hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk, on pbs in the us or around the world. the uk government says it will keep �*under very close review�* its decision not to bring in further coronavirus restrictions in england as infections rise to a level not seen before during the pandemic. there are restrictions on socialising in the other nations that form the uk — wales, scotland and northern ireland. the latest data shows that there have again been record numbers of cases across the uk. elsewhere in europe, france has also seen record highs in its cases, and the country has announced tighter restrictions to try and get the spike in numbers, caused by the omicron variant under control. and there have been demonstrations in eastern germany against new restrictions. first, let's get more on the situation here in the uk from our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. a vaccination centre in lambeth in london, among the boroughs worst affected by omicron in the uk. staff here say there's no shortage of demand for the jabs. i'm a schoolteacher. i've got to go back. there are zero mitigation in class. and i don't want to get sick, you know? i'm 57 years old, so i'm quite frightened of that and i don't want to pass it on to my loved ones. it's really important because i'm a recently retired senior head of education at university college, so i preach it to my staff, so i have to jolly well do it as well. unlike the rest of the uk, which has increased restrictions, the government in england is relying on vaccinations to get the country through the latest wave of covid. we do watch very carefully- all of the data, and we have had some good news that it does seem to be a bit milder— in terms of severity. to be a bit milder. but we do watch the _ hospitalisations, and we do watch the number of people in hospitals all the time _ the data the government in england are monitoring in particular are for hospitalisations, which are increasing, but are still far from the peaks of previous waves. and in london, which has been worst hit by omicron, the number of patients in icu beds at hospitals like this and others are still well below worrying thresholds. and some scientists say that the spread of the virus in england seems to be slowing. cases are still rising. i think suggestions a few days ago that we might�*ve actually started to peak, i think, was probably not borne out yesterday, but on the other hand, cases aren't increasing as rapidly as they were a week or so ago. i think we can be fairly certain that they're not doubling every couple of days now. but the virus in wales is now growing exponentially, mirroring what happened over the last few weeks in england. our rates were quite stable, around the 500 per 100,000 mark, until a week or days ago. it's now heading towards the 1000 per 100,000 mark. this data that we published today isjust before christmas, so we still have to watch and see what the christmas mixing and the new year mixing is going to produce. back in england, the decision not to add further restrictions has been described as a lifeline for pubs, bars and clubs by the hospitality sector. it also says allowing people to go out on new year's eve signals better times ahead. it's not just about - new year's eve for us. i mean, it's bigger than that. it's the start of a recovery, - and we believe that we've created safe environments for people to come out and socialise _ and we think it's the best i scenario given the fact that if we'd have closed, - we potentially would've seen more house parties and illegal events, - which would have been counter—productive. i but there are concerns about the wider impact of omicron on the nhs. hospital leaders say while many people are coming into hospital with covid but not because of covid, staff are also getting infected. it's very clear that as soon as you get omicron circulating significantly amongst the community, of course it will be circulating amongst nhs staff. we are now having to redeploy staff to fill the gaps that are being left in critical and essential services by staff who are off with covid—related absences. along with vaccinations, the government in england is urging people to remain cautious and, if possible, to celebrate outside on new year's eve. it will assess whether more restrictions are injanuary. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. the latest uk government covid data now. some of the figures are still being affected by delays over christmas, and some data has not yet been published, but it still shows record numbers of cases. there were 129,101 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period in england and wales. the scotland government have published their data separately, but they also show record levels. there were 9,360 new cases recorded in the latest 24—hour period. and across the uk, the most recent figure we have for the number of people in hospital with covid stands at 8,240 — that's as of the 22nd of december. let's get the thoughts on all of that of matthew taylor, chief executive of nhs confederation, the membership organisation for the whole health care system in england, wales and northern ireland. we need to be cautious about the data. we know, for example, the infection rate massively underestimates what's actually going on in the communities. that's reallyjust the rate of people who've had a test and reported that test result. sadly, i think the death figure also reflects the fact that we've been in this christmas period. what we do know is the hospitalisation rate is going up. now, it seems to be that the people with covid in hospitals may not be suffering on the level of acuity that we've seen in the past, less need to use intensive care. but do remember that if you have covid in hospital, you still are subject to infection controls, so that's still a demand on health service leaders, on doctors and nurses, to make sure that those patients are not infecting other people. with me is our uk political correspondentjonathan blake. jonathan, the government seems to come off with responsibility for england only, seems to have a steady as she goes approach and feels that things are broadly speaking under control. ., ., ., , , control. you to get that sense. i think there _ control. you to get that sense. i think there is _ control. you to get that sense. i think there is a _ confidence in downing street that they can ride this out, and hopefully, get through the worst of the peak of cases from the omicron variant. without the need to impose any more restrictions than they already have. i think it's a cautious confidence and they say they're keeping an eye on the data and won't hesitate to act if they need to, but it is in stark contrast to the other governments around the uk, who are undoubtedly taking, i think, a more cautious approach. they are acting in advance. they hope, a verizon hospital cases, to head off the worst of it —— a rise in her. in england, the government is holding out against new measures. that will be modified to keep the economy going, to keep schools open and to also protect public health as best they can with what has been put in place. but there is also political reality at play, too, and thatis political reality at play, too, and that is the prime minister is under intense pressure from his own party to not go any further and impose further restrictions because people are ideologically opposed to them. they simply don't buy they're necessary given that the high number of cases, but at the moment, the early data suggesting also that omicron is perhaps less severe than other variants of the virus. they say it's of indication for their argument that more restrictions is not the way to go, but it's a precarious position.- not the way to go, but it's a precarious position. thank you very much. france has reported a record high number of new confirmed coronavirus cases on tuesday. nearly 180,000 new cases have been reported in the last 24—hour period — the highest since the pandemic began. it comes as the french government has announced tighter restrictions amid concerns over the omicron variant. from the 3rd of january, remote working will become compulsory for those who can, and public gatherings will be limited to 2,000 people for indoor events. and there have been demonstrations in eastern germany against new coronavirus restrictions. they include a limit on private gatherings to ten vaccinated people and the closure of night clubs. students of all ages will have to wear masks in school, and sports competitions will be held behind closed doors. unvaccinated people are already banned from much of public life and only two people are allowed to meet in private. us health authorities have halved the recommended isolation period for people who test positive for covid but don't exhibit symptoms. they've previously warned of a half a million cases a day in the coming weeks as the omicron variant takes hold. that isolation time goes from ten to five days. officials insist this is being guided by the science. so, why is this step being taken now? we put that question to david edwards, an aerosol scientist and a harvard university professor and bioengineer. i think i understand the logic. it's important for people to understand that the omicron variant, like previous variants, infects us initially in the upper airways. there's nothing about vaccination that prevents that from happening. what's clearly true, as time goes on and more of the population has been infected or has been vaccinated, is that our immune resistance against infection and against severity of symptoms is going up. one of the things that the authorities are clearly reacting to is the fact that while hospitalisation rates are going up relatively slowly relative to case rates, case rates are climbing at a very high rate. and so, there's both a pressure to react, but also an awareness that very likely our immune systems are coming to our defence. it is true that we have increasing numbers of both drugs and vaccines to defend ourselves, but i think the immune system is the primary defence that we have right now and that's arguing for a relaxation of the regulations by the american authorities. i would also point out that the... ..the risks that we're facing right now are being both measured in terms of hospitalisation, but also economic and other collateral damages. and i think that the government of the united states and other countries right now are trying to balance a holistic strategy here, and in my view, what the americans are doing is probably the right thing to be doing right now. let's get some of the day's other news. turkish authorities have detained 16 people on suspicion of operating a religious book store linked to islamic state. there were clashes with police as they tried to shut the store down. it was accused of operating without a licence. an investigation is under way after a private jet crashed in a residential area near san diego in california. officials say no—one on board survived, although they haven't confirmed how many people died, or their identities. at least one home was damaged, and several others lost their power supplies. a huge operation is under way on the island of la palma, in spain's canary islands, to remove the lava which flowed from a volcanic eruption. activity at the cumbre vieja volcano has now stopped — as you can see, just in time for some of these buildings in la laguna cross. the supreme court in russia has banned one of the country's best known and oldest human rights organisations, memorial. it was charged of violating a law requiring groups to register as foreign agents. it comes at the end of a year in which the kremlin has cracked down vigorously on its critics. joining me now is drjenny mathers, a senior lecturer in the department of international politics at aberystwyth university and an expert on russian politics and foreign policy. thank you very much for being with us. why now, do you think? weill. thank you very much for being with us. why now, do you think?- us. why now, do you think? well, i think we've — us. why now, do you think? well, i think we've been _ us. why now, do you think? well, i think we've been seeing _ us. why now, do you think? well, i think we've been seeing ever- us. why now, do you think? well, i think we've been seeing ever since| think we've been seeing ever since putin returned to the presidency, we've been seeing a real study increase the pressure on rights organisations and civil society and independent media. really on any entities that can hold the state to account and make its actions more transparent, and this isjust account and make its actions more transparent, and this is just the most recent and egregious of those steps. most recent and egregious of those ste s. ., ., , most recent and egregious of those ste s. ., . , , ., , ., steps. the foreign agents provision, and it's not — steps. the foreign agents provision, and it's not unique _ steps. the foreign agents provision, and it's not unique to _ steps. the foreign agents provision, and it's not unique to russia, - and it's not unique to russia, presumably, it's quite effective as black propaganda. we presumably, it's quite effective as black propaganda.— black propaganda. we worked on several levels. _ black propaganda. we worked on several levels. at _ black propaganda. we worked on several levels. at one _ black propaganda. we worked on several levels. at one level, - black propaganda. we worked on several levels. at one level, it'sl several levels. at one level, it's very effective at labelling an organisation as somehow connected to foreign money, for organisations, foreign money, for organisations, foreign ideas and essentially not russian. but it also works in a monday level, —— mundane. in terms of the forms they have to fill in, the financial situation and so on. even a very small administrative error can land them in court with the kind ofjudgment like we've seen. the kind of 'udgment like we've seen. ~ . h the kind of 'udgment like we've seen. ~ ., ,., seen. what's in memorial's history? wh has it seen. what's in memorial's history? why has it been _ seen. what's in memorial's history? why has it been so _ seen. what's in memorial's history? why has it been so important - seen. what's in memorial's history? why has it been so important in - why has it been so important in russia? ~ ., ., russia? memorial was really the first of the _ russia? memorial was really the first of the independence - russia? memorial was really the first of the independence of - russia? memorial was really the first of the independence of the | first of the independence of the society organisations that was created during the gorbachev period. it was founded back in 1987 by a number of dissidents, including a very well—known physicists and campaigner for human very well—known physicists and campaignerfor human rights. and it has worked very steadily throughout that period, not only to uncover the declines of the past, particularly the stalling period, but also to document contemporary human rights abuses —— stalin. this is one reason it's been targeted so strongly. i it's been targeted so strongly. i think there's a case of a historian being prosecuted on child alleged abuse charges. he has been very active in assessing what was done to people during the stalin era. why does that matter to president putin? he had nothing to do with it. stalin has been dead for 70 years. what is it about that that causes the states of problems?— of problems? putin has really tight a lot of huge _ of problems? putin has really tight a lot of huge reputation _ of problems? putin has really tight a lot of huge reputation to - a lot of huge reputation to reconstructing the glories of the soviet past. the stalin era was a very good start of that. it includes making the country a great economic power. this sort of legacy is very important for putin, and he personally pushes it very hard. it was part of the constitution last summer about not challenging the state's view of history. so, he has made it a very personal campaign. jenny mathers at the department of international politics at aberystwyth university, thank you so much. young doctors at public hospitals in india have threatened to shut down medical services, accusing the police of excessive force during protests on monday. they say they were thrashed, dragged and detained by authorities in delhi when they were demonstrating against a one—year delay in the induction of thousands of new graduate doctors. nitin srivastava reports. chanting. a peaceful march eventually turning ugly. blaming the police of india's hospital for using force without any provocation —— capital. force without any provocation -- caital. ~ ~' ., force without any provocation -- caital. ~ ~ ., .,, capital. we know there there was... that is a bad — capital. we know there there was... that is a bad thing. _ capital. we know there there was... that is a bad thing. no _ capital. we know there there was... that is a bad thing. no female - that is a bad thing. no female doctors have been... they have been manhandled by the forces. we want justice! manhandled by the forces. we want 'ustice! , ., , manhandled by the forces. we want 'ustice! , , justice! resident doctors, mostly in... remain unannounced after being challenged in india's top court on grounds of ensuring more jobs for the economic sections. but protesters claim services is short—staffed. but protesters claim medical services, including emergency, is presently short—staffed by almost 115,000 doctors across the country, having seen a terrible shortage of medical facilities in dealing with the covid virus. they all are resident doctors. they want to specialise, and they say for at least a year, the admission process has been stuck. they say all this is actually going to make situation worse in hospitals, especially government hospitals, where most of these are employed. because of 4.5 years, - no new first year residents have delhi police have denied using brutal force against the doctors, and claim their own staff were injured during the clash. meanwhile, bad press over handling the issue and a spike in covid cases seem to have propelled the government to make a quick appeal. translation: | regret| if our protesting doctors were mistreated by the police. while supporting them, we also appeal to doctors to return to work due to the ongoing covid crisis. the government plans to submit our report in the supreme court before the hearing next week so that the admission process can resume. it's over to the young doctors for now, but one thing is certain, they are deeply hurt by the way their protest has been handled by the government. nitin srivastava, bbc news, delhi. china has issued a complaint about the us tech entrepreneur elon musk over his activities in space. beijing says that there have been two narrowly avoided collisions between its new orbiting space station, and satellites launched by mr musk�*s companies. the chinese have raised the issue with the un's space agency, although the incidents have not yet been independently verified. let's discuss this with jonathan mcdowell, astrophysicist at the harvard—smithsonian centre for astrophysics. thank you very much for being with us. it's a very interesting thing because you have governments that are worried about the regulation of space, and then you have entrepreneurs who want to exploit space and want the flexibility to do it on their terms.— it on their terms. that's right, althou . h it on their terms. that's right, although under _ it on their terms. that's right, although under the _ it on their terms. that's right, i although under the outer-space although under the outer—space treaty of 19 627, anything that a private company does is the responsibility of the un member state that licensed it to go up at -- 1967. so, state that licensed it to go up at —— 1967. so, the question is, is the us correctly regulating what spacex is doing? i think there is, the problem here is the satellites are being moved around actively much more so than most, so the chinese couldn't figure out in advance whether to dodge or not. haifa couldn't figure out in advance whether to dodge or not. how crowded is it caettin whether to dodge or not. how crowded is it getting un — whether to dodge or not. how crowded is it getting up in _ whether to dodge or not. how crowded is it getting up in atmosphere - whether to dodge or not. how crowded is it getting up in atmosphere be - whether to dodge or not. how crowded is it getting up in atmosphere be on i is it getting up in atmosphere be on the earth? it’s is it getting up in atmosphere be on the earth? 3 ., , is it getting up in atmosphere be on the earth? �*, . , , , ., the earth? it's really bursting at the seams- _ the earth? it's really bursting at the seams. space _ the earth? it's really bursting at the seams. space is _ the earth? it's really bursting at the seams. space is big, - the earth? it's really bursting at the seams. space is big, right? | the earth? it's really bursting at - the seams. space is big, right? what we used to think about the oceans. it'll never fill out. wrong. we used to think about the oceans. it'll neverfill out. wrong. because everything is travelling at 70,000 miles an hour, you know the old saying about how far you should be from the hair in front of you. they're now almost 5000 working satellites. we're tracking over 20,000 pieces ofjunk, and there are little pieces we can't even see on the radar. it's a mess of there. to be fair to the chinese, the space agency expressed some concerns about elon musk�*s activities. saying not sure how this should be regulated. and i don't think we necessarily need to focus on spacex, on elon musk, because there's a bunch of other countries and companies putting up these large satellites. he's just the first to really go all out for it. but we need to solve this in an international way. and solve it as a general problem of space crowding. we're just in a new space crowding. we're just in a new space age. space is getting much more active, much more crowded and there are many more players. it's not just the superpowers.- there are many more players. it's not just the superpowers. notjust the superpowers. that's a really interesting _ notjust the superpowers. that's a really interesting point. _ notjust the superpowers. that's a really interesting point. i - notjust the superpowers. that's a really interesting point. i suppose| really interesting point. i suppose the time, it was the cold war period. it was presumably all about rules to prevent one side occupying or colonising and controlling. now it's about an environment with many more players. it's about an environment with many more players— more players. that's right. the assumption _ more players. that's right. the assumption was _ more players. that's right. the assumption was your _ more players. that's right. the assumption was your satellite l more players. that's right. the i assumption was your satellite was either the us government or soviet government satellite. very different world now. so, the amount of, the frequency of close passes is getting more frequent. i should mention that the international space station has had to dodge chinese space junk several times over the past few years, so it's not all on one side. jonathan mcdowell, real pleasure to speak to you. 70,000 mile an hour? goodness gracious! i think they need some space traffic laws. more now on our main story — the uk government has defended its decision not to introduce further restrictions in england before january. ministers have said they will continue to monitor the situation and the spread of the omicron variant, and will act if necessary. the news has been welcomed by the hospitality industry, but some experts say it is unclear what the impact will be. earlier, i spoke to nightclub owner terry george to get his reaction. well, you've caught me in a good mood, a happy mood, in actualfact, because this move is what we've been praying for. we've had a terrible week running up to christmas because of the cancellations that we've had. we've had lots of people being unsure whether to come out, people actually getting the virus, whatever conditions they've been suffering with. and this week, we're being told that new year's day can go ahead as planned. and that is great news because people have been reserving themselves, not wanting to come out, not wanting to buy tickets, not wanting to commit themselves. today, we have seen people starting to buy their tickets. we had people in the past buying tickets but then asking for refunds and wanting to know what the policy was if they didn't turn up, but now people have got that confidence again, knowing that they can come out on new year's eve and celebrate. and we've seen an influx. we've been very nervous because not knowing whether to order stock and get staff in order, we didn't really know what to do. so, today, we've been going frantic, trying to make sure everything is going to be planned for the big night, new year's eve night. we've been running this as the government have guided us. we ask for people to show their vaccine passports upon entry of our venues. if they're coming earlier than one o'clock, then we give them a stamp to make sure that they've actually proven that they've got a vaccine passport. then when they go to the bar, they just show their stamp, so the staff are confident of that as well. and that's what the government have told us to do and that's what we do. we follow the rules. surprisingly, we've been able to follow the rules all the way through. but you know what? it's been really, really hard to be able to work a business through all these difficult hurdles we've had to jump. it's almost impossible, but thankfully we are still here. terry george looking cheerful. i hope you will stay cheerful over the new year. and say, of force. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. —— of course. something lovely to welcome in the new year. i'm shaun ley and this is bbc news. thanks for your company. hello again. whereas england and wales saw some rain to start the day, in northern scotland it was dry. and we had some stunning weather watcher pictures sent to us showing us these sun halos, sun pillars and upper tangent arcs. these are all optical phenomena caused by ice crystals high in the earth's atmosphere reflecting and refracting sunlight, but some of them have been stunning today. some of that high cloud is on the satellite picture just here, but our eye is drawn to this area of low pressure to our south—west. it's this that's going to be bringing exceptionally mild air over the next few days behind this warm front. and across england, temperatures could get close to the national record for december, which currently stands at 17.7. we're likely to get around 17 degrees over the next few days. the average for december is just eight, so these temperatures are pretty crazy really. overnight, some mist and fog patches around, particularly across northern scotland, where there'll also be a frost, but further south—west, the first sings of that milder air will be arriving by the end of the night. but the mild air is accompanied by some heavy rain. now, that rain, as i say, is going to be heavy as it swings its way northwards and eastwards tomorrow. and following that, that's when we get into that really mild air with those south—westerly winds boosting the temperatures, highs of 16, possibly 17 degrees across parts of england. very mild, too, for wales, and pretty mild for northern ireland and scotland as well. we continue with that theme. on thursday, those south—westerly winds still us. still some heavy rain the come, particularly for wales, western coasts and hills of england and for northern ireland later in the day as well. temperatures, similar levels, 16, possibly 17 across the very warmest parts of england. further north, 12 in glasgow. that's still well above average, as is 1a in belfast. now, we could have some heavy rain and strong winds thursday night. maybe lingering for a time on friday, but otherwise there'll be a lot of cloud across western areas with some mist and fog patches and probably some spots of drizzle as well. the driest weather will be further east. temperatures still at their highest across england and wales, still at those same kind of levels. and 2022 is going to start off where 202! left off with those very mild south—westerly winds. again extensive cloud, outbreaks of rain and drizzle for western coasts and hills, probably quite murky. but those crazy temperatures persist. hello, i'm shaun ley. this is bbc news. the headlines: new covid infections in england and wales have hit a record daily high, as the british government defends its decision not to introduce further restrictions in england before january. greater restrictions have come into force in scotland, wales and northern ireland. a record number of covid infections in france as well — almost 180,000 in a single day. the french government has already announced new measures there. russia's supreme court has banned one of the country's oldest human rights organisations. the court ruled that memorial must be disbanded for breaking the law on foreign agents. china says its astronauts are being put in danger of collision, with satellites launched by elon musk. the spacex founder is facing a social media backlash in china after beijing claimed its space station had two "close encounters" this year. now on bbc news, review 2021: the year in film with mark kermode.