i did actually check the foreign office travel advice before going.e said, you know, it's ok to travel. so i thought, well, why not? i'll go and spend a few days skiing. the bars in ischgl were still wide open for business. it was chock—a—block full of people. there was no indication at all that there was any problem in the town, as far as coronavirus was concerned. it was just business as usual. on friday the 13th of march, eight days after the alarm had been raised by iceland, austria's chancellor, sebastian kurz, suddenly decided to bypass the local authorities in tyrol and take action himself. he announced that tourists had just one hour to leave ischgl. anyone left in the resort would be put in quarantine. what followed was utter chaos. i got a phone call about 2:00 in the afternoon from the young lady at my hotel, and she said, "you must get back here. "you must leave the valley. "the valley is being put into quarantine. "so you must get back here and leave." and i thought, well, that's novel! i was walking back towards the shop, and a friend of

>> healthcare director of the government accountability office outlined challenges facing the fda's foreign drug inspection program including staffing vacancies and backlog in inspections due to the coronavirus pandemic. house appropriations subcommittee, it runs one hour and 40 minutes.oo >> good morning. this hearing will now come to order of the agriculture world development administration and subcommittee. we have to address a few housekeeping matters. for today's hearing, the chair or staff designated by the chair, the microphones when not under recognition and eliminate inadvertent background noise. responsible for beauty and on meeting themselves. if i notice you've not unusual, i will ask you if you would like staff to unmute you. if you indicate approval by nodding, staff will unmute your microphone.em five minutes still apply. technology issues, we moved to the next member and you will retain the balance of your time. on your screen, it will show how much time is remaining. thirty seconds remaining and remind members their time is almost expired. ckwhen you time has expired, i wil

is there anything i more that the british government to the foreign office of the foreign secretary cando in the next few days to help nazanin? for a start, jeremy hunt _ days to help nazanin? for a start, jeremy hunt did — days to help nazanin? for a start, jeremy hunt did give _ days to help nazanin? for a start, jeremy hunt did give her - days to help nazanin? for a start, i jeremy hunt did give her diplomatic protection, so she has the status of diplomatic immunity, and we don't feel that has been used enough. what we could do by using that is ask for her british passport back. she could also have a visit from the british embassy, and in the past we have asked of people from the british embassy could go to her court case, which has been quite a few times, and that hasn't happened. so those would be steps we would want our government to take and those are the things i have been pushing for. so government to take and those are the things i have been pushing for. 50 i things i have been pushing for. so i su ose, things i have been pushing for. so i suppose. in — things i have been push

. _ the foreign office. ndemic and the economic situation that is created. it's likely undercut by the fact that the government is planning to spend £37 billion on a test and trace system that doesn't work for another £15 billion was announced in the small print of the budget for that scheme, and in comparison to the outcome of the amount of money we are talking about, particularly with yemen, is significantly smaller, i think we are talking about cutting it by around £50 million, £1 billion, so i think the government's argument here in terms of, i won't use the phrase austerity, but we have to tighten our belts, because the coronavirus doesn't stand up when you look at how much we are spending on systems that are clearly not up to scratch. stay with the guardian, caroline, facing new charges, she is freer, but not free. facing new charges, she is freer, but not free-— facing new charges, she is freer, but not free. yes, so this, on the face of it, — but not free. yes, so this, on the face of it. is _ but not

a senior eu diplomat has been summoned to the foreign office after the european council president charleshe us of banning the movement of vaccines. this lunchtime borisjohnson said the uk had "not blocked the export of a single covid—i9 vaccine or vaccine component". our europe correspondent nick beake is in brussels. the beake is in brussels. prime minister here is adama what the prime minister here is adamant. what is still being said where you are? it what is still being said where you are? , ., ., , , are? it is worth reminding ourselves that the bigger _ are? it is worth reminding ourselves that the bigger picture _ are? it is worth reminding ourselves that the bigger picture here - are? it is worth reminding ourselves that the bigger picture here is - are? it is worth reminding ourselves that the bigger picture here is that l that the bigger picture here is that the roll—out of the vaccine across europe has been really slow, certainly compared with the uk. top officials in brussels have come in for a lot of criticism. the man who chairs the meetings of the leaders of the 27 eu count

i did actually check the foreign office travel advice before going.skiing. the bars in ischtl few days skiing. the bars in ischgl were _ few days skiing. the bars in i ischgl were still wide open for business. it ischgl were still wide open for business. ., , ischgl were still wide open for business. . business. it was chockablock full of people. _ business. it was chockablock full of people. there - business. it was chockablock full of people. there was - business. it was chockablock full of people. there was no | full of people. there was no indication at all that there was any problem in the town, as far as coronavirus was concerned. it was just business as usual. concerned. it was 'ust business as usual. ._ ., as usual. on friday the 13th of march, as usual. on friday the 13th of march. eight _ as usual. on friday the 13th of march, eight days _ as usual. on friday the 13th of march, eight days after- as usual. on friday the 13th of march, eight days after the i march, eight days after the alarm had been raised by iceland, austria's chancellor, se

no not yet as far as i'm aware at least the foreign office of course how for a very long time been dealing with this case in a very very sensitive way let's not forget that multiple foreign ministers foreign secretaries have been directly involved in trying to secure the city in cigar iraq clips release including the now prime minister who used to be foreign secretary boris johnson. monthly has since been taken over by the current foreign secretary dominic graham but even dominic we believe doesn't entirely know whether this actually means that cigar iraq clips could be on a plane back here to the u.k. any time soon this new court date has been confirmed by her lawyer is set for march the the 14th to face these new charges that are so just mentioned there they include her attending a protest in front of the iranian embassy and having an interview with the b.b.c.'s persian service so we don't know whether these new charges and this subsequent court case would be the pretext for further detention or indeed that's simply a formality that needs to be processed to allow her to return to the uni

the health care director of the government accountability office outline the challenges fashion foreign drug inspection program. they include staffing vac sis and back log in inspections due to the coronavirus pandemic. from house appropriations sb committee, this runs an hour and 40 minutes. >> good morning this hearing will now come to order of the agriculture world development food and drug administration late agency sub committee. [silence] this hearing is virtual, we have to address a few housekeeping matters. for today's hearing, the chair and staff designated by chair may mute parpghts microphones not under recognition for purpose of eliminating background noise members are responsible for muting and unmuting themselves. if i notice that you have not unmuted yourself i will ask you if you would like the staff to unmute you. if you indicate approval by nodding then the staff will unmute your microphone. all member and witnesses that five minute block still applies. if there's a technology finish, we will move to the next member in order until issue is resolved and you will retain

the fda released a strategic workforce development plan in 2016 to help recruit and train foreign office staff how high vacancies have improved very much since 2016. additionally, in june of 2020 fda testified it intended to fill all investigative vacancies in 2020. but as of december 2020 investigative vacancies remained. i recognize that fort inspections present unique bureaucratic a procedural challenges but it seems that hiring, training and training for investors may not be a priority at fda. do you believe fda is actually accessing a privatizing its fort inspections needs? >> that as a basis for ongoing work. we agree it's critical that they pay attention and had sustained attention and make it a priority. we will say that on a high risk a list leadership commitments has been a priority. they have reorganized to better address the threat and how they can do the inspections overseas better. they also develop strategic plans and workforce planning a something isn't quite working at that's what we're still trying to figure out because there are still vacancies year after year. they ar

minister who is going to take _ foreign office minister who is going to take the — foreign office to take the fight through the embassies into campaigns in the individual— embassies into campaigns in the individual countries but it needs to be addressed country by country otherwise — be addressed country by country otherwise we will make very slow progress — otherwise we will make very slow progress. it otherwise we will make very slow rouress. ., , , , ., ., progress. it does. this is one of those opportunities _ progress. it does. this is one of those opportunities for - progress. it does. this is one of those opportunities for strong l those opportunities for strong bilateral engagement.- those opportunities for strong bilateral engagement. thank you very much famous — bilateral engagement. thank you very much famous for _ bilateral engagement. thank you very much famous for those _ bilateral engagement. thank you very much famous for those assurances i bilateral engagement. thank you very l much famous for those assurances and we will_ much famous for those assurances and we w

and i the foreign office is involved? they are of course _ the foreign office is involved?gainst alex salmond are understood to have voted last night that ms sturgeon had not given them accurate information. she's insisted she told them the truth. a report about whether the first minister broke the ministerial code is expected within the next week. our political correspondent nick eardley reports. scotland's first minister is facing significant pressure, just weeks ahead of the scottish parliament election. for some time, she's faced claims she's not told the full story about what she knew when about harassment allegations against alex salmond. i solemnly, sincerely and truly declare... now, a committee of msps has concluded she misled them about meetings she had with mr salmond three years ago. by a narrow majority, split along party lines, the committee decided ms sturgeon's account to them had not been accurate. the first minister says she stands by her evidence and that some on the committee had made their minds up before she appeared. i do not believe the first ministe

the foreign office says no final decisions have been made but it is warning there are tough decisionsad because of the pandemic. our middle east correspondent, quentin sommerville, reports. to be a parent in syria is to carry the world on your shoulders. forabu bahar, his burden is constant vigilance. for years he's watched the sun set and rise from this hilltop, waiting for the next attack. he's a flight spotter, a one—man early warning system, protecting the village below where his wife and five children live. at the end of another long shift, he calls home. he knows firsthand the fear and the fury the warplanes bring. the screams in this playground are of terror. these are school days in syria, an entire generation brutalised and traumatised, as bombs fall by the school gates. how do you break the opposition�*s will? target their children, their teachers, their schools. there have been thousands of attacks on schools since the war began. they are relentless in opposition areas and come mostly from regime and russian bombs. taken as a whole, it is a systematic terror campaign agains

. >> what will people here in the foreign office thing?anges people's lives, this new focus on asia may be safer or more prosperous. will it neglect britain's interests closer to home? britain's commitment to your atlantic security is unequivocal, with nato at its heart. but there are regional threats. after salisbury poison attack, it is an acute threat to britain'security. >> russia is the number one threat we face both at hand abroad, but there was no strategy to work with our european partners to try to do with that challenge. there was no strategy to repair our defenses at home. >> to help tackle new threats, there will be a white house staff situation room near downing street and a new counterterrorism operations center. the report says there is evolving surity environment. an old-school weapon is not supposed to be a new strategy. james lerner, bbc news. ross: in a few minutes time, we will hear former first letting michelle obama sharing her thoughts on harry and meghan's interview. the police officer accused of the kidnap and murd

on bassett or for talks on this some of them to the foreign office the problem is the u.k. currently doesn't recognize the e.u. ambassador to the u.k. not a good look at this trouble seems like it will continue for a little while yet political analyst go but doctorow believes e.u. officials are pointing fingers to divert attention from their own missteps in the vaccine process. the situation here in europe of just they would have those things chaotic as regards the vaccination programs. first going back to reduce the public was waiting for the incensed of the low level of vaccinations seeking and found the guilt at the door of the commission president on whom what we see now is we are now in assistance by michel to try to relieve the pressure on this chronic but the commission to to send up a smoke screen to send up a diversion from the gross incompetence. that is been seen in the way the european a situation of that solution programmes the they are terribly envious here in brussels of the success the stunning success of britain they have to record it going its own way with

the question for any new foreign policy is not what people at the foreign office think, but whether itia make people safer and more prosperous or will it neglect britain's interests closer to home? the report insists britain's commitment to euro atlantic security is unequivocal with nato at its heart but there is little about cooperation with europe on regional threats. like russia, which after the salisbury poison attack the report says remains the most acute threat to britain's security. the review rightly identifies russia as the number one threat that we face, both at home and abroad, but there was no strategy to work with our european partners to try to deal with that challenge, there was no strategy to repair our defences at home. to help tackle new threats there will be a white house—style situation room near downing street, and a new counter—terrorism operation centre and the cap on britain's stockpile of nuclear warheads will be lifted because of what the report says is the evolving security environment. an old school weapon for what is supposed to be a new strategy. james lan

and embarrassingly it sounds this for the foreign office. absolutely and it comes as the united kingdom is apparently facing its greatest threat since the cold war that is in calling to the foreign secretary dominic roth who is now warning that britain is heading towards a decades where in which democracy is in retreat apparently because upcoming economic powers like that of china are increasing its global dominance in the world in fact it seems as though the united kingdom's own position in the international world order is now under threat as rob has said autocracies will soon exceed democracies. democracy is in retreat this decade the combined g.d.p. of autocratic regimes is expected to exceed the combined g.d.p. of the world's democracy when it follows moves from the u.k. prime minister boris johnson just yesterday bolstering the u.k.'s new arsenal reaffirming its dedication to try and combat and tackle so-called hostile regimes in states that actually represents the biggest shake up of defense and security ever since the cold war so very

that clearly there are other interests in the bilateral relationship it is very rare for our foreign office here to take a strong position hardly ever publicly on any case you know related to human rights in saudi arabia with few exceptions and when other areas of the relationship continue such as arms sales it sends a clear signal to saudi arabia that other countries are willing to engage in business as usual but for these $33.00 of the $34.00 journalists named for arbitrated tension 33 are currently in prison for these 33 people and their families i mean and that is enough we can't continue to enable this repression as you know in our democratic state so we're hoping to help find other ways to address this to impose concrete costs where our own states are failing so far rebecca it's a director of international campaigns at reporters without borders rebecca we appreciate your time and all the work that you're doing thank you thank you. first . he was responsible for a secretly filmed video that brought down austria's government in 2019 the video appeared to show the leader of austria's far

that clearly there are other interests in the bilateral relationship it is very rare for our foreign office here to take a strong position hardly ever publicly on any case. related to human rights in saudi arabia with few exceptions and when other areas of the relationship continue such as arms sales it sends a clear signal to saudi arabia that other countries are willing to engage in business as usual but for these 33 of the 34 journalists named for arbitrate attention 33 are currently in prison for these 33 people and their families i mean and that is enough we can't continue to enable this repression as you know in our democratic states so we're hoping to help find other ways to address this to impose concrete costs where our own states are failing so far rebecca vincit director of international campaigns at reporters without borders rebecca we appreciate your time and all the work that you're doing thank you thank you. for. he was responsible for a secretly filmed a video that brought down austria's government in 2019 the video appeared to show the leader of austria's far right freedom

that's according to a medical report shared with the bbc and sent to the british foreign office.tic ms zaghari—ratcliffe was released from house arrest earlier this week, but is due back in court on sunday. caroline hawley reports. show your nice hair. nazanin: love your hair! what a beautiful. my favourite part is when you brush your hair. a facetime call with tehran, a precious morning ritual. nazanin longs to be able to brush gabriella's hair herself. the last five years have been a psychological torment, but with her daughter especially, she puts on a brave face. there she is! there she is. last weekend, her ankle tag was removed, at the end of her sentence. but relief is now turning to nerves as sunday's her biggest terror is returning to solitary confinement. it's a really horrific experience, and it's cumulative and it builds up. and, of course, most of it has been hidden away. she didn't talk about it when she came out. i don't talk to the media about some other stuff. she didn't talk about it with her mum and dad. we all have that instinct to protect our families from th

james landale, bbc news, outside the foreign office. let's get some of the day's other news.t will ask the authorities in mexico and guatemala to find ways of reducing the flow of migrants and asylum seekers reaching its southern border. the us press secretary, jen psaki, said there was special concern about the growing number of unaccompanied children arriving. israeli voters go to the polls on tuesday for the fourth time in two years. this parliamentary election will decide whether prime minister benjamin netanyahu will remain in power. neither mr netanyahu nor his rivals were able to form a stable coalition after three previous elections. opinion polls suggest voters remain divided. the mayor of washington dc is pushing for the city to be made the country's 51st state. muriel bowser is testifying before congress in support of a bill for statehood for the democratic stronghold. the president is known to be in favour as well. a bid last year passed in the house but died in the republican— controlled senate. the united kingdom will not escape the effects of a third wave of th

on bassett if a talk on this some of them to the foreign office the problem is the u.k. currently doesn't recognize the e.u. ambassador to the u.k. not a good look the trouble seems like it will continue for a little while yet. deeper into the story now we're joined now with the independent political analyst of gilbert doctorow joining us live here on r.t. international good to see you today what do you make of this rao between the u.k. and the e.u. over vaccine export restrictions maybe a bit too early now but who do you think's in the right. well no one of the situation here in your particular him doesn't scale that's the largest the vaccination programs so that's going back to meet the public let's wait for the in a sense that's a little level of explanations seating and found it's just the door of commission presidents from the same let me see now there's a. system in spy michelle to try to relieve the pressure on his colleagues but the commission then is to to send up a smoke screen to set up a diversion from the gross incompetence. that is then seeing in the way th

james landale, bbc news, outside the foreign office. let's get some of the day's other news. authorities in mexico and guatemala to find ways of reducing the flow of migrants and asylum seekers reaching its southern border. the us press secretary, jen psaki, said there was special concern about the growing number of unaccompanied children arriving. israeli voters go to the polls on tuesday for the fourth time in two years. this parliamentary election will decide whether prime minister benjamin netanyahu will remain in power. neither mr netanyahu nor his rivals were able to form a stable coalition after three previous elections. 0pinion polls suggest that voters remain divided. the united kingdom will not escape the effects of a third wave of the pandemic given the sharp rise in cases in parts of the european union. that's the warning from the prime minister borisjohnson. it comes as the row between the uk and the eu over vaccine supplies intensified, with a threat that eu could block doses of vaccines — manufactured in the eu — from being exported to the uk. 0ur political edi

china about other issues, like trade or climate change. james landale, bbc news, outside the foreign office effects of a third wave of the pandemic given the sharp rise in cases in parts of the european union. that's the warning from the prime minister, borisjohnson. it comes as the row between the uk and the eu over vaccine supplies intensified with a threat that eu could block doses of vaccines manufactured in the eu from being exported to the uk. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. france tonight, quiet paris, back in lockdown, the disease double where it was last week. on one side of the channel, the number of cases higher and higher, take—up of the vaccine stubbornly low. but on the other... ..the opposite, the disease falling back and vaccines rising. you can see, sadly, there is a third wave under way. when a wave hits our friends, it, i'm afraid, washes up on our shores as well. and i expect that we will feel those effects in due course. that's why we're getting on with our vaccination programme as fast as we can. monsieur! much quicker here than on the continent, where c

but lord ahmad promised to consider his suggestion with colleagues in the foreign office.r watching. i do hope you canjoin me at the same time tomorrow for tuesday in parliament. until then, from me, david cornock, bye for now. hello. the weather is pretty quiet out there at the moment, and tuesday promises to be a fine day on the whole. the rest of the week, though, oh, my goodness, it's going to get significantly livelier. a deep area of low pressure forming out to the west at the moment, in the atlantic, will come hurtling towards the uk for wednesday and thursday. expect some very strong and gusty winds, and some spells of heavy rain. so, in contrast, for tuesday, yes, some showery light rain affecting northern reaches of the uk, but overall a lot of fine weather. some sunny spells and light winds. a quiet enough day. temperatures just about making it into the lower end of double figures. through the afternoon, however, and into the evening, the wind starts to strengthen in the west, as this weather front pushes in. wet conditions for northern ireland and scotland, thr

the foreign office says no final decisions have been made, but it is warning there are tough decisionsis to carry the world on your shoulders. forabu, his burden is constant vigilance. for years, he has watched the sun set and rise from this hilltop, waiting for the next attack. he is a flight spotter, a one—man early warning system, protecting the village below where his wife and five children live. at the end of another long shift, he calls home. he knows first—hand the fear and the fury the warplanes bring. the screams in this playground are of terror. these are schooldays in syria, an entire generation brutalised and traumatised, as bombs fall by the school gates. how do you break the opposition�*s will? target their children, their teachers, their schools. there have been thousands of attacks on schools since the war began. they are relentless in opposition areas and come mostly from regime and russian bombs. taken as a whole, it is a systematic terror campaign against children. in october 2016, a parachute bomb dropped steadily onto this school in hass. inside, pupils as young as

well i mean we've heard from both the foreign office and we've heard from boris johnson the prime minister today basically saying that they glad that sentence has come to an end but the the iranian treatments of a continuous mia's is very inherent castration is unacceptable and needs to be ended the difficulty is working out quite how that is going to happen because i think you know the general perception from both nazanin family and from the british government is that this is nothing to do justice is nothing to do with guilt or innocence this is about point scoring this is about saying you know kind of geopolitical argument between iran and the west particularly the united kingdom so in the context of that is difficult to predict what is going to happen next now richard ratcliffe a nasa needs husband thinks that the revolutionary guard has made it very clear that it's about these tanks that asset was just talking about in his report and when it boils down to that then essentially what you need to have happen is for some kind of deal to be reached a monetary one probably this is the resolu

a senior eu diplomat has been summoned to the foreign office, after the european council president charlese uk had "not blocked the export of a single covid—i9 vaccine or vaccine component". 0ur europe correspondent nick beake is in brussels with the latest. it is worth reminding ourselves that the bigger picture here is that the roll—out of the vaccine across europe has been really slow, certainly compared with the uk. top officials in brussels have come in for a lot of criticism. the man who chairs the meetings of the leaders of the 27 eu countries has been talking about how in the months to come the eu will be a shining light in sending vaccines to other parts of the world, particularly in poorer countries. and he drew a contrast with the uk where he claimed there was effectively an export ban on vaccines leaving the uk. that has caused fury in downing street and today the deputy ambassador to the uk has been summoned to the foreign office. it was a private meeting but you can imagine what went on there, ranging from an awkward chat over tea and biscuits followed by a full on dressing d

he summoned an eu resented up to the foreign office in london for further discussions, and charles michelthis accusation, and has since tweeted,... now some might say that when it comes to different ways of imposing bands, last week italy block 250,000 doses of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine to australia, and they might say that the eu was in some ways putting in place some kind of band there. but putting in place some kind of band there.— band there. but this isn't the first time _ band there. but this isn't the first time there's _ band there. but this isn't the first time there's been - band there. but this isn't the first time there's been a - band there. but this isn't the | first time there's been a barn between the eu and the uk over vaccines, isn't there? we between the eu and the uk over vaccines, isn't there?— vaccines, isn't there? we had a barney earlier _ vaccines, isn't there? we had a barney earlier in _ vaccines, isn't there? we had a barney earlier in the _ vaccines, isn't there? we had a barney earlier in the air - barney earlier in the air between the eu ok and the eu t

the question for any new foreign policy is not what people here at the foreign office think, but whethers new focus on asia make people safer and more prosperous or will it neglect britain's interests closer to home? the report insists britain's commitment to euro—atlantic security is unequivocal with nato at its heart, but there is little about cooperation with europe on regional threats. like russia, which after the salisbury poison attack the report says remains the most acute threat to britain's security. the review rightly identifies russia as the number one threat that we face, both at home and abroad, but there was no strategy to work with our european partners to try to deal with that challenge, there was no strategy to repair our defences at home. to help tackle new threats there will be a white house—style situation room near downing street, and a new counter—terrorism operation centre and the cap on britain's stockpile of nuclear warheads will be lifted because of what the report says is the evolving security environment. an old school weapon for what's supposed to be a new st

arm for talks on this some of them to the foreign office the problem is the u.k. currently doesn't recognize the e.u. ambassador to the u.k. not a good look the trouble seems like it will continue for a little while yet. legal medical professionals have accused the british government of refusing to probe chronic failures in its handling of the pandemic and now they've arranged their own public covert inquiry it comes after the u.k. death toll from covert passed 124000 the highest figure in europe that figure includes more than 40000 care home residents on hundreds of health care workers the lawyer chairing the inquiry michael mansfield says many of those fatalities could have been avoided. people's inquiry is the 1st inquiry of any kind that is taking place in to covert pandemic and the handling of it by the government right now the public want art and service particularly the bereaved of which there are thousands unfortunately but others who are the relatives of plainly the relatives of those who fortunately haven't died also have questions because of the been a

james landale, bbc news, outside the foreign office.the effects of a third wave of the pandemic given the sharp rise in cases in parts of the european union. that's the warning from the prime minister, borisjohnson. it comes as the row between the uk and the eu over vaccine supplies intensified with a threat that eu could block doses of vaccines manufactured in the eu from being exported to the uk. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. france tonight — quiet paris, back in lockdown, the disease double where it was last week. on one side of the channel, the number of cases higher and higher, take—up of the vaccine stubbornly low. but on the other... ..the opposite, the disease falling back and vaccines rising. you can see, sadly, there is a third wave under way. when a wave hits our friends, it, i'm afraid, washes up on our shores as well. and i expect that we will feel those effects in due course. that's why we're getting on with our vaccination programme as fast as we can. monsieur! much quicker here than on the continent, whe

so the foreign office are pleased that they've got the ankle tag off and there's been progress.rning saying, "you have to release her". so the iranians have done that. but they've kept it as leverage going forwards. and i find that my emotional reaction has been quite guarded about what this means and we're still in the middle, we're in the middle of this game of chess. she was at tehran airport, preparing to fly home from a holiday visiting her parents, when she was arrested in 2016. since then, she's suffered months of solitary confinement, blindfolded interrogations and several false promises of release. nazanin has been told by iranian officials that she's being held as collateral for a debt owed by britain dating back to the 1970s. calls are now growing for the government here to take a stronger stand against iran's hostage diplomacy. it's clearly another trumped up charge, because hardliners in the regime are saying, "we've paid the diplomatic price for holding nazanin, now let's not lose the leverage of keeping her". and it is totally and utterly inhumane, because at the

the foreign office minister, lord ahmad.t do join me next time as we round up the week here at westminster and beyond. but for now, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. hello there. wednesday was a cloudy day and over the next few days, sunshine is going to be at a premium. now, we've still got colder air sitting across the uk. for most of the time, it is going to be dry but there will be a lot of cloud, and the cloud was thick enough on wednesday to give quite a few showers for england and wales, some heavy bursts of rain for a time as well. now at the moment, those showers are becoming confined more to the south east of england and east anglia on that weather front there. at the same time we have another weak weather front moving down into scotland. now, behind that we're going to pick up more of a north—easterly breeze. that will push its way down across the uk and just continue to feed in that chilly airfrom the north. now, there's a lot of cloud around at the moment. misty weather, too. not as much fog, mind you. and temp

is there anything more that the british - anything more that the british government, foreign office andrt, few days to help nazanin? for a start. jeremy — few days to help nazanin? for a start, jeremy hunt _ few days to help nazanin? for a start, jeremy hunt when - few days to help nazanin? for a start, jeremy hunt when he - few days to help nazanin? for a j start, jeremy hunt when he was foreign secretary did give her diplomatic immunity. we don't feel that has been used enough. what they could do by using that is ask for her british passport back. if you could also have a visit from the british embassy, which she hasn't had. in the past, we have asked if people from the british embassy can go to her court case every time she is summoned to court, which is quite a few times, and that hasn't happened. those are the steps that we would really want our government to take and what we have been pushing for. i to take and what we have been pushing for-— to take and what we have been pushing for. to take and what we have been -aushin for. , , , ., pushing for. i suppose in terms of the mid of

the foreign office minister, lord ahmad. now, let's take a look at some other news in brief.r the person with the brazilian coronavirus variant had narrowed to just a few hundred households in the south—east of england. it was discovered that half a dozen cases of the strain had been found in britain. scientists say it appears more contagious and may evade immunity provided by past infection. matt hancock said five of the six people identified had quarantined at home as they were legally required to do. our current vaccines have not yet been studied against this variant and we're working to understand what impact it might have, but we do know that this variant has caused significant challenges in brazil. throughout history, epidemic after epidemic has exploited international travel. surely it is obvious that tougher border controls should've been in place sooner. does he recognise that quarantining just 1%. of international arrivals does. not protect the uk from these variants, nor those which may evolve in the future in other l parts of the world? the business secretary insi

james landale, bbc news, outside the foreign office.e the country's successful covid vaccine rollout and will decide whether israel's this election is being widely seen as a referendum on the leadership of the country's veteran prime minister benjamin netanyahu. israel has had the fastest covid vaccine roll—out in the world, and his campaign has been stressing his role in securing the vaccines and bringing in the green pass scheme, which is for people who have been vaccinated or have immunity and is helping to reopen the economy, but from the political left and right, mr netanyahu is facing opponents who argue that he should not remain in office while he is on trial for corruption. the evidence stage of that trial begins next month. the prime minister has pleaded innocent. in the previous three elections, neither mr netanyahu and his right—wing likud party and its partners nor his political opponents managed to win a parliamentary majority, but there was an emergency unity government set up to deal with the covid crisis after the last r