this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk becomes the latest country to tighten its travel rules as the omicron variant spreads. from tuesday, all arrivals will need a pre—departure covid test. we're seeing an increasing number of cases linked with travel. and, again, we have always said we would act swiftly if we need to, if the changing data requires that, and that's why we have decided to bring in this change on predeparture tests. the parents of a teenager suspected of a deadly school shooting have pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, after they were found hiding in a basement. president biden and president putin will hold talks on tuesday, as russia's military build up

on the ukrainian border sends tensions soaring. and, could pole position at the first saudi arabian grand prix be decisive for lewis hamilton? hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the uk's health secretary, sajid javid, has announced a further tightening of travel restrictions in response to the omicron variant of covid. anyone arriving into the uk will require proof of a negative test taken before departure. it means britain isjoining a long list of countries

who are tightening restrictions, including the us which announced similiar rules last week. like the uk, all travellers — even if you're vaccinated — will need to take a pre—departure test. our political correspondent ben wright reports. travellers arriving into london on eurostar trains this evening did not need to take a covid test before boarding. but from 4am on tuesday morning, the rules change. everyone entering the uk will have to show proof of a negative test, whether they've been vaccinated or not. we're seeing an increasing number of cases linked to travel and we've always said we will act swiftly if we need to, if the changing data requires that — and that's why i've decided to bring in this change on predeparture tests. now i will stress these are temporary measures. we want to remove them as soon as we possibly can,

but before we learn more about omicron, it's right that we have these measures in place. passengers will have to take a pcr or lateral flow test within 48 hours of getting on a train, boat, or plane. it's an abrupt change of tack by the government. earlier this week, downing street said any further restrictions would have a detrimental effect on the travel industry and passengers. labour had called for predeparture tests since tuesday. well, we know from the first wave and from the delta wave that the pandemic accelerates when you have lots and lots of different, new cases seeding here from abroad. and that's why we just need this basic, simple thing of a test before people get onto the aeroplane — and that's why it's reallyjust so disappointing that the government has left it until nearly two weeks after omicron was first identified. i'm glad they have now u—turned, but they should move much faster on these covid border measures. the arrival of the omicron variant

had already prompted a change to travel rules with passengers required to take a pcr test within two days of landing in the uk. the latest move has caused dismay within the industry. i think it's a step too far. i think it will damage consumer confidence because, yet again, you've got another layer of complexity being added to travel. government approved quarantine hotels are set to get busier, too. nigeria becomes the 11th country to be added to the growing travel red list. from early monday, uk and irish citizens arriving from nigeria must self—isolate for ten days at their own expense. while bolstering the borders might help slow the spread of the new variant, vaccines are the first line of defence. ben wright, bbc news. scientists in botswana say the omicron strain, which was first detected in a number of southern african countries more

than a week ago had probably been in circulation since september. health officials there, say it could already have spread widely around the world before other countries started to impose travel bans. i'm joined now byjonathan dushoff, from the south african centre for epidemiology modelling and analysis. thank you very much forjoining us, jonathan. my first question is regarding what pots want to have said — does that sound about right, that omicron was circulating for possibly two months —— botswana? i have no reason to doubt it. i haven't reviewed those reports today. i've been busy up until now studying what we know about how it's been spreading through south africa. 0k, been spreading through south africa. ok, well, let's have a look at south african itself — how is what has been described as the fourth wave

going? been described as the fourth wave i oin i ? ,, ., been described as the fourth wave iioin ? , been described as the fourth wave ioiin? , going? so, the thing we see most clearl - going? so, the thing we see most clearly - there _ going? so, the thing we see most clearly - there was _ going? so, the thing we see most clearly - there was some - going? so, the thing we see most clearly - there was some super. clearly — there was some super spreading events probably linked to university campuses, and it's very hard to track the wave because so much changes about how worried people are, how much testing is available. the strongest thing we've seen, and i think the thing that's made of people take notice, is the incredible speed with which omicron seems to be replacing other strains. it's remarkable — even compared to what we saw with the beta and delta wave, we've seen a very fast takeover, and that's a very worrying sign. that means for some reason, omicron is spreading better than the delta variant among the population and many other populations. i know we are waiting _

and many other populations. i know we are waiting for _ and many other populations. i know we are waiting for the _ and many other populations. i know we are waiting for the data - and many other populations. i know we are waiting for the data to - and many other populations. i know we are waiting for the data to come | we are waiting for the data to come back from a number of scientific studies but, as far as south africa goes, how is that spread of omicron being reflected in hospitalisations and severity of disease? and has south africa recorded any deaths from omicron yet? i south africa recorded any deaths from omicron yet?— south africa recorded any deaths from omicron yet? i don't know if there are any _ from omicron yet? i don't know if there are any deaths. _ from omicron yet? i don't know if there are any deaths. generally l from omicron yet? i don't know if. there are any deaths. generally it's very early to say. i think in the counterfactual, we expect to see more hospitalisations in more deaths with omicron and then we would've seen without it. we know that omicron is affecting more people than delta —— infecting. we know almost nothing about the severity of omicron compared to delta. but it is a covid—i9 coronavirus and if it spreading much more effectively than delta would have, we absolutely expect some of these people who

would not otherwise have gotten sick to have severe symptoms and to die. thank you very much indeed, thank you. thank you very much indeed, thank ou. ., ~' thank you very much indeed, thank ou. ., ~ , ., the parents of a 15—year—old boy accused of killing four fellow students in the us state of michigan have pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter. prosecutors say ethan crumbley carried out the shooting at his school on tuesday with a semi—automatic pistol, which had been bought by his father. peter bowes reports. in prison and up to a $7,500 fine and mandatory dna. in court, via video, james and jennifer crumbley wept as the charges were read. four counts of involuntary manslaughter. earlier, the authorities offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the couple's arrest. they have missed a scheduled court appearance, prompting a massive search by the authorities.

they were found hiding in the basement of a warehouse after a tip—off from someone who saw their car. they were in a commercial building, in a room. we were able to take them into custody without incident, however they were very distressed as they were walking out. prosecutors say the couple are culpable in the alleged crime of their teenage son because they ignored a sequence of events, including the concerns of teachers, that ethan crumbley might be about to use a gun. hours before the shooting, teachers raised the alarm after they spotted a drawing by the boy depicting a gun and a bloody scene with the words, "the thoughts won't stop, help me". in another section of the note was a drawing of a bullet with the following words, "blood everywhere". this is an unusual case in a country that has wrestled with the scourge of school shootings for decades. ethan crumbley is accused of murdering four classmates — hannah saintjuliana was just 14,

take my 16, madison baldwin and justin schilling, both 17. if found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of life without parole. his parents could be sent to prison for up to 15 years. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. president biden is due to hold a video call next week with vladimir putin, amid growing fears that russia may be preparing to launch a full scale invasion of ukraine. tensions between russia and ukraine have been building for some time in the wake of russia's annexation of crimea. these are ukrainian troops stationed in the donietsk region on the russian border. on friday, ukraine warned that russia is massing more than 90 thousand troops on the other side — it's saying its intelligence analysis points to a possible invasion at the end of january next year. -- 90,000 —— 90,000 troops.

bbc russian senior correspondent olga ivshina gave us an impression of what to expect from these talks. what is interesting is recently mr putin actually gave a hint that in a way he's enjoying this tension, enjoying this build—up of pressure. he said, yes we have seen that, the intelligence reports from the western side, yes, we have seen that, the result of harsh rhetoric on the other side, but they should be worried, that is what we need. in a way, he is enjoying this nervous situation in the west. but also, he needs it from the internal point of view, from the internal political point of view, because russia's economy is struggling. coronavirus cases are on the rise. so in order to distract attention from things that are going wrong inside the country, he definitely needs this international challenges just to show that we have enemies outside, let's concentrate on that.

the sri lankan prime minister has issued a statement saying he is shocked at the brutality shown by what he called an "extremist mob" following the lynching of a sri lankan man on friday. he had been accused of blasphemy by an angry crowd. this is not the first such attack in pakistan — a week ago, a crowd set a police station ablaze when they refused to hand over a man accused of blasphemy. but this is the first one involving a foreign national. more than 100 people have been arrested in connexion with the attack. the bbc�*s farhat javed is in the pakistani city of sel kot, outside the factory where this man was killed. this is the factory he was working in for several years. he is identified as priyantha kumara, a sri lankan national and was accused of committing blasphemy, a deeply emotional issue encircled by highly controversial legislation. but this is not the first such

incident, and many fear it won't be the last. pakistan's prime minister called it "a day of shame for pakistan" yesterday, and today, the sri lankan prime minister has also issued a statement saying that he is shocked to see the brutality by an extremist mob. but he also added that he and the sri lankan nation expected the prime minister of pakistan to ensure a speedyjustice for the victim here. initial investigation reports have already been submitted to the prime minister, and authorities say that they have arrested more than 100 people. out of them, 13 are said to be key culprits here, who not only accused him of committing blasphemy but also encouraged the mob to attack him. police also say that they are doing further investigations in this case, but at the same time, people are angry. many in pakistan are protesting, people are frustrated in pakistan. there are trends on social media since yesterday and, especially in civil society, they are blaming all those in power for giving space to extremists groups,

their narratives, and their politics. one person has died and dozens have been injured on indonesia's java island, as an active volcano — mount seemeru — erupted for the second time in months. the bbc�*s astudestra ajengestri reports. videos circulating on social media show people are running away from thick, giant volcanic ash. nearby villages are covered in debris. according to witnesses, it's pitch dark due to the ashes from the volcano. a bridge which connects two regencies in east of java has been completely cut off due to the flow of hot lava from mount semeru. this 100—metre long bridge was destroyed by hot clouds

flowing through a river. the event prompted the disaster management agency to warn residents to stay away from river channels or valleys that originate from mount semeru, given the large numbers of volcanic materials that flow through the river. this is the first eruption of semeru in almost a decade. from indonesia, astudestra ajengrastri. an explosion has been heard near a key iranian nuclearfacility. local residents say it was very loud and a bright light momentarily lit up the sky. state media says a missile was test fired at the natanz uranium enrichment facility, about 250 kilometres south of the iranian capital tehran. officials insist there is nothing to worry about. but the explosion comes at a time of increased tension over iran's nuclear talks in vienna.

with more details, here's bbc persian's majid afshar. as we have heard from the news agencies inside iran, there was a blast near badroud, which is 12 miles from the natanz nuclearfacilities, iran's main enrichment plant. and eyewitnesses said they saw an explosion, and then, they saw something blown up in the sky and brought down. so then, we heard reports about a drone being downed by news agencies in iran — government, like, state news agencies. but within half an hour, there were reports that no, this was a preplanned drill, everyone knew about it, and this was a test of the air defence system around that area in response to a potential threat — that's what the army has said. but serious questions are now being asked, firstly,

because the news agencies that reported this blast are quite close to iran's revolutionary guards, and they are the ones who, if this was pre—planned and coordinated, they were the ones who should be aware of this. and the second question is, natanz�*s governor was interviewed by the state agency and he said during that interview that he was not aware of a drill. so, the fact that this happened a day after the nuclear talks in vienna just finished with no clear conclusion, that has brought about all these questions. and as we know, this plant was, there was sabotage at this plant twice before this year — once in april, and another time in july. that's what made it a bit more worrying for many. let's look at some of the day's international developments on coronavirus.

there have been protests in austria against the coronavirus lockdown, which has been extended until at least 11 december. unvaccinated people who break those rules now also face fines of up to 500 euros. the former queen of the netherlands has tested positive for covid. princess beatrix, who's 83 is at home in isolation, in accordance with dutch coronavirus regulations. the netherlands has been experiencing a record—breaking wave of covid—i9 cases, which is threatening to overwhelm the country's health care system the authorities in rio dejaneiro have called off the city's famous new year celebrations on copacobana beach, after confirmation that the omicron variant has reached brazil. the fireworks display normally attracts around two million people. but rio's mayor says he's reluctantly following the advice of scientists that it

cannot go ahead. counting is under way in the gambia for the first election since the former president, yahyahjammeh, left office in 2017. the west african country has a unique method to allow people to cast their ballots. high levels of illiteracy mean they are given marbles to put into barrels supporting their preferred candidates, rather than voting papers. they are then added up. our correspondent thomas naadi sent this report. polls closed at 5pm local time, but those who were still in the queue were allowed to cast their marbles. the vote counting and tallying is currently under way across the country. the first past the post system is used to determine the winner of the elections, which means that the candidate with the highest number of votes is declared the winner. both president adama barrow, and the opposition candidate ousainu

darboe are confident of victory. whoever winds this election will be expected to turn the economy around, especially the vital tourism sector which has been hit hard by the covid—19 pandemic. thomas naadi, bbc news, the gambia. the international news network cnn says it's fired its presenter chris cuomo with immediate effect. cnn had hired a law firm to investigate him, over claims that he'd tried to help his brother, the new york governor andrew cuomo, who's facing allegations of sexual misconduct in office. chris cuomo had interviewed his brother on air several times. there's been a record rise in anti—semitic incidents during the first six months of this year, according to the community security trust, the charity which monitors anti—jewish hate.

it says 2021 is likely to be "the worst year on record" for anti—semitism. our reporter tom brada has more. i'm tom, and i am a bbc journalist who also happens to be british and jewish. i'm proud of who i am, but the past year has been complicated — and sometimes frightening. let's break that. he's bleep jewish. in the first six months of 2021, there was a record spike in anti—semitism. from controversy around the middle east, to conspiracy theories and the toxic environment of social media, manyjewish people are questioning how safe it is to express who they are. i want to find out what is going on and i'm starting in burnley where ashley was the victim of an extreme example of anti—semitism. in march 2020, ashley was attacked by three menjust outside his home. the assault took place in front of his mum.

they were going where that blue car is now, but it was a different—coloured car then, and started shouting, "dirtyjew, look at that dirtyjew," and then one of them came onto the driveway and started attacking me. and i was full of blood, and i was still with the adrenaline pumping. how long were you dealing with the physical injuries? about 3—4 weeks. and any mental injuries of the back of it? ptsd. it took me a while to go back outside again. quite a lot of people in burnley actually came to me and said, "are you ok? do you need anything?" stuff like that. it was really heart—warming. what does yourjewish identity mean to you? everything, absolutely everything. it is my life, really. and how does it make you feel that something you hold clearly so dear to you, something you love about yourself, is something that other people use as a target? it hurts me a lot, because at the end of the day, what we all want is to just

live our lives in peace. never gonna happen, though. one harmful stereotype people hold aboutjews is that we're a monolithic group who think, feel, and even look the same way. but that is far from the truth. i'm meeting up with the nadine, a blackjewish woman who last year confronted the grime artist wiley after he posted an anti—semitic rant on twitter. ijust think it just demonstrated the complexity of what it can be like being a jewish black person. it is a lot easier to recognise if someone calls me the n—word, or someone says something derogatory about my skin colour to know that it is racist — versus if someone makes a comment like, "oh, you know, jews run the media," it is not as overt in some ways, but i also think they manifest themselves differently and i think in the 21st century. you do not have the structural socioeconomic intergenerational inequality that you see within black communities, as in the same in the jewish community — but that does not mean that, you know, the threat levels are not serious. see, ijust don't think people have a very solid understanding of what anti—semitism is,

because i don't think we are taught about it very well. there are many elements behind what drives racism and specifically anti—semitism, but there is also a familiar pattern that whenever israel is in the news, there is a spike in anti—semitism here in the uk. it all happened very quickly. obviously, it's petrifying. i don't think that, whatever is going on in the world in terms of the fighting and the, you know, do you believe in this side, do you believe in that side, should affect anyone's medical care that is happening. and i would never use someone's beliefs or religion, or ethnicity or anything to decide how i am going to treat them. tom brada reporting there. lewis hamilton has taken pole for tomorrow's saudi arabian grand prix. it follows a dramatic end

to qualifying which saw title rival max verstappen crash out. hamilton had put his mercedes on provisional pole with his final qualifying lap injeddah, but verstapppen — who has an eight—point advantage in the drivers�* championship — looked set to better that time until the final corner, where the dutchman hit the wall. so it's hamilton on pole alongside team—mate valtteri bottas, while verstappen starts third for tomorrow's race. take a look at these pictures. now, just in case you're struggling to feel christmas—y, take a look at these pictures. cheering they're from manger square, in bethlehem. with three weeks to go until christmas day, this was the moment that the town's christmas tree lights were switched on. the festive season actually began there last weekend, with a christmas market and a service at the church of nativity. three christian denominations —

the armenians, roman catholics and greek orthodox — share control of the church in the west bank town. you're watching bbc news. we will look at the papers shortly. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danoas. hello there. it's been very cold everywhere across the uk on saturday. we've seen increasing amounts of snow across southern southeast scotland and across northern england, mainly over the pennines. sunday is also going to be another cold day, maybe not quite as cold cos the winds won't be as strong as saturday, and there will be further rain. most of the rain towards the eastern side of the country. we've still got that cold air mass across the uk, but like i mentioned, the winds won't be quite as strong across northern and western areas, thanks to this ridge of high pressure. these weather fronts across the east and certainly the northeast will bring further rain. so it could be quite wet again across southeast scotland into the northeast of england. that rain continues through the day to bring localised flooding

in places and further winteriness over the high ground. further south, i think most of the showers will slowly eased down through the day. it will leave a legacy of cloud. the winds quite strong across the eastern side of the country. but apart from the odd shower further north and west, there should be quite a bit of sunshine around here with light winds, shouldn't feel too bad — top temperatures 9—10 celsius across the far southwest and into the channel islands. looks like that rain will eventually ease away for a time through sunday night, but then we look to the west, a new frontal system will work its way in to bring another band of rain, and again, we will see some sleet and snow over the pennines across the scottish hills as it bumps into the cold air. but the east of england will stay dry until later in the morning. so, this frontal system will work its way eastwards across the country through monday, then it turns colder again with a run of west—north westerly winds, which will be quite strong feeding in plenty of showers. so, quite wet across much of the country through monday morning, that rain eventually clears off into the north sea, taking the mountain snow with it. and then it's a brighter afternoon for many with some blustery showers,

some of these will be heavy and frequent across the northwest and turning increasingly wintry once again. it's a blustery day, those are mean wind speeds — gusts will be high, particularly around some irish sea coasts, and it will feel chilly again, temperatures of 3—8 celsius. then we look to the atlantic, the potential of this deep area of low pressure to develop and hurdle in towards ireland and then the uk as we push through tuesday and wednesday. still some uncertainty with its track, but i'm pretty sure it could bring some wet and very windy weather on tuesday and wednesday, so do stay tuned to the forecast.

hello. this is bbc news. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment — first the headlines.

pre—departure tests will be required for all arrivals into the uk from tuesday to stop the spread of the omicron variant — as nigeria becomes the latest country to be added to the travel red list. thousands of homes in scotland and northern england begin a second weekend without power after storm arwen. the parents of a teenager suspected of a deadly school shooting have pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter — after they were found hiding in a basement. at least one person has been killed and dozens injured after a volcano erupts on the indonesian island of java hello and welcome to our look ahead

to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow.