welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... scared and in hiding — we talk to some of the afghan women who still don't know whether they'll be able to return to work under the taliban. who helped until now? we are in here, under danger. the uk is to offer covid booster jabs to the over—sos, as it prepares for another coronavirus winter. californians are deciding whether to keep this man, gavin newsom, as their governor. the results of the recall vote could have repercussions far beyond the golden state.

and, all thatjazz, indeed! broadway is back, after an 18—month shutdown because of the pandemic. we'll be live from manhattan. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 6am in singapore, and 2.30am in kabul where — a bitter row has broken out between leaders of the taliban over the make—up of the group's new government. senior taliban officials have told the bbc the row involved a strong exchange of words at the president palace over who should take credit for credit for the group's victory. co—founder mullah abdul ghani baradar is said to believe the emphasis should be placed on diplomacy carried out by people like him.

however, khalil ur—rahman haqqani, the minister for refugees, believes credit for the taliban's victory should be given to those who led the fighting. meanwhile, weeks on from that victory, many women are still wondering whether they'll be able to return to work. among them are the former cabin crew of afghanistan's national airline, afghan ariana airways — who are still awaiting guidance on whether they'll be to fly again. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet has been to meet them. somewhere in kabul, down a back alley, swiftly up the stairs. we've come to this abandoned house, which is now a safe house, where” are now in hiding. -- 11 —— 11 remarkable afghan women stop female stop cabin crew of ariana afghan airways, the national carrier, awaiting rules from their new taliban bosses. translation: i have no hope. i see what is happening to bright, educated working women.

we don't have physical security or peace of mind. we don't dare wear our uniforms. they filmed from their homes when taliban came to some streets. listen to the screams next door. screaming some cabin crew decided they would be safer together. in this film, they marshal their memories. their country's oldest, largest airline. they became its new face, new progress. translation: those were happy days. we have such good memories, and we never have a photo like that again. tamana's last flight, just after the taliban swept into kabul. panic at the airport.

the flight never took off. translation: i have never seen anything like that, - not even in the movies. even those scheduled to work on that flight didn't show up because they were scared. i found the courage to work, because i love myjob. their lives, the stuff of history. a flight cancelled the day before kabul fell. it was meant to fly a delegation to peace talks. then, the women were told, "don't come to work." this is their work too. some, like fatima, are also fashion designers, with a presence on social media. so is 26—year—old muskan. that's your design? yes. conservative, but very modern, too. yeah, thank you. she also worked at the british council. they all feel abandoned now.

we are in here, under danger, with our documents, with our activities, with works, with videos, with photos. but i don't know how to carry it till now to other countries or safe places. i don't know. some women have started working at kabul airport, but these cabin crew doubt they can ever return to the jobs they loved. they gave their all. now they fear it puts them at risk of losing it all. lise doucet, bbc news, kabul. and there's more on that bitter row within the taliban on our website. there's more details of the argument about the make—up of the interim government and details about how it all started. just head to bbc.com/news. in other headlines, borisjohnson has been setting out a plan for tackling covid during autumn and winter in england. it includes boosterjabs

for millions, but holds in reserve measures like mandatory vaccine passports for certain settings. warning that covid "remains a risk", the prime minister outlined a "plan a" — promoting vaccines and testing. he said "plan b" — with measures including facemasks — would aim to prevent the nhs being overwhelmed. vicki young reports. adapting to seasonal change means thinking and planning ahead, especially in a pandemic. knocks at door some things ministers can't control, but the government needs to be ready for the unexpected. borisjohnson swept away most covid restrictions in england injuly, and for now, he remains confident. the result of this vaccination campaign is that we have one of the most free societies and one of the most open economies in europe, and that's why we're now sticking with our strategy. in essence, we're going to keep going. with this —

the vaccination programme. it began with margaret keenan in coventry last december. across the uk, the over—50s and vulnerable adults will be offered a third boosterjab. 12—15—year—olds will be eligible for a vaccination, too. ministers hope that will be enough to keep theatres like this... if we go from here to here. ..open as normal. we reopened for six weeks last year and closed again, then reopened for one week and closed again and now we're about to reopen. this production of the great gatsby has music, dancing and audience participation. its producer is glad to be back. the thing that i and the entire culture sector need is the opportunity to do ourjobs and trade our way out of this. i feel a lot more certain today than i have in the past. i'm sure there will be more uncertainty to come. that uncertainty has led the government to come up with what it calls plan b for england. it could include the return of mandatory facemasks in some indoor settings, working from home would again be

recommended, and covid passports required for people going to certain venues, including night clubs, to prove they've had two jabs. it's not sensible to rule out completely this type of option now, when we must face the fact that it might still make the difference between keeping businesses open at full capacity or not. could you tell us in what circumstances you would impose those extra restrictions, your plan b? do you have a number of cases or hospital admissions that would mean we have passed that threshold? we're confident we can proceed with plan a, but what i would stress about plan b is that it contains a number of different shots in the locker, and you wouldn't necessarily play them all at once, farfrom it. you would want to do things in a graduated way. but his advisers seemed to be recommending more urgency. when you make a move,

you have to go earlier than you think you want to, you have to go harder than you think you want to, and you need to make sure you've got the right geographical coverage. if this goes in the wrong direction and cases go up, followed by hospitalisations, it is important the measures are put in place early enough and they are significant enough. labour said the government's approach would be judged against... whether we can push infections down, minimise sickness and save lives, keep schools open, protect care homes, maintain access to all care in the nhs, and avoid a winter lockdown. the scottish parliament has already voted to introduce covid passports for some settings from the start of next month. while none of us like these things, we are or would be irresponsible not to take advantage of all the levers we have at our disposal to try to push cases down. # here we go again... no one wants a repeat of last winter. the hope is that vaccines will make

the crucial difference this time. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. borisjohnson has criticised the rapper nicki minaj over her stance on coronavirus vaccines. chart—topping rapper minaj revealed she was not vaccinated ahead of the met gala — an event which required attendees to have been jabbed. she also shared an unsubstantiated story on social media about a man who allegedly became impotent after being vaccinated. china's ambassador to the uk has been told he cannot come to parliament because of chinese sanctions which remain in place against several british politicians. zheng zeguang was due to attend a house of commons reception on wednesday, but the invitation has been scrapped by the parliamentary authorities. beijing has condemned the decision as despicable and cowardly, saying it would harm both countries' interests.

voters in california have been deciding whether to remove their governor, gavin newsom. the recall vote comes amid republican anger over his handling of everything from covid to wildfires. but he also enjoys wide support in the heavily—democratic state. as sophie long reports, there may be some strange contenders to replace him, but the result could have serious implications — notjust for the political future of california, but for the whole of the united states. people want regular people as politicians, not these slick, overly—produced people like gavin newsom. he is a disaster and ruining the state. i'm just disappointed with the way the state's being run. _ the list of reasons his opponent site for an electing governor gavin newsom is long. —— unelecting. california is facing extreme challenges. more than 150,000 people are homeless. there is an economically devastating drought, record—breaking wildfires are destroying homes and businesses. despite surge upon surge

of the coronavirus, many didn't like his hasty closure of california or his mask mandates. but it was his flagrant flouting of his own rules, dining indoors, maskless in this super luxe restaurant that really rallied republicans. that's wherejohn cox launched his campaign to replace him — with a bear. 0ther opponents include angeline billboard queen. look, i'm on the ballot! vote for me! 0oh! and reality tv star and former 0lympian, caitlinjenner. when you read some of the candidate statements for the 46 running to replace him, here is a couple of my personal favourites. 0ne reads simply, "can you dig it?" another, "love you." you might forgive gavin newsom for not taking this 100% seriously. but then, due to a bit of overconfidence and the obscure recall election rules, it looked like it was going to turn into a bit of a nail—biter. chanting: larry, larry! then, conservative talk show host, larry elder, emerged

as the frontrunning republican. he's outlined opinions anathema to liberal californians, wasn't given a warm welcome here in venice, and could have provided democrats — who outnumber republicans here by two to one — with a reason to vote. but gavin newsom is not out of the redwoods yet, as demonstrated by action hero arnold schwarzenegger in 2003... we are here, ladies and gentlemen, to clean house. ..when he unseated the then—democratic governor gray davis. in californian politics, even the inconceivable is conceivable. you've got a big choice to make by september 14. and so, enter the big guns. democratic presidents past and present coming out to campaign. you've got to vote "no" on the recall. keep gavin as governor. the rest of america is counting on you, and so am i. if they weren't taking this seriously, they are now.

sophie long joins me now from los angeles. she's there for us. what an interesting _ she's there for us. what an interesting line-up - she's there for us. what an interesting line-up of - she's there for us. what an - interesting line-up of candidates interesting line—up of candidates that we saw in your report, sophia. polls close in a few hours' time now, what are gavin newsom's chances looking like? is it possible to say at all at this point? well, i think things are looking much betterfor newsom now well, i think things are looking much better for newsom now than they were a couple of months ago. ironically, he's probably got the front running republican candidate to thank for that. initially newsom had the campaign on his own record — and when you look at the extreme challenges facing california, like historic wildfires, the drought, and the pandemic, it's tricky to campaign on your own record. but then of course, larry elder emerged as the front runner, and that really focused in the minds of many californians, including democrats who might�*ve thought they didn't like gavin mike on that much, and maybe he should've gone. when they saw the man likely to replace him —

someone against the minimum wage and would repeal a vaccine and mask mandates, he says, before he had his first cup of tea — suddenly that made gavin newsom a lot more attractive. as one political analyst said to me, if larry elder didn't exist, then gavin newsom would've wanted to create him. the democrats have a lot riding _ wanted to create him. the democrats have a lot riding on _ wanted to create him. the democrats have a lot riding on this _ wanted to create him. the democrats have a lot riding on this race. - wanted to create him. the democrats have a lot riding on this race. talk - have a lot riding on this race. talk us through what the implications are for the biden administration. weill. for the biden administration. well, there is a huge _ for the biden administration. well, there is a huge amount _ for the biden administration. in there is a huge amount running on this race. this is pretty much the biggest election that's taking place in the united states sincejoe biden was elected last year. first and foremost, if gavin newsom were to lose, and that's still not impossible, it would totally change the political trajectory of california itself. but it would also have national implications. take the senate, for example — the senior senator here in california, dianne feinstein, is 80 years old. if she were unable to complete her term for any reason and newsom lost the election, it would be the newly

installed republican governor who chose her replacement, thus eliminating the very narrow majority democrats have in the senate at the moment. it could also have applications for the house of representatives. political strategists on both sides will be watching this election very carefully, there's a number of congressional districts where majorities are razor thin. they'll be looking to see what happens here. in a way, it's like a training run for the marathon that will come next year with the midterms.— year with the midterms. sophie on that story for _ year with the midterms. sophie on that story for us, _ year with the midterms. sophie on that story for us, that _ year with the midterms. sophie on that story for us, that nail-biting l that story for us, that nail—biting race in los angeles. if you want to get in touch with me, i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: a warning from pope francis not to use christian symbols for political ends as he continues his visit to slovakia.

30 hours after the earthquake that devastated mexico city, rescue teams still have no idea just how many people have died. well, there's people alive, and there's people not alive. we're just helping and giving them whatever we've got. a state funeral has been held for princess grace of monacol at the church where she married prince rainier 26 years ago. - it looked as though they had come to fight a war, but their mission is to bring peace to east timor — and nowhere on earth needs it more badly. the government's case is being forcefully presented by the justice minister. he's campaigned vigorously for abolition, having once witnessed one of his clients being executed. elizabeth seton spent much of her time at this grotto — and every year, hundreds of pilgrimages are made here. now that she's become a saint, it's expected that this area will be inundated with tourists. the mayor and local businessmen regard the anticipated boom as yet another blessing of saint elizabeth.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines... a group of women in afghanistan have told the bbc the rise to power of the taliban has left them too scared to return to theirjobs — or even stay in their homes. californians are voting on whether to replace their governor, democrat gavin newsom, after opponents of the way he's handled the pandemic forced a recall election. pope francis has continued his four—day visit to slovakia, with a visit to the country's east. he presided over several mass gatherings but also spent time with members of the impoverished roma minority at a dilapidated housing estate. from bratislava, rob cameron reports. he's been called "the pope of the peripheries" — the pontiff who seeks out the poor, the forgotten, the marginalised. and nowhere in slovakia is more marginalised than here at the lunik

ix housing estate. lunik is home to almost 5,000 romani people. despite some improvement, many still live in squalid apartments, several with no heat or electricity. for some, the pope's very presence here today was a message of hope. translation: it will help us. perhaps the fact he's here will help us, because people will perceive us differently, as many people arejudging us. not everybody is the same. slovakia is a patchwork of denominations — and, before arriving, pope francis presided over a divine liturgy in the byzantine rite for members of slovakia's greek orthodox church. but even here, in this holiest of ceremonies, the pope was unafraid to mince his words, warning those that wore the crucifix that they must understand its central message

of love and tolerance. translation: crucifixes are found all around us. | 0n necks, in homes, in cars, in pockets. let us not reduce the cross to an object of devotion, much less to a political symbol, to a sign of political and social status. slovakia's own flag bears that cross — although his message may have been aimed more at the far—right people's party, which says it's defending christian values against muslim migrants, and also the roma, which it vilifies as "parasites". the pope's visit will end on wednesday with an outdoor mass at slovakia's holiest shrine on one of the country's holiest christian holidays. rob cameron, bbc news, bratislava. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines.

haiti's prime minister, ariel henry, has sacked the prosecutor who has sought to charge him in connection with the murder of presidentjovenal moise. the president was killed at his private residence in a suburb of port—au—prince in july. his death triggered a political crisis which was exacerbated when a huge earthquake struck the south of the country a month ago. the prime minister has accused the prosecutor of a serious administrative offence. the dutch government has announced they are easing covid—i9 restrictions and will introduce a "corona" pass to show proof of vaccination in order to go to bars, restau ra nts, clu bs or cultural events. prime minister mark rutte said most social distancing requirements will be dropped from 25 september. it's been a glamour—free 18 months for theatre lovers, with shows closed because of the pandemic. and on broadway in new york, while they've reopened for business, it's only now that theatres can fill every seat in the house. so it's back to blockbuster favourites — like this, chicago.

# come on baby, why don't we paint the town # and all thatjazz? wasn't that wonderful? i'm joined now by michael riedel, theatre columnist for the new york post. great to have you on the programme. it's so wonderful to see scenes like that, to be honest, coming back to the stages. how does it feel, in the first instance, to be back? you know, first instance, to be back? you know. it's _ first instance, to be back? you know, it's funny. _ first instance, to be back? you know, it's funny. i— first instance, to be back? mi. know, it's funny. i remember back first instance, to be back? ii’f7i. know, it's funny. i remember back in march 2020 when governor andrew cuomo said they would shut down broadway. and i was with a bunch of theatre producers then, and they thought, "this will be for two weeks, may a month at most." we never could've imagined it would be a year and a half. and you have to remember how many people lost their

jobs — the actors, the corus kids. you're not worrying about stars like huthackman, they you're not worrying about stars like hugh jackman, they are you're not worrying about stars like huthackman, they are ok all the time. i think of all the crew members, the musicians — they've been unemployed for a year and a half. and now finally, after a year and a half, they'll get a paycheque. that's amazing to me. and i hope that people will come and support broadway and buy a ticket. but i have fears about that. i’m have fears about that. i'm interested _ have fears about that. i'm interested to _ have fears about that. i'm interested to hear - have fears about that. i'm interested to hear in - have fears about that. i'm interested to hear in what those fears are, michael. i know this has been the longest shut in broadway history, i think. been the longest shut in broadway history, ithink. what been the longest shut in broadway history, i think. what are your main concerns about getting people back into the theatres? mi; concerns about getting people back into the theatres?— concerns about getting people back into the theatres? my concerns are, look, the delta _ into the theatres? my concerns are, look, the delta strain _ into the theatres? my concerns are, look, the delta strain is _ into the theatres? my concerns are, look, the delta strain is here - into the theatres? my concerns are, look, the delta strain is here in - look, the delta strain is here in new york, it's there in london where you guys are — and people are hesitant they are reluctant to go see a show, to be with 1500 people in old theatres on broadway. and then you have to wear a mask — for me, the only person who shouldn't

wear dust should wear a mask as the phantom of the opera. but you'll all have to wear masks in the theatre — i think that dole's ticket sales. but mike i know you talk about people having to wear masks in the audience, people having to wear masks in the audience. but _ people having to wear masks in the audience, but what _ people having to wear masks in the audience, but what are _ people having to wear masks in the audience, but what are some - people having to wear masks in the audience, but what are some of the covid measures being discussed both for audiences, actors and crew members, that they now need to keep to take themselves and others safe? all the backstage crew have to show proof of vaccination, but they are being tested all the time to keep people safe. but you still don't know if people here's the thing, i have to be honest with you guys. people are not buying tickets right now. they are a little bit scared. and it'll take some time for people to be comfortable to be around other people again, with this new strand of virus. i mean, it's the fact of the matter. and i saw the ticket sales when broadway reopened and they announced they were reopening

on the summer, everybody bought tickets. then the delta strain came on and ticket sales went off. so lots of difficulties facing the theatre industry ahead, but great to have you on the programme and have some of those big scenes on stage again, michael.— again, michael. broadway will survive, again, michael. broadway will survive. give _ again, michael. broadway will survive, give them _ again, michael. broadway will survive, give them the - again, michael. broadway will survive, give them the old - survive, give them the old razzle—dazzle! survive, give them the old razzle-dazzle!_ razzle-dazzle! that's very enthusiastic. _ now, you probably know that cows are one of the contributing factors to climate change. they emit things from both ends which are problematic for the environment. but where there are problems, there are also solutions. researchers in new zealand have managed to train cows to use a toilet, in an experiment scientists say could pave the way for more environmentally—friendly farms. through this mooloo approach — yep, that's what it's called — calves are taught to use a toilet area in the barn, meaning you're in can be collected and treated. waste from cattle farms often contaminates soil and waterways.

that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello there. after the very wet weather across england on tuesday, conditions look much better for the next couple of days. thanks to a ridge of high pressure, we should see plenty of dry and sunny weather. but it won't be completely sunny right across the board, there will be a few showers mainly across scotland and northern ireland. that's yesterday's low, clearing away toward scandinavia. this weak weather front will bring some showers to scotland and northern ireland through the day, but this ridge of high pressure will continue to build in. so, a much better—looking day for much of england and for wales, as well. a bit of cloud to start the day across eastern areas, maybe the odd shower, any mist should clear away, too, plenty of sunshine into the afternoon. same, too, for eastern scotland, but northern and western scotland, and into northern ireland will see more cloud and a few showers around, so the mid—to—high teens here, could see highs of 21—22 celsius further south. now through wednesday night,

it stays dry with clear spells across england and wales, allowing some mist and dense fog patches to develop. it'll turn a bit cooler, as well, for many areas, i think single—figure values across central and northern areas, particularly under any clear skies. and we'll continue with just 1—2 showers across the north, thanks to this weather front. but you can see the ridge of high pressure will be a little bit stronger, more dominant across the country on thursday. so i think thursday's actually shaping up to be the driest and sunniest day of the week across the board. we'll start off with that mist and fog around, quite a fresh feel to things — but with all the sunshine, temperatures will begin to rise into the afternoon, allowing a bit of fair weather cloud to bubble up here and there. top temperatures 22—23 celsius across central, southern, and eastern areas. a bit more cloud, though, starting to push into the northwest of the country, and that heralds a change. a new area of low pressure in this weather front will be sweeping into western areas on friday. so it'll be turning breezy up and down the west coast, around irish sea areas and towards western scotland, northern ireland, western england, and wales, some heavy rain here —

but actually, central and eastern england, eastern scotland should stay dry all day with some sunny spells. it will be a breezier day forall, particularly across northern and western areas. where we have the rain, then, mid—teens, ithink, the best further east in the sunshine, again it'll feel very pleasant, may be 21—23 celsius. into the weekend, then, we've got some complicated areas of low pressure, a bit of uncertainty to the detail of the forecast. but it looks like low—pressure wants to be nearby, so there's always the chance of some cloud and rain both saturday and sunday, and a little bit of sunshine, too.

this is bbc news. the headlines...

californians are voting on whether to remove gavin newsom as the governor of the state. the democrat has been criticised for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. if he doesn't get at least 50% of the vote, he's out. haiti's prime minister has sacked a prosecutor who was investigating his alleged involvement in the assassination of presidentjovenel moise. mr moise was killed during an attack on his residence injuly. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has told a senate committee that the taliban will not be able to use the high—tech equipment left behind when the american military pulled out of afghanistan. and the uk is to offer covid booster jabs to people aged over 50. prime minister borisjohnson says the additional vaccinations will leave britain better placed to deal with any surge in cases over the winter.