WHO: ‘Omicron is a variant of concern, not panic’

WHO: ‘Omicron is a variant of concern, not panic’

The Omicron coronavirus variant has been designated as a “variant of concern” but it was important not to panic, the spokesperson for the World Health Organization has said. The aim is to get the world alert, step-up surveillance and public health measures, but not overreact, Dr Margaret Harris told BBC World News’s Yalda Hakim. Read…

‘I will support those who choose not to be vaccinated’

‘I will support those who choose not to be vaccinated’

People need to be able to decide for themselves whether to be vaccinated against Covid-19, Colorado Republican congressman Ken Buck has said. “I don’t believe in vaccine mandates,” he told BBC News’s Hardtalk programme’s Stephen Sackur. “I don’t believe that the government should require individuals to put a foreign substance in their body for disease…

Norway oil fund: We won’t divest from fossil fuels

Norway oil fund: We won’t divest from fossil fuels

The head of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has said it will not divest the billions of dollars invested in oil and gas companies. Selling these companies would not solve the problem of transitioning to greener energy, Nicolai Tangen told BBC News’s Hardtalk programme’s Stephen Sackur. And it was “much more powerful to be an active…

Why France is declaring Josephine Baker a national hero

Why France is declaring Josephine Baker a national hero

France is honouring the US-born 20th Century singer and activist Josephine Baker with a place in the Pantheon on Tuesday. She’s the first black woman to be remembered in the resting place of France’s national heroes, through her work on civil rights and for the Resistance during the Second World War. Producers: Marianne Baisnee and…

‘We have to wake up from this geo-political nap’ says Polish PM

‘We have to wake up from this geo-political nap’ says Polish PM

Nato foreign ministers are meeting in Riga in Latvia on Tuesday to discuss the build-up of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine and the migrant crisis on Poland’s border with Belarus. The Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called on Nato for more help in the region – and for countries to address the…