this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 7pm... more than 150,000 people in the uk have now died within 28 days of a positive covid test — since the pandemic began. ijust said to him, hurry up and get better. he said, i am trying. that is the last time i spoke to him. lawyers for novak djokavic claim he was given a vaccine exemption to enter australia, because he'd had a recent covid infection. thousands more flat—owners will be spared the expense of replacing unsafe cladding — under new government plans to make developers offer four—billion pounds towards the costs. nasa says the james webb space telescope has fully deployed in space,

after unfolding its final mirror panels. and coming up in sportsday at half—past seven. it is coming up at 7:45pm. it's the third round of the fa cup — and there's already been some giant—killing — with cambridge from league one — knocking out premier league newcastle united. good evening and welcome to bbc news. it really is seven o'clock. good to have your company this evening. more than 150,000 people in the uk have now died within 28 days of a positive covid test.

another 313 deaths have been reported in the latest daily figures. the uk is the seventh country to pass this number of official deaths, afterthe us, brazil, india, russia, mexico and peru. our health correspondent catherine burns reports how do you begin to imagine 150,000 people? it's almost the entire population of oxford, a city, like others, where the pandemic has caused so much pain. the first death within 28 days of a positive covid test was recorded in the uk on the 6th of march, 2020. five weeks later, more than 10,000 people had died. sabir—hussain mirza was 0xford's first muslim councillor. mostly, though, he was a family man — married with ten children. they relied on video calls when he went to hospital. we would be like, "come on, dad, get better quickly and come back." but one day sabir stopped answering his phone. he'd been put on a ventilator. after almost three weeks,

doctors said some of the family could visit him for the last time. i said to him, "i love you, and i want you to know that i will always love you, and i will never forget you." you just can't come to terms with someone actually telling you that your father's left this world. sabir was buried next to his younger brother. he'd died the day before in the same hospital, killed by the same disease. as the pandemic spread through society, the death toll rose rapidly, but scientists in this city were also working at speed, racing to find a vaccine, and by the end of april 2020, the oxford astrazeneca team was already testing it on volunteers in clinical trials, and as the year came to a close there was a real sense of optimism as both this and the pfizer vaccine were approved. january last year was a turning point — it saw more deaths than at any other time, over 32,000.

but by the end of the month almost half a million people had had their first dose of a vaccine. she was looking forward to the vaccine coming along. traceyjones turned 50 in lockdown. she didn't make it to 51. she said to me, "i feel very, very ill." isaid, "i know, my darling, they're going to put you to sleep and you'll be better." she said to me, "look after stephen," and those were the last words i ever heard from her. neil and tracey were a team, caring for their son stephen who has special needs. i had to tell him, unfortunately, "mum has gone to heaven now," and he hugged me and cried. no—one could come and see you. we were left to grieve on our own, really. it's very hard, especially when you have a special needs son, and you don't want him to see you crying, but sometimes you just had to go away and have a little cry. the pandemic has seen too many sad milestones. in november, 2020, the death toll stood at 50,000. just 11 weeks later,

it reached 100,000. vaccines helped slow that pace right down and it's taken almost another year to get to this point. i'm so glad that he retired when he did, early. robin birchmore was 63 and his invitation for a vaccine came through two days after he died. in hospital, he had one last video call with his daughter. he kept saying, "i'm struggling, i'm struggling to breathe," and i said to him, "hurry up and get better," and he said, "i'm trying." that was the last time i spoke to him. camilla's nan had also died from covid. 0n the night after her funeral the call came, it was time to say goodbye to her dad, as well. it was horrendous, horrendous. the doctor said, "here's your dad," and i went, "that's not my dad." i didn't even recognise him

because of all the tubes. you say your goodbyes and then you have to walk away from them. the uk has reported 150,000 deaths before any country in the eu. there is hope, though, that this pandemic will never again bring suffering on such a scale. catherine burns, bbc news. and in the last half hour the prime minister has issued a statement on the grim milestone. in it he says... john burn—murdoch is a data journalist at the financial times — he explained a little earlier how

the availability of tests throughout the pandemic may be skewing the case numbers. i think one thing i would start with as well is we mustn't forget the first wave that we had back in the spring of 2020 significantly under counted little covid was taken, far few people had access to testing. we now believe they have been more like 170,000 deaths where covid was involved in the uk. internationally, it is a relatively complex picture, as i am sure you can imagine. a lot of us remember back to that time last year and immediately after january, lastjanuary, when the waves we had been experiencing in the uk it was especially bad and the uk was relatively high up in any international comparison to deaths.

less vaccinated countries have actually had very, very lethal 2021, as it were. many, many countries across the world, including in europe, have taken the uk, once you adjust the population. we have seen severe covid waves in eastern europe and in countries like the united states are significantly more badly affected by the uk when it comes to deaths. i think the tens of thousands of lives that have been lost here certainly are very unfortunate, very serious and i think it is a serious consideration in terms of what could have been done differently. we should also come as your report showed they are, be grateful for the benefits that vaccines have delivered. many, many countries around the world had not realised that same benefit from vaccines and have ended up any worse position the uk. we vaccines and have ended up any worse position the uk-_ position the uk. we will be talking more about _ position the uk. we will be talking more about this _ position the uk. we will be talking more about this later— position the uk. we will be talking more about this later in _ position the uk. we will be talking more about this later in this -

position the uk. we will be talking more about this later in this half i more about this later in this half hour with our health correspondent. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — our guestsjoining me tonight are aubrey allegretti from the guardian and sian griffiths — education and families editor at the sunday times. it is at the usual times. 10:30pm and 11:30pm. lawyers for the tennis star novak djokovic say he had a vaccine exemption to enter australia because of a covid infection last month. djokovic was denied entry to australia after landing in melbourne this week to play in the australian open. he's currently in an immigration detention centre, ahead of an appeal hearing on monday. a second australian open hopeful, renata voracova from the czech republic, has now left the country after having her visa cancelled. shaimaa khalil reports from melbourne. the world's top tennis player is spending the weekend in an immigration detention hotel. and his supporters have

turned up for a third day. this is novak djokovic arriving in melbourne on wednesday. the documents his legal team presented to the court state he'd received the exemption from tennis australia, with a follow—up letter from the home affairs department, saying he was allowed into the country. his legal team added that onjanuary 1st djokovic received a document from home affairs, telling him his responses indicated his legal team added that onjanuary 1st djokovic received a document from home affairs, telling him his responses indicated he met the requirements for a quarantine—free arrival into australia. what's becoming clear is a breakdown in communication among those making the decisions, and what the judge has to look at and examine is exactly which rules apply. is it state government rules or federal government rules? and until a decision is made about whether novak djokovic can remain in australia, the world no1

is still stuck in this immigration detention hotel, and in the middle of a huge controversy. this particular set of incidents, the victorian government was not briefed on the matter. in terms of how people got into the country, that's a matter for the federal government. last night his mother offered some reassurance. novak is, i think... he said he's 0k, but...|'m not so sure. but he's mentally very stable, and he's waiting. that's what he can do, waiting until monday morning to see what they're going to decide. the tennis tournament is only a few days away, and what's normally one of the biggest highlights here is turning into a political and a diplomatic embarrassment for australia. shaimaa khalil, bbc news. the bbc has learned

that the housing secretary michael gove will next week pledge to "expose and pursue" companies responsible for the cladding crisis after the grenfell fire. in a new attempt to address building safety problems, he will make a statement to mps with the aim of easing the "unfair burden" on leaseholders. up to half a million flat owners across the uk may no longer face the cost of replacing dangerous cladding on their properties. our business correspondent simon browning has the details. it's a building safety crisis. an estimated half a million people live in homes wrapped in flammable materials. added to that a missing fire breaks, defective insulation and flammable balconies. but who is to blame, and who should fix them? up to now the government's approach was for dangerous cladding removal to be paid for by the building safety fund. it was only for buildings more than 18.5 metres in height. everything else was to be covered by either developers

paying, or via a loan scheme for leaseholders. it's meant blocks like this, austin apartments in the south—east london, were previous cut off from government support because it is below 18.5 metres. but on monday, michael gove, the levelling up secretary, is expected to say that will change and lower height buildings will get support. government will try to secure up to £4 billion from developers towards the cost. and if they don't pay for it voluntarily, it is understood the government will use the law to enforce it. flat owners this morning have cautiously welcomed the news. it does lift a layer of anxiety, but there is no absolute clarification in how developers are going to pay. but there is already concerned that house—builders won't pay when asked. well, they won't choose to pay. they will have to be dragged to the table to offer something up. i suspect it relies on showing will, whether it is by sampling the buildings, and showing that these buildings were not built to spec. the home builders federation said

of the largest house—builders had already spent or committed £1 billion to remediate affected buildings, and that whilst house—builders were committed to playing their part, there were other organisations involved in the construction, which should also be involved in remediation costs. labour said the new measures appear far less significant than they sound. but making thousands of homes safe after the grenfell fire continues to be a huge financial challenge for the industry and government. simon browning, bbc news. liam spender lives in a block in east london with flamable cladding and joins me now. thank you for speaking to us a again. what is the situation with your building at the moment? thank ou for your building at the moment? thank you for having _ your building at the moment? thank you for having me, _ your building at the moment? thank you for having me, first _ your building at the moment? thank you for having me, first of _ your building at the moment? thank you for having me, first of all. - your building at the moment? thank

you for having me, first of all. i - you for having me, first of all. i live on a mixed height development. half of our buildings are over 18 metres and half are under 18 metres. the building i live in is 1a metres, five stories. theoretically, this announcement helps. i don't think we have the detail to know how much help, if any, have the detail to know how much help, ifany, it have the detail to know how much help, if any, it will be.— help, if any, it will be. indeed. in ractical help, if any, it will be. indeed. in practical terms, _ help, if any, it will be. indeed. in practical terms, the _ help, if any, it will be. indeed. in practical terms, the governmentl help, if any, it will be. indeed. in. practical terms, the government is saying it is going to somehow get the developers to offer money in. you are a lawyer, you know how things are usually done. is it that common that people in the commercial world offer money in these kind of circumstances? hot world offer money in these kind of circumstances?— world offer money in these kind of circumstances? not unless you have some leveraged- — circumstances? not unless you have some leveraged. if— circumstances? not unless you have some leveraged. if you _ circumstances? not unless you have some leveraged. if you take - circumstances? not unless you have some leveraged. if you take the - some leveraged. if you take the example of litigation, issuing a claim against someone gives you leveraged because typically they want the claim to go away, unless it

is a principle. no commercial organisation gives away money unless it has reason to. does the government have leveraged? i think it does because it appears to be taking away one of the industry's trump cards, if you take money off us we cannot produce more housing. typically, governments want there to be more housing. so the announcement seems to be saying, if they will not pay voluntarily, the government will shift its focus to building safety, so that gives them leveraged, the threat of taxes and a threat of imposing a solution on them. whether that induces a settlement remains to be seen. in that induces a settlement remains to be seen. ., ., , ., be seen. in other words, we are in an early stage- _ be seen. in other words, we are in an early stage. this _ be seen. in other words, we are in an early stage. this must - be seen. in other words, we are in an early stage. this must be - be seen. in other words, we are in | an early stage. this must be hugely frustrating for you and other leaseholders. we are now several

years on from the terrible events, extra costs, people are having to do in the high level towers, having to employ fire safety wardens. it must be very frustrating.— be very frustrating. enormously frustrating- _ be very frustrating. enormously frustrating. there _ be very frustrating. enormously frustrating. there has - be very frustrating. enormously frustrating. there has been - be very frustrating. enormouslyl frustrating. there has been work done on the mental health impact this is having on people. this isn't about money, this is people's lives. we are approaching five years. it will be five years this year. i think it has gone on for far too long already. think it has gone on for far too long already-— think it has gone on for far too lona alread . . ~ ,, , . long already. thank you very much. perha -s long already. thank you very much. perhaps we — long already. thank you very much. perhaps we will _ long already. thank you very much. perhaps we will speak _ long already. thank you very much. perhaps we will speak to _ long already. thank you very much. perhaps we will speak to you - long already. thank you very much. perhaps we will speak to you again | perhaps we will speak to you again when we know exactly what the government is proposing at this stage. government is proposing at this state. . ~ government is proposing at this state. ., ~' ,, , government is proposing at this state. ., , . government is proposing at this state. . ~ , . ., government is proposing at this state, ., ~' y., , . ., ., stage. thank you very much for now. thank you. — stage. thank you very much for now. thank you, thank— stage. thank you very much for now. thank you, thank you. _ at least 21 people have died in freezing temperatures in northeastern pakistan after their cars were trapped in heavy snow. the chief minister of punjab

province has declared the mountain resort town of murree — where a thousand vehicles are still stranded — as a "disaster area" and has urged people to stay away. janey mitchell reports. a day trip to enjoy the spectacle of the first snowfall of the season turned to tragedy. tens of thousands, including families, flocked to the popular resort town after snow began falling on tuesday. many travelled from islamabad ill—equipped to deal with the blizzard conditions. the pakistani army has been brought in to help clear snow and rescue those trapped. and the hope is to begin air lifts when conditions allow. translation: helicopter service will soon be started, _ but the weather is not good right now. as soon as the weather gets better, god willing, we will start helicopter service to rescue any people stranded. many of the casualties died from hypothermia as temperatures fell to —8 celsius.

others were reported to have been asphyxiated by exhaust fumes as they kept engines running to keep warm. vehicles were trapped as the narrow mountain roads became clogged with the sheer number of vehicles. others were blocked by fallen trees brought down by the weight of snow. local people are delivering blankets and food to those stranded. on friday, the government closed all roads leading to murree to stop any further influx. pakistan's prime minister has expressed his shocked and upset at the deaths. he suggested that the local administration was caught unprepared. he has ordered an inquiry to ensure such a tragedy does not happen again. let's go back to covid — and let's take a look at the latest official government figures — there were 146,390 new coronavirus

infections, recorded in the latest 24—hour period. 313 deaths were reported in the latest 2a hour period, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test. and as you heard earlier, it means the total number of people who've died with covid now stands at 150,057. a grim milestone. it is a figure that has a dramatic impact on people. 150,000, people are worried exactly where it will end. 0n vaccinations, over 35.2 million people have had a boosterjab, which means, 61.3 per cent of people aged 12 and over have now had three vaccine doses. let's talk now to our health correspondent katharine da costa —

it isa it is a milestone and not a pleasant one. can you explain the significance of it? this figure is even more complicated because it is people who have died within 28 days of testing positive. it does not mean that necessarily died of covid. there is a separate figure from the government that shows their death certificate shows the died of covid. looking at this measure, within 20 days of a positive test, the uk is now the seventh country that has passed 150,000 deaths, joining united states, brazil, india and russia. each of those deaths is a tragedy, leaving a grieving family. it has taken 12 months to get to 150,000. that slowdown is thanks in large part due to the vaccination programme, providing high levels of protection from falling seriously ill and dying from the virus.

vaccines are not 100% effective. even with new treatments and antiviral drugs, it is inevitable there will be more deaths. people will carry on _ there will be more deaths. people will carry on dying _ there will be more deaths. people will carry on dying of _ there will be more deaths. people will carry on dying of covid, - there will be more deaths. people will carry on dying of covid, it - there will be more deaths. people will carry on dying of covid, it is i will carry on dying of covid, it is hoped the numbers will get smaller. the link between dying has been weakened because of the vaccines. we weakened because of the vaccines. - have seen the omicron variant have seen the 0micron variant emerging in december and cases were surging before christmas. that lack is we are seeing daily death is increasing. a week on week trend is “p increasing. a week on week trend is up nearly a0%. the department of health says it shows the pandemic is not over. the vaccination programme has worked and it is urging people to come forward, to get your first and second doses and importantly to get your booster jab. and second doses and importantly to get your boosterjab. campaigners say lessons need to be learned about the handling of the pandemic and the government says it is committed to a full public enquiry in the spring.

we are the seventh country to pass this milestone, if you look at the number of deaths compared to the size of population, we are kind of doing not as well as european countries. we have lost a bigger proportion to it. that is the sort of thing the enquiry will ask. the handfina of thing the enquiry will ask. the handling of _ of thing the enquiry will ask. tue: handling of the of thing the enquiry will ask. tte: handling of the pandemic, of thing the enquiry will ask. tt2 handling of the pandemic, the decisions made. the government has always set a prioritised, or brought in ppe, fast tracked vaccines. the critics will say more could have been done. there are those who call for tighter restrictions in england, for tighter restrictions in england, for example. it will be interesting to see the evidence, the data that is brought up. interestingly, this country has decided not to bring in fourth doses. israel, for example, started to bring in a fourth booster jabs. vaccine experts in the uk see

it is not needed, the evidence shows protection from the boosterjab it is not needed, the evidence shows protection from the booster jab for those over 65 are still very high, 90% protection from hospitalisation. for now, they don't think it is needed. that will be monitored. to see what happens whether vaccines start to wane. for now, does needed. maybe it becomes an annualjab, for example. tt maybe it becomes an annual 'ab, for examle. ., . ., ~' example. it would nice to think it doesnt example. it would nice to think it doesn't stop _ example. it would nice to think it doesn't stop us _ example. it would nice to think it doesn't stop us doing _ example. it would nice to think it doesn't stop us doing stuff, - example. it would nice to think it doesn't stop us doing stuff, it - example. it would nice to think it doesn't stop us doing stuff, it is. example. it would nice to think it| doesn't stop us doing stuff, it is a risk and we deal with it. thank you very much. france has reported a massive 303,669 new coronavirus cases in the past 2a hours despite strict covid pass measures. the figures come as demonstrations were held against even tougher rules which would see unvaccinated people largely banned from any public space. france also has strict

mask—wearing restrictions. two teenagers have appeared in court charged with manslaughter and arson after an 88—year—old woman was killed in a fire in east london. josephine smith died following a fire inside a residential address in queen's park road on the 28th of october. a firework was recovered from the scene. 18—year—old kai cooper from leatherhead, surrey, and a 15—year—old boy from southend, essex, have been remanded in custody and will appear at the old bailey on tuesday. a zoo in the west midlands has reported that nearly three quarters of its penguins have died in an outbreak of avian malaria. keepers at dudley zoo say they have been left heartbroken after 50 of the 69 birds in their care died from the parasitic disease nasa scientists say the james webb space telescope has fully deployed in space, after unfolding its final mirror panels. the golden primary mirror will allow the telescope to be properly focused — helping scientists to study the very

first stars to shine in the universe. dr ezzy pearson, is news editor of the bbc�*s �*sky at night�* magazine and shejoins me now. it is good to speak to you again. we are often speaking on ground—breaking moments. tell us how ground—breaking moments. tell us how ground—breaking this moment is. this ground-breaking this moment is. this is a moment — ground—breaking this moment is. tt 3 is a moment that i personally have been waiting for my entire career. when i first started studying astrophysics back in the early 2000 is they were talking about this and it has finally flown. there are people who have had entire careers waiting for this to fly. it is a big moment for people out there and it is exciting to finally see it. that is exciting to finally see it. at the time we were reporting the launch, i remembera the time we were reporting the launch, i remember a scientist describing this business we have just completed is a bit like origami

in space. can you explain, why can't the mirror havejust in space. can you explain, why can't the mirror have just gone up open? there is one very big problem that it has a 6.5 wide metre mirror and a rocket is about three metres wide. we cannot fit something that big inside a tiny rocket. they had to do some creative origami and fold it up and put it inside this rocket. it also had this absolutely massive sun shield. so this was five layers of foil. each layer is the size of a tennis court. there is no way you could fit that in a rocket so they had to full do it all up and send it into space and unfurl it once it got there. , ., , ., , there. there must have been nervous moments amongst _ there. there must have been nervous moments amongst the _ there. there must have been nervous moments amongst the people - there. there must have been nervous moments amongst the people who i moments amongst the people who designed this as the process began. how long does the unfolding take? the unfolding process takes about two weeks. it launched on christmas

day and itjust two weeks. it launched on christmas day and it just finished about two weeks. it launched on christmas day and itjust finished about one hour ago. there were 15 different stages. there are over 100 single—point failures, which is if this thing does not work, our mission is finished we are going to have serious problems. the fact we got through all of those and nasa got through all of those and nasa got through all of those and nasa got through all of those and people are going to have a big sigh of relief. now it has to get to where it is going. relief. now it has to get to where it is going-— it is going. the potential aid on the face moments _ it is going. the potential aid on the face moments have - it is going. the potential aid on the face moments have been . it is going. the potential aid on - the face moments have been averted. there is another six months of calibrating, but when it finally deploys, explain to us what it is going to be able to see. we have had the extraordinary conversations that people are saying it will be looking back at the birth of universe. that does sound _ back at the birth of universe. that does sound like _ back at the birth of universe. tngt does sound like science fiction. it kind of is a little bit. the web is

an infrared terrace scope and infrared is really great at looking at all of the dust in the universe. dust all over the place and when you are looking really far back you are looking through 13 billion years worth of dust and it blurs the image out, but now you can see rightly way back to those first images of galaxies beginning to form in the first stars beginning to light up. that is where the telescope is going to come to the fore. it is able to look into the dusty environments around where stars grew up and we are new planets are farming and that is one of the places that is going to help closer to home, as well as at the beginning of the universe. thank you very much for that. it is a really engaging explanation of what is going up there. did you see

30 billion years worth of dust? 13.8. forgive me. you have made me feel better now about not getting out the polish and the cloth earlier today in the flat. thank you very much. lovely to speak to you. where do you go to space but to look at the weather. it was a miserable start to our weekend. the weather still needed improve. but the weather story did improve as we went through the day. there will continue to be a few showers into the evening and overnight in the far north and west. but as skies continue to clear, well, temperatures will fall away and we could see some icy stretches with a few showers lingering here and there. showers most chiefly to the far north and west and with any elevation they will be wintry as well. so it's going to be a chilly start to our sunday morning for many of us. but it will be a sunny one. we will keep some sunshine throughout much of the day into central and eastern areas, central and southern england. a few scattered showers moving

through western scotland, maybe across the peaks and pennines and maybe some rain gathering