this is bbc news. i'm nancy kacungira. 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 and killed at least five people. the niece of iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, has called on all foreign governments to cut ties with tehran.

hello, and welcome to bbc news. rare anti—government protests have taken place in china — with some people making open calls 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. stephen mcdonell 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'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. a landslide in cameroon�*s capital yaounde has killed at least 1a people attending a funeral. there are reports of hundreds of people frantically searching for their loved ones. we'll bring you all the latest developments on the story as they come to us. rescue teams on the italian island

of ischia are searching for about a dozen people — 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 there 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. 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. 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 us more about the work

to get the power back on. now, the energy system has been repaired, but still —20% of electricity energy is still needed to fully feed the system of ukraine. the major cities like kyiv, still, we need some additional equipment. and other spare parts. but what is worse for this, we are waiting for another strike from russia on the energy system of ukraine. let's bring you some news that is developing in somalia now. we are getting reports that government ministers have been injured in a bomb attack. a hotel in the somali capital mogadishu has been attacked with explosives and gunfire. several government officials

are known to stay there. the islamist militant group al shabab says it targeted the villa rose which is close to the presidential palace. the state minister for the environment has posted on social media that he had survived the attack. there are unconfirmed reports that another minister was injured. we will bring you more as we know more about the casualties, those numbers are not yet clear. 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. mark harper spoke earlier today with laura kuenssberg. the negotiations are absolutely between the trade unions and the train operating companies and network rail. and i'm not getting involved in those detailed negotiations. but i do think i have a responsibility to encourage and help the two sides in those

negotiations to reach a conclusion so that we can modernise the rail system and we can have reform of the way the workforce operates and we can have a train network that is properly fit for the 21st—century. it's a bit more than that, though, isn't it, secretary of state? i mean, you do have a responsibility for holding the purse strings and for setting the parameters for the negotiations, the mandate that frances o'grady was just talking about? well, look. clearly there's a lot of taxpayers' money that goes into the rail network. but, look, this dispute is actually a little bit different from some of the other ones you mentioned. and these talks have been going on for some time. a long time. so what we need to try to fix here is, we are trying to modernise how the workforce operates and the detail of how those rail companies operate. now, if we can get that agreement between the trade unions and the companies, the detailed negotiations hammered out, what that does is it frees up financial savings, and then that money can be shared between the taxpayer and the workers.

and obviously there will be a discussion to be had about the balance of that. but it's getting those reforms agreed, that frees up some resources and that will enable network rail and the train operating companies to make a pay offer to the people who work in the industry. and that's your ambition for what should happen. but there is a big question about how that could happen. now, we've just heard from frances o'grady, and also the rmt union have been saying that, too. they feel the train operators have not been able to make offers to them because the government hasn't given them the flexibility to do so. do you dispute that? no, look, i haven't blocked anything and it's not in my interest to block anything. did your predecessor block anything? but there's a thing that has to be done here, has to be done here, which is you need the reforms agreed. because it's the reforms being agreed that free up the savings that can then be used to make a pay offer. so both of those things have to happen in parallel. look, there has been quite a lot of progress made, to be fair. the trade unions have negotiated with the train operating

companies and network rail. quite a lot of work has been done. and i want to try and work with both sides to try to help them get that over the line. but will you...? on behalf of the travelling public and the taxpayer. but as the secretary of state, will you give the companies flexibility to make offers, to have a proper backwards and forwards? because that is what has to happen here, isn't it? you have to budge so the companies can then budge. what has to happen is we have to agree on a set of reforms. it's the reforms that free up the savings that then unlock the ability for the companies to make an offer to the trade unions on pay. i'm joined now by rail expert and managing editor of rail magazine, nigel harris. we have the transport secretary saying it is very important that reforms happen before any conversation about the pay can be had. just talk to us about what reforms he is talking about and how controversial they might be. because there is a number of disputes but also a number of unions. there is

the drivers, the signallers. just how complicated a picture is this? it is quite complicated and some of thatis it is quite complicated and some of that is actually quite simple. the signallers, who are a fair chunk, got a settlement lastjune but it cannot be implemented until all the maintenance work has been done. let's come back to mr harper in a minute, shall be, but to answer your question the reforms in the simplest senseis question the reforms in the simplest sense is about the technology and the railway moving with the times and using the best modern equipment. i had it in my industry, when i used to do an interview like this they would be half a dozen team of people summer. now it is not the case. the railway has been quite slow in terms of getting reforms through. it can be very high—tech cameras on trains which do inspections of the train, which do inspections of the train, which means that you don't need as many on the train. which is safer because they are not in harms way. and there is a whole range of that

sort of stuff that has been held up through the years. and hasn't gone as quickly as it should have done. in that respect, mr harper is right that modernisation and reform will free up, if it is done properly, do pay people more on the railway. all industries tend to have smaller head counts, that is just a fact of life. how much pressure is there on both sides to reach the resolution? and is that pressure yielding any real results? . �* , , , u, , results? that's interesting because 15 ears results? that's interesting because 15 years ago. _ results? that's interesting because 15 years ago. ten — results? that's interesting because 15 years ago, ten years _ results? that's interesting because 15 years ago, ten years ago, - results? that's interesting because 15 years ago, ten years ago, a - results? that's interesting because 15 years ago, ten years ago, a rail. 15 years ago, ten years ago, a rail strike would have been settled within days because they would have been massive public, media and passenger pressure to get it settled. edward usually happened was that governments gave way. but we have changed the way we travel, there are not as many commuters crucially, so the impact of the strike is not the same as it was a few years ago. so that has eased the pressure. and it is one of the

reasons why the unions are very careful about where they pick the dates to have the maximum impact. but only by their basis, mr harper cannot have it all ways. the railways are now very firmly part of the public sector, network rail is owned by the taxpayer, all the passenger services are owned by the taxpayer, but privately operated. and while he is a step closer than grant shapps was with some of the ludicrous things that he said, he cannot stay out of this because the railways are in the public sector, he needs to take responsibility for that and play a key role in moving this forward. which is what, to be fair, mick lynch has been saying at the rmt for a long time, and he is right about that. the government cannot hide behind the train operating companies. you cannot hide behind the train operating companies. cannot hide behind the train oeratin: comanies. ., . . operating companies. you have made the oint operating companies. you have made the point there _ operating companies. you have made the point there that _ operating companies. you have made the point there that the _ operating companies. you have made the point there that the way - operating companies. you have made the point there that the way people . the point there that the way people travel has changed, and before covid the operating cost of the railway was split between the taxpayer and

fares. would you say that that is something the government is looking to change? the something the government is looking to chance? ,., .,, something the government is looking to chance? , to change? the government has been chanauin to change? the government has been changing that — to change? the government has been changing that since _ to change? the government has been changing that since 2008. _ to change? the government has been changing that since 2008. there - to change? the government has been changing that since 2008. there used j changing that since 2008. there used to be a 50—50 split where the taxpayers took care of half of the cost of a ticket and the passenger took care of the rest. since 2008, started this process of moving that. now it is about 80% is payable by the fare payer and much less by the taxpayer. so that is an insidious increase in fares by stealth with the passenger paying significantly more. and that is one of the reasons why you are frequently told fares are much cheaper around europe. it is not always true. but where it is true is that governors in europe tend to support the railway is better than we do. it is hideously comlex. better than we do. it is hideously complex the _ better than we do. it is hideously complex. the transport - better than we do. it is hideously| complex. the transport secretary also justified complex. the transport secretary alsojustified his complex. the transport secretary also justified his argument by saying there is also less usage of the rail in general. 20% less. do

all sides agree with that number? it is patchy. and no, they don't. yes, there has been a decline in commuters in london and the south—east were 75% of all passenger journeys traditionally took place. but if you look at companies like lner, they are back over 100%. have a look at twitter any day of the weekend, i have been looking at that today, and you will see picture after picture of trains round to the girls. yes, there are fewer people over all, girls. yes, there are fewer people overall, but girls. yes, there are fewer people over all, but some sectors are absolutely booming. for example, in scotland, leisure, non—business travel, is up by 20% compared to before pre—covid. the leisure arm is absolutely booming and the treasury's management by cost is throttling it where it is growing. which is why the government needs to take a step back, let railway professionals do what they do best. lner has got an arms length

relationship with government and has got commercial freedoms, and relationship with government and has got commercialfreedoms, and its passenger numbers are soaring. it is so frustrating. qm. passenger numbers are soaring. it is so frustrating-— so frustrating. 0k, well, we will have to leave _ so frustrating. 0k, well, we will have to leave you _ so frustrating. 0k, well, we will have to leave you there - so frustrating. 0k, well, we will have to leave you there with - so frustrating. 0k, well, we will| have to leave you there with that frustration, nigel harris. we appreciate you talking to us. thank you for your time today. packed to the gills. it's been another dramatic day of action at the the world cup in qatar. and there could be more drama on the way. four—time champions, germany are currently playing spain in a hugely significant game. let's ta ke let's take a look at that now. we can see here that the aim is going on, the score 0—0 into the second half after 60 minutes of playing. tension still very high for germany. they were global champions just

eight years ago. after a shock loss to japan, there is all to play for here. germany at least got a boost this afternoon as costa rica beatjapan 1—0 — thanks to a late goal. a result that opens up that group afterjapan surprisingly beat germany in their opening game. having shocked four—time world champions germany, japan lacked spark for large parts of today's match against a costa rica side who themselves had been hammered 7—0 by spain. the only goal of the game came in the 81st minute with a deflected strike. and it was costa rica's first shot on target at this world cup. earlier this evening, croatia came from a goal down to beat canada 4—1. depite having to come from behind, croatia ran out worthy winners — and the result means canada are out of the competition. croatia have now lostjust once in their last 18 games,

and face belgium on thursday to secure a spot in the second round. in a world cup that's sprung a number of surprises, morocco are the latest to cause an upset. they've beaten belgium — who are ranked 2nd in the world — 2—0. belgium can still make it to the last 16 — following their opening game win against canada. moroccan fans celebrated the win in the stadium — and back at home. scenes of absolute unbridled joy there. that unexpected result sparked these celebrations — back in morocco. they now only need a point in their final group f game against canada on thursday to reach the last 16 for the first time since 1986. the england manager, gareth southgate, remains upbeat about his team's world cup chances despite labouring to a goalless draw against the united states. england play wales on tuesday and know qualification is assured —

as long as they avoid a four—goal defeat. striker marcus rashford says they can put the performance against the usa behind them. as players, we always want to play our best football. but it's not possible. you can't always play your best football. and you have to learn to win games when you're not playing well. because, like i said, it's unrealistic to think that you are going to be the best team or you're going to be the best individual on the pitch every single game. so, you know, we obviously weren't happy with the way we performed in the last game. we know that we can do better. but at the same time, we're in a strong position in the group. you know, it's not often that teams win all three games in group games. so, you know, if we manage to beat wales, which we will be looking to do, then it can be considered as a good start. marcus rashford there.

as for wales, manager robert page appeared to write off their hopes after their opening draw with the usa was compounded by a friday's late defeat against iran. joe allen, who came off the bench in that match after being out for two months with hamstring damage, is set to start in midfield against england. he's says there is still grounds for optimism in the camp. not impossible, no. it's a tough task, it's always uncomfortable when it's obviously not in your hands and you're relying on certain things to unfold. but whilst there's still a chance it's really simple for us. we're fully motivated and fully incentivised to throw absolutely everything into getting a win. the world cup action is coming in fast, in the last few minutes spain have scored a goal so that is the goal now, one to spain, germany

zero. 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 i6. a mile away in abbey wood, at 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 is 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 are being offered support. the police say they've already 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 was behind what officers are calling these 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. 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. while lots of us are making efforts to cut back our energy, there have been reports that people are finding their direct debits are still soaring. their direct debits are still soarinu. , . their direct debits are still soarin. _, ,, ., their direct debits are still soarin. _, ,, soaring. grant shapps said those re orts soaring. grant shapps said those reports were _ soaring. grant shapps said those reports were disturbing, - soaring. grant shapps said those reports were disturbing, he - soaring. grant shapps said those reports were disturbing, he said | reports were disturbing, he said that people's bill stood accurately reflect _ that people's bill stood accurately reflect their use. ofgem did already conduct _ reflect their use. ofgem did already conduct a _ reflect their use. ofgem did already conduct a review into all of this earlier— conduct a review into all of this earlier this _ conduct a review into all of this earlier this year and we have reached _ earlier this year and we have reached out to suppliers to ask what action— reached out to suppliers to ask what action had _ reached out to suppliers to ask what action had been taken since then. there _ action had been taken since then. there are — action had been taken since then. there are a — action had been taken since then. there are a couple of things worth noting _ there are a couple of things worth noting. firstly, energy bills have gone _ noting. firstly, energy bills have gone up — noting. firstly, energy bills have gone up so — noting. firstly, energy bills have gone up so even if you have been making _ gone up so even if you have been making all— gone up so even if you have been making all these efforts to reduce your use — making all these efforts to reduce your use of the fact remains that energy— your use of the fact remains that energy bills on average this year are a _ energy bills on average this year are a lot — energy bills on average this year are a lot higher than they were this time last— are a lot higher than they were this time last year. secondly, it has been _ time last year. secondly, it has been quite _ time last year. secondly, it has been quite a mild winter so far, so it is possible — been quite a mild winter so far, so it is possible because of the way in which _ it is possible because of the way in which direct debits are calculated, they were —

which direct debits are calculated, they were factoring in colder weather _ they were factoring in colder weather into those calculations. that could be another factor here. it is that could be another factor here. it is worth— that could be another factor here. it is worth saying that you do have the right— it is worth saying that you do have the right to — it is worth saying that you do have the right to challenge your direct debit _ the right to challenge your direct debit if— the right to challenge your direct debit. if you do find that you are paying _ debit. if you do find that you are paying too— debit. if you do find that you are paying too much you think you are, you should — paying too much you think you are, you should speak to supplier. 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 blood test to 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 that i could think to call. what would you like 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 people can get help when needed. 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 any time,

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. encouraging self—harm could soon become a criminal offence, under new changes to the government's online 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. angus crawford reports just 1a when she died, molly russell's story, perhaps more than any other, has influenced the online safety bill. she took her own life in 2017 after being exposed to a stream of dark content about suicide, depression and self—harm. the online safety bill does... the bill has been

years in the making. we will be proceeding... tabled, amended, delayed. the government now says it will go before parliament next month with a new clause first proposed a year ago, making it a criminal offence to encourage other users to self—harm. molly russell's family are calling for platforms to be held to account for the content they host, and the coroner at molly's inquest highlighted the algorithms which push negative content to children. ian russell, here meeting other bereaved parents last week, told us he was frustrated by delays to the bill. five years of becoming involved in online safety, and the subjects that surround it, have led me to not believe in anyone's words, but instead judge them by their actions.