this is bbc news. i'm alison baxter. our top stories. face—to—face talks have taken place in doha between senior us and taliban officials as mass funerals are held in afghanistan for the victims of friday's bomb blast. plunged into near darkness. lebanon suffers another nationwide power cut amid an ongoing economic crisis. taiwan says it will work to hold fast the frontlines of democracy and freedom after china says reunification must be fulfilled. the chancellor of austria, sebastian kurz, says he is stepping down to fight corruption allegations.

and porridge with a twist. we will speak to the runner—up of the world porridge making championship. hello. the taliban says it will observe a peace agreement negotiated with the united states last year. the announcement, which includes a pledge to prevent al qaeda from operating in afghanistan, follows face—to—face talks with the us in the qatari capital doha. meanwhile, mass funerals have been held across afghanistan for victims of friday's bomb blast in kunduz. secunder kermani reports. prayers and tears for the dead. up to 80 people are now said to have died in friday's blast, 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 that 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. translation: we strongly condemn this incident. - it was a cowardly attack and i hope that god will punish the perpetrators. however, i still hope that the martyrs 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 faces an economic crisis. secondhand markets like this

have sprung up across the country as desperate people try and sell their possessions just to purchase food. how to help afghans without supporting the taliban — a dilemma the west is still debating. this is a country that has already endured so much and its future remains deeply uncertain. secunder kermani, bbc news. lebanon's electricity grid has shut down, leaving the entire country without power for the second weekend. officials say it is unlikely that supplies will resume before monday amid an ongoing economic crisis. from beirut, 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. light and hope are in short supply.

translation: the collector comes at the end of - each month to take 300,000 lire from me. and where is the electricity? there is no electricity. lebanon's national grid was already weak. when it works, it is only for one or two hours a day. but for the country's poorest that is a vital lifeline. people here are dealing with crisis after crisis and while the blackout was not a surprise, it is 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, that we don't have much money and we are helping them but it is difficult for us as well. so without all of this and without you, the people are in complete darkness? yes, unfortunately. a ship carrying fuel is on its way.

it is another short term solution to an enduring problem. lebanon's politicians are talking about answers but this struggling country does not have time to waste. anna foster, bbc news, beirut. taiwan has issued a defiant rebuttal of a claim by beijing that reunification with china is inevitable. tension between the two has been growing once again as taiwan prepares to celebrate its national day on sunday. iamjoined i am joined now by scott harrold, a researcher who develop —— specialises in china and taiwan. thank you for joining us. there has always been a lot of tension between china and taiwan over the years what has caused this recent escalation in these tensions over the past week? it is

important _ over the past week? it is important to _ over the past week? it is important to say - over the past week? it is important to say that - overthe past week? it 3 important to say that beige and, as said, building the capacity to threaten towards taiwan for a long time and seems to think that right now it is a moment when it needs to rattle its labour and threaten taiwan. 0f rattle its labour and threaten taiwan. of course, taiwan has been striving to push back against that pressure and the us and its allies and partners are signalling to beijing that the entire us china relationship is premised on beijing resolving its differences with taiwan peacefully. the united states japan and the uk recently completed some naval exercises in the waters approximate to taiwan and some of what china is trying to do is show that it too has a capacity to threaten taiwan and the us and its allies and partners. so as to deter taiwan from even contemplating. taiwan said they were not planning to take any steps they simply want to maintain that they are a sovereign country.- maintain that they are a sovereign country. and what do ou

sovereign country. and what do you make _ sovereign country. and what do you make of — sovereign country. and what do you make of president - sovereign country. and what do you make of president xi's - you make of president xi's comments on saturday the taiwan will have to reunify with china? ., , will have to reunify with china? . , g , �*, china? certainly xi jinping's claims that _ china? certainly xi jinping's claims that china _ china? certainly xi jinping's claims that china will - china? certainly xi jinping's claims that china will have l china? certainly xi jinping's. claims that china will have to do —— taiwan will have to be absorbed by china. the taiwanese president has every right to feel anger and the people of taiwan have a right to feel frustrated that china will not seek to negotiate their differences as equals and respect the people of taiwan's hard—won democracy and i think president she is going to continue to try to rattle his sabre. the reality is that his sabre. the reality is that his sabre cannot achieve what he wants. there is no cost acceptable way for china to engage taiwan militarily because it would mean engaging taiwan the us, japan and many other countries, possibly the uk. and that is too costly for china to win that conflict and think that it could do in a way that was acceptable.-

that was acceptable. today is the taiwanese _ that was acceptable. today is the taiwanese national - that was acceptable. today is the taiwanese national day l that was acceptable. today is l the taiwanese national day and we expect the president to speak. what do you think is going to say? i speak. what do you think is going to say?— going to say? i think the president _ going to say? i think the president will _ going to say? i think the president will reiterate l president will reiterate statements she has made. she has said that sovereign is already a sovereign republic of china and in the country since 1912. she will highlight the fact that the people of taiwan have struggled against chinese dictators in the past and have built a robust democracy and they deserve the respect and support from the world. finally i think she will point to the successes of her administration and passed taiwan governments that have built up a very capable governing structure and a robust military apparatus to defend taiwan's hard—won defend taiwan's ha rd—won freedoms defend taiwan's hard—won freedoms and in the respective partners around the world. i suspect she will reach out an olive branch and says that she is always willing to talk to

china but they have to speak as equals and i think that is something the of the world should respect and report —— as well because the only way we can get out of this mess that beijing has started is for beijing has started is for beijing and taipei to sit down and negotiate on terms of peace, not on terms of taiwan surrendering.— peace, not on terms of taiwan surrendering. scott harrold and thank ou surrendering. scott harrold and thank you for— surrendering. scott harrold and thank you forjoining _ surrendering. scott harrold and thank you forjoining us - surrendering. scott harrold and thank you forjoining us here i thank you forjoining us here on the programme. let's get some of the day's other news now. police in guatemala have rescued 126 migrants from inside a trailer abandoned by the side of the road. most of the migrants were from haiti which is currently suffering an economic and political crisis. the us ambassador to mexico said that a solution had to be led by both countries. la palma airport in the spanish canary islands has after clouds of thick ash from the erupting volcano forced it to close for two days. three weeks after the volcano first

erupted, lava continues to flow. spanish and international tourists visited to witness the eruption. some are labelling it as a once—in—a—lifetime opportunity. italian police and protesters in rome have clashed during a demonstration by thousands of people against the extension of the coronavirus health pass to all workplaces. some demonstrators attempted to storm the office of the prime minister. police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse them. austria's chancellor, sebastian kurz, has announced that he is stepping down after he was placed under investigation on suspicion of corruption offences. mr kurtz who denies the accusation says he will remain as leader of his party. emma midgley has more in 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. so quite damning accusations there. and also favourable surveys for his political party. 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.

a surprise victory in the czech republic election. to parties will now control the majority and ask the president to trust them with forming a new government. a previously he said he would give the chance to the prime minister, despite little prospect of success. he was rob cameron with more. this weekend together, a conservative —— a coalition of three parties as well as a second opposition alliance between local mayors and the pirate party. together they have deprived andre barber's of a majority and a result that few predicted. 0n result that few predicted. on saturday night they were celebrating. the man they defeated appeared almostjovial

defeated appeared almost jovial at defeated appeared almostjovial at a news conference, laughing off suggestions that he might become speaker of parliament instead. not for him a role in opposition, it seems. translation: t0 opposition, it seems. translation: ., . ., , opposition, it seems. translation: ., , ., translation: to the chamber of de - uties, translation: to the chamber of deputies. a _ translation: to the chamber of deputies, a speaker? _ translation: to the chamber of deputies, a speaker? no, - deputies, a speaker? no, certainly not. what would i do that? that was an attempted a joke, wasn't it? i am a manager and my places in government. instead, this man as soft—spoken leader of the conservative odious party could now be the next prime minister. he and his coalition allies say they want to repair the damage done to the country's reputation. mr babis has fought a criminal prosecution amid claims he misused eu funds. he is facing a separate conflict—of—interest probe and was a central figure conflict—of—interest probe and was a centralfigure in conflict—of—interest probe and was a central figure in the recent pandora papers leak. he denies any wrongdoing and says the accusations are part of a conspiracy against him. czech

voters, it seems, disagree. but while changes are fought it may not happen very quickly. it is not happen very quickly. it is not quite game over. the ailing president has already said he will only ask the leader of the largest single party, not an electoral alliance, to form a new government. that is still babis, even though his prospect look grim. this is bbc news, the headlines. face—to—face talks have taken place and aloha between senior us and taliban officials as mass funerals are held in afghanistan for the victims of friday's bomb blast. lebanon has been plunged into darkness again after its electricity grid shutdown, moving the entire country without power. here in the uk, the recent

murders of two young women have highlighted the danger that many consider they face simply walking alone after dark. sarah everard and sabina were killed in different circumstances in two separate attacks in london. their deaths have led to an outcry over the safety of women. now a dedicated phone line and app have been suggested as a way of providing protection. more than six months after the murder of sarah everard, flowers and messages are being left at the band stand in clapham, where a vigil is being 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 over the safety of women and the potential solutions. bt have now come up with plans for a smart phone 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 polyguard has been downloaded more than 300,000 times. in an emergency, it alerts a series of contacts, gives a precise location, and automatically starts recording video. it was set up by holly guard's family after she was killed by her ex— partner. it is for everybody, anybody wants to feel extra safe when they are out of the house, it is tried, tested, it has been working for six years, and we could put that out tomorrow to the whole country. is technology the answer? the co—founder of the campaign group reclaim these streets says bt�*s idea is little more

than a sticking plaster. an app is not 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 should not be up to women to download an app to make themselves feel safe. graham satchel, bbc news. the british government is under growing pressure to address rising energy prices. suppliers have warned that a cap which protects households from sharp increases is not fit for purpose. there are concerns customers could pay even higher costs if more suppliers collapse. 0ur correspondent has more. cooking on gas. these are simmering broth, 2a hours each day. there is little this business can do to cut energy costs.

bills recently have been painful. my overheads are extremely high already, and it's a concern, deep concern about the viability of the business and i don't want to pass that cost onto our customers, i will do everything i can to avoid that. businesses don't have the cushion of an energy price. 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, but pay their energy bills on a three monthly metred 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 are 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.

they are backed by some conservative mps with these industries in their constituencies. we need government support, either in direct support or a cap on their energy prices to allow them to continue in business. so far, that support is not forthcoming. the government says it is in regular contact with business groups and that this underscores the importance of building a strong, homegrown renewable energy sector to further reduce our reliance on fossilfuels. for now, even the businesses that supply those fossil fuels are struggling, 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 love to see some sort of similar. 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.

one of the year's most anticipated boxing bouts will roar into action in las vegas little bit later as tyson fury and dionte wylder will meet for a third time. they stopped during the seventh round during deontay wilder was stopped in the last bout 20 months ago. such is the intense rivalry between tyson fury and deontay wilder they were kept apart during yesterday's weigh in for fear of a fight before the fight. that did not prevent both men trading verbal blows. he can't do nothing about it. fury fiery throughout, wilder much milder, as he has been throughout the whole week. when you are calm you can make better decisions. your decision—making as a whole lot better. deontay wilder has barely engage with the media

all week, contrasted tyson fury who has taken a centre stage. he is the heavy favourite for the third and final in what has been a fascinating rivalry. fury floored twice in the first bout in 2018, down but not out in the draw. thai it was fury�*s turn to play aggressor, handing deontay wilder his first loss, but the american claimed that tyson fury cheated his way to victory, and it has created ill feeling between the two men who were once respectful rivals. i believe tyson fury will win if the fight goes the distance. if the fight doesn't go the distance, deontay wilder will win. after the theatrics and high octane performance on stage, fury was in a much calmer mood as he made his way out of the arena, but he remains confident that will be only one outcome.

this fight will go one way, he meets the floor las vegas. peace out. will it be his hand raised, orwillwilder�*s punching power decide the outcome, we will find out this evening. the winner of the porridge competition has been announced, the winning dish was an aaron cheney, a far cry from the roads and porridge tradition, traditionally used to stir the porridge, it was run online for the second year running with the second year running with the organisers hoping to hope host it back in the scottish highlands next year. joining the labour is the runner—up and food stylist caroline. many thanks forjoining us. congratulations on being the runner—up. talked me through the competition, and what it meant to you, and also how it works, being a food tasting

competition, but online? it was quite unusual, the way that it had to operate because of the pandemic, so we all had to submit a video of us cooking our recipe and also write the recipe and send it in, so you didn't get to taste it, i guess it is the same with cookbooks, if you are buying a cookbook and you look through it and you are looking at the recipes and imagining what they will taste like. ., �* , imagining what they will taste like. ., h ., imagining what they will taste like. a, a a, , imagining what they will taste like. . h ., , imagining what they will taste like. . �*, ., , ., like. that's a very good way of -auttin like. that's a very good way of putting it. _ like. that's a very good way of putting it. isn't _ like. that's a very good way of putting it, isn't it? _ like. that's a very good way of putting it, isn't it? we - like. that's a very good way of putting it, isn't it? we are - putting it, isn't it? we are quite used to imagining what food might taste like from a visual. talk me through your dish. you were the runner—up, i reference what was in the winners aaron cheney balls of porridge, and what was in your offering —— aranchini. i porridge, and what was in your offering -- aranchini.— offering -- aranchini. i made

'ust offering -- aranchini. i made just porridge- _ offering -- aranchini. i made just porridge. just _ offering -- aranchini. i made just porridge. just porridge! | just porridge. just porridge! it was just porridge. just porridge! it was very _ just porridge. just porridge! it was very very _ just porridge. just porridge! it was very very special - it was very very special porridge. i it was very very special porridge-— it was very very special -~orride. . ., , porridge. i decided to use some native ingredients _ porridge. i decided to use some native ingredients from - native ingredients from australia to try to stand out in the competition, but also to show the world or whoever is watching the kinds of flavours that we have in australia, some i porridge had mango, something called a quandong, which is like a native peach, and another native citrus, and macadamia nuts, which i cooked with a praline and reprimand, which is a type of native meant, and if you of bush honey. it meant, and if you of bush hone . , meant, and if you of bush hone. , honey. it sounds absolutely glorious- — honey. it sounds absolutely glorious- i _ honey. it sounds absolutely glorious. i love _ honey. it sounds absolutely glorious. i love porridge, i honey. it sounds absolutely glorious. i love porridge, ll glorious. i love porridge, i think i have every single morning, but i have never steamed my porridge oats. are you going to convert me to

that? i you going to convert me to that? ., , ,., you going to convert me to that? , ,., ., , that? i hope so! i have 'ust started doing it i that? i hope so! i havejust started doing it myself. - that? i hope so! i havejust - started doing it myself. again, i have a steam oven at my studio and ijust i have a steam oven at my studio and i just thought, well, what would happen if you steamed oats for porridge, and you don't actually have to stir it when you do it that way, so that's quite easy, and you can make a large batch ahead of time, then you can keep it in yourfridge and just time, then you can keep it in your fridge and just reheat it the next day, and the day after that. i the next day, and the day after that. ., ~ ._ that. iam in, ithinki may convert — that. iam in, ithinki may convert already. _ that. iam in, ithinki may convert already. i - that. iam in, ithinki may convert already. i make i convert already. i make porridge for my entire family, so i think steaming is the way forward. caroline, many can't do my congratulations again, thank you for talking us through your recipe, i think we all need to start using it. many thanks and congratulations again. a quick reminder of our top story here and bbc news.

the taliban say that they have agreed with the united states to uphold their peace agreement negotiations held last year. this follows the first face—to—face talks between the two sides since the militants seized control of afghanistan in august. hello, for many of you, sunday is going to be quite a pleasant day to get out there and enjoy the changing autumn colours, most parts of the country should be dry, a fair bit of sunshine as well, more cloud in the south compared with what we had on saturday afternoon and for all, something a bit fresher, the muggy air being swept away this cold front pushing its way southwards and eastwards allowing temperatures to drop, but it will still be quite pleasant out there. the sunshine overhead will be cooler, northern ireland, scotland, northern england, temperatures down into single figures and a cool start to the south—east, where we could see morning sunshine in the south—east. mist and fog but weather front

bringing the fresh and will be sitting across central southern parts of england and wales. patchy late rain in the morning, that should clear, all but the far east of kent by the mid afternoon and sunny spells, light winds for the vast majority. more cloud in the afternoon for scotland and northern ireland and a few heavy showers where we will see the strongest of the winds and a gust of a0 mph. in the sunshine in the south, not as muggy and humid, but once that sun ison your back it should still feel quite pleasant. into the evening and overnight into monday, clear skies around, a few mist and fog patches but mostly clear and dry and even cooler nights to take us into the start of the new week. these are the city centre temperatures in rural areas, down to single figures for one or two. going to a new week in a cooler note, a new trend from what we have had recently, the exception to the dry story will be across the north and west of scotland, patchy rain here and we could see some of that at times getting to northern england, a lot more cloud in the northern half than the southern half and we will receive the best of the sunshine, temperatures continuing to drop a little bit after those cooler nights, but as we go through monday night into tuesday, highs close

by but it is not quite with us, allowing this weather front to push its way south, introducing a lot more cloud across northern and eastern england for tuesday, one or two spots of rain and showers without, but most places will be dry, sunny spells around, feeling cooler down the eastern coast, and shelter to the west where you don't get any sunny spells, it should feel pleasant. through the rest of the week, most places will stay dry, temperatures in the mid teens, chances of rain into the north as we go into next weekend. see you soon.

babis, even though his prospect look grim. the headlines. taliban says it will observe a peace agreement negotiated with the united states last year. the announcement, which includes a pledge to prevent al qaeda from operating in afghanistan, follows face—to—face talks with the us indo half. the non— has been hit by a nationwide power cut caused by the electricity grid shutting down. authorities have blamed ongoing fuel shortages amid a severe economic crisis. electricity supplies are unlikely to resume before monday. taiwan's president has vowed to uphold democracy and freedom at home amid growing tension with beijing. responding to a speech ijy beijing. responding to a speech by president xijinping beijing. responding to a speech by president xi jinping saying reunification with china was inevitable, taiwan's leader was defiant during a speech on national day.

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