welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines — risking their lives — we have a special report on the afghan refugees crossing iranian territory in the hope of reaching turkey. the journey is full of risk, but some afghans still feel this is their best hope. as britain stations two more warships in the asia region, the commodore of the carrier strike force tells the bbc the thinking behind the strategy. one third of the world's trade flows through the south china sea,

the growing economies here, so it's natural that the uk, you know, wants to have a presence and a say and be involved in this really important region. important new data from the uk shows that one in six of those most critically ill with covid—19 are pregnant women who've not received a vaccine. and captain kirk takes a real life journey into space — the 90—year—old actor william shatner explains why. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 6am in morning in singapore and 1am in istanbul, where turkish authorities have boosted security on their border with iran and warned they won't accept an influx of migrants and refugees fleeing the taliban in afghanistan. many afghans make the journey through iran to turkey hoping to travel onwards to other

european countries. turkey already has the world's biggest refugee population of around 4 million people. our international correspondent orla guerin has been to the turkish border province of van and sent this report. turkey is cracking down on those who sneak across the border. even those in this smuggler�*s safe house, who may have fled in fear from the taliban. well, the operation here has taken just a few minutes. there are about a0 men inside sitting down looking tired, some looking quite scared. the conditions are pretty squalid, and the police here are telling us they believe that these men have come from afghanistan. we were flown across van province to turkey's remote eastern border, where many try to enter.

if they can get past this, turkey's border wall with iran. built three years ago and now being extended. since the fall of kabul, reinforcements have arrived. there's been an about—face in turkey on refugees and migrants. the country has already absorbed 3.6 million syrians. the local governor says there will be no influx across this border. the watchtowers here were funded by the european union. it doesn't want a new wave of arrivals reaching its doors.

take a look at the terrain here. this is a mountainous region. it's exposed, the ground is rough, and crossing iran to reach the turkish border here can take a month or more. the journey is full of risk, but some afghans still feel this is their best hope. like this group, who we found on turkish soil. among them, men who stood against the taliban. including a police commanderfrom kabul. we are concealing his identity. he told me in recent weeks the taliban have killed some of his brothers in arms, despite promising an amnesty.

soon they were on the move and on the run, hoping to avoid capture by the turkish police. "0k, 0k, we're coming," he tells the waiting smuggler. since we filmed these pictures, some of the men have been detained. they can no longer go forward, and they dare not go back. orla guerin, bbc news, on the turkish—iranian border. the british aircraft carrier hms queen elizabeth is currently docked in singapore. the commander of the royal navy's uk strike group says the uk will base more ships in asia to demonstrate a stronger military presence. the step by britain and its western allies is linked to china's growing militarisation and island—building in seas vital to the movement of trillions of dollars of global trade. katie silver reports.

this is the hms queen elizabeth. she's an impressive vessel — 280 metres in length and taller than the niagara falls. she left the uk in may and has been travelling through asia, where the british navy has conducted joint military exercises with british allies, including south korea and here in singapore. most recently, she's been travelling through the south china sea, and it's being seen as a real demonstration of british military might. this is a part of the world where, you know, the navy has probably retreated in the last 20 years. but the recent review has made it quite clear, we want to have a more persistent, enduring presence here. queen elizabeth is the first step. i think you'll see the air force exercising with other air forces and the british army exercising with other armies,. we'll see exchange programmes and education programmes,

and science and technology. i think that's how we will symbolise that the indo—pacific is important to the united kingdom. one third of the world's trade flows through the south china sea, the growing economy's here, so it's only natural that the uk wants to have a presence and a say and be involved in this really important region. there are two new vessels on their way now from panama to singapore, and they'll stay here on an ongoing basis, a clear sign that the uk's pivot to asia is for the long haul. let's speak to steve yates, who worked for the national security agency under the united states department of defense. he's also served as a national security advisor to vice president dick cheney. he is in tampa, florida. thank you so much forjoining us. we have seen growing tensions in the south china sea especially when it comes to taiwan following the president xi's remarks about its reunification and a record number of chinese warplanes entering its dome up.— entering its dome up. would you say china is changing _ entering its dome up. would you say china is changing its _ entering its dome up. would you say china is changing its tactics - entering its dome up. would you say china is changing its tactics and - entering its dome up. would you say china is changing its tactics and if. china is changing its tactics and if so, why? it china is changing its tactics and if so, wh ? ., ~'

china is changing its tactics and if so, wh ? ., ~ ., .,, so, why? it do think china has become more _ so, why? it do think china has become more vocal, - so, why? it do think china has become more vocal, more - so, why? it do think china has i become more vocal, more open so, why? it do think china has - become more vocal, more open and aggressive under xi jinping as become more vocal, more open and aggressive under xijinping as party secretary. i was late for many decades can magenta has built up military capability as is its right to do. but there is really only one major revision is power in asia when it comes to freedom of navigation by seat, by land or by air, and it's china. so these freedom of navigation exercises by other powers make it clear that this is not china versus the us, this is pro—freedom of navigation and maintaining the status quo. of navigation and maintaining the status uuo. . . of navigation and maintaining the status qua-— of navigation and maintaining the status uuo. . . , , . status quo. taiwan possible defence minister has — status quo. taiwan possible defence minister has said _ status quo. taiwan possible defence minister has said that _ status quo. taiwan possible defence minister has said that relations - status quo. taiwan possible defence minister has said that relations are i minister has said that relations are at their worst in a0 years and he also warned of a possible full—scale invasion by 2025. do you think that's actually likely? unfortunately that's actually likely? u nfortu nately we that's actually likely? unfortunately we don't get to know what the truth is about with the chinese leaders will do. we only know what they say. i think it would be a mistake to assume that it is

political theatre only, but they do maximise bullying and pressure campaigns. i think it's very important to recognise that there are problems inside of china, his leadership want to turn attention away from, whether it's leadership want to turn attention away from, whether its financial issues or demographic changes, changes in supply, there is a lot of pressure on china domestically and these nationalist flame fanning exercises are a typical tactic of leadership to rally around the flag and turn support towards them. find i and turn support towards them. and i cuess and turn support towards them. and i auess what and turn support towards them. and i guess what you _ and turn support towards them. and i guess what you say — and turn support towards them. and i guess what you say that _ and turn support towards them. and i guess what you say that not many people expected beijing to act so quickly and rather aggressively in hong kong as well.— quickly and rather aggressively in hong kong as well. exactly. there is would've been _ hong kong as well. exactly. there is would've been of— hong kong as well. exactly. there is would've been of reception - hong kong as well. exactly. there is would've been of reception in - would've been of reception in beijing that america's influence was waning, that others were disinterested or less interested in asia. i think that that has changed largely over the last couple of years, primarily because of the

aggression vocally and by action at aggression vocally and by action at a beijing that's draw people back in. a bei'ing that's draw people back in. �* , , , ., , a bei'ing that's draw people back in. �* ,, , ., , ., a bei'ing that's draw people back in. ,, ., _ in. but i guess this latest move by the uk and — in. but i guess this latest move by the uk and also _ in. but i guess this latest move by the uk and also obviously - in. but i guess this latest move by the uk and also obviously the - the uk and also obviously the ongoing tensions with the us, beijing is not going to like that, will they? beijing is not going to like that, will the ? ., �* , ., will they? know, bei'ing is not auoin to will they? know, bei'ing is not going to like h will they? know, bei'ing is not going to like that _ will they? know, beijing is not going to like that but - will they? know, beijing is not going to like that but i - will they? know, beijing is not going to like that but i think i will they? know, beijing is not. going to like that but i think the world is learning that china is at the same thing as a communist party of china. and the communist party of china, is leadership i think you're beginning to show signs of weekend leadership. and that is going to be a challenge for us. we are going to have to deter any resort to force in a lot of different ways and what we try to see in what can be done for there to be more peaceful and free supporting options inside of china. steve yatesjoining us supporting options inside of china. steve yates joining us from tampa, florida, thank you so much for joining us on newsday. my pleasure, thank ou. pregnant women are being urged to get the covid vaccine following concerns about the growing number with the virus

needing the most serious treatment in critical care. new data shows one in six of the most critically ill patients in hospital in the uk are pregnant and unvaccinated. with more details on the findings, here's our health editor hugh pym. we've been trying to have a baby for a long time now. i can't believe we're still both here, to be honest. it's not long now, and he's going to be in the world. claire is reliving her covid ordeal injuly, seriously ill when she was 26 weeks pregnant and then on a ventilator in intensive care 12 days. i thought i was going to die, and i thought he was going to die and we'd waited so long for this family that that was the greatest fear, that my husband was going to lose us both. claire did her own research on the vaccines, but by the time she decided to have the jab, it was too late, she'd got the virus. along with medical experts,

she's appealing to expectant mums to get vaccinated. some said the guidelines earlier this year were confusing, but health leaders now say it's clear, covid can create serious risks for pregnant women. if they become unwell with covid—19, they're more likely to need intensive care. they're also more likely to give birth prematurely, and that has a long—term effect for the baby. they're unfortunately more likely to have a stillbirth and much more likely to have a cesarean section. here at royal papworth hospital in cambridge, there's a specialist unit using technology known as ecmo, in effect an artificial lung. some women who'vejust had their babies have become so sick that they've had to brought here to this unit for treatment with the most intensive form of life support available for covid—i9 patients. rachel is a consultant here. she's witnessed the heartache

for mothers treated away from their babies. i think it's devastating - for the mother, for the family land for our staff seeing a woman| being separated from their babies forweeks, could be months. often see tears in the unit from both sides. | sultana was one of those mums. her twins were by emergency cesarean because she was so ill with covid. she had to be transferred without them to intensive care at royal papworth. while i was asleep, my twins were born. i had no idea my babies were born. they are kept somewhere else. i'm lying down somewhere else deteriorating, and they were taking the decisions on my life thinking, "ok, this woman might not going to make it." sultana says she didn't get

to hold her baby girls for weeks. for ai days, this will always be a gap in my life. my husband was taking care of them, changing their nappies. my sister was doing that while i was not doing that? that gap can never be filled. regardless, i have the diaries, i have the photos, i was seeing them through the screen. so i wouldn't want any woman to face what i faced. we're so excited today! these are happier times. she hadn't had a jab because she got ill in the early stages of the vaccine roll—out, but her plea to all expectant mothers is to get vaccinated as it can help families as well as protecting mums to be. hugh pym, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc.

still to come on the programme, as the nba turns 75 this season, we visit one court in new york known as the "mecca of street basketball." 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, they'rare more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. in the 19 years since he was last here, he's gone from being a little—known revolutionary to an experienced and successful little medic operator. it was a 20—pound bomb which exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel, leaving 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 a recipient of this foremost honour. this catholic nation held its breath for the men they call "the 33". and then...

..bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue, and chile let out an almighty roar. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko 0i in singapore. 0ur headlines — in turkey, the authorities have boosted security on their border with iran and warned they won't accept an influx of migrants and refugees fleeing the taliban in afghanistan. one of the uk's largest warships ever built for the royal navy has arrived in singapore. injuly, china has warned the uk's carrier strike group not to carry out any "improper acts". the national basketball association turns 75 this season. over the years, the sport's influence has moved

beyond the united states and become wildly popular in places like china and across africa. with the pandemic and its engagement to the black lives matter movement, the league is adjusting to a new normal. the bbc�*s monica miller sat down with the executive director of the union representing its players in new york. the nba may be gearing up for a new season, but these players spent the past few months honing their skills at rucker park in harlem, also known as the mecca of street basketball. some sport legends have made cameo appearances on this court, including allen iverson, kobe bryant and kevin durant. cheering. the woman who runs the union that represents these star is also playing offence against a mutating virus. she's a clever one, that covid.

she is not to be predicted with any success most of the time. michele roberts is the first female to head the national professional basketball association, representing more than a50 players from a! countries. last season, covid forced the players into a bubble in order to finish out the games. during those weeks of isolation, black lives matter protests swept the country after the police shooting deaths of george floyd and breonna taylor. i watched what i would describe as democracy in action. these guys figured it out, and they figured, "0k, we're going to play, but we're going to do it under certain circumstances. " and so the most visible example was you watch the games, you cannot avoid seeing black lives matter. the media interviews and after games, they would start out by saying, "say her name, breonna."

those protests have encouraged young fans and up—and—coming players to have a voice of their own. it's good people that they're stepping up because if they do it tean we think we can do it and the younger generation feels like they can do it. the players may shine here on the court, but the park itself is in need of repair. that's why the union that represents the nba is going to donate $360,000 to buy lights, bleachers, new rims and backboards and a storm board. part renovation is a passion project for roberts, who recently announced her retirement. the sound of a bouncing basketball, like the soundtrack of my life. i've heard basketball every day because the building we lived in was adjacent to the park, where the courts were. and so basketball was all you did. win or lose, basketball has a way to bring people together through a shared love of the game. monica miller, bbc news, new york.

a small plane has crashed into a residential area in san diego killing at least two people and injuring others. the accident happened a few blocks from a high school. when this is say the plane was listing before it fell to the ground and crushed a lorry and set two properties ablaze. the prince of wales has told the bbc that world leaders heading for the un climate change conference in glasgow next month must take bold action on global warming rather than "just talk". in a wide—ranging interview, prince charles also said he understood why climate change activists took to the streets, but he said that actions such as blocking roads were not helpful. he was speaking to our climate editorjustin rowlatt in the gardens of the balmoral estate in royal deeside. lovely to see you. great to see you. this was a rather empty field that the farm didn't need any more,

so i thought, "ah..." the great thing was i managed to plant it the same year that my grandson was born, the eldest, george. it's a legacy, an inheritance for your grandchildren. how worried are you about the state of that inheritance? deeply worried. i've always felt that we're somehow trained to believe that nature is a separate thing from us and we can just exploit and control and suppress everything about her without suffering the consequences. the narrative has changed. you know, lots of the things that you said are now mainstream... it's taken far too long. ..and world leaders are gathering in glasgow to talk about the kind of issues that you were... yeah, but they just talk. and the problem is to get action on the ground, which is what i've been trying to do for the last a0 years. what about the people that protest? what about, kind of, extinction rebellion? do you understand why they go out...? yes, of course i do, but it isn't helpful, i don't think, to do it in a way that alienates people. so, i totally understand the frustration. the difficulty is how do you direct

that frustration in a way that is more constructive rather than destructive? so, people should really notice how despairing so many young are. is our government doing enough to make these things happen? i couldn't possibly comment. it's true to say that you've got a pretty hefty carbon footprint. it must take a lot of gas to heat a palace. yes, yes, but i have tried, for a very long time, to make sure that the heating's done in a way that is as sustainable as possible. so, i've got electric cars. like my old aston martin, which i've had for 51 years, runs on, can you believe this, surplus english white wine and whey from the cheese process. so, what would you say to people watching this in terms of diet? should they be eating less meat? for years, i haven't eaten meat and fish on two days a week, and i don't eat dairy products on one day a week.

it's an autumn garden, isn't it? it's really for autumn colour. and a bit of spring. a lot of parts of britain arejust prairie farms. avenues... cos one of the things i've been wanting to do... avenues of trees... ? yes, i've been wanting to help plant avenues of trees which could commemorate all the people who've died during this pandemic. in fact, there was a wonderful example in australia, after the first world war, when they planted avenues of trees to commemorate all the people who died. when you take what a difference, you know, urban trees make, and they're wonderful in the landscape as well. his character and crew boldy went where no others had been before. but now william shatner, who played captain kirk in the cult �*60s television series star trek, will finally get his chance to go into space. he'll be onboard the spacecraft

developed by the multibillionaire founder of amazon, jeff bezos, and at 90, he'll become the oldest person to enter that final frontier. 0ur correspondent sophie long has more from texas. as cool and calm as captainjames t kirk. for decades, he played a character synonymous with space exploration. now, at 90, he's about to boldly go where no nonagenarian sci—fi star has gone before. proving you are never too old to really be who you want to be. whata thing... he's the oldest guy to go into space. i want to have the vision, i want to see space, i want to see the earth. i want to see what we need to do to save earth. i want to have a perspective that hasn't been shown to me before. and you're going to hear the engine cut off. his highly anticipated blast—off has reignited interest both in the star trek... that's exactly what i would have done.

..and blue 0rigin brands, taking the world of pr to a stratospheric level. now, fire blind, lay down a path. this second blue 0rigin passenger flight came after employees claimed the company had a toxic environment and failed to adhere to proper safety protocols. accusations it denies. thatjust hasn't been . my experience at blue. we're exceedingly thorough. i've worked on new shepherd for eight years. _ i can't say enough about the team of professionals that _ work on this programme. # rocket man # burning out his fuse out here alone... there is debate over whether they will return to earth astronauts, but, as shatner said, he will be a real rocket man. oh, wow! he'll experience weightlessness during a journey that should last less than 11 minutes. the billionaires leading this space race say it' more than a rocket—fuelled ego trip. they claim it could help us all to live long and prosper. sophie long, bbc news, west texas.

that is it for now. thanks for watching. hello. it was a chilly start to monday for many a morning commuter, and it will be again on tuesday morning for one or two, particularly across some southern counties of england and south wales as well as the far north east of scotland. it's these areas where you'll have the clearest of the skies to begin with. in between, temperatures much higher than they were on monday, and that's because of this weather front and the cloud from it stretching across scotland in the eastern england. and that's going to be inching a little bit further westwards as we go through tuesday. high pressure still, though, in the far west, keeping things dry. only an isolated shower possible, still some sunny spells. but a lot of cloud across scotland and central, northern and eastern england. that could produce some light rain or drizzle here and there, maybe as far west as the home counties as we go through into the afternoon. to the west of it, we'll keep temperatures on the high side for this stage in october, maybe up to around 16—17 degrees.

but notice down these eastern coasts of scotland and north east england, where they're getting on the other side of that weather front, more of a northerly wind, temperatures only around 10—13 celsius. whereas by wednesday, these same areas should warm up a little bit because the wind is going to shift direction. we're going to see our area of high pressure drift a bit further southwards. in doing so, atlantic winds will start to dominate, pushing away that weather front back eastwards in towards the north sea. but it will reactivate across the far north of scotland. this is where we'll see outbreaks of rain overnight into wednesday morning. and whilst there will be some pockets of chillier conditions on wednesday morning, for many, it won't be quite as gently as tuesday. so, here's the details for wednesday. that weather front continuing to march away. there could be some light rain or drizzle close to some western parts of scotland, but most of you will have a dry day, varying amounts of cloud, some sunny spells. temperatures drop a little bit in western scotland the breeze off the sea, but warm, as i said, down those eastern coasts, and most places still around 2—3 degrees above average. but a big drop in temperature is on the way to the north

of this weatherfront, which will be pushing in as we go through into thursday, with some strong and gusty winds around it. notice those blue colours pushing southwards. thay will be making inroads across scotland on thursday. along with those gusty winds, outbreaks of rain which could be heavy at times, too, making it towards northern ireland, maybe to the borders of england late in the day. but much of england and wales will have a dry day, a bright day, still in the milder air with highs around 16—17. but as that weather front works its way southwards and eastwards, we'll all get a little chillier for the end of the week in the weekend. colder still across some parts of eastern scotland, but even further south, we can see temperatures this weekend in the mid—teens. bye for now.

that headlines this hour. boosting security on their border excepting those fleeing the taliban in afghanistan and the afghans make the ability to travel along with other countries. facing two more warships in asia, the commodore of the carrier strike force deployed in the area. they have told the bbc that this is a part of the decision to focus their support to places like india, japan and australia. new date in the uk suggest that one in six of those mostly ill with covid—i9 or unvaccinated pregnant women. small planes crashed into a residential area and australia. new data in the san diego, california. those of the headlines. .