welcome to the programme stop the presidents of the us and russia have held a two—hour video summit, dominated by heightened tensions over ukraine. the white house says president biden made clear what it called �*deep concerns�* of the us and its european allies over russia�*s military drills and escalation of forces near ukraine. mr putin, on the other hand, said russia wanted guarantees that nato wouldn�*t expand further east. our north america correspondent peter bowes reports. a secure video connection for a high—stakes meeting. joe biden face—to—face with the russian president for the first time sincejune when they met in person. mr biden seated in the situation room at the white house with his senior advisers, the two leaders shared pleasantries before getting down to business. it�*s good to see you again. behind closed doors they spoke for two hours with ukraine at the top of the agenda. for weeks there�*s been growing concern in the west that the build up of more than 90,000 russian troops near ukraine�*s borders could herald an invasion by russia. the white house said president biden voiced the deep concerns of the united states and its european allies about russia�*s escalation of forces surrounding ukraine. mr putin demanded guarantees fixed in law to rule out the eastward expansion of nato. the call according to the white house was a conversation with give and take but no finger wagging. president biden was direct and straightforward with president putin as he always is. he reiterated america�*s support for ukraine�*s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and he told president putin directly if russia further invades ukraine the united states and our european allies would respond with strong economic measures. the white house said the teams of both presidents would follow up on the meeting. as we pursue diplomatic channels, we will also prepare for all contingencies just as we have been doing for weeks now including through the preparation of specific responses to russian escalation should they be required. a statement released by the kremlin said mr putin had stressed russia should not be held responsible for tensions because nato was making dangerous attempts to take over ukrainian territory and increasing its military potential on russia�*s borders. ukraine has been celebrating the 30th anniversary of its armed forces. an adviser to the president said the country was gratefulforjoe biden�*s support and urged russia to use diplomatic means to ease regional tensions. the ball is now in moscow�*s court, all eyes will be on the ukrainian border to see what happens next. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. michael 0�*hanlon is director of research for foreign policy and co—director of the center for security, strategy, and technology at the brookings institution. getting to you. what is your take on this conversation between the us and russia? i think president biden and russia had it mostly right, economic punishment would be the right response for europe, nato and canada in the event of a very unfortunate and i think are unlikely russian attack on ukraine. i don�*t think we want to commit american or nato military forces to protect ukraine. it�*s not a nato member and we don�*t want to use our military forces all over the world in places that are important but still secondary importance. we cannot give that a mere put in a green light and i think he needs to know the punishment that would result from any attack would actually be much greater than the sanctions he suffered in the last seven years. the only thing i would have advocated is a little more specificity that perhaps we would actually help nato countries develop more energy alternatives to russia, may be cut russia off from the international banking system. it's international banking system. it�*s not enough just to say another friend of it�*s not enough just to say anotherfriend of vladimir another friend of vladimir putin anotherfriend of vladimir putin cannot go to malta for christmas vacations which is what i think some of the sanctions be like. we need to be more specific. but i think joe biden is still correct, economic response is the right approach here, not military. and he is also right to telegraph this very clearly in advance of a russian aggression rather than to wait until it�*s too late. rather than to wait until it's too late-— rather than to wait until it's too late. , , too late. the kremlin says this is anti- russian _ too late. the kremlin says this is anti- russian hysteria, - too late. the kremlin says this is anti- russian hysteria, it. is anti— russian hysteria, it says it has no plans to invade ukraine, how much can we take them at their word? it ukraine, how much can we take them at their word?— them at their word? it didn't sound like — them at their word? it didn't sound like hysteria - them at their word? it didn't sound like hysteria to - them at their word? it didn't sound like hysteria to me, i them at their word? it didn't. sound like hysteria to me, it's sound like hysteria to me, it�*s a two hour phone call, relatively friendly, they began with pleasantries, president with pleasa ntries, president biden with pleasantries, president biden has been criticised by republicans in the congress for being too nice to put into today. i don�*t really think that it�*s a case of somehowjoe biden getting the temperature wrong on the conversation. but i also agree with the implication in your question, you cannot trust president putin, we�*ve got to be very vigilant and we�*ve got to have very clear responses that we could invoke in the event he uses force against ukraine or i should say it uses again against ukraine in that manner even more blatant than what he has done in the last seven years. to me, that was the right balance, being clear in advance, we know what you�*re up to, we will not come and bring world war iii to europe over this, ukrainian is not a nato ally but there will be a major consequences. the only thing i would have recommended is more specificity of the sanctions might be, up a level from where we already are. and also a new dialogue about may be high ukraine and georgia don�*t need to be a nato if they can be some other kind of way to protect their core interests and maybe we could start that dialogue now rather than just face off on the question of whether there is some prospect of georgia and ukrainejoining nato. i don�*t think that is the right option. there are better options. we need to talk about that and we need to place demands on russia to respect the sovereignty of these countries.— the sovereignty of these countries. ~ , ., countries. we must leave it there. thank _ countries. we must leave it there. thank you. - here in the uk, and it�*s emerged that senior government staffjoked about holding a christmas party last year in breach of covid restrictions —— just four days after a controversial drinks party is alleged to have taken place at the prime minister�*s residence in downing street. a video recording leaked to itv news appears to show boris johnson�*s spokesperson at the time fielding questions about the party in a mock news conference. no 10 insists no party took place. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. party? what party? the party that number 10 said didn�*t happen. in the building where boris johnson said tight covid rules were always followed. the party last year that a guest told us had food, drinks and games, and the party we now seem to see downing street staffjoking about a few days later. this was a practice press conference for allegra stratton, just hired as the prime minister�*s press spokesperson. i've just seen reports on twitter that there was a downing street christmas party last friday night. do you recognise those reports? i went home! in a video obtained by itv news, laughing in response to questions from an adviser, ed 0ldfield, about the downing street drinks. what�*s the answer? i don't know! is cheese and wine 0k! at the time when socialising for everyone was meant to be strictly off—limits. this fictional party was a business meeting. and it was not socially distanced! the fictional party was a business meeting, she says, laughing about the office that was making the rules, not following them. in the real world outside number10, pubs had been closed, socialising was strictly off—limits as covid took hold again. lockdown was back. there were fines for holding parties. and on that day, 562 people lost their lives to the virus. three, two, one! the problem for boris johnson 12 months on was notjust that a few dozen of his staff got together, nor the laughter about it now revealed, but that all week he hasn�*t been straight about exactly what went on. last wednesday at prime minister�*s questions, a notable non—denial. all guidance was followed completely during number 10... a refusal to give more detail on friday. we followed the guidance throughout and continue to follow the guidance. and then again today. all i can tell you is that all the guidelines were observed. but tonight, outrage from the opposition. last year at christmas, the public followed the rules, and many of them didn't see their loved ones over christmas. some of them didn't see their loved ones again. they had the right to expect the government to follow the rules, and we now know the government broke the rules, they partied, and now they're laughing about it. they're treating the public with contempt. boris johnson has tried i to lead us a merry dance, tried to claim that these things didn't happen. i his position, i would have to say, is untenable. - near quiet from number 10 itself tonight, a statement only... as we have repeatedly stated, there was no christmas party. covid rules have been followed at all times. but there is genuine concern in the tory party itself. can that position hold through a silent night? prosecutors in ghislaine maxwell�*s trial in new york have presented previously unseen photos linking the socialite to disgraced financier — jeffrey epstein. amongst the images was this picture of a sketch of ms maxwell mounted on his bathroom wall. there was also a framed photo sitting on a table that shows the couple kissing. in other testimony — a third woman who says epstein sexually abused her, gave evidence. the woman — testifying under her first name carolyn — described how ms maxwell arranged for her to be abused by the convicted sex offender when she was just iii—years—old. ghislaine maxwell has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking. nada tawfik has more. carolyn was soft—spoken and visibly emotional as she answered prosecutors questions. she talked about how she came from a troubled home, her mother was addicted to drugs and alcohol and she had dropped out of school in seventh grade. she said she first heard about epstein when she met virginia guifre as she was then known, who was a friend of her boyfriend. she was just 14 and virginia allegedly told her she could make money by meeting a wealthy friend of hers and giving him a massage. she says when she turned up at epstein�*s mansion it was ghislaine maxwell who allegedly instructed virginia roberts to take her upstairs and quote, show her what to do. she teared up on the stand as she talked about that first encounter with jeffrey epstein, saying that she massaged him for about 45 minutes and then, sat on a couch and watched allegedly as virginia and epstein had sex. now, she says, over the course of four years, she went to epstein�*s home more than 100 times, until she became too old, saying it was always ghislaine maxwell allegedly that set up those meetings. the defence has started cross examination. ghislaine maxwell has denied all of the charges and they have really honed in on this point that it was virginia roberts, they say, who introduced her tojeffrey epstein and not ghislaine maxwell. australia�*s prime minister, scott morrison, has confirmed australia willjoin a diplomatic boycott of the beijing winter olympics next february. he said the chinese government has not yet made any attempts to respond to several issues raised by australia including alleged human rights abuses. the united states confirmed they would not be sending any officials to the games on monday. china has already threatened to retailiate against the move. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: diving into the metaverse. where are we? an explanation coming up. john lennon was shot at the entrance of the dakota building in the centre of new york. there�*s been a crowd here standing and putting on a silent vigil and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city. witnesses say that the shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. the widow of the former. president of the philippines has gone on trial in manila. she is facing seven - charges of tax evasion, estimated at £120 million. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is bbc news, the latest headlines... a high—stakes virtual summit has been held amid heightened tensions over ukraine. president biden warned of tighter economic sanctions following a huge buildup of russian military — vladimir putin blamed provocative actions by kyiv and nato. leaked footage sparks a row over what appears to be british officials joking about a covid christmas party last year — breaching lockdown rules — at number 10 downing street. every week at this time we take a look climate change — bringing you stories with big implications for our planet�*s future. this week, we focus on aviation and what the future holds for a global — and hugely polluting — industry. the world�*s addiction to flying has been rocked by covid but comes at a huge cost to the environment. it�*s responsible for 2.5 per cent of global c02 emissions — and 3.5 per cent of global warming. before the pandemic, passenger demand increased around 5% a year. while it�*s expected to take two years to fully recover — the forecast for 2050 is for passenger flights to more than double, to 10 billion every year. and yet the aviation industry has pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century. so, is it possible? here to try to answer that isjo dardenne, aviation manager at the campaign group transport and environment. good morning to you. one of the biggest issues with the aviation industry is the fuel, this really dense, heavy hydrocarbon, is there such a thing as a more sustainable alternative to aviation fuel? indeed, as you mention, the only way for aviation to reduce its mission is to stop burning thisjet fuel, this its mission is to stop burning this jet fuel, this fossil fuel. unfortunately, unlike other modes of transport we still see aviation exclusively reliant on fossil fuel in the next decades. first, we need to stop making the problem bigger by flying less and especially addressing those frequent flyers, those handful of frequent flyers that cause the bulk of emissions. 1% of the population is responsible for 50%, half of aviation emissions so then we need to address the remainder of the problem as you mentioned by developing alternative fuels. especially those made from renewable electricity, we called them if fuels. finally we also need to make sure we better integrate the cost of flying and the price of tickets and not rely on fake solutions like offsetting, we need to stop believing these offsets will reduce the climate impact of aviation. ~ , ., , aviation. when you use the term fre . uent aviation. when you use the term frequent flyer. — aviation. when you use the term frequent flyer, what _ aviation. when you use the term frequent flyer, what do - aviation. when you use the term frequent flyer, what do you - frequent flyer, what do you mean? there will be some people who take two holidays a year and think they are a frequent flyer and there will be some who take four business trips every week. what do you consider a frequent flyer? frequent flyers are those that actually, fundamentally it�*s up to make sure we regulate the sector to avoid having this excessive flying so also noticing how covid—19 has helped with that because we realised we do not need to fly all around the globe for conferences, we can do zoom meeting so fundamentally i think this handful of travellers that cause the bulk of emissions need to be addressed by effective regulation, by not only better integrating the cost of flying integrating the cost of flying in the price of a ticket but making sure we develop these alternatives to make flying more sustainable.- alternatives to make flying more sustainable. ., ., more sustainable. you mentioned government _ more sustainable. you mentioned government and _ more sustainable. you mentioned government and regulation, - government and regulation, there often needs to be a carrot and stick approach with these cross industry changes. what else can governments do, what would you like governments to do to force manufacturers and airlines to change their ways? and airlines to change their wa s? �* , ., ways? as i mentioned, fundamentally - ways? as i mentioned, fundamentally we - ways? as i mentioned, j fundamentally we need ways? as i mentioned, i fundamentally we need to ways? as i mentioned, - fundamentally we need to price emissions more fairly, currently airlines do not pay a single cent of tax on their fuel so we as citizens pay a tax on the field that we put in cars to fuel our transport, we pay a tax on the energy we used to heat our homes but then again, airlines do not pay a single cent of tax on fuel. so we need to better integrate the cost of flying because it does have a cost, unfortunately, on the environment and it is not to be fully integrated in the price of a ticket. sending the signal to the market that polluting will become more expensive, will kick—start investment in those key technologies that we mentioned and also generate revenue to invest in these new fuels and alternative fuels like these electro fuels. this is key because the longer we wait to address the problem, the bigger the problem will become. we must leave — the problem will become. we must leave it _ the problem will become. we must leave it there. thank you. a landmark law allowing same—sex marriage has been passed in chile. the legislation approved in parliament on tuesday also allows same—sex couples to adopt children. the lgbt community says it�*s a momentous occasion after years of struggle. tanya dendrinos has this report. celebrations outside congress and a simple message. love won. translation: those of us who are part of| sexual minorities all experience some chapter of discrimination either by our family, our parents, at school, work, and today, the state is giving a strong signal against this discrimination. we still have a long way to go but we will not stop until we can walk the streets in peace, until this is no longer an issue that makes us more vulnerable. it�*s been a long road to recognition in the majority catholic country, while civil unions were approved in chile in 2015, the bill to legalise same—sex marriage has been stalled for four years. on tuesday, activists gathered to witness history. then, the celebrations began. the bill passed with an overwhelming majority, it was supported by the president who will sign it into law. it�*s been criticised by members of his conservative coalition but for families affected, it far transcends politics. translation: at last, we will be able to be i recognised as a family before the state. for many, it may sound very obvious and not matter, but for us, it�*s a very important issue. it�*s for the protection of our children, for the future, not only for us but for all other families out there. chilejoins the ranks of a handful of other latin american countries to recognise same—sex marriage with the legislation also enabling couples to adopt children. the company that owns facebook recently changed its name to meta. it says it�*s transforming itself from a social media firm into a company of the metaverse. facebook is not the only tech giant to dive into the metaverse. but what does it actually mean? our technology correspondent marc chislack has been looking into it. so, what actually is the metaverse? well, if we think of the internet as something that we look at, the metaverse is a version of the internet that we are inside. i�*d say there are examples of the metaverse already, if you look at video games. i think a lot of people see the future metaverse as expanding on that experience to include notjust gaming but maybe things like a digital workspace or digital events, digital socialising. the idea is that we will experience the metaverse as an avatar, a virtual version of ourselves that we control as we explore this new online frontier. companies like ready player me and oz already have tools to create avatars for a coming metaverse. creations which, in my case, are a slightly younger and trimmer version of the real thing. andrew bosworth is from meta, the company formerly known as facebook. we talked all matters metaverse using virtual reality headsets, appearing as avatars. ok, so here we are in what might be considered a representation of what the metaverse could be. there�*s a lot of online hatred out there, a lot of online abuse and misinformation and things of that nature. how are you going to avoid those kinds of experiences seeping into the metaverse? do you really want the system, or a person standing by, listening in? but if the conversation is happening in real time, then how can we modify content without listening? and so i think we have a privacy trade—off against... if you want to have a high degree of content safety, well, that trades off against privacy. microsoft�*s adapted its workplace meeting software for the metaverse, and will introduce the ability to appear as an avatar next year, explains developer alex kipman. there�*s quite a few people that have got fatigued by having to have video chat meetings and things of that nature, and that they realise they now crave human contact. human communication is about 5% speech, is about 95% everything else, right? and instead of having a person next to me having a working one—on—one, i can have the avatar version of that person, one—on—one next to me. so, it changes completely the... ..you know, call it screen fatigue we are feeling today. the big question, though, is will people embrace this new vision for our online lives? i think it depends on the specific application. we�*ve seen in gaming lots of people really do enjoy those experiences. would you want to sit in a virtual office as an avatar? i�*m less sold on that idea. it seems the metaverse is coming, but its success rests solely in our hands. marc cieslak, bbc news. and before we go — a sparkly tiara story for you. and not just any tiara. these two are said to have belonged to napoleon bonaparte�*s first wife, no less. empressjosephine wore these gem encrusted headpieces which are engraved with classical scenes — the pair sold for over 760,000 dollars at an auction in london. what�*s more, the empress had matching jewellery sets — as one did if married to the french emperor in the 19th century. a reminder of our top story. a high—stakes virtual summit has been held amid heightened tensions over ukraine. president biden warned of tighter economic sanctions following a huge buildup of russian military — vladimir putin blamed provocative actions by kyiv and nato. more on that story on the bbc news website. we will see you soon. thank you for watching. hello. it looks like we have probably seen the worst of storm barra for now, the worst of the winds along coastal areas, the top gusts in the west coast of wales, 86mph. around inland areas it was typically a0 or 50mph. as well as those strong winds, we had a spell of snow, briefly, over the pennines and into the southern uplands before the snowy weather moved into the highlands and grampian region. that now moved away. all the cloud that has been swirling around the centre of the storm that�*s crossing northern ireland and heading towards the north of england and southern parts of scotland. it�*s just going to sit around during wednesday. the storm continuing to weaken, the winds lessening all the while with stronger winds means it will be a milder start to wednesday. typical temperatures, 3, 4 or 5. still windy for many on wednesday, just not as windy. the strongest winds likely to be across the west and south of wales, south—west england, around 60mph on the coast for a time, showers and longer spells of rain, the wettest weather with strongest winds will be in wales. maybe cold enough for some snow over the higher parts of scotland, maybe the tops of the pennines, typical temperatures are 6 or 7. by thursday, the storm is no more, continuing to weaken, pressure rising and the wind is dropping, instead we find a weather front nosing from the atlantic. we are left with one or two showers around on thursday, lighter winds by this stage and we find some sunshine but there will be a weather front bringing cloud and rain into northern ireland, parts of wales in the south—west of england. ahead of that, temperatures showing little signs of change. the wetter weather will continue eastwards overnight, there could be more snow over higher parts of scotland, it looks like it will move fairly quickly, out of the way by friday. instead we have a north—westerly wind, probably a stronger wind as well but essentially it is a day of sunshine and showers. many southern and eastern areas are dry with the best of the sunshine, most of the showers in the north and west of the uk, could be wintry over the hills. again, temperatures not changing very much, typically 6 or7. this is bbc news, the headlines: the kremlin has described a virtual summit between the us and russian leaders as frank and businesslike. president biden warned of severe economic consequences in the event of a russian invasion of ukraine. president putin blamed provocative actions by ukraine and nato for the heightened tensions. a video has emerged showing senior downing street staffjoking about holding a christmas party in number 10 a year ago — a party they continue to publicly deny ever happened. the video shows a mock downing street news conference, hosted by the prime minister�*s then press secretary allegra stratton. australia hasjoined the united states�* diplomatic boycott of the winter olympics in beijing next year. prime minister scott morrison said they will not send officials or politicians to the games, adding that china had failed to respond to australian concerns about its human rights record. now on bbc news: panorama. tonight, on panorama we investigate some of the biggest companies running our care homes. oh, my god, there is only one winner, isn�*t there, and that is the investment companies. families are asking how care home fees are being spent. he spent £125,000. when you're paying a lot of money for his care, i was expecting a little bit more quality. have some companies been taking too much money out of the system? typically, they pile a lot of debt on the companyj