this is bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm nancy kacungira. our 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. rescue efforts are underway to find survivors after a mudslide rescue efforts are under way to find survivors after a mudslide triggered by heavy rains swept away homes on the italian island of ischia. 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. and coming up in sport — another shock at the world cup as morocoo win 2—0 against belgium

in the latest upset in doha. as morocco win 2—0 against belgium in the latest upset in doha. hello and welcome to viewers in the uk and around the world. rare anti—government protests have taken place in china, with some people making open calls for president xijinping to resign for president xijinping to resign amid public anger over strict 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 report. 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'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. i'm joined now by professor kerry brown, director of the lau china institute at king's college london. he joins us from canterbury. thank you very much for making time to talk to us. just to start with, when you look at those pictures of those protests, what you think this is about? is this anger merely at the restrictions or wider than that? are people angry at the regime as well? i are people angry at the regime as well? ~ f , well? i think they're very frustrated, _ well? i think they're very frustrated, as your - well? i think they're very - frustrated, as your correspondent just said. this has been going on for a while. there was never a national lockdown in china, but a pretty draconian one in some major centres. i think people are finding the impediments on their life, the fact that these lockdowns mean that you're literally a prisoner in your

own house, in additionjane for instance, people died being locked instance, people died being locked in apartments —— xinjiang. i think this is really built up and it's been inflamed by seeing images of the outside world, where things are going on. wejust seem to be moving on. it's an attack on the regime. i think some people have great anger at the regime, for sure, but i don't think that is really driving this. i think that is really driving this. i think it's a kind of righteous protest where people are angry at the specific thing. if the government mishandled that, of course that righteous anger can become anger at the whole regime. i think we are somewhere away from that. g think we are somewhere away from that. �* . u, ., , that. a rather delicate moment, but ou that. a rather delicate moment, but you mentioned _ that. a rather delicate moment, but you mentioned something _ that. a rather delicate moment, but i you mentioned something interesting. the fact that people in china are now, especially with the world cup going on, seeing people around the

world — fans not wearing masks and stadiums. talk to us about how significant that is.— stadiums. talk to us about how significant that is. yeah, chinese are ureat significant that is. yeah, chinese are great fans — significant that is. yeah, chinese are great fans are _ significant that is. yeah, chinese are great fans are football, - significant that is. yeah, chinese are great fans are football, i - significant that is. yeah, chinese l are great fans are football, i think they have been watching this initially. they could see images of people in qatar, not having any sort of restrictions, no facemasks, things like this. the sensors have been working on some of those, so we've seen football in china. you see the picture, you don't really see the picture, you don't really see the picture, you don't really see the audience. but i think this since has spread. chinese people are aware that they are you need —— unique in these lockdowns, while the rest of the world has moved on. i

think a year ago, the government looked at the data and thought, probably, reasons that were 0k at the times, felt if they relax, it would be a huge issue of hospitalisation and the health service were extremely cautious. now they are in a bid conundrum because if they do relax these, there will be a spy, but if they don't, they will continue to be filled up of anger —— there will be a spike. president xijinping has anger —— there will be a spike. president xi jinping has chartered china on a separate path. why is it so important for him to keep these restrictions in place? i so important for him to keep these restrictions in place?— restrictions in place? i think there was an awareness _ restrictions in place? i think there was an awareness that _ restrictions in place? i think there was an awareness that china - restrictions in place? i think there was an awareness that china has. restrictions in place? i think there i was an awareness that china has an ageing population. it does have a lot of people who haven't been vaccinated or have been vaccinated with a vaccine that is not as clinically effective as ones in the

outside world. they've tended to stay with the testing and tracing. just try to completely eradicate what has become an increasingly infectious disease. i don't think they were responding to public worries. the public in china were very supportive of these originally, but it's gone on too long, and i think that's what's created this enormous build—up of anger and frustration. i’m enormous build-up of anger and frustration.— frustration. i'm afraid we'll have to leave it _ frustration. i'm afraid we'll have to leave it here, _ frustration. i'm afraid we'll have to leave it here, but _ frustration. i'm afraid we'll have to leave it here, but really - frustration. i'm afraid we'll have to leave it here, but really good j frustration. i'm afraid we'll have i to leave it here, but really good to talk to you. thank you for your time. 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. ischia is densely populated and vulnerable to landslides — many houses have been built illegally. our italy correspondent, mark lowen, sent this report from the island. 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 that tore down the hills. 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 attempts to save what they can. we found a woman devastated by the destruction of her shop 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'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. - we'll try and see if someone

will help, because we've 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 lowen, bbc news, ischia. let's bring you up—to—date with developments in ukraine. snow is falling in kyiv and temperatures are hovering around freezing, as the country battles to cope with power cuts after a barrage of russian missile strikes targeting ukraine's energy grid. the cold weather is pushing up energy needs even as repair workers race to fix wrecked power facilities. ihor zhovka, the deputy head of president zelensky�*s office, told the bbc more about the work to get the power back on.

we managed to repair the energy system because it... several hours of... now, the energies —— energy system has been repaired, but still -20% of system has been repaired, but still —20% of electricity energy is still needed to fully feed the system of ukraine. of the major cities like kyiv, still, we need some additional equipment. but what is worse for this, we are waiting for another strike from russia on the energy system of ukraine.— strike from russia on the energy system of ukraine. you're watching 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. our business correspondent, noor nanji, has been looking into this for us. 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 winter so far, 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 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 underway. 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 i6. a mile away in abbey wood, and around the same time, another killing — the victim, charlie bartolo, also aged 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, "oh, something's going on outside." next minute, i put the phone down and had a look, and heard the screaming — that was it. i couldn't sleep all last night as i was looking out there. 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 i must ask again for all 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, 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. last week, 500 arrests were made and 130 knives seized. but today, two more families are grieving. simonjones, bbc news, thamesmead. 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 no fear of death. i'm more interested in the journey to death being as comfortable as possible.

but today's research shows 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, waited for the blood tests come back, and i was sent home with the same 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 that 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. the research for the charity marie curie found that in two thirds of the uk, out—of—hours services are patchy or nonexistent, and most areas don't have consistent nursing services overnight. here at the charity's hospice in liverpool, they're part of a scheme which co—ordinates end—of—life services to ensure care is there when needed. without that support network of health care professionals i and even just giving that little bitj of advice or answering a concern, i think 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, seven days a week, and that means fewer people end up 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 around 44%,

so that's a huge number of people who are not attending hospital. the scheme covers rosie's area and, once in touch, she quickly got better pain relief and respite care. i know i can call them anytime, day or night, if i need them, and based on the outcome from 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 such services. alison holt, bbc news. the niece of iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, has called on all foreign governments to cut ties with tehran. in an online video, farideh moradkhani accused the iranian authorities of knowing no rules except "force and maintaining power." her appeal comes amid a backdrop of anti—government protests sparked by the death a young woman in police custody.

siavash ardalan from the bbc persian service is with us. there's a strong word —— those are strong words from his niece. how significant is this? it’s strong words from his niece. how significant is this?— significant is this? it's always interesting — significant is this? it's always interesting when _ significant is this? it's always interesting when you - significant is this? it's always interesting when you have i significant is this? it's always interesting when you have a l significant is this? it's always - interesting when you have a relative of a family member of the leader, let alone a supreme leader and authoritarian leader, either defect or speak out against the regime. she didn't have a political profile. she was not influential to begin with. but her statements carry a significant symbolic impact and the opposition has been presenting that

as an indication of cracks within the regime. it's not an indication of cracks within the regime, but nevertheless, there are voices like hers that have also spoken out, and their other family members of the supreme leader who are currently holding positions of power. as damning on her statements might have been, it doesn't carry very much practical impact, but nevertheless, the government very shortly after she deliver that speech arrested her, which goes to show how sensitive they are at this moment to any voices of dissent. find sensitive they are at this moment to any voices of dissent.— any voices of dissent. and hers is not the only _ any voices of dissent. and hers is not the only voice _ any voices of dissent. and hers is not the only voice of _ any voices of dissent. and hers is not the only voice of dissent. - any voices of dissent. and hers is not the only voice of dissent. a l not the only voice of dissent. a number of other high—profile iranians have been speaking out against the rule. is anyone listening?— against the rule. is anyone listening? against the rule. is anyone listeninu? , ., ., , , ., listening? the short answer is no. yesterday. _ listening? the short answer is no. yesterday. we _ listening? the short answer is no. yesterday, we had _ listening? the short answer is no. yesterday, we had the _ listening? the short answer is no. yesterday, we had the supreme i yesterday, we had the supreme leader, ayatollah khamenei, deliver a very long speech in which he doubled down on his rhetoric. he addressed the question you're asking. he said critics are asking

them if they for the birth of the people. i asked them if they for the birth of the people. iasked if them if they for the birth of the people. i asked if he had, —— the voice of the people, the people who came out for qasem soleimani because i s came out for qasem soleimani because �*s funeral. he played down the significance of the protest in terms of the number and the impact, as if they're just of the number and the impact, as if they'rejust a of the number and the impact, as if they're just a bunch of tiny number of terrorists and mercenaries that shall be put down. so, no he hasn't... shall be put down. so, no he hasn't- - -_ shall be put down. so, no he hasn't... �* ., , .,, shall be put down. so, no he hasn't... �* ., , ., , ., hasn't. .. but are there people who are seeing — hasn't. .. but are there people who are seeing it _ hasn't. .. but are there people who are seeing it that _ hasn't. .. but are there people who are seeing it that way? _ hasn't. .. but are there people who are seeing it that way? absolutely | are seeing it that way? absolutely not. are seeing it that way? absolutely not- within _ are seeing it that way? absolutely not. within the _ are seeing it that way? absolutely not. within the system, _ are seeing it that way? absolutely not. within the system, there - are seeing it that way? absolutely not. within the system, there are | not. within the system, there are some very settled voices of moderation who are calling for more flexibility, but overall, no, people do not seem that way. but the protesters are used to this kind of rhetoric from the supreme leader, so they weren't caught by surprise. well, this all kicked off with the death of massad amini. bring us up

to speed on what's happening there? as we speak, there's practically a martial law in place in kurdistan. they have set a reign of terror of a scale which is unimaginable in bigger cities like tehran. kurdistan has bore the brunt of the casualties and the number of people who have been arrested over the past three months, so protests across the country have gone through ebbs and flows. the kurdish son has been rested, and the reason is because it is an area that many residents consider themselves second—class citizens. it's been suffering from

decades of discrimination and deprivation, so it's always been a restive area for iran. we don't know how many people have been killed, but today, at least three prominent voices from the kurdistan civil society voice their opposition to what's going on. but the government seems to have dug its heel and it's prepared for the long fight. i’m prepared for the long fight. i'm lookin: prepared for the long fight. i'm looking just _ prepared for the long fight. i'm looking just at where this might go next. obviously you're keeping an eye on developments. do you see things escalating or calming down? i don't see things coming down. they might go through ups and downs. i think it's going to get much worse before it gets any better. the government is really managing the level of violence. if it feels threatened enough, it will show no hesitation in using all his instruments of repression, so it does have the advantage of having a

monopoly. it's really up to the government how far it wants to take in this game that it can either put down all the protests and completely silence the voice of dissent, or further aggravate public opinion and even bring in more people who are considered the grey areas of the populationjoining in considered the grey areas of the population joining in the considered the grey areas of the populationjoining in the protest. i'm sure we'll be talking to you more as we keep an eye on those developments. thank you very much. now let's get the weather with helena. hello. the week ahead will bring something drier and a bit colder. also some issues with the lingering fog. this afternoon, we've had issues with lingering rain, plenty of showers for western areas, heavy and thundery for north—west scotland. this large swathe of cloud is attached to a frontal system which has been very slow to clear

from east anglia and south—east england. from east anglia and this is the earlier rainfall. from east anglia and you can also see the showers pushing in to western areas, and it's these two areas that will keep seeing some rain as we head through the overnight period. eventually, it will start to clear away from south—east england and east anglia. plenty of showers, though, pushing into western areas. in between, some clearer skies, but where we've got lighter winds, that will encourage some fog to form, particularly across north—east england. the winds generally lighter for most, but could still be fairly gusty for the western isles of scotland and some irish sea coasts, and particularly gusty in association with any showers. slightly colder night than recently. temperatures could get low enough for a touch of frost across parts of north—east scotland, maybe north—east england, where the skies do stay clear. so, for the week ahead it's looking much drier across the uk, but with lighter winds that could bring some issues with the lingering fog, and it will gradually start to turn to turn colder as well. monday, for many, starts mainly dry with some sunshine, but still with some showers around. it will start to fade across scotland, northern ireland and north—west england, but will keep some going through parts of wales, south—west england and also some southern coastal counties and the channel islands. could see that fog lingering across parts of north—east scotland.

for many, though, it's a dry day with some sunshine, feeling a little cooler compared to the weekend. so, 9—12 celsius the top temperature, and with light winds on tuesday, that overnight mist and fog once again could be slow to clear. there will be some bright or sunny spells, those best placed will be through parts of south—west england, wales, northern ireland and northern scotland, but some places could sit under the low cloud, mist and fog all day, and where we do, of course, that will have an impact on the temperatures. as we head through wednesday, thursday and friday, we start to see this dominant area of high pressure across eastern europe, starting to exert its influence across the uk. we pick up more of an east or south easterly wind, and so gradually we will start to see some colder and so gradually, we'll start to see some colder air heading ourway. at this stage, not very cold, but it will be feeling colder than it has done recently. so, for the week ahead, for many, it's looking mainly dry. not lots of sunshine, there will be a lot of cloud around, some lingering fog, but those temperature slowly starting to come down.

this is the bbc news channel. the headlines: protests against china's stringent covid restrictions have spread, with some people openly calling for president xijinping to stand down. rescue efforts are under way to find survivors after a mudslide triggered by heavy rains swept away homes on the italian island of ischia. the transport secretary mark harper has urged rail unions to agree to changes to working practices to "free up" savings to fund payrises. 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. and another shock at the world cup as morocoo win 2—0

against belgium in the latest upset in doha.