near manchester, felt they were being overlooked. the best one is "you're overqualified , " which doesn't make any sense to me, because, you know, if you're qualified to this level, then you can do anyjob up until that level. heather is still on the job hunt but is enjoying having more time exercising in the local park. did you think it would take this long and that it would be this hard? um, yeah, basically. you know, i've been here before, in much better times, so. there are obviously a lot more people unemployed, and because there's more people unemployed, but then there's fewer jobs at the moment because a lot of people are on furlough still. but she is determined to get back into work. i don't relax. i'm not a relaxed sort of person, i can't do nothing. so for some, the search for work continues, but the arrival of an effective vaccine has brought renewed optimism for 2021. sarah corker, bbc news. it's taken 36 years. but finally, wham's festive hit, last christmas, has made it

to the uk's coveted number one slot. despite its enduring popularity, the song was held off the top spot in 1984, by band aid's do they know it's christmas. radio dj richard blade explained what wham's belated success means to him. # last christmas, i gave you my heart # but the very next day, you gave it away...# i mean, it's one of those tracks that people, when you hear it, you think about george, you think about wham, and you think about the time of year, it's the perfect track. # last christmas, i gave you my heart...# i was really shocked, actually, it had never been to number one on the uk charts before. it's one of those songs that people request all the time because they love wham, they love george. i was very, very lucky to know wham from their earliest days. when they first came over in 1982, i had them on my radio show.

they did their first ever live gigs with me at the beginning of 1983. i took them to the 321 club in santa monica, california, and that was the first time they played live when they lip synced to young guns and bad boys. and then they did it the next night at the club i was doing in westwood. # well, it's been a year, it doesn't surprise me...# the uk charts, to be number one on the bbc at christmas is so important, and i think it could be starting a tradition because, i mean, they have got the movie behind it, last christmas, they've got the song, why not george michael and wham at number one? it should be a tradition. # last christmas,

i gave you my heart # but the very next day, you gave it away. # but, thankfully, we have left the home perms behind. a uk ticket—holder has started the new year by winning the euromillions jackpot of nearly a0 million pounds. one ticket matched all five regular numbers and two lucky stars in the draw on friday night. the winning numbers were 16, 28, 32, 44 and 48 with the lucky stars 01 and 09. now it's time for a look at the weather. good afternoon. with the cold weather remaining for the rest of the weekend at least, the showers that are coming along are falling as snow over the hills, but even at lower levels, and so ice is a real concern because it is bitter out there. even with the sunshine, temperatures are barely reaching more than 3—4 degrees above freezing, and we have seen quite a number of showers around. so, under the cover of darkness, once again, temperatures will plummet. and it looks as if the showers will continue, as well, so that's obviously going to cause a hazard on the roads with the damp surfaces leading to ice. even in southern and eastern areas, we pick up a few more showers,

so the widespread frost meaning it will be icy. quite harsh again in the north, perhaps a little lighter, the frost, further south, but nevertheless a frost, a cold start. slightly changing the distribution of the showers for tomorrow because we are picking up more of a north—easterly compared with the northerly today, and a bracing north—easterly as well, which will accentuate the chill. more showers in central and eastern areas. but cold wherever you are. the warnings are on the website. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. in the uk pressure grows to shut more schools. unions are demanding an immediate two week closure of all primaries and secondaries in england as coronavirus cases surge. this isn't about us wanting to close schools, it's about head teachers wanting to open schools, but in order to do that, we need to have risk assessments that assessments that ensure that there are a safe

practice across our settings. president trump and the election, now 11 republican senators say they will support him and object to the official results. india begins a nation—wide mock drill to test its preparedness for mass immunisation against covid—19. french police shut down an illegal rave that had been under way since new year's eve with more than 2,500 partygoers. sportsday is coming up but first the travel show. this week, we're in kazakhstan... the view from the top! ..a vast country in the middle of central asia full of stunning landscapes and nomadic traditions. you can feel the fish tugging on the net. nature and the great outdoors have always been central to the kazakh people's way of life...

..and i'm here to explore how they are now combining both ancient and modern ways to stay in touch with their wild side. woo! this is a lot of fun! i've arrived in kazakhstan‘s biggest city of almaty. once, back when the country was still part of the ussr, and long before that, it was the capital city. now things have changed here. back in 1991, it was the last soviet republic to declare independence, ten days before the collapse of the union. since then, it has been under

the rule of president nazarbayev, who moved the capital north to the purpose—built city of astana. one thing is clear, however — this country has undergone a tumultuous period. but through it all, nature has continued to play a vital role for the once nomadic people here, and for travellers who visit. you start to get a sense of that at the green bazaar. there's been a market here since before soviet times. this is fermented horse milk, which has been around since the nomadic times, and they say it is a cure for tuberculosis. it's a strong taste. the aftertaste is almost like you're smoking a cigar. i don't know why, but that's exactly what it tastes like. very sharp, though. very intense taste. ah! it's the world's ninth largest

country, but kazakhstan is also one of the most sparsely populated. its people were traditionally nomadic, with their lives tied to their environment. today, travellers come to explore its relatively untouched landscapes. i want to find out more of the kazakhstani people's relationship with nature today, so i'm heading east to the aral sea, the world's fourth—largest lake — or at least that's what it was. welcome to the dusty streets of zhalanash. if you can believe it, this used to be a bustling fishing village. but if you come over here and you look down at the ground, you can see what used to be the bottom of the aral sea. there's not much

fishing going on now. it's been called one of the world's biggest environmental disasters. the sea which stretches the border between kazakhstan and uzbekistan was once about the size of ireland. back in the 1960s, the immense stretch of water began to dry up. around 90% of it was wiped off the map and with it, the livelihoods of many of the people who lived on the sea's produce. i'd heard that here in kazakhstan, the sea was actually coming back, and it was bringing travellers too, so off i go in search of the aral sea, across miles of the old sea bed. i've arranged to meet a guide in this region. he wanted me to see the full extent of what the sea,

which was actually a large lake, once was, thousands of years before it dried up in the 20th century. the view from the top! what caused it to recede so far? the flow of water was diverted to feed the soviet cotton industry. uzbekistan still remains one of the world's top producers of cotton, but while the uzbek side of the sea remains mostly lost, recent interventions have meant the north aral sea in

kazakhstan is returning. approaching the shore, one of the biggest draws for travellers has been the eerie sight of shipwrecks scattered across the old sea bed. spider webs everywhere. here we are. the aral sea. at one time, it was the fourth largest inland lake in the world and soon, it will reclaim that title.

i made it. birds chirping, fish jumping, sun setting — i get it. i get it now. it's a beautiful place. i wanted to see how kazakhstan‘s relationship with nature is changing, so i'm meeting up with a mountain guide. but what karla really wanted to show me was how some people are mixing old kazakhstan with the new — sandboarding on kazakhstan‘s most famous singing sand dune. famous because under the right conditions, the dune makes a humming sound, almost like an organ. humming. wow! it's huge! i can see the little dust devils twisting up the sides. it almost looks alive.

the skin of the dune, sweeping back and forth like a snake. and i heard that it almost is — it actually moves. in the past 150 years, it has moved three metres. slowly, but it is moving. it really is incredible. chuckles. i don't know how we're going to snowboard down it! laughs. along for the ride was karla's friend and olympic kazakhstan snowboard trainer yelena. the dune stretches for 3km and reaches a height of 150 metres and let me tell you, it might look placid from a distance but it is an entirely other story once you're up there. it's a little bit windy today but we're on the singing sands and i guess that's always how it is here. for myself, i have gone snowboarding before. what are some differences with sandboarding 7

0k. lean back, yeah? that being said, it was comforting knowing that i'll be going slower than on snow. and also the cool thing about a sand dune is there's no trees! so, i mean, i guess it's safer, right? no doubt, though, this is definitely the definition of an extreme sport. and here i am, strapped in. ok, you ready? i — i think i'm ready. woo! great start! playful music. this way, yeah? like this? oh, and then the board comes — oh! playful music continues.

laughs. woo! this is a lot of fun! though i promise you that you get sand in a lot of places karla's about to come down. she's standing up. she looks excited but a little bit nervous. you got it, karla! yeah! but before long, we're starting to get the hang of it. surfing music plays. this is a lot of work. pants. what's incredible, though, is when you come down, as the sand starts to avalanche, you can feel it shaking and reverberating underneath the board. it's very cool — it sings as you come down.