Newshour

The death toll in Nepal from devastating floods on the border with Tibet has crossed 1,000, according to the country's disaster agency.
Also on the programme, a special report from within Afghanistan looking at the thousands who have fled since the 2021 Taliban takeover; and we hear from the former girlfriend of Freddy Mercury, who stayed by his side until the end of his life.
(Photo: Relatives of Nakul Sharma, 36, who lost his life in the deadly flash floods and a mudslide, mourn during his cremation rituals on the premises of Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 1, 2026. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha)

Millions of Afghans have in recent decades fled across the borders to Pakistan and Iran, seeking refuge or employment. But as the numbers leaving Afghanistan have risen, especially since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, so have deportation efforts by Pakistan and Iran. We have a special report by the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, who has been to the main border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Also in the programme: as a new law comes into force in Austria banning girls under the age of 14 from wearing a headscarf in schools, we hear from the government, and a critic of the ban; shares in the ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein have plunged on their first day of public trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; and the population of New Zealand’s critically endangered flightless parrot, the kākāpō, has surpassed 300 birds for the first time in decades.
(Photo: Trucks carrying returnees parked along the highway near the Torkham border crossing, October 2025. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

The authorities say they have made progress using controlled explosions and heavy machinery to access the hydropower tunnels. Nepal says that at least nine-hundred people have died in the floods, and more than four-thousand are still missing.
Also on the programme, football legend Lionel Messi retires from international competitions. British fashion designer, John Galliano, has withdrawn from a planned exhibition of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Met had come in for severe criticism for hosting the exhibition, Galliano was arrested in Paris in 2011 for antisemitic insults and hateful remarks he made against Jews and Asian people at a bar near his home in the city. And the Nomad Games get underway in Kyrgyzstan, featuring sports like Kok Boru (polo but played with a dead goat instead of a mallet). We'll hear from a fan in attendance.
(Picture: Rescue workers in Nepal. Credit: Reuters)

As the death toll continues to rise and rescue teams try to reach people still trapped by Wednesday's flash floods in the Himalayas, a senior Nepalese MP tells us the search for survivors is still very much on, along with a major effort to identify bodies and carry out burials.
Also in the programme: as Tim Cook prepares to step down after 15 years in charge of Apple, we assess his legacy; and how late is too late for a top tennis player to be playing a match?
(IMAGE: An undated handout photo of rescue workers taking part in a rescue operation near the tunnel of the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project, following deadly flash floods and mudslides, in Rasuwa, Nepal. / CREDIT: Nepal Army/Handout via REUTERS)

The crew and captain of a ferry have been taken into custody after the vessel capsized off the northern coast of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Eight people have been confirmed dead with a further 17 still missing.
Also on the programme: Spain asks for help from the EU to process hundreds of migrants who crossed into its North African territory of Ceuta; and the director of a new biopic about Charles de Gaulle tells us how the general’s self-belief persuaded Winston Churchill that Free France could fight back against the Nazis.
(Image: Survivors arrive on shore after being rescued from the sea following a boat capsize off northern Cyprus, August 30, 2026. Credit REUTERS/Stringer)