this is bbc news, broadcasting around the world and here in the uk. opposition politicians in india question the approval of a locally made coronavirus vaccine, saying it's premature and could be dangerous. borisjohnson warns that covid restrictions in england are "probably about to get tougher" as the uk records more than 50,000 new cases. 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, i mean, i'm fully, fully reconciled to that. civil war in america's republican party as some senators challenge the results of the us election. and the fashion industry may have been hit hard by the pandemic, but there's been a boom in vintage clothing.

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. 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 data on the safety and effectiveness of covaxin has not been fully reviewed. another vaccine, developed by astrazeneca and oxford university, has also been approved. the jabs will kick off one of the world's biggest immunisation drives in the world. anbarasan ethirajan reports from delhi.

this was the moment many in the world's second most populous nation were waiting for. after days of uncertainty over which coronavirus vaccine will be approved for emergency use, a drug regulatorfinally spoke. after adequate examination, the cdsco has decided to accept the recommendations of the expert committee and accordingly vaccines of m/s serum and bharat biotech are being approved for restricted use in emergency situation and permission is being granted to m/s cadila healthcare for conduct of the phase iii clinical trials in india. with the approval of oxford university astrazeneca and the indian—made covaxin jabs, the roll—out can happen within weeks. astrazeneca has tied up with a local partner to produce the vaccine in india. the indian prime minister, narendra modi, expressed hisjoy for the fact that both the vaccines will be produced in india,

but within hours of the approval of the two vaccines, controversy has erupted. the opposition raising concerns over the permission given to the locally made covaxin. critics argue that safety and efficacy of the vaccine has not been reviewed. but the drug regulatory authority said both the vaccines were safe to use. experts say the government needs to allay the fears over the vaccine. i think the way to deal with resistance is to have a very strong communication strategy. that needs to be developed. and also for the government to work very closely with communities, both in the kind of urban setting as well as the rural setting. and understand, for example, working with, you know, opinion leaders within communities, religious, nonreligious social leaders, you know, people who have a lot of influence. approving the vaccine is only the first step.

the challenge is a glitch—free campaign in the coming months. the world will watch and learn from how india rolls out one of biggest vaccination exercises. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news, delhi. joining me now from delhi is malini aisola, from the all india drug action network, which works on issues surrounding access to medicines. welcome to bbc news. first, as an expert in this industry, i'm keen to understand how much information you have actually been given about this new vaccine. so, we have had some concerns related to these emergency approval authorisations, because many questions have been left unanswered. in the case of the indigenously developed vaccine. we

have seen a complete lack of efficacy data because the phase three trial is still ongoing and it is currently too early for any data have been generated to do any interim analyses, so the concern is that the restricted emergency use has signified clearance for an u ntested has signified clearance for an untested vaccine to be given to the public and has left us very surprised. the regulator has provided some assurance that it will be used in a clinical trial mode but not much clarity has been given about what that means exactly. for example, we don't know if the individuals who will be receiving this vaccination would be adequately consented, whether they would benefit from laws that protect clinical trial participants in order for them to receive compensation in the case of any serious adverse events and so forth. you bring up some striking concerns, which authorities might say are not

necessarily valid, because india is very well versed in mass immunisation programmes. to be clear, you feel that the creation of this vaccine in india has been brushed? the vaccine is fully indigenous, so it has been developed from the stage of preclinical studies and clinical study data that has been generated at the moment. what is rushed is the regulatory approval, because we lack any efficacy data for this vaccine. white like 0k, efficacy data for this vaccine. white like ok, so what are the next steps now chris might what do you hope will happen in the coming days and weeks? we hope the regulator, there will be more transparency on there will be more transparency on the part of the government and the regulator. we would like the regulator. we would like the regulator to share the data and analysis on the basis of which the regulatory approvals were granted, and in the interest of transparency, and in the interest of transparency, and we would like to know for

insta nce and we would like to know for instance the legal provisions invoked by the regulator in granting both of these emergency authorisations. it will be an interesting few weeks ahead. thank you very much. the uk prime minister borisjohnson has warned that coronavirus restrictions in england are "probably about to get tougher" in order to bring the virus under control. there have been another 55,000 positive cases recorded in the uk in the latest 2a hour—period.. and a further a54 people have died. it's one of the worst affected countries in the world. here's our political correspondent chris mason. arriving in a hurry to deliver a difficult message. the prime minister gave his first interview of the year today. he warned that coronavirus restrictions in england are likely to get worse before they get better. 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... i mean, i'm fully, fully reconciled to that and i bet the people of this country are fully reconciled to that. the prime minister's analysis of this pandemic from the very start has often contained splashes of optimism, but today felt different. vaccines and testing offer hope but borisjohnson struck a sombre tone as he lent on downbeat language about the need to be realistic about the very difficult period ahead. in secondaries, there'll be a staggered start to the new term, with pupils expecting exams in the summer going back first. mrjohnson insisted schools in england must stay open where ever possible. schools are safe — very, very important to stress that. the threat, the risk to kids, to young people, is really very, very, very small indeed, as the scientists

continually attest. the risk to staff is very small. and, of course, the benefits of education are so huge. but the signs of everyday life, like these in high wycombe, in buckinghamshire, are here to stay and labour this afternoon have gone a step further, calling for another england—wide lockdown. it is inevitable that more schools are going to close, many will be closed tomorrow morning but the more important thing, in a way, is the national restrictions need to come in — in the next 24—hour is. let's not have the prime ministersaying, "i'm going to do it but not yet". that's the problem he's made so many times. and so, 2021 begins as 2020 ended, shrouded in worry and uncertainty. the vaccines will allow us to turn a corner in tackling this pandemic but the rest of winter looks bleak. chris mason, bbc news. let's get more on the issue of school closures in england.

grainne hallahan is from the times education supplement. thank you forjoining us. first, you have been hearing all day boris johnson saying that schools are safe to return to, primary schools, that is. you speaking to teachers — what are they are cute concerns? —— what are they are cute concerns? —— what are their key concerns? it flies in the face of the lived experience of what they have seen since mid—september. they have had bubbles closed, infections, and they've seen the reports of the rise in the community. we know that coronavirus has risen since schools have gone back, so to say they are safe and it is safe for children really feels frustrating for teachers because it doesn't match up to what they are experiencing. we hear from unions the advice that if you feel it is not safe to return, teachers should not safe to return, teachers should not be returning. but there was more than one union, more than one

teaching union. explain to us how unified the unions are? they are not quite in agreement on this, so one is asking its members to contact your school if they feel it is u nsafe, your school if they feel it is unsafe, to report that an request to work from home. not asking for schools to close, asking for teachers to be able to teach the classes remotely, move to online learning, and instead of having no teachers in school, to still have your critical work of children and vulnerable children in school, being taught face—to—face by teachers, but to move to online learning. as it stands, primary schools are meant to go back tomorrow, unless you're in one of the areas that has been told to close. in brighton, cumbria, portsmouth, north—east essex, we are seeing councils telling their primary schools to close and go against the guidance. unions seem to be in agreement with some councils. 0ther unions are pressing for data.

they want to know the data behind the government decisions. how many teachers have contracted coronavirus since we have gone back? we had data injuly, so we need to see this data and understand how big the problem is in schools to understand the decisions that are being made about it. putting aside government advice and union advice, do you think schools will take this matter into their own hands and make a call as to whether they open this week?” think we are seeing it already. lots of schools have decided that the r rate in their area is too high. they are seeing neighbouring areas have decided to close. they might have teachers and staff moving across those areas to attend their school, taking matters into their own hands and deciding to move to on line learning and only keeping school open for key worker and vulnerable children. when there was no

communication and you don't have that strong leadership, people will ta ke that strong leadership, people will take matters into their own hands. good to get your thoughts. thank you. in the us, members of congress are being sworn in today, kicking off an explosive week in washington as republican lawmakers vow to challenge joe biden‘s election win. the move, which has the backing of vice—president mike pence, is certain to fail as most senators are expected to certify mr biden‘s win next week. one of those opposing the result is republican senator ronjohnson. he told nbc‘s meet the press it's about protecting election integrity. we are not attempting to thwart the democratic process but to protect it. we have an unsustainable state of affairs in this country where we have tens of millions of people that do not view this election result as legitimate. we have come off four yea rs legitimate. we have come off four years where the other side refused

to acknowledge the legitimacy of president trump, and here we are again. we are saying that we need transparency. 0ur washington correspondent lebo diseko says there may be other reasons why some republican senators are chosing to dispute joe biden‘s win. i think a clue might be in the ambitions of the two senators that are really leading the charge, ted cruz leading that group of around a dozen senators and senators elect. they put out a statement yesterday. you also havejosh hawley. both of those have ambitions in the 2024 election, possibly their eye on the presidency, so perhaps that gives a clue as to what they might be trying to achieve. you will remember that donald trump has for the last few weeks really been pushing members of his party to make these kind of moves, and has suggested himself this might be one way to try and overturn the election results. senator ted cruz and his group say

they are not trying to subvert the will of the people, but certainly, given the language of donald trump, and given everything that we've seen over the last few weeks, that is certainly how it is being viewed by many. we are talking about an explosive week in washington. talk us through what we can expect and those formalities. when we are talking about the congress accepting those electoral college votes, they will be brought up to the congress on wednesday the 6th of january. essentially, if they can get a member of the house of representatives and a senator to sign on to a challenge of a particular state, that can force a debate and a vote. it takes about two and a half hours, really. it seems that there are about six battleground states where there might be challenges brought. of course, there has to be a vote that passes in both chambers,

so the senate and the house of representatives, which is controlled by the democrats. as you say, that is pretty likely to fail. i can't see the democrats voting to not makejoe biden president. the headlines on bbc news: 0pposition politicians in india question the approval of a coronavirus vaccine, saying it's premature and could be dangerous. borisjohnson warns that covid restrictions in england are "probably about to get tougher" in order to curb rising infections. we heard earlier about the vaccine roll—out in india. many european countries and the united states have been criticised for a slow roll—out. and some poorer countries have yet to receive vaccines at all. so who's doing best? israel has already vaccinated over i2 % of the population. that's a larger share than any other country. bahrain and the united

kingdom come next. if you go by the total number then china is still on top. around 4.5 million people there have received the jab. that's followed closely by the united states — although the us is well behind its target. meanwhile, vaccinations are unlikely to begin in some african countries until the middle of this year. that's according to the africa centres for disease control. and the covax scheme — a who initiative — aims to protect 20 % of the populations from 92 low and middle income countries by the end of 2021. i'm joined now by edouard mathieu, from our world in data, an online publication based at oxford university, which has been compiling coronavirus vaccination statistics. an interesting picture there, and it seems to be almost a divide between

rich and poor, put bluntly. in a way, you could say that. it is something we expected it initially since we knew the pfizer and moderna vaccines to be more expensive. some countries have infrastructure in place to roll out those vaccines much more quickly, so yes, so far we've seen a big divide between north america, europe, russia, china and the rest of the world. looking through some of that data, i'm quite struck by the low vaccination rates in countries such as france and spain. exactly. to be honest, i think everyone in those countries is puzzled as to why those vaccinations have been going so slowly. the pace has been quite slow in europe, though some countries are showing a much faster roll—out, including germany, denmark. in countries like

france and spain, as far as we know, only a few tens of thousands of people have been vaccinated. there could be many reasons. some of them are obviously logistical, and you could expect to see more vaccinations per day later on, but there is a sense that governments in those countries... how much does the anti—vaccination sentiment play into the conversation when it comes to vaccine roll—out? the conversation when it comes to vaccine roll-out? it plays a big role, because in those countries, it seems that while it shouldn't be too much of a concern, because even in a country where maybe half the population is still sceptical of the vaccine, you still have the other half that you can vaccinate. this shouldn't be too much of a concern right now. because of this high

proportion of people who say they are sceptical, some governments, including the one in france, for example, are deliberately moving slower to display cautiousness in regard to the vaccine. in a way, a bit shooting themselves in the foot by doing this, by displaying too much caution and going very slowly and not vaccinating enough people while lives could be saved. really interesting. thank you. rescue workers have uncovered a fourth body after a landslide buried homes in norway — 6 other people are still missing. the hillside collapse happened in the town of ask — about 15 miles from the capital 0slo — on wednesday. frankie mccamley reports. each candles lit to remember those who died in the landslide each in the landslide earlier this week, as rescue teams refuse to extinguish hope of finding more survivors. translation: we have to stick

to the hope provided by the rescuers that it could still be possible to find someone alive, but it is, of course, terribly painful for the people close to it and for the relatives. for everyone affected by the situation. emergency workers continue to battle freezing temperatures in gjerdrum, a town around 45 kilometres north—east of oslo. six people are still missing, believed to include women and children. four have now been found dead. translation: it is, of course, with great sorrow we received this information about another death in relation to the tragedy. the hillside collapsed in the early hours of wednesday morning, destroying more than 30 homes, with others left teetering on the edge. as many houses remain unsafe to return to and workers try to restore power to the area, questions are being raised over how and why this happened. frankie mccamley, bbc news.

let's look at some of the day's other news. thousands of people have been gathering in baghdad to mark the first anniversary of the assassination by the us of the powerful iranian general qasem soleimani. the march is part of a series of events to mark the anniversary. general soleimani was killed in an american drone strike near baghdad airport on this day last year, along with nine other people, including a powerful iraqi militia leader, abu mahdi al—muhandis. at least 10 coal miners have been murdered in an attack by militants in western pakistan — prompting large protests in the hazara communities. jihadist groups and separatist rebels have been active in the area. prime minister imran khan has condemned what he termed an "inhumane act of terrorism" and promised those responsible would be apprehended. the veteran american talk show host, larry king, is being treated for covid—i9,

according to multiple media reports. us sources say it's emerged the 87—year—old has been at cedars sinai medical center in los angeles for more than a week. the presenter has had a number of major health issues over the years. the roof of a crematorium has collapsed in the northern indian state of uttar pradesh, killing at least 17 people. it is believed they were sheltering from heavy rain. rescuers have pulled another 21 survivors from the rubble of the building. in the last few minutes its been announced that the ‘gerry and the pacemakers' front—man, gerry marsden, has died. he was 78. he's perhaps best known for his hit "you'll never walk alone," which has been sung by liverpool football fans on the terraces for decades. daniela relph, looks back at his life. # walk on, walk on... #.

gerry marsden, with one unforgettable and some... # and you'll never walk alone... he was as much a part of the liverpool story as the mersey ferry. born in toxteth, his career began at the legendary cavern club in the early 60s. jerry and his band, the pacemakers, were spotted by beatles manager brian epstein, who gave them a song that had been turned down by the fab four and adam faith. how do you do it was a huge hit on both sides of the atlantic. and it got to number one, and we were very pleased. the beatles were upset and so was adam, i think. the girls are at the top of their screaming form if the reception they give to gerry and the pacemakers is anything to go by. moore followed as the mersey beat swept the world.

# and beat swept the world. #and| beat swept the world. # and i like it more with every day # and i like it more with every day # and i like it more with every day #and| # and i like it more with every day # and i like it more with every day # and i like it more with every day # and i like it always hearing you say you're liking it too #so say you're liking it too # so ferry, cross the mersey... but it is for the ballads they will be remembered. ferry cross the mersey was an external trick expression of his affection for liverpool. # walk on, walk on... and then with a song from a rodgers and hammerstein musical, gerry marsden struck a chord with fans at his beloved anfield. # and you'll never walk... the band may have split up in 1966, but as he proved nearly half a century later, at the 25th anniversary of the hillsborough disaster, musically and emotionally, he'll always be a part of the heart and soul of the club.

cheering gerry marsden, who's died at the age, of 78. white knight you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. if you're waiting for the weather to turn a little bit milder, well, i think you'll be waiting a while. no sign of any end to this current cold spell, certainly not in the week ahead. it is going to stay pretty chilly, with some rain, sleet and snow at times, but also some spells of sunshine. we've got high pressure to the north, low pressure to the south. that is driving quite a brisk north—easterly wind across the british isles. it feels really chilly in that wind and the breeze also bringing quite a few showers in across eastern and central areas particularly. those falling as a mixture of rain, sleet and snow. certainly through tonight, there's the potentialfor some ice across parts of north—east england and eastern scotland. some more general cloud and rain.

i think this will mainly be rain pushing into east anglia and the south—east later in the night. a little bit milder here, temperatures just above freezing, whereas for northern ireland, and particularly scotland, we'll see temperatures well below freezing. then into tomorrow, northern ireland and scotland seeing the best of the sunshine but there will be some wintry showers here as well. for england and wales, quite a lot of cloud around, particularly the further south and east you are and through parts of essex, into kent and sussex and also the channel islands. here, we're likely to see outbreaks of rain continuing for a good part of the day. the winds pretty gusty, particularly across england and wales. so, when you look at top temperatures of just four or five degrees and you factor in the strength of the wind, well, it's going to feel pretty cold out there. through monday night, we will see further showers drifting in from the north—east. still that persistent rain across parts of south—east england into the channel islands. that line of wet weather sticking around for a good part of tuesday, as well. further north, it's another sunshine and showers day. quite a few showers, i think, across eastern and north—eastern parts. some of those showers, again, will be wintry and temperatures

pegged back to between 3—6 degrees. now, a subtle change as we move out of tuesday into wednesday. our area of high pressure starts to slip away westwards and this low up to the north is going to start to take a bit more control of our weather. most places on wednesday still seeing some spells of sunshine. one or two wintry showers, not as windy by this stage, but cloud, rain and snow will move into the north west of scotland as the day wears on. that is likely to push south—eastwards towards the end of the week, so the chance of some sleet and snow just about anywhere. some sunshine as well, but it will stay on the cold side.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines. parents in england should

send their children to primary school tomorrow, the prime minister says, but warns restrictions may have to be tightened in order to suppress the virus. 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... i am fully, fully reconciled with that. it's no good the prime minister hinting at further restrictions will come into place in a week, 203. that delay has been the source of so many problems. so i say, bring in those restrictions now, national restrictions, within the next 24 hours. opposition politicians in india question the approval of a locally made coronavirus vaccine, saying it's premature and could be dangerous. civil war in america's republican party as some senators challenge the results of the us election.