it's been a quiet year for hollywood, but the awards season is underway with female directors making history as three women are nominated for best director. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world, and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. finally, vaccines are being produced that might help us return to something like the lives we had before covid. here in the uk over ten million doses have already been given out, but at the same time, new variants are emerging too — first here in the uk, then in brazil and south africa. so, scientists are turning their attention to how to adapt vaccines to make sure they work against all new variants. astrazeneca and oxford university say they plan to have a "next generation" covid vaccine ready for the autumn. our medical editor fergus walsh reports. the scientists at oxford who created the astrazeneca vaccine are continually monitoring how coronavirus is evolving. the current vaccine is thought to give good protection against new variants, but they're working on tweaking the jab to make it future—proof. the scientist who's leading the research says it's relatively simple to redesign the vaccine. it's not difficult to put a different antigenic insert into the vaccine, so we don't want to panic and say that we must have a new version of the vaccine now but on the other hand, we are getting prepared, so that if it turns out we do need a new version, it will be ready to start using it. it'sjust going to be a sharp scratch, 0k? those on the oxford vaccine trials were shown to have 76% protection from a single dose, which lasted three months, rising to 82% protection, with the second shot. we'll be doing swabs every week at home. it is also the first time a covid vaccine has been shown to reduce transmission of coronavirus. those immunised were much less likely to test positive for infection, cutting the risk of them passing the virus on to others. that's the vaccine, but what about those who have actually had covid? they want to know how long they may be protected against subsequent infection. a study involving nearly 20,000 volunteers may provide at least part of the answer. like the other participants, i was asked to send off a few drops of my blood every month to a lab. scientists at uk biobank found that 88% of us, nearly nine in ten, who started off with antibodies, still had them six months later. these findings are really good news, because it does suggest that people who have been infected with the virus may have some degree of protection against another infection for some considerable time. what we would really like to know next is, how long does this natural immunity last for beyond six months? scientists think vaccines are likely to offer much stronger protection than natural infection, so a key message is to get immunised, even if you have already had covid, to boost your immunity and maybe protect others. fergus walsh, bbc news. in portugal, hospitals are struggling to cope with a the uk borisjohnson praised the colossal effort and says the uk's investing rate is still alarmingly high and the nhs remains under huge pressure. to get this life—saving medicine into the arms of the nation, we're relying on the doctors and nurses and all the staff of our nhs, and thanks to their effort, the most colossal in the history of our national health service, that we have today passed the milestone of 10 million vaccinations in the united kingdom, including almost 90% of those aged 75 and older in england and every eligible person in care homes. in portugal, hospitals are struggling to cope with a sharp rise in cases. in fact, the nation has seen some of the world's highest rates of new infections in recent days, and nearly half of portugal's 13,000 covid fatalities occurred just last month. it's a worrying turn for a country that had been doing better than its european neighbours in battling the outbreak. mark lowen reports. she's weak, exhausted by just a few steps. but, overwhelmed by the third wave, portugal had no ambulances to bring her in. so her husband, mario, had to take her to the country's largest hospital close to collapse. portugal currently with the world's highest rate of infections and deaths. the main problem is the fact that i can, here, put another person, a lot of persons, in danger because there is always the situation that i can pass my sickness or my wife's sickness to the other people. the bbc was taken inside santa maria hospital and to the frontier of portugal's battle. beyond these doors, an intensive care unit with just seven of its 70 beds still free. one medic filmed for us in the hell of the storm, some working 18—hour shifts. the british variant is spreading like wildfire, behind half of portugal's cases. one of the eu's most fragile health systems is now critically short of resources. nurse patricia fonseca nunes says only covid patients are coming — all other surgery has stopped. the emotional burden is immense. well, i can tell you i remember all of my patients who died. i remember theirfaces, i remember their names, i remember their families. i remember the 22—year—old who woke up to me and asked me, "what happened to my legs, am i going to be able to play my soccer again?" i get so frustrated and so sad when people tell me this is not happening. sometimes i just want to take them by the hand and say, "come along, come with me, come and see how it feels like to be losing people." today, germany flew in doctors, ventilators and dozens of beds to help. european partners keen to show they're pulling together after being criticised for throwing up walls in the first wave. portugal has now tightened a lockdown that it briefly lifted over christmas, a move partly blamed for the new search. i think the responsibility is more people on ourselves and less on the government. they are trying their best. there are many people dying for days. it is something not normal. honestly, very scary, yeah. portugal has gone from weathering the early pandemic to an unlikely global epicentre, as the virus rages through europe's westernmost shores. mark lowen, bbc news. in washington, republican lawmakers are meeting this hour to discuss whether to strip one congresswoman of her committee seats, and to demote another. on your left you have marjorie taylor greene. a freshman congresswoman who's an ardent fan of donald trump and his claim the election was stolen from him. before she was elected, she supported the qanon conspiracy theory. on the right, liz cheney, the third—ranking member of her party, who voted for donald trump's impeachment. members of her own party want her demoted. let's go live to lebo diseko in washington. talk us through what exactly the story is. talk us through what exactly the sto is. , , . , talk us through what exactly the sto is. ,, ._ �*, talk us through what exactly the sto is. ,, �*, ., story is. essentially, it's too far to say that _ story is. essentially, it's too far to say that this _ story is. essentially, it's too far to say that this is _ story is. essentially, it's too far to say that this is about - story is. essentially, it's too far to say that this is about the - story is. essentially, it's too far. to say that this is about the future of the republican party and who controls it, whether it is the most ardent supporters of donald trump. some of them being 01 on supporters, or whether it's their more established, old—school republicans marjorie taylor greene, there have been post—emerging that have shown anti—semitic views and also very worrying statements. she's accused of liking post that threaten violence against the democratic leadership. democrats want her removed from two keen on my key committees. —— two key committees. confronting a parkland shooting survivor over his activism. we have liz cheney who supported the impeachment of donald trump, calling it a betrayal of the american people. i think when she did that, many people were surprised by the amount of pushback she got from within her own party. there are people who argue that there is still a lot of grassroots support for donald trump, and many within the party, particularly the house of representatives, cannot afford to have their base angry with them over people like liz cheney's actions. figs people like liz cheney's actions. as always, thank you very much indeed. canada has designated the proud boys as a terrorist entity — joining a list that includes al-qaeda and the islamic state group. the all—male, anti—immigrant group, which describes itself as "western chauvinist", was founded by a canadian. some members were among the supporters of donald trump who stormed the us capitol last month. our correspondent nada tawfik joins me now from new york. talk me through the significance of this move by the canadians, and also, do you think the us may follow suit? . , , also, do you think the us may follow suit? ., , , ., , suit? yeah, this is a significant move by canada _ suit? yeah, this is a significant move by canada because - suit? yeah, this is a significant move by canada because they, j suit? yeah, this is a significant - move by canada because they, just like the us, have grown more and more preoccupied and concerned by the activity of ultralight reading groups —— ultra right wing groups. this allows them to not only freeze their assets and put topper, terrorism related charges on them, but also allows them to limit their organising online. a lot of hate speech we've seen online that allow things like the capital insurrection on the us capitol onjanuary six to occur. what canada is saying is that this is a deterrent for them, to to deter future —— she said the national security team, they are doing an assessment and they're going to wait for that to be over before making any determinations, but the key difference is in canada, what the public safety office said is that they do have a legal threshold under their investigation for these criminal designations. in the united states, you have a separate issue of the fact that there is no real legal statute for the united states to designate the group as domestic terrorists. they can single out individuals for domestic terrorism crimes, but as far as groups, there's the issue of the first amendment and that being protected underfreedom of amendment and that being protected under freedom of speech. amendment and that being protected underfreedom of speech. thank amendment and that being protected under freedom of speech.— under freedom of speech. thank you so much. stay with us on bbc news. remember this — so how is the travel and tourism sector planning to get us moving again? this is the moment that millions in iran have been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. and the anc leader, nelson mandela, is to be set free unconditionally. three, two, one... a countdown to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 - of its engines at once. and, apart from its power, - it's the recycling of the rocket, slashing the cost of a launch, l that makes this a breakthrough in the business of space travel. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it "a piece of cake". thousands of people have given the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth, after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world nonstop. this is bbc news. in myanmar, police have filed criminal charges against the civilian leaders who were deposed in a military this week. there's been no word on the whereabouts of either aung san suu kyi or president win myint since monday. the united nations said the charges just "compounded the undermining of the rule of law in myanmar and the democratic process", and they called for the immediate release of the leaders. for a second day, protesters banged pots and sounded car horns in the country's largest city. our reporter nyein chan aye has filed this report from yangon. people are showing their appreciation and anger. it has taken place on monday. people have been banging pots and pans and protest against the military coup that took place on monday. people here are saying they want to live —— don't want to live under military any more. singing transition back more. singing transition bac< more. singing transition bac ., , singing transition back we only resect singing transition back we only respect our _ singing transition back we only respect our elected, _ singing transition back we only respect our elected, and - singing transition back we only| respect our elected, and nobody else. we would have accepted that, but this coup is not fair so we're expressing our feelings in but this coup is not fair so we're expressing ourfeelings in a peaceful way with the voice of the little people. peaceful way with the voice of the little neonate-— little people. translation: i witnessed _ little people. translation: i witnessed the _ little people. translation: i witnessed the coup - little people. translation: i witnessed the coup in - little people. translation: | i witnessed the coup in 1988. little people. translation: - i witnessed the coup in 1988. we know_ i witnessed the coup in 1988. we know about what happens under military— know about what happens under military takeover so we have to do this _ military takeover so we have to do this if_ military takeover so we have to do this if we — military takeover so we have to do this. if we depict to the streets, they— this. if we depict to the streets, they witi— this. if we depict to the streets, they will shoot instead. under the circumstances, i support this kind of protest — circumstances, i support this kind of protest. we want elected leaders. translation: that's why we want to drive them out by doing _ that's why we want to drive them out by doing this — on the other hand, the military is taking total control of the country. the military say... state of emergency. the people have come out here again in less numbers than yesterday to say they want their voice to be heard. the travel and tourism sector is one of the worst hit during this pandemic, according to the un world tourism organisation. international tourism was down 70% last year, back to the levels of 30 years ago. but despite borders still shut, there is an urgent need to plan ahead for how we all might get moving again in the nearfuture. health passes or apps is a solution, but how will these work and who will get one? let's talk to dr mario hardy from the pacific asia travel association, a not—for—profit membership association. thanks so much forjoining us. let's me ask you, how would these health passports work? for me ask you, how would these health passraorts work?— passports work? for most of us who were travelling _ passports work? for most of us who were travelling with _ passports work? for most of us who were travelling with yellow - passports work? for most of us who were travelling with yellow cars, - were travelling with yellow cars, travelling to different places, similar concept but hopefully in the digital manner —— with yellow cards. where you reseed them, etc. the same passes can include information about testing. when you've been tested, the type of testing, etc. horse testing. when you've been tested, the type of testing, etc.— the type of testing, etc. how easy or difficult will _ the type of testing, etc. how easy or difficult will it _ the type of testing, etc. how easy or difficult will it be _ the type of testing, etc. how easy or difficult will it be to _ the type of testing, etc. how easy or difficult will it be to fake - or difficult will it be to fake these different certificates? i believe you can already find online on the black—market, i have no doubt criminals will find ways to replicate it anyway. but i do believe that the people... are both looking into securing information of these passes and also ensuring the information is real. horse these passes and also ensuring the information is real.— information is real. how long you think it will _ information is real. how long you think it will be — information is real. how long you think it will be before _ information is real. how long you think it will be before the - information is real. how long you think it will be before the globall think it will be before the global travel industry gets back to pre—covid times? travel industry gets back to pre-covid times?— travel industry gets back to re-covidtimes? , , ., ., ., pre-covid times? this is information we've been — pre-covid times? this is information we've been tracking _ pre-covid times? this is information we've been tracking since _ pre-covid times? this is information we've been tracking since the - we've been tracking since the beginning of the pandemic. pretty much in line with the thinking we will not see a recovery on a global basis as pre—covid—19 until 2023, possibly 202a. basis as pre-covid-19 until 2023, possibly 2024-— basis as pre-covid-19 until 2023, ossibl 2024. ., ,, , . possibly 2024. thank you very much indeed for talking _ possibly 2024. thank you very much indeed for talking to _ possibly 2024. thank you very much indeed for talking to us _ possibly 2024. thank you very much indeed for talking to us here - possibly 2024. thank you very much indeed for talking to us here on - possibly 2024. thank you very much indeed for talking to us here on bbc| indeed for talking to us here on bbc news. hundreds of players, officials and support staff at the australian open tennis championship will go into isolation after a worker at one of the event's hotels tested positive for coronavirus. tomorrow's play at the warm—up events at melbourne park has been cancelled as a result. players will be free to return to the competition after a negative test, and the organisers expect 2021's first tennis grand slam to go ahead as planned on monday. the premier of the state of victoria, daniel andrews, has been speaking in the last few moments. there's been a very big turn of people working throughout the night and are continuing to work until we have absolute control. there are many, many hundreds of people who've been contacted. the number of exposure site has grown. it's very important people get their fit best information to get tested, that's been the most important thing. anyone getting tested and not waiting an hour, not waiting till tomorrow, getting tested today strictly important. phil mercerjoins me now from sydney. australia's response. there are fears that this 26—year—old support worker who was stationed,. it has been in contact with under the people, mass testing about 13 million test. also, very sophisticated contact tracing too. the premier of victoria state, daniel andrews, the premier of victoria state, danielandrews, is the premier of victoria state, daniel andrews, is urging people not to panic. he says the authorities know how to get on top of these outbreaks. know how to get on top of these outbreaks-— know how to get on top of these outbreaks. , , , ., outbreaks. very briefly, it will go ahead, outbreaks. very briefly, it will go ahead. won't _ outbreaks. very briefly, it will go ahead, won't it? _ outbreaks. very briefly, it will go ahead, won't it? yes, _ outbreaks. very briefly, it will go ahead, won't it? yes, you'd - outbreaks. very briefly, it will go i ahead, won't it? yes, you'd imagine it would. there _ ahead, won't it? yes, you'd imagine it would. there might _ ahead, won't it? yes, you'd imagine it would. there might be _ ahead, won't it? yes, you'd imagine it would. there might be a - ahead, won't it? yes, you'd imagine it would. there might be a few- ahead, won't it? yes, you'd imagine i it would. there might be a few bumps along the way and certainly, that's been the case since hundreds of players and support staff were flown in to australia, and the australian authorities are externally determined to make this event happened. but also to make it safe as well. the authorities, i would imagine, will be crossing their fingers that they could get on top of this particular outbreak so that the play can of been —— to begin as scheduled on monday next week. phil mercer, thank you so much. movie theatres are closed in many parts of the world due to the pandemic, but the hollywood awards season began in earnest today, with the announcement of the golden globe nominees. and history was made, with three women nominated in the best director category. among them, chloe zhao, who directed the movie nomadland. she's the first chinese film—maker to to be nominated for the category. our entertainment correspondent tom brook spoke to her in los angeles. i'm not homeless, i'mjust... chloe zhao's picture nomadland, starring francis mcdormand, is a contemporary western, is a contemporary western, the story of a woman who leads a nomadic life in america's heartland. it's been playing at festivals and at their drive—in venues, and it's generated a lot of awards buzz. for 38—year—old zhao, this, her third film, is a major achievement. she's made history by becoming the first woman of asian descent to land a golden globe best director nomination. obviously, she's pleased by the recognition. i think it's great, i think it's very happy. i love what i do, and anything that can help me keep doing what i love to do, i'll take it. last year, the south korean movie parasite one the top best picture trophy at the oscars. now, with chloe zhao earning a golden globe nomination, it suggests that hollywood is becoming more open to embracing asian storytellers long marginalised by the industry, especially women. these things do inform, i think, investors and gatekeepers to look at what kind of stories and what kind of talent they invest in. this means that more people that look like me get to do it, and i think that's great. zhao could also make history by becoming the first asian woman woman to be nominated for an oscar for directing. film critics see the recognition she's being given as very significant. it's a huge breakthrough. asian americans and asian people specifically have been really marginalised in hollywood, and it's proven that they no longer have to adhere to certain rules and regulations to have their stories made. but they can do what they want and show all that they are and all their texture and colour and bring that to therefore making history. the awards recognition is going to help boost the profile of zhao's film nomadland. with its emphasis on american lives being dislocated, it has topical currency. i think it's speaking to anyone who feels like they're weighted down by this pandemic. it sort of showed us things can't go away overnight, and how do you keep going.— things can't go away overnight, and how do you keep going. hello? zhao has developed _ how do you keep going. hello? zhao has developed her _ how do you keep going. hello? zhao has developed her career _ how do you keep going. hello? zhao has developed her career by - has developed her career by independent films shaped by artistic... it'll be interesting to see if her single revision prevailed in the film which is much more commercial. tom brook, bbc news, new york. and before we go, this year's superbowl stadium will be rather empty due to covid health and safety protocols. the nfl invited 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers and 14,500 paid attendance fans to be at the game. to fill the rest of the seats, the league launched the"fan in the stand" cutout program that lets people upload a photo of themselves or someone else. it will then be printed. the cutouts cost $100 with a portion of the proceeds being donated to local charities picked by the fan's home team. unfortunately, the program is already sold out! that's it from us. thank you so much for watching. that's it from us. thank you so much forwatching. bye—bye. hello there. winter is about to ramp up to another gear by the end of this week, certainly into the weekend. it'll be turning much colder with the risk of some disruptive snow in places. so for the next few days, it'll gradually be turning colder for all, and we'll see increasing snow particularly over the hills in the north. now for thursday, we've still got low pressure close by to the uk, it's the weather front across the north bringing further cloud, outbreaks of rain to northern ireland, much of scotland, northern england too, and here we'll see further snow over the scottish hills accumulating and drifting in that strong east—southeast wind. further south, after a bright start to the day, we'll start to see showery bursts of rain moving up from the south. here, it'll tend to be fairly mild, 8—10 celsius, but very cold across the north where we have that snow. through thursday night, it continues with rain and the snow across scotland — significant accumulations over the grampians and the highlands, very wet weather with a risk of flooding. further south, a drier night to come and clear skies, could see some mist and fog across southern england, and again, a big temperature contrast from north to south. now the snow continues as we head on into friday and saturday — significant accumulations have prompted the met office to issue an amber warning for this heavy, incessant snow. and also, some very heavy rain for lower levels could cause some localised flooding — so a whole host of issues there. further west, we'll have sunny spells, a few showers, tends to stay dry across the far southeast — again, 9—10 celsius, much colder further north where it will also be windy with that drifting snow in the hills. moving on into the weekend, our area of low pressure sinks a bit further southwards, so it means the rain and the hill snow across scotland will drift into parts of northern england at times too, so a whole wintry mix here could be disruptive. further south, quite a bit of cloud around with outbreaks of rain, and temperatures dropping generally across—the—board. still cold in the north and a little bit colder for much of england and wales, too. as we head on into sunday, the very cold air across the east pushes southwards right across the uk, and it'll be very windy, so the wind making it feel even colder — 2—3 celsius, some snow pushing into northern and eastern areas which could be disruptive. so turning very cold through this weekend for all areas, with the risk of some disruptive snow for some of us. this is bbc world news, the headlines... scientists at oxford univerity and astrazeneca say they're working on the next generation of covid vaccines — which could be ready by the autumn — so that the jab can be adapted to work against different strains of the virus. canada has become the first country in the world to designate the far—right anti—immigrant proud boys group as a terrorist organisation. some members were among the supporters of donald trump who stormed the us capitol last month. aung san suu kyi, the deposed de—facto leader of myanmar, has been charged by the military authorities who took power in a coup. she's accused of breaching the country's strict import and export laws and illegally possessing two—way radios. all of thursday's warm up matches in the australian open tennis tournament have been cancelled, and more than 500 people told to go into isolation after a worker at a hotel were players were staying tests positive for coronavirus.