—— the city of murcia. the mayor said the fire began at around six in the morning, and it was under control by around seven, however of course by that time it had caused tremendous damage, and at least seven people have been killed by it. to those extraordinary pictures. thank you very much for that, at these pictures are released by the fire service there. we will come back to spain a little later. the uk prime minister, rishi sunak, is in manchester for what could be his last party conference before the next election as he aims to put on a show of unity. a row over tax cuts, criticism of environmental policies and the uncertainty around the second phase of the hs2 rail link from london to manchester continues as the conservative party conference opens later. bbc political correspondent nick eardley is at the conference and joins me now. so we've heard from the prime minister this morning. we have indeed. good _ minister this morning. we have indeed. good morning, - minister this morning. we have indeed. good morning, lewis. | minister this morning. we have l indeed. good morning, lewis. he minister this morning. we have - indeed. good morning, lewis. he has been doing an interview on laura kuenssberg's programme this morning. what i find interesting about this conferences they are basically designed to be the point at which leaders try and grab the agenda and say, here is the political thing that i think is most important, and here is what i am trying to sell to the country. that is even more important with an election probably a few months or maybe just over a year away from now. but although rishi sunak is trying to get on the front foot, what often happens is mps from the conservative party try and set the agenda too, and to be honest, i think mr sunak will be frustrated so far, because that is exactly what has been happening, and the big issue that tory mps are talking about, and trying to pressure the prime minister on, is tax. it is something that has been talked about, it is at a high level just now, many tory mps are angry about that and i desperate for it to be brought down before the general election. so, is rishi sunak going to do it? here is what he told laura kuenssberg earlier. your close colleague michael gove this morning said you should commit to cutting taxes for working people before the next election. when you make that commitment? the before the next election. when you make that commitment?— before the next election. when you make that commitment? the best tax cut we can give _ make that commitment? the best tax cut we can give is _ make that commitment? the best tax cut we can give is to _ make that commitment? the best tax cut we can give is to halve _ cut we can give is to halve inflation _ so you won't? a bit of a non-answer there, if so you won't? a bit of a non-answer there. if we — so you won't? a bit of a non-answer there, if we are _ so you won't? a bit of a non-answer there, if we are honest. _ so you won't? a bit of a non-answer there, if we are honest. rishi - so you won't? a bit of a non-answer there, if we are honest. rishi sunak| there, if we are honest. rishi sunak dodging the question about whether he is going to cut tax, talking instead about his other economic plan, which is to bring down inflation. and then there is hs2, the high—speed rail line supposed to reach manchester, the big infrastructure pledge that has been made by consecutive governments over the last 15 years in the uk. over the last 15 years in the uk. over the past couple of days, rishi sunak has come under a lot of pressure to confirm the leg to manchester will still happen. among those causing a fuss over this, theresa may, former prime minister. borisjohnson, prime minister. boris johnson, former prime minister. borisjohnson, former prime minister. a lot of businesses here in manchester itself. but it is widely thought that rishi sunak is about to say that rishi sunak is about to say that he is going to scale that project back. so is he? the prime minister was asked this morning. yes or no, will hsz come to this part of or no, will hs2 come to this part of the world? or no, will h52 come to this part of the world? . or no, will h52 come to this part of the world?— or no, will h52 come to this part of the world? . . ., , , , the world? there are already spades in the ground- _ the world? there are already spades in the ground. that _ the world? there are already spades in the ground. that is _ the world? there are already spades in the ground. that is not _ the world? there are already spades in the ground. that is not the - in the ground. that is not the question- _ in the ground. that is not the question- is _ in the ground. that is not the question. is it _ in the ground. that is not the question. is it coming - in the ground. that is not the question. is it coming here? | in the ground. that is not the i question. is it coming here? we in the ground. that is not the - question. is it coming here? we are not auoin question. is it coming here? we are not going to — question. is it coming here? we are not going to comment _ question. is it coming here? we are not going to comment on _ question. is it coming here? we are not going to comment on all- question. is it coming here? we are not going to comment on all this . not going to comment on all this speculation. we have spades on the ground, _ speculation. we have spades on the ground, but— speculation. we have spades on the ground, but we are focusing on levelling — ground, but we are focusing on levelling up. ground, but we are focusing on levelling um— ground, but we are focusing on levelling un— ground, but we are focusing on levelling up. can i 'ust stop you there. you h levelling up. can i 'ust stop you there. you are — levelling up. can ijust stop you there. you are the _ levelling up. can ijust stop you there. you are the prime - levelling up. can i just stop you i there. you are the prime minister levelling up. can i just stop you - there. you are the prime minister of this country. this is not asking you about speculation. you are not a columnist or a backbencher with an axe to grind, not someone from the rail industry, you are the prime minister of this country. this is your decision. is this going to happen or not? figs your decision. is this going to happen or not?— your decision. is this going to happen or not? as i said, we have not happen or not? as i said, we have got spades — happen or not? as i said, we have got spades in _ happen or not? as i said, we have got spades in the _ happen or not? as i said, we have got spades in the ground - happen or not? as i said, we have got spades in the ground and - happen or not? as i said, we have got spades in the ground and i'm. happen or not? as i said, we have i got spades in the ground and i'm not going _ got spades in the ground and i'm not going to _ got spades in the ground and i'm not going to comment on further speculation. what i can tell you where — speculation. what i can tell you where doing is committed to levelling up across this country. just today— levelling up across this country. just today we have announced a new plan to _ just today we have announced a new plan to put _ just today we have announced a new plan to put a long—term plan to focus _ plan to put a long—term plan to focus on — plan to put a long—term plan to focus on people in towns. so, no real answer on hs2 either not an answer on tax. and we cover these big political conferences all the time, and quite often politicians don't give answers to the questions we are asking, but the reason this is really tricky for rishi sunak is because his big pledge here, the thing he is going to try to sell to voters is that he is prepared to make difficult long—term decisions and even give people unpopular answers to big questions if he thinks they are in the national interest. there are two questions he has been asked that he is not prepared to give an answer from. he also attacked the labour party saying it is weak to be indecisive and not get those firm answers that people want, despite himself dodging some of those big questions that people in his own party are asking. so rishi sunak is going to face more pressure on that over the next few days, i think ministers who turn up on the bbc and elsewhere over the next few days i going to be asked these big questions as well, but some conservatives have just got really frustrated with all of this, and someone else who has been on the bbc this morning is a man called richard walker. you may recognise him as the boss of iceland, the popular supermarket in the uk. he had wanted to be a tory mp, was trying to get a seat where he could stand for parliament in the next general election. this morning he told laura he had quit the party. it has become clear to me over recent— it has become clear to me over recent monlhs— it has become clear to me over recent months that _ it has become clear to me over recent months that the - it has become clear to me over- recent months that the conservative party are _ recent months that the conservative party are drifting _ recent months that the conservative party are drifting out _ recent months that the conservative party are drifting out of _ recent months that the conservative party are drifting out of touch - recent months that the conservative party are drifting out of touch with l party are drifting out of touch with the needs— party are drifting out of touch with the needs of— party are drifting out of touch with the needs of business, _ party are drifting out of touch with the needs of business, of- party are drifting out of touch with the needs of business, of the - the needs of business, of the environment _ the needs of business, of the environment and _ the needs of business, of the environment and also - the needs of business, of the environment and also the - the needs of business, of the - environment and also the everyday people _ environment and also the everyday people that — environment and also the everyday people that rny— environment and also the everyday people that my business _ environment and also the everyday people that my business touches . environment and also the everyday . people that my business touches and serves _ so, this conference isjust so, this conference is just getting under way, literally now has opened at midday. the backdrop for rishi sunak is pretty tricky. he wants to get on the front foot, to make up that big gap in the polls with labour pretty far ahead at the moment, and it is not the ideal start. �* , moment, and it is not the ideal start. . , , ., start. and 'ust remind us, we are in -a start. andjust remind us, we are in party conference — start. andjust remind us, we are in party conference season. _ start. andjust remind us, we are in party conference season. remind . start. andjust remind us, we are in| party conference season. remind us what exactly that is, and what we can expect from manchester for the rest of the day. part can expect from manchester for the rest of the day-— rest of the day. part of the short answer would _ rest of the day. part of the short answer would be, _ rest of the day. part of the short answer would be, it _ rest of the day. part of the short answer would be, it is _ rest of the day. part of the short answer would be, it is where - rest of the day. part of the short answer would be, it is where all| rest of the day. part of the short i answer would be, it is where all the politicians from westminster go to different cities to discuss big political ideas, but basically once a week at the moment, each of the main parties in the uk have a big conference where there are a bunch of speeches, sometimes there are policies, not always policies, but thatis policies, not always policies, but that is the idea that they set out their stall. that is the idea that they set out theirstall. i that is the idea that they set out their stall. i think they are important, despite some of the cynicism around them and the fact that they can be a bit of a bubble, let's face it some of the issues here are not the ones being discussed in the country at large. but they matter, because next year there is going to be a general election. these parties are going to go to the voters and say, give us five years in power to try and make big changes in the country, and over the next couple of weeks from the conservatives and labour in particular, we are going to get the start of those pictures for what they want to offer the electorate. rishi sunak has his chance this week, keir starmerwill rishi sunak has his chance this week, keir starmer will have his next week. the whole idea is to say, here is my big political vision, here is my big political vision, here is my big political vision, here is what i think will get the economy back on track and will improve the country, but as we were just reflecting, lewis, part of the problem they've got is they are not the only ones trying to set the agenda, and there are many people that can derail them.— that can derail them. nick, thank ou for that can derail them. nick, thank you for that- _ that can derail them. nick, thank you for that. plenty _ that can derail them. nick, thank you for that. plenty more - that can derail them. nick, thank you for that. plenty more from i you for that. plenty more from manchester into next week as well. but now i want to take you to turkey. turkey's government says that two people have tried to carry out a bomb attack near the parliament building in the capital, ankara. these are the latest pictures we have. this is near the parliament building. police apparently shot dead one of the attackers, and the other attacker blew themselves up according to reports. we are awaiting at the moment any claim of responsibility, there is none yet. berza simsek from the bbc turkish service has been giving us the latest. what we know right now is that this morning at 9:30am local time, two people approached the interior ministry which is right next to the parliament, as i said it is a ministerial buildings area, and according to the statement from the interior ministry, one of them blew himself up, the other was killed by the authorities. the importance of this event is that turkish parliament would be resuming its sessions for the new legislative year today in the afternoon. we don't know if it is still going ahead. there hasn't been any announcement so far that it has been cancelled. the area is right now cordoned off. the details are still coming, and that is what we know so far. and how unusual is an event like this? well, turkey unfortunately has seen bomb attacks quite often, especially in 2014 and 2015 and 2016. until when, basically, the coup attempt happened. in 2016, after the coup attempt in turkey, especially in ankara, we haven't seen basically such attacks, also because the security has been increased in the capital. during the coup attempt, the parliament was also targeted. this is an attack we have not seen for the past seven years, we can say. thanks to berza simse for that. to the us now, because withjust minutes to spare, a deal was done to avoid a government shutdown. this was the deal being approved in the senate after being approved in the lower house too. it means government workers can carry on going to work, and they will get paid. it actually keeps the government running for the next 45 days, that is the deal. a part of that deal also made no new money in aid for ukraine, because some on the right of the republican party demanded that. here's senate majority leader, the democrat, chuck schumer. it has been a day full of twists and turns, but the american people can breathe a sigh of relief. there will be no government shutdown. democrats have said from the start that the only solution for avoiding a shutdown is bipartisanship. and we're glad that speaker mccarthy has finally heeded our message. in the end, more democrats supported this bill in the house than republicans, proving bipartisanship was the best answer all along. i want to thank my colleagues here in the senate, especially our appropriators, yourself, madam president, susan collins, and leader mcconnell. our bipartisan work in the senate set the tone for the bill we're about to pass. our bipartisanship made this possible and showed the house that they had to act. we will keep the government open for 45 days with a clean cr at current funding levels. and we avoided all of the extreme, nasty and harmful cuts maga republicans wanted. and we also heard from the senate minority leader, republican mitch mcconnell. most senate republicans remain committed to helping our friends on the front lines to invest more heavily in american strength that reinforces our allies and deterring our top strategic adversary, china. i'm confident the senate will pass further urgent assistance to ukraine later this year. back to europe now, where a major rally is getting under way in poland, two weeks ahead of an election many are calling the most important since the fall of communism in the 1980s. these pictures are from the capital, warsaw, where the main opposition party, the centre—right civic platform, is staging a rally it calls the march of a million hearts. the last time the party staged a rally back injune, an estimated 500,000 people attended. the turnout this time is a big test for the opposition, which is still trailing in the polls. a short time ago i spoke to anita prazmowska, professor of international history at the london school of economics. these rallies attract people who have already made the decision and are committed, but the real question is what is going to happen with people who haven't yet made their decisions, in other words there is still strong support for the ruling coalition, and the opposition cannot be confident of winning. so this particular rally is very impressive, very positive, but it is not going to persuade those who actually are still not certain or are negative about the very process of the election. interesting. and just remind us of the divisions in politics in poland right now. essentially it comes down to two blocs, because they are very broadly defined coalition blocs, the ruling party which has been twice elected and consistently pursuing a programme of reforms, and the result of it has been the diminishment of the role of all democratic institutions, and the party has put its own supporters into all posts both in the media as well as in control over government sources. on the other side you've got a coalition again, an electoral coalition, and president of the european an electoral coalition, and donald tusk, ex—president of the european council is there, the man on whom everything is focused, with a liberal centrist policy. what we are missing is any form of left—wing input, so these two blocs really are going to fight it out, but it is well known that the results of the election, whatever they are, is likely to result in the form of a stalemate, and the stalemate can only be resolved by both of these groups looking for potential allies in the formation of a government. so negative are the general evaluations of the result of the elections, it is assumed that there will be another round of elections in the spring. our thanks to anita prazmowska for that. to slovakia, where a pro—russian party has emerged as the largest in the parliamentary election, until now a staunch backer of ukraine. the populist smer party won nearly 23% of the vote, 5% more than its nearest rival. its leader, robert fico, could become prime minister for the fourth time, although difficult coalition talks lie ahead. almost the entire population of nagorno—karabakh has fled the region since azerbaijan reclaimed the territory last week. that's more than 100,000 ethnic armenians who have navigated the winding, mountainous road to armenia. azerbaijan has said it wants to reintegrate the area and treat its residents as equals, but an armenian spokesman said this was just a "lie". the un refugee agency has said that many of those fleeing "are hungry, exhausted and need immediate assistance". the mass exodus has prompted the united nations to send its first mission to the territory in about 30 years, to assess the humanitarian situation. nagorno—karabakh had been controlled by armenian separatists for three decades, but is internationally recognized as part of azerbaijan. bbc�*s south caucasus and central asia correspondent rayhan demytrie has more. outside the humanitarian registration centre here in goris which has been working 24/7 since the influx from nagorno—karabakh began last sunday. there is still a lot of people in need of help with more than 100,000 people being registered. now, there's hardly anyone left inside the nagorno—karabakh enclave which came under azerbaijani control. baku's so—called anti—terror operation against the separatist ethnic armenian authorities inside nagorno—karabakh lasted just 2a hours. karabakh armenians had surrendered and have now largely been disarmed. their former leaders are being arrested one by one by azerbaijan, which accused them of terrorism. their republic, which existed for 32 years but was never recognised by the international community, ceased to exist. let's get some of the day's other news now from here in the uk. nearly 90 retailers including tesco and asda have written to the home secretary, suella braverman, calling for tougher action against shop lifting. they want the government to create a separate offence of assaulting or abusing a shop worker in england and wales, as in scotland. the home office said police forces had been told to take a zero tolerance approach. energy prices in england, wales and scotland fall today as the regulator's new price cap takes effect. ofgem says the typical annual household gas and electricity bill will drop to just over £1,900, about £600 cheaper than a year ago. but charities are warning that the winter ahead will still be tough for many households because direct government support has been scaled back. a ban on some single—use plastics comes into force in england today — with businesses risking heavy fines if they don't comply. retailers, takeaways and hospitality firms can no longer supply certain plastic items — including cutlery, polystyrene cups and food containers. single—use plastic plates, trays and bowls will also be restricted. new trading rules for northern ireland are coming into force today as part of the deal between the uk and the eu earlier this year. the windsor framework is designed to ease the movement of goods from great britain. the democratic unionist party is continuing to boycott devolved government in northern ireland in protest at the framework. our ireland correspondent chris page reports. brexit has been a challenging course to navigate. the irish sea became a trade border. the fallout for business and politics has been anything but calm. beeping. the changes coming in today have a particularly big effect on the food sector. this wholesale company makes deliveries to 5,000 customers every week. at least this gives us a level of certainty, but it's not without its difficulties. we have 180 gb suppliers and so that means new paperwork, explaining new systems. the previous arrangement, known as the northern ireland protocol, was designed to avoid checkpoints on the land border with the irish republic. northern ireland, in effect, remains in the eu single market, so goods arriving from the rest of the uk were inspected to ensure they were in line with eu rules. under the windsor framework, there's now a red line for products which will travel onwards into the republic of ireland. they'll still have routine inspections, but there'll be a green lane for goods which are staying in northern ireland. they'll have minimal checks. i think if you compare it to pre—brexit, it is burdensome. if you compare it to the northern ireland protocol, it's less burdensome. but what businesses are very focused on is making this work, finding practical solutions with government to ensure the smooth flow of trade from gb to ni while also meeting the eu requirements around protection of the single market. the issues of trade, borders and checks are profoundly political here. rishi sunak hopes the windsor framework will pave the way for the return of the devolved government a year and a half after it collapsed. the democratic unionist party is blocking the formation of a power sharing coalition at stormont. it says the trade border with great britain has been threatening northern ireland's place in the uk. this month will be a critical time if devolution is to be restored. chris page, bbc news, belfast. now, what do you get if you mix heavy metal music and ballet? black sabbath — the ballet, of course, and a brand—new audience to dance. after a successful first run in the band's home city, birmingham royal ballet say more than 60% of the tickets sold were to people who had never been to ballet before. amy cole reports. rock music plays. when heavy metal meets ballet, this is the electrifying result. black sabbath the ballet has just opened at the birmingham hippodrome to rave reviews. one man who's been blown away is the band's co—founder and guitarist, tony iommi. what do you make of the show? i think it's fantastic. i mean, it really is. actually seeing it, the final thing itjust blew me away. because they are two massive genres heavy metal music, ballet. did you ever think in your wildest dreams that they could be merged? no, never really did. but, you know, i've heard it in different things. i've heard it on accordions and orchestras and all sorts of different things. but i never thought of ballet. no. the director of birmingham royal ballet is a man who likes to challenge perception and take risks. carlos acosta admits there were a lot of raised eyebrows when he mentioned sabbath. you know, a lot of people thought that it's not for them. but the reality is that, you know, that's where the creativity is when you bring the right people to try to bring this artistic expression to a level that haven't been seen before, i think you would come up with wonderful things, you know? arranging the music has been a mammoth task, and key to its success. some of the band's hits like iron man will sound different. there's a point in act one - where we hear exactly that music, but it's transformed into something really lyrical and gentle. _ so it's... two sides of the same coin, if you like. i and that's the power that you... that you can deploy in a show when you have such strong i material, you make it speak in a different way. _ the hope is that this ballet will attract new audiences. tony iommi told me this morning that he's never seen a ballet before. so you've opened up his eyes? yeah, yeah! hopefully, he'll come and watch a swan lake or the nutcracker. we'll see if we persuade him to. i said that to him! that would be amazing. that would be amazing! and so, say critics, is this show with tickets currently sold out. amy cole, bbc news. the record—breaking us gymnast simone biles is set to make herfirst appearance in international competition for two years at the world championships in antwerp. biles, who has won 19 world championship and four olympic gold medals. stay with us here on bbc news. after record—breaking temperatures, we could see temperatures above normal, peaking in the high 30s through parts of south—west spain and portugal, but some of that warmth will be felt in the uk, especially when you get the sunshine. especially when you get the sunshine-— sunshine. we will see the temperature _ sunshine. we will see the temperature boost, i sunshine. we will see the temperature boost, lots l sunshine. we will see the | temperature boost, lots of sunshine. we will see the _ temperature boost, lots of sunshine in the north, but in between, after the morning rain in northern england and northern wales brightening up here, outbreaks of rain and drizzle pushing down into the midlands, parts of yorkshire, lincolnshire and the south—west. 13—17 is the average, we will be up to 23 or 2a degrees. no cloud continuing for some around hills and coast, a little drizzle, 15 the low in london. far north of finland with clear skies, a few showers here, but a fresher, brighter start on monday. this area of low pressure will strengthen the winds across northern scotland, whereas the fronts in the south there with cloud and patchy rain, drizzle, mistand south there with cloud and patchy rain, drizzle, mist and fog, south there with cloud and patchy rain, drizzle, mistand fog, and south there with cloud and patchy rain, drizzle, mist and fog, and a rain, drizzle, mistand fog, and a few rain, drizzle, mist and fog, and a few brighter breaks. we will see outbreaks of rain developed erratically, so rainfall amounts will vary, but where it does, potential to be heavy and thundery. far north of england, a few passing showers, most frequent in the north—west with the strongest of the winds, and a fresher feel compared with today. some heavier bursts of rain will work eastwards across parts of central and southern england through monday before clearing out into tuesday. into tuesday, we see things slowly brightening up, little cloud to begin with especially in the south—east, a few showers dotted around, most frequent across western scotland and northern england, some of those on the heavy side, but a few showers into the afternoon compared with the morning, some southern areas staying dry. temperatures a little closer to october early averages, around 14-19, but still october early averages, around 14—19, but still generally above. a cooler night to take us into wednesday, and while southern counties will stay dry, only the small chance of a shower, outbreaks of rain more persistent across scotland, northern ireland and northern england for a time and it will feel cooler over the course of the week. this is bbc news, the headlines... at least seven people have died in a nightclub fire on sunday morning in murcia, southeastern spain. four more were injured. the fire broke out in the teatre nightclub which is also known as "fonda milagros". two people have tried to carry out a bomb attack in front of turkey's parliament building in ankara. the interior minister says one blew himself up while the other was killed by police. in an interview with the bbc, rishi sunak has denied that his failure to announce a decision on the future of the hs2 rail project is making the uk a "laughing stock" now on bbc news, political thinking with nick robinson. hello and welcome to political thinking — in conversation with rather than interrogation of someone who shapes what our politics could be like this week, so who could be prime minister,