welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... test results from the netherlands suggest omicron had spread globally before it was identified. the human cost of the war in yemen. our middle east editor, jeremy bowen, sends a special report. the way this war ends is not in the hands of yemenis because big regional powers have intervened. the people here are suffering because of the fault lines that run right through the middle east. we have a rare interview with britain's spy chief, who says china is his agency's top priority. she sings.

legendary singer and activistjosephine baker — the first black woman to be honoured with a place in the pantheon in paris. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. it's emerged that the omicron strain of coronavirus may have been spreading around the world earlier than previously thought. tests show it was present in a sample taken in the netherlands on the 19th of november. that's five days before it was first reported to the world health organization by south africa. dutch officials say they believe at least one person was infected without having travelled to that region. meanwhile, the boss of one of the biggest covid vaccine producing companies has warned that he doesn't think the currentjabs will be

as effective against the new strain as they have been against the previous ones. sara monetta reports. as the omicron strain continues to spread around the world, with cases detected across europe, in canada, and now injapan, the question being asked is, how effective will the existing vaccines be against it? the answer, according to the boss of moderna, which produces one of the most widely used jabs, is not as effective. stephane bancel told reporters... he added... that could take weeks, or even months. in the meantime, several major vaccine manufacturers have said they are ready to tweak their shots if needed. and china, which produces its own vaccines, is

taking similar steps. translation: it is stilll currently unclear if these mutations in the omicron variant can lead to vaccines being less effective. however, china has already made the technological preparations to adapt our vaccines. despite questions over the effectiveness of current vaccines against the new variant, countries are renewing their efforts to administer the jabs to their populations. the uk is speeding up a programme of third booster shots. greece is introducing fines for those over 60 who haven't been vaccinated. translation: i have no doubt that this political decision - will save human lives because vaccination becomes more thanjust compulsory — it saves lives. it's necessary for health. it's necessary for the whole society. meanwhile, health officials in the netherlands have

confirmed that omicron was in the country by the 19th of november. that's before the flight from southern africa linked to an outbreak. one of the two had been through southern africa, the other had not. this means that this - person most likely ended up in the netherlands. the size of the chain of- transmission is not known yet. while vaccine efficacy against omicron is being questioned, experts believe the tests used to detect it will still identify infections from the new strain. but only laboratory analysis can confirm that omicron is present, meaning the true scale of the spread and how serious its effects are may not emerge for some time. sara monetta, bbc news. many countries in asia are now

reassessing their covid—i9 measures since the emergence of that omicron variant. karen grepin is an associate professor at the school of public health at the university of hong kong. she's been researching the effectiveness of different types of border measures used throughout the pandemic and joins me live. she has been looking at how useful they've been. great to have you on the programme, i should say. in the first instance, we started to see the real imposition of border controls across asia. do they help? controls across asia. do they hel ? . ~ �* , controls across asia. do they hel? . ~ �*, ., help? yeah, i think it's a really interesting - help? yeah, i think it's a i really interesting question. we've been looking at this for almost two years, and we have learned a number of really important lessons. one, going back, one of the early lessons that came from china from the early stages of the pandemic, we have learned that targeted measures like the ones introduced right now in many countries in which they're

saying they will ban travellers from southern africa, are relatively ineffective. it's very difficult to know where the virus is right now, and this variant, and if we're only targeting certain places, it's unlikely we will be able to find where it's coming from and prevented. the second thing is about speed and timing. you just mentioned that the cases have been spreading earlier than we realise. we had a traveller here in hong kong who entered on november 11, almost three weeks ago, who at the virus. it's very likely that this virus has already spread. these measures will probably be ineffective given what we've learned. what we're trying to do is prevent the spread of the virus. i do is prevent the spread of the virus. , , ,.,, ,., ., virus. i suppose the sort of natural consequence - virus. i suppose the sort of natural consequence of - virus. i suppose the sort of| natural consequence of this virus. i suppose the sort of i natural consequence of this is to ask you what is the best way to ask you what is the best way to prevent the variant from spreading? policymakers are trying to do the best they can

at this point.— trying to do the best they can at this point. yeah, one of the thins at this point. yeah, one of the things we _ at this point. yeah, one of the things we have _ at this point. yeah, one of the things we have learned - at this point. yeah, one of the things we have learned is - things we have learned is countries that have adopted comprehensive measures — including a lot of places in the asia—pacific region which have been exemplary in their ability to control the virus — those measures are likely to continue to be effective. however, over the last couple of months, lots of countries have decided to produce and eliminate these measures, so it's difficult to think about whether reintroducing them at this time would be effective. in reality, i think we need to think about border control measures as a part of overall response in the local context, and thinking about them as a way of reinforcing what other countries are willing to do to prevent the spread. i think really, most places should be thinking about what kinds of measures they want to

reintroduce at a local level to try and prevent this.- try and prevent this. karen grein, try and prevent this. karen grepin, associate - try and prevent this. karen | grepin, associate professor try and prevent this. karen i grepin, associate professor at the school of public health at the school of public health at the university of hong kong, thank you so much forjoining us with your thoughts. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines from around the world. donald trump's former chief of staff, mark meadows, has agreed to give evidence to the congressional committee investigating the january the 6th riot at the capitol building in washington. he had previously defied a subpoena — that's a legal order — requiring him to testify. at least three people have been killed in a shooting at a michigan high school. eight others were wounded, including a teacher. officials say a 15—year—old suspect is in custody, and a semi—automatic handgun has been recovered. in new york, testimonies have begun at ghislaine maxwell's criminal trial. the first alleged accuser, known as �*jane', has said that she was ia years

old when she had her first �*sexual contact�* with jeffrey epstein, for whom maxwell is accused of recruiting and grooming underage girls. evidence was also heard from mr epstein�*s former pilot who recalled flying prince andrew, bill clinton, donald trump and kevin spacey. ms maxwell denies the charges. barbados has been celebrating its first day as a republic after removing queen elizabeth as its head of state. sandra mason was sworn in as the caribbean island's first president. she was joined by a group of the country's best known nationals, including the pop star rihanna, who said that nothing in her life compared to this day. the head of britain's secret intelligence service mi6 says that his team's main preoccupation at present is the threat posed by china. in a rare public appearance, richard moore warned that china had the capability to �*harvest data from around the world�*, and to use money to �*get

people on the hook�*. our security correspondent, gordon corera, has the story. mi6�*s mission is to work in secret, gathering intelligence from around the world, but today, its head ventured out to detail the threats he sees. china, he said, was now his top priority. its desire to take the island of taiwan posed a serious challenge to peace, and its drive to master technology and control data risked giving it too much leverage over our lives, he argued. china is controlled by an authoritarian regime. they don�*t share our values and often their interests clash with ours, and so i think what i�*m saying is that we need to be very robust in fighting our corner. today�*s rare interview came just ahead of the chief of mi6�*s first major speech. going public is about trying to build support for the secret service, including trying to get businesses, especially

in the tech sector, to help — something that�*s vital in the competition with china. meanwhile, russia remains an acute threat, its aggressive activity as seen in the salisbury poisonings on an upward trend, he argues. a troop build—up on the border of ukraine has led to fears of a full—out invasion, leading to the latest of a series of warnings. moscow should be in no doubt of our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, including crimea. and when it comes to terrorism, the speed of the taliban takeover in afghanistan caught everyone, including the spies, by surprise, and the fear is now that terror groups could once again find a safe haven to attack the west. i won�*t soft—soap it. the threat we face will likely grow now we have left afg ha nista n. al-qaeda and daesh will seek to increase their foothold and to rebuild their ability

to strike western targets. it�*s the job of mi6 to peer into the darker world of threats, and today, its chief used this unusual appearance to warn that the world looks more dangerous than ever. gordon corera, bbc news. you�*re watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... australia�*s mps are under the microscope after a third of parliamentary worker say they�*ve been sexually harassed. 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. we feel so helpless. the children 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 i from continental europe. it took the drills just i a few moments to cut through the final obstacle, - then philippe cossette, a miner from calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags _ with his opposite . number from dover. this is newsday on the bbc. i�*m karishma vaswani in singapore. our top story... the results of covid tests from the netherlands suggest the new omicron variant was already spreading round the world before it was identified in south africa.

i want to bring you this story now in yemen, where houthi rebels are pressing hard to capture the key city of marib. it�*s the last stronghold of the internationally recognised government, and at the heart of yemen�*s oilfields. the fall of marib would be a major turning point in the conflict that�*s been going on for years. saudi arabia, backed by the us and uk, intervened in yemen in 2015, after the houthis ousted the government from the capital, sanaa. since then, yemen has suffered the world�*s worst humanitarian crisis. all sides of the conflict have been accused of killing civilians and other abuses. at least 800,000 people displaced by the war have fled to marib, and more are on their way. our middle east editor, jeremy bowen, made his way to the city, and a warning — his report contains some distressing images.

the plains outside marib are not much of a refuge, but it�*s all there is for more than 16,000 people who have fled the houthi offensive in the last three months. at this camp, the newest arrivals are in flimsy tents with little food and salty water. children don�*t have schools. in the desert, the nights are cold. they�*ve lost almost everything, except enough trauma for a lifetime. between them, these two women have fled the fighting with their families 11 times in four years. this woman said her six children freeze in the ripped tent. translation: e witnessed everything. fear and panic every time. the kids are terrified when they hear missiles or shooting. so, she was wounded?

her daughter was badly hurt in a houthi attack. her two—month—old son was killed. these are pictures of dead people. she gets them to draw theirfrightening memories. he�*s lost his leg. translation: my kids saw bodies blown to pieces. - in the evening, my seven—year—old says he sees ghosts. they are haunted by the people they saw killed. they blame the houthis. mostly women and children are in the camps. the men, the un says, are dead orfighting. what lies beneath all of this is the war. war kills people, war makes people move, war creates the crisis, and the way this war ends is not in the hands of yemenis, because big regional powers have intervened. the people are suffering because of the fault lines that

run right through the middle east. they sing. government soldiers took us to the front line. marib has become the key battlefield of the war, but it�*s about more than yemenis fighting for strategic, oil—rich territory. the houthis, the other side, started to push at the beginning of the year around here. it�*s really intensified since about september. gunfire. these were government forces later that evening. they�*re backed by saudi arabia, who hoped for a quick victory when they intervened in 2015... machine gun fire. ..and now can�*t find a way out. they�*re shooting at houthi fighters who believe they�*re winning, despite losing almost 15,000 dead sincejune. their big ally is iran. the strategic divide

between the saudis and iranians and their allies that runs through this valley continues across the middle east. these government soldiers have been pushed back by the houthis. their commander says that doesn�*t mean they�*re losing. translation: it's true j that there are advances by the enemy, but war is like this. it�*s a normal thing in war. however, our men are resisting because they are protecting their country. but in marib hospital, the pain inflicted by the houthi offensive is clear in the operating theatres and the wards. most of the patients i saw were wounded government soldiers. this is important part of the whole procedure. a team of british surgeons from manchester is here, bringing expertise and equipment the hospital just doesn�*t have. there's a lack of- doctors and the local doctors are exhausted.

they are doing long shifts, and the injuries they are l getting are quite complex, so they are providing - the minimum treatment with l the basic equipment they have. as soon as they�*re fit again, these men will be rushed back to fight the houthi advance. the grinding battle for marib is being watched closely by influential yemeni tribes. they will make a deal with the winners. and among the wounded, some defiance. you will fight again afterwards? yes. well, you�*ve got one arm. the war pushes into every life. marib, a city of more than 2 million, has two

malnutrition centres, each with 11 beds. two others were in areas captured by the houthis. of every 100 children, ten have malnutrition, and of those ten, two are severely malnourished. this baby, six months old, weighs 2.5 kilos — less than many newborns. in ten days of treatment, she�*s gained 100g. this is what war does. it destroys lives. notjust babies. for everyone. jeremy bowen, bbc news, marib. a review of workplace culture in australia has found that a third of those working in federal parliamentary

offices have been sexually harassed by an mp. the review was commissioned following rape allegations made by former liberal party staffer, brittany higgins. prime minister scott morrison has previously been accused of being "tone deaf" on the issues effecting women in parliament. he said he was appalled by the findings of the report affecting women. i wish i found them more surprising. but i find them just as appalling. just because what you do is important and stressful and demanding can never normalise that behaviour as being somehow, somehow 0k. it's not ok. i asked the australian senator larissa waters, who�*s a member of the opposition green party, whether she felt change was on the way in the light of the report. well, it�*s clear that the changes need to be made, and i�*m an eternal optimist and i want workplaces to be safe for women

everywhere, notjust in parliament. unfortunately, i don�*t have a lot of confidence in this prime minister particularly. he�*s got a terrible track record. we�*ve got accused rapists that were in his ministry that he refused to hold to account. we�*ve got other accused harassers in his ministry in his party that, again, he has refused to hold to account. just last week when one of his female backbenchers crossed the floor on an issue of a corruption watchdog, which which we desperately need in australia, he then brought her in for a little talking to. so, actions speak louder than words, and we need these recommendations implemented. we won�*t let up on the pressure on the prime minister, but he�*s got a lot of... he needs to gain a lot of ground on this issue before australian women will trust that he will ever work in our interest. and just briefly, what are the top two things are the top two things you think

that you�*d like to see changed in parliament or the way things are run there? well, we need some more women around decision—making tables. we still don�*t have gender parity in ourfederal parliament, and we certainly don�*t have enough women in the ministry making decisions. that needs to change. and of course, we need more diversity generally in our parliament — we need more people of colour, more people with disabilities, people from different ethnic backgrounds. we need a parliament that looks like our community, and we need an actual code of conduct, karishma. we don�*t have a code of conduct here in parliament. many other workplaces do, and it seems that their behaviour hasjust run rampant, and it�*s clear that we need some sort of guideline or rule so that people that should know better know that they can�*t act out and make stupid sexist remarks or conduct predatory behaviour. france has been honouring the singer and activist josephine baker with a place

in the pantheon. she�*s the first black woman to be remembered in the resting place of france�*s national heroes, through her work on civil rights and for the resistance during the second world war. from paris, lucy williamson reports. idealist and idol, singer and spy. josephine baker, adored by paris a century ago, was the star of france again today. her symbolic coffin made its way towards the pantheon carrying handfuls of earth from the four corners of her life — paris, missouri, monaco, where she�*s buried, and the village in france where she raised her children. translation: you're entering. our pantheon because you loved france and you showed the way. born american, at heart, there�*s no—one more french than you. baker crossed the atlantic to escape segregation. in paris, she found fame with audiences hungry for american idols, using her celebrity to fight

racism and pass messages for the french resistance during the second world war. this is one of the greatest honours france can bestow — a seat in the resting place of its national heroes. josephine baker is the first black woman to be honoured here, a member of france�*s wartime resistance movement and a lifelong campaigner against racism. that campaign shaped herfamily, too. baker adopted 12 children from around the world, calling it her rainbow tribe. these children represent an example of real brotherhood. they show to people that it is possible to live together if we so wish to. the pantheon today echoed with her trademark song, j�*ai deux amours, a love song to paris, as the city that revered her a century ago claimed herforever as its own. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.

that�*s it from us. goodbye. hello there. after a spell of cold weather, the final day of november brought a return to something milder, something much milder, in fact — westerly winds which fed a lot of cloud across the uk but brought temperatures of 12, 13 or 1a degrees in many places. away from the far north, cold air clung on across shetland and that cold air has been staging a return over recent i'ioui’s. this area of low pressure has worked its way through. and that plunge of cold air will continue to take effect as we head through wednesday, the first day of december, the first day of the meteorological winter. and it will feel like it for many of us. there will be some spells of sunshine, but we�*ll see showers or longer spells of rain drifting southwards, some wintry weather mixing in over high ground, especially across the

northern half of the uk. and if we do see any showers into northern scotland through the afternoon, they are likely to fall as snow to very low levels indeed. it will remain windy, particularly gusty winds around the coasts, gusts of a0 to 50 miles per hour and temperatures, if anything, coming down as the day goes on. so afternoon values between two and nine degrees. with that brisk wind, it will feel cold out there. now, through wednesday night, we will see some clear spells, some wintry showers too. could see some snow to relatively low levels across parts of eastern england. certainly snow to low levels in the northern part of scotland and temperatures, well, they will drop very close to freezing, below freezing in places. a widespread frost and perhaps some icy stretches to contend with on thursday morning. still quite breezy to start thursday. still some wintry showers, particularly in the east. but this area of high pressure is going to be trying to build its weight in, so that means we will see more in the way of dry weather. as we go through the day, the showers will become fewer and further between.

there will be more dry weather, some spells of sunshine, although our next frontal system will be introducing cloud and some rain into northern ireland and the far west of scotland. a very chilly feeling day indeed, highs between three and nine degrees. and then another change in the weather as we move out of thursday into friday. this frontal system pushes eastwards. some snow on its leading edge, but this will be introducing milder air once again from the atlantic, so a bit of rain around in places on friday. there will be some good spells of dry weather as well, but it will feel milder to end the week.

this is bbc news. we�*ll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i�*m stephen sackur. what kind of republican party will be fighting for control of the us congress in 2022 and attempting to regain the white house in 202a? in large part, it�*ll hinge on donald trump. right now, he remains the dominant political figure on the american right. but american conservatism faces other defining choices, too.