this is bbc news. the headlines: 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'll 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. as covid cases increase rapidly in france, home working will become mandatory for at least three days per week where possible. in new york, children aged 12 and over have to be fully vaccinated to go into 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. and a happy end to this tail. cheering the rescue dog that was lost and then found. hello and a warm welcome if you're watching in the uk, on pbs in the us or around the world. iamjane i amjane hill. the uk health secretary, sajid 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 devolved 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, there were just over 10,500. meanwhile, 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 0micron variant and he urged people to remain cautious when celebrating new year's eve, 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've tried to be sensible to both protect 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. 0ver christmas, scotland recorded the highest number of daily covid cases since the start of the pandemic. it will still be very difficult

for businesses, but, of course, if we let this virus get out of control or get ahead 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. 0ur political correspondent iain watson has been explaining that it's confusing to many people that the four nations in the uk are going down different routes for tackling the spread of the 0micron variant. the biggest divergence, really, is between scotland, wales and northern ireland together, who are advising households to limit their mixing, who are closing nightclubs, who are deciding that there has to be table service in bars, and england, where no new restrictions are being introduced at all. now, we had some earlier this month, the advice to work from home, for example, but in the face

of those kind of cases that we heard, 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, wales and northern ireland and introduce some new restrictions. now, by ruling out restrictions before the new year, what they're also ruling out is a recall of parliament. what the prime minister, borisjohnson, had promised his mps was that if there were to be any new legally enforceable 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 who opposed the idea of covid passes being introduced, where people would have to prove vaccination status or a negative test before getting into some venues. that was a record rebellion. and i spoke to one of those rebels earlier today, who said, actually, if the prime minister had brought parliament back this week, introduced some new measures without hard data that the national health service was going to be overwhelmed, he would have faced an even bigger rebellion.

now, that would allow, i think, some of borisjohnson�*s political opponents suggest that perhaps he's putting politics ahead of public health. what downing street would say is, quite simply, that he is keeping a close eye on the data. he had that briefing that was mentioned with his scientific and medical advisers and he didn't see any need to push the red button, as they saw it. there was no need to do that at this stage. he's far more worried about people perhaps not taking up the offer of vaccinations and boosters. 0ur political correspondent iain watson. as we've been saying, there has been a record number of covid cases registered in scotland. in a minute, we'll hear from our correspondent in northern ireland, but first, here's our correspondent catriona renton in glasgow. new restrictions were introduced here in scotland today in hospitality and indoor public venues, just as those new figures were released for the last three days. now, the provisionalfigures peaked at 11,030 cases reported yesterday on boxing day. now, that compares, for your information, with just over 7,000 on

christmas eve. the figures reported for christmas day and today were also higher than at any other time in the pandemic too. the first minister is warning that that figure is likely to be higher still due to the lag in reporting time. and nicola sturgeon said that the expected wave of cases fuelled by the 0micron variant was materialising. now, the new restrictions introduced today include distancing of a metre in pubs, table service in pubs and distancing of a metre in other inside public venues. yesterday, limits on crowds were introduced, so the large—scale public hogmanay events will be cancelled as a result of that. now, the restrictions are due to be reviewed on the 11th of january, but looking at those big rises in case numbers, the question will be, what happens

to hospital admissions? and that, no doubt, will inform what happens next here. from today, it's strongly recommended that people limit their mixing in private homes and that they continue to work from home. there are changes, too, to the laws around face coverings, with some exemptions no longer accepted and people having to prove that they have a medical exemption. but the main focus is on hospitality. it's a return to table service in pubs, cafes and restaurants, and also a return to the rule of six people or households at a table. now, to support the hospitality industry, there's been a £40 million package announced, but that's only for these measures. the finance minister has said that there is additional money available should additional restrictions be required. the power—sharing executive here will meet on thursday to review what's already in place and see if anything else is needed. there were warnings that significant interventions would be required after christmas according to health professionals. but they'll be making those decisions based on figures that haven't yet been published. we'll find out here in northern ireland on wednesday just exactly what effect omicron

has had on our figures over the christmas period. the situation they're in northern ireland and scotland. the french government has announced new measures, to deal with a spike in covid infections. working from home will become obligatory again where possible for at least three days a week, although schools will open on schedule in the first week of january. there are also no plans to impose an evening curfew, but there will be limits on the size of audiences for indoor and outdoor events. 0ur correspondent hugh schofield has the latest. there was a cabinet meeting, a special cabinet meeting, this afternoon convened by president macron at a distance. he is down in the south of france and he spoke via video leak with his government in paris, because of, as you say, the huge growth of 0micron related covid, and their projecting really very, very sharp increase in the

data. maybe there talk about 250,000 cases a day by early january. it is the same here as it is in other european countries, and what is interesting is, so far, this unprecedented wave of covid has not been followed by the kind of crisis in the hospitals that we have had with previous waves, but they draw some cautious optimism about that but they are also very worried, which is why they're inducing these new measures to try and slow down the rate. there is nothing drastic here. people have been talk about curfew. people have been talk about delaying the start of the school term next monday. that is not going to happen. but there are these other measures, for example, new limits to the number of people at stadiums — 5000 at football matches and so on, 2004 indoor events — this new push on home working, mandatory three

days a week, maybe four if possible for companies, and a new rule about consuming drinks and food at bars and restaurants. you can only do that sitting down. that's a return to a row we had before. this is all for three weeks. so it's not a drastic change, but it is a change which will make people, the hope is, think twice about going out, think twice about their behaviour, think twice about their behaviour, think twice about their behaviour, think twice about making some of the habits which they have dropped and lost, in the last month or so, when people began to think it was all over, but it obviously is not. you schofield with _ over, but it obviously is not. you schofield with the _ over, but it obviously is not. you schofield with the changes coming in an france. —— hughes schofield. well, the us has also 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".

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 vaccinated and boosted, we are not seeing hospitalisations rise as sharply as we did in march of 2020 or even this past fall. america has made progress. things are better, but we do know that with the rising cases, we still have tens of millions of unvaccinated people and we are seeing hospitalisations rise. it means ours hospitals in some places are going to get overrun, both in terms of equipment and staff. president biden. new york city 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. mayor 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.

courtney kealy there with cbs news. an israeli hospital has begun giving a fourth shot of the coronavirus vaccine, in a clinical trial to find out whther it is safe and effective in containing the spread of covid. the trial in tel aviv includes 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, 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. now, away from covid and to our

other edger story here. —— other major story. 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 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 1st of january. 0thers laid wreaths and lit candles in soweto. and these pictures are of south african president cyril ramaphosa arriving at the archbishop's residence to offer condolences to his widow leah and other family members. 0ur our correspondent nomsa maseko is in cape town, 0utside st george's

cathedral. she told me what people had been saying to her about desmond tutu. people are reflecting about archbishop desmond tutu as a man who was small in stature but had a big heart. after all, he was the man who was chosen by nelson mandela to head the reconciliation process here back in 1994 when south africa a lot of people speak about the man who played a prominent role in ensuring that south africa 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 not just for south africa, but also for than in their respective countries. we're looking at archived footage of the man, but also 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 him, only know what is handed down from their parents and grandparents, and i suppose, is it a time for families to reflect and remember what the country has been through and what it has overcome? it is indeed a time to 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 does indeed become 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. if you've ever watched 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. nomsa maseko there in cape town. 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 roble, says the president is attempting an informal coup. bella shegow has sent this report from mogadishu. the power struggle between the two leaders took a new turn today when, early this morning, vehicles from the presidential blocked roads close to the prime minister's residence, forcing the prime minister to get to his office on foot. mr roble then accused the president of sabotaging the elections. translation: i would like to make it clear to the somali people _ that the somali federal government will be in charge during

the transition period, and i therefore give order to all somali forces to work under the command of the office of the prime minister from today. and former president mohamed abdullahi farmaajo is no more than a presidential candidate, so therefore he should stand aside. today's move comes just three months after the president, mohamed abdullahi farmaajo, and the prime minister agreed to end a bitter feud sparked by the disappearance of a female intelligence officer in june. the fear now is that today's development will only deepen the political crisis and could trigger clashes between the forces loyal to the two men, such as the ones in mogadishu, where president mohamed abdullahi farmaajo unilaterally extended his four—year term by two years. bella shegow, bbc news, mogadishu. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news.

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 days. experts say the cause is magma moving beneath the earth's surface. talks aimed at salvaging the 2015 iran nuclear deal have resumed in vienna. negotiations restarted in november after a five—month hiatus following the election of iran's new ultra—conservative president ebrahim raisi. the hope is to bring the us back into the fold, after it withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then—president donald trump. 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 58. he also won an emmy award for his work on the television

series big little lies. hbo described jean—marc vallee as a brilliant, truly phenomenal talent. climate fuelled—disasters which have devastated lives have also cost the world tens of billions of dollars this past year. that's according to christian aid, which tallied up the damages based on insured losses. let's take a look at some of the most costly events. hurricane ida struck the united states in august and is at the very top of the list at $65 billion. it was the fifth—strongest hurricane to make landfall in the country and killed dozens of people. deadly floods that swept across western and central europe in the summer came in second, causing $43 billion in damages. more than 200 people died. torrential rains in china's central henan province caused huge floods injuly, leading to $17.6 billion in damages and leaving more than 300 dead. cyclone yaas lashed coastal areas

in india and bangladesh in may and cost $3 billion in just a few days. it also forced more than a million people to evacuate. most of the countries on this list are richer nations, where it's easier to measure financial losses because people are more likely to have insurance. dr kat kramer is the report's author. she explained more about what she found. well, we looked at the top ten most expensive extreme weather events and occurrences that were climate—related this year, and i think it's important to say that they can't be directly ascribed to climate change, perhaps. but a number of them have been studied by attribution scientists. this is a new area of science that's looking at seeing how much more likely an extreme weather event is or how much more powerful an extreme weather event is because of human—caused climate change. so, we looked at the top ten in terms of the economic costs because, as you say, there is the data to do that. but we also looked at five

additional devastating events which occurred which maybe didn't have necessarily the same financial impact, but also were important for the number of deaths or people displaced that they caused. also trying to put that focus on the losses and damages being suffered by developing countries. kat kramerfrom kat kramer from christian aid. a specialist search and rescue dog who's been missing for nearly a week was today found safe and well. juno was last seen six days ago while on a walk near great yarmouth in norfolk. her owner's been out looking for her every day and has barely slept. mike liggins was there to see the reunion. belong to you, ian? she does belong to ian and he'd almost given up hope. but this is the momentjuno and her own ian danks were reunited. i've just been incredibly emotional back there, as you probably got on camera. but, you know, i'm just totally humbled by what people are willing to do for people in the community.

and that's what lowland rescue is all about. juno is a short—haired german pointer and has been trained as a search and rescue dog. six days ago, she went missing on a family walk at fritton near great yarmouth, and despite social media appeals and searches, there was no news. tell me about christmas without her. i'd rather not, to be honest. it's obviously been really tough on you. yeah. yeah, it's the little things. it's a quiet house, her bed's empty. today, search and rescue teams from across the country joined the search and news came through thatjuno had been spotted by one of the team's drone pilots. they think they found her. flying along the river bank, and there she was, she had appeared, yellowjacket. stopped, zoomed in, brought the drone down a little bit and she just sat up and she looked over at the drone, and she's alive because she's moving.

so that was it. she gets a good meal now? we've got lots of leftover turkey, so, yeah, that's what we're going to do, after a quick trip to the vets! 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. but otherwise, it's 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.

this is bbc news. i'm jane hill with the headlines.

no new coronavirus restrictions will be introduced in england before the new year, although the uk government urges everyone to act cautiously. 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. as covid cases increase rapidly in france, homeworking will become mandatory for at least three days per week where possible. in new york, children aged 12 and over have to be fully vaccinated to go into 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. now on bbc news — review 2021, the year in politics.

from the battle against the coronavirus pandemic