moving through monday evening, overnight into tuesday, more of these showers coming into eastern scotland and north—east england as well. so some icy stretches likely once again. there'll be sleet and snow over the higher ground. down in the south—east on tuesday, this area of rain will be really quite stubborn to clear away so wet weather for kent down towards the channel islands as well. some drier weather elsewhere, though. further north, only about three to six degrees. and again, a bit of a wind chill still on tuesday. moving through into wednesday, and this area of high pressure looks like itjust eases away towards the west, i think will be in between a couple of weather systems through into wednesday. so probably quite a bit of dry weather with some sunshine. still some stubborn showers could just linger for the likes of kent and the channel islands as well. sunny spells elsewhere, but some fairly heavy snow into the north—west of scotland later in the day. and it remains cold, only about to three or four degrees. bye— bye.

this week, we're in kazakhstan... the view from the top! ..a vast country in the middle of central asia full of stunning landscapes and nomadic traditions. you can feel the fish tugging on the net. nature and the great outdoors have always been central to the kazakh people's way of life... birds chirping, fish jumping, sun setting — i get it. ..and i'm here to explore how they are now combining both ancient and modern ways to stay in touch with their wild side. this is a lot of fun!

i've arrived in kazakhstan‘s biggest city of almaty. once, back when the country was still part of the ussr, and long before that, it was the capital city. now things have changed here. back in 1991, it was the last soviet republic to declare independence, ten days before the collapse of the union. since then, it has been under the rule of president nazarbayev, who moved the capital north to the purpose—built city of astana. one thing is clear, however — this country has undergone a tumultuous period. but through it all, nature has continued to play a vital role for the once nomadic people here, and for travellers who visit. you start to get a sense of that at the green bazaar. there's been a market

here since before soviet times. this is fermented horse milk, which has been around since the nomadic times, and they say it is a cure for tuberculosis. it's a strong taste. the aftertaste is almost like you're smoking a cigar. i don't know why, but that's exactly what it tastes like. very sharp, though. very intense taste. ah! it's the world's ninth largest country, but kazakhstan is also one of the most sparsely populated. its people were traditionally nomadic, with their lives tied to their environment. today, travellers come to explore its relatively untouched landscapes. i want to find out more of the kazakhstani people's relationship with nature today, so i'm heading east to the aral sea, the world's fourth—largest lake —

or at least that's what it was. welcome to the dusty streets of zhalanash. if you can believe it, this used to be a bustling fishing village. but if you come over here and you look down at the ground, you can see what used to be the bottom of the aral sea. there's not much fishing going on now. it's been called one of the world's biggest environmental disasters. the sea which stretches the border between kazakhstan and uzbekistan was once about the size of ireland. back in the 1960s, the immense stretch of water began to dry up. around 90% of it was wiped off the map and with it, the livelihoods

of many of the people who lived on the sea's produce. i'd heard that here in kazakhstan, the sea was actually coming back, and it was bringing travellers too, so off i go in search of the aral sea, across miles of the old sea bed. i've arranged to meet a guide in this region. he wanted me to see the full extent of what the sea, which was actually a large lake, once was, thousands of years before it dried up in the 20th century. the view from the top! what caused it to recede so far?

the flow of water was diverted to feed the soviet cotton industry. uzbekistan still remains one of the world's top producers of cotton, but while the uzbek side of the sea remains mostly lost, recent interventions have meant the north aral sea in kazakhstan is returning.

approaching the shore, one of the biggest draws for travellers has been the eerie sight of shipwrecks scattered across the old sea bed. spider webs everywhere. here we are. the aral sea. at one time, it was the fourth largest inland lake in the world and soon, it will reclaim that title. i made it. birds chirping, fish jumping, sun setting — i get it. i get it now. it's a beautiful place. i wanted to see how kazakhstan‘s relationship with nature is changing, so i'm meeting up

with a mountain guide. but what karla really wanted to show me was how some people are mixing old kazakhstan with the new — sandboarding on kazakhstan‘s most famous singing sand dune. famous because under the right conditions, the dune makes a humming sound, almost like an organ. humming. wow! it's huge! i can see the little dust devils twisting up the sides. it almost looks alive. the skin of the dune, sweeping back and forth like a snake. and i heard that it almost is — it actually moves. in the past 150 years, it has moved three metres. slowly, but it is moving. it really is incredible. chuckles. i don't know how we're going to snowboard down it! laughs. along for the ride was karla's friend and olympic kazakhstan

snowboard trainer yelena. the dune stretches for 3km and reaches a height of 150 metres and let me tell you, it might look placid from a distance but it is an entirely other story once you're up there. it's a little bit windy today but we're on the singing sands and i guess that's always how it is here. for myself, i have gone snowboarding before. what are some differences with sandboarding 7 0k. lean back, yeah? that being said, it was comforting knowing that i'll be going slower than on snow. and also the cool thing about a sand dune is there's no trees!

so, i mean, i guess it's safer, right? no doubt, though, this is definitely the definition of an extreme sport. and here i am, strapped in. ok, you ready? i — i think i'm ready. woo! great start! playful music. this way, yeah? like this? oh, and then the board comes — oh! playful music continues. laughs. woo! this is a lot of fun! karla's about to come down. she's standing up. she looks excited but a little bit nervous. you got it, karla! yeah! but before long, we're starting to get the hang of it. surfing music plays.

this is a lot of work. pants. what's incredible, though, is when you come down, as the sand starts to avalanche, you can feel it shaking and reverberating underneath the board. it's very cool — it sings as you come down. we've got our final round from the very, very top — if — if i can — i can make it! let's stay here and take a break for a sec. and with that, my trip to kazakhstan is at an end. and what a ride it was.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are thejournalist and broadcaster, caroline frost and the parliamentary journalist, tony grew. let's look at tomorrow's front pages the, starting with. .. ‘happy new tier‘ — that's the metro's headline as borisjohnson warns tougher coronavirus restrictions are on their way and refuses to rule out a new tier 5 level. the guardian leads with the continuing schools crisis with parents and pupils facing more disruption and uncertainty as local authorities scramble to delay schools reopening. the telegraph reports discussions have already begun about the return of shielding, and that a further announcement on school closures could come

as soon as this week. the financial times features calls from labour leader, sir keir starmer, for a national lockdown to be imposed within 2a hours in an attempt to bring the virus under control. the paper also reports on the group of republican rebels who are pressing ahead with plans to vote against the certification ofjoe biden‘s election victory. and ‘jabby monday‘ is the sun‘s lead with the first of the oxford/astrazeneca vaccines to be administered tomorrow. so let‘s begin... i guess i‘ve been studying the papers for us to give us some insight and analysis. i think we will dive straight in with happy new tier. the headline writers could not resist. caroline, kickers. well, here we go, as you say, happy new year, a bit of a mixed message. borisjohnson out year, a bit of a mixed message. boris johnson out in year, a bit of a mixed message. borisjohnson out in public this morning telling the audience all about the great news of the vaccine,

obviously his proudest achievement, but what the metro is concentrating on is his hint that we will be facing yet another lockdown, the third of its kind. obviously he didn‘t use quite a language, he typically boris language, we are in for a typically boris language, we are in fora bumpy typically boris language, we are in for a bumpy ride, you can call it bumpy when the statistics are very not bumpy but very serious, so clearly he is keeping his options open, but i think he is preparing us for clearly what is not going to be in any way different from anything we saw at the end of last year. tony, the prime ministerfaced some opposition, some reluctance from within his own party when the reductions were toughened in the past. do you think that might now be less of the case, ? given the case with the numbers? sima capture is entirely a coincidence that the recall from christmas recess for parliament has been pushed back to january... 50 the premise will face

zero questions and house of commons although the house of lords sitting next week and we expected to be questions about it. there is a libertarian streak within the conservative party that is effectively very wary of any sort of restrictions on people's movement, on their lives, effectively. unfortunately, the numbers of cases of covid are spiking, it is almost fio of covid are spiking, it is almost no vertical when you look at the grass. so some action will be taken. the premise will be accused of too little, too late. he has shown a reluctance, and even when he speaks to the country, is all about how awkward it is friend that he has to introduce these terrible measures. it is looking very likely that something more will be required. you may not be facing questions in the commons because of the recess, but that still doesn‘t stop the pressure being piled on. we‘ve got circular starmer in the independent putting the pressure on for a full national lockdown —— cute starmer. caroline, would he make of thatwhat cure

starmer as an aside, borisjohnson called this captain hindsight, but it‘s not a long time in the past, what we saw before christmas is so clear pressing for restrictions and borisjohnson was very relaxing, it was inhuman to take christmas away from his people and only a few saturdays later those presents were removed from under the tree, so i‘m seeing a bit of a reprise from that, keir starmer singh dividers has taken control of the and the figures are taken control, call it now and you may in theory save lives —— the virus has taken control of others. with the spike tony mentioned, it is very drastic, life or death people. he has that on his side, but nevertheless, i do not feel like they are poles apart, i think for some reason boris johnson they are poles apart, i think for some reason borisjohnson is once again stalling. clearly there are plans being made for lockdown, i

don‘t know why he is stalling at this moment, but as tony has hinted, it could be to do with party dynamics. look, keir starmer is the leader of the opposition, it is his job to critique the government, i'm not entirely sure what he is calling for though. most of the country is already in cheer and my understanding it is great you're not supposed to leave your house except for a specific set of circumstances. what is calling for is the whole country to be brought into tier 4, there is talk of tier 5, we are not sure what that would entail. it is indicative of the prime minister's relu cta nce indicative of the prime minister's reluctance to take measures when they should be, and it will cost lives. it is difficult for labour because they need to calibrate their response. it is worth noting that if you look at polling, the majority of people in the country are in favour of lock and stricter measures, so it is not like keir starmer or the prime minister will be going against a broad grain of public opinion,

where the prime minister to introduce more significant restrictions. that said, if we look at the specific wording on the front page of the daily telegraph, the talk about is a threat of a national lockdown. that says a lot about how they perceive it and the sort of sta nce they perceive it and the sort of stance have on it. caroline, i suppose the thing is, despite the numbers we are seeing and the 50,000 daily new cases and another 400 or so daily new cases and another 400 or so deaths, that shows no sign of stopping or going away, quite the opposite. these logins don‘t have universal support, do they? know, because we have had lockdown is an dividers has not gone away. boris johnson will not be unaware that there is is a loud and powerful pack of people snapping at his heels are saying what about the economy? what about the cancer sufferers and other people suffering from illnesses? what about the mental health of the

nation? he is having to weigh all these things up and doesn‘t want alienate anybody. equally, i don‘t think he likes, for some reason this has been much discussed, being the better of my news. he is reluctant to close us all down —— bearer of bad news. he is a libertarian by nature and this is what he is facing, he seems to be reluctant to do it. it is interesting this is on the front page of the telegraph, normally the boris paper, and they‘re pointing out, as are so many other, the pitfalls of delaying further. think he‘s pretty much preparing the ground so that when the inevitable press conference does come, none of us will be surprised and, ifanything, come, none of us will be surprised and, if anything, we willjust feel relieved that it has been formalised. i think a lot of people around the country are making their own decisions and preparations for that to happen. the contrast is the picture, the telegraph as he is one of them looking more decisive and firm about what he is saying, in contrast to the independent, where he is ruffling his hair in that

characteristic borisjohnson fashion. let‘s pick up on the other study on the front page of the telegraph. tony i will come see on this. 2 millionjobs a of the telegraph. tony i will come see on this. 2 million jobs a week, nhs saying they can‘t guarantee it. what is the detail on this one? the government seems, and then main fractures of the vaccine, what they are anticipating as problems of the roll—out of the vaccine. we have known or hope that there would be a vaccine for months now, so i don't think it is appropriate for the government to try and add a last—minute blame government to try and add a last— minute blame manufacturers government to try and add a last—minute blame manufacturers of the vaccine. this is another example of the way in which the government tries to run everything from whitehall and that doesn't really work. so what the government is not attempting to do, having attempted the test and tray system that they ran the test and tray system that they ra n ce ntrally the test and tray system that they ran centrally that didn't work as well as it should, they are now attempting a vaccine rely centrally, involving much more closely local authorities, pharmacies and some of the detail here is about when they

are going to try and achieve a national roll out of the vaccine. there is talk about using the models that are used for general elections, for example, so that people will have a place near them where they will be able to go and get a vaccine easily and quickly. to be fair to the government, there may be expectation management. the vaccine is here now, most people are aware of its existence, so it may well be that they are trying to restrain people's enthusiasm about it and make it clear to people that it may be some weeks or months before they will actually get there jag. if you don‘t like needles, maybe cover your eyes for a second or two,... monday on the front page of the sun. carolyn, the hope we all have of bringing the pandemic to an end —— jabby monday. even the row over how

you best administer them, the gap between the doses, nothing is straightforward. know, on the face of it this is a very good news story, but not only do we have the pfizer vaccine ahead of the rest of the world, we now have the oxford vaccine, which doesn‘t need to be frozen, can be passed between gps, surgeries, clinics, hospitals and reach in theory so many more people. as tony says, huge amount of expectation management already even before it comes of the lorries. equally, a little indecision about... we had a change of policy we heard about for the first time last week that the people, particularly the vulnerable and elderly, would be getting the double dose ofjabs. elderly, would be getting the double dose of jabs. even elderly, would be getting the double dose ofjabs. even those who have had theirfirst dose ofjabs. even those who have had their first have been told that it is more utilitarian theory to get it is more utilitarian theory to get it out, the firstjab to more people than before. that means they will have to wait longerfor than before. that means they will have to wait longer for their second jab. that has been debated, but the scientists have done the sums, and

to their minds, this is the way of ensuring the best amount of health for the biggest amount of people. however, there will be a lot of frustration and confusion that goes along with that. i, myself anecdotally, but in the vaccine checkeri anecdotally, but in the vaccine checker i expected vaccine that has been helping around between some 2021 to the back end of 2022, so i‘m being very philosophical and happy to see these headlines, but i remain very philosophical until the day that i am sitting in that clinic. very philosophical until the day that i am sitting in that cliniclj think that is the best approach, the only thing we can do. the front page of the guardian has details of another strand to all of this, the row over what should be done about schools. tony, the handling of this has been interesting, to say the least. it has been shambolic. it is the department for education. everything seems to come as a surprise to them. exams came as a surprise to them. exams came as a surprise to them and though the arrival of january has come surprise to them and though the arrival ofjanuary has come as a surprise to them. the government has already said that secondary schools are going to staggered return, so the argument now is about primary

schools. the government, i cannot imagine how difficult it must be for parents to try and think about things like child care, when primary schools are announcing today that they are not going to reopen tomorrow. i think this is one of the areas where the government has been feeling quite badly. having said that, i think closing skills across the piece has to be a last resort —— closing schools. the kids are worth disadvantaged by the those that have so little advantage. the government has been patchy in the way to show that computers for kids that don't have that at home. —— the rolling out of computers. it is important to remember that the most parents have confidence their kids will be safe, they will not send their kids to school. most teachers have confidence they will be saved, they will be very wary about turning up to teach. a delicate balance, ca rolling, to teach. a delicate balance, carolling, if you simply shut the skills there is no negative

consequences and people say, i would be great, but if you shut them and those who are vulnerable and at risk are not normally having oversight they normally have. it is tricky. are not normally having oversight they normally have. it is trickym is an ethical dilemma, there is no easy answer. the head of ofsted making it clear the threat to children‘s development, social skills and mental well—being of skills and mental well—being of skills and mental well—being of skills a shopper any extended length of time, as tony said, the people who will be affected by not having economic resources and luxuries are those people who will be most affected by a lack of schooling, but equally, to be a parent with a child of primary school age knowing that effectively we are being told that now children between the ages of our much younger ages are being affected, not only that but they are more likely up to ii affected, not only that but they are more likely up to 11 times more likely to bring the infection into households, so the numbers are going

to spike, miserable reading, a lot of things to consider and i am relieved it is above my pay grade. good to talk to you, tony and caroline. as they say on these we can chose, i‘m delighted to tell you you‘re through to the next round and you‘re through to the next round and you willjoin us again in half and eric to do it all again. —— half an hour. that‘s it for the papers this hour. headlines coming up for you next — goodbye for now. good evening. sunday brought us another wintry—feeling, fairly cold day, but fewer snow showers on sunday compared to what we saw on saturday. nonetheless, there‘s still quite a bit of lying snow out there. this is the picture in worcestershire a bit earlier on on sunday. there were also some fairly heavy rain showers further south. and through the coming week, no great changes in the general theme to the weather. it‘s going to be staying cold

with a mix of some rain and sleet, some snow and some sunshine thrown into the mix, especially further north. now, as we head through this evening and tonight, we‘ve still got some showers, particularly eastern scotland and eastern england packing in on this brisk breeze. some icy stretches developing in the northeast. further south, rain showers, but east anglia and the south—east, where it stays quite cloudy overnight. so temperatures here a couple of degrees above freezing, but colder the further north—west you are — minus six or minus seven for the west of scotland. so for monday, high pressure squeezes away most of those showers in the north. but we‘ve got this feature here, which is going to be bringing some rain showers to east anglia and the south—east. particularly down towards the channel islands some of that rain could be quite heavy, and it‘s blown in on a brisk northeasterly wind as well. but away from the south and the east for the rest of the uk, the day will be brightening up. so a bit of sunshine developing, one or two wintry flurries here and there, cloudiest further south across england and wales. and here, the strongest of the winds

too, 40 mile per hour gusts or even higher than that around the coasts of east anglia and through the english channel as well. so temperatures only four to six degrees, but feeling colder, particularly where you are exposed to that brisk northeasterly wind in the south and the east. moving through monday evening, overnight into tuesday, more of these showers coming into eastern scotland and north—east england as well. so some icy stretches likely once again. there‘ll be sleet and snow over the higher ground. down in the south east on tuesday, this area of rain will be really quite stubborn to clear away so wet weather for kent down towards the channel islands as well. some drier weather elsewhere, though. further north, only about three to six degrees. and again, a bit of a wind chill still on tuesday. moving through into wednesday, and this area of high pressure looks like itjust eases away towards the west, i think will be in between a couple of weather systems through into wednesday. so probably quite a bit of dry weather with some sunshine. still some stubborn showers could just linger for the likes of kent and the channel islands as well. sunny spells elsewhere,

but some fairly heavy snow into the north—west of scotland later in the day. and it remains cold, only about to three or four degrees. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president trump is recorded on tape asking an election official to ‘find‘ him extra votes in the state of georgia. it‘s comes as some republicans are vowing to challenge the results of the us election. we hear from former republican senatorjeff flake about the civil war breaking out in his party. borisjohnson warns that covid restrictions in england are "probably about to get tougher" as the uk records more than 50,000 new cases. opposition politicians in india question the approval of a locally made coronavirus vaccine, saying it‘s premature and could be dangerous. and gerry marsden, singer of you‘ll never walk alone,