reliant on imports, the country is now facing massive shortages. a nationwide shortage of fuel has led to sweeping power cut. at the hospital, this means relying on their backup generators for up to 23 hours a day. this is the head of engineering. it is his responsibility to keep generators running. the lives of the hospital's patients depend on him.

if lebanon does run out of fuel, a lot of people will lose their lives, it is as simple as that. ~ ., ., , ., that. with the ma'ority of lebanon-s h that. with the majority of lebanon's medication - that. with the majority of lebanon's medication is i that. with the majority of. lebanon's medication is also important, the hospital's pharmacy is running on critically low supplies. here, we have a — critically low supplies. here, we have a drug _ critically low supplies. here, we have a drug we _ critically low supplies. here, we have a drug we give - critically low supplies. here, we have a drug we give to i critically low supplies. here, l we have a drug we give to the patient when he is bedridden. he should take at least one of these so that he will not have a blood clot. we have here another drug, 30% that is not available anymore.— another drug, 3096 that is not available anymore. this is the hospital's _ available anymore. this is the hospital's chief _ available anymore. this is the hospital's chief pharmacist. . hospital's chief pharmacist. the shortages have made her work almost impossible. the su - liers work almost impossible. the suppliers so _ work almost impossible. the suppliers so they _ work almost impossible. tte:

suppliers so they are work almost impossible. "tt2 suppliers so they are not work almost impossible. tt2 suppliers so they are not able to import the medications because the central bank is not giving them the needed facilities while the minister of health says that the medications, the suppliers are not delivering so they can sell it at a higher price. every day i received word from doctors and they are asking for certain medications. sometimes these dogs are asking for the medications for themselves, for theirfamilies, but when medications for themselves, for their families, but when a medication is not available, it is not available anywhere. these shortages mean a black market for drugs has developed. for everything from simple painkillers to cancer medications.

i have been working here for 16 years, and never, never have we passed a certain time like this. we have gone through wars, we have gone through strikes, this one is the most difficult. . ., ., difficult. the world health organization _ difficult. the world health organization recently - difficult. the world health i organization recently claimed that 40% of doctors have already left the country. those that remain are fast becoming the minority. i have encountered a lot of doctors and physicians that i admired for staying, that have chosen to step over the income they receive all the conditions i live just because they want to be there for the people, their own communities. you leave and i leave, everybody lives, who is going to stay behind to carry on the burden of the healthcare system as a

whole? over the last two years, the local currency has last —— lost with 90% of its value. before the crisis, a junior doctor here would have earned around $1000. now, with inflation, it is less than $100. the junior doctors have decided to strike, calling for part of their shrinking salary to be paid in dollars.

if the strike continues, the hospital risks having to close down essential services. the direct has called in members of his staff to call —— explain to them while the hospital cannot agree to the demands. total income, total income.

we have already raised their salaries and given them almost 70% extra but they want to have 25% of their income in french dollars which is a possibility because as a hospital, we get paid in lebanese lira. when you are passing through hardships, it's very important to make sure that we are all rolling in the same direction. unfortunately, that is not what is happening at the moment.

on the covid water shortage of space means treatment is longer guaranteed. before ward, a shortage of space. she was at the start —— she left syria at the start —— she left syria at the start —— she left syria at the start of the civil war ten years ago and lebanon is now her home. the crisis has been particularly hard for the refugee population. it will be a delay in the management of this baby because there is not space in the hospital. it could lead to

complications, he will need to be intubated, maybe he will need, one of the complications is probably him dying if he is not transferred to the hospital. the logistics and the bureaucracy of the healthcare system as a whole is killing our chances of being good doctors. i think our medical system is a successful professional system has many building blocks under it. one of them is the availability of resources and the other is being the technology present and others are the logistics and others are the logistics and then the human resources and then the human resources and so on and what you see right now is those building blocks crumbling down or disappearing bit by bit. lebanon has been without a government for over a year. essential services and public

institutions have become increasingly reliant on international aid. i think unfortunately not only this hospital, i think at the moment all of lebanon is dependent on aid and i think that the aid that was initially coming mainly for the refugee population now is needed also by the lebanese population as well. but we have to think medium and long—term. this aid definitely is not sustainable. we need to find a way out.

hospital needs to bring the junior doctor struck to an end. they have offered a 100% pay rise but none of it will be in dollars —— strike.

0k. ok. back on the covid ward, it's another _ ok. back on the covid ward, it's another busy _ ok. back on the covid ward, it's another busy shift - ok. back on the covid ward, it's another busy shift for . it's another busy shift for doctor ray either.- it's another busy shift for doctor ray either. there is a cardiac arrest _ doctor ray either. there is a cardiac arrest in _ doctor ray either. there is a cardiac arrest in the - doctor ray either. there is a cardiac arrest in the er - doctor ray either. there is a cardiac arrest in the er and l cardiac arrest in the er and they need a position to carry on the compressions. —— they need a doctor. one.

i was iwasa i was a bit shocked because i saw the patient yesterday in the morning and he was fine. he wasn't even complaining, if anything, so to drop dead like this, it's a bit of a shock to us and i was a bit aggressive because i really wanted him to carry on but itjust didn't happen. but, i mean, this is

how it goes. we usually go somebody�*s dead, ok. so... yeah, sorry. when my duties, several times i have found myself alone with dying patients and you look at them and you realise that you're not the reason they're dying, it's the reason they're dying, it's the country they're living in. as the hospital continues to struggle, a surprise breakthrough has seen the formation of a new government. many of those in the new cabinet from traditional political parties, leaned by

many in lebanon for the current crisis. but there were a number of new faces. including doctor ——dr firas abiad, the hospital director. who has been appointed the new public health minister. t appointed the new public health minister. ~ �* , minister. i think it's, it feels like _ minister. i think it's, it feels like it's _ minister. i think it's, it feels like it's a - minister. i think it's, it feels like it's a big - feels like it's a big responsibility now on my shoulders. i think there is a lot of expectations, a lot of needin lot of expectations, a lot of need in the country. on one side, i think we are very angry, looking at the state of our country. some of us are very depressed. and at the same time, ifeel determined. very depressed. and at the same time, i feel determined. we don't think that what we are living in is a destiny. if we work hard, will be able to change this situation.

applause. across lebanon, reaction to the new government is mixed. for doctor rader and her colleagues, hope is in short supply.

for so many young people in lebanon, thoughts of their future are now focused on when to leave the country.

i genuinely, genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, i do not want to leave. i can adapt, i can go through it, i'm resilient, i can bear it but once i realised i cannot be a well—equipped, efficient, giving doctor, i had to decide to leave. i realised that i am leaving people behind that are going to suffer. i am in a constant state of guilt.

hello. the weather has thrown just about everything at us over the last week or so — heavy rain, squally winds, a bit of snow over higher ground in scotland — so what does the weekend have in store? well, actually, a return to milder conditions, some brisk winds and some rain

at times, courtesy of this frontal system that you can see pushing in from the west. but it is moving quite slowly — it's running up against high pressure — so there will still be a fair amount of dry weather around through saturday and, where skies have been clear, a really chilly start across parts of eastern scotland and eastern england. that is, though, where we will see the best of the sunshine. more cloud further west, the odd spot of drizzle and then, our weather front bringing persistent rain quite slowly eastwards across northern ireland and into western scotland. it'll be breezy or windy wherever you are but particularly windy in the west of scotland with wind gusts in excess of 50 mph in exposed places, but feeling relatively mild —12, 13 or 16 degrees. as we head through saturday night, there will be a lot of cloud. we'll see outbreaks of rain moving very slowly eastwards through scotland, hanging on across parts of northern ireland, getting into northwest england, parts of wales and the south—west as well, but a much milder start to sunday morning. and our frontal system will continue to trudge its way

eastwards through the day. and really, i think this weather front is going to break up into showers, so it won't be raining all the time. but we are going to see some even milder weather, if anything, spreading northwards across the uk. so, this is sunday's forecast. we will see a lot of cloud to start off. some outbreaks of rain tending to break up into showers with some sunny spells developing, too. a brisk wind once again, but because that wind is coming up from the south, it is going to feel really quite mild with temperatures getting to 16 or 15, maybe 16 degrees in one or two places. now, what about the coming week? well, we are going to see further frontal systems pushing in from the west. a potential that the warm weather front could become quite slow—moving out towards the north and west of the uk. a bit of uncertainty about that, but we can certainly see quite a lot of rain in some northern and western areas. but there is some mild weather to come as well with brisk south—westerly winds. and the further south you are, well, the better chance of staying dry at

least for a few days. and here, temperatures could climb all the way to 18 degrees. this is bbc world news. i'm alice baxter. our top stories: more details on how the actor, alec baldwin, accidentally shot dead a crew member on the set of his latest film. court documents suggest he was told the gun was safe. the european union accuses belarus of state—sponsored people smuggling. we follow one group of migrants on their way to europe. abortion in mexico: we hearfrom women a month after a landmark ruling which decriminalised it. eu leaders pay tribute to germany's outgoing chancellor merkel as a �*great european�* influential in shaping the continent. as european football is expanded, is the global game doing enough to

counter climate change?