citing concerns over the direction of boris johnson's government. and hong kong goes to the polls, in the first election since beijing tightened its control over the territory. pro—democracy groups refuse to field candidates. hello there. governments around europe are imposing tight restrictions in reaction to the rapid spread of the omicron variant. the netherlands has announced a stringent christmas lockdown, in an attempt to prevent a new wave of cases. all non—essential, stores, bars, restaurants and other public places are to shut from sunday under the new measures. dutch prime minister mark rutte says it's unavoidable. anna holligan reports from the hague. a final flourish of festive cheer before dutch cities shutdown. for christmas. department stores and toy shops weren't ready for this level of footfall. while here a beauty salon squeezes clients in for a last—minute shade. it salon squeezes clients in for a last-minute shade.— salon squeezes clients in for a last-minute shade. it was nice to no to last-minute shade. it was nice to go to the — last-minute shade. it was nice to go to the city _ last-minute shade. it was nice to go to the city for _ last-minute shade. it was nice to go to the city for a - last-minute shade. it was nice to go to the city for a little - to go to the city for a little while before the lockdowns. translation: it while before the lockdowns. translation:— while before the lockdowns. translation: it is too busy everywhere _ translation: it is too busy everywhere but _ translation: it is too busy everywhere but i _ translation: it is too busy everywhere but i have - translation: it is too busy everywhere but i have to - translation: it is too busy | everywhere but i have to come -et everywhere but i have to come get presents before the christmas holidays. under the new measures _ christmas holidays. under the new measures outlined - christmas holidays. under the new measures outlined on - new measures outlined on saturday, all nonessential stores, bars, restaurants, and other public bases are to shut from sunday. essential shops such as supermarkets and pharmacies must close by eight p.m.. schools are closed until at least january 9. the p.m.. schools are closed until at leastjanuary 9. the premise are delivered the message in a sombre tone. translation: omicron is spreading faster than feared so we must intervene now to prevent much worse. , , ., ., intervene now to prevent much worse. , , . ., , worse. this is what a christmas lockdown looks _ worse. this is what a christmas lockdown looks like _ worse. this is what a christmas lockdown looks like on - worse. this is what a christmas lockdown looks like on my - worse. this is what a christmas i lockdown looks like on my local high street in the hague. most shoppers have gone down and there would be rolled up again until at least midjanuary. this is a response to the highly contagious omicron variant. critics argued that it must be seenin critics argued that it must be seen in the wider context. the slow response to the delta variant and the slow rollout of the booster vaccine programme which has meant that hospitals here in the netherlands have no extra capacity to deal with an influx of omicron cases. the dutch are seeking to speed up that booster programme. the over 60s have been just invited to get theirs and it is hoped that within a month everyone in the netherlands who wants a business shop will have a chance to get one. this is usually a highly organised society. the dutch don't like chaos stop this last—minute lockdown coming just days before christmas underlines the urgency of the situation here. there is some good news. father christmas will still be allowed to deliver presents. his message to the nation? merry christmas, happy lockdown. anna holligan reporting there for us. sticking with the pandemic come an hour. —— sticking with the pandemic. a surge in cases of the omicron variant of coronavirus has been recorded in the uk. the number has gone up by more than 10,000 in 2a hours — the biggest daily increase so far. the mayor of london, sadiq khan, has declared a major incident because of concerns that emergency workers will struggle with rapidly rising cases. that triggers new arrangements amongst emergency response teams. 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's doubling every two days. in london, omicron is already driving a huge wave of infections prompting this announcement from the mayor, sadiq khan. we are incredibly concerned by the huge surge in the omicron 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 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 could be considered. timing is crucial, they say. delaying until next year could make the restrictions less effective and less likely to prevent considerable pressure on health and care settings. my view is, and i know this is something the government are going to have to seriously think about this weekend, is that a short, sharp two—week break now would be extremely useful. 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 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 omicron 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. that is the situation in the uk. germany has become the latest european country to ban most travellers from britain. from sunday, german nationals and residents arriving from the uk will need to quarantine for two weeks, regardless of their covid vaccination status. meanwhile, there were protests in several german cities against governmental covid—i9 measures. thousands of people marched in dusseldorf and frankfurt, where there were clashes between demonstrators and police. as you can see here, hundreds gathered in barcelona to protest against covid—i9 passes now required to get into bars, restaurants, gyms, and care homes. the nationwide vaccination rate is nearly 80%, so they have been largely spared the latest wave spreading across europe. elsewhere, hundreds gathered in the city of two riaan. they're protesting against the state of emergency and the greenhouse certificate. the omicron variant is spreading quickly in italy, with cases identified in the country's north and south. and france has banned all non—essential travel from the uk because of concern over omicron surging. those who are allowed to travel will have to go into quarantine until they get a negative test result. it has thrown france's tourism industry into disarray during the christmas season. our 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 omicron 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're 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 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. borisjohnson has come under huge political pressure for his handling of coronavirus in the uk. now lord frost, the chief brexit negotiator, has resigned from the cabinet. in a letter to the british prime minister, he has cited concerns over the direction of mrjohnson�*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 on to say: our 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 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, 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 adds 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. i spoke to nigel nelson, the political editor of one of britain's biggest sunday papers, the sunday mirror, to hear his reaction. it is really odd for lord frost to do what he has done, especially now. he is there to negotiate the northern ireland protocol, which is one of the last major bits of brexit to get cleared out. suddenly he quits before the job get cleared out. suddenly he quits before thejob is done, which is in itself a bit weird. on top of that, it's also interesting that he decided to quit over a week ago and yet borisjohnson wanted him to keep it secret because he thought a high—profile resignation like this would damage his government even more thanit damage his government even more than it has been damaged at the moment. they are both friends. but lord frost was boris johnson's special adviser when he was foreign secretary. but he was foreign secretary. but he must be very angry with what is going on to do what he has done. he talks in his resignation letter about being unhappy with the direction of travel of the government. doesn't specify specifically which betty is unhappy about. but he certainly says he is against coercive covid—19 regulations. so now he has decided to walk. given this has come out rather earlier than was intended, he is acting now. we are witnessing a spilling over of the tory party's internal difficulties into the public was back we had the commons rebellion over covid—19 passports, as they're called, this whatsapp group in which a cabinet minister is kicked off by some of the rebels who voted against the restrictions, and now we have this resignation around the cabinet table? i around the cabinet table? 1 think it shows the around the cabinet table? i think it shows the bitterness in various wings of the tory party. the fact that steve baker and dean dorris can have a row like that then she gets kicked off the group is indicative ofjust how nasty it has all become. the tory party has all become. the tory party has now become a kind of loose alliance of warring tribes. so different factions want different factions want different things. the one thing that seems to unite every tory mp i've spoken to is they do want to get rid of boris johnson. the question is, really, how they go about doing it, because it is all a question of timing. i'm sure they'll all go home for christmas now and be plotting furiously. if they can get 5a signatures from those with no confidence, then borisjohnson confidence, then boris johnson could confidence, then borisjohnson could be out early next year. the question is they've got to make sure that if they strike they get it right because you can only do one challenge every 12 months. so if they miscalculate, borisjohnson will be there for another year. some would say this doesn't bode well for the future of borisjohnson. 5a mps i needed to trigger a no—confidence vote for the prime minister. he was a payment immediately other day, saying they are focusing too much on politicians are not policies. but isn't this resignation very much about policies are not parties? absolutely. when politicians get into a mess that they have spaced as they always shoot the messenger rather than listen to the message. the media was reflecting public opinion. the public are furious with parties going on in number ten with everybody else obeying restrictions, that there is an awful lot of dispute about covid-i9, which awful lot of dispute about covid—19, which regulation should come in, some people want more, somewhat less, and in the middle of this there is no great leadership coming from where it should, which is number ten. where it should, which is numberten. borisjohnson number ten. boris johnson blaming the numberten. borisjohnson blaming the media, he is blaming the media, he is blaming himself for getting into the mess in the first place, but it is the public eventually he will decide whether they want to keep him on. and when tory mps go home at christmas they will listen to their constituents and if they get the message that it is time for borisjohnson to go, i think you better start packing his bags. think you better start packing his bans. ~ ,., his bags. nigel milsom there from the sunday _ his bags. nigel milsom there from the sunday mirror. - let's have more about the decision by the dutch government to reintroduce a lockdown and the measures other countries are introducing to deal with the arrival of the omicron variant. we can now speak to saad omer, who's director at the yale institute for global health. thank you forjoining us. my thank you for “oining us. my pleasure. — thank you for “oining us. my pleasure. i _ thank you forjoining us. my pleasure. i want _ thank you forjoining us. my pleasure. i want to - thank you forjoining us. my pleasure. i want to ask - thank you forjoining us. my pleasure. i want to ask you | pleasure. i want to ask you about this _ pleasure. i want to ask you about this fast _ pleasure. i want to ask you about this fast spread - pleasure. i want to ask you about this fast spread of i about this fast spread of omicron throughout europe. you think the taken by the netherlands are appropriate or do you put your kind of judgement more behind these softer measures taken by the other countries?— softer measures taken by the other countries? look, at this oint, it other countries? look, at this point. it was _ other countries? look, at this point, it was kind _ other countries? look, at this point, it was kind of - point, it was kind of inevitable. when you start overloading your health system and there is a crisis situation that impacts not only the patients with covid but also other patients coming to your health system, governments have to take these measures. so at this point i think it is understandable. from my perspective, this was avoidable. what happened in the fall, and the delta surge that was happening and the early part of the omicron, but was avoidable. so consistent implementation of the so—called softer measures, that could have perhaps decreased the need for these drastic measures. that is interesting. so you think it was inevitable, and of course we are now heading into the holiday season, we are going to see more people mixing inside, groups of different households coming together, how worried are you about the convergence of omicron, delta variant, and the flu?— variant, and the flu? well, it is of concern. _ variant, and the flu? well, it is of concern. but _ variant, and the flu? well, it is of concern. but i _ variant, and the flu? well, it is of concern. but i will- is of concern. but i will remind folks that there is this uncertainty around the severity of the virus, but what we think is that the virus is unlikely to be more severe than the delta variant, which is plenty severe, even if it is less severe, even if it is less severe, the virus is highly infectious. so therefore, it will continue to circulate in the population and it could have an impact on hospitalisation, at least in some situations. so that, and the convergence with the flu season,is the convergence with the flu season, is a concern. but i don't think governments are individuals are helpless bystanders. we now have tools to address the surge. we have the flu vaccine in most countries, especially most countries, especially most countries in europe and north america. we have rapid testing widely available, that should be utilised before gathering. we have high—quality masks that have a lot of accessibility, not as perfect as i would like them to be, in terms of accessibility. and we know about ventilation, et cetera, although it is harder to maintain perfect ventilation in winter, but we can have hepa filters or other kinds of filters or other kinds of filters that people can use to reduce the chances of transmission. so yes, we are concerned, but we don't have to be helpless bystanders. aha, concerned, but we don't have to be helpless bystanders. fix. lat be helpless bystanders. a lot of our be helpless bystanders. a lot of your work _ be helpless bystanders. a lot of your work focuses - be helpless bystanders. a lot of your work focuses on - be helpless bystanders. a lot of your work focuses on global covid vaccine in equity, yet they are still struggling to get boosters to over 60 —year—olds in the netherlands. how about a situation is it, and can we ever get on top of that scene in equity that you focus on?— that scene in equity that you focus on? , , ., ., ., focus on? yes, i focus a lot on inequity. _ focus on? yes, i focus a lot on inequity. but _ focus on? yes, i focus a lot on inequity. but my _ focus on? yes, i focus a lot on inequity, but my perspective l focus on? yes, i focus a lot on| inequity, but my perspective is that the to this is not to play this as a zero—sum game, especially for high risk groups, now there is substantial evidence, especially in the presence of omicron, that boosters should be delivered, and there is a strong case for the whole of that population to get boosters. what my focus is, what lots of us have been saying is, for the last year we should have been working, and there are ways to increase the size of the pie itself, that is where we have fallen short. i think it is false, straight off, but some people try to say, boosters for high risk population versus low and middle income countries. there are ways to increase technology transfer, for example, or to increase production. and delivering on the promised vaccines to increase the availability of the vaccines throughout the world, rather than just having this kind of trade—off. than just having this kind of trade-off— than just having this kind of trade-off. ,,. ., .,, ., trade-off. saad omer, those are no doubt issues _ trade-off. saad omer, those are no doubt issues we _ trade-off. saad omer, those are no doubt issues we will - trade-off. saad omer, those are no doubt issues we will return i no doubt issues we will return to speak to you again with soon. thank forjoining us today. soon. thank for “oining us toda . y soon. thank for “oining us toda. y , polls have opened in hong kong in local assembly elections, the first since china imposed sweeping political changes. our correspondent danny vincent is in hong kong. polls have opened, danny, there was this crackdown on pro—democracy protesters since 2019 in hong kong, which we covered extensively here. they have really coloured the nature of this election, haven't they? i think many critics across hong kong will say that the entire political system has completely changed. first of all, this is the first election since beijing imposed electoral reform on the system. it means only people that are deemed patriotic to the country are even able to stand in this election, furthermore, many of the pro—democracy leaders that will be standing in this election, or in elections like this in the past, are either in prison or in exile. there has been a huge consequence of the 2019 protest movement, there has been incredible turmoil here in hong kong, many critics will say that this is not really an election process, it is more of a selection process, so the candidates who have been standing have already been bettered. the authorities would argue that they have attempted to and would successfully try to and would successfully try to remove what they would describe as anti— chinese or anti—china elements, which they said were present in the political system in the past. they say elections like this are essentially attempting to restore stability to the city. so if you are people are able to stand, fewer post—to stand for, and yes china has been urging people in hong kong to get out and vote and are in fact saying they were punishing those calling for a boycott. have there been any sign so far of the lower turnout?— of the lower turnout? well, what i can _ of the lower turnout? well, what i can say _ of the lower turnout? well, what i can say is _ of the lower turnout? well, what i can say is that - of the lower turnout? well, what i can say is that over l of the lower turnout? well, i what i can say is that over the last few weeks as i have been covering some of the campaigning here, ithink compared to past elections, the mood is certainly relatively quiet. pollsters have predicted for turnout will be lower. we are hearing it could be as low as the lowest in 30 years, the last election here in hong kong had a very high turnout, more than 71 people voted in 2019, but was a local district election, the pro— democratic camp one by a massive landslide at that time, but the situation he has changed quite drastically in hong kong. like i said before, drastically in hong kong. like isaid before, many drastically in hong kong. like i said before, many of the candidates that would be standing in this election are in prison or they are in exile. i know you are watching the result closely, so we will contact you shortly. thank you for the update. vets in argentina have rescued a young turtle with a shocking amount of plastic found in its stomach. the small green turtle, around 35cm long, had a total of 18g 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. it continues treatment at a rescue centre in the east of the country. hello there. the weather is stuck in some sort of a right, a lot of dry weather around but thanks to the slow area of pressure we have some cloud trapped underneath it. there has been some pressure around, sunday is looking sunny again across more northern parts of the uk, further south it was a rather grey and gloomy once again. here is the area of high pressure sitting to the north of the uk, barely any isobars on the chart. that means winds will be lighter and fresher there across southern england and through the channel. so when you have the cloudy skies and lows of four or seven degrees, but really cold under the collar skies, scotland and northern england, in rural spots we could be as low as —7 or minus eight celsius. a cold start to sunday, some freezing mist and fog around, some fog through the central belt of scotland, but some sunshine, as you can see, stretching down into the north—western parts of england. wales doing well in the sunshine, parts of south—west england, northern ireland may be seeing sunnier spells than we have seen lately, so not bad here. eastern and central england, southern england again, rather grey and drab. some gloom, miss innocent a bit of drizzle here and there. it will be a chilly day wherever you are. sunday night, we held onto lots of cloud generally, clearer spells further north and west, here it will turn frosty again with some freezing mist and fog. temperatures holding out around 3-7, temperatures holding out around 3—7, where we have the cloud, it will be breezy along the north sea coast. into monday, may be some subtle changes. i think for many, we are holding onto the cloud, but we could see clear skies and sunny breaks appearing across central and eastern england, parts of southern and have not the sunshine for a good week or so, so that will be a welcome change. probably the best of the sunshine again across the north of the uk and then again, whatever you are, it will be chilly when you have the grey and gloomy skies or even the sunshine. now, as 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 pushing in from the atlantic. that will have some weather fronts, some rain bands and some mild air pushing into the south and west, but cold air will want to continue to dig down from the north—east. so we own a bit of a battleground between these our masses around the christmas period. it looks like the upcoming week to start with, certainly for the first few days, will be chilly and bright, then it will turn more around the christmas period and with some cold and we could see sleet and snow in places. this is bbc news. the headlines: governments around europe are imposing tight restrictions in reaction to the rapid spread of the omicron covid variant. in the netherlands the prime minister, has announced a stringent lockdown. all non—essential shops and stores will close until at least mid—january as well as schools and colleges. rising concern about the rapid spread of the omicron variant in london has prompted the mayor, sadiq khan, to declare a major incident in the capital. the latest daily figures show the uk recorded another 90,000 coronavirus cases and 125 deaths in the latest 24—hour period. brexit minister lord frost has resigned with immediate effect. he said in a letter to the prime minister that he had concerns about the government's direction of travel, and was sad that the unlocking of covid restrictions had not been as irreversible as promised. retailers have been hoping for a last—minute