a potential new wave. our experience of fighting this virus has shown us it's best to act decisively and swiftly when we see a potential threat, which is why we're building our defences and putting these measures in place without delay. omicron was first reported by south africa and is driving infection in its most populated province. also in the programme: twitter founderjack dorsey is stepping down as ceo. he says the company is ready to "move on from its founders". twitter�*s chief technical officer will replace him. and we'll be live from new york as ghislaine maxwell, close associate of convicted paedophilejeffrey epstein, goes on trial for sex trafficking.

let's begin the full update on the new oma crime variant of coronavirus. —— oma krohn. the world health organisation says it could have severe consequences for some parts of the world as it spreads. the who says the "overall global risk related to the new variant is assessed as very high". health ministers from the g7 group of rich countries have met and say "the global community is faced with the threat of a new, highly transmissible variant of covid—19, which requires urgent action". and we have heard from president biden. this variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic. we have the best vaccine in the world, the best medicines, the best scientists and we are learning more every single day. so that we are prepared, if needed, my team has already worked with officials at pfizer and modernityjohnson and john to develop contingency plans for vaccines or boosters if needed ——

moderna and johnson &johnson. scientists and world leaders are worried because omicron is the most heavily mutated version of covid—19 seen so far. that could mean it behaves differently to other variants. but as it's been known about for less than a week, many details aren't yet known. here's the head of the world health organization. we don't yet know whether omicron is associated with more transmission, more severe diseases, more risk for infections or more risk of evading vaccines. scientists at who and around the world are working urgently to answer these questions. omicron was first identified by scientists in south africa and has since been found in more than a dozen countries. it includes the uk, france and germany in europe, as well as botswana, canada, israel, hong kong and australia. lots of countries are putting restrictions on travel to try and stop the spread. australia has delayed plans to reopen its borders to some foreign nationals.

morocco stopped all incoming flights, which includes entry by its own citizens. israel has banned all foreigners from entering the country, as has japan. rupert wingfield—hayes is in tokyo. japan has had very tough important restrictions for most of the last two years because of covid post of those began to be lifted on november eight, and nowjust three weeks later, the prime ministers said they are going back in, so this does not affect japanese nationals, are going back in, so this does not affectjapanese nationals, it does not affect residents and does not affect people who have multiple entry visas to japan, but it will affect everybody else. that means for businessmen and women, obviously, and students and tourists. so that's japan. many other countries are targeting travel only from southern africa. the uk, the usa and the eu have banned travellers from that region. here's south africa's president.

these restrictions are completely unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our sovereign 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. here in the uk, the government is expanding its vaccine programme, to try and stop a new wave of omicron. here's the health secretary. the minimum dose intervalfor boosterjabs should be have it from six months to three months —— cut in half. second, that the booster programme should be expanded to include all remaining adults aged 18 and above. third, that these boosters should be offered by age group and it is ascending order, to protect those who are most vulnerable to the virus. scientists say it will take around three weeks to establish whether omicron is more transmissible than the delta variant and whether it causes more severe disease.

they'll also be considering its impact on the effectiveness of vaccines. here's our medical editor fergus walsh. afteralpha, beta, gamma, delta comes omicron, which scientists think could be the worst variant yet. so, is omicron more transmissible? it appears to be driving a rise in infections in south africa, but it's too early to be certain what's happening, as cases only started increasing ten days ago from a very low level. the world health organization said omicron shows why the world needs a new global agreement on how to prevent, prepare and respond to pandemics. we should all be wide awake for the threat of this virus. but omicron's very emergence is another reminder that although many of us might think we're done with covid—19, it's not done with us.

another key unknown is whether omicron causes more severe illness. doctors in south africa say they have been dealing with mild infections from the variant, but cases there are mostly in young adults. the real test will be when omicron starts moving into older, more vulnerable people. perhaps most crucial of all, will vaccines still work? current covid vaccines are based on the original wuhan strain of coronavirus and train the immune system to recognise the spike protein on its surface. the virus has changed considerably, but the antibodies the vaccine creates still work. omicron has more mutations than any variant so far and there's concern that it may be able to bypass our initial defences and cause infection. but even if it does,

another part of the immune system, t cells, should give significant protection against severe disease. i do not want people to panic at this stage. if vaccine effectiveness is reduced, as seems pretty likely, to some extent, the biggest effects are likely to be in preventing infections, and hopefully there will be smaller effects on preventing severe disease. can we test for it? omicron has a different genetic signature to delta, which often shows up on pcr tests, but only about half of uk labs can pick up the signal. gene sequencing will also help track the spread of the variant here. we all want to know how much of a threat omicron poses, but it'll be two to three weeks before science gives those answers. fergus walsh, bbc news. let's look at south africa, where the omicron variant was first detected. as we've just heard, scientists are still investigating

its characteristics, but we do have some information about how it's spreading there. omicron is responsible for most of the infections in south africa's most populated province, gauteng, over the last two weeks. south africa reported a total of 2,800 infections on sunday, a rise from the daily average of 500 last week. let's hear more from richard lessells, an infectious diseases doctor in south africa. it's spreading rapidly in a population we think has very high levels of immunity from either past infection or from vaccination, and so that suggests that, yes, this is a highly transmissible variance, it can spread very efficiently from person to person, and also suggests that it may have got better at evading some parts of our immune protection. there is no suggestion the clinical illness, the clinical

picture is significantly different with this variant, and you may be so lots of reports over the weekend, anecdotal reports, that a lot of the cases are mild, but we have to just urge cases are mild, but we have to just umea cases are mild, but we have to just urge a bit of caution that it is really too early to understand that, because a lot of the initial spread with this variant in gauteng province was amongst the younger age groups, was in universities and the kind of ten to 30—year—olds. we have seen hospital admissions go up, but most of those hospital admissions are in the unvaccinated still, and we are just unpacking to what extent the admissions are going up and how that ties to the vaccinations status or the prior infection status. twitter has confirmed that its founderjack dorsey has

stepped down as ceo. the company's chief technology officer, parag agrawal, is taking over. mr dorsey is also ceo of the online payments company, square. he had been facing calls last year to step down from one of these roles. here's our us business reporter samira hussein. it really came as a bit of a surprise. we started hearing rumours about it early this morning in new york, before the stock exchanges even opened, and even then, you saw in premarket trading that twitter shares were up by more than 10%, a real sign that if the rumours were true, investors were really happy. remember that twitter, if the ceo of twitter, jack dorsey, was the ceo of

twitter, jack dorsey, was the ceo of twitter but he was also the ceo square, and it had been criticism of him being ceo of both companies. there was a power struggle in 2020, in which one of the main power in twitter try to oust jack dorsey as ceo. that was unsuccessful, but we have seen dorsey leaving as ceo of twitter on his own, and part of it is that he feels confident in the team replacing him. who is going to be ceo? it is the chief technical officer, parag agrawal, taking over as ceo. mr dorsey set up the company in 2006. this was his first ever tweet, posted in march of that year. he wrote... and as you can see at that stage, they were missing a

couple of valves. jack dorsey's tenure hasn't been smooth sailing since then. he made the controversial decision to ban former president donald trump from twitter, following the january 6 riot at capitol hill. he defended the move to suspend him, saying the company "faced an extraordinary and untenable circumstance". jack dorsey also came under fire for not doing enough to moderate hate speech and misinformation on the platform. here he is testifying on that in front of the senate judiciary committee in november last year. more than a year ago, the public ask us to— more than a year ago, the public ask us to offer_ more than a year ago, the public ask us to offer additional context to help make the potentially misleading information more apparent. we did exactly— information more apparent. we did exactly that, applying labels to over three 2000 tweets from october 27 to november“, over three 2000 tweets from october 27 to november 11, which resented about_ 27 to november 11, which resented about 2~2%— 27 to november 11, which resented about 2.2% of all us election related — about 2.2% of all us election related tweets —— represented. we also change how our product works in order_ also change how our product works in order to _ also change how our product works in order to help— also change how our product works in order to help increase context and encourage — order to help increase context and encourage more thoughtful consideration before tweets are shared — consideration before tweets are shared broadly. let's go back to samira hussein.

twitter has been around for 1h years, and in that time, a lot of things have changed, and look, been some missteps as a result of mr dorsey at the head of the company. remember, this is actually his second time being the ceo of twitter, but i think it is important to note that when there has been a lot of pressure on social media, to clean up its act, to clean up hate speech, to start limiting what people can say on social media, jack dorsey was among the first, he was in fact the first, and he really led the way in terms of putting disclaimers on tweets by then former president donald trump, by saying, this is not verified, or this is not a statement of fact, and the actions that he took really pave the way for some other social media companies to follow suit, whereas we saw that another giant in the social media world, facebook, actually did not at

all. �* ~' ., world, facebook, actually did not at all. �* ,, ., ., , ., all. and we know what he is going to do next? we — all. and we know what he is going to do next? we have _ all. and we know what he is going to do next? we have seen _ all. and we know what he is going to do next? we have seen on _ all. and we know what he is going to do next? we have seen on his - do next? we have seen on his twitter feed that he — do next? we have seen on his twitter feed that he has _ do next? we have seen on his twitter feed that he has spent _ do next? we have seen on his twitter feed that he has spent a _ do next? we have seen on his twitter feed that he has spent a lot _ do next? we have seen on his twitter feed that he has spent a lot of - feed that he has spent a lot of time talking about crypto currency. it is not a secret he is very interested in that, so i think he is going to focus his attention certainly on square and i think we are going to see some forays into crypto currencies for sure. the highly anticipated trial of ghislaine maxwell, the close friend of the convicted paedophilejeffrey epstein, has started in new york. the british socialist is accused of procuring underage girls for epstein to abuse in the late �*90s and early 2000s. she was arrested in july last year and has been held in this detention facility in brooklyn since then. however, for the next six weeks, she'll be on trial at this court room in manhattan. she faces six sex—trafficking charges in total, relating to four victims, all of whom are expected to testify. according to the prosecution,

ghislaine maxwell "played a critical role in the grooming and abuse" of four underage girls for epstein to abuse over a decade, starting in 1994. in their indictment, the charges relate to years when she was in an "intimate relationship" with him. heres's the acting attorney district general for new york announcing charges last year. that abuse included sexualised massages. these turned into sexual encounters, for which maxwell in some instances was present and produce abated in. —— participated in. jeffrey epstein died in prison in august 2019, a month after his arrest for sex—trafficking. in december, one of his alleged victims, sarah ransome, told the bbc that ms maxwell worked closely with him. ms maxwell denies this. seven months later, injuly 2020, she was arrested during a raid on her secluded mansion in new hampshire. police located her

using gps data from a phone. next, let's hear from the former assistant us attorney for the eastern district of new york. whereas she had enormous power, she had enormous resources, what we are going to see is that, in contrast, the other victims did not have that, and so she is really a difficult person to engender sympathy for her and i think that is going to be a real challenge for the defence in this case. ghislaine maxwell denies the allegations. her lawyers are expected to argue she's being made a scapegoat for epstein's crimes. we're also expecting them to say that her accusers have false memories. we know that because of this letter — shared by her lawyer before the trial. in it, they say psychiatry and memory experts will testify in her defence. one of them is expected to tell the court that epstein, "like many people who achieve great power and wealth", created and exploited a "halo effect to surround himself with people who would serve his needs".

well, ahead of the trial, we heard from her brother, ian maxwell. the in norma's amount of negative media coverage of ghislaine for at least the last 18 months, it's really only been going in one direction, and that level of negative reporting, which is not coming in any other direction then against her, i think has potentially... —— in norma's. it has a potential to poison the jury. if they are hearing one side of the story and not the other. ian maxwell arguing ghislaine maxwell is being mistreated by the press. her lawyers and family have also repeatedly complaining

about her conditions inside jail. here's ian maxwell again. she is ineffective isolation, in a cell that measures six x 9' and which includes a bed, concrete bed, and a toilet —— in effective. there is no natural light. she is under 2a hour, around—the—clock surveillance, with ten cameras, including one that moves and tracks or movements. and on top of that, there are four guards that are looking at her, and presumably there is another guard looking at the camera feeds. she is not allowed to move into the corners of herself and she is not allowed to be within two and a half feet of the cell door. that is her existence was to every day. —— her existence every

day. the water that is provided through the prison is brown and the food that she is given his very highly microwaved and basically inedible. like epstein, ghislaine maxwell had many rich and famous friends. her life wasn't without drama. she's the daughter of the disgraced media mogul robert maxwell, who died in 1991. here's biographer nigel cawthorne. she had a very tough upbringing under— she had a very tough upbringing under him. her birth coincided with the death— under him. her birth coincided with the death of his oldest son stop she was the _ the death of his oldest son stop she was the youngest in the family. he was the youngest in the family. he was hoping would have been able to take over— was hoping would have been able to take over his media empire from him, he had _ take over his media empire from him, he had been _ take over his media empire from him, he had been in a terrible car accident _ he had been in a terrible car accident and been five years in a coma, _ accident and been five years in a coma, which meant that he and his wife paid _ coma, which meant that he and his wife paid very little attention to ghislaine for the first five years

of her— ghislaine for the first five years of her life. _ ghislaine for the first five years of her life, to the point where she went— of her life, to the point where she went to _ of her life, to the point where she went to her— of her life, to the point where she went to her mother and said, mummy, i went to her mother and said, mummy, t exist _ went to her mother and said, mummy, t exist it _ went to her mother and said, mummy, t exist it has _ went to her mother and said, mummy, i exist. it has often been said, the spirits— i exist. it has often been said, the spirits with — i exist. it has often been said, the spirits with her father, —— the exoerience _ spirits with her father, —— the experience is with her father, who employed — experience is with her father, who employed her and then alternately pampered herand employed her and then alternately pampered her and bullied employed her and then alternately pampered herand bullied her hub that after— pampered herand bullied her hub that after he died, she transferred the same — that after he died, she transferred the same sort of affection to another— the same sort of affection to another very manipulative man, jeffrey _ another very manipulative man, jeffrey epstein. well, while this trial is about the charges ghislaine maxwell is facing, it is widely seen as a proxy for holding jeffrey epstein to account — something that can't happen now. michelle fleury is outside court in new york. michelle, help us understand the process that has begun to date in court. ~ . ., ., .,, ., ,, court. much of the morning was taken u- with court. much of the morning was taken up with jury — court. much of the morning was taken up with jury selection, _ court. much of the morning was taken up with jury selection, it _ court. much of the morning was taken up with jury selection, it took - court. much of the morning was taken up with jury selection, it took a - up with jury selection, it took a bit of time, there was a

complication. some had to stand aside because they felt that they had conflicts and meant they could not take part in the jury. others had issues with financial hardship, another had a surprised holiday planned that would interfere with the trial, but all of that has been resolved, and the prosecutor leading the opening arguments has begun speaking. she opened talking about a story of a young girl at a summer camp who said she saw a woman and a man walked by and that the man said that he gave out scholarships to young girls. that, the prosecutor said, was the start of her nightmare. at the time, the young girl was ascribed to be 1a years old stop we also understand that the prosecutor has said the defendant and epstein were partners in crime, that she had a personal relationship with epstein and that when that relationship ended, they remained the best of friends, and i think

that, going back to some the point you made earlier, is really at the heart of this case. was she someone who is being made a scapegoat for epstein's crime, given that he did die in prison before he ever went to trial? or is she in fact his chief enabler? �* , ., enabler? and in terms of the ossible enabler? and in terms of the possible punishments - enabler? and in terms of the possible punishments here, | enabler? and in terms of the - possible punishments here, what are the stakes for ghislaine maxwell? look, she faces up to 70 years in prison, effectively a life sentence. it's no exaggeration to say she is fighting for life here. the most serious of those charges is sex trafficking of a mitre, which i believe carries a penalty of up to 40 believe carries a penalty of up to a0 years, she has pled not guilty to all of the charges —— of a minor. six of them related to sexual trafficking. there are two others for perjury, but those will be tried

at a later date.— for perjury, but those will be tried at a later date. michelle, thank you ve much at a later date. michelle, thank you very much indeed _ at a later date. michelle, thank you very much indeed for— at a later date. michelle, thank you very much indeed for the _ at a later date. michelle, thank you very much indeed for the update. i to china now, where authorities have recaptured a north korean man who evaded the police for a0 days after making a dramatic escape from prison. video of his stunning escape had gone viral on social media. for more, here's our asia pacific editor celia hatton. here's the video that shocked millions in china, showing a rare escape from a high—security prison. a north korean man, zhu xianjian, had been in prison for nine years for robbery and illegal border crossing when he made a break for it. he scaled a two—story wall to a prison yard shed, then runs across the roof, before quickly disabling its electric fence. note the sparks that fly as he pulls on it. then he jumps. he escapes with only one shoe in freezing temperatures, only to disappear for a0 days, until he's caught dozens

of kilometres away, near a scenic fishing spot. zhu xianjian only had two years left on his sentence. it's widely believed he fled prison so he wouldn't be sent back to north korea, where he likely faces hard labour and torture. news of the north korean man's capture will be particularly welcomed by one man living in the area. he looked so much like the wanted prisoner that he was wrongly arrested by police five times in just three days. just a quick reminder, you can get reports for me and the outside source team and lots of parts from the bbc. you can get explainers on topically covered in the news via iplayer — just head to the news category. you can also listen to audio explainers. you can listen to those via the bbc sounds apparatus merge speaker. and wherever you're

watching in the world, you can follow via the bbc news website. lots of different ways to keep in touch with us, as well as keeping watching us here on the bbc news channel and bbc world news, and if you are watching in the uk, in -- it —— it has been an up—and—down day for the opposition labour party. we will keep you up—to—date with what has been happening. good evening. i'm sure you don't need me to tell you that in many parts of the uk, it has been a very cold day, with afternoon temperatures in staff at your no higher than one above freezing, but temperatures have been getting to take place. more cloud rolling its way in from the west. with that, the first signs of some milder air, which made its presence felt in western scotland, because while it was a very great afternoon for many

here, it little bit damp and drizzly, temperatures got although after 10 degrees. and that milder weather is now working its way eastwards, with it a lot of cloud, some mist and burke, sunspots and rain and drizzle, but temperatures by the end of the neck for many of us will be in double digits. 10 degrees for cardiff. for plymouth, for belfast, 11 or liverpool as we start today. lots of cloud, some splashes of rain and drizzle here and there, especially in western and northern areas. we will see a few brighter glances flipping here and there, but during the afternoon, this band of rain will approach northern ireland, also affecting the western side of scotland. still very chilly in the far north, but for most of us, temperatures tomorrow afternoon will be up in double digits. through tomorrow night, this area of low pressure is going to cross the uk and it will be deepening as it goes, so that means we could see some really quite strong winds. at this stage it doesn't look like we will see anything like the windy weather we had over the weekend, but still the

potential for some coasts and eastern scotland northeast england. we will have to keep a close eye on that one. and then for wednesday, the winds come down from the north and that sweeps away the milder air. temperatures will begin to drop once again. through wednesday, we will see some sunny spells but some showers around as well, and some of those showers will turn went to read, especially over higher ground in scotland, where we could see snow to quite low levels, and through the afternoon, temperatures dropping away. forthursday, afternoon, temperatures dropping away. for thursday, this little ridge of high pressure will topple its way in. that means we will see some drier weather, but then thursday night, a band of rain and temporarily some snow will work its way eastwards, and behind that, things will turn milder once again. a chillier sort of day on thursday, a little bit milder on friday.

hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. the world health organization has renewed its call to getjabs to lower income countries to counter a new covid—19 variant. omicron's emergence as a reminder that although many of us might think we are done with covid—19 it's not done with us. at least 1a countries have confirmed cases of the heavily mutated

variant including england — it's now offering boosterjabs to all adults to stop a potential new wave. our experience of fighting this virus has shown us that it's best to act decisively and safely read we see a potential threat. which is why we are building our defenses and putting these measures in place without delay. also in the programme: twitter founderjack dorsey is stepping down as ceo. he says the company is ready to �*move on from its founders' twitter�*s chief technical officer will replace him. ghislaine maxwell — the close associate of convicted paedophilejeffrey epstein has gone on trialfor six trafficking in new york. and there's a row in the uk labour party after the leader keir starmer announced a reshuffle while his deputy was in the middle of a major speech. the world health organization says the new omicron variant

of coronavirus is �*highly transmissible' and requires �*urgent action�*. more than a dozen countries have now reported cases of the variant, but it�*s not yet been established how dangerous it is — or how effectively, the current vaccines will protect against it. our health correspondent, naomi grimley has the latest. there is an eerie quiet at johannesburg airport. south africa first raised the alarm about the omicron variants but it�*s now finding itself increasingly cut off from the rest of the world. meanwhile on the ground there is a big push to get vaccines into arms. only 20% of the south african population is fully vaccinated. we still don�*t know yet whether this version of covid—19 is more severe than previous ones. one of those on the front nine is reassured by what she has seen so far in her patients.

for now, we are seeing versions that we can treat at home that would be most not requiring i see you at mission or hospital admission. amsterdam is one of the world cities now discovering cases. 13 people were found to have it after flying in from south africa. the police even had to arrest a couple who try to escape from a quarantine hotel. portugal has also announced it�*s got 13 cases and on involve a local football club where one of its players had recently returned from a south african trip. in canada they have found two cases that links to travel from another african country entirely. nigeria. in the us so far they have not got any cases but the president is mindful that people are worried. this president is mindful that people are worried. , . . , president is mindful that people are worried. , ., ., , ., worried. this variant is a cause for concern and _ worried. this variant is a cause for concern and not _ worried. this variant is a cause for concern and not a _ worried. this variant is a cause for concern and not a cause _

worried. this variant is a cause for concern and not a cause for- worried. this variant is a cause for concern and not a cause for panic. j concern and not a cause for panic. we have the best vaccine in the world and the best medicines and the best scientists and we are learning more every single day. maw; more every single day. many countries _ more every single day. many countries don't _ more every single day. many countries don't want - more every single day. many countries don't want to - more every single day. many countries don't want to take | more every single day. many i countries don't want to take any countries don�*t want to take any chances at all. switzerland has toughened its quarantine requirements residents must enter in the country must produce a negative test and quarantine for ten days and that�*s after 11 cases were found in the uk. morocco is stopping all international flights. the uk. morocco is stopping all internationalflights. and japan international flights. and japan where internationalflights. and japan where covid—19 infections are low is doing something similar. taste where covid-19 infections are low is doing something similar.— where covid-19 infections are low is doing something similar. we will ban all entries of — doing something similar. we will ban all entries of foreign _ doing something similar. we will ban all entries of foreign nationals - all entries of foreign nationals from all over the world as of november 30.— from all over the world as of november 30. ., ., ., november 30. the head of the world health organization _ november 30. the head of the world health organization has _ november 30. the head of the world health organization has been - november 30. the head of the world health organization has been sayingl health organization has been saying for months that better vaccine coverage everywhere is the only way to get out of this global emergency. his frustration is now more obvious than ever. taste his frustration is now more obvious

than ever. ~ , ., ., than ever. we should not need another wake _ than ever. we should not need another wake up _ than ever. we should not need another wake up call, - than ever. we should not need another wake up call, we - than ever. we should not need. another wake up call, we should than ever. we should not need - another wake up call, we should all be wide—awake to the threat of this virus. but omicron�*s very emergence is another reminder that although many of us might think we are done with covid—19 it is not done with us. with covid-19 it is not done with us. , ., ., , ., ., us. there is no doubt that the world has ke -t us. there is no doubt that the world has kept - — us. there is no doubt that the world has kept - reacted _ us. there is no doubt that the world has kept - reacted quicker - us. there is no doubt that the world has kept - reacted quicker than - us. there is no doubt that the world has kept - reacted quicker than it i has kept — reacted quicker than it did when the delta variants emerged in india earlier this year. g7 ministers met online and i agree to share information from their surveillance systems but the fact remains that large parts of the world do not have the technology be made to track this variant. experts are saying that if vaccines aren�*t shared equally between rich and poor countries, it�*ll be impossible to avoid variants like omicron. have a look at this map. it shows global vaccination progress across the world.

the countries marked in green represent populations that have received at least one dose against covid—19. the countries marked in red — you can see many of them are in africa — have a long way to go.here�*s the us epidemiologist — dr richard hatchett. the emergence of the omicron variants is in at precisely the predictions of the scientists who wind at the end of the data transmission at the end of the transmission at the end of the transmission of the virus in areas with limited access to the vaccine would speed its evolution. having fully vaccinated less than a quarter of the population but and south africa provided a fertile environment for such evolution. the virus and opportunist and the inequity that has characterized the global response has now come home to roost. let�*s take a closer

look at some of the numbers. africa remains the most under—vaccinated region in the world. it has a population of 1.3 billion people. seven per cent of them have been fully vaccinated. for the sake of comparison, look at north america. 5a per cent of its population has been vaccinated — a huge difference. (biv)here�*s former uk prime minister gordon brown. this is an emergency that has got to be dealt with what ever happens to this particular variants, we have got to be that our failure to vaccinate the rest of the world is not only causing deaths in africa and asia and latin america and other parts of the world but it�*s going to come back to haunt us. professor lawrence young is a virologist at the university of warwick dtl. thank you forjoining us. what are your thoughts as the world tries to navigate this new variant? h your thoughts as the world tries to navigate this new variant?- navigate this new variant? i think it's still early _ navigate this new variant? i think it's still early and _ navigate this new variant? i think it's still early and we _ navigate this new variant? i think it's still early and we have - navigate this new variant? i think it's still early and we have to - it�*s still early and we have to learn a lot about it. we could see on paper that genetically it�*s very worrying. it has got a combination of almost all the changes we have seenin of almost all the changes we have seen in the other variants but we still need to understand a lot more about its behavior both in terms of the spread and the ability or

otherwise to escape the immune response to vaccination. you agree with gordon _ response to vaccination. you agree with gordon brown _ response to vaccination. you agree with gordon brown that _ response to vaccination. you agree with gordon brown that says - response to vaccination. you agree | with gordon brown that says unless you address vaccine equity this will happen again and again? it�*s you address vaccine equity this will happen again and again? it's because we know that — happen again and again? it's because we know that the _ happen again and again? it's because we know that the might _ happen again and again? it's because we know that the might the _ happen again and again? it's because we know that the might the virus - we know that the might the virus spreads, the more it can infect and the more it will vary and mutations will be generated but when you look in detail and there have been a few studies now variants tend to be generated in individuals that are immunocompromised are immunosuppressed and is good studies published over the last 12 months demonstrating increased evolution of variance in individuals who are immunosuppressed as a consequence have a long—term infection sometimes more than 100 days in an environment or a body by the immune system is not working very effectively. i think this is a combination of the possibility that this is there a variant like omicron developed but it can spread more easily in an i�*m

vaccinated are partially vaccinated population. vaccinated are partially vaccinated --oulation. ~ ., ., ., population. while we are waiting for more information _ population. while we are waiting for more information on _ population. while we are waiting for more information on omicron - population. while we are waiting for l more information on omicron because scientists are working around the clock to try and get back, do you think these measures to restrict people moving around the world are a sensible response while the bad time? i sensible response while the bad time? ~ �* , sensible response while the bad time? ,, �*, ., , time? i think it's about biding time but we know— time? i think it's about biding time but we know from _ time? i think it's about biding time but we know from previous - time? i think it's about biding time - but we know from previous experience that once a variant is described in a particular person or particular country it�*s too late, it�*s a busy spread and that�*s the nature of infectious disease and of international travel these days. we will see many of my cases across the world including in the uk over the coming days i would suspect that he does not mean we should not be careful about introducing more of this variance into the uk when we still know so little about it. i still know so little about it. i have been asking you about the levels of vaccination in the developing world because of vaccine supply. let�*s talk about the developed world where there are enough axioms but in some countries vaccination rates are sitting between 60 and 70% it�*s the fact

that that figure is not higher and one reason we should be concerned. particularly in central europe and in eastern europe it�*s very high level of vaccine hesitancy. sometimes it�*s about mistrust in the vaccine itself and sometimes it�*s about mistrust the government. what we have got to do what these governments need to very clearly message and demonstrate the enormous benefit of vaccine. goodness knows we have so much evidence now about the way that vaccines break the link we can then link between infection and severe disease and hospitalization and we need to get that message across in a very clearly what they vaccine passports compel people to get vaccination i think is another matter.— compel people to get vaccination i think is another matter. thank you for “oininu think is another matter. thank you forjoining us- _ let�*s turn to british politics now — and whilst borisjohnsons�*

conservatives have been on the back foot over lobbying scandals — the opposition labour party has been gaining ground in recent polls. labour today set out to seize the initiative on that issue, of mps standards — whilst, at the same time its leader, sir keir starmer, also embarked on a reshuffle of his top team. it didn�*t go entirely to plan. the labour party chose this week to announce its plan to �*clean up politics�*. and its deputy leader angela rayner who would deliver the plan in a speech. it was a chance to apply pressure on borisjohnson. but labour�*s leader had other plans too. here�*s the times telling us: "emboldened sir keir starmer plots labour shadow cabinet reshuffle". the story went on... "starmer may seek to get angela rayner on board before making any changes". bear in mind earlier in the year angela rayner refused to be moved in a reshuffle after labour lost a by—election in hartlepool. and angela rayner was asked about this new reshuffle on times radio�*s breakfast show.

iam not i am not aware of any plans for every shuffle. i don�*t think there is any focus on that. there wasn�*t a particular focus on it — yet. the interview continued. at the moment everyone has been focussed on holding the government to account. that�*s what we�*re focussing on at the moment not whatjob you�*ve got. presenter: you�*d hear about it first if there was going to be one? rayner: i reckon that keir would tell me first, yeah." at 10:56 at10:56 p.m., five at 10:56 p.m., five minutes before her speech, the journalist to at 10:56 p.m., five minutes before her speech, thejournalist to read it, usually reset — but i am a forces tell me they are already getting under way this morning. minutes later shifted to the stage at the for government. in minutes later shifted to the stage at the for government.— minutes later shifted to the stage at the for government. in the next labour government _ at the for government. in the next labour government will _ at the for government. in the next labour government will act - at the for government. in the next labour government will act to - at the for government. in the next i labour government will act to stamp out the corruption that boris

johnson and his government has polluted our democracy with. this johnson and his government has polluted our democracy with. as the seech polluted our democracy with. as the speech continued, _ polluted our democracy with. as the speech continued, the _ polluted our democracy with. as the speech continued, the fallout - polluted our democracy with. as the speech continued, the fallout was i speech continued, the fallout was already under way at 1112, the editor of the website tweeted a quote from a friend saying... when it came to questions, one issue inevitably came up. the when it came to questions, one issue inevitably came up.— inevitably came up. the reshuffle, how could i _ inevitably came up. the reshuffle, how could i forget. _ inevitably came up. the reshuffle, how could i forget. i— inevitably came up. the reshuffle, how could i forget. i don't - inevitably came up. the reshuffle, how could i forget. i don't know i inevitably came up. the reshuffle, | how could i forget. i don't know the how could i forget. i don�*t know the details of any reshuffle, i have been concentrating on the job that i�*m doing and i think that�*s really important. at 11.5a, a rayner ally cat smith resigned from the shadow cabinet — saying she had received a call from keir starmer

about the reshuffle. and then at 1230 laura kuesnberg told us; "this is getting even more confusing and messy — hearing rayner had been told about reshuffle and it�*s timing before her speech". there had been a conversation — there was though a caveat as chris mason explained on the bbc�*s news at one. afterwards we learned that yesterday they had a conversation, angela rayner and care torme this morning but that did not amounts to be consulted as far as they were concerned. and so yet again, transparently and publicly, dysfuction between the lader of the labour party and his direclty elected deupty. and as the day went on there was more detail and more attention. the sun�*s political editor labelled the labour leader mr blindside:, reporting �*starmer blows up deputy�*s big speech�* the daily mirror quoted a labour aide accused the rayner team of being �*shameless" and "desperately trying to confect a row". and it quoted a raynor spokesperson saying — �*she wasn�*t aware of the detail of the reshuffle & wasn�*t consulted". by apm, while the reshuffle remained light on detail, other things were clear. chris mason had another update. what we have had is a transparent

and direct insight into the tensions between cara starr, they labor leader and angela rayner at that that was enacted by the leadership and that�*s one policy does not have control over. and while all of this played out, we could consider the overall goal that angela rayner had set out. the labour party, the challenge to show we are a government in waiting. that�*s the goal — but not everyone watching felt that today�*s events contributed to that effort. we have further announcements and we�*ve heard from him several times already. it�*s been quite a day, we have we gotten to? already. it's been quite a day, we have we gotten to? announcements in the last coople — have we gotten to? announcements in the last coople of— have we gotten to? announcements in the last couple of minutes _ have we gotten to? announcements in the last couple of minutes telling - the last couple of minutes telling us who will feel the various roles in the shadow front bench been reporting on the of the ups and downs as far as the labor leader and deputy are concerned. let me talk you some of the names. amongst them worth mentioning is yvette cooper

and you may remember her as a minister in the labor government of 11 or so years ago now and she�*s coming back onto the labor front bench as shadow home secretary so she will up a patel as home secretary and that can be quite something seeing those who engaged in political battle. a couple of names worth mentioning, promotion of relative use on labor�*s front bench and a pretty prominent role as that pandemic continues. he had been in the shadow cabinet already although not as prominent role and bridget phillipson is going to come the shadow education secretary and again a promotion for her into a pretty prominent role and pretty important brief as far as neighbors see it in the countdown to the next election. one of the names, a former leader becoming the shadow foreign secretary and he will replace at

least someone who�*s been doing that job for some time and a communicator and so putting her in a brief to shadow michael gove who has responsibility for what the government called leveling up in the whole question of trying to help out communities that feel they have been left behind. that�*s a crucial battle ground ahead of the next election here and they are putting the rates into that role where they think votes are there to be one and lost. some big moves by cara starmer and that�*s what leaders have to do from time to time. any explanation as to why he began doing that during a major speech by his deputy? there is not an explanation. _ major speech by his deputy? there is not an explanation. there _ major speech by his deputy? there is not an explanation. there are - major speech by his deputy? there is not an explanation. there are only i not an explanation. there are only two possible reasons as to why this might have happened. one was not realizing that starting to me these calls at a time when you deputy is on theirfeet might leave calls at a time when you deputy is on their feet might leave that in an awkward spot even though they have been told a reshuffle was coming

today and both sides to acknowledge that. and the other is that they weren�*t that fussed about it. there are tensions between the two of them and that is undeniably true. we saw six or seven months ago it blew up again today and they will help those around it will blow away by the announcement of these names and pretty significant reshuffle which will command some headlines but there it an opposition party or government the reshuffle is not easy and all too easily it can go not very well. inafew in a few minutes we will update you on a big story recovered in the last year or so. the farm protest in india because after a year of protest against agricultural reforms the laws are officially repealed which is a huge win for the protesters. we would get into the reasons why.

manchester united have appointed — ralf rangnick — as their interim manager until the end of the season. he�*s regarded, as one of the best coaches in world football — a big thinker — a disciplinarian — a man who has a clear vision, in terms of �*a style of play�* — and someone with a record, for building teams from the bottom up. lutz fannensztiel worked with ralf rangnik at german side hoffenheim. this is his reaction. i think it is later read event that set the market for the moment and you have to say is very strategic i and is very good in building something on a long—term but looking at the players and looking at his side of play i think it fits very well together and i think he will be a man who can turn the season into the right orderfrom manchester

united. he is a big thinker and he thinks outside the box and his way of reading the game and analyzing the approach which is very direct and based on pricing and content pricing and a very attractive style which is difficult to play against and that�*s why he let it really goes everywhere and he�*s very successful. he was the mastermind between hockenheim and very different countries so i think his pace of play is very modern and very intense and it perfectly fits the man utd. not everybody lost cell for him it�*s more like that guy which is very clear approach so i think he really focuses on the most important parts and on the basics and i don�*t think he believes that�*s what makes a football player much better. for him in the end of the day he wants to pay his football and he has a clear

vision and he has clear player profiles. he knows what he wants from the players and that�*s what made him very unique this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is? the world health organization has renewed its call to getjabs to lower income countries to counter a new, highly transmissible covid—19 variant called omicron. let�*s turn to india. for more than a year farmers there have been protesting against a set of agriculture laws. at times those demonstrations turned violent. now those laws have officially been repealed. this was the moment the decision went through. i think the eyes have it! but that is past! that was in delhi, which has been at the centre of the protests.

but thousands of farmers across india celebrated the decision. here�*s one of the protest leaders. "this day represents the martyrdom of those men who lost their lives on the roads during the movement. many are celebrating. but some are suspicious of the government�*s motives. and others intend to keep protesting until farmers are given extra protection. here�*s one of the protesters. until the interests of all the farmers are met we will not be able to achieve the real victory or victory in a real sense. under the current system, the government offers farmers help, through a range of subsidies, loans, and a guaranteed price on some crops. but others think there�*s more the government can do. here�*s one protester. "as long as msp (minimum price safety) is not introduced by the government, we�*re staying here. we�*re moving only once msp is implemented. otherwise we are not going." so the protests aren�*t quite over yet. meanwhile, prime minister narendra modi�*s government rarely backs down on major issues.

so why did it blink this time? we�*ll come back to that in a moment. first, let�*s remind ourselves of the context. the numbers are huge. more than half of indians — that�*s around 800 million people — make a living, directly or indirectly, from farming. many earn very little money. (ani)the government say the agriculture many earn very little money. the government say the agriculture laws addressed this. they were passed in september 2020 and loosened rules around sale, pricing and storage of farm produce. (ani)the government�*s aim sale, pricing and storage of farm produce. the government�*s aim was to reduce the role of the state. and create opportunities for the private sector. but many felt that the laws took away rules which have protected india�*s farmers for decades. which led to scenes like these. there are people, however, who saw the laws as an opportunity. here�*s one economist. this was a golden opportunity to get into the culture. it has not an investment which has been made and what was important was for this operation to be scaled up. it�*s also important to consider why narendra modi�*s government backed down?

here�*s the moment he announced the decision last week. i want to say with a sincere and pure heart that perhaps there may have been something lacking in our past efforts deity which we were not able to explain some farmers the truth which was as evident at the light of the land. well, some see the reversal as a calculated political move. this is the headline of a recent article in the financial times. "modi�*s u—turn on farming laws reflects anxiety over looming elections" and this is what it�*s referring to. the farm laws sparked particularly angry protests in the northern states of punjab and uttar pradesh. and in early 2022 , both states are expected to hold elections. continuing protests could have hurt the chances for his bjp party to win. here�*s one supporter of the protests. they understand that these protests will hamper other election results as well so just because of political games they have done this otherwise i don�*t think this moment has

anything different forfarmers. others are less sceptical — and point to the sheer persistence of the protesters. emily schmall in the new york times notes that the protesters had "support from a global network of allies — and that the nonviolent nature of the protests proved to be key to their success." and there�*s another factor to consider. in october the son of a federal minister allegedly drove his car into a group of protesters in uttar pradesh, killing eight people. he denied the allegation, but was arrested. the incident sparked outrage across the country and did further damage to the government�*s image. by repealing the farm laws, prime minister modi will be hoping he can repair that image. if you want more analysis from outside source a good place to find it is on twitter — i�*m @bbcrosatkins. follow me, you�*ll see all of our videos, they�*re usually quite short with lots packed in. we�*re posting new material all the time. you can find longer videos as well.

both on the iplayer. if you prefer to listen to the various theories of recovery you can get those through bbc sounds. that�*s it, thank you for joining us. we will see you tomorrow at the usual time. bye. iam sure i am sure you would only mean to tell you in many parts of the uk will be a very cold day. afternoon temperatures no higher than one degree above freezing. changes have been beginning to take place. we have more cloud coming in from the last. the first signs of some mild air coming in which was pelting back weston scotland. it was a very great afternoon for many. it was a bit

damp, temperatures got up to 10 degrees. the mild weather is now working its way east with it a lot of cloud and some rain and drizzle. let temperatures by the end of the night will be in double digits. 10 degrees, 11 in liverpool as we start the day. it�*s very different and much more mild but with lots of cloud and rain and drizzle here and there. especially in western and i areas. they would east a few bright glimpses but in band of heavy rain lit approach night in ireland and starting to affect the western side of scotland. still very cold in the far north but for most of us temperatures tomorrow afternoon will be in the double digits. tomorrow night and the pressure will cross the uk and it will deepen as is. we could see some strong winds. at this stage it is not a baby with the anything like that windy weather we

had over the weekend. there is the potential for gusts in the western coast and east in scotland stop we will have to keep a close eye on that one. on wednesday the wind will come down from the north and it lets people east a mild air. temperatures will begin to drop once again. wednesday we will see some sunshine and chalets around as well. and some of the showers will turn green three of the showers will turn green three of her high ground in scotland where we could see snow in low levels and temperatures in the afternoon dropping away for 310 degrees as we and wednesday. thursday this ridge of high pressure will topple its rating and we will see dry weather but then during thursday night a band of rain and temporary smelling places will work its way east and behind that things will turn mild once again self a cold day on thursday and mild airfor once again self a cold day on thursday and mild air for most of us by friday.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the headlines... of storm arwen at the weekend. all adults over 18 will be offered a booster 3 months after their second jab — and 12 to 15 year olds will be offered a second dose. the health secretary says the government�*s tighter covid rules are to buy time. if it emerges that this variant is no more dangerous than the delta variant, then we won�*t keep measures in place for a day longer than necessary. labour leader sir keir starmer reorganises his top team, whilsts its deputy leader delivered a key speech abour mps conduct. over a hundred thousand people

are facing a fourth day without power in the aftermath