Translation it is the moment of truth. We have very little time remaining, just a few hours. A quarter of a million New South Wales residents are urged to remain in their homes as the australian state sees a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. With just a week to go until christmas, couriers across the uk are dealing with an unprecedented volume of parcels thanks to the rise in online shopping. Hello and welcome if youre watching in the uk or around the world and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. Health leaders in the uk have urged people to follow the tougher coronavirus restrictions due to come into force across much of the country this month, as concern continues to grow about rising infection rates. Northern ireland and wales have announced post christmas lockdowns, while millions more people in england are set to move to tier 3 rules tomorrow. Ministers in scotland have refused to rule out futher measures. Doctor Katherine Henderson is pres
Now lets go over to westminster and join that bbc special on the budget with andrew neil. It is budget day, thejohnson government unveils its new plans, with special emphasis on its new voters in the midlands and the north. But for a rookie chancellor, only 28 days in the job, the north. But for a rookie chancellor, only 28 days in thejob, the biggest challenge is the growing Economic Impact of the coronavirus, and what he can do to vaccinate the economy from it. With me for this politics live budget special Political Editor laura kuennssberg, Business Editor simonjack, and economics editor faisal islam. It was meant to be the levelling up budget, to the regions and people that have not done well in the past decade but looks set to be the coronavirus budget. This morning he bank of england has already announced an emergency cut in Interest Rates. The bank of englands role is to help uk businesses and households manage through an economic shock that could prove large and sharp. Meanwhil
Hello, youre watching afternoon live im simon mccoy. Today at 2 a third case of coronavirus is confirmed in the uk the patient is being transferred to an Infectious Disease centre. Meanwhile, chinas ambassador to britain urges countries not to panic about the virus. Hours before hes due to deliver scotlands budget finance secretary derek mckay steps down after sending personal messages to a 16 year old boy on social media. Derek mckays conduct fell far short of what is expected of a minister. Indeed, he offered his resignation to me and i accepted. It was not an option for him to remain in government. An end to automatic release of terror prisoners the government says it wants to change the law within three weeks. And a new record is set by astronaut Christina Koch, whos spent more days in space than any other woman. Coming up on afternoon live, all the sport with huw ferris. Five changes for englands six nations match against scotland on saturday, including scrum half ben youngs dropp
This is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. Donald trump accepts the Republican Partys nomination to run for president , accusing the democrats of having a far left agenda, and being weak on law and order. Japans longest serving Prime Minister, shinzo abe, announces his resignation due to ill health. Translation i decided to step down as the Prime Minister. I would like to send my apologies to the people of japan. The Worlds Largest study of patients with covid 19 has confirmed that the risk of children needing hospital treatment for the virus is tiny. And if you would like to get in touch on any of our stories today, you can contact me on twitter annita mcveigh, or use
the hashtag bbcyourquestions. Manchester united captain and england defender Harry Maguire says he feared for his life, in his first interview about his arrest in greece. We thought we were getting kidnapped. We got down on our knees, we put our hands in the air. And then, erm
Some people may, of course, be tempted to go out tonight and i say to you, please dont. You may think that you are invincible but there is no guarantee that you will get mild symptoms. And you can still be a carrier of the disease and pass it on to others. Well be getting reaction across the country to these severe restrictions on our lives. It comes as scientists warn it could be almost 12 months before social distancing measures are lifted, in order not to overload the nhs. A major London Hospital becomes the first in the uk to temporarily run out of Critical Care capacity for coronavirus patients. And coming up on bbc news, the World Snooker championship is postponed. The players now fear for their earnings after coronavirus continues to cause chaos with the calendar. Good evening. The government has ordered the shutting down of life as we know it, with the closure of all the places we go out to, bars, pubs and leisure centres among them. It came as the chancellor rishi sunak unveil