this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm kasia madera and these are the latest headlines. the uk prime minister rishi sunak says he's willing to discuss the issue of pay with the nurses�* union to settle strikes but didn't make a firm commitment to increase salaries. the ukrainian military has rejected a russian claim that hundreds of ukrainian soldiers were killed in a russian attack on the city of kramatorsk. china lifts quarantine rules for people arriving from abroad, for the first time in three years.

hello and welcome. the uk prime minister rishi sunak has given his first tv interview of the year to the bbc�*s laura kuennsberg. mr sunak addressed concerns over nurses�* strikes and said he will talk to the royal college of nursing union about pay — but does not commit to increasing wages now to end their strike action. we want to have a reasonable, honest two—way conversation about pay and everything else that is relevant. you do want to have a conversation about pay? because up until now... well, that's different. that's always been the case. the door has always been open to talk about things that the nurses want to talk about and the unions want to talk about more generally, which is why actually we just wrote to all the unions from across the public sector inviting them into the talks. inviting them in for talks. and those talks are happening in many sectors on monday, which is great. and when it comes to pay, we have always said we want to talk about things that are reasonable, that are affordable and responsible for the country.

the prime minister they're speaking to laura kuenssberg. labour's shadow health secretary, wes streeting, criticised the prime minister after he refused to say whether he uses private healthcare. —— there. the prime minister in that interview gave the impression of not only someone who doesn't use the nhs, but doesn't understand the scale of the challenges, or have a plan to deal with the fundamental problems. because, yes, he can get people around the table in number 10 for a photo op, yes, he can do more sticking plasters to get us through this winter. but we need fundamental change in the nhs to deal with what is the biggest crisis in its history, and that's what labour is looking to do. the ukrainian military has rejected a russian claim that hundreds of ukrainian soldiers were killed in a russian attack on the city of kramatorsk. hugo bachega is in kyiv with the latest. earlier today the russian defence ministry claimed, without providing any evidence, that a massive missile attack targeted two facilities in the eastern city of kramatorsk. they were housing hundreds of ukrainian soldiers.

a statement the russian authorities said that more than 600 ukrainian forces had been killed. again, they provide no evidence to support this claim. again, they provided no evidence to support this claim. they said this attack was in retaliation for that massive attack last weekend that killed dozens of russian forces. a ukrainian attack targeting a building in the occupied town of makiivka in the eastern donetsk region. and the russian authorities have confirmed that 89 were killed. and the russian authorities have confirmed that 89 soldiers were killed. the ukrainians had said that up to 400 russian soldiers had been killed as a result of that attack. this was an attack that sparked lots of criticism in russia, and now today, a week after that attack, the russians are claiming that a similar attack targeting a building in the east of the country killed 600 ukrainian soldiers.

the ukrainians are rejecting it, a spokesman for the ukrainian army told us this information was false, and it was another piece of russian propaganda. for the first time in nearly three years, china has lifted quarantine rules for people arriving from abroad. it's the final step in the government's dismantling of its zero—covid policies. the change has driven a rapid rise in coronavirus cases and has prompted other countries to impose restrictions on chinese tourists. martin yip is at the border between the mainland and hong kong. china has been rapidly de—escalating these covid—19 control measures, literally walking away from used to be called zero—covid policy. so if you wonder how rapid we are talking about, two things that happened today on the other side of this bridge might give you some clue. macau, the only place in china that could let you gamble inside a casino treats covid—19 from today as an endemic disease. that means it's something more

or less like a cold orflu, you don't need to report yourself to the authorities if you get it, and you are very unlikely to be quarantined or other measures to be imposed on you. mainland china also stopped pressing criminal charges martin yip. more now our top story — and rishi sunak says he's willing to sit down with the royal college of nursing to discuss pay. but speaking to the bbc, the prime minister insisted any talks would be about future wages not the current deal. here's our health correspondent katharine da costa. they have asked for around a 19% pay increase. but the general secretary of the rcn says she is willing to meet the government in the middle, indicating she would consider a 10% pay rise. that's because unions have said that pay has been falling in real terms over the last decade or so, and salaries are not keeping up with the cost of living crisis, and they are saying that is putting pressure on

staff, and too many staff are leaving the profession to find higher paid jobs, either here or abroad, therefore putting pressure on the staff remaining. nhs staff across the uk were offered 4.5% on average after a pay review by an independent pay review body. that is what is in the crux of this and unions are saying that is simply not enough to keep up with living standards. and when it comes to the prime minister's comments this morning, what reaction have we had from the nurses�* union to this? the prime minister has said he is open to talks as long as they are affordable and reasonable, and that he would get around the table to negotiate. pat cullen, the general secretary of the rcn, has said that offered some optimism, a slight shift in his tone there, saying that if he could meet them around the table, that she would be willing to sit down and discuss pay going forward. but the government

is looking at the year ahead, so for 2023—24, whereas unions say the current pay settlement is what is up for debate right now, and if they can�*t address that then the strikes will still go ahead. two days of walk—outs for nurses planned for the 18th and the 19th, and we also have ambulance strikes on wednesday this week. 0ur health correspondent katharine da costa. the nhs pay review body is an independent organisation, which advises the government on health service salaries. jerry cope used to chair it and hejoins me now. we talk about this review body as being an independent review body. i wonder if you could give us an insight into how they decide the rate of the salaries and how it is made up. how independent is it? i will deal with the independent bit first. it is fiercely independent.

and all the members of the review body value their independence. it can only work if it�*s independent, of course. but how does it decide? well, it looks at comparability with other professions, looks at the rate of inflation, it looks at retention, it looks at recruitment, all those sorts of things, motivation. so it looks at the full range of issues that are related to pay. 50 looks at the full range of issues that are related to pay.- that are related to pay. so it is lookin: that are related to pay. so it is looking at... _ that are related to pay. so it is looking at... you _ that are related to pay. so it is looking at... you talk - that are related to pay. so it is looking at... you talk about. that are related to pay. so it is looking at... you talk about it | looking at... you talk about it looking at... you talk about it looking at... you talk about it looking at inflation, and we will go into that in a moment. in terms of its independence, who pays for it and decides who is on it? so there is a process- _ and decides who is on it? so there is a process. you _ and decides who is on it? so there is a process. you apply, _ and decides who is on it? so there is a process. you apply, it - and decides who is on it? so there is a process. you apply, it is - is a process. you apply, it is advertised, you apply and a panel, that doesn�*t include politicians, basically makes a recommendation to the government of the day, which are pretty invariably accepted. and

people are appointed for a period of time. i think it is two lots of three years usually. i5 time. i think it is two lots of three years usually.- time. i think it is two lots of three years usually. is it paid for b the three years usually. is it paid for by the government? _ three years usually. is it paid for by the government? just - three years usually. is it paid for by the government? just in - three years usually. is it paid forl by the government? just in terms three years usually. is it paid for - by the government? just in terms of its absolute impartiality and independence, ijust want its absolute impartiality and independence, i just want to make its absolute impartiality and independence, ijust want to make it categorically clear that there is no skew towards the government line on this? , �* ., ., this? there isn't. i have sat on pay review bodies, _ this? there isn't. i have sat on pay review bodies, not _ this? there isn't. i have sat on pay review bodies, notjust _ this? there isn't. i have sat on pay review bodies, notjust the - this? there isn't. i have sat on pay review bodies, notjust the nhs i this? there isn't. i have sat on pay i review bodies, notjust the nhs one, i sat on prisons as well, for 14 years and i never got a phone call from a minister putting pressure on me in those 14 years, and it was a labour government and conservative government appointed me. it is good of ou government appointed me. it is good of you to clarify _ government appointed me. it is good of you to clarify that _ government appointed me. it is good of you to clarify that because - government appointed me. it is good of you to clarify that because i - of you to clarify that because i think given the level of discussions it�*s important to get that absolutely straight. you spoke about how rates of inflation are looked at. the review body looked at, they gave their proposals in the summer of last year. so much has changed. i just wonder why... is there a need in your opinion for them to go back

and review what they were offering? i think that would be very dangerous for all parties to establish that sort of precedent. actually they had a pretty good handle about what inflation was going to be. i think the thing they might not have got right was what was going to happen to pay awards generally. but the 4.5%, 5% they awarded isn�*t that far away from the economy in general. so i think the issue they had to look at was was nurses a special case? and nurses got 3% of the year before when a lot of other people got zero. so it would have been hard work for the trade unions to argue that they were a particularly special case, other than of course, i think the strong point of the union argument is the retention argument. it would appear that nurses are leaving the profession, and that�*s clearly something that needs to be addressed. not only by pay but also through the way they are asked to work and be managed, etc, etc. just

in terms of — work and be managed, etc, etc. just in terms of when it comes to the talks we are expecting tomorrow, we had pat cullen early on, the general secretary of the royal college of nursing, saying that she will not be at these talks. if she is not at these talks, ijust at these talks. if she is not at these talks, i just wonder why she wouldn�*t be at the talks. it is crucial for her to have a seat at the table, surely. figs crucial for her to have a seat at the table, surely.— crucial for her to have a seat at the table, surely. as i understand it they will — the table, surely. as i understand it they will not _ the table, surely. as i understand it they will not discuss _ the table, surely. as i understand it they will not discuss pay - it they will not discuss pay directly tomorrow. the government are continuing to say that pay will be determined by the independent, says he, getting that in again, independent pay review body. and therefore, what they are talking about is, in a way, how the evidence will be presented to the pay review body. interestingly, general secretaries don�*t always take a direct hands—on approach to pay negotiations. this is a cross quite a number of sectors, in the same way that ministers don�*t take hands—on. they leave it to people who

understand how pay systems work. jerry cope, really good of you to talk us through that, given your experience being the former chair of the nhs review body, for clarifying its independence, jerry cope, thank you. now let�*s turn to iran. the united states has called for iran to stop executing anti—government protesters. the state department said two men who were hanged on saturday were convicted in sham trials. britain and the european union have have also condemned iran�*s use of the death penalty. we can hear from we can hearfrom our colleague now. nationwide protests have swept iran since the death of a woman in september. the woman was detained by the morality police now two men have been hanged for killing a member of the security forces during the demonstrations.

these two men had appealed against the sentences saying they had been tortured into making false confessions. on saturday iranian state tv broadcast footage of the men testifying during a court hearing that has been condemned as a sham trial by human rights groups. in every single execution we see that the primary and most significant evidence are self incriminating confessions obtained under torture. we know one of the people who was hanged today was tortured heavily ahead of his execution. i don�*t call them a judicial process but a lynching committee. the total number of protesters executed is now four but death sentences are not a new tactic to oppress opposition. islamic republic has

been hanging out death sentences to political prisoners for four decades. thousands of protesters were executed in 1990 summarily. amnesty international say that many more people are at risk of execution in relation with the process. politicians from around the world have widely condemned iran�*s actions as abhorrent. shelley phelps, bbc news. we saw our colleague from bbc monitoring in the package. you have been monitoring the reaction to these executions. bring us up to date. . , these executions. bring us up to date. ., , ., ., ., these executions. bring us up to date. ., ., ., . , date. last night two women in a city in the south — date. last night two women in a city in the south of _ date. last night two women in a city in the south of iran _ date. last night two women in a city in the south of iran removed - date. last night two women in a city in the south of iran removed their. in the south of iran removed their huabs in the south of iran removed their hijabs and walked in the streets

holding up placards with names of these two men written on them. today in kurdish areas we saw a general strike in opposition to these executions. there has been an outcry throughout social media with people from different backgrounds condemning these executions. these two men were sentenced to death in a court proceeding that only took a week. and today this afternoon this video emerged out of iran of his grave. this woman shrivelled with pain is crying over her son�*s grave and asking him to wake up. this video has gone viral on twitter.

this pain echoes with many people in the country. since the protests started the regime has killed more than 517 people. 70 children were among them. every killing and every execution has added fuel to public rage and public anger against the regime. the rage and public anger against the re . ime. , . rage and public anger against the reaime. ,. , , regime. the pain you describe is unimaginable, _ regime. the pain you describe is unimaginable, khosro _ regime. the pain you describe is unimaginable, khosro isfahani. l regime. the pain you describe is i unimaginable, khosro isfahani. my colleague from bbc monitoring, thank you. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. leeds could be the six premier league team heading out of the competition. jaden philogene gave cardiff the lead after a defensive mistake from the premier league side. sheyi 0jo then doubled that lead ten minutes later. leeds bossjesse marsch said before this game that the club wanted a cup run. currently not the case, it is 2—0

cardiff ten minutes into the second half. derby county have progressed after beating fellow league one side barnsley 3—0. tom barkhuizen with the pick of the goals. and they�*ll be in the fourth round draw at four o�*clock. bristol city and swansea will go to a replay after a 1—1 draw. the welsh side were gifted the lead early on — joel piroe with a tap—in, punishing a lax pass. nigel pearson admitted his position as bristol city boss was under threat so antoine semenyo�*s header, which ultimately earned his side a replay, will have been a source of relief for the home team who�*ve now failed to win in eight successive games at ashton gate. those are three of the eight ties today. later the game of the round at the etihad where manchester city meet chelsea for the second time in a week. that�*s live on bbc one. while in the other 2pm kick offs: stoke have a commanding lead at hartlepool, blackburn lead at norwich, and a ligue 2 phase goal is

currently between stockport and walsall. later rangers can reduce celtic�*s lead at the top of the scottish premiership to nine points if they win at dundee united. while hibs have gone seventh in the table as they have a 3—1 lead at motherwell. two—time champion naomi 0saka has withdrawn from the australian open just over a week before the tournament begins. no reason has been given as to why she won�*t be playing — she�*s not competed since september. venus williams has announced she also won�*t appear at the tournament, although that is due to injury. novak djokovic has warmed up for his australian open return by winning the adelaide international title. the serb dropped his first set of the tournament before beating the american sebastian korda in three sets, extending his winning streak in australia to sa matches. the tournament is djokovic�*s first in the country since he was deported in january last year because of his covid vaccine status. but his visa ban has now been overturned.

south africa have avoided a series clean sweep in australia by drawing the third test in sydney, albeit partly because of the rain. after following on in their second innings, south africa lost only two wickets before the game ended in a draw. australia won the series 2—0. but failed to seal a place in the final of the world test championship that a win would have guaranteed. mikaela shiffrin has equalled lindsey vonn�*s women�*s record of 82 skiing world cup victories. the american produced two dominant runs to win the giant slalom in slovenia, her eighth victory of the season. the two—time olympic gold medallist is now only four world cup victories short of the overall record held by sweden�*s ingemar stenmark. just even to think about 83 world cups, i think i only started 105—ish so to have won 183 world cups, i can�*t even dream of that, to be quite honest.

just... it�*s had to say words, exactly. because i�*ve seen how hard she works. well done. what can you say? she�*s not even 30. is she able to get 100? who knows if she keeps motivation and i�*m sure she will get every chance to do it. and nfl player damar hamlin has been able to send a message via social media as he continues his recovery from the on—field cardiac arrest he suffered during a game on monday. the buffalo bills safety has spoken for the first time, albeit on instagram, thanking fans for their "overwhelming" love, adding there was a long road, but it would make him stronger. his team say the 24—year—old is making "continued progress" but remains in a "critical condition". and all that ahead of the final regular regular season round of games in the nfl. that�*s all the sport for now. glad to hear he is making some sort of recovery. thank you, hugh schofield, on sport. prince harry has revealed

that he felt guilty about being unable to show any emotion in public, after the death of his mother, princess diana. in a new interview for itv promoting his memoir, the duke of sussex — who was 12 at the time — says he only cried once, when she was laid to rest. 0ur royal correspondent daniela relph reports. memories of diana princess of wales, and the anguish and grief of her son at her death, are at the heart of prince harry�*s memoir, spare. in the first of his television interviews, to be shown this evening, he describes the days after her death and, as a 12—year—old, how he viewed the public response. everyone knows where they were and what they were doing the night my mother died. i cried once, at the burial. i go into detail about how strange it was and how actually there was some guilt that i felt, and i think william felt as well, by walking around the outside of kensington palace. there were 50,000 bouquets of flowers to our mother, and there we were, shaking people�*s hands, smiling. i�*ve seen the videos, right?

i�*ve looked back over it all. and the wet hands that we were shaking — we couldn�*t understand why their hands were wet, but it was all the tears they were wiping away. the television interviews were supposed to be the first time we heard some of the detail of harry�*s book, but when it accidentally went on sale early in spain last thursday, we got an earlier than planned look at spare. drugs, sex and bitterfamily fallout — there has been little holding back. but again and again, he returns to the devastating death of his mother and the impact on him and prince william. everyone thought and felt like they knew our mum. and the two closest people to her, the two most loved people by her, were unable to show any emotion in that moment. buckingham palace will be watching what harry has to say in the coming days. but, for now, there is no official response — a position

that is unlikely to change. daniela relph, bbc news. many businesses are going through difficult times — and the brewing industry is one sector that is struggling, with production costs soaring and beer sales in pubs falling. at least one small independent brewery a week closed during 2022 and many others are fearful of what this new year will bring, as our wales correspondent, hywel griffith explains. it should be a time when glasses are at least half full for britain�*s brewers, but a slump in sales this festive season, coupled with ever—rising costs, means some are being drained of optimism. rob hope�*s 2023 will see him celebrate a decade of making beer, but he�*s worried. he�*s already had to lose seven employees in the last 12 months, leaving just him to brew with the help of his son. the cost of grain and energy

is set to go up again. we can�*t put the price up on a barrel, really, because we are at the top end of what�*s acceptable, and unless something else changes between now and april, i�*m going to face a grain rise and then my energy contract is going to change and then i�*m like... 0ur thirst for locally produced craft ales has grown massively over the last decade. it has become a £1 billion industry in the uk. but the cost of living crisis means customers are more cautious with their cash. people aren�*t going out as much as they used to. there�*s less money flowing through bars like this one. i mean, a lot of people during covid got used to drinking at home, i think a lot of people during covid got used to drinking at home, where they could buy cheaper beers from the supermarket and be in the comfort of their home, and i think a lot of people are still doing that. the pandemic pushed forward big changes in our beer drinking. as pub sales declined, cans and bottles were

bought online instead. at this brewery in pembrokeshire, they are trying their best to diversify and weather the storm, but it�*s tough. we are trying to sell online or direct from the shop here, but everybody is struggling with the cost of living. the treasury says it recognises these are tough times, but help is being given on energy, fuel and business rate costs, as well as an extension on the alcohol duty freeze until next august. but brewers say they need more support, and soon, to help see them through this winter. hywel griffith, bbc news. the first ever orbital space launch from the uk is set to take place on monday. the mission will be run from out of cornwall airport newquay. virgin 0rbit, which is part owned by billionaire richard branson, plans to use a modified boeing 7117 with a rocket attached under its wing to carry nine satellites above the earth.

more on the website as always. you can reach me on twitter — i�*m @kasiamadera. now on bbc news the weather with louise lear. hello there. it�*s been a wet and windy start to the new year, hasn�*t it? and there�*s little in the way of respite over the next few days to come, i�*m afraid. sunny spells and scattered showers making for some beautiful rainbow pictures. but within some of those showers, we�*ve even had the odd rumble of thunder and lightning, as well. now you can see the clouds circulating around that area of low pressure, all moving in from the west. that�*s where the wettest of the weather has been so far, with the strongest wind gusts in the far north west of scotland, although the winds will tend to ease a little into the afternoon. heavy rain northwest of the great glen, snow to higher ground, with some rain moving its way from west to east across england and wales. a little bit cooler as well in comparison to the last couple of days, 7 to 10 degrees the high. now, as we go through the evening and overnight, the rain will tend to fade away to a few scattered coastal showers. and under those clearer skies across eastern scotland and eastern england, we could potentially

see low single figures. so a chillier start in comparison to recent days. hopefully a little more in the way of sunshine around tomorrow and fewer showers. we�*ll start to see plenty of showers piling in from the north—west and some of these will push into north west england and across the pennines, potentially. here, 6 to 8 degrees, highest values in the south—west, maybe of 10 celsius. so because that wind direction�*s swinging around to a north—westerly, a slightly fresher feel. more wet weather arrives through tuesday into wednesday and that�*s going to drag with it on a south—westerly wind, a milder air source for a time. so a bit of a pendulum swing in the temperatures as we go through tuesday. but tuesday will be a cloudy, wet and windy day for many. yes, mild. but with the cloud and the rain around, that�*s pretty academic, really. strong gusts of winds, particularly in the north and west, and these will strengthen as we go through the evening hours as well. so in terms of the feel of the weather, because the wind is back around to a south—westerly, slightly milder.

we�*re seeing highs between 7 and 1a degrees now. we could see a spell of severe gales for a time through tuesday night into the early hours of wednesday morning in the far north of scotland, along the southern flank of this low. but as the low drifts its way over into scandinavia, it leaves a trail of showers to follow on behind. but as you can see, as we go through the remainder of the week, it stays unsettled with showers or longer spells of rain.

this is bbc news. i�*m kasia madera, and these are the headlines... prime minister rishi sunak says he�*s willing to discuss the issue of pay with the nurses�* union to settle strikes but didn�*t make a firm commitment to increase salaries. china has fully opened its borders for the first time since the start of the covid pandemic with international travellers no longer having to quarantine on arrival. the ukrainian military has rejected a russian claim that hundreds of ukrainian soldiers were killed in a russian attack on the city of kramatorsk. in his latest television interview, prince harry reveals that he felt guilty for being unable to show any emotion in public after the death of his mother, princess diana, saying he only cried once.