people to get vaccinated against covid. we speak to some with reservations about getting the job. and meat loaf, who recorded one of the biggest selling albums of all time, dies at the age of 7a. and coming up in half an hour's time, and outsiders looking in at that week's news. the cost of living, cost of being prime minister, and cost of being prime minister, and cost of being prime minister, and cost of living war in europe. that's on dateline at 7:30pm here on bbc news. good evening. a warm welcome to bbc news, good to have your company this friday afternoon. "we have no plans to invade" — that was the message from russia's foreign minister after talks with the us about russian intentions in ukraine. his american counterpart said their discussions in geneva had been "frank and substantive" but also warned of "massive consequences" if moscow were to attack ukraine. russia has amassed 100,000 troops near its borders with ukraine, leading to grave international concern and to several european countries bolstering nato�*s military deployment in eastern europe. president putin has demanded that ukraine be stopped from everjoining nato. russia used to control much of the region, but many of those neighbouring nations have nowjoined the military alliance of european and north american countries, of which the uk is a part. from geneva, here's our diplomatic correspondent james landale. more russian forces on the move, surface—to—air missiles in the country's far east, due to join what russia says are military exercises. part of the growing build—up of troops and equipment revealed by images close to the border. what western powers fear maybe russian preparation for war. but for now, the diplomacy continues, too. america's and russia's top diplomats met in geneva and at first couldn't even agree how to greet one another. with one question on everyone's lips. is an invasion likely, as president biden suggested? sergei lavrov seemed to suggest it was up to the united states, and later dismissed talk of invasion as hysterical rhetoric designed to provoke ukraine. what does russia want most? an unstable, dependent ukraine? or a new sphere of influence in eastern europe? - translation: we are not trying to get a sphere of influence - but what nato is doing shows it considers ukraine to be part of its sphere of influence. that is at the heart of moscow's fears — that ukraine, despite its historical and cultural links to russia, could become yet another former soviet country to join nato, as the western alliance spreads east. and such is ukraine's strategic importance to moscow that when a pro—russian leader was driven from power in 2014, russia annexed crimea, ensuring its navy still had access to the black sea. russia also sparked an internal war in eastern ukraine, what has since become a frozen conflict between pro—russian separatists and government forces — fighting that cost more than 13,000 lives. and now, president putin is demanding nato did not ukraine membership for ever. —— deny ukraine membership forever. and withdraw forces from eastern europe. america's secretary of state rejected these as nonstarters and once again sought to deter any military action. we've been clear, if any russian military forces move across ukraine's border, that's a renewed invasion, and will be met with swift, severe and a united response from the united states and our partners and allies. there was no breakthrough at the talks here today, no deal to reduce the threat of a war. but there was agreement for diplomacy to continue. the us will put forward ideas for more security cooperation next week. both sides will meet again after that. these are turbulent times. but for now, russia appears willing to continue talking, and western diplomats hope that might mean not fighting. james landale, bbc news, geneva. and don't forget you can get all the latest on the situation in ukraine, plus background and explainers, on the bbc news website. at least 70 people have been killed or wounded in an air strike by the saudi—led coalition which hit a detention centre in yemen according to aid agencies. it happened when a facility was struck in sa'dah, a stronghold of the rebel houthi movement, earlier today. further south, three children were killed as they were playing football when an air strike hit a telecommunications facility in the rebel—held port city of hudaydah. it follows nights of intensified bombing raids in the wake of a deadly houthi attack on the uae, a saudi ally. 0ur correspondent anna foster sent this report. rescue workers are still digging through the rubble at the prison in yemen's sa'dah province — but hopes they may find survivors are now fading. reports say it was destroyed in an air strike during another night of heavy bombardment by the saudi—led coalition. they've stepped up their military campaign in recent days after the houthis launched an attack on abu dhabi, which killed three people. the houthi group now say their health care system is facing a mass emergency. their health minister said medical staff were exhausted and struggling to cope with the number of casualties from the increased air strikes. let's speak now to amjad yamin, advocacy and campaigns director for save the children yemen. thanks very much for speaking to us today about what happened earlier today. how clear are the details? they have sadly shown they continue to be unclear. however, even an unclear picture is sadly horrifying. 0ur unclear picture is sadly horrifying. our understanding until now is that in sa'dah, at least 67 people have been killed and more than 108 have been injured. and in whose data, at least four children have been killed. another number on those killed. another number on those killed has been unclear, more than 70 injured. health staff are still struggling to provide emergency medical aid. struggling to provide emergency medicalaid. paramedics are struggling to provide emergency medical aid. paramedics are still trying to dig through the rubble to trying to dig through the rubble to try and find more people woefully alive — but as the report has said, it is increasingly unlikely now. the health system is overwhelmed, particularly this last week, this was not the only attack. there were at least three other hospitals that were hitjust this last friday, which shows how difficult it is right now to respond to the level of destruction and civilian casualties that we are seeing all over the country. that we are seeing all over the count . �* , that we are seeing all over the count . �*, ., that we are seeing all over the count. �*, ., , that we are seeing all over the count. , _,, country. it's almost seven years now, this — country. it's almost seven years now, this conflict _ country. it's almost seven years now, this conflict has _ country. it's almost seven years now, this conflict has been - country. it's almost seven years| now, this conflict has been going country. it's almost seven years - now, this conflict has been going on — the delusion that it would be a short, sharp intervention to restore the government, nobody believes that any more, they accept. and we are told the parties are desperately keen to disengage, to bring this to an end — yet we have successions of incidences of this kind. is this a kind of brutal attempt to bring the war to an end, or is it for you, an indication that the military objectives have been lost sight of the civilian damage that's been done as a result? we the civilian damage that's been done as a result?— as a result? we honestly really worry about — as a result? we honestly really worry about the _ as a result? we honestly really worry about the trajectory - as a result? we honestly really worry about the trajectory of i as a result? we honestly really. worry about the trajectory of the conflict right now. the last three months of 2021, for example — more than a 60% increase in the number of civilian casualties. i don't know how killing civilians would achieve peace. the only scenario where piece can be achieved is for everyone to come to the table and find a solution. clearly seven years of destruction and fighting back and forth has not found an end to this. in the international community needs to find a sensible solution that would spare the civilians their suffering. yemen continues to be one of the most dangerous places for children to grow up in, and it's not only the immediate effects we are worried about. we are worried the longer the slats, the harder it will be for children of the country to recover. for example, one of our studies showed that at least 40% of the children have not returned to education yet. it'll take years to bring them back to study. and if we do not stop now, find a solution to what's happening in the country now, will see more and more children and families destroyed, killed and lose their infrastructure on a daily basis. ., ., , ., ., , basis. one of the deals that was struck during — basis. one of the deals that was struck during the _ basis. one of the deals that was struck during the course - basis. one of the deals that was struck during the course of- basis. one of the deals that was struck during the course of this | struck during the course of this long conflict was to allow the access of aid through there, there was a reluctant agreement to peace between the two sides for that to happen. is that now a settled part of this, that it gets in relatively easily? 0r of this, that it gets in relatively easily? or is it a constant battle to get the partners to disengage long enough for your staff to be safe, at least for the moments when they are delivering the aid? honestly it's not getting any easier, if anything it's getting a lot harder. today between the bureaucracy, the ongoing fighting, and our inability to get approvals for basic items is making it very, very difficult for us to deliver aid. simple stuff like getting approval on a very small programme to deliver aid to one town or another takes 3—4 months when you're trying to do this over 12 months. so you automatically lose 34% of the time you have — that you crunch everything into a small time that doesn't allow you to deliver everything to people who need it. the damaged infra structure as well doesn't make it any easier. just three days ago on wednesday, a water reservoir in sa'dah was also attacked. we were already trying to respond to the incident in sa'dah, and then that water reservoir cuts off more than 120,000 people from water — then you divert all your attention to trying to bring water to people just so they can protect themselves. we are also still looking at covid in the country, with no end in sight, no vaccination, no way to do social distancing. so the situation on the ground does not improve in any way, shape orform, and we need the partners in conflict to talk about this, to be serious about finding a solution. because otherwise, we will talk about this next year on the eighth anniversary of the conflict, the ninth year — thousands of children are being killed every year. children are being killed every ear. ., ~' children are being killed every ear. ., ~ , ., y children are being killed every ear. ., ~ ,, , . children are being killed every ear. ., ., , ., , . thank year. thank you very much. thank ou. levels of coronavirus are falling in england, scotland and wales, according to official figures. but the government is still facing the challenge of how to persuade more than four million people in the uk to take up the offer of a vaccine. bbc analysis shows that younger people continue to be the most reluctant to be fully vaccinated, with almost a third of 18—29—year—olds not having had the first two jabs. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports. a vaccination campaign with a difference. and you could and up with long covid, which is no fun. team halo videos have had more than 250 million views. please don't play this russian roulette with your life. they're focused on debunking vaccine misinformation. let's talk about long covid. dr bnar talabani is one expert working on the project, from her home in cardiff. she aims to reassure people that the vaccine is safe. evelyn, whose identity we are protecting, is in her 30s and lives in southern scotland. she has a family history of rheumatoid arthritis and although she wants the jab, she is worried. we always talk about medicines, and i try to work out what hopefully won't trigger off an autoimmune response in myself. and that's what makes me nervous about the covid—19 jab. there is no evidence to say that you will get rheumatoid arthritis or any autoimmune disease if you have the vaccine. i think a lot of the time, people don't have access to accurate information, and knowing how to deal the difference between what's nonsense and what's information and what's accurate is very difficult. elite sports players have been under the spotlight over their vaccination status. at worcester warriors rugby club, they're well ahead of an 85% target set for leading english clubs. guidance was offered to those players who had early doubts. i think, with anything, there's always reluctance until you give them the facts. and that's what we do with anything, whether it's rugby—related or medical—related. and i think that's all we did. players are always curious. among the over—60s, more than 90% have had their first two doses — but as you go down the age groups, that falls away quite noticeably. that's why younger people are seen as a key target group for the continued vaccination programme. it was really confusing. some wanting to start a family have questions. these new mums at the bundle baby class said it wasn't a straightforward decision, but they did get vaccinated while they were pregnant. lots of friends were saying that i shouldn't have the vaccine because i was pregnant and that it might harm the baby. a lot of the research and the data that was out there, even when you're speaking to a gp, it didn't seem like there was a lot of robust information. when i turned 13 weeks, so got to the second trimester, i immediately went to get the vaccine and i'd been waiting to get the vaccine, actually. i was actually having arguments with my husband about it because he was keen for me not, to wait, because he was worried about the impact on the baby. he wasn't sure and i was upset with him because i'd been doing a lot of research. some countries are making vaccination compulsory. for now, the approach in the uk is dialogue, but there's clearly more work to be done to convince those who still don't want the jab. hugh pym, bbc news. the latest figures show the number of people testing positive for coronavirus continues to fall, with almost 95,800 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. on average, just over 92,400 new cases were reported per day in the last week. the number of people in hospital with covid has fallen again tojust under 18,000. there were 288 deaths reported in the latest 24—hour period — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive test, though, there will be some amongst this number who won't have died from covid. on average in the past week, 268 deaths were announced every day. 0n vaccinations, just over 36,750,000 people have now had a boosterjab — which means that nearly 64% of people aged 12 and over have now had three vaccine doses. dr sarah pitt is a microbiologist at the university of brighton, and fellow of the institute of biomedical science. thank you for talking to us again. good evening. thank you for talking to us again. good evening-— thank you for talking to us again. good evenina. ,., ., good evening. good evening. let me ask ou, good evening. good evening. let me ask you. what _ good evening. good evening. let me ask you. what is _ good evening. good evening. let me ask you, what is your _ good evening. good evening. let me ask you, what is your sense - good evening. good evening. let me ask you, what is your sense of - good evening. good evening. let me ask you, what is your sense of the i ask you, what is your sense of the trend now and how confident can we be that it's a trend that's going in one direction, that there won't be blips? one direction, that there won't be bli s? ~ ., , one direction, that there won't be blis? ~ ., , ., blips? well, it does look as though we've passed _ blips? well, it does look as though we've passed to — blips? well, it does look as though we've passed to the _ blips? well, it does look as though we've passed to the peak- blips? well, it does look as though we've passed to the peak of - blips? well, it does look as though we've passed to the peak of this i we've passed to the peak of this 0micron wave that we've been in. as you say, it's running between 19-100,000 new you say, it's running between 19—100,000 new cases a day, compared with 200,000 at the beginning of january —— 90—100,000. that is very good news. but it's still a very high number, and it's worth pointing out that in the peak of last january, january 2021 wave, the highest number of cases of daily cases was 60,000. so we are at a much higher number of new cases. i know a lot of things have changed about the virus and protection from the vaccine, but there's still a lot of virus out there. it is affecting some people very badly. so i think we really want to make sure that the number of new cases continues to fall, and we won't really know whether that's definitely happening for another week or so, probably, particularly since we are relaxing the measures we've had in place to try and stop this virus. we don't really know what'll happen when we do that, but let's hope it keeps going down the. i’m do that, but let's hope it keeps going down the.— do that, but let's hope it keeps auoin down the. �* , , , going down the. i'm sure everybody would echo — going down the. i'm sure everybody would echo that, _ going down the. i'm sure everybody would echo that, but _ going down the. i'm sure everybody would echo that, but your— going down the. i'm sure everybody would echo that, but your point - going down the. i'm sure everybody would echo that, but your point is i would echo that, but your point is very important. could i take two of the elephants you mentioned there —— elements. the first, let's say in a fortnight, there'll effectively be no restrictions in terms of day—to—day contact. how big a risk is that that, once we start mixing again — office buildings like this one have been largely empty but are starting to fill up again, people going to night clubs and standing up at bars, filling up trains and all the rest of it — how great a risk is that that that will reverse the trend, or at least start to push it in another direction? n trend, or at least start to push it in another direction?— in another direction? i mean, it is uuite a in another direction? i mean, it is quite a risk- _ in another direction? i mean, it is quite a risk. there's _ in another direction? i mean, it is quite a risk. there's a _ in another direction? i mean, it is quite a risk. there's a lot - in another direction? i mean, it is quite a risk. there's a lot of- in another direction? i mean, it is quite a risk. there's a lot of talk. quite a risk. there's a lot of talk about how we need to learn to live with this virus the way we learn to make her live with the flu. and i have lots of issues with that. one, as a virologist, they are completely different viruses. any of your viewers who had proper influence and covid will know they are completely different diseases that you experience. —— proper influenza. but as a scientist, on average, somebody with influenza will infect one other person. the technical calculation — if you look at something like a pandemic like swine flu, it's 1.2 if you look at something like a pandemic like swine flu, it's1.2 — 1.4, so it's a one to one. however, a person with the 0micron variant of the covid—19 virus will infect 8—9 people. it is much, much more infectious. so that's something we do need to take into account when we think about how we will manage living with the virus at the moment while there is still so much of it about. �* . , , ., about. brief last question, if i may - you heard _ about. brief last question, if i may - you heard the — about. brief last question, if i may - you heard the report _ about. brief last question, if i may - you heard the report about - — you heard the report about young people who think, actually this 0micron thing isn't that serious, so i won't bother getting vaccinated. what would be your fairly short response to that, if you can? the reason people — response to that, if you can? tue: reason people are response to that, if you can? tte: reason people are experiencing milder illness with the 0micron is because of the protection that's being given to them by the vaccine. it's not the virus that's changed, it's the vaccine that's changed, the relationship between the virus inside your body —— the virus in your body. so having the vaccine protects you from serious illness. a lot of people are in hospital at the moment who haven't had the vaccine — so have the vaccine, i would say, although it's a new vaccine, there have been thousands of millions of doses of vaccine given across the world, we know it's safe and effective, do have a vaccine. doctor, you very much. the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, has said he believes the peak of the 0micron wave has passed. his comments came as there were more easing of covid restrictions in wales today, as well as in northern ireland. in a moment, we'll hear from emma vardy in belfast. but first, here's tomos morgan in cardiff. the easing today was really around outdoor activities — the first one being that the limit on sporting activities outdoors, spectators, essentially, has now been scrapped — which means that this place behind me, the principality stadium, will be able to welcome a max—capacity crowd for the six nationsjust in time next month. and secondly, the limit to the rule of six and outdoor social distancing on hospitality has also now come to an end. no similar restrictions on indoor hospitality and nightclubs, which are also closed, they may be scrapped next friday, all being according to the first minister. this comes on a day mark drakeford saying that the number of people who have covid is declining faster in wales than any other part of the uk. however at the moment, covid passes and facemasks will still be needed on public transport — the next review due on 10 february. well, political leaders here in northern ireland say the relaxations today are a reflection too of the fact that they believe here, as well, that peak is now past in terms of the number of cases and hospitalisations. so from today, and just in time for friday night drinks, that mandatory table service rule in pubs and restaurants has been dropped, the limit of six people to a table has also now ended. and in terms of households being able to meet up in private homes indoors, the limit of three — that rule has also ended today, too. there's another significant change coming here in northern ireland next week, because from wednesday, you'll no longer need vaccine passports to get into pubs and restaurants, and cinemas, too. now as you can imagine, that's all been very much welcomed here by the hospitality industry — but ministers say their message to the public is, yes, there are relaxations, but they still want people to take their own precautions. the republic of ireland is to scrap almost all its covid—19 the us rock star meat loaf has died at the age of 74. he sold more than 100 million albums in a career that spanned six decades. bat out of hell, which was released in 1977, remains one of the best—selling albums of all time. his family announced the news on facebook and said their hearts are broken. 0ur arts correspondent david sillito reports. # like a bat out of hell # i'll be gone when the morning comes... meat loaf, bat out of hell. a sweat—drenched rock—and—roll epic that turned the man born marvin lee aday into one of the biggest—selling rock stars in the world. there have been many tributes. among them, cher, who sang with him on "dead ringer for love", bonnie tyler, and from "i'd do anything for love", lorraine crosby. we just gelled. we gelled perfectly. and obviously, that's why the song went the way it did. so, every time i think of meat loaf, i think about being in the studio with him. # i would do anything for love # i'd never lie to you, and that's a fact... tearfully: you just knew. you knew it was going to be great, you know. i'm sorry, i'm getting... you knew, you just knew instinctively that the album was going to be huge. # and i would do anything for love... born in dallas, his mother was a teacher and singer, his father a policeman, and his childhood was tough. he was an alcoholic and he'd always beat me up as a kid. threw me through a plate—glass window, threw me through a door. his escape was acting and musicals. he got a part in hair, and then the rocky horror picture show. bat out of hell was a project he'd been working on for years with the writerjim steinman. the rock establishment was scornful, but the fans — especially in britain — loved it. # like a bat out of hell # 0h, like a bat out of hell... but its huge success, and the pressures it brought, almost killed him. then followed years of lawsuits. he claimed he never made a dime out of it. but he did go on to make some great records, but nothing would ever top bat out of hell. a glorious, over—the—top, emotional battering ram. a rock—and—roll masterpiece. # ..hell...#. meat loaf, whose death has been announced today at the age of 74. at 7.30pm it's dateline london — but first, a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's lizzie. good evening. we're starting with rugby union and it looks like england will have a new captain for the start of the six nations after 0wen farrell suffered an injury in club training. farrell has been out since november with a seperate injury to his ankle, and was it only confirmed this week by head coach eddiejones that he'd keep the captaincy. he was hoping to return for saracens against london irish in the challenge cup this weekend. england's first game is against scotland on 15 february. —— the -- the 5th —— the 5th of february. meanwhile, scotland's women have made it into the world cup play—off final after two of their rivals withdrew. they'll take on kazakhstan or colombia in a one—off match in dubai on 25 february, with hong kong and samoa unable to play due to covid travel restrictions. if scotland win, they'll be in group a for the delayed tournament — along with australia, wales and hosts new zealand. it starts on 8 october. naomi 0saka says she's proud of her performance despite being knocked out of the australian open in the third round. the defending champion was beaten by the unseeded american amanda anisimova. 0saka, who's a two time champion in melbourne, was only seeded 13th due to herjust coming back after a four—month break. she's looked good in her opening matches but after winning the first set, anisimona took the second and, after surviving two match points, battled on to win the third set and the match on a tie break. going into this match, i knew i had to be playing sharp if i wanted to give myself a chance. naomi is akways going to be playing well and she's an absolute champion. i knew that i had to step up my game and try to be aggressive. i think that is what i started doing in the second set. i am so grateful that i was able to play so well today and get this win. it means a lot. well, the reward for anisimova is a fourth match against the world number one and home favourite ash barty. she's yet to drop a set at the tournament. she beat camila giorgi 6—2, 6—3. in the men's event, rafa nadal�*s quest for a 21st grand slam title is still on course. he's through to the fourth round after beating russia's karen hatchenov. nadal looked to be cruising, wrapping up the first two sets relatively comfortably, dropping just five games. hatchenov then rallied to win the third set 6—3, before the spaniard upped the ante to win the fourth 6—1 — and with, it the match. nadal is the only former champion left in the men's draw. there's some disturbing data released by the uk's football policing unit, which show that arrests at matches across the top five leagues in england are at their highest in years. the figures are based on the first half of this season and show a significant increase in the number of disturbances at grounds with incidents at almost half of all games — 759 reports on total — up by 34% in the same period last season, and there were 802 football related arrests — which is nearly double — and the highest number since they started collating the data back in 2015. and according to the senior lecturer in criminal law, geoff pearson, the figures follow a national increase in violence and disorder. it may be that we've got a post—lockdown effect, which is that fans didn't have the opportunity for that sort of transgressive behaviour during the lockdown, and are now essentially letting their hair down and they are engaging in more of that behaviour that is challenging and can be on the borderline of criminality. it may also be that because this is a turnover in terms of ticket holders during lockdown for various reasons, we are getting more new people who are attending and are not deterred to the same effect. that's all the sport for now. hello and welcome to the programme which brings together some of the uk's leading columnists, bbc specialists and the foreign correspondents who write, blog and broadcast to their audiences back home from the dateline london. this week, borisjohnson�*s stay of execution, the uk's inflation problem, and whyjoe biden has a problem keeping nato allies on side over ukraine. to discuss all that we're joined by marc roche, an economist and correspondent with the french news magazine, le point. isabel hilton, whose distinguished as a foreign corerespondent has been