this is bbc news. i'm gareth barlow. our top stories — knocking. eyewitnesses say armed soldiers are going door—to—door in occupied parts of ukraine to collect votes for so—called "referendums" onjoining russia. at the united nations general assembly, russia's foreign minister has accused the west of stirring up tensions around the world. translation: the west is introducing _ translation: the west is introducing dividing - translation: the west is introducing dividing lines . introducing dividing lines everywhere on the lines of confrontation between blocks can are either with us or against us, there is no third option. storm fiona strikes canada's atlantic coastline. torrential rain and winds of up

to 160 kph cause extensive flooding and mudslides. in iran, increasingly violent anti—government protests have continued for an eighth day. the uk opposition leader, sir keir starmer, will set out to his party conference the dividing lines between labour and the new conservative government. and after 12 long years of tory failure, didn't theyjust and after 12 long years of tory failure, didn't they just show their true colours yesterday? yes! and their true colours yesterday? yes! for and is” , , to door in occupied parts of the country to collect votes for self—styled "referendums" on joining russia. russian state media says door—to—door voting is necessary

for security reasons. 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. the so—called referendums have been widely condemned. president biden described them as a sham, and a false pretext to try to illegally annexe parts of ukraine. our correspondentjames waterhouse reports from kyiv. russia's version of their so—called referendums. ukrainian officials have posted footage like this. apparently ballots being taken door—to—door, with the

support of armed men. on this unverified cctv clip, a man is asked what apartment he's from. "i don't live here." "are you sure?" "yes," he says. he carries on down without looking over his shoulder. we've spoken to several people under russian occupation... outgoing dialling tone. hello. hi, bleep. ..including natalia — not her real name. nice to hear you, too. a producer has voiced her words. what are yourfriends and family thinking about this? do they want to go and vote? translation: all of my friends are against the referendum, - because we are sure that the referendum will be rigged. we don't understand why we should answer the question that is written on the ballots. we don't want to be part of russia. driven by losses on the

battlefield and growing criticisms back home, the kremlin wants to legitimise its presence in ukraine, while threatening an escalation, if ukraine keeps pushing back. this isn't about democracy. it's a move straight out of the russian playbook. the result will be what russia needs it to be, and ukraine is calling on the world to see right through it. james waterhouse, bbc news, in kyiv. one kherson resident has been telling the bbc about the situation there. he says it is tense, and he's afraid to go outside. i saw some reports or saw information on various channels and the social media that the russian soldiers are working and knocking on the doors. they are already working in the kherson, but quite

everything is changing every day. human rights groups say more than 700 people have been arrested at anti—war demonstrations across russia since reservists were called up to fight in ukraine. this video footage has emerged, which appears to show a fight in the russian city of omsk, between men drafted to the army and local police. the footage seems to show russian police trying to force the men onto buses, according

to the reuters news agency journalist who shared the video. president putin has announced a call—up of around 300,000 association, has not been verified by the bbc. russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov has been addressing delegates at the united nations general assembly in new york. here's some of what he had to say. translation are growing, and the situation of international security is deteriorating rapidly. the west is introducing dividing lines all the time rapidly, there are no third position possible, there are no compromises. many are scared russia might close its borders, although the

kremlin says reports of an exodus are exaggerating. the bbc has been speaking to one russian driver who wished to remain anonymous as he queued to get into georgia. i remain anonymous as he queued to get into georgia.— to get into georgia. i want to take all my _ to get into georgia. i want to take all my business - to get into georgia. i want to take all my business and - to get into georgia. i want to| take all my business and staff with me so in this case i took my car and i'm going to go through the border of georgia and russia. i guess there will be around ten or 15 hours in the future for the border. i two kilometres and is stuck. i have border, and it is stuck. i have some food �* with me a toilet as a toilet as we a toilet as we know, »ilet as we know, allt as we know, all people so on. as we know, all people that are in the border now, they can cross it, so it's not a problem for now. people wa nt to a

i guess it's the main war. i guess it's the main reason that we are here. war. i guess it's the main reason that about here. war. i guess it's the main reason that about he war war. i guess it's the main reason that abt speak war the this queue. we speak about the border. i guess, yes, isee this queue. we speak about the border. i guess, yes, i see car numbers with numbers. numbers with regional numbers. we our regional numbers in these cards. i i guess nobody can make a full view of the situation in ukraine, at least from our side, from our country. our people don't know the correct information about the correct information about the situation in ukraine. also, what i can say about people that i been speaking with, they are simple people, they don't want to go to war, as me, i don't want to fight. i know many people from ukraine, it's my friends, it's my part of the family. i don't want to fight, of course.

let's get some of the day's other news. italians go to the polls on sunday, in a general election widely expected to deliver italy its most right—wing government since world war ii. italians are preparing to have a new leader, giorgia meloni, whose party, brothers of italy, has its roots in the country's post—war neo—facist movement. the us government has criticised as catastrophic the reintroduction in arizona of a 19th century law, which bans almost all abortions. the white house press secretary said the decision had set back reports from iran suggest that the authorities have regained control of large parts

of a town in the west of the country from anti—government demonstrators. the protesters had briefly seized areas of the city of oshnavieh, which lies close to the border with iraq. footage appeared to show protesters in control of the town. police say about 740 people have been arrested nationwide, including 60 women, after protests were sparked by the death in custody of a woman who'd allegedly

of the security forces. of unrest in iran is becoming. dr sanam vakil is deputy director of the middle east north africa programme at chatham house, and is their iran expert. she told us such protests come around every few years, as young iranians are tired of living under economic hardship. these are very moving and empowering images of society, people, young people, pushing back against decades of repression, really simply have had enough, being sparked by this tragic death of mahsa amini, and seizing upon it to take

to the streets and really fight for greater freedom, greater equality. iranians have also been experiencing economic hardship from mismanagement and international sanctions. so all of this has been piling up through the years and it's coming out on the streets of iran. you are watching bbc news, a reminder of the headlines: eyewitnesses say armed soldiers are going door—to—door in occupied parts of ukraine to collect votes for so—called referendums on joining russia. a british man, freed this week after being held by russian—backed forces in ukraine, has said he was treated worse than a dog and thought he could be killed in captivity. speaking to the sun on sunday, aiden aslin, who's now back in the uk, described how he was stabbed by a russian officer. he was one of five britons freed as part of a prisoner exchange between russia and ukraine. simon jones has more. we're now out

of the danger zone... the flight that took aiden aslin to his freedom after months in captivity, where he said he was treated worse than a dog. in my cell, it was a two—man cell, but it was for four people, because we had to sleep on the same bed, on a mat that was infested with lice. we also had to sing the russian national anthem every morning and if you didn't sing it, you would get punished for it. you could get beaten or they would punish you some way or another. aiden aslin moved to ukraine four years ago and had joined the ukrainian armed forces. if you're watching this, it means we've surrendered. but his unit was forced to surrender in april. he was held with other prisoners by russian—backed separatists. in donetsk, he said interrogation by a russian officer almost cost him his life. he got down on his knees, and he was smoking a cigarette, and he was like, "do you know who i am?" i was like, "no." he said, "i'm your death,"

basically, in russian. i saw myself, i'd been stabbed, so i knew there was a very high possibility that i'm about to be killed. now freed, in a deal brokered by saudi arabia between russia and ukraine, aiden aslin says he's amazed to be back home and among people who don't want to hurt him. simon jones, bbc news. the first picture of the new burial stone marking the queen's final resting place has been released by buckingham palace. the ledger stone has been set into the floor of the george the sixth memorial chapel at windsor castle, where she was buried, alongside her late husband prince philip on monday. members of the public will be able to visit the chapel in person from thursday. here in the uk, the leader of the opposition labour party, sir keir starmer, has arrived in liverpool ahead of the start of the party's annual conference. he's condemned the package of tax cuts unveiled by the chancellor on friday, calling it �*tory casino economics', which, he says, is gambling with the finances of every family in the country.

the government insists its package of measures, including scrapping the top rate of income tax, will help kick—start economic growth. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. labour has been out of power for more than a decade, but they now believe their political fortunes could be turning around. just as her party conference gets under way, liz truss has made the political dividing lines with the opposition far more stark. applause show their true colours yesterday? and thiago labour had been given an opportunity to set out a distinct vision on the economy.

services are failing to grow the economy over 12 years and now we are seeing a last ditch casino attempt at going for the risky strategy by just casino attempt at going for the risky strategy byjust helping those at the top. i don't believe that will give us the growth and investment that we needin growth and investment that we need in the future or will help those working hard today. # my co, those working hard today. # my cd, my people, my heart. # my city, my people, my heart. keir starmer has urged people to stay away from picket lines, but not far away from his conference, a strike has picked up conference, a strike has picked up at liverpool docks. they are members of the union that gives more money to the labour party than any other. the union leader matt keir starmer in recent days and what she wants to see is a more ambitious economic policy from and him and perhaps, surprisingly, far more support for workers. i think he wants to make it very clear he is supporting workers and that reality is actions speak louder than

words. for me, tomorrow does not pay the bills as far as workers are concerned. today is the time they are struggling, today they are on the picket lines, today they want labour to put their arm around them. this is a crucial conference for isan—lao. left—wing delegates are pushing for a motion to be debated that would support mp's 20 picket lines and call for pay rises to be above inflation. keir starmer will be keen to show his party has emerged from the political storms of the jeremy corbyn era, and that the clear blue water of british politics is now between government and opposition. more than half a million people in eastern canada are without power as the region continues to be battered by a huge storm. these pictures show a town where it storm fiona has brought in winds of more than 160 kilometres per hour tearing down power lines and trees.

authorities have issued severe weather warnings and the prime minister has promised to send help to the affected regions. hurricane fiona is having a devastating impact across canada and quebec. we are seeing devastating images coming out. storm damage like we have never seen. cape preston has been hit hard as well, as is quebec. there have been evacuation orders issued. hundreds of thousands of people are without power. there are reports of roads washed out and homes destroyed. we have all seen the images. this is a very powerful and dangerous storm. i'm joined now by dave harvey from the newfoundland and labrador salvation army, who's in port aux basques, which is one of the areas worst hit by storm fiona. we have some technical issues so he isjoining us on the phone. what is the situation?

at the moment the wind has subsided somewhat. it is still raining. there is still quite a breeze happening here. maybe up to 100 kilometres baloch. the storms have just settled back making it a lot easier to see what is going on.— what is going on. we're “ust lookin: what is going on. we're “ust looking at fl what is going on. we're “ust looking at images i what is going on. we're “ust looking at images offi what is going on. we're just looking at images of the - what is going on. we're just - looking at images of the impact of the storm. what is the impact on the ground with regard to damage? right now it is still being assessed because it is very early into the situation. just walking by and looking at it there, there is a lot of debris. there are a lot of houses that have been washed out, a number of stages and stores close to the waterfront have been destroyed and a lot of personal property has been 110w now ha rd to | see hard to | see whatard to | see what the to

7 that. 7 t éthat. from 5 that the 1m your perspective from the salvation what are on the the is situation for you guys? what is situation for you guys? we opened up a centre this morning. folks could come and have a breakfast dinner, have a breakfast and dinner, and then obviously lunch or supper later this evening. we have had a couple of folks staying in our facility and we are basically now set up in a high school here, which is basically now the new shelter centre, and we are providing the meals for the folks in the next days that lie ahead. when we think of hurricanes we think of the caribbean or the eastern seaboard of the us, not canada and newfoundland, have we seen this before? what is the sense of scale here? from conversations we have had with the folks in this community for a long time, a lot of them for all of their lives, between 70 and 80 years

a lot of them, they have not seen anything like this before. the wind is not a big issue here. during the winter months particularly we have eight e-ioo particularly we have eight e—100 wins, we haven't seen this before them. this is the first time. a lot of wind is coming. we're used to that, we are handling that, but we got a real this morning.— are handling that, but we got a real this morning. realthis morning. dave harvey, thank you _ realthis morning. dave harvey, thank you for— realthis morning. dave harvey, thank you forjoining _ realthis morning. dave harvey, thank you forjoining us - realthis morning. dave harvey, thank you forjoining us and - thank you forjoining us and stay safe as well. for a remarkable tale of perseverance and success, for many, completing a swim across the english channel is no mean feat, and definitely something work —— with budding and bad. a few weeks ago, li ling yung—hryniewiecki became the first singaporean woman to swim across the channel in 12 hours,

54 across the channel in 12 hours, 5a minutes, 43 across the channel in 12 hours, 54 minutes, 43 seconds. she didn't do it to get her name into the record books. let's speak to hannah who joined us from singapore. thank you for doing so. this is a remarkable achievement and i say there's is someone who really cannot swim very well. i think very well. the idea of doing this across the channel is incredible. how difficult was it to navigate that, the vessels and even the jellyfish. thank you. i was very lucky to have the very experienced pilots to bring me a cross, so i didn't really have to worry about the navigation too much, although the tides do pursue north—east to south—west. as far as i was concerned when i was swimming i was swimming in a straight line. in terms of the jellyfish and the cold, they were the biggest nemeses i had, really, but! they were the biggest nemeses i had, really, but i was very

lucky on this day. i have met veryjellyfish in hong kong but it was strange on that day i just saw a small one, just one, way better than what i was expecting. forthe way better than what i was expecting. for the cold it was also a very warm year but i have been training for the last several years for this, so it went smoothly for me. how exactly do _ went smoothly for me. how exactly do you _ went smoothly for me. how exactly do you train - went smoothly for me. how exactly do you train for- exactly do you train for something like this and how does it prepare you for the reality of 12 hours, nearly 13 and the water? i spent the last five years when i was living in london and then moving over to hong kong. i was then moving over to hong kong. iwas swimming then moving over to hong kong. i was swimming with outer wetsuit, so in a swimsuit through summer in london and also through the winter in the sea in hong kong, and i was doing ice bath as well, so it was possible to train for that. doing ice bath as well, so it was possil up o train for that. doing ice bath as well, so it was possil up to :rain for that. the few 1 english 1 iiglish well.

�*well. we seen this of you the swim after the swim signing the wall in are, and in the pub they are, and reaching up and your reaching up and putting your name and time up. what is it like when you finish? we have that image therefore our viewers. what is it like anything that swim? you spent so many years preparing, so many hours in the water, what is the ending lie? it was a huge sense of relief because i had been waiting, you know, a lot of the preparation and mental difficulty is in the actual lead up to the swim. i was waiting for the wind to die down and i wasn't sure if i was going to actually be able to swim at the sea, so starting the swim i was just so relieved. the last part of the swim was also very tough, the last one and a half hours because of the tides, and i think i wasjust because of the tides, and i think i was just so, because of the tides, and i think i wasjust so, so relieved when i stepped onto the french relieved when i stepped onto french stand, i was a relief to do that, i had prepared for it.

like you said in your introduction you didn't do this to get into the record books, this is being done for charity? yes, that's right, this is done in support for fundraising for splash foundation. they are hong charity. i have been volunteering for them as a swim coach for the last two and a half i've been in three years, splash provides completely free swim lessons for communities like foreign and domestic helpers in hong kong, kids with special needs and kits from low income communities. it has been a really rewarding experience. splashes actually watching today with the first class in singapore for foreign domestic helpers, so the funds raised will go towards launching the programme here. li will go towards launching the programme here.— will go towards launching the programme here. li ling, thank ou so programme here. li ling, thank you so much — programme here. li ling, thank you so much for— programme here. li ling, thank you so much forjoining - programme here. li ling, thank you so much forjoining us - programme here. li ling, thank you so much forjoining us and i you so much forjoining us and telling us about that remarkable swim. nasa has called off another scheduled launch of its angry admission to the moon which was due to take place on tuesday, tropical storm megi and could

become a hurricane as it approaches florida. it is the third delay for the test flight which suffered a fuel leak and other technical glitches at the end of august. more details on the website. you can fight me on twitter. —— find me on twitter. hello. it's set to get colder for all of us over the next few days, although that said, lowest temperatures likely to be sunday morning. with light winds, we could see a touch of frost in some rural parts to begin the day, a few mist and fog patches, too. they will quickly clear and for most, a chilly start to sunday, but a lovely, sunny one. isolated shower, too, over norfolk and suffolk, the channel islands, and as cloud builds in the north and west through the days, a few showers will crop up. most, though, will be dry. the exception as the winds strengthen will be the northwest of scotland — a band of heavy rain quickly sweeping across these areas by the end of the afternoon. temperatures for all down on what we've seen through recent days, aided and abetted by that strengthening wind. those winds will go northwesterly as we go into sunday evening. that band of rain through the evening, scotland,

northern ireland, pushes through quite quickly, then clear skies and showers, and then that rain spreads its way southwards across much of england and wales, too, into monday morning. now, it's actually going to be very cold on monday morning, but it probably won't feel as chillyjust because of the strength of the wind, and that wind will be all the way from the arctic. so ever—changing skies. early rain on the south coast clears to allow a sunnier day, but around the coasts, it's where we'll see some of the strongest of the winds, gusting 40, maybe 50 mph, and that will make it feel colder than these temperatures suggest.

just note on the thermometers, only around nine degrees in aberdeen — it will feel even colder than that. a chilly day to come on tuesday as well. showers in the north and the west, maybe some longer spells of rain sliding through ireland, clipping southwest wales and in towards cornwall. temperatures here maybe up to around 15—16 degrees, temperatures only in the teens and there will be some further rain at times, too, before the winds strengthen later on friday. see you later.

this is bbc news. storm fiona has ripped through canada's eastern seaboard, after making landfall in nova scotia. torrential rain and winds of up to 160 kph caused exstensive flooding and mudslides. numerous coastal homes have been swept into the sea or submerged underwater. violent anti—government

protests have continued in iran. police have arrested more than 700 people and at least 35