this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm martine croxall. our top stories... scientists cautiously welcome uk studies suggesting that the highly—contagious omicron covid variant is milder than previous versions. britain's health secretary warns that the sheer number of infections could still lead to hospitals being overwhelmed. we do know with omicron that it does spread a lot more quickly, it's more infectious than delta, so any advantage gained from reduced risk of hospitalisation needs to be set against that. president putin again insists the west must give russia guarantees that nato won't expand eastwards to admit ukraine and says he's initiated high—level talks with the us.

translation: if we are plunged in a conflict? i but we don't want that. it is not our choice. this is why i responded to president biden�*s proposal. and move over clint — there's an explosion of british talent starring in american western films. but how do they prepare for the role and the accent? we speak to a dialect coach. hello and welcome. tighter restrictions against coronavirus have come into effect in some european countries amid concerns over the highly infectious omicron variant that continues to spread rapidly. there is a fear that a wave of omicron infections could overwhelm health services, despite preliminary studies suggesting that omicron

is milder and that the risk of being hospitalised is up to 75% lower. we'll look at mainland europe in a moment, but let's start here in the uk. according the latest official statistics, over 1.3 million british people were infected with covid in the week ending the 16th of december — the highest level of infections recorded since the pandemic began. here's our health correspondent, dominic hughes. the last few days before christmas have brought some better news. early studies of the omicron covid variant suggest it may lead to fewer hospitalisations than the previous delta wave. that's the good news — but researchers say the true number of people getting infected is much higher than the official figure and there will be some challenging days ahead. so we're picking up asymptomatic infections as well as symptomatic infections, so a different bunch of people than people who may be reporting for testing through the national programme, so all that's telling us that there is a lot of cases, but for any individual it might be less severe, but at the population

level there's going to be very severe pressure, i think, on the health service. as covid infections continue to soar, health leaders have been warning of a looming staffing crisis. nhs workers are just as vulnerable to the highly infectious omicron variant as the rest of us, and with staff falling ill, hospitals, ambulances and community services are all being hit. the impact of staff absences is on top of existing staff shortages and normally trust leaders would be looking to fill the gaps through bank and agency staff — that's getting harder to do. the latest data from nhs england shows what a dramatic impact the rise in infections is having on staff absence. on one day, the 19th of december, nearly 19,000 nhs staff in england were off work due to covid — that's up by 54% when compared to the week before. the biggest increase was in london, the epicentre of this outbreak, where covid—related absence,

sickness or isolation almost doubled to around 3,900. the nhs workforce was already under pressure before omicron came along. there's increased pressure there, as we are seeing in many workforces at the moment, especially if someone needs to isolate if they have a positive case, but some of the recent moves we've had from moving to 10—day to 7—day isolation if you take tests in the last two days, i think all of this will help. between 30 and 40. these are the ages of some of the people fighting - for the life on a covid ward. a graphic illustration of the pressures the health service is facing from liverpool city council. filmed in the intensive care unit of the royal liverpool, it shows how every patient needing treatment is relatively young and unvaccinated. the message is clear — get vaccinated. - in wales too, where waiting lists for planned procedures have hit a record high, there are warnings, too, nearly one—fifth of staff could be

off with covid in january. nhs england's top doctor says the health service is now on a war footing and the best weapons in the fight against the omicron variant remain vaccines and boosters. dominic hughes, bbc news. the uk government has ruled out introducing new restrictions before christmas. prime minister borisjohnson is yet to announce if england will see post—christmas restrictions, but other parts of the uk have announced their return. in northern ireland, nightclubs will be closed from boxing day, from the 27th of december, hospitality will return to table service only with no more than six people allowed to sit together and people will be advised to reduce indoor mixing to a maximum of three households. in wales, restrictions introduced include a return of the rule of six in pubs, cinemas and restaurants. two—metre social distancing rules will also be reintroduced in public places. nightclubs will close from boxing day. in scotland, from boxing day, there will be limits on the size of live public events.

from the following day, nightclubs will close for 3 weeks, while pubs, bars and other hospitality venues will return to table service only with one—metre social distancing and no more than three households in each group. let's look more at what's happening in europe now. as we mentioned, amid rising infections, a number of countries are re—introducing coronavirus restrictions. aru na iyengar reports. countries across europe are responding in different ways to the rapidly spreading omicron virus. belgium, as it emerges from a fourth wave of covid infections, is bracing for a fifth. theatres and entertainment venues will have to close their doors on december the 26th, their busiest time of the year. translation: i absolutely agree that we should not take _ risks with public health. but, with these measures, we threaten the mental health of a lot of people. in spain, the government of pedro sanchez has increased the vaccination roll—out, extending this to children under the age of 12.

mask—wearing will become compulsory outdoors for the second time. and, in the netherlands, with shops, restaurants and cinemas closed dutch people and businesses face a very bleak christmas. rising cases mean hospitals have had to cancel other types of surgery. there are now 600 at the icus. but it was at the cost of that we postponed the urgent surgeries for a lot of patients, and what we also did see in last weeks is that the number of people that died, in the total of the netherlands, was higher than expected. italy, the first western country to be hit by the covid—i9 pandemic earlier last year, said omicron infections now account for 28% of cases, but daily caseloads of coronavirus remain well below some other european countries, such as britain and germany. aruna iyengar, bbc news.

let's bring you some breaking news now. we have the latest case figures for the uk. 119,789 people have tested positive for one of the variants of covid—19, yesterday it was 106,000, which was a record number of infections, according to government data, since the pandemic began, although we don't know whether the new record today consist mostly of omicron cases or other variants, and that will tell us how much hospitalisation there is going to be, which is the concern, although the latest research is that on the grant will give you milder symptoms and that should mean if you are cases that need to be hospitalised —— the latest research is that

omicron will give you milder symptoms. but close to 120,000 new covid cases reported today in the uk. the us food and drug administration has authorised another covid pill for high—risk adults. the pill, developed by merck, is taken within five days of the onset of symptoms and has been shown to reduce covid hospitalisations and deaths by 30%. it comes a day after the similar pill by pfizer was authorised. joining me now is eliav barr, the senior vice president of global medical and scientific affairs at merck. tell us about this pill and how it works. , . , works. this medicine interferes with the ability of — works. this medicine interferes with the ability of the _ works. this medicine interferes with the ability of the virus _ works. this medicine interferes with the ability of the virus to _ the ability of the virus to replicate itself and it resulted in significant reductions in hospitalisations and deaths including a 90% reduction in deaths which as a physician, that is something i'm most concerned about,

preventing people from dying from covid—19. it is also a medicine that has been shown to be effective against the omicron virus. who has been shown to be effective against the omicron virus. who was in our against the omicron virus. who was in your study? _ against the omicron virus. who was in your study? how— against the omicron virus. who was in your study? how many _ against the omicron virus. who was in your study? how many of- against the omicron virus. who was in your study? how many of the - in your study? how many of the people that you tried this on were vaccinated and how many of them had underlying health conditions? this was a study _ underlying health conditions? this was a study in _ underlying health conditions? ti 3 was a study in people with underlying health conditions or people who were 60 and above, we excluded patients who were vaccinated but as is the case in the uk, throughout the world people not vaccinated are disproportionately affected by the covid—19 and especially the omicron variant so this was a particular high risk group of people but we have now a medicine which can be used to very rapidly and easily reduce the risk of consequences of getting infected. to what extent will pills like this be a substitute rather than an additive to the vaccine programme?

they are complimentary and it is really important for people to get vaccinated and it is really terrific that people who were either vaccinated and it still got infected or haven't yet had a chance to be vaccinated, now have an option of a medicine that can be used easily at home and can reduce your risk of hospitalisation or dying from covid—19. hospitalisation or dying from covid-19. �* , ., , hospitalisation or dying from covid-19. �*, ., , ., , ., covid-19. there's money to be made from drugs — covid-19. there's money to be made from drugs like _ covid-19. there's money to be made from drugs like this _ covid-19. there's money to be made from drugs like this with _ covid-19. there's money to be made from drugs like this with the - from drugs like this with the pandemic still gripping many countries around the world. how much does a pill cost compared with the vaccine? it does a pill cost compared with the vaccine? , ' . ., does a pill cost compared with the vaccine? , , . ., vaccine? it is difficult to compare because the _ vaccine? it is difficult to compare because the vaccine _ vaccine? it is difficult to compare because the vaccine is _ vaccine? it is difficult to compare because the vaccine is there - vaccine? it is difficult to compare because the vaccine is there to i because the vaccine is there to prevent and is given to healthy people but the pill is given to patients who are quite ill with covid—19. the uk was the first to licence the medicine and is now being studied in the panoramic study to look at the effect of the drug in

the uk, so the government will have a good idea of the value of the drug in the uk population.— in the uk population. thanks for “oininu in the uk population. thanks for joining us- _ in the uk population. thanks for joining us- my — in the uk population. thanks for joining us. my pleasure. - a well—known statue commemorating the deaths of students protesting in beijing's tiananmen square has been removed from a university campus in hong kong. it was one of the few remaining public memorials in the semi—autonomous region. hong kong's freedoms have been greatly eroded under a national security law imposed by beijing. russell trott reports. an iconic piece that stood tall in hong kong for decades, the pillar of shame commemorates the tiananmen square massacre, speaking volumes with bodies piled to represent the pro—democracy protesters killed by the chinese authorities in 1989. it had been at the forefront of annual vigils, but it too, has been silenced. i don't think people expected this

thing would happen in the university so—called with the most freedom of expression or freedom of speech. and they try to become the first one to remove every history, or parts of history, inside the campus. under cover of darkness, construction workers dismantled the eight—metre statue. the university of hong kong ordered its removal in october, saying the decision was based on external legal advice and risk assessment in the best interests of the university. i would ask, if they don't give me the sculpture, i will sue them. because they have destroyed an artist's product in hong kong, they have kept it for 25 years and now destroyed. of course, they must give it to me, even in pieces. so i want to take it back to denmark and put it together and make an exhibition. this pillar was one of the few remaining public memorials to tiananmen square in hong kong, where the anniversary was marked annually until being banned

by the authorities in 2020. they cited covid measures as the reason, but with china forbidding any public recognition of the massacre, questions have been raised over attempts to erase history in this semi—autonomous region. russell trott, bbc news. us presidentjoe biden has signed into a law a bill that requires all companies to prove that goods imported from china's xinjiang region were not produced with forced labour. the bill, which passed congress last week, also includes sanctions against individuals alleged to be responsible. many big us companies such as coca—cola, nike and apple that will be affected have critcised the law and some face make changes to their supply chains because of it. i'm joined now by our business correspondent in new york, samira hussain. how did the law come into being? the

white how did the law come into being? tue: white house how did the law come into being? tte: white house was how did the law come into being? tt2 white house was not in support initially of this new law, that was being worked out by congress, but eventually and pretty much late in the game we heard from the white house that they were in fact going to support this rule and it was something congress had put together and it was something they had pushed through and got it passed through the house and senate with only one congressional leader actually not voting in favour for it. what it signifies isjust voting in favour for it. what it signifies is just the voting in favour for it. what it signifies isjust the kind of pressure that the united states wants to put on china and the best way to do that in their minds is to do so using these financial pressures. so by making sure that multinational corporations, american corporations, and around the world, are prevented from using any forced labour from that particular region, and the united states is able to exert some power over china and its

treatment of people. what exert some power over china and its treatment of people.— treatment of people. what is the reaction from — treatment of people. what is the reaction from beijing? _ treatment of people. what is the reaction from beijing? it - treatment of people. what is the reaction from beijing? it has - treatment of people. what is the | reaction from beijing? it has said reaction from bei'ing? it has said in a statement _ reaction from beijing? it has said in a statement that _ reaction from beijing? it has said in a statement that they - reaction from beijing? it has said in a statement that they want - reaction from beijing? it has said in a statement that they want to | in a statement that they want to cooperate more with the us when it comes to trade but if you look at individual corporations, they are being caught up in this. a chip manufacturer, intel, they put out a statement this week saying none of their suppliers are going to be able to use anything from that region in china. that sparked a huge amount of backlash within china with everything from hashtags to try and ban intel products to forceful comments from the chinese government, and intel had said to walk back some of their governments by saying, even though we are saying that you should not use any of these suppliers, we are not actually putting any political stance, all they are trying to do is respect the

new rules that are being put in place, they said, by the united states. and in fact other pressures by other governments. for states. and in fact other pressures by other governments.— by other governments. for now, thanks for _ by other governments. for now, thanks forjoining _ by other governments. for now, thanks forjoining us. _ russian president vladimir putin has held a wide—reaching annual end—of—year press conference in moscow. in more than four hours of questions from journalists, he covered everything from covid vaccines to his thoughts on father frost — the russian version of santa claus — but there was a lot of focus on ukraine. he insisted that russia has a historical right to be involved in eastern ukraine, and blamed nato for bringing missiles to russia's doorstop. but he said he does not want to see an escalation in conflict. translation: i've been talking about our welfare, health care l and infrastructure measures. will they mean a lot if we are plunged in a conflict? but we don't want that. it is not our choice. this is why i responded to president biden's proposal. the ball is in their court now

and they should respond, and by and large we are seeing positives. olga ivshina from bbc russia was monitoring the news conference. she told me more about what we heard form president putin. we need to remember that this press conference is first of all oriented for an internal russian audiences and this was exactly the message for an internal audience. in a way, mr putin is creating these dangerous dragons, you know? blaming it all on the west, saying that russia is only responding to build—ups from the west and then he is, sort of, gloriously defeating those dragons, or at least that is what he is showing for his internal audience. but for an external audience it is also very important, you know, in the way he is sending a message. he said that he's looking forward for negotiations with the west that are due injanuary and definitely the military build—up of russian troops is giving him some strong

positions during those negotiations and the same is with the gas prices in europe. again, you know, russia is an important gas supplier. this gives putin additional strength during these negotiations and that is exactly what he wants. he also addressed the crackdown on press freedom and political opposition in russia. tell us more about what he said. you know, for many years now during putin's press conference questions are not less important than the answers because for most of the time, you know, it is the only chance in the year when the russian audience can hear certain things, hear certain questions. for example, my colleague managed to ask a question about alexei navalny and about press freedom. mr putin never pronounce the name of alexei navalny and he twists questions about press freedom. that is what he did today. addressing the question about, you know, crackdown on press freedom

in russia hejust said that, you know, there were global laws about foreign agents and many other countries including the united states. what he forgot to mention was that in the united states, for example, this law only applies to those media organisations who get funding from state budgets of other countries and which don't criticise their own government. in russia, many, you know, those rules are way more weird, much less clear, and so that is why so many people are getting this foreign agent tag which is very devastating for any media organisation orjournalist operating in russia at the moment. olga ivshina from bbc russia. now — when you think of american cowboy films, you'll probably think of the likes ofjohn wayne or clint eastwood getting off their horse and telling surprised frontiersfolk, "you people need a new sheriff." but when it comes to the contemporary western there are new marshalls in town and, howdy partner, they're british! uk actors are in big demand in hollywood with idris elba gunslinging his way into a remake

of the harder they fall, while benedict cumberbatch is already getting oscar buzz for his performance as a cowboy in the power of the dog, which critics have been raving about. all amazing stuff and heck, i thought i'd get in on the action! with more and more brits taking roles requiring them to speak in a us accent, it's boom—time for the industry's dialect coaches who are teaching the some of the world's hottest british talent to speak the american way. so, how do brits prepare for their roles, and could i learn a few vocal tricks? well, the man with all the answers is dialect coach leicester thomas shane. the things i do for this job... the things i do for thisjob... how is it that so many british actors are making inroads into the american western? tt is are making inroads into the american western? , ., , ., ., western? it is a question that roduces western? it is a question that produces like _ western? it is a question that produces like two _ western? it is a question that produces like two high - western? it is a question that produces like two high actors| western? it is a question that - produces like two high actors who sell tickets and the two you cited

are good actors and very popular in america, and they will sell tickets, so... ., ., , , ., ., so... so, it follows, but how do american _ so... so, it follows, but how do american actors _ so... so, it follows, but how do american actors feel _ so... so, it follows, but how do american actors feel about - so... so, it follows, but how do i american actors feel about british actors riding their horses into their back yard so to speak? you robabl their back yard so to speak? you probably have — their back yard so to speak? you probably have to _ their back yard so to speak? ym. probably have to ask the actors about it but obviously they would prefer to be hired themselves. i think there has always been a perception in the industry, an inferiority complex about american actors doing dialect work and i think that is an unfair reputation. many american actors can do dialect work every bit as good as british actors who can do american accents and you can certainly come up they comes to mind, we heard her do margaret thatcher and other british roles —— and meryl streep comes to

mind. but historically there is a reputation that british actors are trained in such a way that they can do accents better but i would challenge that because i teach. tt challenge that because i teach. if you have a musical ear, for example, does that tend to make you better add different accents and dialects? it depends on each person and some people who have a musical ear pick it up more quickly and some people who know international phonetic alphabet can also understand that a transfer more easily. it depends on each actor and the dialect coach's job is to figure out to work with the actor on finding what is the way in into their particular system. where do you start with a cowboy action? is there a generic accent everyone is aiming for?- action? is there a generic accent everyone is aiming for? again, there is auoin to everyone is aiming for? again, there is going to be _ everyone is aiming for? again, there is going to be a _ everyone is aiming for? again, there is going to be a variety _ everyone is aiming for? again, there is going to be a variety of _ everyone is aiming for? again, there is going to be a variety of cowboy - is going to be a variety of cowboy accents depending on where in cowboy

land the particular accent is happening and period, so you mentioned in the intro about a certain kind of accident which if you are doing a period western, you probably want to aim towards, but the modern cowboy is probably going to sound closer to george w bush. tt to sound closer to george w bush. if i wanted to say, you are short on ears and long on mouth, where would i start? a famousjohn wayne quote. start by holding yourjaw a little bit tight, not much movement here, so hold yourjaw in place and bring back your tongue, move it towards the back of your mouth. the back your tongue, move it towards the back of your mouth.— back your tongue, move it towards the back of your mouth. the back of our the back of your mouth. the back of your mouth- -- _ the back of your mouth. the back of your mouth... there _ the back of your mouth. the back of your mouth... there you _ the back of your mouth. the back of your mouth... there you go. - the back of your mouth. the back of your mouth... there you go. so - the back of your mouth. the back of i your mouth... there you go. so mouth chances. your mouth... there you go. so mouth changes- you — your mouth... there you go. so mouth changes. you are _ your mouth... there you go. so mouth changes. you are short _ your mouth... there you go. so mouth changes. you are short on _ your mouth... there you go. so mouth changes. you are short on ears - your mouth... there you go. so mouth changes. you are short on ears and i changes. you are short on ears and lona en

changes. you are short on ears and long en masse- _ changes. you are short on ears and long en masse. that _ changes. you are short on ears and long en masse. that sounds - changes. you are short on ears and long en masse. that sounds like i changes. you are short on ears and l long en masse. that sounds like new york to me- — long en masse. that sounds like new york to me- say _ long en masse. that sounds like new york to me. say it _ long en masse. that sounds like new york to me. say it again? _ long en masse. that sounds like new york to me. say it again? short. - long en masse. that sounds like new york to me. say it again? short. you| york to me. say it again? short. you need a hard — york to me. say it again? short. you need a hard r- _ york to me. say it again? short. you need a hard r. you _ york to me. say it again? short. you need a hard r. you are _ york to me. say it again? short. you need a hard r. you are short - york to me. say it again? short. you need a hard r. you are short on - need a hard r. you are short on ears... need a hard r. you are short on ears- -- short — need a hard r. you are short on ears... short on _ need a hard r. you are short on ears... short on ears. _ need a hard r. you are short on ears... short on ears. there - need a hard r. you are short on ears... short on ears. there is i ears... short on ears. there is never an _ ears... short on ears. there is never an r _ ears... short on ears. there is never an r that _ ears... short on ears. there is never an r that you _ ears... short on ears. there is never an r that you can - ears... short on ears. there is never an r that you can hit - ears... short on ears. there isj never an r that you can hit too hard. �* .,, never an r that you can hit too hard. �* , , . never an r that you can hit too hard. ,, . , hard. all those speech lessons were wasted on me- _ hard. all those speech lessons were wasted on me. and _ hard. all those speech lessons were wasted on me. and long _ hard. all those speech lessons were wasted on me. and long on - hard. all those speech lessons were l wasted on me. and long on mouth... hard. all those speech lessons were i wasted on me. and long on mouth... i feel like dolly parton. you wasted on me. and long on mouth... i feel like dolly parton._ feel like dolly parton. you are not aoian feel like dolly parton. you are not aoain to feel like dolly parton. you are not going to go _ feel like dolly parton. you are not going to go up _ feel like dolly parton. you are not going to go up in _ feel like dolly parton. you are not going to go up in action, - feel like dolly parton. you are not going to go up in action, if- feel like dolly parton. you are not going to go up in action, if you i going to go up in action, if you want to do dolly parton, that was a whole other thing. that is all kind of up there, but this is down there, the twang. of up there, but this is down there, the twan-. t of up there, but this is down there, the twang. of up there, but this is down there, the twan-_ t think of up there, but this is down there, the twang. of up there, but this is down there, the twan-_ t think t of up there, but this is down there, the twang. of up there, but this is down there, the twana. ~ ., of up there, but this is down there, the twang. of up there, but this is down there, the twana. ~ ., ., of up there, but this is down there, the twang. of up there, but this is down there, the twana. ~ . ., ., ~ of up there, but this is down there, the twang. of up there, but this is down there, the twana. ~ . ., ., ~ the twang. i think i am a work in progress- _ the twang. i think i am a work in progress- you — the twang. i think i am a work in progress. you would _ the twang. i think i am a work in progress. you would have - the twang. i think i am a work in progress. you would have a - the twang. i think i am a work in progress. you would have a lot i the twang. i think i am a work in| progress. you would have a lot of work to do with me. t progress. you would have a lot of work to do with me.— work to do with me. i think you would get _ work to do with me. i think you would get it —

work to do with me. i think you would get it in _ work to do with me. i think you would get it in no _ work to do with me. i think you would get it in no time. - work to do with me. i think you would get it in no time. i - work to do with me. i think you would get it in no time. i will. work to do with me. i think you i would get it in no time. i will give it my best- _ don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @martinebbc good afternoon. what a difference a day makes. this milder air introduces the southerly flow and the milder is going to gradually displace the cold air across much of england and wales and the exception is it will always sit over the far north of scotland and that means there's the potential as we go through the day of seeing a bit of snow as you can see on the tops of the mountains, and behind it we see some heavy rain in northern ireland, north—west england and the scottish borders. to the south of that, quite a bit of cloud and drizzly rain but it will stay mild. 10—12 is the high.

further north, we keep the milder air so temperature is around 5—7. moving out of thursday towards christmas eve, as the weather front continues to push its way steadily north, bumping into the cold air, we could see some significant snow to higher ground about 200 metres in the highlands before it peters out through the night. further south are misty and foggy start, and mild, but thatis misty and foggy start, and mild, but that is worth bearing in mind if you are travelling to see friends and family first thing on christmas eve. the fog will lift and the rain easing into scotland but by the same time, down to the south west into northern south—west england, we will see wetter and increasingly windy weather starting to develop by the end of christmas eve afternoon. mild to the south and the greatest chance of seeing some brightness and sunshine but cool into the far north—east of scotland. as we move out of christmas eve into christmas day, as the weather front pushes

steadily northwards, once again we still have the cold air sitting across the far north of scotland, so on the leading edge there might be a wintry mixture of rain, sleet and snow early on christmas day but that will ease and it would be a pretty nondescript today, a lot of cloud and yet again some rain, into northern ireland, wales and south—west england but here it remains mild, further north and east we keep that cool air. that rain has got to sweep steadily northwards so it will be hanging around for some the boxing date but again it still relatively mild. —— for boxing day.

this is bbc news. the headlines —

as the uk once again tops 100,000 daily covid cases, scientists cautiously welcome studies suggesting that the highly—contagious omicron covid variant is milder than previous versions. in the uk, the health secretary sajid javid has warned that the sheer number of infections could still lead to hospitals being overwhelmed. his warning comes as several european countries. are re—introducing tighter restrictions against coronavirus. president putin has again insisted that the west must give russia guarantees that nato won't expand eastwards to admit ukraine. in his annual end—of—year press conference, he also said he'd initiated high—level talks with the us. a well—known statue, commemorating the deaths of protesters in beijing's tiananmen square, has been removed from a university campus in hong kong. it was one of the few remaining public memorials in the semi—autonomous region. now on bbc news,

at a key point in the pandemic, the government signed