the queen has tested positive for coronavirus — and is said to be experiencing mild symptoms. the news comes ahead of her 96th birthday in april and in her platinum jubilee year. found out she was ill on the way here, quite upsetting, i hope she's all right. we want her to recover very quickly and we want to see her back to herself again as soon as possible. at the same time — a new �*living with covid' plan for england is about to be unveiled — we'll be looking at the changes. also tonight: we're on the front line in eastern ukraine, as soldiers face the possibility of a russian invasion. ukrainian troops here tell us they are ready for whatever may come. but no one knows what

that will look like. storm franklin is headed for northern ireland and an amber warning for wind is in place and we have already seen severe flooding. great britain have won the olympic title. a gold medal in beijing in the final hours of the winter olympics. good evening. buckingham palace announced today that the queen had tested positive for coronavirus. she's said to be experiencing mild cold—like symptoms — and is expecting to be able to continue with �*light duties' at windsor castle this week. the news came just two weeks after the queen marked 70 years since her accession to the throne — and ahead of her 96th birthday.

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... the leader of the opposition,

sir keir starmer, tweeted... 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. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell�*s here in the studio. how witchell�*s here in the studio. will the palace deal w level how will the palace deal with the level of public interest in how the queen is doing?— level of public interest in how the queen is doing? they have a very straightforward, _ queen is doing? they have a very straightforward, although - queen is doing? they have a very straightforward, although not- queen is doing? they have a very straightforward, although not a l straightforward, although not a helpful attitude to all this, that is, essentially it is a private matter so there will be no bulletins, there will be no updates. if we have something to say, we will say it, if we don't, we won't, is their approach. say it, if we don't, we won't, is theirapproach. forthe say it, if we don't, we won't, is their approach. for the royal doctors, their priority is to make

sure these symptoms do not deteriorate into something worse. the queen has been triple vaccinated can so we understand, she is also a believer in homeopathic medicines and there is the possibility of these anti—viral drugs. the big imponderable in all of this is her age, any one of 95, nearly 96 is going to be considered to be vulnerable. the medical household has had lots of time to think about this, make a plan. they have been successful in protecting herfrom the virus these last two years, a bubble was created around her. they hope they will be successful in treating her and for her part, the queen, i am sure, treating her and for her part, the queen, iam sure, it treating her and for her part, the queen, i am sure, it will wish to be very stoical about it and continue as much as she can with those light duties. . ~ as much as she can with those light duties. w' . ~ as much as she can with those light duties. w ., ~ , ., , as much as she can with those light duties. w ., ~ ,, , . well the news about the queen came as the government prepares to unveil a new plan on �*living with covid�* in england — which includes dropping the legal requirement

for people to self—isolate if they test positive. in a bbc interview today the prime minister also indicated that he wants to reduce the amount of testing. here�*s our health editor hugh pym everyday life with covid has involved many guidelines on how to keep safe — that won�*t change. but the big shift tomorrow will be the announcement that remaining laws governing public behaviour are set to be scrapped in england, including the requirement to self—isolate after testing positive. and pcr testing sites will be wound down, though the government says the ability to monitor the virus will be maintained. free lateral flow test kits are likely to be cut back, with availability only for those most at risk and that could prove controversial. we need resilience but we don�*t need to keep, for instance on testing, we don�*t need to keep spending at a rate of £2 billion a month, which is what we were doing injanuary. the key thing is that people have access to free testing, they know their status and they do

the right thing by staying at home. scotland�*s health secretary said the uk government must continue to fund testing in any nation where there is health advice to keep it. more generally, there is a plea for detailed and comprehensive guidance for the public. restrictions can end but we need that to happen with provisions for people that are clinically vulnerable. we need that for 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. the latest survey by the office for national statistics suggests thatjust under 3 million people in the uk had the virus in the week ending february the 12th. that was 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 to 1000 a day. 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 the 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. the new plan for covid in england comes as the police continue to investigate whether the prime minister and others in downing street broke any covid rules. our political correspondent damian grammaticas is here — the lifting of covid restrictions had previously been planned for march? yes, these restrictions were in place for another month. the lifting

of them was signalled about ten days ago or so and it still needs to be decided by the full cabinet tomorrow and that should be followed by a formal announcement. boris and that should be followed by a formalannouncement. borisjohnson formal announcement. boris johnson says formalannouncement. borisjohnson says the time has come to move away from legal restrictions to guidance, backed up by vaccinations and medical treatments. many are not convinced. labour saying this is the prime minister, under police investigation who is seeking headlines over a victory over covid. they say the move is premature. union saying they think it is reckless and designed to appeal to conservative backbenchers. it is worth saying that the government�*s and messaging about this says the pandemic is not over and its future course is deeply uncertain.- course is deeply uncertain. thank ou ve course is deeply uncertain. thank you very much- — president putin is said to be prepared to pursue a diplomatic solution to the crisis over ukraine. the assessment came from the french government after a phone call between mr putin and president

macron. russia continued to carry out military exercises with belarus — close to ukraine�*s northern border. our eastern europe correspondent 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�*s all about signalling, this is russia refusing to de—escalate. let�*s really take a moment to understand the significance of what we�*re 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�*re 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. the ukrainian government has said there�*s been more shelling and mortarfire in the east of the country — where separatists backed by russia have held two areas for the last eight years. the ongoing conflict there has claimed 14,000 lives — and there are fears moscow could use any escalation as a pretext to invade. our international correspondent orla guerin reports now from one of the front lines at novotroitske. the tempo has changed at the front lines in eastern ukraine. it�*s a lot more active. we stopped dead because we heard the rumble of shelling. it was time to pick up the pace.

let�*s go. and there were other hazards along the way. we moved carefully past minefields on both sides. we�*re covering the distance now to the front on foot. ukrainian troops here tell us that they are ready for whatever may come, but no one knows what that will look like, what vladimir putin�*s endgame is. and if it is a full invasion, then ukrainian troops will be quickly outnumbered and outgunned. taras, who�*s 2a, shows us defensive positions against kremlin—backed rebels less than half a mile away. "they�*ve been opening fire with heavy weapons for three days," he says. "the situation has gotten worse, but we tolerate it and we wait. i think putin is doing it on purpose to provoke us, so it looks like we are invading".

nearby, a crossing point that leads to the separatist enclaves. there�*s tight security for civilians traveling from ukrainian government territory to the other side. this is one of only two locations where people can cross to reunite with loved ones. the east has been painfully divided for eight years. it takes permission and patience. just ask larissa, who does this every six months. she�*s a cancer patient, returning home after a checkup in a government hospital, hoping the worst won�*t come. "we, the people don�*t want a war to happen," she tells me. "we want to live. we want to love everyone

and give them a hug." svetlana is coming in the opposite direction from separatist territory with great difficulty. a gruelling trip for the 81—year—old. "we couldn�*t see our children for two months," she told me. "our great grandson was born. we hadn�*t seen him. now we have." there are very real fears for ukraine and for security in europe. and beyond the geopolitics here on the ground the human toll could be immense. orla guerin, bbc news, eastern ukraine. nearly 60,000 homes in england and wales are still without power in the wake of storm eunice. there are also more than 150 flood warnings in place for the north of england and the midlands — including two severe

"danger to life" warnings in south manchester. tonight, a new storm, franklin, is coming in. james reynolds reports. flood warning sirens. in todmorden, in west yorkshire, the flood warning is impossible to ignore... storm franklin is coming. in otley, the river wharfe is rising. franklin follows dudley and eunice all in the same week. the uk is working its way through an alphabet of storms. the met office has issued another amber weather warning — this is for storm franklin. it�*s actually for the north coast of northern ireland, and it�*s valid from midnight tonight until 7am monday morning, where we�*re going to see potential gusts of winds in excess of 80 miles an hour. but i also want to stress that we could see damaging gusts of winds once again across southern scotland, northern england and parts of wales. thank you so much... in devon, caroline bullock and her 91—year—old mother, kathleen, are still recovering

from storm eunice. their homes lost power along with 20,000 others in the west of england. friends have been fantastic and bringing us thermoses of hot water for hot water bottles to keep my mother warm. in kent, energy companies have gone up in helicopters to search for broken power lines. but repairs are slow. the village of wadhurst in east sussex lost power on friday morning and 80—year—old carol robbins hasn�*t had any official help. normally, someone my age, they told me is vulnerable so they would ring or send texts. but i�*ve 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. and omagh in northern ireland has also seen its water levels go up. the wider region now

braces for the strong winds of storm franklin. james reynolds, bbc news. northern ireland is already feeling the force of storm franklin — our correspondent emma vardyjoins us from newtownards. how severe is it likely to be where you are, emma? the how severe is it likely to be where you are. emma?— you are, emma? the winds are steadily building, _ you are, emma? the winds are steadily building, the - you are, emma? the winds are steadily building, the storm . you are, emma? the winds are steadily building, the storm is| steadily building, the storm is expected to peak overnight and into the early hours of tomorrow morning and northern ireland really taking the brunt of this one, winds forecast to be around 80 miles an hourin forecast to be around 80 miles an hour in coastal areas, stronger winds expected than any other part of the uk. there has been the day of destruction and northern ireland with roads closed due to falling trees and floodwaters. more disruption expected on transport, ferries crossing the irish sea for example, more disruption at the airports. you might think we have been taking quite a battering lately and the storm franklin is the third

name storm in a week for the very first time since the storm naming system was brought in in 2015. if you are in the eye of it here in northern ireland, expect to hear the wind howling outside overnight with quite dangerous conditions if you are out in it. we will assess the damage tomorrow morning when the amber whether warning ends at seven o�*clock. find amber whether warning ends at seven o'clock. �* �* �* . , o'clock. and the bbc where the teams will be keeping _ o'clock. and the bbc where the teams will be keeping you — o'clock. and the bbc where the teams will be keeping you updated _ o'clock. and the bbc where the teams will be keeping you updated wherever| will be keeping you updated wherever you are. —— weather teams. the entrepreneurjamal edwards, who founded the online urban music platform sb.tv, has died aged 31. his youtube channel was instrumental in the development of uk grime and rap music and helped launch the careers of skepta, emeli sande and ed sheeran. he was awarded an mbe in 2015 for services to music. the winter olympics ended today with great britain winning a gold medal in the final hours of competition. victory for the women�*s curling team came a day after a silver in the men�*s event — which were the only british medals of the games. the closing ceremony saw

thousands of athletes parade through the bird�*s nest stadium in beijing. andy swiss was watching. 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. thats it from us for tonightnow on bbc one it�*s time for the news where you are. goodbye.

hello. this is bbc news.

australia has opened its borders to the outside world for the first time in two years. as of a few hours ago fully vaccinated tourists, business travellers and even australian citizens will finally be allowed into the country as it eases some of the world�*s strictest covid travel rules. one of the first people to make it through passport control is simon calder, the independent�*s travel editor. the 24 the 2a hours on a plane in economy with a mask on is not going to be much fun for anybody but you should have seen the scenes at sydney airport. i wasjust have seen the scenes at sydney airport. i was just showered with gifts, a koala, a well—known spread, it was extraordinary because they have had no visitors for the last two years. now, if you are fully vaccinated you can get in. it is a real palaver having to fill in forms and a difficult digitalform, you have to upload all the details of your vaccination and take a lateral

flow test before you get in. when the flight arrives you�*re not around to get off. you have to listen and to get off. you have to listen and to two back to back announcements, reminding you to get a lateral flow test and you�*re not allowed to go to any correctional facilities for at least a week. a bit weird but getting through passport control was not too difficult and here i am and it is a beautiful monday morning in sydney with the opera house. it is warming up very nicely and i dare say i might make it out to the beaches later. the one problem is actually they have chosen today to go on strike so all the trains are not running and there is chaos with the traffic but apart from that, there are worse places to be than this. i there are worse places to be than this. . ., ., , ., , this. i am wondering, who else was on the flight _ this. i am wondering, who else was on the flight with _ this. i am wondering, who else was on the flight with you, _ this. i am wondering, who else was on the flight with you, do _ this. i am wondering, who else was on the flight with you, do you - on the flight with you, do you think? was it possible to know? at}! think? was it possible to know? of course, i went round talking to them all and i think i am the only

tourist in sydney from abroad. there were no tourists because they only came up with this a couple of weeks ago and to plan a long trip to australia wasn�*t really on. they were mostly actually australians going home, one ortwo were mostly actually australians going home, one or two people here on business who had been kept out, but really it was not the great homecoming that i thought it might be with lots of families being reunited. it was a fairly quiet arrival, nobody clapped when we touched down at the airport. everybody just touched down at the airport. everybodyjust kind of got on with it. everybody 'ust kind of got on with it. ., , ~ everybody 'ust kind of got on with it. ., , ., everybody 'ust kind of got on with it. ., a i. ., everybody 'ust kind of got on with it. let me ask you one more thing, actuall , it. let me ask you one more thing, actually, because _ it. let me ask you one more thing, actually, because western - it. let me ask you one more thing, i actually, because western australia, its largest state, that has a different state of affairs. another couple of weeks before they are opening? couple of weeks before they are 0 enin: ? �* ., ' couple of weeks before they are oenina?�* ., ' , , opening? another 12 days. this is one of the — opening? another 12 days. this is one of the remarkable _ opening? another 12 days. this is one of the remarkable things. - one of the remarkable things. australia has kept its borders very tightly shut and for a long time

they were even rationing the number of australians who could come back into australia and a number of those had to go to a former mining camp in the northern territory for two weeks isolation before they were let loose into the community. however western australia, which up until very recently was doing incredibly well as a covid state has said, we want to get 90% of our population not just vaccinated but boosted as well and as a result of that, they are keeping closed for another 12 days. and we�*ll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers geri scott, political correspondent for the press association, and the broadcaster and journalist, james lewer — that�*s coming up after the headlines. time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. sunday brought more squally winds, travel disruption is yet

another named storm approached the uk, franklin, and by monday morning some of its biggest impact could be felt in northern ireland but the met office amber warning for gusts of wind on the north coast in particular, up to 80 mph. the squeeze on the isobars around storm franklin pushing winds across many coastal areas overnight and into the morning so you can expect some disruption in the morning and the through large parts of the day, although the winds will be slowly easing. this is where some of the gusts will be at, the strongest through northern ireland into western coastal areas but widely 50-60 western coastal areas but widely 50—60 for a time. these are the temperatures first thing. wintry showers give a covering of snow in parts of scotland, northern ireland and england, especially into the hills. this clears eastwards through the morning and we are left with increasing sunshine in northern scotland and on the north sea coast but many places in the afternoon

will be dry with sunny spells in the afternoon when gusts here by about apm. the strongest winds are going to be easing in the by the end of the afternoon may not feel too bad with the temperature into double figures but the disruption after the stormy start may well continue even after those winds have eased. cloudy and patchy rain spreading east and heavy rain into scotland and northern ireland as tuesday begins with the wind picking up again and gail is developing in places but from tuesday onwards although when they at times, the wind is not expected to be as extreme and severe as they have been. an area of rain and a few wintry showers following on behind and initially the rain is quite heavy through parts of northern england and wales but it weakens as it reaches east and south—east england later in the day. behind that sunshine and showers again turning wintry into the hills of northern britain and these are

tuesday�*s temperatures. wednesday another weather front moving into northern areas and a chilly start in the south, called across all parts on thursday with wintry showers but looks like a fine day on friday with low pressure moving back and at the weekend. hello. this is bbc news. we�*ll be taking a look at tomorrow morning�*s papers in a moment with geri scott and james lewer. first the headlines: president putin and his french counterpart, emmanuel macron, agree to "intensify" diplomatic efforts over ukraine, while the president of ukraine calls for an immediate ceasefire between government forces and pro—russian separatists in the east. the queen has tested positive for covid—19. buckingham palace says she is experiencing mild cold—like symptoms, but does expect to continue light duties. the legal requirement to self—isolate after catching covid

in england is expected to be dropped from next week,