welcome to bbc news. i'm simon pusey. our top stories: british scientists warn that vaccines do little to prevent the latest variant of omicron. the wikileaks founder julian assange can be extradited to stand trial in the us, according to the latest legal ruling in britain. the us supreme court leaves a controversial texas law banning most abortions in place. president biden says he's "very concerned". mike nesmith — singer and guitarist with the �*60s band band the monkees — has died at the age of 78. and we'll meet the woman behind some of netflix's most binge—worthy original programming.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. there's a renewed push in the uk for everyone eligible to get a coronavirus booster jab to come forward for one after british scientists warned that two vaccine doses weren't enough to stop people catching the omicron variant. early analysis suggests the booster reduces the chance of developing any symptoms by around three—quarters. here's our medical editor fergus walsh. the omicron variant is spreading incredibly fast, despite our highly immunised population. the growth rate is even more rapid than last christmas, when the alpha wave hit and very few of us had been vaccinated.

new analysis shows that having two vaccine doses is unlikely to stop omicron infection. however, boosterjabs will give around 75% protection against a mild infection. both two and three doses should give significant protection against severe disease, but to what extent is still unclear. it's the sheer growth rate of omicron which is worrying scientists. it may produce the biggest wave of infection so far in this pandemic. if we continue to double in this rate, then i would expect that without any mitigations, we could have 100,000 or 200,000 cases, or even more by the end of the month in the case numbers that we see every day. what we don't know is how many of these cases will translate into hospitalisation. what we do know is the more cases we have in the community, the more pressure that will put on hospitalisations. even if omicron is causing mostly a milder illness than delta, which some early data

from south africa suggests, a huge wave of infection here could still result in a sudden peak of hospital admissions within a matter of weeks. the government is not ruling out further measures beyond plan b to control omicron, but no one yet is using the l word — lockdown. we absolutely do need to keep everything under review. i think the approach that we're taking is proportionate, we recognise the importance of balancing people's ability to get on with their lives with the need to protect them against this virus, but action is absolutely required, and as new data comes in, we will consider what action we do require to take in the face of that data. care homes were especially hard—hit in earlier covid waves. under new guidance, residents in england will be allowed a maximum of three visitors, and more vaccination teams will be deployed

to offer boosters. the omicron puzzle is still being pieced together. for now, it remains unclearjust how big and how serious it will prove. fergus walsh, bbc news. the wikileaks founder julian assange can be extradited to the us to stand trial, the uk's high court has ruled. assange faces charges in the states of publishing classified documents. his extradition was blocked injanuary because of concerns about his mental health, but nowjudges have said that assurances given about mr assange�*s treatment allow the move to go ahead. dominic casciani has this report. free, freejulian assange! a day ofjudgment, but is it the end of the road in washington for a man who has been wanted for a decade? today, the high court ruled julian assange should go on trial in the us for disclosing state secrets. his supporters say he'll kill himself injail, the americans say they'll treat him humanely. mr assange�*s partner says those

assurances are worthless. the high court decided againstjulian on this occasion on the basis of political assurances. amnesty international has analysed these assurances and has said that they are inherently unreliable. it's taken 11 years to get here. in 2010, julian assange�*s wikilea ks posted video of iraqi civilians killed by us forces. just one of thousands of us secrets. two years later, he flees into the ecuadorian embassy in london. in 2018, the us begins preparing a prosecution. the next year, assange is removed from the embassy, and he's been in a british jail cell ever since. for his supporters, julian assange is a warrior for truth and justice, but our extradition law says he must stand trial for his alleged crimes. his lawyers will try to get the case into the supreme court to overturn this judgment, but that's not guaranteed.

time is running out. if he can't launch a final appeal, one of the most controversial figures of the internet age will be on his way to trial in america. dominic casciani, bbc news, at the high court. let's get some of the day's other news. the us has placed financial sanctions on a chinese software company and two political leaders in the xinjiang region over the persecution of the uyghurs and other muslims. the two leaders are accused of taking part in the sweeping oppression of their own people. china denies incarcerating more than a million uyghurs in prison camps. there's been a huge explosion at a palestinian camp in the city of tyre in southern lebanon. state media say an ammunition depot belonging to the palestinian militant group hamas at a refugee camp in the city blew up. they say a number of people have been killed and wounded. ghana is introducing some of the world's strictest covid travel rules, by banning any adult who has not been vaccinated from flying in with effect from monday. there is no option

to self—isolate. ghanaian citizens and residents abroad are exempt for up to two weeks, but will be required to getjabbed upon landing at the airport. the white house says presidentjoe biden is "very concerned" by the supreme court's decision to leave in place a ban on most abortions in texas. it follows a ruling by the court on friday that abortion providers can pursue legal challenges to a controversial law that bans the procedure in the state of texas after the first six weeks of pregnancy. but the court also ruled that the legislation will remain in place for now. the law has been sharply criticised by doctors, women's rights groups and the biden administration. the president is very concerned by the supreme court's decision to allow sb8 to remain in effect, given the consequences that law has for women in texas and around the country and for the rule of law. i know you noted this, but i would just like to reiterate that the president is deeply committed to the constitutional

right recognising roe v wade, and he has argued and advocated in the past for codifying roe through passing the women's health protection act, and the ruling this morning is a reminder of how much these rights are at risk. julie f kay is an attorney and author of the book �*controlling women'. she helped litigate the first direct challenge to ireland's absolute abortion ban before the european court of human rights. shejoins me now from brooklyn. julie, quite confusing potentially, they are not blocking the law but abortion providers can challenge it. can you shed light on this? this rulin: you shed light on this? this ruling was _ you shed light on this? this ruling was really _ you shed light on this? this ruling was really more - ruling was really more procedural at this point. as we all know by now, the law in texas has been in effect for 100 days. it has almost ground abortion to a halt in texas and the supreme court has been ok with that in playing a really rough game with women's health

and access to abortion. now it is saying that the lawsuit can go ahead but it is not putting pores on what is going on in texas while we figure out whether this is constitutional or not. 50 whether this is constitutional or not. ,, whether this is constitutional or not, ., whether this is constitutional ornot. ., �*, or not. so you are saying it's not really — or not. so you are saying it's not really that _ or not. so you are saying it's not really that surprising - or not. so you are saying it's| not really that surprising that many watching would say six weeks, i mean, that is a time many women do not know they are pregnant. many women do not know they are reunant. , ., pregnant. right, these are the ste -s pregnant. right, these are the steps towards _ pregnant. right, these are the steps towards having - pregnant. right, these are the steps towards having a - pregnant. right, these are the l steps towards having a complete undermining of the federal right to abortion in the united states. the supreme court has its eyes set on dismantling roe and it had a casejust its eyes set on dismantling roe and it had a case just last week from mrs mississippi that would prohibit abortion after 15 weeks, and a pretty extreme change to the land of the law in the us and the texas case would be really devastating and essentially allows states to ban all abortions.— ban all abortions. can you lease ban all abortions. can you please talk _ ban all abortions. can you please talk through - ban all abortions. can you please talk through the i please talk through the judicial system if you made because it goes back to the trump era and the supreme court and the number ofjudges on

that. talk it through that. we lost the that. talk it through that. - lost the abortion issue when we lost the abortion issue when we lost the abortion issue when we lost the 2016 election. president trump had promised his basie would deliver supreme courtjustices his basie would deliver supreme court justices and his basie would deliver supreme courtjustices and because of that promise they overlooked a lot of bad behaviour on his part. we are now looking at the next era coming up that some states will be choosing to choose to ban abortion, as many as half the states in united states will enact legislation to ban abortion once the federal right is no longer there. so will have some states, blue states as we call them, mostly on the coast, it will look like a doughnut with a dairy and whole where abortion services will be there that people can travel to four abortion services but the majority will not have them available — that it will look like a doughnut with a whole in the middle. like a doughnut with a whole in the middle-— the middle. thank you for enlightening _ the middle. thank you for enlightening us _ the middle. thank you for enlightening us on -

the middle. thank you for enlightening us on what l the middle. thank you for| enlightening us on what is the middle. thank you for l enlightening us on what is a complicated issue for many of our viewers. 55 people have been killed and dozens injured in mexico when a lorry and its trailer crashed and overturned. around 160 people including young families and children were in the trailer. most of them were migrants from central america, seeking a new life in the united states. will grant's report from chiapas in southern mexico contains some distressing images. it was already known as one of the most dangerous journeys in the world for people fleeing violence and poverty in search of a better life. at least 160 people, among them families with children, were crammed into a lorry�*s trailer, which overturned on a corner and crashed into a bridge. the doors flew open, throwing those inside onto the tarmac. the driver, who it's said may have been speeding, fled the carnage. dazed survivors were treated at the site and taken to nearby hospitals, but many migrants ran away forfear of being detained and deported. they cannot bear the idea

of returning to central america in the grip of extreme poverty, gang violence and climate change which is destroying their livelihoods. these people were ready to risk everything to reach the united states, paying thousands to drug cartels who run the profitable people smuggling routes north. for many though it cost them their lives. soon the process of identifying the bodies will begin and they'll be returned to their families in guatemala and honduras. but even these violent deaths won't deter many for long. for central america's poorest, the choice between a dangerous journey or a life of unending poverty and violence is no choice at all. will grant, bbc news, chiapas. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we remember mike nesmith — the guitarist with the 60s band the monkees — who's died, aged 78.

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 of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion, _ estimated 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.

this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: the uk government has warned that the omicron variant could be the dominant strain in britain within a week, british scientists have offered —— have wanted two doses of vaccine offer little protection against the omicron variant, although boosters to cut the risk of serious illness. the us supreme court leaves a controversial texas law banning most abortions in place. president biden says he's very concerned by the decision. president biden says he has spoken to olaf scholz and congratulated him on becoming germany's new chancellor. the us president tweeted he was looking forward to working together on a range of global challenges. it comes as olaf scholz is on a whirlwind tour of europe. he has been calling for unity to tackle the pandemic and tensions with russia. he said he was concerned about a russian buildup of troops on the ukraine border. we buildup of troops on the ukraine border.- buildup of troops on the ukraine border. we are of course deeply _

ukraine border. we are of course deeply concerned l ukraine border. we are of. course deeply concerned by ukraine border. we are of- course deeply concerned by the events on folding along the ukrainian border, and it has to be our responsibility ensures that everybody can feel safe, and that the borders are inviolable. the british foreign secretary, liz truss, has warned russia it will face "severe economic consequences" if it were to invade ukraine. she was speaking at the start of a meeting of g7 foreign ministers in liverpool. she stressed there'd be a show of unity in making clear to moscow that any military action would be a "strategic mistake." i share the view that it would be extremely serious if russia were to take that action. it would be a strategic mistake, and there would be severe consequences for russia. what we're doing this weekend is working with like—minded allies to spell that out. michael nesmith, singer and guitarist with 1960s pop

group the monkees, has died at the age of 78. the quartet rose to fame with a string of hit songs and starred in their own popular tv sitcom. in a statement to us media, michael nesmith's family said he: "passed away this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully and of natural causes." we can now speak to david browne, who's a senior writer at rolling stone magazine. you know, he was very influential in terms of, he was, i guess you could call him the serious monkee. the monkees were seen as a disposable pop group, in a way, but michael naismith was one of the guys in the band who wrote a lot of his own songs, he was the kind of quality control guy in that group. so that was a really important role in that band at the time. �* , . important role in that band at the time. �*, ., ., , the time. it's a quality control— the time. it's a quality control and _ the time. it's a quality control and one - the time. it's a quality control and one of - the time. it's a quality control and one of the j the time. it's a quality - control and one of the serious guys, he was also a bit of a

tour de force regarding the creative control, right? right, the did creative control, right? right, they did not — creative control, right? right, they did not have _ creative control, right? right, they did not have control - creative control, right? right, | they did not have control early on when they started. it was michael who led the charge and said, we want to participate on our own records, we want to write our own songs and play on them, and that was a real significant moment for the band. they broke away from don kershner, their original svengali producer, there ought kind of guy, and went off on their own for a couple of years. —— their auteur. their own for a couple of years. —— theirauteur. michael neser smith was a real driving force behind the monkeys having their own voice as a recording band. , ., , ~ band. often when people think ofthe band. often when people think of the monkees _ band. often when people think of the monkees they _ band. often when people think of the monkees they think - band. often when people think of the monkees they think of i of the monkees they think of them has been quite fun, they didn't really play by the rules in those days. but he would say maybe they were not too cohesive, they were not really a didn't have any kind of cause and they were sort of thrown together?— together? yes, it was an interesting _ together? yes, it was an interesting thing. - together? yes, it was an interesting thing. they l together? yes, it was an . interesting thing. they were actors, in a way, cast to play actors, in a way, cast to play a rock band. then they became one as the time went on. kind

of the exact opposite of what most bands do. most bands get together in garages and all that sort of stuff and they started on a tv show, don't they became more of an ensemble, and he was one of the real driving forces in making sure that the train stayed on the tracks, but they lived up to that legacy of what they promised, in terms of record making. he promised, in terms of record makinu. . , promised, in terms of record makin.. .,, ., promised, in terms of record makinu. ., ., promised, in terms of record makin.. ., ., , ., ., making. he was also a bit of a doneer making. he was also a bit of a pioneer after _ making. he was also a bit of a pioneer after the _ making. he was also a bit of a pioneer after the monkees, i pioneer after the monkees, right? he basically came up with the idea for ntb, even if it was not in that name. he had one of the most _ it was not in that name. he had one of the most interesting - one of the most interesting sort of post—i9 60s, post fame careers, of any one of his generation. basically, when the monkeys were over by about 1970, he didn't really look to kind of capitalise on it or repeat it. he formed his own band, started making quirky country records, he ventured into the world of video, as you say, he started a company called pacific arts. they made

early music videos, they even came up with the idea for, in a way, what became ntb. he produced movies like repo man. he did some sketch comedy tv specials, i mean, he really did kind of move on in a way, creating his own alternate artistic world that we didn't really need that nostalgia, he didn't need the monkeys. —— monkees. that was very rare among his generation, tojust cast the pastor side and remake yourself. cast the pastor side and remake ourself. �* ., yourself. and given how influential _ yourself. and given how influential he _ yourself. and given how influential he was, - yourself. and given how influential he was, whatj yourself. and given how - influential he was, what would you say his legacy is? the heart, with _ you say his legacy is? the heart, with the _ you say his legacy is? tue: heart, with the monkees! you say his legacy is? tte: heart, with the monkees! no, seriously, i think his legacy was notjust writing a bunch of songs with the monkees that have been covered to this day, you know, mary, mary and so forth. but also expanding music into more of a visual medium, you know? we see that to this

day, with music videos and so on. he was one of the pioneers of that. he pioneered the idea of that. he pioneered the idea of a serious band being on tv, in a sitcom, and taking that music to the next visual level after that. music to the next visual level after that-— after that. really interesting to net after that. really interesting to get your _ after that. really interesting to get your thoughts - after that. really interesting to get your thoughts on - after that. really interesting . to get your thoughts on michael naismith, who has died, thank you very much indeed. that was david brown, live from new york. , ., ., , as a director of original series at netflix, carolina garcia is responsible for bringing binge—worthy shows such as stranger things, atypical, and raising dion to our screens. born in argentina, garcia moved to the us with her family when she was a child and worked her way to the top of the entertainment industry. named as one of bbc�*s 100 women, she reveals what really makes a hit tv show. i believe that being a woman is a superpower. my name is carolina garcia and i'm the director of original series at netflix. what i do is, i help to pick hopefully the best shows to bring to audiences,

and i work with creators and writers to bring those stories to life, to hopefully create something that the world will love and enjoy. if we had a crystal ball, all of the shows that we programme would be the biggest hits in the world. unfortunately it's really hard to predict what's going to strike and what's going to feel, what's going to puncture the zeitgeist. so what i really rely on when picking shows is my intuition, my heart, and my instinct. so when someone's telling me a story, if i'm moved by that story, there's no algorithm in the world that's going to be able to predict that

human movement in me. growing up, i think latino immigrants — i'll speak personally — you just want to fit in. you just want to be part of the americana and really be the same as everyone else. i remember growing up, i have a pretty cool name, my name is carolina, and i always was like, "why can't my name just be sarah orjessica?" orjust, you know, whatever the american name was. because ijust, i really want fit in, and now i'm like, "oh, carolina, that was your superpower." being who you were was your superpower. you didn't have to be anyone else.

it's important to have examples, visible examples of people that look like you doing things that you aspire to do and to be. part of it is making sure that in the casting we're representing the full breadth of who can do what role. so part of myjob is to pay it forward. and to open the door and create new opportunities for latino excellence to come through the door and foster that talent. i think women especially, and i know this is true for me, growing up, i always wanted to think like one of the guys. it used to be there was only one seat at the table for a woman and women were often, you know, trying to make way for themselves to be that woman, and now we created more seats and it's not at the expense

of anyone else but it really is just about opening up opportunity for other people to come join the table. honestly, the more the merrier. like, why not? two totals have been released back into the mediterranean after months recovering from an injury. they got their toes went at a beach in israel's northern city of haifa. they were injured during a fishing incident earlier this year, and were given treatment by a group of animal rescue experts. now, after a full recovery, the time came to wave goodbye. the duke and duchess of cambridge have chosen a family photograph taken on a visit tojordan as the image for their official christmas card this year. the photograph was released on the royals�* social media accounts with the caption:

kensington palace said the photograph was taken injordan earlier this year, but did not reveal the nature or date of the visit, or the name of the photographer. the festive card is sent to friends, associates and their charities. you might want to put the kids in another room if they are here. a bishop in italy is on santa claus' naughty list for telling a group of children that he doesn't exist. bishop antonios and leona reportedly went even further, saying at a recent religious festival but centre's famous red suit was just a marketing ploy by the coca—cola company. —— that santa's. the roman catholic diocese in sicily has had to apologise to outraged parents. apparently the bishop was just trying to underline the true meaning of christmas and showing generosity to the poor but he clearly missed the mark. the real santa was not available for comment. i don't believe it. you can reach me on twitter.

i'm @sipusey. here's ben rich with the weather. hello. a big change in the feel of the weather through this weekend with some milder air spreading from the west. but with that, a fair amount of cloud, some mist, and murk and hill fog and some outbreaks of rain at times. on the earlier satellite picture, a slice of clear sky, and where that clear sky remains, quite a cold start to saturday morning. the coldest weather of the whole weekend, in fact. out west, more cloud, and with that some milder weather, which is slowly but surely going to crawl its way eastwards through the day. so, temperatures in eastern parts starting the day below freezing, western areas well above. belfast at six, plymouth at eight degrees, and as we go through the day, the milder but cloudier and wetter conditions will work eastwards. so early sunshine in eastern scotland, eastern england, that won't last long, things will tend to cloud over. briefly a bit of sleet and snow over

high ground in scotland. but as you can see, it will turn back to rain because as this wet weather continues to track eastwards, it will introduce ever milder conditions. so 12 degrees for belfast, for cardiff, for plymouth, just six in aberdeen, seven in norwich. but actually, as we go through saturday night, we will bring that milder weather further eastwards. whereas we normally expect temperatures to drop through the night, they won't across some eastern parts of england, for example, ending the night at 10 degrees in norwich and hull, five there in aberdeen, very mild out towards the west. all the while some cloud, some outbreaks of rain, some clear spells across the northern half of the country. then through sunday, again, there's going to be quite a lot of cloud. that cloud producing some outbreaks of rain at times, especially through northwest england, northern ireland, up into southwest scotland. some brighter glimpses here and there and a very, very mild afternoon, eight to ia degrres. now, we have to keep a close eye on developments during sunday night, because this small but potent weather feature is expected to pass closer to the far northwest, a deepening area of low pressure. that is set to bring some very strong winds across parts of northern ireland, but perhaps most especially in exposed parts of western and northern scotland, particularly for the western and northern isles, there could be some really quite stormy weather for a time.

we will keep you posted on that one throughout the weekend. into next week, it stays relatively mild. a bit of rain around for a time, perhaps settling down later in the week.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the uk's health security agency says the country could have more than a million omicron cases by the end of the month, and that two doses provides little protection against the new variant. a senior government minister has described the situation is seriously worrying. the white house says president biden is very —— the high court in london has ruled thatjulian assange should be extradited to stand trial in the united states following assurances from washington about the way he'll be treated. the wikileaks founder faces charges linked to the leaking of classified military documents. his supporters say the us could not be trusted. the white house says president biden is very concerned by a supreme court decision to leave strict new abortion laws in place in texas. the controversial new law bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. the legislation is being challenged by abortion providers. now on bbc news, the cost of covid.