welcome to bbc news. i'm tim willcox. our top stories: russian—occupied regions in ukraine hold referendums on whether tojoin the russian federation. ukraine says it's a sham which is doomed to fail. the kremlin organises rallies to support its policy of calling up reservists to fight in ukraine. our correspondent samples the mood in moscow. this is not a spontaneous display of love for vladimir putin and his policies. it is a highly choreographed affair designed to give the impression that the whole country is behind the president. markets around the world take a dive as a major bank warns a global recession is all but inevitable. and a tearful farewell for one tennis�*s greats: roger federer plays his final

competitive match. she competitive match. could have stopped me a long, she could have stopped me a long, long time ago, but she didn't. she kept going and allowed me to play. it's amazing. thank you. cheering and applause. _ hello, welcome to the programme. officials in four russian—occupied regions of ukraine have been holding self—declared referendums on whether to become part of the russian federation. the kremlin supports the votes, just as it did after the annexation of crimea — the ukrainian territory which was invaded in 2014 — but the government in kyiv and western countries have condemned the referendums, saying they are just a sham and that they will never be recognised. these are the four areas where voting is being held.

they include occupied parts of luhansk and donetsk in the east and zaporizhzhia and kherson in the south and cover around 15% of ukraine's territory. votes are are expected to run until tuesday, and the result seems almost certain to go in moscow's favour. the international community does not recognise the validity of the process. as you can see, these pictures, filmed in russian—occupied donetsk, show how polling cards are being taken to people in their own homes with a yes or no answer on the ballot paper — and this form, at least, was not filled in in secret. meanwhile, russia is continuing to mobilise its reserve troops, which isn't going entirely smoothly. with the latest, here's our russia editor steve rosenberg. it was the moment the kremlin tried to show the people still back their president

and what he's doing in ukraine. within days, vladimir putin is expected to annex a huge swathe of ukrainian territory. there's international condemnation, but at home, the official picture is they trust putin. many of the people here, though, didn't trust us. when we asked the simple question, "why have you come "to this rally?", there was a certain reluctance to answer. but they had something to say on the subject of mobilisation. "the call—up is worrying everyone with relatives "of fighting age," natalia says. not viera. "i'd be much happier if my son got wounded fighting in ukraine "than die of alcoholism here," she says. "fighting is a proper man'sjob." this is not a spontaneous display of love for vladimir putin and his policies. it is a highly choreographed affair designed to give

the impression that the whole country is behind the president. a lot of the people we've spoken to here today have been brought in specially from schools, from factories and other state organisations. in ukraine today, in those areas occupied by russia troops, self—styled referendums began onjoining russia. the west has denounced the votes as a sham, a smoke screen for annexation by moscow. car horn blares. back in russia, more goodbyes, more men called up to fight in ukraine. there's growing concern here that the scale of mobilisation is far greater than the kremlin have let on. woman argues. emotions are running high. "why have you taken our sons?," a mother is heard asking this officer. when he tells the audience that his own son isn't eligible for the call—up, listen to the reaction.

crowd groans. for the president, this could become a problem. vladimir putin once promised russians stability. now, he's sending them to the front line. persuading russians to keep faith in him won't be easy. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. earlier, i asked marti flacks, director of the human rights initiative at the center for strategic and international studies, what was russia's rationale for the timing of these referendums. well, this is fairly transparently propaganda by the russians to try and convince their population that continued investment in this war is worthwhile at a time when vladimir putin has doubled down on this conflict, at a time that they are trying to call up some 300,000 reservists, they are trying to convince their people that their investment of time

and money and literally blood is worthwhile by continuing to perpetuate the myth that ukrainians have asked for this invasion and that russians will be welcomed when they get there. and these referendums are being held in a time of war — people are being asked to vote at gunpoint. what stories are you hearing on the ground about what is happening in these four areas? absolutely. so, if you look at the context in which these referenda are being held in areas of active conflict and areas under military occupation, there has been little advance notice given about this referenda, very little information available about it or its consequences. and, as you have said, the stories that we have seen today of soldiers going door—to—door, compelling people to vote and trying to coerce them to vote in a particular way, there is simply no situation under which this referundum would be seen as fair and credible in the eyes of the international community. ok, so that is in the eyes

of the international community, but what impact do you think is this having on the russian population itself? how many people are going to be convinced these are free and fair and will support the kremlin on this? well, there is certainly some segment of the population looking for an excuse to support this war effort and will use this perception of new facts as justification for doing so, but, you know, there is also a chance that this effort could backfire on putin, nd in some areas where this is taking place, more than 50% of the population has fled. some of these areas are still under ukrainian control. we saw stories today of people hiding in their homes, you know, closing the curtains, turning out the lights to avoid being forced to vote, and so voter turnout may be very low, damaging the ability of the russians to convince people that the votes represent the will of the people of these regions. and presumably, once these are annexed into russia, that reinforces the threat that

vladimir putin madejust a couple of days ago that if any of their territory is attacked, russia will respond with that veiled threat of nuclear weapons? well, there is certainly going to be an effort by russia to claim that these territories are now their own. obviously, the results of these referenda will certainly not impact the strategies or the approaches of the ukrainians in defending their territory or the support that ukraine receives from the international community. in terms of the facts on the ground, i expect this war will continue at pace, regardless of the results of the referendum. just on the point of mobilisation — which seems to be deeply unpopular, certainly in some parts of russia, and it seems vladimir putin is calling for people in the far—off provinces, some as far as the chinese border, but that will take quite a few weeks, if not months, won't it, to get those people to the front line? it certainly will, and then, of course, there is the question of how

much training they will receive, how prepared they will be to fight. so, to me, this reeks of desperation by the russians to call up this level of reservists and the amount of time that it will take to be able to sustain a war effort that, at this point, is clearly failing. marti flacks. stock markets around the world have fallen amid growing fears of a global recession. oil prices slumped on friday, the pound crashed against the dollar, and wall street's dowjones index fell to its lowest level since november 2020. earlier, i spoke to our north america correspondent david willis following a turbulent week on the stock market. this has everything to do with inflation, resulting in large part from russia's invasion of ukraine, pushing up energy prices, affecting the bigger economies of europe, germany and others as well. now, resulting from that, rises in consumer goods in the shops, which is worrying a lot of the chairmen of the central banks around the world, including

the federal reserve, whose chairman, jerome powell, this week announced another rise in interest rates in an attempt to try and cool down of the economy and bring down prices. the fear, though, is that in cooling down the economy, it could be pushed into recession, and fears of a global recession are spooking the financial markets right now. so, the dowjones closed today down i.6%, its lowest point this year, and as far as the prospects of a global recession are concerned, analysts at one of the main american banks, the investment bank goldman sachs, forecasting today a recession is not only inevitable. they said the question is just the timing, magnitude or the length of such a global recession. here in the uk, the finance minister kwasi kwarteng has

announced the biggest tax cuts for half a century. this is the first unveiling of economic plans under the new uk government led by liz truss. among the measures, the higher rate of income tax of 45% is to be abolished. a planned rise in corporation tax from i9% to 25% has been cancelled — that's the tax businesses pay on their profits. and the rules which cap bankers�* bonuses to twice their annual salary have been scrapped. but the markets have not reacted well and the pound fell to a 37—year low against the dollar. it fell more than 3% against the dollar, dropping below $1.09. the opposition labour party has called the government "desperate gamblers in a casino chasing a losing run". well, earlier, kwasi kwarteng told mps it would make britain more globally competitive. for an assessment of the budget, here's our political correspondent rob watson. essentially, this is a package of massive tax cuts that is going to mount about $50

billion of tax cuts in about five years�* time. there�*s also a programme deregulation and the sort of big picture idea is that if you cut taxes on corporations and wonderful corporations and wonderful corporations on the wealthiest, that will lead to more growth and it will attract people into the country and it will attract people to start new businesses but it is massively controversial and why it is not just the sort of british domestic political story is that britain is something of an outlier, the other rich nation, the other g7 countries, are not doing this and are not putting unfunded tax cuts and that is what it will be watched immensely closely notjust by people over here in the uk but everyone around the world. the government�*s arguments and it is described as trickle—down economics by people who don�*t like it very much as a sort of reminder of what people have said ronald reagan did in the 19805 said ronald reagan did in the 1980s and the united states that if you sort of unshackled business, if you lower taxes, the pie in the overall pie will get bigger and that�*s more important than how you redistributed. it is a massive

gamble for the following reason, i mean, most economists don�*t think it�*s going to work an lot of businesses are rather sceptical the real risk is that if it doesn�*t work and if you don�*t get this growth, you�*ve got all these taxes, that will then add to government debt, borrowing is becoming more expensive, it could fuel inflation which is already higher here and than in other g7 countries and something else which is something shared with the united states, there is a danger of course that it would further fuel inequality in the uk which like the us is very, very high compared to other wealthy nations. this is bbc news. russian—occupied regions in ukraine hold referendums on whether to join the russian federation. ukraine says it�*s a sham which is doomed to fail. the kremlin organises rallies in moscow to support its policy of calling up thousands of reservists to fight in ukraine. the search for survivors

is continuing after a boat carrying migrants sank off the syrian coast. almost 80 people are now known to have drowned, among them many children. the boat set off from tripoli in northern lebanon on tuesday with more than 100 people on board. it sank near the city of tartus. the migrants are believed to have been lebanese, syrians and palestinians heading for europe. our middle east correspondent lina sinjab sent this report. siren wails. another boat sinking, another catastrophe, another failed attempt to change destiny. desperate migrants left lebanon earlier in the week, only to drown in the mediterranean in less than 2a hours. rescue operation is ongoing on the syrian coast. some survivors made it safe. many more arrived dead. others are still missing. in shock and grief, this family has lost four of its members.

theirson, mustafa, and his three children were among the dead. the wife is still in critical condition in hospital in syria. 35 years old, mustafa worked as a taxi driver and dreamt of a better life for his family in europe. his mother is devastated. translation: my son tried to | escape the hunger and poverty. no water or electricity, nothing. he ran away to get a better life, but they sent him to the grave. his cousin says there is no hope left in the country. did you talk to his daughters before? did they want to go? did they know about going in the boat? no, his eldest daughter, she did not want to. she cried and said, "i don�*t want to go because i don�*t "want to die." but, unfortunately... the economy of lebanon has

gone from bad to worse to catastrophic, leaving many to unable even even secure the basics. lebanese, syrian and palestinian nationals are all believed to have been on board the boat. this was one of several attempts of people trying to reach europe over the past weeks. we are at the border crossing between syria and lebanon, just a few metres away from the mediterranean waters that people are trying to cross to reach europe. families have gathered here, anxiously waiting for news about their loved ones. some are fortunate — they will be waiting for survivors — but many others are just waiting for bodies to bury. at this point of the loss, the crowd are still calling to migrate. anger of reality looks stronger than mourning the dead here. translation: we, as lebanese

people, believe it is better- off because we are all dead here anyway. we are hopeless. all these people, all of them, will risk the sea to reach europe. those who were willing risk the journey to aspire to a future are now taking the journey to the grave. siren wails. lina sinjab, bbc news. the swiss tennis star roger federer has played his final professional match, losing in the laver cup after playing doubles alongside his long—time rival, rafael nadal, against team world. the 20—time grand slam winner bid an emotionalfarwell to the game at the o2 arena in london to applause from fans, saying he had "so much fun". federer, who�*s a1, announced last week that he was retiring because of a persistent knee injury. he has been speaking to fans at

the arena and this is what he said to them and thanks for have the support of his family in his 2a year career. it have the support of his family in his 24 year career.- in his 24 year career. it has been a wonderful— in his 24 year career. it has been a wonderful day. - in his 24 year career. it has been a wonderful day. i - in his 24 year career. it has | been a wonderful day. i told the guys i am happy, i�*m not bad. it feels great to be here. cheering. applause. �* , applause. and i en'oyed tying m shoes applause. and i en'oyed tying my shoes h applause. and i en'oyed tying my shoes one more- applause. and i enjoyed tying my shoes one more time - applause. and i enjoyed tying my shoes one more time and l my shoes one more time and everything was the last time. funny enough, with all the matches and with the guys and being here, fans, family and friends, i didn�*t feel the stress so much even though i didn�*t think something was going to go, pop a calf muscle all my back so i am so happy i made it through. the match was great. i could not be happier. it has been wonderful. applause

. it does it has been wonderful. applause - it does feel _ it has been wonderful. applause . it does feel like _ it has been wonderful. applause . it does feel like a _ . it does feel like a celebration - . it does feel like a celebration to - . it does feel like a celebration to me | . it does feel like a i celebration to me and . it does feel like a - celebration to me and that is what i wanted to feel at the end and it is exactly what i hoped for. so, thank you. applause. hoped for. so, thank you. applause-— hoped for. so, thank you. applause. _, , applause. everyone is here, the . irls, applause. everyone is here, the airls, the applause. everyone is here, the girls. the boys. — applause. everyone is here, the girls. the boys. my _ applause. everyone is here, the girls, the boys, my wife - applause. everyone is here, the girls, the boys, my wife has - girls, the boys, my wife has been so supportive... and... cheering. fee cheering- _ . she could have stopped me cheering- — . she could have stopped me a lona , . she could have stopped me a long. long _ . she could have stopped me a long. longtime _ . she could have stopped me a long, long time ago _ . she could have stopped me a long, long time ago but - . she could have stopped me a long, long time ago but she i long, long time ago but she didn�*t. she kept me going and allowed me to play, so, it is amazing. thank you.- allowed me to play, so, it is amazing. thank you. the celebrated author dame hilary mantel, widely regarded as one of the greatest british novelists, has died at the age of 70. she was best—known for her trilogy of historical novels about the rise and fall of thomas cromwell in

tudor england, which began with wolf hall. her publisher, harper collins, said she died "suddenly, yet peacefully" surrounded by close family and friends. our culture editor katie razzall looks back on her life. thomas cromwell is now 50 years old, the same small, quick eyes, the same thickset, imperturbable body... cromwell, why are you such a person? thomas cromwell and hilary mantel will be forever entwined. her trilogy about the life of henry viii�*s fixer became a bafta—winning tv series. her vivid novels conjured a tudor world of intrigue and violence that readers could feel and taste. she won the booker prize twice, for wolf hall and bring up the bodies, the first woman to do so. mantel had been writing historical and contemporary fiction for years before she found popular acclaim. i hesitated for such a long time before beginning to write this book —

actually, for about 20 years. the young hilary mantel had wanted to be a barrister, but her lack of connections and the endometriosis she struggled with all her life saw her turn to writing instead. the law�*s loss was humanity�*s gain. anywhere she chose to write about, at any time, any character, was the best anybody could have done. she�*s a classic writer, in the footsteps of dickens and mrs gaskell and george eliot, but she was writing in our time. she really is that important. get everything settled before europe wakes up to what is happening. others have also been paying tribute. the royal shakespeare company�*s adaptations of mantel�*s novels saw ben miles as cromwell. he said today, "she was extraordinary. "one of the greatest writers of our time." recognition of those searing talents got mantel a damehood, for services to literature, and she talked in recent years of her hopes for the future. there�*s so much i want to do, and it�*sjust a question of,

"how much stamina have i got, what time have i got left?" dame hilary mantel died from a stroke in a hospital in exeter, with her family beside her. the author dame hilary mantel, who�*s died at the age of 70. for more on this, we can speak to the author daniel mendelsohn, who�*s the editor at large of the new york review of books. a huge talent. you know, the trilogy, just thinking about those beautifully researched, meticulously researched. but it was more than that, it was real imagination she brought to this as well. with that secret, do you think?— as well. with that secret, do you think? well, when i think when you _ you think? well, when i think when you talk— you think? well, when i think when you talk about - you think? well, when i think when you talk about hilary i when you talk about hilary mantel and what she accomplished in the tutor novels, you have to go back and look at the whole work. this is an author who was interested in

many themes and topics in her eye entire career and reached a comp the nation in the tudor novels but it was always there in the beginning and it was one of the most distinctive and idiosyncratic, she was one of the most distinctive and idiosyncratic authors in britain and around the world. from the beginning of her career, the tudor novels of gained so much acclaim and interests but they are really a continuation of what she had been doing all along, and interest in the conflict between modernity and the primitive, between the past and the present. between the rational and the irrational. if you go back and look at everything, starting with a first novel in 1979, these were her themes and i think with cromwell and the tudors, she found the perfect peg to hang her long—standing interest on. one of the other themes was

power. the abuse of power, the corrosive method of power as well? ~ , ,., , corrosive method of power as well? ~ , , , ., well? absolutely. it began in some of these _ well? absolutely. it began in some of these earlier - well? absolutely. it began in| some of these earlier novels. she is very interested in power as it is both enacted by someone, and enacted on someone. of someone, and enacted on someone. of course, someone, and enacted on someone. of course, there again, the cromwell story is the perfect vehicle for that because she is so interested in cromwell as a person who acquires such a tremendous amount of power and uses it to act on people. of course, the first two novels of the tudor should liturgy show him wielding the power and using it first on catherine of aragon and ironically on and berlin as well. she is interested on both the power plays —— and berlin. imagination side of it, does that in view facts or does it not matter in terms of what she

is presenting as a historical account?— account? this is why these tudor novels _ account? this is why these tudor novels are _ account? this is why these tudor novels are more i account? this is why these | tudor novels are more than account? this is why these i tudor novels are more than as it was mere historicalfiction. they are novels that stand as novels because she brings to the historical record, which of course she researched exhaustively and with admirable regard, she brings with this anomalous�*s imagination and thatis anomalous�*s imagination and that is why these novels take off in a way that many historical fiction never quite does. it is the perfect storm, so to speak, of something that has historical accuracy and yet has historical accuracy and yet has the quality of imaginative nurse. she gets into cromwell�*s head, you are there with them the whole time, hearing his thoughts matt canadian, and i think that is what gives it an extraordinary and deeply literary quality. i�*m extraordinary and deeply literary quality. i'm sorry we

have to leave _ literary quality. i'm sorry we have to leave it _ literary quality. i'm sorry we have to leave it there. i literary quality. i'm sorry we have to leave it there. but l have to leave it there. but thank you for your thoughts on the death of hilary mantel, who has died at the age of 70. see you soon. hello. the autumn equinox happened on friday and saturday is going to be ourfirst full day of autumn. the skies are pretty clear the moment and the weekend, how�*s it looking? actually not too bad. there will be a few showers around, but predominantly sunny spells. so, this is what it looks like out there right now. yes, a few showers around, but generally clear across most of the uk through the early hours of saturday, and the temperatures ranging from close to freezing in the scottish glens, around ten in liverpool and 12 degrees in the south. now, recently in the south—east, it has been pretty cloudy and wet because of a stubborn weather front, but the thinking is that weather front should be out of the picture in the english channel and across france early on saturday morning. but there is a possibility it

could be cloudy, if not damp, in the extreme south—east. elsewhere across the country, we�*re waking up to sunny spells, and i think through the course of the afternoon, we�*ll see showers developing — quite well scattered across england and wales. but in scotland and northern ireland, it should be a predominantly dry day. here, temperatures will range from 12 degrees in the northern isles, 16 in glasgow, in the south, still around 18. that was saturday, this is sunday�*s weather forecast. a lot of sunshine, particularly across england and wales, but watch this cold front sweep into northern and western scotland later in the day. the winds will increase, and that heralds a change, a change into next week. we�*ll have a look at that in a second. first, i want to update you on hurricane fiona, which has just passed to the west of bermuda and it is heading towards nova scotia and also newfoundland, and the effects of this storm are likely to be very significant around the canadian maritimes. when the storm hits, it�*ll no longer be a truly tropical hurricane. it�*ll sort of turn into more of a mid—latitude weather system, but the strength of the wind

will still be blowing at hurricane force, and waves around coastal areas are forecast to reach 10, even 12 metres of ferocious weather there, the other side of the atlantic. but over in our neck of the woods, we are expecting a colder plunge of air on monday following a cold front. if you look at the forecast here, 13 degrees in aberdeen and edinburgh probably as well, and cardiff, mid—teens expected and similar values there in london. have a good weekend.

the headlines: to boost the economy, insisting they�*re not a "gamble". kwasi kwarteng has said massive tax cuts aimed at boosting economic growth are fair for all despite the highest earners gaining the most. tax cuts will be paid for by extra borrowing.