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. mark meadows, donald trump's former chief of sstaff, agrees to appear at the investigation into the assault on the capitol building. and legendary singer and activistjosephine baker — the first black woman to be honoured with a place in the pantheon in paris.

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—19 measures since the emergence of the new omicron variant. our south east asia correspondentjonathan head is following developments from thailand's capital, bangkok.

nearly all countries did adopt a version of it effectively sealing themselves off from the rest of themselves off from the rest of the world for around 18 months. malaysia still isn't accepting any foreign visitors. vietnam has just started to open up a little with tour groups from japan and korea and here in thailand where they have been struggling to revive the once massive tourist industry they have been cautiously easing restrictions like mandatory quarantine just over the past two months and now a new and highly infectious variant is spreading confronting governments here with a dilemma. in tourist —dependent places business as there are warning of dire economic consequences if a leisure travel does not resume soon and yet, if there are severe new outbreaks under same crown variant that could force governments to put their societies back into complete shutdowns and devastating their

rest of their economies too. the moment the rest of the governments have responded by imposing bans on african and european countries with a new variant has already been detected. onlyjapan has detected. only japan has imposed detected. onlyjapan has imposed a ban on all foreign arrivals and yet with public anxiety about covid much higher in this region than in europe or the united states there is likely to be pressure on governments to impose tighter restrictions. the good news is a rates across southeast asia are rising quickly at nearly 90% in singapore and 80% of malaysia and in vietnam and thailand between 50 and 60% of that myanmar is an outlier. vaccination rates there within the civil war that is going on average 20% but then tourists are likely to want to visit even though the military there have talked about opening the country out. the warriors, though, that even with booster shots now beginning to be

administered to patients here in thailand for example that today was vaccines may not be effective against the overgrown variant and governments you cannot forget that when they cut themselves off from the rest of the world and seal the borders of that huge economic cost when they kept the earlier covid variance and they provide months for many cases suffered severe base in the end during this year. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. 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 1a years old when she had her first �*sexual contact�* withjeffrey 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. the former prime minister of lesotho, thomas thabane, has been formally charged in the high court of hiring hit men to kill his estranged wife, lipolela. he's accused of hiring hit men to kill her in 2017, days before he was sworn into office. his current wife, who he married two months after the killing, is also under investigation. 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. here's anthony zurcher.

he may have information. the idea that mark meadows now after being subpoenaed and reluctant to cooperate with the investigating committee has turned over documents and is going to schedule a time and he will speak in person, i think thatis will speak in person, i think that is important. because it depends on what those documents have and what mark meadows says but it is a breakthrough in the congressional investigation to donald trump's activities on january six but i think they see the indictment of steve allen who has also subpoenaed and refused to cooperate and was held in contempt of congress, his reluctance to cooperate and now his indictment of steve allen, adviser donald trump, that may put extra pressure on mark meadows. the american author

alice sebold has apologised for her part in the conviction of man exonerated last week of raping her in 1981. in a statement, she said she was struggling with the role she played within what she called "a system that sent an innocent man to jail". the events formed the basis of her memoir in which she described being raped and later telling police she had seen a black man in the street whom she believed was her attacker. anthony broadwater was arrested and convicted on flawed evidence. he spent 16 years in prison. let's get more on this now from our north america correspondent, david willis. wonderful to have you on the programme. it is an extraordinary admission and an extraordinary admission and an extraordinary story. i have to say. how is this apology come about? in say. how is this apology come about? ., ~ . about? in actualfact, alice c bold's memoir _ about? in actualfact, alice c bold's memoir lucky - about? in actualfact, alice c bold's memoir lucky may - about? in actual fact, alice c. bold's memoir lucky may have indirectly led to anthony broadwater�*s exoneration because lucky was being turned

into a film when the executive director of that film started to question, is the process went on, certain details not relating to the assault itself but to do with the investigation and subsequent trial. you put in a private investigator. the investigator discovered that things simply did not add up and recommended that the evidence be referred to a lawyer and that led last week to anthony broadwater�*s exoneration. his conviction in the first place was based on his being identified in court and flawed forensic evidence. today, alice sebold explained why it has taken her more than a week to actually respond to anthony broadwater�*s exoneration. she said it has taken me these past eight days to comprehend how this could have happened. i will continue to struggle with the role that i unwittingly played within a

system that sent an innocent man to jail. and she added, tellingly, perhaps, as a traumatised 18—year—old rape victim i chose to put my faith in the american legal system. just that phrase, you know, that she has said in that statement that she is examining the role and the part that she played within a system that sent an innocent man to jail, wants bowing to think this might have on race relations in the united states?— the united states? that is a very good — the united states? that is a very good question - the united states? that is a very good question and - the united states? that is a very good question and this| very good question and this undoubtedly furthers the case of those who argue that people of those who argue that people of colour very often do not get a fair trial of colour very often do not get a fairtrial in of colour very often do not get a fair trial in the united states and do not get favourable outcome as far as the law is concerned in general. but i think this saga

is reallyjust unfolding. i was talking about anthony broadwater and he called for an apology last week from alice sebold after he was exonerated. now he has got one but the publishers, meanwhile, have stopped publishing the book lucky while they work out with the author how the text can be revised. i mentioned that a film based on lucky has been abandoned and it may well be that there will be further fallout from what has happened here in the weeks ahead. always a pleasure _ here in the weeks ahead. always a pleasure to _ here in the weeks ahead. always a pleasure to have _ here in the weeks ahead. always a pleasure to have you _ here in the weeks ahead. always a pleasure to have you on - here in the weeks ahead. always a pleasure to have you on the i a pleasure to have you on the programme. thank you for your thoughts. thank you for your thoughts. the head of britain's secret intelligence service, m16, 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.

m16�*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 m16 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. if you want to get in touch with me, i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... australia's mps under the microscope after a third of parliamentary workers 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. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani

in singapore.our headlines 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. mark meadows, donald trump's former chief of staff, has agreed to make a deposition before the congressional investigation into the assault on the capitol building. 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 affecting women in parliament — he said he was appalled by the findings of the report. 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 ok. it's not ok. i asked the australian senator larissa waters, who's a member of the opposition green party, how she felt now the report had been published. when the report was handed down had that statistic that have the staff that work in parliamentary settings have been harassed or bullied and one that had been sexually harassed. it isjust one that had been sexually harassed. it is just totally unacceptable. this is not the 19505 unacceptable. this is not the 1950s and we should be setting

the standard in parliament as a best practice workplace not a boys club where it's not safe for women to work. there's a lot of progress that needs to be there are excellent recommendations in this report and our prime minister should actually make a clean commitment that he will implement those recommendations. readership starts at the top and we have had a permissive approach to our prime minister so far. he has not got a very good track record when it comes to women orfighting for our record when it comes to women or fighting for our rights and this is his last chance. i or fighting for our rights and this is his last chance.- this is his last chance. i 'ust want to jump in i this is his last chance. i 'ust want to jump in there. h this is his last chance. ijust - want to jump in there. because, you know, we have heard from the prime minister, scott morrison, saying that he is appalled by the findings and certainly from the rhetoric it appears that he is looking to try and make some changes. do you have the confidence that this government will make the

changes that are needed? well, it is certainly — changes that are needed? well, it is certainly clear _ changes that are needed? well, it is certainly clear that - changes that are needed? well, it is certainly clear that the - it is certainly 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 everywhere not just in parliament. 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 have got accused rapists in his ministry that he refused to hold to account. we got other accused harassers in his ministry and in his party that again he has refused to hold to account and just last week when one of his female backbenchers crossed the floor on an issue of corruption watchdog 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 needs to gain a lot of ground on these issues before australian women will

trust that he will ever work in our interests.— our interests. and 'ust briefly. i our interests. and 'ust briefly, what i our interests. and 'ust briefly, what are h our interests. and just briefly, what are the l our interests. and just l briefly, what are the top our interests. and just - briefly, what are the top two things that you would like to see changed in parliament rare see changed in parliament we need see changed in parliament we: need more women see changed in parliament "m2 need more women around see changed in parliament m2 need more women around the decision—making table. we still don't have gender and we certainly don't have enough women in the ministry and that needs to change. and we need more people of colour and disabilities. we need people from different backgrounds and we need a parliament that looks like our community and we need an conduct. we don't have a code of conduct here. many other places do and bad behaviourjust run rampant and it is clear that we need some sort of guideline and rule so that people who should know better know that they can't act out to make stupid sexist remarks or conduct predatory

behaviour. in australia's northern territory, police are searching for three people who broke out of a covid—19 quarantine facility. the centre is currently holding people affected by a nearby outbreak, and returned travellers from repatriation flights — including a man who arrived from south africa and has tested positive for the omicron variant. police say the trio managed to scale a fence and flee in the early hours of the morning — and officers have been stopping and searching cars in the area. 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. our paris correspondent 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 all for now — stay with bbc world news.

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 houi’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 week: buying a forest on the blockchain — yes, it is �*nftrees'. a one—minute covid test, and that's no gag. we'll take a call from the past — if we can lift the handset. and it's mars, it's the moon, it's the country that is out of this world.