hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: more than 1,000 people have been arrested in russia as police crack down on protests by supporters of the jailed opposition leader alexei navalny. one of those detained is alexei navalny�*s wife, yulia, who was at a demonstration attended by thousands in moscow. senior doctors call for changes in the vaccine rollout 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. the leader of welsh conservatives, paul davies, has resigned after admitting drinking on the senedd estate days after a pub alcohol ban was enforced. and, the american broadcaster and talk show host, larry king has died at the age of 87. now on bbc news. it was once the richest democracy in latin america, but under president nicolas maduro, venezuela has been in an economic tailspin. venezuela was once considered by many as the crown jewel of south america. but that golden era is long gone. its economy is in crisis, oil prices have slumped as has production.

and 60% of venezuelans now live in poverty. president maduro has been accused of dragging the economy into freefall but the opposition has not succeeded in unseating him. there is no solution in sight and all the while venezuela is in the grip of covid—19. what is the future for venezuela? and how did it come to this? beauty that has been

brought to its knees. venezuela may boast the largest proven oil reserves in the world, but it is now better known for the hunger and economic woes piled on its people each and every day. when this is your only chance of a decent meal, it is worth waiting for. soup kitchens are not new here. before covid—19, people struggled to work, to pay for basic meals, to survive. but the past year has been tougher than ever for venezuelans. those making lunch are mothers themselves and everyone here helps each other out. in these covid—19 times, the soup kitchen can no longer

provide a safe space to eat. instead, every child who relies on lunch brings their own pot to take back home. the last year has been a struggle. i've been covering venezuela for several years, the suffering is everywhere to see. and every time i return, life feels harder.

the same man is in power and the same problems just get worse. venezuela newly rich from vast oil reserves is developing other resources... the collapse of the country's oil industry is astonishing. it was in the 1920s that venezuela became a massive oil producer. by the 1970s, the oil bonanza meant it was the richest country in latin america. but the sector is a shadow of its former self. years of neglect and mismanagement and a crash in the oil price, and more recently the us sanctions, have piled on the pressure. the industry has never recovered and that has hit the country hard. more than five million people have now left venezuela. president maduro

was elected in 2013. he is being blamed for driving the economy further into the ground. he blames us sanctions for the problems venezuela faces. the us, once the largest purchaser of their oil, no longer buys any. mr maduro was elected for a second term, in a poll that was highly controversial, a vote that the opposition boycotted. it was in the shadow of elections deemed neither free or fair, but this man started to become well known. as leader of the national assembly, his prominence rose and citing several articles of the constitution, he declared himself acting president, a decision that was backed by around 50 countries. but two years on, despite

the political wrangling, the man sitting in the palace is still president nicolas maduro. he is going nowhere for now. in december, the government insisted on holding parliamentary elections to vote for a new national assembly. while the opposition boycotted it once again, there are still those who feel voting is important. candidates rallied, supporters turned up and it's this man, hugo chavez, who keeps them going. chavez was the charismatic leader who started the revolution back in 1999. the man who, through socialism, promised a better future for venezuelans, so long forgotten. today venezuela is not the same as it was.

it is poorer, there's malnutrition, unemployment is rising. but it is a religion not easily given up. this man is the son of president maduro and was one of the candidates running in december�*s election. a message believed by many in the crowds.

but in among the supporters, there is also apathy, even fear. so often masked in these crowds. people unwilling to talk on camera but who told us they felt compelled to vote for benefits, forjobs, for what is left of their livelihoods. unsurprisingly, government loyalists won the election. but the opposition continues to fight on.

butjuan guaido has become irrelevant to so many, he's no longer a politician in the national assembly. and despite him arguing that his position still stands because of the corrupt government, fewer people now stand by him. this trip felt very different than the rest. normally a country so fixated by the political game, now it feels like there are more people united in batting away politicians of all stripes. rather than opting to pick a side. if nobody can fix the problems, why vote for them at all? jonathan lives with his three children in a poor neighbourhood on the outskirts of caracas.

jonathan's wife left to find work in columbia at the start of 2020. they had no choice, there was nothing here in venezuela. the plan was for the family to follow a few months later, but then came covid and they've not seen her since.

jonathan has had to learn the roles of both mum and dad. when covid hit, president nicolas maduro imposed a tough lockdown. life got even harder. and his grip on power ever tighter. with hospitals across the country looking like this, lacking basic sanitation and equipment, the government knew that this system could not cope if the virus took hold. not far away from where

jonathan lives, this covid ward has been busy. while the government boasts about keeping numbers relatively low compared to neighbours like brazil, medical professionals warn despite the threats, with such little testing that real numbers are vastly underreported. and like so much of the world, over the christmas period, restrictions were eased and people started to relax. doctors are now warning the country is in the middle of a second wave and one that many

fear will be far more serious than the first. but they're still scared about speaking out. lockdown allowed us to prepare with the pandemic. and we did collect some donations and things that allowed us to attend this first. but now, we have run out of all of that and it is hard to find people right now who will donate protection equipment and medicine for hospitals, so we are struggling, really. when a patient comes in and needs oxygen, are you needing to turn them away and say, we cannot help? right now, we are doing that because all of our beds with oxygen are occupied. and so, new patients that have come from yesterday or the day before, we have been forced to turn them away. all of this in the context of an economy on its knees. this is a country where hyperinflation is rampant. last year, it was around 6,000%.

worthless banknotes dumped on the streets tell you all you need to know about the country's problems. in the past year or so, there have been some improvements. allowing the use of dollars, for example. it has released a much—needed pressure valve in the economy. and it has gone some way to reviving it. in caracas, you can see examples of that recovery clearly. the hotel is a national icon and it has just been renovated and reopened. the government is hoping it can help boost tourism in this troubled country. the hotel is 2000 metres above sea level and sits on top of a mountain range overlooking caracas and the caribbean coast and it was built in the 1950s during the dictatorship. it was a time the country was oil—rich and it was a show of power,

politics and modernity. carlos is one of the managers. he showed me around. how much demand is there from venezuelans to be able to come and enjoy this iconic building?

but while there are haves, they are far more have—nots. this neighbourhood is having to fight on many different fronts. this is sewage that has been here for three months and the people are trying to get the level down with a pump that doesn't get turned on every day and when it does it floods once again. trying to salvage what he could from his home. franklin explains there is a lake on the other side of the street. recent rains have exacerbated flooding here. covid—i9 feels like the least of franklin's problems. the water alone is giving him breathing issues.

2020 has been a tough year. his neighbour shows me into her place. still a government supporter, she does not blame nicolas maduro for all of her struggles. most of the belongings were ruined because of the floods.

by the lake, residents are scavenging for firewood. with gas shortages, this is the only way they can cook now. this 70—year—old is angry. this is the most oil—rich country in the world and yet people have no fuel, it is hard to comprehend. driving even the shortest distance is a logistical challenge. everywhere you go, you see queues. years of underinvestment and mismanagement made all the harder by us sanctions on the oil sector has led to this. venezuela's once prosperous oil industry up in smoke.

the queue for petrol goes all the way up the block and comes back along here and it goes up there, around the corner and up another block and around the street. they have been waiting hours here and sometimes they wait days and you can see people spending their nights in the car. she is still exasperated. this is a petrol queue and drivers are waiting in line, they're not going anywhere

until the police allow them to. only when the police say they can go through they fill up one by one. further down the line, he struggles to look me in the eye because he is so angry. who is in charge at the top feels so irrelevant to those of the bottom. it is all about survival now. he does not want to be identified, but he has turned the petrol shortage to his advantage. he fills his tank up and sells at twice the price. it may not be legal, but in today's venezuela, people do what they have to do.

we've never lived through something like this, he says. he also buys fuel and they have access to everything, are the ones in control. across venezuela, not just in the big cities, life continues to a struggle. it's dawn on the caribbean coast. but do not be fooled, this is no paradise. they bring in the first catch of the day, but they're disappointed. they will be lucky if they get $3 each from this haul. they'd head back out to sea if they could, but they cannot get hold of the fuel. they spend the day here hoping.

who was to blame? what he does know is that the president probably doesn't suffer the way he does. as night falls, one last trip, one last chance for a decent catch. but today is not their day. and they've used a precious tank of petrol for nothing. with no guarantees that tomorrow will be any better. and what will tomorrow bring for venezuela? nobody knows.

years of political wrangling and polarisation and attempts at changing the course of the country have led to nothing. a new us administration could mean a new approach, but nobody�*s hopeful of a radical shake—up anytime soon. the only thing that seems guaranteed is more of the same, economic hardship and political stalemate. there has been a fair bit of snow. it has been pushing into wales, the

midlands, east anglia. as we head into this evening that will start to clear away into the north sea. it is a cold afternoon wherever you are. this evening that rain, sleet and snow clears away from east anglia. further showers in scotland. further sleet and snow in south west england, wales, maybe northern ireland. ice is a risk once again. we are very much in the cold here as we start sunday. this frontal system from the south—west, we will see some snow. snow for places that have not had any so far this winter. initially, parts of south—west england, the south of northern

ireland, then pushing eastwards two parts of central and southern england. forthose parts of central and southern england. for those of as on the coast, probablyjust rain. but you only need to head a little way inland and you will see snow. northern england, and too much of scotland, a cold and sunny start to the day. showers continuing across the day. showers continuing across the north and west of scotland. that is the theme through the rest of the sunday. always a little bit of uncertainty as to the extent of the northern edge, but a couple of centimetres of snow in some places. another cold day. further snow showers statue push from the west across northern and scotland. a cold start to the new week. then the system starts to push on from the

atlantic. all change again. in the coming days it stays cold, frosty icy nights, then a change from tuesday and wednesday, turning wetter and milder.

this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak with the latest headlines: more than a thousand people have been arrested in russia as police crack down on protests by supporters of the jailed opposition leader alexei navalny. one of those detained is mr navalny�*s wife, yulia, who was at a demonstration attended by thousands in moscow. these are live pictures from moscow as the protests continue. riot police growling with one of the protesters there. senior doctors call for changes in the vaccine roll—out in the uk — they want the i2—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,