welcome to bbc news, i'm lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: 100 days, 100 million shots: joe biden sets out his coronavirus vaccination plan, warning things will get worse before they get better. truthfully, we remain in a very dark winter. infection rates are 34%. —— infection rates are up 34%. more people are being hospitalised because of covid—19 than ever before. the number of people around the world who have died with covid—19 passes the 2 million mark. thousands of people set off from honduras heading to the united states, hoping a new president will give them a warmer welcome. and wayne rooney, england and manchester united's top goalscorer, brings his playing career to a close.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. two million people worldwide have now died from covid—19 and nearly 400,000 of those deaths were in the us. so far, just 11 million americans have been vaccinated against the virus. but the incoming president joe biden is promising to vaccinate 100 million americans in his first hundred days. he set out his plan. the honest truth is this. things will get worse before they get better — i told you i will always level with you. you know, and the policy changes that we will be making will take time to show up in the covid statistics. and they're notjust statistics, it is people's lives. people getting infected today don't show up in case counts for weeks.

those who perish from this disease die weeks after exposure, so it will take time. but i know there are things we can do, and we can do them now. for example, the vaccines offer so much hope, and we are grateful for the scientists and researchers and everyone who participated in the clinical trials, we're grateful for the integrity of the process, the rigorous review and testing has led to millions of people around the world already being vaccinated safely. but the vaccine roll—out in the united states has been a dismal failure thus far. and in today's briefing, we discussed five things — five things — we will do in an attempt to turn things around, five things to turn frustration into motivation, five things to help us meet our goal of 100 million shots by the end of our first

100 days in office. some wonder if we are reaching too farfor that goal. is it achievable is a legitimate question to ask. let me be clear — i am convinced we can get it done. let's take a closer look at what the five elements to the president—elect�*s vaccination plan are. first, he wants to expand vaccine eligibility, so that the vaccine is made available to more people in various priority groups. he also pledged to create more vaccination sites, to increase supply of the vaccines, to hire a dedicated vaccination workforce and also to launch a large—scale public education campaign. earlier, i spoke to dr ingrid katz, an infectious diseases expert from the harvard global health institute. i asked her what she made ofjoe biden�*s plan. well, i think this is exactly what we need right now. this is a very standard public health plan and i think it really speaks to the fact that

we've had a lack of a national strategy that this feels revolutionary at all. and that's because up until now, it has been pretty much left to the states, is that right? that's absolutely right. there has really been no federal plan to ensure that there was massive vaccine distribution that was absolutely needed. 0k, and what do you make of some of the numbers, then, that he is talking about — 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days? i think that is absolutely achievable. we have the infrastructure here in the united states to make that happen. we can boost manufacturing and we can ensure that we get massive distribution through all sorts of different ways, including travelling vans, setting up shelters and other places where people can come and get immunised quickly. and what about the supply of the actual vaccines? so i think there is definitely going to have to be a boost

in manufacturing, but the two pharmaceutical companies that are involved in these two vaccines that are now approved for emergency use authorisation in the united states have guaranteed that they will get 200 million doses ready to administer to 100 million people, ensuring that everyone gets both shots at the end of march. —— gets both shots by the end of march. and one issue here is, of course, you can have all of the supply in the world and all of the infrastructure in the world but if people don't come forward and want to have the vaccines, then you don't get anywhere. people, ithink, would be quite surprised — there is quite a bit of reluctance among the general population, isn't there? yes. and i think we really had two large issues here in the united states, with the first being the backlog in terms of distribution and really not getting vaccines in people's arms. i think the second thing that is deeply concerning is there is a decent amount of vaccine hesitancy, and that is why physicians

like myself and many others have put pictures of ourselves on social media as we have been getting vaccinated to help provide reassurance for the general public. well, with more on the how the world is dealing with the pandemic, here's our global health correspondent naomi grimley. mass graves in brazil and in the iraqi desert, too. at the end of september, the world passed the milestone of a million covid deaths. it has taken only 3.5 months to see that toll double. thousands of people have seen their relatives buried at a distance, and sometimes with undignified haste. translation: my father had to be buried like an animal, l a worm or a dog. this is a lack of respect for the people. in the space of a year, the pandemic has claimed more lives than hiv, malaria, flu and cholera combined. according tojohns hopkins

university, the worst—affected country remains the us, which has seen around 390,000 deaths. brazil and india have suffered huge tolls too. russia recently admitted its death figures could be three times what had previously been stated. in europe, the uk and italy have lost the most lives to the virus. africa appeared to have escaped the worst in the first wave but the region's cases have been going up since mid september, especially recently. there is concern that the new, more transmissible variant found in south africa may be to blame. all eyes are now on israel, where there are positive early signs of the effect of vaccines on hospital admissions for the 60—plus age group. the country has been vaccinating at the fastest rate per capita, with one in four

israelis so far receiving shots. but vaccinations in the world's poorest countries will not even start until next month. naomi grimley, bbc news. the uk is closing all its travel corridors from monday as concerns grow about new variants of the coronavirus. anyone arriving in the uk will have to present a negative test and will still have to self—isolate for up to 10 days. it comes as the prime minister urged people to stay at home this weekend with hospitals across the uk under extraordinary pressure. more than 37,000 people are currently being treated for coronavirus — a record number. here's our health editor hugh pym. ventilator beeps. this hospital was one of the first to fill up with seriously ill covid patients last march. now, the same things happening again, only more so. like many other hospitals in the south east of england, northwick park is under severe strain. there are more patients now than there were in march

and april and may, and if those numbers continue, then it doesn't matter how good we are at looking after covid, we'lljust run out of beds. because of pressure on critical care units like that, hospitals in nottingham have been asked to take covid patients from london and the south east, and newcastle is also set to receive patients from further south, even london. trust leaders say hospitals around england have been asked to help by boosting capacity. we know we now are moving patients, a small number of patients, from london to other parts of the country because london's critical care capacity is very, very full. that's not something we would normally want to do but i hope in one sense, it's a reassuring sign of how far the nhs will go to treat every single patient who needs care. some hospitals in london and the south east of england are so stretched that patients are having to be moved hundreds of miles for treatment. does this not suggest that not enough was done

by the government to prepare the nhs for the second wave? a huge amount was done to prepare the nhs for — and has continuously for the last year and, actually, even in london, where the situation has been toughest, the london nhs has been under huge, huge, huge pressure, but they really have been coping magnificently. a social media site has brought together impressions from the nhs front line. 0ne doctor said: another entry said: another doctor reported:

admissions to hospitals, like this one in kettering, involve patients who got the virus a couple of weeks before. as for new cases, there are tentative signs of a change of direction. recent case numbers show in the last week, northern ireland, wales and scotland have all seen case numbers fall. it's the same in england, with more cases in a bigger population, including dips in hotspots like london. but in some council areas like knowsley, halton and the isle of wight, there have been increases. officials believe the peak of infections may have passed in some areas, but not hospital admissions. it takes a while between people first getting infected to getting ill enough to go to hospital, so that peak will be a bit later, in every area of the country, a bit later than the peak of infections. and then the peak of deaths, unfortunately, is a bit later still, so the peak of deaths, i fear, is in the future. a decisive reversal of those trends may only come once there have been widespread

vaccinations, but progress is being made with a daily total now hitting 300,000 for the first time. hugh pym, bbc news. there's concern about supplies of the pfizer—biontech vaccine after it was announced that shipments are to be substantially reduced for the next few weeks. the vaccine makers say that modifications are needed to the manufacturing process. in a letter, six european union countries have described the delay as "unacceptable". the eu commission president ursula von der leyen said she'd been in touch with the head of pfizer about the situation. of course this is not the first time that we see a delay in this process. we should not forget that normally, it takes ten years to develop a vaccine and to deliver it. now we have reduced this time to less than a year and we are facing all the difficulties you normally face in an extended period of time. it is not the first time that a company announces that it has, for a short period of time, problems with delivery

and it is not only biontech—pfizer�*s but others too. others had to delay the application time at their european medicine agencies. so we have encountered these problems before, and we will encounter these problems in this process. brazil's presidentjair bolsonaro says he regrets the health emergency in the northern city of manaus, where hospitals have been overwhelmed by the pandemic. according to local media, people have resorted to buying oxygen tanks on the black market to give to sick relatives. they said patients were being taken off ventilators as the oxygen ran out. health authorities say intensive care wards are so full that scores of patients are being airlifted to other states. coronavirus infections in the region havejumped since the discovery of a more contagious variant. and in the past hour, it's reported that a brazilian pharmaceutical company has requested regulatory approval for emergency use of 10 million doses of russia's covid—19 vaccine sputnik v.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come: elections at last. palestinians scheduled to head to the polls for the first time in 15 years. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attacks since the second world war. tobacco is america's oldest industry, and it's one of its biggest, but the industry is nervous of this report. this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. huge part of kobe were simply demolished as buildings crashed into one another. this woman says she had been given no help and no advice by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. tens of thousands of black. children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the country'sl new multiracial government.

and enrolled at formerly white schools. tonight sees the 9,610th performance of her long—running play the mousetrap. when they heard of her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonight's performance, but agatha christie would have been the last person to want such a thing. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: 100 days, 100 million shots — joe biden sets out his coronavirus vaccination plan, warning things will get worse before they get better. the number of people around the world who have died with covid—19 passes the 2 million mark. palestinians are scheduled to go to the polls for the first time in 15 years.

president mahmoud abbas issued a decree on friday scheduling a parliamentary election for may 22 followed by a presidential election onjuly 31. khaled elgindy is a senior fellow at the middle east institute where he directs the program on palestine and israeli—palestinian affairs. he also authored blind spot: america and the palestinians, from balfour to trump, and joins me live from washington. thank you so much for coming on the programme. thank you so much for coming on the programme-— the programme. thank you for havin: the programme. thank you for having me- — the programme. thank you for having me. what _ the programme. thank you for having me. what you - the programme. thank you for having me. what you make - the programme. thank you for having me. what you make of| the programme. thank you for i having me. what you make of the announcement _ having me. what you make of the announcement of _ having me. what you make of the announcement of elections? - having me. what you make of the announcement of elections? at i announcement of elections? git long last. i think it is something that the palestinian public has been waiting for for many years. we have had a number of false starts and it has become almost an annual ritual to announce that elections will happen soon. so this is the first time we have seen an actual date and an official degree by president abbas. but without a mind there

is still quite a few obstacles that need to be overcome before those elections can take place. so not 100% from your point of view that they will actually go ahead, but optimism, it nonetheless. just remind us, what has been a problem? why had they not been elections for the past 15 years? why had they not been elections for the past 15 years? not been elections for the past 15 ears? ., , not been elections for the past 15 ears? . , ., 15 years? there have been a number of— 15 years? there have been a number of reasons. - 15 years? there have been a number of reasons. one - 15 years? there have been a number of reasons. one of. 15 years? there have been a i number of reasons. one of the most serious is this split that we have covered that palestinians have had to endure since 2007 between the west bank, which is nominally under the control of the palestinian authority and abbas's fatah party. at least in the 38% of the west bank that the palestinian authority controls. and the gaza strip is controlled by fatah's main rival, hamas. the division essentially has paralysed palestinian institutions and politics for most of the last

14 politics for most of the last 1a or so years. politics for most of the last 14 or so years.— 14 or so years. those are long-term _ 14 or so years. those are long-term issues - 14 or so years. those are long-term issues and - 14 or so years. those are - long-term issues and problems. long—term issues and problems. it seems a really tight timetable, given the fact that we are as well in a global pandemic. it seems an ambitious idea. , g pandemic. it seems an ambitious idea. , ~ , pandemic. it seems an ambitious idea. , g , , idea. yes, i think it is very ambitious _ idea. yes, i think it is very ambitious to _ idea. yes, i think it is very ambitious to imagine - idea. yes, i think it is very ambitious to imagine that| idea. yes, i think it is very - ambitious to imagine that after 15 years with no elections that all of the logistical preparations that candidates and parties will have sufficient time to organise and to campaign, it is a tall order. in addition to the fact that the palestinians have to negotiate some kind of arrangements with israel to allow palestinians in east jerusalem to participate in these elections, as they participated in previous elections. so that will be a difficult political hurdle that no israeli leader will want to give permission for such a

quintessentially political actor happening and what they view as their undivided capital. view as their undivided ca - ital. ~ view as their undivided capital-— view as their undivided ca - ital. ~ , ., capital. we will see what happens _ capital. we will see what happens in _ capital. we will see what happens in the _ capital. we will see what happens in the coming . capital. we will see what - happens in the coming months. thank you very much for coming on. . ~' thank you very much for coming on. . ~ , ., thank you very much for coming on. . ~' i., ., thank you very much for coming on. . ~ i. ., ., thousands of people have set off from honduras hoping to walk at least 3,000 kilometres to the united states. they say they're escaping poverty and violence for a better life in the us, which they hope will be more welcoming with president trump leaving office. paul hawkins reports. it is 5am in honduras' second biggest city, san pedro sula. and the start of a long, long journey for thousands of migrants. their goal, a more welcoming america underjoe biden. translation: we pray that he will be filled - with mercy — that god will touch his heart and that there will be doors opened. i just want a chance to work.

we're defeated. we have nothing. we're left on the streets. we lost everything. most of us have nothing, not even a blanket. the incoming president plans to reverse many of his predecessor's immigration policies. building that wall was stopped. —— building that wall will stop. young migrants known as dreamers will get protection from deportation. the cap on the number of refugees resettling in the us will be raised to 125,000. within 100 days i will send to the united states congress a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people. but it's 2000 miles to the us border, which, if they walk all the way, could take up to two months. and the journey will be even tougher than previous years, with co—ordinated security and coronavirus travel restrictions through guatemala, el salvador, and mexico — all of whom have

said they'll try to stop the caravan. translation: let them give us the opportunity to cross - the border, to arrive and have the dream that we long for, because we also have needs. just as people in the usa are human beings and have needs, we also have them. give us a chance because we, too, have children, like them. if they were in this situation, we, as human beings, here in honduras, would also understand them. the alternative is violence and poverty in their country. the economy shattered by hurricanes and lockdowns. many of them think there is nothing to lose. paul hawkins, bbc news. the us gun rights group the national rifle association has filed for bankruptcy protection — which could help them escape a lawsuit in new york. the group said it plans to reincorporate in texas. last year, new york's attorney—general, letitia james, sued the nra, accusing its leaders of misusing millions of dollars on lavish personal trips. the group has dismissed the allegations as politically

motivated. ms james said her office would continue to investigate the nra. a court in germany has sentenced a sports doctor to almost five years in prison for the blood—doping of athletes in skiing and cycling competitions. the court in munich also banned mark schmidt from practising medicine for a further three years. he had been found guilty of masterminding an international blood doping ring that became known as 0peration aderlass — or bloodletting. schmidt admitted the charges but insisted that he did not financially profit and that no—one's health was put at risk. football and wayne rooney has announced his retirement as a player. he says he wants to concentrate full—time on his newjob concentrate full—time on his new job as concentrate full—time on his newjob as manager of derby county. he is the record goals call for majors united and england. mormon looks back in

his career. wayne rooney was one of the most exciting prospects in world football. although he never quite reach the giddy heights of a rinaldo or a messi heights of a rinaldo or a messi he did enjoy an illustrious and record—breaking career. but every player has to face the final whistle, which is a lot easier, of course, when new opportunities present themselves.- opportunities present themselves. ~ , themselves. my future, ifeel, is in management. _ themselves. my future, ifeel, is in management. i— themselves. my future, ifeel, is in management. i have - themselves. my future, ifeel, is in management. i have had| themselves. my future, ifeel,| is in management. i have had a great career, enjoyed every minute. some ups, some downs. but i wouldn't change anything in my career as a player. hopefully i can start now to write some history with a managerial career.- write some history with a managerial career. some ups, some downs. _ managerial career. some ups, some downs, but _ managerial career. some ups, some downs, but mostly - managerial career. some ups, some downs, but mostly ups. | some downs, but mostly ups. rooney made his professional debut for boyhood club everton at the tender age of 16. he hit

the ground running and only a year later was called up to the international side, eventually becoming england's top goalscorer and most capped outfield player. in 2004 he joined manchester united where he would go on to win numerous titles. he was their record goalscorer, too. after a brief return to everton and a short stint in america, he ended up at derby county, initially as a player— coach. now after having a job on a temporary basis, he has been appointed the club's full—time manager. at the age of 35 he might have expected to have a few more years left in him as a player. but he has been a professional for the best part of two decades and he says it is time for a younger generation. and who knows, with his eldest son recently signing two majors united, that younger generation may have a familiar face. tim allman, bbc news. the freezing blast of arctic weather sweeping across europe is causing widespread disruptions, but, for some, it's an excuse to get

outside for some fun. these children in southern poland are making the most of the heavy snowfall by throwing on their winter woolies and dusting off the sleds and toboggans. it was a stunning sunrise in denmark. keen skiiers say the combination of sun and snow made for perfect conditions for a day of cross—country skiing. and the animals at this helsinki zoo in finland were a little unsure about the snowy stranger inside their enclosures. they seem to be enjoying themselves nonetheless. usually you would catch a taxi to a nightclub, but in lockdown greece, one man has turned his cab into a mobile disco. konstantinos bekios has transformed his taxi. he installed club lighting on the roof. he takes requests and is glad to turn up the volume. nightlife in greece has taken a hit, with bars, restaurants and clubs shut down, and no—one is sure when they will re—open.

the response from the public to his cab has been positive, he says. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @lvaughanjones. this is bbc news. hello. friday turned out to be quite a quiet weather day across many parts of the british isles. perhaps you had the opportunity to enjoy some of the beauty that's widely available across the north of england and up into parts of scotland. and we're not quite done with this wintry weather scenario just yet. because as we start the weekend, a new set of weather fronts will drive their way in from the atlantic. some of this atlantic moisture is going to fall into really quite cold air across the eastern side of the british isles. so we are going to see further accumulations and notjust where we already have significant amount of lying

snow. as we creep towards the higher ground of lincolnshire and down to east anglia, this is where we may see new accumulations of snow widely, two centimetres of snow. but in some areas we could see as much as 5—10cm and that's why the met office have issued this amber weather warning for snow. they say up to 5—10cm possible in some areas. that threat exists while these weather fronts dominate the scene particularly so across the eastern side of britain. isobars quite packed on those charts so it's going to be a blustery day. especially so across the northern half of britain. right from the word go many parts of central and eastern scotland, the midlands through north england and eastern england will see that combination of rain or snow. which will take time to get away from east anglia, hence those accumulations. they also take the time to get away from east kent as well. quite a blustery day following behind. winds probably at their strongest across the north of scotland. temperatures really struggling after that chill wintry start across the east. some in south wales in the southwest may get

to double figures. that weather feature is going to cause all sorts of problems through the heart of continental europe through sunday. but closer to home, a little build of high pressurejust getting in across a good part of england and wales. settling things nicely here. not too much in the way a breeze. further the north, a blustery day. some showers, if not longer spells of rain for scotland and northern ireland. temperatures into single figures and come the middle part of the forthcoming week things will turn a little wetter, milder and windier. take care.

this is bbc news. the headlines: joe biden's given details of his plan to sharply increase the number of americans being immunised against covid—19 in the face of a sustained rise in cases and deaths. the president—elect, who takes office on wednesday, said the priority was to inoculate everyone over the age of 65. the number of people around the world who have died with covid—19 has now passed the two million mark — that's more than the combined total of deaths for hiv, malaria, flu and cholera in the past year. after the united states, brazil and india are the worst—affected countries. countries in europe have reacted angrily to a warning by the drug company pfizer that it'll reduce the number of coronavirus vaccines it delivers from next week. pfizer says modifications to its plant in belgium will lead to a temporary drop in shipments, but will boost long—term capacity. now it's time for a look back at the week in parliament.