people — who drowned trying to cross from france to england — could have been avoided if more legal routes were provided. australia sends troops to the solomon islands after two days of unrest that is threatening to topple the government. beijing hopes for a successful winter olympics — despite a coronavirus surge, and allegations of chinese human rights abuses. after seven decades of excavation work, egypt celebrates the public re—opening of its ancient "path of god." welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. scientists have expressed alarm

about a new coronavirus variant which has emerged in south africa, describing it as the worst they've seen so far. so what do we know about the new variant? well it is early days 7 the new variant was discovered just 3 days ago genetic analysis shows it has twice the number of mutations as delta, the dominant variant worldwide, including around 30 changes to the spike protein which the virus uses to break into human cells. this makes it dramatically different from the original wuhan strain on which all current vaccines are based. crucially there is no evidence yet that the variant causes more severe disease or that it makes vaccines less effective. it will take two to three weeks before laboratory tests can show whether this is another defining moment in the pandemic or a false alarm. the uk government are taking no chances — it's announced that flights from six african nations are set to be suspended— and anyone arriving from these countries will need to go into quarantine from sunday. from what we do know there's a significant

number of mutations, perhaps double the number of mutations that we have seen in the delta variant. and that would suggest that it may well be more transmissible and the current vaccines that we have may well be less effective. with me is our news reporter mark lobel. we've been used to the very best been strapped a couple of weeks ago. best been strapped a couple of weeks ago. now best been strapped a couple of weeks ago. now it best been strapped a couple of weeks ago. now it is best been strapped a couple of weeks ago. now it is back. best been strapped a couple of weeks ago. now it is back. all weeks ago. now it is back. all the weeks ago. now it is back. fill the countries taking off but it was kept as a preventative measure and is being used in such against the six countries for this new travel ban. that has been triggered by these cases found in south africa of this variant that you have been outlining. for cases in botswana and one in hong kong. this is the most heavily mutated variant so find of course, as we have been saying, concerning how fast it can spread and whether vaccines can stand up to it, all of which are unknown is at the moment so

the uk has taken the step to band travel from the six countries and let's take a look at which ones they are. south africa is one. botswana, namibia, listed two, s bertini and zimbabwe. we are waiting to find out if other countries are going to follow suit and ban flights from those countries too but in terms of uk travel rules on how they stand right now there will be a flight ban in place into the hotel quarantine has been set up under is up and running. for anyone already arrived in one of those countries recently they are being asked to do pcr test. very one who arrives between now and 4am on sunday the are being asked to quarantine for ten days at home and pcr test in the second and eighth day back from sunday with the six countries on the red this to anyone who arrives will to quarantine in a hotel for ten days but the only people allowed in from those countries will be either uk or irish nationals or customers, travellers with uk residency rights. no one else will be

allowed to take this fight to the uk. ~ �* , , the uk. we've seen these variations _ the uk. we've seen these variations before. - the uk. we've seen these variations before. this - the uk. we've seen these - variations before. this seems quite sudden. what is the reaction been? you make most people the booked flights and ones that travel list was clear, and we had reaction from british airways. they say that they will be contacting affected customers with information about flight and advising them to monitor the latest travel advice. the consumer group which has said that passengers will be entitled to a full refund from uk and eu carriers of their accommodation may be more difficult. it will depend on the local into the habit with but it dude born in a statement this worrying uses a reminder that travel is not back to normal. the pandemic continues to disrupt passengers travel plans often with very little notice. it is vital travellers choose holiday providers with good flexible booking policies in case your trip cannot go

ahead. it has been called prudent, this move, by professor niall ferguson is one of the uk's to government advisers and south african scientists have said it could take six or eight weeks to analyse the results properly. but there has been displeasure in south africa is putting up the borders and reacting in this way. sign to say they have done such a good job finding this they would rather help and support finding new variants and spotting them and point to the fact that two thirds of older people in south africa have vaccinated. but it throws up have vaccinated. but it throws up also the question of how did we get here? the campaign at globaljustice now has global justice now has criticised globaljustice now has criticised the uk from, and his word, preventing lower middle income countries were having equitable access to covert vaccines. he says we have created the conditions for this variant to emerge. visit was entirely avoidable and he is basically saying world leaders have been constantly asked to waive intellectual property on vaccine tests and treatments. so that the super variants

would not be able to take place. but what happened as the uk is part of the kovacs vaccine system so they've been sending millions of vaccines to poor countries and if you look at how this one is alleged to have begun, this variant, it is likely the variant was produced inside someone with a compromised immune system. someone with something like hiv, who got a persistent covert infection so the covert variant was multiplying, mutating dozens of times within this person's body. aside from that brain game, one british scientist has said this new variant is horrific and another told the bbc it is the worst variant they had ever seen. this is clearly concerning the british government even though no cases be detected in the uk so so what they are trying to do is protect the progress of that there moving out of the vaccines across the country by doing this very sudden move.

incredibly worrying and read up to christmas and people booking holidays. a lot of uncertainty in the travel market. thank you very much indeed for that. thank you very much indeed for that. the united nations says the shocking deaths of twenty—seven people who drowned in the english channel on wednesday could have been avoided. the un refugee agency warned that closing off legal routes to people applying for asylum would lead to more dangerous attempts to reach safe countries. earlier, britain and france called for stronger international coordination on human trafficking. our europe correspondent nick beake has been inside a makeshift camp near dunkirk — to hear about their journey. beside an abandoned train track in northern france, families desperate to resume their own journey to the uk, despite the horror of the past 2a hours. for now, more than 500 people call this camp home.

among them, new arrivals, this family from iraq. their family has grown in the three years they've been on the road, trudging through more than half a dozen countries to get here. romania, after hungary, after france, after the uk. but tonight, all six will sleep in this tent, and every night, until they risk the english channel. would you still be prepared to try and get a boat to the united kingdom? "we cannot survive here," she tells us. "we will freeze. we have to go to the uk." and you say you have travelled through lots of countries, including germany. now you're in france. why do you want to try and reach the united kingdom? "it's much betterforfamilies in the uk," she says, "and for keeping families together." this corner of northern france has witnessed these scenes and heard these sort of stories for more than 20 years now. it feels like a conveyor

belt of misery, and this is a new generation, willing to risk everything to try and make it to the united kingdom. we meet a group of afghan men who say they fled the taliban this summer. this man wants to get to britain so his wife can follow, along with his three daughters, who can then continue their studies. have you tried to cross already on a boat? yeah, two times. and what happened? the boat was broken - in the sea, so the police came and took us out. we were all in the water. yeah, we nearly died. he then reveals he had briefly met two of those who died yesterday. i said to him, "0k, - good luck to go, and i'm not going with you." they said bye— bye. did it look like they were hopeful?

i'm very sorry. the deaths of so many of their fellow travellers has numbed many here, but it's not changed where they want to go. nick beake, bbc news, dunkirk. let s get some of the day s other news. the german chancellor, angela merkel, has said the european union needs to be united in dealing with what she called the weaponisation of migrants against poland. speaking alongside the polish prime minister she said germany fully supported poland's stance — adding that where possible the migrants should be repatriated. the european union accuses belarus of manufacturing the crisis on its borders with eu members. reports from russia say 52 people are now known to have died in a siberian coal mine where a fire broke out, trapping dozens underground. some of the victims were rescuers. about fifty people were injured, with some in critical condition. rescue efforts had to be suspended because of the risk of explosion from high levels of methane gas. police in turkey's largest city, istanbul,

fired tear gas to break up a protest by thousands of women against gender— based violence. the demonstrators marched to taksim square, in the city centre, where clashes broke out with security forces. the protesters are angry about the government's decision to withdraw from the istanbul convention — an international accord to reduce violence against women. a study in bangladesh has warned that the country is heading for a health disaster — because of a fifty percent drop in the effectiveness of widely used antibiotics. the report said there had been a surge in prescribing the medicines because of the false belief — that they could kill off the covid—i9 virus. australian peacekeepers have arrived overnight in the solomon islands — after the country's prime minister appealed for help quelling violent unrest that threatened to topple his government.several buildings were burnt down in honi—ara, when over a thousand rioters stormed the chinatown district. unrest broke out on wednesday, when protesters besieged the parliament, calling for the pm's resignation.

doctorjon fraenkel is a professor in comparative politics at victoria university in wellington from where hejoins me now. there have been two days of rioting. firstly in the central area of the capital of the solomon islands and yesterday, in the chinatown area towards the east. the police managed to quell some of the disturbances in the central area but all hell broke loose in chinatown. many buildings burnt down and there are sporadic things going on in the east as we speak. truth? on in the east as we speak. why are they calling _ on in the east as we speak. why are they calling for— on in the east as we speak. why are they calling for the - on in the east as we speak. why are they calling for the prime minister to resign? are they calling for the prime ministerto resign? part are they calling for the prime minister to resign? part of a long—running dispute that has been going on since september 2019 when they switched diplomatic recognition from thailand to china and the

provincial government strongly objected to that switch and has wanted to retain links with taiwan which is led to a long—running stand—off between the prime minister and premier. a lot of people from the island have rallied behind their premier, resisted efforts of the premise and national government to unseat that premier and now a pro and asking for the prime minister himself to be unseated. that was the spark of the disturbances but as we've seen in previous riots, once these get going a lot of opportunistic routing happens. people ransack, particularly people ra nsack, particularly chinese people ransack, particularly chinese stores, try to take as many bags of rice, generators and all sorts of equipment, as they possibly can get and that is what has happened over the last two days. australia have been sending people in. what is their role?— their role? australia led a protracted _ their role? australia led a protracted peacekeeping l their role? australia led a -

protracted peacekeeping mission between 2003 and 2017. that was a much larger deployment with more than 2000 soldiers at the peak and 350 police officers and it was really a state building operation that tried to intervene in the finance ministry and electoral commission. all sorts of areas. what we're seeing is a much smaller deployment. in the wake of disturbances that seem to have already abated to some degree as a result of the effort of local but australian trained police force.- effort of local but australian trained police force. thank you so much for — trained police force. thank you so much for that _ trained police force. thank you so much for that update. - thank you so much for that update. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: egypt puts on an elaborate ceremony to mark the reopening of the ancient path of god in luxor. president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately.

the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world — the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister. before leaving number ten to see the queen, she told her cabinet, "it's a funny old world." angela merkel is germany's first woman chancellor, easily securing the majority she needed. attempts to fly a hot air - balloon had to be abandoned after a few minutes, but nobody seemed i to mind very much. as one local comic put it, "it's not hot air- we need, it's hard cash." cuba has declared nine days of mourning following the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. castro developed close ties with the soviet union in the 1960s — it was an alliance that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war with the cuban missile crisis.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines . britain has banned arrivals from six african countries amid warnings over a rapidly—spreading new coronavirus variant. the united nations says the deaths of twenty—seven people — who drowned trying to cross the english channel — could have been avoided if more legal routes were provided. let's have more on our main story and talk more about the new covid variant. so much to get into here — let's bring in professor adrian esterman, epidemiologist at the university of south australia. thank you forjoining us. we have seen lots of new emerging variants over the months that we have had the pandemic. why is this one significant? it is so significant _ is this one significant? it is so significant because - is this one significant? it is so significant because it. is this one significant? it 3 so significant because it has a huge number of mutations in the spike protein which is the the virus that latches onto the

receptors in the human body. most people have had vaccines but obviously there are warnings that they won't protect against these so many variants in different mutations you spoke of. it variants in different mutations you spoke oh— variants in different mutations you spoke of-_ you spoke of. it is very early da s you spoke of. it is very early days yet- — you spoke of. it is very early days yet- we _ you spoke of. it is very early days yet. we really - you spoke of. it is very early days yet. we really don't - you spoke of. it is very early i days yet. we really don't have too much idea at the moment whether this new variant is more transmissible or more varied events said increasing they had to wait it out and make the south african side did theirjob. we had a very similar situation in august when there was a different variant again from south africa. it had a huge number of genetic mutations and in the end it is now variant under monitoring. not even a variant of interest. the same might happen with this one but it is too early to say whether it is going to be a serious one or not. is going to be a serious one or not. , , . , going to be a serious one or not. , , .,y not. is very early days unfortunately - not. is very early days unfortunately only - not. is very early days unfortunately only a i not. is very early days l unfortunately only a few not. is very early days - unfortunately only a few people haveit unfortunately only a few people have it at the moment but do we know anything about the origins of this? i know anything about the origins of this? ., ., ,

of this? i am not sure whether it originated — of this? i am not sure whether it originated in _ of this? i am not sure whether it originated in south - of this? i am not sure whether it originated in south africa . it originated in south africa or botswana but there have been cases in both countries. there are a lot of these variants coming out of south africa mainly because a small proportion of the population are fully vaccinated and anywhere you have a large number of unvaccinated people you tend to get variants occurring. the second thing is a high proportion of south africans have got hiv and that impairs their immune system. it also allows variants to generate both those things and because a perfect storm in south africa.— south africa. this is a controversial - south africa. this is a l controversial question, south africa. this is a i controversial question, i guess, but what you think governments and health body should be doing to try to counter this? should be doing to try to counterthis? in should be doing to try to counter this?— should be doing to try to counter this? in terms of countering _ counter this? in terms of countering the _ counter this? in terms of countering the variance l countering the variance emerging from south africa, clearly i think all developed countries, it is in their own interest to donate to vaccines

to those countries who cannot afford it. in many countries are doing that that the system and the who said they would rather people donate vaccines to countries like south africa rather than use and booster shots and that is highly controversial. the answer is to try and get everyone in the world vaccinated as quickly as possible. world vaccinated as quickly as ossible. ,, ., , , . possible. should be expect new mutations of _ possible. should be expect new mutations of the _ possible. should be expect new mutations of the virus? - possible. should be expect new mutations of the virus? seen i possible. should be expect new| mutations of the virus? seen so many in the past and is this something we need to get used to. it something we need to get used to. , ~ ., ., to. it is like influenza. that is a virus — to. it is like influenza. that is a virus which _ to. it is like influenza. that is a virus which we - to. it is like influenza. that is a virus which we know. is a virus which we know mutates easily. and covid also mutates easily. and covid also mutates easily. and covid also mutates easily so we have to expect new variants and it is a matter of whether we get one thatis matter of whether we get one that is very nasty. more

transmissible or more deadly. in fact much more easily escape any vaccine that we try to get against it. i any vaccine that we try to get against it— against it. i think we will talk about _ against it. i think we will talk about this _ against it. i think we will. talk about this unfortunately time and time again but thank you so much for bringing us up to date with the new variant and those new mutations. thank you very much indeed. thank you very much indeed. with just a few months to go to the winter olympics, china is holding test events for ski and snowboard cross. but despite repeated calls from the olympic committee not to politicise the event — some countries are considering boycotting the games in light of china's human rights violations and the recent concerns over the wellbeing of chinese tennis star, peng shuai. 0ur china correspondent, stephen mcdonnell, has been to the venue, to see how the country is getting ready for the olympics despite all the controversies. the way to see if you're ready to host the olympics is with test events. and beijing is holding them right now. beijing wants spectators at the games and has already tried this out at the sliding centre. but tennis star peng shuai sent shock waves through the preparation process

when she accused a former government leader of sexual abuse. there's also the recent coronavirus outbreak, straining this country's zero—covid strategy. precautions are high at olympic venues. so, i'm getting off a dedicated media bus here, just to show you that we're part of a, kind of, media bubble, quite separate from the athletes' bubble. here you have to have your facemask on, and this is the media hotel. so i come up here, this is checking my temperature... that says i'm 0k. these are the various health checks and some hand sanitiser. and we're in. we can only talk to the athletes remotely. we're told there's been a lot of covid testing.

just had to do pcr tests on arrival, then on arriving at the hotel — and every day from there onwards. but if that's what we have to do to not quarantine, then so be it. the games will be held in a freezing, mostly dry area. a mountain of snowmaking is required. but this can make for quick dynamic runs. speed, ithink, will be key, and that's the difficult bit. so yeah, it'll be challenging, for sure, to try and get the most out of the track, anyway _ the athletes we spoke to said these sites will make for high—quality competition.

and the drive to win in february is already taking its toll. in the mountains outside beijing, the test events are infull swing. games organisers will be hoping — despite the coronavirus headaches, despite the alleged human rights abuses, despite the allegations from a former chinese 0lympian, a tennis star, at that, involving a senior government official — that they can still produce a memorable winter olympics. for everyone here, the clock is now ticking. stephen mcdonnell, bbc news. a ceremony has taken place in the egyptian city of luck—sor to mark the public opening of the 3,000 year old avenue of sphinxes. the three kilometre long walkway connects the temples of karnak and luxor. the ceremony incorporates elements of the ancient festival which travelled the route each year, as nickjohnson reports. after more than seven decades of excavation work, egypt celebrates the public reopening of its ancient path of god. nearly three kilometres long, the highway connects the temples of karnak and luxor in the southern nile city. the sandstone—paved path is flanked on each side by hundreds of ram—headed sphinx statues, dating back

more than 3,000 years, which were buried beneath the desert for centuries before they were uncovered and restored. the ancient road has been opened by egypt's president abdul fattah al—sisi, who hopes this will give a much—needed boost to the country's tourism industry. two million egyptians are employed in tourism, which generates more than 10% of the country's income. but tourists have been kept away in recent years, largely due to a decade of political turmoil, as well as the coronavirus pandemic. but with a procession of mummified pharaohs through the streets of cairo earlier this year and another museum opening plan for the coming months, egypt's government says it

hopes this evening's spectacle in luxor will cement the country's reputation as the world's open—air museum. nickjohnson, bbc news. south korea is introducing small robots into early education settings to teach children. meet the alpha minis — they can sing nursery songs, tell stories and pull a few kung—fu moves. government officials are hoping alpha minis will prepare young children for a high—tech future. they've been introduced to 300 nurseries in the capital, seoul. teachers have found the new additions to be very popular in class. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ si pusey hello. the first named storm of the season is approaching, and it's set to bring us some fairly disruptive weather over the next couple of days. storm arwen, as named by the met office, will be developing particularly later friday into saturday, bringing not only widespread gales, some sleet and snow mainly over the high ground in the north — and it is likely to cause a bit of disruption because of that

combination of the strong winds, the cold weather, and the sleet and snow we'll see over the higher ground. so for friday morning, then, we've got the cloud and patchy rain across much of england and wales, which pushes its way southeastwards. then we're left with sunshine and blustery showers in from the north — and across the north of scotland, those showers will merge into longer spells of fairly heavy snow over the higher ground, some sleet and snow, too, across parts of northern ireland. mainly rain showers further south — it will feel chilly, about 7—11 celsius — but when you add on the wind—chill, it will feel colder than that. the winds will be a real future of the weather. we've got an amber warning in force for eastern scotland and northeast england, could see gusts between about 65—70 mph here, particularly later on friday and overnight into saturday morning. so through the overnight period, then, this area of sleet and snow, and rain at low levels pushes its way southwards and eastwards, followed by more wintry showers packing in from the north. 0vernight temperatures for most of our cities above freezing, but colder than that

in the countryside. so, as this storm arwen pushes just out towards the southeast, we'll start to draw in these strong, cold northerly winds as we head through into saturday morning — gusts, infact, quite widely 30—a0 mph, around the coast, 50—60, or even a little bit higher than that. so we've got this area of rain, perhaps some sleet and snow over the highest ground, pushing eastwards across parts of eastern england on saturday. more of those wintry showers coming in across scotland, too. something a little bit drier for central and western areas, and it is turning colder — so temperatures about 4—9 celsius, but when you add on the effect of that wind—chill, it will feel subzero for many of us through the day on saturday. so, cold and windy with wintry showers, too. heading into sunday, as storm arwen starts to clear to the east, things will settle down a little bit — so not quite as windy on sunday, but still more of those wintry showers packing in across the higher ground

of the north of scotland, down the east coast of england, too. and quite a bit of dry weather elsewhere — but it certainly will feel cold throughout the weekend.

this is bbc news. the headlines: britain has banned travellers from six countries in southern africa, in response to the discovery of a highly transmissible new coronavirus variant. announcing the restrictions, the british health secretary said it was possible that current vaccines might be less effective against the heavily—mutated variant. the united nations says the deaths of 27 people, who drowned trying to cross the channel from france to england, could have been avoided if more legal routes were provided. britain and france have called for better international coordination to tackle human traffickers, and stop

the crossings.