Hello and welcome to the programme. The richest person on earth has decided that earth itself is not enough. Earlier todayjezz bezos blasted into space, accompanied by both the oldest and youngest ever astronauts. The amazon founder was launched from the texan desert on a rocket developed by his own firm, blue origin. The craft travelled at nearly three times the speed of sound, reaching a height of nearly a hundred kilometres above the planet on a flight that lasted little over ten minutes. The bbc s sophie long begins our coverage. Boarding his 60 foot suborbital rocket. He was not nervous, he said, just excited. This was notjust about realising a lifelong dream, but expanding his ever growing empire beyond the grip of gravity. With him on this first fully autonomous flight, three other civilians. His brother, mark, 18 year old dutch student oliver daemen, and 82 year old trailblazing aviator wally funk. One of mercury 13, a group of women who went through astral testing and training
Distancing although new cases continue to rise. Welcome to tokyo, i m sarah mulkerrins. And for the next three weeks bbc world news will be broadcasting from this stunning location above tokyo bay to bring you the latest on the most contorversial olympic games for a generation. With just four days until the delayed games begin here, the olympic village has been hit by a fourth coronavirus case. So far, two south african footballers, a czech beach volleyball player and an american gymnast have all tested positive for covid 19. And other cases have been reported among the media, contractors and other personnel. All of this is a concern for the japanese public, especially in tokyo itself where cases continue to rise. But the international olympic committee insists that these positive cases do not post a wider threat to the population. Let s speak to our reporter mariko oi who is close to the olympic stadium where the opening ceremony will be held on friday. And you have been out talking
heavy snowstorms batter western states in the us leaving thousands without power and causing travel chaos. at half past, mark kermode looks back at the cinematic highs and lows of 2021 including the return of james bond and an oscar winning perfromance from anthony hopkins. good morning. the hospitality sector has welcomed the decision not to impose further coronavirus restrictions in england this week, describing it as a lifeline to pubs, bars and clubs relying on new year trade for their survival. the health secretary, sajid javid, announced yesterday that the government would wait untiljanuary before re evaluating the situation in england. but scotland, wales and northern ireland have all introduced further restrictions this week. people in wales and scotland are living with curbs on hospitality, including the closure of nightclubs. and all three nations have imposed restrictions on social mixing indoors. some of the scientists who advise the westminster government s