this is bbc news, i'm rich preston. our top stories: china sees a sharp increase in coronavirus cases days after beijing eased restrictions following a wave of protests. international film actress, taraneh alidoosti, is arrested in iran, as anti—government protests continue into a fourth month. german police recover some of the precious items stolen during the country's biggest art heist three years ago. and, argentina or france? we look ahead to the world cup football final.

hello and welcome to bbc news. china is seeing a sharp rise in positive covid cases, just 10 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. they stopped countin- they stopped counting asymptomatic cases, there has also been a transition to use of antigen tests which are not associated with the labradorian, they are being done at home so just like the issues we've been having in the united states and globally, when you switch to antigen tests you don't have that situational awareness so our best bet is going to be understanding what is happening in the hospitals. 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. 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 people wounded in the unrest in a neighbourhood in the west of the capital tehran. our reporter azadeh moshiri is with me in the studio. what more do we know? it is important — what more do we know? it is important to _ what more do we know? it is important to know _ what more do we know? it 3 important to know that taraneh alidoosti is one of the most prominent irani and actresses who still lives in iran so her actions tend to get a lot of headlines and certainly attract the attention of the islamic republic. you will remember a few months ago when the protest had just began she posted a picture of herself without a

hijab with a banner that said he said women, life, freedom. so she already had a lot of attention from the government and the time she has been arrested because she, according to state media, has been spreading falsehoods. this comes after she condemned the execution of one of the two men who has been executed in connection to the protest and in his case it was because he was accused of having blocked a main road in tehran as well as having attacked a member of the paramilitary force with a machete but what rights groups have pointed out is that he along with other protesters are involved in what are essentially sham trails, they don't even have their own lawyers and so that is what led taraneh alidoosti to post every international organisation who was watching this bloodshed and not taking action is a disgrace to humanity, but she did say before all of this, i am still staying in around despite the

risks to her own safety because she believed in defending her fellow iranians. so obviously an assertive woman like this who is gaining a lot of prominent and makes a lot of headlines for the sorts of action is going to attract the ire of the islamic public. in what are we hearing about the death of this young woman? 50. death of this young woman? so, aida rostami _ death of this young woman? srr, aida rostami really death of this young woman? s57, aida rostami really exemplifies some of the other risks here stopping you have protesters who are caught up being arrested, who are facing charges, who are even being executed but you still have protesters who are being killed out on the streets. we know that hundreds of been killed so far, we have reported on a before stopping when it comes to aida rostami, she is a young physician who was treating protesters who were injured and thatis protesters who were injured and that is because a lot of protesters are afraid of going to the hospitals because they could face consequences for having participated in the first place. according to reports and the work of our own colleagues at busy persian, police went to her family earlier this week with aida rostami's body and it was

heavily mutilated and injured, according to the family, and the story kept changing stopping the police at first said that she was involved in a car accident, then they said she fell off a bridge and then afterwards state media reported that she was in an altercation with a man and then fell off the bridge and so these are obviously really concerning circumstances, they don't make sense and it highlights the fact that we are in a really crucial point in the islamic republic's crackdown when they are trying to inspire fear in protesters as they try to get a hold of a movement that they simply cannot contain so far. 0k, thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. in north africa, tunisia's main opposition parties have called on the president to resign. that's after under 9% of people voted in an election for a new national assembly. the new assembly was part of a series of political changes made by president kais saied which his critics denounced as a coup. the opposition coalition says he's lost any legitimacy to govern. a man has been charged

with the murders of a woman and her two young children in kettering in northamptonshire in the english east midlands. officers were called to an address on thursday and found anju asok, jeeva saju, and janvi saju with serious injuries. they died a short time later. 52—year—old saju chelavalel will appear in court on monday. in south america: peru's embattled new president, dina boluarte, has ruled out resigning, saying doing so would not solve the political crisis in the country, sparked by the impeachment of her predecessor, pedro castillo. she's also asked for congress to pass legislation to bring forward an election as a way to stop the ongoing protests that have so far claimed more than 20 lives. and in europe: the german chancellor olaf scholz has opened the country's first liquid natural gas terminal, as part of plans to move away from russian gas supplies. it was built in record time following russia's invasion of ukraine. five more lng terminals will open in the next few months as the country weans

itself off cheap gas delivered through pipelines from russia. police in germany say they've recovered some of the precious items stolen during the country's biggest ever art heist three years ago. it happened at the green vault museum in the eastern city of dresden. authorities say they had a breakthrough in the investigation. gareth barlow reports. it was the robbery that shocked germany back in 2019 as masked men forced their way into the green vault museum inside dresden castle, and left with priceless pieces from the collection of the sexton ruler augustus the strong. to get to the jewels they have started a fire nearby to cause a power outage then cut through iron bars to get inside the museum. the lost treasure included a diamond encrusted sword and a series of 18th century pins and necklaces. local police about get the jewels back but despite

their best efforts, the trail went cold. translation: what is the chance of— went cold. translation: what is the chance of finding _ went cold. translation: what is the chance of finding this - the chance of finding this treasure again? we showed ourselves always decidedly optimistic but now i can be honest, it was a bit of a fab. the longer the investigation lasted, the more our confidence melted. therefore we are very happy to be here right now. and happy to be here right now. and riaht now happy to be here right now. and right now the — happy to be here right now. and right now the whole case has flipped with lee saying most of the items have been recovered in berlin, but not all of them, after information came to light during an ongoing trial. around 40 during an ongoing trial. around a0 people were thought to be part of the heist with six members of a known crime syndicate facing charges for it currently. details of the deal made with prosecutors were kept secret but a total of 31 items are now on their way back to dresden where they will be examined by a purchase to confirm the authenticity and where security are sure to be confirming some new security measures. here in the uk, a woman has died after a crush outside a concert at the in brixton in south london.

33—year—old rebecca ikumelo was one of three people critically injured on thursday night. her family say she was a nursing graduate, a mother of two young children and known for her "care and kindness." police say 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 1,000 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 a,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. you are watching bbc news, a reminder of our top stories: china is seeing a sharp increase of positive covid cases just 10 days after suddenly easing its strict lockdown measures following a wave of protests. the award—winning iranian film actress taraneh alidoosti has been arrested after publicly condemning the first execution of a protester in iran earlier this month. in the republic of ireland, leo varadkar has returned as the country'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 this report. this christmas in dublin,

it's notjust gifts that are being exchanged — there's been a swap at the top in politics. applause. 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 powerforfar 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. football fans are preparing themselves for the final of the world cup on sunday. it's argentina against france. each country has won the tournament twice in the past but france are hoping to become the first country since brazil in 1962 to win in consecutive competitions. our paris correspondent lucy williamson has this report.

the french footballers, team loyalty is a way to win matches but for french fans it is a way of life. the gaon, practising his game in paris this week, not even argentina can shake his faith in the national side. no fear. no fear. because i know that they are the best team in the world and that never changes. i'm only 19 years old and i would like to see my country when the second world cup, that would be incredible so it definitely means something. argentina's star player _ means something. argentina's star player lionel _ means something. argentina's star player lionel messi - star player lionel messi already knows how the french play football. his dayjob is scoring goals for this french club. this match will pitch two of france's footballing heroes against each other. gillian and bachar and lionel messi usually both play for the paris club, parry st germain, but today they will be facing each other on opposing sides >> kylian mbappe a. mbrp is france's star striker, missy is

argentina's. in the bar next to the paris ground, there is anxiety ahead of the game. the french know how messi plays football too. i french know how messi plays football too.— french know how messi plays football too. i am super tense because we — football too. i am super tense because we saw _ football too. i am super tense because we saw what - football too. i am super tense i because we saw what argentina did and they have a mission. it's to win. but france has a mission, too. it is win twice! so does france have what it takes? translation: at}?! so does france have what it takes? translation: of course! k lian takes? translation: of course! kylian mbappe — takes? translation: of course! kylian mbappe a. _ takes? translation: of course! kylian mbappe a, for— takes? translation: of course! kylian mbappe a, for sure. - takes? translation: of course! kylian mbappe a, for sure. he . kylian mbappe a, for sure. he is younger and faster and everything is possible. translation: it everything is possible. tuna/mom- everything is possible. translation: , ., ., everything is possible. translation: , ., translation: it is going to be a battle because _ translation: it is going to be a battle because it's _ translation: it is going to be a battle because it's the - translation: it is going to be a battle because it's the only i a battle because it's the only title — a battle because it's the only title messi doesn't have. you can tell— title messi doesn't have. you can tell they are nervous. they want _ can tell they are nervous. they want to — can tell they are nervous. they want to win the world cup. we want _ want to win the world cup. we want to— want to win the world cup. we want to win the world cup. we want to win the world cup. we want to win the world cup two. the vagit— want to win the world cup two. the vagit is winning! the vagit is winning! _ the vagit is winning! the vagit is winning! -- _ the vagit is winning! the vagit is winning! —— they— the vagit is winning! the vagit is winning! —— they get. - the vagit is winning! the vagit is winning! -- they get.- is winning! -- they get. french ride is winning! -- they get. french pride and _ is winning! -- they get. french pride and confidence _ is winning! -- they get. french pride and confidence have - is winning! -- they get. french i pride and confidence have grown with everyone in this tournament. the charge ringing across paris after the semifinal win. we are in the final. one game now stands

between france and glory. 11 men who carry the hopes of this nation to qatar are within sight of carrying the trophy back home. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. that's the french preparations. let's get an argentine perspective with monica barragan, who will be watching in los angeles. monica, thank you for being with us. nice shirt! you are more than 6000 miles from home and with the bulk of the fans, how are you feeling?- and with the bulk of the fans, how are you feeling? hello. i'm feelin: how are you feeling? hello. i'm feeling very _ how are you feeling? hello. i'm feeling very happy. _ how are you feeling? hello. i'm feeling very happy, very - feeling very happy, very excited. i don't know how we're going to do to be able to sleep tonight. most likely, i'm going tonight. most likely, i'm going to be up all night.— to be up all night. because of course this— to be up all night. because of course this is _ to be up all night. because of course this is an _ to be up all night. because of course this is an early - to be up all night. because of course this is an early kickoff| course this is an early kickoff for you, 7am la time. course this is an early kickoff foryou, 7am la time. how confident are you feeling about the game? i confident are you feeling about the game?— the game? i am feeling very confident — the game? i am feeling very confident because _ the game? i am feeling very confident because all - the game? i am feeling very confident because all the . confident because all the argentinian fans, we hope that

messi, messi is going to do his best show tomorrow. we have an incredible team, an incredible coach, and we know that we can beat france. we are very strong. beat france. we are very stronu. �* ., i. beat france. we are very stronu. �* ., , strong. i'm glad you brought up messi because _ strong. i'm glad you brought up messi because he _ strong. i'm glad you brought up messi because he has _ strong. i'm glad you brought up messi because he has been - strong. i'm glad you brought up messi because he has been onej messi because he has been one of the heroes of the tournament, really. dozens of accolades to his name. but he has not won the world cup before. you think you can be taking this trophy home? yes, es. he taking this trophy home? yes, yes- he has — taking this trophy home? yes, yes. he has that _ taking this trophy home? yes, yes. he has that desire, - taking this trophy home? yes, yes. he has that desire, very i yes. he has that desire, very strong inside of him, more than ever. he has grown a lot inside and he is prepared, he is ready to bring this home. he cannot wait. , ~ , wait. he is argentina's strongman _ wait. he is argentina's strongman but - wait. he is argentina's strongman but the - wait. he is argentina's - strongman but the french's secret weapon, not so much of a secret, really, is kylian mbappe a. when the two men meet on the pitch, it really is going to be a tussle of the talents. can argentina get past

mapping and some of the skills he has displayed so far? it will be a big challenge but argentina defenders have been working very hard to stop him. and we're very confident that it can happen. and messi's skills, he will be able to play them. and show that he has talent. ., , ., ., ., talent. final question, what do ou think talent. final question, what do you think the _ talent. final question, what do you think the score _ talent. final question, what do you think the score is - talent. final question, what do you think the score is going - talent. final question, what do you think the score is going to | you think the score is going to be? ~ . you think the score is going to be? . ., ., ., you think the score is going to be? we are going to win 3-1. 3-1! 0k, — be? we are going to win 3-1. 3-1! 0k, a — be? we are going to win 3-1. 3-1! 0k, a bold! _ be? we are going to win 3-1. 3-1! 0k, a bold! 3-1! - be? we are going to win 3-1. 3-1! 0k, a bold! 3-1! i- 3—1! ok, a bold! 3—1! iam keeping my fingers crossed for you, monica. thank you for being with us, enjoy the match. thank you. good luck. i hope we win! in the third—place playoff match, croatia beat morocco by two goals to one. croatia opened

the scoring after seven minutes with this header from a well—worked move. morocco equalised two minutes later — another header, this time after a rebound off a defender — achraf dari — scoring. but this shot, in off the post from mislav orsich, just before half—time, turned out to be the winner for croatia. and all of that means croatia, beaten finalists last time, take the bronze medal home from qatar. south koreans will shortly become a year younger. the country uses a traditional method of counting age, which means you're considered one year old when you're born. but that's about to change. last week, a new law was passed which will bring the country's age calculation system in line with the rest of the world. to find out more about the origins of this tradition, we can speak to david trizzard, professor of korean studies at seoul women's university. thank you very much for being with us, professor. the new administration announced in april they will bring this legislation in and now it is

happening. through what can expect. happening. through what can exect. ~ ., happening. through what can exect. ., , . , expect. what we can expect is, as the headlines _ expect. what we can expect is, as the headlines are _ expect. what we can expect is, | as the headlines are suggesting around the world, korean people will get one year or two years younger. because in south korea, age is really important. whereas in the west it is sometimes impolite to ask people their age, because south korea has this confucian culture and the language you use when addressing other people will change according to whether they are older or younger than you, one of the first things you ask someone is how old are you? and there are actually three different systems here. determining one's age. but there is a big difference between the international age and korean age. the korean age put someone as well two years older as the rest of the international society would see them. the country is now shifting from the traditional system to the international system. having three ways — international system. having three ways of _ international system. having three ways of counting - international system. having three ways of counting one's| three ways of counting one's age sounds remarkably confusing. does it cause

problems for people in korea? it does sound confusing but let me tell you, it's not. korean people get on with absolutely fine, i2 children edward and elizabeth know how to express their age in korean and english and when they switch between the languages, they will actually change their age. most people here, it's completely confusing at all, although it can sound like that from the outside. one of the ways the korean people do get around it is through determining what year you were born rather than actually saying your age. there was a famous book a couple of years ago, kim was born in 1982, a sign of the growing feminist movement. you will notice it was born 1982, not like in the west where we have adrian mole, 13 three quarters and such, but referring to the year of birth rather than the date of birth. it's been one way that the korean people get around this. like i say, it does not really cause problems when korean people speak to

each other in korean. the problems come when engaging with the international world and one example of this would be we have the world cup going on but also with ets and their mandatory military service and we've had people asking how old is in and what age do you have to do it —— bts. when these concepts are expressed and communicated about in different languages across cultures, that's where the confusion sometimes lies and so it's for those reasons that korea is now international standards across all of their documents. this isn't the — all of their documents. this isn't the first _ all of their documents. this isn't the first time - all of their documents. this isn't the first time south i isn't the first time south korea has tried to change its age system. going work this time? i age system. going work this time? , ., ~' time? i believe it will work. it will work _ time? i believe it will work. it will work on _ time? i believe it will work. it will work on paper - time? i believe it will work. it will work on paper and i i it will work on paper and i think another reason why they are going with this is because of covid—19 and requirements of vaccination and documentation when travelling abroad, it needs to always be clear. furthermore, south korea is a sort of growing in its stature in the international community, there are more eyes on it, and for some people they want to

bring the country more in line with those international standards. i believe it will absolutely take place and just to be clear, it is already like that on doctor's prescriptions and certain things, so it is already in place in some parts of korean society.— already in place in some parts of korean society. fiic where it of korean society. 0k. where it went immediately take place, i don't think, is when south korean people talk to each other in korean, i don't think that cultural change very soon, that cultural change very soon, that will take a bit longer. 0k, that will take a bit longer. ok, professor, thank you very much forjoining us. appreciated. thank you. dozens of swimmers in colourful costumes have jumped dozens of swimmers in colourful costumes havejumped into lake geneva for the annual christmas cup event. geneva for the annual christmas cup event-— cup event. amateur and professional _ cup event. amateur and professional swimmers | cup event. amateur and - professional swimmers take part of two days dressed in cowboy hats, superhero costumes and that he dresses, leaping off a pier into a lake and swim 100m, but temperatures of minus two celsius, 35 fahrenheit! looks like a good turnout although i am not sure you would catch me

doing it! you can reach me on twitter. thank you for your company. see you next time. hello. as this cold snap comes to an end, we've some really 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. now, 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 willjust 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 powerlines 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 south—west 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 isobars. so, 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 1a degrees. an extraordinary rise in temperature injust 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: china is seeing a sharp increase of positive covid cases, just 10 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 shanghai, officials have ordered most schools to take classes online. the award—winning iranian film actress, taraneh alidoosti, has been arrested after publicly condemning the first execution of a protester in iran earlier this month. an iranian news agency says ms alidoosti, was detained for publishing what it called false and distorted content and inciting chaos. leo varadkar has become prime minister of ireland,

returning to the top job as part of a power sharing deal