hospitality sector. we've responded i think generously today, the grants we've outlined up to £6,000 are comparable to the grants we provided for hospitality businesses when they were completely closed earlier this year. our other headlines — more bodies are found as rescuers reach islands in the phillipines, cut off by last week's typhoon. we'll talk to a film maker who was on one of the worst—hit islands — when the typhoon hit. hello, and welcome. in the last hour, scotland's first minister, nicola stugeon, has announced new restrictions, due to the surge in omicron cases. the number of people allowed to socialise both, indoors and outdoors, will be limited — which means new year's celebrations will have to be scaled back, and sports events will effectively be spectator—free for a three week period from 26th of december. we heard nicola sturgeon making that announcement in holyrood in the last half—an—hour. new restrictions being brought in. let's hear a little bit of that announcement.- brought in. let's hear a little bit of that announcement. from the 26th of that announcement. from the 26th of december — of that announcement. from the 26th of december for _ of that announcement. from the 26th of december for a _ of that announcement. from the 26th of december for a period _ of that announcement. from the 26th of december for a period up - of that announcement. from the 26th of december for a period up to - of that announcement. from the 26th of december for a period up to three l of december for a period up to three weeks. _ of december for a period up to three weeks. we _ of december for a period up to three weeks, we intend to place limits on the size _ weeks, we intend to place limits on the size of— weeks, we intend to place limits on the size of large public events that can take _ the size of large public events that can take place. this does not apply to private _ can take place. this does not apply to private life events such as weddings. for indoor extending events, — weddings. for indoor extending events, the limit will be 100. indoor— events, the limit will be 100. indoor seated events, 200. for outdoor— indoor seated events, 200. for outdoor events, 500 seated or standing — outdoor events, 500 seated or standing. physical distancing of one metre _ standing. physical distancing of one metre witt— standing. physical distancing of one metre will be required at physical events _ metre will be required at physical events. this will make sports matches, _ events. this will make sports matches, including football, spectator free. matches, including football, spectatorfree. it matches, including football, spectator free. it will also mean, unfortunately, the large—scale unfortunately, the la rge—scale hogmanay unfortunately, the large—scale hogmanay celebrations, including that plant here in our capital city, will not _ that plant here in our capital city, will not proceed. i know how disappointing that will be to those looking _ disappointing that will be to those looking forward to these events and for the _ looking forward to these events and for the organisers of them. that announcement _ for the organisers of them. that announcement in _ for the organisers of them. that announcement in the _ for the organisers of them. twat announcement in the last hour. we have had a flurry of announcements in the last little while. the uk chancellor of the exchequer has launched a £1 billion support package for covid—hit businesses. rishi sunak said some 200,000 firms would be eligible for one—off grants to offset losses from what is normally the busiest time of year. we've responded, i think, generously today. the grants we have outlined, up to £6,000, are comparable to the grants we provided for hospitality businesses when they were completely closed earlier this year. britain's opposition labour party has welcomed the funding announced by the chancellor today — but called for "clarity" on further coronavirus measures and questioned the prime minister's ability to "take the decisions necessary." pat mcfadden embraced the sick pay rebate for businesses, but wants eligibility across the board so everybody who needed to take time off work could do so. this package should have been announced a week ago. it's good as far as it goes. but the big question on people's minds is, can the prime minister still take the decisions necessary to protect public health or is he now such a prisoner of tory divisions that he can't put public health first because he is too worried about what will get past his cabinet and what will get past his backbenchers? let's move to the us. presidentjoe biden will be outlining additional plans to tackle the spread of the variant later today. in some areas, including new york city, omicron is responsible for nine out of ten cases. in a moment, we'll hear from the vice president, kamala harris, who's been speaking to cbs news about the spread of the variant, but first mark lobel has this report. texas was bracing itself for an omicron storm, now it reports what's believed to be the usa's first related death. look how quickly, over the past week in the states, omicron, in purple here, has taken over the delta variant, represented in orange, in new cases. three, two, one, happy new year! so with ten days until 2022, its dominance — including 90% of new cases here in new york — will no doubt feature injoe biden's stark warning for the country's unvaccinated in an address expected later on tuesday. chanting but in boston, there's anger that only the vaccinated will soon be allowed to enter restaurants, and that compulsoryjabs for all city employees will be dished out. in washington, it's indoor mask wearing that's back on the menu, like in california and new york. such is the spread of omicron, keeping the country's borders closed to southern africa is now looking fruitless. we likely are going to pull back on that pretty soon because we have enough infection in our own country. and we're letting in people from other countries that have as much or more infection than the southern african countries. all as the head of the world health organization pushes for difficult decisions to be made sooner, with his blunt new message in the run—up to christmas, warning the world that an event cancelled is better than a life cancelled. mark lobel, bbc news. the us vice president has been speaking to cbs about the spread of the new varient. she again urged people to get vaccinated. we have the power today to go out and, if you've not been boosted, go get boosted, the power today to go and get vaccinated, and that will have an impact on where we end up tomorrow. is it the fault of the unvaccinated? i don't think this is a moment to talk about fault. it is no—one's fault that this virus hit our shores or hit the world, but it is more about individual power and responsibility and it's about the decisions that everyone has the choice to make. the vice president slightly sidestepping that question about whether it was the fault of the unvaccinated. the cdc has produced some fascinating and clear data. in terms of covid—i9 cases, the unvaccinated, they are reporting a51 cases per 100,000. unvaccinated, they are reporting a51 cases per100,000. for unvaccinated, they are reporting a51 cases per 100,000. for the fully vaccinated, that drops to 13a per 100,000. forthe vaccinated, that drops to 13a per 100,000. for the boost it, they have seen a huge drop to a8 per 100,000. and then you translate that to the death numbers they are reporting. the unvaccinated, six deaths per 100,000. fully vaccinated, 0.5 per 100,000. fully vaccinated, 0.5 per 100,000. forthe 100,000. fully vaccinated, 0.5 per 100,000. for the boost it, you see a huge drop to 0.1 per 100,000. so it really clear, detailed data there from the cdc in terms of the difference being vaccinated makes, and critically also the booster jabs. and we have heard that from so many capitals around the world. ravi gupta is professor of clinical microbiology at the cambridge institute for therapeutic immunology and infectious diseases. i asked him how concerned he is by the trend we're seeing with omicron. i think i am quite concerned because of the rate of spread of the omicron variant and the way in which it's taken over from delta, certainly in the london area at least. and the fact that it's feeding through into hospitalisations. now, this has to be caveated with the fact that we don't know how this virus is going to play out in terms of severity of disease, and that's a very sort of contentious issue at the moment. however, restrictions would of course avert some of the serious consequences over the coming weeks. i'll come back to restrictions in a moment, but i know that you've studied what omicron is doing to the body. how significant is it that it doesn't attack the lungs in quite the same way that delta does? so, the experiments that we've done need to be taken into context. they really have been done in the laboratory, using cells which represent certain types of cells in the lungs and the upper airways. we are finding that the omicron variant is displaying an unusual characteristic in the way it infects cells. it seems to be less well adapted to the types of cells that might be found in the lower airways, in other words the ones in the deeper lung tissues, and it seems to be potentially better adapted to those in the upper airway, although those experiments need to be extended further. there is an inkling here that the virus may have altered its biological characteristics based on the way that it processes its spike protein. and the implications of that? you said in your earlier answer, and we've heard it for the last three weeks whilst we've been grappling with this, that we need to have more data before we actually can say definitively about the seriousness. when are we going to have that data roughly? for three weeks, we've been in this sort of holding pattern. absolutely, it's really difficult to obtain real—time clinical data on severity because, of course, when somebody walks into the hospital, they don't have a diagnosis of omicron versus delta, and that needs to be done retrospectively. and then, of course, you have the issue that there is often a significant lag of weeks between first becoming unwell and then needing oxygen or ventilation, or even unfortunately succumbing to this disease. so the clinical data are taking time, and it's because of the natural history of the infection. we have vaccination and some underlying immunity now, so those sorts of outcomes may even be extended further. therefore, the importance of laboratory and experimentation, i think, is more of an issue at the moment because of the gap in clinical data. but the downside is that we need to be cautious in overinterpreting it. i think, rather, the laboratory data should be used to confirm or reject clinical findings. for example, the observations in south africa, whilst i was sceptical initially, do seem to fit with the things i have been observing in my laboratory. more on our main story a little later. rescuers reaching islands in the philippines that had been cut off by last week's super typhoon have discovered scores more dead and villages that have been flattened. at least 375 people were killed by the powerful storm. (map)the red cross says it's "carnage" in many areas — the red cross says it's "carnage" in many areas — including the island of siargao in the south of the country. there is no power, no communications, and very little water. i'm joined now by pepe djok—no, who was on the island, when the typhoon hit. i know you filmed it. just describe it for us as well.— it for us as well. honestly, it was terrifying- _ it for us as well. honestly, it was terrifying- at _ it for us as well. honestly, it was terrifying. at around _ it for us as well. honestly, it was terrifying. at around 8:45am - it for us as well. honestly, it was terrifying. at around 8:45am we | l it for us as well. honestly, it was i terrifying. at around 8:45am we saw terrifying. at around 8:a5am we saw a huge wave hit the house that we were staying at. we were at a b and b that is on a cliff that is about 2-3 b that is on a cliff that is about 2—3 stories high and about 30 metres from the ocean. when we saw the big wave hit at around 8:a5am, we knew that one or 2pm would be the peak of the typhoon. we decided to evacuate to higher ground. we the typhoon. we decided to evacuate to higher ground.— to higher ground. we are looking at the pictures— to higher ground. we are looking at the pictures you _ to higher ground. we are looking at the pictures you filmed. _ to higher ground. we are looking at the pictures you filmed. you - to higher ground. we are looking at the pictures you filmed. you got - to higher ground. we are looking at the pictures you filmed. you got to | the pictures you filmed. you got to higher ground, you were wearing helmets. he said how terrifying it was. how long was it like that, that sort of level of intensity? the was. how long was it like that, that sort of level of intensity?— sort of level of intensity? the peak ofthe sort of level of intensity? the peak of the storm _ sort of level of intensity? the peak of the storm was _ sort of level of intensity? the peak of the storm was from _ sort of level of intensity? the peak of the storm was from 1-3 - sort of level of intensity? the peak of the storm was from 1-3 pm. - sort of level of intensity? the peak of the storm was from 1-3 pm. the of the storm was from 1—3 pm. the place that we evacuated tube was a prefab garaged, so we weren't sure that it would hold. thankfully it did. just to go back to the giant wave, we were really concerned because we were on an elevated area. the town where we were at was sea level, and be alert after, when things settled down, that the sea wall that was in the town had completely disappeared. so imagine the force of that wave, what it did to the nearby towns.— the force of that wave, what it did to the nearby towns. yes, and we are seeinr to the nearby towns. yes, and we are seeing some — to the nearby towns. yes, and we are seeing some of— to the nearby towns. yes, and we are seeing some of that _ to the nearby towns. yes, and we are seeing some of that damage - to the nearby towns. yes, and we are seeing some of that damage on - to the nearby towns. yes, and we are seeing some of that damage on our. seeing some of that damage on our screens at the moment. extraordinary when you say that level of intensity went on for two hours. it gives you a real sense of what people actually had to live through. i know you have travelled any subsequent days. tell me a little of what you have seen. well, we left on foot from the north of the island. our intent was to work 12 hours to the southernmost part of the island. thankfully, halfway, around half way, we were able to hitch a ride. but every single town that we passed had been badly damaged by the storm. we saw people just beginning to pick up the wreckage of their houses. we already saw people, this is saturday, going around with containers of water, looking for something to drink. the level of destruction is not something i have ever seen before. and we are seeing some of the pictures, exactly as you described. the destruction. it is on our screens. people must be bewildered living through all of this. in terms of any sort of help, we have heard how so many areas have been cut off. how much help is actually getting there? , ., , , ., , how much help is actually getting there? , .,, , ., , , there? the problem is that this is there? the problem is that this is the north of _ there? the problem is that this is the north of siargao. _ there? the problem is that this is the north of siargao. the - there? the problem is that this is the north of siargao. the roads i there? the problem is that this is. the north of siargao. the roads are impassable for vehicles. because of fallen trees and damage to the road. so the last thing i heard, people don't have clean water, access to food and shelter. things are getting desperate. the last i heard, residents have already begun erecting helper signs, sos signs on the road. 50 erecting helper signs, sos signs on the road. ., ., ., the road. so someone from the air erha -s the road. so someone from the air perhaps could _ the road. so someone from the air perhaps could see. _ the road. so someone from the air perhaps could see. how _ the road. so someone from the air perhaps could see. how would - the road. so someone from the air perhaps could see. how would youj perhaps could see. how would you assess the authority's ability to actually cope with all of this? i think everybody is overwhelmed. and scrambling, honestly. iwould think everybody is overwhelmed. and scrambling, honestly. i would have hoped that the rates would be cleared earlier, or i hope that they are starting to be cleared now so that essentials can get to these areas. but apart from siargao, many other provinces have been badly hit. the whole central part of the philippines is really badly hit, people have lost lives and livelihoods. so the magnitude of this destruction, i think, isjust overwhelming everybody. find this destruction, ithink, is “ust overwhelming everybody. and really briefl , overwhelming everybody. and really briefly. when _ overwhelming everybody. and really briefly. when you — overwhelming everybody. and really briefly, when you talk _ overwhelming everybody. and really briefly, when you talk to _ overwhelming everybody. and really briefly, when you talk to people, - briefly, when you talk to people, what are they actually saying to you in terms of what they actually need and when? it’s in terms of what they actually need and when? �*, . ., ., ., ., ., and when? it's clean water, food and shelter. and when? it's clean water, food and shelter- and — and when? it's clean water, food and shelter. and immediately. _ and when? it's clean water, food and shelter. and immediately. and - shelter. and immediately. and another thing, shelter. and immediately. and anotherthing, communications. another thing, communications. because there anotherthing, communications. because there are many people who couldn't tell their families that they were 0k. as long as communication is bad, efforts will also be hampered. those for things are needed immediately. at least in siargao, i don't want to say we are fortunate, but i hear a lot of people saying that thankfully the death toll hasn't been as high as we expected. but the livelihood of the people and just having to get by for the next few days is a huge problem. "we survived" is the best that people can say. we have to leave it there. thank you so much forjoining us and painting such a graphic picture. thank you so much for your time. more details have emerged of the hours leading up to the biggest single loss of life in the english channel. at least 31 people died last month after their small boat capsized off the french coast. a bbc investigation has now identified 20 of those who were on board, all of whom were from iraqi kurdistan. heartbreaking messages from those on board paint a picture of total desperation. bbc persian's soran qurbani reports. it was an overcrowded boat, at the mercy of the channel's freezing water. 29 lives were lost that night, and a bbc investigation has identified 20 of them, all from iraqi kurdistan. from the testimonies and messages to their friends and families, we can also piece together their tragic last few hours. this is the voice of this 30—year—old man, nearly five hours after the boat set off on its journey. within 30 minutes of his message, the boat had completely submerged. once in water, people desperately tried to call both the uk and french authorities for help. phones fall into the water before passengers can send the details. just hours later, all but two of at least 31 people are dead. through shipping data and emergency response details, our investigation concludes that the boat was in french waters when it sank. in kurdistan, families still can't find closure. this man lost his entire family on that boat, his wife and three children, the youngest of which was only seven years old. the french authorities have recovered their bodies, but he's still clinging to a desperate hope they might return. translation: no, | i still don't believe it. they could be in a camp or a hospital. i don't believe anyone until i see it with my own eyes. if they bring their bodies, i will check all of them to know, but until then, i won't believe it. i went to calais to find out what drives people to make these deadly journeys. this is the makeshift camp where most of those who were on the boat lived. abbas and his group from iran say taking a boatjourney is playing with death. when i ask about what is his plan, he says if there is a dinghy here, he is going to try tojump on it and try his chance to cross to the uk. four months pregnant lana and her husband, from iraqi kurdistan, nearly died on a previous attempt to cross. she says she is doing this for her baby. translation: we will try again. our life here in this cold isn't far better from being in the sea. if my baby was born, it would have been more difficult, but now i carry him or her with me. if i die, the baby dies with me, too. it's hard to imagine the level of desperation that drives people to deadly sea journeys, but without much hope for a betterfuture, the loss of life isn't going to end. soran qurbani, bbc news, calais. on our website, you can find all the data and evidence the bbc has obtained in this investigation of the boatjourney — head to bbc.co.uk/news. ajury in new york is considering its verdict in the sex trafficking trial of the british socialite, in its closing argument, the prosecution called her a "sophisticated predator who had willingly assisted in abuse committed by the late paedophile, jeffrey epstein. gillaine maxwell denies the charges against her. barbara plett usher is following developments. jurors have to decide which version of events to believe. the prosecution has argued that ghislaine maxwell was crucial tojeffrey epstein's operation. they say that she made the teenagers feel comfortable. she was posh, smiling, age acceptable, a cover really for mr epstein's behaviour, and that she knew exactly what she was doing when she sent them into a massage room with him. the defence says, "no, she didn't know because mr epstein kept secrets from her. and in fact, she's being punished for his crimes. she's a scapegoat." the other issue is the credibility of the four women who have accused ghislaine maxwell of complicity in the abuse. the defence says they didn't mention her alleged role in their initial interviews with law enforcement, and they're only doing so now because they're motivated by money. the prosecution says the similarities in their stories actually show the playbook by which ms maxwell operated to recruit and groom them, and that, in fact, these women had already received payouts from jeffrey epstein estate. so if their motivation was money, they wouldn't have gone through the hell of testifying at this trial. we don't know how long it's going to take for the jury to come back with a verdict, but we may get one by christmas, which is ghislaine maxwell's 60th birthday. what's thought to be the largest divorce settlement in british legal history has been agreed. a high courtjudge has awarded $725 million to princess haya ofjordan, in a long—running dispute with herformer husband, the ruler of dubai. the princess fled to britain with her children in 2019, saying she was in fear of her life. our security correspondent, frank gardner, told us more about the settlement. this is pretty much the culmination of every long—running court battle between mohammed bin rashid al maktoum and the youngest of his six wives, princess haya ofjordan, daughter of king hussein ofjordan. she fled to britain in early 2000 had 19 with her children, saying she was placed in her room with a bullet in it. a helicopter landed on the lawn of her palace with somebody saying that he had lawn of her palace with somebody saying that he had orders lawn of her palace with somebody saying that he had orders to lawn of her palace with somebody saying that he had orders to take lawn of her palace with somebody saying that he had orders to take to a prison in the middle the desert. all because she said she discovered what had happened to other daughters of the ruler of dubai who had been abducted. he has denied this but the high court here in britain stood this up. it didn't probably help her case that she had an affair with her bodyguard, and when that was discovered he was understandably very angry, wrote a poem that went public, and she interpreted that as a death threat. she fled to britain where she continued to get threats from anonymous people saying they could reach her wherever. she took the case to court to try to safeguard, to put in place, which she has now got today, a huge financial settlement to safeguard her security and that of her two children, because she worries that harm will come to her and that they will be abducted. he has issued a statement saying he has only ever wished to provide the best for his children and he has nothing more to say about this case. let children and he has nothing more to say about this case.— say about this case. let me “ust round of the fi say about this case. let me “ust round of the top i say about this case. let me “ust round of the top lines �* say about this case. let me “ust round of the top lines in i say about this case. let me just round of the top lines in terms | say about this case. let me just. round of the top lines in terms of covid—19 before we close, because scotland's traditional hogmanay celebrations have been cancelled and live sport will be effectively spectator free for three weeks from boxing day. we arejust spectator free for three weeks from boxing day. we are just hearing from new york's mayor, saying that people who get the covid—19 vaccine booster will receive $100. so more character, less stick. and here on our programming in our�*s time we were speaking to london's mayor. join me for that. hello, i'm jane dougal. hello, i'mjane dougal. there will be effectively no fans at the old firm match on the 2nd of january at celtic park in scotland. it will be one of many games in the country with limited spectators following first minister nicolasturgeon's announcement that sporting events in the country will effectively be spectator free for up to three weeks. one of the measures coming into place from the 27th of december to halt the spread of the omicron variant. wales had already made the decision to ban spectators from sunday as part of their efforts to control the virus. that announcement comes just a day after the premier league in england opted not to enforce a break on fixtures over the festive season. managers have been speaking about that today. and one of them, chelsea manager thomas tuchel, who was critical of the decision not to postpone his side's weekend game against wolves, was asked if he was disaapointed with the decision. i don't want to give anybody the impression that i have a solution. i don't have a solution. i don't have a solution for the league in general. it was like my thoughts in my speech was particularly for the last two days around the wolverhampton game and coming to the wolverhampton game and coming to the wolverhampton game. that was my concern. it is of course the same concern. it is of course the same concern because, like i said, the guys are still out. for me the experts are the scientists and the doctors, and we should _ scientists and the doctors, and we should follow their guidelines. they should _ should follow their guidelines. they should be _ should follow their guidelines. they should be asked, the premier league should _ should be asked, the premier league shoutd ask— should be asked, the premier league should ask them, not the managers, they should — should ask them, not the managers, they should ask them. because health atways— they should ask them. because health always comes in position number one, above _ always comes in position number one, above everything. if there is one common— above everything. if there is one common behaviour in this pandemic over the _ common behaviour in this pandemic over the last year, it is that we atways— over the last year, it is that we atways act— over the last year, it is that we always act too late, always. and that is _ always act too late, always. and that is mine went from one health crisis _ that is mine went from one health crisis into— that is mine went from one health crisis into another. bbc pundit pat nevin says player welfare must be a consideration. purely from the player point pack grow —— exactly what tom is said, if you have a limited amount of players and you start pushing players who are not ready to play, there is a small injuries that they all play with all the time, they can become much more serious and they can have a longer effect in the entirety of the season. what you don't want to do is affect the sporting integrity, and that is what could happen. you want as many people getting these boosters into their arms, and now allowing them a week or two to take effect. when that happens, we will be any better position to fight against this virus. it is a race against this virus. it is a race against time. the suspicion is that it will look very different from boxing day at afterwards. australia have added uncapped fast bowler scott boland to their squad for the third ashes test in melbourne. boland comes in as cover, while fellow pacemen pat cummins and josh hazelwood also return. as for england, they'll need to re—group after going 2—0 down yesterday. but england coach chris silverwood is sticking by his selections and would pick the same teams again. if you look at the experience that we have, — if you look at the experience that we have, i— if you look at the experience that we have, i was happy. there if you look at the experience that we have, iwas happy. there is atways— we have, iwas happy. there is always going to be divided opinion. you pick— always going to be divided opinion. you pick a — always going to be divided opinion. you pick a team and not everyone is going _ you pick a team and not everyone is going to _ you pick a team and not everyone is going to agree with you. i've got no probtem _ going to agree with you. i've got no problem with that. when you look at the team _ problem with that. when you look at the team we had out in this test, i thought— the team we had out in this test, i thought it — the team we had out in this test, i thought it was a very good bowler attack _ a judge has found the former jockey graham gibbons was responsible for the fall that left fellow jockey freddy tylicki paralysed from the waist down. the high court ruled that gibbons' actions were reckless. the incident at kampton took place in october 2016 when his horse was brought down by the horse ridden by graham gibbons. the stewards on the night ruled the incident to be accidental.