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the prime minister, jacinda ardern, said from midnight on sunday there would be a cap of 100 fully vaccinated people at events. ms ardern has cancelled her own wedding as a result. you're watching bbc news — our main headlines. britain is accusing russia of planning to install a pro—kremlin leader in ukraine, as fears of an invasion grow. foreign aid is being distributed in tonga, with the un saying more than 80% of the population has been affected by last weekend's volcanic eruption and tsunami. the head of a british parliamentary standards committee says any attempt by the conservative government to blackmail its own mps into supporting the prime minister would be illegal. chris bryant, who's from the opposition labour party, said he'd heard complaints from about a dozen conservatives. it comes amid reports that gatherings in borisjohnson's official residence are part of an investigation into parties held against covid rules. here's our political correspondent, damian grammaticas. already under pressure, the coming days could prove decisive for boris johnson. now, there is a new concern

the prime minister, jacinda ardern, said from midnight on sunday there would be a cap of 100 fully vaccinated people at events. ms ardern has cancelled her own wedding as a result. now on bbc news, it's time for the media show.

in new zealand, prime minister jacinda ardern said communication with tonga remains difficult. shops along the coast have been damaged and the significant clean—up will be needed. the island is covered in thick film of volcanic dust, but otherwise conditions are calm and stable. the hunga tonga—hunga ha'apai volcano has been active since mid—december, but saturday's eruption was in a completely different scale. i would expect the activity to continue for a while yet. i'm not necessarily expecting it to get any bigger, but it could conceivably continue on at a similar scale. the eruption sent a tsunami wave right across the pacific ocean. in new zealand, the tsunami caused serious damage, smashing boats against each other and causing some to sink. but tonight, the main concern remains tonga. until the ash cloud clears and new zealand and australia can begin sending military flights, it remains very unclear how bad the situation on the island really is. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. with all the sport now, here's karthi gnanasegaram at the bbc sport centre.

. >>> covid is forcing new zealand prime minister jacinda ardern to postpone her upcoming wedding. she made the announcement yesterday after tightening pandemic restrictions on the whole country including mask mandates and limiting gatherings. it came after nine people in a single family tested positive for the omicron variant when they flew auckland to attend another wedding. ardern was planning on getting married next weekend. >>> there's a new controversy at the australian open, and why a cruise ship was diverted. those are some of the headlines on the "morning newsstand." "the miami herald" reports an arrest warrant was issued for a luxury cruise ship bound for miami. crystal cruise's crystal symphony was supposed to dock in miami saturday but was diverted to the bahamas. it came after a u.s. federal judge granted an order to seize the vessel as part of a lawsuit over millions of dollars in unpaid fuel. yesterday passengers on the ship were taken by ferry to ft. lauderdale. >> we were all very scared. we didn't know what was going to happen until this morning. we did not know w

the prime minister, jacinda ardern, said from midnight on sunday there would be a cap of 100 fully vaccinated people at events. ms ardern has cancelled her own wedding as a result. you're watching bbc news — our main headlines. britain is accusing russia of planning to install a pro—kremlin leader in ukraine, as fears of an invasion grow. foreign aid is being distributed in tonga, with the un saying more than 80% of the population has been affected by last weekend's volcanic eruption and tsunami. borisjohnson�*s government is being urged to delay mandatory covid jabs for frontline national health service staff in england. workers have been told to get their firstjab by february 3rd, or face losing theirjobs. on saturday, hundreds of people marched in cities across england to protest against the policy, as katharine da costa reports. save ourjobs! hundreds of health care workers gathered in london calling for the government's no jab, nojob policy in england to be scrapped. they were among large crowds of anti—vax demonstrators. nhs uniforms were thrown at police in protest. we've all g

and in new zealand, prime minister jacinda ardern announced new covid-19 restrictions that go into effect on monday after nine cases of the omicron variant were detected on in a single family visiting for a wedding. that country's so-called "red setting" includes requires mask wearing and limits on gatherings, and is disrupting the prime minister's own wedding, which was to have taken place next weekend. secretary of state antony blinken is amplifying america's warng to russia against a possible invasion of ukraine. appearing on cnn's "state of the union" earlier today, blinken stressed any mement of russian soldiers into its western neighbor's territory is unacceptable. >> if a single additional russian force goes into ukraine in an aggressive way, as i said, that would trigger a swift, a severe, and a united response from us and from europe. >> sreenivasan: the secretary's statement echoes a similar warning from the united kingdom, where the government has blicly stressed that russia will face severe economic consequences if it installs pro-russian leadership in ukraine. the announcemen

jacinda ardern says the entire country will be placed under the highest level of virus restrictions after an outbreak of nine cases of omicron. gatherings will be limited to 100 fully vaccinated people at events from midnight tonight. as a result, ms ardern�*s own wedding won't be going ahead. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello there. a few of us got to see a better brightness today but for many more it stay predominantly cloudy. you can see the extent of the cloud, some of the best of the sunshine was found across eastern scotland, a few breaks across south—west england but as we go through tonight most places will be cloudy. if the sky is clear for any length of time that could allow temperatures to drop low enough for a touch of frost. the could be fog patches around by morning. also by the morning we will see outbreaks of rain pushing on across the north—west of scotland. this band of rain will sink further southwards during the day. it is a largely driver cloudy day. best chance of sunshine to north wales, midlands and northern england. temperatures be

in new zealand, prime minister jacinda ardern said communication with tonga remains difficult, but the situation is now calm. we need to finely balance the need to get there quickly, but to make sure we also get the people and resources they need there as well. in some cases, we have parts of tonga where we've just not been able to establish communication. the hunga tonga—hunga ha'apai volcano has been active since mid—december, but saturday's eruption was on a completely different scale. i would expect the activity to continue for a while yet. i'm not necessarily expecting it to get any bigger, but it could conceivably continue on at a similar scale. the tsunami generated by the eruption spread right across the pacific, overturning fishing boats here in japan. but the real concern remains tonga and its outlying islands, many of which tonight remain cut—off from the outside world. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. lord myners, a former treasury minister under gordon brown's government, has died at the age of 73, his family have announced. a statement from his five chi

here's jacinda ardern. my wedding will not be going ahead, but ijustjoin many other new zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic, and to anyone who's caught up in that scenario. i'm so sorry, but you are, we are all so resilient, and i know we understand that we're doing this for one another, and i know that will help us continue hello there. high pressure has been dominating the weather story just recently, but there are some subtle changes as we go through the day. just want to point out to you first thing on saturday morning it was cold and frosty, but there was plenty of blue sky and sunshine. fast forward a day. sunday morning has been certainly a grey start. a lot of cloud around in norfolk. first thing at this morning and it looks likely that that cloud is here to stay as high pressure just drifts off into the near continent. and we've got that south—westerly feed driving in more cloud from a moist atlantic. and yes, some of that cloud is going to be stubbornly si

in new zealand, prime minister jacinda ardern said communication with tonga remains difficult, but the situation is now calm. shops along the coast have been damaged and significant clean—up will be needed. one of the islands is covered in the thick film of volcanic dust, but otherwise, conditions are calm and stable. the volcano has been active since mid—december, but saturday's huge eruption took experts by surprise. i would expect the activity to continue for a while yet. i'm not necessarily expecting it to get any bigger, but it could conceivably continue on at a similar scale. the eruption sent a tsunami wave right across the pacific ocean. in new zealand, the tsunami caused serious damage, smashing boats against each other and causing some to sink. but tonight, the main concern remains tonga. until the ash cloud clears and new zealand and australia can begin sending military flights, it remains very unclear how bad the situation on the island really is. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. the headlines on bbc news... the man who took four people hostage at a synagog

the new zealand prime minister jacinda ardern said communication with tonga remains difficult. shops along the coast have been damaged and significant clean—up will be needed. one of the islands is covered in the thick film of volcanic dust, but otherwise conditions are calm and stable. the volcano has been active since mid—december. but saturday�*s huge eruption took experts by surprise. i would expect the activity to continue for a while yet. i'm not necessarily expecting it to get any bigger, but it could conceivably continue on at a similar scale. the eruption sent a tsunami wave right across the pacific ocean. in new zealand, the tsunami caused serious damage, smashing boats against each other and causing some to sink. but tonight, the main concern remains tonga. until the ash cloud clears and new zealand and australia can begin sending military flights, it remains very unclear how bad the situation on the island really is. we have had a statement from the family of a woman who lives in tonga. she is a british woman. her womanjennifer eleni in hove in the uk has been

jacinda ardern said on sunday that images of volcanic eruptionnear tonga were "hugely concerning" and agencies were stilltrying to establish full communications with the country. communications in all of tonga were cut off as a result ofthe eruption, making any assessment difficult, ardern said. butthe defence force and foreign ministry are working to establishwhat�*s needed and how new zealand can help, she added. police in sweden are trying to track down a drone that was seen flying over a nuclear power plant north of stockholm. the incidents took place on the same day that sweden deployed armed troops and combat vehicles to the strategic island of gotland, against a backdrop of increased russian activity in the baltic. sweden is not a nato member, but has close ties to the alliance. scientists at the university of hull have developed a new way of cooling—down computers and reducing their impact on the planet. the system can be used in computer data centres that generate huge amounts of heat from internet activity. the new technology is saving money and co2 — as our environmen

the prime minister, jacinda ardern, said from midnight on sunday there would be a cap of 100 fully vaccinated people at events. ms ardern has cancelled her own wedding as a result. now on bbc news, it's time for click. this week, it is pure box office. we will find out how to buy into the latest blockchain blockbuster. we'll talk to the titanic talent behind terminator. we will give a vfx artist a ring — or ten. and did someone mention box office? well, iam in a box, at least. los angeles, the place where anything is possible — even the weird stuff that i've got up to here over the years. it's a town that revels in the new and right now, that town seems to be talking about nfts. now, as a reminder, nfts are a way of recording who owns what — mainly digital art and music. frankly, the mind still boggles every time i remember that this image by beeple sold for almost $17 million at auction. so, i thought i would jump on the bandwagon. now, anyone can create — or mint — an nft. in fact, i have minted myself, which was refreshing! that means that this mini animation now has a unique ide

here's jacinda ardern. my wedding will not be going ahead, but ijustjoin many other new zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic and to anyone who's caught up in that scenario. i'm so sorry, but you are, we are all so resilient, and i know we understand that we're doing this for one another, and i know that will help us continue on. hello there. high pressure has been dominating the weather story just recently, but there are some subtle changes as we go through the day. just want to point out to you, first thing on saturday morning it was cold and frosty, but there was plenty of blue sky and sunshine. fast forward a day, sunday morning has been certainly a greyer start. a lot of cloud around in norfolk first thing this morning and it looks likely that that cloud is here to stay. as high pressure just drifts off into the near continent and we've got that south—westerly feed driving in more cloud from a moister atlantic. and yes, some of that cloud is going to be stubbornl

jacinda ardern says the entire country will be placed under the highest level of virus restrictions after an outbreak of nine cases of omicron. gatherings will be limited to 100 fully vaccinated people at events from midnight tonight. as a result, ms ardern's own wedding won't be going ahead. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello there. a few of us got to see a better brightness today but for many more it stay predominantly cloudy. you can see the extent of the cloud, some of the best of the sunshine was found across eastern scotland, a few breaks across south—west england but as we go through tonight most places will be cloudy. if the sky is clear for any length of time that could allow temperatures to drop low enough for a touch of frost. the could be fog patches around by morning. also by the morning we will see outbreaks of rain pushing on across the north—west of scotland. this band of rain will sink further southwards during the day. it is a

here�*s jacinda ardern. my wedding will not be going ahead, but ijustjoin many other new zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic and to anyone who�*s caught up in that scenario. i�*m so sorry, but you are, we are all so resilient, and i know we understand that we�*re doing this for one another, and i know that will help us continue on. the government of tonga says it�*s facing a long programme of rebuilding and reconstruction — just over a week after it was devastated by a volcanic eruption and a tsunami. our correspondent shaimaa khalil has the latest... aid has arrived in tonga, and a lot of it is being coordinated from here in fiji. countries like australia, new zealand, japan and britain have sent everything from water supplies to shelter kits, generator, even sweeping machines as well. the concern now is that this is going to be a slow process. getting aid and distributing it to people who need it the most is very, very tricky on any occasion — add the fea

here's jacinda ardern. to anyone caught up in that scenario, i am so sorry. you're also resilient and i know we understand that we are doing this for one and other and i know that will help us continue on. brothers from nepal who are among the country's most renowned sherpa guides have returned home after becoming the first nepali team to reach the south pole. it's part of a broader quest known as the �*explorers�* grand slam'. tanya dendrinos explains what exactly the ambitious pursuit entails. battling the elements. it's so cold. there is so much wind here. three brothers approaching the summit of mount vincent, the highest peak in antarctica. hey, guys, we are three brothers, we are first time been to the vincent and we reached the summit today. wejust came back from south pole. we are the first brothers, i think, who did the south pole and vincent together. the trio marks the first nepali team to reach the south pole. it is part of their quest to conquer the explorers grand slam, a challenge that involves reaching the south and north poles, along with

here's jacinda ardern speaking earlier. my wedding will not be going ahead, but ijustjoin many other new zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic and to anyone who's caught up in that scenario. i'm so sorry, but you are, we are all so resilient, and i know we understand that we're doing this for one another, and i know that will help us continue on. let me move on. i think we may be on the wrong story. forgive me for that. meanwhile let's have a look at the latest coronavirus data for the uk. almost 75,000 new infections have been recorded in the latest 24—hour period. there were 75 further deaths reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive test. on vaccinations, almost 69,000 jabs were given yesterday, with a little over 64 % of all over 12s now having had a booster or three doses of a coronavirus vaccine. health departments in the uk are devolved between the different countries meaning different restrictions in each. and earlier today the first minister of wales, m

in new zealand, prime minister jacinda ardern said communication with tonga remains difficult. shops along the coast have been damaged and a significantly clean—up will be needed. nuku'alofa is covered in a thick film of volcanic dust, but otherwise, conditions are calm and stable. in new zealand, the tsunami caused serious damage, smashing boats against each other and causing some to sink. but tonight, the main concern remains tonga. until the ash cloud clears and new zealand and australia can begin sending military flights, it remains very unclear how bad the situation on the island really is. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. i'm joined now by anna jane lagi, a tongan university student studying in neighbouring fiji. thank you so much forjoining us on the programme. in the first instance can ijust want the programme. in the first instance can i just want to ask the programme. in the first instance can ijust want to ask if the programme. in the first instance can i just want to ask if your family, friends, have you heard from them? are they well?— them? are th

here's jacinda ardern. my wedding will not be going ahead, but ijustjoin many other new zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic and to anyone who's caught up in that scenario. i'm so sorry, but you are, we are all so resilient, and i know we understand that we're doing this for one another, and i know that will help us continue on. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello there. high pressure has been dominating the weather story just recently, but there are some subtle changes as we go through the day. just want to point out to you. first thing on saturday morning it was cold and frosty, but there was plenty of blue sky and sunshine. fast forward a day. sunday morning has been certainly a greyer start. a lot of cloud around in norfolk. first thing at this morning and he looks likely that that cloud is here to stay as high pressure just drifts off into the near continent. and we've got that south—westerly feel driving in more cloud from a moister

the new zealand prime minister, jacinda ardern, said communication with tonga remains difficult. shops along the coast have been damaged and significant clean—up will be needed. one of the islands is covered in the thick film of volcanic dust, but otherwise conditions are calm and stable. the volcano has been active since mid—december, but saturday's huge eruption took experts by surprise. i would expect the activity to continue for a while yet. i'm not necessarily expecting it to get any bigger, but it could conceivably continue on at a similar scale. the eruption sent a tsunami wave right across the pacific ocean. in new zealand, the tsunami caused serious damage, smashing boats against each other and causing some to sink. but tonight, the main concern remains tonga. until the ash cloud clears and new zealand and australia can begin sending military flights, it remains very unclear how bad the situation on the island really is. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. the culture secretary, nadine dorries, has suggested that the days of the bbc licence fee are numbered

here's jacinda ardern. my wedding will not be going ahead, but ijustjoin many other new zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic and to anyone who's caught up in that scenario. i'm so sorry, but you are, we are all so resilient, and i know we understand that we're doing this for one another, and i know that will help us continue on. now, if you've got children in your life — there's a chance you'll know all about disney's latest animated film �*encanto'. the music from the film is also a huge hit, and this song from it "we don't talk about bruno" has become the first disney song to reach number one in the uk charts.

here's jacinda ardern. my wedding will not be going ahead, but ijustjoin many other new zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic and to anyone who's caught up in that scenario. i'm so sorry, but you are, we are all so resilient, and i know we understand that we're doing this for one another, and i know that will help us continue on. a retired british iranian engineer being held in iran on spying charges has said he is beginning a hunger strike. anoosheh ashoori was arrested five years ago and later convicted by iran of spying for israel's mossad intelligence agency, which he denies. the british government says his continued detention is wholly unjustified and has called on iran to release him. farmers in spain have taken their tractors to the streets of madrid — highlighting the crisis to farming caused by the pandemic. horns honking. the protest organisers said their aim was to bring attention to the "ideological" attacks from the government toward rural spain. their de

in new zealand, prime minister jacinda ardern said communication with tonga remains difficult but the situation is now calm. we need to finely balance the need to get there quickly, but to make sure we also get the people and resources they need there as well. in some cases, we have parts of tonga where we've just not been able to establish communication. the hunga tonga—hunga ha“apai volcano has been active since mid—december, but saturday's eruption was on a completely different scale. i would expect the activity to continue for a while yet. i'm not necessarily expecting it to get any bigger, but it could conceivably continue on at a similar scale. the tsunami generated by the eruption spread right across the pacific, overturning fishing boats here in japan. but the real concern remains tonga and its outlying islands, many of which tonight remain cut off from the outside world. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. cricket, and australia have won the fifth and final ashes test in hobart after another batting collapse by england. the tourists were chasing a total of 271

the prime minister, jacinda ardern, said from midnight on sunday there would be a cap of 100 fully vaccinated people at events. ms ardern has cancelled her own wedding as a result. now on bbc news, it's time for the media show. hello. can a savvy media strategy save borisjohnson? headline—grabbing policies are being rolled out this week in what's been dubbed operation red meat. but is there really such an operation? we're also looking at the apparently cosy relationship between those in government who set policy, and the media, which is supposed to hold them to account. and we're asking what the new bbc licence fee deal means for the industry at large. let me introduce you to my guests. joeyjones was spokesman for theresa may when she was home secretary. before that, he was a deputy political editor at sky news. helen lewis writes for the atlantic. laura hughes, political correspondent for the financial times. and phil riley is the chief executive of boom radio and has had a long career in commercial radio, including running chrysalis and overseeing its sale to global and, phil, we'll be ta

in new zealand, prime minister jacinda ardern said communication with tonga remains difficult. shops along the coast have been damaged and a significantly damaged and a significant clean—up will be needed. nuku'alofa is covered in a thick film of volcanic dust, but otherwise, conditions are calm and stable. the hunga—tonga—hunga—ha'apai volcano has been active since mid—december. the eruption sent a tsunami wave right across the pacific ocean. i'm sure we'll find out, but at the moment it's not clear whether the tsunami was caused by a big collapse of material underwater, or even the shockwave itself perhaps acting as a fist slapping down on the sea and producing a displacement which then propagates as a wave. in new zealand, the tsunami caused serious damage, smashing boats against each other and causing some to sink. but tonight, the main concern remains tonga. until the ash cloud clears and new zealand and australia can begin sending military flights, it remains very unclear how bad the situation on the island really is. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo

the new zealand prime minister jacinda ardern said communication with tonga remains difficult. shops along the coast have been damaged and significant clean—up will be needed. one of the islands is covered in the thick film of volcanic dust, but otherwise conditions are calm and stable. the volcano has been active since mid—december. but saturday's huge eruption took experts by surprise. i would expect the activity to continue for a while yet. i'm not necessarily expecting it to get any bigger, but it could conceivably continue on at a similar scale. the eruption sent a tsunami wave right across the pacific ocean. in new zealand, the tsunami caused serious damage, smashing boats against each other and causing some to sink. but tonight, the main concern remains tonga. until the ash cloud clears and new zealand and australia can begin sending military flights, it remains very unclear how bad the situation on the island really is. the culture secretary nadine dorries has suggested that the days of the bbc licence fee are numbered, in a tweet suggesting the present charter —

and new zealand's prime minister, jacinda ardern, is postponing her own wedding after placing the country on the highest level of covid—19 restrictions. hello, good afternoon. welcome to bbc news. the conservative mp nus ghani, who was sacked as transport minister two years ago, in part because of her muslim faith. nus ghani has told the sunday times that her "muslimness" was raised as an issue. the conservative chief whip mark spencer says she had been speaking to him, and he called her allegations "completely false". downing street has said the prime minister had also spoken to ms ghani and invited her to make a complaint, but she did not do so. she has issued a statement on this. she said, "when i told the prime minister injune 2020 what had been said to me in the government whips�* office, i urged him to take it seriously as a government matter and instigate an inquiry. he wrote to me that he could not get involved and suggested i use the internal conservative party complaint process. this, as i had already pointed out, was very clearly not appropriate for something that happened

new zealand's prime minister, jacinda ardern, is postponing her own wedding, after placing the country on the highest level of covid—19 restrictions. hello and welcome to bbc news. good to have your company this afternoon. we begin with the conservative party and the allegations made by nusrat ghani, who was sacked as transport minister two years ago, and says she was told that her muslim faith was one of the reasons for her dismissal. nus ghani has told the sunday times that her "muslimness" was raised as an issue. the conservative chief whip mark spencer says she had been speaking to him, and he called her allegations "completely false". downing street said the prime minister had also spoken to ms ghani and invited her to make a complaint, but she did not do so. our political correspondent helen catt reports. the former minister nus ghani is at the centre of an extraordinary dispute after a week in which the tories have turned on the whips, ministers and each other. ms ghani was the first muslim woman ever to speak from the dispatch box in the commons, and has claimed in the sunday

. >>> now a new wave of omicron outbreaks is putting a crimp in jacinda ardern's wedding plans. she's been planning to marry her longtime partner sometime soon, but it's not clear what their wedding date actually was. they have one child together. but as ardern herself has said, such is life. >> my wedding will not be going ahead, but i just joined many other new zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic. and to nanyone who's caught up n that scenario, i am so sorry, but we are all so resilient. and i know we understand that we're doing this for one another. >> as for the pandemic, health authorities have reported new nine omicron cases in a single family household. the country is now on red light. it is its highest response setting. now, while some parts of the world are showing signs that the latest covid-19 wave might soon subside, in southeast asia, that's simply not the case, and the worst still might be yet to come. cnn's michael holmes has more now. >> reporter: in india, cont -controlled kashmir, workers are hiking snow-covered hills wit

. >> reporter: one person who's staying put the next few days, new zealand prime minister jacinda ardern, self-isolating after a close contact tested positive for covid-19. >>> now to israel where the number of serious covid infections has reached 1,000 for the first time in nearly a year. but even so, one coronavirus expert claims the country has passed the peak of its omicron wave. he says by the time this wave is over, more than half of israel's population will have been infected with the variant. cnn's had disgold joins me live from jerusalem. hadas, explain what this expert means about the peak passing and how it might relate to the rollout of the fourth vaccine dose? >> reporter: first the bad news. for the first time in a year, the serious hospitalized cases have passed 1,000 people. i think the latest numbers i saw this morning were about 1,010. they are expected to go up. it's very likely israel could break its own record for people who are hospitalized in serious condition. that record was set almost exactly a year ago, january of last year, when more than 1,175 people were hos

jacinda ardern will remain in isolation through tuesday after being exposed to an infected person. and thousands turned out in the czech republic to protest against covid restrictions as cases hover around record highs. joining us now is ann remoyn, a professor at the school of immunology at the ucla fielding school of public health. thanks for being with us. let's start with this new version of the omicron variant called ba.2. it's showing up in nearly 50 countries including the u.s. and is apparently more contagious but less severe than the original omicron variant. what more are you learning about this and how concerned should we all be? >> it's not surprising that we're starting to see another variant arise and to start taking over. this variant appears to be more contagious than the original variant of omicron. but right now we still don't know enough about severity to truly understand it. it appears not to be any more severe than the original omicron strain. but we have to remember that this increased transmissibility does lead to more cases. more cases does lead to more hosp

prime minister jacinda ardern announced the new code red restrictions will go into effect tomorrow. this means people have to wear masks and there will be limits on group gatherings. only 9 cases of omicron have been confirmed in the country. this is their first outbreak of the variant. the prime minister says she feels for everyone who's plans have been affected by the pandemic. i just joined many other new zealand is to have had an experience like that as a result of the painting may contain any one who is caught up in that scenario. i'm so sorry, but we are all resilient. and i know we understand that we doing this for one another. and i know that will help continue on. about 93% of all people in new zealand are fully vaccinated. >> chinese officials in beijing are being asked to help mitigate covid-19 as the city gets ready to welcome olympic athletes for the upcoming winter games. residents and so-called risky areas of beijing are now being asked not to leave. many are urged to stay away from large gatherings as cases of omicron in beijing are nowhere near where they are here i

the prime minister of new zealand, jacinda ardern, says a tsunami has inflicted significant damage on tonga, following a volcanic eruption in the south pacific. there have been no reports of deaths, but communication with some islands remains limited this morning. let's speak now to professor shane cronin, a volcanologist at the university of auckland. good morning to you, shane. thank you so much for talking to us this morning. it looks like the most enormous eruption on the pictures we've been seeing this morning. could you put into context how big it is, in the scheme of volcanic eruptions? it is, in the scheme of volcanic emptions?_ it is, in the scheme of volcanic erutions? . , . ,, . ., eruptions? yeah, it is a spectacular erution, eruptions? yeah, it is a spectacular emption. so _ eruptions? yeah, it is a spectacular eruption, so behind _ eruptions? yeah, it is a spectacular eruption, so behind me, _ eruptions? yeah, it is a spectacular eruption, so behind me, in - eruptions? yeah, it is a spectacular eruption, so behind me, in this - eruption, so behind me, in this image, is w