this is bbc news. i'm lucy grey. our top stories: gunshots gunshots are heard after a huge fire breaks out at a prison in iran's capital, tehran. state media reports at least eight people injured. as the uk's prime minister fights for herjob, the new chancellor signals he'll make major changes to her economic policy. we have some very difficult decisions are heard, difficult decisions are heard, difficult decisions on spending, which is not can arise as much as people hope, and i'm gonna be asking all government departments to find additional efficiency saving. china's president xijinping is expected to be given a third

term in office at the communist party congress. and the husband and wife team behind one of the most successful covid vaccines believe the same technology could help transform cancer treatment. we begin in iran — where a large fire has been blazing at evin prison in the capital, tehran. hundreds of political prisoners and dozens of dual nationals are held in the prison, as well as many protesters arrested during the past four weeks of riots around the country. in a tweet the us state department says: gunshots officials say that seven people have been injured, and that the situation is now under control. but recent videos posted online show the fire still burning, and gunfire and sirens

can be heard. we can now speak to jared genser, who's a lawyer representing siamak namazi an iranian—american, whose family said he was taken back into custody to the prison, this week after a temporary release. thank you for talking to us. have you had any contact with your client?— your client? unfortunately, with siamak _ your client? unfortunately, with siamak namazi, - your client? unfortunately, with siamak namazi, since| your client? unfortunately, - with siamak namazi, since word first came out at the clashes, fires, explosions, gunfire, all happening in evin prison were the mike weirand happening in evin prison were the mike weir and utterly concerned about his... we have a tricky line- — concerned about his. .. we have a tricky line. i'll— concerned about his... we have a tricky line. i'll ask _ concerned about his... we have a tricky line. i'll ask one - a tricky line. i'll ask one more to see if we can hear you. would you normally be able to make contact and speak on the phone? i think it's totally frozen there. we will see if we can get him back later. in the meantime, we set about the present, it seems to be a

series of events as demonstrations that began last month. they were sparked by the death in custody of a young woman detained for allegedly not wearing her hijab correctly. more protests have taken place in several cities across the country, as the bbc�*s duncan kennedy reports. this is ardabil, north—west of tehran, where protesters have started using rocks to take on the authorities. some are shouting, "death to the supreme leader." a slogan heard a lot in recent weeks. this is also believed to be ardabil, but this time the authorities appear to have the upper hand. the iranian government has brutal control of the media, but using a variety of techniques, the bbc has now named a total of 45 people, including children, who have died since the protests began. many of the demonstrations are still being driven by young women and schoolchildren. it's nearly a month since

these protests began following the death in police custody of a 22—year—old woman. duncan kennedy, bbc news. let's have another go with jared genser, the lawyer representing siamak namazi. sorry about the line.- representing siamak namazi. sorry about the line. have you had any contact? _ sorry about the line. have you had any contact? we - sorry about the line. have you had any contact? we haven't l sorry about the line. have you i had any contact? we haven't had contact since word about the clashes, gunfire and explosions. we have no idea where he is or how he is doing and we would call on the governor to enable him to call his family if he is safe.- his family if he is safe. would normally be _ his family if he is safe. would normally be able _ his family if he is safe. would normally be able to _ his family if he is safe. would normally be able to speak- his family if he is safe. would normally be able to speak to | normally be able to speak to him when you want to? what is contact like?— contact like? ordinarily prisoners _ contact like? ordinarily prisoners are _ contact like? ordinarily prisoners are able - contact like? ordinarily prisoners are able to i contact like? ordinarily - prisoners are able to make daily phone calls out of the prison. there are certain hours you can make phone calls and late in the evening, but in

the circumstances of this case, after being sent back to prison after being sent back to prison after his first furlough since his conviction more than seven years ago, we would urge the government of iran, if he is ok, to let his dominic young 0k, to let his dominic young call his family as quickly as possible. i call his family as quickly as possible-— call his family as quickly as ossible. , ., ., ., possible. i see the governor of tehran has _ possible. i see the governor of tehran has been _ possible. i see the governor of tehran has been in _ possible. i see the governor of tehran has been in prison - possible. i see the governor of tehran has been in prison and| tehran has been in prison and said it was a riot by petty criminals and being put down. what have you heard about what happened inside the prison? i have heard everyone, but everyone else has heard from reporting. there are still fires burning and gunshots, as he reported, still being heard. i believe what i see with my own eyes, not what the government of iran tell me. the only way to show me he is ok is letting him get on a call with his family. letting him get on a call with his family-—

his family. there are several dual nationals _ his family. there are several dual nationals in _ his family. there are several dual nationals in the - his family. there are several| dual nationals in the present. i wonder if that will impact the authorities respond to events in the prison. do you think it would? i’m events in the prison. do you think it would?— think it would? i'm worried about what's _ think it would? i'm worried about what's going - think it would? i'm worried about what's going on - think it would? i'm worried - about what's going on because all the medications have been cut from the prison to all different parts of the prison so no prisoners can call out. if things were as calm and straightforward as authorities claim, why would they allow contact to prisoners if there is nothing going on until let prisoners make calls... yet no prisoners make calls... yet no prisoners are making phone calls out of this makes me very concerned that something more could be going on. idaho concerned that something more could be going on.— concerned that something more could be going on. now we have no idea. thank _ could be going on. now we have no idea. thank you _ could be going on. now we have no idea. thank you for _ could be going on. now we have no idea. thank you for talking i no idea. thank you for talking to us, jared genser. i'm glad we got you back online. sussan tahmasebi is one of iran's foremost feminist figures and founder of femena, a women's rights organisation. can you tell me what more you might have heard about what's been going on in the prison?

there is a lot of speculation and a lot of concern. we've had different stories, people have seen the video say that it seems that two awards, seven and eight, seemed to be the wards that have caught fire, and award seven they next to the quarantine section of ward 240 were a lot of protesters who have been taken prisoner are being held. we don't know. it a lot of speculation at this point. the government says one thing and people who are familiar with evin presents a different things, family who are outside of the prison when the fire broke out and were attacked by security guards and teargas, so they are not with any information. they can't provide clarity into the situation and it is very frustrating and concerning for us. we are not gonna know and i think your previous guest talked about how it is difficult to trust iranian

government what they are saying does not in line with what we are seeing. but they very much regularly lie about what is going on. untilwe regularly lie about what is going on. until we can hear from the prisoners inside the prison, until they are allowed to call, we're not going to have any clarity on what's going on. have any clarity on what's going on-_ have any clarity on what's auoin on. , , going on. more broadly, looking at the protests _ going on. more broadly, looking at the protests and _ going on. more broadly, looking at the protests and how - at the protests and how widespread they are, and how fearless people seem to be, are you surprised at how long they have gone on for, looking at the fifth week of protests now, partly? the fifth week of protests now, artl ? ~ ., the fifth week of protests now, artl ? . ., ., the fifth week of protests now, artl ? ~ . ., ., partly? we are. i am more amazed — partly? we are. i am more amazed than _ partly? we are. i am more amazed than anything. - partly? we are. i am more amazed than anything. i i amazed than anything. i understand that motivations behind these protests, i'm not surprised in a sense, but i am despised amongst surprise the incredible violence, protesters continue to go out into the street and demand freedom and equality and democracy. in that sense, i think they are very determined to get what they want. ., ., ,

determined to get what they want. . . , , determined to get what they want. . ,, want. iran has seen protests before. want. iran has seen protests more why — want. iran has seen protests before. why do _ want. iran has seen protests before. why do you - want. iran has seen protests before. why do you think- want. iran has seen protests| before. why do you think the regime has been so far unable to stop these protests?- to stop these protests? these rotests to stop these protests? these protests are — to stop these protests? these protests are a _ to stop these protests? these protests are a little _ to stop these protests? these protests are a little bit - protests are a little bit different than previous protests because, first of all, they were sparked by demand for women's writes that we see women's writes that we see women in these protests more than any other protests in the past. the 2009 protests, which were against the presidency of and the last two major protests in 2017 2019 women were present but not so front and centre. we see a lot of young people including high school is participating in these protests but these protests are across the country, very dispersed, decentralised, organised locally is, in big and small cities, the provinces, we have cities, the provinces, we have cities that never participated in protests in the past who are participating in these protests. there are intersectional sleazy different

people with different ages, different socio—economic backgrounds, different ethnicities, different religions participating in these protests so it's very difficult and they are very broad—based so it's difficult to quell them even though there is a lot of violence being used. ., ~ is a lot of violence being used. ., ,, , ., is a lot of violence being used. ., ,, i. ., is a lot of violence being used. ., ,, ., ., ,, used. ok, thank you for talking to us, used. ok, thank you for talking to us. susan — used. ok, thank you for talking to us, susan palmer— used. ok, thank you for talking to us, susan palmer cb, - used. ok, thank you for talking to us, susan palmer cb, one i used. ok, thank you for talking to us, susan palmer cb, one of iran's foremost feminist figures. iran's foremost feminist fiaures. ., ~' britain's new chancellor, jeremy hunt, has indicated there'll be major changes to liz truss' entire economic strategy. in a round of interviews with broadcasters on saturday mr hunt said mistakes had been made by the government and warned of what he called �*very difficult decisions' ahead. he suggested taxes could rise to help restore market confidence and also talked about spending cuts. mr hunt was appointed after the prime minister sacked his predecessor, kwasi kwarteng. here's our political correspondent, ben wright. congratulations, mr chancellor. the fourth chancellor in as many months. jeremy hunt'sjob now is to try and urgently calm financial markets. he has just two weeks

to write a budget that looks set to junk many of the prime minister's signature policies. on wednesday, liz truss said she was absolutely not planning public spending cuts. but listen to this. we have some very difficult decisions ahead, difficult decisions on spending, which is not going to rise as much as people hope, and i'm going to be asking all government departments to find additional efficiency savings. 0ne person's efficiency savings is another person's cuts. yes. during the tory leadership contest, liz truss said the country couldn't tax its way to economic growth, but now... we are also going to have pressure on the tax side. taxes are not going to come down by as much as people hoped, and some taxes will have to go up. then there was the prime minister's pledge to boost defence spending to 3% of national income by 2030. but the defence department too is going to have to help find efficiencies. the long—term ability to fund an increase in defence spending will depend on stability in the economic situation

and a healthily growing economy. spending cuts and tax rises is not what liz truss planned when she entered number 10 last month but the economic and political turmoil that followed her first chancellor's mini—budget has forced a fundamental rethink, plunging her premiership into chaos. yesterday, the smiles had gone and the prime minister's appearance in number 10 did little to convince her tory party critics that she is up to the job. some believe her future now hinges on the chancellor's budget at the end of this month. if that package doesn't work and the markets are still reacting all over the place, then i think she is in considerable trouble. she has admitted mistakes and if she admits those mistakes and puts them right then i think she could conceivably get beyond this. but i emphasise could, because i think it all depends on that financial statement on the 31st of october.

the opposition said the prime minister's government was now clinging on. they didn't just tank the british economy, they also clung on. clung on as they made the pound sink, clung on as they took our pensions to the brink of collapse, clung on as they pushed the mortgages and bills of the british public through the roof. they did all of this. liz truss clearly wants to battle on, hoping this turmoil will subside, but behind her in parliament sits a fractious, even mutinous party. some think it would be mad to try and oust the prime minister already, others say keeping her in place would be worse. rebuilding her political credibility will not be easy. ben wright, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. uganda's government has imposed overnight curfews and closed entertainment venues as it tries to stop the spread of ebola.

the measures, which will last for three weeks initially, also include the closing of churches, and that movement into and out of the areas affected had been prohibited. 19 people have so far died from the disease. there've been large protests in the tunisian capital against president kais saied, denouncing him as an autocrat who's reversing the democratic progress in the country. mr saied took on full executive power last year but protesters say there's been no improvement in living standards. one man has died and two others are missing in greece after torrential rain caused flash flooding on the island of crete. emergency workers say the victim had become trapped in his car. local media are repoting extensive damage in seaside villages, where streets have been inundated with water. residents have been urged to limit their movements. this is bbc news. a reminder of the headlines: gunshots. gunshots are heard after a huge fire breaks out at a prison in iran's capital tehran. state media reports at least eight people injured.

as the uk's prime minister fights for herjob, the new chancellor signals he'll make major changes to her economic policy. china's president xijinping is expected to cement his grip on power as a historic communist party congress kicks off in beijing in less than two hours' time. in a break in decades—long tradition, delegates are likely to hand mr xi a third term as party chief. it paves the way for him to become the most powerful leader since mao zedong. 0ur correspondent celia hatton reports on how he rose to power. applause. when he strode onto the stage ten years ago, signalling he'd become china's new leader, he was a relative unknown. he was supposed to rule alongside these six other officials. but now, it's clear that he's reshaped the communist party, the military and the government, so that he's at the top of it all. some call him the chairman of everything. so, how did he do it? how did he become so powerful?

he started out with a bold vision — the china dream. it unleashed big projects, to build things like high—speed rail networks and new global trading routes that aimed to revitalise the whole country. and through viral incidents like this — a visit to a beijing steamed bun shop. he cultivated a different image for himself, making sure everyone in china knew his story and saw him as the top leader. he reorganised the military, too. by ousting hundreds of generals and replacing them with his allies, he's firmly in control. and let's not forget the ongoing anti—corruption crackdown. this man, zhou yongkang, is the former top security chief, now in prison for amassing $14 billion in ill—gotten gains. more than a million party officials have been punished under xi, silencing all rivals. the campaign's popular with the public, but it's also bred fear. xi is at the top of his game

but he faces serious challenges — china's economy is suffering under tight covid restrictions and he's made quite a few enemies behind the scenes. china watchers will be looking to see if he begins to delegate any responsibilities, sharing the power — and also the blame. celia hatton, bbc news. mr xi is expected to kick off the congress with a long, formal speech using carefully chosen language, which analysts will be scouring for any hints of policy changes. let's speak to frank tsai in shanghai — he's the founder of china crossroads. are you expecting any major changes in policy? are you expecting any ma'or changes in policy?i are you expecting any ma'or changes in policy? well, i hear -- | changes in policy? well, i hear -- i am changes in policy? well, i hear -- i am here — changes in policy? well, i hear -- i am here in _ changes in policy? well, i hear -- i am here in shanghai - changes in policy? well, i hear -- i am here in shanghai and l changes in policy? well, i hear -- i am here in shanghai and i| —— i am here in shanghai and i can tell you what it feels like on the ground here so we are very excited in china about xi's speech coming up in about two hours, we are greatly affected partially because we were looking for moves on zero covid policy which affects our

lives greatly butjust recently there's been in cases in cases in shanghai, about 50 day, and more lockdowns of buildings. no doubt due to worry about party congress and don't want a big outbreak. there have been forced closing of bars, more innocuous articles deleted and also an interesting rumour and also an interesting rumour and also revealing that covid case counts may have been lowered intentionally by the government so as to not cause an automatic uptick across lockdown after the party congress ends. chinese officials have said they will not be lifting the covid restrictions, haven't they, head of this conference? in terms of the economic impact of these restrictions, people more generally blaming president xi for that? i can tell ou president xi for that? i can tell you it's what _ president xi for that? i can tell you it's what the - president xi for that? i can tell you it's what the they l tell you it's what the they will look for, language and economic growth versus sustainability and prosperity. right now, we are forecasting

an automatic growth in china which is low for china. another thing to look for is all the rumours say there will be no change on zero penina, the party will continue to double down inaudible personally and this is the premier time to talk about this because this party congress should be seen as a statement, the party statement of its mission inaudible like election season in the uk or us, it's more like a party convention platform, it's only a i—party state so in china the party is inaudible historically unlike in the us, uk or even other provinces. turning to foreign policy then, president xi has been strong recently talking about taiwan and the reunification, as he called it, saying how it needs to be fulfilled.— to be fulfilled. how serious a

threat is that _ to be fulfilled. how serious a threat is that in _ to be fulfilled. how serious a threat is that in terms - to be fulfilled. how serious a threat is that in terms of - to be fulfilled. how serious a threat is that in terms of any| threat is that in terms of any sort of military invasion? the lanaruae sort of military invasion? the language got _ sort of military invasion? iie: language got stronger sort of military invasion? "iie: language got stronger and stronger on taiwan in military documents and it's kind of not easy to predict inaudible trend is that he said we want china unified by inaudible anniversaries of the founding of the country. for today's speech and the next inaudible be looking for, especially you in the west, what is relevant to you, number one, look for language suggesting more concentration of power. he is getting his third term as general secretary, getting his third term as generalsecretary, most general secretary, most certainly third generalsecretary, most certainly third term as president next year. he has been affirmed as the inaudible leader in party documents. important of whether there will be an important —— appointed successor. if there is not one, we may fear inaudible political instability because there would be no successor in place, he

may die or get ill and finally and i think probably most important will xijinping's and i think probably most important will xi jinping's own thought to be written in the party charter as he thought equalling him to mao zedong? it will be a huge signal he is the premier leader, on par with mao zedongin premier leader, on par with mao zedong in chinese history. and note the charter he will be talking about and needs to be revised is not the chinese state constitution. statements of its own missions and goals, inaudible mission statement, a vision of the communist party china and will be hearing about it in two hours.— it in two hours. thank you very much, it in two hours. thank you very much. very _ it in two hours. thank you very much. very good _ it in two hours. thank you very much, very good to _ it in two hours. thank you very much, very good to speak- it in two hours. thank you very much, very good to speak to i much, very good to speak to you. frank tsai. the footballer mason greenwood has been charged with attempted rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. the 21—year—old manchester united striker was first arrested on suspicion of rape and assault injanuary and was immediately suspended from playing or training by the club.

he was re—arrested earlier today for allegedly breaching bail conditions. the husband and wife team behind one of the most successful covid vaccines say they believe the same technology could help transform cancer treatment. ugur sahin and 0zlem tureci, who founded the german company biontech, also said they would fight claims by a rival company that they infringed patents in their covid jab. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh reports. if you have a covid booster this autumn, whether it's the pfizer—biontech or moderna jabs, they both rely on a new type of vaccine technology known as mrna. all done! among the pioneers were husband and wife team professors ugur sahin and 0zlem tureci, who founded biontech. professor sahin, professor tureci. .. speaking to sunday with laura kuenssberg, the doctor said mrna is showing promise in cancer studies.

where patients receive a personalised vaccine to prompt their immune system to attack their disease. every step, every patient we treat in our cancer trials helps us to find out more about what we are against and how to address that. therefore, as scientists, we are always hesitant to say we will have a cure for cancer. we have a number of breakthroughs and we will continue to work on them. but it may be several years before we know if trials in bowel cancer, melanoma and other tumour types really do live up to the hype. covid vaccines, though, have been highly successful and made billions for biontech, but rivalfirm moderna has started legal action for patent infringement — in essence, claiming key elements of their mrna technology were copied.

biontech says it will vigorously defend against the allegations. 0ur innovations are original. we have spent 20 years of research in developing this type of treatment and, of course, we will fight for our intellectual property. these patent disputes won't stop the rollout of covid vaccines. mrna technology came of age in the pandemic. the question now is can it take on cancer? fergus walsh, bbc news. the first european woman to command the international space station has spoken for the first time since arriving back to earth on friday. samantha cristoforetti had been on board for nearly six months conducting research on the effects of microgravity on the human cells and other systems. the italian astronaut was on her second mission to the space station but this is likely to be her last.

it was great to experience again the re—entry into the atmosphere. it's quite a wild ride but also quite amazing. i'm obviously very happy to be back with my loved ones and my family so i look forward to spending time with them. and i also like to look to the future. i mean, it's a bittersweet moment for me. i'm happy to be back, obviously, but it was also bittersweet to say goodbye to space station, my home in space, most likely for the last time. we are in the process of selecting a new class of astronauts. aha, the process of selecting a new class of astronauts. a reminder of our top _ class of astronauts. a reminder of our top story. _ class of astronauts. a reminder of our top story, the _ class of astronauts. a reminder of our top story, the united - of our top story, the united states as it is following supports from evin prison with urgency, iran was fully responsible for wrongly detained us citizens, the us said, and they should be released immediately. they added they were in contact with switzerland which acts as a protecting powerfor the switzerland which acts as a protecting power for the united states in iran. that's all from me for this hour.

you can reach me on twitter. i'm @lucyegrey. and thank you for watching. hello. the weekend started with plenty of showers, some heavy and fun to be in places, gusty winds. —— thundery in places. as one area of low pressure begins to pull away from the uk, there'll be fewer showers around for part two of the weekend. for much of the uk for much of the day, it'll stay dry. this is that area of low pressure pulling away. however, this is another one moving in towards the south—west later in the day, so there will be some weather pushing north again by sunday evening. let's look at how sunday begins. there's still some showers around, especially in scotland — some heavy ones in the west. temperatures a little lower than this in rural parts. a cooler night across southern areas of the uk. the showers in scotland will tend to fade away and will still be around the northern isles in the afternoon. as you can see, though, elsewhere in the afternoon,

for most places, it'll be dry, there'll be some sunny spells. cloud increasing in northern ireland and, indeed, southern england, south wales, so you could see a few showery bursts of rain heading in later in the afternoon and by evening, it'll be turning much weather in northern ireland as this moves north. —— wetter in northern ireland as this moves north. temperatures pretty much where they're going to be over the next few days — around 12 degrees in glasgow, 18 in london. very wet on sunday evening in northern ireland. we'll see some wet and windy weather pushing north across the uk overnight and into monday morning. the winds picking up again through irish sea and adjacent coasts and into western scotland with gales in places. a much milder night, especially across wales and england. closer to that area of low pressure on monday, it's northern ireland and northern england that could well see some showers but it'll be scotland bearing the brunt of some heavy downpours once again. for much in england and wales in the afternoon, actually, it'll be dry, broken cloud and sunny spells and not as windy as it still will be across the northern half of the uk. temperatures on monday may well be a degree also higher in places. as we go into tuesday, this latest area of low pressure pulls away, then there's a ridge of high

pressure settling things down. there is another area of low pressure, though, sitting to our south—west. and whilst on tuesday, most places are looking dry — just the odd shower here and there — cloud may just start to increase across eastern scotland, north east england. the breeze will pick up later towards the south—west, closer to that next area of low pressure, which will gradually, on wednesday, start to feed some outbreaks of rain in from the south—west, whereas many places will actually have another dry day but wetter weather becoming more widespread again towards the end of the week. that's your forecast. bye for now.

this is bbc news. the headlines: a big fire has broken out at evin prison in the iranian capital, tehran, where hundreds of political prisoners and dozens of dual nationals are held. in videos posted online, gunfire and sirens can be heard. roads to the prison have been closed off. britain's new chancellor of the exchequer, jeremy hunt, has admitted the government made mistakes when announcing unfunded tax cuts last month and that very difficult economic decisions would now have to be taken. he's promised to restore certainty and predictability to public finances after weeks of turmoil. china's president xijinping is expected to cement his grip on power as a historic communist party congress kicks

off in beijing shortly.