hello. the world health organization says that preliminary evidence suggests the new covid variant, first reported in south africa, carries a higher risk of infection than other strains. the united states hasjoined britain, the eu and japan in announcing travel restrictions on several southern african countries to try to slow the spread of the variant, now officially named omicron. here's our medical editor fergus walsh. on paper, the new variant looks worrying, with twice the number of mutations found on delta. around 30 of these are in the spike protein — the key the virus uses to unlock our cells — and these changes may help it evade our body's defences. but so far, we don't know whether the variant causes more severe disease, whether vaccines will be lesseffective or drugs won't work. it's the sheer number and type of mutations that has scientists here troubled. some of them have never been seen in a combination like this before. many of them we've seen in various variants of concern so far, but it's the complexity of the mutations that we're seeing today and the effects that it may have on both the immune response and transmissibility that are a huge concern. with belgium recording europe's first case of the omicron variant, the european commission in brussels called for a suspension of air travel to affected african countries. we do know that 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. vaccine companies say they can prepare updated versions of theirjabs, perhaps within 100 days, if the omicron variant is found to evade immunity. fergus walsh, bbc news. health authorities in the netherlands say that initial test results appear to show that dozens of people who arrived on two flights from south africa to amsterdam on friday are likely to be infected with covid—19. the passengers have been kept isolated from other travellers at schiphol airport because of concerns about the new variant. meanwhile, peaceful protests are continuing in the netherlands after the dutch prime minister, mark rutte, announced that bars, restaurants and most shops in the country must close from 5pm to 5am from sunday. he said the tougher restrictions were needed to prevent hospitals becoming overwhelmed. as we've heard, the first confirmed cases of the new variant were found in south africa and botswana. but namibia, zimbabwe, lesotho and eswatini, formerly swaziland, are also affected by the travel bans being introduced by several countries. the measures have been criticised by the south african government and its scientific community, who say they will cause more harm than good. from there, our africa correspondent andrew harding reports. a technical university in pretoria, south africa this afternoon. this is where the new variant was first properly identified, spreading fast among students. obviously, this is so overwhelming, we are all worried, but the management took a decision to suspend all social gatherings and social activities. the impact here has been swift with many countries now following britain's lead in banning flights from south africa. so this morning's arrivals from johannesburg and cape town could be the last for some time. it's absolutely ridiculous that they've imposed it again so quickly without really investigating this new variant. the timing for south africa could hardly be worse. it's summer here, and the tourist industry was hoping for a big boost after two wretched years of lockdowns and red listings. no wonder south africa's foreign minister has criticised the travel ban, calling it "rushed," "economically damaging," and urging britain to reconsider — not that that seems very likely, at least not in the short term. today, south africa is gearing up for a likely fourth wave dominated by this new variant, but scientists here insist that trying to isolate countries or regions makes no practical sense. we saw, with the delta variant, that within three weeks, 53 countries were reporting cases of the delta variant, so stopping travel from one country or even a small group of countries very soon becomes superfluous. it's really not the solution. but could there be one upside to the arrival of this new variant? in recent months, south africa's vaccine rollout has slowed down. it's the same in other african countries — partly down to a shortage of vaccines, but also due to public apathy. fear of the new variant could change that. hopefully, we get past the stage and... and you're vaccinated? i'm vaccinated, yeah, so hopefully, i'll be safe. for now, the focus is on this south african laboratory and the scientists furiously trying to unlock the secrets of the virus's new mutations. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. eric feigl—ding is an epidemiologist, health economist and senior fellow at the federation for american scientists. he says the variant is cause for concern because of the way it's spreading in south africa. the who is very rightfully correct to be alarmed. it's not just that there's a number of mutations that look bad, but the spread in south africa is quite alarming. it went from 1% positivity, 30% positivity in under a week and it's notjust spreading in one small area, it's spreading systematically across six or seven different provinces in south africa. they're rising exponentially in all of the provinces together. that is a bad sign — even if you think the data is early, that's a very bad sign. that's displacing delta, and up till now, we have not yet encountered a variant that can displace delta from a population, and yet, we are seeing this variant do just that in under a week. some people are saying it could be up to 500% more competitively advantageous, or faster infection, but i hope that number is wrong because that is true, that's way — orders of magnitude four times higher than delta and i hope that it's not that infectious, but it could be — that's why we have to be incredibly vigilant right now. yeah, it doesn't sound great. given how quickly this virus spreads, just the variants that we have known so far, surely this has spread around the globe already? yes, surely, because the hong kong case was from november 11 that it first arrived in hong kong and it took over eight days to find the second infection in hong kong. israel case, obviously — by the way, israel, hong kong cases were all breakthrough among those fully vaccinated, although albeit after six months of their vaccination. the belgian case, by the way, that person never travelled to southern africa. she was a young woman who only went to egypt via turkey and yet, she caught it. so, that is not covered by any of the current travel restrictions that were just imposed recently today, so that, again, it lends the credibility that already worldwide, in that these southern african restrictions, albeit very potentially high risk, given what we've seen on the dutch air plane, you know, they found 15 cases or more, it's definitely possibly already worldwide. yeah, and what should health bodies be doing right now that maybe — well, if they're not doing enough, what should they be doing? yeah, i think travel bans is not the only thing that we should really think about. we should think about more quarantines and testing upon arrivals. many airlines only test — rely on a pcr three days before departure. we should do arrival—based testing and, of course, quarantines — at least at minimum home quarantines — and test yourselves to get out of the quarantine, because we really need that testing upon arrival and during quarantine period to — in order to find it, because in hong kong, it took us four days to find one case and eight days to find the other case before we caught it in the quarantine, and that's the only way we are going to be able to stop this from spreading like wildfire. eric feigl—ding. let's get some of the day's other news. three people have been killed in anti—government protests in the solomon islands. the violence began on wednesday when protesters stormed parliament in a bid to topple the prime minister. a night—time curfew has been extended after crowds defied a lockdown and set fire to government buildings, a police station and businesses in the pacific island nation. two teenagers and a bus driver have died after a gunman opened fire on a school coach in kosovo. it happened near the town of decani, about 90km from the capital, pristina. a police spokesman said the gunman is believed to have acted alone. local media said it could have been part of a conflict between rival bus companies. the ethiopian government has banned reporting of any military movements or updates from the battlefield in its more than year—long war with tigrayan rebels unless the information is approved by the government. meanwhile, state media have shown this footage of the prime minister, abiy ahmed, in a rural location wearing a military uniform. earlier this week, the prime minister said he'd head to the front line to direct the conflict as tigrayan rebels reportedly advance towards the capital. the french president, emmanuel macron, has accused britain of not being serious about dealing with the migrant crisis in the channel. european ministers will meet on sunday to discuss the situation after 27 people drowned on wednesday, trying to reach the uk. but britain won't be at the table. lucy williamson reports from calais. the road between paris and london is getting colder, the political distance a little wider each day. here in the migrant camps, caught between the two governments, they know what it takes to bridge the channel and what the risks are if you fail. two days ago, a boat capsized, killing 27 people. tonight, the first victim was named as 24—year—old maryam nuri mohamed amin from iraqi kurdistan. herfiance said he was messaging her as the dinghy began to lose air. herfather, mourning her death in erbil, in northern iraq, spoke to the bbc. translation: from germany, she went to france, _ and in france, she got into this slaughterhouse. the whole world talks about europe is a place that is calm, that is pleasant. is this what "calm" means? around 30 people dying in the middle of the sea? this is a sin to put people through this. this tragedy has put pressure on paris and london to mend their rift over how to tackle the channel crossings. macron says you aren't serious. is he right, prime minister? meeting the polish prime minister today, mrjohnson said cooperation between european partners was the way to solve the migrant crisis. and, of course, that, again, underlines that this is a problem that we have to fix together. but france has accused the prime minister of doublespeak. last night, in a series of tweets, mrjohnson said he'd written to the french president, emmanuel macron, with some proposals. he tweeted the letter too, calling forjoint patrols of french gendarmes and uk border force, and suggesting that all illegal migrants who cross the channel be returned to france. this, he said, would break the business model of the criminal gangs. france is irritated by mrjohnson�*s style of diplomacy, and it shows. translation: i'm surprised when things are not done seriously. - we don't communicate between leaders on these issues via tweets or publish letters. we're not whistle—blowers. come on! the ministers will work seriously to settle a serious issue with serious people. the tensions between france and the uk, built up over a range of issues, are becoming increasingly public. the home secretary, priti patel, was due here in calais this weekend to discuss migration, but since mrjohnson�*s tweets last night, she's been disinvited, though uk officials are in paris today to discuss the issue. no invitations needed here, though. through it all, migrants plan their next crossing attempts. like moez from sudan, among those we met queueing at a food distribution truck. he's undeterred by the deaths of 27 people in the channel this week. would he stop trying if he thought he'd be sent straight back to france? this, my dream, to go to uk. if come back to france, again, i go to uk. never not to stop. not to stop, not to stop, never. neither disaster nor diplomacy has stopped the rhythm of these crossings. an alternative to the promises of people smugglers can feel as remote here as the elysee palace or downing street. lucy williamson, bbc news, calais. this is bbc news. the headlines: a new covid strain found in southern africa is classed a "variant of concern" by the world health organization over fears it may be more infectious and more resistant to vaccines. french president emmanuel macron is accusing the uk of not being serious about dealing with the migrant crisis as the diplomatic row deepens. president biden has expressed concern about russia's troop build—up near the ukrainian border. he said he was likely to discuss the situation with both countries' leaders. earlier, ukraine's president said russian representatives are planning to overthrow his government next week, but the kremlin insists russia has no plans to get involved. mark lobel reports. ukrainians living in the rebel held east survey recent damage amidst a war of words with russia as western and ukrainian officials speak of a buildup of russian forces on the country's borders with ukraine. ukraine's president addressing the media on friday, suggested his country could come under attack as early as next week. translation: as early as next week. tuna/mom- as early as next week. translation: we received information _ translation: we received information that _ translation: we received information that in - translation: we received information that in our - translation: we received| information that in our state there will be a creditor on the first days of december. then, citin: first days of december. then, citing ticket _ first days of december. then, citing ticket recordings, - first days of december. then, citing ticket recordings, he i citing ticket recordings, he names the country's richest man, a mining and media tycoon and opponent of his being lowered into the plot. translation: i lowered into the plot. tuna/mom- lowered into the plot. translation: ., translation: i can say that we not only have — translation: i can say that we not only have intelligence - not only have intelligence information, we even have audio information, we even have audio information where, let's say, representatives from ukraine and, let's say, representatives of russia, discussed rinat akhmetov�*s participation in the coup d'etat in ukraine. in response, mrakhmetov coup d'etat in ukraine. in response, mr akhmetov said he was outraged by the spread of the like, saying he will continue to defend a free ukraine. the kremlin accuses kyiv of provocations with pro— russian separatists in the country's east. and in response to allegations of an imminent invasion, a spokesperson said russian never does those things. but president zelenskyy says he has received of support from russian partners should russia take action. if from russian partners should russia take action.— russia take action. if russia uses force — russia take action. if russia uses force against _ russia take action. if russia uses force against that - russia take action. if russia uses force against that will. uses force against that will have costs, they will have consequences. and therefore we continue to call on russia to deescalate. continue to call on russia to deescalate— continue to call on russia to deescalate. now as residents hold their _ deescalate. now as residents hold their breath _ deescalate. now as residents hold their breath as - deescalate. now as residents hold their breath as tensions| hold their breath as tensions mount, president biden says he will in all probability have talks with his ukrainian and russian counterparts. as ukraine's president calls on president putin to state publicly that an invasion is not being planned. mark lobel, bbc news. now, a man has been killed by a falling tree as parts of the uk are lashed by high winds, rain and snow. gusts of up to 90mph are expected in some areas, as storm arwen makes its way across the country. our correspondent lorna gordon is in stonehaven on the north east coast of scotland. she gave this update. a huge sweep of the east coast is being battered by this storm with this red warning for wind, which means there's a potential dangerfor life in place, from north of aberdeen to middlesbrough, in the north—east of england. and the conditions really are brutal — there's driving rain, dropping temperatures and winds are forecast to potentially gust up to 90 mph. 25,000 homes, primarily in aberdeenshire, have been left without power tonight, the conditions on the roads are described as treacherous, police are warning people not to travel, and there's significant disruption on the rail network as well — many services are cancelled — and there are reports of people stuck on trains because of fallen trees blocking the lines. network rail says they're sending staff to help, but that it could take some time. of course, because the worst of this storm is hitting overnight, we won't know the full extent of any damage caused until the morning. the legendary composer of broadway musicals stephen sondheim has died at his home in connecticut. he was 91. daniella relph looks back on his career. # isn't it bliss? # don't you approve? # one who keeps tearing around. # one who can't move... send in the clowns from the musical a little night music. # send in the clowns. it was stephen sondheim's only hit song — remarkably, because this was the man who revolutionised the american musical. as a young man, he learned his trade from oscar hammerstein — the lyricist who wrote shows like oklahoma and the sound of music. sondheim, too, started by doing the words, notably for leonard bernstein's music in west side story. # i like to be in america! # ok by me in america! soon he was writing his own music as well. # for a small fee in america! most of the shows that followed were hits. and then, in 1970, he came up with a new idea — a musical that didn't follow an obvious plot. # phone rings, door chimes. # in comes company! company was a series of vignettes featuring a dozen central characters. no two sondheim musicals were the same. i don't want to get bored writing and, you know, it's — when you hit a chord that you've hit before, or a technique of using a song that you've done before — or when i do, i get very nervous and i think "i've written that. "i mustn't do that again — somebody will catch me up on it," so to speak. it's as if somebody�*s saying, "wait a minute — you did that in that show!" into the woods was based on fairy stories like jack and the beanstalk. sondheim's music was rhythmically complicated and harmonically sophisticated. # we've no time to sit and dither. # while her withers wither with her. # and no—one keeps a cow for a friend! # artists are bizarre. # fixed. # cold. # that's you, georges — you're bizarre! one of his cleverest creations was sunday in the park with george, about the painter georges seurat, whose most famous painting was recreated by the characters on stage. art is not an easy thing to do. and i've heard people say, "oh, so—and—so is so talented," as if all they had to do was get up in the morning and the painting was made or the song was written. and they don't understand that it's exactly as much hard work — and maybe harder — than making a shoe or anything that you make out of nothing. # i thought that you'd want what i want. # sorry, my dear... for his admirers, stephen sondheim produced some of the most sophisticated and thoughtful musicals ever written. # quick, send in the clowns. # don't bother, they're here. stephen sondheim, who's died at the age of 91. well, tributes have been coming in to the musical legend — huthackman said that stephen sondheim fundamentally shifted an entire artform. broadway star idina menzel said actors would spend the rest of their lives trying to make him proud. star of stage and screen harvey fierstein said "oh, that sondheim. we'll never hear the end of him! i hope." broadway star sierra boggess played cinderella in sondheim's into the woods and shared her memories of the composer a little earlier. we have alljust all just heard this alljust heard this news, so it is beyond. but that is one of my favourite things about sondheim's musicals, the material that you learn is some of the most complex series of notes put together that you can learn, and so you feel such a sense of accomplishment when you finally get to — when you have arrived at the place of realising i've got it, i figured out how to sing this sondheim lyric and sing this beautiful phrase that he wrote. his melodies are so complex. and they may not be easy, always, on the air, but they are — they are some of my favourite things to sing as a singer, as a musician. it requires all of you. he redefined the musical. he sort of up to the anti— for what we can do. nobody had really written like him before. —— ante. it is why you study him in school if you are starting to get a degree in musical theatre, or re theatre student it elevates you. and that is what he did for all of musicals. he change the way that we listen, change the way that we listen, change the way that we listen, change the way that we — he never made it easy, ifeel like, for that we — he never made it easy, i feel like, for either the performer or the audience. he required you to listen. he required you to — it is likely best thing for going and seeing the show, because then you have a discussion afterwards about what the heck it meant. it so complex. ifeel like he complex. i feel like he articulated complex. ifeel like he articulated things like love and loss and regret in ways that i would never be able to and that most of us would never be able to. that was broadway star sierra boggess who played cinderella in sondheim's into the woods. thank you for watching. do stay tuned. storm arwen has been buffeting the uk over recent hours. so far, the strongest wind gusts i've seen have been across coastal regions of aberdeenshire. inverbervie picking up a top gust of 78mph. not too far behind, northumberland — 74mph gust of wind here. those wind gusts strong enough to bring down some trees, no doubt some transport disruption out and about as we head into saturday. the peak red weather warning lapses, though, during the early hours of saturday and, as our low pressure moves southward, we'll be left with two regions of strong winds — one affecting eastern areas of scotland and north—east england, and another for wales and south—west england. both of these areas will see gusts of wind around about 60—70mph, so still strong enough to bring down some trees. we could see some further disruption — and, as well as that, we've got some rain, some heavy snow over high ground, particularly the southern uplands and into the high highlands and over the high parts of the pennines, the cheviots, as well. could see some disruptive falls of snow high up. even low down, you might see a little bit of snowjust for a time as we head into the first parts of saturday morning. and, of course, it will be a very blustery and cold start to the day on saturday, as well, with those gusts well up, even inland, very blustery, indeed. now through the rest of saturday, we will have this zone of rain, still a bit of sleet and snow mixed in with that, although anything accumulating — well, that's not really likely to happen — anything that falls willjust melt back to rain, really, as the day goes by. but we'll keep those strong winds all day, and it will feel very, very cold — temperatures around 3—4 degrees celsius quite widely, but factor in those winds, it will feel bitter. now, for the second half of the weekend, arwen continues to work away from the uk, it's dying. but we've still got these fairly strong northerly winds, and those northerly winds won't be feeling any warmer at all. sunday will be a day, really, of sunshine and showers. these showers ok, most frequent across northern and eastern areas, but i think there'll be a whole raft of showers working into the north—west, as well. so nowhere's immune from seeing an odd downpour. and those showers still having a wintry flavour, a bit of hail and sleet mixed in with some of those — temperatures around 2 degrees celsius or so in newcastle, maybe a 4 in london, but again, feeling cold. now into next week, we'll see a sharpjump upwards in temperatures. turns much, much milder by tuesday, but rain and some strong winds in the week ahead. that's your latest weather. this is bbc news. this is bbc news. the headlines: a new covid strain found in southern africa is classed a "variant of concern" by the world health organization over fears it may be more infectious and more resistant to vaccines. the us is the latest country to impose travel restrictions to the affected countries to slow the spread. french president emmanuel macron is accusing the uk of not being serious about dealing with the migrant crisis as the diplomatic row deepens. 27 people drowned on wednesday, trying to reach the uk. european ministers will meet on sunday, but the uk is not invited to the talks. one of the most influential figures in musical theatre,