hello, and welcome to the programme. scientists have expressed alarm about a new coronavirus variant which has emerged in south africa, describing it as the worst they've seen so far. the new variant has 32 mutations — far more than any previous strains. as a result, the uk government has announced that flights from six african nations are to be suspended — and anyone arriving from these countries will need to go into quarantine from sunday. but from what we do know, there's a significant number of mutations, perhaps double the number of mutations that we have seen in the delta variant. and that would suggest that it may well be more transmissible and the current vaccines that we have may well be less effective. i'm joined now by our news reporter mark lobel. so talk us through the latest announcement when it comes to travel restrictions. the announcement when it comes to travel restrictions.— travel restrictions. the uk read list — travel restrictions. the uk read list was _ travel restrictions. the uk read list was cleared - travel restrictions. the uk read list was cleared of. travel restrictions. the uk read list was cleared of all countries three weeks ago, but it was kept as a preventative measure. and that means that basically, it was there, and now we have a six country travel ban in place. now that's come as a result of 59 confirmed cases in south africa of this new b11529 variant — of course one in hong kong and fourin course one in hong kong and four in botswana. it's the most heavily mutated variant so far, and the concerns are about how far it can spread, how quickly can spread, and also how effective it is against vaccines. so let's have a look at those six african countries at those six african countries at the uk is banning trouble from — south africa, botswana, namibia, lesotho, s one teeny, and zimbabwe. now we are waiting to see if other countries will follow suit. those rules are a flight ban until the hotel quarantine system is in place and up and running for some so if someone has arrived from those countries already, they are being encouraged to take pcr tests. if someone arrives before that hotel quarantine starts, they are being asked to take quarantine at home and take quarantine at home and take piece are tests on the seventh and eighth day they come back. but if they come back, expected from 4am this sunday, then they should quarantine in a hotel as well as the previous system under the uk's red list.— the uk's red list. has there been any — the uk's red list. has there been any reactions - the uk's red list. has there been any reactions to - the uk's red list. has there| been any reactions to these latest measures so far? anyone who booked _ latest measures so far? anyone who booked any _ latest measures so far? anyone who booked any flights - latest measures so far? anyone who booked any flights to - latest measures so far? anyone who booked any flights to these british democrat african countries, the british government has said they will be contacting affected customers about their flights and advise them to monitor the latest travel advice, and the latest travel advice, and the latest travel advice, and the latest travel information. the sudden suspension has been called prudent by professor neil ferguson, one of the government tells that key scientific advisers during this pandemic, and the south african scientist say it'll take 6—8 weeks to analyse this new variant properly. but it's caused some displeasure in south africa, borders are being put up in response to them finding out this information at a very early stage, they said they prefer more support was coming this way rather than this travel ban implemented immediately. plus they point out that two thirds of people in south africa, the older age category have actually been vaccinated. but how did we get here? the question has been asked by tim barely — if we show you his statement, he is criticised for the uk. in his words, they prevented lower and middle income countries are having access to covert make vaccines. he says we've created the conditions for this variant to search democrat emerge. he warns that otherwise, these super variants, as he calls it, could emerge. it is worth pointing out that the uk as part of the kovac smack speech democrat scheme, handing out many millions of vaccines to poorer countries. and it's likely this variant was actually caused by somebody with a compromised immune system in south africa who had something like hiv, according to the south african scientists, and this person kept getting a persistent covered my convection. but aside from the blame game, but we have is a british scientist calling this new variant horrific, and another telling the bbc it's the worst they've ever seen. so the british government, even though it hasn't been detected in the uk so far, is moving fast to protect the progress that they've made through the vaccine system that's been rolling out across the country. mark, thank you so much for that update on a very worrying development on that story. the united nations says the shocking deaths of 27 people who drowned in the english channel on wednesday could have been avoided. the un refugee agency warned that closing off legal routes to people applying for asylum would lead to more dangerous attempts to reach safe countries. earlier, britain and france called for stronger international coordination on human trafficking. our europe correspondent nick beake has been inside a makeshift camp near dunkirk — to hear about their journey. beside an abandoned train track in northern france, families desperate to resume their own journey to the uk, despite the horror of the past 2a hours. for now, more than 500 people call this camp home. among them, new arrivals, this family from iraq. their family has grown in the three years they've been on the road, trudging through more than half a dozen countries to get here. romania, after hungary, after france, after the uk. but tonight, all six will sleep in this tent, and every night, until they risk the english channel. would you still be prepared to try and get a boat to the united kingdom? "we cannot survive here," she tells us. "we will freeze. we have to go to the uk." and you say you have travelled through lots of countries, including germany. now you're in france. why do you want to try and reach the united kingdom? "it's much betterforfamilies in the uk," she says, "and for keeping families together." this corner of northern france has witnessed these scenes and heard these sort of stories for more than 20 years now. it feels like a conveyor belt of misery, and this is a new generation, willing to risk everything to try and make it to the united kingdom. we meet a group of afghan men who say they fled the taliban this summer. this man wants to get to britain so his wife can follow, along with his three daughters, who can then continue their studies. have you tried to cross already on a boat? yeah, two times. and what happened? the boat was broken - in the sea, so the police came and took us out. we were all in the water. yeah, we nearly died. he then reveals he had briefly met two of those who died yesterday. i said to him, "0k, - good luck to go, and i'm not going with you." they said bye— bye. did it look like they were hopeful? i'm very sorry. the deaths of so many of their fellow travellers has numbed many here, but it's not changed where they want to go. nick beake, bbc news, dunkirk. australian peacekeepers have arrived overnight in the solomon islands, after the country's prime minister appealed for help quelling violent unrest that threatened to topple his government. several buildings were burnt down in honiara, when over 1,000 rioters stormed the chinatown district. unrest broke out on wednesday, when protesters besieged the parliament, calling for the pm's resignation. people on the island have long complained of neglect by the government, and have strongly opposed the country's decision to sever ties with taiwan and align itself more closely to china. gina kekea is a local journalist in honiara — she told me what the scene is like this morning in chinatown. for us in honiara, chinatown has been burnt down. but i think inside of honiara, that's where all the mayhem is taking place, and it's still happening now as we speak. people are still continuing to burn down shops, despite some of the areas in the central part of honiara being secured, because mainly people from the western side of honiara have come out, as well, and are trying to protect the city. so, that's what's happening. currently, as we understand, 23 officers from the australian defence force arrived last night, and we are expecting more troops to arrive today. this morning, we thought that things would quiten down a bit, but they did not. we had information that there is still burning and looting in the eastern side of honiara, where most of the demonstrations are taking place now. 0pposition, though, to its closer ties to china, as opposed to taiwan isn't exactly new — so what actually triggered these latest protest? the latest protests — actually, last week, there was a reconciliation ceremony held by the people of malaita province — they were the ones who were not in with the government on the switch. so they did have a reconciliation ceremony last week, and unfortunately, only two of the national members of parliament — mainly two from the opposition side — were able to join them at the reconciliation ceremony whilst the rest of the other members of parliament from malaita joined them in that ceremony. and following parliament resuming sitting this week, that's when they decided they would come down to parliament and make the protests there. so that's really what happened. they felt that the members are not listening to them, so they came into the city and tried to make them listen to them, and also asking the prime ministers to step down because they've been talking about and raising issues, but they felt that they were not being listened to. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: egypts puts on an elaborate ceremony to mark the reopening of the ancient path of god in luxor. president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately. the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world — the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister. before leaving number ten to see the queen, she told her cabinet, "it's a funny old world." angela merkel is germany's first woman chancellor, easily securing the majority she needed. attempts to fly a hot air - balloon had to be abandoned after a few minutes, but nobody seemed i to mind very much. as one local comic put it, "it's not hot air- we need, it's hard cash." cuba has declared nine days of mourning following the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. castro developed close ties with the soviet union in the 1960s — it was an alliance that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war with the cuban missile crisis. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko 0i in singapore. 0ur headlines... britain has banned arrivals from six african countries amid warnings over a rapidly—spreading new coronavirus variant. let's stay with our main story now. john nkengasong, the director of the africa centres for disease control and prevention, gave me the latest details about the variant. we know that this variant has a lot more mutations. it has already had seven mutations that we observed during the delta, beta, and alpha variants. in addition to that, it has a whole series of permutations, about 50 mutations. some of those can be predicted — and the keyword is predicted — to be associated with increased transmissibility. for now, it is still under investigation. i'm very pleased with the fact that the government of south africa has made it public with its findings, and we have to continue to be patient so that we understand three things — what is the effect of this variant on their ability to diagnose the virus, what is the effect of this mutation on the ability to respond, and what is the ability of this new variant with respect to efficacy of vaccines and tra nsmissibility? these are all questions we need to address now. you mentioned vaccine, and i think that's what a lot of people will be wondering, how effective they are and whether there are any differences between different brands of vaccines. yes, absolutely. if we look at the mutants, or the variants that have occurred so far, we know that the delta has had the most effect on breakthrough for vaccines. so, as we speak today, we truly really don't know — remember, this is all happening quickly, the first cases were diagnosed on identified around 23 november, and today is 25 november. we must recognise and appreciate the efforts of the government of south africa and these researchers in making available such findings very quickly. so, it means we still have to follow up the transmission patterns and the dynamics of the epidemic, or the evolution of the pandemic over the next couple weeks in order to be able to establish the effect on vaccine effectiveness and also diagnosis, and the severity of the disease. we also have to keep that in mind, any increase in transmission actually leads to increase in the severity of the disease. with just a few months to go to the winter olympics, china is holding test events for ski and snowboard cross. but, despite repeated calls from the olympic committee not to politicise the event, some countries are considering boycotting the games in light of china's human rights violations and the recent concerns over the wellbeing of chinese tennis star, peng shuai. 0ur china correspondent, stephen mcdonnell, has been to the venue, to see how the country is getting ready to the olympics despite all the controversies. the way to see if you're ready to host the olympics is with test events. and beijing is holding them right now. beijing wants spectators at the games and has already tried this out at the sliding centre. but tennis star peng shuai sent shock waves through the preparation process when she accused a former government leader of sexual abuse. there's also the recent coronavirus outbreak, straining this country's zero—covid strategy. precautions are high at olympic venues. so, i'm getting off a dedicated media bus here, just to show you that we're part of a, kind of, media bubble, quite separate from the athletes' bubble. here you have to have your facemask on, and this is the media hotel. so i come up here, this is checking my temperature... that says i'm 0k. these are the various health checks and some hand sanitiser. and we're in. we can only talk to the athletes remotely. we're told there's been a lot of covid testing. just had to do pcr tests on arrival, then on arriving at the hotel — and every day from there onwards. but if that's what we have to do to not quarantine, then so be it. the games will be held in a freezing, mostly dry area. a mountain of snowmaking is required. but this can make for quick dynamic runs. speed, ithink, will be key, and that's the difficult bit. so yeah, it'll be challenging, for sure, to try and get the most out of the track, anyway _ the athletes we spoke to said these sites will make for high—quality competition. and the drive to win in february is already taking its toll. in the mountains outside beijing, the test events are infull swing. games organisers will be hoping — despite the coronavirus headaches, despite the alleged human rights abuses, despite the allegations from a former chinese 0lympian, a tennis star, at that, involving a senior government official — that they can still produce a memorable winter olympics. for everyone here, the clock is now ticking. stephen mcdonnell, bbc news. if you're in the us and thanksgiving food is not your cup of tea, my next guest can definitely point you in the direction of a good chinese restaurant. david r chan is in a league of his own when it comes to chinese food. he's a 72—year—old former tax lawyer and claims to have dined at nearly 8,000 chinese restaurants. each is archived in a spreadsheet that he has maintained for four decades, along with thousands of restaurant business cards and menus. here's mr chan explaining me a little earlier why he decided to start visiting chinese restaurants across the country. well, when i was a kid, there were not a lot of chinese here in los angeles or the united states because of the chinese exclusion laws. most chinese my age back then were american—born and highly americanized. and it wasn't until i went to college — there was the beginnings of the ethnic pride movement, and i was fascinated to learn that chinese—americans had their own history in the united states. at the same time, the chinese exclusion acts were being repealed, and you started to see the first migration of immigrants from china in decades, from hong kong, from taiwan. and they brought an exciting new brand of chinese food into the united states. so, it was these two forces joining at the same time that sent me on the road to eating at a lot of chinese restau ra nts. so i guess you were somewhat searching for your own identity. but you've been doing this for 45 years, so why do you think people are interested in this now? it's a case of, i think, if somebody tried to talk about this 20—30 years ago, it would've been a profile of a crackpot. like you've seen in the last 10—15 years, food has really become important now in society and culture. and it's just that food is the "in" thing now, you know, the younger people now, millennials, they're just so into food. so i think itjust happened to be the right time, right place for this story to come out. i guess in your lifetime, you've gone through instances of racism and so on — do you think this interest in chinese food, has that improved things? well, i mean, it has from my point of view. it gives me a platform to point out all the injustices that have been done to chinese—americans over the years, and how that has influenced greatly the current state of chinese food in the united states — from the exclusion acts, which prevented chinese from migrating to the united states, to housing and employment determination which kept them segregated. and today you see chinese communities — i won't say segregated, but clustered rather than being spread out through the entire community. i have to say, all those amazing pictures of food are really making me hungry now. a ceremony has taken place in the egyptian city of luxor to mark the public opening of the 3,000—year—old avenue of sphinxes. the three—kilometre—long walkway connects the temples of karnak and luxor. the ceremony incorporates elements of the ancient festival which travelled the route each year — as nickjohnson reports. after more than seven decades of excavation work, egypt celebrates the public reopening of its ancient path of god. nearly three kilometres long, the highway connects the temples of karnak and luxor in the southern nile city. the sandstone—paved path is flanked on each side by hundreds of ram—headed sphinx statues, dating back more than 3,000 years, which were buried beneath the desert for centuries before they were uncovered and restored. the ancient road has been opened by egypt's president abdul fattah al—sisi, who hopes this will give a much—needed boost to the country's tourism industry. two million egyptians are employed in tourism, which generates more than 10% of the country's income. but tourists have been kept away in recent years, largely due to a decade of political turmoil, as well as the coronavirus pandemic. but with a procession of mummified pharaohs through the streets of cairo earlier this year and another museum opening plan for the coming months, egypt's government says it hopes this evening's spectacle in luxor will cement the country's reputation as the world's open—air museum. nickjohnson, bbc news. incredible pictures there. south korea is introducing small robots into early education settings to teach children. meet the alpha minis — they can sing nursery songs, tell stories, and pull a few kung—fu moves. government officials are hoping alpha minis will prepare young children for a high—tech future. they've been introduced to 300 nurseries in the capital, seoul. teachers have found the new additions to be very popular in class. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello. the first named storm of the season is approaching, and it's set to bring us some fairly disruptive weather over the next couple of days. storm arwen, as named by the met office, will be developing particularly later friday into saturday, bringing not only widespread gales, some sleet and snow mainly over the high ground in the north — and it is likely to cause a bit of disruption because of that combination of the strong winds, the cold weather, and the sleet and snow we'll see over the higher ground. so for friday morning, then, we've got the cloud and patchy rain across much of england and wales, which pushes its way southeastwards. then we're left with sunshine and blustery showers in from the north — and across the north of scotland, those showers will merge into longer spells of fairly heavy snow over the higher ground, some sleet and snow, too, across parts of northern ireland. mainly rain showers further south — it will feel chilly, about 7—11 celsius — but when you add on the wind—chill, it will feel colder than that. the winds will be a real future of the weather. we've got an amber warning in force for eastern scotland and northeast england, could see gusts between about 65—70 mph here, particularly later on friday and overnight into saturday morning. so through the overnight period, then, this area of sleet and snow, and rain at low levels pushes its way southwards and eastwards, followed by more wintry showers packing in from the north. 0vernight temperatures for most of our cities above freezing, but colder than that in the countryside. so, as this storm arwen pushes just out towards the southeast, we'll start to draw in these strong, cold northerly winds as we head through into saturday morning — gusts, infact, quite widely 30—a0 mph, around the coast, 50—60, or even higher than that. so we've got this area of rain, perhaps some sleet and snow over the highest ground, pushing eastwards across parts of eastern england on saturday. more of those wintry showers coming in across scotland, too. something a little bit drier for central and western areas, and it is turning colder — so temperatures about 4—9 celsius, but when you add on the effect of that wind—chill, it will feel subzero for many of us through the day on saturday. so, cold and windy with wintry showers, too. heading into sunday, as storm arwen starts to clear to the east, things will settle down a little bit — so not quite as windy on sunday, but still more of those wintry showers packing in across the higher ground of the north of scotland, down the east coast of england, too. and quite a bit of dry weather elsewhere — but it certainly will feel cold throughout the weekend. i'm stephen sackur. this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and on the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk.

Related Keywords

Vaccines , People , Eastern England , Deaths , United Nations , France , 27 , Government Of South Africa , Unrest , Routes , Australia , Troops , Mountains Outside Beijing , Winter Olympics , Solomon Islands , Two , Us , Oman , Food , Chinese , Human Rights Abuses , Allegations , Identity , Search , Surge , Rise , Coronavirus , Chinese Food Odyssey , Newsday , Bbc News , Studio , Singapore , It , Coronavirus Variant , Scientists , Programme , South Africa , Alarm , Hello , Variant , Flights , Uk , Mutations , Result , Nations , Worst , Strains , Six , 32 , Anyone , Countries , Number , Quarantine , Windy On Sunday , Mark Lobel , Delta Variant , List , Restrictions Travel , Announcement , Preventative Measure , Read List , List Travel Restrictions , Three , Place , Cases , Country Travel Ban , 59 , Concerns , Course , Look , Botswana , Fourin , Hong Kong , One , Four , Trouble , Zimbabwe , Namibia , S One Teeny , Lesotho , Someone , Some , Pcr Tests , Rules , Flight Ban , Suit , Hotel Quarantine System , Hotel , Home , Hotel Quarantine Starts , Tests , Back , Piece , 4 , Measures , Reactions , Red List , System , Travel Advice , Customers , Democrat African Countries , Travel Information , British Government , Pandemic , Suspension , Scientist , Neil Ferguson , Advisers , 8 , 6 , Information , Way , Borders , Response , Support , Displeasure , Stage , Tim , Question , Income , Variant To Search Democrat Emerge , Words , Access , Conditions , Statement , Part , Super Variants , Pointing , Millions , Kovac Smack Speech Democrat Scheme , Somebody , South African Scientists , Something , Person , Immune System , Hiv , Government , Blame Game , Convection , Another , Hasn T , Country , Story , Vaccine System , Development , Update , Progress , Attempts , English Channel , Closing , Asylum , Un Refugee Agency , Nick Beake , Journey , Camp , Dunkirk , Stronger International Coordination On Human Trafficking , Europe , Families , Train Track , Horror , Northern France , 500 , 2 , Family , Trudging , On The Road , Arrivals , Camp Home , Iraq , Tent , Hungary , Romania , Boat , Germany , Lots , Betterforfamilies , Keeping Families Together , Generation , Stories , Scenes , Sort , Corner , Conveyor Belt , Misery , 20 , Group , Studies , Summer , Daughters , Everything , Men , Wife , Afghan , Taliban , Times , Police , Water , The Sea , Luck , Bye , 0k , Many , Travellers , Prime Minister , Peacekeepers , Parliament , Honiara , Protesters , Help Quelling , Buildings , Rioters , Chinatown District , 1000 , Ties , Gina Kekea , Island , Taiwan , Resignation , Decision , Neglect , Journalist , Mayhem , Scene , Areas , Shops , Honiara Being , Side , City , Officers , Well , Australian Defence Force , 23 , Bit , Things , Most , Demonstrations , Looting , Isn T , 0pposition , 0 , Reconciliation Ceremony , Protests , Protest , Ones , Malaita Province , Members , Switch , Opposition , Reconciliation Ceremony Last Week , Ceremony , Rest , Ministers , Reopening , Path , Issues , Egypts , President Kennedy , God In Luxor , World , Disaster , Leaders , First , Murder , Imagination , Margaret Thatcher , Chancellor , Queen , Leader , Majority , Conservative Party , Old World , Cabinet , Angela Merkel , Ten , Comic , Balloon , Nobody , Cash , Cuba , Nine , Soviet Union , Alliance , Age , Fidel Castro , Death , Mourning , War , Brink , Cuban Missile Crisis , 90 , 1960 , 0ur Headlines , Mariko 0i In Singapore , John Nkengasong , Warnings , Stay , Let , Africa Centres For Disease Control And Prevention , Details , Seven , Alpha Variants , Addition , Beta , Permutations , Series , Delta , 50 , Tra Nsmissibility , Fact , Keyword , Investigation , Effect , Ability , Findings , Virus , Mutation , It Public , Patient , Respect , Efficacy , Questions , Lot , Vaccine , Mutants , Brands , Differences , Yes , Variants , Breakthrough , Don T Know , Efforts , 25 , 23 November , 25 November , Vaccine Effectiveness , Evolution , Researchers , Epidemic , Dynamics , Order , Transmission Patterns , Disease , Severity , Transmission , Increase , Diagnosis , Mind , Test Events , Ski , Calls , Olympic Committee , Snowboard Cross , Games , Peng Shuai , Tennis Star , Event , Wellbeing , Venue , Flight , Human Rights Violations , 0ur China Correspondent , Stephen Mcdonnell , Olympics , Controversies , Spectators , Shock Waves , Sexual Abuse , Government Leader , Sliding Centre , Zero Covid , Media Bus , A , Precautions , Olympic Venues , Coronavirus Outbreak , Zero , Athletes , Facemask On , Media Bubble , Bubble , Kind , Media , Temperature , 0k , Hand Sanitiser , Health Checks , Arrival , Covid Testing , Freezing , Area , Ithink , Snowmaking , Mountain , Runs , Track , Sites , Sure , Drive , Games Organisers , Toll , Competition , Infull Swing , Headaches , Government Official , 0lympian , Cup , Everyone , Guest , Clock , Tea , Chinese Food , David R , Chinese Restaurant , Direction , League , Tax Lawyer , 72 , 8000 , Restaurants , Spreadsheet , Mr , Each , Little , Menus , Thousands , Restaurant Business Cards , Exclusion , Kid , Laws , Los Angeles , Beginnings , Americanized , Chinese Americans , Wasn T , Ethnic Pride Movement , American Born , Migration , Chinese Exclusion Acts , History , Immigrants , Forces , Brand , Eating , Restau , Ra Nts , 45 , Profile , Crackpot , Case , 30 , Thing , Culture , Society , Millennials , 15 , 10 , Interest , Itjust , Instances , Lifetime , Racism , Injustices , Platform , Point Of View , State , Acts , Communities , Employment , Determination , Pictures , Luxor , Community , Temples , Elements , Opening , Public , Sphinxes , Avenue , Karnak , 3000 , Route , Festival , Excavation Work , Nickjohnson Reports , God , Sandstone Paved Path , Highway , Hundreds , Dating , Sphinx Statues , Nile City , Ram , Abdul Fattah Al Sisi , Road , Desert , Tourism , Tourists , Tourism Industry , Boost , Two Million , Museum , Turmoil , Plan , Procession Of Mummified Pharaohs , Streets Of Cairo , Evening , Spectacle , Reputation , Nickjohnson , Open Air Museum , Children , Alpha Minis , Government Officials , Robots , Moves , Education , Settings , Nursery Songs , South Korea , Kung Fu , Wall , Nurseries , Additions , Capital , Class , Teachers , Seoul , 300 , Storm , Season , Sleet , Snow , North , Ground , Weather , Storm Arwen , Set , Gales , Met Office , Rain , Winds , Combination , Disruption , Sunshine , The Cloud , Wales , Showers , Eastern Scotland , Parts , Spells , Rain Showers , Northern Ireland , Wind Chill , Force , Gusts , Amber Warning , 7 , 70 , 65 , 11 , Temperatures , Levels , Cities , Way Southwards And Eastwards , Countryside , Southeast , Coast , Mph , Cold Northerly Winds , Infact , 60 , More , Eastwards , East , Subzero , Heading Into Sunday , 9 , Cold , Elsewhere , East Coast , Weekend , Stephen Sackur , News Stories , Headlines , Top , Hardtalk ,