hello. tennis star novak djokovic is facing fresh controversy after photos have emerged of him in public, without a mask, at around the time his lawyers say he tested positive for covid—19. australia has banned him from entering the country to defend his australian open title because he has refused vaccination. his lawyers say he doesn't need one as his infection was confirmed by pcr test on 16 december and he has since recovered. djokovic posted these images to his twitter page on 17 december. he's pictured at an event the day before commemorating his own personal stamp. it's unclear whether djokovic knew he had covid when these photos were taken. he's currently in an immigration detention centre ahead of an appeal hearing on monday. the bbc�*s shaimaa khalil reports from melbourne. the world's top tennis player is spending the weekend in an immigration detention hotel. and his supporters have turned up for a third day. this is novak djokovic arriving in melbourne on wednesday. the documents his legal team presented to the court state he'd received the exemption from tennis australia, with a follow—up letter from the home affairs department, saying he was allowed into the country. his legal team added that on 1january, djokovic received a document from home affairs, telling him his responses indicated he met the requirements for a quarantine—free arrival into australia. what's becoming clear is a breakdown in communication among those making the decisions, and what the judge has to look at and examine is exactly which rules apply. is it state government rules or federal government rules? and until a decision is made about whether novak djokovic can remain in australia, the world no—one is still stuck in this immigration detention hotel, and in the middle of a huge controversy. this particular set of incidents, the victorian government's not briefed on the matter. in terms of how people got into the country, that's a matter for the federal government. last night his mother offered some reassurance. he said he's ok, but i'm not so sure. but he's mentally very stable, and he's waiting. the tennis tournament is only a few days away, and what's normally one of the biggest highlights here is turning into a political and a diplomatic embarrassment for australia. shaimaa khalil, bbc news. well, let's find out more with mary crock, a professor of public law at the university of sydney in australia. her expertise spans immigration, as well as international, and refugee law. the cases coming up on monday, how do you rate his chances of appeal? how do you rate his chances of a. eal? ,, ., how do you rate his chances of a- eal? ,, ., ., ~ how do you rate his chances of a- eal? ,, ., . ~ i. how do you rate his chances of a- eal? ,, ., . ~' ,, ., appeal? simon, thank you for talkin: appeal? simon, thank you for talking to _ appeal? simon, thank you for talking to me. _ appeal? simon, thank you for talking to me. i _ appeal? simon, thank you for talking to me. i have - appeal? simon, thank you for talking to me. i have now- appeal? simon, thank you for l talking to me. i have now been able to read the submissions put in on behalf of novak djokovic, and i think he has got a very interesting case. he has good lawyers and they seem to have made very interesting legal argument that could well play out in his favour. so legal argument that could well play out in his favour.- play out in his favour. so you think there _ play out in his favour. so you think there is _ play out in his favour. so you think there is a _ play out in his favour. so you think there is a chance - play out in his favour. so you think there is a chance he - think there is a chance he could make it to the australian open, but there are quite a few 0pen, but there are quite a few things about this case, there seem to be lots of different sides, the stateside of the federer side, and also the border force.— federer side, and also the border force. look, the case that has _ border force. look, the case that has been _ border force. look, the case that has been put _ border force. look, the case that has been put to - border force. look, the case that has been put to court i border force. look, the case that has been put to court is| that has been put to court is based on very close reading of the actual migration law and i agree with you, i think the policies that apply, both at a state level and at a federer level are far from clear, you've got bio security legislation, you've got the migration act, you've got policies made out of the migration act and then policies that seem to be changing almost by the day coming out of an organisation called atagi, so there will be interesting questions about the status of all the different policies and, indeed, the ground that was relied upon by the decisionmaker to cancel the bees are in the first place. and i think, for me, one of the interesting questions is, first, of course, what does the judge decide in terms of the legality of the cancellation? but the judge can either say "i'm going to vacate this decision altogether and pretend it didn't happen", in which case novak djokovic gets his visa back straightaway, apparently, he can refer the matter back for reconsideration, in which case the saga drags out. so everything is unclear at this point and everything is very, very interesting.— very interesting. yeah, it almost doesn't _ very interesting. yeah, it almost doesn't matter. very interesting. yeah, it- almost doesn't matter about his vaccination status anymore, it is more of a legal wrangling. they wanted to bring up the fact that, for a wider case, it brings up this issue, doesn't it, of strict border laws, strict border restrictions that we have had in australia over the last two years, families have been kept apart, but also for migrants and people trying to get into the country, this has really shone a light on just how strict australia are. absolutely. i think he problem with this case is just how unclear the laws are at this point, because some people are being allowed in, they knew about novak djokovic's status before he left serbia and the big question on everybody�*s lips is why was this sorted out before he got on the plane, what is with the drama of keeping him up all night to then take him into the same hotel quarantine detention centre where the refugees are being capped?— being capped? yeah, lots of questions — being capped? yeah, lots of questions still _ being capped? yeah, lots of questions still to _ being capped? yeah, lots of questions still to be - being capped? yeah, lots of. questions still to be answered, it will be really interesting to see what happens on monday. mary crockett live in sydney. thank you. it will be interesting to see what happened. interesting to see what happened-— interesting to see what happened. interesting to see what ha ened. ::' ., ~ happened. -- 01. thank you, simon. more than 150,000 people in the uk have now died within 28 days of a positive covid test. another 313 deaths have been reported in the latest daily figures. the uk is the seventh country to pass this number of official deaths after the us, brazil, india, russia, mexico, and peru. it comes as britain experiences its worst wave of coronovirus cases yet, as the highly—transmissible 0micron variant sweeps across much of the country. 0ur health correspondent catherine burns takes a look now at the toll the pandemic has taken on people around the uk. how do you begin to imagine 150,000 people? it's almost the entire population of oxford, a city, like others, where the pandemic has caused so much pain. the first death within 28 days of a positive covid test was recorded in the uk on 6 march, 2020. five weeks later, more than 10,000 people had died. sabir—hussain mirza was 0xford's first muslim councillor. mostly, though, he was a family man — married with ten children. they relied on video calls when he went to hospital. we would be like, "come on, dad, get better quickly and come back." but one day sabir stopped answering his phone. he'd been put on a ventilator. after almost three weeks, doctors said some of the family could visit him for the last time. i said to him, "i love you, and i want you to know that i will always love you, and i will never forget you." you just can't come to terms with someone actually telling you that your father's left this world. sabir was buried next to his younger brother. he'd died the day before in the same hospital, killed by the same disease. as the pandemic spread through society, the death toll rose rapidly, but scientists in this city were also working at speed, racing to find a vaccine, and by the end of april 2020, the oxford astrazeneca team was already testing it on volunteers in clinical trials, and as the year came to a close there was a real sense of optimism as both this and the pfizer vaccine were approved. january last year was a turning point — it saw more deaths than at any other time, over32,000. but by the end of the month almost half a million people had had theirfirst dose of a vaccine. she was looking forward to the vaccine coming along. traceyjones turned 50 in lockdown. she didn't make it to 51. she said to me, "i feel very, very ill." isaid, "i know, my darling, they're going to put you to sleep and you'll be better." she said to me, "look after stephen," and those were the last words i ever heard from her. neil and tracey were a team, caring for their son stephen who has special needs. i had to tell him, unfortunately, "mum has gone to heaven now," and he hugged me and cried. no—one could come and see you. we were left to grieve on our own, really. it's very hard, especially when you have a special needs son, and you don't want him to see you crying, but sometimes you just had to go away and have a little cry. the pandemic has seen too many sad milestones. in november, 2020, the death toll stood at 50,000. just 11 weeks later, it reached 100,000. vaccines helped slow that pace right down and it's taken almost another year to get to this point. i'm so glad that he retired when he did, early. robin birchmore was 63 and his invitation for a vaccine came through two days after he died. in hospital, he had one last video call with his daughter. he kept saying, "i'm struggling, i'm struggling to breathe," and i said to him, "hurry up and get better," and he said, "i'm trying." that was the last time i spoke to him. camilla's nan had also died from covid. 0n the night after her funeral the call came, it was time to say goodbye to her dad, as well. it was horrendous, horrendous. the doctor said, "here's your dad," and i went, "that's not my dad." i didn't even recognise him because of all the tubes. you say your goodbyes and then you have to walk away from them. the uk has reported 150,000 deaths before any country in the eu. there is hope, though, that this pandemic will never again bring suffering on such a scale. catherine burns, bbc news. borisjohnson has issued a statement on the number of deaths. in it he says: now let's turn to the us, where coronavirus cases continue to surge to record levels. by the end of the month, according to the centers for disease control and prevention covid will be sending between 20,000 and up to 50,000 americans to the hospital every single day. america's healthcare system is becoming increasingly under strain with many us hospitals depleted by an exodus of healthcare workers. of those who have stayed, many now can't work, because they have 0micron breakthrough infections. furthermore us economy experts are warning almost five million americans could call in sick in the coming week in a major disruption to the economy and essential services. we can now speak to saad 0mer, who's director of the yale institute for global health. saad, 0micron way of getting worse, clearly, how are hospitals coping? barely. and it depends — hospitals coping? barely. and it depends on _ hospitals coping? barely. and it depends on the _ hospitals coping? barely. and it depends on the region, - it depends on the region, depends on the location, but overall several counties and several states have hospital capacity which is very close to matt and the hospital occupancy which is very close to its capacity and so there are issues of being able to provide the adequate care that is needed notjust for the covid—19 patients, but for other patients as well. band other patients as well. and here in london, _ other patients as well. and here in london, saad, - other patients as well. and here in london, saad, we have seen the army, 200 members of the army, it sounds crazy saying that, then sent to hospitals to help struggling hospitals to help struggling hospitals in london. is there any kind of idea what could be any kind of idea what could be a plan b or a any kind of idea what could be a plan b ora backup any kind of idea what could be a plan b or a backup across the united states, know the healthcare united states, know the healthca re system united states, know the healthcare system there isn't too uniform, but are people talking in those kind of terms? well, right now the focus is to, you know, cancel surgeries in certain places and, obviously, the us is a large country so the response is highly regional. and to optimise the care of folks that are coming through the doors of various hospitals. so there isn't a huge discussion of supplementing, for example, the workforce with additional military, sort of, medical personnel at a national level, but different places of different locations are trying our various solutions, including several that you mention. including several that you mention-— including several that you mention. ., _ , �* mention. this obviously isn't 'ust an mention. this obviously isn't just an issue _ mention. this obviously isn't just an issue of— mention. this obviously isn't just an issue of health - just an issue of health services, lots of parts of the infrastructure and daily life could struggle if people can't make it into work because they have the virus.— make it into work because they have the virus. absolutely. and the fact that — have the virus. absolutely. and the fact that this _ have the virus. absolutely. and the fact that this is _ have the virus. absolutely. and the fact that this is a _ have the virus. absolutely. and the fact that this is a highly - the fact that this is a highly infectious virus means that we are approaching this period of vicious cycles where a lot of people will get infected in a short period of time and because they are in fact did they will call in sick, but on top of that they are infecting other people. so the next few weeks are likely to be bumpy. doctor saad 0mer, best of luck for the next few weeks, live in new haven. thank you very much indeed. ma; new haven. thank you very much indeed. y , .,, an air strike on a refugee camp in northern ethiopia is reported to have killed more than 50 people. there's been no independent confirmation of the attack in tigray, but pictures on social media show injured civilians being treated in hospital. fighting on the ground between federal forces and tigrayan rebels has halted but air strikes have continued. a spokesman for the tigray people's liberation front called the incident "a callous drone attack by the government". the family of an outspoken university professor in afghanistan have called on the taliban to release him after he was detained on saturday. it's not known where faizullahjalal is. he had criticised the taliban leadership, telling them they couldn't deliver anything by beating and killing people. his daughter hasina jalal has posted a message on twitter, saying she hasn't been able to contact him since he was detained and is calling for international support to demand that he be freed. the kazakh authorities have detained the former head of the country's domestic intelligence agency, karim massimov, on suspicion of high treason. it's fuelled speculation that the violence of recent days may be linked, at least in part, to a power struggle within the ruling party. mr massimov previously served twice as prime minister under kazakhstan's former long—standing president nursultan nazarbayev. in pakistan, the bodies of people who died after becoming trapped in their cars by heavy snow have begun arriving in the capital islamabad. at least 21 people perished after hundreds of vehicles became stranded by unusually heavy snowfall around the hilltop town of murree, to the north—east of the capital. gareth barlow reports. the tragic outcome of what was supposed to be an enjoyable weekend. at least 21 people died after their cars became engulfed a heavy snow, and included in the victim is a policeman, his wife and their six children. military units and other emergency services were deployed to clear roads and handouts applies to stranded motorists. they waited to be rescued. the chief minister of punjab has tweeted that those left stranded by the record snowfall have now been moved to safety. and while work to clear snow continues, any of the area's rats have been reopened. although roads leading to michael brunt remained sealed off by the authorities. has ambulances transporting the bodies of people who perished arrived in islamabad, the row over who is to blame for the disaster has already begun. taking to twitter, opposition politicians pointed to the fact that extreme snowfall had been pretty good with claims government officials had not taken steps government officials had not ta ken steps to prevent government officials had not taken steps to prevent the huge influx of tourists keen to enjoy the winter weather. the pakistani prime minister imran khan has ordered an enquiry into the disaster. before it is completed, further heavy snow is expected to fall. gareth barlow, bbc news. the funeral service for the former us senate majority leader harry reid has taken place in las vegas. the 82—year—old died nearly two weeks ago after a four—year battle with pancreatic cancer. he served in congress for more than four decades. former president barack 0bama delivered the eulogy. few people have done more for this state and this country than this driven, brilliant, sometimes irascible, deeply good man from searchlight, nevada. president biden also spoke and praised mr reid for his years of public service. he sent me a text — i've saved it. he said, "i'm so proud, joe. "you're my brother. "we won." well, it was a big deal to me that he felt that way. harry never wrote what he didn't believe. it made me feel good. the newjames webb space telescope has fully deployed in space — the final step of its two—week deployment phase that began with its launch on christmas day. nasa will now begin to latch the wing into place. the observatory is on a mission to study the very first stars to shine in the universe. many of its components had to be folded to fit inside the launch rocket. 0nce unfurled, the golden primary mirror — the largest astronomical reflector ever sent into space — will allow the telescope to be properly focused. its great size will enable scientists to see the faintest objects from the farthest reaches of the cosmos. now for a doggy tale of international travel with a difference. munchkin was a bali street dog until natasha corbin and herfiance david daynes came across the puppy while they were living in indonesia. and since then, munchkin has been on quite a voyage because natasha has spent the last six years working to have her reunited with them back home in australia. and having passed throuthakarta, singapore and new zealand, munchkin finally made it to queensland just before christmas. we can cross to queensland now and speak to natasha, david and to munchkin. guys, thank you so much for joining us. i will not lie, i have been looking forward to speaking to you guys. let's go back — hello, munchkin. good to see you. let's go back to when you are living in bali and you came across munchkin. tell us about that. we came across munchkin. tell us about that-— about that. we were living in bali and about that. we were living in itali and at — about that. we were living in bali and at the _ about that. we were living in bali and at the time, - about that. we were living in bali and at the time, i - about that. we were living in bali and at the time, i was . about that. we were living in i bali and at the time, i was not supposed to talk to all look at any dogs because i am such a dog lover and david knew that i would fall in love with a dog and want to keep one. and this little dog kept following us home and we just fell in love with her and our neighbours actually asked us to take her in while they found a new home for her and unfortunately, it just didn't work out and so we decided after a year of trying to rehome her that we would keep her and try to bring her back to australia. band keep her and try to bring her back to australia.— back to australia. and you obviously _ back to australia. and you obviously have _ back to australia. and you obviously have brought. back to australia. and you | obviously have brought her back to australia. and you - obviously have brought her back to australia and she is doing a greatjob so to australia and she is doing a great job so well to australia and she is doing a greatjob so well done for keeping her. can you talk us through the hurdles and all of the steps you had over the last six or seven years to get her home? ., ,., .,, six or seven years to get her home? ., , , home? yeah, so it was supposed to take around _ home? yeah, so it was supposed to take around six _ home? yeah, so it was supposed to take around six weeks - home? yeah, so it was supposed to take around six weeks and - to take around six weeks and $10,000 to get herfrom bali all the way through to australia. but she got stopped a couple of times on the way, just complications happened, so in singapore her rabies vaccine was not strong enough that she had to stay there for six months. and then while she was there, she got a tick virus which meant she could not come to australia. then we found out a couple of years ago we could take her to new zealand and live with her bare because we were not able to live with her in singapore we were visiting singapore to visit our dog regularly. and so we found that we could take it in new zealand, we did that. and then when she finally got cleared to travel to australia couple of months ago, because of covid—19 all of the flights were being cancelled and so i was in australia for a surgery and david was with munchkin over in new zealand and we were worried we were not even going to be able to be together for christmas so we were frantically searching for ways that we could get them home with all of the flights being cancelled, and we look to private jets and we were looking at charters and all sorts of things but we were very fortunate that we had someone reach out to us who had seen our story and they were organising their own private charter and we were able to jump charter and we were able to jump and get david on those. it sounds like homeward bound, my favourite film growing up, an incredible story that you will no doubt sell to hollywood for millions soon. can you tell us about, because we have pictures of when you were reunited with munchkin, tell us about that moment. it munchkin, tell us about that moment-— munchkin, tell us about that moment. , , ,, moment. it was pretty special. i had moment. it was pretty special. i had been _ moment. it was pretty special. i had been separated _ moment. it was pretty special. i had been separated from - moment. it was pretty special. | i had been separated from them for over six months, having surgery here in australia. and so, i wasjust so, so missing them am so excited to see them and when she finally came off the plane and she came down on the plane and she came down on the little forklift and she looked so scared but it was such a magical moment and she did not shut up for, like, 20 minutes after we finally were reunited. she was squealing with excitement and every now and then, she would stick her head up and squeal at me again. it was a beautiful.— it was a beautiful. david, you had one rule, _ it was a beautiful. david, you had one rule, didn't - it was a beautiful. david, you had one rule, didn't you? - it was a beautiful. david, you had one rule, didn't you? do| had one rule, didn't you? do not pet any dogs because you will fall in love.— will fall in love. how did that no? will fall in love. how did that go? exactly. _ will fall in love. how did that go? exactly, yeah. - will fall in love. how did that go? exactly, yeah. i- will fall in love. how did that go? exactly, yeah. i knew. will fall in love. how did that l go? exactly, yeah. i knew that natarsha — go? exactly, yeah. i knew that natarsha created a bond with a do- natarsha created a bond with a dog in — natarsha created a bond with a dog in bali and we would end up having _ dog in bali and we would end up having a — dog in bali and we would end up having a dog and long story short. — having a dog and long story short, that's what happened. and — short, that's what happened. and here _ short, that's what happened. and here we are!— and here we are! long story short and — and here we are! long story short and tens _ and here we are! long story short and tens of _ and here we are! long story short and tens of thousands| and here we are! long story i short and tens of thousands of dollars later and years later but, hey, at least you have a really great story to tell and i gather she came backjust before christmas so the perfect present. it before christmas so the perfect resent. . , before christmas so the perfect resent. ., , ., , , before christmas so the perfect resent. .,, ., , , . present. it was, absolutely. we had a lovely _ present. it was, absolutely. we had a lovely family _ present. it was, absolutely. we had a lovely family christmas i had a lovely family christmas together and yeah, it was just so wonderful to finally have them home.— so wonderful to finally have them home. ., ., , ., ., them home. natarsha, david and munchkin, _ them home. natarsha, david and munchkin, thank _ them home. natarsha, david and munchkin, thank you _ them home. natarsha, david and munchkin, thank you so - them home. natarsha, david and munchkin, thank you so much - them home. natarsha, david and munchkin, thank you so much for joining us. i'm glad it ended happily ever after and obviously, you can stay together now and what a trip for a dog! i don't know if i've seen a more well travelled dog than that, so congratulations and thank you so much for telling us story. woof, take care. woof! nothing? he's shy. marilyn bergman, the song lyricist who, together with her husband alan, wrote hundreds of songs, has died at the age of 93. the pair wrote lyrics for hits like the way we were for hollywood films, winning three oscars and garnering 16 nominations. they also won several grammy and emmy awards. that's just about it from me. thank you for watching. stay tuned right here to bbc news. hello again. it was quite a wet and windy start to the weekend. saturday brought widespread outbreaks of rain. the wettest place, north west wales, picking up 34mm of rain. the strong winds towards the isle of wight pushing the waves into the coastline here. towards the end of the day, we had a lovely sunset in dumfries and galloway in west scotland. now, the driving area of low pressure that brought the wet and windy weather on saturday is here and it's still on the charts through sunday. what's going to happen is it's going to weaken significantly as it moves its way across scotland. however, it will still be bringing a little bit of rain with it across parts of scotland and northern england as well. now, for the time being, we've still got some fairly brisk winds blowing in. they're bringing scattered showers across western areas. there's a little bit of sleet mixed in with some of these across the higher ground, scotland, northern england, northern ireland as well, with temperatures close to freezing but on the whole, just staying above — except in northern scotland, where temperatures could get down to about —5 in the deeper valleys in aberdeenshire. now, for many, it's going to be a fine start to the day but that area of low pressure is going to push this band of rain across scotland, northern ireland and through the afternoon, the rain moves its way across northern england. it will turn lighter and patchier, perhaps reaching the north of wales late in the day. still across the midlands, east anglia, most of southern england a lot of dry weather but we end the day with this band of light, patchy rain pushing into cornwall. well, that is associated with this warm front and that warm front is going to pivot its way in to the uk as we go through monday. now, with that, yes, will come mild air, but there will be a lot of cloud around, mist and fog patches quite common around the coasts and hills, and it will be quite damp at times, too, with a bit of light rain and drizzle. a bit of heavier rain into western scotland, where a cold front will begin to move in late in the day. temperatures then are the mildest across western areas of the uk just ahead of this front. in the east, a little bit cooler — highs of around 7 or so. now, by tuesday, this is our cold front now pushing its way southwards across england and wales. that will clear outbreaks of rain southwards. a mixture of bright spells and showers for scotland. a lot of dry weather in between for northern ireland, northern england and north wales as well but you'll notice the cooler air starting to move back in from the north and west with temperatures here around 7 or 8, the mildest air in the south. now, beyond that, high pressure is going to build into the south of the uk and that means increasingly, in the week ahead, the weather will become fine and dry with some sunny spells. this is bbc news. the headlines: tennis star novak djokovic faces more controversy afterfootage emerged of him in public around the time his lawyers say he tested positive for covid—19. they're claiming the infection exempts him from australia's vaccine rules, where he's currently detained in an immigration hotel after being barred from entering the country. the case is due to take place on monday. more than 150,000 people in the uk have now died within 28 days of a testing positive for coronavirus. it's the highest first country in western europe to reach the figure. at least 21 people have died in freezing temperatures in northeastern pakistan after their cars were trapped in heavy snow. the chief minister of punjab province has declared the mountain resort town of murree, where a thousand vehicles were stranded, as a disaster area, warning people to stay away. up to half a million people living in flats in england may no longer face the cost of paying to replace dangerous