since us troops withdrew. and the film crew turned space crew, the people planning to shoot something that is truly out of this world! welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the biden administration is suing the state of texas over its near total ban on abortion. the state law makes it illegal to terminate a pregnancy six weeks after conception and, crucially, allows private individuals to sue medics or others who assist in the proceedure. courtney bembridge reports. presidentjoe biden had promised action and it came just over a week after the texas law, known as sb8 came into effect. texas law, known as 538 came into effect- into effect. 538 bands nearly all abortions into effect. 538 bands nearly all abortions in into effect. 538 bands nearly all abortions in the into effect. 538 bands nearly all abortions in the state - all abortions in the state after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant and months before a p
welcome to hardtalk from new york. i m stephen sackur. this city has always had an outsize influence on american culture. the buzz in this nation comes from right here in terms of the arts, entertainment, publishing, the media, but what happens in new york when america s political culture is riven with division? well, my guest today is the great american novelist, new york resident, paul auster. if america is experiencing a culture war, is he ready to fight? paul auster, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. it is a pleasure to be in your home, your writing study is just below us, the floor below. just tell me, does it matter to you when you are writing what is going on in the world outside yourfront door? does it affect your writing? well, it depends on what you mean. if there s a fire engine screeching in front of my door, it will interrupt my concentration, and i might go out and see what s going on. but if there s a distant war going on in another place and i know about it, i m
between the business secretary, kwasi kwarteng, and the uk s energy industry, to try to resolve the ongoing crisis caused by rising wholesale gas prices. energy companies have warned that bills could go up by 50 per cent next year without government action. theo leggett reports. a midwinter meeting, at a time when the energy industry is battling a deep economic chill. the cost of gas on european wholesale markets has been hitting record levels, and suppliers say consumers will end up paying a heavy price. energy companies themselves have already been badly hit. more than two dozen have gone out of business since the summer, and more casualties are expected. that s because, so far, they have had to absorb most of the extra costs themselves. it s a situation that won t last. household gas and electricity bills are capped by the energy regulator, ofcom, but with wholesale prices at their current levels, it seems inevitable the cap will be raised in the spring and raised signific
and missing for almost a week a happy ending for the search and rescue dog who got lost herself as she s reunited with her owner. the uk health secretary sajid javid has ruled out introducing any new covid restrictions in england before the new year. ministers had been under pressure to respond to rising infection levels after the devolved administrations in scotland, wales and northern ireland all implemented measures to stem the spread of the omicron variant. the health secretary said 90% of covid cases in england are now thought to be the omicron variant and he urged people to remain cautious when celebrating new year s eve, saying the government won t hesitate to act in the future if necessary. here s our political correspondent ian watson. with a record number of covid cases recorded on christmas day, there were fears of a rather bleaker new year. scotland, wales and northern ireland have all imposed further restrictions. so there was pressure on the government a
hello and welcome to bbc news. thanks forjoining us, we are going to bring you developments from across the globe as the rapid rise in 0micron cases triggers a slew of different responses. the us health authorities have halved the recommended isolation period for people who test positive for covid 19 but don t exhibit symptoms. the centers for disease control now says that infected but asymptomatic people should stay at home for five days and wear a mask around others for a further five. it comes as new york city made it compulsory for everyone aged 12 and above to be fully vaccinated against covid, in order to access indoor entertainment and sports activities. new york city s mayor explained why the measures were being taken now. we have made history in new york city. and we lead the nation with the strongest vaccine mandate anywhere, private sector vaccine mandate, reaching hundreds of thousands of businesses and we put this mandate into action, as 0micron was coming, but w