good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news. the health secretary, sajid javid, has told mps there is "huge international concern" about a new highly mutated variant of coronavirus which could pose a substantial risk to public health. it has been identified in south africa, and flights from six southern african countries have been suspended. no cases have yet been detected in the uk, but this afternoon it's been announced that the first case has been confirmed in europe, in belgium. the world health organization is meeting in geneva to discuss the situation. our first report is from our health correspondent, katharine da costa. the emergence of a new highly complex variant in southern africa has sounded alarm bells around the world. so far most cases have been identified in one province of south africa, where it appears the variant may be driving a new wave of infection. early analysis show this variant has a large number of mutations that require and will undergo further study. it will take a few weeks for us to understand what impact this variant has. the new variant was only identified four days ago. genetic analysis shows it has twice the mutations of delta, the dominant variant worldwide, including 30 changes to the spike protein which the virus uses to enter human cells. we haven't got evidence it is here yet. we haven't identified it in our sequencing and we are giving results of more than 50,000 cases a week. a huge amount. but there is travel from south africa across the globe and there are many rising cases in south africa at the moment so we will need to be very aware and look for it carefully in all of the data coming through. current vaccines have been designed to target the spike protein from the original strain. some of the mutations in this new variant meaning the virus can spread more easily or make the vaccine less effective. jabs still provide protection against other variants of concern and can be tweaked if needed. it is highly unlikely they will not have any effect. that would be a catastrophe. we may well see that the protection that we get is to some degree reduced, particularly because there are so many mutations in the part of the protein that many of the antibodies bind to, so i do not think we are likely to see vaccines do not work at all. flights to the uk have been suspended from six african countries until 4am on sunday to allow time to set up quarantine hotels. the government hopes a new travel ban will delay the variant being brought into britain. we are working quickly and we are working with a high degree of uncertainty. we are continuing to make assessments, including about those countries with strong travel links to south africa. and we are working with our international partners including south africa and the european union to ensure unaligned response. to ensure an aligned response. but this variant is a reminder for all of us that this pandemic is far from over. labour welcomed the travel restrictions, but said better distribution of vaccines to poorer nations was essential. vaccines are still our best defence. we will have to wait two to three weeks for scientists to understand the risk this new variant may pose. katharine da costa, bbc news. i'm joined by professor jonathan ball, a virologist from the university of nottingham. 0ne top scientist today saying it is not bad news, well it is bad news but not doomsday. do you agree? what is your assessment? i but not doomsday. do you agree? what is your assessment?— is your assessment? i think that it's a fair synopsis _ is your assessment? i think that it's a fair synopsis of _ is your assessment? i think that it's a fair synopsis of the - is your assessment? i think that it's a fair synopsis of the current situation. we know that south africa in particular has had very low numbers of cases of coronavirus. we would expect them to pick up. is that they had picked up we have identified a new variant which has lots of mutations. the reality is at the moment we don't fully understand what benefits, if any, those mutations give to the virus. i think that's why it's important to be cautious but to keep an eye on it, but we should not overreact. that has been no _ but we should not overreact. that has been no sense _ but we should not overreact. that has been no sense today, do not overreact, let this play out for a few weeks. but how big a moment could this be in the pandemic? it really depends on two things, whether or not this is a virus that has a particular change in the way that it behaves. is it more dangerous? is it more transmissible? those are two key questions. the other thing is, countless virus escape from immunity through a natural infection? 0r escape from immunity through a natural infection? or more importantly immunity few vaccination? it is incredibly important for us to understand those two elements. i should flag as well but often when a virus mutates it may mutate to escape from immunity, for example, from antibodies, but often those mutations come at a fitness cost to the virus, so the virus sometimes has to forego some of its previous fitness in infectiousness. it is a really subtle interplay, so it is really difficult to predict how mutations will impact on a virus, therefore it is really important that we do keep an open mind. but we shouldn't panic. i don't really want to prophesy is an insight this could be catastrophic. i think the reality is that a lot of these mutations occur in targets where vaccines work, but we think those vaccines will still be beneficial, because the virus is limited to how much it can change. you touched on it there. the few weeks we are waiting to see what happens with this variant, what are we waiting for? are we waiting for a more lab time to look at it, or are we looking at how it plays out in the real world? it we looking at how it plays out in the real world?— the real world? it will be a combination _ the real world? it will be a combination of _ the real world? it will be a combination of both. - the real world? it will be a combination of both. we l the real world? it will be a - combination of both. we certainly need to understand how exactly the mutations will impact on antibodies. that work will be carried out in a lab, we do that sort of work in our own labs, there will be labs all over the world studying these variants. it is also important to understand how it will spread within the south africa and the surrounding areas, and whether or not that virus will travel to other parts of the world. if it does travel to other parts of the world, whether we will start to see it displays the viruses that are currently circulating there. at the moment, the worldwide dominant variant is the delta variant, most countries in the delta variant, most countries in the world have that as the dominant variant. if we start to see the new variant. if we start to see the new variant outcompete it, then that is cause for concern. but only cause for concern if there is also evidence that the vaccines are starting to fail. i'm really well assured by how well our vaccines are performing. assured by how well our vaccines are performing-— assured by how well our vaccines are erforminu. ., . ., ., performing. from what we have heard this afternoon. _ performing. from what we have heard this afternoon, the _ performing. from what we have heard this afternoon, the variant _ performing. from what we have heard this afternoon, the variant has - this afternoon, the variant has spread to parts of europe, belgium announcing its first case. will the travel bans work? presumably they will only work if we shut down everywhere at once? absolutely, we live in a very — everywhere at once? absolutely, we live in a very interconnected - everywhere at once? absolutely, we live in a very interconnected world. i live in a very interconnected world. it reminds me of the three stages of the pandemic, italy's reaction, for example, was to ban all flights from china. what we saw was that the virus came from other parts of the world, it invaded into northern italy and really ceded our first wave of infections. if the viruses more fit than the delta strain, it will find its way to other parts of the world, and it eventually will land on our shores. if you have or any holes in your borders, then the virus will find a way through. it is very difficult to secure your borders. unfortunately, viruses don't never take much notice of territories. to don't never take much notice of territories-_ don't never take much notice of territories. ., , , ., , , ., territories. to sum up, what is your messaue territories. to sum up, what is your message to — territories. to sum up, what is your message to those _ territories. to sum up, what is your message to those watching - territories. to sum up, what is your message to those watching now - territories. to sum up, what is your| message to those watching now who are learning about this variant and watching it unfold this afternoon? lets keep an eye on it, but we should not spread panic. the vaccines are working very well. my biggest urge for everybody, if you haven't yet been vaccinated, go and do it. you are two if you are invited for a blister, then go get that. because we know for sure that the mysterious and the vaccines do prevent serious disease in a week now the booster really helps against variants. ., ~ , ., now the booster really helps against variants. ., ~' , ., ., now the booster really helps against variants. ., ~ , ., ., , ., variants. thank you for your time this afternoon. _ the variant has so far been identified in four countries — south africa, botswana, israel and hong kong. several countries have nowjoined the uk in introducing urgent travel restrictions on south africa and neighbouring countries, because of concerns about the strain. all flights to the uk from south africa, namibia, zimbabwe, botswana, lesotho and eswatini have been suspended. from sunday, people arriving in uk from those countries will have to quarantine in hotels. stock markets around the world have fallen sharply on the news. here's our business correspondent, caroline davies. gloomy skies at heathrow this morning. after months of opening up, travel to some places in the world is restricted. direct flights from six countries in southern africa have been temporarily stopped. anyone already in uk who has been in these countries in the last ten days will need to to take a pcr test. from noon today, only uk and irish residents who have been in these countries in the last ten days will be let in, and they will need to self—isolate and take two pcr tests. from sunday at liam, they will need to pay to quarantine in a hotel. for those landing this morning, the news came as a surprise. i feel extremely relieved because who knows how long this will last. i literally found when i spoke to my wife about ten minutes ago, she told me that there is no flights going out of south africa until i think monday or tuesday, they have stopped all flights. so that's the first i heard of it, about ten minutes ago. it's disappointing news for catherine and her family, they were planning to attend a family wedding in south africa in early december. to go back to south africa and to see them and to be at the wedding was really important, it's got us all through this somehow, looking forward to that. when do you think you will be able to see your family in south africa? i can't imagine it's going to be any time soon, and now i daren�*t hope because ijust don't think about it, you know. the transport secretary said the government had acted quickly to buy as much time as possible. eventually, as a variant it will come here. i'm a great believer in science, which has shown what can be done by following the science, with the vaccines, and we will. .. i was talking to chris whitty, the chief medical officer, about this yesterday, and in his words, we will find the right vaccinations, even for new variants. but we need to give ourselves as much time as possible. the government have said they will reveal the decision they will review the decision in three week's time. countries like south africa are key winter sun destinations for the travel industry. they will be hoping that today's announcement doesn't dissuade customers from booking, just as travel were just as travel was starting to take off. here's our africa correspondent, pumza fihlani, talking about the reaction injohannesburg to the new travel restrctions. the immediate reaction from the south african government and scientists here is that they are saying very little is known about this new variant and they would like to be given time to study it further, to know how transmissible it is, to know how transmissible it is, but also whether it poses more danger than the variants that we have seen and detected in the country, but also how it is likely to react to vaccines and whether it will hamper at all the country's current vaccination programme. the south african government has said that they believe that the decision by the uk may have been hasty, especially because there was still meant to be those interactions and discussions with the world health organization to get an idea of a uniform reaction, or a steer that would be appropriate. we have just seen a statement a few minutes ago, they world health organization also cautioning about hastily imposing travel bans, because they understand it is something difficult, whose effect is difficult to reverse, and it's something that south africa are themselves have seen in the last few months here. the french president emmanuel macron has accused the uk of not being serious about dealing with the migrant crisis. european ministers will meet on sunday to discuss the situation, after 27 people drowned on wednesday trying to reach the uk. but president macron confirmed that the home secretary, priti patel, can no longer attend that meeting, though uk officials still will. her invitation was withdrawn after borisjohnson publicly called on france to take back migrants who cross the channel. here's our political correspondent, damian grammaticas. is the prime minister an undiplomatic leader? very public statements after the death of 27 people in the channel. last night he said he had written to emmanuel macron with a series of proposals. asking among other things forjoint patrols from next week with french police and uk border officers and the returns agreements of the uk could send back those coming across the channel in small boats. france has rejected exactly these things before and took offence, saying this was not what the prime minister discussed on the phone two days ago and this was no way to deal with sensitive issues. translation: you do not - communicate between leaders on these issues by tweet and public letters. we are not whistle—blowers. come on. leaders communicate in a serious way to deal with serious questions between people. on sunday we will meet and we will see when it comes to the uk how we can act effectively if they decide to be serious. as a consequence, france has uninvited to home secretary priti patel from a meeting of eu ministers happening on sunday to discuss how to respond. this is a humiliation for the prime minister_ this is a humiliation for the prime minister and the home secretary, who have completely lost control of the situation _ have completely lost control of the situation in the channel, at the very— situation in the channel, at the very moment when the prime minister needed _ very moment when the prime minister needed to— very moment when the prime minister needed to be a statesman, to actually— needed to be a statesman, to actually deal with this. what we saw instead _ actually deal with this. what we saw instead was a grave error of judgment, putting a public letter on twitten _ judgment, putting a public letter on twitter. ,, , twitter. here in downing street they are ”uttin twitter. here in downing street they are putting up _ twitter. here in downing street they are putting up the — twitter. here in downing street they are putting up the christmas - twitter. here in downing street they are putting up the christmas tree. i are putting up the christmas tree. relations with france, however, are farfrom relations with france, however, are far from festive. relations with france, however, are farfrom festive. here relations with france, however, are far from festive. here at they say their aim is to prevent further loss of life, but borisjohnson's proposals have been rebuffed by the french. after brexit, the uk is no long a part of the eu scheme that allows the return of asylum seekers to eu countries. we are going to leave that report there and stick with the new covert variant we have been telling you about this afternoon. we head to brussels where president of underlying speaking about that new variant. she speaks german. studio: apologies about that. we were hoping that there would be some translation the from brussels there. president of the eu commission ursula von underlying speaking about the new covert there is. once we have more on that, we will bring that to you. for now let's return to the migrant crisis. our correspondent simon jones is in dover with more on this. we were hearing about the situation a few moments ago. maybe you can update is on the situation at dover. here this afternoon at dover, it is pretty windy out there in the english channel, so this is very weather dependent. despite the 27 deaths on wednesday, we did see two bouts making the crossing yesterday. they were crack carrying 60 people. on tman estate south, 750 people managed to make it across the channel. in terms of the 27 people who died, we still know very little about them. no police are still trying to identify their identities, they will be going to the migrant camps in calais, talking to people there, asking for information. a few of the human tragedies are emerging, for example, an iraqi kurd told the daily telegraph that he believes his wife drowned in this incident. he said he spoke to her as she got onto the doubt, that was about 30 people on the bed. he said he was tracking her using gps, and after about four hours the signal simply disappeared and he has not heard from her ever since. he said he found the people smugglers who organised the crossing and they said they have not heard from anyone on that boat, so he fears that she is now dead. that is the sort of stories that will be emerging in the coming days. certainly a challenge from two for the authorities to find out who the people on were. i the authorities to find out who the peeple on were-— the authorities to find out who the people on were. i spent some time esterda people on were. i spent some time yesterday in _ people on were. i spent some time yesterday in a _ people on were. i spent some time yesterday in a dungeness, - people on were. i spent some time | yesterday in a dungeness, reporting on this myself. from the people i spoke to a debt and are looking for myself, the conditions have turned and last week or so. it is bitterly cold, the sea was rough yesterday at times, yet it does not seem to be preventing these crossings. it times, yet it does not seem to be preventing these crossings.- preventing these crossings. it can be very much _ preventing these crossings. it can be very much down _ preventing these crossings. it can be very much down to _ preventing these crossings. it can be very much down to the - preventing these crossings. it can be very much down to the weather. yesterday morning there wasn't really a spell of calm weather, that is when the two boats came across. you can't look at the weather forecast and see when these were the crossings are going to happen almost. over the past couple of years, when we got into autumn, november, the crossings that fall dramatically in numbers, but that has not happened this year. more than 6000 people have reached the uk by bout this month alone. i think that shows this has become an all year round route, because it is a well established by the people smugglers, who charge each migrant about £3000 to get onto a bird. that means the smugglers want to continue operating at this rate throughout the winter months. that means potentially more danger because they see as extremely cold eye conditions can change very quickly. or it means that the smugglers will simply wait for the right weather conditions. the forecast is set to be extremely bad over the next few days, we may not see any crossings, or few crossings. but as soon as the weather is calm and out in the channel we will probably see crossings again in large numbers. lets start with your reaction to the news of when is the's events. —— wednesday's events. news of when is the's events. -- wednesday's events.— news of when is the's events. -- wednesday's events. good afternoon, thank ou wednesday's events. good afternoon, thank you for— wednesday's events. good afternoon, thank you for calling _ wednesday's events. good afternoon, thank you for calling me. _ wednesday's events. good afternoon, thank you for calling me. i _ wednesday's events. good afternoon, thank you for calling me. i am - wednesday's events. good afternoon, thank you for calling me. i am very . thank you for calling me. i am very disappointed and frustrated to tell you when— disappointed and frustrated to tell you when i am listening to boris johnson — you when i am listening to boris johnson i— you when i am listening to boris johnson. i am you when i am listening to boris johnson. lam not you when i am listening to boris johnson. i am not a you when i am listening to boris johnson. lam not a politician. first _ johnson. lam not a politician. first of— johnson. lam not a politician. first of all. _ johnson. lam not a politician. first of all, i cannot tell you that the french— first of all, i cannot tell you that the french police are doing the job, they are _ the french police are doing the job, they are doing a good job. —— i can tell you _ they are doing a good job. —— i can tell you it— they are doing a good job. —— i can teiiyou it is— they are doing a good job. —— i can tell you. it is difficult with the length — tell you. it is difficult with the length of— tell you. it is difficult with the length of coast. the smugglers, they are so— length of coast. the smugglers, they are so well—organised that in a 50 minutes— are so well—organised that in a 50 minutes they can get 50 people on a boat, _ minutes they can get 50 people on a boat. come — minutes they can get 50 people on a boat, come and get it into the sea and go _ boat, come and get it into the sea and go. that is in fact, they are so well organised. now i would like to say to— well organised. now i would like to say to you — well organised. now i would like to say to you and your government, i don't — say to you and your government, i don't know— say to you and your government, i don't know if— say to you and your government, i don't know if they are listening to us, but _ don't know if they are listening to us, but if— don't know if they are listening to us, but if everyone remains on at this position _ us, but if everyone remains on at this position we will still regret lots this position we will still regret iots of— this position we will still regret lots of deaths in the channel. it cannot— lots of deaths in the channel. it cannot continue like that. i did not question— cannot continue like that. i did not question of— cannot continue like that. i did not question of money, it is not a question— question of money, it is not a question of money, it is not a question of taking back to france. it question of taking back to france. it has _ question of taking back to france. it has been — question of taking back to france. it has been years and years we have been _ it has been years and years we have been in _ it has been years and years we have been in the — it has been years and years we have been in the same position. what i suggest _ been in the same position. what i suggest is — been in the same position. what i suggest is that in year to come up with boris— suggest is that in year to come up with borisjohnson, with a great return — with borisjohnson, with a great return, because these people are suffering — return, because these people are suffering in their countries. these people _ suffering in their countries. these people are — suffering in their countries. these people are ready to risk their life to go— people are ready to risk their life to go to — people are ready to risk their life to go to your country, because they want _ to go to your country, because they want to— to go to your country, because they want to go— to go to your country, because they want to go to uk, because they are speaking _ want to go to uk, because they are speaking english, they believe the life speaking english, they believe the iife will_ speaking english, they believe the life will be better in your country. but they— life will be better in your country. but they cannot go, it is forbidden. that's_ but they cannot go, it is forbidden. that's why— but they cannot go, it is forbidden. that's why it is also a question of the british— that's why it is also a question of the british government. i wish the the british government. iwish the french— the british government. i wish the french government, then this boris johnson _ french government, then this boris johnson, they all meet together to establish _ johnson, they all meet together to establish a central organisation for migrants, — establish a central organisation for migrants, where migrants arriving from _ migrants, where migrants arriving from calais — migrants, where migrants arriving from calais will be brought. learn whether you want to learn french, — learn whether you want to learn french, or — learn whether you want to learn french, or go to germany, italy, then— french, or go to germany, italy, then you — french, or go to germany, italy, then you learn this language, but you are _ then you learn this language, but you are not — then you learn this language, but you are not allowed to cross. that is an _ you are not allowed to cross. that is an international question today. if i may, _ is an international question today. if i may, they will be people watching. you say at the french police are doing theirjob, they are controlling that border and for chelsea as much as they can, but there will be people watching they could be —— who will say they could be doing more. find could be -- who will say they could be doing more-— could be -- who will say they could be doing more. and that is, you need thousands of — be doing more. and that is, you need thousands of people _ be doing more. and that is, you need thousands of people to _ be doing more. and that is, you need thousands of people to control - be doing more. and that is, you need thousands of people to control the i thousands of people to control the coast _ thousands of people to control the coast. they are using helicopters, they are _ coast. they are using helicopters, they are using a lot of people day and night — they are using a lot of people day and night to try and catch these smugglers. the police is doing the 'ob. smugglers. the police is doing the job these — smugglers. the police is doing the job. these people are ready to do everything — job. these people are ready to do everything to get to your country. it everything to get to your country. it does _ everything to get to your country. it does not — everything to get to your country. it does not work. thousands of people — it does not work. thousands of people succeeded in crossing, some die. people succeeded in crossing, some die that— people succeeded in crossing, some die. that has to be stopped, they should _ die. that has to be stopped, they should be — die. that has to be stopped, they should be an agreement between all concerned _ should be an agreement between all concerned countries, as well as great _ concerned countries, as well as great britain, and it must be discussed _ great britain, and it must be discussed that central were all migrants — discussed that central were all migrants will be put out. so say it is not _ migrants will be put out. so say it is not possible to get to england, but here — is not possible to get to england, but here are the different possibilities offered to them. can you imagine they're coming to greece and so _ you imagine they're coming to greece and so on _ you imagine they're coming to greece and so on, and they all come to calais _ and so on, and they all come to calais to— and so on, and they all come to calais to try _ and so on, and they all come to calais to try to get to your country? _ calais to try to get to your country? they want to get to your country, _ country? they want to get to your country, is _ country? they want to get to your country, is not my fault, it is not your— country, is not my fault, it is not your fault — country, is not my fault, it is not your fault-— country, is not my fault, it is not our fault. ~ ., ., ., your fault. we will have to leave it there, we your fault. we will have to leave it there. we are _ your fault. we will have to leave it there, we are running _ your fault. we will have to leave it there, we are running out - your fault. we will have to leave it there, we are running out of - your fault. we will have to leave it there, we are running out of time | your fault. we will have to leave it i there, we are running out of time to stop many thanks forjoining us on bbc news this afternoon. it is stop many thanks forjoining us on bbc news this afternoon.- bbc news this afternoon. it is an im ortant bbc news this afternoon. it is an important question _ bbc news this afternoon. it is an important question we _ bbc news this afternoon. it is an important question we have - bbc news this afternoon. it is an important question we have to i important question we have to answer~ — we will have to leave it there, many thanks forjoining us. england could become the first country in the world to introduce legislation which should result in better support for people with down's syndrome. a bill has been debated for the first time in the commons today — and if it passes into law, it will mean public bodies like councils, schools and job centres will be required to specifically recognise the needs our disability affairs correspondent, nikki fox, reports. pull, pull, pull. tom is pumping iron at the gym. yeah, one more. the 17—year—old has down syndrome. he is working towards a career as a fitness instructor and he's already whipping me into shape. is that a cheating situp? yeah. what if i let go of my hands? um, yes, it's better. is that better? yeah. being a lean, mean fighting machine is not all tom wants from life. what is your dream, tom? i want to be a fitness coach. and i want to get a wife and a baby. a dog. yeah. beard. yeah. and a new flat. in no particular order? yes, absolutely. at one stage he wanted to ride a motorbike, which i hope he's dropped. so he's keen to do those things. it's about opportunities and that's what as a parent, that's what we try and provide any child, but i think with a child with down syndrome i have to work harder. 0k, do you want a slice of cake, tom? the aim of the bill is to make life easier for thousands of people like tom. it will ensure they get the right support when it comes to education, employment, health and social care, and after today's debate that has moved one step closer. there has been such an incredible level of support. i've got support from all parties in the house of commons. at the moment that's a fairly rare thing to get. if this gets passed, will you put more pressure local authorities? they need to deal with people in their locality anyway. what would be completely unacceptable is to have people with down syndrome whose parents are no longer there put into inappropriate care. he is absolutely gorgeous. heidi and james have been married for over a year. so what is going to happen? heidi is a leading campaigner for people with down syndrome. she is backing the bill because she knows just how important it is. it's all about making it easier for people with down syndrome. that is all we want, we want easy lives. from the start of their lives to the end of their lives, and that is what i want for david. for everyone. it is estimated there are around a7,000 people with down syndrome in the uk. as it stands the bill only applies to england, but it is hoped if it is passed, other nations will follow suit. tom, well done. joining me now is carol boys, chief executive of the down's syndrome association. many thanks for your time. nicola, tom's mum and that piece, saying this isjust about tom's mum and that piece, saying this is just about opportunities. absolutely and obviously we welcome any legislation that aims to improve opportunities for people with down syndrome. people with down syndrome tell us that they want to be included in society and that is what we should all be aspiring to. having said that, a lot of people with down syndrome are included in society and going to ordinary schools and colleges and holding downjobs. but leon need extra support to achieve that and hopefully this legislation will help with that. find that and hopefully this legislation will help with that.— will help with that. and this is 'ust the will help with that. and this is just the beginning, _ will help with that. and this is just the beginning, it - will help with that. and this is just the beginning, it won't i will help with that. and this is i just the beginning, it won't solve everything overnight? ha. just the beginning, it won't solve everything overnight?— just the beginning, it won't solve everything overnight? no. we now have to look _ everything overnight? no. we now have to look at _ everything overnight? no. we now have to look at the _ everything overnight? no. we now have to look at the guidance i everything overnight? no. we now have to look at the guidance and i have to look at the guidance and we would hope as the bill moves onto the next stage, we want to see a wider group of people with down syndrome being included in the consultation, families and charities and those organisations that work with people who have down syndrome, but particularly we want to hear from people who have down syndrome. and can you explain for those watching how this bill might help on a practical level?— a practical level? there are laws in lace at a practical level? there are laws in place at the _ a practical level? there are laws in place at the moment _ a practical level? there are laws in place at the moment to _ a practical level? there are laws in place at the moment to protect i a practical level? there are laws in| place at the moment to protect the rights of people who have down syndrome in education, and social care and in employment. we hope that this bill will strengthen and ultimately give redress, we hope, to families who feel that they are not getting what they need. and we don't want people with down syndrome to feel they are not getting what they need. it is another level of legislation in order to protect those rights.— legislation in order to protect those riahts. ., ~ , ., , . those rights. thank you very much, chief executive _ those rights. thank you very much, chief executive of _ those rights. thank you very much, chief executive of the _ those rights. thank you very much, chief executive of the down - those rights. thank you very much, i chief executive of the down syndrome association. thank you. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there, the met office have issued a red warning for the strength of the wind in coastal areas of eastern scotland and the north—east of england. gusts of 90 mph developing, continuing into tomorrow morning. there is a danger to life. please stay away from these areas if you possibly can. we are blowing down a colder air with those strengthening winds this evening and overnight, and maybe some snow, not just on the high ground in scotland, onto the pennines, welsh hills, may be a little bit of sleet and snow pushing its way into the midlands over towards the cotswolds, but it is the strength of the wind that is the significant feature because the winds will be strengthening pretty much everywhere. it will be very windy, notjust across north—eastern parts of the uk but through the irish sea in two parts of wales and the south—west, and across england we still got this mixture of rain, may be some sleet and snow for a while, pushing into more eastern parts of england. elsewhere, brightening up, some sunshine, wintry showers continue across northern ireland and particularly into scotland. temperatures struggling to three or four degrees but given the strength of the wind it is going to feel significantly colder. sport now...and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's sarah. sport has reacting the news of the new covid variant which has been circulating in south africa — with the welsh rugby teams, cardiff and scarlets trying to return home from there after the country was put on the uk red travel list. the united rugby championship matches scheduled to be staged in south africa over the next two weekends have now been postponed with the teams trying to return home with chater flights today a possibility before the quarantine deadline. 15 uk and ireland golfers have also withdrawn from the joburg open, which started on thursday. that was due to be the start of a scheduled three—week swing of events in south africa. we will see what will happen with those future events. with the ashes less than two weeks away, australia have announced that tim paine, will be taking a break from all forms of cricket, for an indefinite period of time — due to concerns over his mental health. paine resigned as captain last week — after details of a historical investigation, into texts to a female colleague were revealed. but he had remained in the squad. however, he's decided now to step away from the sport — with paine's manager saying they are �*extremely concerned for his, and his wife's well—being.�* meanwhile bowler pat cummins will captain the australian side for the series with england, which starts on the 8th of december. former captain steve smith will take up the role of vice captain. cummins admits scrutiny around the role is scary — but he was never going to turn down the opportunity. some parts of it are daunting, but you can't stay in bed all day worrying about some of these things. concentrating on more of the, there is so much positive and so much i think i can bring to it, so try to not overthink it and just try to be me. eddie howe will be in the dugout for the first time as newcastle head coach after returning a negative covid test today. he missed what should have been his first game in charge against brenford, — he watched on from home, but he has now been cleared to be with his team, when they take on arsenal at the emirates tomorrow. the task is a tough one for howe, newcastle are bottom of the premier league with 6 points from 12 games. you want your leader, you want your manager— you want your leader, you want your manager with you. and we have missed him, manager with you. and we have missed him. it— manager with you. and we have missed him. it is— manager with you. and we have missed him. it is a _ manager with you. and we have missed him, it is a group of staff and i am sure— him, it is a group of staff and i am sure the— him, it is a group of staff and i am sure the players miss him and the manager— sure the players miss him and the manager out on the grass and the training _ manager out on the grass and the training ground and on the sidelines. we are certainly looking forward _ sidelines. we are certainly looking forward to— sidelines. we are certainly looking forward to having him back and the sooner— forward to having him back and the sooner that — forward to having him back and the sooner that can happen, the better for the _ sooner that can happen, the better for the group of players and staff here at _ for the group of players and staff here at the football club. i'm sure the fans— here at the football club. i'm sure the fans want the manager out on the touchiine _ meanwhile — michael carrick will be in still be charge of manchester united for sunday s trip to chelsea. the club are currently sorting out the final details of ralf rangnick s move from lokomotiv moscow. the german is due to take charge for the remainder of the season. leicestershire police say 12 officers were injured and seven people were arrested following disorder at leicester's europa league match against legia warsaw at the king power stadium last night. a number of flares were set off in the away fans section in the second half, and officers responded to disorder in the area. some home fans then attempted to breach the segregated line assaulting officers in the process. the legia warsaw fans were held back in the stadium at full time and no further disorder was reported. the draw for the men's world cup play—offs takes place today. that means scotland and wales will find out who they'll be facing. the sides will play a semi—final, and if they win, a final. both the home nations have home advantage for their semis which will be played in late march. and head to the website to read more on matthew weston who claimed skeleton gold in a remarkable three—way tie forfirst place at the world cup in innsbruck. it's britain's first world cup winner in the men's skeleton since in almost ia years ago. that is all the sport threw me for the moment. in the last couple of hours belgium has confirmed europe's first case of the highly mutated strain first detected in south africa. the world health organization is holding a meeting to determine its significance and experts in geneva will be considering whether it should be designated a variant of concern. the uk and others have imposed travel restrictions on six african countries and in the last half hour the president of the european commission says eu member states should activate the emergency brake on travel to southern africa and other countries affected by the mutation to limit the spread of the virus. we are taking on the news about the new highly mutated variant of covid—i9 very seriously. we know mutations could lead to the emergence and spread of even more concerning variants of the virus that could spread worldwide within a few months. it is now important that all others in europe act very swiftly, decisively and united. the european commission has today proposed to member states to activate the emergency brake on travel from countries in the southern africa and other countries affected to limit the spread of the new variant. all air travel to these countries should be suspended. they should be suspended until we have a clear understanding about the danger posed by this new variant. travellers returning from this region should respect strict quarantine rules. the region should respect strict quarantine rules. region should respect strict uuarantine rules. , , ., quarantine rules. the president of the eu commission _ quarantine rules. the president of the eu commission speaking i quarantine rules. the president of the eu commission speaking in i quarantine rules. the president of| the eu commission speaking in the last half hour. let's now speak to sir peter horby, he is professor of emerging infectious diseases in the nuffield department of medicine at oxford university. europe should apply the emergency brake on travel, do you agree with that? ., ~ brake on travel, do you agree with that? . ~ , ., , that? thanks. i think it is actually a reasonable _ that? thanks. i think it is actually a reasonable precautionary i that? thanks. i think it is actually i a reasonable precautionary measure. this virus has many red flags, more than we would have expected are ever planned for. until things are clearer i think it is good to be precautionary and that we try to limit spread as much as we can until we understand more. at the same time it is important we demonstrate solidarity with affected countries and put in measures to help those countries because they have been admirably transparent about this problem and we shouldn't penalised them and put in as strong measures as we can to support them and stop the spread of this virus. time as we can to support them and stop the spread of this virus.— the spread of this virus. time is of the spread of this virus. time is of the essence _ the spread of this virus. time is of the essence as _ the spread of this virus. time is of the essence as we _ the spread of this virus. time is of the essence as we have _ the spread of this virus. time is of| the essence as we have discovered over the last 18 months or so. is it too late to? it is out there now. we don't know — too late to? it is out there now. - don't know yet. there seems to be significant community transmission in south africa and we have heard today that cases have been detected in belgium and in israel. that means it is spreading in other countries but until we are sure of that i think we have to take measures now is to try to limit spread if we can. i mention this earlier, for those watching from the top of the hour. how do we go about the next few weeks. what is the process and what our scientists are looking at with this new variant?— our scientists are looking at with this new variant? . ., , this new variant? there are a number of important — this new variant? there are a number of important questions _ this new variant? there are a number of important questions and _ this new variant? there are a number of important questions and one i this new variant? there are a number of important questions and one is i of important questions and one is how transmissible is this virus? is it able to outcompete current variants circulating throughout the world, particularly the delta variant. if it is able to outcompete the delta variant then that is a significant problem. the second is to what extent this virus is able to evade existing immunity either from natural infection or from vaccination, because again that will have big consequences to how the spreads and communities that have experienced high levels of transmission and vaccination. the worry is that in south africa they have just experienced a very big outbreak of the delta variant and yet regardless of that they are seeing increased transmission of this variant. that coupled with the genetic picture is the possibility this virus can escape to some extent natural vaccine immunity and until that becomes clearer we need to treat this with great caution. fine treat this with great caution. one top scientist _ treat this with great caution. one top scientist today saying it is bad news but not doomsday, so what would your message be to those watching this afternoon?— this afternoon? exactly, it is early da s with this afternoon? exactly, it is early days with some — this afternoon? exactly, it is early days with some red _ this afternoon? exactly, it is early days with some red flags - this afternoon? exactly, it is early days with some red flags but i this afternoon? exactly, it is early| days with some red flags but there are still a lot of gaps in their understanding but it is reasonable to be cautious at this stage and be very active about gathering all the data so we can really understand whether this transmits well and also what level of disease severity it is associated with.— associated with. many thanks for “oininu us associated with. many thanks for joining us here — associated with. many thanks for joining us here on _ associated with. many thanks for joining us here on bbc— associated with. many thanks for joining us here on bbc news. i a 12—year—old girl has died after suffering catastrophic injuries during an argument in liverpool city centre. ava white was with friends when she was assaulted yesterday evening. four teenage boys, aged between 13 and 15, have been arrested on suspicion of her murder. our correspondent danny savage gave us the latest from liverpool city centre. very strange atmosphere here in liverpool city centre. buskers down and all the main shopping street singing christmas songs and lots of people going about their shopping on black friday and yet you have a huge chunk of the city centre shopping area completely cordoned off after this incident last night. sometimes we use the word shocking to much but this truly seems to be a shocking attack on a 12—year—old girl who was attack on a 12—year—old girl who was a year eight pupil at a school in the city and was in town last night with a group of friends. it appears there has been some sort of altercation between her group of friends and another group of youths in town and a scuffle has taken place during which she has received catastrophic injuries. she was treated at the scene and taken to alder hey children's hospital. sadly the injuries were not survivable in the injuries were not survivable in the family got the terrible knock on the family got the terrible knock on the door last night to say that their daughter who had gone into town for the switching on the christmas lights was not coming home again and to people's thoughts are with them. for teenagers are being questioned at the moment, aged between 13 and 15 years old. but here in the centre of liverpool people have been coming to put down flowers in memory and her school have released a statement. he says ava was a much loved and valued member of the notre dame family. she was a popular girl with a huge group of friends but thoughts go out to her family and friends and everyone affected by this utterly tragic event. this is something that seems to have got to the heart of people in liverpool, the number of flowers growing by the minute. an investigation is under way in some of the biggest businesses in the city centre close her business at the moment on what would have been a busy shopping day as police investigate what exactly happened to this 12—year—old girl last night for her to end up fatally injured in a brief argument. the headlines on bbc news. the health secretary says the new covid variant could pose substantial risk to public health and is of international concern. health officials say it's the most heavily mutated variant so far. a 12—year—old girl has died after an argument in liverpool city centre — four teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of murder. men who boxed as amateurs at a young age, are at risk of developing early onset dementia and cognitive impairment. a study by cardiff university, followed thousands of men over 35 years, and found those that boxed, were at least twice as likely to have alzheimer s disease. our wales correspondent, tomos morgan has the story. from grandfather to grandchild. peter flanagan is passing on a sport that's run deep in his family. my trainer said, if you get a draw against a scouser in liverpool, this he is going to win. but not long ago, he started to notice little things were being forgotten in daily life. while i was driving along one day, just didn't have a clue where i was, where i was going, or anything. did those episodes scare you at all? to a certain extent, yeah. after being convinced by the family, he saw a doctor and was diagnosed with dementia four years ago. the consultant adamant that boxing had played a part in scarring his brain. what was it like, though, when you did get that diagnosis? sorry. i could have been sat around feeling sorry for myself, and i would have just demised really, really quickly. but i didn't. ijust wanted to be positive. a new peer—reviewed published study, seen exclusively by the bbc, is believed to be one of the first look at the long—term effects of amateur boxing on the brain. published in the clinical journal of sports medicine, the study followed 2,500 men over a 35 year period. their findings showed that of those who boxed as amateurs earlier in life, they were twice as likely to have alzheimer's—like cognitive impairment and they showed earlier signs of onset dementia compared with those that hadn't boxed. symptoms appear to start up to eight years earlier in the men who have boxed, compared to the men who have never boxed. an average of five years, but up to eight years earlier. it's a mixed bag when it comes to whether those in this boxing club near pontypridd worry about the potential consequences of the sport. it does make you worried. in my first fight without a head guard, i had a big cut under my eye. i thought, that's a bit serious. no, if you have worries about getting hit, you wouldn't do it. over the years, changes have been made to make the sport safer. the science on head guards has changed at men's senior level. bigger, more padded gloves are used, and gyms' training has improved according to peter. but nevertheless, he still believes that more could be done to mitigate any potential long—term damage. i think head shots in sparring should be limited. in training? in training. in a statement, the aiba, the international boxing association for amateur boxing said that its priority has always been the health and wellbeing of boxers. research is currently ongoing into impact loads to the head in training and competition, and any changes to regulation on the sparring would be grounded in robust research and based on its commitment to boxers and those who support them. every day, i'm convincing myself that i'm strong and doing it... a positive mental attitude, though, isn't it? yeah, definitely. training is a key part of keeping peter on track. as is spending as much time as possible with his 11 grandchildren. in order to defend himself from whatever is next. i'm training to fight dementia like i trained to fight in boxing. tomos morgan, bbc news. let's get more on the channel migrant crisis and the angry reaction from french president emmanuel macron to borisjohnson's public call for france to take back migrants who reach the uk. let's speak to tim loughton, conservative mp for east worthing and shoreham in sussex. many thanks for your time. the many thanks for your time. the head many thanks for your time. the head of the ports of calais and boulogne telling us french police are doing everything they can. taste telling us french police are doing everything they can.— telling us french police are doing everything they can. we have been doin: everything they can. we have been doing everything — everything they can. we have been doing everything we _ everything they can. we have been doing everything we can _ everything they can. we have been doing everything we can for - everything they can. we have been doing everything we can for a i everything they can. we have been doing everything we can for a long | doing everything we can for a long time and offering to do enough a lot more of the french would cooperate. that is why the prime minister has written setting at the offer of joint patrols on french beaches and in the sea as well, the offer of night—time drone coverage which the french don't have to monitor these groups. and then some serious conversations about being able to return migrants who don't have a claim to be in the uk to france. these are all practical solutions to try to stop further tragedies like the one we saw two days ago happening and it is extraordinary the home secretary has been told don't bother to turn up, it is incredible.— don't bother to turn up, it is incredible. ,, ., ., , don't bother to turn up, it is incredible. ,, ., . , , incredible. should those matters be discussed on _ incredible. should those matters be discussed on social— incredible. should those matters be discussed on social media? - incredible. should those matters be discussed on social media? shouldl discussed on social media? should they be highlighted on social media are subjects as sensitive as this, should they be dealt with privately? that have been private conversations going on between the home office and their french counterparts for a long time. ministers have been going across, the home secretary speaking to her counterparts, border agency and border force, police have been speaking behind the scenes. the prime ministerjust set out a perfectly reasonable offer, this 5—point plan, because something needs to happen urgently? serra; 5-point plan, because something needs to happen urgently? sorry to interru t, needs to happen urgently? sorry to interrupt. why _ needs to happen urgently? sorry to interrupt, why do _ needs to happen urgently? sorry to interrupt, why do it _ needs to happen urgently? sorry to interrupt, why do it on _ needs to happen urgently? sorry to interrupt, why do it on social i interrupt, why do it on social media, if there are these private conversations happening why turned to social media to tell everyone about these private conversations? this was a letter that was written and published and it has been on the conventional media and social media and everything else. there was nothing in that letter that has not been proposed already to the french and yet nothing has been done about it. if you're concerned about social media, the stuff going out from french ministers attacking britain's position in the british government are pretty appalling and you might want to look at some of those before having a go at the prime minister. he is looking at practical solutions to sort out the strategy. i wasn't yesterday reporting on this and i have seen some of the locals have told me stories about what they have witnessed over the last few months, i am sure you are aware of the stories yourself. some of the locals describing this as a political football, one against the other. how moving forward is veryjoined up approach on this? moving forward is very “oined up approach on this?_ approach on this? there are two thins approach on this? there are two things that _ approach on this? there are two things that need _ approach on this? there are two things that need to _ approach on this? there are two things that need to happen i approach on this? there are two| things that need to happen which approach on this? there are two i things that need to happen which the friend should have been doing, for which we offered assistance in bringing it about. the first is that when they do come across groups of migrants, ratherthan, as in when they do come across groups of migrants, rather than, as in the footage on the bbc and elsewhere where a group with a boat passed in front of a police car with a policeman doing absolutely nothing to intervene, they should be stopped and arrested and processed as to whether they have a claim to be in france at all in the first place, and if they haven't, then they need to be deported or they need to apply for asylum in france. otherwise they arejust let for asylum in france. otherwise they are just let go and the boat is confiscated. they don't even address the people smuggler unless there is clear data to show he or she is linked to criminal activity and they are back on the beach the following night trying again. that has to stop. and secondly if the french get to the boats they need to intercept them at sea. bring them back to french territory and that would stop people paying thousands of pounds to criminal gangs for a very hazardous journey to end up where they started. these things should have been happening a long time ago and we are prepared to help the french to bring that about. maw; we are prepared to help the french to bring that about.— we are prepared to help the french to bring that about. many thanks for “oininu us to bring that about. many thanks for joining us here _ to bring that about. many thanks for joining us here on _ to bring that about. many thanks for joining us here on bbc— to bring that about. many thanks for joining us here on bbc news. - the challenging circumstances of the past 18 months have forced all of us to adapt, but niall guite has turned lockdown into a whole new opportunity. he represented britain at the special olympics, sport for athletes with a learning disability. but when he was forced indoors he started to create pictures — and from his bedroom in sheffield they re now being sold around the world. joe wilson went to meet him. niall guite combines his passions for sport, for art. his stadium pictures began as a lockdown distraction. they have become a phenomenon. i start in the morning and get a plan of it and then select the colours and then start the process of drawing it. this is the stadium. the art has travelled to spain, here is seville's managerjulen lopetegui with his home ground. muchas gracias, niall. hello, grayson perry here. hello, what is that behind you? a niall guite original. a fellow artist friend. not only is niall a brilliant artist, he is also a special| olympian so, a class act. sport england figures show opportunities for people with a disability are only resuming gradually. life is about adapting and niall has one room in the loft for training, anotherfor art, and those pictures, they have become a business. niall sells prints of his pictures on his website in conjunction with the special olympics charity. he is now self—employed and in britain only 6% of adults with learning disability have paid jobs. he does a lot of research. you have always done that, haven't you? you have got a head full of football. if you opened it up, there would be a ball in there. but to get to this point just feels quite dreamlike actually. perhaps niall�*s pictures represent the power of sport, but also the possibility of creativity. joe wilson, bbc news, in sheffield. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there, the met office have issued a red warning for the strength of the wind in coastal areas of eastern scotland and the north—east of england. gusts of 90 mph developing, continuing into tomorrow morning. there is a danger to life. please stay away from these areas if you possibly can. we are blowing down a colder air with those strengthening winds this evening and overnight, and maybe some snow, not just on the high ground in scotland, onto the pennines, welsh hills, may be a little bit of sleet and snow pushing its way into the midlands over towards the cotswolds, but it is the strength of the wind that is the significant feature because the winds will be strengthening pretty much everywhere. it will be very windy, notjust across north—eastern parts of the uk but through the irish sea in two parts of wales and the south—west, and across england we still got this mixture of rain, may be some sleet and snow for a while, pushing into more eastern parts of england. elsewhere, brightening up, some sunshine, wintry showers continue across northern ireland and particularly into scotland. temperatures struggling to three or four degrees but given the strength of the wind it is going to feel significantly colder. this is bbc news, i'm ben mundy. the headlines: the health secretary says the new covid variant could pose substantial risk to public health and is of international concern. health officials say it's the most heavily mutated variant so far. the mutation was identified in south africa — now flights from there and five other african countries have been suspended. this afternoon, belgium says it has identified the first case of the new variant in europe — the eu proposes to suspend flights from any countries with cases. it is now important that all of us in europe act very swiftly, decisively and united. elsewhere, the french president says the uk isn't serious about tackling the migrant crisis — this after borisjohnson suggested france should take back people who cross the channel to the dover. who cross the channel to the dover. a 12—year—old girl has died after an argument in liverpool city centre — four teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of murder. mps will vote on plans that will see better support for people in england with down's syndrome — in what could become the first law of its kind in the world. shoppers are expected to splurge nearly £9 billion on what could be britain's biggest black friday yet. belgium has reported europe's first case of the new coronavirus variant first detected in south africa. it comes has the world health organization holds a special meeting to consider its significance. here, the health secretary, sajid javid, has told there is "huge international concern" about the new variant saying it could pose a substantial risk to public health. our first report is from our health correspondent, katharine da costa. the emergence of a new highly complex variant in southern africa has sounded alarm bells around the world. so far most cases have been identified in one province of south africa, where it appears the variant may be driving a new wave of infection. early analysis show this variant has a large number of mutations that require and will undergo further study. it will take a few weeks for us to understand what impact this variant has. the new variant was only identified four days ago. genetic analysis shows it has twice the mutations of delta, the dominant variant worldwide, including 30 changes to the spike protein which the virus uses to enter human cells. we haven't got evidence it is here yet. we haven't identified it in our genome sequencing and we are giving results of more than 50,000 cases a week. a huge amount. but there is travel from south africa across the globe and there are many rising cases in south africa at the moment so we will need to be very aware and look very carefully at all of the data coming through. current vaccines have been designed to target the spike protein from the original wuhan strain. some of the mutations in this new variant meaning the virus can spread more easily or make the vaccine less effective. jabs still provide protection against other variants of concern and can be tweaked if needed. it is highly unlikely they will not have any effect. that really would be a catastrophe. but we may well see that the protection that we get is to some degree reduced, particularly because there are so many mutations in the part of the protein that many of the antibodies bind to, so i do not think we are likely to see vaccines do not work at all. flights to the uk have been suspended from six african countries until 4am on sunday to allow time to set up quarantine hotels. the government hopes a new travel ban will delay the variant being brought into britain. we are working quickly and we are working with a high degree of uncertainty. we are continuing to make assessments, including about those countries with strong travel links to south africa, and we are working with our international partners, including south africa and the european union, to ensure an aligned response. but this variant is a reminder for all of us that this pandemic is far from over. labour welcomed the travel restrictions, but said better distribution of vaccines to poorer nations was essential. vaccines are still our best defence. we will have to wait two to three weeks for scientists to understand the risk this new variant may pose. katharine da costa, bbc news. we will continue over the coverage of the new clue variant in a moment. but first, some breaking news. a full review of dressing—room culture is part of a wide—ranging action plan to tackle discrimination and racism in cricket in england and wales. it has been issued following allegations made by azeem rafiq and a number of other players. the five—point plan has "12 tangible actions", while the england and wales cricket board has pledged £25 million over five years. this just thisjust in, more reaction on this through the afternoon. that film review of dressing room culture, part of a wide—ranging plan to tackle racism and discrimination in cricket. european commission chief ursula von der leyen has recommended that eu countries introduce an "emergency brake" on travel from southern africa in response to the new coronavirus variant. all flights to the uk from south africa, namibia, zimbabwe, botswana, lesotho and eswatini have been suspended. from sunday, people arriving in uk from those countries will have to quarantine in hotels. stock markets around the world have fallen sharply on the news. here's our business correspondent, caroline davies. gloomy skies at heathrow this morning. after months of opening up, travel to some places in the world is restricted. direct flights from six countries in southern africa have been temporarily stopped. anyone already in uk who has been in these countries in the last ten days will need to to take a pcr test. from noon today, only uk and irish residents who have been in these countries in the last ten days will be let in, and they will need to self—isolate and take two pcr tests. from sunday at liam, they will need to pay to quarantine in a hotel. for those landing this morning, the news came as a surprise. i feel extremely relieved because who knows how long this will last. i literally found when i spoke to my wife about ten minutes ago, she told me that there is no flights going out of south africa until i think monday or tuesday, they have stopped all flights. so that's the first i heard of it, about ten minutes ago. it's disappointing news for catherine and her family, they were planning to attend a family wedding in south africa in early december. to go back to south africa and to see them and to be at the wedding was really important, it's got us all through this somehow, looking forward to that. when do you think you will be able to see your family in south africa? i can't imagine it's going to be any time soon, and now i daren't hope because... i just don't think about it, you know. the transport secretary said the government had acted quickly to buy as much time as possible. eventually, as a variant it will come here. eventually, if there's a variant it will come here. i'm a great believer in science, we have shown what can be done by following the science, with the vaccines, and we will... i was talking to chris whitty, the chief medical officer, about this yesterday, and in his words, we will find the right vaccinations, even for new variants. but we need to give ourselves as much time as possible. the government have said they will review the decision in three week's time. countries like south africa are key winter sun destinations for the travel industry. they will be hoping that today's announcement doesn't dissuade customers from booking, just as travel was starting to take off. the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, says that member states should suspend all air travel from african countries hit by the new variant. we are taking the news about the new highly mutated variant of covid—19 very seriously. we do know mutations could lead to the emergence and spread of even more concerning variants of the virus that could spread worldwide within a few months. it is now important that all of us in europe act very swiftly, decisively and united. the european commission has today proposed to member states to activate the emergency brake on travel from countries in southern africa and other countries affected to limit the spread of the new variant. all air travel to these countries should be suspended. they should be suspended until we have a clear understanding about the danger posed by this new variant. travellers returning from this region should respect strict quarantine rules. well, that's the view from the european union. next, to our africa correspondent, pumza fihlani — talking about the reaction injohannesburg to the new travel restrctions. the immediate reaction from the south african government and scientists here is that they are saying very little is known about this new variant and they would like to be given time to study it further, to know how transmissible it is, but also whether it poses more danger than the variants that we have seen and detected in the country, but also how it is likely to react to vaccines and whether it will hamper at all the country's current vaccination programme. the south african government has said that they believe that the decision by the uk may have been hasty, especially because there was still meant to be those interactions and discussions with the world health organization to get an idea of a uniform reaction, or a steer that would be appropriate. we have just seen a statement a few minutes ago, the world health organization also cautioning about hastily imposing travel bans, because they understand it is something difficult, whose effect is difficult to reverse, and it's something that south africa themselves have seen in the last few months here. pumza filhani. and we'll be talking to salim abdool karim — chair of the south african advisory committee on covid and a member of the africa task force for the virus after 3:30. the french president, emmanuel macron, has accused the uk of not being serious about dealing with the migrant crisis. european ministers will meet on sunday to discuss the situation, after 27 people drowned on wednesday trying to reach the uk. but president macron confirmed that the home secretary, priti patel, can no longer attend that meeting, though uk officials still will. her invitation was withdrawn after borisjohnson publicly called on france to take back migrants who cross the channel. here's our political correspondent, damian grammaticas. is the prime minister an undiplomatic leader? macron says you aren't serious — is he right, prime minister? i what sparked this blow—up were mrjohnson's very public statements after the deaths of 27 people in the channel. last night he sent out a series of tweets, saying he had written to president emanuel macron with a series of proposals. he tweeted the letter too, asking, among other things, for joint patrols from next week of french police and uk border force officers, and a returns agreement so the uk could send back all those coming across the channel in small boats. france, which has rejected exactly these things before, took offence, saying this was not what the prime minister discussed on the phone with president macron two days ago and this was no way to deal with sensitive issues. translation: you do not communicate between leaders on these issues - by tweet and public letters. we are not whistle—blowers, come on. come on. leaders communicate in a serious way to deal with serious questions between serious people. on sunday our interior minister will meet with his eu counterparts and the european commission. we will see, when it comes to the the uk, how we can act effectively — if they decide to be serious. as a consequence, france has uninvited to home secretary priti uninvited home secretary priti patel from a meeting of eu ministers happening on sunday to discuss how to respond to the boats. this is a humiliation for the prime minister and the home secretary, who have completely lost control of the situation in the channel, at the very moment when the prime minister needed to be a statesman, to actually deal with this. what we saw instead was a grave error ofjudgment, putting a public letter on twitter. here in downing street, they are putting up the christmas tree. relations with france, however, are far from festive. here, they say their aim is to prevent further loss of life, but borisjohnson's proposals have been rebuffed by the french. after brexit, the uk is no long a part of the eu scheme that allowser part of the eu scheme that allows the return of asylum seekers to eu countries. what this crisis shows is that both countries have to find ways to work together. no nation can tackle this alone, and so i hope that the french will reconsider. it is in our interest, and their interest, in certainly in the interests of people who are being people trafficked to the uk, and these tragic scenes that we are seeing. so the uk says it does want to act cooperatively. france has proposed that the uk send personnel to process asylum claims for the uk in france. but that was dismissed by the uk side yesterday. damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. with me now is lord kim darroch — he's a crossbench peer and chair of best for britain, a campaign group which launched originally to stop brexit and now works to improve the uk's relationship with the eu. he is also a former national security advisor. good afternoon, many thanks for joining us. that relationship between the uk and the european union not great at the moment because of this?— union not great at the moment because of this? they have been a few problems _ because of this? they have been a few problems in _ because of this? they have been a few problems in uk _ because of this? they have been a few problems in uk france - because of this? they have been a l few problems in uk france relations in particular in the last few months, notably the argument about fishing licences and the development over the last 2a hours and the cancellation of priti patel�*s invitation to this meeting is not a bad step. the reality is leaders on both sides of the channel need to find a way to work together if we are to address this crisis, if we are to address this crisis, if we are to address this crisis, if we are to stop more tragedies of the kind that we saw earlier this week. is it possible to work closer together, given the context of the last few months? i together, given the context of the last few months?— last few months? i don't think it was a brilliant _ last few months? i don't think it was a brilliant move _ last few months? i don't think it was a brilliant move to - last few months? i don't think it was a brilliant move to put i last few months? i don't think it was a brilliant move to put that| was a brilliant move to put that letter on twitter. it was a piece of domestic political theatre, showing that number ten were involved and trying to do something, but it put the french government in an awkward position, it put them on the spot, it challenged... the question of joint patrols on french beaches and in french waters. it was never going to help. it doesn't need an apology, just nice to find a way of calming fines two microphone stand to get to a position where we can work together. aha, a position where we can work together-— a position where we can work touether. �* ., , ., ~ ., �* �* together. a conservative mp told bbc news that french _ together. a conservative mp told bbc news that french politicians - together. a conservative mp told bbc news that french politicians have i news that french politicians have taken to social media over this, it is both sides using that platform to do this. how damaging is to not have priti patel in that meeting this weekend? this priti patel in that meeting this weekend? �* , , weekend? as you said, there will be some british — weekend? as you said, there will be some british officials _ weekend? as you said, there will be some british officials in _ weekend? as you said, there will be some british officials in the - some british officials in the meeting. i doubt they will be given prominent places in the discussions but they will at least know what is going on. it is not as us that if we can go back to high—level political level contacts with the french quickly, but equally it would be better if priti patel wasn't there, obviously. better if priti patel wasn't there, obviousl . ., ., ., obviously. how do we get back to those conversations? _ obviously. how do we get back to those conversations? what i obviously. how do we get back to those conversations? what steps| obviously. how do we get back to i those conversations? what steps need to be taken next to tackle this? i england could become the first country in the world to introduce legislation which should result in better support for people with down syndrome. a bill has been debated for the first time in the commons today — and if it passes into law, it will mean public bodies like councils, schools and job centres will be required to specifically recognise the needs of people with the condition. our disability affairs correspondent, nikki fox, reports. pull, pull, pull. tom is pumping iron at the gym. yeah, one more. the 17—year—old has down syndrome. he is working towards a career as a fitness instructor and he's already whipping me into shape. is that a cheating situp? yeah. what if i let go of my hands? um, yes, it's better. is that better? yeah. being a lean, mean fighting machine is not all tom wants from life. what is your dream, tom? i want to be a fitness coach. and i want to get a wife and a baby. a dog. yeah. a beard. yeah. and a new flat. in no particular order? yes, absolutely. at one stage he wanted to ride a motorbike, which i hope he's dropped. so he's keen to do those things. it's about opportunities and that's what as a parent, that's what we try and provide any child, but i think with a child with down syndrome we have to work harder. the aim of the bill is to make life easier for thousands of people like tom. it will ensure they get the right support when it comes to education, employment, health and social care, and after today's debate that has moved one step closer. there has been such an incredible level of support. i've got support from all parties in the house of commons. at the moment that's a fairly rare thing to get. if this gets passed, will it put more pressure local authorities? they need to deal with people in their locality anyway. what would be completely unacceptable is to have people with down syndrome whose parents are no longer there put into inappropriate care. heidi and james have been married for over a year. so what is going to happen? heidi is a leading campaigner for people with down syndrome. she is backing the bill because she knows just how important it is. it's all about making it easier for people with down syndrome. that is all we want, we want easy lives. from the start of their lives to the end of their lives, and that is what i want forjames. for everyone. it is estimated there are around a7,000 people with down syndrome in the uk. as it stands, the bill only applies to england, but it is hoped if it is passed other nations will follow suit. tom, well done. nikki fox, bbc news. we saw him there in nikki's report. joining me now is dr liam fox mp, who put forward the private members' bill being debated today. your back story to this is very interesting. on the brink of uniting politics they want to start with what you have pushed so hard on this? the main driver is the fact we have a change in life expectancy. i was punting out in the commons that when i was born in the life expectancy of someone with down syndrome was only 13 years. by the time i became a junior doctor in the early 1980s that had increased substantially to about 30 years, now it's 58, a little bit more than that now. that means this is the first in the nation who will out with their parents, and that has a profound change on the whole situation. first of all it means that we had to think ahead to prevent what would otherwise be personal tragedies for the individuals involved, and also to take the weight of the minds of parents who wake up every morning thinking what will happen when they are not there. that was the main driver. as far as my own interest, the boy next door to me had down syndrome. i constituency assistant, her son has down syndrome. i as a doctor obviously came across a number of patients and families with down syndrome was an issue. as an mp, you see not only at the medical elements, but you see the need for better provision and education, particularly special needs. as i mentioned, the increased pressure for better services and long—term care. forto for better services and long—term care. for to say you are very familiar with this. practically how might this bill help?— might this bill help? what will ha en might this bill help? what will happen as _ might this bill help? what will happen as a — might this bill help? what will happen as a result _ might this bill help? what will happen as a result of- might this bill help? what will happen as a result of the i might this bill help? what will happen as a result of the bill. might this bill help? what will| happen as a result of the bill is that the secretary of state, the relevant secretary of state, will give instructions to local bodies, whether that's the health authorities or local education authorities, or whether it is the key elements in the system, to instruct them to take due account of the needs of people with down syndrome when they are setting up provision for those services. that will alter over time. provision for those services. that willalter overtime. i provision for those services. that will alter over time. i think the key thing about this bill is that it's flexible. the secretary of state will be advised by a committee that looks at what is happening in the real community with real people and give appropriate advice. it means that we will not fix the system as it is today, it will keep moving and changing with differing needs over time. it will not be a panacea, let me tell you, no piece of legislation ever is, but it is a very important first step which will potentially make a very big difference, not only to people with down syndrome, but their families was that i think we will see a great deal about who we are as a society. many thanks forjoining us and taking the time to speak with us. english cricket authorities have published an anti—racism action plan in response to the azeem rafiq scandal that has sent shock waves through the game. the measures announced by the england and wales cricket board include a review of dressing—room culture as well as action to help non—white and less privileged players pursue careers in the game. the former yorkshire cricketer has spoken of the racism he's suffered throughout his career. dr thomas fletcher has studied the experiences of people from south asian communities playing cricket in yorkshire — he's also carried two related projects funded by the ecb. hejoins us now. your initial reaction to this then? i he joins us now. your initial reaction to this then? i think there's a _ reaction to this then? i think there's a lot _ reaction to this then? i think there's a lot of _ reaction to this then? i think there's a lot of good - reaction to this then? i think there's a lot of good in - reaction to this then? i think there's a lot of good in this | reaction to this then? i think - there's a lot of good in this from what i can tell. obviously i have not been able to digest the nitty—gritty of it. i see words like listening, looking for phil scale reviews, published localised action plans. all of these things suggest an increased willingness to listen and for the plan is to actually be evidence—based, as opposed to things and thousand from the top by people who think they know what the problems are, rather than necessarily consulting with people directly impacted by this culture and these forms of discrimination. we have seen this in the last half an hour or so. we have seen this in the last half an hour orso. listen, care, educate. the setting up of a standardised approach to handling complaints. a full review of dressing dressing room culture. we have heard a lot about that dressing room culture, in particularfrom azeem rafiq over the last few weeks. this is important, i have said from the beginning it is important we take time to understand what the problem is. iappreciate take time to understand what the problem is. i appreciate the ecb had been under mounting pressure to act quickly, and they have, and they have released a list quickly. there is always a danger with these things that what gets published as a reflection of what people who run the game think the problems are and what they want to bring in, as opposed to bringing things fit for purpose based on the issue and problems. i do welcome these commitments to look into the dressing room culture, as well as reviews of crowd behaviour. we want cricket to be a spot that is not displayed by a diverse group of people, but we want a game that people, but we want a game that people feel able to go and watch and support their teams as well. because not everybody wants to play. so we need a game that is welcome at different level, for people who perhaps want to play a grassroots level, but also people who want to watch their favourite team play, perhaps you want to be an umpire or a coach stop we must welcome propositions that include... fir a propositions that include... or a chair even- _ propositions that include... or a chair even. the _ propositions that include... or a chair even. the chair _ propositions that include... or a chair even. the chair due - propositions that include... or a chair even. the chair due to leave in a few months that left yesterday. should this have been carried out quicker? may she have stayed on if this had been published? who quicker? may she have stayed on if this had been published? who knows? it is sad that — this had been published? who knows? it is sad that we _ this had been published? who knows? it is sad that we have _ this had been published? who knows? it is sad that we have had _ this had been published? who knows? it is sad that we have had to _ this had been published? who knows? it is sad that we have had to had - it is sad that we have had to had azeem rafiq's case for the game to wake up. we have seen over the past two years that i took george floyd to be murdered four people to start thinking about race and equality with little more nuance. it is sad that we have activities jr people to listen, to pay attention. i think the ecb is at a point where it has taken as medicine, it is reflecting and that is introspection at the. i think the resignation of the chair of leicester doesn't reemphasise there is a big project here to build trust, because this is a clear indication that she did not feel her voice was necessarily head, or perhaps the game had not represented her values, and it's out the game does have a long way to go to transforming those perceptions of building trust of people who perhaps feel they have been slighted by the game. feel they have been slighted by the name. ., ., ., game. some will say at the image of the name game. some will say at the image of the game has _ game. some will say at the image of the game has been _ game. some will say at the image of the game has been completely - game. some will say at the image of the game has been completely torn| the game has been completely torn apart over the last few weeks or so. as much as the ecb would like this to draw a line under the matter, will it? ., ., , ., �* , will it? no, and it shouldn't. it is all well and _ will it? no, and it shouldn't. it is all well and good _ will it? no, and it shouldn't. it is all well and good publishing - will it? no, and it shouldn't. it is i all well and good publishing action plans and people will learn a thing job done. the proof will always be in the pudding here. it is not about arbitrary metrics, it is not about 20% a year, 30% there, even though these commitments are made in this action plan. this is about experiences. if you have 30% of people on a board from a diverse background but they are still experiencing discrimination or do not feel that voice is heard, then that metric is completely tokenistic. the same as if you have diversity within your coaching pathway, if they don't feel like the 999 pathway, if they don't feel like the egg are getting a fair deal or have positive experiences going through that coaching or talent pathway for players, then again the system has failed nevertheless. this has got to be a summative action. we have got an action plan which has to be re—addressed on an annual basis to see if it is fit for purpose. if it isn't then it needs to be amended again, these plans need to be agile, they need to be contextualised within that moment in time. this one might well be fit for purpose now, it might not be in 12 months�* time to stop it might need and let�*s take a look at the weather with darren bent. hello there, the met office have issued a red warning for the strength of the wind in coastal areas of eastern scotland and the north—east of england. gusts of 90 mph developing, continuing into tomorrow morning. there is a danger to life. please stay away from these areas if you possibly can. we are blowing down a colder air with those strengthening winds this evening and overnight, and maybe some snow, not just on the high ground in scotland, onto the pennines, welsh hills, may be a little bit of sleet and snow pushing its way into the midlands over towards the cotswolds, but it is the strength of the wind that is the significant feature because the winds will be strengthening pretty much everywhere. it will be very windy, notjust across north—eastern parts of the uk but through the irish sea in two parts of wales and the south—west, and across england we still got this mixture of rain, may be some sleet and snow for a while, pushing into more eastern parts of england. elsewhere, brightening up, some sunshine, wintry showers continue across northern ireland and particularly into scotland. temperatures struggling to three or four degrees but given the strength of the wind it is going to feel significantly colder. hello, this is bbc news with me, ben mundy. the headlines. the health secretary says the new covid variant could pose substantial risk to public health and is of international concern. health officials say it�*s the most heavily mutated variant so far. the mutation was identified in south africa — now flights from there and five other african countries have been suspended. this afternoon — belgium says it has identified the first case of the new variant in europe. the eu proposes to suspend flights from any countries with cases. elsewhere, the french president says the uk isn�*t serious about tackling the migrant crisis. this after borisjohnson suggested france should take back people who cross the channel to dover. a 12—year—old girl has died after an argument in liverpool city centre — four teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of murder. and coming up this hour. the multi—award winning music producer, nile rodgers, auctions some of his favourite guitars — for charity. more on those stories a little bit later. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here�*s sarah. within the last half hour the england and wales cricket board have released a 12 point, game wide action plan to tackle racism and discrimination in the game. the ecb chief, tom harrison, admitted an "earthquake" had hit the sport over the last few weeks, following the testimony of azeem rafiq on his experiences at yorkshire. harrison said the option of having an independent regulator for cricket would not be ruled out. for more on the detail of this plan, here�*s our senior sports news reporter laura scott has more. the ecb�*s chief executive tom harrison said the race crisis in english cricket has felt like an earthquake. now comes in accelerated game wide attempt at seismic change, tackling cultural and governance issues. 12 action points include standardising the way whistle—blowers like azeem rafiq are treated in future, conducting a full review of dressing room cultural to the international level and making cricket venues more to everyone. diversity targets will be linked to funding to improve accountability. they will vote in £25 million to approve the action plan and will form an anti—discrimination unit within six months. with the ashes less than two weeks away, australia have announced that tim paine, will be taking a break from all forms of cricket, for an indefinite period of time — due to concerns over his mental health. paine resigned as captain last week — after details of a historical investigation, into texts to a female colleague were revealed. but he had remained in the squad. however, he�*s decided now to step away from the sport — with paine�*s manager saying they are �*extremely concerned for his, and his wife�*s well—being.�* meanwhile, bowler pat cummins will captain the australian side for the series with england, which starts on the 8th of december. former captain steve smith will take up the role of vice captain. cummins admits scrutiny around the role is scary — but he was never going to turn down the opportunity. some parts of it are daunting but you can�*t stay in bed all day worrying about some of these things. concentrating on there is so much positive in this role and so much i think i can bring to it, so trying to not overthink it and just try to be me. sport has reacting the news of the new covid variant which has been circulating in south africa — with the welsh rugby teams, cardiff and scarlets trying to return home from there after the country was put on the uk red travel list. the united rugby championship matches scheduled to be staged in south africa over the next two weekends have now been postponed with the two welsh teams, as well as irish side munster and italians zebre, trying to return home, with charter flights a possibility, before the quarantine deadlines. 15 uk and ireland golfers have also withdrawn from the joburg open, which started on thursday — and the future of two more dp world tour events in south africa in the coming weeks also under threat. eddie howe will be in the dugout for the first time as newcastle head coach after returning a negative covid test today. he missed what should have been his first game in charge against brenford, — he watched on from home, but he has now been cleared to be with his team, when they take on arsenal at the emirates tomorrow. the task is a tough one for howe, newcastle are bottom of the premier league with 6 points from 12 games. manchester united are currently sorting out the final details of ralf rangnick s move from lokomotiv moscow. the german is due to take charge for the remainder of the season, but michael carrick will be in still be charge of the side for sunday s trip to chelsea. liverpool managerjurgen klopp knows rangnick well, and has sent this warning to other premier league teams. we will be organised and i think on the pitch we should realise that and thatis the pitch we should realise that and that is obviously not good news for other teams! all coaches in the world, we need time to train with their teams and pretty quick he will realise they have no time to train because they play all the time so it makes it a bit trickier for him, because they play all the time so it makes it a bit trickierfor him, but apart from that, a really good man and outstanding coach. and if it happens will come to england. that�*s all the sport for now. i�*ll have more for you in the next hour. let�*s get more now on the new variant of coronavirus. belgium has confirmed europe�*s first case of the highly mutated strain first detected in south africa. the world health organisation holds a special meeting to consider its significance. experts in geneva will decide whether it should be designated a variant of concern. the uk and others have imposed travel restrictions on six african countries. salim abdool karim is chair of the south african advisory committee on covid and a member of the africa taskforce for the virus. he�*sjoining us now. think of your time on bbc news, hello to you. think of your time on bbc news, hello to vom— hello to you. good evening to all these years- _ hello to you. good evening to all these years. how _ hello to you. good evening to all these years. how concerned - hello to you. good evening to all these years. how concerned are | hello to you. good evening to all. these years. how concerned are you b this? these years. how concerned are you by this? let's— these years. how concerned are you by this? let's start _ these years. how concerned are you by this? let's start with _ these years. how concerned are you by this? let's start with that. - these years. how concerned are you by this? let's start with that. we - by this? let's start with that. we are by this? let's start with that. - are concerned. when we look at this pandemic, we have been expecting to see more variants and that�*s the reason why we have put in place all of the surveillance to identify new variants and it worked because we identified this new variant at a very early stage. it is still very early and we don�*t know the characteristics of this virus, that it needs to be studied, but we can make some extrapolations about what may be some of the issues we have to deal with with this new variant and one of those is that it seems to have several of the mutations that are also present in the delta variant to enable it to spread at a faster rate. it also has some mutations from the beta variant that confer some immune escape. looking at that, those early concerns we have. , . ~ ., , have. very quick to be identified, how has the _ have. very quick to be identified, how has the situation _ have. very quick to be identified, how has the situation being - have. very quick to be identified, - how has the situation being managed the ground? the how has the situation being managed the round? , ., ., , ., the ground? the situation started off with a small— the ground? the situation started off with a small outbreak. - the ground? the situation started off with a small outbreak. you - the ground? the situation started i off with a small outbreak. you have to recognise that when you identify eight variant, the virus has already been spreading for a week or two or even three. by the time you pick it up even three. by the time you pick it up people have been infected and transmitted it by the time you do the sequencing. we would expect that the sequencing. we would expect that the virus has some spread within the environment of pretoria. the extent to which it will have spread beyond that, i think it is quite likely it will have spread to a few other countries from travellers who were in that region at the time as we have already seen in hong kong and belgium, but it is left to be seen how much further it can spread. the delta variant, within three weeks of first being identified, it was already in 53 countries. [30 first being identified, it was already in 53 countries. do you feel it could have _ already in 53 countries. do you feel it could have been _ already in 53 countries. do you feel it could have been detected - already in 53 countries. do you feel it could have been detected earlier| it could have been detected earlier or is this the earliest opportunity to have detected it? i or is this the earliest opportunity to have detected it?— to have detected it? i think it would be _ to have detected it? i think it would be very _ to have detected it? i think it would be very difficult - to have detected it? i think it would be very difficult to - to have detected it? i think it. would be very difficult to identify it earlier. we identified it literally in the first set of cases that we knew about, so at most we would have gained a few days, not much more. but it doesn�*t matter, because at the end our target was to know that we have a new variant and now put in place all the research to identify the characteristics of this variant while dealing with the outbreak on the ground and trying to contain it as much as possible. fin contain it as much as possible. on t in: contain it as much as possible. on trying to contain it, you mention that has spread to other countries, with belgium reporting its first case in europe this afternoon. what is the restriction element, what would you like to be seen done to prevent this? i would you like to be seen done to prevent this?— prevent this? i think the first thin is prevent this? i think the first thing is that _ prevent this? i think the first thing is that the _ prevent this? i think the first thing is that the knee - prevent this? i think the first thing is that the knee jerk i prevent this? i think the first - thing is that the knee jerk reaction is to say, blame other countries for variants. that is not helpful and it is not how you deal with a pandemic. if anything we have learned in the last two years that it is our mutual interdependence and the fact we can stand together, is how we defeat this virus. i don�*t think the actions taken by the uk are particularly helpful and the reality is going to be that in a few days�* time we will see many other countries reporting cases. as the uk going to stop travel from all of those countries? i don�*t think that is particularly helpful. what is helpful is to put their heads together as scientists to try to understand what is going on, scientists from the uk and us and europe and throughout the world working with us, but also to identify what are the best strategies we can put in place, and to try to do that together, not to take an approach that victimises those countries that have good surveillance in place and are identifying new variants. we surveillance in place and are identifying new variants. we had a rofessor identifying new variants. we had a professor earlier _ identifying new variants. we had a professor earlier on _ identifying new variants. we had a professor earlier on bbc _ identifying new variants. we had a professor earlier on bbc news - identifying new variants. we had a l professor earlier on bbc news from here in the uk agreeing with you that we need to work together so is that we need to work together so is that your view, that the only way is a joined up approach?— that your view, that the only way is a joined up approach? ajoined up approach? whether it is on the vaccines _ ajoined up approach? whether it is on the vaccines or _ ajoined up approach? whether it is on the vaccines or on _ ajoined up approach? whether it is on the vaccines or on new- a joined up approach? whether it is| on the vaccines or on new treatment regimens or availability of diagnostics, what is critically important is that wealthy countries and poorer countries than those who have resources and those who don�*t have resources and those who don�*t have resources, that they come together to solve this as a pandemic, solving it together. it does not help when you have a situation of a raging fire that you just douse out half the flames and blame the other half for starting the fire. what we have to do is understand this is a fire we all have to deal with. it is going to burn all our houses, let�*s deal with it together. burn all our houses, let's deal with it together-— it together. thank you for 'oining us. pleasure. * a 12—year—old girl has died after suffering catastrophic injuries during an argument in liverpool city centre. ava white was with friends when she was assaulted yesterday evening. four teenage boys, aged between 13 and 15, have been arrested on suspicion of her murder. our correspondent danny savage reports from liverpool. very strange atmosphere here in liverpool city centre. buskers down all the main shopping street singing christmas songs and lots of people going about their shopping on black friday and yet you have a huge chunk of the city centre shopping area completely cordoned off after this incident last night. sometimes we use the word shocking too much but this truly seems to be a shocking attack on a 12—year—old girl who was a year eight pupil at a school in the city and was in town last night with a group of friends. it appears there has been some sort of altercation between her group of friends and another group of youths in town and a scuffle has taken place during which she has received catastrophic injuries. she was treated at the scene and taken to alder hey children�*s hospital. sadly the injuries were not survivable in the family got the terrible knock on the door last night to say that their daughter who had gone into town for the switching on the christmas lights was not coming home again and many people�*s thoughts are with them. four teenagers are being questioned at the moment, aged between 13 and 15 years old. but here in the centre of liverpool people have been coming to put down flowers in memory and her school have released a statement. peter duffy the head teacher says ava was a much loved and valued member of the notre dame family. she was an incredibly popular girl with a huge group of friends but thoughts go out to her family and friends and everyone affected by this utterly tragic event. this is something that seems to have got to the heart of people in liverpool, the number of flowers growing by the minute. an investigation is under way and some of the biggest businesses in the city centre closed for business at the moment on what would have been a busy shopping day as police investigate what exactly happened to this 12—year—old girl last night for her to end up fatally injured in a brief argument. the headlines on bbc news. the health secretary says the new covid variant could pose substantial risk to public health and is of international concern. health officials say it�*s the most heavily mutated variant so far. the mutation was identified in south africa — now flights from there and five other african countries have been suspended. elsewhere, the french president says the uk isn�*t serious about tackling the migrant crisis. this after borisjohnson suggested france should take back people who cross the channel to the dover. have probably had an e—mail or to buy now. shoppers are expected to spend more than £9 billion this weekend as the black friday sales get underway. it�*s be the first big test for supply chains after months of disruption and labour shortages. emma simpson is at curry�*s main distribution centre in newark. loveit love it or loathe it, black friday is a massive shopping day. what started as a one day extravaganza thatis started as a one day extravaganza that is now a month long lizard of promotion and the deals partly to smooth out the demand. you join me here at currys, britain�*s biggest electrical retailer. this is their main distribution hub and it is the size of ten football pitches. this is where all the orders are picked, processed and dispatched and today it is the peak and they are flat out. how is it all going? let�*s talk to lindsey hazlehurst, carries chief supply chain officer. how are your nerves this morning? it chain officer. how are your nerves this morning?— chain officer. how are your nerves this morning? it is more excitement than they are _ this morning? it is more excitement than they are of _ this morning? it is more excitement than they are of sound _ this morning? it is more excitement than they are of sound we _ this morning? it is more excitement than they are of sound we spent - than they are of sound we spent months preparing for this weekend. we had to work quite a lot harder this year but we are working really close with their suppliers, got the stock in early, we have more stock than we had last year. extra warehouses and using every inch of our stores to make sure we have the maximum stock available and we have recruited 3200 colleagues across their business so we are ready and raring to go. their business so we are ready and raring to go— raring to go. more stock than last ear but raring to go. more stock than last year but some — raring to go. more stock than last year but some popular— raring to go. more stock than last year but some popular items - raring to go. more stock than last year but some popular items are | year but some popular items are scarce, arent they?— year but some popular items are scarce, arent they? absolutely. it is alwa s scarce, arent they? absolutely. it is always the _ scarce, arent they? absolutely. it is always the case _ scarce, arent they? absolutely. it is always the case and _ scarce, arent they? absolutely. it is always the case and there - scarce, arent they? absolutely. it is always the case and there are i is always the case and there are really hot products every year but if you can�*t buy it at currys you probably can�*t buy it anywhere at this point. my advice would be if you want something in particular, if you want something in particular, if you see it, by now. but the vast majority of our ranges, we have lots of stock and lots of product and lots of expert colleagues to help you find you need. we have got some playstation five, never enough. your su -l playstation five, never enough. your supply chain — playstation five, never enough. your supply chain is _ playstation five, never enough. your supply chain is coping despite all the challenges?— the challenges? absolutely. it is all about preparation _ the challenges? absolutely. it is all about preparation and - the challenges? absolutely. it is all about preparation and all- the challenges? absolutely. it is l all about preparation and all about fantastic colleagues and that is really the key for us. we are feeling really confident that our supply chain is ready and waiting to go. supply chain is ready and waiting to i o, ., ~' supply chain is ready and waiting to to. ., " , ., supply chain is ready and waiting to co. ., ., , , supply chain is ready and waiting to go. thank you. clearly they are auoin to go. thank you. clearly they are going to be _ go. thank you. clearly they are going to be pretty— go. thank you. clearly they are going to be pretty busy - go. thank you. clearly they are going to be pretty busy here, l go. thank you. clearly they are i going to be pretty busy here, they are doing one order every second. the met office has issued a red weather warning, covering the coast of north east scotland down to northumbria. a red warning means there is a risk to life and property; winds of up to 90 miles an hour are expected to bring down power lines and cause severe disruption to transport. our correspondent david shanks is in aberdeen: david. yes, i am here at aberdeen christmas village _ david. yes, i am here at aberdeen christmas village which _ david. yes, i am here at aberdeen christmas village which has - david. yes, i am here at aberdeen christmas village which has sadly| christmas village which has sadly been closed down for the day due to the weather warning. no twinkling lights and if there were bells they would bejingling. we have had snow since around 10am this morning but the weather warning you mention has beenin the weather warning you mention has been in place for around an hour and already we are hearing reports of trees down, blocking major roads. we also have power cuts in areas. there is a school in aberdeenshire which has had to close down due to structural damage caused by high winds. this is a red weather warning from the met office, the highest warning available. the last time we saw that in the uk was storm dennis in the south of wales and we haven�*t seen one in scotland for three and a half years since the so—called beast from the east. that gives an idea of the severity we are expecting to come. this weather warning runs from north of aberdeen right down to middlesbrough, which is where we are expecting winds of 80—90 miles per hour. the met office say that could result in flying debris which poses a risk to life and as a result police scotland have urged motorists not to travel under any circumstances due to the risks posed ljy circumstances due to the risks posed by the high winds and the snows we are expecting. we have also seen power cuts across scotland as well as a result of this weather. coastal areas in particular are subject to this warning. high seas and people are being warned not to be tempted to take photographs of the big waves we are expecting due to the risk of people being swept away. this weather warning is in place from 3pm right through to 2am tomorrow so as the weather clears up, disruption from the damage could go on into the weekend. french fishermen are blocking major french ports and the channel tunnel in a protest over post—brexit fishing rights. they sayjersey and the uk have given its fishermen too many licences. ferry services in and out of calais have been disrupted and protesters have also threatened to delay freight traffic through the channel tunnel. borisjohnson says he is "disappointed" by the threats. climate change activists have blocked a number of amazon warehouses, on the retailer�*s busiest day of the year. members of extinction rebellion targeted 13 sites across the uk, including it�*s largest distribution centre in dunfermline. it said it wanted to draw attention to alleged exploitation of amazon workers and environmentally wasteful business practices. amazon said it was working to minimise any potential disruption to customers. the multi—award winning musician and producer nile rodgers is responsible for some of the biggest hits of the last 50 years. now he�*s planning to auction his guitars, cars and personal items to raise money for his we are family foundation. the not—for—profit organisation provides mentoring for talented teenagers around the world. he�*s been speaking to our media editor, amol rajan. so, this guitar, i remember playing this on madonna, on... likea virgin? no, no, a song called dress you up. # gonna dress you up in my love... # in my love. # from your head down to your toes #. i had already laid down the rhythm guitar part on a new telecaster. so i always try and marry two types of guitar that are similar but... subtly different. correcto. is that a signature nile rodgers technique? that�*s your thing? that�*s a signature technique. i do it all the time. obviously, this is before she becomes a mega—selling, super—global icon. did you honestly have a sense early on that she was going to be someone who had that magic dust? insta ntly. # oh yeah. # from your head down to your toes #. the guitar called the hit maker is an unusually sounding strat. it doesn�*t sound like any other stratocaster on the planet. after a while, you get afraid that something is going to happen to your guitar. because it�*s the only one that sounds like that. so what i did was, i went to fender and i said, can you make me a replica of my guitar that�*s exactly the same? if you like the hit maker, you�*ll love this. because it really does sound very, very, very good. not the same, but close. # freak out #. nile, don�*t drop this! i won�*t! how do you feel auctioning all of this stuff, all of this musical history, all of this creative energy? well, let me put it to you like this. there�*s 162 more of these things! and they�*re all amazing, and they all have great stories. why would you get rid of them? because if this all works out the way i expect it to work out, that means that i could help, like, hundreds more kids. i mean, right now, we have, now, the we are family foundation, we have at least 400 or 500 kids that we are working with, we come up with new programmes every year. but these things cost a lot of money. i mean, you know, to put on workshops that we do, to find the mentors that we find, to have the kids travel from countries far and wide. it costs money. yeah. # freak out!# cheering going to be hamming that all evening. now it�*s time for a look at the weather. storm arwen is expected to be so severe that the met office have issued red weather warnings for the north of the uk. gusts of 90 mph will bring travel disruption and a danger to life as well. it is these coastal areas of eastern scotland covered by the warning. please stay away from those areas if you can, very large and dangerous waves. this is storm arwen heading out into the north sea and it is on the back edge of that storm that we see wins strengthening and pushing southwards across many parts of the country and we also have these amber warnings from northeast england down to scarborough. amber warnings with gusts of 60—70 mph, northern and western parts and continuing to morrow morning. and then cold areas, feeling chilly at the moment, these early numbers afternoon to early evening and we have rain and snow wrapped around the storm, blizzards for a time in scotland and pushing into the pennines and welsh hills. all the way down into the cotswolds later on. somewhat clearer skies out towards the west and these are the sort of temperatures we are looking at but the main story is the strength of the damaging went and very windy through much of saturday across many parts of the country, gales widely, stronger winds around coastal areas as we have seen already and we still have the stricture of rain and sleet and snow over the hills, through the midlands and northern and eastern parts of england, and elsewhere sunshine with a few wintry showers in northern ireland, more especially across northern scotland and the temperature struggles to around 3—4 but whilst winds may ease off a little bit in the afternoon, in northern and western areas there will be significant wind chill and feeling cold. things start to calm down overnight with widespread frost, storm arwen moves away, a weather front into northern ireland may bring cloud in spots of rain but otherwise in the cold air but wintry showers down the north sea coast of england where the winds will still be strong in the morning but when this is down and not as when they on sunday but still going to feel cold. this is bbc news, i�*m ben mundy. the headlines: the health secretary says the new covid variant could pose substantial risk to public health and is of international concern — health officials say it�*s the most heavily mutated variant so far. this afternoon, belgium says it has identified the first case of the new variant in europe — the eu proposes to suspend flights from any countries with cases. it is now important that all of us in europe act very swiftly, decisively and united. the mutation was identified in south africa — now flights from there and five other african countries to the uk have been suspended. elsewhere, the french president says the uk isn�*t serious about tackling genetic analysis shows that has twice the variations of delta, the dominant variant worldwide. we haven�*t identified any of our genome sequencing and we are now sequencing and giving results on more than 50,000 cases per week, but there is travel from south africa and across the globe and there are many rising cases in south africa at the moment so we need to be very aware and look very carefully at all of the data. aware and look very carefully at all of the data-— of the data. current vaccines have been designed — of the data. current vaccines have been designed to _ of the data. current vaccines have been designed to target _ of the data. current vaccines have been designed to target the - of the data. current vaccines have been designed to target the spike j been designed to target the spike protein from the original strain. some of the mutations in this new variant may mean the virus can spread more easily make the vaccine less effective, but it still provides protection against other variants of concern and can be tweaked if needed. it is highly unlikely that _ tweaked if needed. it is highly unlikely that they _ tweaked if needed. it is highly unlikely that they won't - tweaked if needed. it is highly unlikely that they won't have i tweaked if needed. it is highly i unlikely that they won't have any effect, _ unlikely that they won't have any effect, that really would be a catastrophe, but we may well see that the _ catastrophe, but we may well see that the protection we get is to some _ that the protection we get is to some degree reduced. particularly because _ some degree reduced. particularly because there are so many mutations in the _ because there are so many mutations in the part— because there are so many mutations in the part of— because there are so many mutations in the part of the protein that many of the _ in the part of the protein that many of the antibodies bind to. i don't think— of the antibodies bind to. i don't think we — of the antibodies bind to. i don't think we are likely to see that vaccines— think we are likely to see that vaccines don't work at all. flights to the uk have _ vaccines don't work at all. flights to the uk have been _ vaccines don't work at all. flights to the uk have been suspended i vaccines don't work at all. flights - to the uk have been suspended from six african countries until 4am on sunday to allow time to set up quarantine hotels. the government hopes a new travel ban will delay the variant being brought into britain. hate the variant being brought into britain. ~ ., ., ~ , the variant being brought into britain. ~ ., ., ~ ., britain. we are working quickly and workin: britain. we are working quickly and working with _ britain. we are working quickly and working with a _ britain. we are working quickly and working with a high _ britain. we are working quickly and working with a high degree - britain. we are working quickly and working with a high degree of- working with a high degree of uncertainty. we are continuing to make assessments including about those countries with strong travel links to south africa. and we are working with our international partners including south africa and the european union to ensure an aligned response. but this variant is a reminderfor all of aligned response. but this variant is a reminder for all of us that this pandemic is far from is a reminder for all of us that this pandemic is farfrom over. labour welcomed the travel restrictions but said better distribution of vaccines to poorer nations was essential. vaccines and new antiviral drugs are still our best defence but we will have to wait 2—3 weeks for scientists to understand the risk this new variant may pose. let�*s talk to our health correspndent, katharine da costa. no cases in the uk yet, they have secretary flagging this as huge international concern. haifa secretary flagging this as huge international concern. how concerned are the government? _ international concern. how concerned are the government? some _ international concern. how concerned are the government? some experts i international concern. how concerned l are the government? some experts are saying this is the most worrying they don�*t they have seen because it has so many mutations and ever stop some of the variance we have seen in beta and the outer, it looks bad on paper because it might mean that it can escape immunity from that scene to pass infection, it might mean no vaccine can pass more quickly. it has always been known that the virus will mutate and quite often the changes come to nothing, but there are concerns over this one. we still don�*t know whether it is more severe, transmissible, whether it can escape immunity. that will take several weeks to look at. it was detected just earlier this week, writes in south africa were very low, then suddenly there was a surge. there were genomes sequenced in this particular province, they have detected this. it can also be picked up using a pcr test. that is a useful tool because it is now indicating it could actually be more widespread across south africa, creating concern it could be spreading more quickly. at the moment it is not detected in the uk and we are sequencing about 20% of positive cases here in the uk, so surveillance is quite good. that�*s how think they will be looking at closely. how think they will be looking at closel . �* , . ~ how think they will be looking at closel . �*, ., ~ ., closely. let's talk about the vaccines. — closely. let's talk about the vaccines, what _ closely. let's talk about the vaccines, what have - closely. let's talk about the vaccines, what have you - closely. let's talk about the i vaccines, what have you been closely. let's talk about the - vaccines, what have you been hearing about whether this vaccine will work with this new variant? the expectation _ with this new variant? the expectation is _ with this new variant? the expectation is that - with this new variant? tue: expectation is that vaccines with this new variant? t'ta: expectation is that vaccines will still work. but that is something about he still work. but that is something about be assessed in the lab, they will take blood from vaccinated people and see whether the antibodies can neutralise it. the implications is that if it can get around the immunity from vaccines, but also some other treatments, potentially make them less effective. some good news, it should not affect antiviral drugs that have just been approved. but vaccines are still the best defence, they lower the risk of you catching the virus and passing it on, that�*s why it�*s so important to that seen in the world. if you look at vaccination rates in south africa, about a quarter of people are fully vaccinated there. in the uk it is about two thirds. but there are some african countries were the rates of vaccination are a 3%. still a huge amount of work to do. the message still stands clear that we are not safe until everyone is safe. the final point _ safe until everyone is safe. the final point here, _ safe until everyone is safe. the final point here, no _ safe until everyone is safe. the final point here, no cases in the uk yet, a case in belgium identified today. is itjust a matter of time before we detect it here in the uk? the experts have said they can�*t be 100% sure it is not in the uk, but surveillance is really good. they are keeping a very close monitoring of it. but if it is more sensible it will find its way into the uk. these travel restrictions that have been put in place in several african countries is more about buying time and lightly potential spread, but more will be no one in the next few weeks. , . european commission chief ursula von der leyen has recommended that eu countries introduce an "emergency brake" on travel from southern africa in response to the new coronavirus variant. all flights to the uk from south africa, namibia, zimbabwe, botswana, lesotho and eswatini have been suspended. from sunday, people arriving in uk from those countries will have to quarantine in hotels. stock markets around the world have fallen sharply on the news. here�*s our business correspondent, caroline davies. gloomy skies at heathrow this morning. after months of opening up, travel to some places in the world is restricted. direct flights from six countries in southern africa have been temporarily stopped. anyone already in uk who has been in these countries in the last ten days will need to to take a pcr test. from noon today, only uk and irish residents who have been in these countries in the last ten days will be let in, and they will need to self—isolate and take two pcr tests. from sunday at liam, they will need to pay to quarantine in a hotel. for those landing this morning, the news came as a surprise. i feel extremely relieved because who knows how long this will last. i literally found when i spoke to my wife about ten minutes ago, she told me that there is no flights going out of south africa until i think monday or tuesday, they have stopped all flights. so that's the first i heard of it, about ten minutes ago. it�*s disappointing news for catherine and her family, they were planning to attend a family wedding in south africa to go back to south africa and to see them and to be at the wedding was really important, it�*s got us all through this somehow, looking forward to that. when do you think you will be able to see your family in south africa? i can�*t imagine it�*s going to be any time soon, and now i daren�*t hope because i just think don�*t think about it, you know. the transport secretary said the government had acted quickly to buy as much time as possible. eventually, if there's a variant it will come here. i'm a great believer in science, we have shown what can be done by following the science, with the vaccines, and we will... i was talking to chris whitty, the chief medical officer, about this yesterday, and in his words, we will find the right vaccinations, even for new variants. but we need to give ourselves as much time as possible. the government have said they will review the decision in three week�*s time. countries like south africa are key winter sun destinations for the travel industry. they will be hoping that today�*s announcement doesn�*t dissuade customers from booking, just as travel was starting to take off. here�*s our africa correspondent, pumza fihlani, talking about the reaction in johannesburg to the new travel restrctions. the immediate reaction from the south african government and scientists here is that they are saying very little is known about this new variant and they would like to be given time to study it further, to know how transmissible it is, but also whether it poses more danger than the variants that we have seen and detected in the country, but also how it is likely to react to vaccines and whether it will hamper at all the country�*s current vaccination programme. the south african government has said that they believe that the decision by the uk may have been hasty, especially because there was still meant to be those interactions and discussions with the world health organization to get an idea of a uniform reaction, or a steer that would be appropriate. we have just seen a statement a few minutes ago, the world health organization also cautioning about hastily imposing travel bans, because they understand it is something difficult, whose effect is difficult to reverse, and it�*s something that south africa themselves have seen in the last few months here. we can speak now to graeme buck, director of communications at abta — the travel association. thank you forjoining us this afternoon. i guess that your initial reaction to this as we heads to what would be a very busy travel period? we have always known that they rate list hasn�*t gone away, there was always a possibility that something may come back on if that was a potential or a new variant of concern to be found. —— red list. we are not there yet, identifying this as a variant of concern, but clearly there is a lot happening quite quickly. i think we should not get ahead of ourselves too much. at the moment it is a ban on six countries which will be reviewed in three weeks�* time. yes, it is the lead up to the winter travel season, not the one we want, but nevertheless we will have to work with things as they are just that i guess if you are a travel firm operating within one of those countries and heading to one to that busy period. haifa to one to that busy period. how worried are _ to one to that busy period. how worried are you _ to one to that busy period. how worried are you for— to one to that busy period. how worried are you for those firms in particular?— worried are you for those firms in articular? ., ., ., ., , particular? there are organisations that specialise _ particular? there are organisations that specialise in _ particular? there are organisations that specialise in travel _ particular? there are organisations that specialise in travel to - particular? there are organisations that specialise in travel to africa i that specialise in travel to africa or have it i have collateral as a major part of the portfolio they offer. to those firms, i would say if you are going to restrict how these firms are going to operates, some may have to severely curtail what they offer for a while, then they need some financial support targeted at them, perhaps by way of grants, that will help them get through the situation. fin grants, that will help them get through the situation.- through the situation. on that financial support, _ through the situation. on that financial support, what - through the situation. on that financial support, what other| through the situation. on that - financial support, what other steps of protection much like to see? for some travel companies it has been a disastrous years. it some travel companies it has been a disastrous years.— disastrous years. it has been. let's not aet disastrous years. it has been. let's not get ahead _ disastrous years. it has been. let's not get ahead of— disastrous years. it has been. let's not get ahead of ourselves - disastrous years. it has been. let's not get ahead of ourselvesjust - disastrous years. it has been. let's. not get ahead of ourselvesjust now. not get ahead of ourselves just now. given the current situation it is just a few countries. there are still a lot of holidays being sold to a lot of winter sun destinations will stop that said, when there continues to be difficulties for those companies, some financial support is the best way they can have some help in the interim until things get back to normal.- things get back to normal. finally, ou're things get back to normal. finally, you're advice _ things get back to normal. finally, you're advice to _ things get back to normal. finally, you're advice to those _ things get back to normal. finally, you're advice to those watching . things get back to normal. finally, l you're advice to those watching this you�*re advice to those watching this afternoon who may be have a holiday planned for one of those countries, just wary of the situation that may unfold over the next few weeks, your advice to if you have something bout for the next three weeks and suddenly you need to be speaking with your travel advisor on that. also consider if you are thinking about yourfinancial also consider if you are thinking about your financial situation about refunds. these countries have now been added to the foreign office�*s list were they advise against all but essential travel. that means you should get a refund if you are affected in that way. let�*s see what happens when the government comes backin happens when the government comes back in three weeks�* time, re—assesses the situation. let�*s see where we are not. it is too early to tell. let�*s stay are not theirs. we can actually hear from a press conference on this or that new variant coming out of south africa. some of them have had the effect of being more transmissible without necessarily also meaning in terms of its seriousness, in terms of having more impact, in terms of the severity of illness. they did emphasise that this is a very early stages in terms of the including our own regulator, which is indeed very vigilant, before they can approve any vaccines. we are quite confident at this stage that the vaccines remain a bill walk in terms of protecting us against this virus, it has been proven over time with the various mutations that have happened that the vaccines are very effective. we know that they are not effective. we know that they are not effective in terms of preventing one contracting the virus, but they have proven to be very effective in terms of preventing severe illness which may result in hospitalisation, and also getting a person ending up in i year or even succumbing to the virus. we want emphasise the fact with the announcement of this are varied and the risks are showing why simply say that this is to be watched. but there is no indication orany watched. but there is no indication or any suggestion at this particular variant will cause severe illness as a result of infection, that it will not be prevented by the vaccine, there is no such evidence. we will want to any nation that has been handed by various commentators. we banded by various commentators. we can assure you that at no stage have the sanches who announced the discovery of this variant have said that this particular then it will be resistant to the vaccines which have been utilised. i�*m short members of the media have particular questions, so that we can interact having made introductory remarks.— introductory remarks. thank you, minister. studio: very busy here minister. — studio: very busy here on bbc news this afternoon to stop that was south africa�*s minister of health updating us on the new covid variant. south africa one of those south african countries to identify it. to recap, we have had one case identified in belgium. as it stands, no cases here in the uk this far. we will have more on that throughout the afternoon. that year we have just had the latest covert data for the uk. in the last 24—hour period, there have been just over the uk. in the last 24—hour period, there have beenjust over 50,000 new covert cases, 120 deaths. to give some context, that is the french president emmanuel macron has accused the uk of not being serious about dealing with the migrant crisis. european ministers will meet on sunday to discuss the situation, after 27 people drowned on wednesday trying to reach the uk. but president macron confirmed that the home secretary priti patel can no longer attend that meeting, though uk officials still will. her invitation was withdrawn after borisjohnson publicly called on france to take back migrants who cross the channel. here�*s our political correspondent, damian grammaticas. is the prime minister an undiplomatic leader? macron says you aren't serious — is he right, prime minister? - what sparked this blow—up were mrjohnson�*s very public statements after the deaths of 27 people in the channel. last night he sent out a series of tweets, saying he had written to president emanuel macron with a series of proposals. he tweeted the letter too, asking, among other things, for joint patrols from next week of french police and uk border force officers, and a returns agreement so the uk could send back all those coming across the channel in small boats. france, which has rejected exactly these things before, took offence, saying this was not what the prime minister discussed on the phone with president macron two days ago and this was no way to deal with sensitive issues. translation: you do not communicate between leaders on these issues - by tweet and public letters. we are not whistle—blowers, come on. come on. leaders communicate in a serious way to deal with serious questions between serious people. on sunday our interior minister will meet with his eu counterparts and the european commission. we will see, when it comes to the the uk, how we can act effectively — if they decide to be serious. as a consequence, france has uninvited home secretary priti patel from a meeting of eu ministers happening on sunday to discuss how to respond to the boats. this is a humiliation for the prime minister and the home secretary, who have completely lost control of the situation in the channel, at the very moment when the prime minister needed to be a statesman, to actually deal with this. what we saw instead was a grave error ofjudgment, putting a public letter on twitter. here in downing street, they are putting up the christmas tree. relations with france, however, are far from festive. here, they say their aim is to prevent further loss of life, but borisjohnson�*s proposals have been rebuffed by the french. after brexit, the uk is no longer part of the eu scheme that allows the return of asylum seekers to eu countries. what this crisis shows is that both countries have to find ways to work together. no nation can tackle this alone, and so i hope that the french will reconsider. it is in our interest, and their interest, in certainly in the interests of people who are being people trafficked to the uk, and these tragic scenes that we are seeing. so the uk says it does want to act cooperatively. france has proposed that the uk send personnel to process asylum claims for the uk in france. but that was dismissed by the uk side yesterday. damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. the england and wales cricket board has published an anti—racism action plan in response to the azeem rafiq scandal. it follows his testimony to mps earlier this month about the abuse he suffered at yorkshire country cricket club. the measures announced include a review of dressing—room culture and action to help non—white and less privileged players pursue careers in the game. the ecb�*s chief executive, tom harrison, said the last few weeks have been "very, very tough for cricket." uur correspondent, laura scott, is at lords this afternoon for us. this afternoon we heard from the england and wales cricket board�*s chief executive tom harrison, who said the racism crisis that has engulfed english cricket has felt like an earthquake. he said it has portrayed the game in the worst possible way around the world. it has highlighted serious issues that collectively haven�*t been tackled for decades. so today at the launch of a game wide action plan that looks at 12 areas across culture and governance, which he says should try to solve the issue, but will not be the silver bullet. among those is the silver bullet. among those is the adoption in the next three months of a standardised approach to how whistle—blowers like azeem rafiq will be treated in future to ensure that across the gain complaints are investigated properly. second will be a full review of the dressing room culture. we now over the last few weeks they have been serious questions asked about what goes on inside the dressing rooms at every level of the game, and there will be a full review of that and a better education for coaches and players. they will also be a removal of barriers in the talent pathway, is which. they will also try to make cricket grounds and cricket environments more welcoming for all, that will include looking at potentially more alcohol free zones in their news, but also the third that are offered to fans of cricket. there will also be more action plan to do with equity inclusion at a boardroom level. specific targets have been set for the county is to have been set for the county is to have 30% gender diversity on their board and locally represented ethnic diversity. but we know some counties who will not be able to meet theirs will have to explain why they can�*t. if they do not satisfy the ecb then their funding if they do not satisfy the ecb then theirfunding could be withheld. tom harrison said that the message from the game is that they are acting as one, there is a unified approach to this. this action plan won�*t be the silver bullet, it will not solve all of cricket�*s problems, but he says it will be a good start. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with darren. hello there, the met office have issued a red warning for the strength of the wind in coastal areas of eastern scotland and the north—east of england. gusts of 90 mph developing, continuing into tomorrow morning. there is a danger to life. please stay away from these areas if you possibly can. we are blowing down colder air with those strengthening winds this evening and overnight, and maybe some snow, not just on the high ground in scotland, onto the pennines, welsh hills, may be a little bit of sleet and snow pushing its way into the midlands over towards the cotswolds, but it is the strength of the wind that is the significant feature because the winds will be strengthening pretty much everywhere. it will be very windy, notjust across north—eastern parts of the uk but through the irish sea into parts of wales and the south—west, and across england we still got this mixture of rain, maybe some sleet and snow for a while, pushing into more eastern parts of england. elsewhere, brightening up, some sunshine, wintry showers continue across northern ireland and particularly into scotland. temperatures struggling to three or four degrees, but given the strength of the wind it is going to feel significantly hello this is bbc news with me, ben mundy. the headlines. the health secretary says the new covid variant could pose substantial risk to public health and is of international concern. health officials say it�*s the most heavily mutated variant so far. the mutation was identified in south africa — now flights from there and five other african countries have been suspended. this afternoon — belgium says it has identified the first case of the new variant in europe. the eu proposes to suspend flights from any countries with cases. elsewhere, the french president says the uk isn�*t serious about tackling the migrant crisis. this after borisjohnson suggested france should take back people who cross the channel to dover. a 12—year—old girl has died after an argument in liverpool city centre — four teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of murder. mps will vote on plans that will see better support for people in england with down�*s syndrome — in what could become the first law of its kind in the world. shoppers are expected to splurge nearly £9 billion on what could be britain�*s biggest black friday yet. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here�*s sarah. in the last few minutes the draw has been made for the play off semi—finals for nexts year�*s men�*s world cup in qatar. scotla nd have a home advantage and they�*ve been drawn against ukraine. wales will play austria but if scotland and wales both win their matches they will play each other in the final which means only one of them going through to the world cup next year. eddie howe will be in the dugout for the first time as newcastle�*s head coach after returning a negative covid test today. he missed what should have been his first game in charge against brenford last week, instead watching it from home, but after being cleared, he can finally be with his team when they take on arsenal at the emirates tomorrow. the task is a tough one for howe though, newcastle are bottom of the premier league with 6 points from 12 games. manchester united are currently sorting out the final details of ralf rangnick s move from lokomotiv moscow. the german is due to take charge for the remainder of the season, but michael carrick will still manage the side for sunday s trip to chelsea. liverpool managerjurgen klopp knows rangnick well, and has sent this warning to other premier league teams. he will be organised and on the pitch i will think that we should realise that and that is obviously not good news for other teams. like all coaches in the world, we need time to train with their teams and pretty quickly will realise they have no time to train because they play all the time so that�*ll it harder for play all the time so that�*ll it harderfor him but a really play all the time so that�*ll it harder for him but a really good harderfor him but a really good man and an outstanding coach, and if it happens we will come to england. cardiff and scarlets trying to return home from south africa after the country was put on the uk red travel list. they are there to play two rounds of matches in the united rugby championship. officials are still negotiating a way back for almost 100 players and staff before the deadline. 15 uk and ireland golfers have withdrawn from the tilburg open which started on thursday and the future of two more events in the coming weeks are under threat. staying with cricket and with just a fortnight until the ashes, australia have announced that tim paine, will be taking a break from all forms of cricket, for an indefinite period — due to concerns over his mental health. (00v) paine resigned as captain last week — paine resigned as captain last week — after details emerged of an historical investigation into texts to a female colleague. paine had remained in the squad but he�*s now decided to step away from the sport — with his manager saying they�*re �*extremely concerned for his, and his wife�*s well—being.�* well, it�*s been announced that australia�*s fast bowler pat cummins will captain the side for the ashes series against england which starts on the 8th of december. and interestingly — former skipper steve smith will take—up the role of vice captain, his first leadership position for his country since his ban for the ball—tampering scandal. some parts of it are daunting but you can�*t stay in bed all day worrying about some of these things. concentrating on on there is so much positive in this role and so much i can bring to it, so try and not over it and just try to be me. that�*s all the sport for now. many thanks, good to see you. as we�*ve been reporting, countries around the world have begun drawing in their air travel as news emerged of a new coronavirus variant. the health secretary sajid javid has told mps there is �*huge international concern�* though so far there�*s no evidence it causes more severe disease or could avoid vaccines. belgium has reported europe�*s first case of the new coronavirus variant first detected in south africa. let�*s hear what the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen had to say about the eu�*s approach, earlier today. good afternoon. we are taking the news about the new highly mutated covid—19 variant very seriously. we know mutations could lead to the emergence and spread of even more concerning variants of the virus which could spread worldwide within a few months. it is now important that all of us in europe acted very swiftly, decisively and united. the european commission has today proposed to member states to activate the emergency brake on travel from countries in southern african and other countries affected to limit the spread of the new variant. all air travel to these countries should be suspended and they should be suspended until we have a clear understanding about the danger posed by this new variant. and travellers returning from this region should respect strict quarantine rules. i have spoken about the situation today with scientists and vaccine manufacturers. they fully support such precautionary measures to avoid international spreading of the concerning variants. it also depends on all of us as citizens to contribute to a better control of the pandemic. please get vaccinated as soon as possible if not done yet. and follow the rules to protect yourself. boosters provide even better protection. that is why europeans should take every opportunity to protect themselves through vaccination. and we have gained experience with other measures, like masks, hand hygiene and social distancing, but also contact tracing, travel bans and border measures. this helps to slow down the spread of the virus. this is important because it buys us valuable time, time for more vaccinations and booster shots, and finally europe has taken precautions. the european union�*s contract with the manufacturers says that the vaccine must be adapted immediately to new variants as they emerge. president of the european commission on that you coronavirus variant. a 12 year old girl has died after suffering catastrophic injuries during an argument in liverpool city centre. ava white was with friends when she was assaulted yesterday evening. four teenage boys, aged between 13 and 15, have been arrested on suspicion of her murder. detective superintendant sue coombs from merseyside police gave this update in the last hour 12—year—old ava white tragically died following an incident in liverpool city centre last wide. police officers were called at 8:39pm to a report of an assault, and when they got there they found ava white collapsed on the ground with a member of the public giving first aid. paramedics attended the scene and took ava to alder hey children�*s hospital, but very sadly she died a short time later, despite the efforts of medical staff. this is the early stages of the investigation, but what we have so far is four males in custody, they are aged 13, two are aged 1a, and one 15 years of age. they had been arrested on suspicion of murder and they will be interviewed in police stations on merseyside. we are yet to do a postmortem to establish the cause of death, but what we do know at this stage as that ava was in liverpool city centre with some friends yesterday afternoon, that she was involved in a verbal argument which escalated to an assault we believe involving a knife, and that there were catastrophic injuries and tragically she died. we also know that the offenders made off, up school lane, across hanover street into fleet street, and we know that would have been a lot of people around at that time. the christmas tree lights in church street had not long gone on. so we firstly need to ask members of the public if they saw anything of significance, or if they potentially captured something on their mobile phone of significance, please to contact the police. finally, there is a very large scene that we have retained in liverpool city centre and we would ask for everybody�*s patience and understanding as we methodically go through that scene to gather all the evidence that we need to bring justice for ava�*s family. the met office has issued a red weather warning, covering the coast of north east scotland down to northumbria. a red warning means there is a risk to life and property; winds of up to 90 miles an hour are expected to bring down power lines and cause severe disruption to transport. our correspondent david shanks is in aberdeen. iam here i am here at aberdeen christmas village which has sadly been closed down for the day due to that red weather warning. down for the day due to that red weatherwarning. no down for the day due to that red weather warning. no twinkling lights and any bells would be jingling weather warning. no twinkling lights and any bells would bejingling in these extremely high winds. we have had snow here since about 10am this morning but the weather warning you mentioned has been in place for around an hourand mentioned has been in place for around an hour and already we are hearing reports of trees down blocking major roads, we also have power cuts in the area. there is a school in the north of aberdeenshire, banff academy, which has had to close down due to structural damage caused by high winds. this is a red weather warning for the met office, the highest available, the last time we saw it in the uk was starring dennis in the south of wales. we haven�*t seen one in scotland for three and a half years since the so—called beast from the east. it gives you an idea of the east. it gives you an idea of the severity of what we are expecting to come. this weather warning runs from the north of aberdeenshire down the strip of the east coast right down to middlesbrough which is where we are expecting winds of 80—90 mph. the met office saying it could result in flying debris which poses a risk to life and as a result police scotland have urged motorists not to travel under any circumstances due to the risks posed by the high winds and the snow we are expecting. we are also seeing power cuts across scotland as well as a result of this weather. coastal areas in particular are subject to this warning. high seas, and people are being warned not to be tempted to take photographs of the big waves due to the risk of people being swept away and debris coming up through that. the weather warning is in place from 3pm today right through to 2am tomorrow morning, so as the weather clears up, disruption from the damage could continue to the weekend. french fishermen are blocking major french ports and the channel tunnel in a protest over post—brexit fishing rights. they sayjersey and the uk have given its fishermen too many licences. ferry services in and out of calais have been disrupted and protesters have also threatened to delay freight traffic through the channel tunnel. borisjohnson says he is "disappointed" by the threats. climate change activists have blocked a number of amazon warehouses, on the retailer�*s busiest day of the year. members of extinction rebellion targeted 13 sites across the uk, including it�*s largest distribution centre in dunfermline. it said it wanted to draw attention to alleged exploitation of amazon workers and environmentally wasteful business practices. amazon said it was working to minimise any potential disruption to customers. england could become the first country in the world to introduce legislation which should result in better support for people with down syndrome. a bill has been debated for the first time in the commons today — and if it passes into law, it will mean public bodies like councils, schools and job centres will be required to specifically recognise the needs of people with the condition. our disability affairs correspondent nikki fox reports. pull, pull, pull. tom is pumping iron at the gym. yeah, one more. the 17—year—old has down syndrome. he is working towards a career as a fitness instructor and he�*s already whipping me into shape. is that a cheating situp? yeah. what if i let go of my hands? um, yes, it�*s better. is that better? yeah. being a lean, mean fighting machine is not all tom wants from life. what is your dream, tom? i want to be a fitness coach. and i want to get a wife and a baby. a dog. yeah. beard. yeah. and a new flat. in no particular order? yes, absolutely. at one stage he wanted to ride a motorbike, which i hope he's dropped. so he's keen to do those things. it's about opportunities and that's what as a parent, that's what we try and provide any child, but i think with a child with down syndrome i have to work harder. 0k, do you want a slice of cake, tom? the aim of the bill is to make life easier for thousands of people like tom. it will ensure they get the right support when it comes to education, employment, health and social care, and after today�*s debate that has moved one step closer. there has been such an incredible level of support. i�*ve got support from all parties in the house of commons. at the moment that�*s a fairly rare thing to get. if this gets passed, will you put more pressure local authorities? they need to deal with people in their locality anyway. what would be completely unacceptable is to have people with down syndrome whose parents are no longer there put into inappropriate care. are you surprised it has taken this long? i fell ifell in i fell in love with him because he is absolutely gorgeous. heidi and james have been married for over a year. so what is going to happen? heidi is a leading campaigner for people with down syndrome. she is backing the bill because she knows just how important it is. it's all about making it easier for people with down syndrome. that is all we want, we want easy lives. from the start of their lives to the end of their lives, and that is what i want for david. for everyone. it is estimated there are around 10,000 people with down syndrome in the uk. as it stands the bill only applies to england, but it is hoped if it is passed, other nations will follow suit. tom, well done. nikki fox, bbc news. men who boxed as amateurs at an young age, are at risk of developing early onset dementia and cognitive impairment. a study by cardiff university, followed thousands of men over 35 years, and found those that boxed, were at least twice as likely to have alzheimer s disease. our wales correspondent, tomos morgan has the story. from grandfather to grandchild. peter flanagan is passing on a sport that�*s run deep in his family. my trainer said, if you get a draw against a scouser in liverpool, he is going to win. but not long ago, he started to notice little things were being forgotten in daily life. while i was driving along one day, just didn�*t have a clue where i was, where i was going, or anything. did those episodes scare you at all? to a certain extent, yeah. after being convinced by the family, he saw a doctor and was diagnosed with dementia four years ago. the consultant adamant that boxing had played a part in scarring his brain. what was it like, though, when you did get that diagnosis? sorry. i could have been sat around feeling sorry for myself, and i would have just demised really, really quickly. but i didn�*t. ijust wanted to be positive. a new peer—reviewed published study, seen exclusively by the bbc, is believed to be one of the first look at the long—term effects of amateur boxing on the brain. published in the clinical journal of sports medicine, the study followed 2,500 men over a 35 year period. their findings showed that of those who boxed as amateurs earlier in life, they were twice as likely to have alzheimer�*s—like cognitive impairment and they showed earlier signs of onset dementia compared with those that hadn�*t boxed. symptoms appear to start up to eight years earlier in the men who have boxed, compared to the men who have never boxed. an average of five years, but up to eight years earlier. it�*s a mixed bag when it comes to whether those in this boxing club near pontypridd worry about the potential consequences of the sport. it does make you worried. in my first fight without a head guard, i had a big cut under my eye. i thought, that�*s a bit serious. no, if you have worries about getting hit, you wouldn't do it. over the years, changes have been made to make the sport safer. the science on head guards has changed at men�*s senior level. bigger, more padded gloves are used, and gyms�* training has improved according to peter. but nevertheless, he still believes that more could be done to mitigate any potential long—term damage. i think head shots in sparring should be limited. in training? in training. in a statement, the aiba, the international boxing association for amateur boxing said that its priority has always been the health and wellbeing of boxers. research is currently ongoing into impact loads to the head in training and competition, and any changes to regulation on the sparring would be grounded in robust research and based on its commitment to boxers and those who support them. every day, i�*m convincing myself that i�*m strong and doing it... a positive mental attitude, though, isn�*t it? yeah, definitely. training is a key part of keeping peter on track. as is spending as much time as possible with his 11 grandchildren. in order to defend himself from whatever is next. i�*m training to fight dementia like i trained to fight in boxing. tomos morgan, bbc news. the challenging circumstances of the past 18 months have forced all of us to adapt, but niall guite has turned lockdown into a whole new opportunity. he represented britain at the special olympics, sport for athletes with a learning disability. but when he was forced indoors he started to create pictures — and from his bedroom in sheffield they re now being sold around the world. joe wilson went to meet him. niall guite combines his passions for sport, for art. his stadium pictures began as a lockdown distraction. they have become a phenomenon. i start in the morning and get a plan of it and then select the colours and then start the process of drawing it. this is the stadium. the art has travelled to spain, here is seville�*s managerjulen lopetegui with his home ground. muchas gracias, niall. hello, grayson perry here. hello, what is that behind you? a niall guite original. a fellow artist friend. not only is niall a brilliant artist, he is also a specialj olympian so, a class act. sport england figures show opportunities for people with a disability are only resuming gradually. life is about adapting and niall has one room in the loft for training, anotherfor art, and those pictures, they have become a business. niall sells prints of his pictures on his website in conjunction with the special olympics charity. he is now self—employed and in britain only 6% of adults with learning disability have paid jobs. he does a lot of research. you have always done that, haven�*t you? you have got a head full of football. if you opened it up, there would be a ball in there. but to get to this point just feels quite dreamlike actually. perhaps niall�*s pictures represent the power of sport, but also the possibility of creativity. joe wilson, bbc news, in sheffield. an expedition has set off to the great barrier reef, to investigate sightings of shipwrecks there. at least one wreck was dicovered last year during a survey on coral health, but it�*s believed there could be up to 900 of them in the wider reef. the trip is part of the great reef census — one of the world s largest marine citizen science projects. how can we best prepare the next generation for a hi—tech future? kindergartens in south korea think they have the answer: pint—sized robots that sing, teach kung fu and recite stories. the government sponsored trial in 300 nurseries and childcare centres has certainly caught the imagination of three— to five—year—olds there and our very own mark lobel. nowadays, we are turning into robots — with the use of our phone. but they are turning into teachers, perfecting push—ups. translation: i enjoy l watching it, the kung fu. when i tell it to sing, it sings well. they sing. the robots are helpful- when at times it's hard for me to read everyone's stories. they do so in an entertaining way i by switching voices accordingly. i plus, here�*s looking at you, kid, with a camera on its head. photos are instantly sent to a tablet to see. in the future, knowing how to manage ai and related tools will be very important. we believe having such experience in nursery schools will have a lasting effect throughout their youth and as adults. but when it comes to a recharge, these robots still need someone else in charge — after a powerful lesson about these humanoids and their evolving role in society, as we all look to the future. mark lobel, bbc news. he looks good like that! extremely rare honeybees have been discovered in ancient woodland in the grounds of oxfordshire�*s blenheim palace. 50 miniature nests were found in tree cavities within the estate. this new subspecies appear to be the descendants of native bees that — until now, were presumed to have been completely wiped out by disease and competition from imported species. but conservationists say the lack of chemical pesticides and managed honeybee populations on the estate have aided their survival. now it�*s time for a look at the weather. darren burnett is waiting for us. we are beginning to feel the effects of storm arwen right now across north—eastern parts of the uk. winds gusting 71i mph at lossiemouth, wick and on orkney and it will be north—west areas that see the worst of those wins. a red wind warning for the met office with significant disruption and a danger to life. it is rare we get a red warning and this is where it covers. coastal areas of eastern scotland and the north—east of england into the early hours of the morning. big and damaging waves, very dangerous. the storm itself drifts down to the southern north sea and drags down strong winds across the whole of the country. other warnings in place with amber wind warning is widely into the middle of tomorrow morning across eastern scotland and the north—east of england but also for north—east of england but also for north and west parts of wales in the far south—west of england. overnight they went picking up and continuing into saturday as well. snow in scotland particularly in the hills and the blizzards which would move southwards, may be getting significant snow over the pennines and welsh hills and a mixture of rain, sleet and snow moving down towards southern england so the temperature not far away from freezing by the end of the night. the wind will be the more damaging story because not only is it very windy in the north—east and across the irish seacoast but it will be very windy everywhere first thing and a mixture of rain and some sleet and a mixture of rain and some sleet and snow over the hills. it will push gradually eastwards allowing many areas to brighten up with some sunshine and if you are more wintry showers continuing especially across the northern half of scotland and a cold day and in some areas the temperature will be no better than 3-4 temperature will be no better than 3—4 and when you add on the strength of the wind it will feel much colder. although the wind eases down during the afternoon. things calm down overnight and the store moves away and we start sunday with widespread frost and this weather front coming in from the atlantic to bring more clout and a few spots of rain to northern ireland. we are still in the cold air with wintry showers moving across scotland and along the north sea coast, when they first thing and continuing to ease, not as when the on sunday but still feeling cold though there is some sunshine around. getting milder during the early part of next week but before then all eyes on storm arwen strengthening the winds with widespread gales overnight and some snow mainly over the hills and further disruption expected. from any countries with cases. today at 5pm... the health secretary says the new covid variant could pose substantial risk to public health and is of international concern. experts say it�*s the most heavily mutated variant so far. this afternoon, belgium says it has identified the first case of the new variant in europe. the eu proposes to suspend flights