this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. our top stories... they've been welcoming in 2022 in australia — with a firework display in sydney harbour — but around the world many celebrations are cancelled or scaled back due to concerns over covid. china is attempting to stick to a zero covid strategy ahead of its lunar new year celebrations and the beijing winter olympics. one in 30 people in the uk were estimated to have tested positive for covid heading into christmas — a new record high for infections. mourners in south africa have been paying their respects to the late archbishop desmond tutu. wildfires rip through parts of colorado in the united states — destroying hundreds of homes and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate the area.

hello and welcome. as countries around the world welcome in 2022, many new year's eve celebrations have been cancelled or scaled back because of concern over covid infections. london and paris are among the cities to have cancelled their usual public celebrations — and edinburgh's hogmany celebrations have also been called off. china is attempting to stick to a zero covid strategy ahead of the lunar new year. its vice premier has visited the northern city of xi'an, where 13 million people have been confined to their homes in one of the country's strictest lockdowns since the pandemic began. well, here, new figures suggest that nearly 2.3 million people in the uk would have tested positive for covid in the week ending

the 23rd of december — the highest level of infections since the data was first compiled. separate data shows the number of nhs staff at acute trusts in england who were off work rose by more than a0%. let's get more on this with anna collinson. while most of us are looking forward to celebrating this new year's eve, it's a different story for nhs workers, with winter pressures intensifying, made worse by staff sickness. the staff that are at work will be caring for more patients, trying to do more to cover for their missing colleagues, working extra hours, starting early, finishing late. the pressure will be immense. staff absences are already leading to cancelled appointments and longer waiting times. now, new data shows more than 25,000 hospital staff in england were absent each day due to covid during the christmas week — a 42% increase on the previous seven days. at this time of year, we would normally expect around

5% of staff to be off sick, but this winter it's nearly double that and it's mainly down to covid. london has been the worst—hit, with some of the highest absences seen here at great 0rmond street hospital. in the week leading to christmas, new data by the office for national statistics suggests an estimated one in 15 people in london had covid — the highest in england. the uk also saw a new record high. scientists are warning there is real uncertainty about what the new year will bring. people currently who are very sadly dying of covid were probably infected on average something like 35 days ago, so, this was really before 0micron started to transmit. it's therefore too early to say what the impact of 0micron is going to be on the more severe end of the disease, and it's mostly been circulating in children, in people in contact with children, and it's now going to spread into older

adults at much higher risk of severe disease. there are now calls for nhs workers to be prioritised for lateral flow tests to ease winter pressures. the government says the number of kits will triple by early next year after supply was recently described as patchy. some pharmacists for example didn't receive anything yesterday, so i have been asking around in terms of, like, if people have had their supply. some pharmacies received one box, some received two, but some received none. so, it's very patchy, it's inconsistent. if we are to meet the demand and follow the government guidelines, there's got to be better organisation around this. the key weapon aginst 0micron is the boosterjab and governments in england, scotland and northern ireland say all eligible adults have now been offered one. though there have been reports of up to 40% of no—shows at some vaccination sites. whether this will be enough to protect the nhs, its staff and patients in the new year, is still unsure. anna collinson, bbc news.

as we've just been hearing, restrictions are different across the uk and some party goers from scotland and wales may be crossing into england to celebrate. 0livia richwald is in carlisle for us. where i am standing in carlisle city centre 20 minutes drive to get to gretna on the scottish borders and carlisle is a vibrant city and it all ready attracts a lot of people, and people from dumfries and galloway are coming, and tonight will be no exception. this is one of the hospitality establishments, this place had a new year's eve party but they cancelled it before christmas because of worries over coronavirus. we can speak to the manager. why did you cancel the new year's eve party? too much uncertainty and we also had 250 people _ too much uncertainty and we also had 250 people booked and it was a bit difficult _ 250 people booked and it was a bit difficult to — 250 people booked and it was a bit difficult to manage the situation. we wanted safety for our staff, a lot of— we wanted safety for our staff, a lot of the — we wanted safety for our staff, a lot of the youngsters have only had

one vaccine, so it was a moral decision— one vaccine, so it was a moral decision to _ one vaccine, so it was a moral decision to take. as one vaccine, so it was a moral decision to take.— one vaccine, so it was a moral decision to take. as a result of cancelling _ decision to take. as a result of cancelling the _ decision to take. as a result of cancelling the party _ decision to take. as a result of cancelling the party you - decision to take. as a result of cancelling the party you also i decision to take. as a result of. cancelling the party you also lost room bookings but they have filled up room bookings but they have filled up again? we room bookings but they have filled u- auain? ~ . room bookings but they have filled uauain?~ . . room bookings but they have filled uauain?~ ., ., ., room bookings but they have filled u-uaain?. ., ., ., , up again? we have had a few people arrivin: up again? we have had a few people arriving from — up again? we have had a few people arriving from scotland _ up again? we have had a few people arriving from scotland yesterday - up again? we have had a few people arriving from scotland yesterday and i arriving from scotland yesterday and some _ arriving from scotland yesterday and some are _ arriving from scotland yesterday and some are coming from glasgow, the central— some are coming from glasgow, the central belt — some are coming from glasgow, the central belt area, so we will be full tonight. central belt area, so we will be full tonight-— central belt area, so we will be full toniht. ., ., ., ~' ., full tonight. you are taking extra precautions. _ full tonight. you are taking extra precautions, tell _ full tonight. you are taking extra precautions, tell me _ full tonight. you are taking extra precautions, tell me about - full tonight. you are taking extra precautions, tell me about that. | full tonight. you are taking extra l precautions, tell me about that. in the restaurant, also fully booked tonight, — the restaurant, also fully booked tonight, we have table service only, and we _ tonight, we have table service only, and we try— tonight, we have table service only, and we try to leave as much space as we can, _ and we try to leave as much space as we can, extra — and we try to leave as much space as we can, extra staff as well to have minimal— we can, extra staff as well to have minimal contact with the customers. you will— minimal contact with the customers. you will be _ minimal contact with the customers. you will be closing at midnight? yes, just before the bell to avoid any trouble and let people go home safely _ any trouble and let people go home safel . . ~ any trouble and let people go home safel . ., ~' ,, any trouble and let people go home safel . ., ,, i. any trouble and let people go home safel . ., ,, ., safely. thank you. some of the scottish guests _ safely. thank you. some of the scottish guests have _ safely. thank you. some of the scottish guests have arrived . safely. thank you. some of the | scottish guests have arrived and i've been speaking to a couple of them. many more are expected. although scottish people were urged by the government not to cross the

border, it seems many in carlisle will do and i've been asking staff and they understand, they are not angry people are coming from scotland and they understand that if it was the other way around they would be doing exactly the same. back to you. would be doing exactly the same. back to yon-— back to you. olivia, thanks for “oininr back to you. olivia, thanks for joining us- _ authorities in china are attempting to stick to a zero coronavirus strategy ahead of its lunar new year celebrations and the beijing winter olympics. the country's vice premier has visited the northern city of xi'an, where 13 million people have been confined to their homes in one of the country's strictest lockdowns since the pandemic began. these images are from inside xi'an. sun chunlan told officials there to speed up testing and do more to isolate the close contacts of those found to be positive. more than 1,200 cases have been found in the city in the past few weeks.

professorjin dong—yan is a virologist based in hong kong and has assessing whether china's vaccines are effective against the omicron variant and whether the country's containment measures will work. i am pretty sure that they will still be very successful because of their execution power, they have actually locked down the city almost like in wuhan two years ago. do they need to do this? yes, they are implementing very, very strict measures in xi'an, but is this also related to concerns over the ability of chinese vaccines to handle the omicron variant? microbiologists from your own university have released recent studies questioning whether chinese vaccines like sinovac are able to handle the omicron variant. the new data suggests that three injections of sinovac is not sufficient. however, if you are injected with two injections of sinovac mark plus one of biontech, that is sufficient, or if you have received three injections of biontech, that would still be sufficient to protect you against infection with the omicron variant. so if the chinese population needs a third booster shot of the pfizer—biontech vaccine in order to be able to have any

resistance to the omicron variant, does that then explain the chinese government's sometimes heavy—handed tactics in trying to contain any covid cases? joe biden has warned vladimir putin that the us and its allies will �*respond decisively�* if russia invades ukraine. the two leaders held a telephone discussion for the second time in less than a month, amid concerns at the number of russian troops massing at the ukrainian border. a kremlin spokesperson said president putin had made it clear that any new sanctions against russia would be a �*colossal mistake�*. joining us live now from new york is katharine quinn—judge, a ukraine analyst at the international crisis group. thanks forjoining us. how concerned should the international community be and you read the different rhetoric that is coming from the white house and the kremlin? it white house and the kremlin? it should be very concerned and you could also say that the international community should have been more concerned in the years leading up to this scare given that the number of russian troops that are amassed around the ukrainian borders is in fact not that much higher than the troop numbers ukrainian officials have cited in the last couple of years when there hasn�*t been an international scare about the war in ukraine. this is a

particularly scary time given that russia has issued a series of demands that it basically knows the west won�*t meet and as many have pointed out they could be reputational loss for vladimir putin in stepping back at this point but i don�*t think all in all that either side, russia or ukraine, would gain from an escalation this point, and they know there are saner people in they know there are saner people in the kremlin who know this is the case so we can�*t say that there will be an escalation. case so we can't say that there will be an escalation.— be an escalation. what is the creater be an escalation. what is the greater risk. _ be an escalation. what is the greater risk, allowing - be an escalation. what is the| greater risk, allowing ukraine be an escalation. what is the . greater risk, allowing ukraine to become part of nato in which case the nato allies have got to defend it or not allowing the ukraine to become a member? i it or not allowing the ukraine to become a member?— it or not allowing the ukraine to become a member? i would not place the choice so — become a member? i would not place the choice so starkly. _ become a member? i would not place the choice so starkly. i _ become a member? i would not place the choice so starkly. i think - become a member? i would not place the choice so starkly. i think that - the choice so starkly. i think that not allowing ukraine to become a

member, i mean, there is a question of not allowing them to be a member, but the more likely variant is that ukraine will be issued noncommittal promises of the sort that has been given for the last couple of decades, and that it will remain in its kind of grey zone area. i think that there are risks to either course of action, depending on how russia perceives the west�*s intent. given russia�*s views of the ukraine it will be hard for it to conceive of further cooperation between nato and ukraine is not being a threat to itself but at the same time there are certain ways the dialogue or

diffuse russia�*s sense of concern. how united are the european allies and the us in their approach to ukraine are they?— and the us in their approach to ukraine are they? over the past coule of ukraine are they? over the past copple of years _ ukraine are they? over the past couple of years there _ ukraine are they? over the past couple of years there have - ukraine are they? over the past couple of years there have beenj ukraine are they? over the past - couple of years there have been some significant differences. i would say, i would significant differences. i would say, iwould point significant differences. i would say, i would point to, the chancellor angela merkel, her more reserved views, meaning that her rather sober understanding of the degree of their corruption and the degree of their corruption and the degree to which there rhetoric of reform contrasted with reality on the ground but the americans tend to take a more distant idealistic view of the ukraine. but these differences have not translated into a loss of consensus on sanctions,

for example which is a major achievement, you could say. thanks for “oininr achievement, you could say. thanks forjoining us- _ achievement, you could say. thanks forjoining us. thank _ achievement, you could say. thanks forjoining us. thank you. _ firefighters north of the us city of denver in colorado are battling what has quickly become the most destructive wildfire in the modern history of the state. at least 300 homes have been destroyed, along with a hotel and a shopping centre. more than 30,000 people have had to evacuate, as well as patients and staff at one hospital. the us federal emergency management agency has released funds for disaster relief. louisa pilbeam reports. get out while you can, was the message from rescue services in colorado. a state of emergency was declared as hundreds of homes were swallowed by flames and upwards of 30,000 residents were told to evacuate from the towns of superior and louisville near the rocky mountains. what are you taking with you? two kids, a dog, two

cats and my husband! just saw some smoke at first - and then itjust ended up getting bigger and bigger and bigger as the wind picked up. - and pretty soon it was, like, the whole neighbourhood i was pretty much engulfed. taking to the roads, residents fleeing the flames. right now they�*re trying to evacuate as much as they can and trying to get people going back to the east. the governor of colorado has declared a state of emergency. with no warning, gusts of 100mph, iiomph, can and have moved this fire down a football field in a matter of seconds. very little time to get out, very little time to even get the most important parts of your life. preliminarily, the reportsi were downed power lines, and we had deputies in the area who confirmed there _ were downed power lines. so, we believe that'sj

what caused the fire. that assessment, and the actual. determination of that will be made for real and for final probably in the next couple of days. i it�*s winter in colorado, and experts say recent weather conditions are to blame. we are in an extreme drought in this part of the state here, because we haven�*t gotten much moisture, and so you add that with incredibly strong winds, like what we�*re seeing out there right now, and itjust makes an already bad situation worse in terms of fire crews trying to get a handle on the fire. those fire crews will welcome the news that snow is forecast in denver and eastern colorado in the coming hours, which it�*s hoped will help to control the fires. louisa pilbeam, bbc news. a reminder of our top stories: australia welcomes in 2022 with a firework display in sydney harbour — but around the world many new year�*s celebrations are cancelled or scaled

back due to concerns over covid. china is attempting to stick to a zero covid strategy ahead of its lunar new year celebrations and the beijing winter olympics. one in 30 people in the uk were estimated to have tested positive for covid heading into christmas — a new record high for infections. victims of ghislaine maxwell have been speaking of their relief at the guilty verdicts in her sex trafficking trial in new york. she now faces a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted for grooming underage girls to be abused by the disgraced financier, jeffrey epstein. her family are backing an appeal against her conviction. sanchia berg has the latest. they were painted in court as partners in crime. maxwell groomed the teenage girls, epstein abused them. he died in prison, now she faces decades behind bars,

to the relief of their victims. we have a lot of work to do in this country in terms of holding people accountable and educating about things like grooming. i didn�*t know when i was 16, i had no idea, i had never heard that term and i didn�*t understand what was happening to me, this combination of being given gifts and being given positive attention and then also having this abuse and these boundary violations. ghislaine maxwell was found guilty on five of the six charges. it was a tightly focused case, the jury deliberated for a0 hours. some legal experts doubt an appeal will succeed, but that is the plan. her brother said the family challenge the victims�* version of events. no, i�*m not saying that they are lying. i mean, it may well be that they were victims ofjeffrey epstein. but i do not accept that they were victims of ghislaine. that�*s my position and that�*s also her position. the jury believed the victims. lawyers who represent them, and others who�*ve been abused, say the verdict will encourage people to come forward.

i think one of the real fears that any victim in these high—profile cases has is that the actual perpetrator is going to be found not guilty. and what we will find, i suspect, is that now she has been found guilty, you may well find more people reporting matters to the met police. and then that's a matter for the met police. the spotlight falls now on others connected with maxwell and epstein. virginia giuffre says they made her have sex with prince andrew. he says he doesn�*t remember even meeting her. but she is suing him in a new york court. the latest hearing is expected next week. sanchia berg, bbc news. northern ireland�*s ambulance service says it�*s under extreme pressure and has warned that even "the most urgent calls" may now face delays. the service says it�*s experiencing "unprecedented pressure" because of staff shortages due to covid—i9. let�*s talk to the service�*s medical director, nigel ruddell. when director, nigel ruddell. you say extreme pressure, does when you say extreme pressure, what does that look like? we when you say extreme pressure, what does that look like?— does that look like? we are seeing the same issues _

does that look like? we are seeing the same issues as _ does that look like? we are seeing the same issues as our— does that look like? we are seeing the same issues as our colleagues| does that look like? we are seeing i the same issues as our colleagues in other ambulance services across the uk and ireland, we have a significant number of staff who are unable to work either because they have developed covid or they are having to isolate because of contact with it, on top of the normal sickness levels we have at this time of year, we have between a quarter and a third of our staff currently unable to work. that is combined with the pressures of increased calls with covid, significant delays in handing patients over when we arrive at hospitals, that is make it difficult for us to respond to emergencies in a timely fashion. hagar emergencies in a timely fashion. how do ou emergencies in a timely fashion. how do you prioritise _ emergencies in a timely fashion. how do you prioritise the calls? everyone who rings 999 goes to a standard process to identify calls which are immediately life—threatening, those which are serious and those are regarded as urgent but not necessarily immediately serious. we always aim to get the fastest response possible to get the fastest response possible to the highest priority calls and we are still doing that, we are seeing

some delay in responding in those timescales and what is worrying is the building process which is causing us to take longer to get to various cases like heart attacks or patients with acute stroke. to what extent will you _ patients with acute stroke. to what extent will you short-staffed - extent will you short—staffed beforehand? irate extent will you short-staffed beforehand?— extent will you short-staffed beforehand? ., ., ., ., beforehand? we would always love to have more staff _ beforehand? we would always love to have more staff and _ beforehand? we would always love to have more staff and daily _ beforehand? we would always love to have more staff and daily here - beforehand? we would always love to have more staff and daily here the - have more staff and daily here the claims on social media that the service is always under pressure, that this is nothing new, i will be clear, that for all the uk, we have never seen pressure like this before, and it is helpful that we are now getting advice about how we can bring staff back to work if they have been a close contact in the drop from ten days down to seven days for isolation will also help. we are asking patients where possible to make their own way to emergency departments if that is feasible, and we go through a quick assessment to see if there is safe enough for them to do it —— that is

safe enough for them to do that. what is your message to the public? new year�*s eve is the busiest day of the year for ambulance services, with the celebrations that brings, it brings significant pressures so we urge people to be careful and not put themselves in a position where they may need our help. if they do ring we will do our level best to prioritise the most critical calls and i apologise in advance to anybody who waits longer for an ambulance then they should. we will discuss the possibility of making your own way in private transport and taxis if we think that is safe. one ask is that if you have been told an ambulance is coming, not to be ringing back on 999 and just to check where the ambulance is, but only to ring back on the 999 system if the patient has deteriorated. your message to politicians, those with the purse strings who can

alleviate some of the strain? that is not alleviate some of the strain? that is rrot going _ alleviate some of the strain? that is rrot going to — alleviate some of the strain? that is not going to give _ alleviate some of the strain? trust is not going to give us any alleviate some of the strain? tryst is not going to give us any rapid answers here, and other uk services are doing their best to respond to the pressures we are —— all the. we would always want to make a case for additionalfunding and would always want to make a case for additional funding and support but i want to be clear, this is a team effort between ambulance services, hospitals and our colleagues like gps and nurses.— hospitals and our colleagues like gps and nurses. ~ ., , . gps and nurses. when do you expect it to net gps and nurses. when do you expect it to get any — gps and nurses. when do you expect it to get any better? _ gps and nurses. when do you expect it to get any better? is _ gps and nurses. when do you expect it to get any better? is it _ gps and nurses. when do you expect it to get any better? is it a _ it to get any better? is it a function in part of us getting towards the spring and again the current wave dropping a bit? that is what we are — current wave dropping a bit? that is what we are hoping _ current wave dropping a bit? that is what we are hoping for. _ current wave dropping a bit? that is what we are hoping for. we - current wave dropping a bit? that is what we are hoping for. we are - what we are hoping for. we are constantly looking at the modelling and we expect this to build for the next couple of weeks, certainly in northern ireland where we often lag behind the figures in the rest of the uk by about a week. but the significant pressure is certainly going to last throughout the month

of january. going to last throughout the month ofjanuary. irate going to last throughout the month ofjanua . ~ ., ,, .., going to last throughout the month ofjanua .~ ., ,, .., of january. we appreciate you talkin: of january. we appreciate you talking to _ of january. we appreciate you talking to us. _ of january. we appreciate you talking to us. thanks - of january. we appreciate you talking to us. thanks for - of january. we appreciate you i talking to us. thanks forjoining us. the body of the late archbishop desmond tutu, who died in south africa last sunday, is lying in state in his former cape town parish for a second day, before his funeral on new year�*s day. in accordance with his wishes, the former anti—apartheid leader has been given the cheapest coffin available. earlier we spoke to our south africa correspondent, nomsa maseko. thousands of people have been flocking to the st george�*s cathedral to file past the body of archbishop desmond tutu. his remains arrived earlier today, this morning, accompanied by two of his daughters. what we know so far is that just over 2,000 people have now filed past the archbishop�*s body to pay their last respects. we know as well that the government and the family are now finalising the programme

for the funeral tomorrow. it�*s going to be a state funeral, it�*s expected to start at ten o�*clock local time with guests possibly arriving from eight o�*clock. people have been speaking fondly about archbishop desmond tutu, even making reference to the fact that the coffin chosen is a very simple pine wood coffin, in exactly the accordance of the archbishop, who said he does not want any ostentatious or lavish spending for his funeral, also saying that he does not want a military parade, and also does not want any pomp and ceremony. he just wants one bouquet of carnations on top of the coffin as the funeral continues tomorrow. nomsa maseko, there.

australia has marked the start of 2022 with spectacular fireworks displays in sydney and melbourne. the sydney harbour bridge was bathed in colours to recognise the efforts of key workers during the pandemic. the celebrations are going ahead despite a new surge in coronavirus infections in australia on friday to a record of more than 32,000, just days after surpassing 10,000 for the first time. experts say the explosion is being driven by the highly contagious omicron variant and a recent relaxation of restrictions in sydney and other areas. so far, however, hospitalisations and deaths haven�*t reached comparative levels seen in previous outbreaks and the state�*s premier said australia was well placed to deal with the outbreak.

we will have much more on the new year celebration it doesn�*t much an extraordinarily new year�*s eve. quite windy, dry many, but not quite for everyone. the temperatures this afternoon across northern scotland, afternoon across northern scotland, a bit above average, 8—9, but 15, 16, the south, that is a lot above average. some spells of sunshine in places. quite windy out there —

increasingly windy across western parts, and some patchy rain for northern ireland and parts of scotland. as we go through this evening, while many places will be dry, we will see this band of potentially quite heavy rain pushing across northern ireland into south—west scotland and north—west england by midnight, by which point temperatures will be between nine and 13 degrees. but it will turn increasingly windy. these are the wind gusts to take us through the small hours of saturday, gusts of a0 to 50 mph around western coasts and maybe stronger than that in the most exposed locations. because low pressure will be pushing to the north—west of the uk. lots of the uk with lots of isobars squeezing together so there will be some brisk winds and also a weather front pushing its way eastwards. it may be this rain isn�*t particularly widespread but in places it could be quite heavy as it works its way eastwards. some spells of sunshine, too. more showery rain into northern ireland and western scotland later. again, some of that could be on the heavy side. it stays fairly windy through the day and it stays exceptionally mild. 13 in aberdeen and 15 for cardiff. somewhere we�*re likely get to 16 or 17 through the afternoon. for sunday, things look quite unsettled. we�*ll see showers or longer spells of rain, some sunny spells as well. a subtle change in wind direction —

winds coming in from the west. still mild — still very mild, really, but not quite as mild as it is at the moment. and then a bigger change as we head through next week. initially, it looks unsettled, low pressure always close by — we�*ll see showers on longer spells of rain — but as that area of low pressure works its way eastwards it will for a time open the door to a northerly wind. so around tuesday into the middle part of the week things will start to feel quite a lot colder with potential for wintry showers in the north. temperatures stay a little lower as we head through the week and it remains unsettled with more rain at times.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme. after this programme. 2021 was the year that

world leaders agreed on a new plan to save the planet. hearing no objections, it is so decided. scientists warned that it was now or never to stop damaging climate change. the difference between 1.5 and 2.4 is really survival of millions and millions of people and species in the planet. environmentalists chopped down trees to save the planet. nasa�*s perseverance rover landed on mars. and there was a discovery of what might be another fundamental force of nature. welcome to the year in science.