this is bbc news i'm ben bland — with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a group of republican senators say they will support president trump who refuses to accept the official result of the us presidential election. in india, tens of thousands of health workers take part in a one day mass immunisation rehearsal. meanwhile in the uk — as coronavirus cases surge, teaching unions in england demand a two—week closure of primary and secondary schools. and in northern france — after clashes and arrests and fears of a riot, police shut down an illegal rave 36 hours after it started.

in the united states — 12 republican senators say they'll raise objections this week to president—elect joe biden‘s victory. they'll do it when congress meets to review the results of the electoral college vote. it won't be enough to alter the outcome. but it could force other republicans to take sides over mr trump's claims of election fraud. our washington correspondent lebo diseko explains how the republican strategy will work. it is a bit of a complex progress but basically, congress will meet. that is both houses of congress the senate and also the house of representatives will meet and they will essentially receive the votes of the electoral college and certify them. during that process if any member of the house can get a senator to come along with them and object to a particular state results then it forces a discussion and then a vote on those

particular result. now for an objection to be successful both the house of representatives and the senate have to vote in favour of that objection. the democrats control the house of representatives at the moment so you can see how unlikely it is that any of these objections will get through. there are six key states that are likely to have objections put through. they are the battleground states including michigan, pennsylvania also georgia as well. which is going to be having a senate run off next week for them so very, very unlikely that this is going to be successful. but what it certainly means if you think two hours for every objection raised and that is just the discussion. that's not even the vote. it is going to draw out what is largely or generally kind of administrative or ceremonial event and make it quite dramatic and long. jennifer kerns is a republican strategist.

she says the senators‘ strategy to challenge the election result is justified. i think members of congress and millions of americans are concerned about potential that there was election fraud in the 2020 presidential elections. we have an interesting clashing of powers coming this week forjanuary six. which is states rights versus the federal election outcome result. that is four or five states in questions in terms of their election integrity versus the rest of the country. the other 45 states that believe that there may have been voter fraud which affected the outcome of the presidential election. the last time we had members of congress looking into an election with a special commission was 1877 with the 1877 commission that was 150 years ago. there were five members of the us senate, five

members of the house of representatives and oddly enough, five members of the united states supreme court which took up the matters of whether there was election fraud in the 1876 election. so this is certainly unique. this is a once in a century occurrence that will be happening this week coming on january six. but have these issues not already been settled? you say it's the states against the outcome. but the courts in the states in question have already heard these matters and they are satisfied that there was no fraud. should the senator is not respect the decision of thejudges within their own states? well, that's where i think he gets a bit tricky. because as you know, there were four or five states in which president trump was not even given standing. a lot of the evidence that the trump campaign had of ballot stuffing, election day fraud was actually never heard

by a court because the court decided and the judges in those cases decided and some of those judges are political appointees. i think we can't presume the judges in this country are without politics. no but if i point to one of thejudges rulings in pennsylvania they said charges require specific allegations and proof. we neither here. when they are looking for evidence that's what it comes down to. if these lawmakers in congress want to object, surely they need to put forward specific evidence that backs up their concerns. precisely. and that's what they intend to do. i spoke with two members of congress this morning. they said they are prepared to do a ten day audit that would take us through january 16. just four days before the new president, joe biden is expected to be sworn in. india has been rehearsing how it plans to vaccinate three hundred million people by the middle of this year. on saturday, tens of

thousands of health workers and volunteers took part in a one day rehearsal for mass immunisation. a second coronavirus vaccine has now been recommended for emergency use in india. unlike the astrazeneca jab, it's being made by a localfirm. anbarasan ethirajan has more from delhi. volunteers waiting for their turn in a massive rehearsal for the immunisation drive. it will be almost real, except that those standing here will not get the dose. the indian government wants to ensure a glitch—free coronavirus immunisation programme. this mammoth exercise is essential as the country wants to inoculate 300 million people by the middle of this year. so, if you have any health conditions, you will not be given the vaccine. so, a full verification if you are healthy and fit, you'll be sent for the vaccination. after vaccination, you will be sent to the observation room. in the observation room, minimum 30 minutes you'll have to wait, to see if you'll have any complications or anything. an expert panel has

recommended two vaccines, one by astrazeneca—oxford university and the second one jointly developed by an indian company and a state—run research body. both involve two doses, and the authorities want to keep enough vaccines at their disposal before the real exercise. but, both are cost—effective and locally manufactured. still, some are doubtful about the efficacy of the vaccines. translation: i'm not that comfortable taking the vaccine, but i get it — this could offer is the cure, but it's not yet confirmed. elsewhere, they're using the vaccine and there are still unsolved problems, so i think if people are getting better after they quarantine by staying at home, it's still the best option. the government says the aim of the trial immunisation drive is also to remove misconceptions about the vaccine. it wants the country to get back to normal so that the economy can be revived.

for that to happen, it is aware that it needs to conduct a successful vaccination programme. saturday's exercise will play a crucial role in achieving that goal. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news, delhi. hospitals have begun receiving stocks of the second coronavirus vaccine, to be approved for use in the uk. the oxford vaccine is being rolled out on monday. the body which advises the government on immunisation, has been defending the decision to delay giving people their second dose of the pfizer vaccine, so that many more people can receive an initial jab. here's our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. some of the first deliveries of the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine arriving at the princess royal hospital in sussex. nhs staff are preparing to receive the new coronavirus vaccine — the second to be approved for use in the uk — ahead of a nationwide roll—out on monday when the first injections will be given.

what this does is it allows us to focus on the most vulnerable people and make sure they are protected from this disease. ultimately that will keep people well and reduce the pressure on the health service over the next few months. the oxford vaccine joins the pfizer one, which was approved for use in early december. almost one million people have received the first injection and expected a booster three weeks later. that has been extended to 12 weeks. the government's vaccination advisers say delaying the booster is the right approach. we are in a dire situation in this country at the moment. the virus is rapidly spreading and the more vaccine that we can get into these priority groups that we have identified, the more deaths and hospitalisations that we will prevent. but some patients who've already had their first dose are concerned about the changes and that they could be more at risk from the disease than they'd expected. i can manage that, but a lot

of elderly people will not be in a position to manage it, and they will worry a lot about it. and, again, i don't think they have thought this through. so, how much protection does one shot of the vaccine give you? well, government scientists say 2—3 weeks after getting the first pfizer vaccine, around 90% of people were protected from falling ill from covid—19. as for the oxford vaccine, that figure was around 73% after three weeks. so, in the short—term, protection seems to be high. pfizer says, however, that its vaccine has not been tested for an extended second dose. and for gps who'd been rolling out the vaccine programme, the change in guidance has come at a challenging time. our most vulnerable patients who've had the vaccination often only have a landline and actually need to be phoned. so it is very time consuming to let people know.

and it takes time to explain to people, and people are understandably disappointed. the government is determined the priority must be to get the first dose out to as many people as quickly as possible, in order somehow to try to get a handle on the surging numbers of infections. our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. here in the uk, there's growing pressure on the uk government to keep all schools in england closed for the next two weeks, to help slow the spread of coronavirus. teaching unions say moving lessons online is "the only sensible and credible option". here's our education correspondent, dan johnson. children and teachers were amongst those invited for tests at charlton's football ground today. one way to help keep the virus out of schools — but will it be enough? some think things are out of control and they want schools to stay closed. teaching unions say staff are at risk. we know that members of our union got sick,

some of them died over the christmas period, so there is the concern for our members. there's also the concern for parents and grandparents and we don't think it's safe. we think there should be a period of closure to get those cases down. london's primary school children will all stay off after a u—turn ended the patchwork of partial closures. so harrison's got a fortnight at home. we're not going back to school and we're going to have to do home—learning. what do you think about that? not very good because i want to see my friends. and mum and dad have the challenge of finding childcare. it all seems very last minute, really. it's all very confusing. they keep chopping and changing, which makes it very hard to plan. teachers are also being tested in liverpool, tier 3, where schools are due to open. although scientists advised closures could help reduce the spread of the virus, officials say there's no evidence schools themselves aren't safe. i don't feel they should close because i feeljust as safe

in school as i would do anywhere. ifeel the children have missed a lot of education as it is. the new strain has come out and what we're seeing happening in london, it was happening with us. you know, we had the extra testing brought in earlier on. london didn't, now they are closing. i think we should all be just doing the same. i don't feel like they should stay closed. 0ur r rate is a lot lower, isn't it, and the school i work at, the head teacher there, she's amazing and she's put everything in place to protect staff, parents and children. in some parts of the country they now council leaders calling for their schools to be shot. will be approaching hundred thousand in the next few days. and that's following the pattern of the places that have already been told that the primary schools should remain closed. there is now a legal

challenge to see the governments basis for reopening primary schools on monday. and wales or northern ireland the return was already delayed a week. in scotland it is two weeks. there is a lot for the government to consider here. the rise and transmission rates the pressure on the nhs and the demographics in different communities. the rising transmission rates, the pressure on the nhs, and the demographics in different communities. it has always said keeping children off school would be a last resort, but there is growing pressure to extend these closures we've had a sharp increase in cases. a phase return is planned for england secondary school starting the week on monday with a hope that mass testing will limit disruption and minimise online learning. despite the downside of that it's already a reality for many children and possibly beyond the next two weeks. let's get some of the day's other news. in niger, suspected islamist militants have attacked a village close to the border with mali killing at least forty—seven people and wounding twenty others.

the tillaberi region, has been under a state of emergency after repeated jihadi attacks. in a separate incident in neighbouring mali, two french soldiers have been killed. iran is accusing israel of trying to provoke war by attacking us forces in iraq. foreign minister mohammad javad zarif tweeted that intelligence from iraq indicates israeli agents are planning to attack americans — he warned president trump to be careful of a trap, saying any fireworks would backfire badly. norwegian police say a third body has been found in one of the houses sucked into a landslip near 0slo on wednesday. the discovery came within hours of finding the second body. seven people remain missing, including children. police had earlier said there was a chance of finding survivors. five indian cricketers have been told to isolate after they were filmed eating in an australian restaurant. they've been ordered to stay away from their team mates ahead of the third test, due to start on thursday.

an investigation‘s been launched into whether the five breached coronavirus restrictions in melbourne, which is trying to contain a cluster of cases. this is bbc news — our main stories... a group of republican senators say they will support president trump in refusing to accept the official result of the us presidential election. in presidential election. india tens of thousands of health in india tens of thousands of health workers and volunteers ta ke health workers and volunteers take part in a one—day mass immunisation rehearsal. let's stay with that story now and dr lipika nanda is from the public health foundation of india. she outlined some of the main challenges the authorities there are facing. well, it is going to be a mammoth task, that is no doubt about it. india has huge experience in vaccinating the paediatric population. we have. ..i'm sure you've heard of the universal immunisation programme of the government of india. but this is the first time adults

are going to be vaccinated, so it's going to be, kind of, a really big exercise and you are aware that india has several states completely very diverse from each other, with different levels of public health infrastructure, health systems, you know, in terms of how strong they are, so i think this is a really major effort, and i think it was absolutely necessary to do a drill of this vaccination administration. well, today the drill started in all the states, but i don't know whether you were aware, a week ago it has started in four states in india — punjab, gujarat, assam and andhra pradesh. and today it has happened in 116 districts in the entire country, so it's a huge but completely necessary exercise, to ensure that, you know, the kind of glitches, if any, are to be resolved.

the plan is, byjuly 2021, at least 300 million people should be vaccinated, and in batches and in levels of priority. as in other countries i think that is what has been decided by the government of india. that front—line workers are in the highest priority at this point of time. and then after that is done the next level is going to be the elderly population plus people with comorbidities. and so on and so forth. the chinese foreign minister, wang yi, has claimed the coronavirus pandemic began in multiple parts of the world notjust in china. wuhan saw the first confirmed cases in december 2019. but china has been trying to cast doubt that it originated there. the claim that the virus had other places of origin has been repeated in china for some months, now in an interview with

state media mr wang has gone further, claiming there is "more and more research the minister also defended china's transparency during the outbreak, claiming it ‘sounded alarm bells across the world.‘ that message comes ahead of the arrival in wuhan by who investigators looking into the origins of the virus. a little earlier i spoke to professor yanzhong huang is senior fellow for global health at the council on foreign relations. i think it‘s not surprising and the minister said that this pandemic likely could have been caused by separate outbreaks in multiple places. it‘sjust like an extension of his official narrative that simply china, the virus was still intact it

doesn‘t necessarily follow that. but this is the first timei that. but this is the first time i think from a top government official claiming that china is more likely not the origin point of the outbreak. i can understand why they want to hit back given how vociferously president trump of the us has repeatedly referred to it as a china virus pulled up to it as a china virus pulled up but does the finger—pointing of where it actually originated do any good at all doing that the world is in the grip of a pandemic and wherever it started everyone‘s got to deal with the situation as it is now? exactly. the problem is that the origins of the outbreak had largely been politcised in the way in the us and china being engaged in a blame game. who is responsible to the outbreak. so when the situation became politcised and admitting that china being the origin point of the outbreaks tantamount to admitting that

china is responsible for causing the pandemic. so that certainly does not bode well for international cooperation to fight a common enemy. for international cooperation to fight a common enemylj mean, to fight a common enemy.” mean, china has said, again in the interview the foreign minister said china sounded alarm bells across the world and was transparent. 0n the other hand, were doctors silenced or discouraged from speaking out when they first raised concerns in wuhan? well, that‘s the problem. it is true that‘s the problem. it is true that china is the first country to report the cases to the world. as minister had said. because chinese where the virus was first detected but we also know that there were doctors, the whistle—blowers who sounded the whistle—blowers who sounded the warning bell, as early as december 30s. the doctor certainly for doing that he was

disciplined by the local police. and when we have this visit by the who investigator is going to wuhan, what do you hope, what do you think they may discover that would be helpful? i think we should not actually have two high expectations on the who investigation team to china. which is expected to embark the trip i think, this week. i expect them, the investigation to build upon the preliminary research conducted by the chinese scientists. the question is that what kind of preliminary research they have already conducted? how thorough it is, whether the chinese government is willing to share that data? there are a lot of question marks. and we expect the who team to find out and

interestingly, the minister did not say anything in this speech whether china will be accommodating or cooperative in the who trip. french police have shut down an illegal rave which had been going on since new year‘s eve in defiance of a coronavirus curfew. two and a half thousand people some from the uk and spain descended on a disused warehouse in the village of lieuron in brittany 0ur paris correspondent hugh schofield reports. while the rest of france spent new year‘s eve under a nightly curfew, 2500 people danced for two nights and a day in abandoned warehouses in a village south of rien. they‘d come from places all over france and, indeed, abroad. the possibility that they might be putting themselves and others at risk from covid, they said, was exaggerated. translation: everything‘s reopened. the shops have reopened

because they wanted to make money over christmas, but that must have caused big gatherings of people everywhere, so is it any worse here than on the paris metro? i don‘t think so. police decided not to intervene because they feared a riot. instead, they surrounded the premises, but when, 36 hours after the party started, the revellers began to leave, they booked them for breaches of covid rules. translation: the situation deteriorated very quickly. i had three offices injured, so i personally took the decision to disengage, at the risk of making the situation worse, to try and contain the area. elsewhere in france, the covid news is nothing to celebrate, with daily cases now at around 20,000 and the vaccination programme barely under way, the nightly curfew has been brought forward from eight to six o‘clock in 15 departments of the east of the country. president macron has warned that the coming months will remain difficult.

with restaurants shut across the country, only a lucky few on the riviera have been able to eat out — in monaco — but now even that pleasure has been taken away. from tonight, only residents of the principality can book a table. hugh schofield, bbc news, in central france. catalan police also broke up a smaller new year‘s rave at a warehouse near barcelona that had also been going for more than a0 hours. about 300 people attended the event in the village of llinars del valles. the catalan regional police said they had confiscated the sound system and all the other equipment used at the party and would press charges against all who were involved. a reminder of our top story... eleven republican senators in the united states have said they‘ll challenge the certification of joe biden‘s presidential election victory next week. don‘t forget you can get

in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i‘m @ benmbland. hello. it‘s been a cold, wintry start to 2021 and that theme is set to continue, at least for the next week or so. temperatures still below average. this was the picture on saturday afternoon in wakefield, quite a lot of lying snow around for many parts of northern england, parts of scotland, into wales, western england, the midlands as well. over the next few days, it‘s going to stay cold with further wintry showers at times, certainly we‘re all going to be seeing some ice or some frost around a cold start to your sunday morning ain the next few days, it‘s going to stay cold with further wintry showers at times, certainly we‘re all going to see some ice or some frost around. a cold start to your sunday morning with subzero temperatures for many areas as low as —5 or —6 across parts of western scotland first thing. now, after that cold frosty start, the weather is looking

generally settled with high pressure in charge of our weather, but we will have the breeze coming in from a northeasterly direction as it blows over the north sea, it will bring in some showers and some showers will be across parts of scotland northeast england as well, one or two further south into wales and the midlands. mainly sleet and snow confined to higher ground, largely rain at low levels and in the southeast of england and east anglia, some heavy rain showers here and also for the channel islands as well likely to see some rain on it through the day. and while temperatures reach around four or six degrees, it will feel colder with the windshields of the breeze making it feel closer to freezing during sunday afternoon for many of us. heading into monday and high pressure still with us sitting to the north of the uk, we‘ve still got that north easterly breeze into monday as well. so, many places looking dry with some sunshine, but there will be some wintry showers and parts of southern scotland and northern england, perhaps one or two for northern ireland and wales and the southeast of england once again could see some rain showers. it could turn to sleet and snow over the high ground with any of the heavier bursts. temperatures only about four to six degrees

but feeling closer to freezing once again when you add on the effect of that wind chill on monday. a very similar day into tuesday as well. we‘ve still got a northeasterly breeze with us, some rain showers for the southeast of england and flurries elsewhere, but a lot of dry weather on the cards in the sunshine, still feeling cold with temperatures around three to five degrees on their warmest on tuesday and looking ahead to the remainder of the coming week, it stays cold, temperature still below freezing, some sunshine and things looking like they are turning more unsettled later in the week. bye bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines at least 11 republican senators say they will join president trump in refusing to accept the official results of the us presidential election that named joe biden the winner by 8 million votes. the group led have repeated unproven allegations of fraud in november‘s poll.

in india, health workers and volunteers take part in a nationwide rehearsal to test its preparedness for mass immunisation against covid—nineteen as a second vaccine is recommended for emergency use. for mass immunisation against covid—nineteen as a second vaccine is recommended for emergency use. india‘s government says they hope to vaccinate at least three hundred million people by the middle of 2021. the government is coming under intense pressure from teaching unions who want to keep schools in england closed for the first two weeks of the new term. the profession‘s calling for the delay because of the rapid spread of the new coronavirus variant. employers in all sectors have been cutting hundreds of thousands of jobs, as the economy struggles against covid—19 — leaving an estimated one—point—seven million people out of work. our business correspondent sarah corker caught up with some of them. three people who all lost their jobs because of the pandemic.