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 ninety. 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. let's get more now from our nomsa maseko, whojoins us live from soweto, outside desmond tutu's home. what has been the reaction from people in south africa to the news of his death?— people in south africa to the news of his death? really sad news, the -aassin of of his death? really sad news, the passing of desmond _ of his death? really sad news, the passing of desmond tutu. - of his death? really sad news, the passing of desmond tutu. a - of his death? really sad news, the passing of desmond tutu. a lot. of his death? really sad news, the passing of desmond tutu. a lot of| passing of desmond tutu. a lot of people reflecting on his legacy and what he stood for as south africa's moral compass and unifying figure, who in fact outside his home people have come to pay their last respects, light a candle. we know that he hasn't lived in this house for a very long time. he donated this house to the church, but that has not stopped mourners here in soweto together outside his home to pay their last respects. this soweto together outside his home to pay their last respects.— pay their last respects. as you were sa in: , he pay their last respects. as you were saying. he is— pay their last respects. as you were saying, he is such _ pay their last respects. as you were saying, he is such a _ pay their last respects. as you were saying, he is such a gigantic- pay their last respects. as you were saying, he is such a gigantic figure | saying, he is such a gigantic figure in the struggle against apartheid, and will always be remembered as such. ., , and will always be remembered as such. . , ., ., such. indeed, he was the man who coined the — such. indeed, he was the man who coined the phrase _ such. indeed, he was the man who coined the phrase rainbow - such. indeed, he was the man who coined the phrase rainbow nation l such. indeed, he was the man who| coined the phrase rainbow nation in his description of south africa two ethnic diversity and because of the apartheid legacy that south africa is still trying to fight against, 27 years into democracy. let's speak to the bbc�*s world affairs editorjohn simpson. talk to us about desmond tutu, the man. as we heard in that report, he had moral courage but also a mischievous sense of humour and he was a charismatic figure.— was a charismatic figure. absolutely tremendous _ was a charismatic figure. absolutely tremendous. full— was a charismatic figure. absolutely tremendous. full of— was a charismatic figure. absolutely tremendous. full of mischief- was a charismatic figure. absolutely tremendous. full of mischief and i tremendous. full of mischief and jollity but always... neverjust tremendous. full of mischief and jollity but always... never just a sweetness, although the sweetness was definitely there, but that was never the sole feeling that you had when you were with him. for one reason or another, i hadn't met him until 1994, when the run up to the election which brought nelson mandela to power happened, and i went to st george's cathedral in cape town and saw him. a long line of visiting journalists, and i was just another one. but the way in which he treated you that really separated him from most people, i remember he grabbed both my hands, looked up at me because he was so short, with a real kind ofjollity and excitement to him. and he said how much he loved the bbc and what it had done. and he was so kind of mischievous that it was fun, and he said, he did say to me then, come to the thanksgiving service which took place after the election, which was peaceful. almost everybody except desmond tutu himself thought it was going to be a violent election. in fact, it was utterly peaceful. he said, i think you will find something of interest there. afterwards, i sat there doing the service —— during the service. and i think that is when he used the phrase rainbow nation first. and it had such a gripping effect. and that was the great sadness of his life after that that south africa never really was able to live up to that sense of the rainbow nation, where everybody two ethnicity and background was celebrated. £31 background was celebrated. of course, it took huge courage to stand up in the campaign against apartheid, against white minority rule, but he also stood up against the men of violence who wanted to oppose apartheid through violent means. he was very much a minor piece, wasn't it? he won nobel peace prize, of course. find piece, wasn't it? he won nobel peace prize. of course-— prize, of course. and it was his refusal to _ prize, of course. and it was his refusal to back _ prize, of course. and it was his refusal to back the _ prize, of course. and it was his refusal to back the armed - refusal to back the armed insurrection or any form of armed violence against apartheid, which caused him actually to put a certain amount of water between him and nelson mandela, who reluctantly supported the armed struggle. they made it up very quickly, and in fact it was desmond tutu's house that nelson mandela went and spent a night out on his first night out of prison after 27 years. but there was always that sense with desmond tutu that you felt that yes, he was an immensely loving and kind and understanding person, but it didn't get in the way of principle. and one of those principles was the sense of the necessity to fight for justice and peace. and it is true that he did, in 2014, say that he would pray for the downfall of the anc government, just as he had prayed for the downfall of apartheid. but the reason he said that was that the south african government, the anc government, buckled under the pressure of china and withdrew its invitation to the dalai lama to come to south africa and desmond tutu was incensed with anger that the south african government should behave and what he regarded as such a cowardly manner on something that was so important to him.— important to him. briefly, where would you _ important to him. briefly, where would you say — important to him. briefly, where would you say he _ important to him. briefly, where would you say he stands - important to him. briefly, where would you say he stands in - important to him. briefly, where would you say he stands in the l would you say he stands in the pantheon of the heroes who fought against white minority rule, who fought against apartheid and fought for a rainbow nation? where will his to replace him, do you think? i think only perhaps an inch or two lower than nelson mandela. he didn't fight for anything, he lower than nelson mandela. he didn't fight foranything, hejust fight for anything, he just absolutely fight foranything, hejust absolutely adhered to the principles of decency and justice and non—violence, and that summed up his entire life. it wasn't his political force that kept him in that position, it was his moralforce. john, a pleasure to talk to you to remember the life of desmond tutu. thank you so much. john simpson. 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 4.5 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. they 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. azadeh moshiri reports. 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 ? once the restrictions kicked in, i rearranged 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, the pandemic is still front and centre of this holiday season. italy is one of countries experiencing unprecedented levels of coronavirus infections. for more on the situation there i spoke to dr raffaele bruno who is professor of infectious diseases at the university of pavia in italy. right now the situation in italy is worsening rapidly. we now have more than 50,000 people infected. however, there pressure on hospitals is sustainable. the prevalent strain is sustainable. the prevalent strain is omicron. also, we would like to underline that we need to say more than 85% of the population over 12 are already vaccinated.— are already vaccinated. rapidly sreadin: are already vaccinated. rapidly spreading omicron _ are already vaccinated. rapidly spreading omicron in - are already vaccinated. rapidly spreading omicron in italy. - are already vaccinated. rapidly spreading omicron in italy. it l are already vaccinated. rapidly| spreading omicron in italy. it is worse in the north?— spreading omicron in italy. it is worse in the north? yes, the problem is now in the — worse in the north? yes, the problem is now in the north, _ worse in the north? yes, the problem is now in the north, but _ worse in the north? yes, the problem is now in the north, but this _ worse in the north? yes, the problem is now in the north, but this bread - is now in the north, but this bread is now in the north, but this bread is very fast because it is also a right to south italy.— is very fast because it is also a right to south italy. what about government — right to south italy. what about government restrictions? - right to south italy. what about government restrictions? what| right to south italy. what about - government restrictions? what sort of measures are in place in italy to slow the spread of coronavirus and the new variant?— the new variant? restrictions, it is compulsory _ the new variant? restrictions, it is compulsory to _ the new variant? restrictions, it is compulsory to wear _ the new variant? restrictions, it is compulsory to wear masks - the new variant? restrictions, it is compulsory to wear masks even i compulsory to wear masks even outdoors, and all parties... buti outdoors, and all parties... butl was saying. _ outdoors, and all parties... butl was saying. italy _ outdoors, and all parties... butl was saying, italy has _ outdoors, and all parties... butl was saying, italy has suffered i outdoors, and all parties... but i was saying, italy has suffered as much if not more than most european countries in terms of deaths. what about the vaccine take up in italy at the moment? how many people are being vaccinated against covid? right now it is 85% over 12 already vaccinated. ~ ., right now it is 85% over 12 already vaccinated. ~ . ., ,., right now it is 85% over 12 already vaccinated. ~ . ., vaccinated. what about the booster programme. _ vaccinated. what about the booster programme, which _ vaccinated. what about the booster programme, which here _ vaccinated. what about the booster programme, which here in - vaccinated. what about the booster programme, which here in the - vaccinated. what about the booster programme, which here in the uk. vaccinated. what about the booster l programme, which here in the uk the government are really prioritising getting booster vaccines into as many people as possible. it is at the same in _ many people as possible. it is at the same in italy? _ many people as possible. it is at the same in italy? yes, - many people as possible. it is at the same in italy? yes, the - many people as possible. it is at| the same in italy? yes, the same many people as possible. it is at i the same in italy? yes, the same in italy. there was right now the focus is to push at their maximum level the possibility to do the third dose, the booster dose. what the possibility to do the third dose, the booster dose. what is in the mood of— dose, the booster dose. what is in the mood of people _ dose, the booster dose. what is in the mood of people in _ dose, the booster dose. what is in the mood of people in italy? i dose, the booster dose. what is in i the mood of people in italy? because he suffered so much at the very beginning of the pandemic. this must feel like it has been such a long struggle for them. they must be desperately weary.— desperately weary. yeah, the situation. _ desperately weary. yeah, the situation, i _ desperately weary. yeah, the situation, i told _ desperately weary. yeah, the situation, i told you - desperately weary. yeah, the situation, i told you before, l desperately weary. yeah, the | situation, i told you before, is situation, itold you before, is worsening. the people are afraid because it is like the first wave of the situation. 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 malaysian government has been criticised for its slow response and failure to issue flood warnings. people in more than 100 cities in the philippines are without power following typhoon rai, which ripped through the country ten days ago. disaster officials warn it may take till february to restore all electricity supplies. tens of thousands of homes were damaged and there's still a lack of food and clean water. 378 people are now known to have been killed by the typhoon, and about 60 are still missing. the sudanese authorities have said 58 policemen were injured during saturday's pro—democracy protests against military rule. they said more than 100 people had been arrested in the capital khartoum and would face legal action. a doctors' union allied to the pro—democracy movement has accused the security forces of using excessive violence against the demonstrators. it said at least 178 demonstrators had been injured,some by live bullets fired by the security forces. the taliban say women in afghanistan seeking to travel other than short distances should not be offered transport unless accompanied by a close male relative. the taliban also directed all vehicle owners to offer rides only to women wearing islamic face coverings or hijabs. activists say the taliban's interpretation of hijab is unclear and most afghan women already wear headscarves. the motown singer wanda young, who sang the 1961 classic please mr postman, has died at the aged of 78. music: please mr postman. young was the lead singer of the marvelettes for several years in the 1960s, before going on to have a solo career. the marvelettes were widely regarded as first key female motown group, but let's get more reaction now to the death of archbishop desmond tutu. tributes have been coming in from leaders around the world. the president of south africa, cyril ramaphosa, has posted on twitter saying... the prime minister of india, narenda modi, said... 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. remembering desmond tutu who has died at the age of 90. 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 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. this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. tributes pour in for archbisop desmond tutu, nobel laureate and veteran of south africa's struggle against apartheid — who has died at the age of 90. new coronavirus restrictions come into force in scotland, wales and northern ireland — as the uk's devolved administrations try to limit the spread of the omicron variant. omicron causes chaos for travellers — 7,000 flights cancelled around the world over the christmas weekend. three, two, one! cheering. and swimmers across the uk take the plunge in festive style and follow a christmas tradition.