tonight at 10:00pm, the uk becomes the first country to approve a covid vaccine that fights both the original strain and the omicron variant. britain's medicines regulator says it's an additional tool against the disease, and ministers are hailing the extra protection it should provide. this 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'll be looking at what difference the new vaccine could make to the autumn booster roll—out. also on the programme... sir keir starmer says labour wants to freeze the current cap on energy prices in his most comprehensive plan yet for tackling the cost of living crisis. we've got a fully costed plan that

says we will keep those prices down. we will not allow these rises to happen, and we are going to have a windfall tax on the oil and gas companies. a year after the taliban returned to power in afghanistan, we report on the people struggling to survive following years of drought. eilish mccolgan takes silver to go with commonwealth gold. runner-up four eilish mccolgan _ with commonwealth gold. runner-up four eilish mccolgan at _ with commonwealth gold. runner-up four eilish mccolgan at the _ with commonwealth gold. runner-up four eilish mccolgan at the european | four eilish mccolgan at the european chip 10,000 metres in munich. and coming up on the bbc news channel... can liverpool get their first win of the season, or will it be crystal palace who claim the points at anfield? good evening. the uk has become the first country

to approve a vaccine which tackles both the original covid virus and the newer 0micron variant. its manufacturers moderna are calling it a next—generation vaccine. ministers say it will now form part of the autumn booster programme. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh is here with more details. this is the start of a new era in covid vaccines. all the covid vaccines so far have been designed against the original form of the virus which emerged in wuhan 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's because coronavirus has mutated substantially with several new variants that can dodge some of our immune defences. moderna's new vaccine targets the wuhan strain and the now—dominant 0micron variant — so it's a dual or bivalentjab.

in trials it produced higher antibody responses among volunteers than the current vaccine with mostly mild side effects. so, this new bivalent vaccine will aim to prevent against infection of omicron. 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." an autumn covid booster campaign starts next month. those eligible include anyone aged 50 and over, health and social care staff, people over five who are at greater risk of covid, 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 its new vaccine to the uk before the end of the year, so that means around half of these groups may get it. it's not licensed for under 18s. vaccine experts say the key message is to get immunised. the difference between having a booster vaccine and not having a booster vaccine is much larger and much more important than any difference between vaccine types. in other words, if you're offered a vaccine, please take up the offer and be vaccinated, because that is the important message, not which type of vaccine you've been offered. pfizer also has a bivalent covid vaccine which could get approved in the near future so that means more people would get these next generationjabs. and don't forget flu — it could be as big a threat as covid this winter so getting a flu jab is also important.

fergus walsh, thank you. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has been outlining his party's latest and most comprehensive response to the cost of living crisis. it will be up to the government to decide how to respond to the spiralling bills, but his plans add to the mounting pressure on ministers. labour's plan would freeze the energy cap in britain at the current level ofjust under £2,000 for most customers for the next six months. the cap limits the maximum amount suppliers can charge for gas and electricity. labour says the plan would cost £29 billion — a substantial sum which it says it's fully costed. to pay for it, the party wants to increase taxes on energy company profits and also 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 our political correspondent alex forsyth reports 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 prices shooting up. sisters karen and debbie have worked at this family flower shop in exeterfor 22 years. they're determined to stay positive, but they are concerned. i think you do worry, you do worry. but i think, just go with it and 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 an 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! good morning. how are you? 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 can take towards 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, its 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 reality, to make things seem a little brighter. alex forsyth, bbc news, exeter. well, how do labour's proposals compare with the conservatives�* 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 hopefuls, let's remind ourselves of the problem they are all facing. the energy price cap for the average household is currently atjust under £2000 a year — but it's forceast to exceed £3500 in october and climb to over £4200 a year injanuary. terrifying numbers. the labour plan would freeze the price cap at the current level for six months. that would cost £29 billion

for that six—month period, paid for by an extra £8 billion in taxes on the oil and gas companies, whose profits are soaring. and diverting £14 billion of the money the conservative candidates have already pledged to spend on the problem. and by cutting bills they think you reduce inflation, saving the government an estimated £7 billion on its inflation—linked borrowing. some have questioned whether that would really work as the plan is for only six months. but, of course, labour aren't in power. let's look at the proposals of the candidates to be the next prime minister. rishi sunak is promising to increase the support he announced in may to reflect that prices have risen since then. remember, as chancellor he promised a £400 energy rebate in october, which all bill payers get. he's now saying he will increase the £1200 support he announced for the lowest income households. he also said he will cut

vat on energy bills. the total cost, according to economists — as musch as £12 billion. paid for by some efficiency savings but also 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 previously 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 — at a cost of £7 billion. there's less detail with the truss plan, and therefore its hard to give an overall price tag. tax cuts do little for the most vulnerable, but labour's plans

to freeze all bills, for the better off and worse 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. reeta. simonjack, simon jack, thank you. the 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 the 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... 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 footballer to young women. it's said by the prosecution 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's little dispute about whether or not sex took place and that this is a case which rests on consent. they were told that the defendants say the women were willing and enthusiastic, but that the prosecution case is that there's 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 cray qc said... both men deny all the charges against them. the trial is expected to last for nearly four months. judith moritz, bbc news, chester. it's exactly a year, since the taliban dramatically and unexpectedly returned to power in afghanistan after the chaotic withdrawal of international forces. their return prompted

a desperate exodus — here, even a baby being handed 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 country are now facing an economic crisis, severe food shortages and the curtailing of what progress there had been for women and girls. 0ur 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 as human. and my feel is like humanity has died in this country. i asked taliban spokesman zabihullah mujahid when schools would be opened. translation: 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. translation: our leader 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? translation: 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 afghanistan — with more 21,000 refugees resettled here in the uk.

they've escaped an economy in crisis. according to the un, the afghan economy has contracted by 30% to 40%. and nearly 23 million afghans — over half the population — are facing food shortages. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet travelled to the poorest province, ghor, in the remote central highlands — a region populated by wheat farmers, to see what life is like now. this is chaghcha ran. it means "a place where people eat dry straw." the name given a half—century ago in memory of a punishing drought. it's still written into this life, this land. now, the people of the central highlands are again living and dying in drought. three years of it. "khushk" is what you hear. khushk means dry. look at the wheat.

the land is dry, the rivers are dry. there's not even snow on these stunning mountains. and look at the faces of these men. they've lived for decades with drought, with poverty. but nothing like they are seeing this year. and the world's crises have come to their door. climate change is to blame. the conflict in ukraine means fertiliser is scarce, prices high. translation: nothing is green. we can't farm. we don't have anything. we can't grow our wheat. khushk. khushk, it's dry. it's dry. we travelled with the british charity afghan aid. it's been working here for many years. they brought drought resistant wheat. it's not enough. this year is the most severe in most years, compared to every year that we have been working here. because of the drought, climate change.

if that continues, yes, there is a fear that we should not allow to go to that situation that people have died because of not having food. the greatest fear? famine. there's already been signs of it this year in this province. the day we visit the only malnutrition clinic, there are nearly 40 patients, only ten beds. this boy is 15 months old. his mother died giving birth. it is a bad situation. it is worse than yemen. it's worse than yemen? than yemen, yes. the main problem is the poor situation of the people. the authorities letting the cause of this kind of illness. poverty. the economy all but collapsed when the taliban took over. the west stopped aid to their government, froze their assets.

these are the men in charge here. the provincial cabinet. taliban governor ahmad shah din dost fought in the long war which ended last august. he tells me he was imprisoned, tortured by us forces. for him, this war isn't over. translation: the prison time hurt my pride. - i will keep fighting until i'm dead. i am not tired of fighting and i don't like peace. younger, educated members of his team seem to take a different tack as the taliban struggle to move from guns to government. translation: the most important thing is the condition of the people | and the worsening economic condition of afghanistan. the health crisis which is affecting afghanistan right now needs attention.

and doesn't need to involve politics. we have to save people's lives. in a midsummer harvest, thoughts already turn to winter. what if humanitarian aid dries up and the taliban don't do more for their people? a people who have renamed their provincial capital. not chaghcharan, eaters of dry straw, but firozkoh, for their unshakeable mountains. standing up to adversity but searching for help. lyse doucet, bbc news, firozkoh in ghor province. there are more updates, news and analysis looking at the year under taliban rule in afghanistan on bbc news online — that's bbc.co.uk/news — and by using the bbc news app. now a look at some other stories making the news today...

a new emergency warning system allowing text alerts to be sent direct to your mobile phone 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. 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 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?! oh, it's amazing, isn't it? on the somerset levels, bryony 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�*s 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, "oh, yeah, i was warned about it. maybe next time i need to do something about it." people across britain 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. kenya's deputy president, william ruto, has been declared the winner of last week's presidential election. he gotjust over 50% of the vote, narrowly beating his rival raila odinga. but scuffles broke outjust before

the results were announced — when some supporters of mr odinga appeared to be trying to block the head of the election commission from speaking. at the european championships this evening scotland's eilish mccolgan took the silver medal in the women's 10,000 metres to add to her commonwealth games gold. nesta mcgregor�*s in munich for us. what a finale today one of the athletics, the seats are empty right now but a few minutes ago the noise was deafening. no repeat of that triumph from just 12 days ago but ailish mccolgan gave it everything she had. a last—minute pep talk, maybe even a reminder to self of the prize that lies ahead. an expert at dictating the pace, early on it was ailish mccolgan who looked in the

drivers seat. we ailish mccolgan who looked in the drivers seat-— drivers seat. we are approaching half wa drivers seat. we are approaching halfway and _ drivers seat. we are approaching half way and ailish _ drivers seat. we are approaching half way and ailish mccolgan - drivers seat. we are approaching half way and ailish mccolgan is l half way and ailish mccolgan is leading. half way and ailish mccolgan is leadinr. ~ , ., ,, ., ., leading. with seven laps to go, yasmin chan _ leading. with seven laps to go, yasmin chan appeared - leading. with seven laps to go, yasmin chan appeared to - leading. with seven laps to go, yasmin chan appeared to find l leading. with seven laps to go, - yasmin chan appeared to find another gear. that is a big move. with the turkish athlete out of sight, the fight would be for silver. and this time, it was the 31—year—old scot who would put her foot on the gas. fix, who would put her foot on the gas. brave run from ailish mccolgan, taking the silver to go with commonwealth gold. it taking the silver to go with commonwealth gold. taking the silver to go with commonwealth old. ., , , ., commonwealth gold. it has been one ofthe commonwealth gold. it has been one of the craziest _ commonwealth gold. it has been one of the craziest weeks _ commonwealth gold. it has been one of the craziest weeks of _ commonwealth gold. it has been one of the craziest weeks of my _ commonwealth gold. it has been one of the craziest weeks of my life - commonwealth gold. it has been one of the craziest weeks of my life at - of the craziest weeks of my life at the commonwealth games, such a big high, emotions, and not a lot of sleep _ high, emotions, and not a lot of sleep i— high, emotions, and not a lot of sleep. i find high, emotions, and not a lot of sleep. ifind it high, emotions, and not a lot of sleep. i find it tough to get myself up sleep. i find it tough to get myself up again— sleep. i find it tough to get myself up again today. but i cannot complain, i did a lot of work tonight— complain, i did a lot of work tonight and came away with the silver— tonight and came away with the silver medal.— tonight and came away with the silver medal. , ., . ., , ., silver medal. there is a crash that has brought _ silver medal. there is a crash that has brought down _ silver medal. there is a crash that has brought down about _ silver medal. there is a crash that has brought down about half - silver medal. there is a crash that has brought down about half a - silver medal. there is a crash that i has brought down about half a dozen riders _ has brought down about half a dozen riders in _ has brought down about half a dozen riders. ., ., ., riders. in the final of the omnium, this collision _ riders. in the final of the omnium, this collision led _ riders. in the final of the omnium, this collision led to _ riders. in the final of the omnium, this collision led to a _ riders. in the final of the omnium, this collision led to a delay - riders. in the final of the omnium, this collision led to a delay and - this collision led to a delay and some riders on the track would need attention. thankfully, on hand, the world's best engineers and some good

old gaffer tape. not the smoothest patch up... as the popular saying goes, it is a marathon, not a sprint. well, what if it is both? after 26 gruelling miles, germany's richard ringer produced one of the best moments in munich so far. nesta mcgregor, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here is tomasz schafernaker. the heatwave has broken and many of us will be delighted that there are further showers on the way. we had some today but this week with the much needed rain comes a price. we could have further flash flooding around. let's look at the big picture, this dip in thejet stream has formed a low pressure close to the uk, partly responsible for breaking the heatwave in this westerlyjet breaking the heatwave in this westerly jet wave pushes breaking the heatwave in this westerlyjet wave pushes in a weather front towards the british isles and pressure conditions towards the end of the week. it is

still quite warm across some parts. here is a rainfall accumulation over the next 48 hours. where you see blue is where we expect rainfall but with the computer tends to do is smooth out the areas for some of the parts of the country and you can see patterns of rainfall and the lightest blue really is not much rainfall at all, dribs and drabs, and some areas may not get any rainfall at all. if you mist the rainstorms over the next couple of days. here is a forecast for tonight, damp weather across central and eastern parts of scotland. dry and eastern parts of scotland. dry and many other areas but in the south—west a possibility of heavy showers through the early hours. still quite warm in the morning and buggy. still quite warm in the morning and buggy, 18 in london, 17 for norwich and 12 or the western isles. tomorrow, damp across scotland, central and eastern areas but then it dries out through the afternoon and across england and wales we are predicting those heavy showers and those downpours. this storms tend to

p0p those downpours. this storms tend to pop off like popcorn, difficult to predict