this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. queen elizabeth has tested positive for covid—19. buckingham palace says she is experiencing mild cold—like symptoms but does expect to continue light duties. president putin and his french counterpart, emmanuel macron, agree to intensify diplomatic efforts over ukraine. it's as the country's president calls for an immediate ceasefire between government forces and pro—russian separatists in the east. the legal requirement to self—isolate after catching covid in england is expected to be dropped from next week despite concern from some scientists and medical groups. i'm not saying you can totally throw caution to the wind — covid remains dangerous

if you are vulnerable and if you are not vaccinated. but we need people to be much more confident and get back to work. and after 16 days of competition, the winter olympics come to a spectacular end in beijing, with china handing over to the hosts of the 2026 games, italy. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. buckingham palace has confirmed that the queen has tested positive for covid. the monarch is experiencing mild cold—like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at windsor

over the coming week. the queen, who is 95, had been in contact with her eldest son, the prince of wales, who tested positive last week. the prime minister, borisjohnson, has sent her best wishes, saying in a tweet that he wished her a swift recovery and a rapid return to vibrant good health. with the latest, here's our royal correspondent, nick witchell. this is all how buckingham palace is framing it. as you've reported, she tested positive for covid this morning at windsor castle, which is where she is based. mild, cold—like symptoms is how buckingham palace are describing it. she expects to continue with light duties at windsor over the coming week. "expects to continue." the imponderable in all of this is her age. the fact she is 95, she's just nine weeks short of her 96th birthday. she is ratherfrailer, physically,

than she was six months ago. that much we know — we've seen the images, the people who met her and saw her at sandringham at the anniversary of her accession said she is frailer now and walking with a stick. we last saw her at windsor castle in images on wednesday when she was meeting two officials from the mod. she said herself, "i can't move," there is this mobility issue. we don't quite know what's causing that, but she is as engaged and mentally as sharp as ever. clearly, she will now be receiving the full medical attention that would be appropriate for someone with mild, cold—like covid symptoms. the medical household, that's the name given to the royal doctors, led by professor sir hugh thomas, i'm sure they will have worked out over the months what they would do. a protocol of procedure. they've had two years to think about this, so they will be monitoring

the situation carefully. this is alljust common sense, isn't it? it's interesting, really, that, over the two years of the pandemic, they have successfully managed to keep the virus out of windsor castle — this bubble was formed around the queen in the early months, and that was very successful. there was a rota of royal officials who were with her, and everyone who comes near her would normally be tested to make sure they were covid—free. my understanding is in recent days there have been some cases within windsor castle, so the virus has got into the castle and has now reached the queen. there had been speculation she might have caught it from the prince of wales, whom she met on the 8th of february. a couple of days after that, we learned he had contracted covid, but he's now made a full recovery. in fact, he was due in wales on wednesday but that was postponed because of the storms. the duchess of cornwall has also contracted covid. i don't know if she

caught it from them. i think the virus has got into the castle and the queen has contracted it. that is the situation as far as we know it. let's speak to our correspondent at windsor castle, frances read. it has been a miserable afternoon for weather—wise. it has been a miserable afternoon forweather—wise. it it has been a miserable afternoon for weather—wise. it is very wet and windy day in windsor, and i think thatis windy day in windsor, and i think that is keeping some people away. nevertheless, we spoke to people from right across the country did not know the weather would be like this today, who came to windsor today. we spoke to people from all across the country who said they are wishing her well. so many people have had covid been impacted by covid over the last of years. they

really want her to get well soon. they are really sending all of their best wishes to her. let's listen to what some of them have had to say. we've come from manchester today, and obviously we found out that she was ill on the way here. it's quite upsetting, i hope she's all right. as long as she's 0k, - that's all that matters really, isn't it, at the end of the day? obviously, with her platinum jubilee, i think we want her to recover very quickly. and we want to see her back to herself again as soon as possible. while the queen has been told to stay on light duties and only do like tasks it at windsor, since it was announced she had covid the queen herself is sent out a message to congratulate great britain's curling teams at the winter olympics. "i send my warmest congratulations to the team gb women's curling team on your outstanding performance in winning the gold medal at the beijing 2022 olympic winter games, following the silver medal achieved by the men's curling team yesterday.

very typical that the queen is sending good wishes to others. but it's clear she is still getting on with some light duties and she is being monitored closely by her medical team. france's president macron has been holding a phone call with president putin in what the french government described as part of a last—ditch effort to avert a russian invasion of ukraine. it comes as russia and belarus are extending joint military exercises close to the border with ukraine. belarus said it's because of the increase in tensions between ukraine government forces and russian—backed separatists in the luhansk and donetsk areas of eastern ukraine. meanwhile, borisjohnson has warned that the us and uk would stop russian companies trading in pounds and dollars if there were an invasion. this report from peter saull. borisjohnson has spent the weekend

with other world leaders in munich. his attention firmly focused on ukraine. and this morning, a stark prediction about what might unfold on this man's territory. the plan that we are seeing is for something that could be really the biggest war in europe since 1945 in terms of sheer scale. you are looking at notjust an invasion through the east, through the donbas, but, according to intelligence we are seeing, coming down from the north, down from belarus and encircling kyiv itself. russian forces are continuing to carry out exercises, but moscow describes talk of an invasion as western hysteria. if it does happen, an incursion would prompt what the prime minister calls the toughest possible sanctions. we will stop russian companies raising money on uk markets. and with our american friends, we are even going to stop them trading in pounds and dollars.

that will hit very, very hard. while borisjohnson tackles matters of global importance, there is no escaping the problems back home. a questionnaire about his attendance at parties on downing street has been returned to the metropolitan police. so, if he is fined, will he resign? you are just going to have to wait until the process is complete. there is literally not a bean i can tell you about that, as much as i would like to. time and time again the prime minister refused to go there. do you not think you are just burying your head in the sand? i am fortunate to live in a democracy. be the prime minister of a free, independent democratic country where people can take that sort of decision, where i do face that kind of pressure. that is a wonderful thing. the growing tensions in eastern europe have given borisjohnson a chance to show leadership.

but the fight for his own political future is far from over. peter saull, bbc news. simon miles is a professor of slavic and eurasian studies at duke university. hejoins me from bucharest. i would imagine there is a great deal of anxiety about what is happening at the moment. i haven't noticed that — happening at the moment. i haven't noticed that at _ happening at the moment. i haven't noticed that at all. _ happening at the moment. i haven't noticed that at all. in _ happening at the moment. i haven't noticed that at all. in some - noticed that at all. in some conversations people have expressed concern but the sense here as indeed is the sense in kyiv right now is more tranquil than some of the headlines might indicate. that does raise the question _ headlines might indicate. that does raise the question about _ headlines might indicate. that does raise the question about what - raise the question about what exactly is the strategy that the white house is pursuing? antony on us television on blinken was on us television on sunday morning, saying, we

ukrainian leadership have made it very clear that the best way forward is to not necessarily downplay or ignore this, but call it what it is while also maintaining a sense of

perspective and balance. how difficult is _ perspective and balance. how difficult is it — perspective and balance. how difficult is it that _ perspective and balance. how difficult is it that from - perspective and balance. how difficult is it that from the ukrainian point of view this comes after the ceasefire deal, more honoured in the breach, under the minsk agreement? there seems to be quite a lot of diplomatic pressure to revive minsk, but minsk would effectively say to kyiv, you are giving up direct day—to—day control of what you have done in parts of your country. of what you have done in parts of your country-— your country. that's correct and furthermore — your country. that's correct and furthermore there _ your country. that's correct and furthermore there are - your country. that's correct and | furthermore there are provisions in the regions. it would give russian leaders who have a very direct line of communication effectively veto over issues like the future of the evolution of the

ukrainian constitution and major policy gone to their head, effectively, by the russians, and not one ukrainian leaders want to bring back in. is there a danger that the west makes concessions like those under minsk that destabilise not just those under minsk that destabilise notjust ukraine but some other parts of europe? that's a really important point, and has been overlooked in a lot of the conversations about what concessions could be made that might satiate or satisfy russian security concerns. we have no guarantees that this will be the last round of bargaining. if

you look at some of the actions taken by the russian military on the border, leaving behind huge parking lot is full of military vehicles that will stay behind long after troops leave, we do see that we are in this for the long haul, maybe not necessarily this round, but in future ones as well. the policymakers in europe and north america need to be mindful of the idea that perhaps giving putin an inch right now might encourage him to take a mile.— inch right now might encourage him to take a mile. thank you very much for beini to take a mile. thank you very much for being with _ to take a mile. thank you very much for being with us _ to take a mile. thank you very much for being with us today. _ to take a mile. thank you very much for being with us today. thanks - to take a mile. thank you very much for being with us today. thanks for. for being with us today. thanks for havin: for being with us today. thanks for having me- — the indian government has become the latest to advise its citizens in ukraine to leave the country temporarily amid fears of a russian invasion. it has arranged three air india flights this week to bring its citizens home from ukraine. the advisory notice from the indian embassy in kyiv came four days

after it asked indians to consider leaving. there are 20,000 indians in ukraine, mainly students. the headlines on bbc news... the queen has tested positive for covid—i9. buckingham palace says she is experiencing mild cold—like symptoms, but does expect to continue light duties at windsor this week. britain warns russian is planning the biggest conflict in europe since world war two. it's as russia and belarus take part in huge military exercises near the ukrainian border. the legal requirement to self—isolate after catching covid in england is expected to be dropped from next week as part of the government's "living with covid" plans. sport and, for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's holly.

good afternoon. some good news. no more getting up at 2am to watch curling. the winter olympics has been officially brought to a close in beijing. the closing cereremony at the bird nest stadium marked the end of over two weeks of action with almost 3,000 athletes competing. the international olympic committee president, thomas bach, used his speech at the closing ceremony to call for political leaders around the world to be inspired by the athletes. the olympic flame was extinguished, with the next games taking place in milan—cortina in italy in 2026. the winter paralympics begins in beijing on march the 4th. one of the final golds of the games

finally went to team gb. it came in the women's curling, led by skip eve muirhead, along with vicky wright, jen dodds and hailey duff, and mili smith beating the japan team 10—3 in the final. elsewhere on the final day, finland won their first olympic men's ice hockey gold with victory over the russian olympic committee. they beat the defending champions 2—1 to claim the last medal of the games. it rounds off an unbeaten run in the competition for finland, who have won a medal in the discipline in five of the past seven olympics. so, after 19 days of competition, norway top the medal table, taking home 16 golds in total — the most ever won at a single winter games. their 37—medal haul is ten more than germany, who finish second. the hosts, china, come third with the usa just behind.

to the premier league then, where there's been plenty of drama in the opening match of the afternoon with manchester united beating leeds united in a six—goal thriller. there was a thunderous atmostphere at elland road and, by half—time, united were two goals up thanks to captain harry maguire and bruno fernandes. leeds managed to pull things level with quick goals from rodrigo and raphina after the break. but manchester united restored their two—goal lead through fred and anthony elanga. li—2 it finished at elland road. at half—time we were fully aware that we have to always be on the front foot, we conceded two goals within two minutes and that change the whole game. the atmosphere was amazing of those five minutes, but we kept our heads up and showed unity on the pitch and that was the only way to achieve the job.

one more game in the premier league today with leicester city equalizing at wolves. ruben neves with the opening goal but ademola lookman has levelled things at molineaux. i—i there at half—time. in scotland, rangers missed the chance to move top of the premiership after the were held to a one all draw by dundee united. that means they stay second behind celtic who have giakoumakis to thank after his hat—trick helped them past dundee 3—2. they're now three points clear of rangers at the top. elsewhere this afternoon, ahead of hosting this years euros, england's women drew 0—0 with spain as part of their four team tournament. later, the other two sides in the competition, canada and germany, are in action. amir khan has admitted his loss to kell brook could well be his last fight, saying he fears taking more harmful punishment and wants to spend more time with his family. khan was sensationally stopped by brook to settle one of british

boxing's most bitter rivalries. brook was superior throughout the fight in manchester, which was eventually stopped in the sixth round. both fighters are now 35 years old. i've always said, i never want boxing to retire me — i want to retire from boxing before it does that. and like i said, punishment like that sometimes in boxing... took some big shots today. but too much of that can be sometimes harmful in the future, you know? so let's see. i'm going to sit there with my wife, my family, my dad and everyone and see where we go from here. but, like i said, credit goes to kell. he put on a great performance today. that's all the sport for now.

the legal requirement for people in england who test positive for covid to isolate is due to end in the coming days. the government will outline its "living with covid" plan tomorrow, saying that a combination of vaccines, treatments and testing are now enough to keep people safe. our health correspondent, jim reed, reports. living with covid has meant living with strict life changing restrictions but with vaccines keeping people out of hospital the government says there is last remaining laws will be lifted in england. the legal requirement of isolated totally.— isolated totally. covid remains dangerous _ isolated totally. covid remains dangerous if— isolated totally. covid remains dangerous if you _ isolated totally. covid remains dangerous if you are _ isolated totally. covid remains| dangerous if you are vulnerable isolated totally. covid remains - dangerous if you are vulnerable or not vaccinated but we need people to get back to work. the not vaccinated but we need people to get back to work.— get back to work. the move is part ofthe get back to work. the move is part of the government's _ get back to work. the move is part of the government's living - get back to work. the move is part of the government's living with - of the government's living with covid plan, published tomorrow. there is also speculation that free access to pcr and rapid lateral flow tests could be scaled back,

something that has worried labour. the key thing is that people have access_ the key thing is that people have access to — the key thing is that people have access to free testing, they know their_ access to free testing, they know their status and do the right thing iry their status and do the right thing by staying at home, which means they also need _ by staying at home, which means they also need access to the right level of sick— also need access to the right level of sick pay— also need access to the right level of sick pay to do the right thing. the world — of sick pay to do the right thing. the world health organization and groups representing doctors have described the move is premature and for people like piers, a cancer patient, there is still danger in lifting the last remaining restrictions. i lifting the last remaining restrictions.— lifting the last remaining restrictions. ., ., ,~ restrictions. i am a high risk individual _ restrictions. i am a high risk individual to _ restrictions. i am a high risk individual to covid, - restrictions. i am a high risk individual to covid, my - restrictions. i am a high risk. individual to covid, my family restrictions. i am a high risk- individual to covid, my family have to make _ individual to covid, my family have to make sacrifices _ individual to covid, my family have to make sacrifices to _ individual to covid, my family have to make sacrifices to keep - individual to covid, my family have to make sacrifices to keep me - individual to covid, my family have l to make sacrifices to keep me safe, how much— to make sacrifices to keep me safe, how much risk— to make sacrifices to keep me safe, how much risk can _ to make sacrifices to keep me safe, how much risk can be _ to make sacrifices to keep me safe, how much risk can be bare - to make sacrifices to keep me safe, how much risk can be bare without. how much risk can be bare without shielding _ how much risk can be bare without shielding again _ how much risk can be bare without shielding again for— how much risk can be bare without shielding again for an _ how much risk can be bare without shielding again for an indefinite i shielding again for an indefinite period — shielding again for an indefinite period of— shielding again for an indefinite period of time? _ shielding again for an indefinite period of time? the _ shielding again for an indefinite period of time?— shielding again for an indefinite eriod of time? . ., , , . period of time? the changes expected this week will — period of time? the changes expected this week will apply _ period of time? the changes expected this week will apply to _ period of time? the changes expected this week will apply to england - this week will apply to england only, other parts of the uk are moving at their own speed as the latest omicron wave of this virus passes. ethiopia has started generating the first electricity from its controversial dam

on the river nile. (00v)the four—billion dollar project is africa's biggest hydroelectric scheme. it's designed to double ethiopia's electricity capacity and transform its economy. but the project's caused friction with its neighbours downstream — as water is diverted from the nile before it reaches sudan and egypt. the first body has been found on a ferry that caught fire near greece on friday. another ten people are unaccounted for. all the missing people are thought to be lorry drivers from bulgaria, greece, turkey and lithuania. 280 passengers and crew were evacuated from the euroferry olympia after a fire broke out on friday. around 83,000 homes in the uk are still without power today following storm eunice. so far, 1.3 million households have been reconnected after damage caused by the storm. there are further weather warnings for wind covering much of the uk

and heavy rain in northern england with the met office issuing an amber warning for high winds in northern ireland from midnight earlier, our weather presenter, louise lear, gave me more details of that third named storm to hit the uk this week, storm franklin. it's going to start tonight at midnight and last through until 7am. so it's a relatively short space of time. but we could potentially see gusts of winds of 80 miles an hour, and that could have a significant impact. so certainly be prepared for some disruption on top of, already, the damage that we've had across the country. so the amber warning is for northern ireland, but it really is worth stressing that, for southern scotland, northern england, wales, west—facing coasts, we are likely to see gusts of wind 60—70 miles an hour. i was just looking earlier, actually, in cardigan bay and north wales, we've got 70 mile an hour gusts of wind at the moment. so, unfortunately, if you're trying to restore power, cos there's still several homes

without power, that's just going to exacerbate the issue. you can't go shinning up pylons and things. exactly — and there is a lot of heavy rain around at the moment across england and wales. i was going to ask you about the rain, because the environment agency, within a couple of minutes we've been reading that warning about potential evacuation in didsbury in south manchester, the environment agency say 460 homes are going to be evacuated because there is a risk to life to people living near the river mersey. we've got potentially — i haven't looked whether it's high spring tides, but you've got the surge effect with those strength of the winds, 60—70 miles an hour. lots of heavy rain. we've also, on top of that, it's incredibly mild out there, and we've got snowmelt from recent snow that we've had, so it's a very, tricky, messy picture to try to communicate at the moment, but basically it stays unsettled and, looking ahead for the weather for the week ahead, it stays unsettled right throughout the week, with the heaviest of the rain and the strongest of the winds as we go through the next few days, the emphasis is going to shift

towards scotland, northern ireland and northern england. the environment agency says 460 homes in the didsbury area of south manchester will be evacuated due to the severe flood warning issued earlier. these pictures taken this afternoon show the river mersey bursting its banks in the area. the severe flood warnings mean there is a "risk to life" to people living nearby. let's get more on that gold medalfor team gb at the beijing winter olympics on the last day of the games. as we heard earlier, the women's curling team, who'd battled through early defeats and difficulties, overwhelmed their opponents, japan, in the final with a 10—3 victory. for the captain, eve muirhead, it was gold at her fourth olympics and followed heartbreaking near misses at the last two. she called it a dream come true.

from beijing, laura scott reports. commentator: the handshakes come. it's a gold medal. finally... great britain have won the olympic title. ..a sweeping sweet success to give a golden glint to these games. it is curling gold. homing in on her target with an ice—cool stare, britain's skip was off. it can turn a little bit more, it needs to turn a little more, and she has done it. two on the board. the best of starts for great britain. team japan are known as curling's smiling assassins, but they were not smiling for long. their hope slid away in a moment that was all about eve. she just needs to hit this yellow onto the red, move it out of the house. it is four for great britain. you can hear the cheers. they know that could be the match—winning stone. they knew it, those watching knew it — japan knew it.

it was now only a matter of time before gold was in their grasp. and then it came — their shot at gold. eve muirhead has played yet another wonderful stone. great britain lead 10—3. and that's it! talk about saving the best until last. a long—awaited gold for team gb on the final day of the games, and britain's first olympic curling triumph in 20 years. to get the chance to play in the final was really special. but to go and win the final isjust... it's phenomenal, like it's kind of... i cannot put it in words just yet because i don't think it has sunk in. maybe it will do soon. this victory was worth the wait and worth its weight in gold. laura scott, bbc news, beijing. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear.

good evening. once again, damaging winds to come across the uk. the met office has issued an amber weather warning as storm franklin arrives over the next few hours. the amber warning is for northern ireland, with gusts of winds potentially peaking in excess of 80 miles an hour at times. now, this is storm franklin, this area of low pressure is going to continue to drift its way between iceland and the far north of scotland. it is on the southern flank where we will see the tightest of the isobars. that means the strongest of the winds as well. not only do we see strong winds, but we've also got some heavy rain and sharp showers moving through scotland, heavy persistent rain pushing out of southern scotland into northern england and wales as well. so the amber weather warning will remain in force until 7am on monday morning, with gusts of wind potentially 60—80 miles an hour, perhaps one or two stronger gusts in places as well. that has the potential to cause some significant disruption first thing in the morning, and it's notjust for northern ireland.

we are going to see strong gale force gusts of wind through irish sea coasts, in excess quite widely of 60 miles an hour, in some places, 70—75 miles an hour as well. with that rain, the temperatures are going to fall away, so it's going to be a chilly start to our monday morning as well, just to add insult to injury. the rain, however, will move quite swiftly south and east, and, as we go through the afternoon, it will be an improving picture. the winds will start to ease just a touch, gusting around about 35, a0 miles an hour in many places, and the showers will fade away, allowing for some sunny spells to come through and, after that chilly start, temperatures will recover, to top out between 8 and i3 celsius. so, as we say goodbye to monday and head towards tuesday, there is another area of low pressure in a similar position up into the far north, and that is going to bring some very strong winds and some heavy rain yet again. the rain, though, will weaken as it moves south and east, and then allow for some sunshine

to come through with a trail of scattered, possibly wintry showers, with elevation in the far north—west of scotland. top temperatures once again between 5 and i3 celsius. as we move into wednesday, it does look likely that we will start to see fewer showers around, and slightly lighter winds, and hopefully some glimpses of sunshine from time to time.

the queen tests positive for covid but expects to continue with light duties in the days ahead. she's said to be experiencing mild symptoms after contracting the virus weeks away from her 96th birthday. meanwhile, a plan for covid in england, due tomorrow, will include reduced testing and no legal requirement

to self—isolate. tens of thousands of homes in england and wales are still cut off from power supplies after storm eunice. great britain have won the olympic title. a gold at last in the final hours of the winter olympics in beijing. good afternoon. buckingham palace has announced that the queen — who is 95 — has tested positive for covid—i9. in a statement, she was said to be experiencing "mild, cold—like symptoms" but expecting to continue "light duties" at windsor castle in the coming week. she is the third member of the royal family to have contracted the virus in recent days. here's our royal correspondent,

nicholas witchell. i'm here! windsor castle on wednesday, the queen meeting defence officials. the only health issue then was to do with her mobility. morning, your majesty, how are you? well, as you can see, i can't move. congratulations... that exclamation, "i can't move," is thought to indicate she may be having knee or hip trouble. but now, after two years of careful shielding from the risk of covid, it is clear that the virus has penetrated windsor castle. several staff have tested positive, and so has the queen. in a statement, buckingham palace said... "her majesty is experiencing mild cold—like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at windsor over the coming week. she will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines." those light duties are expected to include continuing with the paperwork as head of state.

shortly after the palace confirmed the queen had covid, she sent a message congratulating the team gb women's and men's curling teams on their medals at the winter games. the main concerns of the queen's doctors will focus around the fact that she is nowjust nine weeks from her 96th birthday. any person of that age will need to be monitored fairly carefully, and also, i think giving her anti—virals, we do know that if you give anti—virals early on in an illness, you can substantially reduce the risk of severe disease. the queen is thought to have been fully vaccinated against covid, and if she is given anti—viral drugs, they should protect against serious illness. political leaders were quick to tweet their good wishes. the prime minister said... "i am sure i speak for everyone in wishing her majesty the queen a swift recovery from covid and a rapid return to vibrant good health." the leader of the opposition, sir keir starmer, tweeted... "on behalf of myself

and the whole of uk labour, wishing her majesty the queen good health and a speedy recovery. get well soon, ma'am." in recent days, both the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall have tested positive for covid. the prince, who met his mother at windsor on the 8th of february, has already made a full recovery. it is to be hoped that his mother will do the same. nicholas witchell, bbc news. the news from buckingham palace comes as ministers prepare to unveil a new plan for �*living with covid' in england, including ending the legal requirement for people to self—isolate after testing positive. labour has accused the government of "declaring victory before the war is over". our health editor, hugh pym, reports. a new direction, moving ahead without legal restrictions, but today's developments underline again that the virus can still spread. the requirement to self—isolate after a positive test is set to be scrapped in england

following tomorrow's announcement, but there have been warnings that detailed guidance for the public will be needed. restrictions can end, but we need that to happen with provisions for people that are clinically vulnerable. we need that to happen for those that need to take time off work to be able to do that safely, both for their health and their finances, so there needs to be an awful lot of planning around this. it cannot be as simple as restrictions end for everyone, this is freedom day for everyone. the latest survey by the office for national statistics suggests that just under 3 million people in the uk had the virus in the week ending the 12th of february, lower than the peak but still relatively high. but, with daily covid hospital admissions, there has been a continuing downward trend, from over 2000 at one stage to closer at 1000 today. the prime minister said today that testing would be at a much lower level, and pcr testing sites

are likely to be wound down. borisjohnson said the ability to monitor the virus would be maintained. free lateral flow test kits are likely to be cut back, with availability only in certain settings and for those most at risk. and the nhs is trying to move forward after intense covid pressure. it is time to recover. it is time to try and get things back to normality. i'm afraid this virus is with us. you know, we are inevitably going to see more variants emerge in the fullness of time, but we have better tools of dealing with this, both in the community and in hospital. hospital staff will hope that responsible public behaviour will continue as the government's plan for living with covid is implemented. hugh pym, bbc news. more now on the queen — our royal correspondent nicholas witchell�*s here in the studio.

talking about living with covid on one hand, and then this reminder of the virus reaching people in every part of society. the virus reaching people in every part of society-— the virus reaching people in every part of society. they have shielded her so successfully _ part of society. they have shielded her so successfully for _ part of society. they have shielded her so successfully for very - part of society. they have shielded her so successfully for very nearly | her so successfully for very nearly two years now, mostly of course at windsor, forming this bubble around her, staff testing all the time, small numbers of staff working in relays, but clearly things are relaxing in the virus has got into the castle. several members of staff, we understand, have tested positive, and now the queen. according to buckingham palace, the symptoms are mild, she is fully vaccinated, we believe, though she won't confirm that, and there is the option of anti—viral drugs. the imponderable factor of course is her age, 95, nearly 96, and age equals vulnerability in this situation, obviously. i imagine that would be the principal area of concern for royal doctors, led by professor sir hugh thomas. no bulletins from

buckingham palace, that is not how they operate. if they have something to say, they will say it. at the end of what has been an unsettling week for the royalfamily, it is of what has been an unsettling week for the royal family, it is clearly the determination of the queen to carry on. she expects, as the palace has said, to continue with light duties, so the paperwork and virtual audiences. . ~ duties, so the paperwork and virtual audiences. w' . ~ duties, so the paperwork and virtual audiences. w' ., ~' , ., , audiences. nick, thank you very much. nearly 80,000 homes in england and wales are still cut off from power supplies in the wake of storm eunice. the south west and the south east are likely to be the last to be re—connected. and now another storm — franklin — is on its way. james reynolds reports. in south manchester, the environment agency has issued a "risk to life" flood warning. it will evacuate hundreds of homes in the east didsbury area. pravin and his son have come out to check the water level for themselves. our house is just pretty much on the edge of the river, so we are probably at quite high risk of flooding if there is any — hopefully not.

in the west of england, more than 20,000 properties remain without power. thank you so much. caroline bullock and her 91—year—old mother kathleen have had to rely on the help of neighbours. friends have been fantastic in bringing us thermoses of hot water for hot water bottles to keep my mother warm. the village of wadhurst in kent lost power on friday morning. repairs are slow. 80—year—old carole robbins has not had any official help. normally, somebody my age, they term me as vulnerable so they would ring or send texts, but i have heard nothing from anyone, so i have no means of finding out, other than other people, when it might come back on. these pictures of rising water levels were taken today in bakewell near the river wye in the derbyshire dales. storm eunice will now be followed by storm franklin. the met office has issued another amber weather warning for storm franklin,

actually for the north coast of northern ireland, valid from midnight tonight until 7am on monday morning, when we are going to see potential gusts of wind in excess of 80 mph. but i also want to stress that we could see damaging gusts of wind once again across southern scotland, northern england and parts of wales. in omagh in northern ireland, water levels have risen and the wider area now braces for the strong winds of storm franklin. james reynolds, bbc news. more now on what is to come with that new storm, franklin. northern ireland is expected to bear the brunt of it. our correspondent emma vardyjoins us from newtownards. how severe is it likely to be, emma? well, it's feeling pretty gusty already, let me tell you, and it's expected to get quite a bit worse, winds of up to 80 mph predicted in northern ireland's coastal areas, and it is forecast to feel the

strongest winds of all parts of the uk when storm franklin peaks here, which is expected to be overnight and into the early hours of tomorrow morning. northern ireland has already experienced quite a lot of disruption today — flooding, roads closed in various areas, and there is predicted to be more travel disruption ahead, potentially disruption ahead, potentially disruption to the ferries crossing the irish sea. meteorologists have tried to explain why we are getting such a battering at the moment. i'm told it's because there is a very active jet stream driving storms towards the uk. we had storm dudley on web and stayed, storm eunice on friday and then stomp rightly today. it is time to batten down the hatches, because in northern ireland, that amber weather warning is in place overnight until 7am tomorrow. we is in place overnight until 7am tomorrow-— is in place overnight until 7am tomorrow. ~ , ., tomorrow. we will let you get in, emma vardy. _ tomorrow. we will let you get in, emma vardy, thank _ tomorrow. we will let you get in, emma vardy, thank you - tomorrow. we will let you get in, emma vardy, thank you very - tomorrow. we will let you get in, i emma vardy, thank you very much. and your local radio station will have all the detail

for where you live. you can find your nearest station at bbc.co.uk/sounds. the french government has said that president putin of russia is prepared to pursue a diplomatic solution to the crisis over ukraine. he and president macron spoke today as russia continued to carry out military exercises close to ukraine's northern border with belarus. our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford reports from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. distant explosions. these drills in belarus were meant to end with russian tanks rolling back to their bases. but all this firepower is now staying put indefinitely, not farfrom ukraine's border. in a crisis that is all about signalling, this is russia refusing to de—escalate. let's really take a moment to understand the significance of what we are talking about. it has been over 70 years, and through those 70 years, as i mentioned yesterday, there has been peace and security. we are talking about the real

possibility of war in europe. russia is talking up the danger, too, helping evacuate women and children from the breakaway regions of ukraine it controls, claiming kyiv is planning an attack there. so president macron phoned vladimir putin today. the kremlin did agree to continue seeking a diplomatic solution, but its troops are still in place, despite the threat of sanctions. we have to accept at the moment that vladimir putin is possibly thinking... ..illogically about this and doesn't see the disaster ahead. and i think it's vital for us all now to get over what a catastrophe it would be for russia. but for russia, this is all about pulling ukraine back into its orbit. eight years ago, ukrainians came out in huge numbers on this very square to demand their independence, the right to decide their own future and direction

without moscow dictating. they paid a really heavy price for that, but the feeling is stronger than ever now. so they are preparing to resist, here, any way they can. this was self—defence for women for a wartime scenario. pretty extreme, but so are the predictions of western governments in this crisis. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. football. and england's women have drawn 0—0 with spain in the arnold clark cup at norwich city's carrow road. england's best chance of the game came just after half—time when lauren hemp hit the post. england face germany on wednesday in their third match of the round—robin competition. in the final hours of the winter olympics in china, team gb have won a gold medal. the women's curling team beat japan a day after the men won a silver.

the games have now closed with thousands of athletes parading through the bird's nest olympic stadium in beijing, with the british flag carried by the curling silver medallist, bruce mouat. andy swiss reports. it is curling gold! saving the best till last — a glittering finale to britain's games, as eve muirhead's team delivered the perfect ending. this could be the most important stone of the match. curling is so often a sport of cliffhangers. not this time. britain led japan from the off, and a moment of muirhead magic took them out of sight. it is four for great britain. triumph was now only a matter of time, and when britain extended their lead to a massive 10—3, enough was enough. that's it! and so a team which onlyjust squeaked into the semifinals were now olympic champions. for muirhead, at herfourth games, it was particularly sweet. it is a dream come true for myself and for the rest of the girls as well. it has been a journey to get here. we are olympic champions and,

yeah, what a five we are. it is such a special, special moment. gets himself forward... oh, no, and they've - crashed, they've crashed! aside from their two medals in the curling, though, the truth is britain have struggled here. their target was between three and seven medals and they failed to reach it. and he's crashed! there are definitely athletes and teams going home disappointed, you know, we are not going to hide away from that. it would have been nice to have achieved some medals on the snow and also on the skeleton and bobsleigh. so we will go home and we will make sure we review that properly and understand what happened. suitably, it was the curlers that led the british team into the closing ceremony. and so the end of a games which were contentious before they even began, taking place against the backdrop of covid, and concerns over both sustainability and china's human rights record. and they were dominated by a sporting scandal of the russian 15—year—old kamila valieva, who was cleared to compete after failing a drugs test.

but despite everything, the head of the olympics said the games were exceptional, and the athletes an example to the world. may the political leaders around the world be inspired by your example of solidarity and peace. and finally, the flame was extinguished, and the fireworks ignited. a colourful end to one of the olympics' most controversial games. andy swiss, bbc news, beijing. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. we're back with the late news at ten o'clock. now, on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are.

hello. this is bbc news.

83,000 homes in the uk are still without power today following storm eunice. are still without power today there are further weather warnings are still without power today for wind covering much of the uk and heavy rain in northern england with the met office issuing an amber warning for high winds in northern ireland from midnight tonight as the third named storm of the week — storm franklin — is expected to bring more rain and gale force winds across the uk. our weather presenter louise lear gave me more details of that third named storm to hit the uk this week, storm franklin. it's going to start tonight at midnight and last through until 7am. so, it's a relatively short space of time. but we could potentially see gusts of winds of 80 miles an hour, and that could have a significant impact. so, certainly be prepared for some disruption on top of, already, the damage that we've had across the country. so, the amber warning is for northern ireland, but it really is worth stressing that for southern scotland, northern england, wales,

west—facing coasts, we are likely to see gusts of wind 60—70 miles an hour. i was just looking earlier, actually, in cardigan bay and north wales, we've got 70 mile an hour gusts of wind at the moment. so, unfortunately, if you're trying to restore power, cos there's still several homes without power, that's just going to exacerbate the issue. you can't go shinning up pylons and things. exactly — and there is a lot of heavy rain around at the moment across england and wales. i was going to ask you about the rain, because the environment agency, within a couple of minutes we've been reading that warning about potential evacuation in didsbury in south manchester, the environment agency say 460 homes are going to be evacuated because there is a risk to life to people living near the river mersey. we've got potentially — i haven't looked whether it's high spring tides, but you've got the surge effect with those strength of the winds, 60 or 70 miles an hour. lots of heavy rain. we've also, on top of that, it's incredibly mild out there, and we've got snowmelt from recent snow that we've had, so it's a very, tricky, messy picture to try to communicate

at the moment, but basically it stays unsettled, and looking ahead for the weather for the week ahead, it stays unsettled right throughout the week, with the heaviest of the rain and the strongest of the winds as we go through the next few days, the emphasis is going to shift towards scotland, northern ireland and northern england. the french president emmanuel macron has discussed the continuing tensions over ukraine in a phone conversation with the russian leader, vladimir putin. mr putin accused the ukrainian military of provoking an escalation in the east of the country, where russian—backed rebels want to break away from kyiv. meanwhile, the security conference in munich has ended. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet explains what leaders tried to achieve. the security barriers are coming down behind us, and the convoys of limousines are speeding to the airport to take the delegations away from this munich security conference. the chairman of the conference described it as possibly the most

consequential conference in a very long time. there was regret that sergey lavrov, the russian foreign minister, decided to stay away this year. but russia was the topic of almost every discussion. it was the question that was constantly buzzing through the halls. will president putin invade ukraine? will there be some kind of an incursion? and the message that came clearly from munich this year was that nato was going, and the western alliance — the usa, canada, european partners — they were all going to stand together with a package of robust sanctions if president putin made a move across the border. this munich security conference, which always deals with the most pressing world crises, was all about what to do if president putin does make a move. of course, in the background, president biden in the united states was saying "i am convinced he's made the decision."

more scepticism here, particularly among the europeans saying, "we are not sure if he has actually made that decision. how are we to know?" it is a decision perhaps only known by president putin himself. but the idea is that we have to be ready for every eventuality. and of course, if it is meant to be a venue for diplomacy, to keep saying, as the president of the european commission told us, diplomacy has not spoken its last word. what difference will it make? quite a question that nobody at this stage can answer. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. good evening. once again, damaging winds to come across the uk. the met office has issued an amber weather warning as storm franklin arrives over the next few hours. the amber warning is for northern ireland, with gusts of winds potentially peaking in excess of 80 miles an hour at times. now, this is storm franklin, this area of low pressure

is going to continue to drift its way between iceland and the far north of scotland. it is on the southern flank where we will see the tightest of the isobars. that means the strongest of the winds, as well. not only do we see strong winds, but we've also got some heavy rain and sharp showers moving through scotland, heavy persistent rain pushing out of southern scotland into northern england and wales, as well. so, the amber weather warning will remain in force until 7am on monday morning, with gusts of wind potentially 60—80 miles an hour, perhaps one or two stronger gusts in places, as well. that has the potential to cause some significant disruption first thing in the morning, and it's notjust for northern ireland. we are going to see strong gale force gusts of wind through irish sea coasts, in excess quite widely of 60 miles an hour, in some places, 70—75 miles an hour, as well. with that rain, the temperatures are going to fall away, so it's going to be a chilly start to our monday morning, as well, just to add insult to injury. the rain, however, will move quite

swiftly south and east, and as we go through the afternoon, it will be an improving picture. the winds will start to ease just a touch, gusting around about 35, a0 miles an hour in many places, and the showers will fade away allowing for some sunny spells to come through, and after that chilly start, temperatures will recover, to top out between 8 and i3 celsius. so, as we say goodbye to monday and head towards tuesday, there is another area of low pressure in a similar position up into the far north, and that is going to bring some very strong winds and some heavy rain yet again. the rain, though, will weaken as it moves south and east, and then allow for some sunshine to come through with a trail of scattered, possibly wintry showers, with elevation in the far north—west of scotland. top temperatures once again between 5 and i3 celsius. as we move into wednesday, it does look likely that we will start to see fewer showers around, and slightly lighter winds, and hopefully some glimpses of sunshine from time to time.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. queen elizabeth has tested positive for covid—i9. buckingham palace says she is experiencing mild cold—like symptoms but does expect to continue light duties. president putin and his french counterpart, emmanuel macron, agree to intensify diplomatic efforts over ukraine. it's as the country's president calls for an immediate ceasefire between government forces and pro—russian separatists in the east the legal requirement to self—isolate after catching covid in england is expected to be dropped from next week despite concern from some scientists and medical groups.

i'm not saying you can totally throw caution to the wind —