thank you forjoining us on bbc news. the uk has again recorded its highest number of daily coronavirus cases since the pandemic began — more than 120,000. it's the third day in a row that cases have topped 100,000 — with 122,186 cases recorded today. london is the epicentre of the surge, and new figures suggest that one in 20 people in the city now have the virus, either the omicron or delta variants. the data comes from the office for national statistics, which tests people from tens of thousands of households, picking up those who don't have symptoms. its latest survey points to a faster spread around the uk. well, we are seeing a really quick increase in prevalence right across the country and across all ages, significantly for the very first time, all of the numbers are at the moment very, very small in the over 70s. this chart shows how rapidly infections in the uk were rising as measured by the 0ns at the end of last week and into the weekend — to more than 1.7 million people with the virus. there were differences around the uk, though, and england, it was one in 35 people, in northern ireland one in a0 in wales, one in a5. while in scotland, it was one in 65 people with the virus. 0micron cases are rising rapidly, but it's less likely than delta to put people in hospital according to new research, and officials say that's reassuring. there is a glimmer of christmas hope in the findings that we published yesterday, but it definitely isn't yet at the point where we could downgrade that serious threat. i think the findings have showed on some very, very preliminary analysis and very small numbers, which i want to reinforce, that individuals compared to delta are around 30—a5% less likely to attend a&e. but it's finally balanced, if there are a lot more omicron ——but it's finely balanced, if there are a lot more omicron cases that will still make some people ill enough for hospital treatment as well as increasing staff sickness, adding to the already considerable pressure on the nhs. there is the increase in absence rates, the cueing at hospital, the hearing our control staff call out for any ambulances that are available, and there just aren't any left, that is taking its toll on front line staff. while ministers work out what further steps to take them efforts are being made to get the booster programme into the heart of the local communities here in an asian restaurant in bradford. we are creating access where our communities are, so a resturant is the best place for the time of year to come and bring the vaccines to make it as easy and as accessible as we can. boosters will be available on christmas day and boxing day in england, though not in the rest of the uk. and in basingstoke today, there was no shortage of takers for a christmas eve jab. it's an interesting one, but i want to get it done because i want to see family. it'sjust easy peasy, it's around the corner. it's good, yeah, it made sense to do it, so i did it for the community and everybody else. but as people enjoy christmas attractions, the prospects for new year and beyond remain highly uncertain. hugh pym, bbc news. the uk government is relaxing immigration rules so that social care workers from abroad can help to alleviate staff shortages in britain. the temporary measures are expected to take effect in the new year and will be in place for at least 12 months. care providers are experiencing high vacancy rates and turnover, and pressure on staffing is being made worse by the recent spread of 0micron. of course the uk isn't the only country where omicron is spreading fast. on thursday, france reported a new record high in the number of daily infections. and in spain, where the wearing of facemasks outdoors is compulsory again, the 73,000 cases recorded on thursday represented the third consecutive high in as many days. so a curfew will be in force from tonight in catalonia in northeastern spain, where residents are banned from leaving their homes between one o'clock and six in the morning. dr quique bassat is a research professor at the barcelona institute for global health, with more on what the situation is like there. we are very concerned about the situation. we are witnessing an unprecedented increase in the number of cases, with 25,000 more cases today than we had two days ago, with more than 100 points in the incidence increased between two days ago and today. with increasing pressure to the health system, we are getting warnings from the emergency departments, the intensive care units, that we are seeing many more cases being admitted. even if this new variant is predominantly less severe, because we also have a predominately very well vaccinated population, with over 80% of the population having received two or more shots, we are seeing lots of pressure to the health system and lots of cases that require hospitalisation. what is happening is that this huge increase in the number of cases, even though the new cases may be less severe, it is having a toll in the cases that end up being severe. we do recognise that the vaccine is protecting against severe disease, but because of the enormous amount of new infection that we are seeing, there is a small proportion of those infections that do require hospitalisation. so it is important that the population understands that even though we are safer with the vaccines, we are not completely safe and we are not completely protected against hospitalisation. coronavirus has thwarted many christmas plans this year, and it's continuing to wreak havoc on international travel. more than 2,000 flights around the world have been cancelled today due to staff shortages. 0n the first christmas in two years that australians could travel between states over the holidays, more than 100 domestic flights from sydney and melbourne to other cities were cancelled, as were hundreds of us flights, with united airlines saying that 0micron cases had had a "direct impact on theirflight crews and the people who run their operation." passengers flying with the airlines delta and lufthansa have also been affected. at boston's international airport, people expressed mixed feelings about boarding their flights. well, i'm glad to be back with people doing what we do, come it kinda feels good. i mean, i'm still worried about the variants, omicron and all of that, but at the same time, i'm just like, you know what, let's get back to living our lives a little bit. i'm very scared to be flying, to be honest. i'm glad to see everyone looks pretty masked up, ijust hope people on the plane are respectful of those around them. 0ur north america correspondent nomia iqbal has been giving us the latest from the us. well, airliners are trying their best to inform passengers of what's happened. delta and united, the main airliners, said that they did send text messages and they're trying to help passengers who are stranded. but 0micron has really taken hold in this country — so it's three weeks ago when it was first detected, and now it counts for more than 70% of new coronavirus cases, as well. and so, there was a warning to americans by dr anthony fauci, america's top infectious disease expert, that this very into it spread very quickly. it is transmissible, we know that and we are now seeing that, and it's had a huge impact on travel. and i think many americans, like people across the world, were hoping that christmas 2021 would not be the same as christmas 2020. millions had plans to travel not just by plane, but also by car — and that's now been all upended because of this variant. and, as you heard that, some people are trying to be cautious about it, and there are lots of restrictions now back in place — but it does look like this christmas will be a repeat of last christmas. absolutely, nomia, disappointing for many people who thought, "well, we got past the disruption caused by restrictions and travel bans, now we are allowed to travel again, but then we have got this spanner in the works." do we have a sense of how much longer this disruption will continue, and when people can feel that it is safe to travel without being at risk of their travel plans being upended? it's really one of those situations which is hard to really guess at. because many people thought, "well, 0k, we got vaccinated, we've got our second vaccination, we are now being boosted, so we're masking up and doing everything that we're being told to do." so i think people thought — and certainly when i chat to people here in dc, which has now returned to its mask mandates, they thought that everything would be ok. but this 0micron variant did people bash take people by surprise, as i mentioned, dr fauci warned that it would be highly transmissible — and he warned that it is going to be a rocky few months. president biden is still confident that america will come through this. he is still imploring people to get vaccinated — bear in mind that there are still many people in this country who do not want to be vaccinated, let alone get a booster shot. they don't even necessarily, you know, stick to the restrictions. you go to different states in america, everyone seems to have their own rules. but there is a warning that this was going to happen. and so, as i say, it's really disappointing for americans and people across the world that christmas and new years plans which have not been scuppered. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. 11 people are now known to have died when a boat carrying migrants sank off a greek island, in the early hours of friday morning. another 90 people have been rescued from the island of antik—ithera — a search and rescue operation is still ongoing. two leading american tech firms — meta, which was formerly known as facebook — and google, have received huge fines by a court in moscow for repeatedly failing to delete content russia deems illegal. google was fined $98 million dollars, meta — $27 million. meta has yet to respond, while google says it will study the ruling before deciding on any future action. ecuador has begun its programme of compulsory vaccination against covid. everyone over the age of five has to be jabbed, unless they can provide a medical reason. people wanting to go to restaurants, shopping malls or other indoor public places will have to show proof of vaccination. at least 39 people have been killed after a packed ferry caught fire in southern bangladesh. the ferry had sailed from the capital, dhaka, and was bound for the southern town of barguna, with hundreds of passengers on board. at the time of the fire, the ferry was near the town othalakati. the bbc�*s akbar hossein reports from dhaka. the fire is believed to have started in the engine room at around three o'clock in the morning, when most of the passengers were sleeping. it spread quickly as the ferry travelled along the sugandha river in the early hours of friday. the fire went on for hours before it was doused. as many as 500 people were reportedly on board. some of the victims drowned afterjumping into the water. translation: my father, | myself, my six-month-old nephew and my sister were travelling together. when the fire broke out, i gave the baby to a man, he was trying to save the baby, but now we can't find them. please, let us know if you learn their whereabouts. i was on the first floor of the ferry. suddenly, the rear side caught fire. the engine had problems earlier. the ferry's windows had curtains, and these curtains trapped the smoke, which killed most of the people. ferry accidents are not uncommon in bangladesh, with mishaps blamed on poor maintenance, lax safety standards and overcrowding. the accident was the latest in a string of similar incidents in the delta country — hundreds have drowned in the country's rivers in the past ten years — but the fire that engulfed this ferry adds a new layer of horror to the story. akbar hossein, bbc news, dhaka. the authorities in russia have reported another successful test of the country's hyper—sonic missile weapon system, known as zircon. president vladimir putin announced the news at a government meeting on friday. it's said to be the first time that a salvo of several missiles was launched simultaneously. he described it as a considerable step in strengthening russia's security and improving its defence capability. let's turn now to the former soviet republic of georgia — where far—right groups have started to emerge as a powerful force. earlier this year, a gay rights march was attacked — leaving several people badly injured — but no—one has faced prosecution. and symbols left by those groups still stand outside government buildings. 0ur correspondent rayhan demytrie sent this report from the capital, tbilisi. 0njuly the 5th, georgia's far right groups attacked the offices of pride, they were here to stop the lgbt activists from holding their march. it was described as one of the darkest days for georgian democracy. that was the most scary day, and i knew that if they would catch me, they would kill me, definitely. what happened on the 5th ofjuly was against humanity, against our citizens interests, against democratic values. activists managed to escape while the angry mob turned on journalists. 53 were attacked, including a cameraman, who later died. the authorities blamed and alleged drug addiction. this is the leader of the far—right group alt—info inciting violence days before the gay pride. they now have their own tv channel and political party. can i simply ask you one question? do you justify violence? it depends what you call violence. beatings? there are situations when you protect something, which is not only your words but with force. alt—info supporters say they were defending orthodox christian values. by putting up a cross outside parliament. then in protest against liberal values... ..they tore down the eu flag. this cross is a lasting reminder of whose values are respected here. the georgian government says it wants closer ties with the eu, but its western partners have criticised it over the events injuly and most recently for the mistreatment of the country's former president. dragged by prison guards, the ex—president stands accused of corruption and abuse of power. he spoke of his degrading treatment at a recent court hearing, and in a letter to the bbc, he called his trial a case political revenge. we asked the georgian government for an interview but no one was available. so far, nobody has been charged with organising the july violence. its victims are still waiting for justice. to the vatican now, where the pope has been holding the traditional catholic christmas eve mass. the head of the catholic church urged vatican cardinals, bishops and bureaucrats to embrace humility this christmas season, saying their pride, self—interest and what he called the "glitter of our armor" was perverting their spiritual lives and corrupting the church's mission. here's a taste of events at taking place there. they sing. the queen is expected to give a very personal christmas message tomorrow — her first since the death of her husband, prince philip. she'll speak beside a framed photograph of the couple taken during their diamond wedding anniversary in 2007 — and she'll wear the same sapphire brooch that she wore on her honeymoon. there are some flashing images in this report from our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. rehearsing at windsor for their part in the queen's christmas broadcast, the central band of the royal british legion will play the national anthem which begins the broadcast. this year's christmas message — a still from which has been issued by buckingham palace — will be an unusually personal one. the queen is wearing a brooch which she wore on her honeymoon, and on the desk beside her, a photograph of her and prince philip taken in 2007, when they celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary. it's eight months now since philip's death. so far, the queen has not spoken publicly in any detail about how much he meant to her. her broadcast will be an opportunity for her to do so. within the royal family, mindful that this will be the queen's first christmas without her husband, arrangements have been adjusted so that she won't be alone. the prince of wales on the duchess of cornwall will be with her at windsor, other members of the family, the wessexes and the gloucesters will also be there. absent, of course will be the duke and duchess of sussex. from their home in california, they've issued this photograph wishing their supporters happy holidays. it shows harry and meghan with their son, archie, and their daughter, lilibet, pictured for the first time. and so, at the end of a year touched by personal sadness, and some family tensions, thoughts will start to look ahead to next year and the celebrations to mark the queen's 70 years on the throne. uppermost in the minds of the palace planners, of course, will be the question of the queen's health. it's always a sensitive matter. it has particular significance after the recent concerns, and given that next year is the year of her platinum jubilee. the queen will certainly want to be involved in thejubilee as fully as possible, and there will be another event of special significance to her — a service of thanksgiving for the life of the duke of edinburgh, which, it has been announced, will take place at westminster abbey in the spring. nicholas witchell, bbc news. christmas eve celebrations have been taking place in bethlehem, including an annual procession led by the head of the roman catholic church in the region. the events will culminate in a mass starting injust under an hour at the church of the nativity, built on the spot where it's believed jesus was born. 0ur middle east correspondent tom bateman reports. in manger square, they wait for the biggest night of the year — a christmas procession follows the route believed to have been taken by mary and joseph. it's a march of faith. but this season's greetings are mainly between the locals. the scout bands are a fixture of christmas in manger square and you can feel the energy. but what is missing are the international visitors and pilgrims that would usually be thronging the square here, and that is a devastating blow for the second year running because bethlehem needs tourism to keep surviving. the glimmers of tourism restarting last month have gone derailed by border closures due to the new covid variant. people trying to find joy and happiness from nothing. so it's very interesting, very impressive. since the beginning of 2020, everything is closed, hotels are empty. it's very, very difficult - for people, especially those who are working in tourism sector. they are selling somej of the land to houses. the characters of christmas come to life. in this factory, ibrahim is the only worker here today. normally, he'd be joined by four more. for palestinian christians in this part of the west bank, life has been a challenge, says nabeel, whose family has run the shop for decades. we could keep our workers till the moment, but i don't know. you know, it's hard. i have two shops, one is here, the one on the manger square. it's been like 2a months, zero income. it's sad, it's not normal to see bethlehem this way. but at christmas, there's always light to look up to. as this town celebrates, it remains a year of hope against the odds. tom bateman, bbc news, bethlehem. the final preparations are under way for the rescheduled launch of a space telescope that could transform our understanding of the universe. the rocket carrying the james webb space telescope will take off from french guiana on christmas day. 0ur science editor — rebecca morelle — reports. it's taken 30 years to develop, cost more than $10 billion and has involved thousands of scientists. now the james webb space telescope is finally ready to launch to begin the most ambitious astronomy mission ever attempted. this telescope is absolutely the biggest and most complex and most powerful telescope that we've ever attempted to send to space. all of us astronomers are extremely eager to get this telescope into space. but i think it's going to work and i think it's going to, again, just completely revolutionise how we understand the cosmos. the telescope is a successor to hubble, which has given us amazing images. butjames webb is much more powerful. its mirror is almost three times bigger, which means it can reveal parts of the cosmos we've never seen before. gazing up into the heavens can help us to answer some of the biggest questions like where we come from and how did we get here? this space telescope will help us to look further back in time than ever before to 13 and a half billion years ago, revealing the light from the very first stars to shine. we'll be able to see the earliest galaxy formation and whether they spiral into space like our own milky way, —— for it to unfurl in space, more than 100 release mechanisms need to fire at exactly the right time in the right order. this is high stakes science, but if it works, it could lead to discoveries that scientists haven't even dreamt of. rebecca morrell, bbc news. a caller has pranked us presidentjoe biden by dropping an anti—biden taunt into their chat during a white house christmas event. mr biden and first ladyjill biden were hosting the festive call for families when a father told the president, "let's go, brandon." apparently unaware of the gibe, mr biden said he agreed. the term, which has become a rallying cry for many conservatives, is code for a profane insult directed at mr biden. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @luxmy—g thank you for watching bbc news. hello there. i'm 0lly foster with the latest from the bbc sport centre. another boxing day game is off in the premier league. everton�*s squad is depleted because of a covid outbreak and a number of injuries. they were due to travel to burnley on sunday, but that's now been postponed. it's the third premier league fixture to go on boxing day. 20 matches across the football league are also off. the tottenham hotspur boss antonio conte says yesterday's premier league meeting with the managers and captains of all 20 clubs achieved nothing and was like talking to a brick wall. the virtual meeting was called with concerns about player welfare, farfrom impressed. some coaches are trying to speak and to ask about a solution, but... ..i think that everything was decided and i think yesterday, it was a wall. a waste of time? i think so. the england cricket captainjoe root has vowed to lead by example in the boxing day test in melbourne as they try and keep themselves alive in the ashes series. he was very critical of his players after heavy defeats in the first two tests against australia and they now need to win all three remaining matches if they're to regain the urn. that's never been done before. nesta mcgregor reports. we all know it is the season for giving, but so far england have been overly generous... ..from giving up easy wickets to missed catches and ultimately missed opportunities. australia win the test match! they go up 2—0 in the ashes. the scary news of england, the last time they were of 2—0 down and won an ashes test was... actually, it's never been done. so a chance forjoe root�*s side to create history and restore pride. we all know what we need to do, and that art of trying to take ten wickets, it's trying to build pressure, understand how you're going to be able to create pressure through keeping the scoreboard quiet, but also being brave enough to hit the lengths that will take you wickets and create chances. the iconic mcg in melbourne is the venue for the third test. england, who have struggled to score runs, are expected to make changes, zak crawley and jonny bairstow replacing rory burns and ollie pope. fast bowler mark wood, who missed the second test, should also feature. australia who have embarrassed the visitors so far, say they're expecting a much improved england side but know the odds of retaining the urn are in their favour. we know how good they are, obviously a world—class team with world—class players, so, yeah, we've played really well the last couple of matches, but we'll be sure they'll bounce back really hard. so the stage is set for a famous boxing day fixture, post—christmas turkey, england hoping they don't get stuffed. nesta mcgregor, bbc news. some rugby union news. billy and mako vunipola have signed new deals to stay at saracens. that means they're still available for england selection as well. the brothers were both being linked to a move to clubs in france. a move abroad would have ended their international careers, with england's policy not to select anyone playing in foreign leagues. 2022 could be very lucrative for golfers on the ladies european tour. a record prize fund will be on offer of over £20 million. they've released their schedule with the greatest number of tournaments in its ali—year history. 31 of them across 21 countries will be played. there'll be two new events in asia and south africa and eight tournaments return to the calendar. the tour starts in mid—february. and that's all for now from the bbc sport centre. this is bbc news. your headlines: new records for covid in the uk — the highest number of daily cases since the pandemic began and an estimated 1.7 million people are reported to have had the virus on a single day last week. millions around the world face travel disruption over christmas, as the surge in 0micron variant cases sees flights cancelled due to staff shortages. united airlines says it's contacting impacted passengers ahead of them coming to the airport. at least 39 people have been killed after a packed ferry caught fire in southern bangladesh. the number of casualties is likely to increase as many of the passengers have severe burns.