mark lowen, bbc news, ischia.lking about the industrial dispute on the railways — which has led to more strikes scheduled for next month. mark harper said there had to be reforms to the rail system to free up money for a pay offer for workers, and warned there wasn't a "bottomless pit" of taxpayers money to throw at the problem. mark harper spoke earlier today with laura kuenssberg. the negotiations are absolutely between the trade unions and the train operating companies and network rail. and i'm not getting involved in those detailed negotiations. but i do think i have a responsibility to encourage and help the two sides in those negotiations to reach a conclusion so that we can modernise the rail system and we can have reform of the way the workforce operates and we can have a train network that is properly fit for the 21st—century. it's a bit more than that, though, isn't it, secretary of state? i mean, you do have a responsibility for holding the purse strings and for setting the parameters for the negotiatio

mark lowen, bbc news, ischia. you're watching newsday on the bbc.behind this world cup picture — and we'll tell you who's in and who's out of the tournament. the worst victim are those who lived around the factory. charles manson is the mystical leader— charles manson is the mystical leader of— charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie coal that destroyed sharon tate. at leader of the hippie coal that destroyed sharon tate. fit�*i�*i destroyed sharon tate. at 11 o'clock this _ destroyed sharon tate. at 11 o'clock this morning - destroyed sharon tate. at 11 o'clock this morning half - destroyed sharon tate. at 11 o'clock this morning half a i o'clock this morning half a metre of rock separated written from continental europe. it took the drill is just a moment took the drill is just a moment to cut through the final obstacle. then they were exchanging flags. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines: thousands take to the streets of chinese cities to protests against the strict covid restrictions, with some

mark lowen, many thanks.he culture of london fire brigade has found that it's "institutionally misogynist and racist". the independent review was carried out after a black trainee firefighter took his own life. the author of the report says he has "no doubt" similar problems exist in other fire brigades across the country. london fire brigade is promising immediate changes to its disciplinary processes. louisa pilbeam reports. as wildfires broke out in london this summer, firefighters were praised for protecting the public. but they haven't protected their own, according to a report into london fire brigade, which found it is institutionally racist, misogynistic and has a bullying culture. i sat with a very senior female officer who said to me in tears that whenever she goes into a dangerous incident, she's almost thinking, "will the men around me protect me, given how much they have treated me as dirt back at the station?" that was not one person, that was many, many people. the report found example after ex

the bbc�*s mark lowen sent this report from naples.ame the rain, torrential and fast. and then the mud, a landslide pouring through ischia before dawn, burying and upturning what lay in its path — cars, trees, debris flung aside and uprooted. the rescue boats set off early, but were hampered by strong winds and rough seas, buffeting attempts to reach the island from naples. as they came ashore, the impact was clear. morning light revealed the torrents of mud and what they'd buried. man speaks italian. "this mountain has fallen on the homes that are no longer there," he says. houses were engulfed with people trapped beneath the mud, dozens of firefighters helped evacuate those they could. a rescue and a search for those still missing. the fear is that as more areas are unearthed, the number of confirmed victims could rise. for the islanders, their tranquillity was shaken by a nightmare. translation: there are some cars facing upwards and have . shifted to the side. looking at them, you can't explain how it was possible. vehicles were to

our rome correspondent mark lowen reports.d. 2a exquisite ancient bronze statues that had lain beneath the thermal baths of a tuscan town for 2,300 years, protected by the mud and hot waters. dated to the roman era and its etruscan predecessor, thrilling archaeologists. translation: we've witnessed an exceptional discovery. - from the bottom of the pool, bronze statues from between the second and first centuries bc have re—emerged. they are masterpieces of antiquity that open a new chapter in the history of craftsmanship and the sacred life of the etruscans and romans. the objects found, votive offerings along with thousands of coins, have inscriptions in etruscan and latin. the statues of gods, goddesses and mere mortals are thought to have been owned by noble families and emperors, adorning a sanctuary they were then probably immersed in the thermal waters in a ritual. with the local authorities we are working on the objects, says one of the 60 archaeologists now involved, so as to restore what's been found. and so one of th

mark lowen, bbc news, ischia. stay with us on bbc news. picture and we'll tell you who's in and who's out of the tournament. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i'm feeling so helpless that the childrens are dying in front of me, and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at 11 o'clock this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then, philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite numberfrom dover. this is bbc news. the latest headlines — thousands have taken to the streets of chinese cities to protest against the strict covid restrictions with some openly calling for president xi to stand down. at least seven people have been killed in a landslide trigg

mark lowen reporting there. let's get some of the day's other news.resigned as leader of the governing party, saying she takes full responsibility for her party's poor showing in the local elections. president tsai had framed the election as a vote for democracy amid rising tensions with china, but the voters were not convinced. the vatican has accused china of breaking a landmark agreement signed four years ago over the administration of chinese catholics. the vatican expressed surprise and regret after beijing appointed a bishop without its approval. although details of the deal were never made public, it gave both sides a say in the assignment of new bishops in china. the democratic republic of congo has announced that it will hold its next presidential election in december next year. the announcement comes as rebel groups continue to cause instability in the east of the country, displacing tens of thousands of people from their homes. earlier this week, the main rebel group, the m23, refused to agree to a ceasefire signed by regional leaders. the

mark lowen, bbc news, rome. a8a8 in the house. all a35 seats up for election.r. stay with us if you can. more news coming for you at the top of the hour. hello, many areas desperate for rain, including the south—east of england. that has been addressed a little over the last few days. it has been the wettest start to november on record in the south—east. some areas have seen a month's worth of rain injust the space of a few days. however, mist and fog is likely to be a problem across south—east england over the next few days. the rain stays into the far north—west. elsewhere it will be largely dry, and it will be mild for all of us. over the next few hours, that rain across the far north of scotland, the south—westerly wind feeding in a lot of low cloud, mist and drizzle as well. it will be a mild start to thursday morning, temperatures sitting between nine and 12 degrees. the cloud thick enough for a spot of drizzle first thing, and it will be pretty misty as well. but high pressure is dominating the story and keeping things largely dry. it is also keeping the

mark lowen, bbc news, ischia. leader ayatollah ali khamenei, has called on all foreign governments to cut ties with tehran. activists say farideh morad—khani was arrested last wednesday. her brother — who is based in france — posted the video. anti—government protests have swept across iran for more than two months. human rights groups —say at least a50 people have been killed. earlier i spoke to sussan tamasebi. she's the director of femena, a group advocating for women's rights in the middle east and north africa. i began by asking her, what kind of impact the video could have. the niece of yvan�*s supreme leader turned to court because she was summoned to come and serve her prison sentence and it seems that she had recorded this video before she went into court and probably had agreed with someone to release it if she was actually kept in force to serve her prison sentence. she has a prison sentence of at least a decade long. she was arrested last year and had been arrested last year and had been arrested befor

mark lowen, bbc news, ischia. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines... all foreign governments to cut ties with tehran. activists say farideh moradkhani was arrested injanuary, and is being held in a notorious tehran prison. pope francis has spoken of his worries about increased violence between israelis and palestinians. the pontiff highlighted last wednesday's bomb attacks injerusalem that killed an israeli teenager and the death of a palestinian boy on the same day in the occupied west bank. let's turn to ukraine now — where snow is falling in kyiv, and temperatures are hovering around freezing, as the country battles to cope with power cuts after a barrage of russian missile strikes targeting ukraine's energy grid. the cold weather is pushing up energy needs even as repair workers race to fix wrecked power facilities. jessica parker reports from kyiv. it's almost a novelty, the lights come on. the water too! ludmilla, who lives on her own had, like millions, been without power for days. these outages could keep happening again and again this winter.

mark lowen, bbc news, rome.e bust and its chief executive sam bankman—fried has resigned. worries about ftx have caused huge problems for crypto investors recently. ftx is one of the biggest and has gone under despite attempts by another huge exchange, binance, to rescue it. tom brada reports. once a star of the crypto world, its reputation is now in tatters. the cryptocurrency exchange ftx has filed for bankruptcy in the us, shaking confidence in the sector and leaving thousands of customers worried about their money. i think it's undeniable that this is a black eye on the crypto industry. this was seen as an incredibly established, blue—chip company — to the extent they exist in crypto. the problems began last week with questions raised about the compa ny�*s financial structure. that uncertainty led to a run on the exchange — similar to a run on a bank, where people race to take out their money. there is a panic that customers — people who have money or have assets with — in ftx would not be able to withdraw i

mark lowen, many thanks.ed on monday says he wants answers from the health secretary about his nephew's treatment. yusuf mahmud nazir died from pneumonia but the family say he was sent away from rotherham general hospital because of a lack of beds. rotherham nhs foundation trust has offered its condolences to yusuf�*s family and have started an investigation into his care. jessica lane reports. just walking into the house and seeing his shoes, his uniform, his stuff... it's killing us, really. yusuf was taken to the doctor with a sore throat and was given antibiotics for tonsillitis, but he didn't get better. his family say he was struggling to breathe and swallow, so couldn't take the tablets he had been prescribed. two days later, his mum brought him here to rotherham hospital. we were begging for their help. we said, "please give him antibiotics, can you treat him?" they said, "no, we haven't got the beds, we haven't got "the doctors, we haven't got the facilities. "nothing we can do". yusuf finally got a

mark lowen reporting there.ister, imran khan, has addressed hundreds of thousands of supporters in rawalpindi, telling them his one regret from his time in office was failing to bring the corrupt and the powerful to justice. the rally brings to a close the so—called long march by imran khan's pti party, aimed at pressing the government to call a snap election. the bbc�*s samira hussein reports. they came by the hundreds and hundreds quickly became thousands. all converging on a 3km strip of road. security was tight. the last time imran khan spoke in public, he was shot. the government warned of possible attacks today. his supporters came anyway. that's how strongly they believe in the cause. his cause is the people of pakistan. not himself. he is out for us. so, that's why we are supporting and we are coming here for our leader who is supporting us. there is one man only that has been raising his voice against all of the establishment. he is there to look forward. he has given us a vision. as day turned to night

mark lowen, bbc news, rome.d price for a modern f—one car at auction in geneva. it went for nearly fifteen—million dollars — twice the previous record. it was bought by an anonymous european bidder. the bbc�*s tim allman has the story. he is considered by many to be one of if not the greatest formula i drivers of all time. and this was the car michael schumacher drove when he made history. it was behind the wheel of this ferrari that he won sixth world title in 2003, setting what was then a new record. nearly 20 years later, it is up for sale, a very special automobile. translation: it is one - of the most successful ferraris in the history of the brand. so it is a very important car. chassis 229 was the most successful of the six cars ferrari built that year. schumacher raced in it nine times, winning five grand prix, including the victory injapan which clinched his sixth world championship. the sale took place in the swiss city of geneva, with the auctioneer displaying the usual slightly melodramatic flourish.

mark lowen reporting there.r pakistan prime minister imran khan has addressed a large crowd of supporters in rawalpindi, weeks after he was shot and wounded at a similar event. huge crowds waving red and green flags thronged the streets of the city, where pakistan's military has its headquarters. the former cricket star urged them to live without fear of death. one person was killed and several others injured during the attack earlier this month. you are watching bbc news. the uncle of a five—year—old boy who died on monday says he wants answers from the health secretary about his nephew's treatment. yusuf mahmud nazir died from pneumonia but the family says he was sent away from rotherham general hospital because of a lack of beds. rotherham nhs foundation trust has offered its condolences to yusuf�*s family and has begun an investigation into his care. jessica lane reports. just walking into the house and seeing his shoes, his uniform, his stuff... it's killing us, really. yusuf was taken to the doctor with a

mark lowen, bbc news, rome.nges, ftx, has begun bankruptcy proceedings in the united states. the firm has been struggling to deal with investors attempting to withdraw billions of dollars from its online platform. for more on this, we can speak to anita ramaswamy, who is a senior crypto reporter at techcrunch. can you just explain why this collapse of ftx has happened? absolutely. it is a complicated story, but the balance sheet was revealed essentially, and that report led to the ceo of a rival exchange, binance, which is the biggest crypto exchange in the world firing off a bunch of tweets that raised questions about ftx's solvency. overnight the company essentially went from a darling of the crypto industry which everyone thought was very stable, to being something which came under fire and under question because of the close ties that it had to its sister entity alameda research, and a lot of its value was locked up in its own token, so ftx had created this token, so ftx had created this token called ftt, an

mark lowen, bbc news, rome. remarkable statues in that piece.ngers has died will stop she was a key figure in the music genre that merged brazilian and african rhythms with foreign pop. that is all the time we have for you on this hour of newsday. hello, many areas desperate for rain, including the south—east of england. that has been addressed over the last few days a little. it has been the way to start on record for england in the south—east, some areas have seen a month's worth of rain in just the space of a few days. however, mistand rain in just the space of a few days. however, mist and fog is likely to be a problem over the next few days. the rain stays on to the far north—west, elsewhere it will be largely dry, and it will be mild for all of us. 0ver largely dry, and it will be mild for all of us. over the next few hours, that rain over the far north of scotland, the south—westerly wind feeding and a lot of cloud, mist and drizzle as well. it will be a mild start to thursday morning, temperature sitting between nine and 13 degrees. the

mark lowen, bbc news, rome.climate summit that he wants to re—establish the us as a reliable global leader on tackling climate change. he said he's committed to the target of halving us and he apologised for his predecessor donald trump pulling out of the paris climate accord. our climate editorjustin rowlatt sent this report from sharm el sheik. another hurricane smashed into florida today, yet more wild weather for the us. it has endured heat waves and wildfires, and some epic floods. as president biden arrived in the egyptian desert, he claimed his climate policies will drive down emissions and transform the us. we are proving that good climate policy is good economic policy. it is a strong foundation for durable, resilient, inclusive economic growth. it is driving progress in the private sector. around the world. nancy, have you got a moment to speak to the bbc? the american mid—term election results were better for the president's party than some pundits predicted. we are less than - a minute away, ma'am. b

mark lowen, bbc news, ischia. you're watching newsday on the bbc.and we'll tell you who's in and who's out of the tournament. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i'm feeling so helpless that the children are dying in front of me, and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at 11am this morning, just half a metre of rock separated - britain from continental europe _ it took the drills just i a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a miner| from calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags| with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines... thousands take to the streets of chinese cities to protests against the strict covid restrictions — with some openly calling for president xi to stand down. at least seven people are kille

our italy correspondent mark lowen sent this report from ischia.uld after the mudslide that cascaded through this island, tossing what lay in its path into the ocean or into each other. some cars battled beyond recognition as torrents of mud poured down here. they scoured the seas for wreckage and bodies, with a number of deaths growing in reports of islanders are still missing, the fear is that as more areas are reached, other victims will be found. it began before dawn on saturday after torrential rain, the deepest and most southern on record here, unleashing the chaos. from above, the destruction was clear, with houses buried, many of them illegally built and unable to withstand the mud. what lay in its wake swept into the sea. the clean—up tackled the sludge that has turned this island into rivers of mud, but it will take long to clear and rebuild. this just shows the weakness of man against nature. while a crane and a whole team are needed to live just one ——to liftjust one vehicle, the mudslide hurled so many of them with its force. when the

mark lowen, bbc news, southern italy.ing more disruption this weekend as thousands of train drivers go on strike. 11 companies are affected — with limited or no services. the walkout, by members of the aslef union, is part of a long—running dispute over pay. the uncle of a five—year—old boy who died on monday says he wants answers from the health secretary about his nephew's treatment. yusuf mahmud nazir died from pneumonia, but the family say he was sent away from rotherham general hospital because of a lack of beds. rotherham nhs foundation trust has offered its condolences to yusuf�*s family and have started an investigation into his care. jessica lane reports. just walking into the house and seeing his shoes, his uniform, his stuff, it's killing us, really. yusuf was taken to the doctor with a sore throat and was given antibiotics for tonsillitis, but he didn't get better. his family say he was struggling to breathe and swallow, so couldn't take the tablets he had been prescribed. two days later, his mum brought him h

mark lowen, bbc news, ischia. stay with us on bbc news, still to come.s bbc news, the latest headlines. thousands have taken to the streets of chinese cities to protest against the strict covid restrictions — with some openly calling for president xi to stand down. at least seven people are killed on the italian island of ischia, after torrential rain triggered a landslide, destroying homes and cars. there have been riots in several belgian and dutch cities after morocco's surprise 2—0 win against belgium in qatar. a dozen people were arrested in brussels and eight more in antwerp. riot police were deployed in amsterdam after hundreds of fans gathered—setting off fireworks and starting several fires. there were also incidents in rotterdam and the hague. both countries have a significant moroccan population. spain and germany played out a 1—1 draw in group e, niclas fullkrug giving germany a precious point as they bid to stay in the tournament... spain, who almost went ahead in the first half, took the lead after 62 minutes when substitute alvaro morata f

mark lowen, bbc news, southern italy.and songwriter irene cara has died in florida. she was 63. irene cara rose to stardom in 1980 in the musical "fame" — in which she sang the title track. four years later she won an oscar and a grammy for the title song in the film "flashdance". her publicist described her as a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy would live forever through her music and films. the headlines on bbc news... the london fire brigade is "institutionally misogynist and racist", according to a damning review into its culture. rail services across the uk are disrupted as thousands of drivers at eleven train companies take part in another strike over pay// the family of a five year old boy who died after being sent home from hospital say he would still be alive if they had been listened to — the hospital say they are investigating in the last few minutes, france have become the first team at the world cup in qatar to secure their passage to the last 16 knockout stages. kylian mbappe was the hero for france — sc

mark lowen, bbc news, southern italy.kistan prime minister, imran khan, has addressed a large crowd of supporters in rawalpindi weeks after he was shot and wounded at a similar event. huge crowds waving red and green flags thronged the streets of the city, where pakistan's military has its headquarters. the former cricket star urged them to live without fear of death. one person was killed and several others injured during the attack earlier this month, which unfolded as mr khan led a similar event. the former prime minister blames his successor for the attack, which came seven months after he was ousted from power in a confidence vote. taiwan's president has resigned as leader of the governing party, saying she takes full responsibility for her party's poor showing in the local elections. tsai ing—wen�*s attempt to frame the elections on her government's defiance of china's increased military threats failed to sway voters. ukraine's president, volydmyr zelensky, says 6 million ukrainian households are still without power

mark lowen reports.risis between france and italy, the ocean viking, which rescued migrants coming from libya, but whom italy refused to take in. and so france agreed to welcome the ship instead. the migrants on board had been blocked for days. italy finally allowed three other vessels to dock, declaring france would take this one. but it seems paris hadn't agreed. seeing italy's announcement as a way of forcing a deal behaviour it called reprehensible. translation: many | people were very sick. italy has been very inhumane in handling the situation. the italian authorities were not professional. they left this boat there for 20 days without making any decisions. italy's new prime minister, giorgia meloni, hit back. the country has long argued it unfairly bears the migration burden. but there's also domestic politics here, with a far right leader wanting to please her base. translation: i was struck by the aggressive reaction from the french government, which, from my point of view, is incomprehensible a

mark lowen, bbc news, ischia.ndreds of people frantically searching for their loved ones. we'll bring you all the latest developments on the story as we continue to gather more details. the niece of iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, has called on all foreign governments to cut ties with tehran. in an online video, farideh moradkhani accused the iranian authorities of knowing no rules except "force and maintaining power." her appeal comes amid a backdrop of anti—government protests sparked by the death a young woman in police custody. siavash ardalan is from the bbc persian service. it's always interesting when you have a relative or a family member of the leader, let alone a supreme leader in an authoritarian regime, either defect or, you know, speak out against the regime. she didn't have a political profile. she was not influential to begin with. but her statements carry significant symbolic impact, and the opposition has been presenting that as an indication of cracks within the regime. it's not an

mark lowen, bbc news, ischia. leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, has called on all foreign governments to cut ties with tehran. in an online video, farideh moradkhani accused the iranian authorities of knowing no rules except "force and maintaining power." her appeal comes amid a backdrop of anti—government protests sparked by the death a young woman in police custody. snow is falling in kyiv and temperatures are hovering around freezing, as the country battles to cope with power cuts after a barrage of russian missile strikes targeting ukraine's energy grid. the cold weather is pushing up energy needs even as repair workers race to fix wrecked power facilities. ihor zhovka, the deputy head of president zelensky�*s office, told us more about the work to get the power back on. now, the energy system has been repaired, but still —20% of electricity energy is still needed to fully feed the system of ukraine. the major cities like kyiv, still, we need some additional equipment. and other spare parts. but what is worse fo

mark lowen, bbc news, ischia. the time is 12:18.sts over strict covid lockdowns, spread to major cities. the demonstrations are an unprecedented challenge to president xijinping. and still to come: we're back in bristol to see how bbc viewers have offerd to help out struggling single dad samuel. 0n on bbc 0n bbc london, 70 tonnes and 35 metres long, the world's biggest dinosaur ever discovered comes to london in the new year. it has been a wet weekend, but will it be like that for the rest of the week was matt kate is here with the weather. to the world cup in qatar, and defeats in their opening group matches left cameroon and serbia on the brink, i ,so , so their meeting today was crucial for both sides. here's our sports correspondent andy swiss. how is this for an entrance? cameroon players arriving at the stadium in full voice and high spirits, before it was down to more serious business. after defeats in their opening games, both they and serbia knew that another loss could mean the end of their world cup hopes, but cameroon's

mark lowen reports. crisis between france and italy. the ocean viking, which rescued migrants coming from libya, but italy refused to take in. france agreed to welcome the ship instead. the migrants on board had been blocked for days. italy finally allowed three other vassals to duck, declaring france would take this one. but it seems paris had not agreed, seeing italy's announcement forcing a deal and behaviour are called reprehensible. translation:— behaviour are called reprehensible. translation: , , , translation: many people were very sick. ital translation: many people were very sick- italy has _ translation: many people were very sick. italy has been _ translation: many people were very sick. italy has been very _ translation: many people were very sick. italy has been very inhumane - sick. italy has been very inhumane in handling the situation. the italian authorities are not professional. they left this boat there for 20 days without making any decisions. italy's new prime minister hit back. the

mark lowen, bbc news.rts. just 14 when she died, molly russell�*s story, perhaps more than any other, has influenced the online safety bill. she took her own life in 2017 after being exposed to a stream of dark content about suicide, depression and self—harm. the online safety bill does... to bill has been years in the making. the bill has been years in the making. we will be proceeding... tabled, amended, delayed. the government now says it will go before parliament next month with a new clause first proposed a year ago, making it a criminal offence to encourage other users to self—harm. molly russell�*s family are calling for platforms to be held to account for the content they host, and the coroner at molly�*s inquest highlighted the algorithms which pushed negative content to children. ian russell, here in meeting other bereaved parents last week, ian russell, here meeting other bereaved parents last week, told us he was frustrated by delays to the bill. five years of becoming involved in online safety

these were the skies above italy this evening as a film by our rome correspondent mark lowen.rmuration of starlings soaring through the air while somehow avoiding any collisions. the birds are on their journey from northern europe for for the winter, stopping for some sleep, and olives, probably, on their way south. isn't that an absolutely gorgeous site with the really stunningatterns? i am laura trevelyan. thank you for watching bbc world news america. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪ narrator: you're watching pbs. >> good evening and weome. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight, investigating trump. attorney general merrick garland appoints a special counsel to oversee probes into the former president's handli

mark lowen, bbc news, ischia.s there has been almost three years of restrictions, and while this has kept rates low, it also means the country is more at risk from new variants than other countries. let's speak to professor christina pagel from university college london. she has been modelling the spead of covid since the start of pandemic outbreaks and is also a member of independent sage group. thank you forjoining us. tell us your assessment of how bad the covid situation is in china at the moment. it is not terrible right now, their infection rates are still below our infection rates are still below our infection rates. the problem is they are in a tricky situation because only about two thirds of their oldest people are vaccinated. that means that they have a big risk if they let it go with very few previous infections and not enough vaccination in that age group that they could have devastating numbers of deaths like hong kong did earlier this year when 0micron hit there. so what they really need to do is to

our correspondent, mark lowen filmed the murmuration of starlings — thousands of them soaring throughor the winter — stopping off for some sleep — there's a theory it's about safety in numbers, but look at that. that's it from myself for now, you can always get a hold of me on twitter. will be back in a moment with your headlines. hello. well, the rain clouds are starting to clear, and the weather is improving across scotland after what has been a very wet couple of days. and of course, not just scotland, but northern england, too. here's the radar from the last 12 hours or so — and in aberdeenshire, in char, we had about 160 millimetres of rain injust the last two days or so. but that rain is getting lighter. it's not going to be a completely dry day, though, on saturday. how about the weekend overall? well, it will be a mixed bag for most of us, certainly some sunshine in the forecast, but blustery showers are expected too. here's the satellite picture — and this weather front fast approaching will be sweeping over us, but not until saturday night. so actually, during the course of

they were discovered under the ruins of a roman bathhouse, as our rome correspondent mark lowen reports 24 exquisite ancient bronze statues that had lain beneath the thermal baths of a tuscan town for 2,300 years, protected by the mud and hot waters. dated to the roman era and its etruscan predecessor, thrilling archaeologists. translation: we've witnessed an exceptional discovery. - from the bottom of the pool, bronze statues from between the second and first centuries bc have re—emerged. they are masterpieces of antiquity that open a new chapter in the history of craftsmanship and the sacred life of the etruscans and romans. the objects found, votive offerings along with thousands of coins, have inscriptions in etruscan and latin. the statues of gods, goddesses and mere mortals are thought to have been owned by noble families and emperors, adorning a sanctuary they were then probably immersed in the thermal waters in a ritual. with the local authorities we are working on the objects, says one of the 60 archaeologists now hello, many areas desperate for rain, including the south—east o

our correspondent mark lowen has the latest from ischia.rrived in the area of ischia worst hit by the mudslide and you can see here so much damage with car is being held into each other by the force of the landslide. there one car here you can barely recognise the remains now. a lamp post has collapsed, trees have been here see ca i’s cars we re cars were passed buses and cars that were passed into the force of the buses and cars that were passed into that the force of the buses and cars that were passed into that here. aforce of the buses and cars that were passed into that here. efor there he landslide that hit here. and there still this large and mad that e -e— the streets. the diggers have line the streets. the diggers have arrived. they've started trying to await“? tfifi’ffiffi iféfffi? ff’iflfifi efi . up arrow? tfifisgfi flak“? frslfié efi �* up this area arrow? tfifisgfi ieéreeifl er’zflfié efi �* up this area already but the clear up this area already but the damage is quite here as damage is quite significant here as your the you can see. that's where

mark lowen, bbc news, ischia.s, who are also 16, died on saturday evening, following the two separate incidents in greenwich. the police say the attacks are linked. the lobby group pushing for greater investment in the north of england, the northern powerhouse partnership, is warning that rail services in the north. are at risk of collapsing into chaos. the operators, transpennine express and avanti west coast, have faced criticism for cancellations and reduced timetables in recent months. the government says it's working with train companies, to make sure passengers can have confidence in the service. professional footballers in scotland, will be banned from heading the ball in training the day before, and the day after a game, overfears of long term brain injuries. clubs are also being told to limit training to one session per week, if it involves repetitive heading. earlier i spoke to drjudith gates, the chair and co—founder of head for change, who is campaigning against brain injuries in sport. she gave me her