arthur labinjo—hughes who was starved and tortured — his stepmother is found guilty of murder, his father of manslaughter. the little boy's grandmother described the couple as evil. they are wicked, evil. there is no word for them, especially your own child. nearly 20,000 people still have no electricity in scotland and northern england in the wake of storm arwen. the army is called in to help. and the duchess of sussex wins her privacy case against the publisher of the mail on sunday, after it printed parts of a letter she'd written to her father. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, manchester united's interim manager watches on at old trafford as they take on arsenal in the premier league. good evening. germany has announced major restrictions on anyone who's not vaccinated against covid—19, banning them from restaurants, bars, cinemas and many shops, in an attempt to fend off a fourth wave of the virus. and the chancellor angela merkel says vaccines may become compulsory from february. here, as it emerged that a covid jab may be needed every year, the government confirmed it's ordered 114 million more doses from pfizer and moderna. the deal allows for vaccines to be modified to tackle new variants, if necessary. cases of omicron have now been confirmed in 2a countries. another ten cases were reported in the uk today, taking the total to a2. here's our medical editor, fergus walsh. red alert in germany. intensive care staff at this bavarian hospital lit the wards read to warn germans of the wards read to warn germans of the threat from covid at its worst wave of infections so far. the government has announced a ban on the unvaccinated entering bars, restaurants and nonessential shops. translation: this restaurants and nonessential shops. translation:— translation: this is the situation we are confronted _ translation: this is the situation we are confronted with _ translation: this is the situation we are confronted with and - translation: this is the situation we are confronted with and it's - translation: this is the situation | we are confronted with and it's also cleared what we need to achieve first. those who have not been vaccinated yet need to do so. find vaccinated yet need to do so. and they could — vaccinated yet need to do so. and they could go _ vaccinated yet need to do so. and they could go further, with plans for vaccination to be made mandatory as early as february next year. germany's wave is being driven by the delta variant but omicron is continuing to spread globally with cases confirmed in more countries, including india and france. here, omicron and any future variants will be combated with yet more boosters, year after year if needed. all these jabs will be so—called mrna vaccines from pfizer and moderna, but the focus right now is getting this round of boosters in arms. the prime minister had his at the hospital that saved his life last year. i’m that saved his life last year. i'm luc , that saved his life last year. i'm lucky. here _ that saved his life last year. i'm lucky. here we _ that saved his life last year. i'm lucky, here we go. _ that saved his life last year. i'm lucky, here we go. saint - that saved his life last year. i'm - lucky, here we go. saint thomases, in london. — lucky, here we go. saint thomases, in london, where _ lucky, here we go. saint thomases, in london, where he _ lucky, here we go. saint thomases, in london, where he was _ lucky, here we go. saint thomases, in london, where he was admitted i lucky, here we go. saint thomases, l in london, where he was admitted to intensive care with covid. what in london, where he was admitted to intensive care with covid.— intensive care with covid. what ever omicron may _ intensive care with covid. what ever omicron may or _ intensive care with covid. what ever omicron may or may _ intensive care with covid. what ever omicron may or may not _ intensive care with covid. what ever omicron may or may not be - intensive care with covid. what ever omicron may or may not be able - intensive care with covid. what ever omicron may or may not be able to | omicron may or may not be able to do, it certainly will not negate the overall value of the boosters, so everybody should get your booster as soon as you are called forward. pfizer, like the other vaccine makers, is already working on an omicron specific covid vaccine which could be ready in three months. welcome stop in a rare interview the boss of pfizer told me he thought regular boosters would be needed. if we have to make a guess based on everything i have seen so far, i would say likely it will be needed annual vaccinations to maintain very robust and very high level of protection. robust and very high level of protection-— robust and very high level of protection.- in - robust and very high level of protection.- in the - robust and very high level of protection. yes! in the united states 5-11— protection. yes! in the united states 5-11 -year-olds - protection. yes! in the united states 5—11 —year—olds are now being immunised against covid. therapy dogs providing a useful distraction. a decision on this age group in the uk may come before christmas. they would receive a third of a standard dose. it all means bigger and bigger profits for pfizer. revenues from its vaccine will exceed £26 billion this year. what would you say to those who regard it as immoral to cash in during a pandemic? i believe we have saved _ cash in during a pandemic? i believe we have saved the _ cash in during a pandemic? i believe we have saved the economy - cash in during a pandemic? i believe we have saved the economy trillions| we have saved the economy trillions of dollars. i think it's a strong incentive for innovation for the next pandemic, that people will see if they step up to the game to bring something that saves lives and saves money, there is also financial reward was like meanwhile the uk has approved a new antibody drug which dramatically cuts the risk of severe illness. initialtests dramatically cuts the risk of severe illness. initial tests suggest it will work against omicron. it's not just vaccines but treatments which will end this pandemic. fergus walsh, bbc news. south africa, which recorded some of the earliest cases of the omicron variant, is seeing a major increase in cases. over the last week the daily number of new covid cases has increased fourfold, from less than 3,000 to more than 11,500 — three quarters of which are omicron. so far hospital admissions remain low and symptoms of the new variant are reported to be mild, but early figures suggest an increase in the number of people who have had the virus becoming reinfected. our africa correspondent andrew harding has more. it's summer time here in south africa, but a shadow looms over the beaches and holiday season. a fourth wave of covid infections is spreading fast, driven by the new variant. are you worried about this new variant, omicron? the new one, i am worried. i'm worried. we don't know what the new variant's like. what the symptoms are, i how bad the symptoms are. how it could affect us now and it makes you really scared. at their laboratory here in durban the scientists who first identified the omicron variant are racing to unlock its secrets, and now the first hints are emerging of what the mutations on the virus mean. i think the epidemiological evidence l is that we think you're more likelyl i to get reinfected if you've had . covid before, so that is because of the mutations on the spike protein. we don't know much about - transmissibility but i think looking at the mutational formation we think it may be more transmissible - than even delta. in terms of clinical problems, j we have no evidence that this is a more severe virus than let's say delta, alpha, or even beta. | that bears repeating. although hospital admissions are rising sharply here, it won't be at all clear at least for another week or two whether the omicron variant is more severe, more dangerous. in the meantime, above all in rural south africa, another problem lurks — vaccine hesitancy. this builder tells a visiting health worker that he won't get a jab even with the new wave of infections. do you find it frustrating, people saying no? it is frustrating because we believe that if all of us have already had vaccinated, we will be safe. as this virus spreads fast now across south africa the real problem here is not a lack of vaccines, it's the fact that younger people seem very reluctant to get a jab, which is where these activists come in. trying to persuade the public in a country where so far only a third of adults are fully vaccinated. the guys said they would like to get their vaccination after we had a talk. success. that's a success and we thank them by clapping hands. one small victory, but south africa has a fight on its hands. andrew harding, bbc news, durban. businesses have been calling for greater clarity from the government about whether people should go to christmas parties — as restaurants and hotels report customers cancelling reservations. the prime minister insisted this afternoon that events should go ahead. so what are people and bosses meant to do? our consumer affairs correspondent coletta smith has been talking to party—goers and planners. many: 0h! the party season is in full swing, and staff from this company have come out in force. we gave everybody the choice whether they wanted to carry on in the uk. they've all decided to to come, which we're absolutely delighted about. and then we've got this, and then we're out for a nice meal this evening. the drinks, the dips and the darts are all helping conversations flow. we haven't been together for, what, over a year, really, as a company. so, really important, yeah. really good. last week, when we had - all the new rules with covid, i thought it's going to get - cancelled, but we've been lucky enough to still go ahead, which has been great. . they have had a few cancellations here at this darts bar in the last few days, but are hoping last—minute walk—ins will fill those gaps. at the moment, we're seeing mostly groups of around 50, and some of the biggest we have are around 100 for this christmas. we have seen some bigger ones previously. but i'm not sure if it's a case of splitting down into departments and coming in smaller groups or them not having the party in the first place. the government haven't changed any of the rules around meeting in big groups. it's up to individual companies to decide whether or not they want to go ahead. but some firms are taking small steps to try and mitigate that risk, making people do lateral flow tests, perhaps meeting in smaller groups, in better—ventilated venues, just to try and make everyone feel more comfortable. i think it is scary with the masks coming back in, but i don't think it should affect christmas do's, no. you're working with each other anyway, so you're going to be in proximity. i think it's very important, especially in jobs where l you actually work remotely anyway. so, when you're looking forward to getting together, _ it's one thing that everyone's looking forward to for - the whole year, so, yeah. we've been here since 4am this morning, loading in all the lighting, the sound, all the equipment and then... holly organises christmas do's at the other end of the scale — massive ones for big global brands. there'll be 300 people on this dance floor tonight. they're at the point where everything's organised and booked, they don't want to cancel. so, we're doing another event today for 100 people, a conference and a party, we'll be doing small private dinings for, like, 20 people. just people want to be together, and they want the christmas dinner and the crackers and everything, don't they? with just over three weeks to go until the big day, plenty of companies are taking a punt on a safe and successful night out. coletta smith, bbc news, in manchester. the latest coronavirus figures in the uk show there were nearly 511,000 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that's the highest since july. 1111 deaths were recorded — that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. and on vaccinations, just over 19 million people have now had their booster jab. a woman has been convicted of murdering her six—year—old stepson last year, and the boy's father has been found guilty of his manslaughter. as the uk was in lockdown, arthur labinjo—hughes was starved, tortured and neglected by emma tustin and thomas hughes, before dying of a head injury lastjune. during the trial at coventry crown court, the couple were described as "utterly ruthless and pitiless". an independent review is underway into the actions of social workers, who'd visited the family two months before arthur died. i must warn you that this report from phil mackie contains video and audio recordings of arthur which were played in court as evidence, and it is distressing. arthur labinjo—hughes had been a healthy and happy little boy, but he was subjected to months of beatings and punishments by his stepmother emma tustin and father thomas hughes. basically, my six—year—old stepson he's fallen, he's banged his head. 0k. and while he was on the floor he's banged his head another five times. tustin lied when she dialled 999, and when the police arrived she continued trying to say that arthur pours my injuries were self—inflicted. so you've come in, he's banged his head three or four times... - yeah, i was on living in. i was in the kitchen and then i sat down in the living room and that's when he threw himself on the floor. and you heard him bang his head? but evidence of the cruelty was undeniable. the pair had filmed some of his suffering. on the day arthur died he'd been forced to sleep on the floor without a mattress. he was so weak he could barely stand or walk. and there were recordings played in court of arthur in obvious distress. arthur cries. i think they are cold, calculated, systematic torturers of a defenceless little boy. they are wicked, evil. there's no word for them. especially your own child. in court, tustin and hughes blamed each other for what was called "systematic cruelty", but it was clear both were involved. it's been a really difficult and emotional case to have to deal with, but a really important one because ultimately ijust wanted to make sure that was justice for arthur and his wider family. arthur had already had a difficult start in life. his birth mother, olivia labinjo—halcrow, is in prison after being convicted of manslaughter in another case. arthur had gone to live in tustin�*s house at the start of the first lockdown last year, and that's when the abuse escalated. soon afterwards, arthur's other grandmother, joanne hughes, took this photo. but social workers who investigated said it had appeared to be a happy household. an investigation is being carried out to see whether opportunities to save the little boy were missed. if during the two—month trial, jurors heard hundreds of recordings and saw hours of footage far more distressing than anything we've been able to show. and at the end of the case, once the defendants had been taken down, they passed a note to the judge asking for a minute's silence in memory of arthur. everybody in court stood and observed it. tustin and hughes will be sentenced tomorrow. sadly, whatever lessons learned from the case will come too late to save arthur. phil mackie, bbc news, coventry crown court. thousands of people are facing a seventh night without electricity tonight after storm arwen downed power lines across the north of england and scotland. more than 100 soldiers were deployed to help out in aberdeenshire today and late this afternoon durham declared a serious emergency and called on the government to send troops there too as fiona trott reports. the power of storm arwen. pylons in cumbria still lying on the ground six days on. repairing them is a massive task.— massive task. the scale of devastation _ massive task. the scale of devastation is _ massive task. the scale of devastation is probably . massive task. the scale of- devastation is probably something we've never really experienced, definitely not in the 15 years i've worked in the organisation. to get a comparison, we'd have to go back to the great storm of 87. we've had over 900 instances of damage on our network, and when you look here this is one incidence of damage where you have 18 spans to repair. this is one incidence of damage where you have 18 spans to repair.— have 18 spans to repair. this family can't wait for _ have 18 spans to repair. this family can't wait for repairs. _ have 18 spans to repair. this family can't wait for repairs. they have . can't wait for repairs. they have five children. three are disabled and five—year—old oliver relies on specialist equipment. they are all crammed into hotel rooms in newcastle. it is warm, but difficult. it newcastle. it is warm, but difficult. . , , newcastle. it is warm, but difficult-— newcastle. it is warm, but difficult. , , ., difficult. it has 'ust been a living nightmare. — difficult. it has 'ust been a living nightmare. rt— difficult. it hasjust been a living nightmare. it feels _ difficult. it hasjust been a living nightmare. it feels like - difficult. it hasjust been a living l nightmare. it feels like something out of a disaster movie, having all that massive storm, literally 200 mile an hour winds, then the aftermath. you know, you just want to go home. in aftermath. you know, you 'ust want to go home.— to go home. in county durham, hot food for people _ to go home. in county durham, hot food for people who _ to go home. in county durham, hot food for people who haven't - to go home. in county durham, hot food for people who haven't cooked for almost a week. a major incident has been declared. we for almost a week. a ma'or incident has been declaredh for almost a week. a ma'or incident has been declared. we have been out of ower has been declared. we have been out of power since _ has been declared. we have been out of power since last _ has been declared. we have been out of power since last friday. _ has been declared. we have been out of power since last friday. we - has been declared. we have been out of power since last friday. we are - of power since last friday. we are still out _ of power since last friday. we are still out of — of power since last friday. we are still out of power for another four days, _ still out of power for another four days, so — still out of power for another four days, so well over a week. now the emergency — days, so well over a week. now the emergency has _ days, so well over a week. now the emergency has been _ days, so well over a week. now the j emergency has been escalated they hope more money will come from central government and army will follow. that's already happening here in scotland. over 130 soldiers providing logistical support in aberdeenshire. but for now, it's an army of volunteers supporting the emergency services in cumbria. at the end of these phones, people like the red cross and mountain rescue services have been responding to over 600 calls from the community. it's villagers like —— villagers like this responders are coming to. some have power, some doubt, and it is their seventh night in the cold. the question they are asking is this. how do you define a major incident to get more support? as the days and nights go on, they are becoming more angry and more anxious. fiona trott, bbc news, cumbria. the oil giant shell has tonight pulled out of a controversial north sea oilfield development. the company had a 30% stake in the cambo field, off the west coast of shetland, which has faced sustained criticism from environmental groups. our climate editorjustin rowlatt is with me — what's behind shell's decision? well, shell says after what it described as comprehensive screening it has decided the economic case doesn'tjustify it going ahead. it also said it was worried about delays with the project and opposition had become a focus on the run—up to the glasgow climate conference and they argue they are opening new oilfields that would last 25 years, not compatible with the low—carbon objectives, so it had become a serious reputational issue for shell, but let's be clear cambo oil field for shell, but let's be clear cambo oilfield has hundreds of millions of barrels of oil which as of today are worth $70 a barrel. another less high—profile —— and other less high—profile —— and other less high—profile companies are not likely to be as squeamish as shell, so this project is not dead in the water yet. so this pro'ect is not dead in the water et. �* so this pro'ect is not dead in the water yet.— water yet. all right. justin rowlatt. _ water yet. all right. justin rowlatt, thank _ water yet. all right. justin rowlatt, thank you. - polls have just closed in the old bexley and sidcup by—election. the conservatives had a majority of almost 19,000 when the seat was last contested in 2019. the seat fell vacant following the death of mp and former cabinet ministerjames brokenshire. the results are not expected to be known until the early hours of tomorrow morning. at ghislaine maxwell's trial on sex trafficking charges, a former housekeeper forjeffrey epstein has testified that ghislaine maxwell was the "lady of the house" at epstein's palm beach estate. juan alessi, who's 71 and worked for epstein for 11 years, told the court he picked up one of maxwell's alleged victims, who's given evidence under the pseudonym jane, and the duke of york's accuser virginia roberts — and that he took them to epstein's estate when they appeared to be 1a or 15 years old. ghislanie maxwell denies all the charges against her. the duchess of sussex has won her legal fight against the publisher of the mail on sunday, after it printed extracts from a letter she wrote to herfather before her wedding to prince harry. the attempt by associated newspapers to have a trial in the privacy and copyright case was rejected by the court of appeal. this report from our royal correspondent nicholas witchell contains flashing images from the start. once again, a very clear victory for the duchess of sussex in her battle in which she's been strongly backed by her husband against the tabloid media. at the heart of this case is the publication by the mail on sunday of lengthy extracts from a letter the duchess had written to her father three months after her wedding. at the time, relations between meghan and her father were difficult. earlier this year, a judge at the high court in london decided the breach of privacy was so clear—cut, there was no need for a full trial. the mail on sunday's publishers appealed against that ruling. today, threejudges in the court of appeal found that the original judge's decision was correct. the judge's careful decision, mostly on factual questions, was upheld. and it was hard to see what evidence could have been adduced at trial that would have altered that situation. the judges found that disclosures by jason knauf, meghan's former communications adviser, that she'd written the letter knowing it might be leaked and that she'd asked him to brief the authors of a book, were irrelevant. within minutes, a statement was issued from meghan, the duchess of sussex. she said... this is a victory notjust for me, but for anyone who has ever felt —— associated newspapers, the publishers of the mail on sunday, said they were "very disappointed" by the court of appeal�*s decision. "it is our strong view," they said in a statement, "thatjudgment should be given only on the basis of evidence "tested at trial. "no evidence has been tested under cross—examination." associated newspapers say they are now considering an appeal to the supreme court. nicholas witchell, bbc news. in kinshasa, the capital of the democratic republic of congo, taxis are a popular but dangerous way to get around — with as many as five kidnappings a week, and women particularly vulnerable. victoria rubadiri, this year's winner of the bbc�*s komla dumor award, which is given annually to an african journalist, reports now on a tech solution which two women have produced — which could now be expanded to other cities. kinshasa, one of africa's mega—cities, is built on the banks of the congo river. it has an estimated population of 15 million people. everybody is on the move but the transport system cannot cope. unless you have your own set of wheels, the only way to get around is in one of these taxis. but after sunset you run the risk of getting kidnapped — and that's been happening here up to five times a week. translation: this route| is where they usually carry out their operations. sara was taken while on her way home from work. translation: someone came from the back of the car. - he grabbed me and said, don't move or you will die. not every kidnapping ends in a ransom demand. translation: they took the bag like this. - in some cases passengers are stripped of their valuables and dumped in a dangerous part of the city. after deciding not to kill her, the kidnappers left sara here. it's the first time she's been back at night. translation: i really don't like this place. l it reminds me of what happened here on that day. that image is still so fresh in my mind. whenever i'm in a taxi or a bus and i see the driver turn in this direction, i get flashbacks to that night. sara's kidnapping happened a year ago. at the same time two entrepreneurs launched an app called hoja. it's a growing database of drivers and their vehicles. when i heard that people are getting kidnapped, even one of my cousins gets kidnapped in a taxi, i was, like, "ok, i have a mission. how can we find a solution and bring safe, sustainable, affordable mobility to the population?" the app also had to be veryl user—friendly so that people could actually use the icons even when they couldn't read. - right, so this is how it works — pretty simple. open up the app on my phone, just hit the qr code scanner, bring it up to the qr code, and in a few seconds up comes a picture of the driver and the car, and you're ready to ride — that's it. transport officials told us that in kinshasa kidnappings are now down from five a week to just five in the last ten months, and nearly a third of the city's 60,000 taxi drivers have signed up. good for business because you know at the end of the day your car or your taxi is safe and even the passengers in the car or in the taxi are safe as well. now hoja's overall success means there is the possibility of launching the app in other african cities. until then, thousands of passengers still face a terrifying daily commute. victoria rubadiri, bbc news, kinshasa. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. good morning. the weather story is on to change with rain pushing in from the west through the night, it's brought with it some milder air from the atlantic. just the cool air across east anglia and the first thing that could mean an early mix of rain, sleet and snow but that will clear very quickly indeed to the near continent. a legacy of cloud in its way through england and wales and northern ireland. perhaps some sunshine for north east england and scotland before the shop showers push into the northwest a little later on. muldurforall, push into the northwest a little later on. muldurfor all, we could see double digits across england and wales with a but by the end of the afternoon at the south wales may be longer at the channel goes we will see a spell of better weather drifting its way steadily eastwards piling up behind plenty of scattered, sharp showers, it's this low pressure and change of wind direction that will bring a change to the story once again as we head into the weekend. a case of sunny spells and scattered showers but a cooler feel and that means some of the showers could once again be winter read. this is bbc news, the headlines health officials in south africa say the new omicron variant of covid has become the dominant strain. infections jumped to 11 and a half thousand on thursday — a four—fold increase in a week. germany has announced tough new measures for people who have not been vaccinated. they are set to be banned from many public facilities and non essential shops. a vote on whether to enforce mandatory vaccinations will also take place. the us and mexican have agreed to re—instate the trump—era policy known as �*remain in mexico'. this means would—be asylum seekers will be sent back to mexico — waiting for a ruling on their case. and just days before her successor is appointed, chancellor angela merkel has been given a ceremonial send—off by the german military after 16 years in office. she officially steps down next week.