0:00:22 > 0:00:24Good evening.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26An ambulance service has apologised to the family of a pensioner
0:00:26 > 0:00:30who died after waiting nearly four hours for help to arrive.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33The 81-year-old woman had rung 999 complaining of chest pain.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36The East of England service said it was stretched -
0:00:36 > 0:00:40and had warned of the pressures its staff and the NHS were facing.
0:00:40 > 0:00:49Our correspondent Sarah Campbell is at Clacton in Essex.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53The woman who died has not been named but we know some details of
0:00:53 > 0:00:59her tragic death. She called 999 on Tuesday evening and waited and
0:00:59 > 0:01:05waited and after about an hour and a half the Ambulance Service finally
0:01:05 > 0:01:09arrived after a further two and a half hours. They found her on the
0:01:09 > 0:01:13floor unconscious, not breathing and she could not be saved. The
0:01:13 > 0:01:18paramedics found her I said to be devastated.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22The period over New Year was according to the local Ambulance
0:01:22 > 0:01:26Service in Essex the busiest ever. On the day in question they received
0:01:26 > 0:01:32more than 4000 999 calls, far more than usual. A statement in response
0:01:32 > 0:01:37to the death of the 81-year-old woman said, our sincere condolences
0:01:37 > 0:01:42and apologies go out to the family and friends of the patient. We have
0:01:42 > 0:01:46publicly expressed how stretched the Ambulance Services and the pressures
0:01:46 > 0:01:50the staff and the NHS has been under over the past few days. The union
0:01:50 > 0:01:54representing health workers also blamed wider pressures on the health
0:01:54 > 0:01:59service.I think there is chronic underfunding which is endemic, it
0:01:59 > 0:02:04tells us the public sector is under so much strain that it is now
0:02:04 > 0:02:07beginning to kill people.This is the second death in recent days
0:02:07 > 0:02:11which has been linked to an overstretched service. A teacher
0:02:11 > 0:02:16role Jozsef Smalling died following a seven-hour wait for a bed of the
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth. And in recent days the
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Health Secretary and Prime Minister has both apologised to patients
0:02:22 > 0:02:27after thousands of nonurgent operations have been cancelled. The
0:02:27 > 0:02:30health service as a combination of winter flu and cold weather are
0:02:30 > 0:02:35adding to pressure on the service. The impact on the local MP is
0:02:35 > 0:02:39demanding answers.I'm furious, it should not happen, we need to get to
0:02:39 > 0:02:43the bottom of this and find out what happened and make sure it never
0:02:43 > 0:02:48happens again.And as the government doing enough?We will find out when
0:02:48 > 0:02:51we get that in quarry.With temperatures once again dropping,
0:02:51 > 0:02:57the worry is the health service simply will not be able to cope. And
0:02:57 > 0:03:01that indeed is the body. The Department of Health said it has
0:03:01 > 0:03:04brought in new measures which should help emergency departments to cope
0:03:04 > 0:03:08with winter demands and the Prime Minister has said that extra funding
0:03:08 > 0:03:12has been given to the NHS and assist the health service is better
0:03:12 > 0:03:19prepared for the winter than ever before.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Donald Trump has dismissed claims made in a new book that he is
0:03:22 > 0:03:29mentally unfit for office. He told a news conference his success in
0:03:29 > 0:03:35business and office as proof of his capabilities. And he has dismissed
0:03:35 > 0:03:40the author of the book as a fraud.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Boarding a flight to camp David for meetings with senior Republican
0:03:44 > 0:03:48leaders, the image that Donald Trump was seeking to project was one of
0:03:48 > 0:03:53order, professionalism and control. Instead he finds himself battling
0:03:53 > 0:03:58claims contained in a book, claims which question his mental fitness.I
0:03:58 > 0:04:06went to the best colleges, I went I had a situation where I was an
0:04:06 > 0:04:10excellent student and came out and made billions of dollars, became one
0:04:10 > 0:04:15of the top business people, went to television and for ten years was a
0:04:15 > 0:04:19tremendous success as you probably have heard.Perhaps the most
0:04:19 > 0:04:24damaging allegation shared claims the author by all the senior
0:04:24 > 0:04:27advisers to the president is that the leader of the free world lacks
0:04:27 > 0:04:34curiosity, does not read or listen, is like a child.They all came to
0:04:34 > 0:04:37the conclusion graduate first and then faster and faster, that
0:04:37 > 0:04:43something was unbelievably amiss. But this was more peculiar than they
0:04:43 > 0:04:49ever imagined it could be.Fire and Fury also quotes the former senior
0:04:49 > 0:04:54aide Steve Bannon to Donald Trump, the man credited with getting him
0:04:54 > 0:04:59elected, as describing a meeting between a Russian order and Donald
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Junior as treasonous. Other revelations paid a picture of a
0:05:02 > 0:05:08chaotic White House at the mercy of a petulant, easily distracted
0:05:08 > 0:05:11commander-in-chief. Claims denied by a leading member of the
0:05:11 > 0:05:16administration.I have never questioned his mental fitness, I
0:05:16 > 0:05:22have no reason to. We have different management styles. How I make
0:05:22 > 0:05:26decisions and process information, I have to learn how he takes in
0:05:26 > 0:05:30information and processes it and makes decisions.Having achieved a
0:05:30 > 0:05:34major success just before Christmas with the passage of tax reform
0:05:34 > 0:05:39legislation, senior Republicans had hoped the New Year would be a new
0:05:39 > 0:05:42start for the Trump administration but instead of moving forward on key
0:05:42 > 0:05:49issues like immigration reform, the focus it seems is yet again on the
0:05:49 > 0:05:53president himself, his personality and his mental competence.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Opponents of President Assad in Syria have accused his regime -
0:05:56 > 0:05:59with the help of Russia - of launching a series of air attacks
0:05:59 > 0:06:00on a suburb of the capital.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03They say at least 17 people were killed today.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Most of the dead were in Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Raids on the rebel held area have continued for several days The UN
0:06:09 > 0:06:17has condemned the impact of the fighting on civilians.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19The department store House of Fraser has confirmed it's asking landlords
0:06:19 > 0:06:22to reduce the rent it pays for some of its shops.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25The group is set to release Christmas retail figures next week -
0:06:25 > 0:06:27with some analysts suggesting its takings over the Christmas
0:06:27 > 0:06:28period were disappointing.
0:06:28 > 0:06:34Joe Lynam has more.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39It is one of the key brands on our high streets with 59 stores and more
0:06:39 > 0:06:44than 7000 staff. We do not yet know how Christmas was for House of
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Fraser but we know it has asked if landlords to cut the rent. So what
0:06:47 > 0:06:52do people think when they think of House of Fraser?It has got the
0:06:52 > 0:06:56shops that I like to browse and within the department store so it is
0:06:56 > 0:07:01quite easy to just go from one place to the next.It has a lot of good
0:07:01 > 0:07:06quality brands, and quite a lot of variety.I think it has a good
0:07:06 > 0:07:09reputation for good quality products. And I know all the high
0:07:09 > 0:07:14street has been affected at the moment and is not doing well.In
0:07:14 > 0:07:18terms of reputation is up there with Jon Lewis, maybe a bit more
0:07:18 > 0:07:21down-market than Jon Lewis so it occupies that gap in the market.I
0:07:21 > 0:07:26kind of think it is for older people but maybe because it is more
0:07:26 > 0:07:31expensive.Not unusual for retailers to seek rent reductions from their
0:07:31 > 0:07:36landlords, Marks and Spencers and next are already so and traditional
0:07:36 > 0:07:39retailers face challenges such as rising red especially in big cities,
0:07:39 > 0:07:44the national living wage going up which pushes up costs and of course
0:07:44 > 0:07:50online. £1 in every £6 now spent shopping online. And then there is
0:07:50 > 0:07:59overall sentiment. Shopping is a vital part of the UK economy, if
0:07:59 > 0:08:03consumers tighten their wallets than GDP suffers.Inflation has hit a
0:08:03 > 0:08:06five-year high in the run-up to Christmas and business building
0:08:06 > 0:08:09personal finances under pressure. Our research showed about 50% of
0:08:09 > 0:08:13consumers said they spent less this Christmas than last year and almost
0:08:13 > 0:08:19two thirds said they did some of their online.The success or failure
0:08:19 > 0:08:22of one retailer will not tell us whether the high streets are
0:08:22 > 0:08:26healthier and not. But if consumers throughout the UK cannot afford to
0:08:26 > 0:08:30spend as much as previous years then more big names may struggle to
0:08:30 > 0:08:32survive.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35England's hopes of a consolation victory in the fifth and final Ashes
0:08:35 > 0:08:38test look slim after Australia took control of day three.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43Joe Root's side trail by 133 runs, after the hosts closed on 479 for 4.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48Patrick Gearey watched the day unfold in Sydney.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52A special day, especially for Usman Khawaja,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56a first Ashes hundred in a city he emigrated to as a child.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58At the other end, nearing his hundred, Steve Smith,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00the uncrackable code.
0:09:00 > 0:09:06But wait, Moeen Ali's eureka moment.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Smith left a void and young Mason Crane fielded with an appeal.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11Review.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14First they check the no ball and there the case closed.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Had the umpire felt the boot was behind the line,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Mason Crane would've had his first Test wicket.
0:09:18 > 0:09:19Fine margins.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22And fine shots from the reprieved Usman Khawaja, which helped him
0:09:22 > 0:09:25to 150 and helped Australia into a lead only three wickets down.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26England needed energy, badly.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29It came from Mason Crane.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31This time he had Usman Khawaja for real.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33And for 171.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35But in now baking temperatures the Marsh brothers turned
0:09:35 > 0:09:38England into their stooges, with every run scored
0:09:38 > 0:09:43by Australia's batsmen only adding to the regrets felt by England.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47A draining day in every sense.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49So England 133 runs behind, they will have to go back
0:09:49 > 0:09:52into the field on day four when it will be even hotter.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55What is more they know this pitch is now spinning more,
0:09:55 > 0:09:57just in time for their last innings of this Ashes Series.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Patrick Geary, BBC News in Sydney.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04There's more throughout the evening on the BBC News Channel,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07we are back with the late news at 20 past 9 -
0:10:07 > 0:10:09now on BBC1 it's time for the news where you are.