garden with staff, during the first national lockdown. number 10 says, it was a work meeting . but how are other countries coping with the omicron variant, in the run up to christmas? we ll take a closer look. also this lunchtime. the red cross says its complete carnage, in some coastal areas of the philippines, after typhoon rai kills more than 300 people. warding off a lonely christmas. virtual reality carols, for those unable to go to church. and australia demolish england to go 2 0 up in the ashes. and coming up on the bbc news channel, tottenham are out of the europa conference league after uefa ruled they forfeited their match against rennes. that game was called off following a covid outbreak. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the cabinet is expected to meet in the next hour as the prime minister faces calls to bring in tighter covid restrictions in england to combat the rising numbers of infections, due to the omicron variant. today, the deputy pri
also tonight: pubs and restaurants say time is running out for government help as they re hit by mass cancellations because of covid. the trade in fake covid passes on the dark web and on social media. and victory for australia in the second ashes test in adelaide they now lead 2 0 in the series. coming up later in the hour on the bbc news channel: arsenal, the only british side left in the competition, have found out who they are going to face in the women s champions league quarterfinals. good evening. the prime minister has ruled out bringing in new covid restrictions in england for now, but said the government wouldn t hesitate to take further action to protect the public if needed. borisjohnson said the data on covid was being monitored hour by hour, as the omicron variant continues to spread with speed across the country. he was speaking after chairing an emergency cabinet meeting this afternoon, amid reports of splits among senior ministers over whether to tighten th
and the chinese tennis star peng shuai retracts an accusation of sexual assault against a former top communist party official. but critics still fear she may have been speaking under duress. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. borisjohnson has chaired a cabinet meeting as the government faces growing calls to outline whether any new covid restrictions will be implemented in england over christmas. the government s chief scientific adviser, sir patrick vallance, and england s chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, have briefed ministers about the omicron variant. the bbc has been told, civil servants have prepared three different options, ranging in severity with boris johnson likely to face strong opposition to further restrictions, from within his own party. for more on the pressure on borisjohnson. here s jonathan blake. boosterjabs are still the main hope in the battle against omicron. but as cases of the new variant continue to
owners on cloud nine not for long. stjames is owners on cloud nine not for long. st james is parked owners on cloud nine not for long. stjames is parked back down to earth. wasn t far away although harry kane s goal was disallowed for offside. only for va are to intervene and prove otherwise, his first new goal of the season. then a moment more important than the occasion a medical emergency in the crowd saw the match suspended. and when it resumed there were still seven minutes of the first half laugh. something tottenham used to their advantage. laugh. something tottenham used to theiradvantage. it laugh. something tottenham used to their advantage. it hurricane. while the first half was action packed the second half was anything but. shelley was sent off before dyer gave newcastle some late hopefuls there would be no recovery though, just another dose of reality. and the owners have plenty of work to do. we have to do better. we try to be out bit more adventurous and be mo