kind in the united states. leaders from around the world have been paying tribute to desmond tutu, one of the heroes of the anti—apartheid movement, who's died at the age of 90. president biden praised the courage and moral clarity of the former archbishop of cape town. the un secretary general, antonio guterres, called him an inspiration to generations. our africa correspondent andrew harding looks back at his life. raise our hands and we say we will be free! desmond tutu was an exuberant figure, an outspoken anglican priest who became one of the world's great moral voices. it was during south africa's long and violent struggle against white minority rule that he rose to prominence, condemning the apartheid government, comparing them to the nazis. the system of this country, apartheid, is immoral. the system of this country is evil. with nelson mandela hidden away in prison, tutu soon became the face of south africa's struggle for freedom and forjustice. he leaves behind a legacy, one of the last of the generation of people who told us that apartheid was wrong and stood up for human rights everywhere. and he never stopped doing that. in 1994, tutu was awarded the nobel peace prize and he used his global platform to criticise britain and america for being too soft on the apartheid government. eventually mandela was released, but the advent of democracy presented tutu with new challenges in a country that he now dubbed "the rainbow nation". often in tears, tutu presided over south africa's truth and reconciliation commission, seeking to expose and to heal the wounds of apartheid. he specialised in forgiveness, but with accountability. and that pursuit ofjustice continued, especially when south africa's democratic politicians plunged into corruption. 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 a government that misrepresents us. inevitably, desmond tutu made enemies, but his genius was for winning people over, one could say for provoking love. he certainly wants that when he dies the epitaph will be very clear — that desmond tutu loved, he laughed, he cried, and that is what he was, he was always a man of tremendous joy. the one thing that helps desmond tutu stand out and occupy this unique place in south african history is that he was there at every step of the way through this country's tortuous journey from apartheid to democracy and beyond, with that clear, moral, often angry, sometimes laughing voice, a man defined above all by his sense of hope. flags will fly at half—mast across south africa with a week of tributes being organised to remember archbishop tutu, or �*arch', as he liked to be known. his funeral will take place on the first of january. many south africans have been gathering outside his homes in cape town and soweto to lay wreaths and light candles. our correspondent nomsa maseko reports from soweto. paying their last respects, people from all walks of life dropped off flowers at desmond tutu's home. he was the voice of reason, the face of reconciliation and south africa's moral compass. it reconciliation and south africa's moral compass. it is a dark day to — africa's moral compass. it is a dark day to south _ africa's moral compass. it is a dark day to south africans - dark day to south africans because he is the light and the icon of this country. he because he is the light and the icon of this country.— icon of this country. he used to be a father _ icon of this country. he used to be a father to _ icon of this country. he used to be a father to us. - icon of this country. he used to be a father to us. his - icon of this country. he used to be a father to us. his wife is to— to be a father to us. his wife is to be _ to be a father to us. his wife is to be a _ to be a father to us. his wife is to be a mother to us. it was desmond _ is to be a mother to us. it was desmond tutu, _ is to be a mother to us. it was desmond tutu, known - desmond tutu, known affectionately as the arch who coined the phrase the rainbow nation to describe south africa's ethnic diversity. if you had a problem you would go to him and he would give you a prayer and then he would go to the chapel and pray for us every day when we had problems. several memorial services are expected to be held in march of desmond tutu over the next few days. the people here, they remember the arch as a unifying figure who helped south africa become a democracy. flowers were laid in cape town where he died in his home surrounded by family and friends. a seven—day sendoff is being planned including a mass to be planned by the anglican church. helen clark is the former prime minister of new zealand. she joins us from waihi in the north of the country. helen clark, thank you very much indeed forjoining us. in essence, your story is a special one in that you did not meet desmond tutu, and yet he seems to have been through his moral compass, through his moral compass, through his moral clarity, asjoe biden put it, a driving force and an inspiration for you? yes. desmond _ inspiration for you? yes. desmond tutu _ inspiration for you? yes. desmond tutu was - inspiration for you? yes. | desmond tutu was simply inspiration for you? yes. - desmond tutu was simply one of the greatest living beings of our lifetimes. the anti—apartheid movement was very strong in new zealand from the 1960s on and as a student, i was involved in that, and we took great inspiration from those who were so prominent and outspoken against it. when you, of course, of nelson mandela and his comrades who were suffering on robin island and to the exiles and the uprising. we began to hear of bishop desmond tutu is voice, a prominent voice of peace and nonviolence and a voice of reason, and he was an inspiration to the movement around the world, both at home in south africa and thousands of miles away in new zealand where people took up the cause for human rights and democracy in south africa. find in south africa. and inspirational - in south africa. and inspirational voice l in south africa. and i inspirational voice for in south africa. and - inspirational voice for you, a challenging voice actually from new zealand at the time through the 70s and the 80s when the springboks and the all blacks were prepared to compete against each other. i presume that was part of the reason for your own commitment to the cause? , , , cause? yes. it is shocking, reall , cause? yes. it is shocking, really. that _ cause? yes. it is shocking, really, that new _ cause? yes. it is shocking, really, that new zealand i really, that new zealand accommodated white tour rent teens from south africa all that time up until the mid—i9 80s and teams went from new zealand two south africa as well and desmond tutu's voice was heard against that and this helps to mobilise new zealand for change, and that change began to happen with the government elected in 1980, 84, with our prime minister at the time, david longley, a mock monumental human being, visiting the frontline states in southern africa and new zealand change course officially to join the movement for change. but without those voices coming from within south africa, powerfulvoices voices coming from within south africa, powerful voices like desmond tutu, the world would not have rallied the way it did and that is how we will remember him, that he put his own life at risk to do what he did, and this must never be forgotten. de did, and this must never be forgotten-— forgotten. de klerk died recently _ forgotten. de klerk died recently as _ forgotten. de klerk died recently as well. - forgotten. de klerk died recently as well. you . forgotten. de klerk died l recently as well. you gave forgotten. de klerk died - recently as well. you gave a tribute to him. it is complex in south africa?— tribute to him. it is complex in south africa? very complex and i in south africa? very complex and i was _ in south africa? very complex and i was just _ in south africa? very complex and i wasjust reading - in south africa? very complex and i wasjust reading what i and i was just reading what desmond tutu said about fw de klerk. you did welcome his reforms in the release of nelson mandela and he said words to the effect that someone has emerge here who is greater than we expected, so out of really quite an unpromising background of the national party which had brought apartheid to south africa came a reformer, and sometimes at these bleakest hours, someone will emerge from a system like that who says, "we got it wrong." again, the base had to be laid in south africa for that to happen and let us not underestimate the role and contribution of desmond tutu.- role and contribution of desmond tutu. , ., ,~' desmond tutu. let me 'ust ask ou this desmond tutu. let me 'ust ask you this then. * desmond tutu. let me 'ust ask you this then, helen, _ desmond tutu. let me just ask you this then, helen, with - desmond tutu. let me just ask you this then, helen, with the l you this then, helen, with the passing of desmond tutu, and he is someone who represents the passing of this era in many ways. what a sense of hope or otherwise do you have for south africa, for a country that — you have spent many decades focusing on as a political motif for you?— focusing on as a political motif for you? focusing on as a political motif for ou? , , motif for you? yes, well, times are challenging _ motif for you? yes, well, times are challenging for _ motif for you? yes, well, times are challenging for south - are challenging for south africa, for all the reasons that we are aware of, but i think one of the great legacies of nelson mandela and of desmond tutu was to create a south africa up with a very strong constitution, with human rights and the rule of law embedded in it so that no matter what dreadful things we hear about with the corruption in particular, we know that there is a system ofjustice which can stand up to this with a strong constitution, so that i think is where we put our hope. i think president ramaphosa also gives us hope that he stands for something that he stands for something thatis that he stands for something that is better than his predecessor did, much better, so let's hope that south africa works its way through to what those who worked so hard for a free south africa most aspire. indeed. helen clark, thank you very much for sharing your views on the of desmond tutu. —— passing of desmond tutu. let's get some of the day's other news. israel's government has approved a $300 million plan to consolidate its control of the golan heights. this area is regarded by most of the world as occupied territory. it was captured from syria during the six—day war more than half a century ago and later annexed. the israeli prime minister, naftali bennett, told a special cabinet meeting held in the golan that the aim was to double thejewish population there to nearly fifty thousand within the next few years. translation: first, it must be said, the golan heights - are israel's. there is no doubt about it. israeli law has been applied here since 1981. it's beyond all debate. trump administration first recognised this and now, biden administration has made it clear that there is no change in this policy. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: christmas in colombia — how the salsa dancers have been able to return to the streets once more. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland, we're going to use money we picked up in belgium today. and then we'll be in france and again, it will be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his 0xfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good. reporter: just good? no — fantastic! that's better! big ben bongs this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: the tributes are flowing for archbishop desmond tutu, who has died at the age of 90. the nobel laureate was a veteran of south africa's struggle against apartheid. the israeli government has approved a plan to double the number of settlers in the golan heights, regarded by much of the world as occupied territory. as the year draws to a close, a series of tragedies has brought migrant deaths into sharp focus. according to the international organization for migration, global migrant deaths have continued to rise in 2021, reaching 4,470, but the organisation warned the final toll is likely to be much higher. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri reports. wailing and screaming. a community in mourning, clutching a coffin carrying one of their own. the bodies of 16 iraqi kurds who drowned in the channel were finally returned to iraq nearly a month after their boat sank, killing them and at least 14 others. translation: we iraqis and kurds have nobody l here who is at peace. everyone on iraq soil is not at all at ease with their lives. the kurdish government and iraqi government should stop this exodus and youth should not be pushed to risk their lives like this. translation: yes, this was a family of four. - the mother and her three children wanted to migrate and have a better life. it is a tragedy that they met their end at sea. the un says this was the largest single loss of life in the channel since the agency started recording migrant deaths eight years ago. but tragedies like these have not stopped more migrants from fleeing hardship. 14 others dieting recorders in the past week alone risking their lives on overcrowded and unreliable boats. this is a beach on libya's coast. and on saturday, the bodies of 28 migrants washed up on libya's western coast, their lives taken on one of the most dangerous routes for migrants — from libya to italy. overall, at least 4,470 migrants died this year because of these dangerous journeys — more than the 4,236 lives lost in 2020. that's why the international organization for migration is calling for urgent action from states, asking for increasing search and rescue efforts, establishing predictable disembarkation mechanisms, and ensuring access to safe and legal migration pathways. the un agency is warning that until these steps are taken, more lives will be lost. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. two dams have collapsed in north—eastern brazil, bringing further severe flooding to the state of bahia after weeks of heavy rain. residents were evacuated near the igua dam in southern bahia on saturday night, as swollen rivers forced the structure to give way; on sunday rising waters overwhelmed another dam further north. a fire has caused widespread damage at a major shopping centre in the nigerian capital abuja. a huge column of black smoke rose over next cash and carry. an eyewitness told reporters that firefighters arrived two hours after the blaze broke out. the cause of the fire is unknown. there are no reports of any casualties. a covid vaccine mandate for workers in new york city comes into force on monday. the measure, which is the first in the us, applies to about 184,000 businesses. public sector employers already have to be inoculated but the city's mayor earlier this month extended the mandate to include all private sector employees. children aged 5 to 11 are also required to show proof of vaccination to access certain places. dr danielle ompad is the associate professor of epidemiology at the new york university's school of global public health. she says it's a necessary step despite some pushback. i think it is being accepted in some circles. we actually have pretty high vaccination rates in the city but there is definitely pushback and, you know, as an epidemiologist who has watched this pandemic from the beginning, i am happy to see vaccine mandates for people in congregant settings, restaurants and gatherings because i'm really worried about the pandemic continuing. right. do you think it should be more targeted, then, in terms of the mandate? because, you know, as you point out, there are those who will provide pushback, as you put it. we're hitting the deadline now and i suppose we just have to wait to see how many people are prepared to go through with this. yeah, you know, iactually think at least two doses is a good idea — and we know that immunity begins to wane after six months after the second dose, so i actually anticipate that boosters may be mandated as well, but... crosstalk. sorry, you anticipate it — would you — you support it as well, presumably? yeah! because i — again, i don't want the hospitals full and i don't want my neighbours to die from covid, which is... crosstalk. i'm sorry to keep interrupting you! no, that's ok! is that the message you're getting, though, at the moment in terms of hospitalisations? we're not seeing as many in new york as we're seeing in some other places but there is concern about that, obviously. now, my personal circle is filled with people who are focused on public health, so our internal conversations are a little bit different from the general population, but even among some of my friends and family, they are pretty pleased to see the encouragement to get vaccinated because they want to get on with their lives. what do you think — i mean, this is a question you must�*ve been asked a thousand times — what do you think you can say to those who really do resist the idea of being vaccinated and certainly would resist a mandate to say sorry, you've got to do it. what do you say to them? you know, i understand that people don't like being told what to do — generally, i don't like being told what to do either — but if we don't work together on this pandemic — and that, right now, means masking and vaccination — then this is going to keep happening and, quite frankly, i don't — i'm not prepared to lose anybody else. neighbours, friends, family, fellow citizens of the world, it's time for us to pull together and bring this to an end and we can only do that together. you talk about working together — you're just about to jump from one new york mayor to another. yes. do you have confidence there is a sort of uniformity of approach now? i really hope so. i'm very hopeful that our new mayor will continue with policies that are really aimed to get the pandemic under control in new york and elsewhere. dr danielle ompad. flights between hong kong and south korea are the latest to be cancelled as air travel around the world continues to be disrupted by the pandemic. the hong kong government has suspended korean air flights for two weeks after some passengers tested positive for coronavirus on arrival. in the us, airlines said many pilots and other crew members had been forced to isolate after testing positive. here's our business reporterjonathanjosephs. departure boards full of holiday disappointment. coronavirus means a growing number of flights are not taking off as planned. in the united states, many airlines are struggling to find enough crew to staff all their services, leading to frustration among those who want to spend the holiday season with loved ones. i'm literally only travelling because i have a father who is sick and i don't know how much longer he has left, so i wanted to see him for christmas. but other than that, i would stay home. i booked this trip in february. we had no idea we would still be dealing with covid. it's crazy! we are not normally a family who — it's crazy! we are not normally a family who travel _ it's crazy! we are not normally a family who travel at - a family who travel at christmas. _ it's our first time - and may be the last! as cases of omicron have surged in the us, so too have the number of pilots, cabin crew and other airline staff forced to isolate. the boss of the world's second—biggest airline, delta, saw this coming and last week wrote to the us centres for disease control, urging them to cut the isolation period from ten days to five for some staff as he warned of significant disruption. while the number of flights that have been grounded are a small percentage of the total, it's more than normal and no less frustrating for passengers. as in parts of the us, the problem injapan has been the weather. scenes like this have stopped many flights taking off. in china, the city of xi'an is still under lockdown as the authorities try to stop coronavirus spreading. its airport, along with those in beijing, shanghai and elsewhere, have seen some of the worst disruption. with the winter olympics just weeks away, travel restrictions are regarded as crucial to keeping case numbers down. in the wake of omicron, governments across europe are also imposing new restrictions, so airlines there are also reassessing their schedules for the coming weeks. airlines around the world have lost billions through the pandemic, so we'll hope the number of passengers starts to rise again soon. jonathan josephs, bbc news. i think we all know well enough that the pandemic has had a huge impact on social and cultural events as well over the last couple of years, many cancelled or postponed. for some, things are getting back to normal — or near to normal. that's certainly true in colombia, where a very important event has resumed. the bbc�*s tim allman explains. in the south—western city of cali, this is how they do christmas — a spectacle of colour and dance. they call this the salsodromo, the opening of the feria de cali, or cali fair. for more than 60 years, they have come here to dance and dance, and dance some more. salsa music plays. a celebration of the region's cultural identity, said to promote ethnic and musical diversity. everyone gets involved, no matter what their age. cheering and applause. but last year, the cali fair was cancelled, the covid pandemic bringing the music to a halt, so this year, they're making up for lost time. the attention to detail is obvious, the excitement of the crowds even more so. these celebrations will continue throughout the week and the dancing will not stop. for the people of cali, now, more than ever, the show really must go on. tim allman, bbc news. a hint of salsa normality. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @bbcdavideades. thank you for watching. hello there. a few of us got to see a white christmas but, for many more, it was too mild for snow. we had a lot of mist and murk and we had some outbreaks of rain. this stripe of cloud on the satellite picture brought rain and some hill snow in the north during boxing day. there's more cloud and rain waiting in the wings down to the south—west. but the big story, i think, for this week will be this surge of very, very mild air wafting up from the south, affecting all parts of the uk as we move towards the end of 2021. it will be turning increasingly mild this week, but with some wind and rain at times. now, many of us will start off monday with some cloud, some mist and fog, some quite murky conditions again. rain into the south—west of england which will push northwards towards parts of wales, the midlands and east anglia through the day, tending to weaken as it goes. elsewhere, some of the mist and fog and cloud will tend to lift and break and we will see some spells of sunshine in the far north of england, northern ireland and scotland, albeit with some showers in the far north. temperatures ranging from 6 degrees in aberdeen to 12 in plymouth through the afternoon. and then through monday night, a bit more rain potentially down towards the south. another lump of wet weather starting to push into northern ireland, parts of northern england, southern scotland. the winds will start to pick up down towards the south and the west as well. very mild in the south. a little bit chilly up towards the north. and then, as we go through tuesday, this area of wet weather will spread out of northern ireland into southern scotland, northern england, parts of wales, perhaps into the midlands as well. we will see some sunny spells to the far north and to the far south but it will be really quite windy across parts of england and wales. some of these western coasts could see gusts of 40 to maybe 50 mph. quite mild in the south — 12 degrees. further north, a little bit cooler but those temperatures still quite respectable for the time of year. however, there is even milder weather on the way. as we move out of tuesday into wednesday, we see this next frontal system pushing in from the south—west, a band of rain that'll drive its way north—eastwards, some snow for a time over high ground in scotland, but this will mostly be rain because that mild air will be working its way in. temperatures down towards the south on wednesday afternoon up to 16, maybe 17 degrees. still a little bit chilly for some northern areas but as we move towards the end of the week and the end of the year, that mild weather spreads to all parts. there will still be some rain at times. this is bbc news. the headlines: leaders from around the world have been paying tribute to desmond tutu, one of the heroes of the anti—apartheid movement, who's died at the age of 90. president biden praised his courage and the un secretary general, antonio guterres, called him an inspiration to generations. israel's government has approved a $300 million plan to consolidate its control of the golan heights. this area is regarded by most of the world as occupied territory. the israeli prime minister, naftali bennett, told a special cabinet meeting that the aim was to double thejewish population there within the next few years. a covid vaccine mandate for all private companies comes into force in new york city. it's the first of its kind in the united states and applies to about 184 thousand businesses. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk.