tim muffett, bbc news.e capital, delhi — restaurants, markets and most shops will be closed until monday. gail maclellan reports. bharat�*s shop sells everything for the kitchen and more. but with fewer customers and takings down, he has been badly hit by the pandemic. yet, despite india's capital delhi locking down over the weekend, he remains upbeat. translation: the way corona cases are on the rise this lockdown, the weekend curfew is a must. for the past two years, we have faced losses and we will face the same in the future. i will be happy when the amount of cases are lower and there is no lockdown. as the authorities grapple with a fresh surge in cases, partly fuelled by the fast—spreading omicron variant, most businesses here are still recovering from last year's outbreak that overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums. but daily case numbers had, since then, stayed reasonably low — until last week. all residents besides essential workers will now be asked to stay home from friday night to monday mornin

tim muffett, bbc news.cked and distressed" by her disappearance. 28—year—old alice byrne was last seen leaving a friend's flat in marlborough street in the portobello area of edinburgh, between 8 o'clock and 10 o'clock last saturday. detectives believe she potentially headed in the direction of the promenade and beach. allegations of another party at downing street are to be included in the official investigation into events held at number ten during the pandemic. it comes after borisjohnson's former chief adviser, dominic cummings, claimed a senior official invited people to "socially distanced drinks" in the garden, while restrictions were in place in may 2020. at least 21 people have died in freezing temperatures in northeastern pakistan after their cars were trapped in heavy snow. the chief minister of punjab province has declared the mountain resort town of murree — where a thousand vehicles are still stranded — as a "disaster area" and has urged people to stay away. janey mitchell reports. a day trip

tim muffett, bbc news.orthern pakistan, after becoming trapped in their vehicles by heavy snowfall. 1,000 cars are still stranded in a huge trafficjam on roads leading to the hill station of murree, east of the capital, islamabad. visitors had headed to the town to experince the wintry conditions. with all the sport now, here'sjohn watson at the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. england will need to bat out the final day in the fourth ashes test in sydney, if they're to avoid slipping to a fourth straight defeat in the series. jonny bairstow could only add ten more runs to his impressive total, before australian batsmen usman khawaja hit another century, helping to set england an unlikely target of 388 for victory. patrick gearey reports. 0nce ashes series are lost, the remaining tests are those of character. yesterday, jonny bairstow fought back. 0h, he's edged it. this morning he was caught behind. 113 runs scored, he had earned this exit. england were all out, trailing by 122, so now their troubled huddl

tim muffett has the details it's been a brutal time for the travel industry.have been cancelled. hello, flitch travel. but it seems there are grounds for optimism. a number of airlines and operators are now reporting significant increases in bookings and inquiries. we're starting to see the pent—up demand that's been there for months and months now start to transition in terms of bookings, but it is off a very low base and we're hoping the next few weeks we will start to see even more demand come through. and which destinations are proving popular? the most interest we're seeing with destinations are spain, and this time of the year the canary islands is doing exceptionally well. actually, 30% of everything we are selling is for a january departure, so for the next three weeks. as of yesterday, fully vaccinated adults and people under 18 arriving in the uk no longer need to take a predeparture covid test. from tomorrow, they will only have to take a lateral flow test instead of a pcr test on day two after arriving. i'll be booking something either this afterno

tim muffett reports.he case has been brought by virginia giuffre, who claims prince andrew abused her in 2001, when she was 17 — claims the prince has consistently and firmly denied. his lawyers argue that ms giuffre's complaint should be dismissed — they refer to a 2009 deal she signed with convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein, in which she agreed not to sue other potential defendants. but a new yorkjudge has ruled the case can continue, saying that deal had been ambiguous. the defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint is denied in all respects, judge kaplan said. last night, virginia giuffre's lawyer gave his reaction. she's obviously very pleased that the judge has rejected prince andrew's legal arguments. i think it's very important to virginia giuffre that this matter be resolved in a way that vindicates her. a purely financial settlement is not anything that i think that she's interested in. if he doesn't appeal against this latest ruling, prince andrew effectively has three choices. he could def

tim muffett reports. one aspect of school life, these pupils won't miss.ger compulsory in schools in england and at this school in gloucestershire, students are relieved. it gloucestershire, students are relieved. , ., relieved. it is a good feeling we don't have _ relieved. it is a good feeling we don't have to _ relieved. it is a good feeling we don't have to wear _ relieved. it is a good feeling we don't have to wear them, - relieved. it is a good feeling we don't have to wear them, we i relieved. it is a good feeling we i don't have to wear them, we can't communicate. don't have to wear them, we can't communicate-— don't have to wear them, we can't communicate. ., ,~' ., ,, ,., communicate. the mask drops in your face and it is — communicate. the mask drops in your face and it is annoying. _ communicate. the mask drops in your face and it is annoying. the _ communicate. the mask drops in your face and it is annoying. the prime - face and it is annoying. the prime minister announced _ face and it is annoying. the prime minister announced a _ face and it

tim muffett has more.l sex assault case against him can go ahead, following a ruling by a judge in new york. the case has been brought by virginia giuffre, who claims prince andrew abused her in 2001, when she was 17 — claims the prince has consistently and firmly denied. his lawyers argue that ms giuffre's complaint should be dismissed — they refer to a 2009 deal she signed with convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein, in which she agreed not to sue other potential defendants. but a new yorkjudge has ruled the case can continue, saying that deal had been ambiguous. the defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint is denied in all respects, judge kaplan said. last night, virginia giuffre's lawyer gave his reaction. she's obviously very pleased that the judge has rejected prince andrew's legal arguments. i think it's very important to virginia giuffre that this matter be resolved in a way that vindicates her and vindicates the other victims. a purely financial settlement is not anything that i think that she's

tim muffett, bbc news.ot told by police they were under threat, according to a report. the police ombudsman looked into 19 attacks by the ulster defence association, and found "collusive behaviour" among members of the security services, paramilitaries, and the police. the time now is 6.17. we should get an update on the weather with matt. what a contrast in temperatures. is that at the same time, those different temperatures? that is in the last hour, yes. good morning. a mass contrast across the uk is mine. 10 celsius, if any man would start in the north of scotland. —it further south, widespread frost across south england, the midlands and wales. some fog around this morning, particularly across the bristol channel through and towards the midlands. another thing i should mention, with high pressure in place, very light winds, very poor air quality, high pollution levels in the london temperature. lots of cloud across north—west england, northern ireland, parts of south—west scotland. the cloud in the nor

tim muffett reports. one aspect of school life, these pupils won't miss. gloucestershire, students are relieved. it is a good feeling we don't have to wear them, we can't communicate. the mask drops in your face and it is annoying. the prime minister announced a widespread easing of restrictions. people are no longer advised to work from home. from next thursday, face coverings will no longer be needed in a setting, though people will still be advised to wear them in crowded settings. and covid passes to get into venues will be dropped. although venues can choose to carry on using them. we said when we learned about omicron, we needed to build the defences, that was the purpose of plan b. if you look at the data, it is in retreat. with the picture across the country showing falling, fast falling rates of omicron in many parts, that means that there is an opportunity to say, actually, things are starting to get better. but others stress the continued need for caution. we still need to protect people and to support them. - and in schools i think, _ it seems

tim muffett reports. days of a positive test. the use of —— sunak ministers at stormont have agreed that the use of vaccine passports in hospitality settings will no longer be required from next wednesday. however, the system will remain in place for nightclubs, and indoor events with 500 or more people. the move is part of several relaxations to northern ireland's covid rules.(ani)from midday on friday, people will no longer be from midday on friday, people will no longer be restricted to table service and sitting in groups of six at restaurants, pubs and bars. nightclubs have also been given the green light to reopen from wednesday with dancing and indoor standing events permitted again. and more than three households will be allowed to meet inside homes from friday. emma, what has that reaction been to these changes and restrictions? this these changes and restrictions? is you can imagine so far, great relief from the hospitality industry. lots of businesses, pubs and restaurants and things always pret

tim muffett, bbc news.ign ministry where a spokesman said someone in london is a little too obsessed with 007 movies. he said beijing was calling on officials in britain to stop hyping up this issue, as he put it. interestingly, iasked him if christine lee held either chinese citizenship or had ever done any work at all for the chinese government. he refused to answer both of those questions but again, he reiterated that he thought these allegations were baseless and that they were based on hearsay. people should remember that she has not been arrested, she has not been deported and it could well be that there is nothing illegal in the making of these payments. in australia, for example, new legislation had to be introduced to stop overseas payments being made to politicians and it could be that in the uk a new law like this is brought in in the future. an update on the situation with novak djokovicc does not mean he will not be deported but it gives more time for his lawyers to challenge for that he will b