welcome to bbc news. i'm ben boulos. our top stories... the women's tennis association suspends all tournaments in china amidst concerns about peng shuai. we know she's in beijing, which is terrific, but we also still are very strong in our position that a full and independent investigation without any censorship needs to be held. we censorship needs to be held. will not allow this to swept we will not allow this to be swept away without the appropriate respect and seriousness of the allegations reflected. the first case of omicron reported in the us. the chief medical officer says it was �*just a matter of time'. hollywood actor alec baldwin insists he did not pull the trigger in the fatal shooting of cinematographer halyna hutchins. and the winner is.... the turner prize goes to a traditional irish pub with a twist.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. some of the biggest names in tennis have thrown their support behind the women's tennis association after it said it will immediately suspended all tournaments in china. the head of the wta has told the bbc the decision was taken because chinese authorities have failed to address sexual assault allegations made by the doubles star peng shuai against a former vice premier. courtney bembridge has the latest. it's been a month since peng shuai posted on social media accusing a top chinese official of sexual assault. the post was quickly taken down and she disappeared from public view.

photos and videos like this released by chinese state media were supposed to show her safe and free, but did little to allay concerns for her safety. there were concerns she was filmed under duress. and now, the women's tennis association has pulled the plug on lucrative tournaments in china. we won't walk away from this and we won't allow this to be swept away without the appropriate seriousness of the allegations that have been addressed. china is a key market for women's tennis, and the decision could cost the wta hundreds of millions of dollars in broadcasting and sponsorship. but the tennis community has come out in support the wta says it can't ask athletes to compete there. this is about something _ athletes to compete there. ti 3 is about something that's bigger than the business and

bigger than the business and bigger than the financials. world number one novak djokovic says... american former world number one billiejean king tweeted... the international olympic committee had a video call with peng shuai last month and said she was safe and well. but with the beijing winter olympics and paralympics around the corner, the ioc has been accused of putting its interests over the safety of athletes. china is yet to respond to the wta decision, but it's clear the questions about peng shuai aren't going away. courtney bembridge, bbc news. ben rothenberg is an american sports writer

who covers tennis and also co—hosts a tennis podcast, no challenges remaining. he's in washington. good to have you with us. what do you make of this decision to suspend all the tournaments? i think it's a really bold and decisive action from them. i also think it's a bit inevitable based on these steps. made it clear they were not concerned about this issue narrowly, but also about larger issues about censorship in china, about women's voices being heard. other issues i don't think the chinese government was ever going to compromise on. i think the writing was on the wall for a few weeks, and now the wta is calling up and making good on a threat. people have been really admiring being that bold and decisive given all that's at stake. . , . decisive given all that's at stake. . ~ , .,

stake. that is a key point that this could _ stake. that is a key point that this could be _ stake. that is a key point that this could be a _ stake. that is a key point that this could be a very _ stake. that is a key point that this could be a very good - stake. that is a key point that this could be a very good hit l this could be a very good hit to the women's tennis association and its efforts to achieve equal prize money for women competitors. what needs to happen now to bolster their decision and make sure they do not suffer financially? what does the rest of the tennis world need to do? the does the rest of the tennis world need to do?- does the rest of the tennis world need to do? the wt has cotten a world need to do? the wt has gotten a lot — world need to do? the wt has gotten a lot of— world need to do? the wt has gotten a lot of accolades - gotten a lot of accolades around the world, and i think what it needs now is for those same countries who are praising them to step up and open their chequebooks to support women's tennis. this is a global sport. there are lots of countries that could be interested in hosting premier elite events, but china had been outbidding all of those countries for many years. now �*s a chance for those countries to step up and fill the void that is there. for many of its biggest events.

is there any obvious place in your mind that could step in as an alternative? fit, your mind that could step in as an alternative?— an alternative? a couple things that come _ an alternative? a couple things that come to — an alternative? a couple things that come to mind _ an alternative? a couple things that come to mind for- an alternative? a couple things that come to mind for me, - that come to mind for me, london, the admin�*s world tour final location, i think it could be in the future, especially with emma raducanu. on another... and japan, with naomi osaka, japan has been overshadowed a bit by china gobbling up all the rights. this will be an opportunity for japan as well to maybe become a home for big events. traditional markets in america and europe have already lost a lot of their ovens to china. it's a chance for them to read to gain some of those losses. 0k, to gain some of those losses. ok, ben, we must leave it there. thanks very much. south africa has recorded a sharp increase in coronavirus infections which have doubled across the

country since monday. health officials say the newly discovered omicron variant may how many of the new cases it accounts for. eight—and—a—half—thousand covid infections have been registered in south africa in the last 2a hours. officials there say omicron is "rapidly becoming the dominant variant" after the country became the first to detect the highly mutated new variant last week. since then, omicron has been identified in two dozen countries. on wednesday, the united states identified its first omicron case — someone who had arrived in california from south africa over a week ago. the centre for disease control is reportedly looking at a number of other potential cases, but has yet to say how many. in europe, portugal has at least 13 omicron cases, the united kingdom has more than 20, spain, germany and austria have fewer than 10 cases between them —

but similar to the united states, the expectation is there are far more omicron cases in europe that have yet to be identified — and the european union says it is now considering mandatory vaccination to combat covid and the omicron variant. we can now speak to dr celine gounder, an epidemiologist and infectious—diseases specialist who previously advised president biden administration's transition team on their covid—i9 response. it's good to have you with us. do you think that approach i just referred to, mandatory vaccinations, is the way to go? i do. i do think we should be mandating vaccination. i think we should be an evening vaccinations for travel, whether that is domestic or international travel. whether that is domestic or internationaltravel. i whether that is domestic or international travel. i think we should be mandating

vaccination in addition to testing. in the united states has moved on testing power. we are now requiring testing within 2a hours and based on what we know about the incubation period notjust of omicron, but of the prior dominant variant, the delta variant, this is really a move that we should have made months ago, six plus months ago. to move to this requirement you'd be tested 2a hours prior to travel as opposed to 72 hours prior. travel as opposed to 72 hours rior. ~ , u, , prior. with the first case bein: prior. with the first case being identified - prior. with the first case being identified of - prior. with the first case being identified of the l prior. with the first case - being identified of the united —— in california. is there any guys, any estimate as to how many more there might be? because we've seen this with other variants. because we've seen this with othervariants. by because we've seen this with other variants. by the time

it's detected in one country, it's detected in one country, it's too late to stop it being brought in because it either has travelled to the community or other cases have arrived. i think we probably have a lot more introductions of the omicron variant in the us beyond this one case. if you look at testing, genomic testing surveillance across the country, there is an average of 15% of cases that are now being tested, undergoing genomic testing. in san francisco, it's just under the average at about 12 or 13%. there are parts of the country as low as 3%. so, i don't think it's surprising that we may have missed an introduction of omicron in parts of the country, and i don't think it's surprising it would have been picked up in a part of the country that was in a relatively high rate of testing. a relatively high rate of testing-— a relatively high rate of testinu. , ., , ., a relatively high rate of testinu. , ., i. , testing. giving what you 'ust said, do traveli testing. giving what you 'ust said, do travel bans i testing. giving what you 'ust said, do travel bans orh

said, do travel bans or restrictions make any difference? because once it's present in a country, it's already there.— already there. travel restrictions - already there. travel restrictions can - already there. travel| restrictions can make already there. travel i restrictions can make a difference if they're done rigorously, and rapidly. so, how do we restricted travel into the us on the 26 or 27, of last month, that might have made a difference —— had we restricted. had we imposed those restrictions notjust on corridors, but also non—us citizens and residents, that might have made a difference. and then pairing that with testing requirements in quarantine might have made a difference. as a somebody to work in south africa personally, from the late �*90s up personally, from the late �*90s up until 2012, personally, from the late �*90s up until2oi2, i personally, from the late �*90s up until 2012, i can tell you flying those flights from

atlanta tojohannesburg, half of the passengers are american at least. if you're only restricting or venting or surveilling half your of passengers and the other half could be carrying the omicron or other variants, you're really leaving a very widely pooled there.— pooled there. ok, it's fascinating _ pooled there. ok, it's fascinating to - pooled there. ok, it's fascinating to hear . pooled there. ok, it's i fascinating to hear your expertise. doctor gounder, thank you very much. the us supreme court has begun hearing arguments in the most important case on abortion rights for half a century. the court is considering a law in the state of mississippi which bans terminations after 15 weeks. a ruling isn't expected until next summer. the court is dominated byjustices with a conservative mindset — and if they find in mississippi's favour, dozens of other states could ban or restrict abortions. our correspondent sophie long sent this report. singing.

this is a regular scene outside the last remaining abortion clinic in the state of mississippi. it's murder, murdering children is wrong according to the god in the bible. the difficult decision women who come here have made, is judged very publicly. this is the front line in a bitter battle that has gone on for decades. mississippi is trying to ban abortions after 15 weeks. if the supreme court rules in the state's favour, it will roll back the law that has been in place for nearly half a century, known as roe versus wade. it's people in the poorest communities that will feel the impact the most. pro—choice campaigners say that will threaten lives. we're just going out in the community... the students are spreading the anti—abortion message. they want it banned without the exception of incest or rape, and lydia knows how that feels. i actually was in - that same situation.

i was scared. i was thinking, you know what, even if i am, it'sjust amazing i that there's possibly a baby inside of me. _ even with the law still intact, many have been forced to travel thousands of miles from states like texas where abortion is banned from six weeks, to more liberal states to access the care they need. one 19—year—old has come across half the country from houston to seattle. she was assaulted, did a pregnancy test that was negative, but over the following weeks, her body continued to change. i was scared. i don't want any memory of that day, any connection to that person. i could not get any help for the pain i was going through. ijust had to suffer in silence. when people are controlling women's fertility and pregnant

people's fertility under the guise they are trying to protect their health, they are controlling that person's basic human rights and dignity, and that is a form of human rights abuse. the supreme court's decision will likely not come until next summer. over the coming months, many will pray and others will hope it goes their side's way. sophie long, bbc news, seattle. stay with us on bbc news. still to come... the bbc gets rare access on board an american aircraft carrier as itjoins with allies in asia, while politicians focus on china's intentions towards taiwan. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. we feel so helpless.

the children are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at 11 o'clock this morning, just half a metre of- rock separated britain i from continental europe. it took the drills just i a few moments to cut through the final obstacle, - then philippe cossette, a miner from calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags _ with his opposite . number from dover. this is bbc world news.

the latest headlines... the women's tennis association has suspended all tournaments in china, saying it has serious doubts that chinese tennis star peng shuai is "free, safe and not subject to intimidation". the first case of the omicron variant has been reported in california. the chief medical advisor, antony fauci, says it was �*just a matter of time' before it was found in the united states. for months, china has been probing taiwan's airspace, leading to speculation it could be preparing to attack, or even invade the island. all of this has raised concerns among asian and american officials of increased instability in the region. the commander of the us seventh fleet has been talking to our correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes during navy exercises with allies on board the uss carl vinson. a pair of us stealth jets streaks past the aircraft

carrier carl vinson in a mock attack formation. this is a show for tv cameras. it's also a message for america's adversaries. so, by my estimation, we're now somewhere about 500km off the coast of japan, somewhere near the island of iwojima, which of course was the island site of a very bloody battle between the americans and the japanese in the final months of world war ii. today, the us and japan sail together as allies, facing the new challenge from china. and to do that, america has brought its very latest aircraft. the noise when the aircraft takes off is just incredible. it goes right through your body. the f35—c is the us navy's newest, most advanced and of course most expensive fighter aircraft. this is its first deployment outside the us, and there's no

surprise it's been sent here to the western pacific. for months, china has been sending dozens of military aircraft to probe the airspace around taiwan. in a shanghai shipyard, they're preparing to launch china's first super carrier and in the deserts of western china, they're building a full scale replicas of us aircraft carriers to practise sinking them. the response from the us commander here was that no—one should underestimate the resolve of the us navy and its allies. the motto of this ship means strength from the sea. and the motto of the us under ronald reagan is peace through strength. and through strength, as we try to deter aggression from some of these nations that are showing a burgeoning strength, that maybe we haven't experienced in the past, it's about ensuring that everyone understands that today is not the day.

many are predicting that china will soon overtake american naval power in asia and that taiwan will have to submit to that new reality. the message from the us navy is that it is still by far the best in the world at doing this, and any adversary should be very cognisant of that fact. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, on the uss carl vinson. the us actor alec baldwin has given his first interview since a gun he was holding on set went off. killing cinematographer halyna hutchins, back in october. in the interview with abc news, he was emotional as he recalled the 42—year—old as someone who was �*loved by everyone'. he also said this. the trigger wasn't pulled, i didn't pull the trigger. so, you never pulled the trigger? - no, no, no. i would never point a gun at anyone and pulled the trigger at them, never. what did you think happened? how did a real bullet get on that set? -

i have no idea. someone put a live bullet in the gun, a bullet that wasn't even supposed to be on the property. david willis joins us live from los angeles. quite a stark revelation in the interview. what more did we learn from that?— interview. what more did we learn from that? when news of this incident _ learn from that? when news of this incident first _ learn from that? when news of this incident first broke, - learn from that? when news of this incident first broke, it - this incident first broke, it seemed tragic, undoubtedly and surprising but that fairly straightforward indeed. the local sheriff �*s department within a couple of hours of this shooting issued a statement in which it referred to the discharge of a gun by the actor alec baldwin. but as the actor alec baldwin. but as the weeks have gone by, this whole thing has started to see less and less straightforward. now we have alec baldwin himself coming forward to dispute what had seemed to be a

part of the whole narrative, mainly that he was the person who pulled the trigger of the gun that fired the live bullet that killed halyna hudgins. naturally, this raises a whole load of questions — triggers don't pull themselves, so how did this gun go off? could alec baldwin perhaps inadvertently applied pressure to the trigger that caused the gun to fire? combined with a range of other uncertainties, disputes on the part of members of the film crew, the inverted misfiring of other weapons on the set, and claims of potential sabotage. this all looks anything but a straightforward.— this all looks anything but a straightforward. where are we u . straightforward. where are we u- to straightforward. where are we up to with _ straightforward. where are we up to with the _ straightforward. where are we up to with the investigation? l up to with the investigation? detectives are focusing on how live ammunition could have made its way onto this film set.

contrary to all film industry protocols. they've interviewed members of the cast and crew, a number of about 100 in total, and their investigations are continuing. they reserve the right to press charges against anyone involved in this production, including alec baldwin himself, but no charges have been laid so far. qm. have been laid so far. 0k, david, thank _ have been laid so far. 0k, david, thank you - have been laid so far. 0k, david, thank you very - have been laid so far. ok, i david, thank you very much. an art installation depicting a traditional irish pub has been unveiled as the winner of this year's turner prize. the piece, by the belfast—based array collective, features photos, memorabilia and videos — some of them representing hidden political messages about sexuality and identity. our correspondent david sillito reports from the awards ceremony in coventry. the winner of the turner prize 2021... and it is... ..array collective. cheering.

array collective, a group of artists and activists from northern ireland whose turn a prize—winning artwork is more than just a pub, it's a shebeen — a symbolic place of good—natured debate and sanctuary from sectarian conflict. this is your shebeen, your pub, but it's more than that, it has a political overtone to it? we don't all agree on everything and the communities we are within and represented, don't agree on everything, but we still agree to have a laugh together. array collective origins lie in progressive and liberal campaigns, creating banners and costumes for street protests and rallies — an attempt to bring art to a less combative mood to the street theatre of northern ireland politics. we come at it from a point of view where it's better to come at it from a humorous point of view than an aggressive point of view. you can challenge the conversation through humour,

rather than aggression. bringing a bit of civility to the debate? and the human connection. this is more thanjust a little drinking den, it's a desire to bring to our politics, some of the gentle warmth and conviviality of a friendly pub. david sillito, bbc news, coventry. archaeologists have uncovered an altar in mexico city that dates back to the 16th century. experts say the altar was located in a courtyard inside the home of an aztec family. it was used to honour their dead. an urn containing human ashes was one of the items found. the altar can be traced back to the period before the spanish conquest of the aztec capital. don't forget you can reach me on the team on social media,

you can find me at @benmboulos. this is bbc news, thanks for watching. hello. the cold air is back. thursday gets off to a chilly start with a wide spread frost and temperatures won't crawl up too far for the day despite a lot of sunshine on offer. the cold air has come chasing down through these isobars all the way from close to the arctic circle, sweeping its way right to south across the uk. overnight starting to plunge down into the continent through thursday. we are all in the arctic air and we will all feel it thanks to a cold northerly breeze. where we've seen some showers overnight there will be a risk of ice to start us off on thursday. as i said, a widespread frost. further showers across eastern scotland, eastern counties of england through the day, a few as well across the west coast of wales particularly i think through pembrokeshire pushing down through devon

and cornwall, eastern scotland. perhaps clearing come the afternoon. but it's cold in the sunshine. highs ofjust 3—4 degrees. sunshine a bit milkier for northern ireland through the afternoon. that is because this weather system will be starting to work its way in. as it runs into the cold air there could be some snow for a time but it will tend to turn back to rain as the air coming in behind this band of rain is relatively mild. actually, temperatures at the end of friday nights higher than those we will see through thursday daytime. and on into friday daytime and we will have some rain around for southern and eastern england to start the day, we will get some brightness for scotland and northern ireland, they'll be a few showers on and off here. just some question to the south of the uk weather this rain could push in through friday afternoon. we will certainly keep a lot of cloud generally across england and wales but temperatures perhaps 11— 12 degrees. it's certainly milder than thursday. to the north, five, six, seven.

for the weekend, though, the chill returns. perhaps not quite as cold as thursday but once again will pick up a northwesterly breeze. for saturday, i think that's going to bring in some quite plentiful showers across northern island heading into north wales down into the midlands. temperatures, 6—7 degrees but it will feel cooler in the breeze. sunday is a very similar story but i think we can erase some of the showers from our picture. still some for western exposures of wales, and a northerly breeze, so really adding to the chillier feel.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the women's tennis association says it is suspending all tournaments in china. it comes after chinese tennis star peng shuai disappeared from public view for three weeks after she accused a top official of sexual assault.some of the biggest names in tennis have thrown their support behind the wta's move. south africa has recorded a sharp increase in coronavirus infections which have doubled across the country since monday. health officials say the newly discovered omicron variant may be fuelling the surge.at the same time, the first case of the new variant has been reported in california. the american actor, alec baldwin, has given his first full interview since the fatal shooting of the cinematographer, halyna hutchins, on the set of his film, rust. mr baldwin told abc he did not pull the trigger on the gun which killed ms hutchins in october.

tens of thousands of people in the north