this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm freya cole. our top stories: democrats say they'll implement a huge covid relief package with or without republican support — as the us passes 25 million cases. dozens arrested as riot police clash with protesters demonstrating against new lockdown restrictions in the netherlands. the president of mexico, who has repeatedly played down the severity of the coronavirus pandemic, has tested positive for covid—19. and a new record has been set for the number of satellites launched into space on a single rocket.

hello and thanks forjoining us. we begin in the united states, which has now recorded more than 25 million coronavirus cases. that analysis from johns hopkins university means the us, is the hardest hit country in the world with nearly a18,000 people dying with the virus so far. presidentjoe biden has signed executive orders to expand testing and vaccine distribution, increase the production of essential equipment, and guarantee unemployment benefits as part of his covid action plan to try get on top of the pandemic. our correspondent nomia iqbal is in washington with more on why tackling covid is the president's top priority. he has said he believes that the pandemic is going to get worse before

it gets better. he has signed around ten executive orders you laid out to try and tackle the pandemic, especially now you have this grim milestone of 25 million cases, that comes days after more than 400,000 people have died. but there needs to be more done and he knows that. so one of the key things he will try to push through is a package which is worth more than $1 trillion through congress. among some of those things, as well as providing a one—off check to americans, increasing the rate at which americans are vaccinated. he wants 100 million to be vaccinated within the first 100 days and he needs money for that to happen. and the fear is that with the coronavirus, it could mutate into a strain that all these approved vaccinations so far could resist. so that is a huge concern. it is a bit of a race

against time at the moment. the us has begun to roll out the vaccine to priority groups — but significant gaps have begun to emerge between states, with some proving more successful at administering the doses they have received. it's largely rural counties that are leading the way. both north dakota and west virginia have administered 72% of doses in their stores. while the heavily affected state of california lags behind, with just 37% of the doses in their possession having been given to the public. west virginia was unique amongst us states, rallying on local, independent pharmacies to adminster the vaccine, rather than larger retail chains. earlier i spoke to gretchen garofoli, clinical associate professor at west virgnia university, who was been directly involved in the programme. it has been an amazing experience, the highlight of my career, truly, to be

involved with this effort. west virginia, like you mentioned, partnered with pharmacies throughout the state. so, we did not go with the federal plan, we followed our state plan, which included all pharmacies that wanted to be a part of it. so that was really the key to our success, was utilising everybody that we could to get out there and distribute the vaccines. 45% of the pharmacies in our state are independent pharmacies and they are in the more rural areas which has really helped to get the vaccines out to those that might not otherwise be able to get the vaccine, and you've been working in aged care homes for the vaccine rollout, have you experienced any anti—vaccine sentiment? there is hesitancy with this vaccine as there are with any vaccines, so we have really utilised this to educate and provide that education to the staff at the nursing home. and most of the nursing home facilities that we have been in, most of the residents have decided to be vaccinated.

where we are seeing some hesitancy has been with regards to the staff. so we utilise that as an opportunity to answer any questions they may have, to help alleviate any hesitation they may have, and when we went back to do second dose clinics at the first nursing home that we vaccinated, we did have a lot more staff at that point in time that did decide to get vaccinated, which we considered a win. we will have more on this story later in the bulletin. in france, the top scientific adviser says the country probably needs a third coronavirus lockdown. earlier this month, france brought forward the start of its nightly curfew to 6pm, but since then, the average number of new infections has increased from 18,000 per day to more than 20,000. police in the netherlands have clashed with demonstrators angry about new coronavirus restrictions. there were protests in eindhoven and amsterdam. dozens have been arrested — as anna holligan reports from the hague.

burning bicycles were built as a barricade. in eindhoven, they wore facemasks to avoid detection, and hurled rocks to repel the riot police who eventually used tear gas to clear the streets. families stopped to stare, while others steered clear. the roads were blocked and supermarkets looted as frustration turned to opportunism. the netherlands has just entered its toughest lockdown since the start of the pandemic. while the number of daily covid—19 cases have generally been falling, there are considerable concerns about the risks posed by the new variants. first detected in the uk, south africa, south america. on saturday, all flights from these places were banned. there is resentment, too. this liberal nation that

enjoyed a relatively relaxed lockdown during the first wave has been forced to change its tune and is now facing one of the toughest in the world. anna holligan, bbc news, in the hague. the mexican president, andres manuel lopez 0brador, has tweeted that he has covid—19. the president has been criticised for playing down the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic by resisting pressure to wear masks or introduce tougher covid restrictions. mexico has recorded 1.7 million cases of coronavirus. bbc central america correspodent will grant has been taking a closer look at president 0brador�*s status he claims that his symptoms arejust mild and, obviously, all mexicans on both sides of the aisle and all political colours wish him a speedy recovery but the honest truth is we just do not know at this stage. it is very early and obviously the initial symptoms are mild but we simply

do not know whether or not it will develop, how far it will develop and what kind of a case he will have. he himself, on his twitter, when he told the nation that he had contracted coronavirus said that he was, as always, optimistic, was how he put it and he said that the symptoms were mild at this stage. let's get some of the day's other news calculations by 0xfam suggest the combined wealth of ten of the world's richest men has increased during the coronavirus pandemic by £400 billion. the charity says that's enough to pay for every single person in the world to be vaccinated. it's called the situation shameful and says the richest people need to be taxed more fairly. boeing's troubled 737 max aircraft is expected to be approved for flying by regulators in europe this week. the plane returned to us skies last month for the first time since march 2019 when it was grounded worldwide after two deadly crashes.

portugal's conservative president, marcelo rebelo de sousa, has secured a second term in office, winning the presidential election with sixty—one% of the vote. he inflicted a heavy defeat on his left—wing rival, ana gomes, who secured only 13% , and the far—right populist, andre ventura — who got about 12%. the scottish national party has set itself on a collision course with the uk government, saying it will press ahead with planning another independence vote if it wins a majority in the scottish elections in may. and it's warned that it will fight downing street in court if ministers refuse to allow the vote. rescuers in china have freed 11 miners — who were trapped 600 metres underground for two weeks. an explosion at a gold mine in shandong province caused the collapse of its entrance

tunnel, while a total of 22 miners were below ground. stephen mcdonell has the latest. after two weeks trapped underground, he took his first breath of air above the mine. his eyes masked against the glaring light, his gratitude to be alive overwhelming. one of 11 miners rescued today, after a dramatic change in fortune. the first miner out prompted cheers. he was barely conscious, after being found still alive but separated from the main group, which had been receiving food and medicine. soon, others were emerging. there were injuries, but many could walk, with the assistance of those who'd been battling through freezing conditions night after night to reach them. translation: the rescuers checked the miners to see l if they had any injuries and covered their eyes for protection. after lifting up all the trapped miners, we'll go on with the search for the missing ones. 22 workers were on shift on the 10th of

january when the blast hit the shandong gold mine. 11 miners were trapped together. one, 50 metres below them, ten others missing. an initial delay of 30 hours in reporting the accident led to the sacking of local officials. then a week later, miners were discovered alive, and a long, thin communication tunnel meant emergency deliveries, even prompting a request for sausages. one of the main group died from his head injuries and they lost contact with their colleague, trapped below. with underground water rising, it was looking grim when officials said it would take 1a more days to dig a rescue tunnel through 600 metres of granite. but somehow, a large ventilation shaft was cleared which led all the way to them and, within hours, they were being rescued and on their way to hospital. stephen mcdonell,

bbc news, beijing. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: launched into the record books. spacex sends 143 satellites into orbit on a single rocket flight. the shuttle challenger exploded soon after lift off. there were seven astronauts on board, one of them a woman school teacher. all of them are believed to have been killed. by the evening, tahrir square, the heart of official cairo, was in the hands of the demonstrators. they were using the word �*revolution�*. the earthquake singled out buildings and brought them down in seconds. tonight, the search for any survivors has an increasing desperation about it as the hours passed. the new government is finally in control of the republic of. uganda.

survivors of the auschwitz concentration camp have been commemorating the 40th anniversary of their liberation. they toured the huts, gas chambers and crematoria, and relived their horrifying experiences. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: democrats in the us congress say they'll implement a huge covid—19 relief package with or without republican support, as the country passes 25 million cases of the virus. let's ta ke let's take a closer look at the potential role of smaller pharmacies in the vaccine

rollout. ash is the owner of brent pharmacies in los angeles. thank you forjoining us on bbc world. as your pharmacy involved in the local rollout? , , ~ pharmacy involved in the local rollout? , , . ., rollout? yes, sure. we are involved — rollout? yes, sure. we are involved in _ rollout? yes, sure. we are involved in the _ rollout? yes, sure. we are involved in the rollout - rollout? yes, sure. we are involved in the rollout and | involved in the rollout and administering the vaccine to our patients.— our patients. tell us a bit more about _ our patients. tell us a bit more about how - our patients. tell us a bit more about how you - our patients. tell us a bit| more about how you think our patients. tell us a bit i more about how you think it our patients. tell us a bit - more about how you think it is going? it more about how you think it is oiiin ? , ., , more about how you think it is iioin? _, , _, going? it started very slow because of— going? it started very slow because of the _ going? it started very slow because of the previous i because of the previous administration, which didn't really have a good plan of rolling out the vaccine programme, and the distribution. and here in california we have a sigh of relief with the new administration coming aboard especially in california with the vice president originally being from california, so people here feel comfortable, trust what is going on, and the transparency that the administration is doing. we feel really good and people are

excited, and just concerned a bit about the distribution of the vaccine, and the uncertainty of when people will be given it. when i talk about people, everyone under the age of 65 as well. d0 people, everyone under the age of 65 as well.— of 65 as well. do you think smaller — of 65 as well. do you think smaller independent - of 65 as well. do you think- smaller independent pharmacies should be playing a greater role in the rollout us wide? absolutely, if they rely more on the independent small pharmacies, it will alleviates the pressure on the large hospitals. it is like the flu vaccine. everybody is getting it because it is available through doctors' offices, all the pharmacies, independent and large chains. so the strategy for that covid vaccine, i think it will have better outcomes.

what would your professional message be two people who are feeling nervous or hesitant about getting the covid—19 vaccine? about getting the covid-19 vaccine? , , ., vaccine? just be patient and it will iet vaccine? just be patient and it will get to _ vaccine? just be patient and it will get to you _ vaccine? just be patient and it will get to you with _ vaccine? just be patient and it will get to you with the - vaccine? just be patient and it will get to you with the new i will get to you with the new administration. i think people feel more calm because they think they can trust the new administration, and things are getting better. we can see a plan. before january 20 nobody contacted us, but actually, last thursday, which was the zist, last thursday, which was the 21st, we got a call from the state of california telling us when we are going to be getting it, they started to help us with websites, development for the small pharmacies, for administering the vaccine, becoming registered in booking appointments. so there is an improvement already.- appointments. so there is an improvement already. what about for i-eole improvement already. what about for people who — improvement already. what about for people who are _ improvement already. what about for people who are perhaps - for people who are perhaps afraid of the vaccine? do you

have any advice for those people?— have any advice for those ieoile? n ., , , , ., people? actually, they should take it. i people? actually, they should take it. | think if— people? actually, they should take it. i think if they - people? actually, they should take it. i think if they can - take it. i think if they can see our leaders taking the vaccine, that should give them assurance that it is really safe. i think a lot of people, you know, it is about education and we are doing a good job by demonstrating with the leader of the country, taking the vaccine, but should give more trust that it is really safe. and i advise everybody to really take the vaccine. i took it myself and all my staff in the pharmacy have taken the vaccine as well.— vaccine as well. ash zaky, owner of _ vaccine as well. ash zaky, owner of brent _ vaccine as well. ash zaky, owner of brent pharmacy l vaccine as well. ash zaky, l owner of brent pharmacy in vaccine as well. ash zaky, - owner of brent pharmacy in los angeles, thanks forjoining us. the uk has identified 77 cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in south africa. the government says cases are linked to travellers arriving

in the uk rather than community transmission. 0urscience editor david shukman reports. all kinds of surprising locations are now mobilised in the push for vaccination — even the black country living museum near birmingham. used as a set in the drama peaky blinders, this celebration of an earlier age is ready to offer the most modern of medicines, everything prepared for coronavirus vaccines. please, please come and get your vaccine. we are here and we are ready and we are waiting for you. it is vitally important that people protect themselves, protect their families and protect one another. we do know that the injections offer good protection. they boost antibodies in the bloodstream and keep people from getting ill. but it's not clear if that stops the virus causing infections that can then spread to others. as we understand more and more about this virus that anybody, really, with a variety of underlying health conditions or perfectly healthy can still get severe covid, so it is important we still maintain our social distancing and wear masks and the other

procedures we are experiencing, because the risk of passing the infection could still be considerable. and another concern is how the virus is changing. a variant in south africa is one of several being checked to see how effective the vaccines are against it. there are 77 known cases of the south african variant here in the uk. they are under very close observation, and we have enhanced contact tracing to do everything we possibly can to stop them from spreading. the majority of those have had contact with, or come from, south africa, and that is why we've got such stringent border measures in place. so, a big question is how to manage the uk's borders. many countries require travellers to quarantine there's pressure on the government for stricter controls. on monday, we got this delayed announcement, yet again delayed. we would fully expect the government to bring in tougher quarantine measures,

we would expect them to roll out a proper testing strategy, and we would expect them as well to start checking up on the people who are quarantining. only three out of every hundred people who are asked to quarantine when they arrive in the uk actually faces any checks at all. that's just simply not sufficient. and meanwhile, not everyone is getting the message. the police broke up an illegal rave in east london in the early hours and they issued fines totalling £15,000. david shukman, bbc news. you know, you can't smell it, you can't see it. the us company spacex has set a new world record for the number of satellites launched on a single rocket. 143 payloads were on board the falcon rocket which launched from florida. it beats the previous record of 104 satellites set by an indian mission four years ago. earlier i spoke to will marshall, ceo and founder

of planet, the digital satellite imagery company. he had sent up 48 new satellites on spacex and i asked him for an update. we have already connected with all of the 48 satellites, they are all healthy, they phoned home, so to speak. so they are doing well. it is early days, early in their mission, but so far, so good. and what they will be doing is imaging the earth. so theyjoined another 150 of their colleagues in orbit, so we now have 200 of these satellites, which basically image the entire landmass of the earth once per day. so basically, they scan the whole earth, looking for changes. that is used by a variety of people in commercial areas like in agriculture, crop yields, deforestation, improving mapping that you see online, humanitarian use cases like helping disaster response after floods and fires and earthquakes and so on, and helping us understand the

changing planet. so we work a lot with researchers, like at nasa and the european space agency, on climate and understanding the glaziers and all the different effects of climate change. it all the different effects of climate change.— all the different effects of climate change. it sounds like it has become _ climate change. it sounds like it has become easier- climate change. it sounds like it has become easier and - it has become easier and cheaper to send satellites into space. are you concerned about overcrowding and the work of smaller companies or students, yeah, overcrowding but russia space? yeah, overcrowding but russia siace? . , yeah, overcrowding but russia siace? ., , ., ., space? that is a great question- _ space? that is a great question. -- - space? that is a great - question. -- overcrowding but question. —— overcrowding but precious space. we are putting a lot more satellites into orbit over time, humanity, that is, and we are seeing crowded areas in certain orbits. now, most of the crowded places, in danger of what they call the kessler syndrome, where the number of satellites gets more and more in collides with one another, is quite high. so one of the tricks that all the satellites that were launched today to use is really staying low, where there is still lots of atmospheric drag, and eventually those satellites come down. so one can operate

safely by keeping them low. what do you think is the best way to tackle this issue, i suppose, of overcrowding? do you think there needs to be more regulation?— you think there needs to be more regulation? yeah, i think that does— more regulation? yeah, i think that does need _ more regulation? yeah, i think that does need to _ more regulation? yeah, i think that does need to be _ more regulation? yeah, i think that does need to be more - that does need to be more regulation in space, space is a bit of a wild west when it comes to law, it is very early. but right now it is working quite well in most areas. i do think we could do with a bit more to prevent the worst aspects of behaviour that can cause collision or cascade, discuss the syndrome that i mentioned. but right now, as i said, all these satellites are being put very low so they do not contribute to the problem. the main problem is historical, during the cold war, and occasionally sense, countries have put up lots of satellites much higher, where they take 50 or 100 years to decay. and in those orbits, they are more problematic. we have learned now as an industry to keep a

very low, and by keeping them very low, and by keeping them very low, and by keeping them very low they get out of the way and don't cause a long—term problem. severe weather warning sign place across much of britain after widespread heavy snowfall. travel has been disrupted in several vaccination centres were shut, some have been out enjoying the snow, simonjones reports. on your marks, get set, go! a race to get out into the open air, after weeks cooped up inside during lockdown. ijust think it's so important for the soul to get out, enjoy the outdoors when you can. it means literally the world to me because coronavirus has been really hard for people now. these hills in surrey resembled a ski resort, as families came out for their permitted daily exercise. some police forces were quick to remind people to maintain social distancing with dangerous conditions underfoot. and on the roads. in many places, there have been treacherous driving conditions.

the snow has fallen on ground that was already freezing and, in many cases, saturated after days of rainfall. it's meant that many people have come up here by foot. a gritting lorry overturned in devon, as drivers were warned only to travel if absolutely necessary. the flakes came down thick and fast across large swathes of the uk. this was a snowy scene in newport. four coronavirus vaccination centres in south wales were forced to shut. in hampshire, some residents said they were woken up by thundersnow when thunder and lightning combined with the heavy showers. while in worcester, people already reeling from a recent torrential rainfall found they had the snow to add to their concerns. the snow may now largely have blown through but there are further warnings in place for icy conditions tomorrow as temperatures plummet overnight. simon jones, bbc news. you can reach me on twitter, i'm @freya?cole. stay with us. the news headlines

are coming up. hello. monday will start with widespread frost and ice after a wintry weekend which, of course, brought some significant snow in places. it won't be the last covid—secure snowman we see sent in to us this winter and, hopefully, sunday's weather did bring a bit of fun at least. but of course, more people have to be out in the morning, and so that does mean some difficult conditions on untreated roads because it will be icy in places with that widespread frost. after further wintry showers overnight and into the morning across parts of scotland, rain and sleet on the coasts, some snow inland and into the hills. maybe the odd shower into northern ireland and northern england but, actually, monday is one of the better weather days of the week. most places will be dry, variable cloud, decent amount of sunshine and it will feel a bit less cold than it did over the weekend. into monday night, still some showers, wintry in nature, particularly to hills, affecting parts of scotland, northern ireland and northern england.

to come up across western areas as we see another system heading our way. and that's going to spread its rain and a bit of hill snow northwards during tuesday. it brings a bit more rain, as do others that follow this week, so if you are in a flood—affected area, certainly worth keeping across conditions near you. not as much rain as last week, but more rain isn't necessarily what you want. we see some rain spreading further north and east during tuesday, into the colder air. at least hill snow into parts of northern england and scotland, and the chance as tuesday comes to an end, especially in scotland, some snow even to low levels here. whereas further south, it turns a bit more milder, but of course, it is wetter. as we go into wednesday, the next weather system will start to move in. looks like it's a pretty slow affair, bringing its rain to the south—west initially, and it is of course the source of milderair coming in from the atlantic. but running into that cold air

towards the north and east, it does set up a bit of a battle, and as that battle takes place during wednesday, again as the wet weather starts to move in, as it moves further north and east, there's the chance of seeing some snow out of that, particularly as we get into wednesday night. although some parts are turning milder this week, it isn't going to last because by the end of the week and into the weekend, the colder air will come south again and there is the chance again next weekend of some parts seeing a bit of snow. that's the forecast.

this is bbc news,

the headlines: the democrat leader in the us senate says president biden�*s multi—billion dollar covid—19 relief plan will be implemented, with or without support from the republican party. the number of coronavirus cases in the us has now exceeded 25 million. riot police in the netherlands have used water cannons to break up protests against coronavirus restrictions. demonstrators in the city of eindhoven had gathered in defiance of a 9pm curfew. some threw fireworks and looted supermarkets. there were similar clashes in amsterdam. the mexican president, andres manuel lopez 0brador, who has been criticised for playing down the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic, has tested positive for the virus. the president, who's resisted pressure to wear masks or introduce tougher covid restrictions, said that he had mild symptoms. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk

with stephen sackur.