taoiseach this is bbc news with the latest headlines. a 33 year old woman has died after being injured in a crush at a gig at london's brixton 02 academy. 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. hospitals are told to free up beds ahead of ambulance staff going on strike in england on wednesday. leo varadkar becomes ireland's new taoiseach, swapping roles with micheal martin as part of a historic coalition agreement. the government share energy—saving tips in a new campaign — the advice includes unplugging appliances

and using a draught excluder. and morocco will take on croatia in the third place play—off at the qatar world cup. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. we begin with breaking news this hour. we begin with breaking news this hour. a 33—year—old woman has died after being injured in a crush at a gig at london's brixton 02 academy that left several others hurt. two other people remain in critical condition. the concert, by singer ashake, had to be abandoned part—way through. the met police say a large number of people tried to force their way inside. our correspondent, louisa pilbeam, is with us in the studio. what have the met said in the last

half hour? , , , ., half hour? terribly sad news and i have spoken _ half hour? terribly sad news and i have spoken to — half hour? terribly sad news and i have spoken to the _ half hour? terribly sad news and i have spoken to the metropolitan l have spoken to the metropolitan police and they have issued a statement. they have named a woman who has died, she was in a critical condition, they say she has died and she was called rebecca and was 33 and they say specialist officers are continuing to provide support to her family. they have also said that two other women aged 21 and 23 remain in a critical condition. a postmortem examination on the woman rebecca, who died, will be carried out tomorrow in greenwich. the specialist officers will be with the family of the woman who died. the olice family of the woman who died. the police have — family of the woman who died. the police have issued a message on social media as well. i will read through that. the police investigation into the 02 brixton academy incident continues. sadly...

the investigation has been under way for a few days now. it the investigation has been under way for a few days now.— for a few days now. it has. they are investigating _ for a few days now. it has. they are investigating a _ for a few days now. it has. they are investigating a large _ for a few days now. it has. they are investigating a large number - for a few days now. it has. they are investigating a large number of - investigating a large number of videos on social media and the police will be using these. they have specified this was an urgent investigation and they have called for people to send them any video, any footage, and they said they have any footage, and they said they have a lot of this footage already. they said they set up an online page where people could submit photos and videos. there were around 4000 potential witnesses. this is a huge incident and they need to verify and see what happened in terms of the investigation, but there is one under way presently. it investigation, but there is one under way presently.— investigation, but there is one under way presently. it will take them quite _ under way presently. it will take them quite a — under way presently. it will take them quite a while _ under way presently. it will take them quite a while to _ under way presently. it will take them quite a while to go - under way presently. it will take | them quite a while to go through under way presently. it will take - them quite a while to go through all of that but they are still keen to hear from of that but they are still keen to hearfrom more people. how can they do that? hear from more people. how can they do that? , ., , , do that? they said there was this

oane do that? they said there was this online page _ do that? they said there was this online page and _ do that? they said there was this online page and they _ do that? they said there was this online page and they said - do that? they said there was this online page and they said they i do that? they said there was this i online page and they said they need your information to try and establish what happened, what had happened. if people go on to the metropolitan police site they will be able to see further information on that. ., ~ , ., be able to see further information on that. ., ~' , ., , be able to see further information on that. ., ~ ,, , . train passengers are facing further disruption on the last weekend before christmas as rail workers continue strike action. only 20% of services are expected to operate, but the leader of the rmt union, mick lynch, says he's optimistic a pay deal can be reached, despite further strikes sheduled for next weekend. 0ur correspondent ramzan karmarli is in paddington station in central london. it belies what is really going on there. there are quite a few people in the building will stop there are indeed. , . , in the building will stop there are indeed. ,. , ., ., «a indeed. the scene behind me looks like any ordinary — indeed. the scene behind me looks like any ordinary saturday, - indeed. the scene behind me looks| like any ordinary saturday, perhaps. don't forget, paddington station is a busy commuter station anyway, there are five tube lines that come

through here anyway. what i have been told is 20% of services at paddington are running at 80% are not running. it is having a massive impact notjust on businesses but consumers as well, and that is having a big impact in the run—up to christmas. another day of empty platforms, a familiar sight as railway workers hit the picket lines once again. this train may be moving, but only 20% of services are running today and it is a service that commuters are begrudgingly getting used to. i think striking the week before christmas is a little bit harsh, but at the same time, you know, if that is what they feel like they need to do, that is what they need to do. so our train will not be taking us all the way— our train will not be taking us all the way to— our train will not be taking us all the way to the south—west, where we live, so _ the way to the south—west, where we live, so we _ the way to the south—west, where we live, so we will have to basically -et live, so we will have to basically get as_ live, so we will have to basically get as far— live, so we will have to basically get as far as we live, so we will have to basically get as faras we can live, so we will have to basically get as far as we can and then try and find— get as far as we can and then try and find other ways of getting to where _ and find other ways of getting to where we — and find other ways of getting to where we live. the and find other ways of getting to

where we live.— and find other ways of getting to where we live. , ., ~ where we live. the boss at the rmt union said talks _ where we live. the boss at the rmt union said talks are _ where we live. the boss at the rmt union said talks are ongoing, - where we live. the boss at the rmt union said talks are ongoing, but i union said talks are ongoing, but movement was needed from all sides to resolve this dispute over pay and conditions. , ., , , , ,, conditions. obviously the strike action is on _ conditions. obviously the strike action is on now _ conditions. obviously the strike action is on now and _ conditions. obviously the strike action is on now and we - conditions. obviously the strike action is on now and we are i conditions. obviously the strike i action is on now and we are hopeful in the days to come we will have more discussions with both sets of governors and if they are willing to compromise and willing to take a few steps forward, we will see what we can develop with them. but it does need them to move off their position is that we have already rejected. todayis is that we have already rejected. today is the second day of the latest 48—hour walk—out this week. more industrial action is planned to start at on christmas eve until 6am on the 27th. two further 48 hour strikes are planned affecting days next month. this last weekend before christmas is vital for the retail sector and the strikes are hurting many businesses. this sector and the strikes are hurting many businesses.— sector and the strikes are hurting many businesses. this is the most im ortant many businesses. this is the most important week— many businesses. this is the most important week for _ many businesses. this is the most important week for me _ many businesses. this is the most important week for me of - many businesses. this is the most important week for me of the i many businesses. this is the most l important week for me of the whole year. this is when we take our real proper money. yesterday i was in portobello road and we probably had

half the football that we normally have, from the day—trippers that come down from the rest of the country. come down from the rest of the count . . , ., , country. the rail delivery group, which represents _ country. the rail delivery group, which represents train _ country. the rail delivery group, i which represents train companies, said it was hopeful a revolution —— resolution could be found, but whether this can be resolved anytime soon still remains unclear. what is the implication for tomorrow? i beg your pardon? you go. sorry. it is that clarity that is needed because it is notjust consumers, but businesses that are suffering and theyjust want consumers, but businesses that are suffering and they just want a consumers, but businesses that are suffering and theyjust want a quick resolution to this dispute and there is no clarity. we have heard some mood music between mick lynch and the rail delivery group saying, yes, we think a resolution could be reached, but no concrete evidence of that has really emerged yet. thank ou ve that has really emerged yet. thank you very much _ that has really emerged yet. thank

you very much indeed. _ with us now is ben clatworthy — he is the transport correspondent for the times newspaper. thank you very much forjoining us. wales and scotland have managed to resolve their pay disputes and come to a settlement with the striking workers, what is stopping england? yes, indeed, wales, scotland have managed to come to an agreement. the issue in england is that the way things are run is slightly different and things have been a little bit difficult in terms of getting to what the rmt call an acceptable agreement. now, what will change things is within the last week the tssa union and unite union have both accepted the offerfrom tssa union and unite union have both accepted the offer from network rail, which amounts to 9% over two years for most employees, rising to about 11% for some of the workers on smaller salaries.

about 11% for some of the workers on smallersalaries. now, that, about 11% for some of the workers on smaller salaries. now, that, they say, is a very good offer says network rail and it should be accepted. the public will be starting to say if these other unions have accepted it, why not the rmt? , . , . , unions have accepted it, why not the rmt? ,., ., . rmt? domestic services interconnect with eurostar— rmt? domestic services interconnect with eurostar services _ rmt? domestic services interconnect with eurostar services at _ rmt? domestic services interconnect with eurostar services at st _ with eurostar services at st pancras. , with eurostar services at st pancras— with eurostar services at st pancras. , ., pancras. they do indeed. the disruption — pancras. they do indeed. the disruption and _ pancras. they do indeed. the disruption and the _ pancras. they do indeed. the disruption and the knock-on. pancras. they do indeed. the. disruption and the knock-on of pancras. they do indeed. the i disruption and the knock-on of the disruption and the knock—on of the strikes is huge. we know as soon as services get going again after a strike things take time to ramp back up. trains are out of place where they would normally be on the network. but also eurostar are affected. they said yesterday that the strikes your corresponding just mentioned over christmas mean there will be no services to the continent at all on boxing day, which is a very busy day for people travelling in both directions, having spent christmas with family and loved ones. ., ., .,

ones. you have written about accusations _ ones. you have written about accusations from _ ones. you have written about accusations from some i ones. you have written about - accusations from some conservatives in particular, chris loader, the conservative mp for west dorset, that the rmt strikes are politically motivated. but the labour party has not come out officially in support of these strikes. where does that idea that it is politically motivated come from? i idea that it is politically motivated come from? i think the main point _ motivated come from? i think the main point to _ motivated come from? i think the main point to that _ motivated come from? i think the main point to that is _ motivated come from? i think the main point to that is that - motivated come from? i think the main point to that is that actually| main point to that is that actually it is the first time since franchising that the rail unions have been able to have a strike against the government. that is because the government now largely controls the purse strings of the railways. that happened during the pandemic when passenger numbers collapsed in the franchise system also collapsed because there was no way of making money. the way the networks are run now is completely changed. the government give money to the rail operating companies and they then return all the money that they then return all the money that they make in terms of revenue, so there is no risk to them at all. that was to keep services running. that was to keep services running. that model has now stuck and it is

the model the government intend to follow through with even as we emerge fully from the pandemic. it does mean that for the first time it is not strikes against private companies as such, but against the government. last week mark harper, the transport secretary, did not rule out that in the negotiations between the rmt and the train operating companies, of which they are in dispute with 14, fell apart because of a crucial instruction that the modernisation had to include driver operated only trains with no guards. last week mark harper did not rule out that that was a stipulation that had been added into the offer from the government. added into the offer from the government-— added into the offer from the covernment. ., ,, , ., , . hospitals in england 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. 0ur political correspondentjonathan blake is with us in the studio. what is the thinking with this instruction? it what is the thinking with this instruction?— instruction? it reflects a real concern from _ instruction? it reflects a real concern from leaders - instruction? it reflects a real concern from leaders in i instruction? it reflects a real concern from leaders in the l instruction? it reflects a real i concern from leaders in the nhs about the impact of the strike by ambulance staff which is coming on wednesday over and above the strike by nursing staff, one of which we have already seen and the second day of which will come on tuesday. as you say, this letter going to hospitals across england urges them to get systems in place where they can effectively get patients in from ambulances to a&e and then on from there to the rest of the hospital and discharged as quickly as possible. the reason is ambulances will then be able to get back on the roads as quickly as possible because

there are not as many and they will be overstretched and not able to respond to as many call—outs as quickly as they normally would do. it all sounds perfectly well and good, but emergency doctors and other voices in the nhs have said of course we will try and do that, but it is hard enough at the best of times, given how strict the capacity is and given how hard it is to discharge people sometimes because of the social care system, which means there is not an appropriate place for them to go to. that is why we are hearing these warnings over a very challenging period in the nhs from within the health service itself and also from government. the cabinet office minister in charge of contingency planning has talked about a big risk associated with the ambulance worker strikes and a significant period of disruption. what is the latest government line on how to resolve the strikes? weill. on how to resolve the strikes? well, there is no — on how to resolve the strikes? well, there is no movement _ on how to resolve the strikes? well, there is no movement from - on how to resolve the strikes? well, there is no movement from the i there is no movement from the government's position. they are saying we are happy to talk to the unions, we want to do that, but only

about issues beyond pay itself, so working conditions, technology, all sorts of other things, which the royal college of nursing and other say are peripheral to the main issue of pay. the government has said we are sticking to the recommendation of the independent pay review body, which has put forward this 4.75% offer on average to nhs staff with a guaranteed minimum of £1400. the union said it is not enough, it needs to be at inflation or more because they have had success of pay freezes, which means workers have seen a real terms pay cut. both sides not budging from that position and no resolution in sight. find it and no resolution in sight. and it is set against _ and no resolution in sight. and it is set against the _ and no resolution in sight. and it is set against the backdrop i and no resolution in sight. and it is set against the backdrop of i and no resolution in sight. and it i is set against the backdrop of much wider industrial action that we have been reporting for a few weeks. that is riaht and been reporting for a few weeks. that is right and it — been reporting for a few weeks. that is right and it is _ been reporting for a few weeks. trust is right and it is a big challenge for the government. the strikes are really only in the early stage of what could be a concerted period of action. the royal college of nursing

is saying if the government does not ship, they are considering further action and there is general strain of the economy is coming under. the rail strikes, the health service, the border force staff and in the highways agency and baggage handlers and the rest. it will get very difficult. the government says it is doing all it can to mitigate the impact, but they accept they can only do too much. the headlines on bbc news... a 33—year—old woman has died after being injured in a crush at a gig at london's brixton 02 academy. train passengers face further delays today, as the rmt union continue their 48—hour strike. only one in five services are expected to operate. hospitals are told to free up beds ahead of ambulance staff going on strike in england on wednesday. turning down your boiler, unplugging appliances and using a draught excluder

are all energy savings tips included in a government campaign being launched today to help cut energy bills. 0ur climate editorjustin rowlatt spent the morning at the home of the energy secretary grant shapps finding out what he's doing to save energy. the government's effort to get us all to save energy begins today and this is a bit unusual, i've been invited to the secretary of state for business and energy�*s home to discuss the campaign. hi. how are you? good to see you. energy saving tips? the government says draught proofing your doors and windows could save £60 a year, and then, there is your boiler. lots of boilers are just set to max as this one is. they don't need to be. this is a question of turning it down, about 60. that could save £100. the government also recommend turning off

appliances at the plug. potentially saving another £70. and maybe also turn off radiators in empty rooms. it is hoped the campaign and website will help save money and cut our carbon footprint but also cut billions from the coast of the energy support for consumers. prices are going up we know. we have capped that, that is worth £900 as well, in addition to the 400 people are getting direct from their bills. this is a common sense thing. people can't do it if they don't know about it and we have a role. this campaign represents a policy reversal. the former prime minister liz truss blocked plans for a similar effort when she was prime minister. justin rowlatt, bbc news. a vigil will be held this afternoon for four young boys who died when they fell into a frozen lake in the west midlands last weekend. eight—year—old finlay butler, and his six—year—old brother samuel,

their cousin thomas stewart who was 11, and ten—year—old jackjohnson were discovered in icy waters at babbs mill park in solihull. last night, birmingham city football club held a minute's silence ahead of their championship game with reading in memory of the children. in ukraine, efforts are continuing to repair critical infrastructure following the latest wave of russian missile strikes. the governor of the north—eastern region of kharkiv says power has been restored there a day after it was cut completely. work on restoring electricity is continuing elsewhere including the capital kyiv, where a third of residents are still without power. the authorities there say water supplies are running again, as is the city's metro system, and half the population have heating. 0ur correspondent hugo bachega has the latest from kyiv. we had an update from the mayor of kyiv who says water has now been

restored as part of the city remain without electricity and heating. and all day this thick fog has coverage kyiv and that makes it difficult for residents who remain without electricity and heating. power has also been restored in kharkiv, the country's second largest city. the authority say russia launched 76 missiles in this ninth wave of air strikes, targeting essential infrastructure. they say 60 of those missiles were intercepted by air defence but more than a dozen hit facilities across the country. they say russia is using winter as a weapon with those attacks and last night president zelensky said russia still had enough missiles to carry out more heavy strikes, but he said this campaign would fail and he said the ukrainians are determined to resist. the kremlin says president putin spent the whole of friday taking soundings from armed forces

commanders on how the war in ukraine should proceed. his visit to operational headquarters came a day after kyiv said russia was planning a broad offensive early in the new year. russia has recently suffered a string of defeats in ukraine, with only minor advances in the east. 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 brarda 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 an increasingly blurred line between content moderation and censorship. we're 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... at the heart of this story is elon musk�*s dispute with a now—suspended 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 linked to the facebook page tracking his private jets. i guess the real lesson is that if they want to find a 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, tweeting that... doxxing is when you share someone's private information online hoping to do them harm. and few would argue with twitter prioritising users' safety. but some are questioning how this flurry of suspensions matches up with mr musk�*s supposed commitment to free speech. tom brada, bbc news. in the irish republic, leo varadkar has been voted in as the new prime minister today. mr varadkar, who has been the deputy prime minister, will swap roles with the taoiseach micael martin as part of an historic coalition agreement, made in june 2020. let's get more now from our ireland

correspondent chris page. how did this come about? this is a swap at the top that has never been done before. the two parties that have dominated irish politics, fina phil and fine gael, went into government togetherfor phil and fine gael, went into government together for the first time. when you consider those parties grew out of different factions in the irish civil war 100 years ago, it does make it all the more remarkable. so voluntarily today micheal martin has handed over the most importantjob in ireland to leo varadkar, and the proceedings took about two and a half hours in the irish parliament here in dublin. mr martin formally resigned and he went through what he saw as his list of achievements, not least leading ireland through the covid pandemic. and then members of the parliament voted in leo varadkar to take over as taoiseach for the second half of

this coalition government's term. leo varadkar has left here and gone to see the irish president, michael d higgins, in his official residence in phoenix park north of the city, but he will be coming back here later on this afternoon where there will be some sort of cabinet reshuffle and it is thought micheal martin will retain a very prominent role in the government, as deputy prime minister. he will be given charge of the department of foreign affairs, basically he will become ireland's chief diplomat. that will be particularly important in the context of negotiations between the uk and the eu, still ongoing, over the brexit arrangements for northern ireland. leo varadkar was taoiseach from 2017 until the last general election in 2020 and it is fair to say that some unionists in northern ireland thought he was a bit too aggressive when it came to brexit matters, that in their view he would have been pretty nationalistic. he

may have a bit of a job rebuilding trust. leo varadkar in his speech to the irish parliament said one of his priorities would be trying to restore the power sharing of all the governments in northern ireland which collapsed in effect coming up to about a year ago now when the biggest unionist party walked out of the stormont executive in protest against those brexit trading arrangements, in particular the border in the irish sea, known as the northern ireland protocol, which unionists say is an unacceptable economic frontier in their own country. you can expect leo varadkar and rishi sunak to be speaking on the phone pretty soon. relations between the prime ministers in london and dublin have always been vital to both countries. another interesting footnote in history, if you like, taking place today for the first time, britain and ireland are both led by men of indian heritage.

thank you very much. the savage murder of an african american boy, emmett till, in mississippi in 1955 and his mother's subsequent fight forjustice has been made into a movie. till is the story of may—mie till mobley, who insisted on having an open casket for her son's funeral, to show how badly his face had been disfigured when he was beaten by two white men. the film is produced by barbara broccoli who's behind the bond films and stars danielle dead—wyler, as may—mie. they've been speaking to our culture editor, katie razzall. 14—year—old emmett till. they have a different set of rules down there. his brutal murder in mississippi in 1955 galvanised the civil rights movement. the body of emmett louis till has been found dead... driven by his mother, mamie. be small down there, you have to be extra careful with white people, you can't risk looking at them the wrong way. i know! i wondered how much you felt the weight of responsibility, the weight of the civil rights movement on you,

as you made this movie? oh, i felt every inch of it. and i knew that i had to honour it, i had to give it that kind of reverence. we have to tell these stories. if we don't recognise our history, we're doomed to repeat it. emmett was lynched for whistling at a white female shopkeeper in this segregated part of america. but the film deliberately doesn't show the violence he suffered at the hands of the woman's husband and another relative. i think we're over just the grotesque nature of witnessing violence on black bodies. it shouldn't take that kind of visual to ignite folks to resist the kind of atrocities that are happening, that had happened in 1955, that continue to happen to black people or any oppressed group of people. back in 1955, mamie till—mobley had her son's violated body photographed and insisted on an open casket at his funeral. many thousands filed past it.

that smell is my son's body reeking of racial hatred. come with me, please. she was one of the first people to recognise how vitally important the image would be to the world. and i think when you see what happened with george floyd, that young woman who kept filming that horrendous murder, we all saw it, we wouldn't have believed it if we hadn't seen it. the two men accused of killing emmett till were put on trial. and i do think that the trial will be carried on fairly, i and that we're alljust praying for the best to happen. - a white male jury found the men not guilty. they later admitted the murder but couldn't be tried a second time. though they're dead, emmett�*s female accuser isn't. do you think thatjustice will ever be served? good question. we hope.

i think that films have the opportunity to reawaken people's understanding of critical moments in history. that troubled history now being told on screen nearly 70 years on. katie razzall, bbc news. 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. we are likely to seek a transition from cold to milder and wetter and windier weather for from cold to milder and wetter and windier weatherfor part from cold to milder and wetter and windier weather for part two of the weekend. as that mild air runs into the cold air there is a significant

risk of ice and sleet and snow as it all moves northwards. a few wintry showers are likely across northern and western areas this evening, but for most it will be another dry and very cold night with a sharp frost across central, northern and eastern areas. southern and western areas start to see those temperatures lift as this area of low pressure moves in. it will bring windier and wetter weather with it, but as it bombs into the cold air this is where we are likely to see a band of transient snow and as it turns back to rain falling on the frozen surface, significant ice. the met office have issued an amber eyes 0ffice have issued an amber eyes warning. so some treacherous conditions on roads and pavements through the day on sunday as the wet and windy weather moves northwards. hello this is bbc news. the headlines... a 33—year—old woman has died after being injured in a crush at a gig at london's brixton

02 academy.