this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. mass vaccinations begin at another ten centres in england from tomorrow, as the foreign secretary pledges every adult in the uk will be offered a first dose by september. it comes as the head of england's nhs warns that there's mounting pressure on hospitals and staff. i think the facts are very clear and i am not going to sugar—coat them. hospitals are under extreme pressure. and staff are under extreme pressure. cities across the united states are on alert for possible violent protests, ahead ofjoe biden�*s inauguration. in a fresh blow to the afghan government and their attempt to maintain security, two female judges have been shot dead in kabul.

an engine test for nasa's "megarocket" ends early, but the space agency denies it was a failure. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. as countries around the world step up their coronavirus vaccination programmes, here in the uk ten new mass vaccination centres across england are set to open on monday to help meet the government's target of offering vaccines to the most vulnerable groups by the middle of february. today, the foreign secretary

has said the government hopes to have offered every adult a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by september. so how does the uk's progress compare to the rest of the world? israel appears to be leading the way with 25 doses given per 100 people. although it has faced criticism that it has not supported inoculation within palestinian territories. the united arab emirates is second on the list having given over 18 doses per 100 people. the uk is next with nearly 6 doses per 100 people. the us has given 3.7 doses per 100 people — us president—electjoe biden has just announced plans to boost that figure when he enters office on wednesday. italy, which is the first country in the eu to vaccinate a million people, has administered 1.76 doses per 100. and the numberfor china is 0.69. because of the size of their populations, the us and china have given the most doses overall. for the latest on those uk plans to step up vaccinations,

here's rebecca morelle. blackburn cathedral, transforming from a place of worship into an nhs mass vaccination centre. last—minute preparations are under way in the crypt. it opens tomorrow. thousands ofjabs will be given here. whilst this space was not being used, we felt it would be really appropriate to offer this space up as a place where people could come and feel safe and secure, a place that they know and a place that they feel at home in, so we were delighted when it was accepted as one of the mass vaccination centres. there are ten of these new regional vaccine centres opening across england. as well as blackburn, sites are in taunton, st helens and bournemouth, and there's slough, norwich, wickford in essex, lincolnshire, york and wembley in london. theyjoin seven already in operation. appointments are by invite only to those living within a 45—minute drive away and if people don't

want to go to a vaccine hub, they can wait to be contacted by their gp. the focus right now is on people who are over 80. nhs england says last week a million letters were sent to this group and another half a million will be invited to the vaccine hubs next week. what it will do is let us get more vaccine out to more people more quickly, which will protect more people from becoming seriously ill, and that will start to lower the demand on our hospital services, and that's the way out of some of these really difficult rules that people are currently following. the government is also asking the public for help by asking them to support the over—80s to book their appointments and plan their visit. this is the biggest immunisation programme in nhs history. large vaccine hubs are already in operation in wales, northern ireland and scotland, with many more planned. across the uk, more than 3.5 million people have now been given their first dose, but the target is to offer

vaccines to 15 million by the middle of february. rebecca morelle, bbc news. 0ur political correspondentjonathan blake said the government vaccination drive will continue at pace as it looks to move some of the pressures away from the nhs. there is huge scrutiny on what is being done and just how quickly the vaccinations are being given out. this morning the foreign secretary cast any doubt on a sudden lifting of the restrictions that of course england is under in its national lockdown and other parts of the uk are under similar lockdowns well come mid—february, when the government hopes to have the most vulnerable in society given their first of two jabs. he said it would likely to be a return to the tiering system from then on, mirroring the language we heard from the prime minister recently as well. but he did confirm the government's

aim to have the entire adult population offered their first dose of the vaccine by september. the plan is to get the first 15 million most vulnerable people vaccinated with the first dose by the middle of february. we then want to get, by early spring, another 17 million. at that point we will have 99% of those most at risk of dying of coronavirus administered their first jab. and then the adult population, the entire adult population, we want to have been offered a first jab by september. that's dominic raab talking about various government targets for the roll—out, culminating with september, which seems a long way away. right now, at the moment the national health service is under immense strain and in danger of being overwhelmed. it is, and from what we heard this morning from sir simon stevens, the chief executive of nhs england, that pressure shows no sign of letting up. he painted quite a stark picture of the state of things at the moment

in terms of incidences of the virus, cases of the virus increasing among some parts of the population and in some geographical areas still, and that is placing further pressure on the nhs across the board. but he did have some more optimistic words to say about the number of people being vaccinated, around 140 jabs per minute, he said, that they aim to have vaccinated across the board 1.5 million people within the past week. but in terms of admissions to hospital there is no let—up. i think the facts are very clearand i'm not going to sugar—coat them. hospitals are under extreme pressure and staff are under extreme pressure. since christmas day we have seen another 15,000 increase in the in—patients in hospitals across england. that's the equivalent of filling 30 hospitals full of coronavirus patients. and, staggeringly, every 30 seconds across england, another patient is being admitted to hospital with coronavirus.

so that means, for example, that between now and lunchtime this hospital would be full of new coronavirus patients. and we are seeing that notjust in london and the south—east where this new variant obviously first let rip, but that is spreading into other parts of the country as well. some sobering statistics from sir simon stevens. just last week the prime minister was talking about possible signs the lockdown was starting to have an impact and infection rates were trailing off and perhaps coming down in certain areas, but any talk of lifting restrictions or a turning of the tide seems premature in the face of the picture painted this morning. political correspondent, jonathan blake. all 50 us states are on alert for possible violent protests this weekend, ahead of president—electjoe biden�*s inauguration on wednesday. members of the national guard

are patrolling the streets around the capitol in washington, following the storming of the building by supporters of president trump. so far, there have been none of the mass protests that had been feared. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. america on high alert like never before. the nation's capital has been turned into a fortress, with security worthy of a warzone. the national guard has been deployed to try to ensure a smooth transition of power whenjoe biden is inaugurated on wednesday. in the meantime, there's concern that armed supporters of donald trump may try to stage more protests, still refusing to accept the result of the election. the capitol building, which was stormed by a mob earlier this month, is now surrounded by a high fence, and the city is under lockdown. it's a place in our history that i'm sad that we've come to. american troops should

not have to be armed against their fellow americans. but what we saw was an unprecedented attack on our democracy in the cradle of that democracy. by wednesday, 25,000 troops will be in the capital to try to keep the peace. the goal is to try to prevent a repeat of the attack that led to mr trump being impeached for a second time, on a charge of incitement of insurrection. he now faces a trial in the senate. the fbi has warned police agencies around the country that state capitals could be the target of further protests in the coming days. a state of emergency has already been declared in maryland, new mexico and utah. state—by—state, members of the national guard are being deployed overfears that extremists may infiltrate planned protests. in minnesota, armed guards are stationed at the state capitol, which has already been descended upon by protesters. in california, near the capital city sacramento, riot police are patrolling outside the home

of the state governor, gavin newsom. in some cities around the country the post office has removed letterboxes from the streets as part of the security clamp—down. away from the fray, for now, as he prepares to take office, joe biden has been to church and it has been revealed that within hours of moving into the white house, he will sign executive orders to reverse some of donald trump's key policies. they include rejoining the paris climate accord and scrapping a travel ban on several predominantly muslim countries. but this is a nation on edge, holding its breath for the days ahead. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. in a fresh blow to the afghan government and their attempt to maintain security, two female judges have been shot dead in kabul. both justices served on afghanistan's supreme court. our world affairs correspondent yogita limaye is in kabul and following developments.

government officials are telling us that the two female judges were on their way to work in a car when they were shot at. they were both killed, their driver was injured. so far, we don't know who carried out this attack, but it is the latest in a series of targeted killings and assassination attempts that have taken place on journalists, women's rights activists, women in prominentjobs here in afghanistan. earlier, the afghan government blamed the taliban for these attacks. a few days ago, i met saba sahar, afghanistan's first female movie director and actress, and also a policewoman who was attacked in august last year. she was shot multiple times but she survived the attack. she says the taliban was behind the attack on her and she says it is because she was a woman in these prominent roles. the taliban issued a statement denying any involvement in this

and all of this is happening against a backdrop of peace talks that are taking place between the afghan government and the taliban in doha. when you have horrific killings like this, what hope is there of those peace talks succeeding? that is precisely the question that is being asked. at a time when violence is surging in this country, will there be a resolution that comes out of those talks? on friday, 2,500 troops withdrew from this country, us troops, leaving around 2,500 behind. this is part of a withdrawal plan that the trump administration had signed with the taliban. according to that deal, all foreign forces are to withdraw by spring this year. many here are worried that if that withdrawal were to happen before a sustainable peace deal is agreed between the afghan government and the taliban,

then they might see the taliban coming back in power in this country. the question then will be what lasting gains have been made in 20 years of us—led war in this country? yogita limaye reporting from kabul. the leading kremlin critic alexei navalny is about to leave germany to return to russia for the first time since he was struck down by a nerve agent attack. mr navalny has been recovering in germany from being poisoned with a nerve agent in russia last august. the russian authorities have threatened him with arrest on arrival in moscow for breaching the terms of a previous suspended sentence. brandenburg airport in berlin is where he will be leaving from. he will arrive back in russia later this afternoon. really, his return

to russia is being seen in russia as a direct challenge to president vladimir putin. he not only faces possible arrest for breaching the terms of a previous suspended sentence, he also faces two fraud enquiry is over the alleged misuse of funds for his anti—corruption foundation, which he denies. clearly not only a threat to his own personal safety to go back to russia but also a threat of immediate arrest. nonetheless, alexei navalny has always said he wants to go back to russia and there is no question he will return and he will be leaving from brandenburg airport in berlin very shortly back to russia. the uk government is moving to head off a rebellion by backbench mps, who could support a labour proposal to extend the temporary £20 a week increase in universal credit. the chancellor introduced the rise last april, as the pandemic hitjobs and family finances, but it is due

to run out in march. conservative mps have been told to abstain on labour's vote tommorrow. the foreign secretary has said this morning that the government will always look at how to protect the most vulnerable communities. the shadow work and pensions secretary, jonathan reynolds, said he was confident a number of conservative mps would back labour's call to keep the £20 benefit in place. there is absolutely no question that parliament this week must vote to cancel that cut of over £1000 a year to universal credit and working tax credit. first of all, it's about the impact on families. clearly £1000 a year, that's your gas, your electric, your broadband bill for the year altogether. so it will have a substantial impact on families if this goes ahead. but also it's the wrong thing for the economy. that's taking £6 billion of spending out of the economy at a time when we need it. this is not money saved away or put into a tax haven,

it is spent in local shops and on local services. so it would be absolutely the wrong thing to do. i think parliament should recognise that and i think should pass pass our motion tomorrow. the headlines on bbc news... mass vaccinations begin at another ten centres in england from tomorrow as the foreign secretary pledges every adult in the uk will be offered a first dose by september. cities across the united states are on alert for possible violent protests, ahead ofjoe biden�*s inauguration. in a fresh blow to the afghan government and their attempt to maintain security, two female judges have been shot dead in kabul. there have been warnings that the eurostar train service is in a critical condition, after a massive drop in passenger numbers caused by the pandemic. the service runs from london st pancras to paris, brussels and amsterdam and is widely seen as having been a commercial

and cultural success story. the uk sold its stake in the business in 2015, but now there are calls for the government to step in to help eurostar survive covid—19. 0ur correspondentjohn mcmanus is following the story. how much trouble is it in? quite a lotjudging — how much trouble is it in? quite a lotjudging by _ how much trouble is it in? quite a lotjudging by reports. _ how much trouble is it in? quite a lotjudging by reports. eurostar. how much trouble is it in? quite al lotjudging by reports. eurostar has being going, amazingly, for more than 25 years, first starting in 1994. it normally runs at least two trains per hour between london, brussels and paris. before the pandemic began it had expanded services to amsterdam as well. now, because of travel restrictions, including new quarantine rules and the fact there are very few passengers, it has reduced to running just two trains per day between london and mainland europe. 0bviously, its revenues are in serious trouble and a warning was first sounded on friday by an executive from the french rail

company sncf, which is the majority stakeholder in eurostar. he said passenger numbers had dropped an amazing 85% in 2020 compared to 2019 and said the group is now in what he called a direct and needed more money to survive. he said he believed it had been hit harder by the airline industry and it was trying to negotiate a loan with the uk government. that's interesting because although britain did help bring about eurostar, the then chancellor george osborne sold the uk's stake in eurostar in 2015 as part of his austerity drive, begging the question whether the uk taxpayer should now help bail out a company owned by french railways, belgian railways and a couple of pension and hedge funds. the letter today, which has been published in part in the sunday telegraph by a group of business leaders and city firms who are no doubt interested in driving transport link between london and the continent says that, yes, the

government should do something. they have written to chancellor rishi sunak and transport secretary grant shapps to say, the government must do something to help eurostar. 0ne do something to help eurostar. one other thing to bear in mind, the government says it has been allowing mostly the transport industry to stand on its own two feet but earlier this month british airways secured a £2 billion loan, privately, but backed by the government. british airways, like eurostar, is a private company owned by shareholders across the world, so some people will think, what is the difference. , ., some people will think, what is the difference. g ., a , some people will think, what is the difference. a , ., ~ the number of coronavirus deaths in france has now exceeded 70,000. britain and italy are the only european countries with a higher number of deaths. all of france is now under a 6pm curfew, advancing the earlier restrictions by two hours. daniel wittenberg has more. the shutters came down early on the champs—elysees and deserted streets all over france,

as the country met another unwelcome coronavirus milestone. at the start of the pandemic, president emmanuel macron said the nation was in combat with an invisible enemy. since then, with more than 70,000 casualties, france's death rate has been higher than on the battlefields of the second world war. its latest strategy in the battle to curb infections, the curfew has been brought forward by two hours to 6pm for the whole country for at least the next fortnight. the number of positive tests has hit 20,000 a day and the extension is being received with relative approval. translation: i am not an expert| but i suppose if so many scientists agree on the curfew, it must mean it's effective. translation: well, as a parent, i think 6pm isn't a problem. - it's bath—time so we will be heading home. but i'll probably change my mind on monday when the working week starts again.

while people will be able to travel after hours for work and urgent appointments, it's more bad news for shops. parisien optician mickael levy called on the government not to lose sight of businesses' needs. translation: this is yet another restriction and once again, - it is a loss of revenue for us. we need to reorganise our staffing and we don't know how we will get financial help for that. in the daytime, the fairly rare spectacle of snow coating the french capital provided light relief for some, though with hospital admissions continuing to rise and concern over new variants of the virus, it seems there is still a long winter ahead. daniel wittenberg, bbc news. indonesia's mount semeru has erupted, pouring ash and smoke an estimated 3.4 miles into the sky above java. the volcano is one of the country's most popular hiking destinations but so far no—one has

been asked to evacuate and no casualties have been reported. villagers living on the mountain's slopes have been warned of possible "cold lava" mudflow, which can be triggered by intense rainfall. nasa has tested four huge engines for its new megarocket, which it hopes will one day take astronauts to the moon. but the exercise — designed to replicate the power necessary for take off — was stopped early, and it's not yet clear why. mark lobel has more. take off. it's one of the most anticipated moments of any space mission. here, igniting all four engines together for the first time to simulate the sls rocket�*s rise into orbit for the first manned trip to the moon in decades. and here they go. gearing up to one day reach 8.8 million pounds, or to those in the know,

39.1 mega newtons of thrust, to make it the most powerful rocket ever to fly to space. and to put you out of your misery, this is what lift—off should look like. later this year it is hoped these rockets will send nasa's next generation 0rion spacecraft for an unmanned spin around the moon. the artemis missions should eventually lead to the first woman on the moon in three years or so to search lunar soil for earth—shattering scientific discoveries with economic benefits as well. but back on earth, thisjoint nasa and boeing test, already years late in a project billions over budget well, er, quickly lost its sparkle as it was aborted early. and we've got to shut down. seven minutes early in fact,

afterjust a minute or so. just when we were going to see the rocket start to pivot. no—one ever said travelling to the moon was easy. nasa denies the exercise was a failure, despite the as—yet unexplained white flash that caused the shutdown. mark lobel, bbc news. we can focus on the russian opposition leader alexei navalny. he is about to return from germany to russia this afternoon. he has been recovering in germany from being poisoned with a nerve agent in russia last august. we can show you the scene now at berlin brandenburg airport. there are microphones there so we think mr navalny will be talking before he leaves on the

plane from brandenburg airport in berlin back to russia, which is being seen as a direct challenge, that flight, to president putin. you are watching bbc news. winter in rome means starling season, when up to 4 million birds gather in the italian capital on their migration from europe to africa. their murmerations in the skies are beautiful — but their droppings create a hazard, and the city authorities are trying new methods to move them on. here's our rome correspondent, mark lowen. in the roman twilight, nature's great dancers flock to the stage. the acrobatic twirls like wisps of smoke. a synchronised spectacle of breathtaking beauty.

the starlings migrate in winter south to africa. nesting at night in central rome for warmth, flying in formation to avoid predators. a murmuration, it's called, and this city of art marvels at the show. but beneath their charm, rome is rotting, and it's a hell of a mess. in the cold light of day, the other side of these gorgeous birds is clear, and for those unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's not exactly sightly, it can be a safety hazard, and i can tell you that even with the mask, the stench is rancid. "i slipped on the droppings when it was muddy", this man says. "the world has invented everything, just not bird underpants." beside the ancient forum, a new attempt to try

and solve the problem. city officials shining lasers onto trees, which the birds dislike, prompting them to move on. the project is focused on rome's tourist heart in a bid to clean up its image. translation: this doesn't cause the birds any stress. _ it is more like a nuisance for them. i do this work, but i'm actually a nature lover. we are not stopping them from sleeping. we are just telling them to find another location. and it works. this tree used to be completely full and now there are about 10% of what there were. even the starling fans seem supportive. i personally love to see them, like it's amazing, but as long as it is not hurting the birds, i think it's a good system. while the lasers are harmless, fireworks are not. this last new year's eve here, starlings were caught and killed by the firecrackers, pictures going viral. not managing the issue

can end in tragedy. in ancient rome, the starlings were seen to auger the gods wishes. centuries on, these dazzling creatures keep visiting. how man and nature can coexist is the eternal problem of the eternal city. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. lovely blue skies in rome. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello, there. it's a perfect sunday for getting outside and enjoying some fresh air. for most of us, it will be a dry, settled and relatively sunny afternoon, but the further north and west you go, a brisk wind driving in some showery outbreaks of rain, with gusts of 30mph to 40mph here. elsewhere, with some sunshine, the temperatures will peak between 6—9 degrees — where they should be

for this time of year. moving into monday, closer to this area of low pressure, it will continue to feed in showers across much of scotland and we will see weather fronts starting to gradually approach from the south—west as low pressure edges in from the atlantic. but there will be some drier, brighter weather, particularly in sheltered eastern areas. generally a little more cloud around than we have seen today. 5—10 degrees the overall high. but from tuesday onwards, it turns increasingly wet and windy across the country. milder for england and wales, but some of that rain could bring some flooding. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... mass vaccinations begin at another ten centres in england from tomorrow, as the foreign secretary pledges every adult in the uk will be offered a first dose by september.

it comes as the head of england's nhs warns that