this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. hundreds of thousands of people in ukraine experience a night without power, water or heat after a wave of russian air strikes hits infrastructure. train passengers in britain face further delays today, as the rmt union continue their 48—hour strike. only one in five services are expected to operate. the authorities in the chinese city of shanghai are closing all schools from monday as covid infections rise.

leo varadkar will become ireland's new taoiseach today, swapping roles with micheal martin — as part of an historic coalition agreement hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. work is continuing in ukraine to restore electricity to homes, hospitals and critical infrastructure following the ninth wave of russian missile strikes on friday. there's growing anger about the constant attacks on civilian infrastructure as temperatures in many regions are below freezing. president zelensky said moscow still had enough missiles for several heavy strikes. our ukraine correspondent, hugo bachega is in the capital kyiv. just looking where you are, it looks extremely foggy. is that hampering things at the moment. good morning.

there is this dense, thick fog here in kyiv this morning, and i think this gives you an idea of how difficult it has been. not only for emergency workers trying to repair the damage caused by those attacks, but also the residents here in kyiv and many other parts of the country, who are now without electricity, heating, and in some places even without water. you cannot see but i am surrounded by snow here. it has been snowing here in kyiv and raining, so very difficult conditions for people. we had an update from the mayor here in kyiv, who said water has now been fully restored, but the city remained without electricity and heating. in the second largest city, the attacks yesterday meant the entire city was

without electricity. officials in kharkev are saying that some have been restored. electricity infrastructure. officials have been accusing russia of weaponised and winter with these attacks. temperatures have plummeted. they have been below zero in many parts of the country, and this is obviously a country where temperatures have dropped to —15, -20 temperatures have dropped to —15, —20 celsius. yesterday, we interviewed some people here in kyiv after those attacks, and i think, as you said, there is growing anger with these attacks. people said that civilians had become the target in this conflict. one person told me that, look, yes, we do not have electricity, but perhaps this is the price to pay to keep the russians away. and have we heard anything from moscow following the strikes

yesterday? i think this has been a strategy for weeks now. the authorities in russia say that these targets, power stations, authorities in russia say that these targets, powerstations, heating stations are legitimate targets, and they have been attacking those facilities for weeks now. and yesterday, the authorities hey said that russia had fired 76 meal —— 76 missiles, and 60 of them were intercepted by the country's air defence. more than a dozen hit targets across the country. we saw emergency blackouts being introduced. what we're hearing from president of zelensky and top officials is that these attacks are unlikely to stop. russia still had missiles to carry out heavy strikes targeting the country's electricity infrastructure and i think the authorities are saying that this is how russia is responding to military

setbacks on the battlefield. targeting civilian sites and infrastructure. they say this is a strategy that perhaps the goal here is to try to force the ukrainians —— the ukrainians to surrender or engage in negotiations, but the authorities have said that this is not going to work. thank you very much. here in england, hospitals were told to free up beds to prepare for �*extensive disruption' caused by ambulance staff strikes. the warning letter from the national health services bosses comes ahead of strike action of ambulance workers over a pay dispute, due to take place december 21st and 28th. the co—ordinated walkout in england and wales will affect non—life non—life—threatening calls only. nhs bossess also said patients would need to be safely discharged where possible ahead of a �*very challenging' period. the strike by ambulance staff on 21 december follows a day of nurses�* strike —

a significant first strike action in the royal college of nursing�*s106—year history. our political correspondent, jonathan blake, is with us in the studio. a very worrying time, and we are just seen strike after strike in the nhs. , ., ~ , nhs. yes, and i think it is the forthcoming _ nhs. yes, and i think it is the forthcoming strike _ nhs. yes, and i think it is the forthcoming strike by - nhs. yes, and i think it is the i forthcoming strike by ambulance staff which is causing them most concerning government at the moment, and that is reflected from the warnings you mention by nhs leaders as well who are telling hospitals ahead of that walk out to trying to start judged ahead of that walk out to trying to startjudged patients as quickly as possible, to try and get people from ambulances into hospital as quickly as possible, and try to get people out of a indie as rapidly as possible. those are things that should be happening, and there has been a bit of push so far from voices in the nhs who are saying if you can�*t make these things happen at the best of times, it is very difficult to make that happen during a strike. the cabinet minister has

warned of significant impacts on significant disruption to come and big ross —— big risks to the public coming as a result of the strike. they can only mitigate so much the impact of the strikes. the level of disruption is not going to be clear until the strikes themselves take place. there is really no sign of any resolution happening before then. ., �* , any resolution happening before then. . �*, ., then. that's it, the resolution. what are _ then. that's it, the resolution. what are you _ then. that's it, the resolution. what are you hearing? - then. that's it, the resolution. what are you hearing? are - then. that's it, the resolution. - what are you hearing? are people still round the table, discussing? there is no discussion with the government and nurses unions and coming to agreement in the future it�*s hard to save at all. the two sides are completely opposed when it comes to the issue pay. nurses unions are demanding a pay rise and the government putting forward an offer recommended by the independent pay review body saying that is the right thing to do. some voices

interestingly in the conservative party, but a handful of members of parliament saying ministers should look again at pay. parliament saying ministers should look again at pay-— look again at pay. things have chanced look again at pay. things have changed now. _ look again at pay. things have changed now, the _ look again at pay. things have changed now, the cost - look again at pay. things have changed now, the cost of - look again at pay. things have i changed now, the cost of living, rising. {iii changed now, the cost of living, risinu. u, , ., ., rising. of course, from when that -a deal rising. of course, from when that pay deal was _ rising. of course, from when that pay deal was agreed. _ rising. of course, from when that pay deal was agreed. but - rising. of course, from when that pay deal was agreed. but the - rising. of course, from when that i pay deal was agreed. but the prime minister is saying the offer that has been made as appropriate and fair, and the health secretary steve barclay is refusing to negotiate on anything to do with pay but is happy to sit down and talk on other issues. the royal college of nursing saying that if that position continues, it will be on the prime minister�*s shoulders. further action has to take place. so minister's shoulders. further action has to take place.— has to take place. so possibly further strikes _ has to take place. so possibly further strikes to _ has to take place. so possibly further strikes to come. - has to take place. so possibly further strikes to come. yes, | has to take place. so possibly - further strikes to come. yes, and obviously we will be following that story very closely. more disruption is afoot. train passengers will face a difficult time commutimg on the last weekend before christmas as rail workers continue strike action on saturday. most services are affected as rmt

union members stage the second day of their latest 48—hour walk out. eurostar strikes on 16 and 18 december have been called off to give union members time to vote on a new pay offer, but more than 100 eurostar security staff are still planning to strike. our business correspondent ramzan karmali is in the paddington station in central london. ican i can see people behind you. there seem to be passengers around. what are people telling you down there? paddington, there are people behind me, and there are trains running, that has to do with the heathrow express which is up and running. the elisabeth line is meant to go out to heathrow but terminates here at paddington, so a lot of people catching the train out to heathrow from here. around one in five services are still running. there are still major is disruption. it is having a massive knock—on effect. it is the last weekend and last weekend of shopping before christmas as well. last month�*s data about sales

numbers were disappointing. this is not going to help. the body that looks at restaurants and hotels are looking at a 35 and 40% billion pounds worth of sales. the unite retail association are looking thing at things down around 30%. on strike dies —— on strike days up to 50%. so having a huge impact on that industry as well. they are having a huge impact on businesses but also on commuters. and people trying to get away for christmas as well. thank you very much. the chinese city of shanghai has told all schools to hold classes remotely from monday as coronavirus infections increase. shanghai�*s education bureau has also ordered kindergartens and childcare centres to close. cases have been rising since beijing abandoned its zero—covid policy ten days ago, and there are concerns the country�*s health infrastructure is not prepared to cope with a rapid

increase in patients. the owner of twitter, elon musk, has taken to the platform to announce that the accounts ofjournalists which had recently been suspended, will now be reinstated, after a 24—hour poll of users. earlier, the united nations had added its voice to criticism of the original action, saying the suspensions set "a dangerous precedent", and the eu warned that twitter could be hit with sanctions. tom brada reports. twitter finds itself at the centre of yet another row. on thursday, reporters from the new york times, cnn and the washington post were among a number ofjournalists locked out of their accounts. a twitter spokesperson said they had violated the rules, but many are concerned about what seems to be earning about what seems to be an increasingly blurred line between content moderation and censorship. i was very disturbed

by the arbitrary suspension of accounts of journalists that we saw on twitter. media voices should not be silenced on a platform that professes to be a space for freedom of speech. that statement came hours after this warning from the eu commissioner, that there are red lines and sanctions soon. at the heart of this story, is elon musk�*s dispute with the now suspending account, @elonjet. using publicly available information, it had been sharing location data on mr musk�*s private jet. something which he says puts him and his family at risk. many of the suspended journalists had been covering that story. the one thing that all of us had in common was that we had links to the facebook page tracking his private jets. i guess the real lesson is that if they want to find a real reason to ban people, you know, he can find that, and then he can kind of come up

with an explanation later on. before lifting the suspensions, mr musk had explained his reasoning, doxxing is when you share someone�*s private information online hoping to do them harm. and, few would argue, prioritising the use of public safety. —— users's — — users's safety. but some are questioning how this flurry of suspensions matches up with mr musk�*s suppose a commitment to free speech. tom brada, bbc news. in the irish republic, leo varadkar will become the new government leader from today. mr varadkar, who is currently the deputy prime minister, will swap roles with the taoiseach micheal martin, as part of an historic coalition agreement, made injune 2020. let�*s get more now from our ireland correspondent chris page. just talk us through exactly what is happening today. it�*s rare, isn�*t

it, that one political party willingly hands over the top job in their country to another party, but thatis their country to another party, but that is what is happening today. a shuffle at the top of the irish government, between the two parties which have dominated polls this year for most of the last century. there has been a fall by michael martin and the party led by leo varadkar. in the irish civil war, about 100 years ago, so it is a bit like the labour party and conservative party going into coalition together. the parties are broadly of the political centre, but they have been electoral opponents for most of the state�*s existence. but it was after a general election back in 2020 that the election results brought them together and they went into

government as a coalition. so, under that deal, michael martin has been ahead of the irish government, the taoiseach, as it is known. this morning, he has gone to see the irish president, michael d higgins at his official resignation —— residents here in dublin to offer his resignation. to announce that he has formally resigned and leo varadkar will be formally proposed as taoiseach. and will be leading the coalition government through the second half of its term. issues he will be facing, issues with ireland�*s nearest neighbour, the uk. it's ireland�*s nearest neighbour, the uk. it�*s interesting to note that richey sooner in residents in london, and varadkar being re—elevated to the taoiseach office here, with regard

to the issues they will discuss, their relations will be particularly important in the context of the ongoing negotiations between the eu and the uk over brexit arrangement for northern ireland. currently the power—sharing devolved government in northern ireland is in deep freeze. it has been collapsed by their largest unionist party there over its opposition to trade border that has been created between britain and northern ireland, and unionists believe that the previous taoiseach for 2017, believe that the previous taoiseach for2017, leo believe that the previous taoiseach for 2017, leo varadkar was quite aggressive on brexit issues and he played quite a big role in the creation of that trade border in the irish sea. so, that is one thing that people of britain and northern ireland will be watching very closely. in dublin, it is not until the next general election. sinn fein

at the official opposition here for the first time. they are ahead in the first time. they are ahead in the polls. the party is very committed to the unification of ireland. mrvaradkar�*s committed to the unification of ireland. mr varadkar�*s domestic issueis ireland. mr varadkar�*s domestic issue is what is seen as a housing crisis and of course economic issues around the cost of living in common with other european governments. many would say he has quite a challenge on his hands to put his party in a position to fight the next general election in a position where it could conceivably go back into government again. another route, mrvaradkarsaid is to into government again. another route, mr varadkar said is to grow island was like presence around the world. united nations security council, mrvaradkarwill world. united nations security council, mr varadkar will be hoping to build on that in the next two years. south africa�*s president cyril ramaphosa could find out on saturday if his anc party wants to re—elect him as leader — or replace him. his position has been called

into question after he avoided impeachment proceedings earlier this week. that followed an investigation into the theft of a large sum of money from his farm. mr ramaphosa maintains he has done nothing wrong, but when he addressed delegates injohannesburg on friday, his speech was heckled — take a listen. i want to appeal to everyone who wants to raise their dissatisfaction to do so in an orderly manner, in the way that we do things here in the way that we do things here in the african national congress. we have been in existence for 110 years. and this is not the time to come and display this type of disorderly behaviour. to the world cup now, and the football resumes

in qatar later on saturday, with the third place playoff match between croatia and morocco. croatia made the final four years ago in russia, but lost that match. meanwhile, morocco will hope to build on their achievement of becoming the first team from africa to reach the semi—finals. joining me now from central london rayhan uddin, journalist at middle east eye who has been following the atlas lions throughout the tournament. what has the secret been to the team�*s success? i what has the secret been to the team's success?— what has the secret been to the team's success? i think people have ut out a team's success? i think people have out out a few _ team's success? i think people have put out a few different _ team's success? i think people have put out a few different theories - team's success? i think people have put out a few different theories to l put out a few different theories to this and their success. one of them, people have said possibly the love of their mothers and the prayers. something that has been quite popular. but i think this moroccan team are a very good team. most of the players play at top european clubs, and it has all come together at the right time for them. with this being held in an arab country

for the first time, a muslim country. it is not too far away from morocco. a lot of moroccan fans were able to go out there. i was actually at morocco against belgium where probably 90% of the fans there were moroccan fans. some of the moroccans who already lived injohar, but some who already lived injohar, but some who flew over from france and morocco, so having a raucous atmosphere behind them has been really helpful. to be honest, a lot of it has just been on the pitch. defensively they have been very solid, but they have had a lot of weapons in attack as well, so, you know, the giant killing of belgian, and spain and portugal and hopefully against croatia. you and spain and portugal and hopefully against croatia.— and spain and portugal and hopefully against croatia. you mentioned there that ou against croatia. you mentioned there that you have — against croatia. you mentioned there that you have been _ against croatia. you mentioned there that you have been to _ against croatia. you mentioned there that you have been to some - against croatia. you mentioned there that you have been to some of- against croatia. you mentioned there that you have been to some of the i that you have been to some of the matches. have you got any highlights there? ., ., ., .

matches. have you got any highlights there? ., ., ., there? yeah, to watch morocco beat bel ium there? yeah, to watch morocco beat belgium and — there? yeah, to watch morocco beat belgium and to _ there? yeah, to watch morocco beat belgium and to see _ there? yeah, to watch morocco beat belgium and to see the _ there? yeah, to watch morocco beat belgium and to see the celebrations| belgium and to see the celebrations afterwards with all the moroccan fans, and the players prostrating and submitting to god. that, as a symbol, as a team representing a muslim majority country where most of the players are muslim, to kind of the players are muslim, to kind of do that, a lot of people i spoke to outside the stadium and since i�*ve come back to the uk have found that really inspiring. so they have had a big impact on the moroccan community but also the african community but also the african community and the muslim community at large. seeing that was really impactful for at large. seeing that was really impactfulfor me. find at large. seeing that was really impactful for me.— at large. seeing that was really impactful for me. at large. seeing that was really im actful for me. �* , ., ., impactful for me. and 'ust moving on to toda , impactful for me. and 'ust moving on to today. how— impactful for me. and 'ust moving on to today. how do — impactful for me. and 'ust moving on to today, how do you — impactful for me. and just moving on to today, how do you think— impactful for me. and just moving on to today, how do you think morocco l to today, how do you think morocco is going to approach this game? i think like they have approached all the other games. they will look at this as an opportunity to continue making history. they have already made history by becoming the first african and arab team to make it to the last four, and they could become

the last four, and they could become the first to finish third in the tournament. i think croatia will be motivated as well but they have been to a final before in the last world cup, so i think morocco mightjust have that extra added motivated —— motivation to make history. and for a lot of these moroccan players as well, a lot has been said about them, and they could use it as an opportunity to put themselves in the shop window and in themselves moves to even bigger european clubs and the one they play for, so i think there�*s a lot to play for with morocco. there's a lot to play for with morocco-— there's a lot to play for with morocco. �* , , ., i. there's a lot to play for with morocco. �* , , ., ., morocco. and 'ust before you go, what is your— morocco. and just before you go, what is your prediction _ morocco. and just before you go, what is your prediction for - morocco. and just before you go, j what is your prediction for today? my what is your prediction for today? my prediction for today is to — 1a morocco. my prediction for today is to - 14 morocco. ., ~ , ., , . morocco. thank you very much. -- 2-1. let�*s look at the finalists now, and tomorrow, we�*ll get the view from france,

but first, let�*s hear from the argentian fans. their country hasn�*t won the trophy since 1986, although they�*ve been beaten finalists twice since then. our correspondent katy watson has been to the buenos aires suburbs to see how people are preparing for the big day. everywhere you walk, lionel messi�*s presence is felt. ahead of the big game, this city has been spruced up in the colours of the flag. argentina is ready for victory. in my case, it�*s my dream, because since i was born in the �*90s, i couldn�*t see never argentina champion of the world. for many people, it will be a dream come true. translation: it is something | that is beautiful for this country. we are always struggling to make ends meet. it is nice to have some happiness. luis�* bar is packed with relics, dedicated to the beautiful game. he is dedicated to the beautiful game, and sunday means everything

to him and his customers. translation: in argentina, they say the football - pitches don't shake, they have a heartbeat. every argentinian sees himself as a coach. everyone has a different opinion, but the moment we celebrate, we cry. we cry a lot and hug. this is the man who has defined argentina�*s success this year. while messi is the winner of almost every football trophy out there, a world cup win still eludes him. so the whole of argentina is behind him to put that right. the mini messis are everywhere on argentina�*s shabby football grounds for their future players. kevin is one of the stars here. playing since he was four, he�*s signed to a local team. this is a poor part of buenos aires. kids are playing on a dirt football pitch. this is a country where people have been really struggling for years. high inflation rates. just getting through

each and every month. but along comes messi, a chance to win the world cup, and people here are energised, they are transformed. mum looks on proudly, sipping her drink in argentinian style. translation: the world cup has made kevin crazy. - he sings all the songs, cheers the goals and says he wants to be a player. messi is an example. an argentine famous for his footwork, everyone here is watching messi�*s last dance. and they are cheering him and the team on from afar. katie watson, bbc news, buenos aires. if you fancy taking a break this december, and you preferfreezing conditions to warm sunshine, then this could be your ideal holiday location. the ice hotel in the polar circle in northern sweden is built each year, using ice and snow carved from the surroundings.

the design changes every year — the only thing which is consistent is the sub—zero air temperature in the rooms. presumably the best—selling item on the room service list is a hot water bottle. the cold is not done with us just yet but there is a big thaw on the way. temperature is —11 this morning. in chelmsford. on monday morning. in chelmsford. on monday morning 11 celsius. 1092 good warmer. —— 22 degrees warmer. the hills of northern england and north wales. most other spots will be dry, cloud over recent days but also some sunny spells. up a little bit on

recent days, but was slightly more breeze. as we go into this evening and overnight, temperatures will again. things will become dry for most, but then later run, and a bus from northern ireland into the south—west and note the temperatures. frost wreath are monday morning. elsewhere frost but not as low as previous mornings. we have got mild and tropical air coming through the atlantic but the weather fronts pushing coming through the atlantic but the weatherfronts pushing into some colder first could have some travel in packs. first and central, eastern and northern england, some icy conditions and some hill snow for a time. in the morning, across parts of north wales and into the afternoon, lowton across england and parts of central scotland. that rain spills its way eastwards, as i say with a nice risk at first and temperatures rising a little bit later on. still pretty cold on sunday for the vast majority.

especially as that breeze picks up. to the west, 12 degrees in plymouth. notice how the warmer colours spread to all parts as we go through the part —— through the night and into monday morning. these temperatures into monday morning, —11 on friday, but some up to 13 celsius. it is going to be rather grey on monday. outbreaks of rain particularly to the south and west and strengthening breeze touching gale force to the western of the country. 12 to 15 cents celsius, well above average. warmest day of the week on monday. temperatures drop a little bit but stay on the milder side of things on the way up to christmas. rain could lead —— rain and i still could lead to some minorflooding.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. hundreds of thousands of people in ukraine experience a night without power, water or heat — after a wave of russian air strikes hits infrastructure. train passengers in britain face further delays today, as the rmt