welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: protests spread across india and beyond against a ban on the muslim headscarf in some colleges in one southern state. two years of covid restrictions are set to end in england. rules are also eased in parts of europe and the us. canadian police threaten to arrest lorry drivers who have shut down central ottawa as anger and mandatory covid vaccines spread. who have shut down central ottawa as anger at mandatory covid vaccines spread. mission control: 2...1...0. and scientists in britain make a major new advance in the quest to generate energy

from nuclearfusion. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news — it's newsday. it is nine in the morning in singapore and six in the indian state of kolkata. we start in india where authorities are braced for more protests amid a row over wearing the islamic headscarf in a college. the controversy began when hijab—wearing students were denied entry to their schools in karnataka. people are waking up in the final day of a three—day closure. protests have now spread to other cities in india, including kolkata and chennai, two of the guests

cities and in hyderabad. 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, profess and propagate religion. all chanting. the hijab issue has taken a communal twist. here, hindu students arrive at schools with 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 cannot come as 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. in other headlines today: rules requiring people

in england with covid to self isolate could be lifted within weeks. borisjohnson is hoping to remove the remaining domestic restrictions a month earlier than planned, due to what he called encouraging trends in the data. restrictions have also been lifted in parts of europe and the us and more on that in just a minute but first our health editor hugh pym who 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 lifted in england, including the ending of the legal requirement to isolate after a positive test, ending perhaps as soon as february the 21st. reporter: are you going off to save your leadership, - prime minister? the prime minister headed to the commons to make the announcement, with an eye perhaps to cheering up his backbench mps, pulling forward to the ending of restrictions which had been planned for march. provided the current encouraging trends in the data

continue, it is my expectation we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions — including the legal requirement to self—isolate if you test positive — a full month early. later, 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 first anticipated, and the continued take—up of boosterjabs. i don't think this is a scientific decision, though. i think it's clear the rates are still very, very high, particularly 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, and says she's much more likely to stay indoors. 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'll publish their own plans in due course on life with covid. hugh pym, bbc news. england is not alone in looking at ease in 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 alsojoined them. vaccine passes will no longer be required for indoor events and limits on indoor crowds will be scrapped, too. let's hear the reaction in stockholm. i am so happy. finally the day has come. we feel freedom, we can go anywhere and not think about anything, so we hope it is still going to work ok. and no backlash. people should be more careful. the virus is still here.

and get vaccinated. similar moves in the us where some states are scrapping mask mandates, including new york, after it saw steep decline in cases. here is 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 it 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 or the vaccination requirement. while here in asia, the philippines will reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travellers from thursday, becoming the latest south east 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, those are called endemics. well, john burn—murdoch is the chief data reporter for the financial times and explains what that means and how close the covid—i9 pandemic is from becoming an endemic disease. 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 levels of infection because immunity levels are so high that the number of susceptible people is small and therefore you don't see these huge waves that we've been seeing. so by that definition i think we would probably say we are not at endemicityjust yet because we are still seeing numbers go up in numbers come down.

and the other definition is that the sheer number of people who now have some degree of immunity to the virus means that even the case rates may still go slightly up, slightly down over the next few months, the number of people getting severely ill, there is much less room for movement in those numbers because so many people have strong levels of antibodies now. so i think the exact point when we reach endemicity depends on the exact definition one uses but certainly, if we are talking about this virus becoming something that is very widespread, very large numbers of people have now been exposed to it, either in the wild, as it were, or through vaccination, and the result of that being that immunity levels in the population are very high, we are certainly very close to that point. meanwhile, police detectives in the uk investigating lockdown parties in downing street are sending out questionnaires to about 50 people who are believed to have taken part. scotland yard said it would review its assessment that a christmas quiz in december 2020 did not meet the threshold for a criminal investigation, after the daily mirror

newspaper in britain published a photo showing the prime minister alongside an official who was wearing tinsel and what appeared to be an open bottle of sparkling wine. this i think is a significant development. this is the metropolitan police special enquiry team who have said they have identified more than 50 individuals who they believe took part in those parties, events in downing street, in whitehall. they are each going to be sent a letter with a legal questionnaire, being told they have to answer truthfully and within seven days and they are investigating, remember, 12 parties. damian grammaticas reporting on that story for us. in other stories for you today: canadian police have warned truck drivers they will 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 demonstration 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 protest

is to eliminate vaccine mandates for truckers crossing the border, well, that hasn't happened yet. but as covid—i9 cases begin to recede 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 global threat, 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 hussain, bbc news, ottawa. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come in the programme:

the not—so modern man, the discovery in france that shows homo sapiens may have arrived in europe a lot earlier than we thought. there's mr mandela, mr nelson mandela. a free man taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader, ayatollah khomeini, 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, - 'ba by 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 of all her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. this is news day on the bbc. our headlines: protests spread across india and beyond against across india and beyond against a ban on the muslim headscarf in some colleges in one southern state. two years of covid restrictions are set to end in england. rules are also eastern parts of europe and the united states. let's turn to nuclear fusion united states. let's turn to nuclearfusion now, because a uk lab has smashed the record for generating energy from nuclearfusion reaction. researchers say the breakthrough represents a big step towards harnessing the

energy source of the stars. nuclear fusion energy source of the stars. nuclearfusion is energy source of the stars. nuclear fusion is the energy source of the stars. nuclearfusion 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 without the reaction took place. two, one, zero... this is the record-breaking _ two, one, zero... this is the record-breaking reaction. it| two, one, zero... this is the. record-breaking reaction. it is record—breaking reaction. it is more than a ten times hotter than the heart of the sun. —— more than hundred and 50 million celsius. and it happened here at the world's was powerful fusion plant, happened here at the world's was powerfulfusion plant, jet fusion in oxfordshire. it is, says beating here, a landmark for this technology. this says beating here, a landmark for this technology.— for this technology. this is really significant. - for this technology. this is really significant. what - for this technology. this is really significant. what we j really significant. what we have managed to demonstrate insideje is that we can create a minisun can hold get really good performance levels, which is a main step forward in our quest to get fusion power plants. quest to get fusion power lants. ~ .,, quest to get fusion power

lants. n,, . ., plants. most nuclear reactors use vision- — plants. most nuclear reactors use vision. that _ plants. most nuclear reactors use vision. that is _ plants. most nuclear reactors use vision. that is when - plants. most nuclear reactors use vision. that is when big, | use vision. that is when big, unstable items 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 coming to get lots of energy, and this timejust a tiny get lots of energy, and this time just a tiny bit of short lived radiation. creating miniature 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 fitting much forever. that is because the hydrogen fuel fusion uses is so readily available. and a key part of this reaction only lasts for five seconds, and only generated enough powerfor 60 capitals, but it is an important proof that scientists

are on the right track. —— kettles. there is still lots of work to do, and tina apply to is one of a new generation of physicists who plans to do it. at a scaled up version of the uk reactor being built here in the south of france. do you think you will see commercial fusion in your lifetime?- fusion in your lifetime? yes, i'm confident, _ fusion in your lifetime? yes, i'm confident, i _ fusion in your lifetime? yes, i'm confident, i want - fusion in your lifetime? yes, i'm confident, i want to - i'm confident, i want to believe in it.— i'm confident, i want to believe in it. so answer me this, why — believe in it. so answer me this, why is _ believe in it. so answer me this, why is it _ believe in it. so answer me this, why is it taking - believe in it. so answer me this, why is it taking so - believe in it. so answer me i this, why is it taking so long? it is hard. it is really hard, it is very complex, but it is worth it and we just do it for the future. worth it and we 'ust do it for the futureh worth it and we 'ust do it for the future._ the future. fusion energy is carbon free, _ the future. fusion energy is carbon free, but _ the future. fusion energy is carbon free, but it - the future. fusion energy is carbon free, but it is - the future. fusion energy is carbon free, but it is not. 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've got to keep working on it. justin rowlatt, bbc news, oxfordshire. well, earlier i spoke to claire moskowitz, the senior editor at scientific american, and she

explained how this ranks as a breakthrough in scientific achievements. it is still a baby step, you know. the big thing with fusion power is that we have not yet been able to extract more energy from it then we put in, and this experiment is no different, you know, but they have taken out more energy than ever before, so it is a really promising sign that we are on the right track.— the right track. clackamas surely the _ the right track. clackamas surely the goal _ the right track. clackamas surely the goal is - the right track. clackamas surely the goal is to - the right track. clackamas surely the goal is to be i the right track. clackamas i surely the goal is to be able to get more energy from the thanit to get more energy from the than it takes to produce it. —— claire,, surely. are we anywhere close to that now? we are anywhere close to that now? - are getting close, this experiment they are talking about which is coming up, eter in france, it is supposed open in france, it is supposed open in 2025 and basically it is a bigger version of the experiment we are talking about malcolm and the fact that the experiment just malcolm and the fact that the experimentjust had these positive results, but it broke records, that it got more energy outcome is a really optimistic sign that when eter turns on in 2025 it is going to

work as it is supposed to do. and that will be the first time that we ever create net energy, that we ever create net energy, thatis that we ever create net energy, that is at least the hope, that is what eter is designed to do. so how long, you know, what are we looking out, a few decades or beyond that, even, in terms of when this might be able to replace conventional energy sources? ., , , . sources? the optimistic forecast _ sources? the optimistic forecast are _ sources? the optimistic forecast are for- sources? the optimistic forecast are for 2050, l sources? the optimistic. forecast are for 2050, but sources? the optimistic- forecast are for 2050, but i see sceptics are holding out. first of all, we still need to prove the concept, we haven't yet done that. once you can do it in $1 billion machine, that doesn't mean you can spread it around the world in a practical way immediately. but i am an optimist as well, so i have to say, i am quite excited by this result and i really do hope that in my lifetime we will see fusion reactors, because it will be a completely different form of energy than anything we have had before. we form of energy than anything we have had before.— have had before. i've got to sa , i

have had before. i've got to say. i am — have had before. i've got to say. i am an _ have had before. i've got to say, i am an optimist - have had before. i've got to say, i am an optimist as - have had before. i've got to l say, i am an optimist as well, so i am with you there, i am hoping this is something we do see in our lifetimes. butjust on that point of sort of global collaboration, right, the other fascinating part of this for me has been that there are hundreds of scientists working on this from around the world at a time when, i think it is better to say, there is a great deal of geopolitical strive for a certain amount of it. what does that tell you about how the scientific community can come together to achieve these sorts of breakthroughs? absolutely. i mean, that is why i cover this stuff, because i find it is this gleam of hope in a sometimes depressing world, where you see that a lot of people just want to work together towards a positive outcome, and, you know, hydrogen atoms, they don't care about political boundaries, and i think that, you know, what they have achieved in this experiment is just purely awesome, it isjust experiment is just purely awesome, it is just so cool what they have done, they have

harnessed the power of a star inside a lavatory on earth. and that transcends everything, right? that is something that all people can get behind. i couldn't have put it better myself. that was claire moscowitz, senior editor at scientific american, under remarkable breakthrough and that achievement we have been telling you about. o nto onto another remarkable breakthrough now, 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 fossilised remains of homo sapiens, a species to which all modern human beings belong, alongside those of neanderthals, but is an extinct species of archaic humans, his disappearance remains a hotly debated issue. our science correspondent calliper gosh —— pallab ghosh has the story. sifting through ancient remains, archaeologists have been

scrabbling in the french summer 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. before we go, some happy news out of the indian state of carolyn, where army mountaineers have rescued a hiker who fell over a cliff and got stuck on a ledge. —— kerala. on the 23—year—old man fell while hiking with friends he got stuck in a crevice just big enough for him to sit in. he was stranded for two days without food or water, as three different rescue teams tried and failed to reach him. the army were finally able to pull him out on wednesday. he is said to be in good health and good spirits. that's it from us

on newsday. thanks so much for watching. from the team, please 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, a 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 coasts, 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. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. no one dies alone in intensive care. it's me that sits there and holds your relative's hand. it's me that talks to them in their last few minutes. it is me that makes sure they're comfortable. no two days are the same.

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