this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a pro—russian mercenary group in ukraine says it has found the body of one of two british aid workers reported missing at the weeked — the claim hasn't been independently verified. meanwhile, heavy fighting continues in the largely destroyed eastern town of soledar, near bakhmut. nhs waiting time figures for england show that ambulance response times reached their worst level on record in december. new figures show more than 3 million people on energy prepayment meters in the uk ran out of credit last year — the equivalent of one person losing gas or electricity every ten seconds. and staying in the uk, the health secretary will meet representatives

from the british medical association and other unions later this morning, in a bid to avert future strike action. in the us, where a fresh batch of classified documents relating tojoe biden�*s time as vice—president have been discovered at an unsecured location. and tributes pour in forjeff beck, one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, who has died at the age of 78. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world.

a russian mercenary group fighting in ukraine says it has found the body of one of two british aid workers reported missing over the weekend. christopher parry and andrew bagshaw were last seen on friday heading to the town of soledar, which has seen fierce fighting in recent weeks. the claim has not been verified by the foreign office in the uk and the wagner group of mercenaries did not give a name. gareth barlow has this report. chris parry and andrew bagshaw went missing on friday, while travelling to the town of soledar. ukrainian police have since been conducting investigations into their disappearance. but now, unconfirmed reports from accounts linked to russia's wagner military group — which is engaged in an intense battle for the control of soledar — claims to have recovered the body of one of the men. details the bbc hasn't been able to verify. british authorities haven't

confirmed the claims made by the wagner military group, but say they are in contact with ukrainian authorities. a spokesperson speaking to the bbc re—confirmed the statement from the foreign office that they're supporting the families of two british men who've gone missing in ukraine. chris, who's 28, and andrew, who's a8, had been working in ukraine as volunteers, helping deliver aid and evacuate people from the front line. speaking to the bbc back in november last year, chris parry said he was compelled to try and help ukrainian civilians. it's absolutely disgusting what the russians are doing. so i thought, well, i'm able—bodied. i can push a pedal on a van. i can drive, i can get these people out. at least, i can try. i couldn'tjust sit back at home in the uk, see it on the news, feel kind of sad for it and then go on to the next channel and watch something else. i was just compelled to come out here and just at least try to help, in one way or another. the men's families describe them as "compassionate" and "independently minded". the foreign office, meanwhile,

continues to warn against travelling to ukraine, saying there is a real risk to life. adding that british nationals in the country should leave immediately. gareth barlow, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent in kyiv, hugo bachega — who gave us the latest on this story. so this is a story that we've been following for a few days. andrew bagshaw and chris parry went missing on friday, there was a search operation in that part of the country, around the town of soledar. and now this claim by the wagner group. now, we haven't been able to independently confirm these claims, the ukrainian authorities haven't confirmed these allegations. and last night, this group — which has been leading the russian offensive in soledar — they claim that they found one body. and in this message that was posted on social media, they posted pictures of documents that they said

were found with this body. documents that they said belonged to andrew and christopher. so again, the foreign office said it was aware of these claims, but those allegations haven't been independently confirmed. and again, incredibly difficult to get any kind of information and access to this area where these two british aid workers went missing on friday. yeah, as you say, that area where they went missing has seen some of the fiercest fighting in recent weeks. what does this, and also the news that a senior russian commander who was only appointed a few months ago, has been removed from post, what does all of this tell us about russia's plans at the moment? yeah, so let's start with soledar. it's incredibly difficult to get a clear picture of what's happening in this town. last night, president zelensky dismissed claims that russian forces had taken control of soledar, he said fighting was happening there, he said ukrainian forces were still defending this town.

obviously, this came after the leader of the wagner group claimed that russian forces had taken control of soledar. so fighting still happening there. again, claims and counter claims, difficult to get a clear picture of what is happening in this town, which is significant for the russians because it isjust miles away from bakhmut, which has been a key russian target in the east of the country. so if the russians take soledar, it would serve as a base for them to continue to attack bakhmut and would also be very symbolic, because the russians have suffered a number of military setbacks in recent months here in ukraine, so it would be a significant victory for the russians here. and you mentioned those changes that were announced yesterday by president putin. i think this announcement was a surprise. i think, look, this could suggest perhaps some internal fighting

happening in moscow. more than perhaps any kind of change in the military strategy here. i think there's been a lot of criticism from military bloggers, who have become incredibly influential in this war, but also by the head of the military of this mercenary group which has become also very influential here. so perhaps this is a way of president putin to address those critics. but also, to say that he's the one in charge here. hugo bachega in the ukrainian capital. ambulance response times in england reached their worst level on record in december. category two emergency calls, which include heart attacks and strokes, took on average half an hour longer than the previous worst performance recorded in october. accident and emergency waits also hit their worse ever level

since records began. it comes as ambulance crews have faced long waits outside a&es when they hand over patients to hospital staff. let's get more on this from our health correspondentjim reed. just to confirm, these are the worst levels in terms of ambulance response times on record ever in england. response times on record ever in encland. ., �* , response times on record ever in encland. . �* , , response times on record ever in encland. . �*, , ., ., england. that's right, this data today gives _ england. that's right, this data today gives the _ england. that's right, this data today gives the most _ england. that's right, this data today gives the most detailed i today gives the most detailed picture of how under pressure the nhs in england was over that crucial december, christmas period. let me take you through what is happening in hospitals. as you said, ambulance response times here, the figures are pretty bad. these are the worst on record. fora pretty bad. these are the worst on record. for a category 2 emergency, so this is something like a suspected heart attack or a stroke, the target is to get an ambulance to you within 18 minutes. the average in england in december was one hour and 32 minutes. so you can see substantially higher. and in some parts of england, much higher than that. in the south west, the average

was 2.5 hours. then when people get to hospital, that is the next step. in a&e itself, again, the worst levels here of waiting since records began in 200a. the target is to be seen and dealt with within four hours. 65% of patients in a&e in england had to wait longer than four hours. so again the worst on record. but some better news when it comes to the waiting lists. so this is people waiting for an outpatient appointment, people waiting for surgery. planned operations. that has been going up since the pandemic. it had hit 7.2 million. it is about the same level, but it has gone down a bit to 7.1 known. it doesn't sound much, but that is the first up we have seen in the waiting list since the start of the pandemic so it is reasonably significant —— 7.9. so it is reasonably significant -- 7.9. ~ ., , a, so it is reasonably significant -- 7.9. ~ ., , ,., ., so it is reasonably significant -- 7.9. we have been reporting on and talkin: 7.9. we have been reporting on and talking about _ 7.9. we have been reporting on and talking about the _ 7.9. we have been reporting on and talking about the various _ 7.9. we have been reporting on and talking about the various strikes, i talking about the various strikes, including in the nhs. nurses and of

course the strike by ambulance staff which we saw yesterday, the second one by ambulance staff, paramedics and call handlers, dispatchers were on strike yesterday. are we are going to see more strikes from them? well, that looks definitely possible. the gmb, one of the union is going on strike, has a big meeting on monday. we understand if the government is not revise its pay offer, they could announce more dates for strikes next week so the dates for strikes next week so the dates will get announced next week, then strikes could take place towards the end of january and beginning of february. i should point out if you look at weekly data, there is a bit of good news. so the amount of time that ambulances had to wait outside hospitals, this is last week, actually fell back. it is still very high, but it fell back. about one in three ambulances were being held for at least half an hour, the target to deliver a patient is 15 minutes. slightly better. and when you look at the number of people in hospital with flu, a real concern. again, very high levels, but looking at

this, it has fallen back slightly. it was about 5200 in hospital with flu on average last week in england, 5400 the flu on average last week in england, 51100 the previous week, so maybe there is a glimmer that is improving. there is a glimmer that is improving-— there is a glimmer that is improving. there is a glimmer that is imrovin. ., ,, . ., , improving. the uk health secretary meetin: improving. the uk health secretary meeting unions _ improving. the uk health secretary meeting unions today, _ improving. the uk health secretary meeting unions today, no _ improving. the uk health secretary meeting unions today, no doubt - improving. the uk health secretary| meeting unions today, no doubt the government will save these figures are the reason why nhs staff including paramedics and screws should not go on strike, the ambulance service will say this is the reason they should go on strike. is there any prospect of a resolution or agreement? when it comes to the _ resolution or agreement? when it comes to the strikes, _ resolution or agreement? when it comes to the strikes, there - resolution or agreement? when it comes to the strikes, there was . comes to the strikes, there was grounds for some limited optimism earlier this week. steve barclay the health secretary for england had a meeting with unions on monday this week and they came out of that feeling slightly more i guess kind of positive than they had done in the past. there is talk of maybe, there are two issues here. this year's pay award would maybe not be increased, but could there be a one—off hardship payment paid to some staff in order to deal with the cost of living issues and to deal

with the pay complaints they have? that has not been confirmed by the government yet and it has also not been ruled out. there is talk that might be some movement in that area. we will have to see. at the moment, we understand there is no current breakthrough on the cards or anything like that, but there is talk of meeting later today and this week and going into next week, so we will have to see what happens. thank ou ve will have to see what happens. thank you very much- _ will have to see what happens. thank you very much- jim — will have to see what happens. thank you very much. jim reed _ will have to see what happens. thank you very much. jim reed our - will have to see what happens. thank you very much. jim reed our health corresponded. just to recap on that breaking news, category 2 emergency calls in category one emergency calls, the two highest priority calls, the two highest priority calls within the ambulance service, the response times by ambulances reached their worst level on record in december, waiting in accident and emergency department also hitting the worst ever level since records began in 200a. again, these record delays and waiting times recorded in the month of december. here in the uk, the charity citizens advice says it wants

an outright ban on energy companies forcing people to switch to prepayment meters — because of the number of people getting cut off. customers on prepayment meters have to pay for their energy in advance. new research from citizens advice shows that more than three million people ran out of credit on their prepayment meter last year, that's the equivalent of one every ten seconds. almost one in five of those who ran out of credit were then without gas or electricity for more than 2a hours — meaning they couldn't cook or heat their home. now charities say this is happening to some of the most vulnerable people, including those who are disabled or have long—term health conditions. citizens advice wants a ban on forced installations or conversions. that would mean energy companies could no longer switch people automatically onto a prepaid meter if they are in debt. at the moment, it can even be done remotely. well, earlier, i spoke with anne pardoe, who's the principal policy manager for retail

energy at citizens advice. asa as a result, people are at risk of living in cold, dark and damp homes. we think that is completely unacceptable, which is why we are calling for this total ban on forcing people onto prepayment meters. and we do see cases, particular people and smart meters, where people are switched onto prepayment without even knowing about it or being warned. yes. prepayment without even knowing about it or being warned.- about it or being warned. yes, we have an example _ about it or being warned. yes, we have an example on _ about it or being warned. yes, we have an example on our— about it or being warned. yes, we have an example on our online i have an example on our online coverage today of a woman and her daughter who were without power over christmas. because they were switched without their knowledge. and of course, they had nowhere to go to to try to top—up their payment. and then the example that we mentioned in the introduction of one in five households, including someone who is either disabled or classified as long—term sick being in this scenario. tell is a bit more

about your research into that. yes. about your research into that. yes, we have been _ about your research into that. yes, we have been seeing _ about your research into that. 1913 we have been seeing huge rise in people coming to citizens advice for help because they can't afford to top—up their prepayment meter. we have seen 200% increase over the last year. and when we dug into those cases a bit more, what we found was that a significant of those people are people who are classed as being in vulnerable circumstances. so disabled people, people with really young children, people, households with elderly people, households with elderly people in the home as well. and under the rules, under the regulator's rules, those people, households in those circumstances should not be switched onto prepayment meters because it is often not safe for them to be on, it is not safe for them to manage those meters and keep them topped up. and we do see really heartbreaking stories behind those statistics. like one that really sticks with me is a single mother with a really young baby who was cut off and ended

up young baby who was cut off and ended up having to prepare formula milk for her child at the gp surgery. it isjust, energy for her child at the gp surgery. it is just, energy suppliers are not following the rules and we need to see this ban in place to make sure that it see this ban in place to make sure thatitis see this ban in place to make sure that it is safe for people. but see this ban in place to make sure that it is safe for people.— that it is safe for people. but the rules allow _ that it is safe for people. but the rules allow them _ that it is safe for people. but the rules allow them to _ that it is safe for people. but the rules allow them to make - that it is safe for people. but the rules allow them to make this i rules allow them to make this switch, as you pointed out at the beginning, sometimes without someone's knowledge. presumably, the energy suppliers are saying, this is a better way for people to manage how they get their power, how they get their electricity, etc? i how they get their power, how they get their electricity, etc?— get their electricity, etc? i mean, the outcome _ get their electricity, etc? i mean, the outcome of _ get their electricity, etc? i mean, the outcome of not _ get their electricity, etc? i mean, the outcome of not forcing - get their electricity, etc? i mean, | the outcome of not forcing people onto prepayment meters may be that we see an increase in energy debt. however, the alternative is much worse. what we are talking about here is people sitting in houses with no heat, no lights, no hot water, absolutely nothing. we do think that there is work that needs to be done to see what we can do working with industry regulator and government to figure out what we can do about that energy debt, but in the meantime, we need to bring an

end to a practice... to keep their meters topped up onto prepayment meters topped up onto prepayment meters and staying in the cold and dark. the consequences for people's mental health and their physical health is really severe. and also, the nhs is in crisis at the moment. and cold homes have a significant impact on people's health, so they are also contributing through having cold homes to that crisis. so we really think that now is the time to draw a close on forcing people onto prepayment meters, until we have additional safeguards in place which. people from being cut off. that is exactly what i want to ask you about, what protections would you about, what protections would you like to see being put in place? at the moment, the regulator ofgem, the rules say energy suppliers must have checks and balances in place when they are switching people into this prepayment mode on a smart meter. , ,., ., , meter. yes, so there are rules in lace at meter. yes, so there are rules in place at the _ meter. yes, so there are rules in place at the moment _ meter. yes, so there are rules in place at the moment which i meter. yes, so there are rules in i place at the moment which require energy suppliers to make checks

before they switch people onto prepayment meters, to make sure that that household will be able to remain on supply and manage that prepayment meter safely. we provided the regulator and government with multiple dossiers of evidence which demonstrates through our case notes that this is not happening at the moment. ofgem even went to the extent of writing a letter to energy suppliers to remind them of what the rules were in november. we are still seeing those cases. it is not enough. we need to see really decisive action now. it is really an emergency. people are sitting in the dark and the cold, it couldn't be any more urgent. they are not following the existing rules. so we need those enforced, but also, we just need to draw a line on disconnection.— just need to draw a line on disconnection. ., ., , ~ ., ., disconnection. that was anne pardoe from the charity _ disconnection. that was anne pardoe from the charity citizens _ disconnection. that was anne pardoe from the charity citizens advice. i the white house and the us justice department have declined to comment on reports that another

batch of classified documents from joe biden's time as vice president has been found in an unsecured location. it comes two days after it was revealed that a small dossier of similar papers were discovered at the office of a washington thinktank. here's our north america correspondent, peter bowes this is the second batch of documents relating tojoe biden during his time as vice president under barack obama. and it follows the initial discovery that the white house acknowledged earlier this week that an initial batch of documents were found at a separate location. this was a think tank wherejoe biden had a private office in the time after he left office and he worked there for some time. now, joe biden himself said he was surprised at that discovery. he didn't know what was in those documents, and that the white house was cooperating with the investigation. the white house, indeed, thejustice department also have had nothing to say about the reports of the second batch of documents being discovered.

now, this is potentially politically sensitive, perhaps even awkward for the biden administration and the white house, given the fact that former president trump is still under investigation over a very similar scenario, although different because many, many more documents are involved. but those documents that were found at his mar a lago estate in florida, that investigation continues. there is the possibility that criminal charges could be brought against former president trump. and that's why this is growing into an issue that is indeed politically sensitive. here's cbs correspondent, jarred hill, on how the news is being received in america, the reaction has been interesting across the political spectrum here in the united states, as well as outside of the political world. when it comes to republicans here, they are really looking at this and saying, is this not the same thing that happened with former president

donald trump back in august of last year? where we saw the search of his home at mar—a—lago in florida. one of the big differences with that, though, is there had been an ongoing backin though, is there had been an ongoing back in forfour though, is there had been an ongoing back in for four months before former president trump and the national archives here in the united states to get hold of some of those documents they knew trump had in his custody and trump was refusing to hand over. this is a question at this point of exactly what did former, what did president biden then the vice—president at the time, have in his possession, why did he have in his possession, why did he have these documents in these locations and was this a situation of staff is bringing something that they shouldn't have too an office, or was he holding these for a particular reason? california is bracing for another round of deadly storms, as the extreme weather that has battered the american state moves north. at least 18 people have died after a month of heavy rain and flooding. our us correspondent,

sophie long, has the latest. a brief respite from the rain, but water surrounds sacramento. this landslide caused chaos in the central valley. there were countless others like it across california. workers rushed to repair this sinkhole that swallowed two cars in los angeles. like this clean—up crew at a farm in ventura county, they know the next deluge is just days away. it was up to our knees, running over the road. no waterfor two years, and then more water than we got in two years in 2a hours is not the business. the extensive flooding has been caused by a series of atmospheric rivers, which behave like conveyor belts of water in the sky. this is the result. entire neighbourhoods turned into lakes. fire crews flew in to rescue a person trapped by the ventura river, which hit its highest level ever. i've never seen anything like this in all my 41 years living in the city. we lost our home and all of our

belongings that we've had. in the central valley, the flood water overwhelmed vehicles and homes. as the current storm moves north, towards the pacific northwest, a brief break in the extreme weather in california has meant evacuation orders in santa barbara have been lifted. but rivers still rage, and the runoff from the mountains keeps coming fast. there is one silver lining. the several feet of snow that's fallen in the sierra nevadas should run off into the reservoirs when it melts, helping to lift their levels, after years of drought. but more punishing storms are expected to pound the west coast this weekend. sophie long, bbc news, los angeles. both tesco and marks & spencer saw strong increases in sales over christmas, despite pressures on the cost of living. tesco said like—for—like sales at its uk stores rose by 4.3%, due to strong demand

for its budget items. the uk's largest supermarket also reported that shoppers preferred to shop in—store, rather than online. for marks and spencer, christmas sales grew by 7.2%, with strong performances across food, clothing and home. i spoke to the head of markets at interactive investor, richard hunter. i began by asking him to give us an overview of the report. well, it tells us that it's been a pretty strong festive trading period overall. prior to today, we had had updates from the likes of next, sainsbury�*s, jd sports all reporting similarly strong figures. and tesco and marks & spencer, as you say, have now added to a group of companies taking part in the christmas bonanza. i think part of the reason of the particularly strong december could well be that consumers had decided to splash out on that christmas period, ahead of what could well be an extremely challenging 2023. but certainly, in terms

of where we're seeing at the moment, the supermarkets on the whole enjoyed a strong growth in sales, ranging from the very top of the tree — namely, tesco — through to the discounters, which were also growing their own market share. so you would expect perhaps to see a significant amount of belt tightening, even though consumers may have decided to splash out a bit around the festive season? yes, that's very possible. one thing the supermarkets may be able to do is to mitigate some of those inflationary pressures, which they have been seeing, and not pass the entirety of those costs on to consumers. nonetheless, we're going to get some very important inflationary figures coming out over the next few weeks, which may give us a better clue as to whether inflation is beginning to peak or maybe even has peaked. and obviously, that could potentially take some of the pressure off consumers' wallets. but that doesn't necessarily immediately account for the fact that obviously,

we're seeing slowing growth in the uk and also sticky inflation and rising interest rates. and this is at a time, ironically, when the jobs market is actually remaining quite strong. so despite the strength of the christmas performances from supermarkets and retailers alike, they have all been very cautious about the outlook over the next few months. tesco says it's the only one of the major chains to have grown its market share versus its pre—pandemic market share over christmas. how did they do that? well, tesco is by far and away the largest supermarket in the uk. it's got extreme scale and power. one of the things it can do and does do, for example, is to negotiate with its suppliers to keep a lid on those costs. it is also, because of its financial strength, in the position

where it can continue to invest in its value offering. and obviously, the value offering at the moment is very much in consumers' minds, whether that be club card, low every day prices or the aldi price match. whilst other supermarkets have also been investing in these price measure cuts, tesco, as the largest one, remains the supermarket to beat for the moment. looking ahead to the year, how much competition do you think we are going to see from the various supermarket chains? given that the margins are already incredibly squeezed, how are they going to try to win people back, orfrom other supermarket chains? if anything can ever be guaranteed in the supermarket sector, it is the ferocity of the competition and there's no way that that it's going to go away anytime soon. obviously, quite apart

from the quality of the product and availability of the product, the main differentiator is going to continue to be the prices on the shelves. and i would fully expect that each of the supermarkets being particularly mindful of that will continue to invest in keeping prices lower which, of course, on the one hand, is good for consumers, but on the other hand, it may contain a further element of inflation. so there's no question that the competition in this sector will remain fierce, as has historically been the case. richard hunter at interactive investor. people claiming sickness and disability benefits could soon be allowed to keep receiving their payments, even when they find a job. the plans are being considered as part of government changes, aimed at getting more people back into employment. here's our chief political correspondent, nick eardley. this is a big issue, economic inactivity. and in particular, ministers are worried about the fact that the number of people who aren't working because of long—term sick issues has gone up,

considerably, since the pandemic. it's gone up from about two million in 2019 to 2.5 million now. so, the government has been looking at ways to incentivise people back into work. none of these plans are finalised yet, but i think we're getting an idea of what the government is likely to do when it comes up with those proposals. so the key one is that people who get disability benefits won't lose them automatically if they go back to work. the idea is that you still have a bit of a safety net, that people aren't worried that by going back to work, that safety net is removed. so that's something that's looking pretty likely. the government is also thinking about reforming the eligibility plans, the way that you've got to set out that you're too sick to work. that's something that labour were talking about earlier in the week as well, so there's broad consensus on that. there's even talk in some of the papers this morning about tax breaks for people over 50 who go

back to work, although i'm told that that's at a very early stage and won't necessarily happen. but the idea, as i say, it to make it a bit easier for people who have been off for sickness—related issues to get back to work. not all of these plans will be welcomed by everybody, i think some of them might be controversial, but i'm also pretty certain that ministers want a big reform of this system and that we're likely to see one soon. nick eardley. house—builders are always trying to improve energy efficiency — how to keep a home cool in the summer and warm in the winter, while keeping bills down. researchers behind a new project at the university of salford say their latest work will play a key role in developing new technologies. our climate editor, justin rowlatt told us more. oh, my goodness. it is absolutely freezing. i say freezing, it's —15 and my hands are really cold. and we've created this kind of winter wonderland. look at the house.

there's ice on the walls, icicles up there. but this is totally artificial. so i'm inside a huge experimental chamber. if we go out, you can see the walls — it's like the truman show, an artificial world. and it's huge, big enough for these two full and fully functioning houses. they're furnished. it's launch day today and you can probably see there are people inside the living room. and the idea is to use these homes to test new heating technologies, insulation, the kind of things that will be in new homes from 2025 when new standards come on, so they have got to test them. and the idea of these chambers is to put these technologies and materials through their paces. you can see, —15, it's going to flash up in a moment. the temperature differences are so big that we have to use two cameras. oh, that's better. because the cameras would fog up if we went between the cold and the hot. and look at that.

26 degrees in here. so it is a lot warmer in here, it's actually lovely in here. and the idea is to test materials, test them and see how they perform in these different conditions, as i've been discovering. this chamber goes down to —20, and as well as creating a lovely snowy day like this... whoa! ..it can also do this. create a pretty fierce gale. and it could do a rainstorm too, although today, we're doing it outside. so thank goodness they do tropical too. it's the costa del salford! from the outside, you would never know what's going on, would you? back in the cold. so let's take a look at what goes on inside these houses.

hi,justin, come in. good to see you. and you. so, oliver, what are you testing in here? so for us here, we've got two different types of heating systems. we've one that takes heat out of the air and basically puts it into hot water. air source heat pumps, super efficient aren't they? super efficient. they go straight into your skirting board and heats the home. so no radiators? no radiators, so you can move your furniture around. you've got a lot more space to play with in the room. the second is infrared, so really a little bit like the sun. so if you feel along here. ooh. oh, that's nice. yeah? so we've got two systems here because it heats you. we've got one here on the wall, and then we've got one up here on the ceiling. oh, that's a heating system as well? yeah, it sort of pushes it through and really comes through into the room. and you're testing them against each other to see which is the most efficient.

of course, you can change the weather, so you can very accurately work out how they work. exactly that. so we can get the weather really cold outside and put either one on and see how that affects the home. but that is not the only tech you've got in here? no, not at all. the home has got sensors all over it. so what it does is, it follows you, and it can put on the heating relevant to the room that you're in. so it heats the place that you are, not the rest of the house? and that's not all. on hot days, the curtains close automatically to shade the sun, and there are vents to draw out hot air. the washing machine has a steam mode to save water, and the fridge makes your food last days longer by managing moisture. and despite appearances, this house isn't made of brick. the walls are designed for maximum insulation. what we've done is, we've removed the external masonry and we replaced it with a product, a brick slip product. so this is like just a couple of millimeters thick? it is. it looks like brick and it feels like brick. and actually, it's rendered like brick. it gives the aesthetic of brick, but has a space—saving capability to enable us to to put more insulation and to create that higher performing fabric. and there's more innovative stuff in the house next door.

so, take a look at this. the shower tray collects the hot water from your shower and recycles that energy in the house. and also, in the cupboard here, there's a similar system for taking the heat out of the air and recycling that around the home. and that's not all. take a look at this. and there's all sorts of technology up here in the loft, because the assumption is, increasingly, we're going to have solar panels on our roofs. so you've got an inverter, a battery. you can use that battery to store low—cost energy at night, if you want. another way of making your home more energy efficient and, of course, cheaper to run, too. i should say lower carbon, which is important. these homes and chambers can be used to test much lower tech,

that was high—tech features that, they have been testing how effective it is closing your curtains on a cold day, putting on soft furnishings, putting in those next you used to block drafts, that kind of stuff can make a huge difference, though simple things can make a huge difference. they've proved the percentage you can take off your bill by testing them in chambers like this here at the university of salford. lots of stuff people at home can do it. i should say, the chamber has a huge door, they've opened it now to cool it down, they are launching today, have lots of people visiting, you could dry a bus through there and they could test a thermal efficiency of a bus. so this is a really versatile new experimental, two new experimental chambers that can be used to test all sorts of stuff. they are working with companies in and around manchester and salford to develop, for example, a new window technologies, so it's a really new important facility that will hopefully help dry the economy appear in manchester and develop the new technologies we will all need in

our homes to keep them efficient and cheap but also to keep them low carbon as well. an independent investigation has found the national union of students has failed to sufficiently challenge anti—semitism in its own structures across the uk. testimony given to the inquiry detailed how on one occasion a student was turned away from a prayer room at an nus conference because it was being used for a meeting. the nus has apologised and said it would implement the report's recommendations. i asked joel rosen, president of the union ofjewish students, for his reaction to this report. it laid bare a toxic culturejewish students have faced in nus successively, and it is really a hard read because the students i represent deserve to be represented by their national union, deserve to be treated like any other student, and what this report makes clear is that

students were victimised, faced discriminatory stereotyping on account of their being jewish and that is fundamentally unacceptable. the director of the nus was on radio 4's today programme this morning, i want to read something she said, i suspect you were listening. she said the nus will be implementing all of the recommendations, as well as a zero tolerance policy on anti—semitism, went on to say what we would like to say to jewish students right now, past present and future, is we are really sorry about the anti—semitism that you faced and the moments where you felt unwelcome. do you accept that apology? i think it is not for me to speak on behalf of thejewish officeholders of nus that experienced this toxic culture. i think time will tell if we see a clear change in nus�*s treatment ofjewish students but what i will say is all these reports and findings are encouraging, but what needs

to happen is there needs to be a wider cultural shift shift in the treatment ofjewish students and in student politics in general, because these issues whilst they are related to nus are not confined to it, and we need to see a sea change in the treatment ofjewish students because anti—semitism, as has been laid bare by the report, has been normalised for too long in some corners of student politics. there needs to be a recognition of all of the forms of anti—semitism. the introduction mentions the one time nus proactively put out a statement of solidarity was in response to far right extremist anti—semitism, and we need to see an acknowledgement and an understanding of all the various forms of anti—semitism, including anti—semitism that can occur on the far left. earlier in the interview, they also say campaigning on the israel—palestine conflict is entirely possible without stepping over the line into anti—semitism. would you agree with that? absolutely, it is important we make this point. people can campaign on a whole range of issues without straying into anti—semitism, but that does not mean anti—semites don't

occasionally use certain quarters as a foil for their extremist occasionally use certain causes as a foil for their extremist hatred, so what we are very clear about is people can advocate for palestinian rights, there is no attempt to curtail that discussion, but it is vital they do not stray into historic tropes or hold alljewish students in the uk collectively responsible for the action of a government they did not elect. in germany, the operation to evacuate a site earmarked for a new coal mine is entering a second day. officers had clashed with protesters near the village of lutzerath, in the west of the country. germany's coalition government has delayed plans to reduce reliance on coal, following russia's invasion of ukraine. the bbc�*s tim allman explains. as darkness fell, the police operation continued. protesters had set up camp in these barns and,

after descending from the rafters, several of them were arrested and taken away. all in all, police seemed happy with their day's work. translation: it was possible to set up the fence around the village. i the material work has been completed. officers have succeeded in limiting the occupiers' freedom of movement. we have started to clear the first barns so, in this respect, it was a successful day. this was the scene earlier, as dozens of officers moved in. lines of them in riot gear, with shields and batons at the ready. the entire village has been abandoned and is due to be demolished. in its place, the expansion of a nearby opencast coal mine. the german government, in the wake of europe's energy crisis, says the country still needs coal. these protesters disagree.

translation: if we want to keep | to the paris climate agreement, | we have to act here and now, and we have to show we cannot rely on politics. because at the end of the day, it's up to us to use our bodies to stop the police from clearing lutzerath. the operation to clear lutzerath has onlyjust begun. many of these protesters have been here for months. removing all of them could take quite some time. germany's energy needs apparently coming into conflict with its climate change commitments. tim allman, bbc news. an investigation into the failure of the safety messaging system — which led to all departing flights in the united states being grounded early on wednesday — was caused by a damaged file— in a database — and not a cyber attack. that's according to an initial investigation by the federal aviation authority. our north america correspondent, gary o'donoghue reports. it was in the early hours that the problems began to emerge with the notam system, which warns pilots of any dangers before they take off.

byjust after 7:00am, the federal aviation authority was ordering all carriers across the us to ground their planes untilfurther notice, causing chaos for early morning travellers. i'm a little annoyed. i feel bad for the people who are actually sitting on planes right now. i mean, we're at least lucky that we're still in the airport and if i truly want it to, i could go back home. you would not think that this could happen in this day and age, you know, with all the money that's pumped into transportation. but here we are again. in a tweet, the white house said the president had been informed and that there was no evidence that a cyber attack was responsible at that point. thousands of flights were delayed, affecting all airlines from coast to coast. the all—clear was given around 9am. by that time, huge backlogs had occurred.

the transportation secretary said the problems had resulted from irregularities in the safety messages being transferred to pilots. and it was important to find out why the usual redundancies in the system hadn't prevented the failure. when there was is a problem with a government system, we're going to own it. we're going to find it and we're going to fix it. my top priority right now, now that the system is working again as of about nine this morning, is to understand the root cause, understand how it could have led to this level of disruption and understand how to make sure that it does not happen again. the transportation department has begun an inquiry and a senate committee has said it will do the same. given the disruption that's been caused and the fact that the faa doesn't currently have a permanent administrator in post, answers will be demanded as soon as possible. harry o'donohue, bbc news. tatjana patitz, who was widely considered one of the first fashion

supermodels, has died. she was 56. born in germany, patitz rose to prominence in the 1980s, becoming one of the biggest names in the fashion industry, as gail maclellan reports. she was one of the original supermodels, telling the magazine vogue that she became successful because she "didn't look like anyone else". born in hamburg in 1966, she grew up in sweden, before finding fame after being photographed by peter lindbergh, who's paid tribute to the model, saluting her "kindness and intelligence". in the 1990s, she was modelling for chanel, calvin klein and versace. anna wintour, iconic global editor of vogue, said tatjana's appeal was that she was "mysterious, grown—up and unattainable". # i think there's something you should know. ..#i with her sister supermodels, she appeared in the music video for george michael.

she last appeared on the catwalk in february 2019, at milan fashion week. "i'm proud of my wrinkles," she wrote. "i worked for each one. growing older is beautiful." tatjana patitz died in california. gail maclellan, bbc news. the sri lankan government is planning big spending cuts, saying it barely has enough money to pay salaries and pensions of public servants. all government departments have been ordered to make a 5% reduction in spending. the international monetary fund has agreed a bail—out loan of nearly $3 dollars, but it wants sri lanka to raise taxes and cut public services. ben chu reports. cheering six months ago in sri lanka, amid sovereign debt default and economic chaos,

there was a revolution. a new president has since been installed. an international monetary fund bailout has been agreed. but half a year on, are the lives of ordinary sri lankans actually any better? it is a new day dawning for the country's agricultural sector, on which a quarter of the population depends? sri lankan tea pickers like these earn a day rate of around 1,000 rupees, a little less than three usd. and though inflation in the country has eased slightly since last year, food prices in sri lanka last month were still 65% higher than a year earlier. translation: rice, sugar

and everything else is expensive. even bus fares are expensive. everything is a problem now. i can't say we have enough food. i'm afraid for my child's future. more than eight million people, more than a third of sri lanka's population, are today estimated to be food insecure by the united nations. the fuel queues that snaked around this country six months ago have gone thanks to a digital rationing system. tourists are returning. a different world from the capital colombo can be found a two—hour drive south down the coast. a million people in sri lanka are estimated to be reliant on fishing for their living. the cost of boat fuel for these fisherfolk in beruwala is still four times higher than before the crisis struck last year, making each trip into an economic gamble. places like this feel like the sharp end of sri lanka's economic crisis at the moment. it's clear that in some parts of the country, life has got somewhat better in recent months, but in places like this, it's reallyjust

as painful as it was before the fall of the government. after a bad storm, there's often an extensive repairjob. this is a lesson a still economically broken sri lanka knows well. let's get some of the day's other news the french and german foreign ministers are in the ethiopian capital to support the peace agreement that's ended two years of fighting in the northern tigray region. the pair will discuss the need for lasting peace, food security as well as the wider partnership between the european and african unions. tens of thousands of combatants and tigrayan civilians died during months of brutal fighting, marked by numerous allegations of war crimes. cricket australia says it's cancelled its one—day series against afghanistan in march because of the additional restrictions on women's and girls' education and employment introduced by the taliban. the governing body of the sport in australia said it would continue to talk to its afghan counterpart

in anticipation of improved conditions for women. the european parliament will today set out out proposals for tighter measures on lobbying, in response to a recent corruption scandal that's seen a serving and a former mep detained. these will include a ban on certain friendship groups — unofficial organisations sometimes sponsored by foreign governments. one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, jeff beck, has died at the age of 78. the british musician rose to fame in the 1960s as part of the yardbirds, before forming thejeff beck group with sir rod stewart. our arts correspondent, david sillito, looks back at his career. # you're everywhere and nowhere, babe # that's where you're at # going down a bumpy hillside in your heavy hat. hi ho silver lining, 1967.

jeff beck looked to have the hit that was going to turn one of the great guitarists of the 60s into a star. but almost as soon as he recorded it, he was having doubts. his career was not going to be catchy pop songs. # hey! he had made his name in the yardbirds, replacing eric clapton. in thejeff beck group, he helped make rod stewart a star. and pioneered a blues rock sound that others would turn into massive chart success. he was much admired. the rolling stones asked him tojoin, he worked with stevie wonder, david bowie, kate bush, but the critical acclaim did not turn into sales. jeff, do yourthing, son! however, in a career that

lasted more than 60 years, he more than earned his place as one of rock's great guitar heroes. # hi, ho, silver lining # everywhere you go, now, baby. tributes have been pouring in since the announcement of jeff beck's death. friend and musician ronnie wood wrote... "nowjeff has gone, i feel like one of my band of brothers "has left this world, and i'm going to dearly miss him". mickjagger also paid his tribute saying... "with the death ofjeff beck we have lost a wonderful man and one "of the greatest guitar players in the world. "we will all miss him so much". and sir rod stewart also paid his respects to the guitarist... "he was one of the few guitarists that when playing live "would actually listen to me sing and respond. "jeff, you were the greatest, my man. "thank you for everything." ripjeff beck, who died

yesterday, at the age of 78. for more than a century, cunard liners have set sail from liverpool to america — and now the glamorous golden age of trans—atlantic travel will be celebrated in a new exhibition curated by photographer mary mccartney — the daughter of sir paul, as ian haslam has been finding out. cunard revolutionised transatlantic travel and would become a byword for a luxury, with movie star clientele like cary grant, elizabeth taylor, and laurel and hardy. it's 100 years since cunard introduced world cruise, and it's100 years since cunard was the first cruise line to introduce on—board photography. so, we thought we would take the opportunity to capture all those magical moments from guests that have sailed on cunard recently, or in the past. which means drawing on the experiences of all passengers, first, second or third class.

curating it will be famous photographer mary mccartney, daughter of famous liverpudlian sir paul. it's been really exciting to look through such a large collection of images. there's over 14,000 photographs in the cunard archive. i'm collating those to send to mary mccartney. so she is going to look through them and curate the online exhibition. it could well include hollywood legend clark gable, legendary entertainer bob hope, or the dorchester glamour girls here. here we are with our protective gloves on, because these are very valuable. take us through some of these artefacts. with this one we are looking at a brochure advertising the around the world cruise. and what's this? this is the may 1923 edition of the cunard magazine. it's really special because inside it shows passengers on board this cruise. another thing here, queen mary voyage, number 69, westbound. this is nearly 100 years old, isn't it? yeah, this was donated by a member of the public, his personal photograph album. and he was an employee

on the cunard ships. the cunard building was built to symbolise the gateway to the new world, and of course, still stands proud on liverpool's waterfront. 100 years ago, the arrivals hall would have been bustling right now, with people coming from all over. they would include politicians, famous writers and even hollywood stars. meanwhile, not content with their already impressive archive, cunard are after more. we want the public to delve into their photo albums of their memories on—board. we would love to see them, and we would love to put them in front of mary mccartney to see if she selects as one of the 100 images. the exhibition will go live later this year. ian haslam, bbc news. stay with us for coverage of all the main stories of the day, you can get in touch with me on twitter. for the

moment, it is goodbye from me. as we go through the next few days, the weather remains unsettled, and temperatures are also actuating. today we have mild air in the south, tomorrow it will be called, is represented by the blue, milder on saturday, before later on saturday cold air pushes across was all, will be with us on sunday and monday and into the early part of next week generally. today we have this weather and that has been producing some rain in southern areas, and the second one which is curling all the way around back into northern ireland and into western scotland. that is bringing some showers. through the day, the rain continues to push out to swords, he was the weather from to push out to swords, he was the weatherfrom bringing more rain southwards, and if we follow around you can see across northern and

western scotland, curling into northern ireland. in between, drier and brighter interlude with fewer showers, but wherever you are today is going to be windy with the wind strengthening out the west, touch gale force through the day. temperatures six in lerwick to about 13 in norwich and london. through this evening, the rain in the city coast away, a low—pressure driving weather at the moment, pushes across scotland, showers rotating around it, but it's going to be windy with gales, even severe gales across parts of northern ireland, southern scotland, northern england, and at times, not oils. temperature white, were looking for an hour into eight in plymouth. no issues with ross. tomorrow, low—pressure pulls up to scandinavia, the wind moderate through the course of the day, a transient ridge of high pressure settle things down, dry us on train tomorrow, some showers coming in from the west down towards the midlands, possibly into east anglia.

temperature 6—12, north to south. into the weekend the weather remains unsettled, a new area of low pressure comes away on saturday, bringing the weather front that will clear during the course of saturday, leaving a lot of showers in its wake. a white star on saturday, the rain clears, then we're into a mixture of sunshine and showers, but note the difference in the temperature, we will start next week alter with the chance of some of us seeing some wintry showers.

this is bbc news, i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 11... ambulance response times in england reach their worst level on record — the figures from december are up from the previous worst performance recorded in october. a pro—russian mercenary group in ukraine says it has found the body of one of two british aid workers reported missing at the weeked — the claim hasn't been independently verified. new figures show more than 3 million people on energy prepayment meters ran out of credit last year , the equivalent of one person losing gas or electricity every ten seconds. retailers tesco and marks & spencer saw strong increases in sales over christmas, despite pressures on the cost of living. and tributes pour in forjeff beck,

one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, who has died at the age of 78. ambulance response times in england reached their worst level on record in december. category two emergency calls, which include heart attacks and strokes, took on average half an hour longer than the previous worst performance recorded in october. the highest priority calls, that's immediately life—threatening cardiac arrests, were again the worst on record. accident and emergency waits also hit their worst ever level. but there was some progress in england with the waiting list

for routine treatments the number of people fell slightly by about 200,000 to 7.19 million. these figures come as health leaders are urging government ministers to reach an agreement with trade unions as soon as possible. let's speak to our health correspondent nick triggle. you always hope the west will not get worse, that is what has happened with endless times. it get worse, that is what has happened with endless times.— with endless times. it has, i have been covering _ with endless times. it has, i have been covering these _ with endless times. it has, i have been covering these monthly i been covering these monthly statistics for nearly ten years, these are by far the worst set of data that i have seen. in particular as you mention, the andy lynch response times, category two calls, meant to be answered in a minute, taking five times longer —— ambulance response times. some services over hours, this puts patients at risk, category one, the most urgent immediately life—threatening cases such as

cardiac arrest, taking nearly 11 minutes, should be seven minutes, every minute delay reduces the chance of survival by 10%. that is why we have heard in recent weeks about the numbers of people dying because of the problems accessing emergency care. care. as we see, it has got worse. emergency care. care. as we see, it has got worse-— has got worse. what is described as excess deaths, _ has got worse. what is described as excess deaths, which _ has got worse. what is described as excess deaths, which are _ has got worse. what is described as excess deaths, which are really i excess deaths, which are really quite high, taking out the impact of covid and what happened during the pandemic, that is also causing a huge amount of concern. it pandemic, that is also causing a huge amount of concern.- pandemic, that is also causing a huge amount of concern. it is, by the end of— huge amount of concern. it is, by the end of last _ huge amount of concern. it is, by the end of last year, _ huge amount of concern. it is, by the end of last year, about i huge amount of concern. it is, by i the end of last year, about 20-25% the end of last year, about 20—25% higher you would normally expect, much of that, or at least perhaps half of the excess deaths are being put down to problems accessing emergency care. also covid circulating and killing people, also high levels of flu. there was always the worry that this winter would be

difficult, we have the nhs trying to keep doing some of the routine treatment, there has been a bit of positive news they are, the waiting list for routine treatment like hip and knee operations has come down first time since the start of the pandemic, just a small drop, but thatis pandemic, just a small drop, but that is positive news. what is happening in the emergency care system, excess deaths, it is incredibly worrying. the system, excess deaths, it is incredibl wor inc. incredibly worrying. the government has said they — incredibly worrying. the government has said they want _ incredibly worrying. the government has said they want to _ incredibly worrying. the government has said they want to bring - incredibly worrying. the government has said they want to bring down i has said they want to bring down those waiting times for routine appointments even further, but of course we have the backdrop of strikes already happening, and still to come. , , , strikes already happening, and still tocome. , , , to come. yes, yesterday we saw the ambulance — to come. yes, yesterday we saw the ambulance staff _ to come. yes, yesterday we saw the ambulance staff walk _ to come. yes, yesterday we saw the ambulance staff walk out _ to come. yes, yesterday we saw the ambulance staff walk out across i ambulance staff walk out across every part of england apart from the east, and also wales. next week to days of nurses strikes, that, they are walking out, that could have a detrimental impact on the small

progress made for routine treatments, because nurses on a whole will keep doing emergency care but it is routine treatments that will be affected. the problem facing the nhs is it is the most difficult busy time of year, it has industrial action taking place, and until that is resolved, it will be very hard for the government and nhs england to see much progress on some of these performance statistics. and you can find out how the nhs is coping in your area via the bbc�*s online nhs tracker. for an indication of response times, a&e waiting times and how busy local services are in england, wales and scotland, visit bbc.co.uk/nhstracker. a russian mercenary group fighting in ukraine says it has found the body of one of two british aid workers reported missing over the weekend. christopher parry and andrew bagshaw were last seen on friday, heading to the town of soledar, which has seen fierce

fighting in recent weeks. the claim has not been verified by the foreign office, and the wagner group of mercenaries did not give a name. gareth barlow has this report. chris parry and andrew bagshaw went missing on friday, while travelling to the town of soledar. ukrainian police have since been conducting investigations into their disappearance. but now, unconfirmed reports from accounts linked to russia's wagner military group — which is engaged in an intense battle for the control of soledar — claims to have recovered the body of one of the men. details the bbc hasn't been able to verify. british authorities haven't confirmed the claims made by the wagner military group, but say they are in contact with ukrainian authorities. a spokesperson speaking to the bbc re—confirmed the statement from the foreign office that they're supporting the families of two british men who've gone missing in ukraine. chris, who's 28, and andrew,

who's a8, had been working in ukraine as volunteers, helping deliver aid and evacuate people from the front line. speaking to the bbc back in november last year, chris parry said he was compelled to try and help ukrainian civilians. it's absolutely disgusting what the russians are doing. so i thought, well, i'm able—bodied. i can push a pedal on a van. i can drive, i can get these people out. at least, i can try. i couldn'tjust sit back at home in the uk, see it on the news, feel kind of sad for it and then go on to the next channel and watch something else. i was just compelled to come out here and just at least try to help, in one way or another. the men's families describe them as "compassionate" and "independently minded". the foreign office, meanwhile, continues to warn against travelling to ukraine, saying there is a real risk to life. adding that british nationals in the country should leave immediately. gareth barlow, bbc news.

ukraine says that it's fighting to hold on to the key town of soledar in the east of the country, but admits the situation is "difficult". a fierce assault on the area is continuing. our kyiv correspondent hugo bachega has the latest. it is very difficult to get a clear picture of what is happening in the town of soledar where fighting has been intense for several days now. last night president zelensky said ukrainian forces were still defending this town, and the authorities here have described the situation is difficult. yesterday, the head of the wagner group, this russian mercenary group that has been leading the russian offensive in the town, claimed that russian forces had taken control of soledar, a claim that had been dismissed even by the russian defence ministry. soledar is very strategic for the russians, it isjust soledar is very strategic for the russians, it is just miles away from another key target for russian

forces in the east of the country. if russian forces capture soledar, this town could be used as a base from which russian forces could target the other city and also ukrainian supply lines in that part of the country. it would be also very symbolic because it would mark a victory for russian troops after a number of military setbacks in ukraine. here in the uk, the charity citizens advice wants an outright ban on energy companies forcing people to switch to prepayment meters because of the number of people getting cut off. customers on prepayment meters have to pay for their energy in advance. new research from citizens advice shows that more than three million people ran out of credit on their prepayment meter last year, that's the equivalent of one every ten seconds. almost one in five of those who ran out of credit were then without gas or electricity for more than 2a hours, meaning they couldn't cook or heat their home. now charities say this is happening to some of the most vulnerable people, including those who are disabled

or have long—term health conditions. citizens advice wants a ban on forced installations or conversions. that would mean energy companies could no longer switch people automatically onto a prepaid meter if they are in debt. at the moment it can even be done remotely. we can speak now to peter smith at director of policy and advocacy, national energy action. a charity working to end fuel poverty. thank you forjoining us. how common an occurrence is this in your experience that people are forced to switch to a prepayment meter? .. , , forced to switch to a prepayment meter? ,,., , , ., forced to switch to a prepayment meter? , , ., ., meter? sadly his all too common, these desperate _ meter? sadly his all too common, these desperate situations - meter? sadly his all too common, these desperate situations of- these desperate situations of people living for prolonged periods of time, rationing energy use and living without energy entirely, happening daily, millions of homes across the uk, creating misery. tell us wh it across the uk, creating misery. tell us why it is — across the uk, creating misery. tell us why it is that being unhappy payment metre costume or for your units. —— being on a prepayment

meter. units. -- being on a prepayment meter. , ., , meter. higher cause to serve those customers. — meter. higher cause to serve those customers. the _ meter. higher cause to serve those customers, the cost _ meter. higher cause to serve those customers, the cost of— meter. higher cause to serve those customers, the cost of the - customers, the cost of the infrastructure within top up locations, but that is people's lives upset already, the smart meter roll—out means household should increasingly be able to top up remotely and have much greater access to government support. what access to government support. what about the argument _ access to government support. what about the argument that this is the right approach, a prepayment meter is the right approach for people who are struggling to budget? some --eole are struggling to budget? some people like _ are struggling to budget? some people like being _ are struggling to budget? some people like being ip _ are struggling to budget? fine people like being ip payment metres, they have been so for some time and see it as a key part as the way for budgeting —— prepayment meters. this highlights a different issue, talking about people being forcibly installed with eight prepayment meter at not being in contacted in advance, and switched over, in those

instances there are clear rules that may be a number of suppliers are not currently falling which require them to look at vulnerability and additional vulnerability created if they are put onto eight prepayment meter without their knowledge. it deprives them of being able to carry out basic daily functions. we deprives them of being able to carry out basic daily functions.— out basic daily functions. we know durin: this out basic daily functions. we know during this energy _ out basic daily functions. we know during this energy crisis _ out basic daily functions. we know during this energy crisis there i out basic daily functions. we know during this energy crisis there has | during this energy crisis there has been heightened awareness of the disparate impact it has on people's health and mental well—being, in terms of living in a cold home, and it impacts every part of your life. sitting in the dark for prolonged periods of time, not being able to cook a hot meal, not being able to wash clothes or have a hot shower, it is misery and it creates a situation in households which particularly for those with medical conditions, it is not acceptable. how supportive of a ban would you be on forcibly changing people to prepayment meters as the citizens advice is talking about? gieen

prepayment meters as the citizens advice is talking about?— advice is talking about? given that there is now _ advice is talking about? given that there is now strong _ advice is talking about? given that there is now strong evidence i advice is talking about? given that there is now strong evidence that l there is now strong evidence that there is now strong evidence that the current rules are not being applied and there is greater suspicion around some practices which are automatically switching people or the frequency by which warrants are being issued by magistrates without a second thought about the vulnerability of those occupants, we would support that temporary ban. but it won't address the self disconnection on a huge scale underlined today in those findings, and we need a much more coherent plan in the long to make energy affordable for those households paying by cheque or by cash, and address the root issues of debt which are creating semi challenges for these households. peter, thank you. dhara vyas is the deputy chief executive of energy uk, an organisation representing energy companies in the uk. thank you forjoining us. we are

hearing that this forcible switch to prepayment meters is happening all too often, what are the rules that energy companies are meant to be following and why are they not? thank you for halimi, supplies are required to have exhausted all other options before a prepayment meter and a warrant, and it really is only after repeated and unsuccessful events and attempts to contact customers, that is often telephone, e—mail, in person if they can, because lots of different ways of trying to contact the customer to understand the circumstances, and only when they have exhausted though should they then be doing it forcibly, under warrant. what we're finding is that obviously more and more people are falling into debt because of the cost of living crisis and energy prices contributing to that. people are more willing to talk to charities like citizens advice about their circumstances, and our members to work with them to dig deep into these cases and try to

resolve them. it is important that we recognise there is also a requirement on supplies to try and avoid customers spiralling into too much debt, and there are lots of examples of people who do prefer prepaid because it helps them to budget and manage outgoings and avoid unexpected bills. it is an important tool that we should be able to use and more importantly a key message is that it is important that suppliers know what is going on with customers. so they can make sure they are tailoring support, and what the best method of payment is for them. ., .., , , ., for them. how can it be helpful to forcibly switch _ for them. how can it be helpful to forcibly switch someone _ for them. how can it be helpful to forcibly switch someone across i forcibly switch someone across without them knowing or even cut them off? �* ., ., , them off? i'm not arguing it is helful, them off? i'm not arguing it is helpful. but — them off? i'm not arguing it is helpful, but they _ them off? i'm not arguing it is helpful, but they do _ them off? i'm not arguing it is helpful, but they do try - them off? i'm not arguing it is helpful, but they do try lots i them off? i'm not arguing it is helpful, but they do try lots of ways to contact them.- helpful, but they do try lots of ways to contact them. sorry, but it can never make _ ways to contact them. sorry, but it can never make a _ ways to contact them. sorry, but it can never make a bad _ ways to contact them. sorry, but it can never make a bad situation i can never make a bad situation worse, can it, to switch somebody off and they don't even know, they haven't necessarily in some cases

had advance warning?— haven't necessarily in some cases had advance warning? often it does rom -t had advance warning? often it does prompt contact. _ had advance warning? often it does prompt contact, where _ had advance warning? often it does prompt contact, where there - had advance warning? often it does prompt contact, where there has i prompt contact, where there has been, people have been so afraid of them bills that they have not opened letters. it can prompt contact, i'm not saying it is the best solution but i am saying it is really useful for customers and suppliers, the reality is we have an industry for 29 companies went out of business, that has added billions to bills, debt is a growing issue across the industry, what it points to is that affordability is a concern. the number of people self disconnecting, cannot afford to top up, is going, because people are finding a hearty paper energy. we are keen to work with citizens government and ofgem to address this issue because it is important that people can access energy. it is an essential service. surely one of the obvious things to do would be to make the unit price of your energy cheaper than it

currently is on a prepayment meter, because often it is more expensive and they are the most vulnerable people in society. it is and they are the most vulnerable people in society.— people in society. it is a good oint, people in society. it is a good point. the — people in society. it is a good point, the price _ people in society. it is a good point, the price of— people in society. it is a good l point, the price of prepayment, people speaking about the different infrastructure, decisions made a number of years ago about prepaid, about who pays for it and currently that cost is borne by people who use prepaid, something we should be talking about with government, how we start to think about aligning the costa prepaid as more and more people are on it. == costa prepaid as more and more people are on it.— people are on it. -- aligning the cost of. thank— people are on it. -- aligning the cost of. thank you. _ the headlines on bbc news... ambulance response times in england reach their worst level on record — the figures from december are up from the previous worst performance recorded in october. a pro—russian mercenary group in ukraine says it has found the body of one of two british aid workers reported missing

at the weeked — the claim hasn't been independently verified. new figures show more than 3 million people on energy prepayment meters ran out of credit last year — the equivalent of one person losing gas or electricity every ten seconds. both tesco and marks & spencer saw strong increases in sales over christmas, despite pressures on the cost of living. tesco said like—for—like sales at its uk stores rose by 4.3%, due to strong demand for its budget items. the uk's largest supermarket also reported that shoppers preferred to shop in—store rather than online. for marks and spencer, christmas sales grew by 7.2%, with strong performances across food, clothing and home. i'm nowjoined by susannah streeter — senior investment and markets anaylst at the financial service company hargreaves lansdown — she's in davos, switzerland, ahead of the world economic forum.

she's in davos, switzerland, ahead good she's in davos, switzerland, ahead morning. how good she's in davos, switzerland, ahead morning. how( for good morning. how can you account for this increase in sales at a time when prices are rising and people are feeling the pinch? absolutely, it certainly does _ are feeling the pinch? absolutely, it certainly does seem _ are feeling the pinch? absolutely, it certainly does seem as - are feeling the pinch? absolutely, it certainly does seem as though l it certainly does seem as though shoppers really were a lot more resilient, they were determined still to celebrate at christmas, despite the headwinds of the cost of living crisis. as you say, though sales figures came through a lot higher than had been expected. there had been a snapshot indicating that there would be a surge in sales, came in above that, tesco and marks & spencer is particularly, they do show that this focus on value is paying off. tesco has been doing this for some time, marks & spencer with its remarkable range is also joining this drive to show that they

can offer shoppers value, because thatis can offer shoppers value, because that is what shoppers really do want. however, these rising sales pales in comparison to the performance of those discounters, algae sales rose 27%, little just a catch i30 algae sales rose 27%, little just a catch 130 4%, gaining, and it shows that although consumers are resilient they are searching out value. ., ., , ., value. how does it account for the fact people _ value. how does it account for the fact people are — value. how does it account for the fact people are preparing - value. how does it account for the fact people are preparing to i value. how does it account for the fact people are preparing to shop| value. how does it account for the l fact people are preparing to shop in person a bit more than they have done for some time, rather than ordering online? this done for some time, rather than ordering online?— ordering online? this has been interesting. — ordering online? this has been interesting, a _ ordering online? this has been interesting, a trained - ordering online? this has been interesting, a trained towards l ordering online? this has been i interesting, a trained towards that, since the easing of restrictions, online sales are rebasing at a higher level than they were pre—pandemic, or people want to go out to the shops once more, to touch and feel the produce they are buying, perhaps to search out discounts and reduced items as well.

that seems to be the trend. also the likes of sainsbury�*s, their results are out this week, argos sales, they have performed better—than—expected, possibly partly because all of the strikes we have had, disruptive deliveries. people were going into store and buying christmas presents instead of relying on those coming through the door and a parcel. that has certainly helped the trend, so you have seen homeware sales and clothing sales at marks & spencer performed better—than—expected as well as homeware sales across other retailers as well. flit well as homeware sales across other retailers as well.— retailers as well. of course, christmas — retailers as well. of course, christmas is _ retailers as well. of course, christmas is an _ retailers as well. of course, christmas is an anomaly i retailers as well. of course, christmas is an anomaly in l retailers as well. of course, i christmas is an anomaly in the retailers as well. of course, - christmas is an anomaly in the year, a time when people are spending more, and hopefully retailers can benefit, supplies might argue they are being squeezed further down the chain, but what about looking ahead? that level of spending is not likely to continue, is it? h0. that level of spending is not likely

to continue, is it?— to continue, is it? no, the pre-christmas _ to continue, is it? no, the pre-christmas period i to continue, is it? no, the pre-christmas period is i to continue, is it? no, the - pre-christmas period is absolutely pre—christmas period is absolutely crucial for retailers, there will be a lot of cheer that consumers have been more resilient, but lets look forward, and of course we still have interest rates set to rise further, likely to lower sales in the housing market, house price falls, affecting consumer confidence, which is inching back up but from a real low post going forward it is likely that shoppers are likely to be penny—pinching through the months to come, particularly as we have a change to the energy support coming as well. that has been reflected in the share price of marks & spencer because even though it had a christmas cracker, shares have declined, investors are thinking it is not out of the woods yet, the cost of living crisis is set to continue for another year, cost—of—living is going to be on the agenda and the world economic forum, notjust in the uk but many other countries right around the world.

thank you. breaking news, regarding... liberty steel is to implement the next phase of its restructuring programme which could affect up to 440 jobs, the company announced. they are briefing staff on the measures throughout the rest of the day. according to the trade press, there will be two sites that will be idled in wales, and one in the midlands, and jobs also thought to be at risk in rotherham, south yorkshire. measures are being taken because of high energy cost, weak markets, and a lack of funding. jobs approximately at risk at liberty steel, more details when they come. people claiming sickness and disability benefits could soon be allowed to keep receiving their payments even when they find a job. the plans are being considered as part of goverment changes, aimed at getting more people back into employment.

here's our chief political correspondent, nick eardley. this is a big issue, economic inactivity. and in particular, ministers are worried about the fact that the number of people who aren't working because of long—term sick issues has gone up, considerably, since the pandemic. it's gone up from about two million in 2019 to 2.5 million now. so the government has been looking at ways to incentivise people back into work. none of these plans are finalised yet, but i think we're getting an idea of what the government is likely to do when it comes up with those proposals. so the key one is that people who get disability benefits won't lose them automatically if they go back to work. the idea is that you still have a bit of a safety net, that people aren't worried that by going back to work, that safety net is removed. so that's something that's looking pretty likely. the government is also thinking about reforming the eligibility plans, the way that you've got to set out

that you're too sick to work. that's something that labour were talking about earlier in the week as well, so there's broad consensus on that. there's even talk in some of the papers this morning about tax breaks for people over 50 who go back to work, although i'm told that that's at a very early stage and won't necessarily happen. but the idea, as i say, it to make it a bit easier for people who have been off for sickness—related issues to get back to work. not all of these plans will be welcomed by everybody, i think some of them might be controversial, but i'm also pretty certain that ministers want a big reform of this system and that we're likely to see one soon. one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, jeff beck, has died at the age of 78. the british musician rose to fame in the 1960s as part of the yardbirds, before forming thejeff beck group with sir rod stewart. our arts correspondent david sillito looks back at his career.

# you're everywhere and nowhere, babe # that's where you're at # going down a bumpy hillside in your heavy hat. hi ho silver lining, 1967. jeff beck looked to have the hit that was going to turn one of the great guitarists of the 60s into a star. but almost as soon as he recorded it, he was having doubts. his career was not going to be catchy pop songs. # hey! he had made his name in the yardbirds, replacing eric clapton. in thejeff beck group, he helped make rod stewart a star. and pioneered a blues rock sound that others would turn into massive chart success. he was much admired.

the rolling stones asked him tojoin, he worked with stevie wonder, david bowie, kate bush, but the critical acclaim did not turn into sales. jeff, do yourthing, son! however, in a career that lasted more than 60 years, he more than earned his place as one of rock's great guitar heroes. # hi, ho, silver lining # everywhere you go, now, baby. tributes have been pouring in since the announcement of jeff beck's death. friend and musician ronni wood, wrote... mickjagger also paid

his tribute, saying... and sir rod stewart also paid his respects to the guitarist. jeff beck died yesterday at the age of 78. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. the weather for the rest of this week remains unsettled, it will be wet and windy at times. today we have rain across the south of england, showers coming southwards through the course of the day, and we also have rain pushing north eastwards across scotland, curling background into northern ireland. in between, we are looking at something drier and brighter with fewer showers. but wherever you are it's going to be windy, with the wind strengthening towards the west, touching gale force as we go through the day. as we head through the evening and overnight, low pressure driving our weather

across scotland, further showers. but for northern ireland, southern scotland, northern england and at times north wales, we are looking at gales, even severe gales. no issues with frost tonight, lows between four and nine celsius. tomorrow the low pressure pulls away altogether, the wind will slowly moderate and there will be drier weather tomorrow than today, bit more sunshine, still a few showers around and temperatures are six in the north to 12 in the south.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines. ambulance response times in england reach their worst level on record. the figures from december are up from the previous worst performance recorded in october. a pro—russian mercenary group in ukraine says it has found the body of one of two british aid workers reported missing at the weeked, the claim hasn't been independently verified.

new figures show more than 3 million people on energy prepayment metres ran out of credit last year, the equivalent of one person losing gas or electricity every ten seconds. retailers tesco and marks & spencer saw strong increases in sales over christmas, despite pressures on the cost of living. and tributes pour in forjeff beck, one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, who has died at the age of 78. we are hearing from the pcs union that 100,000 civil servants will go on strike. the union says it follows a meeting with the government that they described as a total farce.

100,000 civil servants due to go on strike on february one. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's laura. good morning, we will start with tennis and what a chance great britain's jack draper will have to be the headline maker in the first round of the australian open on monday. the draw was made earlier today, and the 21—year—old faces the top seed rafael nadal, who is the defending champion. andy murray also faces a really tough draw, as russell fuller reports. all playing 16 players, the number one in in the draw, the reigning champion is trapped draper, if there is a good time to play rafa nadal it is a good time to play rafa nadal it is in the opening round is in the qualify having won a few hours ago. he also took on novak djokovic in

2021. andy murray, he has not been seeded because he needs to play the wimbledon runner—up, he beat him in the first round. we may come up with a against a player there better. in the women's competition, a much better draw for some, i was watching them practice in the grounds earlier and it looked as if she is returning to the intensity of practice you need just before the grand slam. manchester city manager pep guardiola says his side have some improving to do ahead of saturday's manchester darby at old trafford. city were knocked out the league cup last night by a rejuvinated southampton. saints are bottom of the premier league, city have won the league cup in four

out of the last five seasons. but it is southampton that go on to the semifinals. sekoo mara scoring his first goal for the club. just five minutes later moussa jenepo added a spectacular second. city, meanwhile, failed to manage a single shot on target and guardiola knows they'll have to play better at the weekend. it isa it is a different competition but of course we need to perform in this way. when there is a chance,... many are looking forward to staying in this position. we know exactly what we have to do to prepare. so we will try to do it. now, england's netballers showed the kind of resilience they'll need at this summer's world cup in their victory overjamaica in the first of their 3—match series. england recovered from a slow start to win 73—52 in front of a bumper crowd of more than 6,500 at the ao arena in manchester. they scored 24 goals

in the final quarter alone, to win comprehensively. the second match of the series takes place at the copperbox in london on saturday. the masters snooker gets back underway at alexandra palace at lunchtime with mark williams taking on ronnie o'sullivan in the quarterfinals. judd trump plays his last eight match tomorrow after surviving a big scare against wales' ryan day. but trump says going 5—3 down in the best of 11 contest was actually the best thing to happen, because it took all the pressure off him and he could relax. and it worked as he fought back to win the last three frames. he'll now face former finalist barry hawkins. and here's another tale of succeeding in the face of adversity. stuart bingham beat kyeran wilson by 6 frames to 3. he'll face another former winner shaun murphy tomorrow. bingham said he thought the snooker gods had been against him,

and he had been struggling with his eyesight until trying new contact lenses. but he seemed to be enjoying the view as he lapped up the love from the crowd. that's all the sport for now. i'll be back shortly with another update. an independent investigation has found the national union of students has failed to sufficiently challenge anti—semitism in its own structures across the uk. testimony given to the inquiry detailed how on one occasion a student was turned away from a prayer room at an nus conference because it was being used for a meeting. the nus has apologised and said it would implement the report's recommendations. kat stark is their director and gave us her reaction to the report. i think it is shocking, the anti—semitism that we have found to be taking place in and around the

nus. i think what is most important is that we stop and listen and reflect on what the report has found. and ultimately that we take action, which is why we published an action, which is why we published an action plan alongside the report because what students need to see from us is action to sort this out. and to make sure that the whole of the student unions and everybody involved, that these are welcoming, safe and empowering places. the president of the union ofjewish students, joel rosen, says attitudes need to change. i think time will tell if we see a clear_ i think time will tell if we see a clear change in their treatment of jewish— clear change in their treatment of jewish students. i think the reports

are encouraging there needs to be a wider— are encouraging there needs to be a wider cultural shift in the treatment ofjewish students. these issues _ treatment ofjewish students. these issues are _ treatment ofjewish students. these issues are not confined to the nus and we _ issues are not confined to the nus and we need to see a change because anti—semitism has been normalised for far— anti—semitism has been normalised for far to _ anti—semitism has been normalised for far to long in some quarters. let's get more now on the latest figures from nhs england for last month which show that waiting times for ambulances have reached their worst level on record. but there was better news on the number of people on waiting lists for treatment. i have been a doctor in the nhs for 30 years and many of my colleagues will say that it is very busy. if you look at our numbers, we had 2.1 million attendances at emergency departments across england, we had

100,000 category one ambulance call—outs, that is the most urgent typer call—outs, that is the most urgent type, and we had 1 million calls to 999 services. that means that hospitals are under pressure. during that time, we had around 13,000 patients in hospital that were saved to be discharged and could be cared for at home. under those sorts of service pressures, 19 out of 20 of our beds are full. when you are running at that level of occupancy, it is difficult when we need admissions, to move patients from the emergency department to the main hospital. that creates overcrowding in hospital. i think the key thing for those statistics is to thank nhs staff for going the extra mile, working day and night to keep people safe and to make sure all patients get care as fast as we are able to

deliver. we are putting extra beds in and we are well under way to delivering 7000 extra beds that we committed to. we are putting in virtual wards, committed to. we are putting in virtualwards, 6000 committed to. we are putting in virtual wards, 6000 patients in virtual wards, 6000 patients in virtual wards, 6000 patients in virtualwards, community support virtual wards, community support services virtualwards, community support services and are working intensively with local government and communities to make sure that patients are discharged when they are medically fit to do so. that means we should be able to bring occupancy levels down and that means we can move patients through quicker and that will then support our colleagues in emergency departments and ambulance services. housebuilders are always trying to improve energy efficiency — how to keep a home cool in the summer and warm in the winter, while keeping bills down. researchers behind a new project at the university of salford say their latest work will play a key role in developing new technologies. our climate editor, justin rowlatt told us more. oh, my goodness. it is absolutely freezing. i say freezing, it's —15

and my hands are really cold. and we've created this kind of winter wonderland. look at the house. there's ice on the walls, icicles up there. but this is totally artificial. so i'm inside a huge experimental chamber. if we go out, you can see the walls — it's like the truman show, an artificial world. and it's huge, big enough for these two full and fully functioning houses. they're furnished. it's launch day today and you can probably see there are people inside the living room. and the idea is to use these homes to test new heating technologies, insulation, the kind of things that will be in new homes from 2025 when new standards come on, so they have got to test them. and the idea of these chambers is to put these technologies and materials through their paces. you can see, —15, it's going to flash up in a moment. the temperature differences are so big that we have to use two cameras. oh, that's better.

because the cameras would fog up if we went between the cold and the hot. and look at that. 26 degrees in here. so it is a lot warmer in here, it's actually lovely in here. and the idea is to test materials, test them and see how they perform in these different conditions, as i've been discovering. this chamber goes down to —20, and as well as creating a lovely snowy day like this... whoa! ..it can also do this. create a pretty fierce gale. and it could do a rainstorm too, although today, we're doing it outside. so thank goodness they do tropical too. it's the costa del salford! from the outside, you would never know what's going on, would you? back in the cold. so let's take a look at what goes on inside these houses.

hi,justin, come in. good to see you. and you. so, oliver, what are you testing in here? so for us here, we've got two different types of heating systems. we've one that takes heat out of the air and basically puts it into hot water. air source heat pumps, super efficient aren't they? super efficient. they go straight into your skirting board and heats the home. so no radiators? no radiators, so you can move your furniture around. you've got a lot more space to play with in the room. the second is infrared, so really a little bit like the sun. so if you feel along here. ooh. oh, that's nice. yeah? so we've got two systems here because it heats you. we've got one here on the wall, and then we've got one up here on the ceiling. oh, that's a heating system as well? yeah, it sort of pushes it through and really comes through into the room. and you're testing them against each other to see which is the most efficient. of course, you can change the weather, so you can very

accurately work out how they work. exactly that. so we can get the weather really cold outside and put either one on and see how that affects the home. but that is not the only tech you've got in here? no, not at all. the home has got sensors all over it. so what it does is, it follows you, and it can put on the heating relevant to the room that you're in. so it heats the place that you are, not the rest of the house? and that's not all. on hot days, the curtains close automatically to shade the sun, and there are vents to draw out hot air. the washing machine has a steam mode to save water, and the fridge makes your food last days longer by managing moisture. and despite appearances, this house isn't made of brick. the walls are designed for maximum insulation. what we've done is, we've removed the external masonry and we replaced it with a product, a brick slip product. so this is like just a couple of millimeters thick? it is. it looks like brick and it feels like brick. and actually, it's rendered like brick. it gives the aesthetic of brick, but has a space—saving capability to enable us to to put more insulation and to create that higher performing fabric. and there's more innovative stuff

in the house next door. so, take a look at this. the shower tray collects the hot water from your shower and recycles that energy in the house. and also, in the cupboard here, there's a similar system for taking the heat out of the air and recycling that around the home. and that's not all. take a look at this. and there's all sorts of technology up here in the loft, because the assumption is, increasingly, we're going to have solar panels on our roofs. so you've got an inverter, a battery. you can use that battery to store low—cost energy at night, if you want. another way of making your home more energy efficient and, of course, cheaper to run too.

i should also say that it is lower carbon, these homes and chambers can be used to test lower tech things, for example closing your curtains, putting in soft furnishings, putting in those snakes that you used to block drafts. those simple things can make a huge difference and they have shown the percentage that you can takeoff your bill by testing it in chambers like this in the university of salford. this chamber has got a huge door, to cool it down, there are lots of people visiting. you could drive a bus through there and they can test the thermal efficiency of a bus. this is a versatile new experimental chamber that can be used to test all sorts of things. they are working with companies in around manchester and salford to develop new window technologies. it is a important new facility that will help drive the

economy develop the new technologies that we will need in our homes, to keep them efficient and cheap but also keep them low carbon. the headlines on bbc news. nhs waiting time figures for england show that ambulance response times their worst level on record — the figures from december are up from the previous worst performance recorded in october. a pro—russian mercenary group in ukraine says it has found the body of one of two british aid workers reported missing at the weeked — the claim hasn't been independently verified. new figures show more than 3 million people on energy prepayment metres ran out of credit last year , the equivalent of one person losing gas or electricity every ten seconds. the white house and the us justice department have declined to comment on reports that another batch of classified documents from joe biden's time as vice president has been found in an unsecured location.

it comes two days after it was revealed that a small dossier of similar papers were discovered at the office of a washington thinktank. here's our north america correspondent, peter bowes. it follows the initial discovery that an initial batch of documents were found at a separate location. this was a think tank wherejoe biden had a private office in the time after he left office. he worked there for some time. joe biden said that he was surprised at that discovery. he didn't know what was in those documents and that the white house was cooperating with the investigation. thejustice department also have had nothing to say about reports of a second batch

of documents being discovered. this is potentially, politically sensitive, perhaps even awkward for the white house given the fact that former president trump is still under investigation over a very similar scenario although different because many more documents were involved. those documents that were found at the mar—a—lago estate in florida. there are possibilities that the criminal charges could be brought against president trump and thatis brought against president trump and that is why it is going into a politically sensitive issue. california is bracing for another round of deadly storms, as the extreme weather that has battered the american state moves north. at least 17 people have died after a month of heavy rain and flooding. our us correspondent, sophie long, has the latest. a brief respite from the rain. but water surrounds sacramento. this landslide caused chaos in the central valley. there were countless others

like it across california. workers rushed to repair this sinkhole that swallowed two cars in los angeles. like this clean—up crew at a farm in ventura county, they know the next deluge is just days away. it was up to our knees running over the road. no waterfor two years, and then more water than we got in two years in 24 hours is not the business. the extensive flooding has been caused by a series of atmospheric rivers which behave like conveyor belts of water in the sky. this is the result. entire neighbourhoods turned into lakes. fire crews flew in to rescue a person trapped by the ventura river, which hit its highest level ever. i've never seen anything like this in all my 41 years living in the city. we lost our home and all of our belongings that we've had. in the central valley, the flood water overwhelmed vehicles and homes. as the current storm moves north towards the pacific northwest,

a brief break in the extreme weather in california has meant evacuation orders in santa barbara have been lifted. but rivers still rage and the runoff from the mountains keeps coming fast. there is one silver lining. the several feet of snow that's fallen in the sierra nevadas should run off into the reservoirs when it melts, helping to lift their levels after years of drought. but more punishing storms are expected to pound the west coast this weekend. for more than two decades, melanie c has performed around the world in front of millions of fans — but her latest project takes her far from her pop star roots. the spice girl — who turns 49 today — is preparing to make her contemporary dance debut — at an intimate show at london's sadler�*s wells theatre. our arts reporter sophie van brugen has been to meet her.

it's taken months of hard work and rehearsals. mel c's first foray into the contemporary dance world. and it was a challenge that she was ready to take on. this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. i danced from a really young age. i think i started when i was about three. kind of got more into it and serious when i was about eight years old. and i think when i went into secondary school, i was like, performing is definitely a career that i want and to have an opportunity to dance at sadler�*s wells is, i still actually can't believe it. so i had to say yes. what's it taught you about yourself that perhaps you didn't maybe know before? never think that you're beyond or past something, you know, because yes, it's different. you know, i do have to make peace with the body that i'm now in, but i have made improvements. and as a young person

and a young performer, i was so hard on myself. i was so disciplined. and now ijust give myself a little bit more of an easy ride. when i hit the stage, i'll be 49 years old. and, you know, who knew i'd be dancing professionally at that age? and i feel very proud of that. but there are definitely things that i can't expect my body to do now. myjoints aren't happy with me. they're not my friend. but, you know, definitely with the right care and attention, yeah, you can still go to do the things you love. so how do you feel coming to this performance at this point in your career? well, it kind of as an adult, it blows my mind. but i think back to my younger self, i had so much confidence as a child in all of my abilities that i probably would have been like, "yeah, of course, sure!" but when i look back with being a bit more humble, it's, you know, it's incredible

and it's hard. it's hard work. there's been lots of ups and downs. there's been lots of tears, a few tantrums. but i know at the end of the day, i'm going to really appreciate the work that i've put in and how much faith everyone's put in me. will the other spice girls be coming to see you because you're all so supportive of each other? yeah, absolutely. i was recently on stage with emma and everyone's just so excited. i know mel b will be there, geri will be there. yeah, i'll have to see if victoria is going to come down. the thing is, with the girls, we all have a background in dance, so i'm sure they're going to be really intrigued to see what i do. the last time the spice girls performed together was 2019, but minus victoria beckham. so are there any plans for posh to join them again? i think you might have seen us on social media having a little boogie at geri's 50th,

we're definitely luring her back in. so we're working on it. what do you want the audience to take away from seeing you in this production? i really want them to be moved. i want them to feel the emotion. it's a world of magic. and that's what captured.. i feel emotional! that's what captured my imagination when i was a child. and now whenever i get on a stage, when i go to, like, sound check or rehearse, ijust look out and i remember how i felt as a child and how itjust captivated me. and that's my life. that's what i do. i continue to do that and hopefully i'll do it forever. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. as we go through the next few days, the weather remains unsettled. the temperatures are also fluctuating. today, we have some mild air

in the south, tomorrow it will be cold as represented by the blues, then something milder on saturday before later on saturday, cold air pushes across us all, that will be with us on sunday, monday and into the early part of next week generally. today, we have this weather front which has been producing some rain in southern areas and the second one which is curling all the way around and back into northern ireland and also western scotland. that is bringing some showers. through the day, the rain continues to push south eastwards, here is the weather front bringing more rain southwards and we follow it around you can see that it goes across northern and western scotland, curling into northern ireland. in between, a drier and brighter interlude with fewer showers but where ever you are today it will be windy with the winds strengthening up towards the west, touching gale force through the day. temperatures six in lerwick going to 13 in norwich and london. through this evening, the rain in the south—east clears away, the low pressure driving our weather at the moment pushes across scotland with showers rotating around it but it will be windy with severe gales across parts of northern ireland southern scotland and northern england and at times

north wales. temperature wise, we are looking at four in aberdeen to eight in plymouth, no issues with frost. as we go through the course of tomorrow, our low pressure pulls off to scandinavia to start with, it will still be windy but the wind will be moderate through the day. then we have a transient ridge of high pressure which settle things down, it will be drier with more sunshine tomorrow. there is also some showers coming in from the west, getting down towards the midlands, possibly into east anglia. temperatures six to 12, north to south. then as we head into the weekend, the weather still does remain unsettled, a new area of low pressure comes our way on saturday bringing this weather front which will clear during the course of saturday leaving a lot of showers in its wake, as you can see from the isobars, it's also going to be windy. so, wet start on saturday, the rain clears then we are back into a mixture of sunshine and showers. some of those wintry on the hills and on sunday, note the difference in temperature, it will go down, it will be

colder and that is how we will start next week. colder with a chance of some of seeing wintry showers.

this is bbc news, the headlines... new figures show record waiting times in england for an ambulance, with many patients waiting five times longer than they should. a pro—russian mercenary group in ukraine says it has found the body of one of two british aid workers reported missing at the weeked — the claim hasn't been independently verified. new figures show more than 3 million people on energy prepayment meters ran out of credit last year — the equivalent of one person losing gas or electricity every ten seconds. retailers tesco and marks & spencer saw strong increases in sales over christmas, despite pressures on the cost of living. and tributes pour in forjeff beck,

one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, who has died at the age of 78. ambulance response times in england reached their worst level on record in december. category two emergency calls, which include heart attacks and strokes, took on average half an hour longer than the previous worst performance recorded in october. the highest priority calls, that's immediately life—threatening cardiac arrests, were again the worst on record. accident and emergency waits also hit their worst ever level. but there was some progress in england with the waiting list for routine treatments — the number of people fell slightly by about 200,000 to 7.19 million.

these figures come as health leaders are urging government ministers to reach an agreement with trade unions as soon as possible. our health correspondent nick triggle has been looking into the figures. it has, i have been covering these monthly statistics for nearly ten years, these are by far the worst set of data that i have seen. in particular as you mention, the ambulance response times, category two calls, meant to be answered in 18 minutes, taking five times longer. some services over 2.5 hours, this puts patients at risk, category one, the most urgent immediately life—threatening cases such as cardiac arrest, taking nearly 11 minutes, should be seven minutes, every minute delay reduces the chance of survival by 10%. that is why we have heard in recent weeks about the numbers of people dying because of the problems accessing emergency care. as we see, it has got worse. we have what is described as excess

deaths, which are really quite high, taking out the impact of covid and what happened during the pandemic, that is also causing a huge amount of concern. it is — by the end of last year, about 20—25% higher than you would normally expect, much of that, or at least perhaps half of the excess deaths are being put down to problems accessing emergency care. also covid circulating and killing people, also high levels of flu. there was always the worry that this winter would be difficult, we have the nhs trying to keep doing some of the routine treatment, there has been a bit of positive news there, the waiting list for routine treatments like hip and knee operations has come down fpr the first time since the start of the pandemic, just a small drop, but that is positive news.

what is happening in the emergency care system, excess deaths, it is incredibly worrying. the government has said they want to bring down those waiting times for routine appointments even further, but of course we have the backdrop of strikes already happening, and still to come. yes, yesterday we saw the ambulance staff walk out across every part of england apart from the east, and also wales. next week, two days of nurses' strikes, that, they are walking out, that could have a detrimental impact on the small progress made for routine treatments, because nurses on a whole will keep doing emergency care but it is routine treatments that will be affected. the problem facing the nhs is, it is the most difficult and busy time of year, it has industrial action taking place, and until that is resolved, it will be very hard for the government and nhs england to see much progress on some of these performance statistics.

we can speak now to adam brimelow, the director of communications at nhs providers. brimelow, the director formerly brimelow, the director one of us at the bbc, help corresponding, formerly one of us at the bbc, help corresponding, good to see you. your reaction? it is corresponding, good to see you. your reaction? , ., ., reaction? it is another record-breaking i reaction? it is another l record-breaking month, reaction? it is another i record-breaking month, in reaction? it is another _ record-breaking month, in terms of record—breaking month, in terms of the demands we are seeing, reflected in those top priority ambulance calls, attendances at a&e, those pressures of being reflected right across the system. we have seen that in the figures. that is a very worrying picture. no one is complacent about that, trust leaders, front line staff working incredibly hard, we are seeing increased activity in terms of diagnostics, a slight chipping away at that waiting list figure, which is encouraging. is good to see is encouraging. that is good to see but no one is under any doubt about the gravity of the situation facing

the gravity of the situation facing the nhs today.— the gravity of the situation facing the nhs today. help was england, the nhs today. help was england, the said the nhs today. help was england, they said the _ the nhs today. help was england, they said the pressures _ the nhs today. help was england, they said the pressures on - the nhs today. help was england, they said the pressures on the i the nhs today. help was england, | they said the pressures on the nhs are intolerable with patients paying the price —— health watch england. what you say to people who that care? —— need that care. what you say to people who that care? -- need that care.- care? -- need that care. trust leaders would _ care? -- need that care. trust leaders would agree _ care? -- need that care. trust leaders would agree that i care? -- need that care. trust leaders would agree that we i care? -- need that care. trust i leaders would agree that we need care? —— need that care. tut leaders would agree that we need to do better. we want to do better. trusts are striving to do better for patients. i would also say it is important to remember staff working under such incredible pictures as well. this off the back of such an arduous and for some traumatic pandemic as well to keep things running against a background of incredible pictures and also industrial action, which makes the situation even harder to contentment.— situation even harder to contentment. ., ., , , , contentment. how, then, our trustys tellin: ou contentment. how, then, our trustys telling you that — contentment. how, then, our trustys telling you that they _ contentment. how, then, our trustys telling you that they will _ contentment. how, then, our trustys telling you that they will try - contentment. how, then, our trustys telling you that they will try to i telling you that they will try to alleviate some of these pressures in the first instance —— are trusts, is

becoming so difficult, you wonder what can throw at it that would make a difference. it is what can throw at it that would make a difference-— a difference. it is a difficult situation. _ a difference. it is a difficult situation, trusts _ a difference. it is a difficult situation, trusts are - a difference. it is a difficult situation, trusts are doing | a difference. it is a difficult l situation, trusts are doing all a difference. it is a difficult - situation, trusts are doing all they can, working with each other, lending support, working with system partners, other organisations, to do what they can to make resources go as far as they can. they have been resourceful and innovative at the pressures are extreme, and we talked about the continuing impact of covid and flu, that is affecting staff as well. continuing high level of staff absences, the additional disruption flowing from industrial action, if there is one thing that could happen right now to make a difference it would be for the government and unions to get together to find a way through on this page speed so we can really change the atmosphere, give staff and patients hope and progress —— in this pay dispute.

staff and patients hope and progress -- in this pay dispute.— we can get reaction from andrew gwynne the shadow minister for public health. worst figures we have ever seen, even worse than last october, what do you think these to happen right now to alleviate the pressure? iloathed now to alleviate the pressure? what we are seeing _ now to alleviate the pressure? what we are seeing is _ now to alleviate the pressure? what we are seeing is the _ now to alleviate the pressure? twat we are seeing is the perfect now to alleviate the pressure? wusgt we are seeing is the perfect storm after 13 years of conservative government of an nhs that is under resourced and on its knees, it is an nhs system in crisis, at what we need is the government to urgently recognise notjust that need is the government to urgently recognise not just that we need is the government to urgently recognise notjust that we need sticking plasters to get through this winter but we need a long—term plan to get the nhs back on a sustainable footing. that is why labour is calling for the largest increase in workforce in the history of the nhs with the doctors, nurses, care workers that are needed to be able to ensure that in future years we have an nhs that has the capacity

to deal with the perfect storm that sadly we are now seeing involved in. government ministers would agree that they need to be recruiting more, but that is a longer term fix, what about right now when we see ambulance waiting time so long? ultimately right now we need to look at ways that we can fix both the front door of the nhs, looking at primary care and what can be done in better community settings, to avoid going to the front door of the hospital, a&e, it isn't sustainable, but ultimately we also need to get the government to sit down around the government to sit down around the table with the professions to get the nhs working again, to get everybody in a position where they are focusing on the current crisis, and that we get the nhs front door a&e back to a sustainable level. the

way you do that, it cannot be acceptable that people are waiting with category two calls, that is heart attacks, strokes, on average an hour and a half. heart attacks, strokes, on average an hourand a half. many heart attacks, strokes, on average an hour and a half. many are waiting for more than that, it should be 18 minutes. we have to free up capacity. that is what the government is talking about but these are sticking plasters, we need long—term plans. these are sticking plasters, we need long-term plans-— long-term plans. short replied, we have seen a — long-term plans. short replied, we have seen a slight _ long-term plans. short replied, we have seen a slight improvement i long-term plans. short replied, we have seen a slight improvement in | have seen a slight improvement in routine treatment waiting times, that has to be positive.— that has to be positive. anything that has to be positive. anything that shows _ that has to be positive. anything that shows a _ that has to be positive. anything that shows a level _ that has to be positive. anything that shows a level of _ that has to be positive. anything l that shows a level of improvement that has to be positive. anything i that shows a level of improvement is welcome, but remember, ourwaiting times and waiting list are at record levels, they were at record levels before the pandemic, the pandemic made it worse, that is why we need to have a focus on real relentless reform in the nhs for the future so we can really drive down those times

and lace back to figures that the tories inherited in the golden inheritance in 2010 when the nhs had the best satisfaction ratings in its history. it was done before, it can be done again. history. it was done before, it can be done again-— and you can find out how the nhs is coping in your area via the bbc�*s online nhs tracker. for an indication of response times, a&e waiting times and how busy local services are in england, wales and scotland, visit bbc.co.uk/nhstracker. a strike by 100,000 civil servants will go ahead on february 1st after a meeting with the government was described as a "total farce" by the pcs union. the action is an escalation of a long—running dispute over pay and conditions. the government has offered civil servants a 2% to 3% pay rise, the union is calling for 10%, better pensions, job security and no cuts to redundancy terms. i'm joined now by mark serwotka, the general secretary of the public and commercial services union — the largest trade union representing british civil servants. what would it take to avert the strike? ,., ., ., ., .,

what would it take to avert the strike? _, ., ., ., ., . ., , strike? good afternoon. it certainly takes a lot more _ strike? good afternoon. it certainly takes a lot more than _ strike? good afternoon. it certainly takes a lot more than a _ strike? good afternoon. it certainly takes a lot more than a farce i strike? good afternoon. it certainly takes a lot more than a farce we i takes a lot more than a farce we went through this morning, i attended in good faith with the minister on the back of the prime minister on the back of the prime minister telling the people of this country he wanted meaningful discussions to avert industrial action, and the minister confirmed that not a single penny would be made available to avert the cost of living crisis for his own staff. even though we reminded him 40,000 food banks, 45,000 claimed benefits, yesterday tens of thousands got an e—mail saying their pay would go up because they are now on the national minimum wage even though they do skilled job dealing with asylum claims, universal credit, people's tax. ~ , ., claims, universal credit, people's tax. , ., ,, ., tax. why would you spit your union to be any more _ tax. why would you spit your union to be any more successful - tax. why would you spit your union to be any more successful when i tax. why would you spit your union | to be any more successful when the government has told other public sector workers that their demands are unaffordable, and you want 10%? what expect as a minimum is parity with anyone else, we have been given 2%, the lowest pay offer anywhere

across the economy after ten years, and people who ten years ago had a pay rise that was never great but meant that at least eight reflected in some way the job they did, they are now on minimum wage. we support nurses, paramedics, train workers and everybody else getting a pay rise that means they are not worse off at the end of the get they were at the start. as a starting point, what we're saying is tell us there is money available and we will have a discussion. unfortunately today, despite all the media trailing, they told us not to single penny would be put on the table to avert a crisis of poverty. put on the table to avert a crisis of poverty-— put on the table to avert a crisis ofove . of poverty. replay, i will come back to ou in of poverty. replay, i will come back to you in a — of poverty. replay, i will come back to you in a second, _ of poverty. replay, i will come back to you in a second, how _ of poverty. replay, i will come back to you in a second, how confident . to you in a second, how confident are you people will walk out? 100,000 voted in favour of strike action in november but only 5000 have done so. we action in november but only 5000 have done sm— action in november but only 5000 have done so. ~ ., , 11:11: ., have done so. we only call 5000 out so far, we believe _ have done so. we only call 5000 out so far, we believe more _ have done so. we only call 5000 out so far, we believe more would - have done so. we only call 5000 out so far, we believe more would be - have done so. we only call 5000 out| so far, we believe more would be out because they voted by nearly 87% do

so and because they know have no other option, otherwise they will continue to live in poverty, and thatis continue to live in poverty, and that is not acceptable. eta? continue to live in poverty, and that is not acceptable. stay with us if ou that is not acceptable. stay with us if you could. _ that is not acceptable. stay with us if you could. we — that is not acceptable. stay with us if you could, we will _ that is not acceptable. stay with us if you could, we will say _ that is not acceptable. stay with us if you could, we will say goodbye i if you could, we will say goodbye now to viewers on bbc two. you're watching bbc news, speaking to a representative of the union, 100,000 of your members are likely to walk out on the ist of february, which sort of department, how widespread is the impact going to be? the im act is the impact going to be? the impact will _ is the impact going to be? the impact will be _ is the impact going to be? tue: impact will be huge. is the impact going to be? tte: impact will be huge. as you mentioned, so far only 5000 people have been asked to strike, border force at christmas, driving examiners, some people in the dwp, because the government isn't listening we are escalating that. for the members will be called out for long—term sustained action, on the ist of february 100,000, virtually every government

department, job centres will be closed every port and airport, all part of the home office will be affected, so what the department for education, ofsted, museums and galleries, people who work in vital parts of delivering front line public services, saudi disruption will be immense but one day. we hope that if the government doesn't do anything before that they will see the strength of feeling —— south—east disruption, if not it will escalate with long—term strike action but also more days where everyone will come out on strike and we think by then we are likely to be joined by hundreds of thousands of other public sector workers whose ballot results will be announced next week. ballot results will be announced next week-— ballot results will be announced nextweek. ., ., ., , next week. various opinion polls su: est next week. various opinion polls suggest that _ next week. various opinion polls suggest that the _ next week. various opinion polls suggest that the public - next week. various opinion polls suggest that the public is - next week. various opinion polls suggest that the public is pretty | suggest that the public is pretty supportive of strike action by health care workers but less so other strike action, such as the railway workers who had been urged by quite a bit. what is the level of public sympathy towards your

members, because you are not at the front line of health services of course, there will be delays to the services you provide but it won't necessarily be quite so noticeable straightaway? tt necessarily be quite so noticeable straightaway?— straightaway? it well in certain areas, straightaway? it well in certain areas. and _ straightaway? it well in certain areas. and i — straightaway? it well in certain areas, and i have _ straightaway? it well in certain areas, and i have been - straightaway? it well in certain areas, and i have been on - straightaway? it well in certain i areas, and i have been on picket lines with our members over the last month and we had good support from the public, it is right that everybody loves the health service but most people when they think of the civil service probably think of sir humphreys, but in reality they will see new passports issued, no driving licences, job centres closed, museums and galleries closed, museums and galleries closed, people who work in ofsted, department for education, rural payments agency, we will essentially see a close—down of government for one day, and people will notice that. they will notice it even more thousand action continue and are more sustained, no one wants that, i hope viewers can accept that if they understood the person making a

decision on asylum claims are issuing universal credit claims are issuing universal credit claims are issuing and collecting taxes or policing minimum wage had so much more, is actually done by people who are on the minimum wage, claiming benefits of visiting food banks, i think most people would not be shocked but would think that is outrageous and a government must do about it. . ~ outrageous and a government must do about it. ., ~ , ., sport, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's laura. rising british tennis star jack draper will play top seed top seed rafael nadal in the australian open first round that starts on monday. the draw was made earlier this morning, and the 21 —year—old, draper, faces the defending champion....but at 36 and struggling with injury nadal could be vulnerable if draper, can repeat the form he showed

in his overnight victory at the adelaide open, over karen khachanov. it's a tough draw as well for andy murray, who faces the 13th seed matteo berrettini, while emma rada—carnuu, seed matteo berrettini, while emma radcanu, who has been struggling with an ankle injury, plays germany's tamara korpatsch. manchester city manager pep guardiola says his side have some improving to do ahead of saturday's manchester darby at old trafford. city were knocked out the league cup last night by a rejuvinated southampton. saints are bottom of the premier league, city have won the league cup in four out of the last five seasons. but it is southampton that go on to the semi finals. sekoo mara, scoring his first goalfor the club. just five minutes later moussa jenepo added a spectacular second. city, meanwhile, failed to manage a single shot on target and guardiola knows they'll have to play better at the weekend. i have a few... we didn't perform well, not talking titles, you have to deserve it, i want to deserve, today that was not

the case,, southampton deserve to be in the semifinals. southampton are joined in the semis by nottingham forest, who beat wolves on penalties. the game finished one all after 90 minutes, with forest keeper dean henderson saving joe hodge's spot kick in the shoot out. forest will now face manchester united in the last four. the masters snooker gets back underway at alexandra palace this lunchtime with mark williams taking on ronnie o'sullivan in the quarter—finals. judd trump plays his last eight match tomorrow after surviving a big scare against wales' ryan day. trump says going 5—3 down in the best off 11 contest, was actually the best thing to happen, because it took all the pressure off him and he could relax. and it worked as he fought back to win the last three frames. he'll now face former finalist barry hawkins. that's all the sport for now. i'll be back shortly with another

sport update for you all. the charity citizens advice wants an outright ban on energy companies forcing people to switch to prepayment meters because of the number of people getting cut off. customers on prepayment meters have to pay for their energy in advance. new research from citizens advice shows that more than 3 million people ran out of credit on their prepayment meter last year — that's the equivalent of one every ten seconds. almost one in five of those who ran out of credit were then without gas or electricity for more than 24 hours, meaning they couldn't cook or heat their home. now charities say this is happening to some of the most vulnerable people, including those who are disabled or have long—term health conditions. citizens advice wants a ban on forced installations or conversions. that would mean energy companies could no longer switch people automatically onto a prepaid meter if they are in debt. at the moment it can even be done remotely. let's get more on this from our international business correspondent, theo leggett.

it isa it is a minefield at the moment trying to navigate energy with the course, this is a new issue. yes. course, this is a new issue. yes, there are — course, this is a new issue. yes, there are two — course, this is a new issue. yes, there are two issues _ course, this is a new issue. yes, there are two issues here, - course, this is a new issue. yes, there are two issues here, the l course, this is a new issue. te: there are two issues here, the first is people are struggling to pay bills because the cost of energy, even though capped by the government, has doubled over the last year, that means people are struggling to find money, the cost of living generally is rising, prices going up, and if you are on at prepayment meter, you can be at risk of being disconnected. the other problem is that more and more people are on prepayment meters and thatis people are on prepayment meters and that is because in the past in order to install a prepayment meter, an energy company had to go into your house and physically fit one, now if you have a smart meter, it can be changed from the normal mode into a prepayment mode, it can be done remotely. some people are finding themselves on prepayment meters when they didn't realise and are running out of credit and finding they are

disconnected. the concern is this is happening to too many people who shouldn't be at risk of disconnection. people with long—term medical conditions, people who rely on having powerfor medical equipment like dialysis machines, that shouldn't be happening. there are rules to — that shouldn't be happening. there are rules to prevent _ that shouldn't be happening. there are rules to prevent it _ that shouldn't be happening. there are rules to prevent it but - that shouldn't be happening. there are rules to prevent it but citizens advice say it is still happening, or is there worry?— advice say it is still happening, or is there worry? they want and not eo - le is there worry? they want and not people being _ is there worry? they want and not people being transferred - is there worry? they want and not people being transferred to - people being transferred to prepayment meters without their consent, until safeguards are in place to make sure this doesn't happen because if people are not paying for their energy, some people, everybody else has to pay more. it is an everybody�*s intereste get those to pay who can, but there are rules, if you're on a prepayment meter and you run out of credit, you should be able to access emergency credit from your provider, something people should do if they think this will happen. there are also people who should not be on prepayment meters or at risk of disconnection

because they have long—term medical conditions, breathing difficulties for example, orthey conditions, breathing difficulties for example, or they rely on medical equipment or need to keep drugs killed, whatever, that is the problem that citizens advice has detected, they say that people should not be transferred over until the proper safeguards are in place. thank you. a russian mercenary group fighting in ukraine says it has found the body of one of two british aid workers reported missing over the weekend. christopher parry and andrew bagshaw were last seen on friday, heading to the town of soledar, which has seen fierce fighting in recent weeks. the claim has not been verified by the foreign office and the wagner group of mercenaries did not give a name. gareth barlow has this report. chris parry and andrew bagshaw went missing on friday, while travelling to the town of soledar. ukrainian police have since been conducting investigations into their disappearance. but now, unconfirmed reports from accounts linked to russia's wagner military group — which is engaged in an intense battle for the control of soledar —

claims to have recovered the body of one of the men. details the bbc hasn't been able to verify. british authorities haven't confirmed the claims made by the wagner military group, but say they are in contact with ukrainian authorities. a spokesperson speaking to the bbc re—confirmed the statement from the foreign office that they're supporting the families of two british men who've gone missing in ukraine. chris, who's 28, and andrew, who's 48, had been working in ukraine as volunteers, helping deliver aid and evacuate people from the front line. speaking to the bbc back in november last year, chris parry said he was compelled to try and help ukrainian civilians. it's absolutely disgusting what the russians are doing. so i thought, well, i'm able—bodied. i can push a pedal on a van. i can drive, i can get these people out. at least, i can try. i couldn'tjust sit back at home in the uk, see it on the news, feel kind of sad for it and then go on to the next channel

and watch something else. i was just compelled to come out here and just at least try to help, in one way or another. the men's families describe them as "compassionate" and "independently minded". the foreign office, meanwhile, continues to warn against travelling to ukraine, saying there is a real risk to life. adding that british nationals in the country should leave immediately. gareth barlow, bbc news. one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, jeff beck, has died at the age of 78. the british musician rose to fame in the 19605 as part of the yardbirds, before forming thejeff beck group with sir rod stewart. our arts correspondent, david sillito looks back at his career. we arejoined by we are joined by ollie, podcasting who metjeff beck shortly after his father died, and jeff beck took him under his wing. what a person to be

taken under the wing by how did this come about?— come about? good afternoon, jeff befriended my _ come about? good afternoon, jeff befriended my dad _ come about? good afternoon, jeff befriended my dad in _ come about? good afternoon, jeff befriended my dad in the - come about? good afternoon, jeff befriended my dad in the 70s - come about? good afternoon, jeff| befriended my dad in the 70s when come about? good afternoon, jeff - befriended my dad in the 70s when my grandfather owned a pub in wadhurst, out of the way, all the bands used to drink there, they could relax and have a good time, my dad was working behind the bar during this time, befriended jeff, thy dad was an aspiring drama, he gavejeff loads of damning types and said, let me come until with you. strangely i met jeff for the first time before actually knowing his music, my dad passed away into thousand three, and in 2004 me and his best friends and my family put on a big charity event for my dad and i hand rotate a letter to jeff because for my dad and i hand rotate a letter tojeff because he happened to live next to my and an uncle —— i wrote a letter —— he couldn't attend

a funeral but he never replied but him and his lovely wife sandra up at the event and there was a bit of pressure when i had to play drums at 13 with jeff pressure when i had to play drums at 13 withjeff beck in the audience, but he was a sensational guitarist to say the least. in my opinion, and in the opinions of many, the greatest guitarist to ever walk the planet. ah. greatest guitarist to ever walk the lanet. . ., ., , ., greatest guitarist to ever walk the lanet. ., ., , ., , ., planet. a lot of people would share those sentiments _ planet. a lot of people would share those sentiments with _ planet. a lot of people would share those sentiments with you. - planet. a lot of people would share those sentiments with you. judging by the tribute pouring in. what impact did he have in your life? jeff was naturally quite a shy person but he opened up enormously minute he picked up his guitar. i found jeff to be an incredibly inspiring person on a personal level and as a musician. i was lucky enough to go to his wedding and i were sat in between robbie coltrane and rick male while watching him play somewhere over the rainbow on a

stage built in his garden during his wedding ceremony, people like paul mccartney were there, all these greats, and remember being about 15 or16, looking greats, and remember being about 15 or 16, looking around at the world thatjeff had created and it was something that i immediately wanted to be part of, because ijust loved it. to be part of, because i 'ust loved it. ., , , , . ., to be part of, because i 'ust loved it. not surprised! what strikes me about people _ it. not surprised! what strikes me about people like _ it. not surprised! what strikes me about people like jeff _ it. not surprised! what strikes me about people like jeff beck, - it. not surprised! what strikes me about people like jeff beck, they i about people likejeff beck, they had this extraordinary talent that most mare mortals can only dream of, yet they remain immensely sort of humble and approachable —— may mortals. humble and approachable -- may mortals. ~ , , mortals. absolutely, i 'oked with jeff in the past h mortals. absolutely, i 'oked with jeff in the past that _ mortals. absolutely, ijoked with jeff in the past that nigel - mortals. absolutely, ijoked with jeff in the past that nigel tufnellj jeff in the past that nigel tufnell from spinal tap was actually based onjeff from spinal tap was actually based on jeff beck, from spinal tap was actually based onjeff beck, so how more information and legendary can you become? the thing withjeff, people say he is a musical genius, but i generally think he is, he is made of the same ingredients as somebody like stevie wonder, but stevie

wonder has had music more accessible to the public whereasjeff has been and had a more niche audience. he was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame twice, what a phenomenal legacy he will leave behind. but his music spans of its six decades and i know that it will influence the next generation of guitarists and musicians.- guitarists and musicians. where would ou guitarists and musicians. where would you advise _ guitarists and musicians. where would you advise that _ guitarists and musicians. where would you advise that next - would you advise that next generation to start if they haven't begun listening tojeff beck? imelt. begun listening to jeff beck? well, i would say songs _ begun listening to jeff beck? well, i would say songs to _ begun listening to jeff beck? well, i would say songs to pick _ begun listening to jeff beck? well, i would say songs to pick up - begun listening to jeff beck? -tt i would say songs to pick up is a fantastic rendition of brush with the blues from jools holland, that for me is arguably one of his greatest performances, if you check out the album jeff beck's guitar shop, eight sensationalaudio shop, eight sensational audio journey. shop, eight sensational audio 'ourne . shop, eight sensational audio 'ourne. , shop, eight sensational audio 'ourne . , shop, eight sensational audio 'ourne. , ., ., ~ ., journey. good tip, good to talk to ou, journey. good tip, good to talk to

you. thank— journey. good tip, good to talk to you. thank you — journey. good tip, good to talk to you, thank you for _ journey. good tip, good to talk to you, thank you for sharing - journey. good tip, good to talk to you, thank you for sharing your . you, thank you for sharing your memories, thank you. let's take a look at the weather. we have a ring we're seeing of late has been causing problems with flooding, we have a transport disruption in parts of wales, railways, struggling to get through between cardiff and carefully, flood warnings in force, 52 for a glen, 25 for wales, a couple in scotland, things quite badly to the afternoon but the worst rain is out of the way, there will be a sound of strong wind coming in from northern ireland, north—west of england and wales, gusts of 50—60 mph, strong enough to bring down some trees, could have some impact as far as the wind as well. overnight stays glittery with further best of rain, shall whisper northern scotland, staying windy, not that cold,

temperatures 3—7 c. more sunshine tomorrow, showers across scotland, a weather front bringing a zone of rain back into western scotland and north—west england, but for most it is a mild day again with temperatures reaching double figures in the south. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. new figures show record waiting times in england for an ambulance — with many patients waiting five times longer than they should a pro—russian mercenary group in ukraine says it has found the body of one of two british aid workers reported missing at the weeked — the claim hasn't been independently verified. new figures show more than 3 million people on energy prepayment meters ran out of credit last year, the equivalent of one person losing gas or electricity every ten seconds. retailers tesco and marks & spencer saw strong increases in sales over christmas, despite pressures on the cost of living.

and tributes pour in forjeff beck, one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, who has died at the age of 78. back to one of our main stories, the charity citizens advice is calling for a ban on energy companies forcing people to accept prepayment metres. new figures suggest that more than three million people with prepayment metres ran out of credit at some point last year. energy uk represents energy firms. its deputy chief executive dhara vyas says forced switching to prepayment metres is a last resort. the suppliers are required to have exhausted all other options before installing a prepayment meter. it really is only after repeated unsuccessful attempts to contact customer, that is often telephone, e—mail, in person if they can.

it's lots of different ways to try and contact the customer to try and understand what the circumstances are. only when they have exhausted those should they be then doing that, as you say, forcibly, under warrant. what we are finding is that more and more people are falling into debt because of the cost of living crisis, energy prices are obviously contributing to that. people are more willing to talk to charities like citizens advice about their circumstances and our members do work and dig deep into these cases to try and resolve them. we can speak now to ruth london, co—founder of the fuel poverty action, they're a group campaigning against fuel poverty. thank you forjoining us. we heard there them saying that it is a last resort, sometimes you cannot get customers to engage, what else are they meant to do?—

they meant to do? energy uk are sa inc they meant to do? energy uk are saying what _ they meant to do? energy uk are saying what should _ they meant to do? energy uk are saying what should happen - they meant to do? energy uk are saying what should happen not i they meant to do? energy uk are i saying what should happen not what does happen. what should happen is that a prepayment meter shouldn't be installed where it is not safe or practical for the installed where it is not safe or practicalfor the person installed where it is not safe or practical for the person using installed where it is not safe or practicalfor the person using it. that means people who are disabled, elderly, with young children, they shouldn't be forced to have a prepayment meter. because if the energy clicks off, if you don't have heat or light, you can't operate your stairlift or your hearing aid, or your ventilator. the things that people need to stay alive. you are in danger of death and people do die as a result of these impositions. instead of taking the precautions that they are supposed to take, the energy companies are sending back hundreds of applications and the magistrate courts are rubber—stamping them and they are going through. they are turning up at peoples doorsteps... people are

turning up on the doorsteps and forcing people to have these metres installed, after which they are at risk of death. that is a really serious situation. it has been pointed out to the government, there was a resolution in parliament that they should not be allowed to happen. the government has done nothing. now, we can't leave it to the companies. some companies have come forward and said they won't do any more installations, but we cannot leave it to the energy companies. there has to be action and i'm afraid that ofjen has been rubber—stamping what the companies want to do. tt rubber-stamping what the companies want to do. ,., ,., , rubber-stamping what the companies want to do. , , want to do. if somebody finds themselves _ want to do. if somebody finds themselves in _ want to do. if somebody finds themselves in this _ want to do. if somebody finds i themselves in this predicament want to do. if somebody finds - themselves in this predicament what should they be doing to put things right, to make sure they are not cut

off? if you have a challenging life this is the last thing that you need, what is the advice to people who find themselves in the situation?— who find themselves in the situation? ., ., , ., ., ., situation? unfortunately, a lot of --eole situation? unfortunately, a lot of people really _ situation? unfortunately, a lot of people really try _ situation? unfortunately, a lot of people really try to _ situation? unfortunately, a lot of people really try to get _ situation? unfortunately, a lot of people really try to get the - situation? unfortunately, a lot of| people really try to get the energy company to hear them. the energy company to hear them. the energy company doesn't want to know, it's the other way around. from what your previous speaker said. people have struggled with it, some people don't, some people don't know how they will deal with it because they don't have the money. it is not solvable by negotiation. the money is not there and the prices are so high that people can't pay them. what we are fighting for is a new payment system called energy for all which will mean that every household gets the energy that they need to cover basic needs. heating, lighting, be able to cook. not needs like hitting your swimming pool,

hitting a mansion, heating your stables. forthose hitting a mansion, heating your stables. for those kinds of things, for energy in excess of what is needed, they would have to pay extra to cover the cost for people to have the basics to keep alive. t the basics to keep alive. i can understand — the basics to keep alive. i can understand your _ the basics to keep alive. i can understand your proposal - the basics to keep alive. i can understand your proposal but that is a huge reform, how helpful would it be if people on prepayment meter didn't pay a higher unit price? they are often the most vulnerable in the first place and can least afford it. that would be a big help. it is outrageous that the people who are in the worst situation to begin with are paying the most. it wouldn't solve the problem because a lot of times the price will be to high anyway. something has to be done to meet the fact that people in this country are going hungry and cold and are dying in the winter because

of this. there is a lot of money out there, if energy companies have massive profits, we are saying that the government should stop subsidising fossil fuels to the tune of millions of pounds of public money and instead put the money towards energy for all so that people can keep warm, keep their lights on, keep their insulin cold in the fridge. this is a basic right. there are actions happening, the winter death statistics for last year are about to be released next thursday and there will be warm up actions happening individually outside parliament and a march to downing street. in many places around the country people are doing warm—ups where you can go into a public space and join your friends and discuss what should happen. speak out about what is happening with energy prices, people are

looking at our fuel poverty action website, you can find information to see if there is one happening near you. ultimately, there isn't necessarily one solution, people are staying with relatives, they are sleeping under lots of blankets, they are making sure that their draught proofing is done. insulation is a major thing that could be helping people keep warm, insulation budgets have been slashed. that is not happening. there is a limit to what people can do individually. abs, what people can do individually. a complex picture. we appreciate you joining us. thank you. both tesco and marks & spencer saw strong increases in sales over christmas, despite pressures on the cost of living. tesco said like—for—like sales at its uk stores rose by 4.3%, due to strong demand for its budget items. the uk's largest supermarket also reported that shoppers preferred to shop in—store rather than online. for marks and spencer, christmas sales grew by 7.2%, with strong performances

across food, clothing and home. absolutely, it certainly does seem as though shoppers really were a lot more resilient, they were determined still to celebrate at christmas, despite the headwinds of the cost of living crisis. as you say, though sales figures came through a lot higher than had been expected. there had been a snapshot indicating that 6%, tesco and marks & spencer is particularly, they do show that this focus on value is paying off. tesco has been doing this for some time, marks & spencer with its remarkable range is also joining this drive to show that they can offer shoppers value, because that is what shoppers really do want. however, these rising sales pales

in comparison to the performance of those discounters, algae sales aldi rose 27%, little just a catch 34%, gaining, and it shows that although consumers are resilient they are searching out value. how does it account for the fact people are preparing to shop in person a bit more than they have done for some time, rather than ordering online? this has been interesting, a trained towards that, since the easing of restrictions, online sales are rebasing at a higher level than they were pre—pandemic, or people want to go out to the shops once more, to touch and feel the produce they are buying, perhaps to search out discounts and reduced items as well. that seems to be the trend. also the likes of sainsbury�*s, their results

are out this week, argos sales, they have performed better—than—expected, possibly partly because all of the strikes we have had, disruptive deliveries. people were going into store and buying christmas presents instead of relying on those coming through the door and a parcel. that has certainly helped the trend, so you have seen homeware sales and clothing sales at marks & spencer performed better—than—expected as well as homeware sales across other retailers as well. of course, christmas is an anomaly in the year, a time when people are spending more, and hopefully retailers can benefit, supplies might argue they are being squeezed further down the chain, but what about looking ahead? that level of spending is not likely to continue, is it? no, the pre—christmas period is absolutely crucial for retailers, there will be a lot of cheer that consumers

have been more resilient, but lets look forward, and of course we still have interest rates set to rise further, likely to lower sales in the housing market, house price falls, affecting consumer confidence, which is inching back up but from a real low going forward it is likely that shoppers are likely to be penny—pinching through the months to come, particularly as we have a change to the energy support coming as well. that has been reflected in the share price of marks & spencer because even though it had a christmas cracker, shares have declined, investors are thinking it is not out of the woods yet, the cost of living crisis is set to continue for another year, cost—of—living is going to be on the agenda at the world economic forum, notjust in the uk but many other countries right around the world. thank you.

the white house has declined to comment about a batch of documents found in location. it comes after similar papers were discovered in a washington think tank. this similar papers were discovered in a washington think tank.— washington think tank. this is the second batch _ washington think tank. this is the second batch of— washington think tank. this is the second batch of documents - washington think tank. this is the | second batch of documents related washington think tank. this is the - second batch of documents related to joe biden, during his time as vice president. it follows the initial discovery that the white house acknowledged earlier this week that an initial batch of documents were found at a separate location. this was a think tank wherejoe biden had a private office in the time after he left office. he worked there for some time. joe biden said that he was surprised at that discovery. he didn't know what was in those documents and that the white house

was cooperating with the investigation. thejustice department have had nothing to say about the reports of a second batch of documents being discovered. this is potentially politically sensitive, perhaps even awkward for the biden administration and the white house given that former president trump is under investigation over very similar scenarios. although different because more documents are involved, those documents that were found at the mar—a—lago estate in florida. that investigation continues, there is the possibility that criminal charges could be bought against former president trump. that is why this is going into an issue that is indeed politically sensitive. 17 people have died in california

after heavy rains and flooding. water surround sacramento, this landslide was like many in california. workers rushed to repair the sinkhole in los angeles. they note the next deluge is just days away. tt note the next deluge is 'ust days awa . . , , note the next deluge is 'ust days awa , ., , , ., note the next deluge is 'ust days awa . . , , ., ., note the next deluge is 'ust days awa. , ~ , away. it was up to our knees, runnina away. it was up to our knees, running over— away. it was up to our knees, running over the _ away. it was up to our knees, running over the road, - away. it was up to our knees, running over the road, no - away. it was up to our knees, l running over the road, no water in two years and then more water in 24—hour is. two years and then more water in 24-hour is— two years and then more water in 24-hour is. the flooding has been caused by a _ 24-hour is. the flooding has been caused by a series _ 24-hour is. the flooding has been caused by a series of— 24-hour is. the flooding has been caused by a series of atmospheric| caused by a series of atmospheric rivers which behave like conveyor belts of water in the sky. this is the result. entire neighbourhoods turned into lakes. fire crews flew in to rescue a person trapped in the river which hit its highest level ever. t river which hit its highest level ever. . , ., , ever. i have never seen anything like this since _ ever. i have never seen anything like this since living _ ever. i have never seen anything like this since living here. -

ever. i have never seen anything like this since living here. we i ever. i have never seen anything l like this since living here. we have lost our home _ like this since living here. we have lost our home and _ like this since living here. we have lost our home and all— like this since living here. we have lost our home and all our- like this since living here. we have l lost our home and all our belongings that we _ lost our home and all our belongings that we had — lost our home and all our belongings that we had in— lost our home and all our belongings that we had-— that we had. in the central valley the floodwater _ that we had. in the central valley the floodwater overwhelms - that we had. in the central valley i the floodwater overwhelms vehicles and homes. as the current moves north, a brief break in the extreme weather in california has meant that evacuation orders have been lifted. rivers still rage and the run—off from the mountains keeps coming fast. there is one silver lining, the several feet of snow that has fallen in the sierra nevada should run off into the reservoir when it melts. helping to lift their levels after years of drought. more punishing storms are expected to pound the west coast me this weekend. housebuilders are always trying to improve energy efficiency — how to keep a home cool in the summer and warm in the winter, while keeping bills down. researchers behind a new project at the university of salford say their latest work will play a key role in developing

new technologies. our climate editor, justin rowlatt told us more. ice on the walls, this is totally artificial. i am ice on the walls, this is totally artificial. iam inside ice on the walls, this is totally artificial. i am inside a ice on the walls, this is totally artificial. iam inside a huge experimental chamber, it is an artificial world i am in. it is huge, it is big enough for these fully functional houses. there are people inside that living room. the idea is to use these homes. new standards are coming in in 2025 so they have to test them. the idea of these chambers is to put the technology through the paces the

attempted differences are so big is that we have to use two cameras. the cameras would fog up if we went between the cold and the heart. 26 celsius in here. it is a lot warmer, the idea is to test materials. see how they perform in these different conditions as i have discovered. this chamber goes down to —20 celsius. as well as creating a snowy day like this... it can also do this. create a fierce gale. it can do a rainstorm although today we are doing it outside. thank goodness they do tropical as well. from the

outside you would never know what is going on. back in the cold. let's take a look at what goes on inside these houses. what are you testing in here? we have two what are you testing in here? - have two different types of heating systems, one that takes heat out of the air and put it into hot water superefficient, it goes straight into your skirting board. tia into your skirting board. no radiators? _ into your skirting board. no radiators? no _ into your skirting board. no radiators? no radiator- into your skirting board. no radiators? no radiator so i into your skirting board. no i radiators? no radiator so you into your skirting board. no - radiators? no radiator so you have a lot more space _ radiators? no radiator so you have a lot more space to _ radiators? no radiator so you have a lot more space to move _ radiators? no radiator so you have a lot more space to move things - lot more space to move things around. the second is infrared, if you feel along here... around. the second is infrared, if you feel along here. . .— around. the second is infrared, if you feel along here... that's nice! we have won _ you feel along here... that's nice! we have won here _ you feel along here... that's nice! we have won here on _ you feel along here... that's nice! we have won here on the - you feel along here... that's nice! we have won here on the wall - you feel along here... that's nice! we have won here on the wall and you feel along here... that's nice! i we have won here on the wall and we have one appear on the ceiling.

that's a heating system as well? you are testing them against each other to see what is most efficient, you can change the weather to see which is better. we can get the weather very cold outside and see how the heating affects the home. the home has sensors — heating affects the home. the home has sensors that _ heating affects the home. the home has sensors that can _ heating affects the home. the home has sensors that can follow - heating affects the home. the home has sensors that can follow you - heating affects the home. the home has sensors that can follow you and | has sensors that can follow you and it heats the place that you are not the rest of the house. fin it heats the place that you are not the rest of the house.— it heats the place that you are not the rest of the house. on hot days the rest of the house. on hot days the curtains _ the rest of the house. on hot days the curtains close _ the rest of the house. on hot days the curtains close automatically i the rest of the house. on hot days. the curtains close automatically and there are vents to draw out hot air. the washing machine has a steam mode and the fridge makes your food last longer by managing moisture. despite appearances this isn't brick. the walls are designed for maximum insulation. brute walls are designed for maximum insulation. ~ ., walls are designed for maximum insulation-— insulation. we have moved the external masonry _ insulation. we have moved the external masonry and - insulation. we have moved the external masonry and replaced j insulation. we have moved the l external masonry and replaced it with this — external masonry and replaced it with this product, it looks and

feels — with this product, it looks and feels like _ with this product, it looks and feels like brick and it is rendered like brick— feels like brick and it is rendered like brick but it gives the aesthetic but has a space—saving capability— aesthetic but has a space—saving capability to allow us to put more insulation— capability to allow us to put more insulation in an have better performance.— insulation in an have better performance. insulation in an have better erformance. , ., performance. there is more in the house next — performance. there is more in the house next door. _ performance. there is more in the house next door. take _ performance. there is more in the house next door. take a _ performance. there is more in the house next door. take a look - performance. there is more in the house next door. take a look at i house next door. take a look at this... the shower tray collect the hot water from the shower and recycles that energy in the house. in the cupboard here, there is a similar system for taking the heat out of the air and recycling that around the home. there is also all sorts of technology in the loft. the assumption is that we will have solar panels on our roof so there is an inverter and a battery, you can use that battery to store low—cost energy at night. another way of making your home more energy

efficient. i should say that also lower carbon which is important, these homes and chambers can be used to test lower tech things. things like how effective closing curtains is, putting on soft furnishings, putting in those draft excuses, that kind of things can make a huge difference and save money on your bill. testing those things here at the university of salford. i should say this chamber has a huge door, to cool it down, there are lots of people visiting. you could drive a bus through there and test the efficiency of the bus. this is a versatile new experimental chamber. it can be used to test all sorts of things. they are working with

companies in and around manchester to develop new things like window technologies. it is an important new facility that will hopefully help drive the economy in manchester and develop the new technologies we will all need in our homes to keep them efficient and cheap but also to keep them low carbon as well tatjana patitz, who was widely considered one of the first fashion supermodels, has died at the age of 56. born in germany, patitz rose to prominence in the 1980s, becoming one of the biggest names in the fashion industry, as gail maclellan reports. she was one of the original supermodels, telling the magazine vogue that she became successful because she "didn't look like anyone else". born in hamburg in 1966, she grew up in sweden, before finding fame after being photographed by peter lindbergh, who's paid tribute to the model, saluting her "kindness

and intelligence". in the 1990s, she was modelling for chanel, calvin klein and versace. anna wintour, iconic global editor of vogue, said tatjana's appeal was that she was "mysterious, grown—up and unattainable". # i think there's something you should know...# along with her sister supermodels, she appeared in the music video for george michael. she last appeared on the catwalk in february 2019, at milan fashion week. "i'm proud of my wrinkles," she wrote. "i worked for each one. growing older is beautiful." tatjana patitz died in california.

the heavy rain has been causing problems, in parts of wales trains have been struggling. we have had flooded roads as well. there have been flood warnings in england and scotland. here is the cloud that has been bringing heavy rain today. if we zoom out to the atlantic, we are looking at the next developing area of low pressure just off the coast of the united states, that will bring more heavy rain on friday night and a renewed concern of flooding. today, as the worst of the rain clears way, we will have strong winds across northern ireland into parts of north—west england and south—west scotland. they could reach around 60 mph, in the most exposed parts they could get up to 70 mph. it will stay mild with temperatures as high as 13 celsius

today, the average for this time in london is seven celsius. overnight it stays windy and there will be further outbreaks of rain critically across central regions otherwise showers are knocking around. because it stays windy it will never get that called for a january night. temperatures from three to seven celsius. tomorrow they will be more rain coming into northern ireland and north—west england but otherwise there will be plenty of showers for northern and eastern areas, something brighterfor a time northern and eastern areas, something brighter for a time across parts of the south. it stays mild, temperatures reaching double figures. friday night, that next area of low pressure moves in, it brings another zone of heavy rain across those areas that have seen flooding of late. a renewed concern for flooding at the start of the weekend. the rain does clear out of the way but it's followed by blustery showers and as though showers work into the north—western areas through the weekend, you will start to notice some colder air

edging end. that is a sign of things to come into next week. it will get a lot colder with frost becoming widespread, some icy patches around and there will be some snow showers. there will come all the way down to sea level. snow for some of us next week.

new figures show record waiting times in england for an ambulance and for treatment in a&e. many patients are waiting five times longer than they should for an ambulance. the widow of one man who died after no ambulance came speaks of her anguish. but we kept thinking, the ambulance will pull up every minute. we kept thinking, oh, it's going to arrive, it will be ok. and itjust didn't. one patients' group says the pressures on the nhs this winter have become intoleratble. also this lunchtime... russians fighting in ukraine claim they've found the body of one of two british aid workers who've been reported missing. meanwhile, new footage shows ukrainian troops

being rescued on the front line as fighting rages around them.