billions of dollars in aid — the bbc�*s quinten sommerville reports on a growing crisis. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. let's get the latest on novak djokovic in australia. the tennis world no. 1 has issued a statement to — as he puts it — "address the continuing misinformation about my activities and attendance at events in the lead—up to my positive pcr covid test result" but has admitted breaking isolation rules to attend an interview "was an error ofjudgement". the statement also addresses the tennis star's incorrect travel declaration form for his entry into australia. he says, "this was submitted by my support team on my behalf, and my agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box about my previous travel before coming to australia. this was a human error and certainly not deliberate." meanwhile, a spokesperson for the australian immigration minister — who still holds the power to cancel the player's visa — says "mr djokovic�*s lawyers have recently provided lengthy further submissions and supporting documentation" which will affect the time frame of the decision." novak djokovic says he won't be making any further comment out of the utmost respect for the australian government and the current process. tennis commentator craig gabriel has described the situation as a mess. it now comes down to government policy, government guidelines, government rules. and that's where it sits. now, if alex hawke, the immigration minister, decides to cancel the visa for a second time, no doubt this is going to go back into the courts, because his lawyers, djokovic�*s lawyers will ask for an injunction. he could very well, and more likely, i think, is the feeling, he would get a temporary injunction that would take him through to the end of the australian open, allowing him to play at the australian open. there's still a way to go on this whole matter, but it is an absolute mess. we keep hearing that, for the organisers of the event, of course, they've got to lay out the seedings, who is playing who, and there is a time limit on that. but is it a fixed one, do you think, or if this drags on, if there is another chapter, can they put that back? no. the seeding's already out. and obviously this follows the world rankings, that is djokovic number one, on the women's side ash barty is the number one seed. the draw for the australian open is tomorrow. we are wednesday afternoon here in sydney, and in melbourne, the draw is tomorrow so you would want to have, if anything is going to happen you would want it finished and sorted out by later today at the absolute latest. because if the draw is done and then something happens, it is definitely going to make an even greater mess of things. i've got to ask you also, it's such a big issue and we understand that, politically it is so difficult, for many people in australia djokovic does not really fit the bill at the moment, given his views on vaccination and what a lot of australians have gone through, particularly in victoria, of course, but what would the event be like without djokovic? i mean, he is such a draw, isn't it? he is a huge draw. there's no escaping that. he is the world number one. he is the defending champion going for a 10th australian title. he is trying to break the record he currently holds, roger federer, nadal, for the most majors in the men's game at 20, there's obviously a stack of things at stake over here, but the issue also is that no one player is bigger than the game or the australian open. and that's the crucial thing. and while every tournament wants to have the best players in the world to be part of their draw, you know, that is the other side of the matter. no player is bigger than the game or one of the four majors, which the australian is. craig gabriel there. president biden is calling it a defining moment for us democracy. he was in georgia today, calling on the us senate to create national rules for early voting and voting by mail, and to restore state voting laws meant to prevent discrimination. this is one of the big drives of the biden administration after many republican—controlled states introduced tighter voting regulations after the last presidential election. jim crow 2.0 is about two insidious things — voter suppression and election subversion. it's no longer about who gets to vote. it's about making it harder to vote. it's about who gets to count the vote and whether your vote counts at all. it's not hyperbole, this is a fact. look, this matters to all of us. the goal of the former president's allies is to disenfranchise anyone who votes against them, simple as that. let's get the thoughts of arizona state senator michelle ugenti—rita, who has sponspored a number of post—election bills in her state which critics say suppress voting — she's running for arizona's secretary of state in 2022. michelle, thank you very much indeed forjoining us. you heard whatjoe biden had to say there. he thinks that the restrictions — the ones that have been brought in in arizona would be an example of that — are affecting access to voting, above all, and there's no — or indeed, very little — evidence to support claims of voter fraud. so, why these measures on election security at all? well, i don't know if he needs a civic lesson, but what he is attacking is states�* rights. we have states — it�*s the united states of america — and it�*s states that are charged with coming up with laws and passing laws to govern the elections in their state. that�*s exactly what i have done in arizona. but i suppose the point is, post—election, a lot of allegations about voter fraud were made. very few of them substantiated. so, why take these measures?— these measures? well, the measures _ these measures? well, the measures are _ these measures? well, the measures are important. these measures? well, the measures are important - i these measures? well, the l measures are important - we these measures? well, the - measures are important - we can measures are important — we can talk about that. but, look, we�*ve gotjoe biden and the progressive democrats vilifying the very system that they were successful under. it�*s confusing to the american people. they have the white house. they have congress. but it�*s not enough. they want to completely federalise elections. they don�*t want states to run them, as they should. they want everything to be centralised at the federal government. that�*s not how our country was founded. it comes against how we operate and who we are. so it�*s very concerning to me that, under a system that he was successful in, he is now criticising and blaming. i�*ll tell you what i think. i think it�*s about control. i think it�*s about control. i think it�*s about control. i think it�*s about power. it's about control. i think it's about power.- it's about control. i think it's about power. right. the democrat — it's about power. right. the democrat argument - it's about power. right. the democrat argument would l it's about power. right. the i democrat argument would be, it's about power. right. the - democrat argument would be, of course, no, it�*s not — it�*s about uniformity, fairness and equality, and that some of the reason for their hard push now is because some states have chosen to take measures which they basically don�*t support and wouldn�*t agree with. can you see any way, michelle, in which some common ground can found here? because you could both stand off forever... found here? because you could both stand off forever. . .- both stand off forever. .. well, riaht - both stand off forever. .. well, right - and _ both stand off forever. .. well, right - and that's _ both stand off forever. .. well, right - and that's why - both stand off forever. .. well, right - and that's why we - both stand off forever. .. well, right - and that's why we havej right — and that�*s why we have a decentralised government — so that we have citizens that can govern themselves, we have a multitude of layers of government. sometimes i think it�*s too much. but there�*s a reason for that. my bills have gone through a deliberative process. they have passed the legislature in both chambers. and they have been signed by the governor. they�*ve also survived court challenges in a federal court, as well as being upheld in the united states�* supreme court. so i would argue that i have done the right thing by opening up dialogue, meeting my constituents�* needs, as well as overcoming objections. and here he is, mr biden, deciding that he doesn�*t want to play by the same rules. they want to obliterate the filibuster. and theyjust want to, you know, pound their message and their agenda down the american people�*s throats. and that�*s not how we do things. and that's not how we do thins. �* , . and that's not how we do thin.s_ �*,., and that's not how we do thins. a. .,, and that's not how we do thins. a. things. as a last point, can i ask you _ things. as a last point, can i ask you - — things. as a last point, can i ask you - why did you - things. as a last point, can i ask you - why did you vote | things. as a last point, can i i ask you - why did you vote for ask you — why did you vote for and push through a ban on drive—through voting, for example? why this restriction on the early voter list? if you don�*t use it a couple of times, you�*ve got to go through the whole rigmarole of applying again. why would you do these things? again. why would you do these thins? ~ ., ., ~ ., ., things? well, look - we want to have a structure. _ things? well, look - we want to have a structure. the _ things? well, look - we want to have a structure. the vast - have a structure. the vast majority of americans support voter id laws. they don�*t support a free—for—all. they want to make sure that there�*s integrity in the system. they want to make sure that it�*s secure and accurate so that they can have confidence in the outcome. that requires a process. and that requires adhering to the process. and making sure you follow the law. that way, we have a system that everybody wants to participate. and then when we do have an outcome, we�*re not questioning the system, but we�*re certainly responding to the outcome. my bills reinforce that. and i have not found one credible opposition to my bill that strengthens, and i think what you�*re referencing is my bill to address our vote—by—mail system. and our vote—by—mail system. and our vote—by—mail system is popular, but that doesn�*t mean that we just allow it to become abused and misused. and so we have to have those safeguards.— misused. and so we have to have those safeguards.- i've - those safeguards. 0k... i've done that- _ those safeguards. 0k... i've done that. and _ those safeguards. 0k... i've done that. and it's - those safeguards. 0k... i've done that. and it's in - those safeguards. 0k... i've done that. and it's in line i done that. and it�*s in line with the majority of arizonans. 0k. with the majority of arizonans. ok. michelle, thank you very much indeed forjoining us. you much indeed for “oining us. you not it. much indeed for “oining us. you got it. thank— much indeed forjoining us. you got it. thank you. _ the omicron variant of coronavirus is spreading rapidly around the world. in the us, the number of new covid infections and the number of hospital admissions have reached an all—time high. in europe — the world health organization said it expects more than half the people there will be infected in the next six to eight weeks — with france, italy and turkey reporting new pandemic highs. if we take a closer look at the us we�*ll see cases there have soared over the past few weeks — to an average of 737,000 per day. the number of americans in hospital with covid is over 142,000. it�*s never been higher and it�*s increased 83% in the last two weeks. the us chief medical advisor anthony fauci has been giving evidence to a congressional commitee on the current state of play. here�*s his repsonse to a question on the importance of vaccinations. if you look at vaccinated versus unvaccinated, there�*s about a 10 times greater chance that you�*d be infected if you were unvaccinated, about a 17 times greater chance that you�*d be hospitalised if you were unvaccinated, and about a 20 times likelihood that you would be dead if you were unvaccinated. so when you look at every parameter — 10 times, 17 times, 20 times — infection, hospitalisation, death. that is a pretty stark message, isn�*t it? that�*s the picture for you in the us. meanwhile, italy has reported more than 220,000 new covid infections — that�*s more than double the number on monday. the who director for europe says more than half the continent�*s population will catch covid in the next two months — if infections continue at the current rate. experts say vaccines still provide good protection against omicron, but because of the unprecedented scale of transmission, we�*re now seeing rising covid—i9 hospitalisations across europe. at this rate, the institute for health metrics and evaluation forecasts that more than 50% of the population in the region will be infected with omicron in the next six to eight weeks. data collated in recent weeks confirms that omicron is highly transmissible, because the mutations it has enable it to adhere to human cells more easily, and it can infect even those who have been previously infected or vaccinated. he�*s drawing on some of the research that came from the seattle—based institute for health metrics and evaluation. i�*ve been speaking to its director dr christopher murray about how concerned we should be. there is this huge wave of omicron spreading across europe but what we also know from south africa, the uk and the us is that omicron is much less severe than delta. in fact, one of our key messages is we shouldn�*t be panicking about the great wave of omicron. what about the broader horizon, so, moving into africa, for example, or certain parts of asia where perhaps vaccination levels are still significantly lower, what is the level of risk there, is it realistic to suppose that omicron is going to get everywhere? i think the only places that omicron won�*t get to, are those that maintain closed borders like new zealand, and even that is questionable as to whether managed isolation will keep omicron out. it�*s already throughout africa, pretty much through central and south america, we have some countries in south—east asia without surges yet but we expect those surges in the next one to two weeks. so, very few places will not have an omicron wave in coming weeks. i appreciate you�*re looking at modelling and working out the way in which this is going to develop, when we take into account the fact that if you do contract this disease, if you get omicron, particularly, then, yes, you�*re off work and you�*re off work for five days, maybe seven days, maybe ten depending where you are in the world, and if you�*re in the healthcare field, that is a major hurdle to overcome for those who are left behind. do you think there could be changes quicker in terms of the length of isolation time? well, this is what we think, because omicron is 95%, maybe even 98% less severe, in terms of death than delta, one of the biggest challenges is disruption from people testing positive and having to quarantine. one of our views is that to minimise disruption of the health system, on schools and essential services, we really should probably think about stopping testing the asymptomatics because omicron is a very large fraction of individuals with no symptoms. we need to rethink our whole strategy around omicron as compared to previous waves of covid—i9. and can ijust ask you, it�*s going off the charts at the moment in terms of infection rates, we do see that, when do we come down the other side, how quickly do you think omicron will be part of our past rather than our present? we think the peak in most countries in europe will be sometime injanuary, then the case numbers should come down quite quickly, perhaps not as rapidly as it went up but pretty close. by the time we get to march in europe, we should not really see much of an epidemic from omicron, we should be through the main part of it. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the prince is back, but this time the �*90s tv programme that launched the career of global superstar will smith has been given a gritty re—boot. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attacks since the second world war. tobacco is america's oldest industry, and it's one of its biggest, but the industry is nervous of this report. this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. l huge parts of kobe were simplyl demolished as buildings crashed into one another. this woman said she'd been given no help and no advice| by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. j tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws, passed by the country�*s new multiracial government, and enrolled at formerly white schools. tonight sees the 9,610th performance of her long—running play, the mousetrap. when they heard of her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonight's performance, but agatha christie would have been the last person to want such a thing. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: new revelations in australia as novak djokovic releases a statement saying his team ticked the wrong box on his immigration form. president biden has made a passionate plea for reform of voting rights in the united states, describing this as a defining moment for democracy. the us has promised more than $300 million in new aid to afghanistan, and has urged the taliban to give unhindered access to all aid workers. earlier, the united nations appealed for $5 billion to tackle a spiralling humanitarian crisis in the country, where aid has mostly dried up since the taliban takeover in august. the onset of a harsh winter is deepening the crisis. from kabul, our corrspondent quentin sommerville sent this report. victorious. the taliban now guard food cues. more than half the country is in need. these wheelbarrows are full of the basics. salt, rice, peanuts, cooking oil and for many of the people here it is the first time they have had food in days. the interesting thing is, however, the markets are full of produce. but no—one here has any money and this is notjust the case here in car ball. it is institutionalised across afghanistan. the taliban and our international pariahs so the economy is being crushed by sanctions. at least humanitarian aid is allowed in. women are banned from work and education but have also lost another fundamental right, education but have also lost anotherfundamental right, the another fundamental right, the ability anotherfundamental right, the ability to feed their families. has kabul ever been this hungry before? no. never. neveri think. what is the message to the rest of the world?- the rest of the world? they should see _ the rest of the world? they should see how— the rest of the world? they should see how we're - the rest of the world? they | should see how we're going the rest of the world? tie: should see how we're going live should see how we�*re going live here. they should challenge and see our problems and the problems are increasing day by day here. the living cost is increasing day by day here and new laws and new challenges that make our life harsher more than at any other time. that is not fair for afghans. she cannot affair the dollar cab fare to take her home. she has enough to hire a wheelbarrow. translation: what can we do? — wheelbarrow. translation: what can we do? there _ wheelbarrow. translation: what can we do? there is _ wheelbarrow. translation: what can we do? there is no _ wheelbarrow. translation: �*wiegt can we do? there is no money wheelbarrow. translation: liz"iegt can we do? there is no money to buy food. all the men are jobless. they do not have work. there is nothing to eat and no firewood to warm our homes. on the edges of the city it is even worse. the purists are sinking —— poorest are sinking deeper into poverty. this sinking -- poorest are sinking deeper into poverty.— deeper into poverty. this is what it looks _ deeper into poverty. this is what it looks like. - deeper into poverty. this is what it looks like. a - deeper into poverty. this is what it looks like. a cold i deeper into poverty. this is i what it looks like. a cold and bitter hunger. einer six at the moment and it will get colder because we are at the start of a long hard four months of winter. this man moved here from the anger problems. the house home to fourfamilies. he anger problems. the house home to four families. he can�*t afford soap to wash faces, they burn plastic to keep warm and the airing here is thick and acrid. it is still not safe for them to return, he says. we would have moved to pakistan but pakistan closed its borders to us. afghanistan�*s long war may be over but the afghan people suffering and yours. nbc�*s hit show the fresh prince of bel—air, which ran for 148 episodes over six seaons in the �*90s, is back — although this time it�*s not a laugh a minute. far from it. a trailer for a reboot of the show, titled �*bel—air�* has been released, which like the orginal show is based around a street smart teenager born and raised in west philadelphia who is set to live with his wealthy uncle and aunt in bel—air. let�*s take a look. jeff thompson, house manager. will! aunt viv! ten years is a long time. let me show you around. hilary! will! let's go find you something fit for a prince. _ what did you think? well, earlier i spoke to valerie complex who is an associate editor & film writer at deadline. she explained how this reboot will be much different from the original series. it�*s a 180 degrees trajectory change for the show, but it�*s what reboots should do, it should be something completely different, offer fans something completely new and i think it will be something great for gen z as well as something for someone like me who grew up with the show to see it materialise in a different way. we are told and we can see from the trailer there, it�*s going to be gritty, issues of race and class are coming to the fore, a bit more sophisticated, perhaps, in the treatment of those issues, which presumably fits the time, which is the point, isn�*t it? i think that every time period has their way of addressing some of the sociopolitical issues that exist for that time, but i think addressing the effects of social media, and how that has an influence on life now, is a really great way to sort of connect difference, you know, types of people and bring new and old people, viewers, rather, back to the show. very briefly, because we are a bit short on time, morgan cooper, i mean, he came from nowhere and pitched the idea, and will smith has picked it up and run with it. it is amazing what can be done. i think, you know, every part comes from somewhere. and it wouldn�*t necessarily say it came from nowhere, it came from his imagination and he definitely put something together and that�*s the testament to talent, but also to social media and how social media sort of takes down the barrier a bit and connects people who would not normally connect... valerie complex there. the rolling stones may want to be the ultimate rock �*n�* roll rebels and they have now been given a more mainstream honour, featuring on a set of dish postage stamps. we have some images here for you. they will be available on a set of 12 stamps to mark the 60th anniversary of the band including images of the late charlie watts alongside mick jagger, keith richards and ronnie wood. that is the fourth ban to feature on royal mail stamps featuring —— following the steps of bands like mcqueen, the beatles and pink floyd. and that is bbc news. thank you for watching. hello there. on tuesday, sunshine returned to the northern half of the uk. and through the rest of this week, we�*ll continue to see differences north—south. but we�*ve got a milder, stronger breeze picking up across scotland and northern ireland. england and wales, the winds are going to be much lighter, so we�*re more likely to have some frost here and increasing amounts of mist and fog too. now, it was pretty damp and grey for many southern parts of the uk on tuesday, but all that low cloud and damp weather is heading out into the english channel, so clearer skies are following on behind. and whilst it�*s chilly across parts of scotland and northern ireland, a frost more likely in england and wales. not just that, but we�*re seeing some mist and fog developing, particularly in this area where we have the yellow warning from the met office. and within that area, there are some very busy roads. so with some dense patches of fog, driving conditions could be tricky in the morning. that�*s when we�*ll still have some fog around, but it should gradually lift through the day, and for many parts, we should see some sunshine coming through. some sunshine across northern ireland, southern and eastern scotland, much more cloud across the north—west of scotland, although it should be largely dry. quite windy, mind you, and temperatures probably reaching double figures in the north of scotland, nearer 7 or 8 degrees, i think, for england and wales, even with some sunshine. and we�*ve got milder conditions across northern areas because we�*ve got these strong winds coming all the way across the atlantic, around the top of this area of high pressure. and underneath that area of high pressure, this is where we�*re seeing the frost and the fog. so we start with another frost again on thursday morning, we may well find the fog a little more widespread, not just across some southern parts of england and the midlands, maybe into parts of wales and across northern england for a while. some of that could linger into the afternoon, but for many places, again, we should see some sunshine coming out. and it�*s a similar story again across scotland and northern ireland — cloudier weather in the north—west of scotland, a little bit damp, as well. still, those temperature contrasts really north—south across the uk. where that fog is slow to lift, it will be quite a cold day. all that cold air is stuck underneath this area of high pressure. stagnant air, really, so fog is tending to become more widespread. and it may well drift its way up into parts of northern ireland and southern scotland. most of the fog, though, on friday will be across england and wales, and it could linger into the afternoon. some sunshine away from that fog and low cloud. and again, it�*ll always be milder across more northern parts of scotland. this is bbc news. the headlines: the tennis world no. 1, novak djokovic, has issued a statement to — as he put it — "address continuing misinformation" over his travel to australia. he�*s apologised, saying his team ticked the wrong box on his immigration form about his previous travel. president biden is calling it a defining moment for us democracy. he was in georgia, calling on the us senate to create national rules for early voting and voting by mail, and to restore state voting laws meant to prevent discrimination. the us has recorded more than 1 million new covid cases as officials warn the peak of a fast—spreading omicron surge is still to come. and there are currently more people in us hospitals with covid than at any point during the pandemic. now on bbc news, it�*s time for hardtalk.