this is bbc world news, i'm ben brown. our top stories... a growing row over schools in england. some councils urge the government to abandon plans for reopening primaries. but the prime minister insists it's safe for them to open across most of the country. our advice remains the same, which is far public health reasons, we think in the large majority of the country, large parts of the country, it is sensible to continue to keep schools open. the prime minister also admits that ‘tougher measures‘ may be needed in the weeks ahead. his comments come as liverpool's council leaders call for new national lockdown in the uk. india's medicines regulator gives the go ahead for two coronavirus vaccines, as it starts one of the world's biggest vaccination programmes.

the oxford jab will be used alongside a locally developed vaccine. and israel leads the world with the highest rate of vaccinations — one in eight israelis gets a covid jab. hello and welcome to bbc news. the prime minister says restrictions in some parts of the country may get even tougher over the next few weeks. in an interview in the last few minutes, he also said that he believed primary schools in england are safe and insisted that it is sensible to keep them open in some areas despite rising infection rates. borisjohnson resisted growing calls from some councils and teaching unions in england to keep primary schools closed to the majority of pupils after the christmas holidays.

he promised to work with local authorities in england that plan to keep primaries closed and admitted that we are in for a few difficult months. let's have a listen to some of what he had to say to my colleague andrew marr. what we are doing is grappling with a new variant of the virus which is surging particularly in london and the south—east and that is why we had take exceptional measures for some parts, to close primary schools, keep them closed temporarily. not something anybody wants to do. we have fought very hard throughout the pandemic across the country to keep schools open for lots of reasons. schools are safe, it is important to stress, the risk to young people is really very small indeed, as the scientists continually attest. the risks to staff is very small.

the benefits of education are so huge, and overwhelmingly we want to keep young people in education because that is the best thing for them which is why we have worked hard to do it so i advise all parents, look at where your area is, overwhelmingly you will be in a part of the country where primary schools will be open. sage said on the 22nd of december you could not keep on top of the new variant while keeping schools open. what they said was we needed to take tougher measures. sire mark walport who you talked to agrees. i agree with that. the issue really has got to work at... he said it is unlikely schools will be able to stay open. the evidence is not clear. we are looking at tier 4 and what happens in tier 4 areas. we need to see whether those extra

steps we have taken in tier 4 areas are going to work in driving the virus down. if they don't, you may close primary schools? we have got to keep things under constant review, but we will be driven not by any political considerations but entirely by the public health question. the public health suggestion is you will have to close schools to get on top of the variant. there are different views offered. it is worth stressing that other public health experts also point to the long—term damage to children from being kept out of school, the social cost, the danger and threat to mental health, and many other factors you have to bear in mind, particular deprivation for families in left—behind communities. you have to think very, very hard about the consequences for families of closing schools. absolute understand that.

jonathan blake is our political correspondent. the government is sticking to their guns as the prime minister said on theissue guns as the prime minister said on the issue of schools, which they have faced a lot of criticism about. no change far now i think is the summary no change far now i think is the summary of what the prime minister said. as you suggest they faced pressure, the government faced pressure, the government faced pressure from teaching unions who are lining up together to urge the government, called for the government, called for the government to keep primary schools closed to most children, all but vulnerable children and those of key workers for at least another couple of weeks and you have some councils in england taking matters into their own hands and keeping primary schools closed for the next couple of weeks as well. but as you heard the prime minister say there, his message was clear to parents, that they should send children to school where they are open. it was his belief, he said, that there is no

doubt in his mound that schools are safe and that remained the scientific advice to the government but still uncertainty because he was very clear to say as well that the government will keep this under review and does not yet know the true impact of the new tier four levels and whether they will be able to keep the virus at bay given the new variant is spreading more quickly as we know. so definitely keeping the door open to further school closures for sub and keeping the door open for further restrictions generally. that was the other headline from the interview this morning. preparing the ground for tougher restrictions to come across the border in england. —— across the border in england. —— across the border in england. —— across the board. the message i am trying to get over to people, i think the same time i was on with you last time in october, you said how does it look? i said we were going to have a bumpy period at christmas and beyond, but i thought by spring things

would be better. i stick to that. i think that is roughly how it is going to be. it may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many parts of the country. i am fully reconciled to that. i bet the people of this country are reconciled to that. until the vaccine... what might tougher be? until the vaccine comes on stream in a massive way, we are fighting this virus with the same set of tools. later on he added that things were probably about to get tougher, so i think that's a very clear signal from the prime minister that under the current conditions in tier that much of the country is under now which you can only meet with one person outdoors, nonessential retail, leisure facilities, almost everything is closed, they could be further measures to come. thank you

very much, jonathan blake. let's return now to the issue of school closures. the prime minister has just insisted that it is safe for primary schools to remain open in most areas despite rising infection rates. first, let's remind ourselves what's happening with schools in the rest of the uk. in northern ireland, face—to—face teaching is being postponed by at least a week. pupils will be taught remotely until schools start to fully re—open from january the 11th. many schools in wales are also opting for online learning until january 11th — although some are aiming to fully re—open from tuesday. and in scotland — pupils won't return to the classroom until at least january the 18th. most of them will be learning online from january 11th. to discuss the issue of school closures further, i'm joined now by the children's commissioner for england, anne longfield. thank you very much indeed for being with us. why do you stand on this issue? a lot of pressure from teaching unions to keep primary

schools shut this week. where do you stand on that? i have argued for months and months that schools need to bea months and months that schools need to be a priority for children, not only with education but also their well—being. and schools should be the last to close and the first to open. it is a serious moment for children and there have to be closures, we a re children and there have to be closures, we are already seeing closures, we are already seeing closures in secondary schools for two weeks, but if there have to be closures, there must be damped absolute minimum amount of time and it should be used very well. i would say testing, we know there are plans in place for that, but also i would like teachers to be offered vaccination as a priority and that is something we have not heard yet from government but something i hear is very necessary. get teachers vaccinated as a priority, but there are vaccinated as a priority, but there a re lots of vaccinated as a priority, but there are lots of other people who are a priority, the elderly, care home staff and so on, front line nhs staff. of course, i am not talking

about teachers necessarily jumping staff. of course, i am not talking about teachers necessarilyjumping a queue, but what i am saying is that things have changed over recent weeks since the priorities were set. we know there is much more pressures on schools now because of local infection rates with the new variant, that's for all the people there is doubt whether the level of infection is growing in older children. but also we have new vaccines is an and much more supplies so it is really arguing that the risk of keeping schools closed or school closures that really demands immediate action and vaccination as part of that. where do you stand on exams? some head teachers are calling for the scrapping this year of gcse and a—level exams. what would you say about that? any disruption in schooling makes exams of course much less easy to keep fair so this is a crucial time. some of this will depend on what level of online

learning children on exam years can get and why their schools are closed for a period of time. some head teachers talked about the potential to move to centre assessed grades and have additional safeguards around the robustness of decisions was to buy think this is something that will emerge, it needs to remain something that is considered, as we see how january pans out for children. but certainly for those children. but certainly for those children who have exams this year, there are concerned, they won the clarity and most children i talk to wa nt clarity and most children i talk to want exams to continue, but clearly it needs to be fair. thank you. the children's commissioner for england. the nhs is preparing to roll out the new oxford astrazeneca vaccine tomorrow at a small number of hospitals around the uk, as the health service begins ramping up the biggest immunisation programme in its history. pressure is mounting to protect millions more vulnerable people amid concerns a new variant

of coronavirus is spreading out of control. our health correspondent katharine da costa reports. some of the first precious doses of a life—saving vaccine. the princess royal hospital in west sussex is one of a small number of hospitals that will begin inoculating people with the oxford vaccine tomorrow, before the roll—out is extended to more than 700 sites later in the week. we're really pleased to be one of the early sort of areas that will be giving the vaccine because we know it will protect people, protect our stuff, and it's the thing that will help us manage this pandemic. unlikely pfizer jab, the oxford vaccine can be stored in a fridge, making it much easier to distribute to gp surgeries, vaccination centres, and care homes. the elderly are most at risk from the virus. that's why the focus is to vaccinate most care home residents and staff by the end of the month. margaret keenan became the first person in the world to receive the pfizer vaccine outside of clinical trials nearly a month ago. applause

since then, nearly one million people have had their first dose. now, armed with the oxford vaccine, the race is on to protect 30 million of the most vulnerable, including nhs front line workers, many of whom now worn out having battled the virus for nearly a year only to see it threatening to overwhelm the health service once again. i know it's going to be worse. that's the only thing we know. i know that we're massively stretched at the moment. our nursing numbers are diluted. the staff are exhausted on intensive care and we've got a long way more to go before we hit the peak. for now there's still no let up in sight. yesterday saw another record high, with more than 57,000 new covid cases recorded. the nhs is bracing itself for even greater pressure in the weeks ahead. vaccines, though, bring hope this virus can be defeated. katharine da costa, bbc news.

liverpool leaders are calling for another national lockdown to prevent what they call a "catastrophe", as coronavirus cases continue to rise. it‘s believed the new ‘super strain‘ is beginning to move from south to north — with cases in liverpool almost trebling in the past two weeks. joining me now is the acting mayor of liverpool, councillor wendy simon. thank you very much forjoining us. so you don‘t think the tier system is working? you want a national lockdown? i think the difficulty with the new strain of the virus is the speed at which it is actually infecting people and what we have seen of the last few weeks is the tier system has not worked with this particular strain of the virus and people are moving between tiers as they have been doing, we have been in tier two and gone into tier at three and still you get the movement of people between those tiers and

infecting people in the lower tier areas. we feel before we get to crisis point in the city, we have had the mass testing pilot where we saw our members coming down significantly, so we need to see three areas that we have to work on, so three areas that we have to work on, so the lockdown to bring down the numbers, the mass testing to continue and for a community led vaccination programme that is play slide within the city to get the vaccine out as slide within the city to get the vaccine out as soon as slide within the city to get the vaccine out as soon as possible. and you are in tier three at the moment, i suppose some businesses would not thank you for some businesses saying they should be locked down with a national lockdown. i think it is really difficult for everyone, but the way the way members are going, the way the way members are going, the businesses, what we are trying to do, is pre—empt the catastrophe happening here to actually take control in the city, get the numbers

down and recover our economy quicker. as we said earlier on, we need to tackle the virus head on, the nhsjust need to tackle the virus head on, the nhs just said need to tackle the virus head on, the nhsjust said it is really under strain and the staff are exhausted and certainly we want to prevent as many deaths as possible in the city and also support the front line services, the people having to go to work and cope with the new strain. and you want a lockdown for how long? it is difficult to put a timescale on it in a sense if we would want it for the shortest time possible, we would want it to bring the numbers under a manageable control to see them going down across the country, we feel there needs to be an england based approach to this now rather than the tiers. they were working for a while but with the new virus and how quickly it spreads, it is clearly not working at the moment. so to do

the same, we‘re going to get the same result so we feel those three things, the mass vaccination, mass testing and a lockdown for a period is what we need the city to get up and running again. there are people perhaps in rural areas with relatively low infection rates that would say this would be a really blunt tool and they would have to suffer to help cities like yours.|j think at the end of the day, it is a problem for us all and wherever you are going to catch this virus, certainly you will want to make sure you get the best possible care that you get the best possible care that you can both within the hospital and within community services. so i think there is a responsibility on us think there is a responsibility on us all to treat this virus in the way it needs to be and act promptly and make sure we bring it under control as soon as we can. thank you very much indeed. thank you for your

time today. india‘s drugs regulator has given final emergency—use approval for two coronavirus vaccines — one developed by astrazeneca and oxford university, and the other by local company bharat biotech. the approval will kick off one of the world‘s biggest vaccination drives in coming days in the country of 1.3 billion people. from delhi, here is our south asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan. they are talking about inoculating 300 million people in what is described as one of the biggest immunisation drives in the world, it will not happen in a very short span of time, it will take several months. in fact more than eight or nine months to achieve the target. it is a big relief are the medical community and health care workers and because india is among the first developing countries to approve these vaccines and the two vaccines

and they want to have enough stock of doses so they can start this programme. first is the oxford university astrazeneca vaccine and the second one is the bharat biotech, which is an indian made vaccine, the first indian vaccine for the coronavirus to be recommended and after the approval, it became very clear because this one is very cost effective and it can be stored in a different way and it suits india and most importantly the astrazeneca vaccine is being made locally in india in the western part of india by an institute so this is easily available for india. there are questions over the second one, bharat biotech, there have been opposition politicians questioning about whether enough trials were conducted, what is the efficacy of this particular vaccine. we still don‘t know about that but the drug regulator was categorical in saying we will not approve anything without considering safety.

and when does the roll—out of the vaccines begin and who is the priority, which population groups get it first? the government held a mass drill to check the gaps and india is a huge country, if they want to distribute and supply these vaccines, they need to have a system in place. and the government has already promised in the coming week, they should be able to start this vaccination drive. first they need to sign contracts with the two companies to source the doses and they have to be distributed to different parts of the country. indian authorities are also looking at what is happening in britain because after the first dose, there seems to be a shortage... ..struggling to find a way to give the second dose. and here, both vaccines, astrazeneca and the bharat biotech, they involve two doses, so the government wants to keep enough stock before they start rolling out,

but this has been eagerly anticipated and there are people who are questioning how far these vaccines may be effective, there are some people saying we do not want to vaccine, but overall what the people want to know, is an assurance from the government and health experts these vaccines are really, really effective so people can take it and the economy can be revived. it‘s emerged that israel has given vaccinations against coronavirus to more thani million people, the highest rate in the world. our middle east correspondent tom bateman has more it has been a success story for the israeli government, both in terms of the procurement of the vaccine from pfizer biontech, but also in terms of its delivery. and on that front, there are some natural elements that make it easierfor israel. it is a geographically small country with a small population — around 8 to 9 million people.

it is also very practised in mass vaccinations and that has allowed it to get the vials out quickly and at those extra cold temperatures. israel has a universal health care system where people by law have to be registered with a medical insurer, so it has a really good database of people in it and has found that has been the way it has been able to contact people really quickly and get the jabs going in that way. and as you say, israel says the millionth dose, the first does of the jab, delivered on friday. but in terms of the procurement, i mean, israel has paid its way here. the israeli media reports that israel has paid up to three times the amount that some other countries have paid to pfizer for those jabs. the israeli government won‘t confirm that, but ministers have said that smaller countries do have to pay a higher price and obviously i think the calculation will be that it is a price worth paying in terms of protecting lives and trying to free up israel‘s economy. and the prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said that could happen

as early as february or at least well into the spring. well, the 5 million or so palestinians in the occupied west bank and gaza strip have been having, of late, a very tough time with the pandemic. we have seen rates surge and lockdowns in both territories because of that. the palestinians, particularly in gaza, had an extremely fragile and ill—resourced health care system, so there have been throughout these concerns aboutjust how well it would be able to respond. and in terms of the vaccinations, well, the palestinian authority had said that it was trying to procure a vaccine, firstly the russian vaccine, although it appears that is now off the table. its health minister said last week that he expects the vaccines could start to become available in the next couple of weeks, although that doesn‘t really seem to quite tally with what international aid organisations are saying. the world health organization, for one, says it could be many months before

vaccines are available. the palestinian health minister has not mentioned which companies they were talking to. and there have been around 15 or so human rights and aid organisations who have called on israel, as the occupying power, to do more to make sure that vaccines are available for palestinians under its control. the us vice—president, mike pence, has welcomed plans by senators to raise objections tojoe biden‘s election victory, in spite of the lack of evidence of fraud. the vice—president will preside over a senate session on wednesday to certify the results of the electoral college. paul hawkins reports. the electoral votes have been cast, legal challenges have failed, the inauguration stage is being built and yet, with 17 days to go untiljoe biden becomes president, some are still challenging the result. on wednesday, the upper house of congress, the senate, controlled

by the republicans, will officially certify the election results. but almost a dozen republican senators led by ted cruz have said they intend to vote to reject electors from states facing unproven allegations of election fraud. that‘s despite the two most senior republican senators, including mitch mcconnell, urging them not to. they‘ve publicly accepted the election result. so today i want to congratulate president—electjoe biden. they also argue the certification is ceremonial. there is virtually no chance that the challenge by ted cruz and co will make any difference. but the fact that they are going through with it, despite the warnings, shows how divided the republican party is over loyalty to president trump and loyalty to the party. instead, all republican hopes will be on keeping control of the senate. on tuesday, two republican senators are facing re—election in georgia. david perdue, a big trump supporter, is up against democratjon ossoff. and after four years of hatred and racism and division and bigotry,

georgia is going to make a statement about love and decency and compassion and unity. democrat raphael warnock meanwhile will hope to take the seat of republican senator kelly loeffler. are you ready to show america that georgia is a red state? the polling suggests both races are very tight indeed. should the democrats take both seats in georgia, then the senate would be tied at 50 seats each, with vice president—elect kamala harris getting the deciding vote. but if the republicans take just one of those seats in georgia, they keep control of the senate, and that would make life more difficult for president—electjoe biden. but it would also give him the opportunity to showcase his self—declared skills as a negotiator, a ito—year veteran of the senate who thinks he can bridge america‘s fiercely partisan divide. paul hawkins, bbc news.

during last year‘s lockdowns many of us developed new passions, or found ourselves revisiting old ones, and for eight—year—old amari from south lanarkshire that meant celebrating her love of poetry. amy irons has been back to catch up with her, as she looks ahead to what 2021 might bring. i‘ll tell yous aw something to yous fae wee me. i‘ve been telt to stay in and i‘m no longerfree. but when the lockdown is lifted and staying in isnae a must i‘ll tell you something, petal you‘ll no‘ see me for dust. so that was amari six months ago, really summing up a lot of our feelings in 2020. now i‘ve come back to see how she‘s getting on. hi, amy! how are you doing? i‘m good, how are you? i‘m good. i‘d ask you to come in but because of the coronvarius, nobody‘s allowed in each other‘s houses. i know! i‘ll get my mum to open the window.

just wait a wee minute. 0k! so i‘ve not seen you in over six months. tell me, what‘s it been like? i‘d say it‘s been the absolutely worst! and why‘s it been the worst? because we can‘t step out the house. i‘ve missed family, missed going out places with my family. missed my friends, missed my world. you miss your world? cos the world‘s different, isn‘t it? yeah. and what do you think 202! is going to be like? you said 2020‘s been the worst. it‘ll be better and then everything would be back to normal. the vaccine‘s coming in easter, i think. because i heard it was coming on easter and then they have, theyjust need to get some more for everybody to get some.

well, that was 2020 and i don‘t think it was great. i‘ll tell yous i did plenty — just as well i‘m only eight! tell me something, sunshine, just what‘s that all about? one minute it was fine, then i‘m telt no‘ to go oot! my ma just kept on saying, we don‘t want people sick. so just keep doing what you‘re doing and it‘ll be back to normal quick. so i‘m getting my bike ready to head out without fear cos once the vaccine‘s ready, well, 202i‘s going to be my year! we really hope it is everyone‘s year! now, the weather with chris fawkes. hello there. yesterday, we had some fresh snowfall across parts of east scotland, northern england in particular. this was one of our weather watcher pictures from yesterday showing the scene. think this is a country park near romiley in the stockport area. now, today, the air is a tiny bit less cold. you won‘t be able to feel the difference, but it does make

a difference to the showers. many of today‘s showers will be falling more as rain with just a little bit of sleet mixed in. there will be some snow around too, but it is mostly going to be on fairly high elevations above, say, 300 or 400 metres elevation for the most part, across the grampians, the southern uplands, the pennines and the high ground in wales as well. so, as i say, for most of us, when these showers come through, it‘s more likely that you see rain. those showers are going to be extensive, then, for eastern scotland, coming right away across england and to wales too. best of the sunshine today, northern ireland, northern and western areas of scotland. but it stays cold wherever you are and feeling cold, particularly where we have these brisk onshore winds. now, overnight, we‘re going to start to grab some colder airfrom scandinavia. so those showers are going to tend to switch a little bit more to a wintry mix. so a little bit more snow mixed in with them over high ground, maybe a little bit getting down to the lower levels, frosty with a risk of icy stretches. and, again, temperatures probably getting down to about minus eight in the highlands of scotland. monday sees the same area of high pressure continuing