>> iranian security forces confront protesters as thousands march to mark 40 days since the death of mahsa amini in the custody of morality police. this is al jazeera, live from london. also coming up, the government opened fire on a shrine in a southern iranian city, killing at least 15 people. sent back to syria, why white -- rights groups are worried about the safety of refugees returning from lebanon.

plus, in the u.k., rishi sunak faces his first prime minister's questions, including a grilling over cabinet appointments. ♪ hello, we begin in iran where deb sweeping protests has taken place across the country as people mark the 40th day since the death of mahsa amini. that is the traditional morning period in iran. the 20 two-year-old died while in the custody of the so-called morality police for violating strict rest codes for head coverings. this report from the capitol tehran. >> chanting, women come alive, freedom, thousands of people gathered in the cemetery in kurdistan province, the final resting place of mahsa amini.

mourners are heard calling it the fascist graveyard. security forces fought with people. the semiofficial news agency said nearly 10,000 people came out to mark the 40th day since mahsa amini died in police custody in tehran. university students across the country also remembered her. this group is singing, from the blood of the homeland, tulips have grown. scuffles broke out at another university across the city. police used tear gas to disperse students in at least two institutions in tehran. the student protests were not just in the capital, but across the country. many were chanting freedom. students have been protesting since the death of mahsa amini last month. protests are not limited to only schools. this is tehran's grand bazaar on

wednesday. she was visiting relatives with her brother in the capitol when she was detained of the so-called morality police for not wearing the mandatory headscarf properly. police released the security camera footage saying it shows her arriving at a facility for so-called reeducation class on the religious benefits of wearing the headscarf. according to the official autopsy, she had a pre-existing health condition and suffered a heart attack. her family says this is not true and says she was beaten while in custody. government supporters also rallied across the country. the president arrest -- addressed the issue in a televised speech. >> i told her family that this news was shocking, not just for me, but for every iranian. the distinction between protest and riot should be defined. >> earlier this month, the

president visited an all-female university in tehran where he priest -- praise the achievements of women in academia. at the same time, students chanted outside the building. this is an area where iran's morality police arrested mahsa amini on a tuesday afternoon. since income and they haven't been seen much in the city. whatever happens next, regardless of which version of events people believe, it is clear that mahsa amini's death has changed this country. >> in a separate incident, at least 15 people have been killed in iran southern city of shiraz. a gunman opened fire before being shot by police and taken into custody. at least 21 people have been injured. isil has claimed responsibility. an associate professor says the site of the attack is significant. >> the shrine obviously is a

religious place. the aim was to attack worship as it came at sunset time and people go for prayers. people throughout the country are in shock. this is on the 40th day of the passing of mahsa amini. whoever did this was trying to show sympathy toward the events in the last 40 days in iran and this has actually backfired among the population because people don't like terrorism in their country. iranians are human beings like other people around the world. they don't like to see people going to a worship place and not coming back. terrorism is not something that

we will tolerate. ♪ >> hundreds of syrian refugees have fled to lebanon to escape the war, making the uncertain journey back home. over 700 are being voluntarily repatriated. rights groups are concerned about their safety. >> they are leaving behind a life in exile. crossing the border back into syria. lebanon is where hundreds of thousands of syrians escaped to during the war. there were mixed feelings and a lot of uncertainty. some don't have homes, nor jobs. but many say it is dire economic conditions that are driving them back. >> i guess it is better to die there than to die here. the situation is difficult here. i can even afford bread for my

children. it won't be the same there. at least there we can find a place to feed them. >> the repacked ration processes being organized by the governments in lebanon and syria. they insist this is voluntary. what rights groups say it lacks transparency and have document in cases of returnees facing abuse that home, even after receiving security clearance. they also point to policies by the lebanese government that make life difficult for refugees. >> between 80%-90% don't have legal residency in the country which means they are subject to arrest and deportation. at the same time you have politicians from across the political spectrum in lebanon really amp in up the xenophobic and hateful rhetoric toward refugees. >> lebanon says it can no longer cope with so many refugees and officials have gone as far as to accuse the international

community of not wanting syrians to return to their country. they believe refusing to redirect a two syria is a way to put more political pressure on damascus. >> there are very limited number of political refugees. we can't stop the repacked ration process because of them. >> the u.n. refugee agency said it is not facilitating the reading -- return of refugees that this stage as syria is still unsafe for them. >> it seems as if many syrians feel the same. since 2016, u.n. has verified nearly 80,000 returnees and only a small number have signed up. those who don't return are from former strongholds of opposition and could face prosecution. as many lebanese say, this voluntary process is only beginning.

>> a special memorial mass was held in rome for the palestinian american, shareen who was targeted and shot dead by israeli forces on assignment in may. >> a brief and intimate moment with the head of the catholic church. his holiness pope francis blessing her brother, her nieces and her sister-in-law. >> we came as a family to the vatican to get our message across and continue advocating for our one and only shireen. we are here to call on accountability and justice. >> the family also met with the cardinal, the secretary of state, and a vatican diplomat.

the families visit to vatican city, the seat of power of the catholic church, and receiving the pokes blessing is of course a significant moment. however, almost six months on, and despite the tireless lobbying and the international criminal court, justice for shireen has not been achieved. >> she was shot dead on assignment in the occupied west bank on may 11. at the funeral, protesters caused her coffin to be nearly dropped to the ground. tens of thousands attended her funeral, a testament to how loved she was by those whose lives she reported on. in the end, israel found that there was a high possibility that shireen was killed by an israeli soldier but that it wasn't intentional, and there would not be a criminal investigation.

in other words, there would be no justice. >> as much as we appreciate all officials and religious leaders who continue to support us, words are not enough. at this point we need more than words, we need action. we need complete accountability to hold the perpetrators, the soldier who killed her accountable, so that we don't see this happen again. we need to put an end to this so no other family should have to suffer like ours has. >> a pointed end to the day. this memorial mass held for shireen. despite efforts by the family to seek accountability and justice, seemingly so hard to achieve. a reminder that this is a family struggling with a very painful and personal grief. stephanie decker, al jazeera, vatican city. >> israeli forces have raided the home of a palestinian activist who was killed in august.

they reportedly arrested his brother. the operation is the latest in a series targeting members of the group lions tin in the occupied west bank. britain's new leader rishi sunak has been put to the test in the house of commons in his first prime minister's questions. he defended the reappointment of the home secretary after she was forced to resign just last week due to a data breach. >> a little more than 24 hours since taking the top job, rishi sunak student house of commons for the first time as prime minister. from the opposition later party, and acknowledgment for the historic moment. >> may i welcome the prime minister, the first british asian prime minister is a significant moment in our national story. >> but there was a quick return to divided partisan policies -- politics. >> let working people have their say and call a general election.

>> rishi sunak insisting his mandate was clear. >> our mandate is based on the manifesto that we were elected on, to remind him an election that we won and they lost. >> earlier, the new prime minister met his leadership team for the first time, but he's already facing criticism for his appointment of the home secretary. she was sacked a week ago by liz truss for a classified data breach, an appointment sunak was forced to defend. >> she made an error of judgment, but she recognize that and accepted her mistake. >> the political upheaval has exhausted people who are at least willing to give the new man a chance. >> obviously we need to know where we are. >> these are unusual times, and

i just think it is difficult for anybody in different countries. so let's give people a chance. >> rishi sunak has warned of hard economic times ahead. >> it's also extremely important that the statement is based on the most accurate possible economic forecasts and forecasts of public finances, and for that reason, the prime minister and i have decided that it is prudent to make that statement on the 17th of november. >> for prime ministerial school, this was perhaps as good as rishi sunak could expect. there will be tougher days ahead. >> still to come on al jazeera, as a winter draws in, ukraine authorities whether offensive is making things more difficult.

a film festival is aiming to unite global communities. ♪ >> hello, there is yet more rain in the forecast for eastern parts of australia. you can see the storms rumbling away, pushing a little further east. wet weather in northern territory into cleans land, an area of unsettled weather all the way down toward the southeast. there is the area of low pressure and maybe some nasty conditions down towards tasmania and toward victoria. wetter weather will make its way toward new zealand. temperatures will rise over the next couple of days. friday sees a high of around 20 degrees. more showers into victoria to tasmania, blustery conditions

rolling through, still a few showers further north. wet weather in the interiors, wetter weather coming into new zealand, some heavy rain forecast. christchurch gets up to 25 degrees celsius. we have some wet weather with japan over the next couple of days. central points of china probably seeing more in the way of clouds and rain as we go through friday into saturday. there is the rain for western parts of the country. ♪ >> the united states border patrol, a law-enforcement agency with controversial tactics >> they beat him repeatedly, they tased him. they keep doing it, knowing their hurting people.

>> units accused of concealing its agents crimes. >> you don't see them, they are just there to clean up the mess and to cover up. >> impunity at the border, on al jazeera. ♪ >> a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. confrontations have taken place between iranian security forces and -- in the hometown of mahsa amini. thousands of protesters marched to the cemetery where she is buried to mark 40 days since her death. police said gunmen went into a shrine open fire really he was shot and taken into custody.

lebanon has started repatriating hundreds of syrian refugees. officials say they are returning home voluntarily, but rights groups are concerned about their safety. ukraine has acknowledged that its counteroffensive in the south has become more challenging due to weather conditions and the terrain. forces are piling pressure in a strategic region. the prospect of more russian losses has fueled fears that it could use a nuclear weapon. >> ukraine's counteroffensive grinds on. reports of some military drawback, the message from ukraine is that the russians are digging in for a fight. >> where changing positions. our intelligence officials confirmed they have been reinforced and are strengthening

their flanks and digging up trenches because they fear our air force, our artillery and soldiers. >> the russian general in charge of this war recently talked about difficult decisions having to be made, attracting speculation that the area may be taken soon. >> the situation on the front line itself is very tense. the enemy has dug itself in and at the moment it seems they do not intend to leave. it is noticeable that the work to reinforce their dugouts, trenches, and fortifications. >> russia's armed forces were carrying out exercises on wednesday, simulating the coordinated use of nuclear weapons. the russian military says it is in preparation for response to an enemy attack. russia's presidents making more unsubstantiated claims about a

nuclear threat from ukraine, including a radiological or nuclear bomb. >> they ignore statements about the desire to get nuclear weapons. authorities -- everyone is keeping quiet. there are also plans to use a so-called dirty bomb for provocations. >> still further saying ukraine intends to detonate a bomb over turn able -- overture noble. -- detonate a bomb over chernobyl. conventional weapons continue to do damage enough. a petrol station set ablaze by russian strike. emergency crews sent to people -- said two people including a pregnant woman were killed. >> there has been more shelling in the east.

a russian missile strike targeted a college building in the donetsk region. >> ukrainian say this college building was hit in the early hours of this morning by an s3 hundred rocket. we've seen the rubble, we've seen pages from textbooks and smelled the burning, the dust is still very potent. yet this college building is surrounded by residential areas. all the windows have been blown out and a clean up operation has been taking place all morning. you see the results of this blast, it knocked out windows, knocked out power. they've been working all morning to try to restore power to these apartments. some of these people will just have to move out because they can't stay. ukrainian military are saying the russians continue to mount

offensive in the east and the south. ukrainian said they have managed to repel russian attacks but said they have lost 48 hours. one person was killed, one pregnant woman was killed. because of the weather and the rain the ukrainian offensive has been slowed down because it is difficult to move military personnel and equipment. it is difficult to know exactly what is taking place because it is impossible to get access to that area, but here in the east, the battle continues. as i said, this area was hit in the early hours and it caused a lot of destruction. >> ukraine's deputy prime minister has urged refugees who fled the country to stay abroad this winter because of severe constraints on the power grid. up to 40% of ukraine's

facilities have been destroyed. the government has recommended rolling power outages of up to four hours across the country. >> i like to take this opportunity to asked refugees not to return. we need to survive the winter. unfortunately, the electricity network won't survive it. you can see what russia is doing. everyone sees everything. to return now is to risk yourself and your children, your vulnerable relatives who may be ill, bedridden, or elderly. mark: -- >> german chancellor olaf scholz met with emmanuel macron on -- in paris and say. they agree to set up working groups on energy, defense, and innovation. the relationship between france and germany has prayed over europe's position on those key issues. here's more from paris on the franco-german relationship.

>> they used to see it i to i comes to major issues in europe. to the point were 20 years ago that established the franco german council at a joint cabinet meeting where they would meet on a regular basis, which was always -- which always in a positive message about two countries determined to move forward together. new what they wanted to do and exactly what they wanted to achieve. except that this time things to be changing and this is why the fringe of skeptical, worried about what is going to happen in the future. the german chancellor has an upcoming trip to china. they're hoping he will show that europe remains united in its push. it was the fallout of the

russian invasion of ukraine that has completely changed the dynamics of what is happening in europe, just to give you an idea about the divide between the two nations. when the germans decided to put $100 million to build a nice laboratory and said they would acquire and antiaircraft system from the vietnamese and israeli and from german companies. we have an generation -- next-generation fighter jets, the french feel like germans are asking more from them. >> reports of hundreds of cases in the past few weeks, saying

these are a violation of international law and expose those sent away to danger. >> the secretary-general firmly believes that no refugees should ever, ever be forced to return, especially to a country that is unsafe and still facing a high level of conflict. >> at least 100 myanmar nationals were refiled back to myanmar, including defectors who will be facing, in my opinion, torture and most probably execution. i would frankly be surprised if they are alive right now. this is outrageous, it is unacceptable, and it is a gross violation of international law. >> new zealand has marked a historical moment as it reaches a majority number of women in parliament. the balance is 60 women and 59

men. the country is among only six in the world where women make up at least half of parliament. globally, only 26% of elected politicians are women. >>pppxxxx■]■t■]■oq

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