welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we start here in the uk, which has recorded 100,000 daily new cases of the coronavirus for the first time since the pandemic began. the sudden rise in infections has been caused by the 0micron variant, which is known to be highly tra nsmissable. but there's also some optimism, as preliminary studies published in the uk and south africa suggest 0micron could present with milder symptoms than other variants. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh has this report. another record day for covid cases and for boosterjabs, but as the 0micron wave surges, at last some positive early evidence from three separate studies, all indicating it poses less of a threat than the delta variant. research by imperial college london found around a 40% reduction in the risk of being admitted to hospitalfor a night or more compared to delta. a scottish study suggested there was a 65% lower risk of being hospitalised with 0micron, but it was based on only a few cases. while in south africa, 0micron patients were thought to be around 75% less likely to need hospital treatment. rather than 0micron being intrinsically milder, scientists think this is partly due to the build—up of immunity from previous infections and vaccination. but it is still good news. there are grounds for some very cautious optimism. i put it no stronger than that. if you're unvaccinated, then you run a really big risk because it's so contagious, and they are the people who are tending to fill up the beds, especially in intensive care. but a lot of protection from vaccination. new treatments continue to be rolled out, such as antiviral pills like molnupiravir, which should keep many of the most vulnerable from falling seriously ill once infected. the concern is the huge number of cases, even if mostly milder, could still lead to a dangerous spike in hospital admissions next month. so, the scale of the 0micron threat remains uncertain. fergus walsh, bbc news. still on 0micron and of course the concern remains. even if it is milder, the sheer number of cases could overwhelm hospitals. the variant is spreading rapidly across europe and around the world as tanya dendrinos reports. a silver lining just in time for christmas but while preliminary studies suggest the 0micron variant appears to be milder, it rate of transmission is another story altogether. 0micron is already the dominant strain in a number of countries, including the uk, portugal and denmark and according to the who, that will soon be the case right across europe. soon be the case right across euro e. , ., soon be the case right across euroe. , ., ., , , europe. there is no doubt it is the epicentre _ europe. there is no doubt it is the epicentre of _ europe. there is no doubt it is the epicentre of the _ europe. there is no doubt it is the epicentre of the global- the epicentre of the global pandemic. the top ten countries with a host mortality are in europe and central asia. in europe and central asia. in sain, europe and central asia. in spain, it accounts for almost half of all infections. as a response, the prime minister has announced plans to reintroduce mandatory face covering outdoors. since, there is a hint of optimism. translation: is a hint of optimism. tuna/mom- is a hint of optimism. translation: , , ., . translation: this is not march 2020, this is — translation: this is not march 2020, this is not _ translation: this is not march 2020, this is not last _ 2020, this is not last christmas. fortunately, we're living in another time. 90% of people aged 12 older have been vaccinated. people aged 12 older have been vaccinated-— people aged 12 older have been vaccinated. from sunday indoor activities in _ vaccinated. from sunday indoor activities in belgium _ vaccinated. from sunday indoor activities in belgium will- vaccinated. from sunday indoor activities in belgium will be - activities in belgium will be banned. there will be a 2—person limit set for shopping. the united states, where omicron is also the dominant strain, saw a jump in 25% in cases on the previous week. as festive celebrations dropped closer, the message is one of caution.— one of caution. would it be safer individuals _ one of caution. would it be safer individuals who - one of caution. would it be safer individuals who are l safer individuals who are vaccinated, who were boosted, to get together with the families in the setting of the home? the answer to that is yes but i want to make sure this is not confused with going to a large gathering and there are many of these, parties that have 30—110 people, in which you do not know the vaccination status of individuals. in china, it _ status of individuals. in china, it is _ status of individuals. in china, it is a _ status of individuals. in china, it is a strict zero covid strategy. more than 10 million people in the city of xi'an have been ordered to lock down. it has recorded 143 infections since the ninth of december. the country high alert ahead of the winter games in february. right around the world, it is clear managing the pandemic remains a difficult task. two years on and the balance is still difficult to strike. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. as you heard in tanya's report, china is gearing up for the winter olympic games in beijing in february. it's likely that many countries will still be dealing with the omicron wave at that point. earlier this year, japan hosted the summer games in tokyo, just as the delta variant was sweeping across the world. so how did the japanese government deal with hosting the games at that time? kentaro iwata is a professor and infectious diseases expert at kobe university and hejoins me now. thank you very much for being with us. 13 million people lockdown into this china centre, japan was hosting the tokyo games as delta was sweeping across the world. is this the right approach of what happened injapan? the this the right approach of what happened in japan?— happened in japan? the short answer is _ happened in japan? the short answer is yes _ happened in japan? the short answer is yes but _ happened in japan? the short answer is yes but china - answer is yes but china probably tries to avoid the surge of infections during the olympic games and they would like to prevent that beforehand. japan had a surge of infections during the tokyo olympic games and they did not affect the olympic games per se but introduced a lot of patience in hospitals so apparently china would like to avoid the repetition of this. as you mentioned, even though japanese officials place a state of emergency around tokyo, it still surged so does that not show these kind of lockdowns only work to appoint and when you bring athletes and athletic teams from around the world, you will still see cases rise? it world, you will still see cases rise? , , ., , , , , rise? it is possible. during the olympic _ rise? it is possible. during the olympic games, - rise? it is possible. during the olympic games, the l the olympic games, the so—called bubble, inside the field among the athletes, we did not see a lot of infections so if china did take this a measures, then the olympic games could be held safely but the infections inside the city is another problem so they are trying to prevent it beforehand, unlike what japan saw. ., , beforehand, unlike what japan saw. . , , , , , saw. early studies suggest omicron — saw. early studies suggest omicron can _ saw. early studies suggest omicron can be _ saw. early studies suggest omicron can be less - saw. early studies suggest| omicron can be less severe saw. early studies suggest - omicron can be less severe than delta so does that mean that chinese officials have potentially less to worry than japanese officials did during the summer games?- japanese officials did during the summer games? well, we have to clearly distinguish _ the summer games? well, we have to clearly distinguish between - to clearly distinguish between the risk for individuals and the risk for individuals and the risk for individuals and the risk for the country. omicron is a very, very transmissible than any other variant and so while you are infected as an individual, the risk of getting a severe infection is potentially less but as a planner, the number of total less would increase. you have to be very careful about dealing with omicron in terms of the nationwide discrepancy. china has this zero covid policy, they locked up quickly and rapidly when you cases are detected. is that something in your view that is sustainable long—term? it your view that is sustainable long-term?— your view that is sustainable long-term? it is a very tough question _ long-term? it is a very tough question to — long-term? it is a very tough question to answer. - long-term? it is a very tough question to answer. probablyj question to answer. probably maintaining the very tough lockdown would not be a very wise idea but intermittent lockdown upon introduction of new infections, like china or a nation such as taiwan and new zealand has done, may be a wise idea because if you allow a lot of infections do occur, like the uk and us of sin, then a lot of people would suffer from a lot of infections and so will the public health system. these are life pictures from beijing where officials are talking about pandemic and the olympic games. earlier, the nhl confirmed players will not be taking but because there has already been so much disruption to the leg. we will bring you any important update from the press conference. a well—known statue commemorating the deaths of students protesting in beijing's tiananmen square has been removed from a university campus in hong kong. the removal of the eight metre—high copper statue, created by danish sculptorjens galschiot, was ordered back in october. construction workers are said to have laboured overnight to dismantle the piece, known as the pillar of shame. i'll speak to mr galschiot in a moment, but first here's he bbc�*s danny vincent in hong kong. in october, the university contacted the sculptor to declare that essentially this statue, following legal advice, needed to be removed. after that, they set a deadline for the removal. the deadline passed and it wasn't clear when the statue would be removed but in the early hours of the morning, construction workers started covering up the statue. they put up yellow barriers, surrounding the statue, which is on the university campus of hong kong and then in the early hours of the morning, construction workers came, the statute was removed, it was put into a container and driven away. lets speak to the artist, jens galschiot now. this was ordered by the university back in october that it would be removed and now they have gone ahead and done it under the cover of darkness it under the cover of darkness it would seem. why would they bother its removal in the first place? i bother its removal in the first lace? ~ , bother its removal in the first lace? ~' , ., place? i think they have the riaht in place? i think they have the right in the _ place? i think they have the right in the first _ place? i think they have the right in the first place - place? i think they have the right in the first place to - right in the first place to remove it. but this is not a democratic movements culture, it is mine and i glinted out to permanently exhibit it. so i told that university that this is most sculpture and you cannot take it down and i want to go and pick it up. then they took it down this morning. i have hired a lawyer and photographer and asked them to come to their and take care of the security, to take it out of hong kong and nobody will contact me. i have worked with them for three months and now theyjust them for three months and now they just take them for three months and now theyjust take it down. construction workers and they have probably destroyed it, i think. , ., ., ., think. they have not engaged with ou think. they have not engaged with you at — think. they have not engaged with you at all _ think. they have not engaged with you at all about - think. they have not engaged with you at all about the - think. they have not engaged with you at all about the last | with you at all about the last two months?— with you at all about the last two months? no, i asked and asked and _ two months? no, i asked and asked and asked, _ two months? no, i asked and asked and asked, i _ two months? no, i asked and asked and asked, i have - two months? no, i asked and asked and asked, i have a - asked and asked, i have a lawyer, i wrote letters and this kind of thing and i could not get any contact with them. it is a strange story. universities anomaly a place where freedom of expression and freedom of thought is and that obviously ties up with the art world as well. how does it make you feel dizzy and worked on down from the university campus?— down from the university camus? ,, campus? this is really, really a sad story — campus? this is really, really a sad story and _ campus? this is really, really a sad story and this _ campus? this is really, really a sad story and this is - campus? this is really, really a sad story and this is a - campus? this is really, really a sad story and this is a story| a sad story and this is a story about democracy in hong kong. they have destroyed democracy in hong kong. they have destroyed freedoms and it has not allowed at the university to talk about what happened in tiananmen square in 1989 so maybe it is not really a university animal. this is more a place where china tell their version of the story and it is completely the opposite of what hong kong wants. hong kong is a place forfreedom of expression, it is like place for freedom of expression, it is like the western world, new york and london. they have destroyed hong kong totally, i think. you mention involving _ hong kong totally, i think. you mention involving a _ hong kong totally, i think. you mention involving a lawyer and try to get your work you hopeful your work will come back to denmark and if so what will you do with it? i back to denmark and if so what will you do with it?— will you do with it? i will wait for _ will you do with it? i will wait for that. _ will you do with it? i will wait for that. there - will you do with it? i will wait for that. there are l will you do with it? i will. wait for that. there are two loss systems in hong kong. this is about the national security law, about what you can say about china but it is also a law of rapid property. so i would ask, if they do not give it the sculpture, i will sue them because they have destroyed and artist property. they have kept it for 24 years and now they must give it to me, even into pieces. so i want to take it back to denmark and put it together and make an exhibition. i have a lot of people, taiwan people, people in the front of the congress in the united states, i have people in london and oslo wait for this sculpture to explain the story. there's a lot of people who could take care of this monument if we can get it out of hong kong.— out of hong kong. thank you very much — out of hong kong. thank you very much for— out of hong kong. thank you very much for making - out of hong kong. thank you very much for making the - out of hong kong. thank you i very much for making the time stay with us on bbc news. still to come: celebrations in spain as thousands win a share of the world's richest lottery draw — el gordo or �*the fat one'. the world of music's been paying tribute to george michael, who's died from suspected heart failure at the age of 53. he sold well over 100 million albums in a career spanning more than three decades. the united states' troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. the pentagon said that it's failed in its principle objective to capture noriega and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle| was hastily taken away. in its piece. — the russian flag was hoisted over what is now— no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states. | day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan am's maid of the seas, nosedown in the soft earth. you could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide falls from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass in the town of shkoder, where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: new studies suggest the omicron variant, though highly contagious could be milder, with fewer people needing hospital treatment compared to previous covid variants. a well—known statue commemorating the tiananmen square massacre has been removed from the university of hong kong. the un security council has unanimously approved an american proposal to get humanitarian aid to the 23 million afghans said to be in desperate need of help. the resolution allows aid to flow into afghanistan for one year without violating international sanctions aimed at isolating the taliban, who seized power in august. let's bring in the bbc�*s david willis. david, tell us more about this, because as we said this was proposed by the us? yes because as we said this was proposed by the us?- because as we said this was proposed by the us? yes it was rich and of _ proposed by the us? yes it was rich and of course _ proposed by the us? yes it was rich and of course it _ proposed by the us? yes it was rich and of course it has - proposed by the us? yes it was rich and of course it has been . rich and of course it has been a vexing problem for much of the global community since the taliban returned to power in afghanistan in august. how to help the people of afghanistan without helping the government of afghanistan? and as the months have gone by, the situation there has grown increasingly dire. foreign aid has been cut off, assets have been frozen and of course aid has been crucial to afghanistan in the past, it has formed about 80% of the country's budget, so now this new measure approved by the un security council is aimed at making it easierforforeign banks council is aimed at making it easier for foreign banks to transfer money into afghanistan. many have been shy of doing so for fear of running afoul of international sanctions. it is a tentative move, though, and one that will be reviewed every six months to make sure that funds are not making their way into the pockets of the taliban. b5 making their way into the pockets of the taliban. as we mentioned. _ pockets of the taliban. as we mentioned, the _ pockets of the taliban. as we mentioned, the resolution i mentioned, the resolution allows aid to flow into afg ha n ista n allows aid to flow into afghanistan for one year, you mentioned the six monthly reviews, how quickly start moving?— reviews, how quickly start movina? .,, , ., , moving? the hope is that this can start to — moving? the hope is that this can start to happen _ moving? the hope is that this can start to happen very - can start to happen very quickly indeed because the situation on the ground there is dire. the world health organization for example is warning that by the end of the year, more than 3 million children in afghanistan will be suffering from malnutrition and a million of those will be at risk of dying as the temperatures get increasingly cold there. the united nations for its part is warning that by the middle of next year, 97% of the middle of next year, 97% of the afghan population will be living beneath the poverty line, so these funds very badly needed but those who argue that it will take more than turning back, putting back the foreign aid spigot on again to basically remedy the problems that afghanistan is facing at the moment, when you have albeit a government that is pretty much on the verge of economic collapse with a banking system that is no longer functioning banking system that is no longerfunctioning properly. david willisjoining us longerfunctioning properly. david willis joining us from la, thanks very much, good to see you. a jury in the trial of the british socialite ghislaine maxwell, has decided to reconvene after christmas, after failing to reach a verdict on wednesday. ms maxwell, a close associate ofjeffrey epstein, denies eight counts of sex trafficking and other crimes. our correspondent, barbara plett—usher, has been following the trial in new york. the jury deliberated for two full days, but it wasn't able to reach a verdict before christmas. and the court has now recessed for the holiday weekend. the jurors are considering six counts against ghislaine maxwell of grooming and transporting girls for sex. and the case is narrowly focused on the accusations of four women who say that she facilitated or participated injeffrey epstein's abuse of her. the jurors have several times asked the judge to send them transcript of testimony or to clarify certain issues. they will come back on monday to continue deliberating some or none of the charges. in the meantime, ms maxwell will be spending christmas at the federal detention centre in brooklyn, where she's been for more than a year, with this decision still hanging over her. let's get some of the day's other news. nigeria has destroyed more than a million doses of coronavirus vaccines, which it said had been donated just before their expiry date leaving no time for them to be distributed. a bulldozer crushed cardboard boxes of the astrazeneca shots in front of reporters and health officials. less than 3% of the adult population in nigeria is fully vaccinated. brigitte macron, the wife of the french president, is to sue over false claims circulating on the internet that she is transgender and was born male. the false report first appeared on a far—right website and has since been circulated by conspiracy theorists. brigitte macron has been married to emmanuel macron since 2007. she has three adult children from a previous marriage. the european commission has launched legal action against poland, saying it has serious doubts about the independence and impartiality of its constitutional tribunal. it's the latest episode in the long—running dispute about the polish government's sweeping changes to thejudiciary. poland now has two months to respond to the charges. poland accuses brussels of ovestepping its powers. thousands of people have been celebrating in spain after winning a share of the prize pot in the world's richest lottery. el gordo, or "the fat one" hands out prizes from a total fund equivalent to more than $2.7 billion. but instead of having a single multimillionaire winner, there are thousands of winners every year. sergi forcada reports. it's the event that kicks off the christmas season in spain. a tradition going back more than 200 years which is now considered the biggest lottery draw in the world. the winning numbers are revealed in song by schoolchildren. these were the lucky five digits this year. the top prize, el gordo which means "the fat one". the rules allow for the same number to be sold multiple times, so the prize fund gets split between several winners across the country. this year, the top prize landed in madrid and the canary islands. those who had a ticket like this one will get 400,000 euros and there were thousands of smaller prizes. translation: mi; thousands of smaller prizes. translation:— thousands of smaller prizes. translation: my wife did not believe it- _ translation: my wife did not believe it. she _ translation: my wife did not believe it. she turned - translation: my wife did not believe it. she turned the - translation: my wife did not believe it. she turned the tv i believe it. she turned the tv on and began to scream. she looked for the ticket and checked that the number was correct. we are not used to winning. correct. we are not used to winning-— correct. we are not used to winnina. ., ., , winning. there was 'oy amongst winners nah winning. there was 'oy amongst winners and also _ winning. there was joy amongst winners and also lottery - winning. there was joy amongst winners and also lottery shop i winners and also lottery shop owners who sold the lucky ticket. translation: you never ex - ect ticket. translation: you never exoect this- _ ticket. translation: you never expect this. you _ ticket. translation: you never expect this. you always - ticket. translation: you never expect this. you always have - expect this. you always have the idea of selling the first prize. it seems like sometimes it happens. translation: i it happens. translation: �* it happens. translation: , translation: i can't believe it, i'm shaking _ translation: i can't believe it, i'm shaking right - translation: i can't believe it, i'm shaking right now! - translation: | can't believej it, i'm shaking right now! the run-up to _ it, i'm shaking right now! the run-up to the _ it, i'm shaking right now! the run-up to the see _ it, i'm shaking right now! the run-up to the see a's - it, i'm shaking right now! he run—up to the see a's draw it, i'm shaking right now! tie: run—up to the see a's draw was less cheery than usual, with lottery ticket sellers protesting that their commission hasn't increased in 17 years. a penguin colony in a chicago aquarium has beenjoined by fourjuveniles, who made rather a noisy entrance. the shedd aquarium welcomed the magellanic penguins, which usually breed in coastal patagonia, including in argentina and chile. the newcomers have been named rosie, loma and stewart. the fourth, another male bird who is the most vocal of the group, has yet to be named. and we will leave you there. thanks for watching, goodbye for now. hello again. well, it's been another chilly day wednesday, but the trend is as we go into thursday the weather is turning increasingly mild. however, over recent hours, we have seen some freezing rain in scotland. that's liquid rain that can freeze on impact. you can imagine the roads and the pavements becoming very icy in some of the deeper scottish valleys for a time. but this time yesterday, it was very cold. temperatures were down to about —10 into parts of aberdeenshire. quite a contrast with what we've got at the moment, but aside from some of those valleys, the temperatures are stilljust about below freezing. for the most part as we head into thursday, it's actually getting milder. and across western areas — 12 degrees in plymouth, 11 in belfast , it is going to be a mild start to the day for these areas on thursday. now, thursday, there will be a lot of cloud around. we've got weather fronts bringing rain. the heaviest rain moves quickly across from northern ireland into northern england and scotland as well. further southwards, cloud, a few spots of rain, no great amounts, though. some brighter weather for wales and the south west later on, but look at the temperatures. northern ireland, most of england and wales seeing temperatures into double figures and reaching highs of 13. but still relatively cool across the far north of england and across much of scotland. now through thursday night, our weather front stops moving northwards, and itjust weakens really in situ over scotland. so, there will be a lot of cloud here, still bits and pieces of light rain, some drizzle, some mist and fog patches over the hills as well. and heading into christmas eve, there's probably also going to be some mist and fog across parts of england and wales, so we could have poor visibility for a time. through christmas eve, then, we've got another band of rain that's going to be moving into northern ireland, across wales and south west england. it does become a little bit drier for northernmost areas of scotland, but we've got some showers around and they're likely to be wintry showers into shetland. now, for christmas day itself, we've still got this temperature contrast that we've been talking about for a number of days. now, it looks like it's going to be sunny and cold across northern scotland, but i suspect there'll be some wintry showers affecting eastern areas. so, that is a mixture of rain, some sleet and some snow. it's mild across the south west. you're just going to get rain and temperatures into double figures, but in between, there's a small chance that we could see a few flurries over the high ground of northern england and perhaps the southern uplands of scotland. but that's more of a perhaps. beyond that, into boxing day, many of us will keep the mild weather conditions, but still relatively cool air loitering in scotland. that's your weather. this is bbc news. the headlines: preliminary results from three scientific studies suggest that the omicron variant may be milder than first feared with patients running less risk of needing hospital treatment. but as the uk records over 100,000 new cases for the first time, there are warnings that the sheer number of infections could still overwhelm health services. a well—known statue commemorating the deaths of students protesting in beijing's tiananmen square has been removed from the university of hong kong. the work known as the pillar of shame was created by danish sculptorjens galschiot, who's likened its removal to the destruction of gravestones. thousands of people have been celebrating in spain after winning a share of the world's richest lottery, el gordo, or 'the fat one'. the christmas draw hands out prizes from a total fund equivalent to more than $2.7 billion. now on bbc news, as demand and prices soarfor dogs,