this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. protests against china's stringent covid restrictions have spread — with some people openly calling for president xijinping to stand down. government seems to have drastically the popular discontent. yet, at the moment, has no easy way out. is this the goal that keeps germany in the world cup? we have the latest — live from qatar. striking uk rail workers are told — no pay rises unless government reforms are accepted. rescue efforts are under way to find survivors after a mudslide swept away homes on the italian

island of ischia. i'm nancy kacungira. thank you forjoining us. 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, wuhan, and these latest pictures are from the capital beijing — as protesters gathered near the liangma river in the centre of the city — they're holding up blank pieces of paper, in what is a symbolic protest against censorship. from beijing, our china correspondent 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.

we can speak to rana mitter, professor of chinese politics and history at the university of oxford. thank you very much forjoining us. i think it would be useful to first of all get some perspective on the numbers we have seen on the streets there. yes, there are protests going on in various cities, but this is a huge country with a huge population. just how significant of a challenge is this to xi jinping?i just how significant of a challenge is this to xi jinping?— is this to xi jinping? i think it's significant. — is this to xi jinping? i think it's significant, nancy, _ is this to xi jinping? i think it's significant, nancy, although i is this to xi jinping? i think it's significant, nancy, although it| is this to xi jinping? i think it's i significant, nancy, although it is not yet the movement that looks likely to overturn the system. it is much more of a howl of rage, you might say. we are seeing in each of these places, shanghai, most recently the city of wuhan where most recently the first cases of covid were found, people numbering in their hundreds. but you have to have danger it is for people to protest about anything in china, and

certainly to name the leader of the country, xijinping, is a very unusual thing to see. see might see that for every person on the street there may be many others who would like to protest but feel frightened about doing so. so the fact that the numbers aren't huge as they were in hong kong before the crackdown there in 2019, 2020, doesn't mean that there isn't widespread anger. and we do know from social media, from the reports that have come out for a media still in china, that the ordinary middle—class urban citizens of china feel increasingly resentful that they are being locked down by the rest of the world, which they can see when they watch the world cup on television, is no longer wearing masks and having to test all the time. that is at the heart of their discontent.— their discontent. how likely is it that there _ their discontent. how likely is it that there might _ their discontent. how likely is it that there might be _ their discontent. how likely is it that there might be a _ their discontent. how likely is it that there might be a change i their discontent. how likely is it that there might be a change in| that there might be a change in policy? because this all put the president in a rather difficult position. he has been very clear that the covid policy is a main pillar of his establishment. so to row back on that would be quite a

significant turn. it row back on that would be quite a significant turn.— significant turn. it would, and as stehen significant turn. it would, and as stephen donald's _ significant turn. it would, and as stephen donald's report - significant turn. it would, and as stephen donald's report made . significant turn. it would, and as - stephen donald's report made clear, it is not as simple as deciding one day to get up and make a announcement that policy is changing. yes there is a political imperative, the president of china is very personally associated with this policy. of course, the chinese government would point to the fact that overall the terms of numbers china has had a far lower death rate from covid per capita than any other comparable large country, certainly more so than india which has a similar population. the problem is that china has not yet had a successful high quality vaccine will not. that is really been a game changer everywhere else in the world. the big brand names that people will know, moderna, pfizer, astrazeneca stop to make sure that essentially the virus has moved from being deadly to something that is trying and will kill some people sadly, but overall can be left with. that hasn't happened in china

because over people above 60 and 80 have only been vaccinated in very small numbers, and even those who have taken up the vaccine he were younger than that have taken the china made domestic vaccines which simply are not as effective. there is a dilemma for the government, do they import lots of american vaccines or do they try to hold the line by keeping borders closed without any kind of ending date for this policy. without any kind of ending date for this oli . ., v without any kind of ending date for this oli . . �*, , ~ this policy. that's interesting. and coin: this policy. that's interesting. and auoin back this policy. that's interesting. and going back to _ this policy. that's interesting. and going back to the _ this policy. that's interesting. and going back to the people - this policy. that's interesting. and going back to the people who - this policy. that's interesting. and going back to the people who are l going back to the people who are taking the risk to actually go out and protest, do we know who they are? are these young people? is it a sign of that difference in generational thinking? we see different ages _ generational thinking? we see different ages from _ generational thinking? we see different ages from the - generational thinking? we see different ages from the scraps| generational thinking? we see l different ages from the scraps of social media that we see, because obviously it is quite hard to get consistent coverage of what is going on. one of the most interesting places is university campuses. we have seen one of the most elite universities in china, sometimes nicknamed the mit or imperial couege nicknamed the mit or imperial college of china because it is a

science university. young people there are probably protesting not just because of the covid lock downs, but wider issues. youth unemployment is becoming very high in china, a lot of graduates feel they are not able to getjobs or jobs they think they deserve after their hard work. lots of them are saying that it is not even worth getting married and having children because they feel the future for them in china is really quite hopeless, their art and love you pop opportunities. that existential feeling that may be the good life has been lost is much more worrying in the long term for the chinese authorities than even the shorter term issue of how to get out of the covid dilemma. the young people demonstrating will certainly be a bit of a wake—up call for the chinese communist party. bit of a wake-up call for the chinese communist party. thank you so much for— chinese communist party. thank you so much for your _ chinese communist party. thank you so much for your thoughts. - chinese communist party. thank you so much for your thoughts. really i so much for your thoughts. really good to get that analysis from you. it's been another dramatic day of action at the the world cup in qatar.

and in the last few minutes, germany managed to rescue a point against spain — and keep their hopes of qualifying for the next round alive. gavin ramjaun is at the bbc sport centre with all the latest. gavin? yes, let's bring you up to speed with that big clash between the european giants, spain and germany. it was looking dreadful for germany but they scrambled a late equaliser. both drawers in the 1—1 draw. the substitute putting spain one up. and it looked as though germany were staying on no points, with their hopes diminishing as the game passed until one of their replacements, nicholas fulcrum, came to the rescue with an emphatic finish. let's get some more reaction to that game now with our reporter hit with at the stadium for us in qatar. great to see you, took us through the match and where it leaves janui in the tournament. it and where it leaves “anui in the tournamenth and where it leaves “anui in the tournament. it was the headline match in the _ tournament. it was the headline match in the group _ tournament. it was the headline match in the group stages, - tournament. it was the headline match in the group stages, and| tournament. it was the headline - match in the group stages, and spain were looking for that win to send

them _ were looking for that win to send them straight through after that emphatic victory over costa rica, the 7-0 — emphatic victory over costa rica, the 7-0 win~ _ emphatic victory over costa rica, the 7—0 win. —— leaves germany. even more _ the 7—0 win. —— leaves germany. even more was _ the 7—0 win. —— leaves germany. even more was riding — the 7—0 win. —— leaves germany. even more was riding on it for germany, and that— more was riding on it for germany, and that was— more was riding on it for germany, and that was because they wanted to avoid a _ and that was because they wanted to avoid a second group stage exit in successive — avoid a second group stage exit in successive world cups. and it was germany's — successive world cups. and it was germany's best player on the night that did _ germany's best player on the night that did set up that crucial equaliser. nicholas making it a draw. — equaliser. nicholas making it a draw, germany clenching it, that one point _ draw, germany clenching it, that one point that— draw, germany clenching it, that one point that they crucially needed. so if you _ point that they crucially needed. so if you talk— point that they crucially needed. so if you talk about permutations now, germany _ if you talk about permutations now, germany still need to win the final game _ germany still need to win the final game and — germany still need to win the final game. and against costa rica. and it will come _ game. and against costa rica. and it will come down to the goal difference betweenjapan will come down to the goal difference between japan and germany. and it is spain that do play germany. and it is spain that do piayjapaw — germany. and it is spain that do play japan-— germany. and it is spain that do play japan. and 'ust in that other name, play japan. and 'ust in that other game. but — play japan. and just in that other

game. but does _ play japan. and just in that other game, but does it _ play japan. and just in that other game, but does it leave - play japan. and just in that other game, but does it leave the - play japan. and just in that other. game, but does it leave the group now? i'm not sure you can hear us there. thank you very much indeed. there was a shock in group f earlier, morocco's sensational victory against belgium, they took the lead in the second half through this free kick, which somehow managed to squeeze past the goalkeeper in the belgian goal. then made it two in stoppage time. the result means morocco move above belgium on four points, level with croatia, and it makes belgian�*s route to the last 16 in little more complicated. in the game after, croatia sent out a real statement after a bit of rivalry in the build—up to that much. and they made easy work of canada with a 4—1 victory to top the group. canada got

off to the best possible start. headed home with less than two minutes gone for canada's first ever world cup goal. but croatia, finalists in 2018, showed their experience and they got back into the game later in the first half. andre, rich the first of his two goals to put them level, and the match was wrapped up in victory time. it means that canada are now out of the world cup. ijust time. it means that canada are now out of the world cup. i just a reminder, in the big game of the day, spain and germany finished i—i. match reaction on the bbc sport website. that is all the sport for us now. we will see you soon. 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 there illegally. 0ur 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. a landslide in cameroon�*s capital yaounde has killed at least 11 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 we continue to gather more details.

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 is from the bbc persian service. it's always interesting when you have a relative or a family member of the leader, let alone a supreme leader in an authoritarian regime, either defect or, you know, speak out against the regime. she didn't have a political profile. she was not influential to begin with. but her statements carry 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 her who have also spoken out. and there are also otherfamily members of the supreme leader who currently hold positions of power, so as damning as her statements might have been, it doesn't carry very much practical impact. but nevertheless, the government very shortly after she delivered that speech arrested her. which just goes to show how sensitive they are at this moment to any voices of dissent. and hers is not the only voice of dissent. a number of other high profile iranians have been speaking out against the ruling clerics, haven't they? but is anyone listening? the short answer is no. just yesterday, we had iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, deliver a very long speech in which he predictably doubled down on his rhetoric. and in fact, he addressed

the question you're asking. he said, "critics are asking us have we heard the voice of the people? well, iask, have you heard the voice of the people?" who are the tens of millions of people, in his words, who came out for qasem soleimani's funeral. this is a revolutionary guards commander who was killed back in 2020. he played down the significance of the protests, both in terms of the numbers of the protesters and the impact. he said they were just a bunch of tiny number of terrorists and mercenaries that shall be put down. so, no, he hasn't heard the voices... are there people who are seeing it that way? absolutely not. within the system, there are some very subtle voices of moderation who are calling for more flexibility. but overall, within the system, no, people do not see it that way. but the protesters are, you know... they are used to this kind of rhetoric from the supreme leader. so they weren't caught by surprise.

in the uk, 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 he 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. to ukraine next. 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 last wednesday when the heats were targeted

all the cities of ukraine were in several hours but now the energy system has been repaired, but we still feel —20% of loss of energy. so —20% of electricity, energy is still needed to fully feed the system of ukraine. but the major cities, like kyiv, is fully renewed. the other cities are also doing well. but, again, still we need some additional equipment, we need some high—voltage transformers and other spare parts. but what is even worse for the next weeks, we are waiting for another strike from russia on the energy system of ukraine. the wheat crops of the future will need to be able to resist the impact of climate change — as well as disease. but could the key to finding them be hidden in a 300—year—old museum collection? that's the hope of scientists at london's natural history museum. our science editor rebecca morelle has more.

wheat. in britain, the most momentous harvest of all time. it's a crop we've long relied on. wheat being harvested in 1946. their enemies are wind and rain. varieties chosen to produce as much grain as possible. it's led to a lack of diversity. and today's wheat is coming under intense pressure from climate change and disease. but these old files at the natural history museum could contain a solution. there are 12,000 specimens of wheat and its relatives stored here, and they date back to the 1700s and come from every continent apart from antarctica. and the hope is that looking back into the past can help us to produce the crops of the future.

this specimen, which was collected on captain cook's first voyage to australia... oh, wow, you can see the dates, can't you? every wheat specimen is painstakingly examined and photographed, and 1,500 of them will have their genomes sequenced. because the collection spans also across time, across 300 years, we have specimens that are from before the introduction of various agricultural techniques, so they can tell us something about how wheat was growing wild, or before things like artificial fertilisers. the project will take months to complete. ah, so here we are. at thejohn innes centre in norwich, they're also shining a light on the past. i wanted to show you these old herbarium sheets. their samples go back 100 years and they're looking to crossbreed these older plants with today's varieties. and what we want to do is look for new and useful genetic variation. so disease resistance, stress resistance, increased yield.

they've already started some field trials. it's essential to find solutions. climate change and the extreme weather it brings is reducing the amount we can grow globally. and pests and diseases are a big problem, too. one fifth of the projected yield is lost to them each year. there's a very important disease of wheat, which is a global problem called yellow rust, and that has been increasingly difficult to control and defend wheat against. within this collection of old wheat, there are new resistances to that disease which stand up against this disease. and they're being deployed by breeders right now to defend this really important threat to wheat production. the wheat we grow is going to have to change. looking back into our past and rediscovering lost varieties could be the best way to move forward. rebecca morelle, bbc news.

that's all for now. thank you for watching bbc news. stay with us. goodbye for now. 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. this is the earlier rainfall. 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 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'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 bbc world news. i'm nancy kacungira. the headlines there's been a wave of protests in china against the government's strict anti—covid policies, with some calling for president xi jinping to step down. rallies against the restrictions have been increasing, but calls for political change are rare. rescue teams in italy are searching for about a dozen people missing after a devastating landslide on the island of ischia. houses were buried in rivers of mud after torrential rain; one person is confirmed dead. ukraine says 32 civilians in and around kherson city have been killed by russian shelling since its forces withdrew two weeks ago. russian troops are now positioned on the eastern bank of the dnipro river.

and germany's hopes of qualifying for the world cup