this is bbc news. the headlines... the government admits the health service is facing an "unprecedented challenge" amid warnings the strain on it this winter is intolerable. new year misery on the railways with another strike — as 40,000 members of the rmt union walk out again in their dispute over pay and working conditions government to come to its senses so that the passengers can get what they need from the railway and that our members can get a decent settlement. ——we need the government to come to its senses so that the passengers can get what they need from the railway and that our members can get a decent settlement. i want those employers and trade unions around the table and trying to hammer out a deal so that we can get this dispute resolved so that we can have a brighter future for the rail industry. 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. brazil's new presidentjoins thousands of mourners paying their respects to football legend pele at the santos stadium. and coming up, we've been talking to a guide dogs charity that's recruiting for more volunteers to tackle a shortage of trainers. that afternoon and welcome to the bbc news channel. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news channel. downing street has admitted that the nhs is facing an "unprecedented challenge" but insists the government is doing "everything possible" to ease pressure. senior doctors have spoken of the "unsustainable" pressure facing the nhs with some a&es described as being in a "complete state of crisis". labour criticised the government's

management of the health service, while the liberal democrats called for parliament to be recalled early. here's our health correspondent katharine da costa. receiving. 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 are part of the problem. we need to find some space for you. it often results in long waits to be admitted. john rimmer�*s grandmother was taken to hospital with pneumonia last week and was left on a trolley for more than 30 hours. it was a horrendous situation. it was a reallyjust horrendous situation for her. she was obviously already very distressed, seriously ill. she was then placed in a corridor, lights on, no hot food, lots of noise, not very restful at all. and, yeah, just was very distressed, very upset, as we all were. adding to the burden on the nhs, high levels of covid, flu and strep a. nhs england say 9,500 patients are in hospital with covid,

plus nearly 4,000 people are being treated for flu, meaning 13% of hospital beds in england are taken up with those two viruses. so as schools prepare to return, both adults and children are being urged to stay home with a fever and take up a flu jab to avoid infecting 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. 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. car horns beep. butjust days into the new year, pressure is building on of the uk government to avert a crisis, as health unions prepare a fresh round of strikes within weeks. 0ur health reporter jim reed is with me now. jim, what is the government doing to try to ease this unprecedented challenge, as they described it? more money is going into the health service at the moment and in particular there is £500 million this winter in england to deal with the problem that catherine was talking about there, not being able to get people out of hospital who are medically fit enough to leave, not being able to get them out quickly enough, so that money is generally going to local authorities to increase the capacity and social care and get people out more quickly. it is that bottleneck which is then leading to large numbers of

people effectively stuck in a knee because they can't get into a ward and an ambulance being stuck outside hospital because they can get their patients —— effectively stuck in a&e. interesting news from london at the moment. at the moment the target of an the moment. at the moment the target ofan ambulance the moment. at the moment the target of an ambulance arrived at hospital is to unload their patients in 15 minutes. what they are saying in london now which was first revealed in leaked memos to itv news about london ambulance have backed this up, if a london ambulance have backed this up, ifa patient london ambulance have backed this up, if a patient has been in the back of an ambulance 45 minutes and they are medically stable they are just going to be given to the hospital staff and, effectively, the chief nurse in these london hospitals is going to be told by the paramedics, look, there's a patient, we're going to now leave him or her and get back out in the ambulance and get back out in the ambulance and that is in order to get out, to get these clues back on the road more quickly. so that is quite an interesting change in policy. this might get these crews back on the road. in london only at the moment

it is going to start in the next couple of days of this is a new policy being brought in bc the problem here. ambulances can't unload because it isjust problem here. ambulances can't unload because it is just so busy so one way of dealing with that is to say look, after 45 minutes that is it for the concern is that then moves the bottleneck from the ambulance crews outside into a&e and increases the pressure on a&e so whether this is a kind of long—term solution orjust a kind of sticking plaster thing remains to be seen but it is certainly one different way of looking at this problem.— it is certainly one different way of looking at this problem. about this new covid-19 _ looking at this problem. about this new covid-19 variant. _ looking at this problem. about this new covid-19 variant. it _ looking at this problem. about this new covid-19 variant. it is - looking at this problem. about this new covid-19 variant. it is a - new covid—i9 variant. it is a version of the mcmahon, xbbi.5. how problematic is it? —— —— a version of the crown. —— omicron. problematic is it? -- -- a version of the crown. -- omicron.- problematic is it? -- -- a version of the crown. -- omicron. this time last ear of the crown. -- omicron. this time last year at — of the crown. -- omicron. this time last year at the _ of the crown. -- omicron. this time last year at the bigger _ of the crown. -- omicron. this time last year at the bigger second - of the crown. -- omicron. this time last year at the bigger second wave | last year at the bigger second wave we had 33000 and now it is 8000 of the concern here is this new variant could increase that because it seems to be spreading more quickly in

places like the united states. in the uk it only makes up around one in 25 cases at the moment. in the united states it is around 40% of cases. there is no signal sign at the moment it is any concerning in terms of the type of illness or how bad or sick people get. 0bviously, something is going on here because it seems to be crowding out other variants of concern here. the concern as it could spread more quickly. certainly at the moment very early stages are nothing to concerning in the data we are picking up the moment. let's speak now to sally warren, director of policy at the king's fund, an independent health and care charitable organisation in england. thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. what are the factors contributing to the hesitate to challenge the government admits the nhs is facing —— the unprecedented challenge. fix, the nhs is facing -- the unprecedented challenge. a lot of the challenges _ unprecedented challenge. a lot of the challenges are _ unprecedented challenge. a lot of

the challenges are been _ unprecedented challenge. a lot of the challenges are been long - unprecedented challenge. a lot of the challenges are been long in i unprecedented challenge. a lot of. the challenges are been long in the making, significant workforce issues right across the nhs and social care, 160,000 vacancies and social care,... latencies in the nhs and that means that it is not enough staff to be able to deliver enough care is the population needs. we then have how well and how healthy then have how well and how healthy the population is and we have high winter flu at the moment, the population is and we have high winterflu at the moment, still people in hospital and access to health services for covid—19. but as of the moment taking around 13,000 beds every day from flu and covid so thatis beds every day from flu and covid so that is causing an issue. we also have the of underfunding and investment in hospital so we have —— consequences of years of underfunding. we have wards and operating theatres that cannot operate at all because they are on safer cannot operate at full capacity so we have a real challenges around how much capacity we have and in winter that there is always more illness, always more... knee didn't need it but last summer

the health service was facing winter levels of pressure and that was going to get worse and flew then started to impact populations. the government did have lots of warning in seven months to plan and prepare for this winter. you in seven months to plan and prepare for this winter.— for this winter. you don't think the did for this winter. you don't think they did enough? _ for this winter. you don't think they did enough? they - for this winter. you don't think they did enough? they are - for this winter. you don't think i they did enough? they are saying there is £500 million extra in england to try and cope with the various bottlenecks we hearing about. :: :: various bottlenecks we hearing about. i: :: ., . ., , about. the 500 million certainly really help _ about. the 500 million certainly really help and _ about. the 500 million certainly really help and it _ about. the 500 million certainly really help and it was _ about. the 500 million certainly| really help and it was announced about. the 500 million certainly i really help and it was announced in september but the detail of how it will be allocated to individual local areas wasn't an ounce for another two months. that was november before local services knew how much money they would get and therefore could work out their plan for how to be frank telling that november how to work out your plans in january is november how to work out your plans injanuary is just november how to work out your plans in january is just too late november how to work out your plans injanuary is just too late to some of this actions have been taken too little and too late and again the money runs out in march so you can use that to pay overtime but you can't use it to recruit more staff into the social care sector because how would you pay for more staff come april. it is helpful,

absolutely always welcome to have more money but how we deliver on the time means it is not going to be as effective as it could have been if it is a long—term commitment over a number of years. it is a long-term commitment over a number of veere— number of years. usually these consistent _ number of years. usually these consistent problems _ number of years. usually these consistent problems are - number of years. usually these - consistent problems are complicated and if they were simple they would be resolved overnight. what source of the forms you think are necessary to protect the nhs from these extreme pressures that the government has said are unprecedented in each of? the things the can do unprecedented in each of? the things they can do in — unprecedented in each of? the things they can do in the _ unprecedented in each of? the things they can do in the short _ unprecedented in each of? the things they can do in the short term - unprecedented in each of? the things they can do in the short term to - they can do in the short term to help alleviate pressures right now. that is around helping capacity and social care, putting more money into the sector. how can you work in partnership with the voluntary sector who can support individuals and communities much more to stay well in their own homes? there are steps you can take and how can you better use qualified staff you already have, such as community pharmacists and supporting the community. there are some things you can do now that you are some things you can do now that you're absolutely right these are serious and complicated issues. to really

overcome these in workforce plan so really seriously thinking about how do both attack and particularly retain the experienced staff you've trained to ensure we have enough capacity and health and social care. how do you have a long—term investment capacity in it system, in our buildings, to mean the environment which staff are working in patient seven is as productive and efficient as possible. it will probably waste a lot of time for clinicians and patients alike if operating theatres have to be taken out of action or if outpatient cannot run because the roof is leaking is very critical to run an effective service on the other thing you need to about is the nhs is very much where don macbeth was when we are sick and treat us when we are unwell but we also need to have a really serious s of actions from governments about how to help the population stay well and healthy and much, much more about how the nhs can do for that. that is things are bound are wide environment so how clean the areas, our our access to

good quality housing, access to good quality food, all that stuff will help determine how much health care we need both now and in the future. —— how clean the air is. all of this stuff will help determine demand and health service in the future. sailing health service in the future. sally warren from _ health service in the future. sally warren from the _ health service in the future. sally warren from the kings _ health service in the future. sally warren from the kings fund, thank you very much. 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 reports. 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 1a 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. theo leggett reporting. 0ur correspondent gareth barlow is at euston station in central london. that concourse obviously, gareth, usually much bigger than today. it has been fairly quiet all day. sicily rush hour is barely a rush.

you might see behind me the departure boards of all blank. that is not because there aren't any trains. they are just out of service at the moment. in fact the watford junction train departed from platform 11 on time and that is because only 20% of services are running again as you are hearing and if you are lucky enough to get a train in my not stop a lot of the stations you would usually expect. the train services that are running a starting earlier and finishing the —— starting later in finishing earlier. it may not be in the right place to ensure they all depart on time and so use cynics expected look like this for the coming days and is in stations across the uk it is not really until next week when things will get back to normal —— euston is expected to look like this. the new year has started with the same story, more transport disruption. studio: thanks very much. gareth

barlow at euston station. it is a little after quarter past two. the headlines on bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... railway are again on strike as 14,000 members of the rmt union walk—out if further dispute and pay and services. a british couple are among those injured in a plane crash 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. brazil's new presidentjoins thousands of mourners paying their respects to football legend pele at the santos stadium. 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. have issued a statement saying two other people also died in the accident. our correspondent has 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 collided with the landing helicopter, caused 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. the crash took place near 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. challenging to actually remove them because of the tide. and 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.

in fact, one of the eye—witnesses 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. 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 sea world's helicopters' most experienced pilots. his friends remember him as a big guy with a big 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 before impact. for now, the tributes continued. families mourn their loved ones, with community still in shock over the tragedy that hit their shores. a funeral procession is underway in the city of santos

for the footballing legend pele. the player, who was the only person ever to win the world cup three times, died last week at the age of 82. we can show you that pictures of the possession slowly making its way through sentence in sao paulo state on the coast, some short distance from the city. let's talk now to fernando duarte, brazilian journalist working for bbc world service. we have just heard over we havejust heard over 130,000 people attended the wake first pele, underlining the importance of him to the country. underlining the importance of him to the count . .,, , underlining the importance of him to the country-— the country. those big numbers not unexnected — the country. those big numbers not unexpected given _ the country. those big numbers not unexpected given the _ the country. those big numbers not unexpected given the importance i the country. those big numbers notj unexpected given the importance of the deceased. pele was a reference

for brazilians of all ages. however didn't grow up watching him or had a chance to see me in person has certainly had on him. is the most famous brazilian, full stop. tell us what is happening _ famous brazilian, full stop. tell us what is happening now— famous brazilian, full stop. tell us what is happening now then. - famous brazilian, full stop. tell us what is happening now then. the | what is happening now then. the position has set up and this is the combination of —— domination of the country coming together to warm him. when they reach the cemetery, the vertical cemetery where he will be laid to rest it is going to be only a family affair, just for a family and they will finish this public demonstration of grief which was very welcome of course, was a very interesting sending off in time for the families to deal with a huge loss for the kids. i think his current wife, she couldn't stand staying all night the same one who was very shaken by this whole affair and it seems like fitting end with

us here. ., ., .., us here. you mentioned the vertical cemete . us here. you mentioned the vertical cemetery- tell _ us here. you mentioned the vertical cemetery. tell us _ us here. you mentioned the vertical cemetery. tell us a _ us here. you mentioned the vertical cemetery. tell us a little _ us here. you mentioned the vertical cemetery. tell us a little bit - us here. you mentioned the vertical cemetery. tell us a little bit more i cemetery. tell us a little bit more about where pele is going to be laid to rest. it about where pele is going to be laid to rest. , ~ ., , to rest. it is like a building where --eole to rest. it is like a building where peeple are _ to rest. it is like a building where peeple are later— to rest. it is like a building where people are later rest _ to rest. it is like a building where people are later rest and - to rest. it is like a building where people are later rest and funny . people are later rest and funny enough his mausoleum oversees the centres football club ground and i read in the brazilian press that he was chasing it himself 19 years ago, almost two decades ago —— you chose it himself. he was almost prepared for the day she would have to leave this land. of course the man's legend remains and i don't think there is a lose or forget him any time soon. it is a bittersweet time and brazilian resident will be celebration of the new government is also being dented by the department of the most famous of all citizens in the country.

of the most famous of all citizens in the country-— of the most famous of all citizens in the country. some sort of tribute bein: aid in the country. some sort of tribute being paid to _ in the country. some sort of tribute being paid to perley's _ in the country. some sort of tribute being paid to perley's father- in the country. some sort of tribute being paid to perley's father as - being paid to perley's father as well? if being paid to perley's father as well? , ., ., ., , well? if you mean the images i cannot see _ well? if you mean the images i cannot see them _ well? if you mean the images i cannot see them but _ well? if you mean the images i cannot see them but perley's l well? if you mean the images i - cannot see them but perley's father was also very celebrated because he was also very celebrated because he was also very celebrated because he was a former footballer who could never make it professionally because of injuries and he was by watching him his father cried during the 1950 world cup there was a loss of the final game that perley promised he would win the world cup one day. to make his father's my boy. he did more than that, didn't he? she certainly did. — more than that, didn't he? she certainly did, more than made up for it is a promise to me would. i was a country going to move on from this? —— how is the country going to move on from this. the -- how is the country going to move on from thia— -- how is the country going to move on from this. the same way we moved on from this. the same way we moved on from this. the same way we moved on from other— on from this. the same way we moved on from other tragedies. _ on from this. the same way we moved on from other tragedies. the - on from this. the same way we moved on from other tragedies. the last - on from other tragedies. the last time we lost such a huge figure was a former world number one from 1974 and he died suddenly racing and it was not something he was prepared

for. perley was early 80s and you can see he was deteriorating and emits a couple of times and you feel generally the last time and people prepare themselves because nothing is eternal. it will be a couple of weeks people feeling sad, especially january, hardly the best time of year to say goodbye to a legend. it is a difficult way to start a new year, isn't it? thank you very much. 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. millions of households on low incomes will receive further

cost—of—living payments starting this spring. the department for work and pensions has been setting out the details today. our cost of living correspondent kevin peacheyjoins me now. he'll get these payments, kevin? this is primarily 8 million people on means tested benefits so that is things like universal credit and they would have received pretty much all of them would have received previous cost of living payments in two instalments totalling £360 since the summer and what the government has told us before is that this group will receive another £900 in total in the months to come but now we have got a bit more detail. we knew that was coming and now we have got some more detail on the exact timings and what they are going to get and when and so we know that basically it is going to be divided into three equal chances of the

time. the first one will be in the spring, second payments will be paid and these are all automatic. will be paid in the autumn and then the third and final one will be next spring, 2024. there will also be payments for people with disabilities and they will receive £150 in the summer and then pensioners often have much higher energy bills because of the need to keep the heating on for longer and so they will receive £300 next winter as well and these are obviously all part of the package of measures that the government brought in to try and help people with these extremely high energy bills that we are all facing. you extremely high energy bills that we are all facing-— are all facing. you say that these -a ments are all facing. you say that these payments will — are all facing. you say that these payments will be _ are all facing. you say that these payments will be automatic, - are all facing. you say that these payments will be automatic, but| are all facing. you say that these - payments will be automatic, but how will they be received? the payments will be automatic, but how will they be received?— will they be received? the other saved automatically _ will they be received? the other saved automatically into - will they be received? the other saved automatically into the - will they be received? the other l saved automatically into the same bank account in building society account that you would receive your benefits and they are an automatic payment for all these groups of

people. what we have also got used to course is a £400 discount for everyone. all bill payers receive £400 knocked off their energy bills over this winter and that came in instalments again, £66 a month over the six winter months and what we have had pretty much confirmed today as that will be coming to an end and the timing that is significant of course because it bills in general will be going up in a broader price cut the government has set which means the typical household pays £2500 a year for their gas and electricity. well, that is going to be going up so £3000 for typical households and you will see why charities are saying actually this is a difficult time because bills are going up another these cost of living payments have in place and the government says they are supporting people significantly, the

charities are saying, actually, the government needs to be doing more because we will all be facing higher energy bills so it might be a new year but clearly there are very familiar debates about energy bills and the cost of living in general. thank you very much, kevin peachey. 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 forjews to be allowed to pray there too. the palestinian authority has condemned the visit, calling it an unprecedented provocation. we can hear more from tom bateman, and middle east correspondent. the

mp and middle east correspondent. tue: mp visited and middle east correspondent. t'te: mp visited the and middle east correspondent. tt2 mp visited the site first thing this morning, no indication he played at the site or directly approached al—aqsa mosque and then he left. eyewitnesses said that palestinians were barred from the site while this take place on one person said they felt frightened and it was a direct challenge to their muslim identity but the key point here is that this mp is a far right agitator who has in the last week become israel's minister of national security. that means he controls the police in israel, he controls the militarised border police that control that part of eastjerusalem where these solely sites are. it is not the first time national security minister itamar ben—gvir has visited but it is the first time he has done so as national security minister. he has long said he wants to change the very fragile and sensitive status quo arrangements around israel's holy sites and in particular that site known to muslims as al—aqsa

mosque and to dues as temple mount and this is being seen by the whole arab and muslim world is of a provocation and there has been condemnation from saudi arabia and the united arab emirates as well as the united arab emirates as well as the palestinian foreign ministry and israel has said it would change the status quo agreements. that was on the government's founding principles but already israel's staunch ally the americans said that any change to the status quo they would see as unacceptable. to the status quo they would see as unacceptable-— to the status quo they would see as unacceptable. tom bateman and wet middle east correspondent. - now it's time for a look at the weather with darren. hello there. cloudy, wet weather and windy at times through the rest of today. really, at least it's mild, though. temperatures even this evening in double figures for much of the country. it's a bit chillier across scotland, particularly in the north, where we do have some breaks in the cloud. but even here, we'll see some rain coming in for a while. wet weather continues to affect much of the country. heavier rain over the hills of wales and scotland could lead to some local flooding. the worst of the rain probably

having cleared away, though, by the end of the night, but still a mild one for many parts of the country. temperatures remain in double figures heading into tomorrow. again, it looks quite windy out there, but this time we should see some sunshine, particularly across parts of wales, the midlands, eastern england and areas of scotland. a few showers around, yes, but a stream of showers affect northern ireland, moving to southern scotland and northern england. and there's a bit of rain in the far south west. windy again, particularly across england and wales. but those temperatures actually not rising very much, still essentially in mild air. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the government admits the health service is facing an "unprecedented challenge" amid warnings the strain on it this winter is intolerable. 40,00 members of the rmt union walk out again in their dispute over pay, working conditions and the future of services. 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. brazil's new presidentjoins thousands of mourners paying their respects to football legend pele at the santos stadium. and we've been talking to a guide dogs charity that's recruiting for more volunteers to tackle a shortage of trainers. sport now and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. arsenal will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the premier league table to 10 points tonight. the gunners take on third place newcastle at the emirates stadium — and are on a brilliant run of 10 consecutive home victories but their manager mikel arteta is hoping the fans don't get too ahead of themselves. it's not about stopping anybody, it's about being realistic about where we are. the way we are performing, it's impressive and we are really happy with that

but as well we set the bars and objectives in the short term and where we want to improve and what is making us win that many matches. elsewhere, brighton will be away at everton and leicester are hosting fulham. 4th place manchester united will be looking to continue their good form and take on bournemouth at old trafford. boss erik ten hag says there's a "need" for quality signings this january we have a good team when all of the players are available, but many games are coming up and i think there is a need, you need one who can have an impact, and otherwise you are just burning money. in snooker, the 2021 uk champion zhao xintong is one of two more chinese players who has been suspended by the sports world governing body as part of its on—going investigation into match fixing. 25 year old xintong and his compatriot zhang jiankang bring the total to 10 chinese players who

have been suspended. the wpbsa has released a statement saying any charges will be considered at the end of the investigation. xintong was due to play at the mark selby in the first round of the masters next week at london's alexandra palace. 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 fast bowler impressed in his two tests for england in march 2022, taking six wickets against west indies. since then mahmood suffered a stress fracture in his back meaning he hasn't played competitively since may but the 25 year old be back in action against sri lanka a in the three one—day internationals. luke wood has also been named in the one day lions squad. it might help alleviate the disappointment of his melbourne stars side losing to melbourne renegades in australia's big bash league. he took two wickets, but could only manage one

run as the stars lost by 33 runs at the mcg. his fellow english team mate joe clarke had a bad day too. he opened the batting for stars, but went for a duck. 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 former us open champion will now face victoria kuzmova from slovakia who's ranked outside the top 100 after coming through in three sets against the 17—year—old from the czech republic. raducanu had been a set and a break down before turning things round. no such luck for the british men as there were first round defeats for kyle edmund and andy murray at the adelaide international. murray was edged out 7—6 6—3 to seb korda from the us in a close match — while kyle edmund continued to struggle on his return from injury.

comfortably beaten 6—3 6—2 by the world number 15jannik sinner. novak djokovic started his quest for a 10th australian open later this month in style with a 6—3 6—2 victory against frenchman constant lestienne. he now takes on another french player quentin halys in the next round. that's all the sport for now. back to one of our top stories. a rail strike by 40,000 rmt union members has caused four in five trains to be cancelled today as many people return to work after the christmas break. nigel harris, managing editor at rail magazine, has been looking at some of the issues on the table, including the dispute over driver only train operation. it isa it is a complete red herring. the government _ it is a complete red herring. the government has _ it is a complete red herring. tt2 government has put that in for ideological purposes. you need specialised trains for the drivers

and the transport staff and changes to infrastructure so it is not an issue which is relevant now. but on the other side of the union claims it is unsafe and that is nonsense, we have had this since 1982, half the network, about all the london commuter network runs on this basis and a half of the passengers are safely carried by it. it's purest form when you have a driver and no one else on the train, you have the london tube which carries 4 million people per day perfectly safely, and yet we allow ourselves to be diverted into pointless discussions about this. largely because the government has indeed put this in at the last minute and it is having the effect of, unions were not accepted. it is not what they say it is but it just drags on and we deserve better than this endless discussion —— unions will not accept it.

a bbc investigation has raised questions about how the uk deals with children who are involved in extremism. it found that evidence showing the grooming and sexual exploitation of a schoolgirl was handed to m15 months before she was charged with terror offences. the case against rhianan rudd 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 reports 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. and you can 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. travellers who test positive for covid after arriving in the uk from china will not be forced to quarantine. at the moment, passengers must show a negative test before they board a flight to the uk from china. this can be taken up to 48 hours before departure. passengers can then take an optional test when they arrive. the government said the decision to test those coming into the country on flights from china was about "collecting information" for surveillance. american football star damar hamlin is in a critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest during a primetime us national football league game. the buffalo bills player fell to the ground after colliding with an opponent during the first quarter of a match against the cincinnati bengals. he received on—field medical attention for more than 30 minutes before being taken

to a local hospital. 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 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 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. . 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. the headlines on bbc news... the government admits the health service is facing an "unprecedented challenge" amid warnings the strain on it this winter is intolerable. 40,000 members of the rmt union walk out again in their dispute over pay, working conditions and the future of services. thousands of mourners are lining the streets of santos in brazil to pay their respects to football legend pele. 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.

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 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 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. 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. our correspondent sean dilley has been told he�*ll have to wait two years for his own guide dog — and sean 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. 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 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 dog 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. 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 darren bett. hello there. today�*s weather couldn�*t be more different from what we had yesterday. only the far north of scotland seeing some sunshine earlier on today. for most of us, we�*ve got these weather fronts piling in from the atlantic, bringing cloud, bringing some rain as well. we�*ve got stronger winds, too, but the winds are coming all the way from the atlantic, from the azores, bringing in some higher temperatures even as we head into the evening for much of the country. those temperatures will be in double figures, very mild, but with rain around as well. far north of scotland, seeing some clearer skies. always a bit colder here for a while. but even here, i think we will see some rain overnight. further rain pushes its way eastwards on those strong winds, heavy rain over the hills of wales and also in scotland, threatening some local flooding perhaps by the end of the night, by which time the worst of the rain should have moved away. still very mild, though, out there, away from northern most parts of scotland. heading into tomorrow,

again, it�*s going to be a windy day, but we�*ll see some sunshine this time, particularly through the midlands, eastern parts of england, perhaps some parts of scotland as well. there will be a few showers and we�*ve got this stream of showers affecting northern ireland, moving into southern scotland, the far north of england, bit of rain in the far south west of england. strongest winds are going to be across england and wales, not far away from gale force, perhaps, around some of those hills and coasts in the west. very mild day for most parts of the country. temperatures remain in double figures, around seven degrees, perhaps in northern areas of scotland. but at least we�*ll have some sunshine. as we move into thursday. we�*ve got after a brief respite, another area of low pressure winding in from the atlantic that will bring some stronger winds and some rain as well. ahead of it, it may start dry in many places, a little sunshine, but cloud will tend to increase one or two showers ahead of this main rain that comes into western areas. and in the northwest of the uk, the winds will strengthen significantly with gales likely by the end of the day. but again, those temperatures making

ten degrees in the central belt of scotland, 13 in southern parts of england and wales. it�*s quite a deep area of low pressure, central pressure, nine, seven, eight millibars. that will bring some gusts of 60, maybe 70 miles an hour after dark across scotland. before that moves away, another weather system then begins to arrive in from the atlantic in time for the start of the weekend. so, essentially, we just keep this very unsettled weather going by the end of the week into the weekend as well. showers, perhaps some longer spells of rain. windy at times, but still mild.

still essentially in mild air. this is bbc news. the headlines... the government admits the health service is facing an "unprecedented challenge" amid warnings the strain on it this winter is intolerable 40,000 members of the rmt union have walked out again in their dispute over pay, working conditions and the future of services. we need the government to come to its senses so that the passengers can get what they need from the railway and that our members can get a decent settlement. i want those employers and trade unions around the table and trying to hammer out a deal so that we can get this dispute resolved so that we can have a brighter future for the rail industry. 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 of mourners are lining the streets of santos in brazil to pay their respects to football legend pele. we can see the live pictures from brazilian city now, where thousands of people are lining streets for the farewell procession for pele. archie — touch! and where the shortage of volunteer guide dog trainers means visually impaired people are meaning, needing to wait longer to get a guide dog. downing street has admitted that the nhs is facing downing street has admitted that the nhs is facing an "unprecedented challenge" but insists the government is doing "everything possible" to ease pressure. senior doctors have spoken of the "unsustainable" pressure facing the nhs with some a&es described as being in a "complete state of crisis". labour criticised the government�*s

management of the health service, while the liberal democrats called for parliament to be recalled early. here�*s our health correspondent katharine da costa. november alpha 332 receiving. this isn�*t the first winter crisis that the nhs faces, but clinicians across the uk warn it could be one of the worst. staff shortages, a lack of beds and not enough social care provision are part of the problem. we need to find some space for you. it often results in long waits to be admitted. john rimmer�*s grandmother was taken to hospital with pneumonia last week and was left on a trolley for more than 30 hours. it was a reallyjust horrendous situation for her. she was obviously already very distressed, seriously ill. she was then placed in a corridor, lights on, and, yeah, just was very distressed, very upset, as we all were. and she was then placed in a corridor, lights on, no hot food, lots of noise, not very restful at all.

and, yeah, just was very distressed, very upset, as we all were. adding to the burden on the nhs, high levels of covid, flu and strep a. nhs england say 9,500 patients are in hospital with covid, plus nearly 4,000 people are being treated for flu, meaning 13% of hospital beds in england are taken up with those two viruses. so as schools prepare to return, both adults and children are being urged to stay home with a fever and take up a flu jab to avoid infecting others. i 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 the simple reality here 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. despite increased demand, nhs england says there has been progress, with record numbers of patients getting cancer checks and starting treatment. ministers say the health service is a top priority, with extra investment to help discharge patients. cheering, car horns beep. butjust days into the new year and pressure�*s building on of the uk government to avert a crisis, as health unions prepare a fresh round of strikes within weeks. katharine da costa, bbc news. i�*m joined now in the studio by nigel edwards, chief executive at the nuffield trust. thank you for coming in and nice to have somebody in the studio with us. what do you believe would lead the eight some of these pressures we are speaking about?— speaking about? there are some big lona term speaking about? there are some big long term problems _ speaking about? there are some big long term problems within _ speaking about? there are some big long term problems within the - long term problems within the immediate period now the priority is probably— immediate period now the priority is probably to get the significant numbers of patients in hospital who could _ numbers of patients in hospital who could be _ numbers of patients in hospital who could be cared for either at home or in nursing _ could be cared for either at home or in nursing homes out of the hospital so that_ in nursing homes out of the hospital so that nursing departments can move patients— so that nursing departments can move patients into the wards and ambulances can offer those patient

safety _ ambulances can offer those patient safety and emergency departments because _ safety and emergency departments because the problem is overcrowding in the _ because the problem is overcrowding in the system is associated with bad outcomes _ in the system is associated with bad outcomes for patients. that in the system is associated with bad outcomes for patients.— outcomes for patients. that it was total care- — outcomes for patients. that it was total care- is _ outcomes for patients. that it was total care. is it— outcomes for patients. that it was total care. is it to _ outcomes for patients. that it was total care. is it to do _ outcomes for patients. that it was total care. is it to do with - outcomes for patients. that it was total care. is it to do with what - total care. is it to do with what people will receive once they get home? ~ . ., ., people will receive once they get home? ~ . ., home? much a social care. it has also been — home? much a social care. it has also been a _ home? much a social care. it has also been a decline _ home? much a social care. it has also been a decline in _ home? much a social care. it has also been a decline in the - also been a decline in the availability of community nursing as well the _ availability of community nursing as well the big problem availability of community nursing as wellthe big problem in availability of community nursing as well the big problem in social care visit is _ well the big problem in social care visit is quite a fragmented market and people working on it often don't have a _ and people working on it often don't have a career structure and they are being _ have a career structure and they are being outbid by the likes of audi in lidl being outbid by the likes of audi in lid! and _ being outbid by the likes of audi in lidl and amazon so it is a really fragmented and broken system and unless— fragmented and broken system and unless that is fixed then i think this problem the hospitals willjust persist _ this problem the hospitals will 'ust ersist. �* ., this problem the hospitals will 'ust ersist. . ., , ., ., persist. away from the hospital, at the door of— persist. away from the hospital, at the door of the _ persist. away from the hospital, at the door of the hospital, _ persist. away from the hospital, at the door of the hospital, we - persist. away from the hospital, at the door of the hospital, we know. the door of the hospital, we know that ambulances are sometimes been kept a very long time with patients on board who can be put into the hospital but we are hearing this afternoon that some hospitals in london, ambulances in london are going to make sure patients stay for 45 minutes on the vehicle and then putting them into a&e. how wise is

that? it putting them into a&e. how wise is that? , ., ., , ., putting them into a&e. how wise is that? ., , ., ., . that? it is a whole set of balancing risks here- — that? it is a whole set of balancing risks here. you're _ that? it is a whole set of balancing risks here. you're really _ that? it is a whole set of balancing risks here. you're really asking - that? it is a whole set of balancing j risks here. you're really asking me risks here. you�*re really asking me which of a series of not very satisfactory solutions do we prefer and the answer is that may be a short—term solution. the problem is there is very good evidence overcrowded emergency departments are not very safe places for patients even if you�*re going to move patients out of the emergency department into the ward and overcrowd those that causes problems too so really the trick here is to try and reduce overcrowding like the way across the system which, as i was just saying, really takes you back to the fact we�*ve got a lot of people in bed in hospital who don�*t need to be there but there is no murder at the moment say for them to go. murder at the moment say for them to .o, g , murder at the moment say for them to to, �* , ., , murder at the moment say for them to go. just that there is no web at the moment. go. just that there is no web at the moment- gps _ go. just that there is no web at the moment. gps are _ go. just that there is no web at the moment. gps are battling - go. just that there is no web at the moment. gps are battling people | go. just that there is no web at the i moment. gps are battling people with demand? gt?! moment. gps are battling people with demand? , ., , , ., �* demand? gp demand is up and we've lost uite demand? gp demand is up and we've lost tuite a demand? gp demand is up and we've lost quite a few— demand? gp demand is up and we've lost quite a few gps _ demand? gp demand is up and we've lost quite a few gps over _ demand? gp demand is up and we've lost quite a few gps over the - demand? gp demand is up and we've lost quite a few gps over the years. l lost quite a few gps over the years. there are more staff in general practice at the moment but they are not gps, the other people supporting general practice. we have some good ideas of how to support general practice. quite big pieces of

management change and it is very hard to do that if you�*re trying to squeeze it into half an hour before surgery once a week. you actually need to do this thing properly and they are so busy firefighting i think that there are opportunities to change the way they work properly of a bit limited. brute to change the way they work properly of a bit limited.— of a bit limited. we have also seen strikes in some _ of a bit limited. we have also seen strikes in some parts _ of a bit limited. we have also seen strikes in some parts of— of a bit limited. we have also seen strikes in some parts of the - of a bit limited. we have also seen strikes in some parts of the health | strikes in some parts of the health care system, ambulances, certain unions for sure. to what extent would better pay which some of the unions ask for resolve any of these problems? tt unions ask for resolve any of these roblems? , ., ., ., ~' unions ask for resolve any of these roblems? , ., ., ., ~ ., unions ask for resolve any of these problems?— problems? if you look at what has ha-tened problems? if you look at what has happened to _ problems? if you look at what has happened to pay _ problems? if you look at what has happened to pay and _ problems? if you look at what has happened to pay and health - problems? if you look at what has happened to pay and health care i problems? if you look at what has| happened to pay and health care in the last ten years real terms pay has definitely fallen and it is an issue but i think pay is more symbolic of a bigger problem about how much people are working, how much they looked after in their jobs, do they have access to meal that night, have access to somewhere to change, have they got manageable workloads and i think simply salting out pay without dealing with those of the problems won�*t simply solve the problem and also it is not yet

fixed the pension problems which of them to fix a smaller number of people is causing some serious issues not to reduce their hours or, in fact, it is causing some serious issues not to reduce their hours or, in fact, in some places to retire. so a bit of the equation that it is not going to fix the problem. iflhiei! not going to fix the problem. chief executive of _ not going to fix the problem. chief executive of the _ not going to fix the problem. chief executive of the nuffield trust, thank you very much forjoining us. straight to westminster where we can get more from a deputy political editor peter young. how much pressure as the covenant under to do something to further support the nhs? ——let�*s go to westminster now and get more now from our deputy political editor vicki young. how much pressure is the covenant under? there are lots of voters who don�*t trust the conservatives when it comes to the nhs i think the prime minister is well aware that something needs to be done. it is interesting that your previous guest talking about other issues apart from pay. ministers are adamant that those pay settlements are closed. they are not going to be reopened but that they say that they are willing to talk about some of the other things that we were hearing

about there. whether that is the way the voters are drawn up, the conditions that workers are facing —— the way that rotas are drawn up. workload, we could lend working, all the rest of it, those are things they say they will be able to would like to dog the union about —— —— weekend working. —— they would like to talk to the unions about. the other she was also these dishes long—term issues in the conservative government under rishi sunak of course has two years until the next general election and how much will he be hoping he can achieve in that time? i think the immediate task was to try and calm things down every year of political turmoil. maybe you could say seven years of political turmoil but i think now it is going to be a livery. whether he can do that well the strikes are clearly having an impact this might know it is going to be about delivery. but he can do that while these strikes are having on pets we don�*t know but

that will very clearly be reopened. just make these strikes are having an impact. just make these strikes are having an imact. . just make these strikes are having an imact. t just make these strikes are having an imact. , , ., an impact. impact huge numbers of vacancies in — an impact. impact huge numbers of vacancies in the _ an impact. impact huge numbers of vacancies in the health _ an impact. impact huge numbers of vacancies in the health service - an impact. impact huge numbers of vacancies in the health service and| vacancies in the health service and how we fund social care? you vacancies in the health service and how we fund social care?— how we fund social care? you talk about social _ how we fund social care? you talk about social care _ how we fund social care? you talk about social care and _ how we fund social care? you talk about social care and for- how we fund social care? you talk about social care and for several. about social care and for several years under different governments of course the reform of the system, not just putting money into it, something the government is doing, putting them into social care but actually changing the way the whole system works, that is a much more difficult issue and, actually, several health secretaries and prime ministers have really stepped away from doing any kind of radical reform in that area, even though they�*ve all promised that they would, and i think that is frustrating for many people. a number of people in the workforce. of number of people in the workforce. of course it takes a long time to train doctors particularly book nurses as well so even though more might be coming into that position, it takes a long time for them to actually start working in the nhs so all of that means there are long—term issues and, realistically, they are not all going to be solved

between now and the next general election so it is about not short—term, it is about looking longer term at what would help and i think really that is where people will be looking to rishi sunak in the coming months to really make it clear what he thinks he can achieve and how he is going to do it. thank ou ve and how he is going to do it. thank you very much- _ and how he is going to do it. thank you very much. the _ and how he is going to do it. thank you very much. the and _ and how he is going to do it. thank you very much. the and in - you very much. the and in westminster. ——vicki young in westminster. commuters returning to work after the christmas break face 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.0ur business correspondent theo leggett reports. 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 karine.

she�*s on a zero—hours contract and needs to get to work. i�*m completely reliant on the trains. 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 till things try, you know, 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're doing is, you know, damaging the industry long—term, aren't they? we need a good infrastructure

to support people getting off the roads. we think everybody's 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. offers 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 pay offer 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, and at the moment, the signals aren�*t promising. our correspondent gareth barlow is at euston station in central london. whenever i normally pass the euston, it is very, very busy, unlike today. very much so, unlike today. there�*s been a quiet day and it started with

that picket line outside the front of the station. nick lynx, mick lynch and other members of the avanti gathered and i think at some point there were more members of the media than striking picketers. miss mick lynch and other members of the rmt union. —— mick lynch and other members of the rmt union. there are trains heading to crewe but no trains heading to places like carlisle, edinburgh or glasgow from euston and the last train and station stops at 7pm which is far from usualfor a major station stops at 7pm which is far from usual for a major terminus station stops at 7pm which is far from usualfor a major terminus like euston and that has been represented across the uk in england scotland and wales and has been represented today —— repeated today. rmt and wales and has been represented today -- repeated today.— today -- repeated today. rmt union now, then aslef _ today -- repeated today. rmt union now, then aslef union _ today -- repeated today. rmt union now, then aslef union on _ today -- repeated today. rmt union now, then aslef union on thursday, | now, then aslef union on thursday, then on saturday what we have seen

today, rmt union is back out on strike. that means there is also expected disruption on sunday as well because trains and twinkies might be in the violent place at the right time. —— trains and train crews. the warning for network rail is just don�*t use the trains at all this week. the question we are all asking as well as get result? government unions and management companies wanted to be resolved but it still seems as though that is some way off. it still seems as though that is some way off-— it still seems as though that is some way off. gareth, thank you. gareth barlow _ some way off. gareth, thank you. gareth barlow at _ some way off. gareth, thank you. gareth barlow at euston - some way off. gareth, thank you. gareth barlow at euston station. l the headlines on bbc news... the government admits the health service is facing an "unprecedented challenge" amid warnings the strain on it this winter is intolerable new year disruption on the railways with another strike — as 40,000 members of the rmt

union walk out again in their dispute over pay, working conditions and the future of services. thousands of mourners line the streets of santos in brazil to pay their respects to football legend pele. let�*s stay with that story now. a funeral procession is underway in the city of santos for the footballing legend pele. we can show you the live pictures of it making its way slowly through the streets and you can just see how many have turned out to pay their last respects the player who was the only person ever to win the world cup three times and died last week at the age of 82. you will recall that the brazilian government decided to declare three days of national mourning after his death and we�*ve seen the country�*s new president, luiz ignacio lola to, travelling to santos in the state of south paolo on the coast of that

great city to pay his respects as the 24 hour president being held. we were hearing today... people came to see perley�*s cousin where it was laid in the centre of the pitch at the stadium and for fans to go and slowly pass by a net went to see pele�*s coffin. this procession through the streets of santos culminates in a variable, a private burial for pelee�*s family and he will be laid to rest at the first day in his five down excessive sentence and that overlooks the stadium he play for most of his career. those are the latest pictures from brazil.

the player, who was the only person ever to win the world cup three times, died last week at the age of 82. 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 in the accident. our correspondent has shaimaa khalil sent this report. a popular tourist destination turned to disaster zone. stunned, while others rushed to help. this is the scene in australia�*s gold coast after two helicopters collided in midair. the one helicopter that was taking off appears. its main rotors have collided with the landing helicopter. caused 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. the crash took place near the sea world theme park. one of the choppers had the resort�*s branding on its hull. 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. and 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. in fact, one of the eye—witnesses 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. 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 sea world�*s helicopters�* most experienced pilots. his friends remember him as a big guy with a big heart. silent hero, big, gentle giant. 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 wouldn�*t have got

the help that they got down there. investigators are still trying to work out what caused the deadly collision and what happened the momentsjust before impact. for now, the tributes continue. families mourn their loved ones, with community still in shock over the tragedy that hit their shores. shaimaa khalil, bbc newsline. the uk is preparing to declare formally that iran�*s revolutionary guards corps is a terrorist organisation. that would mean it would be a terrorist offence to join the people to vote any of its activities. james landale joins us now. to vote any of its activities. james landalejoins us now. tell us more about who these guards are. thea;t about who these guards are. they were one of _ about who these guards are. they were one of the _ about who these guards are. they were one of the most _ about who these guards are. tt2 were one of the most powerful paramilitary groups the middle east. set up over 40 years to specifically

defend iran�*s islamic revolution after they overthrew the shah and since then they have huge power not just in iran but across the middle east. they have military power, political power, economic power. they run huge swathes of the country�*s economy and have huge influence in countries the middle east where basic port paramilitary and other groups many within the british in the west do not support in any shape or form. the british have long opposed a lot of what�*s on the irgc as they are known by the acronym do, recently because they�*ve been doing to try and quell the anti—government protests in iran the government has imposed sanctions on this body. now there is an expectation the british government is going to go even further and formally declare it a terrorist organisation. they might be obvious for some but it is a technical, legal process when governments do it

and it means that what the government could do then is make it a formal criminal offence for anybody to be a member of this, to support this group, and so for example of the british company find it supporting, i don�*t know, and iranian cement company that does business in the irgc, that would no longer be able to happen. haifa business in the irgc, that would no longer be able to happen. how long will it take? — longer be able to happen. how long will it take? peek _ longer be able to happen. how long will it take? peek like _ longer be able to happen. how long will it take? peek like it _ longer be able to happen. how long will it take? peek like it will - longer be able to happen. how long will it take? peek like it will take i will it take? peek like it will take a bit of time. the decision is imminent because it is a very formal legal process that has to go through an awful lot of hopes and if the british, gets it wrong potentially the decision is open to judicial review in the courts and things like that. that has happened in one or two occasions in the past when the british government has tried to formally prescribe a terrorist organisation in the legal niceties once sorted out. i�*m afraid they haven�*t got to that position yet but it is the intention of the government to go and do this and this will be something i think there will be substantial parliamentary support role. there was a report just before christmas and the foreign affairs committee saying this is exactly what the government

should do. if i minister himself sounded pretty supportive of this when he was asked about it back in the last summerjust might be prime minister himself. i think the strong expectation this is now going to happen. studio: thank you, james landale. you could say i was live dell was in the cost of living is payments a family for 8 million people means tested and if it�*s in all of them would have received previous cost of living patients in two instalments totalling £650 since the summer and what the government has told us before is that this group will receive another £900 in total in the months to come but now we�*ve got a

bit more detail. we knew that was coming but now we have some more detail on the exact timings and what they are going to get and when and basically it is going to be divided into three equal chunks about £300 each time in the first one will be in the spring. the second payments will be paid and these are all automatic and will be paid in the autumn and then the third and final one will be next spring, 2024 and there will also be payments for people with disabilities. they will receive £150 in the summer and then pensioners often have much higher energy bills because they need to keep the heating on for longer and so they will receive £300 next winter as well and these are obviously all part of the package of methods the government brought in to try and help people these extremely high energy bills we are all facing. studio: you say these payments will

be automatic but how will they be received? , ., be automatic but how will they be received? , t, , . received? they are perceived automatically _ received? they are perceived automatically into _ received? they are perceived automatically into the - received? they are perceived automatically into the same l received? they are perceived - automatically into the same bank account or building society account that you would receive your benefits and they are an automatic payment for these groups of people. we have also got used it was because it is a £400 discount for everyone. all bill payers received £400 knocked off their energy bills over this winter and that came in instalments again £66 or so a month over the winter months and what we had pretty much confirmed today is that that will be coming to an end and the timing that this is significant to us of course because bills in general has been giving up in the price cap becoming a set which means the typical household bill, £2500 a year for their gas and electricity and that is going to be going up for £3000

for typical household. you can see why charities are saying actually this is going to be a difficult time because bills will be going up. although the cost of living payments have in place in the covenant says they are supporting people significantly charities are saying actually the government needs to be doing more because we�*ll all be facing higher energy bills so it might be a new year but clearly they are very familiar debate about energy bills and the cost of living in general. 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. well, that half—hour whizzed by. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with darren bett for chile, scotland, west of the rain for having played away by the end of the night, still a mild one, many that the night, still a mild one, many backcountry temperatures remain in double figures. this may actually win in scotland. this time we should see some time particularly across parts of wales, midlands, eastern england in areas of scotland, few shows around, string of showers affecting northern ireland, moving to southern scotland, northern england, bit of rain in the far south—west. when the again particularly across england and wales at this temperature is actually not rising very much. still

essentially in mild air and temperature is essentially about 7 degrees in northern scotland.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... the government admits the health service is facing an "unprecedented challenge" amid warnings the strain on it this winter is intolerable. new year disruption on the railways with another strike — as 40,000 members of the rmt union walk out again in their dispute over pay, working conditions and the future of services. 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 of mourners line the streets of santos in brazil to pay their respects to football legend pele. and why a shortage of volunteer puppy trainers means visually impaired people are having to wait longer to get a guide dog.

sport now and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. arsenal will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the premier league table to 10 points tonight. the gunners take on third place newcastle at the emirates stadium — and are on a brilliant run of 10 consecutive home victories but their manager mikel arteta is hoping the fans don�*t get too ahead of themselves. it�*s not about stopping anybody, it�*s about being realistic about where we are. the way we are performing, it�*s impressive and we are really happy with that but as well we set the bars and objectives in the short term and where we want to improve and what is making us win that many matches. elsewhere, brighton will be away at everton and leicester are hosting fulham. 4th place manchester united will be looking to continue their good form

and take on bournemouth at old trafford. boss erik ten hag says there�*s a "need" for quality signings this january. we have a good team when all of the players are available, but many games are coming up and i think there is a need, you need one who can have an impact, and otherwise you are just burning money. chelsea are in talks with benfica about signing argentinia midfielder enzo fernandez. the 21—year—old helped his country to win the world cup and was named the young player of the tournament. he onlyjoined the portugese side in august with a release clause in his contract of £106 million. if chelsea pay that, he�*ll become the club�*s record signing. cristiano ronaldo is expected to be officially presented as an al nassr player in riyadh in around an hour. the former real madrid, manchester united and juventus starflew to saudi arabia

to undergo a medical. he�*s then expected to appear in the official club colours at a packed out stadium. last week the 37 year old signed a contract until 2025 and will reportedly receive the biggest football salary in history at more than £177 million per year. in snooker, the 2021 uk champion zhao xintong is one of two more chinese players who has been suspended by the sports world governing body as part of its on—going investigation into match fixing. 25 year old xintong and his compatriot zhang jiankang bring the total to 10 chinese players who have been suspended. the wpbsa has released a statement saying any charges will be considered at the end of the investigation. xintong was due to play at the mark selby in the first round of the masters next week at london�*s alexandra palace. 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 fast bowler impressed in his two tests for england in march 2022, taking six wickets against west indies. since then mahmood suffered a stress fracture in his back meaning he hasn�*t played competitively since may but the 25 year old be back in action against sri lanka a in the three one—day internationals. andy murray has started the 2023 tennis season with a disappointing defeat in the first round at the adelaide international. the 35 year old lost 7—6 6—3 to seb korda from the us who is ranked 33rd in the world. kyle edmund was also knocked out in the first round 6—3 6—2 by the italian sixth seed jannick sinner. meanwhile, novak djokovic started his quest for a 10th australian open later this month in style with a straight sets win against frenchman constant lestienne. he now takes on another french player quentin halys in the next round.

american motorsport legend and youtube star ken block has died in a snowmobile accident in utah at the age of 55. a competitive rally driver in series such as rally america and global rallycross, he earned wide renown later in life for his "gymkhana" video series on youtube. the 10—part series, in which he performed daring racing feats, earned him nearly two million subscribers. that�*s all the sport for now. let�*s get more now on our top story — the admission by the government that the nhs is facing an "unprecedented challenge" this winter. let�*s talk to nick hulme, chief executive of east suffolk & north essex nhs trust. thanks forjoining us. this is no doubt a very busy day, how many people are coming in compared to what you might have regarded as normal? , , ., .,

normal? the numbers are what will exect for normal? the numbers are what will expect for this _ normal? the numbers are what will expect for this type _ normal? the numbers are what will expect for this type of _ normal? the numbers are what will expect for this type of year - normal? the numbers are what will expect for this type of year but - normal? the numbers are what will expect for this type of year but the | expect for this type of year but the problem is the acuity of patients, they are more seriously ill than we would have expected, with the flow and covid causing a real problem in getting patients to the a&e department safely into beds and safely out to be discharged back to their homes or into community settings with social health care. what temporary arrangements have you put in place to cope? itide what temporary arrangements have you put in place to cope?— put in place to cope? we have been uttint in put in place to cope? we have been putting in contingency _ put in place to cope? we have been putting in contingency plans - put in place to cope? we have been putting in contingency plans since l putting in contingency plans since june but even the worst—case scenario has unfortunately not been sufficient in terms of planning so for the first time ever we have had to return our physio into impatient areas and we have doubly in colchester, we did this with help with the whole team coming together. patients are safe in there and it is a judgment about safety. we believe

that treating patients in these temporary inpatient areas is better than leaving them in the back of ambulances, so it is not ideal, it was not part of the original planning but this is something we have had to do for the time being. we hope it will be short—term and we hope with the flu numbers levelling off, at the virus numbers levelling off, at the virus numbers levelling off, it would be a short—term measure but it is the safest thing we can do in the circumstances. t am we can do in the circumstances. i am told that despite _ we can do in the circumstances. i am told that despite these _ we can do in the circumstances. i am told that despite these extra measures you were still having to send people away from a&e? where were you sending them? tt is were you sending them? it is important — were you sending them? it is important that _ were you sending them? tt 3 important that people do not attend six departments unless they have a commission that requires urgent care. —— attend a&e departments we have treated people and said you will have a long wait but if you want to wake you can. we believe the circumstances are such at the moment that with the system and everyone

coming together, we need to send people away. after a formal assessment. we will not send anyone away without an assessment but if the clinical view is that someone does not require urgent or emergency care we are sending them back, phoning 111 for advice, for care, or to go to their gp, and all the services are under pressure as well but it is important that people do not attend a&e departments unless they need is urgent, otherwise the specialist staff would be tied up treating those patients rather than three double treating those patients who have severe illness who really need that specialist care. —— rather than freed up treating. itibi’htzit need that specialist care. -- rather than freed up treating.— than freed up treating. what is the res-onse than freed up treating. what is the response you _ than freed up treating. what is the response you get _ than freed up treating. what is the response you get from _ than freed up treating. what is the response you get from people - than freed up treating. what is the l response you get from people when you say you should not be here? people say they don�*t mind waiting ten hours but i was speaking to a patient today who has had a bad back for three weeks and thought they would come in and get it sorted, we are not in a position to see those patients at the moment. ordinarily

if the pressure was not severe we may be in a position albeit not ideal, but i think people do expect, we have been very clear in the last few days and weeks, that the nhs is under severe pressure so it is important that people help us to help themselves so we can keep the a&e departments as clear as we can for urgent cases and we can get the ambulances back on the road and provide care to those who need it in our hospitals. provide care to those who need it in our hospitals-— our hospitals. when in rome long career had — our hospitals. when in rome long career had he _ our hospitals. when in rome long career had he known _ our hospitals. when in rome long career had he known it _ our hospitals. when in rome long career had he known it like - our hospitals. when in rome long career had he known it like this i career had he known it like this before? —— when in rome on clay. t before? —— when in rome on clay. i have never known it as bad as before? —— when in rome on clay. t have never known it as bad as there certainly with the acuity of the patients. i have never been in a position where i have had to open physiojim is outpatient departments to accommodate patients overnight. i am hoping it is a short—term and clearly we had contingency planning of the early days of covid so we had

plans for that period but we did not have them for the period for this winter. although we have mobilised those services as safely as we can. i�*m hoping it will be short—term. it has to be short—term because we cannot go on like this. has to be short-term because we cannot go on like this.— has to be short-term because we cannot go on like this. what extra su ort cannot go on like this. what extra support do _ cannot go on like this. what extra support do you — cannot go on like this. what extra support do you want _ cannot go on like this. what extra support do you want to _ cannot go on like this. what extra support do you want to see - cannot go on like this. what extra support do you want to see from | cannot go on like this. what extra i support do you want to see from the government to help you out of this immediate position and also to alleviate the longer term problems? we need a solution to industrial action as soon as possible and we need the government at the unions to come together to find a solution thatis come together to find a solution that is both fair but also affordable. we need a long—term solution to social care funding and to the social care challenges. we need a solution to workforce in the medium and long term, but most importantly the nhs should not be used as a political football, and all of these issues should be cross—party. we need everyone to come together to find solutions. where ever they come from, and for people to work together to put the investment into the right place. we

know that too many people are in acute hospital care that do not need to be there and often for the lack of investment in primary care and community care and social care so at a local level the system to be —— local level we need to be able to make those decisions and at a national level we need to make sure it is funded. we need to make sure we are not working in a difficult situation where people are getting into arguments about the best way to find a solution. there is a solution but it needs people to come together to find it. the but it needs people to come together to find it. t t but it needs people to come together to find it. t . t, but it needs people to come together to find it. t t t, t, to find it. the chief executive of a suffolk and _ to find it. the chief executive of a suffolk and north essex, - to find it. the chief executive of a suffolk and north essex, thanks i to find it. the chief executive of a l suffolk and north essex, thanks for joining us.

a bbc investigation has raised questions about how the uk deals with children who are involved in extremism. it found that evidence showing the grooming and sexual exploitation of a schoolgirl was handed to m15 months before she was charged with terror offences. the case against rhianan rudd 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 reports. 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, "ok, 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. and you can watch the full investigation on bbc iplayer now. the headlines on bbc news...

the government admits the health service is facing an "unprecedented challenge" amid warnings the strain on it this winter is intolerable. new year disruption on the railways with another strike — as 40,000 members of the rmt union walk out again in their dispute over pay, working conditions and the future of services. 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 forjews to be allowed to pray there too. the palestinian authority has condemned the visit, calling it an unprecedented provocation. for more let�*s hear from tom bateman,

our middle east correspondent. well, itamar ben—gvir visited the site first thing this morning, he walked around and strolled for about 15 minutes or so, no indication that he prayed at the the site, and no indication that he directly approached al—asqa mosque, and then he left. now, eyewitnesses said that palestinians were barred from the site while this took place. one said that people felt frightened, they saw it as a direct challenge to their muslim identity. but the key point here is that mr ben—gvir is a far—right agitator who has, in the last week, become israel�*s minister of national security. that means he controls the police in israel, he controls militarised border police that control that part of eastjerusalem and where these very sensitive holy sites are. it�*s not the first time he�*s 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 atjerusalem�*s holy sites, and particularly that site know to muslims as haram al—sharif, tojews as temple mount. and so this is being seen notjust by palestinians but by the wider arab and muslim world as a very severe provocation. there has been condemnation this afternoon from saudi arabia, from the united arab emirates,

as well as the palestinian foreign ministry. israel has said it won�*t 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 any change to the status quo they would see as unacceptable. tom bateman, there. they would see as unacceptable. 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. american football star damar hamlin is in a critical

condition after suffering a cardiac arrest during a primetime us national football league game. the buffalo bills player fell to the ground after colliding with an opponent during the first quarter of a match against the cincinnati bengals. he received on—field medical attention for more than 30 minutes before being taken to a local hospital. 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, ok, 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. 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 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 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. 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 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. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with darren. hello, there. today�*s weather couldn�*t be more different from what we had yesterday. only the far north of scotland seeing some sunshine earlier on today. for most of us, we�*ve got these weather fronts piling in from the atlantic, bringing cloud, bringing some rain as well. we�*ve got stronger winds, too, but the winds are coming all the way from the atlantic, from the azores, bringing in some higher temperatures even as we head into the evening for much

of the country. those temperatures will be in double figures, very mild, but with rain around. far north of scotland, seeing some clearer skies. always a bit colder here for a while. but even here, i think we will see some rain overnight. further rain pushes its way eastwards on those strong winds, heavy rain over the hills of wales and also in scotland, threatening some local flooding perhaps by the end of the night, by which time the worst of the rain should have moved away. still very mild, though, out there, away from northern most parts of scotland. heading into tomorrow, again, it�*s going to be a windy day, but we�*ll see some sunshine this time, particularly through the midlands, eastern parts of england, perhaps some parts of scotland, as well. there will be a few showers and we�*ve got this stream of showers affecting northern ireland, moving into southern scotland, the far north of england, bit of rain in the far south west of england. strongest winds are going to be across england and wales, not far away from gale force, perhaps, around some of those hills and coasts in the west. very mild day for most parts of the country. temperatures remain in double figures, around seven degrees, perhaps in northern areas of scotland but at least we�*ll have some sunshine.

as we move into thursday we�*ve got a brief respite, another area of low pressure winding in from the atlantic that will bring some stronger winds and some rain as well. ahead of it, it may start dry in many places, a little sunshine, but cloud will tend to increase one or two showers ahead of this main rain that comes into western areas. and in the northwest of the uk, the winds will strengthen significantly with gales likely by the end of the day. but again, those temperatures making ten degrees in the central belt of scotland, 13 in southern parts of england and wales. it�*s quite a deep area of low pressure, central pressure, nine, seven, eight millibars. that will bring some gusts of 60, maybe 70 miles an hour after dark across scotland. before that moves away, another weather system then begins to arrive in from the atlantic in time for the start of the weekend. so, essentially, we just keep this very unsettled weather going by the end of the week into the weekend as well. showers, perhaps some longer spells of rain. windy at times, but still mild.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the government admits the health service is facing an "unprecedented challenge" amid warnings the strain on it this winter is intolerable new year disruption on the railways with another strike, as 40,000 members of the rmt union walk out again in their dispute over pay, working conditions and the future of services. i�*v e i�*ve had to open physio gyms are outpatient departments to accommodate inpatients overnight. i�*m hoping it short term. it has to be short—term. we cannot go on like this. new year disruption on the railways with another strike, as 40,000 members of the rmt union walk out again in their dispute over pay, working conditions and the future of services. 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 of mourners line the streets of santos in brazil to pay their respects to football legend pele. archie — touch! and why a shortage of volunteer puppy trainers means visually impaired people are having to wait longer to get a guide dog. downing street has admitted that the nhs is facing an "unprecedented challenge" but insists the government is doing "everything possible" to ease pressure. senior doctors have spoken of the "unsustainable" pressure facing the nhs with some a&es described as being in a "complete state of crisis". labour criticised the government�*s management of the health service, while the liberal democrats called for parliament to be recalled early. here�*s our health correspondent katharine da costa. november alpha 332 receiving. this isn�*t the first winter crisis that the nhs faces,

but clinicians across the uk warn it could be one of the worst. staff shortages, a lack of beds and not enough social care provision are part of the problem. we need to find some space for you. it often results in long waits to be admitted. john rimmer�*s grandmother was taken to hospital with pneumonia last week and was left on a trolley for more than 30 hours. it was a reallyjust horrendous situation for her. she was obviously already very distressed, very seriously ill, and she was then placed in a corridor, lights on, no hot food, lots of noise, not very restful at all. and, yeah, just was very distressed, very upset, as we all were. adding to the burden on the nhs are high levels of covid, flu and strep a.

nhs england say 9,500 patients are in hospital with covid, plus nearly 4,000 people are being treated for flu, meaning 13% of hospital beds in england are taken up with those two viruses. so as schools prepare to return, both adults and children are being urged to stay home with a fever and take up a flu jab to avoid infecting others. i 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 here is that the health service is caught between the fact that it has limited capacity, the simple reality here 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. despite increased demand, nhs england says there has been progress, with record numbers of patients getting cancer checks and starting treatment. ministers say the health service is a top priority, with extra investment to help discharge patients. cheering, car horns beep.

butjust days into the new year and pressure�*s building on of the uk government to avert a crisis, as health unions prepare a fresh round of strikes within weeks. katharine da costa, bbc news. earlier i spoke to nick hulme, chief executive of east suffolk & north essex nhs trust — he told me about the pressures his hospital is facing people saying, look, we don�*t mind waitin- ten hours but as i was waiting ten hours but as i was speaking to a patient today, he�*s had a bad back for three weeks and has got two days of work and thought they�*d come and get it sorted. we are really not in a position to see this patients at the moment. ordinarily, if the pressure wasn�*t so severe in a neat departments we may be in a position, albeit not ideally, we may be in a position to see this patient�*s —— in a&e departments. but i think people do expect... the media has been very clear over the last few days and weeks that the nhs is under severe

pressure so it is important that people help us to help themselves of the can keep our a&e departments as clear as we can for urgent cases and get ambulances back in the vote and more importantly provide safe and appropriate care to people that need it in a hospital —— ambulances back on the roads. it in a hospital -- ambulances back on the roads-— it in a hospital -- ambulances back on the roads. when before the new lower on the roads. when before the new longer they — on the roads. when before the new longer they have _ on the roads. when before the new longer they have known _ on the roads. when before the new longer they have known it - on the roads. when before the new longer they have known it like - on the roads. when before the new| longer they have known it like this? i have never known it as bad as this, certainly with the acuity of the patients coming through, particularly the elderly, particularly the elderly, particularly the elderly, particularly the frail elderly. i have never been in a position where i have had to open physio gyms and outpatient departments to accommodate inpatients. i�*m hoping it short—term. clearly, we had a lot of contingency planning in the early days of covid—19 so we did have those contingency plans for that period. we didn�*t have those for the periods of this winter although we mobilise their services as safely as we can. i�*m hoping it can be short—term. it has to be short—term. we cannot go on like this. what extra support you want to see from the government to help you answer

this immediate position and also to alleviate the longer term problems? i think we need a solution to industrial action as soon as possible. we need the government and the unions i think to come together to find a solution that is both fair but also affordable. i also, i think, we need a long—term solution to social care funding and to the social care challenges. we need a solution to the workforce, immediate solution to the workforce, immediate solution to the workforce, immediate solution to workforce and most importantly it is that the nhs isn�*t used as a political football. all of theseissues used as a political football. all of these issues should be cross—party. we need everybody to come together to find solutions. wherever we come from we�*ve got to find people to come together to put the investment in the right place. we know that far too many people in acute hospital care that don�*t need to be there, often for the lack of investment in primary care, community care and social care, so at a local level the systems need to make those decisions and at a national level we need to make sure that the nhs is correctly funded. we have long—term solutions

to workforce and that we come together to find solutions rather than working in a difficult situation where people are getting into arguments about the best way to find a solution. there is a solution but it needs people to come together to find it. t ~' , , t, ,, t, , to find it. nick hume speaking to us earlier about _ to find it. nick hume speaking to us earlier about the _ to find it. nick hume speaking to us earlier about the situation _ to find it. nick hume speaking to us earlier about the situation at - earlier about the situation at colchester and ipswich hospital. let�*s speak now to james illman, bureau chief at the health servicejournal — which covers policy and management in the nhs in england. good afternoon. james, thank you very much — good afternoon. james, thank you very much for— good afternoon. james, thank you very much forjoining _ good afternoon. james, thank you very much forjoining us. - good afternoon. james, thank you very much forjoining us. hi - good afternoon. james, thank you very much forjoining us. hi there. to what extent was this particular unprecedented challenges the current calls it predicted? t will! unprecedented challenges the current calls it predicted?— calls it predicted? i will start off b 'ust calls it predicted? i will start off by just saying — calls it predicted? i will start off byjust saying i _ calls it predicted? i will start off by just saying i thought - calls it predicted? i will start off by just saying i thought the - calls it predicted? i will start off - byjust saying i thought the package was a very kind of accurate reflection of where the nhs finds itself. in terms of the challenge this winter, that is something that nhs leaders have been warning about for some time and, unfortunately, the warnings approved very accurate. they�*re not, sort of, project fear.

it's they�*re not, sort of, project fear. it�*s all very much come to pass as people has predicted. unfortunately, there�*s a lot of drivers for that so although the nhs has been right under the spotlight at the last couple of years because of the pandemic, really the nhs was in a very precarious place even before the pandemic stroke. so he was sort of... others with the pandemic much longer waiting lists and over the rest were simply exacerbating existing problems which have been around for some time and yes people mentioned 140,000 vacancies and there is a workforce crisis and there is a workforce crisis and there is a workforce crisis and there is also an equally big crisis in social care. which means patients simply cannot get out of the nhs to

get into social care. the report earlier on for example mention the number of beds taken up by covid—19 into flu cases, this so—called to endemic is about 13,000 beds. there are also 13,000 of the circa 100,000 hospital beds are taken up by patients who are medically fit for discharge but they can be discharged because the care packages that they are waiting for which could be a place in a care home of a domiciliary care package, simply aren�*t there, so you�*ve got 13,000 patients who are medically fit for discharge. that means 13,000 patients who really do need to be in hospital can�*t be in hospital so that�*s why in the nhs world people talk about flow a lot and it feels like a typical, technical term but really it is just talking about patients being able to get in hospital, patients being able to get

out of hospital. yes, i think nick hume, who is an incredibly experienced hospital chief executive, he has seen many, many years of where the nhs is out. his diagnosis is unfortunately very accurate. t tt diagnosis is unfortunately very accurate. t t, t, t, accurate. yes, a lot of long-standing - accurate. yes, a lot of i long-standing problems accurate. yes, a lot of - long-standing problems you accurate. yes, a lot of _ long-standing problems you have long—standing problems you have alluded to, no slack in the system to cope when things get even worse. to what extent will this £500 million that the governance as it is putting in to help people get discharged from the hospital who really don�*t need to be there make much difference distract the government says it is putting in. hopefully will make some difference but 13,000 beds with a difference? i mean, the kind of capacity problems we�*re talking about, unfortunately, in the nhs, it is very much a language of brilliance rather than millions. so, yes, 500 million is a lot of money, yes it will be welcomed, yes it will be some help, but it is not going to solve what is

a monumental problem which will cost millions rather than billions to self and a lot of that is about capacity and the social care sector so people talk about the job vacancy crisis in the nhs. it is pricey widely spoken about. the same is true in social care a lot of those jobs are very low paid and people can go and stack shelves for a similar salary and have frankly are far less stressful life. i don�*t think you can blame anyone for that. until the government is serious about social care and funding social class salaries properly then yes, 500 million here, 500 million there to sort out discharges will be some help but in terms of putting the system back in a sustainable footing i don�*t really think it�*s going to be done might go nearly far enough.

these problems are so complex and so big. how long is it going to take to fix them? tt t t t, t, ,, t, fix them? years. we are talking of out of a 5-10 _ fix them? years. we are talking of out of a 5-10 year— fix them? years. we are talking of out of a 5-10 year horizon - fix them? years. we are talking of out of a 5-10 year horizon on - fix them? years. we are talking of| out of a 5-10 year horizon on fixing out of a 5—10 year horizon on fixing the nhs. the waiting list at the moment, so it was around 4.5 million going into the nhs. on that list, around 1600 people had waited over a year. the total list is now over seven million and the number of people waiting over a year is up to 400,000, so that has gone from 1600 to 400,000. that is the kind of problem that we are talking about and even nhs leaders aren�*t expecting the waiting list, and forecasting the waiting list to dip until 2024 so it�*s going to keep on rising for at least 12 months and it could be up near the 10 million mark and it might not hopefully get that

high and could get that high and then there is the whole issue of the workforce and the nhs the government has been promising in nhs workforce plan for years and keeps on kicking the can down the road and now you�*ve got a situation where you�*ve got 130,000 vacancies, around 50,000 of them are nurses. you�*ve got the nurse is going on strike for the first time in the nhs�*s history. not only does the nhs need to work out a way of recruiting a whole new cadre of staff to fill the vacancies from overseas and they�*ve got to work out how to the chain staff. staff going on strike and nurses going on strike for the first time in the rcn�*s history is an indication of where they met at the moment —— morale is

at, rock bottom that all groups. the bma, thejunior doctors at, rock bottom that all groups. the bma, the junior doctors are at, rock bottom that all groups. the bma, thejunior doctors are batting on strike action this month so the ambulance staff got another strike coming up this month, nurses are bottom of the staff, physiotherapist... it is notjust one unhappy pass of the nhs that needs fixing. it is the whole thing and that, i�*m afraid, is a big, big, long problem —— notjust one unhappy part. long problem -- not 'ust one unhappy tart. . ., , t, long problem -- not 'ust one unhappy .art. i ., , t, long problem -- not 'ust one unhappy art. , tt t t, t, long problem -- not 'ust one unhappy part. james from the health service journal. thanks _ part. james from the health service journal. thanks we _ part. james from the health service journal. thanks we were _ part. james from the health service journal. thanks we were talking - part. james from the health service journal. thanks we were talking to | journal. thanks we were talking to us. tt journal. thanks we were talking to us, t, ", t, t, , the headlines on bbc news... one of some health bosses after this drain on the health service this winter, government admits the nhs is facing unprecedented disruption. more rail strikes over pay, conditions and future services as rmt going straight. thousands of mourners queue in brazil to pay

tributes to footballer pele. commuters returning to work after the christmas break face five days of rail strikes this week. members of the rmt union are taking industrial action again today over pay, jobs, working conditions and services. 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.0ur business correspondent theo leggett reports. 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 karine. she�*s on a zero—hours contract and needs to get to work. i�*m completely reliant on the trains. 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 till things try, you know, 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're doing is, you know, damaging the industry long—term, aren't they? we need a good infrastructure to support people getting off the roads. we think everybody's 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. offers 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 pay offer 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, and at the moment, the signals aren�*t promising. our correspondent gareth barlow is at euston station in central london. how many people turn up there expecting a train but can�*t find one? expecting a train but can't find one? t t , t , t, expecting a train but can't find one? t t, one? yes, reduce services at euston. to tive one? yes, reduce services at euston. to give you — one? yes, reduce services at euston. to give you an _ one? yes, reduce services at euston. to give you an example _ one? yes, reduce services at euston. to give you an example on _ one? yes, reduce services at euston. to give you an example on it - one? yes, reduce services at euston. to give you an example on it the - to give you an example on it the last train out of favour is at half past five in the new services to carlisle, to edinburgh or to glasgow willingness of euston. the station itself shuts up sets up shop at seven o�*clock which is majorly disruptive for a major terminus like this and it is notjust euston, it

is england, scotland and wales and across the week. at best, 20% of services running. if they do, it will start later, finish earlier, and might not call at all of the platforms and stations you think they do. in fact i think the busiest person here at euston today has been the man doing the announcements telling us repeatedly that there are delays in disruption. why so? everything we have heard from theo�*s packages there. strikes by members from the avanti, thursday aslef train drivers from 15 companies and then again of a petition by rmt union drivers again on friday and saturday with knock—on disruption expected into sunday. it means, then, that stations like this in euston won�*t return to normal until next sunday. what what is normal because this has been continuing since june. because this has been continuing sincejune. mt because this has been continuing since june-— because this has been continuing since june. �* t , t t, t, since june. all the sides in common is involved — since june. all the sides in common is involved want _ since june. all the sides in common is involved want to _ since june. all the sides in common is involved want to find _ since june. all the sides in common is involved want to find a _ is involved want to find a resolution but it doesn�*t sound like thatis resolution but it doesn�*t sound like that is getting close any time soon so purvey yourself you�*re thinking

of travelling for more disruption to st com. derek barlow at euston station. let�*s see how the rail strikes have been affecting the hospitality industry. let�*s see how the rail strikes have been affecting the hospitality industry. with me now is kate nicholls, chief executive of uk hospitality. kate, thank you very much. what is the impact you are seeing? we are seeing a triple hit to our sector. our workers cannot get into work or their work is being reduced because of the impact of strike action. our customers and commuters can�*t get into be able to use avenues so we are seeing high levels of cancellation and then the businesses themselves are squeezed because they�*ve got the cost of doing business, the cost—of—living crisis and rail strikes are depriving them of valuable income to so in total over the last eight months is the section has lost £2.5 billion of revenue would not have had —— it would have had had this disruption had not taken place and that is money it can ill afford to use after

covid—19. money it can ill afford to use after covid-19. t, t, , t, money it can ill afford to use after covid-19. t, t, t, ~' money it can ill afford to use after covid-19. t, t, t, ~ t, , covid-19. how do you work that they tive out, covid-19. how do you work that they give out, because _ covid-19. how do you work that they give out, because it _ covid-19. how do you work that they give out, because it is _ covid-19. how do you work that they give out, because it is a _ covid-19. how do you work that they give out, because it is a lot - covid-19. how do you work that they give out, because it is a lot higher i give out, because it is a lot higher than you�*d expected. irate give out, because it is a lot higher than you'd expected.— give out, because it is a lot higher than you'd expected. we have looked at the level of — than you'd expected. we have looked at the level of footfall _ than you'd expected. we have looked at the level of footfall production - at the level of footfall production we�*ve seen over the last eight months, taking it from june. we have looked at cancellations that have come through from bookings that were planned at that time. in particular, the impact was felt in the busy christmas trading, 1.5 billion was lost then and then we have got money coming through the till and we can see how much taking is down and in the run—up to christmas it was down 29% on 2019 levels and as much as 49, 50% and 30 centres that were particularly badly affected by train strikes. t tt t tt strikes. what is made in the industry? — strikes. what is made in the industry? the _ strikes. what is made in the industry? the mood - strikes. what is made in the industry? the mood is- strikes. what is made in the - industry? the mood is particularly effective this _ industry? the mood is particularly effective this has _ industry? the mood is particularly effective this has been _ industry? the mood is particularly effective this has been dragging i industry? the mood is particularly| effective this has been dragging on eight months, long—term impact on sales and commune damage consumer confidence and willingness to but going forward to the impact we are seeing will be felt for many months

to come, even when the strikes are resolved. we urgently want all strikes to come around the table and reach a resolution so that we can restore confidence so that businesses can go back to planning and that workers can return to work. what sort of support is likely to be coming from government? what representations are you making? itibi’htzit representations are you making? what we need from — representations are you making? what we need from the _ representations are you making? rmngt we need from the government representations are you making? �*mi"ngt we need from the government is representations are you making? �*mwsgt we need from the government is what will happen the energy support package in place keeping the new business is going but it is due to the net in april. we want to know whether that will be extended to help vulnerable sectors like hospitality that suffered this hip through no fault of their own, good businesses ablaze making a valuable contribution to the economy so that energy support package going forward and most importantly we need all sides in this dispute to command the table and negotiate as mick lynch said with a spirit of goodwill, a spirit of compromise, reach resolutions so that is the

hospitality sector, is workers and businesses stopping collateral damage in the strike.- businesses stopping collateral damage in the strike. some of those workers and — damage in the strike. some of those workers and cells _ damage in the strike. some of those workers and cells may _ damage in the strike. some of those workers and cells may not _ damage in the strike. some of those workers and cells may not earn - damage in the strike. some of those workers and cells may not earn a - workers and cells may not earn a great deal of money and support what the unions are doing, surely does make some of those workers themselves.— make some of those workers themselves. t t, ~ , t, , t t, themselves. workers in our sector are not being _ themselves. workers in our sector are not being able _ themselves. workers in our sector are not being able to _ themselves. workers in our sector are not being able to get - themselves. workers in our sector are not being able to get into - themselves. workers in our sectorl are not being able to get into work. if they can�*t get into work, they can turn. we have introduced shift levels for those workers because we don�*t have the customers and we don�*t have the customers and we don�*t have the footfall. it�*s not a question of supporting the strike or supporting workers in those industries are not, it is about making sure that we can resolve it and we have confidence was all we can get back and have a robust, reliable public service in the rail networks. tt t, , , t t, , t, networks. kate, we appreciate you talkint to networks. kate, we appreciate you talking to us _ networks. kate, we appreciate you talking to us again. _ networks. kate, we appreciate you talking to us again. thank - networks. kate, we appreciate you talking to us again. thank you - networks. kate, we appreciate youj talking to us again. thank you very much. kate nicholson uk hospitality. ——kate nichols from uk hospitality.

the newly republican—controlled us house of representatives convenes for the first time today, with kevin mccarthy hoping to be elected to serve as the speaker, taking control of the house, including it�*s judiciary committee. but the republican may have a rough road ahead as some of the most conservative members of his narrow majority are expected to oppose his leadership bid. our north america correspondent will grantjoins us now. how difficult is he finding this, we�*ll? how difficult is he finding this, we'll? t tt , how difficult is he finding this, we'll? t t, , , t, , we'll? this really should be the most straightforward _ we'll? this really should be the most straightforward part - we'll? this really should be the most straightforward part of. we'll? this really should be the| most straightforward part of the business of the new congress, voting for who the secret atomic speak of the house would be. majority of converse will simply rubber—stamp in pasture that would be. not on this occasion. it looks like kevin mccarthy faces a real challenge in obtaining the 218 votes needs to win these speaker�*s devil. he has already made significant concessions to his opponents within the party —— votes needed to win the speaker�*s gavel. members needed to bring a

vote to remove the speaker from his chair, big concession and people are saying be careful giving away too much power here and it may be impossible to carry out the goal of speak and if this goes through a second or third time. itibi’htzit speak and if this goes through a second or third time. what would hat ten second or third time. what would happen then _ second or third time. what would happen then if — second or third time. what would happen then if you _ second or third time. what would happen then if you can't - second or third time. what would happen then if you can't get - second or third time. what would happen then if you can't get the l happen then if you can�*t get the vote? tt happen then if you can't get the vote? t, t happen then if you can't get the vote? t, , t t, i happen then if you can't get the vote? t, , t t, , t, t, vote? it would 'ust carry on at least initially — vote? it would just carry on at least initially because - vote? it would just carry on at least initially because he - vote? it would just carry on at least initially because he has| vote? it would just carry on at - least initially because he has made it very clear he has no intention of sending down, that he willjust go for round after round after round. obviously, within those rounds will be a certain amount of trading concessions and would it start working on commissions and things of that nature and already a larger mass of things going on notjust this morning and over the past few days and it seems like she is going to be very, very tight to that 280 number. there may come a point if those who oppose him absolutely adamant that they won�*t vote for

kevin mccarthy, and they are calling themselves never kevin is just for an indication on their position on that, it may have to be an indication that a different candidate is performed by the parties let�*s see. tt is candidate is performed by the parties let's see.— parties let's see. it is an important _ parties let's see. it is an important job, _ parties let's see. it is an important job, isn't - parties let's see. it is an important job, isn't it, i parties let's see. it is an | importantjob, isn't it, in parties let's see. it is an - importantjob, isn't it, in us importantjob, isn�*t it, in us politics? tt important 'ob, isn't it, in us tolitics? t , t, politics? it is second in line to the presidency, _ politics? it is second in line to the presidency, you _ politics? it is second in line to the presidency, you know, - politics? it is second in line to the presidency, you know, inl politics? it is second in line to - the presidency, you know, in case an emergency. it is crucial, verily, in terms of bringing the party together, bringing converse together, bringing converse together, working across the aisle and i think that�*s where the difficulties lie, because there are members of congress who simply do not want to work across the aisle in terms of doing anything with the other side. they see mr mccarthy simply as two establishments. some of the group from the freedom caucus, as they�*re called, had described him as members of the establishment, a for the establishment. one opponent called him essentially an extension of lobbyists. reallyjust too much

parts of the established elite of congress and these are people who obviously support president trump and saw him as a force for renewal, you know, something different in congress, draining the swamp and all that rhetoric. he has a real challenge on his hand squaring the circle, i think. challenge on his hand squaring the circle, ithink. when challenge on his hand squaring the circle, i think. when action a moment, thank you a much will grant in washington. 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 forjews to be allowed to pray there too. the palestinian authority has condemned the visit, calling it an unprecedented provocation.

a funeral procession is under way in the brasilian city of santos for the footballing legend pele. tens of thousands of people are lining the streets to see the hearse and pay their respects. earlier president lula da silva paid homage as the casket lay in state. pele, who was the only person ever to win the world cup three times, died last week at the age of 82. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with darren cloudy and windy at times the lesson today. police it is mild. look chilly in scotland, particularly the north. we do have some breaks in the cloud, even though we will see rain coming from my comic while. wet weather continues to affect much of the country. heavy rain over the hills, wales and scotland. west of the rain puppy having played away by the rain puppy having played away by the end of the night but still a mild one for many parts of the country, temperatures remaining in figures. heading into tomorrow, again it looks quite windy out there this time we should see some sunshine particularly across parts of wales, the midlands, eastern inc,

england and areas of scotland, few shows around, affecting northern ireland, scotland and southern england bit of rain in the far south—west. windy again particularly across england and wales but this temperature is actually not rising very much. still essentially male there. further north temperatures around 7 degrees in northern scotland.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... the government admits the nhs is facing an "unprecedented challenge" amid warnings from health bosses about the strain on the service this winter. new year disruption on the railways with another strike — as 40,000 members of the rmt union walk out again in their dispute over pay, working conditions and the future of services. 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 of mourners line the streets of santos in brazil to pay their respects to football legend pele, who died last week. and why a shortage of volunteer puppy trainers means

visually impaired people are having to wait longer to get a guide dog. sport now and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. four matches in the premier league tonight with battles at the top and bottom of the table. everton hosting brighton at goodison park. the toffees are just one point outside the relegation zone. meanwhile, fulham could get into the european spots with a win against leicester. while arsenal will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the premier league table to 10 points tonight as they take on third place newcastle at the emirates stadium. boss mikel arteta says his players are taking it one game at a time. it�*s not about stopping anybody, it�*s about being realistic about where we are. the way we are performing, it�*s impressive and we are really happy with that but as well we set the bars and objectives in the short term and where we want to improve

and what is making us win that many matches. the other match takes place at old trafford as 4th place manchester united take on bournemouth. united have won 4 in the last 5 games and boss erik ten hag says he�*ll need the whole squad during the busy schedule. we have a good team when all of the players are available, but many games are coming up and i think there is a need, you need one who can have an impact, and otherwise you are just burning money. chelsea are in talks with benfica about signing argentinia midfielder enzo fernandez. the 21—year—old helped his country to win the world cup and was named the young player of the tournament. he onlyjoined the portugese side in august with a release clause in his contract of £106 million. if chelsea pay that, he�*ll become

the club�*s record signing. cristiano ronaldo has arrived at the mrsool park stadium in saudi arabia to be officially presented as an al nassr player the former real madrid, manchester united and juventus star completed a medical earlier today and met various dignitaries on his way to be unveiled to 30,000 fans in the stadium. last week the 37 year old joined the club in riyadh on a deal that runs til 2025 and will reportedly receive the biggest football salary in history at more than £177m per year. the 2021 uk championship winner zhao xintong and his compatriot zhang jiankang are the latest chinese players to be suspended from the world snooker tour for alleged match fixing. the 2021 uk champion zhao xintong is one of two more chinese players who has been suspended by the sports world governing body as part of its on—going investigation into match fixing. the 25—year—old xintong and his compatriot zhang jiankang bring the total to 10 chinese players who have been suspended by snooker�*s governing body. in a statement the wpbsa says any potential charges will be considered at the end of the investigation. both zhao and zhang have the right

to appeal against the decision. lancashire�*s saqib mahmood is set to make his return from injury on england lions�* white—ball tour of sri lanka in february after being out since may last year. the fast bowler impressed in his two tests for england in march 2022, taking six wickets against west indies before getting a stress fracture in his back. the 25 year old�*s fitness and form will be assessed in the three one—day internationals against sri lanka a. american motorsport legend and youtube star ken block has died in a snowmobile accident in utah at the age of 55. a competitive rally driver in series such as rally america and global rallycross, he earned wide renown later in life for his "gymkhana" video series on youtube. the 10—part series, in which he performed daring racing feats, earned him nearly two million subscribers.

that�*s all the sport for now. let�*s get more now on the problems in the nhs, and some of the strike action that�*s been taking place, involving ambulance workers and nurses. the secretary for work and pensions, mel stride has been speaking about it. he says the government is symphathetic to nurses, but that there must be pay restraint to avoid fuelling inflation i have huge sympathy for nurses but to be seeking 19%, i�*m afraid that is unaffordable. tt is to be seeking 19%, i'm afraid that is unaffordable.— is unaffordable. it is at the time to sit down _ is unaffordable. it is at the time to sit down and _ is unaffordable. it is at the time to sit down and talk? _ is unaffordable. it is at the time to sit down and talk? more - is unaffordable. it is at the time i to sit down and talk? more general toint is to sit down and talk? more general point is that _ to sit down and talk? more general point is that we _ to sit down and talk? more general point is that we have _ to sit down and talk? more general point is that we have to _ to sit down and talk? more general point is that we have to hope - to sit down and talk? more general point is that we have to hope a - point is that we have to hope a restraint across the public sector and with the nurses, they were treated as a special case and they got a 3% pay rise in the period when

public sector generally had a pay freeze and they also had a minimum increase of £1400 for lower paid workers within the nhs, that was 9%, the pay increase, so we have done what we can but the substantive point is if we don�*t control inflation and if we allow public sector pay to run away with itself what we end up with is a kind of wage price spiral phenomenon on which is very difficult to get out of when you get into it and that will impoverish everyone at because inflation will be running so high, especially people like pensioners and those on fixed incomes are you open to sitting down and talking with the nursing unions about pay? the government has made its position very clear which is that we have had a public—sector review body and the nurses did get a better deal when public sector pay was being frozen, they got a 3% increase and a minimum £1400 as well involved. that

they got a 396 increase and a minimum £1400 as well involved.— £1400 as well involved. that is a no? the government _ £1400 as well involved. that is a no? the government has - £1400 as well involved. that is a no? the government has made l £1400 as well involved. that is a | no? the government has made its tosition no? the government has made its position clear _ no? the government has made its position clear but _ no? the government has made its position clear but if _ no? the government has made its position clear but if we _ no? the government has made its position clear but if we were - no? the government has made its position clear but if we were to i position clear but if we were to give full inflationary increases of pay across the whole of the public sector, so about 11% as it was, he would be looking at an additional cost of almost £1000 for every household in the country at a time when things are very difficult, so it isjust when things are very difficult, so it is just not feasible to stretch in that way, i�*m afraid. tt it isjust not feasible to stretch in that way, i'm afraid.- it isjust not feasible to stretch in that way, i'm afraid. if the rail unions called _ in that way, i'm afraid. if the rail unions called off— in that way, i'm afraid. if the rail unions called off their _ in that way, i'm afraid. if the rail unions called off their strikes - in that way, i'm afraid. if the rail i unions called off their strikes now, would you call off your anti—strikes legislation? would you call off your anti-strikes letislation? tt would you call off your anti-strikes legislation?— legislation? that is not a matter for me as _ legislation? that is not a matter for me as the — legislation? that is not a matter for me as the secretary - legislation? that is not a matter for me as the secretary of - legislation? that is not a matter for me as the secretary of state | legislation? that is not a matter. for me as the secretary of state for work and pensions, that is for the prime minister and the secretary of state for transport. i would make a more general point which is that i think we do have to question whether we have the balance right between the right of workers to strike and the right of workers to strike and the inconvenience and sometimes danger that that can pose to the public so it is quite right that the government has come forward and introduced legislation and we will

come forward with further details. the work and pensions secretary speaking there. american football star damar hamlin is in a critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest during a primetime nfl game. the buffalo bills player fell to the ground after colliding with an opponent during the first quarter of a match against the cincinnati bengals. he received on—field medical attention for more than 30 minutes — before being taken to a local hospital. chicago based, national digital reporter, michael wendling, joins me now with more information on this story. for those who do not know very much about the nfl, tell us about damar hamlin? tle about the nfl, tell us about damar hamlin? tt t tt , t, about the nfl, tell us about damar hamlin? tt , t, hamlin? he was an up-and-coming star and he was in — hamlin? he was an up-and-coming star and he was in his _ hamlin? he was an up-and-coming star and he was in his second _ hamlin? he was an up-and-coming star and he was in his second season - hamlin? he was an up-and-coming star and he was in his second season in - and he was in his second season in the league. from pennsylvania. not a household name in the us. but clearly an up—and—coming star with very good team behind him and now everyone knows his name of the us today. everyone knows his name of the us toda . t tt ,, t, everyone knows his name of the us toda . t tt «i t, t, , today. what we know about his condition? _ today. what we know about his condition? at _ today. what we know about his condition? at the _ today. what we know about his condition? at the moment -

today. what we know about his condition? at the moment we | today. what we know about his - condition? at the moment we know that he is in — condition? at the moment we know that he is in critical— condition? at the moment we know that he is in critical condition - condition? at the moment we know that he is in critical condition and i that he is in critical condition and he was sedated last night after he was taken from the pitch in an ambulance, which was driven onto the pitch, and took him immediately to hospital. we are not expecting any further updates. it is morning in the us but the good news i suppose is that his vital signs according to one of his agents are back up to normal last night. so we are awaiting more news about whether he gets out of the critical state. let�*s hope so. what was the scene like at the game? t let's hope so. what was the scene like at the game?— like at the game? i have to say, this was one _ like at the game? i have to say, this was one of _ like at the game? i have to say, this was one of the _ like at the game? i have to say, this was one of the big - like at the game? i have to say, this was one of the big sporting| this was one of the big sporting matches of the holiday season, between two of the top national football league teams and it was in the coveted monday night slot on national television and a lot of people were sitting down after new years to watch this game. so for this to happen, and for the game to

be suspended, and called off last night, this is unprecedented. this is very rare occurrence it comes to the sport of football and people will remember in the euro is a similar collapse with christian eriksson, the danish star collapsing, and the game was delayed and then later restarted but that did not happen in this case. we still don�*t know if and when the rest of the game will be played. the whole audience who watched at home and in the stadium, they were completely shocked. the mood turned very solemn and people were hoping and praying for the best. and fearing the worst.— and praying for the best. and fearing the worst. seeing this hat ten fearing the worst. seeing this happen to _ fearing the worst. seeing this happen to a _ fearing the worst. seeing this happen to a young _ fearing the worst. seeing this happen to a young fit - fearing the worst. seeing this | happen to a young fit athlete, fearing the worst. seeing this i happen to a young fit athlete, it has an impact on the city, doesn�*t it? buffalo has onlyjust recovered from this deadly storm in new york state. tt t s , t, t, ,

from this deadly storm in new york state. tt t s t, , , state. that is right. buffalo is my hometown _ state. that is right. buffalo is my hometown and _ state. that is right. buffalo is my hometown and i _ state. that is right. buffalo is my hometown and i was _ state. that is right. buffalo is my hometown and i was along - state. that is right. buffalo is my hometown and i was along with i state. that is right. buffalo is my hometown and i was along with a j state. that is right. buffalo is my i hometown and i was along with a lot of people from buffalo spread out around the world, buffalo bills fans were watching that game, hoping for a distraction because there was a massive snowstorm over christmas weekend that killed more than 40 people. earlier in 2020, 2022, rather, there was a terrible racist terror attack in a supermarket in buffalo, and the city was reeling from these events. football does not make things better but in a town thatis make things better but in a town that is one that loves its team, a bit of distraction was welcome at this time of year and unfortunately this time of year and unfortunately this incident occurred last night which took the shine off that a sporting distraction.— sporting distraction. briefly, michael, people _ sporting distraction. briefly, michael, people have - sporting distraction. briefly, michael, people have been. sporting distraction. briefly, | michael, people have been in spreading disinformation online? t

spreading disinformation online? i mentioned earlier the danish star and we have seen a pattern occur throughout covid where the roll—out of vaccines and anti—vaccination activists immediatelyjumped on activists immediately jumped on stories activists immediatelyjumped on stories like this, without any evidence or proof that there was some cause or knowledge of what caused this. they immediately blame covid vaccines. it is a minority online, it has to be said. it is not like this was a trending topic. there were several high profile accounts that were trying to spread anti—vaccination messages blaming the covid vaccines and just before the covid vaccines and just before the player collapsed, there was a hit to the chest and then he bounced back up and then he immediately collapsed. the thinking is he was

hit in the chest and something like that could potentially be the cause. we see these politically motivated people who will blame what they think is the cause and jump to conclusions immediately. michael, thanks forjoining _ conclusions immediately. michael, thanks forjoining us. _ 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 in the accident. our correspondent has shaimaa khalil sent this report.

a popular tourist destination turned to disaster zone. as shocked residents and holiday—makers looked own, stunned, while others rushed to help. this is the scene in australia�*s gold coast after two helicopters collided in midair. the one helicopter that was taking off appears. its main rotors have collided with the landing helicopter. caused 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. the crash took place near the sea world theme park. one of the choppers had the resort�*s branding on its hull. 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. and 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. in fact, one of the eye—witnesses 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. a british couple were among

the four people who died — 57—year—old diane and 65—year—old ron hughes. 40—year—old ashleyjenkinson was a gold coast local, and one of sea world�*s helicopters�* most experienced pilots. his friends remember him as a big guy with a big heart. silent hero, big, gentle giant. 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 wouldn�*t have got the help that they got down there. investigators are still trying to work out what caused the deadly collision and what happened the momentsjust before impact. for now, the tributes continue. as families mourn their loved ones, with community still in shock over the tragedy that hit their shores. shaimaa khalil, bbc newsline. the headlines on bbc news...

the government admits the nhs is facing an "unprecedented challenge" amid warnings from health bosses about the strain on the service this winter. new year disruption on the railways with another strike, as 40,000 members of the rmt union walk out again in their dispute over pay, working conditions and the future of services. thousands of mourners line the streets of santos in brazil to pay their respects to football legend pele, who died last week. the government is preparing to formally declare that iran�*s revolutionary guards corps — or irgc — is a terrorist organisation. that would mean it would become a criminal office to belong to the group or support its activities. however, the bbc�*s been told the announcement is "not imminent" and many detailsare still to be sorted out. our diplomatic correspondentjames landale explained the background. they were one of the most powerful paramilitary groups the middle east.

set up over 40 years to specifically defend iran�*s islamic revolution after they overthrew the shah and since then they have huge power notjust in iran but across the middle east. they have military power, political power, economic power. they run huge swathes of the country�*s economy and have huge influence in countries the middle east where basic port paramilitary and other groups many within the british and the west do not support in any shape or form. the british have long opposed a lot of what�*s known as the irgc do, as they are known by the acronym, recently because they�*ve been doing to try and quell the anti—government protests in iran the government has imposed sanctions on this body. now there is an expectation the british government is going to go even further and formally declare it a terrorist organisation. they might be obvious for some

but it is a technical, legal process when governments do it and it means that what the government could do then is make it a formal criminal offence for anybody to be a member of this, to support this group. so, for example, if a british company find it supporting, i don�*t know, an iranian cement company that does business in the irgc, that would no longer be able to happen. it will take a bit of time. the decision is imminent because it is a very formal legal process that has to go through an awful lot of hopes and if the british, gets it wrong potentially the decision is open to judicial review in the courts and things like that. that has happened in one or two occasions in the past when the british government has tried to formally prescribe a terrorist organisation. i�*m afraid they haven�*t got to that

position yet but it is the intention of the government to go and do this and this will be something i think there will be substantial parliamentary support. there was a reportjust before christmas and the foreign affairs committee saying this is exactly what the government should do. a minister himself sounded pretty supportive of this when he was asked about it back in the last summer. i think the strong expectation is this is now going to happen. a bbc investigation has raised questions about how the uk deals with children who are involved in extremism. it found that evidence showing the grooming and sexual exploitation of a schoolgirl was handed to m15 months before she was charged with terror offences. the case against rhianan rudd 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 reports. 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, "ok, 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. and you can watch the full investigation on bbc iplayer now. 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, ok, 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. 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 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 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. now we can have a look at the weather with darren. hello, there. today�*s weather couldn�*t be more different from what we had yesterday. only the far north of scotland seeing some sunshine earlier on today. for most of us, we�*ve got these weather fronts piling in from the atlantic, bringing cloud, bringing some rain as well. we�*ve got stronger winds, too, but the winds are coming all the way from the atlantic, from the azores, bringing in some higher temperatures even as we head into the evening for much of the country. those temperatures will be in double figures, very mild, but with rain around. far north of scotland seeing some clearer skies. always a bit colder here for a while. but even here, i think we will see some rain overnight. further rain pushes its way eastwards on those strong winds,

heavy rain over the hills of wales and also in scotland, threatening some local flooding perhaps by the end of the night, by which time the worst of the rain should have moved away. still very mild, though, out there, away from northern most parts of scotland. heading into tomorrow, again, it�*s going to be a windy day, but we�*ll see some sunshine this time, particularly through the midlands, eastern parts of england, perhaps some parts of scotland, as well. there will be a few showers and we�*ve got this stream of showers affecting northern ireland, moving into southern scotland, the far north of england, bit of rain in the far south west of england. strongest winds are going to be across england and wales, not far away from gale force, perhaps, around some of those hills and coasts in the west. very mild day for most parts of the country. temperatures remain in double figures, around seven degrees, perhaps in northern areas of scotland but at least we�*ll have some sunshine. as we move into thursday we�*ve got a brief respite, another area of low pressure winding in from the atlantic that will bring some stronger winds and some rain as well. ahead of it, it may start dry in many places, a little sunshine, but cloud will tend to increase one or two showers ahead of this main

rain that comes into western areas. and in the northwest of the uk, the winds will strengthen significantly with gales likely by the end of the day. but again, those temperatures making ten degrees in the central belt of scotland, 13 in southern parts of england and wales. it�*s quite a deep area of low pressure, central pressure, nine, seven, eight millibars. that will bring some gusts of 60, maybe 70 miles an hour after dark across scotland. before that moves away, another weather system then begins to arrive in from the atlantic in time for the start of the weekend. so, essentially, we just keep this very unsettled weather going by the end of the week into the weekend as well. showers, perhaps some longer spells of rain. windy at times, but still mild.

this is bbc news. the headlines. the government admits the nhs is facing an "unprecedented challenge" amid warnings from health bosses about the strain on the service this winter. i�*ve had to open physio—gyms through outpatient departments to accommodate inpatients overnight. i am hoping it�*s short—term, it has to be short—term it cannot go on like this. new year disruption on the railways with another strike, as 40,000 members of the rmt union walk out again in their dispute over pay, working conditions and the future of services. 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 of mourners line the streets of santos in brazil

to pay their respects to football legend pele, who died last week.