live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it s newsday. the omicron coronavirus variant poses a high risk of infection surges around the globe, and it requires urgent action . that s the warning from the world health organisation. the us presidentjoe biden said the newly identified variant is a cause for concern, but not a cause for panic. speaking at the white house, mr biden said the need now was to get the rest of the world vaccinated. our health correspondent, naomi grimley, has the latest. there s an eerie quiet atjohannesburg airport. south africa first raised the alarm about the omicron variant, but is now finding itself increasingly cut off from the rest of the world. meanwhile, on the ground, there s a big push to get vaccines into arms. only 23% of the south african population is fully vaccinated. we still don t know yet whether this version of covid is more severe than previous ones. one of those on the front line is reassured by what she s seen so far
you ll remember 2a hours ago we brought you the story of the 60 customers and staff marooned by snow in britain s highest altitude pub the tan hill inn in the yorkshire dales in england. that night and oasis tribute band was playing and the musicians were stuck there, too. danny savage reports. welcome to what many people this weekend saw as the most enviable location in the land. this weekend saw as the most at the tan hill inn, they sorted their priorities, by digging through the snowdrifts to the front door and then locking it. they d come to see an oasis tribute band, who some might say had a good weekend. but there s worse places to be stuck, you know what i mean? and everyone was just brilliant. staff were brilliant, the customers were brilliant. yeah, yeah. they looked after everyone. and it s been almost like blitz spirit again, you know? it s magical, really. lifetime of memories as well. we ll do a reunion, but we ll do it in the summer next time! yeah. take
bell ringing. the first seconds of a brand new republic as barbados welcomes its new era. we can see prime minister mia mottley there and the president elect, dame sandra mason. president-elect, dame sandra mason. ., ., ., mason. the installation of the president-elect mason. the installation of the president-elect of mason. the installation of the president-elect of barbados l mason. the installation of the i president-elect of barbados and president elect of barbados and that will be done by the chief justice of barbados, sir patterson cheltenham. 5ir patterson cheltenham. sir patterson patterson cheltenham. sir patterson cheltenham. sir patterson cheltenham there, the country s chiefjustice about country s chief justice about this country s chiefjustice about this where in the president elect. this where in the president-elect. this where in the -resident-elect. ., ., this where in the resident-elect. ., ., ., president-elect. the oath for the due execution preside
and snow from storm arwen cuts off a pub in northern england we ll be live there as customers spend their third night at the bar. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. this is newsday. hello and welcome the programme. we begin in south africa, where president cyril ramaphosa has condemned the decision by countries including the us, europe and parts of asia, to ban flights from southern africa after the confirmation of the presence of the new omicron variant of covid 19. the variant was first identified by south african scientists, although it isn t known where it originated. mr ramaphosa has called the moves unjustified. he said increased vaccination was the best way to tackle the new variant. these restrictions are completely unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our southern african sister countries. the prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant. the only t
in the english channel. and snow from storm arwen cuts off a pub in northern england. we ll be there as customers spend their third night at the bar. live from our studio in singapore this is bbc news. it s newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. we begin in south africa, where president cyril ramaphosa has condemned the decision by countries including the us, europe, and parts of asia to ban flights from southern africa after the confirmation of the presence of the new omicron variant of covid 19. the variant was first identified by south african scientists, although it isn t known where it originated. mr ramaphosa has called the moves unjustified. he said increased vaccination was the best way to tackle the new variant. these restrictions are completely unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our southern african sister countries. the prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this varia