this is bbc news with the latest headlines: health officials warn parents to look out for symptoms of a condition caused by strep a — five children in england and one in wales have died. 39 unaccompanied albanian children who have come into the care of kent county council this year have gone missing — raising fears of human trafficking. a newspaper in greece says the british museum and the greek government have been in "secret talks" over a possible return of the elgin marbles. the former government minister, conor burns, has been cleared of misconduct — and he'll have his conservative party whip restored. and, tthe world cup, the round of 16 starts with usa v netherlands in the next hour — south korea were the surpise story

of last night making through to the next round. good afternoon. parents are being urged to know the symptoms of scarlet fever after six children in england and wales died recently from the bacteria that causes it. the strep a infection is normally mild, but there have been more cases than usual and a higher number of deaths compared to recent years. here's our health editor, hugh pym. pupils at this school in penarth, in south wales, have been saying goodbye to hanna roap. she died after contracting invasive group a streptococcal disease. in a tribute online, her parents say, "our hearts have been broken into a million pieces." infections caused by group a strep bacteria are usually mild, with symptoms like sore throat or skin infections.

the bug can also cause scarlet fever. health officials say they are seeing more scarlet fever health officials say this year than usual. in the week to the 20th of november, there were 851 cases recorded in england. the average for the same week in preceding years was 186. it can cause a variety of illness, including impetigo, which is a skin infection, and scarlet fever, which is an infection quite often proceed by a sore throat, which is very common with group a streptococcal infections, but then proceeds to high fever, headache, and a classical rash that people get, which is like sandpaper, can be red or purple on lighter skin types. it is believed one reason for the increase in cases is that children were less exposed to scarlet fever and other infections during the pandemic, and very rarely strep a can cause the invasive condition which can prove fatal. strep a infections and scarlet fever are easily treated with antibiotics and, if there are clear symptoms,

parents are advised to contact nhs iii or a gp. if a child shows signs of deteriorating after a bout of scarlet fever or serious symptoms develop, the advice is to seek urgent medical help. hugh pym, bbc news. there's been a limited easing of covid restrictions in two of china's biggest cities in the wake of anti—lockdown protests. negative covid tests aren't now needed to use public transport in shenzhen or to enter supermarkets in beijing. almost a fifth of unaccompanied albanian child migrants who have come into the care of kent county council this year have gone missing. charities fear they could become the victims of trafficking. simonjones is here with more details. how many are we talking about? we are how many are we talking about? - are talking here of 39 children who have gone missing hewitt in the care of kent county council. this year we

have seen a huge increase in albanians making the crossing across the channel in the small boats. unsurprisingly that has also been a rise in the number of unaccompanied children from albania arriving in kent. two joan children from albania arriving in kent. twojoan —— 200 children have passed into the care of kent county council, and around a fifth of those have gone missing. that has raised concerns. charities who basically campaigned to try to make life for vulnerable children are more safe or saying it is possible the children are now being forced to work in the so—called grey economy, could be in construction, car washes, so—called grey economy, could be in construction, carwashes, or perhaps even more seriously in cannabis factories. we know from the national crime agency that albanian gangsters play a lead role in running those cannabis factories, these children could also be sexually exploitative

as to what is being done to find them? kent county council says it is initially trying to identify children at risk in the first place to try to stop them going from going missing. but after people have gone missing, kent county council says it is working closely with the police and home office to try to locate the children, but in this case 39 this year have not been located. we have no idea where exactly they are. if a child is found, we are told by the authorities that there is a full debrief with that child afterwards to find out why they went missing and whether any lessons can be learnt from the cases. western allies have agreed to put a cap on the price of russian oil. the g7 group of nations, as well as australia and the european union, have decided that no country should pay more than $60 a barrel — slightly below the current price of $64. the us says it will "immediately

cut into putin's most important source of revenue." louisa pilbeam reports. the latest russian missile strike in kharkiv. more destruction and suffering in a war that is showing no sign of ending. but a move by the g7 — the world's seven largest advanced economies — australia and the european union, to cap the price of russian oil is hoped to bring an end this war closer. they've agreed to restrict the price of russian oil at $60 a barrel — hoping to wound russia with another financial sanction. this price cap has three objectives. first, it strengthens the effect of our sanction. second, it will further diminish russia's revenues. and thirdly, at the same time, it will stabilise global energy markets. the limit will come in on monday, after the eu persuaded poland to back the plan after warsaw

initially considered it too high. and some market experts believe it's more of a symbol of rebellion against the kremlin, than a realistic financial weapon. they want one measure in place to suddenly contribute to that discount being bigger, but not as large as some wanted, and the fact it has taken the eu so long to agree on a cap is because some countries which tend to be hawkish on russia wanted that cap to be much lower. other experts say sanctions like this are hurting russia, but president vladimir putin is still making huge amounts of money through oil. the kremlin denounced the scheme, saying it would not supply those countries which enforced a price cap. before the war, more than half of russia's oil exports went to europe, but russia has found new markets in india and china — and new money to fund its war. louisa pilbeam, bbc news.

let's turn to ukraine itself now — and an illustration of how russia's bombardment of ukranianian utilities is affecting daily life. a state of emergency has been declared in ladyzhyn — a town quite some distance away from the front line of the fighting — after heating was cut off to the 18,000 residents for more than a week. it's provided by a private, coal—burning thermal power plant — you can see it here on this map on the banks of the river — which has been damaged by recent air attacks. ten days ago, power was cut completely. victoria zu han reports. it's warm and smells like camping. although this tent in the middle of the town wasn't set up for fun — after another russian missile strike, ladyzhyn in central ukraine lost both electricity and heating. maria is 70. she says her home is not warmer than 12 degrees as we speak. translation: i came here to warm up

because it's still cold at home. - it's cold in my apartment. at night, i have a headache and my ear aches. i take pills. cold temperature is not a good friend for me. there is an area for children to play, and there are several ukrainian rescue service psychologists to offer help to the more vulnerable. adults come here to charge devices and use starlink — technology which is used in areas with no internet. it is their only way to continue working. this man is one of them. he evacuated here from east ukraine at the start of the war. he's living in a disused kindergarten, which has become a refuge. translation: the boiler isn't working right now i because the electricity is off. but i usually fill a bottle with hot water, close it tightly, dry the bottle and put couple of them under the blanket,

and i'm ready to stay warm for the evening. i put them around myself. i sleep fully dressed, and if you sleep alone, they stay warm for four or five hours. this is enough. ten degrees inside this kindergarten, and the local hospital located nearby. for the patients, it was no longer durable. this radiator is ice—cold. all because this hospital has been without heating for almost a week and, as a result, its patients were relocated, and we are now in an empty hospital. i just see administrative workers and medics here, and empty wards like this one. russia has been openly targeting ukraine's energy infrastructure since october, which resulted in power blackouts across the whole country. ukraine authorities warned that this situation may continue throughout the winter,

recommending civilians to gear up. while the heating has been restored in ladyzhyn, the residents are fearful that russian missiles could strike again at any time. victoria zuhan, bbc news. the mp for bournemouth west, conor burns, is to be reinstated to the conservative party after being cleared of misconduct. he was suspended as patron of the party's lgbt+ group and sacked as trade minister following a complaint about his behaviour at the tory party conference. mr burns consistently denied any wrongdoing, and said the experience was "a living nightmare." let's talk to our political correspondent, david wallace lockhart. reminders of the background to this. conor burns, mp for bournemouth west, a government minister under borisjohnson. when liz truss became prime minister, she kept herfour him on as a minister. but he was

swiftly sacked from that position and suspended from the party in october of this year after a complaint of serious misconduct. the bbc was previously told us came after an eyewitness said they saw him touching a young man's fei at a hotel bar during the conservative party conference. it was a third party, not the amount mr burns was seen with. they raised the incident with party whips that led to his suspension. that investigation has concluded and they found that conor burns has no case to answer and he will be getting the conservative party whip back. he will be getting the conservative party whip back-— will be getting the conservative party whip back. he has took an interview wearing _ party whip back. he has took an interview wearing two _ party whip back. he has took an interview wearing two where - party whip back. he has took an interview wearing two where he | party whip back. he has took an - interview wearing two where he has talked about how unhappy he was about the way the whole thing was handled. he about the way the whole thing was handled. , ,., ~ ., ., ., about the way the whole thing was handled. , ., ., ., , handled. he spoke to a local paper, makin: it handled. he spoke to a local paper, making it clear— handled. he spoke to a local paper, making it clear he _ handled. he spoke to a local paper, making it clear he did _ handled. he spoke to a local paper, making it clear he did not _ handled. he spoke to a local paper, making it clear he did not think- making it clear he did not think this was handled well. for one thing, he said it had been a long process for him, he called it a living nightmare. he told the paper he felt he had been flown to the

wheels and it smelt and felt like a stitch up. his suspension came when liz truss was prime minister. conor burns has suggested in this interview that a comment he made at the conservative party conference praising kemi badenoch, another member of the cabinet, she ran to be leader at the time that liz truss one. he made a comment about her being to focus on instagram to focus on her dayjob. some took it as a dig at her. he is suggesting there was an element when he talks about it being a stitch up that there was retribution. people close to liz truss are pushing back on that. they are saying she acted decisively based on what she had been told at the time and the right thing to do was to launch an investigation. a conservative spokesperson said at the party are mitigated in line with its code of conduct. the matter is

now close, conor burns will be back in the party. the headlines on bbc news: some health experts say it's likely the rise in strep a cases is linked to young children not mixing as much due to the pandemic. six children in england and wales have died recently after contracting the infection. almost 20% of unaccompanied child migrants from albania who've come into the care of kent county council in southern england this year have year have gone missing. charities fear they could become the victims of trafficking. a newspaper in greece says the british museum and the greek government have been in "secret talks" over a possible return the late payment of invoices to small businesses is placing them under more pressure at a time when the cost of living crisis is affecting how much customers are spending. the government has now launched a review into the issue, to coincide with small business saturday — a day designed to celebrate independent shops. our business correspondent,

marc ashdown, has the details. at the tomfoolery cafe, in shoreham by sea, they make a mean they make a mean cappuccino, but the past few years has joking matter for husband and wife team, bob and vanessa, as they struggle with difficulties facing many small businesses. numerous. numerous challenges, darling. i think one of the key challenges we have been facing is recruitment along the south coast. our cost of goods, the things we are buying, the prices are up and down. we keep a weekly spreadsheet of costs. we are all being squeezed, both the suppliers from there end, both the suppliers from their end, and us who serve the public. today is small business saturday, the annual chance to celebrate britain's legion of entrepreneurs. and it's welcome. a new survey suggests around two thirds of small firms see rising costs as their biggest challenge over the next year, with energy

bills the main worry. five and a half million small businesses in the uk, they employ nearly 17 million people. so it is a really tough time, and businesses feel powerless in the face of these costs but what they can impact is the top line — getting more customers in, more footfall, orfingerfall, digital businesses as well, can really help businesses get through this difficult time. during the pandemic, when we could go out, we tended to shop local so high streets like this got a real boost. already that is starting to change. as the cost of living is rising, it seems we are turning back to bigger names, bigger brands who are better placed to cut costs and offer us a bargain. but it is the little touches, the personality, the attention to detail, that really makes a difference, as another husband and wife team, simon and sophie, know all too well. you can't have a more personal experience or a more intimate experience than you get when you buy locally and when you support a local business.

the people running the business, making those decisions are the people you meet every day, they are the ones you take your coat when you come in, they are the ones who cut your hair, they take your bill, they're doing the social media. that is just not feasible with a larger brand. they are also the ones chasing invoices. today the business secretary, grant shapps, is launching a review into late payments, estimating businesses are owed £23 billion in outstanding invoices. he wants to make sure smaller firms aren't being ripped off by larger clients. small businesses themselves are just hoping this time next year they'll have a bit more to celebrate. the former chancellor, george osborne — who's the chair of the british museum— has been holding secret talks with the greek prime minister over the possible return of the elgin marbles. negotiations have been taking place in london since november 2021. let's get more on this with our culture editor, katie razzall.

this culture editor, katie razzall. has come to light in a newspapers? this has come to light in a group newspapers?_ newspapers? that's right, it certainly has. _ newspapers? that's right, it certainly has. it _ newspapers? that's right, it certainly has. it is _ newspapers? that's right, it certainly has. it is a - newspapers? that's right, it certainly has. it is a greek l certainly has. it is a greek newspaper who have this exclusive story today. as you say, the secret talks have been happening, the latest of which supposedly have pound this week at a hotel in central london between george osborne, who is now chair of the british museum, and the greek prime minister. more than 13 months they say these talks have been going on, notjust say these talks have been going on, not just with the say these talks have been going on, notjust with the greek prime minister but also with other greek politicians. clearly this has been briefed by the greek side. i think is interesting that the british museum, though they certainly are not confirming the status of the talks, because let's remember what is being set in this newspaper is that the greek side say an agreement is 90% complete. the british museum certainly not confirming that, but they're not denying that these talks

have happened. they have said to me today that they have publicly called for a new path in partnership with greece and will talk with anyone, including the greek government, on how to take that forward. i'm sure everybody will remember what these beautiful sculptures are, we have quite a few of them in at the british museum here in the london and uk because back in the early 19th century, lord elgin, a scottish diplomat and ambassador for the ottoman empire, he brought them, took them. we understand at some cost to himself, i think £70,000 it cost to himself, i think £70,000 it cost him, to remove some of these items from the parthenon temple and bring them back to the uk. the british government bought them and it ended up in the british museum. but they are hot contested and of course greece have been asking for the back for a very, very long time. so it is interesting to hear that we might perhaps be close to an agreement. i might perhaps be close to an agreement-— might perhaps be close to an aareement. ~' , ., ., ., agreement. i think they are one of the big doors _ agreement. i think they are one of the big doors to _ agreement. i think they are one of the big doors to the _ agreement. i think they are one of

the big doors to the british - agreement. i think they are one of i the big doors to the british museum. would they literally be sent back to greece, orjust ownership returned to greece? it greece, or 'ust ownership returned to greece? , , , . to greece? it is interesting. greece absolutely wants _ to greece? it is interesting. greece absolutely wants them _ to greece? it is interesting. greece absolutely wants them back - to greece? it is interesting. greece absolutely wants them back in - to greece? it is interesting. greece i absolutely wants them back in athens will stop between 2000 and 2010, they built this new museum on the acropolis. one of the galleries is the parthenon gallery, and it has the parthenon gallery, and it has the items, the artworks from the parthenon that didn't get taken by other countries, and they have left spaces where they have put very good plastic replicas of, for example, the works there in the british museum. but they have always been clear that these outcomes are to be reunited with the rest of them and they need to be back in greece. but they need to be back in greece. but the british museum is pointing out that unlike a lot of museums up and down the uk, the british museum is bound by very different laws.

according to a low set by parliament, and parliament would have to change them, they count the accession items in their collection. basically, that means they can't give ownership of these unless the government decides they are going to change that will stop at the moment, we understand the government is not minded to do that. having said that, greece won't take anything else other than ownership. you can imagine they do a deal where at the centre back on a long loan, but imagine if you are greek and you feel those things really belong to you. i'm not sure the greeks can sell it to the citizens that they are being allowed these items that they think belong to them. maybe that's the crucial 10% they need to get over the line. there is an organisation called the parthenon cut project who have been lobbying very hard to get a deal, and they are talking about this being a very positive step. they have got a sense that what will actually happen, if

it can, is that the sculptures will go back to greece, and in return greece will send some incredible treasures from its own collections that had never before been seen outside of greece. it could be a sort of two—way street. but that doesn't get over the fact that anyone in greece will accept a sort of impermanent and non—ownership situation. so if these treasures ever go back to athens, they are certainly not coming back to the uk. expect thank you, katie. a third teenager has been charged over the murders of two 16—year—old boys a mile apart in south—east london last week. kearne solanke and charlie bartolo died last saturday, after being found with stab wounds on two different streets. 18—year—old hussain bah is due to appear at bromley magistrates�* court charged with their murders. two other teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were remanded in custody yesterday after being charged with murder at bexley magistrates�* court. the bbc has uncovered evidence that the rising cost of living is leading more women

onto the street and into sex work. while some of these women may been on the streets for years — some since they were teenagers — they are also reporting an increase in violence and fewer places to turn to for help. frankie mccamley and cameraman richard milliken have spent the night with one outreach team in london. when night descends on the capital, a different world comes to life — the world of sex work. and we've been given rare access to those forced to sell sex on our streets just to make ends meet. every week, stella and charmaine trawl the streets of south london, helping homeless women, many selling sex. we're around. give me a call if you need me. do you know her quite well? is she new to the streets? no, probably about two years we've known her. most of the women you speak to, have they suffered some kind of violence? yeah, yeah. i would say probably... 100% of them.

they also hand out bags with snacks and sexual health products. the condoms are for us, in a way, to help them have safe sex. we're just in an area that these outreach workers know as the red light district, and they say a lot of sex workers will be around here, as well as pimps and drug dealers. and they will all stay in a certain area because they don't need phones, they can find each other quite quickly. and just out of the busier area, we are going to go down some side streets, which is where the workers say a lot of men will come to pick up women. it's not always easy spotting women, and some don't want to engage, or are too consumed by drugs to speak. but after leaving a client, this sex worker wants to talk. these bags they give out, as well, does this help? yeah, it does help, because they put little bits of food in there with some tissues, some wipes, condoms, which is very important when you're working because you need

to keep yourself clean. because if we ain't got condoms, we're putting ourself at high risk. but this is a high riskjob. how safe do you feel out here? i've been out here since i was 14 so i'm very used to it. i've been attacked so many times, i've been raped so many times. so i don't feel scared, because the drugs don't make me feel fear. they hide my fear. does that make sense? so, when i'm out here the drugs make me not care, but that's still not a good way to be. because when i don't really care, i'm putting myself at more risk. i've put myself in some very dangerous situations. do feel like the police are out helping you keep safe? do you feel like you trust the police? i trust them, but i don't, because they're not consistent enough. the use to have, like, an undercover vice squad, and they're not here no more. when they were out, i felt safe. and now more of the girls are getting attacked. the metropolitan police says it no longer has a vice squad, but says it has shifted towards a vulnerability

model, looking at human trafficking and exploitation. it says it knows assault on sex workers are significantly underreported, but says officers treat anyone reporting a crime respectfully, with dignity and withoutjudgment. but with budgets slashed and the cost of living soaring, how can this complex, deep—rooted issue really be tackled? the prince of wales has awarded his earthshot prizes, for environmental innovation, at a ceremony in boston. the event — which was also attended by celebrity supporters of the prince's foundation — marks the end of william and catherine's us visit. let's take a look at those five winners. london—based notpla won the build a waste—free world prize for its packaging products made of seaweed. the protect and restore nature award went to indian firm kheyti, whose

greenhouses help protect small—hold farmers' crops. the fix our climate award went to oman—based 44.01, which removes cardon dioxide from the atmosphere by turning it into rock. mukuru clean stoves of kenya won the clean our air category for its stoves that burn with 70% less pollution than traditional stoves. and the queensland indigenous women rangers network won the revive our oceans category for training women to preserve australia's great barrier reef. the group stages of the world cup are now complete, and the final 16 are preparing for the knock out stages of the tournament. first up is the netherlands and the usa. then it's two—time winners argentina versus australia, who've reached the knockout stages for the first time since 2006. the bbc'sjohn watson is in doha and has more now on the build—up as we inch closer to the final. welcome to england's team hotel for gareth southgate

and his side ahead of their last 16 tie with senegal tomorrow. it is of course a tournament of so many twists and turns out that we will be seeing more as a last tournaments gets under way today, united states taking on the netherlands, one of the world cup's surprise performers so far, australia taking on argentina in what will be lionel messi's1000th appearance in a stellar career, but defeat later will be messi's last chance, you wonder, don't you, to win the biggest prize of all, a world cup in the latter stages of his career now. with so many twists and turns to this world cup you just don't know and it's very hard to predict what lies around the corner as we head into those last 16 matches that get under way today. the text message is celebrating its 30th birthday. the first text was sent by a vodafone engineer, neil papworth, to his boss at a christmas party.

the message, which read "merry christmas" marked the birth of sms — or short message service — and was the predecessor of internet—based platforms such as whatsapp and imessage. 140 billion messages are sent every day. let's ta ke let's take a look at the weather forecast. the skies there behind john watson looked marginally better out than the sky is behind me. snowcapped mountains, that is the theme of this weekend and into much of next week. maybe even beyond. staying cold, pretty with cold wind blew in from the east accentuating the cold feel. high pressure parked across the north—west of russia, that is where we are dragging this cold airfrom. a few showers, any rain in scotland slowly pulling away in the afternoon period. it will feel cold wherever you are. tonight they showers continue across eastern scotland and

eastern england, a few for northern ireland. clear skies elsewhere. there is just the ireland. clear skies elsewhere. there isjust the risk ireland. clear skies elsewhere. there is just the risk of some ice forming as it will be a cold night with a touch of frost in some places. then put two of the weekend, more sunshine here but elsewhere rather cloudy. a little bit of wintriness over the mountains in the north of scotland. a cold show to things, particularly when you factor in the wind across hello this is bbc news. the headlines... some health experts say it's likely the rise in strep a cases is linked to young children not mixing as much due to the pandemic. six children in england and wales have died recently after contracting the infection. almost 20% of unaccompanied child migrants from albania who've come into the care of kent county council in southern england this year have gone missing. charities fear they could become the victims of trafficking. the former government minister

conor burns has been cleared of misconduct, and he'll have his conservative