on theater row in manhattan. - and once upon a time, it was like that, but can broadway survive the closures this festive season as covid wrecks the shows? hello and welcome. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. for more than 30 years, the human rights organisation memorial has been chronicling the abuses of the soviet era to ensure the crimes and victims are unearthed and are not forgotten. but now, the supreme court has banned russia's oldest human rights organisation — "liquidated it" to use their language — accusing it 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. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has described it as an "affront" to human rights. 0ur moscow correspondent steve rosenberg reports. more and more, it feels as if russia is turning the clock back. "liquidate," the judge says, as she orders one of russia's oldest civil rights groups, international memorial, to shut down. the n60 was found to have broken russia's draconian foreign agents law. "disgraceful decision," the reaction from the gallery. it's100% a political thing. and the substance of this political decision is just one more step from authoritarian regime to totalitarian. for more than 30 years, memorial has been shining a light on one of the darkest chapters of russian history, what became known as the great terror. it's been painstakingly cataloguing the victims ofjosef stalin's mass repressions. up to 20 million soviet citizens are believed to have been sent to the gulag, to stalin's prison camps. hundreds of thousands were executed. memorial was set up to keep their memory alive. the founding of memorial in the late 1980s was a symbol, a symbol of the soviet union opening up and facing up to its past, to the crimes ofjosef stalin. the shutting down of memorial is a symbol too of how in russia today, the past is being reshaped, rewritten, and how civil society is under attack. vladimir putin has been using history to try to foster patriotism, so he focuses on the glories of russia's past, like the victory in world war ii. through this annual reading of names of the victims of political repression, memorial has tried to remind russians of their tragic past. now, though, it's being silenced. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. rachel denber is deputy director of europe and the central asia division of human rights watch. she was at the court yesterday in moscow, and i think you are off shortly to the court again, rachel? we will talk about that in a minute. ijust wonderwhat we will talk about that in a minute. i just wonder what this initial liquidation of memorial really means for the ability to pursue these sorts of cases in russia. i pursue these sorts of cases in russia. ~' , , ., j, russia. i think yesterday's rulina russia. i think yesterday's ruling means _ russia. i think yesterday's ruling means that - russia. i think yesterday's ruling means that the - russia. i think yesterday'sl ruling means that the state intends to be fully in control of the debate and how discussions of history, the soviet union, repression and the like and people who don't conform to the state's view, it means they need to keep their discussions to the kitchen, just like it was 35 years ago. it means there is no more tolerance for diversion from the state's effective of history, and with the lawsuit against memorial�*s sister organisation, the prosecutors are trying to, what the authorities are trying to do is reallyjust authorities are trying to do is really just silence any authorities are trying to do is reallyjust silence any kind of criticism or defence against human rights abuses in today's russia. ., ., _ , human rights abuses in today's russia. ., ., _ russia. that obviously is a very clear _ russia. that obviously is a very clear distinction. - russia. that obviously is a very clear distinction. it i russia. that obviously is a very clear distinction. it is| very clear distinction. it is one thing to want to fashion a narrative of the past, quite another in many regards to start pulling down an organisation that seeks to chronicle the problems of today. chronicle the problems of toda . ., v chronicle the problems of toda . . �*, ., chronicle the problems of toda. today. that's right. to conical the problems _ today. that's right. to conical the problems of— today. that's right. to conical the problems of today - today. that's right. to conical the problems of today and . the problems of today and protect people who have become victimised by government abuses. and memorial is russia's top human rights organisation, they are a successful human rights organisation and human rights litigation, and when authorities go after an organisation like memorial, it sends a message to other groups, any sort of civic groups, any sort of civic groups that they don't stand a chance, their turn will be next. �* , chance, their turn will be next. r chance, their turn will be next. a next. as you say, you were in the court- — next. as you say, you were in the court. the _ next. as you say, you were in the court. the prosecution . next. as you say, you were in l the court. the prosecution said something along the lines of international memorial is almost entirely focused on distorting the memory, first and foremost about the great fatherland war. was a great chance for memorial to put its case in court?— case in court? there actually was a chance _ case in court? there actually was a chance for— case in court? there actually was a chance for memorial. case in court? there actually| was a chance for memorial to put its case in court. the lawyers and representatives made a passionate and very well articulated defence, and fortunately the press was there to hear it. but the state on its case, however memorial is going to appeal, but there is no doubt that these rulings and particularly with the way that the prosecutor opened his argument, which was, it heralded a whole new era of repression in russia. can heralded a whole new era of repression in russia.- repression in russia. can i 'ust repression in russia. can i just put — repression in russia. can i just put this _ repression in russia. can i just put this to _ repression in russia. can i just put this to you - repression in russia. can i just put this to you as - repression in russia. can i just put this to you as a i repression in russia. can i. just put this to you as a last thought of them. 0bviously, extreme anxiety from many people about the way in which this is unfolding, that i wonder in what way is the wind blowing across russia with this issue? are people particularly bothered? . issue? are people particularly bothered?— issue? are people particularly bothered? ~ ., ., ., bothered? , memorial has a lot of supporters — bothered? , memorial has a lot of supporters in _ bothered? , memorial has a lot of supporters in russia. - bothered? , memorial has a lot of supporters in russia. a - of supporters in russia. a recent poll showed the majority of people polled felt the attempt to liquidate memorial was wrong and they support memorial. numerous public figures have come out in support of memorial and against this lawsuit and tens of thousands of people have signed a petition urging the authorities to withdraw the lawsuit. there is public support, but the authorities try as they may, they can't stamp out historical memory. that has been tried before, and no matter what they do, there will always be a first for rights in russia and there will always be... society will adapt, human rights organisations will adapt, activists will adapt. thank you very much _ activists will adapt. thank you very much indeed. _ activists will adapt. thank you very much indeed. i _ activists will adapt. thank you very much indeed. i know- activists will adapt. thank you very much indeed. i know you j very much indeed. i know you are going back to the court this morning, though we will let you go, but thank you very much for your time. here in the uk, there's been another record number of infections for a single day — more than 129,000 cases were reported in the last 2a hours. that comes as countries around the world struggle to contain the 0micron variant. france has set europe's highest ever number of new daily covid—i9 cases. nearly 180,000 new infections have been reported in the last 24—hour period. there is the figure for you. it comes as the french government has announced that it will introduce tighter restrictions from next week, including remote working being compulsory for those who can. but france hasn't been alone in breaking daily records in europe as cyprus, greece, italy and portugal all have reported record highs too. the us has also set a single—day record of new infections with over 440,000 new cases on monday according to the centers for disease control. also in the us, president biden has announced the travel restrictions on eight southern african countries will end on december 31. the travel ban was imposed last month when the 0micron variant was first confirmed in south africa. dr amesh adalja is a senior scholar at the johns hopkins university center for health security. he says removing the ban is the right thing to do. this was a move that should never have been needed to be made, because we should not have initiated a travel ban. it was an ill—advised travel ban that really punished countries that were aggressive at finding a variant, and alerting the world. we already knew this was spreading outside of south africa and the southern african countries well before it was described, so this was not something that we should have taken. many countries in the world kind of followed suit. it is a bad practice. travel bans do not work and they give people a false sense of security and have lots of negative consequences. do you say that almost on a point of principle? is there a point at which a travel ban, if it is recognised very early, a travel ban could work? it is my point of principle for me. i don't know that travel bans have ever been done successfully, and i think the negative consequences outweigh any good that could happen. i think travel screening is important to do, but complete travel bans end up punishing a country, isolating it further, and really giving people a false sense of security and expending public health resources that could be better spent. 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 license. indonesia has lifted its ban on the boeing 737 max aircraft three years after a domestic flight involving the plane crashed, killing all on board. the incident involving the lion airflight, along with a later crash in ethiopia, led to the plane being grounded globally. the parents of a chilean—born teenager killed by the stray bullet of a police officer in los angeles two days before christmas have spoken of their anguish following the incident. they described the 14—year—old as an exceptional student with big aspirations for herfuture in the us. tanya dendrinos reports. chanting valentina's life matters! a call forjustice. these are the devastated parents of valentina 0rella na—peralta, sharing the hopes and dreams of their 14—year—old daughter. translation: the only thing she wanted — was to become a us citizen. i told her to leave this country. she replied, "no, dad. "it is the safest country in the world, "the country of opportunities." this bodycam footage, some of it too distressing to show, reveals the chaotic moments before valentina's death on december 23. police were called to a violent assault at a los angeles store, opening fire on the suspect. but behind him, in a changing room, valentina was huddled with her mother, struck by one of the officer's rounds after trying on clothes for christmas. translation: we heard people shouting, - we sat and hugged each other. then something struck my daughter, valentina, and she fell on the floor. she died in my arms. i could not do anything — i could not do anything. the los angeles police department has committed to a thorough investigation of the incident, while the attorney—general�*s office has opened an independent enquiry. we should not have to sacrifice innocent life in the name of safety when it was foreseeable that two days before christmas, that there were going to be people in a shopping plaza, shopping! this shattered family left with so many questions, mourning the loss of their daughter and a life she should have been able to lead. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: they say the show must go on, but broadway is struggling this festive season. how much damage is covid inflicting this time round? the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland they are going to use money we picked up in belgium today and then we will be in france and again it will be the same money. it has got to be the way to go. george harrison, i the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed - at his oxfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool- is being interviewed by police on suspicion - of attempted murder. i think it was good. just good? no, fantastic. that's better. big ben bongs this is bbc news. the latest headlines: protests in moscow after russia's supreme court decides to close memorial international, the country's most prominent rights organisation. the us and a number of european countries have seen record high numbers of infections in the last 24 hours with the 0micron driving a huge surge in cases. china has issued a complaint about the us tech entrepreneur, elon musk, over his activities in space. beijing says that there have been two near misses 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. former nasa astronaut leroy chiao gave me his analysis of the situation. there are certainly a number of satellites up there and now that we have seen the proliferation of what we call low earth orbit satellites, like starlink, this will become more and more of an issue but it is not unusual, it is not unusual for the iss to change its orbit to dodge a piece of orbital debris or something like a satellite and so it is, i don't want to say routine, but it's not unusual. of course we are tracking all of the objects that we can in space that are larger than, say, a soft ball and so are the russians and so are the chinese so this kind of thing when you are operating a space station is pretty much a normal part of your operations. i was going to say, is there any kind of air traffic control up there? it sounds like there isn't, but i was just looking at the figures. elon musk�*s starlink satellites, he's put up 1,600 of them. he's got authorisation from the us to put up 12,000. this does feel like a problem that is about to get potentially exponentially worse. the starlink satellites are in a higher orbit than the space stations, neither the international space station or the chinese space station station, so they really shouldn't be much of an issue, it will probably only be an issue when they are getting up to theirfinal orbit or when they are de—orbiting themselves, and i want to add to that starlink satellites have actually been made intelligent, if you will, in that when they are nearing their end of life they will plan a de—orbit and actually de—orbit themselves to come down and burn up in the atmosphere, trying to be more responsible and notjust leaving dead satellites, if you will, orbiting up there. legendary american football coach and commentator john madden has died at the age of 85. the super—bowl winning coach became one of america's best—known tv sports announcers and lent his name to a wildly successful football video game franchise. the national football league said he died unexpectedly. a short time ago, i spoke to sports and entertainment journalist nick hamilton aboutjohn madden's career. absolutely, he was an ultimate trendsetter when it came to not just what he did on the sidelines when he coached but even when he moved into the booth from a media standpoint and ultimately as you mentioned in the videogame world when he created the biggest trend that we have seen in the videogame world since probably super mario brothers, when you look at what has impact has been, just on the field and even away from the field but he never left the game off all and its impact as we know even right now continues to live on. and that is a real thing of genius, isn't it, let's be honest, an older guy to be setting a trend in videogames is quite something. absolutely. when you look at what john madden created, this is a guy that truly reinvented himself there's as whole generation that didn't even realise that he was the coach of the oakland raiders back in the 70s because a lot of us weren't even born at that time but we knewjohn madden from not only being on television but from being in a videogame in creating this craze in this legacy as each videogame becomes better. there is a debate on which year of the game was better, was a 2000, 2004, 2010 or currently the 2022 version, there are a lot of different a nswe i’s , a lot of different questions, i should say, that are going on on social media right now in terms ofjust remembering the legacy ofjohn madden via videogames. he was a big character, clearly. i notice the nfl commissioner roger goodall said he was a sounding board to me. he called him an icon. what was it about him, what was it about him, what with that in terms of his appreciation of the game that seemed to stand out. john madden to me was a teacher of the game. he wasn'tjust an ex—coach that just went along with the programme, he was a teacher. he wanted the casual fan all the way to the ultimate fanatic to understand the game off all and i think that is one of the reasons that led him to create the videogame, to improve the education of the game of football but also make it fun and john madden made it fun. you would hear his catchphrase and he would draw on the television and point arrows this way and that way and illustrate the game and really break it down but the other thing is the way he transformed the media space. john madden was a spearheaded individual that really opened the doorfor production meetings, because he said ultimately, how can you understand the players and coaches if you don't get a chance to sit down and talk with them beforehand and really get to know them? so the production meetings that we see in sports right now, that was because of john madden. conservationists in mexico have brought a species of fish that was previously declared extinct back to the wild. the species was driven to extinction by pollution and invasive species. here's our science correspondent victoria gill. a little known species with an extraordinary story. the tequila fish is a small freshwater fish that lives in the lakes and rivers of mexico, but presumed extent. it is one of thousand aquatics creatures facing extension that have slipped under the radar. small little things. _ slipped under the radar. small little things. not _ slipped under the radar. small little things. not much - little things. not much interest on the global conservation map. interest on the global conservation ma -. ., conservation map. now with the hel of conservation map. now with the help of conservationists - conservation map. now with the help of conservationists at - help of conservationists at chester zoo, the extension has been reversed. the team has now confirmed the fish are breeding and the population is recovering.— and the population is recoverint. , ., ., recovering. they are doing well. it started _ recovering. they are doing well. it started with - recovering. they are doing well. it started with 1500 | well. it started with 1500 animals, and now we're about tens of thousands and the species is slowly expanding to the river system which is exactly what we wanted so that is a very good start. an is a very good start. an estimated _ is a very good start. an estimated 1 _ is a very good start. an estimated 1 million species under threat at the moment, one third that depends on freshwater habitats are sliding towards extension. the ongoing loss of clear, healthy rivers and lakes threatens out food and lakes threatens out food and water supply as well. so here in jalisco, and water supply as well. so here injalisco, the community stepped in, taking on long—term monitoring to ensure the system is clean and healthy for both people and the wildlife. it would be impossible without the local people. the local people are the main actors in the long—term conservation project. it is a conservation success story that it is hoped could be repeated for other threatened habitats and species, including one that lives and one lake in the north of mexico. a close relative of the exelon talk was saved from extinction by local nuns. with the community helping to clean up the lake, they could be back to the wild. the success of the little tequila fish is a son of hope one of the many and small and perhaps underappreciated creatures facing extension. amid a biodiversity crisis, it is a sign that with people's health, nature can make a comeback. victoria gill, bbc news. now, as the old song goes, the neon lights are bright on broadway, but not so much this festive season as a new surge of covid—19 hits many of the shows. the 0micron variant has forced a number of them to close as productions suffer outbreaks of covid. on tuesday, star huthackman announced he'd tested positive, and as a result, performances of the music man will be cancelled till january. it's not the only one to suffer. over the busy christmas period, 10 of the great white way's biggest shows shut down, including hamilton, the lion king and and moulin rouge, all citing covid—19. four broadway shows have announced they will close down completely. michael riedel is the feared theatre columnist for the new york post, and gave me his thoughts on where broadway goes from here. when we started to reopen here on broadway in the fall when we thought everyone is going to be vaccinated and everybody wants to go back to seeing a great broadway show again, this is an enormous setback. and a lot of shows are not going to be able to survive this herky—jerky movement that's going on, and there are literally people who went to broadway shows, they were sitting in their seats at 7:00 and then the stage manager would come out and say, "sorry, "tonight's show has to be cancelled because of a covid "outbreak among the cast" and this devastating, devastating perception for this industry that keeps new york afloat for all these years. i mean, this is a business that makes $2 billion a year. that is the status for broadway but it is across the piece with covid. we have pieces reflecting other countries and set as of business on our website. thank you for watching. the run—up to the new year is going to be really exceptionally mild, near record breaking in fact. and notjust on one or two days, but really quite a prolonged spell of very mild weather, some four days or so. it's not really going to cool off until around january 3 or 4. but this is the map showing the warmth in the atmosphere. if you look at the subtropical atlantic here, just to the west of the canaries, south of the azores, there is a current of warm air that's spreading in our direction, it'll spread across western parts of europe and then deeper into more central and eastern parts of europe. in england, for example, this is how mild or warm it could actually get — 17 degrees. compare that to the average of 8 degrees celsius. now, at the moment, it's not quite so mild. in fact, in scotland, with the clear skies in some eastern areas, quite a nippy start to the day. i mean, not desperately cold for this time of the year. but still, temperatures, i think, around freezing or below in some of the glenns, 5 degrees in some of the eastern parts of england. but 14 degrees in plymouth at 6am, so that's the mild air which is following this warm front here, which will be moving across the uk, bringing a spell of rainy weather for many of us. then that weather front will clear to the north, the skies should also brighten up a little bit. and temperatures mid teens — mid teens widely across england, wales, a little bit fresher in the north, but they could max out at around 17 degrees celsius in the south—east of the country on wednesday and also on thursday. now, here's another weather front that's coming in from the south, some wet weather particularly reaching parts of wales. in fact, that warmer weather moves further north too. we are talking about 16 degrees in hull, 17 degrees in the east and the south—east of the country. now, here's new year's eve, and it does look as though we are on track for one of the mildest new year's eves on record. i mean, it remains to be seen how mild it will be, but by day, we're talking around 15, 16 degrees. you get the sense that it's notjust the one day that's going to be mild. we are talking about multiple days here with mid teens across many parts of the country. so a new record—breaking, i think, new year's eve on the way. bye— bye. this is bbc news. the headlines: russia's supreme court is set to rule on the fate of a second human rights organisation a day after banning one of the country's oldest for breaking the law on foreign agents. there have been protests outside the court while us secretary of state antony blinken has called it "an affront to human rights." there's been a record number of covid infections in the us and a number of european countries as 0micron continues to drive a huge surge in cases. the us recorded more than 440,000 cases on tuesday. france recorded almost 180,000. 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 near misses this year. now on bbc news,