welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... as the new omicron covid variant spreads to several more countries — the south african president criticises the decision to put his country on the international red list. these restrictions are completely unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our southern african sister countries. britain is calling a meeting of g7 health ministers to discuss how to deal with the omicron strain. how a kurdish father of three in northern iraq fears his whole family were among those who drowned in the channel.

frank williams team... and the founder of one of the great formula one teams — sir frank williams — has died. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 7am in singapore, and one in the morning in south africa, where president cyril ramaphosa has slammed the decision by some countries including the us, europe and parts of asia to ban flights from southern african countries following confirmation of the presence of the new omicron variant of covid—19. mr ramaphosa called the moves unjustified. he said — increased vaccination was the best way to tackle the new variant. these restrictions are completely unjustified and unfairly

discriminate against our country and our southern african sister countries. the prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant. the only thing the prohibition on travel will do is to further damage the economies of the effected countries and undermine their ability to respond to and recover from the pandemic. the emergence of the omicron variant should be a wake—up call to the world that vaccine inequality cannot be allowed to continue. meanwhile, britain is to convene an urgent meeting of g7 health ministers on monday to discuss developments relating to the new variant. it comes as canada, the netherlands, denmark and australia are the latest countries to confirm cases of the new strain and as new travel restrictions are brought

in worldwide to limit its spread. the dutch authorities have said that at least 13 tested positive for the new variant after arriving recently from south africa, where the highly—mutated variant was first detected. anna holligan reports. places like this have been pounded throughout the pandemic. xander had been hoping to recover some of his losses during what is normally his busiest time of the year. it's the party month, the december month, so... santa claus, christmas, all of the parties from the businesses, it's all gone. nobody is having a party or a drink. for the next three weeks in the run up to christmas, bars, restaurants and non—essential shops must stop serving from five

in the evening until 5am. the measures were considered critical to protect the hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. the netherlands has a shortage of intensive care beds. operations are being cancelled, patients transferred over the border to germany for treatment. hundreds of people are dying of covid every week. some scientists believe a confused government strategy has damaged public trust and willingness to comply with the rules. the lack of consistency has led to a lot of distrust within society and the public, for example, take the mask discourse. one moment they say it's not effective, and then the other way, they become mandatory in indoor places. so, communicating that to the public and to the people can kind of create kind of create distrust, and that is what you see now in the netherlands and also the rioting

which we have seen last week. another new variant has arrived — omicron has been detected among passengers who are now in isolation. here at this airport, flights from south africa are continuing to land, so one came in from cape town earlier and another from johannesburg, and these arrivals are causing concern in a country already battling record—breaking infection rates. and this is one of europe's busiest transit hubs. there are fears the virus may be travelling on undetected. anna holligan, bbc news. i'm joined now by professor mary—louise mclaws, epidemiologist and adviser on the who's covid infection control group. it's great to have you on the programme, professor. you know, the new variant has already been detected in australia, many parts of the world as well, how concerned are

you about this?— you about this? thank you for having me. it is concerning _ you about this? thank you for having me. it is concerning because, - you about this? thank you for having me. it is concerning because, well, i me. it is concerning because, well, laboratory wise, this mutation has 32 mutations on the spike alone, so we are still waiting to know what sort of impact it will have clinically and on that vaccine efficacy and whether or not it's as highly or even more highly transmissible. so it is of concern at the moment, and i'm pleased to hear that multiple countries are being highly preconscious. professor, on that, you know, the south africans have said that the restrictions, the travel bans, all of that are extremely unfair and an overreaction. what is your response to that? ~ ., , ., ., , to that? well, as an epidemiologist, lookin: at to that? well, as an epidemiologist, looking at outbreak— to that? well, as an epidemiologist, looking at outbreak management, . to that? well, as an epidemiologist, looking at outbreak management, i | looking at outbreak management, i don't agree. i know that south

africa, quite frankly, we do need to protect them and other low income countries that have very little vaccine uptake that could protect them. and also, border closures also protect countries that haven't got herd immunity. and herd immunity with delta alone is near impossible, but you have to get the vaccine rate up very high to at least prevent people having to have hospital beds and ventilation. so, in fact, people having to have hospital beds and ventilation. so, infact, it people having to have hospital beds and ventilation. so, in fact, it is highly preconscious, but very good until we learn more about this virus, even for the next two weeks when lab work is done on the neutralising antibody effect against this virus. you neutralising antibody effect against this virus. ., ~' ., neutralising antibody effect against this virus. ., ~ ., , ., this virus. you know, professor, from what _ this virus. you know, professor, from what we — this virus. you know, professor, from what we are _ this virus. you know, professor, from what we are hearing - this virus. you know, professor, from what we are hearing from | from what we are hearing from doctors who have treated some of the earliest patients found in south africa, the symptoms appear, according to what they are saying, to be very mild. i know so little is

known about the variant at this stage, but will vaccines that we haven't had be effective? thea;a stage, but will vaccines that we haven't had be effective? they could be. delta removed _ haven't had be effective? they could be. delta removed 10096, _ haven't had be effective? they could be. delta removed 100%, so - haven't had be effective? they could be. delta removed 10096, so there i haven't had be effective? they could j be. delta removed 10096, so there is be. delta removed 100%, so there is 90% certainty that you wouldn't get a symptomatic disease, but it stops you from dying, it stops you from having to go to hospital, mostly, and it does reduce the risk of transmitting it to others. so, if this virus isn't anymore transmissible and doesn't reduce the vaccine efficacy, then we are in a great position, but we also need to know whether this particular mutation also tests at the same rate at the same period, and it doesn't have some sort of delay positivity, and if that is the case, yes, we can open up the borders, test people as they come in, because you know everybody has been under some sort of restriction, and you don't want those to go for not and have great

increases again, particularly in the northern hemisphere, where in the fifth and sixth wave.— fifth and sixth wave. indeed, professor — fifth and sixth wave. indeed, professor mary _ fifth and sixth wave. indeed, professor mary louise, - fifth and sixth wave. indeed, | professor mary louise, thank fifth and sixth wave. indeed, - professor mary louise, thank you so much forjoining us on newsday. still to come a bit later in the programme: new zealand local leaders are calling on tourists to stay away, over fears that they will bring coronavirus to vulnerable local maori communities. but first. . .. i want to bring you this story. four days after the bodies of people who drowned in the channel while trying to reach the uk were discovered — the identities of all 27 are yet to be confirmed. many are thought to be kurds from northern iraq — and as the days go on without news, families there fear the worst. the bbc�*s murad shishani has the story of one man whose wife and three children are believed to have been on the boat. for those waiting for news, the uncertainty is almost

as difficult as the grief. this man's wife and three children wanted to come to the uk to start a new life. away from their village, in iraqi kurdistan. his oldest daughter had wanted to study to become a doctor. translation: fathers and mothers try to make their children better. . i am a father, i love my kids. i want my children to have a good life. but the last time he heard from them was on tuesday, as they were boarding a boat. he says he called hundreds of times, with no answer. the next day, french authorities polled 27 people from the water. ——the next day, french authorities pulled 27 people from the water. and because of delays identifying the dead, rizgal does not know if his wife and children are among them. translation: i don't know if they are dead or alive, . i won't believe anything

until i see my children here or i find them in hospital. he had even sold the family house to tape people smugglers for the journey. it is an expensive and illegal way to get to europe. an estimated 40,000 people have left the region in the past year using the smuggler network. i am on my way to meet one such smuggler, he was not involved with rizgal�*s family. they called them the middleman here in this region. he agreed to talk to me on condition of anonymity. he is directing me to a place of his choice, insisting that my time with him should be quick and short. do you regret being in this business after seeing what happened at the english channel? translation: how can i not regret? they are iraqi, they are muslim, even if they were palestinian, iraqi, jordanian, syrian, they are still human beings.

whoever it is, it is as though it is my son, or even one of my relatives. it is a crime against humanity. rizgal looks at family photos of happier times as he waits for news. but after five days, he is beginning to lose hope. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... we have a special report on ethiopia as the war there reaches a critical point — creating a humanitarian disaster. 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 to mind very much. as one local comic put it, "it's not hot air we need, it's hard cash." l 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 19605 — it was an alliance that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war with the cuban missile crisis. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines... britain is calling a meeting of g7

health ministers to discuss how to deal with the omicron strain of the coronavirus. the south african president, cyril ramaphosa, has criticised countries that have imposed travel bans since the new variant was found in his country. it's been just about a week since new zealand unveiled plans to reopen borders and allow foreigners to enter next year. but some local leaders are calling on tourists to stay away, over fears that they will bring coronavirus to vulnerable local maori communities who have fewer health facilities available. we can cross live now to auckland and speak to antony thompson, spokesman for the te kahu o tanui tribal collective. great to have you on the programme, and in the first instance, i hope i have pronounced the name of your collective correctly. ijust want collective correctly. i just want to start by asking you, you know, why are you calling for tourists to stay

away from new zealand, given the opportunity for people to come back at something the government has obviously weighed quite seriously and delicately and feels that this is the right time to do that. greetings from new zealand. i think the first thing we need to let that is, a new zealand, we have treated covid—i9 in response to covid—i9 as a public health issue. the country went into lockdown, we have set targets for ourselves for a 90% vaccination rate across the whole country, and every new zealander, every organisation regarding health has wrecked back to the neck recommended that target of 90%. we haven't got there with our most vulnerable communities, so it's very important to all of our maori health providers. maori health providers make—up the largest contingent of health prevention to maori in low

socioeconomic communities within our area. a good example is where i come from, it's about two and half hours north of auckland, the area is only at 71% vaccination rate at this stage of those who are eligible to be vaccinated. the population of northland is about 240,000 people. over the summer period, we have an extra 250,000 people, and you can appreciate without the right controls, the right plans and mitigations in place, we could have a disaster on our hands.— mitigations in place, we could have a disaster on our hands. indeed. can i 'ust ask, a disaster on our hands. indeed. can i just ask. what _ a disaster on our hands. indeed. can i just ask, what is _ a disaster on our hands. indeed. can i just ask, what is the _ a disaster on our hands. indeed. can i just ask, what is the reason - a disaster on our hands. indeed. can i just ask, what is the reason for - ijust ask, what is the reason for that discrepancy or the difference, i should say, between the vaccination take—up in the local community versus the rest of new zealand? , , ., ., ,, ., zealand? this is an old issue. maori health is about _ zealand? this is an old issue. maori health is about 20 _ zealand? this is an old issue. maori health is about 20 years _

zealand? this is an old issue. maori health is about 20 years behind - zealand? this is an old issue. maori| health is about 20 years behind nine maori health and new zealand. we are fighting extra hard to get maori services out to the communities that need them. you've got to remember that in our small communities, we are small, remote, local communities and our northland area. therefore, it is a lot harder to get services, health services with vaccination to those remote communities. what we wanted was the chance and the ability to get our vaccination rates up ability to get our vaccination rates up to the right levels before we opened the borders was not for us, these two borders, the local border and this external partner, we have got the hard border between auckland and northland right now and the small village, that community, he can cross the border line, the hard border, by road, unless you have an exemption from the government. at the moment, come december 15, what will happen is the government have released and relaxed the rules around travel. i released and relaxed the rules around travel.— released and relaxed the rules around travel.- you - released and relaxed the rules around travel.- you have j released and relaxed the rules i around travel.- you have to released and relaxed the rules - around travel.- you have to be around travel. i see. you have to be double taxed _ around travel. i see. you have to be

double taxed and _ around travel. i see. you have to be double taxed and have _ around travel. i see. you have to be double taxed and have to _ around travel. i see. you have to be double taxed and have to have a clear test within 72 hours of travel between auckland and northland. mister thompson they are the spokesman for the tribal collective talking to us about the challenges that your community faces in new zealand. thank you so much for joining us. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines.... polls have just closed in presidential and parliamentary elections in honduras. officials in the central american nation had to appealfor calm before people headed out to the ballots. the run—up to the vote had been dominated by concerns about security and the political influence of drug cartels after the incumbent president, juan orlando hernandez, was named as part of a drug trafficking ring by the us justice department. around 62% of voters in switzerland have backed their government's covid strategy — including a covid certificate showing proof of vaccination, recovery, or a negative test. switzerland is currently battling a surge in infections and the certificates are currently

needed to access bars, restaurants, and football matches. hundreds of environmental protesters in serbia have blocked roads in the capital belgrade, and several other towns — for a second day. they're angry about government plans to offer the mining giant, rio tinto, the rights to extract lithium in the town of loznitza. the protesters say its extraction would pollute land and water supplies. doctors treating the bangladeshi opposition leader, khaleda zia, say they fear for her life if she's not allowed to fly abroad for medical care. ms zia, who's leader of the bangladesh nationalist party, has been diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and is in critical care. but she's has been barred from travelling abroad after being convicted on graft charges in 2018.

the war in ethiopia has reached a critical point, with tigrayan rebels from the north claiming they're advancing ever closer to addis aba—ba, as they prepare to clash with government forces near the capital. the conflict, which began just over a year ago, has pitted combined groups from around the country against prime minister abiy ahmed, who last week announced he would lead his army in battle. it has created a humanitarian disaster, and torn the country apart, with little sign of any resolution. our africa correspondent andrew harding sent this report. a late night road block in ethiopia's capital and a hunt for rebels from the northern region of tigray. these patrols are manned by civilians, volunteers eager to support the ethiopian government at a time of civil war. they have already detained thousands of people, under a sweeping state of emergency that has been heavily criticised as arbitrary by human rights groups.

"we found a lot of suspicious items, including guns and explosive devices," says this neighbourhood organiser. access to the conflict itself is heavily restricted, but the ethiopian government has released this footage, reportedly from the front lines, far north of the capital. it shows the prime minister himself surrounded by his soldiers, and visible holding a satellite phone. translation: our role | is to lead from the front. we had one victory here today, and we will continue with many greater victories. but who is really winning? tigrayan rebels are parading captured ethiopian soldiers, thousands of prisoners of war. the tigrayans insist theirforces have the momentum, but they are fighting on many fronts and the tide could yet turn. the conflict is certainly spreading, and with it a humanitarian crisis

that began in tigray, turned into a famine and is now affecting other regions of ethiopia. again, access is a problem. as the volatile conflict spreads across north ethiopia, we are seeing more and more populations fall into a dire situation. now there are more than 9.4 million people who are in need of food assistance, because of — as a direct impact of the conflict. back in the ethiopian capital donations of food are gathered to send to government troops. and here, a ceremony for new army volunteers, young and old. an official from the governing party salutes this mother's courage. translation: i'm ready to give my i life for my country at any time. i more recruits for the

night—time patrols too. but as ethiopians rally to the cause, the concern is that neighbours are turning on neighbours, in a conflict that may be spinning further out of control. andrew harding, bbc news, south africa. there have been tributes today to sir frank williams — founder of the williams formula 1 team — after his death at the age of 79. during his time — the team won nine constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles. lizzie greenwood hughes looks back at his life. in a sport so dominated by global big business, frank williams made formula i a family affair. the former salesman was a pioneer, building up his motor racing team from nothing, starting in an empty carpet warehouse in oxfordshire and going on to become the best in the world.

seven wins for frank williams' team, up to the chequered flag and past it goes alan jones. .. i've had a wonderful life, wouldn't have changed anything, truthfully. an exciting business. always something to worry about, which can be quite healthy, actually. it's been very good to me. in total, williams racing won nine constructors' and seven drivers titles. mansell finishes andi he's world champion. and damon hill wins- the japanese grand prix. and i've got to stop, because i've got a lump in my throat! - and perhaps there could have been many more, had he managed to sign a young lewis hamilton. the record—breaking driver instead choosing mclaren. but hamilton's tribute today shows just how much respect they had for each other. describing him as one of the kindest people he had met in the sport, and adding, what he achieved iss

something truely special. williams' success was all the more incredible, considering many of his victories came after a serious spinal injury in 1986. an inconvenience, is what he called it. ayrton senna was a driver williams idolised, and his tragic death while driving for him is something the family described as heartbreaking. the williams family eventually bowed out of the sport last year. but the team which bears his name, add to which he dedicated and to which he dedicated his life, lives on. sir frank willams, who has died at the age of 79. us fashion designer virgil abloh — the artistic director of louis vuitton�*s menswear collection — has died at the age of 41. a statement from his family described him as a fiercely devoted father, husband, son, brother, and friend. it added that he chose to endure his battle with cancer privately, since his diagnosis two years ago.

he was the first african american to lead louis vuitton. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello. for many parts in the uk, it's a cold and icy start to the new week. there are changes afoot — it briefly turns milder on tuesday. it doesn't last for long. the colder air moves back in for midweek onwards. and throughout the week, spells of wet and windy weather at times. this is how monday shapes up, we have a warm front draped across scotland and northern ireland. ahead of it, we are in the colder air, behind it, something milder. on the front, we will see outbreaks of rain preceded by some hill sleet and snow through the morning across scotland. ahead of it through the morning, a widespread ice risk for much of scotland and england. some patchy rain into northern ireland, maybe into the far north of england, further south, it stays mostly dry for daylight hours. the best of the sunshine from east anglia down to dorset,

but a cold feeling day here. further north, not as cold, 10 celsius the high in belfast and glasgow. overnight, the cloud increases, that mild air pushes its way southwards, bringing with it some outbreaks of rain and drizzle, but it won't be nearly so cold, a much milder night as we head into tuesday with lows across the northern half of the uk around 6— seven celsius. so, this is tuesday, we are in between fronts. notice how the isobars are closer together. so, the winds will be strengthening, but we are in this warm air, so a much milder day, a lot of cloud. there will be some outbreaks of rain, the heaviest initially scotland through the morning, and that rain piles into northern ireland, northern and western scotland, parts of northern england, a few showers further south, but by and large, the further south you are, the drier you will be. but look at the temperatures, 11— 12 celsius on tuesday. it will be increasingly windy day. these are the average wind strengths, but would like to see some stronger gusts particularly

through western coasts. now, this frontal system will be moving its way pretty swiftly across the uk through tuesday night and into wednesday, bringing all ofus a spell of more persistent rain, but also as it clears its way from south east england, behind it, we see those blue colours, that colder air starting to flood across, and it's quite a messy picture on wednesday, quite a few showers around, particularly for western and eastern coasts. those showers are likely to be wintry across northern and eastern scotland, and it's starting to feel colder again particularly across the northern half of the uk. we may still get 10—11 celsius further south. thursday should be mainly dry, but feeling cold, and then more rain arrives on wednesday. goodbye.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me arejoe mayes, uk politics reporter with bloomberg and anne ashworth, property and personal finance commentator. let's take a look at some of tomorrow's front pages, starting with... the guardian reports that the covid booster vaccination scheme could be significantly expanded to try and combat the spread of the omicron variant. the times also focusses on the booster programme — saying ministers have insisted that people should continue with christmas plans as normal as a turbo—charged booster programme would deal with the new variant. the daily mail goes one step further, saying every adult in britain is to be offered a third jab within weeks. the metro's front page looks at the new rules on wearing face