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Good afternoon. The Prime Minister has warned that coronavirus restrictions in england are probably about to get tougher in order to bring the virus under control. But borisjohnson also insisted Primary Schools should open as planned this week except in london and some areas of the south east, where the new variant of coronavirus is rising rapidly. Mrjohnson said there is no doubt in his mind that schools are safe. Heres our Political Correspondent jonathan blake. Arriving in a hurry to deliver a difficult message. The Prime Minister gave his first interview of the year this morning and warned that life with coronavirus in england is likely to get worse before it gets better. He said the government may soon impose tighter restrictions in more areas. It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many parts of the country. I dont. I mean, im fully, fully reconciled to that and i bet the people of this country are fully reconciled to that. Under pressure over the return to school for children in england, the Prime Minister said thered be no change and most primaries would open as planned tomorrow. Schools are safe very, very important to stress that. The threat, the risk to kids, to young people, is really very, very, very small indeed, as the scientists continually attest. The risk to staff is very small. And, of course, the benefits of education are so huge. Overwhelmingly, we want to keep our young people, keep children, keep kids in education because thats the best thing for them. But teaching unions say the time is not yet right and want primaries open only to vulnerable and key worker children, with the rest taught remotely for now. The of levels risk in school are heightened compared to other areas but were not saying close schools down and keep teachers away. Theyve been working during any period of restricted access to keep education going and its simply a short and determined period to get the new strategies and better strategies of control into schools, to make them covid secure again. In wales and Northern Ireland, the return of Primary Schools is delayed for a week. In scotland, for two weeks. Borisjohnson didnt rule out further closures in england. We will keep this under constant review but we will be driven by Public Health considerations and by the massive importance of education. For parents like charlotte, its a frustrating time. We are lurching from crisis to crisis, in that this isnt a feasible way forward every time there is a surge in the virus rates. We cannot limp from School Closure to School Closure. Whether schools are open or closed, most people in england are now living under the tightest level of restrictions. For how long and how many more willjoin them remains uncertain. And jonathan blakes here now. Jonathan, how much reassurance do you think the Prime Minister has provided this morring . Its for parents to decide whether they are reassured by what the Prime Minister has said, but the fact that you use having to sit here and make that case, that it is safe for children to return to school the day before they are due to do so, suggests it has been difficult for the government to get that message across for all sorts of reasons, and evenif across for all sorts of reasons, and even if it is so, the bigger question is perhaps whether it is practically possible. There is no letu p practically possible. There is no letup in pressure from teaching unions, who say the time is not yet right for children to go back, and if enough teachers decide that they agree with that, something will have to change, perhaps between now and tomorrow morning. The bigger picture, though, is that the Prime Minister has often tended towards optimism in his outlook in terms of the response to the pandemic. That has come back to bite him more than once. But there wasnt much of that today, a stark warning from Boris Johnson that things are likely to get tougherfor johnson that things are likely to get tougher for people in johnson that things are likely to get tougherfor people in more parts of england, so we may well see more areas moving to tier 4 before long, and with most of the country under those restrictions, it will start to feel like a National Lockdown before long. The return to school still in doubt because the closure of schools, there were a last resort for the government, wasnt ruled out. The Prime Minister says he expects tens of millions of coronavirus vaccinations will be given over the next three months. From tomorrow, doctors across the uk are due to start giving out more than half a million doses of the oxford vaccine. But there are still quesions about the decision to change when the second dose of both the oxford and Pfizer Vaccines should be given. Our health correspondent, anna collinson, reports. Vaccines are the greatest weapon in the fight against the coronavirus, and doctors say rapid delivery is vital to protect the most vulnerable. From tomorrow around 530,000 doses of the newly approved 0xford astrazeneca jab will be available at some uk hospitals. There were hopes there would soon be 2 million vaccinations a week but this morning the Prime Minister was unable to confirm that. 0bviously everybody is working flat out to do this. We are greatly in advance of all comparable countries but we do hope we will be able to do tens of millions in the course of the next three months. There will now be a 12 week delay between the first and second dose of the two vaccines which have been approved by the uks regulator. The governments scientific advisers say vaccinating a greater number of people with a single dose will prevent more deaths and hospitalisations, compared to vaccinating a smaller number of people with two doses. So how much protection does the first jab provide . Government Scientists Say two to three weeks after getting the first dose of the pfizer vaccine, around 90 of people were prevented from falling ill and the oxford vaccine shows protection of 73 after three weeks, so the short term protection seems to be very high. Some Scientists Say there is pretty convincing data the delay will enhance the oxford vaccine but the pfizer one is seen as more controversial. I think its so important that with this decision thats been made that there are actually scientific studies that go on to look at the effect of delaying the second dose. I personally think it may well produce as good or better an immune response but we really need to study it. While the vaccines bring hope, they are not yet able to help struggling hospitals who have been battling the virus for nearly a year. Icu staff say the first wave has both helped and hindered managing the second one. We know whats coming our way, we know how to deal with it so we feel much more confident. One of the downsides is that because we have been through it all before, staff are very, very tired. So far, nearly a Million People have been vaccinated but there still a long way to go with around 30 Million People in the most vulnerable group, including those who live and work in care homes. It may be the start of a new year but we still face many of the same problems. Anna collinson, bbc news. Lets take a brief look at some other news now. Islamist militants have attacked two villages in the west african state of niger, killing at least 70 people. Reports say the gunmen arrived on motorbikes. Special forces have now been sent to the area, in the tillaberi region. Thereve been a number ofjihadist attacks there in recent months by groups based across the border in mali. The former leader of the real ira, michael mckevitt, has died. The 71 year old who had previously been diagnosed with cancer was one of four men found liable for the 0magh bombing. The attack, in 1998, killed 29 people, and unborn twins, and was the worst single atrocity during almost 30 years of the troubles in Northern Ireland. Rescue workers have uncovered a fifth body after a landslide buried homes in norway. Five other people are still missing. The hillside collapse happened in the town of ask about 15 miles from the capital, 0slo on wednesday. Frankie mccamley reports. Candles lit to remember those who died in the landslide earlier this week, as rescue teams refuse to extinguish hope of finding more survivors. Translation we have to stick to the hope provided by the rescuers that it could still be possible to find someone alive, but it is, of course, terribly painful for the people close to it and for the relatives. For everyone affected by the situation. Emergency workers continue to battle freezing temperatures in gjerdrum, a town around 45 kilometres north east of oslo. Six people are still missing, believed to include women and children. Four have now been found dead. Translation it is, of course, with great sorrow we received this information about another death in relation to the tragedy. The hillside collapsed in the early hours of wednesday morning, destroying more than 30 homes, with others left teetering on the edge. As many houses remain unsafe to return to and workers try to restore power to the area, questions are being raised over how and why this happened. Frankie mccamley, bbc news. You can see more on all of todays stories on the bbc news channel. The next news on bbc one is at 5. 35 this afternoon. Bye for now. Hello. Youre watching the bbc news channel, its 1 11. Sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, heres gavin ra mjuan. Good afternoon im gavin ramjuan, and heres your latest sports news. Arsenal manager mikel arteta says the handbrake is off, after their ruthless victory at west brom their third league win in a row. Just a few weeks after they plummeted down the table, theyre nowjust three points behind the top six. Kieran tierney had a great game and his solo run and finish set them on their way to a 4 0 win. The flow that was missing for so long returned some stunning passing here from arsenal, rounded off by bukayo saka, before Alexander Lacazette scored twice. Arteta said it was pretty close to how he wants them to play. The convincing momentum that you get from everybody that is involved, its much more positive. This is an arsenal team with the idea that i wa nt arsenal team with the idea that i want with the staff to transmit to the players to play, but in certain moments it was very close to that. I am very pleased because i thought in the final third it looked like there was a lot of moment, good energy, real purpose, everybody is playing forwards, its like we are more free to play there and the understanding is beginning to be able to generate a lot of things there. There are just two games today, after fulhams match at burnley was postponed due to a fresh covid 19 outbreak at the london club. Leicester will go third if they beat newcastle, and its a big one laterfor chelsea and manchester city, whore both in a congested top 10. City will be investigating a breach of coronavirus rules by benjamin mendy, whos reported to have hosted a new years eve gathering. Bournemouths chief executive, neill blake, has condemned the racial abuse suffered byjunior stanislas, after yesterdays win at stoke in the championship. Stanislas scored the only goal of the game and was later targetted on twitter by an individual, who sent racist slurs and insults about the players family. Blake said it was disgusting and completely intolerable, and the club has vowed to do all they can to identify the perpetrator and take the strongest possible action against them. British boxer Luke Campbell said he was heartbroken after his hopes of another world title shot suffered a severe blow. Campbell was beaten by the rising American Star ryan garcia, in a gripping lightweight fight in dallas. Campbell, the olympic champion from london 2012, landed a left hook in round two to floor garcia. But he recovered and he was the first man to beat campbell by stoppage, when the fight was halted in the seventh round. Campbell told garcia afterwards that he punched harder than anyone hed everfaced. So garcia moves towards a title challenge but at 33, campbell is running out of time. Englands cricketers have arrived in sri lanka, for their two test tour amid strict coronavirus checks. A charter flight landed in the south of the island, where all members of the party and their belongings were sprayed with disinfectant, before everyone underwent a rapid covid 19 test all came back negative. Theyll now isolate in individual hotel rooms and if they test negative again on tuesday morning, theyll be able to train ahead of the first match on the 14th. England abandoned a tour of sri lanka in march on the second day of a practice match, as the pandemic spread. Englands liminted overs players have been in big bash action and james vince top scored for sydney sixers, as they beat adelaide strikers by seven wickets. Set 151 to win, vince made 45 not out, as the sixers reached their target with 12 balls to spare. Theyre now top of the bbl standings. And jason roy and liam livingstone both scored in the twenties for perth scorchers, in their win over melbourne renegades. Chasing 186 to win, the renegades were bowled out a massive 96 runs short. We have the final of the world darts championship to look forward to this evening, with gary the flying scotsman anderson, taking on gerwyn the iceman price at alexandra palace. Price is the first welshman to reach the pdc final, thanks to a 6 4 victory over stephen bunting, and hell become world number one if he beats the two time champion anderson and lifts the sid waddell trophy later. You have to love the nicknames that is all the sport for now. Gavin, thank you very much indeed, thank you. Now to scotland. Nicola sturgeon has asked the Scottish Parliament to be recalled tomorrow amid a rapid rise in covid infections. The first minister says the increase in virus cases in scotland is of very serious concern and warns of increasing pressure on the nhs. Our correspondentjamie mcivor is in glasgow. Jamie, is does it mean we are looking at tougher measures in scotland . The big question is whether the current restrictions in scotla nd whether the current restrictions in scotland will need to be widened and extended. All of mainland scotland is currently at level four, the toughest level of restrictions which the Scottish Government currently has in place. Nonessential retail and hospitality is closed. New year this year was very different to a normal new year in scotland. The question is whether moore restrictions will be necessary. Perhaps the guidance of working from home will have to change. Nicola sturgeon has asked for the Scottish Parliament to be recalled tomorrow over what is described as an urgent statement. She has made a series of tweets this morning setting out the situation, making the point that vaccines offer the way out of the crisis but that the period between then and now is the most serious since the start of the pandemic last year. She says the Scottish Governments responsibility must be to act quickly and decisively in the national interest. Another big question, perhaps the Biggest Issue in many peoples minds today will consign schools in scotland. She explained the plan at the moment. Pupils wont return to the classroom until at least the 18th of january but schools will be open before then for the children of key workers and also for children deemed to be vulnerable. In the week before, january 11, there will be Online Learning, so one big question today is whether or not the return of children to the classroom may have to be delayed. The Scottish Governments Education Recovery Group is meeting tomorrow ahead of the scottish cabinet meeting. It is a body that brings together various stakeholders in education, including unions, councils and education experts, as well as politicians. 0k, jamie, thank you very much indeed. Borisjohnson says parents in england should send their children to Primary School this week if theyre open. Primaries in london and neighbouring counties will teach online for the first two weeks of term teaching unions and a number of local authorties have been pushing the government to close all schools temporarily. Councillors in Brighton And Hove have asked all Primary Schools to move teaching online, despite being one of the areas of england in which primaries are being kept open. Paul shellard is secretary of the Brighton And Hove branch of the National Education union. We think the government should be following the advice of its own scientific advisers at sage and arguing schools should only be open for the children of key workers and for Vulnerable Children, for at least a two week period, to allow the virus to be suppressed and to protect the school communities. I dont know if you could hear that clip of a mother we were just running before we spoke to you saying, actually, it is damaging her children to be off school and children are being thought of last in all of this. Well, we certainly sympathise with that and our position is that we think the government should be doing far more to ensure that education is safe. If it was prepared to invest properly in the cleaning and hygiene arrangements, in providing the ict equipment thats necessary for continuing education, for making spaces available, for reducing class sizes, for making sure that there is proper testing for staff. For making sure teachers and other education staff are in line for the vaccine, then we would see the government taking it seriously. But, unfortunately, theyve given it a low priority and with gavin williamson, we are probably dealing with the most inept education secretary for a generation, who is taking reckless decisions and continually putting School Leaders in a very difficult position. Its notjust his decision but the governments. The Prime Minister said only this morning, he has no doubt classrooms are safe and the risk to young people is, quote, very, very small. It may be a small risk to children themselves but it certainly is a risk in terms of transmission to other members of their family and in the communities. If we look at the latest set of data, primary and secondary aged children are the largest groups, in terms of infection rates. How the Prime Minister can argue that households should not be mixing, which is absolutely right, but it is ok for classrooms with 30 plus children in them sometimes to be mixing and then people going back into the community beggars belief. You obviously feel very strongly about this. What are you saying to your members . Are you telling teachers not to go to work tomorrow . In Brighton And Hove, the council has taken the very sensible decision to advise schools that they should not or they should only open for key worker and Vulnerable Children and we fully support that decision. Throughout the rest of the country, the National Education union is advising its members that they should exercise their individual right under the health and safety legislation not to attend work because it is not safe if schools are operating at full levels. We have argued for a long time that there should be proper rota systems in schools and there should be blended learning. Some people attending school and some people doing it through remote learning. But the government is again refusing to accept that. Paul shellard, there, the secretary of the Brighton And Hove branch of the National Education union. As the pressure grows on the government over schools, the childrens commissioner for england, anne longfield, has been telling me any closures must be for the absolute minimum of time. Well, ive argued for months and months now that schools need to be a priority for children, not only with education but also their well being. And that schools should be the last to close and the first to open. So its a serious moment for children, and if there have to be closures weve already seen closures in secondary schools for two weeks but if there have to be closures at all, it must be the absolute minimum amount of time, and that time must be used very, very well. I would say testing, of course we know that there is plans in place for that but also i would like teachers to be offered vaccination as a priority. Thats something we havent heard yet from government, but something i think is very necessary. Get teachers vaccinated as a priority. But the trouble is theres a lot of other people who are also a priority the elderly, care home staff and so on, front line nhs staff. They are, of course, and im not talking here about teachers necessarily jumping the queue. But what i am saying, that i think things have changed over recent weeks since those priorities were set. We know there is much more pressures on schools now because of local infection rates and the new variant. We know that for older children there is some doubt over whether the level of infection is growing in older children. But also we have new vaccines now and much more supply, so its really arguing that the risk of keeping schools closed or the risk of School Closures really demands immediate action, and vaccination is part of that defence, i believe. Where do you stand on exams because some head teachers are today calling for the scrapping this year of gcse and a level exams what would you say about that . Well, any disruption in schooling makes exams, of course, much less easy to keep fair for children, so this is a really crucial time. Some of this will depend on what level of Online Learning children on exam years can get, and whether schools are closed for a period of time. Some head teachers talk to me about the potential to move to Centre Assessed grades and to have additional safeguards in there around the robustness of decisions, so i think this is something that will emerge. It needs to remain something that is considered as we see how january pans out for children. But certainly, for those children who have exams in this year, they are concerned, they want that clarity, and most children ive talked to want exams to continue. But, clearly, they need to be fair. Their childrens commissioner for england there. Indias Opposition Congress party has warned that the governments decision to approve the emergency use of a locally developed Coronavirus Vaccine was premature and could be dangerous. It says the data on the safety and efficacy of covaxin had not been fully reviewed. Another vaccine, developed by astrazeneca and Oxford University, has also been approved. The approval will kick off one of the worlds biggest vaccination drives in coming days in the country of 1. 3 billion people. The countrys drug regulator said both vaccines were safe and provided a robust immune response. After adequate examination, the cdsco has decided to accept the recommendations of the Expert Committee and accordingly, vaccines of serum and Bharat Biotech are being approved for restricted use in emergency situation and permission is being granted to Cadila Healthcare for conduct of the phase iii Clinical Trial in india. So, those two vaccines being approved in india. From delhi, here is our south asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan. They are talking about inoculating 300 Million People in what is described as one of the biggest immunisation drives in the world, it will not happen in a very short span of time, it will take several months. In fact, more than eight or nine months to achieve the target. But this has come as a big relief for the medical community and Health Care Workers because india is among the first developing countries to approve these vaccines, the two vaccines, and they want to have enough stocks of doses so they can start this programme. First is the Oxford University astrazeneca vaccine and the second one is the Bharat Biotech, which is an indian made vaccine, the first indian vaccine for the coronavirus to be recommended and after britains approval, it became very clear that because this one is very Cost Effective and it can be stored in a fridge and it suits india and most importantly the astrazeneca vaccine is being made locally in india, in the western part of india by serum institute, so this is easily available for india. There are questions over the second one, Bharat Biotech, there have been opposition politicians questioning on twitter about whether enough trials were conducted, what is the efficacy of this particular vaccine . We still dont know about that, but the drug regulator was categorical in saying that we will not approve anything without considering safety in our mind. And when does the roll out of the vaccines begin and who is the priority, which population groups get it first . The government held a mass drill on saturday to check the gaps in the Distribution Network india is a huge country, if they want to distribute and supply these vaccines, they need to have a system in place. And the government has already promised that in the coming week, they should be able to start this vaccination drive. First, they need to sign contracts with these two companies to source the doses and second, they have to distribute to a different part of the country. Indian authorities are also looking at whats happening in britain because after the first dose, there seems to be a shortage. Struggling to find a way to give the second dose. And here, both vaccines, astrazeneca and the Bharat Biotech, they involve two doses. So, the government wants to keep enough stock before they start rolling out. But this has been eagerly anticipated and there are people who are questioning how far these vaccines may be effective. There are some people saying we do not want to take the vaccine, but overall, what the people want to know, is an assurance from the government and Health Experts these vaccines are really, really effective so people can take it and the economy can be revived. Our south asia editor with the latest from delhi there. Now its time for a look at the weather with ben rich. Hello. The cold and wintry weather weve had to start 2021 shows no sign of letting up through the week ahead. It is going to stay pretty chilly out there with a mixture of rain, sleet and snow at times, but not all the time. There will also be some spells of sunshine. Through the rest of sunday into the night, we will see for this further showers streaming in from the east, rain at low levels but some sleet and snow even over fairly modest hills, and some ice likely across parts of eastern scotland and north east england. Through the night, temperatures hovering just above freezing, i think, just above some across some south eastern parts of england. Further north and west, Northern Ireland and scotland dropping well below freezing. And then, into tomorrow, again, for most we will see some sunny spells, but some showers, which will be wintry. More cloud the further south and east you are, and some quite persistent rain across parts of essex, kent and sussex, and also down into the channel islands. Temperatures in single digits, a keen wind as well. That will make it feel cold, and it stays chilly through to the middle of the week. There will be a bit of rain, sleet and snow at times

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