Hello to you. President biden has set out his plans to try to deal with Climate Change, describing it as an existential threat. He said the us had waited too long to confront the climate crisis, and must lead the global response. Mr biden has signed a raft of Executive Orders, in sharp contrast with the policies of the trump administration. Among them, a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on public land and making Climate Considerations a focus of American Foreign and National Security policy. Our chief environment correspondentjustin rowlatt reports. If ever america needed a warning of what Climate Change could mean for the country, it got it last year, with record wildfires and an unprecedented series of hurricanes. There is no time to waste, President Biden said today. We cant wait any longer. We see it with our own eyes, we feel it, we know it in our bones, and its time to act. And by appointing one of the countrys most senior politicians, john kerry, as his climate envoy, joe biden is demonstrating once more that tackling Climate Change will be at the heart of his presidency. It is clearly one of his very top priorities. Its why he rejoined the Paris Agreement within hours of being sworn in as president. Its why today hes issued Executive Orders, mobilising every department, every agency of the United States government to focus on climate. California has experienced record droughts, as well as record fires, in recent years evidence that even one of the richest states in the richest nation on earth cant immunise itself against the kind of weather Climate Change is expected to bring. Heat, cold, all of these Weather Patterns arent in and of themselves that strange. Its the frequency with which theyre happening, and how unpredictable everything is, and its very difficult for a farmer. John kerry was instrumental in negotiating the landmark Global Climate accord in paris in 2015, when he was president obamas Secretary Of State. He says a key objective now is to try and persuade other nations to raise their carbon cutting game in the run up to the big Global Climate summit glasgow will be hosting in november. Glasgow will be extremely important. In fact, i would say in myjudgment it is the last best chance the world has to come together in order to do the things we need to do to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis. The uk government, as host of the glasgow conference, will be hoping mr kerrys efforts pay off. In his first interview since becoming full time president of the summit, alok sharma says having a Us Administration thats really engaged on the Climate Issue is good news indeed. I think its great to have the Us Administration back at that table on the global fight against Climate Change. I think whats incredibly encouraging is that, within hours of the inauguration being completed, President Biden, one of the First Executive orders he signed was to rejoin the Paris Agreement. It is only a week since the new administration took power, and it has already taken big steps to reverse trumps policies on climate, but the agenda is ambitious, and Bothjoe Biden and john kerry know their efforts will have to overcome opposition from within the us. Justin rowlatt, bbc news. Senior officials from the European Union are saying the drug Company Astrazeneca should honour a contract to supply vaccines, by using its british factories to make up a shortfall. The European Commission is angry that the Company Might provide the eu with up to 80 million fewer doses than it promised at first. Mark lobel reports. The eus rollout of the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine it hopes to approve on friday is already in doubt. The bloc is fuming after suggestions it may only get around a third of what it expects. Pharmaceutical companies, vaccine developers, have moral, societal and contractual responsibilities which they need to uphold. Astrazeneca has reported Production Delays in the netherlands and belgium. The eu says these unaffected Production Sites in the uk should provide shortfall. The uk factories are part of our advance Purchase Agreements and this is why they have to deliver. But astrazeneca has other customers too, including the uk. They could be affected in a tit for tat threat dubbed � Vaccine Nationalism if the eu restricts exports of other vaccines made in the bloc to deal with the shortfall. Were very confident in our supplies, were very confident in our contracts and were going ahead on that basis. Astrazeneca denies eu claims its backtracking on its commitments in order to sell its vaccines for profit elsewhere. But as this bitter row grows, the eu wants its contract with astrazeneca, which the Pharmaceutical Company says was signed three months after the uk agreed to theirs, to be made public. It may be that the uk has got favourable contractual terms, and actually, you know, has benefited from being first in line. And actually the eu has more of a, as weve heard, a sort of reasonable endeavours clause in the contract on the part of astrazeneca, such that it is not in such a tight contractual mechanism. But as eu countries suffer delays with other vaccines, the eus Health Commissioner says this current row shouldnt come down to first come, first served. He says that logic may work in the butchers shop but not for these advance Purchase Agreements. Mark lobel, bbc news. Administration was a more staid event than those under president trump. Mr biden was noticably absent as he turned the spotlight on scientists and the Health Officials to lead the us response. The renewed emphasis on medical expertise comes as the situation in the us starts to look a bit more promising. Since january 12th the number of people hospitalised with covid across the United States has been steadily decreasing just under 110,000 are in hospital still far too many, but an improvement. Its the same story when it comes to the Infection Rate in the us on the second january there were 300,000 new cases of covid 19 now that number has halfed to just under 150,000. At their briefing, the new head of the cdc said she was encouraged by the numbers, but cautious. While i am encouraged by the trends, our case rate remains extraordinary high and now is the time to remain vigilant. But if we are united in action, we can turn things around. Continuing to expand safe and effective vaccination is key to ending the covid 19 pandemic and bringing our country back to health. The head of the cdc there. A team of World Health Organization experts investigating the origins of the pandemic are preparing to begin work in wuhan. Theyve been isolating in the chinese city for the last two weeks. 0ur china correspondent, stephen mcdonnell, looks at what the group of scientists will be doing in wuhan now they are out of quarantine. Practically speaking, it means they can have some face to face meetings. They are saying theyve already started having meetings via video link and the like, but theyll be able to come out of quarantine, move around the city. But im going to make a bit of a bold prediction here and say that at the end of this visit, they are not going to come out and tell us theyve discovered how the coronavirus started. Thats because its a very difficult thing to work out, and the who has already been stressing how much time is going to be required, how complex the task is. One of the things they wont be doing is even looking at the theory of a lab leak. Well, if they are, it certainly isnt in any of the documents i have seen associated with this trip. Its more like examining the possibility that this virus jumped from some sort of animal, maybe via an intermediary animal, and then into humans. Another thing they wont be doing is their own research. What it mostly is a trip looking at the work that has already been done by chinese scientists and then trying to map out where the holes might be to try and see, 0k, what else needs to be done to get back to the origins of this coronavirus. They have even said that afterwuhan, naturally, it started here because this is where the first clusters were, where the outbreak started. But actually, the scientists are saying, in theory, it could have come from somewhere else. So they are not ruling out the possibility that after this trip, they will go to another chinese city or even another country to try and get to the bottom of the origins of this virus. Now that obviously makes the Chinese Government happy to hear language like that because thats the line thats being pushed quite a bit by the communist party. Weve even had a Foreign Ministry spokesman here saying that it definitely came from overseas. Either way, weve had politicians and government officials, especially from the us and china, throwing mud at each other over this issue, spreading Conspiracy Theories over the coronavirus. What many will be hoping though is that this group of scientists can somehow get above the clamour of the politics and find a way to discover what the real origins of this debilitating virus have been. But really, its not going to be easy and its not going to be quick. Stephen mcdonell there. The Us Department of Homeland Security has issued a National Terrorism bulletin, warning that the country will face a heightened threat of violence, from people angry at Donald Trumps election defeat, for several more weeks. The bulletin says the attack on the Capitol Building earlier this month could continue to inspire domestic extremists to attack other elected officials or government buildings. Lets speak to our north amercia correspondent peter bowes. Peter, this kind of bulletin on the specific subject is rare, isnt it . It the specific subect is rare, isnt it . ,. ,. , isnt it . It is unusual in that isnt it . It is unusual in that is why it isnt it . It is unusual in that is why it is isnt it . It is unusual in that is why it is significant is why it is significant because when they release a bulletin like this, it is usually concerning a perceived threat from overseas, perhaps a terrorist Organisation Based overseas, but this is very definitely a threat that they are considering that would amount to domestic terrorism. And they are saying that there are groups around the country who may well feel emboldened by the events of a few weeks ago, a week before the inauguration ofjoe biden, the invasion of the Capitol Building will stop and that that Security Threat still exists around the country. Now of course we saw the intense security around the inauguration, the, some 20 25,000 members of the National Guard in washington during that week. That security continues. Fewer members of the National Guard right now but we are told that they will stay there for the coming weeks because of course, we have the Impeachment Trial of the former president coming up in two weeks time which could again focus attention on this issue of the election and this disputed election and this disputed election and this disputed election and the claim made by donald trump. Election and the claim made by donald trump. There was always a concern wasnt donald trump. There was always a concern wasnt that donald trump. There was always a concern wasnt that that donald trump. There was always a concern wasnt that that with i a concern wasnt that that with 25,000 or so National Guard troops in washington, dc the people who wanted to cause trouble, and we know they clearly exist, might not try anything then but wait until security ramped down a little . Yes and that is a concern. What is interesting about this particular bulletin has been issued is that it mentioned some other issues as well. Example, an objection of or perhaps a resistance to some of the measures that have been brought into prevent the spread of covid 19, wearing of and that kind of thing. Long running disputes on racial issues and an objection to immigration to the United States. And it frames that like yes, this particular bulletin says these are perceived grievances field by False Narratives, and that really brings us full circle to the False Narratives that surrounded the election and the claims made by donald trump that it was stolen from him. Indeed, peter, thank you very much. Lets get some of the days other news. There have been protests in cities across poland after the government said its controversial law introducing a near total ban on abortions would come into force. Terminations will now be allowed in poland only in cases of rape or incest, or when the mothers life is in danger. The uns Refugee Agency has strongly condemned what it called systematic efforts by a Growing Number of european states to prevent migrants from seeking asylum. The unhcr said there were continuous reports of expulsions and of refugees being turned back at land and sea borders. Un officials highlighted such practices in greece, italy, malta and croatia. The International Olympic Committee Says its fully committed to holding the Tokyo 0lympics this summer, despite the pandemic. Ioc president , thomas bach, said no one could know what the Global Health situation would be in a few months time, but efforts were being made to prepare for every possibly scenario. The Boeing 737 Max has been approved to return to service by eu regulators. Its already flying again in the United States. The plane was grounded nearly two years ago after flaws in its software and sensors caused two crashes that killed 346 people. Apple has hit another sales record with reported revenues of more than 110 billion in the last three months of 2020 a rise of 21 on the same period last year. The gains come as consumers are confined to their homes during the pandemic, driving work, shopping and leisure activities increasingly online. The new 5g enabled iphone 12 also boosted sales. Stay with us on bbc news, still to come South Africans have been hit by a deadly covid variant but are they being treated fairly over vaccines . The Shuttle Challenger exploded soon after lift off. There were seven astronauts on board, one of them a woman school teacher. All of them are believed to have been killed. By the evening, tahrir square, the heart of official cairo, was in the hands of the demonstrators. They were using the word � revolution�. The earthquake singled out buildings and brought them down in seconds. Tonight, the search for any survivors has an increasing desperation about it as the hours passed. The new government is finally in control of the entire republic of uganda. Survivors of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp have been commemorating the 40th Anniversary of their liberation. They toured the huts, gas chambers and crematoria, and relived their horrifying experiences. This is bbc news, the latest headlines President Biden has signed a series of Executive Orders to tackle Climate Change which hes described as an existential threat. The eu has insisted that astrazeneca come up with a clear plan to deliver on their contractual obligations to supply covid vaccines. South africa has called for a fairer Global Distribution of covid 19 vaccines, telling the bbc that britain and other wealthier nations wont be safe until everyone is safe. Britain has moved to restrict travellers from south africa, because of an aggressive new mutation of the virus there. But one of south africas top scientists has described the move as silly. 0ur Africa Correspondent Andrew Harding reports from johannesburg. Live samples of covid 19 handled in a secure south african laboratory. Scientists here are racing to understand more about a sudden surge of mutations. The virus has already become far more infectious. There are signs it may also have at least some resistance to current vaccines. When we look at the 501yv2 variant. But south africas leading Covid 19 Expert has told me his biggest concern is the virus is mutating so fast. We will see this occurring much more commonly, thats the message, and if its going to occur more commonly, were going to have to ensure that our vaccines are able to utilise them because if they are not, that means we are back to square one. Right now, south african hospitals are battling a huge second wave of infections driven by the new mutations but scientists who have criticised todays move by britain to restrict travellers from south africa, saying there is no point in singling out countries or even regions. I find it almost like silly, is trying to block a country because we know how fast this virus spreads and how many places. So by the time you try to block visitors from one country, its too late . Thats what the pandemic shows. And there is another key point that south africa is making today about the rollout of vaccines, urging richer nations not to be selfish, not to hoard supplies because if that happens, of i straw remain free keep circulating and mutating and threatening all of us. So fundamentally, there is a mistaken belief by some countries that they can vaccinate their populations and they will be safe. It simply is not true. In this world that we live in, with this coronavirus, no one is safe, until everyone is safe. Can the world show that kind of unity . Here in south africa, more than 100,000 deaths are now being linked to the pandemic. A fast mutating virus requires an aggressive and collective global response. Andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. The us has a new top diplomat. Antony blinken was confirmed as Secretary Of State on tuesday, and hes promising renewed us leadership. Hes got the delicate task of repairing strained ties with allies in europe and asia, as well as big challenges in the middle east. Iran remains an area of concern and the Secretary Of State says restoring the nuclear deal remains a long way off. President biden has been very clear in saying that if iran comes back into full compliance with its obligations under thejcpoa, the United States will do the same thing and then we would use that as a platform to build with our allies and partners what we call the longer and stronger agreement, and to deal with a number of other issues that are deeply problematic in the relationship with iran. But we are a long ways from that point. Wall street became a battleground this week, with a fight between an army of small investors on Social Media Versus the Big Hedge Funds. The day traders connected on sites like reddit, realising that big time investors had placed bets on the stocks of poorly performing companies, predicting they would lose their value a practice known as � shorting. And thats where the video game retailer, game stop comes in. Already suffering from the shift to online shopping, its been badly hit by the pandemic, and its closed 800 stores in the last two years. At the start of the year it was an unlikely contender for hottest stock of 2021 it was worth less than 20. This week, as the reddit army piled in, the price is now well above 300. Well earlier i spoke to Michael Goodman whos founder and president of Wealthstream Advisors and ask him if all this was little more than an attempt by some to play wall street at its own game. No doubt. There are real world consequences. Im sure the disparity of wealth and equality is sparing this a bit. Wall street has been a punching bag for Different Reasons over many years, no question about that. Whats going on in a fuelled engagement of fire right now and then of course, there are real day traders who actually do this on a regular basis and unfortunately we are also probably seeing some people who think they can get in on this and make some quick money. They might, but they might also lose a lot of money. It is scary for some. What are you staying to normal investors, steer clear . That is the most Important Message and yes, steer clear. If youre a long term investor, stay far away from this because this is not investing. I dont even know if its called gambling. You just dont know, its like trying to catch the falling knife and what you want to do here if you are a long term investor, stated course in your diversified portfolio, Holding Thousands of stock, just a handful of very volatile small stock. I know that shorting is always a high risk game. Are some of the big hitters taking about it, getting a bloodied nose . We saw one Big Hedge Fund that had to get bailed out recently so it seems quite real, its almost shocking to see this be able to happen. And that is a scary game but a lot of these hedge funds, they have the ability to make lots of money so it doesnt surprise me that its possible that they would lose money. Weve seen this happen in the past with Long Term Capital Management and other sort of respectable hedge funds get beat up maybe not because of something by this but markets moving quickly in another direction. All of this is unlikely to end with gamestop, isnt it . Do you see echoes of the tech bubble in 2000 . Its funny, back and then there were Different Things going on, we didnt have the ability to trade stocks the way we can today with an app on the phone and 10 but i do feel that things are a little bit 1999, there are some familiarity is and i would say most of the familiarity is come from individuals. You have individuals that never owned individual stocks, maybe not gamestop, maybe some bigger companies, those getting into the mix that historically would never want to do that and some are just wanting to enjoy the race and the excitement of what is going on but this is not where you would take your Retirement Account and long term family money or kids through college. Michael goodman of wealth street advisors. Differentiator has become street advisors. Differentiator has become the street advisors. Differentiator has become the first street advisors. Differentiator i has become the first competitor to completely around the world yacht race. Cross the finish line in after 80 days of six hours at sea. The competitors have covered nearly 25,000 nautical miles since they set p nautical miles since they set up in november, and some of his closest rivals could get snatch victory, but they did not impact the emotions as he crossed the finish line. Translation it was a hell of a race, hell of an adventure, a lot of emotions, alone in the world with so many boats around, and then, snap, all of around, and then, snap, all of a sudden all the zodiacs, lights and supporters. Without any transition. I was really alone on my boat, i knew there would be people there but i was a little surprised by the welcome. This is really special. And you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter im bbc mike embley. Hello there. A bit of the Weather Tussle going on in the skies above the uk of the next few days between cold air to the north and east of us in milder air to the south and west. During the next 2a hours, its the milder air which will win through for many but on this Dividing Line we are going to see quite an active Weather System and thats going to produce on one side pretty heavy rainfall. Northern ireland, North West England of greatest concern where we could see 1 or 2 inches of rain, adding to the flood concern. On the colder side of our Weather System the hills of Northern England, Southern Scotland and into central and Northern Scotland we could see significant snow which could have an impact on some of the higher road. Its here where we start the day start coldest of all. Maybe temperatures as low as 6 degrees compared to 10 or 11 in parts of cornwall. Big north south contrast. There is the Dividing Line, that area of rain, sleet and hill snow, through the morning rush hour pushing its way northwards. Drying up and brightening up to the south quite misty and murky underneath that weather front but you can see that its on these higher sites were more likely to see the snow. That rain sleet snow mix is going to hang around across parts of central scotland, moving into Northern Scotland as we go through the day. It does allow skies to brighten in england and wales but stays mostly misty and murky in the north but with Sunnier Skies and a bit of a breeze, it will stay incredibly mild average is up to 1a degrees compared to just 4 in aberdeen, 2 in lerwick where it should stay dry and bright through much of the day. Should stay dry and brighter much of the day for another batch of rain comes through thursday evening for that rain rather than snow. Milder air snow continues to fall in northern parts of scotland. Some heavy, thundery showers into the first part of friday morning across the south. Weve still got those north south contrast as far as temperatures are concerned. Widespread frost in the far north of scotland where youve got some snow and some icy conditions to start friday. That will still be there on friday morning. Rain across Southern Scotland, Northern England fizzling out. A few heavy, maybe thundery showers across the south but a better chance of sunshine winning through friday. Temperatures still in double figures in the south but the colder air starting to fight its way back. And it will continue to try and push back as we go into the weekend. Notice how its pushing its way southwards. This swirl here is an indication of a Weather System which could bring another mix of rain, sleet and snow on saturday across england and wales ahead of a potentially another one late on sunday. That fight goes on into next week too. This is bbc news, the headlines President Biden has signed a series of Executive Orders to try to reduce the impact of Climate Change. Hes called it an existential threat. Hes said Climate Considerations should be a focus of American Foreign and National Security policy, and said the us must lead the global response. Among the measures announced is a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on public land. The row between the pharmaceutical Company Astrazeneca and the European Union over a shortage of coronavirus vaccines has escalated. The eus Health Commissioner has insisted that astrazeneca come up with a clear plan to deliver on their contractual obligations to supply vaccines. A team of World Health Organization experts in wuhan are to begin investigating the origins of the pandemic. Theyve been isolating in the chinese city for the last two weeks and will Study Research institutes, hospitals and the Seafood Market linked to the initial outbreak