this is bbc news. i'm lucy grey. our top stories: gunshots are heard after a huge fire breaks out at a prison in iran's capital, tehran. state media reports at least eight people are 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 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. china's president xijinping is expected to be given a third term in office at the communist party congress. and a chiller in chile —

santiago sees the return of the zombie walk — after a three—year gap due to coronavirus. hello and welcome to bbc news. 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. officials say that eight 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. in a tweet the us state department says:

jared genser is a lawyer representing siamak namazi who is a jailed iranian—american, whose family say they haven't heard from him. we haven't had contact with him since word came out about the clashes, gunfire, explosions, etc. we have no idea where he is or how he is doing and we would call on the government of iran to immediately enable him to call his family if he is safe. would you normally be able to speak to him when you want to? what is contact like? ordinarily prisoners in evin prison, if they're not being held by the iranian revolutionary guards, 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, inaudible, but in the circumstances

of this case, after being sent back to prison after his one—week, first furlough since his conviction more than seven years ago, we would urge the government of iran, if he is ok, to let him call his family as quickly as possible. i see that the governor of tehran has been inside the prison and said it was a riot by petty criminals and that it's being put down. what have you heard about what happened inside the prison? i know nothing more than what everyone else has heard from public reporting. clearly, what iran authorities are saying are inaccurate. there are still fires burning and gunshots, as you 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 that siamak namazi is ok is providing proof of life and letting him get on a call with his family. there are several dual nationals in the prison. i wonder if that will impact how the authorities respond to events in the prison. do you think it would? i'm worried about what's going on because all communications

have been cut off from the prison to all different parts of the prison so no prisoners can call out. if things were as calm and straightforward and clear as authorities claim, why wouldn't they allow contact to prisoners, if there is nothing going on, and let prisoners make calls, inaudible, that everything is fine, yet no prisoners are making phone calls out of there and makes me very concerned that something more could be going on. right now we have no idea. jared genser there. well the prison fire appears to be the most serious event since demonstrations 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. us presidentjoe biden hasjust been speaking about events in iran. here's what he said. the uranian government is so oppressive. can't have anything but an enormous amount of respect for those people in the

streets. i have to admit, i was surprised, not by the response. i was surprised by the courage of people and women taking the streets, taking off their headscarves. it's really been amazing. it's really been amazing. it's really been amazing. but they are not a good group, the government. we can now speak to hadi ghaemi, founder of the centre for human rights in iran. he joins us from new york. good of you do, the programme. thank you. i understand that you have close friends in this prison. have you had a word about how they are?- prison. have you had a word about how they are? thank you for having _ about how they are? thank you for having me. _ about how they are? thank you for having me. no, _ about how they are? thank you for having me. no, we - about how they are? thank you for having me. no, we don't. for having me. no, we don't have much information. and there are many prominent political prisoners, including the internationally renowned directors in there, and the

country's top sociologist, journalists, there are just so many people who have been confined there. in addition to hundreds of protesters who have been detained and taken there. and in addition, thousands of ordinary prisoners, so there is a lot of concern what is happening there.- a lot of concern what is happening there. a lot of concern what is ha enin: there. ., , happening there. the lawyer we were 'ust happening there. the lawyer we were just hearing _ happening there. the lawyer we were just hearing from - happening there. the lawyer we were just hearing from who - happening there. the lawyer we were just hearing from who has| were just hearing from who has a client at the jail was saying that prisoners aren't being allowed to make any phone calls. is that your experience as well? ~ , , ., ., as well? well, yes and no. some, as well? well, yes and no. some. in _ as well? well, yes and no. some, in one _ as well? well, yes and no. some, in one particular. as well? well, yes and no. i some, in one particular ward, have been able to make ten or 22nd calls to their family to say they are ok, but that's just one particular ward. there are many wards in the and we are many wards in the and we are hearing very contradictory reports about what is really concerning is the amount of gunshots. why are they shooting so much? and then residence in the nearby neighbourhood are telling us that people are out

protesting and security forces going after them. so honestly, tehran tonight looks like a war zone and it's very troubling. the governor of tehran spoke to state tv from inside the prison and he said that a ride by prisoners and a wing housing petty criminals has been put down and a prisoner is completely calm.- down and a prisoner is completely calm. that is not what the _ completely calm. that is not what the people _ completely calm. that is not what the people on - completely calm. that is not what the people on the - completely calm. that is not i what the people on the ground and the videos coming out are showing. of course, for the past hour are kind of dying off but i think we have to wait for the sun to rise to see the extent of damage and loss of life, especially. iwould extent of damage and loss of life, especially. i would not put a dime of trust in what the government of iran tells us. they have been lying non—stop stop i want to point out that we have some massacres and high school girls killed on the campus. hejust reported school girls killed on the campus. he just reported from the city of ardabil yesterday

where a schoolgirl was murdered. we are seeing children, up to 30 killed on the street, and hundreds of high school kids have been kidnapped and are being kept in unknown locations are known to their parents. so this is really the government of iran declaring war on citizens from what we are seeing. it is extraordinary _ what we are seeing. it is extraordinary in - what we are seeing. it is extraordinary in the - what we are seeing. it is extraordinary in the face j what we are seeing. it is i extraordinary in the face of what is happening, the people are still turning out, they are still taking to the streets and people are saying that these protests are different, aren't they? do you think that the regime is genuinely challenged, do you think that real change could actually happen? i cannot redict could actually happen? i cannot predict that _ could actually happen? i cannot predict that but _ could actually happen? i cannot predict that but i _ could actually happen? i cannot predict that but i can _ could actually happen? i cannot predict that but i can say - predict that but i can say that, from all indications, the beginning and the end of the islamic republic has happened. what the time one would be, we don't know, but the people don't know, but the people don't seem to be ready at all to go back, and every crime that gets known, especially the death of young teenage girls,

is inflaming the population. there is a lot of rage and you don't see anyone defending the government, really. that's where you see the polarisation of the power holders with guns versus the rest of the population.— versus the rest of the population. versus the rest of the --oulation. ., ~ ,, versus the rest of the --oulation. ., ~ i. ., population. 0k, thank you for talkin: population. 0k, thank you for talking to _ population. 0k, thank you for talking to us _ population. 0k, thank you for talking to us on _ population. 0k, thank you for talking to us on bbc - population. 0k, thank you for talking to us on bbc news, i talking to us on bbc news, thank you, hardy caimi, from the centre for human rights in iran. —— hadi ghaemi. china's communist party congress is getting under way in beijing, with president xi jinping expected to start his speech shortly. 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. frank tsai is the founder of china crossroads. i asked him whether he was expecting any major changes in policy to be announced during the congress. well, i'm here in shanghai and i can tell you what it feels like on the ground here so, you know, we're very excited in china about xi's speech coming up in two hours. you know, we're greatly affected, partly because, you know, we were looking for moves on zero covid policy which affects our lives greatly.

you know, just recently, there's been an uptick in cases in shanghai — about 50 per day — and there've been more lockdowns of buildings, no doubt due to worry about the party congress and, you know, don't want a big outbreak. there have been forced closing of bars, more moderating on social media and innocuous articles deleted, and also an interesting rumour and i think inaudible revealing covid case counts may have been lowered intentionally by the government so as to not cause embarrassment and this may imply a big uptick or lockdown after the party congress ends. well, chinese officials have said they won't be lifting the covid restrictions, haven't they, speaking ahead of this conference? in terms of the economic impact of these covid restrictions, are people more generally blaming president xi for that? yeah, i can tell you that that's an important part to look for in this coming week — language and economic growth versus sustainability and common prosperity. you know, right now, we are forecast to only have

3.2—3.3% growth in china, which is very, very low for china. another thing to look for, too, is, you know, all the rumours say that there'll be no change on zero covid, that the party will continue to double down. of course, it's put its entire credibility in xi jinping personally and this is the premiere time to talk about this because this party congress should be seen as a statement — the party statement of its missions and goals. kind of like — it's not like election season in the uk or the us, it's more like a party convention platform. it's only a one—party state, right? so in china, the party is inaudible the state legally and historically — unlike in the us, uk or even other autocracies. turning to foreign policy, then, president xi has been quite strong, hasn't he, recently, talking about taiwan and the reunification, as he called it, and saying how it needs to be fulfilled. how serious a threat is that in terms of any sort of military invasion?

well, in previous party documents, the language got stronger and stronger on taiwan. you know, that's kind of not very easy to predict inaudible asia or not but certainly the trend is that he said we want china unified by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the country. you know, for today's speech and the next week, there's a couple things i think we should be looking for, especially you in the west, what's relevant to you. number one, look for language suggesting more concentration of power. of course, he's getting his third term as general secretary, almost certainly third term as president next year. he has been affirmed as the inaudible leader in party documents. number two — very important whether there or not there'll be an appointed successor. so, back in 2017, there was inaudible successor and if there's not one now, we may fear in the future some political instability because there'll be no successor in place. he may die, he may get ill — all these kinds of things. and finally — and i think and probably most ignored

but important — you know, will xi jinping's own thought be written in the party charter as xijinping thought, equalling him to mao zedong thought? it will be a huge signal he is the premier leader, on par with mao zedong in chinese history. and just a note — this charter that he'll be talking about and which will be revised by the end of the week is not the chinese state constitution. it's a statement of its own missions and goals. you know, you at bbc might have a mission statement. this is a mission statement, this is the vision of the communist party of china and we'll be hearing about it in two hours. 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. that's going to be... 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're 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. cheering and applause. 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. um... 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 herfuture 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's 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'tjust 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. questions? 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 movement into and out of the areas affected has been prohibited. 19 people have so far died from the disease. there have 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 protestors 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 reporting extensive damage in seaside villages, where streets have been inundated with water. residents have been urged to limit their movements. russia's defence ministry says that 11 people were killed and 15 more wounded at a military training ground

when two citizens of an ex—soviet state opened fire on trainees during an exercise. the authorities described the incident in the belgorod region as a terrorist act. those killed were described as volunteers who wanted to fight for russia in ukraine. russia's defence ministry said the assailants were shot dead. elon musk says his starlink satellite company will continue to provide internet to ukraine for free, despite threatening to start charging for the service. ukraine has described starlink as vital, saying it helped the country survive critical moments during the russian invasion. for more on this about—turn, here's stephanie prentice. three, two, one. zero, ignition. lift—off. three, two, one. zero, ignition. lift-off.- three, two, one. zero, ignition. lift-off. elon musk's starlink satellites _ ignition. lift-off. elon musk's starlink satellites launching l starlink satellites launching in 2019, his bed to provide broadband around the world. a few years later, it will become critical to the ukrainian war

effort. the company's 3000 stations in the wealth orbit have been crucial to communications by trips for the past eight months as they monitor russian movements. but on friday, a different battle was raging. mr musk said his company could no longer provide the service, suggesting the pentagon to cover the alleged $20 million a month into that bill. so, why the sudden change? it all seemed to start when he weighed in on ukraine's military strategy. he asked twitter users if it should accept territorial losses, including crimea, in the interest of a peaceful end to the war. it was not welcomed by volodymyr zelensky or ukrainian ambassadors, including one who tweeted a profanity, saying it is my very diplomatic reply to you. in pulling his internet services, mr musk said he was just following the recommendation. now, though,

the world's richest man has had another change of heart and in another change of heart and in another tweet has said he will continue his support. for now at least, ukraine has one less battle to worry about. stephanie prentice, 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. the italian astronaut says her mission to the space station 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.

the coronavirus pandemic brought much of the world to a halt. but now, as covid—19 fades somewhat into the background, things are beginning to return to normal. in chile, a popular event making a comeback is the so—called zombie walk. i should tell you tim allman's report contains a lot of make—up, but no real blood. after three years, the walking dead have risen once more. well, not really. instead, a lot of people dressed up as zombies for a sloping, staggering stroll around santiago. translation: it is an event we used _ santiago. translation: it is an event we used to _ santiago. translation: it is an event we used to do _ santiago. translation: it is an event we used to do every - santiago. translation: it is an event we used to do every year. | event we used to do every year. but due to the coronavirus, it had been suspended. a family event where everyone participates and people show

their creativity.— participates and people show their creativity. zombie walks date back _ their creativity. zombie walks date back more _ their creativity. zombie walks date back more than - their creativity. zombie walks date back more than 20 - their creativity. zombie walksl date back more than 20 years. sometimes, they are for a good cause and sometimes, they are for no real cause at all, except for this one, of course! translation: i except for this one, of course! translation:— except for this one, of course! translation: i come because it is fun. translation: i come because it is fun- it's _ translation: i come because it is fun. it's fun _ translation: i come because it is fun. it's fun because _ translation: i come because it is fun. it's fun because we - translation: i come because it is fun. it's fun because we can i is fun. it's fun because we can wear make up. is fun. it's fun because we can - wear make up._ we wear make up. translation: we came here to _ wear make up. translation: we came here to get _ wear make up. translation: we came here to get out _ wear make up. translation: we came here to get out of— wear make up. translation: we came here to get out of the - came here to get out of the old routine — came here to get out of the old routine. and be a kid again. this— routine. and be a kid again. this carnival of glory make up and indiscriminate groaning has been replicated in plenty of other cities across the globe. but around these parts, they will tell you this one is special. a real chiller in chile. tim allman, bbc news. a reminder of our top story, the united states as it is following report from evan prison with urgency. the state

department that iran was fully responsible for the safety of wrongly detained us citizens who, it said, should be released immediately. all from me for now. you can catch on twitter. hello. the weekend started with plenty of showers, some heavy and thundery in places, gusty winds. 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 wetter 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 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 mayjust 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 communist party congress is getting under way in beijing, with president xi jinping due to start his speech shortly. delegates are expected to hand mr xi a third term as party chief.

it paves the way for him to become the most powerful