' ancestors, ancestors, our history, our ancestors, our forefathers, history, ourancestors, our forefathers, the architects of freedom, democracy and independence and every loyal son and — you're watching bbc world news with me, rich preston. we're taking you to the caribbean island nation of barbados. it has just ticked over to midnight. the country it has just ticked over to midnight. the country is marking its transition into the well�*s newest republic. losing the monarch, queen elizabeth, as its head of state. world's.

bell ringing. the first seconds of a brand—new republic as barbados welcomes its new era. we can see prime minister mia mottley there and the president—elect, dame sandra mason. president-elect, dame sandra mason. ., ., ., mason. the installation of the president-elect _ mason. the installation of the president-elect of _ mason. the installation of the president-elect of barbados l mason. the installation of the i president-elect of barbados and president—elect of barbados and that will be done by the chief justice of barbados, sir patterson cheltenham. 5ir patterson cheltenham. sir patterson _ patterson cheltenham. sir patterson cheltenham. sir patterson cheltenham there, the country's chiefjustice about country's chief justice about this country's chiefjustice about this where in the president—elect. this where in the president-elect. this where in the -resident-elect. ., ., this where in the resident-elect. ., ., ., president-elect. the oath for the due execution _ president-elect. the oath for the due execution of- president-elect. the oath for the due execution of the - president-elect. the oath for. the due execution of the office of resident as administered by the chiefjustice. i of resident as administered by the chiefjustice.— the chief “ustice. i sandra pruneua_ the chiefjustice. i sandra prunella mason _ the chiefjustice. i sandra prunella mason do - the chiefjustice. i sandra prunella mason do swear| the chiefjustice. i sandra - prunella mason do swear that i will be — prunella mason do swear that i will be faithful and ben true a

leadon— will be faithful and ben true a leadon to barbados according to law, so— leadon to barbados according to law, so help me god. i, sandra prunella — law, so help me god. i, sandra prunella mason do swear that i will well— prunella mason do swear that i will well and truly serve barbados in the office of president, so help me god. applause dame sandra mason, the country's eighth governor general has officially taken the oath of office as the new president of barbados, the world's newest republic. we are watching these live events in the barbados capital, bridgetown, she has been sworn in by sir patterson cheltenham, the country's chiefjustice. it

is just a couple of minutes past midnight in barbados and they have officially lost queen elizabeth ii as the head of state. the country has been independent since 1966 and that was 55 years ago to the day, but it will remain part of the british commonwealth. we can see events being watched over here by the prime minister, mia mottley, also of the barbados labour party. that lady sitting down is dame sandra mason, the new president of barbados. ladies and gentlemen, her excellency dame sandra prunella mason, president of barbados! cheering.

and then you presidential standard there is being raised for the first time in the barbados capital bridgetown. our correspondence daniela relph is there for us. took us through the significance of this moment. fix, through the significance of this moment.— this moment. a hugely significant _ this moment. a hugely significant moment, i this moment. a hugely significant moment, ofj this moment. a hugely - significant moment, of course, first and foremost for the people of barbados, but also for the british monarchy. a sandra mason, the new president, the first president of barbados, she has actually come over recent years, been the governor general of barbados which has been the representative of the queen here, but now she is replacing the queen as president. 50 a really significant and slightly sort of contradictory moment in her life in many ways, but she is the new president of this small island nation here in the caribbean and herflag, the presidential standard, as now gone up in place of the royal standard, that has been on the

bridge —— flagpoles are bridgetown for decades. so a significant moment for the new president. what we will now see are a number of the dignitaries here attending the ceremony take their own oath of allegiance to barbados as this formal part of the republic ceremony, the transition to republic ceremony continues. we are watching events live in bridgetown, the capital of barbados. if you'rejust joining us barbados has become the world's newest republic. damn seoane —— dams say andrea mason has become the first president —— dame sandra mason. losing queen elizabeth as the first head of state. the first time that has happened in 30 or so years. we are now watching prime minister mia mottley. eyes swear i will be faithful and allusion to barbados according to law. 50 help me

god. —— a swear. please sit. prime minister mia mottley there _ please sit. prime minister mia mottley there has _ please sit. prime minister mia mottley there has sworn - please sit. prime minister mia mottley there has sworn her. mottley there has sworn her oath of allegiance to barbados and daniela relph there for us in bridgetown. talk us through what has brought us up to this moment, the relationship between the united kingdom and barbados goes back 400 years. that is right. there have been republican rumblings here in barbados for a number of decades now, it is really down to prime minister mia mottley in terms of getting us to this day today and very much what she had wanted. she campaigned on a republican ticket when she was elected prime minister here and she has very much pushed this forward. unlike other countries that have the queen as the head of state, in barbados's constitution there was no need for a referendum

for the people of barbados here, which allowed the country to push forward to make barbados a republic. for the prime minister, mia mottley, she strongly believes this is a moment in history for this country, that barbados needs to remove the queen as head of state in order to assert its own self—confidence to break those ties with this colonial past and to redefine its future. she has said that she believes she will maintain a good relationship with the uk and she doesn't really wanted to be seen as any kind of breakdown in the relationship between barbados and britain. she has a good personal chemistry, we are told, with the prince of wales, in fact she has said in an interview with the bbc this week that he is a man ahead of his time and they will continue to work together a lot, particularly on issues around climate change and the environment. so that connection between barbados and the uk has not been broken, it has just changed, the uk has not been broken, it hasjust changed, it the uk has not been broken, it has just changed, it has shifted, i suppose,

has just changed, it has shifted, isuppose, and has just changed, it has shifted, i suppose, and will be something a little bit different in future. but for mia mottley, the prime minister, now for the president, they both want to see our barbadian head of state, they wanted the children of barbados to look at a picture of a barbadian president, not at queen elizabeth ii, that has very much been the driving force here today. in terms of what happens, practically, it is largely symbolic, the changes are quite small in terms, there are quite small in terms, there are some name changes, some of the uniforms have changed, the insignia of the crown the police uniforms, the prison uniforms, postal workers, we won't be hearing the british national anthem sung here ahead of major events, so it is subtle shifts and changes, but no significant change. this is very much a symbolic move but symbols do matter. you very much a symbolic move but symbols do matter.— symbols do matter. you are watching — symbols do matter. you are watching bbc _ symbols do matter. you are watching bbc news. - symbols do matter. you are watching bbc news. we're. watching bbc news. we're watching bbc news. we're

watching live from bridgetown in barbados. it is eight minutes past midnight there and it has become the world's newest republic, losing queen elizabeth ii as its head of state and swearing in dame sandra mason as its first president. what we're watching here is the presentation the new colours in front of the new president. the new colours of barbados arriving there. damn sandra mason seated on the podium there alongside sir patterson cheltenham —— dame sandra mason. and also mia mottley, the prime minister and leader of the barbados labour party.

do stay with us on bbc world news. we will bring you much more from barbados. still to come: more cases of the new coronavirus variant and more travel restrictions around the world, it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i am feeling so helpless that the childrens are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least

six other people in los angeles. at 11 o'clock this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite numberfrom dover. this is bbc world news, the main story this hour: the world's newest republic, barbados, swears in its first president and loses queen elizabeth ii as head of state.

the world health organization says the omicron variant of coronavirus poses a high risk of infection surges around the globe. the who's head renewed a call for a global push to get vaccines to poorer nations, warning that covid—19 is, as he put it, "not done with us" yet. meanwhile, president biden told americans the emergence of the new variant is no reason to panic and insisted the united states will not go back into lockdown. he said, what was needed, was to get the rest of the world vaccinated. 0ur health correspondent naomi grimley has the latest. there's an eerie quiet atjohannesburg airport. south africa first raised the alarm about the omicron variant, but is now finding itself increasingly cut off from the rest of the world. meanwhile, on the ground, there's a big push to get vaccines into arms. only 23% of the south african population is fully vaccinated. we still don't know yet whether this version of covid is more severe than previous ones. one of those on the front line

is reassured by what she's seen so far in her patients. so, now, we are seeing patients, but we caught symptoms that we can treat at home, probably not requiring icu admission or hospital admission. amsterdam is one of the world's cities now discovering cases. 13 people were found to have it afterflying in from south africa. the police even had to arrest a couple who tried to escape from a quarantine hotel. portugal has also announced it's got 13 cases. all involve a local football club where one of its players had recently returned from a south african trip. in canada, they found two cases, the link to travel from another african country entirely , nigeria. in the us, so far, they haven't got any cases, but the president is mindful that people are worried.

this variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic. we have the best vaccine in the world and the best medicines, the best scientists, and we're learning more everything will day. —— every single day. many countries don't want to take any chances at all. switzerland has toughened its quarantine requirements. britons entering the country must produce a negative test and quarantine for ten days. that's after 11 cases were found in the uk. morocco is stopping all international flights. and japan, where covid infections are low, is doing something similar. translation: we will ban all entries of foreign - nationals from all over the world as of november 30. there's no doubt that the world has reacted quicker than it did when the delta variant emerged in india earlier this year. g7 ministers have met online

and agreed to share information from their surveillance systems, but the fact remains that large parts of the world do not have the technology they need to track this variant. naomi grimley, bbc news. the trial of ghislaine maxwell has begun in new york with the prosecution saying the former girlfriend of convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein "preyed on vulnerable young girls, manipulated them, and served them up to be sexually abused." maxwell, who's 59, faces eight charges of sex trafficking and other offences. she has pleaded not guilty and her defence says she's being made a scapegoat for epstein's crimes. he took his own life while injail in 2019. from new york, nada tawfik reports. over the next few weeks, what plays out in this courthouse will be a crucial chapter in the twisted saga ofjeffrey epstein's sex trafficking ring and ghislane maxwell's alleged role in it. as her highly awaited trial began, the world's eyes

were trained on what the evidence presented here would reveal. and so, too, were epstein's accusers. some arrived to show solidarity with the alleged victims. in opening statements, the government said ghislane maxwell was a dangerous predator who provided a cover of respectability for epstein. prosecutors said she lured victims with the promise of a bright future, only to sexually abuse them. her defence attorney told the jury she was a convenient stand—in for epstein and that the government would not be able to prove their case. he said the accusers' memories were corrupted and influenced by a desire for a big jackpot of money. there have been numerous investigations, documentaries, exploring ghislane maxwell's alleged crimes, but the allegations have never been aired in a criminal trial. the jury will be presented with a range of evidence, from flight logs to the testimony from epstein's former staff. the four underage girls on the indictment, now grown

women, are expected to take the stand and other accusers from around the country could testify, too, those with stories similar to theresa helm. according to her, she thought she had landed a job as a professional masseuse, but instead walked right into a nightmare. i thought that her and i were making these connections and she did her role, played her role, beautifully. she was masterful at it. i walked myself to a predator's home. ghislane maxwell's brother, ian, says at least one sibling will be present every day of the trial to support her. it is impossible for me to think that she would have been engaged in these really horrendous charges. if convicted, she faces up to 80 years in prison. nada tawfik, bbc news, new york. let's get some of the day's other news. the man who co—founded

the social media site twitter, jack dorsey, is standing down as its ceo. a replacement has already been announced, and users are unlikely to see any big change in the site. mr dorsey is now expected to concentrate his efforts on another of his projects. documents seen by the bbc show how security officials in henan, china's third most populous province, is creating a facial recognition system to flag those deemed to as "people of concern." the documents reveal the system will take information from mobile phones, social media, hotel stays, vehicle details, and photos. foreignjournalists, international students, and migrant women are among those who could come under surveillance. the pentagon says it will reinforce us military deployments and bases that are directed at china and russia following a review commissioned at the start of the biden administration. it will focus on military facilities in guam and australia. an official said curbing military aggression from china was a priority.

in southern africa, a court in botswana has upheld a decision to decriminalise homosexuality, meaning same—sex relationships will continue to be legal. the government had challenged the original ruling, butjudges ruled unanimously that the criminalisation of same—sex relationships violated constitutional rights. gail maclellan reports. the appeal is dismissed. and botswana made human rights history. applause. botswana's government had gone to the high court in an attempt to overturn the country's 2019 landmark ruling decriminalising homosexuality, but the high court upheld the previous law. prompting jubilation and some tears. before 2019, anyone caught in a gay relationship could be sentenced to seven

years injail. this unanimousjudgment confirms, said thejudge, that criminalising such individuals violated their constitutional rights to dignity, liberty, privacy and equality. the high court's ruling is final. today'sjudgment is awe—inspiring indeed, because it is going to change the lives of many people in our country. it is really an opportunity for the lgbtiq community to change the status quo in our country. botswana is one of a very small group of african nations to have decriminalised homosexuality. in most countries in the continent, it is a crime punishable by a prison sentence and in some states, a sentence of death. a volcano on the spanish island of la palma — which has been erupting for more than ten weeks — is showing no signs of abating. a new vent has just opened —

triggering a new lava stream, and sending huge clouds of smoke into the sky. courtney bembridge reports. for more than 70 days, lava has flowed from the volcano swallowing up homes, businesses and farmland. it has destroyed almost 3000 buildings, decimated the banana growing industry and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. the lava is flowing rapidly, covering a metre per second and the eruption is slowing no signs of easing. a new vent has just opened, sending the lava in a new direction. translation: we have been surprised by this new vent - which has caused this new lava flow to go outside of the area the army has been monitoring the emissions from the new fissure as concerns grow about toxic gases and there are other fears too. spain's national

geographic institute has recorded at least 50 earthquakes in the past couple of days. the accumulation of ash is also causing problems and has forced the closure of the airport on a number of occasions. the eruption is tipped to become the longest in 500 years. after three nights marooned in britain's highest altitude pub, the tan hill inn, in the yorkshire dales, 60 customers and staff have finally been able to leave. it all started on friday evening when storm arwen brought heavy snow to the dales. the company trapped in the pub included an oasis tribute band, who were playing on the night — as danny savage reports. welcome to what many people this weekend so as the most enviable location in the land. at the tan hill inn, they sorted their priorities by digging through the snow drifts to the front door and then locking it. they had come to

see and oasis tribute band who, some might say, had a good weekend. some might say, had a good weekend-— some might say, had a good weekend. , , ., weekend. there with places to be stuck. _ weekend. there with places to be stuck. you _ weekend. there with places to be stuck, you know _ weekend. there with places to be stuck, you know what - weekend. there with places to be stuck, you know what they| be stuck, you know what they mean? everyone wasjust mean? everyone was just brilliant, mean? everyone wasjust brilliant, staff was brilliant. everyone no end really. its magical— everyone no end really. its magical rally, lifetime memories as well. will do a reunion but _ memories as well. will do a reunion but will _ memories as well. will do a reunion but will do - memories as well. will do a reunion but will do it - memories as well. will do a reunion but will do it in - memories as well. will do a reunion but will do it in the | reunion but will do it in the summer next time. or. nicola, the ub summer next time. or. nicola, the pub manager, _ summer next time. or. nicola, the pub manager, was - summer next time. or. nicola, the pub manager, was sorry i summer next time. or. nicola, the pub manager, was sorry to | the pub manager, was sorry to see them go. she realised late on friday night that this was going to be a weekend like no other. , .. , other. the drifts were causing most of the — other. the drifts were causing most of the issues _ other. the drifts were causing most of the issues more - other. the drifts were causing most of the issues more than | most of the issues more than anything, ratherthan most of the issues more than anything, rather than just it being the snow, and i thought yes, these people are not going home. we've been doing karaoke, watching movies, playing board games, pub quizzes stop ide schelling out.—

games, pub quizzes stop ide schelling out. today, the road out “ust schelling out. today, the road out just about _ schelling out. today, the road outjust about became - schelling out. today, the road | outjust about became possible and a fourth night at the inn was avoided stopping lots of people say this must�*ve been the best weekend of your life, locked in to a pub. it is locked in to a pub. it is something _ locked in to a pub. it is something i— locked in to a pub. it is something i will- locked in to a pub. it is something i will never, locked in to a pub. it is - something i will never, ever forget. something i will never, ever foruet. . ~ something i will never, ever for.et_ . ., ~' ., forget. what was it like with a bunch of strangers _ forget. what was it like with a bunch of strangers stuck - forget. what was it like with a bunch of strangers stuck in i forget. what was it like with a bunch of strangers stuck in a l bunch of strangers stuck in a remote pub? it bunch of strangers stuck in a remote pub?— bunch of strangers stuck in a remote pub? it was fantastic community _ remote pub? it was fantastic community spirit. _ remote pub? it was fantastic community spirit. that i remote pub? it was fantastic community spirit. that talk l community spirit. that talk about having _ community spirit. that talk about having a _ community spirit. that talk about having a reunion, i community spirit. that talk| about having a reunion, i'm community spirit. that talk i about having a reunion, i'm not sure _ about having a reunion, i'm not sure i_ about having a reunion, i'm not sure i will— about having a reunion, i'm not sure i will be back. and about having a reunion, i'm not sure i will be back.— sure i will be back. and so they dispersed _ sure i will be back. and so they dispersed three i sure i will be back. and so they dispersed three days| sure i will be back. and so i they dispersed three days later than planned but what a weekend they had. 30 endangered white rhinos have arrived in rwanda after a long journey from south africa. conservationists say it's the largest single transfer of the species ever undertaken. the animals, which can weight up to two tons, will live in eastern rwanda's akagera national park. the aim is to give them a safer place to live than south africa, where poachers kill an average of three a day. let's take you back

to barbados. these are live pictures from national heroes square in the barbados capital, bridgetown. the caribbean island becomes the world's newest republic. queen elizabeth has been replaced as head of state by an elected president, dame sandra mason. there've been calls for britain to apologise and make reparations for slavery. the majority of barbados's population are descendants of africans shipped across the atlantic for the benefit of british colonists. barbados gained independence in 1966 but has now lost queen elizabeth ii as head of state. it will remain part of the

british commonwealth and says it wants its relationship with britain to continue. stick with us here on bbc news, much more on that to come. hello there. it certainly has been a cold few days across the uk. but in recent hours, things have been changing — more cloud has been rolling its way in from the west, and with that, we've seen some milderair pushing in, these westerly winds bringing those milder conditions for most of us, away from the far north of scotland. so for the majority, tuesday morning is starting with a very different feel — temperatures in liverpool, in plymouth, around 11 celsius. but with that, we have more in the way of cloud, and we have some outbreaks of patchy rain and drizzle. now, through the day, that cloud should thin and break a little bit to give some sunny spells, particularly across

england and wales. and then through the afternoon, we'll see a band of heavier rain pushing in from the west, getting into parts of northern ireland and western scotland with strengthening winds. but top temperatures 10—12 celsius in most places — it will stay quite chilly in the far north of scotland, just three there in lerwick. now, through tuesday night, we're watching this area of low pressure — it's likely to deepen a little as it slides across the uk. so, as well as outbreaks of rain, we do have the potential for some quite strong winds. now, it certainly doesn't look like we'll see anything as windy as we have over the weekend, but still, the potential for some really strong winds for western coasts, perhaps for parts of eastern scotland and northeast england, those gusts could touch gale force in places. temperatures between 5—9 celsius, so starting to drop away again, you'll notice, and that is a sign of things to come on wednesday because the winds will be coming down from the north. and that will reintroduce some relatively cold air — probably not as cold as it has been, but yes, a chillier day to come on wednesday. we'll see areas of showers,

or longer spells of rain pushing southwards, wintery showers even to quite low levels across the northern half of scotland, so some more snow likely to settle here. temperatures by the afternoon between 3—10 celsius, an increasingly cold feel as we go through the day. now, we have those northerly winds, they will ease a little as we get into thursday. as this ridge of high pressure builds in, some dry weatherfor a time. and then, this frontal system pushes in from the west, briefly maybe some snow — but, as milder air works in, that will tend to turn back to rain. so, temperatures really up and down this week, quite a chilly day to come on thursday, a slightly milder one likely on friday.

from the darkest days of our past and the appalling atrocity of slavery which forever sustains our history, the people of this island forged their path with extraordinary fortitude. , , �* ., fortitude. this is bridgetown in barbados _ fortitude. this is bridgetown in barbados for _ fortitude. this is bridgetown in barbados for top - in barbados for top self—government and independent. prince charles speaking their man. just speaking their man. just speaking there. allen freedom, justice and self—determination have been your guides. your long journey has brought you to this moment. not as your

destination but as a vantage point from which to survey a new horizon.— point from which to survey a new horizon. ~ . . , new horizon. madame president, as our new horizon. madame president, as your constitutional _ new horizon. madame president, as your constitutional status i as your constitutional status changes, it is important that i should join you to reaffirm those things which do not change. for example, that the close and trusted partnership between barbados and the united kingdom is vital members of the commonwealth. our common determination to defend the values we both cherish and to pursue the goals we share, and the myriad connections between the myriad connections between the people of our countries. through which flow admiration and affection. cooperation and

opportunity.