this is bbc news with the latest headlines. sources close to the former chancellor rishi sunak say he's secured the backing he needs to enter the conservative leadership race. meanwhile borisjohnson arrives back in the uk as speculation grows he'll join the leadership contest. the leader of the commons, penny mordaunt, is the only person to formally announce that she's running in other news — two mayors are calling for more funding for train operators in the north of england — it's after disruption to services you just can't keep up with all of the cancellations and even when your train isn't cancelled, you're often on a really, really packed service. ukrainian officials say around a million and a half

households are without power following a new wave of russian attacks. and england's lionesses will face china and denmark at next year's women's world cup in australia and new zealand good afternoon. rishi sunak has become the first leadership contender to secure the 100 nominations by tory mps needed to enter the race to be the next prime minister. the former chancellor has yet to announce whether he will launch a fresh bid for the top job after losing to liz truss over the summer. meanwhile, borisjohnson has flown home from holiday, as supporters rally behind a potential comeback by the former prime minister. but so far, penny mordaunt is the only contender to have officially launched a campaign. hopefuls have until monday afternoon

to find 100 backers. 0ur political correspondent helen catt has more. are you running for leadership? he's got the numbers to get on the ballot paper. and rishi sunak is expected to declare his candidacy soon. the former chancellor now has more than 100 mps publicly backing him to be the prime minister. the big question in westminster is now if his former boss will try tojoin him. borisjohnson, returning from a holiday, is up for running again, according to one ally. the wheels of his plane may barely have touched down, but he's likely to be under pressure to decide quickly. we've seen in the last few days, is some of the mps who resigned, some of the mps who called for boris to go at the start of the summer have now said that they would like to see him put himself forward. they've admitted that they were wrong and i know that there are many others waiting to hear on if he makes a decision to run before they go public. others don't agree. the return of mrjohnson could,

the former conservative leader william hague suggested, send the party into a death spiral. there does seem to be a real mix between those who are really enthusiastic about the idea of a return for boris johnson and those who are frankly appalled at the prospect. but some are saying there is a practical challenge to any bid by him to become prime minister again, and that is that in the next few months he's going to face an investigation by parliament's privileges committee into whether he misled the house of commons in what he said about parties at downing street. i think the country needs a prime minister that is focused 100% on them, and ijust don't see as a practical matter that that can be boris, if he's then dealing with all of those issues. and i say that as someone who would love to see boris returned to front line politics, i think he can, but i don't think he can until he's addressed those issues. penny mordaunt is the only candidate to so far have actually confirmed she's running. her public backers are still far short of 100 at this stage. well, i'm backing penny because she's the candidate.

i think that cannot onlyjust bring the conservative party and parliament together, but actually the whole country. she's got a proven track record working across eight departments in her 12 years in parliament, and i think her background really makes her well placed to connect with people. by this time next week, barring any major surprises, one of these three people will be the prime minister. until then, the race to gain support continues. helen catt, bbc news. 0ur political corrspondent rajdeep sandhu is in westminster. what is the likelihood of these candidates making a success of being prime minister? we have been told that a source says borisjohnson has more than 100 backers among conservative mps. that is different

to the public number of mps coming out to back borisjohnson. publicly what we are seeing, is around the 50 mark. it seems the campaign team thinks there is a lot more privately who would support borisjohnson, if he were to run. that is the big if. that is what we don't know. he hasn't said whether he would run or not. we know he is back in the uk, and the cogs are probably turning in the background to see whether he can get there. the reason we are talking about the magic number of 100, is because that is the number of mps candidates need to get onto the ballot by monday. rishi sunak has already hit that mark publicly there are around 112 mps publicly backing him. there are few of the penny mordaunt, who is the third candidate who might make it in this race. she

is languishing quite far behind, on around 20 or so publicly declared mps. there is always the difference between what people will do publicly and privately. at the moment for borisjohnson, it looks like he might have been 100, but that is not out of mps publicly declaring their support. out of mps publicly declaring their su ort. ., ~' ,, ., out of mps publicly declaring their su ort. ., ~ i. ., ., out of mps publicly declaring their su--ort. ., ~ ., ., . support. thank you for that. we will “oin support. thank you for that. we will 'oin ou support. thank you for that. we will join you later- _ support. thank you for that. we will join you later. joining _ support. thank you for that. we will join you later. joining us _ support. thank you for that. we will join you later. joining us now - support. thank you for that. we will join you later. joining us now is - support. thank you for that. we will join you later. joining us now is an l join you later. joining us now is an aide to steve barclay and chief secretary to the treasury. thank you for being with us today. as i understand it you are backing rishi sunak. 0f understand it you are backing rishi sunak. of course, he lost to liz truss last time. his reputation was dented around his wife's tax affairs. what makes you think he would make a good prime minister? if we look at the current situation, this has been started by turmoil in the markets. rishi sunak has a

proven track record as chief secretary to the treasury and then chancellor. i think him coming in as prime minister, he has economic credibility which will allow him to govern the country in the way that it needs, to get us out of an economic crisis and provide that confidence, not only to markets, but also to households. people are looking at mortgage and energy bills, and he brings the reassurance he is a steady pair of hands. sources are saying borisjohnson has the number of mps backing him as required. what you make of rishi sunak�*s chances against boris johnson? i sunak's chances against boris johnson? ~' ., , johnson? i think it would be difficult for _ johnson? i think it would be difficult for rishi _ johnson? i think it would be difficult for rishi sunak - johnson? i think it would be difficult for rishi sunak in i johnson? i think it would be l difficult for rishi sunak in that instance. i think borisjohnson is popular among the members. i don't know if those 100 members have been reached, let's wait and see if he publicly declares. it is as it is a straight shooter of between the two and the members have their say, i

think it is difficult for rishi sunak to come out on top. ultimately we have to remember that the majority of mps didn't back liz truss. if borisjohnson gets and it would be the same situation and potentially more chaos. you would be the same situation and potentially more chaos.- would be the same situation and potentially more chaos. you are a conservative _ potentially more chaos. you are a conservative party _ potentially more chaos. you are a conservative party member, - potentially more chaos. you are a conservative party member, so . potentially more chaos. you are a i conservative party member, so what does it say about the conservative party, that the only candidates they have got, are to run a sop to liz truss, and a prime minister who had to resign in disgrace?— to resign in disgrace? there is a bi “ob to resign in disgrace? there is a big job for _ to resign in disgrace? there is a big job for the — to resign in disgrace? there is a big job for the conservatives - to resign in disgrace? there is a big job for the conservatives to | big job for the conservatives to restore that economic credibility. but how? the division they are in now, and these are the best option is? how can they possibly restore unity within their own party, never mind economic stability? the good news is, mind economic stability? the good news is. we _ mind economic stability? the good news is, we have _ mind economic stability? the good news is, we have two _ mind economic stability? the good news is, we have two experiencedl news is, we have two experienced candidates. 0ne news is, we have two experienced candidates. one was prime minister and the other was chancellor. we have that groundswell of experience between both of those candidates. i do think there is that level of

experience that will be reassuring to voters, but there is a job to be done to convince markets, to convince voters, that actually the conservatives are a strong government, able to get us out of this political situation we find ourselves in.— this political situation we find ourselves in. ., ~ . ourselves in. thank you so much leanne, ourselves in. thank you so much leanne. for— ourselves in. thank you so much leanne, for your _ ourselves in. thank you so much leanne, for your time. _ nearly one and a half million households across ukraine are without electricity. a ukrainian government official said russian missile strikes had continued to target its energy infrastructure. ukraine's energy distribution company said it would limit the power supply in several regions — including kyiv,' outages have been reported across the country. 0ur correspondent, hugo bachega, is following developments from kyiv. ukrainian presidential office at around 1.5 million households are without power, following this morning's attack. ukrainian air force said russian air forces had fired 33 cruise missiles. 18 of

those had been intercepted by the defence systems. today's attacks targeted infrastructure like places in the north—west, and the ukraine, and in 0desa in the south, where at least three people were injured. 0fficials least three people were injured. officials say the damage could buy the latest air strikes might exceed the latest air strikes might exceed the consequences caused by last week's attack that were carried out by russian targeting sites across the country. 0fficials by russian targeting sites across the country. officials say that one third of the country's power stations have been damaged at resort of these attacks. they are reacting to the latest air strikes, the president's chief of staff said russia was fighting against civilian infrastructure and people. and that ukrainians are getting angrier by the day. he said these attacks would lead to a much stronger ukrainian

response. china watchers are trying to find out what's behind extraordinary scenes at the ruling party congress in beijing. the country's former leader hu jintao was forcibly ushered out of the closing ceremony. it's a remarkable occurence in a country where such events are usually highly choreographed. you can see it happen here. mr hu is sitting beside president xijinping in the great hall of the people when he is approached by officials who take him by the arm and lead him away. is extending his power in the country.

joining us now is janet mui, head of market analysis at rbc brewin dolphin. please explain first of all what credit agencies like moody's do and what this outlook means. that helps with the story _ what this outlook means. that helps with the story quite _ what this outlook means. that helps with the story quite a _ what this outlook means. that helps with the story quite a lot, _ what this outlook means. that helps with the story quite a lot, with - what this outlook means. that helps with the story quite a lot, with the i with the story quite a lot, with the disparity between public and private numbers. flan disparity between public and private numbers. ., , ., ., disparity between public and private numbers. ., , ., ., �* disparity between public and private numbers. ., ., �* , numbers. can you hear me? i'll 'ust reeat numbers. can you hear me? i'll 'ust repeat my — numbers. can you hear me? i'll 'ust repeat my question. i numbers. can you hear me? i'll 'ust repeat my question. please i numbers. can you hear me? i'lljust repeat my question. please explain| repeat my question. please explain to people who don't necessarily know much about how these credit agencies work, what is it they do, and what does this negative outlook mean? aha, does this negative outlook mean? credit agency like moody's, assesses

and provides opinion on our country's credit readiness, in terms of the ability to pay back debt. usually if the arrangement is go to the government can borrow at a lower cost. today's decision is not too surprising,... i have already downgraded the credit outlook, but it is important to understand, that actually the overall rating is not affected. the uk still has a three with moody's, which means the moody thinks the government is low risk. to still supporting the of the uk economy. it isjust to still supporting the of the uk economy. it is just the outlook of that credit rating that has been downgraded from stable to negative, meaning they are a bit concerned about the future.— about the future. what are their concerns based _ about the future. what are their

concerns based on? _ about the future. what are their concerns based on? we - about the future. what are their concerns based on? we have i about the future. what are their i concerns based on? we have been hearing about economic turmoil and people have been experiencing that first hand. just summarise, if you will, what has caused this outlook? and also what can be done to recover at? ~ ., ., j , and also what can be done to recover at? , ., and also what can be done to recover at? ., and also what can be done to recover at? . ., at? moody's stated two particular concerns which _ at? moody's stated two particular concerns which led _ at? moody's stated two particular concerns which led to _ at? moody's stated two particular concerns which led to today's's i concerns which led to today's's downgrade. first of all is the political instability. having a constant change in prime minister qualifies for that political instability criteria. when you have such a rapid change in leadership, itjust reduces that potential for the government to act if there is a shock suddenly. it undermines business confidence that they cannot plan long term, and investors are worried about economic prospects. fiscal stability is also erased. the

u—turn in on the mini budget was helpful but doesn't change the medium term outlook for uk public finances. the uk is still going to borrow a lot to support the energy price cap, and also generally, what we have seen is a very strong increase in the uk cost of borrowing. the uk government was able to borrow asked almost zero. now we are talking about 4%. that affects the long—term ability for the government to pay back interest. thank you for explaining.

a 12—year—old boy has died after a wall collapsed at a house in essex. emergency services were called to the property in clacton last night after a garage attached to the house collapsed. a man in his 30s was pulled from the rubble with an arm injury. avanti west coast rail services will be cut throughout the day, because of strike action by train managers. only one train per hour will run from london to manchester, liverpool and glasgow. the rmt union says the strike is the "culmination of months of neglect". the mayors of greater manchester and the liverpool city region are calling on the government to give an immediate funding injection for train operators in the north of england. andy burnham and steve rotheram say that delays and cancellations on transpennine express and northern services are damaging the economy of the region. they're calling for an urgent meeting with the transport secretary. let's get more now on both these stories with our business correspondent marc ashdown . they called his press conference this morning and it was delayed time. the train was delayed. they kicked it off by saying the irony was not lost. when they did get going they said there needs to be an

urgent injection of cash to stave off rail chaos. they say it is inflicting misery on people's lives, and wreaking havoc on the local economies of the big city. there has been disruption across the north of england and scotland, and this week has been particularly bad. we have had routes between london, glasgow and manchester affected. trans— and manchester affected. tra ns— pennine and manchester affected. trans— pennine express apologised because of a string of cancellations and delays. some delays were up to six hours. we have had reports of gaps of seven hours between services actually running. that has affected areas like hull, leeds, and manchester as well. they have blamed high levels of sickness and training backlog after the covid pandemic. they are not the only operator. there has also been issues on avanti. people in the north are being treated in their view like

second—class citizens. they are in despair about it. they're trying to get their lives on track, with all of the pressures, and every day they are having their lives turned upside down. theyjust can't rely on these trains. people can't trust the trains. people can't trust the trains in the north—west of england. that is bad. it is bad for our economy, but is also bad for transport more broadly. and it is bad for passengers as well. ~ , ., ., ., ., well. with social media we have a stream of horrors _ well. with social media we have a stream of horrors that _ well. with social media we have a stream of horrors that people - well. with social media we have a i stream of horrors that people post. social media platforms have been awash with tales of long journeys, journeys cancelled at last minute, long gaps between journeys. journeys cancelled at last minute, long gaps betweenjourneys. people stranded and waiting for connections which may not turn up. they have described awful conditions with cramped conditions. bobbie had

graphed lives in manchester and regularly travels to hull. she told us what she experiences. itjust adds so much unnecessary time and thejourney, and even one of the trains that were suggested as an alternative route, the connecting train from leeds was cancelled as well. you just can't keep up with all the cancellations. even when your train isn't cancelled, you are off often on a really packed service, because, for example, the other week i went on the trans pennine service, and my train was fine, but the two before it had been cancelled back to hull on friday, and we were all crammed like sardines in the carriage. literally, there was no room to move because everyone was stood up all the way down the aisle. you pretty much suffocated all the way through to leeds, where a lot of the commuters get off. and more misery for passengers travelling along the west coast as well, with the mac strike.-

well, with the mac strike. avanti run cities that _ well, with the mac strike. avanti run cities that connect _ well, with the mac strike. avanti run cities that connect the - well, with the mac strike. avanti run cities that connect the right l run cities that connect the right services that connect us big cities in the uk. they have been affected by a one—day strike by rail managers over rosters. those services that were running started at 730 and will finish much earlier. the last service out of euston is at az30pm. today marks the start of nine days of upgrade works across the network. that has added to disruption. this dispute does involve mums of the rmt union, but is not part of the long—running saga we have been experience over pay and working conditions. avanti say they are disappointed by this, and further strikes are planned. avanti say they want to work with the unions, they need to engage in meaning full industry reform to modernise working practices. avanti are in hot water because the franchise came up for renewal and the gooden government could have cancelled it. they extended six months but were told

they should improve it. the rmt said they should improve it. the rmt said the strike is the culmination of months of neglect. the government department for transport says they are earmarking £16 billion worth of funding for passenger services post—pandemic, but the two males highlighted it today, save more cash needs to come to the north of england, and soon.— needs to come to the north of england, and soon. thank you for brinuain england, and soon. thank you for bringing us _ england, and soon. thank you for bringing us those _ england, and soon. thank you for bringing us those details. - england, and soon. thank you for bringing us those details. that. england, and soon. thank you for. bringing us those details. that was mark ashdown our business correspondent. let's start with a shock result in the premier league — as nottingham forrest beat liverpool 1—0 in the day's early game. a second half goal from taiwo awoniyi — who was previously at liverpool without making a competitive appearance — proved the winner. much to the delight of a bouyant city ground...who saw their side club climb off the bottom of the table and raised more

questions about liverpool's form. two games under way right now — everton hosting crystal palace — with frank lampard looking to end a run of three consecutive defeats... they are a goal up. chelsea against manchester united, a little bit later. there will be no christiano ronaldo for manchester united, after he walked down the tunnel early in the midweek game. you can follow it all on the bbc sport website. in women's super league, two goals helped manchester city and a second

successive wsl victory. this time at tottenham hotspur. lauren hemp rounded things off to make it three — zero. leaders celtic eventually triumphed over a depleted hearts in a gripping scottish premiership match at a heaving tynecastle earlier scottish football had its first review for hearts first goal from the penalty spot, as the ar is being introduced this weekend. england have just beaten england havejust beaten england by five wickets. .. england havejust beaten england by five wickets... sam curran was the star of the show taking five wickets for ten runs as they bowled out afghanistan for just 112. it wasn't all plain sailing for england and reply, but livingston's unbeaten 29 got england over the line with 11

balls to spare. defending champions australia fell to an 89 run to defeat in sydney. kevin conway possibly 90 helped the black caps. the australians had no response in their chase. glenn phillips taking a stunning catch there to round off a pretty perfect day for new zealand. at the rugby league world cup, scotland were hammered 84 nil in the tournament — later today england could all but secure a quarter—final place with victory over france. 0ur reporter adam wild is in bolton for us....adam... to england go into this game as favourites?— to england go into this game as favourites? , . ., , ., ., favourites? they certainly do. you can probably _ favourites? they certainly do. you can probably see _ favourites? they certainly do. you can probably see them _ favourites? they certainly do. you can probably see them just - favourites? they certainly do. youj can probably see them just behind me. they have just taken to the pitch at bolton to familiarise themselves with the environment

before that game against france a little bit later. a sense of the hard work really was done last weekend on that opening day, with that thumping victory over samoa in newcastle. that was the biggest test they are going to face and these group stages, a test they passed with flying colours. this afternoon, the test is going to be slightly different in france. england will be expected to win. will be expected to win. they will be expected to win. they will be expected to win well. that victory last weekend has afforded them the luxury of being able to swap and change the team around. into the side comes the likes of andy akers and mark steed. also coming back, the hugely experienced winger ryan hall. the challenge for england is to keep that momentum going, despite the changes in personnel. a big crowd expected here at bolton this afternoon. given the criticism over

the past week for empty seats, the tournament organisers will be desperate to see a big noisy crowd. there is one of the match taking place already this afternoon. it is “p place already this afternoon. it is up in newcastle, fiji comfortably leading italy. the kick—off here at bolton is at 5pm. leading italy. the kick-off here at bolton is at 5pm.— leading italy. the kick-off here at bolton is at 5pm. thank you adam at bolton. it was always going to be tough for scotland — against the holders new zealand — but they're out of the women's rugby their opponents did most of the damage in the first half 57—0 it finished in whangerai... seven tries in all... it means scotland exit the compeitition without a win, having lost to australia and wales, in their previous group games. well as it stands — wales on their way the last eight, as one of the best placed third teams... with france beating fiji they lost 13—7 to australia this morning.... sioned harries with the welsh try, it gives them a losing bonus. they'll be keeping eyes on that france—fiji match,

that's all the sport for now. plenty of world cups, and if you're interested in the women's world cup draw which will take place next year in australia and new zealand, all the details of who england have got on the bbc sport website. >the new italian government has been sworn in at a ceremony in the presidential palace in rome. giorgia meloni is italy's first ever female prime minister and the country's first far—right leader since the world war two. her party — brothers of italy — won last month's elections with just over a quarter of the vote. she'll head a right—wing coalition. ms meloni has sought to reassure western allies that italy's foreign policy won't change. chiara albanese, bloomberg's political correspondent in italy, talked to us about the challenges giorgia meloni will be facing.

there are plenty measures that require urgent attention. like the government position on the russian invasion of ukraine, but also tackling inflation, and giving italians a clear view and understanding of what her government will be like. as of now, everyone has been left guessing, whether she will be a far right politician, or a more compromising leader. european partners, starting from emmanuel mccrone, have been questioning the change of leadership in the middle of an energy crisis, and with so many international situations going on. everyone will really watch carefully. prime minister is sending

a clear message outside italy, which is message of reassurance. he is very pro—european, pro—ukraine and anti—russia politician. that should reassure politicians. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. hello. it's a mild weekend across the uk, but with further showers or longer spells of rain, it's all tied in with areas of low pressure, one bringing outbreaks of rain through northern ireland and scotland this afternoon. second area bringing heavy thundery rain tonight and into tomorrow. some showers this afternoon for wales. central southern england pushing north and east was through this evening and overnight. clear skies for a time ahead and behind before a secondary of heavy thundery rain pushes up from the southwest later in the night, keeping a lot of cloud across the far north of scotland but mild for all of us. temperatures not much lower than 12

or 13 celsius for tomorrow. well, it's another day of sunshine and showers, but this time the showers are much more likely to be heavy and thundery, especially through the morning across the southern half of the uk. this band then extends its way north and eastwards as the day wears on some sunshine following on behind. but further heavy showers developing from the southwest later should be a reasonable day across northern scotland with some spells of sunshine and temperatures on a par with this afternoon, 1a to 18 celsius.