the pro—beijing side that will be victorious. the headlines on bbc news... britain's foreign secretary, liz truss, will become the uk's lead negotiator with the european union on the northern ireland protocol following the resignation of lord frost. the netherlands goes into a tough new lockdown over christmas amid concerns over the omicron variant. the uk health secretary refuses to rule out tighter covid restrictions before christmas in response to the rapid spread of the omicron variant. he says it is time to be cautious about social interactions. at least 169 people have reportedly died after a powerful storm struck the philippines on thursday. super typhoon rai sent some 300,000 people running for safety when it hit the country's south—eastern islands.