hello, this is bbc news and these are the latest headlines for years in the uk and around the world. face—to—face talks have taken place in doha between senior us and taliban officials as mass funerals were held in afghanistan for the victims of the bomb blast on friday. taiwan says it will work to hold fast the front lines of democracy and freedom after china says reunification must be held. plunged into near darkness, lebanon suffers another nationwide power cut amid an ongoing economic crisis. growing pressure on the uk government to intervene as small firms fear going out of business under soaring energy costs. and british schoolchildren present a petition at buckingham palace

calling on the royalfamily petition at buckingham palace calling on the royal family to re— wild its largest estates of land. talks have taken place in doha between senior us and taliban officials. it is the first face—to—face meeting since the militants seized control of afghanistan. mass funerals have been held in afghanistan for the many victims of the huge bomb blast in kunduz on friday. 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 shia 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. is and the taliban are fierce rivals, but hundreds of is prisoners escaped from jail as the taliban took over the country. the group is small, but there are fears it is growing in strength. we strongly condemn this incident. this was 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,

the taliban,a 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 officials 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 being 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 those issues in these talks. yogita limaye there. 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 xi jinping. 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 xi jinping 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 is an internal matter for china and there should be no outside interference. the chinese 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 includingjets, 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 fighterjets in the sky, completely in control and protecting our airspace. when someone intrudes, our pilots are ready to react straight away. china and taiwan were 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. jatinder dhillon, bbc news. what should we make of the remarks. our correspondent response from taipei. this was a very confident _ response from taipei. this was a very confident chinese - a very confident chinese president saying not only must unification with taiwan be achieved, but that it will be achieved. you know, underlining this idea of the sort of inevitability behind this process. of course, it is important to say this is the kind of thing we have heard from the chinese leadership before and it is coming under more scrutiny at the moment because of the contacts, first of all, these comments, around a couple of significant anniversaries, but also china upping the tension with these military sorties it has flying

into the taiwanese identification zone, that is seen as provocative by taiwan and its allies. a lot of that is business as usual, linked to these sorts of anniversaries where we see an uptick in rhetoric, but there is also a sense that possibly the political and strategic balance is shifting, the politics because taiwan and china in many ways have never been further apart, many ways have never been furtherapart, china many ways have never been further apart, china growing increasingly authoritarian and taiwan a modern democracy, but as china grows more authoritarian it is growing stronger, more wealthy and powerful, updating its military and there is a fear in taiwan that the strategic balance is shifting and the date may not be too far off when for china, eyeing the possibility of taking taiwan by force, either possibility of an invasion calculates that finally the benefits outweigh the risks, rather than at the moment, what has maintained the status quo, is at the moment invasion for

china is very risky.— china is very risky. that analysis _ china is very risky. that analysis from _ china is very risky. that analysis from john - china is very risky. that - analysis from john sudworth. analysis from john sudworth. time to get some of the other new stories. 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. 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 at the end of each month to take 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 providers 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 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.

so that political and economic crisis continues, but with regards to the generators, so much of lebanon depends on privately funded generators, can they now meet this excessive demand that is upon them and what does it mean for those essential services like the medical industry, for example? 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. for food security reasons, for the health system, and for the internet, for example, it is at risk also.

you're watching bbc news, the headlines. face—to—face talks have taken place in doha between senior us and taliban officials as mass funerals were held in afghanistan for the victims of friday's's kunduz a bomb blast. taiwan said it would work to hold fast the front lines of democracy and freedom after china says reunification must be fulfilled. donald trump is holding a rally in des moines iowa, a key state in the presidential primary process, the former president has held a series of events continuing to campaign on the unfounded claim that the 2020 election was rigged against him. earlier today, he released a statement attacking the republican leader of the texas house of representatives saying the texas speaker of the house is not fighting for the people of

texas, urging him to move forward with a bill to order the november election in the state, following his failed attempts to throw out results in key swing states, he has attacked and sought to replace key state officials who refused to back up his false claims. 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. emma midgley as a journalist in vienna and told me more about 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 only just 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 andrej babis. 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.

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. 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... cooking on gas. 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. 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. they need government support, either in direct support or a cap on their energy prices to allow them to continue in business and it would be ludicrous that we would lose but so far, that support isn't forthcoming. the government says: "it is in regular contact 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 cap. 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.

members of the british royal family 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 simonjones 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. simonjones, bbc simon jones, bbc news, buckingham simonjones, bbc news, buckingham palace. there is plenty more on all of our series on bbc news online and on our news app and you can catch me on twitter. ——

stories. hello, for many of you sunday will be a pleasant day to get out and enjoy those autumn colours. most part should be dry, a fair bit of sunshine as well, there will be a bit more cloud in the south compared to what we had on saturday afternoon and for all, something a bit fresher, the muqqy something a bit fresher, the muggy air that we had is being swept away, this skull from pushing its way south and east allowing temperatures to drop, still pleasant out there, will be cooler first thing without the sunshine of a head, perhaps northern ireland england and scotland and a cool start towards the far south—east. temperatures in cape town could temperatures in khartoum

dropping back a little. patchy cloud for casablanca, highs of 2425. to the middle east, looking at fine weather and sunshine for the vast majority, 36 in baghdad.

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. it comes as mass funerals have been held in afghanistan for many of the victims of the huge bomb blast in kunduz on friday. the taiwanese president has vowed to uphold democracy and freedom at home amid growing tensions with beijing. responding to a speech from president xijinping responding to a speech from president xi jinping saying that reunification with china is inevitable the taiwanese leader was defiant. lebanon has plunged into darkness again after the electricity grid shut down leaving the entire country without power. it's two largest parties ran out of fuel among an economic and fuel crisis hitting the country. now on bbc news...

in disclosure: who's watching the kids?