this is bbc news — i'm shaun ley with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a former minnesota police officer is found guilty of manslaughter — for killing daunte wright during a traffic stop. the moment that we heard guilty on the manslaughter one, and emotions every single emotion that you could imaginejust running every single emotion that you could imagine just running through your body at that moment. this was the moment that shocked america — when a police officer claims to have mistaken her handgun for a taser. we'll have the latest from minneapolis. also ahead... an official uk government study shows people who get infected with the omicron strain of covid are far less likely to end up in hospital.

in russia, president putin insists on immediate guarantees that nato will not expand further to the east. you must give us guarantees, you must do it immediately, now. we be pandered to with unnecessary chatter while the other side carries out its own plans. hello, wherever you are or around the world. welcome to bbc news. we begin this are in the united states. a former police officer in minnesota has been found guilty of manslaughter, following the killing of a black motorist, daunte wright. kimberley potter says she mistook her handgun for a tazer during a routine traffic stop. the prosecution argued she'd shown culpable negligence during the incident, which led to several nights of intense protests.

the jury was shown bodycam footage of the traffic stop — stopping short of the moment when daunte wright died. i'm going to take you! taser, taser, taser! kimberley potter says she mistook her handgun for a tazer during a routine traffic stop. —— kimberly potter says she thought she was drawing her taser, rather than her handgun, when she shot daunte wright in the chest. the incident occurred at a very sensitive time in the us — not far from the court where white police officer derek chauvin was standing trial for the murder of a black man george floyd. let's have a listen to kimberly potter's tearful evidence in court. i remember yelling "taser, taser, taser! " and nothing happened. and then... he told me i shot him. this is the moment the judge read out the verdict we the jury on the charge of manslaughter in the first degree,

while _ manslaughter in the first degree, while committing a misdemeanor on or about— while committing a misdemeanor on or about april— while committing a misdemeanor on or about april 11, 2020 20 —— 2021 in the state — about april 11, 2020 20 —— 2021 in the state of— about april 11, 2020 20 —— 2021 in the state of minnesota find the defendant guilty. the mother of daunte wright, katie wright, gave this reaction to the verdict outside the court. the moment we heard guilty on the manslaughter one, emotions, every single emotion that you can imagine just running through your body at that moment. i kind of let out a yelp because it was built up in the anticipation of what was to come while we were waiting for the last few days. and now we have been able to process its. we want to thank the entire prosecuting team, we want to thank the community supports, everybody who has been out there and supported us in this long fight for accountability.

our washington correspondent is nomia iqbal — she explained more about the context of this case. the death step sparks days of unrest and that came off the back of the summer of coast—to—coast protests by many americans who feel that the police cheat people of colour very differently in this country. if they think that's worth mentioning on this case is pretty rare to be convicted in this way with these sorts of criminal charges. lots of reasons for that. lots of it is because there are lies who protects an officer is right to use force. also, you know, jerry's generally tend to not want to second—guess the actions of a police officer who is on the using a hostile situation. police officers who had spoken to who i've spoken to are dealing, theirjob as involving being out in

the streets where you have many civilians who are armed as well. so it's quite rare for that to happen and it is interesting that the minnesota attorney general spoke outside of court was no longer delivered today we held you up high and hold you to a high standard. and said please do not be discouraged by this. so it is one of those rare moments as well in america what has happened today. that moments as well in america what has happened today-— happened today. w iqbal in washington. _ happened today. w iqbal in washington. almost - happened today. w iqbal in washington. almost one i happened today. w iqbal in - washington. almost one month after the first time around cases where confirmed in the uk —— almost a month after the first omicron cases were confirmed in the uk, preliminary research suggests that someone infected with omicron variant rather than delta is between 50 and 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital. but there is concern about how long the boosterjab provides extra protection — the findings suggest the booster jab begins to wane after 10 weeks. our medical editor, fergus walsh reports.

not one of them —— a powerful illustration of the dangers facing the unvaccinated and the pressure on nhs staff, filmed in the intensive care unit of royal liverpool hospital, where four out of five covid patients are notjabbed. the intensive care society said at least two thirds of covid patients were unvaccinated in 12 out of 16 critical care units it contacted in england. it's not for us to judge people who haven't been vaccinated, it's for us to look after them as well as we can, but it's very sad when people come into hospital who haven't been vaccinated. they're very unwell and they ask to have the vaccine then, which of course they can't, because you have to get better from covid before you can be vaccinated. evidence that omicron causes milder disease has been reinforced by preliminary analysis from the uk

health security agency. it suggests that someone infected with omicron is 30 to 45% less likely to attend a&e, compared to a delta patient, and between 50 and 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital. but the extra protection that the boosterjab gives against the infection does wane more rapidly against omicron than delta, being about 15 to 25% lower ten weeks after the boosterjab. it shows that people with omicron have a reduced risk of hospitalisation compared to delta. now, it's very early days, only a small number of individuals, about 100 were admitted to hospital with omicron in this period, but nonetheless, it is the first signs of cautious optimism we can have for a while. as daily cases hit another new record, uk researchers estimate

that half of people with cold—like symptoms actually have coronavirus. the number of nhs staff off work because of covid has risen by more than 50% in the past week in england to nearly 19,000. in london, the epicentre of the omicron outbreak, it's more than doubled to nearly 4,000. |the nhs workforce was already underj pressure before omicron came along, there's increased pressure, as we're 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 from ten—day to seven—day isolation, - if you take tests in the last two days, i think all of this will help. but the ten—day isolation rule is to remain in wales. the welsh government said it wanted to put the brakes on omicron as much as possible. scotland and northern ireland are also keeping ten—day quarantine for now.

nightclubs in scotland are to close for at least three weeks from 27th december, after fresh restrictions were put on large events and hospitality venues earlier this week. in wales, nightclubs will close on boxing day, and no more than six people will be allowed to meet in pubs, cinemas and restaurants. no new measures have been announced for england, but the prime minister has said he can't rule out further restrictions after christmas. fergus walsh, bbc news. covid infections are surging across europe — with both the uk and france reporting new, single—day records on thursday. italy and spain are the latest countries to introduce increased restrictions in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus. our europe correspondent nick beake has this report. the festive message to spaniards this year — wear a mask, even outside.

across europe, governments are issuing health warnings rather than glad tidings. at a time when families come together, the advice is to keep your distance. belgium is now inviting children as young as five to get vaccinated. covid cases here have been falling for the past ten days, but cinemas and theatres are set to close, although pubs will stay open. it's really a political choice that is not really supported by scientific. i feel like there are rules, but no—one really cares. it helps me to study that - all the nightclubs are closed! exhausted doctors and nurses are pleading with the public to follow the rules. the measures have their effect, and they permit us professionals to continue in our hospitals to take care of all kinds of patients and not only patients having covid. so, really, i know the measures are weighing on all of us,

but they are so important to be able to keep our health system standing up. medical staff here and across europe are unanimous that getting more people boosted is vital in the fight against the new variant, but what we don't yet know is how the early studies coming from the uk suggesting omicron is milder will affect the decision—making of individual european countries in the coming days and weeks. covid rates across the continent have been spiralling. denmark has the highest, followed by the uk. but france, spain and italy have all seen a surge, as well as germany. and there's been anger in munich at tighter controls which have targeted the unvaccinated. police kept order at a time when most uk visitors are being kept out of the country. but travel bans, which france has also introduced and scuppered british getaways, won't work, according to the world health organization.

it argues specific local measures, such as those introduced in spain and italy today on face coverings, are much better. as ever, the politics of the pandemic can take some navigating. as the last—minute shoppers venture out, the general message from europe's leaders — we wish you a cautious christmas and a reined—in new year. nick beake, bbc news, brussels. ecuador is making covid vaccines obligatory, for children as young as five. only people who have medical reasons will be exempt from getting jabs. around three quarters of people aged over 5 have been fully vaccinated in ecuador — the government hasn't yet outlined what will happen to those who do not comply. russia's president has again insisted that the west must give russia guarantees that nato won't expand eastwards and admit ukraine as a member.

vladimir putin rejected accusations that russia is preparing to invade ukraine, after amassing thousands of troops on the border between the two countries. during his annual press conference he said any expansion by nato would be a threat to russia's long—term security. our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg reports. it's the most wonderful time of the year, if you happen to like long news conferences. vladimir putin's end—of—year press briefing is always a marathon affair. forfour hours, the kremlin leaderfielded questions, and he used the event to vent his resentment at how nato enlarged after the fall of the soviet union. translation: "we won't move one inch towards the east," _ they told us in the 1990s, and what happened? they deceived us. they brazenly tricked us.

there were five waves of nato expansion, and now missile systems are appearing in romania and poland. is this russia's response? a build—up of russian troops near ukraine's border. the kremlin denies it plans to invade, but this is pressure, and on the west, too, as moscow demands an end to nato enlargement and nato military activity in eastern europe, what it calls security guarantees. translation: you must give us guarantees. - you must do it immediately, now. we won't be palmed off with decades of idle chatter about the need of security for all while the other side carries out its own plans. vladimir putin spoke for a long time, but gave little away about his intentions regarding ukraine, about whether, as the west fears, he's planning a large—scale

military operation there. but what we do know now is that next month, us and russian officials will sit down to discuss the security guarantees that moscow is demanding, so there's still hope for a diplomatic resolution. vladimir putin has done 17 of these press conferences now as president. you need plenty of stamina to do this and to listen to it, and since all main tv channels in russia show it live, it's wall—to—wall putin, a reminder, as if russians didn't know it, who's in charge here. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we'll have a special report on how the pandemic led many people to relocate to be closer to their families — and how that meant some had to move to a new country. the world of music has been paying tribute to george michael who died of suspected heart failure at the

age of 53. he sold well over 100 million albums in a career spanning more than three decades. the united states trapps — more than three decades. the united states troops have _ more than three decades. the united states troops have been _ more than three decades. the united states troops have been trying - more than three decades. the united states troops have been trying to - states troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manwell, the pentagon says it's failed and its principal objective to capture him and taken to the united states to face drugs charges. the mega hammer and sickle was a slave taken away, the russian flag was hosted over what is now the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states. the next day broke and made at the c's nose down in the software. you can see what happens when a plane eight stories high, of the above pitch wide files from 30,000 feet.— from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to _ from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania _ from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after - from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after a - returned to albania after a communist and lasting more than 20 years _ communist and lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass _ years. thousands went to midnight mass in _ years. thousands went to midnight mass in this— years. thousands went to midnight mass in this town where there where anti—communist riots ten days ago.

this is bbc news. our top story... kimberley potter, a former minnesota police officer, has been found guilty of manslaughter — for killing daunte wright during a traffic stop. president 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. washington says genocide is being committed against the uyghur muslim minority there; an assertion china denies. us firms doing business in xinjiang, including coca—cola, nike, and apple have criticised the legislation. our north america business correspondent samira hussain explained more. remember, china is the new biggest market for many multinational corporations, so if their business if their ability to do business in china is hampered in any way, it will cost them, just look at the retail sector and you see that some of these retail companies like h&m

who have spoken out against some of the treatment of the weaker muslims and china, and they have suffered quite a bit of pushback. if you look at how much money they have lost in terms of revenue commits about 25% and a quarter. that's why they are very worried about this because the chinese government obviously objects to any of these classifications that they are committing any kind of genocide or engaging any kind of slavery with regard of people in this province. but for companies now to say luck any other supplier cancer any materials from that region unless you can prove with certainty that no forced labour was used, that actually is putting corporations into a position where they have to take more of a political stance. taste they have to take more of a political stance.— they have to take more of a political stance. they have to take more of a olitical stance. ~ , political stance. we ended up with one company _ political stance. we ended up with one company apologising - political stance. we ended up with one company apologising today i political stance. we ended up with | one company apologising today for this policy and saying, look, it's not our fault,

this policy and saying, look, it's not ourfault, blame this policy and saying, look, it's not our fault, blame the us government.— not our fault, blame the us government. not our fault, blame the us covernment. ., ., , government. rate, so intel, that is the multinational _ government. rate, so intel, that is the multinational chip _ government. rate, so intel, that is. the multinational chip manufacturer, which _ the multinational chip manufacturer, which we _ the multinational chip manufacturer, which we have been talking about a lot because there is such a chip shortage — lot because there is such a chip shortage. they had put out a statement earlier this week saying to their— statement earlier this week saying to their suppliers, luck, no one can use any— to their suppliers, luck, no one can use any raw— to their suppliers, luck, no one can use any raw materials or any finished _ use any raw materials or any finished goods coming from this province — finished goods coming from this province. then they had to walk back those _ province. then they had to walk back those comments because there was such an _ those comments because there was such an outcry from so many people within _ such an outcry from so many people within china — such an outcry from so many people within china including the chinese government and even chinese pop star5, _ government and even chinese pop stars, and — government and even chinese pop stars, and in their comments on thursday. — stars, and in their comments on thursday, they had to say, well, tove, _ thursday, they had to say, well, love, we — thursday, they had to say, well, love, we were not taking a political stance _ love, we were not taking a political stance with — love, we were not taking a political stance with what we said, all we want _ stance with what we said, all we want to — stance with what we said, all we want to do— stance with what we said, all we want to do is to be able to comply with us _ want to do is to be able to comply with us law, and in fact, some of the pressures that they are feeling from other international governments. 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. here's how it happened.

a reminder of the power that statues can still exert. close to one million polish people left their homeland in search of higher wages and a better life in the uk after it opened its labour market in 200a. many have settled here — but a combination of brexit, the pandemic and the pull of theirfamilies has persuaded others to return. our correspondent adam easton reports i feel safe here. that's something i

didn't have in the uk. this cosmetics student is talking about that secure feeling that being nearfamily and close friends often brings. and that's her sister and grandmother... a law graduate she lived in the uk for 12 years doing a variety ofjobs. injanuary, she rushed back to her home city of lodzjust in time to say goodbye to her dying grandmother. i grew up here in this flat and my nana used to teach me how to skate. granddad used to teach me how to cycle. so, yeah, all sorts of wonderful memories. since 2004, hundreds of thousands of people here have left for the uk seeking better paid jobs. since then, we've had brexit, the covid pandemic and people are missing theirfamilies and are returning home. the number of poles living in the uk now is at its lowest for eight years. this couple had well—paid jobs in london for more than six years. they love the city.

their children were born there. but the high cost of raising a family there persuaded them to come home to warsaw. and i was sure that in poland i could easily find a nice nursery where i canjust send them and, you know, spend like five, six hours at home working. and in london, actually, we were not able to find, like, a nice nursery. professor isabella grabovski has interviewed hundreds of poles who have recently returned. most want to stay, but some, after years abroad, now feel uncomfortable in their homeland. one third out of our 500 returnee sample said that we do consider. return to the uk or to other. countries because they do not feel at home any more. in recent months, poland has seen a surge in the number of mostly middle eastern people trying to enter the eu most poles support the government's refusal to let them in. but this woman says her years living in britain has affected the way she sees migrants.

living abroad, being a migrant myself, gave me that feeling, kind of an empathy for the people who are now on the border with belarus. they're in terrible conditions. we should treat those people equally. after years of living abroad, these poles are bringing with them new skills and life experiences that may shape the country's economy and its politics. adam easton, bbc news, warsaw. the duke and duchess of sussex have issued the first photograph of their daughter lilibet on their festive card. the image shows meghan raising lilibet in the air as she sits alongside prince harry, who is holding their two—year—old son archie on his knee. it's the first time lilibet, who was born injune, has been seen in a publicly—released image. the photo was taken at their home in santa barbara, california. right saying of course that lilibet

was the charter gain of clean he felt —— was the charter gain of clean he felt —- queen elizabeth who celebrates her platinum jubilee next year. you are watching bbc news. hello there. you'll have to rely on morecambe and wise, i'm afraid, to bring the sunshine this christmas period. there's going to be a lot of cloud around, so that rules out a white christmas for most of us. however, there is a possibility across the pennines and through the higher ground of scotland, we could wake up to a light dusting of snow over the next couple of days. but for most of us, the talking point will be how mild it is, particularly across england and wales — temperatures into double figures. it's not the warmest we've seen over the christmas period. these are the christmas day records across the country over the years, so we have to be close orjust above 15 degrees to break that, and that's not going to happen. but the mild weather is responsible by these weather fronts that continue to move their way steadily northwards. that south—westerly flow continues to drive that mild air across the country, but it really is struggling to displace that cold air across the far north of scotland.

that means tonight, as the rain pushes into the cold air, we could see some snow for a time. mist and fog will be a problem across england and wales as well. that'll be slow to lift first thing, but it will be a mild start to our christmas eve, particularly across england and wales. so, early morning mist and fog lifting to low cloud across england and wales. early morning cloud and drizzly rain slowly easing in scotland. hopefully across aberdeenshire, we'll get some sunshine into the afternoon. but later on into the day across southwest england, wales and into northern ireland, we'll see some wet and windy weather arriving. so, we keep that colder air up into the north. furthersouth, however, it stays on the mild side — temperatures widely into double figures across the country. so, that's christmas eve. as we move out of christmas eve towards christmas day, that weather front still making progress across northern england into the scottish borders. still bumping into that cold air that's sitting anchored to the northeast of scotland. so, we could have, again,

a few flurries of rain, sleet and snow, the snow obviously on higher ground to start off on christmas day. that eases away quite quickly. a lot of cloud for most of us on christmas day with the exception of northeast scotland, and some increasingly wet and windy weather pushing into northern ireland, wales and southwest england by the end of the afternoon. that divide in the temperatures, double—digits down to the south, cooler up into the north. still some rain around, unfortunately, on boxing day, but mild for most. take care.

this is bbc news, the headlines a former police officer who killed a black man in a routine traffic stop — has been found guilty of manslaughter at her trial in minneapolis. kimberley potter mistook her handgun for a taser when she shot daunte wright. a uk government study has shown that people who get infected with the omicron strain of covid are far less likely to end up in hospital. but there is concern the booster jab protection begins to wane after 10 weeks. ecuador has made it compulsory for everyone aged five or over to get the coronavirus vaccine, in response to the increase in covid infections. only those with a medical justification will be exempt. president putin has asked for an immediate response to his demand for nato to stop expanding to the east — to ukraine. he also said he'd initiated high—level talks with the us.