this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko 0i in singapore. 0ur headlines: new studies suggest the 0micron variant, though highly contagious could be milder, with fewer people needing hospital treatment compared to previous covid variants. a well—known statue commemorating the tiananmen square massacre has been removed from the university of hong kong. the pandemic has left children falling behind academically. but parents fear their kids�* mental health is suffering too. this month, a mckinsey report found nearly a third of parents in the us are worried about their child's mental health. those concerns are higher among black, hispanic and asian families. laura trevelyan went to meet one mother and her daughter in new york city to find out how they're dealing with the pandemic. a festive outing forjackie and her daughter, jordyn. for the first—grader,