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 affairl to - ive 7 77 777t7o7 giyéihéirhiréssion designed to give the impression that the whole country is behind the president.

a global recession is all but inevitable. and, the first woman to win the booker prize twice, have condemned the referendums being held in parts of ukraine to decide whether they want to join russia. it added the votes, which are being organised by moscow—backed officials, are a breach of the united nations charter. 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 fifteen% of ukraine's territory. voting is expected to run

until tuesday, and the result seems almost certain to go in moscow's favour. these pictures, filmed in russian—occupied donetsk, show representatives taking polling cards to people in their own homes. here, at least, it is not a secret ballot. 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." 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 russian 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. woman yells. 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. persuading russians to keep faith in him won't be easy. maria zolkina, is head of conflict studies

at the sink tank dif. she is usually based in kyiv, butjoins us from warsaw. is butjoins us from warsaw. it fair to say that in thes areas is it fair to say that in these areas holding the referendums there will be some people who do want tojoin there will be some people who do want to join the russian federation?— do want to join the russian federation? ,., ., ., , federation? good morning. it is very dangerous _ federation? good morning. it is very dangerous narrative, - federation? good morning. it is very dangerous narrative, let's i very dangerous narrative, let's say. let's be very conscious with our definitions of. in the times of military occupation, there cannot be anything even far away defined as referendum or illegal voting, so that is why it completely doesn't matter how many numbers there will be and if there is a one or two or three or 5% of people who are in favour, who would be in favour in the times of peace let's say an absolutely illegal voting in favour of succession

ukraine. now it has nothing in common and no signs, i think it's obvious that this process is far away from any kind of voting, not only referendum. what is behind the timing, though, of holding these referendums now?- though, of holding these referendums now? this decision was publicly _ referendums now? this decision was publicly russian _ referendums now? this decision was publicly russian media - referendums now? this decision was publicly russian media and | was publicly russian media and politicians were speaking about it since spring but the main reason they didn't do it before was in my opinion pretty unstable position of occupation of administrations, especially in region where the local population is extremely loyal and russian made a great mistake by counting at in, the

real perspective of the occupation in the kharkiv region and there was really internal serious movement from collaborators, from local occupational administrators in luhansk, occupational administrators in lu ha nsk, they occupational administrators in luhansk, they were moving from northern part of the province to the south, being afraid that counteroffensive will continue immediately in luhansk province and russia simply tries to stop and russia simply tries to stop and prevent any attempts of ukraine and its western lines to return to ukraine, so politically russia tries to say this is our territory on the one hand and on the other hand they will declare after that that they can or might deploy some weapons, some nuclear weapons, especially tactical nuclear weapons in these occupied territories, because this is so to say russia as they will play and it will be they will play and it will be the second part of the

political and military blackmailing of ukraine and the west, in order not to move to these territories further. i west, in order not to move to these territories further.- these territories further. i am a afraid we — these territories further. i am a afraid we must _ these territories further. i am a afraid we must leave - these territories further. i am a afraid we must leave it - these territories further. i am | a afraid we must leave it there but thank you very much for joining us here on bbc news. 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. 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 defended the government's plans to boost the economy, after announcing the biggest package of tax cuts in 50 years.

his measures include cutting stamp duty and cancelling a planned increase in corporation tax, but labour and some tory mps say it's wrong to cut taxes for the wealthy during a cost—of—living crisis. ben king reports. here in reading and around the uk, people feel like they could do with a boost. bills are going up and interest rates are rising, across the country as a whole the economy has been growing too slowly. and the chancellor has come up with a very bold solution. tax cuts worth billions of pounds. he plans to cut the basic rate of income tax to:

potentially more than £100 billion a year in coming years an astronomical sum and the government haven't said so much. it government haven't said so much. ,., , government haven't said so much. , . , government haven't said so much. , , , much. it sounds a bit silly because _ much. it sounds a bit silly because you _ much. it sounds a bit silly because you can't - much. it sounds a bit silly because you can't magic l much. it sounds a bit silly - because you can't magic money out of the near. it’s out of the near. it's appalling- - out of the near. it's appalling. way - out of the near. it's appalling. way is i out of the near. it's - appalling. way is that? out of the near. it's _ appalling. way is that? because it all seems _ appalling. way is that? because it all seems to _ appalling. way is that? because it all seems to be _ appalling. way is that? because it all seems to be targeted - appalling. way is that? because it all seems to be targeted at i it all seems to be targeted at people — it all seems to be targeted at people with loads of money, scrapping the top rate of tax. a lot — scrapping the top rate of tax. a lot of— scrapping the top rate of tax. a lot of the people who are struggling at the moment don't even _ struggling at the moment don't even pay— struggling at the moment don't even pay tax. it struggling at the moment don't even pay talc-— even pay tax. it is a gamble, there is no — even pay tax. it is a gamble, there is no denying that - even pay tax. it is a gamble, there is no denying that butl even pay tax. it is a gamble, l there is no denying that but at there is no denying that but at the end — there is no denying that but at the end of— there is no denying that but at the end of the _ there is no denying that but at the end of the day, _ there is no denying that but at the end of the day, if- there is no denying that but at the end of the day, if you - there is no denying that but at| the end of the day, if you grow the end of the day, if you grow the economy— the end of the day, if you grow the economy more _ the end of the day, if you grow the economy more money- the end of the day, if you grow the economy more money will| the economy more money will come — the economy more money will come and _ the economy more money will come and through _ the economy more money will come and through other- the economy more money will come and through other taxes the economy more money will. come and through other taxes so therefore — come and through other taxes so therefore you _ come and through other taxes so therefore you are _ come and through other taxes so therefore you are paying - come and through other taxes so therefore you are paying it - therefore you are paying it off — therefore you are paying it off so _ therefore you are paying it off. so yeah _ therefore you are paying it off. so yeah it _ therefore you are paying it off. so yeah it is _ therefore you are paying it off. so yeah it is a - therefore you are paying it off. so yeah it is a gamble| therefore you are paying it - off. so yeah it is a gamble but ithink— off. so yeah it is a gamble but i think is— off. so yeah it is a gamble but i think is one _ off. so yeah it is a gamble but i think is one we _ off. so yeah it is a gamble but i think is one we have - off. so yeah it is a gamble but i think is one we have got- off. so yeah it is a gamble but i think is one we have got to l i think is one we have got to do — i think is one we have got to do. ., ., , , ., do. the government hopes that all these tax _ do. the government hopes that all these tax cuts _ do. the government hopes that all these tax cuts will _ do. the government hopes that all these tax cuts will boost - all these tax cuts will boost economic growth, making everyone more prosperous and providing extra money for public services. but critics feel that that won't happen and

that we will be left with high interest rates, higher inflation and a bigger national debt that will be a burden for decades to come.— decades to come. this is a gamble- — decades to come. this is a gamble. if _ decades to come. this is a gamble. if very _ decades to come. this is a gamble. if very fast - decades to come. this is a | gamble. if very fast growth turns up with because of the government's policies or for other reasons that will be a very good thing and it will help us manage those higher deficits but if it doesn't we are taking a big risk and that will involve either tax rises or public service cuts in future. or public service cuts in future-— or public service cuts in future. . ., future. the verdict on the markets _ future. the verdict on the markets was _ future. the verdict on the markets was brutal - future. the verdict on the i markets was brutal stopping future. the verdict on the - markets was brutal stopping the pound fell more than 3% against the dollar, shares also fell in government borrowing costs rose. but the government still believes that the dash for growth is the right strategy. i don't think it's a gamble et al.. what was a gamble in my view was sticking to the course we were on. we had a tax system, taxes at a 70—year high, highest since the late 40s and that was unsustainable so what we had to do was a reboot, a rethink and what we are doing is pushing growth, incentivising investment and delete critically, helping people on lower incomes keep

more of the money.— people on lower incomes keep more of the money. they call it a mini budget _ more of the money. they call it a mini budget but _ more of the money. they call it a mini budget but this - more of the money. they call it a mini budget but this is - a mini budget but this is actually an enormous and unconventional plan to get the economy moving again and the big question is, will it work? protesters in mexico city have been clashing with security forces during a demonstration over the disappearance of 43 students in 2014. emily brown reports. a demand for answers and justice. demonstrators take their anger onto the streets. at stake is the unsolved case of 43 mexican students who disappeared nearly eight years ago. the protesters are calling for the arrest of those linked to the case. in 2014, the students were abducted. they were allegedly turned over to a drug gang and never seen again. the remains of only three victims have been identified.

the families of the missing students say they have been let down. translation: yes, we are angry. they gave orders to make our children disappear. and what makes us the most angry is that they say they take to the streets to guard and care for us. but no, they are the ones who make us disappear. they are the ones who steal, so we don't even trust them. some officers have been physically assaulted in the protests. 11 were injured by firecrackers and blows to the body. last month, a truth commission was tasked by the current government to investigate the case. the next day, the attorney—general who led the controversial historical truth investigation into the case was detained on charges of forced disappearance, torture and obstruction ofjustice. prosecutors said arrest warrants had been issued for more suspects. president andres manuel lopez 0brador says any soldiers must face justice.

gunfire. approaching, families are desperate for more answers in this unsolved abduction. emily brown, bbc news. hurricane fiona — the weather system which has already caused widespread damage in several caribbean nations — has caused power cuts in bermuda. these pictures were filmed by an unmanned ship at sea as it swept past the island. the storm brought gusts in excess of 103 mph — that's around 165km/h — and heavy rain. the hurricane is set to gather more strength as it moves towards eastern canada. 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 emotional farewell to the game at the 02 arena in london to applause from fans, as stephanie

prentice reports. roger. please come out. for roaer roger. please come out. for roger federer, _ roger. please come out. for roger federer, the - roger. please come out. for roger federer, the phrase game, set and match has never had such resonance. it’s set and match has never had such resonance.— set and match has never had such resonance. it's going to be good. _ such resonance. it's going to be good, roger, _ such resonance. it's going to be good, roger, i— such resonance. it's going to be good, roger, i promise. l be good, roger, i promise. tears as well as cheers at the end of his final professional match for the man by rivals as so good, it is unbelievable and able to produce shots that should be declared illegal. as he now hangs up his racquet for the final time.— the final time. everybody's here. the final time. everybody's here- the _ the final time. everybody's here. the girls, _ the final time. everybody's here. the girls, the - the final time. everybody's here. the girls, the boys. l the final time. everybody's i here. the girls, the boys. my wife has been so supportive. and... . wife has been so supportive. and... , ~ , wife has been so supportive. and... m m ~ ,, front �*a front �* a packed front �*a packed 02 played in front of a packed 02 london friday night to that travelled from all fans that travelled from all over the to say goodbye. over the world to say goodbye. federer is just the best. over the world to say goodbye. federer isjust the best.- federer is 'ust the best. king. the kin: federer isjust the best. king. the king of— federer isjust the best. king. the king of tennis. _ federer isjust the best. king. the king of tennis. the - federer isjust the best. king. the king of tennis. the mostl the king of tennis. the most natural player, _ the king of tennis. the most natural player, the _ the king of tennis. the most natural player, the most - natural player, the most complete player. i natural player, the most complete player.- natural player, the most complete player. i had to see his last game. _ complete player. i had to see his last game, you _ complete player. i had to see his last game, you know? - complete player. i had to see i his last game, you know? world ambassador— his last game, you know? world

ambassador of _ his last game, you know? world ambassador of tennis. _ his last game, you know? world ambassador of tennis. as - his last game, you know? world ambassador of tennis. as an - ambassador of tennis. as an absolute _ ambassador of tennis. as an absolute icon _ ambassador of tennis. as an absolute icon of _ ambassador of tennis. as an absolute icon of the - ambassador of tennis. as an absolute icon of the sport i ambassador of tennis. as an l absolute icon of the sport and if i absolute icon of the sport and if i could _ absolute icon of the sport and if i could sum _ absolute icon of the sport and if i could sum him up, - absolute icon of the sport and if i could sum him up, i- absolute icon of the sport and if i could sum him up, i would say he — if i could sum him up, i would say he is _ if i could sum him up, i would say he iso— if i could sum him up, i would say he is a class _ if i could sum him up, i would say he is a class act _ if i could sum him up, i would say he is a class act on - if i could sum him up, i would say he is a class act on and i say he is a class act on and off the _ say he is a class act on and off the court. _ say he is a class act on and off the court. he _ say he is a class act on and off the court. he has- say he is a class act on and off the court. he has won i say he is a class act on and i off the court. he has won 70 times— off the court. he has won 70 times but— off the court. he has won 70 times but he _ off the court. he has won 70 times but he is— off the court. he has won 70 times but he is a _ off the court. he has won 70 times but he is a great- off the court. he has won 70 . times but he is a great person, personality, _ times but he is a great person, personality, real— times but he is a great person, personality, real role _ times but he is a great person, personality, real role model. personality, real role model for children— personality, real role model for children and _ personality, real role model for children and yeah, - personality, real role model for children and yeah, we i personality, real role model. for children and yeah, we just love _ for children and yeah, we just love him _ for children and yeah, we 'ust love himfi for children and yeah, we 'ust love him. . , love him. the man himself took to the court _ love him. the man himself took to the court for— love him. the man himself took to the court for doubles - to the court for doubles alongside his former rival rafael nadal, playing the americans jack sock and frances tiafoe. americans jack sock and frances tiafoe. ., , ., ., , americans jack sock and frances tiafoe. ., ., , , tiafoe. there was not a dry eye in the house — tiafoe. there was not a dry eye in the house as _ tiafoe. there was not a dry eye in the house as federer - tiafoe. there was not a dry eye| in the house as federer teamed up in the house as federer teamed up with his gradual idol rafael nadal to put on an incredible show for the 70,000 people at the 02 show for the 70,000 people at the o2 arena. it ultimately endedin the o2 arena. it ultimately ended in defeat but relative to the story which was him saying thestgcy which was himsaying to 7 thestgcy which was himsaying to of the spot of goodbye to oneef the scoot of greatest goodbye to oneof the soot of greatest athletes. everybody. thank you. love —e—77 7—_e: if 7—.—t ftttt i all. it has been an amazing i journey. for federer, time now to rest the _ journey. for federer, time now to rest the - injury - journey. for federer, time now to rest the - injury that - to rest the knee injury that has caused him to retire. has caused himtoretire. and enjoy the memories of 24 .. . .and......... 7 and contribution the and contribution t7he7game nd contribution

t7he7game that contribution t7he7game that were ibution $1133.35; aaa’e’a'fgu'nagd to the game that were founded don't —— described he said he when he is when he said he when he is 100% he is playing in another league and it is impossible to stop him. stephanie prentice, bbc news. the celebrated author dame hilary mantel, widely regarded as one of the greatest british novelists, has died at the age of 70. 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. laughter. 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's 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 her searing talents brought 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, you know, "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. earlier, i spoke to the author daniel mendelsohn, editor—at—large of the new york review of books, on mantel�*s unique style of writing. when you talk about hilary mantel and what she accomplished in the tudor novels, you have to go back and look at the whole work. i mean, this is an author who was interested in many themes and many topics throughout her entire career which reached a culmination in the tudor novels, but it was always there from the beginning and i think she is one of the most distinctive and idiosyncratic authors both

in britain and around the world. from the beginning of her career. and i think the tudor novels gained so much acclaim and interest but they are really a continuation of what she had been doing all along — an 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 you look at everything, starting with her 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 corrosiveness of power as well? yeah, absolutely. again, in some of these earlier novels, she is very interested in power as it is both enacted by 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. so, of course, the first two novels of the tudor trilogy show him wielding the power, using it first on catherine of aragon and then, ironically, on anne boleyn as well, so she is interested in both the power equation. and she evokes it in a very brilliant way. the imagination side of it, does that inbue the fact or does it not matter in terms of what she is presenting as a historical account? well, this is why these tudor novels are more than, as it were, mere historicalfiction. they are novels that stand

as novels because she brings to the historical record — which, of course, she researched exhaustively and with such admirable rigour. she brings to this the novellists' imagination and that is why these novels take off in a way that many historicalfiction never quite does. so it is the perfect storm, so to speak, of something that has historical accuracy and yet, has the quality of imaginativeness. she gets into cromwell�*s head. you are there with him the whole time, hearing his thoughts, his machinations, and i think that is what gives it an extraordinary and deeply literary quality. hilary mantel, who has died at the age of 70. final preparations are underway for an experiment that could one day end up saving every life on earth. on monday, the us space agency nasa will fly a spacecraft into an asteroid to try and divert its path. if it works, it may herald a new age of planetary defence,

as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. if you want to know about the potential perils of an asteroid, just ask the dinosaurs. around 65 million years ago, it is believed a giant space rock crashed into the earth and killed them all. now, a bold experiment to try and make sure the same thing never happens to us. for the first time ever, we will measurably change the orbit of a celestial body in the universe. doing so has clear benefits in ensuring humanity's ability to deflect a potential threatening asteroid in the future. it is called dart, and the theory behind it is pretty simple. find your asteroid and then fly a spacecraft straight

at it at a speed of around 23,000km/h. the hope is you will knock it off course and it will fly harmlessly off into the cosmos. but these things are pretty big, so you have to plan ahead. this is what you would want to do for planetary defence. you're trying to just give something a small nudge which only changes its position slightly, and that adds up to a big change in position over time. so, if you were going to do this for planetary defence, you would do it five, ten, 15, 20 years in advance in order for this technique to work. space is vast and the earth is, cosmically speaking, pretty small, so the chances of a catastrophic impact are fairly remote. that has happened before and eventually, it could happen again — but not if dart has anything to say about it. tim allman, bbc news. we will, of course, be covering that story come monday. plenty more on that and indeed, all of

the other stories on the programme today on the website. that is it, though, from me and the team here in london. thank you for watching. 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.

now, 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 —— so 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.

emily brown, bbc news. 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.