stuck in a cycle of elections israelis go to the polls for the fouth time in two years. we report from the desert town of mitzpe ramon. and space rock from the dawn of the solar system visible as a major asteroid passes planet earth. hello and welcome to the programme. a year ago, the world was shutting down in that time, some two and a half million people have died from coronavirus but if governments had been better prepared, things could have been very different. that s the view of one of the world s leading experts in infectious diseases, professor dale fisher, who was part of a team sent by the world health organisation to the epicentre of the outbreak, in china. in an exclusive interview with the bbc s panorama programme, professor fisher says that it was countries in the far east, where they d had two outbreaks of similar viruses in the past 20 years that were best prepared. jane corbin reports. across the world, coronavirus has given governments the same challe
drones, robots and cyber warfare the size of the army is to be reduced by thousands of soldiers, as it reshapes for the future. and 30 years after michael schumacher made his debut in formula one, his son mick is about to begin his own racing career. good evening. the prime minister has warned that the uk must prepare for a third wave of coronavirus infections as the number of new cases grows across continental europe. borisjohnson said the rise in cases seen in countries like france, italy and poland could wash up on our shores as well . it comes as eu leaders prepare to hold talks on thursday about vaccine supplies and a possible export ban to the uk. just 10% of the eu population has been vaccinated so far, compared to more than 50% of the uk s adults who have had theirfirstjab. here s our political editor laura kuenssberg. on one side of the channel, the number of cases of the virus higher and higher. availability and take up of the vaccine stubbornly low. france tonig
with opposition calls for borisjohnson to resign, we ll bring you all the details and reaction, and be asking if he s done enough to fix the damage done. also this lunchtime: high energy bills could be here to stay for up to two years, says the head of british gas. putting the brakes on all lane smart motorways the government pauses the scheme because of safety concerns. an admission from tennis star novak djokovic of mistakes on his paperwork to enter australia. and why measures to protect the endangered red squirrel could be having the opposite effect. and coming up on the bbc news channel: can england finish the ashes series on a high? captainjoe root thinks so as he urges his side to bring that fighting spirit from sydney to hobart. good afternoon. in the last hour, the prime minister has offered his heartfelt apologies over attending a drinks gathering in the garden at number 10 in may 2020. borisjohnson told mps during prime minister s questions that the garden in dow
in the democratic republic of congo we investigate a new customised safety app. just hit the qr code scanner, bring it up to the qr code and in a few seconds, up comes the picture of the driver and the car and you are ready to ride. germany has announced major restrictions on anyone who s not vaccinated against covid 19, banning them from all but essential shops to try to fend off a fourth wave of the virus. and the chancellor angela merkel says vaccines may become compulsory from february. cases of omicron have now been confirmed in 2a countries. here s our medical editor fergus walsh. red alert in germany. intensive care staff at this bavarian hospital lit the wards red to warn germans of the threat from covid at its worst wave of infections so far. the government has announced a ban on the unvaccinated entering bars, restaurants and non essential shops. translation: this is - the situation we are confronted with and it s also cleared what we need to achieve first. those