the this is bbc world news. i'm lukwesa burak. our top stories. train passengers in the uk are hit with a rail strike on the last weekend before christmas. 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. and croatia defeats morroco 2—1 in the third place play—off — at the qatar world cup.

hello and welcome to bbc world news. 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. our 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. 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.

it is among dozens of it is among dozens of such it is among dozens of such facilities across the capital beijing struggling to meet a spike in demand days after china began to relax its pandemic protocols. workers and drivers at funeral homes have been calling in sick as the disease spreads across the city adding to a shortage of labour. the number of covid cases has not been confirmed but according to an informal survey by chinese search engine, 70% of beijing a city of 22 million people is infected. essen engine, 70% of beijing a city of 22 million people is infected. even the chinese authorities _ million people is infected. even the chinese authorities admit _ million people is infected. even the chinese authorities admit that - million people is infected. even the chinese authorities admit that they| chinese authorities admit that they don't know but the numbers are. the national health commission which is china's top health body has had to admit that there is a breakdown in the testing and recording systems across china. so they are not even

quite sure what the true numbers are, but anecdotally many people are reporting that everybody they know has covid. those of the messages that i have been receiving from context all over china across the few days. context all over china across the few da s. ~ . ., , few days. meanwhile in the largest ci -- few days. meanwhile in the largest city -- shanghai- _ few days. meanwhile in the largest city -- shanghai. have _ few days. meanwhile in the largest city -- shanghai. have ordered - city —— shanghai. have ordered children to take classes online as covid cases sore. nurseries and childcare centres will close from monday at according to the education bureau. authorities have stepped up that vaccinations including the option of inhalable boosters to speed up distribution, however it past emphasis on lockdowns —— lockdowns rather than vaccinations means that older people are at risk. sufficiently vaccinated is the question and unfortunately that is low percentage particularly with elderly — low percentage particularly with elderly people. to understand why, i think in_ elderly people. to understand why, i think in the _ elderly people. to understand why, i think in the time of severe lockdowns we have here it had nearly

three _ lockdowns we have here it had nearly three years _ lockdowns we have here it had nearly three years of china being severely locked _ three years of china being severely locked down and that was the contained measure some people had a false sense _ contained measure some people had a false sense of security.— false sense of security. there are concerns that _ false sense of security. there are concerns that china _ false sense of security. there are concerns that china is _ false sense of security. there are concerns that china is not - false sense of security. there are l concerns that china is not equipped to deal with the rapid rise in infections and chaos and confusion has followed the decision to drop its controversial zero—covid. and it is still unclear how authorities will get to grips with this current surge in affections. the kremlin says president putin spent friday holding meetings with military commanders 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 2 months, it's been targeting ukraine's energy infrastructure intensively with missiles and explosive drones, causing extensive power outages.

speaking a short while ago via video link, ukraine's president zelenskiy said that the country had managed to restore power to almost 6 million people in the last 2a hours. 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. speaking a short time ago, ukrainian president zelenskiy said, that the country had managed to restore power to almost 6 million people in the last 2a hours. translation: the mainj thing today is the energy sector. through the day we have managed to bring electricity back to almost 6 million ukrainians. repair works are ongoing. they continue without interruption after yesterday's terrorist attacks.

russia spares no resources for the war against our people, it is specifically against all ukrainians, from lutsk to kharkiv, from sumy to odesa. 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. 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 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. 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 of the country's gas needs. until now, germany has relied on cheap gas delivered through pipelines from russia. a 33—year—old woman has died after being injured in the crush at a concert at london's brixton 02 academy on thursday. the met police have released this picture of the woman rebecca ikumelo. two other people remain in critical condition in hospital. the concert, by singer asake, had to be abandoned pa rt—way through. the met police say a "large number of people" tried to force their way inside. here's matt cole reporting. these were the out of control scenes

on thursday from what is believed to be 1000 people tried to get into the concert by asake. the concert was a sell out. despite his request that people without tickets stay away, hundreds and more still came. the pushing, shoving, trampling, led to three people being critically hurt. you could see two people out here getting treatment from the police, giving cpr to a young lady. it was awful to see someone who went out for a night of fun and they end up not spending christmas with their family. this morning, rebecca ikumelo died from her injuries. she was 33. she was from newham in east london. two others remain critically ill. the debris still lines the street and police cordons remain in place. all day police officers from the met�*s specialist crime command have been working here at the site, trying to figure out what happened,

what went so badly wrong to cause this tragedy? asake has released a statement, speaking of his devastation at rebecca ikumelo's death. with so many people at the venue, police think they have 4,000 potential witnesses and they're keen to hear from them. they especially want images people took, in the hope they will offer clues. a special web—site has been set up so people can submit footage and photographs. hundreds of people turned out for a vigilforfour young boys, who died after falling through a frozen lake in solihull last sunday. 8—year—old finlay butler, and his 6 year old brother

samuel; their cousin, thomas stewart, who was 11 and 10—year—old jackjohnson were discovered in icy waters at babbs mill park in solihull. the council there has raised concerns about children being seen on frozen water in other places in recent days.here's natasha turney in solihull. it was a very poignant and emotional gathering today. this whole area filled with nearly 1000 people who gathered to share in their outpouring of support and sadness over the deaths of the four boys here at babbs mill park. they gathered for a two—minute silence before that was broken by the sinking of a local choir. many people very visibly upset, in tears due to that in gathering here to lay more tribute at the memorial and blooms are laid as well for the four boys. many i spoke to wanted to show

their love and support for the family. didn't necessarily know them but wanted them to know that they were thinking of them at the special and very difficult time. many people still gathered here tonight wanting to show they are being thought of here. 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. earlier i spoke to bbc persian�*s special correspondent kasra naji. the story of this young woman, her name is aida rostami, she was 36 a 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 tehran 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 was, five days ago she rings her mother told she was coming home and she did not return and the 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 this judiciary published a video of a man with a face blurred wearing apparently, a prison gear, uniform, 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. croatia have secured third place at the world cup in qatar, beating morocco two—one in a tightly fought and exciting match. but morocco still made history by becoming the first african or arab nation to make it to the semi—final.

nestor mcgregor reports from doha. for morocco this has been a tournament where the team has reached new heights and every step of the way their fans have followed. meanwhile, burners up front last time curly should try to have a party of their own. but they would be the last ones dancing. a toothless 0—0 drop in the groups met butjust toothless 0—0 drop in the groups met but just seconds toothless 0—0 drop in the groups met butjust seconds into this one, croatia were nearly on the crew —— score sheet. soon after morocco were behind the mast attacker turned out to be a defender. 0ne behind the mast attacker turned out to be a defender. one of the players of the tournament so far. less than two minutes, the teams were back level, another defender, another header. 0n the stroke of half—time

the game swung back in croatia's favour. it might be some time to score a goal better than this. after the break creation felt like they should have been awarded a penalty, the referee and var rules of no foul. that decision would have been even more egregious if morocco had scored the final seconds. in the and a night which belong to croatia, second in russia for years ago, third at qatar 2022 and a country which continues to outperform relative to its size. a word though on morocco, the first african team to make it this far, the pride of a continent and the arab world. fans may well be celebrating together tonight. all eyes are now turn to the final which is taking place tomorrow. as friends faces off against argentina. —— france.

lisa leroux is a french footballjournalist —— she's in paris for the big match this weekend. earlier she spoke to my colleague kasia madera we were just we werejust hoping we were just hoping that we can win the title back to back and make history. i think it will make a very tough match. i think argentina and leonel messi will give it that they're all and like i have said is his last world cup match ever so i think it will be tough but i think of any team can beat them it is france i'm confident.— of any team can beat them it is france i'm confident. let's face it with them — france i'm confident. let's face it with them and _ france i'm confident. let's face it with them and pop _ france i'm confident. let's face it with them and pop i _ france i'm confident. let's face it with them and pop i onboard - france i'm confident. let's face it with them and pop i onboard it i france i'm confident. let's face it with them and pop i onboard it is| with them and pop i onboard it is just absolutely stunning football that we have been seeing given how young he is as well. yes that we have been seeing given how young he is as well.— young he is as well. yes definitely he is at his _ young he is as well. yes definitely he is at his peak— young he is as well. yes definitely he is at his peak at _ young he is as well. yes definitely he is at his peak at the _ young he is as well. yes definitely he is at his peak at the moment i young he is as well. yes definitely l he is at his peak at the moment and he is at his peak at the moment and hejust wants the he is at his peak at the moment and he just wants the world to see him shine he wants to win everything he wants to break records and he wants to be compared to king palais so he wants to get that second row cup and try to go for that third one which he has. it try to go for that third one which he has. , ., ,. ., ., he has. it will be fascinating to watch tomorrow _ he has. it will be fascinating to watch tomorrow but _ he has. it will be fascinating to watch tomorrow but in - he has. it will be fascinating to watch tomorrow but in terms l he has. it will be fascinating to - watch tomorrow but in terms of the build—up to it, there was so much

excitement across france when they were playing morocco. what is the obscure like in the build—up to the final tomorrow? obscure like in the build—up to the finaltomorrow? it is obscure like in the build-up to the final tomorrow?— final tomorrow? it is very festive the christmas _ final tomorrow? it is very festive the christmas lights _ final tomorrow? it is very festive the christmas lights have - final tomorrow? it is very festive the christmas lights have come i final tomorrow? it is very festive . the christmas lights have come out, so a different atmosphere from a summerfinal but it is so a different atmosphere from a summer final but it is still very festive. i think the flags have sold out in most of the stories so people are feeling patriotic and competent in this team who are rallying behind the steam so i think most of the cafes will be full tomorrow. ideally, there is a lot of excitement argentina, messi mac, not bad. it excitement argentina, messi mac, not bad. , , ., ., ., bad. it is definitely a final that eo - le bad. it is definitely a final that peeple wanted _ bad. it is definitely a final that people wanted to _ bad. it is definitely a final that people wanted to see - bad. it is definitely a final that people wanted to see and - bad. it is definitely a final that people wanted to see and it i bad. it is definitely a final that - people wanted to see and it will be a credible football, a tough match, messi wants to amend this and wants to become the greatest of all time into say that he wants to win at world cup trophy. he also wants to win another pylon door there's a lot of talk between who will win that so

there is a lot at stake and i think they will give it their all. this french team also wants to make history, so it will make for great football we will see what happens. polls have now closed in tunisia where people have been voting for a new parliament — the first election since a controversial new constitution was adopted earlier this year. the vote is facing a boycott from opposition groups who say it marks a �*power grab' by president kais saied, who sacked the government and disssolved parliament last year. 0ur reporter bassam bounenni sent this report from the capital tunis. tunisians are back to the polls to elect a new parliament in a very controversial vote. with no surprise, only a few voters of the 9 million showed up to the polls, as most of the opposition groups

in the north african nation called on boycotting the electoral process. seven constituencies did not record any applications and in others only one candidate ran for the parliamentary seat. according to the constitution to the house will have little powers compared to the almost unlimited once granted to the president. these election fell on the anniversary of the eruption of the anniversary of the eruption of the 2011, triggered the arab spring. a transition succeeded in embracing deep political reforms but failed in addressing major economic and social challenges. kais saied was deemed a populace leave there and grab power

in 2021. it is said unilaterally the african nation... 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 twenty 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. 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. 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. thousands of swimmers in colourful costumes have braved freezing temperatures to jump into switzerland's lake geneva for the annual christmas cup event. around four thousand 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. you are watching bbc news, plenty more coming up here. 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 taoisoch micheal martin as part of an historic coalition agreement, made in june 2020. 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. 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 editor, justin rowlatt, spent the morning with britian's energy secretary grant shapps to find out what he does in his own home. the government's £18 million effort to get us all to save energy begins today and this is a bit unusual, i have been invited around to the secretary of state for business and energy�*s home to discuss the campaign.

hi. how are you? very good. thanks for having us round. it's cold out there. right energy—saving tips? yeah. the government says draught proofing your doors and windows could save £60 a year and then there's your boiler. lots of boilers are just set to max as this one is at the moment. they don't need to be. this isjust a question of turning it down. they say about 60. that could save £100. the government also recommends turning off appliances at the plug, potentially saving another £70 and also turn off radiators in empty rooms. it is hoped the campaign and website will help us save money and cut our carbon footprint and also cut millions from the government's energy support for consumers. well we have been putting money into people's bank account, most people will be getting £400 back. but these are things that people can do yourself. but these are things you can do

for yourself that we have discovered in most homes haven't been done. 200 or 300 pounds off your billjust by doing these simple steps. this campaign represents a policy reversal. former prime minister liz truss blocked plans for a similar effort when she was prime minister. justin rowlatt bbc news, hatfield. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello, as this cold snap comes to an end, we've some really unpleasant weather to get through during the course of sunday, at least for a time. some disruption due to freezing rain in places. really quite icy, almost anywhere in the uk. some sleet and snow, but rain and wind, too, all arriving with this quite threatening looking area of cloud which is sweeping towards us as i speak. and within this area of storminess, you can see much milder air sweeping towards ireland and the south—west of england during the early hours of sunday. and it's on the leading

edge of that transition between the cold and the mild that we have the weather front. ahead of it, it's still freezing cold in the morning. city centre, temperatures minus four, minus five in places, a lot lower in the countryside. and then that rain will just override that frozen ground. in places, it'll be sleet and snow across the hills, but freezing rain possible. and an amber warning in force for northern parts of england. so rain falling on frozen ground that could lead to very icy conditions, ice accumulating on pavements, on cars, on power lines as well. really quite dangerous. now, this is going to be around the peak district, the pennines into yorkshire and possibly the cumbrian fells as well. but ice is possible, as i say, almost anywhere, not necessarily in the southwest and the west of the country. i think by the afternoon it will be a lot milder here, really quite blustery there in cornwall and devon, 12 degrees celsius. and then basically through the course of the evening into the night, the rain will come

and go, the winds will be strong and it'll be turning milder and milder as we go into the early hours of monday morning. and then on monday, we've got this large area of low pressure over us, still lots of iosbars. strong winds, the rain really could be quite heavy, particularly around western parts of the uk, welsh hills, cumbrian fells, western parts of scotland. i think the least amount of rainfall the further east you are. but look at those temperatures, positively balmy compared to what we've been having over the last couple of weeks or so, up to about 14 degrees, an extraordinary rise in temperature in just a short space of time. and as far as the week ahead is concerned, you can see it stays unsettled and generally on the mild side, with temperatures typically into double figures.

a woman has died after being injured in a crush outside a concert

at london's brixton academy. 33—year—old rebecca ikumelo was a nursing graduate and mother of two. her family say she was known for her care and kindness. two other women are still in a critical condition. also tonight: more disruption for train passengers on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. hundreds turn out for a vigil in solihull for the four children who died when they fell into a frozen lake. it's a week from christmas, and we're doing this. it shouldn't be happening, should it? livaja — and it's in off the inside of the post! third place for croatia in the men's football world cup after beating morocco 2—1 in qatar.

good evening. a woman has died after a crush outside a concert at the 02 academy in brixton in south london. 33—year—old rebecca ikumelo was one of three people critically injured on thursday night. her family said she was a nursing graduate, a mother of two young children and known for her "care and kindness". scotland yard says an investigation is ongoing. matt cole reports. this is rebecca ikumelo, a 33—year—old nursing graduate and mother of two who came to brixton to enjoy a concert. now she is dead. these were the scenes on thursday night when what's believed to have been over a thousand people tried to force their way into the brixton academy. the concert, afrobeats star asake's third of three here, was a sell—out. but despite his request that people without tickets stay away, posted online before the show,

hundreds and more still came. the pushing, shoving and trampling led to three people being critically hurt. you could see two people out here getting treatment from the police. police giving cpr to a young lady. it's pretty awful to see someone who went out for a night of fun and then they end up, you know, not spending christmas with their friends or family. this morning, rebecca ikemulo died from her injuries. her family have released a statement in which they hailed her care, kindness and love. they said she was an adorable mother of two children who loved working with kids. the debris from the chaos here on thursday night still lines the street down the side of the venue, and police cordons remain in place. all day, officers from the met�*s specialist crime command have been working here at the site trying to figure out what happened, what went so badly wrong to cause this tragedy.

with so many people at and around the venue here on thursday night, detectives think they could have around 4,000 potential witnesses and are keen to hearfrom them. they especially want images people took on the night in the hope they'll offer clues as to how matters unfolded. they've set up a website on which people can upload photographs and footage. a postmortem examination of rebecca ikumelo's body will take place tomorrow. meanwhile, two others remain critically ill in hospital. matt cole, bbc news, brixton. there's been more disruption for train passengers on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. only one in five services were thought to be operating today as rail workers continue their 48—hour strike in an ongoing dispute about pay and working conditions. 0ur correspondent ramzan karmali has the details. we will be calling at london paddington. 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 if that's what they feel like they need to do, then that's what 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 there's probably a lot of people who can't. this dispute is all about pay and conditions, and though talks are ongoing, the boss of the rmt union said movement was needed from all sides, in order to resolve it. obviously this strike action is on now, and we are hopeful in the days to come we will have more discussions with both sets of companies. if they're willing to compromise and willing to take a few steps forward, we will see what we can develop with them. but itjust needs them to move off their positions that we have already rejected. today is the second day of the latest 48—hour walkout this week. more industrial action is planned to start at 6pm on christmas eve until 6am on the 27th,

and two further 48—hour strikes are scheduled, affecting services next month, onjanuary 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th. the last thing the retail sector needed in this vital run—up to christmas was another train strike. yet they're not the only sector that's suffering. restaurants, bars, hotels, they've all seen cancellation rates go up and their profits hit badly. 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, this is when we take our real proper money. yesterday i was in portobello road, and we probably had half the foot fall we normally have from the day trippers that come down from the rest of the country. the rail delivery group which represents train companies said it was hopeful a resolution could be found. but whether this dispute will be resolved any time soon still remains unclear. ramzan karmali, bbc news. the government says 600 military personnel will be deployed next week

to provide cover for striking ambulance staff in england. hospital managers have already been asked to free up beds to ease any disruption caused by the strikes. nurses union the royal college of nursing has given more details about the escalation of their strike action injanuary. 0ur political correspondent iain watson is here. pawn, more details about next week and next _ pawn, more details about next week and next month, what can you tell us the government has been setting out how it _ the government has been setting out how it intends till it intends to lessen— how it intends till it intends to lessen the impact of a tidal wave of strikes _ lessen the impact of a tidal wave of strikes in _ lessen the impact of a tidal wave of strikes in the coming weeks. it strikes in the coming weeks. [it looks strikes in the coming weeks. looks like strikes in the coming weeks. it looks like 1200 armed forces personnel are preparing for deployment, some will be checking passport is a borderless —— as border force go on strike, and others will be used as ambulance crews. given there are around 450 ambulances in london alone, service levels are likely to be affected,

but regular crews will still respond to life—threatening emergencies. 0n to life—threatening emergencies. on tuesday, many nurses in parts of england, wales and northern ireland will have a second day of strike action. i have been told their union, the rcn, will issue the government with an ultimatum. unless the court opens talks on pay within 48 hours of the strike taking place, they will announce more strikes in january, but crucially at a greater number of hospitals. the government says it has made a reasonable pay award, so it looks like the strikes cannot be averted.— award, so it looks like the strikes cannot be averted. iain, thank you, iain cannot be averted. iain, thank you, lain watson. _ cannot be averted. iain, thank you, iain watson, our _ cannot be averted. iain, thank you, iain watson, our political _ iain watson, our political correspondent. with more on the strikes on her show tomorrow, here's laura kuenssberg. it's the last show of 2022, and we'll be talking strikes with rishi sunak�*s right—hand man, 0liver dowden. we'll hear from labour's yvette cooper, the shadow home secretary. and after a crazy year, we'll be chewing over what's happened with none other than the archbishop of canterbury, who's in the studio. see you at nine on bbc one. a vigil has taken place for four young boys who died

when they fell into a frozen lake in the west midlands last weekend. natasha turney reports. it was a poignant and emotional gathering as nearly a thousand people joined together around the makeshift memorial to the four boysjust outside babbs mille park, where they tragically died afterfalling into an icy lake here on sunday. an outpouring of grief and emotion as they remembered jack, finlay, samueland thomas. many shedding a tear and sharing a hug. 0thers holding candles during the two—minute silence, broken by singing from a local choir. many who gathered didn't know the families personally but felt compelled to come from both the local community and much farther afield to show their love and support. i just really felt like we should be here, and the community spirit just brought us all together.

so we've traveled about 140 miles to make sure that we just come and pay our respects. need to let the family know that we're all behind them every step of the way. it's a week from christmas, and we're doing this. it shouldn't be happening, should it? the local football club cancelling all their matches so the whole team could come to pay their respects. tributes of flowers and balloons continuing to grow. a huge turnout despite such bitterly cold conditions — an insight into the incredible impact that this has had on the whole community. natasha turney, bbc news, solihull. leo varadkar has returned as ireland's prime minister after he and his predecessor, micheal martin, swapped roles. the transfer of power was agreed in a coalition deal in 2020 and is the first of its kind in the history of ireland. chris page has more details. this christmas in dublin, it's notjust gifts that are being exchanged —

there's been a swap at the top in politics. micheal martin has resigned as taoiseach, as he agreed to when he began thejob in 2020. leo varadkar has replaced him. it's the outcome of the deal between his party, fine gael, and mr martin's fianna fail, which ended almost a century of intense rivalry. mr varadkar will be influential in the talks between the eu and the uk over brexit arrangements for northern ireland. the democratic unionist party is blocking the formation of a power—sharing devolved government in belfast in protest against the trade border with great britain. the new taoiseach is hoping for better relations. we must set aside our differences, forgive past mistakes on all sides and seek a new beginning in a spirit of friendship. the next general election here

is due in about two years' time. currently, the left—wing republican party, sinn fein, is well ahead in the polls. sinn fein's main aim is irish unity, but its immediate focus is taking on the taoiseach. fine gael and their friends in fianna fail have been in power for far too long. they are out of touch, out of ideas and out of time. the political tempo is increasing in ireland, and that matters in london and brussels as well as in this city. chris page, bbc news, dublin. with all the day's sport now, here's sarah mulkerrins at the bbc sport centre. good evening. it's the game no team wants to be involved in, but croatia manager zlatko dalic said there was a "golden layer" to their world cup bronze medal. they beat the tournament's surprise package, morocco, 2—1 in the third—place play—off at the khalifa international stadium. 0ur correspondent nesta mcgregor reports from qatar. for morocco, this has been

a tournament where the team has reached new heights — and every step of the way, their fans have followed. meanwhile, runners—up from last time croatia trying to have a party of their own. it was a toothless 0—0 draw when the teams met in the group stage, butjust seconds into this one, croatia were nearly on the scoresheet. keeper bono inches away from a huge error. soon after, though, morocco were behind. the masked attacker turned out in fact to be a defender. josko gvardiol one of the players of the tournament so far. less than two minutes, the teams were back level. another defender, another header. achraf dari underneath a pile of bodies. 0n the stroke of half—time, the game swung back in croatia's favour. mislav 0rsic might have to wait some time to score a goal better than this. midway after the break, croatia felt they should have been awarded a penalty — the referee and var ruled no foul. that decision would have been even more egregious

if morocco had scored in the final seconds. so in the end, a night which belonged to croatia, second in russia four years ago, third at qatar 2022, and a country which continues to outperform relative to its size. a word, though, on morocco — the first african team to make it this far, the pride of a continent and the arab world. fans may well be celebrating together tonight. nesta mcgregor, bbc news, in qatar. sportscene follows in scotland, so if you don't want to know what happened in the premiership, then look away now. celtic captain callum mcgregor returned after two months out with a knee injury to give them a late 1—0 win at aberdeen. that keeps them nine points clear at the top of the table. hearts moved into fourth after beating kilmarnock. and stjohnstone scored two late goals to win at ten—man ross county. cricket, and there was an impressive debut for rehan ahmed, who became england's youngest male player in the third and final test against pakistan. he took two wickets, as the home side were bowled out for 304

on the opening day in karachi. joe wilson reports. 18 years, 126 days. rehan ahmed playing for england and his dad, practically young enough to be a team—mate. there — lovely. at 31 and a half, jack leach seems firmly established with england now. abdullah shafique, the first of four wickets he took in karachi. and here is the first success of rehan ahmed's international career. flying catch from 0llie pope, saud shakeel gone — just the youngest man ever to take a test wicket for england. i've always feel ready, i think if you have the opportunity, and other people think you're ready for it, then you should know you're ready for it too. so just thankful for it. well, pakistan gifted england some wickets. a risky run, some rapid work from ben foakes, and by a centimetre, captain babar azam was run out for 78. pakistan were all out for 304. but the match is still young. ahmed bowling for pakistan —

abrar ahmed. crawley out lbw, england will resume 7—1. and what more will this young man do? joe wilson, bbc news. frankie dettori has announced that next year's flat racing season will be his last. the 52—year—old has ridden over 3,000 british winners since his first victory in 1987, including 21 classics, and he's been champion jockey three times. and there's more on the website on the wins for leicester, saracens, edinburgh, exeter and 0spreys in the champions cup today. but is it from me. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. that's all from me.

hello, you're watching bbc news. doctors are warning that a plan to free up hospital beds to mitigate wednesday's strike by ambulance workers will be "really difficult" to achieve. nhs england hopes that by discharging as many patients as safely as possible, handover times will be kept to a minimum. the walk—out about pay will affect virtually all of england and wales. ministers say the wage offer they've made to ambulance workers has been recommended independently. the news comes amid a threat from the royal college of nursing to strike injanuary if goverment ministers fail to respond to their demands for pay negotiations. earlier, the former president of the royal college of nursing, dame anne marie rafferty, spoke to my colleague, kasia madera. i was actually at the picket line during the week and i was also on the picket line when nurses went on

strike in northern ireland in 2019, and i saw a kind of action replay of the same sentiment, the same strength of resolve, determination and solidarity that nurses actually thought with each other, but also public support for nurses action on the day from colleagues who were there and passers by tooting horns and people coming up with drinks and offers of support to nurses who were striking. i think it is gratifying to see that actually the public support does seem to be holding up in polls, and the position that the government i think has been occupying this fire of digging in and refusing to talk about pay with the hope that perhaps as strikes progressed that public opinion might

wane and whether, that doesn't seem to be happening, at least not yet. when we look towards wednesday's strikes, we are talking about ambulance workers and paramedics, but also the staff in the control room and the support workers. how much of an impact will that have on the nhs? i much of an impact will that have on the nhs? 4' much of an impact will that have on the nhs? ~ , ., , ., the nhs? i think estimates from the chief operating _ the nhs? i think estimates from the chief operating officer _ the nhs? i think estimates from the chief operating officer of _ the nhs? i think estimates from the chief operating officer of the - the nhs? i think estimates from the chief operating officer of the nhs i chief operating officer of the nhs and others say it is going to be veggie destructive. i have no doubt that will be. we have had about 13,000 beds so—called blocked by people, patients who cannot be moved out although they are medically fit to be moved out of the system for a whole variety of reasons, but one of them is the exit block from social care, because many care homes and

other facilities just haven't really recovered from covid yet. we have a funding crisis in social care, which is interesting. whenjeremy hunt was chair of the health committee, he wrote a very compelling report on rebic amending about £7 billion increase of investment in social care to help reduce the block and actually allow social care to function effectively. but the other issueis function effectively. but the other issue is that we actually have fewer beds than most of our european peer countries. so that capacity gap and a lack of a buffer zone, which many other countries that have pre—covid, hasn't actually been boosted in the interim. so i think that is another issue where the pressure on beds in

the uk and the nhs is actually much greater than it is an other european countries, and that certainly doesn't help.— countries, and that certainly doesn't hel-. . ., , ., doesn't help. that was the former resident doesn't help. that was the former president of _ doesn't help. that was the former president of the _ doesn't help. that was the former president of the royal _ doesn't help. that was the former president of the royal college - doesn't help. that was the former president of the royal college of. president of the royal college of nursing speaking to my colleague earlier. no paper review this hour due to a late network bulletin, now, there's no paper review this hour due to the late network bulletin — but coming up at 11.30, i'll be joined by writer and broadcaster, kate bevan — and the political editor of the sunday mirror and sunday people, nigel nelson. but let's take a look at tomorrow's front pages. the sunday telegraph leads with warning from the chief of defence staff about dependence on the armed forces during the strikes. "rishi has 48 hours to stop nhs strikes" — nurses threaten the government with more strikes in the new year. that's in the sunday people. the sunday times reports

that the duke and duchess of sussex want to sit down with the royal family and address their issues. the sun on sunday's front also carries a similar story that harry and meghan demand an apology. the sunday express leads with the home secretary plan's to tackle illegal immigration. and an exclusive on the front of the sunday mirror about inmates being paid to bin millions of covid kits and wasted personal protective equipment. hello, the very prolonged cold spell is coming to an end. a risk of freezing rain, it really is good to

be very unpleasant as we see this transition from the freezing cold across the country right now, and then that much milder air which will split in with wind and rain, reaching the very tip of cornwall and devon early hours of sunday morning, but still a widespread frost ahead of it and read old temperatures will be a lot lower than in values. into the morning, strong winds, a risk of freezing rain, particularly across northern england. an amber warning enforce. a really horrible day for some of us as temperatures struggling to get above freezing in some spots, but quickly turning much milder here in the south—west

this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. our top stories... an explosion of covid cases in china, just ten days after beijing eased strict lockdown measures, following a wave of protests. in iran, the internationally known film actress, taraneh alidoosti, has been arrested as anti—government protests continue into a fourth month. 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.