this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a growing row over schools in england — as councils urge the government to abandon plans for reopening primaries. but the prime minister insists schools should stay open across most of the country. as liverpool's council leaders call for new national lockdown in the uk, borisjohnson admits that tougher measures may be needed to control the virus in the weeks ahead. 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 don't...| mean, i'm fully, fully reconciled to that and i bet the people of this country are reconciled to that. 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 — 1 in 8 israelis gets a covid jab. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. the uk prime minister borisjohnson says restrictions in some parts of the country may get even tougher over the next few weeks. he also said that he believes that 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're 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. that was the prime minister talking to andrew marr a few hours ago. our political correspondent jonathan blake told me that the prime minister was clearly keen to reassure parents and carers. there's no change for now, i think is the summary of what heard the prime minister say this morning. as you suggest, they faced pressure, the government have faced pressure from teaching unions, who are lining up together to urge the government, to call 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. 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 mind 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 would keep this under review and doesn't yet know the true impact of the new tier 4 measures in london and the south east and whether they will be enough to keep the virus at bay, given that the new variant is spreading more quickly, as we know. so, definitely keeping the door open to further school closures to come. yes, and keeping the door open for further restrictions generally? yes, that was the other headline from the prime minister's

interview this morning. very clearly, i think, preparing the ground for tougher restrictions to come across the board in england. what i'm trying to get... the message i'm trying to get over to people is, i think, the same time i was on with you last time, in october. you said, how's it look? and i said, we were going to have a very bumpy period at christmas and beyond but i thought that by the spring, things would be better. i stick to that. i think that's roughly how it's 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 don't... 0k. i mean, i'm fully, fully reconciled to that and i bet the people of this country are reconciled to that because until... what might tougher be? until the vaccine really comes on stream in a massive way, we're 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 signalfrom the prime minister that even under the current conditions in tier 4 in england, which much of the country is under now, where you can only meet with one person outdoors, nonessential retail, leisure facilities, almost everything is closed, there could be further measures to come. jonathan blake there, our political correspondent. it all comes as leaders in liverpool 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. the acting mayor of liverpool, councillor wendy simon, said the current tier system wasn't working. i think the difficulty with this new strain of the virus is the speed at which it is actually infecting people.

and certainly, what we've seen over the last few weeks is that the tier system hasn't worked with this particular strain of the virus. and people moving between tiers, as they have done — you know, we've been in tier 2 and then gone into tier 3, and still you're getting that movement of people between those tiers and then infecting people in those lower tier areas. so, for us, we feel before we get to crisis point in the city, we have had that mass testing pilot where we saw our numbers come down significantly, so for us there needs to be three areas that we need to work on — so there is the lockdown to bring the numbers under control, that mass testing to continue, and for a community—led vaccination programme that is place—led within the city, to get that vaccine out as soon as possible, if we are to actually break the back of this virus over the next few weeks. that was the acting mayor of liverpool. well, as the pressure grows

on the government over schools, the children's commissioner for england, anne longfield, says any closures must be for the absolute minimum of time. well, i've argued for months and months now that schools need to be a priority for children, not only with education but also their well—being. and that schools should be the last to close and the first to open. so it's a serious moment for children, and if there have to be closures — we've already seen closures in secondary schools for two weeks — but if there have to be closures at all, it must be the absolute minimum amount of time, and that time must be used very, very well. i would say testing, of course — we know that there is plans in place for that — but also i would like teachers to be offered vaccination as a priority. that's something we haven't heard yet from government, but something i think is very necessary. get teachers vaccinated as a priority. but the trouble is there's a lot of other people who are also a priority — the elderly, care home staff and so on, front line nhs staff.

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

children on exam years can get, and whether schools are closed for a period of time. some head teachers talk to me about the potential to move to centre assessed grades and to have additional safeguards in there around the robustness of decisions, so i 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 who have exams in this year, they are concerned, they want that clarity, and most children i've talked to want exams to continue. but, clearly, they need to be fair. that was the children's commissioner for england. charlotte clarke is the parent of two primary school children in east sussex. she says her experience of lockdown in spring proved to her that school is still the best place for her children. i struggled mentally

and emotionally. i work from home, and have done since the first lockdown was announced. my employers are incredibly supportive of me working from home, and also the fact that i am a mum. but, as i've said to some of your colleagues before, i felt like i needed to split myself in three and be charlotte the mum, charlotte the solicitor, which is my job, and charlotte the teacher. and it did affect the relationship that i have with my children, because home is their safe place, this is where they can be who they want to be and not have to worry too much about school learning at this point in time, and that blurred the lines. and both of my children suffered quite greatly, mentally and emotionally. my youngest had onlyjust started primary school, and she stopped sleeping, she stopped eating, she lost weight. emotionally, the impact on her was quite huge. so i would not welcome further school closures. i think the children are actually being considered last in all of this argument. supplies of a coronavirus jab

produced by oxford university and astrazeneca are being distributed around britain, in preparation for vaccinations to begin tomorrow. 530,000 doses of the vaccine will be available from tomorrow. the jab will be administered at a small number of hospitals for the first few days, for surveillance purposes, before the bulk of supplies are sent to gp—led services to be rolled out, according to nhs england. meanwhile, a group of more than a0 mps have written to the health secretary matt hancock with concerns about the roll—out of the coroanvirus vaccines in the uk, in particular about new guidance which means that patients will wait up to three months for their second dose of the vaccine, as opposed to the recommended three weeks, in order to innoculate as many people as possible. joining me now is the labour mp for sheffield hallam, olivia blake, who organised the letter. just tell us a bit more about what

you are worried about and your concerns on this? firstly, what i would say is all the members of parliament that signed that letter absolutely welcome the vaccination programme and recognised the vaccination will save many lives and we are not trying to discourage people from taking up the vaccine. but we are concerned that some of the narrative that has been developing over the last few days, about two issues to do with the vaccination programme. the 12 week weight that has been introduced, but also the changing guidance about what a last resort mix and match of different types of vaccines would be. so really, we wanted to get clarity on those key issues, to make sure that this programme was as transparent as possible, so people will continue to have public confidence in it. but it does make sense, doesn't it, to give people first jabs and then sense, doesn't it, to give people firstjabs and then delay the second jabs, if by doing that you can vaccinate more people, more quickly? the deputy chief medical officer

says if you have two elderly grandparents, there are two vaccines available, it's better to give both 89% protection than 195% protection with two quick doses and the other no protection at all. that makes logical sense, doesn't it? yes, it does, but i also think you have to understand that people need to have confidence if they are going to take up confidence if they are going to take up both vaccines. i've been contacted up both vaccines. i've been co nta cted by up both vaccines. i've been contacted by a couple of 80—year—old my constituency who were promised a second dose of the vaccine and have had their appointment cancelled. so really, we just want to get clearer advice and understanding of the scientific advice that the government has received to make these changes. if it is there, that is brilliant. publish it so we can all have confidence in the programme. i suppose some people might say there are already some who doubt the vaccine, who are hesitant

about having the vaccine. by putting out a letter like you have done, you might create more doubt about the vaccine and whether it is actually safe. 0h, absolutely, this isn't about safety, this is about making sure that we have the best take—up of the vaccine and we also have the best efficacy of the vaccine. we have seen conflicting reports from different organisations, from the bma, the doctors association, with people who made, manufactured the vaccine in the first place, questioning some of the changes. so we just want to get that clarity and those simple questions answered, so we can reassure our constituents that this is the best way of this programme rolling out and actually being a success, which we all want it to be. but we know, don't wait, there is a drop in efficacy if you don't give the second jabs. but the point is to inoculate, to immunise as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. we are in an emergency. we have rising surging

case rates and we have to do this quickly to as many people as possible. i don't necessarily disagree but i think we have to make sure we are guided by the science. these are untested or unpublished ways of working and to change a process when you have already given patients one dose, i think we have to question the ethics of that. i also think we have to make sure we are looking to the longer term as well. we can't react to short—term rises by changing the programme every time. we need to make sure we continue with social distancing measures throughout this period which reduce the transmission of the virus. we need to make sure we are vaccinating as many people as possible, but the government need to be clear if that is their policy. if they are just wanting to get the vaccine out of the door into as many people, be clear about that strategy. if you want people to get the most coverage, then you have to follow the protocols that are in place for those vaccines or at least give us reasons why you are breaking those protocols. olivia blake,

labourmpfor those protocols. olivia blake, labour mp for sheffield hallam, thank you. india's opposition congress party has warned that the government's decision to approve the emergency use of a locally developed coronavirus vaccine was premature and could be dangerous. it says the data on the safety and efficacy of covaxin had not been fully reviewed. another vaccine, developed by astrazeneca and oxford university, has also been approved. the approval will kick off one of the world's biggest vaccination drives in coming days in the country of 1.3 billion people. the country's drug regulator said both vaccines were safe and provided a robust immune response. after adequate examination, the cdsco has decided to accept the recommendations of the expert committee and accordingly, vaccines of serum and bharat biotech are being approved for restricted

use in emergency situation and permission is being granted to cadila healthcare for conduct of the phase iii clinical trial in india. 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. but this has comeas 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 on twitter 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 on saturday 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 that in the coming week, they should be able to start this vaccination drive. first, they need to sign contracts with these two companies to source the doses and second, they have to be distributed to different parts of the country. indian authorities are also looking at what's 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. that was our safe south asia correspondent reporting from delhi. it's emerged that israel has given vaccinations against coronavirus to more thani million people, the highest rate in the world. 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 the 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. several european countries have announced further restrictions, including slovakia, which has begun a new lockdown and closed ski facilities. but, in switzerland skiiers are taking to the slopes, albeit under new guidelines. sylvia lennan—spence reports. hitting the slopes, european style. from this ski resort in southern romania to a packed car park in austria, where thousands rushed to take advantage of the perfect skiing weather. from resorts in andorra, open exclusively to residents... ..to the dizzy heights in switzerland. while a number of european countries, including france and italy, closed their ski resorts, switzerland was one of those that bucked the trend and kept most of its open. there are noticeably fewer skiers.

normal peak times would see around 20,000 people on the slopes. now, there are only around 8,000. translation: the loss of turnover over the holiday season will be $8—9 million. this is also because we had gone even further with the guest quarters than we had to. among other things, we only put 500 tickets on sale per day instead of 5,000, as in other years. as is the norm these days, masks are compulsory. not only enclosed spaces, such as mountain trains and cable cars, but also open air chairlifts as well as in queues. translation: it's fine like this, it's better than before. i do feel safe. the gondola is full but so is public transport, it's the same. translation: i'm aware that it's not the best idea. an accident can happen and there's enough going on in the hospitals at the moment. security guards on hand

to check if skiers are standing too close. france has said it will reopen ski lifts next week, while italy has pushed back the opening of its resorts until later in the month. until then, for these skiers in switzerland, the snow must go on. sylvia lennan—spence, bbc news. you are watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at 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 to steer in these brisk and cold north—easterly winds. now, the air‘s a little bit colder through monday, so, again, you're more likely to see

a bit more of a mixture of rain, some sleet and some snow in the showers. but there'll be some showers streams as well. this line looks to be particularly persistent in kent, so it looks like it'll be quite wet for some here. and there'll be another line of persistent showers going in across parts of yorkshire where over the high ground, the eastern side of the pennines, very locally, we could see some fairly significant falls of snow. and with that shower line lasting through monday night and into tuesday. again, there is a risk of some snow and some ice here. aside from those shower streams, though, there will be some dry and bright weather with some sunshine. but again, certainly a frosty start with a risk of icy stretches. and it stays cold throughout, temperatures three to five celsius on tuesday. in fact, for the rest of the week, there'll be little change in the temperatures. it is going to stay on the cold side with showers initially to start the week. but as we go through thursday and friday, we may well see an area of rain and snow begin to spread in from the north—west.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: a growing row over schools in england, as councils urge the government to abandon plans for reopening primaries. as liverpool's council leaders call for new national lockdown in the uk, borisjohnson admits that ‘tougher measures' may be needed to control the virus in the weeks ahead. 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 don't...| mean, i'm fully, fully reconciled to that and i bet the people of this country are reconciled to that. 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. now it's time for dateline london, with shaun ley.