this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. queues at beijing crematoria and school closures in shanghai as virus cases soar after the lifting of china's zero—covid policy. ukraine has restored power to almost 6 million people after massive russian strikes against its electricity generating system. train passengers in the uk are hit with a rail strike on the last weekend before christmas. and croatia defeats morroco 2—1 in the third place play—off — at the qatar world cup.

china is seeing an explosion of positive covid cases, just 10 days after suddenly easing its strict lockdown measures following a wave of protests. the capital, beijing is one of the worst affected areas. hearses bearing the dead lined the driveway to this designated covid crematorium as the city's funeral homes also report being busier than normal. residents are also receiving booster shots in the form of a nasal spray. in china's largest city, shanghai, officials have ordered most of its schools to take classes online as covid cases soar. nurseries and childcare centres will also shut from monday, according to the education bureau. now, the easing of strict lockdown measures has led to growing concerns over the spread of covid across the country. our asia pacific editor celia hatton says it's become difficult to keep track of the number of cases. even the chinese authorities

admit they don't know what the numbers are. the national health commission which is china's top health body has had to admit there has been a breakdown in the testing and recording systems across china. so they are not even quite sure what the true numbers are. anecdotally, many people are reporting that everybody they know has covid. those are the messages i have been receiving from contacts all over china for the past few days. many chinese cities are eerily quiet because shops and businesses are closed. many people are isolating at home, may be because many people have covid or they don't want to get covid. that is the real concern. you mentioned schools have closed in shanghai. now the difference here, schools were closed before because they wanted to limit the chances of anybody getting covid. now schools are closing simply

because so many teachers and staff members are ill that the school simply cannot stay open. the kremlin says president putin spent friday holding meetings with the military commanders who are running russia's war in ukraine. his visit to operational headquarters came a day after kyiv said moscow was planning a broad offensive early in the new year. russia's suffered a string of defeats on the ground in ukraine recently, with only minor advances in the east. but for more than two months, it's been targeting ukraine's energy speaking a short while ago, ukraine's president zelenskiy said that the country had managed to restore power to almost 6 million people in the last 2a hours. ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskiy — that the country has managed to restore power to almost 6 million people in the last 2a hours after massive russian strikes following a wave of air strikes on friday, emergency crews in ukraine have been struggling to restore power and water

supplies that left millions without light, heat or water. russia fired more than 70 missiles at ukraine on friday in one of its biggest attacks since the start of the war, knocking out power in the second biggest city kharkiv, and forcing the government to bring in emergency blackouts nationwide. speaking a short while ago, ukrainian president zelenskiy said that the country had managed to restore power to almost 6 million people in the last 2a hours. translation: russia spares no resources for _ translation: russia spares no resources for the translation: russia spares no resources for the war translation: russia spares no resources for the war a . ainst translation: russia spares no resources for the war a . ainst our resources for the war against our people, it is specifically against all ukrainians. i am grateful to every nation and our partners who understand that such a large—scale investment in terrorjust imagine more than 4000 missiles, that must be covered by an even greater support to the people targeted by this terror. 0ur correspondent in kyiv hugo bachega gave us more details on the russian air strikes.

the authorities say russia launched 76 missiles in this ninth wave of air strikes targeting essential infrastructure. this is 60 of those missiles were intercepted by air defence but more than a dozen hit facilities across the country. this see 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 failand he said, the ukrainians are determined to resist. a large christmas tree symbolising invincibility has been erected in the ukrainian capital kyiv. the city's mayor posted these pictures on social media of the artificial tree being put up in sophia square on saturday. the tree will be lit with energy—saving bulbs run off a generator, as the capital continues to suffer blackouts from russian attacks.

and in ukraine's southern city mykolaiv, a christmas tree made of camoflage nets was installed on friday. the nets will be sent to soldiers fighting on the front lines when the holidays are over. in iran, the well known film actress taraneh alidoosti has been arrested, as anti—government protests continue into a fourth month. an iranian news agency said ms alidoosti, who's best known for her starring role in the oscar winning iranian film, the salesman, was detained for publishing what it called false and distorted content and inciting chaos. ms alidoosti publicly condemned the first execution of a protester earlier this month. meanwhile the suspicious death of another young woman has provoked new outrage iran. 36—year—old aida rostami had been helping the wounded in the unrest in a sprawling neighbourhood in western tehran, one of the flashpoints in the protests that have been sweeping the country.

joining me now is bbc persian�*s special correspondent kasra naji. should we start with the doctor, this is the latest line that we are hearing. this is the latest line that we are hearinu. ., , . , hearing. the latest line which is very shocking — hearing. the latest line which is very shocking and _ hearing. the latest line which is very shocking and part - hearing. the latest line which is very shocking and part of - hearing. the latest line which is very shocking and part of this i very shocking and part of this ongoing development in iran which is getting grimmer by the day and the story of this young woman, her name is aida rostami, she was 36 doctor and apparently she was helping all of those wounded protesters who did not dare go into hospitals because the hospitals are surrounded by security forces and they were fearing that if they go to a hospital for treatment, they will be picked up interested. so she took it upon herself to go to this particular neighbourhood sprawling

west to ron neighbourhood, one of the flashpoints of the protests in iran and she helped all of the people who were injured in the demonstration. and what happened, five days ago is her mother told she was coming home and her mother did not see her in her authorities bring her the next day and saying the body was at the police station and that she was killed in an accident. and with the family and saw the body, the body is partly mutilated, partly disfigured, broken arms, both arms, bruises on the lower body and genital and everywhere basically and did not look like as if she had been involved in an accident. then the

authorities said they had changed their mind saying that she did not die in an accident, she fell from a pedestrian bridge. and then they said she was having a row with a man and then this evening, just a few hours ago thisjudiciary and then this evening, just a few hours ago this judiciary published a video of a man with a face blurred wearing apparently, a prison year of form saying that, yes i had a row with her over the bridge and i left the bridge and she killed herself when i left the bridge and no one believes this, this is part of a string of very suspicious deaths of protesters. string of very suspicious deaths of rotesters. ., ~ , ., , string of very suspicious deaths of protesters-— string of very suspicious deaths of rotesters. ., ~ , ., , . ., protesters. thank you very much for brinuain us protesters. thank you very much for bringing us un _ protesters. thank you very much for bringing us up with _ protesters. thank you very much for bringing us up with the _ protesters. thank you very much for bringing us up with the latest - protesters. thank you very much for bringing us up with the latest on - bringing us up with the latest on the death of this woman, 36—year—old aida rostami. much more on the

developments in iran on a website as well. background to the protest as well. here is the uk there's been more disruption for train passengers on the last weekend before christmas. only 20% of services are operating as rail workers continue strike action in an ongoing dispute about pay and working conditions. 0ur correspondent ramzan karmali reports. we will be calling at... this train may be moving, but only 20% of services are running today and it is a service that commuters are getting used to. striking the week before christmas is harsh, but at the same time if that is what they feel like they need to do. i appreciate they have got a case, but it is affecting a lot of people. i can take shivering in the cold, but some people can't. this dispute is about pay and conditions and though talks are ongoing, the boss of the rmt union said union was needed from all sides. obviously this strike action is on now and we are hopeful

in the days to come we will have more discussions. if they're willing to compromise and take a few steps forward, we will see what we can develop. it needs them to move off their positions that we have already rejected. today is the second day of the latest walk out this week. more industrial action is planned to start at 6pm on christmas eve until 6am on 27th and two further 48 hour strikes are scheduled to affect services next month. the last thing the retail sector needed was another train strike. yet they're not the only sector that is suffering. restaurants, bars, hotels, all have seen cellation rates go up and their profits hit. the one thing they need this christmas is a quick resolution to this dispute. this is the most important week for me of the whole year, yesterday i was in london and we had half the foot fall we normally have

from the day trippers. the rail delivery group which represents train companies said it was hopeful a resolution could be found. but whether this dispute will be resolved soon remains unclear. ramzan karmali, bbc news. germany has opened its first liquid natural gas terminal, part of plans to move away from russian gas supplies. chancellor 0laf scholz inaugurated the rig in the north sea port of wilhelmshaven. it was built in record time following russia's invasion of ukraine. five more lng terminals will open in the next few months, capable of providing a third a third of the country's gas needs. until now, germany has relied on cheap gas delivered through pipelines from russia. a campaign by the british government says that turning down your boiler, unplugging appliances and using a draught excluder are all ways to help

bring down energy bills. 0ur climate editorjustin rowlatt spent the morning with the britian's energy secretary grant shapps to find out what he does in his own home. hi thanks for having us around. the governments as draught proofing the doors and windows could save £60 a year and then there is your boiler. ., , ., , ., , , boiler. lots of boilers are 'ust set to max as — boiler. lots of boilers are 'ust set to max as this i boiler. lots of boilers are 'ust set to max as this one * boiler. lots of boilers are 'ust set to max as this one is _ boiler. lots of boilers are 'ust set to max as this one is at h boiler. lots of boilers are just set to max as this one is at the - boiler. lots of boilers are just set - to max as this one is at the moment. they don't need to be. this is just a question of turning it down. they say about 60. a question of turning it down. they say about 630-— a question of turning it down. they say about 60-_ a question of turning it down. they say about 60. that could save £100, the government _ say about 60. that could save £100, the government also _ say about 60. that could save £100, the government also recommends i the government also recommends turning off appliances at the plug,

potentially saving another £70 and also turn off radios and empty rooms. it is hoped that the campaign and website will help cut carbon footprint and also billions in energy support for consumers. use energy support for consumers. we have energy support for consumers. - have been putting money into peoples bank accounts most people will be getting around forger pots about but these are things that you can do for yourself that we have discovered, and most homes that have not been done, 2— £300 off of your bill by doing the small steps. this done, 2- £300 off of your bill by doing the small steps. this campaign re - resents doing the small steps. this campaign represents a — doing the small steps. this campaign represents a policy _ doing the small steps. this campaign represents a policy reversal- doing the small steps. this campaign represents a policy reversal former . represents a policy reversal former prime minister block plans or a similar effort when she was prime minister. campaigners gathered on the beach in folkestone this morning calling for the government to provide safe routes for migrants trying to reach the uk. it follows the deaths of four people attempting to cross the channel in a small boat earlier this week. nickjohnson reports.

a sombre gathering followed by a rallying cry. everyone of you that is here today is with me in saying enough is enough, no more deaths. people of all ages braved the bitter weather to remember those who lost their lives crossing the channel earlier this week. but it is also a call for change in government approach. it is a political decision not to offer safe routes. it is forcing people to take these perilous journeys and ultimately people are dying. this whole system seems inhumane and there are better ways to solve it which could stop deaths. we are asking people in france be given paperwork which means they can get a ferry, some kind of safe route that brings them across without them having to get into a small boat. we need to be giving everybody that need sanctuary one route to safety. both campaigners and the government want to avoid more scenes like this. the conservative mp for ashford, damian green, said the government

should consider setting up new routes for those seeking asylum. they have to be from places where people are in genuine fear of persecution, which is what asylum is for. rather than simply i could have a better life in this country. this man arrived in the uk from iraq 20 years ago and knows what it means to flee oppression. it is not easy to leave your country, this is a journey between life and death. the home office says nobody should be putting their lives at risk by making these dangerous crossings and people to claim asylum in the first safe country they reach. campaigners hope this protest draws a line under any further loss of life in the channel. peru's embattled new president, dina boluarte, has ruled out resigning, saying it wouldn't solve the political crisis

sparked by the impeachment of her predecessor. in an effort to stop the the street protests that have claimed more than 20 lives, president boluarte renewed her call for congress to approve early elections, but lawmakers have dismissed the idea. the country has been wracked by violent street protests since then—president pedro castillo was impeached and arrested on december 7 after he attempted to dissolve congress. 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 taoisoch micheal martin as part of an historic coalition agreement, made in june 2020. 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. 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 twenty years. the organisation described her as one of the most influential proponents of refugees�* rights. it also praised her work visiting more than sixty field missions. msjolie says she wants to engage more directly with people affected by conflict. sarah has all the sport. hello and thanks forjoining us..... the croatia head coach zlatko dalic says winning a top three place at the world cup for the third time has a "golden layer" after beating morocco 2—1 in the third placed play—off match. it was an entertaining game — with two goals in the opening 10 minutes — croatia first with a well—worked free—kick finished off josko gvardiol.

but morocco hit straight back — achraf dari equalising just two minutes later. and then one of the goals—of—the—tournament just before half—time, mislav 0rsic curling home for croatia... that secured a third—placed finish, just as they did in 1998, and follows up their second—placed finish in russia four years ago. not long now until the world cup final — on sunday, it's france, looking for back to back titles, against argentina, looking to become world champions for the first time since 1986. more than 50 thousand argentina fans are in doha — espn argentina presenter esteban edul and explainsjust how big this game is for his nation. we have a lot of emotions and my body, argentinian body, we know that a lot of people come from argentinian, we have in the matches,

many people support the team, people from here in argentina but this match is going to be special for all of us. kylian mbappe is just 23 years old and already could be 24 hours away from winning the world cup twice... he's also up against his paris saint—germain team—mate lionel messi for the golden boot — they both have five goals ahead of the final. frenchjournalistjulien laurens says mbappe is mentally ready for this type occassion. you have to understand that messi thinks like you less and breaking things and trophies —— mbappe. and maybe later we will say, yet he was against messi and argentina and the city was pant packed with argentinian fans and maybe later the only thing in his lung mind is i want this trophy, i need this trophy, i need a world cup. there were shocking scenes

in a match in the melbourne derby in the australian a league, melbourne city were a goal up, when fans from the melbourne victory section of the stadium threw flares on to the pitch. goalkeeper tom glover appeared to throw a flare back into the crowd and was then attacked with a metal bucket as security tried to protect him. the referee was also hit, he was standing close by. the game was then abandoned, glover received medical treatment and is "likely to have a concussion" according to the club. history was made on the first morning of the third and final test between pakistan and england in karachi. 18 year—old rehan ahmed became the youngest men's player to play for england in a test match and the youngest player to take wickets. he finished with figures of 2—89 as the hosts were bowled out for 304. england were 7—1 in reply at the close of play and have an unassailable 2—0 lead in the three match series. travis head has put australia in charge after the first day

of the opening test against south africa. the aussies dismissed them for 152 just before tea but then slipped to 27 for three in reply. head then made 78 not out from 77 balls in the final session. there were just under 30,000 fans watching in brisbane — that's the biggest attendance for any non—ashes test at the gabba. that's all the sport for now. sarah as always many thanks you will have a busy day tomorrow with the final in the world cup, thank you. police in germany say they've recovered a significant part of the treasure stolen from dresden castle three years ago. 31 objects have been returned to the green vault museum at the castle. among them are a diamond—encrusted breast star and the richly—jewelled heron tail hat decoration — but an epaulette with the famous dresden white diamond is still missing. the authorities say the items were recovered after talks with the lawyers of the six men

on trial for the theft. thousands of swimmers in colourful costumes have braved freezing temperatures to jump into switzerland's lake geneva for the annual christmas cup event. around 4,000 amateur and professional swimmers are taking part over two days. participants dressed in cowboy hats, superhero costumes and feathered head—dresses, leaped off a pier into the lake and swam a hundred metres, despite temperatures of minus two degrees celsius. 0rganisers say today's turn—out was an all—time record. rather than than me but welcome to them to doing that. for me in the

team here on bbc news as always, thank you for watching, take care. hello it looks like a bitterly cold speu hello it looks like a bitterly cold spell of weather is coming to an end. wet and windy weather will spread up from the south but it will take its time and as it does so we will likely see a transient spell of ice and snow through sexual northern areas. the met office has issued eight amber morning around ten minute routes and around lower levels as well. rain and sleet fall on freezing services giving rise to very slippery conditions on roads and pavement for a time. the short term, this evening and overnight it will be a very cold went across the country particularly central and northern eastern areas sounds of

that water from beginning to push into the south with stronger winds. temperatures recovering here but another bitterly cold night elsewhere. with that cold air in place and with this but in windy weather moving up from the south it's going to be the recipe for this ice and snow. certainly a transient risk you can see the orange colours, milder air in risk you can see the orange colours, milderair in the milder air in the south—west gradually feeding its way north through the course of the day but it will take its time. additionally we will take its time. additionally we will have rain across southern and western areas but as this rain pots into the cold air it could start to see some wintriness and it is this area of northern england that will likely see the worst of the ice and snow falling over the hills to stop another cold area come for many particularly factoring in the wind but much milder across the south and west by the end of the afternoon and through sunday night watch the mild air. so by monday morning it is going to feel very different,

temperatures in double figures across england, wales, northern ireland, still quite chilly but much milder than it has been. different fields of the weather on monday it's going to be very mild but it will also feel different, very quietly, windy, stockbroekx of heavy rain so even south—western areas with rain combining with snow and ice melt mild days to come, mid—teens. it seems generally mild and unsettled signs of it going a little colder. stay tuned. the

this is bbc world news — the headlines: covid cases are soaring in china since the country abandoned its zero covid policy. shanghai has ordered most of its schools to close, with pupils taking classes online. the restrictions are being reimposed ten days after they were eased. ukraine has restored power to almost 6 million people after massive russian strikes against its electricity generating system — it comes as russian president vladimir putin today met with military chiefs to discuss the country's next steps. the united nations human rights chief has welcomed elon musk�*s decision to reinstate the twitter accounts of severaljournalists — but he warned that serious concerns remained about their suspension. and, croatia secures third place at the world cup in qatar,

beating morocco 2—1 in a tightly fought match.