this is bbc news. i'm rich preston with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. china warns of counter measures after the united states approves a $1 billion arms package to taiwan, saying it's to maintain its self—defence capabilities. fears of food shortages in pakistan: the government says up to half of the country's crops have been destroyed by floods. the scale of these floods is difficult to imagine. 80% of dadu district is already submerged. thousands rally in argentina to support vice president cristina fernandez de kirchner after she narrowly avoids assassination. the 84—year—old hollywood actress jane fonda has been diagnosed with cancer,

but says she won't be letting it interfere with her climate activism. # there's a starman waiting in the sky... and the hand—written lyrics to david bowie�*s 1972 hit starman go up for auction later this month. hello and welcome to the programme. china has warned it'll take counter measures unless the united states revokes a $1.1 billion arms deal with taiwan. it comes amid rising tensions between washington and beijing over the island. the deal includes anti—ship missiles, air—to—air missiles and support for taiwan's surveillance radar programme.

so, how will the spend be broken down? $1.1 billion has been promised by the us government. $355 million will be spent on harpoon air—to—sea missiles. $85 million is earmarked for — sidewinder air—to—air missiles. $665 million is for a surveillance radar system. earlier, i spoke to our north america correspondent peter bowes for more details on the deal. well, we know that this is a very big package of measures. $1.1 billion, so it includes anti—ship missiles, it includes air—to—air missiles and that major investment in taiwan's surveillance radar system — that's an early warning system for incoming missiles — and we've heard from the white house that this reflects washington's assessment of taiwan's defence needs under threat posed by china.

it's very clear this is a response that what has been happening over recent weeks and months — we've seen those chinese military exercise close to taiwan and then, to some extent, it came to a head about a month ago when nancy pelosi, a senior us politician, visited taiwan to express her own personal support for its independence, for its democracy, for the people of the island. she wasn't representing the biden administration — she's from a separate part of us government — and that was a strong point that was made by the us at the time. but nevertheless, china didn't like it and i think what's happening now is only going to raise tensions between beijing and washington. peter, you say china did not like it. unsurprisingly, in this instance, already an angry reaction from beijing? yes, a very swift reaction. we're hearing this from a spokesperson at the embassy here in the united states, saying that there will be

countermeasures if these this $1.1 billion package isn't revoked. now, there are no signs from washington that it is going to be revoked — indeed, there is widespread political support in washington. democrats and republicans all in favour of the us continuing to support taiwanese independence — and especially the democracy of that island. the spokesperson at the chinese embassy also saying it severely jeopardises relations between washington and beijing. let's go to south asia now. aid agencies are warning of food shortages in pakistan after the devastating floods washed away nearly half of the country's crops. around 1,200 people are known to have been killed, but unicef says many more children could die from the rapid spread of diseases such as cholera and malaria. our correspondent pumza fihlani is in pakistan. meet badul.

he's two days old, najma's sixth child. as he sleeps under a tree that's become this family's only shelter, his mother is anxious. this is no place for a baby. translation: we don't even have a tent, just this tree. . we spent the whole night in the rain, running away from the flood, trying to get to safety. when we arrived, this was the only space we could find here. it gets really hot and he starts crying and won't stop. it's very difficult. baby badul was born in a nearby hospital, but najima was forced to return to the river bank because she'd left a husband and five young children. hundreds of families have taken refuge along a flood wall. their homes were washed away by the floods. this was the only high ground for kilometres.

the scale of these floods is difficult to imagine. 80% of dadu district is already submerged. the families that you see around me came here hoping they'd be safe, but they now fear that things are about to get a lot worse. and with good reason — the water across this district is rising and 250,000 people are in harm's way. it's notjust najima who's worried about her young family. there are children in each tent we come across and scores of pregnant women. 0n the other side of the flood wall, i meet mariam. she is due to deliver any day. her village is buried under water 20 kilometres from here. when the floods came, all they were able to save from her old life were the clothes on their backs and four cows. translation: i've already got eight children. - look at where we live. i can barely take care of them.

sometimes, we don't eat for days. i'm worried notjust about my health, but about my unborn baby. i don't even have money to go to hospital. if i get sick here, i wouldn't know what to do. uncertainty surrounds the families marooned on this sliver of dry land. not even the next meal is promised. whatever little there is has many hungry mouths waiting and, as always, there isn't enough for everyone. pumza fihlani, bbc news, dadu. let's get some of the day's other news. the head of the international atomic energy agency says that military activity has violated the physical integrity of the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in ukraine several times. six members of an iaea team remain at the plant and have carried out a second day of inspections. the russian energy giant gazprom says its key gas pipeline to europe will remain closed indefinitely, due to an oil leak

in a turbine. the turbine maker, siemens energy, said this was not a technical reason to stop pumping gas. a sri lankan official says the former president gotabaya rajapaksa, who fled abroad after mass protests injuly, has returned to colombo. sri lankans blame his government for the island's economic crisis. nasa is preparing the second launch of its most powerful rocket in 50 years. technical problems and bad weather thwarted the artemis 1 moon mission lift—off on monday and engineers have spent the week reviewing data to find out what went wrong. hopes are high that saturday's take—off will be trouble—free and the 37—day mission to the moon can get underway. in south america, thousands of people, including politicians, cultural figures and human rights advocates have rallied in the centre of buenos aires in support of argentina's vice president cristina fernandez de

kirchner following thursday's attempt on her life. she escaped unharmed when a gun pointed at herfailed to go off. the gunman, who's been named as fernando andres sabag montiel, was arrested close to the scene. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson reports. this is the moment the gunman pointed a weapon just inches from the vice president's head. the trigger was pulled, but none of the five bullets inside the gun were fired for reasons that aren't yet clear. amid the commotion, ms kirchner ducked down to retrieve an object from the ground as people warned her to be careful. cristina fernandez de kirchner one of latin america's —— cristina fernandez de kirchner is one of latin america's most controversial politicians. she was the president between 2007 and 2015 and is currently facing a corruption trial after being accused of defrauding the state while leader. if convicted, she could face 12 years in jail. she denies the allegations and had been greeting

supporters who'd been keeping vigil outside her house when the gun attack took place. the home of the suspected gunman has been raided. he's been named by argentine police as 35—year—old fernando andres sabag montiel, a citizen of argentina and resident of buenos aires. it's believed he was born in brazil. political violence is rare in argentina. the country's president alberto fernandez held an emergency cabinet meeting and has said it's the most serious incident since argentina returned to democracy in 1983. translation: we can have deep disagreements but hate speech i cannot take place because it breeds violence. and there is no chance of violence co—existing with democracy. government ministers and opposition leaders have condemned the attack, as have leaders across the region. brazil's former president lulu da silva, who is running

in next month's presidential elections, said ms kirchner was a victim of a fascist criminal who doesn't know how to respect divergence and diversity. argentina's president has declared friday a national holiday to show solidarity with his deputy. katy watson, bbc news. it's been revealed in court documents that the fbi recovered more than 11,000 government documents and photographs during the search of donald trump's home in florida last month. the details come after president biden warned in a speech that donald trump and some of his supporters represent a real threat to american democracy. 0ur north america editor sarah smith reports. election season has begun in america, so fun times at this wayne county fair in pennsylvania come with a serving of politics on the side. oh, i'm voting republican. gotta get the democrats out. they had their chance and they haven't done anything, in my opinion. donald trump is not on the ballot in november but he still dominates the debate. oh, i'm definitely voting

for trump again, absolutely. this guy has got to go. chuckles. his whole party has gotta go. they scare the clap out of me. anybody but trump. anybody that he supports, i do not. so, republicans have lost their shot at getting your vote because donald trump's made himself front and centre here? yes, and i'm a republican. voters in pennsylvania had better buckle up. they're going to be getting a lot of attention from politicians in the coming weeks. this is one of the key states that will determine whether republicans can seize control of congress in the midterm elections, and it will be a real test of donald trump's current electability because he's got a number of hand—picked candidates on the ballot. my wife wants some vegetables for crudites. including the tv celebrity dr oz, who is running for the senate in pennsylvania. like many of trump's inept choices, he could lose a winnable seat with clumsy campaign messages, talking about crudites.

guys, that's $20 for crudites and this doesn't include the tequila. i mean, it's outrageous! and we've gotjoe biden to thank for this. in pa, we call this a "veggie tray". the democratic candidate john fetterman is having a lot of fun at dr 0z�*s expense, and it may cost the republicans a senate seat. president biden came to pennsylvania to launch his midterm campaign with a dramatic warning of the threat to the soul of the nation... but there's no question that the republican party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by donald trump and the maga republicans, and that is a threat to this country. ..unusually calling out donald trump by name and saying he is undermining democracy. they promote authoritarian leaders and they fan the flames of political violence. they are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit ofjustice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.

joe biden is telling the nation the coming elections are a choice between him and trump, between democracy and extremism. people who might have otherwise voted for a republican and were maybe even excited to send a message tojoe biden and the democrats, now they're looking at these republican candidates and saying, "ugh, i'm not sure i can vote for them, they're so extreme." at his mar—a—lago residence in florida, donald trump has other things to worry about. the classified documents found there by the fbi are a huge problem, but won't stop him hitting the campaign trail this weekend in pennsylvania. sarah smith, bbc news. this is bbc news, the headlines: china warns of �*counter—measures�* after the united states approves a $1 billion arms package to taiwan, saying it's to maintain its self defence capabilities. there are fears of food shortages in pakistan — the government says up to half of the country's crops have

been destroyed by the floods. the actress jane fonda has revealed she has been diagnosed with cancer and is having chemotherapy. the 84—year—old said she had a very treatable form of lymphoma, and would not let the illness interfere with her climate activism. the academy award winner has worked in films and television for more than six decades with me is our reporter, louisa pilbeam. what has jane fonda said to her fans? what has jane fonda said to her fans? ,, ., ., . , ., fans? she announced this on instagram. _ fans? she announced this on instagram, she _ fans? she announced this on instagram, she said - fans? she announced this on instagram, she said she - fans? she announced this on instagram, she said she has| instagram, she said she has non—hodgkin's lymphoma, which is a type of cancer that affects the immune system and oes is a type of cancer that affects the immune system and oes into is a type of cancer that affects the immune system and oes into the is a type of cancer that affects the immune system and goes into the lymph is a type of cancer that affects the immune system and goes into the lymph nodes. is a type of cancer that affects the immune system and goes into the lymph nodes. it is a type of cancer that she herself says is very treatable, in her instagram post she has said this is a very treatable cancer, 80% of people survive, "so i feel very lucky". she

also says "i am also lucky because i have access to health insurance and the best doctors and treatments". she has been having chemotherapy, she has come for six months, and seems to be very positive about this. jane fonda has used her profile in an various issues, and she is is using this as an opportunity to promote some of those issues. i opportunity to promote some of those issues.— those issues. i must say also that jane _ those issues. i must say also that jane fonda _ those issues. i must say also that jane fonda has - those issues. i must say also that jane fonda has actually | thatjane fonda has actually had run—ins with cancer before, she has had breast cancer and skin cancer before. but yes, she is using this, typically really, people see her as an actress, hollywood great who has a good heart, and she wants to help people so she been using this, she has a long history of being a climate change activist, and also social campaigns as well. so what she has said is that "we need to be talking more about the causes of cancer", she says that fossil fuels, which some

experts agree with, they cause cancer, she says, and she says that we need to be looking at that. 0bviously that is looking into climate change. she has worked with greenpeace before, and she is also using this in terms of social care, she says she is very lucky because she can afford the healthcare in the american system, but so many people don't have access to that care, and she says she has the best treatment but other people don't unfortunately.- other people don't unfortunately. other people don't unfortunatel . �* , ., unfortunately. as we mentioned, six decades _ unfortunately. as we mentioned, six decades she _ unfortunately. as we mentioned, six decades she has _ unfortunately. as we mentioned, six decades she has been - six decades she has been working in the industry, i am may ageing myself here but i remember herfrom herfitness remember her from her fitness videos remember herfrom herfitness videos in the 1980s. did remember her from her fitness videos in the 1980s.— remember her from her fitness videos in the 1980s. did you do some of them? _ videos in the 1980s. did you do some of them? laughs - videos in the 1980s. did you do some of them? laughs. - videos in the 1980s. did you do l some of them? laughs. remind videos in the 1980s. did you do - some of them? laughs. remind us a bit of her— some of them? laughs. remind us a bit of her background _ some of them? laughs. remind us a bit of her background and - some of them? laughs. remind us a bit of her background and her - a bit of her background and her cv. ~ a bit of her background and her cv. . ., ., a bit of her background and her cv. we are laughing because she is the kind _ cv. we are laughing because she is the kind of _ cv. we are laughing because she is the kind of hollywood - cv. we are laughing because she is the kind of hollywood great. is the kind of hollywood great that brings laughter and happiness to people. she is famous for those workout videos but when we were talking before we said she had this huge career in the 70s, where she

actually won two 0scars, she has a multitude of other awards, it goes on and on, the awards, it goes on and on, the awards she has one. she has one baftas, golden globes, it was really in the 70s where she won her 0scars really in the 70s where she won her oscars for the crime thriller clue, and for the romantic drama coming back home. then she had a dip in her career, and then she resurfaced in thejennifer lopez film in the jennifer lopez film monster in thejennifer lopez film monster in law in 2005, and then she has had this resurgent in her career, and is this name that we all know, maybe not the film she has been in but most people would know that name jane fonda and she is a hollywood heavyweight for sure. and that is why this news will really affect people because she is using it to raise awareness of not only cancer but social issues and climate change, and people will also feel for her of course as well. thank you. voting has closed in

the uk conservative party leadership race. after 2 months of campaigning, and 8 initial candidates whittled down to 2, we will find out on monday whether liz truss or rishi sunak has been chosen by party members to be the next leader — to succeed borisjohnson as prime minister. here's our political correspondent ben wright. after a long, rancorous campaign, it's now time to count the ballots. just 160,000 tory party members are picking their next leader, the next prime minister. and the challenges facing them are huge. they were spelt out today by the current chancellor. he's backing liz truss, the presumed frontrunner. there are no easy options. we have war on our continent. we'vejust come through a pandemic. but this economy is resilient. reporter: how will they handle soaring inflation? _ borisjohnson�*s ejection from office injuly triggered a stampede of wannabe successors.

tory mps had the job of picking two final candidates... sunak, 137. truss, 113. ..leaving the former chancellor and liz truss to slug it out in front of party members. good evening. it's fantastic to be... ..here in darlington. it's fantastic to be... ..here in eastbourne. gosh, it's fantastic to be... ..here in birmingham. and at hustings around the country, one issue dominated. this autumn and winter, a conservative government that i'm privileged to lead will be proud not just to cut vat on energy bills, but to go further to support the most vulnerable in our society, because that's what compassionate conservative governments do. i would lower taxes. we shouldn't have put up national insurance, we said we wouldn't in our manifesto, and i will have a temporary moratorium on the green energy levy to make sure that customers' bills are lower. she promised immediate tax cuts — rishi sunak said that would be a huge mistake. both avoided spelling out precisely what they would do in a coming budget.

in downing street today, a clear sign change is coming. borisjohnson is moving out, but the two candidates vying to replace him have very different views about the departing prime minister. he's one of the most remarkable people i've met. i was very grateful to him that he gave me thatjob and i'm proud of all the things we achieved in government together, actually. but it got to a point where for me, personally, and these things are personal decisions and liz made a different decision to me on this, but that's understandable, enough was enough. he admitted he made mistakes, but i didn't think the mistakes he made were sufficient that the conservative party should have rejected him. borisjohnson remains pretty popular among tory party members, and liz truss sounded more loyal to the outgoing leader. she also pitched herself as a born—again brexiteer despite voting remain in the referendum. decision—making in government has been paused while the candidates court

the tory party faithful. the winner will have to grip the troubles facing the country. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. members of the climate campaign group extinction rebellion and the house of commons debating chamber on friday and superglue themselves together around the speaker's chair. the group posted this video on its website of five protesters. they were arrested after being led from the chamber. parliament isn't currently sitting. a swimming cap designed for athletes with black or afro hair has been approved for use in top level competitions. swimming's world governing body apologised last year after banning the caps from the tokyo 0lympics. critics said its description of the swimwear as "unsuitable" failed to acknowledge the diversity of competitive swimmers.

the handwritten lyrics to david bowie's starman are going up for auction later this month. the track was initially released in 1972 and was a part of the hit album the rise and fall of ziggy stardust and the spiders from mars — let's have a quick reminder of the song. # there's a starman waiting in the sky # he's told us not to blow it # �*cause he knows it's all worthwhile # he told me, let the children lose it # let the children use it # let all the children boogie.# earlier i spoke tojem aswad, the deputy music editor at variety and also a david bowie fan. i asked him why the lyrics to starman are so important. this is a song that really made him into a superstar, particularly in britain. if you read any number of david bowie biographies

you can find a galaxy of future music stars from the 80s who saw top of the pops that day, i think it was 6july1972, and said "it changed my life." boy george, ian mcculloch from echo and the bunnymen, the guys from pet shop boys, joy division, they all saw that performance and said it completely changed them. a lot of them saw him on that that year. so people call it the summer of ziggy stardust, the summer of 1972. so i feel like the lyrics represent the beginning of that, represent the cornerstone of something that really did change a lot of people's lives. and what was it for you that changed your life from david bowie, what was it that drew you towards him? initially i was ten years old, and there used to be these late—night television shows here in the states that had rock bands on them. i saw the new york dolls, i saw sly and the family stone and all these groups, and they aired the footage that became the ziggy stardust concert film. and i was just transfixed —

by his presence, but mostly by the songs, and ijust started diving in album after album, throughout my teens, and to this day, there are lots of artists you can look at their hot streaks of brilliance, joni mitchell, stevie wonder, prince, kanye west, and bowie in the 1970s was that. almost unparalleled innovation, and every record was so different and so challenging, and so "how did he think of that?" and i still feel that way about them. i have a copy of these lyrics here, and the remarkable thing about them is of course they are handwritten. and in an age when people are writing things on their phones, tablets, laptops, this is quite precious, this is something that is dying out, isn't it? yeah, it's not quite the same thing as, i don't know, i guess you can get a file of somebody�*s voice notes or texts or something like that, but there is something much more intimate and personal about something

that was handwritten by someone, someone famous, someone legendary, as opposed to typed. so i think that does make a big difference. that's it from us, goodbye for now. hello there. september can often be a contrasting month as the battle between summer and autumn really takes shape. in fact, on friday, we saw a high of 27 celsius — 80 fahrenheit — in suffolk. it was pretty humid as well. but out to the west was a different story and as we head through the weekend, we will see heavy, thundery rain with the wettest of the weather continuing out to the west and the winds, well, strengthening to gusts in excess of 40mph at times. so this low pressure not really going very far, very fast, and it will flick these frontal systems in an anti—clockwise direction around that low — that's where the heaviest of the rain is likely to be. take a look at the accumulation totals as we go through the weekend. take a look at northern ireland

and parts of south west scotland — the darker blues, the brighter greens suggest that we could potentially see as much as 50—100mm of rain before the weekend is through. so that's where this relentless wet weather is likely to be, but elsewhere, we will see some sunshine. and if you dodge any showers and keep that sunshine, once again, you could get some warmth. some of the showers merging together in sort of organised bands up through parts of east anglia towards north east england but with the sunshine, we could see highs of 2a degrees. through saturday night, into the early hours of sunday morning, as the low shifts position a little, we might see a squeeze in the isobars with this next pulse of wetter weather — that suggests that we could see those winds gusting in excess of a0 mph. and some of that rain, again, quite heavy — the brighter greens suggesting that, across north west england, south west scotland and, at times, parts of northern ireland. there will be showers elsewhere, but not everyone will see the showers. it'll be a slightly windier day

generally, but the wind direction still coming from the south, we could see some more persistent showers arriving across the channel coast by the end of the day. but again, those temperatures may well peak at 2a or 25 degrees — that's still into the high 70s. early into next week, that low pressure really stays with us, so we will continue to see frontal systems moving in across the country. it's not going to be consistent in terms of where the showers are likely to be, but some of us will see showers on and off throughout the week, and some of them could be heavy.

this is bbc news. the headlines: china has warned of counter measures unless the us revokes a $1.1 billion arms deal with taiwan as chinese military drills take place around the island, which some see as a precursor to an invasion. the white house says the us is providing taiwan with what it needs to maintain its self—defence capabilities. there are fears of food shortages in pakistan after devastating floods washed away nearly half of the country's crops. so far, around 1,200 people are known to have been killed and unicef says many more children could die from a rapid spread of diseases, like cholera and malaria. the russian energy giant gazprom says it has scrapped plans to reopen a key gas pipeline to europe. the company claims it can't restart nord stream 1 because of an oil leak

in a turbine, which will have implications for europe's energy supply this winter.