call it a day she decided to call it a day before the start of the second set. as far in the women's draw, the top seed continued her bid for a third consecutive title in melbourne with a victory over denmark's clara. the 26—year—old belarusian it was made to work for her 7—664 victory on the arena. she secured the win in two hours and six minutes. she secured the win in two hours and six minutes.— and six minutes. she played incredible _ and six minutes. she played incredible tennis, _ and six minutes. she played incredible tennis, i - and six minutes. she played incredible tennis, i really i and six minutes. she playedl incredible tennis, i really had to put her altogether to get that win, i would say mentally mostly. i was trying to put her under pressure, iwas mostly. i was trying to put her under pressure, i was trying really hard and i was thinking wow, that is tough. and... he over the years i struggled a lot with different staff and i think all of those difficult experiences made me really

tough person. experiences made me really tough person-— experiences made me really tough person. she is a great -la er, tough person. she is a great player. i— tough person. she is a great player. i think _ tough person. she is a great player, i think she _ tough person. she is a great player, i think she was - tough person. she is a greatl player, i think she was better than — player, i think she was better than me _ player, i think she was better than me on the more important points, — than me on the more important points, but— than me on the more important points, but i think maybe i was a hit _ points, but i think maybe i was a bit betterjust in the general rallying. but she was tough — general rallying. but she was tough on _ general rallying. but she was tough on the big points and that— tough on the big points and that is_ tough on the big points and that is why she is number one in the — that is why she is number one in the world. in that is why she is number one in the world.— that is why she is number one in the world. in the men's draw novak djokovic _ in the world. in the men's draw novak djokovic has _ in the world. in the men's draw novak djokovic has stayed - in the world. in the men's draw novak djokovic has stayed on l novak djokovic has stayed on course for a record iith australian open title with a 616464 victory with him over the check 26 seed thomas. elsewhere, thomas alcaraz dropped a set on the way to victory over portugal nuno. he won that in four sets. the 21—year—old is bidding to become the youngest man to complete the career grand slam and the spaniard also said he will for sure get a kangaroo tattoo if he wins the australian open. aha, tattoo if he wins the australian oen. �* ., australian open. a kangaroo, that is for _ australian open. a kangaroo, that is for sure. _ australian open. a kangaroo, that is for sure. so, - australian open. a kangaroo, that is for sure. so, that - that is for sure. so, that

is... that is my idea, you know, the only thing that i miss is to live the trophy here. but the plan is already there. ah, here. but the plan is already there. �* ., ., ., there. a lot more on the australian _ there. a lot more on the australian open - there. a lot more on the australian open on - there. a lot more on the australian open on the l there. a lot more on the i australian open on the bbc sport website and app. in football, a new long—term deal has been signed with the club that will keep him until 2034, the norwegianjoined that will keep him until 2034, the norwegian joined from dortmund from you do. he scored a goals and 126 games for the club since then. his previous deal reportedly included a release clause had been due to expire in 2027. renee has been appointed arsenault head coach on a permanent basis after impressing in the interim role. the 35—year—old dutch woman stepped up in the wake of jonas's departure in october and has seen an unbeaten run of ten victories and one draw in all competitions. she has signed a contract through until

the end of the 2025 —— 26 season was named super league manager of the month for december and saw her team qualify for the quarter channels as group winners. in cricket, a superb batting display has put australia on the verge of retaining the women's with a victory over england. the whole slip to 59 44 as england's bowlers dominated the early stages. a sensational recovery, so they posted 308—8, 61 was the top scorer for england as they were all out for 222 en route reply to australia who hold 6—0 lead in the multiformat series. england were poor in the first couple of matches, they were blown away by the brilliance of australia in this third game

here in hobart. ash gardner pots first 0di and enough to set a target. england could not chase her down, world cup winner alex hartley were outstanding.— winner alex hartley were outstanding. england had a sniff, they _ outstanding. england had a sniff, they had _ outstanding. england had a sniff, they had them - outstanding. england had a sniff, they had them for - outstanding. england had a i sniff, they had them for down early, — sniff, they had them for down early, but _ sniff, they had them for down early, but ash gardner sent australia _ early, but ash gardner sent australia up perfectly to accelerate the back end of the innings — accelerate the back end of the innings. in the first two, the teams — innings. in the first two, the teams for— innings. in the first two, the teams for me, although the victories _ teams for me, although the victories were massive for australia _ victories were massive for australia the teams were a lot closer— australia the teams were a lot closer than it failed. today australia were world—class. the australia were world-class. the man in australia were world-class. the margin of— australia were world-class. the margin of victory _ australia were world—class. tie; margin of victory was australia were world—class. tie: margin of victory was huge, england did not do too much wrong. england did not do too much wronu. , ~' , england did not do too much wronu. , ~ , , , wrong. they kept themselves in the name wrong. they kept themselves in the game for — wrong. they kept themselves in the game for as _ wrong. they kept themselves in the game for as long _ wrong. they kept themselves in the game for as long as - the game for as long as possible and there was an unbelievable catch that changed the game. you often say that moments _ the game. you often say that moments of brilliance to change the game. and it did. it is one of those — the game. and it did. it is one of those where you look at the scorecard _ of those where you look at the scorecard and it is a massive victory— scorecard and it is a massive victory for— scorecard and it is a massive victory for australia, they are on the — victory for australia, they are on the brink of retaining the ashes — on the brink of retaining the ashes yet again. it australia

it were _ ashes yet again. it australia it were just better than england today.- it were just better than enclandtoda .�* ., , england today. and of japanese baseball star _ england today. and of japanese baseball star is _ england today. and of japanese baseball star is donating - baseball star is donating $500,000 to help firefighters and impacted by the fires in la. he said on instagram we will be donating to help those firefighters... that is all the support from me at the moment, there is more on the bbc sport website and app, we will see you again soon. this is bbc news. england's local roads have been branded "a national embarrassment" by the head of an influential select committee. conservative mp, sir geoffrey clifton brown, has warned that road users are being put at risk by highways riddled with potholes. charlotte gallagher reports. they're despised by drivers and a danger to cyclists and pedestrians. but potholes continue to plague our roads.

a damning report says highways in england are a national embarrassment that are putting people at risk. it says the department for transport hasn't taken responsibility for its role in how roads have deteriorated. fiona jack is one driver who's become used to a bumpy ride. the whole road down here is horrific. she even burst her tyre on one of them. that one there is the one that did my car. and then you've got all these extra ones. and for cyclist becky hamilton, the cost of hitting a pothole was more than financial. it was just like the equivalent of hitting a kerb, smack, and ijust thought, this is it, this is my time. i was heading towards the oncoming car, on my helmet, just towards this oncoming car, which managed to swerve to avoid me. so i was very lucky. the rac says there are at least one million potholes on uk

roads, with six potholes per mile on council maintained roads in england and wales. pothole—related breakdowns also jumped by 17% in the final three months of 2024, with more than 4700 drivers needing help. and if your car gets damaged by one, it will cost an average of £460 to get it fixed. the politician behind this new report says we don't even know the sheer scale of the pothole problem. this is part of what we're asking for, is the government to really get a handle on this problem through proper data, through proper scanning of our roads. there's modern machines that you can drive along roads and scan, which will give you a precise readout of what the condition is of every road. so once they've got on top of the data, they then can make up their minds with a proper policy of how much they're going to fund the whole problem to get on top of it in the timescale that they — well, really, the shortest

possible time scale. the department for transport says it's investing a record £1.6 billion for the coming year to help local authorities fix up to seven million more potholes, adding that it's committed to multiyear funding settlements to enable councils to better maintain their roadworks, and avoid potholes forming in the first place. for drivers like fiona, that can't happen soon enough. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. the award winning actress damejoan plowright, widow of lord laurence olivier, has died at the age of 95. everyone who followed the theatre and cinema has her as a legend in their minds and a lot of people arejust legend in their minds and a lot of people are just saying wow, this is a woman who cared for

her husband, didn't want to use his name to further her career yet there is a theatre named after her in scunthorpe where she was born. it is really amazing to see somebody like this who had to go through so much. they mentioned great and courageous determination in the notes saying rest in peace, and yes, indeed, this is what her career has inspired in so many women who came after her. indeed. and you talk about some of her career, for those who have not followed her work as closely, what would you say were some of her highlights? winning the tony awards therefore a taste of honey... many of us were there at the time to see that but it is something that imprinted on so many people's mines who went and saw her and watched her live on stage. she had that magnetic presence on stage, which is what kept her career going for so long. in more

recent times, as aunt lucinda, she was absolutely brilliant in that. every role she touched wasn't brilliant. nothing like a dame, a documentary that came out in 2018, itis a dame, a documentary that came out in 2018, it is one of the lessons we saw her on screen and that is something that kind of told us about the detail of her career which when you think about it, you think about what about it, you think about what a life she has lived. and the fact that she come at once her health started to deteriorate, she gave her time to her family, her children and grandchildren, it is really amazing to see.- grandchildren, it is really amazing to see. grandchildren, it is really amazin: to see. . ,, ., amazing to see. looking back at the life of damon _ amazing to see. looking back at the life of damon joan - the life of damonjoan ploughright who died today at the age of 95. now a look at the age of 95. now a look at the weather with matt taylor. hello. we've got a little bit of rain today, especially across parts of western scotland, but for the vast majority, a dry day to come and a dry weekend as well. but there will be some changes this weekend. we're going to see temperatures drop more widely by day and by night, and there

could be a return of some widespread fog across parts of england. the reason? well, if you look across europe this morning, you see the widespread blue colours here? this is a frost. this is where temperatures are much lower than we have right now, under an area of high pressure. it's not moving a great deal. as it nudges away eastwards, with the winds flowing around it in a clockwise manner, we're going to start to bring some of that colder air towards us, and you can see that happening as we go through into the weekend. so that's on its way. 0ut there this afternoon, we've got, well, as you were, really. best of the sunshine across parts of northeast scotland, north—east england. a few breaks elsewhere, northern ireland especially. but western scotland, the highlands, down in towards glasgow area, we could see some further light rain or drizzle. 12 to 14 degrees in northern areas, despite the breeze, but only 7 or 8 celsius for much of england, wales, which is actually closer to where we should be for this stage in the year. into tonight, some rain for a time in the far north of scotland. breezy in the west. but further east, one or two fog patches. a few more breaks in the cloud across england, wales and south—east scotland means a greater chance of a little bit of frost into the start of the weekend. but for saturday, a dry day, if

you've got any outdoor plans. a fair bit of cloud. there will be some sunshine, again, northern scotland, but western scotland a bit brighter than today, north—west england too, and western parts of wales. and there mayjust be one or two more breaks in the cloud through eastern parts of england. but already notice those temperatures dropping — just 4 or 5 degrees. and even in northern scotland, lower than today. still a breeze here, lighter winds further south. it's because where we've got those lighter winds as we go through saturday night into sunday, area of high pressure and that colder air pushing in, we should start to see a little bit more in the way of fog forming. also, you saw some weather fronts approaching into the west. so across ireland and into northern ireland and western scotland later, we'll see some outbreaks of rain. could be some lingering fog for some across england and wales, but there'll be a few of you still seeing the sunshine on sunday and, for many, it will be dry. but much colder. one or two spots in england and wales struggling to get above freezing. most of us in single figures too. quick glimpse into next week — after a cold and murky start, it's going to turn a bit more changeable later in the week,

with windier conditions, and turning just a little bit milder. that's how it's looking. see you soon.

live from london, this is bbc news. the headlines: israel and hamas officially signed a ceasefire deal overcoming last—minute disputes. the security council is meeting to ratify the vote. these are live pictures of the skyline near the gaza border. 0fficials skyline near the gaza border. officials say more than 100 palestinians have been killed

ljy palestinians have been killed by israeli strikes in the gaza strip since the deal was first announced on wednesday. i’m announced on wednesday. i'm live in tel _ announced on wednesday. i'm live in tel aviv _ announced on wednesday. i“n live in tel aviv where the families of those held in gaza have met once again to put pressure on the government to approve the deal. the lawyers who represented the late russian opposition leader alexei navalny have been jailed, accused of belonging to an extremist group. donald trump's team share his new official portrait ahead of the inauguration on monday, and it mightjust look familiar. a new discovery in old pompeii — archaeologists in italy unearth a huge bathhouse in the roman city, destroyed by a volcanic eruption nearly 2000 years ago. hello, i'm annita mcveigh, welcome to bbc news now.