we begin in china where we ve just had a slew of data that shows how deep the impact of both the pandemic and its demographics is having on society and the economy. data from the national bureau of statistics shows china s economy grew by 2.9% year on year for the last three months of 2022. that beat expectations reuters expected the economy to grow byjust1.8%. for the full year growth came in at 3% far below china s official target of 5.5%. excluding the year covid hit in 2020, this is china s worst showing in nearly 50 years. also today, the news that china s population has shrunk for the first time in more than 60 years a change that is expected to have deep economic, social and political implications for china. for more on that let s go to katie silver in our asia business hub. tell us more. that s right. the bi . tell us more. that s right. the big figure tell us more. that s right. the big figure that tell us more. that s right. the big figure that we ve tel
7,500 going into social care. we ll be looking at the severe strain on the nhs and at whether the government s plan is enough to tackle the problem. also on the programme. four in five trains are cancelled at the start of days of industrial action by rail workers due to last until saturday. questions about how mi5 dealt with the case of a 15 year old girl groomed for extremism she later took her own life. in brazil, thousands of people line the streets to say farewell to the football legend pele who will be buried in a private ceremony later. and the walrus who s wandered from north yorkshire to northumberland attracting huge crowds on the way. on bbc london and coming up on the bbc news channel. arsenal host newcastle united tonight with the chance to go 10 points clear at the top of the premier league. good evening. downing street says it s providing the nhs with the funding it needs, despite what it calls the unprecedented challenge facing the health servic
prepare to watch the show s final episode. the opening ceremony of the 22nd commonwealth games takes place in birmingham tonight. prince charles will represent the queen and 30,000 people will be inside the alexander stadium, with millions more watching around the world. the show will include performances from local music and dance groups, emphasising the city s diversity. more than 5,000 athletes are set to compete over a packed 11 days. they will be representing 72 nations and territories. the queen s baton will also be a key part of that ceremony, after being carried for 294 days through commonwealth countries. athletes will compete in 19 sports and 280 medal events, which will include for the first time women s t20 cricket, 3 on 3 basketball and 3 on 3 wheelchair basketball. also for the first time, there are more medals for women than for men, and para events are all part of the main games. 0ur sports reporterjoe lynsky explains what s in store. they have waited four yea