this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. the dutch prime minister puts his country into a tough new lockdown as the latest coronavirus variant spreads. another 90 thousand covid cases are reported across the uk as the mayor of london declares a major incident. it's really important londoners understand how serious things are. the best thing londoners can do is to get both vaccines and the booster, they provide extra layers of protection. british holiday—makers are forced to cancel trips as france imposes tight travel restrictions on those arriving from the uk.

or around the world. we start in the netherlands where the government has announced the country will go to a tough new lockdown — in response to rising coronavirus cases and the spread of the omicron variant. prime minister mark rutte said, "the netherlands is again shutting down. that is unavoidable because of the fifth wave that is coming at us". all non—essential, stores, bars, restaurants and other public places are to shut from sunday under the new measures. essential shops such as supermarkets and pharmacies must close by 8pm. schools will close from monday and won't reopen until at least january the 14th, when the lockdown ends. live now to the hague —

anna holligan is there. first off, mark rutte sounding some alarm at the figures and he says a surge, just how bad are things there? surge, “ust how bad are things there? , . surge, 'ust how bad are things there? , . ., �* ~ . ., there? the dutch don't like chaos, so the fact — there? the dutch don't like chaos, so the fact that _ there? the dutch don't like chaos, so the fact that these _ there? the dutch don't like chaos, so the fact that these measures i there? the dutch don't like chaos, l so the fact that these measures are being put in place at the last minute a few days before christmas shows the real urgency and the need for tough new rules. they have been met with a mixture of disbelief, and this may and they have thrown the dutch christmas preparations into disarray, because we had new rules on tuesday, the schools were already closed from monday, but it has really been put down to the surging spread of omicron, except the government's critics say it is not that alone, is the fact there is a slow response to the delta variant,

plus a slow roll—out of the booster programme, so here in the netherlands the over 60s have only just been invited forward. this combination means the hospitals and local health services here in the netherlands can't cope with another new wave of patients coming in, and thatis new wave of patients coming in, and that is why they feel it is essential to take these extra measures nine. fix, essential to take these extra measures nine.— essential to take these extra measures nine. �* , . , measures nine. a very decisive line from the government _ measures nine. a very decisive line from the government there. - measures nine. a very decisive line from the government there. how. measures nine. a very decisive line i from the government there. how are the dutch set to respond to this? have they responded to lock downs or coffees in the past?— coffees in the past? we've seen riots over _ coffees in the past? we've seen riots over the _ coffees in the past? we've seen riots over the last _ coffees in the past? we've seen riots over the last few _ coffees in the past? we've seen riots over the last few months l coffees in the past? we've seen. riots over the last few months -- riots over the last few months —— curfews. in response to the partial lock downs. in the ache an emergency order has been put in place to prevent any kind of fireworks around here —— the hague. big queues outside toy shops, beauty salon and biting people in for last—minute

pedicures and spray tans —— a beauty salons inviting people in. big queues around the covid to centres here, a lot of people hoping to get away and try and keep their holiday plans as they are. people can only have a maximum of two house visitors a day, except for between the 24th and 26th of december and on new year's eve where that is extended to a maximum of four. use changes here in the netherlands in response, they say, two and in the capital amsterdam they say the omicron variant is now responsible for about 25% of cases, they've been watching what is happening in london in the uk and are expecting that to get a lot worse, notjust in amsterdam but right across the country. here in the uk, another 90 thousand coronavirus cases have been reported over the past 2a hours. the mayor of london sadiq khan has

declared a major incident to help authorities cope with rising case numbers. here's our health correspondent, katharine da costa. there's no time to lose — jabs are now available 2a hours a day at this vaccine centre in north london, as nhs staff and volunteers across the country strive to reach one million jabs a day. in london the mayor has declared a major incident. over the last 2a hours we've had two large number of new cases since the pandemic began. more than 26 thousand, hospital admissions are going up and staff absences are going up by a massive level so i have taking the decision in consultation with our partners to declare a major incident today. it means coordination arrangements between key public services will now be stepped up and enable london to seek further support from government to address

the pressures facing the city. latest government figures show there have been an extra 10,000 confirmed cases of the omicron variant in the uk, bringing the total to nearly 25,000, but experts say that just the tip of the expect is that the true number is likely to be significantly higher. there have been 85 people admitted to hospitals in england in total and seven confirmed deaths. currently around 800 patients with covid are being admitted each day in england, but minutes from scientists on the sage committee suggest without further stringent measures very soon we could see a surge of 1000—2000 a day by the end of the year and a possible peak of around 3000 a day, similar to levels in january. my view is that a short, sharp two—week rate right now would be useful and making sure

people are socially distancing, limiting contacts and going back to see some of the rejections we had earlier in the year. testing for the virus is also crucial. the vaccines minister was at a royal mail depot in derbyshire this morning. deliveries of pcr and lateral flow kits are being ramped up to 900,000 a day to make sure everyone who needs a test can get one. lateral flow devices are very effective at picking up the omicron variant, as well as other variants, and it's the best way to make sure that they are free of the virus before they do visit friends and family this christmas or go to large events. the government at westminster has said current plan b measures in england are appropriate, but would go further if new data suggests that's needed. wales and scotland have already tightened some restrictions. representatives from all uk nations are expected to gather for an emergency cobra meeting this weekend. katharine da costa, bbc news.

from today, france has banned all nonessential travel from the uk because of concern over the surging omicron variant. those who are allowed to travel will have to go into quarantine until they get a negative test result. (map it's thrown france's tourism industry into disarray during the christmas season. our correspondent mark lowen reports from the alpine resort of chamonix. hope was peeking through of a bumper christmas, a relief from covid, but then france warned of a landslide, not on its own mountains, but of covid in britain, all nonessential arrivals from the uk grinding to a halt today. travel now in disarray. a few people in different families who will probably not be able to come up now. obviously a bit gutting for certain people but we are

just lucky, definitely. does it feel empty? a bit. normally it is really busy. loads of people from england and other countries coming in, but it doesn't feel that busy. one in four tourists in chamonix pre—pandemic were british, the largest foreign group in the french ski resorts, and their absence is clear. with some of the best early season snow here for years and with flights and ferries from the uk phil, terrestrial optimism in the french resorts, but while the brits who made it here in time count their luck, businesses are counting their losses. this man was hoping to quench the thirst of his british guests, but now has had to let three

employees go, fearing business will drop by a quarter. how does it feel without the brits? sad and disappointed, angry. everything was ready, we have everything right, but the more we do, i don't know, it's very confusing for us. for those catering for the british market, the emptiness is devastating. ii market, the emptiness is devastating.— market, the emptiness is devastatina. , . ., , devastating. if this continues the season, it devastating. if this continues the season. it is _ devastating. if this continues the season, it is going _ devastating. if this continues the season, it is going to _ devastating. if this continues the season, it is going to be - devastating. if this continues the season, it is going to be a - devastating. if this continues the season, it is going to be a big . devastating. if this continues the l season, it is going to be a big loss of earnings, could be up to 50% of my annual earnings, through the winter, and i'm worried it will keep doing this every winter and if i'm losing half of my earnings every yeari losing half of my earnings every year i need to find a different profession. year i need to find a different profession-— year i need to find a different rofession. . , , , , , ., profession. perhaps this is 'ust a christmas blip, fl profession. perhaps this is 'ust a christmas blip, not i profession. perhaps this is 'ust a christmas blip, not a i profession. perhaps this is 'ust a christmas blip, not a lost h profession. perhaps this isjust a | christmas blip, not a lost season. france is buying time and paying a high price for its resorts to sparkle again. portugal has become the latest

european country to start vaccinating its young children. those aged between 9 and ii are being jabbed over this weekend. five—to—nine—year—olds are scheduled to be vaccinated from next weekend. greece, spain, italy and hungary are alreadyjabbing under—12s, and denmark also began this week. the french health authority is also expected to give a green light next week to begin its child vaccination campaign. at least 14 people have died in an explosion in the southern pakistani city of karachi. others were injured during the blast, which took place at a bank building. officers said it was caused by a gas leak from a sewage drain. witnesses told local media that people were buried in the debris. a large crane has toppled

onto a street in the italian city of turin, killing three workers and injuring two people passing by. italian media say the accident happened while the workers were setting up the crane for a construction site. it fell into the road between two buildings. hong kong leaders have made a last— minute bid to get people to vote in the first election since beijing tightened its control over the territory. text messages were sent to voters ahead of sunday's poll — pointing out that it's illegal to call for a boycott of the vote. some football news and all but one of saturday's football premier league games in england have been postponed because of covid outbreaks. the only game taking place is the one between leeds host arsenal. arsenal is currently in the lead — 3—1. the british government has urged footballers to get vaccinated. a reminder that you can find much

more about the spread of omicron variant around the world on our website, including this explainer on how boosters work and why getting one makes big difference. at least 31 people have died and many remain missing in the philippines after typhoon rai hit the country on thursday. the storm, which affected the country's southern provinces, packed sustained winds of 195 kilometres per hour and dumped heavy rain triggering flash flooding and landslides. from manila howard johnson reports. typhoon rai, the strongest storm to hit the philippines this year, destroyed homes, uprooted trees and toppled power lines — leaving more than three million filipinos without electricity, according to the government. but what made this storm so significant is the power it sustained as it inundated nine different islands with ferocious

winds and heavy rain. river banks burst and storm surges wrecked coastal areas. more than 300,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. the philippine red cross and the national coastguard lead the relief efforts, handing out food and temporary shelters. posts on social media today show the popular tourist island, siargao, being battered by relentless winds as the storm made its first landfall. the governor there says the island has been totally devastated, estimating repair costs at more than $400 million. the typhoon has now left the philippines, moving westwards over the south china sea. that was howard johnson reporting from the philippines. the headlines on bbc news... the dutch prime minister is putting his country into a tough new lockdown from monday, as the latest coronavirus variant spreads.

another 90 thousand covid cases are reported across the uk. the mayor of london has declared a major incident, as concern grows about the fast spread of the omicron variant in the capital. british holiday—makers are forced to cancel trips as france imposes tight travel restrictions on those arriving from the uk. as you've been hearing, due to the rapid spread of the omicron variant, london's mayor sadiq khan has declared a major incident in the capital — that's a situation that could pose a threat to public health. we can speak now to dr nicola lang, director for public health england in the london borough of hammersmith and fulham. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. your reaction to this new

situation for a london affecting your borough? we situation for a london affecting your borough?— situation for a london affecting our borou:h? ~ . , ., , your borough? we have seen a very fast rise in — your borough? we have seen a very fast rise in covid _ your borough? we have seen a very fast rise in covid cases. _ your borough? we have seen a very fast rise in covid cases. if _ your borough? we have seen a very fast rise in covid cases. if you - fast rise in covid cases. if you look at hammersmith and fulham itself, we've had over 3500 cases in the last week and that represents in seven days an increase of i75%, so this is absolutely very fast spreading virus. the things we worry about are the rate and the pressure on critical public services like the nhs, councilservices, care homes and others. nhs, council services, care homes and others— and others. what does a ma'or incident then i and others. what does a ma'or incident then do i and others. what does a ma'or incident then do to i and others. what does a ma'or incident then do to help i and others. what does a major incident then do to help you? | and others. what does a majorl incident then do to help you? in terms of the mare's announcement, he is right to do that and it reflects the seriousness of the situation. hammersmith and fulham was the first borough nationally to declare and put us on an emergency footing in march 2020 in wave one, so itjust means all our emergency services and statutory bodies work together

really effectively to make sure we do what we need to do, and one of those key things is people getting vaccinated, and also taking up the booster, so the first dose, second dose and also the boosterjabs as well, so everyone coming together working seamlessly and giving each other help and support where we can. sorry, you may have mentioned it, but what is the vaccine uptake been like for your borough?— but what is the vaccine uptake been like for your borough? today we had a really successful— like for your borough? today we had a really successful day _ like for your borough? today we had a really successful day at _ like for your borough? today we had a really successful day at chelsea . a really successful day at chelsea football club, 5200 doses given there. our borough has a low vaccine uptake, so about 61% for first dose and 25% for boosters, but what's really positive is people have the man now for the posters, and that is the thing that gives protection from serious illness —— people have demand now for the boosters. we need people to come forward and if they never had their first or second, we want people to not feel shy and really come forward and get that.

what i'm seeing in our numbers for hammersmith and fulham its people are starting to come forward for the first and second doses now, which is fantastic, so the booster absolutely for the people have had theirfirst two doses is great, but 5000 people getting it a day, and a lot of that is due to events like super saturday at chelsea but also our 11 pharmacies in hammersmith and fulham who are vaccinating and are gps doing a greatjob. we all need to get boosted and vaccinated to protect the nhs and vital public services. ., ,., .,, services. you said the booster u take services. you said the booster uptake was — services. you said the booster uptake was 2196. _ services. you said the booster uptake was 2196. compare - services. you said the booster| uptake was 2196. compare that services. you said the booster. uptake was 2196. compare that to uptake was 21%. compare that to 47.2, uptake was 21%. compare that to 117.2, which is the average. why such a low response to vaccines in general in hammersmith? what is about the product? in hammersmith and fulham — about the product? in hammersmith and fulham it— about the product? in hammersmith and fulham it is _ about the product? in hammersmith and fulham it is 2596 _ about the product? in hammersmith and fulham it is 2596 for _ about the product? in hammersmith and fulham it is 2596 for the - and fulham it is 25% for the booster, we are seeing it going up really high every day. we are seeing an unprecedented level of the man now which is really pleasing to me

as a dph because people are wanting to get the vaccine now, so i'm sensing a bit of a sea change in the way people view vaccinations and blisters. you will have seen across london there may be issues with vaccine hesitancy, but what i'm seeing when i'm out and about on vaccine sites as people really want to this time and that is something that we absolutely need to happen, so i'm encouraging anyone, come and get your booster which is going to protect you against serious illness and if you are thinking about getting the vaccine, it is never too late, we have what we call on every green offer which means you can go to any pharmacy, gp site, mass vaccination site or walking and get that first dose. now is the time to do it. there is no time to waste, because we are in a race against time against omicron.— because we are in a race against time against omicron. thank you very much indeed- —

let's speak now with dr simon williams, a behavioural scientist at swansea university. i don't know if you follow that last segment but we were just given an idea of the situation in hammersmith and fulham by the doctor, describing and fulham by the doctor, describing a fairly low uptake of the vaccine in bicester up until now, a bit of research now, but in terms of behaviours, let's go back to why there is this hesitancy about vaccines. you get onto behaviours any moment. i vaccines. you get onto behaviours any moment-— any moment. i think that unfortunately _ any moment. i think that unfortunately the - any moment. i think that unfortunately the main i any moment. i think that - unfortunately the main cause of hesitancy have been around start. luckily the proportion has gotten lower, but we are talking about things like misinformation unfortunately, concerns over side effects and the effectiveness or potentially the safety of vaccines, and we know there is good evidence, good signs of how safe and effective they are, but there is still a proportion of the public concerned over that more than we would like,

so we need to continue to engage the communities where hesitancy is higher to debunk these myths and repeat the message vaccines are safe and effective, to also remind people vaccines are notjust a bit individual choice, they are fundamentally about collective choice and the more people we get vaccinated quite simply the less we need restrictions that reduce our ability to be free and to socialise freely. ability to be free and to socialise freel . ., ability to be free and to socialise freel . . , ., ability to be free and to socialise freel. . ., . freely. that message of collective choice, it freely. that message of collective choice. it may _ freely. that message of collective choice, it may have _ freely. that message of collective choice, it may have hit _ freely. that message of collective choice, it may have hit home - freely. that message of collective choice, it may have hit home in i freely. that message of collective i choice, it may have hit home in past generations or in other societies. doesn't really seem to be getting through these days. what is it about our behaviours right now? frankly, some people are coming across as quite selfish.

well, i think we should point to the fact that again the vast majority of adults have had the vaccine, we need to make an offer to younger children, five and above, that will really help overall immunity in the population. there does seem to be this narrative around individual choice. in previous generations less of the us fee them and we need to promote the idea that we are all in this together. you can spread infectious disease without realising and we want to try and normalise vaccination because boosters are going to be here to stay, it's not just about getting the currentjobs in bicester, but future ones as well. is in bicester, but future ones as well. , ., , ., ~ in bicester, but future ones as well. , ., , ., ,, ., ., well. is there any talk about a ossible well. is there any talk about a possible circuit _ well. is there any talk about a possible circuit breaker? - well. is there any talk about a possible circuit breaker? no l possible circuit breaker? no confirmation, but been discussed certainly within the media and public. what should we be doing and how should we be thinking in order to avoid that?— to avoid that? well, the question is, ithink to avoid that? well, the question is, i think in _ to avoid that? well, the question is, i think in the _ to avoid that? well, the question is, i think in the past _ to avoid that? well, the question is, i think in the past tense - to avoid that? well, the question is, i think in the past tense what| is, i think in the past tense what could we have done, regrettably i think we are at the point we see in london now that we need some form,

some measures in place, protections. restrictions is not the best term because again getting back to that sense of the collective as, we need to protect the vulnerable society, we need to protect those who have not been vaccinated for whatever reason and we need to protect the nhs. i think we are beyond the point where we can say can we avoid measures? the question now is how quickly we can get the men and can we also protect certain forms of socialising which are important for people's mental health, like christmas day, but we definitely need some form... ideally we would have brought measures and already as soon as omicron started to get out of hand, such that then we would not need stricter measures to kneeling, and certainly we need to do something, we need to curtail mixing, intermixing, and we see signs people are doing so voluntarily, mobility dropping, but it is still much higher. when we look at how quickly this variant spreads, mixing is still much higher than we would like it to be, and

unfortunately rules, as much as we want to avoid them, they do have a quick and dramatic effect on bringing contacts down, whereas guidance sometimes can be vague and misinterpreted and it can be much slower in terms of social norms about ok, i'm not going to this party, and has a knock—on effect. i think unfortunately we are in a crisis and we need to recognise that. , ,, , that. sounds like mixed messaging. thank ou that. sounds like mixed messaging. thank you very _ that. sounds like mixed messaging. thank you very much _ that. sounds like mixed messaging. thank you very much indeed. - retailers are hoping for a last—minute surge of shoppers on the last weekend before christmas. however figures released this afternoon suggest footfall on the high streets is down almost 2 per cent on last saturday because of fears about the omicron variant. here's our business correspondent caroline davies. it's the weekend before christmas, the crescendo of present shopping. worries about omicron

dampening buying? these chocolates are selling but not necessarily in shop. the footfall is massively down, online is kind of covering back. that increases expenses, postage, boxes, that kind of stuff. and you lose the personal touch with people, which for me is crucial for my business. during the week, the number of people shopping in city centres dropped off but local high streets and shopping centres were slightly up, as more people work from home. early figures today show retail visits across the uk were down 1.8% on last saturday. in central london, a tube strike made it difficult but many were happy to hit the shops. it's not busy today at all. we have just had covid so we are safe, but i don't think i would come any other day. it's fine.

it's something to keep in mind, but still doing christmas shopping, don't let it stop you. just keeping a mask on and using a lot of hand sanitiser. _ just keep yourself a, use common sense. plenty of people out and about shopping but retailers had pinned such high hopes on the christmas run—up that they are concerned this might not be enough. that would have ramifications well into the new year. there are worries that some businesses might not recover if the government doesn't step in. they have used up cash reserves, costs are going up dramatically because of the massive surge in inflation. and then suddenly at a time that should have been good, customers have just disappeared. we will see business failures if there is no support. chancellor rishi sunak spoke to industry and business leaders

yesterday, but isn't currently expected to introduce new measures and instead directing businesses to existing relief and loan schemes. for hospitality, the build—up to christmas is not looking like the bright salvation they were hoping for. a woman arrested on suspicion of child neglect, as part of an investigation into the death of four children in a fire, has been bailed. firefighters had rescued two sets of twin boys from the house in sutton on thursday , but they all later died in hospital. the metropolitan police say the 27—year—old woman has been asked to return to a police station next month. a met police officer has been sacked for using a racial slur — after an investigation into the sharing of photos of two murdered sisters. pc harry chandler used a derogatory word for people of pakistani origin in a post to a colleague,

according to the police watchdog. it was found during its investigation into photos taken of bibaa henry and nicole smallman in wembley in 2020. the uk's home office says that more than 900 people have crossed the english channel in small boats over two days. the people were were picked up off the kent coast after making the crossing. over the two days the french authorities stopped 564 people from setting off. more than 27,700 people have made the crossing in small boats so far this year, compared to 8,400 in 2020. the brit awards have announced their first nominations since scrapping the best male and female categories and making the ceremony gender—neutral the first nominations under the new system actually have delivered the most female nominees in more than a decade, with adele, olivia rodrigo and dua lipa all in the running

for multiple prizes. adele ties with ed sheeran, and rappers little simz and dave for the most nominations. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. mixed fortunes, some areas clay them grey and gloomy. some areas have had glorious sunshine. it is a similar picture into sunday. some of the northern areas will see something, further south will stay radically them in grey and gloomy. because of this area of high pressure. this cloud is going to hang around where it has been cloudy through today and where we have had the clear skies overnight, large parts of scotland and northern england and wales in the south—west is going to be much colder, particularly scotland and northern england. in some rural spots could be done to —54 —6 and

there will be some dense mist and fog patches, but even some mist we have the cloud where it will be less cold. sunday is a chilly day pretty much across the board, cold and sunny as you can see across much of scotland into parts of northern england, wales and the south—west. central and southern and eastern england will hold on to the gloom, mist, it will be chilly and there will be drizzle. temperatures generally run 5—9 c. that's how it's looking. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the dutch prime minister puts his country into a tough new lockdown as the latest coronavirus variant spreads. another 90,000 covid cases are reported across the uk as the mayor of london declares a major incident. really important londoners understand how serious things are. the best thing londoners can do is to get both vaccines and the booster.

they provide extra layers of protection.