inquiry, in particularabout we've heard at the grenfell tower inquiry, in particular about threed of being dishonest and unethical, rigging tests, so they would pass and its products we go to the market. another, comic wingspan, relying on outdated tests is the allegation and threatening to sue clients to raise concerns, and a third, cladding manufacturer, which withheld the result of testing carried out in the uk so ministers are pre—empting any decision that the grenfell tower inquiry could make in saying they are going to set up a regulator with the powers to ban products that it has concerns about and to carry out its own testing. and they say they hopeifs its own testing. and they say they hope it's part of a wider package of measures to improve standards in the uk building industry. critics would say two things one is that the government has failed to deal with problems in the building regulations, going back, some governments, in fact. and also, it is also failing to help people who are in buildings which have ongoing concerns about safety, facing huge bills because claddi

inspections of high—rises in the wake of the grenfell tower fire have exposed many other faults — flammableclearly a very urgent situation, but it's a very complex and multifaceted challenge. i think it's right that we come up with the most comprehensive and effective solution before we start making those details public. but the longer it takes to get to grips with this safety crisis, the more money drains away from flat owners like leigh. sarah corker, bbc news. the footballer marcus rashford says he's been the target of online racist abuse. on twitter, he said he'd been subjected to "humanity and social media at its worst" on the platform, after his side's goalless draw with arsenal. greater manchester police are investigating. nesta mcgregor has the story. taking a knee, a unified protest for racial equality. it's a gesture we've become accustomed to, and last night, the latest example of why players continue to do so. manchester united striker marcus rashford, the latest high—profile target of racial abuse online. in reply, he posted... this week alone, rashford's team—mates anthony mar

inspection high—rises in the wake of the grenfell tower fire have exposed other faults, flammable theonies, defective insulation, missing fire breaks, flat owners feel trapped. this is clearly a very urgent situation but it's a very complex and multifaceted challenge. i think it's right that we come up with the most comprehensive and effective solution before we start making those details public. but the longer it takes to get to grips with this safety crisis, the more money drains away from flat owners like leigh. sarah corker, bbc news. if your recycling bin is full of cardboard, it's no surprise. lockdowns mean that online shopping now accounts for a third of all retail sales. this change in the way we shop, coupled with disruption to global shipping and problems with staffing and maintenance at paper mills, has created a perfect storm for the packaging industry. this increase in demand for packaging has led to a global shortage of paper with supplies for packaging across europe falling by 20% at the end of last year. he too, how serious a problem is this turning into?— this turnin

government is to set up a new regulator for the construction industry following evidence at the grenfell towerhat manufacturers covered up safety issues. "grave concerns" over the future of the justice system in england and wales as the covid pandemic creates a backlog of crown court cases. the best way to make notes — how the world's musicians are turning to streaming to guarantee a reliable income. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. there may be light at the end of the tunnel, but it's still a very long tunnel. as the vaccination programme enters a new phase, there are further signs that the nhs is struggling to cope under the pressure of covid—19. in some hospitals in the midlands they've called in the military to help out after too many staff called in sick or had to self—isolate. latest figures from the office for national statistics shows that a further 6,586 deaths involving covid—19 were registered in the uk in the week to january the 8th. that brings the total registered deaths close to 96,000. it's a grim picture in care homes too — with 20% of covid deaths occuring there in the

more than three and a half years after the deadly grenfell tower blaze, new figures show work to remover than half of the buildings that have it. the government identified almost 400 tower blocks in england alone that needed cladding removed. it says good progress is now being made, with work started — if not completed — on almost all of them. ministers say that's a significant milestone. but residents say it's taking far too long. sarah corker reports. we have the same cladding that was on grenfell. another day trapped in an unsafe home. flat owners like amy were told in 2017 that this block in sheffield had dangerous cladding, but repair work restarted last month, and progress has been slow. the government seem to think that it's ok for three and a half years, and they've literallyjust started to take a few panels off. it's not good enough. while the government's building safety fund is paying for this cladding to be removed, the building has other fire safety faults that are not covered by the fund. and they could cost more than £6 million to fix. so, flat owners are now facing repai

more than three and a half years after the deadly grenfell tower blaze, new figures show work to removegs that have it. the government identified almost 400 tower blocks in england alone that needed cladding removed. it says good progress is now being made — with work started — if not completed — on almost all of them. ministers say that's a significant milestone. but residents say it's taking far too long. sarah corker reports. we have the same cladding that was on grenfell. another day trapped in an unsafe home. flat owners like amy were told in 2017 that this block in sheffield had dangerous cladding, but repair work restarted last month, and progress has been slow. the government seem to think that it's ok for three and a half years, and they've literallyjust started to take a few panels off. it's not good enough. while the government's building safety fund is paying for this cladding to be removed, the building has other fire safety faults that are not covered by the fund. and they could cost more than £6 million to fix. so, flat owners are now facing repair bills of up to £50,000

there has been a lot of distrust since the grenfell tower fire, people are living in dangerous buildingstches to make sure there isn't a fire, insurance premiums. many of them cannot move and get away from all this and there are and get away from all this and there a re lots of and get away from all this and there are lots of questions about the fund and where the money will go to. journalists like me are scrutinising the government on this pretty much every day, so this contract might make it more difficult. the uk cladding action group says no government should be hiding behind a nondisclosure agreement and it wants to get rid of what they call these gagging clauses. tom, thank you very much. shoppers in northern ireland have been facing bare shelves at some supermarkets since the 1st of january, following the uk's trade separation from the eu after brexit. the new arrangements now mean it's become more complicated for businesses to ship food over the irish sea from britain, and some lorry loads have faced delays. here's our ireland correspondent, emma va rdy. january may be the time s

the insurance costs up 1000% since the grenfell tower tragedy. good evening. leader alexei navalny. riot police and national guards troops shut down parts of the capital moscow for a time, closing metro stations and blocking off streets as thousands of people demanded mr navalny�*s release. he was jailed on his return to russia after recovering from an assassination attempt. with the very latest, here's our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg. by law, russians have the right to peaceful protest...on paper. in moscow today, police were determined to clear the streets, whatever it took. hundreds of people were detained in the russian capital. protesters have come out in support of alexei navalny, the kremlin critic who's in jail. moscow police had warned that any protest in the city today would be considered illegal and broken up, and that's exactly what's happening right now. the message is that the authorities are determined to crack down on dissent. but the crowds swelled, and moved through the city. "moscow, take to the streets", they're chanting. the riot

called on the government to do more to tackle a safety problem that became apparent after the grenfell towerognised as a form of torture. people living in buildings with unsafe cladding are being tortured physically due to a lack of sleep as they live in fear, financially as they cannot sell their homes, and are forced to pay for waking watches, and mentally as they live in limbo. can i ask my honourable friend when he expects this torture to end? we all appreciate the terrible challenges and suffering that many people around our country face with this issue, and that's why we want the residents of blocks which are enduring waking watch to get the benefits of our changes as soon as possible. we expect the £30 million fund to be open this month with the aim to start providing funding for the installation of alarms as quickly as possible. we all agree, i think, mr speaker, that the best way of making buildings safe is to speed up remediation and that is what our policies intend. a health minister has tried to reassure people that "no corners" have been cut in developing the covid—19 vaccines.

called on the government to do more to tackle a safety problem that became apparent after the grenfell towerinister was also challenged over reports that building owners who do get help from a special fund will be banned from talking to the media without government approval. sleep deprivation is recognised as a form of torture. people living in buildings with unsafe cladding are being tortured physically due to a lack of sleep as they live in fear, financially as they cannot sell their homes and are forced to pay for waking watches, and mentally as they live in limbo. can i ask my honourable friend when he expects this torture to end? we all appreciate the terrible challenges and suffering that many people around our country face with this issue. and that's why we want the residents of blocks which are enduring waking watch to get the benefits of our changes as soon as possible. we expect the £30 million fund to be open this month, with the aim to start providing funding for the installation of alarms as quickly as possible. we all agree, i think, mr speaker, that the best way of making buil

inspections of high—rises in the wake of the grenfell tower fire have exposed many other faults — flammable situation, but it's a very complex and multifaceted challenge. i think it's right that we come up with the most comprehensive and effective solution before we start making those details public. but the longer it takes to get to grips with this safety crisis, the more money drains away from flat owners like leigh. sarah corker, bbc news. the uk's largest umbrella organisation for muslim groups has elected a woman as its head for the first time. zara mohammed, who has a background in human rights law, said she hoped her election as secretary—general of the muslim council of britain would inspire more women and young people to come forward to leadership roles. not only is she the first woman in the role, she is also the youngest and the first scottish person to be secretary—general. a little earlier she explained what she was hoping to achieve in the role. grateful to be part of the organisation for two and a half years as a member of the leadership team, and i think what we are doing is

major incidents have previously been declared after the grenfell tower fire injune 2017 and the terrormes as the coronavirus infection rate in london has exceeded 1,000 per 100,000 people. london fire brigade said more than 100 firefighters had been drafted in to drive ambulances to help cope with the demand. i'm joined now by the mayor of london, sadiq khan. hello and good afternoon. good afternoon. explain more about your reasons behind declaring this. the reasons behind declaring this. the reason i have declared a major incident today is because this virus is out of control. the nhs in london is out of control. the nhs in london is at risk of being overwhelmed. the staff are working heroically, but there is a real risk over the course of the next couple of weeks that u nless of the next couple of weeks that unless the virus reduces and there are fewer people going to hospital, we could run out of beds. across london, on average, one out of 30 londoners now has the virus stop but in some parts, it is one out of 20. the number of people now in hospital with covid is 35% more than the

government is to set up a new regulator for the construction industry following evidence at the grenfell tower

it is three and a half years since the grenfell tower fire, that horrifying tragedy.hese issues were what you would like government is to step in and say we will pay for this and ta ke in and say we will pay for this and take care of it but the numbers involved are eye watering. it is a real tragedy for people who have come up with the best will in the world, got themselves a mortgage and a property and find themselves stuck. it is not an issue that will go away and that will continue to be raised in parliament, although the focus is on the inquiry, which is obviously important but the focus needs to remain on those individuals who find themselves stuck in this terrible situation. it is a horrible situation for the people affected but i suppose the counterpoint would be that taxpayers who may not own properties themselves and cannot afford to buy, why should they subsidise the costs for those who have bought places? you could say that about all strata of society. we owe a debt to people who are doing their best and paying their taxes and their share of society's respo

regulator with powers to ban the use of dangerous building materials following evidence at the grenfell towerosecute companies who flout the rules. ministers have also ordered a review of product testing. they say revelations at the grenfell inquiry have been deeply disturbing. scientists have gained a new insight into one of the mysteries of the natural world, how butterflies fly despite being equipped with large, inefficient wings. they've discovered that butterflies cup their wings when taking off. this forms an air pocket that pushes the insect forward at speed, helping it to escape predators. researchers believe the knowledge could prove useful in other spheres, such as making some drones and underwater vehicles more efficient. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: joe biden and kamala harris lead a ceremony to honour the 400,000 americans who've died during the pandemic. president trump releases a farewell video on his last day in office before issuing his presidential pardons, including one for key former aide steve bannon. netflix got a big boost from the pandemic last year, a

up to ensure the safety of building materials — after evidence of malpractice is heard at the grenfell towerand ahead of the premiere of bamous on bbc two, we speak to the star of the show — award—winning comedian dane baptiste. hello. was that. it is the bbc. just to inform _ hello. was that. it is the bbc. just to inform you sir and lenny henry is off to _ to inform you sir and lenny henry is off to sierra — to inform you sir and lenny henry is off to sierra leone. fire to inform you sir and lenny henry is off to sierra leone.— off to sierra leone. are you telling me this? it — off to sierra leone. are you telling me this? it is _ off to sierra leone. are you telling me this? it is your— off to sierra leone. are you telling me this? it is your turn. _ good afternoon — it's five o'clock — our main story is that in the last hour — the uk has recorded the highest number of daily coronavirus deaths, since the pandemic began. government figures show a further 1,610 people have died in the uk within 28 days of a positive covid test — another 33,355 positive coronavirus cases have been recorded in

more than 3.5 years after the deadly grenfell tower blaze, new figures show work to remove similar styled they've literallyjust started to take a few panels off. it's not good enough. while the government's building safety fund is paying for this cladding to be removed, the building has otherfire safety faults that are not covered by the fund. and they could cost more than £6 million to fix. so flat—owners are now facing repair bills of up to £50,000 each. where do the shortfalls in the fund leave you? financially unstable. in a position where we could go bankrupt, notjust me, but all the leaseholders. and i'm stuck in a building that's effectively unsafe, and it's absolutely terrifying. the £1.6 billion building safety programme was set up to remove grenfell—style cladding. ministers say 95% of blocks have had it taken off or repairs are under way. but analysis of new data shows that work has been completed on just 58% of social housing, while in the private sector, cladding repairs have been finished on only 30% of blocks. and those applying to the fund, usually building managers or ow