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 crushing iranians territory in the hope of reaching turkey. the “ourney is full of risk, * of reaching turkey. the “ourney is full of risk, but h of reaching turkey. the “ourney is full of risk, but some _ is full of risk, but some afghans still feel is the best hope. afghans still feel is the best ho e. �* , afghans still feel is the best hoe, j�* ., �*, afghans still feel is the best hope. as britain's stations to more warships _ hope. as britain's stations to more warships in _ hope. as britain's stations to more warships in the - hope. as britain's stations to more warships in the asian l more warships in the asian region, the commodore of the carrier strike was held the bbc the thinking behind the strategy. fix, the thinking behind the strategy-— strategy. a third of the world's _ strategy. a third of the world's trade _ strategy. a third of the world's trade flows - strategy. a third of the - world's trade flows through the south china sea, so it is natural to unite england have a presence and a say and be involved in this really

important region. involved in this really im ortant reuion. u, . important region. important new data from the _ important region. important new data from the uk _ important region. important new data from the uk shows - important region. important new data from the uk shows that - important region. important new data from the uk shows that one in six of those most critically ill with covid—i9 are pregnant women who have not received a vaccine. and captain kirk takes a real life journey into and captain kirk takes a real lifejourney into space. and captain kirk takes a real life journey into space. the 90—year—old actor — mcwilliam shatner explains why. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it is newsday. it is eight o'clock in the morning here in singapore and 3am in istanbul where turkish authorities have boosted security on the border with iran and warned they won't accept an influx of migrants and refugees fleeing the taliban in afghanistan. many

afghans made thejourney afghans made the journey through afghans made thejourney through iran to afghans made the journey through iran to turkey, afghans made thejourney 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 correspondence has been to the turkish border and send 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 commander from kabul. we are concealing his identity. he's proud of his time in uniform. since the taliban took over, he says they 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 here in singapore and the commander of the royal navy's uk strike says the royal navy's uk strike says the uk will base more ships here in asia to demonstrate a stronger military presence. the step by britain and its western allies is linked to china by the growing militarisation and island tilting in the sea is vital to the movement of

trillions of dollars of global trade. this ship is taller than the niagara falls. she is travelling through asia where the navy has conducted joint military exercises with british allies including south korea here in singapore. she has been travelling through the south china sea and it is seen as a real demonstration of traditional military might. this is a part of the world where the navy has probably retreated in the last 20 years, but the review has made it clear that we want to have a joint presence here. queen elizabeth is the first step. i think you will see the air force with other air force and the british army with other armies and exchange programmes and education programmes and science and technology. that is how we live the pacific is important to the united kingdom. 0ne important to the united kingdom. one third of the trade flows through here, it is

natural united kingdom want to have a presence and a say and be involved in this in a really important region.— be involved in this in a really important region. there are two new vessels _ important region. there are two new vessels on _ important region. there are two new vessels on their _ important region. there are two new vessels on their way - important region. there are two new vessels on their way now i new vessels on their way now from panama to singapore and they will stay here on an ongoing basis. a clear sign that the uk's pivot asia is for the long haul. the national security agency under the united states department of defence and served as a national security advisor vice president dick cheney. speaking to me from tampa, florida, he said china under the president had changed its military posture in the south china e. i its military posture in the south china e.— its military posture in the south china e. ., ~ ., south china e. i do think china has become — south china e. i do think china has become more _ south china e. i do think china has become more vocal, - south china e. i do think chinaj has become more vocal, more open and aggressive under xi jinping as party secretary. 0bviously for many, many decades china has built of its military capability as its right to do so, but there is really only one major revisionist power in asia when

it comes to freedom of navigation by sea, by land or by hair, and it is china. these freedom of navigation exercises by other powers make it clear 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 is actually likely? you think that is actually likel ? ~ ., ., , likely? well, unfortunately we don't aet likely? well, unfortunately we don't get to — likely? well, unfortunately we don't get to know _ likely? well, unfortunately we don't get to know what - likely? well, unfortunately we don't get to know what the - don't get to know what the truth is about what the chinese leaders will do. we only know what they say. i think it would be a mistake to assume it is political theatre only, but they do maximise bullying and pressure campaigns. i think it is very, very to recognise there are problems inside of china, that its leadership would like to turn attention

away from, whether it is financial issues or demographic changes, changes in supply, a lot of pressure on china domestically and these nationalist flame fanning exercises are a typical tactic of the leadership to rally around the flag and term support toward that. i guess would you — support toward that. i guess would you say _ support toward that. i guess would you say that - support toward that. i guess would you say that not - support toward that. i guess| would you say that not many people expected ageing to act so quickly and rather aggressively in hong kong as well —— beijing? aggressively in hong kong as well -- beijing?— aggressively in hong kong as well -- beijing? well -- bei'ing? exactly. there has been — well -- beijing? exactly. there has been a _ well -- beijing? exactly. there has been a perception - well -- beijing? exactly. there has been a perception in - has been a perception in beijing that america's influence was waning, that america will — others were less interested in asia. i think that has changed largely over the last couple of years primarily because of the aggression vocally and by action out of beijing that is drawing people back in. but i cuess drawing people back in. but i guess this — drawing people back in. but i guess this latest _ drawing people back in. but i guess this latest move - drawing people back in. but i guess this latest move by - drawing people back in. but i guess this latest move by the uk and also obviously the ongoing tensions of the us, beijing is not going to like

that, will they?— beijing is not going to like that, will they? no, bei'ing is not goingfi that, will they? no, bei'ing is not going to i that, will they? no, bei'ing is not going to like i that, will they? no, bei'ing is not going to like that, h that, will they? no, beijing is not going to like that, but - that, will they? no, beijing is not going to like that, but i i 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. the communist party of china, its leadership i think are beginning to show signs of weakened 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 while we try to see what can be done for there to be more peaceful and free supporting options inside of china. let's now take a look at some other stories in the headline. a small plane has crashed into a residential area in california in san diego, killing two people and injuring two others. the accident happened a few blocks from a high school. witnesses say the plane was lifting before falling to the ground where it crashed into a lorry and set properties ablaze, destroying two homes and damaging others. the italian parliament is debating a possible ban on

neofascist political parties. this comes after far right political activists protested in rome this weekend, demonstrating against a 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 is our health editor. 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 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—i9, they're more likely to need intensive care. they're also more likely to give birth prematurely, and that has long—term effects for the baby. they�* re u nfortu nately 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 be 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 delivered 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 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, 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. salah abdeslam still to come on the programme: the nba turned 75. we visit one quart in new york known as the mecca of street basketball. —— caught. 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 are more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. in the 19 years since he was last here, he has 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, i

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 the recipient of this foremost of earthly honours. this catholic nation - held its breath for the men they called the 33. and then, bells tolled i nationwide to announce the first rescue and chile let out an almighty roar. - welcome back. you're watching newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko 0i in singapore. our main story this hour: in turkey, the authorities have boosted security

on their border with iran and warned they will not accept an influx of migrants and refugees fleeing the taliban in afghanistan. 0ne one of the uk's largest warships has arrived in singapore. injuly and agreed not to carry out any improper acts. when the us forces left karbul 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 ordeals they suffered after the fall of saigon in 1975. uyen nguyen knows all too well about the hardship of being a refugee and she joined me earlierfrom seattle, where she co—founded viets a afghans, an initiative to help afghan families navigate their new life into the united states. as a us citizen and as a refugee, i just felt that we failed our afghan allies.

the way we left and evacuated was very sudden. the number of 1,000s of people that we have left behind who have been our allies for the last 20 plus years and so the suffering that is to come for those who are left behind and their confusion and the chaos as for the people who have been evacuated, all 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 and i, we became refugees when i was ten years old and we were one of the group of people ten years old and we were one

of the group of boat people and 31 of us fled the country in the small boats. ten people passed away and three of those folks were in my family, including my mum and my two younger siblings. can you comment what the initiative does for those refugees? we started the initiative wanting to provide temporary housing for afghans that are resettling in washington state and we chose to help at least 75 families because we wanted 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 that we also started a project to provide

humanitarian parole assistance to refugees... to afghans that are still left behind because the danger for them is increasing each day. what has been the reaction from the vietnamese american community and not vietnamese community as well? it has been overwhelmingly positive. it is definitely one of those things where we're getting support from all sorts of ethnic groups, all type 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 top 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 and so we want to keep the focus on this important topic.

the national basketball association turned 75 this season and over the years, the sports influence has moved well beyond the united states has become widely popular in places like china and across africa. the bbc sat down with the executive director of the union representing 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 of bringing people together through a shared love of the game. monica miller, bbc news, new york. he boldly went where no others had been before william shatner, who played captain kirk in star trek

will finally get his chance to go into space. he will become the oldest person to enter that final frontier. sophie long has more. 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. # 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 it for the show, 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 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 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'll reactivate across the farther north of scotland. this is where we'll see outbreaks of rain through the night 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 cause 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 milderair 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 into 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 the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. hello. how do you interest the public in public interestjournalism? how do you get a bigger splash? that is the theme of today's programme. the largest leak of offshore data in history has seen newspapers around the world co—ordinate to unleash the pandora papers. their findings have revealed the hidden wealth and tax avoidance of some of the world's richest and most powerful people. over in the states, a facebook whistle—blower and an expose into a media company have also got journalists very excited. but how can the public be persuaded to pay attention to stories like these? what tips something from worth reporting to game—changing?

let me introduce you to my guests.