welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: the united states announces a diplomatic boycott of the beijing winter olympics because of china's record on human rights. china calls that boycott a pretentious act and insists it is against the spirit of the games. new york's mayor says all private—sector workers in the city must be vaccinated against the coronavirus, the strictest mandate yet. more evidence is given in the trial of ghislaine maxwell, the woman accused of helping the disgraced financier, the latejeffrey epstein. and we talk to the hollywood legend mel brooks who, at 95, is taking stock of his extraordinary career.

hello and welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the white house has delivered as long expected salvo against china. it has announced a diplomatic boycott of the beijing winter olympic and paralympic games which are due to start next february. that move has been broadly moved welcomed across the political divide in the us, although it does only apply to diplomatic and political figures, not to the athletes themselves who have been given the white house seal of approval to take part. tanya dendrinos has this report. beijing 2022. as the snow settles, olympic venues are taking shape, but the pinnacle of sport is no stranger to politics. with two months remaining,

the us has announced a diplomatic boycott, saying it won't contribute to the fanfare, nor pretend it is business as usual in the face of china's egregious human rights record. the biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the beijing 2022 winter olympics and paralympic games given the prc�*s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in xinjiang and other human rights abuses. there is precedent here, but the move falls short of the 1980 us—led boycott of the moscow games where team usa athletes were pulled from the competition. the athletes will be participating, we will be rooting for the athletes from home. i am an olympics obsessed person so i'm looking forward to doing that, but i think this isjust an indication that it cannot be business as usual, that not sending a diplomatic delegation sends that message. but is beijing paying attention? judging by the reaction of the foreign ministry in a press conference prior to official confirmation

from the us, labelling it wishful thinking, grandstanding and politically manipulative, the answer is yes. translation: what the us should do is to correct its attitude, - practice a more united olympic spirit, and take china's concerns seriously. do not politicise sports and stop calling for the so—called diplomatic boycott of the beijing winter olympics so as not to affect the dialogue and cooperation between china and the us in important areas. if the us insists on wilfully clinging to its course, china will definitely take resolute countermeasures. the uk and australia are among other nations considering a beijing boycott, a move backed by human rights organisations, which have long argued china should never have been awarded the games to begin with. as they edge closer, it seems concerns are reaching a crescendo. tanya dendrinos, bbc news.

ahead of a scheduled video call between the russian and american presidents, a senior us official says american presidents, a senior us official sastoe biden will want vladimir putin of severe economic consequences if he decides to invade ukraine. the white house has been working to co—ordinate a strong response. intelligence reports indicate in recent weeks russia has amassed tens of,000 troops on border with ukraine and that has proper fears of an border with ukraine and that has properfears of an invasion early next year. some covid issues to deal with here and call it what you will come a vaccine mandate. either way, the message is pretty clear. even if you are in the private sector, you will have to get vaccinated if you want to get vaccinated if you want to go to work. the mayor of new york, bill de blasio, has announced that workers have until december 27 to have the jab. this is in an effort to stop rising cases of covid—i9 as the new omicron variant has been gaining a foothold.

it is time. look, this is how we put health and safety first — by ensuring that there is a vaccine mandate that reaches everyone, universally in the private sector. a lot of folks say they believe in vaccination, but they are not quite sure how they can do it themselves. we are going to do it. i spoke to ross about how new yorkers will respond about these new rules. it is the most sweeping vaccine mandate in the united states. it is really quite fascinating. new york city, as you just said, is now requiring all private employees, over 100,000 people easily, to acquire at least one dose. another big change — children ages 5 to ii will need one dose of a vaccine starting december 27 to enter restau ra nts, to enter cultural attractions, basically most

indoor activities. mayor bill de blasio, who's leaving office in a few weeks, is taking a very much pre—emptive strike against the omicron variant, against covid. a lot of questions about enforcement, will this be in the courts? president biden also tried to require employees nationwide, employers to mandate vaccines. that has been held up. so a lot of outstanding questions right now as new york city takes the most aggressive step to fight covid in the united states. interesting that bill de blasio does it does as he is leaving in hands over to erik adams. i don't suppose that will change too much in the short term. but do you think is fair? i think some people will. there are a lot of questions. a lot of new yorkers are vaccinated, the vaccination rate is high. another big change moving from one dose to two doses

as a requirement to enter most indoor venues, there are a small number of people who have had allergic reaction to the vaccine who might have trouble getting a second dose, so they will need a medical exemption or something like that. overall, new yorkers have accepted the vaccine mandates, but really, the move to the private sector is a big difference. public sector employees have been required, but will small businesses who have four or five employees, one or two won't get vaccinated, what will they do, what fines will be needed? how much will the city manage this? it is up to the neck mayor, eric adams, to handle it. bill de blasio will be gone so it is going to be his endeavour to take it on. we shouldn't forget that new york was very badly hit, let's call it �*first time around' if that is the right expression, and i suppose there would in understanding about the importance of protecting one another

in terms of covid and omicron, whatever it might be. what about the eventuality of lifting all these restrictions? how anxious are new yorkers about it? it's a really good question. i wrote a piece about this back in october — what are the metrics for lifting mandates? none really exist, to tell you the truth. i think a lot of new yorkers are still worried about covid so they are still willing to accept the mandates. in a few months, five months, even longer, at what point will you not be required to show your vaccination status to do most activities and everyday life? that is an open question. another issue — we have a lot of people coming for the holiday season from out of town come out of the country. some countries have not vaccinated children. the head of the restaurant industry has raised question as well — if you have a child who is five, six, seven years

old, they need a dose to dine out with theirfamilies on december 27 and a lot of states have not vaccinated children yet. 20% of new york city children are vaccinated, and some countries have not vaccinated children yet. these questions must be worked out. it's a very ambitious policy and very understandable given the threat of covid, but again, so much needs to be resolved. as from now in fact, travellers coming to the uk will have to show evidence of a negative covid test taken no more than 48 hours of leaving their country of origin. it is latest in a series measures from the british government in slowing the spread of omicron. the prime minister of the solomon islands has survived a no—confidence motion in parliament. riots broke out in late november over government policies fuelled by poverty, unemployment and interisland rivalries in this nation of 800,000 people.

his administration has also faced popular anger over its decision to switch diplomatic allegiance to beijing from taiwan. a second woman who says that jeffrey epstein sexually abused her has been testifying in the ghislaine maxwell trial in new york. ms maxwell, who was a close confidant of epstein, has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sex trafficking and other charges. jeffrey epstein, who was a convicted sex offender, died in a new york prison cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges in a federal case. we have been following events in court. kate's age was a real issue of contention between the prosecution and the defence. she was 17 at the time of the alleged abuse, which is the age of consent in britain. and so the judge instructed the jury that any of the sex acts she testified about were not to be considered illegal acts. instead, the prosecution really used her to lay out their argument about how ghislaine maxwell really was central to jeffrey

epstein�*s world, and specifically, this effort of grooming young girls for sexual abuse. and so, kate detailed how she first met ghislaine maxwell at 17 years old at her townhome in london. she went there for tea and she said they immediately really felt at ease with each other. she said she wanted to be like ghislaine maxwell when she was older. ghislaine maxwell allegedly told her that her boyfriend, jeffrey epstein, could help her with her music career. but kate says that when she went back the next time and all the times after that, ghislaine maxwell allegedly instructed her to give jeffrey epstein a massage, which turned into a sexualised massage. she says at that point, the alleged abuse continued for years, and she was even asked by maxwell to recruit other "young cute girls," she says she put it. she said she didn't do that, but ms maxwell of course has denied all of the allegations, and in cross—examination,

the defence really tried to pick holes in kate's memories, saying at the time she was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, and questioned whether her memories could be trusted. she said that she remembered everything very well because those were significant moments in her life. they also questioned whether she was in this for money, saying that she got millions of dollars from the epstein victim compensation fund. but kate, again, said she had no financial stake in this trial. stay with us here on bbc news. still to come: the bbc�*s 100 women list is being published wiht a special focus on afghanistanm, and we have —— with a special focus on afghanistanm, and we have that list. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building, in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil and the flowers

have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former president i of the philippines, hasi gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion, estimated i at £120 million. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. you are watching bbc news with me, david eades. our main story this hour:

the united states announces a diplomatic boycott of the beijing winter olympics because of china's record on human rights. will stay without. they have been speaking to the bobsled who is on the board of the ring —— direct is. they asked him for his reaction to the white house decision.— house decision. given everything _ house decision. given everything that - house decision. given - everything that is going on in the world today, it is best case scenarios. from an athlete's perspective we want to make sure they can compete. supportive, it is a shame it comes to this and we live in a world where these are the kinds of actions that governments take against each other, but ultimately we are happy from an athlete's' perspective that we will not have any interference in the athletes competing. the chinese message there was "don't politicise sport". it sounds to me as though you would, to a degree, share that view. yet we have the white

house which is referencing genocide in china to the uyghur community. isn't it incumbent on athletes as well to recognise what they are walking into? absolutely. i think this is something we have been in communication with the administration for a better part of a year at this point. from a human rights violations to everything else we see happening overseas right now, ultimately, to the chinese point, i think they make a wonderful point of let's not politicise sport. politics and diplomats are politics and diplomats and those things sometimes get put in the same arena but ultimately they are separate, and i think that is what the administration is promoting at this point, that we will not politicise sport. what will happen and the athletes will be there. can i ask you whether you think, we have two months to go before the games themselves begin. as you know, the women's tennis

association has taken a very hard line with regard to the lack of information about what has happened to peng shuai, she has completed in three olympics. what might the message be for other athletes? should they not be standing beside and behind one of their own? ultimately for us we want to make sure we are focusing on their safety, making sure peng shuai's safety and those who are responsible for her safety are taking all the steps they can. from an athlete's perspective, the best thing we can do is compete. that is how we honour each other and i completed at my final olympics in vancouver and we had an athlete from georgia that died and the best thing that we can do for each other at that point was honour that person. so we believe peng shuai. it is something we have reckoned with over the past few years.

when it comes to things like abuse, we support and we need to believe the people, the women and people going through what she's going through, and ultimately... sorry to interrupt, that might make it harder to keep the line of, we are athletes and we want to take part, which is very understandable. at the same time, you welcome what the white house has done so far. would you welcome other countries setting in line with the white house position? every extra addition in terms of a weight of response perhaps make that much harder to have these games. i wouldn't say that i think a line of athletes are athletes and they should just be focused on sport. i think athletes have the rights to do and say whatever they want. they are on a certain platform. that they can. when it comes to what the biden

administration is doing, i am supportive of anything that keeps the athletes on the playing field. if the biden administration had made a different decision, i would be supportive. it is ultimately what i want to make sure that happens is the paralympics of the pics, i want to make sure they compete. steve messham of the us olympic committee there. the bbc�*s 100 women list is published on tuesday — that celebrates the achievements of women from grassroots activists through to global leaders, and half of this year's list is dedicated to women from afghanistan. the bbc�*s yalda hakim has this special report. every year, the bbc names 100 inspiring and influential women as part of the bbc 100 women season. and this year, for the first time, 50 of these women are from one country — afghanistan. this year's season will recognise the stories of afghan women —

the scope of their bravery and their achievements, after the taliban took control of the country earlier this year. over the next four days, bbc 100 women will also share the stories of women around the globe who are hitting reset and creating lasting change. 2021 has been a year when many women, especially those in afghanistan, have had to reinvent their lives. mahbouba seraj, women's rights activist and one of the women named on today's list, spoke to me in kabul. the trouble that afghanistan is in right now, apart from the whole political, whatever of it, you know... is poverty, is brain drain, a collapse of society and a country on the verge of becoming in pieces, of being destroyed. you've become now the public face of afghan women in afghanistan, someone who's remained and calling on others to come back. but what are they coming back to?

what they're coming back to is not really very, very, very different from what they have left. that's something i want to tell them. but by not working on it and by not being around and by not raising our voices and by not asking the right questions at the right time, and by not bringing everything to the attention of the ones that are taking care of things, whether they are the taliban, they are the afghans, they are the international community, it can get a lot worse. for them to come back now, we can start working again and make things happen again for afghanistan, because i'm sure there's going to be a day when taliban are going to realise that without women, it's just not going to happen. and are you willing to work within their sharia system? they're saying, we allow anything, as long as it's within sharia. we really want to make sure that whatever it is the sharia and what the sharia says, it's not the interpretation only of a group of people.

that's not what we want. there's a lot of islamic countries, they have women in them. how do they thrive? we want to be a thriving, a beautiful, a successful muslim country. what is wrong with that? and if the taliban don't listen? well, they have to listen if they want to survive! do they want to survive? afghanistan is a country, and we have to keep it as a country and make it better. do they want to understand this? if they do, then they will work at it. if they don't, then they'll do with the doing right now and afghanistan will disappear. the bbc�*s 100 women list is out. i have been looking at the whole list. it is on the website. you will find out about the inspiring and influential women who will be involved. the hollywood legend mel brooks is still going strong. he's 95 years old, he's

the man behind blazing saddles and the producers. and he's written his own autobiography, all about me. he recounts the highlights of his life in show business and his long marriage to the legendary actress anne bancroft. he's been speaking to the bbc�*s alan yentob. i know the word can be overused, but mel brooks is a legend. a movie legend, a musical legend, and a comedy legend. oscars, emmys, baftas, tonys, grammys, he has won them all many times over. # springtime for- hitlerand germany... mel brooks was fearless, he broke every rule, but he kept to the ones for lockdown, even telling his son max to go away. go home. i'm going. go. love you. he's been locked in writing his autobiography and after some persuasion, let me into talk about it. it all starts in brooklyn.

everybody in my building worked in the garment centre and ifigured i would probably end up there too. my unclejoe looked a little like you. a little better looking. changed my life. he said, "melvin," and i said "yes, unclejoe?" he said, "how would you like to see a cole porter musical on broadway called anything goes?" what an experience! when the show was over i said, "joe, i'm not gonna go into the garment centre! i'm gonna go into show business. i want to do what they were doing on that stage" and i never deviated from that plan, show business. i was going into show business. don't you ever want to become a butterfly? don't you want to spread your wings and flap your way to glory? you're gonna jump on me. you are gonna jump on me, i know you are going - tojump on me.

filming the producers taught mel a valuable lesson about how to handle studio executives. after the third or fourth day, he turns to me and says i'll give you another $25,000 if you get rid of that curly haired guy. he said, he's just funny looking, he's not — there's no leading man here. and i said ok, i said he's out. you didn't say that? he's out, he's gone. and that was a lesson, a great lesson for me. lie to the studio. mel met anne bancroft in 1961. his life changed forever. there she was, on stage singing beautifully. i saw her backstage and we talked and i never stopped seeing her and talking to her for the next 45 years. one of his most cherished awards is a medal of arts

he received from barack obama at the white house. the president was a big fan of blazing saddles. he loved the film. he loved the film and he cheated. yeah. well, he wasn't supposed to, he was 12 years old, it was listed for 16 and above, and i think he cheated. mel brooks fell in love with words and music when he was five years old. he chose this for his first performance. and he's been singing it ever since. # because, baby, j look at you now... 95—year—old mel brooks showing some of his remarkable life stories with alan yentob, his life in bad taste, as he puts it. you can get more on al brooks on the website and on our main story. —— mel brooks.

and you can see how they have been preparing for the olympics and paralympic games in china. hello there. we await the arrival of the second named storm of the season. storm barra will bring the worst of the weather during tuesday as windy weather develops widely. added to that later on snow and blizzards over som of the hills in the north. this is the centre of the storm approaching western parts of ireland. it will push a band of heavy rain northwards and eastward across the uk. but ahead of that we start the day with a frost widely and some icy patches in western scotland and the northwest of england. a very cold start then. we've got that rain sweeping its way across northern ireland, wales and the southwest in the morning, the winds picking up as well. that will be followed by some sunny intervals in heavy, blustery showers in

the afternoon as that band of wetter weather continues to push its way northwards and eastwards. may make double figures again in the southwest but it's much colder elsewhere, especially northern england and scotland where into that cold air the rain will fall as snow. particularly in the hills, a couple of centimetres, peak district, pennines, cumbria and the fells. heavier snowfall, blizzards likely in the southern uplands and that snowy weather will work its way up into the highlands later on in the day as the main rain band sweeps away from eastern parts of england, heavy showers follow and it stays very windy. strongest winds are likely to be through the irish sea, english channel, gust 70, 80mph near coast. generally 40 or 50 or so but could get windier around some north sea coast in the evening. now, after steaming into the uk, storm barra isjust going to stall overnight and into wednesday, and it will weaken as well. wednesday is still a windy day, just not as windy. the strongest winds are going to be in south wales and the southwest of england. and around that area of low pressure, showers or longer spells of rain rotating with some brief glimpses of sunshine. degrees. by the time we get to thursday our storm really is no more. it's continuing to weaken, the winds are continuing

to drop. this band of rain from the atlantic will arrive into northern ireland later in the day. but otherwise, it's a much quieter day on thursday. a fair bit of cloud around, many places are going to be dry, some sunshine at times but we're still in cold air, temperatures typically at sixes and sevens.

hello again. you're watching bbc news with me, david eades. these are the headlines: the biden administration has announced it will not be sending any diplomatic or other official us representation to the beijing winter olympic games in february next year. the white house press secretary, jen psaki, said the decision had been taken in the light of china's human rights abuses. at the trial in new york of ghislaine maxwell for sex trafficking, a witness has said the defendent told him to take two underage girls to the house of the disgraced financier, jeffrey epstein. ms maxwell pleas not guilty to the charges against her. now, it's time for hardtalk.