gary o'donoghue _ several weeks yet.ue there. - for more on this, i'm joined by evelyn farkas, former us deputy assistant secretary of defence for russia, ukraine and eurasia for president obama, who was in the situation room when russia annexed crimea in 2014. it's good to have communication, obviously, between the us and russia, but the rhetoric all seems pretty samey. i'll be getting anywhere here? , ., , , here? obviously when the russian president - here? obviously when the russian president said - here? obviously when the russian president said to | russian president said to president biden "i'd like to talk." it was a smart decision to say yes, i will be got the phone and talk to you. the problem is, i'm afraid, what president putin is doing here is essentially gathering intelligence to try to figure out how firm the result is in the united states and across our nato alliance and our relationship with european union. and he may also be trying to figure out whether these discussions injanuary will actually yield so

bbc's washington correspondent gary o'donoghue has more on the significance of the white house move. here has been a lot of pressure across the political spectrum to toughen up the approach to china from republicans and democrats in congress. i think this is in part a response to that. this is an idea that has been floating around for a while. it is a way of making a stand without there being too many consequences. the athletes are going, after all. this is just stopping a group of diplomats from going to the opening and closing ceremonies. but it does allow biden to say, i am getting tough in some areas where people have concerns, such as the action against the uighurs in west china, democracy in hong kong, threats toward taiwan, all these areas. it is a way of sending a message but is a little bit of a diplomatic dance given that the chinese say they were not invited in the first place and there are not going to be spectators from any other countries. laura: gary o'donoghue reporting. you are watching bbc world news america. still to come, russia's president tightens defense ties wi

we can speak to our washington correspondent gary o'donoghue. ill be of this kind of boycott? impact will be of this kind of bo cott? ~ . , impact will be of this kind of bo cott? , ., , boycott? well, as boycotts go, this is a re boycott? well, as boycotts go, this is a pretty mild _ boycott? well, as boycotts go, this is a pretty mild one, _ boycott? well, as boycotts go, this is a pretty mild one, i _ boycott? well, as boycotts go, this is a pretty mild one, i would - boycott? well, as boycotts go, this is a pretty mild one, i would say. i is a pretty mild one, i would say. they normally send vice presidents to the opening ceremonies of things like this. joe biden himself has beenin like this. joe biden himself has been in the past. but of course, the athletes will be going, unlike the american boycott of the russian games back in 1980. so it is not as severe as that. what it is is a response to unusual cross—party pressure here for something to be done about chinese abuse of human rights as they would see it, particularly in respect of the ui

with minion gary o'donoghue who was live with us i countermeasures. bearing in mind there's been a lot of— think it's worth bearing in mind there's been a lot of pressure i there's been a lot of pressure across— there's been a lot of pressure across the _ there's been a lot of pressure across the political— there's been a lot of pressure across the political spectrum i there's been a lot of pressure i across the political spectrum to toughen — across the political spectrum to toughen up _ across the political spectrum to toughen up the _ across the political spectrum to toughen up the approach - across the political spectrum to toughen up the approach to - across the political spectrum to i toughen up the approach to china from _ toughen up the approach to china from congress. _ toughen up the approach to china from congress, republicans - toughen up the approach to china from congress, republicans and. from congress, republicans and democrats — from congress, republicans and democrats in _ from congress, republicans and democrats in congress - from c

gary o'donoghue has this report. >> wings of more than 100 mile per hour drove the flames across more1600 acres in suburban colorado, which would normally have snow on the ground this time of year. the fires spread quickly through homes and businesses, leading to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. the emergency services did their best, but the sheer speed of the fire took everyone by surprise. >> coming down this road, the ditches and things and trees, they are all up in flames. there are embers everywhere. >> i packed myself, my cat, and keeping our fingers crossed. >> local officials declared a state of emergency, unlocking federal funds to help fight the blaze. the governor spoke to president biden. >> this was a disaster in fast motion all over the course of half a day. nearly all the damage. many families having minutes to get whatever they could, their pets, their kids into the car, and leave. the last 24 hours have been devastating. >> remarkably, no one died in the fires. as dawn broken friday, winds had significantly dropped and a forecast of snow should reduce th

gary o'donoghue on that story for us.ld health organization has warned the omicron variant of coronavirus appears pretty good at evading immune responses. the who has said it's also causing an increase in infections, both in the vaccinated and those who've already had the disease. here's what the head of the organisation had to say. there is now consistent evidence that omicron is spreading significantly faster than the delta variant. and it's more likely that people who have been vaccinated or have recovered from covid—19 could be infected or reinfected. dr maria sundaram, an infectious disease epidemiologist who works as a research scientist at the marshfield clinic research institute, says the new who findings are a cause for concern. it's very, very concerning on several different levels. the biggest one is that for people who are vaccinated, they may be used to taking a little bit more risks and they may be used to going outside and doing things that they might have done before the pandemic, and unfortunately they no

let's cross to gary o'donoghue in washington.ning of a viral blizzard about to hit the country as omicron starts to take over as the dominant variant of covid—19. it is in 45 of the 50 states already and it's spreading rapidly. it is already having an impact on sporting events such as the national hockey league, which has cancelled several dozen matches, the nba, the nfl as well, even the famous hamilton musical on broadway had to cancel some shows. in terms of the vaccination rates, they are going up very slowly, only 85% of people in the country have had a single dose, only 72% are double vaccinated. of the double vaccinated, only 30% have had that booster shot so far. shocking statistics — only 1.6 million doses of any kind, be that a first, second or booster, are being given each day at the moment put on that rate it will take a year at least to get the population boosted. joe biden is going to make a speech tomorrow announcing more help for under—served communities, urging people to get their vaccinations, but plans to have

gary o'donoghue, bbc news.ator steve fenberg a little earlier and he told me how shocked he was at the speed that the fires are travelling. it really is an unheard—of and unprecedented situation. as you heard, the governor says, the devastation was a matter of hours. we are now getting a much better sense of what lies and what remains we think there are about 2000 homes within that region, upwards of 1000 could be burned to the ground. i was able to do a fly over early this morning and do a little bit of a tour of some of the impact areas and it is absolutely devastating. entire neighbourhoods, entire subdivisions gone. nothing left of them, really. it really is an unprecedented disaster. in colorado, we are used to wildfires, we are used to natural disasters. living in mother nature. this one is different, given the time of year that it is and given the fact that there really ripped through a suburban and an urban area, which is unusual. and what other conditions like right now for fighting these wildfires? so

gary o'donoghue, bbc news, washington. let's cross live to new york.encer is director of global health in emergency medicine at columbia university medical center. thanks university medical center. very much forjoining us. thanks very much forjoining us. the does seem as though there is a demand for tests, of course now 500 million at no cost to all those who want to have one. how big a step forward do you see this? is certainly a positive step. everyone they know has been looking for tests over the past few weeks and really months. it has been incredibly difficult for us to buy test, it is incredibly expensive. i took to people here and let them know that in the uk you can walk into a pharmacy and get them in order them online. in the us you are talking ten, 15, $25 a test sometimes. that is if you can find them on the shelves. it makes it really difficult for people to stay safe when they do and/or gatherings and i'm particularly concerned about the upcoming holidays so 500 million test is great but that's about 1.5 test for every single american and

gary o'donoghue, bbc news, washington.rying to react as they possibly can to the spread of the omicron variant. in about 25 minutes time, we will be looking at the various measures introduced into business, including a cash injection for hospitality in the uk. although to come a little later. dozens of people are feared missing after a landslide at a jade mine in northern myanmar. the landslide happened at around 4:00 in the morning local time, in the hpakant area of kachin state. there are fears that around 80 people have been swept into a lake by mining waste. the worst flooding malaysia has seen in decades has left at least 27 dead, with fears that number will rise. three days of torrential rain has partially submerged entire towns and villages, forcing 60,000 people from their homes. government agencies have been accused of failing to issue storm warnings or send enough support. i'm joined now by hakim hamzah whose organisation, the malaysian red crescent, has been helping communities impacted by the floods. a warm wel

gary o'donoghue, bbc news.l team has failed in its legal bid to stop proceedings in a civil sex abuse case. virginia giuffre — who now lives in australia — has accused prince andrew of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager at the homes ofjeffrey epstein and ghislaine maxwell. prince andrew's lawyers argued that virginia giuffre is not a us resident and that her civil legal action should be halted. prince andrew has consistently denied her allegations. coronavirus infections in the uk has reached a new record high — and pressure on hospitals continues to grow. covid—related absences in acute nhs trusts in england went up by more than 40% during christmas week. an average of more than 25 thousand health workers were off sick or isolating each day. london was again the worst hit with about 4% of staff in acute trusts absent — up by nearly 60% on the week before. our health correspondent katharine da costa reports. most nhs staff will be glad to see the back of 2021. nearly two years into this pandemic, m

let's cross to gary o'donoghue in washington. ington. scientists here are warning of a viral— o'donoghue in washington. scientists here are warning of a viral blizzard - here are warning of a viral blizzard about _ here are warning of a viral blizzard about to _ here are warning of a viral blizzard about to hit — here are warning of a viral blizzard about to hit the country as omicron starts _ about to hit the country as omicron starts to— about to hit the country as omicron starts to take over as the dominant variant— starts to take over as the dominant variant of— starts to take over as the dominant variant of covid—19. it is in 45 of the 50 _ variant of covid—19. it is in 45 of the 50 states already and it's spreading rapidly. it is already having — spreading rapidly. it is already having an _ spreading rapidly. it is already having an impact on sporting events such as _ having an impact on sporting events such as the — having an impact on sporting events such as the national hockey league which _ such as the national hockey le

for more on this i'm joined now by our washington correspondent gary o'donoghue.rld leaders. what do we think that president biden is keen to emphasise on this call? well, this is the _ emphasise on this call? well, this is the second _ emphasise on this call? well, this is the second call - emphasise on this call? well, this is the second call they've| this is the second call they've had in the space of three weeks. this one is 50 minutes long, there a lot to talk about here, and there is an indication of the serious nature of the problem in ukraine �*s border with around 100,000 russian troops stationed there laid out these two paths come as you mentioned, one of diplomacy and discussion, if they didn't do that, there would be a separate path of deterrence and sanctions and serious consequences. america has already said that it would impose fresh new sanctions on russia if it didn't de—escalate. it would give more military aid to ukraine and indeed reinforce the nato posture in those countries around that area come around ukraine and russia's border. so i'll an

in a moment, we'll hear from our correspondents gary o'donoghue in washington, and andrew harding injohannesburgfirst here's imogen foulkes near the swiss captial bern. across europe, governments are rushing in new covid—i9 restrictions in the netherlands. there is a lockdown. that mark is thinking about a curfew and here in switzerland, doors are closed to the unvaccinated. to get into a bar or restaurant or theatre or museum a football match, or your local gym, you will need their covid—i9 certificate. it shows that you are vaccinated while at that you have recovered from covid—i9. a negative test will not get you in. it is the swiss government's and said to a vaccine hesitancy. a third of the population here still has not had a first vaccine. and infection rates are rising fast. they are far higher than sex—ed and's neighbours friends or entity. but, like last year, this sentiment will not close its ski slopes. they stay open including for now for british tourists but to enjoy any of the skiing everyone will need to covid—i9 certificate. here in north america omicron has been found in almost

gary o'donoghue reports from washington.e've been fully vaccinated, and we're fully masked up, we should be ok, but it's quite dangerous still. i don't think it's 100% safe unless you stay in your house. omicron has exploded in the united states, going from less than 1% of cases to almost three quarters. so for a second time in less than a month, president biden has announced more measures, extra vaccine sites and in a change of direction, free home testing kits. i'm announcing today the federal government will purchase today, one and a half billion, not million, billion, additional at—home tests, with deliveries starting injanuary. beginning these tests for americans to for free. , , to for free. there is free time test won't be available _ to for free. there is free time test won't be available until— to for free. there is free time test won't be available until next - to for free. there is free time testi won't be available until next month so testing sites like this recreation centre are opening up across the country. 1,