this is bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: concern across europe as extra measures are announced to combat the growing threat of the omicron variant. as cases jump sharply in the us, the country's top health official warns of the risks of not getting jabbed. clearly, unvaccinated individuals are really at a higher risk of serious involvement, including hospitalisation. hundreds of thousands displaced and at least 12 dead as typhoon rai takes it toll on the philippines. british socialite, ghislaine maxwell, who's on trial on sex trafficking charges, tells the us court she won't be giving evidence. more pressure on borisjohnson. the man appointed to investigate whether government christmas parties were held during lockdown last christmas has stepped down from the role after it emerged a party was held

in his own department. the french prime minister, jean castex, has likened the spread of the omicron variant of coronavirus to lightning, as he announced new measures to slow its advance. mr castex said major public parties and firework displays on new year's eve would be banned. the rapid spread of omicron has seen a raft of new restrictions brought in across europe. lucy grey has this report. as countries across europe brace themselves for a sharp rise in cases due to the omicron variant, hospitality and travel are the main targets for the new restrictions.

the omicron variant of the covid—19 virus is exploding throughout europe. it is here, it is in our country and we're going to see a massive rise in infections. in ireland, all restaurants, bars, cinemas and theatres will have close at 8pm from sunday, although weddings for up to 100 people will be allowed until midnight. the government's promising new financial support companies after warnings the new rules could cause up to 70,000 job losses. this was the scene at london's eurostar late on friday as brits rushed to try to get over to france before it closed its border to uk passport holders. the french government has banned major public parties and fireworks displays on new year's eve, and the army has been brought in to help with boosterjabs and ministers have approved the use of vaccines for children from the age of five. record numbers of new cases in denmark have brought restrictions on restaurant opening hours too, and cinemas,

theatres and concert halls are closing. in switzerland from monday, you'll have to show proof of vaccination or recovering from covid to be allowed into restaurants, or a negative test result to get into bars or nightclubs. the german government is warning that the next wave will be a massive challenge for its hospitals and society as a whole, and has banned unvaccinated people from restaurants and non—essential commerce. french and danish travellers who haven't been jabbed will now have to quarantine on arrival in germany. with healthcare systems across europe under strain, the head of the european commission says vaccination is key. we know that our healthcare systems are overstretched right now, and this is partly linked to the large number of unvaccinated patients. so in conclusion, the answer can only be to increase vaccination to include children above five years old. boosting and protective measures — that has to be the answer we give to this new variant.

and in the netherlands, as the healthcare system deals with an influx of covid patients, routine care and all but urgent operations have been postponed. dutch ministers are meeting health advisers on saturday after they recommended the country go into a strict lockdown. lucy grey, bbc news. recorded cases are also rising sharply in the united states, while hospitalisations due to covid have jumped by 45% in the last month. the us infectious diseases expert, dr anthony fauci, says the high transmissibility of the omicron variant means it could cause many additional deaths, and he's leading calls for americans to get their booster shots. we are in the midst — in the situation where we are now facing a very important delta surge and we're looking over our shoulder at an oncoming omicron surge. clearly, unvaccinated individuals are really at a high risk of serious involvement, including hospitalisation.

the fully vaccinated are doing much better off. the optimum protection is fully vaccinated, plus a boost. so the bottom line of what we've been telling you all along, it is critical to get vaccinated. if you are vaccinated, it is critical for optimum protection to get boosted. well, earlier i spoke to dr jeremy faust, who's an emergency physician at brigham and women's hospital. i asked how concerned he was over the spread of omicron during the xmas period in the us. what worries me is a coronavirus variant of any name, whether it's delta or omicron, because we have far too many people who do not have a vaccination yet. there are so many millions of americans who have not elected to be vaccinated. and there are also some people who really need to be boosted — especially older people, people with immune compromise or other risks who need to be boosted — that's what worries me the most and it comes at a time when we are heading into a usual cold and flu

season, december, so we're really dealing with a lot of once. last year at this time, we actually had more deaths from coronavirus at this point. however, we did not have influenza season, we did not have a lot of rsv virus, we did not have a backlog of deferred care so that our hospitals weren't on the brink of being overwhelmed by several things at once. add omicron and in certain areas, there are very dicey moments ahead, i fear. give us a sense of the picture of hospitalisations in america and especially this split between people who are vaccinated and not vaccinated. that is the split, because i have yet to see lately, when i see patients, any sign that the vaccine is not doing itsjob. it does seem to provide protection, the data seems to show that, clinically, that's what i see. we saw some patients get admitted to the hospital who had not been vaccinated ever, so that's not surprising. we are now seeing much, much more coronavirus

than we saw, but we can send those people home if they are doing well — which is what we do with the vaccinated people. so just in my last shift in the hospital yesterday, i saw people who had coronavirus. the ones who were sick — the one was sick that i really saw — was unvaccinated and the vaccinated people were doing well, they went home, so that's what we hope will add up. of course, we need much bigger datasets to make that conclusion, that we knowjust how well the vaccines are doing in terms of that hospitalisation protection. but anecdotally, so far, i have not seen anything that suggests that the vaccines don't perform well in their most crucial aspect. well, you have the message of get your shot, then get your second shot, then get your booster shot. is this going to be a message that we will start to hear every six months and is there a risk people will tire of that? there is a risk of that, yes, and i think that we have to be

very careful about why we are boosting. i think that boosting can decrease infections temporarily, and that's very important for some populations, but i don't necessarily think that boosting just to decrease infection is sustainable and it brings up tremendous equity issues because when you have that as your goal, suddenly the demand for vaccine in high—income countries will skyrocket. so i don't think that that should be how we do it for most people. i think that an annual shot could be in order and we might need to tailor that to whatever variants are going around. there is something to be said for over boosting, both in terms of an immune response, your t cells which are the cells that tell you — tell — respond to an infection to keep you from getting very sick, those cells actually mature over time and become more robust in their response. if you boost too soon — two, three, four months — you could actually inhibit that, so we don't want that to happen.

so i think that we need to boost intelligently — that means a lot of people should be boosting right now. so there is no question about that. we are — many populations, especially older ones — are under boosted. but as we move forward, we want to be very careful and make sure that a, we do not cause alarm fatigue and b, we actually know what we're getting in exchange for those new doses. so there is a lot to balance and a lot of nuance but i think we can do it because we've learned so much. drjeremy faust. the british socialite ghislaine maxwell, who's facing sex trafficking charges in the united states, has told the court she won't be giving evidence. ms maxwell said there was no need to testify because the prosecution had failed to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt. she denies grooming girls for the late convicted paedophile, jeffrey epstein. our correspondent nada tawfik has been outside the courthouse in new york. the defence has rested its case today and it comes after ghislaine maxwell decided not to take the stand in her own defence. as she stood up and addressed the judge, she said that there

was no need for her to testify because the prosecution had not proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt. so a very defiant response there from ghislaine maxwell, who has been very involved throughout this whole trial, passing notes to her lawyers during cross—examination of the accusers and others who have testified, and her stating there that she will not tell her side of the story on the stand. of course, that would have been a very risky strategy, opening her up to intense cross—examination by prosecutors. but really, this trial is moving incredibly fast. we are now set to have closing statements from both sides on monday. the defence�*s case, after initially saying they might call 35 witnesses, they rested after calling nine witnesses, and none really revealing too much more to help their case. it seems that the defence is really relying on their cross—examination that happened during the prosecution's case of the key four accusers,

hoping that they've sown enough doubt injurors�* minds to avoid a conviction for their client, ghislaine maxwell. here in britain, a crushing by—election defeat has dealt another blow to the authority of the prime minister, borisjohnson. his conservative party lost a seat it had held for almost 200 years. the result comes in the middle of a turbulent period for mr johnson. on friday, the man appointed to investigate whether british government officials broke lockdown rules last christmas has stepped down from the role after it emerged a party was held in his own department. our political editor, laura kuenssberg, reports. all: three, two, one! cheering they might not do subtle... it turns out that if you take the people for granted, there is a price to pay. ..but there was nothing subtle about the lib dems�* dramatic

burst of the tory bubble in this by—election. thousands upon thousands of voters switched sides. anger with the conservatives means a new lib dem is on their way to the commons. i think this is a watershed moment and i think we brought new hope to the whole nation, who've been so worried and fed up with borisjohnson. we've now beaten the conservatives in two of their safest seats this year. cheering and applause at about 4:15am, the liberal democrats smashed what had been a tory majority of over 20,000 in north shropshire, tired, butjubilant after weeks of claims of sleaze and misbehaviour in downing street. borisjohnson, the party is over. thank you very much. thank you. many of the prime minister's mps pin the blame for this staggering result on the chaos under his roof. does he? i'm responsible for everything that the government does and of course i take a personal responsibility. what people have been hearing is just a constant litany of stuff about politics and politicians

and stuff that isn't about them. but it keeps coming. it's emerged this man's team — simon case, the most senior civil servant in the country — had a virtual quiz in the office called �*a christmas party�* during lockdown. he was the one meant to be investigating whitehall parties. but tonight, miraculously, he stepped aside. another revered, perhaps even feared, civil servant sue gray will ask the questions instead. 232. shame! jeering it's just the latest in a series of missteps and mistakes for number 10. it began when the government tried to change the rules on mps�* behaviour when a tory was found to have broken them. forgive my absence during some of the morning... that unleashed a torrent of claims about big money for second jobs. laughter then the cringe—worthy footage of number 10 staff joking about their christmas party.

and then on tuesday, the biggest rebellion against this government so far. around half of tory backbenchers voted against plans for covid passports. if more limits on our lives are needed, the prime minister simply can't count on their support. borisjohnson is no stranger to drama, to epic highs and chaotic lows, but the political danger to him right now is real and intense. being pounded by voters in what should be the safest of tory seats is the finale of a terrible month brought about, in part, by a series of mistakes and misjudgements in number 10 itself. there are strong, public and fierce private calls for him to change how he does business, and warnings tonight of what might happen if he does not or cannot. the prime minister is now in last orders time. two strikes already — one earlier this week in the vote in the commons, now this — one more strike and he's out.

number 10 may take some comfort from the fact this by—election was a lib dem, not a labour breakthrough, but the cold reality — it's the prime minister who is being put on notice. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street. you are watching bbc news. the main story this hour: concern across europe as extra measures are announced to combat the growing threat of the omicron variant. an american man has been sentenced to five years in prison for attacking police during the storming of the us congress by donald trump's supporters. the jail term handed to robert palmer is the longest so far of anyone involved in january's riot. our north america correspondent david willis told me more about the trial. robert palmer was the first person involved in the insurrection onjanuary 6 to be prosecuted in connection with assaulting a police officer and, as you say, he received the longest sentence so far — 63 months orfive years

and three months in prison. and previously, 43 months — 41 months, sorry, had been the longest sentence handed down, but none of those defendants had faced such serious charges and the judge was told that mr palmer attacked police with a wooden pole with a stick and with a fire hydrant as well, and they concluded that these were very serious charges that merited the sort of sentence that he received. now, of the 700 people who are facing charges in connection with that insurrection in the capitol building onjanuary 6, most face more minor charges but there are some serious charges of assaulting police and possession of a deadly weapon and so on which could lead to charges similar to those levelled against robert palmer today. david, we saw pictures of him just there — he looked very emotional. what was his defence?

well, in a handwritten note to the judge, robert palmer said that he felt he had been duped into taking part in the insurrection on the capitol building. he said that it was born of loyalty to the former president donald trump and he said he now believed that the claim that the presidential election had been stolen was a lie. robert palmer's conviction, i think, all part of a sign that, if you like, the noose is tightening of those officials in washington, dc believe were to blame for that insurrection — an insurrection that led to the deaths of several people on the day itself. we saw this week the washington, dc attorney general announcing civil proceedings against members of two far—right groups — the proud boys and the oath keepers.

and seperately, the house representatives voted to hold donald trump's former chief of staff mark meadows in contempt of congress and to refer potential charges to the usjustice department after he failed to comply with a subpoena to testify before the committee looking into the events of january six. david willis. 12 people are now confirmed to have died in the philippines due to super typhoon rai, but authorities are still trying to reach some badly affected areas and say the death toll could rise. the typhoon made landfall on the tourist island of siargao on friday, levelling homes and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. the united nations says some 13 million people may have been affected. sara monetta reports. after the storm, the devastation is everywhere. on friday, super typhoon rai pummelled the southern and central regions

of the philippines, tearing roofs off buildings, uprooting trees, toppling power poles and flooding villages. these paradise islands — popular tourist destinations — are now cut off from the world. local airports are damaged and communications are down. more than 300,000 people had to flee their homes, and now, they are in dire need for help. we had to bring ready—to—eat meals because people are in roofs in flooded areas and they are waiting to be assisted. we have already fed 20,000 people with hot meals and we are looking at not only the evacuation service, but those outside who have stayed in their homes or have lost their homes completely. so, it's a really bad situation. search teams are working to reach all those left stranded by the floods. several people are still missing and rescuers fear the death toll might rise.

the philippines is often affected by such huge typhoons, but the effects of climate change may be making them more frequent and more powerful, meaning scenes like these may become increasingly common in years to come. sara monetta, bbc news. the united states has called for an end to ethiopia's civil war after the un voted for an independent investigation into atrocities by all sides in the ongoing conflict between ethiopian government forces and the tigray people's liberation front. a state department spokesman said he was concerned by reports of mass detentions and killings of ethnic tigrayans. the united states is home to a large — and very vocal — ethiopian ex pat community which is divided along the same ethnic lines that fuel the conflict. barbara plett usher sent this report from washington. ethiopia's civil war is 7,000 miles away and it's right here in this kitchen, on this canvas. gabrielle's family is from the northern region of tigray, the epicentre of the conflict —

the theme that consumes her art. it's like opening up a channel and a passageway taking us —— it's like opening up a channel and this passageway, taking us all back there, but what better way to create than with your pain? there's so many other things i could do with that. i could destroy myself with it. for more than a year, the ethiopian army had been battling rebels from tigray and their allies. thousands are dead. human rights abuses committed on both side. parts of the country pushed into famine. we demand justice! tigrayans in the us are desperate. the ethiopian government has blocked most aid and communication to the north. many have lost contact with their relatives. i can't sleep at night because i'm thinking about all of them. who's starving? which were the starving? what you think about what the us is doing? the us has not stepped in. the international community has not stepped in. they've allowed us to just suffer and suffer. and so what is it that

we are supposed to do? what other options do we have, other than to fight back? people are dying. outside the state department, a chance to personally plead their case. we are not ignoring you. we want to listen to you. don't think that we're not thinking of ways to be supportive of all sides in this conflict, of all the communities, all of the people. what you see here in washington is a reflection of what's happening in ethiopia. the fighting is taking place between ethnic groups and the demonstrations here also showcase those ethnic divisions. many are fed up! across town, supporters of the ethiopian government insist that the west has got it wrong. the americans are calling for a ceasefire and negotiations with the rebels, who are advancing on the capital. we can't negotiate with terrorists! would you negotiate with isis? no. you wouldn't. so it's not — we cannot. they are not equal partners. they kill, they rape, people die. my aunt, my uncle, my family is there.

i don't know if they die or are still alive. the rebel leaders, known as the tplf, once governed the country with a heavy hand and are deeply resented by many ethiopians. the us is treading a fine line. the americans are talking to the ethiopian government. —— the americans are talking to the ethiopian government. that's not the engagement that ethiopian people want. what do they want? the ethiopian people want engagement from the west that is supporting the government's cause. they don't want support that's demonising the government and supporting the cause of the tplf. ethiopians in america wear their identities with passion but they have different views of what ethiopia is, and that is deepening. barbara plett usher, bbc news. for nearly three months now, we have been telling you about the volcanic eruption taking place on the canary islands. in the last few days, the seismic activity appears to have stopped. the clean—up operation will be immense as thousands of buildings were destroyed. but it's notjust people

who were affected, as the bbc�*s tim allman reports. meowing. the survivors of this volcano come in all shapes and sizes. these cats were found by members of the spanish civil guard, their homes almost certainly destroyed, and their owners, for now, a mystery. translation: when we arrived here, we found them _ crossing the lava. they approached us and we fed them and gave them water. we have also been checking if they have a microchip to find out if they have an owner so we can return them to them. but not every creature on the island was so lucky. the bodies of wild animals and birds have been sent away for analysis as to a cause of death — whether it was rivers of red hot lava engulfing everything in their path —— of red—hot lava engulfing everything in their path or the poisonous gases filling the skies above. all that volcanic magma

and rock is cooling now — giant black scars criss—crossing the land — and then there's the ash. so much ash. houses, cars, football pitches, buried beyond sight. translation: you can see| there are roofs that have not been able to support the weight. there's so much ash. there are metres of ash. some have begun the long, arduous process of trying to clear up the mess but who knows how long that will take? there is hope this volcanic eruption will be declared officially over before christmas. one life gone, eight still to go. tim allman, bbc news. a reminder of our top story, france and ireland have become the latest european countries to take further steps to contain the omicron coronavirus variant. the french government announced public partisan fireworks displays on new year's eve will be banned to

try to stop the spread. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @richpreston. from me and the team, thanks for watching. hello. scotland and northern ireland have the lion's share of friday's sunshine. even these areas are likely to turn cloudier as we go on through the weekend — a weekend which will, for most places, bring plenty of cloud. despite that, it will be dry. it will gradually turn cooler as that weekend goes on as well. there is an area of high pressure right across the united kingdom, giving plenty of settled weather as we go through the weekend but trapped underneath that, there is a lot of cloud. now, where there have been clear spells overnight and into the morning — in scotland and northern england in particular — this is where we will wake up to the lowest temperatures, and there will be frost in places, too. but there will also be some sunny spells and fog across the eastern side of england in particular, dense in places, some patches

lingering all day in a few spots, and maybe thick enough to be affecting travel. now, in terms of where we see some sunny spells, scotland, northern england, westernmost parts of wales, far south—west of england, maybe a few brighter breaks in northern ireland at times. and temperatures mainly around 6—10 celsius but where it will be colder, fog lingers and there will be parts of scotland that stay just above freezing all day long. as we go on through saturday night, again, it's where you have those breaks in the cloud, particularly into parts of northern england and scotland, you'll find the lowest temperatures, the greater risk of seeing a frost going into sunday, picking up the areas in blue here. where you keep the cloud, though, temperatures will not fall too far from where they've been during the day. but that cloud will be back again on sunday and again, there's a risk of seeing some dense fog patches in places to begin the day. and in terms of any sunshine on sunday, it's probablyjust the higher ground in scotland, northern england and wales. venturing into the hills you're most likely to see some sunshine where the valleys

below may well be stuck underneath cloud. and overall, it is trending cooler on sunday and getting colder still as we go into the new week. now, high pressure will eventually give way, we think, as we go deeper through the week but then the big question mark about how quickly these weather systems from the atlantic — or, indeed, if they will at all — move in and provide a change to more unsettled weather in time for christmas. so, colderfor a time next week, more widespread overnight frost but if you're looking at your app and the forecast online, yes, it may look as if it turns unsettled just before christmas, but there's still a lot to play for in the detail.

this is bbc news, the headlines: france and ireland have become the latest european countries to take further steps to contain the omicron coronavirus variant. the french government announced major public parties and firework displays on new year's eve will be banned, to slow the spread. ghislaine maxwell, who's on trial in the us on sex trafficking charges, has told the court she won't be giving evidence. ms maxwell said there was no need to testify because the prosecution hadn't proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. she denies grooming girls for the late convicted paedophile, jeffrey epstein. borisjohnson says he takes "personal responsibility" for the conservatives�* by—election defeat in north shropshire. he said there had been too much focus on the conduct of politicians, rather than measures which could improve people's lives. some of his mps have urged him to make changes.