born in dallas, his mother was a teacher and singer, his father a policeman, and his childhood was tough. he was an alcoholic and he would always beat me up as a kid. threw me through a plate glass window, threw me through a door. his escape was acting musicals. he got a part in hair and the rocky horror picture show. bat out of hell was a project he had been working on for years with the writerjim steinman. the rock establishment was scornful, but the fans, especially in britain, loved it. but its huge success and the pressures it brought almost killed him. then followed years of lawsuits. he claimed he never made a dime out of it. but he did go on to make some great records. but nothing would ever

top bat out of hell. a glorious, over—the—top, emotional battering ram. a rock and roll masterpiece. meat loaf who has dued at the age of 74. meat loaf who has dued at the age of 7a. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. it is cold again, jane we it is dry and for some of us there is some sunshine so i guess two out of three ain't bad! we have had a lovely day across some central and eastern parts of scotland in that sunshine, but it was a really cold start further south, particularly in wales and parts of southern england and here in herefordshire and oxfordshire as well as worcestershire, it is freezing, almost, temperatures are onlyjust above freezing right now because after that really cold ferocity start the cloud has pushed down from the north—west. it is heading to the south coast, the best of the

remaining sunshine likely to be in norfolk, suffolk, east of the pennines and central and eastern parts of scotland as wellham heading into this evening and overnight we will find more cloud coming in, moving further east across scotland, some more cloud for wales, some western parts of england but further east, the cloud is going to be more variable. there cub clearer spells and we have the risk of a frost. it won't be as cold as last night. there could be one or two patches of mist and fog. high pressure is in charge of the weather, there is a weak weather front approaching the north—west to bring rain. if we look at the rainfall accumulation in the next five days, large parts of the uk are going to be bone dry, most of the rain is coming into the highlands of scotland, and that is where we will see rain actually as we head into saturday. the weekend though, not as cold perhaps, because there will be a lot cloud round, where the cloud breaks there will be sunshine by day but again, mist and fog, may be a touch of frost

overnight. some sunshine round on saturday, but large areas of cloud as well. that weak weather front draped across scotland bringing light rain or drizzle, otherwise it will be dry. temperatures eight nine degrees but likely to make double figures again in scotland and northern ireland. and that is because of where the high pressure is sitting, and because it is further south across the uk, the winds are lighter in england and wales, strongerfurther winds are lighter in england and wales, stronger further north, blowing in mild airfrom the atlantic, the really cold air is a long way away, all the way across into eastern europe. on sunday a lot of cloud round, a bit of sunshine now and again, light winds for england and wales, a stronger wind for scotland and northern ireland, perhaps the best of the sunshine to the east of high ground, eastern scotland and those temperatures are still sitting round seven or eight degrees for the second half of the weekend. if we look into the beginning of next week, there is no significant change, it remains quiet, high pressure in charge, dry, still, but a lot of cloud round, the

weather won't really change until wednesday. that's all from the bbc news at one, so it's goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc�*s news teams where you are. let's start with a shock in melbourne, where the defending champion naomi osaka is out of the australian open. she was beaten in straight sets by the american amanda anisimova. osaka, a two time champion, had eased through her opening two matches but after winning the first set was pinned back by the american. osaka was seeded 13th after taking a four—month break at the end of last season. anisimova battled through, with the unseeded 20—year—old winning the third

set on a tie break. going into this match i knew i had to be playing sharp if i wanted to have a chance. naomi is a champion. i knew that i had to step up my game and try to be aggressive. that is what i started doing in the second set. i am so grateful that i was able to play so well today and get this win. it means a lot. well, the reward for anisimova is a match against the world number one and home favourite ash barty. she has yet to drop a set at the tournament, she beat camila giorgi in straight sets, 6—2, 6—3. i would have loved to test myself against the very best. but in the position that we have —— that we are in, amanda has played well, the match will be exciting, it'll be good for both of as to get out there and test ourselves against each

other. in the men's event rafa nadal�*s quest for a 21st grand slam title continues. he's through to the fourth round after beating russia's karen hatchenov. nadal looked to be cruising, wrapping up the first two sets relatively comfortably, dropping just 5 games. hatchenov then rallied to win the third set 6—3, before the spaniard upped the ante to win the fourth 6—1 and wrap up the match. the only former champion left in the men's draw is through to the second week. there was thrilling five set battle between seventh seed matteo berretini and the youngest man in the draw. 18—year—old carlos alcaraz from spain. berrettini had a two—set lead before alcaraz, fought back to take it to a thrilling fifth set. but berrettini won the deciding tie—break to reach the fourth round. to rugby union where the england captain owen farrell looks likely to miss the six nations opener against scotland after suffering an injury while training with saracens. farrell was retained as england skipper earlier this week by head coach eddiejones, despite not playing since november because of an ankle problem.

he had hoped to return against london irish in the challenge cup on sunday but has now been ruled out. england play scotland on february the 5th. arsenal's thomas partey says he will work to change his fortunes after a difficult few days for both club and country. he was sent offjust minutes after coming on as a sub in last night's league cup semifinal defeat to liverpool. the red card came just two days after he played for ghana in their shock group—stage defeat to comoros that eliminated them from the africa cup of nations. on social media, partey said: scotland's scott jamieson is still at the top of the leaderboard, on day two of golf�*s world tour season opener in abu dhabi.

he's still out on the course, players battling wins. england's ian poulter carded a round of 62, —— 72 for a share of the clubhouse lead on 6 under par. and finally over on the bbc sport website and app you can find more on the ski and snowboard athletes that have been named in the team for the winter olympics next month in beijing, with reigning snowboard cross world champion charlotte bankes leading the way. that's your sport for now. the us and russia have been holding talks about ukraine — which nato fears is the next territory which moscow wants to seize, through force. russia says it is concerned that nato is sending weapons and military

expertise to ukraine, and wants guarantees that the organisation will pull back from its borders. but — speaking after the talks — russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov said the dialogue would continue — and that his country had no plans to attack ukraine. russia is understood to have more than 100,000 troops near its border with ukraine — and has also sent forces to take part in what it says are military exercises in neighbouring belarus. here's what russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov said after the talks. at the end of our meeting we agreed that next week the us is going to present us with written answers to all of our proposals, and he also said in particular that ukraine

represents no threat to russia. i would like to once again remind everyone who analyses our public statements and our analysis, and i would like to say, that never before has russia threatened through its official representatives the ukrainian people. the western colleagues have taken the president of ukraine under their wing, condoning anything he does, and the president of ukraine has said if some ukrainian citizen does not feel ukrainian and feels russian, he or she should get out of the country. as far as allegations go, we have responded to everything, and when someone tells us, that is your territory, we recognise that, but there are too many troops, but at there are too many troops, but at the same time they say, it is not our business what the americans do with their troops in europe. this is something we discussed with antony

blinken during our talks today. and he agreed that the dialogue has to be more reasonable. and i do hope that the emotions will recede to the background. surgery lover of says russia has no plans to invade ukraine. —— sergei lavrov says russia has no plans to invade ukraine. the us secretary of state antony blinken reiterated us support for ukraine. we stand firmly with ukraine in terms of sovereignty and territorial integrity. if any russian military forces move across ukraine's border thatis forces move across ukraine's border that is a renewed invasion, it will be met with swift, severe and a united response from the united states and our partners and allies.

we also know from experience that russia has an extensive record of aggression including cyber attacks, paramilitary tactics, and other means of advancing the interests aggressively without using military action. those types of russian aggression will also be met with a decisive, calibrated and united response. we did not expect any major breakthroughs to happen today. but i believe we are now on a clear path in terms of understanding each other�*s concerns, each other�*s positions. let us see what the next days bring. us secretary of state, antony blinken. the new zealand navy has started distributing humanitarian aid to the people of tonga following last weekend's volcanic eruption and tsunami. the un has estimated that more than 80% of tonga's population have been affected. that's about 84,000 people. at least three people have died.

the un have warned that they remain seriously concerned about access to safe water for some 50,000 people throughout the country. many areas coated in a thick layer of volcanic ash. one of the ships sent by new zealand is capable of producing drinking water through a desalination plant. here's simonjones. all of tonga seems to have turned grey — roads covered in ash after the volcanic eruption which was followed by a tsunami. the main concern right now is first trying to clean the dust here in the country, because we've been experiencing dust everywhere. there is no rain, and we've been told we may be expecting rain on saturday onwards, and we've been experiencing that. another concern is our drinking water. aid is now getting through.

this is the new zealand military flying in, while ships carrying equipment are now arriving too, bringing fresh water — vital as supplies have been polluted by ash — along with shelter kits, electricity generators, and communications equipment. but it's being dropped off without any contact with locals to prevent the risk of covid spreading to the island — it's seen just one case in the pandemic. in auckland in new zealand, charities are coordinating efforts to send in supplies. auckland council, on behalf of the people of auckland, has made a donation from its charitable trust fund of $25,000 to help ensure that we can get these things that they need so badly, the food and the water, to tonga, and these eight containers, and there will probably be more, should be up in tonga by the end of next week. communication with the outside world has been crippled. it is slowly being restored. but contact is revealing just how much rebuilding will be needed — officials say it will take a mammoth effort. simon jones, bbc news.

the first minister of wales says his government is confident it's safe to lift restrictions on outdoors sporting events and outdoor hospitality. limits introduced after christmas meant fans were effectively banned from stadiums. pubs and restaurants will also be able to operate outdoors without the rule of six or social distancing. speaking this morning, mark drakeford praised the people of wales for enabling these restrictions to be eased. after many difficult and worrying weeks i am pleased to be able to say that the situation has improved significantly. we can say confidently today that we have passed this peak of the omicron wave, and the incredibly high levels of infection we have seen across wales. it is all your hard work, and the success of our vaccination

programme, that has helped us through this challenging period. i wanted to be gained by showing you the most up—to—date versions of the two slides that we saw last week. they show just how two slides that we saw last week. they showjust how quickly two slides that we saw last week. they show just how quickly the omicron wave has moved through wales. here is the slide that shows just how quickly the cases of coronavirus rows in wales around christmas, peking, as you can see there, just below 2500 cases —— reaching as you can see just below 2500 cases, early injanuary. since then, as the model that swansea university create for as would have suggested, we have seen an equally swift decline in the numbers, as we saw in that swift rise. to date those numbers have fallen back to

around 500 cases per 100,000 people. those are the levels that we were experiencing just before the omicron variant arrived here in wales. at 500 cases, coronavirus is still circulating at high levels in our communities. 2500 people fell ill with it only yesterday. as i said last week, we have to have some care with those figures, because they are based only on positive pcr tests, and there have been fewer of those tests are being taken in recent weeks. that is why we have looked at a wider range of indicators. as you will see in the next slide, the good news is that we see a similar trend in the results taken from the ons infection survey, in the week ending

15th of january, the ons has estimated that levels of coronavirus are falling in wales, england, and scotland. you can see that they are at the end of the graph, wales is the red line. wales has the lowest rate of infection of anywhere in the united kingdom. the rate of decline in wales is the fastest anywhere in the united kingdom, and translate that into what is happening on the ground, it suggests that one in 25 people in wales on the 15th of january were infected, compared to around one in 20, in the other three nations, and that dap represents thousands and thousands of people who otherwise would have fallen ill here in wales. —— that gap. you can

see clearly on that slide, scotland, england, wales in red, more or less together, heading in the same direction, and then a significant gap to england, where there were fewer protections put in place. there is also some positive news about the impact of the wave on the nhs, hospitalisations for covid can lag behind community cases by a couple of weeks, but we are now seeing falls, day by day, in the number of people admitted to hospital with covid, and some gradual reductions in the overall number of patients suffering from coronavirus in our hospitals. but while we are over the worst, we are by no means yet out of the woods.

a housing crisis has been declared in the isles of scilly. there's such a scarcity of housing that the new gp has nowhere to live. 15 localfamilies could be homeless by march, forcing them back to the mainland, and some businesses say they might not be able to open because there's no accommodation for the staff. here's david dixon. housing problems on the mainland, particularly in our picturesque coastal towns have long been a problem. there has been protests across the region, highlighting the rise in second homes and holiday lets, which prices many lower paid workers out of the market. over on isles of scilly the problem is more acute. pm isles of scilly the problem is more acute. �* . ' isles of scilly the problem is more acute. �* ., , ., isles of scilly the problem is more acute. ., , ., ., , , isles of scilly the problem is more acute. ., ., , , ., ., acute. an awful of houses have gone from the private _ acute. an awful of houses have gone from the private directed _ acute. an awful of houses have gone from the private directed centre - from the private directed centre into holiday lets. in the past couple of years this has affected

house prices. couple of years this has affected house prim-— couple of years this has affected house prices-— couple of years this has affected house prices. what has been the im act house prices. what has been the impact on _ house prices. what has been the impact on businesses _ house prices. what has been the impact on businesses who - house prices. what has been the impact on businesses who need l impact on businesses who need workers, particularly temporary workers, particularly temporary workers, on the island? that workers, particularly temporary workers, on the island?- workers, particularly temporary workers, on the island? that is a big problem- _ workers, on the island? that is a big problem. last _ workers, on the island? that is a big problem. last summer- workers, on the island? that is a big problem. last summer some j big problem. last summer some businesses could not open fully because they were short—staffed. it is notjust key workers and those in the hospitality industry who are struggling to find somewhere to live. relatively well—paid positions like doctors and pharmacists are also stuck. we like doctors and pharmacists are also stuck-— like doctors and pharmacists are also stuck. ~ . . , also stuck. we are currently in the rocess also stuck. we are currently in the process of— also stuck. we are currently in the process of recruiting _ also stuck. we are currently in the process of recruiting for _ also stuck. we are currently in the process of recruiting for a - also stuck. we are currently in the process of recruiting for a new - also stuck. we are currently in the j process of recruiting for a new gp. we have recruited a new pharmacist. the difficulty is finding accommodation for both positions. in the process of recruiting for a new gp we also need to have accommodation for them when we find the right person. the accommodation for them when we find the right person-— the right person. the island's council has _ the right person. the island's council has voted _ the right person. the island's council has voted to - the right person. the island's council has voted to declare l the right person. the island's| council has voted to declare a housing crisis, they are pleading with people who might have some space to help out for the upcoming tourist season. we space to help out for the upcoming tourist season.— space to help out for the upcoming tourist season. we have quite a lot of social housing _ tourist season. we have quite a lot of social housing here _ tourist season. we have quite a lot of social housing here with - tourist season. we have quite a lot of social housing here with people | of social housing here with people who perhaps are quite elderly now,

families have moved out long ago, they are only three or four bedroom house, rattling around in it, where there are young thre are youngfailies house, rattling around in it, where there are ouna thre are youngfailies with house, rattling around in it, where there are ouna thre are youngfailies with two house, rattling around in it, where there are ouna there are young families with two kids in a one—bedroom flat. the kids in a one-bedroom flat. the council have _ kids in a one—bedroom flat. the council have bought a property to convert into worker accommodation and there are plans to build a0 houses. but that takes time. and for the upcoming tourist season there are serious concerns that some businesses may not be able to at all. the weekend's nearly here. you may have some nice plans, but one group from gloucester are going to spend the entire time playing a single board game — and that includes playing through the night. they've already started, and if they're still going on monday night, they hope to break a world record. steve knibbs was there at the start. forfriends, one board game, and just 85 hours to go. they are

playing the game dune. we just 85 hours to go. they are playing the game dune. we try and take control _ playing the game dune. we try and take control of _ playing the game dune. we try and take control of the _ playing the game dune. we try and take control of the planet. - playing the game dune. we try and take control of the planet. as - playing the game dune. we try and take control of the planet. as you | take control of the planet. as you can tell, concentration _ take control of the planet. as you can tell, concentration is - take control of the planet. as you can tell, concentration is going i take control of the planet. as you can tell, concentration is going to be key. staying awake as one of the challenges in this. also ensuring that they record everything to prove that they record everything to prove that they record everything to prove that they have beaten the record. for every hour we play we can take a five minute break, we can build it up five minute break, we can build it up over time as we play. what we have got to have submitted time sheets, keeping records of when the game is played, who won, when it's finished. we have got cctv keeping record of everything, that we will submit to guinness for them to overview, and basically tell us whether or not we have won it. but there is more to this world record attempt. there is also a special fundraising record attempt. there is also a specialfundraising element record attempt. there is also a special fundraising element that means a lot to brothers lee and dale. ~ ., ., .,

dale. we are doing it for alzheimer's _ dale. we are doing it for alzheimer's uk. - dale. we are doing it for alzheimer's uk. my - dale. we are doing it for i alzheimer's uk. my father dale. we are doing it for - alzheimer's uk. my father has alzheimer's. it is for a good cause. we are very passionate about the charities— we are very passionate about the charities that we are trying to support _ charities that we are trying to support. we are trying to make it entertaining for everyone, and hopefully everyone gets a good experience out of it and gives generously, at least at the price of a drink _ generously, at least at the price of a drink. , ., ., ., , a drink. every move of the game is bein: a drink. every move of the game is being captured _ a drink. every move of the game is being captured by _ a drink. every move of the game is being captured by cameras, - a drink. every move of the game is being captured by cameras, and i being captured by cameras, and livestreamed on the internet, with the warring factions of dune fighting it out until 11pm on monday night. if you've not commuted since the start of the pandemic, one thing you won't have missed is the stream of announcements on trains. now, the department for transport says it wants to silence what it calls "tannoy spam", to make england's train journeys more peaceful. will batchelor reports.

train announcements. "this train is for- london, waterloo." some people love them. the more information that's given, the better. if you don't want to hear them, put your earphones in, because that's what we all do. it helps us to know more about the time. i mean, things to do. we're strangers, and we need to know what's going on. better to be safe than sorry at the end of the day. - i actually appreciate it when they announce saying, "don't forget your bag", because i have left things on trains before. "this train terminates at st alban's city." i some are less keen. if they just stuck to the stuff that's important, we'd listen to it. all we get now is, people just give up. "see it, say it, sort it" — it's something that i see, hear, quite often on the trains. yeah, that's something. but i don't really sort of take much notice of it. i personally do think that probably gets overused. i i don't think necessarily people think about the meaning - of that saying any more. especially on like, a short stop train, you get one when you get off, and then there's one when you're approaching a stop, and then there's one when you get

off at your stop. so there's like three in between the stops. even passionate train spotters get fed up with them, occasionally. this one. "..or leave the train - when the doors are closing." the doors aren't even open. no one's got on or off. and it's common sense. why do we need to be told not to board or alight when the doors are closing? do you have to hear it at every station? "we are now approaching london euston, our final destination." i now the transport minister wants to slash the number of loudspeaker messages we hear on ourjourneys. he's calling it a bonfire of the banalities. on a train journey there are far too many announcements. i accept there's got to be the obvious safety announcements, but it's things — some of the stuff they tell you, they either state the obvious, or they just say stuff that you don't really necessarily need to know at that moment in time. hot bacon roll, a cup of tea. the department for transport is holding a year long review, with train operators and passenger groups, to decide which announcements are a vital service... "this is finchley road." ..and which need to be shunted

into the nearest siding. "doors will open on i the right hand side." train announcements are there to give important information — important travel information, important safety information, information about preventing terrorist attacks, keeping people safe, preventing people from leaving their belongings behind. so which of those kinds of announcements should be cut back then? "..station, brentwood." with the pandemic easing, and more of us returning to public transport, are we on track for quieterjourneys? or does the government need to... "mind the gap." ..between what it sees as banalities, and what many train passengers view as vital information? "the final stop..." will batchelor, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett.

more clouds moving in after that cold and frosty start. clearer skies across eastern parts of the uk. for many there will be more cloud over night particularly across northern ireland, matches scotland and wales. further east across england cloud will be more variable. some breaks in the cloud could lead to a risk of frost. temperature is not as low as last night. we could start the weekend with mist and fog patches as well. remaining dry pretty much everywhere. high pressure will remain across the uk. stronger and milder winds across northern areas. the weather front, milder winds across northern areas. the weatherfront, not milder winds across northern areas. the weather front, not on the charts, straddling scotland, bringing rain towards the west and north—west. not much rain. otherwise dry. sunshine now and again. wind is light across england and wales. temperatures, eight, nine celsius. double figures in scotland and

northern ireland.

this is bbc news. the headlines: amid warnings that russia could be about to invade ukraine, two superpowers come face to face. russia and america hold urgent talks, with both sides laying out their security concerns. translation: no-one is hiding the fact that weapons _ are being handed over to ukraine, that hundreds of military instructors are flocking to ukraine. we've been clear. if any russian military forces move across ukraine's border, that's a renewed invasion. it will be met with swift, severe and a united response. a £1 billion shortfall in state pension payments to tens of thousands of women has been branded "a shameful shambles" by a committee of mps. a new push by the nhs hopes to reach the four million adults in the uk who've not yet had a coronavirus vaccination.