formula one title but lewis hamilton has gained a knighthood hello and welcome to bbc news. this evening we ve heard an update on the booster vaccine rollout from the prime minister in a downing street briefing on the day that uk has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases on record. in the latest 2a hour period, there have been a recorded 78,610 cases of coronavirus. again, that s the highest daily figure since the pandemic began. the previous uk daily record was 68,053 on the 8th of january this year. england s chief medical officer, professor chris whitty said those records, and more, will be broken over the coming weeks as rates rise. the prime minister said the government was throwing everything at the vaccine rollout across the uk, to curb the spread of the new variant with over 650 thousand jabs being administered across the country yesterday. despite the significant rise in cases, there was no indication of any further restrictions in england. our polit
the numbers that we see on data over the next few days will be quite staggering. we ll have the very latest. also tonight. the cost of living is rising, with latest inflation figures at their highest rate, for a decade. a life sentence for the murderer of 16 month old star hobson. the toddler suffered catastrophic injuries at the hands of her killer. and, arise sir lewis hamilton, as the formula one star is knighted for services to motorsport. and coming up in sport on the bbc news channel: without victory in their last five premier league games, can southampton return to winning ways at crystal palace? good evening. the uk has recorded its highest number of daily covid infections since the start of the coronavirus pandemic almost two years ago. there were more than 78,500 new cases in the past 2a hours that s 10,000 more than the previous daily record set back injanuary. but england s chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, has warned that more covid records will
i m having a meeting with my medical team as i get back to the white house i ll have more to say. and while we wait for more information, a top u.s. health official says there s no evidence yet to suggests it causes more serious illness than previous variants. instead, it could cause milder illness. there is even a bit of a report from south africa that maybe people with this are milder than the usual case. but they re mostly young people who have mild illness anyways. we do think it s more contagious when you look at how rapidly it s spread through multiple districts in south africa. but let s be cautious about this. it is still early in this process. nothing is concrete. and we still do not know a lot. and that is whether or not our current vaccines can stand up to this variant. moderna say they expect to know the impact on their vaccine in a couple of weeks. in the meantime, many travel doors across the globe are slamming shut in hopes slowing the spread seven hour
a warm welcome to bbc news. the former pope, benedict xvi, has died at the age of 95. the vatican says he passed away this morning at his residence there. his health had been worsening in recent weeks. benedict served as head of the roman catholic church for eight years until 2013, when he became the first pope in 600 years to announce his retirement. he was german by birth, and was known for his conservative theological outlook. bell chimes this was the moment his death was confirmed in rome the bells ringing in st peter s square in vatican city. the vatican says pope benedict s body will lie in state from monday in st peter s basilica and that pope francis will lead the funeral on january 5th. the first pope to do so in recorded history. here s our religon editor, aleem maqbool. cerebral by character, benedict was a prolific author and more at home with scholarship than pastoral work. he led the world s catholics for eight years and then abruptly resigned, the first pop
nhs bosses in wales they say health services are experiencing demand like never seen before, and urge people to do what they can to help. celebrations have begun to mark the start of 2023 with firework displays in auckland, new zealand and at sydney harbour the former pope, benedict xvi, has died at the age of 95. the vatican says he passed away this morning at his residence there. his health had been worsening in recent weeks. benedict served as head of the roman catholic church for eight years until 2013, when he became the first pope in 600 years to announce his retirement. he was german by birth, and was known for his conservative theological outlook. this was the moment his death was confirmed in rome bells ringing in st peter s square in vatican city. the vatican says pope benedict s body will lie in state from monday in st peter s basilica and that pope francis will lead the funeral on january 5th. here s our religon editor, aleem maqbool. cerebral by character