at the weather with matt taylor. some eastern areas will stay dry but snow in some places. persistent rain in south wales and south—west england, affecting the channel island for a time. a blustery wind, feeling chilly. temperatures typical for this stage injanuary. tonight, the sky is clear, is sharp but temporary frost which will lift as we start to see cloud and outbreaks of rain pushing across most areas by dawn on saturday. snow in the scottish mountains. still cold in eastern areas to begin with, could be some ice, sunshine and showers after a wet start. many places will finish with a bit of sunshine. temperatures on saturday 4—8. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... nhs hospital staff covid—related absences in england are up by more than a0 percent in the space of a week according to the latest figures. meanwhile the armed forces have sent 200 personnel into hospitals across london to help with staff shortages. 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. novak djokovic is not being held captive in australia. he is free to leave at any time he chooses to do so and border force will facilitate that. dementia cases are expected to almost triple across the world by 2050. experts say it's down to ageing and growing populations. what's happening in australia in the world of sport. 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 ton 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 lith 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 in 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 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 gearey, bbc news. another tennis player has had their visa cancelled by australian authorities. czech renata vorocova joins novak djokovic in being denied entry into the country because of their vaccination status, with the visas of other players being investigated too. fans have been protesting outside the hotel they are confined to, in melbourne — where they had been hoping to play in the australian open later this month. djokovic�*s appeal against the decision will be heard on monday. now, phillippe coutinho is back in the premier legaue. the brazilian midfielder hasjoined aston villa from barcelona, on loan until the end of the season, and there's an option to buy too. coutinhojoined barcelona in a £142 million move from liverpool in 2018. he was brilliant at anfield but struggled to make the same impact in spain. however, he's re—uniting with villa boss steven gerrard, who was his captain at liverpool. and newcastle have been busy too. they've confirmed their first signing since their new owners took over. england full—back kieran trippier has joined from atletico madrid. he's played for boss eddie howe before at burnley and joins for £12 million. but newcastle fans will be hoping he's the first of many to come and help the club battle against relegation from the premier league. it's a player i know really well from our time early together. i know he will bring a huge amount on and off the pitch, his leadership quality, winning mentality, he is driven to succeed and i think all his experiences he has accumulated in the game will help us in our current position. 0n the pitch i think he is an outstanding technical player who will attack very well and bring a level of calm to our play on the ball, and he is a top defender as well. we are delighted with the signing. as we've been hearing, another tennis player is being investigated for breaking australia's covid vaccination rules. it comes as officials have insisted that novak djokovic isn't being held captive, and can leave the country whenever he wants. the world men's number one spent his first night in an immigration detention hotel after his visa was revoked for failing to meet covid vaccination requirements. his appeal will be held on monday. shaimaa khalil reports. there was dancing and music but also anger and frustration. as novak djokovic�*s supporters gathered outside the immigration detention hotel where he spent the night. it's unclear whether the tennis star is going to remain here until monday. but this is a story that has now divided the country. novak djokovic is waiting for a court decision on whether he will be able to stay and compete in the australian open or be deported. whatever happens, this has gone way beyond tennis. the world number one now finds himself in the middle of a political and diplomatic row. yesterday, his mother said her son was being kept like a prisoner. but the australian home affairs minister karen andrews, said there was nothing stopping the tennis starfrom leaving the country. 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. novak djokovic has previously made clear his opposition to getting the vaccine. he came to the country with an exemption granted by tennis australia and the state of victoria. the federal government says his visa application has not met the rules of entry and that no one was above the rules. a point scott morrison and his government have been hammering home since the controversy began. politicians wanted to prove they could control who comes in and out of the country but in doing so, they lost control of the narrative. it's an embarrassing situation for australia which ever way you look at it. as well as the support from fans, djokovic�*s family have also been making theirfeelings clear over his detention. overnight on social media, his wife, jelena djokovic, said, "thank you dear people, all around the world for using your voice to send love to my husband." she added, "the only law that we should all respect across every single border is love and respect for another human being." protests have been taking place in serbia against the tennis star's treatment. our correspondent in belgrade, guy delauney, says djokovic is something of a national hero for millions of people. you could easily [and on a plane on air serbia which is called novak djokovic — that could happen. you could go in through the airport and find the novak djokovic shop, selling all sorts of souvenirs and branded goods, drive in through the motorway and see a huge billboard of novak djokovic with all his trophies outside the restaurant that bears his name, and then pop down to the riverside to play at the novak tennis centre. i mean, he really is a star of the greatest proportion is here, and people feel that he represents notjust the sport of tennis but he represents serbia the country as well. as his parents said yesterday during a rally outside the national assembly here, novak is serbia and serbia is novak. we've heard from various branches of the serbian government, including the executive branch, president aleksandar vucic personally calling novak djokovic at least twice to express his support, telling him that all of serbia was with him, telling him that he would fight for novak�*s truth and justice, and also being highly critical of what's been going on with the government in australia, talking about political bickering and prime minister scott morrison getting involved was something he shouldn't be really seeing. on the other hand, of course, president vucic himself is now involved. but you can see it's going right to the top of serbian society, and notjust president vucic but also patriarch porfirije, the head of the serbian orthodox church. it is orthodox christmas today. you can probably see from the empty streets around me. everybody is celebrating christmas, but patriarch porfirije has said millions of orthodox serbs will be praying for novak djokovic. labour has said the prime minister has "serious questions to answer" following an investigation into the refurbishment of his downing street flat. messages between borisjohnson and lord brownlow, who helped pay for the rennovation of the flat, were published yesterday. they appear to show the prime minister offering support for the plans for a "great exhibition", a proposal backed by lord brownlow. let's get more from our political correspondent damian grammaticas. what are labour saying the prime minister still needs to address? the oint to minister still needs to address? tue: point to this minister still needs to address? tte: point to this apparent inference in this text message, a whatsapp message exchange released yesterday, that you had the prime minister on one side who needed to tens of thousands of lbs to fund the renovations of his downing street flat, dealing with the rich tory donor on the other side who was handling that and borisjohnson thought it was through some sort of trust arrangement but borisjohnson messaging him saying could you give approvalfor work to go messaging him saying could you give approval for work to go ahead? and then seeing ps i'm on the great exhibition plan, will revert to you. that great exhibition plan was something that the tory donor was wanting, was involved in, so the question from labour is, well, is there some sort of trade—off going on here? as a favour being returned? they say that would need to be investigated. downing street are saying that this was the prime minister always approached by people and he passed it onto the culture secretary who had a look, a meeting, had a look at it, met with lord brownlow and decided not to go ahead. labourare brownlow and decided not to go ahead. labour are saying that it is the fact he might have passed on looks on to them and something that should be —— looks untoward to them and should be investigated. 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 president, joe 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. the headlines on bbc news... nhs hospital staff covid—related absences in england are up by more than 40% in the space of a week according to the latest figures. meanwhile the armed forces have sent 200 personnel into hospitals across london to help with staff shortages. dementia cases are expected to almost triple across the world by 2050. experts say it's down to ageing and growing populations. injune, 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. the duchess of cambridge will celebrate her 40th birthday on sunday. it is now more than 10 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 a0. 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 picture really 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 it's time for a look at the weather. hello, snow showers have caused a few travel problems so far today, particularly across parts of northern england and through central and southern scotland. more of those wintry showers to come through the rest of today. becoming a little less potent. and for all, whether you've got the sunshine or the snow showers, a pretty cold wind. we are between two weather systems. this is the cloud which brought yesterday's, this will bring some wet weather through tonight into tomorrow. in between we've tracked our air down from the north atlantic, clumps of big lively showers, some continuing this afternoon across western scotland, northwest england, into the peak district in particular, northern ireland seeing them come and go. but many southern and eastern areas will stay dry and bright. basic exception being down towards southwest, the channel islands and maybe as far east as the isle of wight, where we will see some more persistent rain with some sleet and snow for a time too. a blustery westerly wind, that's going to make it feel colder than temperatures around three to seven celsius would suggest. but these are sort of typical values for this stage injanuary. now, into this evening and overnight, we'll take that rain away from the south, clear skies for a time. temperatures will plummet, a brief and quite sharp frost, but then temperatures rise later as cloud and rain spills into most parts, snow over the scottish mountains. so by the time we start saturday morning, the frost should have gone. it could be a bit icy still in a few eastern areas, but temperatures up to around eight to ten degrees in the west before they drop on the other side of this cold front. this whole system will be pushing through during the day, never quite clearing away from some parts of eastern england, though. let's take you through saturday. sunshine and showers for northern ireland and western scotland throughout the day, brightening up the rest of scotland. heaviest rain for western parts of england and wales during the morning before the sunshine comes out later. a scattering of showers around, heaviest rain for eastern areas where it will be a fairly cloudy day for many. while that heaviest rain will be with you through the afternoon. temperatures briefly lifting around the middle part of the day, but dropping into the afternoon as those cooler conditions push back in. that's this zone here ahead of the next approaching weather system. now, in that we could see a little bit of frost around first thing on sunday morning. some good sunny spells for many, but frequent showers in the north and west of scotland. some of those wintry, the odd shower across western areas and then clouding over, rain late into the day, northern ireland, south—west wales and south—west england, temperatures around four to ten degrees. and then as we go into next week, there will be some wet weather on monday, tuesday, potentially. but overall, high pressure building in, things turn a bit quieter with temperatures around nine or ten degrees. bye for now. this is bbc news. the headlines nhs hospital staff covid—related absences in england are up by more than 40% in the space of a week according to the latest figures. meanwhile the armed forces have sent personnel into hospitals across london and the north west to help with 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. dementia cases are expected to almost triple across the world by 2050. experts say it's down to ageing and growing populations. 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. labour says the prime minister still has serious questions