rebecca morelle, bbc news.iot police — over calls for a new security law to be dropped completely. this is despite the government back tracking on the most controversial clause — concerning limits on filming police officers on duty. our reporterjothohnson has more. this our reporterjothohnson has more. was the scenl paris this was the scene on the streets of paris on saturday as peaceful rallies over a controversial draft security law turned violent for a second consecutive weekend. officers fired tear gas and a pocket of demonstrators set cars and barricades on fire. shop windows we re barricades on fire. shop windows were smashed by some hooded protesters and a bank was ransacked and torched. the protest started over a clause in a draft security law which aimed to restrict how people share images are fond duty police making it a criminal offence if there was an intent to harm their physical or psychological integrity. the public backed down in the face of pressure and said the controversial clause would be re

rebecca morelle, bbc news. who've been in contact with those who've tested positive for coronavirus is to be cut from 14 to ten days. the new rules take effect in the rest of the uk on monday. here's our health editor hugh pym. contact tracing in action here in peterborough. local authority staff going door—to—door to find people who've been recent contacts of those who test positive. they're following up after initial attempts by the national test and trace service. the numbers that they've obviously been given, they can't contact them on, so we just have to make that final call to their house. 0h, hello, i'm calling... for those contacted by the tracers, there's better news. they won't have to self—isolate for so long, after a review by health officials of scientific studies. all of those combined together show that the tail end of infectiousness, if you like, is the one where an individual is least likely to transmit infection. so allowing somebody out of self—isolation a short time earlier than that is a re

rebecca morelle, bbc news. the labour party has revealed that sir keir starmer is self—isolating. the labour leader says he's not showing symptoms. in line with government advice, he will work from home until wednesday 16th of december. merseyside police say the mayor of liverpool, joe anderson, has been released on bail, following his arrest on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation. he and four other people were detained as part of a year—long investigation into the awarding of building contracts. in a statement, mr anderson said that he was "interviewed for six hours" and that he was "co—operating fully" with the police. hens, turkeys and other captive birds in britain will have to be kept indoors from december 14th to prevent the spread of avian flu which has hit europe. the strict new measures — which have already been introduced in the netherlands — apply to large commercial poultry farms, but also to people with small garden pens. with all the sport now, here's lizzie greenwood—hughes at the bbc sport centre. thanks, rita. good evening. it's the

rebecca morelle, bbc news.cted a legal application by the state of texas seeking to invalidate voting results in georgia, michigan, pennsylvania and wisconsin. the ruling is yet another blow to republicans supporting donald trump's attempts to overturn election results in key states which were won by the democratic president—elect joe biden. 0ur washington correspondent nomia iqbal has more details. yes, it was a very brief, unsigned one—sentence order, basically saying no to donald trump, and it was quite an audacious lawsuit, challenging those four key battleground states, as you mentioned there, and the trump team had argued that because those states had expanded mail—in voting due to the coronavirus pandemic, that that was unlawful somehow, and it was backed by more than 100 republicans in congress, many state attorney—generals, but tonight the supreme court looked at this and said no, they don't believe that texas has the legal standing to make this case. it is interesting, james, because although it was a

rebecca morelle on the year ahead in science.thoughts on the year ahead in us politics. france is to mobilise 100,000 police on new year's eve as part of a coronavirus crackdown. traditional celebrations are being heavily curtailed right across europe, to stem the increase in cases and the mounting pressures on public health services. russell trott reports. combating covid—19, spanish style. security is tight in the capital, the traditional mass gathering in the plaza has been severely curtailed, and across europe it seems curfews are in place, both mandatory and volu nta ry, place, both mandatory and voluntary, to persuade the public to stay away from public places. in paris, one such cu rfew places. in paris, one such curfew will be strictly enforced by french police to crack down on parties and any large groups meeting unlawfully. 100,000 gendarmes are being mobilised, half the metro lines will be closed in the evening. families are being advised to stay at home and enjoy new year's deliberations around the dinner table, seafo

rebecca morelle, bbc news.but it's much quieter than usual at the moment. to control its second wave of coronavirus, italy has toughened up its travel restrictions? and this year's christmas lights have been switched on without much of a bang. sophia tran—thomson has this report. cheering. not the grandest of celebrations, but in 2020, moments like this are worth celebrating. translation: this christmas is different from the others. unfortunately, like everyone else around the world, we are experiencing the same challenges. but i strongly believe in positivity. this italian artist was invited to decorate venice for christmas this year, and chose to eliminate the city's brightest attractions. —— chose to illuminate the city's brightest attractions. translation: my purpose is to light up this town, which needs lights, which needs culture, which is new emotions. from the golden led tree to the doge palace and the rialto bridge, all of the cities most popular attractions are shining bright. for many christmas trave

we can speak now to our science correspondent, rebecca morelle.ate how big a day this is with the oxford astrazeneca vaccine being given approval. just explain to people about the doses, the fact that there is going to be a longer period than anticipated between the first dose on the second dose. explain the thinking behind that. this is interesting. because dosing has been brought up before with this particular vaccine. research published in the lancet earlier this month actually looked ata earlier this month actually looked at a regimen where you gay people half a dose, followed by a full dose. and that seemed to be more effective in terms of protecting people, compared with giving two full doses. there wasn't very much a data associated with that. so, the medical regulators have gone with the two full dose regime to get people vaccinated. but what is different with this is the amount of time between the two doses. the second dose can now follow up to 12 weeks later, which is quite a big 93p- weeks later, which is quite a big gap. at the idea be

rebecca morelle, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news.al, tira na, after the police allegedly killed a man for breaking a coronavirus curfew. albanian prime minister, edi rama apologised to the parents of the 25—year—old, who was shot dead on tuesday. the officer accused has been arrested and an investigation has been launched. austria's constitutional court has struck down a law banning the headscarf in primary schools, labelling the measure as unconstitutional and discriminatory. in a statement explaining the decision, the court said the law which was introduced last year "contravened the principle of equality in relation to freedom of religion, belief and conscience". meanwhile the constitutional court also ruled to allow assisted suicide, annulled the provision which makes it a punishable offense. tributes have been pouring in for dame barbara windsor, who's died at the age of 83. her acting career spanned more than 60 years. she found fame in the carry 0n films of the 1960s and ‘70s, and went on to spend nearly 20 years behind the ba

that's a year in science, with me, rebecca morelle. people across the uk are being urged not to celebrate the new year with anyone outside their household, as the new variant of coronavirus continues to spread rapidly. some 20 million more people have now moved into the top tier 4 restrictions in england and have been told to "stay at home". borisjohnson said the tougher measures were vital to save lives. nhs leaders have urged people not to hold new year's eve parties tonight — saying that "covid loves a crowd". john mcmanus reports. hidden behind scaffolding and mostly silent since 2017, tonight, big ben will temporarily return to normal service as it rings in 2021. big ben chimes but there's no such reprieve for much of england, where the new year will start on a sombre note with millions more people moving into the highest coronavirus tier from today. it means they must now try to stay at home, with household mixing banned and nonessential shops and services closed. it's a tough ask, especially at this time of year. i must ask you

our science correspondent rebecca morelle explains.t coronavirus does not spread evenly from person to person. this event at the white house is a prime example. while most people won't pass the virus onto anyone, scientists estimate thatjust 20% of infected people are causing 80% of covid cases. it is known as super spreading and in the rose garden, one person is thought to have infected at least 11 others, including donald trump. with respect to super spreading events and that seems to relate both to the activities that people are doing, how many people are in the room, how close they are, but also there seem to be some people that do just excrete more virus. stopping super spreading could be the key to fighting covid—i9, but you need to discover the source of an outbreak. and that means tracking and tracing in a different way. contact tracing is all about detective work. for forward contact tracing, if i test positive, it means finding all the people that i could have given the virus to and asking them to self—isolate. but for backwa

rebecca morelle, bbc news. current rate, the first minister mark drakeford has said. his government will publish a new plan of restrictions next week. today, all secondary school pupils in wales have been sent home until the new year, and mr drakeford announced that all outdoor christmas attractions will be closed. in scotland, 11 council areas in the top tier of restrictions have moved down a level — with non—essential shops reopening. but the first minister nicola sturgeon urged people to do their christmas shopping locally, and not to travel out of their areas. northern ireland too has seen an easing of restrictions today. we'll be reporting from there and from scotland shortly. but first, hywel griffith reports from cardiff. the areas that you've picked up... a final face—to—face for this term. from monday, these pupils in cardiff will be learning online from home to try to stop the spread of the virus. for 17—year—old tilly, it really doesn't feel like christmas has come early. we should've been told earli

now, rebecca morelle looks back on how scientific endeavour reached new heights over the past twelve— in review 2020: the year in science. it was the year that would put science to the ultimate test, battling a pandemic that swept across the globe. as cities locked down, the air became cleaner, but not for long, and the impacts of climate change are still accelerating. away from earth, we entered a new era for space flight with the first private mission to carry astronauts into space. and there was a surprise discovery on venus, with scientists asking if they had found signs of life. and in 2020, an expedition to one of the most remote places on the planet to study a colossal melting glacier whose fate could affect us all. and as the year came to a close, the news of effective vaccines, as hopes rose that the pandemic could finally have an end in sight. welcome to review 2020: the year in science. i'm at the royal 0bservatory in greenwich in london. usually it is packed with visitors here, but like so many other places around the world, the arrival of the coronavirus transformed ever

now, rebecca morelle looks back on how scientific endeavour reached new heights over the past twelveattling a pandemic that swept across the globe. as cities locked down, the air became cleaner, but not for long, and the impacts of climate change are

here with her preview is our global science correspondent, rebecca morelle.change. the coronavirus pandemic meant that a major un meeting was postponed. now it will take place in 2021, in glasgow, in scotland. nations will be revealing how they intend to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. which means we will find out if their commitments are ambitious enough to stop the worst effects of climate change. scientists say it's vital we push for a greenerfuture, because the window to act is closing fast. up in space, or eyes will be on mars. a trio of spacecraft will soon be arriving at the red planet. the united arab emirates hopes to make history by becoming the first arab nation to put a spacecraft into orbit around mars. china will be entering a new era in space, too, by attempting to land a six wheeled rover. and nasa is also trying for a first. it will be testing a mini mars helicopter to see if it can fly in the extremely thin martian air. and lift off! the rise of starliner. and we should also see the launch of a new private spacecraft. following the lead

we can speak now to our science correspondent, rebecca morelle.n the briefing was the spoke about data that had been provided by the oxford astrazeneca team because during the trials, people were given their two doses with different durations, different intervals in between and they suggest that 21 days after the first dose of the vaccine, there is up first dose of the vaccine, there is up to 70% protection and about 12 weeks later that could go up to 80%, two numbers were given for these trials. it's a fairly pragmatic decision to go with giving this first dose of the vaccine to as many people as possible. itjust means you can roll it out much more quickly, you can get people who are vulnerable to this disease, you can give them protection so it does take about three weeks for that protection to kick in, but it's interesting to see some of the data that this has been based on and there's going to be more information about that released. it will be really interesting to dig into that. what was also quite interesting as there was a lot of publicity

time now to look back on a year in science with our global science correspondent rebecca morelle.across the globe. as cities locked down, the air became cleaner, but not for long, and the impacts of climate change are still accelerating. away from earth, we entered a new era for space flight with the first private mission to carry astronauts into space. and there was a surprise discovery on venus, with scientists asking if they had found signs of life. and in 2020, an expedition to one of the most remote places on the planet to study a colossal melting glacier whose fate could affect us all. and as the year came to a close, the news of effective vaccines, as hopes rose that the pandemic could finally have an end in sight. welcome to review 2020: the year in science. i'm at the royal 0bservatory greenwich in london. usually it is packed with visitors here, but like so many other places around the world, the arrival of the coronavirus transformed everything. the pandemic has been an extraordinary challenge for scientists, but not only have researchers been throwing everything they h