hello and welcome. the south african authorities say that a massive fire inside the parliament building in cape town has completely destroyed the national assembly. police have arrested a forty—nine year old suspect, and charged him with theft and arson. the building was empty for the new year holidays and there've been no casualties. president cyril ramaphosa, who earlier visited the scene, described the fire as devastating. our correspondent nomsa maseko has more from capetown. an historic building on fire. plumes of smoke engulfing south africa's parliament. within hours, the fire tore through the complex and completely destroyed the main debating chamber. sirens. more than 60 fire fighters battling to extinguish the blaze. the damage is significant and there are fears that some parts of the structure which was built in the late 1800s could collapse. the entire parliamentary complex is severely damaged, waterlogged and smoke damaged. so there is going to be damage extensively. the roof above the old assembly chamber, the old assembly hall, is completely gone. many high—profile south african politicians including president cyril ramaphosa were in cape town for the funeral of archbishop desmond tutu, which took place at st george's cathedral, a block away from the parliament precinct. this is devastating news. it is a terrible and devastating event. particularly after we gave the arch what i would call the best sendoff yesterday. the minister responsible for government infrastructure said fire fighters managed to contain the blaze from spreading further. this is a very sad day for our democracy because parliament is the home of our democracy and parliament is also a strategic, a key point. the building was empty for the new year holidays and no casualties were reported. this is the second fire in south africa's parliament in less than ten months. the first was caused by an electrical fault. this time around, a suspect has been arrested and faces charges of arson, housebreaking, and theft. he is expected to appear in court on tuesday. nomsa maseko, bbc news. the sudanese prime minister, abdalla hamdok is resigning, less than two months after being reinstated as part of an political agreement with the military. he has called for a new round table process, to come to a new agreement for sudan's political transition to democracy. it comes after another day of mass protests against the military�*s involvement in the country's politics. in the city of 0mdurman, two people were shot dead during the demonstrations when soldiers used live rounds. in the capital, khartoum, tens of thousands of protestors confronted security forces at the presidential palace, who fired tear gas canisters and stun grenades. emmanuel igunza has this report. a new year, but the same defiant message. these protesters want an end to military involvement in politics in sudan, and forfull civilian government to take over power. from early morning, heavily armed security forces cutting off the capital khartoum. roads and bridges leading into the presidential palace were sealed off, but, undeterred, the protesters marched on, but only so far. they were quickly dispersed by security forces. translation: revenge is - something generally associated with any military coup. this will only push the sudanese youth to continue their path to achieving all their demands. just last week, six protesters were shot dead by police. hundreds of others were injured, some critically. this has further angered the protesters. translation: | think - the international community does not have the final say. the street has the final say, and the international community can move according to what the street wants. this protest began last october after the military announced a coup against the sudanese government of prime minister abdalla hamdok. despite reinstating him back a month later, the military leaders have faced growing demands to leave power. meanwhile, us secretary of state anthony blinken has condemned the use of political force against protesters and one that the us was ready to take punitive actions against those who blocked sudan's return to civilian and democratic government. the country has witnessed three years are pretty bashir. the government says they won't tolerate protest but out on the streets demonstrators do not relent, and uncertain times for a country on the brink of total collapse. turning now to the coronavirus pandemic — where the 0micron strain continues to cause a huge number of infections around the world. although the variant appears to be less likely to leave people needing hospital treatment — the sheer scale of cases is starting to place more pressures on health systems. here's america's top infectious disease expert, antony fauci, on the recent spike in cases in the us. and in the us. the virus does seem to have a and the virus does seem to have a lower intrinsic pathogenicity to it, we are hoping that's the case. but having said that i got is a one thing, we gotta be careful about that. because evenif careful about that. because even if you have a less percentage of severity, when you're multi, multi—, multifold people getting infected the net amount is you're still going to get a lot of people that i get to deeding hospitalisation. let's take a look at the latest data on confirmed new infections from some of the worst—affected countries. all are lower than in previous days, but that could be a factor of the new year public holiday. italy has announced 61,406 new cases on sunday. that's down from more than 140,000 a day earlier. in france, there were 58,1132 new infections — much lower than the figure of over 200—thousand which was reported in each of hte last four days. the uk only has figures from england and wales — there were 137 thousand 583 new infections recorded, in the latest 24—hour period — again much lower than over the past week. the uk government is bracing itself for as many as one in four of public sector employees being off work because of covid. it has responded to the rise in infections by re—introducing masks and face coverings in secondary schools in england — bringing it in line with the rest of the uk. with the details, here's sanchia berg. in scotland, pupils have been wearing masks as they learn with the windows open for the last few months. the picture is similar now in northern ireland and wales. next week, english secondary students will follow suit as the government tries to reduce the spread of covid in schools. around half of children over 12 have been double—jabbed, not enough to keep the virus out. the face coverings is very much a short—term measure, simply to the 26th of january, when it will be reviewed because we recognise it is not something many children will want to wear. it recognises the priority of ensuring face—to—face education is made available, that's our number one priority. some are worried that this could affect children's learning, which has been so disrupted for the last two years. so what difference will it make to transmission in the classroom? masks work in several ways. first of all, they trap the virus, if you are infected and don't know it. they protect you from incoming virus if you are not infected and don't know that you're talking to someone who is infected. but also, the masks, if you wear them, stop you from picking your nose, scratching and picking your lip and self—inoculating that way. so the masks have several benefits and also if you are wearing a mask, it is actually, people tend to be more careful. but being more careful can come at a price for education. it's helpful for some parts and it's not helpful because when you're asked a question and the teacher doesn't understand what you're saying, they're going to have to tell you to repeat and repeat, until the point where you have to take your mask off and repeat it, and then they'll understand. but it's helpful because the covid is spreading a lot and affecting a lot of people in the uk. nobody wants another lockdown, where even with support from schools children fall behind with their lessons, become vulnerable, isolated, even put at risk. but across england, head teachers are looking from schools children fall behind with their lessons, become vulnerable, isolated, even put at risk. but across england, head teachers are looking at contingency plans. they will only know next week whether to put them into effect when they can see how many staff and pupils are absent with 0micron. sanchia berg, bbc news. in the netherlands, a lockdown to curb the spread of 0micron has prompted protests. thousands of people demonstrated in amsterdam against the measures, which have been in force since the 19th of december. riot police were used to break—up the gathering and at least 30 people were arrested. the 0micron variant has contributed to air crew sickness which has forced the cancellation of more than four thousand flights worldwide. the tracking website flightaware.com says that more than half of the grounded flights were headed to or from the united states. lori aratani is a reporter focusing on transport issues for the washington post. i asked her which us airports have been affected the most. right now we have storms in the midwest, so our hubs of chicago and denver are really hit hard, and atalanta, one of the busiest airports in the world, has also been hit. as you mention, there are more than 4000 cancellations worldwide, and roughly 2400 of those are here in the us. and this has just been going on since christmas eve. i think in total more than 12,000 flights have been cancelled since this started on christmas eve. and what are the airlines doing to try to help? airlines are doing their best to try and get crew positions, but they have been short—staffed, and rushing to hire, since letting a lot of people go during the pandemic, a lot of early retirements, they are offering a lot of incentives for people to take on overtime shifts, but the problem is, if folks are infected with the virus and can't work, they simply can't work, regardless of how much money you offer them. a lot of airlines, jet blue for example and alaska airlines which was hit early in the week when they had snow in seattle last sunday, have encouraged people, they have cut their flight schedules, they have encouraged people who don't absolutely have to travel to put off travelling, to try and free up seats for those who are trying to get back home. how are how are passengers how are passengers reacting? 0f how are passengers reacting? of course people up and stuck it airports and lots of people trying to see family or get back from work or school, don't they? i back from work or school, don't the ? ~' , ., ., , they? i think everyone was eauer they? i think everyone was eager to — they? i think everyone was eager to travel _ they? i think everyone was eager to travel despite - they? i think everyone was eager to travel despite the j eager to travel despite the worries about 0micron. i think now they are eagle to travel home having been able to see their loved ones after some extended time. with her a lot of frustration out there. folks... airlines have encouraged people to try and use apps are online but a lot of times they get a push to call centres and they're finding that re—book your flight and when you dial and it's a four hour wait, six way, an eight hourwait it's a four hour wait, six way, an eight hour waitjust to get you in actual person who hopefully can find you a seat on a flight home. we hopefully can find you a seat on a flight home.— hopefully can find you a seat on a flight home. we knew that omicron was — on a flight home. we knew that omicron was coming, _ on a flight home. we knew that omicron was coming, we - on a flight home. we knew that omicron was coming, we knewl 0micron was coming, we knew weeks ago now that it was very, very transmissible. at limestone enough to foresee what was bound to be a crunch moment over christmas and new year? i moment over christmas and new ear? ~ . �* , , year? i think that's the big question — year? i think that's the big question here. _ year? i think that's the big question here. they - year? i think that's the big question here. they had . question here. they had anticipated, without a lot of flight disruptions in the summer and early this fall, there was a lot of concern about thanksgiving and if your lines looking to be able to pull it off. and they really did. thanksgiving here in the us was relatively trouble—free. but weather was not a factor as thanksgiving. weather is always a factor during this time of yearin a factor during this time of year in many places and when you layer that along with staffing shortages itjust was a perfect storm. lots of folks can't remember disruptions this severe that have gone on this long for such a long duration, probably since the december 11 attacks here. airlines are doing their best. it's hard to know, depending on they should have anticipated but i think of a car and hit around thanksgiving of a people still were quite sure, they've done their best to offer incentives to get workers to be on the job, say on the job. to get workers to be on the job, say on thejob. but i think theyjust didn't think they just didn't anticipate think theyjust didn't anticipate how highly transmissible this virus would be. i'm sure there will be a lot of questions. there are questions now, what is the skin and? there will be questions about could there have been better planning or is this one of those events that you simply have no way to know what the impact was going to be. stay with us on bbc news, still to come — it's the countries best kept secret why do so many italians lived past 100? the japanese people are in morning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged upon the imperial palace to pay their respects when they announce he was dead. good grief. after half a century _ good grief. after half a century of delighting fans around _ century of delighting fans around the world charlie brown and the — around the world charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling — and the rest of the gang are calling it _ and the rest of the gang are calling it quits.— calling it quits. the singer paul simon _ calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts - calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his - calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his tourj calling it quits. the singer i paul simon starts his tour of south — paul simon starts his tour of south africa _ paul simon starts his tour of south africa tomorrow- paul simon starts his tour of south africa tomorrow in - paul simon starts his tour of i south africa tomorrow in spite of protests _ south africa tomorrow in spite of protests and _ south africa tomorrow in spite of protests and violence - south africa tomorrow in spite of protests and violence froml of protests and violence from some — of protests and violence from some black_ of protests and violence from some black activist _ of protests and violence from some black activist groups. l some black activist groups. they— some black activist groups. they say— some black activist groups. they say international - some black activist groups. they say international art l some black activist groups. i they say international art as you — they say international art as you continue _ they say international art as you continue to _ they say international art as you continue to boycott - they say international art as i you continue to boycott south africa — you continue to boycott south africa untit— you continue to boycott south africa until majority _ you continue to boycott south africa until majority rules - africa until majority rules established. _ africa until ma'ority rules established._ africa until ma'ority rules established. �* ., ., established. around the world eo - le established. around the world peeple are — established. around the world people are being _ established. around the world people are being paid - established. around the world people are being paid tribute l people are being paid tribute to the iconic rock star david bowie was sold hundred 40 million albums in a career spanning half a century. his family announced overnight that he died of cancer at the age of 69. ., ,., he died of cancer at the age of 69. ., 69. the world solid skyscraper o ens 69. the world solid skyscraper opens tater — 69. the world solid skyscraper opens later today _ 69. the world solid skyscraper opens later today it _ 69. the world solid skyscraper opens later today it was - 69. the world solid skyscraper opens later today it was evilly| opens later today it was evilly overtaken its nearest rivals. this is bbc news, the latest headlines... a huge fire has completely destroyed the south african national assembly. a man's been arrested on suspicion of arson. thousands protest against the military regime in sudan the prime minister resigns urging coup leaders to move back towards democracy. the south korean military says it has carried out a search operation after a man crossed the border into north korea. the circumstances of the apparent defection are unclear, but a military source said the unnamed man crossed from the demilitarised zone into the north on saturday evening. the office of south korea's joint chiefs of staff said it could not confirm whether the person was still alive. soo kim is a policy analyst at the think tank rand and a former cia analyst. she explains what could be the motivations behind this unusual incident. i think the instinctual response you would have is what was the intention of the person who is crossing, nor from north to south but the other way around? 0ne speculation i think is that it could be as the old fashion way of doing things north korean spy perhaps going back into north korea on new year's day. the other possibility i think is the south korean citizen so they say, perhaps by accident. i don't think that's also a possibility because the gmc is know to be one of the most fortified border in the world. we're talking about over 2 million landmines, watchtowers and of course the south korean military manning the place 24/7. so for this vast area of 2.5 miles to be unattended or i guess, not unattended but do not actually have been able to detect either technology or through shared manpower is notjust implausible but i think there's something else behind it. it could be a question about perhaps inadequate training or maybe that soldiers were lax in terms of what they should've been doing during this critical time. they've had three hours basically to detect and to preempt this person from crossing. on all three occasions they didn't do anything about this. there's a question about whether this is a matter of technology or this is a matter of manpower. kenya's president uhuru kenyatta has led the tributes to the world—renowned conservationist richard leakey, who has died, at the age of 77. dr leakey was also celebrated for his paleontology work — including research into early humans. here he is speaking about the dangers he faced because of his conservation work in kenya, tackling the illegal trade in ivory and rhino horn, during an appearance on the bbc hardtalk programme, with stephen sackur, in 2015. you've talked yourself about the degree to which, you know, thanks to some of the things you said, particularly about the wildlife issue in kenya, you've had people out to kill you. well, if you pick on criminals in england, you don't think they are looking for ways to get even with you? come on, this is normal human behaviour. if a strong guy comes up and fingers you, and you lose your, not only your career but your source of money, of course you're going to be unpopular. but you're not unpopular because you are white, you are unpopular because you pulled the plug on their scheme. it would happen herejust as easily, and i haven't been picked on because i'm white, i've been picked on as an individual who said, "enough�*s enough, stop stealing the resources "of our country". people looking at you who don't know your incredible life story won't know... i mean, obviously you've had lots of health issues but they won't know, for example, that you lost both your legs in a plane crash in 1993. your light aircraft, the engine just cut out. you've always said that you believe that plane was sabotaged, but do you have proof of that? i have no proof that it wasn't and i have no proof that it was and i've always said what happened happened and we need to move forward. i still have reasonable grounds for thinking that it was interfered with. could i take anyone to court? do i want to follow it up? most certainly not. but do you, in your own mind, think you know who was responsible? yes, i think i know and you'll remember, after that, i went on to run the government for president moi and i talked to security services, intelligence services. yes, i've got a pretty good idea, but the point is we've got to move forward, stephen, we can't move backwards and, remember, the legs could have lost me, and they didn't. the conservationist richard leakey, who has died at the age of 77. lebanon is starting the year in a state of paralysis. its cabinet hasn't met for two months, the currency continues to lose value and the investigation into 2020's port blast in beirut has stalled, amid deep political divisions. elections are due this year but arguments over the date have led to fears they won't happen at all. 0ur middle east correspondent anna foster reports. gunfire. for lebanon, the last year has been a fight for survival. a battle for a dwindling supply of medicines, for electricity, as the country descended into darkness, and even for the most basic goods like food and fuel. in october, seven people died in violent clashes that took a generation back to the civil war. the hours of fighting here that day were sparked by rows about the investigation into 2020's devastating beirut port explosion. influential political figures have fought hard against giving evidence and that means the investigation has been suspended again and again. for survivors and bereaved families, there is still no closure. hiam's son ahmed was one of more than 200 people who died. lebanon spent more than a year without a government. the one it finally got, back in september, has achieved little. the currency has lost more than 90% of its value and thousands of families are living in poverty. in the next few months, there should be elections but political parties can't agree on the date and there are fears they won't happen at all. what we feel and what we sense is that the political class is a big opponent of these elections because this might change the ruling parties and this might bring in a new blood to the parliament which might jeopardise the power of these political parties. the international community has made it clear that it won't help lebanon until the country helps itself. based on the last year, the prospects for the next one look bleak. anna foster, bbc news, beirut. if a healthier lifestyle is among your new year's resolutions, this next story is for you. this region in southern italy is being studied by experts for its unusually high percentage of citizens who live past 100. what's their secret, you may ask? sara monetta has more. hidden in the hills of southern italy lies one of the countries best kept secrets — that of long life. this region that combines mountain and sea, where life seems stuck in a less chaotic simpler past. people here live on average ten years longer than other italians and about one resident in ten this past 100. scientists from the university of san diego have been studying the area for years. but if you ask antonio who is 98 the answer is simple. translation: the peace here is incomparable - for the people say hi, they know each other, they talk to each other. healthy food, pristine environment, lack of pollution are all believed to play a role. but also family. shejust turned 100, she says she never spends a day without her grandchildren. translation: | love all my - grandchildren and they love me. they cherish me. every time they call me nona i hearing the voices that they are proud of me. maybe the key to a long life is just that. and before we go... some good news to end on. this is the moment a dog was rescued by an italian firefighterfrom a fox den in lomazzo. firefighters had to patiently dig with their bare hands before pulling two dogs out. the local brigade say the dogs got stuck in the den after chasing a fox. a reminder of our top story... police in south africa say they've arrested a suspect after a massive fire completely destroyed the national assembly building in cape town. this is bbc news. thanks for watching. after the record temperatures at new year's eve and new year's day the week ahead is going to feel very different. it is turning colder. nothing exceptionally cold just the sort of weather we should be getting really at this time of year. the first signs of this colder air arrives in north scotland by the morning, follows a band of wet weather that will continue to move its way southwards. ahead of that for much of the uk it is a mild start. and for england and wales they'll be some sunshine, a few blustery showers. that weather moves south across scotland, a little sleet and snow in the hills, turns weather across northern ireland, some rain arrives into the far north of england. and to the north of that with the northerly wind the air is getting colder. across most of england and wales we got one more day of mild weather with temperatures in double figures. but instead of the southerly winds that brought those high temperatures of the new year's, it's a northerly wind that's going to come pushing down across the whole of the country and drag that colder air southward as well. with the clearer skies developing overnight we'll have a frost in scotland, i think. in northern part of england perhaps northern ireland on tuesday morning. because the air is getting colder those showers in northern scotland are turning more to snow into low levels as well. it's over the higher level routes that there will be blizzards and drifting and gales or severe gales with the last of the milder and damp weather to clear away early on tuesday. then we are all in the colder air, cold northerly wind, a few wintry showers coming into some of the western parts of the uk. of course it will feel much colder. those temperatures can be quite a shock to the system when you consider how mild it has been of late. we start with a little more frost more widely on wednesday. those cold winds will tend to ease down, those wintry showers will move away, most places will turn dry and quite sunny. still on the chilly side although these temperatures are near normalfor this time of year. it will get cold very quickly during wednesday evening, wednesday night. ahead of the next weather system that sweeping in from the atlantic. that will bring with it some stronger winds as it's moving into colder air, could be a bit of snow particularly in the hills in scotland. the band of wet weather continues to work its way eastward through the day. it will be followed by some sunshine and showers. strong and gusty winds around as well, could make double figures in the south. no signs of anything warmer across northern parts of the uk. this is bbc news, the headlines fire has engulfed the parliament building in south africa after its sprinkler system failed. the building was empty for the new year holidays and there've been no casualties. president cyril ramaphosa, who earlier visited the scene, described the fire as devastating. police arrested a man on suspicion of arson. thousands have protested against the military regime in sudan — the prime minister resigned urging coup leaders to return to democracy. it comes after another day of mass demonstrations against the military�*s involvement in the country's politics. two people were shot dead during the protests when soldiers used live rounds. the uk government is bracing itself for as many as twenty—five per cent of public sector employees being off work because of covid. it has responded to the rise in infections by re—introducing masks in secondary schools in england — in line with the rest of the uk. now on bbc news. it's time for hardtalk.