of the unvaccinated. so we've got to make more progress. prince andrew's lawyers argue in court, for the sexual assault civil lawsuit against him, to be thrown out. they say he can't be sued, because of an agreement signed by his accuser, virginia giuffre. despite strict covid rules, novak djokovic will be allowed to defend his australian open title, without being vaccinated as he's granted a medical exemption. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. it doesn't get much tougher than this. the chinese city of yuzhou has been put into lockdown after recording just three cases of covid, all of them asymptomatic, as china shows its determination to continue with its zero—covid strategy. residents won't be allowed to leave their homes in this eastern chinese city of around 1.2 million people. the transport system has been shut down, as well as shops and entertainment venues. only food stores can stay open, and only workers involved in epidemic prevention are allowed out. another city, xi'an, with a population of 13 million, has been under lockdown for two weeks. our correspondent, robin brant, sent us this report. this is extreme, even by china's standards. a city shut down because ofjust three new cases, with no symptoms. everyone is prohibited from leaving the city, the sign says. a million plus people are now in lockdown in yuzhou, the latest proof that china is very committed to its zero—covid strategy. translation: it doesn't bother me to do a covid test at midnight. it's for our own safety. 300 miles away and two weeks ahead of yuzhou is xi'an, a city famed for its terracotta warriors, where 13 million people have now been locked down since before christmas. what started out a fortnight ago with the late—night army of officials welding gates shut, has led to this. some people banned from leaving their tower blocks have taken to bartering with their neighbours. cigarettes for vegetables, other goods for sanitary towels. this is what most of china looks like. it's busy. yes, you have to have a mask when you get on the metro and there's a temperature check, but the government says its zero—covid strategy has achieved this for about 18 months now. and that's a strategy that includes things like this — pop—up tents where you can get a booster on the way home and win prizes as well. but it also includes very, very harsh measures that can be imposed on a city in a matter of hours. harsh measures, brutal enforcement. it's been part of china's covid containment since the beginning. just last month, some cities were parading covid spreading offenders in public. keeping cases at near zero is now even more important as china prepares to host another olympics. the winter games in beijing is just a month away. china's president, xijinping, saw for himself the final preparations on tuesday. on the brink of a third term in power, he wants and needs a smooth ride at the games. zero covid is central to that. robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. we are going to focus in on some of the reasons for the current approach a little bit later in the bulletin. well the chinese approach may seem pretty draconian, but the number of infections and the authorities�* response to it is in very stark contrast to other parts of the world, nowhere more so than the united states, which has just recorded more than one million cases of the omicron variant. that's the highest daily tally of anywhere in the world. speaking at the white house, president biden pleaded with the american people who haven't been vaccinated, to get the jab. let me be absolutely clear. we have in hand all the vaccines we need to get every american fully vaccinated, including the booster shot, so there's no excuse, no excuse for anyone being unvaccinated. this continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated. in britain, nearly 220,000 new coronavirus cases, a new high, have been recorded. it comes as pupils returned to school in england and northern ireland. the prime minister, borisjohnson, says he hopes england can "ride out" the current wave of covid—i9 infections without further restrictions. here's our health editor, hugh pym. the nhs is always under strain at this time of the year. now there's a new variant — with london hospitals like this one, uch, caught up in the early wave. they're seeing an important difference from previous covid surges. it's all looking very good. all looking nice and steady, so well done. there's less pressure on intensive care, but more elsewhere in the hospital. so, the numbers coming into intensive care are less, the numbers coming into general beds are more. and there's a caveat — we don't know, as the older people start to get omicron, whether that will convert into more coming into intensive care. and caring for covid patients in general wards brings its own challenges. this bay has four patients, all with different conditions, needing to see different consultants. but they're altogether here because they've got covid. one of them is dennis, who had an underlying lung problem before he caught the virus. well, considering i was near death's door, they brought me back. i feel good. i feel really good. i had two lung collapses, they brought me back twice. adam and jade, who run the ward, say staffing pressures are creating added stress. we've had quite acute staff shortages, a lot of staff off sick and isolating. patient wise, i think the numbers are increasing, but currently, we're not at full capacity yet. it'sjust the fear of the unknown. you don't know which way it's going to go. even though right now it feels slightly better than it did this time last year. so, what might happen now? there was a chance to find out more at the downing street briefing. would you say it's now unlikely or highly unlikely that further restrictions will be introduced in england? i would say we have a good chance of getting through the omicron wave without the need for further restrictions and without the need, certainly, for a lockdown. back at university college hospital, there are signs that numbers have stabilised, but no certainty what'll happen next. we were increasingly worried before the new year, and now, at the beginning ofjanuary, we're seeing some very, very early signs that perhaps some of that demand is listening. but i would caution against thinking we are through the worst of this pandemic. we have a long way to go injanuary, so we're really planning very much for the worst and hoping for the best. the message to get vaccinated was also pushed again today by the prime minister. he said 61% of patients in intensive care units haven't been vaccinated, and 90% hadn't had a booster. borisjohnson added that people were dying needlessly because they hadn't had theirjabs. hugh pym, bbc news. prince andrew's lawyers have been trying to convince an american judge to dismiss the sexual assault civil lawsuit against him. they say his accuser, virginia giuffre, can't sue, because of damages she accepted in 2009, from the paedophile, jeffrey epstein, in return for dropping her claims against him and any other "potential defendant". prince andrew has consistently denied her allegations. our royal correspondent, jonny dymond, has the latest. she says she was sexually assaulted by prince andrew three times. he denies every allegation and says he can't remember meeting her. today, his lawyers argued the whole case should be dismissed. the civil case rests partly on this meeting in london, a night when virginia giuffre, here aged 17, says she was forced to have sex with prince andrew. when he spoke to the bbc in 2019, he denied the allegations again and again. you can say categorically that you don't recall meeting virginia roberts, dining with her... yep. ..dancing with her at tramp... yep. ..or going on to have sex with her... yes. ..in a bedroom in a house in belgravia? i can absolutely, categorically tell you it never happened. do you recall any kind of sexual contact with virginia roberts, then or at any other time? none... none whatsoever. today in new york, the lawyers battled in court for the first time. at the centre of their arguments, a deal struck between andrew's accuser and his former friend jeffrey epstein. epstein paid virginia giuffre half a million dollars. their deal released any other person who could have been included as a potential defendant from further legal challenge by virginia giuffre. prince andrew's lawyers needed to persuade the judge that the 2009 deal covered the prince. it's unquestionable, the court heard, that prince andrew could have been sued in the 2009 florida action but was not. he was a potential defendant. the prince's lawyers demanded detail of the allegations against their client, but they were slapped down by thejudge. finally, questions were raised as to whether the prince could even use the 2009 deal. he is a third party, the court heard. thejudge said... thejudge was quite aggressive in his questioning of prince andrew's attorneys as they raised technical argument after technical argument, trying to get virginia's case dismissed. the judge did not seem to be having any of it. even if this case is dismissed, prince andrew will, say veteran royal watchers, struggle to return to his previous public life. when it comes to the monarchy, the monarchy is obviously an institution that is big enough to rise above what has happened. but when it comes to prince andrew, one has to say that one can see no role in royal life for him in the immediate future or the intermediate future. just getting this far has damaged prince andrew. and if the case is not dismissed, it will hang over thisjubilee year. the queen's second son, threatened with having to testify in a new york courtroom. now, they wait. thejudge in new york says a decision will come pretty soon. jonny dymond, bbc news. mitchell epner is a former federal prosecutor and has been following the case closely. thanks forjoining us. we've laid out the key elements of the case of air. what do you make of the strength of the argument that prince andrew's lawyers are using to dismiss on the basis that he would be a potential defendant and this agreement really means he can't be challenged.— be challenged. today was a horrible day _ be challenged. today was a horrible day for _ be challenged. today was a horrible day for prince - be challenged. today was a - horrible day for prince andrew. that argument was clearly reject it by the judge, both on the question of whether the deal, the settlement agreement was clear enough to cover prince andrew, but more importantly, as your reporter properly noted, where prince andrew would have the ability to raise this argument at all, it seems very clear thatjudge kaplan is not going to dismiss this case and he is going to find that the only person who could raise this settlement agreement to try to exonerate prince andrew would be the executor or ofjeffrey epstein�*s estate and that executor or is not going to lift a finger in order to help prince andrew.— lift a finger in order to help i prince andrew._ the prince andrew. why not? the executor _ prince andrew. why not? the executor or— prince andrew. why not? the executor or is _ prince andrew. why not? the executor or is charged - prince andrew. why not? the executor or is charged with i prince andrew. why not? the | executor or is charged with the fiduciary duty of protect the estate and the estate in virtually everyone's view is best served by trying to get the most compensation to epstein�*s victims and creditors as possible and has no percentage in being seen as helping to stonewall any of the terms in trying to obtain justice from any of the other alleged perpetrators. we can't “um - alleged perpetrators. we can't “um the alleged perpetrators. we can't jump the gun _ alleged perpetrators. we can't jump the gun on _ alleged perpetrators. we can't jump the gun on what - alleged perpetrators. we can't jump the gun on what the - jump the gun on what the judge's opinion will be but we could perhaps look at what a civil case might look like. it really is a he said she said sort of scenario, isn't it? hello yes, it is clearly a he said, she said, and the question will come down to one of credibility and one of corroboration, and virginia giuffre roberts has one of the most capable attorneys in america in david boyes and his team, i would america in david boyes and his team, iwould not america in david boyes and his team, i would not feel comfortable today if i was prince andrew. despite suggestions about virginia giuffre's own credibility? clearly virginia giuffre roberts' story has changed and shifted over the years and she will have issues with regard to her credibility. on the other hand, prince andrew has some major issues with regard to both his credibility and his availability. there is a fundamental question of whether or not he will even set for deposition or if he will assert his rights under the fifth amendment to the united states constitution not to incriminate himself so as to avoid the possibility of eventual criminal sanctions. so possibility of eventual criminal sanctions. so we wait for the judge's _ criminal sanctions. so we wait for the judge's opinion. - criminal sanctions. so we wait for the judge's opinion. thank| for the judge's opinion. thank you for thejudge's opinion. thank you very much indeed for your expertise. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we'll tell you why tennis star novak djokovic has come under fire for being allowed to play at the australian open. the japanese people are in the mourning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. good grief. after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his tour of- south africa tomorrow in spite of protests and violence - from some black activist groups. i they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa _ until majority rule is established. . around the world, people have been paying tribute to the iconic rock star david bowie, who sold 140 million albums in a career that spanned half a century. his family announced overnight that he died of cancer at the age of 69. the world's tallest skyscraper opens later today. the burj dubai has easily overtaken its nearest rivals. this continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated. so we've got to make more progress. limit this is bbc news, the latest headlines , a chinese city of more than one million people is under lockdown after three reported cases, under the government's zero covid strategy. let's have more on our top story, china's covid policy. i'm joined now by professor elanah uretsky, a professor of medical anthrolopology whose research specifically focuses on china thank you forjoining us. it does feel draconian. would it be fair to say that it is for one asic reason, and that is the olympic games? i one asic reason, and that is the olympic games?- one asic reason, and that is the olympic games? i think that would be fair _ the olympic games? i think that would be fair to _ the olympic games? i think that would be fair to say. _ the olympic games? i think that would be fair to say. i _ the olympic games? i think that would be fair to say. ithink- would be fair to say. i think china, they are in the final stages of preparation for the olympics. a huge event for any country around the world and i think maybe even a bigger event for china with the 2008 olympics where an event that really brought china out onto the world stage and it was extremely successful and choreographed event. and i think that that was the summer olympics, this is their turn to have the winter olympics and this can bring them further out onto the world stage and send them into the next step of being a major global power and it is something that is very important to them. they saw the tokyo olympics just gone last year and they finally went on in 2021. they tried to be as careful as possible beforehand yet, you know, it is very, very difficult, as we see, to prevent an outbreak of this virus around the world. so i think they are really trying to aim for that as much as possible. aim for that as much as possible-— aim for that as much as ossible. . , . ., , possible. that is certainly clear. possible. that is certainly clear- it _ possible. that is certainly clear. it is _ possible. that is certainly clear. it is fascinating - possible. that is certainly clear. it is fascinating to l clear. it is fascinating to look at the pictures which are designed, in some respects, to tell the story. we call it the anti— covid command unit of health officials out in the city. what is the local chinese and public perception of the way the lockdown is working? are they buying into it? it is hard to tell because things have become so sensitive in china these days but in speaking with people in china, what they will tell me is that our government is here to protect us. we had an outbreak in our city and the government came in right away and protected us, they vaccinated us, they test us, they make sure that we are safe and where needed they bring us food. one wonders if three cases in one city, goodness knows how many cities over a million there are in china. it creates a suggestion that it may be a variable response, nonetheless across the country. i think, first of all, the three cases is three detected cases. how many undetected cases are there? that is always hard to know. also how quickly will those cases spread? i don't know that the omicron variant has reached china, we've not heard about that but if it has we know how quickly omicron spreads throughout any country. one week ago we were receiving dates of a 100,000 in the us and now we are up to 1 million cases a day. in a country is densely populated as china those cases will spread even quicker because of the transmissibility of omicron. and i think that, you know, if it is anywhere, if the viruses anywhere because of how people travel, especially at this time of year in china, we approach the chinese new year and people will travel in droves and they will travel in droves and they will take that virus and spread it around the whole country. we will wait to _ it around the whole country. we will wait to see. thank you very much. tennis now and the men's world number one, novak djokovic, has received a medical exemption to enter australia, bypassing the strict rules that only allow people vaccinated against covid—19 to enter the country. the news means that djokovic, who has been critical of mandatory vacinations dashcam now compete in the australian open, which he is bidding to win for a record tenth time. on tuesday he tweeted this picture on the airport tarmac, bags the caption "happy new year today i'm heading down under with an exemption permission. let's go 2022!" ben rothenberg is a tennis journalist and host of the �*no challenges remaining' podcast and hejoins me now from melbourne. can you explain how you get a medical exemption? you apply for one and _ medical exemption? you apply for one and you _ medical exemption? you apply for one and you have _ medical exemption? you apply for one and you have to - medical exemption? you apply for one and you have to give i medical exemption? you apply for one and you have to give a | for one and you have to give a reason for it and we still don't know what djokovic's reason for this exemption was. the understanding is that they would only be given in major medical situations and cases and that is not something you would think a world number one athlete would have. there are reasons unknown to us and it is also possible there is a clause in their which would allow for a very recent covid case to exempt from vaccination requirements. would not heard about djokovic catching covid again. it is possible but at this point there is a lot of speculation are not a lot of details which will have to come from him at some point. he's only person able to fill this in. , ., , ., ., ~' only person able to fill this in. given that he is looking to achieve something _ in. given that he is looking to achieve something no - in. given that he is looking to achieve something no other. achieve something no other tennis player in the men's game has ever achieved, a 21st grand slam victory, you can understand the attention on him. but are there other players also have a medical exemption that we know of? we tend to focus on djokovic. ihla tend to focus on d'okovic. no other tend to focus on djokovic. fir? other confirmed exemptions that we know. only a handful of exemptions that were given, robert lee about 26 applications and only a handful were granted and those include both players and support staff. we don't know about any other exemptions. there is one american player, tennis and green, he pulled out of the australian open citing vaccination rules. he is unvaccinated and does not want to be bid he did not apply for an exemption. djokovic did apply and it was granted. shall apply and it was granted. all of this takes place in melbourne, in victoria which has been through a lockdown health, i think is many people would describe it. how has this gone down? hat would describe it. how has this gone down?— gone down? not well at all. it has created _ gone down? not well at all. it has created a _ gone down? not well at all. it has created a great _ gone down? not well at all. it has created a great deal- gone down? not well at all. it has created a great deal of. gone down? not well at all. it| has created a great deal of bad will towards the tournament and djokovic and whoever else's perceived possible to make responsible for bending the rules. there is a great deal of frustration is a major covid spike is happening with hundreds of lines and people waiting around the city for tests and shortages of home tests and shortages of home tests and shortages of home tests and it is a tough time and itjust furthers the perception that there is different treatment for stars and celebrities than there is for the average australian. he will want to concentrate on the tennis if he is to win this tournament and i imagine you and your colleagues are going to be bombarding him with questions as to how did you get the exemption. irate questions as to how did you get the exemption.— questions as to how did you get the exemption. we will see how hard the bombardment - the exemption. we will see how hard the bombardment goes - the exemption. we will see how| hard the bombardment goes but if he could offer more detail that would be a positive thing for him to do. not only for me butjust to tell his story. he does not want to have this lingering over him. he wants to reduce that as much as possible before it takes to the court for his first match otherwise the crowd, by tennis standards, could be fairly hostile. if the crowd, by tennis standards, could be fairly hostile.— could be fairly hostile. if you no to could be fairly hostile. if you go to our— could be fairly hostile. if you go to our website _ could be fairly hostile. if you go to our website you - could be fairly hostile. if you go to our website you can i could be fairly hostile. if you | go to our website you can get more on djokovic situation but also across the piece on covid as well. i am also on twitter. hello there. winter has certainly staged a return after the very mild start we had to this year. temperatures over the last couple days have been dropping, and some places have seen a covering of snow. so, where we have snow on the ground and where we have seen wintry showers, there's the potential for ice to take us into wednesday morning. and with this little ridge of high pressure temporarily building in, well, that means wednesday's actually going to bring a lot of fine and dry weather. the greatest risk of ice will be across northern scotland and northern ireland through the first part of the morning. we will continue to see some wintry showers here, a few too into wales, the southwest of england, and a few grazing the east coast of england as well. but for most places, we go through the day and the showers become fewer and further in between, we will see more in the way of sunshine, the winds will slowly ease — but it will not be a warm day by any stretch, top temperatures between 3—9 celsius. now as we go through wednesday evening, still some showers grazing the east coast, some out west for a time. things generally will be dry with long, clear spells. cloud tending to increase across northern ireland later in the night — that will lift the temperatures a little bit here, but for most places, a very cold night, —8 likely in some sheltered rural spots in scotland. but after that cold start, we bring in this frontal system from the west on thursday. there is, associated with this, going to be a very narrow wedge of milder air. so, what we will see as this front moves in is initially a spell of snow, even to quite low levels across parts of scotland and northern england seeing the rain run into the cold air. some snow over high ground in wales, perhaps into the midlands as well. but any wintry weather tends to turn back to wet weather as we go through the day, as that little wedge of milder air starts to work its way in. and then, cold air will return from the west later. it will be windy, gusts of 50—60 mph or more in some exposed western spots. and temperatures still stuck between 4—9 celsius for the most part. and then, into friday, we're back into colder air again. we will see some sunshine, but we will see some showers, too, these falling as a wintry mix of rain, sleet, and snow. it'll be a fairly breezy day in many places — our top temperatures again between 3—9 celsius. that's all from me, bye for now. this is bbc news, the headlines: in china, a city of more than one million is under lockdown after just three reported cases, under the government's zero—covid strategy. residents of yuzhou are not allowed to leave their homes, the transport system has been shut down, and only food stores can stay open. the united states hasjust recorded more than one million cases of the omicron variant, that's the highest daily tally of anywhere in the world. speaking at the white house, president biden has pleaded with the american people who haven't been vaccinated, to get the jab. lawyers for prince andrew have argued for the first time in court, that the sexual assault civil lawsuit against him, should be thrown out. they say he can't be sued, because of an agreement signed by his accuser, virginia giuffre. prince andrew has consistently denied her allegations. and those are the main stories here on bbc news. the labor leader, sir keir starmer, has pledged to provide