welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... two years of covid restrictions are set to be lifted in england. restrictions have also been lifted in parts of europe and the us. canadian police threatened to arrest lorry drivers who've shut down central ottawa as anger at mandatory covid vaccines spreads. protests spread across india and beyond its borders against a ban on the muslim headscarf in some colleges in one southern state. two, one, zero. and scientists in britain make a major new advance in the quest to generate energy from nuclearfusion.

life from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's seven in the morning in singapore and 11 pm in england, where the remaining covid restrictions are now set to be lifted at the end of this month — four weeks earlier than previously planned. the shortened timescale was announced by borisjohnson, who said it depended on the current downward trend continuing, but he fully expected that to be the case. it would end the rule that anyone testing positive for covid or showing symptoms should self—isolate. restrictions have also been lifted in parts of europe and the us. more on that in a minute, but first, our health editor, hugh pym, has this report on the developments in england. it's another big step in the journey

from life in the pandemic to something like normality — the final restrictions in england, including the ending of the legal requirement to isolate after a positive test, ending perhaps osuna is february the 21st. the prime minister headed to the commons to make an announcement, with an eye perhaps to cheering up his backbench mps, pulling forward an end to restrictions which had been planned for march. i expect we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions, a full month early, mr speaker. leader, labour gave _ month early, mr speaker. leader, labour gave their _ month early, mr speaker. leader, labour gave their reaction. - the fact we had no notice this was coming, no sense it was coming, suggests some throwaway remarks at the start of prime minister's questions were more about digging the prime minister out

of a political hole than dealing with the serious challenge facing the country. in manchester, where daily case rates have been coming down, people we spoke to seemed positive about the ending of covid restrictions. if you're going to get it, you're going to get it, it's that simple. everybody is at a stage where we know the risk and we have to get on with the rest of our lives. i love that we have lots of our- freedom back and i want to enjoy it, but i think it's still- important to be cautious. the office for national statistics survey suggests that 3.3 million people in the uk had the virus last week, up a bit on the previous week. case rates varied around the uk, wales was the only nation to see a decrease. but hospital admissions have been falling, with the omicron variant proving less severe than initially anticipated, and the continued take—up of booster jabs. i don't think this is a scientific decision, though. i think it's clear the rates are still very, very high, especially in some sectors

of the community, particularly children and people who look after children, parents and teachers. another scientist said the decision was, on balance, reasonable, though he had concerns about the vulnerable, like rachel, who's not happy about the news. she had a kidney transplant and her immune system is compromised. she's worried about picking up the virus from her family. i know they will carry on to protect themselves and they'll do tests if they can get them, but you don't know who they're mixing with and stood next to in supermarkets. the paranoia i had is starting to come again, because who can i trust? while england heads towards life without restrictions, scotland, wales and northern ireland are moving at different speeds. they will publish their own plans in due course on life after covid. they'll publish their own plans in due course on life with covid. hugh pym, bbc news.

well, england isn't alone in looking at easing restrictions. denmark became the first country in the eu to lift nearly all of its virus restrictions last week, with norway quickly following, and now sweden has also joined them. vaccine passes will no longer be required for indoor events and limits on indoor crowds will be scrapped. let's hear the reaction in stockholm. i am so happy. finally, the day has come. i feel freedom. we can go anywhere and not think about anything. so, we hope it's still going to work ok, and no backlash. people should be more careful. the virus is still here. and get vaccinated. so, that's europe. similar moves in the us, where some states are scrapping mask mandates — including new york, after it saw a steep decline in covid cases. here's the governor. we had a mask requirement for businesses. it was an emergency temporary measure put in place two

months ago, and at this time, we say thatis months ago, and at this time, we say that is the right decision to lift this mandate for indoor businesses and let counties, cities and businesses to make their own decisions on what they want to do with respect to masks and the vaccination requirement. philippines will reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travellers from thursday — becoming the latest southeast asian nation to do so. foreign visitors will no longer need to quarantine upon arrival, but are required to provide a negative pcr test taken within 48 hours before entering the country. so, countries around the world are looking forward at how to deal with covid as it shifts from a pandemic to becoming an ever present disease like the flu or malaria — called endemics. john burn—murdoch is chief data reporter for the financial times and explains what that means and how close the covid—i9 pandemic is from becoming an endemic.

the key thing, really, here is what we mean by endemic and what does that really mean for us as a society. so, you've got the definition that it's about static level of infection because immunity levels are so high that the number of susceptible people is a small, and therefore, you don't see these huge rates we've been seeing. by that definition, i think we would probably say we're not at intima just yet. the other definition, the sheer number of people who now have some degree of immunity to the virus means that even though case rates may still go slightly up, slightly down over the next few months, the number of people getting severely ill, there's much less room for movement in those numbers because so many people have strong levels of antibodies. so, ithink many people have strong levels of antibodies. so, i think the exact point depends on the exact definition, but if we're talking about the virus becoming something

thatis about the virus becoming something that is very widespread, very large numbers of people now exposed to it, either in the wild or through vaccination, and the result of that being immunity levels of the population are very high — we're certainly very close to that point. chief date a reporter for the financial times. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. the uk prime minister's surprise announcement on removing covid restrictions in england came as another photo emerged of him at a lockdown gathering in downing street. this as the metropolitan police is set to contact more than 50 people as part of its inquiry into lockdown parties at downing street and whitehall. this is a significant development. this is a significant development. this is a significant development. this is the met police's special inquiry team, who say they have identified more than 50 individuals who they believe took part in those parties, events, and downing street and whitehall. they are each going

to be sent a letter with the legal questionnaire being told they have to answer truthfully and within seven days. they are investigating 12 seven days. they are investigating i2 parties. the animal welfare charity, the rspca, has removed two pet cats from the home of footballer kurt zoumer after video emerged of him kicking one of the animals. the player has been fined two weeks' wages by his club, west ham, and been dropped by the sportswear firm adidas. his actions have also prompted a social media backlash. in india, 15 people have been arrested following protests against a ban on wearing the islamic headscarf in college. the controversy began when hijab—wearing students were denied entry to their schools in karnataka. all high schools and colleges in the state have been shut down for three days. protests have now spread to other cities, including kolkata and chennai — two of the country's largest cities — and hyderabad.

the pakistani government deplored the ban and summoned the indian ambassador to formally express its concern. anbarasan ethirajan reports. the anger against some colleges in karnataka state refusing to allow students to wear the hijab has spread to other parts of india. hundreds took part in the rallies in the cities of kolkata, chennai and hyderabad. the controversy has rocked karnataka, where high schools and colleges have been shut for three days. muslim women say wearing the hijab is part of their faith and their right. imposing dress code should be compatible with the fundamental rights. the fundamental rights state in article 19—1 the right to speech expression, and we have the religious freedom, which gives us the right to practise, process and propagate religion. all chanting. the hijab issue has taken a communal twist. here, hindu students arrive at

school in saffron hats and shawls — this colour seen as a hindu symbol. they oppose their student colleagues for wearing the islamic headscarves. a place of learning has now become a battleground for the two communities. the hindu nationalist bjp government insists that they are only trying to implement uniform rules. karnataka is following a uniform dress code in the schools, and it is a discipline in the education interest in every student to follow the discipline. they can have them if they want in the schools. the global education activist malala yousafzai says... critics say minority muslims in india are already feeling marginalised and discriminated against in the hindu—dominated india. but the government denies the allegations. for now, the uneasy standoff over the hijab continues. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news.

a uk lab has smashed the record for generating energy from a nuclearfusion reaction. researchers say the breakthrough represents a big step towards harnessing the energy source of the stars. nuclear fusion is the holy grail of energy production because it holds out the prospect of a virtually unlimited source of low carbon power. our climate editor, justin rowlatt, has been to the research centre in oxfordshire, where the reaction took place. two, one, zero. this is the record—breaking reaction. it is more than 150 million degrees celsius. million degrees celsius — ten times hotter than the heart of the sun. and it happened here, the world's most powerful fusion plant, jet fusion, in oxfordshire. it is, says the team here, a landmark for this technology. these results are really significant because what we have managed

to demonstrate insidejet is we can create a mini sun, the right kind of mini sun, hold it there for a sustained period and get really good performance levels, which is a major step forward in terms of our quest to get to fusion power plants. most nuclear reactors use fission. that's when big, unstable atoms like uranium are split in two. the reaction releases lots of energy and radiation. fusion is different. it involves forcing two atoms of hydrogen together, fusing them to create one atom of helium. once again, you get lots of energy and this time just a tiny bit of short—lived radiation. creating mini stars inside reactors like this is one of the greatest technological challenges humanity has ever faced. get it right, and it holds out the potential for producing almost unlimited supplies of energy pretty much forever. that's because the hydrogen fuel fusion uses is so readily available.

the key part of this reaction only lasts for five seconds and only generated enough powerfor 60 kettles, but it is an important proof that scientists are on the right track. there is still lots of work to do, and athina kappatou is one of a new generation of physicists who plan to do it at a scaled—up version version of the uk reactor being built here version of the uk reactor being built here in the south of france. do you think you'll see commercial fusion in your lifetime? version of the uk reactor being built here do you think you'll see commercial fusion in your lifetime? yes, i am confident — i want to believe in it. so, answer me this, why is it taking so long? it is hard, it is really hard, very complex, but it's worth it and we just have to do it for the future. fusion energy is carbon—free, but it is not going to be ready in time to get us out of the climate crisis. that shouldn't stop this research, say supporters. the enormous promise fusion

holds means we have got to keep working on it. justin rowlatt, bbc news, oxfordshire. let's head to new york and speak with clara moskowitz, who is the senior editor at scientific american. if you can explain and lay people's terms, how significant a milestone is this in terms of breakthroughs in science? it’s is this in terms of breakthroughs in science? �* , , ., is this in terms of breakthroughs in science? �*, , ., _ is this in terms of breakthroughs in science? 2, ., , , science? it's still a baby step. the bi thin science? it's still a baby step. the big thing with _ science? it's still a baby step. the big thing with fusion _ science? it's still a baby step. the big thing with fusion power - science? it's still a baby step. the big thing with fusion power is - science? it's still a baby step. the big thing with fusion power is that| big thing with fusion power is that we have not yet been able to extract more energy from it then we put in. this experiment is no different. but they've taken out more energy than ever before, so it's a really promising sign that we're on the right track. promising sign that we're on the right track-— right track. surely the goal is to be able to _ right track. surely the goal is to be able to get _ right track. surely the goal is to be able to get more _ right track. surely the goal is to

be able to get more energy - right track. surely the goal is to | be able to get more energy from right track. surely the goal is to i be able to get more energy from it thanit be able to get more energy from it than it takes to produce it. are we anywhere close to that now? we are caettin anywhere close to that now? we are getting close- _ anywhere close to that now? we are getting close. this _ anywhere close to that now? we are getting close. this experiment - getting close. this experiment they're talking about that's coming up they're talking about that's coming up in france, it's supposed to open in 2025. basically, it's a bigger version of the experiment now. the fact that the experiment just had these positive results, that it broke records, is a really optimistic sign that when eater terms on, it will work. that will be the first time we ever create net energy. that's at least a hope. 50. energy. that's at least a hope. so, how long. — energy. that's at least a hope. so, how long, then? _ energy. that's at least a hope. so, how long, then? are we looking at a few decades or beyond that in terms of when this might be able to replace conventional energy sources? the optimistic force asked her for

2050 -- the optimistic force asked her for 2050 —— forecast, but i think the sceptics are holding out. we still need to prove the concept. once you can do it in a billion—dollar machine that doesn't mean you can spread it around the world in a practical way immediately. but i am an optimist, so i have to say i'm quite excited by this result, and i really do hope that in my lifetime, we'll see fusion reactors, because it'll be a completely different form and energy than anything we've had before. . ., ., �* ., before. yeah, i got to say, i'm an 0 timist before. yeah, i got to say, i'm an optimist as _ before. yeah, i got to say, i'm an optimist as well, _ before. yeah, i got to say, i'm an optimist as well, so _ before. yeah, i got to say, i'm an optimist as well, so i'm _ before. yeah, i got to say, i'm an optimist as well, so i'm with - before. yeah, i got to say, i'm an optimist as well, so i'm with you | optimist as well, so i'm with you there. i am optimist as well, so i'm with you there. iam hoping optimist as well, so i'm with you there. i am hoping this is something we do see in our lifetimes. just on that point of global collaboration, the other fascinating part of this for me has been that hundreds of scientists working on this from around the world, at a time when i think it's fair to say, there is a great deal of geopolitical strife, what does that tell you about how the scientific community can come

together to achieve these sorts of breakthroughs?— together to achieve these sorts of breakthroughs? absolutely. that's wh i breakthroughs? absolutely. that's why i cover — breakthroughs? absolutely. that's why i cover this _ breakthroughs? absolutely. that's why i cover this stuff, _ breakthroughs? absolutely. that's why i cover this stuff, because - breakthroughs? absolutely. that's why i cover this stuff, because i i why i cover this stuff, because i find it's this gleam of hope and a sometimes depressing world, where you see that a lot of people just want to work together towards a positive outcome. hydrogen atoms don't care about political boundaries, and i think what they've achieved in this experiment is just purely awesome. it's just so cool what they've done. they've just harnessed the power of a star inside a laboratory on earth, and that transcends anything. that's something that all people can get behind. i something that all people can get behind. . ., �* something that all people can get behind. .., �* ., something that all people can get behind. �* ., , behind. i couldn't have put it better myself. _ behind. i couldn't have put it better myself. senior- behind. i couldn't have put it better myself. senior editor| behind. i couldn't have put it i better myself. senior editor at scientific american, thank you so much forjoining us. still to come on the programme — canadian police threatened to arrest

lorry drivers that sucked down central idaho —— shut down central ottawa. there's mr mandela, mr nelson mandela, a free man taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader, ayatollah khamenei, has said he's passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president, baby doc duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, - shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud _ farm's central block. shergar was driven away. in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. there stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning — elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and all her other realms and territories,

head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines... two years of covid restrictions are set to be lifted in england. restrictions have also been lifted in parts of europe and the us. and protests spread across india against a ban on the muslim headscarf in some colleges in one southern state. canadian police have warned truck drivers they'll be arrested if they continue their blockade of the capital, ottawa. hundreds of trucks are lining the streets as drivers protest vaccine mandates for a second week. solidarity demonstrations in canadian border towns have shut down parts of the us—canada border. from ottawa, samira hussain reports.

for the third consecutive day, truckers furious at vaccine mandates have blocked the busiest land border crossing in north america. the economic impact could be serious. 25% of all trade between canada in the united states happens here — or it did, until angry truckers decided to intervene. in canada, rage seems to have spread as fast as omicron. which seems strange, in a country where politics used to be a pretty civilised process. now, police in the nation's capital are calling for reinforcements as they work out how to dismantle an occupation. hampering their efforts — reports that a quarter of trucks have children living in them. for now, the tactic is to slowly starve the convoy of cash and fuel. if one of the aims of this week's long protests to eliminate vaccine

long protest is to eliminate vaccine mandates for truckers crossing the border, well, that hasn't happened yet. but as covid—i9 cases begin to reseed here, as it is across north america, some of the restrictions that protesters here despise are disappearing anyway. the western province of alberta is ending vaccination requirements to dine indoors and mask mandates for schools. other canadian provinces have indicated they will follow suit in the coming weeks. canada's attempts to control one globalthreat, covid, seems to have stirred another — and angry populism that rejects government control. and, as the threat of covid starts to wane, the question for political leaders is, how much of that anger will remain? samira hussein, bbc news, ottawa. a discovery in a cave in france shows that modern man arrived in europe some 12,000 years earlier than previously thought. in a paper published

in the journal science advances, researchers described finding fossilized remains of homo sapiens — the species to which all modern human beings belong — alongside those of neanderthals — an extinct species of archaic humans — whose disappearance remains a hotly debated issue. our science correspondent, pallab ghosh, has the story. sifting through ancient remains, archaeologists have been scrabbling in the french heat, looking for clues to our own history. and they've discovered that the very first modern humans to have arrived in western europe came thousands of years earlier than previously thought. we are now able to demonstrate that homo sapiens arrived 12,000 years before expected, and this population were then replaced after that by other neanderthal populations, and this rewrites literally all of our books on history. neanderthals had been living

in europe for hundreds of thousands of years. the current theory is that homo sapiens arrived from africa around 42,000 years ago, and shortly after that the neanderthals went extinct. but now, it appears that some of our species arrived 511,000 years ago — that's thousands of years earlier — and it means both homo sapiens and neanderthals may have lived on the same continent for much, much longer than previously thought before modern humans eventually gained the upper hand. scientists have been studying fossils for more than 100 years to find out why neanderthals went extinct and we survived. until now, the view was that we came along and quickly overwhelmed them. but the new evidence suggests that the two species lived in europe for thousands of years, suggesting the relationship wasn't that brutal and there were more complex reasons for why the neanderthals died out. well, the neanderthal�*s got these typical neanderthal features — a longer, lower brain case,

big brow ridge over the eyes. the interaction of the two species, published in the journal science advances, are an important part of our own history. it wasn't an overnight takeover by modern humans. so, in some cases, neanderthals had the advantage. at other times, modern humans had the advantage. so, it was more finely balanced. was there a single thing that our species had that meant that the neanderthals didn't survive? we don't know the answer, but i think it's organisational, probably more than anything, that we were networking better, our social groups were larger, we were storing knowledge better and we built on that knowledge more effectively than the neanderthals were doing. the discovery that the two species could have coexisted for thousands of years means that scientists will have to develop new theories for why neanderthals died out and our kind survived. pallab ghosh, bbc news.

that's it from us. thanks so much for watching. that's it from us. thanks so much forwatching. do that's it from us. thanks so much for watching. do stay with bbc news. hello. a colder day for all of us on thursday, but across the northern half of the country, quite a wild day to come — all due to this amazing swirl of cloud we saw to the south of iceland on wednesday. it's an area of low pressure which, as we start thursday morning, will have moved in across the western half of scotland in particular. to the south, we still have a weather front set to clear that will be sweeping away the last dregs of the milder air. to the north of it, a chilly start risk of ice in places, a few wintry showers — but as i said, a particularly wild start to the day in parts of scotland 60—70 mph gusts across the western isles and those northwestern coast, big seas, as well, and blizzards on the mountains. we'll see wintry showers across northern england, northern ireland, and parts of wales, but sunshine in between those and a blustery wind. strongest of the winds in scotland transfer eastwards through the day. winds always lighter further south

and, once you've got rid of the morning cloud and patchy rain, it should be a bright and sunny day. the winds, though, will be a key feature — strongest through the afternoon in eastern scotland with gales. and it's here and across northeast england where it will feel substantially colder than the thermometers would suggest, made to feel well below freezing as we go through the afternoon. so, a cold end to the day, rain, sleet, snow showers and strong winds clipping eastern parts of england for a time during thursday night, then skies clear, winds fall light. coldest night of the week, coldest commute of the week as we go into friday morning — temperatures could be as low as —10 through some scottish glens, a widespread frost and some ice to watch out for. but a lovely, crisp day to come for many on friday — a few wintry showers in the west, building amounts of cloud, as well, but most staying dry with sunny spells, the best of which in the east. temperatures actually a degree so lower than normal for the time of year. but after a cold start to friday night, if you go into the weekend, it'll turn milder — and with it, some wet and windy weather. on saturday, especially in the west, outbreaks of rain coming

and going all day long, more persistent through the afternoon in parts of northern and western england and wales. some parts of north east scotland may get away largely dry, staying largely dry to east anglia and the southeast, but even here we will see rain and strong winds sweep through as we go through into saturday night. and then for sunday, we just have to watch the potential development of this area of low pressure. a bit of uncertainty attached, keep watching the forecast, but it could bring some more persistent rain later in the day and strong winds around the english channel. further north, though, something a bit brighter sunshine and showers, but feeling a little bit chillier. that's how it's looking, see you soon.

this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines... remaining covid restrictions are now set to be lifted england at the end of february — four weeks earlier than previously planned. the shortened timsecale was announced by borisjohnson, who said it depended on the current downward trend continuing. meanwhile, police are to review a decision not to investigate one of the downing street parties, after an image surfaced showing prime minister borisjohnson near a bottle of wine. police in southern india have made 15 arrests after violent protests over moves to ban islamic headscarves from colleges. the state of karnataka has shut down all high schools and colleges for three days. canadian police have threatened to arrest lorry drivers — and other protesters — who've shut down central ottawa for two weeks protesting about covid rules. those are your headlines.