welcome to bbc news, i'm simon pusey. our top stories: american prosecutors charge the parents of a teenager accused of a massacre at a school, saying they share responsibility. i will reiterate today that gun ownership is a right and with that right comes great responsibility. the first data on the omicron variant of covid suggests vaccines are less effective at stopping it spreading but they do make the symptoms less serious. it's possible that the omicron variant is able to overcome and cause infections even in previously vaccinated people. however, if they develop only mild illness, that which means that the vaccines are still providing protection. scientist say they can now use gene—editing technology to determine the sex of mice, creating female or male—only litters.

and spiritual content on tiktok grows at a rapid rate as religions reinvent themselves on social media. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. begin in michigan where, in a rare move, parents of an alleged school shooter have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. this was the scene at oxford high school on tuesday. four people were killed and seven injured in the shooting. ethan crumbley was charged as an adult with one count of terrorism causing death and four counts of first—degree murder. authorities have now issued a fugitive warrant forjames and jennifer crumbley.

but in a joint statement to the bbc, the family's lawyers said the crumbleys "are not fleeing from law enforcement" and had left town on the night of the shooting "for their own safety". here's the oakland county prosecutor announcing the charges a little earlier. it's 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 have received, today i'm announcing charges against the shooter's parents, jennifer and james crumbley. the charges are as follows. james crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. jennifer crumbley is also charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. vinoo varghese is a wall street criminal defence attorney, former prosecutor and visiting faculty at harvard law school. he's in new york.

vinoo, thank you forjoining us. this is a huge story, of course in america but around the world as well. how rare is this for parents to be charged with such a crime? we this for parents to be charged with such a crime?— with such a crime? i've been practising — with such a crime? i've been practising for _ with such a crime? i've been practising for 22 _ with such a crime? i've been practising for 22 years, - with such a crime? i've been practising for 22 years, a - practising for 22 years, a prosecutor for six years and from a prosecutor for the last 16 and i have not seen a case i6 and i have not seen a case like this are prosecutors have charged parents for the actions of their children. as you know from that side of the pond, there are school shootings here, they have become commonplace, it seems, to us. but you haven't seen any parents charged. so what this is, though, for the prosecutors, is a perfect set of facts. you have the kid trying to buy ammunition, getting caught, mother telling him not to get caught. you have the situation where they see the situation where they see the drawing the day of, hours, just hours before he shoots, him not being taken out of school. and earlier in the

week, the parents bragging about buying this gun for this minor so you have a lot of facts here for the prosecutor to work with and i'm actually impressed by both the speed and the simplicity of the charges against them, saying they exhibited gross negligence in supervising their minor. from the other perspective, this is a case for gun rights advocates and they will come hot and heavy. i imagine the defence will be funded by the nra and other groups advocating for this. ,, ,, �* other groups advocating for this-_ the - other groups advocating for. this._ the theory other groups advocating for - this._ the theory is this. crosstalk. the theory is a simle this. crosstalk. the theory is a simple one. _ this. crosstalk. the theory is a simple one, how _ this. crosstalk. the theory is a simple one, how could - this. crosstalk. the theory is a simple one, how could i - this. crosstalk. the theory is a simple one, how could i be . a simple one, how could i be held responsible for somebody else's actions? i did not pull the trigger. so this will be an interesting legal fights. vinoo, you talk about gun rights, what are the implications for wider gun control because this will spark a debate, right?— a debate, right? absolutely. riuht a debate, right? absolutely. right now — a debate, right? absolutely. right now the _ a debate, right? absolutely. right now the united - a debate, right? absolutely. right now the united states| right now the united states supreme court is deciding whether people can have, and carry guns in new york city, right, in my backyard, and whether they can conceal

weapons and that's going to be a big case and have a lot of implications. this is different, though. this is not about the right to own a gun or whether you can carry it, it's about whether parents prevented this from happening by exercising due caution. the school is also not off the hook, the parents refused to take the kid and the school should have kicked the kid out, should have kicked the kid out, should have kicked the kid out, should have checked his bag, it was no reason for them not to have done that, especially when the parents were not cooperating, so the school will face tremendous lawsuits and not charged criminally, as the prosecutor said, not charged criminally, as the prosecutorsaid, in not charged criminally, as the prosecutor said, in the press conference but they will face severe and a number of civil lawsuits from this._ severe and a number of civil lawsuits from this. and where do we go _ lawsuits from this. and where do we go from _ lawsuits from this. and where do we go from here _ lawsuits from this. and where do we go from here because l do we go from here because obviously, you know, a warrant has been put up for the parents's arrest, right? yeah, it's an interesting _ parents's arrest, right? yeah, it's an interesting situation. . it's an interesting situation. the lawyer said they are not fleeing, they will turn themselves into the arraignment that they tried to, only left because they feared for their own safety. we will see what happens in the next couple of days if they turn themselves in

because this is going to be a that will be played out for a long time, assuming that they actually stand to face trial. yeah, i have a feeling the story has quite a bit further to go. thank you indeed for joining us live in new york there, vinoo varghese. to the coronavirus pandemic now. the chief scientist of the world health organization says the new omicron variant could become dominant around the world. the number of countries detecting the coronavirus variant is increasing every day. but the who 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 to hospitals 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 in a private home. so let's take a closer look at south africa, where as we heard omicron is spreading at an unprecedented rate. 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, without too much loss of life, if we all observe the safety measures — the biggest risk being gatherings, especially indoor 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 is able to overcome and cause infections, even in previously vaccinated people — we are seeing that now with previously vaccinated people who are the first to be reported with omicron. however, the fact that they are not getting sick — and again, we have to wait

and see — but if they develop only mild illness, that means that the vaccines are still providing protection. here in the uk, the decision to offerjust the pfizer or moderna vaccines as a covid booster appears to have paid off after trials showed that they give the best overall response. seven different jabs were tested. researchers also said there were good signs that the vaccines still protect against the omicron variant. our medical editor fergus walsh reports. i don't know what's going into me! amid the gloom over omicron 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 very much indeed, everybody. for those boosted with pfizer after two doses of astrazeneca, their antibody levels were 25 times higher than the control group after one month.

when pfizer was given after two pfizer shots, antibody levels rose eightfold, but from a much higher initial level. moderna and other combinations also worked well. the study didn't look at omicron. it has mutations in the spike protein which may make antibodies less able to bind onto 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's likely they will also protect against serious disease with omicron. all of the vaccines actually showed a good t cell response. for the antibodies, moderna and pfizer were very high. we're very hopeful that the vaccines will provide a broad protection against multiple variants — although we can't say

for certain at this moment whether they're going to work very well against omicron or not. in south africa, the first real—world evidence has shown omicron may evade some of our immunity. scientists have found a surge in the number of people being reinfected with covid. but we still don't know whether omicron causes more serious illness, and what ability it may have to spread in the uk, where so much of the population is double or triple jabbed. fergus walsh, bbc news. authorities in italy say a man who wanted a covid vaccination certificate without getting the jab has tried to get one using a fake arm. they say he arrived with a silicone mould covering his real arm, hoping it would go unnoticed. but a nurse realized the trick, saying she found the skin "rubbery and cold" and he was reported to the police. let's get some of the day's other news. pakistan's prime minister has condemned what he called a horrific vigilante attack on a sri lankan man

who was lynched after being accused of blasphemy. imran khan said the burning alive of priyantha kumara after he was beaten by an angry mob was a day of shame for pakistan. the us economy created far fewerjobs than expected in november. employers in the world's largest economy added just 210,000 jobs for the month — that's less than half the figure for october. the number of people in work is now 3.9 million below the peak of february 2020. european diplomats at talks to revive the international nuclear deal with iran say they're disappointed and concerned by tehran�*s stance. britain, france and germany gave the assessment at the end of a week of discussions in vienna. they complained that iran had backtracked on diplomatic progress made during previous rounds of talks earlier this year. a court in the philippines has ignored objections of president rodrigo duterte and ruled that the country's first nobel laureate, the journalist maria ressa, can collect her prize in norway. but ms ressa, who was awarded

the prize for efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, still needs permission to travel from two other courts. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the royal shakespeare company leads the tributes to sir antony sher, who's died of cancer at the age of 72. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i am feeling so helpless that the childrens are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles.

at 11:00 this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite numberfrom dover. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: 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. the world health organization says vaccines may not be able to prevent people from infection

with the omicron strain but they do seem to make its effects far less serious. scientists in britain have used gene editing technology to create female—only and male—only litters of mice. they say their technique could eventually be applied to chickens to ensure that only egg—producing females are hatched. our science correspondent pallab ghosh reports. half of these chicks are useless to the farming industry because they're male and don't lay eggs so they have to be killed. that problem could be solved thanks to a breakthrough that enables scientists to reprogramme animals to produce only females. some 6 to 7 billion male layer chicks are killed every year shortly after birth at a point when they have a nervous system and are capable of suffering. we would like to be able to move to a system where those same eggs are laid but instead never hatch. scientists at the francis crick institute in london have found

that the system was successful in mice and they think it'll work on chickens. the researchers here have found a way of deactivating a gene involved with embryo development. the system can be programmed to stop either male orfemale embryos from developing using a technique called gene editing. the sex of a mammal is determined by its chromosomes. females have a pair of xs, males have an x and y. the process involves inserting half the gene editing molecule into the father's y chromosome, and the other half into the mother's dna. after mating, male xy embryos containing both halves of the gene editing molecule will not develop but female embryos will grow normally. gene editing can be used to make other genetic changes. these piglets are resistant to a lung disease that often devastates herds. the government is considering whether to allow the use of the technology by the farming industry.

pallab ghosh, bbc news. hank greely is stanford university professor of law and director of the center for law and the biosciences. he joins us from california. i'll be in the early stages of this research or will be set applied in practice soon? we are into the _ applied in practice soon? - are into the early stages. this is a very clever piece of work and i was very impressed with that but you have to remember almost every biological research, never believe it until someone else replicates it and they run a species specific variation. just because it can be done in mice does not mean it can be done in cattle or pigs. i do not see any good reasons it cannot be but biology often surprises us. chickens have a different kind

of system for sexual determination but they have a plausible weight to work with chickens as well.— plausible weight to work with chickens as well. that has been a lot of focus _ chickens as well. that has been a lot of focus on _ chickens as well. that has been a lot of focus on animal- a lot of focus on animal welfare and the potential of this to help in this regard. how may that come about? there are a number— how may that come about? there are a number of— how may that come about? there are a number of situations - are a number of situations where farmers want only one sex of an animal where farmers want only one sex ofan animal oran where farmers want only one sex of an animal or an overwhelming majority. bulls for example are not useful in very cattle because they do not give milk. with laying chickens, again, the male chickens will never lay eggs so they are not interesting for people flapping eggs. —— farming for eggs. if the infants are born into the

wrong sex, they usually get destroyed when they cannot be of any economic value. this could prevent the purpose of animals that are destined to be quite quickly destroyed and i think that is a good thing. in the repository were focusing on chickens and eggs. just how significant this be commercially into the future? if it works, if it works in other animals and even more importantly if it is proven to be safe because before this is used we need to go through several generations of animals to make sure it does not have any ill effects on the chink is or the calves, the piglets that get on, if it works, i think it could have significant effects and the industries in making it more efficient towards derek, beef, pork and for chickens and eggs as well as perhaps sheep and goats. eggs as well as perhaps sheep and goats-—

and goats. are there any ethical concerns? - and goats. are there any ethical concerns? is - and goats. are there any ethical concerns? is it i and goats. are there any| ethical concerns? is it all positive news in terms of the progression of science? again, we don't know— progression of science? again, we don't know that _ progression of science? again, we don't know that it _ progression of science? again, we don't know that it works - progression of science? again, | we don't know that it works yet and that it is safe so those are ethical concerns that need to be watch. there are people that think any genetic altercation is wrong. it is the case of basically everything we eat has been genetically modified. but there are people who do not like the modern methods. i think the many people of the big ethical issue is going to be animal welfare and if this does not only are but improves animal welfare and does it safely, it is hard for me to see serious ethical issue standing in the way of this. it is a fascinating topic and one into the early stages but thank you very much indeed for

bringing us to date. mi; bringing us to date. my pleasure- _ pope francis has said he has a responsibility to tell the hard truth about the suffering of refugees, many held in conditions he compared to those in nazi and soviet camps. pope francis made the statement on the second day of his visit to cyprus, during which he attended a prayer service with migrants from dozens of countries. cyprus says it has the highest proportion of asylum applications per head in the european union. on saturday, pope francis will travel to greece. religions are reinventing themselves on social media. from nunsjumping on the latest online trends, to imams and otherfaith leaders preaching on instagram. now research commissioned by the bbc shows that religious content, especially on tiktok, is growing faster than average. our global religion reporter sofia bettiza has the story. religion is adapting to new social media trends fast. short videos like this are becoming really popular. on tiktok this

hashtag has nine billion use. the wily has over 2 billion. —— diwali. these nuns dedicate their life to jesus diwali. these nuns dedicate their life tojesus christ but after they finished but this is what they get up to. they're making a video on tiktok. don't you think that some people might not take you seriously? i think there's a lot of stereotypes about nuns out there. there is an idea that you lock yourself into an institution, all the rules, you are giving up. so when we share those videos, we really want to show that we are human and we live. to show that we are human and we live. ., _ , ., , live. to say they have fun is an understatement. - live. to say they have fun is an understatement. they i live. to say they have fun is| an understatement. they do

pranks... orjump on the latest tiktok trends. what kind of comments do you get? they ranue. comments do you get? they range- they _ comments do you get? they range. they range. - comments do you get? they range. they range. there i comments do you get? they range. they range. there is| comments do you get? they| range. they range. there is a strand of— range. they range. there is a strand of folks _ range. they range. there is a strand of folks who _ range. they range. there is a strand of folks who don't i range. they range. there is a | strand of folks who don't even know how we got on on tiktok. from a convent to a mosque and this is the biggest in the uk. for thousands of years people have come to places of worship to learn more about their faith but now religious messages are echoing through tiktok, instagram and other social media but on and that means they're reaching people who might never come to a place like this or speak to a priest, and in mum or a like this or speak to a priest, and in mum ora rabbi. he became an e—mailwhen and in mum ora rabbi. he became an e—mail when he was 17. became an e-mail when he was 17. . , became an e-mail when he was 17., , , ., became an e-mail when he was 17. , , ., _ became an e-mailwhen he was 17. , _, _ ., became an e-mail when he was 17. , _ ., ., 17. just start by reading one verse today _ 17. just start by reading one verse today because - 17. just start by reading one verse today because it i 17. just start by reading one verse today because it puts| verse today because it puts into perspective.— verse today because it puts into perspective. thanks to his videos people _ into perspective. thanks to his videos people have _ into perspective. thanks to his videos people have found i into perspective. thanks to his videos people have found him| videos people have found him online and have come to him

with all sorts of problems. people turn to me with questions that might not relate to faith. it might be dealing with drug abuse, relationship issues and i try to help them to the best i can. it issues and i try to help them to the best i can.— to the best i can. it is happening _ to the best i can. it is happening in - to the best i can. it is happening in every i to the best i can. it is i happening in every major to the best i can. it is happening in every major faith happening in every majorfaith develop. in china these buddhist monks are getting such a large following that tourists travel to their temples just so they can meet them. the nuns pray for everyone who comments on the videos. would you pray for someone who has left a hateful comment?- sofia bettiza, bbc news. the actor sir antony sher has died aged 72. sir antony, who had cancer, was widely regarded as one of the country's finest contemporary classical actors, with a long association with the royal shakespeare company. david sillito looks

back at his life. deformed, unfinished, sent before my time into this breathing world, scarce half made up. antony sher�*s richard iii, a scuttling, spidery malevolence. it went beyond mere good reviews to become the portrayal against which all others are measured. when they are gone, then i must count my gains. when they are gone, then must i count my gains. your hair's nice. howard kirk in the history man, the defining �*70s campus radical. perhaps we should just add his name... i think my biggest problem is being young and beautiful. it is my biggest problem, because i have never been young and beautiful. arnold, the drag queen in torch song trilogy, another olivier award—winning role. oh, i've been beautiful. antony sher was also an accomplished writer and painter, but this career had begun with rejection from rada. they sent a letter saying, "we strongly recommend that you think about another

career," which, you know, at that time, you know, really puts you on the line. gay, jewish, south african — growing, up he felt very much the outsider. he liked the idea of disguise, and his home became the shakespearean stage. many of his greatest role directed by the man who would become his husband, greg doran. hail, rome! titus andronicus. victorious in thy mourning weeds. iago. the moor already changes with my poison. lear... do not make me mad! troubled, complex, compelling. the characters of sir antony sher. sir antony sher — who has died at the age of 72. that is just about it from me. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @sipusey

you can also get more news on our website. thank you for watching it. hello. we have a rather cold and windy weekend to come. and there'll be some wet weather at times, especially on saturday, some showers or some showery rain and hill snow. drier for many on sunday. throughout the weekend, though, a chilly wind to contend with. what's going on? low pressure close to scotland as saturday begins will run south through the north sea as the weekend goes on. around it, showers or some longer spells of rain and hill snow, especially on saturday. and it's also dragging in another push of chilly air from the north—west. and it's not what those without power or working to restore power after storm arwen want to hear, but it is going to be a rather cold weekend ahead, with temperatures starting like this for saturday morning. just a few spots close to freezing, just a hint of frost here and there. there'll be early rain

across eastern england clearing away to sunny spells, but then this curl of rain and hill snow through scotland, northern ireland, pushing into more of northern england, wales and the midlands as we go on through the day. north west scotland starting to brighten up in the afternoon, just a few showers. the far south of wales and much of southern england, a lot of the day is going to be dry. it's blustery wherever you are. these are average speeds. some stronger gusts around particularly western coasts, 40—115 mph or so, so a risk of gales here. so, it will feel colder than these temperatures might suggest, which are already down compared with what we had on friday. saturday evening and night, its central and eastern parts of england with outbreaks of rain. some snow to the higher parts of the pennines and peak district. a few showers in the west, but some clear spells, too, and where you have the clear spells, a greater chance of a frost going into sunday morning, especially in the countryside. and on sunday, well, the low pressure's here. for many, it's far enough away to allow a drier day, but close to that across

especially eastern parts of england, there'll be some outbreaks of rain around. they may just fringe into eastern scotland at times and also push a little further west towards the midlands. much of scotland, northern ireland, wales and the western side of england, bar the odd shower, will stay mainly dry. there'll still be a very brisk north—northwesterly breeze to contend with, so it will feel colder than these temperatures might suggest. and temperatures don't change much in the week ahead, and especially during the first half of the week, it looks like we're going to have to contend with more wet and at times very windy weather.

this is bbc news. the headlines: prosecutors in michigan have charged the parents of a teenager, accused of murdering four students at his high school. james and jennifer crumbley have also been charged with manslaughter. theirson, ethan, carried out the mass shooting with a semiautomatic pistol bought by his father. the first data on the omicron variant of covid suggests vaccines are less effective at stopping it spreading. scientists in south africa have reported a surge in the number of people being reinfected. it's the first real—world evidence indicating the new variant may evade immune defences. a team of british scientists have used gene editing technology to create female—only and male—only litters of mice. the technique could prevent the destruction of hundreds of thousands of unwanted mammels used in research, —— mammals used in research, and millions of male chickens culled because they don't lay eggs.

thousands of people in parts of north—east england