and unfortunately cancel people for new year's eve. omicron is causing chaos in the airline industry — 6,000 flights cancelled around the world over the christmas weekend. hello and welcome to bbc news. the former archbishop of cape town, desmond tutu, the leading anti apartheid campaigner who helped bring down white rule in south africa, has died at the age of 90. desmond tutu was uncompromisingly opposed to violence and was awarded the nobel peace prize in 1984. after nelson mandela became president, he headed the truth and reconciliation commission, investigating the crimes of white rule. nomsa maseko looks back at his life. he was first and foremost a priest, not a politician. but for the best part of half a century, he was the face of reconciliation and south africa's moral compass. the system of this country, apartheid, is immoral. the system of this country is evil. desmond mpilo tutu remained outside of party politics, but he used the church as a platform for protest against white minority rule. it was under south africa's oppressive government that he first campaigned against apartheid. when emotions were boiling over, his influence helped prevent bloodshed. and in 1984, he was given the highest recognition for his efforts. when you've been given the nobel peace prize, it doesn't really belong to you. or, in a way, you can say it makes you answerable to the world. i mean, the world has a piece of you. he was a compassionate and sensitive man, one who would cry along with the victims as they gave their harrowing evidence at the truth and reconciliation commission. it was tutu who coined the phrase rainbow nation to describe south africa's ethnic diversity, preaching unity in the face of adversity. but even after south africa became a democratic country, desmond tutu was not afraid to speak out against injustices, and he was often scathing in his criticism of the governing anc. i am warning you, i am warning you that we will pray as we prayed for the downfall of the apartheid government. we will pray for the downfall of the government that misrepresents us. a spiritual figure with a global influence, there were few issues in the world that desmond tutu has not spoken out about. from human rights abuses to climate change to poverty. when you want peace, you negotiate not with your friends, that is at least what we discovered in south africa. that is what they discovered in northern ireland. you talk to the ones that you least like. what i would remember is his moral courage. after going on his knees, no situation was insurmountable. and for him, that passes that if god is for us, then nothing can be against us. it was not just a cliche, it was something that he believed. it is an enormous loss for south africa. but desmond tutu's irrepressible sense of humour and relentless pursuit ofjustice will long be remembered by all. tributes have been coming in from leaders around the world. the prime minister of india, narenda modi, said... justin welby, the archbishop of canterbury, described desmond tutu as "a man of words and action". he told the bbc that he also had a great sense of humour. the most striking thing was the value he put on every human life. he was angry with injustice so if the perpetrators of injustice turned away from what they'd done wrong he was quick to form forgiveness and form friendships. his life was patterned onjesus christ and he had this extraordinary bubbly overwhelming sense of humour. you laughed the whole time when you met him. the last time i met him two or three years ago i went to see him in south africa, and he was there with his family and i think that stands out because here was someone who with his family was what you saw in public, you saw what you got. and he was there surrounded by those closest to him, he was up with the news and willing to tease and to challenge and he was just the most remarkable man and he used to send fantastic e—mails, always signed off as arch, short for archbishop and he was extraordinary. but you also knew that to his dying day he was constantly focused onjesus christ, and that was where he got his sense of integrity and truth from. let's get more reaction now from people in south africa to the archbishop�*s death. we have lost a great icon, a father, a human who was there, notjust for the african people, the south african people, but for africa as a nation. africa as a unit, africa as one. i feel very, very, very down emotionally right now because he was somebody that almost everybody liked, especially the kids. they love him. we are very sad. very sad. it was a real shock to us. he was a great man. yes, somebody to look up to. we are really going to miss him. i've been speaking to drjohn sentamu, the former archbishop of york — who knew desmond tutu well. i asked him what made desmond tutu such an effective campaigner against apartheid. i think it will be what he himself would say, that his feet were firmly on the ground, but always looking to the horizon of hope. he was like a bird. when birds fly, they take off, always the feet are pointing downwards. that's why they are able to land properly. and for him, he was so rooted in christ that he feared nothing. he always had this amazing faith, and a monk in south africa, tutu's mother was the housekeeper, and as he said as a young boy he could not understand why a white man, every time his mother came into the house, he would take off his cap and doff it to her. and one day he asked him, "why do you do this?" because no other person does it in south africa. and he said, "because your mother is walking on holy ground." and that was a tremendous influence on him because he had seen that not all white people behaved very badly towards black south africans, and that is what made him the sort of person he was. he was, though, a man of peace. he won the nobel peace prize. there were some people who wanted to oppose white rule with violence, but he was very much a man of peace. yes, because he would say... and he had a lot of phrases he actually came up with. he said, "every human person is a stand—in for god, so when you encounter another person, even the enemy, you have got to treat them in the way god has made them, to be in his image and likeness." and therefore there was no question of violence. i could neverforget his praise to an eight—year—old girl who asked him, "how do you become a nobel peace prize winner?" and he said, "well, you have got to have a very simple name like tutu. you have got to have a big nose. and you have got to have sexy legs." now, this is desmond tutu! he was describing how he won it. in other words, it is given as a gift. you don't earn it. we'll have more on desmond tutu a little later on the programme. new coronavirus restrictions have come into force in wales, scotland and northern ireland, to try to slow the spread of the 0micron variant in the uk. borisjohnson has not announced any further restrictions in england. ministers in england aren't expected to discuss whether to impose further measures until tomorrow. it comes as nearly 6,000 flights have been cancelled around the world over the christmas weekend, as the spread of the 0micron variant causes chaos in the airline industry. more than 100,000 daily infections have been recorded in france. that's a new record for three consecutive days. and cases of the virus are surging in countries around the world. we'll have more on the situation in europe in a moment, but first tomos morgan has been looking at how the rules now differ across the four nations of the uk. another winter and another set of restrictions. social life will be curtailed yet again in wales, scotland, and northern ireland as the devolved governments have brought restrictions in again as an attempt to slow the spread of the 0micron variant to ease pressure on the nhs, and to give more people the opportunity to be boosted at mass vaccination centres. having only reopened less then six months ago, nightclubs will have to turn their lights off once again in both wales and northern ireland from today. some industry bosses feel like they're being made scapegoats in this latest round of rules. we've essentially had 11.5 months of trade and we're back here again. and the issue is, we are not clear when this will be lifted. we have not been provided yet with any data on why this sector particularly has been closed and what conditions will need to be met for the sector to be reopened again. restrictions on large events and spectator sports will also apply from today in wales and scotland. there were due to be 10,000 fans here at cardiff's arms park today to watch the festive rugby derby — they will now have to watch from home. a total ban on spectators at sporting and large events in wales from now on. but in scotland, the premier league have moved their winter break forward due to measures to limiting maximum capacity in stadiums there, much to the dismay of fans. across all hospitality venues, the rule of six is back in wales, as is social distancing. smaller tables mean smaller profits and two metres means fewer guests. the two—metre rule obviously has a massive effect. new year's eve, we've got full capacity but with the two metre rule we've probably lost 20% of the capacity so we have had to phone a few people and unfortunately cancel people for new year's eve. while restrictions in northern ireland and its scottish pubs and restaurants come into force tomorrow, the stormont executive said they would keep the measures under review. whilst first minister nicola sturgeon told the public theirs would be in place for at least three weeks. meanwhile, her counterpart further south, mark drakeford, said rules will be reviewed frequently. his next three—weekly assessment is due at the end ofjanuary. with large events due to be attended by thousands of people across the uk called off, it looks like this new year's eve will be just as subdued as the last. tomos morgan, bbc news. as we've been reporting, the spread of 0micron is continuing to cause chaos in the airline industry. nearly 6,000 flights have been cancelled around the world over the christmas weekend. it's disrupted holiday plans for many families. positive covid tests, travel restrictions and flight cancellations — for some this is not the merriest holiday season. many governments have insisted christmas is not cancelled this year but with the 0micron variant spreading and cases of coronavirus on the rise, many have been forced to spend christmas in isolation. this happened to one mother whose son fell ill. we tested him that morning and he was instantly positive, before it even finished running along the lateral strip. all of our christmas plans stopped, our hearts sank. even without a positive covid test, millions of had travel disrupted with last—minute travel restrictions causing many to change their plans. airlines cancelled more than 4000 flights around the world. some staff at airports having to isolate. i caught up with my cousin whose plans were hit by travel restrictions and covid. tara, ourfamily is in france, i am in the bbc newsroom, i volunteered but you are alone with your partner on christmas day in london. what happened 7 once the restrictions kicked in, i rearrange plans to spend christmas here with my partner's family and then we started getting symptoms on monday, tested positive for covid on wednesday and have been isolating since, so our christmas plans on both sides have been sort of thrown into a bit of chaos because of covid. despite best efforts to make this christmas better than the last, this the pandemic is still front and centre of this holiday season. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. officials in congo say at least six people _ officials in congo say at least six people have been killed in a suicide bomb_ people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in a crowded restaurant. that, _ bomb attack in a crowded restaurant. that, detonated the advice, killing himself and five other people. some of the worst floods have killed more than 50 people. some of the worst floods seen in malaysia for decades are now known to have killed nearly 50 people. tens of thousands were displaced following torrential rain, which caused rivers to overflow a week ago. the floods left some places underwater and trapped people in their homes for days. the bodies of sixteen iraqi kurds who drowned when their inflatable boat sank last month in the channel while trying to reach the uk have been returned to northern iraq. the plane carrying them arrived early on sunday at the airport of the regional capital, irbil, where theirfamilies had been waiting for two days. as well as wales ordering sports events to take place without fans to help fight omicron, further afield all sporting activity in belgium will also be held behind closed doors from today. it's bad news forfans — but for players, maybe not so much. researchers in austria have found that footballers are calmer when playing behind closed doors and less likely to get into arguments with their opponents. the scientists at the university of salzburg studied ten matches involving the team red bull salzburg prior to lockdown and ten matches after lockdown to get their surprising findings. dr fabio richlan is co—author of the study and a sports psychologist at the university of salzburg. good to talk to you. this is a bit counterintuitive, because he would think that the fans would drive players on and motivate them and get them going. players on and motivate them and get them anoin. , ., �*, players on and motivate them and get them anoin. , . �*, ., , them going. yes, that's actually the case. what them going. yes, that's actually the me what we _ them going. yes, that's actually the case. what we found _ them going. yes, that's actually the case. what we found was _ them going. yes, that's actually the case. what we found was that - them going. yes, that's actually the case. what we found was that they l case. what we found was that they were just less emotional situations in these games behind closed doors and there were less protests, less word fights, discussions between players and between players and the referee, but there was an increase in the so—called self adaptation behaviour. the players tried to deal with their own emotions, for example after a missed chance, and this behaviour increased because sometimes the crowd can help the players to deal with situations and help them to keep focused, and this was more difficult games behind closed doors. 50 was more difficult games behind closed doors.— closed doors. so do you think a better football _ closed doors. so do you think a better football was _ closed doors. so do you think a better football was produced i closed doors. so do you think a i better football was produced with the fans without funds? obviously, the fans without funds? obviously, the fans without funds? obviously, the fans are _ the fans without funds? obviously, the fans are a _ the fans without funds? obviously, the fans are a big _ the fans without funds? obviously, the fans are a big part _ the fans without funds? obviously, the fans are a big part of _ the fans without funds? obviously, the fans are a big part of football, | the fans are a big part of football, so is a big part that produces this atmosphere and i think a better football is actually with these emotional situations. it was more effectual football, actually, emotional situations. it was more effectualfootball, actually, so it may more effectual football, actually, so maybe more focused on the quality of their tactics and so on, but overall i enjoy the games with the fans even more. for example. — with the fans even more. for example. i — with the fans even more. for example, i follow— with the fans even more. for example, i follow liverpool, and example, ifollow liverpool, and they appeared to suffer without funds because traditionally they have an incredible atmosphere at anfield, and when they didn't have fans the feeling was that as a team and club they had actually suffered. that is right. we did some research on the home advantage affect and it clearly shows that it has been affected, we even stood an analysis of all published studies on this topic and we found a systematic and robust reduction of the home advantage. a team like liverpool probably suffers even more from this effect. it is still there, to a certain extent, but it is significantly reducing games behind closed doors. significantly reducing games behind closed doom-— closed doors. fabia, thank you for talkin: to closed doors. fabia, thank you for talking to us- _ let's return to our top stpry this hour — the announcement that the nobel peace prize laureate archbisop desmond tutu has died. niclas kjellstrom—matseke is the chairperson of the desmond and leah tutu legacy foundation. thank you forjoining us. where would you put desmond tutu in the pantheon of their heroes in south africa who struggled against white minority rule and apartheid? fin a minority rule and apartheid? on a da like minority rule and apartheid? on a day like this _ minority rule and apartheid? on a day like this you _ minority rule and apartheid? on a day like this you feel— minority rule and apartheid? q�*i —. day like this you feel sorrow but also gratitude and thankfulness to the man who had been guiding us, but only in south africa, but throughout the world in understanding the importance of listening to others, evenif importance of listening to others, even if they might beat your opponent or a former enemy, in order for you to give yourself a chance to understand and therefore make up your own line if you would like to reconcile. —— your mind. and i think that it's one of the great things about desmond tutu, who is now laid to rest. we about desmond tutu, who is now laid to rest. ~ . ., ., , to rest. we are having trouble heafina to rest. we are having trouble hearing yom _ to rest. we are having trouble hearing you. let _ to rest. we are having trouble hearing you. let me _ to rest. we are having trouble hearing you. let me ask- to rest. we are having trouble hearing you. let me ask you, | to rest. we are having trouble l hearing you. let me ask you, as to rest. we are having trouble - hearing you. let me ask you, as a man, what was he like? we saw him as a campaigner, a man of peace, a nobel peace prizewinner, but as a man, what he like? i nobel peace prizewinner, but as a man, what he like?— man, what he like? i had the rivileue man, what he like? i had the privilege of— man, what he like? i had the privilege of spending - man, what he like? i had the privilege of spending a - man, what he like? i had the privilege of spending a lot i man, what he like? i had the privilege of spending a lot of| man, what he like? i had the - privilege of spending a lot of time with the man desmond tutu, and he would be a person who would bring up the most difficult and uncomfortable topics in any situation that he had to... he had to speak against unfairness and inequality. at the same time, while he was doing that, he would crack a joke and actually let people come into the conversation... let people come into the conversation. . ._ let people come into the conversation... �* . . ., conversation... i'm afraid we are auoin to conversation... i'm afraid we are going to have — conversation... i'm afraid we are going to have to _ conversation... i'm afraid we are going to have to leave _ conversation... i'm afraid we are going to have to leave it - conversation... i'm afraid we are going to have to leave it there i going to have to leave it there because the sound quality is really not quite up to scratch. thank you so much indeed forjoining us. i'm sorry, wejust haven't so much indeed forjoining us. i'm sorry, we just haven't got good enough audio quality. thank you for your memories and thoughts on archbishop desmond tutu who was very sadly died at the age of 90. for millions of people around the world — christmas day has drawn to a close. it's been another difficult festive season, but people still found time to celebrate. tim allman reports. sometimes you just have to make the best of things. here in northern romania. father christmas and a troop of carol singers were doing the rounds, bringing a little festive cheer and an awful lot of sugar. ho, ho, ho. we have given out more than 5000 chocolates, cakes, candles and waffles for every home.— and waffles for every home. people celebrate in — and waffles for every home. people celebrate in a _ and waffles for every home. people celebrate in a variety _ and waffles for every home. people celebrate in a variety of _ and waffles for every home. people celebrate in a variety of different i celebrate in a variety of different ways. in bournemouth they ran into the sea, despite that far from ideal temperatures. a certain dash of masochism perhaps, but some altruism as well. it was all in aid of a local charity. more christmas compassion in rome. the church of santa maria laying on its traditional annual lunch for the poor and needy. a generosity of spirit perhaps needed now more than ever. ., ., ., , ever. fighting together against difficulties and _ ever. fighting together against difficulties and accepting - ever. fighting together against difficulties and accepting that l ever. fighting together against - difficulties and accepting that hope is also fragile, like a child that needs to be cared for, protected and cherished. that is how we do it, with friendship, the strength of sympathy. with friendship, the strength of s math. ~ , with friendship, the strength of smath.~ , , sympathy. merry christmas. happy holida s. sympathy. merry christmas. happy holidays- happy _ sympathy. merry christmas. happy holidays. happy new— sympathy. merry christmas. happy holidays. happy new year - sympathy. merry christmas. happy holidays. happy new year from - sympathy. merry christmas. happy holidays. happy new year from all| sympathy. merry christmas. happy l holidays. happy new year from all of the expedition 66.— the expedition 66. christmas wishes from 400 kilometres _ the expedition 66. christmas wishes from 400 kilometres above - the expedition 66. christmas wishes from 400 kilometres above the - the expedition 66. christmas wishes l from 400 kilometres above the earth. and christmas wishes from 400 kilometres above the earth. the crew of the international space station, most wearing festive hats, where the celebrating the holidays as best they could in zero gravity amongst their number, father christmas riding what appears to be a turtle. he certainly gets about. tim allman, bbc news. a reminder of our top story... the former archbishop of cape town, desmond tutu, the leading anti apartheid campaigner who helped bring down white rule in south africa, has died at the age of 90. desmond tutu was uncompromisingly opposed to violence and was awarded the nobel peace prize in 1984. after nelson mandela became president, he headed the truth and reconciliation commission investigating the crimes of white rule. you have been watching bbc news. hello, merry christmas. if you have plans today to get out for a boxing day walk, the weather looks really mixed out there. we have a bit of everything thrown into the forecast. some rain and sleet and hill snow around but it should ease later on. and there will be some sunshine for those lucky few across south—west england, wales and perhaps northern ireland. for the bulk of the uk, though, it is quite cloudy. we have a couple of weather fronts pushing northwards. as milder air pushes into that cold air that's still in place across the north—east of the uk, that's where we see that mix of rain, sleet and hill snow. there's been quite heavy snow for the pennines and the southern uplands as well. as we move into the afternoon, most of this snow in the north will tend to ease a little bit. but we will still see quite a lot of wet weather across parts of eastern england, some low cloud, some murkiness around, too. some brighter skies for parts of northern ireland and wales and the south west but still a few showers working in, and it will feel quite breezy, too — average winds around 14 mph in the east but we could see gusts of up to about 40 mph. it's not going to feel particularly warm — four or five degrees across scotland and northern england, particularly where you've got lying snow around into the afternoon. a bit milder towards the south and south—west. through this evening and overnight, we'll see some drier weather developing, but also some quite extensive mist and fog as well — quite a murky night for many of us. temperatures holding on into mid single figures for most places, but we'll see a touch of frost for parts of northern england and scotland under some clearer spells with lying snow around in places still. heading on into monday, the next area of low pressure this arrives from the south—west bringing potentially wet and quite windy weather for the likes of the channel islands, south—west england into wales through the course of the morning. pushing slowly north and east, so much of wales and the southern half of england seeing blustery and wet weather. but further north for northern england, northern ireland and scotland, an improved day on monday with some sunshine coming through — six or seven in the north and 11 or 12 further south. so, quite a contrast in temperature at the moment, but we have got very mild air working in through the course of this week across all of the uk, dragging in that breeze from the south—west. so, it looks fairly unsettled for the final week of 2021, but temperatures certainly very mild, 16 or 17 degrees through the middle of the week. an unsettled end, though, to 2021. bye— bye. hello again. this is bbc news with me, ben brown. here are the headlines. archbisop desmond tutu, nobel peace prize laureate and veteran of south africa's struggle against apartheid — has died at the age of 90. after nelson mandela became president, tutu headed the truth and reconciliation commission, investigating the crimes of the apartheid era. new coronavirus restrictions come into force in scotland, wales and northern ireland — as the uk's devolved nations try to limit the spread of the omicron variant. england is waiting for more data. omicron is causing chaos in the airline industry — 6,000 flights cancelled around the world over the christmas weekend. nearly 1,000 planes were grounded just in the united states on christmas day. police in britain have arrested a 19—year—old man who broke into the grounds of windsor castle, where the queen is spending christmas.