Im in love with your body. And why 2017 was a great year for the uk music industry, and one particular british artist had a lot to do with it. And coming up on sportsday on bbc news, an eventful london derby between arsenal and chelsea at the emirates. Find out if Jack Wilsheres goal was enough to get arsenal the points. Good evening. The health secretary, jeremy hunt, has apologised to patients after hospitals in england were told to delay tens of thousands of non urgent operations and appointments. The Health Service is struggling to cope with mounting winter pressures. The bbc understands at least one in ten hospital trusts have been put on the highest level of alert in the last 2a hours, meaning they are unable to deliver comprehensive care. The Royal College of emergency medicine says Patient Safety is undoubtedly being compromised. Labour claims the nhs is in crisis. Our health editor, hugh pym, has the latest. Theres been extreme stress at some hospitals. Around 20 in england have been on the highest alert level. That means no available beds and severe delays for ambulances handing over patients. One reason why tens of thousands of non urgent operations this month will be cancelled. That means patients like david, who is himself a doctor, will have to wait longer. He was due to have heart surgery today but was told yesterday hed have to wait for a new date. As a patient, i think i underestimated how upsetting it is to prepare for Something Like this and then for it not to be occurring. And as a doctor, i really feel for all our patients who are going through the same thing. So what did the health secretary, jeremy hunt, have to say to patients worried about possible long delays . I want to apologise for the fact that we have had, regrettably, to postpone a number of operations. Were trying to do it differently this year. Last year, we cancelled a lot of operations at the very last minute, so people got a call the day before to say their operation wasnt going ahead. That is obviously very undesirable, so we want to do it in a much more planned way. Surely the nhs cant be running properly under your government if you have to cancel a months worth of operations and outpatients appointments . Well, i think its important to recognise that these pressures are pressures that were seeing all over the united kingdom, in scotland and wales. The Prime Minister said she recognised that, for people whod had their operations postponed, it was disappointing and frustrating. She said nhs staff were doing a fantasticjob. Nhs england and the government say extensive preparations for winter were carried out across the system. But if thats the case, the question is, why were official instructions on cancelling non urgent operations extended this week . Here and St Marys Hospital in west london, theyve planned to treat more people without needing overnight stays. The idea is to keep beds free for those who really need them. But its been tougher than they expected, because patients this year are sicker than they were. The numbers are largely the same, but the intensity of the illnesses weve been seeing this year actually is very, very significant, and weve really had to work very hard to find appropriate places to nurse patients whove got really very serious conditions. And i think a number of things play into this. The weather, as we know, weve begin to see an increase in the number of flu cases all of that builds up to quite a problem for us on some days. Labour didnt say what the government should do now but said ministers were to blame for what it called a crisis. When youve got ambulances backed up outside hospitals, youve got hospitals saying theyre overcrowded, when youve got people waiting on trolleys for hours and hours and hours, it is a crisis, and its because of seven years of underfunding and cuts to nhs, and the government are simply burying their head in the sand. Nhs scotland said thered been a 20 increase in a e visits before christmas. The Lanarkshire Health board has, for now, cancelled non urgent procedures. The Welsh Government says thousands of hours have been lost for ambulance crews waiting to hand over patients at hospitals. Its early in the new year, and the nhs across the uk is already struggling, and its patients who are enduring the consequences. We can talk to you now, is anything the government currently doing going to stop this chaos at englands hospitals . Well, fiona, ministers say there is more money coming through from the budget which should help the situation in a e in england next year, they believe the measures of the last 2a hours should stabilise the situation in the next few weeks, but it comes at a cost tens of thousands of postponed routine operations and procedures, very important for patients involved, hip replacements, knee operations, cataracts, having to wait longer, and a backlog which will add to the growing waiting lists with targets for routine surgery lists with targets for routine surgery already being missed. This time last year, many doctors were saying it was the worst they had seen saying it was the worst they had seen on saying it was the worst they had seen on the front line, there was a lot of planning over the summer and autumn by the nhs supported by the government, and now some doctors are saying it is even worse now. Those 20 hospital trusts we have identified as being on the highest state of alert in the last 2a hours co m pa res state of alert in the last 2a hours compares with just a handful last year. I dont think we have heard anything in the last day or so which says this wont happen again, possibly even worse next time, and it reopens the debate about how much more money the nhs need and where it is going to come from to provide sustainable quality patient care. Hugh pym, thank you. North and south korea have conducted their first direct communication in nearly two years via a brief conversation on the phone. North korea said the aim would be to discuss sending a north korean delegation to the winter games in south korea next month. Meanwhile, President Trump has boasted on twitter that his Nuclear Button is much bigger and more powerful than north koreas. 0ur correspondent Rupert Wingfield hayes reports from the south korean capital, seoul. On monday, kim jong un welcomed in the new year with a more conventional display of fireworks than the sort hes been firing off throughout 2017. But anyone who was hoping his new year message would carry an offer of peace and goodwill was quickly disappointed. The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, he said, and the Nuclear Button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a threat. That was all the excuse President Donald Trump needed, and as we have now come to expect, his response came in a twitter tirade. So 2018 has begun pretty much as 2017 ended, with the president of the United States and the dictator of north korea hurling threats at each other, while the rest of the world looks on mostly in dismay. But here in seoul, 2018 has begun at least with a glimmer of hope, because as of this afternoon, north and south korea are talking to each other again by telephone. Out of the blue, pyongyang suddenly reconnected the hotline between the two koreas that kim jong un had personally ordered cut off two years ago. In his new year address, kim also said he was prepared to send a team to take part in the Winter Olympics which begin here in south korea in a little over a month. The Us State Department accused north korea of attempting to drive a wedge between the us and its south korean ally. And it could be right. But for the 20 Million People of seoul who live within firing range of north koreas artillery, any sign that pyongyang is willing to talk is a new year gift they will welcome. Rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news, in seoul. Following his tweet about north korea, President Trump has gone on the offensive again tonight, this time to launch an extraordinary attack on his former chief strategist, steve bannon. What provoked it were reports that bannon had described a meeting between the president s son and a russian lawyer during the president ial Election Campaign as treasonous and unpatriotic. Its understood the comments will be published in a book next week. The president has hit back with a statement tonight, claiming steve bannon had nothing to do with helping win his presidency. Mr trump says, when he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, is at the white house. This is an extraordinary outburst, even by the standards of donald trump. Fiona, i thought it would take quite something to eclipse Donald Trumps tweet about kim jong un, it now seems that the president and steve bannon are engaged in a battle for who has the biggest button and the most powerful one. Let me read you a bit more of what the president has said about his former chief strategist, steve had very little to do with our historic victory, he doesnt represent my base, he is only in it for himself, steve was rarely in a one to one meeting with me, and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people. This is an unprecedented statement from a president , so why the ben an . 0ne, steve bannon has gone afterfamily, and it makes it much more difficult for donald trump to deny collisions with the russians when you have got someone with the russians when you have got someone who was with the russians when you have got someone who was on with the russians when you have got someone who was on the inside talking about treasonous and unpatriotic behaviour. There is one source of comfort for the white house steve bannon continued to be an influence after he was fired. Not only moral, he has now been cast out into outer darkness, and the question is what does steve bannon do next . I dont think hes going to go away quietly, he has the Breitbart News website, which is hugely powerful, and he will continue to be a thawed in the side. There was an earlier president who commented about a troublesome ally, better to have him inside the tent looking at, than outside the tent looking at, than outside the tent looking in, although that is not exactly the quote. Certainly not as iruna exactly the quote. Certainly not as i run a brit, jon storm eleanor has swept across the uk, causing flooding, power cuts, damage to homes, and disruption to motorists. Gusts of up to 100 mph were reported in the pennines, and thousands of homes were left without power across northern ireland, wales, the midlands and south west england. From cornwall, jon kay has this report. Breached nervous moments in portreath tonight. Part of the old harbour wall had collapsed, letting the atlantic seep through at high tide. Quite a gap, isnt it . It is an awful gap. Sandras house is right next to the giant hole thats been left in the sea defences. What are your thoughts . Scared yeah, we just had all new carpets put in, so you know, its. Yeah, yeah, its going to be a frightening night, i think. It was the early hours of this morning when storm eleanor smashed away the 20m section. Cornwalls coastal communities are used to fierce weather, but portreath now feels especially vulnerable. They werent the only ones. This was galway in the irish republic. High spring tides added force to the storm a potentially deadly mix. In northern ireland, gusts reached 90 mph, leaving 25,000 homes without electricity. We have to bring in crews to cut the trees, we have to bring in digging crews to pull out the poles and to replace poles and to re string lines. All of this takes time and effort, essentially to restore small numbers of customers at a time. Back in cornwall tonight, the collapsed sea wall has become a tourist attraction. Just take a step back, please. Much to the alarm of the authorities. Weve just got to move them back to a safe distance so that they dont get their feet swept away from them, cos the sea is a powerful thing, its a silent killer, itll have you quick as a lick. Absolutely crazy, it looks like a very, very angry sea, and its got a lot of things to answer to. I think its amazing, i absolutely love it, but its so unpredictable, its quite scary. In the end, tonights tide was slightly lower than feared, and no properties were damaged, but there are already more warnings in place for tomorrow. Jon kay, bbc news, portreath in cornwall. The head of the powerful revolutionary guard in iran, which supports the countrys clerical leaders, has claimed that the week of unrest in the countrys towns and cities is over. Tens of thousands of people have been taking part in pro government demonstrations today, organised by the regime. 22 people have died in six days of demonstrations against the government, which were initially in response to price rises and alleged corruption. 0ur middle east editor, jeremy bowen, is here. Is it all over . Well, the Major General say it is. The sedation is over. What if hes right. He says 15,000 people were involved. His men had to only get involved. His men had to only get involved three times. Well, it could be correct or it could be that this now is at a test, this movement is ata now is at a test, this movement is at a test, a crossroads. Will they go back on the streets to try to ta ke go back on the streets to try to take on the authorities . 0r, go back on the streets to try to take on the authorities . Or, will they just say, well, take on the authorities . Or, will theyjust say, well, rub their hands and say maybe weve made our points. The thought of an interrogation in one of the regimes prisons is not attractive and people now know what we think. We have to wait and see about that. I think that even if it all stops now, because people can get intimidated. The authorities, the Security Forces there can be very intimidating, if they were angry enough to take on they were angry enough to take on the Security Forces in the first place, if they were angry enough to get on the streets and not call for reform of the system but to call in some cases for something new. No thats going to stay there, that anger will stay within them even if theyve gone home. A lot of them are young and under 30. Some arab states have found out that if you alienate those people and dont give them what they want, it can be a very serious problem for a regime. Now, the general says that something has ended, but perhaps hes wrong. Perhaps something has just started. We shall see. Jeremy, thank you. A brief look at some of the days other news stories. Six people are being held on suspicion of being members of the banned far right group, national action. They were arrested in raids across england and are being questioned by officers from the West Midlands force. National action was banned by the government in 2016. A homeless man who was hailed as a hero for helping those injured in the Manchester Arena bombing has pleaded guilty to stealing from them. Chris parker admitted taking a phone from a teenage girl and a purse from a woman whose granddaughter lay dying yards away. 22 people were killed in the Suicide Attack last may. The construction company, carillion, is to be investigated by the financial regulator. The uks second biggest construction compa nys statements, made between december 2016 and july last year, will be examined when the firm issued a profit warning. The companys shares have since lost more than 90 of their value. An International Team of researchers has unveiled a bionic hand which enables the person wearing it to actually feel what theyre touching. Until now, it has only ever been used in labs. But for the first time, its being tested out in the real world. 0ur medical correspondent, fergus walsh, has been to rome to meet the woman whos been using it to see what difference it makes to her life. Heres his exclusive report. A bionic hand with a sense of touch, and heres the proof. Blindfolded, almarina mascarello knows whether what shes holding is soft or hard. She gets it right every time. 0ver lunch, she told me that nearly 25 years after losing her hand in a factory accident, its almost like its back again. Translation the feeling is spontaneous, as if it were your real hand. Youre finally able to do things that before were difficult, like getting dressed, putting on shoes. All mundane, but important things. You feel complete. The worlds first feeling bionic hand, given to this danish man, never left the lab, the technology was just too bulky. Now nearly four years on, it is portable, allowing almarina to go back to her hobby of car mechanics. All the electronics are in her rucksack. Heres how it works. Sensors in the fingertips are linked to a computer, this converts the signals into a language the brain will understand. The information is relayed to it via tiny electrodes implanted in nerves in almarinas upper arm. This represents a significant advance in neuro prosthetics, the interface between machine and the human body. The next patient wont need to have a rucksack to carry these electronics because theyre going to be miniaturised and implanted under the skin, and the team here are hoping to do the same with a bionic leg, which will have pressure sensors in the foot. Engineers, computer scientists and surgeons from several countries are involved in this eu funded research. A truly human like bionic hand is still decades away, but the team here think it will happen. You see that we are going more and more in the direction of Science Fiction movies, like star wars, Luke Skywalker after the amputation of the hand. So a fully controlled, fully natural, fully sensorised. Prosthesis very similar, identical to the human hand. Since we filmed with almarina, shes had to give back her bionic hand because its still in the research stage, but she says when its commercialised in a few years, she wants the feeling bionic hand back for good. Fergus walsh, bbc news, rome. The bloody civil war in yemen has claimed thousands of lives and driven millions