Bbcyourquestions. France has banned all non essential travel from the uk to try to stop the spread of the indian variant of coronavirus. A temporary ban on bailiff enforced evictions, introduced in england at the start of the pandemic, has come to an end today. China announces that families can now have three children up from the current limit of two as data shows a steep decline in the number of births. Hundreds of afghans who worked for the british military prepare to relocate for their safety as international troops leave afghanistan. New rules designed to reduce the number of fake whiplash claims come into force in england and wales. And coming up. Expect more busy beaches on bank holiday monday, on what could be the hottest day of the year so far. Hello, very good morning to you and welcome to bbc news. There s a new push under way to get more people in england vaccinated against covid 19 this week, amid concerns that the variant first identified in india could delay the next
live as soon as it begins. at the very same time we are keeping a close eye on what s happening down in texas. the deep freeze there is over but you have still got 8 million people without power, people lining up to get food and that s not all their problems. some texans are now getting hit with massive electric bills. this woman s monthly bill was over $6,000. i ll explain why that is happening in just a minute. and finally, a new and terrible milestone, the number of covid deaths in the united states of america has now surpassed half a million. a figure equivalent to the total population of kansas city, or miami, florida. the president and first lady will hold a ceremony this evening to honor and remember those who lost their lives. but there is good covid news out there. coronavirus numbers keep coming down across the nation, new cases have fallen, more than 40% over the last two weeks, hospitalizations and deaths are down at least 30%. i want to start this very busy w
related. with more heavy snow forecast across northern scotland this weekend we ll talk to one family who decided to make the most of it. don t, don t! she s kicked him out! and coming up this hour. certainly not on mute how one parish council has gone viral after a zoom meeting got a little out of hand. good morning. welcome to bbc news. energy prices will rise for millions of people across the uk in april, after the regulator ofgem said the cap for default domestic energy deals would be raised to cover suppliers extra costs. ofgem defended the decision, saying that it s in the interest of customers to start allowing energy companies to recover some of the costs to avoid larger price hikes in the future. the price cap was introduced in 2019 and designed to protect customers from being overcharged. but this is the first rise in the cap so how will the decision affect customers? the price cap affects 11 million households who have never switched suppliers, or whose dis
were suspended because of threats against staff. does it matter what mask you wear? we examine the difference between the various makes as one expert suggests we should be double masking. and travel disruption in parts of the north of england and scotland, with some motorists stranded as heavy snow brings chaos. and coming up in sport on bbc news. the government meets with campaigners to discuss the issue of head injuries in sport, with concerns over the number of former players being diagnosed with dementia. good afternoon, and welcome to the bbc news at one. just when the government said it was trying to get on top of one variant the south african variant of coronavirus now comes another one. the kent variant of coronavirus which has been spreading around the uk now appears to be undergoing some new genetic changes and scientists say they re worried. all this as a door to door testing blitz of 80,000 people is under way in a number of areas around england, as the
flags are lowered over downing street and borisjohnson describes captain sir tom as a national inspiration, and a beacon of hope for the world. the uk variant of coronavirus has mutated again the health secretary says he s seen cases of concern in bristol and liverpool. meanwhile, 80,000 people in england are tested to stop the spread of the virus variant from south africa. scotland is to introduce travel quarantines for overseas arrivals and plans are put in place to open scottish schools later this month. travel disruption in parts of the north of england and scotland as heavy snow brings chaos. good afternoon. in the last hour, it s been announced that captain sir tom moore has died. captain tom, who was 100 years old, and had raised almost £33 million for the nhs, was taken to hospital earlier this week, with coronavirus. the army veteran, originally from keighley in west yorkshire, came to prominence by walking 100 laps of his garden in bedfordshire, during the fi