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 for the country's leader, president xi, to go. 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. police in london say the fatal stabbings of two 16—year—old boys — just a mile apart — are linked. too many people in the uk are being let down at the end of their lives by inadequate out—of—hours palliative care support, according to the charity marie curie. rescue efforts are under way to find survivors after a mudslide triggered by heavy rains swept away homes on the italian

island of ischia. and in football, morocco stun belgium, beating the second—ranked team in the world, two—nil in qatar at the world cup. good evening. rare anti—government protests have taken place in china, including open calls for president xijinping to resign, amid public anger over stringent covid restrictions. the demonstrations have been prompted by a deadly fire in the western region of xinjiang last week, which saw some suggest that rescue efforts were hindered by continuing restrictions — a claim the authorities have rejected. protests have been seen on streets in western china,

on student campuses, and in many cities, including shanghai, wuhan and in beijing — from where our correspondent, stephen mcdonell, sent this reports. 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 but it's been criticised for not

prioritising vaccination amongst high—risk groups and not increasing hospital capacity. there's also still no stated plan to open up, even at some time 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 protests 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. earlier, i spoke to andrew chubb, who specialises in chinese politics and international relations at lancaster university, about the protest. i think the most dramatic protests, of course, for a political point of view are the ones in shanghai, that your reporter stephen mcdonnell has outlined there. there are calls for xi jinping to stand down, and other anti—government slogans being chanted. but i think a lot of the protests in other places around china have basically involved other issues as well. as mentioned, the horrific fire in urumqi which triggered the protests there, and even further back, stephen's report mentioned

that it's been building up for a while. ten days ago, we had large movements in guangzhou, 12 days ago, we had large movements in guangzhou, where people are pushing down in where people where people were pushing down the lockdown barriers, and i think it would be a long bow to draw to say that it was a nationwide anti—government protest. the political content seems mainly to be in the shanghai case, which is a very particular corner of china. and what makes these different, if at all, than protests we've seen before against zero—covid restrictions? i think it's very much the scale and the nationwide coverage of the protests this time. the discontent has certainly been building up, particularly since, not coincidentally, the very long lockdown in shanghai probably not coincidentally, the very long lockdown in shanghai from april this year. so, i think it's very much

about the scale and the relatively simultaneous, if notjoined—up nature of some of these protests across very different geographies in china, including the xinjiang region. how do you expect the chinese communist party to respond to this? that's an interesting question. we've seen the authorities in urumqi, where the mourning and anti—lockdown protests broke out last week, issue an apology. some kind of self—criticism perhaps could be coming in those particular places, where officials could be held responsible, but it's always very difficult to predict chinese politics, but my money would be on a clampdown rather than probably further concessions. the situation�*s probably going to get uglier before it gets better.

andrew, this is a question i wonder if anyone has the answer to, but i'll ask you anyway — why do you think the authorities in china are persisting with a zero—covid strategy when it clearly isn't working? when, despite that policy, the number of infections are at record levels compared with even the start of the pandemic, why do they persist with that policy? i think it's because they don't see that they have a better alternative. in particular, china's intensive care beds, the number of intensive care beds, is not sufficient. the government cannot be sure that it will be sufficient the government can't be sure that it'll be sufficient if there is a full nationwide epidemic, and the vaccination rates, particularly among the elderly and other vulnerable groups,

are not high enough, and on top of all of that, the vaccines that they're using in china, the locally made ones, are not as effective as the mrna vaccines that foreign countries have been relying upon to do reopening in various places around the world. and given all that's going on in china, this isn't some far—off isolated case that does not affect other people. this affects us economically, and in terms of supply chains here in the uk and elsewhere around the world, presumably? i think so. i think that's something that will play out over a longer period of time, but i also think it seems a fairly broad consensus among economic experts that the outlook for china's economy going forward is much less rosy than it was pre—covid. over the past a0 years of rapid economic growth, there's no way that can continue

over the next 5—10 years. these types of situations that are related to the economic impact of covid, that's likely to appear more in china over the coming years. 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's 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're hoping for from mark harper is a letter to the unions setting that out and being clear — not just 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 has 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 i 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. 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. earlier, i spoke to our business correspondent, noor nanji, and asked her what the background was to this letter. lots of us have been making efforts to cut back our energy use, but despite this, there have been reports of people finding that their direct debits are still soaring. now, grant shapps said that those reports were disturbing, he said people's bills should accurately reflect their use. ofgem did already conduct a review

into all of this earlier this year, and we have reached out to suppliers to ask what action has been taken since then. but there are a couple of things worth noting. firstly, energy bills have gone up, so even if you have been making efforts to reduce your use, the fact remains that energy bills on average this year are a lot higher than they were this time last year. secondly, it's been quite a mild winterfar, so it's possible, because of the way in which direct debits are calculated, they were factoring in colder weather into those calculations, so that could be another factor here. it is worth saying that you do have a right to challenge your direct debit, so if you do find you're paying too much, or you think you are, you should speak to your supplier. noor, has been any reaction to all of this? yeah, just now, we've had a response from one of the suppliers. we've been following up with them to see what action has been taken. so, octopus energy, their ceo, their chief executive,

has written a letter back to grant shapps, has actually written a letter back to grant shapps today, and he said he was pleased to see mr shapps�* interest in this matter given it's such matter of high importance for customers. he said the setting of direct debit is complex, particularly given the government help that's been rolled out for customers, so taking that into consideration as well. and he says that he thinks there is room for the whole energy industry to improve on this, and he's outlined various ways in his letter that he thinks they can do that. an ofgem spokesperson, meanwhile, has also been in touch to say they think suppliers should do everything they can to support customers particularly at this time, and they recognise the significant worry and concern that increased direct debits can cause. the spokesperson added that they had carried out this review that i mentioned earlier this year and they will continue to work with the government and suppliers on this, and will not hesitate to take further action if they see fit. 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 across yesterday evening. a mile away around the same time, another killing. the victim also age 16. police say they're outraged at such young lives cut short and emotions shared in the community. i just saw the blue lights in my cupboard window and i went, "something �*s going on outside." i put the phone down, and had a look outside, and i heard the screaming. and i heard the screaming — that was it. i couldn't sleep last night, i just feel sorry for the families. this is a community that has lost one of them, i and it's very sad for the family.

police say the killings were linked. no arrests have been made. tackling violence as a priority for the met, days like today show why our work is so important, and why must ask for a london communities to work with us. the families of the boys who died have been offered support. the police say they have spoken to several witnesses, but still want to speak to anyone who saw the attack themselves. who saw the attack themselves, and also friends of those who died. and also friends of those who died. they say those friends may be able to shed some light on what officers are calling senseless killings. the met says it's determined to tackle knife crime. the headlines on bbc news: anti—government protests in china against strict covid restrictions are spreading, with some demonstrators calling

for the country's leader, president xi, to go. 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. police in london say the fatal stabbings of two 16—year—old boys — just a mile apart — are linked. too many people in the uk are being let down at the end of their lives by inadequate out—of—hours support, according to research for the charity marie curie. the study concludes the current, fragmented system leads to a significant number of avoidable visits to emergency departments by people who would be better cared for at home. the charity is calling for a national 24—hour—a—day helpline to help people navigate services. here's our social affairs editor, alison holt. rosie has terminal cancer, and knows she's reaching the end of her life. i know i'm going to die. i've got have no fear of death.

i'm more interested in the journey to death being as comfortable as possible. but today's research shows that in many areas, getting palliative help when it's needed can be really difficult. so, when rosie found herself feeling weak and in pain, she was sent to the emergency department three times. in a&e, i was seen by a lovely doctor, ecg done again, blood tests done again. waited for the tests come back, and i was sent home with the same pain in the same weakness. pain and the same weakness. and when tracey was caring for herfather, michael, in his last days, the only nhs number she had for end—of—life care closed at 4:30 in the afternoon — no good when they hit a crisis at 10pm. i phoned an ambulance,

because it was the only people i could think to call. what would you have liked to have been there? a phone number, advice. people don'tjust die during office hours. michael passed away the following day. out of our services are patchy or nonexistent, and most areas don't have consistent nursing services overnight. here a hospice in liverpool, they coordinate end—of—life service to ensure care is there when needed. without the support - of health care professionals without the support _ of health care professionals of health care professionals, it can escalate quickly, - and family members get very concerned about their loved ones. a doctor or nurse can be contacted for advice 2a hours a day or seven days a week, and that means that fewer people end in hospital. a day seven days a week, and that means that fewer people end in hospital.

the emphasis for us is that it's the quality of care with the right people around. we have managed to reduce the average number of unplanned admissions in the last three months of life by a 44%, so it's a large number of people who are not attending hospital. once in touch, she quickly got better care. i know i can call them anytime day or night if i need them, and based on the outcome for the first time i called them, i've got confidence that they will be able to help me. the government says it supports high—quality end—of—life care, and that the nhs is providing more funding for services. alison holt, bbc news. i'm joined now by the director of policy and research at marie curie, sam royston. how urgent is the situation in your view? . , , ., , view? incredibly. people with terminal illness _ view? incredibly. people with terminal illness are _ view? incredibly. people with terminal illness are dying - view? incredibly. people with terminal illness are dying in l view? incredibly. people with i terminal illness are dying in pain and facing preventable trips to hospital due to a lack of care and

support at home during evenings and weekends. it's, frankly, i completely un—acceptable situation, but as tracey said, we can't tell people to die during office hours. it should be calm and peaceful. busy wards are not were dying people need or want to be, and that's why we're calling on governments across all the uk nations to provide local, 24/7 phone lines for dying people so they can access pain relief and other care and support when they need it and to avoid unnecessary stressful hospital visits at the end of life. ~ , stressful hospital visits at the end oflife. ~ , , ., ., stressful hospital visits at the end oflife. ,, ., ., of life. with this situation, has it been a long-term _ of life. with this situation, has it been a long-term problem? - of life. with this situation, has it been a long-term problem? if. of life. with this situation, has it i been a long-term problem? if so, of life. with this situation, has it - been a long-term problem? if so, why been a long—term problem? if so, why has it come to light now? weill. been a long-term problem? if so, why has it come to light now?— has it come to light now? well, i think that this _ has it come to light now? well, i think that this has _ has it come to light now? well, i think that this has been - has it come to light now? well, i think that this has been a - has it come to light now? well, i | think that this has been a growing problem, actually. the lack of support, the palliative care,

completely, has been a growing problem with the ageing growing population. more people are dying than we expect and we expect that to continue, and palliative care services in general are getting more and more under pressure. we're now additional targeted support with services like 24/7 help lines, that christer will grow and more people are going to miss out on the care and support they desperately need —— that pressure will grow. pare and support they desperately need -- that pressure will grow.— that pressure will grow. are there an areas that pressure will grow. are there any areas of _ that pressure will grow. are there any areas of the _ that pressure will grow. are there any areas of the uk _ that pressure will grow. are there any areas of the uk where - that pressure will grow. are there any areas of the uk where the - any areas of the uk where the problem is worse or less severe? does it vary by region at all? fine does it vary by region at all? one thin this does it vary by region at all? one thing this research _ does it vary by region at all? (he: thing this research did does it vary by region at all? i>iez thing this research did find is that the most deprived areas, unsurprisingly, are often those areas which have the least access to services like this. so we do need targeted funding, particularly at some of the most deprived parts of the country. i

some of the most deprived parts of the country-— the country. i know the call for marie curie is _ the country. i know the call for marie curie is for _ the country. i know the call for marie curie is for there - the country. i know the call for marie curie is for there to - the country. i know the call for marie curie is for there to be l the country. i know the call for marie curie is for there to be a j marie curie is for there to be a dedicated 24/7 helpline for palliative care specifically. would there be a way of integrating it with the one on in the short term —— one—on—one service for people to seek help within this sphere? it could, and that's the kind of conversation we want to have with government about how to introduce local 20 help lines for people living with terminal illness to make sure they're able to access care and support right through the day, not just in the 25% of the day that counters off as our. just in the 2596 of the day that counters off as our.— just in the 2596 of the day that counters off as our. what's the government — counters off as our. what's the government said to _ counters off as our. what's the government said to you? -- i counters off as our. what's the i government said to you? -- office hours. government said to you? -- office hours- so — government said to you? -- office hours- so far. _ government said to you? -- office hours. so far, we've _ government said to you? -- office hours. so far, we've got _ government said to you? -- office hours. so far, we've got some - government said to you? -- office l hours. so far, we've got some great examples. the impact service that we heard about is a fantastic example, not just of heard about is a fantastic example, notjust of how a 24/7 helpline can be provided, but how it can actually help to reduce pressure on the nhs.

it can help to reduce hospital admissions and in the end, save money for the nhs. we want to continue the conversation with commissioners across the uk, with the uk government, with the governments in each nation, to make that something that invests in every part of the country, notjust in some places. i part of the country, not 'ust in some placeafi part of the country, not 'ust in some places. part of the country, not 'ust in some laces. , ., ., some places. i 'ust wonder how the out of hours — some places. i just wonder how the out of hours service _ some places. i just wonder how the out of hours service would - some places. i just wonder how the out of hours service would be - out of hours service would be staffed. would it be for existing staffed. would it be for existing staff or would it need a whole additional rafter workers to be recruited to be found, which is no easy thing at the moment?- recruited to be found, which is no easy thing at the moment? well, we would need — easy thing at the moment? well, we would need to _ easy thing at the moment? well, we would need to have _ easy thing at the moment? well, we would need to have exactly - easy thing at the moment? well, we would need to have exactly that - would need to have exactly that conversation with government about how to support services like these. as the impact service in liverpool shows, and can be done with priority is... too often, that's exactly what missing, giving priority to services for dying people. missing, giving priority to services for dying people-—

for dying people. sam, thank you very much _ for dying people. sam, thank you very much for— for dying people. sam, thank you very much for speaking _ for dying people. sam, thank you very much for speaking to - for dying people. sam, thank you very much for speaking to us. - millions of people in and around the ukrainian capital, kyiv, are battling to cope with power cuts. many are without heating as emergency services try to fix the damage caused by russian missile attacks. temperatures are below zero with heavy snow forecast. refuge centres have been set up. officials in kyiv say russia is trying to make life impossible for ukrainians. jessica parker reports from kyiv. it's almost a novelty — the lights come on. the water, too. ludmilla, who lives on her own, had, like millions, been without power for days. these outages could keep happening again and again this winter. is it bearable? translation: it's impossible to live in the city without electricity - and water, the radiators doesn't work, the water is cold, and water.

the radiators don't work, the water is cold, it's cold everywhere. only one hope remains — that we will win. we'd found her here the night before, in a tent by a main road, one of the many public refuges springing up across ukraine. it's a lifeline for everyday contact, but also emergencies. irena, nine months pregnant, wants to know she can call for help just in case. we come here because we need extra call to 911, for emergencies, because i am pregnant, and after today, i am due. due?

yes, i yes, lam yes, i am due. here there is heat, a chance to work, or play. some just sit in silence. this war could be a long wait. vlodymyr and his mother are here to get hot water for his child, who's unwell. olga says the strain of it all is getting to her. translation: it was already very difficult for me, - i used to hold on, but now, my nervous system can't i cope with thie load. cope with this load. it's so hard. this morning, i could barely get up. winter brings a few guarantees, except the cold, and fears russia will keep targeting ukraine's energy system, driving people here to shelter from their own homes. jessica parker, bbc news, kyiv. 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 battered beyond recognition as torrents of mud poured down here. they scoured the seas for wreckage and bodies, with the number of deaths growing and reports of islanders 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 sudden 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 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 the hill, the desolation deepens. a whole square under mud, desperate attempt to save what they can. attempts to save what they can. we found a woman devastated by the destruction of her shop that that rents 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�*s seeing all of our sacrifices were worthless. i hope someone will help us. i'm speechless. with rescue teams inundated, her husband and elderly father have had to step in to help clear. translation: i feel destroyed for my daughter, of course. i

we'll 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, an island overwhelmed by itself. mark logan, bbc news, ischia. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. the week ahead is looking a bit colder and also much drier, but in the short term, we've still got some rain in the forecast. this is where it's been falling in the past few hours, this band of rain has been very slow to clear from east anglia and south—east england. of north—west scotland, and we'll keep those showers in the west as we go through tonight.

that rain eventually clearing away from east anglia and south—east england. in between, some clearer skies, but with lighter winds, that can mean some fog, particularly across north—east england. a cooler night than recently, could see the odd pocket of frost across parts of north—east scotland, maybe north—east england, too, where the skies stay clear. now, that fog could linger across north—east england for a good part of the day tomorrow. for many places, a lot of sunshine around, although there will be showers developing, particularly for wales, south—west england, southern coastal counties and the channel islands, and temperatures down a little compared to the weekend. 8—12 celsius typically, by the week ahead is looking much drier. 8—12 celsius typically, but the week ahead is looking much drier. lighter winds, though, will mean some lingering fog through a good part of the day in places, turning colder, too. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: anti—government protests in china against strict covid restrictions are spreading, with some demonstrators calling for the country's leader, president xi, to go. with 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.