welcome to bbc news. i'm mark lobel. our top stories: most countries probably have omicron cases and it's spreading faster than previous variants. the world health organization warns the world to prepare. even if omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could, once again, overwhelm unprepared health systems. the noes to the left, 126. wow! i gosh! here in london, despite the pm claiming success, dozens of his own mps vote against new coronavirus restrictions in the latest blow to borisjohnson�*s authority. a record temperature's observed in the arctic. scientists say the 38 degrees celsius heat

is an alarm bell for climate change. and we'll also have our regular climate critical update this week. use of cargo ships is going up. so how does the industry plan to halve its co2 emissions by 2050? hello there. the number of people who've died from coronavirus in the united states has passed 800,000 as the country prepares for the impact of omicron. it comes as the head of the world health organization has issued a new warning about the omicron variant, saying it is spreading far more quickly than any other to date. he told countries around the world — underestimate it at your peril. stephanie prentice reports. it's been three weeks since the first detection of the omicron mutation,

but it's likely to be in most countries by now. that's according to the world health organization, who are pushing for increased vaccination, enforced mask wearing, and further social distancing. as the new variant moves swiftly around the world. omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. we're concerned that people are dismissing omicron as mild. surely, we have learned by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril. even if omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could, once again, overwhelm unprepared health systems. 77 countries are now reporting omicron cases with manyjolting into action. the uk has rolled out its plan b measures. and in the netherlands,

primary schools are closing early for the holidays. christmas there will once again roll out with less sparkle. as a night—time lockdown is extended, limiting house guests to four over christmas and new year's eve. translation: there's a lot we don't know - about omicron yet. more information will be revealed in the coming days and weeks. for example, we do not know yet how sickening this variant is, but what we do know by now is enough to worry us. early data had suggested omicron may be resistant to vaccines, with many countries fearful of hospitals being overwhelmed, but some experts are more optimistic. we're so thankful we're not seeing the same kind of rate of mortality as we did with delta or even the high numbers of overall viral load, which tells us that omicron, fortunately, should be less pathogenic,

but that doesn't mean if you're unvaccinated that you should be unworried about it, we still would encourage you certainly to get the vaccine, get your booster. get the vaccine — the sentiment echoed by the who, but with a nod to vaccine inequality in poorer nations. reiterating the fact that when it comes to battling variants, the world is only as strong as its least vaccinated population. stephanie prentice, bbc news. let's hear from dr louise ivers in boston. she is the chief of infectious diseases and executive director of the center for global health at massachusetts general hospital. doctor, the figure hasjust come out of 800,000 covid deaths in america. we already knew that more people had died of covidien 2021 and 2020 despite the vaccine. that mean that president biden and felt repugnant initial optimism now looks misplaced? —— dr fauci. it is even more sobering when you see only 100 older

americans have died. it you see only 100 older americans have died. it really impacted _ americans have died. it really impacted a — americans have died. it really impacted a generation - americans have died. it really impacted a generation of- impacted a generation of people. i think any pandemic response needs to be comprehensive, and that requires a whole a public health response. i think there are certainly a lot of messaging about vaccines, vaccines, vaccines, which are critically important. but we also have, as in many places around the world, a very exhausted public who are getting mixed messages, they are not sure if they should be wearing a mask, whether they shouldn't, they are tired of doing it. i don't know whether there was unwarranted optimism. we have to hold onto optimism. i do think we are in a challenging situation at the moment especially with omicron at the moment.— at the moment. you talk about fatiaue. at the moment. you talk about fatigue- a _ at the moment. you talk about fatigue. a doctor _ at the moment. you talk about fatigue. a doctor was - at the moment. you talk about fatigue. a doctor was saying i fatigue. a doctor was saying some people say we are done with a virus but the virus is not done with us there is a tension at the moment between boosters and vaccinating unvaccinated parts of the world. how do you view that? it

seems pretty clear that immunologically boosters are effective in reducing illness even further, but we have a huge gap in the world whereas only 7% of the lowest income countries have been vaccinated, and that is just devastating. it is a public health failure, a moralfailure and we it is a public health failure, a moral failure and we won't be able to emerge from the pandemic safely unless we are able to address that. so the tension i think between boosters versus getting some people there are very first shot is very real, i think the geopolitics on the way the vaccines have been purchased and imported and sequestered in rich countries out of the reach of poorer countries means that one person giving up their booster doesn't necessarily mean that a person in another country will get theirs right now, but i do think it is an really unfair and inappropriate

allocation of the vaccines that we have in the world, we could vaccinate far more people around the world. so what infrastructure _ around the world. so what infrastructure is _ around the world. so what infrastructure is needed i around the world. so what j infrastructure is needed to around the world. so what - infrastructure is needed to get vaccines around the world, and if i may ask you, also, why are governments still opting for travel bands until those vaccines are spread more widely? vaccines are spread more widel ? . , ~ widely? travel bands i think, i can start _ widely? travel bands i think, i can start with _ widely? travel bands i think, i can start with that. _ widely? travel bands i think, i can start with that. in - widely? travel bands i think, i can start with that. in some i can start with that. in some very limited circumstances in delaying a pandemic, they may work in some situations. they really don't make any sense to me now, two years in, especially when the travel bands were to country where they haven't been the variant identified and where the variant was old ready terrified in many other countries, plus if you are going to do a travel ban, you have to ban all the trouble to be effective which doesn't really make sense for our global economy either. there are better tools we can use like asking people to be

vaccinated to travel, drink testing and quarantining, tracing, all those tools now would be much more favourable in my view. in terms of getting access to vaccines around the world, we actually know what to do here. we have vaccines that have been hoarded, even more than i needed for boosters in rich countries. those doses could be donated immediately. we also know that we are going to need to make billions of dollars of vaccines and we need to transfer the intellectual property and the know—how on how to do that in this emergency to try to solve this emergency. to me, that is absolutely critical and we need to help countries invest in their health systems so that they cannot just deliver vaccines and manufacture vaccines and manufacture vaccines for themselves, but so they can also have access to testing, and some of the emerging therapeutics, we have new emerging oral therapies that are going to be very important as well, we have to make sure that all around the

world everyone has access to those. 3 world everyone has access to those. �* ,., ., , those. a point that will be very familiar _ those. a point that will be very familiar to _ those. a point that will be very familiar to people i those. a point that will be very familiar to people for many months now. thank you very much forjoining us.— coronavirus cases in the uk have been rising and the prime minister has introduced restrictions to stop the spread. but borisjohnson�*s new rules prompted a major rebellion in parliament by his own conservative mps. the measures, such as mandatory covid passes for entertainment venues, were passed, but only because the opposition labour party supported them. the rebellion in his own ranks spoke both of a lack of support for any further restrictions and left another dent in mrjohnson�*s already battered authority, which took a hit when allegations emerged of christmas parties held a year ago under his watch when the country was in lockdown. a british newspaper has just published this photo of what appears to be another such party thrown by conservative aides in breach of covid measures. a spokesman has said that

senior staff "became aware of an unauthorised social gathering" organised by a candidate for london mayor and that formal disciplinary action has been taken against four staff members. our deputy political editor vicky young reports on the events in parliament. a government win... the ayes to the right, 369. the noes to the left, 126. wow! ouch! but only with the help of labour mps. that's the biggest rebellion borisjohnson has suffered a huge number of his own side ignoring his pleas, refusing to accept the case is made for more restrictions. so, the ayes have it, the ayes have it, unlock. tonight, the government was putting on a brave face. of course it is difficult, every decision we make has costs and consequences. everybody�*s weighing those up all the time. my my colleagues are weighing those up all the time.

but we have decided we need to buy time, we really do need to slow down this unbelievably transmissible virus so that we can get everybody vaccinated. but labour say it's a reflection on mrjohnson and the way he governs. this is a very significant blow to the already damaged authority of the prime minister. it confirms that he's too weak to discharge the basic functions of government. these public health measures would not have gone through if labour hadn't shown at the leadership this was just a bridge too far. vaccine passports today, what tomorrow or a week down the road? so i think they were putting a marker down. it has been proven in scotland — vaccine passports don't work, they don't prevent infection. it was a cry of pain from the conservative party. no prime minister wants to rely on the opposition to get their own policies

through, and the prime minister spent the day trying to persuade his own mps. addressing them here in the commons, he said the government had absolutely no choice but to act, and said that this variant was spreading so quickly, that the numbers that could end up in hospital would be disastrous. he wanted them to back new measures, including compulsory vaccinations for nhs staff, more masks, and covid passes or a negative test before entering large venues. earlier, the health secretary had tried to win them round. ifirmly believe in individual liberty and that the curbs should be placed on our freedoms only in the most gravest of circumstances. so it's vital that we act early and we act in a proportional way, doing whatever we can to build our defences and to preserve greater freedom for the long term. but there was no mistaking the anger amongst conservative mps. i am staggered by the government's approach over the last two weeks in which we have used fear to persuade people.

i believe that no government should ever use fear as a tool to try and persuade its citizens. freedom is not an abstract ideology. freedom is what enables my constituents to see their family, to comfort the dying, to go to school, to go to work. that is not freedom! the liberal democrat leader, who has joined a growing list of mps who've, today, tested positive for covid, is questioning how effective some of the government's measures are. we think the covid id cards, the vaccine passports as they are called would give people a false sense of security because you can be double jab, boosterjabs and still carry or transmit the virus. liberal democrat support a better option to insist on negative lateral flow tests. the prime minister's authority has taken a hit in the past few weeks and his supporters worry he'll struggle to get his party and the country behind him. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. it is great to

have you with us. we ask our carbon emissions can be halved by 2050. saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, ourwomen, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes, but they brought a formal end to 3.5 years of conflict — conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border- was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off from the outside world i in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre i in timisoara from leaking out.

from sex at the white house to a trial for his political life — the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a fresh warning from the world health organization that the new coronavirus variant is spreading at an unprecedented rate in the uk, a blow to prime minister borisjohnson�*s authority as dozens of his fellow mp vote against covid restrictions. every week at this time we take a look at climate change, bringing you stories with big implications for our planet's future. this week we focus on a cornerstone of the global

economy, the shipping industry, responsible for carrying more than 80% of the well plasma trade. like most road vehicles and aircraft, ships are a major source of planet warming pollution. they account for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but also in it like carbon, another contributor to climate change. —— emit. forecasts suggest that if no action is taken, shipping could be responsible for 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. the international maritime organisation has no net zero target, but aims to halve shipping's greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. so is it possible? let's talk to faig abbasov, director of shipping at the campaign group transport and environment. could we begin this fascinating topic by looking at fuel efficiency? what needs to be done there?—

efficiency? what needs to be done there? hello. shipping is a lane done there? hello. shipping is a large source _ done there? hello. shipping is a large source of _ done there? hello. shipping is a large source of climate i a large source of climate pollution as well as environmental pollution. technologically speaking, we have ways to address those. first of all, we need to be more rational in the way we carry out our trade, and reduce unnecessary trade as much as possible. numbertwo, we unnecessary trade as much as possible. number two, we need to increase the energy efficiency of ships. how it can be done, first of all, we can slow ships down, basically taking the foot off the gas, which would reduce a significant amount of fuel consumption as well as associated emissions. we can also use energy saving devices including what we have used traditionally to power ships, thatis traditionally to power ships, that is wind technologies. some of it can fully use certain vessels, in certain cases it can reduce energy consumption, but what is most important is the last mile, meaning that we need to fundamentally change the way we power fuels, away from fossil fuels to more

sustainable sources of energy. in terms of solutions, we think that shipping will not rely on a single solution, it is not one size fits all, we will need a suite of different technological options, starting from battery propulsion to the use of green hydrogen but also hydrogen based sensitive fuels that can power large ships. i that can power large ships. i guess asking for them to slow down and take less might be difficult because demand has grown so much. so if there are these energy—efficient measures, how can that be regulated, how can they be forced to comply. technologically speaking, fundamentally, there are no problems. what is important is that those new, technological options are expensive. and they are not available off the shelf immediately. so we need to have measures, regulations, that will force companies to take them up. first of all we need to make sure that continued use

of fossil fuel and climate pollution is becoming more expensive, so we need carbon taxation. we need to tax polluting behaviour. secondly, we need to require ships, mandates them to increasingly take in small amounts those fuels in real—world operation, and number three, to avoid a chicken and egg problem, with green infrastructure to power them, we need to make sure that we invest in imports to put those recharging and refuelling infrastructure so that ships can use them. 50 infrastructure so that ships can use them.— infrastructure so that ships can use them. so if it is green hydrogen _ can use them. so if it is green hydrogen based _ can use them. so if it is green hydrogen based fields - can use them. so if it is green hydrogen based fields or- hydrogen based fields or battery power in the meantime taxing them, does this mean that basically the price of all this trade is going to go up and we are going to feel it is the consumers in our pocket? well, technological transition requires cost increases. because the continued use of fossil fuel is unacceptable

from the environmental perspective, despite it being very cheap. but how much will the costs go up? i think that is a very important question, because at the vessel level, at the company level, the cost could seem quite astronomical. for example, green hydrogen can cost up to 45 times more expensive than the fossil fuel that the ships used today. does that the ships used today. does that mean that if we use, if we run a ship on green hydrogen, the pair of shoes that we are transported by ships, or the ipad be transported by ships, will go up by a factor of five? no, because ships use so little fuel to carry individual cargoes, meaning they are so efficient, the unit cost of transportation is so low, as a result, when we pass on those costs of using green fuels, consumers will not really feel it. the cost increase, if they are fully passed on, will be measured in euros cents whether it is for shoes, bananas or an

ipad. as a result, even though everybody will need to pay slightly more, it will not be the straw that breaks the camel's back.— the straw that breaks the camel's back. can i ask you, this seems _ camel's back. can i ask you, this seems to _ camel's back. can i ask you, this seems to be _ camel's back. can i ask you, this seems to be one - camel's back. can i ask you, | this seems to be one industry which has kind of escaped the net zero target we have heard about in so many other industries stop but is the world there in the shipping industry, in your opinion, to drive through these changes? we drive through these changes? - certainly hear more and more from shipping companies as well as their trade organisations, their ambition to declare zero x 2050 goal. i think this is going to happen, certainly in the next three years, at the global level. what is more important is, getting the shipping industry to walk the walk as opposed to simply talking the talk. that means getting them convinced but also mandating them to start using those expensive fuels. so far, the international maritime organisation was unsatisfactory, as a result, in the environmental organisations, including mine, also countries like the eu, eu

member states, also countries like the eu, eu memberstates, have also countries like the eu, eu member states, have decided to take the matters in hand and to regulate shipping at the regional level so we can kickstart the progress —— process until it catches up. fantastic. thank you so much for taking us through all that. on tuesday the world meteorological organisation recognised a new arctic temperature record after the arctic town of verkhoyansk hit 38 celsius injune 2020. professor grande 70 is the rapporteur on extreme records of the world meteorological organisation and was part of that team that worked on verifying the temperature in the arctic. in order to make sure that our records are right, we have to make sure that they were taken

into the correct manner, that the instrumentation was the proper instrumentation, that the sensor was calibrated, that it was reading the correct values, that it was sighted in the specified place and it was at a specified level. there are lots of guidelines that we have for taking uniform measurements around the world, so when we have a new record what we want to do is make sure that observation was taken in exactly the proper manner so that we can have faith and confidence in all of our observations. so we can trust it. when i was living in the middle east, when it was 38 degrees outside some days, i'd have to change my shirt quite regularly. this is in the arctic, where the snow should be reflecting the heat away — it's a problem for the world this, isn't it? very alarming. it is and, in fact, that is one of the big problems with having these kind of high temperatures taking place in the arctic. arctic is an area where we normally would expect to see snow cover but as temperatures are increasing, what is happening, of course, is we're going to have less and less snow cover and that means that the sunlight that would normally be

reflected back up into space, is being absorbed by the ground so it is making it hotter. it is what we call a feedback mechanism, that the warming temperatures lead to a lack of snow, which increases the actual heat on the ground. is there some good news in this? can it be reversed or is it linked to climate change? it is linked to climate change. part of my particularjob is determining extremes around the world. the hottest temperatures in different parts of the world, or the coldest, as a matter of fact. i cant tell you, for example, that in the last ten years we have looked at many more extremes of high temperature then we have of low temperature. our last low temperature

extremes that we verified took place more than 25 years ago, so we are living in a warming world and that warming world is as a result of our own actions. malta has become the first country in europe to legalise the personal use of cannabis. residents celebrated in the streets with lawmakers after the measure passed parliament. the legislation will also allow adults to grow up to four plants at home or possess up to seven grams, although smoking in public will still be illegal. and finally, think "unesco—protected status," and ancient monuments may come to mind. but how about this? music. congolese rumba, one of the most popular musical genres in africa, hasjust been added to the un agency's cultural heritage list. it is the culmination of campaigning by two countries, the democratic republic of congo and neighbouring congo—brazzaville. congolese rumba joins jamaican reggae and singaporean hawker food on the unesco list.

hello. well, the key message in the weather forecast is that the weather is going to be very settled over the next few days. a big area of high pressure is going to establish itself across the uk, and that means settled conditions, i think, in the run—up to christmas. and on the satellite picture, you can see that area of high pressure across spain, portugal and france. it's building here and it's extending northwards. and as it extends northwards, it's going to push the fronts away to the north as well. but for the time being, we still have quite a few isobars — these pressure lines — so a stronger wind and a weather front close to northern ireland and across western parts of scotland and the north, as well, during the course of wednesday. so, here, it will be

at times cloudy, but it's mild with that cloudy, rainy weather, around 8—9 degrees celsius. to the south of that, very mild, too. ten degrees, but it is dry. now, the cloud cover on wednesday will vary considerably across the uk. we still have that weakening weather front in the north west here, so dribs and drabs of rain. and at the very least, it will be cloudy, but plenty of bright if not even sunny weather around merseyside, parts of the midlands, lincolnshire, also northern and eastern parts of scotland. in the south, we have thicker cloud because it's drifting in from the southern climes here. now, this high pressure really will be in place across the uk by thursday. you can see the weather fronts have been pushed to the north, so that means it's drying out right across the uk. still a little bit of rain maybe early in the morning, flirting with the very far north—west of scotland and the northern isles, but you can see the bulk of the country is dry on thursday. and again, a lot of variation in the cloud cover, but wherever you will be on thursday, i think the temperature will be more or less the same, around 10—12 degrees celsius. now, this is what we call a blocking high, and this happens when the jet stream sort of wraps around it in the shape of the greek letter omega. so, you can just about make out that omega shape.

when that happens in the atmosphere, things don't tend to move around an awful lot. they get sort of locked in, so that's why that high pressure will lock itself in, across this part of the world, across our shores. so, very little change is expected as we head through friday, through the weekend and into next week as well. that's it from me.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the head of the world health organization has issued a new warning about the omicron variant of coronavirus, saying it is spreading far more quickly than any other to date. he told countries around the world — underestimate it at your peril. in the uk, prime minister borisjohnson�*s suffered the worst parliamentary rebellion of his term in office with dozens of his own mps voting against new covid restrictions. but the changes were approved thanks to backing from the labour opposition. the highest temperature ever recorded in the arctic, 38 degrees celsius, has been officially confirmed by the world meteorological organisation. experts say the record, which was reported in siberia injune last year,

represents an alarm bell for the earth's changing climate. those are your headlines on bbc news. now on bbc news, it's time for panorama. buy now, pay later — the retail revolution changing the way we shop. it wasn't like i had to wait or i had to save for it. ijust click the button and it's done, basically. millions of us are using it to buy clothes, household goods and even food. people are struggling i to put food on the table and they're looking i at that way to pay for it. easy credit, but can we really afford it? because the service was always available, i would buy things, even if i had no money left.

the government's being urged to do more to protect customers.