this is bbc news. i'm clive myrie. the headlines at 11:00: thousands of routine operations have been postponed because of pressure on the nhs in england. one doctor says conditions are the worst he's seen. i want to do the best i can for the patients i am seeing, i want to do the best i can but i not been given the best i can but i not been given the resources to do thatjob properly. after riots on the streets of iran claim at least 22 lives, the white house has called for an emergency security council meeting. the west coast of ireland bears the brunt of storm eleanor. 90 mile per hour gusts are forecast to batter the uk overnight. after the steepest fare increase for 5 years, campaigners warn that commuters are being priced off the railways. on newsnight, it is a new year and old politics is dead. somehow a lot

seemed to change in 2017 the boat gorry and labour gee. seemed to change in 2017 the boat gorry and labour good evening and welcome to bbc news. hospitals in england have been told to postpone tens of thousands of non—urgent operations and outpatient appointments until the end of this month. nhs chiefs say it's to ease pressure on services after a busy christmas period. it comes as some doctors have been speaking about the extremely difficult conditions at a&e. our health editor hugh pym reports. there is always great pressure on the nhs in the new year. some patients have held off until after the seasonal holiday.

until the first of january, we've seen 30% more calls. now, you know, we do plan for winter. we start planning in the summer, so we are predicting and forecasting activity from historic periods, but we didn't anticipate a 30% increase. the trust running scarborough and york hospital said there were high numbers of patients, and staff were under considerable pressure. one doctor said in his view it was unprecedented. i've worked in a number of different emergency departments around the country, and that's the worst i've seen.

ijust want to do a good job, i want to do the best i can for the patients that i'm seeing. i want to do the best i can, but i'm not being given the resources to do that job properly. i feel like i'm fighting a losing battle. i feel like i've already lost the battle, because i can't do any more. twitter carried reports from some staff at other hospitals. an emergency doctor in stoke said he personally apologised to local people for what he called third world conditions due to overcrowding. nhs england has told hospitals to postpone all nonurgent operations and outpatient appointments til the end of january, an escalation of temporary measures announced just before christmas. in that time hospitals won't be penalised for putting patients in mixed—sex wards. this is a planned response to a winter that we knew was going to be difficult, and we are managing that in the way that we expected, and we are taking early action. we're not waiting to have to respond to a problem. have you got pain at the moment? the authorities in scotland,

wales and northern ireland are saying they are facing higher demand from patients and more pressure on front line services. with flu cases on the increase, the worry now is that the predicted outbreak may become a reality. hugh pym, bbc news. riot police are out in force in cities across iran tonight as anti—government protests continue. at least 22 people have died since the demonstrations began six days ago. hundreds of people have been arrested. today iran's supreme leader broke his silence for the first time since the protests began and accused his country's enemies of stirring up the unrest. the protests a re the boldest challenge to iran's clerical leadership for almost a decade. tonight america urged iran to exercise restraint and to restore people's access to social media. here's our middle east editorjeremy bowen. in tehran, squads of motorbike police are cruising the streets to break up groups of demonstrators. the protests have changed

since they started last thursday. gunshots. to begin with, they were about the economy. most of the protesters are young men. more than 50% of iranians are under 30 and perhaps 40% of them are unemployed. but pent up political frustration is spilling out and much of it has been directed at this man, the supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei. he is the powerfulfigurehead of the islamic republic, and attacks on his posters will be seen as attacks on the islamic system. he's blaming iran's foreign enemies. translation: following recent events, the enemies have united and using all their means — money, weapons, policies and security services — to create problems for the islamic republic. it's notjust ayatollah khamenei, the supreme leader,

who's blaming foreigners. mohammad khatami, the former president, who's a reformist, says iranians have the right to protest, but he blamed iran's enemies, led by the united states, for inciting people to destroy public buildings and to insult religious values. president obama, in 2009, was careful not to give the last big protest his backing. but president trump has tweeted his support. the people of iran, he declared, are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt iranian regime. the americans are encouraging the protests. but they deny they are behind them. we all know that is complete nonsense. the demonstrations are completely spontaneous. they are virtually in every city in iran. this is the precise picture of a long—oppressed people rising up against their dictators. the last big protests

in iran were in 2009, after a disputed presidential election. back then, they were defeated by the power of the state, even though they were led by top politicians and faced a badly divided islamic leadership. the new street level protests don't have national leaders and may run out of steam. this is not a new iranian revolution, though it's clear that many iranians are fed up with increasing poverty and years of repression. the fact the protests are happening at all is very significant for iran, its allies and enemies in a chaotic part of the world. jeremy bowen, bbc news. a man who killed two previous partners has today admitted to murdering a third. theodore johnson attacked angela best in north london a year ago, after they broke up and she began a relationship with someone else.

the old bailey heard he was "an abusive and controlling man". he'll be sentenced on friday. winds of up to 90miles per hour are expected to hit parts of northern ireland and northern england tonight with the arrival of storm eleanor. so far the atlantic coast of the republic of ireland has taken the brunt, with serious flooding in the city of galway. as the storm moves eastwards, there'll be high winds across much of england, wales and northern ireland overnight. train operators have been defending the biggest rise in railfares for five years, insisting that it's necessary to address "decades of under investment". average ticket prices across the uk have gone up by 3.4%. unions say commuters are being priced off the trains as the burden of paying for the system falls increasingly on passengers. our transport correspondent richard westcott has the story. his report contains flashing images. it's one of the most reliable things on the railway — every january, without fail, the fares go up.

this year's rise is especially steep, the highest in five years. this is the busy commuter line, people coming in from cambridgeshire and hertfordshire into london and plenty of people on this train are just a few pounds shy of the £5,000 club. £5,000 for an annual season ticket. that's gone up by about £600 in the last five years, the price rises have been relentless. average fares across britain go up by 3.4%. season tickets, which are regulated by the government, go up by 3.6%. it adds more than £140 to a ticket between crewe and preston. if you commute into london from swindon, it's now £300 more expensive, and the glasgow—edinburgh commuter goes up by £136. different parts of the country, but most people have similar gripes. it's pretty disgusting. well, you're not even

guaranteed a seat. so, i think it's wrong. i travel around cardiff quite a lot using the train, i find that quite convenient, and i find it quite affordable to do that. it compares quite well with the bus and it compares quite well with driving. better service, please, more trains and there'll be more people, wouldn't there? this is where a lot of the money is going. london bridge hasjust had a £1 billion makeover. and there's a whole new line snaking under the city, crossrail, although critics argue too much is spent on london. the government says it's investing record amounts to improve the trains, but it's also changing who foots the bill. a smaller proportion now comes from the taxpayer, which means more has to come from ticket sales. well, for every £1 that a passenger pays in fares, 97p goes directly into running and improving the railway. but also, with more people using the railway,

that means we have more money to invest. campaigners suggest people are being priced off the trains. this graph shows what's been happening to fares in recent years, and here's how it compares to the average pay packet. you can see how ticket prices often outstrip wages. labour want to re—nationalise the network. if we can continue to make savings by bringing the railways back into public ownership, stop wasting money on franchising, stop wasting money on the complexity of the arrangements between all these different companies, and we don't pay out dividends to state—owned companies across the channel. they've accused the transport secretary, chris grayling, of hiding away today. he's on an official visit to qatar, a trip he's defended. and i make no apology for trying to help win jobs for britain and i'm here because there is a major contract, multibillion pound investment programme, taking place in the airport. i'm here to try and make sure that british firms win part of that, so we getjobs for britain. many people have little choice

but to do this every day and little choice but to pay the higher fares. richard westcott, bbc news. at least 36 people have been killed after a coach plummeted 100 metres from a cliff in peru, onto a deserted beach. it happened on a stretch of coastal road near pasamayo, about 25 miles north of the capital, lima. witnesses say the driver lost control after the bus was hit by another vehicle. six people have been taken to hospital. police investigating the death of a woman in north london, over the christmas period, have charged a 31—year—old man with murder. kasim lewis will appear in court tomorrow. the body ofjuliana tudos, who was 22 and worked in a pub, was discovered in finsbury park last wednesday. she had disappeared while walking home in north london, on christmas eve. thirteen monkeys have been killed in a fire at woburn safari park in bedfordshire.

the blaze in one of the enclosures was spotted by security guards during a routine patrol but, despite efforts to rescue the animals, none could be saved. the safari park's manager says it may have been caused by a faulty generator. locals and staff say the patas monkeys were a popular attraction here at the park, greeting guests and their cars as they drove through the enclosure. fire crews were called to the site at 2:30 in the morning after security reported the fire. due to the intensity of the fire, and the location of the building, the fire was totally engulfed in the building and the roof had collapsed. investigators believe a faulty generator may have started this fire, and staff who cared for the animals are now being supported by experts. this morning, the heads of departments spoke to the staff, and again, we'll be talking to the staff later. we also have an employee relations support system that's in place from our human resources department. this fire comesjust ten days after a blaze ripped through london zoo

killing five animals. now, because this is a safari park, we're not actually allowed to step out of the car. but the cones behind me lead to the area where the patas monkey house is, and that's been closed off to the public. fire chiefs tell us that 90% of the building was damaged and they are now conducting an investigation to try and find out exactly what started the fire. otheranimals, including these barbary monkeys, have been checked over and are still being monitored to make sure they haven't affected. chi chi izundu, bbc news, woburn safari park. that's a summary of the news, newsday is coming up at midnight — now on bbc news it's time for newsnight with evan davis. she thinks she'll still be in charge at the end of the year... because in the united kingdom in 2018, everyone deserves the chance to succeed. he thinks he could prime minister before long... backing the things which most people want, but are blocked by vested interests. we are a government in waiting. so how will 2018 pan out?

a new year, but old politics is dead. everything changed in 2017 and the parties are playing by new rules, so it's a fine time to ask where we are going. who better than the members of our prestigious panel of pundits and pollsters to provide a map of the route ahead? also tonight, there's been six days of unrest in iran, is it theocracy vs democracy? and what does it mean for the reformist president rouhani, that his reforms have evidently not won over the people? cherie blair offers a new year suggestion on how to promote economic growth. that there is a vast opportunity that is being underused in every single country across the world. that opportunity is women.