this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... italy becomes the first european country to bring in entry restrictions for travellers from china after beijing announced it would reopen its borders next month. it comes as coronavirus cases surge in china, putting hospitals under severe pressure. as people flee kherson, ukraine says russia has carried out more than 30 rocket attacks in the past 2a hours alone. pope francis asks people to pray for his predecessor, benedict the 16th, who he says is very ill. the vatican says benedict's condition has worsened in recent hours. and britain is on course to record its warmest year ever, after a summer of

blistering heatwaves. we'll get reaction. hello and welcome. italy has become the first european country to order covid tests for visitors from china, after concern at the rapid rise in chinese infections. earlier, taiwan said it would introduce a similar scheme. japan and india have already ordered travellers from china to be monitored. the us could follow. there's concern travellers could bring new variants of the disease — now that beijing is lifting travel restrictions. our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, reports. from the world's most populous nation, alarming scenes. china's hospitals are overwhelmed, covid infections soaring. the country's abrupt decision

to dismantle much of its strict covid regime apparently yielding terrifying results. wards full of desperately ill people. outside this hospital in chengdu, a queue for emergency services. government officials say the situation is under control. that's not what these pictures suggest. at the dongjiao funeral home, one of the city's biggest, more evidence of the scale of the crisis — one funeral procession after another. workers here say they're so busy, they had no time to eat. from 30—50 services a day, up to around 200. covid mostly to blame. and yet china is opening up. relaxing rules for inbound travellers and raising the prospect of its own citizens, once again, being able to go abroad — welcome news for travel companies after three bleak years. translation: since this morning, we've had lots of inquiries -

from oui’ customers. they're asking whether they can travel abroad normally again, whether they'll need to quarantine on their return and when international tourism will return. but with some countries already adopting extra travel requirements for chinese visitors, and the united states citing a lack of transparent data, officials in beijing reject any suggestion that china has lost control. translation: the argumentl you mentioned is a bias smear campaign and political manipulation, with a hidden agenda which does not stand up to scrutiny or facts and runs counter to the truth. after last month's nationwide protests, this is the image china wants to project — of a country finally turning its back on the virus and on its own draconian response. but china's long, hard battle with covid is far from over. paul adams, bbc news. let's talk to carlo la vecchia, an italian epidemiologist

at the university of milan. carlo, welcome to the programme. to these new italian restrictions make sense to you?— sense to you? well, it depends whether new _ sense to you? well, it depends whether new variants _ sense to you? well, it depends whether new variants are - sense to you? well, it depends - whether new variants are registered and come from china. to my knowledge, the major wave which is currently on course in china is due to omicron variants. the same type of virus which has been circulating in europe and worldwide. i’ll of virus which has been circulating in europe and worldwide. i'll come back to that _ in europe and worldwide. i'll come back to that thought _ in europe and worldwide. i'll come back to that thought in _ in europe and worldwide. i'll come back to that thought in a _ in europe and worldwide. i'll come back to that thought in a moment, but there's been rising international concern about a lack of transparency around the information coming from china. transparency around what? what do we

need to know, what don't we know? we need to know, what don't we know? - need to know, what don't we know? - need to know numbers, which are certainly substantially... if you don't get the official website and you see a number of daily deaths in china, around a few thousand cases, it cannot be true because we have figures of overwhelmed hospitals in despair now. we are at last week in europe. so, the real numbers are certainly farfrom europe. so, the real numbers are certainly far from official ones. that's a critical area we require in your view. that's a critical area we require in yourview. how likely that's a critical area we require in your view. how likely is it that we might see a new variant from china

at this stage?— at this stage? well, any pro'ection of covid is uncertain. * at this stage? well, any pro'ection of covid is uncertain. in _ at this stage? well, any pro'ection of covid is uncertain. in my _ at this stage? well, any projection of covid is uncertain. in my view, | of covid is uncertain. in my view, after a year of subsequent omicron variants, it's relatively unlikely that... with the more serious disease. in the absence of surge variants, wheat. .. over i variants, wheat... overi million. it's not the right element if they are not carrying the new variant. of this positive cases is the key

question. 90% of passenger arriving in italy from china direct flights, so controlling the direct flights is a measure. indie so controlling the direct flights is a measure-— a measure. we have to leave it there, a measure. we have to leave it there. but _ a measure. we have to leave it there, but thank _ a measure. we have to leave it there, but thank you for - a measure. we have to leave it there, but thank you for for - a measure. we have to leave it - there, but thank you for forjoining us. there, but thank you for for “oining us. ., there, but thank you for for “oining us, ., ", ., there, but thank you for for “oining us. . ., i” ukraine says russia has stepped up mortar and artillery attacks on the recently liberated city of kherson in the south of the country. kyiv�*s armed forces said in the last 2a hours, 33 rockets had targeted the city. russian forces abandoned kherson last month in one of ukraine's most significant gains of the war. but it's come under renewed attack. on saturday, a russian strike on kherson killed at least ten people and wounded nearly 60. our correspondent, hugo bachega, sent this report from kyiv. tears in kherson. a final goodbye for another life lost to the war.

this city was liberated by ukraine just last month. but liberation hasn't brought relief. russia's bombing has been relentless. it doesn't stop — even for the dead. natalia was in her flat when a shell hit. she was a7. ukraine's advance pushed russian forces out of kherson. they're now on the other side of the dnipro river, from where they've been pounding the city, day and night. in the last 2a hours, more than 30 missiles were fired at civilian targets. this was one of the places hit — the maternity ward of a hospital. luckily, no—one was killed. the road leading out of the city used to be clearjust days ago. now, it's full of families fleeing. "we stayed all this time, but when the home next

"to ours was hit, we became scared", this woman says. the danger is not only kherson. here, in kyiv, the air raid alert sounded again this morning. on the battlefield, neither russia nor ukraine have made significant gains in recent weeks, but away from the front lines, people are being warned of the russian threat coming from the sky. hugo bachega, bbc news, kyiv. well, that's the latest on the ground on the battlefield. ukraine's president zelensky has been making his annual address to parliament. here's some of what he said. translation: ukraine has united the eumpean union- _ now, europe is defending itself. europe is overcoming the crises despite the enormous amount of resources that russia is deploying to break our continent. everything russia has tried to do against europe has not worked.

pope francis has asked roman catholics, to pray for his predecessor, pope benedict, who he said was very ill. francis made the surprise appeal, at the end of his general audience at the vatican. the vatican has confirmed, that pope francis visited his ailing predecessor on wednesday morning — right after the general audience. born in germany, he became pope in 2005 before stepping down in 2013 after nearly eight years — citing a "lack of strength of mind and body" due to his age. benedict the 16th is now 95, and his health has been deteriorating. michael kelly, managing editor of the irish catholic newspaper, spoke to me about today's development. pope francis was with his regular wednesday audience with the pilgrims who come to rome every wednesday to receive his blessing, and he just mentioned it at the end and this really started a lot of activity among the journalists who tried to find out what exactly is going on. so, we did find out a little bit

later directly from the vatican press office that they are concerned that pope benedict's condition did decline in the early hours of the morning. they say it's steady and it's been monitored by doctors, but undoubtedly, there is concern about this — his health has been in decline. we have seen him greeting people in december. he had recipients of a prize visit him in december. but they did say he was very weak, that his voice was almost inaudible, so there would be serious concern around that, given his age and frailty. we are in unusual territory, because benedict, the first to stand down in about 600 years. we've got accustomed to the various procedures around a pope passing whilst in office, but not a situation like this. no, this really is unprecedented. and i knowjournalists use that word a lot, but i think we can use it with confidence here because, normally when the pope dies,

the first thing that concerns catholics is that we need to elect a new pope. but obviously that is not the case here. we have pope francis, hale and hearty. the vatican have consistently over the last ten years refused to say what the procedures or the protocol would be around benedict xvi's death when that does in fact happen. we know that he himself is a very meticulous man, so this is something that will be planned very, very closely. but it won't be like previous papal funerals, for example, quite apart from the religious significance of the pope. benedict xvi is just like a retired head of state, like any other monarch, in any other part of the world. he no longer has an international role. that will make anything around his death much more simple than would have been the case. a final thought, because i would just like you to remind viewers about pope benedict. he was head of the catholic church for a little less than eight years, very much a traditionalist, a conservative, that whole area

around sex abuse by priests, the way it was covered up. how will history view him, do you think? i think in the short—term, people will look at things like the child abuse, corruption in the vatican, all of those things that marred his papacy. but i think, in time, people will realise this tsunami of clerical abuse went on while he was pope, and he took the first efforts, we can say, in the church to try to handle that and ensure that there would be this zero tolerance policy. on the religious side of things, he will be remembered as a theological powerhouse. he really has formed a whole generation of priests. his books really are the textbooks of the faculties all over the world. that will continue for some time to come. a very shy, retiring man. in many ways, he really didn't want to become pope, it was thrust upon him. at the time, he had asked to retire from his previous position, but the cardinals decided in 2005 that he was the man. and i think his stepping down

in 2013 was a sign of how much of a burden that high office was for him. that was michael kelly, managing editor of the irish catholic newspaper. if there is any update in terms of the condition of pope benedict, we will obviously bring that to you. those of the live pictures coming to us from the vatican city. a male university professor in afghanistan has torn up his academic certificates live on television in solidarity with women banned by the taliban from studying. ismail mashal ripped up his masters and phd documents, saying if women were not allowed to study, he didn't want his degrees any more. the united states and european union have appealed to kosovo and serbia to exercise maximum restraint, as tensions are rising in northern kosovo. kosovan police have closed the main

border crossing into serbia after roadblocks were set up on the serbian side. ethnic serbs have been blocking roads in northern kosovo for weeks, in protests sparked initially by a dispute over car number plates. kosovo's prime minister is urging the nato—led peacekeeping force in kosovo to remove the blockades. let's get some context. kosovo was part of the former yugoslav republic serbia until war broke out between them in 1998. this ended the following year after nato troops forced serb troops out of kosovo. in 2008, kosovo declared its independence from serbia. lars—gunnar veegermark is head of the eu rule of law mission to kosovo. he just told me of his growing concern at what's happening. i think we've all been very concerned by the increasing tensions

and escalations that we've seen, especially over the last couple of weeks since these illegal barricades went up in response to the arrest of the police officer. this is really unprecedented. we have to come back at least ten years to see anything like this. it comes at a time where all eyes are on ukraine and the war. the last thing that europe needs is another conflict. balkans correspondent guy de launey joins me now in the studio. it's certainly the most uncomfortable i've experienced in ten years. in terms of how close we are to a conflict, that's a bit more difficult to see happening because there is the presence of almost 4000 nato peacekeepers in kosovo, which is keeping both of those size on us. serbia doesn't want to enter any

sort of interface —— those outside. kosovo doesn't want to conflict with its allies over serbia. this call for restraint by the us and the eu has just reminded both sides to play responsibly. x�*t�*et hasjust reminded both sides to play resonsibl . �* , responsibly. yet we're seeing tensions rise, _ responsibly. yet we're seeing tensions rise, not _ responsibly. yet we're seeing tensions rise, not diminish. l responsibly. yet we're seeing l tensions rise, not diminish. we responsibly. yet we're seeing - tensions rise, not diminish. we gave some of the context in the introduction, but why is this exploded, these tensions now? i’d exploded, these tensions now? i'd sa exploded, these tensions now? i�*c say it's because exploded, these tensions now? if. say it's because of the poor relationship between the leaders of kosovo and serbia. the prime ministers don't have a good relationship. we've seen in the past when the leaders of kosovo and serbia get along, there can be normalisation talks and solutions to issues on the ground which allow people to lead more or less normal lives. that sort of chemistryjust isn't there at the moment. it might not be the immediate cause, but it's

the deep reason for why we're seeing all of this tension right now in kosovo. ., , ., , ~ , kosovo. kosovo's prime minister ura in: kosovo. kosovo's prime minister urging nate _ kosovo. kosovo's prime minister urging nato peacekeepers- kosovo. kosovo's prime minister urging nato peacekeepers to - urging nato peacekeepers to intervene in terms of those blockades. how realistic is that? nato's peacekeepers need to maintain peace and security. if they view down my view removing these will... they won't do it. i thanks for that assessment. here in the uk, police are continuing to question a man and a woman in connection with the fatal shooting of a woman on christmas eve. ellie edwards, who was 26, was shot outside the lighthouse inn pub in wallasey, just before midnight on saturday. police have suggested she was not the intended target of the attack. our correspondent danny savage gave us the latest. this is the lighthouse pub. people have been in the pub here all evening.

a group of people, including ellie, were sitting in a covered seating area, which had heaters on because not the usual time of year to be sitting outside for a drink. when the shots were fired. there was a covered area they were sitting when the shots were fired. ellie edwards received a fatal wound to her head at that time. she was taken to hospital not farfrom here and died a short time afterwards. since then, there's been an intense investigation going on here on merseyside into who fired the shots, where the weapon is and who else was involved in the targeted of that shooting. the update today is that merseyside police sent one of their senior officers here to give us an update, talking about the fact they were still looking for information of who was involved in where the weapon is. and where the weapon is. our staff at merseyside police are working relentlessly to find out who is responsible

for this appalling act. we will not rest until we bring the offenders to justice, and by that i mean the person who pulled the trigger of the gun, in the most indiscriminate way, in this public house on christmas eve. anybody who was responsible for arranging, facilitating or harbouring this individual, and anybody who continues to withhold information on who has done this or, indeed, where the weapon is that has led to this tragic totality. led to this tragic fatality. we will not rest of that will be tireless in our approach to find justice for ellie and her family. police have made a couple of arrests so far on monday, so two days ago, two people were arrested. a 30—year—old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and a 19—year—old woman was arrested on suspicion

of conspiracy to murder. they remain in custody and we understand the police they are still being held in question. it's clear that police are still missing pieces to this jigsaw and they want more information. they've released a very slick video to be put about here in the uk at the moment. about here in the uk at the moment to try and get more information from people who might know things. just from talking to people here, they are scared of the people who are responsible and as a result, there are lots and lots of police officers on the streets at the moment. on the streets at the moment to reassure people who feel very worried about what happened and that the centre of this is an innocent young woman, aged 26, who was murdered and devastated family. that was danny savage. two men have been arrested

on suspicion of murdering a man on the dance floor of a birmingham nightclub on boxing day. 23—year—old cody fisher was stabbed at the nightclub. west midlands police say a 22—year—old man was detained in birmingham, while another man, aged 21, was arrested in london. 2022 will be categorised as the warmest year on record for the uk, according to the met office. this year's weather has been defined by extreme events, with two big storms sweeping in at the start of the year, before summer temperatures reached 40 degrees celsius for the first time, bringing wildfires and prolonged droughts. let's get more on this from mike kendon. he's a climate information scientist at the uk met office. thank you so much forjoining us. the warmest year on record, just take me through it. the warmest year on record, 'ust take me through mi the warmest year on record, 'ust take me through it. 2022 will be the warmest iear _ take me through it. 2022 will be the warmest year on _ take me through it. 2022 will be the warmest year on record _ take me through it. 2022 will be the warmest year on record for - take me through it. 2022 will be the warmest year on record for the - take me through it. 2022 will be the warmest year on record for the uk l take me through it. 2022 will be the | warmest year on record for the uk in our long—running series which goes back to 1884. it will also be the warmest year on record in the series

going back more than 350 years. a feature of the year has really been the consistent warrant through the year. so, winter, spring, summerand autumn have all been within the top ten warmest for the uk. while your viewers may remember most extreme heat ofjuly, the 40 celsius that we recorded for the first time in the uk, the main thing is that we've had far more above average temperatures than a below average temperature daysin than a below average temperature days in the uk. we find this consistent warrant across the whole of the country —— consistent warmth. so, the average temperature, is that critical marker, they are all up in terms of the broader temperatures. we saw above 40 celsius for the

first time this summer. now in december, the first few weeks, we've seen the coldest snap since 2010. what do you make of those two things happening with the same 12 months? absolutely. we've had 40 celsius in july, and temperatures as low as -17. july, and temperatures as low as —17. our climate is warming. the awesome on my observation has clearly showed us this. all ten warmest year as occurred since 2003 —— the observation. we also have a lot of variability, so we can still get these cold spells in our weather like we've just seen in december. but as climate change plays out in the uk, what we expect to see over time is an increasing number of high temperature extremes, high temperature extremes, high temperature records being broken and fewer low temperature records being broken. what happened this year is broadly consistent with that. it is the trends that _ broadly consistent with that. it is the trends that we need to keep an

eye on, is that right?— eye on, is that right? absolutely. here in the _ eye on, is that right? absolutely. here in the met _ eye on, is that right? absolutely. here in the met office, _ eye on, is that right? absolutely. here in the met office, we - eye on, is that right? absolutely. here in the met office, we look. eye on, is that right? absolutely. | here in the met office, we look at high—resolution modelling to see how we expect climate change to play out until the end of the century. what happens next depends on what we do. it depends on the emissions scenario. we're already committed to a certain amount of climate change in the future, but what happens next, we are able to influence that. if we look at the 40 celsius that we saw in july, if we look at the 40 celsius that we saw injuly, conditions like that are obviously extreme the difficult for elderly and vulnerable people. event like that may be as common as once every three or four years. we have to leave it there because we're coming to the fun i am —— the end of the programme. asi

as i say, short break, but back with the summary on bbc news injust as i say, short break, but back with the summary on bbc news in just a minute or two. do stay with us. hello there. we've seen clouds and outbreaks of rain sweeping northeastwards across the uk today. just about everyone has had some soggy weather and there is a bit more rain to come through the next few days. as we close out 2022, it will often be windy. in the north of the uk. in fact, as this weather system continues to pivot through, we will see some snow continuing to fall over high ground in the north of scotland. some further rain showers further south, but some of those could be on the heavy side, maybe even with the odd rumble of thunder. overnight temperatures between 4—7 degrees. and it is going to stay windy, particularly around some of these western and southern coasts. and tomorrow is going to be a blustery day. there will be some spells of sunshine, but there'll also be some showers,

in fact, some quite frequent showers pushing across scotland through the afternoon. again, some of these will be wintry over high ground. those are the wind gusts we can expect. it is going to be a windy day pretty much across the uk. and temperatures, well, just a little down on where they have been today, but still, 5—10 degrees is not bad going for this time of year. now, as we move into friday, we see another weather system hurtling in from the atlantic. that will bring some heavy rain and, again, some strong winds. but for many places, that rain will sweep northwards and eastwards quite quickly. we will see some snow mixing in for a time over northern scotland, particularly over high ground. something a little brighter following on behind and turning milder again, 6—13 degrees. now, as we get into the new year period, we develop something of a split in our weather fortunes, because whilst southern areas will stay mild, northern parts will see some colder air trying to dig in with the chance for some wintry showers. but for southern areas, in the mild air, these weather fronts bring the chance for some

outbreaks of rain. so quite a messy weather picture, actually, for new year's eve. we will see rain threatening southern parts of the uk, maybe another band of rain across central areas, northern ireland into northern england. cold enough for some wintry showers across northern parts of scotland. as we head towards midnight, southern areas may see rain, northern areas are likely to be cold. and through new year's day, if this wet weather does drift northwards into the cold air, it does give the chance for some snow over high ground in scotland. it'll be rain further south. temperatures north to south, 5—12 degrees.

this is bbc world news. the headlines: italy is the latest country to tighten entry restrictions for travellers from china — due to soaring covid infection rates there after beijing relaxed containment measures this month. the us is also considering bringing in restrictions. as people flee kherson, kyiv says russia has carried out more than 30 rocket attacks in the past 24 hours. air raid sirens have sounded across ukraine. people have been asked to stay in shelters. pope francis has asked people to pray for his predecessor, benedict xvi, who he says is very ill. the vatican says benedict's condition has worsened in recent hours.

officials say the former pope is receiving constant medical attention. and britain is on course to record its warmest year ever,