australia's prime minister says his country won't be intimidated, after facebook blocks the country's news feeds in a row over a new law. and a nail—biting day for nasa, as it aims to land its perseverance rocket on the surface of mars. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. there's been a marked decline in levels of coronavirus infections in england since january, say scientists tracking the epidemic. a study by imperial college london found that infections have fallen by two thirds across england since the latest lockdown began, with an 80% fall in the capital itself. but it warns that levels are still high, particularly among primary school age children and young adults, with 1 in 200 testing positive between the 4th and 13th february. that's similar to levels seen in september. our health correspondent, katharine da costa, has the details. friends and family kept apart. many businesses kept on hold. lockdown has taken its toll on all of us, but researchers say it has helped to take levels in england down researchers say it has helped to take infection levels in england down to those last seen in september. imperial college's react survey looked at 85,000 random swab samples taken between the 4th and 13th february. researchers suggest one in 200 had the virus, and while infections are still high, they are halving every 15 days. but it is a mixed picture. they suggest infections are falling more slowly in northern regions, while in london, levels have fallen significantly. in some ages, one in 25 were testing positive, so it started higher, and has fortunately come down quicker, so that is really good news. we are not quite sure why rates are slower in the north, but we did see that earlier, coming in the early stages coming out of... in the early stages of the second wave, that rates were higher in the north, and that's what we're again today. and that's what we're seeing again today. the survey suggests infections are falling in all ages, but are highest in primary age children and young adults. so what might that mean for plans to reopen schools from march the 8th? we really, really want to get children back into school. there is work—in—progress looking at how testing can support schools to come back. there is already a level of testing going on in schools, where you have children of key workers and teachers in schools at the moment because schools aren't completely closed, and _ there is work going on about the details of the return to school, and _ more will be said next week about that. pressure in icus has eased slightly over the last month, but there are still close to 3000 covid patients on ventilators, similar to levels in the first way. health officials want to see infections suppressed to very low levels to avoid another surge as restrictions are lifted. i think that is the big question, how low can we go to have some residual infection where we can open up safely? because getting back to zero is really... nobody sensible thinks that is achievable in the near future. scientists think it may be another couple of weeks before we see the full impact of the vaccine roll—out on cases and hospital admissions. while the data seem to be heading in the right direction, ministers say they don't want to jeopardise the hard work it has taken to get us here. the bbc�*s head of statistics, robert cuffe, has more on what today's figures show about the lockdown. it is probably the lockdown that is doing the bulk of the work here, rather than vaccinations, but hopefully we will start to see the vaccinations effect showing through pretty soon. the data are pretty clear across all the different forms. cases, hospitalisations, deaths, studies like this reactor study. the epidemic is shrinking every two or two and a half weeks, it is really clear across all those different areas, but it would take another month and a half or two months at that rate of decline before we saw cases, down to the levels they were last summer, so we are certainly not out of the woods yet, as we heard earlier. now, you would hope the vaccinations would be pulling some of this weight, but these researches were not able to at that because the group we are protecting at the moment are the over 80s and they didn't look at those, but we can look at other data groups, like the deaths, and we can show what has been happening to deaf numbers recently and you can see over the last fortnight the red line showing debts in people over 80 has been falling faster for than for people under 80 and it is the over 80s who have been seeing most of the vaccination so far, or certainly by the middle ofjanuary. so it is really good news, it is hopeful, not conclusive, this is a very rough and ready analysis, but it certainly does give us hope that in addition to the bigger effects of lockdown, we will be saying vaccination starting to take some of the strain as well. . , ., , , let's speak now to professor christina pagel from the clinical operational research unit at university college london and a member of independent sage. hello, if there good afternoon, professor. hello, if there good afternoon, professor-— hello, if there good afternoon, professor.- your - hello, if there good afternoon, i professor.- your thoughts, professor. hello. your thoughts, first of all. _ professor. hello. your thoughts, first of all, broadly _ professor. hello. your thoughts, first of all, broadly in _ professor. hello. your thoughts, first of all, broadly in terms - professor. hello. your thoughts, first of all, broadly in terms of. first of all, broadly in terms of today's figures, that two thirds drop. these are figures for england, anyway. drop. these are figures for england, an a . , , drop. these are figures for england, an a. , anyway. yes, it is obviously really aood anyway. yes, it is obviously really good news _ anyway. yes, it is obviously really good news and — anyway. yes, it is obviously really good news and it _ anyway. yes, it is obviously really good news and it matches - anyway. yes, it is obviously really good news and it matches all - anyway. yes, it is obviously really good news and it matches all the | good news and it matches all the other data we are seeing from the government daily dashboard to the ons government daily dashboard to the 0ns infection service, so i think we can be pretty sure that lockdown has had a very strong effect on england. so that is a positive. what is to say that... when lockdown is eased, whenever that might be, that figures don'tjust whenever that might be, that figures don't just start to very whenever that might be, that figures don'tjust start to very quickly go back up again? what would be the scientific situation there? i back up again? what would be the scientific situation there?- scientific situation there? i mean, that is the big _ scientific situation there? i mean, that is the big question, _ scientific situation there? i mean, that is the big question, really. i that is the big question, really. the big question for me is what happens when school started to go back. that is where there is a little element of concern in the reactor data because they showed that cases are still higher among primary age schoolchildren and that is the first time we have seen that in react since the summer. it is all it's been the secondary school children at higher rates and now it is primary aged children and one possible reason for that is they are about 20—25% of primary age schoolchildren are going to school and if that means that infections are staying a bit higher in that group then when we send more people backis group then when we send more people back is that going to have an impact? that is a bit of a concern. i think what we have to do is go back to school in a bit of a phased return, so i preferjustice and back primary schools first and just see what happens, use testing, use good contact data and try to make sure we keep on top of any outbreaks if they happen. keep on top of any outbreaks if they ha en. . , ., , keep on top of any outbreaks if they hauen. . , ., , , happen. that is really interesting because of— happen. that is really interesting because of course _ happen. that is really interesting because of course there - happen. that is really interesting because of course there is - happen. that is really interesting because of course there is still i because of course there is still that fort that schools can start going back gradually on march the 8th, so you would do what? could you be as prescriptive as to say, let's try it for two weeks for the sake of arguing, track it and see what impact it has?— arguing, track it and see what imact it has? ~ , impact it has? well, easter is the beauinnin impact it has? well, easter is the beginning of— impact it has? well, easter is the beginning of april _ impact it has? well, easter is the beginning of april this _ impact it has? well, easter is the beginning of april this year, - impact it has? well, easter is the beginning of april this year, so i beginning of april this year, so term ends quite soon after march the 8th and effectively then as long as nothing else changes, we are back in lockdown during the holiday, so you have kind of got a natural circuit break that we know works, so in that sense i kind of see march, you can try to see what happens. the question is what happens if cases do start going up, what do we do? hopefully we can keep cases down and the way to do that is to put in place support structures to keep them down and that to me, the biggest thing we are not doing right now supporting people to isolate if they have covid, whether that is parents of children, whether that is people working out in their community because the lower the rates are in the community the less crisp an opening schools. find rates are in the community the less crisp an opening schools.— crisp an opening schools. and the oint is crisp an opening schools. and the point is we _ crisp an opening schools. and the point is we do _ crisp an opening schools. and the point is we do not _ crisp an opening schools. and the point is we do not want _ crisp an opening schools. and the point is we do not want rates - crisp an opening schools. and the l point is we do not want rates going up, even if we are talking about people who don't get ill with it, because the more virus that is out there the more we can see mutations, is that correct?— is that correct? yeah, i mean, that to me is the _ is that correct? yeah, i mean, that to me is the biggest _ is that correct? yeah, i mean, that to me is the biggest risk. - is that correct? yeah, i mean, that to me is the biggest risk. we - is that correct? yeah, i mean, that to me is the biggest risk. we are i to me is the biggest risk. we are doing so well in our vaccination programme. we are on track and have offered pretty much every adult the first dose by the summer. but if we can just first dose by the summer. but if we canjust avoid going first dose by the summer. but if we can just avoid going the first dose by the summer. but if we canjust avoid going the new first dose by the summer. but if we can just avoid going the new variant that might resist that vaccine we are in a really position, but that means keeping cases really low. we got cases really low last summer. scotland got them even lower, down to two cases per week in the summer. if we can get down to that kind of level we are in a really good position. fit. level we are in a really good position-— level we are in a really good osition. �* ., ., position. a quick final thought about vaccinations _ position. a quick final thought about vaccinations before - position. a quick final thought about vaccinations before i - position. a quick final thought about vaccinations before i let position. a quick final thought - about vaccinations before i let you 90, about vaccinations before i let you go, what is the impact of the current vaccination programme on any of these figures? 50 current vaccination programme on any of these figures?— of these figures? so we are starting to see the impact _ of these figures? so we are starting to see the impact on _ of these figures? so we are starting to see the impact on death, - of these figures? so we are starting to see the impact on death, i - of these figures? so we are starting to see the impact on death, i think. j to see the impact on death, i think. we should start seeing it in hospitalisation soon. it won't have that much impact in case numbers because 90% of case numbers are in under 70—year—olds. because 90% of case numbers are in under70—year—olds. it because 90% of case numbers are in under 70—year—olds. it will start having an impact on case numbers by the spring, when you get to 50 roles in 60—year—olds and so on. qm. in 60-year-olds and so on. ok, really interesting _ in 60-year-olds and so on. ok, really interesting to _ in 60—year—olds and so on. ok, really interesting to your perspective, thank you very much indeed, professor. i'm sorry because i haven't spoken to you before and i'm not sure whether i pronounced your surname correctly. so can you tell me? , ., , ., tell me? everyone gets it wrong, don't worry- _ tell me? everyone gets it wrong, don't worry- it — tell me? everyone gets it wrong, don't worry. it is _ tell me? everyone gets it wrong, don't worry. it is professor - don't worry. it is professor christina pagel, it is a german name. ., , , ., christina pagel, it is a german name. ., , ., ., name. professor christina pagel, thank ou name. professor christina pagel, thank you very — name. professor christina pagel, thank you very much _ name. professor christina pagel, thank you very much for - name. professor christina pagel, thank you very much for talking l name. professor christina pagel, l thank you very much for talking to us, from university college london. in scotland the number of people testing positive for coronavirus is also falling. in her daily briefing the first minister nicola sturgeon said just under 4% of all tests were positive, the lowest level for some time. there are 1,261 people in hospital with coronavirus, which is below the peak of the first wave in the spring. about a tenth of people who contract covid—i9 still experience symptoms three months after their diagnosis, according to a study by the office for national statistics. now, a group of mps says key workers and front line staff who are suffering long—term effects which means they're unable to return that mean they're unable to return to work should receive compensation. andy moore reports. oh, no. 38.9. i don't know what to do. sophie is a 27—year—old nurse, but the only temperature she's taking these days is her own. ten months after first contracting the disease, she is still off work and feels ill every day. imagine running a marathon with no finish line at all, so ijust feel that i'm running every single day, entirely exhausted, and i have no idea when this will end. iona is a secondary school teacher who is convinced she caught covid in the classroom last march. it's believed around one in ten people who get the disease are still suffering months later. that's tens of thousands of people. iona used to go running on a regular basis. now, just walking is difficult. it's sort of felt like being slowly erased, because all your plans and all the things you normally do in your life are just being taken away one by one. all my muscles hurt and ache all the time. an all—party group of mps says all front—line workers should be able to access a compensation scheme that would guarantee their livelihoods if they can't go back to work. my sincere hope is thatjust like with the original compensation scheme that was announced for front line workers who pass away, the government will now put this into place, ensure that our front line workers, the nhs workers we went out and clapped for every thursday, are able to get that peace of mind that comes with knowing that their livelihoods aren't going to be lost because they did the right thing and saved lives. that proposal is backed by the doctors' union, who say some of their members have already been forced to quit theirjobs. we would be looking at something similar to the old armed forces similar to the armed forces compensation payment, which can be a one—off payment or can be a minimum income guarantee. what we don't know, of course, about covid — we are only a year into our first cases — is whether long covid and the symptoms that are lasting in one in ten people beyond 12 weeks, will carry on. the government says employers can make full use of the existing sick pay provisions to support staff. it says research is continuing into the understanding of long covid and how affected individuals can best be supported. but for those suffering with the condition, it's a nightmare with currently no prospect of an end. let's talk to dr david wrigley, a gp and vice chair of the british medical association council. hello, good afternoon. good afternoon. and can we talkjust about long covid generally first? in your experience as a gp and your colleagues, what are you seeing? what experiences are your patients telling you about?— what experiences are your patients telling you about? yeah,... joined a i-rou of telling you about? yeah,... joined a grouo of mps _ telling you about? yeah,... joined a grouo of mps who — telling you about? yeah,... joined a group of mps who want _ telling you about? yeah,... joined a group of mps who want to _ telling you about? yeah,... joined a group of mps who want to recognise the very worrying long—term consequences of long covid and i think it is important to recognise there are two different types here. patients get very unwell and end up in intensive care and they can suffer long—term consequences, with lung disease, blood clots that may cause strokes, but we also see quite a large cohort of patients who may not have had such a serious disease, but they get these really long—term, debilitating symptoms around tiredness, brain fog and breathlessness, and it really does impact on their life. it is a bit like a phone battery, you know, your old battery may get a bit old and in the morning you take a few calls and it runs down. these patients' batteries are running out after 15 or 20 minutes of activity in the early morning and this is really worrying and this is why we want to highlight this condition. i5 worrying and this is why we want to highlight this condition. is it worrying and this is why we want to highlight this condition.— highlight this condition. is it also tric to highlight this condition. is it also tricky to diagnose? _ highlight this condition. is it also tricky to diagnose? because - highlight this condition. is it also l tricky to diagnose? because some highlight this condition. is it also - tricky to diagnose? because some of the symptoms you have described there, i mean, unfortunately could be lots of other things.— be lots of other things. that's ri . ht, be lots of other things. that's right. and _ be lots of other things. that's right. and as _ be lots of other things. that's right, and as a _ be lots of other things. that's right, and as a gp _ be lots of other things. that's right, and as a gp when - be lots of other things. that's l right, and as a gp when people present to us with shortness of breath and other conditions you have to try to work out exclude other things and when we work our way through it's a very new disease, obviously, the long covid is new to us and we are trying to work our way through. the government has announced some funding for research around the genetics and what is behind this, but this call today is around recognising long covid as an entity and also seeking some longer term compensation. health care workers are four times more likely to get covid and two times more likely than the general population to get long covid, and this can have a devastating impact on their careers, their sick pay may stop and it is all because they went to work and we are calling on government to do the right thing. it looks much like the military have a compensation scheme, we are seeking one for health care workers with long covid. one for health care workers with long covid-— long covid. and can we 'udge an hini long covid. and can we 'udge anything yet in i long covid. and can we 'udge anything yet in terms h long covid. and can we judge anything yet in terms of - long covid. and can we judge anything yet in terms of why. long covid. and can we judge - anything yet in terms of why some people are susceptible to long covid? why some people can bounce back, as we know, reasonably well, and others simply do not and they get some of the symptoms you have described? is it going to hit people who have pre—existing conditions? how much do we know in that regard yet? we how much do we know in that regard et? ~ ., , how much do we know in that regard et? . ., , ., �* how much do we know in that regard et? ._ «a, how much do we know in that regard et? ._ ~ ., ., yet? we really don't know and it seems to be _ yet? we really don't know and it seems to be a _ yet? we really don't know and it seems to be a lottery _ yet? we really don't know and it seems to be a lottery at - yet? we really don't know and it seems to be a lottery at the - yet? we really don't know and it - seems to be a lottery at the moment and that is why i think the research will be helpful. we will find out more, i am sure, as time goes by we will be able to understand this further, but at the moment we just don't know why it affects a mob of more than others and that is why we need to recognise this. other countries in europe, germany, france and denmark have recognised covid—i9 as an occupational disease. we haven't had that recognition here and again we are calling on the government to recognise that as an important factor, is something new contract at work just any line of duty and recognise that and treat health health care workers properly. interesting to talk to you, thank you very much. dr david wrigley there, a gp who is also part of the bma, the british medical association. it's a day for lots of stats and figures. we have been talking about those all morning. we've just had the latest weekly coronavirus surveillance report from public health england. it showss covid—i9 case rates are continuing to fall in all regions of england. 0ur health correspondent, catherine burns, is here. you have had a bit of a chance to read some of it, a large amount of statistics, but what we know so far? good news, and it ties in with the kind of stuff we have seen from all the other sets of data you have spoken about today. public health england says cases are following, hospital admissions are falling and deaths are falling. we will break it down a bit more. public health england, for example, calls out what it calls respiratory infection incidence. two weeks ago they were looking at about one has won hundred of them and last week it was down to 767, this week down to 541, so that is outbreaks and things like care homes, prisons, hospitals and workplaces, so we can see they are falling from that. then if we look at hospital admissions, last week there are about 19.4 hospital admissions for every 100,000 people in the population. that has now gone down to 14.6, about 15%, so a good solid fall. can see hospital a&e match attendances are also going down, the number of deaths also and something is going up, and it is what we want, which is the number of people with protection and antibodies in their blood. that has gone up from about 13% to almost 16% and public health england says, we think vaccination is playing a really important contribution to that. that is what we want to be seen. 0verall, where does that leave us? it means that really we have gone from very high to high, but we are moving in the right direction. right, so positive, going in the right direction, but as so many scientists have said today about the other set of figures we have been talking about, there's still a way to go. 0ne element of this, everything you say would make us think fewer people going into hospital, that's great, by definition less pressure on the nhs. but am i right in saying that people are tending to spend longer in hospital now? because we have got better at treating it. fits hospital now? because we have got better at treating it.— better at treating it. as we are ttettin better at treating it. as we are getting better _ better at treating it. as we are getting better treating - better at treating it. as we are getting better treating it, - better at treating it. as we are i getting better treating it, actually with the nhs one of the figures that has come out today is the figures for the number of people in critical care beds. this is always a really funny one to explain because the number of beds goes up and down depending on demand, so right now we can say that we are at sort of 80% critical care bed occupancy. what does that actually mean? well, it means that right now, for example, we have 6000 available beds and critical care and of those, 4800 are being used. but if we were to go back to this time last year, the number of beds that were available, 3000 703,000 being used, so you can see the different we have expanded in a period because we have expanded in a period because we had to. yes we have expanded in a period because we hadto. ,,, we have expanded in a period because we hadto. , , , ., we have expanded in a period because wehadto. ,,, ., , we had to. yes because demand is still hith, we had to. yes because demand is still high. so _ we had to. yes because demand is still high. so it— we had to. yes because demand is still high, so it is _ we had to. yes because demand is still high, so it is really _ we had to. yes because demand is still high, so it is really worth i still high, so it is really worth saying, yes, this is brilliant news, shows lockdown is working and we got positive signals coming from vaccination, but it is not time to 90, vaccination, but it is not time to go, right, this is done! its not done. not that we thought it was. no! we will end on that point, it's not done, but thank you very much cow, catherine burns, i have corresponded. the duke of edinburgh has spent a second night in hospital in london, where he was admitted after feeling unwell. jon donnison is outside the king edward vii's hospital in central london — what can you tell us? not a huge amount to update you on. buckingham palace are very keen not to be giving a buckingham palace are very keen not to be ttivin ., buckingham palace are very keen not to be ttivin . ., , buckingham palace are very keen not to be itvint . . , ., to be giving a running commentary on the prince's — to be giving a running commentary on the prince's condition. _ to be giving a running commentary on the prince's condition. as _ to be giving a running commentary on the prince's condition. as far - to be giving a running commentary on the prince's condition. as far as i to be giving a running commentary on the prince's condition. as far as we i the prince's condition. as far as we know, he remains in good spirits. he spent his second merton hospital, it is coming up to 48 hours since he was admitted. —— is second night in hospital. the palace said it was absolutely not an emergency, very much a precautionary measure having felt ill for a number of days and they anticipate that he would be in hospital for a few days for a period of rest and recuperation. the queen remains at windsor and as far as we know she has very much going about business as usual, hoping and expecting that her husband will be out of hospital within the next few days. out of hospital within the next few da s. g ., out of hospital within the next few da . ., days. jon donnison in central london. _ days. jon donnison in central london, thank _ days. jon donnison in central london, thank you. - recovery bonds have been proposed by the labour leader to support communities, jobs and businesses in the wake of the pandemic. sir keir starmer has made a speech setting out his vision for the economy post—coronavirus, which he said must involve better paid and more stable work. more details from our political correspondent, jonathan blake. almost a year since he became labour leader, sir keir starmer today aims to set out more of his political vision. in the grip of a global pandemic, he said, the country faces a choice. we can go back to the same insecure and unequal economy that has been so cruelly exposed by the virus. or we can seize the moment, and go forward to a future that is going to look utterly unlike the past. so far, he has focused on establishing himself as competent. this was an attempt to add substance to his chosen style. if i were prime minister, i would introduce a new british recovery bond. this could raise billions to invest in local communities, injobs and in businesses. a new policy, but a tentative step, perhaps, when labour needs to regain so much support. does your policy of recovery bonds risk, in the short term, at least, allowing the rich to become richer while offering nothing for those who are struggling financially due to the pandemic, many of whom may be former labour voters who turned their backs on your party at the last election? many people saved for the first time during this pandemic, and as the bank of england says, they are unlikely to spend it in a hurry, and this gives them the security of a bond going forward and also helps the country secure that economy. sir keir starmer has had to criticise the government's response to coronavirus, while risking the charge of playing politics with the pandemic, but with labour lagging in the polls, some say he needs to be bold. what i now want to see are big ideas for things like a living income that would mean we can put an income floor below which no one can fall. things like a radical green new deal, big investment in our communities to create a new deal for towns. sir keir starmer said people want more from government, but when it is playing a greater role in our lives than ever, he must make clear what labour would do differently. jonathan blake, bbc news. let's talk to our political correspondent, alex forsyth, who's at westminster. build, is it fair to say or thought of as a big moment where keir starmer really needs to lay out a future vision that labour has for the economy. did it press the correct buttons? it the economy. did it press the correct buttons?— the economy. did it press the correct buttons? it was very much build that way. — correct buttons? it was very much build that way, it _ correct buttons? it was very much build that way, it was _ correct buttons? it was very much build that way, it was a _ correct buttons? it was very much build that way, it was a chance i correct buttons? it was very much build that way, it was a chance for keir starmer to answer his critics, who say he hasn't yet really in his year as labour leader set out exactly who he is or what he stands for or his vision for the country, so i think this was an attempt for him to start doing that. and there were really two elements to this speech. part of it was criticism of the conservative party, notjust their handling of the pandemic, where he has been trying to strike a balance, as jonathan where he has been trying to strike a balance, asjonathan mentioned in his report, between the criticism of what he sees as their competency, but also not trying to overly politicise the virus. but more broadly, he blamed ten years or so of conservative policy and ideology for what they keir starmer suggested was deep inequalities in the country, which have exacerbated the effect of the pandemic. but beyond that he was also trying to say what labour would do differently to the conservatives, going forward. it was a bit of info ahead to the budget, which we expect to take place in the beginning of march. he said that could be a really defining moment, as he suggested that the labour party, wear it to be in government, would form a close relationship with business, but would also take on quite a big role for the state. he mentioned the policy about british recovery bonds, but also talked about start—up loans for entrepreneurs for businesses to help them get going, so this was trying to suggest what labour would do differently. i think the problem with sir keir starmer remains to fault. whether or not his policy ideas he put forward today are bold enough to satisfy his critics and he is also facing a conservative party which, by the nature of this pandemic, because of what has happened in this country over the course of the past year has had to intervene, put a lot of money into supporting businesses and families, so when keir starmer argues for a greater role for the state he is up against a conservative party which, right now, is having to do that, so it is whether or not he can differentiate and make his party offers distinctive enough and whether he can cut through to voters, who of course are preoccupied by this public health emergency. preoccupied by this public health emergency-— preoccupied by this public health emerten . , , , , emergency. yes. different times, aren't they? _ make you very much for now, alex forsyth. lots more coming up in the next half an hour, but we will pause and catch up an hour, but we will pause and catch up with the weather prospects, wherever you are in the country. louise lear has slows. —— has those. hello there. morning rain is clearing away out to the north sea as we speak and going to leave an afternoon of sunny spells and scattered showers. most of those will be to the far north and west, some of them quite intense at times. that said, the cloud will continue to break up, the sunshine come through for some and temperatures should peak up to 12 celsius. as we go through the evening and overnight there is more rain in the forecast, turning increasingly wet and increasingly windy, with gale force gusts expected to accompany this wet weather. but ahead of that, with clearer skies for a time, particularly across eastern england, we will see low figures, a chilly start in comparison to of late. and it is here where it is likely to stay dry through much of the day, the rain really quite heavy, quite relentless along west facing coasts and it is going to be accompanied, as i have said, with gale force gusts of wind. a blustery day right across the country, but those temperatures still on the mild side, really, for late february, with highs of 9-11 . hello this is bbc news, the headlines. coronavirus infections drop by two thirds across england during the latest lockdown — but scientists say infections still need to be lower: the big question is, how low can we go to have some residual infection where we can open up safely? there's a call for more financial help — for key workers living with long covid: the labour leader proposes british recovery bonds — to help fund the renewal of communities and jobs after the lockdown ends. the coronavirus vaccine — performers and politicians come together to urge people from minority ethnic backgrounds to get the jab. australia's prime minister says his country won't be intimidated — after facebook blocks the country's news feeds — in a row over a new law and, a nail biting day for nasa — as it aims to land its perseverance rocket on the surface of mars. sport now and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. the long wait for serena williams to equal the all—time grand slam record goes on. she was beaten by japan's naomi 0saka, in the australian open semi—finals, 6—3, 6—4.... it was a loss which led to speculation that it could be the last time williams would appear in melbourne. this is what she had to say. i don't know. if i ever say farewell, i wouldn't tell anyone, so... laughter you were saying about the unforced errors in the match. considering how well you've played to get to this stage, what do you feel caused that? or was itjust one of those bad days at the office? i don't know. i'm done. so a really emotional williams there the former british player annabel croft is commentating on the tennis for the bbc. she told me it was understable that williams was so upset to go out at this stage.... it was heartbreaking to watch her so devastated and we all understand why because she is going after this great record of margaret court, she wants to equal and extend it and that has been 11 grand slams but she has cut short a vital bit so she was very emotional. you are never quite sure with a press conference that soon after the match, she hasn't got a lot going through her head but something just hit a raw nerve and you wonder whether the questions about whether this was the last time we will see you at the australian open, i don't know where she is that, i hope we see her again but obviously time is going against us, she is 39 and she lost to an opponent with firepower, mental strength and 16 years herjunior so thatis strength and 16 years herjunior so that is not easy. bud strength and 16 years her 'unior so that is not easy.i strength and 16 years her 'unior so that is not easy. and naomi osaka is on this incredible _ that is not easy. and naomi osaka is on this incredible winning _ that is not easy. and naomi osaka is on this incredible winning streak, i on this incredible winning streak, what can be make of her opponent. they played a terrific semifinal at the us open which was tighter than people thought which naomi 0saka one but brady is someone who had a massive breakthrough in this year, beat the world number one earlier then won her first to the event in lexington and she has worked incredibly hard on the mental aspect of the game, she has confidence and she has a weapons so i am wondering how she might surprise people but you would have to favour or naomi 0saka. you would have to favour or naomi osaka. �* , you would have to favour or naomi osaka. ,, you would have to favour or naomi osaka. �*, osaka. any surprises in the men's quarterfinals? _ osaka. any surprises in the men's quarterfinals? if _ osaka. any surprises in the men's quarterfinals? if anyone _ osaka. any surprises in the men's quarterfinals? if anyone hadn't i osaka. any surprises in the men's l quarterfinals? if anyone hadn't seen the much looked _ quarterfinals? if anyone hadn't seen the much looked like _ quarterfinals? if anyone hadn't seen the much looked like a _ the much looked like a straightforward scoreline but it was anything but, right from hundred and 14 anyone, never played a grand slam main draw before and this was his ninth match having gone through qualifying and he was really holding his own against djokovic and things got edgy in the first couple of sets, djokovic was 5—1 ahead, almost back to 5—5, break point opportunities and he was quite uptight so it was very tense but he had to draw on a lot of experience and strength of character to get himself ahead and try to close out the match. moeen ali has been bought for £700,000 by chennai super kings at the indian premier league auction. the england all—rounder headed home from the test series with india to spend time with his family.... but will head back out to play in the twenty twenty tournament which starts in april. a number of england players are in the auction — batsman dawid malan sold to punjab kings for nearly £150,000. the tokyo 0lympic organising committee, has a new president. seiko hashi—moto, who competed in four winter and three summer games the former speed skater takes over after yoshiro mori a formerjapanese prime minister, was forced to resign last week after making sexist comments about women. that's all the sport for now. at the grenfell tower fire inquiry, it's emerged that a technical manager at a company which made the tower�*s cladding, told colleagues that poor fire test results needed to be kept "very confidential". the request was made in an email sent in 2010 — which was revelaed this morning at the inquiry. 72 people died in the fire in west london in 2017. we can speak now to our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds. tell us more, tom. you will remember the background to some of the evidence we are hearing at the enquiry is that this company made the cladding for grenfell tower and lots of other towers but had some fire tests in 2004 which does not come out very well for this product, effectively one sort of cladding where the cladding was folded into boxes scored very poorly in this fire test and today the enquiry was shown an e—mail discussion in 2010. the client in spain where there was a restriction on the use of flammable cladding was asking whether he could use this one product that had been tested and an e—mail sent by the technical manager said these poorfire e—mail sent by the technical manager said these poor fire tests needed to be kept very confidential and as he put it in the e—mail it was in capital letters. that was sent to another employee at the company who was a sales manager and he responded this should not have even been mentioned and of course the enquiry was asking questions along the lines of what is on to this deception being practised on the watch of the president in france giving evidence at the moment. the reason that this is important as it shows enquiries moving towards the enquiry might idea that perhaps the results of this test were kept from the market, the people who decide which cladding to fit and what regulations needed to fit and what regulations needed to be taken into account and also a board which issued a specification certificate which was also not showing these test results. you have outlined some of it, what are the further implications now this e—mail is in the open? there is a long way to go, this enquiry will last all this year, it has been delayed by about a year because of the covid crisis but one of the key points is what did companies who made these products know about the concerns about fire safety. we also heard evidence today that the same company about a fire in bucharest in 2010 when the cladding had set fire, the flames raced to the top of the building, very similar to what happened at grenfell tower and the question was what did you do about this suggestion that might be a concern about the safety of this cladding and the witness said that had not been any internal training systems or sessions on information given to staff. he said it might have been discussed but it is all along a similar vein at the moment. thank you. nearly two million people haven't worked for at least six months, because they are either unemployed or fully furloughed — according to research from the think tank the resolution foundation. it's calling for the government's furlough scheme to remain in place for several months after lockdown is eased. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity has more. this couldn't happen right now, but before the pandemic this video promoted a viable profitable one—stop shop wedding business in worcestershire, supplying everything from flower arrangements, to disco floors, to chair covers. the only thing that's made it unviable are government restrictions imposed to fight covid, and eight staff have been on furlough for much of the past year. as a business we've lost over £300,000. we've postponed over 200 weddings. yeah, it's mounting up day by day. the government support for us has been really, really good so far. we've managed to almost freeze at the point we were 12 months ago. under current government plans the furlough scheme ends at the end of april, but weddings and other events, from rock concerts to conferences, are still likely to be subject to some restrictions that will mean they can't make the same money they used to. but if the furlough does end in april and weddings aren't back on the road map and aren't able to resume as normal, we will have to look at restructuring, maybe possibly redundancies. with the pandemic nearly a year old, long—term worklessness has got worse. as of last month, there were 700,000 people who had been unemployed for more than six months, 500,000 who'd been furloughed full—time, and 700,000 who'd moved between furlough and unemployment for at least six months. that's a total of 1.9 million who have been workless for at least half a year. 4.5 million people were on furlough injanuary. the resolution foundation's report warns that withdrawing support from the hardest—hit sectors at the end april is too soon. there are still sectors that are very badly hit by the covid epidemic. they will probably still be barred from carrying out their business normally, and we think people who are furloughed in those sectors should be getting continuing protection, because down the line those jobs are viable jobs. it's just that they're not available to be done at the moment. more than a fifth of those now on furlough either expect to lose theirjobs in the next three months, or have been told they'll be made redundant. throughout this pandemic the government has been quite adaptable when it comes to theirjobs protection package and protected millions ofjobs, and we'll continue to look at that throughout this pandemic. the government says it spent £280 billion fighting the pandemic and protecting jobs, and plans to spend billions more on schemes like kickstart and restart to help the unemployed find work. whether the furlough scheme comes to a stop in two months will be a big decision for the chancellor in next month's budget. andy verity, bbc news. nearly 16 million people across the uk have had their first covid vaccination — but there's still concern about the uptake in certain communities, including among members of some ethnic minority groups. now actors, comedians and politicians — including meera syal, romesh ranganathan and beverley knight — have taken part in a video which aims to dispel false stories about the jab, and urge people to get innoculated. lizo mzimba reports. namaste. sat sri akaal. assalaamu alaikum. the're some of the country's best known faces, leading figures across a range of areas. they all have the same message — to urge people from ethnic minorities to take the covid—19 vaccine when it's offered. just a bit sharp. more than 15 million vaccinations have been given so far, but it's believed that a significant proportion of individuals who are from ethnic minorities are currently unlikely to take it. all done. 0ne cause is people hearing things about the vaccine that actually aren't true. itjust feels so heartbreaking to me that people from ethnic minorities are sort of inflicting a degree of separation upon themselves from not trusting in this. i understand all the reasons why, i've heard all the arguments, but i just feel so strongly that we need to make sure that we dispel some of these myths. recent research has shown that many ethnic minority groups were at greater risk of dying from covid compared to people from white british backgrounds, during the second wave of the pandemic. there's increasing concern about the reluctance of people from groups who are more at risk to take the vaccine. it's very, very rare for vaccines to have a long term side effect. that's what led to this campaign, which is aimed at individuals who are worried about vaccination. the covid—19 vaccines have gone through the same strict processes and regulations. the new video, which has been produced independently of the government, combines celebrity star power with expert medical knowledge. i've got an 18—year—old son and he would never take i a message from me or a doctor but when i told him that - i was going to be on tv with romesh, he was so excited about it, _ and i think that's the thing. i think we obviously- have a place as doctors, but i think everybody has a place. it's a message seen as so important at such a crucial time during the pandemic that the three and a half minute video will be broadcast simultaneously just before 10pm this evening on the commercial broadcasters itv, stv, channel 4, channel five and a number of sky channels. the bbc has also pledged to cover the video on key tv and radio programmes throughout the day. lizo mzimba, bbc news. some breaking news from northern ireland, the stormont executive has agreed to extend the current lockdown until april one, however some school pupils will be heading back to school private is school pupils, p1— three will be going back to classes from march eight, according to the pa news agency fitch says the stormont has just agreed an extension to the current lockdown in most ways through to april one. we will talk to correspond it in belfast shortly and bring you more on that. the headlines on bbc news... coronavirus infections have dropped by two thirds across england since january. the current lockdown has seen rates fall, but scientists say they still need to be lower: a call for more financial help for key workers living with long covid: the labour leader proposes british recovery bonds — to help the renewal of communities and jobs after the pandemic. australia's prime minister says his country won't be intimidated by facebook, in the continuing row about news coverage on the social media platform. australia wants tech companies to pay for content which is reposted from other news outlets — and now facebook has blocked all its media content in the country. shaimaa khalil sent this report from sydney. this is what australians woke up to. empty news feeds on their facebook pages after the platform blocked all local and international media outlets. a dramatic escalation in a continued dispute with the government over paying for news content. facebook�*s change didn't just target news. it also denied australians access to many pages for charities and essential services, as well as several key government agencies. the ban prompted an immediate backlash, with many users angered by their sudden loss of access to trusted sources of information. i do use facebook. it seems to be a catchall and i can get all of my news in the one spot so it will really impact me. they're so big and so widely used by australians that they'lljust... ..people willjust revolt against it. the government was also swift to react. this is an assault on a sovereign nation. it is an assault on people's freedom, and in particular it is an utter abuse of big technology's market power and control over technology. the prime minister scott morrison slammed the social media company's action as arrogant and disappointing. under the proposed legislation, tech giants will be forced to enter into payment negotiations with news outlets over payment for content that appears on their platforms, and if they can't agree, a government arbitrator would get involved. but facebook has criticised the law, saying it doesn't reflect how the internet works and unfairly penalises it for content it didn't ask for. this fallout is about facebook making a point. many are watching this closely and the social media giant knows that if it starts paying for news content here in australia, other nations could make similar demands. some experts have described it as anti—democratic and a dangerous turn of events, and while facebook asserts its power and influence with this move, the fear is it may also do its reputation some serious damage. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney. and this afternoon the chair of the digital, culture, media and sport committee has described facebook�*s move as staggeringly irresponsible, and an attempt to bully a democracy. julian knight said... we will be talking more about this story after 3pm including the chair of the committee that strike to get mark zuckerberg to appear. nearly 7 million people in the us state of texas have been warned to boil tapwater before drinking it, and nearly two million people are still without power, in the wake of brutal winter weather. a huge storm which is sweeping the south of the country has killed at least 21 people. texas has experienced some of its coldest temperatures in more than 30 years, hitting minus 18 celcius earlier this week. duncan kennedy has the latest. freezing in fort worth. this was one texas suburb looking more like switzerland than the southern united states. nearly 2 million people have had their electricity cut off. this in a state that is the oil and natural gas capital of america. we are hoping the lines will come back soon enough because it's really freezing, it's horrible. power companies have started rolling blackouts to take the strain off the electricity grid. indiana has also been hit by the snowstorms, which have claimed at least 25 lives, mostly in car accidents. good morning from the convention centre. but the bitterly low temperatures have also created this, a convention centre near the mexican border. full of frozen turtles. we've collected a lot, now we'll try to save them. the turtles are alive but have been stunned into a kind of frozen paralysis. they've been brought here by volunteers hoping they can slowly be thawed back to life. we do have little snaps of cold here and there so we train from anywhere from 100 to 500 cold stunned turtles in a year. certainly prepared for the process and know what it looks like and how to effectively handle it. never would we have assumed we were going to have 4700 turtles. the turtles are being washed up on the coast at south padre island in their thousands and being brought ashore as quickly as possible. further to the east in louisiana, ice has transformed the beauty of the bayou. this almost painting like vista capturing the more benign side of this deadly weather system. from ohio to maryland, the snow and cold has brought chaos to millions of americans with temperatures up to 40 degrees below normal. this is a storm of a century and it truly, it's hard to deal with it all but we are doing their dead level bestjob we can. it's the kind of weather that may bring enjoyment for some but it's one to endure for others. duncan kennedy, bbc news. 0mar villafranca of cbs news has the latest for us from a very snowy dallas. some have gone one day, two days, some people even three days without power, trying to stay warm in their homes. we're here at a power station to see if we can hear power coming through and we hear some humming. that's a good sign. but as duncan mentioned, there's two million people without power, millions more who are going through a rolling blackout, which means they may have power for a few minutes, a few hours, and then it goes back off and temperatures across the state are going to stay below freezing. so it is going to be some trying times. as mentioned, water plants are failing. that's a big issue because without water flowing, they're staying in pipes and they're bursting in all across the state. we're seeing apartment complexes turned into skating rinks, and that's just adding another layer of danger. it's a nail biting day for nasa — as it attempts to put a space rover on the surface of mars. a 6 wheeled robot called perseverance is the first nasa mission since the 1970s to search directly for signs of life on the red planet — but as our science correspondent rebecca morrelle reports, the vehicle first has to survive the landing. nasa calls it the seven minutes of terror — an approach to mars at 12,000 miles an hour. then, just at the right moment, a parachute opens, dramatically slowing it down before a complex landing system brings the perseverance rover down to the ground. that's the plan, but only half of all mars landings have worked. there's danger everywhere. right in the middle, there's a 60—80 metre tall cliff that cuts right through the middle of the landing site. if you look to the west, there are craters that the rover can't get out of — even if we were to land successfully in there. if you look to the east, there are large rocks. you know, landing on mars is not for the faint of heart. the landing site is an area called thejezero crater. it's dry and dusty today but billions of years ago it used to be a huge lake, and the main aim of the mission is to look for signs of life there. perseverance, the most advanced rover that nasa's ever built, will use its drill to collect samples of rock. the hope is that microscopic creatures may still be preserved in them. mars, certainly in the first billion years of its life, had a very conducive environment for life to be able to start — and potentially even flourish. and so now is absolutely the right time to go and really investigate this. we've got the right capabilities with the fantastic perseverance rover and so hopefully we'll get a conclusive answer. for the first time, nasa will also be testing a mini mars helicopter to provide a new bird's eye view of the planet. and back on the ground, the rover will store some of the rocks. a future mission will bring them back to earth. this mission provides our best chance to finally answer whether life existed on mars. first, though, nasa needs to get its rover safely down. there are some nerve—racking hours ahead. rebecca morrelle, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. good afternoon. yet again, there's plenty of rain to come in the forecast. and if, like me, you're trying to get out, get some fresh air and dodge the wetter moments, it is possible to do so today. you can see the weather front moving its way west to east at quite a pace. and behind it, the cloud is breaking up. so there will be some improving weather if you're under that rain at the moment. and already we've seen it this morning across north wales. some lovely sunshine coming through. there will be a few scattered showers along west—facing coasts as we go through the rest of the afternoon. but also some drier, brighter interludes, particularly as that rain clears. it'll be a little bit fresher as we go through the afternoon, accompanied by some blustery winds. but hopefully the sunshine will compensate. highs between nine and 12 degrees. but there's more wet weather to come, and this time it'll be really quite heavy, particularly along west—facing coast. it's going to be accompanied by some pretty strong to gale force gusts of winds at times as well. during the early hours of friday morning, that rain arrives into northern ireland — the winds picking up through irish sea coasts and towards dawn, there will be wet weather along western fringes. but sheltered eastern areas are seeing some clearer skies, and temperatures perhaps a few degrees down on where we've seen them just recently — low single figures along the sheltered east coast. so it's going to be a wet and windy start to friday, with gales quite possible out to the west. the rain gradually drifting its way inland, but it never really reaches the eastern half of the uk. temperatures generally at around 10—11 celsius. the rain fairly relentless out to the west, particularly to higher ground. and there's more wet weather to come into start of the weekend. just like i was telling you yesterday, this pulse of moist air moving up from the south—west, bringing some heavy rain along west—facing coasts. so rainfall totals are going to start to tot up — that may well lead to some localised flooding. the ground is very saturated at the moment. we'll need to keep an eye on that. but you can see things getting a little bit warmer with sunshine across the south and east. that's the story as we go into sunday. that weather front is still wriggling around the northwest, but it will weaken off a touch. but it's the boundary between allowing this milder air to push up to the south and really make a difference, particularly when we get some sunshine. so we could see 16 or 17 celsius through the weekend in the south. take care. this is bbc news, i'mjane hill. the headlines at 3.00pm: coronavirus infections drop by two thirds across england during the latest lockdown, but scientists say infections still need to be lower. the big question is, how low can we go to have some residual infection where we can open up safely? northern ireland's current lockdown has been extended to april 1st, but some primary school pupils will return to classes on march 8th. australia's prime minister says his country won't be intimidated, after facebook blocks the country's news feeds in a row over a new law. the labour leader proposes british recovery bonds to help fund the renewal of communities and jobs after the lockdown ends. there's a call for more financial help — for key workers living with long covid. and a nail—biting day for nasa, as it aims to land its perseverance rocket on the surface of mars. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. there's been a marked decline in levels of coronavirus infections in england since january, say scientists tracking the epidemic. a study by imperial college london found that infections have fallen by two thirds across england since the latest lockdown began, with an 80% fall in the capital itself. but it warns that levels of infection are still high, particularly among primary school age children and young adults, with 1 in 200 testing positive between the 4th and 13th february. that's similar to levels seen in september. katharine da costa has the details. friends and family kept apart. many businesses kept on hold. lockdown has taken its toll on all of us, but researchers say it has helped to take infection levels in england down to those last seen in september. imperial college's react survey looked at 85,000 random swab samples taken between the 4th and 13th february. researchers suggest one in 200 had the virus, and while infections are still high, they are halving every 15 days. but it is a mixed picture. they suggest infections are falling more slowly in northern regions, while in london, levels have fallen significantly. in some ages, one in 25 were testing positive, so it started higher, and has fortunately come down quicker, so that is really good news. we are not quite sure why rates are slower in the north, but we did see that earlier, coming out of... in the early stages of the second wave, that rates were higher in the north, and that's what we're seeing again today. the survey suggests infections are falling in all ages, but are highest in primary age children and young adults. so what might that mean for plans to reopen schools from march the 8th? we really, really want to get children back into school. there is work—in—progress looking at how testing can support schools to come back. there is already a level of testing going on in schools, where you have children of key workers and teachers in schools at the moment because schools aren't completely closed, and _ there is work going on about the details of the return to school, and _ more will be said next week about that. pressure in icus has eased slightly over the last month, but there are still close to 3000 covid patients on ventilators, similar to levels in the first wave. health officials want to see infections suppressed to very low levels to avoid another surge as restrictions are lifted. i think that is the big question, how low can we go to have some residual infection where we can open up safely? because getting back to zero is really... nobody sensible thinks that is achievable in the near future. scientists think it may be another couple of weeks before we see the full impact of the vaccine roll—out on cases and hospital admissions. while the data seem to be heading in the right direction, ministers say they don't want to jeopardise the hard work it has taken to get us here. katharine da costa, bbc news. the latest weekly covid surveillance report from public health england has found case rates are continuing to fall in all regions of england. 0ur health correspondent catherine burns has been looking at the figures, published in the last hour. public health england says cases are falling, hospital admissions are falling and deaths are falling. let's break it down a bit more. public health england, for example, it gets called out to what it calls respiratory infection incidents. two weeks ago they were looking at about 1,100 of them and last week it was down to 767, this week down to 541, so that is outbreaks in things like care homes, prisons, hospitals and workplaces, so we can see they are falling from that. then if we look at hospital admissions, last week there were about 19.4 hospital admissions for every 100,000 people in the population. that has now gone down to 14.6, about 15%, so a good solid fall. so we can see hospital a&e attendances are also going down, the number of deaths also going down. something is going up, and it is what we want, which is the number of people with protection and antibodies in their blood. that has gone up from about 13% to almost 16% and public health england says, "we think vaccination is playing a "really important contribution to that." that is what we want to be seeing. 0verall, where does that leave us? it means that really we have gone from very high to high, but we are moving in the right direction. right, so positive, going in the right direction, but as so many scientists have said today about the other set of figures we have been talking about, there's still a way to go. there's one element of this... everything you say would make us think, "fewer people going into hospital, that's great, by "definition less pressure on the nhs." but am i right in saying that people are tending to spend longer in hospital now? because we have got better at treating it. because we are getting better at treating it, yes. actually with the nhs, and one of the figures that has come out today is the figures for the number of people in critical care beds. this is always a really funny one to explain because the number of beds goes up and down depending on demand, so right now we can say that we are at sort of 80% critical care bed occupancy. what does that actually mean? well, it means that right now, for example, we have 6,000 available beds and critical care beds in critical care we have 6,000 available beds in critical care and of those, 4,800 are being used. but if we were to go back to this time last year, the and 3,000 being used, so you can number of beds that were available, 3,700, and 3,000 being used, so you can see the demand is still high, so it is really worth saying, yes, this is brilliant news, shows lockdown is working and we got positive signals coming from vaccination, but it is not time to go, right, this is done! its not done. catherine burns there. still plenty more news to come. northern ireland's covid lockdown is being extended until the 1st of april. but some primary school children will return to school on march the 8th. let's cross straight to our ireland correspondent chris page who's at stormont. the ministers here at stormont have been meeting to discuss the lockdown measures in northern ireland. it is understood what has been decided is to extend the lockdown here, which was due to end on the 5th of march, until the 1st of april, just before the easter weekend. there is one exception to that, though, an important one for and many families. it is understood children in the first three years of primary school will go back to their classes on monday the 8th of march, so just over a fortnight more of remote learning for those younger pupils in primary school. it is also believed that the plan would be that two weeks after that on monday the 22nd of march pupils in years 12—14 in post primary schools, so children in their pre—jcc years, we return to school on that date on the 22nd of march, but it is thought that all the other pupils, so pupils in the first four years of post primary school won't go back to school until after the easter holidays. it is also understood some ministers have been considering issues around retail, that they could allow some click and collect services to resume. we are expecting to hear all the detail on this in a news conference given by the first and first deputy ministers, given in just over one hour's time. great, more detail— just over one hour's time. great, more detail to _ just over one hour's time. great, more detail to come _ just over one hour's time. great, more detail to come because i just over one hour's time. great, more detail to come because of. more detail to come because of course no one wants lockdown to continue, a desperate time for business. so get the sense that there might be a bit of wriggle room for some businesses? yes. there might be a bit of wriggle room for some businesses?— for some businesses? yes, that's ritht. i for some businesses? yes, that's right. ithink... — for some businesses? yes, that's right. ithink... whenever- for some businesses? yes, that's right. i think... whenever there l for some businesses? yes, that's i right. i think... whenever there has been a discussion publicly about what date northern ireland would move out of lockdown, there has really been i suppose no glamour among businesses for lockdown to be lifted in the next week or two, but what they have been saying is they need some sort of indication as to when things might be going back to normal. the northern ireland objective has been working on a road map, a plan —— like the executive has been working on a plan that isn't being published today, it is still a work in progress, for more detailed measures as to how northern ireland will exit lockdown, but however i think when it comes to the wider picture because the health service here ministers, whenever they are going to be delivering this message of the lockdown being extended, are going to temper that with thoughts around the fact that suddenly all the statistics on how are accurate are those are getting better and things are moving in the right direction, but there is still a some way to go. hospital admissions have been falling, there are nowjust over 400 hospital patients in this part of the uk with covid—19 and that has been quite a drastic fall in the last few days, but that number is still above the peak number of hospital inpatients during the first wave back in last spring, so that is an indication that while things are getting better, certainly as far as people on the front line of this health service are concerned, they are still pretty bad and people are going to have to be more patient in orderfor going to have to be more patient in order for lockdown going to have to be more patient in orderfor lockdown to be going to have to be more patient in order for lockdown to be lifted more. , ., ~' order for lockdown to be lifted more. , ., ~ i. order for lockdown to be lifted more. , ., ~ . more. chris, thank you so much. chris page _ more. chris, thank you so much. chris page there _ more. chris, thank you so much. chris page there at _ more. chris, thank you so much. chris page there at stormont i more. chris, thank you so much. | chris page there at stormont and more. chris, thank you so much. i chris page there at stormont and as chris page there at stormont and as chris suggests there, clearly more details to come about that, perhaps in the next hour. certainly after 4pm, it sounds like we will perhaps get a few more specifics and details on that, but in essence lockdown in northern ireland extended until april the 1st, apart from some of the youngest school pupils. more on that a bit later. in scotland the number of people testing positive for coronavirus is also falling. in her daily briefing the first minister, nicola sturgeon, said just under 4% of all tests were positive, the lowest level for some time. there were 1,261 people in hospital with coronavirus, which is below the peak of the first wave in the spring. australia's prime minister says his country won't be intimidated by facebook, in the continuing row about news coverage on the social media platform. australia wants tech companies to pay for content which is reposted from other news outlets and now facebook has blocked all its media content in the country. shaimaa khalil sent this report from sydney. this is what australians woke up to. empty news feeds on their facebook pages after the platform blocked all local and international media outlets. a dramatic escalation in a continued dispute with the government over paying for news content. facebook�*s change didn't just target news. it also denied australians access to many pages for charities and essential services, as well as several key government agencies, including health departments. the ban prompted an immediate backlash, with many users angered by their sudden loss of access to trusted sources of information. i do use facebook. it seems to be a catch all and i can get all of my news in the one spot. and so it will really impact me. they're so big and so widely used by australians that they'lljust... ..people willjust revolt against it. the government was also swift to react. this is an assault on a sovereign nation. it is an assault on people's freedom, and in particular it is an utter abuse of big technology's market power and control over technology. the prime minister scott morrison slammed the social media company's action as arrogant and disappointing. under the proposed legislation, tech giants will be forced to enter into payment negotiations with news outlets over payment for content that appears on their platforms, and if they can't agree, a government arbitrator would get involved. but facebook has criticised the law, saying it doesn't reflect how the internet works and unfairly penalises it for content it didn't ask for. this fallout is about facebook making a point. many are watching this closely and the social media giant knows that if it starts paying for news content here in australia, other nations could make similar demands. some experts have described it as anti—democratic and a dangerous turn of events. while facebook asserts its power and influence with this move, the fear is that it may also do its reputation some serious damage. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney. let's speak now to conservative mp damian collins, former chair of the digital, culture, media and sport committee, who investigated facebook in 2019 as part of an inquiry into disinformation and fake news. good afternoon. good afternoon. the current chair of the committee has described facebook�*s move as, staggeringly irresponsible and an attempt to bully a democracy. that a fair comment, do you think, by julian knight? fair comment, do you think, by julian knight?— fair comment, do you think, by julian knight? absolutely. if you think at the _ julian knight? absolutely. if you think at the moment _ julian knight? absolutely. if you think at the moment the - julian knight? absolutely. if you think at the moment the world | think at the moment the world desperately needs accurate and reliable information during a global pandemic and australia will see on facebook this information and conspiracy sites are flourishing with the company doing very little about it, but actually legitimate sources of news and information are being denied people and it is important because a growing number of people, in this country about a third of people in other countries more, they principally get their news from social media, shared links on social media, and that reliability is being denied to them. people around the world are saying, set the rules and we will follow them. here we see a democratic country setting will is the best interests of free media and society and facebook is deliberately trying to flout them.— to flout them. what about that art ument to flout them. what about that argument from _ to flout them. what about that argument from facebook i to flout them. what about that argument from facebook that l to flout them. what about that i argument from facebook that this news content, it doesn't actually ask for and it says its gain from news is actually minimal? well, the whole business _ news is actually minimal? well, the whole business model— news is actually minimal? well, the whole business model of— news is actually minimal? well, the whole business model of facebookl news is actually minimal? well, the| whole business model of facebook is based around engagement, so anything that engages people and keep them on facebook, they make money out of, so they are making money out of people engaging with and sharing news articles of important issues while on facebook doing it. facebook and google together dominate the display advertising market. they have massive market power and through that get away with charging often higher rates for advertisers to advertise on them. they control about 80% of the ad market. that market has taken advertising from other organisations, including news organisations. and facebook doesn't even share back with news organisations data about people who leave facebook to go to the website of the news organisation to do that content, so the whole market is totally made for companies like facebook. we have seen the hollowing out of news companies as a result of that and newspapers internationally around the world closing, so what australia is trying to do is do some thing about this and give journalism a fair chance, by making sure that, just as youtube pays for music on youtube, that when news articles are shared on facebook to hold people's attention, that they make a small contribution back out of the massive advertising revenue they generate from it. so advertising revenue they generate from it. , ., from it. so where will this argument to now, from it. so where will this argument go now. do — from it. so where will this argument go now. do you _ from it. so where will this argument go now, do you think? _ from it. so where will this argument go now, do you think? what - from it. so where will this argument go now, do you think? what will. go now, do you think? what will actually happen? because i think i'm right in saying google in the last few days has struck an agreement to pay something to a number of news outlets in australia. would facebook ever bend and follow google in that way? ever bend and follow google in that wa ? ~ ., , ever bend and follow google in that wa ? ~ . , , way? well, that will be the test. what this shows _ way? well, that will be the test. what this shows is _ way? well, that will be the test. what this shows is that - way? well, that will be the test. | what this shows is that facebook only really care about money. they care about the money they make from advertising and they don't want to give that away to other people. google have been prepared to do a deal with news companies, facebook haven't. so what will happen here is australia will push through their legislation. facebook will either bend and recognise the massive anger from its customers this has caused in australia, maybe see people leave facebook to go to services like twitter, where news can be shared more freely and maybe facebook will realise it is missing out commercially by not making this stance. this is why facebook is taking a stance in australia, the rest of the world is looking. we are considering through the competitions and markets authority the role of optician markets in the space as well. 0ther optician markets in the space as well. other countries may look to do the same, but maybe it is time that they starts to make a contribution to journalism, they starts to make a contribution tojournalism, through they starts to make a contribution to journalism, through which they starts to make a contribution tojournalism, through which it profits on its network. i5 to journalism, through which it profits on its network.- profits on its network. is the australian — profits on its network. is the australian government i profits on its network. is the i australian government leading the way, if you like, and other governments in other countries, including our own, should perhaps be doing the same?— doing the same? well, we are seeing a series of very _ doing the same? well, we are seeing a series of very important _ doing the same? well, we are seeing a series of very important measures i a series of very important measures recently. in australia it spin around social use content. in other places it has principally been around the online white harms paper and europe the digital markets and services act, published before christmas by the european commission. so what companies like facebook are seeing is that around the world, governments are starting to recognise we've got to do something about regulating harmful content, making sure there is fair competition and not abuse of market power, so we are all in some ways in this fight with the australians and need to be on their side and need to make sure that they prevail and that a big company like facebook can't be seen to be pushing around the government of a liberal democracy. damian collins, thank you very much. conservative mp, damian collins. nearly 2 million people haven't worked for at least six months because they are either unemployed or fully furloughed, according to research from the think tank the resolution foundation. it's calling for the government's furlough scheme to remain in place for several months after lockdown is eased. 0ur economics correspondent, andy verity, has more. this couldn't happen right now, but before the pandemic this video promoted a viable profitable one stop shop wedding business in worcestershire, supplying everything from flower arrangements, to disco floors, to chair covers. the only thing that's made it unviable are government restrictions imposed to fight covid, and eight staff have been on furlough for much of the past year. as a business we've lost over £300,000. we've postponed over 200 weddings. yeah, it's mounting up day by day. the government support for us has been really, really good so far. we've managed to almost freeze at the point we were 12 months ago. under current government plans, the furlough scheme ends at the end of april, but weddings and other events, from rock concerts to conferences, are still likely to be subject to some restrictions that will mean they can't make the same money they used to. but if the furlough does end in april and weddings aren't back on the road map and aren't able to resume as normal, we will have to look at restructuring, maybe possibly redundancies. with the pandemic nearly a year old, long—term worklessness has got worse. as of last month, there were 700,000 people who had been unemployed for more than six months, 500,000 who'd been furloughed full—time, and 700,000 who'd moved between furlough and unemployment for at least six months. that's a total of 1.9 million who have been workless for at least half a year. 4.5 million people were on furlough injanuary. the resolution foundation's report warns that withdrawing support from the hardest hit sectors at the end april is too soon. there are still sectors that are very badly hit by the covid epidemic. they will probably still be barred from carrying out their business normally, and we think people who are furloughed in those sectors should be getting continuing protection, because down the line those jobs are viable jobs. it's just that they're not available to be done at the moment. more than a fifth of those now on furlough either expect to lose theirjobs in the next three months, or have been told they'll be made redundant. throughout this pandemic the government has been quite adaptable when it comes to theirjobs protection package and protected millions ofjobs, and we'll continue to look at that throughout this pandemic. the government says it has spent £280 billion fighting the pandemic and protecting jobs, and plans to spend billions more on schemes like kickstart and restart to help the unemployed find work. whether the furlough scheme comes to a stop in two months will be a big decision for the chancellor in next month's budget. andy verity, bbc news. let's speak now to nye cominetti, senior economist at the resolution foundation. good afternoon. good afternoon. are ou seeint good afternoon. good afternoon. are you seeing the _ good afternoon. good afternoon. are you seeing the need _ good afternoon. good afternoon. are you seeing the need for— good afternoon. good afternoon. are you seeing the need for the - good afternoon. good afternoon. are you seeing the need for the furlough | you seeing the need for the furlough scheme, really, for quite a long time to come? i scheme, really, for quite a long time to come?— scheme, really, for quite a long time to come? . ., time to come? i mean, the length of time, i time to come? i mean, the length of time, i think. _ time to come? i mean, the length of time, i think, just _ time to come? i mean, the length of time, i think, just has _ time to come? i mean, the length of time, i think, just has to _ time to come? i mean, the length of time, i think, just has to follow- time, i think, just has to follow from what is happening with the virus and what is happening with the restrictions that have been put in place on economic activity. i think the phrase that has been going round in the last few days is actually quite helpful, of it has to be about the data, not the dates. i think setting an arbitrary timescale or anything won't really work. we tried to do that last year in the autumn, but actually at the same point the virus was getting worse, this was in october, and the result was quite a large spike in redundancies around that point and i think the lesson has to be that support schemes need to be phased out in such a way that it matches the restrictions we are placing on the economy. i it matches the restrictions we are placing on the economy.- it matches the restrictions we are placing on the economy. i mean, the scheme has — placing on the economy. i mean, the scheme has been _ placing on the economy. i mean, the scheme has been eye _ placing on the economy. i mean, the scheme has been eye watering i placing on the economy. i mean, the scheme has been eye watering the i scheme has been eye watering the expensive, as we all know. what about the argument that in some cases, the furlough scheme will have kept jobs cases, the furlough scheme will have keptjobs open that actually simply were never sustainable? perhaps in companies that were having problems before they pandemic it, that in some cases, it has actually been unrealistic?— unrealistic? yeah, i mean, suddenly... _ unrealistic? yeah, i mean, suddenly... there - unrealistic? yeah, i mean, suddenly... there are i unrealistic? yeah, i mean, i suddenly... there are certainly unrealistic? yeah, i mean, - suddenly... there are certainly some downsides to having a policy in place like this, in that you will be keeping jobs going that wouldn't be viable in the sense that you just described. but i think that is such a small price to pay for protecting the... you know, the many millions ofjobs the... you know, the many millions of jobs that the... you know, the many millions ofjobs that are viable and that will now be able to restart as the economy reopens. i mean, yes, there is a cost to the public finances as well and last year, when we are in as much uncertainty about the future part of the crisis and we didn't know whether there was going to be a vaccine coming down the line, certainly be discussions then were much more balanced, you know, it is about is it right to keep the scheme is going? but given the vaccine has now been rolled out and we would expect economic life to return to normal this year, or i would certainly hope so, the case for continuing this scheme through to the end of the crisis is overwhelmingly strong. the government _ overwhelmingly strong. the government says _ overwhelmingly strong. the government says it - overwhelmingly strong. the government says it is going to, continue to invest in protecting and creating jobs. what does that statement say to you about what might be coming down the track or what might be announced in the budget in march?— what might be announced in the budget in march? well, i'm sure the government — budget in march? well, i'm sure the government well _ budget in march? well, i'm sure the government well right _ budget in march? well, i'm sure the government well right now - budget in march? well, i'm sure the government well right now be i budget in march? well, i'm sure the government well right now be trying to decide what announcements it wants to make about the budget and thatis wants to make about the budget and that is when we expect to hear from the government about its plans. i think over the course of the crisis, they are starting to move towards a position of extending the furlough scheme as has been necessary. that is what has happened over the winter, so i certainly hope that will be the case again, but i think we would say it is notjust about extending it, it is also about having a plan in place for withdrawing it, so that businesses and workers will have confidence of the support will be there however long it is needed and that is why we have said the support has to be contingent on what is happening in the economy and the labour market, notjust based on the arbitrary timescale. notjust based on the arbitrary timescale-— notjust based on the arbitrary timescale. �* , ,., , ., timescale. are there lessons that can be learned _ timescale. are there lessons that can be learned from _ timescale. are there lessons that can be learned from other - timescale. are there lessons that i can be learned from other countries? of schemes in other nations that you look to and think have been successful, as far as we can judge at this stage and they pandemic? many other countries around the world have adopted similar schemes like this. germany has... famously it has had a scheme for many years now and that is a large part of why in a large crisis, employment in germany didn't fall anything like as much as it did in other countries, so it is a prison mechanism for protecting jobs and keeping workers attached to employers. there are downsides that you have already alluded to, in that you might inhibit some of the reallocation that you might need to see after a crisis. you know, some sectors need to grow and having a scheme like this might slow that down. that is why you do want to withdraw it eventually. like i said, you just need to make sure you do it in a safe way, to know the cause an unnecessary increase in unemployment. unnecessary increase in unem . lo ment. , ., unnecessary increase in unem-lo ment. , ., ., ~ ., unemployment. interesting to talk to ou, thank unemployment. interesting to talk to you. thank you _ unemployment. interesting to talk to you. thank you very _ unemployment. interesting to talk to you, thank you very much _ unemployment. interesting to talk to you, thank you very much for- unemployment. interesting to talk to you, thank you very much for your i you, thank you very much for your time. nye cominetti, who is senior economist at the resolution foundation. the duke of edinburgh has spent a second night in hospital in london. prince philip, who's 99, was admitted on tuesday after feeling unwell. jon donnison has the latest from outside the king edward vii's hospital in central london. i think buckingham palace are very keen not to be giving a running commentary on the prince's condition. as far as we know, he remains in good spirits. he's spent his second night in hospital — it is coming up to 48 hours since he was admitted. the palace said it was absolutely not an emergency, very much a precautionary measure, having felt ill for a number of days and they anticipate that he will be in hospital for a few days for a period of rest and recuperation. the queen remains at windsor and as far as we know she is very much going about business as usual, hoping and expecting that her husband will be out of hospital within the next few days. jon donnison there in central london. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello there. morning rain is clearing away out to the north sea as we speak and going to leave an afternoon of sunny spells and scattered showers. most of those will be to the far north and west, some of them quite intense at times. that said, the cloud will continue to break up, the sunshine come through for some and temperatures should peak up to 12 celsius. as we go through the evening and overnight there is more rain in the forecast, turning increasingly wet and increasingly windy, with gale force gusts expected to accompany this wet weather. but ahead of that, with clearer skies for a time, particularly across eastern england, we will see low figures, a chilly start in comparison to of late. and it is here where it is likely to stay dry through much of the day, the rain really quite heavy, quite relentless along west facing coasts and it is going to be accompanied, as i have said, with gale force gusts of wind. a blustery day right across the country, but those temperatures still on the mild side, really, for late february, with highs of 9-11 . hello this is bbc news, the headlines. coronavirus infections drop by two thirds across england during the latest lockdown — but scientists say infections still need to be lower: northern ireland's current lockdown has been extended to april 1 but some primary school pupils will return to classes on march 8 there's a call for more financial help — for key workers living with long covid: the labour leader proposes british recovery bonds — to help fund the renewal of communities and jobs after the lockdown ends. the coronavirus vaccine — performers and politicians come together to urge people from minority ethnic backgrounds to get the jab. australia's prime minister says his country won't be intimidated — after facebook blocks the country's news feeds — in a row over a new law and, a nail biting day for nasa — as it aims to land its perseverance rocket on the surface of mars. sport now and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. serena williams will have to wait a little longer — to equal the all—time grand slam record. she was beaten by japan's naomi 0saka — in the semi—finals of the australian open. the loss led to speculation about her future — and whether it could be the last time time williams would appear at the tournament in melbourne. this is what she had to say. i don't know. if i ever say farewell, i wouldn't tell anyone, so... laughter you were saying about the unforced errors in the match. considering how well you've played to get to this stage, what do you feel caused that? or was itjust one of those bad days at the office? i don't know. i'm done. so a really emotional williams there the former british player, annabel croft is commentating on the tennis for the bbc. she told me it was understable that williams was so upset to go out at this stage. it was heartbreaking to watch her so devastated and we all understand why because she is going after this great record of margaret court, she wants to equal and extend it and that has been 11 grand slams she has cut short a vital bit so she was very emotional. you are never quite sure with a press conference that soon after the match, she hasn't got a lot going through her head but something just hit a raw nerve and you wonder whether the questions about whether this was the last time we will see you at the australian open, i don't know where she is at, i hope we see her again but obviously time is going against us, she is 39 and she lost to an opponent with firepower, mental strength and 16 years herjunior so that is not easy. and naomi 0saka is on this incredible winning streak, what do we make of her opponent. they played a terrific semifinal at the us open which was tighter than people thought which naomi 0saka won but brady is someone who had a massive breakthrough in this year, beat the world number one earlier then won her first tour event in lexington and she has worked incredibly hard on the mental aspect of the game, she has confidence and she has weapons so i am wondering if she might surprise people but you would have to favour or naomi 0saka. you would have to favour 0saka. any surprises in the men's quarterfinals? if anyone hadn't seen the match it looked like a straightforward scoreline but it was anything but, ranked 114, never played a grand slam main draw before and this was his ninth match having gone through qualifying and he was really holding his own against djokovic and things got edgy in the first couple of sets, djokovic was 5—1 ahead, almost back to 5—5, break point opportunities and he was quite uptight so it was very tense but he had to draw on a lot of experience and strength of character to get himself ahead and try to close out the match. moeen ali has been bought for £700,000 by chennai super kings at the indian premier league auction. the england all—rounder headed home from the test series with india to spend time with his family. but will head back out to play in the twenty twenty tournament which starts in april. a number of england players are in the auction — batsman dawid malan sold to punjab kings for nearly £150,000. and the british horse racing authority is introduce saliva testing — to screen jockeys for any banned substances... the results would be immediate — meaning jockeys could be stood down from racing on the day. a pilot is due to begin this spring no other major sport in britain uses oral swabs to provide on—the—day screening in this manner. that's all the sport for now. plenty more on the website and app including the build up to to this evenng's europa league matches where five british teams are in action. there's also live coverage of snooker�*s welsh 0pen where ronnie 0'sullivan is currently taking on martin gould in the third round. earlierjuss trump was knocked out by hossein vafaei... go to bbc dot c0 .uk slash sport recovery bonds have been proposed by the labour leader to support communities, jobs and businesses in the wake of the pandemic. sir keir starmer has made a speech setting out his vision for the economy post coronavirus — which he said must involve better paid and more stable work. more details from our political correspondentjonathan blake. almost a year since he became labour leader, sir keir starmer today aims to set out more of his political vision. in the grip of a global pandemic, he said, the country faces a choice. we can go back to the same insecure and unequal economy that has been so cruelly exposed by the virus. or we can seize the moment, and go forward to a future that is going to look utterly unlike the past. so far, he has focused on establishing himself as competent. this was an attempt to add substance to his chosen style. if i were prime minister, i would introduce a new british recovery bond. this could raise billions to invest in local communities, injobs and in businesses. a new policy, but a tentative step, perhaps, when labour needs to regain so much support. does your policy of recovery bonds risk, in the short term, at least, allowing the rich to become richer while offering nothing for those who are struggling financially due to the pandemic, many of whom may be former labour voters who turned their backs on your party at the last election? many people saved for the first time during this pandemic, and as the bank of england says, they are unlikely to spend it in a hurry, and this gives them the security of a bond going forward and also helps the country secure that economy. sir keir starmer has had to criticise the government's response to coronavirus, while risking the charge of playing politics with the pandemic, but with labour lagging in the polls, some say he needs to be bold. what i now want to see are big ideas for things like a living income that would mean we can put an income floor below which no one can fall. things like a radical green new deal, big investment in our communities to create a new deal for towns. sir keir starmer said people want more from government, but when it is playing a greater role in our lives than ever, he must make clear what labour would do differently. jonathan blake, bbc news. at the grenfell tower fire inquiry, it's emerged that a technical manager at a company which made the building's cladding, told colleagues that poor fire test results needed to be kept "very confidential". the request was made in an email sent in 2010 — which was revelead this morning at the inquiry. 72 people died as a result of the fire in west london in 2017. tom symonds is following the inquiry and told me more. you will remember the background to some of the evidence we are hearing at the enquiry is that this company arconic made the cladding for grenfell tower and lots of other towers but had some fire tests in 2004 which does not come out very well for this product, effectively one sort of cladding where the cladding was folded into boxes scored very poorly in this fire test and today the enquiry was shown an e—mail discussion in 2010. the client in spain where there was a restriction on the use of flammable cladding was asking whether he could use this one product that had been tested and an e—mail sent by the technical manager said these poor fire tests needed to be kept very confidential and as he put it in the e—mail it was in capital letters. that was sent to another employee at the company, guy scheidecker. who was a sales manager and he responded this should not have even been mentioned. and of course the enquiry was asking questions along the lines of wasn't this deception being practised on the watch of the president of arconic in france, claude schmidt, giving evidence at the moment. the reason that this is important is it shows the enquiry is moving towards the idea that perhaps the results of this test were kept from the market, the people who decide which cladding to fit and what regulations needed to be taken into account and also a board which issued a specification certificate which was also not showing these test results. you have outlined some of it, what are the further implications now this e—mail is in the open? there is a long way to go, this enquiry will last all this year, it has been delayed by about a year because of the covid crisis but one of the key points is what did companies who made these products know about the concerns about fire safety? we also heard evidence today that the same company arconic knew about a fire in bucharest in 2010 when the cladding had set fire, the flames raced to the top of the building, very similar to what happened at grenfell tower. and the question was what did you do about this suggestion there might be a concern about the safety of this cladding and the witness claude schmidt said there had not been any internal training systems or sessions on information given to staff. he said it might have been discussed at meetings so it is all along a similar vein at the moment. about a tenth of people who contract covid—19 still experience symptoms three months after their diagnosis, according to a study by the office for national statistics. now, a group of mps says key workers and frontline staff who are suffering long—term effects which means they're unable to return to work should receive compensation. the government has said it will invest more than 18—million pounds into four studies looking at the longer term effects of covid. andy moore reports. oh, no. 38.9. i don't know what to do. sophie is a 27—year—old nurse, but the only temperature she's taking these days is her own. ten months after first contracting the disease, she is still off work and feels ill every day. imagine running a marathon with no finish line at all, so ijust feel that i'm running every single day, entirely exhausted, and i have no idea when this will end. iona is a secondary school teacher who is convinced she caught covid in the classroom last march. it's believed around one in ten people who get the disease are still suffering months later. that's tens of thousands of people. iona used to go running on a regular basis. now, just walking is difficult. it's sort of felt like being slowly erased, because all your plans and all the things you normally do in your life are just being taken away one by one. all my muscles hurt and ache all the time. an all—party group of mps says all front—line workers should be able to access a compensation scheme that would guarantee their livelihoods if they can't go back to work. my sincere hope is thatjust like with the original compensation scheme that was announced for front line workers who pass away, the government will now put this into place, ensure that our front line workers, the nhs workers we went out and clapped for every thursday, are able to get that peace of mind that comes with knowing that their livelihoods aren't going to be lost because they did the right thing and saved lives. that proposal is backed by the doctors' union, who say some of their members have already been forced to quit theirjobs. we would be looking at something similar to the armed forces compensation payment, which can be a one—off payment or can be a minimum income guarantee. what we don't know, of course, about covid — we are only a year into our first cases — is whether long covid and the symptoms that are lasting in one in ten people beyond 12 weeks, will carry on. the government says employers can make full use of the existing sick pay provisions to support staff. it says research is continuing into the understanding of long covid and how affected individuals can best be supported. but for those suffering with the condition, it's a nightmare with currently no prospect of an end. the headlines on bbc news... coronavirus infections have dropped by two thirds across england since january. the current lockdown has seen rates fall, but scientists say they still need to be lower: northern ireland's current lockdown has been extended to april 1 but some primary school pupils will return to classes on march 8 a call for more financial help for key workers living with long covid: nearly 7 million people in the us state of texas have been warned to boil tapwater before drinking it, and nearly two million people are still without power, in the wake of brutal winter weather. a huge storm which is sweeping the south of the country has killed at least 21 people. texas has experienced some of its coldest temperatures in more than 30 years, hitting minus 18 celcius earlier this week. duncan kennedy has the latest. freezing in fort worth. this was one texas suburb looking more like switzerland than the southern united states. nearly 2 million people have had their electricity cut off. this in a state that is the oil and natural gas capital of america. we are hoping the lines will come back soon enough because it's really freezing, it's horrible. power companies have started rolling blackouts to take the strain off the electricity grid. indiana has also been hit by the snowstorms, which have claimed at least 25 lives, mostly in car accidents. good morning from the convention centre. but the bitterly low temperatures have also created this, a convention centre near the mexican border. full of frozen turtles. we've collected a lot, now we'll try to save them. the turtles are alive but have been stunned into a kind of frozen paralysis. they've been brought here by volunteers hoping they can slowly be thawed back to life. we do have little snaps of cold here and there so we train from anywhere from 100 to 500 cold stunned turtles in a year. certainly prepared for the process and know what it looks like and how to effectively handle it. never would we have assumed we were going to have 4700 turtles. the turtles are being washed up on the coast at south padre island in their thousands and being brought ashore as quickly as possible. further to the east in louisiana, ice has transformed the beauty of the bayou. this almost painting like vista capturing the more benign side of this deadly weather system. from ohio to maryland, the snow and cold has brought chaos to millions of americans with temperatures up to 40 degrees below normal. this is a storm of a century and it truly, it's hard to deal with it all but we are doing their dead level bestjob we can. it's the kind of weather that may bring enjoyment for some but it's one to endure for others. duncan kennedy, bbc news. 0mar villafranca of cbs news has the latest for us from a very snowy dallas. some people have gone one day, two days, some people even three days without power, trying to stay warm in their homes. we're here at a power station to see if we can hear power coming through and we hear some humming. that's a good sign. but as duncan mentioned, there's two million people without power, millions more who are going through a rolling blackout, which means they may have power for a few minutes, a few hours, and then it goes back off and temperatures across the state are going to stay below freezing. so it is going to be some trying times. as mentioned, water plants are failing. that's a big issue because without water flowing, they're staying in pipes and they're bursting in all across the state. we're seeing apartment complexes turned into skating rinks, and that's just adding another layer of danger. it's a nail biting day for nasa — as it attempts to put a space rover on the surface of mars. a 6—wheeled robot called perseverance is the first nasa mission since the 1970s to search directly for signs of life on the red planet — but as our science correspondent rebecca morrelle reports, the vehicle first has to survive the landing. nasa calls it the seven minutes of terror — an approach to mars at 12,000 miles an hour. then, just at the right moment, a parachute opens, dramatically slowing it down before a complex landing system brings the perseverance rover down to the ground. that's the plan, but only half of all mars landings have worked. there's danger everywhere. right in the middle, there's a 60—80 metre tall cliff that cuts right through the middle of the landing site. if you look to the west, there are craters that the rover can't get out of — even if we were to land successfully in there. if you look to the east, there are large rocks. you know, landing on mars is not for the faint of heart. the landing site is an area called thejezero crater. it's dry and dusty today but billions of years ago it used to be a huge lake, and the main aim of the mission is to look for signs of life there. perseverance, the most advanced rover that nasa's ever built, will use its drill to collect samples of rock. the hope is that microscopic creatures may still be preserved in them. mars, certainly in the first billion years of its life, had a very conducive environment for life to be able to start — and potentially even flourish. and so now is absolutely the right time to go and really investigate this. we've got the right capabilities with the fantastic perseverance rover and so hopefully we'll get a conclusive answer. for the first time, nasa will also be testing a mini mars helicopter to provide a new bird's eye view of the planet. and back on the ground, the rover will store some of the rocks. a future mission will bring them back to earth. this mission provides our best chance to finally answer whether life existed on mars. first, though, nasa needs to get its rover safely down. there are some nerve—racking hours ahead. rebecca morrelle, bbc news. let's talk to dr david brown from the astronomy and astrophysics group at the university of warwick. it afternoon. is this a proper nailbiter as far as you are concerned?— nailbiter as far as you are concerned? �* , ., ., , nailbiter as far as you are concerned? , ., ., , , concerned? any landing on mars is alwa s a concerned? any landing on mars is always a nailbiter _ concerned? any landing on mars is always a nailbiter because - concerned? any landing on mars is always a nailbiter because of- concerned? any landing on mars is always a nailbiter because of the i always a nailbiter because of the time delay in communication, the entire landing process has to be automated so all nasa can do is set it going and then wait to have confirmation that it has proceeded successfully so it is always a nervous time.— successfully so it is always a nervous time. , ., . , nervous time. perseverance gets described as — nervous time. perseverance gets described as a — nervous time. perseverance gets described as a rocket _ nervous time. perseverance gets described as a rocket on - nervous time. perseverance gets described as a rocket on a i nervous time. perseverance getsl described as a rocket on a module but am i right in thinking it is actually really quite large and heavy. actually really quite large and hea . , ., , ., ., actually really quite large and hea. heavy. yes, the rovers that had been sent to mars — heavy. yes, the rovers that had been sent to mars have _ heavy. yes, the rovers that had been sent to mars have been _ heavy. yes, the rovers that had been sent to mars have been getting i sent to mars have been getting bigger and bulkier over the years as we developed launch capability to send heavier things to mars and also as we wanted to conduct more detailed and complicated experiments to explore what mars used to be like and carry out those searches mentioned in the report for complications that come with size and mass. ii complications that come with size and mass. ., ., , ., , ., ., and mass. if all goes to plan, what hat-ens and mass. if all goes to plan, what happens they _ and mass. if all goes to plan, what happens they on — and mass. if all goes to plan, what happens they on end, _ and mass. if all goes to plan, what happens they on end, how- and mass. if all goes to plan, what happens they on end, how quickly| happens they on end, how quickly does work begin and information comeback that is of use to people with your skills? we comeback that is of use to people with your skills?— with your skills? we will get a slit htl with your skills? we will get a slightly quicker _ with your skills? we will get a slightly quicker start - with your skills? we will get a slightly quicker start with i slightly quicker start with perseverance than before, part of the new technology for the landing has enabled it to go to this new location and means that info be able to pinpoint where it is exactly on mars much more quickly so we will gain some time there in terms of communicating with the rover and making sure we know where it is. at that point at is then orienting itself against the terrain it wants to explore and we have to check all the systems and make sure everything is working properly once it has landed so we are looking at months timescale, several months before we really start to see some interesting results coming back. i really start to see some interesting results coming back.— results coming back. i right in sa int results coming back. i right in saying that — results coming back. i right in saying that ali _ results coming back. i right in saying that ali number - results coming back. i right in saying that ali number of i results coming back. i right in i saying that ali number of countries taking part in missions at the moment, as their brutal competition on is it healthy competition? there are three current _ on is it healthy competition? there are three current missions - on is it healthy competition? there are three current missions to i on is it healthy competition? tues are three current missions to mars that have all arrived in the last couple of weeks, the emirates mars mission, a china mission both arrived last week and now we have perseverance. i don't think there is necessarily a lot of competition, all of the national space agencies are ultimately interested in learning as much as possible about mars so it is more of a cooperative spirit and exploratory spirit just to advance our knowledge about another planet. bre to advance our knowledge about another planet.— to advance our knowledge about another planet. are you watching toni t ht another planet. are you watching tonight chris _ another planet. are you watching tonight chris mackay _ another planet. are you watching tonight chris mackay estimate i another planet. are you watching tonight chris mackay estimate is | another planet. are you watching i tonight chris mackay estimate is on a nasa website and people can watch. they're much i assume it is on a nasa website. i they're much i assume it is on a nasa website.— they're much i assume it is on a l nasa website._ thank nasa website. i will indeed. thank ou. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. good afternoon. yet again, there's plenty of rain to come in the forecast. and if, like me, you're trying to get out, get some fresh air and dodge the wetter moments, it is possible to do so today. you can see the weather front moving its way west to east at quite a pace. and behind it, the cloud is breaking up. so there will be some improving weather if you're under that rain at the moment. and already we've seen it this morning across north wales. some lovely sunshine coming through. there will be a few scattered showers along west—facing coasts as we go through the rest of the afternoon. but also some drier, brighter interludes, particularly as that rain clears. it'll be a little bit fresher as we go through the afternoon, accompanied by some blustery winds. but hopefully the sunshine will compensate. highs between nine and 12 degrees. but there's more wet weather to come, and this time it'll be really quite heavy, particularly along west—facing coast. it's going to be accompanied by some pretty strong to gale force gusts of winds at times as well. during the early hours of friday morning, that rain arrives into northern ireland — the winds picking up through irish sea coasts and towards dawn, there will be wet weather along western fringes. but sheltered eastern areas are seeing some clearer skies, and temperatures perhaps a few degrees down on where we've seen them just recently — low single figures along the sheltered east coast. so it's going to be a wet and windy start to friday, with gales quite possible out to the west. the rain gradually drifting its way inland, but it never really reaches the eastern half of the uk. temperatures generally at around 10—11 celsius. the rain fairly relentless out to the west, particularly to higher ground. and there's more wet weather to come into start of the weekend. just like i was telling you yesterday, this pulse of moist air moving up from the south—west, bringing some heavy rain along west—facing coasts. so rainfall totals are going to start to tot up — that may well lead to some localised flooding. the ground is very saturated at the moment. we'll need to keep an eye on that. but you can see things getting a little bit warmer with sunshine across the south and east. that's the story as we go into sunday. that weather front is still wriggling around the northwest, but it will weaken off a touch. but it's the boundary between allowing this milder air to push up to the south and really make a difference, particularly when we get some sunshine. so we could see 16 or 17 celsius through the weekend in the south. take care. this is bbc news. the headlines. coronavirus infections drop by two thirds across england during the latest lockdown — but scientists say infections still need to be lower. the big question is, how low can we go to have some residual infection where we can open up safely? northern ireland's current lockdown has been extended to april1 but some primary school pupils will return to classes on march 8. australia's prime minister says his country won't be intimidated — after facebook blocks the country's news feeds — in a row over a new law. the labour leader proposes british recovery bonds — to help fund the renewal of communities and jobs after the lockdown ends. there's a call for more financial help — for key workers living with long covid. and, a nail biting day for nasa — as it aims to land its perseverance rocket on the surface of mars. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. there's been a marked decline in levels of coronavirus infections in england since january, say scientists tracking the epidemic. a study by imperial college london found that infections have fallen by two—thirds across england since the latest lockdown began, with an 80% fall in the capital itself. but it warns that levels are still high, particularly among primary school age children and young adults — with 1 in 200 testing positive between the 4th and 13th february. that's similar to levels seen in september. katharine da costa has the details. friends and family kept apart. many businesses kept on hold. lockdown has taken its toll on all of us, but researchers say it has helped to take infection levels in england down to those last seen in september. imperial college's react survey looked at 85,000 random swab samples taken between the 4th and 13th february. researchers suggest one in 200 had the virus, and while infections are still high, they are halving every 15 days. but it is a mixed picture. they suggest infections are falling more slowly in northern regions, while in london, levels have fallen significantly. in some ages, one in 25 were testing positive, so it started higher, and has fortunately come down quicker, so that is really good news. we are not quite sure why rates are slower in the north, but we did see that earlier, coming out of... in the early stages of the second wave, that rates were higher in the north, and that's what we're seeing again today. the survey suggests infections are falling in all ages, but are highest in primary age children and young adults. so what might that mean for plans to reopen schools from march the 8th? we really, really want to get children back into school. there is work—in—progress looking at how testing can support schools to come back. there is already a level of testing going on in schools, where you have children of key workers and teachers in schools at the moment because schools aren't completely closed, and _ there is work going on about the details of the return to school, and _ more will be said next week about that. pressure in icus has eased slightly over the last month, but there are still close to 3000 covid patients on ventilators, similar to levels in the first wave. health officials want to see infections suppressed to very low levels to avoid another surge as restrictions are lifted. i think that is the big question, how low can we go to have some residual infection where we can open up safely? because getting back to zero is really... nobody sensible thinks that is achievable in the near future. scientists think it may be another couple of weeks before we see the full impact of the vaccine roll—out on cases and hospital admissions. while the data seem to be heading in the right direction, ministers say they don't want to jeopardise the hard work it has taken to get us here. katharine da costa, bbc news. i want you to bring the latest figures we have that have just come in from the government relating to coronavirus. they show their paint 454 deaths recorded today. that compares to 519 this time last week, so there has been a drop roughly 70 week on week. and in terms of the new cases, the government is supporting 12,057 new cases today, and that compares to 12,767 cases this time last week, so that is a drop of about 700. so a drop of 700 in the new cases and a drop of about 70 in terms of the new number of deaths that have been recorded, so everything going in a downward direction, as has been the trend, of course, in the last few weeks. to get reaction to all of those figures let's speak to dr deepti gurdasani, senior lecturer in clincical epidemiology at queen mary, university of london. good afternoon to you. so, just looking at the figures that we had today from this big study done by imperial, showing that the numbers are coming down in terms of new infections and cases, but there are variations in the age groups and regions, what do you make of that? first of all, i think it is really good that cases are coming down. this is absolutely where we want to be with cases coming down, but numbers are still quite high and we need to remember that. we are not deaf in the safe zone. as we heard, even our hospitalisations are about the april peak. the highest prevalence seems to be in primary school children and young adults, and this is not an isolated study, the office of national statistics also suggested drops have been low in primary school settings and this is consistent with children in the setting, one in five are still attending primary schools versus only two in secondary schools. data tells us outbreaks are still happening in primary schools even with the lower level of attendance. this suggests that if we push ahead with school openings without adding any additional mitigation efforts in place, we are really in for trouble and it is likely those infection rates will shoot up. we have made huge sacrifices as a country over the last year and it is very important that we don't squander the sacrifices made in the last month that the letters to these declines that the letters to these declines that we are seeing, by opening up to early —— that have led us to these declines. early -- that have led us to these declines. ., . ~' early -- that have led us to these declines. ., ., ~ ., ., declines. you talk about mitigating the actions. _ declines. you talk about mitigating the actions. if _ declines. you talk about mitigating the actions, if schools _ declines. you talk about mitigating the actions, if schools do _ declines. you talk about mitigating the actions, if schools do open i declines. you talk about mitigating the actions, if schools do open up. the actions, if schools do open up on march eight. what are you thinking of? i on march eight. what are you thinking of?— on march eight. what are you thinkin: of? ., ~ ., , , thinking of? i am thinking measures that are recommended _ thinking of? i am thinking measures that are recommended and - thinking of? i am thinking measures that are recommended and are - thinking of? i am thinking measures| that are recommended and are being used in other european countries, secondary school children and also encourage to primary school children in line with what is being done in france and spain. much better attention to ventilation, air filtration devices, purification devices with carbon monoxide monitors to ensure we have the right level of ventilation. we need to reduce our class sizes, some of the largest in europe, and that would mean more investment into skills, staffing. as well as use of much larger spaces to allow for that sort of social distancing that we need. we also need to revise our guidance to account for aerosol transmission, so we need to essentially reduce bubble sizes. currently many schools have bubble sizes in the hundreds, even up to 300. it's very important we put all these measures in place, because we have been here before and done exactly the same things with exactly the same results, so if you want to see a difference at this point in time we need to do something different.- point in time we need to do something different. what is different between _ something different. what is different between now - something different. what is different between now and l something different. what is l different between now and the previous times that we have been here? is the vaccination roll—out, of course. the government has set the date of the 8th of march to potential return to school in england, because it will be three weeks after all the over 70s will have received their first dose of the vaccination. it is a balancing act and that must give you cause to be more optimistic? flat act and that must give you cause to be more optimistic?— be more optimistic? not really. i don't think— be more optimistic? not really. i don't think the _ be more optimistic? not really. i don't think the backs _ be more optimistic? not really. i don't think the backs roll-out - don't think the backs roll—out actually thanks to transmission, and i think that is something the government hasn't fully understood. vaccine roll—out and people above 705, it will only prevent severe disease in those individuals, i will not reduce transmission in the rest of the population, because it is only 20% of the population that has received one dose of the vaccine, it does not mean the icus will end up not overwhelmed. but the number of new variant circulating, including ones we are worried about in terms of vaccine effectiveness, we need to push for bringing cases down much more than we have before, before we even think about opening up. i think we are really moving towards making the same mistakes again, a new level of vaccine roll—out is not going to make any difference when we start opening up because we are going to see surges in cases the way we would before we vaccinated —— it will not affect the r number. you before we vaccinated -- it will not affect the r number.— before we vaccinated -- it will not affect the r number. you say we need to see cases — affect the r number. you say we need to see cases down _ affect the r number. you say we need to see cases down much _ affect the r number. you say we need to see cases down much more - affect the r number. you say we need to see cases down much more before | to see cases down much more before we can think of opening up. what sort of number do happen when? it is ve sort of number do happen when? it 3 very interesting because i sort of number do happen when? it 1 very interesting because i was hearing earlier on the programme that no sensible expert would never think we need to bring cases down to zero, but that is actually completely against what many countries have done very successfully and not had the complete failure of response we have had. sage has also pushed for this. i think cases need to come down to between ten to 20, or below pair hundred thousand before we open up, because essentially what we need to do is bring cases down to the level that are test commentaries and isolate system can keep them down, because if we don't have the system in place, what is going to happen is we will see cases rise rapidly and end up in another lockdown, which is what all of us want to avoid. goad what all of us want to avoid. good to talk to. — what all of us want to avoid. good to talk to, thank _ what all of us want to avoid. good to talk to, thank you _ what all of us want to avoid. good to talk to, thank you for _ what all of us want to avoid. good to talk to, thank you for your - what all of us want to avoid. good to talk to, thank you for your time. restrictions in northern ireland will remain in place until the ist of april — but some primary children — up to the age of 7 — will be going back to school from the 8th march. let's speak to chris at stormont. running through what we know already. running through what we know alread . , , already. the ministers in the devolved _ already. the ministers in the devolved governments - already. the ministers in the devolved governments you l already. the ministers in the i devolved governments you are stormont have come in the last couple of errors, decided, we understand, to extend the lockdown in northern ireland, the date that we currently have, it is understood it will be extended to the ist of april. there is one exception and it is one that will affect many thousands of families across northern ireland. it is important news with them, peoples in the first three years of primary school are now expected to be going back into the classroom on monday the 8th of march, sojust the classroom on monday the 8th of march, so just over another fortnight of remote learning for the younger pupils in primary school. two weeks after that on the 22nd of march, pupils in year 12 to iii primary skills, those in their key gcse and a—level years, they will go back into the classroom as well. for all the other pupils, those in the last four years of primary school, and the first four years of post primary school, they will be going back to classrooms after the easter break, the middle of april. one other slight easing of restrictions, to stop the executive had decided that some retailers such as clothes shops and baby shops, they will be able to run click and collect services. at the moment they are not allowed to do that, but ministers haveis allowed to do that, but ministers have is played, decided a small number of retailers will be able to do click and collect. we are expecting to hear more on this from arlene foster in the next few minutes. ., arlene foster in the next few minutes-_ arlene foster in the next few minutes. ., ., minutes. the detail about some rima minutes. the detail about some primary school _ minutes. the detail about some primary school children - minutes. the detail about some primary school children going i minutes. the detail about some i primary school children going back minutes. the detail about some - primary school children going back a mercy is interesting. you may not have heard this, but we were to epidemiologist before you, one who was cautious about schools reopening on march the 8th, partly because there is a higher prevalence of the virus amongst young children. has there been any indication from the executive in northern ireland as to quite why they think this is a safe thing to do right now? is that indicated in any way by the figures indicated in any way by the figures in northern rather than? i indicated in any way by the figures in northern rather than?— in northern rather than? i think what the ministers _ in northern rather than? i think what the ministers have - in northern rather than? i think what the ministers have been l in northern rather than? i think- what the ministers have been saying is that they are listening very carefully to their public health advisers, certainly i think the reason why the decision has been made just to bring reason why the decision has been madejust to bring back reason why the decision has been made just to bring back those first three year groups on the 8th of march is to make the point that the reopening of schools for a classroom —ba5ed learning again is going to be very slow and gradual experience. clearly it is going to be one of those things that different groups of patients have different opinions on, depending on where the children are perhaps in the school system, but when you look at the wider picture in northern ireland, the figures generally are moving in the right direction. the number of cases has been falling, the number of people in hospital has been falling, and thankfully, most of all, the number of deaths linked to covid has been dropping as well. to give you an idea of how far northern ireland source to travel, at the moment there are over 400 in hospital with covid and that is above the peak during the first wave of the virus backin during the first wave of the virus back in the spring. the message we are going to hearfrom back in the spring. the message we are going to hear from arlene foster and michelle o'neill and their ministerial colleagues is that northern ireland still has to double down and get through this difficult period for the health service. although the vaccination programme is going very well, with almost 30% by those receiving at least one jab, the process of exiting lockdown is going to be very gradual and very careful. ., ~' , ., , going to be very gradual and very careful. ., ~ , ., , . going to be very gradual and very careful. ., ~' , ., , . . careful. thank you very much, and we will, of careful. thank you very much, and we will. of course. _ careful. thank you very much, and we will, of course, be _ careful. thank you very much, and we will, of course, be bringing _ careful. thank you very much, and we will, of course, be bringing that - will, of course, be bringing that press conference from the first minister and deputy first minister as soon as we get it. recovery bonds have been proposed by the labour leader to support communities, jobs and businesses in the wake of the pandemic. sir keir starmer has made a speech setting out his vision for the economy post coronavirus — which he said must involve better paid and more stable work. more details from our political correspondentjonathan blake. almost a year since he became labour leader, sir keir starmer today aims to set out more of his political vision. in the grip of a global pandemic, he said, the country faces a choice. we can go back to the same insecure and unequal economy that has been so cruelly exposed by the virus. or we can seize the moment, and go forward to a future that is going to look utterly unlike the past. so far, he has focused on establishing himself as competent. this was an attempt to add substance to his chosen style. if i were prime minister, i would introduce a new british recovery bond. this could raise billions to invest in local communities, injobs and in businesses. a new policy, but a tentative step, perhaps, when labour needs to regain so much support. does your policy of recovery bonds risk, in the short term, at least, allowing the rich to become richer while offering nothing for those who are struggling financially due to the pandemic, many of whom may be former labour voters who turned their backs on your party at the last election? many people saved for the first time during this pandemic, and as the bank of england says, they are unlikely to spend it in a hurry, and this gives them the security of a bond going forward and also helps the country secure that economy. sir keir starmer has had to criticise the government's response to coronavirus, while risking the charge of playing politics with the pandemic, but with labour lagging in the polls, some say he needs to be bold. what i now want to see are big ideas for things like a living income that would mean we can put an income floor below which no—one can fall. things like a radical green new deal, big investment in our communities to create a new deal for towns. sir keir starmer said people want more from government, but when it is playing a greater role in our lives than ever, he must make clear what labour would do differently. jonathan blake, bbc news. australia's prime minister says his country won't be intimidated by facebook, in the continuing row about news coverage on the social media platform. australia wants tech companies to pay for content which is reposted from other news outlets — and now facebook has blocked all its media content in the country. shaimaa khalil sent this report from sydney. this is what australians woke up to. empty news feeds on their facebook pages after the platform blocked all local and international media outlets. a dramatic escalation in a continued dispute with the government over paying for news content. facebook�*s change didn't just target news. it also denied australians access to many pages for charities and essential services, as well as several key government agencies. the ban prompted an immediate backlash, with many users angered by their sudden loss of access to trusted sources of information. i do use facebook. it seems to be a catch all and i can get all of my news in the one spot, so it will really impact me. they're so big and so widely used by australians that they'lljust... people willjust revolt against it. the government was also swift to react. this is an assault on a sovereign nation. it is an assault on people's freedom, and in particular it is an utter abuse of big technology's market power and control over technology. the prime minister, scott morrison, slammed the social media company's action as, "arrogant and disappointing." under the proposed legislation, tech giants will be forced to enter into payment negotiations with news outlets over payment for content that appears on their platforms, and if they can't agree a government arbitrator would get involved. but facebook has criticised the law, saying it doesn't reflect how the internet works and unfairly penalises it for content it didn't ask for. this fallout is about facebook making a point. many are watching this closely and the social media giant knows that if it starts paying for news content here in australia, other nations could make similar demands. some experts have described it as anti—democratic and a dangerous turn of events. and while facebook asserts its power and influence with this move, the fear is that it may also do its reputation some serious damage. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney. let's cross to dungannon, county tyrone in northern ireland and hearfrom the first minister and deputy minister. at around ataround .7 at around .7 2.8 and it is bringing it down again from last week. a number of people needing i see you care has also reduced, and thankfully, we are also seeing a significant fall in deaths. we have to remember that this is not about abstract figures, it is about saving lives. yours and your loved ones. i see with gratitude to everyone, thank you for your effort, we are now passed the peak of this period of infection. we know from experience of what looks like success, both hard—won and also fragile, and of greatest concern at the moment is the prevalence of the new variants. the office for national statistics suggest that the varying b 117 now makes up 7% of all other cases, and the fact that there is another radiance move with alarming speed when they get the chance to spread. this means that when contact increases, the rate of infection will be much swifter than we have experienced before. while the number of cases of covid—i9 is decreasing, the level of ongoing community transmission still presents a significant concern, and i'm sure we have all taken great encouragement from the amazing success of our vaccination roll—out, and the extension of provision of protection to those who are clinical, vulnerable, and to our caters, just yesterday. we are steadily working our way up towards the half—million mark for vaccinations, and on the verge of reaching 30% of the adult population here in northern ireland. there is a time line between immunisation and protection, so those being vaccinated must continue to do all they can to protect themselves, and others, from infection. the decision facing the executives today have not been straightforward, there are many factors that have been assessed on balance, but what is clear is that we must proceed with great care and with caution. we need our decisions to be both safe and sustainable, and i'm determined that through the proper sequencing of actions, as we emerge from these restrictions, that we leave lockdown is in the rear view and that we do not step backwards again. a clear priority at this point is to continue to keep the r rate below 140 cases and to achieve this it is considered that a full listing of the current restrictions is not possible at this point —— mac one ray —— the predictions want to be in place for four more weeks and we will conduct anotherfull four more weeks and we will conduct another full review of the regulations on the 18th of march. i know that will come as a disappointment, but it is a pragmatic and a sensible approach, and it is important to be clear that we will only maintain restrictions which are proportionate and necessary, and so we will keep them under continual review on an ongoing basis. we will be taking small steps as we monitor and assess before moving to any next stages. a5 as we monitor and assess before moving to any next stages. as the prime minister is said, we will be informed by data, not by dates. refer step forward will be the gradual return of schools from monday, march eight, preschool nursery children will return as well as primary one — three with face—to—face teaching with effect from the 8th of march, and those children who are the children of key workers and of other year groups can continue to attend school. students engaged in computing qualification such as gcse, a.5. and a another vocational publications, principally years 12—14, will return to full—time face—to—face teaching with effect from the 22nd of march, and in order to facilitate the return of qualification year students in line with public health advice and considerations, that two large cohorts were not both back before easter, the preschool nursery years 1-3, easter, the preschool nursery years 1—3, children will have remote learning during the week of the 22nd of march, before the easter break. the intention is for other students to return to school as soon as achievable after easter, with the option of separately facing returns for primary 4g primary seven pupils and the remaining non—qualification years of post primary. it will be dependent on the prevailing health situation at the time and an analysis of the impact of other interventions. it is very clear that myself and the education minister have put a return to classroom learning for children i go people as ourfirst priority, but learning for children i go people as our first priority, but we could only do that if the health assessment allows. we must be mindful that we have, we take these actions, they will of course have an impact on the r rate, but to be clear, the greatest risk is not in schools, and we heard that this week from the pha, but actually outside of schools, so i am really appealing to parents and caters to work closely with schools to strictly limit contact with others outside of your family household. at this point we consider that we do also have the headroom to reduce pressures on home life by commencing the reinstatement of click and collect services from monday the 8th of march, something which the economy minister has been advocating for some time, and we understand that some goods over time have now, in fact, become essential items, such as baby equipment, clothing, footwear and electrical items. so click and collect services, for those items, will happen on the 8th of march, and of course, they will require to be contactless to stop the extension click and collect more widely through other retail sectors will be considered as part of the next review of restrictions on the 18th of march. finally, we are very conscious of one of the greatest challenges for those of us who have families, of course as a reduce contact with family and, indeed, loved ones and friends, so we have agreed that from monday 8th of march we are increasing the number of people who can meet outdoors, up to ten people from no more than two households will be able to meet up any park or in another public space. we are now at a time for patience and persistence. we believe the best way to win the stage of our battle against covid—19 is to again, the security position we hold slowly move forward. of course we want to be able to reopen all of society, and we would do that with your help, and we would do that with your help, and on the 1st of march, the deputy first minister and i will publish the decision—making framework for our pathway to recovery, and we have begun the journey, absolutely, our pathway to recovery, and we have begun thejourney, absolutely, and we are on our way. slower, may be, then we would ideally wish to be, but i think steadily, and importantly, we do not want to have to step back again into a lockdown. thank you, arlene. sadly to date six more people have lost their lives to covid—19 and we send our sympathies to those who have died. over the last week covid—19 cases have continued to decrease, with the r now in the region of 0.7— 0.8 and the daily number of new covid—19 daily hospital admissions has also reduced. the vaccination programme is progressing extremely well, but the number of inpatients are still very high at 418, and occupancy levels within the hospitals remain high for a number of weeks. the emergence of new variants of the virus make control of community transmission even more challenging. it was in that context that we today reviewed the coronavirus regulations. we have agreed that the current measures put in place to control the virus should largely be extended for a further four weeks until the 1st of april, and the projections will be reviewed again once more on the 18th of march. —— the restrictions will be reviewed again. in relation to outdoor gatherings and click and collect, limited service, and of course the priority in terms of getting our children, ouryoung priority in terms of getting our children, our young people back to school, and we've agreed today a phased approach for a return to classrooms face—to—face teaching. that will begin on the 18th of march, as has been outlined, and will include those involved in the exam cohort later on in the month of march. with the hope and ambition for a full return beyond the easter holidays for other students. it is very clear we need to tread carefully, and when we do move out of the restrictions, small and gradual steps are crucial if we are going to remain on top of the virus. we have to be driven by dates, not by dates, sorry, but by the path of the pandemic and the priority of protecting the health service. as we move forward we continue to support the health service, individuals and families in early today to community minister and she's extending the legislation to protect private interest of action of the 30th of september, protecting people from eviction during this time. the executive will do all they can support those most in need and continue to provide further financial existence to help businesses and individuals through these restrictions. well it is not possible to provide the certainty that many people are undoubtedly seeking, we do want to give people an indication of the sequencing of how the restrictions could be lifted when the time is right to do so. and as has been said, next week, we will finalise a pathway out of the restrictions which we will bring forward to the assembly and the public as soon as possible. thank you. good afternoon. can i ask... we are auoin to good afternoon. can i ask... we are going to leave _ good afternoon. can i ask... we are going to leave that _ good afternoon. can i ask... we are going to leave that press _ going to leave that press conference, that was conor murphy you heard there at the end, the finance minister, lots of detail there. changes are coming in on march the 8th. summit primary school children will be going back on march the 8th stop there will be a loosening the restrictions on how many people can meet in a public space outside and also a return to click and collect services from march the 8th. let's go to our northern ireland correspondent who was listening to all that. what struck you that? 1 was listening to all that. what struck you that?— was listening to all that. what struck you that? i think care and caution it really _ struck you that? i think care and caution it really work _ struck you that? i think care and caution it really work the - struck you that? i think care and caution it really work the two - caution it really work the two watchwords, ministers trying to certainly bear in mind the notion that it certainly bear in mind the notion thatitis certainly bear in mind the notion that it is important to give people some hope, so it some limited relaxations coming in on the 8th of march, that is just over a fortnight away, probably the most significant of which is peoples in the first three years of primary school will go back to face—to—face learning, two weeks after pupils in years 12 to 14 will also go back. for retailers, click and collect can resume very few categories of retailers, clothing, baby equipment, electrical items and footwear, click and collect services can resume for all of those items. when you heard the tone of the first minister, and conor murphy the finance minister, the emphasis was very much that they want to get exiting a lockdown absolutely right and do not want to risk lifting restrictions to quickly and having to go back into lockdown. the phrase that arlene foster used was that minister wanted to leave it locked down in the rear—view mirror, in other words they want this lockdown to be the last and in order to make that work, they will have it to make that work, they will have it to review each step of lifting restrictions very carefully, analyse the science and data and then decide if it is safe to move on to the next stage of lifting restrictions. they are working, they said, on a document which will be essentially northern ireland's exit strategy, a pathway to recovery plan, as they called it. the expectation is, according to mrs foster, that that will be published on the 1st of march. clearly a lot of work will be happening over the next few weeks. the beginning of lockdown at being lifted, but it is clear that restrictions... sorry, it is rather windy up here at stormont. it is clear that the restrictions that are in place, particularly with the closure of retail shoppers and the closure of retail shoppers and the closure to the hospitality industry, thatis closure to the hospitality industry, that is going to go on until the beginning of april, around easter time at the very least.— beginning of april, around easter time at the very least. chris, many thanks, time at the very least. chris, many thanks. you _ time at the very least. chris, many thanks, you handed _ time at the very least. chris, many thanks, you handed that _ time at the very least. chris, many thanks, you handed that with - time at the very least. chris, manyj thanks, you handed that with great coolness. about a tenth of people who contract covid—19 still experience symptoms three months after their diagnosis, according to a study by the office for national statistics. now, a group of mp5 says key workers and frontline staff who are suffering long—term effects which means they're unable to return to work should receive compensation. andy moore reports. oh, no. 38.9. i don't know what to do. sophie is a 27—year—old nurse, but the only temperature she's taking these days is her own. ten months after first contracting the disease, she is still off work and feels ill every day. imagine running a marathon with no finish line at all, so ijust feel that i'm running every single day, entirely exhausted, and i have no idea when this will end. iona is a secondary school teacher who is convinced she caught covid in the classroom last march. it's believed around one in ten people who get the disease are still suffering months later. that's tens of thousands of people. iona used to go running on a regular basis. now, just walking is difficult. it's sort of felt like being slowly erased, because all your plans and all the things you normally do in your life are just being taken away one by one. all my muscles hurt and ache all the time. an all—party group of mp5 says all front—line workers should be able to access a compensation scheme that would guarantee their livelihoods if they can't go back to work. my sincere hope is thatjust like with the original compensation scheme that was announced for front line workers who pass away, the government will now put this into place, ensure that our front line workers, the nhs workers we went out and clapped for every thursday, are able to get that peace of mind that comes with knowing that their livelihoods aren't going to be lost because they did the right thing and saved lives. that proposal is backed by the doctors' union, who say some of their members have already been forced to quit theirjobs. we would be looking at something similar to the armed forces compensation payment, which can be a one—off payment or can be a minimum income guarantee. what we don't know, of course, about covid — we are only a year into our first cases — is whether long covid and the symptoms that are lasting in one in ten people beyond 12 weeks, will carry on. the government says employers can make full use of the existing sick pay provisions to support staff. it says research is continuing into the understanding of long covid and how affected individuals can best be supported. but for those suffering with the condition, it's a nightmare with currently no prospect of an end. let's speak to dr david strain, from the university of exeter medical school who is a researcher into long covid and member of the nhs long covid task force. good afternoon. clearly a terrifying condition to have to live with. how much do you feel you know about long covid? we much do you feel you know about long covid? ~ . ., ., ,., , covid? we are learning about this almost on a _ covid? we are learning about this almost on a daily _ covid? we are learning about this almost on a daily basis, _ covid? we are learning about this almost on a daily basis, but - covid? we are learning about this almost on a daily basis, but at - covid? we are learning about this| almost on a daily basis, but at this moment in time, we still do not know who gets it, what the risk factors are forgetting it and what even the mechanism of this disease is a. clearly until we note those things it becomes very difficult to offer treatment and reassurance and to look for a way out of people living with it. ., ., , ., ., with it. how it does long covid manifest itself? _ with it. how it does long covid manifest itself? presumably i with it. how it does long covid - manifest itself? presumably some people have much worse symptoms than others? .,, . people have much worse symptoms than others? ., ., , , , others? those are two cases we 'ust heard about — others? those are two cases we 'ust heard about are fl others? those are two cases we 'ust heard about are very i others? those are two cases we 'ust heard about are very typical, i others? those are two cases we just heard about are very typical, some i heard about are very typical, some of the patients we would see in a long covid assessment clinic, but the symptoms can be a whole host of things, many complain of fatigue, some complain of muscle aches and pains. a lot complain of brain fog, theyjust cannot focus pains. a lot complain of brain fog, they just cannot focus and concentrate on their day—to—day activities. that gets tied in with other minor symptoms, perceived manner symptoms, other minor symptoms, perceived mannersymptoms, impaired other minor symptoms, perceived manner symptoms, impaired vision, alterations in a sense of taste or smell, each of these minor symptoms, when put together with the major, fatigue, weakness is, they can all amount up to make someone's life feel unbearable. fin amount up to make someone's life feel unbearable.— amount up to make someone's life feel unbearable. on these symptoms are more likely _ feel unbearable. on these symptoms are more likely to _ feel unbearable. on these symptoms are more likely to be _ feel unbearable. on these symptoms are more likely to be felt _ feel unbearable. on these symptoms are more likely to be felt in - are more likely to be felt in certain groups of people than others? ~ . ., , ., others? what we have seen at the moment is — others? what we have seen at the moment is that _ others? what we have seen at the moment is that women _ others? what we have seen at the moment is that women appear - others? what we have seen at the moment is that women appear farj others? what we have seen at the - moment is that women appear far more affected by this than men. there are lots of different reasons why this may be. one of the key drivers for this is people who did not take it easy when they got the original covid, so long covid it does not appear to be associated with how bad the original infection once. but one very common theme is that the people who develop long covid are the people who try to push themselves through it, people like teachers and nurses who wanted to get back to work as soon as possible because they wanted to look after their colleagues and patients. one of the effects that we are then seeing is that they are left in a position where they just do that they are left in a position where theyjust do not have the energy to do the day—to—day bits of their life. 15 energy to do the day-to-day bits of their life. , ., ,., ., their life. is that something that he would see — their life. is that something that he would see in _ their life. is that something that he would see in people - their life. is that something that he would see in people who - their life. is that something that - he would see in people who suffered other viral infections or do you think this is something very specific to covid?— think this is something very specific to covid? other viral infections. — specific to covid? other viral infections, post _ specific to covid? other viral infections, post viral- specific to covid? other viral i infections, post viral infections, chronic fatigue syndrome, do exist. the importance in a difference here is looking at the different management, the different ways we treat this. long covid is very much like having... i think the best analogy is like having an old iphone or another smartphone and we know, as you have an old smartphone, it does not matter how recharged it is, as you come to the end of the day, the batteryjust dies a lot quicker than you would expect. it does not last a full day, in fact by the time the phone is two or three years old, you are lucky to get half a day out of it. one of the ways out of this is that we tell our patients with long covid that before you get to that stage where your battery is dead, you need to take your rest, you need to stop and recharge when your battery is at 20%, rather than waiting till it gets all the weight flat. that is quite different from many other symptoms of fatigue when we do persuade patients to go for a structured exercise programme, such as cardio rehab. we tend to say every day we need to do just that little bit more in order to get better. with long covid, it is definitely a case of sticking within your energy envelope on a daily basis. ., ., , ., ,, your energy envelope on a daily basis. ., ., ~ ., basis. so, what would you like to see done in _ basis. so, what would you like to see done in order _ basis. so, what would you like to see done in order to _ basis. so, what would you like to see done in order to help - basis. so, what would you like to see done in order to help people| basis. so, what would you like to - see done in order to help people who are suffering from long covid now? the government is actually responding to this. it is important to state this disease did not exist nine months ago, so the government is taking its time to get a response, but it is doing it in an appropriate manner. before christmas, we saw a £10 million package to develop a covid assessment service, although it is important to say that was just the assessment. they are now up and running. yesterday, the national institute for health care research and announced that £18.9 million research programme looking in the underlying causes, trying to develop the risk factors and looking at strategies to better treat this, thatis strategies to better treat this, that is under way at the moment. the next step comes about treatment. we need to be able to treat the people who have this in order to get their best recovery and for those many patients who have this and have lost jobs or find themselves incapable of returning to work, particularly with front—line workers across the board, we need to reassure them that they will be looked after until the treatments are available, because clearly if we cannot reduce their stress, we allow them to focus more on that recovery in the hope they can get back to doing what they enjoy. —— can reduce their stress. it must be psychologically extremely difficult for people suffering from a long covid, so it physically exhausted by it and having to cope with all the other consequences of being ill. with all the other consequences of bein: ill. ~ ,,., , ., being ill. absolutely. one of the most difficult _ being ill. absolutely. one of the most difficult bits _ being ill. absolutely. one of the most difficult bits about - being ill. absolutely. one of the most difficult bits about this - being ill. absolutely. one of the j most difficult bits about this and one of the things that health care workers working with these patients also suffer with is the most common question we get asked is how long is this going to last? am i going to get better? unfortunately, wejust do not have the answer at the moment. we know a lot of patients do seem to get better and do return to some degree of normal life, but there are many who are just left with a long debilitating disease, they may have caught it in the first wave back in march, and still are not capable of returning to normal activity. the research will hopefully support that, give the information we need and then a government package to make sure that their well—being is also looked after will reduce their stress and allow them to focus just on it getting better. allow them to focus 'ust on it getting better._ allow them to focus 'ust on it getting better. allow them to focus 'ust on it ttettin better. ., ~ , ., , getting better. ok, thank you very much indeed- _ getting better. ok, thank you very much indeed. thank— getting better. ok, thank you very much indeed. thank you _ getting better. ok, thank you very much indeed. thank you so - getting better. ok, thank you very much indeed. thank you so much l getting better. ok, thank you very i much indeed. thank you so much for your time. nearly 16 million people across the uk have had their first covid vaccination, but there's still concern about the uptake in certain communities, including among members of some ethnic minority groups. now actors, comedians and politicians, including meera syal, romesh ranganathan and beverley knight, have taken part in a video which aims to dispel false stories about the jab, and urge people to get inoculated. lizo mzimba reports. namaste. sat sri akaal. assalaamu alaikum. they're some of the country's best known faces, leading figures across a range of areas. they all have the same message — to urge people from ethnic minorities to take the covid—19 vaccine when it's offered. just a bit sharp. more than 15 million vaccinations have been given so far, but it's believed that a significant proportion of individuals who are from ethnic minorities are currently unlikely to take it. all done. one cause is people hearing things about the vaccine that actually aren't true. itjust feels so heartbreaking to me that people from ethnic minorities are sort of inflicting a degree of separation upon themselves from not trusting in this. i understand all the reasons why, i've heard all the arguments, but i just feel so strongly that we need to make sure that we dispel some of these myths. recent research has shown that many ethnic minority groups were at greater risk of dying from covid compared to people from white british backgrounds, during the second wave of the pandemic. there's increasing concern about the reluctance of people from groups who are more at risk to take the vaccine. it's very, very rare for vaccines to have a long term side effect. that's what led to this campaign, which is aimed at individuals who are worried about vaccination. the covid—19 vaccines have gone through the same strict processes and regulations. the new video, which has been produced independently of the government, combines celebrity star power with expert medical knowledge. i've got an 18—year—old son and he would never take i a message from me or a doctor but when i told him that - i was going to be on tv with romesh, he was so excited about it, _ and i think that's the thing. i think we obviously- have a place as doctors, but i think everybody has a place. it's a message seen as so important at such a crucial time during the pandemic that the three and a half minute video will be broadcast simultaneously just before 10pm this evening on the commercial broadcasters itv, stv, channel 4, channel five and a number of sky channels. the bbc has also pledged to cover the video on key tv and radio programmes throughout the day. lizo mzimba, bbc news. nearly two million people haven't worked for at least six months, because they are either unemployed or fully furloughed, according to research from the think tank the resolution foundation. it's calling for the government's furlough scheme to remain in place for several months after lockdown is eased. our economics correspondent andy verity has more. this couldn't happen right now, but before the pandemic this video promoted a viable profitable one stop shop wedding business in worcestershire, supplying everything from flower arrangements, to disco floors, to chair covers. the only thing that's made it unviable are government restrictions imposed to fight covid, and eight staff have been on furlough for much of the past year. as a business we've lost over £300,000. we've postponed over 200 weddings. yeah, it's mounting up day by day. the government support for us has been really, really good so far. we've managed to almost freeze at the point we were 12 months ago. under current government plans, the furlough scheme ends at the end of april, but weddings and other events, from rock concerts to conferences, are still likely to be subject to some restrictions that will mean they can't make the same money they used to. but if the furlough does end in april and weddings aren't back on the road map and aren't able to resume as normal, we will have to look at restructuring, maybe possibly redundancies. with the pandemic nearly a year old, long—term worklessness has got worse. a5 of last month, there were 700,000 people who had been unemployed for more than six months, 500,000 who'd been furloughed full—time, and 700,000 who'd moved between furlough and unemployment for at least six months. that's a total of 1.9 million who have been workless for at least half a year. 4.5 million people were on furlough injanuary. the resolution foundation's report warns that withdrawing support from the hardest hit sectors at the end april is too soon. there are still sectors that are very badly hit by the covid epidemic. they will probably still be barred from carrying out their business normally, and we think people who are furloughed in those sectors should be getting continuing protection, because down the line those jobs are viable jobs. it's just that they're not available to be done at the moment. more than a fifth of those now on furlough either expect to lose theirjobs in the next three months, or have been told they'll be made redundant. throughout this pandemic the government has been quite adaptable when it comes to theirjobs protection package and protected millions ofjobs, and we'll continue to look at that throughout this pandemic. the government says it has spent £280 billion fighting the pandemic and protecting jobs, and plans to spend billions more on schemes like kickstart and restart to help the unemployed find work. whether the furlough scheme comes to a stop in two months will be a big decision for the chancellor in next month's budget. andy verity, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: coronavirus infections have dropped by two thirds across england since january. the current lockdown has seen rates fall, but scientists say they still need to be lower. northern ireland's current lockdown has been extended to april 1st, but some primary school pupils will return to classes on march 8th. a call for more financial help for key workers living with long covid. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt�*s ended the day. and in the united states, this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. the uk government has imposed sanctions on three senior myanmar generals for human rights violations in the country's military coup. in a statement, the foreign secretary dominic raab said... nearly 7 million people in the us state of texas have been warned to boil tap water before drinking it, and nearly two million people are still without power, in the wake of brutal winter weather. a huge storm which is sweeping the south of the country has killed at least 21 people. texas has experienced some of its coldest temperatures in more than 30 years, hitting minus 18 celcius earlier this week. duncan kennedy has the latest. freezing in fort worth. this was one texas suburb looking more like switzerland than the southern united states. nearly 2 million people have had their electricity cut off. this in a state that is the oil and natural gas capital of america. we are just hoping the lines will come back soon enough because it's really freezing, it's horrible. power companies have started rolling blackouts to take the strain off the electricity grid. indiana has also been hit by the snowstorms, which have claimed at least 25 lives, mostly in car accidents. good morning from the south padre convention centre. but the bitterly low temperatures have also created this, a convention centre near the mexican border full of frozen turtles. we've collected a lot, now we'll try to save them. the turtles are alive but have been stunned into a kind of frozen paralysis. they've been brought here by volunteers hoping they can slowly be thawed back to life. we do have little snaps of cold here and there so we train for anywhere from 100 to 500 cold stunned turtles in a year. certainly prepared for the process and know what it looks like and how to effectively handle it. never would we have assumed we were going to have 4700 turtles. the turtles are being washed up on the coast at south padre island in their thousands and being brought ashore as quickly as possible. further to the east in louisiana, ice has transformed the beauty of the bayou. this almost painting like vista capturing the more benign side of this deadly weather system. from ohio to maryland, the snow and cold has brought chaos to millions of americans with temperatures up to 40 degrees below normal. this is a storm of a century and it truly, it's hard to deal with it all but we are doing their dead level bestjob we can. it's the kind of weather that may bring enjoyment for some but it's one to endure for others. duncan kennedy, bbc news. it's a nail—biting day for nasa, as it attempts to put a space rover on the surface of mars. a six—wheeled robot called perseverance is the first nasa mission since the 19705 to search directly for signs of life on the red planet, but as our science correspondent rebecca morrelle reports, the vehicle first has to survive the landing. nasa calls it the seven minutes of terror — an approach to mars at 12,000 miles an hour. then, just at the right moment, a parachute opens, dramatically slowing it down before a complex landing system brings the perseverance rover down to the ground. that's the plan, but only half of all mars landings have worked. there's danger everywhere. right in the middle, there's a 60—80 metre tall cliff that cuts right through the middle of the landing site. if you look to the west, there are craters that the rover can't get out of — even if we were to land successfully in there. if you look to the east, there are large rocks. you know, landing on mars is not for the faint of heart. the landing site is an area called thejezero crater. it's dry and dusty today but billions of years ago it used to be a huge lake, and the main aim of the mission is to look for signs of life there. perseverance, the most advanced rover that nasa's ever built, will use its drill to collect samples of rock. the hope is that microscopic creatures may still be preserved in them. mars, certainly in the first billion years of its life, had a very conducive environment for life to be able to start — and potentially even flourish. and so now is absolutely the right time to go and really investigate this. we've got the right capabilities with the fantastic perseverance rover and so hopefully we'll get a conclusive answer. for the first time, nasa will also be testing a mini mars helicopter to provide a new bird's eye view of the planet. and back on the ground, the rover will store some of the rocks. a future mission will bring them back to earth. this mission provides our best chance to finally answer whether life existed on mars. first, though, nasa needs to get its rover safely down. there are some nerve—racking hours ahead. rebecca morrelle, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise. good afternoon. yet again, there's plenty of rain to come in the forecast. and if, like me, you're trying to get out, get some fresh air and dodge the wetter moments, it is possible to do so today. you can see the weather front moving its way west to east at quite a pace. and behind it, the cloud is breaking up. so there will be some improving weather if you're under that rain at the moment. and already we've seen it this morning across north wales. some lovely sunshine coming through. there will be a few scattered showers along west—facing coasts as we go through the rest of the afternoon. but also some drier, brighter interludes, particularly as that rain clears. it'll be a little bit fresher as we go through the afternoon, accompanied by some blustery winds. but hopefully the sunshine will compensate. highs between nine and 12 degrees. but there's more wet weather to come, and this time it'll be really quite heavy, particularly along west—facing coast. it's going to be accompanied by some pretty strong to gale force gusts of winds at times as well. during the early hours of friday morning, that rain arrives into northern ireland — the winds picking up through irish sea coasts and towards dawn, there will be wet weather along western fringes. but sheltered eastern areas are seeing some clearer skies, and temperatures perhaps a few degrees down on where we've seen them just recently — low single figures along the sheltered east coast. so it's going to be a wet and windy start to friday, with gales quite possible out to the west. the rain gradually drifting its way inland, but it never really reaches the eastern half of the uk. temperatures generally at around 10—11 celsius. the rain fairly relentless out to the west, particularly to higher ground. and there's more wet weather to come into start of the weekend. just like i was telling you yesterday, this pulse of moist air moving up from the south—west, bringing some heavy rain along west—facing coasts. so rainfall totals are going to start to tot up — that may well lead to some localised flooding. the ground is very saturated at the moment. we'll need to keep an eye on that. but you can see things getting a little bit warmer with sunshine across the south and east. that's the story as we go into sunday. that weather front is still wriggling around the northwest, but it will weaken off a touch. but it's the boundary between allowing this milder air to push up to the south and really make a difference, particularly when we get some sunshine. so we could see 16 or 17 celsius through the weekend in the south. take care. this is bbc news. i'm reeta chakrabarti. the headlines... coronavirus infections drop by two thirds across england during the latest lockdown, but scientists say infections still need to be lower. the big question is how low can we go out of residual infection where we can open up safely? northern ireland's current lockdown has been extended to april 1st, but some primary school pupils will return to classes on march 8th. australia's prime minister says his country won't be intimidated after facebook blocks the country's news feeds in a row over a new law. the labour leader proposes british recovery bonds to help fund the renewal of communities and jobs after the lockdown ends. there's a call for more financial help for key workers

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