testing technology that didn't work. and efforts to reduce agricultural pollution in the river wye caused by excessive use of animal manure. and in sport on the bbc news channel, stuart broad's been recalled by england for the fourth ashes test, replacing olly robinson. broad's played just once in the series, which australia have already won. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. millions of pupils across england and northern ireland have gone back to school today, amid concerns about staff shortages caused by the omicron variant of covid. in england, secondary school students will have to take tests on—site before they return to the classroom, and masks are being re—introduced until at least the end of the month. but teaching unions are warning it's likely some year groups will be sent home to learn remotely. our correspondent jayne mccubbin reports. bell rings. this is bethany. this is kian. and this is what the start of a new term in england looks like. how was that for you, kian? disgusting and horrible. welcome back to school! no—one goes back to class without a negative test, seen by barry. how many test results are you going to be analysing today? around about 1,000. that's a lot of kids. it is a lot of kids, yeah. ten minutes after the school bell rings, the first positive result is found by maureen. go and fetch this young lady, out of the classroom, and she'll be sent home. she'll be sent home straight away? yes, straightaway. so, within minutes. that's the way it should be, isn't it? it is the impact of positive tests on staffing which is the biggest concern here. only three staff have called in with covid this morning, so we were able to manage the school normally with that, that's no problem at all. last term, though, very tricky? difficult last term, we had a number of illnesses, covid and non—covid related illnesses, about a third of the children were off with covid—related issues, so that was difficult. but we managed, we kept the school open, we kept all the children in lessons, and we aim to do the same thing again this term. this trust blew its supply teacher budget in the first term of this academic year. teaching unions say schools need more cash to cover the cost. but it's not the cost that worries this place, it's the chronic shortage of supply teachers. it’s this place, it's the chronic shortage of supply teachers. it's an ever shrinking _ shortage of supply teachers. it's an ever shrinking supply _ shortage of supply teachers. it's an ever shrinking supply situation. - shortage of supply teachers. it's an ever shrinking supply situation. we i ever shrinking supply situation. we need high—quality, professional teachers in front of the children to give them an excellent education and they are not out there. in give them an excellent education and they are not out there.— they are not out there. in the devolved _ they are not out there. in the devolved nations, _ they are not out there. in the devolved nations, the - they are not out there. in the - devolved nations, the expectation is for secondary school kids to do these tests at home before coming back to class, and after that, twice a week from home in northern ireland and scotland, three times a week in wales. for primary schools and earlier settings, wales. for primary schools and earliersettings, it wales. for primary schools and earlier settings, it is a different story. here at alexandra infants there is no new testing, no new masks, but with four staff already off with covid there are familiar consents. . . ., , off with covid there are familiar consents. . . . , ., consents. particularly with the age ofthe consents. particularly with the age of the children _ consents. particularly with the age of the children and _ consents. particularly with the age of the children and the _ consents. particularly with the age of the children and the number- consents. particularly with the age of the children and the number of| of the children and the number of adults with ratios, for example in the early years where our ratio is one to 13, it's very much being able to manage that and making sure we have adequate staffing to provide education we need.— education we need. great news, ou're education we need. great news, you're good _ education we need. great news, you're good to _ education we need. great news, you're good to go. _ education we need. great news, you're good to go, you - education we need. great news, you're good to go, you can - education we need. great news, you're good to go, you can go i education we need. great news, i you're good to go, you can go back to lessons— you're good to go, you can go back to lessons with your negative result — to lessons with your negative result. , , to lessons with your negative result. ,, , to lessons with your negative result. , , , ., to lessons with your negative result. ,, ., ., result. this is exactly what today is all about _ result. this is exactly what today is all about. this _ result. this is exactly what today is all about. this is _ result. this is exactly what today is all about. this is the _ result. this is exactly what today is all about. this is the first - result. this is exactly what today is all about. this is the first and l is all about. this is the first and so far only positive test result at this academy in stoke. this young lady has been sent home now. and the rest of the children are back in class and the hope is they stay there until the end of term. covid cases should start to drop across the uk from their current peak in the next one to three weeks, according to one of the country's top infectious disease experts. professor neil ferguson, who was one of the leading government advisors behind the first lockdown last year, said infection rates may already be plateauing in london and omicron numbers have been so high they cannot be sustained "forever". our health correspondent anna collinson reports. there was no rush to return to work for commuters in norwich this morning. but there are many questions about how the end of 2021 will impact january. the festive period brought generational mixing, destructive testing supply and patchy covid data which creates uncertainty about where heading. a leading infectious disease expert says while infections in the under 50s may be plateauing in london and the uk could see cases dropping, there's more to the story. this epidemic _ there's more to the story. this epidemic has _ there's more to the story. this epidemic has spread _ there's more to the story. ti 3 epidemic has spread so quickly there's more to the story. t1151 epidemic has spread so quickly in that group, it hasn't had time to really spread into the older age groups which are much greater risk of severe outcomes and hospitalisation. so, we might see a different pattern in hospitalisations. hospitalisations are still generally getting up across the country and we may see high levels for some weeks. following a rise in hospital admissions and high numbers of staff off sick, in the past week at least half a dozen nhs trusts have declared critical incidents. the alert isn't unusual in the winter but is raised when services are under acute pressure and may need staff redeployed. one trust affected is morecambe bay. it’s staff redeployed. one trust affected is morecambe bay.— is morecambe bay. it's good to see some hope — is morecambe bay. it's good to see some hope from — is morecambe bay. it's good to see some hope from london _ is morecambe bay. it's good to see some hope from london but- is morecambe bay. it's good to see some hope from london but the . is morecambe bay. it's good to see i some hope from london but the cases may be flattening. but lancashire isn't london and many regions aren't well resourced like london, especially at a time when cases are getting up in the 60 plus age group. during a normal winter in england, the nhs would normally expect to see 1000 respiratory illness cases a day. latest figures show there were more than 1800 covid patients alone. evenif more than 1800 covid patients alone. even if you remove those admitted with covid rather than because of it, pressures are high but are far below what we saw this time last year and that's largely down to the vaccine holding up. but the pressures are far below what we saw this time last year. in scotland, restrictions like table service only in hospitality venues are in place, england has fewer measures compared to the rest of the uk but this will be reviewed tomorrow. the government is lookin: at be reviewed tomorrow. the government is looking at the — be reviewed tomorrow. the government is looking at the data _ be reviewed tomorrow. the government is looking at the data all _ be reviewed tomorrow. the government is looking at the data all the _ be reviewed tomorrow. the government is looking at the data all the time - is looking at the data all the time and putting in contingency measures. it would be wrong if we didn't, and if we didn't plan for more staff absences. we also got to remember that as part of plan p people are asked to work from home and that will help to ease some of the pressures on the rail operators and the nhs. to pressures on the rail operators and the nhs. ., , , ., . ,, the nhs. to help protect the nhs the bbc understands _ the nhs. to help protect the nhs the bbc understands the _ the nhs. to help protect the nhs the bbc understands the government - the nhs. to help protect the nhs the bbc understands the government hasi bbc understands the government has prepared a plan for some key workers to be prioritised for covid testing if there is another shortage of tests. our political correspondent helen catt is in westminster. should we be expecting any changes in approach from the government now the new year has begun? well, the government seems to be staying with the idea that plan b is enough and remains the right course. this morning the prime minister's official spokesperson said ministers didn't see anything in the data that suggests that the restrictions that england would be the right approach. however, they say the nhs is going to keep coming under pressure in coming weeks, they talk about it being a challenging winter, that we should be no doubt it's going to be difficult although they say there will be significant mitigations put in place. when mps come back tomorrow we are expecting to hear more about government thinking and i think a lot of the focus will be on how long those plan b restrictions are likely to stay in place. in the background there are all sorts of discussions going on about the knock—on is, things like staff shortages, testing capacity, the government saying they are massively increasing testing capacity, that they continue to take advice on whether or not they need to start rationing tests. they are clear that at the moment anyone who needs a test can get them, the advices to come back later in the day if you can't get one. they are also looking at staff shortages and contingencies there. government departments have been asked to mitigate against up to a quarter of their workforce being absent. at the moment it doesn't look like there are any further restrictions planned for england. thank you. in just a few hours' time lawyers for prince andrew will attempt to have a civil claim for sexual assault against him thrown out at a court in new york. virginia giuffre is suing him for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was 17. prince andrew has consistently denied the claims. our correspondent sean coughlan reports. more than 20 years after this photograph was claimed to have been taken, lawyers for prince andrew and virginia giuffre will go into a legal battle today over whether miss giuffre's civil case against him can proceed. miss giuffre, then called roberts, said she was trafficked by the paedophilejeffrey epstein and then sexually assaulted by prince andrew in london, new york and the caribbean. the prince has consistently denied the allegations. prince andrew's lawyers will try to convince the court in new york that the case shouldn't go any further, claiming that a deal struck in 2009 between ms giuffre and epstein, prevents herfrom pursuing her claims against him. the settlement, revealed yesterday, showed that epstein paid half a million dollars to giuffre to stop any further legal action against him. in the settlement, giuffre agreed to... release, acquit, satisfy and forever discharge epstein from further claims. the wording goes on to cover any other person who could have been a potential defendant. it's so wide, she promises not to bring any further case dating from "the beginning of the world." prince andrew's lawyers say that means he can't be sued. lawyers for ms giuffre will say her claims against prince andrew were a separate case. a former new york prosecutor said the wording of the epstein settlement was too vague and lacked legal teeth. the language is extraordinarily broad and this is the type of very broad language that lawyers sometimes think is going to be helpfulfor them but often it actually results in finding that a provision is invalid because it is in fact too broad. prince andrew was adamant in his 2019 newsnight interview he has no memory of any contact with ms giuffre. you can say categorically that you don't recall meeting virginia roberts, dining with her, dancing with her at tramp and going on to have sex with her in a bedroom in a house in belgravia? i can absolutely, categorically, tell you it never happened. - do you recall any kind of sexual contact with virginia roberts, then or any other time? none whatsoever. there might not be an outcome today from the hearing but prince andrew's lawyers will be hoping the case can be stopped in its tracks. otherwise it opens the door to a phase of more evidence gathering, investigations, and public scrutiny and the possibility of prince andrew facing questions in an unprecedented civil trial in new york. sean coughlan, bbc news. the labour leader sir keir starmer has been setting out his party's vision for power if they win the next general election. in a new year speech he accused the conservatives of losing voters' trust, promising that labour would govern based on the principles of "security, prosperity and respect." i believe that the best still lies ahead for this country, but only if we have the courage to create a new britain — a country in which you and your family get the security, the prosperity and the respect that you deserve. my contract with the british people will set out how we can create that new britain. we can talk now to our political correspondent ione wells in westminster. what does he mean by a contract with the british people?— the british people? well, i think while recent _ the british people? well, i think while recent opinion _ the british people? well, i think while recent opinion polls - the british people? well, i think while recent opinion polls have l the british people? well, i think. while recent opinion polls have put a bit of a spring in the labour leader's step, they'd be more positive for labour generally, one criticism he has faced is people not always knowing what he stands for. this beach is set to try and fix that three principles he mentioned —— this speech. the first one was security, he used the example of the nhs always being there, secondly, prosperity, so making sure everyone has good jobs, and funnily respect, making sure people and places in the uk feel valued. —— finally respect. three things really stood out, the first one, patriotism, he talked about pride in the country and the queen, creative industries and the rule of law in britain. secondly, standards in public life. this was an opportunity to take a hit at borisjohnson and the government for ports of downing street christmas parties last year for example. finally, the cost of living. this is a big issue coming up for the government, particularly at the moment with energy bills rising, with inflation rising and taxes are set to go up. he used that as an opportunity to criticise boris johnson's leadership. the big question he will continue to face is how he plans to win back power and actually implement these ideas, not just in england in the north—east of wales where they lost seats but also in scotland. . ~ wales where they lost seats but also in scotland. ., ~ , ., a woman who became a billionaire after claiming her health company could diagnose a range of medical conditions including cancer, with a simple blood test, has been found guilty of defrauding investors. elizabeth holmes' company, theranos, attracted backers including rupert murdoch, but it collapsed after a newspaper revealed that the machines did not work as promised. holmes faced 11 charges in total and was found not guilty of four charges relating to defrauding the public. james clayton reports. we'd like to see a world in which every person gets access to this type of basic testing. elizabeth holmes had a vision that turned her into a billionaire — that she could create a machine that she called the edison that could detect hundreds of diseases with just a few drops of blood. the pitch convinced some very important people. media tycoon rupert murdoch invested, bill clinton was a fan. behind me are theranos's former head offices — very plush, very expensive and in the heart of silicon valley. and the great and the good came to visit theranos. evenjoe biden came to california and heaped praise on the company. success seemed inevitable. this is my certificate for theranos, showing my shares and it was actually signed by elizabeth holmes. so it's kind of a bit of history? it really is. a sad bit of history, but history nevertheless. eileen lepera was a secretary in silicon valley. she heard about this amazing new company. my boss had indicated that it was going to be, in his words, "the next apple," and that i should get as many shares as i could, and so i did. it was six figures, which was a large amount for me. what eileen didn't know was that the dream elizabeth holmes was selling was a nightmare. the technology didn't work, but investors like eileen had no idea. elizabeth was in stealth mode, so that we had no idea whether it was going well or was on the brink of collapse. the retail giant walgreens had a contract with theranos to diagnose patients with its machines. however, the court heard that theranos wasn't using its edison machines, but was instead using openly available diagnostic equipment. i just really resent that somebody would make such a massive fraud, especially when so many people told her, "this isn't working." elizabeth holmes has argued at trial that she had always attempted to create a genuine product that worked and that she never intended to commit fraud. what happened behind those closed doors has led to a lot of introspection here in silicon valley. but there's still a culture of faking it till you make it here, and until that changes, people worry that what happened in theranos could happen again. james clayton, bbc news. the time is 13:18. our top story this lunchtime... pupils across the uk head back to school this week amid concerns about staff shortages and remote learning. and feeling the g—force — our correspondentjoins pilot training in south korea as we report on the country's effort to boost its miltary capability. in sport on the bbc news channel, nine—time champion novak djokovic has confirmed on social media he's been given a medical exemption to enter australia without a covid vaccine, despite rules stating players must be double vaccinated. campaigners celebrated last november when the environment agency announced it would investigate the illegal release of sewage into rivers by water companies. but a major source of river pollution is from agriculture, with the wye one of those badly affected — and it's potentially an even tougher issue to tackle. our climate editor, justin rowlatt, has been to the river wye to find out more. angela jones is known as the wild woman of the wye. oh, it's me. it's in my veins. i feel like a guardian of this river. she has been swimming in the river virtually every day for more than 30 years and she has witnessed some shocking changes. we used to have a beautiful water crowfoot plant that used to blanket huge sections of this wye. and now, there's nothing. this river, which is supposed to be the nation's favourite river, is literally being used as an open sewer. sewage released from treatment plants is a big issue. absolutely disgusting. it smells foul. but the biggest problem is actually pollution from agriculture. there has been a massive increase in the number of chickens being farmed for meat and eggs in the wye valley. huge new sheds have been put up to house what is now an estimated 20 million birds. now, 20 million chickens produce a lot of waste. but chicken waste, chicken manure, is a great fertiliser, so the chicken farmers sell it to other farmers to improve their soil, and that is the problem. so this is quite crucial land in terms of run—off. animal manure contains phosphorus, a fertiliser. think rocket fuel for plants. and the more you put on the fields, the more phosphorus leaks into the river. the effects have become shockingly apparent. the river wye turned lime green. it should be clean and clear. the visibility was a couple of inches. it was absolutely shocking. all that phosphorus sparked an explosion of algae, which choked other plants and animals. it was horrible. it looked like someone had poured green paint into the river. it is just not how a river should be. new research shows a massive surplus of phosphorus in the soil. it amounts to 17 kilograms of phosphorus per hectare. the national average is about seven kilograms. so the accumulation in the wye is two to three times greater than within the national average. but there has been action, with a series of meetings to try and find solutions. what conclusions can we draw? there are campaigners, farmers and representatives from the big corporates here. there are seniorfigures from tesco and sainsbury�*s, as well as from the country's biggest poultry companies. martin williams was one of the first farmers to get involved. he is already changing his practices, using less manure and working to reduce soil erosion. i just feel that agriculture needed to put its hand up for the issue that is affecting the river and address the issue as best we can. some otherfarmers are making similar changes — to martin's delight. it is like you have a consensus. it is very rare! i am not sure if it is a campaign orjust pushing on an open door. itjust seems that people are willing to look at this and address it, which is fantastic, isn't it? it is not going to be done overnight, it is not going to be done through kneejerk, and i think it will probably take 10—15 years to sort if we started today. it is encouraging that action is being taken, but will it be enough and happen quickly enough to restore one of britain's most beautiful rivers to its former glory? justin rowlatt, bbc news, the wye valley. since the start of this year, british steel companies have been operating at a significant competitive disadvantage compared to their rivals elsewhere in europe. the eu has done a deal with the united states which means they can export steel without tariffs. but the uk is yet to complete its own deal. as our global trade correspondent chris morris reports, the impact is already being felt. at a foundry in chesterfield, row materials are being melted in a furnace to make cast—iron baths, but because of the american tariffs of 25% on uk products, this company is moving some of its production to a factory in spain. so if the uk manages to strike a deal with the us, will that production come back? probably not. it really depends on how early the deal is done, and once our customer over there in north america gets used to the spanish product, then the question has to be as to whether it is worth it to bring it back or not. it is highly likely we'lljust leave it over there, and lost to the uk completely, then. steel and cast—iron are no longer a huge chunk of the british economy, but if yourjob depends on them, they still really matter. it was to help protect american jobs that president trump introduced the tariffs in 2018, and for the uk at least the biden administration hasn't changed course. neither public diplomacy nor private negotiation has yet led to any breakthrough. both the uk and the eu have retaliated, with tariffs of their own against american products, but it is the eu that has got a deal done first. that's partly because, in trade, size matters. an added complication in london, political concern in washington about british threats to suspend parts of the post—brexit deal with the eu on northern ireland. it is an awkward mix. at the department for international trade, they don't want a dispute with the united states. quite the opposite. outside the eu, the government is relying on closer trade ties with the us. but its response to a public consultation on further countermeasures against those american steele tariffs has already been delayed, and they can't hold off indefinitely. so the government hopes the dispute can be resolved soon before it gets worse. and the message from industry is pretty clear. crack on, please. let's get a deal brokered as soon as possible that will put us on a level playing field with the rest of europe. but in matters of trade, many things are easier said than done. chris morris, bbc news. the chinese authorities have put an entire city into lockdown, with residents not allowed to leave their homes, after the discovery ofjust three asymptomatic covid cases. yuzhou, which has a population of a million, has closed down its transport system, shops and entertainment venues. china is still pursuing a zero—covid policy — here's robin brant. the contrast of what life is like in a handful of cities across china today could not be more stark. in xian, home to 13 million people, they are two weeks into a lockdown. people cannot leave their homes, there are reports of bartering going on, people exchanging cigarettes for food, other things for sanitary products. and that's not going to change until the number of covid cases the reduces significantly. in the city of yuzhou, a bit closer to where i am, in the last 2a hours a similar lockdown. people can't leave their houses, almost all vehicles are not allowed on the streets. that's after they discovered just three asymptomatic cases. here in shanghai, it's a very different story. this is what most of china is like. it's business as usual. yes, you have to have a mask on when you go on the metro, you have your temperature taken, but the government says its zero—covid strategy has achieved this for the last 18 months. and that's a strategy that now includes things like this, a pop—up booster vaccination tent. you can win prizes as well. but it also includes very harsh measures that can be imposed on a city in a matter of hours, and that's what we're seeing in yuzhou. now, as the winter olympic games in beijing approach, and also chinese new year, the mass migration of millions of people here, there is absolutely no evidence that china's government is going to change its mind. it remains committed to this zero—covid strategy for the foreseeable future. robin brant there. south korea is ploughing more and more money into its defence budget, spending an extra 90 million dollars a year on new technology. the country relies on the united states to help defend its border with north korea but is keen to stand on its own two feet. our seoul correspondent laura bicker has had exclusive access to south korean air force training. three, two, one... i am trying to pass the g—force test... one, two, three... i am all right. 0h! oh, my god. ..and, well, it's not easy. i am here training with the air force to find out more about south korea's aim to be a military powerhouse. but before i can fly, i have to stay conscious. 0k? keep going, keep going, keep going. 0k. ok, good. wow. wonderful! great, great. south korea has shown off its biggest military advancements yet in 2021. it fired an array of new missiles and launched its first rocket into space. the country is also one of only five in the world to train its own pilots on home—grownjets. but what is it like to fly in one? i don't know how i feel! i want my mammy. 0k. i'm scared, but ok. so ijust need to breathe, right? as we do loops in the sky, i hear that, from here, south korea can monitor movements in the north. that the country is no spending so much on defence perhaps should come as no surprise, because it is still officially at war with north korea. here in the skies over the country, there have also been increasing air incursions from russia and from china. we face probably the most existential security threat. as you know, 68 kilometres from seoul you have north korea, armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons and long—range missiles and guns. we also have china looming in the background and a us that has become weaker as we speak. so even though the americans are our closest ally, we really have to spend much more money and attention on defence. what are we going to do now? yeah, another roll. 0k. the country has sought to pirouette between the world's great powers. it lies so close to china yet relies on the us to shield it from any potential war. president donald trump described that as freeloading, and it has made some in seoul question the strength of the alliance. so we will continue to work very closely with our american allies but we also want to leave room for more autonomous, self—reliant defence. the major even lets me fly the t—50 jet. are you ready? yeah. 0k, make a right turn. south korea is feeling its own way too, slowly taking control over the future of its forces. and despite assurances from washington that the alliance does remain strong, the country is showing no signs of turning back. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. rather her than me! in tennis, the world number one novak djokovic says he will defend his australian open title, after receiving a medical exemption from having a covid—19 vaccination. the nine—time australian open winner hasn't spoken publicly about his vaccination status and every player at the event, which takes place later this month, has to be fully vaccinated or have an exemption granted by an independent panel. time for a look at the weather. here's matt taylor. is it back to business as usual? yes, at long last. back to the turn of the year, the warmest new year's day on record, 16.3 celsius in london, widely into the mid—teens across the country. the weather has