you are watching bbc news. i am live in qatar at the lusail stadium where the world cup final is just about to kick off between argentina and france. i will have the very latest. i'm lewis vaughan—jones in the studio with the rest of today's stories. a man has been charged with facilitating attempted illegal entry to the uk after four people died when a migrant boat capsized in the channel on wednesday. 1200 members of the armed forces, and a thousand civil servants, will be drafted in to cover striking ambulance and border force staff over christmas. the iranian actor taraneh alidoosti is arrested after she supported anti—government protestors.

good afternoon. it is six o'clock in the evening here in qatar and the world cup final has just kicked off. argentina against france. it is, we hope, a fitting finale and the climax to what we have seen here over the last month. these two powerhouses with such great history in the tournament, that doesn't really tell half the story of what we have seen here over the past month. all the twists and turns, the nations of the original 32 that turned the world on its head, morocco reaching the semifinals, of course, the first african nation to

do that, the first of the arabs the —— arab speaking world to make it that far. they fell to reigning champions france a few nights ago as the french look to make it back—to—back world titles. no nation has done that since brazil 16 years ago. then we have argentina, led by their talisman, ago. then we have argentina, led by theirtalisman, looking ago. then we have argentina, led by their talisman, looking to achieve what diego maradona last achieved with argentina and lifted the world cup. lionel messi in his fifth world cup. lionel messi in his fifth world cup tournament is bowing out after this match. they have kicked off. they are a couple of minutes into the game. the french, they got over that sickness bug that affected their semifinal against morocco, so they are back at full strength. just they are back at full strength. just the one change for argentina. angel di maria coming in. it does seem to be argentina who are on the front footin be argentina who are on the front foot in the very early stages of

this match. the last time they met in a knockout match was four years ago in russia, lionel messi captained in that side as well against the french, and that was when kylian mbappe burst onto the scene, scoring twice, the french knocking argentina out of the russian world cup for— three in the last 16. there are elements of events there for the argentinians. —— 4—3. also huge history on their side and most of the fans inside the lusail stadium, they are the white and blue of the argentinian fans. over 50,000 here in qatar. a vastly outnumbering france. but the french fans are hugely confident. and as we have seen here on bbc news in the past couple of hours, millions watching in the cities of france, as they are in buenos aires, the argentinian fans, as well. but it is goldust, just a couple of minutes

into the world cup final between argentina and france. —— goalless. both looking to lift the trophy for a third time in their history. later in bbc news, from the bbc sport centre, we will have highlights of whatever has happened. but from me here at the lusail stadium, where we are under in the world cup final, let's head back to the studio. thank you for that. we will be back with you. a man has been charged afterfour people died and 39 were rescued when a migrant boat capsized in the channel this week. 0ur reporter vincent mcavinney joined me earlier with more details. this is in connection to the incident in the early hours of wednesday morning, when a small boat, a dinghy, carrying dozens of people got into distress off dungeness on the kent coast. there were people in the water. there were reports from fishing boats nearby that went out and the royal navy, the french navy, the coastguard,

they are were all involved in this major operation. 39 people were rescued, tragically four people died. nearfreezing temperatures. it was a pretty terrible night. the kent police have announced this afternoon that a 19—year—old, ibrahima bah, of no fixed address, has been arrested. they said the crown prosecution has authorised a charge against him of knowingly facilitating the attempted arrival in the united kingdom of people he knew, orat in the united kingdom of people he knew, or at reasonable cause to believe, where asylum seekers. he has been remanded in custody and will appear at folkestone magistrates�* court on monday. just magistrates' court on monday. just more broadly, more widely, not on the specific case, but if this is something we have been seeing a rapid increase in numbers of people making this trip, and it has become a serious political issue?— a serious political issue? yeah, in the ast a serious political issue? yeah, in the past six _ a serious political issue? yeah, in the past six years, _ a serious political issue? yeah, in the past six years, every - a serious political issue? yeah, in the past six years, every year - a serious political issue? yeah, in i the past six years, every year there has been a drastic increase. this year there is around 115,000 people believed to have made this very perilous crossing. it is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

they are paying, it is thought, tens of thousands in order to get a place on this boat to come across. the government, of course, it is a headache for them. it has meant they have seen repeated coverage of this, these boats coming in, and so they have announced new plans this week, a new command centre to try to deal with this, more funding to tackle immigration crime. they have been doing deals with the french government as well to get more patrols on the beaches. under suella braverman, the home secretary, looking at introducing a new law preventing illegal immigrants from applying for asylum in the country, she thinks that. the small boat crossings. would labour say that is unworkable. the united nations assay defies international law. this problem is not going away. it used to be contained in the spring and summer months when the weather was clear and the sea was calm but it is now an all year round problem. let�*s get the latest on the strikes now. the government is urging health workers to call off their walkout in the run up to christmas. the cabinet minister

with responsibility for strike contingency planning is 0liver dowden. he said the pay demands were unaffordable. the royal college of nursing is calling for a pay rise of 19%, but says any new offer would be put to their members. jonathan blake reports. in the week before christmas, more strikes seem certain. nurses will again walk out, and ambulance workers in england are due to take action too. their unions are demanding pay rises above inflation, but the government is not budging on its offer. i know things are challenging but we are trying to be reasonable throughout all this. i would urge the unions to be reasonable. i have to say, we will be resolute in response to this because it would be irresponsible to allow public sector pay and inflation to get out of control. on tuesday, nurses in england, wales and northern ireland are due to hold a second day of strikes. then ambulance staff in england will strike on wednesday with another walk—out planned

on the 28th of december. ministers say they are ready to talk, but not it seems about pay, so unions are holding firm as well. we started this year with a request to government to sit down and work with us to find ways to stop people leaving jobs in the nhs. they had been stubbornly ignoring us. members of the armed forces are being draughted in to drive ambulances and fill in for border force staff. but britain�*s top military officer, admiral sir tony radakin, has warned the armed forces are not spare capacity for striking workers. there�*s political on ministers too, with a handful of conservative mps saying they should reconsider. i think there is a real merit in having another look at the negotiations and seeing where they can get to. if that doesn�*t happen, unions have warned they will hold more strikes in the new year. jonathan blake, bbc news.

colonel richard kemp is a former british army commander, who served in the armed forces for more than 20 years. i asked him what he thought about the government calling in members of the military to cover for striking ambulance workers and border force staff this christmas. it's it�*s definitely a role the armed forces it should be playing if they have two as a last resort if nothing else can be done. nevertheless, that is why they are there. ultimately, they are an extremely reliable organisation that can be depended upon to keep emergency services, whether it be boarders or ambulances, running and everything else breaks down. it is an entirely appropriate role.— appropriate role. what about the idea that actually, _ appropriate role. what about the idea that actually, 0k, _ appropriate role. what about the idea that actually, 0k, it - appropriate role. what about the idea that actually, 0k, it could, l appropriate role. what about the l idea that actually, 0k, it could, in this instance, be absolutely fine, but if it becomes more regular, if it becomes a standard backstop, that actually that will eventually eat into the operational capabilities of the armed forces, simply by

diverting attention, personal, time, money away from their responsibilities? money away from their resonsibilities? ., �* ., , , responsibilities? you're absolutely ri . ht. responsibilities? you're absolutely riht. it responsibilities? you're absolutely riuht. it is responsibilities? you're absolutely right. it is one _ responsibilities? you're absolutely right. it is one of— responsibilities? you're absolutely right. it is one of the _ responsibilities? you're absolutely right. it is one of the core - right. it is one of the core responsibilities of the forces to do this sort of thing, but their primary responsibility is defence of the country in the number of different ways. it is quite possible if this does persist and go on for a long time, it does erode their operational capability. but it is something the armed forces are prepared to do, and in many cases are trained to do, and as we have seen on numerous occasions, fire strikes, ambulance strikes, problems with olympic security, as well as covid, we have seen how effective the armed forces are. one thing i would say is that of the armed forces it is getting smaller by the day, even at the moment we are reducing the number of soldiers in the army and the army is undermanned. the more impact it will have on their operational

capability. i think the gut should be looking very carefully notjust about because of industrial action, but because of commitments generally in —— and an increasingly dangerous world, and reversing the planned cuts. , ~ ., ., cuts. interesting. what about those individual personnel— cuts. interesting. what about those individual personnel who _ cuts. interesting. what about those individual personnel who have - cuts. interesting. what about those individual personnel who have been j individual personnel who have been called in, all their christmas plans now out of the window? they will be working instead. and many of them, not a particularly high wages. certainly not going to receive a particularly high paying goes either? ., ., ., , , either? you are absolutely right there. ithink— either? you are absolutely right there. i think the _ either? you are absolutely right there. i think the members - either? you are absolutely right there. i think the members of. either? you are absolutely right i there. i think the members of the armed forces are very much used to having their plans, whether it is christmas leave or other holidays or whatever, counselled, in orderto carry out due to they have to do. they don�*t like it, obviously they don�*t like it any more than anybody else does, but they will nevertheless do it. of course, it will have an effect on morale for themselves and their families, but ultimately, that is what it is about. the point you make about

their pay, many of these young soldiers in particular, sailors and airmen who are called income are being paid much less then those people striking for much more. of course, the armed forces is not allowed to go on strike. but i think it is absolutely right we should think about this and the government, when it has the money, if it ever has the money, the government should be looking at increasing the pay of the armed forces in order to recognise not only the sacrifices they make in battle, but how much they make in battle, but how much they depend on them in this kind of situation. . ~ they depend on them in this kind of situation. ., ~ , ., ., ., ., situation. thank you to colonel richard kemp. _ in iran, the well—known film actor taraneh alidoosti has been arrested. this is after she showed support for protestors there. an iranian news agency say she�*s been detained for publishing what it called false and distorted content. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri explains. she is one of the most prominent actresses in iran, a woman making headlines.

and this is why she has been caught in the islamic republic�*s crosshairs. taraneh alidoosti has shown support for protesters before. she showed a picture of herself without her hijab carrying the words, �*woman, life, freedom�*. but this time the islamic republic is making an example out of her. she has been arrested for what state media has said is spreading falsehoods. this was after she condemned the hanging of mohsen shekari, one of the two men arrested for protesting, after what human rights people say are sham trials. taraneh alidoosti wrote... earlier this week, the us state department condemned the mass arrests. we are gravely concerned that authorities reportedly continue to kill more of their own people in an effort to suppress peaceful

protest, protests we�*re seeing being led by women and girls and the youth of iran. we also are deeply concerned about reports of mass arrests, sham trials and now death sentences being handed down to protesters and carried out as well. iran�*s protests were sparked by the death of mahsa amini in police custody in september, and now they are facing one of the most violent phases of the crackdown. many protesters are still being killed by forces or dying under questionable circumstances, like aida rostami. she was a young physician treating protesters who were too scared to go to hospital. earlier this week, police returned her body to her family, bruised and mutilated. when the protests began, taraneh alidoosti said

she would not leave her country, no matter the risks she is taking, a sentiment echoed by young protesters in the chanting. with its violent response, the islamic republic is testing their resolve. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. earlier i spoke to negar yazdani, the founder of a law firm, black lion law, who campaigns for human rights in iran. she told me that this is a significvant development as taraneh alidoosti has such a high profile. her arrest is a sign that the state wants to crack down on celebrities, artists and put the sports personalities who have used their platform to challenge the regime. and it really shows how desperate the iranian government has become. and in terms of bravery, our reporter pointed out there that she refused to leave the country at the

time of the protests and could potentially therefore be suffering, as so many other, especially young people, have been?— as so many other, especially young people, have been? that's absolutely riuht. that people, have been? that's absolutely right- that is — people, have been? that's absolutely right. that is why _ people, have been? that's absolutely right. that is why we're _ people, have been? that's absolutely right. that is why we're calling - people, have been? that's absolutely right. that is why we're calling on - right. that is why we�*re calling on the prime minister and the foreign secretary to show international leadership and start cracking down on abuses. in iran. by, for example, establishing an asylum route to the uk for these brave protesters. in the same way the government did for the same way the government did for the ukrainians who were unfortunately in a similar position. interesting. these protests have been going on for months and months, driven, as we both mentioned, by so many young people who have stayed and faced the danger. from your point of view here, can you sense what happens next? are the protest is�* demand is going to be met? it

is' demand is going to be met? it certainly does not seem like they are. in fact, certainly does not seem like they are. infact, the certainly does not seem like they are. in fact, the regime is getting more brutal, which is firing up the protesters even further, it is backfiring on them. what we are looking at now is the government itself said about ten days ago that itself said about ten days ago that it has, it had then detained, in custody, over 18,000 protesters. they also stated that a 70% of those were under the age of 20, and the average age is 17. that is quite horrific and it shows how brutal the government is. i horrific and it shows how brutal the government is.— horrific and it shows how brutal the government is. i “ust want to remind our viewers, government is. i just want to remind our viewers, because _ government is. i just want to remind our viewers, because obviously - government is. i just want to remind our viewers, because obviously the l our viewers, because obviously the world cup is on in the final is about to kick off, and we saw those images of the iranian footballers are seemingly taking a stand in the early stages of the world cup, and the word bravery again was attached to them, and potential consequences, of course? , .,

to them, and potential consequences, ofcourse? , ., , ~ ., of course? yes, of course. and now we're seeing _ of course? yes, of course. and now we're seeing another _ of course? yes, of course. and now we're seeing another iranian - we�*re seeing another iranian football player who is imprisoned facing execution, amir nasr—azadani, which there has been some coverage on his position. ilil" which there has been some coverage on his position-— on his position. our thanks to negar yazdani. the family of a woman who died after being injured at a gig in south london say she was full of care, kindness and love. (tx 33—year—old rebecca ikumelo, who was a mother—of—two and a nursing graduate, was hurt in a crush at the 02 academy in brixton on thursday night. two other women remain in a critical condition. the met office has issued an amber weather warning for ice in the uk with a risk of sleet, snow and freezing rain in central and northern areas. an amber warning means that there is a risk of danger, damage or distruption to transport services. it comes ahead of temperatures being expected to soar

to highs of 14c tomorrow. the cold snap has caused a lot of disruption across the country, and here to tell us more is stav danaos. just focus first on this amber warning. where is it happening and what kind of implications does it have? , ., ., , what kind of implications does it have? , . ., , ., have? 0k, it is an amber warning, next one down _ have? 0k, it is an amber warning, next one down from _ have? 0k, it is an amber warning, next one down from red, - have? 0k, it is an amber warning, next one down from red, of- have? 0k, it is an amber warning, | next one down from red, of course. above the yellow warning. it is quite a rare phenomenon to get ice and freezing rain in the uk. without such an unprecedented cold snap. milder moving into this cold air. a transitional period of ice. it could be quite severe. a blanket weather warning of ice across much of england and wales. we are most concerned about the north of bingen. the area is shaded in orange. the pennine route down to low levels as well. as rain and sleet falling

freezing services, it could bring freezing services, it could bring freezing rain.— freezing services, it could bring freezing rain. people need to be extra aware _ freezing rain. people need to be extra aware in _ freezing rain. people need to be extra aware in the _ freezing rain. people need to be extra aware in the next - freezing rain. people need to be extra aware in the next couple l freezing rain. people need to be| extra aware in the next couple of hours? , , ~ . , extra aware in the next couple of hours? , , . ., , ., ., ., hours? especially with a lot of --eole hours? especially with a lot of peeple out — hours? especially with a lot of peeple out and _ hours? especially with a lot of people out and about, - hours? especially with a lot of people out and about, it - hours? especially with a lot of people out and about, it is - hours? especially with a lot of people out and about, it is a l hours? especially with a lot of. people out and about, it is a busy weekend. there will be people on road, walking on pavements, there will be slippy services. this warning is valid until the early part of the evening. but it could be lifted earlier. you can head online to see all the latest warnings. this is the current warning at the moment, which is lasting into the evening. as we move through the night though, the milder air will win out. this is a transitional issue. it will all revert back to rain and the ice will diminish as we move through the latter part of the day. the milder air is already into the southend west. it is a messy picture out there at the moment. we have got rain, rain, sleet and snow.

strong winds. localised flooding likely in southern areas, where we are seeing ice and snow melt. heavy rain falling on frozen services. the temperature _ rain falling on frozen services. the temperature amounted right at top, which as i was saying out loud, we�*re going to get to 1a degrees. we we're going to get to 14 degrees. we have we're going to get to 14 degrees. - have been working up to minus double digits, and tomorrow morning these are the sort of temperatures, a frost free start, basically, after 12 hours, which is pretty incredible. up to 14, 15 degrees in the south. wet and windy through monday. it stays unsettled for the week ahead. monday. it stays unsettled for the week ahead-— monday. it stays unsettled for the week ahead. ., ., ., , _, ., , week ahead. extraordinary contrast. thank yon — hydrotherapy as a form of medical treatment has been around for a long time — but here�*s a new twist. it�*s now being given to a cow. she�*s a calf called bunny — and she�*s been getting treatment in a water tank

at harper adams university in shropshire. david gregory—kumar has been to see her. the dairy calf 6400, otherwise known as bunny — as you can see, because of an issue with her back legs — she hops on and sort of propels, and as she gets bigger, this will become a real problem. it really put her ability to survive within the system in jeopardy. an animal that gets as large as a cow that can�*t bear weight on all four limbs, and can�*t move normally, won�*t make it into the herd eventually. but these days, bunny is walking better because she�*s a very lucky calf. she�*s the first cow to ever be given hydrotherapy to help improve her walk, and it is working. the tank we have got is usually used for dogs, canine hydrotherapy. what we're trying to achieve with bunny here is basically the same, so we are trying to improve her balance, strengthen her legs, and get her to taking individual steps with her hind legs,

so she is walking normally. three, two, one. once the tank is filled, the treadmill is turned on and the water slows her movement down, so she can�*t hop. she has to start walking. over time this treatment has improved movement strength. bunny is a lucky calf because she was born on the harper adams dairy unit, and this is also the harper adams facility, but the question is, is there a role for this kind of therapy in day—to—day farming? bunny is a kind of pioneering case, so our students have done a greatjob, and i hope with seeing the success of this, we might be able to say to the wider community, yes, there is some application in using physiotherapy on farm animals. a shower after treatment, and then back to the farm. soon she�*ll be too big for the equipment, her treatments will continue on dry land. but by the spring, this might be one pioneering bunny that successfully lost her hop. david gregory—kumar, bbc news.

sport, and now a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. big development already? yes, good afternoon. you have come to us at the right moment. with 24 minutes gonein the right moment. with 24 minutes gone in the world cup final at the lusail stadium in qatar, argentina and france attempting to become world champions for the third time, mbappe against messi, the just so happens that in the last moment, these are the live pictures, these core graphic tells you that argentina and lionel messi have scored and have taken the lead for argentina. the last time they won the world cup in 1990 six —— 1986, buoyed on the back of diego maradona. now the current number ten hasjust done this. maradona. now the current number ten has just done this. a penalty, maradona. now the current number ten hasjust done this. a penalty, it was. in the end, we are waiting for

the pictures to load, in the end it was a penalty. angel di maria restored to the side. we will have to go back to live pictures as we are waiting for those to load. brought down by 0sman pembele. referee the penalty. a26 than record world cup appearance for the argentina captain and indeed a one for him. will it be the goal or the game that gives him a world cup trophy? plenty of time to go. 25 minutes gone at the lusail stadium. more on that as it goes. bbc one has live pictures. the football association has confirmed that gareth southgate will remain as england manager until after the european championship in 2024. earlier this month southgate said he was conflicted about his future in the role after england�*s world cup quarterfinal defeat to france last weekend. but he�*ll now be in charge for a fourth straight major tournament, with steve holland

continuing to assist him. manchester united thrashed sheffield united 4—0 in group a of the women�*s league cup. adriana leon scored twice before half—time as her side overwhelmed the opposition. an own goal followed from ellie wilson, before martha thompson made it four nil. elsewhere tottemnham beat southamtpon 1—0 england have fought back to take a first innings lead on day two of the third and final test against pakistan in karachi. a harry brook century took the tourists to 354 all out, before pakistan ended the day on 29 without loss in their second innings, 21 runs behind. patrick gearey reports, this is a series that won�*t say still, always moving, usually turning. in italy today towards pakistan. ben duckett gone, and next paul michael, joe root as well. england a little woozy. 0llie pope made 50 but did not see this one coming. that is pakistan�*s new star

with a delivery that made even the accomplished astonished. but england have found their own breakthrough artist. another smash hit from harry brook, now batting with his captain ben stokes. great until you make a mistake. here, stokes runs, brooks stops. watch stokes. thumbs up, keep going. this is how they play now. england were in trouble. still broke attacked, not without a care but without fear. he has scored more runs than any englishman has managed in a series in pakistan. when he passed 100, the thumbs up was upgraded. this was quite some apology. 0thers heard his herald. the england lay charges on. —— late charge was on. they ended the innings 50 runs ahead, a leader pakistan had begun to eat away. the stage is set for an intriguing

finish. steve borthwick is set to be confirmed as the new england rugby union head coach. the leicester boss has been the strong favourite for the role since eddiejones was sacked earlier this month. the former england captain�*s first match in charge will be the six nations opener against scotland on fourth february. he�*ll also be in charge for the rugby world cup which takes place next year in france. let�*s try once again to bring those pictures of the goal in the world cup final happening in the last few minutes. lionel messi hasjust got up minutes. lionel messi hasjust got up from a pretty big bang on the head after scoring the penalty that came as a result of that challenge from pembele on di maria. he was felled and up stepped lionel messi, watching every moment as hugo lloris went to his right hand side, slotting it into the gap you left. i

mentioned how much of an historically significant game this is for argentina and messi. particularly apt so far of that with 28 minutes gone it is him who has proved the difference between the teams. so, argentina leading 1—0. fantastic thank you. time to get a bit more detail on the weather was stav danaos. hello, there. we are finally seeing an end to the cold spell. whether and windier weather pushes from the south. we are likely to see this transient speu are likely to see this transient spell of ice, freezing rain and snow. certainly too central and northern part of the country. blanket ice warning remains in force for much of england and wales. most concerned about significant eyes—mac in northern england, so much so the met office have an amber weather warning in place until a good luck this evening. gradually the ice risk will diminish.

this evening. gradually the ice risk willdiminish. rain this evening. gradually the ice risk will diminish. rain northern in the night scotland. the milder airfeeds northwards across all areas. very mild by the end of the night. a frost free night for all. it will be wet and windy in places. that mild and unsettled the theme continues for the week ahead, even to the run—up to christmas. there are signs of returning a little bit colder across northern areas over the christmas period. stay tuned the forecast. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. it�*s kicked off, argentina v france for the football world cup 2022 in doha. will it be messi�*s moment, or another marker for mbappe? in that game argentina have already taken the lead, they

a man has been charged with facilitating attempted illegal