this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. politicians in moscow call for military commanders to be held accountable for the deaths of russian soldiers in a ukrainian attack. fresh uk rail strikes on the first working day for many of the new year. union leaders say they want a settlement, the government says passengers have had enough. around the uk pastures are told not to use the trains all week amid a fresh wave of strikes. a british couple diane and ron hughes are among four people to die in a helicopter crash on australia's gold coast — three others are critically injured. thousands queue to pay

their respects to brazilian football legend pele, as he lies in state at his former club, santos. american football player damar hamlin is in a critical condition in hospital after collapsing during a game. and coming up we've been talking to a guide dogs charity that's recruiting for more volunteers to tackle a shortage of trainers. we are at the moment looking very heavily to recruit lots of volunteers, and we've been very lucky lot of people have been so generous with their time, and we are in recovery mode and hopeful for the future but do need a little bit of patience for a little bit longer. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. politicians in russia have called

for commanders in the russian military to be held to account for the deaths of dozens of soldiers in a ukrainian rocket strike. in a rare admission moscow announced that 63 of its servicepersonnel had been killed — ukraine says the figure was actually in the hundreds. one senator said it was clear that intelligence and air defence had failed. meanwhile ukraine's president zelensky says he's received intelligence to suggest russia plans to continue with drone attacks as a large part of its strategy. translation: we have information that russia is planning a protracted | attack using shahed drones. it is probably banking on exhaustion — exhausting our people, our anti—aircraft defences, our energy. but we act to do everything so the terrorists fail in their aim, as all their others have failed. here's an update from our correspondent in kyiv, hugo bachega.

yes, and i think, you saw this admission by moscow, the admission of losses, which is extremely rare, so i think it gives us an idea of how significant, how devastating this attack was, and i think the level of reaction as well, there's been a lot of criticism from commentators, bloggers who are kremlin supporters, who support the russian war, who have been angry, they say this attack happened because of mistakes that have been made by the russian army. lots of people are questioning the decision to house so many troops in a single location, near the front line, and their reports are suggesting the use of mobile phones by soldiers allowed the ukrainians to locate this facility. apparently this was a school that had been turned into a base by russian forces, apparently some of those people who were being housed there were recently mobilised soldiers, soldiers who had justjoined the army, apparently they were waiting to be

deployed, so a devastating attack on new year's eve, and if this number is confirmed, 63 soldiers killed, the number that has been given by the russian authorities, this would be one of the deadliest attacks by ukrainian forces targeting russian troops since the beginning of the war. interesting that president zelensky did not choose to trumpet the attack in his address last night, which we played a clip ofjust a little earlier, instead he wanted to focus on possible russian drone attacks in the future. how surprising was that, did you think? i think the ukrainians rarely admit route tax on russian positions and i think it yesterday because of the extent of the losses... perhaps because of the criticism that was being made by some russian commentators, but last night president zelensky talked about those drones that had been used by russia to attack cities across the country, he said that the government had information, that russia is likely to continue

with these attacks, and he said that the russian plan was to wear down ukraine's air defences, its energy supplies and its people, and he also said more than 80 drones had been shot down by the country's air defence forces in the first two days of the year, and i think there is no surprise here, really, because russia has intensified their attacks using these rainy and red drones, targeting cities across the country, and i think people are angry, tired of these attacks because even places like kyiv away from the front lines have been frequently targeted and now president zelensky is warning ukrainians that these attacks are unlikely to stop. israel's new far—right security minister has visited the compound injerusalem that houses the al—aqsa

mosque —— a site sacred to both muslims and jews. itamar ben—gvir was seen touring the area with heavy security. the site is currently only open to muslim worship. mr ben—gvir has long called for dues to be allowed to pray there, too. the palestinian authority has condemned the visit, calling it an unprecedented provocation. let's talk to our correspondent injerusalem tom bateman. good in jerusalem tom bateman. good injerusalem tom bateman. morning to you. tell u little good morning to you. tell us a little bit about this visit and why it is so significant.— it is so significant. well, it took lace it is so significant. well, it took place first _ it is so significant. well, it took place first thing _ it is so significant. well, it took place first thing this _ it is so significant. well, it took place first thing this morning, | it is so significant. well, it took. place first thing this morning, as itamar ben—gvir entered the site surrounded by israeli police and security officers, spent around 13 minutes there, no indication that he actually approached the mosque, was in the compound itself, no indication that he prayed at the

site, but the point about this is palestinian see this as an incendiary move, when a senior israeli politician visits the site, and that is because of the very significant religious sensitivity, both to muslims and to choose, of the site itself. and he said over the site itself. and he said over the previous months before he became israel's national security minister that he wanted dues to be allowed to pray at the site, and that would be a change of the historic status quo thatis a change of the historic status quo that is accepted, as it is known to the jewish people. that is accepted, as it is known to thejewish people. it had leaked to thejewish people. it had leaked to the israeli press that they may visit this week, no clear indication of the timing and suggested the israeli premise you had put a lid on things and it would not happen, we had a statement via the lebanese media from the palestinian militant group that said there would be explosive consequences if mr bank of

ayr visited the site and we had news that the tap and first thing this morning, and already scathing reaction from neighbouring jordan, the custodian of the site, they have said this is a violation of the status quo and the palestinian foreign ministry have called this an escalation and said this is a real threat of violence, and as for hamas, they described this as a visit by the fascist itamar ben—gvir, called it a crime inside the palestinian people will continue to defend the sanctity of it. figs the palestinian people will continue to defend the sanctity of it.- to defend the sanctity of it. as you have said. — to defend the sanctity of it. as you have said, the _ to defend the sanctity of it. as you have said, the site _ to defend the sanctity of it. as you have said, the site is _ to defend the sanctity of it. as you have said, the site is currently - have said, the site is currently only open to muslim worship, do we know if itamar ben—gvir�*s desire to allow dues to pray there was a precondition of him agreeing to enter prime minister netanyahu's coalition government? and could it therefore indicate a possible change of policy down the line? 140.

therefore indicate a possible change of policy down the line?— of policy down the line? no, it was not a precondition _ of policy down the line? no, it was not a precondition that _ of policy down the line? no, it was not a precondition that had - of policy down the line? no, it was not a precondition that had been . not a precondition that had been made clear during the negotiations themselves, as you suggested in the run—up to the government that this is one of the things he wanted to do, but it became clear during the talks that it was not a precondition, mr netanyahu singer repeatedly in interviews that will not be changes to the status quo at religious sites injerusalem and a number of other measures that mr itamar ben—gvir had wanted. the point about this is you have to remember itamar ben—gvir is an extremist figure who leads a party forjewish power, that spouses racist and anti—palestinian policies, he made his name as a street agitator where there is already conflict, he fanned the flames and provoke situation, has been able to do that in the last couple of years with more force behind them since he became an israeli mp, with the protection that borrow. now he's notjust a senior

member of the issue the government but is the minister for national security, controls the police in israel, crucially the militarised border police injerusalem, and occupies the holy sites. what he is trying to do is pitch himself against hamas, saying to his own supporters we will make sure these holy sites are open for all, tries to pitch this is discrimination against dues at the site, and that obviously then leads to fierce rhetoric from mass and i think people are worried that what has really happened here is the extremes are in control of the situation could quite quickly and easily becoming controlled the situation. we're often asked in the run—up to this government would mr netanyahu be able to control these far right extremists like itamar ben—gvir, and it seems pretty clear from the event this morning that the answer to that is known, although the was sure and there is no indication there was any

prayer on the site, but i think mr itamar ben—gvir is trying to create a pitch himself against hamas, read the sort of caricature of the situation because to all of the faiths, dues, christians and muslims, the historical sites have very deep meaning and we are seeing itamar ben—gvir try to create something of a flare—up to empower himself. as thousands of people in the uk prepare to return to work following the christmas and new year break, the rmt union at network rail is staging a 48—hour walk out. this is the latest rail strike in a long running dispute over pay. the walk—outs by the rmt on third and fourth january and sixth and seventh january will affect services across england, scotland and wales. the rail delivery group have advised people only to travel if "absolutely necessary". network rail says the strikes will result in only about 20% of services running with many areas not seeing any trains at all.

train drivers from 15 rail companies from the aslef union will also walk out on the 5th of january. marc ashdown reports. a new year, but no end in sight in this bitter dispute. train passengers returning to work after the festive period are facing delays, disruption and cancellations. just 20% of the uk's rail network will operate today and tomorrow. if you're lucky enough to have trains running near you, they'll be starting much later, and will finish by early evening. it's a headache for people like corinne, who's on a zero hours contracts, and will now struggle to get to work. i support the right to strike, absolutely. so i don't begrudge the strike. but how long it's going on for, it leads to accumulated stress and rage.

the dispute over pay, working conditions and job security has been rumbling on sincejune last year. it involves around 40,000 members of the rmt union in a range ofjobs at 1a train operators, as well as network rail. union members will walk out for another 48 hours on friday. meanwhile, a 24—hour strike by train drivers at the aslef union on thursday, is also expected to result in widespread disruption. the unions say they are willing to get back around the negotiating table, but that the table is bare. rail operators and network rail say they've made fair and reasonable pay offers, and have once again apologised to customers for the ongoing disruption. the department for transport said the government was being reasonable and stood ready to facilitate an end to the rail disputes. marc ashdown, bbc news. the general secretary of the rmt, mick lynch has this morning repeated his assertion that the government is blocking a deal with the unions. all the parties involved know

what needs to be done. to get a settlement. but the government is blocking that settlement and doing nothing about this dispute and that needs to change. so i hope mark harper and the ministers responsible can move that forward. we think we are going to get a meeting with them next week but they seem content for the action to go ahead, and have done nothing over the past six or seven weeks to move it forward. this morning, transport secretary mark harper told bbc breakfast that he is eagerfor a deal to be secured with the rail unions: i want to see the rmt back around the table so we can try and get a good settlement that is fair to the people who work in the industry, but also fair to the travelling public and the taxpayer. the taxpayer has made a huge investment in the rail industry over the last couple of years because of the real difficulties it had during the pandemic.

that protected the people that work in the industry, and i think it is fair now that they accept the offer that is on the table and sign up to some of the necessary reforms, and i want to see that detail being thrashed out now, and the sooner they get back around the table, we have meetings set up for next week that the real minister is leading, i want to see those meetings lead to a successful conclusion as soon as we can. 0ur correspondent gareth barlow is at euston station in central london. what is the latest? if you people around the hinge but not nearly as busy as it would be. far around the hinge but not nearly as busy as it would be.— busy as it would be. far from it. a very quiet — busy as it would be. far from it. a very quiet rush — busy as it would be. far from it. a very quiet rush hour— busy as it would be. far from it. a very quiet rush hour in _ busy as it would be. far from it. a very quiet rush hour in central- very quiet rush hour in central london here today. used in running much quieter than it normally would do. that is because the real delivered a group of told passengers not to use the trains, notjust today, but all this week. aa8 hour walk—out starting today, another 124 hours train drivers on thursday and the rmt again, another 40 hours on friday and saturday, with

destruction ended two —— expected to rumble on into sunday, four passengers, commuters and employees of the railway, like not getting back to normal until next week. it was interesting to see outside the front of euston this morning there was a picket line, mick lynch their comedy head of the in seems as though the entrenchment of the two sides may be getting a little weary, passengers over the past few hours saying they are frustrated by these delays, but all sides this morning saying much the same thing we've been hearing for weeks, if not months, they want a resolution, but are all pointing at each other and saying they are getting... thank you for the update. talks between the government and the unions have reached a deadlock —— our political correspondent, iain watson has more. it may be a new year but the same old problems in the railways, does not seem to be a breakthrough,

perhaps others incentives could be put on the table at next week's talks to try and unlock the current deadlock. perhaps better holiday pay or perhaps better pension entitlement and so on but that doesn't seem to be enough for the trade unions, who are worried aboutjust pay but conditions at work as well. and the extent of the reforms required in order to unlock a pay deal. the government would say several things. first of all, it would point out that two of smaller rail unions have actually accepted an offer from network rail, but the big rail unions, those that are driving the trains, the guards, the rmt, aslef, that looks no nader, the dispute being resolved, the position as we heard from mick lynch from rmt is that he believes the employers, the train operating companies as well as network rail, that they are constrained by the government and what they can offer and that looks like at this stage there is no prospect of the strikes which last until the weekend being hauled off. more widely than that i would expect with parliament resuming next week, the government may well want to say more about its minimum service level legislation. at the moment it would apply to the railways, legislation is in a very early stage.

if they go ahead with that it will at least look as though they are trying actively to do something about the current dispute, but the difficulty is how quickly can they do that? mark harper again on bbc, something he told a committee of mps, the transport select committee, that this might help in the medium term, but won't solve the current dispute. i think some people will be suggesting the government perhaps ought to be more active in trying to get a breakthrough in this dispute, rather than necessarily legislating for the future. there are wider problems with the government, we have this problem on the railways but also between them, between the nurses and ambulance workers, four days of strikes

in the nhs, drawing criticism from health professionals, notjust from the unions about the current state of the nhs as well. adults who are unwell are being urged to wear a face covering outdoors, in new advice to try and stop the spread of flu and covid. the uk health security agency has also issued back—to—school advice, asking parents to keep children off school if they are showing symptoms of scarlet fever, such as a high temperature. jon donnison reports. with doctors warning the nhs has already gone past breaking point, concerns today that schools going back could add further pressure. the message from the uk health security agency is to keep children home if they're unwell and have a fever, to avoid infecting others. and the advice is not just for children.

the agency's chief medical adviser, susan hopkins, says adults who are unwell should also stay home and should wear a face covering if they have to go out. they should avoid health care settings and vulnerable people. the reason for the concern, a rising number of cases of flu, covid and scarlet fever, which is caused by the strep a infection. nhs england says 9,500 people are currently in hospital with covid. add on to that almost 4000 people with flu, and it means 13% of hospital beds in england are being occupied by people with those two illnesses. and all this comes with doctors saying some a&e departments are already in a complete state of crisis, to the extent that it's causing patients harm. i come to work to treat patients, to make people better ultimately. that's why we go into it.

it sounds very simple, but that's what we do. and it hurts to see that people are coming to harm. and to see people coming in sicker than they necessarily should have been, because of some of these problems that are occurring. and at the worst case — i've spoken to paramedics, for instance, who have arrived at the scene of patients after long delays, only to find they've already passed away. many hospital staff say they're already at their limit. and there's more strike action plan by nurses and ambulance staff over pay and conditions. jon donnison, bbc news. a procession will take place through the streets of the brazilian city of santos later today, for the footballing legend pele, before a private family ceremony and his burial. the player, who was the only person ever to win the world cup three times, died last week at the age of 82. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson reports.

what a send—off for brazil's king of football as he began his final journey. pele came home to santos football club, his coffin laid on the pitch where he made his name. brazilians did not want to miss their chance to pay their respects, a moment for reflection, and sadness, that this great presence has gone. the queue began at dawn and grew throughout the day. despite the searing summer heat, brazilians young and old came from far and wide, to see the man who revolutionised football and made this country famous. he is the number one ambassador of this country in the world, in my opinion. so, if you travel abroad and you talk about brazil, the first word you see coming back is, "you are from pele's country." we grew up with him, especially

the streets where i grew up, he used to go to the supermarket. every day we say hello to pele. that was normal for us. "i never saw him play," this little boy told me, "but we'll really miss him because he was the best footballer in the world." for those who knew him well, the memories kept flowing. translation: he was a fantastic person. - he had a generous heart, he was kind, notjust because he was the athlete of the century, but he was a simple man. he always looked after people in a really sincere way. he was humble. that's my biggest memory of him, of pele, as a man and a great athlete. as the sun went down the people kept coming. the queue kept on growing through the day. and just look at it now overnight. i spoke to one brazilian who said, "we don't have a monarchy. "pele was the closest thing to it. "people just want to say goodbye." tears, emotion and a celebration of the king.

his biggest fans said goodbye to pele in style. from here, the coffin will be taken through the streets of santos ahead of a private family burial. katy watson, bbc news in santos. let's go to tim vickery, an expert in south american football, joining us now from rio dejaneiro. thank you forjoining us. i know you are in rio, but events from santos are in rio, but events from santos are being televised across the country, or they? are being televised across the country, orthey? have everseen anything it before? i country, or they? have ever seen anything it before?— country, or they? have ever seen anything it before? i suppose there is a comparison _ anything it before? i suppose there is a comparison with _ anything it before? i suppose there is a comparison with the _ anything it before? i suppose there is a comparison with the death - anything it before? i suppose there is a comparison with the death of i is a comparison with the death of the formula 1 race driver senna in 1994, which i think was more hysterical because he died in action at the peak of his powers. the case of perley did not come as a surprise, the country was braced for it, we had a little pause over the weekend, saturday was new year's eve and sunday was inauguration of the new president lula who is on his way at the moment to santos to participate in the week and the procession and that little pause tending to add gravitas to the occasion. very solemn. there are not

that many people i think in floods of tears, but it is a solemn recognition of the importance of this man, who at the moment lies in state for the next three hours in his field of dreams there at santos, and to push the field of dreams comparison a little further, i think we have clearly seen build a wake for pele, they will come. arguably the greatest _ for pele, they will come. arguably the greatest footballer _ for pele, they will come. arguably the greatest footballer of - for pele, they will come. arguably the greatest footballer of all - for pele, they will come. arguably| the greatest footballer of all time, is that how he is being remembered why is mac or its more than that? i think it is more than that we got a flavour of that from the people we've a talking to. remember, a nine—year—old child watching his father cry, listening to the radio, as brazil lose the world cup in 1950, when they are still wearing white shirts. you fast forward just 20 years and pele and purcell have won the world cup for the third time. now in yellow, that yellow shirt is established as an iconic image of the nation, which is seen

as the guardians of the beautiful game, and brazil have become the country that wins, the country that wins in style, the country that wins in style with a smile on their face. it is the country that then everybody wants to be for four weeks everybody wants to be for four weeks every year, once every four years. without a doubt the greatest ambassador that brazil has ever possessed. ambassador that brazil has ever possessed-— ambassador that brazil has ever ossessed. ~ �* ., ., , possessed. wasn't always a unifying force, was possessed. wasn't always a unifying force. was he. _ possessed. wasn't always a unifying force, was he, in _ possessed. wasn't always a unifying force, was he, in brazil— possessed. wasn't always a unifying force, was he, in brazil itself? - force, was he, in brazil itself? because of his forays into politics. i wonder if you could a little bit more about his time when he was sports minister? his time a sports minister is interesting because... you brought on freedom of contract for brazilian players, and he said at the time that there was a recognition that the peak of his powers as a player in the late 60s and early 70s, he had not done enough to help his fellow professionals. this has been a

criticism which has been levelled at him, that he did not use his voice enoughin him, that he did not use his voice enough in the cause of afro brazilians, for example. an obvious comparison with muhammad ali, a near contemporary, who gave up the best years of his career to take a political stance, years of his career to take a politicalstance, but years of his career to take a political stance, but the context of pele is very different, does not have the vietnam war to mobilise against as muhammad ali did, but the racial context is different in brazil, brazil imported millions more enslaved africans than the united states, which met in the states the white power structure could always celebrate black from white, draw a line there. that is not true in brazil, colonised by small country like portugal, where the even encouraged catholic priest to go and multiply, they needed people, so the line between black—and—white never has been critically hard and fast, that men in the case of muhammad ali, he had a movement behind him because it was

clear who was on his side and who wasn't. it was a movement to educate ali, to back them up. perley had nothing like that —— pele had nothing like that —— pele had nothing like that —— pele had nothing like that, had two churches on course, so sometimes i think these criticisms are a little unfair and we expect a little too much at times from our sporting idols. he was not perfect, some of the coverage of him wanders a little bit into hagiography, he was not perfect, but the example he is set, born 52 years after brazil abolished slavery, a one—time shoe boy who ends up shining more brightly than anyone else in history of football, i think that example of being the best, i think that is worth much more than any declarations he might have made or not have made. we don't have made or not have made. we don't have much time — have made or not have made. we don't have much time but _ have made or not have made. we don't have much time but i _ have made or not have made. we don't have much time but i do _ have made or not have made. we don't have much time but i do want - have made or not have made. we don't have much time but i do want to - have made or not have made. we don't have much time but i do want to ask. have much time but i do want to ask you one final question, we know brazil is polarised, politically suffered a great deal with the pandemic and yet brazilians appear to have come together to mourn

pele's death. is it realistic to think you might make a long—term difference in the country? i think you might make a long-term difference in the country?- difference in the country? i don't think so. difference in the country? i don't think s0- i _ difference in the country? i don't think so. i think— difference in the country? i don't think so. i think football - difference in the country? i don't think so. i think football is - difference in the country? i don't think so. i think football is one i think so. i think football is one thing and feeding your family is another. he is an example of a brazil that works, but the challenge in front of this country now is to multiply the biography of perley, notjust in multiply the biography of perley, not just in football, multiply the biography of perley, notjust in football, notjust in music, but in other fields. notjust in football, notjust in music, but in otherfields. can there be a massive investment in education, for example, to have peles in the urban periphery included in the modern economy and thatis included in the modern economy and that is a huge challenge in football never solve that one on its own. thank you for your thoughts and insight. a british couple killed in a mid—air collision between two helicopters near a theme park on australia's gold coast have been named as diane and ron hughes from merseyside. two others died in the accident,

and three were seriously injured. australia's prime minister said the country had been left shocked by the "terrible and tragic incident". phil mercer reports from sydney. crash investigators say the main rotor blades of a helicopter that had just taken off collided with the cockpit of another as it was coming into land. the blades broke off on impact, sending the aircraft plunging onto a sandbank. a british couple, a pilot and an australian woman died. three other passengers, including two young boys are seriously ill in hospital. we've seen from jet skis, family photos, ordinary members of the public rushing to assist these people. a second helicopter was able to make an emergency landing. beach—goers rushed to help the survivors. i saw the two helicoptersjust as they were about to crash.

one of them from underneath, seems like he came up and hit the bottom of the other one and the top... just a loud bang and pieces, shrapnel flying everywhere. i heard like a crack- and said to my husband, what was that noise? the crash happened during the busy christmas holiday period on the gold coast in queensland. the state premier says it is an unthinkable tragedy. what started as a scenic flight over one of australia's most popular tourist destinations has ended in catastrophe. the australian transport safety bureau is investigating what happened and why. in the last couple of hours, our correspondent shaima khalil has been to the scene of the accident. she sent us this update. this is the site of the crash, it happened right here on the tiny sandbank.

the wreckage of one of the helicopters and the other one were picked up earlier today and the authorities were finding it challenging to actually remove them because of the tide. the police are still here, some police investigators are still here gathering evidence but we also know there are divers here now, we know at least one, we've seen at least one currently under water trying to find anything that would help with the investigation, and look how close it is to the sea world theme park, a stone's throw away. earlier we could hear holiday—makers on the rise. earlier we could hear holiday—makers on the rides one of the eyewitnesses said that while the other helicopter was trying to land, it hovered over the park, and there was concern that it could actually crash into people. ritchie gregg, a friend of the pilot who died in the crash, has been speaking to reporters — let's hear from him i will always remember it. a friend

of mine lives in the apartment buildings right across from where the accident happened. he textures and said, there hasjust been a helicopter crash right in front of our house. ifirst helicopter crash right in front of our house. i first went, helicopter crash right in front of our house. ifirst went, no... i grabbed my phone, went straight to ash and said, was it you and your crew? the message goes live at all red and there was nothing. ten minutes later i am back to my phone and it was still not delivered. and i know ash always uses his phone for guidance on the helicopter and everything. an hour later, still not delivered. and then one of his other really good friends that we work to flights with said it was him, he's gone. i said, flights with said it was him, he's gone. isaid, i flights with said it was him, he's gone. i said, i will always remember it. i was hoping it wasn't, even when i woke up this morning, i went straight to it, and it will still not delivered. very surreal. haifa straight to it, and it will still not delivered. very surreal. how do ou feel? not delivered. very surreal. how do you feel? gutted. _ not delivered. very surreal. how do you feel? gutted. gutted, - not delivered. very surreal. how do you feel? gutted. gutted, but- not delivered. very surreal. how do you feel? gutted. gutted, but what| you feel? gutted. gutted, but what is keein: you feel? gutted. gutted, but what is keeping me _ you feel? gutted. gutted, but what is keeping me through _ you feel? gutted. gutted, but what is keeping me through is _ you feel? gutted. gutted, but what is keeping me through is telling - you feel? gutted. gutted, but what| is keeping me through is telling you guys his legacy and what he did, what a good guy he was. he was

always out there helping the community, from the bushfires a few years ago, the floods, last year, even just landing at schools to entertain kids with giveaways and all that sort of stuff. that is just ash. all that sort of stuff. that is 'ust ash. ., , ., , ., , all that sort of stuff. that is 'ust ash. ., i. , .,, ., ash. how will you remember him as a friend? silent — ash. how will you remember him as a friend? silent hero, _ ash. how will you remember him as a friend? silent hero, big, _ ash. how will you remember him as a friend? silent hero, big, gentle - friend? silent hero, big, gentle ciant. friend? silent hero, big, gentle giant- and _ friend? silent hero, big, gentle giant. and what _ friend? silent hero, big, gentle giant. and what we _ friend? silent hero, big, gentle giant. and what we did - friend? silent hero, big, gentle giant. and what we did with - friend? silent hero, big, gentlej giant. and what we did with the floods in new south wales last year was definitely the highlight of my life. if it wasn't for him, a lot of people would not have got help that they dipped down there. maw; people would not have got help that they dipped down there. many people are still scratching _ they dipped down there. many people are still scratching their— they dipped down there. many people are still scratching their heads - they dipped down there. many people are still scratching their heads as - are still scratching their heads as to how and why it happened, the fact he was such an experienced pilot? yes, chief pilot. if you got into a helicopter with him, there was not a speck of dust on the helicopter. the hangers were immaculate every day. he would be there at 4am, getting it ready. such a top guy. so much experience. and he has flown in all sorts of terrain and environments. to do this, we are scratching all

our heads. complete shock. i know our heads. complete shock. i know ou have our heads. complete shock. i know you have been _ our heads. complete shock. i know you have been in _ our heads. complete shock. i know you have been in touch _ our heads. complete shock. i know you have been in touch with - our heads. complete shock. i know you have been in touch with his - you have been in touch with his family. how are they holding up? again, just very flat, like the rest hours. not saying anything publicly. i think she is still hoping he was going to come home, you know? when i spoke to her today. but, yeah, it's a shock to everyone.— spoke to her today. but, yeah, it's a shock to everyone. moving forward, he said there — a shock to everyone. moving forward, he said there might _ a shock to everyone. moving forward, he said there might be _ a shock to everyone. moving forward, he said there might be a _ he said there might be a remembrance? taste he said there might be a remembrance? ~ ., ~ ., remembrance? we were talking about next week. remembrance? we were talking about next week- i — remembrance? we were talking about next week. i did _ remembrance? we were talking about next week. i did speak _ remembrance? we were talking about next week. i did speak to _ remembrance? we were talking about next week. i did speak to his - next week. i did speak to his fiancee and best friend, and we were going to start a gofundme for the family. but in true ash style, we have decided to start a gofundme, but all of the money will go to all of the victims in a helicopter crash, that is what he would want, you wouldn't want it all about him. sure, today is all about remembering him. but if we canjust raise a little bit of money for those people. we feel really sorry for them. i know that he would have done everything to bring that helicopter down safely. for him to actually

land it on the sandbank, and not in the water, that is ash. he was a big guy with a lot of muscle and he would have put his whole brute force into that. he would have shifted his whole body weight into the helicopter to make sure it didn't land on the water. because if it had have landed in the water, i think it would have been a lot worse for everybody. the irish prime minister leo varadkar has said mistakes were made on all sides in the way britain's exit from the european union was handled. mr varadkar conceded that trading arrangements for northern ireland might be too strict, and that there was room for changes to be made. britain and the eu are currently negotiating on how to reduce the problems caused to business by the trading border in the irish sea. investigators are looking into the cause of a fire at a hotel which left three people dead. emergency services including 21 ambulances and 60 firefighters were called to the new county hotel in perth yesterday morning. eleven people were treated at the scene and the bodies of three people were discovered after fire

was put out. a playerfor the american football team the buffalo bills is in a critical condition in hospital after collapsing on the field. damar hamlin was injured during a game between his team and the cincinnati bengals. he was given cpr on the field before being taken away in an ambulance. one of the most bizarre things you could probably see. first and foremost allow me to say my prayers and thoughts and healing to damar hamlin and his family. when you watch something like that, you would hope they get back up, they usually give the thumbs up or pop back up at some point on the sideline, but it was such a really bizarre, textbook hit, hejumped back up, approximately five or ten seconds later

he collapsed on the field, and immediately they alerted the medical staff of both the cincinnati bengals and buffalo bills to render aid to him. i spoke to a couple of people who happen to be near the scene and they informed me that he actually had cpr performed on him, and later on, probably about three or four minutes later espn confirmed they had performed cpr on damar hamlin in order to be able to transport him to a local hospital where he was accompanied by his mother inside the ambulance as they transported him to a local cincinnati hospital, because they did not have such an extensive trauma unit to be able to work on him. based upon what i saw on television, you can see the emotion, the reaction on both sides of the field, whether from the bengals or the bills, and someone that was there,

i can inform you the heads up players crying, players in shock and disbelief, even those who rarely show emotion absolutely overcome with emotion, as you can understand, watching somebody like that in front of your eyes just collapse due to an injury like that, the players decided later on, they went to the locker room, they were deciding whether or not to continue with the game, and i was also told the head coaches were on the phone with nfl reps for quite some time to discuss the measures of what was going to transpire after the fact. we later on saw buffalo bills' equipment manager bringing the equipment inside the locker room, which gave indication the game was more than likely going to be postponed and delayed due to the nature of what transpired on that field, and eventually the nfl made a statement saying the game had been cancelled due to the nature of what transpired with damar hamlin and his injury that was witnessed by so many.

there has also been an update on his condition, according to his marketing manager and friend, he said "his vitals are back to normal and they have put him to sleep to put a breathing tube down his throat, they are currently running test and will provide updates as they happen via twitter". prince harry has said he wants his father and brother back — in a new interview ahead of the release of his upcoming memoir "spare". in a trailer for the sit—down interview with itv, he says "they've shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile," although it is not clear who he is referring to. our royal correspondent daniela relph has more. they are the first hints of what this book will offer. the trailers from itv and cbs in america, released ahead of the publication of spare,

point to a bitter family fallout. it never needed to be this way. the leaking and the planting. i want a family, not an institution. they feel as though it's better to keep us somehow as the villains. they've shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile. i would like to get my father back. i would like to have my brother back. getting his father and his brother back won't be easy. the royal family presented a united front without harry and meghan this christmas. but harry has repeated his claims that the family is an institution that didn't support him with a media set against him. these new interviews have both been done by experienced journalists, and there is a sense that they may be more challenging. one of the criticisms that you've received is that, well, 0k, fine, you want to move to california, you want to step back from the institutional role. why be so public? you say you tried to do this privately.

and every single time i've tried to do it privately, there have been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife. you know, the family motto is, never complain, never explain. but it's just a motto. it's hard to see how these interviews will help a family reconciliation. prince harry has again voiced his anger, his sadness and his frustration. and buckingham palace has again made no comment. an assessment ofjust how damaging these new interviews will be, can be made when they're broadcast next weekend. daniela relph, bbc news. a london—based entrepreneur, craig cohon, has made making the biggest new year's resolution of his middle—aged life. the former executive begins a 4,000 kilometre walk from london to istanbul today — to campaign for carbon removal. he's due to arrive in istanbul in earlyjune, just before his 60th birthday. the project comes after he became the first private citizen to undertake a personal �*lifetime carbon audit�* following

the cop26 climate conference. let's hearfrom craig cohon i hope you willjoin me some time along the route, you are absolutely welcome to join me. i have been a polluting, privileged white, male businessman. and i put a lot of co2 into the world. and i have decided to remove all of that from 1963, put forward carbon credits to get that carbon down. we have 2 trillion tonnes of carbon that we put up there. and boomers need to be part of the solution, because i am not going to leave this planet to my kids and grandkids, worse off than when i came into it. i think it took you two years work out your carbon footprint. how on earth did you do it? ——i think it took you two months to work out your carbon footprint. how on earth did you do it? i interviewed my parents, who are 85 and 84, now converts to the carbon removal mission,

so to speak. we talked about how much beef i ate, how many flights i took, where did i travel, how many cars, how many t—shirts i bought. it's a huge amount of work. it was 28 times more than the average person in the uk. i felt kind of ashamed of that. i'm guilty, i'm totally guilty, but not to blame. so i want to try to reverse, remove and redeem myself, so to speak. i am getting the balance off my debt, the debt off my books for carbon, and i am campaigning and walking across europe as a start of the campaign to hopefully inspire some other people to get involved. we are in a pretty bad situation in the world right now, and this is a little bit of hope. i think we can make the change that we need to make, but we have to start now and stop talking about. explain how you're going to do it, you have gone back and worked out how many burgers you have eaten in all of your years all

of the planet, probably too many, more than you want to tell me. but, to use your words, how do you redeem that? i think there is something called carbon removal. we have to not only reduce and mitigate the amount of carbon we are putting up in the environment, we have to take the 2 trillion tonnes down. we can do that with planting a huge green belt around the city of london, as an example. we can do that by putting co2 into concrete, when we build new buildings. we can do that by taking old trees, christmas trees, and turning them into biochar, a better type of forestation that sucks carbon in. there is lots of interesting technologies. we have to scale it up because we are not focusing enough on reducing our carbon footprint, the carbon into the environment. this is a way to get people interested in a solution, and bring some into this era of war, pestilence, famine, floods, inflation and high energy prices.

maybe we could do something, it starts with people my age. let's say there are people your age you cannot afford the time or whatever else to go on these kind of walks that you are embarking on. are there any small things people can do that might make a difference? absolutely. number one, you can start thinking about removing past carbon. so, this is not everyone, this is for people that have the means and opportunity to actually think about their past carbon footprint. you can go on walkitback.org, interesting technologies you can read about and invest this is not about buying an electric car, it is about looking backwards to look forwards. 2 trillion tonnes is 2 trillion baby elephants up there. elephants have been a huge tourist attraction in thailand for decades

but when covid struck their owners were left struggling to feed them. although tourist numbers have started to recover, the industry faces another challenge, because many visitors now see using the animals for entertainment as unethical. our south east asia correspondent, jonathan head, has been looking at how the country's three thousand captive elephants can be supported in the future. there is a place in thailand where people and elephants have lived and worked together for centuries. they used to travel the country to entertain tourists. but when covid struck, they moved back here to surin, where they have been struggling to make a living. this charity is offering these elephants free health checks and medication. they often have problems with their digestive systems, says this volunteer, because of the stress of moving or because they are now getting the wrong kind of food.

the sheer size of these animals makes them hugely expensive, they cost as much as a luxury car to buy, and eat hundreds of food kilos every day, but there is another challenge to thailand's elephant economy, and that is that the tourists who sustained it for so long now have ethical concerns about all the various tricks they have been trained to perform. joy lives with three generations of elephants, descendants of animals passed down to her by her parents and grandparents. covid forced her to bring them back from the holiday island of phuket where they have been doing tourist shows. these days, she posts videos of them on social media, but the donations she gets from their online fans are never enough. she is hoping that as the tourists return, some at least will still be willing to pay to watch the elephants perform.

translation: i think there may not be as many elephant shows - as they used to be because we know that some foreign tourists think that people who keep elephants don't love them. or treat them badly by making them perform. so they might not want to feed the elephants or watch the show like before. everywhere we went in surin, we found people live streaming their elephants through their phones, trying to cover their costs. because there is no easy exit from this business. translation: whatever the future is, i think we still have to keep them. if the economy was better, or someone wanted to buy them, we might consider selling. but with the economy like this, there is no way out, we have to take care of them. there are thought to be more than 3,000 captive elephants in thailand. these are very long—lived animals. if their use as tourist entertainment is increasingly

viewed as unethical, it is not clear how else their livelihoods can be funded. jonathan head, bbc news, north—eastern thailand. an ancient egyptian sarcophagus that was looted fifteen years ago has been returned to cairo. the so—called �*green coffin�* is nearly three metres long and dates back more than 2000 years. it had recently been on display at a museum in texas. it�*s one of thousands of items recovered by the egyptian authorities. tim allman reports. ancient, mysterious, and now finally back home. the green coffin predates christ, a brightly painted wooden sarcophagus belonging to an egyptian priest. it�*s from the country�*s late dynastic period which spanned the 7th to the 4h century bc, its return a significant source of cultural and national pride.

translation: recovering this i sarcophagus and bringing it back to the country is a new step in the success of the foreign ministry to protect egypt�*s national heritage. it is a reflection of the spirit of cooperation between egypt and the united states. the green coffin has been on quite a journey. it was looted from the abu sir necropolis north of cairo in 2008. smuggled by a global art trafficking network, its first destination was germany, then it was taken to the us, a collector loaning it to a museum in houston in 2013. and all those air miles have taken quite a toll. translation: a big part - of the sarcophagus unfortunately is in bad shape as a result of being smuggled illegally. we plan to take it to the egyptian museum to conduct something like first aid, some meticulous restoration. this is only one of nearly 30,000 smuggled artefacts recovered

over the last ten years and there are believed to be many more still out there. the green coffin is back home, but the hunt for egypt�*s stolen treasure goes on. tim allman, bbc news. you may remember a few months ago a story about my bbc colleague sean dilley, whose guide dog sammy was retiring, leaving him facing a two year wait for a replacement. that�*s because during the pandemic the charity guide dogs had to pause it�*s breeding and training programmes for the first time in its history. now the charity wants to recruit more volunteers to ensure more matches can be made. sean�*s been to meet one of the puppy trainers. are you my little star? meet archie... ..and his puppy raiser, lisa. archie? touch! they�*re learning what makes a good guide dog. good boy.

so the reason that we use hand touch is so when archie is placed with a visually impaired person, obviously they can't see when he's running back, when he's coming. so they can pop out this hand as a target. and archie�*s getting his head around some things he may need to quit if he�*s to win a working harness. he�*ll have to learn what this is for. lisa�*s is one of more than 2000 households giving their time for free to help raise guide dog puppies for around a year. it�*s opened up a whole new world. i�*ve met lots of new friends, ifeel part of a community that i wasn�*t before. not only that, obviously you�*re doing something very good at the end of the day. it�*s all around really rewarding. soon we�*ll follow lisa as she hands herfirst puppy, fergall, into guide dogs for his advanced training. what are the emotions that are going through your head today?

if i�*m honest, i�*d say proud. i think that�*s my biggest one. so proud of what i�*ve done. really proud of him! lisa hopes that both of her dogs will give somebody their independence. for lisa�*s first pup, fergall, it�*s the end of one journey, but the start of another. i�*ve got all this. i�*m packing the three toys up from home. his biscuits that i always give him — half a biscuit at bedtime. this, i�*ve had it made and had his name put on it and his id number. the day has come for fergal to start his advanced training. that means lisa must say a painful goodbye. i want him as upset as little as possible.

they�*re his toys. there you go, you get a big boy lead now. bye—bye, sweetheart. many guide dog users stay in touch with their puppy raisers. but many do not. thanks a lot. i'll ring you tomorrow. lisa knows this could be the last time she sees fergal. yeah, i�*m fine. it�*s hard, but you�*ve got to remember why you�*re doing it. guide dogs say they need more volunteers like lisa to help cut waiting times. people like us are needed so much to help people like you. the tears are worth it. that was lisa, a guide dogs volunteer, who spent the past year training little archie. he�*s now off to a new home where he�*ll be able to assist a visually impaired person like our reporter sean dilley. that is it from us for now. thank you for your company over the last

few hours. goodbye. hello again. if you�*re just stepping out, don�*t forget to take your brolly. because although one band of rain is crossing us, there�*s another one coming in hot on its heels. so today, wet and windy for most, but mild. and this mild theme will be with us for the next couple of days. you can see the yellows and ambers across us. here are the days, the air coming up from the azores. but as we head on towards the end of the week, by the time we get to friday, something cooler starts to push southwards. but for some of us, it doesn�*t last. so here�*s our first band of rain, which continues off into the north sea, a second band of rain coming in hot in its heels. some of this will be heavy, a lot of cloud. it�*s going to be a windy day.

the best of the sunshine across the far north of scotland, but mild — six degrees in aberdeen to 12 as we push further south. now through this evening and overnight, here�*s our band of rain continuing to push from the west towards the east, lingering the longest across the far north of scotland and also southeast england. it�*s going to be a windy night with showers following on behind the rain, but it will be significantly milder than it has been. these temperatures are higher than we�*d expect as our maximum daytime temperatures at this time of year. tomorrow, then, off goes the rain quite smartly from the southeast. it takes longer to clear the northeast of scotland lingering in the northern isles and further showery rain comes in across northern ireland, southern scotland and northern england. but there will be sunshine in either side, but it�*s going to be windy. lighter winds across the north of scotland, but certainly gusty winds across england, wales and northern ireland. and still mild, temperatures in aberdeen, seven degrees, 13 degrees in plymouth. then as we move from wednesday into thursday, this has been giving us a real headache all week. the positioning and the timing of it could still change.

it might come in a little bit quicker. and if it does so, the rain connected with it will move swiftly across northern ireland, clip northern england and move across scotland and we�*ll see some further rain coming in to the west. but if it stays as we think at the moment, this is the scenario of some heavier rain coming in and again, very mild for the time of year. we�*re looking at highs 12 or 13. as we move on into friday, we�*ve got a transient ridge of high pressure across us, so a more settled day in prospect. and then for saturday and sunday, the rain clears. it will be blustery and we�*re looking at sunshine and showers.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00pm: fresh uk rail strikes on the first working day for many of the new year. union leaders say they want a settlement, the government says passengers have had enough. all the parties involved know what has to be done to get a settlement but the government is blocking that sediment and doing nothing about this dispute and that needs to change. i needed to see the rmt back round the table so we can dry to get a good settlement that is fair to the people who work in the industry but is also fair to the travelling public and the taxpayer.

passengers are told not to take the rain all week amid another round of strikes. a british couple diane and ron hughes are among four people to die in a helicopter crash on australia�*s gold coast — three others are critically injured. paying their last respects to pele: thousands of people have been filing past the coffin of the brazillian footballing legend pele. this is the scene live at his former club santos, where he�*s lying in state. and coming up: we�*ve been talking to a guide dogs charity that�*s recruiting for more volunteers to tackle a shortage of trainers. we are at the moment looking very heavily to recruit lots of volunteers, and we�*ve been very lucky lot of people have been so generous with their time, and we are in recovery mode and hopeful for the future but do need a little bit of patience for a little bit longer. as thousands of people in the uk

prepare to return to work following the christmas and new year break, the rmt union at network rail is staging a 48 hour walk out. this is the latest rail strike in a long running dispute over pay. the walkouts by the rmt on 3rd and 4th january and 6th and 7th january will affect services across england, scotland and wales. the rail delivery group have advised people only to travel if "absolutely necessary". network rail says the strikes will result in only about 20% of services running with many areas not seeing any trains at all. train drivers from 15 rail companies from the aslef union will also walk out on the 5th of january. marc ashdown reports. a new year, but no end in sight in this bitter dispute. train passengers returning to work after the festive period are facing delays, disruption and cancellations. just 20% of the uk�*s rail network will operate today and tomorrow. if you�*re lucky enough to have trains running near you,

they�*ll be starting much later, and will finish by early evening. it�*s a headache for people like corinne, who�*s on a zero hours contract, and will now struggle to get to work. i support the right to strike, absolutely. so i don�*t begrudge the strike. but how long it�*s going on for, it leads to accumulated stress and rage. the dispute over pay, working conditions and job security has been rumbling on since june last year. it involves around 40,000 members of the rmt union in a range ofjobs at 14 train operators, as well as network rail. union members will walk out for another 48 hours on friday. meanwhile, a 24—hour strike by train drivers at the aslef union on thursday, is also expected to result in widespread disruption. the unions say they are willing to get back around the negotiating table, but that the table is bare. rail operators and network rail say they�*ve made fair and reasonable pay

offers, and have once again apologised to customers for the ongoing disruption. the department for transport said the government was being reasonable and stood ready to facilitate an end to the rail disputes. marc ashdown, bbc news. our correspondent gareth barlow is at euston station in central london. it isa it is a quiet morning here in euston station. without warnings to passengers not to use the trains not just today but all week amid those numerous walk—outs. 40,000 members of their empty working out today and tomorrow. replicating that on friday and saturday, so mention the middle the train driver some 15 train companies not thursday for 24 hours and it all means that at best there is 20% of trains running and at worst there are no services at all and that of by england, scotland and wales but not northern ireland. each side is pointing at the other saying it is because of their negotiations

have not been reached. you�*re tempted to take the car and bus but there are strikes by highways officers in england, that might have some impact on the roads. some bus routes in london there are strikes on those routes as well so it paints a picture across the uk, especially on the railways, very difficult start to the new year when it comes to travel. the general secretary of the rmt, mick lynch has this morning repeated his assertion that the government is blocking a deal with the unions. all the parties involved know what needs to be done. to get a settlement. but the government is blocking that settlement and doing nothing about this dispute and that needs to change. so i hope mark harper and the ministers responsible can move that forward. we think we are going to get a meeting with them next week but they seem content for the action to go ahead, and have done nothing over the past six or seven weeks to move it forward. this morning, transport secretary

mark harper told bbc breakfast that he is eagerfor a deal to be secured with the rail unions: i want to see the rmt back around the table so we can try and get a good settlement that is fair to the people who work in the industry, but also fair to the travelling public and the taxpayer. the taxpayer has made a huge investment in the rail industry over the last couple of years because of the real difficulties it had during the pandemic. that protected the people that work in the industry, and i think it is fair now that they accept the offer that is on the table and sign up to some of the necessary reforms, and i want to see that detail being thrashed out now, and the sooner they get back around the table, we have meetings set up for next week that the real minister is leading, i want to see those meetings lead to a successful conclusion as soon as we can. with me now is nigel harris, managing editor at rail magazine. one briefing in the newspaper this

morning saying the government is looking at an alternative way through which is to look at enhanced benefits which is obviously not confirmed. network rail saying there are within touching distance of an agreement. what is your perspective on where things are and where they may go? you�*ll make that would be good news if it is true and we need to hope that it is because both sides of talked themselves into a corner. it sides of talked themselves into a corner. . , sides of talked themselves into a corner. ., , ., ., corner. it has turned into an ideological— corner. it has turned into an ideological war _ corner. it has turned into an ideological war of _ corner. it has turned into an ideological war of attrition l corner. it has turned into an i ideological war of attrition and they both need an off ramp where they both need an off ramp where they can make some concessions and compromises for the rest of us. without losing too much faith because otherwise, this isjust going to dry go on and there are so much disinformation around it makes a settlement much more difficult.

can you give us examples, then, of what you see is this information which is unhelpful in this? you make 0k, which is unhelpful in this? you make ok, let�*s look at the driver in the operation thing which the union are very exercised about. it is a complete red herring. the government has put that in there on an ideological at all what it is talking about. it doesn�*t mean in any case taking the second person of the train, it means we tasking them but it takes years to get round that and you need specialised trains and specialist training for drivers apart from staff, changes to infrastructure so it is not an issue which is an alleyway of elements now. ., , ., now. on the other side, the union claims it is — now. on the other side, the union claims it is unsafe _ now. on the other side, the union claims it is unsafe and _ now. on the other side, the union claims it is unsafe and that - now. on the other side, the union claims it is unsafe and that is - claims it is unsafe and that is nonsense. we�*ve had it since 1982. just about all the london commuter network runs on that basis. in its purest form, where you have a driver and no one else on the train you�*ve got the london tubes which carry 4 million people a day perfectly safely and yet we allow ourselves to be diverted into pointless discussions about this. largely because the government has indeed put this on at the last minute and it has had the effect of, as the

union says, they will accept it on the face of it. it is not what they say it is but itjust drags on and the only way we pay for our railway is people like you and i through our taxes and our tickets and we deserve better than this endless, endless discussion. better than this endless, endless discussion-— better than this endless, endless discussion. ~ ., ., , ., ~ discussion. what impact do you think the rail strike _ discussion. what impact do you think the rail strike has _ discussion. what impact do you think the rail strike has had _ discussion. what impact do you think the rail strike has had on _ discussion. what impact do you think the rail strike has had on peoples - the rail strike has had on peoples multi—mac perceptions of travelling by rail and whether it has a longer term impact in terms of people sense of whether they can plan around it? i have edited railfor 27 of whether they can plan around it? i have edited rail for 27 years. i�*ve been in the rail industry�*s publishing arm for 40 years and i�*ve never been more despondent about the future of the railway because trust is just collapsing. future of the railway because trust isjust collapsing. people future of the railway because trust is just collapsing. people are going for cars, largely cars. on the idea that you can go out, trust the railway timetable is fading very quickly. it has not gone yet but it has suffered huge damage and it

needs to be rebuilt. of the last 20% of the commuter market which means 80% are still there, by the way. but the bit of the railway that is absolutely booming is the non—commuter discretionary leisure travel. call it what you will put up visiting friends, relations, travelling by train because you want to rather than because you have to do. that part of the market requires very good quality services in terms of a reliable timetable and decent training for people around while you�*re there because they have a choice and they will not continue to choose the diabolical services we are offering them now. over the last couple of years, rail strike is to be so very quickly because we did not have were not prepared to tolerate that kind of disruption. that has changed and now we make alternative arrangements.— that has changed and now we make alternative arrangements. thank you ve much alternative arrangements. thank you

very much for— alternative arrangements. thank you very much forjoining _ alternative arrangements. thank you very much forjoining us. _ alternative arrangements. thank you very much forjoining us. let's - alternative arrangements. thank you very much forjoining us. let's go - very much forjoining us. let�*s go to our political correspondent. mick lynch from the rmt are still saying the government is blocking a deal. there are reports in at least one newspaper talking about what might be going on behind the scenes in terms of what has been offered as a sweetener. what are you hearing about where things are and where they might go? i about where things are and where they might go?— about where things are and where they might go? i think the situation is still pretty _ they might go? i think the situation is still pretty much _ they might go? i think the situation is still pretty much intractable, - is still pretty much intractable, actually. there�*ve been reports about some incentives, holiday pay perhaps enhanced pension contributions, fundamentally, as we�*ve just been hearing, contributions, fundamentally, as we�*vejust been hearing, there contributions, fundamentally, as we�*ve just been hearing, there seems to be a problem which basically is this. that the unions are concerned about pay but it is also concerned about pay but it is also concerned about conditions as well and i think the difficulty with that is that unless the government is prepared to move there than the union may decide, the rmt, i�*m talking about, may decide it is not going to move and the difficulty that we have, too, another bell union has been

involved. the train drivers union on thursday as well. and politically, what has been said behind—the—scenes ijy what has been said behind—the—scenes by some conservative mps but also incidentally by some labour mps, too, is that they believe the government can get away with digging in when it comes to the rail dispute but if you are experiencing inconvenience and, as we heard from nigel harris, people are finding ways around this and working at home, people are saying effectively the rail unions could be shooting themselves in the foot here because they are railways are already finding it difficult to recover from the cupboard pandemic and deaf, effectively, people feel there is a degree of inconvenience as opposed to the health service with an degree of jeopardy to the health service with an degree ofjeopardy and danger in front line staff take strike action, they can perhaps, to some extent, politically isolate the rmt. they also feel confident as one of the smaller rail unions have already settled with network rail, one of the parties in the dispute, in terms not dissimilar to what we are on offer to the rmt

as well so i from that point of view, though there may be some incentives to try to grease the wheels in negotiations next week, there�*s two sides still feel quite far apart and it does not seem to be the political will within the conservative party for compromise. thank you. adults who are unwell are being urged to wear a face covering outdoors, in new advice to try and stop the spread of flu and covid. the uk health security agency has also issued back—to—school advice, asking parents to keep children off school if they are showing symptoms of scarlet fever, such as a high temperature. jon donnison reports. with doctors warning the nhs has already gone past breaking point, concerns today that schools going back could add further pressure. the message from the uk health security agency is to keep children home if they�*re unwell and have a fever, to avoid infecting others. and the advice is not just for children.

the agency�*s chief medical adviser, susan hopkins, says adults who are unwell should also stay home and should wear a face covering if they have to go out. they should avoid health care settings and vulnerable people. the reason for the concern, a rising number of cases of flu, covid and scarlet fever, which is caused by the strep a infection. nhs england says 9,500 people are currently in hospital with covid. add on to that almost 4000 people with flu, and it means 13% of hospital beds in england are being occupied by people with those two illnesses. and all this comes with doctors saying some a&e departments are already in a complete state of crisis, to the extent that it�*s causing patients harm. i come to work to treat patients, to make people better ultimately. that�*s why we go into it. it sounds very simple,

but that�*s what we do. and it hurts to see that people are coming to harm. and to see people coming in sicker than they necessarily should have been, because of some of these problems that are occurring. and at the worst case — i�*ve spoken to paramedics, for instance, who have arrived at the scene of patients after long delays, only to find they�*ve already passed away. many hospital staff say they�*re already at their limit. and there�*s more strike action plan by nurses and ambulance staff over pay and conditions. jon donnison, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: fresh rail strikes on the first working day for many of the new year. union leaders say they want a settlement, the government says passengers have had enough. a british couple diane and ron hughes are among four people to die in a helicopter crash on australia�*s gold coast — three others are critically injured. and coming up: we�*ve been talking to a guide dogs charity that�*s recruiting for more volunteers to tackle a shortage of trainers.

the irish prime minister leo varadkar has said mistakes were made on all sides in the way britain�*s exit from the european union was handled. mr varadkar conceded that trading arrangements for northern ireland might be too strict, and that there was room for changes to be made. britain and the eu are currently negotiating on how to reduce the problems caused to business by the trading border in the irish sea. i�*m joined by professor anand menon, director of the �*uk in a changing europe�* think tank — which provides research on brexit and its consequences. welcome. thank you forjoining us. what, first of all, then, is your response to what leo virago has said? not least that he said he is abolishing mistakes that have been made which is the first time it has been said? it made which is the first time it has been said? , ., made which is the first time it has been said?— been said? it is not the first time --eole been said? it is not the first time peeple said _ been said? it is not the first time peeple said it _ been said? it is not the first time people said it about _ been said? it is not the first time people said it about breaks - been said? it is not the first time people said it about breaks that i been said? it is not the first time i people said it about breaks that are on the way brexit was handled. it a new thing from both sides. what was

encouraging was the need music from both london and the eu is very positive at the moment which smacks of the fact that i think both sides really want to try to find space to get an agreement if they can. the devil, however, so often with these brexit issues, is in the detail. with this much is there is there as there are real substantive differences that separate the two sides. ,, , , ., ., , sides. qubits are in a nutshell sa in: sides. qubits are in a nutshell saying there _ sides. qubits are in a nutshell saying there are _ sides. qubits are in a nutshell saying there are a _ sides. qubits are in a nutshell saying there are a lot - sides. qubits are in a nutshell saying there are a lot of - sides. qubits are in a nutshell. saying there are a lot of people sides. qubits are in a nutshell- saying there are a lot of people who are union as you feel the protocol i separated them from great britain and nationalist and northern ireland who feel it has separated them from the rest of ireland. so what is the solution to that? this the rest of ireland. so what is the solution to that?— the rest of ireland. so what is the solution to that? this is the thorny ultimately there _ solution to that? this is the thorny ultimately there has _ solution to that? this is the thorny ultimately there has to _ solution to that? this is the thorny ultimately there has to be - solution to that? this is the thorny ultimately there has to be a - solution to that? this is the thorny| ultimately there has to be a border some where. both sides agree it cannot be between north and south so the deal we have at the moment in place some kind of customs border between great britain and northern ireland and i think the trick here

is from what he was saying, is whether the eu can find the flexibility to make that border as unobtrusive as possible. i don�*t think. you can�*t get away a border. the eu will not allow it to be open, it will want things to be checked but the things that my issue is how flexible can they be when it comes to that take in allowing things to move smoothly as possible and, therefore, hopefully, assuage unionist concerns. bud therefore, hopefully, assuage unionist concerns.— therefore, hopefully, assuage unionist concerns. �* ., , ., unionist concerns. and how badly do ou think unionist concerns. and how badly do you think all — unionist concerns. and how badly do you think all sides _ unionist concerns. and how badly do you think all sides are _ unionist concerns. and how badly do you think all sides are to _ unionist concerns. and how badly do you think all sides are to agree - unionist concerns. and how badly do you think all sides are to agree to i you think all sides are to agree to something that could work? but april is going to be the anniversary, the 25th anniversary of the good friday peace agreement and it is said that there is some hope and expectation that there may be agreement in place by then to enable the power—sharing institutions of northern ireland to be back up and running by then? absolutely. there is that but also

the prospect of a visit by president biden to arab land and neither side wants to be seen as responsible for that�*s not happening so there is a very big carrot there which is the prospect of getting something done by that anniversary. the problem is partly what we were talking about before which is the issue of whether the eu can be flexible on checks but on the uk side, when lord frost was in government, he insisted that the protocol needed to be fundamentally rewritten to remove their role of the few european court and the uk government is going to have to show some flexibility and that will depend partly on what the prime minister thinks and whether he is

willing to be flexible to get a deal and whether he has the political strength to push that kind of deal through in the face of what i am sure will be opposition from the more hardline breaks at factions of his political party. so there is a of politics involved in trying to get a deal over the line. he said mistakes were _ get a deal over the line. he said mistakes were made _ get a deal over the line. he said mistakes were made on - get a deal over the line. he said mistakes were made on all- get a deal over the line. he said. mistakes were made on all sides. obviously there was criticism when there was the attempt to unpick what had been agreed because it was like, well, this was agreed. it was a hard—fought, hard—won deal. what lessons do you think can be learned because it is not like it was something that was done overnight. it was something extremely difficult and it took place over a long period of negotiating something which seemed pretty intractable. fine seemed pretty intractable. one lesson is that _ seemed pretty intractable. one lesson is that both _ seemed pretty intractable. iez lesson is that both sizing to seemed pretty intractable. ©“ie: lesson is that both sizing to think carefully about the implications of deals they are signing up for. this is the deal on the table. it is a deal that has always employed the need for some kind of regulatory border between great britain and northern ireland. i think some politicians on their side were misleading and how they presented that given the impression they would be no need for such checks but i think, you know, a deal of honesty from both sides is going to be crucial if you are going to solve this problem and if we don�*t solve

this problem and if we don�*t solve this problem and we end up with a continued stand—off in a relationship with the european union is going to be frozen.— is going to be frozen. thank you for “oininu is going to be frozen. thank you for joining us- — is going to be frozen. thank you for joining us- happy — is going to be frozen. thank you for joining us. happy new— is going to be frozen. thank you for joining us. happy new year. - is going to be frozen. thank you for joining us. happy new year. happyl joining us. happy new year. happy new year- — a procession will take place through the streets of the brazilian city of santos later today, for the footballing legend pele, before a private family ceremony and his burial. the player, who was the only person ever to win the world cup three times, died last week at the age of 82. our south america correspondent katy watson reports. what a send—off for brazil�*s king of football as he began his final journey. pele came home to santos football club, his coffin laid on the pitch where he made his name. brazilians did not want to miss their chance to pay their respects, a moment for reflection, and sadness, that this great presence has gone. the queue began at dawn and grew throughout the day. despite the searing summer heat, brazilians young and old came from far and wide, to see the man who revolutionised football and made this country famous.

he is the number one ambassador this country in the world, in my opinion. so, if you travel abroad and you talk about brazil, the first word you see coming back is, "you are from from pele�*s country." we grew up with him, especially the streets where i grew up, he used to go to the supermarket. every day we say hello to pele. that was normal for us. "i never saw him play," this little boy told me, "but we�*ll really miss him because he was the best footballer in the world." for those who knew him well, the memories kept flowing. translation: he was a fantastic person. - he had a generous heart, he was kind, notjust because he was the athlete of the century, but he was a simple man. he always looked after people in a really sincere way. he was humble. that�*s my biggest memory of him, of pele, as a man and a great athlete. as the sun went down the people kept coming. the queue kept on growing through the day.

and just look at it now come overnight. i spoke to one brazilian who said, "we don�*t have a monarchy. "pele was the closest thing to it. "people just want to say goodbye." tears, emotion and a celebration of the king. his biggest fans said goodbye to pele in style. from here, the coffin will be taken through the streets of santos ahead of a private family burial. katy watson, bbc news in santos. let�*s ta ke let�*s take your live. you can see that the coffin lying under the brazilian flag in santos. the stadium is his former club, santos. the stadium in san paolo and we�*ve been seeing fans lining the streets to have their chance to say goodbye

to have their chance to say goodbye to the footballing legend who has been described by some as brazil�*s greatest ever ambassador. let�*s go to our guest. let�*s talk now to fernando duarte, brazilian journalist working for bbc world service. the fact that he has been afforded this state funeral, the president is going to be arriving shortly to pay his respects and there will be then a procession through the streets of brazil ahead of a private burial. all of that, of course, speaks to the impact this man had on his nation and how he has been seen also by the world. nation and how he has been seen also by the world-— by the world. sure. it shows how important _ by the world. sure. it shows how important he _ by the world. sure. it shows how important he was. _ by the world. sure. it shows how important he was. i _ by the world. sure. it shows how important he was. i think - by the world. sure. it shows how important he was. i think my - important he was. i think my colleague katie watson made an important and interesting metaphor there. in a country without a monarchy pele was the closest we had as a king. for many he was the king of football so it is quite a nice

way to send him off, you know, we keep those people for granted when they depart sometimes a huge void is left. and i think brazilians will be feeling a bit lonely in the next few years. i5 feeling a bit lonely in the next few ears. , , , ., years. is interesting when you say, i mean, sometimes, _ years. is interesting when you say, i mean, sometimes, people - years. is interesting when you say, i mean, sometimes, people are i years. is interesting when you say, i i mean, sometimes, people are taken for granted and then afterwards the void is to be clear and unavoidable. it doesn�*t seem he was ever taken for granted. he�*s been a legend for a very long time. for granted. he's been a legend for a very long time-— a very long time. yeah, but we alwa s a very long time. yeah, but we always think — a very long time. yeah, but we always think he _ a very long time. yeah, but we always think he is _ a very long time. yeah, but we always think he is going - a very long time. yeah, but we always think he is going to - a very long time. yeah, but we always think he is going to be l always think he is going to be around. to see pele was something we grew used to. last time i saw him in person he seem to fail. we knew this day was going to come but nothing prepares you for the real day. we always thought he was always going to be around and in a way, he will. because the legend survives. bud because the legend survives. and fifa have said _ because the legend survives. and fifa have said they want all countries around the world to name a stadium in his honour.— stadium in his honour. think there was an interesting _ stadium in his honour. think there was an interesting move _ stadium in his honour. think there was an interesting move by - stadium in his honour. think there was an interesting move by the i was an interesting move by the president. every stadium in

argentina should be called after messi or maradona, the most interesting tribute to, the most important, is for young black boys everywhere to see this as a hero, this is a guy who rose above racial barriers in a country with a history of discrimination and anybody can do that. the inspiration to basically rise from poverty to stardom is something that should be more important than naming a stadium, to be honest, in my opinion. tells more about how you _ be honest, in my opinion. tells more about how you see _ be honest, in my opinion. tells more about how you see him _ be honest, in my opinion. tells more about how you see him through - be honest, in my opinion. tells more about how you see him through that| about how you see him through that prism, notjust through his footballing greatness. well, it is im ortant footballing greatness. well, it is important for— footballing greatness. well, it is important for me _ footballing greatness. well, it is important for me as _ footballing greatness. well, it is important for me as i _ footballing greatness. well, it is important for me as i braziliansl footballing greatness. well, it is i important for me as i brazilians to have an idol that have someone who represented who our people are. we are a mixed people. we have had a president from everywhere. brazilians can boot any picture on a passport and say it is a brazilian person so pele was someone from

below, the part of society most discriminated, to rise to stardom, something important. sport should not be the only way of socialisation for poor people. but not be the only way of socialisation for poor people-— for poor people. but it is an important _ for poor people. but it is an important aspect _ for poor people. but it is an important aspect and - for poor people. but it is an important aspect and he - for poor people. but it is an - important aspect and he delivered greatly, as you have said. thank you so much forjoining us and we will not make a so much for “oining us and we will not mak ., , so much for “oining us and we will notmak. , so much for “oining us and we will not mak ., , ., , ,, ., not make a pleasure, happy new year. ha - new not make a pleasure, happy new year. happy new year _ not make a pleasure, happy new year. happy new year to _ not make a pleasure, happy new year. happy new year to you. _ not make a pleasure, happy new year. happy new year to you. and _ not make a pleasure, happy new year. happy new year to you. and to - not make a pleasure, happy new year. happy new year to you. and to the - happy new year to you. and to the president of brazil were payzone respects and we will bring you that when it happens. a british couple — killed in a mid—air collision between two helicopters near a theme park on australia�*s gold coast — have been named as diane and ron hughes from merseyside. two others died in the accident, and three were seriously injured. australia�*s prime minister said the country had been left shocked by the "terrible and tragic incident". our correspondent shaima khalil has been to the scene of the accident. she sent us this update. this is the site of the crash, it happened right here on the tiny sandbank.

the wreckage of one of the helicopters and the other one were picked up earlier today and the authorities were finding it challenging to actually remove them because of the tide. the police are still here, some police investigators are still here gathering evidence but we also know there are divers here now, we know at least one, we�*ve seen at least one currently under water trying to find anything that would help with the investigation, and look how close it is to the sea world theme park, a stone�*s throw away. earlier we could hear holiday—makers on the rides one of the eyewitnesses said that while the other helicopter was trying to land, it hovered over the park, and there was concern that it could actually crash into people. the first migrants of the new year to cross the channel in small boats have arrived in the uk. forty four migrants were brought to shore by the border force. the french authorities returned another 80 people to calais after two boats got into difficulty in the channel. last year, a record 45,756 people made the journey. now it�*s time for a look

at the weather with carol. hello again. if you�*re just stepping out, make sure you pack your brolly because today is wet and windy. ourfirst band of rain going through quite quickly, clearing the east. but then we�*ve got this next batch coming in from the west and some of that will be heavy. once again, it�*s going to be windy. it�*s going to be mild. the clearest skies and most sunshine is likely in the highlands. as we head on through the evening and overnight period, this batch of rain in the west will also push eastwards, clearing the far north east of scotland and south east of england last, in fact, not until tomorrow. behind it, there�*ll be some showers and still windy. but it�*s going to be a very mild night. these temperatures are higher than we�*d expect at this time of year as our daytime maximums. tomorrow, quite swiftly the rain away from the southeast, it�*s a bit slower to clear away from northeast scotland. we�*ve got further showery outbreaks of rain coming in across the central swathe of the country, but on either side there will be some sunshine.

and temperaturewise, well, it still is mild for the time of year. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. fresh rail strikes on the first working day for many of the new year. union leaders say they want a settlement, the government says passengers have had enough. a british couple, diane and ron hughes, are among four people to die in a helicopter crash on australia�*s gold coast — three others are critically injured. and coming up we�*ve been talking to a guide dogs charity that�*s recruiting for more volunteers to tackle a shortage of trainers. brentford continue their brilliant form after the re—start of the premier league — springing a huge upset against liverpool. they�*re up to seventh after a memorable 3—1victory

against the merseyside club. they took the lead through an own goal, this corner going in off liverpool�*s ibrahima konate. the game was then in the balance at 2—1, before bryan mbuemo settled it late on. liverpool�*s andy robertson said the performance wasn�*t good enough but brentford, they�*re up to seventh. the stage is set in the pdc world darts final tonight, michael van gerwen up against michael smith. favourite van gerwen was in devastating form as he whitewashed belgium�*s dimitri van den burgh by six sets to nil at alexandra palace, whilst smith beat gabriel clemens 6—2. van gerwen will be going for a fourth world title, whilst smith is looking for his first. new zealand were all out for 449 in theirfirst innings of the second test against pakistan in karachi. matt henry, who played for kent last season, claimed the third test match half century of his career. his partnership with ajaz patel

added 104 runs for the last wicket. henry took the first wicket of pakistan�*s innings, dismissing abdullah shafique forjust 19 runs. pakistan are currently 122—3. lancashire fast bowler saqib mahmood is set to make his return from injury on england lions�* white—ball tour of sri lanka in february. the 25—year—old played two tests for england in march 2022, taking six wickets against west indies. but he has not played competitive cricket since may after suffering a stress fracture in his back. the lions tour consists of two four—day tests against sri lanka a followed by three one—day internationals. emma raducanu made a winning start to 2023 with victory over teenager linda fruhvirtova in her opening match at the asb classic in auckland. the 20—year—old came through a nervy three setter against the 17—year—old czech rising star winning 6—2 in the final set in a rain—affected match.

the 2021 us open champion, was a set and a break down but managed to regroup and get through to the next round where she will face victoria kuzmova from slovakia who�*se ranked outside the top 100. meanwhile, on the mens side, it was a winning return for serbian star novak djokovic who beat constant lestienne comfortably 6—3 6-2. the 21 times grand slam champion is going for a 10th australian open later in the month and will face france�*s quentin halys next in the next round here at the adelaide international. meanwhile, britain�*s kyle edmund lost to italianjannik sinner in straight sets as he tries to get his career back on track following a difficult time with injuries. andy murray lost the first set against us seb korda. the second set is currently ongoing. two more chinese players have been

suspended by the sport�*s world governing body, the wpbsa, as part of its on—going investigation into match fixing. they are the 2021 uk champion zhao xintong and zhangjiankang. xintong was due to play at the masters next week at london�*s alexandra palace. a total of 10 players have now been suspended. south africa captain siya kolisi willjoin french top 14 club racing 92 on a multi—year deal after the world cup in october. kolisi, currently plays for south african side cell c sharks in the united rugby championship. he led the springboks to world cup glory injapan in 2019, where they beat england in the final. the sharks confirmed kolisi had been granted an early release from his contract to complete the move to paris. that�*s all the sport for now. politicians in russia have called for commanders in the russian

military to be held to account for the deaths of dozens of soldiers in a ukrainian rocket strike. in a rare admission, moscow announced that 63 of its service personnel had been killed — ukraine says the figure was actually in the hundreds. one senator said it was clear that intelligence and air defence had failed. meanwhile ukraine�*s president zelensky says he�*s received intelligence to suggest russia plans to continue with drone attacks as a large part of its strategy. translation: we have information that russia is planning a protracted | attack using shahed drones. it is probably banking onexhaustion — exhausting our people, our anti—aircraft defences, our energy. but we act to do everything so the terrorists fail in their aim, as all their others have failed. here�*s an update from our correspondent in kyiv, hugo bachega you saw this admission by moscow,

the admission of losses, which is extremely rare, so i think it gives us an idea of how significant, how devastating this attack was, and i think the level of reaction as well, there�*s been a lot of criticism from commentators, bloggers who are kremlin supporters, who support the russian war, who have been angry, they say this attack happened because of mistakes that have been made by the russian army. lots of people are questioning the decision to house so many troops in a single location, near the front line, and there are reports are suggesting the use of mobile phones by soldiers allowed the ukrainians to locate this facility. apparently, this was a school that had been turned into a base by russian forces, apparently some of those people who were being housed there were recently mobilised soldiers, soldiers who had justjoined the army, apparently they were waiting to be deployed, so a devastating attack on new year�*s eve, and if this number is confirmed, 63 soldiers killed, the number that has been given by the russian authorities, this would be one of the deadliest attacks by ukrainian forces

targeting russian troops since the beginning of the war. for more on the consequences of mass drone attacks on ukrainian cities, i�*m joined now by yevhen petrov, he is a kyiv resident and secretary general of the ngo public diplomacy platform. welcome and thank you forjoining us. first of all, speak to us as a resident of kyiv and from the perspective of what you are seeing and experiencing. the perspective of what you are seeing and experiencing.— and experiencing. the situation in k iv and and experiencing. the situation in kyiv and ukraine _ and experiencing. the situation in kyiv and ukraine was _ and experiencing. the situation in kyiv and ukraine was predictable l kyiv and ukraine was predictable since the 31st of december and even earlier. the russian army caused a big drone attack and we had a huge amount of different explosions combined with anti—missiles, air missile systems and especially during last night they started to

attack us with drones during the cold night, and there was destruction in kyiv but since then the air forces, destruction in kyiv but since then the airforces, drones destruction in kyiv but since then the air forces, drones were destroyed here in kyiv. what's it like livin: destroyed here in kyiv. what's it like living there? _ destroyed here in kyiv. what's it like living there? nothing - destroyed here in kyiv. what's it like living there? nothing has i like living there? nothing has chanced like living there? nothing has changed because _ like living there? nothing has changed because we - like living there? nothing has changed because we are - like living there? nothing has changed because we are used like living there? nothing has i changed because we are used to like living there? nothing has - changed because we are used to being in the circumstances and especially when there is a huge amount of people sleeping on the subway waiting for the end to the air raids. people are still living and thinking about their futures, especially before the new year and a lot of people have discussed what they will do during this time of what they are going to cook. what what they are going to cook. what decisions are _ what they are going to cook. what decisions are you _ what they are going to cook. what decisions are you taking _ what they are going to cook. what decisions are you taking about what you do? decisions are you taking about what ou do? ., ., , decisions are you taking about what ou do? ., . ., , you do? nothing has changed in my mind because _ you do? nothing has changed in my mind because it _ you do? nothing has changed in my mind because it makes _ you do? nothing has changed in my mind because it makes me - you do? nothing has changed in my mind because it makes me angrierl you do? nothing has changed in my. mind because it makes me angrier and stronger because what i want to do after such a big missile attack is as i want to go to my apartment and do something more for the country and make the victory at least a little bit closer because russia wants to break us but they are doing

something else, there making us even stronger and more united. i something else, there making us even stronger and more united.— stronger and more united. i mention our line stronger and more united. i mention your line of — stronger and more united. i mention your line of work _ stronger and more united. i mention your line of work is _ stronger and more united. i mention your line of work is in _ stronger and more united. i mention your line of work is in cultural - your line of work is in cultural diplomacy. can you tell us more about that. is that something that is something you are able to do through the conflict and is it important. alejos we are mostly involved in use diplomacy and policy involved in use diplomacy and policy in ukraine on the main direction right now, because we need to think of how we can bring back our youth which left ukraine after the 24th of february, because they are going to rebuild ukraine. that february, because they are going to rebuild ukraine.— rebuild ukraine. that is why it is the main job _ rebuild ukraine. that is why it is the main job and _ rebuild ukraine. that is why it is the main job and there's - rebuild ukraine. that is why it is the main job and there's a - rebuild ukraine. that is why it is the main job and there's a huge | the main job and there�*s a huge amount of work that should be done to create all the necessary conditions for ukrainians, the ukrainian use, to make them come back here. 50 ukrainian use, to make them come back here. , ., ., ., ukrainian use, to make them come back here. ., ., ., back here. so you are worried about the future in — back here. so you are worried about the future in terms _ back here. so you are worried about the future in terms of _ back here. so you are worried about the future in terms of whether - back here. so you are worried about the future in terms of whether the i the future in terms of whether the young people who have left come back? currently, obviously, it�*s not

a situation that many will feel they can return to. what are your fears for the future?— for the future? this is why we are t in: to for the future? this is why we are trying to do _ for the future? this is why we are trying to do a _ for the future? this is why we are trying to do a huge _ for the future? this is why we are trying to do a huge amount - for the future? this is why we are trying to do a huge amount of - trying to do a huge amount of different strategic development and research first of all, what the ukrainians want to do in these conditions is why we are thinking a lot of what we should do already for the ukrainians who have left. we are talking a lot to different people from different countries if they left on the 21st of february or before it and there is a huge amount of work to be done and we are sure that at least after the end of the big missile and drone attacks, a huge amount of usable coming back here to ukraine because it is our home and we need to rebuild it and we need to live our life here in our own country. we need to live our life here in our own country-— we need to live our life here in our own count . ., ,, i. , . ., own country. thank you very much for “oininu us.

investigators in scotland are looking into the cause of a fire at a hotel in which three people died. emergency services — including 21 ambulances and 60 firefighters — were called to the new county hotel in perth yesterday morning. 11 people were treated at the scene and the bodies of three people were discovered after fire was put out. the past year has been one of the deadliest for palestinian children in the occupied west bank, according to the united nations and rights groups. the un says excessive use of force by the israeli military has led to the deaths of 150 palestinians — 33 of them children — the highest number since 2005. israel launched a military operation last year — in response, it says, to increased palestinian militant attacks. bbc arabic�*s heba bitar has more. a place that should have been safe for her to live was where she died. she had gone to look for her cat on the roof of her home. but it was there that israeli forces shot the 16—year—old four times. translation: the israelis initially

said they were armed men here. i i said, what do you mean? this is a child. she is like a rose, and they killed her. we demand an investigation into those that killed her, and the army personnel that shot my daughter. israel later said its forces had accidentally killed her, after coming underfire from gunmen during a raid on the city ofjenin. so a body, not yet fully grown, was laid to rest last month, an increasingly common scene in the occupied west bank, where the un says israeli forces killed 33 palestinian children last year. local rights groups say israel�*s military is acting with impunity. despite the continuous israeli aggression and crimes against palestinians, israel right now is not held to account.

a string of deadly attacks by palestinians in israeli cities from march left 19 people dead. since then, the israeli army has carried out almost nightly raids on palestinian fighters in the west bank. the un says 150 palestinians were killed by israeli forces last year. but israel�*s army blames palestinian militant groups for the rising number of deaths. it says that nearly all of those killed were legitimate targets. 95% of the people were involved in terrorist activity. meaning they were firing at us or having an imminent threat on life of our soldiers. 5% is collateral damage, which is tragic. but crackdowns to get tougher, as israel ushers in a new ruling alliance. it includes ultra—orthodox, ultra—nationalist and far—right parties.

one leader has suggested relaxing rules on israeli security forces opening fire, and that will cause palestinians to fear for the year ahead. the headlines on bbc news. fresh rail strikes on the first working day for many of the new year. union leaders say they want a settlement, the government says passengers have had enough. a british couple diane and ron hughes are among four people to die in a helicopter crash on australia�*s gold coast — three others are critically injured. and coming up, we�*ve been talking to a guide dogs charity that�*s recruiting for more volunteers to tackle a shortage of trainers. a playerfor the american football team, the buffalo bills, is in a critical condition in hospital after collapsing on the field. damar hamlin was injured during a game between his team and the cincinnati bengals. he was given cpr on the field before

being taken away in an ambulance nick hamilton is a reporter and host at nitecast media and sirius xm broadcasting company. he was watching the match on television and told us what he saw. one of the most bizarre things you could probably see. first and foremost allow me to say my prayers and thoughts and healing to damar hamlin and his family. when you watch something like that, you would hope they get back up, they usually give the thumbs up or pop back up at some point on the sideline, but it was such a really bizarre, textbook hit, hejumped back up, approximately five or ten seconds later he collapsed on the field, and immediately they alerted the medical staff of both the cincinnati bengals and buffalo bills to render aid to him. i spoke to a couple of people who happened to be near the scene and they informed me that he actually had cpr performed

on him, and later on, probably about three or four minutes later espn confirmed they had performed cpr on hamlin in order to be able to transport him to a local hospital where he was accompanied by his mother inside the ambulance as they transported him to a local cincinnati hospital, because they did not have such an extensive trauma unit to be able to work on him. based upon what i saw on television, you can see the emotion, the reaction on both sides of the field, whether from the bengals or the bills, and someone that was there, informed me they saw players crying, players in shock and disbelief, even joe burrow, who rarely shows emotion was absolutely overcome with emotion, as you can understand, watching somebody like that in front of your eyes just collapse due to an injury like that.

the players decided later on, they went to the locker room, they were deciding whether or not to continue with the game, and i was also told the head coaches were on the phone with nfl reps for quite some time to discuss the measures of what was going to transpire after the fact. we later on saw buffalo bills�* equipment manager bringing the equipment inside the locker room, which gave indication the game was more than likely going to be postponed and delayed due to the nature of what transpired on that field, and eventually the nfl made a statement saying the game had been cancelled due to the nature of what transpired with damar hamlin and his injury that was witnessed by so many. there has also been an update on his condition, according to his marketing manager and friend, he said "his vitals are back to normal and they have put him

to sleep to put a breathing tube down his throat, they are currently running tests and will provide updates as they happen via twitter". an ancient egyptian sarcophagus that was looted 15 years ago has been returned to cairo. the so—called �*green coffin�* is nearly three metres long and dates back more than 2,000 years. it had recently been on display at a museum in texas. it�*s one of thousands of items recovered by the egyptian authorities. tim allman reports. ancient, mysterious, and now finally back home. the green coffin predates christ, a brightly painted wooden sarcophagus belonging to an egyptian priest. it�*s from the country�*s late dynastic period, which spanned the 7th to the 4th century bc, its return a significant source of cultural and national pride. translation: recovering this sarcophagus and bringing - it back to the country is a new step in the success of the foreign ministry

to protect egypt�*s national heritage. it is a reflection of the spirit of cooperation between egypt and the united states. the green coffin has been on quite a journey. it was looted from the abu sir necropolis north of cairo in 2008. smuggled by a global art trafficking network, its first destination was germany, then it was taken to the us, a collector loaning it to a museum in houston in 2013. and all those air miles have taken quite a toll. translation: a big part of the sarcophagus, - unfortunately, is in bad shape as a result of being smuggled illegally. we plan to take it to the egyptian museum to conduct something like first aid, some meticulous restoration. this is only one of nearly 30,000 smuggled artefacts recovered over the last ten years and there are believed to be many more still out there. the green coffin is back home, but the hunt for egypt�*s stolen treasure goes on. tim allman, bbc news.

you may remember a few months ago a story about my bbc colleague sean dilley, whose guide dog sammy was retiring, leaving him facing a two—year wait for a replacement. that�*s because during the pandemic the charity guide dogs had to pause it�*s breeding and training programmes for the first time in its history. now the charity wants to recruit more volunteers to ensure more matches can be made. sean�*s been to meet one of the puppy trainers. are you my little star? meet archie... ..and his puppy raiser, lisa. archie? touch! they�*re learning what makes a good guide dog. good boy. so the reason that we use hand touch is so when archie is placed with a visually impaired person, obviously they can't see when he's running back, when he's coming. so they can pop out this hand as a target. and archie�*s getting his head around some things he may need to quit if he�*s to win a working harness. he�*ll have to learn

what this is for. lisa�*s is one of more than 2,000 households giving their time for free to help raise guide dog puppies for around a year. it�*s opened up a whole new world. i�*ve made lots of new friends, ifeel part of a community that i wasn�*t before. not only that, obviously you�*re doing something very good at the end of the day. it�*s all around really rewarding. soon we�*ll follow lisa as she hands herfirst puppy, fergall, into guide dogs for his advanced training. what are the emotions that are going through your head today? if i�*m honest, i�*d say proud. i think that�*s my biggest one. so proud of what i�*ve done. really proud of him! lisa hopes that both of her dogs will give somebody their independence. i honestly think they are doing their absolute best. like me, kelly is waiting to train with a new guide dog. that means getting out is a lot harder. walking with a cane is like walking

with one hand tied behind your back. it is really, really difficult. kelly�*s second dog, river, retired lastjuly. she�*s waiting for the right match. this doesn�*t only affect her, but her 15—month—old daughter. i'm the one who can't take her out when i want to, i have to say. "well, let's wait for daddy", or, "let's wait till we go see nana and granddad". i can do everything else she needs, and i'm her mummy and i love her, and i'm the one that's there when she has her nightmares and i play with her. it doesn't impact on our relationship, but i think it impacts on how i feel about the job i'm doing as a mum. watch the tree. so why do guide dog users like me and kelly find ourselves in between dogs? the answer lies here at the charity�*s national breeding centre. good girl! bill�*s been explaining to me that the waiting lists are currently a bit longer than guide dogs would like them to be for life—changing guide dogs.

purely for research purposes, you understand, i might have to stroke puppies like bill and many, many other puppies. is this the bestjob in the world, or what?! guide dogs is the largest breeder of assistance animals in the world. before the pandemic, they bred as many as 1500 dogs in a year. but during that time they stopped for five months and lost a third of their puppy raisers. so, that is our puppy reception. the breeding programme is recovering, but guide dogs says what it needs now is more people. guide dogs could not do what we do without our volunteers. so we are, at the moment, looking very heavily to recruit lots of volunteers. and we�*ve been very lucky that a lot of people have been so generous with their time. and we are in recovery mode and we are hopeful for the future. but we do need a little bit of patience for a little bit longer, as these dogs make their way through the system. as you said, these little puppies here, that we saw today, it will take about two years for them to make partnership.

paige? hi, pup! are you a puppy? yes, you are! this may seem odd and a little dramatic. big eyes and floppy ears. but it�*s one way social skills are assessed. you're such a good puppy! sniff it. and these are some of the problem solving skills paige will need if she�*s to make it as a guide dog. at around seven weeks old, these pups will be dropped off to their puppy raising families. for lisa�*s first pup, fergall, it�*s the end of one journey, but the start of another. i�*ve got all this. i�*m packing the three toys up from home. his biscuits that i always give him — half a biscuit at bedtime. this, i�*ve had it made and had his name put on it and his id number. the day has come for fergal to start his advanced training. that means lisa must say a painful goodbye. i want him as upset as little as possible.

they�*re his toys. there you go, you get a big boy lead now. bye—bye, sweetheart. many guide dog users stay in touch with their puppy raisers. but many do not. thanks a lot. i'll ring you tomorrow. lisa knows this could be the last time she sees fergal. yeah, i�*m fine. it�*s hard, but you�*ve got to remember why you�*re doing it. guide dogs say they need more volunteers like lisa to help cut waiting times. people like us are needed so much to help people like you. the tears are worth it. thor the walrus has been on the move again — this time popping up in blyth.

after spending new years eve in scarborough, he�*s since migrated 100 miles north to the northumberland town where he�*s been relaxing on a pontoon. wildlife experts say it�*s a good sign that thor is heading in the direction of his natural habitat. people are being urged to leave the walrus in peace. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. if you�*re just stepping out, don�*t forget to take your brolly. because although one band of rain is crossing us, there�*s another one coming in hot on its heels. so today, wet and windy for most, but mild. and this mild theme will be with us for the next couple of days. you can see the yellows and ambers across us. here are the days, the air coming up from the azores. but it�*s as we head on towards the end of the week, by the time we get to friday, something cooler starts to push southwards. but for some of us, it doesn�*t last. so here�*s our first band of rain, which continues off into the north sea, a second band of rain coming in hot in its heels. some of this will be heavy, a lot of cloud. it�*s going to be a windy day. the best of the sunshine across the far north

of scotland, but mild — six degrees in aberdeen to 12 as we push further south. now through this evening and overnight, here�*s our band of rain continuing to push from the west towards the east, lingering the longest across the far north of scotland and also southeast england. it�*s going to be a windy night with showers following on behind the rain, but it will be significantly milder than it has been. these temperatures are higher than we�*d expect as our maximum daytime temperatures at this time of year. tomorrow, then, off goes the rain quite smartly from the southeast. it takes longer to clear the northeast of scotland, lingering in the northern isles and further showery rain comes in across northern ireland, southern scotland and northern england. but there will be sunshine on either side, but it�*s going to be windy. lighter winds across the north of scotland, but certainly gusty winds across england, wales and northern ireland. and still mild, temperatures in aberdeen, seven degrees, 13 degrees in plymouth. then as we move from wednesday into thursday, this has been giving us a real headache all week. the positioning and the timing of it could still change.

it might come in a little bit quicker. and if it does so, the rain connected with it will move swiftly across northern ireland, clip northern england and move across scotland and we�*ll see some further rain coming in to the west. but if it stays as we think at the moment, this is the scenario. some heavier rain coming in and again, very mild for the time of year. we�*re looking at highs 12 or 13. as we move on into friday, we�*ve got a transient ridge of high pressure across us, so a more settled day in prospect. and then for saturday and sunday, as the rain clears, it will be blustery and we�*re looking at sunshine and showers.

this is bbc news. the headlines: fresh rail strikes on the first working day for many of the new year. union leaders say they want a settlement — the government says passengers have had enough. it's it�*s a quiet morning at stations around the uk as passengers are urged not to take the train for the rest of the week. urged not to take the train for the rest of the week. tens of thousands of brazilians are paying their final respects to pele as the football legend is lying in state in the santos stadium. there�*ll be a procession through the streets later. paying their last respects to pele: thousands of people have been filing past the coffin of the brazillian footballing legend pele. this is the scene live at his former club santos, where he�*s lying in state

a british couple, diane and ron hughes, are among four people to die in a helicopter crash on australia�*s gold coast — three others are critically injured. ireland�*s prime minister leo varadkar has said mistakes were made on all sides in the way britain�*s exit from the european union was handled — and that there is room for further negotiations and coming up: we�*ve been talking to a guide dogs charity that�*s recruiting for more volunteers to tackle a shortage of trainers. we are at the moment looking very heavily to recruit lots of volunteers, and we�*ve been very lucky lot of people have been so generous with their time, and we are in recovery mode and hopeful for the future but do need a little bit of patience for a little bit longer. as thousands of people in the uk try to return to work following the christmas and new year break, the rmt union at network rail is staging a 48 hour walk out.

this is the latest rail strike in a long running dispute over pay. the walkouts by the rmt on 3rd and 4th january and 6th and 7th january will affect services across england, scotland and wales. the rail delivery group have advised people only to travel if "absolutely necessary". network rail says the strikes will result in only about 20% of services running with many areas not seeing any trains at all. train drivers from 15 rail companies from the aslef union will also walk out on the 5th of january. marc ashdown reports. a new year, but no end in sight in this bitter dispute. train passengers returning to work after the festive period are facing delays, disruption and cancellations. just 20% of the uk�*s rail network will operate today and tomorrow. if you�*re lucky enough to have trains running near you, they�*ll be starting much later, and will finish by early evening.

it�*s a headache for people like corinne, who�*s on a zero hours contract, and will now struggle to get to work. i support the right to strike, absolutely. so i don�*t begrudge the strike. but how long it�*s going on for, it leads to accumulated stress and rage. the dispute over pay, working conditions and job security has been rumbling on since june last year. it involves around 40,000 members of the rmt union in a range ofjobs at 14 train operators, as well as network rail. union members will walk out for another 48 hours on friday. meanwhile, a 24—hour strike by train drivers at the aslef union on thursday, is also expected to result in widespread disruption. the unions say they are willing to get back around the negotiating table, but that the table is bare. rail operators and network rail say they�*ve made fair and reasonable pay offers, and have once again apologised to customers for the ongoing disruption. the department for transport said

the government was being reasonable and stood ready to facilitate an end to the rail disputes. marc ashdown, bbc news. our correspondent gareth barlow is at euston station in central london. well, as you can tell, we�*ve got a slight technical hitch that i am afraid so we will go back when we can fix that but in the meantime let�*s hear from mark harper. but in the meantime let�*s hear from mark harper. this morning, transport secretary mark harper told bbc breakfast that he is eagerfor a deal to be secured with the rail unions: i want to see the rmt back around the table so we can try and get a good settlement that is fair to the people who work in the industry, but also fair to the travelling public and the taxpayer. the taxpayer has made a huge investment in the rail industry over the last couple of years because of the real difficulties it had during the pandemic. that protected the people that work in the industry, and i think it is fair now that they accept the offer that is on the table and sign up to some of the necessary reforms,

and i want to see that detail being thrashed out now, and the sooner they get back around the table, we have meetings set up for next week that the real minister is leading, i want to see those meetings lead to a successful conclusion as soon as we can. adults who are unwell are being urged to wear a face covering outdoors, in new advice to try and stop the spread of flu and covid. the uk health security agency has also issued back—to—school advice, asking parents to keep children off school if they are showing symptoms of scarlet fever, such as a high temperature. jon donnison reports. with doctors warning the nhs has already gone past breaking point, concerns today that schools going back could add further pressure. the message from the uk health security agency is to keep children home if they�*re unwell

and have a fever, to avoid infecting others. and the advice is not just for children. the agency�*s chief medical adviser, susan hopkins, says adults who are unwell should also stay home and should wear a face covering if they have to go out. they should avoid health care settings and vulnerable people. the reason for the concern, a rising number of cases of flu, covid and scarlet fever, which is caused by the strep a infection. nhs england says 9,500 people are currently in hospital with covid. add on to that almost 4000 people with flu, and it means 13% of hospital beds in england are being occupied by people with those two illnesses. and all this comes with doctors saying some a&e departments are already in a complete state of crisis, to the extent that it�*s causing patients harm. i come to work to treat patients,

to make people better ultimately. that�*s why we go into it. it sounds very simple, but that�*s what we do. and it hurts to see that people are coming to harm. and to see people coming in sicker than they necessarily should have been, because of some of these problems that are occurring. and at the worst case — i�*ve spoken to paramedics, for instance, who have arrived at the scene of patients after long delays, only to find they�*ve already passed away. many hospital staff say they�*re already at their limit. and there�*s more strike action plan by nurses and ambulance staff over pay and conditions. jon donnison, bbc news. certainly there are still some

services coming out of here today. manchester, preston, birmingham as well but a much quieter situation he produced and put up with anything, it has got slightly busy as the day has gone on but the impact of the strikes very much being felt in the morning repeatedly, don�*t use the trains at all this week unless you really do have to end only if it is an emergency situation because there is only about 20% of services running across england, scotland and wales. where they do run, they will finish earlier and they will finish later as well and it is repainting that picture as well of disruption to passengers in many parts of britain there are no services whatsoever and this continues throughout the course of the week. two days of walk—out by rmt union members today and tomorrow. then on thursday a 24—hour walk—out by members of the aslef union which is

train drivers of 15 companies, followed then by a further 48—hour to members of the rmt again. painting a picture of continued disruption for each part of the parties involved with it is the government, the unions or the trading companies themselves, we�*re hearing that same repeated mine. they all want this to end but as yet there is no sign that it will. what is the latest, gareth, on how far apart bedsides are? network rail this morning saying they are within touching distance of getting a final agreement. what are the figures on the table? what is being demanded? what is being offered? mellie the table? what is being demanded? what is being offered?— what is being offered? well, all sides say they _ what is being offered? well, all sides say they want _ what is being offered? well, all sides say they want to - what is being offered? well, all sides say they want to deal - what is being offered? well, all sides say they want to deal with what is being offered? well, all- sides say they want to deal with the issue for the train companies and network rail as they said the impact of the pandemic is head of the negative impact on their finances and they say to be able to afford a pay agreement that would be agreeable by the unions, they need to change the way the railways are managed. the union say, well, if you�*re going to change the working conditions then what you need to do is negotiate with us and agree those conditions, not to impose them upon as. mick lynch the head of the rmt

today said this was a wider fight for workers justice. that is where they are coming from and he said that the government has torpedoed efforts to try to find a resolution. mark harper told members of unions to walk away from the pickets and walk towards the negotiating table when speaking to the bbc so everyone is wanting this to come to an end but the reality is we�*ve been in this situation sincejune and whilst everyone does say this is costing the railways millions, this is costing as we heard from that package earlier in the programme, many employees and workers in the country financially, too, there still seems to be this divide that they don�*t seem to be able to overcome and they really are struggling to do so.— overcome and they really are struggling to do so. thank you very much, struggling to do so. thank you very much. gareth- _ struggling to do so. thank you very much, gareth. we _ struggling to do so. thank you very much, gareth. we are _ struggling to do so. thank you very much, gareth. we are hoping - struggling to do so. thank you very much, gareth. we are hoping to i struggling to do so. thank you very i much, gareth. we are hoping to speak to mick lynch of the rmt shortly. the irish prime minister leo varadkar has said mistakes were made on all sides in the way britain�*s exit from the european union was handled. mr varadkar conceded that trading arrangements for northern ireland might be too strict, and that there was room

for changes to be made. britain and the eu are currently negotiating on how to reduce the problems caused to business by the trading border in the irish sea. i�*m joined by amanda ferguson, a journalist and political commentator in northern ireland. what is your reading of the mood music now?— what is your reading of the mood music now? welcome i don't think there is necessarily _ music now? welcome i don't think there is necessarily saved - music now? welcome i don't think there is necessarily saved in i music now? welcome i don't think there is necessarily saved in tone l music now? welcome i don't think| there is necessarily saved in tone v stating the position of the irish government throughout. leo varadkar emphasised that such a bad feeling that there is amongst the unionist community. there are some within the unionist community look upon him as a bit of a bogeyman whereas other people just realise that the irish government is a co—guarantor of the good friday agreement and that it has to reflect and be cognisant of both unionist and nationalist positions. so i think maybe the comments that have been are sort of back to school as we emerge from the sort of christmas period. a

restating of positions at the eu and uk try to finesse and with the outstanding issues that everybody acknowledges that there are with the protocol. gt: acknowledges that there are with the rotocol. , . ., acknowledges that there are with the rotocol. , ., ., protocol. gc a way through? obviously. _ protocol. gc a way through? obviously, the _ protocol. gc a way through? obviously, the reason i protocol. gc a way through? obviously, the reason the i protocol. gc a way through? i obviously, the reason the situation indoors is because it was so very difficult to come up with something that would suit everybody. northern ireland as that would suit everybody. northern lreland as part _ that would suit everybody. northern ireland as part of— that would suit everybody. northern ireland as part of the _ that would suit everybody. northern ireland as part of the united - ireland as part of the united kingdom but it is on a separate island from scotland, england and wales so there is always going to have to be some sort of special circumstance to reflect northern ireland �*s circumstance to reflect northern ireland�*s unique position across these islands. i think that perhaps we did not anticipate the deep political impact that it would have locally. we know that the northern ireland voted to remain a uk wide boat so it was carried. and the protocol is there to try and for state northern ireland �*s unique part in the uk and while some people do have some difficulty. some businesses have major challenges with the protocol there are a lot of businesses who are making good

money, and enjoy the dual market access that the northern ireland protocol get to northern ireland. i think that whenever it comes to this part of the world, we have dealt with bigger issues than worked our way from conflict through the peace process so i don�*t think it is unachievable that we can resolve the there are with the protocol because really it is a pace to break the trading agreement. it is not a constitutional position. northern ireland remains part of the united kingdom people would vote any differently, so it is reallyjust to get rid of some of some of the red tape, get rid the stricter elements, as leo varadkar outlined today that are causing problems. the amount of checks that are on goods flowing between ireland and of course everybody acknowledges that unionists have great deep concerns about the protocol, that they feel it is economic think is additionally bad for northern ireland but sometimes that can be over egged a little bit and it is more based on perception then it is in reality. you talked about the past, and that

moment by the good friday agreement was signed. that historic moment ending the years of conflict. as the 25th anniversary of that agreement in april, how important a moment is that going to be in terms of focusing minds and trying to get this resolved, and trying to get the power—sharing and running? that this resolved, and trying to get the power-sharing and running? that is auoin to power-sharing and running? that is going to be — power-sharing and running? that is going to be a _ power-sharing and running? that is going to be a timeline _ power-sharing and running? that is going to be a timeline that - power-sharing and running? that is going to be a timeline that the i going to be a timeline that the focus is on for the middle of april. perhaps the us presidentjoe biden will make a visit to mark the 25th anniversary of the good friday agreement. regardless of whether you are british or your irish or your some combination or mixture anyone with any centre any centre any knowledge of what happened in northern ireland over three decades and more knows that peace and the peace process, while it is imperfect, is much preferable to what went before so i imagine that

while the technical talks have continued between the eu and the uk their political talks have not been as robust so perhaps there will a ramping up of that with the so—called deadline of the good friday agreement. we know that we don�*t have government in northern ireland at the moment and that is not going to change anytime soon because the dv still refused to re—enter power—sharing while the outstanding issues with the protocol are there. think there is an element of danger with that in that while some of the tests that the aup are setting to judge some of the tests that the aup are setting tojudge any some of the tests that the aup are setting to judge any deal against, some of the tests are quite specific in some of them are quite broad so it is not exactly clear what would bring the dup back to the power—sharing institutions but certainly, that will be the focus of everybody as we approach that important anniversary, which really just marks an acknowledgement of the passage of time, that the troubles have ended, that you can be british, you can be irish, you can be both. and the issue with bags it is that because of the aftermath and the fallout of brexit, it is accelerating conversations around irish unity which is concerning to

particular unionist political leaders so although that is in the next whenever we are talking about ireland. it is never about one thing. ireland. it is never about one thin. . ~ ireland. it is never about one thin. ., ~' the headlines on bbc news. fresh rail strikes on the first working day for many of the new year. union leaders say they want a settlement — the government says passengers have had enough. tens of thousands of brazilians are paying their final respects to pele as the football legend is lying in state in the santos stadium. there�*ll be a procession through the streets later. and coming up: we�*ve been talking to a guide dogs charity that�*s recruiting for more volunteers to tackle a shortage of trainers. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. two more chinese players had been suspended by a snookehs players had been suspended by a snooker�*s sport while the governing body as part of its ongoing investigation into match fixing. there will be the champion, who was

due to play at the masters next week at london�*s alexandra palace. never total of ten players had been suspended. in cricket, new zealand will be the happier of the two sides at the end of day two in the second test against in karachi. the visitors were all out for 449. matt henry claimed the third test match half—century of his career. there is partnership added 104 runs from the last wicket. and then henry took the first wicket of pakistan�*s innings. pakistan have finished the day on 154-3. pakistan have finished the day on 154—3. sting with some cricket in lancashire bowler is set to make his return from injury on the tour of sri lanka in february. the

25—year—old impressed in his two tests for england in march last year, taking six wickets against the west indies but has not played competitive cricket since may after suffering a stress fracture in his back. the tour consists of 24—day test against sri lanka followed by 31—day internationals. in tennis, a winning start to 2023 with victory. the 20—year—old came through in every three set against the 17—year—old rising star winning 6—2 in the final set in a rain affected match. she managed to regroup and get through to the next round. she will face a slovakian player ranked outside the top 100. on the men�*s side it was a winning return for novakjoker pitch who beat his opponent 6—3, 6—2. the 21 times

grand slam champion is going for a tenth australian open later in the month and will face front�*s player in the next round here at the adelaide international. meanwhile, there were defeats for andy murray. maori loss against the us start 7—6, 6-3. that maori loss against the us start 7—6, 6—3. that is all the support for now. joining me now is the general secretary of the rmt, mick lynch. welcome. thank you forjoining us. how close are you to agreement now? what are the figures on pay, specifically?— what are the figures on pay, specifically? what are the figures on pay, secificall ? ~ , , ., , specifically? well, this is not 'ust a -a specifically? well, this is not 'ust a pay dispute. i specifically? well, this is not 'ust a pay dispute. we've i specifically? well, this is not 'ust a pay dispute. we've got i specifically? well, this is not 'ust a pay dispute. we've got job i a pay dispute. we�*ve gotjob security issues, companies are looking to make thousands of people redundant. ii looking to make thousands of people redundant. , ., ., �* redundant. if you don't mind, we will come — redundant. if you don't mind, we will come to _ redundant. if you don't mind, we will come to that _ redundant. if you don't mind, we will come to that but _

redundant. if you don't mind, we will come to that but i'm - redundant. if you don't mind, we will come to that but i'm just i will come to that but i�*m just trying to establish what the picture is because obviously, it has been going on for some time and there is a lot of heat and just cut through and pay initially it seems from what i�*ve seen and i might be completely wrong is that i want to ask the question, that the total pay offer is for 9% and inflation is just above that i�*m just wondering how much of a gap there is that, first of all? ~ , ., ., much of a gap there is that, first ofall? ~ ., , , of all? well, you are completely wron: , of all? well, you are completely mom, i of all? well, you are completely wrong. i am _ of all? well, you are completely wrong, i am afraid. _ of all? well, you are completely wrong, i am afraid. our- of all? well, you are completely. wrong, i am afraid. our members of all? well, you are completely i wrong, i am afraid. our members have not had a pay deal in the train operating companies forfour not had a pay deal in the train operating companies for four years now, many of them. on the network rail we are going into a third year. inflation, the retail price index published in december was 14%, just for 2022, so that you they�*ve offered 5%, for next year, they�*ve offered 5%, for next year, they�*ve offered 4% so the cumulative

inflation is above 20%, may be mid 20% by the time it is all put together and for that they proffered 9% over two years, 5% plus 4% but thatis 9% over two years, 5% plus 4% but that is of conditional on as accepting a raft of changes which our members have rejected. as i was saying, thousands ofjob cuts, dilation of the safety regime and changes to working practices and conditions which are unacceptable to our members. they voted on that in very heavy numbers, two thirds of them voted to reject it well 80% turnout when we put it to them. all the documentation was made available and they decided that was not acceptable so we need an improved offer. the train operating companies it is less than that over two years and takes no cognizance of the fact that we have not had a deal for the two or three years previously and they want us to accept the closure of all booking offices in britain, the removal of guards from every single train in the british rail network and a whole raft of other terms and conditions, changes, so does notjust a simple pay dispute and that is the same in all the other disputes going on in royal mail and other sectors of the economy. what the employers are

seeking to do is strip out conditions and agreements from the unions and from their members so that they can increase their profits and run a cut—price service. with private companies can take profits to the shareholders and the nationalised railways of europe. you�*ve made clear it is a complicated picture. there was fishy is going on the need to be agreed and obviously, i suppose, one of them has to get agreed separately. and on the pay can register now that because you said that the offer over two years is 49% and you�*re seeing it through the prism of 20% of cumulative inflation over that period. so where do you settle with something like that?— something like that? inflation is above 20% _ something like that? inflation is above 20% during _ something like that? inflation is above 20% during that - something like that? inflation is above 20% during that period i something like that? inflation is i above 20% during that period their offering and before that we had a pay deal at all during 2020 so it is a long way short. we don�*t put a number on what we would settle because it is a package deal. there

is not a separated payoff are available to us. all of the office come from all of the company sponsored by the government are conditional and is ripping up all of our contracts of employment and our conditions in our members are not prepared to do that. there is no such thing as a clean no strings attached pay deal available in the railway in any of the companies in this dispute. 50. railway in any of the companies in this dispute-— this dispute. so, on the thing of tearin: this dispute. so, on the thing of tearing up _ this dispute. so, on the thing of tearing up the — this dispute. so, on the thing of tearing up the contracts - this dispute. so, on the thing of tearing up the contracts and i this dispute. so, on the thing of i tearing up the contracts and wanting rail workers to work under different terms, the position of network rail and also the government is that it is a seven day a week service and the contract should reflect that and that current tv contracts don�*t reflect that and actually, sometimes have not been updated since they were introduced by british rail in

the 1960s and they say several outdated working practices remain in the industry. how do you respond to that? ~ , _ the industry. how do you respond to that? _ ., that? well, i respond by saying that is completely _ that? well, i respond by saying that is completely untrue. _ that? well, i respond by saying that is completely untrue. everton i that? well, i respond by saying that is completely untrue. everton are i is completely untrue. everton are one of the train operating companies are going through restructuring since privatisation so these agreements have been made by the companies that are the incumbents, that hold these contracts now come to an agreement with them. do nothing to do with british rail and they�*re not british rail inherited agreements. their private sector agreements. their private sector agreements that we�*ve made since 1993 and 1996 when the railways were privatised so we have a seven day railway but what we have is an agreement on how that seven day railway operates. we can facilitate that and we will get to an agreement in what we can�*t have as those new conditions imposed on us which virtually make. just conditions imposed on us which virtually make.— virtually make. just to make it clear, then. _ virtually make. just to make it clear, then. what _ virtually make. just to make it clear, then. what are - virtually make. just to make it clear, then. what are the i virtually make. just to make it i clear, then. what are the condition that you specifically do not want to see put in place because you say, it is a fact, it is a seven—day system. there seems to be a disparity in

terms of how the rail workers actually operate within that. the vast majority — actually operate within that. the vast majority of _ actually operate within that. the: vast majority of workers actually operate within that. t“ie: vast majority of workers have contracts that oblige them to work seven days a week. i worked on the railway for a long time myself and sundays as part of my normal conditions and that is the condition of the vast majority people in this dispute so some of this is red herrings. but they also want to do is chop are a sick pay and change the holiday conditions and of course they want to make our members live is unsociable and ruin their worklife balance across the piece. they also want to close every ticket office in britain and remove the guards of every train on the national railway network. these are fundamental— national railway network. these are fundamental changes _ national railway network. these are fundamental changes to _ national railway network. these are fundamental changes to working i fundamental changes to working practices but also the service that the public perceive so what we�*re trying to do is cut costs at any

cost so that they can deliver more profit to the private sector operators have made profit all the way through the pandemic and every day we been on strike. how keen. hats day we been on strike. how keen. how keen are you — day we been on strike. how keen. how keen are you to — day we been on strike. how keen. firm-o" keen are you to get a deal? to get a deal quickly? you make and very keen. i�*m available now. i�*m not understanding why the minister met me on december 15 and have done nothing since. they have not even asked her to call off the strikes. there are perfectly content for them to go ahead. got a government that does not get involved. they keep saying they are facilitating discussions and when we go to the discussions and when we go to the discussion of the employers tell me, directly, that the government give them a mandate that can settle the dispute. them a mandate that can settle the disute. �* ., , ., ., dispute. i've got the rebuttal from the government _ dispute. i've got the rebuttal from the government and _ dispute. i've got the rebuttal from the government and the _ dispute. i've got the rebuttal from the government and the points i dispute. i've got the rebuttal from. the government and the points that you have made. they say where there has not been from a meeting involving minister since the 15th of december the rail minister has been in regular contact with the party is pushing for a resolution. furthermore, the agreed were for unions and employers, not her majesty must make government and. the government holds the mandate. it is wrong to say the government holds the mandate. they said they gave the

mandate in december to agree a fair and reasonable deal. the government is giving its perspective. i suppose the question is, when is this finally going to result? network rail say the situation in terms of ending the strikes is within touching distance because they say that there needs to be better communication and things that have been misunderstood. hearing you speak it sounds like this could go on forever. iuntil]! speak it sounds like this could go on forever-— speak it sounds like this could go on forever. ~ ., ., ., ., on forever. will not go on forever. we've got — on forever. will not go on forever. we've got a _ on forever. will not go on forever. we've got a meeting _ on forever. will not go on forever. we've got a meeting arranged i on forever. will not go on forever. we've got a meeting arranged for| we�*ve got a meeting arranged for monday and tuesday next week with all the actors including the ministerfor vale and all the actors including the minister for vale and we�*ll be working with constructive solutions. we had contact with network rail last night saying they want to talk to us about the documents that they put forward in the detail and content of that and i�*m in discussions with the train operating companies do their rail delivery group to try and look at what can be

delivered but the government do hold the key because in the contracts that they have with the train operating companies the secretary of state for transport is responsible for the conduct of industrial relations and the mandate, the negotiating mandate, that is in the public domain. just negotiating mandate, that is in the public domain-— public domain. just before we are out of time _ public domain. just before we are out of time another _ public domain. just before we are out of time another aspect i public domain. just before we are out of time another aspect that i public domain. just before we are i out of time another aspect that has been suggested as a way of breaking the deadlock is that there are alternative sweeteners, effectively, been talked about which relate to pensions, holiday allowances and bonuses. is that something that is on the table and could that unlock things? on the table and could that unlock thins? ~ f on the table and could that unlock thins? ~ j ., on the table and could that unlock thins? j ., , ,., things? well, they've got pension ro osals

things? well, they've got pension proposals that _ things? well, they've got pension proposals that will _ things? well, they've got pension proposals that will cover - things? well, they've got pension proposals that will cover that i things? well, they've got pension proposals that will cover that so i proposals that will cover that so they are not sweeteners. they�*ve got proposers in the documents i�*ve gotten this table in front of me that reduce sick pay and reduce annual leave so there are no sweeteners that have been put my way. if people want to put forward a package of proposals that will help resolve this we will consider them but i haven�*t seen any sweeteners. and i�*ve never got to taste them as far as i know. aha, and i've never got to taste them as far as i know-— far as i know. a passenger who has been unable _ far as i know. a passenger who has been unable to _ far as i know. a passenger who has been unable to get _ far as i know. a passenger who has been unable to get to _ far as i know. a passenger who has been unable to get to work - far as i know. a passenger who has been unable to get to work today i been unable to get to work today says the current train service is not fit for purpose. i don�*t support the train strike as, in order to strike, they should at least provide a decent service, which they don�*t. they can�*t run trains were constant delays and increase train fares and then go on strike for two weeks in a row. it�*sjust insane. what then go on strike for two weeks in a row. it�*s just insane. what you say to that passenger and anyone else has been unable to get to work to get to today the end faces the same situation over the course of this week? you make and very sorry for all the passengers. we�*ve taken 16 days of strike action over six months, six or seven months. we are working towards a solution. the scandal in this country on the railways is that they cannot run the railways is that they cannot run the railways and were not on strike and other members out there. thea;r railways and were not on strike and other members out there. they want to make thousands _ other members out there. they want to make thousands of— other members out there. they want to make thousands of people - to make thousands of people redundant and then when you go onto a train platform they say their

services and running because of shortage of staff said they can�*t haveit shortage of staff said they can�*t have it both ways. railway companies are not running a competent railway but there is there is industrial action are not done for the vast majority of time passengers are frustrated by high fares, regular services and incompetent management so we need to resolve that as well as this dispute. just so we need to resolve that as well as this dispute.— as this dispute. just a quick thou . ht as this dispute. just a quick thought on _ as this dispute. just a quick thought on the _ as this dispute. just a quickl thought on the redundancies as this dispute. just a quick - thought on the redundancies because more people have said that they are willing to take redundancy than the number of redundancies that they want and i can�*t remember the exact figure. i think it was around 3000 so well you don�*t want to see that level of redundancies, and that is something that is going to happen, isn�*t it? we something that is going to happen, isn't it? ~ ~' ., , isn't it? we know there will be chances isn't it? we know there will be changes in _ isn't it? we know there will be changes in the _ isn't it? we know there will be changes in the establishmentl isn't it? we know there will be i changes in the establishment on the railway. that is clear. but what they�*re saying to us if you can only have voluntary redundancy or you can

only have a job security guarantee if you accept all these contractual changes, and a subpar pay rise so those redundancies are being funded by other railway workers having their terms and conditions ripped to pieces so we need to get agreements on all these issues, job security, conditions of work and pay and i will be working with the companies on that end we need pele is the only person — companies on that end we need pele is the only person ever to win the world cup is the only person ever to win the world cup three is the only person ever to win the world cup three times, is the only person ever to win the world cup three times, and is the only person ever to win the world cup three times, and died is the only person ever to win the world cup three times, and died last week at the age of 82, and there has been a 24—hour vigil at the stadium of his former club, santos, with his coffin at the centre of the pitch in sao paulo, and the president luna has been there to pay his respects, and i�*m not sure whether we can see him, but i think he�*s probably leaving, there he is, leaving now,

and shortly the coffin will also leave the stadium to process through the streets of sao paulo to enable residents to pay their respects. you can see the president there in the centre of the picture having some photographs with some of those who are also there to pay their respects. they held a minute silence around the casket and you may have seen the pictures of thousands queueing to pay their respects, tens of thousands, some people in tears, remembering pele and the impact he had. he�*s been described by some as brazil�*s greatest ever ambassador. let�*s talk now to fernando duarte, brazilian journalist working for bbc world service a moment there with the president paying his respects to one brazil�*s

greatest legends. yes paying his respects to one brazil's greatest legends.— greatest legends. yes and it was very emotional _ greatest legends. yes and it was very emotional for _ greatest legends. yes and it was very emotional for lula - greatest legends. yes and it was very emotional for lula because | greatest legends. yes and it was i very emotional for lula because they worked together in 2019, sorry, 2009, when radio —— rio was bidding to be the host of the olympics for 2016 and they cried together and there is an image of them hugging when the result was announced, so there will be some personal things as well. lula is a massive football fan and has just been sworn in for his third mandate, so like many brazilians is probably devastated. there has been that 24—hour vigil around the coffin, so what happens now? then there will be the procession. how big a public moment is that going to be? pele procession. how big a public moment is that going to be?— is that going to be? pele is being bufied is that going to be? pele is being buried in santos, _ is that going to be? pele is being buried in santos, a _ is that going to be? pele is being buried in santos, a coastal- is that going to be? pele is being buried in santos, a coastal city i buried in santos, a coastal city around 80 kilometres from sao paulo so it�*s not as massive as sao paulo, the space for people to line up in

huge numbers, it�*s a bit limited. he will be taken to a vertical cemetery that looks like an apartment building, and infact that looks like an apartment building, and in fact his mausoleum overlooks the santos football ground. that will be a private ceremony and only the family will be present and it will be a moment of reflection for the family, but i expect to see a huge number of people lining up. people have been calculating around hundred thousand mourners will be attending the ceremony so far, and a bit more would be expected.— ceremony so far, and a bit more would be expected. what is the mood of brazilians? _ would be expected. what is the mood of brazilians? well, _ would be expected. what is the mood of brazilians? well, it _ would be expected. what is the mood of brazilians? well, it was _ would be expected. what is the mood of brazilians? well, it was knocked i of brazilians? well, it was knocked taken as a total _ of brazilians? well, it was knocked taken as a total surprise. _ of brazilians? well, it was knocked taken as a total surprise. pele i of brazilians? well, it was knocked taken as a total surprise. pele had| taken as a total surprise. pele had beeniniu taken as a total surprise. pele had been in ill health for a couple of years. if you compare it to the death of ayrton senna, who was killed in the prime of his career, that was a massive shock, a massive

trauma, but people are sad. we lost one of our greats in terms of footballing legends and arguably brazil�*s most famous ever person, you know? you travel around the world at the when did, i did, i went to places like sub—saharan africa and south korea, and everybody immediately said pele when i said i was from brazil. it�*s not something to take lightly, but it is the doctor seuss thing. brazilians will be glad it happened rather than sad thatis be glad it happened rather than sad that is over. i be glad it happened rather than sad that is over-— that is over. i love that quote. that is nice. _ that is over. i love that quote. that is nice. what _ that is over. i love that quote. that is nice. what will - that is over. i love that quote. that is nice. what will his i that is over. i love that quote. i that is nice. what will his impact be? you will never be forgotten. certainly he will never be forgotten. every young black brazilian footballer will somehow be compared to pele although this was dying down a bit in the last few decades because pele retired in the 70s, but still, the search for this new brazilian wonder kid will go on

as long as brazil doesn�*t win the world cup. it�*s been like 20 years now. people will always be talking about the new pele, but there will never be anybody like palais. no brazilian is under any illusion that no one will top this, what this man has done for brazilian football and brazil. lute has done for brazilian football and brazil. ~ . , . brazil. we are seeing the large crowds around _ brazil. we are seeing the large crowds around the _ brazil. we are seeing the large crowds around the coffin i brazil. we are seeing the large crowds around the coffin as i brazil. we are seeing the large | crowds around the coffin as the final hours begin for the public viewing of pele before he is finally laid to rest in santos. thank you so much forjoining us. thank you. politicians in russia have called for commanders in the russian military to be held to account for the deaths of dozens of soldiers in a ukrainian rocket strike. in a rare admission moscow announced that 63 of its servicepersonnel had been killed — ukraine says the figure was actually in the hundreds. one senator said it was clear that intelligence and air defence had failed. meanwhile ukraine�*s president zelensky says he�*s received intelligence to suggest russia plans

to continue with drone attacks as a large part of its strategy. translation: we have information that russia is planning a protracted | attack using shahed drones. it is probably banking on exhaustion — exhausting our people, our anti—aircraft defences, our energy. but we act to do everything so the terrorists fail in their aim, as all their others have failed. here�*s an update from our correspondent in kyiv, hugo bachega. there�*s been an angry reaction from some russian politicians and military bloggers following the attack that targeted a facility being used by russian forces as a base in the occupied town in the east donetsk region. many are questioning the decision by commanders to house so many soldiers in a single location near the front lines and near ammunition stores that apparently detonated following this ukrainian attack on new year�*s

eve. there was a rare admission of military losses and they confirmed that 63 russian troops were killed in the attack. in ukraine the authority said 400 russian troops had been killed and they are now saying that they are still working to determine the true number of people who have been killed. here in kyiv last night president zelensky warned ukrainians that russia is likely to continue with its drone attacks targeting cities across the country and said russia wanted to wear down the country�*s air defences, its energy supplies and its people and he said more than 80 drones had been shot down by the country�*s air defence forces since the beginning of the war and he told ukrainians that these attacks are unlikely to stop.

what effect does a constant bombardment have on ukrainian cities? here�*s from yevhen petrov, kyiv resident and the secretary general of an ngo public diplomacy platform the situation in kyiv and ukraine was predictable since the 31st of december and even earlier. the russian army caused a big drone attack and we had a huge amount of different explosions combined with anti—missiles, air missile systems and especially during last night they started to attack us with drones during the cold night, and there was destruction in kyiv but since then the air forces, drones were destroyed here in kyiv. what�*s it like living there? nothing has changed because we are used to being in the circumstances and especially when there is a huge amount of people sleeping on the subway waiting for the end to the air raids. people are still living and thinking about their futures,

especially before the new year and a lot of people have discussed what they will do during this time of what they are going to cook. and which dishes they are going to have. what decisions are i yot- about what you do? nothing has changed in my mind because it makes me angrier and stronger because what i want to do after such a big missile attack is as i want to go to my apartment and do something more for the country and make the victory at least a little bit closer because russia wants to break us but they are doing something else, there making us even stronger and more united. i mention your line of work is in cultural diplomacy. can you tell us more about that? is that something that is something you are able to do through the conflict and is it important?

we are mostly involved in youth diplomacy and policy in ukraine and that�*s the main direction right now, because we need to think of how we can bring back our youth which left ukraine after the 24th of february, because they are going to rebuild ukraine. that is why it is the main job and there�*s a huge amount of work that should be done to create all the necessary conditions for ukrainians, the ukrainian use, to make them come back here. so you are worried about the future in terms of whether the young people who have left come back? currently, obviously, it�*s not a situation that many will feel they can return to. what are your fears for the future? this is why we are trying to do a huge amount of different strategic development and research first of all, what the ukrainians want to do in these conditions is why we are thinking a lot of what we should do already for the ukrainians who have left. we are talking a lot to different people from different countries

if they left on the 21st of february or before it and there is a huge amount of work to be done and we are sure that at least after the end of the big missile and drone attacks, a huge amount of youth will start coming back here to ukraine because it is our home and we need to rebuild it and we need to live our life here in our own country. jordan has said it condemns in the severest terms, the visit by israel�*s new far right security minister to the compound injerusalem that houses the al—aqsa mosque. itamar ben—gvir was seen touring the area with heavy security, it�*s a site sacred to both muslims and jews and is currently only open to muslim worship. mr ben—gvir has long called forjews to be allowed to pray there as well. (read on) the bbc�*s tom bateman is injerusalem and has been explaining why the al—aqsa mosque is so important... the compound is known as temple

mount to dues and muslims and was the house of the third holy site to muslims and tojewish people, but not the holy site where they pray, thatis not the holy site where they pray, that is the western wall and that has been the case under a long—standing status quo agreement ever since israel captured east jerusalem which is home to the old city and the sensitive holy sites, but there�*s been a status quo, as it is known, commonplace, that allows jews to visit the compound but not pray there. and so, anything perceived as a change in the status quo that, to the arab and muslim world, is seen as incendiary and has been for many years and that is why even often small changes on the ground in oraround even often small changes on the ground in or around the compound can lead to very significant violence and unrest and we�*ve seen that historically in the region. so the visit this morning by itamar

ben—gvir, who is a far right agitator, the leader of thejewish our party that espouses racist and anti—arab policies, he has called for a change in the status quo to allowjewish prayer. the key point is that he is now the minister of national security and colonial —— controls the police in israel and the militarised border police in eastjerusalem, the occupied part of the city, so the fact he was talking about visiting as a national security minister was significant. he�*s done it within a week of being in office and in the run—up to that, hamas said that any visit by him could have explosive consequences. he went first thing this morning and strolled around the compound surrounded by israeli protection officers and border police for around 13 minutes. no indication he directly approached the mosque or that he prayed at the site. one eyewitness who was there said people felt very frightened and the palestinians were not allowed access

and they saw this as a direct challenge to their muslim identity and he said afterwards that the government would not submit to hamas and said times had changed, so we are seeing him pitch this as a confrontation between him and the party and hamas. that is worrying a lot of people and they feel the extremes have been unleashed on the situation and mister netanyahu has been able to really contain itamar ben—gvir and we�*ve seen it in the first week of the new government. we were asked in the run—up to the election, would mister netanyahu be able to control the far right in government and it�*s looking increasingly like the answer to that is no. elephants have been a huge tourist attraction in thailand for decades but when covid struck their owners were left struggling to feed them. although tourist numbers have started to recover, the industry faces another challenge, because many visitors now see using the animals for entertainment as unethical. our south east asia correspondent, jonathan head, has been looking at how the country�*s three thousand captive elephants can be supported in the future.

there is a place in thailand where people and elephants have lived and worked together for centuries. they used to travel the country to entertain tourists. but when covid struck, they moved back here to surin, where they have been struggling to make a living. this charity is offering these elephants free health checks and medication. they often have problems with their digestive systems, says this volunteer, because of the stress of moving or because they are now getting the wrong kind of food. the sheer size of these animals makes them hugely expensive. they cost as much as a luxury car to buy, and eat hundreds of food kilos every day, but there�*s another challenge to thailand�*s elephant economy, and that is that the tourists who sustained it for so long now have ethical concerns about all the various tricks they have been trained to perform. joy lives with three generations of elephants,

descendants of animals passed down to her by her parents and grandparents. covid forced her to bring them back from the holiday island of phuket, where they�*d been doing tourist shows. these days, she posts videos of them on social media, but the donations she gets from their online fans are never enough. she�*s hoping that as the tourists return, some at least will still be willing to pay to watch the elephants perform. translation: i think there may not be as many elephant shows - as there used to be because we know that some foreign tourists think that people who keep elephants don�*t love them, or treat them badly by making them perform. so they might not want to feed the elephants or watch the shows like before. everywhere we went in surin, we found people live—streaming their elephants through their phones,

trying to cover their costs. because there is no easy exit from this business. translation: whatever the future is, i i think we still have to keep them. i if the economy was better, or someone wanted to buy them, we might consider selling. but with the economy like this, there is no way out, we have to take care of them. there are thought to be more than 3,000 captive elephants in thailand. these are very long—lived animals. if their use as tourist entertainment is increasingly viewed as unethical, it is not clear how else their livelihoods can be funded. jonathan head, bbc news, north—eastern thailand. an ancient egyptian sarcophagus that was looted 15 years ago has been returned to cairo.

it�*s one of thousands of items recovered by the egyptian authorities. tim allman reports. ancient, mysterious, and now finally back home. the green coffin predates christ, a brightly painted wooden sarcophagus belonging to an egyptian priest. it�*s from the country�*s late dynastic period, which spanned the 7th to the 4th century bc, its return a significant source of cultural and national pride. translation: recovering this sarcophagus and bringing i it back to the country is a new step in the success of the foreign ministry to protect egypt's national heritage. it is a reflection of the spirit of cooperation between egypt and the united states. the green coffin has been on quite a journey. it was looted from the abu sir necropolis north of cairo in 2008. smuggled by a global art trafficking network, its first destination was germany, then it was taken to the us, a collector loaning it

to a museum in houston in 2013. and all those air miles have taken quite a toll. translation: a big part of the sarcophagus, - unfortunately, is in bad shape as a result of being smuggled illegally. we plan to take it to the egyptian museum to conduct something like first aid, some meticulous restoration. this is only one of nearly 30,000 smuggled artefacts recovered over the last ten years and there are believed to be many more still out there. the green coffin is back home, but the hunt for egypt's stolen treasure goes on. tim allman, bbc news. during the pandemic the charity guide dogs had to pause it's breeding and training programmes for the first time in its history. now the charity wants to recruit

more volunteers to ensure more matches can be made. sean's been to meet one of the puppy trainers. are you my little star? meet archie... ..and his puppy raiser, lisa. archie? touch! they're learning what makes a good guide dog. good boy. so the reason that we use hand touch is so when archie is placed with a visually impaired person, obviously they can't see when he's running back, when he's coming. so they can pop out this hand as a target. and archie's getting his head around some things he may need to quit if he's to win a working harness. he'll have to learn what this is for. lisa's is one of more than 2,000 households giving their time for free to help raise guide dog puppies for around a year. it's opened up a whole new world. i've made lots of new friends, ifeel part of a community that i wasn't before. not only that, obviously you're doing something very good at the end of the day. it's all around really rewarding. soon we'll follow lisa as she hands herfirst puppy, fergall, into guide dogs for his advanced training. what are the emotions that are going through your head today?

if i'm honest, i'd say proud. i think that's my biggest one. so proud of what i've done. really proud of him! lisa hopes that both of her dogs will give somebody their independence. i honestly think they are doing their absolute best. like me, kelly is waiting to train with a new guide dog. that means getting out is a lot harder. walking with a cane is like walking with one hand tied behind your back. it is really, really difficult. kelly's second dog, river, retired lastjuly. she's waiting for the right match. this doesn't only affect her, but her 15—month—old daughter. i'm the one who can't take her out when i want to, i have to say. "well, let's wait for daddy", or, "let's wait till we go see nana and granddad". i can do everything else she needs, and i'm her mummy and i love her, and i'm the one that's there when she has her nightmares

and i play with her. it doesn't impact on our relationship, but i think it impacts on how i feel about the job i'm doing as a mum. watch the tree. so why do guide dog users like me and kelly find ourselves in between dogs? the answer lies here at the charity's national breeding centre. good girl! bill's been explaining to me that the waiting lists are currently a bit longer than guide dogs would like them to be for life—changing guide dogs. purely for research purposes, you understand, i might have to stroke puppies like bill and many, many other puppies. is this the bestjob in the world, or what?! guide dogs is the largest breeder of assistance animals in the world. before the pandemic, they bred as many as 1500 dogs in a year. but during that time they stopped for five months and lost a third of their puppy raisers. so, that is our puppy reception. the breeding programme is recovering, but guide dogs says what it needs now is more people.

guide dogs could not do what we do without our volunteers. so we are, at the moment, looking very heavily to recruit lots of volunteers. and we've been very lucky that a lot of people have been so generous with their time. and we are in recovery mode and we are hopeful for the future. but we do need a little bit of patience for a little bit longer, as these dogs make their way through the system. as you said, these little puppies here, that we saw today, it will take about two years for them to make partnership. paige? hi, pup! are you a good puppy? yes, you are! this may seem odd and a little dramatic. big eyes and floppy ears. but it's one way social skills are assessed. you're such a good puppy! sniff it. and these are some of the problem solving skills paige will need if she's to make it as a guide dog. at around seven weeks old, these pups will be dropped off to their puppy raising families. for lisa's first pup, fergall, it's the end of one journey, but the start of another.

i've got all this. i'm packing the three toys up from home. his biscuits that i always give him — half a biscuit at bedtime. this, i've had it made and had his name put on it and his id number. the day has come for fergal to start his advanced training. that means lisa must say a painful goodbye. i want him as upset as little as possible. they're his toys. there you go, you get a big boy lead now. bye—bye, sweetheart. many guide dog users stay in touch with their puppy raisers. but many do not. thanks a lot. i'll ring you tomorrow. lisa knows this could be the last time she sees fergall. yeah, i'm fine. it's hard, but you've got to remember why you're doing it.

guide dogs say they need more volunteers like lisa to help cut waiting times. people like us are needed so much to help people like you. the tears are worth it. that was lisa, a guide dogs volunteer, who spent the past year training little archie. he's now off to a new home where he'll be able to assist a visually impaired person like our reporter sean dilley. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. if you're just stepping out, don't forget to take your brolly.

because although one band of rain is crossing us, there's another one coming in hot on its heels. so today, wet and windy for most, but mild. and this mild theme will be with us for the next couple of days. you can see the yellows and ambers across us. here are the days, the air coming up from the azores. but it's as we head on towards the end of the week, by the time we get to friday, something cooler starts to push southwards. but for some of us, it doesn't last. so here's our first band of rain, which continues off into the north sea, a second hand of rain coming in hot in its heels. some of this will be heavy, a lot of cloud. it's going to be a windy day. the best of the sunshine across the far north of scotland, but mild — six degrees in aberdeen to 12 as we push further south. now through this evening and overnight, here's our band of rain continuing to push from the west towards the east, lingering the longest across the far north of scotland and also southeast england. it's going to be a windy night with showers following on behind the rain, but it will be significantly milder than it has been. these temperatures are higher than we'd expect as our maximum daytime temperatures at this time of year. tomorrow, then, off goes the rain quite smartly from the southeast.

it takes longer to clear the northeast of scotland, lingering in the northern isles and further showery rain comes in across northern ireland, southern scotland and northern england. but there will be sunshine on either side, but it's going to be windy. lighter winds across the north of scotland, but certainly gusty winds across england, wales and northern ireland. and still mild, temperatures in aberdeen, seven degrees, 13 degrees in plymouth. then as we move from wednesday into thursday, this has been giving us a real headache all week. the positioning and the timing of it could still change. it might come in a little bit quicker. and if it does so, the rain connected with it will move swiftly across northern ireland, clip northern england and move across scotland and we'll see some further rain coming in to the west. but if it stays as we think at the moment, this is the scenario. some heavier rain coming in and again, very mild for the time of year. we're looking at highs 12 or 13. as we move on into friday, we've got a transient ridge of high pressure across us, so a more settled day in prospect. and then for saturday and sunday, as the rain clears, it will be blustery and we're looking at sunshine and showers.

today at one: new year misery on the railways with another strike, only one in five trains is running. 40,000 members of the rmt union are taking action in their dispute over pay and working conditions — we need the government to come to its senses so that the passengers can get what they need from the railway, that our members can get a decent settlement. i want these employers and trade unions around the table, trying to hammer out a deal so we can get this dispute resolved, so we can have a brighter future for the rail industry. there are five days of strike action on the railways this week — we'll have the latest. also this lunchtime... the government admits the health service is under tremendous pressure amid warnings the strain on the nhs this winter

is intolerable