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 the family of a british couple killed in a helicopter crash in australia say they're heartbroken. archie! touch! and why a shortage of volunteer puppy trainers means visually impaired people are having to wait longer to get a guide dog. and coming up on the bbc news channel, it's a huge night of action in the premier league with arsenal looking to extend their lead at the top of the table to 10 points. good afternoon, and welcome to the bbc news at 0ne. it's been a miserable new year return to work for commuters, facing five days of rail strikes this week. members of the rmt union are taking industrial action again today over pay,

jobs and working conditions. they're holding two 48—hour strikes this week in england, scotland and wales — while the train drivers' union aslef will take action on thursday. our business correspondent theo leggett is at euston station in london. and at euston station there are not many trains running, is across the rest of the country. one in five services, compared to normal. and many parts of the network have gone dark altogether. as you said, there is a 48—hour strike under way. that's some 40,000 rmt members at network rail and 14 train operating companies. they are on strike for the next two days. after that, it is the next two days. after that, it is the turn of aslef train drivers to walk out, before we have another rmt strike at the end of the week. the question the travelling public is obviously asking is when will this come to an end? as i have been

finding out, there is not much sign of that at the moment. a new year, but the same old story. travellers are facing another week of intense disruption on the railways, with strikes called by two unions, the rmt and aslef. it's a real headache for people like karim. she is on a zero—hours contract and needs to get to work. i'm completely reliant on the train service. there is no other way for me to get to work. and myjob is an in—personjob. i can't work from home. so every day of strikes, i lose a day's wages. only one in five trains will be running today. many lines are closed altogether. the rmt has called a 48—hour strike involving workers at network rail and 14 train operators. when that ends, aslef train drivers will walk out on thursday, before another rmt strike begins on friday. ijust feel they could have left it just now until things try and get back to some normality. i think it's a shame that this is all...

you know, it'sjust disrupting everybody�*s lives. what they are doing is damaging the industry, long—term, aren't they? we need a good infrastructure to support people getting off the roads. we need everybody understanding why the strike is going on. _ but, yes, we should not get affected by this. - joining a chilly picket line early this morning, the head of the rmt made it clear where he thinks the blame lies. 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 huw merriman, 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. the unions want more money for their members to help them cope with the rising cost of living. 0ffers have been discussed, but rail firms say extra cash can only come with changes to working

practices, which the unions say they can't accept. the strikes are unnecessary. they're not helping and they don't motivate us to make an offer that we otherwise wouldn't. it doesn't drive us to achieve a different outcome than we would achieve through normal negotiation. and i think it's really damaging the future prospects of the industry, and therefore for our employees. meanwhile, the government has made it clear it believes changes to the way the railways are run have to form part of any deal. the two sides need to hammer out a deal on reforming some of the outdated working practices in the industry, for example to make sure that we have a proper seven—day railway operation. and there is a fair and reasonable payoff on the table. and a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for a reasonable period. more talks are planned. but if a solution is to be found, compromises will be needed. but at the moment,

the signals aren't promising. and, of course, people are losing out because of all the strikes. rail workers themselves, those that are on strike, they are losing pay. also, there are businesses that depend on people being able to get around. we are talking theatres, restaurants, cafes. uk hospitality, which represents those kind of businesses, say since the industrial action started way back injune, up until the end of this week, they expect that industry to have lost some £2.5 billion. so, there businesses, along with the travelling public, will be hoping that eu sides can get together and come up with some kind of compromise before even more damage is done. downing street says that the nhs is facing an unprecedented challenge but says the government is doing everything possible. a dublin

spokesman says that the government —— a government spokesman says that everything possible is being done. this isn't the first winter crisis that the nhs faces. at clinicians across the uk warn it could be one of the worst. staff shortages, a lack of beds and not enough social care provision or part of the problem. care provision or part of the problem-— care provision or part of the roblem. ~ ., ,., care provision or part of the roblem. ~ ., , problem. we need to find some space for ou. it problem. we need to find some space for yom it often _ problem. we need to find some space for you. it often results _ problem. we need to find some space for you. it often results in _ problem. we need to find some space for you. it often results in long - for you. it often results in long waits to be _ for you. it often results in long waits to be admitted. - for you. it often results in long waits to be admitted. john - for you. it often results in long - waits to be admitted. john nimmo's waits to be admitted. john nimmo's grandmother was taken to hospital with pneumonia last week and was left on a trolley for more than 30 hours. it left on a trolley for more than 30 hours. . , ., ., ., , hours. it was a horrendous situation. _ hours. it was a horrendous situation. she _ hours. it was a horrendous situation. she was - hours. it was a horrendous situation. she was already| hours. it was a horrendous - situation. she was already very distressed, seriously ill. she was then placed in a corridor, no hot food, lots of noise, not a very restful at all. and was very upset, as we all were.—

restful at all. and was very upset, as we all were. adding to the burden on the nhs, — as we all were. adding to the burden on the nhs, high _ as we all were. adding to the burden on the nhs, high levels _ as we all were. adding to the burden on the nhs, high levels of _ as we all were. adding to the burden on the nhs, high levels of covid, - on the nhs, high levels of covid, flu and strep a. nhs england say 9500 patients are in hospital with covid, and nearly 4000 people are being treated for flu, meaning 13% of hospital beds in england are taken up with those two viruses. with schools preparing to return, both adults and children are being urged to stay home with a fever and take a flu jab to avoid infecting others. take a flu 'ab to avoid infecting others. ~ . ., , ., . others. we welcome this new advice about peeple _ others. we welcome this new advice about people wearing _ others. we welcome this new advice about people wearing masks - others. we welcome this new advice about people wearing masks and - others. we welcome this new advice | about people wearing masks and not going out if they are ill, keeping children off school. we need to do everything we can to avoid unnecessary illness. the simple reality is that the health service is caught between the fact that it has limited capacity, particularly when it comes to the workforce, 130,000 vacancies, and a level of demand that is difficult to meet in ordinary times.— ordinary times. despite increased demand, ordinary times. despite increased demand. nhs _ ordinary times. despite increased demand, nhs england _ ordinary times. despite increased demand, nhs england says -

ordinary times. despite increased demand, nhs england says therei ordinary times. despite increased - demand, nhs england says there has been progress, with record numbers of patients getting cancer tracks and starting treatment. ministers say the health service is a top priority, with extra investment to help discharge patients. just days into the new year, and pressure is building all of the uk government to avoid a crisis, as health unions prepare a fresh round of strikes within weeks. 0ur political correspondent iain watson is at westminster. we have been hearing there from people in the health service, saying effectively the nhs is on its knees. plus we have this continuing wave of industrial action. plus we have this continuing wave of industrialaction. how plus we have this continuing wave of industrial action. how much of all of this is putting pressure on the government as we enter the new year? we are certainly getting pressure on the government immediately, from some of the rail unions, currently on strike, and as we were hearing, the prospect of more strikes in the nhs later this month. when it comes to the dispute with the rmt, i don't

get the impression the government is under a great deal of pressure from its own mps to reach a compromise, especially as another rail union, the tssa has accepted a pay offer from network rail. that is not the same story in the nhs, where some conservative mps are urging the government to reopen pay talks. at the moment, rishi sunak is standing firm. politically, it could be a problem for him. labour are claiming that in meetings they have organised with swing voters, people that they have to win over the next election, some of those voters are saying, quite unprompted, that can't believe anything works in this country any longer. 0rsimilar anything works in this country any longer. 0r similar phrases. anything works in this country any longer. 0rsimilar phrases. labour believes that gives them an opportunity to pin the blame for the state of the health service on the railways on the government, and not the unions. that is why you also hear labour politicians talking more about the government's record than about the government's record than about the government's record than about the handling of the current industrial disputes. the government

say they are pouring £14 billion into the health service to try to ease some pressure over the next couple of years. but i think the real pressure that rishi sunak is facing is the pressure of time. because unless he can prove that the nhs is on the road to recovery by the time of the next election, what appears to be a very healthy majority could be under threat. a british couple who were killed when two helicopters collided in australia have been named. the family of diane and ron hughes, who were 57 and 65 and from the wirral, have issued a statement saying they're heartbroken. two other people also died. 0ur correspondent shaimaa khalil sent this report. a popular tourist destination turned to disaster zone. as shocked residents and holiday—makers looked own, stoned, while others rushed to help. this is the scene in australia's gold coast after too much helicopters collided in midair.

the one helicopter that was taking off appears, the main rotors have collided with a landing helicopter, causing considerable damage to the front section of the helicopter, in the process of that collision, the main rotor blades and gearbox of the helicopter taking off had separated from the aircraft, causing it to tragically crash down onto a sand bar. . ., , tragically crash down onto a sand bar. . ., ., ., “ tragically crash down onto a sand bar. . , tragically crash down onto a sand bar. . .,, ., ., ~ , w ., bar. the crash took place near the sea world theme _ bar. the crash took place near the sea world theme park. _ bar. the crash took place near the sea world theme park. one - bar. the crash took place near the sea world theme park. one of- bar. the crash took place near the sea world theme park. one of the| sea world theme park. one of the choppers had the resort�*s branding. the wreckage of one of the helicopters and the other one were picked up earlier today, and the authorities were finding it challenging to remove them because of the tide. look how close it is to the sea world theme park. a stone's throw away, really. earlier, we could hear holiday—makers on the rides. 0ne could hear holiday—makers on the rides. one of the high witnesses said while the other helicopter was trying to land, it hovered over the park, there was concern it could actually crash into people. a british couple were among the four

people that died. 57—year—old diane and 55—year—old ron hughes. 40—year—old ashleyjenkinson was a gold coast local, and one of seaworld's helicopters' most experienced pilots. his friends remember him as a big guy with a big heart. ,, ., , heart. silent hero, big, gentle ciant. heart. silent hero, big, gentle giant- what — heart. silent hero, big, gentle giant. what we _ heart. silent hero, big, gentle giant. what we did _ heart. silent hero, big, gentle giant. what we did with - heart. silent hero, big, gentle giant. what we did with the i heart. silent hero, big, gentle - giant. what we did with the floods in new south wales yesterday was definitely the highlight of my life. if it wasn't for him, a lot of people would not have got the help that they got down there. investigators are still trying to work out what caused the deadly collision. and what happens at the moment isjust collision. and what happens at the moment is just before impact. collision. and what happens at the moment isjust before impact. for now, the tributes continued. families mourn their loved ones, with community still in shock over the tragedy that hit their shores. in brazil, a funeral procession begins this afternoon through the streets of the city of santos for the footballing legend pele, who died last week at the age of 82.

0vernight, tens of thousands of brazilians queued to pay their final respects to him. pele was the only player to win the world cup three times. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson is in santos for us. a really enormous outpouring of national grief for pele? am national grief for pele? an outpouring _ national grief for pele? sift outpouring of national national grief for pele? fifi outpouring of national grief, but also a celebration. behind me as one of the support of the's clubs, waving flags, wearing the number 10 shirt that pele made so famous and celebrating the man that they call the king of football. the supporters club is expected to follow the funeral cortege, orat club is expected to follow the funeral cortege, or at least accompany the coffin through the streets of santos. they will be passing by the mother of pele, her house, she turned 100 last year, before the family burial. the

atmosphere is one of grief and mourning, but also a tremendous celebration, uplifting. brazilians are absolutely brilliant at making the best of even solemn occasions. young, old, people have come from farjust young, old, people have come from far just to be young, old, people have come from farjust to be able to say goodbye to a man they call the king. i spoke to a man they call the king. i spoke to one who said we don't have a monarchy, but this is the closest we had to it, they want to say their goodbyes. had to it, they want to say their goodbyes-_ had to it, they want to say their aoodb es. ., ~ ,, , . goodbyes. thank you very much indeed. millions of households on low incomes will receive further cost—of—living payments starting this spring. the department for work and pensions has been laying out the details. colletta smith is in our salford newsroom. how will this work? anyone on certain types of benefits, including universal credit and tax credits, should have already received two chunks of cost of living payments in the last year, in 2022. now the government say there is a new round coming in this year,

and it will be in three instalments. so, you should receive £300 this spring, £300 in the autumn, then the government have also announced £300 next spring. 2024. that makes £900 in total, for about 8 million people. it is a similar amount to the payments made in 2022, when you account for the different time frame. also, the government have said they will be £150 payment to people with disabilities and an extra £300 for people on pensions come november of this year. ministers say this is going to help the most vulnerable, but charities have already been critical of the government, saying that a lot of those that are already at the lower end of the income spectrum needed even more money to be able to cope with higher bills next year, particularly those that have struggled this year already. what we have also seen as

confirmation that we were expecting that the £400 that every household has been receiving since october will come to an end in april, so unfortunately for the vast majority of households, that means they will be £400 less well off come april, at the exact moment that energy bills will be increasing again. the time is 1:17. our top story this lunchtime: new year misery on the railways with another strike. 40,000 members of the rmt union take action in their dispute over pay and working conditions. and the challenges facing those trying to support thailand's population of 3,000 captive elephants. coming up on the bbc news channel, two more chinese players have been suspended by the sport's world governing body, the wpbsa, as part of its ongoing investigation into match fixing.

a bbc investigation has found that evidence showing the grooming and sexual exploitation of a schoolgirl was handed to m15 months before she was charged with terrorism offences. the prosecution of rhianan rudd, the youngest girl charged with terror offences in the uk, was later dropped after the home office concluded she was a victim of exploitation. she took her own life in a children's home last year. daniel de simone has this report. rhianan rudd was the youngest british girl ever prosecuted as a terrorist, but charges were dropped after the government found she was a victim of exploitation. she was just a lovely girl. she wasn't horrible in any way. this is her mother's first interview. she was just a little bit different. age 14, rhianan became absorbed

by right—wing extremism. neo—nazi christopher cook, from his home in the us, was grooming and sexually exploiting her over the internet. we found cook was also in contact with a former partner of rihanna's mother, an american who'd previously been in a white—supremacist gang in the us. i was checking on her computer, cos she was spending a lot of time up there. rhianan�*s mother says she became concerned and contacted the government deradicalisation scheme, prevent. she came down and she went, "mum, i've downloaded a pdf," and i was like, "0k, what of?" and she went, "how to build a bomb." and i went, "what?" and i went, "you can't do that, rhi." rhiannon was barely involved in prevent, because within weeks she was arrested. she told police about being exploited while on bail. she self—harmed and was put in care. she was then charged with terror offences for allegedly possessing weapon making guides. at that stage, defence lawyers

became involved and wanted rhianan referred to a specialist government unit here in the home office which considers whether people are victims of trafficking and exploitation under modern slavery laws. the government eventually concluded she was a victim of exploitation. the prosecution was abandoned. they should have seen her as a victim rather than a terrorist. you know, she's a child, an autistic child. she should have been treated as a child that had been groomed and sexually exploited. we found the authorities had been passed evidence of what had been happening. an fbi investigation into cook had seized images and messages showing rhianan being exploited. the fbi gave it to the security service, m15, months before rhianan was charged. rhianan took her own life last year in the private children's home where she was placed.

i called, and i spoke to the manager, and i said, "there's something wrong, please watch her." "she's going to do something." next thing i know, i've got three police officers standing in my living room telling me that my daughter died by hanging. counter—terror investigations involving children are complex. a child can be a victim of exploitation and a threat to others. the lawyer in charge of reviewing terror laws thinks changes are needed in the approach to some children. you could almost have an injunction, as happens with antisocial behaviour, which would, for example, it would limit your mobile phone use. it might require you to have monitoring software, and that could be done really quickly and keep them out of the criminal justice system altogether. there will be an inquest into rhianan�*s death. that's my baby girl in there. the organisations we approached with our findings said they can't comment until the inquest has concluded.

daniel de simone, bbc news. watch the full investigation on bbc iplayer now. a man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a missing woman from south east london. 24—year—old maureen gitau hasn't been seen since she left her home in deptford on the 5th of december. police say her body has not been found. 54—year—old mark moodie will appear at the old bailey on thursday. israel's new far—right national security minister itamar ben—gvir has visited a contested holy site in jerusalem for the first time since the election in november of a new government. palestinian leaders had warned that such a visit would be seen as a provocation and could lead to violence. 0ur middle east correspondent tom bateman is injerusalem. what is the significance of this visit? ~ ., ., �* , ,

visit? well, itamar ben-gvir visited the site first _ visit? well, itamar ben-gvir visited the site first thing _ visit? well, itamar ben-gvir visited the site first thing this _ visit? well, itamar ben-gvir visited the site first thing this morning, . the site first thing this morning, he walked around and strolled for about 15 minutes or so, no indication that he approached the site, and then he left. eyewitnesses said that palestinians were barred from the site, they see it as a direct attack on muslim identity. the main point is that he is a far right agitator who has become the israeli minister of security, he controls the militarised border police that control that part of eastjerusalem where these very holy sites. it is not the first time he has visited, but it is the first time he has done so as national security minister. he has long said he wanted to change the very fragile and sensitive status quo arrangements around worship at jerusalem's holy sites, and

particularly this site. so this is being seen notjust by palestinians but by the wider arab and muslim world is a very severe provocation. there has been condemnation this afternoon from saudi arabia, from the united arab emirates, as well as the united arab emirates, as well as the palestinian foreign ministry. israel has said it will not change the status quo of agreements, that was in the government's founding principles, but already israel's staunch ally the americans have said that they would see any change to the status quo as an acceptable. 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. 0ur south east asia correspondent, jonathan head, has been looking at how the country's 3,000 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 kilos of food 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. . 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.

during the pandemic, the charity guide dogs had to put its breeding programme on hold. it led to a shortage of volunteers to train puppies. well, now the charity wants to recruit more people to ensure that those who need a guide dog can be matched with one. average waiting times for a new dog are 15 months. 0ur correspondent sean dilley, who's told he'll have to wait two years for his own guide dog, has this report. 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! 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. i feel 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. soon, we'll follow lisa as she hands herfirst puppy, fergal, 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 so proud of what i've done. really proud of him! lisa hopes that both of her dogs will give somebody their independence. 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. paige? hi, pup! are you a puppy? yes, you are! this may seem odd and a little dramatic. look at these big eyes and floppy ears! but it's one way social skills are assessed. you're such a good puppy!

at around seven weeks old, these pups will be dropped off to their puppy—raising families. for lisa's first pup, fergal, it's the end of one journey, but the start of another. 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.