100 days of the taliban — we are looking at lives under the new regime. and it falls to ronaldo! he's done it again! and cristiano ronaldo lifts the gloom as manchester united win in europe — after sacking their manager. and coming up in the sport, on the bbc news channel... a lot of love for paris. mauricio pochettino says he's happy at psg — and quashes rumours linking him to manchester united. good evening. people in northern ireland are again being asked to work from home where possible as part of a tightening of covid measures. northern ireland has the highest infection rate in the uk, and it's been climbing in recent days, with ministers at stormont saying that hospital admissions are up and will increase further in the coming weeks. scotland's first minister today said the vaccine passport system for entry to hospitality venues would not be extended, as cases there have fallen slightly. but all four uk nations are on alert in the face of rising covid numbers across europe. our health editor hugh pym reports. there's a stronger message on working from home in northern ireland, so businesses like this restaurant in belfast fear they'll lose out, with fewer people going into the city centre each day. we've worked really hard, and now it seems to be that people are cancelling. we're getting all of our stock in, getting ready. we have all of our staff organised, and unfortunately now, it may not look like certain things are happening. northern ireland's covid infection rate is now the highest in the uk. hospital admissions are expected to rise, and ministers said intervention was required, including advising people to limit social contacts as well as working from home. there certainly are uncertain times, but now is the time for action. if we want to achieve the best possible outcome right now, then now is the time to act. case rates have fallen slightly in scotland, and nicola sturgeon announced that the vaccine passport system would not be extended to more venues, but she said taking a lateral flow test before socialising over the christmas period was vital to slow the spread of the virus. our situation is definitely more positive than we might have expected it to be at this point, but it is still precarious. we need to get the r number back below one, and that means having in place a range of proportionate protections to keep the country as safe as possible while we continue to live as freely as possible. at this pub in perth, they were relieved that vaccine passports would not be required for customers at this stage, but concerned at the possibility that tighter rules may yet be introduced. you never know one day to the next what is going to be coming in next and whether we are going to be a viable business at the end of it. we feel quite lucky that we've managed to get this far, but whether we make it through christmas if they change things is a different matter. while uk covid infection rates are relatively high, they are not surging, as has happened in austria, the netherlands and germany, where a range of lockdown measures are being introduced. that's partly because the uk has moved ahead of some others with boosterjabs, though israel started earlier and has done more. and the boss of astrazeneca, pascal soriot, seen here on the left with prince charles at the opening of a new research facility in cambridge, offered up one theory. the uk, he said, had seen relatively fewer covid hospital cases because the az vaccine had a longer immune response than others. but the guidance in england on lateral flow tests is being widened to include those planning to mix with others in crowded indoor spaces, a sign that officials are taking nothing for granted. and although uk covid rates are stable at the moment, there's a sense of nervousness and in the uk's nations about what might happen in the weeks ahead, the festive season, more people going into crowded shops and shopping centres, more gatherings inside people's homes. that is why there is this renewed emphasis on lateral flow tests, widening the guidance to anybody considering going into a crowded setting and mixing with others. many thanks. our health editor hugh pym there. well, let's look at the situation in the uk in more detail, with the latest government coronavirus figures. they show there were nearly 42,500 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that's over 5,000 more cases than last tuesday. on average, there were just over 42,500 new cases reported per day in the last week. 165 deaths were recorded, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, 140 related deaths were recorded every day. and on vaccinations, more than 15.6 million people have now had their booster injection. a murder investigation is under way after a couple in their thirties were found dead in their home near taunton in somerset on sunday. this afternoon police have named them as stephen and jennifer chapple. their young children — who are five and six — were asleep upstairs. our correspondent, jon kay reports from the scene. jennifer and stephen chapple. she was 33, he was 36. the married couple were found dying from their injuries at home on sunday evening. then police found their two young children asleep upstairs. sky lives down the road and came to pay her respects. those poor children are now left by themselves without their parents at christmas, and it'sjust, i couldn't imagine it, know what i mean? a postmortem examination has confirmed thatjennifer chapple died of multiple stab wounds. police have been searching two properties and clearing out drains looking for potential evidence. it's quite frightening, actually, knowing it's so close. teresa heard tonight that the couple�*s five— and six—year—olds are being cared for by relatives. we all talk to each other, and it's the children i can't forget, what they've seen. it's scary. absolutely scary for them. so young as well. a 34—year—old man is being questioned on suspicion of murder. another man in his sixties has been released under investigation. avon and somerset police won't comment on social media reports that there had been an ongoing dispute about parking on the estate, but they have confirmed that officers had contact in the past with those involved. local people have been told this was an isolated incident. heartbreaking, you know, and to look at the situation that this community sees, as i say, i don't want anyone speculating. our thoughts are with the families, and my officers are supporting that process. jennifer chapple worked in a garden centre coffee shop. stephen chapple was a teacher. theirfamilies have asked for privacy. jon kay, bbc news, somerset. the mistreatment of people at an immigration removal centre at gatwick airport is the subject of a public inquiry which opened today. it comes after bbc panorama broadcast undercover footage in 2017 showing alleged assaults, humiliation and verbal abuse of detainees by officers at brook house in sussex. this report from our home affairs correspondent tom symonds contains distressing images from the start. brook house, where ex—prisoners and asylum seekers are held before they're deported. in 2017, a custody officer... callum tulley, 21 years old. ..went undercover here for the bbc�*s panorama, filmed incidents like this. a suicidal man put in a choking neckhold. and more, including verbal abuse by staff and detainees suffering mental health breakdowns. still a concern even last year, according to this former detainee who we've agreed not to name. i had to hurt myself because i was stuck in there, i didn't know when i was coming out, and plus, i was sick, i was sick in my head. when i came out, it took me one year to recover. the bbc investigation has finally led to a public enquiry, which opened today. the treatment revealed in the panorama documentary was shocking, and has no place in a decent and humane immigration detention system. in charge, the senior prisons inspector, kate eves. she'll investigate the way private firm g4s ran this place, the way the home office oversaw its work, and what's happened since the bbc investigation. so what is it like inside brook house right now? well, it's not a prison, they do have phones and they have access to skype. i have spoken to a series of detained people inside the walls of brook house over the last week. some, like this man, are struggling with what seems like an indefinite wait for their cases to be decided. another detainee just wants them to remove him from britain, from brook house. how many do you think are actually happy to leave the uk right now? nearly 20. 20 people out of 70 would leave? maybe more. wider questions about immigration are beyond the remit of the enquiry, but the man who blew the whistle because of his concerns, now a bbcjournalist, believes it must succeed. i was working at brook house for three years and some of the abusive members of staff left only to be replaced by others, and that's because there is a problem with the system, and i hope that the inquiry brings about some changes to that system. the inquiry will begin taking evidence later this week. tom symonds, bbc news. the government has admitted for the first time that parliament and the public have been misled for more than 30 years about a british airways flight that landed in kuwait in 1990 as the iraqi invasion was under way. more than 350 passengers and crew were on board — most were taken hostage for months. our security correspondent gordon corera is at the foreign office. do we now have a full picture of what happened? well, today we got an apology because it emerged that successive governments for 30 years had misled parliament and the public about ba149, which took off from london on august the 1st 1990, heading for asia but with a stopover in kuwait. it was that night that iraq invaded kuwait. the plane was unable to take off and passengers and crew were taken hostage and in some cases brutally mistreated over a period of months. what has emerged today in newly declassified files is that there was a warning. while the plane was in the air, the british ambassador in kuwait actually told the foreign office that some kind of invasion was under way, and that message was distributed around whitehall, but not passed to british airways. so that emerged after previous denials that such a warning might have taken place. but passengers and crew i have spoken to today remain unhappy. they believe there is another mystery. they think undercover intelligence operatives were placed in that flight to get into kuwait to carry out surveillance, and they believe they saw them get off the flight and then effectively disappear. but today the foreign office and the government are sticking to their long—standing denials that there was any exploitation of this flight, so the controversy and the mystery over ba149 may well still continue, despite today's apology. gordon corera, despite today's apology. gordon corera. many — despite today's apology. gordon corera, many thanks. _ a day of mourning has been declared in bulgaria, where 46 people died after a bus crashed and burst into flames in the west of the country. it's thought only seven people managed to escape alive from the vehicle. many of the passengers, who included children, had been travelling through bulgaria after a weekend trip to istanbul. they were returning to north macedonia, which has also declared three days of mourning. our europe correspondent bethany bell sent this report from bulgaria. a catastrophic crash. the bus rammed a barrier on a motorway south—west of sofia. it tore away a 50—metre section and then burst into flames. on board were tourists, mostly from north macedonia. they were returning to skopje from a trip to istanbul in turkey. the victims have not yet been officially named. a cause has yet to be determined, but witnesses reported hearing a blast. translation: the question is, what caused this blast? - if it was an explosion inside the bus or a blast caused by the bus hitting the guard rails. this brings us back to the main leads in the probe. if it was a technical fault of the vehicle or a human error that caused the crash. seven people escaped from the wreckage. the survivors were brought here, to this emergency hospital in sofia. they have been treated for burns and other injuries. it seems they only managed to escape by breaking through the windows of the bus. for relatives and friends, this is an agonising time. this man said he hadn't heard from his nephew. translation: i saw information - about the crash at 6am this morning. i saw it on the internet, and on facebook, to be more precise. as my nephew was in turkey, i started searching for more information on the internet. i called the company's phone number for three orfour hours, and we do not have any information from them. nor are they answering the phone. locals say accidents are common on this stretch of motorway. as the authorities continue their investigations, the families mourn their dead. bethany bell, bbc news, sofia. the funeral has taken place at westminster cathedral for the murdered mp sir david amess. hundreds of politicians joined his family and friends to pay their respects to the 69—year—old who was stabbed to death last month. words from pope francis were read out praising sir david for years of devoted service. his friend and former mp ann widdecombe also spoke, recalling his fondness for practical jokes and the time he arrived at parliament on horseback. it's100 days since the taliban seized power in afghanistan — during which time the united nations has warned of an impending humanitarian catastrophe, with over half the population at risk of going hungry this winter. after it called for urgent support when the taliban took over in august, the un now says its appeal for $600 million has reached its target — and that the funds will be directed at helping the 11 million most deprived people in the country. at helping the 11 million most the bbc�*s yalda hakim has been speaking to afghans about their lives under taliban rule, and shejoins us now from kabul. thank you. it is 100 days since the taliban swept to power in afghanistan and in those three and a half months of this country, the people in this country, are facing turmoil, and things have changed dramatically. this is a nation grappling with an economic crisis, a humanitarian crisis, and the uncertainty of security. in the 90s the taliban promised and had secured this nation but this is not something they can promise the afghan people today. notjust physical security but food insecurity remains a huge problem and as you say the united nations has been reporting now for weeks that this is a situation marching towards catastrophe and we have been in this country for the last week or so and we have been seeing this on the faces of the youngest and most innocent of victims. this is my report. at the food distribution centre in south—east kabul, the hungry wait. this is a nation on the brink of starvation. and for aid agencies, it's a race against time. emotions begin to run high. nafisa has arrived with her disabled son, pleading for help. the world food programme says they're doing everything they can, but it's not enough. translation: i keep coming i and they keep turning me away. i don't know where my next meal is coming from. nafisa tells me she's desperate. it has been eight years since my husband left me for his other wife. i used to work at a school, my salary was 5000 afghanis. it has been four months that i've had no salary. what is the point, living with no food and water? we have just been abandoned. i often pray and ask god tojust end my life. the taliban says the world needs to act. the international community has a hand in that, because they have imposed sanctions and other steps, which has led to a humanitarian crisis in afghanistan. i think the international community who are educating of human rights, they have such claims. they should reconsider, not take steps which lead to a humanitarian crisis in afghanistan. and these are the faces of the crisis. this is the ward where some of the most severely malnourished children are being looked after. gulnara is three, so weak she can barely open her eyes. marwa is nearly one. translation: the powdered milk we get in afghanistan doesn't have the i required nutrients for infants and i didn't produce enough milk to feed her so she became malnourished. it's notjust patients suffering. health care staff haven't been paid for months. every single person i'm speaking to has the same story. they can't pay for their ticket to come here, they can't pay for theirfood here. and she was just saying that someday they may have to admit her here as a malnutrition patient herself, because she doesn't know where she's going to get her next meal from. even before the taliban came to power, there was a humanitarian crisis in this country. drought, aid cuts and the economic collapse have turned crisis into catastrophe. yalda hakim, bbc news, kabul. britain and a number of other countries, including the us, china and india, are releasing oil from their reserves to try to lower the global price. the cost of crude oil has risen by more than 50% so far this year. the man convicted of the murder of the british student meredith kercher in italy has been released early from jail. 34—year old rudy guede, from ivory coast, was jailed in 2007 for sexually assaulting and murdering the 21 year old. he was due to be freed injanuary. meredith kercher�*s american flatmate amanda knox and her italian boyfriend were also initially convicted. their case ran through the courts for years before they were eventually acquitted on appeal. the motorist suspected of a deadly attack at a traditional christmas parade in wisconsin has appeared in court for the first time. 39—year—old darrell brooks is accused of deliberately driving an suv through police barricades on sunday and into the city of waukesha's annual parade. he's charged with with five counts of first degree intentional homicide. two men have been arrested, after the body of a woman was located during searches for the missing 18—year—old woman, bobbi—anne mcleod. the teenager was reported missing on saturday after she failed to meet friends. our correspondent andrew plant is in plymouth with the latest. what are the police saying? we know bobbi—anne mcleod had plans in plymouth on saturday night, she had arranged to meet friends a couple of miles away from her home, and she left her house about six o'clock in the evening to catch a bus but never arrived. that sparked a massive police search to find her in plymouth and the helicopter out here searching for her over the last couple of days and a big social media campaign, as well, looking for any information about what happened to her, started by herfamily, it had more than 10,000 followers, but in the last couple of hours the police say they have now found a body, about five miles south of the city centre near a beach on the south coast. no formal identification but her family has been informed. meanwhile, two people have been arrested, a 24—year—old and a 26—year—old and they are tonight in police custody being questioned on of murder. thank you. ? questioned — questioned on of murder. thank you. ? questioned on _ questioned on of murder. thank you. ? questioned on suspicion _ questioned on of murder. thank you. ? questioned on suspicion of- questioned on of murder. thank you. | ? questioned on suspicion of murder. schemes to boost the numbers of ethnic minority students doing research have been launched by universities, to try to address the glaring lack of, particularly, black researchers. one analysis shows that out of nearly 20,000 phd positions awarded over three years, only 245 were to candidates who were black. the head of the uk's research funding body said that the criteria for choosing people to do research are too narrow — and that the culture in university departments had to change. here's pallab ghosh. there are more ethnic minority students at university than ever before, but that is not the case with academic staff. out of nearly 23,000 professors in the uk, 155 are black. jason is one of them, and at 36 he is one of the youngest professors in the country. what would you say the blueprint is to succeed as an academic if you are black or asian? i would say, sadly, the blueprint is suffering. for black and asian, minority ethnic staff, many of them will encounter having to suffer at the compromise of their well—being and mental health. what do you think? ottoline leyser has launched a series of projects across the country to support ethnic minority students as they embark on their research careers. our current research and innovation system is just too narrow in those people working in it and we absolutely need to open it up. these projects are really an exciting element in doing that. these students at university college london will be helped in their phd applications. they are among hundreds that will be supported with mentoring, networking opportunities and endorsements when applying forjobs. the initiative has been welcomed by those campaigning for more diversity but they say there is no point in simply increasing numbers without tackling the institutional racism that they say is driving so many black and brown people away from research. we don't focus on what is wrong with the students. there's nothing wrong with our students. it's the environment. paulette williams�* role at ucl is to train the staff in order to change the university's culture. we know something is happening within the university. it's that culture that can be quite toxic. it's due to racism. all the statistics show that it's not due to class or what school they went to. and that environment and that culture is carried on all the way through the student life—cycle and into careers, as well. for the next generation of ethnic minority researchers, campaigners hope that the projects will be the first step of many to ensure they don't suffer in the same way as those that went before them. pallab ghosh, bbc news. football and chelsea have qualified for the knockout stages of the champions league after a 4—0 victory againstjuventus. and they will be joined in the last 16 by manchester united after caretaker manager michael carrick took them to a 2—0 win over villarreal. our sports correspondent natalie pirks watched the action. with ole out, coach michael carrick was at the temporary wheel in spain. the wheels have been well and truly coming off of late, and the warning shots were there from villareal. as rumours swirl, former barcelona boss ernesto valverde has been contacted about taking the reins till the summer. there's still work to be done. but when fred stole the ball, look who was on hand to inflict the killer blow. and it falls to ronaldo! he's done it again! another goal would seal the deal. this was mega signing jadon sancho's big chance to score his first. sancho! there you go! manchester united through to the last 16 of the champions league! the travelling fans were in raptures. united with a game plan? it's been a while. chelsea fans have been loving life lately, and their purple patch continued with a 4—0 win overjuventus. reece james' stunner made it 2—0. james... we know he can hit them, and how he can hit them! and a classy team effort finished by hudson—odoi made it three before a late goal by werner, the european champ sailing serenely through to the knockout stages. natalie pirks, bbc news. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. good evening. it's been a pretty calm day of weather across most parts of the uk. sunshine for some, a lot of cloud for others — i think as we go through tonight, we will see extensive cloud cover in most places. some patches of mist and especially down towards the south. and then, through the second half of the night, this band of rain will sink southwards across scotland, eventually into northern ireland. temperatures for most hovering just above freezing — we could drop just below if we see clear spells for any length of time. now tomorrow, for england and wales, we'll start off with a lot of cloud, a bit of mist and fog around. this band of rain, though, will sink out of scotland and northern ireland in the parts of northern england and wales through the day. and then, behind that, brighter skies and sunshine, but also some showers. starting to turn wintry over high ground in scotland. it'll be turning windy and colderfrom the north — and that is a sign of things to come. as we head towards the end of the week, it will be turning colder. we'll see some rain, yes, but also some sleet and snow at times, and potentially some stormy weather during friday. this is bbc news. our headlines... president biden has announced a coordinated global action plan to tackle rising petrol prices. under the plan, 50 million barrels of oil will be released from emergency reserves to help lower fuel prices for americans. 100 days since the taliban took power in afghanistan, the country is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. the un says more than half of the population is at risk of going hungry in the coming months. nearly 50 people, several of them children, have been killed after a bus crash in bulgaria. most of the victims are thought to be tourists from north macedonia. ethiopia's prime minister says he's heading to the frontline to lead the fighting between government troops and rebel forces. as the crisis escalates, germany has become the latest country to urge its citizens to leave the country.