one of the great problems these days is everyone wants to be right and nobody really wants to listen to other peoples opinion. it's eight in the morning in singapore, and 11pm in the uk where the uk has announced record covid infection figures for the second day in a row — as the world health organisation says the new strain — omicron — is spreading at an unprecedented rate. more than 75 countries have omicron cases. a top uk health official says the variant is probably the most significant threat we've had since the start of the pandemic. meanwhile in the last hour presidentjoe biden has said that the omicron variant has now arrived in the united states. our medical editor fergus walsh starts our coverage. what do you want for christmas? for millions it is a booster. these people in newcastle today were prepared to wait for hours for a covid vaccination bus. it was a record day for booster jabs, but also covid cases. boosters offer the best protection against omicron, but there is huge uncertainty whether they will blunt it enough to keep hospital admissions below last january's peak. even if it is milder, because it is concentrated over a short period of time, you could end up with a higher number going into hospital on a single day. that is certainly possible. the numbers of confirmed omicron patients in hospital are still low for now. it will be weeks before we have hard evidence that will show how serious the omicron wave will be. we need about 250 individuals in hospital before we can make an assessment compared to delta. — and also a vaccine effectiveness assessment. the earliest we will have reliable data is the week between christmas and new year and probably earlyjanuary. pregnant women have finally been made a priority group for vaccination after more evidence showing they are at high risk from covid. between may and october during the first six months of the delta variant more than 1,400 pregnant women were admitted to hospital in the uk with covid. 96% of them were unvaccinated. 17 of those pregnant women died. four babies died in the first month of life from covid. it also increases the risk of having a premature birth. valerie is 32 weeks pregnant and had her booster in oxfordshire on monday, but it meant a long queue. i had to wait for one and a half hours in a queue, which is painful because i have pelvic pain which makes it hard to stand or to walk. in addition, i was very nervous, as was everyone there in the queue. everyone is nervous because they thought the boosters might run out because it was a walk—in clinic. the prime minister was again banging the booster drum at a vaccination centre in kent. he urged the public to be careful when mixing with others this christmas. we do not want to make your choices for you about your social life, we are not closing things, but what we are saying people will understandably not want _ people will understandably not want to — people will understandably not want to catch covid now or even _ want to catch covid now or even the _ want to catch covid now or ever. the best thing to do is exercise _ ever. the best thing to do is exercise caution, that's what we are — exercise caution, that's what we are saying. and the queen is leading by example, cancelling a pre—christmas lunch for extended family due to take place at windsor castle. fergus walsh, bbc news. presidentjoe biden warned thursday that the omicron variant of the coronavirus will "start to spread much more rapidly" in the united states and urged americans to get vaccinated or boosted. due to the steps we've taken omicron has not yet spread as fast as it would have otherwise done. and it's happening in europe. going to increase. for unvaccinated we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death, unvaccinated. themselves, theirfamilies and the hospitals they will soon overwhelm. but there is good news, if you're vaccinated, you have your booster shot you are protected from severe illness and death was up number two, booster shots work. three, boosters are free, safe and convenient. about 60 million people had won, had the boosters. so go get your shot today. you'll get boosted if you've had your first two shots, if you haven't, go get your first shot. in the uk counting will begin shortly in the north shropshire by election in what's being seen as another big test of prime minister boris johnson's leadership. voters are electing a new mp following the resignation of owen paterson, who resigned in the wake of a huge row over his conduct, after he was found to have broken lobbying rules. the conservatives have held this seat for almost 200 years, but any defeat is likely to intensify questions over borisjohnson�*s leadership joining me now from the election count in the nearby town of shrewbsury is our west midlands political editor elizabeth glinka. great to have you on the programme. ijust want great to have you on the programme. i just want to start by asking you, in normal circumstances this would be expected to be quite an easy victory for the tory party. but that's not the case this time? no, absolutely under normal circumstances you would never expect to see it to be anything other than conservative. owen patterson the outgoing mp has conservatives he was under 23,000. this is what we would generally refer to as true blue, this part of the country. however, that is not the case this time. the liberal democrats have been giving the conservatives a real run for that money. pouring activists into the area, over a thousand people they say just into the area, over a thousand people they sayjust in the last week a loan out leafleting across the area, trying to get as many votes as possible. they reckon just the weekend gone they knocked on 23,000 doors they knocked on 23,000 doors they really are putting everything on the line here. they think there is a chance they may have taken it. it really is on eight knife edge. the conservatives and again, they've been working very hard during the week but of course what's been happening down a west minister has really affected the campaign here. at the same time the liberal democrats have a look at the bit between the teeth, they think there's a real chance, they've had a great response to they've had a great response to the doorstep and have been working hard across the area. and so it really has set up this evening to be a very interesting night indeed. i should say, the polls did close two hours ago but the angel of this rural constituency, it's very large, very rural. we still haven't actually got all the boxes yet. we had been saying we don't think will be getting a result before three a:m.. i actually think it's pretty ambitious, i think it might be a little bit later than that. we will bring you the results as soon as we get them. . ~ the results as soon as we get them. ., ~ i. . the results as soon as we get them. ., ~ . ~ ., them. thank you so much. what has been the — them. thank you so much. what has been the latest _ them. thank you so much. what has been the latest elements i them. thank you so much. what has been the latest elements in| has been the latest elements in that by election. hong kongers will head to the polls on sunday in the first legislative council elections since the passing of a controversial electoral reform law. the new law allows a pro—china panel to vet candidates and allow only those it deems �*patriotic�* to participate. from hong kong the bbc�*s danny vincent has this report. jason is in full campaign mode. he's one of the few candidates running in the election that considers himtself non—establishment. last year the authorities postpone the election due to the pandemic. since then the political landscape of the city has changed. if i can enter with the legislator at least i can ask for a political changes. and political improvement. if we just ignore it then government can full house the legislator. what is the result? the result is till the end of days we don't have any improvement on our democracy. hong kong is preparing for its first legislative council election since the introduction of a wide ranging national security law. this year only three of the 153 candidates running consider themselves pro—democratic. pollsters are predicting a 30 year low voter turnout. beijing has imposed a sweeping reform of hong kong's electoral system. it means that only candidates being patriotic are eligible to stand. it's led many to question if this election is simply a show. last year the entire pro—democracy camp resigned en masse. following disqualification of a member. it was later followed by her arrest of 47 pro—democracy candidates who stood in an unofficial primary a year on they remain in custody under the suspicion of violating the controversial national security law. critics say hong kong's political freedoms have been dismantled. pro—establishment candidates say the changes in hong kong have helped to restore stability. you look at the past in the last call, we cannot do anything. we have the filibustering and people asking questions, doubting the government and doubting the central government. it is the whole purpose this is what they want to show to the world. he was once a democratic party lawmaker, this year the largest opposition party in hong kong is not putting forward any candidates to run. he is now independent. he says he wants to become elected in order to bring about change to the system. we didn't get real democracy in the past and also maybe the next ten years. but we are hopeful, were hopeful for universal suffrage. we hope for a real democracy in hong kong. but if we don't do anything, we get nothing. hong kong was promised a high level of autonomy and political freedom 50 years after it was returned to china from the uk. 2022 marks just 25 years since the handover. critics claim beijing is moving towards full control of the city. 12 missionaries held by an armed gang since october have been released in haiti. five others from the us and canada have already been released. they were all abducted in october after they've orphanage in an area east of the capital of port—au—prince which is run by a powerful criminal gain. the disease will grant is in havana with more. a two month ordeal 16 americans won canadian over a foot of the group that included several children including an eight—month—old. obviously it's been met with great celebration by the ministry in ohio who put out a statement saying that they praise to god that all 17 of our loved ones are now safe. we glorify god for our answered prayers, they say. certainly it has been a two month period of intense negotiations with the gang for our answered prayers, they say. certainly it has been a two month period of intense negotiations with the gang. for hundred who took this group in port—au—prince and it won stage were asking for $1 million a hostage. there's no word at this stage whether any ransom was paid. either way this will be the result that of course the us state department would've wanted, the families of cars and indeed the haitian government. nevertheless, this remains a difficult situation for ordinary haitians. gain control over the capital is near universal. —— gang. the instances of hostages and abductions continue to be very widespread. while this high—profile case foreigners is over many ordinary haitians still pays extremely difficult security situation in their city. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... a huge rescue effort in the philippines as a super typhoon — batters its southern coastline. saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes but they brought a formal end to three and a half years of conflict. conflict that is claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders the presidents of bosnia and serbia and croatia put their names to peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed and silent today, romania has. cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent - the details of the presumed massacre in timisoara - from leaking out. from sex at the white house to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair tonight guaranting bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore, our headlines... as governments around the globe brace for the omicron effect, britain sets a record for new covid infections for the second day in a row. votes are being counted in the north shropshire by election to heap more pressure on boris johnson. now, in the philppines, a storm known as super typhoon rai has made landfall, bringing with it heavy rains and winds exceeding 100 miles per hour. thousands have been evacuated from their homes, and schools in the storm's expected path have been closed. the bbc�*s philippines correspondent howard johnson reports. power and communication lines remain down on siargao island, a tropical idyll popular with backpackers and surfers. normally abuzz with updates from social media influencers, the area has fallen eerily quiet. it is hoped the philippine air force will land on siargao island tomorrow to assess the extent of the damage. philippines' state meteorologists say typhoon rai is now moving towards two other islands, bringing with it winds of up to 165 kilometres per hour and inundating the central philippines with heavy rain. videos posted on social media show the philippine coast guard helping to move families from flooded coastal and riverside communities. thousands of people had evacuated their homes before the typhoon hit, but the united nations has warned that more than 13 million people live in areas likely to be affected by the storm. the international federation of the red cross has described typhoon rai as "a monster storm" and said that climate change was making typhoons more ferocious and unpredictable. howard johnson, bbc news, manila. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. lawyers for ghislane maxwell started her defence on thursday. she's accused of grooming underage girls for abuse by the billionaire jeffrey epstein. it's thought they will call dozens of witnesses although it's not yet clear if the 59—year—old will take the stand herself. ms maxwell denies all the charges and has pleaded not guilty. the english premier league had been forced to put a number of games on hold due to the pandemic. there's been a number of outbreaks at clubs and calls for some quarters for the league to take a break completely. the covid outbreak with spanish team real madrid is also grown. the club says four players have tested positive. baltic and central european leaders have told an eu summit that the bloc is under assault from russia on �*multiple fronts'. the latvian prime minister identified russian disinformation, energy prices and russia's deployment of troops close to its border with ukraine. the kremlin denies it's planning to invade ukraine. comedians, from dave chappelle in the us tojohn cleese in the uk, have spoken out about cancel culture — the practice of cancelling, or publicly expressing disapproval or putting social pressure on people. in an interview with the bbc, mr cleese addressed this topic. he's in asia for a new comedy tour in the region. he spoke to me earlier. wonderful to have you on the programme. i know that you are particularly interested in talking about cancel culture. i think it's fair to say, i understand in fact you're making a documentary about it. what is it about cancel culture that interest you?— that interest you? well, it's a relatively _ that interest you? well, it's a relatively new _ that interest you? well, it's a relatively new phenomenon. l that interest you? well, it's a i relatively new phenomenon. of course, it affects comedians because a lot of us do jokes that the cancel culture people, the wo people don't take a ride or don't think is correct. so i've been asked to do the programme. so i been exploring it and reading quite a lot of books and try to understand what is all about. it's quite a complex matter. it seems to be boiling down to the fact that some people are rather overprotective we all want parents to be protected but we don't want them to be overprotective because it raises children who are not perhaps going to adapt to the real world i think it's really important that things should go wrong and that minor bad things should happen. that helps people to learn and become a little bit tougher when they go out into the world which is not a terribly friendly place for the if we over protect them then i think that doesn't work very well. then i think that doesn't work very well-— then i think that doesn't work ve well. , ., ,., ., _ very well. john, some would say that what you — very well. john, some would say that what you are _ very well. john, some would say that what you are suggesting - very well. john, some would say that what you are suggesting is l that what you are suggesting is that what you are suggesting is that it's an old... truth? that what you are suggesting is that it's an old. . ._ that it's an old... why do you say but. _ that it's an old... why do you say but. why _ that it's an old... why do you say but. why do _ that it's an old... why do you say but, why do you - that it's an old... why do you say but, why do you say - that it's an old... why do you say but, why do you say but? would you like to just explore what i'm saying? would you like to 'ust explore what i'm saying?_ what i'm saying? that's precisely _ what i'm saying? that's precisely what - what i'm saying? that's precisely what i'm - what i'm saying? that's| precisely what i'm about what i'm saying? that's . precisely what i'm about to what i'm saying? that's - precisely what i'm about to do if you would give me the opportunity to do that. i want to ask you, there are people out there who haven't heard your views would consider them to be old fashioned and not taking into consideration the feelings of people who have been hurt by some of these. an example in britain where racist behaviour of her incident was couches a bit of banter is that acceptable in your view is a joke? i acceptable in your view is a 'oke? ~ . �* , acceptable in your view is a 'oke? ,, . �*, ., , joke? i think that's a very oor joke? i think that's a very poor question. _ joke? i think that's a very poor question. i'd - joke? i think that's a very poor question. i'd like - joke? i think that's a very | poor question. i'd like you joke? i think that's a very i poor question. i'd like you to answer it- — poor question. i'd like you to answer it. it's _ poor question. i'd like you to answer it. it's hard _ poor question. i'd like you to answer it. it's hard because. answer it. it's hard because there's so many scattered ideas i don't know which place to start with to answer for that what i've said is the important thing is that people are protected to the right degree, not over protected and not under protected. so the question becomes what is the right degree? the practitioners of cognitive behavioural therapy, which is a very successful therapy, which is used a lot to treat depression and anxiety in young people say that the woke ideas are pretty much the opposite of what they used to make people less depressed and anxious. now, it doesn't matter whether it's depressed and anxious. now, it doesn't matter whether its old or new fashion or even from the earlier 12th century, that is a very interesting idea and needs to be explored without using these emotional terms like our people being herded all this kind of thing. let's try to be a little more calm about it and use less emotionally charged words. are you saying that... i words. are you saying that... i thank you again asked me about being here in singapore to do shows and in bangkok or is that at the back of your gender? ida. at the back of your gender? no, we certainly _ at the back of your gender? no, we certainly did _ at the back of your gender? no, we certainly did ask you about that. why have you chosen asia as a place to do these comedy shows, particularly when we are in the middle of a pandemic? well, it's very hard to plan at the moment as you might�*ve noticed. you probably realise that sometimes a new variant comes along at very short notice and causes a great deal of disturbance very quickly. so these shows were arrange some time ago when there was a good chance that the delta variant was coming under control. any i'm came up about three weeks ago and changed it all. but our plans have been set way before that. , ., ., ,, plans have been set way before that. ., , , plans have been set way before that. , ., , , ., that. does that make sense to ou? that. does that make sense to you? yes. _ that. does that make sense to you? yes, indeed _ that. does that make sense to you? yes, indeed it _ that. does that make sense to you? yes, indeed it does. - that. does that make sense to | you? yes, indeed it does. have you? yes, indeed it does. have you had to change your routine at all or make adjustments to a? at all or make ad'ustments to a? ., ., �* , ., ., a? no, i haven't started to read it yet _ a? no, i haven't started to read it yet because - a? no, i haven't started to read it yet because i - a? no, i haven't started to read it yet because i don't| a? no, i haven't started to i read it yet because i don't do it for three weeks. and i have a great deal of material i've accumulated over the past 15 years. the first time i started doing this kind of show is 2006. so give it shoes the material i think is right. i've been asked to base it on a talk i have which is why there is no hope. the main, central point of which is the fact that one of which is the fact that one of the great problems these daysis of the great problems these days is that everyone wants to be right and nobody really wants to listen to other peoples opinion.- wants to listen to other peoples opinion. you in that sense, peoples opinion. you in that sense. if— peoples opinion. you in that sense. if you _ peoples opinion. you in that sense, if you could - peoples opinion. you in that| sense, if you could elaborate peoples opinion. you in that i sense, if you could elaborate a little more about what that means when you think that people not listening to each other, is that your sense of what is happening?- other, is that your sense of what is happening? yes, very much s0- _ what is happening? yes, very much so. the _ what is happening? yes, very much so. the historians - what is happening? yes, very much so. the historians used j what is happening? yes, very. much so. the historians used to say about the english that we had a great ability to compromise and that was why we were quite successful. i don't see much sign of that now. i see much sign of that now. i see a lot on both sides absolutely convinced that there write without really being interested in trying to look at the facts and the theories that are involved in these kind of divisions. if you look at america now and it's highly polarised society you realise that people really aren't listening to each other at all because trump supporters watch fox news and get one version of the news and other people watch other channels and get a different version of the news. they both think the version that they are getting is right which is naive. i that they are getting is right which is naive.— which is naive. i want to ask ou which is naive. i want to ask you about — which is naive. i want to ask you about your _ which is naive. i want to ask you about your thoughts - which is naive. i want to ask you about your thoughts on | you about your thoughts on another comedian. i don't know if you know this american comedian dave chapelle who face a huge backlash for his comments.— a huge backlash for his comments. ~ . . ,, ., a huge backlash for his comments. ~ . ., . comments. we are back on cancel culture. comments. we are back on cancel culture- at — comments. we are back on cancel culture. at that _ comments. we are back on cancel culture. at that will _ comments. we are back on cancel culture. at that will get _ comments. we are back on cancel culture. at that will get to - culture. at that will get to about shows and comedy. but i'm not interested in doing this interview any more so i'll leave it. bye—bye. that was john cleese speaking to me earlier. you can watch the entire interview again online, and see the story and reaction to his comments on our website or via the bbc news app. that's all the time we have for you are news a at this hour. we will bring you the result of the north schrock shire election results when it happens in the coming hours. so do stay with us for that. —— schrock shire. thanks for watching newsday. hello. thursday brought an east—west split to the uk weather—wise. well, certainly in terms of where we had the blue sky or where we had the grey sky. across parts of eastern scotland and down the eastern side of england, some were treated to a largely sunny day from dawn until dusk, where it was the reverse across some western areas. a view from wales, cloudy from dawn until dusk. it's the cloud that's going to win out for friday and the weekend. high pressure, lots of settled weather to come, but trapped underneath this high pressure, plenty of cloud. now, where there will have been some clear spells overnight — parts of eastern scotland, northeast england — a frost to start friday, but also some mist and fog around, and particularly through parts of yorkshire, the east midlands and east anglia. some dense patches in places, perhaps affecting travel, and some may lingerfor much of the day in a few spots. you get the idea for the forecast, though, for friday with lots of cloud around. the cloud thick enough to produce a bit of drizzle here and there. breezy with it through the channel islands into parts of south west england, south wales. through here, though, there could be a few sunny spells, as there will be towards parts of scotland and again north east england. temperatures on a par with thursday, although just tending to go a little bit lower, and that's a trend that continues through the weekend. friday night into saturday morning, a lot of cloud around, some mist and fog. again, the clearest skies in scotland, so this is where we're most likely to get a frost as the weekend begins, but there could be a few pockets, too, towards north east england. with that area of high pressure i showed you earlier, a lot of settled weather over the weekend. a lot of cloud, it'll be mainly dry and again temperatures just starting to edge down a few degrees over the weekend. and still quite breezy on saturday through the english channel, channel islands, far south west of england. could be a few brighter breaks here as there may be towards the far west of wales, more particularly into scotland. elsewhere, a good deal of cloud, fewer temperatures in double figures at this stage, it's mid to high single figures. and plenty of cloud around again on sunday, could be drizzly in a few spots, but there's also a chance of seeing one or two brighter breaks here and there. now, for the most part, temperatures in single figures. it will brighten up into next week, but the trend is for things to turn even colder as we go through the rest of the week in the lead—up to christmas. apart from that, what exactly is on our way christmas weather—wise, remains to be seen. this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. the covid pandemic has cost millions of lives and put governments around the world under intense scrutiny from their own citizens. nowhere more so than brazil, where the death toll has topped 600,000 and the president still refuses to be vaccinated. well, my guest, ernesto araujo, was president bolsonaro's