this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. cases of the omi—cron variant of coronavirus are surging in south africa as the first data emerges on how effective vaccines are against it it's possible that the omicron variant can cause infections even in previously vaccinated people however if they develop on the mild illness that means that vaccines are still providing protection. prosecutors in michigan charge the parents of the teenager accused of a deadly school shooting with involuntary manslaughter. "a day of shame for pakistan" imran khan condemns a mob which attacked and killed a sri lankan man accused of blasphemy.

pope francis uses his visit to cyprus to liken the fate of people fleeing war and poverty — to slavery and torture. and times have changed in new york city but queueing remains a constant — now standing in line in the big apple can mean big bucks, we talk to a savvy business cashing in. we start with the latest warning from the world health organization. its chief scientist says the new omi—cron variant could become dominant around the world — but that doesn't necessarily mean we'll need to reformulate our vaccines.

the number of countries detecting the coronavirus variant is increasing every day. but the w—h—o also says it's too soon to know if omicron causes a more serious illness — and people shouldn't panic. the surge in south africa, where the variant was first identified, has accelerated further. there were more than 16,000 new cases announced on friday — up from 11,500 the day before. doctors say there's a higher rate of admissions of young children. and after germany announced new restrictions for the unvaccinated on thursday, the republic of ireland has announced limits on the size of attendances at indoor events for its entire population — and a restriction of no more than four households socialising at any one time in a private home. so let's take a closer look at south africa, where 0mi—cron is spreading at an unprecedented rate. in the past 2a hours, 11,500 new cases were reported. just compare that to an average of 300 daily infections two weeks ago. south africa's health minister, urged people to get vaccinated:

this fourth wave which we have started to enter into can be managed. without too many casualties way too much glass of life. if we all observe the safety measures and the biggest risk being gatherings especially in their gatherings. as more cases emerge, so does the data about the effectiveness of the treatments. here's the world health organisation's chief scientist with what we know so far. it's possible that the omicron variant can cause infections even in previously vaccinated people. we are seeing that the reef previously vaccinated people who are the first to be reported but however the fact that they are not taking sick and we have to wait and see but they develop only mild illness and that means that vaccines are still

providing protection. the uk is among several countries offering covid boosterjabs — which will mean some adults receiving three doses of the vaccines. british health chiefs have chosen to use the moderna and pfizer shots — and trials suggest they give the best overall response. researchers also said there were good signs that the vaccines still protect against the 0micron variant. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh reports. amid gloom over 0micron and its potential threat, some encouraging news. it was back in the summer that nearly 3,000 uk volunteers got one of seven different covid vaccines as a booster shot, three months after their second dose. thank you everybody. for those boosted with pfizer after two doses of astrazeneca, their antibody levels were 25 times higher than a control group after one month. when pfizer was given after two pfizer shots, antibody levels rose eight

fold, but from a much higher initial level. moderna and other combinations also worked well. the study didn't looks at 0micron. it has mutations in the spike protein, which may make antibodies less able to bind on to it and prevent infection, but the bigger the antibody army the better. t—cells, another part of the immune system, were also significantly boosted. these can spot and destroy infected cells. the study showed boosters worked well against beta and delta variants, so it is likely they will also protect from serious disease with 0micron. all of the vaccines showed a good t—cell response. the antibodies moderna and pfizer were high. we are hopeful that the vaccines will provide a broad protection against multiple variants, although we can't say for certain at this moment whether they will work very well against 0micron or not.

in south africa, the first real world evidence has shown 0micron may evade some of our immunity. scientists have found a surge in the number of people being reinfected with covid but there is still real uncertainty about 0micron. we don't know yet about whether there is genuine immune escape withthis variant, we won't know for some time whether people become more unwell with this variant once they are infected. i think we know it is more transmissable, but we need even more definitive data. science is moving fast, but it will take weeks before it is clearjust how much of a threat is posted by 0micron. fergus walsh, bbc news. much more on this story on our website including this analysis of the latest world health 0rganisation guidance. just log on to bbc.com/news the parents of the teenager ethan crumbley —

who killed four students at a high school in the us state of michigan earlier this week — have been charged with involunatry manslaugher. the semi—automatic handgun used in the attack was bought by mr crumbley four days before the attack. here's the oakland county prosecutor. it is imperative we prevent this from happening again. no other parent or community should have to live through this nightmare. i have shared previously and i will reiterate today that gun ownership is a right and with that right comes great responsibility. based on the information and evidence i received today i am announcing charges against the shooters parents. jennifer and james. the charges are as follows. james is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. jennifer is also charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. 0ur washington correspondent barbara

plett usher told me more about the significance of these charges. it's an unusual step to charge him as an adult and the charges are very harsh so he is charged for about two dozen crimes. he killed four people and he injured around six so he's been charged with murder and also terrorism which is highly unusual. it's a case that has really shaken the county. his parents being charged is also very unusual. there have been instances where parents have been instances where parents have been instances where parents have been charged when they are young and children got a hold of guns and shot themselves in shot other children with child abuse are maybe sometimes negligent manslaughter but it's very rare for the parents of a mass suited to be charged as that on the prosecutor said she wanted to send a message about gun responsibility and also hold them accountable for their role and is unusual because in michigan there is not a law requiring parents to keep guns out of his — out of

reach. they are in other states but not michigan. reach. they are in other states but not michigan-— reach. they are in other states but not michigan. this took place in the township and _ not michigan. this took place in the township and of— not michigan. this took place in the township and of oxford. _ not michigan. this took place in the township and of oxford. in - not michigan. this took place in the township and of oxford. in looking | township and of oxford. in looking at one of the papers they are counseling christmas events and having a prayer vigil instead. help us understand the impact this has had on the community. it’s us understand the impact this has had on the community.— had on the community. it's a terrible impact. _ had on the community. it's a terrible impact. i— had on the community. it's a terrible impact. i covered - had on the community. it's a terrible impact. i covered a l had on the community. it's a - terrible impact. i covered a number of mass shootings and it always goes to the community like a shock. 0n the one hand there is preparation for something like this. schools go through drills for what they call active shooters but when it happens everyone says i can't believe it happened. and it's children involved and children shooting children and their teachers are injured and their safe space that have been violated so it's always very difficult to come to terms with notjust as individuals but as a community and this element of the parents complicity is how the prosecutors have presented it as another level

of shock and tragedy to ask. pope francis has addressed thousands of roman catholic worshippers at a football stadium in the cypriot city of nicosia. it's the second day of the pope's trip to the divided island. his visit has focused heavily on the plight of migrants. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen reports. to the worlds last divided capital came a preacher of unity. pope francis on the 35th trip of his papacy held mass in the cypriate capital split between its turkish and greek community for almost half a century. some 7000 faithful came mostly domestic workers from the philippines and the middle east among the tiny catholic minority here. and in a country where reconciliation between greek and turkish cypriots have stalled an appeal for peace. dear brothers and sisters.

in the presence of any personal darkness and the challenges faced by the church we are called to renew our paternity if we stay divided among each other and everyone only thinks about themselves or their group if we don't come together and if we don't have dialogue and if we don't work together we cannot properly heal from blindness. francis becomes the second pope to visit the country fractured since 1974 when turkey invaded the north fearing that greece will attempt to annex the island. many hope today's politicians will heed the homely. those are the messages he want to hear. unfortunately we don't hear them very often. i was very excited because listening to stories and seeing videos on the internet about the pope and the vatican but i never expected i would see him live in cyprus. beyond politics, migration is the pope's other focus on this trip having a service for those who fled to the island.

cyprus is a key eu entry point for migrants and refugees and the greek south accuses the turkish north of sending them across the divide. 50 migrants will soon be relocated from cyprus to italy in a papal gesture of welcome. the theme of the pope's meeting with the orthodox archbishop aiming to bridge a schism between the two churches that lasted almost a thousand years. the path of friendship one that pope francis hopes all on this scarred island may eventually take. pakistan's prime minister, imran khan, has condemned what he called a horrific vigilante attack on a sri lankan man who was lynched after being accused of blasphemy. mr khan said the burning alive of priyantha kumara after he was beaten by an angry mob was a day of shame for pakistan. shumyla jaffery reports from islamabad.

he was working as a manager at the sports that factory and in an industrial town of pakistan. he was accused of the posters bearing names of the prophet mohammed and his family members. videos have been circulated on social media sharing a mob of hundreds of man armed with sticks lynching him and police officials have told the bbc that by the time they arrived at the ceiling of the attack he was already dead and his body was being dragged out of the factory premises. later it was set alight. people in pakistan have shock and anger including the prime minister. in pakistan chief of army staff and police now say they have arrested more than a hundred people.

blasphemy against the prophet mohammed and islam is deeply emotional and highly politicized issue in pakistan and it is not uncommon that attacks followed by blasphemy accusations take place in pakistan usually against religious minorities and also against muslims for settling personal vendettas but it's for the first time at foreigner has become a victim of such an attack. stay with us on news, still to come: laos opens its new train service — hundreds of kilometres of tracks built as part of china's belt and road scheme. a woman who murdered her boyfriend's six—year—old son has been jailed for life.

arthur labinyo—hughes was starved and beaten by emma tustin, who has been told she will serve at least 29 years in prison. arthur's father, thomas hughes, has been jailed for 21 years for manslaughter.the judge said neither defendant had shown any remorse and their behaviour had been "spiteful and sadistic". 0ur correspondent helena wilkinson was at the court. thejudge said he the judge said he was made to sleep on the hard floor and the judge accepted behavior of the couple was spiteful and sadistic. he said that she recorded a number of video and audio recordings and then jury heard throughout this two—month trial absolutely harrowing audio recordings where arthur could be heard crying. he was pleading to be fed and at times he was saying that nobody left him.

this is news, the latest headlines. numbers of new coronavirus cases are surging in countries where the new 0micron variant is taking hold. in a rare move, us prosecutors have filed involuntary manslaughter charges against the parents of a teenager accused of shooting dead four students at his school. laos has opened a six billion dollar railway that's more than four hundred kilometers long. previously, the small country only had four kilometers of railway track. it has been built as part of china's belt and road initiative designed to strengthen beijing's economic power in the region. 0ur south east asia correspondent jonathan head explains. for paul — this is a big moment. zist for paul — this is a big moment. 21st century railroad technology from its giant neighbor china. an opportunity to demonstrate the

friendship of two communist run states and to showcase what china can do for the region.— can do for the region. there is definite progress _ can do for the region. there is definite progress is _ can do for the region. there is definite progress is a - can do for the region. there is| definite progress is a landmark achievement for a chain as an initiative are strategic connection that transforms but from a landlocked country to a land linked country. landlocked country to a land linked count . , ., ., , , country. chinese media has been aaivin this country. chinese media has been giving this preject _ country. chinese media has been giving this project extensive - giving this project extensive coverage. a new milestone in president xijinping belt coverage. a new milestone in president xi jinping belt and road initiative which aims to improve links between china and its main market. and to extend its influence and technology around the world. china hopes this railway will eventuallyjoin others. chinese built of course. plan for the rest of mainland southeast asia. although not all countries have welcomed this expensive kind of investment as eagerly as mouse. mouse badly needs better transport infrastructure. but is this new high—speed railway the answer? thinly populated and with

very low incomes, most of its people won't be able to avoid the kind of ticket prices that are needed to pay off the huge debt incurred by the project. the government has already borrowed heavily from china and other countries to build thousands of dams which are accused of causing massive environmental damage. for all the pride taken in a railway line that which surpasses those in most neighboring countries, this may not be white blouse really needs right now. a source of national shame — that's how the chaotic scenes at wembley stadium during the euro 2020 final this summer have been described. an independent review carried out here in the uk says around 2000 people without tickets, many of them drunken and drugged up thugs — managed to get into the stadium as england took on italy. 0ur sports editor dan roan reports. appalling disorder on a day of national shame. the damning findings of the investigation into the scenes

that marred england's biggest match since 1966. many fans left terrified after being caught up in the chaos. today, the woman whose report lays bear the gravity of the mayhem told me it was fortunate no—one died. i think what happened was a very near miss, and that near miss would be a significant loss of life, or injuries, probably on a scale that sadly we saw at hillsborough, so i think the benefit of it being a near miss is that we can learn from it, to make sure it never happens again. the report found unprecedented levels of criminal and anti—social behaviour and that 2,000 people got in illegally via 17 entry points. almost half of surveyed respondents saw illegal drug taking and fans with disabilities were targeted, with a child wheelchair user snatched from their father and used to try to gain entry by one thug pretending to be a steward. with hooligans hoping to reach the thousands of empty seats inside wembley, the report found a perfect storm

of factors, and a collective failure in planning. the police weren't on the ground early enough — they thought they were early, they weren't early enough. the stewarding at stadium was not robust enough and there wasn't a fan zone. remarkably the report found that england's defeat to italy averted a potential disaster, with 6,00 thugs to storm wembley if they had won. i apologise absolutely for the experience that many fans had, on that day. what we should have done is stepped back and looked at it as a completely unique event and understood that people would get there earlier, and we needed for example to get law enforcement there earlier. while the report said no single agency was to blame, it found a number of organisations, including the fa and the police, failed to mitigate what it called foreseeable risk. i am really sorry that so many people who came to london to enjoy a football match were met with unprecedented scenes of disorder.

while we had policing presence at wembley across the day, we accept that the bulk of this was not present early enough to prevent scenes of disorder. the report recommends that the fa leads a new national campaign designed to improve supporter behaviour, tougher security laws and more banning orders, and the establishment of a new category for matches of national significance, to acknowledge the unique challenges in making such events secure. the fa must stage england's next home game in european competition behind closed doors for what happened here. it is clear it could have proved much more costly. dan roan, bbc news, wembley. now for as long as their have been shops there have been queues — and as long as their have been queues, their have been complaints about them.

is it true to say you are inspired women to rise over this hangover of work? , , ., work? yes, i believe writing of the housewives _ work? yes, i believe writing of the housewives lid _ work? yes, i believe writing of the housewives lid and _ work? yes, i believe writing of the housewives lid and this _ work? yes, i believe writing of the housewives lid and this terrible - housewives lid and this terrible curse. well over seventy five years later and i think it's fair to say mrs lovelock�*s efforts to abolish the queue may not have been as succesfull as she hoped. but in new york city, some nifty enterprises are making big business out of long lines. whether it's a big theatre opening or a hot restaurant that doesn't take reservations, punters can now pay upwards of forty five dollars an hour for someone to keep their place in line for that big opening (read 0n) big opening. robert samuel runs same old line dudes, and joins me now from new york.

what kind of things do you tend to line up for? what kind of things do you tend to line up for?— what kind of things do you tend to line u- for? . ., line up for? pre- pandemic we did a lot of broadway _ line up for? pre- pandemic we did a lot of broadway shows _ line up for? pre- pandemic we did a lot of broadway shows such - line up for? pre- pandemic we did a lot of broadway shows such as - lot of broadway shows such as hamilton and we did a lot of simple sales and we waited in line for saturday night live, restaurants that don't take reservations that would have you stay on the sidewalk and put your name down and come back later, we have done a lot of autographs for celebrity meet and greets and things of that nature. that is quite dead variety. is there anything that you want to line up for? ~ ., , ., �* anything that you want to line up for? ~ . , ., �* ~' anything that you want to line up for? ~ . , ., �* 4' ., anything that you want to line up for? ~ ., , ., �* ~ ., , for? we really don't like to line up for? we really don't like to line up for black friday _ for? we really don't like to line up for black friday sales. _ for? we really don't like to line up for black friday sales. specifically| for black friday sales. specifically black friday. the day after

thanksgiving. so they have been instances in the past three people have been crushed and hurt as people stormed the stories and try to snag that great deal so we try to stay away from that but in the oddity of the year you can hire us. it’s away from that but in the oddity of the year you can hire us.— the year you can hire us. it's an important _ the year you can hire us. it's an important point. _ the year you can hire us. it's an important point. is _ the year you can hire us. it's an important point. is there - the year you can hire us. it's an important point. is there a - important point. is there a technique to lining up our not needing to go to the bathroom, there are loads of things to think about when you think about a line that can last for many hours.— last for many hours. exactly. luckily for — last for many hours. exactly. luckily for us _ last for many hours. exactly. luckily for us because - last for many hours. exactly. luckily for us because we - last for many hours. exactly. i luckily for us because we have last for many hours. exactly. - luckily for us because we have been in business for nine years we get a lot of repeat requests so we tend to know exactly where the bathroom is and if we need to take a break or find it convenient store for snacks so it's beneficial for us find it convenient store for snacks so it's beneficialfor us to have repeat places to go but you should always be nice and be kind and don't smoke in the rain and hopefully when

you have to go to the bathroom you can step off and come back with no issue. �* ., , can step off and come back with no issue. are there any circumstances where the price — issue. are there any circumstances where the price tends _ issue. are there any circumstances where the price tends to _ issue. are there any circumstances where the price tends to go - issue. are there any circumstances where the price tends to go up? i issue. are there any circumstances| where the price tends to go up? we do where the price tends to go up? - do have search charges for arrest requests. if you would like a line center to arrive within two hours to a specific location or if there is inclement weather such as precipitation, rain, hail, cities, what have you or to win the commit too cold, below freezing to heart. so there's an extra charge for that. i am fascinated by the work you do. i am fascinated by the work you do. i know you are currently having to line up for the daily maxwell trial safety is like you to absolutely everything. what's the weirdest thing you've had to line up for? i don't want to say weird but i have a negative connotation but the oddest thing is i was a guest of two artists in france who did performance art for a piece called

until dan and i had to... performance art for a piece called until dan and i had to. . ._ until dan and i had to... sorry, i wish i until dan and i had to... sorry, i wish i could _ until dan and i had to... sorry, i wish i could hear— until dan and i had to... sorry, i wish i could hear more. - hello there. it was noticeably mild across southern areas today, further north, a little less so, but there was a lot of cloud around generally. best of the sunshine was across scotland. we change air masses, though, for the weekend, it's going to turn colder. there will be more sunshine around, but there will be showers, too, thanks to low pressure nearby. got some wet weather across the country at the moment, particularly across the south, and some showery bursts of rain pushing into much of scotland and northern ireland as well, thanks to these weather fronts. you can see the extent of the mild air slowly ebbing away now as colder air begins to invade in from the northwest through the course of tonight. so, plenty of showers around, these turning increasingly wintry,

notjust over the high ground in the north, even down to lower levels. and we have a band of rain spreading its way eastwards across england and wales. it's going to be a chilly night pretty much wherever you are. so we've got low pressure to the northeast of the uk, that will be bringing strong, blustery northwesterly winds. and you can see the extent of the cold air mass spreading right across the uk. so, we'll start off with early rain across eastern england, that should clear away. and then its bright with some sunshine, and some areas could stay dry all together through the day across the south with some sunshine. elsewhere, plenty of showers around, some merging to produce longer spells of rain and they will be will be wintry as well in places. a blustery day to come, these are mean wind speeds. gusts could be even higher than those values. so with these sorts of temperatures and factor in the strong cold northwesterly wind, it'll feel colder than this. it stays chilly through saturday night. plenty of showers, again, some merging together to produce longer spells of rain. towards the end of the night, it looks like most of the showery rain will be towards the east

of the country. further west, the showers could become a little more sparse. so, clearer skies here could turn cold with some frost and some ice around, particularly for northern and western areas. you can see we're still in the cold air mass for sunday. lower pressure towards the east, a ridge of high pressure to the west. so, that means many western areas and across the north should be a bit drier after that very cold start with plenty of sunshine. most of the cloud and showery bursts of rain will tend to affect the eastern side of the uk. but wherever you are, despite it being cloudy or sunny, it's going to be another chilly day right across the board. and it stays unsettled into the new week. monday, tuesday, look pretty wet, quite cold, some snow on the hills, potentially turning very windy midweek, too.

this is bbc world news, the headlines...

the who has warned that all countries should prepare for an 0micron surge with the number of countries detecting the variant increasing daily. it also said it was too soon to say if 0micron causes more serious illness. british scientists have found that the pfizer and moderna vaccines are the most effective to use as boosterjabs. they also found signs that a third jab protects against the new variant. prosecutors in michigan have charged the parents of the teenager accused of a deadly school shooting with involuntary manslaughter. jennifer and james crumbley bought the handgun allegedly used in the attack last sunday. and pope francis has visited cyprus. at a prayer service, he condemned what he said was slavery and torture being suffered by people fleeing war and poverty. at 10 o'clock, sophie raworth will be here with a full round up of the days news. first, it's newscast.