good afternoon.

the education secretary has said he would support cutting the coronavirus self—isolation period from seven to five days in england, if the move was recommended by experts at the uk health security agency. he said reducing the self—isolation period would help with staff absenteeism. he also denied there were plans to stop supplying free lateral flow tests — after a report in a sunday paper. our health correspondent dominic hughes has more. the good news is that boosterjabs are holding fast against the omicron wave. even as new cases have surged, hospital admissions remain a long way off the peak seen this time last year. but each day, hundreds of thousands of people are having to isolate for at least seven days, so now there is a suggestion that period could be cut to five days instead. it period could be cut to five days instead. ., , , ., , instead. it would help with staff absenteeism, _ instead. it would help with staff absenteeism, hence _ instead. it would help with staff absenteeism, hence why - instead. it would help with staff absenteeism, hence why i - instead. it would help with staff absenteeism, hence why i think instead. it would help with staff l absenteeism, hence why i think if the experts, and i can defer to the

uk health and security agency, deem it appropriate that you can have two negative tests on consecutive days as we do now with day six and seven, thenit as we do now with day six and seven, then it is a good thing to keep under review. he then it is a good thing to keep under review.— then it is a good thing to keep under review. , ., , under review. he denied reports the government — under review. he denied reports the government was _ under review. he denied reports the government was planning _ under review. he denied reports the government was planning to - under review. he denied reports the government was planning to start i government was planning to start charging for lateral flow test and labour�*s shadow chancellor said people need to be able to test regularly to stop passing on the virus. �* , . ., . regularly to stop passing on the virus. �* , _, . _ regularly to stop passing on the virus. �* , . _ , virus. i'm very concerned by this briefin: virus. i'm very concerned by this briefing from — virus. i'm very concerned by this briefing from government - virus. i'm very concerned by this briefing from government that i briefing from government that lateral flow tests could be charged for any time soon. lateral flow tests are absolutely essential to keeping us protected and to keep our economy open. it’s keeping us protected and to keep our economy open-— economy open. it's not 'ust isolation i economy open. it's not 'ust isolation rules i economy open. it's not 'ust isolation rules that i economy open. it's notjust isolation rules that could i economy open. it's notjust| isolation rules that could hit hospital staffing, isolation rules that could hit hospitalstaffing, by isolation rules that could hit hospital staffing, by february the 3rd all nhs staff in england with direct contact with patients need to have had their first vaccine jab or risk losing theirjobs by the end of march. one nhs boss acknowledges that could affect around 10% of his

workforce. we that could affect around 1096 of his workforce. ~ ., that could affect around 1096 of his workforce. ~ . ., , , ., ., , workforce. we have approximately 14,000 staff... _ workforce. we have approximately 14,000 staff... you _ workforce. we have approximately 14,000 staff... you could - workforce. we have approximately 14,000 staff... you could lose - workforce. we have approximately i 14,000 staff... you could lose more than 1000? — 14,000 staff... you could lose more than 1000? in _ 14,000 staff... you could lose more than 1000? in an _ 14,000 staff... you could lose more than 1000? in an extreme _ 14,000 staff... you could lose more than 1000? in an extreme position. | than 1000? in an extreme position. but i am confident, _ than 1000? in an extreme position. but i am confident, and _ than 1000? in an extreme position. but i am confident, and we're - but i am confident, and we're already seeing a number of staff being vaccinated. the already seeing a number of staff being vaccinated.— being vaccinated. the push on vaccinations _ being vaccinated. the push on vaccinations and _ being vaccinated. the push on vaccinations and boosters, - being vaccinated. the push on| vaccinations and boosters, not being vaccinated. the push on - vaccinations and boosters, notjust make stuff but all of us continues. even though the omicron wave is not yet over ministers are clearly thinking about what happens next and how we live in covid —— with covid in the to come. dominic hughes — bbc news. the australian government has failed to have the visa hearing for tennis star novak djokovic delayed, and it will go ahead as planned tonight. mr ovak djokoviclawyers say he has a valid medical exemption from australia's strict covid vaccination policy, because he had covid last month. simonjones reports. supporters of novak djokovic to gather outside the immigration detention centre in melbourne where he is staying. they want to see him on the tennis court. the countdown is on to his court case.

oh, mate, i haven't slept since he's come off the plane. we are all sick to the stomach. it's a very unfortunate situation for australia. it's becoming very embarrassing. this was novak djokovic arriving on wednesday. his legal team said he had received a vaccine exemption to enter the country from tennis australia because he had tested positive for covid on the 16th of december. that was a day on which these pictures were taken, showing novak djokovic damascus at a ceremony in his home country of serbia in which he was honoured with his own postage stamps in recognition of his achievements. it's unclear whether he had taken a test at this stage. the following day, the serbian media said he was pictured handing out awards to young players. it's unclear whether he knew he had covid. another player, renata voracova from the czech republic, has now left the hotel and the country after her visa was cancelled. novak djokovic had asked to be moved to somewhere where he could train ahead of the open. that looks unlikely but he has been

given exercise equipment and gluten—free food. one former australian foreign minister is not sympathetic. there's no way you could give him an exemption when exemptions haven't been given to people who have wanted to go to australia to see dying parents and, you know, injured relatives. there are all sorts of heart rendering stories about people not being able to see their relatives in australia. but those people aren't famous, so they don't get an exemption. but it will now be up to a judge to decide just a week before the australian open begins. simonjones — bbc news. in a moment we'll speak to the bbc�*s guy de launey in the serbian capital belgrade, but first to our tennis correspondent russell fuller in melbourne. russell, how likely is djokovic to win the case? experts think it will be difficult for novak djokovic to win the case

because his lawyers will have to prove the australian border force didn't follow the law correctly. what his legal team will say is that the process was unfair and the decision was unreasonable. they point to communication between tennis australia and all of the players that if you have had covid in the last six months that's a good enough reason for a medical exemption from vaccination. within the last few hours the australian government have replied, and they say there is no such thing as an assurance of entry by a non—citizen australia, and they argue that if the court rules in novak djokovic's favour they have the power to detain him once again and cancel his visa once again. him once again and cancel his visa once again-— once again. thanks very much, russell. guy de launey is in the serbian capital belgrade — what's been the reaction there? as you can imagine, there is a lot of support for novak djokovic here. his family have been holding support rallies outside the national assembly every day. they say they've had a lot of support from the

government. they are planning to keep holding their support rallies. they will be there this afternoon and will keep on going until novak djokovic is out of that quarantine hotel in melbourne. i think there has been a lot of sympathy because it is orthodox christmas week here in serbia, so the idea of the world number one tennis star from serbia spending time away from his family has elicited a lot of sympathy. that's even come down to the head of the orthodox church here who says millions will be remembering novak djokovic in their prayers and will be hoping for a legal deliverance so their man can get back onto the kind of court where he usually does such devastating things.— devastating things. thanks very much. (pres). police in pakistan say they've taken more than 500 families to safety after they were stranded in deadly blizzards outside the hill resort of murree in the north of the country. at least 22 tourists died after more

than a metre of snow fell in just a few hours on friday night. the blizzard felled trees and blocked roads in and out of the resort. authorities have promised an investigation. to cricket, england batted through the final day — to secure a draw in the fourth ashes test in sydney — and avoid a 5—0 series whitewash. australia had already won the ashes and needed ten wickets to win the match too, but england survived despite some late drama. patrick gearey reports. the relentless march of the australians. on day five they hunt. ten wickets to get. all too often haseeb hameed goes first. that's got him. yet there was a strange calm about sydney, and about zak crawley. under pressure for his place but batting in a bubble. untroubled. he made 77 before it popped. that's out. three down, but look up, it was getting darker, the rain took seven overs out of the match. having been helped by the clouds, england needed their stars.

the injured ben stokes, batting in such pain that every run stung, and joe root, their captain, but half an hour from tea—time... oh, it's found an edge. that was big. joe root knew it, england had to forget it. after all, they were soon in the final session with stokes still there, wounded side, willing hard, butjust at the wrong moment he was betrayed by a touch. with stokes still there, wounded side, willing heart, butjust at the wrong moment he was betrayed by a touch. oh, there he goes. a different kind of hurt, because now the door was open and pat cummins was charging through it. mark wood fell just afterjos buttler. down to the sharp end, 13 balls left, two wickets left. oh, it's got him! whenjack leach became one of them. australia sensed blood, england perhaps deja vu, last ball to jimmy anderson to decide the test. he's done it. he's survived it. england have survived it... and breathe. this is a draw, not a victory, but england waved no white flag so there will be no whitewash. patrick geary — bbc news. finally, 3 new photographs of the duchess of cambridge have

been released to mark her 40th birthday today. the portraits were taken by fashion photographer paolo roversi — and show catherine wearing different alexander mcqueen dresses. they will go on display this year in berkshire, st andrews and anglesey — three places that she has lived. that's it for now — the next news on bbc one is a bit earlier than usual — at 16.45. have a good afternoon. hello. you're watching the bbc news channel. sport, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's gavin ra mjaun. good afternoon. as we've seen, england clung on for a tense draw on the final day of the fourth

ashes test in sydney to end australia's hopes of a 5—0 whitewash. needing to bat out the final day, england didn't make it easy — they rarely do — but with just one wicket in hand, they got themselves over the line. this has not been a series with many positive moments for england, but today, finally, some good news to end a test match, they got away with a draw, nine wickets down, james anderson and stuart broad saw out the final couple of overs in the gloom at the sydney cricket ground to ensure it will not be a 5—0 series whitewash. watching on, stephen flynn, it was pretty nerve—racking stuff. . stephen flynn, it was pretty nerve-racking stuff.- stephen flynn, it was pretty nerve-racking stuff. , yes, it's not tense at the _ nerve-racking stuff. , yes, it's not tense at the end. _ nerve-racking stuff. , yes, it's not tense at the end. stuart _ nerve-racking stuff. , yes, it's not tense at the end. stuart broad - nerve-racking stuff. , yes, it's not| tense at the end. stuart broad and james anderson out those final two overs to save the test match. it had drama all way through an england, to salvage this from being 36—4 in the first innings, was a fantastic effort and they can take heart from this going into the next test match,

where they will certainly be trying to win a test match and go home with at least one victory. ida to win a test match and go home with at least one victory.— at least one victory. no test side comes to australia _ at least one victory. no test side comes to australia and - at least one victory. no test side comes to australia and hopes . at least one victory. no test side j comes to australia and hopes for at least one victory. no test side - comes to australia and hopes for one draw from the first four matches, but given everything, this will feel like a moment of success for england. like a moment of success for encland. ., , like a moment of success for england-— like a moment of success for encland. . , ., ., england. certainly, it would have felt like that — england. certainly, it would have felt like that in _ england. certainly, it would have felt like that in the _ england. certainly, it would have felt like that in the dressing - england. certainly, it would have. felt like that in the dressing room. they won't feel as though they have won the game, but like they have conquered some of the demons that have haunted them over the course of the last five weeks or so messing off that australian bowling attack, crawley coming in and playing an innings of a test match batsmen was impressive, jonny bairstow in both innings batting really well, ben stokes with 52 to and the game. positive things to talk about, disappointing that it looks likejos buttler is going home, very disappointing for the team, but to see how ben stokes's inside is an jonny bairstow�*s fun, those

casualties aside, relatively positive week and more positive than we have seen so far. well, there has been a lot of pressure on captainjoe root, and he said he was relieved and proud that england managed to draw the match — and remove the possibility of another 5—0 defeat. coming into the game, i spoke a lot about putting pride back into english cricket and into the test performances, and i think fight and desire and character shown today and throughout the five games so days has done that in a small weight the position we found ourselves in. in this game, to sit here and having had a draw, at the start of today, it was always going to take a good performance and really proud of the way the guys dug in and managed to do that. in and managed to do that. we saw a few fa cup third round shocks yesterday. are we likely to see more today? there are nine more matches games to look forward to. one game already under way — luton hosting harrogate, and it's the hosts who are a goal up,

elijah adebayo the scorer. more kick off at two o'clock, including liverpool v shrewsbury, and west ham at home to leeds in an all—premier league tie, with the later match between nottingham forest and arsenal. and the women's super league resumes today, with the first games of year taking place. we're into the second half of the match between brighton and manchester city and city are currently 3—0 up. these are the live pictures — action is over on the red button and bbc sport website. city with three goals in the second half for them. city with three goals in the second half for them. city can overtake brighton into fifth with a win. later on, leaders arsenal travel to birmingham city, hoping to extend their lead at the top to seven points. that is all the sport from us for now, victoria.

the education secretary, nadhim zahawi, denied there are plans to stop supplying free lateral flow tests — after a report in a sunday paper. earlier i spoke to thorrun govind, chair of the royal pharmaceutical society in england. she warned that there is a still a shortage of lateral flow tests — which has led to her members receiving abuse from the public. is she really should by the comments that lateral flow tests will remain free? —— is she reassured? i think i will be reassured when we see more supplies coming into the pharmacies. as you'll have seen, i have been doing a few media interviews over the last two weeks or so, we have had difficulties in pharmacies because we are getting abuse from the public, because we are not getting the supplies into the pharmacies. now, it is meant to be getting a bit better — there was only one sole distributor through the christmas and new year period, though it is pleasing to see that they are looking into sorting another distributor, so i think we need to see the action and for it to be recognised that, at the end of the day, it is our health care teams on the front line who are bearing the brunt of the decisions made higher up. so, to confirm, are you or not short

of lateral flow tests right now? we are not...we are still struggling to get them in, we're only allowed to order one box into the pharmacy per day, which is about 56 tests still. are you saying that is not enough? that is not enough to meet demand, no. we are... they are going straight out of the door, patients are coming in and obviously they have been told they can collect them and that is an issue as well — the collection code does not mean there is one sat there waiting for you at the pharmacy. it is not click and collect like at the supermarket, so we need more lateral flow tests into the pharmacies and we need the government to be supporting front line health care professionals who are doing their utmost to support the public. new changes to covid travel testing rules have come into force in england. from today, the day two test for international arrivals in england can now be a privately—bought lateral flow test rather than a more expensive pcr one. the move applies to fully—vaccinated people and those aged under—18.

a bbc investigation into accommodation for asylum seekers in the uk has discovered serial concerns about the living conditions provided for some people. refugee organisations say they regularly hear about properties which residents believe are unsafe, and struggle to get help on a national phone line. the concerns come after a year of mounting controversy over how the home office manages asylum seekers and refugees. it reckons it will soon have to house 80,000 people a year. dominic casciani reports. crying. this video is just for you. look, this one... a domestic crisis — the family living here are seeking asylum and safety. the father is recording video for the government's national support line. look, the electricity... a bbc investigation has discovered evidence of some homes provided to asylum seekers

with serious safety concerns. homes like this one. when a family housed in west yorkshire warned of a crumbling ceiling, it was temporarily repaired, and then it collapsed. the mother suffered concussion as she protected her baby. i was in the room upstairs, me, and all of a sudden, i heard a noise, and she shouts, "ow!" and then i ran down, and they are on the floor, and the plaster was on her head. my baby was shouting, screaming in the other corner. it could have hit your baby. it could have hit my baby, i could lose my baby today. how many times did you complain about the state of the house? i have complained before several times about my ceiling in the living room. adam's child was lucky, but this baby from another family less so. pictures following a different ceiling collapse last year. the provider of these homes said it responded when it was made aware of the dangers. three companies share a £4 billion

ten—year long contract to house asylum seekers, a fourth contract goes to a charity running a national helpline to handle complaints. more than 30 organisations working with thousands of asylum seekers have told the bbc they think some of the housing is unacceptable. eight out of ten said they have heard concerns about accommodation most weeks. the vast majority said it took too long to get action when they contacted the national helpline. i've worked in this area of work for nearly 20 years and have never seen it as bad in terms of the housing and accommodation people are experiencing. our partners across the sector are also reporting similar things. we are very worried there is going to be some catastrophic incident. at this house in manchester, the residents say they have repeatedly tried to complain about a blockage before it became this sewage flood. the company managing this home won't comment, but the bbc understands it is sure it did everything it could once

it was aware what happened. the companies that have responded to the bbc say they are fulfilling all their contractual obligations, and while the home office says they're providing a good standard of accommodation, it won't release data on their performance. as for the national phone line, officials say it has faced unprecedented demand in the past year, but insists it is now meeting all of its targets. adam says he wants the government to reveal how well it is monitoring the contracts and the state of some of the homes. i don't want any compensation. i want my daughter, i want my family, i don't want someone to be a victim like me in the future. dominic casciani, bbc news, in leeds. media reports from kazakhstan citing the health ministry say 164 people died in the violence of the last week. the authorities say more than 5,000 people have been detained. the unrest began as a protest against the rise in fuel prices, but may have grown into something else. steve rosenberg reports from kazakhstan's capital.

well, the capital of kazakhstan feels pretty calm, really, but after the protests and violence that erupted across much of the country last week, a state of emergency and a curfew remain in place here and nationwide. there is very little connectivity — they switch the internet on for maybe three or four hours a day, which makes it very difficult for people to actually work out what's going on here. and although things were much, much quieter here than they were in almaty, you can see security has been tightened. for example, that is the entrance to the presidential palace, which has been blocked off. president tokayev blames the terrorists and bandits for the violence, but there is a growing suggestion that violence is somehow linked to a power struggle going on within the ruling elite in kazakhstan. an afghan baby who was handed over a wall to soldiers at kabul airport during last summer's evacuation has been found and reunited with his family. the boy disappeared in the mayhem at the airport as thousands of people tried to flee afghanistan

when the taliban took over. our correspondent greg mckenzie has the details. reunited after a frantic five—month search, baby sohail was just two months old when he was handed over to soldiers at kabul airport in august, as thousands of people rushed to leave afghanistan as it fell to the taliban. translation: today is a historical day for us as i receive my grandson in front of the media, i am so grateful. in the confusion and chaos of the american evacuation of afghanistan, it was a local taxi driver who discovered the baby alone, and took him home to raise as his own. translation: | entered | the airport and saw a baby was lying down on the ground in a very bad condition. i looked around and showed this child to many people.

but i couldn't find anyone related to him. i called my wife at home and decided to take the child home. but after more than seven weeks of negotiations and pleas, and a brief detention by taliban police, the baby was handed back to his jubilant grandfather and other relatives still in kabul. it is now hoped baby sohail will travel to america to be reunited with the rest of his family, who have since been resettled and are currently living in michigan. the case has once again highlighted the real plight of many parents who were separated from their children during the hasty evacuation efforts and the withdrawal of us forces from afghanistan after a 20—year war. greg mckenzie, bbc news. in pakistan, the bodies of people who died after becoming trapped in their cars by heavy snow, have begun arriving in the capital islamabad. at least 22 people died after hundreds of vehicles became stranded by unusually heavy snowfall around the hilltop town of murree, to the north—east of the capital.

charlotte lam reports. the tragic outcome of what was supposed to be an enjoyable weekend. at least 21 people died after their cars became engulfed with heavy snow. included in the victims, a policeman, his wife and their six children. military units and other emergency services were deployed to clear roads and hand out supplies to stranded motorists as they waited to be rescued. the chief minister of punjab has tweeted that those left stranded by the record snowfall have now been moved to safety and while work to clear the snow continues, many of the area's routes have been reopened. although roads leading to murree remain sealed off by authorities. as ambulances transporting the bodies of people who perished arrived in islamabad,

the row over who is to blame for the disaster has already begun. taking to twitter, opposition politicians pointed to the fact that extreme snowfall had been predicted, with claims government officials had taken steps to prevent the huge influx of tourists keen to enjoy the winter weather. the pakistani prime minister, imran khan, has ordered an enquiry into the disaster. but before that is completed, further heavy snow is expected to fall. charlotte lam, bbc news. the biggest, most powerful telescope nasa has ever launched has successfully been assembled in space two weeks after its christmas day take—off. it's hoped the james webb telescope will teach astronomers about the history of the cosmos, as well as search for signs of life on other planets. alice key reports. mission control: we have reached

the end of deployment _ and we are preloading into the launch pad. . cheering and applause. celebrations from mission control in baltimore as the final piece of the telescope puzzle slots into place. there are no cameras on board so this live animation was the only way to see the final mirrored wing of the world's largest space telescope unfold. mission control: and we have a fully unfolded observatory. _ all right. talking to staff afterwards, nasa's director of science praised them for making history. i want to tell you just how excited and emotional i am right now. we have a deployed telescope in orbit. a magnificent telescope the likes of which the world has never seen. so how does it feel to make history, everybody? you just did it! the new observatory will look deeper into space than ever before. infrared technology will allow it to see the first stars and galaxies

formed a 13.5 billion years ago. it's also going to be able to look into the really dusty environments around where stars grow up and where new planets are forming. that's one of the places that will help slightly closer to home as well as at the beginning of the universe. and lift off! 20 years in the making, it was successfully launched on christmas day, but it was so big, it had to be flat packed inside a rocket to make it into orbit. over the past two weeks, it's been slowly unfurling as it travels nearly1 million miles away from earth to circle the sun. but for it to send back images, each segment now has to line up perfectly to act as a single huge mirror. so each one of those mirrors, which is very lightweight, have motors on the back which can move them up and down, tip them sideways, rotate them and even slightly bend them to make sure they have exactly the right focus.

nothing this complex has ever been tried in space before, but if it works, by the summer, it should be sending back its first images, and scientists say they could revolutionise the way we see our universe. alice key, bbc news. it's usually one of the biggest nights in hollywood, but this evening's golden globes ceremony will be held without a—list stars or a red carpet. the event is being boycotted after it emerged that the organising committee had not had a single black member for more than 20 years. the awards will be announced via social media, as our entertainment correspondent colin paterson reports. # it all began tonight... tonight, west side story is one of the big favourites to win at the golden globes. but not of its stars or its director, steven spielberg, will be there. the same goes for belfast, which is tied for the most

nominations — seven. we're looking to cleanse the community. you wouldn't want to be the odd man out in this street. touch my family and i'll kill you. it is based on the childhood of its director, sir kenneth branagh, who has never won a golden globe. if he does tonight, the way he will find out is on his computer. it is doubtful that he will even care. the golden globes are normally a star—studded event, but they have been beset with problems for the past year. an la times expose revealed that they have not had a single black voter for almost two decades, and there are accusations of unethical practices. this prompted tom cruise to send back the three golden globes he had won. the rights holders, nbc, said they would not broadcast the ceremony, and despite radical changes being introduced, hollywood en masse decided to boycott the event. this week, the golden globes announced that the ceremony

at the beverly hilton hotel in los angeles will be a private event and will not be live—streamed, with winners simply being announced on social media. this prompted us talk show host conan o'brien to ask: and ricky gervais, who has hosted the golden globes five times, has even suggested there is a chance this could be the last time they are held. you're the number one topic ahead of tater tots, and the pope followed you... as to who could win, when it comes to the tv categories, there could be a procession for succession. the media family drama series has the most nominations, with five. is he going to watch? could we make a note in the minutes that he is watching us? but with no—one able to watch the globes and with things as they are, it is fully expected that tonight's winners will not even acknowledge that they have won. i'm a good guy. i'm better than you.