A levels and gcses will go ahead in england next summer, but therell be more generous marking and advance notice of exam topics to make up for all the disruption. And the impact of empty stadiums during the pandemic the premier league and English Football League agree a multi Million Pound rescue package for struggling clubs. And coming up in sport on bbc news, arsenal become the First Premier League club to welcome back fans for a competitive fixture, as they take on rapid vienna in the Europa League at the emirates. Good evening. The first doses of the newly approved szier Coronavirus Vaccine have arrived in the uk. Theyve been taken to a secret location from where theyll be distributed to hospitals all over the uk over the next few days. The first phase of the role out programme is expected to begin on tuesday. Englands deputy chief medical 0fficer, professorjonathan van tam, says 99 of covid 19 deaths could be prevented, if theres a very high uptake ofjabs in the most vulnerable groups. It comes on the day that the uk recorded the deaths of more than 60,000 people with coronavirus. Heres our Health Editor, hugh pym. He was the soulmate to my grandmother, he was my best friend. He put a smile on anyones faces he met and he brought sunshine on the rainy days. 0livia remembers happier times with her grandad, gary. He died in hospital with covid. He did have Underlying Health issues, but he was just 61. His funeral was on tuesday. Before he passed away, we were able to say goodbye on facetime. And as much as it was lovely we were able to say goodbye that way, i just wish we were able to hold his hand and let him know it was ok. Mickey died last month, after being diagnosed with covid. His family say hell be much missed in the community. He wasnt in bad Health Leading up to contracting covid. His daughter in law anna said he was a local bristol legend. The speed of it, the shock of it has left us all absolutely devastated. Were reeling from it. We cant believe its happened. He was larger than life and i always say i thought he would outlive all of us. All this a reminder of the cruel reality of covid and why vaccine doses like these are so important. Some have been brought into the uk on eurotunnel from the manufacturer pfizers plant in belgium. Phase one of the roll out will start next week, and Health Leaders are encouraged. If we can get through the phase one and its a highly effective vaccine and there is very, very high uptake, then we could, in theory, take out 99 of hospitalisations and deaths. Some major hospitals, like this one, have been designated as vaccine centres. Its understood that the policy in england will require them to prioritise patients who are 80 or over, for example those coming in for appointments. Nhs staff and care home workers will be invited in for theirjabs. The first minister said scotlands vaccinations would start on tuesday. That will be a significant landmark in our collective struggle against the virus and although we still have difficult months ahead, the awareness that vaccination is starting will, im sure, make many of us feel more hopeful as we enter the christmas period. For the families of mickey and gary, there are mixed feelings after news that the vaccine is about to become a reality. He was only 61. Maybe he could have had longer, and i cant look at the vaccine knowing we couldnt save him. Its too late for him. You know, i can only implore everybody that is offered the vaccine to take it, because you do not want to find yourself, or a precious loved Family Member like mickey, in a similar situation. The vaccine is on its way. Military and nhs staff have been setting up specialist hubs, like this one at ashton gate stadium in bristol, but the Wider Population may have to wait a little while to get their chance to have it. Hugh pym, bbc news. The first doses of vaccine may be here, but it may well be many months yet before any resemblance of normal life returns. Scientists say we will be living with these restrictions on our lives for several more months if not longer. 0ur science editor David Shukman reports on the new vaccines and the way ahead. A gloomy afternoon, though at least theres now a pathway out of the pandemic, with the prospect of the first vaccine to keep people safe. So, what questions remain unanswered . Well, the first is, how long will immunity last after you have been vaccinated . Well, thats still not clear. Studies show that the injections, three weeks apart, massively reduce the severity of the disease, but scientists dont know if that protection keeps going. We have no clear idea at the moment about how long natural immunity, so immunity following the infection with the virus, or indeed immunity thats been generated through vaccination, how long it will last. We would certainly hope it will last several months, if not years. So, its possible well an annual vaccination, as with the winter flu. All this has to be worked out. Next, will the vaccine stop the spread of the virus . If youve had the vaccine, you could still carry the virus without knowing and maybe pass it to people around you if theyve yet to have theirjabs. Thats because the vaccine will be injected into the arm to create antibodies to fight the effects of the disease. But the virus itself may still be present in the nose and throat. So, its possible that someone vaccinated may be able to infect others. No one can yet be sure. It could be that the vaccination could allow the virus to carry on replicating in the nose but not actually causing symptoms, and that could mean that, actually, you can still be a vector, despite having been vaccinated and despite being personally protected. Then theres the question of how many people need to have the vaccine. The more infectious the virus, the more it matters to get a high proportion of the population vaccinated at least 90 for measles, more like 66 for covid. The more people who can receive the vaccine and get it, the less the virus has a chance to spread in the community, and therefore we minimise the risk to those Vulnerable People in whom the vaccine doesnt really work as well as it might. So, getting the vaccine once its available is something you can really do to help protect other people, as well as protecting yourself. So, everything hinges on making sure as many people as possible say yes to the vaccine, and until theyve had it to keep following the guidance about staying safe. David shukman, bbc news. The uk is the first in the world to approve this vaccine. Confidence in its safety is critical, yet the speed of it all has been criticised by some including the top Infectious Disease expert in the us, anthony fauci. 0ur Health Editor hugh pym is here. Tonight he has changed his tune. Yes, sophie. Theres been a bit of sniping, both from European Health officials and politicians, and those in the us, about the nhras decision to approve the Pfizer Vaccine yesterday ahead of other leading regulators, and doctor anthony faucl regulators, and doctor anthony fauci, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force Said in media interviews the uk didnt do it carefully, it rushed through the approval. But in a bbc interview tonight, he is rather rowed back. Here is what he had to say by way of explanation. Our process is one that takes more time than was taken with the uk, and thatjust is the reality. I did not mean to imply any sloppiness, even though it came out that way. So if it did, ijust want to set the record straight. I have a great deal of confidence in what the uk does both scientifically and from a regulatory standpoint. If i somehow came across differently, i apologise for that. Well, there was a hint there and he went on to explain that in the us they felt that it was necessary not to be seen to be rushing things through, because of sensitivities around the vaccine debate and the politics of it and itjust shows how keen regulators are to show that theyve gone to every possible length to make sure these vaccines are safe and not allow the anti Vaxxer Campaign is to exploit the situation. Hugh pym, thank you. Well, as i said before, the uk has now recorded the deaths of more than 60,000 people with coronavirus. The latest government figures show new infections continuing to fall. There were 14,879 new Coronavirus Infections recorded in the latest 24 hour period. The average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 14,408. 1,395 people had been admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last friday. 414 deaths were reported thats people who died within 28 days of a positive covid 19 test. That means on average in the past week, 441 deaths were announced every day. And so that new death toll now stands at 60,113. Four people have died and one other has been injured after an explosion at a waste Water Treatment works in avonmouth near bristol. Fire crews and police were called to the site of the blast this morning and a Major Incident declared. Jon kay reports. 11 20am and a Major Incident, just a quarter of a mile from the m5 motorway. A blast had torn apart a silo holding biosolids at the wessex water Sewage Treatment works. There was like a gentle whoosh at first, followed by an extremely loud explosion. This lorry driver had been delivering goods and was then trapped on a neighbouring site. It sounded like a large collapse of something. It was not like a sound id heard before. I didnt know what it was. Pure confusion, nobody knew what the situation was. Emergency teams from six fire stations attended what they described as a very challenging incident. Tonight it was confirmed that this was no longer a rescue operation. Sadly, despite the best efforts of all those involved, we can confirm there have been four fatalities. This includes three employees of wessex water and one contractor. Our thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues of all those affected at todays incident. Its a terribly sad incident. A fifth person has been taken to hospital, but their injuries are not life threatening. Police say the incident is not believed to have been terror related and theres no risk to the wider public. Jawad was in a warehouse a mile away. I said straight away, its an explosion, because i was in my office and i feel it. You felt it . Yeah, yeah, its like shaking, you know . That must have been terrifying. Yeah, yeah. This is a really bad moment for everyone, the workers here. In a statement this evening, wessex water described the incident as tragic, saying staff were absolutely devastated. Tonight, the Prime Minister and the mayor of bristol have both paid tribute to those who died and to the emergency services. The police have promised a thorough investigation, as four families begin to grieve. Jon kay, bbc news, avonmouth. The prospect of a breakthrough in post brexit trade negotiations between the uk and eu is receding, according to a senior uk government source. Talks between the two sides are continuing into the night, with urgent compromises sought in key areas, including fishing rights and competition rules. 0ur Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg joins us from westminster. This is going right up to the wire. It really is. Remember, this really has to be agreed by the middle of next week if there is a real chance of turning this deal into law to pass parliament before the end of the year, and before the status quo, that transition period, runs out, when businesses will have to work in a very different way and the two sites have long agreed that there will have to be some shared rules and regulations between the two sides of the channel to keep things smooth for business. What they cannot agree on yet is who should be in charge of policing those rules and regulations and who gets in trouble if things go wrong. Now, tonight, not far from where trouble if things go wrong. Now, tonight, not farfrom where i am in westminster the negotiators are still locked away, trying to hammer out a compromise being sustained by ta keaway out a compromise being sustained by takeaway lunches and dinners being taken into them at all times of the day and night, but today, as far as the uk side is concerned, the talks seem to have gone backwards rather than forwards with claims being made that the eu has hardened up its proposalfor that the eu has hardened up its proposal for how it wants those rules and regulations, the so called level playing field, to be policed in future. Eu sources have told me tonight the talks are extremely sluggish, they dont deny they are in difficulties but there are suggestions the idea there is anything new on the table, this was something they dont really recognise. I think the important thing about this tit for tat is to remember this. First of all, its quite standard that they would be last minute theatrics in a negotiation, but second of all, with so negotiation, but second of all, with so much at stake it is tricky and perhaps not very sensible to assume that a deal is going to happen. Its certainly what both sides won. Its certainly what both sides won. Its certainly what both sides won. Its certainly what most people in the cabinet will tell you is likely to happen, but its not something that anybody tonight could take for granted and if there isnt a deal we all know the very tricky consequences that there could be in so consequences that there could be in so many ways. Laura kuenssberg in westminster, thank you. Gcses and a levels will go ahead in england next summer. But therell be a range of special measures because of the disruption to pupils education, including more generous grades. Schools will get further details on how exams will be slimmed down in january. But there are concerns that Different Levels of disruption around the country will be hard to take into account. Meanwhile in wales, all exams have been cancelled. In scotland, pupils will only sit highers and advanced highers. In northern ireland, though, all exams will go ahead. Heres our education editor, bra nwen jeffreys. Building theirfuture job prospects, back after a two week school closure. In the medway towns of kent, more than half of all secondary pupils were home last week. Even so, harry, danieland joseph all want to sit their gcse exams. It would allow us to know our potential, know what we have accomplished, because it is a moment in our lives. The majority of the year has been wasted on lockdown and we havent had that much time to fully educate ourselves in terms of gcses. I feel like employers, they might think that these are, like, fake grades if were given higher, so they might pick someone else for a job. Gcse and a level exams in 2021 will be made easier, with more generous grading, advance notice of topics and some study aids allowed measures, the government says, will make exams fair. Everyone in all of our schools and colleges is working as hard as they can to make sure that no pupil loses out because of covid and that the future they are dreaming of is still very much within their reach. Im determined that the coronavirus is not going to jeopardise the life chances of this years pupils. Hell need to convince parents. These mums have kids taking exams next year. Its the fairness of it. If youre going to change different things, are you going to change that for next year . Why didnt you change it for last years students . No matter what happens, theres going to be someone whos not happy. Theyre like the covid results, the covid students, theyre not. Its not the same as whats been gone before and i think they will be judged either way, if, you know, if its a bit low or a bit high, people will look at it with suspicion, perhaps. This school, like many others, is taking all the government help on offer, like the laptop scheme. Its waiting to hear if it will get support from the National Tutoring fund. But there are fears of more disruption in the new year and even with all these measures, time between now and the exams is increasingly tight. In terms of is that enough . Its worrying. There are a few months left until exams start and i would love to see a further measure, perhaps a reduction in the number of exams. That could go some way to help and, you know, allay some fears right now. Also, the topics. We need to know the topics as specifically as possible, as soon as possible. And what if their School Closes again . A promise the government will look at lost learning, but no solution yet on how to take it into account. Branwenjeffreys, bbc news, chatham. Lets take a look at some of todays other news. From saturday, some business travellers will be exempt from self isolation rules on arrival in england. Transport secretary grant shapps confirmed that high value business travellers, certain performers, journalists and recently signed elite sportspersons will not have to quarantine if theyve arrived from a country without a travel corridor agreement. Asda, sainsburys and aldi say theyll hand back almost a billion pounds in Business Rates relief to the government, after announcements from tesco and morrisons yesterday. Supermarkets, whose sales have boomed in the crisis, were criticised for taking government help designed to support retailers in the first lockdown. Marks spencer is among the grocers that say they wont repay the money. Facebook has said it will remove false claims about covid 19 vaccines from its platforms over the coming weeks. The social media giant said it has already removed misinformation on facebook and instagram involving claims about the origin and treatment of the virus. Its not clear whether similar posts will be removed from its encrypted whatsapp service. Warner brothers will make all of its 2021 films available on a streaming service at the same time theyre released in cinemas. It follows the delay of several hollywood movie releases this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Titles due to be streamed include the latest in the matrix franchise. The United States has recorded its highest ever daily death toll from coronavirus more than 2,800 people in a single day. 100,000 people are in hospital being treated for the disease in a country which already has the highest global death toll. 0ur correspondent sophie long joins me now from los angeles. The numbers keep surging across america. Thats right, they are grim figures and the fear here is that they are only going to get worse. The new daily case count and hospital admissions are also searching. Last week in the United States, it was thanksgiving, one of the most important holidays of the year, and those figures dont yet reflect the impact that the travel and the gatherings that took place had. In california, the average daily case rate is now double what it was a month ago and in the past hour, we had from the governor here, gavin newsom. He stopped short of issuing a state wide lockdown that many were anticipating, but his message was clear. He said, we are now at a Tipping Point and we need to take Decisive Action to prevent our Hospital System from being overwhelmed. So he put in place of the most aggressive measures we have seen here since the beginning of the pandemic. There is no original stay at home order which will come into effect if and when intensive care units are more than 85 full. In those areas, many businesses will have to close their doors. So people here cling to the hope that a vaccine could be on the horizon. Sophie long in california, thank you. A suspected people smuggling gang believed to have been responsible for bringing more than 600 people to the uk in small boats from france has been broken up by Immigration Enforcement. A 36 year old british syrian man was amongst the 14 people arrested. He was detained in North West London this morning. Our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, has more. Smashing their way into the property of a suspected people smuggler. Officers from Immigration Enforcement in northwest london this morning. Open the door, now the suspect was the 14th to be detained from a group of syrians accused of organising scores of dangerous channel crossings. He is alleged to have been handling the huge amounts of money they generated as they moved more than 600 people across the channel in small boats in a single month. Over 8,000 people have crossed the channel in small boats so far this year, more than four times last yea rs total. But the home secretary says the French Police have now stepped up their efforts to deter the trade. They have actually been going into the water to stop the boats from lifting and sinking, to save lives, and its absolutely the right thing to do. This has been the point that we have been making from day one. These routes are dangerous. Lives have been put at risk. On one calm day this week, the french stopped 200 people leaving the beaches, while only 20 migrants made it to the uk. One potential unintended consequence is that the migrants who are desperate to get to the uk will instead take otherjourneys such as by stowing away on lorries and that kind of thing. And all the illegal routes have risks. Last october, 39 vietnamese people died in an airtight lorry trailer. Daniel sandford, bbc news. A media tycoon whos one of hong kongs most prominent pro democracy supporters has been charged with fraud and is being held in prison until a Court Hearing in april. Jimmy lai is one of many critics of the National Security law imposed by the Chinese Government injuly. Activists say the powers threaten freedoms promised to the territory when it was handed back to china by the uk in 1997. Danny vincent reports. This is the moment billionaire media tycoon jimmy lai was taken into custody. Critics of the government say its the latest example of political persecution in hong kong. Hours before his detention, he spoke exclusively to the bbc. The 73 year old is under investigation for violating the National Security law. He sensed he may be living on borrowed time. If they can induce fear in you, thats the easiest way to control you. Its the cheapest way to control you and the most effective way. And they know it, and they are very good at it. Jimmy lais paper, apple daily, is hong kongs most critical but bestselling newspaper. He has long been a target of the authorities. In august, mr lai became one of the most high profile arrests under a draconian National Security law. More than 200 police raided his newspaper. They confiscated documents said to implicate mr lai in fraud. But National Security charges mean he could face life in prison. Activists say that hong kong is facing an unprecedented crackdown. Yesterday, 24 year old joshua wong was sentenced to 13 months in prison for involvement in last years Anti Government protests. Technically, jimmy lai was detained because of charges relating to fraud. But he was denied bail because of accusations of breaking the National Security law. Activists say the law is now silencing dissent. They make use of the legal system to send a message to all the hong kong people. We have to silence ourselves, we cant speak freely. We dont have any freedom any more. The government has accused mr lai of colluding with foreign forces. It says that hong kong represents a gaping hole to the countrys National Security, and it has brought security to the city that was once engulfed in often violent protests. Activists say what was once legal in hong kong could now be punishable with life imprisonment. Thats all the power we have, except to have the voice and support of the free world on our side. And the free world will be on our side. The free world will be supporting us, because they know that we are sharing the same value as theirs. Jimmy lai ending that report from danny vincent. 2020 has been a difficult year for the russian president vladimir putin, and notjust because of the pandemic. In recent months the kremlin has faced a series of challenges on its own doorstep, including mass protests in belarus, war in the south caucasus and a rise in pro european sentiment in moldova. 0ur moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg assesses what these dramatic events mean for russias influence in its own back yard. Across russias former empire, were seeing seismic change. In belarus, people power is challenging a dictator whos being propped up by moscow. To the south, armenia and azerbaijan have been at war. Add to that a revolution in kyrgyzstan and the new pro europe president in moldova, and the result is one huge headache for the kremlin. Vladimir putin still sees much of this part of the world as moscows zone of influence, but is that influence ebbing away . Well, here in the south caucasus, where russia has been the major powerfor 200 years, today, it has competition. From turkey. In the war over nagorno karabakh, it was turkish support that helped azerbaijan defeat russias traditional ally in the region, armenia. I think that what happened in karabakh is truly a geopolitical catastrophe for moscows influence not only in south caucasus, but across what remains of the post soviet space. Moscows grip on the region is becoming weaker and weaker. We talked to the russian peacekeepers here. They seem wary of turkeys intentions. Traditionally, russia has guaranteed stability here, the peacekeeper says. While other countries, i mean turkey, try to destabilise the situation, we try to improve things. And for moscow, the geopolitical challenges extend far beyond these hills. In moldova, a pro western politician, maia sandu, has won the presidency, defeating the pro russia candidate. Moldova is one of the poorest countries in europe, but the kremlin still wants it in russias orbit. Its soviet past and close proximity to romania make it a stage for east west rivalry. Russia has accused america of plotting revolution here. Our objective is to get closer to the eu, and hopefully one day to become a member of the european union. But will russia let that happen, will russia let your country join the eu . Its our. Its our choice. In the end, its the sovereign decision of our country. Its the decision of the republic of moldova. Moscow can still find ways of slowing down change in its own backyard, and yet russia, too, is changing. Its having to. Its on a journey from empire to nation state. For a country with a superpower past, that is a painful transition. Steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. And finally, after months of wrangling and negotiations, the premier league and English Football League have agreed a multi Million Pound rescue package for clubs struggling because of the pandemic
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.