People aged 25 to 34 face the highest risk of redundancy in the UK, according to the latest unemployment figures which show Covid has pushed the jobless rate to 5%.

In the three months to November, those aged 25 to 34 had a redundancy rate of 16.2 per 1,000 - a fivefold increase on the same period a year earlier.

One of those is Abigail Ward, 27, who freely admits she was "a bit naive" when she began her latest job hunt after being made redundant as a store manager at J Crew in London last September.

"I knew it would be hard, but I've been in this position before," she told the BBC.

"Back then, it only took me three or four weeks to find a role and maybe 10 job applications, so it all happened quite seamlessly, whereas this time around, it's definitely been a lot more difficult.

"I've probably sent off around 30 to 40 job applications in the last six months, the majority of which just go into the abyss. You never hear a word.

"There are so many hundreds of applications and it's so competitive," she adds. "It's definitely been a big challenge."

In the US, President Joe Biden has re-imposed a US travel ban that Donald Trump lifted just days before his term ended on non-US visitors from Brazil and most of Europe, including the UK and Ireland. It also imposed a new ban on South Africa over its virus variant.

The move comes as several new variants of the coronavirus have emerged out of these countries and the national coronavirus case count above 25 million cases.

Former President Donald Trump had ordered the bans to end on 26 January as one of his final acts in office.

The new travel restrictions came as Minnesota recorded the first US case of the Brazil variant from a resident who had recently travelled to that country.

Image source, Getty Images

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a meeting of the Covid operations committee tonight to discuss plans which would require people arriving in the UK having to quarantine in hotels.

The meeting will be attended by senior ministers and a decision may not be announced until tomorrow.

Currently, people arriving in the UK must test negative before setting off, and then self-isolate for 10 days on arrival. This can be reduced to five days in England after a second negative test.

But it's feared that not everyone follows the rules - so people could now be told to stay in hotels, where the isolation will be enforced.

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said some ministers - including Home Secretary Priti Patel - have been pushing for more widespread use of hotel quarantine, arguing that too targeted an approach may prove ineffective.

It's thought the rules will definitely apply to UK citizens and residents arriving from southern African, South America, and Portugal (foreign nationals are already banned from arriving from those "high risk" areas).

The rules could also apply to other countries. And it's expected that people will have to pay their own way.

Although each part of the UK sets its own travel rules, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said a "four nations" approach is being discussed.

Image source, PA Media

Vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi has revealed that one of his relatives died after catching coronavirus.

Zahawi said his uncle had been eligible for a vaccine jab but caught the disease before he got the opportunity to receive it and "didn't make it".

Speaking to ITV Good Morning Britain's Piers Morgan, the minister said: "It's painful, and it's closer to home than you think, Piers, in terms of losing relatives and family.

"I lost my uncle last week to Covid, but you're right it is grim and horrible but our way out of this is the vaccination programme.

"It makes me angry, but it makes me determined to make sure we vaccinate the most vulnerable people in our country and protect them as quickly as possible and then protect the whole nation."

Yasine Mohabuth
Port Louis, Mauritius

Mauritius has started a nationwide Covid-19 vaccination campaign, with medical staff at ENT hospital, the main treatment centre, being the first to be immunised.

Three teams of health workers have also been deployed at Victoria Hospital in the town of Quatre Bornes.

Those vaccinated will get a second dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine in about 20 days.

Mauritius received 100,000 doses of vaccine from India on Friday.

A batch of 240,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine is expected to arrive in the country by 15 February, according to World Health Organization representative Laurent Musango.

The Pfizer/BioNtech vaccines were obtained through Covax - a global initiative led by the WHO to make sure vaccines are shared fairly among all nations, rich and poor.

Image source, EPA

The UK's quarantining proposals might "need to go further" than applying only to those arriving from countries where new variants of Covid-19 have been discovered, such as Brazil and South Africa, says former health secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Asked whether he supported a universal approach to quarantining international arrivals, Mr Hunt told Radio 4's Today programme: "I think it is a big logistical exercise to do that and it is not going to be possible to do it overnight anyway.

"But I think the real question is buying us enough time, and we don't know which countries these variants are arising in."

He said the UK needed to be "very cautious" because if the roll-out of the vaccine could reach sufficient levels then the country "can really cut down the transmission in this country and transform the battle against the virus".

"If we do have to go further, I hope it would only have to be for a temporary period," he added.

Image source, Getty Images

Latin America's richest man Carlos Slim has tested positive for Covid-19.

The 80-year-old Mexican telecommunications billionaire was only showing "light symptoms" and was doing "very well", his son wrote in a tweet.

It comes a day after Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, 67, also contracted the disease.

Mexico is among the world's worst hit nations, with more than 1.7 million confirmed cases since the pandemic began, and over 150,000 deaths.

Read more here

More than 100,000 deaths involving coronavirus have been registered in the UK, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Some 7,776 deaths involving coronavirus were registered in the UK in the week of 15 January, bringing the total to nearly 104,000.

The ONS figures are based on death certificates that mention coronavirus as being involved in the death.

These are different to the government's daily figures, external which report deaths within 28 days of a positive test – the figure currently stands at 98,531.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

The latest tension over supply of the Covid vaccine is another illustration of just how fragile this issue is.

There is huge global demand for Covid vaccine, limited raw materials and constraints on manufacturing.

The UK already has enough vaccine to jab all the highest risk groups by mid February, although not all of it has been packaged up or been through the final safety checks.

This explains why ministers are confident about the immediate target for the over-70s, health and care workers and extremely clinically vulnerable.

But what is in doubt is how quickly the UK can vaccinate in the medium term.

With the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in the UK, those supply routes are more guaranteed.

But the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is made in Belgium and the UK, like the rest of Europe, is affected by the problems with manufacturing that is being experienced with that vaccine.

With Europe experiencing major problems rolling out its vaccination programme - per head of population five times fewer vaccines have been delivered - this is a story that is going to rumble on for months.

Several people have been arrested for breaking Covid rules while protesting against the culturally sensitive Australia Day holiday.

At least five arrests were made in Sydney at a rally attended by around 2,000 people, despite rules limiting the numbers allowed to gather at 500.

The day is controversial as it marks the start of Australia's colonisation.

Australia Day is celebrated on 26 January, the anniversary of Britain's First Fleet arriving in Sydney in 1788.

Branded by its critics as "Invasion Day", it attracts annual protest rallies drawing attention to the injustices faced by Australia's indigenous people.

Read more here

The UK's front pages look ahead to potential new travel restrictions. "Looks like it's Bognor again, dear," is the Sun's take, external on the likelihood of plans for quarantine hotels being introduced for UK arrivals.

Travel experts say the move will cost families at least £1,000 extra and "wreck plans for foreign breaks".

The Guardian, external says the policy is part of a "more cautious approach" following England's third lockdown. Details still to be finalised include whether "test to release" will apply - which currently frees travellers from self-isolation at home if they test negative after five days.

The Daily Telegraph, external and the i newspaper, external both report that the cabinet is split over the policy.

Rioters in the Netherlands have clashed for a third night with police over coronavirus restrictions.

There were violent scenes in several cities across the country on Monday night. Riot police clashed with protesters in Amsterdam as well as Rotterdam, Amersfoort and Geleen.

In Rotterdam, police fired warning shots and tear gas, after an emergency order issued by the mayor failed to move demonstrators.

More than 150 people were arrested in several cities.

Unrest started over the weekend as protesters kicked back against newly imposed coronavirus restrictions.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte has condemned what he called "criminal violence".

The government has introduced its toughest measures since the start of the pandemic - including a night-time curfew which runs from 21:00 (20:00 GMT) to 04:30. It is the first in the Netherlands since World War Two.

Read more here

The UK's unemployment rate rose to 5% in the three months to November, up from 4.9%, as the pandemic continued to hit the jobs market.

Some 1.72 million were out of work, the Office for National Statistics said, external - the highest level in five years.

In November, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said unemployment could peak at 2.6 million by the middle of this year - that's 7.5% of the working population.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Rob Paterson, chief executive of Best Western hotels group, says the hotel industry is ready to assist if the UK government does opt for a policy of quarantining international arrivals.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that, while he had not held conversations with ministers about the proposals, the sector was "familiar and accustomed to managing Covid-positive customers in our hotels".

Each person quarantining would have to be treated as though they were Covid-positive, with three meals delivered outside their door and clean sheets and towels also left outside, he said.

The proposals would be a "big blow for tourism", he said, but with thousands of hotel rooms standing empty already, "we understand it's crisis and we all need to do our bit".

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi was also asked about introducing new measures that would mean travellers coming to England would have to quarantine in hotels.

He told BBC Breakfast the government was looking at the policy and would make an announcement in the "appropriate way".

He said the UK was looking at "the same thing" as other countries that had recently tightened up their border policy - such as Germany and Canada - from countries "with the highest risk".

He added that it was right "we constantly review our border policy".

Asked about what he would say to people who were thinking about booking summer holidays, he said: "It’s too early to begin to speculate on summer holidays.

"The right thing to do now is to continue with our vaccinate drive. I think on Saturday we got to half a million first dose jabs in a single day - we continue to make great progress."

Supplies of vaccines are "tight" but the UK is confident it will receive enough doses to meet its targets, the vaccine minister has said.

Nadhim Zahawi told the BBC that the UK's vaccine supplies "remain safe" and the government was on course to achieve its target of offering 15 million high-risk people a vaccine by mid February.

The EU has warned of tighter restrictions on exports which could affect UK supplies of the Belgium-made Pfizer vaccine.

Asked if he had had guarantees from Pfizer, Zahawi said: "I’m very confident with the team. We talk to them all the time, they’re confident they will deliver for us."

He added: “(Vaccine) supplies are tight… they continue to be.

"Any new vaccine manufacturing process is going to have challenges.. It’s lumpy and bumpy - it gets better, it stabilises and improves going forward."

Zahawi also said countries should avoid "vaccine nationalism" and ensure a fair global supply.

Image source, Reuters

The EU has warned it will tighten exports of Covid vaccines produced in the bloc, amid a row with AstraZeneca over a cut in planned supplies.

Last week, AstraZeneca told the EU it was falling behind on its supply target because of production problems.

Pfizer-BioNTech has also said supplies of its vaccine will be lower, slowing down the EU's vaccination drive.

The AstraZeneca row could affect supplies to the UK of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has been developed by the US and Germany. Pfizer's Belgian plant supplies the UK.

Image source, PA Media

Some travellers coming to England will have to quarantine in hotels, the government is expected to announce later, over concerns about new Covid variants.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make a decision after discussing the proposals with senior ministers.

The measures are likely to apply to UK citizens and those with permanent residency rights arriving from high-risk countries such as South Africa, South America and Portugal.

Most foreign nationals from high-risk countries already face UK travel bans.

Whitehall sources said those quarantining in hotels would have to pay for the costs of their own accommodation.

However, BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said it would not be possible to implement any new measures immediately.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. We’ll be bringing you all the latest news throughout the day from the UK and around the world. Here are the main headlines this morning:

• Rules for people entering the UK could get tighter later - with the government expected to announce hotel quarantine in England for some arrivals, over concerns about new Covid variants. The measures are likely to apply to people coming from South Africa, South American and Portugal
• Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi says he is confident the UK’s vaccine supply "remains safe" and will not be delayed by the EU's dispute with AstraZeneca over the slowness of supplies to EU citizens
• The EU has warned it will tighten rules on exports of Covid vaccines after AstraZeneca said it was unable to provide as many doses as it had promised
• The UK's unemployment rate rose to 5% in the three months to November, up from 4.9%, as coronavirus continued to hit the jobs market
• MPs say the UK government should cancel the debt owed by developing countries struggling with the impact of Covid-19
• And riot police in the Netherlands have again clashed with protesters defying a curfew, following a weekend of unrest over the newly imposed coronavirus restrictions