tonight at ten... a scientific breakthrough with huge implications for the future of the planet. in america, researchers move a step closer to generating carbon—free electricity through nuclear fusion. simply put, this is one of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st century. we'll be analysing how the process works, and what it could mean for a world battling climate change. also tonight... the prime minister promises more staff to reduce britain's chronic backlog of asylum claims. many abandon travel plans as the first of this week's rail strikes hits hard. a surge of covid infections across china, the worst

of the pandemic, as the country's strict rules on quarantines and lockdowns are eased. and lionel messi scores argentina's first of three, in a convincing win over croatia to reach the world cup final in qatar. and coming up on the bbc news channel... azeem rafiq says cricket remains in denial about racism after admitting threats and abuse forced him to relocate overseas. good evening. we start tonight with a scientific breakthrough that could have huge implications for the future of the planet, as the world battles climate change. today, scientists in america announced they'd overcome a major barrier in trying to generate carbon—free electricity through nuclearfusion.

it's already being celebrated as one of the greatest scientific feats of the 21st century, but experts warn there's still a long way to go before the technique can be used to power homes and industry. our science editor, rebecca morelle is here with the very latest. thanks, clive. it's been described as the holy grail of energy — nuclear fusion — it's the same process that powers the sun and other stars — and one day it could be used to produce near—limitless energy — but crucially, with no greenhouse gases here on earth. so what is nuclear fusion? well, the process involves taking two atoms and squeezing them together so they fuse. this generates a burst of energy. it sounds easy enough, but scientists have spent decades working on this. today, though, a milestone has been announced in the us. scientists at the national ignition facility achieved fusion ignition, and that is creating more energy

from fusion reactions than the energy used to start the process. it is the first time it has ever been done in a laboratory anywhere in the world. simply put, this is one of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st—century. so what's the breakthrough announced today — what have they done? the experiment takes some hydrogen encased in a tiny pellet — smaller than a peppercorn. then, in a number of steps, 192 lasers blast the pellet. this sparks a fusion reaction, where the hydrogen atoms join together — releasing energy. what's getting the scientists so excited, though, is for the first time, the energy coming out of the experiment, which is measured in megajoules — it's this number here, 3.15 megajoules — is bigger than the amount of energy going in, 2.05 megajoules.

that's an increase of about 50%. fusion has been exciting scientists since they first figured out what was causing the sun to shine and it would produce no greenhouse gases and no radioactive waste and it could produce a huge amount of energy from a small amount of fuel. it offers the potential of a clean and sustainable energy future. so is fusion the future? will our cities be powered by it any time soon? well, not yet — and not for a while. the amount of energy generated in the experiment was small — enough to boil a few kettles of water — not power cities. and the reaction was also fleeting. obviously we need to scale this up to a larger system in order to be able to get an energy gain we can use for power but the other thing we need to do is reproduce it repetitively, if we want to get a power station it may be that we have to perform these experiments once every second, and currently it is

one day in between experiments, so there is a huge amount of scaling up that needs to be done. there are clearly hurdles to overcome — cost is another, fusion is really expensive. but this experiment shows that the science works — and that's a huge step. labs all around the world are working on this — and today shows that fusion could be a reality rather than a dream. rebecca, thanks for joining rebecca, thanks forjoining us. the prime minister has announced a package of measures aimed at deterring people from trying to cross the channel in small boats and dinghys. rishi sunak says the number of those arriving in the uk without permission is putting "unsustainable pressure on public services". labour has dimissed the plans as "unworkable gimmicks". here's our political editor chris mason. day after day, they arrive. crossing these waters in all seasons. small boats, amid the expanse of the sea.

more than 40,000 people have crossed the channel this way, this year. prime minister! now, rishi sunak claims he has a plan that can make a difference. people are right to be angry, mr speaker, because they see what i see, which is that this simply isn't fair. it's not cruel or unkind to want to break the stranglehold of criminal gangs, who trade in human misery and who exploit our system and laws. today, mr sunak announced what he calls a small boat operational command, with more staff and funding. saving money by using disused holiday parks and military sites to house asylum seekers. having twice as many staff to try to deal with the huge backlog of asylum claims. insisting that albania is safe and deploying border force staff to the airport in the capital, tirana. and the government will

make it harder to claim to be a modern slave. prime minister, why do so many people want to come here, is it because we have a reputation for being a soft touch? well, as prime minister, i made it a priority to reduce illegal migration. what's happening currently isn't right, it's not fair, and it's putting unsustainable pressure on our public services. is it a failure, as the home secretary has described it? i want to fix it. you say you want to house 10,000 asylum seekers in disused holiday parks, former student halls, surplus military sites — where will they be? we're spending £5.5 million a day as a country housing illegal migrants in hotels. that's clearly wrong. and so, what we're going to do is bring forward thousands of alternative sites — whether that's disused holiday parks or student accommodation or military sites. yeah, but where? where? well, we're going to be in a range of places across the country, and that will deliver accommodation... do you know where yet and you're not saying, or you don't know? well, you wouldn't expect me to comment on commercial negotiations that are happening

as we speak. so it's not nailed down? these alternative sites need to come online, and they will, we will reduce the cost to the taxpayer by half. will local people get a say if it's somewhere down the road from them is chosen to house asylum seekers? you know, it's right that when we do these proposals, when we make these decisions, that we do it in conjunction with local authorities. the scottish national party and labour have condemned the government's ongoing desire to deport some asylum seekers to rwanda and say ministers have failed. the unworkable gimmicks go on, so do the crossings. we need to bring this to an end. that means a proper plan to crack down on the gangs, quick processing, return agreements, serious solutions to a serious problem, and that is what labour will offer. nobody is illegal and, indeed, there is no such thing - as an illegal asylum seeker. but what we all agree

upon, mr speaker, is| that the uk's system is broken. |and we can't, of course, escape from the fact who has broken it. what is also inescapable is this is an incredibly complicated issue, with no easy solutions. chris mason, bbc news. just a fifth of rail services were running today, as the latest set of strikes began over pay and reforms. there's been a reduced service on the main intercity and urban lines — that's the red lines you can see. and in much of rural england, scotland and wales, there were no trains at all — that's the grey lines you can see. and this is what is happening for the rest of the month. the red days on the calendar are strike days. the orange days are when a reduced service is being run, and blue means late starts. here's our transport correspondent katy austin. in york, a city with a rich railway heritage, the station decorations are up, but there is little joy in store

for rail passengers. i've got to go into work to leeds, and i'm going to struggle to get back, so i'm going to have to get a bus much later than usual and it takes an hour. there's still a limited service between 8am and 6pm. i'm fully supportive of the railway workers and public sectors who are striking, and i think the government need to get their act together. i was planning to travel- on saturday, but i can't do now. so a bit of a shame, but i do. respect people's right to strike. a fraction of britain's usual services have run today and some places have had no trains at all, as union members took to picket lines again. the whole country wants a pay rise, but we want to protect ourjobs. we want to protect the safety of the passenger, the public. that's what it's all about. pay is a small part of this. it's more about the fact that they want to make sweeping changes to the railway system. it's all about safety, - as far as we are concerned, keeping guards on the train, keeping platform staff, - so there are people in emergencies. the group representing train companies, whose

staff include guards, has offered pay rises of 4% this year and 4% next year, but says changes are needed, such as closing or repurchasing ticket offices, putting sunday working in all contracts, and having drivers operate train doors in more places. the rmt has rejected this. network rail, which employs signallers and maintenance staff, said its best and final offer included a 5% pay rise this year and 4% next year, plus other benefits. but it also says reforms are needed and plans to press ahead with changes to maintenance teams. rmt members have voted against that offer and the union's leader has called it "substandard". but today, he said he would keep pushing for a settlement. i will negotiate with network rail and we will talk to the government. we have been invited for a meeting with the rail minister, and as soon as we can get that arranged, we will be in there trying to get an improved package for our people. there is a deal to be done. network rail�*s boss said a good deal had already been put forward. i have learnt through a long career that sometimes, the light isjust around the corner.

but where i stand today, i would have to say with the level of disruption the rmt are imposing, the way forward is not obvious. there is not a bottomless pit- of money to pay increased salaries. i think there is a fair offer- on the table, fair to taxpayers and fair to the people that work in the industry. - back in york, where the christmas market is under way, businesses say a resolution can't come too soon. noticeable drop in footfall and we have had some cancellations. we do tastings in the evening and people pre—book those and they can't get there. lots of independent traders make most of their trade at christmas time, so it is having a disproportionately large effect. as things stand, an end to the dispute doesn't appear to be just round the corner. katy austin, bbc news, york. there have been other developments in strike action today. there have been other developments midwives in wales have voted in favour of going on strike.

the government says the nhs there is exploring all options to ensure life—saving and life—maintaining care is provided during any action. physiotherapists in england and wales have voted to strike in their first ever ballot on pay. for full details over who is striking and when, there's lots of information on the bbc news website. the latest official figures show a clear divide between public sector and private sector pay. in the three months to october, private sector wages went up by an annual rate of 6.9%, and public sector pay byjust 2.7%. however, both are still well below the rate of inflation, and that is causing a headache for both employees and employers alike, as our business editor simonjack reports. �*tis the season to be jolly, but that's no easy task this winter, when the cost of living is bearing down on this lambeth nursery staff and parents. the owner has given his staff a big pay rise, because they needed

it and he needed them. i increased the wages twice this year. i increased it by approximately i6%. i felt i had to do that because the staff were feeling the pressures, they were telling us about it. and the sector, there's a depleted workforce, so we have a supply—and—demand issue, which means our competitors are putting up prices as well. but the staff say as soon as that welcome extra money comes in, it seems to go straight back out again. our essential bills have gone up, and theyjust keep going up, so that's the reason why we are getting pay rises, because the cost of living has gone up. so i wouldn't say it's that we're having that much more money. it's just the fact to cover our bills and things like that. across the economy, the reality is, average private sector pay growth, at 6.9%, is way ahead of public sector pay rises of 2.7%, and both are failing to keep up with inflation, at over ii%. there's another big split between public and private sectors.

vacancies in the private sector are falling fast. open positions in hospitality, down ii%. open positions in retail, down 9%. it seems that private businesses are reducing their hiring intentions, expecting consumer demand and the economy to weaken, perhaps paying the staff they've got that little bit more. but downsizing is not an option for sectors like the nhs or education. vacancies in the public sector are still high and, in some areas, growing. the tension between the two is unsustainable, argue some. leaving aside any moral arguments i about the cost of living crisis, i it'sjust not sustainable, - economically or socially, to keep holding down public sector pay. unless we see it rising at the sorts of rates we're seeing _ in the private sector, - that kind of 6% or 7% rate, these issues around recruitment . and retention are just going to get worse, and it will be harderl and harder to fill those jobs. the bank of england governor said today that the cost of living was already stretching household incomes, and worse was to come. higher interest rates and the expectation that they will rise further are, of course, adding to that.

monthly payments on around 4 million owner—occupied mortgages are expected to increase over the next year. millions of families are already digging deep, and many will scrape the bottom of their financial resources this winter. simon jack, bbc news. a new type of personalised vaccine to treat cancer has produced promising results during trials. the experimental therapy uses the same technology that was first used in the moderna and pfizer coronavirus jabs. our medical editor fergus walsh is here with more details. we usually think of vaccines as a means of preventing disease, but this is a personalised treatment for patients with cancer, using messenger rna technology — that was first used in some covid jabs. it works like this. a sample of the patient�*s tumour is analysed, and dozens of mutations unique to their cancer are identified. the vaccine contains strands

of mrna, which give coded instructions to cells to produce the rogue proteins from the tumour. this stimulates the patient�*s immune system to attack their cancer. in effect, the vaccine unmasks the cancer cells, which until then had remained hidden. the trial involved 157 patients with melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. the companies involved say the results are promising. it is the first randomised trial testing an mrna therapeutic in cancer patients. it has shown a 44% reduction in the risk of dying of cancer or having your cancer progress. that is an important finding. and i think it has the potential to be a new paradigms in the treatment of cancer patients. the same approach is being tried with lung, bowel and other tumour types. trials will take a few years, so new treatments are a way off. but cancer research uk say it's

grounds for optimism that the science which helped get us out of the pandemic could be used against cancer. fergus, many thanks, fergus walsh, there. a ten—year—old boy who died along with two others, after falling in to an icy lake in solihull, has been named. jackjohnson was pulled from the water at babbs mill park on sunday, along with an 11—year—old boy and an eight—year—old. another boy, who's six, remains critically ill in hospital. our midlands correspondent phil mackie has the latest. for a third day, police have been searching the lake. they say they no longer think anyone is missing, but they have to be sure. if anything, the ice has spread even further after temperatures plunged again overnight. ten—year—old jackjohnson was one of the three who died. today, his school was back open after an impossibly difficult 2a hours. one of the boys was in my daughter's class, and we told her yesterday,

and it was really heartbreaking. we all went to get some flowers, and it kind of eased her pain, and there is a sense of community spirit, so, you know, it's just tragic. really tragic. the grief is still clearly visible. after school, many of jack's friends brought flowers to add to the growing mass of tributes which have been placed just outside the police cordon. among them were one of the girls injack�*s year and her mum. everyone today was a bit quiet in the morning and started crying, but as the day went on, because some of our teachers who had left came back for the day, everybody started getting happier as the day went on. it's nice they've been all together today. i they were classmates, so... it'sjust hard. and it's notjust family and friends today. we've seen firefighters, police officers bringing

flowers, the manager of birmingham city football club. it's something that's affected notjust kingshurst, but the wider community. the risks of playing on or near the ice have never been more stark. the lake where the boys died is not closed just because of the police search but, after warnings from parents and schools, it may be out of bounds for a long time to come. phil mackie, bbc news, kingshurst. in the last few minutes, it has been announced that the former england cricketer freddie flintoff has been taken to hospital after being injured in an accident. greg mckenzie is here. what more do we know? . . . mckenzie is here. what more do we know? ., . . ., ., ~ mckenzie is here. what more do we know? ., .. ., ., ~ , .,. , know? the accident took place this mornin: know? the accident took place this morning while _ know? the accident took place this morning while the _ know? the accident took place this morning while the presenter- know? the accident took place this morning while the presenter was . morning while the presenter was hosting the top gear programme, the bbc series at duns old park aerodrome in surrey. the bbc press office in the last few moments has confirmed that andrew flintoff was injured in the accident at the top

gear track this morning with crew and medics attending the scene immediately. he has been taken to hospital for further treatment and they will confer more details in due course and we believe his condition is not life—threatening. greg is not life-threatening. greg mckenzie. — is not life-threatening. greg mckenzie, thank _ is not life-threatening. greg mckenzie, thank you, - is not life-threatening. greg mckenzie, thank you, for i is not life—threatening. greg mckenzie, thank you, forjoining us. an independent review says tenants need to be more involved in assessing standards of social housing, and urgent action is needed to tackle unacceptable conditions. commissioned by the national housing federation and the chartered institute of housing, the report comes a month after the inquest into the death of awaab inshak, into the death of awaab ishak, the toddler who was exposed to mould in his rochdale home. our north of england correspondent fiona trott has more details. my kids sleeping in there, playing in there. it's just petrifying, really. i'm begging you, take me out from here. any human would want to be treated better. . voices from behind closed doors. across the north, tenants tell us they're anxious and angry. but are those voices being heard?

they feel, also, no—one caring... here in sheffield, we meet kaltoun, a community leader speaking on their behalf. she introduces us to halima, a mum—of—three who believes damp and mould is affecting their health. you're giving the inhaler. it's a worry that plays out in the children's everyday lives. they are even missing school, she says, because they're so poorly. translation: | can't breathe, - my children can't breathe sometimes. i was worried our lungs is stopped. a letter from a hospital consultant recommends the damp problem is solved, or they move house. it was written over one year ago. have you complained to the council? translation: yes, but| they did nothing for me. more than a million times. she says there is another problem. this rat is small. rats.

every morning, i show you. every night, every morning? yeah. halima's home is managed by sheffield council. it says it has tried to contact her for a number of months. following our interview, the council says it will now arrange an urgent visit. you can smell it, can't you? in cheshire, another mum who says she's worried about her family's health. professionals tell me as well that they can smell it when they come in. i can't smell it because i've lived here for so long. she says she's written to her mp. i've tried getting mould remover and everything. literally, everything i tried to get rid of it. and then there's, like, leaks coming through here. charlotte says it's been like this for four years. drained. drained with just not being listened to at all. i want these two safe. i actually went to bed crying my eyes out, thinking, i've got mould in my house, am i...? is anything going to happen to my children? charlotte's home is managed by your housing group. it says inspectors believe patches of black they saw were due to condensation and no damp was recorded in the walls.

here, some tenants feel they are not being heard. social housing providers say they are. broken relationships that still need to be fixed, after the shocking findings of awaab ishak�*s inquest. fiona trott, bbc news. it's now a week since china abruptly lifted its most severe covid restrictions, ditching a zero tolerance policy, and moving towards "living with the virus", along with much of the rest the world. people with covid and close contacts had been forced to go to quarantine camps. but now, anyone infected is being encouraged to stay at home, with only the most serious cases ending up in hospital. whole neighbourhoods, and even cities, once lived under the threat of total lockdowns, and while officials warn tough retrictions could return, they'll be more targetted, focusing on certain buildings for example, or specific floors of residential blocks. and any future lockdowns will end more quickly. but a price is being paid for the end

of the toughest measures. in the last seven days, china has had its biggest wave of infections since the pandemic began three years ago. with the latest from beijing, here's stephen mcdonnell. long lines have been forming outside beijing's clinics after an explosion of infections triggered by an end to china's zero—covid approach. hospitals have increased their fever ward capacity, expecting a huge influx of patients. people in this country have been used to going to hospital to treat any illness at all, but now they're putting massive pressure on the system. so doctors have taken to social media to try to explain that with mild cases of the virus, recovery at home is recommended — a new concept for most here. going to hospital can also be potentially dangerous at the moment, according to one specialist, who says patients could be catching covid from doctors and nurses. from my conversations with friends

in china who serve as the hospital directors or medical workers, people being infected had been required to work in hospital, which creates a transmission environment there. it's notjust hospitals that are under pressure. panic buying at pharmacies has meant certain medicines are now hard to come by. this sign says, "no cold and flu tablets, no thermometers and no home testing kits." just weeks ago, chinese officials were saying lockdowns and isolation centres were necessary. now, after a major u—turn, the message is that the latest covid types aren't dangerous, and many younger people are welcoming the chance to isolate at home. translation: the information circulating before about covid l was completely at odds with my experience of the virus. i caught it, was a bit uncomfortable, but it hasn't been

nearly as scary as i thought it would be. in other countries, reopening led to bustling streets, as communities again came together. beijing feels like a ghost town. most are either recovering at home or afraid to go out, lest they too become infected. companies in these tower blocks are imploring staff to return to work, but they are having a difficult time convincing employees to reenter crowded offices. it looks like china is in for a tough few months before life returns to anything like normal. amongst those being overloaded are home delivery drivers, and many of them are also catching covid. so orders are piling up, with not enough drivers to handle them. "zero—covid" may be effectively over, but this virus continues to wreak havoc in china. stephen mcdonnell,

bbc news, beijing. argentina have reached the final of the world cup in qatar, after a convincing 3—0 win over croatia in the first of the semifinals, with france and morocco playing tomorrow. from doha, our sports editor dan roan has more. at one of the sport's most futuristic settings, a meeting of two legends whose football is often out of this world. for all that argentina's lionel messi and croatia's luka modric have won, the ultimate prize has proved elusive. now, here at their last world cup, only one could reach the game's grandest stage. for half an hour, the match was finely balanced but then julian alvarez was released, before being brought down by dominik livakovic. spot kick, argentina. the croatia keeper has made a name for saving penalties but messi, who else, gave him no chance. messi made it look easy. that, the captain's 11th world cup goal, more than any other argentina player in the tournament's history.

and with the team's vast support still celebrating that, it was their number nine who then took centre stage. and alvarez goes in to score! alvarez with the marauding run, the manchester city striker taking advantage of a couple of ricochets but proving unstoppable. argentina with one foot in the final. this from josip juranovic, the best that croatia could muster in response. but messi was about to show just how special he is. josko gvardiol has been one of the defenders of the tournament but he had no answer to this. messi's mesmerising run, teeing up alvarez for his second. and argentina have three, made by the master! and now we knew argentina's magician would be back for the final. croatian hopes were over, and with his team outclassed, modric then bowed out. four years ago, they had been runners—up in russia. tonight, they had no answer. argentina were through to the final and with a chance to regain the title they crave. the genius that inspires them

earning one final shot at glory. that third argentina goal did not just light up this stadium, it shows why so many feel that lionel messi is the greatest and now he will have the opportunity to emulate the man with whom he is so often compared, diego maradona, 36 years have passed since he led argentina to the world cup. now messi has the chance to do the same against either france or morocco, who play tomorrow in the other semifinal. morocco, who play tomorrow in the othersemifinal. if morocco, who play tomorrow in the other semifinal. if he can, he will have secured sporting immortality. dan roan in dhofar, thank you. time for a look at the weather. here's helen. the cold weather hazards continue. lovely sunset sent in by one of our weather watchers in northern ireland. but it has been a foggy day in glasgow with temperatures struggling to get much above —5 today. and the average is around seven and that is what happens when you get freezing fog and that has it