good afternoon. labour says there's a strong case to vaccinate children aged between 12 and 15 against covid to prevent any further disruption to learning. ministers have asked the chief medical officers of the uk's four nations to consider the broader implications after the uk's vaccines advisory body decided yesterday not to recommend jabs for all youngsters in that age group. james reynolds reports. for many young teenagers in america,

the highlight of a travel free pandemic summer may have been getting the covid jab. the us, israel and several european countries have all pressed ahead with vaccinations for 12—15 —year—olds. with vaccinations for 12-15 -year-olds-_ with vaccinations for 12-15 -year-olds. it's difficult to maintain _ -year-olds. it's difficult to maintain all _ -year-olds. it's difficult to maintain all measures - -year-olds. it's difficult to maintain all measures like -year-olds. it's difficult to - maintain all measures like social distancing, etc. and we have seen earlier on, orsince distancing, etc. and we have seen earlier on, or since a year ago in the summer, they are a group which often gets the disease first. some arents often gets the disease first. some parents here _ often gets the disease first. some parents here are _ often gets the disease first. some parents here are in _ often gets the disease first. some parents here are in favour - often gets the disease first. some parents here are in favour of - often gets the disease first. some parents here are in favour ofjabsl parents here are in favour ofjabs for all young teens. if it parents here are in favour of “abs for all young teensi for all young teens. if it helps --eole for all young teens. if it helps peeple feel — for all young teens. if it helps people feel less _ for all young teens. if it helps people feel less anxious, - for all young teens. if it helps| people feel less anxious, then they should _ people feel less anxious, then they should do— people feel less anxious, then they should do it, especially if they don't — should do it, especially if they don't have to miss more school. are ou ha- don't have to miss more school. are you happy to — don't have to miss more school. fife: you happy to have your don't have to miss more school. six2 you happy to have your children vaccinated?— you happy to have your children vaccinated? , vaccinated? yes. it will save their lives and other— vaccinated? yes. it will save their lives and other peoples _ vaccinated? yes. it will save their lives and other peoples lives. - vaccinated? yes. it will save their lives and other peoples lives. buti lives and other peoples lives. but the lives and other peoples lives. the committee that advises on vaccination says from a medical point of view is not currently recommending jabs for all young

teams. recommending “abs for all young teams. ., ., , . teams. for the healthy children, the risk- benefit — teams. for the healthy children, the risk-benefit balance _ teams. for the healthy children, the risk-benefit balance is _ teams. for the healthy children, the risk-benefit balance is really - teams. for the healthy children, the risk-benefit balance is really very i risk—benefit balance is really very uncertain and very tight. normally what we do when you recommend vaccination for children is we see a very clear benefit that clearly outweighs any possible risk. in the absence of that clear blue water, if you like, between those two, we prefer to advise that healthy children should not for the moment be immunised. but children should not for the moment be immunised.— be immunised. but the committee which advises _ be immunised. but the committee which advises on _ be immunised. but the committee which advises on vaccination - be immunised. but the committee which advises on vaccination saysl which advises on vaccination says that from a medical point of view it's not currently recommending jabs for all young teams. there are 3 million 12—15 —year—olds in the uk. of these, around 464,000 are currently eligible for a covid jab, either because they have an underlying health condition or because they live with someone who needs extra protection. so the vast majority of young teens, then, will begin the school year without being vaccinated. ministers are concerned

that this may mean disruptive covid outbreaks in schools. the government has asked for specific scientific advice on the subject. a final decision is expected in the coming weeks. in the wider pandemic, though, the 3 million this young age group may not make a difference because among adults there are still 6 million people who have yet to receive their own firstjab. james receive their own first jab. james reynolds, receive their own firstjab. james reynolds, bbc news. some gp surgeries in england and wales have begun cancelling appointments for the winter flu jab, after delays to the delivery of doses of the vaccine. a shortage of lorry drivers is believed to be behind the problem. doctors have warned it will have a serious impact on workloads and patients and are calling on the government to act. daniela relph reports. the message is clear, but actually getting your flu jab is now riddled with delays in many areas.

more than 35 million people will be offered the flu vaccine on the nhs this autumn and winter. but delays in delivering the vaccinations to gp surgeries will now mean appointments and flu clinics are postponed. i think it could be a real issue for patients and for general practice, and that of course if general practice is in trouble, then patients are in trouble. because it's notjust a question of delaying it, it's all the cancellations of the many, many clinics, the many appointments which have already been booked in. seqirus supplies vaccines to gps and pharmacies in england and wales. it has warned that road freight challenges have disrupted their work. there simply aren't enough lorry drivers to make the deliveries. the concern is even a short delay could increase pressure on the nhs and, ultimately, cost lives. clearly, influenza immunisation this year is really important, and the reason it's so important is because we've had, because of lockdown is, we've had very low circulating influenza levels last winter. and so we do know when there are low circulating influenza levels the year before, often we get high infection rates

in the following years. on top of these latest delays, surgeries are already limiting blood tests due to a chronic shortage of test tubes. doctors�* leaders are critical of the government's handling of the disruption. we are hearing nothing from the politicians, and the bma actually is calling for the government to have a cobra meeting because within the space of two weeks we've seen two major crises of cancellations of blood tests and now flu jabs, and we want to hearfrom our politicians and hear why are there no contingency plans. gp surgeries now face managing further delays and cancellations, as well as the worry and anxiety of their patients. daniela relph, bbc news. a police officer has been seriously injured following a collision on the m62 near goole overnight. north yorkshire fire and rescue service said its crews freed the male officer from the wreckage. he's been taken to hospital. phil bodmer is at the scene.

phil, what's the latest? well, the m62 here near goole has been closed for more than 13 hours. recovery is on the way. as you mentioned, a police officer sustained serious injuries in this high—speed collision late last night. it happened at around 11:30pm. we understand two police cars were involved in a collision with a red sea at ibiza car. you can see pictures from the wreckage showing you some of the impact. the police officer was rescued from his vehicle by the fire service and was taken to hospital. there were four men in the red sea at ibiza vehicle. two managed to free themselves. two were rescued by the fire service. two men are injured, one with

life—threatening back injuries. an investigation is taking place. it happened just before midnight. hundreds of people who were only m62 last night spent several hours in trapped traffic before they were eventually released by the highways agency. investigations continue this lunchtime. recovery is under way. the police won't allow us to go any further than where we are standing now, but we await further information as to when the motorway will reopen. information as to when the motorway will reo en. ., s information as to when the motorway will reoen. . ~ i. let's take a look at some of today's other news... two divers are presumed to have died after they failed to return to the surface while exploring a wreck off the cornwall coast. the pair were diving around the hms scylla, which was sunk in 2004 to create an offshore reef. a major search operation off whitsand bay continued into the early hours of this morning. the battle for control of afghanistan's panjshir valley, the final holdout against taliban control, hangs in the balance as heavy fighting continues.

taliban sources say that they had seized the area, but the resistance fighters they are battling denied this. the fighting is reported to have left hundreds of people dead. new zealand's prime minister, jacinda ardern, has vowed to toughen anti—terror laws following friday's knife attack in auckland by a man who was under police surveillance. the man stabbed seven people in a supermarket, three of them remain in a critical condition. the attacker, a known supporter of islamic state, the attacker, a known supporter of so—called islamic state, was shot dead by police. there have been three gold medals for britain so far today at the tokyo paralympics. hannah cockroft triumphed in the t34 800 metres to claim the seventh paralympic title of her career, while charlotte henshaw and laura sugar won their events in the para—canoeing. 0ur sports correspondent, andy swiss, reports. domination at its most dazzling. hoannah cockroft has never lost a race of

the paralympics, and in the 800 metres her supremacy was starker than ever. cockroft almost in a different postcode, as she crossed the line more than ten seconds clear. it's a new paralympic record! behind her, her team—mate took silver, but cockroft�*s seventh title was about as emphatic as it gets. in the canoeing, meanwhile, it was all about the sport switches. laura sugar used to sprint on the running track, now she's doing it on the water with very impressive results. for sugar, the sweetest of victories. and there was another for charlotte henshaw. at the last games, she won bronze as a swimmer. but after swapping the pool for a paddle, the 34—year—old powered to gold, edging out team—mate emma wiggs. changing sports, she told me, turned out to be a pretty good career move. ifeel very, very fortunate to have found another sport that i love. i might have been completely rubbish, so i might not have been even on a team to tokyo. so it was a complete leap of faith and one i'm now glad i

took. in the wheelchair tennis, meanwhile, there was an all—british battle for bronze. alfie hewett and gordon reid are doubles partners, but today they were opponents. and after a deciding set thriller, it was reid that took the match — and the medal. there was history meanwhile for dan bethell, britain's first paralympic badminton medallist. the sport is making its debut at these games, and while he lost to his indian competitor, it is the most special of silvers. but perhaps the day's moment of magic was in the football. the players can't see the ball, they can only hear it, it has a bell inside — so how about this for a wonder goal? brazil sparking jubilation as a spectacular solo effort meant they beat argentina and retain their title. truly a golden goal.

there is still plenty of action going on in the athletics, although conditions are pretty appalling. torrential rain at the moment here in tokyo. in the last few minutes, we've seen kadeena cox in the final of the 400 metres. she was the defending champion, but this time she had to settle for fourth place. remember, she won a gold medal in the cycling earlier in the games. aled davies has also been in action shot put. the defending champion. in the last few minutes, he has retained that title, so another gold medal for aled retained that title, so another gold medalfor aled davies. britain now have 122 medals at these games. they will be hoping there are still a few more to come. andy, thank you. blackpool's famous illuminations are lighting up the seaside town again. strictly come dancing's shirley ballas switched them on at the iconic tower ballroom. they'll stay on untiljanuary with the hope that the extra two months will bring more tourists to the area and give

a boost to businesses. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. the next news on bbc one is at 5:35pm. bye for now. good afternoon, i am here with your latest sports news. hannah cockcroft has won her second gold medal of these paralympics in tokyo and seventh overall. she set a new paralympic record in the t34 800 metres, in what was a british one—two, as kare adenegan took silver. cockcroft dominated the race from the start, to secure her second gold of these games. she broke her own world record to retain the 100 metre crown last sunday. she joked afterwards that she was gutted that she was unable to get the world record today. her team—mate, kare adenegan, recorded a personal best, though, as she won the silver.

i have been told to since i was born the things that i can't do and i am now a gold medallist and, you know, world champion, world record holder, all the rest of the things and i just want to see how far i can push it, how fast can i go? and that is the drive, and if medals keep coming and that, amazing, but we saw out there today with kare adenegan right behind me and another british woman in fourth as well, and she has not been doing this long, so we are definitely bring some superstars through from britain and my competition is going to continue to get harder. aled davies has made it a hat—trick of paralympic golds as he's added to his dicus title in london and retained his f63 shot shotput crown from rio in the rain.

in another british, one—two charlotte henshaw won the kl2 200 metres, para—canoe gold, with emma wiggs clinching silver. henshaw won silver at london 2012 and bronze in rio as a swimmer, but switching sports has worked — and means she got hold of the medal she always wanted. and there was another gold in the para—canoe, with laura sugar, becoming kl3 champion. she's also made a sport switch — from athletics, when she was spotted by a talent id process in 2018. three years later, she has gold, with a paralympic best time, capping off a brilliant games for the british para—canoe team, putting them top of the sport's medal table. next to the oval, where jimmy anderson — who else — has made the breakthrough on day three of the fourth test against india. the tourists were making steady progress for the first part of the morning, with rahul seemingly moving towards a half century, but england got the wicket they needed when anderson had rahul caught behind by bairstow on 46.

india are currently 108 for1 in their second innings — that's a lead of 9 runs. after manchester united opened the new women's super league season with a 2—0 win over reading last night there are three more matches today. aston villa are playing leicester city in the early kick arthur and leicester have the lead there. shortly, last season's runners—up, manchester city, kick off at everton — you can watch that match live on bbc1 — whilst spurs play birmingham city at 3:00pm. just days after announcing he'll retire at the end of the formula one season, kimi raikkonen has tested positive for coronavirus. the finnish driver is now isolating and will miss the dutch grand prix. alfa romeo's reserve driver robert kubica has taken his place. red bull's max verstappen delighted his home fans by topping the timesheets ahead of the two mercedes in final practice at zandvoort. qualifying gets underway from 2:00pm with commentary on bbc radio five live and the bbc sport website. and british featherweight josh warrington says he "has to win" tonight's rematch with mexico's mauricio lara.

warrington was knocked out by lara in a shock defeat in february behind closed doors, but goes again this evening in his home city of leeds, in front of an expected crowd of over 20,000. and promoter eddie hearn thinks that could make all the difference after the emptiness of the first fight. he walked out that night, sort of looking to salute his faithful and there was no one there and it was a strange moment for boxing, doing that behind closed doors. tonight the pressure is on. we had over 1000 people turn upjust the pressure is on. we had over 1000 people turn up just at the weigh in yesterday, it was an incredible atmosphere and it is a must win fight. the atmosphere in leeds is really special and to transform into a stadium like headingley fortnight�*s fight, it is going to be really special. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. thank you. let's get more now on the decision by thejcvi not to recommend covid vaccinations for 12—15—year—olds. well, in the netherlands,

vaccinations started injuly for 12—17—year—olds. earlier, ernst kuipers, chief executive of the erasmus mc university medical centre in rotterdam, gave me his reaction to the uk's decision. well, the exact same discussion and the same arguments that we just heard, they were also obviously part of the discussion in the netherlands and i think it is rightfully so, i think it is a discussion that you should very that you should very carefully consider. here in the netherlands we have our national health council, who. .. thought about all these arguments and the pros and cons and injune they recommended to our minister of health to actually start the vaccination programme and the minister followed that advice. one of the concerns or the main concern cited over here is the risk of myocarditis among young people. that is what is behind

the hesitation in the decision not to recommend. what was the thinking behind overcoming that concern in the netherlands? so first... the vaccine that has been recommended and that has been given here in the netherlands is a vaccination programme for 12—18—year—olds, which started in the first week ofjuly. uptake is very high and the consideration was one, it is important first of all to look at the risk—benefit for the children themselves. and then obviously the vaccines have been linked in rare cases, one in 10,000, one on 100,000, with incidences like myocarditis, but we should realise that the same associations have been made with covid itself, so... what may be associated with the vaccine is also associated with the virus itself, that is one important thing. and the same pertains to rare instances of systemic inflammation with children. now, the other important issue and the first discussion

was the risk—benefit may, even for the children themselves, actually be positive and then on top of that we have the discussion of what does it do in terms of the spread of the infection and pandemic throughout a population? children, of course, is a large group and they have a very significant interaction and thus obviously are the highest numbers of new infections and they bring that home. they bring it to their teachers, their parents and grandparents and that makes the spread bigger, so two reasons, one for protection of the children themselves and the second to have the effect of bringing the pandemic over. china's national health commission says more than 7 million coronvirus vaccine shots were given out on friday. it brings the total number of vaccines delivered to more than 2 billion. despite those huge numbers,

the number ofjabs being given out is sigifinicantly down compared tojune when around 20 million people were being vaccinated every single day. now to kabul in afghanistan, where the head of pakistan's intelligence agency has arrived, as taliban leaders continue to meet representatives from foreign governments. pakistan has consistently denied allegations that it covertly supported the taliban during the last two decades of conflict. the taliban are set to announce a new government within days, but the european union and britain have said they won't be recognising it. meanwhile us secretary of state antony blinken is scheduled to travel to qatar and germany for talks on the crisis. both countries are key transit points for the evacuation of afghans from kabul. antony blinken has been speaking about the situation in the country in the past few hours. first, as we've said and as countries around the world have said, there is an expectation that any government that emerges now will have some real inclusivity, and that it will have non—talibs in it who are representative of different communities and different interests in afghanistan.

so we will see what in fact emerges. antony blinken there. president biden has visited the us state of louisiana to see the destruction caused by hurricane ida. more than 60 people have died across eight states since it made landfall on sunday — many were killed when torrential rainfall caused flash flooding. 0ur correspondent, nada tawfik, has more. one week and a storm that brought america to its knees. look at that tornado! from new orleans to new york, it was a dramatic beating. record rainfall, life—threatening floods, destructive winds and tornadoes usually only seen in the midwest tore through communities with no mercy. in some places it was unprecedented, and sparked fear about the ferocity and frequency of future weather. oh, my god! the river is flooding! part of this newjersey town was abandoned after the nearby river crested and left cars and homes under ten feet of water. four people died and about 600

were left homeless. gloria jett lost everything, but was lucky to escape with her life. she can't swim and had to be rescued by neighbours as the water rose inside her home. i started pounding. for somebody to come and help me, so i won't die. i felt like i was dying. down these streets, peoples' belongings and memories are laid out for garbage pick—up. the roldan family lost three cars and everything in their basement. but already the insurance company has told them they will not cover much of the damage. it's the first time that it happened, but if we stay in the house, what if it happens again? like, does it really pay to stay in this area any more? president biden has approved an emergency declaration for new york and newjersey. today, he travelled to meet victims in louisiana, where ida first made landfall as a category 4 hurricane. after surveying the damage, he highlighted the threat from climate change.

and folks, hurricane ida is another reminder that we need to be prepared for the next hurricane. and super storms are going to come and they are going to come more frequently and more ferociously. i have been working closely with the governor and our colleagues in congress from both parties on my build back better plan that will modernise our roads, our bridges, our water system, our sewers and drainage systems, power grids and transmission lines. the cost to life, property and infrastructure has been staggering. still, climate change remains a divisive political issue. and so, over the years, america has ignored warnings and some would say this is the result. nada tawfik, bbc news, newjersey. a nature reserve in south africa has come up with a creative way to count its big cats, as part of conservation efforts. lions are classified as a vulnerable species — under threat from habitat loss and poaching. courtney bembridge reports.

mooing. the sound of an injured animal reverberates through the bush and the smell of a fresh carcass fills the air. but this is no ordinary meal. this is how you conduct a lion census. we have to do this process to count predators because they don't... it is difficult to count them from a helicopter in an aerial census. they hide in the trees and it is difficult. census takers have to crisscross this sprawling nature reserve to try to count all of the big cats. 20 years ago there were very few here, but last year more than 150 were counted. lions do incredibly well in this area, mainly because there is a large enough space for them to operate. the rest of africa habitat loss is the biggest threat to lions, all over the continent. this reserve is part of an even bigger ecosystem covering more than 2 million

hectares, including the kruger national park, and extending all the way to mozambique. conservationists say huge habitats like this are key to the big cat's survival. courtney bembridge, bbc news. police patrolling one of the longest coastlines in the uk have been gifted a jet ski to help them tackle anti—social behaviour on the water. the watercraft donated to essex police's marine unit is already making a difference, according to officers, giving them better and faster access to hard—to—reach areas. jozef hall has more. brightlingsea harbour, situated on the mouth of the colne estuary, where it meets the blackwater and thames estuaries. it's idyllic, but not always. until three months ago, little could be done to crack down on anti—social behaviour, both here and along the rest of essex�*s 562 miles of coastline. but now they've been given an £18,000 present,

courtesy of maldon district council. clearly the jet ski is powerful and it's quick. we are barely doing 20 knots. the manufacturer says it will go upwards of 90. but it's notjust speed that this offers essex police. it really does give us an extra marine resource, which is on top of our existing resources of a 42 foot launch boat, the alert 4, and our sentinel, which is our rib. the personal watercraft really does give us that extra bit of capability in terms of entering into previously inaccessible waterways such as shallow water, and narrow waterways. afterjust three months in operation, already it's allowing officers to not only police these waterways, but to reinforce the positives, as well. i want to be really clear that we're not here to ruin anyone's fun, but ultimately, these can be dangerous vessels in the wrong hands so my plea to people is, if you're going to ride them, ride them responsibly,

get the right training and be well equipped and stay safe. that report from jozef hall. a new mountain bike trail has opened in scotland's fort william — amid hopes of encouraging another generation to the sport. the blue doon is the longest mountain bike trail of its kind in the uk. iain macinnes reports. a murky, misty morning couldn't dampen spirits as folk gathered, eager to try out the new trail. cheering. the opening, a big moment for this place. 0nce synonymous with skiing, now a huge draw for mountain bikers. i have to say, at the beginning of the lockdown, i thought, blimey, how are we going to get through this? but with a lot of help from a lot of friends and whatnot, we have survived the whole thing and here we are thing and here we are developing on, which is just great as far as i am concerned. first day on the track, local boy kyla mcleod, closely

followed by the professionals... . .and some amateurs. come on! the trail is around eight kilometres in total, but it also boasts a fair drop in height. i am really enjoying this about half way down. i am not going as fast as these guys. now obviously young kyla was down well ahead of me. what does he make of the trail? it isjust amazing, i don't know how to describe it. i don't, it isjust so good. the corners and everything, it isjust~~ _ good. it is different to everything else. i am out of the clouds now, but what a view there is up here! from what we have been hearing, though, this trail is just the first part of some pretty major development work that has been going on here in nevis range. we do have plans, which we will

announce, to build a hotel, a boat house, a new restaurant, child facilities, an indoor climbing wall, a new bike shop and a covered area for brilliant events, so this is the first stage in a development plan that should see us great somewhere plan that should see us create somewhere in the region of 50 jobs in the next few years. the hope is to welcome 10,000 people to the trail each year, from the more experienced to the beginners. well, that is one way to kick—start your weekend. ian, bbc news, in fort william. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. quite a quiet start to our weekend's weather, but once again we are chasing cloud around and quite a lot to look at in the weather, rather grey and murky skies at times. but a good deal of dry weather out there, and we are still under this influence of high pressure. which is driving and a lot of cloud off the north sea, the best of the breaks so far across north of england, wales and south—east england. but we are

starting to see some holes in that cloud and into the afternoon there will be some brighter moments, particularly across the moray firth. if you keep the cloud, and it is pretty stubborn to live the way, the temperatures will halt into the mid—teens, but with the best in the sunshine highs of 22 or 23 celsius. 0vernight tonight we keep some of those clear skies, a bit of patchy mist forming in some places, but a quiet night, temperatures holding into double digits quite widely and we keep quite a lot of cloud still lingering along the east coast. sunday we will start to see the change to be where the story is the high pressure that has been dominant for recent week starts to ease away and winds will swing round to a south—easterly and will start to see more sunshine coming through. this waterfront will introduce cloud and rain into northern ireland and the north—west of scotland, some of that quite cloudy and the winds will strengthen here as well, but that easterly wind will act as a friend across england and wales, as we

haven't seen sunshine an award for quite some time and