welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines: niger's military leaders close its airspace, blaming threats of intervention after a deadline to reinstate the ousted president expires. rescue efforts continue in china after typhoon doksuri batters the country's northeast. in the uk — the first group of asylum seekers to be housed on a boat are expected to be moved there on monday. and barbie hits $1 billion at the global box office, making history for its director, greta gerwig.

we begin in niger, where the breaking news in the last half an hour is the military leaders who staged a coup say they have closed the country's airspace over what they called the "threat of intervention" against them. the announcement came as a deadline expired for them to restore the ousted president or face the possible action from the west african regional grouping known as ecowas. earlier thousands of people gathered in niger's capital to support the militaryjunta, despite international condemnation of the soldiers�* actions. some neighbouring countries including mali, burkina faso and guinea have voiced support for the coup leaders. and algeria, which borders niger to the north, has said it is categorically against armed intervention. france says it will support efforts by ecowas to restore niger's elected president.

niger's prime minister was in paris on saturday, meeting lawmakers and greeting protestors outside the country's embassy. he has dismissed that "pro—coup" protests are taking place in his country. i'm joined now by cameron hudson, a senior associate at the centre for strategic and international studies�* africa programme. he's an analyst and consultant on african peace, security, and governance issues. thank you forjoining us this morning. firstly, this breaking news that we are getting bad military leaders closing the airspace and of course this comes after the deadline has passed for thejean todt course this comes after the deadline has passed for the jean todt to step down. how likely is a military intervention now? i down. how likely is a military intervention now?— down. how likely is a military intervention now? i think it is very unlikely at— intervention now? i think it is very unlikely at this _ intervention now? i think it is very unlikely at this stage. _ intervention now? i think it is very unlikely at this stage. it _ intervention now? i think it is very unlikely at this stage. it was - unlikely at this stage. it was already unlikely before the deadline passed, it became less likely

yesterday when the nigerian parliament voted to deny the president and use of nigeria's military to stage an intervention. this was always a lot of bluster from ecowas trying to ratchet up pressure on the junta. the junta called their bluff by calling in reinforcements, creating the possibility of a regional war, so with nigeria backing down now, i don't think there is a lot of hope that we are going to be able to see ecowas muster a military intervention at this stage. i think they will have to go back to the drawing board. 50. they will have to go back to the drawing board.— they will have to go back to the drawing board. so, what else can ecowas do _ drawing board. so, what else can ecowas do aside _ drawing board. so, what else can ecowas do aside from _ drawing board. so, what else can ecowas do aside from a - drawing board. so, what else can ecowas do aside from a military l ecowas do aside from a military intervention?— ecowas do aside from a military intervention? ~ �* , , intervention? well, let's remember ecowas is not _ intervention? well, let's remember ecowas is not the _ intervention? well, let's remember ecowas is not the only _ intervention? well, let's remember ecowas is not the only organisation| ecowas is not the only organisation trying to put pressure on the junta. we have seen they have done a lot in the last week in terms of imposing their own no—fly zone, so cutting

off commercial flights into the country, they have imposed sanctions, so they are doing a lot already. we have seen nigeria cut off electricity supplies to kneejerk. this remember the african union also has a role to play. —— back supplies to niger. it has threatened to suspend niger from the african union. then there's washington, france and other international powers that have suspending —— but that are suspending —— but that are suspending development assistance and could suspend military assistance to the country so there is a lot more pressure than the international community can bring to bear on the situation in niger. i just want to ask about this morning from the ousted president who says that the whole region could fall under russia's influence via the wagner group. can you talk through what roles russia and france play in the region? what roles russia and france play in the reuion? . ~ what roles russia and france play in

the reuion? . . .,, what roles russia and france play in the region?— the region? france has traditionally -la ed a the region? france has traditionally played a major _ the region? france has traditionally played a major role _ the region? france has traditionally played a major role in _ the region? france has traditionally played a major role in the - the region? france has traditionally played a major role in the region, l played a major role in the region, it has been a security partner to niger and many others in the region for decades, frankly. obviously, as the counterterrorism fight has come more serious and severe, we have seen france's roll increase in many of these countries. but in a place like niger they have been trying a new approach allowing the people there to really lead in that mission and like washington playing very much a support role to niger's military in that fight. rush i think we can not overstate russia's role, we can not overstate russia's role, we have overstated its role, russia and i think they have been quite opportunistic, waiting in the wings, using social media to try to leverage a role for themselves, but really i think they have not been a driving factor and add this can or in the growing anti—french sentiment and anti—western sentiment in the region. they are obviously trying to

capitalise on that sentiment but i don't think we should ascribe too much to russia's role going into this. . ., ., ~ i. much to russia's role going into this. . ., ., ~ this. cameron hudson, thank you so much forjoining _ this. cameron hudson, thank you so much forjoining us. _ now to the latest on the severe flooding in china. emergency rescue and relief operations are continuing after typhoon doksuri caused widespread flooding in the northeast of the country. floodwater has retreated in zhuozhou city — which is one of the worst affected areas in hebei province. the focus there now is to drain heavily flooded important public infrastructure such as hospitals and large residential areas. elsewhere, thousands of military and paramilitary personnel are working to fortify flood defences to rivers such as the daqing river, as floodwaters continue to cause devastation. i'm joined now by henna hundal, climate and policy researcher at the stanford school of medicine. she's also a delegate to the un

climate change conferences. thank you so much forjoining us. china and the region do get hit by typhoons every year, but this year has been a lot worse than usual, can you talk us through why this is? thank you for having me. there is research to suggest that tropical cyclones are increasing in intensity. there was a study done looking at 90 scientific studies and found that human —induced climate change is contributing to warming of the surface of the ocean, which is in turn contributing to increasing intensity of tropical cyclones. we are seeing a greater proportion of the tropical cycle and is being category four and five, which are the most destructive and most dangerous to infrastructure and obviously the most catastrophic to human livelihoods. so there is a lot of work to be done here in terms of not only helping the population deal with the crisis impacting them in

the here and now but also thinking about our climate change efforts and how we ensure that we have systems in place to be ready for the fact that these types of events will probably be increasing in the future. , , ., , ., future. scientists have been warning that this kind — future. scientists have been warning that this kind of— future. scientists have been warning that this kind of extreme _ future. scientists have been warning that this kind of extreme weather i that this kind of extreme weather event will take place because of climate change, is there anything that can be done to mitigate these kinds of disasters? flit that can be done to mitigate these kinds of disasters?— kinds of disasters? of course it is critical to look _ kinds of disasters? of course it is critical to look at _ kinds of disasters? of course it is critical to look at our _ kinds of disasters? of course it is critical to look at our conditions l critical to look at our conditions and that's why i'm so looking forward to the un climate change conference coming up later this year because it's an opportunity to think about resilience and adaptation litigation as well as loss and damage. you mentioned these events are coming and they are really impacting a lot of vulnerable communities and that's where loss and damage, which is the idea that the climate change drivers have contributed to historical emissions leading to these events, particularly impacting the most vulnerable communities that do not often have the systems in place to

deal with it. some of these big emitters need to pay up, so you have to see people firing on all cylinders to come up with policies and solutions to ensure that populations are not dealing with what's happening right now. we are seeing hebei province, water rising as high as 13 feet, 1.2 million people at least being evacuated. the chinese media bureau said at least 29 inches of rainfall had occurred, which is a record since the 1800s. so there is a lot of work to be done here and i think it's going to be truly a multinational effort to come up truly a multinational effort to come up with policies to reduce emissions and bring down the impacts of human —induced climate change. thank and bring down the impacts of human -induced climate change.— -induced climate change. thank you so much for — -induced climate change. thank you so much forjoining _ -induced climate change. thank you so much forjoining us _ -induced climate change. thank you so much forjoining us today. - -induced climate change. thank you so much forjoining us today. thank| so much for “oining us today. thank ou. in the uk — the government's policy of housing asylum seekers on boats is moving forwards. the bbc understands the first asylum seekers are expected to board the bibby stockholm barge on monday after a series of delays amid safety concerns.

our political correspondent jonathan blake has the story. floating accommodation for migrants seeking asylum in the uk. the bibby stockholm barge has been moored at portland in dorset for nearly three weeks but stands empty. safety concerns have delayed getting people on board, but it's now expected the first 50 or so men to be housed on the barge will move in very soon. we expect it to be in the coming days, so you won't have long to wait. and this is an important step forwards. up to 500 people could be accommodated here. the barge has medicalfacilities and a recreation area. it's one way the government hopes to cut the cost of hotels for those attempting to claim asylum, the bill currently running at about £6 million per day. but it's prompted protests from local residents who don't want the barge on their doorstep and campaign groups who argue it's inhumane.

shaving foam. 0k... others are doing what they can to welcome those who'll be housed on board. labour has pledged to speed up asylum claims but admit they would still need alternative accommodation for migrants at first if the party came to power. because of the complete and utter chaos and shambles of the tory asylum crisis, we are going to have to continue in a very short—term period, to use the infrastructure that's there, including the barges and the hotels. more than 15,000 people have crossed the channel in small boats so far this year. yesterday, 77 made thejourney. accommodating those arriving is only part of the challenge facing the government. danjohnson is in portland in southern england, where the barge is moored. there's been a huge amount of opposition here locally in portland about the impact that this could have on the community and public services here, which are already stretched. there's been wider opposition

about the sort of conditions that these asylum seekers may face on board. it's been described as a prison ship or a death trap. the fire brigade union said that it was a floating grenfell tower, referring to that fire a few years ago, which cost so many lives. the home office says those issues have been dealt with, it is safe. this is basic and functional accommodation, which is designed to house migrants in good standard of accommodation, while their asylum claims are determined, that it is safe, but that this shows the government's priorities to get those hotel bills down. this has faced delays already, so i think it's going to be an important test now of whether the government can actually turn its plans, its ideas, its promises, its rhetoric over immigration into actual practical, workable solutions. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. a 12—year—old boy has been killed in a hit—and—run on the m62 in west yorkshire. emergency services were told

that two people were walking along the motorway when the collision happened. a 36—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing or allowing the death of a child. police are searching for the driver of the vehicle. virgin atlantic pilots belonging to the balpa union have shown overwhelming support for a strike ballot, following what they've called "serious concerns" about fatigue and their well—being. the union held a vote on pursuing its dispute with the airline over working conditions. virgin said it was willing to enter into talks in the coming weeks. a building once known as britain's wonkiest pub, because one side had sunk into the ground, has been destroyed by fire. crews were called to the crooked house near dudley close to birmingham last night. the cause of the fire isn't yet clear.

at least 30 passengers have been killed after an express train derailed in southern pakistan. a police officer supervising the rescue operation said more than a hundred people had been injured in the incident. the hazara express came off the rails near nawabshah in sindh province, as it travelled from karachi to abbottabad. it's not immediately clear what caused the derailment. these are the latest pictures we're just getting from the scene. emergency workers battling to rescue passengers trapped in at least five overturned carriages, with more rescue teams deployed to the scene. caroline davies reports. thrown on its side, taking passengers with it. the force of the derailment was enough to send carriages clear of the tracks. hanging precariously on a bridge, flipped, unstable. chaos and confusion as those that survived and those that live

close by worked out how to help. some smashed glass to rescue those caught inside. the train was full of passengers travelling from karachi to rawalpindi when it derailed. the army and rescue services arrived to help. translation: after the terrible accident, all the rescue teams . arrived at the scene. they helped the passengers stuck in the overturned train. and now we are taking the injured people to different hospitals for treatment. at the hospital, some were treated outside. tens of people have been injured. nearby hospitals in sind declared an emergency. the cause of the accident isn't clear. the district police officer told the bbc that contrary to local media reports, the track was not flooded. there is a fear that the death toll may rise further as the rescue continues. caroline davies, bbc news, islamabad.

around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

you're live with bbc news. pope francis is on his way back to rome after holding an open air mass in front of large crowds in the portuguese capital lisbon. it came at the end of world youth day, a six—day international festival for young catholics. the vatican said 1.5 million people followed the service in lisbon, where the pope prayed for those who couldn't attend because of the war in ukraine. throughout his stay in lisbon, he hailed the spirit and restlessness of young people, casting them as a means of bringing about change in a church that he has said needs it badly. one of the phrases he used most often was that the church is open to all, without exception.

let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. donald trump says he will be asking thejudge in his election fraud case to step aside, claiming that he would not get a fair trial unless she does. the former president took to his social media platform, truth social, to attack the lead prosecutor, thejudge, tania chutkan, and the department ofjustice, which he described as "highly partisan and very corrupt". talks hosted by saudi arabia on finding a way to end the war between russia and ukraine have ended with no sign of concrete action. a closing statement committed only to more peace discussions. ukraine had hoped to use the gathering injeddah to broaden international support for its own peace plan. senior officials from dozens of countries attended. russia was not invited. but china, which has maintained close ties with moscow, sent a delegation. ukrainian armed forces have confirmed that they have hit

two bridges in territories occupied by russia. the bridges connect mainland ukraine with crimea and both were damaged by ukrainian missile strikes. football now. at the women's world cup, the holders, the usa, have been knocked out of the competition after losing on penalties to sweden. and in a few hours, england will take the field in brisbane in theirfirst knockout game, against nigeria. but the team isn't the same as the euro—winning team from last year. three of their players are out with knee injuries. it's a surprisingly common issue across the women's game and, as katie silver reports, for many it can massively impact their careers. this is not the way chloe logarzo imagined she'd be spending this world cup. a midfielder who played for the matildas 49 times, as well as in the us and bristol, she expected

to be on the field rather than talking about it. i was hoping, you know, 28, 29 that this would be the peak and then things would come from this. but it wasn't to be. fresh off the olympics at a training camp in ireland two years ago, she collided with a defender, injuring her anterior cruciate ligament, or acl. i think the difference between any other injury and the acl injury and the reason why people grieve a harder way than doing a normal injury is because you've seen all of the athletes who can potentially come back not the same. and the idea and the thought of not being the same as what you were before is frightening. after a year out, this was when she first took the field again for the matildas. but her knee still doesn't have full mobility and chloe hasn't been selected for the world cup. she's certainly not alone. the list of star players who have missed out on this world cup because of acl injuries is really long, and they're from some

of the top ranked teams, including england, the us, the netherlands and france. many are calling this an epidemic and say it's hurting the women's game. it's like a who's who of the best players — from england, forward beth mead and leah williamson, holland's vivianne miedema and france's delphine cascarino. in fact, it's an injury that impacts women up to eight times as much. there's a number of reasons for this. according to experts, women'sjoints, including the knee, are often looser and have a greater range of motion. there's less muscle mass there, making the area less stable. the way women land from jumps is often different. it's even thought the menstrual cycle can have an impact. it's been very clear to those of us involved in treating football players... dr andy williams is a leading knee surgeon who has treated many lionesses and premier league players. he says it's notjust differences in physiology. i think the most powerful

thing is that hitherto, women have been treated as second—class citizens. they haven't received the input of coaching and strength and conditioning that the boys do. i think there is an inequality that we need to deal with, and many women are able to play high level football simply because they're skilful. there's urgent calls for more research on how to prevent women suffering a similar fate to chloe and all the other players unable to take the field at this world cup. notjust for them, but for the millions of women and girls that have taken up the sport. katie silver, bbc news, sydney. some breaking entertainment news. warner brothers says that the barbie movie has now made over $1 billion at the global box office. no movie in the studio's 100 year history has sold so many tickets so fast — the film based on the famous plastic doll has only been out for 17 days. what's more, its director

greta gerwig has made history — becoming the first solo female director of a movie to make a billion dollars. warner brothers bosses said the milestone was "testament to her brilliance". i'm joined now by lisa johnson mandell, a film critic from las vegas. thank you so much forjoining us. incredible that you seem to have dressed for the occasion! absolutely!— dressed for the occasion! absolutel ! , , absolutely! the film industry suffered a — absolutely! the film industry suffered a lot _ absolutely! the film industry suffered a lot during - absolutely! the film industry suffered a lot during the - absolutely! the film industry - suffered a lot during the pandemic, does the barbie movie prove that cinema going is still very much alive? it cinema going is still very much alive? ., , ., , ., ., alive? it really does and it not only proves — alive? it really does and it not only proves that _ alive? it really does and it not only proves that cinema - alive? it really does and it not only proves that cinema goingj alive? it really does and it not l only proves that cinema going is alive? it really does and it not - only proves that cinema going is so much alive but it proves that women can drive a film, women can direct $1 billion film women will go and see it en masse because let's face it, barbie is definitely a feminine

oriented movie. flit it, barbie is definitely a feminine oriented movie.— oriented movie. of course at the same time _ oriented movie. of course at the same time here _ oriented movie. of course at the same time here in _ oriented movie. of course at the same time here in asia, - oriented movie. of course at the same time here in asia, the - oriented movie. of course at the l same time here in asia, the movie was banned in vietnam because of its controversial aspects. there was replies to the barbenheimer means which seem to have made fun of atomic bombs, that didn't seem to have too much impact on its bottom line. i have too much impact on its bottom line. ., , have too much impact on its bottom line. . , ., �* ~' have too much impact on its bottom line. ., , ~ ., , line. i really don't think it does. this movie _ line. i really don't think it does. this movie was _ line. i really don't think it does. this movie was taken _ line. i really don't think it does. this movie was taken in - line. i really don't think it does. this movie was taken in fun, i line. i really don't think it does. this movie was taken in fun, it| line. i really don't think it does. i this movie was taken in fun, it was meant to have a political statement. there is a little bit of a feminist statement there, but not so much, much of the people who are going to see the barbie movie have no idea of the perceived significance. the little dot line is supposed to show barbie's journey and nothing little dot line is supposed to show barbie'sjourney and nothing more. but i guess you can take what you want. ~ ., ., ., want. we have one minute left on the

show. want. we have one minute left on the show- some — want. we have one minute left on the show. some people _ want. we have one minute left on the show. some people denounced i want. we have one minute left on the show. some people denounced the i show. some people denounced the movie saying it was just great marketing, what do you say about that? ~ , ., n, marketing, what do you say about that? ~ , ., ., that? well, it is from mattel and it is hithl in that? well, it is from mattel and it is highly in collaboration _ that? well, it is from mattel and it is highly in collaboration with i that? well, it is from mattel and it is highly in collaboration with the l is highly in collaboration with the toymaker, but there is so much more than just toymaker, but there is so much more thanjust promoting a toymaker, but there is so much more than just promoting a different product or something like that. i mean, the sets are wonderful, the music is great, it's got a happy bouncy feel and is notjust about getting you to go out and buy a barbie, it's about helping you have fun. women of all ages are flocking to this movie and i don't think the 80—year—olds will be running out and buying barbie dolls but they can still enjoy it!— still en'oy it! lisa, thank you so much still enjoy it! lisa, thank you so much forjoining _ still enjoy it! lisa, thank you so much forjoining us. _ still enjoy it! lisa, thank you so much forjoining us. the - still enjoy it! lisa, thank you so l much forjoining us. the breaking news they are that warner bros say the barbie movie has now made over $1 billion, becoming the first movie to do so in the studio because my history. that said, thank you so much for watching. —— but the studio's history.

hello. well, i have got some good news for you. the weather outlook for most of us this week isn't looking too bad at all. and as promised, it is going to turn warmerfor all of us. but it may not last that long. let's have a look at the big picture across the atlantic. and here's the jet stream, that current of wind, the weather systems, the rain here. and notice how by thursday, the jet stream takes on the shape of a ridge, which means it allows the warmer air to stream in from the south. but let's have a look at the short term. and this is the satellite picture — we're in between weather systems, the gap in the clouds here, so some clear spells through the early hours, and then this smaller area of low pressure will be a bit of a fly in the ointment, i think, for the beginning of the week through monday and into tuesday. so here's the forecast, then, through the early hours. for most of us, it's dry, a few showers in the north and the northwest. but as i say, sunny spells, if not even clear blue skies

in one or two parts of the country. now, through the morning, into the afternoon, the cumulus clouds will bubble up and we will see showers developing. but i think they will be well scattered and most of us will miss the showers. but you might catch one or two, particularly across the north of the country. temperatures between 17 and 21 celsius. now, here's that rather small area of low pressure, but the winds are coming in from the southwest, which means it's relatively humid air. so turning quite murky in the southwest late on monday, perhaps drizzly and wet. there is that small weather system here. if anything, this means just a fair amount of cloud across the uk during the course of tuesday. also, the humidity will rise — it will feel quite muggy out there. so, cloudy, maybe damp at times with a bit of rain across the south, with sunny spells too. but the best of the weather — northern half of the uk. so, sunshine for newcastle and glasgow on tuesday. temperatures in the high teens. and then the weather really does improve on wednesday. i think broken cloud with some sunny spells, a generally dry day.

the winds are coming in from the south. the temperatures are rising widely into the 20s across the uk, mid 20s in the southeast and the south. and i think by thursday, we could be hitting the high 20s. but as i say, it's not going to last for that long because by the weekend in the northwest of the country, guess what? showers and strengthening winds.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues, straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. what happens when art and politics collide? well, things can get ugly pretty quickly, with talk of culture wars and battles over values, identity and who gets to tell the stories that define us. if warfare is currently a dominant cultural metaphor, what does that make the artists? warriors? well, my guest is the ground—breaking playwright and artistic director of london's young vic theatre, kwame kwei—armah. in troubled times, can art be persuasive rather than polarising?