tonight at ten... the nhs faces its biggest day of industrial action so far next month as ambulance workers announce they'll walk out on the same day as nurses in england and wales. claps don't pay the bills, claps don't pay the bills! tens of thousands of nurses in england went on strike again today over pay. operating theatres and recovery

wards fell silent. emergency care is still being provided — hospital bosses say they're hugely concerned. my message and that of many chief executives around the country is that this needs resolution. we cannot continue to go through periods of industrial action and the disruption it's causing to patients and to our staff. the thing is, there is no sign of a resolution tonight. i actually detect— resolution tonight. i actually detect a _ resolution tonight. i actually detect a souring of the mood between health _ detect a souring of the mood between health unions and the government. also on the programme... one of the ukrainian government's most senior ministers has died in a helicopter crash in kyiv — at least 1a people were killed. another slight fall in inflation — but food prices continue to soar. the united nations sends its most senior woman to afghanistan for talks with the taliban, who've stopped women working for aid agencies there. a major incident has been declared in somerset because of the risk of flooding and across the uk, yellow weather warnings for snow and ice.

game, set and match, norrie. and in tennis, britain's cameron norrie is through to the third round of the australian open — but emma raducanu is out. and coming up on the bbc news channel: leeds got off to a flyer against cardiff in their replay at elland road, as they look to seal their spot in the fourth round of the fa cup. good evening. nhs bosses say they are hugely concerned as the health service prepares to deal with its biggest day of strike action so far in this latest dispute. ambulance workers in england and wales today announced they'd walk out on february 6th — the same day as thousands of nurses will go on strike again.

tens of thousands of nurses in england have been on strike again today in their dispute over pay — affecting a quarter of hospitals and community health services. thousands of nurses will also strike tomorrow across england — and on the 6th and 7th february in wales as well. emergency care is still being provided. today ambulance workers added to the nhs crisis as they announced four more dates in england and wales — the 6th and 20th of february and the 6th and 20th of march. the royal college of nursing says it's willing to compromise — the health secretary, steve barclay, says pay rises would take money away from patient care. our health editor, hugh pym, reports from university college hospital on the impact of the strikes. claps don't pay the bills, claps don't pay the bills! outside the hospital, the noise from striking nurses and protesters. claps don't pay the bills, claps don't pay the bills! inside, the operating

theatres are silent. no planned operations are going ahead. there is no—one in the recovery room. today we would have had two days' worth of operations planned in these theatres, our newest set of theatres here at the grafton way building, and we have nothing planned at all in terms of surgical activity today or tomorrow. and what normally happens here, what level of activity? normally we'd be busy with orthopaedic or ear, nose and throat surgery. it's one of our busiest surgical hubs in the whole of the uclh campus. but not today. university college hospital in london gave us access to one of their surgical centres. over 2,000 patients across the trust will miss their operations and appointments. the boss has called on unions and the government to settle the dispute. disputes like this, industrial action of this scale, is hugely disruptive, so it's notjust the cancelling of patients and reorganising their care, it's everything that

goes behind that. but it's also motivating our staff, retaining our staff, keeping the morale of our staff high. given where this dispute�*s got to, what's your message to the government? my message and that of many chief executives around the country is that this needs resolution. we cannot continue to go through periods of industrial action and the disruption that it's causing to patients and our staff. back on the street, nurses defended their decision to strike. so i'm out here to protest. we need a pay rise. we haven't had a pay rise for ten years in line with inflation, so we deserve better. every single day, we're . completely over capacity. it's not a safe environment to be looking after the patients - and a strike is unfortunately the only thing we feel- like we've got left. what about patients affected today? they've missed out on their operation, their appointment they might have waited forfor a long time. yep, so this is it, . but it feels like this is the last thing that we had to do.

as my colleagues have been saying today, it is with deep _ consideration that we stand here and do this today. - l hopefully, to do this is to get i what we want and for the future, stop any of this happening again. feelings are clearly running high on picket lines, but the question is, where do things go from here? right now, there seems to be a stand—off between the government and health unions. the health secretary covering england gave his response to the strike action. i'm disappointed by the strikes. obviously, the losers are the patients who suffer the disruption. of course the strikes are in one quarter of trusts, so three—quarters of trusts are not striking and i'm grateful for the work that nurses and other staff are doing across the nhs. # do a deal, do a deal, do a deal! as striking nurses in wigan called for a deal, a march from university college hospital involving nurses and other campaigners reached westminster and the biggest set of walk—outs by ambulance staff and nurses was announced for a single day in february. hugh pym, bbc news.

it's notjust nurses who are on strike today. environment agency workers in england have also walked out in a dispute over pay. and in scotland, rolling teacher strikes continue in orkney and fife. the big day will be february 1st, when teachers, train drivers and civil servants all plan to go on strike right across the uk. so is there any chance of resolution? our political editor chris mason is in westminster. is there any chance at all of a resolution? it is there any chance at all of a resolution?— is there any chance at all of a resolution? ., , �* ., ., ~' ~' resolution? it doesn't look like it, so - hie. resolution? it doesn't look like it, 5°phie- you _ resolution? it doesn't look like it, sophie. you have _ resolution? it doesn't look like it, sophie. you have asked _ resolution? it doesn't look like it, sophie. you have asked that - resolution? it doesn't look like it, - sophie. you have asked that question so frequently of me and i say that. we said it a couple of weeks ago, we said at last weekend we are still saying it now. there is an exasperation amongst the unions, particularly the health unions. some of them felt a little more optimistic after they met the health secretary for england at the beginning of last week, but there was sense from them that they

haven't seen any progress since then. they feel that the government is digging its heels in. so what is the government digging its heels in, particularly when we see the rail minister saying today that the cost overall to the economy of the rail strikes has been far greater and if the whole thing had been resolved a couple of months ago? so why wasn't it resolved? because those in government say if it hadn't been, you would have created a precedent in that sector which would have forced payouts in other sectors, and the argument in government is that thatis the argument in government is that that is simply not affordable. when you speak to people in the treasury, who hold the purse strings, of course, they say the focus has to be on inflation. yes, the figures show it has fallen, but not as much as the treasury would have liked. they say getting that down has to be key and there is no new money stop any thatis and there is no new money stop any that is found to try and resolve this industrial action will have to come from existing already tight budgets. come from existing already tight buduets. , ~., ,., come from existing already tight buduets. , a, ,., ., come from existing already tight buduets. , ., budgets. chris mason, our political editor, budgets. chris mason, our political editor. thank _ budgets. chris mason, our political editor, thank you. _ the rate of inflation fell slightly last month,

adding weight to the belief that it's now peaked. a fall in petrol prices and the cost of clothing brought the consumer price index down to 10.5 % in december, 0.2 % lower than the previous month. our business editor, simonjack, is here to tell us more. simon. thanks, sophie. it is going on the right direction. inflation has fallen for the second month in a row, and here is why. you may well have noticed at the garage, the price of petrol and diesel has fallen quite sharply. but the price of other things remained stubbornly high and rising — essentials like food. what everyone is hoping is that inflation — the level of prices today compared to a year ago — has peaked. but as you can see, it's still rising faster than wages — both private sector pay, but particularly in the public sector, meaning our living standards are falling. the chancellor says he wants to halve that rate of inflation.

any country anywhere in the world with inflation over 10% is seeing it at frankly dangerous levels for stability of an economy, but for families up and down the country now seeing food price inflation of nearly 17%, and that's causing a massive hike in the cost of the weekly shop. and what that really shows is that for us and for other countries, the most important thing is to stick to a plan to bring down inflation. halving inflation doesn't mean prices will be fallen, but they will rise half as quickly. inflation should fall anyway in the months ahead as we compare prices this year against prices that were getting higher last year. inflation is mainly the concern of the bank of england — whose primary weapon is to raise interest rates to discourage borrowing and encourage saving — taking money out of the economy. it's raised them sharply over the last year, as you can see here, and is expected to do

again in early february. actually, the government can't do much to bring down inflation. it insists the fight against inflation is a key reason that they can't raise public sector wages — but economists are divided as to how much difference that would make to the global forces which are the real cause of rising prices. simon, thank you. well as we heard, energy prices were at the heart of the latest inflation figure. our correspondent danny savage has been to the top of wensleydale in north yorkshire to speak to people about the impact energy costs are having on their lives. in britain nearly 5.5 and a half million people live off the mains gas grid — almost entirely in rural areas. that poses a different set of challenges for the community. winter in wensleydale. there is no gas mains here, so it's heating oil, electricity and open fires to keep warm. let's start in a closed pub. mark has been a landlord around here for 43 years. this cuts down on his estimated electricity bill.

i've been quoted anything from £50,000-£70,000. we just wouldn't know, once we start switching the electric on, just where we'd be with the cost of it. i'm worried it would run out of control. the potential solution is to open the green dragon just a couple of days a week. i think you have a duty as a licensee, as an innkeeper, to actually try and keep the community together and keep something rolling as best you can. it's just a shame the economics have got in the way. it's a tragic loss for english life, social life. that pub has this spectacular waterfall effectively in its back garden, but it says something about the economy around here now that the green dragon could only afford to open for say, two, three days a week when it used to trade all day, every day. it says the economy is going backwards. a few miles downriver is low mill guest house. we were full up at new year. everyone stayed in, no—one went to the pub. they all brought little picnics and stuff to eat and that's the first time that's ever happened in ten years.

people's spending habits have changed, so the owners have had to change theirs as well. it's just not viable to open. if you've only got one customer in, you have to have all the heating on, all the lights on, the oven on and what have you. so we just open weekends, in the winter. in rural areas, discreetly accessing a food bank is important, but difficult. this one is in the back of a church, to make it seem less obvious. it's nice that people can be under the radar, if you like, which is quite a hard thing to do in the dales. because everybody knows everybody�*s lives in a way, because it's a close—knit community here? close—knit community, everybody is related in some way or form to other people who live here as well, which does make it hard. the market town of hawes is a long way from anywhere else. well, you've got kendal college straight up the road. just follow the road and it's about 28 miles, about an hour journey. for young people like jasmine,

the cost of getting elsewhere is a big deal. well, i don't have any house bills but i do have car bills, which means the cost of petrol going up is going to have a knock—on effect on me getting around because, you know, it's like, 30 miles to our closest supermarket. 30 miles to our closest college. so, everything's a bit of a stretch. you can't really rely on public transport. people out here are hardy and will get on with it. but this is the most challenging time economically in living memory for many. danny savage, bbc news, north yorkshire. all police forces across england and wales are being asked to check their officers against national databases to help root out corrupt individuals who may have slipped through the vetting process. it comes after a serving officer, david carrick, was found to be a serial rapist. the government has promised reforms that will leave offenders with "no place to hide". our home editor mark easton reports.

chanting: no justice! no peace! no rapist police! the reverberations from the carrick scandal scandal continue with police chiefs and politicians expressing their determination to root out misogyny and predatory behaviour from the ranks. sexist police have got to go! every police officer and staff member in england and wales will be checked against national police databases for any convictions or intelligence that might identify those like carrick who have slipped through the net. on monday, he admitted to 49 offences including 2a rapes against 12 women. the abuse of power is truly sickening. the prime minister spoke of his outrage in the commons this afternoon before meeting the commissioner of scotland yard at a police station in south london. what we want to do is make sure there aren't serving police officers anywhere at any stage in their career, or indeed staff in police forces, who shouldn't be there. the national police database contains a variety of information about people against which those individuals can be rechecked. it's important that we do that immediately and police forces

carried out to identify and root out anyone who's not fit to serve. no one doubts the damage the carrick case and other recent scandals have already done to trust in policing, particularly among women. but there is an urgency in the political response because of concerns that without action, public confidence in law enforcement could be damaged still further. carrick was recruited despite being suspected of two offences against women, and also passed two internal vetting checks. a home office review will look at what went wrong. the mayor of london sadiq khan has said carrick should lose his £22,000 a year police pension, a call that has home office support, but it is the loss of trust in policing that will exercise politicians far more. mark easton, bbc news. one of the ukrainian government's most senior ministers has been killed in a helicopter crash in an eastern suburb of kyiv. president biden said the us would honour the interior minister's

memory through its unfailing partnership with the people of ukraine. the country's emergency services say at least 14 people died, including one child, when the aircraft came down near a nursery school in the residential area of brovary. our ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, sent this report from the scene. sobbing. even with the backdrop of war, it's been one of ukraine's bleakest days. in the mist of the morning, a helicopter came down next to a children's nursery. translation: we ran - into the street and turning. there were bodies and debris lying around. there was smoke, blood and clothes, and mothers were running. from the moment the helicopter finally stopped, the a nswers slowly ca me. all nine people on board were killed. so too were those caught in its path. translation: i heard a loud sound, turned and saw-

an explosion of flames. i wasn't thinking about what i saw. we soon learned a child was among the dead. then, news that it was senior government officials on a journey east towards the front line. they included this man, ukraine's interior minister denys monastyrsky, a strong ally of president zelensky. they were together yesterday. he also handed medals to some of ukraine's national guard... ..and said the war was taking lives, health, strength and nerves. you can see where the journey went wrong. denys monastyrsky was travelling eastwards to the front line before his helicopter came down into the heart of this nursery. rescue teams are still going through the rubble. there are body bags in the playground. and he would often makejourneys like this at low altitude, which of course comes

with its own risks. we went along on one last year. you can't go much higher than the tree line to avoid being targeted. speaking to world leaders today, president zelensky addressed what happened. 14 ukrainian families lost their loved ones today, and many more families are losing daily. as for the obvious question, the cause is not known. in times of war, many suspect the enemy. these are dangerous times to be a ukrainian. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv region. strike action is taking place in france too — it has just been announced that

ferry services to and from calais will be suspended for nine hours, from 7am tomorrow, due to national walk outs across the channel. the port of dover will remain open, with dunkerque services running as normal, but travellers are being urged to allow extra time for all journeys. eurostar services will also be affected. a day of strikes and demonstrations is taking place across france, in protest at plans to raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64. it has been revealed that the father of a newborn baby who police are trying to trace is a registered sex offender. mark gordon was convicted of rape in florida as a teenager. he and his partner, constance marten, and their baby have been missing since their car broke down near bolton earlier this month. ms marten is from a wealthy family, but estranged from them. police say the couple have a substantial amount of cash and could be living off—grid. the most senior un delegation to visit afghanistan since the taliban swept to power in 2021 has flown into kabul

the most senior woman at the united nations has travelled to afghanistan to raise concerns about the taliban's refusal to allow women to work for aid agencies. the visit by the un deputy secretary general, amina mohammad, comes amid fears the ban will have severe repercussions on what is the largest humanitarian operation in the world. our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet is in kabul for us winters are always harsh in afghanistan, but this is the winter of all winters, not only the temperatures below freezing, but this is a country where electricity is erratic or absent and heating is hard to find, especially in remote areas of afghanistan, which are all but cut off by snow. but on top of that, this year, the taliban have decided that afghan women can no longer work for the international aid agencies who are desperately trying to get this urgently needed aid to millions of people who need it. so just how urgent is the situation? we'rejoined here in kabul by samira syed rahman, who works for the international charity, the international rescue committee. how worried are you?

you know, international rescue committee was able to reach 5 million afghans last year. we've suspended most of our activities across the country because we are not able to work without our female staff at all levels of our organisation. we were already seeing earlier last...at the end of last year that most families around this country were having to choose between food or heating. the taliban recently clarified that they'll make an exception when it comes to the health ministry because they do need women doctors and nurses to serve women of this country. is it possible that step by step, this could be reversed? as we saw with the health sector, it's notjust doctors and nurses. we also need female staff at all levels of our organisation in admin roles, in finance roles, in technical support to work alongside our female colleagues. this is a conservative society. samira syed, we wish you the best and all eyes now are on this high level united nations delegation. it says there needs to be a woman.

there also needs to be women coming to this country at this high level to underline that educated women playing senior roles in society is absolutely part of the world we live in today. because it's notjust that afghan women are being stopped from working in certain states, notjust aid, but in many government industries. afghan girls are not going to school. they're not going to university. they're also not even allowed to go to public parks in this city. the world wants to say with one voice — this is not acceptable. and lyse will be reporting from afghanistan all this week. the envrionment agency has declared a major incident in somerset because of risk of flooding, saying that it is "prudent to plan for the worst". pumping began yesterday to clear water off the somerset levels, with authorities keen to avoid a repeat of the 2014 floods that devasted the area. our west of england correspondent danjohnson is at northmoor green in somerset.

the somerset levels are once again submerged, and people here are holding their breath. we've got winter barley, winter oats under water, grass seed underwater. farmers risk losing more thanjust crops, and there is frustration. it's coming up so fast. we have a press release saying 7—10 days before pumps are in. a lot of that is red tape. the trigger points were put in place so we'd have rapid reaction. it hasn't been rapid. the water's been rapid in rising, but the pumps going in hazard. but the pumps going in hasn't. —— the water's been rapid in rising, but the pumps going in hasn't. more pumps are being brought in. the idea is to lower the levels by taking water off the fields and pouring it into the rivers. but a major incident declaration is recognition of what could be about to come. localauthorities, government agencies, the military

if necessary are all getting the same information. they're all on the front foot and ready to respond if things get worse. this is why people are nervous. nine years ago they were under waterfor six weeks. some villages cut off, some homes uninhabitable for months. so, lifelong residents like martin are worried. they emphasise to us that it wouldn't happen on this level again but it is looking like that scenario again. last time it took five weeks for the water to reach this level. now it's happened in five days. the rainfall is more intense and so is the flooding and the science tells us we have to be prepared for more of this. and although there is a major incident here, it's not the only county feeling the impact of flooding. danjohnson, bbc news on the somerset levels. ten chinese snooker players accused of being involved in match—fixing have all been charged today, as snooker�*s

governing body investigates the sport's biggest corruption scandal. the allegations include manipulating games, approaching players to cheat, betting on snooker — and fixing matches. our sports correspondent, andy swiss, has the story. the champion, yan bingtao! he's the biggest star in what is snooker�*s biggest scandal. only last season, yan bingtao was a top ten player who reached the quarterfinals of the world championship. now, he's being charged with match fixing, one of ten chinese players accused of corruption. they also include zhao xintong, who won two titles last season... liang wenbo! ..and the experienced liang wenbo, who's alleged to have approached others to fix matches. to have so many players charged with cheating is a dark day for the sport. well, it's very damaging. we have to deliver pure live sport, competed to the highest level. and to do that, we must know the sport is clean. so the damage for me is short—term.

we have to take the short—term pain now, we have to clear this issue up and we have to move on. snooker is no stranger to match fixing. in 2013, stephen lee was banned for 12 years, but one former world champion shaun murphy believes the sanctions need to be even stronger. my overriding feeling is i feel complete betrayal. if these players are found guilty of fixing the outcomes of snooker matches, i don't think we should ever see them again on the tour. i think it's that straightforward. zhao xintong! the ten charged players are all suspended until they face a hearing, but the integrity of their sport is now under the sternest scrutiny. andy swiss, bbc news. now tennis, and emma raducanu has been knocked out in straight sets by the american teenager coco gauff at the australian open. but the 20—year—old british number one, who sprained her ankle just two weeks ago, remained positive in defeat, saying she has no doubt of what she can achieve

when fully fit. meanwhile, cameron norrie is through to the third round of the australian open. he beat france's constant lestienne in four sets — with the match finishing at 1:30 in the morning local time after a day of rain delays in melbourne. joe wilson has more. here is a grand slam champion and a young player still finding her career. emma raducanu is both. coco gauff has been playing on the tour since 2019. she is stilljust 18. seventh seed took the first set, 6—3. raducanu's serve faltered, and at times physically she seemed troubled. but through the second set raducanu kept running and improving. in the tie—break she was still pushing for points. well, she says, she was pleased just to be playing after recent injuries. gauff sealed the match. raducanu had at least stretched one of the world's highest ranked players, and this is the elite company she needs to keep. after rain delays, cameron norrie eventually beat constant lestienne of france. in the fourth set at 1:27am, never too late to celebrate, or too early. if you want more pain, look at rafael nadal and indeed his wife. by the third set of his match, the great man could barely run in the points he won.

limping to the ball but did get there. it's a hip issue of uncertain severity. the score was clear. straight sets defeat. we may wonder if we'll see nadal at the australian open again. but he praised his opponent. mackenzie mcdonald has said he is one quarter scottish, with english and chinese heritage. and yes, he's american. joe wilson, bbc news. we heard from somerset earlier, sunshine over the flood waters today but itjust goes to show that although it has turned drier how wet the first part of the year has been. we are still feeling the impacts of flooding. it is drier and colder too. that part of the weather will change this weekend. if you are in the north and west. the warmer

colours aren't to be confused with sunshine. east anglia and the south—east still in the blue in the cold air until next week. we have had those snow showers peppering northern and western areas for a few days. this is the past few hours. they are continuing through the night. it means a fresh covering of snow in places especially to higher ground and icy conditions on untreated surfaces. there are met office warnings, do check the situation near you before you head out in the morning. a sharp frost once again, could be close to —10 in some parts of scotland. wintry showers still around. rain sleet and inland snow across northern scotland inland snow across northern scotland in the morning. more the highlands and grampians. stronger winds for a time. elsewhere the wintry showers will fade and for most places all day and into the afternoon sunny

spells and temperatures slowly creeping up after that cold start.