this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. work is continuing to restore electricity and heating in parts of ukraine — 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. in ukraine, efforts are continuing to repair critical infrastructure following the latest wave of russian missile strikes. the mayor of kyiv said the city's water supply has been reconnected, and heating and electricity partially restored. the kremlin says president putin spent friday consulting military commanders about how the war in ukraine should proceed. ukrainian leaders say moscow is planning a fresh offensive early in the new year. earlier i spoke to our ukraine correspondent, hugo bachega, in the capital kyiv about the conditions there. there is this dense, thick fog here in kyiv this morning. i think this gives you an idea

of how difficult it has been. not only for emergency workers who are trying to repair the damage caused by those attacks, but also for residents here in kyiv. and many other parts of the country. they are now without electricity, heating, and in some places, even without water. you can't see, but i am surrounded by snow here so it has been snowing here in kyiv it's been raining, so very difficult conditions for people. we had an update from the mayor here in kyiv, he said water is now being fully restored, but parts of the city remain without electricity. and heating. and in kharkiv, the country's second largest city, the attacks yesterday meant that the entire city was without electricity. we heard from the officials there in kharkiv saying that electricity is now being restored. i think what we're seeing here is that russia continues with this campaign, targeting this country's electricity infrastructure and officials have been accusing russia of weaponising 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 can drop to —15, —20 celsius. yesterday, we have interviewed some people here in kyiv after those attacks and i think there is growing anger with these attacks. i think, people say that civilians have become the target in this conflict, but one person told me that, look, yes, we don't have electricity, but perhaps this is the price to be paid to keep the russians away. and have we heard anything from moscow following the strikes yesterday? i think this has been the strategy for weeks, now. and the authorities in russia say

that these targets of power stations, heating stations, are legitimate targets. they have been attacking those for facilities for weeks now. yesterday, the authorities here said russia had fired 76 missiles and most of them, 60 of them, were intercepted by the country's air defence. but more than a dozen hit targets across the country and we saw emergency blackouts being introduced. and i think what we're hearing from president zelensky, from top officials, is that these attacks are unlikely to stop. president zelensky, last night, said, russia still had missiles to carry out heavy strikes targeting the country's electricity in production. i think the authorities are saying that this is how russia is responding to military setbacks on the battlefield, by attacking civilian sides, civilian infrastructure, and they say that that this is a strategy that perhaps the goal here is to try to force the ukrainians to surrender

or to engage in negotiations. but the authorities are saying that this is not going to work. here in england, hospitals have been told to free up beds and prepare for �*extensive disruption�* ahead of planned strikes by ambulance workers next week. nhs leaders have written to managers to warn that it will be a very challenging period. they said medically fit patients should be moved out where it's safe to do so, and the turnaround of ambulances should be speeded up. members of unison, unite and the gmb will walk out in much of england, wales and northern ireland in a dispute about pay and staffing levels. earlier, our political correspondent, jonathan blake, updated us on the upcoming strikes. it's the forthcoming strike by ambulance staff which is causing the most concern in government, at the moment. and that is reflected from the warnings you mentioned, from nhs

leaders, as well, who are telling hospitals to try to discharge patients as quickly as possible to get patients in from ambulances to hospitals as quickly as possible, and also out of any as rapidly as they can. others are already things that should be happening and there has been a bit of push back so far from voices within the nhs saying that, you know, if we can't make those things happen at the best of times, it's going to be very difficult to do that in a strike. the cabinet office minister, oliver dowden, has warned of significant impact, significant disruption to come from the strikes, and big risks to the public as a result. so it is going to be a challenging time, the government says it can only mitigate so much of the impact of the strikes but the level of disruption, i think, isjust not going to be clear until the strikes themselves take place. but there is really no sign of any resolution happening before then. well that's it, the resolution. what are you hearing, are people still around the table, are they still discussing? well, there is no prospect

of the government and nurses unions or health workers unions coming to any agreements certainly in the near future. it's hard to say, at the moment, if at all. because the two sides are completely opposed when it comes to the issue of pay. you have nurses unions demanding a i9% in total pay rise, the government having put forward the offer, which was recommended by the independent pay review body, and saying that that is the right thing to do. some voices, interestingly, in the conservative party, you've got a handful of members of parliament, now, saying that ministers really should look again at pay and sit down and negotiate. and of course things have changed now, the cost of living rising... yeah, and inflation is much higher than it was when that pay deal was agreed. but so far, the prime minister's saying that the offer that has been made is appropriate and fair and the health secretary, steve barclay, it has repeatedly refused to negotiate on anything to do with pay but says he is happy to sit down and talk about other issues.

but the royal college of nursing saying that if position continues, it will be on the prime minister's shoulders, that further action perhaps has to take place. so possibly more strikes to come. train passengers in the uk are enduring more disruption as rail workers continue strike action today. most services are affected, as rmt union members stage the second day of their latest 48—hour walk outs. eurostar strikes on the 16th and 18th of 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 karmarli, is in paddington station in central london. how are things looking where you are? �* ., :: , ., how are things looking where you are? ::f.,, ., how are things looking where you are? �* ., if ., , . are? around 2096 of services are runnina are? around 2096 of services are running and _ are? around 2096 of services are running and you _ are? around 2096 of services are running and you can _ are? around 2096 of services are running and you can see - are? around 2096 of services are running and you can see behindl are? around 2096 of services are - running and you can see behind me, it does seem quite busy, but don't forget, paddington station is also a busy tube station is also a lot of

people catching at you from here too. it is having a big impact, the strike, we have heard from retailers, as well. they are a bit worried about footfall, it's the last saturday before christmas and the last chance for lots of people to get the last minute shopping in it, as well. they've had a pretty dismalfigures, from december, dismal figures, from december, retail figures dismalfigures, from december, retailfigures were dismalfigures, from december, retail figures were down. the last thing they need is a strike on the last saturday before christmas. but also, uk hospitality are telling us as well that they have seen cancellations of around 35—40%, and that means they have lost around £i.5 that means they have lost around £1.5 billion in sales as well. it is having a big impact on businesses, too. a little earlier, i spoke to mick lynch who is on the picket line here in paddington. he is determined, he says his members are pretty determined, and that they will strike to get what they are after. it is notjust pay that they have increased, notjust pay they are after, they want improved conditions, assurances from the train companies and from network rail, as well. on the conditions

that their workers will have to face going forward. even though, sometime yesterday, we had some mood music, some voices from mick lynch and also from the other side as well that sounded a little bit more conciliatory, there is no concrete change just yet. talks are still ongoing and they are sitting down, at least, and talking, but there has been very little movement in terms of when this dispute can be resolved. of when this dispute can be resolved-— of when this dispute can be resolved. �* , ., . ., ~ of when this dispute can be resolved. �* ., ., ~ ., resolved. and you are talking about the businesses, _ resolved. and you are talking about the businesses, lots _ resolved. and you are talking about the businesses, lots of _ resolved. and you are talking about the businesses, lots of businesses l the businesses, lots of businesses there and shops in paddington station but i can also see lots of passengers behind you, to full stops or things do seem to be moving. our rail passengers sympathetic? we are of the sea in the run—up to christmas, people getting the last minute shopping... this christmas, people getting the last minute shopping. . ._ christmas, people getting the last minute shopping... this is the real test, minute shopping... this is the real test. really. _ minute shopping... this is the real test, really, for _ minute shopping... this is the real test, really, for the _ minute shopping... this is the real test, really, for the unions, - minute shopping. .. this is the real test, really, for the unions, as- test, really, for the unions, as well as the government and for rail operators, as well. it's the public still supportive? up until recently, we have been hearing that public support has been somewhat behind the

strikers, but actually, you know, because it is distracting christmas, because it is distracting christmas, because it is of the period that the strikes are taking place, well that support start to drop back? we spoken to a few people around here, some are very supportive of the strikers, we had people approach us and say we don't think it is fair that they are ruining our christmas. also, it is notjust the railway strikers that are on strike as well. there are other industries are striking, we had nurses, postal workers this week. it's a big impact and people are starting to feel that their lives are being impacted in a big way by the strike.— big way by the strike. 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 poll of users. earlier, the united nations had added its voice, criticising the original action. it said 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 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. 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. to the world cup now — and 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. meanwhile morocco will hope to cap their achievement of becoming the first team from africa to reach the semi—finals. lets get the view from morocco now and mayenijones is in casablanca.

you must be surrounded by a lot of proud football fans, today. yes. you must be surrounded by a lot of proud football fans, today.- proud football fans, today. yes, i am, proud football fans, today. yes, i am. indeed. _ proud football fans, today. yes, i am, indeed, it's— proud football fans, today. yes, i am, indeed, it's a _ proud football fans, today. yes, i am, indeed, it's a saturday - proud football fans, today. yes, i i am, indeed, it's a saturday morning am, indeed, it�*s a saturday morning in casablanca and in the suburb of the city, lots of children behind me are playing football. some of whom will have dreams of matching the achievements of their national team. morocco�*s performance in this world cup has been a huge source of pride for the country. everywhere you go, there are flags flying, the buses have encouraging messages for the players, so lots of football fans here who have been delighted with how well the team has done in this world cup. d0 how well the team has done in this world cu. ,, how well the team has done in this world cu -. ,, ~ ., how well the team has done in this world cup-— how well the team has done in this world cu. ,, ~ ., ., world cup. do you think, how far the team have gone _ world cup. do you think, how far the team have gone do _ world cup. do you think, how far the team have gone do you _ world cup. do you think, how far the team have gone do you think - world cup. do you think, how far the team have gone do you think that - world cup. do you think, how far the team have gone do you think that is| team have gone do you think that is really having an impact on some of those young footballing potential future stars of tomorrow, behind you because my goal yeah, definitely. a lot of them have been inspired. i think this is the combination of a

long journey for morocco. 13 years ago, king mohammed the sixth decided to invest in the sporting field, a trip to make state—of—the—art training academy about an hours drive from here has been recognised as one of the best on the continent, it has education facilities for some of the younger players, physiotherapy, different types of pictures, some with grass on the sand so they can learn to play on different terrains. and lots of football commentators are saying that the performance of the team at this world cup is partly due to this investment, that it has finally paid off and that is why they have performed so well. fix, off and that is why they have performed so well.— off and that is why they have performed so well. a little bit further from _ performed so well. a little bit further from where _ performed so well. a little bit further from where you - performed so well. a little bit further from where you are i performed so well. a little bit i further from where you are now, performed so well. a little bit - further from where you are now, how are people preparing? how is the city, the outskirts, how are people preparing for this match? does it feel like there is a lot of celebrations that are going to be happening? i celebrations that are going to be happening?— celebrations that are going to be haueninu? ~ , ., ., happening? i think it is fair to say there is definitely _ happening? i think it is fair to say there is definitely less _ happening? i think it is fair to say there is definitely less buzz - happening? i think it is fair to say there is definitely less buzz than l there is definitely less buzz than there is definitely less buzz than there was for the semifinals,

everyone was disappointed here at the result, some people even felt that some of the refereeing decisions may have led to their defeat. they thought they were owed a couple of penalties, but still, people are picking themselves up, they have been delighted with a —— they have been delighted with a —— they would be delighted with a third—place placing which would be a remarkable and to their remarkable cut. i think there is something poetic about facing croatia which is the team that viewers will remember, the team that viewers will remember, the very first team that morocco face in the group stages, the result then was 0—0, this time round someone has to win, they are hoping that that will be morocco.— very much. in the irish republic, leo varadkar becomes the new prime minister today. mr varadkar, who is currently the deputy prime minister, will swap roles with

the taoiseach michael martin as part of an historic coalition agreement, made injune 2020. our ireland correspondent, chris page, told me 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 that is what�*s 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. fianna fail, led by micheal martin, fine gael, led by leo varadkar. to give you an idea of the historic rivalry between these parties, well, they grew out of factions in the irish civil war, about 100 years ago. so, it�*s a bit like the labour party and the conservative party in britain going into coalition together, or the democrats handing over control of the white house to the republicans in the us or vice versa. the parties are broadly of the political centre, but they have been electoral opponents for most of this dates existence. it was, as you say, 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, micheal martin has been the head of the irish government, the taoiseach, as he is known. for the first half of the government�*s temple stop this morning, he has really gone to see that irish president, michael d higgins, at his official residence here in dublin to officially offer his resignation. then, mr martin will come back here to the irish parliament in dublin�*s city centre to announce that he has formally resigned, then leo varadkar will be proposed as taoiseach and voted in to that office. so, mr varadkar will have thejob of leading a coalition government through the second half of its term, among the issues he will be facing, well, relations with ireland�*s nearest neighbour, the uk, it is interesting to note that with rishi sunak now being a residence in downing street in london, and leo varadkar being re—elevated to the taoiseach�*s office here, both britain and ireland are now led by men of indian heritage.

as regards 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 arrangements for northern ireland. currently the power—sharing, devolved government, in northern ireland is in deep freeze, it�*s been collapsed by the largest unionist party there, the party that wants to retain northern ireland�*s place in the uk over it�*s opposition to a trade body that has been created between great britain and northern ireland. ——, a trade border. and unionists will perceive that it is previous tenure as taoiseach for 2017, 2020, leo varadkar was quite aggressive on brexit issues and they would argue he played quite a big role in the creation of that trade border in the irish sea which unionists see as an economic barrier within their own country. so, that is one matter that certainly people in britain and northern ireland will be watching very closely. another here in dublin, well, it�*s now the run—up to the next general election,

the left—wing irish republican party sinn fein are the official opposition here for the first time, they are ahead in the polls, party that is very committed to the unification of ireland, mrvaradkar�*s domestic issues include what is seen as a housing crisis difficulties in the health service, 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, fine gael, in a position to fight the next general election in a position where it could conceivably go back into government again. another aim of mr varadkar, he says, is to grow ireland�*s to dramatic presence around the world. ——diplomatic ireland has just come to the end of a two year term on the united nations security council, mr varadkar will be hoping to build on that in the next two years. south africa�*s president cyril

ramaphosa may find out on saturday if his anc party is going to oust him. the president avoided impeachment proceedings earlier this week over a scandal involving millions of dollars found hidden in a sofa at 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 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. crowd jeers the number of state—sanctioned executions in the united states has fallen to its lowest level for more than three decades. that�*s according to figures compiled by the death penalty information centre. let�*s take a closer

look at their report. it suggests that 7 out of 20 execution attempts were "botched" — due to incompetence, failure to follow protocols, or defects in the protocols themselves. executions had to be put on hold in the states of idaho, ohio, tennessee and south carolina due to failures. in all, fewer than 30 people were executed. and — across the us — fewer than 50 people were sentenced to death. the five—year average for executions — of 18.6 per year — is said to be the lowest in more than 30 years. that�*s a 74% decline over the course of one decade. our north america correspondent, peter bowes, explains how problematic some of the executions have been. the statistics are quite damning of all of the executions that took

place in the united states this year. one in three went wrong in some way. they were visibly problematic, according to this report. there were executions scheduled in only six states, involving 18 people. but a significant number of those cases, they had to be abandoned partway through the process something went wrong, the protocols weren�*t adhered to, there was one example in the state of alabama where it took three hours to connect the intravenous line. the iv that would deliver the lethal cocktail of drugs to that individual which would eventually kill them. other examples, as well, around the country. it seems one of the reasons given is that some of the personnel that carry out these executions are simply not medically qualified or experienced enough to deal with some of the potential problems that can occur during the process. in some cases, the inmates have a history of medical problems, of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and that can make them more susceptible to some of the issues that occur during the process. and, especially the attachment of the iv line. now, executions across this

country happen far less frequently now than they used to and they are concentrated in just a small number of states. it seems quite likely that reports like this one and others will increase the pressure on politicians around the united states to look again at the process, to look again at executions and especially the technicalities of the lethal injection. there was a poll earlier this year that suggested some 46% of americans still support lethal injections, but that is lower than some previous polls and they may well be growing pressure on politicians in washington, not only to look again at the process, but to question whether execution should be happening in america at all.

the hollywood star, angelina jolie, has announced she will be stepping down from her role as an ambassador for the un refugee agency after more than 20 years. the organisation described her as one of the most influential proponents of refugees�* rights. it also praised her work visiting more than 60 field missions. msjolie says she wants to engage more directly with people affected by conflict. a government information campaign telling households how to save money on energy has been launched. the advice says a few cheap and simple actions can save people significant amounts of money.

its £18 million public information campaign launches today, with a website to help people to reduce energy usage. as well as slashing out bills and carbon footprint, it�*s hoped the new campaign will save the government billions of pounds by reducing the support it needs to give consumers as part of its energy price guarantee. at the moment, the price suppliers can charge for each unit of power has been capped by the government. it means the average bill will be around £2500 over the year. the support will be less generous from april, however. with the average bill rising to around £3000 per year. the average bill rising to around £3000 peryear. former the average bill rising to around £3000 per year. former prime minister, liz truss, blocked plans for a similar minister, liz truss, blocked plans fora similar campaign minister, liz truss, blocked plans for a similar campaign when she was prime minister, despite soaring energy prices after the russian invasion of ukraine. this new campaign will also recommend loft

and wall insulation and temperature sensitive radiator valves as cost effective ways at to sensitive radiator valves as cost effective ways a— effective ways at to cut energy bills in the _ effective ways at to cut energy bills in the long _ effective ways at to cut energy bills in the long term. - now it�*s time for a look at the weather with matt taylor for the first time in a while, all parts of the uk will be frost free. still cold up there, still some wintry showers, particularly in the west of scotland, northern england and west wales. snow and sleet giving a covering on the hills and parts of north yorkshire comedy. most cats will most parts will be clear to temperatures lifting, still down where we would expect at this stage in december. frost and ice will be a problem tonight, showers fade initially, then cloud, when, and rain into the south—west. by the end of the night, belfast and plymouth up to around 5 degrees. frost elsewhere, with that calderon place, mild air trying to push its way in preceded by the rain and also

some snow over the mountains initially in wales but then the risk of that rainfall onto a very cold services in northern ascending and deposit cotton. temperatures up to around 12 degrees in plymouth and that mild air will spread to all as we go through sunday night. hello this is bbc news. the headlines:

work is continuing to restore electricity and heating in parts of ukraine — 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 becomes ireland�*s new taoiseach today, swapping roles with micheal martin — as part of an historic coalition agreement. now on bbc news — loan sharks and paramilitaries.

in northern ireland�*s most impoverished housing estates,