a five day lockdown is being imposed in the australian state of victoria, barring spectators for the next few days of the australian open tennis tournament. more problems for the tokyo olympics as the head of the organising committee resigns after making a series of sexist remarks about women. and coming up on bbc news, serena williams bid for a 24th grand slam title is still on, as the american moves through to the fourth round of the australian open. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the uk economy shrank last year by the largest amount ever recorded, due to the coronavirus pandemic. the office for national statistics said gross domestic product, which measures the value of goods and services produced by the economy, dropped by 9.9% last year. the economy did grow slightly in december by1.2%, as some restrictions were eased in the run up to christmas, avoiding the uk s first double dip recession since the 1970s. the chancellor, rishi sunak, has told the bb
the announcement. unprecedented that there should be a rich abundance of approaches, all of which rich abundance of approaches, all of which are rich abundance of approaches, all of which are essential. and new data shows another covid 19 vaccine developed in the us that may only require a single dose is 66% effective. in other news, primary schools in wales could re open to all pupils after half term though the nationwide lockdown will continue. and thousands of volunteers helping the nhs with the vaccine roll out will be prioritised for a jab. hello, and a very good afternoon. the european medicines agency is expected to approve the oxford astrazeneca covid vaccine for use in the eu this afternoon. the uk has been using the astrazeneca jab in its mass immunisation programme for weeks now. meanwhile, the european commission has published a redacted version of its contract with the pharmaceutical giant in a continuing row about supplies of the vaccine. a contract was si
labour says not enough is being done. also on the programme. a new way of keeping children safe in high crime areas using chaperones to help them to and from school. and we report on how the queen will celebrate her platinum jubilee this year, when she becomes the first british monarch to reign for 70 years. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the prime minister has warned that the pressure on the nhs in england is going to be considerable in the coming weeks, but he insisted that the way forward for the country is to continue on the current path. it comes as the education secretary says the government is determined to keep schools open after learning a painful lesson from earlier closures. nadhim zahawi confirmed all secondary pupils in england will be tested before returning this week. labour have accused the government of not doing enough to reduce transmission, and keep schools open. here s our political correspondent chris mason. the prime minister in ay
are you waiting for the final cost of living payment? eight million households will receive just under £300 from today. but is it enough for those who need it most? i take a look. morning. today we have a band of heavy rain moving out of southern scotland and northern ireland across parts of england and wales, ahead of it cloudy, breezy and mild, behind it, pressure, a few wintry showers and not as windy. all of the details later. it s tuesday 6th february. king charles will step back from some of his royal duties as he begins his treatment for cancer. buckingham palace announced the king s diagnosis, and said while it s not prostate cancer, it was discovered during his recent treatment for an enlarged prostate. charities have praised the king s openness about his health. our royal correspondent daniela relph reports. this was the last time we saw the king in public on sunday, going to church with queen camilla on the sandringham estate in norfolk. just 17 months into his
there s a huge barrage going on overhead just at the moment. yevgeny prigozhin seemed determined to march his men to the top of the hill. then, he marched them down again. political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation. this is southern israel and that is gaza, and the war here has dominated the news agenda since early october. tragic and polarising, it s one of the biggest stories of 2023 and one that i have followed here and reported on throughout, speaking to people in israel and in gaza about how they re living through it. the year has seen many important and profound stories, from the war in ukraine to donald trump s legal affairs in the us and for india, a successful moon landing. i m going to bring you just some of those moments. we begin in turkey and syria and the devastating earthquake that struck early on 6th february. these images show the moment the first quake hit. with a magnitude of 7.8, it destroyed hundreds of buildings an