people seem to... that resonate with people. welcome to bbc news. our top stories: giorgia meloni is to become italy's next prime minister, its first far—right leader since the second world war. donald trump is summoned to testify before the congressional committee investigating last year's attack on the us capitol. borisjohnson is on his way back to london from a caribbean holiday as speculation grows that he willjoin the race to succeed liz truss as british prime minister. we have a special report on the growing anger inside russia that men with no military experience are being called up to fight on the front line. translation: when mobilisation was being discussed, _ i agreed with my family that, if such a situation arose, i would refuse, even if

they sent me to prison. in central mexico, emergency menaces travel a huge rise from a time progressing the railway over past. and the japanese cartoon characters being recreated for the stage by the royal shakespeare company, breaking box office records in the process. hello and welcome to the programme. we begin in europe. the leader of the far—right brothers of italy party, giorgia meloni, has been invited by the country's president to form a government after winning elections last month. she will be italy's first ever female pm and her cabinet will be sworn in on saturday. tom brada has this report.

delivered to the presidential palace in a classic italian car. giorgia meloni has now formally accepted the job of forming italy's next government, and in doing so, she will preside over the country's most right—wing administration since the second world war. translation: we agreed about the need to give - the country a new government as soon as possible. because we have many urgent issues to tackle at both national and international level. her coalition government includes the far—right league party led by matteo salvini as well as forza italia led by former prime minister silvio berlusconi. and there are concerns about how they will legislate on a range of social issues from abortion to lgbt rights.

what might change is what happens on the domestic kind of level, especially for what concerns issues such as migration and also the rights of minority groups. ms meloni's ascent is remarkable for italy, one of the founding members of the eu, and the bloc�*s third—largest economy. but when it comes to foreign policy, some feel her far—right credentials are somewhat overstated. meloni made it very clear that italy is with the eu in nature and has also strongly rejected pro—putin and pro—russia positions. on russia, there is one coalition partner long used to hogging the limelight who is causing ms meloni a painful headache. 86—year—old silvio berlusconi has been at the centre a furious row over two leaked recordings. in them, he blamed ukraine for starting the current war and claimed president putin considers him

number one among his five best friends. for now, ms meloni and her allies have a united front, she won power partly thanks to ambitious pledges to rebuild italy's economy and bring down energy costs. but to achieve those goals, she'll first to keep the peace in her own political ranks. tom brada, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to stefano to understand how we got to this point. despite the fact the coalition got more than 44% of the vote in september, the government is formally going to be sworn in on saturday morning.

but the bulk of difficulties, i would say, came from berlusconi's forza italia, former italian prime minister. there have been alleged links between him and russia, with rumours that, into leaked audios, that he basically claimed that vladimir putin himself would have sent him for his birthday 20 bottles of vodka, and i'm quoting here, "a very sweet letter," to which he replied with another very sweet letter and 20 bottles of red wine. so the birth of this government has been quite troubled. we somehow got there, but the difficulties are still there and we cannot exclude they are going to come up at some point in the coming future. just remind us who the key people are who we need to know about. of course we should talk about giorgia meloni, the key player here, she is most likely going to be at this point italy's

next prime minister and the first female prime minister. she comes from a new fascist position, she has rejected those links, although she never rejected her identity, which seems a contradiction in terms, but actually, she never rejected being part of that movement. but she said that her current party is not what the movement, that the party comes from used to be. she tried to institutionalise the party towards a more centre—right tradition. also, for — and other observers say for a simple reason, silvio berlusconi is now more than 86 years old and he is going to retire at some point and those votes are going to go — they will have to go somewhere. and possibly giorgia meloni is aiming to scoop those votes, this is the elephant in the room, no—one in italy — everyone in italy knows, but no—one is really talking about. the us house committee

investigating last year's attack on the capitol building in washington, dc, has ordered former president donald trump to testify under oath. the committee says its evidence shows mr trump played a central role in an orchestrated effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. steve bannon was sentenced to four months in prison for his refusal to co—operate with the investigation. 0ur north american correspondent peter bowes has this report. a capitol building under siege. they tried to stop conga certifying joe biden�*s victory in the 2020 election. according to the house committee, the former president was in the thick of orchestrating what happened and acted illegally to obstruct the peaceful transition of power. now its members want to hear directly from mr trump members want to hear directly from mrtrump and members want to hear directly from mr trump and see if any relevant documents are in his possession. he has until novemberfour to provide

possession. he has until november four to provide them and appear in personjazz november four to provide them and appear in person jazz the questions on or about the 14th of next month. the former president's lawyers said they would respond as appropriate to what they called this unprecedented action. donald trump could decide to go along with the request, appeal it in court or refused to complyjust like his former strategist, steve bannon who was found guilty of contempt of congress and has now been sentenced to four months injailfor his refusal to do as the committee asked. he is going to appeal. as a sign says right there, can we have the votes signed? fin we have the votes signed? q�*i november eight, on we have the votes signed? q�*t november eight, on november eight... there will be judgement on the illegitimate biden regime, and quite frankly, nancy pelosi and the entire committee, and we know which way that is going. it

entire committee, and we know which way that is going.- which way that is going. if the election is _ which way that is going. if the election is against _ which way that is going. if the election is against the - election is against the democrats, with a republicans taking house of representatives, the committee investigating the attack on congress will be disbanded. time is not on their side and donald trump could try to run out the clock through protracted legal action to avoid having to testify. peter bowes, bbc news. in a few days' time, the uk will have a new prime minister following the resignation of liz truss on thursday. penny mourdant, the leader of the house of commons, is the first conservative mp to say she wants the job. no other mp has yet declared an interest in being a candidate, but both borisjohnson and the former chancellor rishi sunak have had nominations from other mps. sources have told the bbc that rishi sunak has received the backing of 100 mps to become conservative leader. mrjohnson left office just over six weeks ago, forced out after a series of crises and scandals. whoever becomes the next conservative leader also becomes the next british prime minister.

but opposition parties are calling for a general election. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake has the latest details on who might be might be standing. the rishi sunak campaign are claiming to have the support of 100 conservative mps. that is a very important number because the bar has been set very high for people to formally enter this contest. they will need 100 nominations from conservative mps to get on the ballot in the first place. although rishi sunak who of course finished behind liz truss in the race to replace borisjohnson has not formally declared his candidacy it seems to be a case of when, not if. and he seems to be the front runner among conservative mps. borisjohnson the other big name who resigned as prime ministerjust a few months ago and is now being talked up by his supporters to make a possible comeback.

we can report tonight that he's boarded a flight back to london from the dominican republic where he was on holiday with his family. he's due back in london tomorrow morning and we are told by his supporters that he is up for it. whether he will end up standing and entering the contest, we wait to find out. and then there's penny mordaunt, the leader of the house of commons, she's held other cabinetjobs as well, and the only one to publicly declare her candidacy. saying via twitter that she wanted to unite the party and deliver on their pledges to the electorate and win the next general election. a vigil has been held in memory of the murdered french schoolgirl lola in her home town. lola's body was found dumped in a suitcase in paris last friday, a discovery that shocked the french public. a 24—year—old woman from algeria has since been remanded in custody on suspicion of murder, rape and acts of torture. speaking for the first time

about the crime, french president emmanuel macron said the murder was an act of "extreme evil" and he paid tribute to lola's family. translation: i think that all the parents feel- at their core what lola's parents are experiencing. fearfor a child who we drop off at school. fearfor a child who returns home after the end of school. it is that, exactly that. so i think of lola's parents, of her brother, of her stepbrother, of this family in disarray, which is extremely dignified and united in this moment. i think that above all it needs the respect and the affection of the nation. an iranian climber who apologised for competing abroad without a headscarf was forced to do so, a source has told bbc persian. elnaz rekabi broke iran's strict dress code

at the contest in south korea, but later said her headscarf had fallen off "inadvertently". but according to that source, authorities had threatened to take herfamily�*s property if she did not make the statement. for more on this, let's now speak to rana rahimpour, our senior presenter with the persian tv service. what more do we know about this? figs what more do we know about this? �* , . what more do we know about this? a . ., , this? as source has told us that she — this? as source has told us that she was _ this? as source has told us that she was threatened, l this? as source has told us i that she was threatened, that her family property that was work over $350,000 would have been taken away, she had to sign a cheque before going to solve for the competition and she had been given... she was forced to give power of attorney to iranian officials to make sure that she was going to make sure that she was going to return to the country. so we have always suspected that she was under a lot of pressure. but in the recent hours she has posted a piece of poetry on her social media, and she said she has thanked people for their support, and in the last line, she says that the road ahead is

going to have obstacles, which can't be overcome without your support, which means that she probably sensors that road ahead is not going to be very easy. ahead is not going to be very eas . ~ ., ahead is not going to be very eas . ~ . ., ., ahead is not going to be very eas. ~ . ., ., easy. meanwhile, on a separate matter, protests _ easy. meanwhile, on a separate matter, protests are _ easy. meanwhile, on a separate matter, protests are continuing| matter, protests are continuing following the deaths weeks ago of a ceremony.— of a ceremony. yesterday was five weeks — of a ceremony. yesterday was five weeks since _ of a ceremony. yesterday was five weeks since the - of a ceremony. yesterday was five weeks since the death - of a ceremony. yesterday was| five weeks since the death and the 22—year—old kurdish woman and the pictures you are seeing are from the city south—east of iran where many people went on a protest after friday prayer and chanting, death to the dictator. we are now looking at five weeks of anti—government protests in the country, and association of teachers union has called for a two—day strike starting from today, truck driver association is also called for a strike, we know that in many seaters at night time, people go on the roof types and balconies chanting, death to the dictator, and more

importantly, many iranians are now rushing to berlin to hold what is expected to be a large anti—government protest, thousands of people are planning to head their, and we are expecting probably one of the largest and uranium government protests in europe to be held later today. qm. to be held later today. 0k, thank yom _ an oil tanker driver has been arrested in mexico after his vehicle collided with a train in mexico. the incident happened in aguascalientes, some three hours north—east of guadalajara in the north of the country. wendy urquhart reports. streams of black billowing smoke on the horizon was the first inkling that something horrific had happened in this city of aguascalientes. the situation on the ground was probably much worse than they had even imagined. an oil tanker had smashed into a train causing a massive explosion and a scorching ball of fire was snaking down the railway line, engulfing

everything in its path. the emergency services were deployed quickly but the blaze was so fierce the only thing they could do was evacuate those living locally as fast as possible. more than 100 homes were completely gutted and hundreds of families left homeless. translation: the firefighters arrived very quickly _ and were able to evacuate around 300 homes. but at least 120 of them were damaged. those affected by the fire are being put up in local hotels and a shelter has also been set up to caterforfamilies. the charred remains of cars and buildings all around them, a grim reminder of the lucky escape. no—one was injured and, miraculously, the tanker driver walked away virtually unscathed. but he has been arrested amid claims that the accident happened because he was trying to cross the tracks before the oncoming train arrived,

but did not make it in time. wendy urquhart, bbc news. there's growing anger in russia over the forced mobilisation of men to fight in the war in ukraine. president putin had said the call—up was a temporary measure, but the kremlin refuses to say when it will end. as russian forces struggle to hold territory in ukraine, men with no military experience are being sent to the frontline to fight, and often to die. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg reports. this is the picture the kremlin is trying to paint. putin the strongman. the caring commander—in—chief. and russians lining up to do their patriotic duty, mobilised to fight in ukraine. these alleged recruits are well equipped. but these aren't.

for weeks now, mobilised russians have been complaining of a lack of resources and training. these men say they've been given old guns and no helmets or body armour. mobilisation has sparked deep alarm in russian society. this human rights group is giving advice on what to do if your loved ones are sent to the front line. as you can see, it's packed. the kremlin says that more than 200,000 reservists have been called up to fight. with mobilisation, what is happening in ukraine has suddenly become very realfor the russian public. now, the kremlin wants russians to believe that those people who've been drafted into the army are being sent off to defend the motherland. but not everyone here believes that. man speaking in russian. the voice belongs to mikhail ashichev. 500 miles from moscow, he told the local military draft office he wasn't going to fight

because there was no threat to russia. mikhail insists that if russia truly needed defending, he would rush to volunteer. he considers himself a patriot, but he doesn't believe in this war. he won't fight ukraine. translation: when mobilisation was being discussed i agreed - with my family that if such a situation arose, i would refuse, even if they sent me to prison. if i had to, i would choose prison. the state will consider me a criminal if i don't go to fight in this war. but i won't be a criminal from the point of view of humanity or myself. after his refusal to fight, mikhail has received some abuse on russian social media. but what is interesting is that he's

had plenty of support, too, for his decision to take a moral stand. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. let's get some of the day's other news. list hundred and 50 people have been killed over days of ethnic violence in sudan. they have seen economic unrest and a crisis since a military coup last year. blue nile is one of the 18 stage in the republic of sudanin the 18 stage in the republic of sudan in the region is home to around a0 different ethnic groups. 0ursenior around a0 different ethnic groups. 0ur senior chorus wand and has more. fighting first broke out last week and then there was on wednesday and thursday this week it escalated at least 150 people died and some say as many as 170 people. it has been very difficult for

them to get to that area to verify those figures and aid agencies have been calling for urgent and unimpeded access to the affected area. at the core of the problem is a dispute over land. these are communities that have lived alongside each other for a long time summer hunters and others are farmers and there are arguments over the use of resources and all of africa is experiencing a prolonged drought that exacerbates the situation. from wednesday we are told that hundreds of people fled and they had been going to neighbouring states and intense gunfire and houses were also set ablaze. 0ne and intense gunfire and houses were also set ablaze. one area of risk supported at least 80 people injured. the former pakistani prime minister imran khan has called on his supporters to end protests after the election commission disqualified him from public office on charges

of corrupt practices. in a video message, mr khan denied any wrongdoing and said the decision was biased. the election authorities say he failed to declare gifts he received from foreign leaders during his tenure. the un security council has voted to impose sanctions on armed gangs that have caused widespread disruption in haiti in recent months. the council singled out the island's most powerful gang leader, jimmy cherizier, who's known as �*barbeque.’ canada has banned new handgun sales in the country's strongest gun control regulation for a0 years. the new measures took effect on friday, and stop people from buying, selling or transferring handguns within canada, and prevents them from bringing newly bought handguns into the country. it's one of japan's greatest cultural exports — the 0scar—winning studio ghibli's distinctive animated feature films have a host of devoted fans across the globe. now in a world first,

its animated movie my neighbour totoro has been adapted by the royal shakespeare company for the stage. our culture editor katie razzall has been to the barbican in london for an exclusive peak of the production. it's just an old house. there is no sign of totoro in our sneak preview of this show. the rsc is keeping the mysterious creature befriended by two children under wraps. the only puppets on the stage right now are the so—called soot sprites. working with puppets is so much fun. they're so funny and they are so cheeky, a lot of them, and they really do have a life of their own. you're talking about them like they're real people. both: yeah, they are! my neighbour totoro has never been staged before but, for more than 30 years, this hand—drawn animation has been one of the most—loved films to have come out of japan's equivalent of disney, the renowned studio ghibli.

with legions of global fans, there's a lot riding on the new show, not least how to replicate the magical furry totoro. this is our backstage puppet workshop, where we're... puppet designer basil twist, who devised the dementors in the harry potter films, isn't giving much away. so you're showing me chickens. i want to see totoro. right, well, you'll see chickens for now. we're still keeping totoro under wraps so that people can find the surprise of him when they come and see the show. bill there are clues from los angeles, lees from los angeles where basil created the totoro puppet and others, with the company behind the muppets, jim henson, in a real east meets west collaboration. i would keep in touch with the japanese as i went, and they're very specific about totoro's eyes, the distance between his eyes and the shape of his head and how that works because, once you come into a three—dimensional world, it's very different than a 2d world. my neighbour totoro theme plays what's not different is the music

and the man behind it, the celebrated japanese composer who persuaded the studio to allow this adaptation showcasing japanese heritage for a new audience. we have our own music, our own culture, so this is very important for me. to show the world? yes. you saw the production last night. what did you think? great show, spectacular. so there is a daunting aspect of bringing something totally new and the adaptation of it being new on the stage. to be bringing this. treasure ofjapanese culture to the stage, yeah, it's been one i of the privileges of my life. we all love the film. i mean, most of us grew up with it. please, get well soon. but will this magical fantasy cast a spell on theatre audiences, as it has on screen? katie razzall, bbc news.

there is much more on the bbc website. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston. hello there. friday brought heavy rain forsome, and in areas where we are desperate for it. the heaviest of the rain moving up through dorset across the midlands, and in fact there was over an inch of rainfall in parts of 0xfordshire throughout the day, so some pretty muddy fields starting to develop now. however, eastern england, lots of blue sky and sunshine, and temperatures peaked at 20 degrees. a beautiful opportunity for getting out and enjoying some of the gorgeous autumn colour that we have. the start of the weekend quite promising with this bump of high pressure, but the second half of the weekend sees this low developing, moving in and bringing further outbreaks of rain. once again, the winds will become a feature, but we keep the wind direction from a southerly, so that milder flow stays with us. those temperatures are widely going to sit in the mid to high teens over the next few days. so on saturday, we'll have some

outbreaks of showery rain through northern ireland pushing out of northern england into southern scotland and weakening just a touch. at the same time, we will start to see showers, some of them heavy and thundery, gathering to the south—west. but sandwiched in between the two, that's where the best of the sunshine is likely to be, and temperatures again peaking at 18—19 degrees with that sunshine, it will feel very pleasant. into sunday, here's the low starting to bring some heavy thundery downpours up across the country, a spell of wet weather through the morning, which will pretty much start to grind to a halt across central scotland into the afternoon. brightening up with sharper showers behind and still pretty warm with it, so a day of contrast i suspect once again into sunday afternoon. as we move into the beginning of the week, that frontal system will start to push through the far north of scotland, but we will still keep the threat of further fronts moving in from the west as we go through the week ahead. so on monday, we have got some

wet weather clearing scotland, sunny spells and scattered showers behind, still the risk that some of those showers could be thundery, chiefly out to the west — the best of the dry weather once again remains for eastern england. and again, we will see those temperatures into the high teens, above where they should be for this time of year. and that will be the trend as we go through the week ahead. it stays relatively mild, but we have got more showers to come towards the end of the working week. that's it — whatever you're doing, have a lovely weekend.

this is bbc news. the headlines: italy's far right leader, georgia meloni, has accepted an offer from the country's president to form a new government after winning last month's election. she's due to be formally sworn in as leader of the country's most right—wing administration since world war ii. the former us president donald trump has been summoned to testify before the congressional committee investigating the january 6 riot at the us capitol. the committee says it has evidence that mr trump played a central role in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. borisjohnson is heading back to london from a caribbean holiday as speculation grows that he willjoin the race to succeed liz truss as british prime minister.

an increasing number of conservatives say