this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. defiance from taiwan on its national day, after china insists reunification with the mainland is inevitable. funerals begin for the victims of friday's huge bomb blast in afghanistan, as the us and the taliban hold their first face to face talks since august. another huge power cut plunges lebanon into darkness after its entire electricity grid shuts down. the chancellor of austria says he is stepping down to fight corruption allegations. pressure on the british government to help businesses facing soaring energy bills.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. as taiwan celebrates its national day, tension has been once again been growing with china. taiwanese president sai iing wuhn has vowed to uphold democracy and freedom at home following what she saw as a provocative speech from chinese president xijinping. he said that taiwan's reunification with china is inevitable. taiwan's leader responded with defiance. jatinder dhillon reports. on saturday, china marked the 110th anniversary of the revolution of

1911, which toppled the last chinese imperial dynasty. speaking in the great hall of the people in beijing, president g peng said he wants to see reunification occur under one country, two systems principle, similar to that of hong kong. translation: national reunification by peaceful means best serves the interest of the chinese nation as a whole. that includes our compatriots in taiwan. it whole. that includes our compatriots in taiwan. , ., whole. that includes our compatriots in taiwan. , . ., ., in taiwan. it is an internal matter for china and _ in taiwan. it is an internal matter for china and there _ in taiwan. it is an internal matter for china and there should - in taiwan. it is an internal matter for china and there should be - in taiwan. it is an internal matter for china and there should be no| for china and there should be no outside interference. the chinese - resident outside interference. the chinese president struck _ outside interference. the chinese president struck a _ outside interference. the chinese president struck a softer - outside interference. the chinese president struck a softer tone - outside interference. the chinese president struck a softer tone in i president struck a softer tone in this latest statement. in the past, he has threatened to use force to bring taiwan under the control of beijing. at the beginning of the month, china mounted four days of large—scale exercises over the taiwan strait, involving almost 150 military aircraft including jets,

bombers and spy planes. the taiwanese government and its allies said this was being provocative. ahead of sunday's national day celebrations, the taiwanese president was defiant in response to the remarks by the chinese president and remarked that the taiwanese people will defend their freedom. translation: we continue to work hard to uphold the front lines of democracy and freedom, to strengthen our ties with our international partners through shared values and to contribute more to the world. we see our to contribute more to the world. - see our fighterjets in the sky, completely in control and protecting our airspace. when someone intrudes, our airspace. when someone intrudes, our pilots are ready to react straight away.— our pilots are ready to react straight away. our pilots are ready to react straiaht awa . ., ., ., ., straight away. china and taiwan were divided during _ straight away. china and taiwan were divided during the _ straight away. china and taiwan were divided during the civil— straight away. china and taiwan were divided during the civil war _ straight away. china and taiwan were divided during the civil war in - straight away. china and taiwan were divided during the civil war in the - divided during the civil war in the 19405. divided during the civil war in the 1940s. recently, the chinese demands for reunification have become stronger. but the taiwanese

president is insisting her country is emerging as a vibrant democracy, with a strong identity of its own. talks have taken place in doha between senior us and taliban officials. it's their first face to face meeting since the militants seized control of afghanistan. meanwhile mass funerals have been held in afghanistan for many of the victims of the huge bomb blast in kunduz on friday. the bbc�*s secunder kermani reports. prayers and tears for the dead. up to 80 people are now said to have died in the blast on friday, targeting worshippers from the sheer minority. we are burying the victims next to each other, says this man, we have no choice, it is a mass grave. the local branch of the islamic state group said one of its suicide bombers had carried out the

attack. ias and the taliban are fierce rivals, but hundreds of ias prisoners escaped from jail as the taliban took over the country. the group is small, but there are fears it is growing in strength. this group is small, but there are fears it is growing in strength.— it is growing in strength. this was a cowardly _ it is growing in strength. this was a cowardly attack _ it is growing in strength. this was a cowardly attack and _ it is growing in strength. this was a cowardly attack and i _ it is growing in strength. this was a cowardly attack and i hope - it is growing in strength. this was a cowardly attack and i hope god | a cowardly attack and i hope god will punish the perpetrators, however i still hope that the marchers will go to heaven and the wounded people will heal. the taliban delegation met with us officials in qatar today, tackling the threat from is is a common interest, but with foreign funding largely frozen, afghanistan is facing an economic crisis. 2nd—hand markets like this have sprung up across the country as desperate people try and sell their possessions just to buy food. how to help afghans without supporting the taliban, i dilemma the west are still debating. this is a country

that has already endured so much and its future remains deeply uncertain. secunder kermani, bbc news. let's get more now on those first face to face talks between the us and the taliban since the american withdrawal from afghanistan in august. the bbc�*s yogita limaye is in doha where the talks are taking place. from the point of view of the taliban, this is part of a series of efforts from the group to try to gain international recognition. they met with uk diplomats a few days ago and now they are meeting us officials and the acting foreign minister of the taliban appointed government and who is leading the delegation in doha said they would also be meeting european official soon. the reason they want to get international recognition is because it is directly linked to the unblocking of foreign funds into afghanistan which have been frozen since the group seized control of the country. but he also said that

they do not want anyone to interfere in the internal affairs of any country, they are speaking against the backdrop of girls not been allowed to go to secondary schools in most parts of afghanistan and women are not being to work. it is unclear whether the us would bring up unclear whether the us would bring up those issues in these talks. lebanon has been plunged into darkness after its electricty grid shut down, leaving the entire country without power. its two largest power stations ran out of fuel amid an ongoing economic and financial crisis in the country. officials say it is unlikely electricity supplies will resume before monday. here is our middle east correspondent, anna foster. careful steps in the blackest of nights. for many, this is the reality of life now in lebanon. lights and hope are in short supply. translation: the collector comes l at the end of each month to take i 300,000 lira from me and where is the electricity?

there is no electricity. lebanon's national grid was already weak. when it works, it's only for one or two hours a day but for the country's poorest, that's a vital lifeline. people here are dealing with crisis after crisis and while this blackout wasn't a surprise, it's just another thing to make an already difficult life even tougher. this is keeping the lights on for 300 flats. those who can, pay for expensive private generators but prices have doubled in the last month and they are getting harder to afford. some people they text me and they can't, "we don't have much money." we are helping them but it's difficult for us too. so without all of this and without you, the people are in complete darkness? yeah, unfortunately. a ship carrying fuel is on its way. it's another short—term solution to an enduring problem. lebanon's politicians are talking about answers but the struggling

country doesn't have time to waste. anna foster, bbc news, beirut. seebeel rizk is the director of public policies at the civil society organisation kulluna irada and a correspondent for the french newspaper le figaro. she described what the current situation in the country was like. well, it is dark outside. i had the privilege of having light in my building because we have a decent generator in the building, but in other places, it is much worse, because the cost of accessing private generators has increased terribly due to the currency depreciation and fuel for these private dividers has been difficult and more and more expensive. i am

privileged but others are not. can you imagine living without electricity in the 21st century? it is a basic need and the lebanese people have been deprived of electricity, but not only this, also access to food, medication, jobs of course, so the crisis is increasing day after day and there are no lights at the end of the tunnel, unfortunately. the government has beenin unfortunately. the government has been in place for a few weeks now, after a year of vacancies, for the executive branch, but it is the same recipe, same system that is in place and we are not seeing any improvement yet. hospitals have equipped themselves with generators, but they are relying also on the state utility. now, they are being obliged to rule out only on private

generators, so it is very difficult to manage them and to get fuel, because of the shortages. fuel has been subsidised until now and now the subsidies have been lifted, so there are a lot of shortages. not only do we have shortages, but also the price is increasing, it is very difficult for everyone. forfood security reasons, for the health system, and for the internet, for example, it is at risk also. austria's chancellor sebastian kurz has announced that he's stepping down, after he was placed under investigation on suspicion of corruption offences. mr kurz, who denies the accusations, says he will remain leader of his party. a journalist has more on ajournalist has more on his resignation. raids were carried out on wednesday into his offices and those of some of his close associates, and basically the allegation

is that he used public money to pay for favourable coverage in several tabloid newspapers. and also favourable surveys. there have been protests, about 1,000 people protesting outside their offices on the night the accusations surfaced. i have seen people around vienna wearing stickers with his face on them, making it obvious that they disapprove. i think he is generally quite popular in austria. he has maintained his innocence throughout and he was possibly facing a vote of no confidence on tuesday, which would have dissolved the government, and he says he has done this for his country and not himself. obviously we are still coming out of the pandemic, the economic recovery has onlyjust begun and we need stability in austria, so that is his reasoning behind standing down, he is doing it for the stability of the country. the czech election has been won by a coalition of three opposition parties, narrowly edging out the party of the billionaire turned prime minister an dray ba bish.

his campaign was hit with accusations of corruption and mismanaging the covid crisis. rob cameron is in prague. it is an unexpected outcome, i think, and no—one really foresaw that this coalition of three opposition parties — a conservative party, christian democrat party and a liberal party — would edge ahead of andrej babis's party, a centrist and populist party. it has been at the centre of government for the past four years, and they have done it, and it is a remarkable victory for them and the other opposition grouping which is now in parliament and will now, together with the largest opposition group, have a majority in parliament. that cuts off the path for andrej babis essentially to form a new government. the only fly in the ointment, the only glimmer of hope for andrej babis is that the country's president has said previously that he will only appoint the leader of the largest party in parliament, not the largest alliance or the largest coalition. so that would mean that andrej babis

would have first dibs at forming a government, but really his chances success this evening look pretty slim. they had only been granted half that number. lucy williamson reports from paris. questioned. france has threatened to reduce electricity supplies to the british crown dependency of jersey amid fresh tensions over post brexit fishing rights. its europe minister said france had applied for four hundred and fifty licences for its fishermen to access british waters, but had only been granted half that number. lucy williamson reports from paris. she said reducing electricity to

jersey was no idle threat. we are not talking about cutting power to each jersey not talking about cutting power to eachjersey resident, he said, but reducing the delivery of electricity to the island is possible. resentment has been piling up on this side of the channel over covid vaccinations, post brexit border checks for northern ireland and the secret british — american submarine deal. fishing rights have been a source of tension for years, but brags it has sharpened divisions, with european fishermen asked to prove their connections to uk waters. some small french vote say they are not equipped to provide that proof. france has accused britain of not living up to its own post brexit agreement and next week eu ministers will meet in luxembourg to discuss their response. as politicians on both sides of the channel point to the waters that separated britain and france. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. you are watching bbc news.

us officials have held their first face to face talks with the taliban since they took power in afghanistan. here in britain, there's growing concern about the spiralling cost of energy, with industrial leaders saying huge increases in the price of gas could threaten their future. several conservative party mps are calling for urgent action from the government. our business correspondent katie prescott reports. our biggest customer is ocado... brewing broth. these gas pans are simmering 2a hours a day, seven days a week. there's little this business can do to cut its energy usage. bills recently have been painful. energy prices going up is not what we need. my overheads are already extremely high as it is and it's a concern, it's a deep concern about the viability of the business and i don't want to pass that cost onto our customers. i'll do everything i can to avoid that. businesses don't have the cushion of an energy price cap.

they tend to fix their bills a year or two in advance, so for those whose contracts are coming to an end at the moment, it's a really painful time and it's even worse for companies like this one, who don't have those contracts and pay their energy bills on a three—monthly metered basis. industries like cement and glass with the heaviest energy consumption in the uk are seeing their costs rocketing. steel, chemicals — industries with the heaviest energy consumption to keep the furnaces burning, they're crying out for government support. absolutely right now, gas prices are at an unprecedented level and the businesses that manufacture the goods that we need are trying to operate under these unprecedented conditions. and they're backed by some conservative mps with these industries in their constituencies. representing industrial areas. they need government support, either in direct support or a cap on their energy prices to allow them

to continue in business but so far, that support isn't forthcoming. the government says: for now, though, businesses like this, as what they are paying for gas in the market is more than the amount they can charge under the energy price. but businesses like these facing rising transport costs and taxes would like to see a similar sort of. facing a transport crunch and rising i'm doing everything i can to keep this business running. the last thing we need now is sky high energy bills to top that. katie prescott, bbc news. russian journalist dmitry muratov has told the bbc he is dedicating his nobel peace prize to those who have given their lives for jounalism.

mr muratov was given the award with fillipino journalist maria ressa. he spoke to the bbc�*s richard galpin in moscow. translation: this price is definitely not for me. i should not be receiving this. it is a price for all the journalists who have given their lives for their profession. will winning the nobel peace prize, will give protection to independent journalists in russia? journalists in russia ? translation: journalists in russia? translation: we have a very complicated situation with the media now. a lot of them are start—ups, especially the ones that do investigations have been declared foreign agents or undesirable organisations. ads, foreign agents or undesirable organisations.— foreign agents or undesirable oruanisations. ., ., ., ., , , organisations. a lot of “ournalists have fauen * organisations. a lot of “ournalists have fallen victim h organisations. a lot of “ournalists have fallen victim to _ organisations. a lot of journalists have fallen victim to censorship l organisations. a lot of journalists i have fallen victim to censorship and repression and i think we need to give part of this prize money to independentjournalists. here in the uk, the killings of two women have highlighted the dangers women face simply walking alone on the streets after dark. sarah everard and sabina nessa were killed in

different circumstances in two separate attacks in the last few months. but their deaths have led to an outcry over women's safety. now the phone company british telecom has suggested that users could opt into a gps tracking system, triggering an alert, if they people dont�* reach their planned destination. here's graham satchell. more than six months after the murder of sarah everard, flowers and messages are still being left at the bandstand on clapham common where a vigil was held in her name. sarah's death and that of sabina nessa, killed last month in south london, have led to a wide public debate about the safety of women and potential solutions. bt have now come up with plans for a smartphone app called walk me home. an emergency number, potentially 888, would enable women to have theirjourneys tracked and an alert triggered if they don't reach home in a set time. the government says it is considering bt�*s proposal and welcomes working with the private sector

but there are already a number of apps like this. oi! screams alarm rings hollie guard, for example, has been downloaded more than 300,000 times. in an emergency it alerts a series of contacts, gives a precise location and starts recording video automatically. it was set up by hollie guard's family after she was killed by herformer partner. our app is for everybody, anyone who wants to feel extra safe when they are out of the house. it is tried, it's tested, and it's been working out for six years and we can put that out tomorrow to the whole country. is technology the answer? the co—founder of the campaign group reclaim the streets says bt�*s idea is little more than a sticking plaster. an app isn't the answer to preventing or ending violence against women and girls. the answer has to be changing our culture that emboldens and enables men to attack women and girls or harass us in the street.

a woman is killed every three days by a man in the uk. campaigners say it shouldn't be up to women to download an app to make themselves feel safe. graham satchell, bbc news. a us appeals court has reinstated an almost total ban on abortion in texas. the latest ruling reverses the decision of a lower court on wednesday. there have been large demonstrations since the controversial law took effect last month, forbidding the termination of pregnancies after six weeks. a group representing abortion providers in texas says this new court ruling has thrown patients back into a state of fear. marking the fortieth anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in france, emmanuel macron, has said he will lead a campaign to scrap it throughout the world. he pledged to use france's presidency of the european union next year, to organise a summit to convince leaders of nations where the death penalty still exists,that it should be scrapped. ethiopian government troops

are reported to have intensified attacks against the rebel tigray people's liberation front in the country's amhara region. the prime minister, abiy ahmed, was sworn in for a new term earlier this week, promising to stand strong and defend the country. the un has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the region, and called on the government to allow aid in. iran's first president, abolhassan banisadr has died in hospital in paris after a long illness. he was eighty eight. mr banisadr was jailed in iran in the 1960s for his opposition to the country's monarch, the shah. in exile in france he joined the entourage of ayatollah khomeini, and returned with him to tehran after the 1979 revolution. mr banisadr was elected president the following year. members of the british royalfamily are being urged to "rewild" the large tracts of land they own on royal estates. the wildlife campaginer chris packham has delivered a petition

to buckingham palace along with about one hundred children calling on the royals to restore their land to its natural stae. ecologists believe some of the estates would naturally be home to beavers and wild boar as simon jones explains. taking their message direct to buckingham palace, campaigners say the royals must re—wild. they are the biggest landowners in the country but their estates use practices that are said to degrade the land, like a deer stalking and grouse shooting. instead, there are calls for it to be allowed to return to a more natural state. because of their global celebrity and where they lead, other people follow, if they did this, it would be a fantastic gesture and significant at a time when we are rather tiring of people talking the talk and we need them to be walking the walk. we need meaningful, positive action. a petition signed by 100,000 people is delivered to the palace by 14—year—old simeon while his brother explained his concerns. we are still quite young, so we have

a lot of time ahead of us. the way the world is going, it may not be very pleasant because there will be so much chaos in future. planting trees at balmoral for the queen's platinum jubilee. the royal estate says the family has a long—standing commitment to conservation and they are looking for new ways to improve biodiversity. next month, senior members of the royal family are due to attend the glasgow climate conference. campaigners say that would be the perfect opportunity for them to take a stand. they are calling it a polite protest, which they hope will bring about change. let's bring you these live pictures from the volcano on the spanish island of la palma. the cumbre vieja volcano has been blasting outjets of red hot lava for more than 2 weeks forcing thousands of people from their homes. the islands airport was closed again on friday as an ash cloud affected

flights in the area. the volcano began erupting on september the 19th and has destroyed more than 800 buildings. you're watching bbc news. after the weather we will take a look at the front pages in the papers with our gusts, the former pensions minister and jonathan walker, political editor of the birmingham post and mail. first, the weather, with matt. good evening. slightly muggy and humid air overthe good evening. slightly muggy and humid air over the past few days is now on its way out and we have fresher air heading south behind this weather front, which you clear away from the south—east corner as we go through sunday afternoon. icy does mean tonight will be colder out there compared to what we have been used to. there is cloud across the north of england towards wales in the north—west, patchy light rain or drizzle for a time, clearing away towards the south—east as we go into

the morning. temperatures underneath, you can see by the orange colours in double figures, but either side into single figures and here we could see mist and fog on sunday morning. overall, sunday is not looking bad, a pleasant day, many places will be dry, cloudy in the south. high pressure building then and there is the weather front pushing across the south—east corner as we start tomorrow morning. the weather front will lie somewhere between the wash and cornwall and still some slight drizzle, either side, mist and fog patches and we will see good long sunny spells. sunshine eventually reaching the far south—east as we go into the end of sunday afternoon. showers in the northern half of scotland, a king breeze, up to 40mph for orkney and shetland, lighter winds in the south, even though icy feels fresher, icy will still feel quite pleasant in the sunshine, temperatures upper teens, a cooler feel with the strength of the wind

across the northern half of scotland. the breeze still blowing through the night and into monday, but many of the showers will clear, cloud in the west moving into monday morning, but by and large icy will be a cooler night for all as we start the new way, temperatures in rural areas falling, but we will continue with a largely dry fame. icy will feel cooler than the day that has just gone, but icy will not be a cold day. patchy rain and drizzle working this way crossed parts of north of england, turning claudia after a bright start, further south some mist and fog patches, the winds will be lighter and still very pleasant. temperatures between 12 and 17. through the rest of the way, not much in the way of rain until we reach the weekend potentially for scotland and northern ireland and temperature setting somewhere in the mid teens. goodbye for now.

hello. this is bbc news. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment first the headlines.

taiwanese president tsai ing wuhn has vowed to uphold democracy and freedom at home amid growing tensions with beijing. responding to a speech from president xi jinping saying that reunification with china is inevitable, taiwan's leader was defiant on the occasion of national day. talks have been under way in the qatari capital doha between senior us and taliban officials. it's their first face to face meeting since the militants seized control of afghanistan. chancellor sebastian kurz has announced that he will step down, after he was placed under investigation on suspicion of corruption offences. mr kurz, who denies the accusations, said he would remain leader of his party. the czech election has been won by a coalition of three opposition parties, narrowly edging out the party of the billionaire turned prime minister andrej babis. his campaign was hit with

accusations of corruption and mismanaging the covid crisis.