Assembly with what its calling a road map to a new referendum on scottish independence. And a dramatic rescue in china as 11 gold miners whod been trapped underground for two weeks are brought out alive. Good afternoon. Welcome to bbc news. The Health Secretary matt hancock says 77 cases of the extra virulent South African variant of covid have been found here in the uk. But all have links to International Travel and there is no evidence to date that it is spreading in the community unchecked. Matt hancock has also said we are a long way from restrictions being eased as scientists warn people may still be able to pass on the virus even if theyve been vaccinated. Our Health Reporter jim reed has more. The vaccination roll out in the uk continues. Hundreds of thousands of those most at risk are receiving theirjabs this weekend, but as we try and navigate our way out of this pandemic, scientists think new variants of coronavirus are a real concern. A mutation first found in cases from sou
A dramatic rescue in china, as 11 gold miners whod been trapped underground for two weeks are brought out alive. New zealand confirms its first coronaviurs case in months, which appears to have slipped through the countrys rigorous quarantine system. And borisjohnson becomes the first european leader to speak to the new us President Joe Biden since he entered the white house. Hello and welcome if youre watching in the uk or around the world. Here in the uk, Health Secretary matt hancock says there are early signs the number of coronavirus cases are starting to decrease, but that he doesnt know when the current lockdown restrictions will ease. Mr hancock also praised the speed of the vaccine rollout, with three quarters of the over 80s receiving their first dose. He was speaking to the andrew marr show. The good news is there are early signs that certainly the rise in the number of cases has been halted. And in many parts of the country, that cases are starting to come down. It isnt jus
As of this morning, roughly 2. 5 million texans were without power which many are using to heat their homes and dozen have died. Some due to their desperate attempts to stay warm. This isnt because of the storm knocked down power lines. Natural Gas Pipelines have frozen. Water systems have gone down. The frigid temperatures remain and a second winter storm system is only worsening the situation. How did this happen . Well, look, this isnt a typical disruption. Most of us that are used to when the storms are the ones that knock down powers or sometimes ice brings down a tree branch which brings down power. This cold spell led to demand in power. Beyond what the emergency grid demanded for. Its had forced power outages. They could last for days. The disaster is also put a spotlight on the states governments and its decision to run a power grid away from the rest of the country. Short term it has, long term another story. Perhaps the crisis has been a warning for government officials abou
Increased missile testing during a joint press conference at the pentagon with south koreas defense minister. Thank you everyone for being here today it is my pleasure to introduce secretary of defense, lloyd austin ii and republic of korea defense, lee jongsup. We will take time to take questions. With that, secretary austin. Sec. Austin good afternoon everyone, let me warmly welcome minister lee and his team to the pentagon for the 54th security consultative meeting. Mr. Lee lee, its great to have you here. Before i begin. I would like to express my deepest condolences for the terrible tragedy that occurred in seoul this past weekend. Our hearts go out to the families of all the victims from across south korea and around the world. Including two young americans. We stand together what the people of south korea during this time of National Mourning now it is highly unfortunate that the has chosen to interrupt a solid period with the illegal destabilizing launch of an Intercontinental
Spark spears of camp. In tanza, nia, genetically modified produce entering the country or the african state lifts a ban on such produce to help tackle a growing food crisis. Ah, from moscow to the world, this is our t international. Im rachel blevins, and these are the top stories this our moscow says the ukranian president is calling for the start of a world war. Thats actor vladimir zelinski, urged nato to carry out a 1st strike against russia. Chopin, when thatll be. What should nato do . Eliminate the possibility of russia using Nuclear Weapons. I once again appeal to the International Community as it was before february 24th. We need preemptive strikes so that russia would know what awaits them if they use Nuclear Weapons, not the other way around him to wait for Russia Nuclear strikes and say, oh no. Okay, then take this job. Well, the remarks that we heard from the ukranian leaders simply dont match the portrait of reality, that those who observe the situation are aware of, for