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 kunduz 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. and one of 2021's most anticipated boxing rounds takes place in las vegas as tyson fury and deontay wilder meet for a third time. hello. a warm welcome to bbc news. 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 in 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.

beijing has been 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 sabre 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 with four aircraft carriers in the waters proximate 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 any steps. taiwan said they were not planning to take any steps they simply want to maintain that they are a sovereign country that china cannot absorb by force.

and what do you make of president xi's comments on saturday the taiwan will have to reunify with china? certainly xi jinping's claims that taiwan will have to be absorbed by china. they are of a piece with his broader dream. 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 xi is going to continue to try to rattle 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 even the uk. and that is far too costly for china to win that conflict and think that it could do in a way that was acceptable. today is the taiwanese national day and

we expect president tsai ing—wen to speak. what do you think he going to say? i think the 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 past taiwan governments that have built up a very capable governing structure and a robust military apparatus to defend taiwan's hard—won freedoms and in the respective the respect of 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 as well because the only way we can get out of this mess that beijing has started is for beijing and taipei to sit down and negotiate on terms of peace, not on terms of taiwan surrendering. austria's chancellor, sebastian kurz, has announced that he is stepping down after he was placed under investigation on suspicion of corruption offences. he stood down after his coalition partners withdrew their support, coalition partners withdrew theirsupport, deny coalition partners withdrew their support, deny —— describing him as unfit to govern. he denies the accusation that says he will remain leader of his party. joy outside the chancellor headquarters in austria from opponents of the country's popular leader as he fell on his sword. days after being placed under investigation for bribery. translation: my country is _ bribery. translation: ij�*i country is more bribery. translation: m: country is more important bribery. translation: m; country is more important to me than myself. what we need now is stable conditions. i would

like to make a waiter in the stalemate to prevent chaos and ensure stability. the 35-year-old - ensure stability. the 35-year-old deniesl ensure stability. the - 35-year-old denies using 35—year—old denies using government money back in 2016 to pay a newspaper group to publish polls favourable to his centre—right party. but his resignation came after pressure from his governing coalition partners, the greens, who said it was an important step for theirfuture it was an important step for their future cooperation. translation: it their future cooperation. translation:— their future cooperation. translation: it is the right ste and translation: it is the right step and means _ translation: it is the right step and means we - translation: it is the right step and means we will - translation: it is the right step and means we will be i translation: it is the right. step and means we will be able to continue our work for the people in austria to adopt a budget and push forward the last big project we negotiated, the eco— social tax reform. this man, alexander schellenberg, the foreign minister of austria has been proposed by kurz to be his replacement as chancellor. the two were close and his appointment would keep kurz near the heart of power. kurz says he will continue to lead

his people's party and sit in parliament. that has raised the of some in his party that he could stage a comeback but other austrians think it is time for him to leave politics altogether as this follows the fall of his last coalition government. a snap election was called two years ago after his right wing partners were caught in a sting dubbed the ib thoroughfare as they appeared to offer public contract for positive press, coverage. an positive press, coverage. jifi undercover reporter filmed another coalition partner at that time discussing various transactions with what he thought was not russian oligarch. this has been rumbling away for some time and there has been, it is widespread, the practice of political parties getting favourable coverage in newspapers in return for funding. newspapers in return for funding-— funding. but the crucial question _ funding. but the crucial question that _ funding. but the crucialj question that sebastien funding. but the crucial - question that sebastien kurz faces that could determine his political future alongside nine other individuals and three organisations is whether public funds were used to manipulate such coverage. allegations that

kurz calls baseless as this investigation continues. mark lobel investigation continues. mark lobel, bbc news. opposition parties in the czech republic are celebrating a surprise victory over andrej babis, the bilionaire turned politician who has led the country since 2017. two opposition groupings will now control a majority in the lower house, and will ask the president to entrust them with forming a new government. however he said previously he will give the first chance to prime minister babis, despite little prospect of success. with more, here is rob cameron in prague. this weekend belongs to spolu, the czech word for �*together�*, a coalition of three parties — conservative, liberal and christian democrat — as well as a second opposition alliance between local mayors and the pirate party. together they have deprived andrej babis

of a majority in a result that few of them had predicted. and on saturday night they were celebrating. the man they 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: to the chamber of deputies, as speaker? - no, certainly not. what would i do there? that was an attempted a joke, wasn't it? iam a managerand my place is in government. instead, this man, petr fiala, a bearded, bespectacled soft—spoken leader of the conservative ods 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 and claims he misused eu funds.

he is facing a separate eu conflict—of—interest probe and was also 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 change is afoot, it may not happen very quickly. it is not quite game over. the ailing president, milos zeman, 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 andrej babis, even though his prospects look grim. the headlines. face—to—face talks have taken place in zohar between senior us and taliban

officials as mass funerals are held in afghanistan for the victims of friday's bomb blast. taiwan says it will hold the front lines after china says rena cafe ship that as china's reunification must happen. in the uk, women have highlighted the dangers of walking alone. two women were killed in two different circumstances, but their deaths have led to an outcry over women's safety. now a dedicated phone line and abb have been suggested as a way of providing protection. more than six months after the murder of sarah everard, flowers and messages are still being left at the common where a or in her name. her death and that of sabine nsr, killed last

month in south london, had led to a wide public debate about the safety of women and potential solutions. the safety of women and potentialsolutions. bt the safety of women and potential solutions. bt now have a plan for a smartphone app have a plan for a smartphone app called walk me home, an emergency number, possibly 888 would allow the jetty to be tracked and an alert triggered if they do not return 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. 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. supplies have warned a cat that protects households from sharp increases in gas prices is not fit for purpose. there are concerns customers could face even higher costs as more businesses

collapse. cooking on gas. these are simmering brother 21: hours a day and there is little this business can do to cut their energy use. bills recently have been painful.— been painful. energy prices auoin u- been painful. energy prices going no is _ been painful. energy prices going uo is not— been painful. energy prices going up is not what - been painful. energy prices going up is not what we - been painful. energy prices i going up is not what we need. my going up is not what we need. my overhead is already high and it is a deep concern about the viability of the business and i don't want that costs passed on to customers and will do everything i can to avoid that. businesses do not have a cushion of an energy price. they tend to fix bills a year or two in advance over those whose contracts are coming to an end at the moment, it is a really painful time and even worse for companies like this one who do not have those contracts that pay their energy bills on a three monthly metred basis. industries like cement and glass with the heaviest

energy consumption in the uk a thing cost rocketing. to keep the furnaces burning, they are crying out for government support. crying out for government swoon-— crying out for government su--ort. �* , ., support. absolutely right now, . as support. absolutely right now, gas prices _ support. absolutely right now, gas prices are _ support. absolutely right now, gas prices are at _ support. absolutely right now, gas prices are at an _ 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 _ unprecedented conditions. they are backed by — unprecedented conditions. they are backed by some _ unprecedented conditions. they are backed by some conservative mps with these industries and the constituencies.— the constituencies. when a government _ the constituencies. when a government support, - the constituencies. when a| government support, either direct or a government support, either direct ora cap government support, either direct or a cap on energy prices to allow them to continue in business. but so far that support _ continue in business. but so far that support is _ continue in business. but so far that support is not - 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 reliance on fossil fuels. further reduce reliance on fossilfuels. for now, even the businesses that supply the 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 like to see some similar. �* ., , similar. i'm doing everything i can to keep — similar. i'm doing everything i can to keep the _ similar. i'm doing everything i can to keep the business - can to keep the business running. the last thing we need is sky high energy bills to top that. ., ,. ., is sky high energy bills to top that. ., ,_, �* �* is sky high energy bills to top that. ., ,.., �* �* , the parma airport, in the islands have been cleared after ash from an 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 la palma to witness the eruption, some labelling it as a once—in—a—lifetime opportunity.

one of the most anticipated boxing matches is coming up between tyson fury and dion to take wilder. —— deontay wilder. 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 bout in what has been a fascinating rivalry. fury floored twice in the first bout in 2018, down but not out in the draw. then 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. we will find out later this evening. the winner of the 2021 world porridge making championships

has been announced. the winner was from the netherlands and the winning dish was arruncini balls. the competition has run online for the second year running but the organisers hope to have it back in the scottish islands later next year. i spoke to the runner—up earlier about how the competition was run this year. quite unusual about the way had to operate because the pandemic. we had to submit a video of us cooking our recipe and authorise the recipients ended in. it's the same as a cookbook, imagining the recipes and imagining how it is.-

and imagining how it is. that's and imagining how it is. that's a aood and imagining how it is. that's a good way — and imagining how it is. that's a good way to _ and imagining how it is. that's a good way to put _ and imagining how it is. that's a good way to put it. - and imagining how it is. that's a good way to put it. we - and imagining how it is. that's a good way to put it. we are i a good way to put it. we are all used to imagining how food may taste from a visual. took me through your dish. the weather runner—up and i referenced what was the winners because arrancini balls of porridge. what was your offering? i porridge. what was your offering?— porridge. what was your offerinu? , ., . just porridge! . just porridge! it was very . just porridge! it was very special! — . just porridge! it was very special! i _ . just porridge! it was very special! i am _ . just porridge! it was very special! i am from - . just porridge! it was veryl special! i am from australia and tried — special! i am from australia and tried to _ special! i am from australia and tried to use _ special! i am from australia and tried to use native - and tried to use native ingredients to try to stand out ingredients to try to stand out in the competition and to show the world or whoever is watching the kinds of flavours that we have in australia, so my porridge had mango, something called a quandong, which is like a native peach and finger limes, and other native citrus and macadamia

nuts, which i cooked with a praline and river mint, a native mint and a few triples of bush honey. it native mint and a few triples of bush honey.— of bush honey. it sounds absolutely _ of bush honey. it sounds absolutely glorious! - of bush honey. it sounds absolutely glorious! i- of bush honey. it sounds. absolutely glorious! i love porridge, i think i have it every single morning but i've never steamed my porridge oats. will you convert me to that? i hope so. i started doing it myself and, again, hope so. i started doing it myselfand, again, i hope so. i started doing it myself and, again, i have a steam oven at my studio and i just thought, what would happen if you just deemed oats for porridge? annie don't actually need to stir it when you do it that way —— — and you and it's quite easy and it can make a large batch ahead of time and keep it in fridge and just reheat it the next day on the day after that.— reheat it the next day on the day after that. there you go! all ou day after that. there you go! all you needed _ day after that. there you go! all you needed to _ day after that. there you go! all you needed to know - day after that. there you go! | all you needed to know about porridge! you can reach me on

twitter, talked with about porridge or anything you like! love to hearfrom porridge or anything you like! love to hear from you. thank you for watching. 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, shall 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 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.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the taliban says it will observe a peace agreement negotiated with the united states last year. which include a pledge to prevent kyodo from operating in afghanistan, follows face—to—face talks with the us in zohar. —— prevent al-qaeda. lebanon has been plunged into darkness again after its electricity grid shut down, leaving the entire country without power. its two largest power stations ran out of fuel in an ongoing economic and financial crisis hitting the country. electricity supplies are unlikely to resume before monday. the taiwanese president has vowed to uphold democracy and freedom at home amid growing tensions with beijing. responding to a speech from president xijinping, saying that reunification with china is inevitable,