welcome to bbc news — i'm simon pusey. our top stories. 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. test results from the netherlands suggest omicron had spread globally before it was identified. we have a rare interview with britain's spy chief, who says china is his agency's top priority. and, driving towards the future — we look at how electric vehicles could help limit climate change.

we start in yemen — where houthi rebels are pressing hard to capture the key city of mareb. it's the last stronghold of the internationally recognised government — and at the heart of yemen's oilfields. the fall of mareb 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 mareb — and more are on their way.

0ur 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 i 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. the human cost of the war in yemen. our middle east editor jeremy bowen, cameraman dave bull, and producer cara swift, with that report. 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 five days before it was first reported to the world health organisation by south africa. 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. let's get some of the day's other news. 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. the trial of the british socialite ghislaine maxwell, in new york, has heard from a woman who says she was groomed for abuse from the age of fourteen. the woman, who's now in herforties, says she was first approached by maxwell and the millioniare financier, jeffrey epstein, ata summer camp. she says epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial,

abused her on multiple occasions. maxwell denies sex trafficking and other charges. thousands of people in parts of scotland and the north of england are bracing themselves for a fifth night without power after storm arwen left infrastructure devastated. extra engineers are being deployed. frustration is growing, with some electricity companies warning that supplies may not resume until later this week. 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 zer—ker. mark meadows was donald trump's chief of staff on january six so he may have information about donald trump's activities, contacts and lack of activity during the assault on the us capital so the idea that mark meadows now after being subpoenaed and reluctant to cooperate is turning over documents and will schedule a time and he will speak in person. i think that is important. of course, it depends on what those documents

have and what mark meadows says but it is a breakthrough in the congressional investigation into donald trump's activities but i think the indictment of steve bannon he was also subpoenaed and refused to cooperate and was held in contempt of congress is reluctance to cooperate and now his indictment, i think that may have put extra pressure on mark meadows. 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. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: accorded her place next

to french national icons, legendary singer and activist josephine baker is inducted into the pantheon in paris. 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 bbc news, the latest 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. every week at this time we take a look at climate change — bringing you stories with big implications for our planet's future. this week, we focus on what we drive — and with road traffic accounting for nearly a fifth of the world's co2 emissions, we look at how electric vehicles could help curb climate change.

over the course of its light emitters 30—50% less polluting and that rises to 70% where electricity comes entirely from renewable sources. �*i�*i electricity comes entirely from renewable sources.— renewable sources. 11 million electric vehicles _ renewable sources. 11 million electric vehicles are - renewable sources. 11 million electric vehicles are now - renewable sources. 11 million electric vehicles are now on | electric vehicles are now on the road globally. 1% of all but that is expected to rise to 145 million by 2030. more than 30 countries say they will go all electric by 2014. drjenny baker, from swansea university is working to develop and commercialise new ways of storing energy — including in electric vehicle batteries. the aim is to make them better, cheaper and greener. we're going to need new battery types that use more readily available materials

are we at the start of these changes?— changes? that is a good question- _ changes? that is a good question. the _ changes? that is a good question. the changes l changes? that is a good - question. the changes really have been starting way back from the 1980s when lithium batteries were first commercialised so i think getting to the end, i would say, we are getting to market maturity where there is now a really good range of electric vehicles available.— vehicles available. which countries _ vehicles available. which countries would - vehicles available. which countries would you - vehicles available. which countries would you say| vehicles available. which i countries would you say are leading the charge on this? we hear a lot about america with tesco but is this really a global effort?— tesco but is this really a lobal effort? , , ., ., global effort? this is a global effort and — global effort? this is a global effort and china _ global effort? this is a global effort and china really - global effort? this is a global effort and china really are - effort and china really are leading the way in terms of not just electric cars but when we talk about electric vehicles this also means buses. it also means two and three wheelers of which there is far more news than electric vehicles so again countries like india are trying to use electric two and three

wheelers and set a very polluting 2—stroke engines in order to improve the air quality. order to improve the air quality-— order to improve the air quality. order to improve the air auali .~ ., ., quality. what would you say are the main challenges _ quality. what would you say are the main challenges at - quality. what would you say are the main challenges at moment for the electric vehicle industry?— for the electric vehicle indust ? ,, .,, industry? supply chains. becoming _ industry? supply chains. becoming this _ industry? supply chains. becoming this huge - industry? supply chains. - becoming this huge demand for electric vehicles even second—hand electric vehicles are making a good price are even going up in value in certain parts of the world and i think in order to get the materials and get the batteries in a timely manner we will see those companies coming forward to de—manage this will have already had plans in place for already had plans in place for a time so we will see who is just responding recently to this and which companies have already been planning for it. it has been obvious this is a trend to come over the past ten years. trend to come over the past ten ears. ., ., ~ ., years. you talk about the trend and there _ years. you talk about the trend and there is — years. you talk about the trend and there is on _ years. you talk about the trend and there is on the _ years. you talk about the trend and there is on the one - years. you talk about the trend and there is on the one hand i and there is on the one hand batteries being long lasting

and also quite cheap and easy to use but on the other side of it it is about making it cool and tesla has definitely done that. , ., ., , that. tesla really did hit the market and _ that. tesla really did hit the market and i _ that. tesla really did hit the market and i have - that. tesla really did hit the market and i have a - that. tesla really did hit the - market and i have a 13-year-old market and i have a 13—year—old daughter who says every time she sees an expensive car, well, if they have that money why didn't they buy a tesla? so they really inspired people to say, yes, electric cars can do this and other vehicle manufacturers are really playing catch up on the west although i would say that a lot of the chinese manufacturers are responding to their internal market so it may not be always seen this in europe but there is huge supply and manufacturing happening out there. ., there. the government in the uk said that by _ there. the government in the uk said that by 2022 _ there. the government in the uk said that by 2022 all _ there. the government in the uk said that by 2022 all new- said that by 2022 all new builds in england must have charging capabilities for

vehicles. what role do governments play in all of this? governments have played a strong will to really give the lead to manufacturers that this is a chain that is going to happen and that gives them confidence for investors so i think it is really important that we have strong policy to support infrastructure and also to support those manufacturers to support those manufacturers to make those massive investments of changing over batteries and even opening minds and showing that we can get all the raw materials that we need. these are multi—10 year, 20 year investment and therefore they need to know that policies are going to support those investments in the future. support those investments in the future. the american author, alice sebold, has apologised for her part in the conviction of man exonerated last week of raping her in 1981.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 sixteen years in prison. france has honoured 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(tx next) 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. now, some nice pictures to leave you with. a zoo in western france welcomed a newborn pygmy hippo this month... (00v)the calf is the mother's third offspring and zookeepers say she's been very protective, and not let it out of her sights. // the pygmy hippo is an endangered species — under threat from deforestation.

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 14 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 40 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, the headlines:

tests in the netherlands suggest the omicron covid strain may have spread around the world before it was first reported to the world health organization by south africa. over a dozen countries and territories have detected cases, giving a clearer picture of how long the variant has been circulating. 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. the committee says mr meadows has already provided records on the incident. former president trump has urged his associates to ignore the probe. entertainerjosephine baker has been honoured with a place in the pantheon in paris. she's the first black woman to be inducted, and is recognised for her contribution to the performing arts, civil rights activism, and her work as a french resistance agent during the second world war. borisjohnson was

challenged repeatedly at his downing street news conference yesterday