this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. 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. this is the scene live in beijing as china's communist party congress gets under way. president xijinping is expected to secure a third term in power. 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.

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 protestors arrested during the past four weeks of unrest. officials say that eight people have been injured and that the situation is now under control, but information is still trickling out of the country. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri reports. fla mes flames engulfing iran's notorious evin prison. in the

midst of widespread unrest, it is a scene that frightened iranians both inside and outside the country. officials say a riot broke out between inmates. what people saw on social media was fires raging across the compound, and gunshots heard in the distance. scenes of riot police and firefighters rushing to the present did little to calm people's fears. for the inmates�* families, people�*s fears. for the inmates�* families, it is pure panic. they rushed to evin, clogging the roads with traffic, trying to find out if their loved ones were safe. but evin is also known for housing hundreds of political prisoners, as well as dual—nationals, which is what prompted this tweet by ned price, the us state department�*s spokesperson. the incident will likely lead to further scrutiny from abroad. this is what us

presidentjoe biden said when asked about the fire. the iranian government - asked about the fire. the iranian government is - asked about the fire. tue: iranian government is so oppressive, we can�*t have anything but an enormous amount of respect for those people who march in the streets. find of respect for those people who march in the streets.— march in the streets. and it will add to _ march in the streets. and it will add to the _ march in the streets. and it will add to the anger - march in the streets. and it will add to the anger within | will add to the anger within the country as protests continue in more than a dozen cities. in this town, they were throwing stones at authorities over the weekend, shouting death to that dictator, a reference to iran�*s supreme leader. the security forces are still camping down on descent, as they are on the scene, also believed to be in that place. it has now been more than a month since the process began. they are still led by women and schoolgirls but also involve people from all walks of life, and amidst a crackdown by the government and internet back outs, it is clear the descent is far from over.

outs, it is clear the descent is farfrom over. —— dissent. well, earlier i spoke to human rights activist sussan tahmasebi, who is also one of iran�*s foremost feminist figures. i asked what she had learned about what�*s happening in evin prison in tehran. well, there�*s a lot of speculation and a lot of concern. we�*ve had different stories. people who have seen the video say that it seems that two wards, seven and eight, seem to be the wards that have caught fire. and ward seven, they say, is next to the quarantine section of ward 240 where a lot of the protesters who have been taken prisoner are being held. but really we don�*t know. it�*s a lot of speculation at this point. the authorities and government are saying one thing, people who are familiar with evin prison say a different thing. family who are outside of the prison when the fire broke out were attacked by security guards and teargas, so they are not provided with any information.

they can�*t provide clarity into the situation, and it�*s very frustrating and concerning for us. we�*re not going to know, and i think your previous guest talked about how it�*s difficult to trust the iranian government when what they�*re saying is not in line with what we�*re seeing. they very much 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. more broadly, looking at the protests and how widespread they are, and how fearless people seem to be, are you surprised at how long they�*ve gone on for? we�*re looking at the fifth week of protests now, aren�*t we? yes, we are. i�*m actually more amazed than anything. i understand the motivations behind these protests, so i�*m not surprised in that sense. but i am surprised, despite the incredible violence they face, that protesters continue

to go out into the street and demand freedom and equality and democracy. so in that sense, i think they�*re very determined to get what they want. iran has seen protests before. why do you think that the regime has been so far unable to stop these protests? well, these protests are a little bit different than previous protests because, first of all, it started — they were sparked by a demand for women�*s rights, and we see women in these protests and leading them more than any other protests in the past. the 2009 protests, which were against the presidency of ahmadinejad, and then the last two major protests in 2017 and 2019, women were present but they weren�*t so front and centre. we also see a lot of young people, including high schoolers now, participating in these protests. but these protests are across the country, very dispersed, decentralised,

organised locally, in big and small cities, the provinces. we have cities that never participated in protests in the past who are participating in these protests. they�*re intersectional, so you see different people with different ages, different socio—economic backgrounds, different ethnicities, different religions, participating in these protests. so it�*s very difficult, and they�*re very broad—based so it�*s difficult to quell them even though there is a lot of violence being used. let�*s bring you some live pictures now from the china party congress in beijing. china�*s president, xijinping, is addressing over 2,000 delegates who are in attendance. in a break in decades—long tradition, it is thought delegates are likely to hand mr xi a third term as party chief. in his opening remarks, the president has insisted the government put people first during the covid pandemic and has also spoken about the situation in hong kong and taiwan. we improved the system with socialism with chinese characteristics, we will better

implement a constitution and conduct constitutional oversight. conduct constitutional oversight-— conduct constitutional oversight. conduct constitutional oversiuht. , , , oversight. we will step up legislation _ oversight. we will step up legislation in _ oversight. we will step up legislation in key - oversight. we will step up| legislation in key emerging fields and make further headway in making these in a well conceived and democratic way in accordance with the law. as a government administration, we transform government functions, improve the government responsibility system and organise additional structures... organise additional structures. . .- organise additional structures... , ., ., structures... let us hear from celia hatton, _ structures... let us hear from celia hatton, reporting - structures... let us hear from celia hatton, reporting on - structures... let us hear from | celia hatton, reporting on how xijinping rose to power. 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 has reshaped the communist party, the military and the government so that he is 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 is 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 is popular with the public, but it has

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 has 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. ahead of the congress, president xi jinping sent a letter to north korean leader kimjong—un. he expressed willingness to strengthen the relationship between china and north korea, saying he wanted to make a great contribution to providing two countries and their people with greater happiness, and defending peace and stability in the region and the rest of the world. let�*s get some of the day�*s other news: uganda�*s government has imposed overnight curfews as it tries to stop the spread of ebola. the measures include the closing of churches and restricted movement into and out of the areas affected. 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 is reversing the democratic progress in the country. mr saied took on full executive power last year, but protestors say there has been no improvement in living standards one man has died and two others are missing after torrential rain caused flash—flooding on the mediterranean island of crete. emergency workers say the victim had become trapped in his car. seaside villages have been inundated with water. britain�*s new chancellor, jeremy hunt, has indicated there will be major changes to liz truss�*s 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 is 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. 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... one 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 31 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. this is bbc news. a reminder of the headlines:

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. china�*s 20th communist party congress has officially opened in beijing and is hearing a report by the party leader, xijinping. turkey says 41 people are known to have died in a coalmine near the black sea coast, after a suspected methane explosion on friday. president erdogan has visited the site at amasra and promised a thorough investigation. anjana gadgil reports. a funeral for one of the miners killed in the blast in the black sea coastal town of amasra. other families waited outside the morgue where their relatives�* bodies lay. it�*s one of turkey�*s deadliest industrial accidents in years and left smoke billowing into the sky. over 100 people were working there at the time.

more than 70 workers took part in rescue efforts, which went on throughout the night. crowds gathered around the head of the mineshaft. many were family members of the dead and injured. it�*s believed methane ignited at a depth of 300 metres, causing a fire in one of the tunnels. president erdogan made a visit to the scene and said he hoped no more lives would be lost. translation: of course, we will find out how this l explosion happened and if there any people are responsible for it, with the prosecutions which already started. turkey suffered its deadliest coal mining disaster in 2014, when 301 workers died in a blast in the western town of soma. the local prosecutor�*s office said it was treating this incident at the state—owned coal mine as an accident and has begun an investigation. anjana gadgil, bbc news. 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 in january, and was immediately suspended from playing or training by the club. he was re—arrested earlier today for allegedly breaching bail conditions. firefighters in the british city of leeds are battling a large blaze in a building of the city centre. the fire broke out on the top floors of a high—rise building earlier on saturday evening, prompting the evacuation of several nearby pubs and restaurants. the fire service has said the structure was "potentially u nsafe" 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. mission control: three, two, one, zero. _ ignition.

lift—off. elon musk�*s starlink satellites launching in 2019. his bid to provide broadband around the world that, a few years later, would become critical to the ukrainian war effort. the company�*s 3,000 stations in low earth orbit have been crucial to communications by troops 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 internet bill. so, why the sudden change? it all seemed to start when he weighed in on ukraine�*s military strategy, asking 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 "that is my very diplomatic reply to you". in pulling his internet services, mr musk said he was just following their recommendation. now, though, the world�*s richest man has had another change of heart and, in another tweet, has said he�*ll continue his support. and for now at least, ukraine has one less battle to worry about. stephanie prentice, bbc news. the husband and wife team behind one of the most successful covid vaccines say they believe the same technology could help transform cancer treatment. the couple who founded the german company biontech, also said they would fight claims by a rival company that they infringed patents in their covid jab. our 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 ozlem tureci, who founded biontech. professor sahin, professor tureci. .. speaking to sunday with laura kuenssberg, the doctors 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. our 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.

well, it has taken 1a years to get to the screen, but mexican director guillermo del toro didn�*t give up and has finally seen his pinocchio brought to life. the director said it is not a movie made for kids, but they could watch if their parents talk to them about the dark themes. claudia redmond reports. voice-over: it's a story you may think you know, but chuckles you don't. the story... ..of the wooden boy. director guillermo del toro proudly holds a model of his vision of pinocchio at the world premier, which was held at the bfi film festival in london on saturday. the story, based on a wooden puppet who becomes a real boy originated from the 1883 book the adventure of pinocchio. but in this stop motion animation version, the much darker tale is set against the sombre backdrop of mussolini�*s fascist italy and the little boy is more feisty. yes, i think pinocchio is — normally pinocchio is about obedience and about changing yourself to please what people think you should be.

but this pinocchio is disobedience and that you are who you are and you are a real boy, no matter what or who you are and you don�*t need acceptance, you need somebody to see you for who you are. newcomer gregory mann celebrated his 13th birthday at the premiere. he talked about the moment he heard the news that he got the leading role. it was incredible. i remember i was at my friend�*s house and i didn�*t have a phone at the time, so my friend�*s mum walked in and she said, "your mum�*s on the phone for you" and i was very confused because normally, you would think that�*s a bad thing, but it turned out she was calling me �*pinocchio�* and i realised i got the role and i was completely over the moon. gregory was joined on the red carpet by david bradley, who plays his father, the woodcarver geppetto, and other stars from the film, including cate blanchett and christoph waltz. del toro said this was a dream project for him and it certainly pulled at the heartstrings of the audience. claudia redmond, bbc news.

let�*s go back to the live pictures now from the communist party congress in beijing. china�*s president xijinping is addressing over 2,000 delegates there. in his opening remarks, the president has insisted the government put people first during the covid pandemic and has also spoken about the situation in hong kong. let�*s listen in. translation —— translation: let's listen in. translation -- translation:— let's listen in. translation -- translation: social security is an important — translation: social security is an important pillar _ translation: social security is an important pillar and - an important pillar and international security as support. we will take co—ordinated steps to ensure sassoon security internally and externally, and our own security and common security. we will both uphold national security and create the conditions for insuring it. we

will strengthen support for security and improve the mechanisms.— security and improve the mechanisms.- security and improve the mechanisms. ~ , ., mechanisms. will bring you more ofthe mechanisms. will bring you more of the cause _ mechanisms. will bring you more of the cause of _ mechanisms. will bring you more of the cause of the _ mechanisms. will bring you more of the cause of the day. - 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 or so 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. the chinese leader xi jinping is addressing the 20th communist party congress, which has opened in beijing. in a report on the five years since the last congress, he cited the many accomplishments of the communist party in achieving what he called socialism with chinese characteristics. 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.