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 united kingdom, 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 7am in the morning in singapore and 2am 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 largest 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, mehmet, says there'll 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's proud of his time in uniform. since the taliban took over, he told me 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 and 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'll 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 united kingdom 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. steve yates worked for the national security agency under the united states department of defense and served as a national security advisor to vice president dick cheney. speaking to me from tampa florida, he said china under president xi had changed its military posture in the south china sea. yeah, i do think that china has become more vocal, more open and aggressive under xi jinping as party secretary. obviously for many, many decades, china has built up it military capability, as is its right to do.

but there is really only one major revisionist power in asia when it comes to freedom of navigation by sea, 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 united states, this is pro—freedom of navigation and maintaining the status quo. taiwan's defence 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? well, 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, very important to very important to recognise there are problems inside of china that its leadership want to turn attention away from, whether it's financial issues

or demographic changes, changes in supply chains, there's 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. and i guess would you say that not many people expected beijing to act so quickly and rather aggressively in hong kong as well? exactly. there's sort of been of perception 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 out of beijing that's drawing people back in. but i guess this latest move by the uk and also obviously the ongoing tensions with the us, beijing is not going to like that, would they? no, beijing is not going

to like that, but i think the world is learning that china is not the same thing as the communist party of china. and the communist party of china, its leadership, i think, is beginning to show signs of weekend leadership. and that is going to be a challenge for us. we're going to have to deter any resort to force in a lot of different ways while we try to see in what can be done for there to be more peaceful and free supporting options inside of china. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. a small plane has crashed into a residential area near san diego, in california, killing at least two people and injuring two others. the accident happened a few blocks from a high school in the town of santee. witnesses say the plane was listing before falling to the ground, where it crashed into a lorry and set properties ablaze, destroying two homes and damaging others. in china, nearly 2 million people have been displaced by severe flooding in the northern shanxi province. houses collapsed last week after torrential rain triggered landslides across the area.

the italian parliament is debating a possible ban on neo—fascist political parties. this comes after far—right political activists protested in rome this weekend, demonstrating against the covid green pass, which requires workers to be vaccinated or have a negative test. 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 for 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 effects 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 and for our staff seeing . a woman being separated from their babies for - weeks, 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 are 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 41 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, huh? 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're 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 diplomatic operator. it was a 20—pound bomb which exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel, ripping a hole in the front of the building. this government will not weaken! | democracy will prevail! it fills me with humility and gratitude to know that i have been chosen as 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. when the us forces left kabul after the fall of afghanistan, the world was flooded with images of afghans desperate to leave the country. for many vietnamese—americans, it was a painful reminder of the ordeal they suffered after the fall of saigon in 1975. my next guest is uyen nguyen, who knows all too well the hardships of being a refugee. shejoins me now from seattle, where she co—founded viets for afghans, an initiative to help afghan families navigate their new life in the us. thank you so much forjoining us on newsday today. firstly,

tell me more about viets for afghans. what led you to start this initiative?— this initiative? yes, as eight us citizen — this initiative? yes, as eight us citizen and _ this initiative? yes, as eight us citizen and as _ this initiative? yes, as eight us citizen and as a - this initiative? yes, as eight us citizen and as a refugee, j this initiative? yes, as eightl us citizen and as a refugee, i just felt that we failed our afghan allies. that we do the evaluation and it was very sudden. the number of thousands of people that we have left behind who have been our allies for the last 20 plus years. and so... and the suffering that is to come for those who are left behind and their confusion and the chaos for the people who have been evacuated. all of that brought back a lot of memories of when i was a refugee. so me and my friends just decided we needed to do something because we don't see an option not to do something. you said it reminded you of your own experience. did you have a similar experience? yes,

so my family — have a similar experience? yes, so my family and _ have a similar experience? yes, so my family and i, _ have a similar experience? yes, so my family and i, we - so my family and i, we evacuated and became refugees when i was ten years old. and we were one of the group of boat people. and at 31 of us fled the country in the small boat. the people passed away and three of those faults were in my family, including my mom and my two younger siblings. and can you tell me exactly what the initiative does for those afghan refugees? yes, so we started _ those afghan refugees? yes, so we started an — those afghan refugees? yes, so we started an initiative - those afghan refugees? yes, so we started an initiative wanted | we started an initiative wanted to provide temporary housing for afghans that are resettling in washington state, and we chose to help at least 75 families because we want to pay tribute for the year that vietnam fell. and we became refugees ourselves. and so we started recruiting our community to do that, and by now we have had over 100 families signing up to help and

become host families. and then we also started a project to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees who are afghan but are still left behind. the dangerfor them is increasing danger for them is increasing each dangerfor them is increasing each day. danger for them is increasing each da . �* danger for them is increasing each day-— danger for them is increasing eachda . �* ., , each day. and what has been the reaction from _ each day. and what has been the reaction from the _ reaction from the vietnamese—american community and the non—vietnamese community as well? and the non-vietnamese community as well?- and the non-vietnamese community as well? oh, it's been overwhelmingly - community as well? oh, it's i been overwhelmingly positive. it's definitely one of those things where we are getting support from all sorts of ethnic groups. all types of folks, whether they are refugees or not refugees. so, in many ways, we have been very successful in mobilising and engaging folks and this particular topic and keeping this type of mind because again, there are many people and many allies that are still

left in afghanistan, and their lives are being endangered every single day. as we want to keep the focus on this important topic.- keep the focus on this im ortant toic. , , important topic. uyen nguyen thank you _ important topic. uyen nguyen thank you so _ important topic. uyen nguyen thank you so much _ important topic. uyen nguyen thank you so much for- important topic. uyen nguyen thank you so much forjoining| thank you so much forjoining us on newsday today. thank you so much for “oining us on newsday today._ thank you so much for “oining us on newsday today. 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 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

players 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 a1 countries. last season, covid forced the players into a bubble in order to finish out their 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 before and after games, they would start up 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 great that people are finally stepping up because if they do it, then 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 scoreboard. the park's renovation is a passion project for roberts, who recently announced her retirement. the sound of a bouncing basketball�*s like the soundtrack of my life. i 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. 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. 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. what a thing to happen. he's the oldest guy that went 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 in both 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 pattern. it comes amid claims the space company has 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, from the earliest days up - through now as we've - started our human flights, and safety has always been our top priority. j # rocket man # burning out his fuse out here alone...# there's debate over whether he'll return to earth an astronaut, but as he himself said, he will be a real rocket man. fantastic! like blue 0rigin owner and star trek superfan jeff bezos, he'll experience zero gravity before gliding back to earth. the billionaires leading this space race say it's more than a rocket—fuelled ego trip. yeah! well done! they claim it could help us all to live long and prosper. sophie long, bbc news, west texas.

that's all for now. 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 into 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 weatherfront, 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'll reactivate across the farther 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 chilly 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 cos 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 weather front, 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. that 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 bit chillier for the end of the week in the weekend. colder still across some parts of eastern scotland, but even further south, we could see temperatures this weekend in the mid—teens. bye for now.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all of the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. economies across the industrialised world are feeling the strain of soaring fossil fuel energy costs. but the bad news for energy consumers represents a potential bonanza for the biggest producers. step forward gas—rich russia, ideally placed to exert growing influence in europe's energy market.

well, my guest is sergei ryabkov, russia's deputy