this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a new record number of confirmed covid cases in the uk — more than 88 thousand in the past 2a hours a record also for the number of boosterjabs — nearly three quarters of a million britons were jabbed in the last 2a hour period. omicron continues to spread in europe — france says it will shut its borders to most british travellers from saturday. also ahead — the sex—trafficking trial of ghislaine maxwell enters a new phase — as the defence starts to outline its case — we'll have the latest live from new york. and — we hear from the only british woman to be convicted of travelling to syria to join islamic state — about how she now feels shame about what she did.

know i remember feeling know i rememberfeeling really, like, ashamed of myself to some degree. we begin in the uk where the number of covid infections recorded in a single day hasjumped again to a new record. more than 88 thousand new cases were confirmed — that's ten thousand more than yesterday. the government's chief medical adviser, professor chris whitty, told mps that he expects the peak to come "incredibly fast"— but subside more quickly than previous variants — because of the boosterjabs. more than 745,000 people had their booster yesterday — a new record — as the long queues continue. we begin our coverage with this report from our medical editor,

fergus walsh. what do you want for christmas? for millions it is a booster. these people in newcastle today were prepared to wait for hours or a covid vaccination bus. it was a record day for booster jabs, but also covid cases. boosters offer the best protection against 0micron, but there is huge uncertainty whether they will blunt it enough to keep hospital admissions below last january's peak. even if it is milder, because it is concentrated over a short period of time, you could end up with a higher number going into hospital on a single day. that is certainly possible. the numbers of confirmed 0micron patients in hospital are still low for now. it will be weeks before we have hard evidence that we show how serious the 0micron wave will be.

we need about 250 individuals in hospital before we can make an assessment compared to delta. and also a vaccine effectiveness assessment. the earliest we will have reliable data is the week between christmas and new year and probably early january. pregnant women have finally been made a priority group for vaccination after more evidence showing they are at high risk from covid. between may and october during the first six months of the delta variant more than moo pregnant women were admitted to hospital in the uk with covid. 96% of them were unvaccinated. 17 of those pregnant women died. four babies died in the first month of life from covid. it also increases the risk of having a premature birth. valerie is 32 weeks pregnant

and had her booster in 0xfordshire on monday, but it meant a long queue. i had to wait for one and a half hours in a queue, which is painful because i have pelvic pain which makes it hard to stand or to walk. in addition, i was very nervous, as was everyone there in the queue. everyone is nervous because they thought the boosters might run out because it was a walk—in clinic. the prime minister was again banging the booster drum at a vaccination centre in kent. he urged the public to be careful when mixing with others this christmas. we do not want to make your choices for you about your social life, we are not closing things, but what we are saying is people should be cautious and they should think about their activities in the run—up to christmas.

nobody wants to get 0micron and be unwell and be forced to isolate. and the queen is leading by example, cancelling a pre—christmas lunch for extended family due to take place at windsor castle. fergus walsh, bbc news. the conclusion from those soaring uk covid infections — the r number, which indicates how many people each infected person will go on to infect, is now estimated to be between 3 and 5. the uk is not alone in seeing surging covid infections. italy, germany and france are all experiencing something similar. the french government is now imposing new restrictions on some travellers from the uk. here's our transport correspondent katy austin. thejones family had planned the trip of a lifetime. ii of them, four generations, together at disneyland paris for christmas. now that trip is off. they are trying to get a hotel refund but don't expect to get back thousands they paid

for a minibus and driver. it's devastating because as a family you want to spend christmas together, but, yes there is uncertainty, but when i booked this there was nowhere near as much uncertainty as there is now. my mum and dad are 85 and 86 so it would be nice to go. under the new rules from 11pm uk time tomorrow travellers will have to give a compelling reason for coming to france. they will have to provide a negative covid test result less than 2a hours old and isolate for at least two days upon arrival until they receive a second negative result. the move is being blamed on the uk's high number of 0micron cases. tourism businesses were already worried that the uk's travel testing requirements were making some customers rethink their winter plans. many people will have been preparing to go to france for christmas, including on the eurostar from london st pancras, so the announcement by france comes at a really bad time for the travel industry.

we have had something like a third of the usual volume of passengers for the last two years. we really needed the boost of a good christmas season to carry us through into 2022, which has to be our comeback year. so this is a big hammer blow for us as a business. for french hoteliers, cancelled city breaks and ski trips are hard to swallow. we had a lot of cancellations since this morning. almost 80% of the guests from england had cancelled their booking, so it's a very big change for us and quite dramatic economically. flights and ferries are expected to be busy tomorrow as passengers who can try to beat the friday night deadline. for others, long awaited festivities just lost their sparkle. katie austin, bbc news. let's look at how 0micron is likely to spread. dr leon danon is an associate professor of infectious disease modelling and data analytics at the unversity of bristol, in the west of england.

i asked him for his reaction to the new record number of covid cases in a single day, recorded in the uk. yes, it is kind of expected. we had the doubling time of today's poor a few, may be couple weeks now and the numbers are in line with what we are expecting for a few days. the number of hospitalisations is going up and people are saying just now, this case is a translating into more serious cases and they are entirely in line. �* ., serious cases and they are entirely in line. �* . ., ., in line. and we are hearing that the fi . ure in line. and we are hearing that the fiaure ma in line. and we are hearing that the figure may be _ in line. and we are hearing that the figure may be a _ in line. and we are hearing that the figure may be a lot _ in line. and we are hearing that the figure may be a lot higher. - in line. and we are hearing that the figure may be a lot higher. why - in line. and we are hearing that the figure may be a lot higher. why is l figure may be a lot higher. why is that? is figure may be a lot higher. why is that? , ~ , ., , figure may be a lot higher. why is that? , ~ , ., that? is likely to be an underestimation - that? is likely to be an underestimation of. that? is likely to be an| underestimation of the that? is likely to be an - underestimation of the cases that? is likely to be an _ underestimation of the cases due to delays in reporting and asymptomatic people not getting tested because

they are just unaware. and it's also a potential reason why there's an underestimation of the cases. find underestimation of the cases. and the number _ underestimation of the cases. and the number of _ underestimation of the cases. and the number of between three to five what are your models telling you about how that's going to go? i5 about how that's going to go? i3 going to go up. and the doubling time is around two days and so, it is likely to double in the next two days to well over 200,000 probably by the end of the weekend and it's probably going to continue doubling until we reach the peak. hour probably going to continue doubling until we reach the peak.— probably going to continue doubling until we reach the peak. how are we lookin: until we reach the peak. how are we looking compared _ until we reach the peak. how are we looking compared to _ until we reach the peak. how are we looking compared to this _ until we reach the peak. how are we looking compared to this time - until we reach the peak. how are we looking compared to this time last l looking compared to this time last year? looking compared to this time last ear? �* , . . , looking compared to this time last ear? fl. ., ,~~ looking compared to this time last ear? . ,~~ ., year? it's certainly faster, we have not seen the _ year? it's certainly faster, we have not seen the speed _ year? it's certainly faster, we have not seen the speed of— year? it's certainly faster, we have not seen the speed of spread - year? it's certainly faster, we have not seen the speed of spread yet l year? it's certainly faster, we have| not seen the speed of spread yet at any point with covid—i9 and so, it is faster than anything we have seen so far. and it is a concern. it is a

very sharp rise. so far. and it is a concern. it is a very sharp rise-— very sharp rise. and how do the delta and _ very sharp rise. and how do the delta and the _ very sharp rise. and how do the delta and the omicron - very sharp rise. and how do the l delta and the omicron admissions look in terms of the breakdown and at what point does omicron, do you think is omicron going to be taking over delta transmissions? it think is omicron going to be taking over delta transmissions?- over delta transmissions? it looks like it's already _ over delta transmissions? it looks like it's already done _ over delta transmissions? it looks like it's already done that - over delta transmissions? it looks like it's already done that in - like it's already done that in london and in other parts of the country, it's a little bit behind but we expected to overtake fairly quickly and it has certainly done that very quickly in london. while 0micron continues to spread, there's more political fall—out from alleged breaches of the lockdown laws which were in force in england — this time last year. the metropolitan police is to speak to two people who attended a party at the hq of the ruling conservative party — at a time when mixing households was banned. but — the police will still not be investigating claims of similar parties at downing street, and in the department for education.

live now to westminster and our uk political correspondent nick eardley. i'm sure like many people, you're slightly confused. where are we with these investigations? why are they not investigating what happened at the hq? let not investigating what happened at the hq? ., , not investigating what happened at the hq? ., y , , the hq? let me do my best. good evenin: the hq? let me do my best. good evening to — the hq? let me do my best. good evening to you- — the hq? let me do my best. good evening to you. but _ the hq? let me do my best. good evening to you. but we _ the hq? let me do my best. good evening to you. but we heard - the hq? let me do my best. good| evening to you. but we heard from the metropolitan police in london tonight is that they are going to speak to two people who attended a party at the conservative party headquarters in westminster. that is a party that was held by the group backing sean to be london mayor and in an election this year. we knew about that party and there had been some leaked pictures of around 18 people quite closely huddle together and they said they will speak to people about alleged breaches of

covid—i9 rules. but they said in terms of donning ski parties and another party that was held in the department for education in london is they don't think there is sufficient evidence at the moment that the law was broken. so they say they have a lot of correspondence, and in some of that from the government but that ultimately does not prove the laws are broken and thus, at the moment, they don't think there is sufficient evidence to go forward with an investigation. this another couple of updates to bring you briefly as well and a couple of newspapers in the uk have published stories that there was another gathering in downing street in may 2020 at a point where people were told not to mix at all indoors and only two people were allowed mix outdoors. that was published tonight and downing street disputes that inset actually happened with some

people were working in the office and the prime minister came to have and the prime minister came to have a conversation with the health secretary as part of their working day and that was had in the garden and so they are disputing the idea that it was a party and again, some uncomfortable questions for downing street and also tonight is if there wasn't enough to keep up with, the department for education in london has said and apologised saying that there was a small gathering of staff in december last yearjust before christmas, fewer than a dozen people and they insisted was socially distanced, but it was an appropriate and they are now apologising and so, this story just and they are now apologising and so, this storyjust keeps going and going and continually, there've been elements of uncomfortable stories coming out again and again. the uk olitical coming out again and again. the uk political correspondent. _ stay with us on bbc news,

still to come: as another storm packing dangerously strong winds sweeps across the american midwest — we'll ask an expert in extreme weather systems why such events are happening with such regularity. england's education secretary has written to school and college leaders — to say the government will try to boost the numbers of supply teachers by encouraging recently retired staff to consider a return to work. here's our education editor branwen jeffreys. at the moment, it's already looking difficult because we staggered through the last couple of days of terms with glowing numbers of teachers with confirmed cases of covid—i9 and so the big worry is comejanuary, covid—i9 and so the big worry is come january, whatever covid—i9 and so the big worry is comejanuary, whatever the will is from the head teachers that they may not be able to keep all pupils in school if they cannot get cover for

teachers who are off sick and in some areas, there have been very acute shortages of supply teachers. why? because some are reluctant to work going from school to school in the current climate and others are going to work for the national tutoring programme which is the governments catch programme. today, i promise they will try to get more but we don't know if teachers who answer the call. the trial of british socialite ghislaine maxwell is continuing in new york — today is the first time we are hearing from her defence lawyers. she is accused of grooming and procuring young girls to be abused by now dead convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. she has denied the charges. i'm joined now by our correspondent nada tawfik who is following the case for us. what took place is likely to take place today?—

what took place is likely to take lace toda ? . , ., ., place today? eventually heard now from a number— place today? eventually heard now from a number of _ place today? eventually heard now from a number of defence - place today? eventually heard now. from a number of defence witnesses and it is this ongoing strategy by her lawyers to try to sow doubt in the accuser�*s story and undercut the testimony and use a psychologist to basically who has testified in the harvey weinstein and oj simpson trials to talk about how memories can sometimes be unreliable. that over time, they can be influenced. it was interesting is uncooked cross—examination, they did admit that traumatic memories are more reliable than regular memories. but the real braking witness so far from this has been a former staff member ofjeffrey epstein's co. and maxwell's former assistant and what is key about their testimony is that she never worked in his homes where the alleged abuse took place, but

she did meet one of the accusers in the case. she spoke about jane, then one who accuse them both and accusing her when she was ilt years old and she said jane was regarded as a goddaughter ofjeffrey epstein because her mother described the relationship that way and she said that even afterjane moved away to california to start a soap opera, that she had remained in touch with her on good terms even sending her a photo of the cast with an inscription. they were trying to painter and a better light than former staff have been trying to sow doubt in her story. in former staff have been trying to sow doubt in her story.— doubt in her story. in terms of your strategy. i — doubt in her story. in terms of your strategy, i understand _ doubt in her story. in terms of your strategy, i understand anonymity i doubt in her story. in terms of yourj strategy, i understand anonymity is going to be a feature of this case, can you tell us more about this? yet, there was a real setback by the defence and they had asked the judge to allow witnesses to testify

anonymously so that they would be more comfortable coming into court because there is a lot of unwanted attention that they felt came with testifying and in such a profile case, no one can testify anonymously for the defence and they simply weren't victims, they were not testifying for personal stories of sexual abuse and it was unprecedented to allow that to happen so the defence now allowed to see if they will go ahead and call these witnesses without anonymity and whether or not villa to continue the case about them. they also had another setback when the lawyers of the accused would not have to testify, only one, the lawyer for jane with a very narrow line for questioning. jane with a very narrow line for questioning-— a storm, bringing dangerously high winds with it, has swept across the american midwest —the second damaging weather system to hit the region

in less than a week. gusts like these filmed in nebraska give you an idea of the strength of the winds — experts say they were up to 100 miles per hour, and the biggest number of recorded winds blowing at more than 75 miles per hour was the highest ever for a single day in the us. and there was also plenty of rain — as these picutres, filmed in iowa, demonstrate. all this happened just hours after president biden visited kentucky — the state worst hit by tornadoes over the weekend — which killed at least 88 people in five states. so — alongside the clear—up in kentucky and neighbouring states — more than four hundred and fifty thousand people were left without power on wednesday evening in towns ranging from colorado, through kansas and missouri, to iowa. it;s leading many to ask — just why are so many extreme weather events happening so close together?

and in towns ranging from colorado through the kansas and missouri and also iowa. it is leading many to ask just why are so many extreme weather events happening so close together? i'm joined now by norman brooks, a meteorologist at the us natioanl oceanic and atmospheric administration, who is an expert in extreme weather, based in oklahoma. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. first off. are these weather events more unusual?— news. first off. are these weather events more unusual? certainly and we rarely see _ events more unusual? certainly and we rarely see outbreaks _ events more unusual? certainly and we rarely see outbreaks in - events more unusual? certainly and we rarely see outbreaks in the - we rarely see outbreaks in the wintertime and the windstorm yesterday is rare any time of year. so those were both extremely rare events. ~ ., ,

so those were both extremely rare events. ~ . , , ., events. what is your department, our events. what is your department, your analysis _ events. what is your department, your analysis in _ events. what is your department, your analysis in the _ events. what is your department, your analysis in the field - events. what is your department, your analysis in the field saying i your analysis in the field saying about why this is happening? the sinale about why this is happening? tue: single biggest about why this is happening? tte: single biggest thing about why this is happening? t"te: single biggest thing that about why this is happening? t'te: single biggest thing that is about why this is happening? t“te: single biggest thing that is unusual in terms of the where the adversary with the behaving right now is a lot warmer moister air and the central part of the us than we would normally have at this time of year. the two upper level storm systems that have come through, are the stronger than normal but but with all the it's been or what you go as far as saying that it is a? it may be a feature that becomes more common. if we look at a few weak timescales, but this time of year, is whether systems come through, they will sweep across to the gulf of mexico and they will clear off the water and the gulf and with the

estes to come back off the gulf of mexico, into the middle parts of the united states, it's not warm and moist enough to create thunderstorms. this year, we normally would've had one or two or three of those, just hasn't happened yet. nothing has gotten down to the gulf and so the gulf is exceptionally warm right now for this time of year. that is been the major fuel for the storms. determine it is probably not true, but yes. would you sound a warning about the future whether? and a long—term forecast of very difficult but what would you say on that? long-term weather in — would you say on that? long-term weather in terms _ would you say on that? long-term weather in terms of, _ would you say on that? long-term weather in terms of, until- would you say on that? long-term weather in terms of, until we - would you say on that? long-term weather in terms of, until we get l weather in terms of, until we get the gulf cleared out, which looks like it may happen within a week, we are still pretty frightened for these types of storms, maybe not as big as a we have seen to occur but

we are above normal temperatures, we tend to get more tornadoes than normal and that is something that may have been more in the future, although we are talking about changes of ten to 20%. meteorologist and atmospheric _ changes of ten to 20%. meteorologist and atmospheric administration. - and atmospheric administration. thank you so much. the us is not the only country suffering from severe weatherjust now. a super typhoon has made landfall in the philippines. it comes with winds of more than 165 kilometres per hour and heavy rain. thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes, and schools in the storm's expected path, have been closed. our correspondent howard johnson reports. power and communication lines remain down on siargao island, a tropical idyll, popular with backpackers and surfers. normally abuzz with updates

from social media influencers, the area has fallen eerily quiet. it is hoped the philippine air force will land on siargao island tomorrow to assess the extent of the damage. philippines�* state meteorologists say typhoon rai is now moving towards two other islands, bringing with it winds of up to 165 kph and inundating the central philippines with heavy rain. videos posted on social media show the philippine coast guard helping to move families from flooded coastal and riverside communities. thousands of people had evacuated their homes before the typhoon hit, but the united nations has warned that more than 13 million people live in areas likely to be affected by the storm. the international federation of the red cross has described typhoon rai as "a monster storm", and said that climate change was making typhoons more ferocious and unpredictable. howard johnson, bbc news, manila.

some more news from 10 downing street today — but while it features the prime minister, it's really not that political. boris and carriejohnson have revealed the name of their new baby daughter. she is romy iris charlottejohnson. this is the first picture to be made public of her — romy is just a week old. the other child in the picture is her big brother wilf — he's 20 months old — and according to his mother, he's been �*been stroking romy�*s hair, giving big kisses and playing with his matchbox cars right next to her crib, just in case she feels like joining in too.�* i'll be back in just a few minutes with a look back at the last year of the covid pandemic. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter —

i'm @lukwesaburak hello there. it's been another grey, gloomy day for most of us, but there were some lovely spells of sunshine across eastern england in particular, and also parts of scotland. here's a lovely sunset picture from one of our weather watchers in orkney — they did have a few showers there, as well. but for friday and, indeed, into the weekend, for most people, skies will look like this — it'll be rather grey and cloudy, but mainly dry, thanks to that blocking area of pressure. some dense fog likely to develop across the eastern side of england, where the skies will remain clear. could cause some problems through tomorrow morning, you can see the temperatures lower where we have the clear skies — otherwise elsewhere, with the cloud, the mist and the murk, no lower than around 5—7 celsius. our area of high pressure then sticks by into the weekend, starts to migrate a bit further northwards, closer to iceland — that means they could see some cooler northeasterlies picking up

certainly on sunday. for the short—term, though, for friday, we're still in the fairly mild air mass, another rather grey and gloomy day for most of us, limited sunshine, perhaps the best of it again across the northeast of the uk. temperatures a little bit lower across the north than what we had on thursday — double—figure values across the south and west, maybe a bit breezier here, too. friday night, we hold onto a lot of the cloud, clearer skies across scotland, parts of northern england — so it's here where we'll see the lowest temperatures, a touch of frost there, but further south, it will be milder with more of a cloud and more of a breeze. so for the weekend, we're onto a blocking area of high pressure — very little change, it stays cloudy and mostly dry, and it will be turning cooler, like i mentioned. saturday, probably the best of the sunshine will be across scotland, northern england, the higher ground poking out of the low cloud here,

because it will be a rather grey, gloomy day further south. top temperatures, 10—11 celsius in the south, a little bit cooler further north. that cooler air filters slowly southwards on sunday — again, a lot of cloud, limited spells of brightness, probably the best of it again across scotland and northern england. those temperatures in single figures right across the board through sunday afternoon. and we start to see that cold air filter southwards, we think, next week during the run—up to christmas, could even see a few wintry showers mixed in, as well — you'll have to watch this space. there is signs some computer models want to try and push something more unsettled and milder into the southwest. we could become a bit of a battleground with the air masses. but at the moment, it's looking like staying on the cold side.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm lukwesa burak. a new record number of confirmed covid cases in the uk — more than 88,000 in the past 2a hours. a record also for the number of boosterjabs — nearly three quarters of a million britons were jabbed in the last 24—hour period. we'll take a look back on the year in covid with ros atkins. also ahead, we hear from the only british woman to be convicted of travelling to syria to join islamic state about how she now feels shame about what she did. i rememberfeeling really, like, ashamed of myself to some degree. and the faces of covid — we'll talk to the man behind

the twitter account set up to remember the americans who have died during the pandemic. hello and welcome. let's start by recapping some of the main developments in the pandemic today. the uk has been warned that the omicron strain could lead to a rapid peak in infections, but it's hoped it could subside more quickly than previous strains. there were around 88,000 new covid cases confirmed in the uk on thursday. prime minister borisjohnson has insisted england is not being put into lockdown by stealth — after he was criticised for telling the public to exercise caution when choosing to attend events. meanwhile, there have been growing numbers of confirmed cases

across europe and france has annnounced plans for new restrictions on travellers from the uk, to try to slow the spread of omicron there. every week, my colleague ros atkins takes an in—depth look at an issue in the news. this time, as the end of the year approaches, he looks back at what 2021 has taught us about the coronavirus pandemic. christmas is coming, and so is omicron — at speed. the covid variant was first reported in south africa in november. it's already spread to dozens of countries. and the who has this message for us. omicron's very emergence is another reminder that, although many of us might think we're done with covid—19, it's not done with us. to put it mildly — this is not where we hoped we'd be. ifeel like we're... it's 2020 all over again,

in a way, you know? we're back where we were. i want to consider where we were with covid and where we are, and look what we've learnt about this virus in 2021. back injanuary, wealthier nations had onlyjust started their vaccine roll—outs. this was israel. the pandemic death toll passed two million, and the number of cases reached 100 million. in the uk, the infection rate was rising, as was the pressure on hospitals. we have a very significant problem. the next few weeks will be the worst weeks of this pandemic. and, amid all this, the who had a message of defiant hope. this was from february. i don't want to ask people to hide under their desks or duvets in fear. actually, i want people to be connecting with each other and saying, you know, "this is a virus that's particularly nasty. "but it is within our power to be able to resist it." almost 12 months on, have we shown we can resist it? to answer that, we need to look at how this pandemic and our understanding of it have

evolved this year. certainly on one thing, there's been no change — we were told the vaccines worked, and they do. in the uk, as vaccinations increased, the number of hospitalisations dropped dramatically. the number of deaths dropped dramatically, too, right across the year. what was less clear was whether vaccines stopped infections. what we really don't know, though, at the moment, is, does the vaccine reduce transmission? does it block infection? that was in january. by the summer, the picture was clearer. what we know with the vaccines is that they are actually remarkably effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths. they are less effective at preventing infection. the vaccines did reduce serious illness, but wouldn't stop the spread of the virus. delta in particular had made sure of that. and, by the end of the summer, it was also clear that two jabs would not be enough. people's immunity was waning. and, in many richer countries, including the us, that's

exactly what happened. we are announcing our plan to stay ahead of this virus l by being prepared to offer covid—19 booster shots. . now at this stage, boosters were a response to waning immunity. but right now, they're needed for another reason, too — the omicron variant. we know that two doses of vaccine are not enough to stop you getting infected with omicron. but a booster will cut your risk of symptomatic infection by around 70%. that's why in the uk, we've seen people queuing for hours to get a booster. this year has shown the need for a third jab. and omicron has also taught us other ways the pandemic has evolved. for one, just like the scientists said they would, variants have arrived.

alpha, beta, and delta drove covid infections globally with devastating consequences in india. my colleague yogita limaye described the situation. every crematorium we've been to, we've seen body after body being brought in. it's hard for anyone to keep count, but what workers have been telling me is that the real scale of deaths caused by covid—19 in india is a lot higher than what official numbers reflect. the threat of variants was real — and their threat was being explicitly connected to vaccination rates. this is the co—creator of the astrazeneca vaccine. we need to be able to find the funds and the means to vaccinate widely across the world. if we don't, what will happen is more mutations arising in the virus, and we will have a harder and harder task to fight the virus as it continues to mutate. through the year, the richer countries pushed on with their vaccine roll—outs. nearly 70% of the uk population has been double—jabbed. but less than half of the overall global population has been. and in africa, it's 8%.

and the who continues to focus on this issue. let me be very clear. the who is not against boosters. we are against inequity. our main concern is to save lives everywhere. we started the year with the who warning about vaccine equity, we finish it with the same message. and, while richer countries push on with their boosters, omicron has shown that even vaccinating most people in a country may not be enough. this is austria — it's now made vaccines compulsory from february. and here, and in much of western europe, health care systems are under pressure — despite ample vaccine supply. this is the french health minister. translation: the load | in the intensive care units and the number of hospitalizations will continue to increase in the next two weeks.

and that is weighing on our hospitals, which are already very mobilised. the question, then, is what to do about this? and bringing in new restrictions remains a live issue. in the house of commons this week, a significant number of borisjohnson's own tory mps voted against new restrictions. one of them was andrea leadsom. covid will be with us - for many years to come, and it's unthinkable to think that every autumn from now on, - we will be limiting the qualityl of life for all citizens just to be on the safe side. these restrictions were voted through, and polling in the uk and elsewhere suggests public opinion remains behind them. but, as covid becomes ever more long—term, opposition to restrictions becomes more pronounced. and one of the most contentious restrictions of them all this year has been travel bans. at the start of 2021, there were heavy restrictions. international travel was down 49%, compared with 2019. in addition, countries like australia and new zealand effectively sealed themselves off — they wanted to suppress the virus. but in the end, delta made sure this wasn't possible. by august, for australia, the aim was no longer

keeping the virus out. instead... that is our goal — - to live with this virus, not to live in fear of it. globally, international travel has returned in a form. and tests have to be done. and the who continues to question travel bans as an idea. and, while the uk briefly introduced some of them for omicron, it quickly changed tack. now that there is community transmission of omicron in the uk, and omicron has spread so widely across the world, the travel red list is now less effective in slowing the incursion of omicron from abroad. 2021 taught us that travel restrictions may buy a little time, but more transmissible variants will find a way through. and so, here we are at the end of 2021 — variants spreading, unresolved disagreements over vaccine distribution, over restrictions, over travel bans — and the statistics tell their own story. more people have died in 2021 from covid than in 2020.

the who report that over five million people have lost their lives so far during the pandemic. and, for all these reasons, and with omicron spreading, it can be difficult to gauge how to assess the state of the pandemic. i thought this clip of the who's michael ryan perhaps spoke for a lot of us. but it introduces a level of concern and a level of fear, and a sense of, erm... ..more exhaustion that we all feel. well, here we go again. "here we go again," says michael ryan. and he also offered some advice. just because we have a new variant doesn't mean the situation will get worse. it means we have more uncertainty now. and that, perhaps, is the best way to summarise this year. two fundamental questions remain — can we vaccinate enough people, and how serious are these new variants as we try to do that? at the end of 2021, neither of those questions have definitive answers. and so, as michael ryan says, "we have more uncertainty now."

ros atkins there. much more from him and the team online. if you're in the uk search for ros atkins on iplayer — in the news category. you can listen to audio versions each week on the bbc sounds app and on your smart speaker. our videos are on the bbc news website, as well. now, to a story which was born to run. the veteran us rocker bruce springsteen is selling his master recordings and publishing rights. the buyer is the entertainment giant sony, and the price? $500 million. for that, sony gets 20 studio albums and songs which generated around $15 million in revenue last year. in case you're not familiar with the springsteen back catalogue, here's a little taste of one of his hits, dating back to 1984,

dancing in the dark. #, home in the morning #, home in the morning # go to bed feeling the same way # go to bed feeling the same way # even if we are just dancing in the dark... i was hoping they would play hungry heart there! so why have musicians' back catalogues become such big business? joining me is robert levine from billboard magazine. your magazine actually broke the story. there was a lot of speculation about whether this was going to happen. how big it payday is this? ., , .., . , is this? one of my colleagues ed crisin is this? one of my colleagues ed crispin broke _ is this? one of my colleagues ed crispin broke the _ is this? one of my colleagues ed crispin broke the story. - is this? one of my colleagues ed crispin broke the story. the - is this? one of my colleagues ed crispin broke the story. the dealj is this? one of my colleagues ed l crispin broke the story. the deal is estimated at $500 million, and as far as like people are doing it, some of itjust concerns us tax law. if you are a musician and every year you're making realties as income, you're making realties as income, you have to pay income tax, which in the us is lower than in the uk

probably been fairly high, whereas if you sell it, things to a large change years ago, you can actually take it as a capital gain and get taxed much less, so that's an advantage. the other advantage, there is talk that biden might be raising that capital gains tax, and i was a good time to do it. there's also an underlying reason, which is, as the huge springsteen fan, i hate to even think about this, but estate planning. iam not to even think about this, but estate planning. i am not suggesting anything is happening soon. springsteen is very healthy, in better shape than i am, judging by the last few concerts i have seen, but running a catalogue, especially the publishing side of it, is an enormous amount of work, and if none of your, no one wants to do it, it makes sense to let them inherit the money instead of a difficult business. tt money instead of a difficult business-— money instead of a difficult business. . . . , business. it is quite a gamble, isn't it, business. it is quite a gamble, isn't it. for— business. it is quite a gamble, isn't it, for the _ business. it is quite a gamble, isn't it, for the likes _ business. it is quite a gamble, isn't it, for the likes of - business. it is quite a gamble, isn't it, for the likes of sony i business. it is quite a gamble, i isn't it, for the likes of sony and other music companies buying up these catalogues and the rights and

what have you? half $1 billion, assuming that he will keep eating fans for his music? fine assuming that he will keep eating fans for his music?— fans for his music? one of the interesting — fans for his music? one of the interesting things _ fans for his music? one of the interesting things is, - fans for his music? one of the interesting things is, although fans for his music? one of the - interesting things is, although the numbers are eye—popping compared to what we have seen historically in the music business, their value, all of these catalogues, are valued by multiples of revenue, like any other financial asset. the numbers are eye-pepping financial asset. the numbers are eye—popping in multiples of the is interesting is, there is interesting is, there's actually less risk involved because streaming lets you track the results a lot better, the results are also a lot more even. in the past he was a huge pop when you were releasing your record, things would die down, released a new record, you would go up, they would die down again. with streaming, you have a pretty good sense of how popular things are and a pretty good sense of how things are going to remain. , , x' , sense of how things are going to remain. , , w , . �*,

remain. sorry, very quickly, what's auoin to remain. sorry, very quickly, what's going to happen _ remain. sorry, very quickly, what's going to happen with _ remain. sorry, very quickly, what's going to happen with david - remain. sorry, very quickly, what'sj going to happen with david bowie's catalogue? going to happen with david bowie's cataloaue? 1, , . , . catalogue? david bowie is a smart cu . catalogue? david bowie is a smart au . he catalogue? david bowie is a smart guy- he was _ catalogue? david bowie is a smart guy- he was a _ catalogue? david bowie is a smart guy. he was a smart _ catalogue? david bowie is a smart guy. he was a smart guy. - catalogue? david bowie is a smart guy. he was a smart guy. he - catalogue? david bowie is a smart guy. he was a smart guy. he sold | catalogue? david bowie is a smart i guy. he was a smart guy. he sold his catalogue twice. i would not be surprised if something else happens with him, but it is very hard to know. ., . with him, but it is very hard to know. ., , . . know. ok, rob levine. imagine that - $500 million! — know. ok, rob levine. imagine that - $500 million! thank _ know. ok, rob levine. imagine that - $500 million! thank you _ know. ok, rob levine. imagine that - $500 million! thank you for _ know. ok, rob levine. imagine that - $500 million! thank you for speaking | $500 million! thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the story of the british woman who found herself in jail, after travelling to syria tojoin islamic state, told in her own words. the new movie the lost daughter is attracting quite a lot of interest as the film industry approaches its awards season. it stars olivia colman and is directed by maggie gyllenhaal. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson met up with them both to talk about the film. what were your daughters like when they were little?

can't remember much, actually. olivia colman, maggie gyllenhaal, you are both mothers — you've got two girls, you've got two boys and a girl, i've got that right? yes. and this is a film which really does explore motherhood and goes to some places that are very dark. i had never played a part like that before, and i don't recall seeing a woman like leda depicted on screen before, and so that was interesting. and just searingly honest, you know, the depiction of not necessarily being a great mum. children are a crushing responsibility. happy birthday. this film is already doing well at awards. it's just won four at the gothams, including best picture. you got best performance, maggie to accept it for you. so you've flown from the states to the uk since then.

did you remember her trophy? 0h. oh, my god, maggie! it's really heavy! i'm telling you. it was like you could work out... oh, whoa, whoa. you forgot it?! i have no idea where it is! sorry. so sorry. but that looks like a trophy. that's what they should look like. i don't think you can steal things from hotel rooms, maggie. present it to her. here's your trophy! here we go. this is going to make up for her forgetting your... no, it's attached. it's attached. it's plugged in. it'd be a great best actress trophy. you'll have to try and unplug that. please don't let's steal things from the room! thank you very much for your time and for speaking to us. yeah. thank you very much. welcome back. a unique interview to bring you now with the only british woman convicted for travelling to syria to join the group which calls itself islamic state.

her name is tareena shakil, she's served time in prison, and now she says she hopes her experience will serve as a warning to those tempted by extemists. she is one of around a50 britons who've returned to the uk from areas controlled by is. poonam taneja from the bbc�*s asian network reports. british mother tareena shakil in syria back in 2014. she had secretly travelled to the heartland of islamic state group with her one—year—old son. here she lived in a house with dozens of other women as they prepared to marry foreign fighters. conversations were often listened to and, you know, you were just generally expected to behave in a certain way. you know, don't cause any trouble. she says the brutal reality of life under is soon became apparent. there were, like, two girls who didn't act that way, who would just act open. i can't really give an example... they were just unruly, really. and, you know, a van came,

men came off the van and took them girls away and we never seen them again. less than three months after arriving in syria, tareena shakil escaped back to the uk. police arrested her at the airport. so how did this bright student with ambitions of becoming a doctor end up embracing a group which murdered, raped and tortured thousands? during her trial, the court was told that after her abusive marriage ended, she was radicalised online. she posted the black flag of is on social media and exchanged messages with prominent is members, even urging others to take up arms. jailed for six years, she has now served her sentence and has gone through a de—radicalisation programme. i regret every last thing in terms of my decision to run away to syria with my child. you know, i live with them consequences every day.

tareena shakil now looks very different. online selfies have replaced is flags, but rehabilitating convicted terrorists is complex. so how do we know she has really changed and is no longer a threat? it has been a long journey and along the way, i've had a lot of different conversations with a lot of different people. you know, imams in prison, mentors outside. but she says she remains bitter towards is and its online recruiters. you know, i rememberfeeling really sad, really bitter, really taken advantage of and duped as it were, but i rememberfeeling really like ashamed of myself to some degree that i had allowed it to happen. tareena shakil says she has turned her back on islamic state group and its ideology. she says she hopes her story

will act as a warning to other girls and women vulnerable to online radicalisation. when the covid pandemic began and the number of deaths caused by the coronavirus started to mount, alex goldstein decided to start a twitter account, in memory of those who have been lost. now, more than two years on, his account is approaching the 7,000th story. stories like that of chris lambert from new hampshire, who died nine days ago. he was a man with a great smile and a gentle soul. or vanessa lopez, a beloved high school teacher, who died from covid earlier this month, aged 42. or tyler spickard, from virginia, who was just 23. his friends say he loved tinkering on cars and trucks and was always the life and soul of the party.

i can speak now to the man behind the faces of covid website, alex goldstein. i was just looking at that, and so sad, but it still makes you smile because you just think, what a wonderful way to remember people. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. why did you do this? thank you so much for— news. why did you do this? thank you so much for having _ news. why did you do this? thank you so much for having me. _ news. why did you do this? thank you so much for having me. i— news. why did you do this? thank you so much for having me. i think, - so much for having me. i think, like a lot of folks in the earliest days of pandemic, i was feeling overwhelmed by what was largely a data story. we were talking about hospitalisations and deaths and infections, but what was missing, i thought, was really the human story — who were the faces and the names behind the statistics? and i really began in for my own personal catharsis. i wanted to feel more emotionally connected, and ifound out quickly a lot of other people were looking for something similar, and it caused the county really grow and it caused the county really grow

and skyrocket. i, by the way, had no sense whatsoever i would be still doing this, that has unfortunately, in the worst possible way, exceeded my expectations for what this was going to be. 50 my expectations for what this was going to be— my expectations for what this was auoin to be. , �* . going to be. so true, isn't it? when we're dealing _ going to be. so true, isn't it? when we're dealing so _ going to be. so true, isn't it? when we're dealing so much _ going to be. so true, isn't it? when we're dealing so much with - going to be. so true, isn't it? when i we're dealing so much with numbers, when you see the real faces, it does make you pause. sort of reaction have you had from the general public, from the families of who have lost? tt public, from the families of who have lost?— public, from the families of who have lost? . . , , have lost? it is nearly interesting, i think for have lost? it is nearly interesting, i think for so _ have lost? it is nearly interesting, i think for so many _ have lost? it is nearly interesting, i think for so many people, - have lost? it is nearly interesting, i think for so many people, the i i think for so many people, the pandemic has been so incredibly isolating, and especially for those who have lost someone, the communal ways that you typically grieve have been robbed of us, and so the opportunity to share a story of someone who lived a wonderful life and was lost in this pandemic and create a space where people can grieve even in a space forjust a moment, communally, is actually quite important to people, and twitter has a reputation, quite deservedly, for being really toxic

space and what has been really interested to see is the vast majority of reaction people have is quite compassionate and caring and acknowledgement that every time we lose people, whether we knew them or not, it hurts all of us.— not, it hurts all of us. alex, how lona are not, it hurts all of us. alex, how long are you _ not, it hurts all of us. alex, how long are you going _ not, it hurts all of us. alex, how long are you going to _ not, it hurts all of us. alex, how long are you going to do - not, it hurts all of us. alex, how long are you going to do this - not, it hurts all of us. alex, howl long are you going to do this for? when you start to think it is all about the coronavirus, the pandemic, there are so many unanswered questions, are you just go to keep going? t questions, are you 'ust go to keep auoin ? ., questions, are you 'ust go to keep anoin? ., ,, , questions, are you 'ust go to keep ttoin? ., ,, , ., going? i feel a responsibility to continue going _ going? i feel a responsibility to continue going as _ going? i feel a responsibility to continue going as long - going? i feel a responsibility to continue going as long as - going? i feel a responsibility to i continue going as long as families continue going as long as families continue to send stories of their loved ones that they want to see a space created for in this capacity, and i am still getting many stories and i am still getting many stories a day. i also do some of my own research, to tell the history of this moment, and i think that has become a really important responsibility of memory here, which is that the history of this pandemic is that the history of this pandemic is being told right now by folks like you and also in spaces like this, and just subtly deciding,

well, i had enough, will not tell the whole story.— well, i had enough, will not tell the whole story. alex goldstein, fantastic work, _ the whole story. alex goldstein, fantastic work, lovely _ the whole story. alex goldstein, fantastic work, lovely stories. i fantastic work, lovely stories. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. and thank you. hello there. this weather for the week ahead bulletin will take us through the run—up to christmas, and indeed even up to the christmas period, which, at the moment, is looking like it will turn colder, with perhaps even a few wintry showers. but back to the here and now — we still got this blocking area of high pressure across us, and that's bringing some fairly mild air for the time of year, but the cold air is never too far away, and that will start arriving, we think, by this weekend. so, for friday, we end the week on another rather grey, gloomy note for most places. brightness will be limited. probably the best of any brightness will be across north—east scotland, perhaps north—east england. top temperatures 10 or 11 degrees further south and west. for most, we're in single digits —

those values are little bit lower than what we've had the last few days. through friday night, it stays cloudy and breezy across the far south, so no problem with frost here but, where we have clearer skies across scotland, perhaps northern england, over the pennines, then a touch of frost and also some mist and fog will form once again. so into the weekend — our blocking area of high pressure still with us. it's going to be mostly cloudy and dry, and it will be turning colder as the centre of the high begins to push up in towards iceland. now, for saturday, it's sitting pretty much on top of the uk, so barely any wind to speak of, and there'll be plenty of cloud trapped underneath it. it's going to be low cloud, so the higher ground of scotland and the pennines may poke up above it, so this is probably where we'll see the best of the sunshine. perhaps a little brightness for west wales. double—figure values in the south, otherwise, for most, single digits — particularly where skies have been clear overnight and we've had a touch of frost. as we head on into sunday, the centre of the high will be towards iceland, so we're opening the floodgates

to a colder north—easterly wind, and that will be noticeable across northern and eastern parts of the country on sunday. could just about make 9 or 10 in the south. but, even here, it will be cooler too, and many places will stay rather cloudy and gloomy. high pressure, then, still with us into the start of next week, sitting to the north of the uk. these north—easterly winds will be dragging this colder air a little bit closer to our shores, so you can see we're starting to be influenced by the blue hue there. again, there'll be quite a lot of cloud around. perhaps some of the best brightness will be for western scotland, but another gloomy day across the south. those winds picking up across the north—east, so an onshore north—easterly breeze on some north sea coasts might make it feel quite chilly, and those temperatures are coming down. but, as we pick up some of this cold arctic air, it could be drier air so, by tuesday, there's a chance we could see more brightness around, some sunshine here and there, but it's not going to do much for the temperatures as the air mass is going to be cold — 5 to 7 degrees. beyond tuesday, then, the run—up to christmas,

it stays cold, and we could — there's still some uncertainty on this — see this area of low pressure move across the north sea towards our shores and, with a cold air mass in place, we might see some wintry showers, mainly on the high ground, but we could see some down to lower levels across the eastern side of the country. and it looks like we are going to stick with the blue colours, the cold air mass, for the run—up to christmas, even around the christmas period. some milder air trying to get into the south—west, but you'll need to stay tuned to the forecast to see any changes there. but it's certainly looking cold for the run—up to christmas, turning even colder around the christmas period, with the increasing risk of an overnight frost, and also a chance of some wintry showers. stay tuned.

tonight at 10pm... a new record number of covid cases in the uk — almost 90,000 in the past 24 hours. long queues forjabs — nearly three quarters of a million people had their boosters yesterday, another record. we are not closing things down. we are not asking people to cancel things. what we are saying is that people will understandably not want to catch covid. hospital admissions are rising slowly but, in london, where cases are rising the fastest, hospital staff in this icu are feeling the pressure. most of the patients who are coming into us are unvaccinated patients. they are a lot younger than the patients that we had in the first and second surge.

france is shutting its borders to most british travellers