tonight at ten — four people die after a small boat carrying migrants sinks in freezing waters in the channel. over 30 were hauled to safety by members of a fishing boat in the sea between kent and france — the boat owner expressed pride in the crew. the skipper was absolutely fantastic, and the crew. piled them in the shower, hot water on them, tried to warm them up. clothes on, you know, our crew's clothes on them, which is amazing, and fed them. we'll be asking whether the government's plans announced yesterday to stop the small boats might have averted this tragedy. also on the programme... a six—year old boy who fell into an icy lake near solihull becomes the fourth child to die.

china removes six diplomats from britain — they were wanted for questioning by police over this violent scuffle with a protester in manchester in october. the corruption scandal involving alleged bribes of 1.5 million euros — that's stunned the european parliament. and a 2—0 victory over morocco seals france's place in the world cup final. and coming up on the bbc news channel... great britain's men's hockey team open their pro league campaign with a 3—0 win over defending champions netherlands. least 38 years, zara aleena's family call for an end to misogyny. four people have died after a small boat carrying migrants capsized while crossing the channel from france in freezing conditions. more than a0 people

were rescued in a joint operation by air and sea, conducted by the british and french navies and coastguards who were searching in the area circled. over 30 people were pulled from the water by the crew of a fishing boat — some of the survivors were then airlifted to hospital near dover. today's incident comes a day after the prime minister announced new measures to stop illegal crossings from france. our home editor mark easton reports. the mayday call came around 3am — dark and below freezing, an extraordinary rescue effort to save the lives of dozens of migrants in a sinking dinghy in the middle of the english channel. a fishing boat first on the scene, pulling people from the stricken inflatable. men, women and children screaming for help. rnli lifeboats, the royal navy, french navy and coastguard helicopterjoined the operation. with daybreak, the search for survivors intensified, rescue teams trying to spot anyone

in the cold waters of the channel. but within a few hours, it became clear the search was for bodies. and later, one of those who didn't make it was brought ashore at dover. lifeboat crews tried to resuscitate some survivors on the quayside. a helicopter took one adult victim to the william harvey hospital, in ashford, where he later died. another adult also received treatment and is thought to have since been discharged. 450,000 people... in the house of commons, the home secretary reflected the mood of shock at what had happened in uk waters, just off the kent coast. these are the days that we dread. crossing the channel in unseaworthy vessels is a lethally dangerous endeavour. it is for this reason, above all, that we are working so hard to destroy the business model of the people smugglers. evil, organised criminals, who treat human beings as cargo.

migrants from other dinghies have been brought ashore in dover during the course of the day. almost 16,000 have now crossed this year, despite the risks and the costs. those rescued today said they'd paid people traffickers £5,000 for a place on a flimsy dinghy and the promise of a better life in britain. the sea, flat, calm, when they set off from the french coast in the early hours, but with a two—metre swell in the middle of the channel. how do we stop people making these perilous journeys? there are opposing strategies. refugee agencies say the answer is to make it easier for asylum seekers to seek refuge in the uk, so they don't have to make the crossings in the first place. the government is intent on making it much more difficult, criminalising and swiftly deporting anyone who arrives by an irregular route. by adopting an approach which is all about punishment and control, it doesn't stop the crossings. we need an approach which is about compassion above control, and which recognises the reasons people have to flee.

the owner of the fishing vessel which first arrived on the scene spoke of his pride at the crew's actions. horrific incident but, you know, our guys there, we're proud that they did a cracking job, you know, rescuing 31 of those guys, yeah. it's just over a year since 27 people lost their lives in the channel, a tragedy that prompted both uk and french governments to say they were stepping up efforts to defeat the people smugglers. but since then, the criminal gangs have expanded their operations, while the desperation of those who would buy their services appears undiminished. in the past few years, the number of people arriving in the uk in small boats has increased rapidly. five years ago, it was fewer than 300. now nearly a5,000 people have made the crossing this year alone. mark is with me. the government announced

new measures to stop small boats — would they have prevented today's tragedy? the prime minister has said solving the problem of small boats is one of his top priorities in government and his top priorities in government and his announcement yesterday of a new lobe which he says would make it unambiguous that anybody arriving in a small boat would be unable to claim asylum as part of a raft of measures really designed to convince migrants there is no point in paying people traffickers to make that journey as they would be unable to start a new life here. but it is unclear how those new rules will theatre at the uk's international legal commitments as a signatory to the un refugee convention and the un convention on human rights —— the european convention on human rights. i think the government have to

continue to argue its case in the courts. a , continue to argue its case in the courts. , . ~' continue to argue its case in the courts. , . ~ ., as we all know, the price of pretty much everything has been soaring over the course of this year — but there are signs that the rate by which prices are rising, known as inflation, might be slowing down. in the year to november, prices rose by 10.7% — that's down from 11.1% in the year to october. so it could be that inflation has peaked — but even with that slight drop, it does remain at an almost a0 year high. our economics editor, faisal islam, has been speaking to people about the soaring cost of living and how it's affecting them going into the festive season. the cost—of—living crisis hits charities as well as households and businesses. even if inflation has reached its peak, the full effect of the existing surge in energy prices is hitting home at this edinburgh centre for dogs and cats. we would before have had around £30,000 for our gas and electricity every year. it's gone up to £130,000 every year. this was astronomical.

a 576% increase on gas. it's not something as an organisation you expect, or should have to receive. and this is basic care for dogs and cats, and our staff as well. heating and lighting is not something that's a luxury product. and horrible choices for many of their customers. people, through no fault of their own, are being forced into positions which is absolutely terrible, and they are having to make horrible decisions between either feeding themselves or feeding their pet. we get... a really common one for us is single mum, two kids and a dog. the kids will eat, the dog will eat, the mum won't. after two years hit by the pandemic, full festive celebrations such as reading's winter wonderland are back on, and they matter for the economy. they also require a lot of energy. the fuel this last 12 months, the fuel has doubled straightaway, but that's slowly creeping down. gas prices have nearly tripled and that's not... there is no sign of that coming down at the moment.

the food, that is staying sky—high at the moment. that's still increasing, really. if the diesel price is come down, then i can't see a problem why other fuels like gas and even the food should start to come down. we should now have had the peak in inflation. it should continue to decline from here. butjust how quickly depends on events around the world and notjust in economics. but it may not feel like that in the real world, at a time of extraordinary energy bills and the cold snap biting. and on top of that, a big decision for the bank of england tomorrow. interest rates are set to rise again. all that comes at a time when food and drink prices went up in the year to november by 16.5% — the highest rate for 45 years. weekly shops, i know back at home as well, it used to cost £20 per person and now, for the two of us, we're spending, like, £60 perweek. it's bad. i think it is the main thing people

are about at the moment, the prices. the main thing people are talking about_ the main thing people are talking about at— the main thing people are talking about at the moment, the prices. inflation is now on the way down, but it will remain sky—high for the coming months and feel that way for even longer. faisal islam, bbc news. with inflation remaining high, we're seeing a wave of strike action across many different sectors as people seek more pay to keep up with rising prices, as well as better working conditions. among them are postal workers, who've begun a two day walkout, with another two strike days planned for the 23rd and 24th december — some of the busiest days, of course, for pre—christmas deliveries. a second day of strikes by rail workers has been taking place today — causing severe disruption across the network. industrial action continues this weekend, with more days scheduled for christmas eve to the 27th december and also in early january. and tomorrow, for the first time in their 106 year history, nurses in england, wales and northern ireland

will go on strike in many trusts and health boards, with another strike day scheduled for next week. there will still be emergency care, but routine services are already being affected. nurses in scotland won't be on strike as fresh talks have prevented a walkout, for now. our health editor, hugh pym, reports. two nurses, both preparing to go on strike. they say they've had enough. it will be a very strange day. it will be a very sad day, from that point of view. it's not what i wanted to do when i came into nursing. nurses were clapped for over the last couple of years, out on the street, everybody was out there clapping, thinking how wonderful we all are, but claps don't pay our bills. good boy. sit down. for vicky, who's been a paediatric nurse for 11 years, it's the stress and workplace pressure which has brought nurses to this point. i have my colleagues in with me on a near—daily basis crying and overwhelmed and burnt out

by the pressure and the stress that we're being faced with. what do you say to some patients who will miss out on planned treatment and appointments and will be very disappointed? i would say that we're sorry that the patients are going through that but, unfortunately, that's already happening every day and patients are already being cancelled for their surgery because there's not enough staff to look after them. some have made the point there are other workers who haven't had the same pay rises as nurses. jonathan has a blunt response to them. throughout my career, i've been punched and kicked and scratched and bitten and throttled. so, yeah, come and have a day in our shoes and then see what they think about how many percent we're worth. david has had his operation tomorrow cancelled because of the strike. he has a heart condition and was due to have a pacemaker put in. he's happy with his care, but is against the nurses striking. it isn'tjust the date, -

it's the whole of the years that have come together to a point where you're actually- going to hopefully feel better. i have sympathy with their financial situation, but if you're _ in a profession where lives are at risk, i feel- it's wrong to strike. emergency care in hospitals will continue. there have been warnings, though, that some cancer care may be affected. but at this hospital, they're doing as much as they can. so, we're pretty confident that we will be able to run a normalfull service for both our chemotherapy and radiotherapy tomorrow. we hope to run operating lists for what you call time—sensitive cancer surgery, but we are still just working through with our local rcn strike committee exactly what that will look like. we have to stand up for our patients and stand up for ourselves, and make ourselves heard. some patients won't get the treatment they wanted, but there are hospitals not affected by strikes. the advice is to check on the nhs website.

hugh pym, bbc news. for details on who is striking, when, and how industrial action could affect you, visit the bbc news website — that's bbc.co.uk/news — and by using the bbc news app. a six—year—old boy has become the fourth child to die afterfalling into an icy lake in solihull. he'd been in hospital since the incident at babbs mill park in kingshurst on sunday. police announced the deaths of three other boys, aged eight, ten, and 11, on monday. in kingshurst on sunday. our correspondent duncan kennedy is in kingshurst for us this evening. watch our police saying? quite siml watch our police saying? quite simply that _ watch our police saying? quite simply that the _ watch our police saying? quite simply that the six-year-old i watch our police saying? quite. simply that the six-year-old has simply that the six—year—old has lost his fight for life. they passed on deepest sympathies to the family and said they can't imagine the pain

they must be going through. this boy was just they must be going through. this boy wasjust six they must be going through. this boy was just six years old, and many people here had hoped he might pull through but sadly that is not the case, so it means all four of those boys who went into the lake on sunday have now died. they were six, eight, ten and 11 years old. the ten—year—old has been named as jack johnson and some of his family members paid their respects at this shrine behind me today, joined throughout the day by literally dozens and dozens of members of the public who laid flowers, balloons and cards. we spoke to some tonight, one woman told me it was tragic for six—year—old boy had died and another said simply that she was —— numb with grief. police have said they will continue to liaise with families, they had said the search

is over, there are no more victims, and there will be a vigil for the young boys on saturday afternoon with members of the public. the man who killed 35—year—old law graduate zara aleena lastjune has been jailed for life and must serve at least 38 years in prison. jordan mcsweeney did not know ms aleena when he murdered and sexually assaulted her in east london. her grandmother sobbed as she told the court she feels completely broken by her death. helena wilkinson was in court and sent this report. this isjordan mcsweeney in the hours before he murdered zara aleena. he staggers across a busy road after being thrown out of a bar in east london. what follows is disturbing behaviour. this cctv footage captures him following the first of multiple women that night. he pursued herfor 20 minutes. he follows her into a shop, then loiters outside, waiting for her to emerge. the woman then makes a run for it.

mcsweeney isn't far behind. soon after, he follows another woman, who had a lucky escape. in the end, it was zara aleena who he became fixated on. zara had been with friends here in ilford in east london. mcsweeney spotted her as she walked home alone in the early hours. when zara aleena reached this road, she was being followed by mcsweeney. he dragged her onto a driveway, forced her to the ground and sexually assaulted her. he kicked her and stamped on her repeatedly, leaving her struggling to breath. after he murdered the 35—year—old, mcsweeney returned to this nearby fairground where he had been working. jordan mcsweeney? you are under arrest for rape and murder. police found him asleep in a caravan at the fairground. mcsweeney has 28 previous convictions. when he murdered zara aleena, he was out on licence,

having been released from prison nine days earlier. he was going to be recalled. police had gone to an address to arrest him the day before the attack for breaching his licence conditions, but he wasn't there. the ministry ofjustice said a review is now under way. sentencing mcsweeney today at the old bailey, the judge said he was behaving like a coward. the defendant's decision not to come up from the cells to court to hear the devastating impact of his crimes shows that the man who took zara aleena's life has no spine whatsoever. mcsweeney will spend at least 38 years behind bars for the murder of zara aleena. helena wilkinson, bbc news, at the old bailey. china has removed six diplomats from britain after an incident in october, when they were involved in a violent scuffle with pro—democracy protestors outside the country's consulate in manchester.

the officials, including the most senior, the consul—general, refused to waive their diplomatic immunity and be questioned by police. here's our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. manchester last october, and pro—democracy campaigners from hong kong gather outside of china's consulate. but then some men come out of the gate. they kick down posters, remove others. a violent scuffle ensues. as a senior diplomat looks on, one of the protesters is dragged inside the gates and is attacked. police have to enter the consulate to drag him clear. the foreign office asked for six of these men to have their diplomatic immunity waived so they could be questioned by detectives. instead, china has called them home, including the consul—general, the most senior diplomat, mr zheng xiyuan. the foreign secretary, james cleverly, said he was disappointed the men

would not facejustice but... this demonstrates that our adherence to the rule of law, the seriousness with which we take these incidents, has had an effect. the protester who was attacked told the bbc this solved a complicated diplomatic problem. what happened on 16th of october 2022 was unacceptable and illegal. and the withdrawal of these chinese diplomats gives me a sense of closure. officials here at the foreign office say that china was aware that if the diplomats did not waive their immunity, then they would be declared persona non grata and expelled. instead, china choose to pre—empt either option in a way that avoids further escalation. a chinese embassy spokesman said its staff had been the victims of the violence and the consul—general had simply completed his term of office. james landale, bbc news.

a further five formal complaints are being investigated regarding the conduct of the deputy prime minister, dominic raab. the new allegations are believed to relate to mr raab�*s previous stint as justice secretary. three other complaints of bullying are already being considered by a senior lawyer. mr raab has insisted he behaved professionally at all times. the top gear presenter freddie flintoff is spending a second night in hospital after he was hurt in an accident while filming for the bbc show. it happened at the programme's test track at dunsfold park aerodrome in surrey. his injuries are not thought to be life—threatening. the bbc has said "all health and safety procedures were followed on site". it's understood that the accident did not happen at high speed. three men have appeared in court in belgium accused of being involved in an alleged corruption scandal which has rocked the european parliament. prosecutors say they've found more

than 1.5 million euros in cash stashed in various properties, which had been given as bribes, allegedly by qatar, which denies any wrongdoing. a member of the parliament has also been charged, but has had her hearing postponed. from brussels, our europe editor katya adler reports. cases full of cash seized by belgian police linked to key figures in or close to the european parliament. prompting hair raising questions about trust and whether eu influence can be bought. translation: the investigation | concerns the suspected corruption of european parliamentarians by a gulf nation. the purpose of the bribery was to favour this country in the financial and political decisions of the european parliament. the scope of the investigation is spreading, so what do we know so far? this vice president of the european parliament, formerly a glamorous tv presenter

in greece, here with qatar's minister of labour, is making the most headlines. this is her last month, praising qatar's record on migrant workers' rights... qatar is a frontrunner in labour rights, abolishing kafala and introducing minimum wage. ..just as her fellow meps passed a resolution deploring them. she is accused of taking bribes to try to influence votes here in qatar's favour. qatar denies involvement but this scandal shines an uncomfortable spotlight on the world cup host. ..2022 fifa world cup is qatar! a reminder of the multiple allegations of corruption surrounding its successful bid, though no concrete evidence came to light. back in brussels, how were the suspects there caught, according to police? it sounds like something out of a scandal—filled crime novel. on friday, belgian police stopped

the father of the vice president of the european parliament trying to leave this brussels hotel with a suitcase crammed full of cash. his daughter protests her innocence but whatever happens in this case, it is going to have far—reaching implications on how decisions are made at the parliament, just down there, and on the tens of thousands of lobbyists who work here in brussels trying to influence those decisions. there are too many loopholes and we think there are several countries that engage in these kind of practices, of basically buying the support of meps and it looks like qatar, if it is qatar, may have got a bit overconfident in their approach to this. the sums involved are so huge that this was inevitably going to leak out. the vote is closed. a shocked and shamed european parliament voted overwhelmingly yesterday to strip its vice president of her title. the eu's reputation is at stake

here, said the bloc�*s leaders, in brussels today for a planned summit. in the current energy crisis, they look to gas rich qatar to help them. katya adler, bbc news, brussels. to the world cup and france have booked their place in the final with a 2—0 win over morocco. the french will face argentina on sunday. our sports editor, dan roan, joins us from the al bayt stadium just outside doha. morocco had lit up this world cup already beating the likes of belgium, spain and portugaland now they had their sights set on another european giant, france, a country with which morocco of course has close historical ties. but the holders, who had already knocked out england, proved too good. having inspired pride throughout the arab world, morocco's support has grown during their remarkable campaign. tens of thousands converging here in

the hope of witnessing more history. their team had already delivered one of the world cup's greatest ever underdog stories. but now the champions themselves stood in their way. within five minutes, the favourites flexed their muscles, the ball falling to theo hernandez who, despite the tight angle, expertly hooked home. the world champions lead in the world cup semifinal! morocco behind for the first time this tournament. despite the worst possible start, they responded. azzedine ounahi testing hugo lloris. in a frenetic first half, olivier giroud then going close to extending the lead. france maintaining the pressure, just not the finishing touch. but morocco were still in this and, with their fans generating a sizzling atmosphere, jawad el yamiq then went agonisingly close to a spectacular equaliser. what a fabulous effort from el yamiq that hit the woodwork! despite only being in the job three months, coach walid regragui has

instilled a formidable spirit in his side and while dominating possession, morocco were struggling to find a way through. but didier deschamps is aiming to become just the second coach to win the world cup twice. and then, having been on the pitch for less than a minute, with his first touch, substitute randal kolo muani booked france's place in the final. his first ever international goal! the youngster securing the presidential seal of approval. morocco never gave up but their fairy tale was over, after a journey here that will never be forgotten. wonderful world cup didier deschamps' squad are having. france through to another final. their bid to become the first team in 60 years to secure back—to—back titles continues. morocco's surprise run to the semifinals had inspired huge excitement in their communities across europe including in france of course but also across north africa andindeed

course but also across north africa and indeed the arab world, fitting at this, the first middle eastern world cup. mayenijones now reports from casablanca. they started off hopeful as supporters in this is dog cafe sang the national anthem, beaming with pride at being the first african nation to make it to a world cup semifinal. but soon they grew frustrated as the team struggled to score against france. well, the game isjust coming to a close and fans are already leaving the cafe. there'sjust so much disappointment here. many had hoped that the moroccan team would be able to defeat the reigning champions france, but it wasn't to be. unfortunately france scored since the beginning, we lost our captain in the first 20 minutes, but still we managed to fight, we managed to fight until the end. all players, they played good. they really tried. but they were tired, a lot of games, a lot of stress of the whole game,

the whole world cup. ithink... dima maghreb. yeah, dima maghreb, that means always morocco. across the city, people watched the game anxiously. this team has galvanised support across generations and in the wider african region. as the dust settles and they recover from the disappointment, moroccans may look back at the historical performance with pride. mayenijones, bbc news, casablanca. france's victory here sets up a blockbuster final on sunday against argentina. it pits lionel messi who many people feel is the greatest player in the world, against kylian mbappe, the man who many feel will inherit that mantle. the symmetry is tantalising, both with five goals, joint top scorers in the tournament, both team—mates at qatar owned paris

saint—germain in france and both their teams are going for a third world cup crown and quite simply, it's too close to call. many thanks, dan roan reporting. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. this cold spell goes on and on the time being we are firmly stuck in the deep freeze with these northerly winds ringing that very cold air. but there are signs of a change. through the next few days, we see some milder air pushing in with these south—westerly winds and that will make it feel very different, particularly at the start of next week. south—west england could see temperatures of 16 degrees but with that, some wind and rain. but in the short term, look at these temperatures, this is what we have out there right now. quite widely around —8 — —10 celsius, not quite as cold for some eastern and northern coast because we have some

more cloud here and wintry showers put it