i have been speaking to our paris correspondent, hugh schofield. have to keep this in perspective that since a quarter of the country, and the east were infections ha been rising more rapidly, is already under 6:00 curw. at 6:00 curfew has been extended to the rest of the country. so us here in paris are going to have to get home by 6:00 instead of 8:00, which will have an effect on the way we conduct our lives, shops are open until 7:00 or 8:00 and will have to shut earlier. the government is saying it is to counteract the aperitif effect, getting together after dinner for drink per the government clearly thinks this practice, this habit is still going on. people are still, despite all the warnings, are having social gatherings before they go home in the evening and they want to end that. they put an end to it already as i said in the eastern part of the country in the band has had an effect, the number of infections has gone down weaker than in the rest of the country. so the rest of the country is going to be put on the same footing for at least

hugh schofield, bbc news, in central france.g up at 6:00, breakfast with rogerjohnson and nina warhurst. but now on bbc news, veteran explorer robin hanbury—tenison, who spent weeks in a coma battling covid—i9, says the healing power of nature helped to save his life. robin was one of the first covid—i9 patients into derriford hospital. he may be a veteran of 30 expeditions, but surviving coronavirus would prove to be one of robin hanbury—tenison‘s toughest experiences yet. you know, every day was pretty brutal and we were pretty broken. the doctors called us to say that actually, he is deteriorating further. his chances of ever recovering have now gone down to about 5%. i opened my eyes, saw the sunshine, saw the flowers and that was the moment when my life was saved by the healing power of nature. it's a long road back from something like that. essentially, his body was failing and i think having a goal, something to work towards, is vitally important because it gives you a target to aim for. and that goal can be as trivial or

hugh schofield, bbc news, in central france. watson at the bbc sport centre. good evening. a busy day in the premier league and scottish premiership — match of the day and sportscene follow the news, if you want to avoid the results. we start in scotland where celtic and rangers met in the old firm derby on what was the 50th anniversary of the ibrox disaster. both teams laid wreaths before kick off, in memory of the 66 supporters who lost their lives in a crush on a stairway inside the stadium at a match between the two clubs on this day back in 1971, in what was an emotional second old firm derby of the season. rangers won the match 1—0 to extend their lead at the top to 19 points over the champions whose hopes of securing that unprecedented tenth league title in a row are fading fast. third—placed aberdeen drew as hibs who are fourth lost a third league game in a row. tottenham are up to third in the premier league. it comes as a third match in england's top flight this week was postponed due to coronavirus outbreaks. harry ka

hugh schofield, bbc news, in central france.hfire season on record. blazes swept across 2a million hectares of land, affecting every australian state, destroying more than 3,000 homes and killing or displacing nearly three billion animals. at least 33 people died in what is now known as australia's black summer. one year on — the bbc‘s australia correspondent shaimaa khalil has returned to some of the worst affected areas. wow! it was the bushfire season australians had feared. conditions were dry for months and the heat was soaring. but nothing prepared them for the catastrophic blazes they faced. australia's black summer shocked the nation and the world. a year ago i met russell scholes, a volunteer firefighter in the town of balmoral. his house was burned to the ground while he was helping his next—door neighbour. he and his wife now live in a converted garage on the same land. it will be many months until their new property is built. our living conditions are better than what they were, but they're still pretty harsh. all th

hugh schofield, bbc news, in central france.been going for more than a0 hours. about 300 people attended the event in the village of llinars del valles. the catalan regional police said they had confiscated the sound system and all the other equipment used at the party and would press charges against all who were involved. a reminder of our top story... eleven republican senators in the united states have said they‘ll challenge the certification of joe biden‘s presidential election victory next week. don‘t forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i‘m @ benmbland. hello. it‘s been a cold, wintry start to 2021 and that theme is set to continue, at least for the next week or so. temperatures still below average. this was the picture on saturday afternoon in wakefield, quite a lot of lying snow around for many parts of northern england, parts of scotland, into wales, western england, the midlands as well. over the next few days, it‘s going to stay cold with further wintry showers at times, certainly we‘r

hugh schofield, bbc news, in central france.n going on for more than a0 hours. about 300 people were at the event. local coronavirus restrictions allow no more than 10 people to gather together. catalan regional police said the organisers were arrested and all equipment confiscated. back with the headlines in a couple of minutes. plenty more on the website or download bbc news app. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. lewis vaughan jones and lewis vaughanjones and this is bbc news, bye—bye. hello. it's been a cold, wintry start to 2021 and that theme is set to continue, at least for the next week or so. this was the picture on saturday afternoon in wakefield, quite a lot of lying snow around for many parts of northern england, parts of scotland, into wales, western england, the midlands as well. over the next few days, it's going to stay cold with further wintry showers at times, certainly we're all going to be seeing some ice or some frost around. a cold start to your sunday morning in the next few days, it's going

hugh schofield, bbc news, in central france. near barcelona — it had been going on for more than a0 hours. about 300 people were at the event. local coronavirus restrictions allow no more than 10 people to gather together. catalan regional police said the organisers were arrested and all equipment confiscated. several european countries have announced further coronavirus restrictions, including slovakia, which has begun a new lockdown and closed ski facilities. but, in switzerland and one or two other countries, skiers are taking to the slopes, albeit under new guidelines. sylvia lennan—spence reports. hitting the slopes, european style. from this ski resort in southern romania to a packed car park in austria where thousands rushed to take advantage of the perfect skiing weather. from resorts in andorra, open exclusively to residents, to the dizzy heights in switzerland. while a number of european countries including france and italy closed their ski resorts, switzerland was one of those that arced the trend and kept most of the

here's our paris correspondent, hugh schofield.ightly curfew, 2500 people danced for two nights and a day in abandoned warehouses in a village south of rien. they'd come from places all over france and, indeed, abroad. the possibility that they might be putting themselves and others at risk from covid, they said, was exaggerated. translation: everything's reopened. the shops have reopened because they wanted to make money over christmas, but that must have caused big gatherings of people everywhere, so is it any worse here than on the paris metro? i don't think so. police decided not to intervene because they feared a riot. instead, they surrounded the premises, but when, 36 hours after the party started, the revellers began to leave, they booked them for breaches of covid rules. translation: the situation deteriorated very quickly. i had three offices injured, so i personally took the decision to disengage, at the risk of making the situation worse, to try and contain the area. elsewhere in france, the covid news is nothing to cel

hugh schofield, bbc news, in central france. you're watching bbc news.eep all schools in england closed for the next two weeks, to help slow the spread of coronavirus. headteachers are now taking legal action against the department for education, to force ministers to reveal why they think it's safe to allow primaries outside london and parts of the south east to reopen on monday. teaching unions say moving lessons online is "the only sensible and credible option". here's our education correspondent, dan johnson. children and teachers were amongst those invited for tests at charlton's football ground today. one way to help keep the virus out of schools — but will it be enough? some think things are out of control and they want schools to stay closed. teaching unions say staff are at risk. we know that members of our union got sick, some of them died over the christmas period, so there is the concern for our members. there's also the concern for parents and grandparents and we don't think it's safe. we think there should be a period of closure to get thos

hugh schofield, bbc news, in central france. it's taken 36 years.t christmas i gave you my heart # last christmas i gave you my heart # the very next day... #. despite its enduring popularity, the song was held off the top spot in 1984, by band aid's do they know it's christmas. radio dj richard blade explained what wham's belated success means to him. only he doesn't, we are not going to do that. we heard from him. georgie rogers is a broadcaster and bbc radio 6 musicjournalist. we would much rather hear your views on it. i remember when it was released in 1984, iam on it. i remember when it was released in 1984, i am ashamed to say, but it has bounced up and down through the charts quite a few times. it has re-entered the chart is around six times since its release back in 1984, and at the time it didn't get number one because it was a double a—side single with everything she wants. at the time it came out, once christmas was done, that was the track. it missed out then. there was a fan campaign in 2017 to get it to number one a year afterjudge mi

hugh schofield, bbc news, in central france.les. local coronavirus restrictions allow no more than 10 people to gather together. catalan regional police said the organisers were arrested and all equipment confiscated. the veteran american talk show host, larry king, is being treated for covid—19, according to multiple media reports. us sources say it‘s emerged the 87—year—old has been at cedars sinai medical center in los angeles for more than a week. the presenter has had a number of major health issues over the years. iran is marking the anniversary of the assassination of military commander qasem soleimani. his death — in a us missile strike in iraq — reverberated across the world, leading to a major escalation in tensions between iran and the united states.supporters have paid tribute at his grave and banners carrying his image have been erected on tehran‘s streets. soleimani was seen as the architect of iran‘s spreading influence in the middle east. i‘ve been speaking to bahman kalbasi from the bbc persian service, who expl

hugh schofield, our paris correspondent. you are watching bbc news.uk, is now being distributed to hospitals across the country. the oxford vaccine will be rolled out from monday. the body which advises the government on immunisation, has been defending the decision to delay giving people their second dose of the pfizer vaccine, so that many more people can receive an initial jab. here's our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. some of the first deliveries of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine arriving at the princess royal hospital in sussex. nhs staff are preparing to receive the new coronavirus vaccine, the second to be approved for use in the second to be approved for use in the uk, i had a nationwide roll—out on monday when the first injections will be given. what this does is it allows us to focus on the most vulnerable people, you know, and make sure they are protected from this disease. and ultimately that is going to keep people well but it is going to keep people well but it is going to keep people well but it is going to reduce the pressure

hugh schofield _ to do this. thank you very much. hugh schofield in _ to do this.in paris bringingl to do this. thank you very much. i hugh schofield in paris bringing as that news on sanofi at a stop to the us. joe biden has signed four more executive orders aimed at increasing racial equity in the us. the actions address housing discrimination and criminal justice reform. the president said the killing of the unarmed black man, george floyd, last year "opened the eyes of millions" and paved the way for change. the simple truth is our soul will be troubled as long as systemic racism is allowed to persist. we can't eliminate... it's not going to be overnight. we can't eliminate everything. but it's corrosive, it's destructive, and it's costly. it costs every american — not just who've felt the sting of racial injustice. we are notjust a nation morally deprived because of systemic racism. we're also less prosperous. we're less successful. we're less secure. so, we must change. and i know it's going to take time but i know we can do it. president biden also had his f

i'm joined by our correspondent in paris, hugh schofield.ficult to shut down the police. they are under a lot of pressure and criticism as to why the party was allowed to go on for so long when everyone else is in lockdown, when the police are out enforcing curfews lockdown, when the police are out enforcing cu rfews around lockdown, when the police are out enforcing curfews around the country, how come 2500 people from across france and indeed from abroad we re across france and indeed from abroad were able to dance and party away for 36 hours from thursday evening until saturday morning. the far right, in particular, are very critical of the government which is why their reaction now, saying it's a very difficult decision, they were faced not just by a very difficult decision, they were faced notjust by ravers but for people who are acting violently. they try to stop it, they say, and after that, it became a matter of simply containing it and i thought it was the best decision simply to circumscribe the warehouses where the rave was going

10pm on new year's eve, no vehicle was able to enter the rave site. 0ur correspendent in paris, hugh schofielde decided not to shut down the rave. they are obviously under a lot of pressure and the government is under a lot of pressure now because there is an awful lot of criticism about why this rave party was allowed to go on for so long when everyone else is in lockdown, when the police are out enforcing curfews around the country, how come 2,500 people from across france and indeed from abroad were able to dance, party away for 36 hours from thursday evening until saturday morning? the right, the far right in particular, are very, very critical of the government, which is why they are reacting now by saying when you are at the... ..of the department, saying that it is a very difficult decision. they were faced, not just by ravers, but at the beginning by people who were reacting violently. they say they tried to stop it and after that it became a matter of simply containing it, they thought it was the best decision simply to circumscribe the warehouses where the rave was going on and then

i'm hugh schofield, the bbc‘s paris correspondent.hen neighbouring germany had vaccinated a quarter of a million people, here in france, the figure was a mere 530 or 540. it was miniscule. part of it seems to be purely bureaucracy. it's part of the system here in france for inoculating anyone for anything that each person has a kind of pre—consultation five days ahead of the actual injection, in which doctors can assess whether there are complicating factors and so on. and that's having to be gone through with everyone at the old people's homes, which is causing a huge delay. there's general acceptance now that that kind of very procedural approach is going to have to change. there is another problem though in france, which is that it is, in europe, the most vaccine sceptic country. a lot of people simply say they're not going to have the vaccination. and that, i think, means the government is moving very slowly, very cautiously. in any case, the accusations of the government have stung, and now it says it is going to step up, acceler

the covid—19 death toll in france nears 70,000 people let's go live to our paris correspondent hugh schofieldn't get more than that? ., ., ~ , that? you need to keep it in perspective _ that? you need to keep it in perspective in _ that? you need to keep it in perspective in the _ that? you need to keep it in perspective in the sense - that? you need to keep it in| perspective in the sense that that? you need to keep it in - perspective in the sense that the country is already under a curfew of one kind or another. i bought a quarter of the country where the infections have been rising more rapidly is already on the six o'clock curfew and that curfew is being set in the rest of the country. so the rest of us would have to get home by six instead of by a twitch will have an effect on the way we conduct our lives and they shopping and they will have to shut earlier and so on. what the government is saying is to counteract the effect of getting together for drinks and the government clearly thinks this practice is still going on and people are still despite the warnings have little social gather

here's hugh schofield in paris there is anger here, of course, as there is elsewhere, about the projectede level they expected, but that's for the future. but for right now, there's another problem, which is that the vaccine that they do have which is the pfizer and the moderna is not arriving in sufficient quantities, and there are shortages beginning to become apparent. if you look around the local press, as i did today online, you see from lots of regions of france, reports coming in about vaccinations being put on hold, because of supply difficulties, which are not come as i repeat, they can't be linked to astrazeneca but they are linked to difficulties with pfizer, which is providing the bulk of vaccines now. for all these reasons, the doses froim astrazeneca are crucial. for all these reasons, the doses from astrazeneca are crucial. so what's the solution? well the eu is pointing to what the uk did late last year when it was in need of more vaccine doses — and when the eu was yet to approve their vacciantion programme. here's gavin lee again in brussels. if you look at the contract,

hugh schofield in paris.y's 16 states, at which they're expected to extend coronavirus restrictions. the current lockdown — which has seen the closure of schools and non— essential shops — is due to expire on sunday. but it could be extended until at least the end of the month. here's our berlin correspondentjenny hill. actually, we had seen a rather downward trend in recent days intensive case numbers but the health authorities anticipate and are bracing themselves for a spike in those figures following the relaxation of some restrictions over christmas. as time has gone on and those case numbers have become so serious, we had started to see a little bit more in the way the agreement and cohesion between the states, if you look at a map of germany most places now are pretty badly affected, some worse than others, courts. like many other countries the controversial subjected schools, schools and nurseries were closed last month as pa rt nurseries were closed last month as part of the response to rising number

i‘m hugh schofield, the bbc‘s paris correspondent. people, here in france the figure was a mere 530 or 540. it was miniscule. so obviously there are questions being asked about why that should be. part of it seems to be purely bureaucracy. it is part of the system here in france for inoculating anyone for anything, that each person is a kind of pre—consultation five days ahead of the actual injection, which doctors can assess whether there are complicating factors and so on. and that‘s having to be gone through with everyone at the old people‘s homes, which is causing a huge delay. there is general acceptance though that that kind of procedural approach is going to have to change. there is another problem though in france, which is that it is, in europe, the most vaccine sceptic country. a lot of people simply say they‘re not going to have the vaccination. and that, i think, means the government is moving very slowly, very cautiously. in any case the accusations of the government have stung, and now it says it is going to step up, acc