welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: a dire warning about the near—critical situation in ukraine's zaporizhzhia nuclear plant under russian control as they train for a crisis that some fear could be more serious than the chernobyl disaster. translation: it is impossible to ensure the _ translation: it is impossible to ensure the safety _ translation: it is impossible to ensure the safety of - translation: it is impossible to ensure the safety of the - to ensure the safety of the powerplant by the russian occupying forces out there. this is the key concern that we all need to clearly understand. a powerful blast at a kabul mosque during evening prayers. amid reports of multiple casualties, we'll have the latest from the afghan capital. a desperate scramble for safety as firefighters in spain battle

wildfires, which have seen thousands of homes evacuated. rolling out the rocket that could pave the way for astronauts to return to the moon. after one venue cancels his latest production over comments on trans rights and the #metoo movement, monty python's terry gilliam says british theatre needs to be more courageous. i think the whole artistic community has to be brave. that is what art is about — it is pushing the limits. is what art is about - it is pushing the limits.- is what art is about - it is pushing the limits. live from our studio — pushing the limits. live from our studio in _ pushing the limits. live from our studio in singapore, - pushing the limits. live from our studio in singapore, this| our studio in singapore, this is a — our studio in singapore, this is a bbc_ our studio in singapore, this is a bbc news. it is newsday. hello, and welcome to the programme. officials in ukraine are warning that the situation at the russian—occupied zaporizhzhia nuclear power station is approaching critical.

emergency workers in the nearby city of zaporizhzhia have been staging drills to practise cleaning operations in the event of radioactive contamination. russia took control of the nuclear plant — the biggest in europe — in early march, and there's been recent heavy shelling at and around the site, with both sides blaming each other for the attacks. our correspondent james waterhouse reports from the nearby city of zaporizhzhia where residents are on edge. ukraine's vast, rich landscape, full of produce, industry, but still under threat. we are being taken to see preparations for a worst—case scenario. if you want to get anywhere quickly these days, this is how you do it. we are travelling very low to stay out of range of russian missiles and aircraft. you get a real sense ofjust

how vast this country is. in zaporizhzhia, they are training for a crisis which some fear could be more serious than the chernobyl nuclear disaster, the worst ever. the region's power plant further south has been under russian control since early march and officials say the situation is approaching critical. it's changed dramatically, and of course we are concerned. that's why we are here, that's why we created this group, that's why we are involved in everyday communication with this. translation: it's impossible to ensure the safety _ of the nuclear power plant while the russian occupying forces are there. this is the key concern that we all need to clearly understand. there are growing concerns that russia has been using it as a military base. the city of enerhodar where the plant is has seen recent heavy shelling, both ukraine and russia blame each other. elena has just escaped from there with her children and just wanted to get out.

translation: there has been many more explosions - and it became much more dangerous to stay there. i didn't want to leave home, but when it became unbearable i had no other choice. the nato alliance is the latest voice to call for international inspectors to be let into the plant. with ukraine unable to force the russians out, it's instead preparing for the worst, if it happens. james waterhouse, bbc news, in zaporizhzhia. a huge explosion has ripped through a mosque in the centre of the afghan capital, kabul. the blast is thought to have occurred during evening prayers, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more. reports suggest the imam of the mosque is among those who died. the wounded are said to include a seven—year—old child. it's not yet clear who was behind the attack, which comes a week after the death of a prominent taliban cleric in a suicide bombing. our chief international

correspondent lyse doucet is in kabul, and gave us this update. what we know is that there is a powerful bomb ripped through a fairly crowded mosque after night fell in that evening prayer at times when the mosque will be crowded. and this mosque was notjust full of adults but many children attending religious prayers. a religious student said he was just outside the mosque when the explosion happened and saw many dead and injured bodies sprawled inside the mosque. and what we know from the main hospital here, emergency run by an italian ngo which is often the hospital which treats the victims of violence, it has received dozens of casualties, including several children. i'm not going to be specific on that because we expect those

figures, tragically, to get ever higher as the hours go by. it is just two days since the taliban celebrated. we saw and heard the celebrations here in the capital of kabul, celebrating what they call their independence day, crowing about their defeat of the us military as well as other powerful nato armies, saying they had finally brought peace and security to this land. but with every day for afghans, while they do occasionally savour these moments of calm where they can drive on roads which previously were impossible because of taliban attacks, because of the us—led military campaign, they're now asking and legitimately so, whether what happened on september 15, 2021 was simply the end of another chapter of war and it ushered in yet another. we do not know for sure whether it was islamic state, but it follows the pattern

of their killing. their signature used to be devastating attacks against the shia community, but in the past few months, they appear to have targeted three prominent religious figures in one month alone. let's turn to the us now, where liz cheney, one of donald trump's fiercest critics in his own republican party, has said she is thinking about running for president. her comments come within hours of a resounding defeat at the hands of one of donald trump's supporters. cheney, whose father dick cheney is a former us vice president, has represented the state of wyoming since 2017, but she's effectively been de—selected after losing a primary election. within a few hours of that result, cheney appeared on nbc�*s today show, and was asked whether she was thinking of running for president. she didn't give a direct answer at first, but after being pressed on it, here's what she said.

it isa it is a decision i am going to make in the coming months and it is something that i am thinking about and i will make a decision in the coming months. our north america correspondent john sudworth is in wyoming, and was asked what he thinks liz cheney's chances are if she does decide to go for president. well, that's a really tricky question to answer. i think on the face of it, it is very difficult to see how she can easily forge a path to presidency given that this defeat as you say shows that she has effectively lost the support of the republican rank and file. wyoming is this deeply red, rural heartland of republicanism — what better symbol of this rugged state and the spectacular mountains behind me. but republicanism is shifting and this was a battle for the soul of the party

and she has lost it. her hope that she made very clear in the concession speech is this is the beginning of something else. doubling down on this project to take on donald trump and the full—frontal assault on his future prospects of presidency. she will do everything in her power to make sure he never gets anywhere near the oval office again, and some are saying that if she does run, it is likely to be as an independent for all of those reasons and for what we have seen here, and that the real aim, although she would never say that is to attempt to win the white house for herself and a break on donald trump's prospects. a split of the vote. if she can get 30% of the republican electorate,

even if they cannot say it publicly about donald trump having another go, she can split the vote, maybe she can stop him. while donald trump and his supporters will be pleased with the victory in wyoming, there have been further developments in the investigations surrounding the attempts to overturn the 2020 election that could mean the celebrations are quite muted in mar—a—lago. donald trump's former lawyer, rudy giuliani, appeared on wednesday before a special grand jury in georgia. state prosecutors have told him he's a target of the probe, consider it. times this morning.

i was serving in as vice president. it would be unprecedented in history for a vice president to be summoned to testify on capitol hill, but as i said i don't want to prejudge. so if ever any formal invitation was rendered to us, we'd give it due consideration, but my first obligation is to continue to uphold my oath. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the latest trial of the singer r kelly has opened at a federal court in chicago. the 55—year—old is accused of sexually abusing five underage girls in the late 1990s, as well as of bribing and threatening witnesses during a 2008 case which saw him acquitted. r kelly, who's already serving 30 years in prison for a string of other offences,

denies wrongdoing. at least 26 people have died in forest fires in algeria. it brings the total number of people killed in wildfires this summer up to 30. more than 100 fires have broken out in the country since the start of the month, destroying more than 2,500 hectares of woodland. chinese authorities are attempting to induce rainfall in parts of china amid a severe drought and record—breaking heatwave. the two—month—long heatwave is the longest on record, and has left the yangtze river — asia's longest waterway — at historically low levels. provinces around the river have turned to cloud seeding operations to combat the lack of rain. a former member of the tokyo 2020 olympics organising committee has been arrested on suspicion of corruption. haruyuki takahashi is accused of taking payments totalling

315,000 pounds — or $380,000 — from a high street business—suit retailer, which was an official partner of the games. they were meant to be "thank—you" payments for beneficial treatment he gave to the company. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we'll tell you about nasa's latest rocket that could pave the way for astronauts to return to the moon. washington, the world's most political city, is today assessing the political health of the world's most powerful man. indeed i did have a relationship with ms lewinsky that was not appropriate. in fact, it was wrong. in south africa, 97 people have been killed today, in one of the worst days of violence between rival black groups. over the last 10 days, 500 have died. crowd chant: czechoslovakia must be free! _ man: czechoslovakia must be free! - crowd chant: czechoslovakia must be free! _

russia is observing a national day of mourning for the 118 submariners who died on board the kursk. we are all with them now, within our hearts. the pope has celebrated mass before a congregation of more than 2.5 million people in his hometown of krakow. "stay with us, stay with us," - chanted this ocean of humanity. "well, well," joked the pope. "so, you want mej to desert rome?" this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines: a dire warning about the near—critical situation in ukraine's zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, under russian control, as they train for a crisis that some fear could be more serious than the chernobyl disaster. a powerful blast rocks a mosque in kabul

during evening prayers — reports say at least three people have died. firefighters battle fires in spain. in firefighters battle fires in sain. ., firefighters battle fires in sain, ., , ., . firefighters battle fires in sain. ., . ., firefighters battle fires in sain. ., ., ., spain. in one instance a train service running _ spain. in one instance a train service running between - service running between valencia narrowly avoided being caught in fire. people scrambling for the life, the bite of mother nature combined with the impact of climate change, presenting a terrifying threat to communities facing the flames. as the fire spread north—west of valencia, ten passengers were hurt, three seriously when they tried to escape a train caught up in a sweeping fire. this thermal

image showing flames and crouching onto the tracks. translation:— crouching onto the tracks. translation: ~ , .., crouching onto the tracks. translation: ~ , .. ., translation: when they came out ofthe translation: when they came out of the tunnel. _ translation: when they came out of the tunnel, they _ translation: when they came out of the tunnel, they found _ translation: when they came out of the tunnel, they found the - of the tunnel, they found the fire was coming in front of them so the driver stopped the trade. the injured were in bad conditions. the passengers were scared. we gave them water and did everything we could for them. ~ ., . did everything we could for them. a, ., i: i: i: did everything we could for them. ., i: i: i: , .,, them. more than 2000 people have been _ them. more than 2000 people have been evacuated - them. more than 2000 people have been evacuated from - them. more than 2000 people have been evacuated from the | have been evacuated from the region. firefighters here as much as 6000 hectares of land has been ravaged by the fire. another blaze started by lightning late on saturday near valencia has devastated an area twice as large. in neighbouring portugal, and aerial operation to a close of fire that has bowed for over a week. more than 25,000 is left smouldering, reminder of the power of the flames. while this buyout may be out, the fire season still has several months to go. gareth barlow, bbc news.

that was the picture in spain. germany meanwhile has been baking in searing temperatures recently, and that has drained the water levels of the rhine. the lower water level means fewer boats can navigate germany's biggest river and that's pushed freight costs through the roof. wendy urquhart reports. the rhine stretches from the swiss alps to the north sea and it is a major freight route, with hundreds of tonnes of goods being shipped down the river every day, but the lack of rain this summer means that water levels have plunged to depths not seen since the drought of 2018, making it extremely hazardous for captains to navigate the river, without damaging the boats, and many have already got stuck on the riverbed. shipping companies have reduced their loads by up to 70% to make sure they can reach their destination, but they've also had to contend with a hike in freight charges, from 20 euros a tonne to 110 euros a tonne, sincejune. germany was planning to use coal this winter as a substitute for the lack

of russian gas supplies. and it's being shipped down the rhine to the local coal plants. translation: before the war, one in ten barges were carrying coal. now, it's one and five, so there has been a big jump in coal transport. the problem is the longer the drought lasts, the more likely it is that there will be a severe shortage of coal in the winter months, because right now, the boats just cannot carry enough to meet demand. wendy urquhart, bbc news. let's ta ke let's take a look at some of the stories making headlines in the stories making headlines in the uk, starting with the rate of inflation which has hit double figures since the first time that — for the first time

in a0 years. it was running at 10.1% in the year tojuly — which was much higher than expected. analysts say the soaring cost of food, high energy costs and the war in ukraine are to blame. heavy rain battered london and the south east of england on wednesday, flooding several parts of the city. the met office issued an amber warning for thunderstorms as downpours caused chaos on roads in the capital and on the m25. emma raducanu is on good form. she's already beaten tennis legend, serena williams at the wta event in cincinnati. on wednesday she saw off the former world number one, victoria azarenka, in straight sets, which sets her up nicely for the us open later this month. terry gilliam has told the bbc that theatres have got to be braver. in his first book because interview since the cancellation of his production at the old vic, he wants we are living at a time when thoughts are dangerous. this comes after some old vic stuff was said to be unhappy about his remarks

about trains rights and the #metoo movement. —— trans. the show goes on at bath's theatre royal. # into the woods to grandmother's house, # into the woods to grandmother's house...# a production axed by the old vic reportedly because some of the london theatre staff were upset by comments director terry gilliam had previously made about the metoo movement, race, and trans rights. i think theatres have got to be braver. i think the whole artistic community has to be brave. that's what art is about, it's pushing the limits. and when you start censoring, closing down, making a safe little world to go to the theatre is boring, folks. and its death to a healthy civilisation. cinderella had planted a branch at the grave of her mother. into the woods feels like a good fit for the intensely

imaginative former python. # why, then, am i left behind? # mother, is there something more that i should do?# gilliam and his fellow director are promising surprises in their production of stephen sondheim's classic musical, which subverts some of our best—known fairy tales. # silver and gold throw down on me.# so on one level, you get the stories of cinderella, jack and the beanstalk, you get rapunzel and her tower, you get the princes, you get all sorts of wonderful, delightful things, but then you get the flip side of the story, which is the genius of sondheim. you get what happens after the happy ending. what do you think he would have made of your production? i think he would like it. he's very ironic, sardonic, he's asking for trouble half the time. takes one to know one. this octogenarian stands by the comments he made that apparently offended some old vic stuff, though he points out he is often making jokes. comedians have a responsibility to speak recklessly.

the last straw, it's been claimed, was when gilliam encouraged his facebook followers to watch the comedian dave chappelle's netflix show, criticised by many as transphobic. i'm very worried that people are frightened to think freely and to express their thoughts. that's what i am frightened by. trans people say they don't have a voice. i'm wishing them good luck, good luck, be whatever you want, but remember to learn to take a joke. i'm not attacking anybody. the controversy around this production is yet another example of the debate raging about where the lines are drawn when it comes to free speech. for terry gilliam, art is about pushing boundaries, but too far for the old vic, which says it wishes the show well for its future. katie razzall, bbc news, bath. i want to tell you now about a 16—year—old elephant in

pakistan. suffering from dental pain, he has been treated and after an operation she is back on the road to recovery. before we go, the us space agency, nasa, is preparing to launch a new rocket to the moon. ahead of its first flight currently schedule for august 29. if the mission is successful it could pave the way for astronauts heading back to the moon. inch by inch, slowly and carefully, nasa's new rocket embarks on the first stage of what's going to be a long journey. it's heading towards the launch pad at cape canaveral in florida and getting into position, ready for its maiden flight to the moon, the start of the artemis mission. the rocket

is carrying a capsule which will go into lunar orbit, circling the moon before it returns to earth. it's a test flight, so there won't be any people inside, but if this works, the next step is to get astronauts on board. jessica meir has already been into space. now she's part of the artemis team and could be selected for a future trip, because nasa's ultimate aim is to see the first woman and first person of colour walk on the lunar surface. i think it's still difficult for me to believe that it might be reality, thinking that i could possibly be one of these people to be walking on the moon, to be in orbit around the moon, to be looking back at the earth from that incredible distance. boy, is this fun! charlie duke is one of only 12 astronauts who have experienced this for themselves during the apollo missions. you were looking out the window a lot, " look at that rock over there."

it is 50 years since he set foot on the moon and he didn't think it would take so long to go back. this test flight will pave the way for a landing scheduled in 2025. he's upbeat about its chances of success. i'm excited about artemis and as we build up the capability, they have picked the south pole, near the south pole, for the landing, because that's probably — if there's any ice on the moon it will be down in that region. so, that's going to be difficult because it's really rough down there, but we'll pull it off. nasa's rocket is aiming for lunar lift off in less than two weeks, but this is just the beginning. rebecca morelle, bbc news. it makes me think of that sum, fly me to the moon. doesn't it make you think of that? you can

reach me on twitter. i would love to hear your thoughts about the programme and some of the stories you enjoyed. thank you for being on bbc news. hello there. over the past couple of days we have seen some torrential downpours across parts of england and wales. localised flooding in places. but those heavy thundery showers have now eased away, and it looks like, over the next few days, we will see a little rain at times, we will see a little bit of rain at times, mainly in the north and west, with increasing amounts of sunshine, particularly in the south and the east. low pressure pushing in off the atlantic will bring more of a breeze during thursday, and this weather front will bring a band of cloud and rain, which will slowly spread from west to east across the country. so, initially we start off with quite a bit of cloud around. one or two heavy showers in the south—east there, but increasing amounts of sunshine for central, southern and eastern areas into the afternoon. this weather front will bring patchy rain across scotland, northern ireland

and then into western parts of england and wales. behind it, some heavy showers for scotland, and northern ireland, into the afternoon. further south and east, it'll tend to stay drier, with temperatures reaching 25 degrees, the high teens further north and west, and it will be quite breezy, too. that weather front continues to cross england and wales during thursday night. a bit of a hang back for east anglia and the south—east. elsewhere, clearer skies, the odd shower. temperatures a little bit cooler in the north and the west, but quite warm and quite mild in the south and the east. that weather front eventually clears away from the south—east on friday. we've got low pressure to the north of the uk, fairly brisk westerly winds, and it's going to be one of sunshine and blustery showers. so we lose that cloud and rain in the south—east on friday morning. plenty of sunshine in central, southern and eastern england, but scotland, northern ireland, perhaps north—west england, west wales, will see a mixture of sunny spells, scattered blustery showers, the odd heavy one at times. temperatures will range from around the high teens, up to 20 degrees in the north, 20—25 celsius further south and east. temperatures around the seasonal norm. on saturday, low pressure sits to the north of the uk, so its northern and western

areas which will see most of the showers. some of them could be quite heavy. some sunshine in between. a greater chance of staying dry across southern and eastern england. again, highs 25 degrees, mid—to—high teens further north. as you move out of saturday, into sunday, that area of low pressure clears away, but we look to the west to another one, pushing in across the uk. it'll arrive later in the day, so, actually, much of the country will have a dry sunday before it turns more wetter and windier. initially across western areas, then gradually spreading into eastern areas during sunday night and into monday.

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. tigers are making a remarkable comeback here in nepal. their numbers are more than doubling in the last ten years.— in the last ten years. tigers are majestic _ in the last ten years. tigers are majestic creatures. -

in the last ten years. tigers i are majestic creatures. being assigned is an honour. it is a privilege.