hello and welcome. us presidentjoe biden has again told russia's president vladamir putin that the us and its allies will "respond decisively" if russia further invades ukraine. this — during the second call between the two leaders in less than a month amid concerns over russian troops massing at the ukrainian border. a kremlin spokesperson said that putin had made it clear that any new large scale sanctions — would be a "colossal mista ke". the us released this picture of president biden on the call from his home in delaware — with the white house saying he laid out two paths — one of diplomacy and one of deterrence. both sides said the call had been constructive — further talks are set for the new year. for more on this i'm joined now by our washington correspondent gary o'donoghue. i chat between these two world leaders. what do we think that president biden is keen to emphasise on this call? well, this is the _ emphasise on this call? well, this is the second _ emphasise on this call? well, this is the second call - emphasise on this call? well, this is the second call they've| this is the second call they've had in the space of three weeks. this one is 50 minutes long, there a lot to talk about here, and there is an indication of the serious nature of the problem in ukraine �*s border with around 100,000 russian troops stationed there laid out these two paths come as you mentioned, one of diplomacy and discussion, if they didn't do that, there would be a separate path of deterrence and sanctions and serious consequences. america has already said that it would impose fresh new sanctions on russia if it didn't de—escalate. it would give more military aid to ukraine and indeed reinforce the nato posture in those countries around that area come around ukraine and russia's border. so i'll an awful lot, the kremlin for its part, they has issued a statement, it's talked about the discussion being constructed today, the sanctions that were talked about, would lead to a breakdown in their relationship. as an awful lot here, security guarantees, a legally binding agreement ukraine will neverjoin nato for example, that's why the focus now will shift, i think i'm into these talks in the new year, which will be crucial, but at the moment, the temperature is still very high. just remind us, gary, take us back to the situation on the border with ukraine. what is the history there, what is going on? {iii the history there, what is going on?— the history there, what is uaoinon? , ,, ., going on? of course, russia took control— going on? of course, russia took control of— going on? of course, russia took control of crimea - going on? of course, russia took control of crimea back| going on? of course, russia | took control of crimea back in 2014, march the ukrainian territory, took control of that after the revolution there in ukraine. since then, there's been a russian backed insurgency in eastern ukraine insurgency in eastern ukraine in the region. russia has said that russian minorities they are being persecuted. ukraine has said that russia is interfering in its internal affairs, thousands of lives have already been lost. russia has been repeatedly threatened to go in and try and look after what it because it's minority groups commits russian minority groups commits russian minority groups there. the fear, i think, is that these huge numbers of troops on the border mayjust be looking for a pretext to do just that, maybe even go further. there is also a lot of concern that perhaps this won't be a kind of straightforward invasion, there will be an attempt, if you like, to undermine the country bringing they government done in other ways to make it so they could take over in a much more stuff like fashion rather than tanks and armoured tanks on the roadways like that. but there is a lot of uncertainty no one really knows what either side is probably thinking. the americans are not going to put their own troops on the ground inside ukraine. i think russia knows that, but it does also knows that, but it does also know the consequences of actually evading —— invading ukraine. there is a huge standoff here, people working for one another, and to see what they can get in a huge standoff here, people working for one another, and to see what they can get an offence from this, what kind of negotiated settlement they can get. negotiated settlement they can net. ~ ~ , negotiated settlement they can iet_ . ~' , ., , ., get. we will keep an eye on that dialogue _ get. we will keep an eye on that dialogue into _ get. we will keep an eye on that dialogue into the - get. we will keep an eye on that dialogue into the new. that dialogue into the new year. thank you for that, gary. and a little later in the programme we hear a former us ambassador to nato's take on the meeting. a woman who gave key evidence in the trial of ghislaine maxwell — has spoken publicly today — saying she hopes the guilty verdict will bring some solace to other survivors. annie farmer — the only witness to use her real name during testimony — said the case demonstrated that no one was above the law. maxwell was found guilty yesterday — by a jury in new york — of grooming underage girls — to be abused by her friend jeffrey epstein. her lawyers say they will appeal against the verdict. this report by our correspondent, aleem maqbool, contains some flashing images. good morning america. guilty. good morning — guilty, i a long awaited verdict... the downfall of the british formersocialite, now a convicted sex trafficker, has been headline news here. and one of the four women brave enough to testify to put her behind bars, who was abused as a teenager, has been giving her reaction. i wasn't sure this day would ever come. and ijust feel so grateful that the jury believed us and sent a strong message that perpetrators of sexual abuse and exploitation will be held accountable, no matter how much power and privilege they have. mr maxwell, could we have a statement in behalf of the family, please? there's been no sense of contrition as yet from the siblings of ghislaine maxwell, or regrets for the victims she played a part in sexually abusing. they released a statement saying, "we believe firmly in our sister's innocence, we are very disappointed with the verdict." one of maxwell's lawyers, who questioned the motives of the women who came forward to testify, said this wasn't the end. obviously we are very disappointed with the verdict. we have already started working on the appeal and we are confident she will be vindicated. but legal experts appear to agree ghislaine maxwell's chances of clearing the high legal bar to win an appealare slim. her crimes were carried out during her long association with the disgraced financier jeffrey epstein, who died in prison. but they mingled with the rich and influential, including, famously, prince andrew. their powerful connections left many of their accusers wondering if they'd ever be held accountable. it's been such a long, hard journey to get here. so, yesterday's decision, i think, will take a little while to sink in. i'm pleased that she will never be able again, ever, to hurt anybody else. and, for that, i feel very pleased. all the while she'd been living her lavish lifestyle, she'd been hiding dark secrets. but finally that's all caught up with ghislaine maxwell. and a short time ago, aleem gave us this update from new york. well, you heard there from just two of the people who accused jeffrey epstein and his long—time girlfriend, maxwell, one of them testified in court about their relief and how they hoped that it would mean that others came forward who were victims of sexual abuse more broadly. that's what we have been hearing across the us from lawyers, advocates for those who have suffered sexual abuse, that in a country where it is notoriously difficult to get the conviction sometimes for sexual abuse, that they do hope, because this is such a high—profile case that did end in convictions, that it would help others to come forward. let's get some of the day's other news. a stranded boat carrying around one hundred and twenty rohingya refugees from myanmar has arrived in indonesia's aceh province after it was towed by the indonesian navy. the country's authorities initially refused to help the boat ashore planning instead to push it into malaysian waters. but local fishermen organised protests, demanding help for the refugees. they also ferried food and water to those on board since they discovered the boat drifting in open waters on december 25th. local fishermen from aceh found the refugees' boat —— wildfires in the us state of colorado have prompted the evacuation of two towns near denver. the fires were driven by winds with gusts of around i70km an hour. it's thought sparks from power lines and transformers toppled by the winds had ignited multiple grass fires in the drought—parched area. the arduous reconstruction process is under way on the spanish island of la palma. excavators are digging their way through the solidified lava flows while engineers are working to ensure conditions are safe. the eruption of the cumbre vieja volcano was declared over on christmas day, after three long months of spewing ash and molten rock over the island. more than 3,000 buildings were destroyed along with hundreds of acres of farmland, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes. here in the uk, there are still problems with accessing covid—i9 tests. the government has promised that millions more will be made available on new year's eve, as infections break new record highs by the day. eight special hubs are being set up at hospitals across england in preparation for a surge in 0micron admissions. 0ur health correspondent sophie hutchinson reports. the start of building work on the next wave of nightingale hubs. this one is at st george's hospital in south—west london. the government says it's a contingency measure, in case of a surge in covid patients. but there's concern about who will staff them. we would prefer that the government take steps to avoid needing to use that extra surge capacity, purely because there just aren't the number of staff needed to safely provide the care for any patients that are requiring care, and that is where the priority needs to be, to ensure we've got staff to safely care for people that need care. eight nightingale units will be set up in hospital grounds to care for around 100 covid patients each, and hospital admissions are now rising sharply in the uk, almost doubling in england in the past week. and that follows several weeks of soaring infections, reaching record highs. but many people are still finding it hard to get tested. we thought we would come to the local pharmacy to see if they've got any lateral flow tests. but you don't need to go in to see that they're out of stock. so let's try this one. staff suggested that we go down the road to another pharmacy. well, i got lucky. the pharmacist here does have a box of tests. he says, in fact, he gets a delivery every day. but as soon as people find out he has got them, they can run out in half an hour, just because of the sheer size of the demand for them. eve burke, a teacher in berkshire, has covid along with her husband and two children. she's hoping to get back to work next tuesday, but can't find any lateral flow tests. i've been trying since yesterday, going on to the government website and refreshing hourly to get lfts sent to our home, because we can't go to a place to pick them up. i've been messaging friends, asking if anybody has any spare that they can drop off. but the issue is, everybody is in the same position. and if they do have some lfts at home, they are holding onto them themselves. we are now down to our final box of lateral flow tests. the government says 8 million lateral flow tests will be available by tomorrow. but mark burdon, who runs six pharmacies in north—east england, hasn't seen any extra supply. i tried ordering an additional supply this afternoon and that order was rejected. unfortunately, we're going to have to start to turn people away once the current supplies are exhausted. it's very frustrating when you've got people in front of you and you're unable to give them the tests that they're asking for. and lateral flow tests become even more important from tomorrow in northern ireland and wales. as in england, people with covid will be able to end self isolation earlier after seven days, rather than ten, if they can get the tests and get two negative results. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. in south africa, where the first —— well in south africa—— where the omicron variant was first identified last month — authorities say all indicators suggest it has passed the peak of the fourth wave of infections. the government is lifting with immediate effect the curfew it imposed to combat the new variant. it's also easing other restrictions. the authorities said there had been an almost thirty percent drop in the number of new cases during the week ending on the twenty— fifth of december. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the james webb space telescope begins to unfold its sunshield — in a complex process involving hundreds of moving parts. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow, in holland, were going to use money we picked up in belgium today, and then we'll be in france and again, it will be the same money, it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, 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. this is bbc news, our main headline... president biden has again told russia's president putin that the us will "respond decisively" if russia invades ukraine. let's stay with that story now. ivo daalder, former us ambassador to nato, who is now president of the chicago council, here's what he thinks president biden is likely to have said to his russian counterpart. well, i would assume that the key messages are two, one, if you do anything that a militarily, continue to engage in escalation and even invade further into ukraine, there is going to be serious consequences. there will be sanctions that will be agreed to by the european union, by the uk, by the us, that are the uk, by the us, thatare far in the uk, by the us, that are far in excess of what was imposed in 2014 when vladimir putin first invaded ukraine. secondly, it will mean a significant plus up of military and other assistance to the ukraine so they can defend themselves. thirdly, it will mean an expansion of the capacity of nato to defend its territory further in the east, including with us troops. so that's message number one. message number two is there's another way. de—escalate, find another way. de—escalate, find a way to remove your troops that you have, let's engage in diplomacy. there is a first round of diplomacy between the two countries scheduled for january ten, then the nato russia council meeting two days later. any meeting of the organisation of security cooperation in europe with all european countries and having a serious discussion about the future of european security is something that the biden administration and our allies in europe are more than willing to do, but not at the point of a un. ,, to do, but not at the point of a un. ., to do, but not at the point of a iun. ., to do, but not at the point of a iun. . ., a gun. say that if we took that as that's what _ a gun. say that if we took that as that's what happened, - a gun. say that if we took that as that's what happened, that | as that's what happened, that kind of deterrence message in diplomacy message, what do you think vita may put an's response would've been? well, my sense _ response would've been? well, my sense is _ response would've been? well, my sense is that _ response would've been? well, my sense is that he _ response would've been? well, my sense is that he would've i my sense is that he would've set them all and deflate —— in favour of diplomacy, but we need results immediately and here are my demands, which as i went legal guarantees that nato doesn't expand further, certainly not to ukraine and legal demands that in many ways, nato and europe turn the clock back to 1997 before any other countries became members of nato, remove all military capabilities from those countries that have joined billy notjoined nato since 1997, 14 countries have done so since that time. and then we are all fine. but i don't want to have long negotiations. i went to have you come to the table saying yes. yes it is the word he is looking for. until he gets that word, he will presumably maintain his military capability, and that is where the standoff is. it's between on the one hand vladimir putin trying to force a resolution on a set of issues that he has put forward for a long time now and europe, which is that he wants to control the future of ukraine, the future of belarus, the feature of the caucus and not the countries that are independent and trying to become free and sovereign and democratic and join the west. he wants to determine that rather than these countries. the question is what is he willing to willing to pay to get there? the former president of afghanistan, ashraf ghani, has defended his decision to flee the country in august — saying his security forces had told him they could not protect him from the taliban. mr ghani — who's now in exile in the uae — was heavily criticised at the time and accused of abandoning his country. in a conversation with the uk's former chief —— 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, has the story. chaos in kabul. the upheaval of august. afghans, fleeing for the airport when the taliban swept in. even president ashraf ghani. he slipped away secretly, in a helicopter. in statements on social media, he said he did it to save kabul and his life. now, he has spoken about that day, and forces meant to protect him - the pps. what was your sort of memory of when you woke up that day? 0n the morning of that day, i had no inkling that by late afternoon i would be leaving. dr mohib, the national security advisor, with the chief of pps came and they said pps has collapsed. if i take a stand, they will all be killed. and they were not capable of defending me, and dr mohib was literally terrified. the us congress i think has recently asked john sopko, the us inspector general for afghanistan, to investigate allegations that when you left the country a certain amount of money went with you. i want to categorically state i did not take any money out of the country. the helicopters, in our first destination, were available general carter was also a key player in efforts to find a different way out of this war. do you think if you'd stayed you would have been able to get them to understand? no. because, unfortunately, i was painted in total black. and all that came because we were never given the opportunity to sit down with them. it became an american issue, not an afghan issue. they erased us. the us envoy garnered the deal. there's a big "what if". what if the president had stayed? many say a deal was all but done for an orderly transition. but once he left, the taliban moved in. either way, the taliban were back. and many blame the president, notjust for what he did on august 15th, but what he didn't do in the months before. the blame is totally understandable. what they rightly blame me for, they have a total right, is i trusted in our international partnership and pursued that pact. all of us made a huge mistake in assuming that the patience of the international community would last. what matters now, afghanistan confronts the world's worst has allies had pushed for power—sharing and peace. now afghans are fighting just to survive in the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. lyse doucet, bbc news. in the last few minutes we've had more pictures of those wildfires in colorado come in — as well as the news that hundreds of homes have been destroyed. the fires around boulder county in the state are said to have consumed roughly 1,600 acres. they are being driven by winds with gusts of around 170km an hour. it's thought sparks from power lines and transformers toppled by the winds had ignited multiple grass fires in the drought—parched area. the james webb space telescope — launched on christmas day — is starting to unfold its sunshield — in a complex process involving hundreds of moving parts. all of them have to trigger at the right time and in the right order for the telescope to work. 0ur science editor rebecca morelle has the story. and lift off! the moment of launch for an astronomy mission like no other, as the james webb space telescope blasted off. then the rocket casing opened up, and the telescope was released into the darkness of space, with a million—mile journey ahead. but, as it travels, it has a fiendishly difficult task to do — unfolding. it's so big, we didn't have any rocket that's big enough to launch it, you know, fully deployed. so, we had to build this telescope to be folded up, to fit inside the rocket. this is really, really difficult engineering. but, you know, nasa has never shied away from doing hard things and so i have full confidence that it's going to work. unfurling the sun shield is the most difficult part of this process. it's enormous — the size of a tennis court. first, its two halves are lowered into position. then, the booms are deployed. the operation involves 400 pulleys, 400 metres of cabling and more than 100 release mechanisms that have to fire at exactly the right time. finally, the material is pulled taut, and the five layers of the sun shield, each as thin as a human hair, separate. the whole process has been rehearsed again and again on earth, but doing this in space will be nail—biting. it's made of floppy material and it has to be held onto by a series of pins, which release one by one, pull it out, make it tight, release another bit, pull it out again, until slowly, over days, you pull out this tennis court sized object. so, for many people working on the project, that's where the real nerves are. the sun shield protects the telescope from the heat and light of the sun. the difference between the hot and cold sides is huge — 300 degrees celsius. the telescope needs to operate in the coldest and darkest conditions to see the most distant stars. for the first time, we'll be able to see all the way back to the time when these very first galaxies formed. and that will allow us to actually get images of them, verify that they are the very first galaxies, and then we can study how galaxies have evolved over the history of the universe. the images that eventually come back from james webb will be even more spectacular than these, taken by hubble. but there's still work to do. the sun shield will take several days to open, and that's just the start of this complex unfolding process. with so much at stake, it's a tense time for the team. rebecca morelle, bbc news. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some that's it, this has been bbc news. hello. the unusually mild weather is set to stick with us as we see out the end of 2021. we had temperatures up to 16 degrees on thursday, about eight degrees above average, and for the next few days, it stays exceptionally mild and quite blustery, too. the winds coming in from the south or the south—west and drawing in the air right from the subtropics, from the canary isles right up towards the uk and actually across much of central europe as well. so, to start off your friday morning first thing on new year's eve, we've got temperatures already well in double figures, some places not falling below about 13 degrees. now, through the day, then, new year's eve this is, we're looking for a bit of rain around. it's going to clear out of northern ireland into parts of central and southern scotland. also rain clearing away from the east coast. and actually much of england, wales and northern ireland should see a bit more sunshine than we've seen over recent days, so a drier, brighter feel. temperatures up to about 15, 16, possibly 17 celsius. just a little bit cooler across the northern half of scotland, but there should be some sunshine here. now, we could well break some records. the warmest ever new year's eve was back ten years ago in 2011. colwyn bay got to 14.8 celsius, so we are set to see temperatures probably a degree or so higher than that. heading through new year's eve night now, if you've got plans, it's looking mostly dry, still very, very mild. could be some patchy rain across some northern and western areas as we see in the new year 2022. but new year's day once again looking very, very mild. we've got this very narrow band of showery rain which is going to cross its way slowly eastwards, followed by sunshine and showers for many areas. showers mainly towards the north west, so quite a bit of dry weather for new year's day on saturday. and again, you've guessed it, exceptionally mild. 13—16 celsius for most of us on new year's day. then that very mild air that's been with us starts to gradually ease away towards the near continent. we've still got mild air with us certainly from a south—westerly direction, but temperatures probably starting to come down just a notch as we head through sunday and into the first week of 2022. so, sunday really is going to be a day of some sunshine, but also plenty of showers. you can see a rash of showers across the uk, and temperatures somewhere between about 10—13 degrees, still above average, but not the exceptionally mild weather of the next couple of days. looking ahead into next week, then, fairly unsettled, not quite as mild as it has been lately. bye for now. this is bbc news. the headlines — president biden has spoken on the phone with vladimir putin, urging the russian president to de—escalate tensions over ukraine, but making it clear the us would respond decisively if russian troops cross the border. the kremlin said president putin called the imposition of any sanctions against russia a colossal mistake. south africa, where the 0micron variant was first identified last month, says it has passed the peak of covid infections. the government has immediately lifted a night—time curfew it imposed to combat the virus. elsewhere, the uk and the us continue to experience very high levels of new infections. the family of ghislaine maxwell is backing a legal appeal against her conviction in new york on charges of grooming underage girls. she faces a lengthy prison sentence after a jury found her guilty on five charges that she procured young teenagers to be abused byjeffrey epstein.