people in their 40s are to be offered a covid boosterjab following new advice from government advisers. the move adds another 8 million people to the list of those eligible. our medical editor fergus walsh reports. just a0 days till christmas, and this year's must—have item is not available in the shops. it's the covid boosterjab that is seen as crucial to saving the festive season. you are here for booster? yeah. now it's being extended to the over 40s. not everyone will get a badge from the prime minister, visiting a medical centre in east london. later in downing street, he warned of storm clouds gathering across europe amid a surge in infections. we don't yet know the extent to which this new wave will wash up on our shores, but history shows that we cannot afford to be complacent. can you categorically rule out a christmas lockdown, and how dependent is that on boosterjabs? we don't see anything in the data that says we have to go now to plan b. but, clearly, we cannot rule anything out. what it means to be fully vaccinated may be changing from two to three doses as it becomes clear that immunity does wane over time. among the over 50s who had the astrazeneca vaccine, protection against symptomatic infection stood at 44% five months after the second dose. but this rose to 93% two weeks after having a pfizer boosterjab. for those who'd had two doses of pfizer, their protection rose from 63% to 94%. what's unclear is how long this huge boost in protection will last. if the booster programme is successful, and with very high uptake, we can massively reduce the worry about hospitalisation and death due to covid at christmas and for the rest of this winter for literally millions of people. 16— and 17—year—olds will now be offered a second jab as the risk of side—effects, especially heart inflammation, has been found to be rarer than previously thought. we've become more and more reassured that the safety picture in young people and children, teenagers is just what we've seen in the older population. so our message today is definitely come forward for your second dose. your covid passes? from today in wales, covid passes have been extended to cinemas, theatres and concert halls. and what freedom we all enjoy this christmas is still dependent on how much covid is kept under control. fergus walsh, bbc news. now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show. coming up this week... making rally racing more climate friendly in italy. oh, my goodness, this thing absolutely goes. it is incredible, isn't it. yeah, it's good fun. from macy's thanksgiving parade in new york to the kendal mountain festival in england's lake district, our very own local guide to what is coming up. and three adventurers, one old banger and a frozen siberian lake. it's 6:15. the sun will be down in 15 minutes and we are in the middle of nowhere. it is not the best situation. theme music plays hello and welcome to the travel show, back on the road again, and this week coming to you from the beautiful italian island of sardinia. well, you've probably heard of the monaco grand prix, the indy 500, even the dakar rally, well, this year sardinia is playing host to a brand—new series on the international motor racing scene and this one comes with a bit of difference. it is on a mission to save the planet. this is extreme—e, a series of all—electric off—road races and it's all in the name of protecting the environment. this is the first season and so far they've been to saudi arabia, senegal, greenland and now they're here, in sardinia. motor racing and saving the environment don't usually go hand—in—hand, so i'm intrigued to find out exactly how it all works. hello! look at this thing, it's a beast! it is, it is. it is very kind of new age, kind of like race from mars, all the environments we are racing, and the car definitely matches that. it has to be big and strong as well. shall we get on the track and have a look? yeah, we can have a go. traditionally, rally cars are huge gas guzzlers, consuming even more fuel than their fi counterparts, a massive 50 litres per 100 kilometres. wish me luck. although this championship has a carbon footprint, extreme—e is committed to being carbon neutral by the end of its first season, through offsetting its emissions. off we go! oh, my goodness, this thing absolutely goes. it is incredible, isn't it? yeah, it's good fun. it is fun being behind the wheel. i am not sure what it is like being a passenger. 0h, far better than me being behind that wheel. you would not want to be in the car. laughs so, what is it like for you driving one of these big, fast, crazy, electric vehicles? it is very different to what i am used to. it's not that noisy. you don't have manic gear changes. track really quickly, so, i mean, you do get really sweaty, it is adrenaline—filled and it is really intense in the car, especially with the tracks that we have. they are not easy. there are bumps, jumps, there's really a lot of �*heart in your mouth�* moments so it is full on but i think the experience of it, it feels like a race car, it is enjoyable to drive when it is going right and you're sliding on the gravel, it's a really good feeling. i think the next generation of motorsport will be exciting because you still have the battles, you still have the excitement and the proper racing and it is just obviously a lot more sustainable. i think of racing and i think it's kind of big, it's quite sort of dirty, and produces a lot of carbon and this is the absolute opposite of that. i think, yeah, it's changing the way we view motorsport. normally, we go to a racetrack and we race there and then go to a hotel, whereas this championship, we'll be working with scientists a lot closer and learning stuff i have never learnt before. as part of its commitment to fighting climate change, extreme—e runs local environmental projects before every race, where even the drivers get stuck in to help. i was really into science at school, so this is like, it feels like going on holiday before a race when we come and learn. actually this one we are doing here in sardinia is going to be really fun. we're going to be getting wet, putting some wet suits on and we're going to be going and learning about the seagrass and how — i actually didn't realise — how much of an effect it has on the environment. catie and the other drivers are taking part in a project in southern sardinia that plants seagrass. the racers will then share what they have learnt on social media to try and spread knowledge about this important climate change strategy. it is a bit different to the coral reefs i have snorkelled before. it is not quite as scenic, but it is pretty amazing to think that stuff waving down there could be one of the keys to combating climate change. like underwater lungs, seagrass is incredibly efficient at capturing carbon. it absorbs 10% of the ocean's carbon each year despite only taking up 0.2% of the sea floor. extreme—e is the first sport that's been set up for the purpose of tackling climate change and we use these fantastic men and women drivers to educate people in terms of what is going on. so you've got a whole world to choose from. how do you narrow down to the key locations? so, first of all, we look at the symptoms of climate change, so we look at desertification, we look at rising sea levels, melting of the ice caps, melting of glaciers and, of course, deforestation, which has that double impact that deforestation actually speeds up climate change. so we look at those five sort of locations and then we look around the world and we see where the stories can be told in the best way possible, where we have the best relationships, where the challenges are the biggest and where the racing is great as well. so it's that balance between real authentic great sports and also communicating a really, really challenging issue. the teams were actually meant to be racing in the amazon as part of the original plan, but due to covid, they have had to postpone that to next year. it's a big operation, but moored up, not too far from the race site, is the st helena, their mobile paddock, which ferries all the equipment and cars to where they need to be. they say it cuts two—thirds of their carbon emissions. i wasn't quite sure what to expect from this event, but it's got the speed, the dust, the excitement and listen — no crowds and no throbbing petrol engines. most live sports rely on spectator crowds, but extreme—e is taking the opposite approach. to reduce the environmental impact on the remote race locations, fans have to instead keep up with the action online. despite all of this, i still had some questions about the sport's green potential. how do you reconcile that making it a green event when there is so much travel involved? so the real change will only happen in the real world. ideally, nobody would do any emissions. but even if you stay in bed, you emit carbon, you breathe. the thing is the positive effect needs to be bigger than the footprint that you have. if you want to make change happen, you have to do stuff. what we do is, of course, we reduce to the maximum the emissions that we have, for example, we produce our power with hydrogen. tell me, why pair an eco—message with motorsport racing in particular? what we want to do is use motorsport, which is very, very — has a big audience, to kind of break the bubble. the environmentalists, the people who are interested in the environment and they watch documentaries, they already know what is going on. but the sports fans — you have a lot more of those and they do not necessarily know, so we put 50 minutes of racing, five minutes of messaging from one of our scientists, on the location, explaining what is going on with the ice caps, what's going on with the rainforest, what's going on with the wildfires here in sardinia. that is how we use sport to amplify the message. i would love to help being able to convey a message, to give so much information about climate change to also promote climate action in people that otherwise wouldn't have known what is going on. it's not a spectator sport, but you can catch it live on your tv at home and you can even participate by helping your favourite driver getting to pole position on final day. you just head online and cast your vote. i'm going to vote for catie, obviously. catie and the andretti team did not win this event, but there's still one more to go this season. next stop, tierra del fuego in south america. well, if that looked pretty exciting, but isn't quite what you're looking for on holiday, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy sardinia. here's our travel show guide to getting the best out of the island. cagliari is the island's capital where you'll arrive if you come by air or sea from the mainland. it's an ancient city, so the many historical sites are a big attraction. the winding streets of castello, the mediaeval old town are worth exploring with the 13th century cathedral of santa maria being a particular highlight. sardinia's beaches are famous for their white sands and crystal—clear waters. you'll need to rent a car to see some of the best. brandinchi beach in the north is popular with snorkellers and surrounded by pine woods. if you're staying in cagliari, chia beach is worth a visit. and if you're lucky, you may spot pink flamingos at the nearby lagoon. if driving isn't your thing, you might want to consider the historic trenino verdi, or green train. some parts of the preserved railway have been in operation non—stop for the past 130 years. there are four different trips you can take, each one specialising in a different type of landscape. from the high altitudes of the gennargentu mountains to the vineyards of planargia. and every february, the west coast city of 0ristano hosts sa sartiglia — a horsemanship festival held annually since 1546. up to 120 people dressed in full regalia attempt to catch a star—shaped token with a sword or spear. the festivities last for two days, but be sure to arrive early because with thousands of people turning out to see the fun, the streets get seriously packed. do stay with us, because we will be sticking with the driving theme by heading to siberia to check in with the team who we've been following as they take on the mighty frozen lake baikal in an old soviet—era car. the starter doesn't work. 0k, 0k, 0k, 0k. horn beeps. so don't go away. the annual macy's thanksgiving parade is back with a bang, this year celebrating its 95th anniversary. after a muted audience—free march last year, spectators will once again be able to line the central manhattan route to cheer on over 8000 marchers and celebrate the beginning of america's holiday season as they've done for nearly a century. this year's parade kicks off at 9am on the 25th of november and will feature 15 floating character balloons, 28 spectacular floats, 36 novelty inflatables, ten marching bands, nine performance groups and, of course, not forgetting santa claus himself. oh, and if you have a fear of clowns, you may want to stay away as there will be over 800 of them in attendance. you will be able to watch the parade from designated spots and for now, at least, proof of vaccination will not be required. if thanksgiving isn't for you, then you can fire up the festive spirit within by visiting one of europe's largest christmas markets in austria's charming capital city vienna. from the 12th of november, markets will pop up throughout vienna's prettiest squares, transforming the city into a magical christmas wonderland straight out of a fairytale. expect crisp winter air, candles almost everywhere, steaming mugs of hot wine and the smell of roasted chestnuts, all with the atmospheric backdrop of vienna's baroque architecture. if you prefer climbing trees to decorating them, then you might want to get yourself down to england's lake district for the kendal mountain festival. this four—day—long festival kicks off this weekend. it's an annual event dedicated to sharing awe—inspiring stories from the world of outdoor adventure. situated in the picturesque town of kendal in cumbria, the festival started a0 years ago and welcome to the world's top athletes and explorers to share stories on stage, alongside a jam—packed film programme that brings to life the spirit of adventure. for the largest winter event in the netherlands, head to zwolle. running for over three months, from the 18th of december to the sixth of march, the dutch ice sculpture festival draws the best ice artists from all over the world to work in a 1200—metre square cold hall with 550,000 kilos of ice and snow. the theme this year is what a wonderful world, turning the last 18 months of turmoil into appreciation for the beauty of the planet. artists will use this theme to create sculptures up to six metres high. light, sound design and special effects will conjure up quite a spectacle for visitors, who can view the show with a warming toddy from the ice bar. well, hopefully you've found something there to tempt you, but right now, we're heading to russia to meet a team who's racing across siberia in a car that, well, quite frankly, has seen better days. last week, we met three lithuanian adventurers karolis, jurgis and max as they hit the road in an old soviet banger, driving 1000 kilometres with their support vehicle across a frozen surface of lake baikal, russia. it's one of the world's largest lakes, holding a fifth of the planet's fresh surface water. we catch up with them towards the end of their first day on the ice. cheers. oh, man. it was crazy. but you did it. yeah... we did about 70 kays today. we've got the room but no heating. we arrived 6:50, or something like that, not to drive on the ice in the darkness actually our rule. first day on the ice on the frozen baikal. and actually, i was surprised by the babushka and that feeling when you are in —13. on the, speaks indistinctly, on baikal. it's something. ah, babushka! babushka! the starter doesn't work. 0k, 0k, 0k, 0k. horn beeps. so i think we can ridejust like this. the engine was actually fixed. yes, but it's loose. ok. so i think slowly, we can — slowly, we can drive as it is. train toots horn. happy russian music plays. the nutcracker suite by tchaikovsky plays. we're a bit stuck in the middle of nowhere. it's — we got a fresh crack and trying to pass it for one hour and a half already, but still no luck. sometimes we call it a mother crack and it goes from south to north, so what is happening now, maybe ten kilometres backwards along the shore and then to turn left to be somewhere, i don't know, like 30 kilometres minimum, maybe 40 kilometres. but as far as i can see right now, it's the same. no end! so how to get out of here? no way to turn back. this crack is huge. we are trying to go around it for the last one hour and sun — you can see how low sun is. so it's 6:15. the sun will be down in 15 minutes. and we are in the middle of nowhere. it's not the best situation because as we spoke before, we shouldn't be riding at night—time, especially on ice, but we are doing this, basically, tonight. no, fingers crossed we're not this tonight, huh? nearly one hour in the dark. the car doesn't start. we have to push to start it. and that bloody crack is still here. but for last 30 minutes, three times start moving extremely slowly. probably we can put the tent on top of the car and camp to overnight. if we could pass it here, then in theory, we could go still to our village but it's — i don't know how far from the shore we are. i believe around 30 kilometres. maybe a0. so finally, we found a place where we cut out a 3m piece of the cracked ice and now i have to drive it through. thankfully, it looks like karolis and crew won't have to spend the night on the ice. join us next week to see if their luck holds out as they near the end of their epicjourney. well, that's all we've got time for this week, but dojoin us for next week's show, when... as dubai opens the world's tallest ferris wheel, we'll be taking a look at the mother of all big wheels, the london eye, which celebrated its 20th birthday last year. plus, we'll see how a british food classic goes down on a tropicaljapanese island over 6000 miles away. here's your fish and chips! i hope you can join us for that and a whole lot more next time. but in the meanwhile, you can check out our adventures on social media. for now, from me christa larwood and the rest of the travel show team here in sardinia, it's goodbye. hello. well, tuesday promises to be a dry day across most of the uk. it's going to be cloudy and mild once again. and, in fact, not much change expected for the next few days. if anything, the temperatures could rise even further. so why is it so mild? well, on the satellite picture, you'll see this big weather front here. this is very much where the jet stream is. thejet stream is pushing along the weather fronts, but it's also separating the mild air to the south, which has engulfed the uk, and indeed much of europe, and is keeping the cold air at bay. so we are to the south of the jet stream in that milder air. but scotland is a little closer to the weather fronts in the north atlantic, so that does mean some of that rain grazing the western isles through the course of the early hours. elsewhere, it'll be dry. and where the skies will have cleared, perhaps 11—5 celsius at dawn, so a little on the nippy side, but generally mild. now, that weather front does move into scotland, northern ireland, perhaps the lake district and the north of wales, but the rain will be light and fleeting and will quickly fizzle away. east and south, it's going to be dry. perhaps a bit of brightness, too. and the same pattern continues into wednesday. so high pressure in the south with that mild air coming in, weather fronts in the north of the atlantic. and again, they are bringing this time some showers to parts of scotland, whereas in the south, in fact central, southern areas of the uk, should be a fine day — in fact, a very bright day, particularly eastern areas and along the south coast. temperatures a little fresher on wednesday, 10—12 celsius, but then they rise again as we head into thursday. now, around this high pressure, we'll run along a current of mild air on thursday. and as it engulfs the uk, the temperatures could actually rise even further with a bit of sunshine. so, yes, a bit of cloud and rain here in the northwest of scotland, but widely, i think, the mid—teens. and look at that — 16 in aberdeen. wouldn't be surprised if it gets up to 17 — 17 this time in november — extraordinarily mild for eastern parts of scotland. shouldn't last for too long, perhaps into friday. again, friday could well be another very mild day, with the mid—teens across the country, but i think as we head into the weekend, it's going to turn a lot, a lot cooler. so a very mild week, particularly mild towards the end of the week, and i think the weekend and beyond is going to turn quite a bit colder. bye— bye. this is bbc news. our top stories: with tensions on trade, taiwan and climate change, the us and chinese presidents begin their most extensive talks since january. the uk raises its terror threat level after an explosion in liverpool. police say they believe the man killed in the blast made the device himself. the eu steps up sanctions once more over the migrant crisis at the belarusian border. hundreds are trapped in freezing conditions. these people want a better life. they are desperate to get to the european union, which is right here. reckless and irresponsible: the us hits out at russia over a missile test that it says endangered the crew of the international space station.

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