of mice, creating female or male—only litters. pope francis uses his visit to cyprus to liken the fate of people fleeing war and poverty to slavery and torture. times have changed in new york, but queueing remains a constant. we speak to a businessman offering a way of avoiding them. we begin in the us state of michigan, where in a rare move, prosecutors have charged the parents of an alleged school shooter with involuntary manslaughter. this was the scene at oxford high school on tuesday. four people were killed and seven injured in the shooting. ethan crumbley was charged as an adult with one count of terrorism causing death and four counts of first—degree murder. authorities have now issued a fugitive warrant forjames and jennifer crumbley. but in a joint statement to the bbc, the family's lawyers said the crumbleys "are not fleeing from law enforcement" and had left town on the night of the shooting "for their own safety". here's the oakland county prosecutor announcing the charges a little earlier. it's imperative we prevent this from happening again. no other parent or community should have to live through this nightmare. i have shared previously and i will reiterate today that gun ownership is a right, and with that right comes great responsibility. based on the information i have received, today i'm announcing charges against the shooter's parents, jennifer and james crumbley. the charges are as follows. james crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. jennifer crumbley is also charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. our washington correspondent, barbara plett usher, told me more about the significance of these charges. is an unusual step to charge them as an adult, and the charges are very harsh. he's charges are very harsh. he's charge for two dozen crimes. he killed four people and injured six. he's been charged with murder and also terrorism, which is highly unusual. if the case that has really shaken the county. his parents are charged, which is also very unusual. there have been incidents where parents have been charged where their children have shot other people, but it's very rare for the parents to be charged as well, and the prosecutor said she wanted to send a message about gun responsibility and hold them accountable for their wall. it is especially unusual because in michigan, there isn't a law requiring parents to keep guns out of reach. this took place _ to keep guns out of reach. this took place in — to keep guns out of reach. this took place in the _ to keep guns out of reach. this took place in the township of oxford, and i know looking at one of their local papers that they are cancelling christmas events and having a prayer vigil instead this evening. help us understand the impact on the community there. well, it's a terrible _ on the community there. well, it's a terrible impact. - on the community there. well, it's a terrible impact. i - it's a terrible impact. i covered a number of mass shootings, and it always go through the community like a shot, and on the one hand, there's a great preparation for something like this. schools go through drills for active shooters, but when it happens, everyone says, "i can't believe it happened." it's children involved, shooting children, their mates are killed, there teachers are injured. so it's always very difficult to come to terms with notjust as individuals, but as a community. this element of the parents�* complicity as another level of shock and tragedy to it. to the coronavirus pandemic now. the chief scientist of the who says the new omicron variant could become dominant around the world. the number of countries detecting the coronavirus variant is increasing every day, but the who also says it's too soon to know if omicron causes a more serious illness, and people shouldn't panic. the surge in south africa, where the variant was first identified, has accelerated further. there were more than 16,000 new cases announced on friday, up from 11,500 the day before. doctors say there's a higher rate of admissions to hospitals of young children. and after germany announced new restrictions for the unvaccinated on thursday, the republic of ireland has announced limits on the size of attendances at indoor events for its entire population, and a restriction of no more than four households socialising in a private home. so, let's take a closer look at south africa, where as we heard omicron is spreading at an unprecedented rate. south africa's health minister urged people to get vaccinated. this fourth wave which we have started to enter into can be managed without too many casualties, without too much loss of life. if we all observe the safety measures, the biggest risk being gatherings, especially indoor gatherings. as more cases emerge, so does the data about the effectiveness of the treatments. here's the world health organization's chief scientist with what we know so far. it's possible that the omicron variant can cause infections even in previously vaccinated peoplo _ we are seeing that now with previously vaccinated people who are the first to be reported. but however, the fact that they are not getting sick, we have to wait and see, but they develop only but if they develop only mild illness, that means that vaccines are still providing protection. the uk is among several countries offering covid boosterjabs, which will mean some adults receiving three doses of the vaccines. british health chiefs have chosen to use the moderna and pfizer shots, and trials suggest they give the best overall response. researchers also said there were good signs that the vaccines still protect against the omicron variant. our medical editor, fergus walsh, reports. amid the gloom over omicron and its potential threat, some encouraging news. it was back in the summer that nearly 3,000 uk volunteers got one of seven different covid vaccines as a booster shot, three months after their second dose. thank you very much, everybody. for those boosted with pfizer after two doses of astrazeneca, their antibody levels were 25 times higher than a control group after one month. when pfizer was given after two pfizer shots, antibody levels rose eight fold, but from a much higher initial level. moderna and other combinations also worked well. the study didn't look at omicron. it has mutations in the spike protein, which may make antibodies less able to bind on to it and prevent infection, but the bigger the antibody army the better. t—cells, another part of the immune system, were also significantly boosted. these can spot and destroy infected cells. the study showed boosters worked well against beta and delta variants, so it's likely they will also protect from serious disease with omicron. all of the vaccines showed a good t—cell response. the antibodies moderna and pfizer were high. we are hopeful that the vaccines will provide a broad protection against multiple variants, although we can't say for certain at this moment whether they will work very well against omicron or not. in south africa, the first real world evidence has shown omicron may evade some of our immunity. scientists have found a surge in the number of people being reinfected with covid, but there's still real uncertainty about omicron. and what ability and may have to spread in the uk where so much of the population is double or triplejob. fergus walsh, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. pakistan's prime minister has condemned what he called a horrific vigilante attack on a sri lankan man who was lynched after being accused of blasphemy. imran khan said the burning alive of priyantha kumara after he was beaten by an angry mob was a day of shame for pakistan. the acclaimed film and theatre actor antony sher has died aged 72. he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier this year. antony sher had a lifelong association with the royal shakespeare company, and appeared in films such as shakespeare in love and mrs brown. off the stage, sher also wrote several novels and was an accomplished painter. european diplomats at talks to revive the international nuclear deal with iran saying they're disappointed and concerned by tehran�*s stance. britain, france and germany gave the assessment at the end of a week of discussions in vienna. they complained that iran had back—tracked on diplomatic progress made during previous rounds of talks earlier this year. a court in the philippines has ignored objections of president rodrigo duterte and ruled that the country's first nobel laureate, the journalist maria ressa, can collect her prize in norway. but ms ressa, who was awarded the prize for efforts to "safeguard freedom of expression, still needs permission to travel from two other courts. scientists in britain have used gene editing technology to create female—only and male—only litters of mice. they say their technique could eventually be applied to chickens to ensure that only egg—producing females are hatched. our science correspondent, pallab ghosh, reports. half of these chicks are useless to the farming industry because they're male and don't lay eggs, so they have to be killed. that problem could be solved thanks to a breakthrough that enables scientists to reprogramme animals to produce only females. some six to 7 billion male layer chicks are killed every year shortly after birth at a point when they have a nervous system and are capable of suffering. we would like to be able to move to a system where those same eggs are laid, but instead never hatch. scientists at the francis crick institute in london have found that the system was successful in mice, and they think it'll work on chickens. the researchers here have found a way of deactivating a gene involved with embryo development. the system can be programmed to stop either male or female embryos from developing using a technique called gene editing. the sex of a mammal is determined by its chromosomes. females have a pair of xs, males have an x and y. the process involves inserting half the gene editing molecule into the father's y chromosome, and the other half into the mother's dna. after mating, male xy embryos containing both halves of gene editing molecule will not develop. but female embryos will grow normally. gene editing can be used to make other genetic changes. the government is considering whether to allow the use of the technology by the farming industry. pallab ghosh, bbc news. in afghanistan, the taliban have issued a new decree on women's rights. the order says women are not property but �*free human beings'. it also says women should not be forced or coerced into marriage. but there's no mention of employment rights or education. secunder kermani has more from kandahar. the rights laid out in this degree not forcing women into marriages, giving them certain financial guarantees. certain financial guarantees, these have actually been widely accepted parts of islamic law for hundreds of years, but on the ground in afghanistan, many other poorer muslim countries, afghanistan and many other poorer muslim countries, they've often not been implemented. to give you an example, in more rural areas here at least, it's not uncommon for women at times to be treated as peace offerings by feuding families, married off in order to end disputes. women's rights activists here say, of course, ending any kind of patriarchal abusive behaviour is a good thing, so if this is implemented, that's something that they welcome. but they've also highlighted that many of these practices had already been outlawed by the previous government, and of course, the most striking thing about this decree is the complete failure within it to mention at all girls�* right to education, women's right to work. and that's really fuelling suspicion that perhaps this decree is an attempt by the taliban to simultaneously both appease the international community, which has been very critical of the taliban's attitude to women's rights, and also, carry on appeasing the taliban's more hard—line elements which don't want to see women playing any role in public life, it seems. there had been some comments in recent weeks by taliban representatives, suggesting that perhaps all secondary school aged girls will be allowed to go back to the classroom next year, but those promises have been rather vague and people remain very sceptical. plenty more coverage on afghanistan over on her website. this is bbc news, the headlines... in a rare move, us prosecutors have filed involuntary manslaughter charges against the parents of a teenager accused of shooting dead four students at his school. the world health organization says vaccines may not be able to prevent people from infection with the omicron strain, but they do seem to make its effects far less serious. tens of millions of people are facing severe food shortages across a huge area of east africa, as the region faces the worst drought for many years. crops are failing and animals on which many communities depend are dying of thirst. there's been three years of poor rainfall in northern kenya, much of somalia and southern ethiopia. it's feared the drought will continue long into next year, putting millions of lives at risk. the bbc�*s senior africa correspondent, anne soy, reports from northern kenya. you may find some pictures in this report distressing. the devastating impact of drought. this is wajir in northern kenya. they've not had enough rain here for three consecutive seasons. water pans have long dried up. there are dead animals everywhere. even at ahmed ibrahim's home. he's 66, and tells me he's never witnessed anything like this. translation: the drought has been going on for- the last nine months. i had 150 heads of cattle, but now left with about 30, which are very weak. i also had 400 goats. i'm only left with these few that you can see. a few times every day, neighbours helped to lift the remaining livestock so they can stretch their already weak muscles. tough decisions he has to make to balance between feeding his family and his livestock. translation: the remaining livestock will continue dying, | but the biggest issue is what will people eat? people who have lost everything, what will they eat? that's sadir�*s biggest worry, too. the 47—year—old mother of six is only left with these goats. livestock are a hard—earned source of livelihood and wealth. losing them leaves them poorer and hungry. translation: i believe god provides, but at this rate, i we're at risk of dying. because of starvation. this is a wildlife conservancy in northern kenya, and the effects of drought here are all too clear. and that is a very unusual sight — a dead giraffe inside a wildlife conservancy, yet we are told that at least 11 of those have been found within months. and it is notjust giraffes that are affected. it is all wildlife. there's no pasture, there's no water for them. more frequent droughts suggest climate change is already taking its toll on the region. the impact on people is devastating. loss of livelihood and a direct threat to survival. anne soy, bbc news, wajir. pope francis has addressed thousands of roman catholic worshippers at a football stadium in the cypriot city of nicosia. it's the second day of the pope's trip to the divided island. his visit has focused heavily on the plight of migrants. our rome correspondent, mark lowen, reports. to the world's last divided capital came a preacher of unity. pope francis on the 35th trip of his papacy held mass in the cypriate capital split between its turkish and greek community for almost half a century. some 7000 faithful came mostly domestic workers some 7000 faithful came — mostly domestic workers from the philippines and the middle east among the tiny catholic minority here. and in a country where reconciliation between greek and turkish cypriots have stalled an appeal for peace. translation: dear brothers and sisters. in the presence of any personal darkness and the challenges faced by the church we are called to renew our paternity if we stay divided among each other and everyone only thinks about themselves or their group if we don't come together and if we don't have dialogue and if we don't work together we cannot properly healfrom blindness. francis becomes the second pope to visit the country fractured since 1974 when turkey invaded the north fearing that greece will attempt to annex the island. many hope today's politicians will heed the homely. those are the messages he want to hear. unfortunately, we don't hear them very often. —— we want to hear. i was very excited because - listening to stories and seeing videos on the internet - about the pope and the vatican, but i never expected - i would see him live in cyprus. beyond politics, migration is the pope's other focus on this trip having a service for those who fled to the island. cyprus is a key eu entry point for migrants and refugees and the greek south accuses the turkish north of sending them across the divide. 50 migrants will soon be relocated from cyprus to italy in a papal gesture of welcome. the theme of the pope's meeting with the orthodox archbishop aiming to bridge a schism between the two churches that lasted almost a thousand years. the path of friendship one that pope francis hopes all on this scarred island may eventually take. mark lowen, bbc news. now, for as long as there have been shops, there have been queues — and as long as their have been queues, there have been complaints about them. music. takes up the cudgels in the fight to end queueing. while the ministries of food, labour and transport promise action against cues, there arises a woman champion for the housewife, mrs lovelock of selhurst. a london vicar�*s wife and originator of the anti—queue movement now sweeping the country. is it true to say, mrs lovelock, that you have inspired women to rise against this hangover of war? yes, and i do believe that a nationwide rising of the housewives would end this terrible curse of queueing. well, over 75 years later, and i think it's fair to say mrs lovelock�*s efforts to abolish the queue may not have been as successful as she hoped. but in new york city, some nifty enterprises are making big business out of long lines. whether it's a big theatre opening or a hot restaurant that doesn't take reservations, punters can now pay upwards of $115 an hour for someone to keep their place in line for that big opening. robert samuel runs same old line dudes, and told me how he got started after he was fired from his lastjob after turning up late one too many times. that's the way it happened, and ijust that's the way it happened, and i just took it and ran with that's the way it happened, and ijust took it and ran with it. what kind of things do you tend to line up for? pre—pandemic, we did a lot of broadway shows such as hamilton and we did a lot of simple sales and we waited in line for saturday night live, restaurants that don't take reservations that would have you stay on the sidewalk and put your name down and come back later, we have done a lot of autographs for celebrity meet and greets and things of that nature. that's quite the variety. is there anything that you won't line up for? we really don't like to line up for black friday sales. specifically black friday. a shopping queue! the day after thanksgiving. so, they have been instances in the past three people have been crushed and hurt as people stormed the stories and try stormed the stores and try to snag that great deal, so we try to stay away from that, but any other day of the year, you can hire us. it's an important point. is there a technique to lining up our not needing to go to the loo? there are loads of things to think about when you think about a line that can last for many hours. exactly. luckily for us because we have been in business for nine years, we get a lot of repeat requests, so we tend to know exactly where the loo is and if we need to take a break or find it convenience store for snacks so it's beneficial for us to have repeat places to go, but you should always be nice and be kind and don't smoke in and don't smoke in the line, and hopefully when you have to go to the loo, you can step off and come back with no issue. are there any circumstances where the price tends to go up? we do have charges for rush requests. if you'd like a line center to arrive within two hours to a specific location or if there's inclement weather such as precipitation, rain, hail, sleet, what have you or too windy, too cold, below freezing to heart. and before we go, as we get closer to the holidays, you may have noticed santa popping up in a lot of places — you may have noticed santa popping up in a lot of places — shopping centres, parades and even in this aquarium in budapest! these santa divers are there feed the fish, avoid the sharks, and spread some christmas cheer to visitors. there's even a small tree decorated with shells at the bottom of the tank. aquarium officials say they started the tradition a few years ago. the sharks and fish are given extra food during the holiday season. perhaps the santas get milk and cookies when they're back on dry land. that's it for now. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @krupapadhybbc. you're watching bbc news. hello. we have a rather cold and windy weekend to come. and there'll be some wet weather at times, especially on saturday, some showers or some showery rain and hail snow. drier for many on sunday. throughout the weekend, though, a chilly wind to contend with. what's going on? low pressure close to scotland as saturday begins will run south through the north sea as the weekend goes on. around it, showers or some longer spells of rain and hill snow, especially on saturday. and it's also dragging in another push of chilly air from the north—west. and it's not what those without power or working to restore power after storm arwen want to hear, but it is going to be a rather cold weekend ahead, with temperatures starting like this for saturday morning. just a few spots close to freezing, just a hint of frost here and there. there'll be early rain across eastern england clearing away to sunny spells, but then this curl of rain and hill snow through scotland, northern ireland, pushing into more of northern england, wales and the midlands as we go on through the day. north west scotland starting to brighten up in the afternoon, just a few showers. the far south of wales and much of southern england, a lot of the day is going to be dry. it's blustery wherever you are. these are average speeds. some stronger gusts around particularly western coasts, 40—115 mph or so, so a risk of gales here. so, it will feel colder than these temperatures might suggest, which are already down compared with what we had on friday. saturday evening and night, it's central and eastern parts of england with outbreaks of rain. some snow to the higher parts of the pennines and peak district. a few showers in the west, but some clear spells, too, and where you have the clear spells, a greater chance of a frost going into sunday morning, especially in the countryside. and on sunday, well, the low pressure's here. for many, it's far enough away to allow a drier day, but close to that across especially eastern parts of england, there'll be some outbreaks of rain around. they may just fringe into eastern scotland at times and also push a little further west towards the midlands. much of scotland, northern ireland, wales and the western side of england, bar the odd shower, will stay mainly dry. there'll still be a very brisk north—northwesterly breeze to contend with, so it will feel colder than these temperatures might suggest. and temperatures don't change much in the week ahead, and especially during the first half of the week, it looks like we're going to have to contend with more wet and, at times, very windy weather. this is bbc news. the headlines — prosecutors in michigan have charged the parents of a teenager accused of murdering four students at his high school. james and jennifer crumbley have also been charged with manslaughter. their son ethan carried out the mass shooting with a semi—automatic pistol bought by his father. the first data on the omicron variant of covid suggests vaccines are less effective at stopping it spreading. scientists in south africa have reported a surge in the number of people being reinfected. it's the first real—world evidence indicating the new variant may evade immune defences. on the second day of his visit to cyprus, pope francis has addressed thousands of roman catholic worshippers at a football stadium in nicosia. the pontiff condemned what he said was slavery and torture being suffered by people fleeing war and poverty. now on bbc news, it's time for the media show.