oh zoe. and an emotional zoe ball bids farewells to the radio 2 breakfast show after six years of early starts. coming up in support of bbc news... bottom of the premier league southampton are close to appointing the former roma boss, ivanjuric, as their new manager on an 18 month deal. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. there are calls for tomorrow's deadline to apply for pension credit to be extended, amid fears that thousands of older people will miss out on their winter fuel payment. qualifying for pension credit is the main way to get the extra money towards fuel bills — but the liberal democrats say there are still vulnerable older people who haven't applied. the charity age uk says it's being inundated with requests for help with the process.

our cost of living correspondent kevin peachey has more. since 1997, the winter fuel payment has been a lifeline for many pensioners. but after the government announced in july that the payment would mainly be limited to those receiving pension credit, there's been a surge in first—time applications. now there are calls for the government to extend tomorrow's deadline. the government have made this awful decision to slash winter fuel payments. we're saying that the least they can do is to make sure that everybody possible who could qualify for pension credit or qualify for winter fuel payments has the opportunity to do so. it's a very straightforward thing, let's just extend the deadline to make sure that nobody is missing out due to lack of time. the charity age uk says time is not on their side, and say there is a three—month wait for pension credit claims to be processed and they've been inundated with requests for help. we know that many of those claims will be successful but unfortunately, some won't be.

and for some older people, they still haven't heard about pension credit, or the thought is too overwhelming. there is help available, but the system is of course overwhelmed at the moment. there were 91,000 unprocessed claims for pension credit in mid—november. the government brought in around 500 extra staff to process applications to help deal with demand. around 9,000 claims are being processed each week, double the amount being processed in august. the prime minister said most pensioners would soon be in a better financial position. pensioners were, a year ago, facing, even with the winter fuel allowance, would not be as well off as a pensioner after the {a60 or £470 next april. but that's only because we can maintain the triple lock. the policy has led to months of debate in westminster. politicians talk of tough choices, but it's the elderly who are left with the decision on whether to turn

the thermostat up or down. a reminder of the link, pension credit is the top up to the state pension for those on low incomes, so about an income of less than £220 a week for single and 330 if you are a pensioner couple. it is worth thousands of pounds in itself but crucially it is a gateway to other benefits, things like nhs costs, discounts on council tax. now it is the qualifying benefit for winter fuel payment, which is worth 200 or £300. many thousands of people haven't made the claim. why? it is probably a complicated form, there are lots of people who aren't aware of the benefit and others think, they don't want to see as a

hand—out. there is this campaign to encourage people to claim pension credit and winter fuel payment as a result and that has led to this backlog. although those payments will eventually be made it could actually come when the weather gets actually come when the weather gets a little bit warmer.— local councils in england are being told how much money they'll get from a nearly £1.6 billion of funding that's been set aside to fix potholes. the conservatives have accused the government of not being on the side of motorists, while the transport secretary has promised that people will "start to see an improvement" on the condition of the roads. 0ur political correspondent harry farley has more. a burning anger caused by potholes — something many of us can relate to. in the budget, the chancellor promised a £500 million increase in the money to improve roads in england. that's on top of the £1 billion the previous government announced. now we find out how much each area will get. over 372 million for

the east midlands and west midlands. 327 million for the north west, north east and yorkshire and humber. 322 million for the south east and london. 300 million for the south west and 244 million for the east of england. a lot of people are going to be driving home for christmas this weekend, many roads are a bit like an obstacle course with potholes and roadworks, and so it's really critical that we get on and change people's experience of the roads and give people some hope that, this time next year when they're going home for christmas, the roads will be in a better state. but such is the scale of the problem, the backlog in repairs could cost more than £16 billion, and a quarter of the extra money will be held back until councils show they are getting on with thejob. we will keep pressing for the fact that, you know, you've allocated the local authorities a particular sum of money. let's have it, let's get on and give us that assurance and certainty that we can start investing. because we can't keep

continuing patching. the rac said the potholes are the number—one issue facing motorists. i don't think there's any question that 1.6 billion will put all our roads right, but it's a question of fixing the dangerous potholes and then starting to do the preventative maintenance that will keep them in good order going forward. long—term, we'd like to see our roads brought back up to a fit—for—purpose state. this, we believe, is the first step in doing that. why does your government need a reset already? - keir starmer wants his government's new focus to be on things impacting daily life, and potholes is one example of the concrete difference he hopes to make. harry farley, bbc news, in westminster. two men have been charged with assaulting police officers after a disturbance at manchester airport injuly. 20—year—old mohammed amaaz, and 25—year—old muhammed amaad will appear at liverpool magistrates�* court next month. no police officers are being charged over the incident. 0ur reporter alison freemanjoins me now.

alison, remind us of what happened at the airport? it was back injuly that it was back in july that video it was back injuly that video was it was back in july that video was circulated showing a police officer apparently assaulting a man who was lying on the floor at manchester airport. it wasn't until a few days later that cctv emerged showing the build—up. in the footage you could see three officers appearing to try to restrain a man before a second man intervened. a fight broke out and two officers were punched to the ground. the crown prosecution service has said today it has charged two men with assaults on police officers. they are mohammed amaaz, who is 20 and charged with two offences of causing actual bodily harm, in charge of assaulting emergency work and one of common assault. and muhammed amaad, 25 is charged with causing actual bodily harm. that cctv footage went on to show one of the men being tasered and ending up on the floor. that is

when he was kicked by the police officer. the cps has said today no police officers will be charged in connection with this.— police officers will be charged in connection with this. alison, thank ou. lord mandelson is expected to be officially confirmed later as the uk's next ambassador to the united states. the labour veteran, who served in the cabinets of both sir tony blair and gordon brown, was also a key adviser to current prime minister sir keir starmer in the run—up to the 2024 election. 0ur political correspondent helen catt reports. peter mandelson has been a familiar face in the labour party for decades. he was one of the driving forces behind the creation of new labour in the 1990s, a trusted adviser to tony blair with a reputation as a master of spin. he'd been rumoured as a potential candidate for a while, but had been cagey when asked about being the ambassador. would you be interested if you were asked? - i would be very interested, indeed, in giving advice about trade to whoever is appointed. elected as the mp for hartlepool in 1992, peter mandelson went on to serve in tony blair's cabinet,

but was forced to resign twice. in the noughties, he went to brussels as the european trade commissioner before returning as business secretary under gordon brown. it's his experience of trade that is one of the reasons behind his appointment as ambassador. donald trump has talked of imposing big tariffs on imports into the us, which the prime minister yesterday told mps the uk needed to avoid. it won't come as any surprise to you that i'm not a fan of tariffs. and, therefore, we have to make sure that we avoid tariffs. we've got very good trade with the us as we've got very good trade with other countries around the world. i want to improve on that. a government source said that lord mandelson was close to the prime minister, with unrivalled political and policy experience, particularly on the crucial issue of trade. it's also thought his political nous will help him handle what could be a tricky relationship

with an unpredictable president. one thing that is a certainty with the trump government is in that 5am tweet storm that comes most mornings of the week, at some point, trump will say something, will tweet something that will be quite a story in the uk — he did so several times in his first term. so peter mandelson, i am sure, will be prepared for that and be prepared for a bumpy and difficult ride. but he clearly wanted the job very much, so i'd say good luck to him. not everyone is going to welcome this appointment. peter mandelson remains divisive within labour, particularly for those on the left of the party. but it is how he gets on with donald trump and his administration that will really matter. he and the white house had already been told about the appointment. helen catt, bbc news. southern water says its storage tanks are filling up again, after a fault at a supply plant stopped running waterfrom reaching thousands of homes in hampshire. some homes had no water

for more than two days. the utility company has apologised for the disruption, which came at the same time as households served by southern discovered their bills would see the highest increase in the country. journalists and legal bloggers will be able to report on all family court cases across england and wales from early next year. a pilot scheme running for the last two years is being widely rolled out — allowing the press to apply for a transparency order to cover stories of significant public interest. government borrowing fell in november as more money was raised from taxes and less was spent on the country's debt interest payments, according to the office for national statistics. borrowing was £11.2 billionlast month, the lowest november figure since 2021. president macron has praised gisele pelicot for her dignity and courage, saying she's "inspired france and the world".

her ex—husband is beginning a 20—yearjail sentence for drugging and raping her, and inviting dozens of strangers to rape her while she was unconscious. before the start of the trial gisele pelicot waived her right to anonymity so that, in her words, "society could see what was happening". 0ur correspondent hugh schofield is in avignon where the trial took place. as you said there has been a unanimous outpouring of admiration, gratitude, praise from the country, from the political spectrum and of course, as you said by president macron, who described her in a tweet as a trailblazer for women's rights and thanked herfor as a trailblazer for women's rights and thanked her for what she as a trailblazer for women's rights and thanked herfor what she had donein and thanked herfor what she had done in pushing forward women's rights and the owner she had done to herself and the country. he said across the world people had been looking on in admiration and in

corroboration of that behind me, a demonstration, not of protest but more of support and thanks to gisele pelicot from a spanish party, several bus loads have come across the border today and they were thinking today would be the end of the trial and they have come to reflect this kind of international recognition of what she has done. figs recognition of what she has done. as we reported, 51 men convicted, what might happen next in terms of appeals? might happen next in terms of a . eals? might happen next in terms of a. eals? ., might happen next in terms of a- eals? ., ., ,, ., appeals? some of them will appeal, some of them _ appeals? some of them will appeal, some of them have _ appeals? some of them will appeal, some of them have announced - appeals? some of them will appeal, some of them have announced on i some of them have announced on appeal. not dominique pelicot, but the others have ten days in which to make that decision. but at least two have, so there will be another trial, and appeal trial at some point with the interesting difference from this latest trial that it won't be judges. this was judged by a five judge panel and the appeal will be with a jury, a popularjewellery. that could make a

difference. in any case, it won't be for quite a while and gisele pelicot and herfamily regard for quite a while and gisele pelicot and her family regard this with serenity and it doesn't bother them in the lease. serenity and it doesn't bother them in the lease-— our top story this afternoon. some mps want the deadline to apply for pension credit to be extended, so vulnerable pensioners don't miss out on their winter fuel payment. a bbc investigation has found illegal vietnamese migrants working in nail bars, despite a national crackdown. coming up in sport on bbc news, a few hours until they weigh in — tyson fury and 0leksandr usyk prepare for their world heavyweight rematch in riyadh. one of britain's busiest ports will now stay closed until at least the middle of january. holyhead in wales was originally due to reopen today, after damage from storm darragh forced it to shut down

earlier this month. the loss of the key route has left many people concerned about christmas travel and delayed deliveries. 0ur wales correspondent tomos morgan reports. holyhead's port is a ghost town, closed for one of the busiest travel weekends of the year after storm darragh two weeks ago caused structural damage and a partial collapse of one of its terminals. in the process, it's inflicted a headache for so many families due to travel over to ireland for the christmas period. we were due to sail from holyhead to dublin. families like mary childs', whose five—hour trip to dublin has now become around 12 hours via pembroke dock on monday. it's not ideal and, yeah, it's going to be a long journey when we get there. obviously, the kids will be exhausted. and we had a few plans booked for the first day, but, you know, we just need to reschedule those. but it will be ok. although they can still reach ireland, they're still yet to hear

if and when they'll be coming home. on average, two million passengers use holyhead each year, but, every day, there are also usually over 1,000 lorries and trailers making the crossing. but at the moment, nobody�*s going anywhere. this haulage company's depot on the island is full of vehicles, as you can see. and, of course, it shouldn't be, especially at this time of year. and even though there are alternative routes available from liverpool and pembroke dock over the irish sea, this company, bm transport, says it's still only able to operate at half capacity. every day that goes by at the present time, we're having shipments not being delivered on time, not making ferries. so it has a detrimental effect on the irish economy, but it also has a knock—on effect on the uk economy also. we're hearing a couple of different stories. we're hearing that it won't be reopened this side of st patrick's day and we're also

hearing that it could run as far as may orjune. in a statement, stena line, the port operator, reiterated that the port wouldn't be open until at least the middle of january, have offered alternative sailings for those affected, and apologise for the inconvenience. 73. even though some will still be opening presents with the wider family on the 25th, no doubt for all of those affected, holyhead's closure wasn't the early christmas gift they'd asked for. tomos morgan, bbc news, anglesey. gp surgeries will be offered financial incentives to ensure patients most in need see the same doctor at every appointment, under new government proposals. gps would also be rewarded if they "go above and beyond" in preventing common killers like heart disease. let's speak to our health correspondent catherine burns. catherine, we know that doctor's surgeries are under increasing pressure, how would this help? well, let's start with the big

picture here. during the election, labour promised to bring back family doctors. now that they are in government, this is how they plan to do it, as health minister stephen kinnock explained. general practice is the front door of the nhs, but after 14 years of tory neglect and failure, the front door is broken. the package of £889 million of investment that we're bringing forward today is really going to help to fix that front door, but investment always has to come with reform. so the negotiations that we'll be launching with the bma will be based on busting all the bureaucracy and the red tape that they have to deal with. so the big question here is, what does all of this mean for patients? you have mentioned the idea of doctors being rewarded for dealing well with high blood pressure and heart disease and of course, the idea of patients, especially those with complex needs, long—term health problems and the elderly, seeing the same gp overand problems and the elderly, seeing the same gp over and again. another part

of this is what mps are calling binning outdated targets. they are saying they want to free doctors up from doing too much paperwork so they can spend more time with patients. and with all this comes extra cash, that £889 million, although it is thought a big chunk of that, about 120 million, would go straight on paying extra national insurance contributions. so that is what the government wants, but the important background here is that gps have not been happy recently. they are taking collective action and doing a work to rule right now. the next step is for these proposals to go to the doctor's union, the bma. early reaction from them — they say they hope this will be the positive start to an evolving conversation. and that is echoed by the royal college of gps. they also used the word hope, but they won that there is a long road ahead. thanks, catherine. the malaysian government says it has agreed to resume the search for a passengerjet that vanished 10

years ago in one of aviation�*s greatest mysteries. malaysia airlines flight mh370 disappeared in march 2014 while on its way to beijing from kuala lumpur with 239 people on board. 0ur correspondent theo leggettjoins us now. what's made the search efforts so challenging over the years? well, if i can put it simply, is because the ocean is extremely large and extremely deep and we only have had an approximate idea of where the plane came down in the first place and were relying on a lot of ingenious detective work even to get out. this aircraft was thousands of miles off course. it was meant to be heading to china. it ended up in the southern indian ocean. and we only knew that because of a very brief data communications to the plane and a satellite in the first place. so what has happened now is that the malaysian government thinks there is enough extra information to justify a new search. as i understand it, a

large part of that extra information is analysis of thousands of amateur radio operator messages that happen to be recorded for a completely different reason, but which experts say if you analyse them and use them together, can give you something approximating the radar system because of the distortions created by a plane flying through. so there is uncertainty in all of this, but this information has been used to narrow down the area where the plane might be, 200,000 square miles of sea bed have already been searched. the new search area is likely to be about 15,000 square kilometres. that may seem a lot, but in the context of the indian ocean, that is a tiny area and it reflects the suggestion that the people behind this renewed search believe they can be confident about where the plane is, theyjust have to find it. about where the plane is, they 'ust have to find it.�* a leading kurdish commander who played a major role in defeating

the islamic state group in syria has told the bbc the huge political changes in the country are paving the way for them to re—emerge. general mazloum abdi's syrian democratic forces are still holding around 10,000 is suspects in the kurdish area of north east syria. he says the group's activity has increased "significantly" and the danger of a resurgence has doubled. 0ur senior international correspondent 0rla guerin is there. the fall of assad has not freed all of syria's prisoners. with good reason, we were told. this is al—sina, a maximum securityjail. around 5,000 men are detained here, including some britons, cut off from the outside world and a changing syria. but local authorities warn

is is planning its next moves, and could use the current chaos to try a jailbreak. it's very rare to get access inside these walls. this is the biggest prison for is detainees. the men being held here, most of