this is bbc news with the latest headlines. doctors leaders welcome moves to ease the workload of gps in england so they can focus on the covid booster rollout — but some patients�* groups say postponing services could be dangerous. a campaign begins encouraging expectant mothers to get vaccinated. unvaccinated mums who were severely ill with coronavirus tell their stories. dozens of troops have been deployed to northumberland to help people whose homes are still without power eight days after storm arwen. the parents of a teenager accused of the fatal shooting of four us high school students using a gun bought by his father are detained by police. and coming up at 2.30pm, the bbc speaks to anas haqqani — a leading figure in the haqqani network,

part of the taliban in afghanistan. gps in england have been told they can defer some of the services they provide to patients — so doctors can focus on delivering covid booster jabs instead. routine health checks for the over—75s and minor surgery could be affected. 75 new cases of the omicron variant have been identified in england; that brings the total number in the uk to 134. the government has also launched a new campaign urging all unvaccinated pregnant women to come forward and receive their jab. megan paterson reports. at this medical centre

on merseyside, the demand for boosterjabs is high. staff here have seen nearly 800 walkins a day over the last week. we are doing over 30,000 booster vaccinations since september but people are still coming for their first and second vaccination, which is great news, because it is never too late to start the vaccination. gps across england will now be allowed to defer some of the services they provide to patients like routine health checks for over 75s to allow doctors to focus on covid—19 boosterjabs instead and to ease growing pressures. we are struggling to meet increased demand of day—to—day work, our own backlog and also the backlog from the hospitals, but at the same time, we do understand the importance of trying to vaccinate the population. but there is concern from some patient groups. they warned that the measures will disadvantage older people and lead to early warning signs of illness being missed.

the british medical association insists all patients will still receive the care they need. i was in surgery yesterday and i saw dozens of patients, many of whom were over 75 and that care is not being compromised. we are still caring for all of our patients as best we can. as the boosterjab roll—out continues, the government has also introduced a new campaign, urging all unvaccinated pregnant women to accept theirjab. it comes as figures from the department of health show 98% of pregnant women critically ill in hospital with covid are unvaccinated. one in five women need to be delivered preterm, when in five babies need to go to the neonatal unit. so it's really clear that covid—19 infection has got serious implications for the woman and the baby. but we now have evermore data to say that the vaccines are safe in pregnancy and very strongly recommended by everyone. more than 90 million covid—19 booster or third doses have been given in the uk so far.

the new measures for gps in england, an attempt to meet what's been described as a national mission to increase vaccine capacity. 0ur health correspondent laura foster has been telling us how unusual a step this is. so, it was earlier this year, a month into the vaccination programme on the 7th of january that nhs england sent out a very similar letter to its gps and directors of primary care, saying that you can suspend nonessential work in order to make sure that we've got enough people around to deliver the covid—19 vaccination programme. now, so much has changed since january but gps still have a very high workload. on top of the stuff that they are already doing, they've got the backlog from the first, second and third wave, winter pressures are really starting and now they've got to contribute to the biggest expansion of the vaccination programme yet. now, some people will be worried by today's news and to them nhs england want to point out that it's not a blanket ban, it's

all about cancelling checks where gps think it's clinically appropriate to do so. the metropolitan police say they'll consider correspondence asking them to investigate a claim that christmas parties were held in downing street last year in breach of covid rules. the force responded to the complaint by some labour mps by saying it wasn't their policy to routinely examine retrospective breaches of covid rules. 0ur political correspondent ione wellsjoins me. can ione wellsjoins me. you just can ione wells joins me. you just explain to me what ti metropolitan can you just explain to me what the metropolitan police is actually saying? metropolitan police is actually sa inc? , ., metropolitan police is actually sa inc? , . , metropolitan police is actually sa inc? _, ., saying? they are responding to the fact that two _ saying? they are responding to the fact that two labour _ saying? they are responding to the fact that two labour mps _ saying? they are responding to the fact that two labour mps have - fact that two labour mps have written to the metropolitan police asking them to investigate reports that we had seen over the last couple of days that this time last year there was a party held in downing street on the 18th of december attended by downing street staff and aids where we have been told there were games played, that

food was served, drinks were served, at a time when london was an tier three restriction so social gatherings were not allowed at the time. the metropolitan police had said it is not really their routine policy to retrospectively look at and investigate alleged breaches of covid restrictions but said it would consider the correspondence they have had from his mps. henge consider the correspondence they have had from his mps.— consider the correspondence they have had from his mps. have you had an more have had from his mps. have you had any more intel _ have had from his mps. have you had any more intel from _ have had from his mps. have you had any more intel from mps _ have had from his mps. have you had any more intel from mps or— have had from his mps. have you had any more intel from mps or ministersj any more intel from mps or ministers about actually what happened that day? some people are saying there were games, there was alcohol, food, others are saying it was a just a gathering. 50 others are saying it was a 'ust a anatherin. ., others are saying it was a 'ust a gatheringfi others are saying it was a 'ust a anatherin. . ., ~ ., others are saying it was a 'ust a ”atherin. . . ~' ., . gathering. so far, what we know and what sources — gathering. so far, what we know and what sources have _ gathering. so far, what we know and what sources have been _ gathering. so far, what we know and what sources have been telling - gathering. so far, what we know and what sources have been telling the l what sources have been telling the bbc is that there were several dozen people in attendance, that food was served, drinks were served, that games were played, a gathering of sorts around the christmas period. none bertin had stressed that all rules were followed at all times, something the prime minister has it as well, but what they haven't done is clarify how exactly people attending this event were following

the rules, given the restrictions we know were in place at the time. i think the anger this has attracted is apparent among the labour mps who have decided to write to the police about this. their argument is that they don't see a way this could have been following the guidance at the time and want the police to investigate. but at the moment the police don't seem to have any plans to do so but it did suddenly say they would consider the letters they have received. about 9,000 households are facing a second weekend without power in parts of scotland and northern england following storm arwen. those affected are now bracing themselves for almost freezing temperatures forecast over the next 2a hours, and the army and the british red cross have been distributing emergency aid in some areas. 0ur correspondent peter harris has been giving us the latest from cramlington in northumberland. yes, so the soldiers are here now as you can see in this fire station, receiving their briefing, and shortly, they will be moving off to some of those communities

in south northumberland that remain without power for an eighth day. the total as of now is round about 5100 homes in north—east england still without power. the arrival of the soldiers follows northumberland yesterday declaring a major incident. that follows neighbouring county durham, which did that on thursday, and the reason for doing that is it unlocks further support and it's felt it necessary to get the army in and to get people out on the streets because they can't be sure from the northern power grid when exactly all of those homes will have their power reconnected, so the soldiers will be going out, knocking on doors, providing reassurance and we saw them yesterday as county durham also providing food parcel, support and that kind of welfare that people without power might need. to give you an idea of how much longer this problem has to run, northern power grid say that they have around 700 engineering projects left to do — 200 this weekend and another 500 to do next week — so the best guess is the middle of next week before

all of this is back to normal. earlier, i spoke to an independent councillorfor rothbury the regulator, 0fgem, is carrying out an urgent review of the response by energy companies. the boss of 0fgem, jonathan brearley, says says the regulator has a range of options it can take to help those affected get some form of compensation. there is something called a redress of payment where companies go to customers they have let down and give them compensation for what has happened but also there is a range of options we can take including fines. we have already said to network companies, they have agreed, they have lifted the cap on the compensation they will give customers and they will make sure that those customers do get some compensation for everything they have been through. that suggestion, thatis have been through. that suggestion, that is not going to settle the distress customer has been through but it shows some acknowledgement. earlier my colleaguejames reynolds spoke to steven bridgett, an independent councillor

for rothbury in northumberland. they've gone eight days without electricity and some of them we know will be heading into their ninth day. it's pretty daunting knowing that you're going to be going into day nine without any power as well. are you able to speak to them and if so, what are they telling you? i speak to them in the morning and in the evening and they give me the plan for the day and in the evening what they have done for the day what the plan is for the next day as well. the areas that we have got left are the really difficult areas, where either transformers are blown all the power lines and the polls are lying on the ground and they are going to take some time to fix. are you satisfied with the speed of the response? i would love for everyone to have

been on for the next day and i would have loved for things to be done quicker but i think a major incident should have been declared a lot sooner. what is the single hardest part of the response at the moment? a lot of the areas don't have any means of communication, so some landline telephones are still down and a lot of the areas don't have mobile phone reception, so the only way we can communicate with these residents is knocking on their doors. have you had reports of those conversations? i don't know if you've been able to get out yourself or not. i have. let me give you an example, the fire service came across one of the elderly residents in this area, who had fallen, they had injured themselves and they were in their 90s and hypothermic. we had to get them transported to the nearest hospital asap because i think if they had been left for another day, i'm not sure they would have made it. is there a balance between people staying in their homes and an effort being made to find and rescue them

and take them to safety, particularly if you give that example of them being older more vulnerable? we've got 20 residents so far in alternative accommodation in northbridge. they come out of their homes because they got no heating, no power or no water or a combination of all. we have got alternative accommodation and a lot of residents had toughed it out for a week but they've decided to go into accommodation now. people could possibly do without phone eyes for a few days but you cannot do without heating. how are people, if at all, managing to keep their homes? a lot of people in this area, although the government did when people to put in these heat pumps, which are next to useless in circumstances like this. a lot of people have gas heaters and people have been cooking with camping stoves and were struggling to get hold of any of those butane gas cylinders

for those camping stoves and gas heaters. we have got candles, water, batteries and we are delivering those and we're delivering logs as well. but those butane gas cylinders are what we are struggling to get hold of. police in the us state of michigan have arrested the parents of a teenager accused of killing four fellow students. prosecutors say 15—year—old ethan crumbley carried out the shooting at his school on tuesday with a semi—automatic pistol which had been bought by his father. aru na iyengar reports. i'm jennifer crumbley. i'm james crumbley. ethan crumbley�*s parents, james and jennifer, were found in a warehouse in detroit hours after going on the run. a reward of $10,000 had been offered for information leading to their arrests. their lawyer says they fled for their own safety. the pair, seen here earlier following their son's

arrest, face charges of involuntary manslaughter. prosecutors say they ignored warning signs before their 15—year—old son, ethan crumbley, allegedly used his father's gun to shoot classmates in oxford, michigan — killing four and wounding seven. james crumbley bought a gun and made it available to his son. at school, a teacher spotted ethan searching online for ammunition and alerted his mother. prosecutors say she later sent text messages to her son saying, "lol, i'm not mad at you. you have to learn not to get caught." then, on the morning of the killings, teachers contacted the parents over a note ethan had drawn. the note contains the following — a drawing of a semiautomatic handgun pointing at the words, "the thoughts won't stop, help me." in another section of the note was a drawing of a bullet with the following words above that bullet, "blood everywhere." but some question whether the parents really can be held responsible for

the actions of their teenage son. i think it is actually highly unusual. it is opening the door for a very large slippery slope. and so that is kind of where i'm having trouble saying that the parents committed manslaughter, meaning they were aware that this was going to happen. bell chimes at a candlelit vigil in oxford last night, the community came together to honour the four teenagers. four minutes of bell ringing, one minute for each victim. ethan crumbley is being charged as an adult and is accused of terrorism charges and first—degree murder. aruna iyengar, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... doctors leaders welcome moves to ease the workload of gps in england so they can focus on the covid booster rollout but some patients' groups say postponing services could be dangerous. a campaign begins encouraging

expectant mothers to get vaccinated: unvaccinated mums who were severely ill with coronavirus tell their stories. dozens of troops have been deployed to northumberland to help people whose homes are still without power eight days after storm arwen. football fans in england will unite this weekend to pay tribute to six—year—old arthur labinjo—hughes, who died after months of abuse by his father and step—mother. the pair were jailed earlier this week for their parts in his death. birmingham city — the club he supported — will remember the youngster at today's game. simonjones reports. arthur, are you going to play for england? a football mad six—year—old. after i play for liverpool! subjected to cruel, manipulative and pitiless treatment by his father and his partner.

arthur's short life will be remembered by birmingham city, the team he supported. they previously held tributes to him. today, away at millwall, there will be applause in the sixth minute of the game. midlands clubs wolves and aston villa will do the same this weekend. they say, "our thoughts are with all who loved arthur." and next week, birmingham city fans will unveil a flag of remembrance. the whole situation is horrible and i wanted to just try to do my bit for him just to show that he was loved and he will be remembered by people, even if people did not know him. these are arthur's killers, branded spiteful and sadistic in court. emma tustin, described as his wicked stepmother, given a life sentence with a minimum term of 29 years for murder. and arthur's father, thomas hughes, given a 21—year sentence for manslaughter. arthur was told to sit on the thinking step. arthur's put himself all over

the floor, he's banged his head on the radiator, he has hit me, kicked me in the process of me trying to get him back on the thinking step. the pair lied to police after arthur suffered injuries so severe they were said to be the equivalent of a high—speed road crash. a serious case review is under way. social workers visited the family home in the months before he died but found no cause for concern. what we have got to make sure now is that we learn the lessons about that case, we look at exactly what happened, what else could have been done to protect that child and it is early days, but i can tell you this, we will leave absolutely no stone unturned to find out exactly what went wrong in that appalling case. tustin made recordings of arthur in which he said nobody loved him. today, football fans will come together to say he will not be forgotten. simon jones, bbc news. president biden has said he does not accept moscow's demands over ukraine.

a video conference is expected to take place between mr biden and president putin in the next few days to discuss the build up of more than 94,000 russian troops near ukraine's border. mr putin wants guarantees that nato won't expand any further to the east or deploy weapons systems near russian territory. video released by nasa shows a total solar eclipse as seen from western antarctica this morning. the earth's southernmost continent experiences continual daylight from mid—0ctober until early april, but the eclipse brought a few minutes of total darkness. a solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the sun and earth, casting a shadow on earth, fully or partially blocking the sun's light in some areas. for a total eclipse to take place,

the sun, moon, and earth must be in a direct line. the only place that this total eclipse could be seen was antarctica. total eclipse could be sarah jacobs is communications engineer at the british antarctic survey. she joins me from antarctica in the halley research station thank you forjoining us. amazing view. there has been a record rise. so, amazing view. how is this different to the usual clips we are used to seeing? i different to the usual clips we are used to seeing?— used to seeing? i think, to be honest, used to seeing? i think, to be honest. the — used to seeing? i think, to be honest, the main _ used to seeing? i think, to be honest, the main thing - used to seeing? i think, to be honest, the main thing is - used to seeing? i think, to bej honest, the main thing is that used to seeing? i think, to be - honest, the main thing is that there is no building is to look around that, it is purely white out there and we got to see an eclipse in antarctica which is a massive once—in—a—lifetime experience for all of us. massive once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us. how does an eclipse — experience for all of us. how does an eclipse affect _ experience for all of us. how does an eclipse affect somebody - experience for all of us. how does an eclipse affect somebody day i an eclipse affect somebody day today? there might be people

watching who might not be sure how it impacts upon their lives. just from a personal— it impacts upon their lives. just from a personal experience of actually watching the eclipse, it was obviously amazing and it meant a very early start for us, it was about az30am, so a few bleary eyes. there was also plenty of science that has go around eclipses like this, we have plenty of things, we have put out a special low—power magnetometer to this eclipse to help expand our knowledge and how the things fluctuate, the magnetic kind of variations of the earth's field, they vary during a total eclipse so there is plenty to do just in that side of things as well. can there is plenty to do just in that side of things as well.— side of things as well. can you exlain side of things as well. can you exalain the — side of things as well. can you explain the difference - side of things as well. can you | explain the difference between side of things as well. can you i explain the difference between a solar and a lunar eclipse? again, there will be some people who might not necessarily know what the difference is there.—

difference is there. yes, i'm a communications _ difference is there. yes, i'm a communications engineer- difference is there. yes, i'm a communications engineer so i difference is there. yes, i'm a i communications engineer so this difference is there. yes, i'm a - communications engineer so this is from my very limited knowledge of astronomy but a sickly the solar eclipses where the moon gets in the way between us and the sun and lunar eclipses where we get in the way of the sun and the moon. so, yeah, slightly different but both of them are pretty spectacular. i slightly different but both of them are pretty spectacular.— are pretty spectacular. i bet. it sounds very — are pretty spectacular. i bet. it sounds very spectacular - are pretty spectacular. i bet. it| sounds very spectacular indeed. are pretty spectacular. i bet. it - sounds very spectacular indeed. did you see any wildlife out there? 50. you see any wildlife out there? so, there is not — you see any wildlife out there? so, there is not too _ you see any wildlife out there? sr, there is not too much you see any wildlife out there? 5r, there is not too much wildlife around here but we have been blessed with a few storm petrels and snow petrels which actually, luckily enough, started flying around this morning when we had the eclipse so that was pretty special.— that was pretty special. moving forward, what _ that was pretty special. moving forward, what you _ that was pretty special. moving forward, what you hope - that was pretty special. moving forward, what you hope to - that was pretty special. moving | forward, what you hope to learn that was pretty special. moving - forward, what you hope to learn from this? ~ , . , forward, what you hope to learn from this? , this? well, fingers crossed, people will be able — this? well, fingers crossed, people will be able to _ this? well, fingers crossed, people will be able to kinda _ this? well, fingers crossed, people will be able to kinda figure - this? well, fingers crossed, people will be able to kinda figure out - this? well, fingers crossed, people will be able to kinda figure out howj will be able to kinda figure out how it does affect the earth's field and in turn how that affects our space

weather observations campaign that weather observations campaign that we are part of and really, it affects lots of things in our daily life, everything from flight communication, which is how i make making this phone call, to how —— two comes across the globe. it is a really important thing to look into. thank you so much for your time. those pictures were really pretty to look at so thank you. there's been a record rise in anti—semitic incidents during the first six months of this year, according to the community security trust, the charity which monitors anti—jewish hate. it says 2021 is likely to be the worst year on record for anti—semitism. 0ur reporter tom brada has more. i'm tom and i am a bbc journalist who also happens to be british and jewish. i'm proud of who i am, but the past year has been complicated and sometimes frightening. let's break that. he's bleep jewish. in the first six months of 2021, there was a record spike in anti—semitism.

from controversy around the middle east, to conspiracy theories and the toxic environment of social media, manyjewish people are questioning how safe it is to express who they are. i want to find out what is going on and i'm starting in burnley where ashley was the victim of an extreme example of anti—semitism. in march 2020, ashley was attacked by three menjust outside his home. the assault took place in front of his mum. they were going where that blue car is now, but it was a different coloured car then, and started shouting, "dirtyjew, look at that dirtyjew," and then one of them came onto the driveway and started attacking me and i was full of blood and i was still with the adrenaline pumping. how long were you dealing with the physical injuries? about three or four weeks. and any mental injuries of the back of it? ptsd. it took me a while to go back outside again. quite a lot of people in burnley actually came to me and said are you 0k? do you need anything? stuff like that.

it was really heart—warming. what does yourjewish identity mean to you? everything, absolutely everything. it is my life, really. and how does it make you feel that something you hold clearly so dear to you, something you love about yourself, is something that other people use as a target? it hurts me a lot, because at the end of the day, what we all want is to just live our lives in peace. never gonna happen, though. 0ne harmful stereotype people hold aboutjews is that we are a monolithic group who think, feel and even look the same way, but that is far from the truth. i'm meeting up with the nadine, a blackjewish woman who last year confronted the grime artist wiley after he posted an anti—semitic rant on twitter. ijust think it just demonstrated the complexity of what it can be like being a jewish black person. it is a lot easier to recognise if someone calls me the n word or someone says something derogatory about my skin colour to know that it is racist versus if someone

makes a comment like, "oh, you know, jews run the media," it is not as overt in some ways, but i also think they manifest themselves differently and i think in the 21st century. you do not have the structural socioeconomic intergenerational inequality that you see within black communities, as in the same in the jewish community, but that does not mean that, you know, the threat levels are not serious. see, ijust don't think people have a very solid understanding of what anti—semitism is, because i don't think we are taught about it very well. there are many elements behind what drives racism and specifically anti—semitism, but there is also a familiar pattern that whenever israel is in the news, there is a spike in anti—semitism here in the uk. it all happened very quickly. obviously, it is petrifying. i do not think that whatever is going on in the world in terms of the fighting and the, you know, do you believe in this side, do you believe in that side,

should affect anyone's medical care that is happening, and i would never use someone's beliefs or religion or ethnicity or anything to decide how i am going to treat them. tom brada reporting there. residents on the indonesian island ofjava have been fleeing a vast plume of ash as an active volcano erupted for the second time in months. you can see the think cloud of ash here filling the sky. witnesses said a the rain of volcanic ash from mount semeru was blotting out the sun in two local districts. so far officials said no casualties have yet been reported with evacuations are under way. a volcano monitoring body issued a warning to airlines of an ash cloud rising up to 15,000 metres or 50,000 feet. cat micro—chipping is to be

made compulsory in the uk — under new government rules. owners will have to microchip their cats by the time their pets are 20 weeks old or risk incurring a £500 pound fine. it's aimed at ensuring that the cats can be returned home if they stray or are stolen. fiona lamdin reports. seven—year—old scarab went missing in truro just days after his owner moved house. scarab just completely disappeared, so i was quite concerned, and i was really worried for him because, yeah, it was nearly a whole year. if it was not for the microchip, i would never have got him home. but 11 months later, the pair were reunited, as luckily he had been microchipped as a kitten. with the microchip they found out i was his owner and got him home to me. i burst into tears when i got the call, ijust couldn't believe it. he was so thrilled to come home, he wouldn't leave me alone for 2h hours, he was constantly

rubbing his face on me and fussing at me. now there are plans in the coming year to get all pet cats chipped. it is going to be mandatory that all owners chip their cats once they are 20 weeks of age. we really, really welcome the idea. we get a lot of stray or injured cats that are brought in by members of the public. about half the time they are chipped, which means we can reunite them really quickly with their owners. and for those who don't, they could face a fine. if you are checked by an authorised person and found not to have a microchip, then you will be given 21 days to rectify that, and we would strongly advise for all the good reasons, you know, getting your animal microchipped and we know the average cost of that is about £17, it is well worth doing, otherwise after 21 days it precedes to become a criminal offence. so, what does the procedure which costs about £20 involve? it is really simple, theyjust come in and we can do it in a consultation. it isjust an injection underneath the scruff of their neck. it is done really quickly and often doesn't cause them any discomfort

at all and it is over very, very quickly. each chip has a unique serial number which will link to a pet database where owners�* contact details are stored. there are thought to be 10.8 million cats in the uk, and while scarab and jane had a happy reunion, for the other 2.8 million, who are currently unchipped, the ending is not always a happy one. fiona lamdin, bbc news. the best of the weather has been across more south—eastern parts of the uk with some sunshine, but there is a cold wind blowing. we have also got some wetter weather further north, notjust rain but also snow, typically across more southern parts of scotland, developing in northern england is well over the higher ground. chilly end to the day. more showers feeding into northern

ireland, wales and the south—west.