and unwrapping the secrets of an ancient egyptian pharoah. we ll hear from the researcher who peeled off the bandages using modern technology. hello, and welcome. us health authorities have halved the recommended isolation period for people who test positive for covid, but don t exhibit symptoms. they ve previously warned of a half a million cases a day in the coming weeks as the omicron variant takes hold. that isolation time goes from ten to five days. officials insist this is being guided by the science. so, why is this step being taken now? we put that question to david edwards, an aerosol scientist and a harvard university professor and bioengineer. i think understand the logic. it s important for people to understand that the omicron variant, like previous variants, infects us initially in the upper airways. there s nothing about vaccination that prevents that happening. what s cleary true, as time goes on and more of the population has been infected or has been vaccina
wyre davies investigates. when would you want to die? it s one of life s biggest questions. my first response was, who is going to find you? what s it going to do to them? about choice. about control. i think it would just be cruel for me not to have a choice. and what if we re given it? it would change us all. it s too dangerous. this is a red line in the sand and it should not be crossed. he ll have to wait. he s not gonna run a wheelchair over, is he? thank you! the sun s coming out now. look. lovely. sit here and mull things over in my mind. i m sharon. tetraplegic, in a wheelchair. somebody said they were doing the lottery and asked if i wanted to do it. isaid, no. no. knowing my luck i ll bloody win. nothing i can do. i m not doing the lottery. everything changed for sharon three years ago. i was outgoing, chatty, fun. i walked. i worked. i worked in a bookmaker s, always have worked and before that i was a publican. and the one day fatal day, i went upstairs to ge
in your control to try to reduce transmission. don t wait for the government to change policy. the sooner we all act, the sooner we can get this transmission rate down, and the greater the prospect of having a christmas with our families. the warning comes as two of the biggest teaching unions have called for tougher covid measures in schools in england to combat a rise in infections. a welcome from england s city regions outside london for an announcement of nearly £7 billion to improve their transport networks, but they say more money is needed. ministers promise £0.5 billion to support families in the budget, but the labour party calls it a smokescreen. court documents reveal that alec baldwin was told a prop gun was safe moments before he accidentally killed a crew member on a film set. a warning that dog owners are pretending their lockdown pets are strays, in order to get rid of them. now on bbc news, as lawmakers debate whether doctors should be allowed to help some
as the middle east braces for a us response, some members of congress have called for retaliation against not only iran s proxy forces, but iran itself. others have argued the president does not have the authority for such strikes unless authorised by congress. republican congressman mike turner, who chairs the house intelligence committee, told the bbc the us response was likely to be robust. as the administration is seen, this will not be a one off. it is not as if iran will have one response, it will be perhaps over a period of time where they will see that their activities will come at a cost. they would know that the us will be continually engaged, as iran has become a destabilising factor in the region. for more on all of this, i m joined by gerald feierstein, former us ambassador to yemen and distinguished senior fellow on us diplomacy at the middle east institute. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. we knowjoe biden has now decided on taking action, we don t know wha
safety board is investigating, and the uk s civil aviation authority said it was monitoring the situation very closely. simonjones reports. relief for all 177 passengers and crew on board to be back on the tarmac after a mid air emergency. the plane forced to land with a hole in its side and a window missing. the pilot, recorded earlier outlining to air traffic control the severity of the situation. it happened as the plane was 35 minutes into its flight to california. i look up and the oxygen masks were hanging from the ceiling. and then i look to my left and there s this huge chunk, part of the airplanejust, like, missing. alaska airlines has temporarily grounded all 65 of its 737 max 9 aircraft to conduct inspections. the company s ceo said. boeing said a technical team was ready to support the investigation. there would have been an element of depressurization. although the aircraft was at a lower than cruising altitude. apparently it was at about 16,000 feet. that s roug