welcome to newsday — reporting live from singapore — i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. the uk prime minister borisjohnson introduces new covid restrictions, but there are claims of politics over the timing. the move was announced just hours after his former spokesperson resigned after appearing to make light of an alleged downing street christmas party. to all of you who lost loved ones, who endured intolerable loneliness and struggled with your businesses, i am truly sorry. pharmaceutical giant pfizer says a three—jab course of their covid vaccine — is effective against the omicron variant. in other news — india's top military commander is killed in a helicopter crash

in the south of the country. and — listen to this. it's the sound of an indonesian coral reef coming back to life. it's eight in the morning in singapore, and midnight in the uk where there are increasing doubts about the new coronavirus restrictions announced by britain's prime minister, borisjohnson, amid public anger over allegations his staff partied in breach of lockdown rules last year.

the new restrictions include that. from monday, people in england will be encouraged to work from home wherever possible. but more immediately, from friday, facemasks will have to be worn in most public indoor venues. that includes theatres, cinemas, and restaurants. and the nhs covid pass will now be mandatory for nightclubs and other venues with large crowds. but the anger over the party last year and the apparent mocking of it by some government advisers has led many mps to question the prime ministers credibility. laura kuenssberg reports. hemmed in, borisjohnson stuck with two ugly problems that are mashed together. what happened under his own roof which has sickened some of the public and what he reckons needs to happen now to push back the virus. the danger tonight is the fiasco of problem one which makes problem two much harder to solve. with the variant spreading at lightning speed,

he and the country's most senior scientists were back on the platform. we cannot yet assume that omicron is less severe than previous variants. so, while the picture may get better and i sincerely hope that it will, we know that the remorseless logic of exponential growth could lead to a big rise in hospitalisations and therefore, sadly, in deaths. and that is why it's the proportionate and the responsible thing to move to plan b in england. how can you stand at that lectern where some of your team laughed and joked about covid—19 rules and told people they must now follow your new instructions and are you really asking the public to believe that you had no idea what was going on under your own roof? the british public, notwithstanding the point that you make, can see the vital importance of the medical information that we are giving.

the usually icy cool professor whitty seemed angry too, but pleaded with you to separate political shenanigans from protecting health. people get very angry, including colleagues. and friends when they feel that it is unfair. _ and the prime minister said i that in the house of commons and he said it today. that is quite different from people, i think, | wanting to actually know what's going on and then _ make decisions. and i think those ton need to be separated. the reason for that outrage is apparent in toe—curling confirmation in a practice press conference that there was a party in downing street last christmas when socialising was banned for all. this fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced. one of the aids who was laughing, allegra stratton, emerged from her house today. those jokes turning to tears. denying the party won't have been her decision and she paid with herjob.

my remarks seem to make light of the rules. people were doing everything to obey them. that was never my intention. i will regret those remarks for the rest of my days and i offer my profound apologise to all of those at home, all of you who lost loved ones and endured intolerable loneliness and struggled with your businesses, i am truly sorry. and this afternoon, i am offering my resignation to the prime minister. thank you for your time. no chance her exit would be the end of questions to borisjohnson. at first, he started with an apology and announced an investigation. i understand and share the anger up and down the country at seeing number ten staff seeming to make light of lockdown measures. and i can understand how infuriating it must be to think that the people who have been setting the rules have not been following the rules, mr speaker. because i was also furious to see that clip.

and mr speaker, i apologise, i apologise unreservedly. i have asked the cabinet secretary to establish all the facts. the prime minister, the government spent the week telling the british public that there was no party. all guidance was followed completely. millions of people now think the prime minister was taking them for fools. and that they were lied to. and a moment to raise the agony of constituents who lost loved ones. she is devastated - and appalled at recent revelations as to what has gone on in downing street. _ it is something i will never ever get over. she lost her father and her sister too. when i saw the video, it sickened me and as disgusted and thinking, how can a laugh and so many people are going through so much

heart ache and pain? i'm finding it very hard to swallow, to take instruction from the government, especially after this. this is a miserable and dangerous moment for downing street. it's not just about whether a few dozen staff had drinks in there last year, but whether the truth has been told. whether you can put faith and what government says from day—to—day, or guidance or even demands from ministers for what you have to do. with the virus creeping back in tighter restrictions too, it is no time for authority to be draining away. the prime minister may be pushing the button on plan b to cope with the pandemic, but this christmas, borisjohnson may need a plan b for his leadership too. pfizer—biontech say three doses of their covid vaccine have been able to neutralise the new omicron variant of coronavirus, following initial tests. but they said two doses

may not be sufficient to protect against infection from the new variant. it all underlines the importance of getting fully vaccinated, as our medical editor fergus walsh reports. morning. there are many remarkable stories of survival against the odds on covid wards. this patient was admitted to university hospital coventry six weeks ago, pregnant and unvaccinated. she was put on a ventilator and her baby, now in special care, was delivered at 26 weeks. i nearly died. and i wish i had that vaccine, i wish i knew how bad a pregnant woman can get by not being vaccinated, and the risks of covid. this covid has ruined my life. so you didn't see your daughterfor a month? no, i didn't see her because i was in a coma, and that is a parent's worst nightmare. there are many who are admitted who wish they could turn back the clock and have

had their covid jab. four out of five patients on the covid wards here are unvaccinated and although it is much less busy than back in january, there is real concern about what the coming weeks may bring. a small laboratory study by pfizer biontech has suggested three doses of their covid vaccine produce sufficient antibodies to neutralise the omicron variant, with two doses likely to stop severe disease. it is not real—world evidence but it underlines the vital nature of boosting immunity. we are turbo—charging the programme again. we have almost 3000 centres open, more vaccine centres than we have ever had. we are recruiting 42,000 extra volunteers and of course we freed up gps so they can spend more time vaccinating. it is a year to the day

since margaret keenan became the first person in the world to get the pfizer vaccine outside of a trial. reunited with the nurse who gave her the job, 92 next week, she urged those still unvaccinated to come forward. please, please do, do have the jab. i because it does save your life and the life of your friends i and family and the nhs as well, of course. - you are a global icon now. lam! people meet me in the street and they say, "thank god - for you because i wasn't going to have thisjab." i and it's lovely to - hear that, you know. since then, more than 51 million people in the uk have been vaccinated, but the pandemic is still far from over. fergus walsh, bbc news, coventry. dr sumit chanda is an infectious disease researcher at scripps research. i began by asking if booster shots were the way forward against omicron.

isa is a preliminary data these are experiments that have been done outside of the human body and using essentially a test tube to determine this results and the definitive data will be looking at hospitalisations and deaths across europe in the us and comparing those versus those with two. but the data is suggesting that a third shot is significantly more protective and optimal than the two shot regiment. irate and optimal than the two shot reuiment. ~ . , and optimal than the two shot regiment-— regiment. we are “ust seeing the regiment. we are 'ust seeing the research _ regiment. we are 'ust seeing the research from]— regiment. we are just seeing the research from pfizer- regiment. we are just seeing the research from pfizer at i the research from pfizer at this point in time, but what about my dharna, astrazeneca. what are you hearing about them? its what are you hearing about them? , . , , them? its early days in the data still — them? its early days in the data still needs _ them? its early days in the data still needs to - them? its early days in the data still needs to come i them? its early days in the | data still needs to come in, but based on the biology of the vaccine, they delivering the

same halos rescinded diminishment and antibodies from all of the vaccines. so, it stands to reason that all the vaccines will need a booster dose for the efficacy against omicron. i booster dose for the efficacy against omicron.— against omicron. i know it's early days _ against omicron. i know it's early days and _ against omicron. i know it's early days and we - against omicron. i know it's early days and we don't - against omicron. i know it's i early days and we don't know that much yet about omicron. but we'll be due no, what is yoursense but we'll be due no, what is your sense of how transmissible it is and how severe the illness it causes is. again, the data — illness it causes is. again, the data that _ illness it causes is. again, the data that we - illness it causes is. again, the data that we are - illness it causes is. again, | the data that we are seeing illness it causes is. again, . the data that we are seeing is limited to south africa, which is a very specific demographic and i would caution extrapolating that data to a worldwide scenario because we do look at south africa, it looks to be at least transmissible, if not more as the delta variant. it is not driving the spike of infections in south africa and there are

initial reports that it is causing severe, less severe illness and this could be extremely good news because this could be a harbinger of how this pandemic ends will remove two more transmissible less pathogenic virus.— less pathogenic virus. based on what ou less pathogenic virus. based on what you just — less pathogenic virus. based on what you just said, _ less pathogenic virus. based on what you just said, can - less pathogenic virus. based on what you just said, can you - what you just said, can you forecast what the path of the evolution of this virus is going to be?— evolution of this virus is going to be? evolution of this virus is auoin to be? ., ~ ., ~ going to be? you know, i think the coronavirus _ going to be? you know, i think the coronavirus is _ going to be? you know, i think the coronavirus is really - going to be? you know, i think the coronavirus is really for - the coronavirus is really for this at every turn and so, i've gone away from forecasting. but my sense is given the transmissibility of this, the initial reports of transmissibility will be the dominant variant around the world and, the key questions are going to be, the ones you asked as to whether or not the vaccine will protect you against omicron and the variant

in a way that is not a test tube but will prevent people from getting hospitalised and dying and also does this virus keep sending fewer people to the hospital. if you want to get in touch with me i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. a new chancellor — and a new era for germany — as olaf scholz takes over from angela merkel. john lennon was shot at the entrance of the dakota building in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here standing and putting

on a silent vigil and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city. witnesses say that the shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. the widow of the former. president of the philippines has gone on trial in manila. she is facing seven - charges of tax evasion, estimated at £120 million. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore.

our headlines... with the omicron variant spreading rapidly — borisjohnson introduces new covid restrictions for england. pharmaceutical giant pfizer says a three—jab course of their covid vaccine — is effective against the omicron variant. india's top military commander has died in a helicopter crash, in the southern state of tamil nadu. in the southern chief of defence staff — general bipin rawat — his wife and 11 others — were killed when their helicopter came down, in hills near coonoor city. one survivor is being treated for his injuries in hospital. our south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan reports. the general was killed in that helicopter crash in south india was on board with his wife and a number of defence officials. the general was the chief of the defence staff here in india, a very powerful role in the country, overseeing the army,

the navy and air force. it was a new role created in 2019. and the general was very close to india's prime minister who has paid tribute to him today in a series of tweets, the prime minister described the general as a true patriot and an outstanding soldier and said he was deeply saddened by the news. he said that he modernised india's armed forces and security apparatus and described him as exceptional. the general oversaw a number of key military operations in india including an indian administered kashmir and at the border with china so there is — this is a big day in india and it is big news are many so, this is a big day are many people are mourning his loss. germany's new chancellor — olaf scholz — leader of the social democrats has been sworn in,

closing the long chapter of angela merkel�*s 16 years as the head of government. he's just the fourth chancellor of germany in nearly forty years — as our correspondentjenny hill reports from berlin. in the powerful heart of europe, a new political era has begun. no pomp, little ceremony... olaf scholz isn't known for his charisma or stirring speeches, but the social democrat and former finance minister's style, his manner, his politics, remind many germans of angela merkel, and they like him for it. mr scholz had promised the country a new government for christmas. his other pledges, to create a fairer, more liberal society, and a climate friendly country, may be harder to keep. angela merkel has done a greatjob but i think now

it was a time for something new, something more green. translation: now we have something different but they have to prove themselves. that mr scholz managed to form a government at all is seen by some as nothing short of a miracle. he will have to hold to get an unusual coalition. the social democrats, the greens, and the business friendly free democrats are not natural bedfellows. this is an historic day for germany and there is a real sense of excitement at the political changes unfolding here. what the rest of the world wants to know is what does this mark a significant shift in germany's wider positions and policies? for now, it seems the answer is no. olaf scholz championed the eu, likes a multilateral approach. his government plans to spend more on defence and will stick to nato commitments. you might see some shift on russia and china, in tone at least, if not in substance. this man was once angela merkel�*s foreign policy adviser.

the outside world will be surprised that there will be much more continuity and change. there are many people who like to have this type of stability in germany. after 16 years, the merkel era is over. earlier, she wished mr scholz luck. he will need it. germany is experiencing its worst covid wave to date. the chancellor's first task — to develop, like his predecessor, a reputation for managing a crisis. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. in testimony to the us congress, the head of the social network instagram has been answering allegations the app is harmful to children. adam mosseri urged the creation of an industry body to determine best practices to keep young people safe online. a saudi man arrested at paris airport on tuesday

on suspicion of involvement in the killing of the saudi arabian journalist, jamal khashog—ji, has been released. the paris prosecutor's office said that identity checks had established that an arrest warrant issued by turkey did not apply to the man. prosecutors in ghislaine maxwell's trial have presented previously unseen photos they say link the socialite to paedophile jeffrey epstein. ms maxwell is accused of grooming underage girls for abuse between 1994 and 200a. she has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and seven other charges. president biden will host what he's calling a �*summit for democracy on friday�* as part of an effort to confront what he sees as authoritarian forces led by china and russia. those countries of course, are not on the guest list. but taiwan — which beijing considers its own territory

will be taking part. i spoke to shelley rigger, professor of political science at davidson college, north carolina to ask whether the us is positioning this summit as a way to put pressure on china. i don't think it's just the prc, the people's republic of china, that may be a little bit targeted or very explicitly left off the guest list for this event. russia and a number of other countries are also not included. but i can understand by the prc would see this as the us kind of convening its own friends and allies for a confab that pointedly excludes china. ~ , ., , ,, ., china. why does the us need a summit on _ china. why does the us need a summit on democracy - china. why does the us need a summit on democracy anyway. china. why does the us need a i summit on democracy anyway and what is it hoping to achieve? for those of us in the us, i

think the idea that finding some friends and soliciting some friends and soliciting some support for our own efforts to reinvigorate and preserve our democracy is welcomed event and i don't think anybody really imagined that the us democracy would be in the kind of perilous state that we find it in and they start thinking about this, though. i think the real motivation is that increasingly now, we do see democracy under fire, notjust in the us, but around the world and a number of countries that seemed making progress towards consolidating their democracies now seem to be going in the other direction and i think the president biden is trying to do is to rally the democratic nations and remind them, not only of the virtues of democracy, but also that they are not alone in the struggles with democracy and

that there is a strong history of democratic thriving in success and that we can and should really dig in and try to recover the performance of democratisation in the world. underwater now, where scientists who "eavesdropped" on a restored coral reef in indonesia say their recordings of fish "whooping, croaking and growling" are the reef coming back to life. over a decade, the reef has been re—seeded with new corals. the researchers used underwater microphones to record. and these sounds — some of which have never been recorded before provide

a measure of the health of the reef. doctor tim lamont from the university of exeter was the lead researcher of the study. the fish continue to surprise and amaze us the longer we listen. we joke that the longer we listen, the weirded it gets. weirder it gets. in almost every time we go out, fish can make more in weirder and more diverse sounds than we ever thought before. sound is a very important part of the lives of any underwater animal because sound travels so well underwater. these animals are using central also to things in these animals are using sounds essential to things in their everyday life and so commence from the here are them defending the territory, some of them are trying to attract a mate, some are communicating with each

other. and so it's really integral part of the ecosystem and that means by listening into this ecosystem, we can understand more of this thing than if we look. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello again. storm barra of course has been dominating our weather picture over the last couple of days with strong winds, heavy rain and some upland snow as well. but look at these big rocks. the seas have been chucking them onto the coastline of west wales. you know the seas are pretty angry when they throw brick sized lumps of rocks at you. there is barra, it continues to feel it's getting less intense. we do have a window of slightly clearer weather that's set to come in during thursday. that means we'll see these showers that we got at the moment fading away over the next few hours. but it's going to be quite chilly for those heading out across northern england and scotland, temperatures as low as —2, —3 c as you perhaps head outside the door first thing in the morning.

but for many, a fine start to the day. in fact for some of you, it should be a lovely sunrise. the early rising sun illuminating this lump of cloud, the next weather system not taking long to move its way in and bringing rain back to northern ireland, west england and wales. but also eventually bringing some milder air into the southwest where temperatures reach around 11 through the afternoon. still for most of us, it's another fairly chilly run with 6 or 7 c, more typical temperatures. as we head into friday, that area of rain, perhaps with a little bit of mountain snow clears out of the way. we'll be left with these north westerly winds. those northwesterly winds bringing a lot of sunshine, sparkling visibility but also a number of showers. the showers will always be most frequent across the northwest, they will be some that reach right across the midlands, perhaps down towards even parts of southern england. temeratures, well, similar to recent days, still quite chilly around 6 or 7 c. but the weather is set to change as we head

into the weekend. another area of low pressure responsible for the change, this one is going to be bringing south—westerly winds in, particularly across parts of england and wales. could be some mist and fog patches first thing in the morning. so for some it could be quite a murky start and it's not entirely dry, we've got outbreaks of rain piling and particularly through western areas of the country. although probably not a huge amount of rain across eastern most areas. temperatures rising through the day, 12 toward southwest england and heading into sunday, that milder air will continue to push its way eastwards and northwards. by the time we get to sunday afternoon most of you will see temperatures into double figures and the milder spots on sunday you could see temperatures as high as 14. then it looks like it will stay quite mild into next week.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines at all the main stories at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. when it comes to the global response to the climate change challenge, it pays to differentiate between words and deeds. at last month's cop26 summit, the chorus of concern from world leaders was deafening. but the actions — well, tough decisions on deeper emissions cuts to stave off catastrophic warming were put off until next year. my guest is the us special envoy for climate,