President xijinping has been reflecting on his last five years in office in a speech to top Officials Office in a speech to top officials of the communist Party Congress. In his opening address, president xi set out his future priorities. Its thought the line up of the politburo standing committee, which contains chinas most senior decision makers, will be revealed towards the end of the congress, next week. He received rapturous applause from the congress as he outlined the future role of the country and how that should roll out in the coming yea rs. That should roll out in the coming years. One in which china would take centre stage. Translation we need to work for them to words that further towards achieving socialism with chinese characteristics to build a country and to build a great power in the world. It is also the age for the party, for the people to unite together and to strive for a better life. It is time for all the generation of chinese to realise which organisation and to realise how chinese dream. It is time for us to ta ke how chinese dream. It is time for us to take centre stage in the world and to make greater contribution for the humankind. Amid all the congratulations, xijinping did mention some areas where china is facing problems. Translation to challenge lies in the imbalance growth. This has become an obstacle in meeting the demand of the people. We must realise the challenge of our country and the change of the challenge is a historical challenge, which has presented challenges to the party. The basis of growth, the imbalance of the growth needs to be resolved. Quality of growth, efficiency of growth needs to be improved so that the need of the people can be met in economy, social, cultural and eco areas. And better improve people s lives in the advanced progress of society. Xi jinping told delegates that the growth in the countrys economy means china would become increasingly powerful. Translation china is rising in the east of the world with a very new face. Through our long time strive, socialism with chinese characteristics has entered a new era. This is a new positioning we are taking. Socialism with chinese characteristics in this new era means in the contemporary times, chinese have suffered. But now that the calm a great power in the world. We can see the great rig utilisation of china in the near future we can see the great rig utilisation of china in the nearfuture reduce urbanisation. In the 21st century, technology and science play an Important Role in the world. We are highly raising the socialism with chinese characteristics. This also means socialism of Chinese Wrist ekes characteristics, our thoughts, our system and our culture are flourishing. So that was president xijinping are flourishing. So that was president xi jinping speaking a few moments ago. Lets go live to the congress in beijing now. That is inside the great hall of the people in tiananmen square. President president xi is addressing delegates from around the country, talking about his achievements over the last five years and setting out what he wa nts to five years and setting out what he wants to achieve in the next five yea rs. Wants to achieve in the next five years. Our correspondence isjust outside the congress. Big on achievements, quite general, though, isnt it . Not much detail. No, and thats not surprising. I mean, this is going to be a very lengthy speech. We are on to section three. Last time around they were 12 sections. There is a lot for xi jinping to cover. Interestingly, in the last few minutes, we have had a zero to the one thing that domestically i think is most closely associated with this man, with its leader, and that is his anticorruption leader, and that is his anticorru ption efforts, the leader, and that is his anticorruption efforts, the efforts to rid the communist party of the virus i think he has referred to it in this speech of corruption, which made it an organisation when he came to power towards the end of 2012, that was increasingly distrusted and disliked by many people in this country and perhaps was seen as losing its legitimacy. He has sought to change that. It has also been the political control and oppression for him because many of those people who have been targeted right up until just a few months before this congress have been rivals or those in the future who may be rivals. So clearly, i think that reference to ridding the party of any virus that may threaten it self, we have heard him use those words in the past few minutes, is a reference to the anticorruption campaign. It goes on just as fervent as it was in the beginning of his term of power towards the end of 2012. Interestingly, in a reference to some of the problems going forward, i think you heard in one of those clips, quite extensively about ongoing Economic Growth in this country, which is key to his ongoing success and chinas ongoing success. But the imbalance within that. And thatis but the imbalance within that. And that is the imbalance in terms of where the growth is, the eastern spine of this country is where most of that Economic Growth is, it also wealth and equality. That is a huge problem for him because xi jinping needs to make sure that as china continues to grow, even though the rate is growth, that it is shared equally among more than a billion people here in china. Everyone benefits. That is key to his ongoing leadership and the legitimate the of this party. Thank you very much. In other news, us backed kurdish and arab forces in syria say theyve taken control of the city of raqqa, which so called Islamic State once claimed as the capital of its caliphate. It follows months of intense fighting, which killed more than 3,000 people, a third of them civilians. Advances against Islamic State have now been made in both syria and iraq. Our middle east correspondent Quentin Sommerville has the latest. At the heart of raqqa, theyre giddy with victory. The Syrian Democratic forces control the city that the so called Islamic State hailed as its capital. Three years ago, is did victory laps here. Paradise circle, its called, and here, they beheaded people. Their hatred crossed continents. But now, their caliphate is in ruins. A new flag flies in raqqa today. It was arab and kurdish fighters, men and women, who did a jig, celebrating the Islamic State groups retreat. This commander told the bbc is are no longer in control anywhere in the city, but we will continue to patrol and keep a look out. The sdf fought in sandals with the most basic of weapons, but they had a killer advantage Coalition Air power. That helped drive is out, but it also emptied the city of 250,000 people. Hundreds of civilians may have died in the western bombardment. The battle to free the city spared no one. Gunfire as we witnessed. In its final months, the fighting here reached a new intensity. Younus omar and his family, though, survived. Theyve onlyjust managed to escape. Is used them and thousands of others as human shields. Translation my brother was shot four times but allah is stronger than them. Translation it was horror. I tried to leave twice, but i couldnt as is militants were shooting at me. They were saying, you are going to the infidels. But the final victory here was delivered, not in a gun battle, but in a bus ride. Here, is fighters are seen leaving one of the last holdouts, the national hospital. They were guaranteed safe passage as part of a peace deal. Whats left of raqqa can barely be called a city. And still, dangers remain. The Islamic States foreign fighters here vanished. Some may be hiding in these ruins. Their leadership have already fled. The Islamic State group may have abandoned their capital, but they havent abandoned their cause, so the fight against is goes on. Quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut. The president of the philippines has declared the city of marawi to be liberated from pro Islamic State militants. Rodrigo duterte said he accepted that a handful of rebels were still in the Southern City and admitted that the victory over the separatist rebels had come at a cost. But he insisted that it was safe to return to the city. Still to come. Well have the latest from the set of the new star wars series movie, including the much anticipated name of the film. Parts of San Francisco least affected by the earthquake are returning to life. But in the marina area, where most of the damage was done, theyre more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. In the 19 years since he was last here, hes gone from being a little known revolutionary to an experienced and successful diplomatic operator. It was a 20 pound bomb that exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel, ripping a hole in the front of the building. This government will not weaken. Democracy will prevail. It fills me with humility and gratitude to know that i have been chosen as the recipient of this foremost of earthly honours. This catholic nation held its breath for the men they call the 33. And then. Bells toll bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue and chile let out an almighty roar. This is bbc news. The latest headlines. Gathering of the partys elite chinas communist leaders are about to reveal their new five year plan. Im joined now via webcam by dali yang professor of Political Science at the university of chicago in the united states. Hes an expert on chinese politics. Thank you so much forjoining us here on abc news. What do you make of the speech so far . A lot of rear adoration of many things that have been done over the years but, fundamentally, his emphasis on the communist pa rtys role, fundamentally, his emphasis on the communist partys role, the indispensable role of leading china towards the net stage of development. At the same time he was quite emphatic in pointing out that public expectation has risen and thatis public expectation has risen and that is the main contradiction. That is where the party must try to work harder in raising Living Standards and correcting the many imbalances existing in the economy. At the same time he praised many of the achievements that the party has made including military, growing role globally and renewed emphasis on ecology. Among the many positive things i noticed a few times words that may indicate direction of travel for the future. Phrases like its a crucial time, graves challenges, we must strive and fight. Is he laying the ground for tougher policy in the coming week . The communist Party History is littered with struggle. That is the kind of discourse and language that Party Leaders like to use. Essentially, lets remember that the communist party grew out of a domestic revolution that was part of a global communist movement. Over the years that they have used that kind of language, including in the national anthem. Nonetheless there is no communist leadership without theory and president chea, in this case, emphasised that he is developing a socialism with chinese characteristics for a new era and that will be emphasised in the coming days. Within that he emphasised that he leads the party but there is also a great spirit of struggle. The son of an investigative journalist killed in a car bomb attack in malta has denounced what he called the countrys mafia state. Daphne was 53 when her car exploded shortly after she left her home on monday. She was known for her blog that accused top politicians of corruption. The twisted burned out chassis of Daphne Caruana galizias peugeot 108 hire car, in the field where maltas most influential investigative journalist was murdered her body blown clean out of the vehicle by a huge explosion, ending her career of exposing political corruption and organised crime. I saw a small explosion coming from the car and i panicked, said frank sant, who saw the whole thing. A few seconds later, there was another larger explosion. The car skidded down the hill at high speed, full of fire, and into the field. Daphne Caruana Galizia made her name writing stories in newspapers and then on her blog, that were often deeply embarrassing for those in power in malta, particularly the labour party who are currently in government. Today, her son matthew said the government had been negligent in failing to protect his mother. This was no ordinary murder and it was not tragic, he wrote. Tragic is someone being run over by a bus. Were a people at war against the state and organised crime, which have become indistinguishable. This is where we are, a mafia state. The maltese prime ministerjoseph muscat had to call an election this year because of allegations about his wifes offshore money which Daphne Caruana galizia extracted from the Panama Papers leak, but he has promised an unbiased investigation. Translation my duty is to make surejustice is done, and i wont have a moments rest until that happens. The fbi has been asked to help investigate the car bomb, but trust here is shaken after one Maltese Police officer appeared to celebrate the killing. Thousands of Pro Independence campaigners have taken to the streets of barcelona to protest against the detention of two leading to learning that make learning and politicians. The men are being held on suspicion of sedition, or planning to overthrow the state, after allegedly trying to stop a police raid in the run up to the disk muted referendum on catalonian independents. Run up to the disputed referendum. These protesters have come out here in barcelona to call for the Immediate Release of two Pro Independence campaigners. Those campaigners have been remanded into custody, accused of sedition. But to these Pro Independence campaigners, those two men are political prisoners. I just want to show you this sign here, freedom for political prisoners, sanchez and cuixart. And if you look at another sign, i dont need to translate it, independence. And people have come here to show on which side of the divide they stand. It is pretty clear this man has got the flag of an independent catalonia. It is worth saying that not every person in catalonia wants independence, this is a divided society. But tonight Pro Independence campaigners have come out and they have filled the centre of this, their main city, and they now face an ultimatum from the government in madrid. On thursday morning, the Central Government says that unless the authorities here revoke or announce a declaration of independence, make it clear that they havent declared independence, the Central Government may suspend self rule in this region, taking these people and everyone else in catalonia into uncharted territory. Why we hear a lot about the north Korean Leader and his ongoing rows with the Global Community it is seldom we get details of everyday life. The only information comes from defectors who risk everything to escape. Weve been able to speak to a group of four of them, to get first hand testimony and here are their stories. Stories of life in north korea. A little bit of showbusiness news for you now, which will be of particular interest to fans of the star wars movies. The name of the next instalment of the series has been revealed by director ron howard. Here he is hi. Well, as we wrap up production, i just want to take this moment to thank an incredibly talented cast and crew for all their hard work. And to the fans out there, i hope youve enjoyed the pictures that ive been sharing, pictures that id taken from the set of. Can we even say the name of the movie . Ill see you next year. Reminded now about top story. Chinas president is speaking live at the communist Party Conference in beijing. You can see there. Hes reflecting on his last five years in office to in a speech to top officials at the congress. He is in the great hall of the people with over 2000 delegates from around the country. Earlier, the president said the party would help improve lives and achieve the dream of national rejuvenation. He described his as a great world power that would boost the global economy. Is here on bbc news. Stay with us here on bbc news. As we head towards the end of the week the weather will turn more and more unsettled and at the moment the weekend looks particularly nasty across southern weekend looks particularly nasty across southern areas weekend looks particularly nasty across southern areas of the uk. In the short term we have a waterfront across the uk it has been drifting in the last 2a hours from the south. Here is a picture in dorset where you can see the cloud increasing as the weather front moves out of the bay of biscay across france, the channel and into the uk. This weather front will bring wet weather to some areas during the course of the morning and the afternoon. Initially it is just a small area of rain that you can see here, through the hours across england and wales and places farther north it can be quite chilly as temperatures dipped to single figures. s average is around 11 or 13 degrees. The rush hour starting with scotland could be quite chilly and some of the glens with temperatures a couple of degrees above freezing early in the morning. Will light rain is a possibility in the lowlands of scotland, perhaps the borders as well. I think the north west of england, yorkshire, all the way to newcastle, the weather looks relatively bright and then we have a weather fronts across the midlands of the east midlands and down to the south. A lot of grey cloud he and some on and off like rain. There is a possibility of heavy rain in the morning so for some of us are really is going to be wet during the morning and into the afternoon as well. What will happen is that this weather front will draw in some muqqy weather front will draw in some muggy and warmer air so despite the cloud and the rain, the temperature will still reach 17 in london. Gathers at this weather front is much fresher in newcastle and glasgow. On thursday, initially the weather is relatively calm. Certainly not clear. Is spots of rain around at the low pressure comes in and that will strengthen the wind in the south west and that means that thursday night into friday there will be strong winds, Gale Force Wind around the coast and fridays a blustery day with cloud and rain particularly across the northern areas, even in the south there will be some showers and as we have through friday night and into saturday we are watching this very nasty area of low pressure that has the potential to bring some very nasty weather conditions to southern areas of the uk. At this stage it looks like severe gales are likely in the south this weekend. This is bbc news. The latest headlines chinas ruling communists are beginning their Party Congress at which new leaders and policies for the next five years will be revealed. Security has been tightened ahead of the gathering in beijing, which takes place once every five years. Chinas president has set out his priorities. The flags of an anti is militia have been flying over raqqa after it retook the syrian city from the jihadists following months of heavy fighting. The kurdish and arab fighters say they now control raqqa, but their us backers have warned around 100 Islamic State militants are still in the city. The son of an investigative journalist killed in a car bomb attack in malta has denounced what he called the countrys mafia state. Now on bbc news, its time for panorama. Hundreds of thousands of us are now using private hospitals. You pay for private health care because you think you are giving your family and yourself the best possible treatments. We assume its as safe as the nhs, but is that true . For those that are not transparent should be closed. We investigate the worrying lack of information about private health care. Is that good enough . No, its not good enough. Its unacceptable, things have to change. The potential conflict of interest. The problem is, theres a cheque book sitting between the patient the doctor. And how private hospitals can avoid paying compensation