today at six britain is the first country to approve a covid vaccine that tackles both the original strain and the omicron variant. the uk's medicines regulator says it's an additional tool against the disease. the manufacturers, moderna, are calling it a "next—generation" vaccine. it is very good news for the uk population, the uk is the first place in the world to license this new medicine, and it means that people get access to a broader immunity than would otherwise have been the case. we

immunity than would otherwise have been the case-— been the case. we will be looking at what difference _ been the case. we will be looking at what difference it _ been the case. we will be looking at what difference it can _ been the case. we will be looking at what difference it can make - been the case. we will be looking at what difference it can make to - been the case. we will be looking at what difference it can make to the i what difference it can make to the autumn booster programme. also on the programme... labour's most comprehensive plan yet for dealing with the cost—of—living crisis — keir starmer wants to freeze the current cap on energy prices. we have got a fully costed plan that says we _ we have got a fully costed plan that says we will keep those prices down, we will_ says we will keep those prices down, we will not _ says we will keep those prices down, we will not allow these razors to happen, — we will not allow these razors to happen, and we are going to have a new windfall tax on the oil and gas companies — the taliban are celebrating the first anniversary of their return to power in afghanistan, but not everybody is cheering, especially women and girls. the taliban are running a country that's facing a severe economic and humanitarian crisis. but perhaps the most significant change that the taliban have made is that they've barred girls from going to secondary schools in most of afghanistan. as flash floods hit cornwall today, the text alerts that will give you a direct warning about severe weather and other life—threatening events.

and coming up on the bbc news channel: great britain have won their first medals in the track cycling at the european championships in munich, with the bronze in the men's team pursuit getting the team on the board. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. britain has become the first country to approve what its manufacturers are calling a "next—generation" covid vaccine. the uk's medicines regulator has approved a new version of moderna's coronavirus vaccine — the first to target both the omicron variant, as well as the original strain of the virus. ministers say the vaccine will now form part of the autumn booster campaign. our medical editor fergus walsh is here with more details. this is the start of a new era in covid vaccines. until now, they have all been designed against the

originalform of the all been designed against the original form of the virus which emerged in wuhan in china at the end of 2019. they still give strong protection against severe illness, but they are not very good at preventing you getting a milder covid infection, that is because covid—19 has mutated substantially, with several new variants that can dodge some of our immune defences. moderna's new vaccine targets the wuhan strain and are now dominant 0micron variant, so it is a jewel or bivalentjab. in trials, it produced higher antibody responses among volunteers, with mostly mild side—effects. so this new bivalent vaccine will aim to prevent against infection of 0micron. however, for those who contract the infection, that they are less likely to get serious outcomes of their health, such as hospitalisations or confinements in the intensive care unit, or even deaths.

what is unclear at this stage isjust how much more protection the new moderna vaccine will give. the medicines regulator said the vaccine would give us a "sharpened tool in our armoury". next month, many people will be eligible for an autumn booster. they include... people aged 50 and overhealth and social care staff. people over five who are at greater risk of covid, including pregnant including pregnant women. and carers over 16. that's about 26 million people in total. moderna says it will deliver at least 13 million doses of the new vaccine before the end of the year, so that means around half of these groups may get it. it's not licensed for under—18s. experts say the key message is to get immunised. the experts say the key message is to get immunised.— get immunised. the difference between having _ get immunised. the difference between having a _ get immunised. the difference between having a booster - get immunised. the difference i between having a booster vaccine get immunised. the difference - between having a booster vaccine and not having _ between having a booster vaccine and not having a _ between having a booster vaccine and not having a booster vaccine is much larger _ not having a booster vaccine is much larger and _ not having a booster vaccine is much larger and much more important than

any difference between vaccine types — any difference between vaccine types in — any difference between vaccine types. in other words, any difference between vaccine types. in otherwords, if any difference between vaccine types. in other words, if you are offered — types. in other words, if you are offered a — types. in other words, if you are offered a vaccine, please take up the offer — offered a vaccine, please take up the offer and be vaccinated because that is— the offer and be vaccinated because that is the _ the offer and be vaccinated because that is the important message, not which _ that is the important message, not which type — that is the important message, not which type of vaccine you have been offered _ another vaccine that could be approved in the new future is by pfizer. and don't forget flu, it could be as big a threat as covid this winter, so getting a flu vaccine is also important. george. fergus, thanks very much. fresh from his summer holiday the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has been outlining labour's latest — and most comprehensive — response to the cost—of—living crisis. it remains to be seen whether any of it will be adopted by ministers, but there's little doubt it adds to the mounting pressure on the government. labour's plan would freeze the energy cap at the current level of £1,971 for most customers for the next six months. remember, the cap limits the maximum amount suppliers can charge for gas and electricity. labour says the plan

would cost £29 billion. that's a lot of money, so where would it come from? labour wants to increase taxes on energy company profits and scrap the government's £400 energy rebate for all households. we'll see how the plan compares to tory proposals in a moment, but first, here's our political correspondent, alex forsyth. this report from exeter on labour's plans. bracing for what's to come. some are gearing up for the economic storm predicted, plenty are already struggling with spiralling prices. sisters karen and debbie have worked at this family flower shop in exeterfor 22 years. they're determined to stay bright, but are concerned. i think you do worry, you do worry. but i thinkjust go with it and just see what happens, and i think you've just got to cope with it as you get to it and hope that you still stay floating at the end. i think personally, all the bills

have really gone quite sky—high. i think ours have gone up about double from what they were, which does have a bit of impact on you. and i think to the customer, they'll probably start to feel it a bit, maybe not buy so many bunches of flowers. but we hope not! visiting the city today, keir starmer set out his plan to help with the rising cost of living, saying if he was in government, he'd freeze energy prices for every household until april. it would cost billions, partly paid for by extending a tax on oil and gas companies. and he says it would help with inflation. we're answering the question, what will you do to hold those prices to make sure that people can get through the winter? we're also answering the question, what's a step you could take to reducing inflation? i'm really pleased that we've come up with this comprehensive, costed package. the ifs says the only way this will reduce inflation is if it's extended beyond six months. can you rule out extending this? i'm answering the question, what can we do this winter, in the face of massive increases? i mean, people are going to look at that and say, "i'm not going to be able to afford that."

his price—freeze plan was already policy of the snp and the lib dems, but some economists warn it comes with a big price tag for a six—month package that will help all households — notjust the poorest. well, the option, of course, is not to provide complete support to everybody, but to do something more like the government is currently doing, which is to provide a lot of support to those on the lowest incomes and some support, modest support, to everybody else, so that there will be a lot of households who lose under those plans, but it's much less expensive. why are you spending so much on helping wealthy households? why isn't this targeted? this is across the board... so a lot of rich people will get a lot of help? well, look, many, many millions of households are going to really struggle this year because these are massive hikes. and therefore, it's very important that we have something across the board. because it's across the board, it has this advantage of bringing down inflation as well. this is a lot of public money that will go to some of the wealthiest households. well, look, it's across the board, i accept that. this is his effort to answer his

critics, who say he's been slow off the mark to offer solutions, given how many families and businesses across the country are struggling. of course, labour isn't in power right now, it can't put this plan into place, but the reason the detail of what keir starmer and the two conservatives who want to be the next prime minister are promising really matters is because the cost of living is likely to be the defining issue of the next election. all the while, debbie and karen are waiting to see if any political promises turn into helpful reality. alex forsyth, bbc news, exeter. the government says it has already announced £37 billion of support for households and insists it is for the next prime minister to decide what further help will be offered. how do labour's proposals queen's —— compare with the considered fit plans? especially those put forward by rishi sunak and liz truss.

who are vying to become party leader and the next prime minister in a matter of weeks? our business editor simonjack is here with more details. before we see how the starmer energy plan stacks up against the two tory leadership candidates, let's remind ourselves of the problem they are all facing. the energy price cap for the average household is currently at just under £2,000 a year, but it's forceast to exceed £3,500 in october and climb to over £4,200 a year injanuary. terrifying numbers. the labour plan would freeze the price cap at current level for six months. that would cost £29 billion for that

six—month period, paid for by an extra eight billion in taxes on the oil and gas companies whose profits are soaring. diverting £14 billion of the money the conservative candidates have already pledged to spend on the problem. and by cutting bills, you reduce inflation, saving the government an estimated seven billion on its inflation linked borrowing — some have questioned whether that would really work as the plan is for only six months. rishi sunak is promising to increase the support he announced in may to reflect that prices have risen since then, so he would increase the planned £400 energy rebate in october which all bill payers get and increase the £1200 support he announced for the lowest income households. he also said he will cut vat on energy bills.

total cost — according to economists — £12 billion, paid for by what he concedes is a bit more borrowing. sounds a lot cheaper than labour but, remember, he's already committed £15 billion in direct support so the total is not wildly cheaper than the labour proposal. and finally, liz truss — who has tended to prioritise universal tax cuts over direct targeted support — which she has described as handouts. reversing the recent rise in national insurance would cost £17 billion. but she's also said would suspend the £150 green and social levies on annual bills — saving £7 billion, and argues that wealthy households should not get the £400 0ctober rebate announced by sunak when he was chancellor. there's less detail with the truss plan, and therefore it's hard to give

an overall price tag. tax cuts do little for the most vulnerable, but labour's plans freezes all bills which again benefits the better off. the thing they all have in common is they are expensive and short term when there is little reason to think this energy crisis is going away next year or the year after that. if they were to continue for a whole year, these plans could easily surpass the money spent on the covid furlough scheme. manchester city footballer benjamin mendy has gone on trial accused of eight counts of rape, one of attempted rape and one of sexual assault against seven young women. the jury at chester crown court heard the offences are alleged to have taken place at mr mendy�*s cheshire mansion between october 2018 and august 2021. the 28—year—old french international denies all charges. 0ur correspondent judith moritz reports. at the start of his trial today, benjamin mendy was described as a reasonably famous footballer. the court heard about his world cup victory with france in 2018. and about his success with manchester city, which the jury heard gave him wealth and status and a privileged and moneyed lifestyle. but the prosecution said this case has little to do with football. instead, tim craig qc said... "it's another chapter in a very old story. men who rape and sexually assault women because they think they are

powerful and because they think they can get away with it." the jury was told that this man, louis saha matturie, was a friend of benjamin mendy�*s and acted as his fixer, arranging parties and introducing the football to young women. it said a stream of women were brought to mr mendy�*s mansion in cheshire and there, many were raped and sexually assaulted. each man is accused of eight rape offences. they were described as predators — between them, attacking 13 women. the court heard that behind the gates of the mansion, the girls were rendered vulnerable, that they had their phones taken away and that some were attacked inside rooms with high security locks. but the jury was told that there is little dispute about whether or not sex took place and that this is a case which rests on consent. they were told that the defendant says the women were willing and enthusiastic, but that the prosecution case is that there is abundant evidence to the contrary. it was said that benjamin mendy and louis saha matturie turned the pursuit of women into a game,

repeatedly ignoring the fact they hadn't consented. tim craig qc said... "everyone should have that basic choice, that basic dignity, the right to say no to six and you don't lose that right because you've been to a bar or dressed for a night club or gone to a footballer�*s house and you are partying." both men deny all the charges against them. the trial is expected to last for nearly four months. number ten has described suggestions by iran that salman rushdie and his supporters can only blame themsleves for the attack which has left the author critically injured as "ludicrous". iran has also denied any links to the man who stabbed the 75—year—old at a book fair in new york state. 0ur north america correspondent, nomia iqbal, reports from pennsylvania, where mr rushdie remains in hospital. as salman rushdie continues to receive care inside the hospital, outside, the attack on him has become another fault line in the decades—long row between iran and the us. america's top diplomat, antony blinken, has hit out at tehran. it was in 1989 when the country's then spiritual leader issued a death

sentence on salman rushdie for his book, the satanic verses. in a statement, the us secretary of state denounced iran for inciting violence against the author for generations. mr blinken also accused the country's state media of gloating, calling it "despicable". after news emerged of the attack, many outlets called it "divine retribution". iran's government has now reacted, saying it categorically denies any link with the attack, adding that no—one has the right to accuse tehran of anything. translation: we don't see any other parties that should be _ blamed or condemned, other than him and his supporters. freedom of expression and such slogans cannotjustify insults against religious beliefs and fundamentals of islam and other divine religions. iran also says it knows nothing about the 24—year—old american

suspect arrested at the scene and later charged with attempting to murder mr rushdie. hadi matar has pleaded not guilty. there are allegations he was sympathetic to the iranian regime, but the suspect�*s motive has not been officially established. at the new york state institution, where mr rushdie was attacked, writers and artists say they're not deterred. they continue to gather in solidarity, as salman rushdie starts his long road to recovery. nomia iqbal, bbc news, pennsylvania. the time is 6:17. our top story this evening: the uk is the first country to approve a covid vaccine that tackles both the original strain and the omicron variant. it is made by moderna. and i am inside munich's olympic

stadium for the european championships. whether you call what is behind me is athletics track and field, it has started today, all the latest coming up. coming up in sportsday on the bbc news channel: james anderson says he's the happiest he's ever been in the england dressing room. the fast bowler prepares for his first test since turning 40, when they take on south africa this week. it's exactly a year since the taliban dramatically and unexpectedly returned to power in afghanistan after the chaotic withdrawal of international forces. in afghanistan after the chaotic their return prompted a desperate exodus — here, even a baby being handed over to a foreign soldier. many who tried to flee had worked alongside international forces and agencies. but the vast majority of people stayed in their homeland and are now facing an economic crisis, severe food shortages and the roll back of what progress there had been for women and girls. our correspondent yogita limaye,

reports from kabul. a song of defiance. "if they fight us again, we'll pray the world is destroyed." the taliban erupted in a spontaneous celebration. at kabul�*s main square, hundreds gathered to mark one year since they walked into this city and took over afghanistan. carrying american weapons, fighters and their commanders now trying to run a country. when you compare the taliban this time around to their rule during the 1990s, you perhaps don't hear of the level of brutality that was associated with that regime. but one big thing, among others, that challenges the more moderate image they are trying to portray is the restrictions they've imposed on women. the fact that they haven't allowed girls to go to secondary schools in most of afghanistan — the only country in

the world to do so. taliban men displaying their dominance. but women shut down for demanding their rights. two days ago, this group was stopped from marching in kabul. shots fired in the air. mobile phones seized. the protesters threatened. this woman took part in the march. we are hiding her identity to protect her. "we were so scared, we thought we would die. "but we'll continue protesting until there is even one "woman alive to fight", she told us. "they took away our rights and we want them back." five months ago, there had been a glimmer of hope. teenage girls were told they would be allowed to study again. in a cruel blow, they were sent back home within an hour. for nine years, this girl attended school under the shadow of war. i'm totally upset because of this

situation that i don't have the right to study. they don't consider us a human. and my feel is like humanity has died in this country. i asked taliban spokesman zabihullah mujahid when schools would be opened. we have problems in some places. we are trying our best to solve them and to bring things back to normal. what problems, though? because classes were always segregated for boys and girls even before the 15th of august. our lady scholars have issues with the safety of girls travelling to and from schools. we cannot only make decisions based on the situation in kabul. we also have to consider villages and districts where people don't want girls to go to school. so after one year in power, you are not able to commit a time at which all girls will be able to go to secondary schools? when we came to power,

there were a lot of problems. these things take time. the decisions on women have far reaching effects. international recognition and funding is tied to them. crucial in a country where a majority are going hungry each day. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. so how has afghanistan changed over the last year? it's estimated that 800,000 people have been made homeless within the country. hundreds of thousands have also left the country — with more 21,000 refugees resettled here in the uk. they've left an economy in crisis. the un security council reported the afghan economy had contracted by 30%—40%. and nearly 23 million afghans — nearly half the population — are not consuming enough food.

our correspondent yogita limaye is in kabulfor us. given what i've just said, the taliban don't seem to have a much of a story to tell anyone? {line taliban don't seem to have a much of a story to tell anyone?— a story to tell anyone? one thing we have heard when _ a story to tell anyone? one thing we have heard when we _ a story to tell anyone? one thing we have heard when we have _ a story to tell anyone? one thing we have heard when we have travelled i have heard when we have travelled across provinces in this country in the last year as people are relieved the last year as people are relieved the front lines have gone and the fighting has stopped. but even that feeling of safety is increasingly under question because in recent weeks and months, we have seen a rising number of attacks carried out by the regional affiliate of islamic state. but the most staggering problem that the taliban government faces is that of hunger and poverty. one province we went to, we saw that the number of miscarriages and the number of newborn deaths had almost doubled over the last year. doctors told us hunger and stress was the reason. almost everyone we spoke to said they were eating just one meal a day. three quarters of public spending in this country came from foreign funds which were given to

the afghan government. that stopped in august last year, and after that, we've seen that in this country, it has descended into economic collapse. people who were in salaried jobs are not able to get those salaries any more. even before the 15th of august, around half of the 15th of august, around half of the people were living under the poverty line and that has increased further now. poverty line and that has increased further now— there's more updates, news and analysis on the situation in afghanistan on bbc news online, that's bbc.co.uk/news, and by using the bbc news app. a new emergency warning system allowing text alerts to be sent direct to you mobile phone across the uk will go live in october. the home office says the technology will warn up to 85% of the population of severe weather, and other life—threatening events. the alerts — which will look like this, have recently been

tested in east suffolk — and there are plans for it to be rolled out across the uk. here's our home affairs correspondent tom symonds. the two extremes of our changing climate. fires this summer made it hard to remember the floods of autumn and winter. the government believes using social media to warn us of a risk to life is too hit or miss. so it has tested this new alert system. it looks like this and sounds like this. these warnings are different because they're sent directly to phone masts and from there to every smartphone capable of receiving them. an estimated 85% of the population. that's where the atmosphere is more conducive to forcing weather events to happen. touring the met office today, the resilience minister said we'll all be opted in from the start. yes, you can opt out. the problem with getting people to opt in is that that becomes a bit hit and miss itself. and so vital is this information, particularly, for example,

if there's a wildfire or if there's a flood risk coming, that we think it is — the case is made for us to make sure that everybody has the information. and then in future, if they don't want it, they can just opt out. can you believe it's raining?! it's amazing, isn't it? on the somerset levels, briony sadler�*s home was severely flooded in 2014. eight years later, the weather is just as unpredictable. what does she make of the new warning system? let me show you some idea of what it's going to be like. it looks like this and sounds like this. it's quite a formidable sound. it's not a nice text message sound, is it? she wasn't against the alerts, but in this area, she said people looked out for each other. it's all about community, isn't it? it's all about helping your neighbour, helping each other, you know, sorting yourself out and then giving a bit of time back to other people. of course, by the time an alert has been sent, it's too late to prevent a major emergency like flooding. but round here on the somerset levels, they would stress the need to spend money on preventative measures — like this pumping system

designed to put the water back into the river it came from. but back at the met office, they know warning about extreme conditions is increasingly important. i think we just keep the message going and i think eventually people will start to think maybe the second time, maybe the third time, maybe the fourth time, maybe they'll get trapped in a flash flood and go i was warned about it. maybe next time we need to do something about it. after an awareness campaign, people across the uk will get an introductory warning alert in october and the new system will go live just in time for this year's flood season. tom symonds, bbc news, somerset. at the european championships, scotland's eilish mccolgan goes for gold in the 10,000 metres this evening and there's been two medals up for grabs in the cycling in the last hour. nesta mcgregor�*s in munich for us. nesta... yes, good afternoon from munich. and its olympic stadium, first used in 1972 for the summer olympics. i tell

you what, i hope that i look this good at 50! what is happening here in a second? but firstly the medals, the track cycling is taking place. today was the men's and women's omnium. four races, eithera today was the men's and women's omnium. four races, either a test of speed or endurance but always grew system i would love to update on the medals but earlier we had a big crash in one of the races so things have been delayed but we will keep you up—to—date. backing as you mention, the session tonight ends with the women's10,000 metres. the eilish mccolgan in action and who could forget the scenes from the commonwealth games when she brought home gold. the race was amazing but it was the scenes afterwards as well. a lap of honour ending with an embrace with her mother, liz, who previously that title as well. we are not sure if liz is in town but if she wins gold tonight, they could be a repeat of those scenes. i know what you are screaming, what we really want to know is when is the

men's and women's 100 really want to know is when is the men's and women's100 metre final? that is tomorrow. it is so loud in here, i can barely hear myself think. my mum will tell you it's not always a bad thing! back to you. chuckles thank you very much. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker. heat waves to flash floods? absolutely, you certainly got the message and over the next few days, risk of bowel leek showers and thunderstorms. not everyone will get them and we don't want them to be too heavy and bring a lot of rainfall in a short space of time but that unfortunately is the nature of storms. i want to show you a fast animation of the rainfall patterns across the continent, at least the north—west over the next few days. weather system sweeping in but by the end of the week, it tends to stay dry but the winds are coming off the atlantic and that means fresher conditions for some it is the rainfall accumulation over the next few days. it looks like rather a lot of rain in some northern parts of the uk but if we zoom in, even though it does look like the

rainfall is widespread, the lighter colour of blue is not much rainfall at all, just a few millimetres. the computer tends to average out the rainfall over the year so there will be some spots that will not get much rainfall at all. and in a cityjust down the road, they could get a downpour. so hit and miss showers, thatis downpour. so hit and miss showers, that is the story. certainly some of them continuing through the course of this evening and overnight. this is slightly more persistent rain across parts of scotland, which eventually will die away tomorrow. still quite warm and muggy, about 17 from hull, 17 around east anglia, 18 in london. tomorrow, i think the showers will be breaking up more widely across parts of england. but again, the showers are only so wide, so big, so some areas may miss them all together. not a bad day tomorrow eventually for scotland and northern ireland with some brightness but quite fresh, 14 in aberdeen. 17 in glasgow and for belfast, still quite warm in east anglia and the south—east. the south of the country

could catch showers