hywel griffith, bbc news, merthyr tydfil.sjust gone it has just gone half past three. now on bbc news, the travel show. this week on the show, things are getting cultural. soft, white light from beyond the window makes? it is the east and juliet is the sun. . hello and juliet is the sun. . hello and welcome to the travel show, coming to you this week from the barbican centre in london. that was addie back in 2016 at the birthplace of shakespeare and as he so dramatically demonstrated, soaking up local culture is by far the most rewarding way to travel. as we know, cultural entertainment has been hit hard by coronavirus. this venue has been open to the public again sincejuly but been open to the public again since july but as been open to the public again sincejuly but as of this week, it has had to temporarily close under the latest restriction. this week, we are going to reminisce, looking back at some of our favourite arts and culture moments on the show, and keeping our fingers culture moments on the show, and keeping ourf

pubs and restaurants, while shops, gyms and hairdressers can reopen. 0ur wales correspondent, hywel griffithate remains among the highest in the uk there. yes, the latest rolling data shows around 500 cases per 100,000 people in merthyr tydfil. the test positivity rate is still around 25%, worryingly high, but figures which have started to fall in recent days. the welsh government says keeping a place like method locked down would bea place like method locked down would be a betrayal of trust and so today business is reopened again, extended households could meet once again, but all in the knowledge that yet another so—called firebreak lockdown might still be necessary in the future. unlocked, but still uncertain. as businesses reopen, people here in merthyr tydfil are all too aware that the virus is still spreading. margaret and mavis are meeting again for the first time since the firebreak. we're a bit wary, frightened really. we've maybe put ourselves into something by coming up here today. maybe, oh, we'll have to go back into lockdown. you know, before christmas, or let's. .. let's go a

hywel griffith, bbc news, merthyr tydfil. started asembling his team to prepare for taking over the presidency at the end of january. he spent the day appointing members to his coronavirus task force. he said tackling the pandemic was key to rebuilding the us economy. the current occupant of the oval office, president trump, is still refusing to concede victory to mr biden despite pressure from fellow republicans, as our north america editor jon sopel reports. donald trump at his rallies repeatedly said that once the election was over, you'd not hear much more about covid. covid, covid! covid, covid, covid, covid! a plane goes down, 500 people dead, they don't talk about it. it's covid, covid, covid, covid. by the way, on november 4th, you won't hear about it any more. it's true. covid! fat chance. there's a fresh infection outbreak at the white house... because we follow the science... ..with his chief of staff and the person leading the legal fight against the results among those to have gone down with it. 10 million americ

hywel griffith, bbc news, cardiff.vel 3 of coronavirus restrictions. angus, fife and perth and kinross will face tougher regulations from friday. restaurants and pubs will be banned from selling alcohol and must close at 6pm. scotland's first minister said the move was "necessary and precautionary" to address sharply rising cases. the us president—elect, joe biden, has said it's "an embarassment" that donald trump has not accepted defeat in the election and it will reflect poorly on his legacy. speaking earlier, he said the transition process was well under way. our north america editor, jon sopel, at the white house. how frustrated is joe biden how frustrated isjoe biden about the progress with transition? you know, it is exactly for years to the day that barack obama welcomed donald trump to the white house and said, how can i help you, is there anything i can do to make the transition easier? nothing like that is happening now. i thoughtjoe biden‘s voice today was of a bedside doctor holding the hand of the republic

hywel griffith with the latest on the picture in wales, from cardiff bay.d the latest measures in wales, scotland and northern ireland, on the your questions answered page on the bbc news website. reports from police in vienna tonight say that at least one person has been killed, and several injured, in shootings in the centre of the city. it's being reported that the austrian interior minister says it's an apparent terror attack. i'm joined now by our security correspondent frank gardner. what have you been able to pick up on the reports coming in and what people telling you? the situation is still developing. i will tell you what we know and then the context. at least one person has been killed. at least one person has been killed. a policeman is very seriously injured. it's an ongoing situation, in six different locations around vienna, involving rifles, shooting, exchanges of fire. it does appear to bea exchanges of fire. it does appear to be a terrorist attack. no one has yet claimed responsibility but suspicions are falling this could possibly be some

hywel griffith, thank you.r covid—19, which measures the disease's ability to spread, has fallen below one for the first time since august. but it is a mixed picture depending on where you live. our health editor, hugh pym, reports on the different approaches to fighting the spread. empty streets in belfast today, with northern ireland beginning a two—week circuit breaker lockdown to try to stem the spread of covid—19. nonessential shops are closed apart from click and collect services, and pubs, restaurants and cafes can only do takeaway and deliveries. we are asking people, for two weeks, to please abide by the public health advice so that we can then come together in and around that window at christmas. as northern ireland enters a new lockdown, england prepares to leave one next week. and already, there's intense debate about the introduction of tiered restrictions. the government has set out how it decides which areas should go into which tiers. first of all, looking at case rates across all age groups, th

hywel griffith, bbc news, merthyr tydfil.monday, we saw temperatures as high as 17 celsius in the south east, certainly above average for this time of year. as we head through tonight, we keep that mild, certainly frost—free theme. it will be quite cloudy. there'll still be a few showers around and the odd spot of mist and fog around, but not as extensive as it was on monday morning. but there could be some mist and fog over the hills in the north and the east, perhaps the odd patch of mistiness further south as well. one or two showers for england and wales, scotland and northern ireland looking largely dry likely through the night. most of us mild and frost—free with double figures holding on into tuesday morning, but a little bit colder than that across scotland. there could be a touch of frost for the most sheltered glens. now, through tuesday, high pressure sits to the east, but we've got a weak weather front moving through. and that's just going to bring the odd light shower across parts of england and wales in particul

hywel griffith, bbc news, cardiff.ations for a roll—out if it is approved for general use. the health secretary matt hancock said earlier that he has written to gps to offer £150 million to support them with any future administering of the vaccine. nhs england has told each primary ca re area nhs england has told each primary care area to nominate a gp surgery to runa care area to nominate a gp surgery to run a clinic dedicated to delivering the vaccine seven days a week. how difficult will it be? we can't speak to the chief medical 0fficer can't speak to the chief medical officer of doctor care anywhere. thank you forjoining us. it is been described as the biggest vaccination campaign in history. is primary care, are gps really going to be able to cope with this? good evening, i think it is a really exciting campaign for us to be able to talk about and there is no doubt that it will be a bit with just tickle challenge when we're talking about the particular pfizer vaccine thatis about the particular pfizer vaccine tha

hywel griffith, bbc news, cardiff. you are watching bbc news.here byjust under 15,000 votes with an estimated 98% of votes counted. does it even matter considering mr biden is projected to have won the state? and is also winning in pennsylvania. the answer is yes because the grand canyon state is symbolic of a wider america — a country split down ideological lines. for that reason, the new president will have to find a way of reconciling his predecessor's supporters when he takes office in january. and as sophie long reports — that won't be easy. nowhere is the enormity ofjoe biden's task more evident than in arizona. once solid republican territory, it's now a political battleground. some young latinas who watch their elders hide in the darkness now have hope. stephanie's parents are undocumented and unable to vote. this election is very important because it's notjust for me but our voices are for our fellow people who can't speak. like, my vote is my father's vote. my sister's vote is my mom's vote. others who worked tirelessly for change feel

hywel griffith, bbc news, cardiff.johnson is trying to win support for his plans to introduce three tiers of restrictions in england from wednesday. dozens of his own conservative mps have voiced their anger and concern about the system which they say is out of proportion and deeply damaging to businesses in the run—up to christmas. there will be a parliamentary vote tomorrow, as our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. the outline of a world after coronavirus is slowly emerging. but it's not clear to see yet. so, before england's national restrictions fade on wednesday, mps will vote on a new set of rules. and while boris johnson was looking to what is next at a vaccine maker in wales, he had to defend the new proposed regime. we can't afford to let it out of control again, so, the tiering system is tough but it's designed to be tough and to keep it under control. that means no return to nights like this for the restaurant 20 stories in manchester, even though the team here has worked hard to make it safe. i'm c

across the border to england won't be allowed without a reasonable excuse. 0ur wales correspondent hywel griffithts down, wales opens 7 as england shuts down, wales opens up? absolutely, the welsh government says there is no reason to alter its plan just because the decision in downing street was taken not to lockdown england. so gems, cabbies and lockdown england. so gems, cabbies a nd restau ra nts lockdown england. so gems, cabbies and restaurants can welcome back customers although it is not clear under what restrictions. what is clear is that when wales unlocks it will not go back to a system of local lockdown is, these are commit national measures. people will be free to travel around wales but will not be able to leave for international travel, holidays or even international travel, holidays or eve n over international travel, holidays or even over the border into england without a reasonable excuse. likewise no one allowed into wales without reasonable excuse so no p°ppin9 without reasonable excuse so no popping over the borderfor a point when pubs here open again. it's set to be one of t

hywel griffith reports. i have just taken a gcse question.apers will still be a thing of the past for these year 11 pupils in cardiff. today they learnt their exams have been scrapped. instead they will face a series of teacher led classroom assessments in the spring. for these two there is obvious really but concern as well. i feel like it is obvious really but concern as well. ifeel like it is beneficial to obvious really but concern as well. i feel like it is beneficial to us. we have not had the time to learn all the coursework. it would not be possible. the stress level is way better. i am possible. the stress level is way better. iam not possible. the stress level is way better. i am not stressed any more, so better. i am not stressed any more, soi better. i am not stressed any more, so i feel like it is beneficial. better. i am not stressed any more, so i feel like it is beneficiallj wa nt so i feel like it is beneficial.” want to be a doctor when i am older. if they see it differently when it comes to the qualifications to take a spec

hywel griffith, thank you. 16,022 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 16,725. there were 1,612 people admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last friday. and 521 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that means on average in the past week, a67 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 57,551. don't play board games with your family at christmas and keep a window open — that's the latest guidance from sage, the government's scientific advisers. 0ur science editor david shukman joins us now. pretty detailed advice. is it a sign of how worried scientists are about people mixing over christmas?” think it is, because their calculations show that over the christmas period, you could easily get a doubling in the number of infections. so the scientists' first recommendation is to have a

hywel griffith is in cardiff. this is mostly about fairness, given how much disruption there has been in learning over the last few months, not just learning over the last few months, notjust in the spring and summer but also in the autumn term as well, when one pupil needing to self—isolate often leads to an entire class losing face time in front of their teacher. next summer in the spring there will be no exams at gcse, as are a—level and we got to break the news to some of the pupils at this school earlier. fair to say they were pretty relieved, especially those who say they don't thrive under the intense intensity of three are examples of they are also asking what the newer assessments would be, teacher led assessments, and some, we are told, the welsh government wants to be externally set and marked, but does that mean more testing over a longer period, potentially more work than they are just too? also questioned, particularly from a—level students, about how their qualifications may be seen in the future, b

our wales correspondent hywel griffith has more on the welsh government's decision., given how much disruption there has been in learning over the last few months, notjust in the spring and summer, but also in the autumn term as well. when one pupil needs to self—isolate, often an entire class loses face time in front of their teacher. and so next summer, in the spring, there will be no exams at gcse, at as, or a—level. now we got to break the news to some of the year 11 pupils at this high school earlier. fair to say they were pretty relieved, especially those who feel they don't thrive under the intense environment of a three—hour exam. however, pretty quickly they were asking questions about what the new assessments will be, teacher—led assessments. some, we're told, the welsh government wants to be externally set and marked, but does that mean actually more testing over a longer period, potentially more work than they're used to? there are also questions, particularly for a—level students, about how their qualifications might be seen in the future. bear in mind,

in a moment we'll speak to hywel griffith who's in cardiff and emma vardy in stormont. shaw is in glasgow. the situation in scotland at the moment in west central scotland is that there is quite a strict lockdown, very similar in fact to the national lockdown in england. but this only affects ii council areas in west central scotland. and other parts of the nation are under a much looser regime. but in the west, non—essential shops, a much looser regime. but in the west, non—essentialshops, gyms, sports centres, hair and beauty salons and indoor entertainment venues are all closed, schools are open. that situation is not going to change until the 11th of december, so change until the 11th of december, so really, nine days after england comes out of lockdown, this particular part of scotland will remain in lockdown. nicola sturgeon, the first minister, has been talking about specific christmas arrangements that apply to scotland and what she said was, eight people from three households would be allowed to socialise over those five days of christmas indoors. children unde