this is bbc news, i'm ben boulos. the headlines. anti—government protests in china against strict covid restrictions are spreading , with some demonstrators calling restrictions are spreading, with some demonstrators calling for the country's leader, president xi, to go. two 16—year—old boys have died after being stabbed about a mile apart in south—east london, police say they are trying to establish if the two deaths are linked. i can confirm the two young boys are charlie bartolo and kearne solanke. the families are aware, and we are asking that their privacy is respected at this unimaginably difficult time. with rail workers and nurses among the public sector workers voting to take strike action in the run—up to christmas, politicians are coming under pressure to promise

pay deals which match the cost of living. rescue efforts are under way to find survivors after a mudslide triggered by heavy rains swept away homes on the italian island of ischia. good afternoon. protests have erupted in cities across china, as people call for an end to strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. in a show of defiance in shanghai, china's biggest city, protestors were bundled into police cars amid calls for president xi jinping to resign. millions of people have been living with onerous covid restrictions, as the communist government struggles with record levels of infection.

our asia pacific regional editor for bbc world service michael bristow is here. how do these protest differ from what we have seen before? we have seen protests _ what we have seen before? we have seen protests in _ what we have seen before? we have seen protests in china _ what we have seen before? we have seen protests in china before, - what we have seen before? we have seen protests in china before, but i seen protests in china before, but most of these have been about specific issues in specific instances. we have also seen, over recent months, a lot of anti covid restriction protests in china. these are different for one reason, and thatis are different for one reason, and that is because there have been direct calls for political change. however vague those calls might appear to be, however vague those calls might appearto be, and however vague those calls might appear to be, and they appear to be uncoordinated and spontaneous, they are calls. what we found overnight in shanghai, you had protesters calling for xijinping to in shanghai, you had protesters calling for xi jinping to step down, you had cause for the communist party to step down, and that will have the communist party worried, because what they do not want is people taking their frustrations about the covid restrictions out on

the party ruling china, and calling for political change. itruiith the party ruling china, and calling for political change.— for political change. with that in mind, for political change. with that in mind. how _ for political change. with that in mind. how do — for political change. with that in mind, how do you _ for political change. with that in mind, how do you see _ for political change. with that in mind, how do you see this - for political change. with that in - mind, how do you see this unfolding from here? it is mind, how do you see this unfolding from here? , ' . mind, how do you see this unfolding from here? , , . ., from here? it is difficult to say, what often _ from here? it is difficult to say, what often happens _ from here? it is difficult to say, what often happens in - from here? it is difficult to say, what often happens in china - from here? it is difficult to say, what often happens in china is. from here? it is difficult to say, . what often happens in china is that people vent their feelings and protests dissipate. the authorities get a bit harder in the response, initially the police appear to have stepped back and allowed a lot of these protests in cities across china, by the way, police have 7 and? �*them j and �*them to j and �* them to take but you have seen this place, but what you have seen this afternoon shanghai is the police afternoon in shanghai is the police are stepping in, arresting some protesters, cordoning off certain areas, anything is what you're protesters, cordoning off certain areas, a see, |g is what you're protesters, cordoning off certain areas, a see, that is what you're protesters, cordoning off certain areas, a see, that if is what you're protesters, cordoning off certain areas, a see, that if they lat you're protesters, cordoning off certain areas, a see, that if they persist 'e going to see, that if they persist that police will take action. how do ou think that police will take action. how do you think the _ that police will take action. how do you think the political _ that police will take action. how do you think the political authorities . you think the political authorities in beijing will react all of this? this kind of protest, over one

particular issue, breaking out across the country is just the kind of thing they don't want to see. they can happily deal with more isolated cases on specific issues they can snuff those out wherever they can snuff those out wherever they happen to take place, but these kind of issues, these kind of protesters bring up across the country, and it is across the country, and it is across the country, are very difficult. particularly because they have a particle and go to them, a political agenda. of course, we are also seeing young people involved in a lot of university campuses, elite universities, so students are taking part. they will remember the tiananmen protests of 1989, so it will certainly worry china. the leaders will not be panicking yet, but they will certainly be worrying about it. ., ~ , .,

police investigating the fatal stabbings of two 16—year—old boys in southeast london are treating them as linked. the attacks happened about a mile apart in thamesmead yesterday afternoon. emergency services attended, but both boys were pronounced dead. the police told reporters more about the investigation. on saturday evening at around 5:10pm, police were called to reports of two people injured in two locations, sewell road, abbey wood, and titmuss avenue, thamesmead. the locations are approximately one mile apart. emergency services attended immediately, and at each location they found a 16—year—old boy suffering stab injuries. tragically, both boys died of their injuries. i can confirm the two young boys are charlie bartolo and kearne solanke. officers are especially keen to hear from anyone who may have seen a dark coloured suv or four—by—four type vehicle, with distinctive silver

roof bars, in the areas around sewell road or titmuss avenue in the days before and prior to the murders. we have already heard from a number of witnesses and i'm grateful to them for getting in touch and providing information to the police. i am appealing for any witnesses who may have seen either incident. i'm also interested in speaking with those who knew charlie and kearne, and might be able to offer some information or insight into these senseless killings. and we urge you to contact police on 101, giving the reference 4943 of the 26th of november. information can also be provided to crimestoppers anonymously online or by calling 0800 555111. they do not ask your name

or trace your ip address. inquiries are ongoing and i will therefore offer no further comment at this time. an investigation has been launched after a man and a woman in their 70s were found dead in sheffield. south yorkshire police say they were called to a property in dore this morning. they arrested a 51—year—old man at the scene on suspicion of murder. police have appealed for anyone with information to get in contact. with industrial action planned by rail workers and nurses in the run up to christmas, the government has said it can only pay workers what is affordable. but ministers are under growing pressure to offer pay deals which at least match the rising cost of living. this morning, the transport secretary, mark harper, told the bbc there were limits to what the government could offer workers. we have to balance what is affordable, so that is why, for example, in the health service we have accepted all

the recommendations of the independent pay review body which would give, for example, a nurse at least £1400 pay rise this year and it is why nurses, for example, got a 3% rise last year when the general public sector had a pay freeze, but a 19% pay rise simply isn't affordable. hang on a second... ..and we have to balance what is affordable, the difficult decisions we are having to make to keep the public finances under control, and the perfectly reasonable request people have got to keep up with the cost of living. i accept that people are not going to be able to have what they want. the shadow levelling up secretary, lisa nandy, was asked whether labour would support pay rises which match inflation. we want to see people paid enough money to live on and rewarded very money to live on and rewarded fairly for the contribution that they make but what you are asking me is, not,

would we match inflation, you are asking me to commit to a specific number without being involved in the negotiations and seeing the books. we think it is unconscionable that nurses and rail workers that went out this country moving during a pandemic are not being paid enough to put food on the table. we are looking at every single way that we could help with that including the long—term health of the economy and getting more resources very quickly in the first 100 days of a labour government into the national health service by scrapping the non—dom tax status, so we can ease pressures. there is a problem that people are burned out in the nhs and that is compounding the cost of living crisis. we are going to do everything in our means of disposal to help people because they deserve this. rescue teams have been working through the night on the italian island of ischia, which was hit by severe mudslides. one person is confirmed dead and eleven people are reported missing. 0ur correspondent mark

lowen has the latest from ischia. we just arrived in the area of ischia worst hit by the mudslide and you can see here so much damage with car is being held into each other by the force of the landslide. there one car here you can barely buses and cars that were passed into the ocean, such was the force of the landslide that hit here. and there is still this sludge and mud that lies in the streets. the diggers have arrived. damage is quite significant here as you can see. that's where the mud cascaded

down from after hours of torrential rain. the problem here in ischia as it is an idyllic island, very tranquil island but around half of the houses here are illegally built and so they can't withstand the force of landslides and earthquakes and unfortunately, this has been the impact of what the mudslide from saturday morning has done to this island. in a moment, we'lljoin viewers on bbc one for the afternoon news. but first... encouraging self—harm could soon become a criminal offence, under new changes to the government's 0nline safety bill. ministers say the decision was influenced by the case of 14—year—old molly russell, who took her own life in 2017, after viewing content about self—harm and suicide on social media. laura tra nt reports. 14—year—old molly russell from harrow in london died five years ago. the inquest into her death found she took her own life after looking at content on social media relating to self—harm. since she passed away, molly's family have been campaigning for legislation to be passed to better protect young people online. the 0nline safety bill has been in the making for four years with frequent delays and updates.

earlier this week, molly's dad, ian russell, spoke to the bbc and expressed his frustration at delays in changes to the law. i think the 0nline safety bill... it's something i care deeply about because without a change that regulates the companies to operate their platforms more safely, these tragedies will continue to happen. it's too late for me. so in a way, it's not a huge personal investment. i'm just frustrated that an opportunity for change and an opportunity for greater safety for children has been delayed for so long. it's been confirmed the updated 0nline safety bill will be put before parliament with some further changes. now the encouragement of self—harm online is to be criminalised,

ultimately with prison sentences and fines, so companies which do not remove illegal content could face fines and perpetrators will be sentenced through the courts. this is the government trying to show that it is strong, that it can clamp down on this behaviour, particularly when it targets children. but in fact this is a very complex area with lots of grey space in between where a lot of predators and others will continue to act. and frankly, it's going to be very difficult to enforce, both for a regulator and for a government eager to act. the molly rose foundation, set up by herfamily to campaign for better online safety, says the update to the 0nline safety bill is a significant move. but stress it's important other harmful but legal content is also within the scope of the bill. it's expected the amended 0nline safety bill will be put before parliament in early december. laura trant, bbc news.

china's government faces rare public protests amid anger over covid restrictions. in shanghai and elsewhere, people have been on the streets, with some calling for president xi jinping to step down. ahead of further rail strikes, the transport secretary says working practices have to change before pay can go up. in italy, a dozen people are missing after torrential rain triggers a landslide. and at the world cup, the surprises keep on coming as belgium's last—16 hopes are dented by morocco.

good afternoon. rare anti—government protests have taken place in china, including calls for president xijinping to resign, amid public anger over continuing and stringent covid restrictions. after china's zero—covid policy was blamed for people not being able to get out of a burning building, there were protests on the streets in western china, on student campuses, and in major cities like nanjing, shanghai, and beijing. 0ur china correspondent stephen mcdonell reports from there. it's not unusual to see acts of defiance in china, but this was something different. a crowd of protesters in shanghai chanted, calling for the country's leader xijinping to stand down

and for the communist party to give up power. officially, china's goal is to return each outbreak to zero new infections using strict stay at home orders, travel restrictions and mass testing. entire cities are still being locked down. the government says easing the policy would lead to a significant death toll, but it has been criticised for not prioritising vaccination amongst high risk groups, and not increasing hospital capacity. there is also still no stated plan to open up, even at sometime in the future. a fire which killed ten residents in xinjiang last week has prompted widespread anger in china. zero—covid restrictions have been blamed for hampering people's escape and slowing the access for fire crews. whether this is true or not, it sparked waves of protest in the regional capital, urumqi. this has now spread to other cities

and university campuses, as spontaneous memorial services for those who died in the fire have transformed into demonstrations calling for an end to lockdowns. people are also blaming xi jinping personally for not changing the zero—covid approach which is forcing business after business to shut down. protests have been building in china all year, with people here increasingly sick of zero—covid restrictions. the government seems to have drastically underestimated popular discontent, yet, for the moment, has no easy way out of the zero—covid corner it's painted itself into. stephen mcdonnell, bbc news, beijing. here, the transport secretary has been talking about the industrial dispute on the railways, which has led to more strikes, scheduled for next month. mark harper said there had to be

reforms to the rail system to free up money for a pay offer for workers, and warned there wasn't a "bottomless pit" of taxpayers' money to throw at the problem. here's our political correspondent, helen catt. there have been repeated walk—outs on the railways for months. just yesterday, it was the drivers out on a day—long strike. guards and signallers are among the staff who will hold another series of walk—outs, this time for 48 hours each time, in december and january. this morning, the transport secretary, mark harper, said he wanted to see the dispute resolved, but he insisted a deal on pay must be funded by reaching agreement on changes to working practices. train operating companies and network rail will have the ability to reach a deal, but we have to be able to have that reform package negotiated, because it's only that that throws up the savings. i do not have a bottomless pit of taxpayers' money to throw at this problem. the rmt union's general secretary, mick lynch, met with mr harper earlier this week

in what is being seen as a more conciliatory approach from the government, in tone at least. but unions still want assurances that ministers aren't pulling the strings. they don't know whether the companies have authority, have been empowered to genuinely, in good faith negotiate a deal, so what we are hoping four from faith negotiate a deal, so what we are hoping fourfrom mark harper is are hoping fourfrom mark harper is a letter to the unions setting that out and being cleared are notjust about facilitating the deal but what the government's role in settling it is. labour has said it wants to see people paid fairly, but it's not said it would commit to inflation—matching pay increases if it was in government. you're asking me to commit to a specific number without having been invited into the negotiations and seeing the books. what i can tell you is that we think it's unconscionable that nurses and rail workers who went out and kept this country moving during a pandemic are not being paid enough to put food on the table. next month will also see nurses go on strike in

england, wales and northern ireland, as a winter of more industrial action looms. helen catt, bbc news. rescue teams on the italian island of ischia are searching for about a dozen people missing after a devastating landslide. houses and cars were buried in rivers of mud after torrential rain, and at least one person was killed. our italy correspondent mark lowen sent this report from ischia. rescuing the fragments of once tranquil ischia, divers picked out what they could after the mudslide that cascaded through this island, tossing what lay in its path into the ocean or into each other. some cars battled beyond recognition as torrents of mud poured down here. they scoured the seas for wreckage and bodies, with a number of deaths growing in reports of islanders are still missing, the fear is that as more areas are reached, other victims will be found. it began

before dawn on saturday after torrential rain, the deepest and most southern on record here, unleashing the chaos. from above, the destruction was clear, with houses buried, many of them illegally built and unable to withstand the mud. what lay in its wake swept into the sea. the clean—up tackled the sludge that has turned this island into rivers of mud, but it will take long to clear and rebuild. this just shows the weakness of man against nature. while a crane and a whole team are needed to live just one ——to liftjust one vehicle, the mudslide hurled so many of them with its force. when the torrent of debris and earth came hurtling down here, little could withstand it. up up the hill, the desolation deepens. a whole square under mod, desperate attempt to save what they can. we found raphael, devastated by the

destruction of her shop that rents motorbikes to tourists. translation: my motorbikes to tourists. translation: my son has shut himself indoors because he doesn't want to see any of this. he feels ill because he is seeing all of our sacrifices were worthless. i hope someone will help us. �* , , . , , worthless. i hope someone will help us. �* ,, . ,, . ,. us. i'm speechless. with rescue teams inundated, _ us. i'm speechless. with rescue teams inundated, her— us. i'm speechless. with rescue teams inundated, her husband l us. i'm speechless. with rescue i teams inundated, her husband and elderly father have had to step in to help clear. translation: i feel destro ed to help clear. translation: i feel destroyed for _ to help clear. translation: i feel destroyed for my _ to help clear. translation: i feel destroyed for my daughter, - to help clear. translation: i f--i destroyed for my daughter, of course. we will try and see if someone will help, because we have worked all our lives to build this and all of a sudden it disappeared. it will take months, even years, for ischia to recover, to clean up from the moment that the earth broke away and engulfed what was in its path, and engulfed what was in its path, and ireland overwhelmed by itself. mark logan, bbc news, ischia. police in london have said the fatal stabbings of two 16—year—old boys, just a mile apart, are linked. kearnie solanke and charlie bartolo

were found yesterday afternoon with stab wounds and murder investigations are under way. simonjones reports. flowers to mark a life lost. just after five o'clock yesterday evening, kearnie solanke was stabbed to death in thamesmead. he wasjust 16. one mile away in abbey wood, at around the same time, another killing, the victim, charlie bartolo, also aged 16. police say they are outraged that such young lives are cut short, an emotion shared in the community. i just saw the blue lights in my cupboard window and i went, oh, something is going on outside. next minute, i put the phone down, come out and had a look and then i heard the screaming, that was it. obviously i couldn't sleep all last night, so i was looking out there. and ijust feel sorry for the families. it is a community that has lost one of them, and it's very sad for the family. police say the killings were linked. no arrests have been made. tackling violence is a priority for the met.

days like today show us why our work is so important, and why i must ask you all again, london communities, to work with us. the families of the boys who died are being offered support. the police say they have already spoken to several witnesses but they still want to hear from anyone who saw the attacks themselves, and also from friends of the two people who died. they say those friends may be able to shed some light on what was behind what officers are calling these senseless killings. the met says it is determined to tackle knife crime. last week, 500 arrests were made and 130 knives seized. but today, two more families are grieving. simonjones, bbc news, thamesmead. energy suppliers are being asked by the business secretary to make sure direct debit payments reflect customers' actual energy use and don't become inflated when people are cutting back on gas or electricity. our business correspondent noor nanji is here. noor, what's

the background to this letter? many of us have been making efforts to try and cut back our energy use, but despite this, there have been reports of people finding their direct debits are still going up, so grant chaps said those reports are disturbing and says people's bills should reflect their use. ofgem conducted a review into all of this earlier this year. we've been reaching out to suppliers to ask what action has been taken, but there are a couple of things to note. first, energy bills have been going up, so even if you have been reducing your use, average bills are a lot higher this year than last. secondly, worth noting, there has been mild weather so far, so some firms may have calculated that into their assumptions for direct debit. it is worth also mentioning that people have the right to challenge their direct debit, so if you think you are paying more than you should, you are paying more than you should, you should reach out to your supplier. you should reach out to your su lier. . ~ you should reach out to your summer-— you should reach out to your su lier. . ~' ,, , . let's bring you up to date on the world cup action so far today in qatar, with a shock in group f. belgium, ranked second in the world,

were beaten 2—0 by morocco. the african side are unbeaten as they look to make it out of the group stage for only the second time in their history. there was an upset in group e too as costa rica beat japan by a goal to nil. japan had dominated, but keysher fuller's goal ten minutes from time has left japan facing a tough challenge to advance to the last 16. wales will need to beat england in their final group match on tuesday to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive. it's been a disappointing tournament so farfor wales, who have picked upjust one point from their first two matches. our correspondent hywel griffith reports from doha. drained under the desert sun, wales's loss to iran on friday left them listless and looking like their world cup was already at an end. for the players, it wasn'tjust the defeat, it was the feeling that they'd failed to show the world what they are capable of. we didn't achieve that,

and that was probably the most disappointing thing, so a big disappointment, but we had 24—hours where we... it was sore. we took on medicine and we are ready to go again. wales now have to bounce back for what will be their toughest test in this world cup so far. only beating england gives them any chance at all of staying in this tournament. that last happened almost a0 years ago. hughes... oh, and how well directed. history points towards the possibility of an upset that, based on recent form, very few pundits expect to see on tuesday. but the players have to believe. not impossible, no. whilst there is still a chance, it's really simple for us. we are fully motivated and fully incentivised to throw absolutely everything into getting a win. this is a group of players considered to be a golden generation. today they fell silent to remember gary speed, a manager who dreams of seeing them

play in a world cup. ——who dreamed of seeing them play in a world cup. motivation if any was needed for a game in which they have to give their all. hywel griffith, bbc news, doha. the match against wales will be england's last group match, and in the last hour marcus rashford has been talking to the media about how the team are feeling. our football reporter alex howell was there. what did he say, alex? two days since england — what did he say, alex? two days since england drew _ what did he say, alex? two days since england drew with - what did he say, alex? two days since england drew with the - what did he say, alex? two days since england drew with the us l what did he say, alex? two days| since england drew with the us in that match it in the second group b match, and england were criticised for the way they play. of course, there were no goals and the us were praised for the way they played and defended. gareth southgate has been speaking to the team and told them that only once in their history have they won all three group games in a major tournament, and i spoke to marcus rashford, and he has been telling us how the team have been dealing with the fallout from that

result. so, you know, we obviously, we're not happy with the way we performed in the last game. we know that we can do better, but at the same time, it is not often teams win all their games in the group stage, if we manage to beat wales, it can be considered a good start. that game auainst considered a good start. that game against wales _ considered a good start. that game against wales is _ considered a good start. that game against wales is in _ considered a good start. that game against wales is in two _ considered a good start. that game against wales is in two days' - considered a good start. that game against wales is in two days' time l against wales is in two days' time under welch know they have to beat england to have any chance of progressing, where as england know a positive result will have them in the last 16 and the knockout stages of the world cup. don't forget more throughout the evening on the news web. now, on bbc one, time for the news whatever you are.