this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the latest headlines. the education secretary for england backs reducing the covid isolation period from seven days to five. the australian government did not give assurances to novak djokovic that he could enter the country without a vaccination according to documents filed before tomorrow's court hearing. an afghan baby separated from his parents in kabul during the chaos of the us withdrawal is reunited with relatives. the golden globe awards take place tonight in hollywood, but there's no red carpet, no stars and it's not on tv. we'll look at the reasons why. and it's a draw for england and australia in the fourth ashes test.

england trail 3—0 in the series, with one test to play. good afternoon. welcome to bbc news. the education secretary has said he would support cutting the coronavirus self—isolation period from seven days to five in england if the move was recommended by experts at the uk health security agency. nadim zahawi said the reduction would help with staff absenteeism. also he denied that 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 booster jabs 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's a suggestion that period could be cut to five days instead. it would help with staff absenteeism, hence why i think if the experts, and i have to 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, then it is a good thing to keep under review. mr zahawi denied reports the government was planning to start charging for lateral flow tests, and labour's shadow chancellor said people need to be able to test regularly to stop passing on the virus. i'm very concerned by this 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 notjust 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 have approximately 14,000 staff... you could lose more than 1,000? in an extreme position. but i am confident, and we're already seeing a number of staff being vaccinated. the push on vaccinations and boosters, notjust for nhs staff 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 in the years to come. dominic hughes — bbc news.

earlier i spoke to craig beaumont from the federation of small businesses. i asked him if his members would welcome the five day isolation period, if it was recommended by health officials. it would be. it has to be safe, so we wouldn't call for public health measure, is all about public health and safety, and this would have a huge impact. we have 2 million people with covid in the uk this week, so they are isolating, and if you are a big employer, what you can do as you can move projects around, you can move teams, even in the public sector except for specialised roles, you can move civil servants around between different functions. but if you are a small business with a team of five and you lose two or three of those, it will get very rough very fast, especially for

customerfacing businesses, you have only got so many people to fill the hours in the day. so the self isolation aspect of this is a real issue for us, and if it can be done safely and it's a big if, we are basically looking at the us cdc, the center for disease control, which did conclude that five days was the right time period, and that is the same science, the same variant, the same sort of workforce, so we would like the uk authorities, the chief medical and scientific advisers, to take a look, because if it can be done it would be good. that is interesting, and i can completely see the benefits to a business, but i'm struck that you use the word safely many times, and the uk health security agency isn't talking about this today, but if you look to what they said on the 1st of january, they said their modelling suggested that between ten and 30% of people are still infectious on day six, so i suppose those are the factors to your point about a very small business, they need to be conscious of that.

that is right, and if you look at the other parts the science as of well, most covid transmissions happens in the one or two days prior to symptoms and two or three days afterwards. and their advice is after five days you come out, you don't need to test, which of course is something that wouldn't fit with us, i don't think. we would want a lateral flow test. they also recognise that you need five days of wearing a mask, which we don't do after our seven days, so i think it is a fair point to say that we should have another look, see if it works, look at the stats, and if it is possible without undermining our transmission rates, we wouldn't do anything that would make things worse but we do think it is a valid point to look at. one of the important things the government has done is brought back the sick pay rebates that if you are a small business owner watching now and your staff have to go off sick, that is one worry that is removed. there are so many worries piling in on small

businesses in that one is gone, but one final when the government really should sort out is the testing infrastructure. if people are supposed to be released from self isolation with lateral flow tests but they can't get it either from the website which has been down for two weeks or from the local pharmacies which are running dry and the workplace testing programme, that really does need, that is a bigger priority for us than this. but all of these three things together would be really helpful at the moment. the australian government has failed to have the visa hearing for tennis champion novak djokovich delayed. it will go ahead as planned, late tonight british time. mr djokovic�*s lawyers say he has a valid medical exemption from australia's strict covid vaccination policy, because he had coronavirus last month. but lawyers for the australian government have denied claims by mr djokovic, that he'd been given an assurance he would be allowed to enter the country without being vaccinated. simonjones reports.

supporters of novak djokovic 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 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 djokovic maskless 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, 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. 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—rending 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. simon jones, bbc news. well, sir andy murray has had his say on the matter today.

he has been talking to journalists in australia. he said... the first thing is that i hope that novak is ok. i know him well, and i've always had a good relationship with him and i hope that he's ok. the second thing: it's really not good for tennis at all and i don't think it's good for anyone involved. i think it's really bad. that hearing is due to take place in a few hours' time. i asked australian immigration lawyer daniel estrin what might happen. my colleagues and i are obviously following it very closely for more intellectual reasons than others.

the travel exemption is an additional layer of democracy which was imposed because of the pandemic. and the response to the minister which has come through now shows an extraordinary doubling down on this, and it makes it very clear that the minister for home affairs does not want mr djokovic in the country. and from your perspective, is that a political stance? that is about saying, we've all had such privations in this country for two years, we can't have someone coming in apparentlyjust because they're famous or high or important to a particular tournament? i don't think it is a political stance. simply it is a legal argument which is basically saying what mr djokovic's lawyers are trying to do it right inadmissible in engage and having another go at the case, and that is not what the court case is about.

the decision or rather the submissions by the minister's lawyers are quite dismissive of the grounds, they are saying he had plenty of time to respond to the notice intended to cancel his visa, the officer at the airport didn't do anything wrong, testing positive to covid was not a contraindication. in essence, they are trying to argue that the delegate at the airport made a legal error. but fresh, hot off the press now, as the minister's lawyers make it clear that even if mr djokovic wins tomorrow, the court should not order his release, and that in fact the minister for home affairs reserves the right to make a further cancellation decision, he has not prevented from using other powers under the migration act to detain him. so it is very clear that the minister does not want mr djokovic in australia.

reports from kazakhstan say 164 people died in the violence of the last week. most of the fatalities were in the country's biggest city, almaty. 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 morphed into a power struggle between factions of the ruling elite. russian troops continue to guard strategic facilities. our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg has travelled to 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. gunmen in nigeria have killed at least 200 people and displaced thousands more in multiple raids. the attacks took place in zamfara state in the northwest of the country. they're believed to be a response to military air strikes that killed over 100 fighters on monday. our reporter in abuja chris ewokor has more on the authorities' reaction. yesterday being saturday, the governor of the state visited and commiserated with families of those who lost their loved ones. he promised he was going to offer some support and rebuilding of houses that were destroyed. he also has

assured that security forces are now taking over the area and has assured them of their security and safety. in fact, he arrived in some of the villages with the heads of security agencies. it is not clear if the communities, the villagers, are reassured or not, but at least seeing the governor coming to their communities, many of them say at least they are happy that the authorities are showing some form of empathy and concern. chris authorities are showing some form of empathy and concern.— empathy and concern. chris ewokor there. a reminder _ empathy and concern. chris ewokor there. a reminder of _ empathy and concern. chris ewokor there. a reminder of this _ empathy and concern. chris ewokor there. a reminder of this afternoon | there. a reminder of this afternoon positive headlines. the headlines on bbc news... the education secretary for england backs reducing the covid isolation period from seven days to five. the australian government did not give assurances to novak djokovic that he could enter the country without a vaccination, according to documents filed before tomorrow's court hearing. an afghan baby, separated from his parents in kabul during the chaos of the us

withdrawal, is reunited with relatives. later, we will be talking about the golden globes, but first to catch up on the sports news with gavin. good afternoon. we've seen some fa cup third shocks so far this weekend — are we set to see any more? we're into the second half in the 2pm kick—offs, and spurs against morecambe of league one. the third—tier side took a surprise first half lead against premier league opposition at the tottenham hotspur stadium. the ball falling nicely for captain anthony o'conner here. tottenham enjoying the majorty of the possession in the first half. and it started so well for shrewsbury against liverpool at anfield. daniel udoh giving the league one side the lead, and what a way to celebrate — taking some inspiration

from cristiano ronaldo perhaps! liverpool struck back soon after, and took the lead thanks to a fabinho penalty — very much a second string side, due to covid and injuries forjurgen klopp's men. it is currently 2—1 to liverpool. here's a check on all of today's nine games. luton beat harrogate 4—0 in the early kick—off. among the other games, west ham are 1—0 up against leeds in an all premier league tie. the late kick—off is between nottingham forest and arsenal. manchester city thrashed brighton 6—0 in the first women's super league fixture of the new year. all the goals came in the second half, with brighton's victoria williams turning into her own net to give city the lead. lauren hemp and georgia stanway added two more before laura coombs capitalised on this defensive mistake to put city 4—0 ahead. hayley raso made it five before this lovely chip from vicky losada wrapped up the match. city leapfrog brighton

into fifth in the table in the day's other fixtures, birmingham are in action against leaders arsenal. there could be a shock on the cards here too. they're two up against the league leaders. and leicester are away at reading. reading leading i—0. it was nervy, it was testy, but england got the job done in sydney. they hung on for a draw against australia, who were bearing down on another victory in the fourth ashes test. the result ends australia's hopes of a 5—0 whitewash. with just one wicket in hand, england salavaged some pride and managed to get over the line. 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. root knew it, england had to forget it. after all, they were soon in the final session 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. great britain's charlotte bankes has won her second snowboard cross event at the world cup in russia. after an impressive victory yesterday, she followed that performance with another win today. bankes currently leads the the overall world cup standings with less than a month to go until the winter olympics in beijing. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. you wouldn't catch me trying that, gavin! thank you very much indeed, gavin, with all the latest sports news. 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, 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. 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. 22 minutes past three. it's usually one of the biggest nights in film, but this evening's golden globes ceremony will be held without a—list stars, and it's not being shown on tv. the event is being boycotted after it emerged that the organisers, the hollywood foreign press association, hasn't 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 none 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 one 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 los angeles 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. let's discuss what it all means for the golden globes and film generally. joining me now is film critic and broadcaster, ashanti omkar. a very good afternoon to you. do we have a little bit of sympathy for anybody who does win tonight, because is it worth anything at all, that statuette they will be sent in

the post? it that statuette they will be sent in the ost? , ., ., , that statuette they will be sent in the ost? , . . , ., ., the post? it is a really tough one this year. — the post? it is a really tough one this year, because _ the post? it is a really tough one this year, because the _ the post? it is a really tough one this year, because the globes - the post? it is a really tough one l this year, because the globes have been under a lot of fire for quite a long time, and they are trying to reform, from what i can understand, and the statements they put out is that they are really trying to reform. unfortunately, they have not sat well with the wider film community, with the broadcasters, with the big streamers like netflix and amazon, none of them are happy with their dealings as of now, and it could be the end of the globes, but i can't see that happening honestly, they have been around for too long, and i think that they are going to work like the oscars in the baftas worked to try to reform inside with their voters to make sure that their voting pool is diverse, making sure that they are not accepting gifts to vote for things. these are all little things

that you don't really think about, but these guys have come under fire in the spotlight for it, so we will have to wait and see what happens next. ., . . have to wait and see what happens next. ., ., ., , have to wait and see what happens next. ., . ., , ., next. you are right that they have been around _ next. you are right that they have been around for _ next. you are right that they have been around for so _ next. you are right that they have been around for so long, - next. you are right that they have been around for so long, but - next. you are right that they have been around for so long, but the l been around for so long, but the number of people who vote is smaller than you would think a lot of people realise. they have had the best part of two decades to get their house in order, so there is no sympathy for them here. the hollywood foreign press association could see this coming down the tracks, and i know you say they've started to reform, but is this the problem? there is no love for them, nbc pulled out of the broadcast because they left it too late. �* , ,., , ~' , late. absolutely. i feel like this thin . late. absolutely. i feel like this thin is late. absolutely. i feel like this thing is that — late. absolutely. i feel like this thing is that ricky _ late. absolutely. i feel like this thing is that ricky gervais - late. absolutely. i feel like this thing is that ricky gervais is . late. absolutely. i feel like thisj thing is that ricky gervais is for example has said many times in his speeches and in his monologues during these awards, they have all been so rooted in the truth, which is a scary thing, because a lot of people are looking at the globes

because they come at the start of the year, and everyone else says, let's see who's winning at the globes and we will vote, so i am a member of the uk, critics circle, and we work very hard to make sure there is a diverse membership. there is so much more to it, because all of us are critics, whereas at the golden globes, not everyone is still a critic, and this is something that is a grating on everybody. and what happens is people like scarlett johansson has said she goes on to the red carpets and there are sexist questions that are asked, and these are all things that have not gone down well in this age. find are all things that have not gone down well in this age.— are all things that have not gone down well in this age. and a quick thou~ht, down well in this age. and a quick thought, because _ down well in this age. and a quick thought, because it _ down well in this age. and a quick thought, because it is _ down well in this age. and a quick thought, because it is awards - thought, because it is awards season, it has been a tough time for the film industry like everything else for the last two years. what hopes are there, other positives out of this, are the oscars and baftas

doing better? what is your take on where we are in the world of film right now?— where we are in the world of film riaht now? ., , ., ., , right now? right now everyone has had to postpone — right now? right now everyone has had to postpone their— right now? right now everyone has had to postpone their awards. - right now? right now everyone has had to postpone their awards. the | had to postpone their awards. the oscars and the baftas anyway had decided to move to march because of the sporting events that were going on around it. but it has worked out very well for them to have done that simply because this omicron variant has, in some ways we should have been ready for it, butjust like with this pandemic we weren't ready for it, and people have tried to edge inwards saying, let's wait and see, and unfortunately things have been moved. so it will be interesting to see, because the critics choice, for example, the next awards we will all be waiting to watch, and that will be moving from what i understand, so it is an interesting one. i think the state of film has, we saw a lot of good things happening, this year we are expecting to see tom cruise in top

gun maverick and mission impossible 7, because no films are being moved as well, sporting events are being moved, so the events industry is in strife at the moment, and the golden globe have had so many other issues around them on top of it all that they have just said, let's put them on a back seat.— they have just said, let's put them on a back seat. ashanti omkar, thank ou ve on a back seat. ashanti omkar, thank you very much. _ on a back seat. ashanti omkar, thank you very much. we — on a back seat. ashanti omkar, thank you very much, we will _ on a back seat. ashanti omkar, thank you very much, we will talk _ on a back seat. ashanti omkar, thank you very much, we will talk again - you very much, we will talk again later in awards season, i'm sure. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. it will turn cold quickly tonight, a view showers to move away then we will have clearer skies for a while, more cloud coming in from the west, from the atlantic, bringing rain into western areas. by the end of the night, temperatures lifting across the eastern side of the uk, could be an early frost in eastern