bloggers as well, people who have to me you know, set up their own channels to talk about this trial. lots of conspiracy theories that the trial and the whole story as well, so it does really appeal to people. the case wasn't, the trial wasn't televised, you cannot have cameras and a federal trial as well, so we have been relying on, as reporters, we have been going in and out of the courtroom, but also sketch artist as well has been capturing everything a moment of the trial. our thanks to nomia there. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a jury in new york has found the british socialite ghislaine maxwell guilty on five counts of grooming and trafficking teenage girls for abuse. maxwell faces the rest of her life behind bars for procuring girls for the financier and convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. let's get a bit more analysis of this now. sam lister, deputy political editor at the daily express, has given her reaction to the verdict. imean, i mean, it's such an important and momentous verdict. obviously not only for the women involved but for anybody who is a victim of sexual abuse or exploitation. it is really important message, that the rich and powerful are not above the law. �* ., _, , rich and powerful are not above the law. �* ., , , rich and powerful are not above thelaw. ., , ,, the law. and of course, this is a significant — the law. and of course, this is a significant news _ the law. and of course, this is a significant news story - the law. and of course, this is a significant news story in - the law. and of course, this is a significant news story in the| a significant news story in the us, considering jeffrey epstein, but of course because ghislaine maxwell, her nationality�*s british, it is a significant story here. absolutely. all the newspapers are scrambling now to rewrite front pages and get this on there. it is a huge story, and obviously their implications from the palace, as we heard from the palace, as we heard from your previous support differential between the duke of york and ghislaine maxwell and jeffrey epstein —— the relationship. the "treat —— straightforward shooting party" referred to in that interview. the obsolete had close ties for many years and causes big disquiet for the palace tonight.— causes big disquiet for the palace tonight. yeah, those questions — palace tonight. yeah, those questions that _ palace tonight. yeah, those questions that have - palace tonight. yeah, those questions that have been i palace tonight. yeah, those - questions that have been around now for years, depending on where you draw it from, but certainly those conversations and many more news articles going to be written about this subject. going to be written about this sub'ect. , ., , ., , going to be written about this sub'ect. , ., , ., sub'ect. yes, a story that will be subject. yes, a story that will be dominating _ subject. yes, a story that will be dominating the _ subject. yes, a story that will be dominating the use - subject. yes, a story that will be dominating the use for - be dominating the use for many days to come. i see the sun has managed to get their front page out, they've gone with the picture of ghislaine maxwell and a straightforward headline of "guilty!"— of "guilty!" and you rightly mentioned _ of "guilty!" and you rightly mentioned read _ of "guilty!" and you rightly mentioned read the - of "guilty!" and you rightly mentioned read the being | of "guilty!" and you rightly i mentioned read the being of your answer, and i want to come back to it now, the importance of the vertex like this for survivors and notjust in the specific case itself but in many, many cases, in many, many courts up and on the country, around the world. absolutely, and we have _ around the world. absolutely, and we have seen _ around the world. absolutely, and we have seen by - around the world. absolutely, and we have seen by the - around the world. absolutely, i and we have seen by the length of time it is taken for this to come to this point how difficult it is for anybody who has been in that position to getjustice, but obviously it shows it can be done and that is really important, powerful message tonight. i think it will be looks on around the world, certainly, with victims and survivors, it is a really important message.- and survivors, it is a really important message. and the other elements _ important message. and the other elements in _ important message. and the other elements in this, - important message. and the other elements in this, very | other elements in this, very important element, was this element of power, of wealth and fame, and that implication that perhaps the justice system is set up in a way that will inevitably favour those with access to more resources and the best lawyers, and one of the best lawyers, and one of the legal experts we had on just in the last hour or so said this does not whitewash that, you cannot pretend that in this case justice has been cannot pretend that in this casejustice has been done, that every case is an equal playing field. i am assuming thatis playing field. i am assuming that is notjust a problem in the us. that is not 'ust a problem in the us. ., ., , , that is not 'ust a problem in the us. ., , , that is not 'ust a problem in theus. ., , , the us. no, absolutely, but you have to think— the us. no, absolutely, but you have to think of— the us. no, absolutely, but you have to think of the _ the us. no, absolutely, but you have to think of the wider - have to think of the wider picture as well. obviously the head of steam for pushing ahead with this case, for many years, eventually there was a ground full of opinion that meant there was the kind of desire to push ahead with this stub obviously, many young girls and women who have victims of abuse were not in positions of power —— who are victims of. who don't get this kind of impotence and don't have that head of steam behind, to push these cases into the public eye, and into thejustice system, obviously there is a hell of a lot of work to be done there. yeah, thanks to sam listerfor that. tara palmeri is the host of two podcasts — broken: seeking justice and power: the maxwells — and she's given us her reaction. i was definitely expecting this for stub just the amount of time thejury to for stub just the amount of time the jury to deliberate the questions they asked, they really wanted a deep understanding what it was like inside ofjeffrey epstein's house, and he went to the staff, the pilots, the chauffeur of the house meant, they wanted to know what people could see. how they observed ghislaine maxwell living with jeffrey epstein and being so integral to the sex trafficking operation. this isjust an addition to the many, many stories we've heard from so many women, almost identical stories, about being recruited and groomed by a ghislaine maxwell into jeffrey and groomed by a ghislaine maxwell intojeffrey epstein's web, but it was helpful for these women to have men on the stand, people who work for them, also testifying that their recollections match the recollections of these young victims who were 1a, 15 years old, and it has been 20 years for some of them and they might not have an strongest memory, so i think the case was really strong, the prosecution presented, the amount appeared of time that the jury deliberated meant they were taking all of the details very seriously and i think ultimatelyjustice seriously and i think ultimately justice was served. and it took a year for the feds to essentially find ghislaine maxwell and serve her and to bring her into custody, and for that period of time — that was when i was working on the podcast — i interviewed so many of these girls who decided not to be jane the end put their story for... they were associated with ghislaine maxwell —— people who wanted this story... including a member of the royal family. there were so many people who want to destroy to go and these women were so brave, and they kept beating the drum and kept storing the —— telling their story to whoever would listen. -- telling their story to whoever would listen. tara palmeri — and we will keep you up—to—date with more reaction out of the us. for now, though, some other news. the world health organization has warned the omicron and delta variants of coronavirus are leading to a tsunami of cases. the body said variants were putting an enormous strain on health care systems across the world. it came as countries across europe continued to record record numbers of infections, with governments differing over whether new restrictions are needed to control the virus. 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. there's been a jump in the daily number of new covid infections in the uk — with just over with 183,000 people testing positive. that figure does include five days of data from northern ireland. new figures out today showed the highest number of people in hospital with covid in england since early march. the fast spread of the omicron variant has led to a big rise in demand for covid tests, with warnings from doctors and pharmacists that supplies are patchy. here's katharine da costa. george winder and his wife nikki are both gps in leeds. spiralling cases are leading to an increase. the number of people with covid in hospital has risen above 10,000 for the first time in 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 omicron. but on the other hand, we can see the data about the relative mildness of omicron, 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 omicron variant will have on older age groups as the virus spreads from the young into those who are most at risk of falling seriously ill. —— as the various surges through communities. the rapid rise in infections is leading to greater demand for testing. george winder and his wife nikki are both gps in leeds. he tested positive for covid on a lateral flow device. as a health care worker, his wife tried to book a pcr test, but none were available this morning. for my wife, who could potentially go back into work if her pcr test was negative and she remained symptom—free, that's a huge impact on her surgery. there are only three of them. if she's off because she has to isolate, then that's a third of her workforce down, so it's a real issue not being able to book pcr tests, not getting them in a timely manner and also not being able to get lateral flow tests to help direct us what to do. 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 notjust 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. scotland has also experienced a record number of new covid cases in the last 2a hours. during a virtual recall of the scottish parliament, the first minister nicola sturgeon said a further 15,8119 cases had been reported. she said there'd be no immediate changes to the current covid restrictions and that her government hopes to reach a decision on isolation rules in the next week. our scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie reports. the wave of predicted omicron cases is developing rapidly. the number of reported covid cases almost doubled in the past week. scotland's national football stadium, hampden park, is now a mass vaccination centre. the scottish government has stressed the urgency for people to get their booster, as cases surge. with such a high rate of infection, it will still cause a lot of pressure on our services and we will still see people admitted to hospital with this disease. the first minister said the impact of the soaring case numbers was being closely monitored — especially hospital figures, which have been broadly stable but increased by 80 since yesterday. nicola sturgeon said there was need for caution. she told msps she hoped to reach a decision on a change to isolation rules in the next few days. i indicated last week that we were weighing the risks and benefits of shortening the isolation period for index cases and also potentially easing the requirement for all household contacts to isolate following a positive case. these are finely balanced judgements and we are considering the current trends in infection carefully. there has been increasing pressure from business and opposition parties. we've had the ground—breaking omicron study that shows while it's more transmissible, it is less severe. 50, first minister, what more information do you need to take the steps on self—isolation that we've been calling for for weeks? today in glasgow, taxi and private hire drivers protested. they said they'd been excluded from a scheme to help businesses impacted by covid rules. every restriction has - a knock—on effect for workers and businesses, particularly in hospitality and retail. - so can i repeat calls _ for the uk government to work with devolved governments to support workers at - this time of crisis? many are literally i fighting for survival. hogmanay is usually a big celebration here in scotland, but this new year's eve, the advice is to reduce contacts as much as possible and not to travel to england to attend a nightclub or to avoid scotland's more stringent coronavirus restrictions. the first minister acknowledged it had been another difficult year, but said she believed that 2022 would be better. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news. france has recorded more than 200,000 new daily covid—19 infections. it's a national and european high, described as "dizzying" by the country's health minister. in an attempt to quell the rising numbers, the government has announced new restrictions, including a mandate to work from home for three days a week. and from friday, mask wearing outdoors will become mandatory in paris. 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 omicron. 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. thanks to hugh schofield for that. let's go back to our top story, the news that a jury in new york has found the british socialite ghislaine maxwell guilty of having helped the late financierjeffrey epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. the jurors found the 60—year—old guilty of another four charges connected with procuring the victims and facilitating the abuse. she was found not guilty on one other charge. the convictions mean maxwell faces the possibility of spending the rest of her life in prison. ghislaine maxwell's lawyer has spoken briefly outside the court. we firmly believe in ghislaine's innocence. obviously we are very disappointed with the verdict. we've already started working on the appeal and we a confident that she will be indicated. everyone from the be healthy. have a happy new year. the bbc�*s aleem maqbool has this report into the background of the case. ghislaine maxwell will now finally pay for her terrible crimes. her victims were robbed ofjustice for decades, but four of them have helped put a now infamous sexual predator behind bars. each was from a troubled or cash—strapped home, and the court heard how ghislaine maxwell gained their trust. during their explicit and emotional testimony, they told the jury how she instructed them to give the latejeffrey epstein massages that turned sexual. all but one, annie farmer, testified anonymously, using a pseudonym orjust theirfirst name. jane said maxwell participated in her sexual encounters with epstein. "i was terrified and felt gross and ashamed. "when you're14, you have no idea what's going on," she said. kate said, after sexual contact with epstein, maxwell asked her if she had fun, saying she was such a good girl and one of his favourites. carolyn said maxwell told her she had a great body for epstein and his friends, before touching her breasts. and annie farmer, the only victim who publicly identified herself, said ghislaine maxwell gave her an unsolicited massage and rubbed her breasts. she said, "i so badly wanted to get off the table and have the massage be done." legal experts said the defence's attack on the women's memories and motives didn't help ghislaine maxwell overcome the compelling evidence. she had the disadvantage of having to try to explain away this parade of young girls who were coming in and out of the home daily, and she claimed she knew none of that, that it never happened. and that's very, very difficult for the jurors to credit, and when the jurors concluded that ghislaine maxwell was a liar, they concluded that she was a predator. police raids of epstein's homes showed the duo's jet—setting, luxurious lifestyle. in this photo, the pair are seen relaxing at the queen's balmoral residence, when prince andrew reportedly invited the couple to the estate. the staggering wealth on display from opulent properties in florida, new york, new mexico, and even epstein's own private island, nicknamed little sainttjeff, only highlighted how they used their power together over the years to lure, intimidate and silence everyone around them. house rules, including this manual, told staff to be deaf, dumb and blind, forbidding them from making eye contact with epstein. i think this guilty verdict is immensely meaningful to sexual abuse victims everywhere, that no matter who you are, no matter what kinds of circles you travel in, no matter how much money you have, no matter how many years have passed since the sexual abuse, justice is still possible. ghislaine maxwell will be sentenced at a later date, and she still faces a second trial for perjury — a charge which she denies. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in new york. the case against ghislaine maxwell has raised questions about her friendship with prince andrew. the duke of york, who is facing a separate civil court case in the united states, was mentioned by prosecution witnesses in claims about maxwell and her relationship with jeffrey epstein. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. caught by the camera in this now—infamous photograph — on the left, prince andrew, in the centre, the then—17—year—old virginia roberts, and on the right, smiling for the camera, ghislaine maxwell. andrew's friendship with ghislaine maxwell goes back more than 20 years. here he is with her injune 2000. at the time, she was jeffrey epstein's girlfriend. epstein was there as well. he, too, was a guest of prince andrew. andrew spoke about his friendship with epstein and his girlfriend, ghislaine maxwell, in his newsnight interview. in 2000, epstein was a guest at windsor castle and at sandringham. he was brought right into the heart of the royal family at your invitation. but certainly at my invitation, not at the royal family's invitation. but remember that it was his girlfriend that was the key in this. he was the, as it were, plus—one to some extent, in that aspect. am i right in thinking you threw a birthday for epstein's girlfriend, ghislaine maxwell, at sandringham? no, it was a shooting weekend. a shooting weekend? just a straightforward shooting weekend. racing at ascot, shooting at sandringham and a trip to balmoral. this photograph, an exhibit at maxwell's trial in new york, shows epstein and maxwell relaxing at the queen's balmoral estate. they were there at andrew's invitation. andrew categorically denies knowing of any improper activities by epstein or anyone else. his lawyers are mounting a robust defence against the civil lawsuit brought against him in new york by virginia roberts — or virginia giuffre as she is now. in a submission to the court, andrew's legal team say the case should be dismissed. they said the allegation against him are baseless and motivated by giuffre's desire for a payday at his expense. whatever the truth of those allegations, it's clear that andrew had a long—lasting friendship with ghislaine maxwell. it was to her that andrew turned when virginia roberts�*s allegations surfaced. in january 2015, andrew e—mailed maxwell... ..he wrote, to which maxwell replied... however, by the time andrew did his interview with newsnight, he seemed to want to distance himself from his old friend. if there are questions that ghislaine has to answer, that's her problem. i'm afraid i'm not in a position to be able to comment one way or the other. a court in new york has now delivered its verdict on ghislaine maxwell. in a few weeks, another court in new york consider the civil lawsuit against prince andrew brought by virginia giuffre. andrew's lawyers will once again plead his innocence of any impropriety. nicholas witchell, bbc news. just a reminder before i go that we havejust just a reminder before i go that we have just heard from ghislaine maxwell's lawyers outside court in new york, that they do intend to appeal against this decision, but as things stand, she has been found guilty of five counts, any sentencing, of which we are still waiting for, but could see her the possibility of spending the rest of her life in prison. but that's it from me. do get me on social media. i'm lewis vaughanjones. this is bbc news. bye—bye. hello again. temperatures reached the 16 degrees mark in both london and in exeter through wednesday. and we've got more of the same to come for the next few days, really, as we keep these south—westerly winds flowing across the country, bringing pulses of exceptionally mild air northwards. now, temperatures probably reaching 16, possibly 17 celsius, and in contrast, the temperatures that we'd normally expect at this time of the year, around abour eight celsius. so it is pretty exceptional, not far away from the english temperature record, which is 17.7. as we head into thursday morning, we'll see outbreaks of rain turning heavier across western areas, a very, very mild start to the day with these temperatures. 1a, even 15 celsius to start the day. the rain, though, will be heavy for a time. it does tend to ease off and become a little bit lighter and patchier across northwestern areas. otherwise, a lot of cloud. could be an odd bit of drizzle just about anywhere. but later in the day, we'll see another pulse of heavier rain working into wales, and that is likely to reach northwest england as we head into thursday afternoon. temperatures, well, 13 degrees in glasgow and belfast. that's very mild. 16 again the top temperature in london. we could see a high up to 17. thursday night, outbreaks of rain will become much more extensive as this area of low pressure moves in. it will also be bringing some strong gusts of wind quite widely. and into new year's eve, friday, that rain is going to be there for much of the day in scotland, with some fairly brisk winds elsewhere. again, there will be a lot of cloud around, an occasional spot of drizzle across western areas, and those temperatures still reaching 16, possibly 17, in the warmest areas. still mild further northwards, butjust not quite as exceptional. heading to those new year's celebrations, might be a bit more muted for one or two of you, but it stays exceptionally mild. a bit of rain, though, is in the forecast across northwestern areas. and as those bells strike midnight, these are the kind of temperatures that we'll have out and about. heading into new year's day now, which is saturday, we start off with extended cloud, some bursts of rain pushing eastwards. quite a gusty, windy kind of day. the afternoon does look a bit brighter, but with a number of heavy showers flowing in across western areas. it's still very mild, 13 in aberdeen, 1a for glasgow. highs could reach 17 in the warmest areas new year's day. this is bbc news. i'm simon pusey. our top stories: the british socialite ghislaine maxwell is found guilty on five counts of grooming and trafficking teenage girls for abuse by a jury in new york. maxwell procured the girls for the financier and convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein — she faces the rest of her life behind bars. no matter who you are, no matter what kinds of circles you travel income and about how much money you have committed to matter how many years have passed since the sexual abuse, justice is still possible. we'll be looking at the implications of the verdict for prince andrew, who is named in a lawsuit brought by a woman who says she was groomed by maxwell and abused by the prince. and record numbers of covid infections