robin brant reports.— beautiful snow—covered slopes. china's communist party leaders hope it will persuade millions to grab a board or boots and come here, like yao. but he isn't near the host city of beijing, this is xinjiang, it's a troubled region hoping for a major boom off the back of these olympic games. what's that going be like in 20 years' time where you are? as china's second 0lympics approaches, these images have been part of state media reporting on xinjiang, almost as if it's part of the games. it's very different to these images from the bbc�*s reporting in xinjiang over recent years of mass indoctrination and incarceration of chinese ethnic muslims, inside places that china used to deny even existed. china's leaders call it anti—terror re—education, the us and others say it's part of a genocide. there are numerous foreign firms lining up to sell you part of the alternative xinjiang. the american snowboard pioneers burton is one of them. we've already seen — in the last couple years, we've s

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. well, the chinese approach may seem pretty draconian.contrast to situations in other parts of the world. the united states has just recorded more than 1 million cases of the omicron variant. that's the highest daily tally of anywhere in the world. speaking at the white house, president biden pleaded with the american people who haven't been vaccinated to get the jab. let me be absolutely clear. we have in hand all the vaccines we need to get every american fully vaccinated, including the booster shot, so there's no excuse, no excuse for anyone being unvaccinated. this continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated. in britain, nearly 220,000 new coronavirus cases — a new high — have been recorded. it comes as pupils returned to school in england and northern ireland. the prime minister, borisjohnson, says he hopes that england can "ride out" the current wave of covid—19 infections without further restrictions. here's our health editor hugh pym. the nhs is always under strain at this time of the year. now, there's a new variant — with lon

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.ountries around the world have been seeing record numbers of cases, as the fast—spreading omicron surge continues. in britain, nearly 220,000 new coronavirus cases, a new high, have been recorded. it comes as pupils returned to school in england and northern ireland. france registered more than 270,000 new covid cases on tuesday, confirming its position as europe's worst—hit the us has recorded more than one million, the highest one—day tally of new cases anywhere in the world. speaking at the white house a few hours ago, president biden pleaded with the american people who haven't been vaccinated, asking them to get the jab. let me be absolutely clear. we have in hand all the vaccines we need to get every american fully vaccinated, including the booster shot, so there's no excuse, no excuse for anyone being unvaccinated. this continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated. meanwhile the british prime minister, borisjohnson, says he hopes england can "ride out" the current wave of covi

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. a reminder of our top story.nstall pro—russian leadership in ukraine, amid increasing tension over a possible invasion. moscow has urged the uk to stop "spreading nonsense". you can reach me on twitter — i'm @bbcnuala. the normal pattern of january temperatures was turned upside down on saturday — 12 degrees in northern scotland, four in southern england. a little bit of sunshine across parts of north—east england, most places had another cloudy day, and will again for part two of the weekend. despite the cloud, a lot of dry weather around, high pressure close by, exerting its settling influence on our weather. underneath the high pressure and around it, all of this cloud coming in. weather front approaching northern scotland, and as it does so, it will strengthen the wind here, which does mean a mild start after a mild day, but a hint of blue through parts of wales and england, lighter winds and a chance of frost with any clear spells. could be some mist and fog patches developing that will be more reluctant to

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.has gone into lockdown after the first passenger flight into the country for more than ten months, brought 36 confirmed coronavirus cases. until this week the island had gone through the entire pandemic with just two. under the new measures, people have been told to stay at home and social gatherings are banned. the united nations in afghanistan says it's concerned by the disappearance of two afghan women activists, who took part in protests demanding their right to work and education in recent weeks. the un has urged taliban rulers to provide information on the whereabouts of the missing women. one of the activists released a video on social media saying taliban fighters had come to their house. the activists have been missing since then. the taliban have denied the women are being detained. we also heard the news of the arrest of a few girls. we we also heard the news of the arrest of a few girls-— of a few girls. we contacted all the security institutions. _ of a few girls. we conta

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.ty are growing by the day. so how can we pass on our experiences to future generations? a project under way in tasmania, earth's black box, an indestructible store of primary climate data, may be the answer. butjust like the black box on an airplane, the hope is it never gets used for its main purpose. i'm joined now byjim curtis, one of the principals behind the project in melbourne. good to have you with us. a black box to me sounds pretty ominous. talk me through what is in it, why it is necessary, for our viewers coming to this for our viewers coming to this for the very first time?- for the very first time? thank ou for for the very first time? thank you for having _ for the very first time? thank you for having me. _ for the very first time? thank you for having me. as - for the very first time? thank you for having me. as you - for the very first time? thank i you for having me. as you said, the black box is a device that will record every step humanity takes towards or hopefull

robin brant reports.ina's communist party leaders hope it will persuade millions to grab a board or boots and come here like yao. but he isn't near the host city of beijing, this is xinjiang, it's a troubled region hoping for a major boom off the back of these olympic games. what's that going be like in 20 years' time where you are? as china's second olympics approaches, these images have been part of state media reporting on xinjiang, almost as if it's part of the games. it's very different to these images from the bbc�*s reporting in xinjiang over recent years of mass indoctrination and incarceration of chinese ethnic muslims, inside places that china used to deny even existed. china's leaders call it anti—terror re—education, the us and others say it's part of a genocide. there are numerous foreign firms lining up to sell you part of the alternative xinjiang. the american snowboard pioneers burton is one of them. we've already seem in the last couple years, we've seen triple digit growth, so we are ver

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.ave returned home after becoming the first nepali team to reach the south pole. it's part of a broader quest known as the explorers' grand slam. tanya dendrinos explains what exactly the ambitious pursuit entails. battling the elements. so cold! there's so much wind here! three brothers approaching the summit of mount vinson — the highest peak in antarctica. hey, guys. we are three brothers. we are first time have been to the vinson. and we just summit today. we just came back from south pole — we are the first guys, i think, that did south pole and vinson together. the trio marked the first nepali team to reach the south pole. it's part of their quest to conquer the explorers' grand slam — a challenge that involves reaching the south and north poles, along with the highest mountain peaks in each of the seven continents — and they hope to complete it within a year. translation: once we do this, there is nothing more _ adventurous left to do. it's like getting a master's degree. it's an

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.emic. what was it like they're at the pandemicjust began? two years on, it is killed so many millions in doing so many lives. it certainly has. i doing so many lives. it certainly has- i guess _ doing so many lives. it certainly has. i guess at _ doing so many lives. it certainly has. i guess at the _ doing so many lives. it certainly has. i guess at the time - doing so many lives. it certainly has. i guess at the time we - doing so many lives. it certainly| has. i guess at the time we were preparing for chinese new year and had been away for the weekend with my wife's brothers annual company works to and everything was normal —ish but there was something in the air, people were talking about maybe there is this virus, but it was on there is this virus, but it was on the other side of the city, on the other side of the river. so at that time we went really concerned about it. ~ , ., , , ., time we went really concerned about it. , ., time we went really concerned about it. when did you

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. that's zero covid approach may seem pretty draconian.ons and the authorities�* response to it is in very stark contrast to other parts of the world, nowhere more so than the united states, which has just recorded more than 1 million cases of the omicron variant. that's the highest daily tally of anywhere in the world. speaking at the white house, president biden pleaded with the american people who haven't been vaccinated, to get the jab. let me be absolutely clear. we have in hand all the vaccines we need to get every american fully vaccinated, including the booster shot, so there's no excuse, no excuse for anyone being unvaccinated. this continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated. that is president biden. i'm joined now by drjorge salinas, associate professor of infectious diseases at stanford university. professor, thank you very much indeed forjoining us. it doesn't matter how many times president biden seems to say this, the figures still vaccination are pretty weak in the us. is there anything else that can be done? i the us. i

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.and speak to our correspondent stephen mcdonell. the point was made there that the winter olympics, hosting that, a huge global event, is probably driving a lot of this strict enforcement of restrictions.- strict enforcement of restrictions. , . , restrictions. yes. certainly some peeple _ restrictions. yes. certainly some people think- restrictions. yes. certainly some people think that, l some people think that, especially in the case of this city. xi'an is a bigger city with a lot of infections. official numbers have been in the hundred but in this other city, only three asymptomatic cases, people who do not even have a temperature, resulting in the whole city being shut down. that is either because the official figures are not reflecting what is going on in the ground there or some zealous local officials are determined to make sure that their city does not stand out as one of the places with infections in just three cases with no symptoms and an entire city of 1.2 million people l

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.and now it seems it could. a charity in fife in scotland is now working with online retail giant amazon to distribute surplus household goods to families struggling with the rising cost of living. catriona renton reports. it looks like the distribution centre of a supermarket or online store. in fact, these are surplus goods from amazon, due to be distributed to people struggling with the cost of living. in this warehouse there are thousands of items, including essential things like bedding, nappies, and children's clothes, like warm winterjackets. project this year. the former prime minister, gordon brown, is patron of a fife charity that works with vulnerable families. he asked amazon if surplus goods that are unsold or returned could be donated to local people. we can make a dent on some of the poverty that exists. we can't undo the damage that's done by so many families being on low pay, and so many families being in poverty, but this can make a difference. amazon was previously un

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.more than a million covid cases in a single day, the highest tally anywhere in the world. president biden described it as "a pandemic of the unvaccinated" saying there was no excuse for anyone not to get a jab. the surge is being blamed on the omicron variant. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has pledged to provide "straight leadership" in what he called a "binding contract" with the british public. he made the commitment as he set out his vision for the priorities of a new labour government. sir keir said the conservatives had lost the people's trust, but that didn't mean his party would automatically inherit public confidence. the conservatives say sir keir had no plan for britain's future. our deputy political editor, vicki young, reports from west bromwich. what does it take to be a leader, and has sir keir starmer got what it takes? critics say he lacks charisma, a lawyer who's good with words but doesn't inspire. today, though, he was wholeheartedly embracing that serious ima

robin brant, our china correspondent reporting there.ia this month to defend his open title. the serbian star, who's spoken out against coronavirus vaccines, received a medical exemption from having a covid—19 vaccination. australia has strict covid rules and there had been doubts about whether djokovic would take part in the tournament. our tennis correspondent, russell fuller is following developments. one possibility that i think is a real one, given that the omicron variant is so widespread around the world now, is that he has recently tested positive for covid. djokovic had covid for the first time around 18 months ago. if he had tested positive at any point in the last six months that enables you to defer your vaccination and to enter australia without having the vaccination proof. other reasons include inflammatory cardiac illness, or an acute major medical condition. it would seem unlikely that djokovic was suffering from either of those but we are none the wiser until, unless, he himself decides to tell us. elizabeth holmes was

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.ocus in on some of the reasons for the current approach a little bit later in the bulletin. well the chinese approach may seem pretty draconian, but the number of infections and the authorities�* response to it is in very stark contrast to other parts of the world, nowhere more so than the united states, which has just recorded more than one million cases of the omicron variant. that's the highest daily tally of anywhere in the world. speaking at the white house, president biden pleaded with the american people who haven't been vaccinated, to get the jab. let me be absolutely clear. we have in hand all the vaccines we need to get every american fully vaccinated, including the booster shot, so there's no excuse, no excuse for anyone being unvaccinated. this continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated. in britain, nearly 220,000 new coronavirus cases, a new high, have been recorded. it comes as pupils returned to school in england and northern ireland. the prime minister, borisjohnson

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.entre. thanks, clive. good evening. we're starting with football, which means you need to avert your attention if you want to wait for the scores on match of the day 2, because they're coming now... chelsea beat tottenham for the third time in three weeks to keep up the pressure on the top two in the premier league. 2—0 the score at stamford bridge, chelsea's first goal a spectacular effort by hakim ziyech. elsewhere, arsenal were held to a goalless draw at bottom side burnley. liverpool beat crystal palace and leicester drew with brighton. arsenal rescued a point at manchester city to increase their lead at the top of the women's super league. they were losing 1—0 in injury time when tobin heath scored the equalizer. arsenal are now two points ahead of manchester united in second. champions chelsea drop to third. world number one ashleigh barty is on course to become the australian open�*s first home champion for 44 years. she's through to the quarter—finals, along with another favour

robin brant there.ra 90 million dollars a year on new technology. the country relies on the united states to help defend its border with north korea but is keen to stand on its own two feet. our seoul correspondent laura bicker has had exclusive access to south korean air force training. three, two, one... i am trying to pass the g—force test... one, two, three... i am all right. 0h! oh, my god. ..and, well, it's not easy. i am here training with the air force to find out more about south korea's aim to be a military powerhouse. but before i can fly, i have to stay conscious. 0k? keep going, keep going, keep going. 0k. ok, good. wow. wonderful! great, great. south korea has shown off its biggest military advancements yet in 2021. it fired an array of new missiles and launched its first rocket into space. the country is also one of only five in the world to train its own pilots on home—grownjets. but what is it like to fly in one? i don't know how i feel! i want my mammy. 0k. i'm scared, but ok. so ijust

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.se claims? they have come from the foreign office run by the foreign secretary liz truss and the suggestion as there was a puppet leader lined up from the russian side ready to invade and take over occupy ukraine, and take over occupy ukraine, and they have in an unusual move declassified information and they have named a former ukrainian mp, a pro—russian figure in ukraine, yeven muraev, who earns a tv channel in ukraine, ran for office in 2019, and he spoke to the british daily telegraph newspaper. he said in a text message to the newspaper, i have had a hard time digesting stupidity and nonsense so maybe somebody wants to shut down another independent tv channel. as someone who has been under russian sanctions and bad luck as a national security threat whose father had his assets frozen in rush i find it hard to comment on the foreign office statement. he and other people are implying that there other candidates such as a ukrainian oligarch currently under house arrest there, who co

robin brant reports.ow covered slopes. china's communist party leaders hope it will persuade millions to grab a board or boots and come here like him. but he isn't near the host city of beijing, this is xingyang, it's a troubled region hoping for a major boom off the back of these olympic games. what's that going be like in 20 years time where you are? as china's second olympics approaches these images have been part of the state media reporting on xingyang, almost as if it's part of the games. it's very different to these images from the bbc�*s reporting over recent years of massive indoctrination and incarceration of chinese ethnic muslims with inside places that china used to deny even existed. china's leaders call it anti—terror re—education, the us and others say it's part of a genocide. there are numerous foreign firms lining up to sell you part of the alternative xingyang, the american snowboard pioneers burton is one of them. over the last couple years we've seen triple digit growth, we are very e

our china correspondent, robin brant reports. 27 days into lockdown, confined to her apartment.anslation: when covid hit wuhan, the country didn't have much experience dealing with the outbreak. but now it's different. it's better. she's in xian, a city famous for its motionless army of terracotta warriors, but normal life for 13 million people there has come to a halt. there's fresh evidence, too, that some people have just had enough. crowd clashes with police at a compound in xian, where they've been in lockdown for 35 days. a couple of men are taken away. assessing the overall impact on people's lives, economic and psychological, is almost impossible. all of this is part of a massive effort to stop a few thousand new covid cases from spreading. and in terms of the official reported case numbers, it seems to be working. china's leader xi jinping hailed the economy's resilience earlier this week, saying he is fully confident about its development. so is zero covid in china the new normal? other small and frequent disruption, but not like a massive shutdown. so for china, it se

our china correspondent robin brant has more on the new restrictions.of cities across china today could not be more stark. in xi'an, home to 13 million people, they are two weeks into a lockdown. people cannot leave their homes. there are reports of bartering going on, people exchanging cigarettes for food, other things for sanitary products and that is not going to change until the number of covid cases there reduces significantly. in the city of yuzhou, a bit closer to where i am, in the last 2a hours, a similar lockdown. people can't leave their houses, almost all vehicles are not allowed on the street and that's after they discovered just three asymptomatic cases. here in shanghai, it's a very different story. this is what most of china is like, it's business as usual. yes, you have to have a mask on when you go on the metro, you have your temperature taken, but the government says its zero covid strategy has achieved this for the last 18 months and that is a strategy that now includes things like this, a pop—up booster vaccination tent. you can win

our china correspent robin brant has more on the new restrictions.hat life is like in a handful of cities across china today could not be more stark. in xian, home to 13 million people, they are two weeks into a lockdown. people cannot leave their homes. there are reports of bartering going on, people exchanging cigarettes for food, other things for sanitary products. and that's not going to change until the number of covid cases there reduces significantly. in the city of yuzhou, a bit closer to where i am, in the last 2a hours a similar lockdown. people can't leave their houses, almost all vehicles are not allowed on the streets. that's after they discovered just three asymptomatic cases. here in shanghai, it's a very different story. this is what most of china is like. it's business as usual. yes, you have to have a mask on when you go on the metro, you have your temperature taken, but the government says its zero—covid strategy has achieved this for the last 18 months. and that's a strategy that now includes things like this, a pop—up booster vac

are bartering supplies amid continuing worries over food shortage here's our china correspondent, robin brantes, there are reports of bartering going on, people exchanging cigarettes for food, other things for sanitary products and that is not going to change to the number of covid—19 cases reduced significantly. in the city closer to where i am, in the last few days, no one can leave their homes very few vehicles on the streets, and that's all they found three asymptomatic cases. in shanghai, it's a different story. this is what most of china's like. it is business as usual. yes, you have to have a mask on and your temperature taken, but the government says that it is zero covid—19 strategy that has achieved this and now it includes things like this, a pop—up booster vaccination tent or you can win prizes as well, it can also include very harsh measures that can be imposed on a city in a matter of hours and that is what we are seeing and yuzhou. as the winter olympic games in beijing approach and chinese new year, the mass migration of the millions of people here, there is no evidence that c

our china correspondent robin brant reports.t will persuade millions to grab a board or boots and come here. like yao. but he isn't near the host city of beijing. this is xinjiang. it's a troubled region, hoping for a major boom off the back of these olympic games. what's that going to be like in 20 years' time where you are? translation: simply _ because of president xi's one call to get 300 million chinese people skiing — that's why the ski industry has taken off. as china's second olympics approaches, these images have been part of state media reporting on xinjiang — almost as if it's part of the games. it's very different to these images from the bbc�*s reporting in xinjiang over recent years — of mass indoctrination and incarceration of chinese ethnic muslims. inside places that china used to deny even existed. china's leaders call it anti—terror re—education. the us and others say it's part of a genocide. there are numerous foreign firms lining up to sell you part of the alternative xinjiang — the american snowboard pionee

xian, with a population of 13 million, has been under lockdown for two weeks. 0ur correspondent, robin branto symptoms. everyone is prohibited from leaving the city, the sign says. one million plus people are now in lockdown in yuzhou. the latest proof that china is very committed to its zero—covid strategy. translation: it doesn't bother me to do a covid test at midnight, - it's for our own safety. 300 miles away and two weeks ahead of yuzhou is xi'an, a city famed for its terracotta warriors, where 13 million people have now been locked down since before christmas. what started out a fortnight ago with a late—night army of officials welding gates shut has led to this. some people banned from leaving their tower blocks have taken to bartering with their neighbours. cigarettes for vegetables, other goods for sanitary towels. this is what most of china looks like. it's busy. yes, you have to have a mask when you get on the metro and there is a temperature check, but the government says its zero zero—covid strategy has achieved this for about 18 months now. that's a strategy that includes thin

china continues to pursue a zero covid strategy, to stamp out the virus. 0ur china correspondent robin brantks into a lockdown. people cannot leave their homes. there are reports of bartering going on, people exchanging cigarettes for food, other things for sanitary products. and that's not going to change until the number of covid cases a bit closer to where i am in the last 2a hours, a similar lockdown. people can't leave their houses. almost all vehicles are not allowed on the streets. and that's after they discovered just three asymptomatic cases. now here in shanghai, it's a very different story. this is what most of china is like. it's business as usual. yes, you have to have a mask on. yes, you have to have a mask on, when you get on the metro, you have your temperature taken. but the government says its zero covid strategy has achieved this for the last 18 months. and that's a strategy that now includes things like this, a pop up booster vaccination tent. you can win prizes, as well. but it also includes very harsh measures that can be imposed on a city in a matter of hours. and that

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. here's louise with a look at this morning's weather. good morning.e. the aurora was out yesterday in aberdeenshire where we had clear skies. for most of us a lot of cloud around and once again the emphasis is going to be with that cloudy story but it will state largely dry. still have high pressure with us but it is lifting, you can set underneath that cloud, over towards france and germany. the arrival of this weather front by the end of the day in scotland. for most of us are cloudy affair with some brightness here and there. i am not going to be too clever about favoured spots but perhaps out to the west. by the end of the afternoon went strengthening into the far north—west of scotland. it is going to be a rather grey, drab afternoon and if you are underneath that cloud, maybe a degree or so low. through the night tonight, the weather front taking its time. a band of cloud and light patchy rain moving into the far north of scotland. that is as exciting as our weather gets. quite a lot of cloud through the night acting like a blanket for many of u

our correspondent robin brant sent this report. this is extreme, even by china's standards.y, the sign says. i million plus people are now in lockdown in yuzhou. the latest proof that china is very committed to its zero—covid strategy. translation: it doesn't bother me to do a covid test at midnight, - it's for our own safety. 300 miles away and two weeks ahead of yuzhou is xi'an, a city famed for its terracotta warriors, where 13 million people have now been locked down since before christmas. what started out a fortnight ago with a late—night army of officials welding gates shut has led to this. some people banned from leaving their tower blocks have taken to bartering with their neighbours. cigarettes for vegetables, other goods for sanitary towels. this is what most of china looks like. it's busy. yes, you have to have a mask when you get on the metro and there is a temperature check, but the government says its zero zero—covid strategy has achieved this for about 18 months now. that's a strategy that includes things like this, pop—up tents where you can get a booster on

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.s. the slogan itself was banned by the authorities last year. israeli police have evicted a palestinian family from their home in the eastjerusalem neighbourhood of sheikh jarrah on wednesday, demolishing the dwelling in a case that has drawn international attention. the police raid was launched two days after a member of the salhiyeh family took to the roof of the house, threatening to blow it up. police had withdrawn after the standoff on monday but returned on wednesday, saying in a statement it was enforcing a court—approved eviction order of "illegal buildings built on grounds designated for a school for children with special needs". our science correspondent richard westcott reports. if we're going to clean up the air in our towns and cities, we've got to attract more people onto public transport. and that means getting rid of all those diesel buses chugging around. and that is where this new piece of technology comes in. if we're going to clean up the air in our towns and cities

robin brant, bbc news, shanghai.ork. , , work. with the olympics 'ust days awa in work. with the olympics 'ust days away in beijing. h you're watching bbc breakfast. still to come on today's programme. we'll hearfrom one mountain rescue leader who is begging walkers and climbers to think carefully before tackling peaks after his volunteers were called out 11 times over the festive week, including twice on christmas day. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from the news teams in london and the south east. the chair of the kent association of headteachers has warned schools face a perfect storm amid fears over teacher absences and lateral flow test shortages this term. mike walters is concerned about a potential shortfall of supply teaching staff as more teachers self—isolate after catching the virus. a meeting is due today between kent headteachers, the department for education and council officials to discuss the challenges faced by schools. nearly a quarter of a million stop—and—

notjust boost some people in some countries over and over and over again. 0ur china correspondent robin brant short period of time to a city of over 1 million people being shut down. no vehicles on the roads, virtually no vehicles, businesses and shops, restaurants shut. 0nly supermarkets supplying food are being allowed to stay open. everyone there being told to stay at—home as well, and a testing regime under way there. believe me, it's1 million people but it will be completed very, very quickly. as you say, this is yet the latest demonstration of china's immense effort to try and continue pursuing what it calls "a dynamic zero—covid strategy." this is the country where we saw the first—ever outbreak of covid—19, of course, two years ago. but the number of cases it's had, the number of people who have been killed by covid according to the official numbers remain very, very low. and as the olympic games approach, the winter games in beijing in just a matter of weeks, and of course that mass exodus that happens at what we call spring festival here and the rest of the world calls chinese new y