this is bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world — i'm matthew amroliwala. our top stories. pressure on borisjohnson as the british government is urged to set out plans to tackle surging coronavirus cases. sources tell the bbc three options of increasing severity have been prepared. a virtual cabinet meeting is about to start. european stock markets fall as investors fear more omicron restrictions. switzerland, france, denmark and ireland introduce stricter measures. the netherlands has gone into another national lockdown. premier league bosses hold emergency talks with clubs about a potential pause to the packed christmas and new year fixture list after covid outbreaks forced a number of matches to be cancelled. pleas for urgent supplies

in the philippines, with officials saying the number killed by a super typhoon is now at 375. the philippine red cross has described some scenes as "complete carnage". the chinese tennis star peng shuai retracts an accusation of sexual she is the chinese tennis star peng shuai retracts an accusation of sexual assault against a former top communist party official — but was she speaking under duress? hello and welcome. the british cabinet is due to meet about now to discuss possible further restrictions to deal with the surge in covid—19 infections triggered by the omicron variant. the uk has the highest number of confirmed omicron cases in europe. the bbc has been told civil servants have prepared three different options, ranging in severity —

with boris johnson likely to face strong opposition to further restrictions, from within his own party. we'll get the latest on new restrictions being brought in europe injust a moment — first though the latest on the pressure on borisjohnson. here's jonathan blake. boosterjabs are still the main hope in the battle against omicron. but as cases of the new variant continue to rise, ministers won't rule out taking further measures. we're accelerating the booster roll—out in various different ways, from halving the time between second and third doses, increasing the throughput through the vaccination centres, they're going to be open longer hours. and of course, if we need to change the approach, we can't rule it out definitively, but that would be reliant on the data that comes through. with just a few days to go until christmas, there is anxiety that plans may have to change. labour are calling for clarity. here we are with a variant that everyone is very, very concerned about, what i want to see is a government,

a prime minister, that gets a grip, puts a plan forward, but hopefully we can all get behind. but where is he? there is a vacuum of leadership at the moment. the infighting is going on in the tory party, when the focus should really be on the public interest and public health. the prime minister has a choice. officials have drawn up three different options for further restrictions, ranging in severity from low to medium to high. the decision to implement restrictions will never be an easy one but the political pressure on borisjohnson right now, particularly from his own party, will make it harder than ever. the former brexit minister lord frost resigned at the weekend, in part, over the current covid restrictions. i can't speak for anybody else, i can only say what i think, which is i don't support coercive policies on covid. the prime minister has got some very difficult decisions to take, and i am sure he'll be thinking very hard about them. his concerns are shared

by many conservative mps, deeply wary of any further measures. i just don't think at the moment there is anyjustification for further measures. of course, people must be sensible. they only need to meet the where is reasonable to do so, and they must consider getting the vaccination. but i think we're asking the good sense of the british people to do that, rather than further government edicts at the moment. and there is this. a picture of the prime minister and staff in the garden of number ten in may last year. when restrictions on mixing were in place. wine, cheese board. a work meeting, says downing street. labour say that's a stretch. there are differences of opinion in government about what action, if any, is needed now. ministers are meeting this afternoon to review the latest data. let's talk now to jonathan blake at westminster. at that meeting about to get under way. do we know anything more about what those three options actually

are? he what those three options actually are? ., , , ., what those three options actually are? .,, ., , what those three options actually are? ., , ., ., are? no but you only have to look back to earlier _ are? no but you only have to look back to earlier stages _ are? no but you only have to look back to earlier stages of - are? no but you only have to look back to earlier stages of the - back to earlier stages of the pandemic to see the sort of options that the government and the prime minister have at their disposal, everything from the full lockdown we saw in the very early stages of the pandemic and early on this year as well, last winter, when nonessential retail was closed, strict limits on socialising and household mixing as well, even schools closed for a time right through until the much lighter touch, of guidance and suggestions for what people should and should not consider doing to slow down the spread of this new omicron variant. there are of course a range of options within that. just because these three different levels of intervention have been drawn up and i don't think we should necessarily assume the prime minister will pick one of those off—the—shelf and go with it. it may well be a more nuanced approach but the range of options are clear, and the difficult

bit is deciding what to go with and when. �* , bit is deciding what to go with and when. �*, ., bit is deciding what to go with and when. �*, . , ., ., bit is deciding what to go with and when. �*, . ._ , , ., ., ., when. there's always been a range of oinions when. there's always been a range of opinions within _ when. there's always been a range of opinions within the _ when. there's always been a range of opinions within the cabinet. - when. there's always been a range of opinions within the cabinet. we - opinions within the cabinet. we offer hearing the chief scientific adviser patrick vallance is brief and conservative backbench mps. is that a clear push from the scientists given some of the pushback directed at the scientist last week? ~ last week? well the government if it is auoin to last week? well the government if it is going to take _ last week? well the government if it is going to take action, _ last week? well the government if it is going to take action, and - last week? well the government if it is going to take action, and we - is going to take action, and we should be wary of assuming that it is because although the situation is precarious and obviously concerning, the government has not given any indication at this point it's on the verge of making any more interventions, certain that this side of christmas but if they do they will need the support of mps and particularly conservative mps, the government won't want to rely on opposition votes again so we need to take what it views as a proportionate approach and do things it's mps are able to get on board with. that will be difficult because there is a staunch opposition from boris johnson's own there is a staunch opposition from borisjohnson's own benches to any

further interventions at this point. yes, the briefings will be in part designed to fully update mps and make them fully aware of the situation as the scientist see it. we talked about pressure from his backbench mps, or a certain proportion, in terms of pressure, also counter pressure in terms of what is happening in other countries and also plan b was conceived in the summer before we knew about omicron and there are those who are clear measures needed to be added to plan b, to come into effect now. yes. measures needed to be added to plan b, to come into effect now.— b, to come into effect now. yes, we had [an b, to come into effect now. yes, we had plan a — b, to come into effect now. yes, we had plan a and _ b, to come into effect now. yes, we had plan a and plan _ b, to come into effect now. yes, we had plan a and plan b _ b, to come into effect now. yes, we had plan a and plan b i _ b, to come into effect now. yes, we had plan a and plan b i know- b, to come into effect now. yes, we had plan a and plan b i know there l had plan a and plan b i know there may be a need, some argue, for further measures and what they will be, we have to see but there is political pressure on borisjohnson from both his own mps and the opposition. the labour party here are saying the prime minister needs to make a decision and explain to people what he's going to do,

notably the are not calling for further restrictions themselves, they are not putting forward a plan for it should be done. what you are seeing is an anxiety around the lack of any certainty around what might be about to happen. downing street keeping their options open and telling us they are monitoring the data closely but not ruling anything out and saying they will take any necessary steps needed to protect lives and livelihoods. tiara necessary steps needed to protect lives and livelihoods. two meetings to kee an lives and livelihoods. two meetings to keep an eye _ lives and livelihoods. two meetings to keep an eye on. _ lives and livelihoods. two meetings to keep an eye on, i _ lives and livelihoods. two meetings to keep an eye on, i am _ lives and livelihoods. two meetings to keep an eye on, i am sure - lives and livelihoods. two meetings to keep an eye on, i am sure look. to keep an eye on, i am sure look you up much more from you throughout the course of the afternoon. for now, thank you. well, let's see how different countries hit by the omicron variant have been dealing with the virus, in the run up to christmas. in a moment, we'll hear from our correspondent, gary o'donoghue in washington, and andrew harding injohannesburg — but first let's hear from our correspondent anna holligan in the netherlands. and here is a snapshot of life under lockdown.

the cafes and bars and restaurants and museums and gyms are closed. there is no christmas shopping, all the nonessential shops have been shut although the off—licences and florists are open, so essential is open to interpretation. the schools closed early for christmas, people asked to work from home, and is timing here is telling here, because these rules were introduced a week before christmas, throwing holiday plans into disarray, and it highlighted the urgency and the fears still swelling around omicron and the uncertainty about things like the transmissibility and the potential to evade people's immunity. across the border in germany, travellers from the uk have been banned from entering unless they are german residents or germans flying in from the uk. those who do go had to show a negative test and enter quarantine, regardless of their vaccination status, and similar restrictions are in france. what this all shows is that along with omicron, the emergence of the realisation that coming together this christmas will be

harder and more risky than anyone had anticipated. let's cross to gary o'donoghue in washington. scientists here are warning of a viral blizzard about to hit the country as omicron starts to take over as the dominant variant of covid—19. it is in 45 of the 50 states already and it's spreading rapidly. it is already having an impact on sporting events such as the national hockey league, which has cancelled several dozen matches, the nba, the nfl as well, even the famous hamilton musical on broadway had to cancel some shows. in terms of the vaccination rates, they are going up very slowly, only 85% of people in the country have had a single dose, only 72% are double vaccinated. of the double vaccinated, only 30% have had that booster shot so far.

shocking statistics — only 1.6 million doses of any kind, be that a first, second or booster, are being given each day at the moment put on that rate it will take a year at least to get the population boosted. joe biden is going to make a speech tomorrow announcing more help for under—served communities, urging people to get their vaccinations, but plans to have vaccine mandates for employers had been mired in the courts. now let's look at the situation in south africa with andrew harding in johannesburg. thank you, gary. south africa is the place - where omicron was first detected so there was a lot of interest in how things are unfolding l here, and so far, the outlook is broadly very encouraging. i hospital admissions l are still a tiny fraction of what they were at the same point as in previous waves. _ the same goes for the official death rate from omicron -

which is dramatically lower than for delta. _ the latest figures suggest this - fourth wave, which rose so steeply, is already starting to dip in south africa _ but we still need to be cautious. for a start, the official death toll is probably. a significant underestimate, | perhaps by a factor of three, and we still don't know why omicron seems to be leaving this country- relatively unscathed. is it a sign that the variant - is less severe or could it be that so many south africans were exposed to previous variants and enjoyed - some immunity as a result? even if vaccination levels here remain pretty low. i or simply the fact that this . is a much younger population, the average age of about 13 years younger than britain. _ either way, mask wearing remains . strictly enforced here in public. but no other major restrictions have yet been brought— in by the government.

well, germany has followed france in imposing restrictions on travellers from the uk. while the country still has lower case numbers than the uk, the number of deaths following a positive covid test is rising. i'm joined now by kai zacharowski, who is head of the intensive care unit at the university hospital frankfurt. welcome to the programme. the german health minister was saying a couple of days ago he expects the omicron variant to unleash what he called a massive fifth wave of the pandemic. do you share that same fear? i do share this- — do you share that same fear? i do share this. because _ do you share that same fear? i if share this. because we have the problem that is rapidly spread so fast that even though it might not be so, causing so much sickness, but the amount of people infected, we will have a massive wave of patients and we are still in the fourth wave. what are you seeing on the ground in intensive care? you had such a terrible delta wave to deal with are now you've got this on top.

at the moment we only see a rare case of omicron but if you look around the borders of germany, the netherlands and some others, we expect the worse. in terms of restrictions i was referring to, that germany has announced, does that make any sense, once infection is in the community and spreading in the community? well, it makes always sense to stop the spreading, regardless of what you are planning to do, it will have an impact but obviously if you do it too late, it probably does not help much. restrictions are helpful, that's for sure. ijust had some use, in germany, from the 28th of december, there will be massive restrictions in terms of contact, people are not allowed to meet any more. there will be some further

restrictions coming. interesting that is what the german government is considering because here in the uk that is exactly what the british cabinet are currently looking at. when you look at the number of cases here, does it make sense to you not to impose restrictions as soon as possible, or is there still time to sit and see how it develops? well, i would not white, to be fairly honest, because if you wait your health system will be hit hard and not only the health system but the people behind, the health care providers. and if they are hit and they have to stay at home who cares for the patients? i think this needs to be considered. the new chancellor of germany has had a very tough message for the unvaccinated. do you think that is a nettle all governments will have to grasp in the new year, because if you have 15 or 20% but refuse any persuasion about getting vaccinated, do you have to make the consequences

much tougher otherwise in a sense of the tail wags the dog? yes, i think we two important things we need to consider. first, when we talk about vaccination, true vaccination is three jabs, which includes the booster. that is vaccination for covid—19. secondly, people are saying, i've been vaccinated twice but when was the second vaccination? if it was more than six months ago it doesn't count as a vaccination, so we might have more people started getting vaccinated but the gap is so long they don't count any more, so we have our problem. the sad thing, what you just mention, there are two ways, either you have more restrictions for those who are not vaccinated and at some stage they say they want a normal life so the vaccinated or the second thing to some countries are doing a different approach and site, we do not force

you, howeverwhen approach and site, we do not force you, however when you are sick with the disease you have to pay for it. yes, some pretty interesting questions and lying ahead for a lot of governments to consider. thank you very much forjoining us from germany, life here on the programme. a reminder of our top stories... the british government is urged to set out plans to tackle surging coronavirus cases. sources tell the bbc three options of increasing severity have been prepared as a virtual meeting of the cabinet takes place. it's as restrictions are tightened across europe — switzerland, france, denmark and ireland introduce stricter measures and the netherlands has gone into another national lockdown. premier league bosses hold emergency talks about a potential pause to christmas and new year fixtures after covid outbreaks forced a number of matches to be cancelled. premier league bosses are holding

emergency talks with all 20 clubs today after a number of matches were cancelled due to covid outbreaks among players. the christmas period is one of the busiest times of the football season, with 30 matches scheduled laura, what options will they be discussing today? big decisions to be made. absolutely. comes at a time when the premier league has experience the highest ever total of cases, a few weeks ago it was 42 cases in one weeks ago it was 42 cases in one week and over the weekend only four of the scheduled ten games due to be played went ahead. the others were postponed due to outbreaks among squads and some outbreaks deemed uncontrollable and some training ground shot. that's given rise to a debate about the pros and cons of a so—called circuit breaker, the premier league is keen to keep the show on the road, they maintained that position throughout they want to keep fixtures going ahead where it is safe. as you see an emergency meeting of the 20 clubs called today

with the premier league bosses. do we know what the options they are actually considering, the types of options, because this has huge financial implications, the reason is such a packed schedule around christmas and new year because all the tv deals, it is a box office. doing it what it is they are considering?— doing it what it is they are considerinu? ., ~ ., considering? -- do we know? the debate is whether _ considering? -- do we know? the debate is whether it _ considering? -- do we know? the debate is whether it is _ considering? -- do we know? the debate is whether it is safe - considering? -- do we know? the debate is whether it is safe and i debate is whether it is safe and sensible to press on with the fixtures over at this very busy festive period. as you say, the broadcasters will have a say. they pay big money to have the games for this time of the year and they would want them to be played but safety is the priority and so the debate inside the building behind me and on zoom with the club bosses will be the balance of safety of the players and staff and the commercial ramifications of any postponement.

the sporting ramifications, too. it's a very congested season already and the premier league bosses will be all too aware of how difficult it will be to rearrange any postponed fixtures but when you've got the chelsea manager saying yesterday the fact his side's game with the heads represented a huge risk to players and was not safe. this is a headache for notjust and was not safe. this is a headache for not just the and was not safe. this is a headache for notjust the bosses but at and was not safe. this is a headache for not just the bosses but at the premier league bosses as well. later today we expect new testing figures from the premier league, and vaccination figures as well, which could be very telling. this is not an easy subject, not an easy decision, if indeed a decision is taken today. there is a very split view within the league.— view within the league. laura, if there are developments, - view within the league. laura, if there are developments, we - view within the league. laura, ifj there are developments, we will return to you. for now, thank you. a bbc investigation has found that the the myanmar military carried out a series of mass killings of civilians in july that resulted

in the deaths of at least a0 men. eyewitnesses and survivors said that soldiers, some as young as 17, rounded up villagers before separating the men and killing them. the incidents took place in an area where the army has faced armed resistance to february's coup. it's thought the killings were a collective punishment for attacks by militia groups demanding a return to democracy. a spokesman for the military government did not deny the allegations. police in the philippines say the number of people who've died after a super typhoon hit last week has risen to more than 350. the red cross says it's "carnage" in many areas, with no power, no communications and very little water. thousands of military, coast guard and fire service personnel have been deployed, to help in the relief operation. with the latest from the capital manila, here's howard johnson. four days on from super typhoon rai's first landfall in the philippines the extent of the damage it caused is finally becoming clear.

nine different islands separated by a distance of more than 800 kilometres all experienced sustained ferocious winds and heavy rain, flattening thousands of homes and flooding vast tracts of land. translation: we appeal for at least some small help to come to us. - now is the time we need a government, a government that is ready to help us in our current situation. we are waiting for whoever has a kind heart. i hope they will help us. the breadth of the destruction and the lack of communication lines, is causing logistical delays in humanitarian support. food, water, fuel and electricity are in limited supply on numerous islands. today, the british government committed nearly $1 million to an appeal by the international federation of the red cross to help the relief effort. the ifrc are hoping to raise a total of more than $20 million. howard johnson, bbc news, manila.

the chinese tennis star pung shwai appears to have retracted an accusation, of sexual assault, that she made against a former chinese vice premier. in a video interview, she said, the comments she'd made on social media had been misunderstood. after making the claim last month, she disappeared from public view for three weeks. the women's tennis association says, it's still concerned about her well—being. in the last hour they gave us this statement. they said it was �*good to see' her in �*a public setting' but these appearances do not alleviate or address the wta's significant concerns about her well—being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion. appearances do not alleviate or address the wta's significant concerns about her well—being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion. we remain steadfast in our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern. let's return to our lead story and the omicron situation in the uk — ministers have again called on everyone eligible

to get a covid boosterjab. the race to get booster jabs into as many arms as possible is intensifying. yesterday saw more than 900,000 boosters delivered thanks in part to mass vaccination centres like this one in manchester where they have been operating around the clock as part of a trial to see how people responded, averaging around 60 jabs an hour through the night. you can come from any time after five past midnight, so it's the most reasonable time! later there's going to be a queue and also because i'm available this morning, i'm not working. duty calls, i've got work at eight so i figured it was best - to get it out of the way. a huge publicity campaign is also under way this morning, national newspapers carried an identical message, to add to tv appeals that have been running but the logistics of ramping up a mass vaccination campaign

so quickly are complicated, with london in particular experiencing problems with the supply. we luckily had enough already in the fridge to do a very busy saturday clinic, we gave over 400 doses on saturday, but then we had to stop and we are desperately hoping we get the delivery later today for tomorrow's clinic. one of the main reasons for the sense of urgency is the extra pressure this new wave could heap on an already creaking health service. it's notjust extra patients, but staff themselves falling ill. in london, the nhs has seen staff absences rising from 1900 to a700 in less than a week. in many places, they are already under immense pressure and so they are starting to go off sick themselves, both with covid but also with physical and mental exhaustion so it is looking like a very bleak picture for them over the next few weeks. at the start of this year,

hospitals were overwhelmed as the number of covid patients surged, now vaccines and booster seem to be keeping the number of deaths stable at least for the moment. but modelling suggests even a best case scenario for this wave could see death rising to around 600 per day. that is the backdrop to the situation and the backdrop to the cabinet meeting going on with boris johnson and his cabinet as they look how to deal with the current covid surge. i will be back in half an hour with all the latest on our top stories. goodbye for now. we are in that important run—up to christmas where you may be on the move. not much change in the weather today and tomorrow but milder

weather coming in midweek with some rain at times. as for the rest of today, don't expect a huge amount of sunshine best of the breaks in north—west wales and some parts of western scotland, turning chile are heading into the evening. elsewhere temperatures in mid—single figures. a rather cool day and so well tonight. could be somewhat breaks around, for western wales and scotland. the odd one elsewhere and you can see the blue collars on the chart, temperature most likely to drop below freezing. tomorrow is a cold start tomorrow is winter solstice. around five hours and 48 minutes of daylight in lerwick but tomorrow signifies the change, from there on the day length will draw out that little bit more. not a huge amount of sunshine to enjoy it but slightly more than today particularly for wales and south—west england. far north of scotland should have a brighter day with just one or two showers.

elsewhere, lots of cloud and many having a dry day. changes are afoot as we go into the middle of the week, this low pressure starts to exert more of an influence strengthening the breeze across western areas and helping break the cloud up. especially in an east it may be sunnier on wednesday but the cloud in the west will thicken up, outbreaks of rain. temperatures lifting, our chilly day across the eastern parts still, may be colder than at the moment. the milder air works northwards into thursday, more rain are pushing northwards on thursday, what is conditions across scotland preceded by some snow on the hills. more sunshine across the south. look at this split in temperatures. much milder air, that will be there on friday as well but into what christmas day, a bit of a battle between mild they are trying

to push in four southern areas and cold air from the north, to push in four southern areas and cold airfrom the north, snow, best chance of that in the cold air but where the dividing line lies will be crucial.

this is bbc news. the headlines on the main news stories at the top of the main news stories at the top of the hour, straight after this programme...

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