nearly 130,000 across the uk. but as the booster rollout continues, there are early signs omicron is leading to fewer hospitalisations. we do watch very carefully all of the data and we have had some good news that it does seem to be a bit milder in terms of severity. meanwhile, france records one of the highest daily infection rates in the world since the start of the pandemic — 180,000 cases. also tonight... protests outside court as the kremlin bans one of russia's oldest and best known human rights organisations. how poverty is forcing children in afghanistan out of school and into work. oh, there we go!

and questions and recriminations after england lose the ashes to australia in a crushing defeat. good evening. the government says it will keep "under very close review" its decision not to bring in further coronavirus restrictions in england as infections rise to a level not seen before in the pandemic. there are restrictions on socialising in the rest of the uk. the early indications are that the 0micron variant is not leading to the same level of hospitalisations as previous waves — but ministers say they're watching the data and will act if there's a large increase in the coming weeks. and there's concern about the impact on hospitals of the number of staff having to self—isolate. our health correspondent sophie hutchinson has the latest.

a vaccination centre in lambeth in london, among the boroughs worst affected by 0micron in the uk. the staff here say there is no shortage of demand for the jabs. i'm a schoolteacher, i've got to go back. there's zero mitigations in class. i don't want to get sick. i'm 57, so i'm quite frightened of that and i don't want to pass it on to my loved ones. it's really important because i'm a recently retired senior head of education at university college so i preach it to my staff so i have to jolly well do it as well! unlike the rest of the uk which has increased restrictions, the government in england is relying on vaccinations to get the country through the latest wave of covid. we do watch very carefully all of the data and we have had some good news that it seems to be a bit milder in terms of severity but we do watch the hospitalisations and watch the number of people in hospitals all the time.

the data the government in england are monitoring in particular are for hospitalisations which are increasing, but are still far from the peaks of previous waves. and in london, which has been worst hit by 0micron, the number of patients in icu beds at hospitals like this and others are still well below worrying thresholds. despite the latest figures showing record high infections in the uk relating to the christmas period, some scientists say the spread of the virus in england seems to be slowing. cases are still rising. i think suggestions a few days ago that we might have peaked, i think that was maybe not borne out yesterday, but on the other hand cases are not increasing as rapidly as a week ago and i think we can be fairly certain that they're not doubling every couple of days now. but the virus in wales is now growing exponentially,

mirroring what happened over the last few weeks in england. our rates were quite stable, around the 500 per 100,000 mark until a week or ten days ago but it's now heading towards the 1,000 per 100,000 mark. this data we've published today isjust before christmas so we still have to watch and see what the christmas mixing and new year mixing is going to produce. back in england the decision not to add further restrictions has been described as a lifeline for pubs, bars and clubs by the hospitality sector. it also says allowing people to go out on new year's eve signals better times ahead. it's notjust about new year's eve for us, it's bigger than that. it's the start of a recovery and we believe that we've created a safe environment for people to come out and socialise and we think it's the best scenario, given the fact that if we'd closed potentially we would have seen more house parties and illegal events which would have been counter—productive.

but there are concerns about the wider impact of 0micron on the nhs. hospital leaders say while many people are coming in to hospital with covid but not because of covid, staff are also getting infected. it's very clear that as soon as you get 0micron circulating significantly amongst the community, of course it will be circulating amongst nhs staff. we are now having to redeploy staff to fill the gaps being left in critical and essential services by staff who are off with covid—related absences. along with vaccinations, the government in england is urging people to remain cautious and if possible to celebrate outside on new year's eve. it will assess whether more restrictions are needed injanuary. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. well, let's look at the latest government data now some of the figures are still being affected by delays over the holiday period, and some data has not yet been published. there were 129,101 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period.

meaning on average there were over 11a,000 cases reported per day in the last week. 18 deaths were recorded, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test. and 84 covid—related deaths were recorded on average every day in the past week. 0n vaccinations, just over 400,000 boosters were adminstered, on average, every day in the past week bringing the total to more than 32.5 million. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake is in westminster tonight. all the uk nations say they're watching and responding to the data — but coming to different conclusions. and not for the first time during the pandemic there is a contrast between the approach of the government at westminster for england and the devolved administrations around the uk and there seems to be a cautious confidence in downing street that they will be able to hold off imposing similar measures that are now in place in scotland, wales and northern ireland. ministers say they

are keeping a close eye on the data and won't hesitate to act if needed, but for now the focus is very much on the boosterjab programme to keep the 0micron variant at bay but the true test of these tragedy won't come until we know the severity for certain and see —— the true test of the strategy won't come until we know the severity for certain and see if the hospitals can cope. it will be a true test of boris johnson's political authority if that happens because there will be conservatives lining up to oppose any moves of that nature. the prime minister will be hoping that day doesn't come and he will also be hoping his advice to go out and celebrate, albeit cautiously, on new year's eve, won't come back to haunt him. one other thing to watch, the availability of natural flow tests, availability of natural flow tests, a key part of the message to take one before you go out and socialise, it has been patchy in places. sources in whitehall accept there is

a hugely increased demand but officials seem confident that supply is there to cope with that.— is there to cope with that. thanks for “oininu is there to cope with that. thanks forjoining us- _ covid rates are rising in many countries across the world. france has just recorded a record high of 180,000 cases in a 2k hour period — that's one of the highest rates worldwide since the start of the pandemic. yesterday the government introduced further restrictions to try to bring infections down. meanwhile, us health officials have halved the recommended isolation time for people with asymptomatic covid — from 10 to five days — amid a surge in cases there. 0ur north america correspondent aleem maqbool is in washington for us this evening. this is an attempt to solve the problem of staff shortages but not everyone is happy about it? it hasn't. it is notjust about those who test positive but that is where the centre for disease control start of this and so for those who test positive now, after five days they can end their isolation, that

is as long as on the fifth day they don't exhibit any symptoms or if theirfevers have gone don't exhibit any symptoms or if their fevers have gone and the other symptoms are resolving themselves but what they have also said is that for those americans who are vaccinated and have had the booster but think they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for covid, they don't have to isolate at all, as long as they are careful and wear masks and they get tested around the five—day stage after a feel they have been exposed. this is in recognition of the fact that while there has been a huge surge in cases, it is of a variant that may be more infectious but seems to be leading to milder symptoms and those in the health care sector said, we can't have all these staff of isolating, but also other sectors including the airline industry say if you are expecting this huge surge as we believe will happen in the next three or four weeks, we have to find a way to function as a society,

but there have been critics, those who say that by reducing these isolation and quarantine times, you are going to lead to a greater spread of the virus and there are those who are critical of the government by saying, it is all very well saying you should live your life more freely, but the government is not providing the tools to do that in the form of at—home testing. at no stage during the pandemic has thejoe biden administration sent three tests to peoples homes, lateral photos, but they now say they will start to do that —— free tests. they will do that from january. tests. they will do that from janua . . ., ., , the supreme court in russia has banned one of the country's best known and oldest human rights organisations, memorial, accusing it of violating a law requiring groups to register as foreign agents. it comes at the end of a year in which the kremlin has cracked down vigorously on its critics. 0ur moscow correspondent steve rosenberg reports. more and more, it feels as if russia is turning the clock back.

liquidate, the judge says, as she orders one of russia's oldest civil rights groups, international memorial, to shut down. the n60 was found to have broken russia's draconian foreign agents law. "disgraceful decision," the reaction from the gallery. it's100% a political thing. and the substance of this political decision is just one more step from an authoritarian regime, to totalitarian. for more than 30 years, memorial has been shining a light on one of the darkest chapters of russian history. what became known as the great terror. it has been painstakingly cataloguing the victims of stalin's mass repressions. up to 20 million soviet citizens are believed to have been sent to the gulag,

to stalin's prison camps. hundreds of thousands were executed. memorial was set up to keep their memory alive. the founding of memorial in the late 1980s was a symbol, a symbol of the soviet union opening up and facing up to its past, to the crimes ofjosef stalin. the shutting down of memorial is a symbol, too. of how in russia today the past is being reshaped, rewritten, and how civil society is under attack. vladimir putin has been using history to try to foster patriotism. so he focuses on the glories of russia's past. like the victory in world war ii. through this annual reading of names of the victims of political repression, memorial has tried to remind russians of their tragic past. now, though, it is being silenced.

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. at least 50 firefighters are dealing with a blaze in the belfast harbour estate area of belfast this evening. thick black smoke has been billowing from the site on the east twin road since lunchtime. the fire service says it is a protracted incident with crews likley to remain on site through to the early hours of the morning. people living nearby are being asked to keep their windows closed and motorists are being advised to avoid the area. police searching for a missing 12—year—old girl are asking for the public�*s help to locate her father as he may be able to help with their enquiries. leona peach was last seen in the heel park area of newton abbot at quarter past nine in the morning on the 20th december. 0fficers believe she may have travelled to bideford to be with her dad billy peach. utility company bosses have suggested ways the government could stop household heating and electricity bills rising by big amounts this winter — as the wholesale price of gas continues to spike.

representatives of the energy industry met ministers yesterday. we can talk now to our business correspondent, simon browning. there are a few projections about how much prices could go up, how bad is it likely to get?— is it likely to get? energy bosses called it an _ is it likely to get? energy bosses called it an enormous _ is it likely to get? energy bosses called it an enormous crisis. - is it likely to get? energy bosses| called it an enormous crisis. that is according to the boss of one of the big energy companies in the uk. some analysts have predicted bills could be rising by half or more, and that could continue until 2023 when the energy price cap is reviewed again next autumn. 0n the energy price cap is reviewed again next autumn. on that energy price cap, that is the cap we pay for individual units of gas and electric. the more you use the more you pay. the energy price cap is due to be reviewed in february of next year, and that is where we are expected to see the big changes in cost and price rises. it is happening because right across

europe because demand has rebounded so much after covid lockdown and economies are rocketing again. lats economies are rocketing again. lots of --eole economies are rocketing again. lots of peeple will _ economies are rocketing again. lots of peeple will be _ economies are rocketing again. lots of people will be wondering how this will effect their household bills. what are the energy companies proposing a solution is? the energy industry met _ proposing a solution is? the energy industry met advisers _ proposing a solution is? the energy industry met advisers and _ proposing a solution is? the energy industry met advisers and ministers and government. that wasjoined by the trade body. the boss of that trade body detailed some of the proposals they asked government for yesterday, including potentially cutting or reducing vat which would act as a cashback on bills, and the big one was to ask government and the treasury to stump up billions of pounds to in effect pay for those big shocks in prices now. that would mean bills would increase gradually over time whilst we pay back that big loan. the government wouldn't comment on some of those proposals but said throughout the meeting there was discussion on the issues and that meetings will continue to

make sure uk customers are protected. during these long festive days, everybody at home, thermostat on, the fairy lights, the tv, we know this will be the big economic reality of 2022.— as the humanitarian crisis in afghanistan deepens this winter, many families are having to take drastic action to survive. hundreds of thousands of children already had to work in the country. now, even more families are taking their kids out of school and sending them onto the streets, often earning only enough to buy a little bread. secunder kermani and camera journalist malik mudassir report from kabul. wherever you go in this city, you see children working. wafting incense into cars... picking through rubbish... even when billions were pouring into this country, many children had

to help provide for theirfamilies. now amidst an economic collapse, the number is growing. translation: there are a lot more children. people _ translation: there are a lot more children. people are _ translation: there are a lot more children. people are hungry. - child coughs. it is 8am, and 13—year—old pervez is getting ready for work. he and his young cousins only started polishing shoes in the last few months. translation: i earn 50 afghani a day, or 70-100 afghani. - in the past i earned around 150. right now, there is no work. when my dad stopped working, then i stopped going to school to earn some money. the price for a sack of flour is 3000, everything has become expensive. his father spends his day waiting for work as a labourer on the corner of the road. in the past, he earned just enough to get by. translation: i come here every day, but don't even earn ten afghani. - i can't even afford a piece of bread for lunch.

it is the same for everyone here. translation: i don't feel good that m child is translation: i don't feel good that my child is working _ translation: i don't feel good that my child is working but _ translation: i don't feel good that my child is working but we _ translation: i don't feel good that my child is working but we have - translation: i don't feel good that my child is working but we have no l my child is working but we have no choice but to send them to work. pervez and his cousins walk the streets, sticking together in case other boys start fights with them. business is slow. translation: | get so sad, - it hurts my gut when people don't let us shine their shoes. then we don't even earn enough to buy two or three pieces of bread. sometimes we go home empty—handed if we didn't get any work all day. with no customers, the boys take a break at a playground in the centre of kabul. they still have big dreams for the future. what do you want to do when you are older? engineer. doctor. pilot. when school starts again, will you go back to school or will you just carry on working? translation: if my dad finds work, we will go. i if he doesn't. ..

the boys walk past the city's kebab vendors... ..and the displays on kabul�*s flower street, as well as civil servants demanding unpaid salaries, and huge queues outside banks. have you had lunch today? international aid was stopped after the taliban took over. now the economy is in freefall. have you had lunch today? no. why? translation: we didn't find any work. _ so what will you do now? translation: nothing. we will stay hungry until the evening, until we earn some money. and can take some bread home. eventually they buy a single piece of bread to share between them. soon after, they find a customer too.

translation: even though i had my shoes shined — translation: even though i had my shoes shined this _ translation: even though i had my shoes shined this morning, _ translation: even though i had my shoes shined this morning, i - translation: even though i had my shoes shined this morning, i let - shoes shined this morning, i let them do itjust to help them. haste them do it “ust to help them. have ou ever them do itjust to help them. have you ever seen _ them do itjust to help them. have you ever seen at _ them do itjust to help them. have you ever seen at this _ them do itjust to help them. have you ever seen at this bad - you ever seen at this bad economically? translation: , , ., ., economically? translation: , , ., translation: they “ust want to come shined shoes _ translation: they “ust want to come shined shoes and — translation: they just want to come shined shoes and are _ translation: they just want to come shined shoes and are begging. - maybe 150 people like that come here every day. the money pervez earns will help feed his family today. but food prices are rising. and the rent is overdue. are you happy you're helping yourfamily? translation: yes, i'm happy. but we should be in school. the good thing about school is that it can help us become something. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. let's take a brief look at some of today's other news. the mummified body of an ancient egyptian pharaoh has been unwrapped — digitally — for the first time in more than 3,000 years. the mummy of amenhotep the first,

who ruled from 1525 to 150k bc, was found 140 years ago but archaeologists have not opened it in order to preserve the face mask and bandages. scans have now revealed previously unknown information about the pharaoh and the jewellery buried with him. china says its new space station has twice narrowly avoided collisions with satellites operated by the american entrepreneur, elon musk. the complaints were lodged with the un's space agency — although the incidents have not yet been independently verified. at least 20 people have died in severe flooding in north—eastern brazil. heavy rain in the state of bahia has forced 60,000 people to leave their homes — and caused two dams to give way. the state's governor has described it as the worst disaster in its history. teenagers whose parents smoke are four times more likely to take up smoking, according to new research. in a government campaign, doctors urge parents and other caregivers to kick the habit. tim muffet has more.

our children are watching what we do much more than they are listening to what we say. so if we say to them, don't smoke cigarettes, and we are smoking ourselves, our behaviour is going to have a much greater impact. a new film from the nhs aimed at parents who smoke. why do children seem to take up the behaviour of the adults around them? despite a huge drop in smoking over the past 50 years, around one in eight adults in the uk still smoke, according to the office for national statistics. and new research shows that teenagers whose parents or caregivers smoke are four times as likely to take it up. smoking is a habit, it is something that can be passed down through families. so the additional motivation to quit for parents will be knowing that if they do that, they substantially reduce the risk of their own children taking up smoking. this campaign is targeting conventional smoking rather than vaping.

electronic cigarettes are widely seen as a safer alternative, although most do contain nicotine, which is addictive. the pandemic has also affected smoking habits. there had been higher rates of quitting, but also high rates of relapse and signs of an increase in smoking among younger people. that bad food that you're probably eating, not being motivated enough to do exercise, smoking, all of those behaviours are little bits that your children are picking up. campaigners also stress that giving up smoking is one new year resolution that also benefits others. tim muffet, bbc news. cricket now and australia have thrashed england to retain the ashes at melbourne. the visitors were all bowled out for only 68 runs, in just over 80 minutes, their lowest total in australia since march 190a. joe wilson was watching — through his fingers.

what was it on the faces of the australian players in melbourne? delight? of course. but surprise, too? surely even they didn't expect everything this quickly. this easily. commentator: oh, he's got him! there's the comeback! england's latest collapse was a new low. ben stokes, first man out. well, the bowling was too good and australia have a limitless supply of it. scott boland got rid ofjoe root for 28. boland was selected specifically for this match. he took six wickets for seven runs in england's second innings. any sense of resistance vanished. four noughts in the 68 all out. oh, there we go! the final wicket was taken by cameron green. 22 years old — a decade of ashes cricket ahead of him. who is next for england? their best players have been a distant second in this series. and no long—term issues will be solved in the next few days. but there are two more test matches.

you have to have a really strong inner belief to be able to come back and we need to put some pride back into the badge, and we need to give people back home something to celebrate. well, joe root can rely on himself to score runs but really no one else, and that is unsustainable. i don't think with our system we are producing quality test batsmen. there is a big emphasis, as is well documented, about one day cricket, hundred cricket, t20, 50 over — we won the 50 over world cup in 2019, which was brilliant — but our county cricket which is the breeding ground for our test players is marginalised. perhaps australia might actually long for england to improve. when it's such a one—sided series, even winning could get boring. joe wilson, bbc news. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are.

goodbye. the run up to the new year is going to be really exceptionally mild, near record breaking in fact. and notjust on one or two days but really quite a prolonged spell of very mild weather, some four days or so. it's not really going to cool off until around the third or ltth of january. but this is the map showing the warmth in the atmosphere. if you look at the subtropical atlantic here, just to the west of the canaries, south of the azores, there is a current of warm air that is spreading in our direction and spread across western parts of europe and then deeper into more central and eastern parts of europe. in england, for example, this is how mild or warm it could actually get, 17 degrees. compare that to the average of eight celsius.

now, at the moment, it's not quite so mild. in fact, in scotland with the clear skies in some eastern areas quite a nippy start to the day and not desperately cold for this time of the year. but still temperatures, i think, around freezing or below in some of the glenns, 5 degrees and some of the eastern parts of england. but 1a degrees in plymouth at 6am, so that's the mild air which is following this warm front here which will be moving across the uk bringing a spell of rainy weather for many of us. then that weather front will clear to the north, the skies should also brighten up a little bit. and temperatures mid teens, mid teens widely across england, wales, a little bit fresher in the north, but they could max out at around 17 celsius in the southeast of the country on wednesday and also on thursday. now here's another weather front that's coming in from the south, some wet weather particularly reaching parts of wales. in fact, that warmer weather moves further north too. we are talking about 16 degrees in hull, 17 degrees in the east and the southeast of the country. now, here's new year's eve,

and it does look as though we are on track for one of the mildest new year's eves on record. i mean, it remains to be seen how mild it will be, but by day, we are talking around 15—16 degrees. you get the sense that it's notjust the one day that's going to be mild. we are talking about multiple days here with mid teens across many parts of the country. so a new record—breaking, i think, new year's eve on the way. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines. new covid infections in england and wales have hit a record daily high, as the british government defends its decision not to introduce further restrictions in england before january. greater restrictions have come into force in scotland, wales and northern ireland. a record number of covid infections in france as well — almost one hundred and eighty thousand in a single day. the french government has already announced new measures there. russia's supreme court has banned one of the country's oldest human rights organisations. the court ruled that memorial must be disbanded for breaking the law on foreign agents. (00v)china says its astronauts are being put in danger of collision —— china says its astronauts are being put in danger of collision —— with satellites launched by elon musk./ the spacex founder is facing a social media backlash in china after beijing claimed it's space station had two "close encounters" this year.