months. the picture is similar now in northern ireland and wales. next week, english secondary school students will follow suit as the government tries to reduce the spread of covid i9 in schools. around half of children over 12 have been double jab, not enough to keep the virus out. the been double jab, not enough to keep the virus out- the virus out. the face coverings is very much the virus out. the face coverings is very much a the virus out. the face coverings is very much a short-term the virus out. the face coverings is very much a short-term measure, | very much a short term measure, simply until the 26th of january when it will be reviewed because we recognise it is not something many children will want to wear stop it recognises the priority of ensuring face to face education is made available, that is our number one priority. available, that is our number one riori . ., ., , priority. some are worried this could affect priority. some are worried this could
of the delta variant. the british study also showed that vaccines can work well against omicron, reducing the need for hospital treatment. wildfires rip through parts of colorado in the united states destroying hundreds of homes and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate the area. mourners in south africa have been paying their respects to the late archbishop desmond tutu. hello and welcome. before we move to today s news let s go to pyongyang and that firework display by the taedong river. this is in the city s central square. north korea has yet to officially report any confirmed covid 19 cases, though analysts have questioned whether that is possible. two years of near total isolation have had a severe impact on the country s economy but as always, they are putting up an impressive show for the new year. not that we are showing that you right now. we are looking at pictures of the kim family. we can see the size of the crowd that has gathered, though. there was a fi
hello, and welcome to sportsday. i m sarah mulkerrins. yet another game off due to covid newcastle s trip to southampton in the premier league is cancelled as the club battles an outbreak. noise that we don t need thomas tuchel hits back at an interview from romelu lukaku in which he suggested he was unhappy. and we look ahead to one of the big events of 2022, the winter olympics in beijing, with former ski racer chemmy alcott giving us her tips for team gb. hello, and welcome along to sportsday. we re ending the year with yet another game of football called off due to covid. the latest fixture to fall is sunday s match between southampton and newcastle at st mary s. eddie howe s side are unable to fulfil the fixture because of covid cases and injuries in the sqaud. their match at everton on thursday had already been postponed because of the issues, issues that many football clubs across the leagues have been facing all month. ourfootball reporter simon stone has more.
and says he s initiated high level talks with the us. translation: if we are plunged in a conflict? i but we don t want that. it is not our choice. this is why i responded to president biden s proposal. hello and welcome. tighter restrictions against coronavirus have come into effect in some european countries, amid concerns over the highly infectious omicron variant that continues to spread rapidly. there s a fear that a wave of omicron infections could overwhelm health services , despite preliminary studies suggesting that omicron is milder and that the risk of being hospitalised is up to 75 percent lower. we ll look at mainland europe in a moment, but let s start here in the uk. over 1.3 million british people were infected with covid in the week ending the 16th of december the highest level of infections recorded since the pandemic began. here s our health correspondent, dominic hughes. the last few days before christmas have brought some better news. early studies of t
degrees with a southerly wind bringing mild air in our direction. that is a trend that continues into the start of the new week. low pressure to the west, outbreaks of rain at times, some brisk winds but the wind is coming from the south tapping into this very mild or even warm air. that will lift the temperatures through monday and into tuesday, but that doesn t mean blue skies and sunshine all the time, far from it. in fact on monday we will see cloud and showery rain moving eastwards, heavy bursts at times, but the temperatures up to 18 degrees. and by tuesday, temperatures are set to climb even further. again, there will be quite a lot of cloud, some rain turning heavy and persistent in western areas through the day. if the cloud breaks and we see sunshine, that is where we could see temperatures up to possibly even 21 degrees. but that mild or even warm weather doesn t last too long. later in the week it will turn quite a lot cooler and stays unsettled with showers and l