this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a growing number of countries restrict travel from southern africa in an effort to control and new covid variant as europe records its first confirmed case. 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 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 growing list of countries to impose travel restrictions on southern african countries in response to warnings about a new covid—i9 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.i.i.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's 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 don't yet know whether the increased cases they are seeing in south africa will stabilise over time. but it is highly concerning, the rapid rate of increase of cases

associated with 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. let's speak now with dr angelique coetzee, she's chair of the south african medical association and a practising gp in pretoria. thank you so much forjoining us. first of all, how severe is the situation there, and what percentage of the cases there are this new omicron variant?— of the cases there are this new omicron variant? ,., ., ., ., ., . omicron variant? good afternoon, and a aood omicron variant? good afternoon, and a good afternoon _ omicron variant? good afternoon, and a good afternoon to _ omicron variant? good afternoon, and a good afternoon to your _ omicron variant? good afternoon, and a good afternoon to your viewers - omicron variant? good afternoon, and a good afternoon to your viewers out | a good afternoon to your viewers out there. we are experiencing not a very high alert or increasing numbers of patients coming to the surgeries. it is about ten a day, but also remember since last week that we have clinically become aware of this variant that is going around. but the symptoms of these cases are extremely mild, and i

would go as far as to say that this variant has been here for longer than we think, because it is very, very mild. the patients are mostly complaining about a sore body and extreme tiredness, and we see it in the younger generations, not the older people, but again it is very early days. we haven't seen anyone severely ill in the general practitioners' space. we are not talking about patients that might go straight to hospital and be admitted. but we are also aware that the numbers are very, very slightly going up in the icus, that it is nothing compared to what we have seen with delta. we understand that this is early days, and that is why we say it is not a storm in a teacup now. but it might change. two weeks from now, we might say something different. but i'm afraid that, looking at the symptoms, i think it has been missed by other countries as well, and i want to applaud south

african scientists for doing their due diligence to pick up this variant, they picked it up at the same time i am sitting on the advisable committee. when i became aware of it last week, i alerted them, and that was more or less the same time as they also started to see changes in the pcr testing from the virus strains they are testing. so it might be contagious, but so far, very mild cases. as i said, the whole picture might change going forward. ~ , , ~ forward. absolutely, angelique. it is very early _ forward. absolutely, angelique. it is very early stages, _ forward. absolutely, angelique. it is very early stages, as _ forward. absolutely, angelique. it is very early stages, as you - forward. absolutely, angelique. it is very early stages, as you say. i is very early stages, as you say. what is your reaction to countries taking precautions and blocking travel from southern african countries?— travel from southern african countries? , ., ., ~ countries? first of all i think it was very premature, - countries? first of all i think it was very premature, and - countries? first of all i think it was very premature, and i - countries? first of all i think it l was very premature, and i don't think that the british government should havejust think that the british government should have just acted, think that the british government should havejust acted, they think that the british government should have just acted, they didn't really consult with us, it is like a

knee jerk type of reaction. instead of applauding and saying, let's shake hands, we were slammed immediately with a band, so going forward, i can promise you other countries when they pick up a new variant, they are going to be very careful before they announce it, looking at what happened to us. so yes, if this variant is going to cause havoc going forward, that is something different. but there is nothing like that yet. but i suopose. _ nothing like that yet. but i suppose, angelique, - nothing like that yet. but i suppose, angelique, in . nothing like that yet. but i suppose, angelique, in reaction to your criticism of the speed at which countries banned travel, they would argue that speed is of the essence when you have got a virus that is this contagious and can travel quickly. this contagious and can travel cuickl . , ., �* quickly. the thing is, we don't know. quickly. the thing is, we don't know- we _ quickly. the thing is, we don't know. we only _ quickly. the thing is, we don't know. we only picked - quickly. the thing is, we don't know. we only picked it - quickly. the thing is, we don't know. we only picked it up . quickly. the thing is, we don't| know. we only picked it up last week, the numbers at 9.5% increase

in numbers, it is not 200 or 300,000 patients. yes, it is on the increase, but it is nothing compared to what europe and other countries are seeing, and again as i have said, it might be currently mild, we don't know what is going to happen, but at least it would have been better if there was a time where we can say, listen, we might impose restrictions on your country going forward, orforyour own restrictions on your country going forward, or for your own people travelling to south africa, butjust to come up overnight and slam us, i think that is a bit premature. remember what i'm saying for now, we are seeing mild cases, and it is really mild cases. we have so far been able to treat everyone at home

from the gp community, not speaking about the unvaccinated ones that might end up in icu, but we will only know weeks from now on. angelique, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, dr angelique coetzee who chairs the south african medical association. many holiday—makers and british expats in south africa have told of their frustration at having to cancel trips following the uk's decision to ban flights to and from the country. let's speak now with one of them, ruth daines—slack. let's speak to one of them now. ruth, how have your plans been affected? my ruth, how have your plans been affected? y , ., , ruth, how have your plans been affected? g , . , ., , affected? my plans have been affected? my plans have been affected for— affected? my plans have been affected for the _ affected? my plans have been affected for the last _ affected? my plans have been affected for the last two - affected? my plans have been| affected for the last two years. affected? my plans have been i affected for the last two years. i have tried to go three times for major events in my family. my mother's 100th major events in my family. my mother's100th birthday, we were having to go into isolation in a hotel, so i couldn't go for her

birthday. my 70th birthday, my family couldn't come here. and on the 11th of october, when mrjohnson said that south africans could go to england without quarantine hotel, it was a huge outcry ofjoy, and we all started booking ourflights to england. and my family decided from all over the world to get together for christmas, and it is actually the first time in 35 years that we have all been together. and i woke up have all been together. and i woke up yesterday morning at four o'clock in the morning to find out that this quarantine hotel was back in operation. so yes, it is very difficult for south africans or people living in south africa to pay for this quarantine hotel. it amounts to about two months living

expenses. however, my daughter is so desperate for me to come that she put out a whatsapp to all her friends and family, and within an hour they had raised enough money to pay for my quarantine hotel. so i will be going, but there are hundreds and hundreds of people here that are very disappointed. find hundreds and hundreds of people here that are very disappointed.— that are very disappointed. and what do ou that are very disappointed. and what do you make — that are very disappointed. and what do you make of _ that are very disappointed. and what do you make of the _ that are very disappointed. and what do you make of the way _ that are very disappointed. and what do you make of the way it _ that are very disappointed. and what do you make of the way it has - that are very disappointed. and what do you make of the way it has been i do you make of the way it has been communicated and any support for making changes to your travel plans? has that been fairly smooth? ida. making changes to your travel plans? has that been fairly smooth?- has that been fairly smooth? no, not at all. my instant _ has that been fairly smooth? no, not at all. my instant reaction _ has that been fairly smooth? no, not at all. my instant reaction was - has that been fairly smooth? no, not at all. my instant reaction was if- at all. my instant reaction was if i'm going into a hotel, i must get an earlierflight, so i'm going into a hotel, i must get an earlier flight, so that it doesn't take part of my holiday. i have three weeks holiday, and 11 days of that holiday is going to be in isolation without my family, so i tried to get hold of the airline i'm flying with, and they have an

automated answer, they cannot take calls. so it was very frustrating, a lot of tears, a lot of phone calls, and it has been very, very disappointed.— and it has been very, very disappointed. and it has been very, very disa ointed. �* , ., disappointed. ruth, i'm sorry for the experience _ disappointed. ruth, i'm sorry for the experience you _ disappointed. ruth, i'm sorry for the experience you have - disappointed. ruth, i'm sorry for the experience you have had, - disappointed. ruth, i'm sorry for| the experience you have had, but disappointed. ruth, i'm sorry for - the experience you have had, but i'm pleased that you will be, fingers crossed, making it over eventually for your first trip in 35 years. ida. for your first trip in 35 years. no, m first for your first trip in 35 years. no, my first christmas _ for your first trip in 35 years. idrr, my first christmas with my family. your first christmas with your family in 35 years. i hope it goes ahead smoothly, and thank you for taking the time to speak to us today. taking the time to speak to us toda . . ~ taking the time to speak to us toda . ., ~ i. taking the time to speak to us toda . . ~' ,, , taking the time to speak to us toda. ., , . 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 98mph 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 reports 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's 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 been just 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's easing a little bit, but those gusts of wind are strong. we have just seen a car behind us which has had its windscreen blown out overnight by those gusts, so as i say 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. poland's border agency says more than a hundred migrants assisted by belarusian soldiers tried to force their way into poland from belarus overnight. in recent months, thousands

of migrants, mostly from the middle east, have been trying to cross into the eu from belarus. belarusian forces are said to have blindsided their polish counterparts with strobe lights and lasers. a footbridge was thrown over the razor wire borderfence during the attempted border crossing. 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's 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 for 18 years we've gone from me being the first to sign for the club, to sachin tendulkar to be the first from overseas, to players being able to sign from other clubs. 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. yeah, 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, that'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 that 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's 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 kurdish 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. police in the solomon islands say that three body have been found in a burnt out district. the? that three body have been found in a burnt out district.— burnt out district. they are the first reported _ burnt out district. they are the first reported deaths _ burnt out district. they are the first reported deaths after - burnt out district. they are the | first reported deaths after three days of rioting in the pacific

nation. the writing began on wednesday when protesters stormed parliament in a bid to topple the prime minister. two teenagers and a bus driver have died in kosovo when a bus group of teenagers opened fire on a bus. the gunmen is believed to have acted alone. local media say it could have been part of a conflict between rival bus companies. the ethiopian government have announced new restrictions on the sharing of information about the war in the north of the country. they stipulate that battlefront updates and news about military manoeuvres can only come from the government itself. war broke out last november between government forces and rebels. 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.

archaeologists in peru have unearthed a well preserved mummy that could be at least 800 years old. this pre—inca mummy was discovered at an archaeological complex east of lima and could be from the pre—inca culture. archaeologists found the money in an oval underground structure tied with ropes in a faecal position and surrounded by various offering materials such as pots, koran mix and gourds. —— in a foetal position. you are watching bbc news. when the taliban swept to power in afghanistan, they inherited an economy which was heavily reliant on foreign aid large parts of the health service were entirely funded by the world bank. all of that has now changed. staff at local clinics haven't been paid in three months, with warnings that medicines are running out. the bbc�*s world affairs editor, john simpson, travelled to a clinic in the hills south of kabul to see the impact the taliban's international isolation is having on ordinary afghans.

the clinic here in musayyib is typical of the local healthcare system that was built up in the last 20 years with foreign help. not much to look at maybe, but highly effective. and then the taliban got back into power. instantly, the world bank, which had been paying for almost the whole of afghanistan's health care, cut off the flow of cash to the country. this is the result. up to nine million people could be on the verge of famine. unicef was saying up to one million children could die of malnutrition. it's a humanitarian catastrophe is what it is. with no international money coming in, clinics like this are in dire trouble. this is the pharmacy. normally, the cupboards would be packed with medicines. now they're running out really fast.

the collapsing economy and the foreign sanctions against the taliban mean people can't buy food. the result is malnutrition, and it's starting with the children. translation: there will be a huge health crisis. - there will be no medicine and people will face massive problems. even health care staff will leave. the health care services will collapse. we will start to see lots of mothers and children dying. as winter approaches, the cuts which the world bank and foreign governments have introduced are having a greater and greater effect. in offices and government ministries, thousands of miles away from here, serious men and women are taking decisions to try to force the taliban to behave better in government. but it's these people here right down on the ground who are paying

the price for those decisions. it will take time for the outside world's financial pressure to have an effect on the taliban — if it even does. they're guerrilla fighters, after all, used to living rough. it's the ordinary people of afghanistan with no resources and no protection who will suffer. john simpson, bbc news, musayyib. as we've been hearing, the weather has been causing huge disruption in parts of the uk. he has been 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 in the far west of the uk. elsewhere, a lot of sunshine, lighterwinds, but still feeling cold.