western areas through the day. on sunday looking bright but showery. bye—bye. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. 200 armed forces personnel are being sent to london hospitals to help with covid—related staff shortages. the australian government deny claims they're holding tennis star novak djokovic captive after he failed to meet vaccine entry requirements. they say he can leave whenever he wants. mr djokovic is not being held captive in australia. he is free to leave at any time that he chooses to do so, and border force will actually facilitate that. labour says the prime minister still has serious questions to answer over the refurbishment of his downing street flat. the president of kazakhstan addresses the nation after days of unrest — saying protesters who don't give themselves up will be destroyed — and thanks the russian president for sending troops. sport, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's austin halewood. england are trying to salvage a bit of pride in the ashes, what's going on? good morning. well, at long last, england cricket fans finally have something to cheer about in australia. for the first time on this ashes tour, an english batter has made a century. jonny bairstow reached his tonne during the final over of the day to give some respectability to england's first innings. but it still might not be enough to save the fourth test in sydney, with australia still 158 runs ahead at the close of play, as patrick gearey reports. at a drizzly sydney, the weather soaked up more time in the test. for england, not nearly enough. australians have spent weeks mopping up, after all. haseeb hameed, beaten by michell starc for six. sydney was in pink to support the jane mcgrath cancer foundation. late wife of the great glenn who used to regularly do this to englishmen. the tormentor of zak crawley was scott boland, playing his second test, having waited his whole career for these moments. joe root, england's captain, his ninth test wicket already. england's sad procession trudged on, surrounded, surrendering. three wickets for no runs, 36—4 by lunch. afterwards, it got surreal. ben stokes was given out leg before wicket. it turned out that there was no leg and plenty of wicket. bails still on, stokes still in. but he was facing the pace with pain. a side injury kept him from bowling but not batting, battling. jonny bairstow went with him, both swatted 50s. here was the fight england had spoken about. and here was the counterpunch. stokes, trapped by nathan lyon. jos buttler followed. but bairstow wasn't done. together with mark wood, he made sure england wouldn't be made to bat again. and then in the final over of the day, he passed 100. it's too late to save the series. it might still be too little to save the match. but at long last, england have something to celebrate. patrick geary, bbc news. at last some positives for england but still a long way to go in test match. now, australian authorities say they are investigating the visas of other foreign tennis players after already detaining novak djokovic in a chaotic row over vaccine rules. djokovic was denied entry into the country because of his vaccination status ahead of the australian open, and he'll remain in a quarantine hotel in melbourne over the weekend ahead of his appeal hearing on monday. a group of protesters have been waving flags and banners outside the hotel asking for djokovic to be released. and fellow tennis player marin cilic says it's hard to believe this has happened to the world number one. it's difficult to constructively say something objectively whether the australian government should have or should have not decided this earlier or not. that's on their own decision. but looking at the situation, it's definitely incredible that this happened the way it did, especially to novak, that he got here, that this is still going on. definitely feeling very sorry for him. hope that this is going to be resolved very soon. it's the moment lots of newcastle fans have been waiting for. they finally have their first signing confirmed under their new owners. england full—back kieran tripper has joined from atletico madrid. he's played for eddie howe before at burnley and joins for £12 million. but newcastle fans will be hoping he's the first of many to come in and help with the club battling against relegation from the premier league. well, there's lots more on all of those stories on the bbc sport website. including plenty more reaction from the ashes in australia. and there are highlights of the day's play on the bbc iplayer from 5pm. but that's all your sport for now. let's return to our top story and the pressure the surge of omicron cases in london and the south east is putting on nhs services. 200 members of the armed forces are being deployed to help hospitals struggling to cope with staff shortages. joining me now is prof sir david spiegelhalter, a statistician from the university of cambridge — he is co—author of covid by numbers. on demand very much in demand throughout the pandemic because you've got some of the answers. don't shake your head! laughter what is the answer to what's going on at the moment? we know that the trends in london have led the way for what's going on with omicron. how do you read it? at}! for what's going on with omicron. how do you read it?— how do you read it? of course, i don't have _ how do you read it? of course, i don't have the _ how do you read it? of course, i don't have the answers - how do you read it? of course, i don't have the answers but - how do you read it? of course, i don't have the answers but in i how do you read it? of course, i - don't have the answers but in london cases in younger people are coming down fast. hospitaladmissions cases in younger people are coming down fast. hospital admissions seem to be stable and may even be declining. elsewhere, admissions are still rising in other parts. in terms of the cases, the day on which the highest number of positive tests was taken was actually ten days ago on the 29th when nearly one quarter of a million were taken. that may be the peak because it seems to have stabilised. there are problems with accessing tests and is probably up to half a million people a day still getting infected and we haven't seen the impact on schools opening yet. so, a huge surge in terms of omicron. do think all of the evidence points to a severing of the link between cases and hospitalisation?- link between cases and hospitalisation? link between cases and hositalisation? . �* , ., , hospitalisation? that's the really im ortant hospitalisation? that's the really important thing. _ hospitalisation? that's the really important thing. a _ hospitalisation? that's the really important thing. a certain - hospitalisation? that's the really i important thing. a certain severing for hospitalisation but they are still going up. the big severing is between really severe outcomes. there are still no sign of a serious increase in intensive care, ventilation and debts. we would have expected to see that by now so that is the really reassuring thing. i think we can guarantee that as we endure the next few weeks, what we are not going to see is a big surge in severe outcomes. so, it's more a matter of managing this wave that we are in the middle of. as you said, the crucial thing is the disruption to the nhs and other services. part of it is the vaccine _ to the nhs and other services. part of it is the vaccine but is another part of it that people actually were quite cautious in terms of their behaviour over christmas and new year? . �* , behaviour over christmas and new year? ., �* , , year? that's the interesting thing. sa . e year? that's the interesting thing. sane on year? that's the interesting thing. sage on the _ year? that's the interesting thing. sage on the 16th _ year? that's the interesting thing. sage on the 16th gave _ year? that's the interesting thing. sage on the 16th gave a _ year? that's the interesting thing. sage on the 16th gave a very - year? that's the interesting thing. l sage on the 16th gave a very severe warning to the government and said hospitalisation is in england were likely to go above 3000 per day. that's an important figure, that was around the peak in the first wave which reached 4000 per day in last winter, if no further measures were done. the government decided to stick to plan b and said, we are not going to do anything else. it looks like hospitalisations are above 2000 per day in england and with good luck they may not go above 3000. so, what is the difference between what sage was saying and what's happening? i think this is the fact people have voluntarily been cautious about their behaviour. i think strongly influenced by chris whitty�*s almost aside at the press conference before christmas when he said, choose who you're with the ones you really want to be met. i think that has been very influential in terms of people exercising their ownjudgment and being cautious. there's been quite a lot of talk of covid optimism, that although omicron is surging and seems to be a milder variant, actually, it's getting a lot of people a kind of immunity and that's not a bad thing. what's your view on that? i’m a what's your view on that? i'm a chronic optimist, _ what's your view on that? i'm a chronic optimist, that's - what's your view on that? i'm a chronic optimist, that's why - what's your view on that? i'm a chronic optimist, that's why i'm really glad i have no role in advising because i'm hopelessly optimistic. so, i'm disastrous in that sense. but i think it is showing, and we're going to have two, as this comes down after weeks of severe pressure on the nhs, this will come down and then we'll work out what we're going to do. i think we have to start really thinking about living with this virus and test and trace, frankly, is it cost—effective? is it worth doing all these pcr tests? we have to really start thinking more clearly about what we do when this virus is around us. it’s about what we do when this virus is around us. �*, ., ._ , about what we do when this virus is around us. �*, ., , about what we do when this virus is around m— about what we do when this virus is around va— around us. it's always good to talk to a chronic _ around us. it's always good to talk to a chronic optimist _ around us. it's always good to talk to a chronic optimist as _ around us. it's always good to talk to a chronic optimist as well- around us. it's always good to talk to a chronic optimist as well as - around us. it's always good to talk to a chronic optimist as well as a l to a chronic optimist as well as a chronic pessimist. thank you very much for being with us.— chronic pessimist. thank you very much for being with us. a candlelit vigil on the steps of the capitol building in washington has marked the end of a day of remembering a year since the invasion of the us capitol. earlier, the presidentjoe biden said those who had stormed the capitol had held "a dagger to america's throat." our washington correspondent nomia iqbal reports. prayer vigils were held in the dark for people to remember a day of shock and resilience. lawmakers spent the anniversary sharing testimonials about where they were in those chaotic hours that shocked the world. you'll never take back our country with weakness. . you have to show strength. stop the steal! last year's riots are still staggering to see. people loyal to donald trump try to overthrow the election he lost. his supporters marched from his rally and made their way inside the capitol, as congress was in session to confirm joe biden�*s victory. the attack lasted for hours. five people died, including a police officer. nearly 140 security officials were injured. a year on, and a minute's silence was held inside the same building that came under attack. president biden gave an impassioned speech, saying the mob held a dagger at the throat of american democracy, due to the lies spread by donald trump. they didn't come here out of patriotism or principle. they came here in rage. not in service of america, but rather in service of one man. throughout his presidency, he has avoided talking about mr trump — but not this time. though he never used his name. because he sees his own interests as more important than his country's interests and america's interests. and because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our constitution. he can't accept he lost. since that day, hundreds of people have been arrested, and a commission is under way to get to the bottom of what happened. but rather than a crisis pulling the nation together, the divisions have deepened. senior republicans condemned the attack at the time, but most refused to impeach donald trump for it when they had the chance. many still see his support as invaluable for upcoming elections — even on the anniversary only two republicans showed up for the minute's silence. what happened here onjanuary the 6th last year has pushed americans even further apart. the majority of republican voters still falsely believe the election was stolen. president biden�*s big theme has always been unity, but it rings hollow in a country that disagrees on how to define an attack that almost broke its democracy. nomia iqbal, bbc news, washington. last year, zolgensma, a highly effective treatment for the rare genetic disorder spinal muscular atrophy was approved for use on the nhs. it's the world's most expensive drug and has the potential to save the lives of babies with the condition. one—year—old edward was given the drug in august and it's changed his life. zoe conway has been to meet him and his mum megan. he's just my little boy, just completely in awe of him, he's like the strongest little baby i know. i'm just so proud of him. he's just doing so well. edward was born with the genetic condition spinal muscular atrophy. it causes progressive muscle weakness. as a baby, edward became floppy, he couldn't move his legs. doctors feared that one day he might lose the ability to breathe. and then along came the most expensive drug in the world — zolgensma. it costs £1.8 million, although the nhs got a discount and approved it for use last may. this is edward being given zolgensma via a drip last august. the one—off treatment lasted an hour. in that time, his life was transformed. his muscle tone is a lot stronger. he's almost feeling like a child that doesn't have sma. he can roll, he can hold his head. i mean, honestly, it's endless, what he can do, compared to what he was doing before treatment. it's incredible. # if you see a crocodile...# the earlier a baby is given the drug, the better — ideally before the symptoms start. it wasn't clear whether edward would qualify for it. how do you describe the love for your child? especially when you've been through something so traumatic as what we've been through — but not only that, the thought of actually losing him was very, very, very real. and so it makes you appreciate every single little thing — every tantrum i appreciate because he can... he's got the strength to be a naughty boy, you know? and it's all those things that ijust didn't even think he would ever be able to do. spinal muscular atrophy can be detected in newborns using a simple heel—prick blood test. the condition affects one in 10,000 babies. great ormond street is calling for all newborns to be given the test. if you intervene early, between 70%, 80% of these children at the age of one year will be indistinguishable from the normally developing children. and they will acquire walking, they will acquire the milestones. so the difference is immense. this is three—year—old lena's preferred mode of travel — whizzing by in the lap of her 16—year—old sister, amelia. they both have sma — although a different type from edward's. lena was treated as a baby with zolgensma — the drug came too late for amelia. lena is our little miracle. we knew that if we give lena the drug before any symptoms, it will be the best effect. that's why the pre—screening, it's so important. this is clearly a remarkable family. amelia can't get to school half the time because of chest infections and hospital appointments, yet this gcse student is in all the top sets at school. do you think that you have to try harder and work harder than anybody else? oh, yeah, definitely. definitely. this week alone i'm missing a whole day of school. so what will you have to do to catch up? i will have to catch up over the weekend. but when i ask her about her sister, lena, this strong, determined young woman breaks down. i know, come on. only good stuff. yeah? one more? yeah. unable to lift her hands, her mother wipes away her tears and gives her the strength to carry on. i think it's amazing. i wasn't able to walk from the age of one and a half. i wasn't able to run. i wasn't able to even crawl. so, yeah, ithink it's quite amazing. zolgensma has only been on the market for five years, so it's still unclear what effect it will have over the longer term, but the hope is that children like lena will forever be free of this disease. zoe conway, bbc news. we've received some figures showing the depth of staff shortages caused by omicron in the nhs. apparently, a total of 40,000 nhs staff at hospital trusts in england were absent for covid reasons on january the 2nd. that's up 59% on the previous week, so nearly 60% increase. it's more than three times the numberfrom increase. it's more than three times the number from the start of january. those are the latest figures from nhs england. a 60% increase in the number of staff absences because of covid reasons in hospitals in england. the headlines on bbc news. 200 military personnel are being sent to london hospitals to help with covid—related staff shortages. the australian government rejects claims that tennis star novak djokovic is being held captive, after he failed to meet vaccine entry requirements labour says the prime minister still has serious questions to answer over the refurbishment of his downing street flat. the duchess of cambridge will celebrate her 40th birthday on sunday. it is now more than ten years since kate middleton married into the royal family and took on the role of future queen. but how has her public role and image changed in that time? our royal correspondent daniela relph reports. it is a landmark birthday. the duchess of cambridge at 40. a time to reflect on what has been achieved more than a decade after official royal life began. and that royal public life started here on anglesea. then, still kate middleton, this was her first official engagement. the naming of a new lifeboat. the move from private, contained kate middleton to a public royal duchess of cambridge has had its challenges. adjusting to the attention, coping with the scrutiny and finding her voice. this was the duchess' first ever speech in 2012. you have all made me feel so welcome. i feel hugely honoured to be here to see this wonderful centre. almost ten years later, the confidence has grown. the words more powerful. addiction is not a choice. no—one chooses to become an addict. but it can happen to any one of us. the speech she gave last year was a landmark for us to have somebody in the royal family with credibility saying exactly those same messages takes it out to a much wider audience. supporting families and staff. east anglia's children's hospices have been a long—term commitment. work that has been demanding and rewarding for all involved. the duchess of cambridge has had to learn on—the—job. in the glare of publicity, knowing there is an even bigger role ahead. i think she hasjust grown up. now she has a certain gravitas, she certainly has got a stature within the royal family. now you look at her and she walks into a room and she holds the room, and she must be aware that she is going to be a future queen. when you are photographed and filmed this often, what you wear matters. years in the fashion spotlight has brought change. she has taken a few more risks over the last few years and has really realised that if she makes a statement with her clothes, that can really help elevate her position. i think one of kate's recent fashion successes was thejenny packham dress that she wore to the james bond premiere. she looked better than any bond girl. that actually confirmed to us that kate knows when to step up and how to do it. and there will be more stepping up in the decade ahead. striking that balance between a public and private life. for the duchess, who will one day be queen. daniela relph, bbc news. now, for people of a certain age, the biggest film news of the year, possibly even the decade, has been confirmed. it's not the nextjames bond, marvel or even star wars movie. grange hill — the movie is being made. jayne mccubbin has more. stephen, two words, grange hill. yes. grange hill. grange hill? there was the theme tune. sings theme tune. yeah, like that, yeah. there was the gritty realism. move your arm, fat man. it's just like a real british show, wasn't it, showing, like, kids in their natural habitat, so to speak. cheeky and naughty. were you born stupid? it was realistic, it was like, that's our school. what are you talking about, it's not true! controversial storylines. did you "just say no" in school? idid. good girl! now, like an unheard of decent school dinner, there is going to be a second helping. wow, this is what we need. i didn't know we needed it but we do need it. where is it then? and it's fair to say that after news broke yesterday, there was a lot of excitement amongst a certain generation, and i'm not just looking at you, jon kay. fabulous, it's going to be brilliant. my name is neil mattocks, i am a higher level teaching assistant, i run a podcast about grange hill called sausage on a fork. the very first episode i remember watching, i was about six years old. and there was lads fighting on the telly. and ijust thought, this is amazing. this is like nothing i've ever seen before. i wasjust hooked. got time for a coffee? it was the things they did which they really shouldn't have done which made it so ground—breaking. hello, i'm alison valentine and i played fay in grange hill. fay lucas. the biggest thing which caused the biggest stir was my thing, not sure what it was, with my teacher, mr king. my name is lee macdonald and i played zammo in grange hill. so, the transformation from this happy—go—lucky zammo character to stealing off of roland, licking the drugs off the floor in one of the scenes at the end, was horrific. zammo! on the back of that, we got to sing just say no in the white house, how cool is that? # just say no, just say no # go, just say no! # don't listen to, don't listen to anyone else # all you got to do is be yourself, you've got everything i better stop! yeah, i think you best stop, lee! drown, you scum. the bbc expelled grange hill after a 30 year run in 2008, but open auditions for the next gen grange hill silver screen stars start soon. my name is celynjones, i'm the co—writer of grange hill, the movie. and in a previous life, i also played mr green in grange hill, the english teacher. spill the beans, what can you reveal? i can reveal that sir phil redmond suggested that it was time to bring back grange hill. i think bring back grange hill was sort of like the bat signal, that he couldn't ignore from wayne manor, any longer. he won't reveal who was being cast as the rebooted grown—ups. until we are in that school dinner queue, then we can't say. if he does use, you know, there's rumours that he might bring some of the older characters back for adults, we'd love to do it. now, listen, there was a smirk on yourface there. you've both already been asked to do it, haven't you? well, i mean, at this stage we can't mention too much. that means yes! no! by taking the best of the old and mixing with the new, they hope it pulls in the parents for nostalgia and their teens for a new edgy outing. when the press release went out this week, i'm sure you could have opened the window and you will have heard somebody somewhere singing... sings grange hill theme. i want the theme tune, i want the badge, we want the sausage on the fork, we want the social realism, we want the good humour, we want the caper and we want the kind of poignancy. bring it on, good luck! school is out! looking at the impact of covid on nhs england. 16 hospital trusts in england declaring critical incidents. that means that a trust is worried it might not be able to provide core priority services such as emergency care. 16 trusts in critical incidents, that is down one from yesterday when it was 17. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. good morning. sunshine for one or two but for others, snow having a big impact to travel, particularly across northern england and central southern scotland. we've got some more in the way of heavy showers towards dumfries and galloway, it will affect the m74. those will continue through the day bringing covering in places. an area of rain in southern ireland with some snow which will be moving into south—west england this afternoon. some other and eastern areas staying dry. feeling cold, a blustery westerly wind feeling much colder than temperature is around 3—7 would suggest. these are the sort of temperatures you normally expect at this stage of january. temperatures you normally expect at this stage ofjanuary. tonight, temperatures plummeting and eastern areas getting down to —7 or —8. lifting later on. a wet start to saturday and dry and bright in the west later. this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. the army's called in to help with covid—19 staff shortages in london hospitals — it's as nhs hospital staff absences are three times higher than they were a month ago. the president of kazakhstan addresses the nation after days of unrest — saying protesters who don't give themselves up will be destroyed — and thanks the russian president for sending troops. the australian government deny claims they're holding tennis star novak djokovic captive, after he failed to meet vaccine entry requirements — they say he can leave whenever he wants. mr djokovic is not being held captive in australia, he is free to leave at any time that he chooses to do so and border force will actually facilitate that.