themselves safe and keep their friends — themselves safe and keep their friends and family safe. fire engulfs the parliament building in south africa after its sprinkler system failed. and the kenyan anthropologist and conservationist, richard leakey — renowned for his extensive fossil discoveries that shed light on human evolution — has died aged 77. and coming up — a roundup of today's sport in sportsday. hello and welcome to bbc news. secondary schools in england have been told that children should wear face coverings in classrooms — to help stop the omicron covid—i9 variant from disrupting the new term. the move brings england into line with the rest of the uk. unions have welcomed the advice — while also warning that staff shortages could once again lead to some children being taught at home. sanchia berg reports. in scotland, pupils have been wearing masks as they learn with the windows open for the last few months. the picture is similar now in northern ireland and wales. if next week, english secondary students will follow suit as the government tries to reduce the spread of covid in schools. around half of children over 12 have been double—jabbed, not enough to keep the virus out. the face coverings is very much a short—term measure, simply to the 26th of january when it will be reviewed because we recognise it is not something many children will want to wear. it recognises the priority of ensuring face—to—face education is made available, that's our number one priority. some are worried that this could affect children's learning, which has been so disrupted for the last two years. thank goodness, there's very low risk to children so i'm very wary, i will listen to what the government says, but i am very wary about imposing masks on children in schools because i worry about their well—being, anxiety and mental health, which has already suffered because of school closures during lockdown. but it's backed for now by the teaching unions. if this is a short—term fix as the government says, and one of a number of different measures including ventilation and moving ofsted to the sidelines, if that's going to do what we all want and keep young people in their school or college, then that will, i think, be a price worth paying. what difference will it make to transmission in the classroom? masks work in several ways. first of all they trap the virus if you are infected and don't know it. they protect you from incoming virus if you are not infected and don't know that you're talking to someone who is infected. but also, the masks, if you wear them, stop you from picking your nose, scratching and picking your lip and self—inoculating that way. so the masks have several benefits and also if you are wearing a mask it is actually, people tend to be more careful. but being more careful can come at a price for education. it's helpfulfor some parts and it's not helpful because when you're asked a question and the teacher doesn't understand what you're saying, they're going to have to tell you to repeat and repeat, until the point where you have to take your mask off and repeat it, and then they'll understand. but it's helpful because the covid is spreading a lot and affecting a lot of people in the uk. nobody wants another lockdown, where even with support from schools children fall behind with their lessons, become vulnerable, isolated, even put at risk. but across england, head teachers are looking at contingency plans. they will only know next week whether to put them into effect when they can see how many staff and pupils are absent with omicron. sanchia berg, bbc news. joining me now from south london is sir dan moynihan, he's the chief executive of the harris federation which runs 51 london schools with 5,000 staff and 38,000 students. thank you for your time this evening. given where we are with this virus. as the introduction of masks and classrooms the right move in your opinion? in masks and classrooms the right move in your opinion?— masks and classrooms the right move in your opinion?— in your opinion? in my view it is definitely _ in your opinion? in my view it is definitely the _ in your opinion? in my view it is definitely the right _ in your opinion? in my view it is definitely the right move. - in your opinion? in my view it is definitely the right move. we i in your opinion? in my view it is i definitely the right move. we had in your opinion? in my view it is - definitely the right move. we had a rising number of cases, in the term we had 3500 cases which is 35,000 school days lost, and 500 cases in the last week alone. the students and secondary have mock exams which they need the grades for any event they need the grades for any event the actual exams are cancelled in the actual exams are cancelled in the summer. we need the students back and if it is the case having 1000 pupils in a secondary school breathing all over each other are having some protection from masks we will take the protection because it gives a better of keeping those kids in school and keeping them learning and getting them through to exams at the end of the year. i and getting them through to exams at the end of the year.— the end of the year. i want to talk to ou the end of the year. i want to talk to you about _ the end of the year. i want to talk to you about prospects _ the end of the year. i want to talk to you about prospects for- the end of the year. i want to talk to you about prospects for exams| the end of the year. i want to talk. to you about prospects for exams a little later but it sounds as if you're confident that masks will a difference?— you're confident that masks will a difference? . ., , . difference? most certainly. we need to do everything _ difference? most certainly. we need to do everything we _ difference? most certainly. we need to do everything we can _ difference? most certainly. we need to do everything we can to _ difference? most certainly. we need to do everything we can to keep - to do everything we can to keep youngsters in schools and masks is one of the things we can do that can help and will give us a percentage again and it is definitely the right thing to do it. again and it is definitely the right thing to do it— thing to do it. given the sort of figures for _ thing to do it. given the sort of figures for infections _ thing to do it. given the sort of figures for infections that - thing to do it. given the sort of figures for infections that you | thing to do it. given the sort of l figures for infections that you are reporting from that last week at school before the christmas holidays, has the government got it wrong not to have made this move sooner, because some schools in england have been deciding independently of government to follow what some might say is common sense and require pupils to wear masks and classrooms already, as have pupils in northern ireland, wales and scotland, so has the government got it wrong on this? it government got it wrong on this? it is a finely balanced judgment call and i am not an epidemiologist but this is a rapidly evolving situation and probably five weeks ago nobody had even heard the word omicron so i don't think it is unreasonable the decision has been left till now but it is right it has been taken before term starts and there is a chance now for everyone to bring masks in and for schools to supply those masks. announcing it earlier would not have made too much difference i suspect but it is right to be do it as we go into january. but suspect but it is right to be do it as we go into january.— suspect but it is right to be do it as we go into january. but if you had, and what _ as we go into january. but if you had, and what was _ as we go into january. but if you had, and what was your - as we go into january. but if you had, and what was your figure, | as we go into january. but if you . had, and what was your figure, 500 cases? :: :: had, and what was your figure, 500 cases? $1 $1 , , had, and what was your figure, 500 cases? 111: , had, and what was your figure, 500 cases? i: i: , , ., , ~ cases? 500 cases in the last week, so ou cases? 500 cases in the last week, so you don't _ cases? 500 cases in the last week, so you don't think _ cases? 500 cases in the last week, so you don't think masks _ cases? 500 cases in the last week, | so you don't think masks introduced sooner would have made a difference to that number? we introduced masks in communal areas and we have gone back to teaching in bubbles and schools where we had high rates of infection. clearly there are costs and benefits with masks. but the rate of infection was so high that it now seems right to introduce them. ~ .,, it now seems right to introduce them. ~.,, ,. it now seems right to introduce them. ,. ., ,, ., it now seems right to introduce them. ,. ., ,, them. most school unions seem to be sa in: them. most school unions seem to be saying wearing _ them. most school unions seem to be saying wearing masks _ them. most school unions seem to be saying wearing masks is _ them. most school unions seem to be saying wearing masks is a _ them. most school unions seem to be saying wearing masks is a small- saying wearing masks is a small price to pay, no one wants to be wearing masks but it is a small price to pay if it keeps schools open and working and allows children to get that education and to get all the benefits of the social side of being at school and clubs, etc, and allows them to do their exams. absolutely, anything that will prevent a lockdown and if there is a lockdown schools need to be the last to be locked down. anything that prevents that is good and the announcement today also includes guidance on the arrangements of in the event of whole year groups needing to be sent home, who should be prioritised, and there is a broader definition of vulnerable children which now includes any children which now includes any child known to the care services in the past as well as key workers, so we want to keep pupils in the school, we will keep the 11—13, gcse and a—level groups absolutely, and we will keep those children who are vulnerable and at—risk. if we will keep those children who are vulnerable and at—risk. iii we will keep those children who are vulnerable and at-risk._ vulnerable and at-risk. if i may interact, vulnerable and at-risk. if i may interact. l— vulnerable and at-risk. if i may interact, i want _ vulnerable and at-risk. if i may interact, i want ask _ vulnerable and at-risk. if i may interact, i want ask finally, - vulnerable and at-risk. if i may| interact, i want ask finally, what do you think the chances are of children and those year groups being able to do their exams in the normal way this year, and as pupils return are all the schools requiring students to take lateral flow tests at school before returning to their classrooms? the at school before returning to their classrooms?— at school before returning to their classrooms? , , ., , classrooms? the first couple of days of term next — classrooms? the first couple of days of term next week _ classrooms? the first couple of days of term next week will _ classrooms? the first couple of days of term next week will be _ classrooms? the first couple of days of term next week will be 34,000 i of term next week will be 3a,000 secondary students in our schools taking lateral flow tests and it will be an enormous logisticaljob but it is right we do it. we want students to sit exams in the summer because it is the fairest way of deciding what happens in future. it is much fairer than teacher assessment, and we really want that to happen. but whether it will happen is an unknown. we have had the omicron variant and it is possible there will be others so thatis possible there will be others so that is why schools are doing teacher assessment in the background and building evidence towards building grades so if exams are cancelled we will be able to give a view on what those grades should be, but we really hope exams go ahead because youngsters want that to happen. this year groups have taken no public exams so far in their entire school careers of these exams are cancelled it will be disastrous for them. . ~ are cancelled it will be disastrous for them. ., ,, ,., are cancelled it will be disastrous for them. ., ,, y., , . well, due to the holiday period, the government's latest coronavirus figures aren't complete, but there were 137,583 new infections recorded, in the latest 24—hour period in england and wales alone. 73 deaths were recorded, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test in england and wales. public sector leaders have been told to prepare for the worst case scenario of up to a quarter of their staff being off work because of covid. the uk has seen record numbers of daily cases over the festive period. ministers have been tasked with developing "robust contingency pla ns" for workplace absences. here's our business correspondent, katie prescott. this cumbria care firm has been short—staffed and finding it tough to recruit for a while. bosses say they've got enough work for at least another a0 people. now omicron has decimated their rotas. it's going to be difficult. we may be in a position as a care sector where not everybody is going to get the care they need. in fact, the unfortunate truth, we are not going to be able to provide care for everybody that needs it, and that's obviously a major worry. this lack of carers has a knock—on impact on hospitals too, as people are unable to be sent back home once they are well enough. it is what happening there that's a real worry. to try and keep vital services like hospitals open, public sector leaders are being asked to make contingency plans for having ten, 20 or even up to 25% of their staff off at any one time. solutions to that could include drawing on pools of former workers, former teachers in schools for example, or prioritising certain services. shortages are also hitting the hospitality industry. this popular italian restaurant had to shut before christmas as staff fell ill. we got to a point at the end of the first week where we were very short—staffed but managed to work a rota and managed to get remaining staff to pick up shifts. but around the 22nd we finally reached the critical mass of casualties and of 2a staff we ended up with just five who were negative, me included. when it comes to businesses such as restaurants and bars, ministers across the uk are being asked to look atjust how bad things could get and to work out what they need to keep going through this time. labour says this announcement shows the government is leaving contingency planning to the very last moment. the most recent restrictions in england, set out in the government's plan b earlier in december, are expected to be reviewed this week. katie prescott, bbc news. our political correspondent damian grammaticas is here. we seem to have two pretty divergent trains of thought. the government minister saying there is nothing in the current covid data to warrant further restrictions are needed but we also have these warnings as we were hearing, a worst—case scenario, granted, but a warning there could be a quarter of public sector staff off because of covid. how is the government going to respond to that? what we are seeing is basically the government saying they are looking at the situation day by day at the data as it comes out and what they are saying at the minute, the minister saying today, the health minister, is that there is nothing in the data that indicates a need for new restrictions and that is important, that word restrictions. that they continue to look at that, but at the same time they are obviously concerned because as we see they are bringing measures in in schools and inside the heart of government in the cabinet office they have instructed all departments to look at these scenarios, so as you say, 25% workforce absence but also ten and 20% so 25 is the worst case. and that is in order to be prepared for what could come as we see the impact of the mixing over christmas, mixing over new year, everybody out and about. how's that going to impact on the spread of omicron? there are real worry is that even if they are saying there is no need for new restrictions. what could these robust contingency plans be? even if you take the lesser of those scenarios, 10% of the workforce of, if there are not enough spare people around to fill those positions, what might those robust plans look like? it is those positions, what might those robust plans look like?— those positions, what might those robust plans look like? it is a good ruestion, robust plans look like? it is a good question, because _ robust plans look like? it is a good question, because already - robust plans look like? it is a good question, because already we - question, because already we know before christmas and in the last few days there were problems, problems in schools with teachers and then the health service, with already health service leaders saying they are under real pressure. problems with things like train drivers and transport. as regards what they could do, we know the department for education has written to schools suggesting things they could do are combining classes if they are short of teachers, merging classrooms together, bringing and support staff and ancillary staff to help out in schools, and possibly also having to do some teaching at home. so looking at ways to dry on draw on other areas but it is a difficult question because there are a huge range of scenarios, and even 10% of staff being off would be a difficult conversation for many organisations to have. . , ., , ., secondary school pupils in england are being asked to wear face masks in classrooms to reduce the spread of omicron. unions welcome the move. warnings of a worst case scenario of quarter of staff in the public sector being off work because of covid. government minsiters say there's nothing in the current covid data to suggest more restrictions are required in england. thousands of people in amsterdam have been protesting against the dutch government's coronavirus lockdown measures. riot police were used to break—up the gathering. the netherlands went into a sudden lockdown on december 19th with the government ordering the closure of all but essential shops as well as restaurants, hairdressers and gyms. south africa's houses of parliament in cape town have been severely damaged by a fire which tore through the building after the it's sprinkler system failed to activate. it was described as a "terrible, devastating event" by the country's president, cyril ramaphosa. an investigation is underway and a 49—year—old man has been held for questioning. our southern africa correspondent nomsa maseko sent this report. a historic building on fire. plumes of smoke engulfing south africa's parliament. more than 60 firefighters battling to extinguish the blaze. the fire started on the third floor offices and quickly spread to the national assembly chamber. the damage is extensive and there are fears some parts of the structure built in the late 1800s could collapse. the entire parliamentary complex and severely damaged. waterlogged and smoke damaged. there is going to be damage extensively. the roof above the old assembly chamber, assembly hall, is completely gone. many high profile south african politicians including president cyril ramaphosa were in cape town for the funeral of archbishop desmond tutu which took place at st george's cathedral, a block away from the parliamentary precinct. this is devastating news, a terrible and devastating event, particularly after we gave the arch what i would call the best sendoff yesterday. the minister responsible for government infrastructure say firefighters managed to contain the blaze from spreading further. this is a very sad day for our democracy because parliament is the home of our democracy. parliament is also a strategic key point. no injuries have been reported that there is no indication of what may have started it. fire and rescue service officials have said it could take longer to put it out completely due to carpets and wooden floors. sudanese security forces have reportedly killed two protesters in the city of omduram — during demonstrations calling for the military to leave politics. in the capital khartoum — soldiers fired tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters calling for an end to military rule. mass protests have been taking place in the country since a military overthrow of civilian prime minister in october. he was reinstated a month later but demonstrations have continued. denmark says it hopes to end the use of fossil fuels on domestic flights by 2030. danish prime minister says flying must be made green but acknowledged the target would be hard to meet. denmark had already announced plans to reduce carbon emissions by 70% of 1990 levels by 2030. ajudge in the united states has thrown out prince andrew's attempt to halt proceedings in a civil lawsuit against him. the duke of york's lawyers had argued that virginia giuffre — who has accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager — lives in australia, so is not a us resident. prince andrew has consistently denied the allegations. aruna iyengar has this report. seen here at the age of 17, virginia roberts, now giuffre, with prince andrew on the left and ghislaine maxwell in the background. ms giuffre has accused prince andrew of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager at the homes ofjeffrey epstein, the convicted child sex offender, and ghislaine maxwell. prince andrew has consistently denied the allegations. the civil lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. two efforts to stall the case were blocked on saturday. us federaljudge lewis a kaplan told the prince's lawyers they must hand over key legal documents before a crucial court hearing in new york on tuesday. he also rejected arguments by the prince's lawyer, andrew brettler, that the lawsuit should be dismissed because ms giuffre, a us citizen, no longer lives in the us. this comes after ghislaine maxwell was convicted this week of recruiting and trafficking young girls to be sexually abused by her boyfriend, the late american financier jeffrey epstein, between 1994 and 200a. on tuesday, judge kaplan will hear oral arguments to decide whether virginia giuffre's lawsuit against prince andrew will proceed. aruna iyengar, bbc news. 20 conservative mps and peers have called on the prime minister to tackle the spiralling cost of living. five ex—ministers are among those who have written to the sunday telegraph arguing for a cut in environmental levies and the removal of energy taxes. their call follows big rises in wholesale gas prices. the government says it is meeting suppliers and the regulator regularly to work out how to help consumers. a second 15—year—old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder, following a stabbing in south london. zaian aimable—lina — who was also 15 — died after being stabbed in the heart at ashburton park in croydon on thursday. another 15—year—old boy who was arrested on suspicion of murder has been released on bail. the first football match to take part in a safe standing trial has taken place. supporters at this afternoon's match between chelsea and liverpool were the first to stand at a top flight game since it was banned at most grounds in 1994, following the hillsborough stadium disaster. ministers say safety is paramount — some police chiefs have expressed concern about fans moving into standing areas from other parts of the stadium. how do you get to become a film stuntman? before you jump off tall buildings or take part in high—speed car chases, you have to pass a series of gruelling tests. our reporter talia slack has been to meet a group of aspiring stuntmen during their training. what do a free—runner, personal trainer and a tiktok star all have in common? let's do the stunt man thing. i will do diving in heels any day. chuck a stiletto on me and i'll do any of the sports in stilettos. i'll try it, i like to push that boundary. these men are all training to become stuntmen. very rarely you'll be diving in speedos. you will be diving in whatever the, if you're doubling, the actor would be wearing. they are all at various stages in their stuntman journey. it's my second session. a lot of this for me, i think, is faith, and trusting coaches. in order to qualify for the british stunt register they need to pass tests in six different disciplines. i'm here today because i'm training the high diving. curtis tolbert has already done his martial arts. ticked that one off. i've done gymnastics in trampolining. i'm doing rock climbing, swimming. it's really tough. louis is 18. he's wanted to be a stuntman since he was 11. obviously everyone my age was going to uni and doing the whole school thing, but i was watching the james bond films and i thought, well, i want to do that. the dream is to have fun, do the crazy stuff, travel the world and get paid. phil passed his diving skills test but still needs to train. i've completed all of the six requirements and ijust submitted for the stunt register, so then it goes to the committee and they decide whether i've made it onto the register or i need to come back and look at other skills. so i'm just waiting to find out whether i'm on the register or not. the stuntmen have to train in a different way to traditional divers. they are just trying to land on their head and pass the skill to qualify to be a stuntman. whereas when i'm teaching to dive you're obviously looking at the pretty stuff like the pointed toes, the straight legs, the tummy tight, the posture. make it look nice! so it is very different in terms of technique. charlie is part of the group because he loves diving. i think it's probably my favourite thing now. it's one thing i'm quite passionate about now. and i don't know what i would be without it. he often likes to serenade his fellow divers by playing the violin. when he came to me for the first time he was really nervous, and he struggled a lot, so he gave me a piece of paper and it said, my name's charlie. and you fast forward to now, we have good conversations, he plays the violin for me. the group love him, he's such a good energy. the whole crew hopes to end up in a major blockbuster film, or perhaps stand in for a famous fashion designer. i want to be a stunt double for donatella versace. i think that's like my true goal. just to get there and just walk out was that i'd love that. that would be the best. that's what i would love to do. that was talia slack reporting there. the kenyan anthropologist and conservationist, richard leakey has died at the age of 77. he was renowned for his extensive fossil discoveries that shed light on human evolution in africa. in a statement this evening, african president uhuru kenyatta said: "i have this afternoon received with deep sorrow the sad news of the passing away of dr richard erskine frere leakey, kenya's former head of public service." time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker. hello. still very mild out there with a scattering of showers and some showers have been quite heavy. this weather will continue through the rest of the evening and tonight. let's look at the big picture for the next few hours or so. this weather front approaching the north of scotland and behind the weather front you can see northerly winds so this is colder air that will be reaching the northern half of scotland overnight. ahead of it winteriness but south of that, in scotland and further south in cardiff and plymouth the temperature at 8—9 saw a mild start to the day across england, wales and northern ireland. some sunshine around and here we have the weather front preceding that colder air from the north and some sleet and snow particularly across the hills but overall still mild. this is still above the average for the time of year with the temperature around 10 celsius. shift this is bbc world news. our top stories... secondary school pupils in england are being asked to wear masks and classrooms to reduce the spread of ohmic one. unions have welcomed the move. warnings of a worst—case scenario of a quarter of staff in the public sector being off work because of covid. government ministers say there is nothing in the current covid data to suggest more restrictions are required in england. fire engulfed the parliament building in south africa after its sprinkler system failed. and the kenyan anthropologist and conservationist richard lecky, renowned for his extensive fossil discoveries, which shed light on human evolution, has died aged 77. coming up shortly on bbc news, it's sportsday, but first we take a look back at kevin sinfield's extra mile challenge.