and the government also said it's considering how it can expand the coronavirus booster campaign. the prime minister says these measures are precautionary and temporary and will be reviewed in three weeks. we'll bring you all the latest. three people have died as storm arwen hits the uk, with winds of up to a hundred miles an hour. also today — the former england cricket captain, michael vaughan, tells the bbc he's �*sorry for all the hurt�* azeem rafiq went through during the yorkshire racism scandal — we'll bring you the full interview at 7.30. borisjohnson has announced new temporary coronavirus controls to come into effect in england from next week — after two cases of the highly—transmissible omicron variant were discovered in the uk. the uk cases, in nottingham and brentwood in essex, are linked to travel in southern africa and are from the same cluster. borisjohnson said that, in response, some coronavirus restrictions would include, the mandatory wearing of face coverings in some indoor settings. people who've been in close contact with omicron cases will have to isolate themselves, even if they're fully vaccinated. four more african countries are being added to the travel red list, bringing the total to ten. the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, described the omicron variant as a "serious development" and says he's bringing in the same international travel measures as the rest of the uk. our political correspondent, jonathan blake, has this report. the omicron variant, the most mutated version of coronavirus found so far, first reported in south africa on wednesday. now two cases have been detected in the uk. at a news conference in downing street this evening, the prime minister said much was still unknown, but scientists were learning more about omicron hour by hour. it does appear that omicron spreads very rapidly and can be spread between people who are double vaccinated. there is also a very extensive mutation which means it diverges quite significantly from previous configurations of the virus. and as a result, it might, at least in part, reduce the protection of our vaccines over time. people will not be stopped from travelling, the prime minister said, although all those arriving in the uk will now need to take a pcr test and isolate until they receive a negative result. rules will be tightened on face coverings in england. borisjohnson says masks are already mandatory in certain settings in scotland, wales and northern ireland. and there is a significant change in the rules around self isolation. we will require all contacts of those who test positive with a suspected case of omicron to self—isolate for ten days, regardless of your vaccination status. it is likely more adults will be offered boosterjabs and advisors will look again at vaccinating children, but scientists are largely in the dark so far about how quickly the new variant may spread. at the moment, i am afraid, the models are more if it spreads very fast, of course it is going to spread very fast and go into a lot of places. and if it spreads less fast, it is going to do so less. we cannot really get much further than that. rising cases have prompted other european countries to reintroduce restrictions. here, the government has consistently said it has no plans for another lockdown, but the option is never ruled out. the prime minister said this christmas would be better than the last, but with the rise in cases and much unknown about omicron, there are still uncertain times ahead. the labour mp and shadow health minister, alex norris, said his party was supportive of the govenment�*s actions, but felt they could go further. the government's plan b has always been our plan a. we think mask wearing should be commonplace in public spaces. we should work people —— with think people should be able to work from home. particularly where we want them to go further as on the boosterjabs. i don't want to decry the vaccination programme because it has been very successful over the last year, but with regards to boosters, the goal is to do half a million a day so we have all the over 40s boosted by christmas, we are a long way below that. what the prime minister has announced later, 6 million over the next two weeks, is below that rate as well. we want to see the booster programme listed as well, we want to seek community facilities used, our nations pharmacies used. getting those boosterjabs out is going to be crucial. we think we can go further there. and our political correspondent, iain watson said the prime minister wanted to be seen to act quickly in the face of a new threat. he went earlier than he did when there was a threat from the delta variant initially. to some extent, people are going to be saying he has learnt a lesson from that and this time the travel ban, for example, in southern african countries was announced ahead of the eu and america. to some extent, he is going earlier but is he going harder? as we heard from alex norris from labour, he says plan b should be plan a and the government is faced with this new variant and should be advising people to work from home. borisjohnson didn't do that, he didn't say that the passports would be introduced which are currently in place some settings in scotland got. he did say there would be mask wearing in public transport and retail. this is a moment he would rather have avoided, ever since the great lockdown, as long as case numbers in hospitals and deaths were remaining relatively low, the prime minister wanted the economy to stay open, so it is a measure of the seriousness of this that he is meant sketch means it is that any measures at all. i asked him directly whether we are seeing the beginning of any restrictions. he said they are temporary and being reviewed in three weeks' time. we are a monthly from christmas and people are anxious about the plans at that time of year. all he could say was christmas will be better last —— this year than last year. that is setting a low bar. in addition to that, he didn't say the restrictions will definitely be withdrawn in three weeks' time. we are in the hands of the virus. if it is proven, some people fear, as chris whitty mentioned that press conference, it is much better to feed in vaccines, then who knows? it would not go all then who knows? it would not go all the way to the government's so called plan b. he said it would be very targeted, for example pcr tests when people come back into the country so we can find out if they are suffering from that variant. one area that might be controversial between the parties of self isolation. that isolation for ten days even if you are double faxed if you come into contact with someone suspected of having the omicron variant. what labour have been arguing is that in order for people to self—isolate, the government has to look again at sick pgy- government has to look again at sick pay. there was no mention of that from the prime minister either. certainly, there will be fierce along whitehall that perhaps people who have been used to having very few restrictions since the summer, and who are double vaccinated, might not necessarily embrace self isolation for ten days in the run—up to the holiday period. still a lot of unanswered questions but very clear, the government, criticised by the opposition before for being too slow to react, wanted to react more quickly with new measures in the face of any threat. our health correspondent katharine da costa is with me we are starting to hear again that familiar phrase, plan b. this wasn't quite plan b, was it? that familiar phrase, plan b. this wasn't quite plan b, was it?— quite plan b, was it? that is right, while mandatory _ quite plan b, was it? that is right, while mandatory facemasks - quite plan b, was it? that is right, while mandatory facemasks will i quite plan b, was it? that is right, | while mandatory facemasks will be compulsory on shops and transport, that brings england into line with other uk nations. plan b would also have included working from home and faxing passports, they didn't go as far as that today. boris johnson faxing passports, they didn't go as far as that today. borisjohnson has said it is about trying to slow the spread, buying time, trying to contain this new variant and we are current measures have been enough to hold delta, with this new variant, the worry is it can spread more quickly and that re—infections can happen even if you are double vaccinated. they are buying time for the site is to carry out more work in the lab and gathering more real—world data to understand how this variant behaves because it has got so many more, double the amount of mutations delta had, and they have focused on this spike protein which is what the virus uses to break into the human cells. they really don't know quite how it is going to respond. some of these mutations have been seen in a variants that have made it spread more quickly or get around the immunity from the vaccines, and they just don't know so they are trying to buy some of that time. we also heard about _ to buy some of that time. we also heard about boosting _ to buy some of that time. we also heard about boosting our- to buy some of that time. we also heard about boosting our current. heard about boosting our current defences and boosting the booster programme and also antivirals. took us through the bitter programme first. what will they be looking at? —— booster programme. they have secretary has asked thejcvi to consider rolling out more booster shots to more ages. at the moment it is over 40s, they will talk about whether it should be open to more adults and whether you should shorten the gap between your second dose and booster shots. there is also some consideration about whether to give a second dose to 12 and is—year—olds. these are questions that have been put forward. to bolster our immunity within the population. i think it is important to say that scientists are optimistic that the current vaccines have worked against other variants, providing very good levels against serious illness and they suspect they will still be effective against this new variant. just they will still be effective against this new variant.— they will still be effective against this new variant. just to stay very cuickl this new variant. just to stay very quickly with _ this new variant. just to stay very quickly with the _ this new variant. just to stay very quickly with the 12 _ this new variant. just to stay very quickly with the 12 to _ this new variant. just to stay very i quickly with the 12 to 15-year-olds. quickly with the 12 to is—year—olds. we haven't had any evidence yet of the impact that the vaccination of that age group is having on the transmissibility in the cases, or is there evidence out there? in transmissibility in the cases, or is there evidence out there?- there evidence out there? in the latest ons _ there evidence out there? in the latest ons data, _ there evidence out there? in the latest ons data, they _ there evidence out there? in the latest ons data, they were - there evidence out there? in the i latest ons data, they were looking at young people. they are still high, and actually in the last few days, cases have been increasing, so there is some differences between there is some differences between the different age groups. one thing we have been seen is early indication of the booster is working and lower infection rates within the older age groups, and we have seen hospitalisations starting to fall. that is quite a positive sign. qm. that is quite a positive sign. ok, the vaccinations _ that is quite a positive sign. ok, the vaccinations are _ that is quite a positive sign. ok, the vaccinations are so important. i know at the moment there are questions about whether this particular variant has escaped the immunity vaccine. how quickly can they turn around a vaccine that would target this variant? the? would target this variant? they still don't know _ would target this variant? they still don't know what _ would target this variant? they still don't know what the - would target this variant? t�*yuez still don't know what the extent would target this variant? tt31: still don't know what the extent of immunity may be. that is what is being looked at. manufacturers are already looking to update vaccines, they can be tweaked quite quickly, particularly dr any vaccines which is a and madonna. they will be looking at that. the donor is already said it is designing and testing in preparation for this new variant. —— moderna. it is not about cutting corners but making them ready. they can be manufactured much more quickly than the first time around, and we are talking a matter of months. :, ~ around, and we are talking a matter of months. ., ~ , around, and we are talking a matter of months. :, ~' , :, , : of months. 0k, thank you very much for that. as part of the new restrictions outlined today, four more countries have been added to the government's red travel list, meaning all arrivals into the uk, will have to quarantine in a hotel, for ten days. angola, malawi, mozambique and zambia are the countries affected, bringing the total to ten, now on the red list. our transport correspondent caroline davies explains what we know so far when it comes to travel. it is still relatively small levels of tightening by comparison to what we have seen over the course of the last few months. things are really listening up and the travel in scotchman industry felt they were able to get off the ground again, people are starting to book notjust for this winter but also for next year as well. a real concern is that if people start seeing things go in the opposite direction, they make to lose some of that confidence. plenty of people will abut to go away during the christmas holidays. many people who haven't seen family in other countries for a long time will be hoping to be able to do their trips and see family, to reunite with family and friends. at this stage it is limited, but to go through what we do know so far on these limitations, the bed rest has now got ten countries on and from thorium tomorrow morning, anyone who is arriving and has been in any of those countries in the course of the last ten days, will have to stay in a quarantine hotel and will have to pay for that. it is in the uk and irish citizens that can come into the country that have been in these ten countries. those are angola, mozambique, malawi and zambia, south africa, at a teeny, botswana and namibia. and anyone who is not a uk or irish assistant will not be able to come into the uk if they have beenin to come into the uk if they have been in any of those countries in the course of the last ten days. pcr testing is also coming back. that only went at the end of october. it was the 24th of october for england, sist was the 24th of october for england, 31st for scotland, wales and northern ireland, so a relatively recent change moving away from pcr testing to the cheaper, lateral load testing. the advantage of pcr testing. the advantage of pcr testing as you consequence the results of those pcr tests. that means you can identify the variant. that was seen as no longer necessary when it was removed at the end of last month because these tests were considered to be too expensive and there was no variant of concern at that point, now that there is, this is being reintroduced. the other thing to bear in mind is if you do travel, you take one of these pcr tests, you have to self—isolate until you get a negative result. you cannot ticket and go about your business. we have to wait until you get results back. the government's latest coronavirus figures show there were 39,567 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that's mostly the delta variant. on average, there were nearly 44 thousand new cases reported per day in the last week. 131 deaths were recorded, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. on average in the past week, 123 covid—related deaths were recorded every day. on vaccinations, more than 17 million people have now had a boosterjab. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — our guestsjoining me tonight are the broadcasterjo phillips — and nigel nelson — political editor of the sunday mirror and the people. the headlines on bbc news... the government announces new restrictions to be introduced next week — as 2 cases of omicron — a new variant of covid—i9 — are discovered in the uk. people in england will now once again have to wear face masks on public transport and in shops. all contacts of suspected omicron cases must self—isolate for 10 days — regardless of their vaccination status. three people have died, as storm arwen hit parts of the uk, bringing high winds, rain and snow. there's been damage across scotland, northern england, the midlands and wales, with winds of nearly a hundred miles an hour, leaving more than a hundred thousand homes without power. there are more weather warnings across the uk, for this evening. here's andy gill. storm arwen has left much of the country facing disruption and damage. there have been some near misses, road and rail travel has been badly affected, and tens of thousands of homes left without power. the storm brought picture postcard scenery to this north yorkshire village, but it is also disrupting life, especially for the vulnerable. patricia is 86, she lives alone and has difficulty walking. her power has been off since half past ten last night. it's cold, very cold. somebody has brought me a hot water bottle to put on my knees, and i have got twojumpers on. winds of more than 90 mph battered the north—east coast of scotland, and trains were cancelled across the uk. it is a fluid situation. we will try to keep people moving wherever we can, but in many parts of the country we are encouraging people not to travel at all and certainly to check on the website, the apps, and for live information before they do set off. on one train in the north of scotland, passengers were stranded overnight. i got on the train at elgin just the back of three - yesterday afternoon, - and about five o'clock we hit huntly, and we stayed . there for about 17 hours. on a farm near saint asaph in north wales, a shed roof blew off damaging cars. the met office has issued a yellow warning for icy conditions on sunday across much of scotland, northern england and the midlands. as officials in france work to identify the 27 people, who died in the channel this week when their small boat capsized, the bbc has been hearing from the family and friends of one of victims. maryam nuri mohamed amin was a 24—year—old kurdish woman, from northern iraq. she was trying to reach the uk, to be with her partner. lucy williamson has more details. she left to start a new life with her fiance. video from her engagement party less than a year ago still stored on her relatives' phones. maryam nuri mohamed amin tried several times to get a visa tojoin her partner in the uk, before deciding to surprise him by trying to get there another way. she was messaging him when the boat began to lose air. in northern iraq, the family's anger showed through their grief. her mother and sister, inconsolable. translation: going to britain is very difficult. l she tried to get to britain legally twice. she went to the british embassy, but the process was delayed. she was forced to go the way she did. her friend iman left to absorb the news of her death. her humanity was so good, always advising me. she was someone i look up to for advice, so no one should try this. no one. no one deserves to die this way. but this disaster has changed little in the minds of people living in migrant camps here. they are just waiting for the right weather conditions to make the same journey, take the same risks. there has been a lot of finger pointing across the channel over who is to blame for the growing crisis. european interior ministers are due to meet here tomorrow to discuss the problem, but the british home secretary has been disinvited in the middle of a diplomatic feud between the prime minister boris johnson and the french president emmanuel macron. investigations have begun to identify the other victims, but questions are also being asked about why help never arrived and more broadly ahead of tomorrow's meeting, why after all the diplomacy, all the deterrents, lives are still being risked and lost in a narrow stretch of sea. we are going to bring you some news thatis we are going to bring you some news that is coming to us following those announcements made by the prime minister this evening. that is of the need for a pcr test to be taken for all international arrivals. the requirement was that a day to pcr test and self isolation would be required. there has been in response to this saying that it is a rapidly evolving situation, public health does come first in the decision to require all arrivals to take a pcr test and self—isolate until a negative result is returned is a huge blow for travel businesses, many of whom were onlyjust starting to get back on their feet after 20 months of severe restrictions. this statement goes on to say that these changes will add cost to people's holidays which will undoubtedly impact consumer demand and hold back the industry's recovery, so it is vital this decision is kept under careful review and restrictions are lifted promptly if it becomes clear that it lifted promptly if it becomes clear thatitis lifted promptly if it becomes clear that it is not a risk to the uk vaccination programme. abta also say the government must also consider offering tailored support for travel businesses which have been amongst the hardest hit during the pandemic. you will remember the prime minister did sadie's current restrictions would be reviewed in three weeks' time. —— did say the current restrictions. that response coming from abta, to the need for a pcr test for international travellers. one of musical theatre's most revered composers and lyricists, stephen sondheim, has died at the age of 91. in a career that spanned more than six decades, he created some of broadway's best known musicals — and wrote the lyrics for west side story. daniela relph has been looking back at his life. # 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... that's one of my favourite things about a sondheim musical, is 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've arrived at a place where you realise i've got it. i've figured out how to sing this sondheim lyric and sing this beautiful phrase that he wrote. # 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.# now it's time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. still gusts of 50 or 60 miles an hour. a mix of rain, sleet and snow becoming increasingly confined to east and south—east england. some showers and parts of wales, devon and cornwall, in between clear skies and cornwall, in between clear skies and widespread frost, and a risk of ice as well. that ice remains tomorrow morning, an area of rain, sleet and snow pushing for scotland, northern ireland internode in england at the midlands. behind and head of it, some sunshine that further wintry showers and chewing alongside some eastern coasts and some gusty winds. crucially their winds tomorrow will be later than they have been today. certainly feeling cold were exposed to the winter. temperatures are best for some just three or four sources. goodbye. hello. this is bbc news with lukwesa burak. the headlines... the government announces new restrictions as two cases of omicron, a new variant of covid—19, are discovered in the uk. this is the responsible course of action to slow down the seating and the spread of this new variant, and to maximise our defences. people in england will now once again have to wear facemasks on public transport and in shops. all contacts of suspected omicron cases must self—isolate for 10 days, regardless of their vaccination status. mrjohnson also announced that people entering the country would have to take a pcr test and self—isolate until they get a negative result. and the government also said it's considering how it can expand the coronavirus booster campaign. just to bring you an update on the latest news concerning the omicron variant of the coronavirus. this is coming from the scottish government. any statement they are saying that the news that two cases of the variant have been confirmed in england is a stark reminder that we must not drop our guard. no cases as it has been detected in scotland. but the fact this new variant is on our doorstep is clearly a worry and we should act as though it is already here. the statement does point out that there is a lot to learn about the variant, lots of questions about severity. transmissibility and the effect on treatments or vaccines. scientists are working at pace. following discussions to date with the health secretary, and other devolved administrations, and in the light of the well—known practical reasons for preferring a uk—wide approach to travel restrictions, we are aligning with the new project restrictions being introduced by the uk government which will require fully vaccinated arrivals to take a pcr test