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.

hello to you in the uk and around the world. we start off with china. china is seeing an explosion of positive covid cases, just ten days after suddenly easing its strict lockdown measures, following a wave of protests — with the capital, beijing, being one of the worst affected areas. in china's largest city, shanghai, officials have ordered most of its schools to take classes online, as covid cases soar. our reporter, ijoema ndukwe, reports. cars bearing the dead line the driveway of this crematorium assigned for covid—19 deaths.

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 baidu, 70% of beijing, a city of 22 million people, is infected. 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 that there has been a breakdown in the testing and reporting 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 are the messages that i have just been receiving from contacts all over china over the past few days. meanwhile, in china's largest city, shanghai, officials have ordered most schools to take classes online as covid cases soar. nurseries and childcare centres will close from monday, according to the education bureau. the authorities have stepped up vaccinations, including the option of inhalable boosters to speed up distribution. however, a past emphasis on lockdowns, rather than vaccinations, means that older people are at risk. sufficiently vaccinated is the question, and unfortunately that is a relatively low percentage, particularly with elderly people. and, you know, to understand why, i think in the time of severe lockdowns, we have had nearly three years of china being severely locked down and that was the containment measure, so people had a sort of false sense of security.

there are concerns that china's health infrastructure is not equipped to deal with the rapid rise in patients. analysts say chaos and confusion have followed the country's abrupt decision to drop its controversial zero covid policy. and it is still unclear how authorities will get to grips with this current surge in infections. ijoema ndukwe, bbc news. let's cross to california and speak to dr anne rimoin — a professor of epidemiology at the ucla fielding school of public health in los angeles. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. to start off with, in terms of getting accurate data, what can you tell us about the spread of covid in china? ~ , , ' . tell us about the spread of covid in china? ~ , , , . ., china? well, it is very difficult to know exactly _ china? well, it is very difficult to know exactly what _ china? well, it is very difficult to know exactly what the _ china? well, it is very difficult to know exactly what the numbers | china? well, it is very difficult to i know exactly what the numbers are now because they have stopped

counting asymptomatic cases because of this massive wave of infections, and there has also been a transition to using antigen tests, which are not associated with the laboratory and are being done at home, sojust like the issues we have been having in the us and globally when you switch to antigen tests you really don't have that awareness, is our best bet is really going to be understanding what is happening in the hospitals. find understanding what is happening in the hospitals-_ understanding what is happening in the hospitals. and what do we know about what is _ the hospitals. and what do we know about what is happening _ the hospitals. and what do we know about what is happening at - the hospitals. and what do we know about what is happening at the - about what is happening at the hospitals because well, the data is just starting to come in, hospitals are obviously starting to get just starting to come in, hospitals are obviously starting to— are obviously starting to get filled u - , are obviously starting to get filled up, overwhelmed, _ are obviously starting to get filled up, overwhelmed, they _ are obviously starting to get filled up, overwhelmed, they are - are obviously starting to get filled up, overwhelmed, they are going| are obviously starting to get filled i up, overwhelmed, they are going to start to have runs on medicine stop you know, all the things we have had in every single search in the united states, in the uk, in europe. we have all experienced this, but china has not since the very been d beginning of this pandemic because they have had a very strict programme and protocol in place. now what they are dealing with is that these variants have become more and more contagious over time and the

vaccines that they have are not as effective against the omicron variants, plus they have very low rates of uptake, so it is going to be a very dramatic situation in the coming weeks. i be a very dramatic situation in the coming weeke— coming weeks. i know there is concern. _ coming weeks. i know there is concern. isn't _ coming weeks. i know there is concern, isn't there, - coming weeks. i know there is concern, isn't there, that - coming weeks. i know there is| concern, isn't there, that since coming weeks. i know there is - concern, isn't there, that since the locked arms have been lifted, the restriction is lifted, that there is going to be a mass movement of people from the city to perhaps rural areas as they try to get way. what do we know about what china has in place in terms of stockpiles of treatments of those vaccines that you mentioned? are they prepared? well, you know, iam not you mentioned? are they prepared? well, you know, i am not aware of what they have or don't have available to them, but what i can tell you is that it is going to be very important to have access to all of these things in place because we know from our experience, when you have a surge of covid, everything gets stressed and that includes the health system, not onlyjust the

primary health systems, but everything down the line, but we have skilled nursing facilities, places where you have older people also get stressed, so everything will get stressed and because this very rapid lifting of protocols and procedures and rules around covid, we can just expect to see a massive explosion of cases. you know, on the one hand, it is a much less virulent strain than the very early strains and some of these other strains that they were, they were not, that they did not suffer from, they were, they were not, that they did not sufferfrom, but they were, they were not, that they did not suffer from, but the they were, they were not, that they did not sufferfrom, but the problem is it is more infectious, so even when you have more infectious variants and a lot of people who are vulnerable, you are still going to see those hospitals being hit. professor, it has been three years of lock towns. it has been ten days since the restrictions were lifted. some schools are certainly

responding. schools are recognised super spreader sites now, but ten days out of lockdown and the rate of cases, is that normal? i days out of lockdown and the rate of cases, is that normal?— cases, is that normal? i mean, we know that — cases, is that normal? i mean, we know that they _ cases, is that normal? i mean, we know that they have _ cases, is that normal? i mean, we know that they have a _ cases, is that normal? i mean, we know that they have a very, - cases, is that normal? i mean, we know that they have a very, very l know that they have a very, very immune naive population, they don't have a lot of immunity from population immunity from natural immunity from having had the virus, nor do they have great immunity from vaccines, which are not as widely distributed and they are not as effective against the omicron variant, so we can assume that with omicron omicron with this particular strain that is circulating that we will see a lot of cases and spread exponentially over time. you know, you have the population, the densely populated areas and lack of immunity, which are all setting the stage for a very dramatic rise in cases. and again, what we do know is when this virus has an opportunity

to spread, it has an opportunity to mutate and when it has an opportunity to mutate when you do risk new variants and it is always a roll of the dice with what happens there, so i think this is going to be important to monitor it, very, very carefully and to do everything we can to make sure that their systems are able to handle the sure influx of cases and patients. because obviously the implication is that it could go beyond china's borders, couldn't it? we all know what happened then. dr anne rimoin, thank you very much indeed, thank you. ma; thank you very much indeed, thank ou. ~ , , . , 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. 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. let's find out more about these latest developments. our reporter, azadeh moshiri, is with me in the studio. i wonder if we could start off with taraneh alidoosti. it is not the first time she has come up against the government like this, just tell us a bit about her and what we know about her whereabouts.— us a bit about her and what we know about her whereabouts. that's right, it is important _ about her whereabouts. that's right, it is important to _ about her whereabouts. that's right, it is important to know _ about her whereabouts. that's right, it is important to know that - about her whereabouts. that's right, it is important to know that taranehl it is important to know that taraneh alidoosti is one of the most prominent iranian actresses who are still living in iran and that is why what she does get a lot of headlines, but it also attracts the

attention of the islamic republic. in this case, according to state media she has been arrested for spreading falsehoods, that is after she condemned the execution of the second, one of the two men who has been executed in connection to the protests. while this man was charged with having wounded a pal military officer with a machete and having blocked a main road in tehran, what many human rights said groups have said that is that he like many others didn't have access to a lawyer and participated in what was really a sham trial, so she posted, every international organisation who is watching this bloodshed and not taking action is a disgrace to humanity. before this, she said she was going to stay in iran and continue showing support for the protests, no matter the risks that she faces and that is why she posted that picture of herself without a hijab, with the words, my woman, my freedom. so essentially she is a

woman who is extremely prominent and extremely assertive and that is something that threatens the islamic republic. something that threatens the islamic re - ublic. �* , something that threatens the islamic reublic. �* , , ., republic. 0k, we're 'ust showing ictures republic. 0k, we're 'ust showing pictures at republic. 0k, we're 'ust showing pictures of huh republic. 0k, we'rejust showing pictures of her there _ republic. 0k, we'rejust showing pictures of her there on - republic. 0k, we'rejust showing pictures of her there on the - pictures of her there on the screens. there is concern is unfortunately another death. it has been described as suspicious. her name is aida rostami. who is she and what dish do we know? yes. name is aida rostami. who is she and what dish do we know?— what dish do we know? yes, she is a that there are _ what dish do we know? yes, she is a that there are different _ what dish do we know? yes, she is a that there are different kinds - what dish do we know? yes, she is a that there are different kinds of - that there are different kinds of threats now for these protesters, some who have been arrested, some facing sentences, some who have been executed already, but we still have hundreds die on the streets, loads we have reported being killed rees li previously. she is a young physician who has been treating protesters because many of them are being terrified of going to the hospital had been connected with the protests and facing consequences. earlier this week collaboration with our colleagues at bbc persian we saw that police turned up for her body at the families. according to her body, sunni according to herfamily,

her body was extremely mutilated. the police said that she died in a car accident, the police said that she died in a caraccident, but the police said that she died in a car accident, but then the story changed, it was that she fell off a bridge, but again it didn't make sense with all these injuries and the report said that she had died from blows to the head, so then the state media reported she actually had an altercation with a man and then fell off a bridge, so these changes, the story completely doesn't make sense, so it is a reflection of where we are at now with these protests because islamic republic wants to scare these protesters because they haven't been able to get a handle on his protest so far, so essentially the crackdown is becoming even more brutal additives that gamble to see if it works and they managed to quell protests that have lost steam yet. thank you very much indeed, that was azadeh moshiri there. let's turn to events in russia. 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. following a wave of airstrikes 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 zelensky said that the country had managed to restore power to almost 6 million people in the last 2a hours. translation: the main 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 russian investment investment in terror — just imagine, more than 4000 missiles — that must be covered by an even greater support to the people targeted by this terror. our correspondent in kyiv, hugo bachega, gave us more details on the russian airstrikes. the authorities say russia launched 76 missiles in this ninth wave of airstrikes 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. that was hugo bachega there in kyiv. 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 london dr anne rimoin we will be calling at london dr anne rimoi , ., we will be calling at london dr anne rimoi , . ._ 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. nepa i appreciate they have got a case, but it is affecting lots of people. i case, but it is affecting lots of ”eole. ., ,, .., case, but it is affecting lots of ”eole. .., , case, but it is affecting lots of n-eole. u, , ~' case, but it is affecting lots of heole. u, , ~' . people. i appreciate this, like and take it, but _ people. i appreciate this, like and take it, but a _ people. i appreciate this, like and take it, but a lot _ people. i appreciate this, like and take it, but a lot of— people. i appreciate this, like and take it, but a lot of people - people. i appreciate this, like and take it, but a lot of people can't, | take it, but a lot of people can't, sow _ take it, but a lot of people can't, so... , , , , take it, but a lot of people can't, so... , ,, so... this dispute is about pay conditions _ so... this dispute is about pay conditions and _ so... this dispute is about pay conditions and talks _ so... this dispute is about pay conditions and talks are - so... this dispute is about pay i conditions and talks are ongoing. the boss at the rmt union said talks are ongoing, but movement was needed from all sides to resolve this dispute over pay and conditions. obviously the strike action is on now and we are hopeful in the days to come we will have more discussions with both sets of companies 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 positions 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 6pm on christmas eve until 6am on the 27th. two further 48—hour strikes are planned affecting

services early next month. that is onjanuary that is on january the that is onjanuary the 3rd fourth, fifth and seventh. this last weekend before christmas is vital for the retail sector and the strikes are hurting many businesses. they have all seen their profits hit badly. they have all seen their profits hit badl . , , .,, they have all seen their profits hit badl. , , ., badly. this is the most important weekend for _ badly. this is the most important weekend for me _ badly. this is the most important weekend for me of— badly. this is the most important weekend for me of the _ badly. this is the most important weekend for me of the whole - badly. this is the most important i weekend 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 footfall that 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 can be resolved anytime soon still remains unclear. bbc news. a 33—year—old woman in london has died after being injured in a crush at a concert at 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 asheakay, had to be abandoned pa rt—way through. the met police say a "large number of people" tried to force their way inside. matt cole has more. these were the out—of—control scenes on thursday night, when what is believed to have been over 1000 people tried to force their way out of the brixton 02 people tried to force their way out of the brixton o2 academy. the concert, the third of three here, was a sell—out. despite his request that people without tickets stay away, hosted online before the show, hundreds and more still came. the pushing, shoving and trampling led to three people being critically hurt. ., u, , to three people being critically hurt. ., _, , ., to three people being critically hurt. ., , .,, to three people being critically hurt. ., , ., hurt. you could see two people out here getting _ hurt. you could see two people out here getting treatment _ hurt. you could see two people out here getting treatment from - hurt. you could see two people out here getting treatment from the i here getting treatment from the police, the police killing them cpr to the young lady. yes, it was 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 and family. christmas with their friends and famil . , ., christmas with their friends and famil. , ., , christmas with their friends and famil . , ., , ~ ., family. this morning rebecca ikumelo died from injuries. _ family. this morning rebecca ikumelo died from injuries. she _ family. this morning rebecca ikumelo died from injuries. she was _ family. this morning rebecca ikumelo died from injuries. she was 33 - family. this morning rebecca ikumelo died from injuries. she was 33 and - died from injuries. she was 33 and from newham in east london. two others remain critically ill. the debris from the chaos here on thursday night still lines the streets 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? asake has released a statement, speaking of his devastation at rebecca ikumelo's death, and he has asked that people keep herfamily in their death, and he has asked that people keep her family in their press. death, and he has asked that people keep herfamily in their press. with so many people at and around the venue here on thursday, detectives think they have as many as 4000 potential witnesses and they are keen to hear from them. they especially want images people took on the night in the hope they will offer clues as to how events unfolded. a special website has been

set up so people can submit the footage and photographs. matt cole, bbc news, brixton. croatia have secured third place at the world cup in qatar, beating morocco 2—1 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, runners—up from last time croatia 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 seconds into this one, croatia were nearly on the score sheet. soon after morocco were behind, the attacker turned out to be a defender.

one of the players of the tournament so far. he has croatia in front of! less than two minutes, the teams were back level, another defender, another header. underneath the piles of bodies. two coals in underneath the piles of bodies. two goals in two — underneath the piles of bodies. twr goals in two minutes! on the stroke of half—time the game swung back in croatia's favour. this player 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 the ar ruled no foul. fine awarded a penalty. the referee and the ar ruled no foul.— the ar ruled no foul. one of the worst decisions _ the ar ruled no foul. one of the worst decisions you _ the ar ruled no foul. one of the worst decisions you could - the ar ruled no foul. one of the worst decisions you could hope l the ar ruled no foul. one of the l worst decisions you could hope to see. ., worst decisions you could hope to see, ., . , ., worst decisions you could hope to see. . . , ., ., ., , see. that decision would have been even more — see. that decision would have been even more egregious _ see. that decision would have been even more egregious if _ see. that decision would have been even more egregious if morocco - see. that decision would have been | even more egregious if morocco had scored in the final seconds. in the end, a night that belonged to croatia, second four years ago it, third at qatar 2022 and a country that continues to outperform, relative to its size. a word on morocco, the first african team to have made it so far, the pride of

the continent and the arab world. fans may well be celebrating tonight. nestor mcgregor, bbc news, in qatar. well, on sunday defending champion france takes on argentina in the world cup final. our correspondent katy watson has been to the buenos aires suburbs to see how people there are preparing for the big day. everywhere you walk, lionel messi's presence is felt. ahead of the big game, this city has been spruced up in the colours of the flag. argentina is ready for victory. in my case, it's my dream, because since i was born in the �*90s, i couldn't see never argentina champion of the world. for many people, it will be a dream come true. translation: it is something | that is beautiful for this country. we are always struggling to make ends meet. it is nice to have some happiness.

luis' bar is packed with relics, dedicated to the beautiful game. he is dedicated to the beautiful game, and sunday means everything to him and his customers. translation: in argentina, they say the football - pitches don't shake, they have a heartbeat. every argentinian sees himself as a coach. everyone has a different opinion, but the moment we celebrate, we cry. we cry a lot and hug. this is the man who has defined argentina's success this year. while messi is the winner of almost every football trophy out there, a world cup win still eludes him. so the whole of argentina is behind him to put that right. the mini messis are everywhere on argentina's shabby football grounds for their future players. shabby football training grounds for their future players. kevin is one of the stars here. playing since he was four, he's signed to a local team. this is a poor part of buenos aires.

kids are playing on a dirt football pitch. this is a country where people have been really struggling for years. high inflation rates, just getting through each and every month. but along comes messi, a chance to win the world cup, and people here are energised, they are transformed. mum looks on proudly, sipping her drink in argentinian style. translation: the world cup has made kevin crazy. - he sings all the songs, cheers the goals and says he wants to be a player. messi is an example. an argentine famous for his footwork, everyone here is watching messi's last dance. and they are cheering him and the team on from afar. katie watson, bbc news, buenos aires. it really is going to be quite a day tomorrow, isn't it? if you are a fan

of football, that is. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lukwesaburak. plenty more coming up here on bbc news. hello. as this cold snap comes to an end, we have some really unpleasant weather to get through during the course of sunday, at least for a time some disruption due to freezing rain and places, really quite icy almost anywhere in the uk, some sleet and snow, but rain and wind as well all arriving with this quite threatening looking area of cloud, which is sweeping towards us as i speak and within this area of storm eunice you can see much milder air sweeping towards ireland and the south—west of england during the early hours of sunday. it is on the leading edge of that transition between the cold and the miles that we have the weather front. i between the cold and the miles that we have the weatherfront. i had between the cold and the miles that we have the weather front. i had a it is still freezing cold in the

morning, city centre temperature is _4’ morning, city centre temperature is —4, —5 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. take care.

this is bbc 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 six 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 several journalists. but he warned that serious concerns remained about their suspension.