this is bbc news, the headlines: 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, but kyiv and western countries have condemned them, saying they're just a sham, and they won't be recognised. britain's finance minister has defended the government's plans 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. the former men's tennis world number one, roger federer, has bid a tearful farewell to the sport. the swiss playerjoined forces with his former rival, rafael nadal, for a doubles

match in the laver cup in london, they lost in a deciding tiebreak. we are back in half—an—hour. now on bbc news, our world. when it comes to the fight against the coronavirus, one country stands alone. elsewhere, vaccines have meant learning to live with the virus. not in china. this is my lowest point _ virus. not in china. this is my lowest point and, _ virus. not in china. this is my lowest point and, you - virus. not in china. this is my lowest point and, you know, l virus. not in china. this is my. lowest point and, you know, as a man i can't do anything. each outbreak is still being

met with strict measures to return an area to know new infections. it has held back the death rates and stopped hospitals from being swamped. it is also exhausting the population and hammering the economy. with no clear exit strategy, how long can china keep this up? this is the outskirts of beijing and when you cross that river you are actually crossing into neighbouring hubei

province and the town which is a popular place to live for people with more modest incomes, because they can afford to pay the rent and commute into the capital. it sounded like a great idea until the zero covid measures started getting in and they found themselves stuck, unable to get from the place where they lived to the place where they work. in june, to the place where they work. injune, angerfrom the to the place where they work. injune, anger from the workers burst onto the streets. they were blocked from entering beijing because of clusters of new cases. these restrictions have now been eased but the threat of sudden lockouts can make yanzhou's long commuter

workers unattractive or employers. the buses fill up they are often delayed and people run late for work. following a time—consuming id and health code checks.

for some, losing a job in raising means returning to your home town. but travel poses its own risks. china's high—speed trains are normally incredibly efficient, leaving and arriving bang on time. but with zero

covid, nothing is certain. this is us. transport spreads the coronavirus. however, in china, this is more thanjust coronavirus. however, in china, this is more than just a coronavirus. however, in china, this is more thanjust a health risk. injune, a train was suddenly stopped mid journey after a person who had tested positive was accidentally allowed on board. they are all ordered into immediate quarantine. officials can no longer count on

automatic cooperation from travellers burnt out by zero covid. the thing you have to be aware of when you are travelling in china at the moment is that when you visit a place, cases can suddenly emerge and your phone app health code will change colour. you can't leave again until it's green. who knows how long that will take? we've arrived in xian, let's hope that doesn't happen. so on arrival we have two scan a new local health code and then do a pcr test before we can even leave the station. xian is one of the

most famous places in china. since the days of the silk road it has been an engine for inland china's economy. this ancient capital is a popular place for tourists because you don't have to look far to see the remnants of its former glory. it has also had several stay—at—home covid downs, one keeping 13 million people indoors for a month. other cities, if — indoors for a month. other cities, if you _ indoors for a month. other cities, if you went - indoors for a month. other cities, if you went to... - indoors for a month. other| cities, if you went to... this man used — cities, if you went to... this man used his _ cities, if you went to... this man used his english - cities, if you went to... this man used his english language skills to become a tour guide here. specialising in the

international.— here. specialising in the international. here we are. then came _ international. here we are. then came the _ international. here we are. | then came the coronavirus. international. here we are. - then came the coronavirus. just then came the coronavirus. just generally speaking, how damaging for the tourism industry in xi'an has the pandemic been.- industry in xi'an has the pandemic been. well, for the international _ pandemic been. well, for the international tourism, - pandemic been. well, for the internationaltourism, 10096. | international tourism, 100%. killed it? , �* , ., ., killed it? yes. because no-one could come _ killed it? yes. because no-one could come to _ killed it? yes. because no-one could come to china, _ killed it? yes. because no-one could come to china, come - killed it? yes. because no-one could come to china, come to i could come to china, come to china, come to xi'an.- china, come to xi'an. ancient site, china, come to xi'an. ancient site. once — china, come to xi'an. ancient site, once packed _ china, come to xi'an. ancient site, once packed with - site, once packed with travellers became only sparsely covered with local tourist. at times, they have been empty. and there has been no work for addison sun. ida and there has been no work for addison sun.— and there has been no work for addison sun. no income. this is my lowest _ addison sun. no income. this is my lowest point _ addison sun. no income. this is my lowest point and _ addison sun. no income. this is my lowest point and as - addison sun. no income. this is my lowest point and as a - addison sun. no income. this is my lowest point and as a man, i j my lowest point and as a man, i can't do anything.—

can't do anything. you had no money coming _ can't do anything. you had no money coming in _ can't do anything. you had no money coming in at _ can't do anything. you had no money coming in at all? - can't do anything. you had no money coming in at all? so . can't do anything. you had no i money coming in at all? so you are feeling bad because you had to fully rely on your wife is that right and not contribute? it is hard, at the very beginning it is hard to ask my wife, hey darling, give me 100, 200, i want to buy something. because before that time, i'd give my wife, give my family, my daughter, money.- give my wife, give my family, my daughter, money. how did you overcome that? _ my daughter, money. how did you overcome that? what _ my daughter, money. how did you overcome that? what change - my daughter, money. how did you overcome that? what change did l overcome that? what change did you make to make yourself feel good? you make to make yourself feel aood? ~ , , ., good? when i see my daughter, at that time _ good? when i see my daughter, at that time she _ good? when i see my daughter, at that time she just _ good? when i see my daughter, at that time she just was - good? when i see my daughter, at that time she just was eight l at that time she just was eight years old, i think ok, my daughter is a little, so i have to do something. i could not, i have to stand up, you know. because i and the model, i am the hero for my daughter. i’m the hero for my daughter. i'm ha - . the hero for my daughter. i'm happy- do _ the hero for my daughter. i'm happy- do you _ the hero for my daughter. i'm happy. do you know why? because my summer— happy. do you know why? because my summer holidays... she happy. do you know why? because my summer holidays. . ._ my summer holidays... she is following _ my summer holidays... she is following in — my summer holidays... she is following in her _ my summer holidays... she is following in her dad's - following in her dad's footsteps, learning english.

wow! watermelon. thanks for watching, _ wow! watermelon. thanks for watching, see you. without the busyness of his normaljob, taking his daughter to dancing has become the highlight of addison sun's daily routine. he remembers at one point being stuck at home and sleeping through the day before he decided to make a change so he could inspire his daughter again. change so he could inspire his daughteragain. in change so he could inspire his daughter again. in a strange way, though, it was she who has inspired him.

way, though, it was she who has inspired him-— inspired him. hello, i'm anderson! _ inspired him. hello, i'm anderson! yes - inspired him. hello, i'm anderson! yes my - inspired him. hello, i'm| anderson! yes my friend inspired him. hello, i'm - anderson! yes my friend where i am? i'm in xi'an.— am? i'm in xi'an. using social media he _ am? i'm in xi'an. using social media he is— am? i'm in xi'an. using social media he is back _ am? i'm in xi'an. using social media he is back as _ am? i'm in xi'an. using social media he is back as a - am? i'm in xi'an. using social media he is back as a tour- media he is back as a tour guide for those who cannot travel here. i guide for those who cannot travel here.— guide for those who cannot travel here. i am very happy toda , travel here. i am very happy today. i— travel here. i am very happy today. i am _ travel here. i am very happy today, i am on _ travel here. i am very happy today, i am on the - travel here. i am very happy today, i am on the city - travel here. i am very happy i today, i am on the city wall... in this way it keeps his hand and and it makes a little bit of money. other tour guides seem to have given apple together and decided to do something else. why have you not given up with yellow because i have a very good, very strong faith that international tourism can recover and we will have a very bright future. so this is my faith. this is why i don't change my mind. xi'an's muslim

quarter is said to date back to the tang dynasty. a place where traders gathered after traversing the silk road. in normal times it is much more crowded with tourists. but these days you can see near empty restaurants and businesses closed because of a lack of customers. as woman's as it takes nearly a month to make some of the bags in her shop and people like them because they are original. following covid restrictions, she says she has lost so much

money she can barely pay the rent.

many small businesses in china are onlyjust hanging in there. and there are a lot that couldn't make it through the crisis. the greater the exposure to the illegal economy, the worse it can be. for decades, china's economic miracle was built on being the

world's factory, but this country's zero covid strategy has made this country unreliable suppliers in the eyes of overseas buyers. this place is known as a hub for the clothing industry, but here many warehouses are now empty. this factory, for example, lost a whole season of production because of the covid lockdown. they said they had no way of making this money back. the managers are aware of plenty of other businesses in this town which closed for good this

year. they are getting ready to talk to us about this on camera when a man comes in and starts filming us. he then goes and speaks to the boss. there will be no interview. after leaving, we by five cars. local governments have become paranoid that foreign media reports will make their towns look bad in beijing's eyes. elsewhere in the world, questions relating to the coronavirus and the economy wouldn't be so sensitive.

certainly not so sensitive as to warrant shutting down interviews with reporters. not so in this part of china. here, the government knows that these zero covid strategies are smashing people's livelihoods, and it seems doesn't want people speaking about this to the media. despite being tailed, we have another go at talking to locals about the impact of coronavirus measures on their businesses. for example, how have they survived lockdown?

the women we meet a much more frank about the extent of their losses. china once routinely recorded economic growth over 10%. its most recent figure was 0.4%. youth unemployment is now at 20%. pressure is building on the chinese government over its handling of this crisis with a twice a decade communist party

congress starting on the 16th of october. many people feel that zero covid has become much about politics as it is about science, and that this stems from xijinping becoming china's most powerful leader since chairman mao. here at the great hall of the people, a big meeting will soon usher in a historic third term in office for xijinping, but the hope was to have china in a stable and tiptop shape when this occurs. however, the coronavirus is not playing nicely. yet scientists are more open about the pandemic than politicians, as a key government adviser, this professor is one of the architects of the policy which has stopped china's hospitals being overloaded.

only locally developed vaccines have been approved for use in

china, and the government has enforced a strict testing and vaccination policies, it hasn't pushed deaf forced vaccinations. officially 80% of people have been vaccinated but some have questioned whether the real rate is quite low, especially amongst vulnerable groups.

every night, china's office towers are empty, and commuters start the trek back home. in one way, people can be thankful that the virus has been minimised in this vast and densely populated country. if it reopens tomorrow, the disease would spread like wildfire. yet remaining cut off from the outside world is also coming at a cost. there are no easy options. china can't go on like this forever.

hello. the autumn equinox happened on friday, and saturday is going to be ourfirst full day of autumn. the skies are pretty clear at 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 out 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. so 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.

this is bbc news, i'm tim willcox. our top stories: russian—occupied regions in ukraine hold referendums on whether to join the russian federation, ukraine says it's of calling up reservists to fight in ukraine, our correspondent samples the mood in moscow. this is not a spontaneous display of love for ita choreographed it a choreographed affair| to - ive 7 77 777t7o7 givéihéirhiréssion designed to give the impression that the whole country is behind the president.