hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. here in the uk, the government of prime minister borisjohnson has come under huge political pressure for its handling of coronavirus. now lord frost — the chief brexit negotiator — has resigned from the cabinet. in a letter to the prime minister, he cited concerns over the direction of borisjohnson�*s government, particularly around the imposing of new restricions. the former brexit secretary said he believes we need to "learn to live with covid", telling mrjohnson... he went to say... 0ur political correspondent damian grammaticus reports. this resignation of lord frost is without doubt another blow to boris johnson, delivered right at the time the prime minister is at his weakest borisjohnson, delivered right at the time the prime minister is at his weakest since coming to office. lord frost, a one—time diplomat, was brought in to negotiate a boris johnson's brexit deal. he sparred with michel barnier, shuttling back and forth to brussels. it helped mrjohnson secure the support of hardline brexit supporters in his party. the gap between us is quite significant. so, lord frost, on the left, helped secure mrjohnson�*s brexit deals and his win at the general election. he elevated lord frost to the cabinet, at that table recently he elevated lord frost to the cabinet. at that table recently, though, he's been arguing loudly against some of the prime minister's decisions, like the recent increases in taxes and spending, laying out what he said were his conservative beliefs in a recent speech. i personally will argue strongly as i can that free market capitalism, low taxes, free speech and the maximum possible amount of economic and political freedom for individuals are the best choices we could make as a country. the noes to the left, 126. there were 100 tory rebels when parliament voted on the latest covid restrictions, lord frost too had been against more measures and a vaccine certificate in particular, so his objection to the direction the prime minister is taking things. three, two, one! coming after the shock by—election defeat for the tories in shropshire north this week, the timing to mrjohnson�*s woes. the pm's position has been damaged and he has lost a key to getting him into office and he looks more vulnerable than ever. damian grammaticas, bbc news. brexit editor of the daily telegraph newspaper dia chakravarty is following the story. here's her reaction. it has been a very interesting piece of news. i think the for those particularly interested in the brexit agenda. it has been interesting because, particularly if you spoke to some people, there was this since that backbencher mps who were sort of refusing to come out against borisjohnson orjoin the rebellion against him in any serious way because there was a fear that if borisjohnson... cabinet might also become a bit tricky. there was on the other hand another group of people who i was speaking to, and they were surprised that lord frost had lasted as long as he did. they were concerned that a lot of people who were supposed to have the prime minister's here at the moment, i thought very differently about the —— they thought very differently about brexit. avoiding confrontation with the eu, this was a quote i heard, and that was not lord frost's approach to it, to the northern ireland protocol. now, it is not so much a surprise. it's also not a surprise that he knew lord frost or knew his work within the cabinet, but the whole deregulation agenda that he was supposed to oversee was massively hampered by the net zero regulations coming in with the covid regulations, and just... regulations coming in with the covid regulations, andjust..._ regulations, and 'ust... crosstalk just to regulations, and 'ust... crosstalk just town":— regulations, and 'ust... crosstalk just tojump in— regulations, and just. .. crosstalk just to jump in there, _ regulations, and just. .. crosstalk just to jump in there, when - regulations, and just. .. crosstalk just to jump in there, when most i just tojump in there, when most people resign, you expect it to be something to do with their main job. so, we could've expected this resignation for whatever reason, sounds like there could be a bit of an overlap. is that what you're getting at, between the reasons he suggests and the main role that he had with the northern ireland protocol? i had with the northern ireland protocol? ~ , ., ., protocol? i think the protocol definitely did _ protocol? i think the protocol definitely did play _ protocol? i think the protocol definitely did play a _ protocol? i think the protocol definitely did play a role, - protocol? i think the protocol definitely did play a role, but| protocol? i think the protocol. definitely did play a role, but if you believe in certain principles, and lord frost's case, a low tax agenda, he's a... he's a cabinet minister so he did have some role. you feel the government is going in a completely different direction. it can be difficult to stay in that cabinet. , ., ., , ., , ., cabinet. given that, how big a blow do ou cabinet. given that, how big a blow do you think _ cabinet. given that, how big a blow do you think this _ cabinet. given that, how big a blow do you think this is _ cabinet. given that, how big a blow do you think this is for _ cabinet. given that, how big a blow do you think this is for boris - do you think this is for boris johnson? i do you think this is for boris johnson?— do you think this is for boris johnson? ~ , , johnson? i think this is a big blow for boris johnson _ johnson? i think this is a big blow for boris johnson as _ johnson? i think this is a big blow for boris johnson as far _ johnson? i think this is a big blow for boris johnson as far as - johnson? i think this is a big blow for boris johnson as far as his - johnson? i think this is a big blow| for boris johnson as far as his exit for borisjohnson as far as his exit agenda is concerned. i think it's a much bigger... for those who did hope against hope that this administration would at some point morph into a low tax, low regulation, i think it's a bigger blow for those people. the spread of coronavirus is beginning to seriously disrupt normal life in europe as governments tighten restrictions once again. the netherlands is going into a tough new lockdown — in response to rising cases. prime minister rark rutte has said "the netherlands is again shutting down. this is unavoidable because a fifth wave is coming at us." all non—essential stores, bars, restaurants and other public places are to shut from sunday under the new measures. essential shops such as supermarkets and pharmacies must close by 8pm. schools will close from monday and won't reopen until at least january the 9th, when the lockdown ends. 0ur correspondent anna holligan has the latest from the hague. these new rules have been met with a mixture of disbelief and dismay and they have thrown the dutch christmas these new rules have been met with a mixture of disbelief preparations into disarray. so, all nonessential shops will be closed from 5am on sunday morning, and they won't reopen until at least the 14th of january 2022. the dutch prime minister, mark rutte, said this was in response to the 0micron variant, they have been watching the cases in london especially and across the uk and they say that the health services, the hospitals here, simply don't have the capacity to deal with an influx of 0micron cases. yet the government's critics say this is partly their own doing because of the slow response to the delta variant, but also the slow roll—out of the booster programme. throughout the day, people have been queueing outside toy shops trying to get their last minute gifts. beauty salons have been seeing people for last—minute pedicures and spray tans and there have been big queues outside the covid testing centre. a lot of people are hoping to escape from the netherlands to try to keep their holiday plans intact. 0utdoor sports will be allowed, there will be no curfew, supermarkets, banks, libraries can stay open, and restaurants can keep on serving takeaways at least. but the dutch don't like chaos so the fact that these new rules are being introduced at the last minute, a few days before christmas, really underlies the urgency of the situation here. the mayor of london has... the mayor of london sadiq khan has declared a major incident to help authorities cope with rising case numbers. here's our health correspondent, katharine da costa. some vaccine centres like this one in north london are now open 2a hours a day as staff go all out to getjabs into arms. but the acceleration of boosters can't compete with a variant that is doubling every two days. in london, 0micron is already driving a huge wave of infections, in london, 0micron is already driving a huge we are incredibly concerned by the huge surge in the 0micron variant. over the last 2a hours, we have had the largest number of new cases since this pandemic began — more than 26,000. hospital admissions are going up, but also staff absences are going up by massive levels. so, i've taken the decision, in consultation with our partners, to declare a major incident today. it means that coordination between key public services will now be stepped up and enable london to seek further support from central government to address the pressures facing the city. it comes as scientific advisers on the sage committee suggest without further stringent measures very soon we could see measures very soon, we could see i,000—2,000 hospital admissions a day in england in a fortnight, up from around 800 a day now, and there could be a peak of 3000 admissions a day or more, similar to levels injanuary. when it comes to extra measures, sage government advisers say the earlier they're introduced, the less time they may be needed. they argue the biggest risk factor is crowded indoor mixing between many different groups, and suggest limiting how many people can mix indoors and some social distancing measures timing is crucial, they say. delaying until next year could make the restriction is less effective and less likely to prevent considerable pressure on health and care settings. my view is, and i know this is something the and what that means is making sure people are socially distancing, is limiting contacts, and going back to some of the restrictions we had earlier in the year. testing and isolating when infected are crucial to try and slow the spread of the virus. the vaccines minister has been to see how the royal mail is helping to ramp up deliveries of test kits to 900,000 a day. lateral flow devices are very effective in picking up the i omicron variant as well as other variants, and it's the _ best way to make sure - that they are free of the virus before they do visit friends and family this christmas, | or go to large events. we may get more data on 0micron in a week or so, but huge and difficult decisions may have to be made before we have the full picture. to continue as we are or impose new restrictions to protect lives and the nhs. katharine da costa, bbc news. in the last hour, the german government has announced new restrictions on travellers from the uk, due to concern over the 0micron variant. the german embassy in london has tweeted that germany has classified the uk as an area of concern. from monday, there will be changes to travel rules — including a ban on those who are not german residents or nationals, and increased testing and quarantine measures. from saturday, france has banned all non—essential travel from the uk because of concern over 0micron surging. those who are allowed to travel will have to go into quarantine until they get a negative test result. it's thrown france's tourism industry into disarray during the christmas season. 0ur correspondent mark lowen reports from the alpine resort of chamonix. up the slopes of mont blanc, hope was peeking through of a bumper christmas, a relief from covid. but then, france warned of a landslide, not on its own mountains, but of 0micron in britain. all non—essential arrivals from the uk grinding to a halt from today. travel plans now in disarray. we've missed a few people in different families as well who were supposed to come over... who aren't vaccinated. ..who are probablyjust not going to be able to come out now. so, yeah, it's obviously a bit gutting for certain people but i guess we are just lucky, definitely. does it feel empty at the moment? a bit. | yeah? because normally it's really busy. because loads of people from, like, england and other countries are coming in but it - doesn't feel that busy. one in four tourists in chamonix pre—pandemic were british, the largest foreign group in the french ski resorts, and their absence is clear. with some of the best early season snow here for years and with flights and ferries from the uk full, there was real optimism in the french resorts. but now while the brits who made it here in time count their luck, businesses are counting their losses. restaurateur thomas mathieu was hoping to quench the thirst of his british guests this christmas — a sizeable part of his customers. now he's let three employees go and fears business will drop by a quarter. how does it feel without the brits? sad...sad, and disappointed, angry. everything is ready, we've got the masks, we've got all the passes, we have everything right which our government said, but the more we do, i think, i don't know, it's very confusing for us. for those catering for the british market, the emptiness is devastating is devastating and an ominous sign of what more could come. if this continues this season, you know, it's going to be a big loss of earnings. it could be up to 50% of my annual earnings through the winter. and i guess i'm worried that it's just going to keep doing this every winter and if i'm losing half of my earnings every year i need to find a different profession. perhaps this is just a christmas blip, not a lost season. france is buying time and paying a high price for its resorts to sparkle again. mark lowen, bbc news, chamonix. the headlines on bbc news... the dutch prime minister has announced a tough new lockdown from monday, as the latest coronavirus variant spreads. another 90,000 covid—i9 cases have been reported across the uk. in london, the mayor sadiq khan has declared a major incident. lord frost, the man in charge of the uk's brexit negotiations, has resigned from borisjohnson�*s government, according the mail on sunday newspaper. at least 31 people have died and many remain missing in the philippines after typhoon rai hit the country on thursday. the storm, which affected the country's southern provinces, packed sustained winds of 195 kilometres per hour and dumped heavy rain, triggering flash flooding and landslides. from manila, howard johnson reports. typhoon rai, the strongest storm to hit the philippines this year, destroyed homes, uprooted trees and toppled power lines — leaving more than 3 million filipinos without electricity, according to the government. but what made this storm so significant is the power it sustained, as it inundated nine different islands with ferocious winds and heavy rain. river banks burst and storm surges wrecked coastal areas. more than 300,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. the philippine red cross and the national coastguard lead the relief efforts, handing out food and temporary shelters. posts on social media today show the popular tourist island, siargao, being battered by relentless winds as the storm made its first landfall. the governor there says the island has been totally devastated, estimating repair costs at more than $400 million. the typhoon has now left the philippines, moving westwards over the south china sea. that was howard johnson reporting from the philippines. let's ta ke let's take a look at what else is hitting headlines. at least 14 people have died in an explosion in the southern pakistani city of karachi. others were injured during the blast, which took place at a bank building. 0fficers said it was caused by a gas leak from a sewage drain. witnesses told local media that people were buried in the debris. hong kong leaders have made a last—minute bid to get people to vote in the first election since beijing tightened its control over the territory. text messages were sent to voters ahead of sunday's poll — pointing out that it's illegal to call for a boycott of the vote. most pro—democracy groups did not put forward candidates, undermining the election�*s legitimacy. a large crane has toppled onto a street in the italian city of turin, killing three workers and injuring two people passing by. italian media say the accident happened while the workers were setting up the crane for a construction site. it fell into the road between two buildings. the family of an indian student who was jailed after sharing a whatsapp message celebrating pakistan's win in a cricket match, has appealed for his release. shauqat ahmed ghani — along with two other muslim students — has spent two months in prison, accused of "anti—national" behaviour. authorities say the arrest was in the interests of law and order, but critics argue that laws are being misused to silence free speech. rajini vaidya nathan reports. tears of pain and disbelief. her brother injailfor a crime she says makes no sense. 22—year—old engineering student shauqat ahmed ghani is accused of supporting pakistan instead of the national team india. translation: on 24th of october when there was a cricket match . between india and pakistan, he and friends exchanged some messages, because of which they... messages, because of which they were picked up. as india's arch—rival won, they shared these messages to celebrate. this one shows appreciation for pakistan batsmen. for pakistan's batsman. the family are pleading for his release. translation: my heart is burning for my son. i i want to see him. every day, i am struggling as i wait. i'm appealing to the government to help free him. the men watched the match at their college, and are now being held here at this high security jail not too far from the famous taj mahal. among the charges they face, sedition, a colonial era law that among the charges they face — sedition, a colonial era law that criminalises anything that could be considered antinational, but many say the law is being misused to stifle any criticism against the government. as they arrived for a court hearing, the muslim men were heckled by locals, including some from right—wing hindu groups. even the city's lawyers are refusing to represent them. translation: this is a matter- of national sentiment, so we thought it best to refuse them legal help, they live in india yet support pakistan, so that hurt us. this man saying anyone who cheered the pakistan team should face sedition charges. another saying these arrests were necessary to maintain law and order. others say it's leading to a climate of intolerance in the country. but thers say it's leading to a climate of intolerance in the country. this muslim comedian spent 37 days in jail this year after supporters of the bjp complained to police about his jokes. he recently cancelled a string of shows after getting threats from hindu nationalists. how free is speech in india today? if you are a politician, it's free. if you are a comedian it's not free, it's costly. - if half of the people agree - with myjoke and half of the people don't agree with myjoke, i then it's a democracy, right? many feel that freedom of expression in today's india comes at a price. for those that feel they no longer have a voice, it's far from funny. in the english premier league, five games fell victim to covid restrictions. just one match survived and leeds may have wished it hadn't. they had eight first team players out through injury and suspension — and they lost 4—1. a defensive lapse let in gabriel martinelli for the opener — the midfielder scoring his second in as many games. he added another not long after benefiting from a fine through ball from grant xhaka to double arsenal's lead. arsenal stay fourth. leeds 16th after three straight defeats. for nearly three months now, we have been telling you about the volcanic eruption taking place on the canary islands. in the last few days, the seismic activity appears to have stopped. the clean—up operation will be immense, as thousands of buildings were destroyed. but it's notjust people who were affected, as the bbc�*s tim allman reports. the survivors of this volcano come in all shapes and sizes. these cats were found by members of the spanish civil guard. their homes certainly destroyed. and their owners, for now, a mystery. translation: when we arrived here, we found them crossing the lava. they approached us and we fed them and gave them water. we have also been checking if they have a microchip, to find out if they have an owner, so we can return them to them. but not every creature on the island was so lucky. the bodies of wild animals and birds have been sent away for analysis as to a cause of death, whether it was rivers of red—hot lava engulfing everything in their path or the poisonous gases filling the skies above. all that volcanic magma and rock is cooling now, giant black scars crisscrossing the land. and then there is the ash, so much ash. and then, there's the ash, so much ash. houses, cars, football pitches buried beyond site. translation: you can see there are roofs that haven't been able to support the weight. there are metres of ash. some have begun the long and arduous process of trying to clear up the mess. but who knows how long that will take? there is hope this volcanic eruption will be declared officially over before christmas. 0ne life gone, eight still to go. to moment, bbc news. tim allman, bbc news. vets in argentina have rescued a young turtle — with a shocking amount of plastic found in its stomach. the small green turtle — around 35 centimetres long — had a total of 18 grams of plastic expelled from its stomach. it included fragments of nets, plastic caps, styrofoam, nylon, and cellophane. the turtle was found trapped in a fishing net. here in the uk, the brit awards have announced their first nominations since scrapping the best male and female categories and making the ceremony gender—neutral. the first nominations under the new system actually have delivered the most female nominees in more than a decade, with adele, 0livia rodrigo and dua lipa all in the running for multiple prizes. adele ties with ed sheeran, and rappers little simz and dave for the most nominations. this is bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. the weather is stuck in some sort of a rut. a lot of dry weather around but a lot of grey weather too, thanks to this area of high pressure and the low cloud trapped beneath it. however, there's been some sunshine around. i think sunday is looking sunny again across more northern parts of the uk. further south it will stay rather grey. here it is, the high pressure, sitting to the north of the uk. barely any isobars on the chart around the uk, so that means winds will be light. fresher across southern england and through the channel. where we have the cloudy skies, lows of 4—7 . really cold under the clearer skies. scotland, northern england, these are town and city temperatures. in rural spots we could be as low as 77 or —8 celsius. as —7 or —8 celsius. a really cold start to sunday. some freezing mist and fog around, some fog through the central belt of scotland. but eastern, central and eastern england, rather grey, drab, gloomy, some mistiness and a little bit of drizzle here and there and it's going to be a chilly day wherever you are. through sunday night we hold onto a lot of cloud generally. clearer spells further north and west mean it will turn frosty again with some freezing mist and fog patches, but temperatures holding at around 3—7 degrees where we have the cloud and it will be breezier along the north sea coasts. into monday maybe some subtle changes. into monday, maybe some subtle changes. i think many holding onto the cloud, but we could see some clearer skies or some sunnier breaks appearing across central and eastern england. parts of southern england haven't seen the sunshine for a week or so now, so that will be a welcome change. the best of the sunshine across the north of the uk. wherever you are it's going to be chilly, whether you have the grey, gloomy skies or the sunshine. the run—up to christmas has been giving us a headache. at the moment, it looks like we could see this area of low pressure try to push in from the atlantic. that will have some weather fronts in it, some rain bands and slightly milder air which will push into the south and west. colder air will want to continue to dig down from the north—east. we are in a battle ground between these air masses around the christmas period. it looks like the upcoming week to start with will be chilly and bright, and then it will turn more unsettled around the christmas period. we could see some sleet and snow in places. hello, this is bbc news. iam i am lewis vaughan—jones. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow morning's papers in a moment. first the headlines. lord frost, the man in charge of the uk's brexit negotiations, has resigned citing concerns over the "direction" of boris johnson�*s government. another 90,000 covid—19 cases are reported across the uk, as the mayor of london declares a major incident in the capital. germany has become the latest european country to impose restrictions on travellers from the uk over the concern of the 0micron variant. the dutch prime minister puts his country into a tough new lockdown, as the latest coronavirus variant spreads.