this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. countries around the world are restricting travel from southern africa amid fears a new covid variant found there could be more resistant to vaccines. twp people are killed as storm arwen battles the uk, with strong winds, rain and snow. the former england cricket captain michael vaughan says he's sorry for all the hurt azeem rafiq went through during the yorkshire racism scandal. i played for yorkshire county cricket club for 18 years, and if any way, shape or form cricket club for 18 years, and if any way, shape orform i'm responsible for any of his hurt, i apologise for that. one of the 27 people who drowned

in the channel on wednesday is named as 24—year—old maryam nuri mohammed from northern iraq. # i could be free in america... and the legendary us composer and songwriter stephen sondheim, who was behind some of broadway's best—known musicals, has died at the age of 91. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the united states, australia and brazil have joined the growning list of countries to impose travel restrictions on southern african countries in response to warnings about a new covid—19 variant known as omicron.

an increasing number of world leaders have announced tighter border controls since south african scientists identified the strain. the world health organisation has called it a variant of concern due to the number of its mutations and because early evidence suggests that it carries a higher risk of infection. but the who has also said it would take a few weeks to understand the new variant�*s impact. amid the concern, the uk government has added six african countries to the travel red list: south africa, namibia, zimbabwe, botswana, lesotho and eswatini, meaning travellers from these countries won't be able to enter the uk unless they are uk or irish nationals, or uk residents. meanwhile, in the latest development, germany and the czech republic have become the latest european countries to confirm cases of the omicron variant. our health correspondent dominic hughes has more. covid variant b.1.1.529 now has a name, omicron, according to the world health organization,

which met in geneva last night to discuss the threat posed by this mutation of the coronavirus. the who had advised against travel bans, stressing instead that the measures we are all so familiar with — hand hygiene, masks and social distancing — are more important than ever. what's really important as an individual is to lower your exposure. these proven public health measures have never been more important — distancing, wearing of a mask, making sure that it's over your nose and mouth, with clean hands, making sure you avoid crowded spaces, be in rooms where there's good ventilation, and when it's your turn, get vaccinated. but governments around the world have taken a different view. the uk isjust one a number of countries to have imposed bans on southern african nations where cases have been identified. the united states, the eu, singapore, israel, japan, and kenya are among those who have either imposed bans and restrictions on travellers or are considering them. i've decided that we're going to be cautious and make sure there's no

travel to and from south africa and six other countries in that region — except for american citizens, who are able to come back. the who has described omicron as a variant of concern. it is the most mutated version of the virus yet, scientists identifying 50 mutations overall. more than 30 are on the spike protein, the target of most vaccines. and on the part of the virus that makes first contact with our body's cells, there are ten mutations compared to just two for the delta variant. we do not know whether prior vaccination or prior infection will increase protection against hospitalisation. we do not know whether the virus will stabilise over time. whether the virus will stabilise overtime. but whether the virus will stabilise over time. but there is a high level

of concern over this variant. all this comes as europe is facing a fresh wave of covid infections still linked to the delta variant. in the netherlands, fresh restrictions will come into force tomorrow. venue such as bars, cafes, museums and cinemas will have to close from 5pm. but, as so often through the course of this pandemic, decisions are clouded by uncertainty. exactly how transmissible this new variant is, whether it will make people sicker, the impact on existing treatments and how effective vaccines will be against it are all unknowns. it is likely to be some weeks before the answers to those questions become clear. authorities in the netherlands have confirmed that 61 passengers who arrived in the country on two flights from south africa have tested positive for covid—19. they've been placed in isolation at a hotel near amsterdam's schipol airport. they were among around 600 passengers who were held for several hours after arrival while they were tested for the virus. the dutch authorities are carrying out more tests to see if there are any cases

of the omicron variant. joining me now is clive wratten, ceo of the business travel association. thank you forjoining us today. so, the return of the red list. how have airlines and airports coped with this change and unable to respond promptly? good morning. sadly the red list is back, but the omicron variant is significant. in the last 48 hours, the airlines and travel management companies have been working hard to try to help people in their destinations that need to get home before the quarantine comes in. the last 20 months we have become used to it as an industry, sadly but we thought it was behind us, and it is back. so they are pretty well versed but there is still a lot to be done before monday, when the quarantine officially comes back in. so we are really working over the weekend hard to make sure we get as many people home as we can as quickly as

possible. home as we can as quickly as possible-— home as we can as quickly as ossible. �* . , , ., ., possible. and what is the situation with passengers? _ possible. and what is the situation with passengers? are _ possible. and what is the situation with passengers? are there - possible. and what is the situation with passengers? are there some| possible. and what is the situation - with passengers? are there some who are stranded, some who are unsure about the quarantine situation? what is the situation for them? it is difficult because _ is the situation for them? it is difficult because it _ is the situation for them? it is difficult because it is - is the situation for them? it 3 difficult because it is such short notice and it is one of the situations we have had, we understand that governments need to put these countries on the red list, but a lot of those countries on the list really it is only south africa but has direct flights, and they have been suspended as you know to the uk until sunday morning, so having to find capacity through other countries to get people home is really making the problem a lot harder, and if you are not back, the cost of quarantine coming in his hugely expensive, and south africa is a huge destination for both business and visiting friends and relatives, and we're coming up to the christmas period, so there is a lot of stress for passengers out there, and many won't be able to get home because there is a flight uplift to get them back to the uk in time before quarantine comes in. find time before quarantine comes in. and as ou time before quarantine comes in. and as you say. — time before quarantine comes in. and as you say, that is a fast changing

situation, when changes happen they come quite quickly. looking further ahead, if there are passengers or people who have got travel plans in the next few weeks or months, what should they do? because they are probably looking at this thinking, should i cancel? what is the situation for them. i should i cancel? what is the situation for them.— should i cancel? what is the situation for them. i think the thin is situation for them. i think the thing is to _ situation for them. i think the thing is to watch _ situation for them. i think the thing is to watch this - situation for them. i think the thing is to watch this very - situation for them. i think the - thing is to watch this very closely. if you are working through a travel management company or travel agent, get in touch with them. the airlines and the trade have got used to this now had a very flexible to approaches, so i think sit tight and see how this develops over the next 48 hours and make your plans. somewhere in the region of about 80,000 people a book to go to south africa between now and christmas, so there is a lot of people that will be worried by this, but perhaps we should remove the quarantine risk and bring back the pcr testing. you were talking about that earlier, the flight from amsterdam, the testing did what it was supposed to do to

find people with covid, and allow people to travel, and that would put a lot of people's mind at rest at this critical travel time. find a lot of people's mind at rest at this critical travel time. and the whole travel _ this critical travel time. and the whole travel industry _ this critical travel time. and the whole travel industry has - this critical travel time. and the whole travel industry has been l whole travel industry has been through tough times recently. what is the future if you have yet again this disruption and uncertainty for them? ., ., ., , , them? you are absolutely right. it has been a — them? you are absolutely right. it has been a really _ them? you are absolutely right. it has been a really tough _ them? you are absolutely right. it has been a really tough 20 - them? you are absolutely right. it i has been a really tough 20 months, and the last few weeks, confidence has been coming back, and things have felt a little brighter. this is a real knock to that. the industry has been hugely resilient, but if this is going to continue like this, the government has to step in and support that industry right the way across, because no other industry is being impacted quite like this. it is a confidence industry, and in moments like this, albeit totally understandable, not people's confidence for travelling and it will impact hugely on the business within this industry, and we need help, that is simply what we ask for. clive, thank you for sharing your thoughts —

for. clive, thank you for sharing your thoughts with _ for. clive, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us _ for. clive, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us this - for. clive, thank you for sharing - your thoughts with us this morning. that's clive wratten, ceo of the business travel associatio. england's chief medical officer, chris whitty, has said his "greatest worry" is whether people will accept new measures to tackle covid variants. professor whitty told a panel discussion hosted by the local government association that he questioned whether people would comply if restrictions had to be imposed. he then went on to say that he did think the public would be brought on side. let's speak now with stephen reicher who is professor of social psychology at the university of st andrews, and a member of sage's subcommittee advising the uk government on behavioural science. surely by even suggesting that people might be reluctant to follow any 19th —— covid measures, surely that will make people not want to follow them? the

that will make people not want to follow them?— that will make people not want to follow them? ,., ., ., follow them? the important thing to notice that chris _ follow them? the important thing to notice that chris whitty _ follow them? the important thing to notice that chris whitty has - follow them? the important thing to notice that chris whitty has already. notice that chris whitty has already adjusted his position. the greatest error in behavioural science was the notion of behavioural fatigue early on in march last year, it was assumed that people were not able to deal with restrictions, and as a consequence, we had to delay the measures taken against the first wave. and so we did delay, and it is estimated that tens of thousands of people died as a consequence, and we discovered that the notion of behavioural fatigue was just plain wrong. people showed remarkable resilience, even though they were suffering, and they showed resilience because they came together collectively, and we supported each other and we understood why it was so critical to act together. this time, chris whitty, he still has doubts, and of course we all have doubts because we can never have a crystal ball to say exactly what will happen, but this time he says, i think people will go along with measures, but he makes another point that is critical, and thatis another point that is critical, and that is the major issue is not

fatigue, it is not whether people have enough resilience, resilience isn't the issue. trust is the issue, trust in government, and that's why there needs to be full transparency so that people understand that this isn't something done to them, it is done for us and with us, for our own good, and i think that means we need to do more than just have transparency. we need to listen to people, we need to support people, we need to protect people. if the government understands the centrality of trust and building trust, than i think we have a much more positive outlook than if suddenly things are imposed without really explaining why. but i suddenly things are imposed without really explaining why.— really explaining why. but i suppose civen the really explaining why. but i suppose given the year— really explaining why. but i suppose given the year and _ really explaining why. but i suppose given the year and a _ really explaining why. but i suppose given the year and a half— really explaining why. but i suppose given the year and a half that - really explaining why. but i suppose given the year and a half that many | given the year and a half that many people have had, even if ideally we would like people to be on board, and even if people do have trust in the government and believe that these covid measures, which are obviously abstract and theoretical at the moment, in future measures

are necessary, there is no getting away from the fact that for some people further measures or any lockdown measures would be catastrophic for their careers. so, realistically, we can't hide from the fact that there are some people who would have fatigue. we the fact that there are some people who would have fatigue.— the fact that there are some people who would have fatigue. we all have fatiaue. i who would have fatigue. we all have fatigue. i remember _ who would have fatigue. we all have fatigue. i remember in _ who would have fatigue. we all have fatigue. i remember in the - who would have fatigue. we all have fatigue. i remember in the first - fatigue. i remember in the first lockdown back at the time when dominic cummings who had gone to barnard castle, that same evening there was a piece on the channel 4 news about a family, a black single mother who had covid and her ten—year—old daughter was looking after the four—year—old, and they were living on watered—down baked beans, incredible suffering. that incredible resilience, and incredible resilience, and incredible support, because they understood the importance of it. so yes, people are fatigued, and yes it is difficult, but if they understand the reasons for the measures, people still have that grit and resilience.

resilience isn't something that happens within us, to something that happens within us, to something that happens between us when we realise we are all in this together and we begin to support each other. up and the country, up to 1a million people were involved in mutual aid groups. that is quite remarkable, and we begin to forget that, so we need to go back to that sense that it is not about me, it is not about personal responsibility, it is about us and about social responsibility, and building that sense of community i think is our best asset in this pandemic. think is our best asset in this pandemic— think is our best asset in this andemic. ., ~ , ., ,, , pandemic. thank you, stephen, we will have to — pandemic. thank you, stephen, we will have to leave _ pandemic. thank you, stephen, we will have to leave it _ pandemic. thank you, stephen, we will have to leave it there, - pandemic. thank you, stephen, we will have to leave it there, i'm - will have to leave it there, i'm afraid, but thank you for your thoughts this morning. fik. northern parts of the uk have been hit by winds of almost a hundred miles an hour overnight, caused by storm arwen. two people are now known to have died. in wales, there is major rail disruption with many routes cancelled. tens of thousands of people are waking up this morning without power.

alison freeman is in whitley bay near newcastle. the north—east coast has been absolutely battered overnight by these strong winds and driving rain. we know that the met office says it has recorded a top wind speed of 98 mph up the coast in alnwick in northumberland overnight. there has been some tragic news from cumbria too, cumbria police told us this morning that they were called to ambleside last night at around 11 o'clock to report that a man had been hit by a tree. emergency services did attend, they say, but the man died at the scene. there is of course plenty of other wider disruption. we know that lner is telling people not to travel at all this weekend on their services which run between london and scotland. more locally up here, the tyne and wear metro closed early last night due to debris on the tracks. we have seen photos on social media of their teams going out trying to clear things up, trees lying on the lines,

and they are doing their best to get things up and running again today. also northern power grid say 55,000 homes have been without power, and it is going to take quite some time to get everybody back online again, just because of the conditions making it really difficult for them to carry out their repairs. people passing by us today have said they have never seen the sea at whitley bay look like this. the wind and the rain has beenjust so bay look like this. the wind and the rain has been just so ferocious. bay look like this. the wind and the rain has beenjust so ferocious. the warning remains in place throughout the morning, but people are being advised if they can to stay at home. it does feel like it is easing a little bit, but those gusts of winds are strong. we havejust little bit, but those gusts of winds are strong. we have just seen a car behind us which has had its windscreen blown out overnight by those gusts, so the message really from the emergency services is for people to stay at home while they can, while a lot of this mess can get sorted out. alison freeman reporting. the former england cricket captain michael vaughan,

has spoken publicly for the first time since being accused of racism, by his yorkshire teammate azeem rafiq. speaking to the bbc�*s dan walker before the england and wales cricket board released a new action plan to tackle racism and discrimination, he apologised for any hurt he may have caused. michael vaughan leading england to the ashes in 2005. now he is fighting for his reputation after being accused by three asian players of making a racist comment ahead of a game for yorkshire. "too many of you lot, we need to do something about it." do you in any way remember or recognise those words? i don't. my recollection from that day — as i've said, i was a yorkshire player for 18 years. i was the first player to sign for that club that was not born in the county, so in 18 years we've gone from me being the first to sign for the club, for sachin tendulkar to be the first from overseas, to players being able to sign from other clubs. and it was my last few games,

and ijust remember it clearly that i was proud as punch that we had four asian players representing yorkshire county cricket club. it was azeem rafiq, the yorkshire whistleblower, who made the initial allegation. he has said that michael vaughan might not remember the alleged remarks because they didn't mean anything to him. yes, that hurts. that hurts, because i've always felt that every single team that i've been involved in — the biggest praise i ever got as the england captain for six years was that i was the kind of person that really galvanised the group, got the team working together as one. i always felt that i was the person in the dressing room that really wanted everyone to feel included. michael, you said you wanted to sit down with azeem and hear his story. the chances are he could be watching you this morning. he could be watching this now. what would be your message to him? i'm sorry for the hurt that he's gone through.

yorkshire county cricket club, i believe, is me. you know, it's been my life. whether i'm a player or not, i'm a senior ex—player and ex—england captain, and i believe that once you've played for yorkshire you're always a yorkshire player. i'm sorry for all the hurt that he's gone through. hopefully — time, i don't think, can ever be a healer in the situation he's gone through. but hopefully time can be a way of us making sure that yorkshire county cricket club never goes through this situation again and never puts themselves in a position of denial that they treated a player so badly. vaughan says he wants to work with azeem rafiq to repair the damage done to cricket. he also says he regrets and is embarrassed by several posts he made on social media between 2010 and 2018, insisting he wouldn't post them now. when i look back on my 12 years on social media, i regret many tweets.

i regret the tweets that you've just read out. i apologise deeply to anyone that i offended with those tweets. since retirement, michael vaughan has covered cricket for bbc radio, but earlier this week it was revealed that he has been stood down from his role at the ashes in australia this winter. yeah, i won't be doing the ashes, which i understand. editorial at the minute, the story is all about azeem rafiq and racism in the game of cricket. i get that. ijust hope, in time, i get that chance to come back, and the one thing that i've loved more than anything since i retired is talking cricket. i love being on test match special, and hopefully in time i'll get that chance to do it again. michael vaughan�*s hopes for a return to the airwaves rest with his employers. it is his hope that he will have a role in helping to repair the damage done to cricket by this racism scandal. dan walker, bbc news.

we put the remarks made by michael vaughan in that interview to azeem rafiq, but he declined to comment. a woman from northern iraq has become the first person from this week's boat disaster in the channel to be identified. 24—year—old maryam nuri mohammed amin was among 27 people who died while attempting to reach the uk. mark lobel has more. 24—year—old maryam nuri mohammed amin from northern iraq, the first named victim in the biggest loss of life by drowning in the channel in many years. in herfinal hours, heading to british shores to surprise her fiance. they messaged as the dinghy started deflating. she tried to reassure him she would be rescued, but tragically this would be the end of herjourney — alongside 17 men, six other women, one of whom was pregnant, and three children who also died. her loved ones in northern

iraq are in mourning. her father spoke to the bbc. translation: from germany she went to france, and in france got— into this slaughterhouse. the whole world talks about europe is a place that is calm. is this what calm means? around 30 people dying in the middle of the sea? this is sin to put people through this. so what could have gone wrong? translation: possibly a collision| with a large tanker or it was caught in the wake of a supertanker, which is like a tsunami overcoming these boats. the third hypothesis is a design flaw in these ships. maryam's friend has this message for migrants. no one should try this, no one. no one deserves to die this way. but the appetite to cross from france remains.

i have an aim to go to london to read there, to study. i want to study. my brother is also in london. despite the very hostile environment. the agent told me i would be in three days here across the channel but he is a liar, he is lying. he takes money and he, you know, he runs. to help solve this crisis, france has invited belgium, german and dutch ministers as well as the european commission to talks in calais on sunday, but the uk has been dis—invited after a french falling out. the choppy waters raging over this long—running issue are not confined to the sea. mark lobel, bbc news. one of musical theatre's most revered composers and lyricists, stephen sondheim, has died at the age of 91. in a career that spanned more than six decades, he created some of broadway's best known musicals

and wrote the lyrics for west side story. daniela relph has been looking back at his life. # isn't it bliss? # don't you approve? # one who keeps tearing around, one who can't move... send in the clowns, from the musical a little night music. # send in the clowns... it was stephen sondheim's only hit song — remarkably, because this was the man who revolutionised the american musical. as a young man he learned his trade from oscar hammerstein, the lyricist who wrote shows like oklahoma and the sound of music. sondheim, too, started by doing the words — notably for leonard bernstein's music in west side story. # i like to be in america! # ok by me in america! soon he was writing his own music as well. # for a small fee in america...

most of the shows that followed were hits. and then in 1970 he came up with a new idea — a musical that didn't follow an obvious plot. # phone rings, door chimes, in comes company... company was a series of vignettes featuring a dozen central characters. no two sondheim musicals were the same. i don't want to get bored writing. and you know, it's — when you hit a chord that you've hit before or a technique of using a song that you've done before — or when i do, i get very nervous. and i think "i've written that, i mustn't do that again." somebody will catch me up on it, so to speak. it's as if somebody�*s saying, "wait a minute, you did that in that show." into the woods was based on fairy stories like jack and the beanstalk. sondheim's music was rhythmically complicated and harmonically sophisticated. # we've no time to sit and dither. # while her withers wither with her. # and no—one keeps a cow for a friend...

that's one of my favourite things about a sondheim musical, is the material that you learn is some of the most complex series of notes put together that you can learn, and so you feel such a sense of accomplishment when you finally get to — when you've arrived at a place where you realise i've got it. i've figured out how to sing this sondheim lyric and sing this beautiful phrase that he wrote. # i thought that you'd want what i want, sorry, my dear... for his admirers, stephen sondheim produced some of the most sophisticated and thoughtful musicals ever written. # quick, send in the clowns. # don't bother, they're here.

stephen sondheim, who has died at the age of 91. you are watching bbc news. let's go back to the migrant crisis in the english channel now. following the deaths of 27 people trying to make the crossing. downing street says britain and france need to work together to tackle the trade in migrant crossings, or more people will die. our political correspondence hasjonathan blake says relations are pained between the countries. ministers are at pains today to talk about close co—operation with their french counterparts and the successes, relatively speaking, that they have had so far with migrants crossing the channel, the number of arrests and the number boats they have prevented coming across. but there is no doubt there is a diplomatic row which is still going on, and the uk and france are not working together as closely as they could be on this issue. there is also no doubt that boris johnson as well as emmanuel macron on the french side is under political pressure, notjust from the labour party

who were accusing him of losing control of this issue, an error ofjudgment in tweeting thet letter he sent to emmanuel macron, and also of humiliation over the fact that the home secretary is now no longer welcome at that meeting of ministers tomorrow that we were just hearing about. nevertheless, the government is defending their approach, saying they are trying to put forward practical solutions to this problem, and that there is a need to broaden the cooperation with france. that's perhaps diplomatic language for... to repair things and work more closely than they have been of late. the security minister damian hinds has been speaking this morning saying there should be no doubt about the seriousness of the situation. it could not be more urgent. on the day of this tragedy on wednesday, there were 23 further crossings that day and any one of them could have met the same fate. these people, these wicked people who put their fellow man and woman, and in this case children, sometimes too, on to these

horribly dangerous craft, they do not care about the risks. so we as the international community, as the community of nations, have to do everything we can to break up that business model and stop people being put in this mortal danger. things haven't completely broken down. far from it. uk officials will still be at the meeting this weekend discussing with french counterparts and others from around europe what to do about this situation. in terms of the solutions the uk is putting forward, it perhaps isn't too much of a surprise france have reacted in this way because some of them have been ruled out before. joint patrols, for example, on the french coast and this notion of sending migrants back once they reach the uk to france. there is a shortage of new solutions, which both sides can agree on, and if anyone was hopeful that there would be a cooling of the political rhetoric in the face of the tragedy we saw earlier in the week, then it seems that didn't last too long at all.

jonathan blake reporting there. let's have a look at the weather now with storm arwen affecting the region quite badly. he is the forecast with ben rich. hello. after the damage and disruption storm arwen has brought to many parts of the uk, things are slowly beginning to calm down now. it will stay quite blustery this afternoon, but not as windy as it has been for those exposed coasts in the north—east and indeed in the west of the uk. those are the gusts we are expecting for the middle of the afternoon. still some rain, sleet and snow for eastern england. some wintry showers into parts of scotland and northern ireland. sunny spells elsewhere. it will feel really cold. highs between three and eight degrees. tonight, still some rain, sleet and snow for a time in eastern england. cloud will bring rain back into northern ireland and snow into north—west scotland. a few showers for west wales and for cornwall. in between, though, largely clear skies allowing temperatures to dip to —6 or —7 celsius, so a widespread frost and ice looking likely tomorrow morning. still some wintry showers in eastern

england, some snow moving across parts of scotland, cloud and patchy rain