the new omicron strain of coronavirus is detected across europe — with cases confirmed in germany, italy, belgium, the czech republic and the uk. britain's prime minister, borisjohnson, has announced new measures to halt the spread, which include all travellers arriving in britain having to take a pcr test. israel is planning to ban the entry of all foreigners for two weeks from sunday night — to tackle the spread of the omicron variant, after one case was detected. israeli prime minister naftali bennett has said that israel is on the verge of a state of emergency. the family and friends of one of those who died in the english channel when their small boat capsized, have told the bbc that she was kind hearted. maryam nuri mohamed amin was a 2k year old kurdish woman, from northern iraq, who was travelling to be with her partner.