this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. our top stories... no new coronavirus restrictions will be introduced in england before the new year. but the health secretary says people should remain cautious — and that the figures are being monitored. we will watch the situation very carefully and should, in the future, we need to act, of course, we will not hesitate to do so. a sharp rise in the the number of coronavirus cases in scotland, the highest yet — as new restrictions in bars and restaurants come into force. in new york, children aged 12 and over now have to be fully vaccinated to enter indoor restaurants and leisure facilities, as infections rise in the city.

remembering archbishop desmond tutu — south africa has begun a week of events to commemorate the anti—apartheid leader, who died on sunday. hello and welcome. the uk health secretary saijd javid has ruled out introducing any new covid restrictions in england before the new year. ministers had been under pressure to respond to rising infection levels after the develoved administrations in scotland, wales and northern ireland all implemented measures to stem the spread of the omicron variant. scotland has seen its highest ever number of cases this christmas period, 11,030 were recorded on boxing day, and today, just over ten

and a half thousand. meanhile england confirmed 98,515 cases in the past day. the health secretary said 90% of covid cases in england are now thought to be the omicron variant and he urged people to be cautious with their new year's eve celebrations, saying the government won't hesitate to act in the future if necessary. here's our correspondent simonjones. after the christmas festivities, tough decisions. the government has been poring over the latest covid data to see if it thinks new measures are needed in england. but this afternoon, this decision... there will be no further measures before the new year. we won't be taking any further measures. of course, people should remain cautious as we approach new year celebrations and, you know, take a lateralflow test, that makes sense, celebrate outside if you can. have some ventilation indoors if you can.

please, remain cautious. at this bar in bristol, they say many customers have decided of their own accord to stay away. we've already lost a very, very big trading period already, a really key trading period. next month, it will have little impact because it's a quiet time of year anyway. the government will continue to look at hospital admissions, although, early findings last week suggested people with omicron were less likely to be admitted, along with staff absences and whether the nhs faces being overwhelmed. covid is having a significant impact on staffing in our emergency departments. the most common figure coming back at us is that departments are reporting 20—25% of their staff off because of covid related reasons at the moment, and that's a really, really big dealfor emergency departments. yesterday in wales, social distancing measures were reintroduced. from today in northern ireland, there are new restrictions for pubs and restaurants. it will be table service only and a maximum of six people will be

allowed to sit together. we have tried to be sensible to look after ourselves and each other. i am slightly bewildered, i don't understand them. i have come over from scotland, so everything is different. table service too has come in in scotland where alcohol is served, nightclubs will have to close for a period of at least three weeks. the scottish health secretary this morning visited a vaccination centre in perth. over christmas, scotland recorded the highest number of daily covid cases since the start of the pandemic. it will still be very difficult for businesses, of us, that would be even worse for the economy. downing street says it won't hesitate to act if more restrictions in england are needed in the future. today's briefing by scientists is one of a series of regular updates given to the prime minister.

for now, it's a call for caution, but new year celebrations are set to look very different in different parts of the uk. simon jones, bbc news. well let's take a closer look at the latest government data now — there are a lot of figures that still aren't available because of the holiday period. but what we do know today is that there were 98,515 new infections recorded in england alone in the latest 24—hour period. that's after a record number — almost 111,000 — were recorded in england on christmas day — and more than 100,000 on boxing day. 143 deaths were recorded in england, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test. in total nearly 32.5 million people have had a booster — that's 56.5% of the uk population, aged over 12. 0ur political correspondent

iain watson is here. let's assess all of that. because within the uk, what is so striking is restrictions are now different, depending where you live. that will be confusing _ depending where you live. that will be confusing for _ depending where you live. that will be confusing for some _ depending where you live. that will be confusing for some people - depending where you live. that will be confusing for some people but l be confusing for some people but there are four different nations in there are four different nations in the uk all going down slightly different roads, but the biggest differences between scotland, wales or northern ireland. together, we are advising two households to limit their mixing, closing nightclubs, deciding that there has to be, you know, table service in bars and england where no new restrictions are being introduced at all. we had some earlier this month, being advised to work from home, for example, but in the face of those kinds of cases where we have record cases in scotland, record cases in england on christmas day, in the face of those figures, the government at westminster has decided not to go down the road of scotland and northern ireland and

introducing new restrictions. a ruling out restrictions before new year, what they are also reeling out as a recall of parliament, but the prime minister, borisjohnson, had promised his mps was it that there were new legally enforced restrictions they would be allowed to come back and have a vote on it. if you remember, there was a record rebellion under his leadership, 100 conservative mps opposed the idea of covid passports being introduced where people would have to prove vaccination status or a negative test before getting into some venues. that was a record. i spoke to one of those rebels today who said if the prime minister brought parliament back this week, introduced some new measures without hard data that the national health service was going to be overwhelmed, he would faced an even bigger rebellion. some of borisjohnson�*s political opponent suggests that perhaps he's putting politics ahead of public health. at downing street would say is quite simply that he is keeping a close eye on the data, yet the breathing that was mentioned

with his scientific and medical advisers and didn't see any need to push the bedridden, as they cite, no need to do that at this stage. he is far more worried about people perhaps not taking up the offer vaccinations and boosters. yes. vaccinations and boosters. yes, still that drive _ vaccinations and boosters. yes, still that drive and _ vaccinations and boosters. yes, still that drive and boosters, . vaccinations and boosters. yes, still that drive and boosters, a i still that drive and boosters, a quick thought about the coming week or so, quick thought about the coming week orso, because quick thought about the coming week or so, because anybody who's been watching our coverage in the last couple of hours will have heard several different scientists essentially saying we still need to be really cautious in terms of our social behaviour. is there any chance that any data could come through that might change a cabinet member's mind?— through that might change a cabinet member's mind? there's always that chance, member's mind? there's always that chance. but — member's mind? there's always that chance. but i — member's mind? there's always that chance, but i think _ member's mind? there's always that chance, but i think very _ member's mind? there's always that chance, but i think very clearly - member's mind? there's always that chance, but i think very clearly the i chance, but i think very clearly the view inside downing street is that a recall of parliament is pretty much something that they want to avoid. so they will take a look at the data on a day—to—day basis, they are not ruling out for the restrictions in due course. 0ne ruling out for the restrictions in due course. one thing i think is concerning them is not so much the rising number of infections, but the

effect of those infections, and the number of people having to self—isolate for seven days in england, ten days in other parts of the uk, the pressure that puts on public services, the absence rates in the health service. i don't expect to see any change in restrictions this side of the new year. businesses have been crying out for certainty, the government has been given that certainty, so the changes during the first week of january when parliament is sitting in any case. mil january when parliament is sitting in any case-— in any case. all right, ian, for now, in any case. all right, ian, for now. thank— in any case. all right, ian, for now, thank you _ in any case. all right, ian, for now, thank you very - in any case. all right, ian, for now, thank you very much. i in any case. all right, ian, for - now, thank you very much. political correspondent. earlier we heard from dr sarah pitt, a virologist from the university of brighton who explained that although 0micron is causing by far the majority of new cases in the uk — the delta variant is still circulating. the last three days, around about 100,000 new cases a day across those three days of christmas day, boxing day and today. of course, there was likely to be an underestimate for all sorts of reasons, including

people not, perhaps coming forward for a test because it's christmas day, as well as the actual processing of the data and producing the results. normally into the beacon we say let's wait and see what happening by wednesday or so, so those numbers, so 100,000 new cases a day on average is quite high numbers, and we have seen in countries all over the world over the weekend posting record numbers of new cases. so this is mostly because of omicron, but also last week, again, uk health security agency gave an analysis from the samples where they'd actually done the details, was at omicron, with that delta? they found out that 70% of cases that we are seeing at the moment are omicron, which means there's about 30% of delta, so in

that 100,000, there are still considerable numbers of delta cases, and we know that the delta variant of the virus is very infectious, but also very dangerous. doctor sarah pitt there from the university of brighton. well, the us has been seeing a spike in the number of covid cases —— and it has to led to president biden warning that some us hospitals could be "overrun" by covid. speaking during a virtual meeting with state governors, he said the us is generally well prepared to meet the surge of 0micron cases and its citizens need not panic. but he also urged americans to get their booster shots. because we have had so many unvaccinated and not boosted, we are not seeing _ unvaccinated and not boosted, we are not seeing hospitalisations rises sharply— not seeing hospitalisations rises sharply as we did in march of 2020 or even_ sharply as we did in march of 2020 or even this — sharply as we did in march of 2020 or even this past fall. america made progress _ or even this past fall. america made progress. things are better, but we do know_ progress. things are better, but we do know that with the rising cases,

we still_ do know that with the rising cases, we still had — do know that with the rising cases, we still had tens of millions of unvaccinated people and we are seeing — unvaccinated people and we are seeing hospitalisations rice. these are hospitals in some places that will get _ are hospitals in some places that will get overrun, but in terms of equipment— will get overrun, but in terms of equipment and staff. president biden speaking in the last hour. now to new york city, which has made it compulsory for everyone aged 12 and above to be fully vaccinated against covid, in order to access indoor entertainment and sports activities. it has also become the first us city to require vaccines for all private sector workers; jabs are already mandatory for state employees. cbs correspondent courtney kealy is in new york and gave us the reaction to the new mandate. well, here in new york, people are adhering to that, but with this quadruple rate of children in hospital since the 0micron variant came here, a lot of those children are not fully vaccinated. in fact, between the ages of five and 11, none were vaccinated. so the department of health right

now in new york city is really warning parents to make sure that their children are getting vaccinations. children over 12 have to have both vaccinations to enter public areas like restaurants. so each state and each city does do things differently. new york state has definitely been in the forefront. bill de blasio, the current mayor, has said he doesn't want to see new york go back to the dark days of the early pandemic when the city essentially shut down. so there is a definite surge, but there are all sorts of mandates and rules in place here in new york city. an israeli hospital has begun giving a fourth shot of the coronavirus vaccine, in a clinical trial to find out if it is safe and effective in containing the spread of covid. the trial in tel aviv includes about 150 health care workers who received their third shot no later than august this year. israel is considering approving a fourth dose, or second booster, for vulnerable people as 0micron infections surge despite a

comprehensive vaccination programme. there have been more covid—related flight cancellations today with more than 1,400 flights cancelled around the world. destinations in the united states and china have been the worst hit, with us airlines saying the disruption is due to crews testing positive or isolating. in all, since christmas eve, more than 8,000 flights have been grounded. moving away from covid and to our other main story here today. the end of the first day — of a week of events in south africa — to commemorate the life of the anti—apartheid leader archbishop desmond tutu. he died on sunday, aged 90. bells toll. the bells of cape town's st george's cathedral will toll for ten minutes a day — every day at noon — until friday. people have also been gathering

outside the city's st george's cathedral and also outside his home, ahead of his funeral on the first of january. others laid wreaths and lit candles in soweto. and these pictures are of south african president cyril ramaphosa arriving at the archbishop's residence to to offer condolences to his widow leah and other family members. our correspondent nomsa maseko is outside st george's cathedral in cape town. the first full day of mourning. just give us a sense of what people are saying to you, what people's reflections are.— reflections are. people are reflecting _ reflections are. people are reflecting about _ reflections are. people are | reflecting about archbishop reflections are. people are _ reflecting about archbishop desmond tutu as a man who is small in

stature but had a big heart. after all, he was the man who is chosen by nelson mandela to head the reconciliation process here back in 1994 when south africa became a democracy, a lot of people speak about the man who played a permanent role in ensuring that south africa does indeed become a democracy. so he wasn't just does indeed become a democracy. so he wasn'tjust respected here in this country, but all over the world and also with world leaders having paid their own tribute, speaking about the man, describing desmond tutu as a moral compass, notjust for south africa, but also for than in their respective countries. ladle in their respective countries. we are looking at archived footage of the man, but as i look at you, where you are there, i can see children coming up behind you, there are children coming to pay their respects as well as adults, and these will be people who perhaps know little about ten, only know

what is handed down from their parents and grandparents, and i suppose, is at a time for families to reflect and remember what the country has been through and what it has overcome. it is country has been through and what it has overcome-— has overcome. it is indeed a time to reflect, has overcome. it is indeed a time to reflect. and — has overcome. it is indeed a time to reflect, and also _ has overcome. it is indeed a time to reflect, and also for— has overcome. it is indeed a time to reflect, and also for families - has overcome. it is indeed a time to reflect, and also for families and - reflect, and also for families and schools to teach young people about south africa's history, but also the death of desmond tutu signals an end of an era of people who played a serious big role in laying down their lives to ensure that africa becomes a democracy, so young people have also been coming here with their parents to pay their respects and speak of a man who has kind—hearted, a man who loved to dance, and if you watch desmond tutu dancing, he was an old man with a lot of rhythm and he also had a very lovely sense of humour, so there will be lots of things to remember him by. will be lots of things to remember him b . . h .

will be lots of things to remember himb. ., �*, ., ., , will be lots of things to remember himb. ., , ., will be lots of things to remember himb. ., �*, ., ., , ., ., him by. that's a lovely image on which to end. _ him by. that's a lovely image on which to end. thank— him by. that's a lovely image on which to end. thank you - him by. that's a lovely image on which to end. thank you very - him by. that's a lovely image on i which to end. thank you very much for now because of course it's just the beginning of the commemorations. thank you very much for now in cape town. thank you. more now on covid in the uk and the english premier league has announced 103 new coronavirus cases among club players and staff — the highest weekly number recorded since testing figures were first circulated in may last year. the league has also confirmed it has reverted to emergency measures following a raft of top—flight postponements. here's the bbc sport's chetan pathak. i suspect no one will be too surprised by the rise in cases. it reflects what's happening in the country. it does emphasise just how tough things are for most of the teams in the league at the moment. the premier league could have come to a pause, but the clubs met last monday to discuss the busy fixture

list which has already seen a number of postponements in december, but it was decided to keep going, even though some managers were against that. the rest of the major european football leagues are all in the usual winter breaks at the moment. in scotland we have seen the premiereship brought forward because of covid. it started after yesterday's matches. spectator numbers have been capped. wales has imposed restrictions. nothing in england, the premier league is trying to continue as normal, despite, as you say, a record premier league players and testing positive for covid including boxing day. the liverpool manager was asked about this earlier before tomorrow's trip. he's long voiced his frustrations about the number of games traditionally played during christmas and new year, but given that the coronavirus cases, he says it's not right that so many games are being played after boxing day, especially when it means some teams are playing just 48 hours after their last game. and that...

it's a great fixture. everyone loves it, it's great for the people and players. really good for everybody. after that, we do not stop discussing, because if we don't discuss it, it stays like this, maybe it stays anyways like this, but the players need help and help needs to come from other areas, this case, the coaches and players, we have to deal with all of this, which is why we are pretty clear about that. jurgen klopp there, captainjordan henderson voiced his frustration saying that he didn't think player welfare was being taken seriously enough. in the end, liverpool avoided playing two games in two days, because the game was called off. chelsea manager thomas tuchel has echoed those frustrations they haven't played for over two weeks following a break in their squad, they said today they are in a mad moment having only held one full training session over a fortnight and played west ham tomorrow.

let's get some of the day's other news. a frenchman held in iran for more than 18 months on espionage charges has begun a hunger strike to protest at his detention conditions, that's according to his family. benjamin briere, 36, was arrested in iran last may, allegedly while flying a drone and taking photographs in a prohibited area. he denies the accusations. geologists in iceland are warning that a series of tremors near the capital reykjavik could signal that a new volcanic eruption is on the way. thousands of mini quakes have been recorded in recent says — experts say the cause is magma moving beneath the earth's surface. they're warning tourists to stay away — although it's not clear

when a quake might happen. the canadian film—maker jean—marc vallee, whose work included the oscar—nominated films dallas buyers club and the young victoria has died at the age of 50 eight. he also won an emmy award for his work on the successful television series big little lies. the production company, hbo, described jean—marc vallee as a brilliant, truly phenomenal talent. there's a growing political standoff in somalia between the president and prime minister. president mohamed abdullahi mohamed says he has suspended the prime minister, accusing him of corruption over a land grab case. the prime minister, mohamed hussein robe—lay says the president is attempting an informal coup. bella shegow has sent this report from mogadishu. the battle struck between the two leaders took a u—turn today early this morning presidential palace blocked those close to the prime minister's residence, first the prime minister to get to his office

on foot. he accused the president of sabotaging the election. translation: i sabotaging the election. translation:— sabotaging the election. translation: ., ~ ., translation: i would like to make it clear to the somali _ translation: i would like to make it clear to the somali people _ translation: i would like to make it clear to the somali people that - translation: i would like to make it clear to the somali people that the i clear to the somali people that the somali _ clear to the somali people that the somali federal government will be in charge _ somali federal government will be in charge during the transition period and i_ charge during the transition period and i therefore give order to my international forces towards another, _ international forces towards another, and of the office of the prime _ another, and of the office of the prime minister from today. and former— prime minister from today. and former president is no more a presidential candidate, so therefore, he should stand aside. today's— therefore, he should stand aside. today's move comesjust three months today's move comes just three months after the president and the prime minister agreed to and a bitter feud sparked by the disappearance of the female intelligence officer injune. the fear now is that today's to ferment well deepen the political crisis and contribute to clashes to the forces loyal to the two men such as the ones in mogadishu,

unilaterally extending his 40th term ljy unilaterally extending his 40th term by two years. bbc news. there've been emergency talks between the business secretary, kwasi kwarteng, and the uk's energy industry, to try to resolve the ongoing crisis caused by rising wholesale gas prices. energy companies have warned that bills could go up by 50 per cent next year without government action. one energy company boss predicted the impact on consumers would be "an enormous crisis". theo leggett reports a midwinter meeting at a time when the energy industry is facing an unprecedented crisis. the cost of gas on european wholesale markets has been hitting record levels and suppliers say consumers here will end up paying a heavy price. energy companies themselves have already been badly hit.

more than two dozen have gone out of business since the summer and more casualties are expected. that's because so far they have had to absorb most of the extra costs themselves. it's a situation that won't last. if we don't find a solution in the coming weeks, we are certainly going to be locking uk consumers into more and more expensive energy for years to come. people within the industry say ministers could consider cutting the environmental and social levies that energy consumers have to pay. a real rethink, listening to industry leaders to see what they recommend, would be an important thing to do before february. and february is when ofgem meets to decide what its price is going to be for the domestic consumer on the 1st of april. labour wants vat on bills to be removed. today's meeting is unlikely to be the last. the government says talks will continue over the coming days and weeks to ensure uk consumers are protected. theo leggett, bbc news.

that's it for now. you are watching bbc news. hello there. we've had some big contrasts in the weather today, much of the time for england and wales has been rather grey with some low cloud, some mist and fog, outbreaks of rain and drizzle pretty widely as well. but it's not been like that everywhere. in scotland and northern ireland, in places, we have seen something a bit brighter with a few glimmers of sunshine. now, in the week ahead, the big headline is that the the weather is going to get exceptionally mild. the deeper the reds, the more extreme the heat. now, we are not talking about t—shirt weather, necessarily, however, thursday could see temperatures go as high as 17 celsius in norwich compared with the december average of eight. 17 actually isn't far off the uk all—time december temperature record, which currently stands at 18.7. back to the weather

we are expecting overnight. well, there will be extensive cloud around, outbreaks of rain, particularly for england and wales, but some of that pushing into northern ireland and southern scotland. murky with some fog patches, particularly in scotland, where there will also be patches of frost, otherwise, a frost free and mild night. quite a windy start to the day, then, for the coasts and hills of wales and southwest england, gusts of around 40—50 mph and rain pretty widely. the rain across eastern england will be reluctant to ease but will become a little bit lighter and patchier, at least into the afternoon. becoming a bit brighter in western areas, but once we have lost the early morning mist and fog patches, it's scotland and northern ireland that will have the best chance of seeing some sunshine. for the middle part of the week, that's when we see this surge of south—westerly winds dragging up that exceptionally mild air. now, there will be weather fronts around, so for wednesday, we start off with rain pretty widely. the rain will become more confined to western areas, really, as the day goes by, and could see an occasional break in the cloud across eastern areas. but on the whole, it

stays pretty cloudy. temperatures, though, will be coming well above average, ten in glasgow, above average, 13 in belfast, that's well above average, but 16 in london, that's getting pretty crazy, and if anything, those temperatures rise even further as we look at the forecast charts for thursday. again, heavy rain for wales, western areas of england, particularly coasts and hills and turning wet in northern ireland later in the day. but it's the temperatures that take centre stage, reaching highs up to 17 celsius into norwich.

no new coronavirus restrictions are to be introduced before the new year but the health secretary says people should remain cautious. in new york fresh vaccine wills come into force. children 12 and over have to be fully vaccinated to go into indoor restaurants or leisure facilities. as infections search field by the variant. tributes are being paid from across the globe to the anti—apartheid campaigner archbishop desmond tutu who died at the age of 90. a state funeral will be held on the 1st of january in cape town. there are calls for the british government to do more to help consumers deal with sharp increases in the price of gas and electricity. in the mornings that energy bills could soar by another 50% next year.