hello, thank you forjoining us. several more countries around the world have detected cases of the new coronavirus variant known as omicron. it's the most heavily mutated version of the virus discovered so far and early evidence suggests that it has a higher risk of re—infection. canada has confirmed two infections and france has also reported a number of suspected cases. a third case has been detected in the uk. at least 13 cases have been confirmed in the netherlands. they were all on flights coming from south africa where scientists first identified the variant. omicron is responsible for most of the infections found in gauteng province in south africa, and has been found in all provinces there. britain, as the current chair of the g7 group of leading economies, is to convene an urgent meeting of health ministers to discuss how best to respond. it comes as a number of countries have moved to restrict or ban incoming flights from southern africa, as caroline davies reports. schiphol airport on friday night. 600 passengers from two planes from south africa were disembarked and tested. now, the dutch authorities have confirmed 13 people in this crowd did test positive for the omicron variant. those who tested negative were sent home. they include cathy hogarth, now back in the uk. she's self—isolating, but feels she was put at risk. i'm shocked. i feel quite vulnerable. on the planes, where, you know, social distancing is difficult — however, you are wearing your face mask, you are not allowed to walk up and down the plane, everything, you're sanitising all the time. once we got to the airport, all of that went out the window. even the buses, the transport that they put us on, was crammed full of people. why has that happened? schiphol airport said it was a unique situation and they had done their best to make sure people were comfortable. others have also been affected by the variant. the cardiff rugby team and their support staff have been unable to leave south africa because of two positive covid cases. one is thought to be the omicron variant. they are now isolating at a hotel. around the world, travel restrictions are tightening. from this morning, quarantine hotels in the uk took guests again. switzerland has announced that uk arrivals will need to isolate for ten days, be double vaccinated, and take a covid test. spain has said that british travellers must be vaccinated to be allowed in. and morocco has suspended all incoming flights from late tomorrow for two weeks. getting home has become increasingly complicated for some. middle east have cancelled most of the flights in and out of south africa, so you can't get back that way. there are some through europe, but the whole of european nations are trying to get back to their nations, too. so to actually try and get out of south africa now is really difficult. meanwhile, in the uk, although the restrictions are still limited, they're already having an impact. while christmas shoppers fill the streets, some are already changing their plans. one body for the hospitality industry said that they're already seeing cancelled reservations as fragile consumer confidence is knocked again. the travel industry is also concerned that people won't make holiday bookings as long as the travel rules keep changing. the uncertainty about the variant and where it's spread is already making business uncertain, too. caroline davies, bbc news. as governments impose travel bans, the debate over their effectiveness has re—ignited. in south africa, where scientists first identified the virus, president cyril ramaphosa has called on governments which have imposed restrictions to reverse their decisions. these restrictions are completely unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our southern african sister countries. the prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant. the only thing the prohibition on travel will do is to further damage the economies of the affected countries and undermine their ability to respond to and also to recoverfrom the pandemic. the emergence of the omicron variant should be a wake—up call to the world that vaccine inequality cannot be allowed to continue. cyril ramaphosa. dr amesh adalja is a senior scholar at the johns hopkins university center for health security. i asked him if he agreed with the position taken by the south african president. i agree with the south african president that i do not think these bans are justified. even if there are important questions to answer about this new variant, we know a lot about covid—19. we know how it transmits. we have treatments, we have tests, we have vaccines. we have a lot of different tools at our disposal now, in november 2021, that we did not have early on in this pandemic, so i do not think that we should be going back to these blunt tools that penalise countries like south africa, which has been really diligent and transparent in alerting the world to this new threat and also will damage that country's economy. i think we have better tools to do this but unfortunately, this type of knee—jerk reaction is very common among politicians and i think it is unfortunate. that's interesting because when you say we know how to deal with these things, with omicron, the message i am hearing is don't really know quite how transmissible it is, we don't know how virulent it might prove to be or, indeed, how effective or otherwise current vaccines are in dealing with it. even if it is more transmissible, it is still going to transmit in the same way that other versions of this virus transmit, meaning that you can use things like masks and social distancing. we have tests that will detect this variant in people who are infected with it. we have monoclonal antibodies and vaccines which we are not quite certain how well they work, but the early data from south africa shows even if there is a higher rate of breakthrough infection with this variant, you are still likely to be protected against what matters — serious disease, hospitalisation and death — because it is hard for any variant to erase everything that a vaccine does for you, and i think we know how to handle this in a much in a much better way. but what you see is that people often will take some action in order to be saying that they are doing some action and not thinking about the long—term consequences of that action, which could include other countries that discover new variants being reticent to report them because they worry they will not be praised for finding this new variant, but they'll be punished for it. and i think it sends the wrong message that this is the way you deal with covid—i9 and there are important questions to be answered, but there is so much knowledge we have about the virus in general that should inform how we deal with mitigation. i think that's an interesting point you make about coming forward and being transparent about the information that's available. nonetheless, in the short term, i just want to ask you again on this, as i don't know that i fully understand it — is it not sensible to do all you can, whatever entity you are, to restrict the arrival of a new strain? first of all, i think by the time that these get put into place, this variant has likely already landed there, so we have cases in belgium that have no contact with south africa, this is now in canada. this is something that spreads efficiently, so by the time you actually recognise these first cases, the variant has already spread to many other parts of the world — especially if it is, indeed, more transmissible — so they actually give people a false sense of security and kind of divert public health resources to try to maintain this travel ban when what we should be doing is getting more vaccine into people, doing more testing, building public health infrastructure and not giving people a false sense of security that this travel ban is going to help. in the us, we've had travel bans from the very beginning, during the trump administration. they did nothing to stop the onslaught of the virus and i think it is really critical to understand that these are not effectual tools and they end up causing more harm than good — even though on face value, people think it makes sense. but when you are dealing with an efficiently spreading respiratory virus, they're too late. the us travel ban goes into effect monday, which doesn't make any sense in terms of if this was so necessary, why is there this lag to do it and why does it only include certain countries but not other countries where we're seeing transmission? dr amesh adalja. a very clear view on the value or otherwise, indeed, on travel bands. —— on travel bans. around 62% of voters in switzerland have backed their government's covid strategy, including a covid certificate showing proof of vaccination, recovery, or a negative test. switzerland is currently battling a surge in infections and the certificates are currently needed to access bars, restaurants, and football matches. four days after the bodies of people who drowned in the channel while trying to reach the uk were discovered, the identities of all 27 are yet to be confirmed. many are thought to be kurds from northern iraq and as the days go on without news, families there fear the worst. the bbc�*s murad shishani has the story of one man whose wife and three children are believed to have been on the boat. for those waiting for news, the uncertainty is almost as difficult as the grief. rizgal hussein's wife and three children wanted to come to the uk to start a new life away from their village, in iraqi kurdistan. his oldest daughter had wanted to study to become a doctor. translation: fathers | and mothers try to make their children better. i am a father, i love my kids. i want my children to have a good life. but the last time he heard from them was on tuesday as they were boarding a boat. he says he called hundreds of times with no answer. the next day, french authorities pulled 27 people from the water. and because of delays identifying the dead, rizgal does not know if his wife and children are among them. translation: i don't know if they are dead or alive. . i won't believe a thing until i see my children here or i find them in hospital. rizgal had even sold the family house to pay people smugglers for the journey. it is an expensive and illegal way to get to europe. an estimated 40,000 people have left the region in the past year using the smugglers�* network. i am on my way to meet one such smuggler who was not involved with rizgal�*s family. they call them here in iraqi kurdistan region �*the middlemen�*. he agreed to talk to me on condition of anonymity. he is directing me to a place of his choice, insisting that my time with him should be quick and short. do you regret being in this business after seeing what happened at the english channel? translation: how can i not regret? _ they are iraqi, they are muslim. even if they were palestinian, iraqi, jordanian or syrian, they are still human beings. whoever it is, it is as though it is my son, or even one of my relatives. it's a crime against humanity. rizgal looks at family photos of happier times as he waits for news. but after five days, he is beginning to lose hope. murad shishani, bbc news, northern iraq. let's get some of the day's other news. in honduras, the electoral council says preliminary results show the leftist candidate xiomara castro is ahead in presidential elections. she's bidding to become the country's first female president. but the governing national party said its representative nasry asfura was on course for victory, without producing any evidence. fiji is to send 50 peacekeepers to the solomon islands following three days of unrest. the violence began on wednesday when protestors stormed parliament in a bid to topple the prime minister. australia and papua new guinea have already sent in peacekeeping forces to the pacific island. northern peru has been hit by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake with tremors felt more than i,000km from the epicentre. hundreds of buildings were damaged, but there have been no reported deaths. courtney bembridge reports. this is the moment the 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit. it was just before 6:00 in the morning and people woken by the tremors rushed out into the streets. translation: i was able to wake my wife and pick| up my child. we weren't able to reach the door, we didn't reach it. some became trapped under the rubble and had to be pulled free by rescue teams. hundreds of homes, businesses and churches were destroyed and the extent of the damage is still being assessed. the peruvian president pedro castillo visited the affected areas and promised government aid to help rebuild homes. translation: be certain that, starting today, - we are with you. the epicentre was a sparsely populated region of the amazon rainforest but the deep quake was felt across half the country, and in colombia, more than i,000km away. it also caused damage in neighbouring ecuador. courtney bembridge, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we look at the life and the work of virgil abloh, the trailblazing creative director of louis vuitton who's died from cancer aged 41. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i am feeling so helpless that the childrens are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult - suspected of killing - sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at ”am this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite numberfrom dover. this is bbc news, our top story: more countries outside of africa confirm cases of the new coronavirus variant, as the continent's hit by more travel restrictions. the biggest banking leak africa has ever seen has shed light on companies linked to relatives and associates of former democratic republic of congo president — joseph kabila — receiving millions of dollars in public funds. now the bbc can exclusively reveal a presidency account was set up at the bank central to the leak, during kabila's tenure in power. millions of dollars were transferred through it. online french investigative journal mediapart and the ngo platform to protect whistleblowers in africa obtained the information. it has been published as part of a consortium co—ordinated by the european investigative collaborations network. a judicial investigation into any alleged wrongdoing has begun, as a result of a government request. joice etutu reports. usually private financial documents hold information linking relatives and associates of a former president of the democratic republic of congo to the unexplained movement of millions of dollars of taxpayers money. a former employee says the managing director approved loans and big transactions, causing concern that proper procedures were avoided. managing director is also the foster brother of former presidentjoseph kabila and when he was in power, the bank created accounts for officers of state, including for the presidency. then, in may 2013 the employee was given a memorable task. translation: remember clearly because early in the morning he called me and said a need to make $3 million available on the president's account. ., , available on the president's account. . , , , account. that is despite the account. that is despite the account holding _ account. that is despite the account holding little - account. that is despite the | account holding little money stopping the bank had arranged an overdraft that same day. joseph kabila's official financial advisor withdrew the money in cash. the bbc found no documentation to justify the transaction, which appears to break drc banking law and this man believesjoseph kabila would have known about it. translation:— would have known about it. translation: the head of the state's financial _ translation: the head of the state's financial advisor - translation: the head of the state's financial advisor is - state's financial advisor is acting on behalf of the head of state. he had direct control of the account. it was him who signed on behalf of him for the account. six. signed on behalf of him for the account. ,, ., , ., account. six months later interest _ account. six months later interest was _ account. six months later interest was piling - account. six months later interest was piling up. . account. six months later. interest was piling up. then, the leak shows, a company paid $3.34 million into the presidency account from its own accounts containing $43 million of taxpayers' money received weeks earlier from the state's bank. the company is known to have done business withjoseph kabila before. the bbc showed no evidence of what the egal payment to the presidency account was four and the leak shows other firms with links to joseph kabila's relatives and associates received millions of dollars of public money into their accounts and then out. we don't know where the money ended up. don't know where the money ended um— don't know where the money ended un— don't know where the money ended u. , , ., ., ., ended up. this is a huge alarm for the ended up. this is a huge alarm forthe drc, — ended up. this is a huge alarm for the drc, for _ ended up. this is a huge alarm for the drc, for the _ ended up. this is a huge alarm for the drc, for the public, - for the drc, for the public, there must be an investigation because everything we have seen could bejust because everything we have seen could be just the top of the iceberg. there could be more. such worries were already surfacing internally. the leak shows a 2018 head office audit saying the drc operation was very high risk and raising concerns about declared conflicts of interest. just two weeks after that audit, the bank promoted mr de silva money and received a reported payoff of $1.4 million. as a result of the revelations, a judicial investigation of the drc government into any alleged wrongdoing is under way. the bank declined to comment on the leaks. bgfi condemned any illegal acts which may have been committed and said it took steps and 2018 to clean up its drc operation. egal denied it ever received state money and says the investigation into the $43 million payment exonerated at, and joseph kabila said the leaks were unfounded lea ks were unfounded allegations leaks were unfounded allegations to discredit his presidency. the former president is a senator for life in a country rated one of the world's most corrupt. the rich natural resources don't prevent most of its residents from being poor. the fashion designer and creative director of louis vuitton, virgil abloh, has died of cancer. the 41—year—old founded the brand �*off—white', and had worked with some of the industry's biggest names including kanye west. he came into the bbc in 2019 and spoke to radio1 dj benji b about breaking barriers and his creative approach. it took me that period to, like, question myself and be like, am i going to believe in the myth that i can't be a designer at the highest level? am i going to believe that i'm supposed to make printed t—shirts that are called streetwear? or am i supposed to believe that i'm only going to dj clubs that are willing to pay me whatever and to play whenever, and i was like, yeah, i'm gonna do that and i'm gonna keep doing it for a long period of time �*til the one opportunity that comes across, say yes or no, and i'm gonna say yes, i'm gonna show up on time, i'm going to do my best, and then that's gonna lead to some other opportunities and i hope that through my narrative people see that in themselves, that anything is achievable and the different genres arejust made to bejumped over. that is virgil abloh speaking to the bbc two years ago. alex frank — culture writer and editor and contributor of vogue.com told me more about his life and career. total trailblazer. virgil was a kid from chicago. he grew up in chicago. you know, people like him don't often become the heads of major fashion luxury groups in paris and virgil did. i think it took an enormous leap of imagination and faith and determination to get where he ended up. what was it then, in a sense, apart from him as a character, clearly he's got charisma. what was it in his cv that took him to that height and in that direction? they were so many things but i think for me the most central one is that virgil was very in touch with young customers. virgil was of a scene that was emerging in the fashion space. young kids, young guys who were buying tons of fashion, buying sneakers, listening to hip—hop, and virgil was in touch with this audience, he was this customer at one time in his life. so i think he just understood something that a lot of people in paris don't fully understand and i think he was able to tap into something that if you're based in paris, running a company, maybe its not something easy to tap into, and virgil was able to do that. you witnessed for yourself actually also his generosity of spirit in terms of wanting to help young people, it seems. virgil was a very nice guy. ask anyone in the industry and they'll tell you that. in 2017, i went to ghana, the capital city, and i met a group of skaters. i was covering the culture and style scene in ghana and i met a group of skaters, the first crew of skaters in all of ghana. they didn't have a skate park. so they were skating on really bumpy roads. i wrote a story with out them for vogue.com. virgil had roots in ghana. he read the story and he quietly reached out to us. he didn't make a big fanfare about it. he quietly reached out to us and asked us how he could help create a skate park for the kids in ghana. this skate park opened in no small part because of his support. a christmas i think has opened in red square, 60 year running. the heart of moscow and contains limmen mausoleums. the rink itself will stay open to visitors until the spring, until the numbers have been limited because of the coronavirus pandemic. —— six year running. hello. for many parts of the uk, it's a cold and icy start to the new week. there are changes afoot — it briefly turns milder on tuesday. it doesn't last for long. the colder air moves back in from midweek onwards. and throughout the week, some spells of wet and windy weather at times. this is how monday shapes up, we have a warm front draped across scotland and northern ireland. ahead of it, we're in the colder air, behind it, something milder. on the front, we'll see outbreaks of rain preceded by some hill sleet and snow through the morning across scotland. ahead of it through the morning, a widespread ice risk for much of scotland and england. some patchy rain into northern ireland, maybe into the far north of england, further south, it stays mostly dry for daylight hours. the best of the sunshine from east anglia down to dorset, but a cold feeling day here. further north, not as cold, 10 celsius the high in belfast and glasgow. overnight, the cloud increases, that mild air pushes its way southwards, bringing with it some outbreaks of rain and drizzle, but it won't be nearly so cold, a much milder night as we head into tuesday with lows across the northern half of the uk around 6—7 celsius. so, this is tuesday, we are in between fronts. notice how the isobars are closer together. so, the winds will be strengthening, but we are in this warm air, so a much milder day, a lot of cloud. there'll be some outbreaks of rain, the heaviest initially scotland through the morning, and that rain piles in to northern ireland, northern and western scotland, parts of northern england, a few showers further south, but by and large, the further south you are, the drier you'll be. but look at the temperatures, 11— 12 celsius on tuesday. it will be increasingly windy day. these are the average wind strengths, but would be likely to see some stronger gusts particularly through western coasts. now, this frontal system will be moving its way pretty swiftly across the uk through tuesday night and into wednesday, bringing all ofus a spell of more persistent rain, but also as it clears its way from south—east england, behind it, we see those blue colours, that colder air starting to flood across, and it's quite a messy picture on wednesday, quite a few showers around, particularly for western and eastern coasts. those showers are likely to be wintry across northern and eastern scotland, and it's starting to feel colder again particularly across the northern half of the uk. we may still get 10 or 11 celsius further south. thursday should be mainly dry, but feeling cold, and then more rain arrives on wednesday. goodbye. courtney bembridge reports. this is bbc news. the headlines: health ministers from the g7 group of leading economic powers are to hold an emergency meeting on how to respond to the new coronavirus variant. france and switzerland are among the latest countries to investigate suspected new cases of omicron and canada has confirmed two infections. a 7.5—magnitude earthquake has struck northern peru, sending shock waves across the region. the tremors were felt more than 1,000km away. hundreds of homes and buildings were damaged near the epicentre, but there have been no reported deaths. the fashion designer and creative director of louis vuitton, virgil abloh, has died of cancer. the 41—year—old, considered a trailblazer of the industry founded the label off—white, and was the first african—american to become creative director of a french luxury brand. kanye west was among the star's he dressed. now on bbc news, it's time for dateline london with shaun ley.