0:00:05 > 0:00:07The Health Secretary is forced to apologise
0:00:07 > 0:00:09to the tens of thousands of patients in England
0:00:09 > 0:00:12who've had their operations cancelled.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15At least one in ten hospitals is put on the highest alert,
0:00:15 > 0:00:24and patients are told they must wait for their surgery.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27I want to apologise for the fact that we have, regrettably, had
0:00:27 > 0:00:29to postpone a number of operations.
0:00:29 > 0:00:35We are trying to do it differently this year.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39I underestimated how upsetting it is to prepare for something like this
0:00:39 > 0:00:42and then for it not to be occurring.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44We'll be looking at whether the Government's doing enough
0:00:44 > 0:00:47to sort out the chaos now and prevent it happening again.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Also tonight, after no communication for the last two years,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54North and South Korea break their silence with a brief phone call.
0:00:54 > 0:01:01Donald Trump unleashes a tirade against his former chief strategist,
0:01:01 > 0:01:02saying he's lost his mind.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04The bionic hand with a sense of touch -
0:01:04 > 0:01:07an exclusive report on the woman testing it in the real world.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09# Oh I, oh I, oh I, oh I
0:01:09 > 0:01:11# I'm in love with your body... #
0:01:11 > 0:01:14And why 2017 was a great year for the UK music industry,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17and one particular British artist had a lot to do with it.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19And coming up on Sportsday on BBC News,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21an eventful London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea
0:01:21 > 0:01:23at the Emirates.
0:01:23 > 0:01:24Find out if Jack Wilshere's goal was enough
0:01:24 > 0:01:29to get Arsenal the points.
0:01:47 > 0:01:48Good evening.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has apologised to patients
0:01:51 > 0:01:54after hospitals in England were told to delay tens of thousands
0:01:54 > 0:01:56of non-urgent operations and appointments.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01The health service is struggling to cope with mounting winter pressures.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03The BBC understands at least one in ten hospital trusts
0:02:03 > 0:02:06have been put on the highest level of alert in the last 24 hours,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09meaning they are unable to deliver comprehensive care.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11The Royal College of Emergency Medicine
0:02:11 > 0:02:15says patient safety is undoubtedly being compromised.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Labour claims the NHS is in crisis.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22Our health editor, Hugh Pym, has the latest.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24There's been extreme stress at some hospitals.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Around 20 in England have been on the highest alert level.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29That means no available beds
0:02:29 > 0:02:32and severe delays for ambulances handing over patients.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35One reason why tens of thousands of non-urgent operations
0:02:35 > 0:02:39this month will be cancelled.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42That means patients like David, who is himself a doctor,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44will have to wait longer.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47He was due to have heart surgery today but was told yesterday
0:02:47 > 0:02:49he'd have to wait for a new date.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53As a patient, I think I underestimated how upsetting
0:02:53 > 0:02:57it is to prepare for something like this
0:02:57 > 0:03:00and then for it not to be occurring.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03And as a doctor, I really feel for all our patients
0:03:03 > 0:03:08who are going through the same thing.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10So what did the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, have to say
0:03:10 > 0:03:13to patients worried about possible long delays?
0:03:13 > 0:03:17I want to apologise for the fact that we have had, regrettably,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21to postpone a number of operations.
0:03:21 > 0:03:26We're trying to do it differently this year.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31Last year, we cancelled a lot of operations
0:03:31 > 0:03:34at the very last minute, so people got a call the day before
0:03:34 > 0:03:36to say their operation wasn't going ahead.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38That is obviously very undesirable, so we want to do it
0:03:38 > 0:03:40in a much more planned way.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Surely the NHS can't be running properly under your government
0:03:42 > 0:03:44if you have to cancel a month's worth of operations
0:03:44 > 0:03:46and outpatients' appointments?
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Well, I think it's important to recognise that these pressures
0:03:48 > 0:03:50are pressures that we're seeing all over the United Kingdom,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54in Scotland and Wales.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56The Prime Minister said she recognised that,
0:03:56 > 0:03:57for people who'd had their operations postponed,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59it was disappointing and frustrating.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04She said NHS staff were doing a fantastic job.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06NHS England and the Government say extensive preparations for winter
0:04:06 > 0:04:11were carried out across the system.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14But if that's the case, the question is,
0:04:14 > 0:04:15why were official instructions on cancelling
0:04:15 > 0:04:18non-urgent operations extended this week?
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Here and St Mary's Hospital in west London,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23they've planned to treat more people without needing overnight stays.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28The idea is to keep beds free for those who really need them.
0:04:28 > 0:04:29But it's been tougher than they expected,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32because patients this year are sicker than they were.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37The numbers are largely the same, but the intensity of the illnesses
0:04:37 > 0:04:40we've been seeing this year actually is very, very significant,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44and we've really had to work very hard to find appropriate places
0:04:44 > 0:04:48to nurse patients who've got really very serious conditions.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51And I think a number of things play into this.
0:04:51 > 0:04:52The weather, as we know,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56we've begin to see an increase in the number of flu cases -
0:04:56 > 0:04:59all of that builds up to quite a problem for us on some days.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Labour didn't say what the Government should do now
0:05:02 > 0:05:07but said ministers were to blame for what it called a crisis.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09When you've got ambulances backed up outside hospitals,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11you've got hospitals saying they're overcrowded,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14when you've got people waiting on trolleys for hours
0:05:14 > 0:05:16and hours and hours, it is a crisis,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and it's because of seven years of underfunding and cuts to NHS,
0:05:19 > 0:05:24and the Government are simply burying their head in the sand.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27NHS Scotland said there'd been a 20% increase
0:05:27 > 0:05:29in A&E visits before Christmas.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31The Lanarkshire Health Board has, for now,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34cancelled non-urgent procedures.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36The Welsh Government says thousands of hours have been lost
0:05:36 > 0:05:40for ambulance crews waiting to hand over patients at hospitals.
0:05:40 > 0:05:41It's early in the New Year,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44and the NHS across the UK is already struggling,
0:05:44 > 0:05:53and its patients who are enduring the consequences.
0:05:53 > 0:06:01We can talk to you now, is anything the Government currently doing going
0:06:01 > 0:06:05to stop this chaos at England's hospitals?Well, Fiona, ministers
0:06:05 > 0:06:10say there is more money coming through from the Budget which should
0:06:10 > 0:06:14help the situation in A&E in England next year, they believe the measures
0:06:14 > 0:06:18of the last 24 hours should stabilise the situation in the next
0:06:18 > 0:06:22few weeks, but it comes at a cost - tens of thousands of postponed
0:06:22 > 0:06:27routine operations and procedures, very important for patients
0:06:27 > 0:06:30involved, hip replacements, knee operations, cataracts, having to
0:06:30 > 0:06:37wait longer, and a backlog which will add to the growing waiting
0:06:37 > 0:06:39lists with targets for routine surgery already being missed. This
0:06:39 > 0:06:42time last year, many doctors were saying it was the worst they had
0:06:42 > 0:06:45seen on the front line, there was a lot of planning over the summer and
0:06:45 > 0:06:48autumn by the NHS supported by the Government, and now some doctors are
0:06:48 > 0:06:52saying it is even worse now. Those 20 Hospital trusts we have
0:06:52 > 0:06:56identified as being on the highest state of alert in the last 24 hours
0:06:56 > 0:06:59compares with just a handful last year. I don't think we have heard
0:06:59 > 0:07:04anything in the last day or so which says this won't happen again,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08possibly even worse next time, and it reopens the debate about how much
0:07:08 > 0:07:11more money the NHS need and where it is going to come from to provide
0:07:11 > 0:07:15sustainable quality patient care. Hugh Pym, thank you.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17North and South Korea have conducted
0:07:17 > 0:07:19their first direct communication in nearly two years
0:07:19 > 0:07:21via a brief conversation on the phone.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24North Korea said the aim would be to discuss sending a North Korean
0:07:24 > 0:07:26delegation to the Winter Games in South Korea next month.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Meanwhile, President Trump has boasted on Twitter that his nuclear
0:07:29 > 0:07:33button is "much bigger" and "more powerful" than North Korea's.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35Our correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports
0:07:35 > 0:07:43from the South Korean capital, Seoul.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45On Monday, Kim Jong-un welcomed in the New Year
0:07:45 > 0:07:48with a more conventional display of fireworks
0:07:48 > 0:07:52than the sort he's been firing off throughout 2017.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55But anyone who was hoping his New Year message would carry
0:07:55 > 0:08:00an offer of peace and goodwill was quickly disappointed.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04"The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons,"
0:08:04 > 0:08:07he said, "and the nuclear button is always on my desk."
0:08:07 > 0:08:11"This is reality, not a threat."
0:08:11 > 0:08:14That was all the excuse President Donald Trump needed,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16and as we have now come to expect,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18his response came in a Twitter tirade.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45So 2018 has begun pretty much as 2017 ended,
0:08:45 > 0:08:49with the President of the United States
0:08:49 > 0:08:54and the dictator of North Korea hurling threats at each other,
0:08:54 > 0:08:56while the rest of the world looks on mostly in dismay.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00But here in Seoul, 2018 has begun at least with a glimmer of hope,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02because as of this afternoon,
0:09:02 > 0:09:08North and South Korea are talking to each other again by telephone.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Out of the blue, Pyongyang suddenly reconnected the hotline
0:09:10 > 0:09:13between the two Koreas that Kim Jong-un
0:09:13 > 0:09:18had personally ordered cut off two years ago.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23In his New Year address, Kim also said he was prepared
0:09:23 > 0:09:25to send a team to take part in the Winter Olympics
0:09:25 > 0:09:28which begin here in South Korea in a little over a month.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33The US State Department accused North Korea of attempting
0:09:33 > 0:09:36to drive a wedge between the US and its South Korean ally.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38And it could be right.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40But for the 20 million people of Seoul
0:09:40 > 0:09:44who live within firing range of North Korea's artillery,
0:09:44 > 0:09:47any sign that Pyongyang is willing to talk
0:09:47 > 0:09:50is a New Year gift they will welcome.
0:09:50 > 0:09:56Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC News, in Seoul.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Following his tweet about North Korea,
0:09:58 > 0:10:00President Trump has gone on the offensive again tonight,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02this time to launch an extraordinary attack
0:10:02 > 0:10:05on his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08What provoked it were reports that Bannon had described a meeting
0:10:08 > 0:10:10between the President's son and a Russian lawyer during
0:10:10 > 0:10:14the presidential election campaign as "treasonous" and "unpatriotic".
0:10:14 > 0:10:18It's understood the comments will be published in a book next week.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20The President has hit back with a statement tonight,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22claiming Steve Bannon had nothing to do
0:10:22 > 0:10:25with helping win his presidency.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Mr Trump says, "When he was fired, he not only lost his job,
0:10:28 > 0:10:29he lost his mind."
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Our North America editor, Jon Sopel, is at the White House.
0:10:33 > 0:10:34This is an extraordinary outburst,
0:10:34 > 0:10:41even by the standards of Donald Trump.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Fiona, I thought it would take quite something to eclipse Donald Trump's
0:10:45 > 0:10:49tweet about Kim Jong-un, it now seems that the president and Steve
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Bannon are engaged in a battle for who has the biggest button and the
0:10:52 > 0:10:56most powerful one. Let me read you a bit more of what the president has
0:10:56 > 0:11:00said about his former chief strategist, Steve had very little to
0:11:00 > 0:11:04do with our historic victory, he doesn't represent my base, he is
0:11:04 > 0:11:08only in it for himself, Steve was rarely in a one-to-one meeting with
0:11:08 > 0:11:17me, and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people. This
0:11:17 > 0:11:20is an unprecedented statement from a president, so why the Ben An? One,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23Steve Bannon has gone after family, and it makes it much more difficult
0:11:23 > 0:11:26for Donald Trump to deny collisions with the Russians when you have got
0:11:26 > 0:11:31someone who was on the inside talking about treasonous and
0:11:31 > 0:11:35unpatriotic behaviour. There is one source of comfort for the White
0:11:35 > 0:11:39House - Steve Bannon continued to be an influence after he was fired. Not
0:11:39 > 0:11:43only moral, he has now been cast out into outer darkness, and the
0:11:43 > 0:11:47question is what does Steve Bannon do next? I don't think he's going to
0:11:47 > 0:11:51go away quietly, he has the Breitbart news website, which is
0:11:51 > 0:11:54hugely powerful, and he will continue to be a thawed in the side.
0:11:54 > 0:12:01There was an earlier president who commented about a troublesome ally,
0:12:01 > 0:12:09better to have him inside the tent looking at, than outside the tent
0:12:09 > 0:12:13looking in, although that is not exactly the quote.Certainly not as
0:12:13 > 0:12:14I run a Brit, Jon!
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Storm Eleanor has swept across the UK, causing flooding,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19power cuts, damage to homes, and disruption to motorists.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Gusts of up to 100 mph were reported in the Pennines,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24and thousands of homes were left without power across
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Northern Ireland, Wales, the Midlands and South West England.
0:12:26 > 0:12:27From Cornwall, Jon Kay has this report.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31Breached - nervous moments in Portreath tonight.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35Part of the old harbour wall had collapsed,
0:12:35 > 0:12:40letting the Atlantic seep through at high tide.
0:12:40 > 0:12:41Quite a gap, isn't it?
0:12:41 > 0:12:43It is an awful gap.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Sandra's house is right next to the giant hole
0:12:46 > 0:12:49that's been left in the sea defences.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53What are your thoughts? Scared!
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Yeah, we just had all new carpets put in,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57so you know, it's...
0:12:57 > 0:13:04Yeah, yeah, it's going to be a frightening night, I think.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06It was the early hours of this morning
0:13:06 > 0:13:10when Storm Eleanor smashed away the 20m section.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Cornwall's coastal communities are used to fierce weather,
0:13:13 > 0:13:19but Portreath now feels especially vulnerable.
0:13:19 > 0:13:20They weren't the only ones.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24This was Galway in the Irish Republic.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27High spring tides added force to the storm -
0:13:27 > 0:13:32a potentially deadly mix.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35In Northern Ireland, gusts reached 90 mph,
0:13:35 > 0:13:39leaving 25,000 homes without electricity.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42We have to bring in crews to cut the trees,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45we have to bring in digging crews to pull out the poles
0:13:45 > 0:13:47and to replace poles and to re-string lines.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50All of this takes time and effort,
0:13:50 > 0:13:55essentially to restore small numbers of customers at a time.
0:13:55 > 0:13:56Back in Cornwall tonight,
0:13:56 > 0:14:01the collapsed sea wall has become a tourist attraction.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Just take a step back, please.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07Much to the alarm of the authorities.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09We've just got to move them back to a safe distance
0:14:09 > 0:14:12so that they don't get their feet swept away from them,
0:14:12 > 0:14:14cos the sea is a powerful thing,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17it's a silent killer, it'll have you quick as a lick.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22Absolutely crazy, it looks like a very, very angry sea,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25and it's got a lot of things to answer to.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27I think it's amazing, I absolutely love it,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30but it's so unpredictable, it's quite scary.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32In the end, tonight's tide was slightly lower than feared,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35and no properties were damaged,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38but there are already more warnings in place for tomorrow.
0:14:38 > 0:14:47Jon Kay, BBC News, Portreath in Cornwall.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50The head of the powerful Revolutionary Guard in Iran,
0:14:50 > 0:14:52which supports the country's clerical leaders, has claimed
0:14:52 > 0:14:54that the week of unrest in the country's towns
0:14:54 > 0:14:56and cities is over.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Tens of thousands of people have been taking part in pro-government
0:14:59 > 0:15:02demonstrations today, organised by the regime.
0:15:02 > 0:15:0422 people have died in six days of demonstrations
0:15:04 > 0:15:06against the government, which were initially
0:15:06 > 0:15:08in response to price rises and alleged corruption.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Our Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen, is here.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15Is it all over?
0:15:15 > 0:15:21Well, the Major General say it is. The sedation is over. What if he's
0:15:21 > 0:15:26right. He says 15,000 people were involved. His men had to only get
0:15:26 > 0:15:32involved three times. Well, it could be correct or it could be that this
0:15:32 > 0:15:37now is at a test, this movement is at a test, a crossroads. Will they
0:15:37 > 0:15:44go back on the streets to try to take on the authorities? Or, will
0:15:44 > 0:15:49they just say, well, rub their hands and say - maybe we've made our
0:15:49 > 0:15:55points. The thought of an interrogation in one of the regime's
0:15:55 > 0:15:59prisons is not attractive and people now know what we think. We have to
0:15:59 > 0:16:03wait and see about that. I think that even if it all stops now,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07because people can get intimidated. The authorities, the security forces
0:16:07 > 0:16:12there can be very intimidating, if they were angry enough to take on
0:16:12 > 0:16:15the security forces in the first place, if they were angry enough to
0:16:15 > 0:16:19get on the streets and not call for reform of the system but to call in
0:16:19 > 0:16:23some cases for something new. No that's going to stay there, that
0:16:23 > 0:16:30anger will stay within them even if they've gone home. A lot of them are
0:16:30 > 0:16:35young and under 30. Some Arab states have found out that if you alienate
0:16:35 > 0:16:39those people and don't give them what they want, it can be a very
0:16:39 > 0:16:45serious problem for a regime. Now, The General says that something has
0:16:45 > 0:16:48ended, but perhaps he's wrong. Perhaps something has just started.
0:16:48 > 0:16:54We shall see. Jeremy, thank you.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57A brief look at some of the day's other news stories.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Six people are being held on suspicion of being members
0:16:59 > 0:17:01of the banned far right group, National Action.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04They were arrested in raids across England and are being
0:17:04 > 0:17:06questioned by officers from the West Midlands force.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10National Action was banned by the Government in 2016.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13A homeless man who was hailed as a "hero" for helping those
0:17:13 > 0:17:15injured in the Manchester Arena bombing has pleaded guilty
0:17:15 > 0:17:18to stealing from them.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21Chris Parker admitted taking a phone from a teenage girl and a purse
0:17:21 > 0:17:28from a woman whose granddaughter lay dying yards away.
0:17:28 > 0:17:3022 people were killed in the suicide attack last May.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32The construction company, Carillion, is to be investigated
0:17:32 > 0:17:39by the financial regulator.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43The UK's second biggest construction company's statements, made
0:17:43 > 0:17:46between December 2016 and July last year, will be examined when the firm
0:17:46 > 0:17:49issued a profit warning.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52The company's shares have since lost more than 90% of their value.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54An international team of researchers has unveiled a bionic hand
0:17:54 > 0:17:56which enables the person wearing it to actually feel
0:17:56 > 0:17:57what they're touching.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Until now, it has only ever been used in labs.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03But for the first time, it's being tested out in the real world.
0:18:03 > 0:18:09Our medical correspondent, Fergus Walsh, has been to Rome
0:18:09 > 0:18:12to meet the woman who's been using it to see what difference
0:18:12 > 0:18:14it makes to her life.
0:18:14 > 0:18:15Here's his exclusive report.
0:18:15 > 0:18:23A bionic hand with a sense of touch, and here's the proof.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Blindfolded, Almarina Mascarello knows whether what she's
0:18:25 > 0:18:31holding is soft or hard.
0:18:31 > 0:18:39She gets it right every time.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44Over lunch, she told me that nearly 25 years after losing her hand
0:18:44 > 0:18:52in a factory accident, it's almost like it's back again.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54TRANSLATION:The feeling is spontaneous, as if it
0:18:54 > 0:18:57were your real hand.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59You're finally able to do things that before were difficult,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02like getting dressed, putting on shoes.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03All mundane, but important things.
0:19:03 > 0:19:11You feel complete.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15The world's first feeling bionic hand, given to this Danish man,
0:19:15 > 0:19:23never left the lab, the technology was just too bulky.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Now nearly four years on, it is portable, allowing Almarina
0:19:27 > 0:19:30to go back to her hobby of car mechanics.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32All the electronics are in her rucksack.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37Here's how it works.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42Sensors in the fingertips are linked to a computer,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44this converts the signals into a language the brain
0:19:44 > 0:19:48will understand.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51The information is relayed to it via tiny electrodes implanted
0:19:51 > 0:19:56in nerves in Almarina's upper arm.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58This represents a significant advance in neuro prosthetics,
0:19:58 > 0:20:04the interface between machine and the human body.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08The next patient won't need to have a rucksack to carry these
0:20:08 > 0:20:11electronics because they're going to be miniaturised
0:20:11 > 0:20:18and implanted under the skin, and the team here are hoping to do
0:20:18 > 0:20:20the same with a bionic leg, which will have pressure
0:20:20 > 0:20:24sensors in the foot.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28Engineers, computer scientists and surgeons from several
0:20:28 > 0:20:33countries are involved in this EU-funded research.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35A truly human-like bionic hand is still decades away,
0:20:35 > 0:20:39but the team here think it will happen.
0:20:39 > 0:20:46You see that we are going more and more in the direction
0:20:46 > 0:20:48of science fiction movies, like Star Wars, Luke Skywalker
0:20:48 > 0:20:51after the amputation of the hand.
0:20:51 > 0:20:56So a fully controlled, fully natural, fully sensorised.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Prosthesis very similar, identical to the human hand.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Since we filmed with Almarina, she's had to give back her bionic hand
0:21:03 > 0:21:06because it's still in the research stage, but she says when it's
0:21:06 > 0:21:08commercialised in a few years, she wants the feeling bionic hand
0:21:08 > 0:21:09back for good.
0:21:09 > 0:21:16Fergus Walsh, BBC News, Rome.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19The bloody civil war in Yemen has claimed thousands
0:21:19 > 0:21:28of lives and driven millions to the brink of starvation.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30The current crisis started three years ago when Houthi rebels took
0:21:30 > 0:21:34control of parts of the country.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Last year Yemen was hit by the world's worst cholera outbreak.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40Now diphtheria - not widely seen in the country for 30
0:21:40 > 0:21:41years - has returned.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44The BBC's Nawal Al Maghafi travelled to the remote village of Beit al
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Haboob where more than 40 people have contracted the deadly,
0:21:46 > 0:21:47yet preventable, disease.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Hidden between mountains, Beit al Haboob has mostly been
0:21:50 > 0:21:58spared the violence of Yemen's civil war, but not its consequences.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02The people in this isolated village, halfway between the warring
0:22:02 > 0:22:05cities of Sanaa and Aden, have endured starvation,
0:22:05 > 0:22:12cholera, have had no schools and no healthcare.
0:22:12 > 0:22:20Now they face a new and entirely preventable threat.
0:22:20 > 0:22:2414-year-old Raqma has diphtheria, a bacterial infection of the throat.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29If left untreated, it can kill within days.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31It's been virtually eradicated in most of the world,
0:22:31 > 0:22:33but has now come to Yemen.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36TRANSLATION:At first she had a really bad fever,
0:22:36 > 0:22:40then someone in the village died.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42Suddenly, a second person died from a sore throat.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45My daughter was terrified, she said, "Mum, my whole throat is white."
0:22:45 > 0:22:55It was so scary.
0:22:55 > 0:22:56This is what it looked like.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58TRANSLATION:When I see my children helpless and sick,
0:22:58 > 0:22:59it breaks my heart.
0:22:59 > 0:23:05My daughter will die and we have nothing to treat her with.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09The outbreak was made worse by a blockade imposed
0:23:09 > 0:23:14by Saudi Arabia, which delayed medicines getting in.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Off camera the villagers, who we didn't film for their own
0:23:17 > 0:23:20safety, told me the supplies that did make it here were taken
0:23:20 > 0:23:23by the Houthi rebels who control this area.
0:23:23 > 0:23:29As ever, it's the ordinary Yemenis who suffer.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33TRANSLATION:Because the nurses and doctors didn't get paid
0:23:33 > 0:23:37for months, they closed the local clinic and left.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39That's why all these diseases spread - cholera,
0:23:39 > 0:23:43diphtheria and many others.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47The nearest hospital is an hour's drive, the villagers can't
0:23:47 > 0:23:51afford to get there.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Can you show me maybe one of the patients that came yesterday?
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Yes, I can show you.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Diphtheria's spread through the air, which is why it's
0:24:00 > 0:24:05transmitted so easily.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Sandra, from the aid organisation MSF, introduces me 10-year-old
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Zainab, who's finally on the mend.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13TRANSLATION:This war has starved us of everything.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17We must fight for food, water and medicine.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22Now, we have nothing.
0:24:22 > 0:24:29God help us, this crisis, this war, it needs to end.
0:24:29 > 0:24:34It has starved us and made us ill with disease.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37We've been resilient, but now we can't handle any more.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Enough is enough.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44This war has brought Yemen to its knees -
0:24:44 > 0:24:48air strikes, starvation, now disease.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51The people here say all they have left is prayer.
0:24:51 > 0:24:58Nawal Al Maghafi, BBC News, Beit al Haboob, Yemen.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02At least 48 people have been killed in Peru after a coach plummeted down
0:25:02 > 0:25:06a 100 metre cliff near the capital Lima.
0:25:06 > 0:25:0855 people were on board the bus, which landed upside down
0:25:08 > 0:25:11on a deserted beach.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13The accident happened on the notorious Devil's Turn bend
0:25:13 > 0:25:18of the Pacific coastal road.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20The problem of plastics and the impact they're having
0:25:20 > 0:25:22on our planet is a subject we've been exploring this week.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25According to a recent study, 95% of plastic pollution
0:25:25 > 0:25:31in the world's oceans comes from just ten rivers.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33One of them is the Ganges in India.
0:25:33 > 0:25:34Our correspondent, Sanjoy Majumder, reports from the banks
0:25:34 > 0:25:36of the holy city of Varanasi.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40This looks like a drain carrying sewage, but it's actually
0:25:40 > 0:25:44a tributary of the Ganges.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46The waste along its banks choking and contaminating one
0:25:46 > 0:25:49of the world's greatest rivers.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53Every day wrappers, bottles, cups and other plastic
0:25:53 > 0:25:55waste is deposited here, slowly sliding into the water
0:25:55 > 0:26:00and then eventually flowing into the Ganges.
0:26:00 > 0:26:05For centuries some of India's greatest cities have been
0:26:05 > 0:26:08built along its banks, Varanasi the oldest one of them.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12It's only when you come to the ancient city of Varanasi that
0:26:12 > 0:26:17you realise how this mighty river, that's so central to the Hindu
0:26:17 > 0:26:20faith, that sustains the lives and beliefs of nearly half a billion
0:26:20 > 0:26:24people, is as polluted as it is.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27The Ganges is more than a river to Indians, it is sacred to Hindus
0:26:27 > 0:26:32who pray and worship along its banks and cremate their dead in it.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37From the time it flows out of the icy heights of the Himalayas,
0:26:37 > 0:26:42until it gets here, its crystal clear waters give way to a fetid,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44muddy flow contaminated by the millions who live
0:26:44 > 0:26:47along its banks.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Five generations of Sanjit's family have lived along
0:26:49 > 0:26:51the Ganges in Varanasi, living witnesses to its
0:26:51 > 0:26:54gradual degradation.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56TRANSLATION:There is an old saying here that the Ganges
0:26:56 > 0:26:57belongs to everyone.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00You are free to do what you want, throw what you want,
0:27:00 > 0:27:02cremate dead bodies, bathe, wash and you'll
0:27:02 > 0:27:10achieve salvation.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13But we are being irresponsible, we do not have the right to pollute
0:27:13 > 0:27:14the Ganges this way.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Three years ago the Indian government pledged more
0:27:16 > 0:27:20than £2 billion to clean up the Ganges, but much of the money
0:27:20 > 0:27:22remains unspent and the focus in any case is on treating sewage
0:27:22 > 0:27:24and industrial effluents.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27So the only people trying to prevent plastic waste
0:27:27 > 0:27:32being dumped into the river are these scrap pickers.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36TRANSLATION:Every day we pick up about 10 to 20 kilos of plastic.
0:27:36 > 0:27:46We have to sift through the rubbish and segregate the plastic.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49It is estimated that every year 1.2 billion pounds of plastic waste
0:27:49 > 0:27:52is dumped into the Ganges, much of it carried into the Bay
0:27:52 > 0:27:53of Bengal where the river eventually empties out.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55Sanjoy Majumder, BBC News, Varanasi.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Football, and in the Premier League Arsenal and Chelsea have drawn
0:27:58 > 0:28:01after a tense game at the Emirates Stadium.
0:28:01 > 0:28:09Chelsea were ahead with just minutes to go, but Arsenal's Hector Bellerin
0:28:09 > 0:28:11snatched a late equaliser in injury-time to leave the final
0:28:11 > 0:28:12result at 2-2.
0:28:12 > 0:28:152017 was a great year for the music industry.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17Across the UK, the amount of music we bought, streamed and downloaded
0:28:17 > 0:28:27rose at its fastest rate since the 1990s.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29And home-grown artists, like Ed Sheeran, accounted for eight
0:28:29 > 0:28:31out of ten of last year's best selling albums.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34It's not just digital downloads, there's been a vinyl revival too.
0:28:34 > 0:28:35Our consumer affairs correspondent, Nina Warhurst, reports.
0:28:35 > 0:28:382018 is set to be big for Francis Lung, releasing his
0:28:38 > 0:28:45first album on Manchester's buzzing music scene.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Because of the internet, he doesn't need the backing
0:28:47 > 0:28:50of a big label to be heard.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52I've got the power to put it online immediately and everybody
0:28:52 > 0:28:56that is waiting for it can hear it.
0:28:56 > 0:29:01Whereas before, I would have to wait for someone to give me permission,
0:29:01 > 0:29:03wait for somebody to tell me that it's good enough for
0:29:03 > 0:29:06other people to hear.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09Last year we streamed more music than ever, 68 billion songs,
0:29:09 > 0:29:19the equivalent of more than 1,00 each.
0:29:21 > 0:29:22-- 1,000.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24Father Christmas brought it, and that's Elbow...
0:29:24 > 0:29:26Perhaps more surprising is how the tables have
0:29:26 > 0:29:28turned with vinyl records, as some who'd flirted with digital
0:29:28 > 0:29:31returned to their first love.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33Just the beauty of having the record in your hand,
0:29:33 > 0:29:35I think and looking after it, making sure it doesn't
0:29:35 > 0:29:36get scratched.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38So you like physically holding it?
0:29:38 > 0:29:40Physically holding it, looking at the artwork on the covers,
0:29:40 > 0:29:42maybe reading the song lyrics as you're listening.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45Vinyl sales were up an astonishing 26% on the year before
0:29:45 > 0:29:46with 4 million records sold.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48# Now my bedsheets smell like you #.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50And the shape of the British music industry was helped
0:29:50 > 0:29:54by one Ed Sheeran.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57For the thirteenth year in a row, the number one
0:29:57 > 0:30:02artist was home-grown.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06Today's news is encouraging for studios like this one
0:30:06 > 0:30:11in Manchester, which is home to a small record label, but there's
0:30:11 > 0:30:13still what's termed a value gap.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15That is a disparity between the amount of music that's
0:30:15 > 0:30:17being listened to and the amount of money that that's
0:30:17 > 0:30:18generating for the industry.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22We're getting a bit too used to getting music for next to nothing
0:30:22 > 0:30:27and that isn't really the value of the music.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29The music is somebody's life's work.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32And if the business model that we currently have
0:30:32 > 0:30:37continues, artists are paying the price of that.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39So artists like Francis Lung won't be singing from
0:30:39 > 0:30:44the rooftops just yet.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47But our willingness to spend more on music as times get tighter does
0:30:47 > 0:30:49give the industry a little something to dance about.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53Nina Warhurst, BBC News, in Manchester.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55Newsnight is coming up on BBC Two, here's Emily.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58Tonight we're live in America, as we talk to Steve Bannon's
0:30:58 > 0:31:00right-hand man about his spat with Donald Trump.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02And we ask the Health Secretary why he's continually
0:31:02 > 0:31:04missed his own NHS targets.