welcome to bbc news. i'm simon pusey. our top stories: british scientists warn that two doses of vaccine offer little protection against the omicron variant, although boosters do cut the risk of serious illness. 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". # hey, hey, we're the monkees... mike nesmith, singer and guitarist with the �*60s band the monkees, has died at the age of 78. and we meet the woman behind some of netflix's most binge—worthy original programming, all part of our 100 women series.

hello there. 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. but 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 unclear

just how big and how serious it will prove. fergus walsh, bbc news. 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 allowing 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. she's been explaining what this supreme court ruling does. this 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 and it has been playing a really rough game with women's health and with access to abortion. now, it is saying that the lawsuit can go ahead, but it's not putting pause

on what is happening in texas while we figure out whether this is constitutional or not. so, you are saying it's not really that surprising, and many watching would say six weeks, i mean, that is a time many women do not know they are pregnant? right, these are the steps towards having a complete undermining of the federal right to an abortion in the united states. this supreme court has its eyes set on completely dismantling roe. it heard a case just last week from 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 would essentially allow states to ban all abortion. talk us a little bit through the us judicial system, if you may, because it goes back to the trump era and the supreme court and the number ofjudges on that. just talk us through that. right. so we lost the abortion issue when we lost the 2016 election and president trump had

promised his base that he 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 the united states will enact legislation to ban abortion once the federal right is no longer there. so we'll have some states, �*blue states�* as we call them, and mostly on the coast, it'll look like a doughnut with a giant hole where abortion services should be that there will be some states where people can travel to for abortion services, but the majority will not have them available. the wikileaks founder julian assange can be extradited to stand trial in the us according to the latest legal ruling in britain.

judges has said that assurances given about his treatment are now moved to go ahead. 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 in jail, 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 wikileaks 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. 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. 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 for fear 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. the annual rate of inflation in the united states is now at a 4—decade high, and although president biden has acknowledged that inflation is affecting people's lives, he said he thought the inflation rate had now peaked and would come down faster than people thought. prices rose by 6.8% in november compared with the same month last year. fuel, food and housing costs have all seen rising prices. nomia iqbal is live in washington for us. 6.8% means prices are quite a lot higher in terms of shopping and petrol people in low

incomes, how has this happened? yes, reasons for inflation going up can be pretty complex. it ultimately is down to the pandemic and the impact the pandemic and the impact the pandemic has had on the supply chain here in america, and quite simply, living in america is getting more expensive. in the last six months as you mentioned things have gone up, food, housing, gas, prices up by staggering amounts, the cost of meat, fish and eggs gone up, he aandc the cost of grose river is already pretty expensive compared to most other cities, but even now you see the cost of a pint of milk is more than you think it should be. if you want to buy stuff for your home, furniture, that will cost you 14% more than a year ago, used cars have gone up 31%. life is getting expensive. as i say, the pandemic is largely to blame and has had a huge impact

businesses shut down, people staying at home, millions of jobs lost, economic output plunged. that is all contributed to inflation going up. contributed to inflation going u . . g ., �* 4' contributed to inflation going up. joe biden like to talk about job _ up. joe biden like to talk about job growth - up. joe biden like to talk about job growth and - up. joe biden like to talk. about job growth and rising aboutjob growth and rising wages, but what is inflation mean for him and his economic policies going forward? president biden has said that this is all temporary and that this is all temporary and that this inflation rise does not reflect what he expects to see happen the next few weeks or months of prices going down. the word transitory keeps getting used and temporary, but economists are saying, how long it is going to last? a few weeks, a few months, well into next year? it has become a real line of attack against him by his opponents because when prices rise, when the cost of living goes up, of course it is going to be a political sore point. forthe going to be a political sore point. for the party in power, it is something the republican

party can use. i don't think it helps him that he is trying to pursue his spending bills, his build back better plan as well. but he has maintained that things will go down eventually, that this is just a things will go down eventually, that this isjust a peak, and the white house points out that while inflation has gone up, unemployment rates have gone down and that the wages have gone up, so these are the silver linings they say, critics will have it at that insight wages haven't gone up nearly enough as much as they should in order to keep up with the pace of prices.— the pace of prices. there will be interesting _ the pace of prices. there will be interesting to _ the pace of prices. there will be interesting to see - the pace of prices. there will be interesting to see what i be interesting to see what happens there. thank you very much indeed. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: british scientists have warned that two doses of vaccine offer little protection against the omicron variant, although boosters do 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. 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 where she said there'd be a show of unity in making clear to moscow that any military action would be a "strategic mistake". our news reporter mark lobel told me the key message liz truss is trying to to get across. she was adding to this growing concern about the situation in ukraine. as you say, president biden addressing it on his phone call with president putin a few days ago, because us intelligence and ukrainian fears, the vision, the satellite imagery that has come out of the border between ukraine and russia, of around 100,000 troops apparently russian troops, on the border there. fears of an imminent invasion. so president biden said, look, there'll be strong economic and other measures

against russia if, he said it to mr putin, and we had also the spectacle of president macron, standing side—by—side with olaf scholz, we just heard him there, saying the us should be careful on self—fulfilling prophecies. he wanted no unnecessary tension on this issue. but liz truss has taken a slightly different tack, she says at this upcoming g7 foreign ministers meeting in liverpool this week there should be a show of unity among like—minded economies to show maximum deterrence to russia if they are considering this attack on ukraine. let's have a listen to how she put it. 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.

she then went on to say they would consider economic sanctions if russia invaded ukraine, and generally wanted herself and eu allies to become less dependent on russian energy. en nord stream two, that pipeline or proposed pipeline between russia and germany, liz truss added to the us pressure for germany to put that on the table should russia invaded ukraine. she said it would be a problem pressing ahead with it if russia invaded ukraine. 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? 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" earlier i spoke to david browne who's a senior writer at rolling stone magazine. i asked how influential and significant he thought michael nesmith was

on the �*60s pop music scene. 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 nesmith 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. you say quality control and one of the serious guys, he was also a bit of a tour de force regarding the creative control, right? right, right, they did not have control early on when they started. it was nesmith who led the charge and said, no, 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, their auteur kind of guy, and went off on their own for a couple of years. nesmith was a real

driving force behind the monkees having their own voice as a recording band. often when people think of the monkees they think of them as being quite fun, they didn't really play by the rules in those days. but he would say maybe they were not too cohesive, they weren't really a band, they didn't have any kind of cause and they were sort of thrown together? yeah, it was an interesting thing. they were actors, in a way, cast to play a rock band. and 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, and then 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. 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: "delighted to share a new image of the family, which features on this year's christmas card." 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. and before we go, you might want to put the kids in another room for this one — it involves santa. a bishop in italy is on the naughty list for telling a group of children that santa doesn't exist. bishop antonio stagliano reportedly went even further, saying at a recent religious festival that santa's famous red suit was just a marketing ploy by the coca—cola company. the roman catholic diocese in sicily has had to apologize to outraged parents. apparently the bishop was 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.

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 1a 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 as "seriously worrying". 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. 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. coming up in around 10 minutes' time,

we'll have newswatch. but first, here's click.