also in the programme... the former president donald trump will meet conservatives at their annual conference in florida this weekend, to declare he is still the presumptive nominee for 202a. but not everyone is on board. you are going to play the high school fight song and this is a high school fight song and this is a high school band. take it away! and, we'll talk to the band who've come up with an ingenious way of keeping the music playing, during a pandemic. hello. i'm laura trevelyan in new york city, christian fraser is in london. there are mass—vaccination sites opening across new york, and on this — day 39 of the biden administration — the president's already halfway towards his target of 100 million shots in 100 days. it's a very different picture in europe. so far, just 5% of eu citizens have received a jab, compared to 27% in the uk. there are wide disparities within the eu. but, while 50 million doses had been delivered to the member nations, not even half have yet been administered. eu council president charles michel addressed european leaders a short while ago. our top priority now is speeding up the production and delivery of vaccines and vaccinations across the european union. that's why we support the commissions efforts to work with industry to identify bottlenecks, guarantee supply chains, and scale up production. one factor explaining the slow take—up is scepticism surrounding the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine. german authorities acknowledge that only 15% of the available astrazeneca jabs available have so far been administered. germany, france and belgium did not approve the astrazeneca jab for the over—65s. 0ur europe correspondent jean mackenzie sent us this from a vaccination centre in brussels. none of the queues they planned for. inside, chairs sit empty. belgium's largest vaccination centre finally opened last week, but there's barely a person in sight. they have the capacity to vaccinate 5000 people a day, but today they say they've only done 200 and in the hour that we've been here we've seen just one person arrive for their vaccination. those arrive for their vaccination. are quite staggering pi( and those are quite staggering pictures, and they? dr marc noppen is the chief executive of university hospital uz in brussels — where hejoins us now. thank you very much for being with us. how would you say that the vaccine roll—out is going from your perspective there in belgium? it is perspective there in belgium? it is auoin to perspective there in belgium? it is going to slow. _ perspective there in belgium? it 3 going to slow, unfortunately. as you have witnessed in the biggest centre here in brussels, i must say, we have been preparing for several weeks now and i must say within our hospital itself it is kind of, pacing up, but within the country it is way too slow in my opinion. and the opinion of many doctors and caretakers and those responsible. unfortunately, if you compare with countries like the uk, scotland, israel, even the united states, i think the pace is too slow. find israel, even the united states, i think the pace is too slow. and what ou ut think the pace is too slow. and what you put that — think the pace is too slow. and what you put that down _ think the pace is too slow. and what you put that down to? _ think the pace is too slow. and what you put that down to? it _ think the pace is too slow. and what you put that down to? it seems - think the pace is too slow. and what you put that down to? it seems to i think the pace is too slow. and what i you put that down to? it seems to me there has been some politicisation of the roll—out. lots of comments, some of this and find it about the astrazeneca vaccine. has that undermined confidence, the thing? —— some of it unfounded. it undermined confidence, the thing? -- some of it unfounded.— some of it unfounded. it certainly has played _ some of it unfounded. it certainly has played a _ some of it unfounded. it certainly has played a role. _ some of it unfounded. it certainly has played a role. it _ some of it unfounded. it certainly has played a role. it has - some of it unfounded. it certainly has played a role. it has to - some of it unfounded. it certainly has played a role. it has to do - some of it unfounded. it certainlyl has played a role. it has to do with a number of things, the eu strategy of purchasing vaccines which is way slower than what happened in the uk and us and israel, for instance, but also the very prudent way of communicating about these vaccines. for instance, in terms of the astrazeneca vaccine particularly, there was a very academic approach in saying, yes, we don't have enough data for people over 55, etc. this is not good for building up confidence and trust within the population. we even had hospitals and nursing homes in belgium where the personnel refused to accept astrazeneca vaccines because they were afraid it was not so good as the pfizer or the madonna, which are available in belgium, so there has been a communication issue, there has been a purchasing issue and there has also been an organisational issue. —— pfizer or no dharna. it has maybe been a bit to quantum —— pfizer or moderna. it is maybe been a bit too complicated. the pfizer plant is there in belgium. would she get more of the pfizer vaccine, could things change quickly? i pfizer vaccine, could things change cuickl ? ., , pfizer vaccine, could things change cuickl ? .,, pfizer vaccine, could things change cuickl ? ., ., ~ , quickly? i hope so. i am talking is a erson quickly? i hope so. i am talking is a person running _ quickly? i hope so. i am talking is a person running a _ quickly? i hope so. i am talking is a person running a hospital- quickly? i hope so. i am talking is a person running a hospital so - a person running a hospital so within my hospital we are ready to vaccine within ten days all of our 4500 vaccine within ten days all of our a500 personnel so logistically we are ready to the pfizer vaccine, with some logistical conditions to be taken care of, but also the astrazeneca vaccine, so we are ready. i think that within a few days or weeks the, let's say, the hiccups in the it systems which we have witnessed in the vaccination centres would be resolved, but now it is a question for getting the vaccine is here and calling up on people to come and get vaccinated. i think the majority of people would be very willing to be vaccinated at least in a modern part of the country so i think this should be pacing up quite rapidly, i hope. but, given how long it is taken to vaccinate everyone in belgium how long do you think before life returns to normal comedy thing? we have returns to normal comedy thing? - have to face up because if you just calculate it is simple arithmetic. if you calculate on the cover and place it will take until october 202a to have 70% of the population vaccinated, which is ridiculous. —— if you calculate at the current pace. we have the capacity. in the northern part of the country almost 100 vaccination centres, ten big centres in brussels, 5a centres in the southern part of the country, lots of volunteers and a lot of willingness to do its was itjust, i don't know, i am not a policy maker, i'm not responsible for this, i'm just witnessing, as you are, what is going on, so i hope that we can pay so quickly. going on, so i hope that we can pay so cuickl . . ~ going on, so i hope that we can pay so cuickl . ., ~ going on, so i hope that we can pay so cuickl. ., ~ . going on, so i hope that we can pay so quickly-— so quickly. thank you so much for “oininu so quickly. thank you so much for joining us. — so quickly. thank you so much for joining us, doctor. _ well, here in the us, 13% of the adult population has already received one dose of the vaccine — and president biden held a carefully choreographed event today to mark the delivery of the 50 millionth dose. the administration estimates that, byjuly, the country will have the 600 million doses of vaccine that it needs, which would be enough to inoculate every american. mr biden praised the work of his administration, of reaching the halfway point of its own target of 100 million shots in 100 days. but he also stressed that now is not the time for complacency. but he also said the real challenge will come when the lines outside vaccine centres have evapourated, and supply outstrips demand... the time is coming, maybe 60 to 90 days when this supply is adequate but not enough people can access the shops don't want them. to address that challenge, we are going to launch a massive campaign to educate people about vaccines that they are safe and effective and where to go to get those shots in the first place. but the vaccine roll—out isn't exactly going smoothly here in new york, the city was the global epicentre of the pandemic last spring. bad weather has led to vaccine shortages here, the online sign up system is tricky, and the hardest hit communities are the most relucant to take the vaccine. i spoke to doctors and potential patients in the bronx, to find out why the borough is lagging behind the rest of the city in its vaccination rates. wanda and her niece sadia have very different views on the coronavirus vaccine. i'm still on the fence about taking the vaccine... wanda's trying to get an appointment, while sadia is wary. it usually takes over two years for a vaccine to be made, and it's been, like, how many months and boom, we have a vaccine. so i just feel like it's too fast for me. wanda is hearing this from her niece and many others, but as a community organiser in the bronx, wanda feels a sense of responsibility. i don't want to be a guinea pig but i also have seen more than 500,000 americans have died of this and it's also important that if i do community work and i'm in the community in the front line, that i also set an example. the bronx is reeling from the impact of the pandemic. families have lost loved ones and jobs and after this turbulent year, doctors are finding people have many questions about the vaccine. well, there's a lot of concern about what is this, how is it going to affect me? is this the government's way of doing something to us? so, that's really the main concern that i find amongst patients. the bronx is the new york city borough with the highest coronavirus death rate. black and hispanic new yorkers here died in disproportionate numbers. yet even though the bronx was hardest hit by coronavirus, it's lagging behind when it comes to people getting the vaccine. so, this mass vaccination centre at the iconic yankee stadium is an attempt to increase vaccination rates among communities of colour. you have to make an appointment online to be vaccinated here, you can'tjust show up. 80—year—old anthony doesn't have a computer and he's been turned away eight times. now i have to go all the way back home and explain to whoever... that i couldn't get an appointment, and that i got to try again. because so many seniors are having difficulty with online appointments, there's a mobile vaccination unit in the bronx that takes the doses directly to elderly people in public housing. but this week, there was a new problem. why are you not vaccinating today? we don't have the supply. and that's a problem across the entire state and country. there's lack of supply. if we had the supply, we would be out vaccinating, not only today, every single day in public housing around the bronx. wanda's also having trouble getting a vaccination appointment, but she's persisting. i'm a big woman! and i also get high blood pressure. and i could get sick any time, and i don't know if i get sick if i'm going to make it. the vaccination effort in the bronx is taking time to get going as concern about vaccine safety, difficulty getting appointments and supply problems, a community which has suffered so much is still struggling. laura trevelyan, bbc news, the bronx. really interesting the disparities in how this will assess going and part of to messaging. it does, that is why you saw kamala harris visit predominantly black area and a pharmacy and try to persuade black americans who have been hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic that they should be taking this vaccine. remember, there is this vaccine. remember, there is this history here that black men were experimented on with syphilis backin were experimented on with syphilis back in the previous century and so that historical memory of being experimented on by the government is very real and it is behind people's hesitancy to take the government tarmac vaccine. we hesitancy to take the government tarmac vaccine.— hesitancy to take the government tarmac vaccine. we have to get to that 70% vaccination _ tarmac vaccine. we have to get to that 70% vaccination rate. - tarmac vaccine. we have to get to that 70% vaccination rate. why? | that 70% vaccination rate. why? because they concern in here and in the united states is that new variants will undo all the good work. we know all about the uk variant are now similar variants of appearing in the united states. we know all about the uk variant, and now similar mutations are appearing in the united states, more infectious, potentially more dangerous. we talked last night about the californian variant that is prominent on the west coast, and now there is a different mutation under investigation in new york. two separate studies from caltech and colombia university have identified a strain that now represents around 12% of cases. scientists say it shares worrying similarities with the south african variant of the virus, although we must point out that neither study has yet been peer reviewed. let's get some thoughts on the potential threat of this new varient from haravard global health institute's dr ingrid katz. doctor, lovely to have you with us. there is a real pick and mix of variance at the moment. we have got the uk variant, california variants, none of the new york variant. i don't want to be needlessly pessimistic but does its raised concern that we are on the brink of a new phase of this pandemic if we do not speed—up our game? well. a new phase of this pandemic if we do not speed-up our game? well, i think that is — do not speed-up our game? well, i think that is absolutely _ do not speed-up our game? well, i think that is absolutely the - think that is absolutely the critical question and in your prior segment of the need to get people vaccinated is absolutely the key right now. there is no question that they're's going to be continued variants as we move forward, because that's what viruses do. they continue to mutate. so as long as we have enough selective pressure, in other words, have enough selective pressure, in otherwords, enough have enough selective pressure, in other words, enough people who are not immunised, we are going to continue to see these new variants. do excuse my ignorance, but i keep listening to scientists who tell us that it could mutate, it is spreading more easily, it could potentially get more dangerous. is there a possibility that in fact the virus makes a mistake and it spreads more easily but it is much more easy to combat so in a way it killed itself out? yes, absolutely. that is absolutely possible and we have seen that. certainly, there are mutations that become less vigilant or less transmissible and they essentially die out. —— less virulent. the focus has really been on the ones that seem to be more trans miscible, potentially more virulent. . seem to be more trans miscible, potentially more virulent. , doctor, we have seen _ potentially more virulent. , doctor, we have seen cases _ potentially more virulent. , doctor, we have seen cases in _ potentially more virulent. , doctor, we have seen cases in the - potentially more virulent. , doctor, we have seen cases in the united l we have seen cases in the united states just a up we have seen cases in the united statesjust a up in we have seen cases in the united states just a up in the last few days as they went up from the of the year. is it possible that is to do with all these variants? i certainly think that the — with all these variants? i certainly think that the more _ with all these variants? i certainly think that the more transmissible | think that the more transmissible variants are becoming more prevalent. the doctor has said this as well. but by march the strain you have seen in the uk will most likely become the dominant strain here and thatis become the dominant strain here and that is certainly a more transmissible is drain. and that is why we're really in a race right now to get people immunised as quickly we can. this to get people immunised as quickly we can. �* , ., to get people immunised as quickly wecan. , to get people immunised as quickly we can. as a physician, what you think is the _ we can. as a physician, what you think is the best _ we can. as a physician, what you think is the best way _ we can. as a physician, what you think is the best way to - we can. as a physician, what you | think is the best way to overcome vaccine hesitancy in communities of colour bits have been hardest hit? is it to have role models? what you think is the right approach? i do think is the right approach? i do think that think is the right approach? i if think that actually having members from the community who are connected with this community who can speak freely to these issues around vaccine hesitancy i think are really key and, of course, we need to ensure vaccine, equitable vaccine distribution, notjust in the united states were globally. we need to be getting this out because, as we all know, viruses do not stop at borders, whether they are state borders, whether they are state borders or country borders. doctor, we have been _ borders or country borders. doctor, we have been talking _ borders or country borders. doctor, we have been talking about - borders or country borders. doctor, we have been talking about the - we have been talking about the picture in europe, talked about the picture in europe, talked about the picture in europe, talked about the picture in the united states. the headline figure today from the who is that the rate worldwide has cost tarmac crossed 2.5 million. strange to think that a fifth of that figure is there in the united states. the headline figure today from the who is that the covid death rate worldwide has cost tarmac crossed 2.5 million. strange to think that a fifth of that figure is there any united states. what is your reflection when you think about that awful, enormous number? i reflection when you think about that awful, enormous number?— awful, enormous number? i have to sa it isa awful, enormous number? i have to say it is a tragedy — awful, enormous number? i have to say it is a tragedy because - awful, enormous number? i have to say it is a tragedy because i - awful, enormous number? i have to say it is a tragedy because i do - say it is a tragedy because i do think that so much of this was available earlier on. as we know, epidemics like the spread exponentially. —— so much of this was avoidable earlier on. we are in a phase now where we doing significant catch up and there is tremendous effort to do that but we are definitely in mode now.- are definitely in mode now. doctor, thank ou are definitely in mode now. doctor, thank you so _ are definitely in mode now. doctor, thank you so much _ are definitely in mode now. doctor, thank you so much for— are definitely in mode now. doctor, thank you so much forjoining - are definitely in mode now. doctor, thank you so much forjoining us i are definitely in mode now. doctor, | thank you so much forjoining us and for those watching on bbc world news we will be right back. in the uk, the coronavirus threat level has been lowered from five to four — the second—highest level. here's our health editor hugh pym with more. this is the uk's chief medical 0fficers together giving their assessment of the level of risk. the system was set up in may last year and for much of the summer and early autumn it was level three, then a move up to level four in september as cases began to really take off, and onjanuary the ath this year, the day that england went into a new lockdown and the uk's other nations were making similar moves, it was a move up to level five, and that is defined by the uk's medical officers feeling there was a material risk of the nhs being overwhelmed within three weeks if no action was taken. well, now the move is back to level four because, as the cmos, chief medical officers, say, hospital numbers have been consistently declining and there is no further immediate risk to the nhs, but they say people will have to remain vigilant as there is still pressure on health care services. donald trump has been playing a lot of golf lately, and the most remarkable thing about the 39 days since he left office, is how little we have heard from him. but that could be about to change. this weekend it is the annual gathering of the conservative right. cpac gets under way in florida — where else? with speculation mounting, that former president donald trump will be there to announce he is planning to run again, in 202a. now you might think four years is an age, in political terms. and who knows whether donald trump really does intend to run. maybe it doesn't matter. by merely declaring an intention to run he suffocates the others who may have similar aspirations. but it's not without its problems. there are deep splits in the republican party right now over president trump and whether he should even speak at cpac this weekend. exhibit one — this exchange yesterday, between kevin mccarthy the minority house leader and the number three liz cheney, who voted to impeach. jubilee president trump should be speaking at sea back this weekend? yes, he should. that speaking at sea back this weekend? yes, he should.— yes, he should. that is up to cpap. and the extent _ yes, he should. that is up to cpap. and the extent to _ yes, he should. that is up to cpap. and the extent to which... - yes, he should. that is up to cpap. and the extent to which... i - yes, he should. that is up to cpap. and the extent to which... i don't i and the extent to which... i don't believe _ and the extent to which... i don't believe that — and the extent to which... i don't believe that he _ and the extent to which... i don't believe that he should _ and the extent to which... i don't believe that he should be - and the extent to which... i don't believe that he should be playing| and the extent to which... i don't. believe that he should be playing a role in _ believe that he should be playing a role in this — believe that he should be playing a role in this. find _ believe that he should be playing a role in this-— role in this. and that high note, thank you _ role in this. and that high note, thank you all— role in this. and that high note, thank you all very _ role in this. and that high note, thank you all very much. - sticking to her guns. cassie smedilejoins us now, she's the former communications director for the republican national committee — and now the executive director of the america rising political action committee. it is lovely to see you again and thank you for being with us on such a big weekend. ijust want to refer back to this exchanger will be a bit of that in the corridors of cpac this weekend and the split over whether donald trump should be there addressing this conference? republicans are very proud of being a big tent party with lots of use and we welcome all views are so it is just another example of that but i think also where you have president trump and other potential 202a contenders and emerging leaders in the republican party or gathering there this weekend and there is a captive audience for that. they are going to stalk about the successes of the last four years, where we stand right now in just one short month with the biden administration, and many of those successes have been rolled back on the impact that that has had on hard—working americans of all those conversations are going to take place and lest we forget more than 70 million americans voted for president trump. i think, right now, they are saying gosh, i really wish election had gone differently because myjob is going away of it is not coming back on my community is faltering, my kids to learn back in school and this new president doesn't seem to be making me and my family a priority. i be making me and my family a riori . . ,, .., be making me and my family a riori . .. priority. i appreciate the confident tone when you _ priority. i appreciate the confident tone when you talk _ priority. i appreciate the confident tone when you talk of _ priority. i appreciate the confident tone when you talk of the - priority. i appreciate the confident i tone when you talk of the successes but, let's face it, the republicans in the last four years have lost the white house, the house, and now the senate and at times like that when parties lose, there has to be a conversation internally about research. and i know that is going on within the party. —— conversation internally about the set. how do you think the republican party should famous help in the future. with its target audience and what should the message be? i target audience and what should the message he?— target audience and what should the messaue be? ., ~ ,, ., message be? i take your point on the to line message be? i take your point on the top line and — message be? i take your point on the top line and look— message be? i take your point on the top line and look at _ message be? i take your point on the top line and look at the _ message be? i take your point on the top line and look at the make - message be? i take your point on the top line and look at the make up - message be? i take your point on the top line and look at the make up in i top line and look at the make up in washington but do not forget that not a single republican incumbent lost their race last november and beyond that we actually flipped a lot of democrat seats to republican seats in congress, brought in one of our most diverse classes ever in progress, more women and people of colour serving, progress, more women and people of colourserving, more progress, more women and people of colour serving, more districts being represented by people who have above their district and to that end they have to say, how did they get there? if we didn't keep the white house and we didn't keep the majority which, by the way, is a very slim majority of calls about the house in the senate, what were the factors that did were? frankly, they were the policies that have been working in the last four years. people felt they had morejob in the last four years. people felt they had more job opportunities. they like the opportunity of choosing whether it should go to school. these issues that are now on the back burner or have been completely turned back are presenting more of an issue for democrats going into 2022 or 202a because they are having to face the music that they are making their far left basis bucket list more of a priority than the vast majority of americans every day issues that are facing them and ijust want to point out another example of that. nearly one, present biden cancelled the keystone xl pipeline, cancelling thousands ofjob in north america and also canada as well as the us and also canada as well as the us and there was no plan for newjobs are coming. that is a problem here and i expect this to be a hot topic here at cpac that with president trump and republicans it was about gaining morejobs in the country and so far withjoe biden it has been a job loss ticket. so far with joe biden it has been a job loss ticket.— job loss ticket. but, of course, lots of jobs — job loss ticket. but, of course, lots of jobs were _ job loss ticket. but, of course, lots of jobs were lost - job loss ticket. but, of course, lots of jobs were lost during i job loss ticket. but, of course, l lots of jobs were lost during the lots ofjobs were lost during the coronavirus pandemic when president trump was in charge and what you do about the fact that this coronavirus relief bill that president biden looks like he is going tojump through currently suggest that 15% of republican voters approve of him? i think it is very important to note on thejob loss i think it is very important to note on the job loss during the coronavirus that there is a big asked in economic history because the economy was very strong and underlying economy remains strong which is why you have seen so many businesses being able to hang on by a thread despite that if we had not had that strong economy going into this unprecedented global pandemic they would have had no chance of survival. �* ., ., , ., ., ., survival. but, what do you deal that the fact that — survival. but, what do you deal that the fact that republican _ survival. but, what do you deal that the fact that republican voters - survival. but, what do you deal that the fact that republican voters are l the fact that republican voters are supporting the coronavirus relief bill? what you do about that? i think is more voters tuning to see what is actually there, people need help. minor people and communities and businesses and families, they need help, because what they are seeing from their government at this white house of the next effort to get them help in the ground right now. —— right now, people and communities need help. as they look at this coronavirus relief bill and say that only 9% of it actually goes to two coronavirus belief and the rest of it is all of these petty projects of these legislators i think the poll numbers are going to change but i think the poll numbers right now are more reflective of people just needing help and hoping that their leaders will finally be there for them in a way that they have not been thus far.— there for them in a way that they have not been thus far. thank you very much — have not been thus far. thank you very much for— have not been thus far. thank you very much forjoining _ have not been thus far. thank you very much forjoining us. - have not been thus far. thank you very much forjoining us. hill- have not been thus far. thank you very much forjoining us. hill hasl very much forjoining us. hill has no fury like a woman scorned as you probably know. it has been true for centuries in the aftermath of the y is shown just how true it is. yet, have we got the story? we have got the story. so, this man sent a text to his girlfriend saying that he was at the capitol riots on the sixth. she sent the pictures to the fbi and the messages and, guess what, the fbi were to store the next day? model of the story, don't text and call your golf and are more than in the same message. —— moral of the story, don't text and call your girlfriend a story in same message. hello there, it's been another mild day across the uk. however compared with yesterday where we had that extreme heat for february when temperatures got to pretty crazy levels, really, with highs up to 18 celsius — well, today, it has been fresher. temperatures down to about 12 celsius which is still about three or a degrees celsius above average for the time of year. now that change was brought about by this area of cloud, this area of light patchy rain. it's a weather front, a cold front. and behind that, the air has been fresher. seen a few showers for scotland and northern ireland, many of us have seen some sunshine as well. so, the temperatures have onlyjust been above normal across parts of england byjust a few degrees celsius. across europe meanwhile, the deeper the reds show you where the really unusual warmth is and it's been pretty widespread. 0ver recent days, a number of cities have set all—time records for february. the weather has been very unusual there. 0vernight tonight, pressure is going to build across the uk. that means for many of us, the winds will be light and there be clear skies. it's a recipe for turning pretty cold indeed. there will be some patches of frost around, particularly in the countryside but notice northern scotland, frost free. around 5 celsius in stornoway, about 6 in lerwick overnight and the reason for that is you've got thicker cloud and this weather front is going to bring some rain here towards the end of the night and at first on friday as well. now, that rain will tend to push out of the way, the clouds will thin and break up and turn quite a bit brighter. for most of the uk though after a cold and locally frosty start to the day, for many there will be pretty much sunshine from dawn till dusk. it will be a glorious kind of day. and again, mild. temperatures 10—12 celsius which is similar to what we had today. now beyond that on into the weekend forecast, this area of high pressure going nowhere very far very fast but we do have weak weather fronts just crossing into this area of high pressure bringing slightly thicker cloud with it across parts of scotland, northern england. could squeeze out a few spots of light patchy rain from that but many again will have more fine weather with further sunshine to go around. temperatures not really changing very much day by day. again, 10—12 says is fairly wide way, perhaps 1a with some sunshine across the warmest parts of the country in the south—east. beyond that through sunday and into next week, it stays, well, very quiet really. with high pressure in charge, there will be a lot of dry weather. it'll stayjust on the mild side of things. that's your weather. you're watching bbc news with me laura trevelyan in new york city, christian fraser is in london. our top stories... eu leaders say they will speed up the delivery of vaccines, after a roll—out which has been hit by problems with the supply and take—up of jabs. questions over the fate of shamsa, another dubai princess, missing for 20 years — why was a police investigation closed? also in the programme... the boss of a major investment bank rejects working from home, calling it an aberration. fair or foul? we'll ask an expert. and just like humans, rats are moving out of the cities and into the suburbs during the pandemic. we'll talk to a rodentologist about what's behind the latest rat race. last week, the desperate plight of princess latifa caused worldwide shock and concern. in secret video messages revealed by the bbc, she says she was abducted and is being held captive by her father — the ruler of dubai. but now, the bbc can reveal another plea from latifa — this time, raising questions for britain. 20 years ago, here in the uk, her sister shamsa had also tried to escape, but was taken back to dubai. an investigation by the police was closed due to insufficient evidence. the bbc has now obtained a letter written by princess latifa to cambridgeshire police — with a plea to reopen her sister's case. our special correspondent nawal al—maghafi reports. sheikh mohammed rashid al maktoum. the billionaire ruler of dubai, and one of the most powerful men in the middle east. last week, the bbc released secret recordings of his daughter, princess latifa. in them, she claims he is responsible for her abduction and imprisonment. the messages sparked international concerns. but latifa is not the only daughter of to try to escape. 20 years ago, her sister shamsa ran away from the family estate in surrey. in 2000, my sister shamsa, while she was on holiday in england, she was 18 years old, going on 19. she ran away. so, yeah, after two months, they found her. the police launched an investigation, but it hit a dead end. now the bbc has obtained exclusive letter written by princess latifa from her captivity. in it, a plea to reopen her sister's case. the letter, delivered by her friends yesterday to cambridgeshire police, says... we have pieced together shamsa's extraordinary story. she was a passionate horse rider and loved spending summers at her father's estate in the surrey countryside. shamsa was cheeky, liked to push all the boundaries and she wasn't what you would call "a princess". you know? she was full of life and adventure. she dreamt of going to university, but says that her father wouldn't allow it. so in the summer of the year 2000, she drove a black range rover to the edge of the estate and she ran away. after shamsa escaped her father's estate, she lived as a free woman for around two months. she then checked into this hotel in cambridge. suddenly, herfather�*s operatives arrived and she was captured. by sam the next morning, she was on a helicopter to northern france, where she was transferred to a private jet that took her to dubai. six months later, from her captivity in dubai, she managed to get word of what happened to her to a lawyer in the uk who contacted the police. dci david beck received the news. it's not everyday that an allegation . involving a head of state lands . on a police officer's desk. in 2001, dci david beck needed to go to dubai to speak to shamsa. he applied through the crown prosecution service. and that's effectively where my investigation came to an end, i because a short while later, i was informed that my- request had been declined. he was later told by a senior colleague that the investigation had some significant sensitivities. the london office of the princess's father, sheikh mohammed al maktoum, had contacted the fco about this. the foreign office told us that the investigation was conducted by cambridgeshire police. and that they had no role in the investigation or its outcome. but they declined to answer any of our questions about the communication between them and sheikh mohammed al maktoum's office. shamsa was kept locked up for the next eight years. she was then released from confinement, but her life remained heavily controlled. we spoke to someone who had regular contact with her after she was released. she was tranquillised all the time. everything she did was controlled. there was no spark in her any more. there was no fight in her. and i understand that people can't get their hand around it. theyjust see some rich girl. it's not like that at all. it's horrific. the uae government maintain that shasma and latifa are cherished and adored by their family. they are yet to prove that they are still alive and well. we have had a sit in from temperature police. the letter says that what has been put to the police will be considered in their ongoing review of the disappearance. and you can read more about nawal al—maghafi's investigation's into the daughters of the ruler of dubai, on our website — bbc.com/news. in the past year, working from home has become second nature to millions of people. but the boss of the investment bank goldman sachs says the "new normal" is an "aberration" and does not suit the work culture at his bank. mr solomon — who spins the disks in his spare time, so he must be something of a social animal — believes zoom is sucking the life out of the goldman office "for a business like ours, he says which is an innovative, collaborative. he likes to be a dj we have seen him spinning discs in miami. he says which is an innovative, collaborative. it has an apprenticeship culture it is far from ideal". a view i suspect will split opinion. we can speak now to zofia bajorek, research fellow at the institute for employment studies in london. welcome to the programme. i think it built do provide opinion because they will be some people who quite enjoyed working from home but i talked to a lot of young people in the office and they may share the flack and find it difficult to find space in solitude at home to work. —— share the flat. it is difficult and they prefer coming into the office. ., and they prefer coming into the office. . _, , , , office. yeah, completely. it is auoin to office. yeah, completely. it is going to be — office. yeah, completely. it is going to be different - office. yeah, completely. it is going to be different for- office. yeah, completely. it is i going to be different for different reasons for different people and i think it is really important that we understand the different experiences that people have had when working from home but i would like to also add that this isn't a naturalistic working from home experiment that people are claiming it is to be. i would argue that this is working from home during a pandemic. people haven't had the opportunity to choose to work from home as they would previously had before the pandemic, it has been enforced and it was in force very quickly. and so people might not have had the opportunity to set up a workspace or make space available for them to work from home adequately. and so all of these things need to be taken into account when organisations start talking about what the new normal and the return to work will be. ~ ., normal and the return to work will be. . . . ., normal and the return to work will be. ~ ., ., ., be. we have come so far though haven't we? _ be. we have come so far though haven't we? i— be. we have come so far though haven't we? i had _ be. we have come so far though haven't we? i had never- be. we have come so far though haven't we? i had never used i be. we have come so far though - haven't we? i had never used zumba when the pandemic started last february and now i use it all the time and not only for work but i have drinking nights with friends but have not seen forever. —— never used zoom. it does fit into my life but i do appreciate coming into the office. is there perhaps a future hybrid way of working? definitely. and a lot of _ hybrid way of working? definitely. and a lot of service _ hybrid way of working? definitely. and a lot of service out _ hybrid way of working? definitely. and a lot of service out there - and a lot of service out there including one from ourselves have in —— has show people one choice in the future about whether they could go into the office or work from home or have a hybrid option. i think it is verging towards potentially to having three days in the office and 2-3 having three days in the office and 2—3 days at home and i think workplaces should arrive this. people have been able during this pandemic over comedy the initial smirks —— snacks from working from home and that it is still relatively all right productively speaking, and this is something organisations should consider and i am not saying it could be cultural difficulties at some organisations have in developing a working from home culture or atmosphere that allows people to feel that they can work from home. do people to feel that they can work from home-— people to feel that they can work from home. i. ~ ., , from home. do you think that is the case with the _ from home. do you think that is the case with the goldman _ from home. do you think that is the case with the goldman boss - from home. do you think that is the case with the goldman boss who . from home. do you think that is the | case with the goldman boss who has declared the zoom culture and operation? what does that say about the culture of his organisation? well, for me it sounds like that there is still very much a notion in work as being done by hours rather than by quality of output. so a good day of work is getting your eight days of work done and not the quality of work that you are putting in, it seems to be very much like somebody needs to be in the room to see that people are working rather than trusting people, trusting in their employees that they will be working and still working from home. we have spoken to a number of organisations throughout this locked out and we have had some very high level directors of some organisations still advocating that the best way of increasing productivity from their employees is to make them stress and work harder. that isn't a very good way for enhancing productivity and calling working from home and aberration and it sounds like and forcing people to return to work it could be a really risky recruitment and retention strategy for goldman sachs in the future. ., . ., ~ , ., , strategy for goldman sachs in the future. ., . . ~ , . future. zofia, thank you very much indeed and — future. zofia, thank you very much indeed and we _ future. zofia, thank you very much indeed and we did _ future. zofia, thank you very much indeed and we did not _ future. zofia, thank you very much indeed and we did not even - future. zofia, thank you very much indeed and we did not even get - future. zofia, thank you very much indeed and we did not even get to | indeed and we did not even get to the carbon footprint that all these businesses have some may be more of us will have to work from home, and there are businesses like spotify that work in the technology space saying they will be quite happy for everyone to work from where they want to work from after the pandemic so not every business is like goldman sachs in seeing it that way. let's get some of the day's other news the russian opposition activist, alexei navalny, has been moved from a remand centre near moscow to serve his sentence in a prison camp. mr navalny was arrested on his return last month from germany — where he was treated for nerve agent poisoning. twitter will start allowing its users to charge their followers for access to additional content. the social media site says its also considering subscription charges to use its tweetdeck platform — and making advanced analytical data available only to influencers. lady gaga is offering half a million dollars in reward for the return of two dogs, after a gunman shot her dog—walker and stole the animals. the dog walker is being treated in hospital. the suspect made off with two of the singer's french bulldogs — koji and gustav. that story will resonate with a lot of people. what of dogs are being stolen. we have been warned in our neck of the woods that if you have got a young dog not been neutered, you are doubly at risk of your dog being stolen because that is what they are cooking for, docs to breed it from. it is because dogs have become so popular, isn't it christian? so many people got puppies during the pandemic, i heard stories in new york of breeders charging four times for puppies, they have become a commodity. do not tie them up on such ops people run away with them. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... forget about pitch perfect, for one school band it's all about pitching tents. they'll join us, next. the british prime minister boris johnson has defended plans for teachers to grade their gcse and a—level pupils this summer as a " good com promise" it follows confirmation that schools in england will not be using the algorithm used to determine grades last year. mrjohnson said he had full confidence in the education secretary and that this new process will be "fair" and "durable". but the chair of the education select committee robert halfon asked how ministers would prevent a "wild west of grading". here's our education editor branwen jeffreys. schools will be testing all pupils when they return — but for covid, not their grades. check in the mirror that you're going to the right place. when year 11s are back, any work could count. a lot of pressure has been put on all of us... this is the crucial gcse year for elliott and elizabeth. it would let me get into the colleges and universities i want to go to. relief today that teachers will decide what counts towards their grades. i find it a lot better, because i get under pressure a lot more in exams, so i think, whilst i'm comfortable in my lessons, i think it's a lot better for me. i'm perfectly fine with it, because i'm comfortable this is the least worst option, mps were told today. our approach in the face of the worst disruption to education since the second world war has been to protect the progress of pupils and students. if grades go up a lot this year, then teenagers who benefit and their families aren't likely to complain immediately. but if they're massively out of line with other years, then they won't hold their value in the long term, and of course not everyone will get the results they want, leaving schools to tread a very tricky, difficult path. schools do have their work cut out, welcoming back every year group, and byjune telling pupils what they'll use to work out grades. branwen jeffreys, bbc news, manchester. during the pandemic — people have left cities like new york and london and moved to the suburbs in search of more space. and where humans go, the law of the animal kingdom decrees that rats will follow. like the rest us the rats have been fleeing the cities in search of new sources of food. the british pest control association say they saw a 78% increase in rat activity in london's outer suburbs last year, while in new york rat sighting increased by a third during the first lockdown. 0ne one of those issues that crosses the atlantic. dr bobby corrigan is an expert in urban rodentology. thank you very much for being with us. so what is going on in the rat world was like if i am a common brown rat, how am ifinding things at the moment? brown rat, how am i finding things at the moment?— brown rat, how am i finding things at the moment? well, the rats, their s stem at the moment? well, the rats, their system and — at the moment? well, the rats, their system and society _ at the moment? well, the rats, their system and society was _ at the moment? well, the rats, their system and society was appended . at the moment? well, the rats, their. system and society was appended with the pandemicjust like our life was, normal times, the pandemicjust like our life was, normaltimes, it the pandemicjust like our life was, normal times, it simply disappeared. and when they came out of their nest at night to feed and find the food that they have been finding for years, it was not there. so they had to reorganise themselves if you will and begin new foraging strategies as to where is the dependable nutritious food. irate to where is the dependable nutritious food.— to where is the dependable nutritious food. ~ . ., ., ., nutritious food. we are all going a bit nuts at the _ nutritious food. we are all going a bit nuts at the moment _ nutritious food. we are all going a bit nuts at the moment so - nutritious food. we are all going a bit nuts at the moment so i - nutritious food. we are all going a bit nuts at the moment so i do - nutritious food. we are all going a | bit nuts at the moment so i do not want to bejudgemental bit nuts at the moment so i do not want to be judgemental here bit nuts at the moment so i do not want to bejudgemental here but i have read that they are eating each other. ~ , ,., ., have read that they are eating each other. ~ , ., ., other. well there is some of that auoin on, other. well there is some of that going on. when _ other. well there is some of that going on, when you _ other. well there is some of that going on, when you take - other. well there is some of that going on, when you take any - other. well there is some of that i going on, when you take any memo whether it be rats or whales are human beings and you deny them food and they go into starvation mode, then battles become tempers shortened, the big animals look to the small animals, the big fish you eat the small fish and there were quite a few reports of rat colonies meeting each other in dark alleys at night if you will going to work in the victors would kill the weaker ones and use them for food. fiur the victors would kill the weaker ones and use them for food. our rats particularly — ones and use them for food. our rats particularly adaptive _ ones and use them for food. our rats particularly adaptive mammals? - ones and use them for food. our rats particularly adaptive mammals? is i particularly adaptive mammals? is that where we get the phrase rat like cunning?— like cunning? they are very adaptive- — like cunning? they are very adaptive. it _ like cunning? they are very adaptive. it takes - like cunning? they are very adaptive. it takes some - like cunning? they are very. adaptive. it takes some time like cunning? they are very - adaptive. it takes some time but over time they will adapt to changes in their world just like we do. we have already begun as you can see, we have adapted somewhat to life during covid. now we are doing zooms instead of going into the office. now you wear a mask to protect yourself. the rats are the same way and have to react to abrupt changes to resources that threaten their wives and survival.— to resources that threaten their wives and survival. here in new york ci i'm wives and survival. here in new york city l'm not — wives and survival. here in new york city l'm not seeing — wives and survival. here in new york city i'm not seeing rats _ wives and survival. here in new york city i'm not seeing rats on _ wives and survival. here in new york city i'm not seeing rats on the - city i'm not seeing rats on the subway is much which is frankly a bit of a relief but once the crowds return and the food, will the rats be back? , , ., ., be back? yes. it is a great point. you can put— be back? yes. it is a great point. you can put your— be back? yes. it is a great point. you can put your shirt _ be back? yes. it is a great point. you can put your shirt on - be back? yes. it is a great point. you can put your shirt on that! i be back? yes. it is a great point. j you can put your shirt on that! in the 25 years i've been teaching, you can put your shirt on that! i�*i the 25 years i've been teaching, no food, no rats. this is a memo on us for a big way, wherever we go we go we tend to spill food or put it out easily to get the bags or litter baskets and so forth. with the decrease in the subways and people on the subways and decrease of people in the person these kinds of things that rats have re—shifted their activity zones. can things that rats have re-shifted their activity zones.— things that rats have re-shifted their activity zones. can i 'ust be clear the respect * their activity zones. can i 'ust be clear the respect we h their activity zones. can i 'ust be clear the respect we are _ their activity zones. can i just be clear the respect we are all - their activity zones. can i just be i clear the respect we are all seeing rats now or we are seeing more rats because they are out looking for food. are there more of them or are there less of them because there is less food? ., , there less of them because there is less food? . , ., �* ., less food? originally, we don't have any empirical _ less food? originally, we don't have any empirical data. _ less food? originally, we don't have any empirical data. i _ less food? originally, we don't have any empirical data. i wish _ less food? originally, we don't have any empirical data. i wish we - less food? originally, we don't have any empirical data. i wish we did - any empirical data. i wish we did but nobody knew this was coming for the rats including themselves. we do know that there was some type of a real disturbance to their populations in my own surveys that i did, i noted where there are big counties threatened —— throughout manhattan and those counties were disturbed. but rats are great at reproducing and when the food comes back or even comes back in some form, when say a restaurant shifts over to delivery, they are still making food to —— garbage. so that they will skip a beat but i don't think it will hurt the populations. bobby, fastening to talk you, i am intrigued by rats. thank you for that. when i was in new york around that. when i was in new york around that awful week around 911! was standing on the banks of the river, and the fire engines were going past and they were new as big as the rats falling behind us, we had rats but not like rats you have in new york, the orifice that they are like dogs. 0ne in new york, the orifice that they are like dogs. one of them work discussing sites is when you see their bellies being dried along the war —— the subway for. they feed them contraceptive to set them breeding. anyway... the us space agency nasa released a panoramic view of the landing site of the perseverance rover on mars. i was watching this behind the monitor here on the camera, i always pay attention to you are but this is fascinating. the panorama shows the rim of thejezero crater where the rover touched down last week and the cliff face of an ancient river delta in the distance. this was taken by rotating the rover�*s mast 360 degrees. the mast is equipped with dual, zoomable cameras which can take high—definition video and images. the panorama is composed of 1a2 individual images stitched together on earth, nasa said. they are fascinating pictures, aren't they? i am enjoying this. good to hear it. schools everywhere are adapting the way they teach to keep their students safe during the pandemic. and here, one school, in washington state, has gone to extreme measures to maintain social distancing — giving every member of their marching band their own personal tent in which to rehearse— you might call it tent—er—tainment. ah, very good! earlier we spoke to the school's principal eric anderson who joined us from the wenatchee high school during their weekly rehearsal. thanks so much for being with us. so, who had the inspirational idea of students practising in these tents? well, the idea actually came from our music and theatre teachers. as we knew we were bringing students back in a hybrid format, there's obviously a concern around singing with a mask off, and we wanted to make sure that our students had both the ability to sing and play an instrument in groups so that they could practice together, and it was extremely important for us to figure out a way to make that happen, and so their creative approach is kind of where we landed on this. then in collaboration with our local health district we were able to pull this together and get approval and here we are today. well, i salute you because here in new york city my four—year—old son is playing his trumpet out in the snow, so how are the students enjoying this novel experience? __ my —— my 1a—year—old son. well, i think that they enjoy being back in school. they enjoy playing together as a group. obviously, i think they would love to be back under normal circumstances, but knowing that they can't be in that space right now, they are taking advantage of what we have in front of them right now. i think this is genius, eric. i really think you've gone out of your way to get the group together, but i can't help noticing these tents are a little bit cosy. it seems to me that you'd be better paying the piccolo than the french horn or the tuba, am i right? —— playing the piccolo. you would be right about that. they're not very big, i would agree with that, but they definitely serve the purpose. they do create a safe space for us to participate together. right, so give us a shout out — who is it that's playing the tuba? because he must be cramped in there. who is it that's got that unenviable role? i don't know that we have... do we have anybody with a tuba right now? nope, not right now. we don't have anybody with a tuba right now. but you can't zip two of these tents together to give them a more space? you can do a little bit of creative work with two tents together, yes. you can. now, i'm no expert on acoustics but does it in any way detract from the harmony that you're trying to get as the bandmaster? you know, that's a great question for our band teacher, and i would say that he has been pleased with where we've been right now. so, i'm sure it has a small effect on that, but, realistically, the ability for them to play together is more important than if we have a little bit of a tuning issue. well, look, they've been so patient and i'm so keen to hear it. do you want to take it away and play us out of the programme. absolutely. what are you going to play for us? we're going to play the wenatchee high school fight song and this is the wenatchee high school ga band. take it away! one, two, one, two. music plays hello there. it was another mild day on thursday with temperatures typically around 10—12 celsius, so not as high as they were on wednesday when of course we got up to 18 celsius in parts of suffolk. those temperatures about 10 degrees above average more like the temperatures we would see in late may or earlyjune. no, instead thursday was fresher because we had this cold front that worked across the countryjust bringing a few patches of rain across parts of eastern england, fresher air off the atlantic extending in across all parts of the uk. this chart, remember the deeper reds show you where the air has been really unusually mild. so, we were just a bit above normal with that atlantic air working its way in. the extreme heat for february really concentrated across europe and i have to say, there have been many cities across europe that has seen record—breaking february temperatures over the last few days. enough about that, on into friday's forecast. high pressure is building from the south west. we've got this weather front further north, so it's going to be a cold start to the date for many of us with some patches of frost throughout. however for scotland into the shetland isles, it will be a cloudy start with some rain. temperatures starting off at around six celsius here. now that rain will clear out of the way and the weather will brighten up but for most of us, it's a glorious day, the winds will stay light and there will be sunshine for many from dawn till dusk. not a great deal going on really weather—wise. temperatures staying at around 10—12 celsius. so, again, we are above average for the time of year. now, as we look at the forecast into this weekend, could see a little weather front, a very weak one just poking into the high pressure. essentially that high pressure stays at centre smack bang over the top of the british isles. so, again for most of us, no great changes. that weak weather front, that said, could bring an odd spot of rain into scotland and northern england not amounting to much at all and even here, there will probably be quite a few of you that stay completely dry. most of us will have fine weather with further sunshine and again temperatures 10—12 celsius, no great changes there. mightjust eek out a 1a towards the south—east of england giving some decent sunshine. perhaps some mist and fog patches to start the day on sunday. sunday is another quiet day weather—wise. the higher pressure still with us. further spells of sunshine in the forecast and those temperatures, not really changing a great deal day by day. 10—12 celsius. well, that's around about three or four celsius above average for this stage of the year. now looking beyond that into the new week, well pressure is still there. however, we've got a bit more troughing coming up from the south and that will probably introduce some thicker cloud from the south, perhaps with a few patches of rain. now, any rain that does manage to fall more likely to be across england and wales will be light and not everyone will see it. it'sjust something to bear in mind. further north you go, northern ireland and scotland, probably northern england, you're more likely to stay dry with some further spells of sunshine. but where we do have some thicker cloud, those temperatures coming down a little bit closer to the seasonal norms for the time of year. now, take a look at the jet stream pattern beyond that delving deep into the new week and things still looking very, very blocked really with often ridges in the jet stream working over in the top of the uk. so, it's going to be a quite settled spell of weather. no real cold air around, the coldest air is there in scandinavia diving into west russia, it's nowhere near us. so temperatures staying near and around 10, 11, 12 celsius. so, when i think back to february and all that really cold air, the massive falls of snow that we had, even episodes of very heavy rain. looking at the forecast over the next few days, it's going to be nothing like that. it's going to be very benign and on the mild side of things. tonight at ten — teachers in england will award gcse and a—level grades this summer. the prime minister calls it a good compromise. coursework, mock exams and essays will be used to determine students' marks. algorithms won't be used this time. it certainly has come as a relief to me and i'm sure it has for the majority of a—level students and gcse students up and down the country. it definitely feels as though it's the best option for this situation that we find ourselves in. after last yea r�*s controversy over grades, the government reject claims the new system will lead to a "wild west of grading". also tonight... with almost 19 million people now vaccinated in the uk, the queen talks for the first about having the coronavirus jab. it's obviously difficult for people if they've never had a vaccine.