This is bbc news. Im Lukwesa Burak with the latest headlines more than a thousand people have been arrested in russia as police crack down on protests by supporters of the jailed Opposition Leader alexei navalny. One of those detained is mr navalny� s wife, yulia, who was at a demonstration attended by thousands in moscow. These are live pictures from moscow as the protests continue. Riot police growling with one of the protesters there. Senior doctors call for changes in the vaccine roll out in the uk they want the 12 week gap between the first and second dose of the pfizerjab to be halved. What we do need to be assured of is that people are properly protected, because if the level of protection with the second dose
is compromised by a longer delay, that of course will impact on the doctors that i represent, because they are facing the virus at close quarters as they look after patients. The leader of welsh conservatives paul davies has resigned after admitting drinking on the senedd estate, days after a pub alcohol ban was enforced. And the american broadcaster and talk show host larry king has died at the age of 87. Good afternoon. Police in russia have made more than a thousand arrests at protests in support of the jailed Opposition Leader alexei navalny, including his wife, yulia. Demonstrations have been taking place across russia, including the eastern cities of vladivostok and khabarovsk. In the siberian city of yakutsk, protesters braved temperatures of 50 degrees. Mr navalny was arrested last week after he flew back to moscow from berlin, where he had been recovering from a near fatal nerve agent attack in russia last august. On his return, he was immediately taken into custody and found guilty of violating parole conditions. He described it as a trumped up case designed to silence him. The largest gatherings are ongoing in the capital, moscow. Our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, reports. In the freezing cold, out they came. Thousands of protesters taking to the streets to demand change. Here in vladivostok, in the far east of the country, there were scuffles with police as they tried to disrupt protests
the kremlin says are illegal. Putin is a thief, they shouted. Freedom to navalny. There were reports that hundreds had been arrested at rallies in up to 60 cities across the vast breadth of russia. They were out for one man, the Opposition Leader, alexi navalny. He may remain injail but his supporters were in full voice. Translation im tired. Just like many russians, im tired. Im 26 years old, ive lived my whole life under putin, and every year, i hear the same promises. Translation in russia, the current authorities i everything they can in order to cement their power, you know, so that it will never change. But what are we for . We are for a transfer of power. More than 5000 miles to the west,
many thousands gathered to protest on the streets of moscow. Russia without putin, they chanted. Police detained hundreds before the protests even began. How can you look your children in the eyes, this man asks them. The question now is whether protesters can keep up the momentum in the days and weeks ahead in the face of the police and the bitter russian winter. 0ur moscow correspondent, 0leg boldyrev, gave us more details about the difficulities Yulia Navalnaya has faced since her husbands arrest. She had a very unfortunate platform to speak from on many occasions when her husband had been put in detention. She was vowing to keep the fight on, she was telling the people not to be afraid and to keep protesting. There has been encouragement and rumours that she might replace mr navalny if he is
jailed for a long time. So far, those rumours have not substantiated. She has not had any formal role but she is by his side, flying with him when he was poisoned in siberia, she was on the plane that brought navalny in a coma to berlin, she stayed there and then came back on a plane last sunday. I remember in august, Hilary Clinton very vocally gave her her support on twitter, mentioning yulia personally. Whats likely to happen to her next . Shes been arrested by the Russian Security forces, so what normally happens . This is where people get very concerned, dont they . If im not mistaken, this is herfirst detention. Normally in this case, a fine is applied. In some cases, people are being let out free after checks by the police. There is a broad scope
in what the police and the state can do to you. If youve been arrested, i think, several times, there is a threat of a criminal prosecution. For example, another woman, a close associate of navalny, who has been waging hunger strikes in the summer of 2019, she was trying to run for the moscow parliament, she has been heavily fined yesterday, i think, over 2000 euros she has been fined, but today, she has been detained. These potentially carry a threat of criminal prosecution. The russian state does not waste any effort to prosecute those who have been protesting. In the past few minutes the british
government have released a statement saying. That was a statement from the uk government on those detentions taking place in russia. Senior doctors have called for the maximum i2 week gap between the first and second dose of the pfizer coronavirus vaccination to be halved. In a private letter to englands chief medical officer, which has been seen by the bbc, the doctors union, the bma, called the delay difficult to justify. The government argues the longer gap can saves lives by allowing more people to receive a first jab more quickly. 0ur Health CorrespondentAnna Collinson reports. Its the largest Vaccination Programme in british history and to many so far, its been a success. But there are calls for the Pfizer Biontech second dose to be given more quickly. The manufacturers have no data to back up the i2 week delay and some senior doctors want it reduced to six weeks. That would still allow many more people to have a first dose compared to a three week interval, but at least it will be in keeping with International Best practice guidance. There is no other nation internationally that has adopted a i2 week delay. During yesterdays downing street briefing, englands chief medical officer said extending the gap to 12 weeks was a Public Health decision, a view many agree with. I totally support the decision to extend the gap between doses. I think, looking at the evidence in total, i think that is strongly supportive of that and i think, on this particular occasion, the bma has probably got it wrong. The government says the Current System will be kept under review but believes it is the right thing to do. It enables people to get the first
jab as quickly as possible and the high level of protection that one jab alone provides to them and then, of course, those individuals will be invited back for their second jab within 12 weeks. Questions are also being asked about the more infectious variants. Vaccines are still expected to be effective but early evidence suggests it may be more deadly, though more research is needed. We can expect more reminders to stay at home and to keep our distance for weeks, maybe months to come. One of the giants of american broadcasting, larry king, has died. He was 87. He was best known for hosting a nightly talk show on cnn, which ran for 25 years. He was being treated in hospital after testing positive for covid i9. Daniella relph looks back on his life. For more than 60 years, he interviewed everybody who was anybody. Tonight, the legendary Liza Minnelli on marriage. Would you marry again . Are you nuts . Oscar winners. Start spreading the news the legendary Liza Minnelli is here. President s. Tonight, a candid conversation with president george w and laura bush from the white house. Do you ever think you would say, maybe i was wrong . The decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision. | not friends any more . If you were in the public eye, you came to the court of larry king. Were you with the president at times, intimately, and he would also be conducting affairs of state . The story that he was on the phone, talking to congressmen . Erm, yes. Its the witching hour, miami beachs midnight flyer programme. Born in brooklyn, he rose to fame in his 20s as a discjockey in florida. Spoofing his role in this 1960s tv crime series based in miami. Hey, creep from the nations capital, youre listening to the larry king show. By the 1970s, he was broadcasting his late night radio show coast to coast. Across the united states, this is the larry king show,
coast to coast. Preferring not to prepare too much for an interview and simply letting the conversation unfold. I like spontaneity, thats the kind of broadcaster i am. Im coming on the air saying, good evening, my guest tonight is. I have no idea what that questions going to be. In the 1980s, king joined a new 24 hour tv news station, cnn, gently probing everyone from donald trump. Rumblings in the trump camp as far as the presidency. Could the manhatten magnate be eyeing the white house or is he just calling a bluff . I have no intention of running for president , but i have a point to get across we have a great country, but its not be great for long if we are going to continue to lose 200 billion a year. To frank sinatra. I tremble every time i walk out from the wing onto the stage l because i keep thinking to myself, i wonder if itll be there. After leaving cnn, those famous braces could be seen,
until recently, on larry king now. | theygo, cut. Ctit what is she doing . his new talk show was criticised for being syndicated on a russian sponsored tv network, rt. People dont expect you to be sitting at certain board. But with guests like 0prah, larry king proved that, even in his 80s, he still had unrivalled pulling power. The us broadcaster and talk show host larry king, who has died at the age of 87. The leader of the welsh conservatives has resigned after an investigation found he may have broken coronavirus restrictions by Drinking Alcohol in the senedd tea room in december. The incident, involving four members of the welsh parliament, happened just days after pubs across wales were banned from selling alcohol in early december. 0ur wales Political EditorFelicity Evans gave us this update. Its been a very difficult week for the welsh conservatives, these allegations first emerged on tuesday and at that time, paul davies, the leader of the conservative group in the senedd, along with his chief whip, Darren Miller and a labour member of the senedd, alun davies, issued statements in which they said they had had a drink in the tearoom of the senedd, which is a licensed premises, just days after the Welsh Government had introduced a ban on alcohol being served in licensed premises. Although they insisted they did not break coronavirus regulations, because the onus in these new rules was on the licence holder rather than any drinkers. But in that statement, they accepted that it might be perceived they hadnt observed that the spirit of these regulations, though they insisted it was a work meeting and they had only a couple of glasses of wine. Since then, pressure has built, the Senedd Commission has
launched its own investigation. Yesterday, mr davies group said he had their unanimous support, but shortly after that, the presiding officer issued a statement in which she confirmed that four elected members had consumed alcohol on the senedd premises and she was referring the matter to the standards commissioner for further investigation. And this morning, paul davies and his chief whip, Darren Miller, have both announced they are standing down from their front bench positions. The headlines on bbc news more than a thousand people have been arrested in russia as police crack down on protests by supporters of the jailed Opposition Leader alexei navalny. One of those detained is mr navalny� s wife, yulia, who was at a demonstration attended by thousands in moscow. Senior doctors call for changes in the vaccine roll out in the uk. They want the i2 week gap between the first and second dose
of the pfizerjab to be halved. Now for a full round up from the bbc sport centre. Good afternoon. England stone contention on the second england stone contention on the second day england stone contention on the second day of england stone contention on the second day of the england stone contention on the second day of the test england stone contention on the second day of the test against. England stone contention on the i second day of the test against sri lankd another day, another year, and whos grinning . England without anderson is still unthinkable. Wasnt sure about this wickets, nobody was. A review and replay before the spikes seem to reveal the faint sound of bat on ball, the batsmen trudging away. The next up was building his
score for sri lanka, englands spin bowlers failed to take a single wickets, send for you know who. The batsmen on 92, caught byjames leach. Five wickets for anderson and what a way to make it six. Anderson once more outstanding. But sri lanka were still going. By the time they had finished theirfun, were still going. By the time they had finished their fun, the total was 381, that is solid batting. Match perspective now depended on englands response. Wa, sibley gone for not. And now crawley,. Betting demands concentration, improvisation, joe root showed how. Choose when to attack. Jonny bairstow was capable. England are starting to put pressure back on sri lanka, still 283 behind, but two yorkshiremen are showing nerve. Anderson the man england have to thank for getting sri lanka out. He is feeling england can deliver. It was a good effort to keep them under 400 and we know now we have to bat big, we have to bat a long time to try and win this game, but thats what you have to do. We got off to a decent start with the bat, just a couple of guys to go big. Holders arsenal are out of the fa cup after a 1 0 defeat at southampton. A first half own goal by gabriel, who turned in Kyle Walker Peters cross, was all that separated the two sides at st marys. Southampton will now face wolves in the fifth round. Well, that match one of eight in the fa cup today. Most of those under way right now, on the red button you can see if league one sides can score an upset over premier league opposition. Plymouth are at sheffield united. And west ham will be hoping to avoid an upset,
at home to doncaster rovers. West amara goal up in that match, Pablo Fornals with the goal for them. Relegation threatened aston villa picked up a precious point in a 2 2 draw at home to reading in the womens super league. Villa twice came from behind, with diana silver making it 2 2 late on. Villa are still second from bottom in the table, five points ahead of bristol city. Reading remain sixth. Rory mcilroy leads going into tomorrows final round of the abu dhabi championship. The northern irishman moved clear with a superb chip in for eagle at the tenth. Hes now 13 under par. Tyrrell hatton is a shot further back, with fellow englishman Tommy Fleetwood on 11 under. Elvyn evans suffered a frustrating day at the monte carlo rally, losing his lead to sebastien 0gier. The welshman saw his seven second overnight advantage evaporate and he admitted he was far too careful during the first stage and struggled on the second. He won the last one of the day,
but not by enough to retake the lead from his toyota team mate and World Champion 0gier. The frenchman is now 13 seconds ahead, withjust four stages to go tomorrow. And ben ainslies hopes of becoming the first british skipper to win the americas cup have been given a major boost. His team ineos beat the italians to win their qualifying competition, so they now go on to take on either italy again or the usa next month for the right to face new zealand for the one of sports oldest trophies in march. Its a great moment for the team because we had a tough start, a tough build up to this competition, so i am incredibly proud of everyone. That said, we still have a long way to go at this rate, so while we got ourselves into the cup final, it isjust while we got ourselves into the cup final, it is just one step along the road and now we have to focus on winning that and then after that, the cup. So, one step at a time. Thats all the sport for now. You can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. India scottish premiership, rangers are at home to ross county, they could go 23 points clear at the top with a win today. They are currently 10 with a win today. They are currently 1 0 up that match. Guernsey has gone into lockdown with immediate effect and islanders are being asked to stay at home with schools and hospitality venues closed. It follows confirmation of four new positive cases of covid 19. Its not immediately clear how the infected people contracted the virus. Bbc news reporter, euan duncan, is in st peter port. This is our second lockdown in guernsey, of course, following in the steps of the isle of man, who performed a similar measure when they found cases. We were told at
they found cases. We were told at the press conference at which a mother suddenly this morning, that it has three adults and one teenager who contracted the virus, and this is a bitter blow to the 63,000 residents who live here in guernsey whove enjoyed coming out of lockdown in june whove enjoyed coming out of lockdown injune 2020 and enjoyed the freedom to come with that. We havent had to such a distance from each other in well over six months and our festive period each other in well over six months and ourfestive period has been undisturbed because we have been able to do things like attend nativity plays or go and see Christmas Lights being switched on, enjoy time with family, which we know we are lucky to do in this smalljurisdiction, which i havent been able to do in the uk or even in jersey, in largerjurisdictions closer to us. So this is going to be a bitter blow. We are now back in the island in a similar position to what we were almost a year ago, back into lockdown, and that was announced today for an indefinite period. Will get a review after two
weeks where we get more information but it is key to say that, even though this is happening, guernsey will continue to vaccinate islanders against those covid 19 virus thats going our vaccination centre, which is due to open on monday next week, has been designed specifically for social distancing in mind, even though, at the time it was due to open, we didnt have to socially distanced here, so the government are now saying that will not affect the vaccine roll outs. They are hoping to vaccinate up to 3000 people per week here in guernsey and course, the care home residents have already been done and Front Line Health Workers as well, but the island does know it has been in a unique and fortunate position to have avoided the sanctions we have had in the uk for so long. Were so grateful weve been in this position but now must think hard and fast about controlling the spread of this
and we dont know how many cases yet we will find, our Contact Tracing the team are working solidly, they encountered this last night at 7pm, the government were meeting this morning at 6am and the press conference was called 12pm. We will have another one tomorrow, we will find out more information, but until then, the islanders hope that this can be contained very quickly. Students from more than 50 universities are taking part in a rent strike in protest at how the pandemic has affected their studies. Many courses have moved to Remote Learning which has caused some students to go back home. With Mental Health also a big concern, the Higher Education regulator is calling for more financial and emotional support for students. Adina campbell reports. A lonely figure in one of the uks largest cities. Life in sheffield for third year student harry smith isnt what it used to be. Stuck indoors in a tiny room, hes one of a handful of people left in this block of flats,
normally home to hundreds. His only contact with the outside world, working part time at the local supermarket. Ive told my University Many times, you should have told us to stay at home and do a virtual degree. It would have saved £5,000 for me on rent, it would have saved coming here, switchingjobs, ruining my Mental Health, that sort of thing. But i think now, i think someone needs to step in, the government, the accommodation themselves, the university to alleviate these contracts that we are tied up to. Sheffield Hallam University says it quickly communicated that teaching would be online until the end of february and has prioritised Mental Health support. Harry has just about managed to pay his rent for the next few months, but others are choosing not to and are taking part in a rent Strike Campaign at more than 50 universities in the uk. This is not the University Experience students ever imagined theyd be facing. Normally, this part of sheffield is full of people making their way to and from lectures or catching up in cafes and pubs. But instead, its eerily quiet and more like a ghost town. The department of education and governments in scotland, wales and Northern Ireland say millions of pounds has been made available to help those experiencing Financial Difficulties as well as funding for better access to online learning. The bbc has been given exclusive access to the nurse led covid wards at Clacton Community hospital in essex. Theyre experiencing high patient demand and an increasing number of patients are not surviving covid 19. Simon dedman and cameraman Jamie Niblock report. Staff have struggled a lot more second time round. You can see them really struggling, gasping for air, its
horrendous on our part. Stressful. Its stressful for everyone. Patients come in, walking in here, and they are covid positive, and within a few days, you see them deteriorating, theyre so fatigued they cannot move and then gradually we see them dying. But we still have to be there for them until the end. Two months since we were on clacton hospitals covid wards, things have changed. The number of beds has doubled to 56, but still that is not enough to meet demand, they are nearly always full. Wejoined this nurse again on her round. Oh, look at those, lovely no fluid in there. Its quite bad at the moment. Obviously, the whole nhs is really struggling. We have increased our bed base here recently in the last week
to accommodate more patients coming in from the acute trusts to free up those acute beds for those patients who really need that additional care. Covid patients are getting younger. Diane from colchester is 56. Shes been in hospital since before christmas. I didnt want to be resuscitated, i was so ill, and peoplejust think its easy, its not. I was really ill. Even the doctors were worried about me, and i said, if im going to come out a lot worse than what i went in, i dont want to come out. Theyre a lot more poorly this time round, and weve also got quite a few staff off, regular, substantive staff, so we are working with a lot more agency. Agency staff like deanne, whos been drafted in from her communityjob. Theres lots of machines ive never used before, ive never had to do obs in my life. It is a different experience, being out in the community. It does feel a lot busier than when we were here two months ago, its a lot more frantic, theres a lot more energy. The staff say that they are stressed and frankly, when you look at their faces, you can tell that they are. Its pauls second day. He cleans constantly to kill covid particles to protect patients and his colleagues. I was a carer for ten years for my mum, who sadly passed away, but ive always wanted to help people, its what ive done pretty much most of my life. So i thought, theres no better way to help people thanjoin the nhs. Patients are waiting, hoping, like donald and diane, for covid to clear their bodies. As we wait and hope for covid to be gone from our communities, hospital staff are working night and day like never before, trying to save people from this deadly disease. Two railway routes which were closed more than 50 years ago
are to be reopened. The next phase of east west rail, connecting oxford and cambridge, was confirmed by the government in november after being awarded £760 million. The northumberland line, which still carries freight, will get £34 million to restart passenger services. 0ur transport correspondent Caroline Davies reports. Some train lines cut in the 1960s are being brought back. The government have announced £760 million to continue work on the bicester to bletchley line, which hasnt run since 1968. But life after covid could look very different and it could take a while for the numbers using the railways to bounce back. Why are you investing this amount of money now . I think its really important that we are thinking about the future and fortunately, with the jabs going into peoples arms, we can see there will be life after coronavirus. We want people to be able to get about, connect communities. Theres also £34 million to restore a line in northumberland, closed in 1964 but still running freight. It means towns like ashington will have a Train Station after decades without one. Although its welcome, some say much more is needed. The northumberland line is one piece of the jigsaw, but if you dont invest in other critical infrastructure, in particular in the wider rail network, then the north east will never benefit from projects like hs2 and Northern Powerhouse rail. Both services will run on diesel initially, rather than greener alternatives. The government say they are looking to bring back more lines previously cut. Now its time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. Further snow showers for the north
and west of scotland overnight