of special events celebrating the life of archbishop desmond tutu. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk, on pbs in the us, or around the world. the uk prime minister, borisjohnson, has urged everyone in the uk to get their boosterjab. he says 90% of people currently in intensive care beds with covid had not received their third vaccine. new figures show more than 10,000 people in england are in hospital with covid — the highest number since march. meanwhile, some uk doctors and pharmacists are warning they are running short of covid tests because of high demand. officials say more are on the way. pressure is coming from a surge in cases — the latest data showing 183,000 people testing positive for covid in the uk. that's a new daily record — significantly higher than a week ago but that's partly due to a delay in reporting results over christmas. 0ur health correspondent katherine da costa has more. george winder and his wife nikki are both gps in leeds. he tested positive for covid on a lateral flow device, which means, as a health worker, his wife can't return to work until she's received a negative pcr test. it appears that, often, the website isn't showing availability for pcr testing. that doesn't always seem to hold true throughout the day. and i understand that other people have later in the day then found availability, which was the same with my wife. so, really, it'sjust this pattern of a delay in being able to book one locally on the government booking site. at some points today, there was no availability on the government website for home pcr kits or walk—in sites in england and northern ireland, and only limited supply in scotland. there's been a surge in demand for lateral flow tests, too. that's led to pharmacists warning that supply�*s not keeping up. they've not had any here since christmas eve. it's not just our pharmacy that's out of stock, it's many, many more pharmacies. some customers are very understanding with it, but some are getting very angry about it as well, saying that, "we've been told we need to test every day, so how are the tests not available?" health officials say they're responding to unprecedented demand, with record numbers of pcr and lateral flows tests being sent out. the advice is to keep trying back on the government website as more are released throughout the day. spiralling cases are leading to an increase in hospital admissions in england. the weekly average is up by more than 50% compared to a week ago. the number of people with covid in hospital has risen above 10,000 for the first time in nearly ten months, but there are some signs of optimism. it's quite difficult at the moment to interpret the data. we have very high rates of infection in the community, and therefore we may see some of these people naturally in the hospital as well. but equally, we're not seeing the same rate of admission to intensive care units, and so that could be a positive sign. the prime minister, on a visit to this vaccination centre in milton keynes, was pushing the message for people to get boosted. cases are going up, we've got a lot of cases of 0micron. but on the other hand, we can see the data about the relative mildness of 0micron, and what we can also see is the very, very clear effect of getting those jabs, getting those boosters in particular. that's what's making a huge difference. mrjohnson says 90% of covid patients in icu haven't had a booster, but there's still uncertainty over what impact the 0micron variant will have on older age groups as the virus spreads from young into those who are most at risk of falling seriously ill. katherine da costa, bbc news. i'm joined now by professor anthony gordon, chair in anaesthesia and critical care at imperial college and consultant in intensive care medicine at st mary's hospital in london. these figures, how concerned are you by this spike, this new daily record for the uk? by this spike, this new daily record forthe uk?— for the uk? good evening. it is a hue for the uk? good evening. it is a huge number. — for the uk? good evening. it is a huge number, and _ for the uk? good evening. it is a huge number, and i _ for the uk? good evening. it is a huge number, and i think- for the uk? good evening. it is a huge number, and i think it - for the uk? good evening. it is a huge number, and i think it is i huge number, and i think it is worrying seeing so many cases that we know even though it is a small percentage of those people that will become seriously ill, that will be a large number that is still going to be admitted to hospital over the coming week. it be admitted to hospital over the coming week-— coming week. it was interesting heafina coming week. it was interesting hearing the _ coming week. it was interesting hearing the prime _ coming week. it was interesting hearing the prime minister, - coming week. it was interesting l hearing the prime minister, boris johnson, speak about the trends in terms of who is being hospitalised, who is getting most ill, and it does seem to be that those who do not have the booster are most at risk. yes, undoubtedly the vaccines work. they do prevent infection, they prevent serious illness, so it is crucial people get vaccinated. what we see in intensive care, there is a mix of people completely unvaccinated, so people who haven't had their first dose should get there urgently, and more in order patients or those with underlying conditions, even with two vaccines do come in so it is crucial to get boosters as well.— do come in so it is crucial to get boosters as well. there was a point made about — boosters as well. there was a point made about interpreting _ made about interpreting hospitalisation numbers in the uk that we have to be careful about over interpreting them because there will be some people who have been admitted with covid, they have come in with some other problem but they are tested so they count as being hospitalised with covid, not necessarily being hospitalised with a severe covid infection. that necessarily being hospitalised with a severe covid infection.— a severe covid infection. that is certainly true. _ a severe covid infection. that is certainly true, with _ a severe covid infection. that is certainly true, with infection - certainly true, with infection around there are people coming in with other conditions who have covid and they are not ill from covid. that is good news that they are not sick and seriously ill from covid what it is still a strain on the hospital. they cannot be looked after in an open ward along with a patient without covid so it puts a huge strain on the system. so they are still important account even though it is good news that they haven't got severe covid. what though it is good news that they haven't got severe covid. what is the situation _ haven't got severe covid. what is the situation like _ haven't got severe covid. what is the situation like at _ haven't got severe covid. what is the situation like at st _ haven't got severe covid. what is the situation like at st mary's - haven't got severe covid. what is the situation like at st mary's in i the situation like at st mary's in london at the moment where you work? i think it is typical of many hospitals. we have seen an increase in the number of hospital admissions. that has come up quite a lot. the number of patients coming into icu has risen slowly, which is obviously good news, but the challenge is managing now with fewer staff who are either sick themselves or having to self—isolate so the system is being challenged. the hospital is very busy with other cases as well as covid.- hospital is very busy with other cases as well as covid. some people are talkin: cases as well as covid. some people are talking about _ cases as well as covid. some people are talking about a _ cases as well as covid. some people are talking about a possible - cases as well as covid. some people are talking about a possible peak - are talking about a possible peak already with 0micron in london. do you think that sufficiently takes account of the fact of intergenerational mixing, children seeing grandparents for example over christmas? i seeing grandparents for example over christmas? ~' ., �* ~ ., christmas? i think we don't know. undoubtedly _ christmas? i think we don't know. undoubtedly over _ christmas? i think we don't know. undoubtedly over christmas - christmas? i think we don't know. - undoubtedly over christmas reporting is different to the rest of the times, so it is difficult tojudge. they will undoubtedly have been some mixing but hopefully people will have listened to the messages trying to limit that mixing, taking the precautions and so we keep our fingers crossed obviously the numbers today do look slightly worrying. numbers today do look slightly wor inc. �* worrying. and the next imminent occasion where _ worrying. and the next imminent occasion where there _ worrying. and the next imminent occasion where there will - worrying. and the next imminent occasion where there will be - worrying. and the next imminent occasion where there will be a i worrying. and the next imminent| occasion where there will be a lot of mixing potentially is new year's eve. how do you feel about the guidance that has been given to people to limit it but not completely avoid mixing? i people to limit it but not completely avoid mixing? i think it is sensible advice. _ completely avoid mixing? i think it is sensible advice. people - completely avoid mixing? i think it| is sensible advice. people obviously want to celebrate the new year but i think take that advice and get the lateral flow test if you can. wear your mask when you around and meet up with smaller groups may be. i think these are all sensible advice to limit the spread and limit yourself getting infected. professor anthony gordon, thank you very much. professor anthony gordon, thank you ve much. ., ~ france has recorded more than 200,000 new covid—19 infections. it's a national and european record and means that two french people are testing positive for the virus every second. to try and quell the rising numbers, the french government says people should work from home at least three days a week. here's our france correspondent, hugh schofield. one of the remarkable things about this latest spike here, as elsewhere, it seems to me, is that the numbers are, you know, sort of stratospheric, but we haven't seen the complete panic and breakdown of health services which you might have expected, given that these numbers are so high. they're the biggest numbers since the start of the epidemic, as you say, tuesday, 180,000 daily cases, which is nearly double the 100,000 that we recorded at the end of last week, and every expectation that it'll go even higher. the health minister spoke of there being 250,000, 300,000 cases a day by the middle ofjanuary. and yet, you know, there is not the same complete panic about the health system that there was. yes, they're worried, but, i mean, the hospitals are not overcrowded. i think there's about 3,000 in intensive care at the moment, which is going up, but still nowhere near critical levels. and i think the fact is that, you know, there's still some doubt and confusion about the real dangerousness of 0micron. people are worried about it, it is clearly extremely contagious, but the figures just aren't in yet from south africa, from the uk, which is a bit ahead of france, on what it all means for death rates, intensive care beds and so on. and in the meantime, we're all slightly in the dark and guessing. the optimistic scenario is that you have a very, very wide contagion with many, many, many people getting it, but not getting it too badly. it's a gamble. that's what everyone hopes. but there's no reason at the moment to rule that as a possibility out. well, the spike in 0micron cases globally has led the director general of the world health organization to make an appeal against complacency. tedros ghebreyesus said the omicron and delta variants were continuing to put an enormous strain on health care systems and staff around the world. delta and omicron are twin threats that are driving up cases to record numbers, which again is leading to spikes in hospitalisations and deaths. i'm highly concerned that omicron, being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases. with omicron cases on the rise, health officials in new york have reported a steep increase in children admitted to hospital with covid over the christmas holiday. the us chief medical adviser, dr anthony fauci, has addressed the situation at a white house briefing. certainly, more children are being infected with the highly transmissible virus. and with that, there naturally will be more hospitalisations in children. it is noteworthy, however, that many children are hospitalised with covid as opposed to because of covid, reflecting the high degree of penetrance of infection among the paediatric population. the final conclusion about the level of severity in children remains to be determined. let's turn to some of the news now. a court in russia has ordered the shutdown of the memorial human rights centre which is part of the broader memorial rights group that russia's supreme court also shut down this week. the european court of human rights has urged russia to suspend the closure while it examines the case. russian state prosecutors have accused memorial international of breaking a law requiring groups to register as foreign agents. people have since been gathering in protest outside the court, shouting "shame". this year has seen an unprecented crackdown on dissent in russia. founded in 1989, memorial is russia's most prominent rights organisation, and became a symbol of the country opening up to the world. it has chronicled purges under the soviet leaderjosef stalin, and now campaigns for the rights of political prisoners and other marginalised groups. memorial says the charges against it are politically motivated. translation: we had no illusions. i think that our colleagues also had no illusions after yesterday's decision by the supreme court. today's decision is quite expected. it has nothing to do with foreign agents. this law was passed to be used in exactly this way, to liquidate organisations that the government considers undesirable for political reasons. the white house has announced that joe biden will hold another call with president putin on thursday as tensions continue over the build up of russian troops on its border with ukraine. meanwhile, russia and belarus have announced plans to hold joint military drills in february or march next year. the planned military drills, which will take place in belarus, come amid rising east—west tensions over ukraine. russia has demanded that nato do not admit ukraine, which borders both russia and belarus. the us says russia may be preparing an invasion of ukraine, and has announced it will help to strengthen its borders. moscow denies this. a week of events is taking place in south africa to mark the life of the anti—apartheid leader archbishop desmond tutu, who died on sunday at the age of 90. in an attempt to prevent the spread of covid—19, the anglican church has encouraged multiple services to avoid large crowds gathering. the state funeral for archbishop tutu will take place on saturday. here's our south africa correspondent, nomsa maseko. a week of commemorative events in honour of archbishop tutu is well under way all over south africa, notjust here in cape town. mourners gathered for midday prayers outside tutu's home in soweto, to pay their respects to the man who was chosen by nelson mandela to head south africa's tumultuous reconciliation process. many people have been visiting desmond tutu's home here in cape town since his death was announced on boxing day. in the midst of the pain and sorrow, it's very comforting for people to show their emotions and pour out their love for my dad. and we are truly appreciative of it. it's not an easy time for anyone. in line with covid—19 regulations, public viewing areas — such as this one — have been set up in many areas of the country to allow as many people as possible to be part of desmond tutu's send off. the bell at st george's cathedral will toll at midday every day until friday in the archbishop's honour. the man known fondly as the arch was very clear on his wishes for his funeral — no ostentatious or lavish spending. he asked for a cheap coffin and that a bouquet of carnations from his family be the only flowers at the cathedral. he had it down, written in stone, even if we wanted to. and why would we want to? because he was, yeah, loud and boisterous, but he was simple. desmond tutu is to be cremated. his ashes will be interred at the st george's cathedral where he served as south africa's first black archbishop. nomsa maseko, bbc news, cape town. millions of families in the uk are facing a "cost of living catastrophe" according to a leading think tank. the resolution foundation says stalling wages, rising taxes and soaring energy bills means — from april — households face an increase in their living costs of nearly £1,200. the government says it's provided more than four billion pounds�* worth of support for families. joining me now is victoria benson, ceo of the charity gingerbread, which helps single parents in the uk. what does this mean in practical terms forfamilies that what does this mean in practical terms for families that you are connected with? it terms for families that you are connected with?— terms for families that you are connected with? , . ,., . connected with? it is a huge impact, otentiall connected with? it is a huge impact, potentially catastrophic. _ connected with? it is a huge impact, potentially catastrophic. most - potentially catastrophic. most single parents earn very little and many are in poverty, by which they are earning under £16,000 per year, so this is a huge proportion of their already low earnings. what so this is a huge proportion of their already low earnings. what can be done to help _ their already low earnings. what can be done to help them? _ their already low earnings. what can be done to help them? first - their already low earnings. what can be done to help them? first of - their already low earnings. what can be done to help them? first of all, | be done to help them? first of all, reinstatin: be done to help them? first of all, reinstating the _ be done to help them? first of all, reinstating the £20 _ be done to help them? first of all, reinstating the £20 a _ be done to help them? first of all, reinstating the £20 a week - be done to help them? first of all, i reinstating the £20 a week universal credit uplift would be really, really helpful. many single parents have lost out hugely because of that, notjust in terms of luxuries but in terms of every day items like food. but there needs to be some help in capping that price increase and other ways, you know, increasing the amount of emergency funds available to low income people. in terms of the squeeze that people are already experiencing, certainly we have seen energy costs go up and in the coming months i suppose those first bills that reflect that will be landing on people's doormats. yes, but the situation has been getting worse ever since the pandemic started for single parents, because many were in flexible jobs, they lost their hours, they lost wages, they lost theirjobs, and they also saw a massive increase in prices, which we have all seen. so they have already been hit by the impact. when they lost the £20 a week uplift, that caused them further damage and now this is even more loss of income they are facing. so this isn't a new situation for single parents, it isjust a worsening of the current situation. i know we are specifically talking about the stalling of wages and the rising cost of living, but i would be interested to get your thoughts as well on the impact for single parent families where they are on zero—hours contracts or they are perhaps traders or self employed and the impact of potentially having to isolate as has been the case for so many over the past year. what is the impact of that that you are seeing? it causes huge anxiety because many people are forced to isolate or if their children are sent home from school, they simply don't earn any money. it is a further stress for them on top of the anxiety they are already facing because they can't afford to get ill and they don't want to get ill because they are looking after their children. we have a lot of people phoning our helpline really worried about money. they don't know where else to turn. quite a few of them are having to go to food banks because they are already in a really dire situation. as we head into the next year, what do you see for child poverty in the uk? do you see there are glimmers of hope for it to be reduced or is this the year where it could get worse? sadly not, and even before the pandemic, nearly half the children of single parents were in poverty and we are only expecting this to increase. many single parents have lost theirjobs or lost hours because they were on zero—hours contract and there is a shortage of flexible work they need to do in order tojuggle flexible work they need to do in order to juggle childcare and working. many single parents are really struggling to get back into work. . ., ., , ., work. 0k, victoria, we must leave it there might — work. 0k, victoria, we must leave it there might grow — work. 0k, victoria, we must leave it there might grow but _ work. 0k, victoria, we must leave it there might grow but thank- work. 0k, victoria, we must leave it there might grow but thank you - work. 0k, victoria, we must leave it there might grow but thank you for i there might grow but thank you for speaking to us. victoria benson from the omicron one. —— from the charity gingerbread. a new study is warning that climate change will expand the range of tropical cyclones, making millions more people vulnerable to devastating storms. at present, cyclones — or hurricanes as they are also known — are mainly confined to the tropical regions north and south of the equator. but researchers say rising temperatures will allow these weather events to form in the mid—latitudes in areas as far north as new york city, beijing and tokyo. joshua studholme is the lead author of the report. there's observational evidence to suggest that this is already happening. in the satellite images taken between 1980 and present, tropical cyclones have moved poleward. the key risk is changing where they occur, so we have little confidence in whether the total number of hurricanes every year on the planet will increase or decrease, but what we're finding here is that where they occur will change. so, some areas, in particular higher latitudes, including new york and boston and even western europe, will experience relatively more hurricanes than the deep tropics. it's worth saying that we believe that hurricanes haven't existed over this wider range of latitudes at any point over the last 3 million years, which is certainly beyond human civilisation, so regions that haven't experienced hurricanes at all and haven't developed to protect themselves from hurricanes will begin to experience these damages. conservationists at chester zoo have helped experts in mexico reintroduce a species of fish that was previously declared extinct back to the wild. the freshwater tequila fish, which is silver and less than three inches long, has now been returned to its native habitat in south—west mexico. our science correspondent victoria gill reports. a little—known species with an extraordinary story. the tequila fish is a small freshwater fish that lives in the rivers and lakes of south—west mexico, but it's been missing, presumed extinct for more than a decade. and it's just one of thousands of aquatics creatures that are facing extinction but have slipped under the radar. small little things, a bit silver sometimes, a bit of colour when they breed, but not much interest on the global conservation aspect. now, with the help of conservationists at chester zoo, scientists in mexico have reversed that extinction, bringing captive—bred fish back to the wild. the team has now confirmed that the fish are breeding, and that the population is recovering here. they're doing well. they started with the introduction of 1,500 animals, so now we're talking about from 1,500 individuals now to tens of thousands, and now what we're seeing that the species is slowly starting expanding to the river system, which is exactly what we wanted. so that is a very good start, and hopefully that will be more species looking forward. among the estimated 1 million species under threat around the world, a third of wildlife that depends on freshwater habitats are sliding towards extinction. and the ongoing loss of clean, healthy rivers and lakes threatens our food and water supplies too. so here injalisco, mexico, the community stepped in. local people trained with the scientists to take on long—term monitoring of this vital river network to ensure it is clean and healthy for both people and wildlife. it would be impossible without the local community. the local people are the main actors in the long—term conservation project. it's a conservation success story that it's hoped could be repeated for other threatened habitats and species, including one that lives in just one lake in the north of mexico. the achoques, a close relative of the axolotl, was saved from extinction partly by a captive breeding program led by local nuns. open the mouth. and now, with the community helping to clean up the lake, here in patzcuaro, these captive—reared animals could be brought back to the wild. the success of the little tequila fish is a much—needed sign of hope for one of the many small and perhaps underappreciated creatures that are facing extension. amid a biodiversity crisis, it's a sign that, with people's help, nature can make a comeback. victoria gill, bbc news. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter, i'm @benmboulos. there's plenty more on the stories we have covered and more on the website, and the bbc news app. thanks for watching, i will see you soon. hello there. earlier today, we saw temperatures reaching 16 celsius in southampton, and also here in exeter in devon. it's very mild air that's come our way today that's followed a band of rain that's been sweeping away towards the northeast. it remains unsettled in the next few days, some rain at times, some stronger winds too, the main feature of the weatherjust how mild it's going to be as we head into the new year. now, we could reach 17 celsius across some parts of england in the next few days — bear in mind the average is near eight celsius at this time of the year. it could be the warmest new year's eve and new year's day on record. there is still some rain in the forecast, and after a brief respite, we are going to find wetter weather developing overnight as the cloud thickens. especially in western areas, and it turns wetter here. we've still got these brisk south to south—westerly wind, and temperatures aren't going to drop very much at all tonight, very mild. much milder than last night in the northeast of scotland. but tomorrow does start cloudy, we've got some rain around first thing. it pushes eastwards, but there won't be much rain for the eastern side of the uk. we will see the cloud thickening to bring some rain back into the southwest, into wales, perhaps the west midlands. ahead of that, though, could be some sunshine for eastern scotland and the northeast of england. quite a windy day again during tomorrow, very mild, of course, much milder than today across northern scotland where it's also going to be drier than it's been today as well. we will see rain pushing northwards and eastwards overnight. that should be tending to move away during friday. could lingerfor a while in southern scotland and the northeast of england, but the trend is for it to become drier and brighter on friday, and the winds will start to ease down as well. still very mild, not quite as mild, perhaps, in scotland on friday, but 16—17 celsius towards the southeast and east anglia. why is it so mild? it's because the air is coming all the way from the tropics, these southerly winds bringing in higher temperatures, a lot of cloud, ahead of these weather fronts, an area of low pressure that's focusing the wet weather more towards the northwest of the uk. you are going to be seeing in the new year, away from here, there's a good chance it's going to be dry, and all areas will be exceptionally mild. we've still got some wet weather to come on new year's day. more towards northern ireland, northwest england and scotland, that is pushing away towards the northeast. it's brightening up during the day with some sunshine, a few showers coming in. quite a windy day, i think, on saturday, but, of course, it will be very mild everywhere, 1a celsius in glasgow, 16 celsius in london. this is bbc news. the headlines — the uk has announced a record 183,000 new daily coronavirus cases, although figures have been affected by testing delays. it comes as doctors and pharmacists warn of a shortage of covid tests. record numbers of coronavirus infections have been recorded by several european countries, with the omicron variant fuelling a surge in cases. the world health organization says the virus is straining health care systems and staff around the world. the european court of human rights has urged russia to suspend the shutdown of the country's oldest human rights group, memorial international. the court said it needed time to examined the case. and the life of archbishop desmond tutu has been celebrated at memorial services outside his home injohannesburg and at an interfaith ceremony in cape town. now on bbc news, review 2021 — the coronavirus pandemic.