this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. police in russia crack down on protests by supporters of the jailed opposition leader, alexei navalny. hundreds have already been detained across the country. these are live pictures from moscow where the thousands of demonstraors have gathered. senior doctors call for changes in the vaccine roll—out in the uk — they want the 12—week gap between the first and second dose of the pfizerjab to be halved. what we do need to be assured of is that people are properly protected because if the level of protection with the second dose is compromised by a longer delay, that, of course, will impact on the doctors that i represent because they are facing the virus at close quarters

as they look after patients. borisjohnson warns the new variant of the virus may be more deadly than previously thought. return to wuhan, one year on from the lockdown — we go back to the chinese city where the pandemic began. and back on the tracks — two disused rail routes closed to passengers for more than 50 years are to reopen with a new investment package worth nearly £800 million. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world.

thousands of people in russia are taking part in demonstrations across the country in support of the jailed russian opposition leader, alexei navalny. riot police are out in large numbers in moscow, detaining demonstrators in pushkin square. groups of policemen pulled about 100 people — mostly young men — out of the crowd of several thousand. hundreds of arrests have also been made in other cities across russia where rallies began earlier in the day. mr navalny was detained on his return to moscow last sunday, five months after being poisoned by a deadly nerve agent. in a message from jail posted online, mr navalny wrote that he was in a "stable psychological and emotional state." he made clear that people should be suspicious if they heard otherwise. our moscow correspondent, oleg boldyrev, joins us.

what's the latest from moscow as you are able to piece together the picture? are able to piece together the icture? �* , ., are able to piece together the icture? h ., , .,, picture? it's in that phase where the number _ picture? it's in that phase where the number of _ picture? it's in that phase where the number of protesters - picture? it's in that phase where the number of protesters on - picture? it's in that phase where - the number of protesters on pushkin square probably reached the maximum now. for quite some time, police have been detaining people at random, slicing the crowd by the flank of heavily protected riot police personnel. they count as running into hundreds now. from the experience of past actions in moscow, in moscow alone, then there is a large crowd in st petersburg, the number of arrested probably will be in the high hundreds. people are turning up despite all warnings that the action has not been sanctioned. there is already a complication in estimates of how many turned up. the official one is 4000 but from my experience i know it will be wildly inaccurate. ~ ., experience i know it will be wildly inaccurate-— experience i know it will be wildly inaccurate. ., ., ~ , inaccurate. what do you think is the significance — inaccurate. what do you think is the significance of— inaccurate. what do you think is the significance of these _ inaccurate. what do you think is the significance of these protests - significance of these protests

today? it significance of these protests toda ? , ., ., today? it showed that even under threat of heavy _ today? it showed that even under threat of heavy police _ today? it showed that even under threat of heavy police action, - threat of heavy police action, people are ready to turn up. they are fed up with limitations of sick—mac, —— covid and there were no demonstrations for the past year in moscow, which is not safe from the epidemic�*s point of view. the authorities were framing it as teenage rebellion but there are plenty of grown—ups, and there are still people ready to come out. whether they are able to come out in numbers is the big question but certainly alexei navalny and his associates are hoping that the turnout is so large authorities will think again about putting him behind bars. the protests are certainly very wide. we haven't seen such diversity, cities wide, and russia

—— in russia. let's bring you some live pictures now from moscow, let's speak to our moscow correspondent sarah rainsford — who's on the ground with protestors in moscow. i'm right on pushkin square. i've moved away from the heart of the crowd but the protest does a stretch on along the boulevard. it stretches through the cars because drivers are going past through, the roads are closed, and lots of drivers have been tooting their horns and getting cheered back from the crowd so there's a fair amount of solidarity with the protesters on the square and people have been crammed onto the pavement in front of me. they have been shouting "freedom for alexei navalny", they have been shouting "let him go, let him out of prison" and a chance against vladimir putin. 0ne prison" and a chance against vladimir putin. one of the cries is"

putin is a thief". there is a diverse crowd in terms of age, a lot of young people and students but also older people, an older woman and her daughter had come. i said, why are you here? they said through theirfacejust from a why are you here? they said through their face just from a walk —— just for a walk, but they had obviously come to take part in the protest. they were worried about alexei navalny and russia, and worried about his safety in prison. they thought they could show their support and try to protect him in some way as much as anything else. is your sense that the crowd already to disperse? there are clearly not going to be any speeches or banners because anything of that kind will presumably be —— lead to police moving in. it’s presumably be -- lead to police moving in—

moving in. it's about a show of scale. moving in. it's about a show of scale- this _ moving in. it's about a show of scale. this is _ moving in. it's about a show of scale. this is not _ moving in. it's about a show of scale. this is not a _ moving in. it's about a show of scale. this is not a sanctioned| scale. this is not a sanctioned protest, it's an illegal gathering. there are riot police here who have been moving people out of the crowd but in the last hour i haven't seen much of that. to one side of the protest there is a huge number of people here and the right police. they normally wait for the numbers to reduce and wait for people to get bored and start going home and then they begin detaining the hard core of the protesters and i guess that's probably going to happen at the moment. there are a lot of right police here but for the moment they are well outnumbered by the protesters. are well outnumbered by the protesters-— are well outnumbered by the rotesters. ., , ., ., protesters. you 'ust made a point, we can — protesters. you just made a point, we can see some _ protesters. you just made a point, we can see some of— protesters. you just made a point, we can see some of the _ protesters. you just made a point, we can see some of the pictures i protesters. you just made a point, l we can see some of the pictures now of the police using batons to try and restrain some members of the protesters. there's a bit of trouble from what we can see on the cameras that we have. you gave a lovely

illustration of the dry sense of humour of some moscow people in handling this. would you say generally that the mood is good—humoured? i’d generally that the mood is good-humoured?_ generally that the mood is good-humoured? generally that the mood is nood-humoured? �* good-humoured? i'd say it determined but re good-humoured? i'd say it determined but pretty calm- _ good-humoured? i'd say it determined but pretty calm. another— good-humoured? i'd say it determined but pretty calm. another woman - good-humoured? i'd say it determined but pretty calm. another woman was l but pretty calm. another woman was there in running gear and trainers and told me she was just here for a run but again she was coming to the protest. she said she wasn't too scared because she reckon she could outrun the right police. 0ther outrun the right police. other people are talking about very real concerns and fears for the future. they do want change here. one of the cars were playing the anthem of the belarussian protest, a political anthem, so one of the cars playing that got a big reaction from the crowd. this is a crowd with stronger

political position, strong political feeling, but they are not angry at the moment, they are more determined than anything, to show they are not afraid as alexei navalny showed them to do —— told them to do and that they want a different russia. they are not the majority but there very loud minority. —— they are a very loud minority. —— they are a very loud minority. tonia samsonova is a blogger and entrepeneur, who's worked as a foreign correspondent for russian radio. when you see those scenes in the course of today in russia are you surprised by the scale of the protests? protests ? to be protests? to be honest, yes, because it's the tenth anniversary. it started on vladimir putin's time in 2011 before the parliamentary elections in russia and in the beginning, it was like russian protests and i'm

surprised it has been ten years. in the beginning, it wasn't dangerous to go into the streets and in 2011 if somebody is detained, the crowd would be outraged, but gradually, as people saw that summer detained and some are beaten, most question whether they should or shouldn't go to the protest because the risk that you will be beaten or you will be imprisoned even for several years is quite high but if you succeed, what would it actually mean? so with the new alexei navalny film published on youtube, more people got involved in politics in russia, some would say that politics is not in their particular interests and they don't follow politics and are not politicised, but they became so. so today, i think we see many pupils

who, for whom, it's the first time in ten years to go into the street and consider such an option for themselves. to and consider such an option for themselves.— and consider such an option for themselves. ., . ., , ., themselves. to what extent do you think this is — themselves. to what extent do you think this is about _ themselves. to what extent do you think this is about political- think this is about political questions in terms of who is the president, how long the president stays, whether alexei navalny should be allowed to take part in elections, and how much of this is a distillation of the frustration that some russians feel that they are living standards are falling in real terms, they feel poorer, and they see a country where the video you're referring to, they see lavish wealth, visible wealth, even if it's only on television? is it that contrast that is animating people? this protest is mostly about dignity

because if you see the crowd, it's usually well educated people with living standards above average and this is not a protest of the people who are outraged by their living conditions or inequality. this is the protest of dignity and of people who just can't, and the motto that alexei navalny chose, that we are not afraid. actually there is much to be afraid of to go to the protest and this "not afraid" thing and a major topic that was discussed on social media and those who were discussing whether to go today or not was whether this protest was worth risking your life and security, and for those who decided to go, it was also about, yes, we would go because we don't want to

leave, and it's a scary consideration because most of the people remember how it was in the soviet union when it was actually risky to protest and i remember being a young girl, asking my grandparents, how would you allow this to happen during your lifetime? why wouldn't you protest? they would explain, we were not protesting because you can be imprisoned and because you can be imprisoned and because of the terror. the generations remember the stalin terror, so now people are balancing between a feeling of veryjustified and reasonable feeling of being afraid, and for the country not to go into a more severe condition when you are afraid of saying something. thank you very much for being with us and giving us the benefit of your

analysis. here in the uk, senior doctors have called for a shorter gap between the first and second doses of the pfizer—biontech covid vaccine. health officials extended the wait from three to 12 weeks so as many people as possible could be vaccinated. but the british medical association wants that halved. dr chaand nagpaul is the group's chair. it is a very difficult decision and i do understand the rationale that's been put forward, but, at the same time, what we do need to be assured of is that people are properly protected because if the level of protection with the second dose is compromised by a longer delay, that, of course, will impact on the doctors that i represent because they are facing the virus at close quarters as they look after patients. they want to be assured of maximum protection because if they fall ill, they won't be there to look after patients. we do have about 50,000 nhs staff off work at the moment with covid or self—isolating, so there is a very serious issue about wanting to protect people

so that they do not fall ill. nursing leaders are calling on the government to carry out an urgent review of whether better ppe is needed to protect against highly transmissible new strains of coronavirus. lets speak now to dame donna kinnair, royal college of nursing's chief executive and general secretary. thank you very much forjoining us. what is it that's troubling you about the availability of ppe and the quality of ppe at the moment? well, we know that this virus is 70% more infectious to staff that are looking after patients we are aware that the surgical masks we are given to wear in hospitals at the moment doesn't protect against the smaller infective aerosols. we've all seen the government's video outlining the

risk that the infected aerosols in the air cause. nurses do not have the air cause. nurses do not have the opportunity to socially distance and have to provide care up close and have to provide care up close and we are concerned that the government's guidance gives no reference to this. in fact, the last guidance out by the government said that individual governments could decide and if they chose to give high—end masks a higher level of protection, they needed to do risk assessments. we are saying this isn't good enough because we know that since the last week in december to the first week in january, 22% more front line workers were off sick. ~' ., . , more front line workers were off sick. ~' ., ., , ., sick. the kind of daily risk that our sick. the kind of daily risk that your colleagues _ sick. the kind of daily risk that your colleagues and _ sick. the kind of daily risk that your colleagues and fellow - sick. the kind of daily risk that i your colleagues and fellow nurses and other medical professionals run as a very humbling thing for anyone who has seen the work that's going on in hospitals and other health settings at the moment. what is it, though, that the trusts... what

calculation are trusts making? some are clearly deciding to provide these mass, at least in certain areas, to certain staff and others aren't providing them at all and i wonder what you think is the calculation they are making that you think is wrong? i calculation they are making that you think is wrong?— think is wrong? i think those that are providing _ think is wrong? i think those that are providing staff _ think is wrong? i think those that are providing staff with _ think is wrong? i think those that are providing staff with a - think is wrong? i think those that are providing staff with a high - are providing staff with a high level so the ffp two or three which stops us inhaling small aerosols are making a choice to protect staff but the government point is a postcode lottery so you could be working next door to a trust and another borough and you are afforded a lower protection —— in another borough, and they are very quick to suggest that nursing staff are picking up this variant, this is 70% more infectious variant, because they are not following the infection control and prevention rules and i think that we need to examine this because

this is happening because of the new variant and perhaps a dangerous shortage of the right equipment. when you talk about a dangerous shortage, whether or not there are shortages, these particular masks are more expensive than the standard masks that nurses and doctors use. that's not a reason for not doing this but i wonder whether it has to be a calculation, at least for individual trusts. mr; be a calculation, at least for individual trusts. my response to that is, how _ individual trusts. my response to that is, how dare _ individual trusts. my response to that is, how dare they. _ individual trusts. my response to that is, how dare they. nurses i individual trusts. my response to l that is, how dare they. nurses put their lives on the line every single day as front line workers and the cost of a mask has got to be minuscule to what it costs when somebody is absent from work and doesn't have to deliver the care. please remember we went into this pandemic 40,000 nurses short and we have continued for the last nine months, in spite of the shortages, in spite of the sickness, in spite of the dangers of taking it home to ourfriends and family, of the dangers of taking it home to our friends and family, so i would

urge the government to take all of that into consideration and enable nurses to do their work in a protected way.— nurses to do their work in a protected way. nurses to do their work in a rotected wa . . , , , protected way. finally, i put this ruestion protected way. finally, i put this question to _ protected way. finally, i put this question to the _ protected way. finally, i put this question to the bma _ protected way. finally, i put this question to the bma as - protected way. finally, i put this question to the bma as well, - protected way. finally, i put this question to the bma as well, do | protected way. finally, i put this - question to the bma as well, do you think that nurses should receive both their doses of the covid vaccine as a priority within the six weeks that the bma and the world health organization recommend? itrailiiiie health organization recommend? while i truly understand _ health organization recommend? while i truly understand the _ health organization recommend? 71 ie: i truly understand the rationale, we can't pick and choose the coverage guidance. if we are really following the science, then we have to do the right thing so i understand the rationale and it's for the government, really, and the scientists to decide if there is any drop in the level of protection if we wait longer to get the second vaccine. ., ~ we wait longer to get the second vaccine. ., ,, , ., ,., we wait longer to get the second vaccine. ., ,, i. . we wait longer to get the second vaccine. ., ,, . ., vaccine. thank you so much for s-ueakin vaccine. thank you so much for speaking to _ vaccine. thank you so much for speaking to us _ vaccine. thank you so much for speaking to us here _ vaccine. thank you so much for speaking to us here on - vaccine. thank you so much for speaking to us here on bbc - vaccine. thank you so much for l speaking to us here on bbc news vaccine. thank you so much for - speaking to us here on bbc news this lunchtime on that important story.

some breaking news. the conservative leader of the welsh assembly has resigned. it's not a huge amount of surprise he resigned because he and colleagues had been drinking on the senedd premises days after a wales wide alcohol ban came into effect. we will bring you more on that as we have it. exactly one year ago the world saw its first coronavirus lockdown come into force in wuhan, the chinese city where the pandemic is believed to have started. the first cases of covid—19 were found at a market in the city. our china correspondent robin brant has been back to visit. this is inside the building where it all started. a year on, the second—floor shops at huanan market are open. it looks like it's business as usual, but not everyone can get in. we had to be escorted

by a security guard. and there was very little sign of what happened beneath here on the ground floor. a cluster of the first cases were found here in december 2019. it was shut down, boarded—up. investigators took samples, a clean—up quickly followed. what you see in there is a place frozen in time. it's boarded up on the ground floor and the sign over the entrance has been long ago taken down. but somewhere in there, around one of those old stalls, is a place where the world first came to know about the virus. exactly a year ago today, the cooking stopped. she was one of wuhan's 11 million locked down — a city shut off from the world. this place is now known for one thing, and that's never going to change.

but a year on, some here are convinced by china's propaganda. this city stopped exactly a year ago. it was a brutal solution to what went on to become a global problem. no—one was allowed to leave. this is one of the main ways in and out of wuhan. it's hankou railway station. it's actually one of the prettier stations i've seen here. a year ago, though, this place was like a war zone. the barriers went up, the trains stopped running. but after 76 days, it worked. then wuhan showed the world this. dance music blasts.

to some, the huge pool party seemed insensitive. but they couldn't hide their exuberance here. the lasting impact on these people is probably incalculable. and a year on, the precise detail about what exactly happened behind these locked gates is still not clear. robin brant, bbc news, wuhan. the authorities in hong kong have ordered the residents ofjordan in the south of the kowloon peninsula to stay at home for two days to halt the spread of an coronavirus outbreak. the government plans to test every resident in the densely populated area and process the results within 48 hours. those who test negative will then be allowed to return to work on monday morning. our correspondent in hong kong, martin yip, explained more about the outbreak. the record shows there is a small section of the chosen area, in the market, one year ago or two years

before the pandemic, before the anti—government protests, there would have been a tourist spot with tens of thousands of people filling the street every night but today is filled with thousands of police officers and medical workers in full protective gear and residents in the area lining up in the street to be tested. on the president's order, the first is the pandemic broke out a year ago, the first is the pandemic broke out a yearago, wuhan the first is the pandemic broke out a year ago, wuhan was a starting point. one year on, this was the first time when people were ordered to get tested and stay where they are rather than coming into hong kong, other than for local residents, staying where they are until they have a negative result then you would be able to leave where you are so that's a bit... when the government only announced the order to look at the area at 4am

so a bit of an argument. there are reports ofjournalist being trapped inside hotels in the lockdown area and get tested and they can leave. there are residents who tries to return to their apartments and were taken away because they got agitated after hearing they have to stay where they are for two days. a night—time curfew will come into force today in the netherlands to try to curb coronavirus infection rates in the country. citizens will be asked to stay at home from nine in the evening to 4:30 in the morning, with fines for anyone found outdoors without a valid reason. two british railway routes which were closed more than 50 years ago are to be reopened, with a new investment package worth almost £800 million. east west rail will

eventually connect oxford and cambridge, and the northumberland line is aiming to reintroduce passenger services. some good news for rail travellers in the uk, eventually! the impact of storm christoph is still being felt in large parts of the uk. people have been evacuated from a "significant number" of homes in parts of north and south wales, as storm christoph brought widespread flooding across england and wales. in shropshire, roads have been closed and two schools shut as river levels rose. defensive barriers have been put in place and the river is expected to peak over the weekend. we can speak now to heather shepherd from the national flood forum, an organisation that supports individuals and communities at risk of flooding and who herself was flooded yesterday as a result of storm christoph. thank you for speaking to us. thank you for taking a break from the clean—up operation for you personally and one for the

community. your smiling. you can feel entirely cheerful about what has happened. he. feel entirely cheerful about what has happened-— feel entirely cheerful about what has ha ened. ., ., �* ., has happened. no, i don't. the water has happened. no, i don't. the water has left my — has happened. no, i don't. the water has left my home during _ has happened. no, i don't. the water has left my home during the - has happened. no, i don't. the water has left my home during the night - has left my home during the night and so i'm in the middle of the clear up and so i'm in the middle of the clearup and and so i'm in the middle of the clear up and you can see in the background i've still got items raised off of the floor because we are expecting high levels over the next week so i suppose when you flood a fair few times, you do become a bit resigned to the fact it will happen again.— will happen again. you've resigned to that but you _ will happen again. you've resigned to that but you have _ will happen again. you've resigned to that but you have to _ will happen again. you've resigned to that but you have to live - will happen again. you've resigned to that but you have to live with i to that but you have to live with the whole process of preparing. i suppose there is genuine fear because you have communities that have had flooding before and then one year something will happen that's so unexpected and so severe there is a loss of life. people are traumatised by the experience, some people move away because they can't bear to face it again. how do you psychologically prepare yourself for that? there are no sandbags for the

mind. ., . �* that? there are no sandbags for the mind. ., ., �* ., �*, , mind. no, there aren't and it's very stressful and _ mind. no, there aren't and it's very stressful and very _ mind. no, there aren't and it's very stressful and very traumatic. - mind. no, there aren't and it's very stressful and very traumatic. no . stressful and very traumatic. no matter how many times you flood, you're still affected. it's a lifelong effect that people have and this is a problem because to gain help to reduce or protect any area that floods, the environment agency must make decisions that meet the government's cost benefit criteria. unless in a town or city it's impossible to ever match this. the policy is unfair and unjust and driven by numbers. it doesn't consider the impact on people's life saw the lifelong consequences of continually being flooded and understanding the treasury has to be accountable for money it spends, it should not mean that it becomes a

closed door. listening to those affected working on solutions to change solutions to make things less unjust... change solutions to make things less un'ust... ~ ., change solutions to make things less un'ust... ~ . ., change solutions to make things less un'ust... . ., unjust... what can you do in your role at the _ unjust... what can you do in your role at the national _ unjust... what can you do in your role at the national flood - unjust... what can you do in your role at the national flood forum| role at the national flood forum because i heard yesterday, someone said, authorities must have realised, we've warned them about the risk. you can talk about potential risk but you cannot know until the flooding has happened where exactly the what is going to come. ~ , , ., y y where exactly the what is going to come. ~ , , , come. absolutely, every flood is different and _ come. absolutely, every flood is different and although _ come. absolutely, every flood is different and although you - come. absolutely, every flood is different and although you can i come. absolutely, every flood is | different and although you can be prepared, there is still a place. i have here a very resilient home. much has been put in place to ensure that there is minimum loss of contents and that the building structure goes ahead with minimum

intervention and fuss, but the physical work and energy that goes into preparation when you're expecting a flood is exhausting and the stress of the inevitable and also the unknown because every flight is different and there is no knowing the impact. it's palpable, you can feel it. whatever resilience you can feel it. whatever resilience you have in place, itjust doesn't make it ok to flood. sorry, i call you rosie because of your headpiece! you wear it with style. i hope the clean—up goes well and you get the smell out, which is the worst thing. it is and you get the smell out, which is the worst thing.— the worst thing. it is horrible. thank you _ the worst thing. it is horrible. thank you for _ the worst thing. it is horrible. thank you for that. _ breaking news before the weather, coming from social media so it is

not confirmed, but there are