This is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. The number of covid 19 cases in the United States passes 25 million with the number of deaths soaring to nearly 418,000. More than 70 cases of the south african variant of covid are identified in the uk, amid concerns the vaccine may be less effective against it. Ministers say numbers are being closely monitored. We have an enhanced Contact Tracing, to do everything we possibly can to stop them from spreading. Israel announces it will ban incoming flights from monday evening until the end ofjanuary in order to try and contain the spread of coronavirus. Some enjoy the wintry conditions, as snow and ice sweep across the uk, but Severe Weather warnings
are in place for many areas. And celebrations in china, as eleven gold miners whod been trapped underground for two weeks are rescued. Hello, welcome to the programme. We begin in the United States, which has now recorded more than 25 million coronavirus cases. That analysis from Johns Hopkins university means the us is the hardest hit country in the world, with nearly a18,000 people dying with the virus so far. New President Joe Biden has signed executive orders to expand testing and vaccine distribution, increase the production of essential equipment, and guarantee unemployment benefits, as part of his covid action plan to try get on top of the virus. 0ur correspondent nomia iqbal
is in washington with more on why tackling covid is president biden� s top priority. These figures that we are now seeing, i think whats even more staggering is that Health Experts think that they could be understated figures, given how much they believe that the coronavirus has spread across the country. And as you mentioned there, joe biden has already taken action. Around about ten executive orders on the first day of getting into office signed to deal with the pandemic. But there is way more to go with this, and he is trying to push through congress a package worth more than 1 trillion which will, amongst many things, accelerate the rate at which people will be vaccinated. Because it is a bit of a race against time, notjust here in the us, but also around the world. He wants to get as many people vaccinated as possible 100 Million People in his first 100 days because there are fears that the covid, the virus could mutate
into a strain, that means that all these newly approved vaccinations might not work, that people might become resistant to them. 0k, nomia, thanks forthat. Stay there for a second, because theres another big story out of the us at the moment. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has just finished a News Conference in new york. He says there are three priorities in the next few weeks approving president biden� s cabinet picks, getting covid relief funds approved, and the impeachment trial of donald trump. On that, he says the house managers will read the articles of impeachment on monday. Everyone wants to put this awful chapter in American History behind us, but sweeping it under the rug will not bring healing. The only way to bring healing is to actually have real accountability, which this trial affords. And so, we will move forward with the trial. It will be fair, but it will move at a relatively fast pace. Well, lets go back to nomia on that. So the dilemma here for
the democrats, of course, theyve chosen their path impeachment, it is but they dont want it to distract too much from their own agenda. They dont, but it will distract. This trial wont happen for another couple of weeks, though, and it does give former President Trump the time to prepare for his defence. The thing is, in order for donald trump to be convicted, in the senate, the democrats need 17 republicans on their side. And they might get that, given that ten republicans did vote to impeach, but its going to be a tricky battle to get those people on side. I mean, there are lots of republicans that still do back donald trump. They reject that message that Chuck Schumerjust said about, you know, the only way you can get unity is by accountability. Many believe that trying to impeach trump, who is still hugely popular,
would be disastrous for unity in this country. So it will be interesting to see what happens next but, as i say, the trial isnt expected to happen for another couple of weeks but, tomorrow, we will see the article of impeachment handed to the senate in the evening. 0ur our thanks to nomia iqbal. Here, the health secretary, matt hancock, says 77 cases of the south african variant of coronavirus have been found here in the uk, but they can all be linked to international travel, and theres no evidence its spreading in the community. Matt hancock also said we are a long way from covid restrictions being eased, as scientists warn vaccinated people may still be able to pass on the virus. 0ur science editor, david shukman, reports. All kinds of surprising locations are now mobilised in the push for vaccination even the Black Country living museum, near birmingham. Used as a set in the drama peaky blinders, this celebration of an earlier age is ready to offer the most modern of medicines, everything prepared for coronavirus vaccines. Please, please come and get your vaccine. We are here and we are ready
and we are waiting for you. It is vitally important that people protect themselves, protect their families and protect one another. We do know that the injections offer good protection. They boost antibodies in the bloodstream and keep people from getting ill. But its not clear if that stops the virus causing infections that can then spread to others. There is some evidence from the astrazeneca vaccine trial, and that did show that a small number were indeed positive for sars cov z, despite having no symptoms whatsoever and having had the vaccine. Now, it was very small numbers and really hard to see a statistically meaningful result. And another concern is how the virus is changing. A variant in south africa is one of several being checked to see how effective the vaccines are against it. There are 77 known cases of the south african variant here in the uk. They are under very close observation, and we have enhanced Contact Tracing to do everything
we possibly can to stop them from spreading. The majority of those i have had contact with, or come from, south africa,. And that is why weve got such stringent border measures in place. So, a big question is, how to manage the uks borders. Many countries require travellers to quarantine in hotels. Theres pressure on the government for stricter controls. On monday, we got this delayed announcement, yet again delayed. We would fully expect the government to bring in tougher quarantine measures, we would expect them to roll out a proper testing strategy, and we would expect them as well to start checking up on the people who are quarantining. Only three out of every hundred people who are asked to quarantine when they arrive in the uk actually faces any checks at all. Thats just simply not sufficient. And meanwhile, not everyone is getting the message. The police broke up an illegal rave
in east london in the early hours and they issued fines totalling £15,000. David shukman, bbc news. Israel has announced a week long ban on most incoming and outgoing flights, to slow the spread of the new coronavirus variants. The measure will come into force tomorrow night. Exceptions will be made for cargo and firefighting flights, as well as trips for medical treatments, funerals and legal procedures. Since the roll out of covid vaccines one month ago, israel has vaccinated just over 27 of its population. Todays snowfall has affected four Vaccination Centres in wales which had to close. Travel has been disrupted in many parts of the country, but some have been out enjoying the snow. Simonjones spent the afternoon in surrey. We spoke to him a little earlier. Now, this has been the first significant snowfall weve seen in southern england so far this winter, but its affected a large amount of the uk. So, weve seen large snow showers in Northern Ireland,
weve seen problems in wales, where some Vaccination Centres had to close. The midlands has also been particularly hard hit in some areas, there have been up to 12 cm of snow, and some of this falling onto land which was already saturated after torrential rain and flooding. So, potentially, some more problems ahead. In terms of the weather, well, its not snowing here at the moment, but the warning is certain areas could see further snow this evening, up until around midnight. And then, when we get into tomorrow, were not out of the woods because there are further warnings from the met office in place for icy conditions because youve got this snow, freezing conditions overnight, its not going to melt, so it could be pretty tricky getting around when it comes to conditions tomorrow. On your marks, get set, go a race to get out into the open air, after weeks cooped up inside during lockdown. Ijust think its so important for the soul to get out, enjoy the outdoors when you can. It means literally the world to me because coronavirus has been really hard for people now. These hills in surrey resembled a ski resort, as families came out for their permitted daily exercise. Thats despite the met office issuing a severe warning of dangerous conditions underfoot and on the roads. In many places, there have been treacherous driving conditions. The snow has fallen on ground that was already freezing and, in many cases, saturated after days of rainfall. Its meant that many people have come up here by foot. A gritting lorry overturned in devon, as drivers were warned only to travel if absolutely necessary. The flakes came down thick and fast across large swathes of the uk. This was a snowy scene in newport. Four coronavirus Vaccination Centres in south wales were forced to shut. The met office says by the middle
of the week, the cold and wintry conditions will give way to wet and windy ones, leading to fears of flooding. Simon jones, bbc news. We have seen people here coming out enjoying the snow, to be fair, it has largely been family groups and we have seen social distancing and there are signs that warning people they must maintain their distance. There was also a snowman outside Scotland Yard in Central London where quite rarely, snowfall actually collected, and police there warned people enjoying the snow to just make sure they were sensible and make sure they did observe social distancing and didnt stop mixing with people who are not from their own family or their own social bubble. In terms of what we have got here, well, a few people still out and about enjoying it. The big challenge, though, for some people here is going to be getting out of the car park because we have seen quite a lot of people wheel spinning
trying to get out of here in the icy conditions so ijust hope i will be able to find my way home, too simon james the Scottish National party has laid out what it calls a roadmap to a new independence referendum. The plan has been shared with the Partys National assembly and could lead to a legal showdown with borisjohnson� s westminster government, which opposes another referendum. Scotlands first minister Nicola Sturgeon spoke to andrew marr this morning. Hes frightened of democracy. The polls now show a majority of people in scotland want independence. If the snp win the Scottish Election in a few months� time on a proposition of giving the people that choice, then what democrat could rightly stand in the way of that . Boris johnson clearly just fears the verdict and the will of the scottish people. 0ur scotland political editor, glenn campbell, has this. Well, its long been the snp� s plan a to win
the next holyrood election due in may as convincingly as it can, and if theres a majority for independence in the Scottish Parliament to watch uk opposition to another referendum crumble. The trouble with that is the current uk government shows no sign of agreeing to whats called indyref 2. And as borisjohnson� s resistance has appeared to harden, critics of Nicola Sturgeon� s leadership within the snp have demanded she sets out a plan b. Thats what we have now the idea that if the snp continues in government, it will press ahead with legislation for an independence referendum, even without uk consent, and be prepared to defend that in court, in the unlikely event of a legal challenge. The snp, to be clear, say they would only actually hold a referendum if it was certified as legal and after the pandemic, but the conservatives say this
is just the wrong priority. The entire focus, they say, should be on recovery from coronavirus. But with opinion polls suggesting support for both the snp and independence is strong, expect a lot more Political Tension to come over this. In china, 11 gold miners saw daylight today for the first time in two weeks, after an incredible rescue. They were part of a group of 22 people trapped underground after an explosion. Last week, rescuers at the mine in shandoong warned the men might have to wait another two weeks before they could be reached. But on sunday, a major obstacle fell out of the way and they were brought to the surface. Its not clear if others are still alive underground. 0ur correspondent Steve Mcdonell has more. After two weeks trapped underground, he took his first breath of air above the mine. His eyes masked against the glaring light, his gratitude to be alive overwhelming. One of 11 miners rescued today, after a dramatic change in fortune. The first miner out prompted cheers. He was barely conscious, after being found still alive but separated from the main group, which had been receiving food and medicine. Soon, others were emerging. There were injuries, but many could walk, with the assistance of those whod been battling through freezing conditions night after night to reach them. Translation the rescuers checked the miners to see l if they had any injuries and covered their eyes for protection. After lifting up all the trapped miners, well go on with the search for the missing ones. An initial delay of 30 hours in reporting the accident led to the sacking of local officials. Then a week later, miners were discovered alive and a long, thin communication tunnel meant emergency deliveries. One of the main group died from his head injuries and they lost contact with their colleague, trapped below. With underground water rising, it was looking grim when officials said it would take 1a more days to dig a rescue tunnel through 600 metres of granite. But somehow, a large ventilation shaft was cleared which led all the way to them and, within hours, they were being rescued and on their way to hospital. Stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing. The headlines on bbc news more than 70 cases of the south african variant of covid are identified in the uk, amid concerns the vaccine may be less effective against it. The number of covid 19 cases in the United States passes 25 million, with the death toll soaring to nearly 418,000. Some enjoy the wintry conditions, as snow and ice sweep across the uk but Severe Weather warnings are in place for many areas. People in amsterdam have been protesting against new coronavirus restrictions introduced by the dutch government. Police used water cannon to disperse the demonstrators. The netherlands imposed its first night time curfew since world war ii in a bid to stop the spread of new coronavirus variants. Egypt the arab worlds most populous country has begun the process of vaccinating its more than 100 million citizens. The first recipients were a doctor and a nurse, who were given the chinese made sinopharm injection. Vaccines from britain and russia will be included in the programme as it unfolds. The German Government is reported to have bought a supply of regeneron, the experimental antibodies treatment credited with helping donald trump recoverfrom covid 19. The countrys Health Minister said germany would start deploying the drug next week, the First European Union country to do so. Its hoped it will work like a passive vaccination, helping to protect high risk patients in the early stage against a serious deterioration. 0ur correspondent Damien Mcguinness in berlin has more. According to german media, the German Government has now bought 200,000 doses of regeneron, at a cost of around 2000 euros per dose,
so its not a cheap drug. And the way it works is really, its described as almost like a passive vaccination. So, usually, the vaccines weve been talking about so far always spark the body to actively generate antibodies, which then fight or prevent infection. The way this drug works, antibodies are made in a lab. Theyre then administered to people and people then have the antibodies, which, if they have the beginnings of an infection, it would then prevent them from having severe complications from that infection. As you said, quite correctly, donald trump received the drug. He described it as having done a fantasticjob and, judging from his recovery, that does seem to be the case. So, its being seen as another way to really get those quite high fatality numbers being seen in germany right now down a little bit more because, over the summer, the total death toll
from the pandemic stayed at about 10,000 right through the summer, and thats a very low number considering the size of germany. The death toll is still really high. So, drugs like this are really needed and i think thats going to be some welcome news for some of those hospital workers and people in hospital right now, who have the beginnings of what could be a severe infection. New zealand has reported its first case of covid 19 outside of a quarantine facility in more than two months. Health officials said a 56 year old woman, who had recently returned from europe, tested positive ten days after completing a compulsory two week period of managed isolation. Contact tracing efforts are under way, and authorities have published a list of locations the woman visited. Officials in new zealand have been giving more details. The case is a 56 year old woman, who has recently been through isolation at the Pullman Hotel in auckland, after returning from europe. She tested negative twice during her stay and was released following that. We dont yet know the origin or the strain of the infection. Its important not to speculate on that until we have that information. Its also too early to speculate on what our possible Response Options may be, including things like alert levels. We are working on the assumption that this is a positive case and that it is a more transmissible variant either one of the ones identified first in south africa or the uk, or potentially brazil, or another more transmissible variant. Given where we are in this global pandemic, the variants that are becoming more common are the ones that are more transmissible. Its been one of the big Unanswered Questions about covid why do some people get really sick and others show no symptoms at all . A team at Cambridge University has been trying to answer it by looking for clues in the blood. 0ur science correspondent, richard westcott, went to see what theyve discovered so far. Why do some people get really sick with covid, whilst others are fine . And could the answer lie in our blood . For months, researchers at Cambridge University have been comparing the blood of hundreds of covid patients. Some of those patients were hospitalised others had no symptoms at all. And the researchers could see significant differences. We found that the patients who did well had evidence of an early robust immune response to sars cov 2, and no evidence of inflammation associated with that at least, in the blood. In contrast, in people who went on to do badly, and who were admitted to hospital, they had a slower response to the virus itself, but enhanced evidence of inflammation. And we saw that, importantly, at the very first blood test we took, often within a couple of days of symptom onset. Inflammation happens when your body sends in the troops to attack invaders, like a virus. But if the immune system overreacts, sending in too many troops,
the excess inflammation can make you very ill. So the people who get very sick, am i right in thinking its not actually, weirdly, the virus thats making them very sick, its their bodys response to the virus . So, effectively, their body is attacking itself . So, thats effectively true. Clearly, the viral infection kicks the whole thing off, but what causes the damage that results, for example, in admission to intensive care is an uncontrolled and excessive inflammatory response initiated by the virus, but that seems to be sustained in people who do badly. So, the virus might have gone, and your immune systems still attacking your body . Certainly, and it appears that the virus is cleared from most patients by the time theyre doing badly, if theyre on intensive care, for example. So, i guess a key question is, how can you use this information . Can you, say, develop a test that people could take so they would know if theyre going to get very sick or not . Probably not, based on the evidence weve got, and thats because by the time we see people after theyve developed symptoms
who are going to get very sick, theyre already on their way to getting very sick. But what i think this tells us is that if we are going to try and prevent the development of inflammation early, we have to be treating patients much, much earlier than we thought. Its still early days, but these findings could help us improve treatments and understand the long term effects of this disease. So, i think the key thing for us now is to keep following this group of patients who we recruited back a year ago, to study the recovery of their immune responses and their immune systems. And we certainly know that by three to four months, there are still profound abnormalities in the immune systems, even of patients who have ostensibly got well and gone home. And the question is, do those abnormalities recover, or are they persistent . And what does that mean, in the context of so called long covid . Richard wescott, bbc news, cambridge. Figures obtained by the bbc have demonstrated the huge impact the pandemic has been having on the British Labour market. They show employers made plans to cut 795,000 jobs over the course of 2020 a record number. Planned redundancies surged to their highest levels in june and july, but the pace slowed considerably by the end of the year. As the Covid Vaccination programme continues, there are growing concerns that people with learning disabilities are being overlooked. A recent Public Health england study found a mortality rate up to six times higherfor those in this group than the general population but many are not being prioritised for a vaccine. Nikki fox has the story. You know, you cant smell it, you cant see it. You cant hear it. Its like a silent killer. Everyone here has a learning disability. They meet up regularly to talk about and understand death and bereavement. Its scary at times. These chats have never been more important. All i keep thinking is, am i going to be next . You know what i mean, am i going to be the next one to die . I would hate to be in a hospital
and end up dying on my own. People with learning disabilities are up to six times more likely to die from coronavirus. Thats according to analysis by Public Health england, which looked at the number of deaths during the first wave of the pandemic. However, only those with down� s syndrome and severe learning disabilities are being prioritised for the vaccine. People adore her. Tilly is one of those being prioritised. And it cant come soon enough. I get so fearful for her. Historic inequalities in health care, and the knowledge that even before covid, people with learning disabilities had such a low Life Expectancy means, for many families, any visit to hospital is a worry. We have had too many instances where shes been refused treatment, because they cant work out how to treat somebody with a learning disability. For me to think about that happening, if she had the virus and she had to go into hospital, its terrifying, absolutely terrifying. Deciding who is eligible
for priority access is not an easy task. The initial Priority Programme was based on the risk of hospitalisation and death. The committee which advises government examined a different set of data to Public Health england. It believes those with milder learning disabilities are not at such an increased risk. Individuals with learning disability, we recognise as a very disadvantaged group, so thats why we decided to make a clinical decision to prioritise those with profound and severe learning disabilities within our first six categories. With such conflicting figures, experts fear that by not immunising everyone with a learning disability as a priority. We need to protect this population. There will be many who will not get the vaccine in time. Lots of people with learning disabilities have things like diabetes, or heart problems, or lung problems. Even before covid, more than four in ten people with a learning disability died of a lung condition like pneumonia. Its clear that, as a group
of people, they really are at risk, and they should be prioritised. Were just as important as everybody else that should have a chance of having the vaccine. But we need it now, rather than later. Death after death and crisis i after crisis, ijust cant cope. Legal action on the grounds of discrimination is being taken against the government. However, the department of health and social care says it is working hard to vaccinate all those at risk. They should be on top of the list. But with learning disabilities being such a complex, often misunderstood condition, campaigners believe that, once again, this group of people are being forgotten. Nikki fox, bbc news. Now to the decline of the honey bee. As weve reported in the past, experts around the world are alarmed at the reduction in their numbers. But in bolivia, a vet and his wife are doing their best to save several colonies threatened by deforestation in the andes. Gail maclellan reports. Its humid, its subtropical,
and high on the eastern slopes of the andean cordillera real. Its also vulnerable. As in many areas in bolivia, deforestation has become an issue. In this case, the trees are cut down to grow coca in its most innocent form, used medicinally to alleviate the symptoms of high altitude, but also used to produce cocaine. This deforestation is a huge blow, particularly for one of the littlest creatures dependent upon the vegetation. Vet eric paredes says the number of bees in the area has been halved, and this endangers Food Production. Translation bees are incredibly important for our planet. Its been shown that bees are responsible for 70 of Food Production around the world so, from that point of view, we give greater importance to the work we do. And that work is to search the region looking for beehives to save, and creating safe habitats for the bees. Wooden beehives keep the bees safe, and the vet and his wife have saved ten native species. Youll be relieved to know this species doesnt sting just as well. Trying to convince local farmers to assist with the conservation has been difficult. If their crops are not fruits, farmers see bees as a nuisance, not as an aid to agricultural production. Eric paredes is not going to give up. Translation the objective of this place is for it to become a bee Research Institution for all native, stingless bees, and we want to be able to transmit this knowledge to different regions so theyre valued more. Our mission is simply to save the bees. And at the same time, to support a delicate ecosystem. Gail maclellan, bbc news. The us company spacex has set a new world record for the number of satellites launched on a single rocket. 143 were on board the falcon rocket which launched from florida. It beats the previous record of 104 satellites set by an Indian Mission four years ago. Now its time for a look at the weather with nick miller. Hello. Still some very difficult conditions on the roads this evening, if you have to be travelling, particularly into the midlands. The snow will eventually clear away southwards tonight. The last of it clearing the far south east in the early hours, turning very icy behind that. And with these wintry showers that pep up across northern scotland as the night goes on. 7, 8, could be yours, with the deepest snow in the midlands. We start off on monday morning with a widespread frost, widespread ice, too so still treacherous on untreated roads, pavements, again if you have to be out in the morning. But many of us tomorrow will have a drier and brighter day. There will still be these showers in scotland. Rain, sleet on the coast. Inland, sleet. Some snow into the hills. Maybe one or two for Northern Ireland and the far north of england but many of us will stay dry with broken cloud and sunny spells. Itll be a little less cold. It does get milder for a time
for many of us with the exception