this is bbc news.

sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. fleeing the fires of northern california. tens of thousands evacuate, as the blaze spreads and forests burn. she received the nobel peace prize for her work with the poor and the dying in india slums. the head of the catholic church had said mother teresa was a wonderful example of how to help people in need. we have to identify the bodies and round up the coffins and take them back home. parents are waiting and wives are waiting. hostages appeared, some carried, some running, trying to escape the nightmare behind them. britain lost a princess today, - described by all to whom she reached out as irreplaceable. an early—morning car crash - in a paris underpass ended a life with more than its share of pain- and courage, warmth and compassion. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma in singapore.0ur top story our top story in a televised address, president biden has described the us evacuation mission from afghanistan as an extraordinary success — the

caroline hawley, bbc news. meanwhile, the last planes carrying uk soldiers home from afghanistan have been arriving at a royal air force base in oxfordshire. more than 15,000 people, including over 2,000 children, have been evacuated by the uk over the past two weeks. britain says the taliban has promised to allow foreign nationals and afghan citizens to leave, if they have the authority to travel. the bbc�*s political correspondent iain watson reports. one of the last british flights from kabul, landing in the uk this morning. the prime minister said we would not have wished to leave in this way. 20 years of military involvement in afghanistan, concluded with a frantic evacuation. but in a government—issued video, he also pledged not to abandon those left behind. if the new regime in kabul wants diplomatic recognition or to unlock the billions that are currently frozen, they will have to ensure safe passage for those who wish to leave the country, to respect the rights of women and girls, to prevent afghan

this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello, and welcome. it's 6am in singapore, and ”pm in london. global warming is accelerating, and human influence is to blame — that's the warning from a damning new report from the un and its secretary general. antonio guteres says the evidence cannot be denied — greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking the planet, and putting billions of people at immediate risk. it's the most comprehensive climate change study ever, and is produced by hundreds of the world's top scientists from 66 countries. the report warns that the global average temperature rise could reach or exceed 1.5 celsius in the next 20 years — ten years sooner than expected. it said rising temperatures will cause more frequent, extreme weather events across the globe, and warned that irreversible changes are already ongoing in melting ice sheets, rising sea levels, and increasing acidification. but the report also stated that climate change could be slowed down

chris mason, bbc news. i�*m joined now by peter galbraith, former un deputy special representative for afghanistan and former us ambassador. great to have you. we have just heard in that report, tony blair calling the us decision to withdraw imbecilic. how fair is that? i calling the us decision to withdraw imbecilic. how fair is that?- imbecilic. how fair is that? i think what was imbecilic _ imbecilic. how fair is that? i think what was imbecilic was _ imbecilic. how fair is that? i think what was imbecilic was the - imbecilic. how fair is that? i think i what was imbecilic was the strategy that was followed for the last 20 years. a strategy that was initiated, in fact, when tony blair was prime minister. that strategy involved, after ousting the taliban involved, after ousting the taliban in 2001, in partnership with the northern alliance, it then entailed creating, moving to create and afghanistan, highly centralised state in a country that is geographically and ethnically very diverse, concentrating

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. if you want to get in touch with me on any of the topics we have touched on on newsday, i'm on twitter. @bbckarishma you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: vice president kamala harris continues a diplomatic charm offensive by the biden administration in south east asia. he's the first african—american to win the presidential nomination of a major party, and he accepts exactly 45 years ago to the day that martin luther king declared, "i have a dream." as darkness falls tonight, and unfamiliar light will appear in the southeastern sky — an orange glowing disc that's brighter than anything save the moon — our neighbouring planet, mars. there is no doubt that this connection is an important milestone there is no doubt that this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor as the world's newest nation. it'll take months and billions i of dollars to repair what katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is the longest the great clock has

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main story at the top of the hour as newsday continue straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. the taliban now have the afghanistan they fought forfor two decades, a country rid of american and nato troops, theirs to bend to their will. or maybe it's not as simple as that. can the taliban afford to forego international aid and economic assistance? do they need to build alliances both inside and outside the country?

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. in the end, it wasn't about fire power or troop numbers. in afghanistan, the taliban had a vital asset, which the us and her allies lacked — strategic patience. two decades after they were expelled from kabul, the islamists are back in power. us and british troops are scrambling to complete a humiliating evacuation. my guest is british conservative mp and former soldier tobias ellwood. this looks like an historic defeat for western power. how damaging could the consequences be?

secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. as the taliban increases its hold over afghanistan, how do they plan to govern? and is there a plan? well, i'mjoined now by marvin weinbaum, former intelligence analyst at the us state department director for afghan and pakistan studies at middle east institute in washington, dc. great to have you on the programme today, marvin. as we've seen in the report there, the taliban increasing its hold in afghanistan. what your sense of how they might plan to govern? we sense of how they might plan to covern? ~ ., ., ~' sense of how they might plan to covern? ~ . ~ ., sense of how they might plan to covern? ~ ., ., ~ . ~ ., ., govern? we might look back at what ha--ened govern? we might look back at what happened in — govern? we might look back at what happened in the _ govern? we might look back at what happened in the 1990s, _ govern? we might look back at what happened in the 1990s, when - govern? we might look back at what happened in the 1990s, when they l happened in the 1990s, when t

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main stories for you at the top of the hours straight after this programme. this time on weather world, code red for humanity, the stark warning that time is running out to avert a climate catastrophe. it is the beginning of a future that can be very catastrophic and very, very hard for us to survive in. after the heat, the floods on a catastrophic scale, killing hundreds of people, amid claims we are simply not prepared for more extreme rainfall. i'll be asking whether these disasters could mark a turning point in how the world reacts to climate change. and i'll be finding out why even a small empty reservoir

sarah rainsford, bbc news, minsk. let's get the latest on that story from our reporter in tokyo mariko oi. what can you tell us? several news agencies narraport that krystsina tsimanouskaya has arrived at tokyo airport early this morning. she has now arrived at narita airport, tokyo. there is a direct flight to warsaw in just over one hour. in poland she has been granted a humanitarian visa and she can choose to continue her training as an athlete according to the government there. this all started last week when she complained about being asked to participate in a competition and last—minute. she criticised the coach before she was then sent to haneda airport before she was attempted to send home. she didn't feel safe, was in police custody or protection, rather, before she was sent to the polish embassy, which is where she left this morning. the ioc has now started its official investigation. the belarus international olympic committee says the reason she was sent home was because of her emotional state, which she

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. taliban leaders in kabul are engaged in careful message management — amnesty for all, no safe haven forforeign fighters, and respect for the rights of women and girls, they say. but then the rider — under their islamic law. now, it's too early to know what taliban governance 2.0 will look like, but it is clear many afghans are fearful. my guest is kamila sidiqi, a trail—blazing women's activist, entrepreneur, and former government official in kabul. is her cause lost? and where does the blame lie?

sarah rainsford, bbc news, minsk. the lengthy legal battle over the whether a senior executive from the chinese industrial giant huawei can be extradited from canada to the us has reached a crucial stage. meng wanzhou, the company's chief financial officer, as well as the the daughter of its founder, has been held under effective house arrest in canada for almost three years. the us wants her to stand trial for breaking its sanctions on iran. she denies that and china says the allegations are a sham. the final extradition hearing is under way in vancouver, and barbara plett usher is following developments for us. well, it's quite complicated because it's about more than just meng wa nzhou. so, she was arrested in december 2018 on a us warrant. the americans wanted her extradited to the united states to face charges that her company — related to her company huawei violating american sanctions against iran. and those legal proceedings about the extradition have dragged on now for more than two years, and the first pha

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all today's news stories at the top of the hour as new data continues straight after hard talk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. the athletic excellence we saw at the tokyo olympics will live long in the memory, but so will the moment the brilliant us gymnast simone biles chose not to compete, to safeguard her mental and physical health. us gymnastics, still reeling from the repercussions of a sex abuse scandal, illustrates what can go

daniela relph, bbc news. if you want to get in touch with me i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... the australian's shut in — and out — of their country — as it grapples with a covid—19 outbreak. he's the first african—american to win the presidential nomination of a major party. and he accepts exactly 45 years ago to the day, the martin luther king declared "i have a dream". as darkness falls tonight, and unfamiliar light will appear in the southeastern sky. an orange glowing disc that's brighter than anything save the moon, our neighbouring planet mars. there is no doubt that this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor as the world's newest nation. it'll take months and billions i of dollars to repair what katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is the longest the great clock has been off duty in 117 years. so it was with great satisfaction that clockmakerjohn vernon swung the pendulum to set the clock going

this is bbc news. you will have the headlines and all the main news stories of the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. months of conflict in northern ethiopia have cost thousands of lives and brought hunger and fear to millions. late last year, president abiy ahmed's government seemed confident of crushing tigrayan forces. that confidence was misplaced — the war has spread. both the addis government and the rebels stand accused of horrifying war crimes. my guest is ethiopia's attorney—general, gedion timothewos. is his government leading the country to disaster? gedion timothewos in addis ababa, welcome to hardtalk. thanks for having me. it is a pleasure to have you, mr attorney—general. when we last spoke to each other, nearly nine months ago, you seemed very confident that your government was about to crush the forces of the tigray people's liberation front. are you now prepared to say that your government strategy has gone disa

gordon corera, bbc news. now, skateboarding has become very popular injapan after its teenage athletes achieved a sweeping victory at the tokyo 2020 summer games. you may remember, i told our reporter mariko oi we should try it out when she gets back to singapore — and she appeared reluctant but she actually went to learn the sport from the country's youngest gold medallist. what a great sport mariko oi is. hello. we provisionally saw a new temperature record in europe on wednesday — 48.8 celsius recorded in sicily. the exceptional heat shown by the red colours here in this chart transfer a bit westwards across the med into the weekend, with record—breaking heat for spain and portugal. cast your eyes further north, though, across the uk, the blues appearing back on the charts. temperatures dropping below normal once again — so a cooler end to the week across the uk, and it will be blustery at times, mainly because of this area of low pressure — out to the west at the moment, but it will track across

jon sopel, bbc news, washington. earlier i spoke to david willis and asked him what the reaction has been to president biden�*s speech. this was a very unrelenting speech, unapologetic speech from joe biden. very defiant, basically saying, the buck stops with me, but going on to blame others for the chaos that's currently erupting in afghanistan. in particular, the afghan army, which mr biden said had been trained and equipped to a high standard by the us and at great cost, but had simply lost the will to fight. mr biden also criticised the former afghanistan president ashraf ghani, who of course has gone into exile. he said the former president had promised him at a meeting at the white house, afghan forces would fight. mr biden said that was clearly not the case. he also blamed the trump administration for this agreement to withdraw forces from afghanistan this year. he said that left his administration with really no choice but to either go along with that or face the prospect of another civil war on the ground

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories at the top of the hour is newsday continue straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i am stephen sackur. a harsh spotlight on two decades of us and nato military commitment in afghanistan. it looks and feels like a strategic defeat. but what does it tell us about the geopolitical balance of power.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines: president biden has strongly defended his decision to withdraw us troops from afghanistan, saying the goal had been counterterrorism, not nation—building. the united nations secretary general has urged the taliban to practice maximum restraint. he said the un was receiving chilling reports, with mounting violations against women and girls. joining me now is nivi manchanda, author of the book "imagining afghanistan: the history and politic of imperial knowledge". she's currently in delhi. great to have you on newsday. i know your work is focused on women and afghanistan. we're already getting reports of women being somewhat erased from public life in afghanistan. i've heard of no more female broadcasters on some local tv stations for instance. how much do you think life might change under the taliban for women?— you think life might change under the taliban for women? thank you. i think it is inevitable _ the taliban for women? than

lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul. and in the past hour, we've received these pictures showing scores of people still gathering outside the airport in kabul, the scene of the deadly explosions. they're still desperate to board evacuation flights despite the risks of being in that area. there are also reports of more explosions heard around the city. 0ur afghanistan correspondent secunder kermani has more on that. we've heard a number of further explosions throughout the evening, the last one quite powerful, rattling our windows here. it's not entirely clear what they were, some suggestion that they were controlled explosions carried out by american forces, destroying equipment as they prepare to leave. but either way, they are adding to a sense of anxiety after this awful attack. amidst all the uncertainty about the prospect of life under the taliban and what exactly that will look like, some afghans have been clinging to the hope that at least things would be more peaceful, there would not be more suicide bombings, th

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. the athletic excellence we saw at the tokyo olympics will live long in the memory, but so will the moment the brilliant us gymnast simone biles chose not to compete, to safeguard her mental and physical health. us gymnastics, still reeling from the repercussions of a sex abuse scandal, illustrates what can go

this is bbc news. it is newsday. it's 6am in singapore, and half past two in the morning in afghanistan where events are unfolding at a dizzying pace. as the taliban captured a ninth provincial capital, afghan president ashraf ghani fired his army chief. the government still remains in control in key urban centres, but their hold on many areas is fragile. us officials say the taliban could reach the capital, kabul, within weeks. our correspondent yogita limaye is in kabul, a city crammed with thousands of people who've desperately fled from other parts of the country. desperation on a scale not seen in decades. thousands have arrived in kabul... ..in the past few days. people who had homes and jobs, who led dignified lives... ..forced to leave everything behind. angry that they have been left on their own — no government, no humanitarian agencies. this woman's sons are in the army. she says only the poor go to the battlefield, while politicians watch. we have seen this camp grow by the hour. people have been coming

just head to bbc.com/news or download the bbc news app. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the music world pays tribute to don everly, who had huge success with the rock �*n�* roll duo, the everly brothers — he's died aged 84. 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 miss lewinsky that was not appropriate. in fact, it was wrong. in south africa, 97 people have been killed today, i in one of the worst days of violence between i rival black groups. over the last ten i days, 500 have died. crowds chant: czechoslovakia must be free! _ man: czechoslovakia must be free! - crowds chant: czechoslovakia must be free! _ russia is absolving a national day of mourning for 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 billion people in his hometown of krakow. | "stay with us, stay with us," i chanted this ocean of humanity.

this is bbc news... newsday... welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in the us, where president biden has said there will be no let up in the tempo of us evacuation efforts in afghanistan after a weekend in which 23 american military flights took off from kabul airport. there's been criticism of the decision to withdraw troops from afghanistan and the evacuation operation, but in the last few hours mr biden has insisted there was no way to carry it out without causing pain and loss. he said nearly 28,000 people had been flown out since august 14th — the day before the taliban seized power. we lifted approximately 11,000 people out of kabul in less than 36 hours. it's an incredible operation. let me be clear, the evacuation of thousands of people from kabul is going to be hard and painful, no matter when we started or began. it would have been true if we started a month ago or a month from now. there is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss, and t

lyse doucet, bbc news. the british government has announced further details of a bespoke resettlement scheme for afghan refugees. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley explained what we know so far, about how it will work. up to 20,000 afghan refugees to come to the uk and resettle over the next few years — 5000 in the first year, the rest expected to come after that. and ministers here say it will focus on what they're calling the most at risk, in particular, women and girls. it is different from the scheme which had already been announced, which was for afghans who worked with uk forces over the past 20 years and their families. we expect about 5000 people to settle in the uk under that scheme, but this is 20,000 people separate from that. we don't have details about how it's going to be funded just yet, but we do know that the government plans to work with local councils and devolved governments to figure out the best places for refugees to be housed over the next few years. but the message from gov

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the menus at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. i've been an opera fan for decades and i want to share my passion with you so i'm on a mission to tell you about some of the names in opera who are making it fit for the future. superstar cecilia bartoli is the italian mezzo soprano who originally wanted to be a flamenco dancer. and peruvian born tenor juan diego florez is an icon but he wanted to become a pop star. big names today — but are they prepared for the opera world of tomorrow? we had to start more with using technology and using streaming, for instance. it's a beautiful art and if more and more young

katie gornall, bbc news. the world's attention will soon turn to beijing for the winter olympics, coming up injust six months. before the current delta variant outbreak, chinese officials were confident they could have crowds for all events. but there are also political challenges for the chinese government hosting the games, as it's accused of serious human rights abuses. our china correspondent stephen mcdonell reports our china correspondent stephen mcdonell has more. in the mountains around the chinese capital, thousands of workers are busy. next to the space age skijumping center, they're making the most of the summer months for construction. justin downs is a canadian winter sport specialist who's been advising games organisers. well, there's no question beijing will be ready for the competitions. in fact, all of the competition venues are already ready and they've already hosted test events, so what you see going on around us here isjust the supporting infrastructure. before the sliding center is iced

david shukman, bbc news. i've been speaking to gavin schmidt, a senior adviser on climate for nasa, about the climate report. i asked him if the irreversible damage referred to in the report means it is too late to do anything. let me answer that very straightforwardly. no, it is not too late. there are changes that will occur — there's an inertia in the system, it's out of balance and needs to get back into balance before things will start changing. so that means there will be continued sea—level rise and temperature warming. but what we can do is prevent it from getting much worse. the choices that we have, the amount of future warming is very, very much in our hands still. and if we take a strong approach to reducing emissions, we can avoid the worst—case scenarios. but if we decide to burn all the hydrocarbons that we find, then we would end up in a very much worse situation. so it'll never actually be too late. whatever happens, we can always be making better decisions with respect to the climate.

this is bbc news, the headlines. president biden has said that there is an added risk to keeping us troops in afghanistan beyond august the 31st deadline. fellow g7 leaders that there is an increasing threat of terrorist acts from the local islamic state affiliate. the taliban says that he can no longer travel to kabul airport and encouraging others not to entice afghan nationals to emigrate saying that their professional expertise would be sorely needed charlie watts has died aged 80. one of the greatest tremors of his generation. ringo starr tweeted, we are going to miss you, man. a nearly empty stadium in tokyo, over 4000 athletes are involved.

shumaila jaffery, bbc news, chaman, pakistan. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello. it's a mark of how strange a summer it's been when i can tell the truth and say it's been warmer than average for the uk. some of you will look at me like i've gone crazy. the met office say that it's been about a degree warmer than average this summer so far, warmest compared with average in scotland and northern ireland. you know in london and southeast england, even though it has been a little warmer than average, it's been really quite wet and dull this summer. it is at least now dry, but it is still quite dull with all the cloud we've had. high pressure is close to the uk, keeping things settled friday, the weekend and throughout much of next week. doesn't mean sunny, though, and overnight and into the morning, a lot of cloud will have pushed in from the east. and temperatures will be a little lower than this in the countryside. across scotland, a lot of the cloud will clear during friday, but still keeping some towards the east coast. northern ireland, once any fog patches clear

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories of the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i stephen sackur. the chaotic evacuation operation still under way at kabul airport has put a harsh spotlight on two decades of us and nato military commitment in afghanistan. it looks and feels like the strategic defeat. but what does it

this is bbc news. we will 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 with me zeinab badawi, coming to you from barbados. i'm on an historic sugar plant plantation where enslaved africans toiled in backbreaking labour during three centuries of the transatlantic slave trade. barbados was one of the earliest and most profitable of the slave colonies in the caribbean. this is the house on the grounds of the plantation, built in the 1650s, where the slave owners

this is newsday on the bbc. our main headline: a code red for humanity — the un warns in a landmark report that human activity is changing the climate in unprecedented and sometimes irreversible ways. prince andrew is being sued in new york by virginia roberts giuffre, one ofjeffrey epstein�*s alleged victims. in a statement, ms giuffre said her civil suit lays out in detail how she was trafficked to prince andrew and sexually abused by him. prince andrew has vehemently denied all of the allegations against him. 0ur north america correspondent nada tawfik has more. this civil lawsuit was filed under the child victims act. and it's a landmark new york state law that essentially opened up a one—year window to sue over sexual abuse allegations no matter how long ago they occurred. and that one—year window expires in just a few days. so virginia roberts giuffre's lawyers say they have been in touch through letters with prince andrew's team, but they've been completely ignored. they had suggested they would l

this is bbc news. the headlines: the taliban are tightening their grip on afghanistan following their takeover, carrying out house—to—house hunts for those who collaborated with western forces. a taliban letter seen by the bbc threatens family members of targets, unless they surrender themselves. the us says it's evacuated 7000 people from kabul, in the five days since the taliban took control. as people scramble to leave the country, the un refugee agency is warning of a looming humanitarian crisis. there's mounting anger in haiti as aid agencies struggle to reach some of the areas worst hit by saturday's earthquake. over 2000 people were killed. the authorities in washington dc have arrested a man who threatened to detonate a bomb near the us capitol. police said they don't know the man's motives.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hours straight after this programme. hello. what a summer of sport this is. sport is all over tv, and coverage of sports events is what we are focusing on today. the olympics is on, we've just had the euros, and there's a new cricket competition called the hundred on primetime bbc, as well as sky. but in this age of infinite choice, live sport has to compete to hold our attention. does sport need to be more attractive than an hour of fortnite or netflix, or tiktok? and has the amount of money tv companies are prepared to pay for sport fallen during the pandemic? well, these are some of the questions that my all—star panel of sporting supremos will answer today — and between them, they are reaching hundreds of millions of viewers. they are andrew georgiou, president of sport at

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continue straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. in the end, it wasn't about fire power or troop numbers. in afghanistan, the taliban had a vital asset, which the us and her allies lacked — strategic patience. two decades after they were expelled from kabul, the islamists are back in power. us and british troops are scrambling to complete a humiliating evacuation.

this is bbc news. it is newsday. it's 8:00 in the morning in singapore, and 4.30 in the morning in afghanistan, where the taliban is strengthening its grip on power as pockets of unrest continue. in the eastern city of jalalabad, they violently put down an anti—taliban demonstration, reportedly shooting dead a number of people. there have been more chaotic scenes outside the international airport in kabul, as thousands of afghans try to flee the country. the nation's ousted president has made his first public comments, saying his security team �*forced' him to leave the country for the united arab emirates. our correspondent secunder kermani starts our coverage. outside the airport, chaos continues. thousands are still desperate to leave the country. here, a girl — terrified. "the taliban are coming for me", she cries. this family has been camped outside here for five days. "the situation here is very bad", she says. "no one wants to live here. "everyone wants to live in peace and to be able to study. "we want

this is bbc news. we will 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. racism is the wound which has festered throughout us history. from slavery to civil rights, battles have been fought and won, but still this struggle for justice

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. taliban leaders in kabul are engaged in careful message management — amnesty for all, no safe haven forforeign fighters, and respect for the rights of women and girls, they say. but then the rider — under their islamic law. now, it's too early to know what taliban governance 2.0 will look like, but it is clear many afghans are fearful.

this is bbc news. we will 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 with me, zeinab badawi, coming to you from barbados. i'm on an historic sugar plantation where enslaved africans toiled in backbreaking labour during three centuries of the transatlantic slave trade. barbados was one of the earliest and most profitable of the slave colonies in the caribbean. this is the house on the grounds of the plantation built

this is bbc news. we will have all the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hard talk. welcome to hardtalk i'm stephen sackur. canada's treatment of its indigenous people over hundreds of years is a dark and spreading stain on the country's reputation. in the last few months, the unmarked graves of hundreds of indigenous children have been discovered in the grounds of residential schools, which became notorious for racism, neglect and abuse. my guest is roseanne archibald, newly elected chief

this is newsday on the bbc. our main story: the taliban have been celebrating with gunfire and fireworks after the last us military flight left kabul. america confirmed this 20 year war in afghanistan was over. well, let's stay with that top story. we can bring you the fact that the us military, as we have been telling you, has completed its withdrawal from afghanistan after a mission lasting nearly 20 years. but what will the new area under the taliban look like. while i am joined by professor of the national security affairs at the naval postgraduate school in california. his recent book is called taliban narratives: the uses and power of stories in the afghanistan conflict. great to have you on the programme. i wanted to start by asking you what you think that taliban's biggest challenge is now? ~ ., , , now? well, i think the biggest challenae now? well, i think the biggest challenge a — now? well, i think the biggest challenge a number— now? well, i think the biggest challenge a number of- now? well, i

pauladams, bbc news. for more on the situation i've been speaking to lieutenant colonel davis, a former soldier who served in afghanistan and now a senior fellow and military expert in washington. he told us how far the taliban advance could go. i doubt that kabul is going to be next because that is literally the capital and they are both figuratively and literally for the afghan government will do everything they can to protect that and they will marshal their resources if they need to. but the anguishing thing to me is that this is entirely predictable. i've been warned about this for many years as have several other people. this was entirely avoidable to the degree we have seen here. and i'm concerned about what will happen next but this cannot surprise anyone that's been paying attention to the reports coming out. especially this past week equally as frustrated as i am right now about how you would could have been surprised by this because of the really bad way we have been doing business over the las

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as news newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. in pakistan, journalists who ask awkward questions of people in power need to watch their backs. in the last year, there have been a string of attacks on reporters. the perpetrators remain unknown and unpunished. the government insists pakistan is a bastion of media freedom. well, my guest is hamid mir, a high profile columnist and tv presenter, survivor of several past assassination

this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's six in the morning in singapore, six in the evening in washington and 2.30 in the morning in kabul. america's longest war is over. a us military aircraft carried the last american troops out of afghanistan early on tuesday. more than 120,000 people have been moved from kabul. now hundreds of americans and thousands of afghans left behind face an uncertain and dangerous future. general kenneth mckenzie of us central command announced that the us withdrawal from afghanistan was complete. tonight's withdrawal signifies both the end of the military component of the evacuation but also the end of the nearly 20 year mission that began in afghanistan shortly after september 11, 2001. it's a mission that brought 0sama bin laden to a just and along with many of his al-qaeda co—conspirators. and it was not a cheap mission. the cost was 2561 us servers members and civilians killed and more than 20,000 who were injured. sadly, that includes 13 service members who were we honour their sacri

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtop. —— hardtop. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. those of us lucky enough to live in countries where 70%+ of the adult population have been double vaccinated against covid might be tempted to think we can relax our guard. but the pandemic isn't over and the global vaccine roll—out still faces enormous challenges. my guest is professor sir andrew pollard, a key

jonathan beale, bbc news. it's been a week of extreme weather conditions and weather related disasters around the world. algeria has observed a day of mourning after wildfires took the lives of 69 people since monday. high winds and 50 degree celsius heat fueled the rapid spread of the blazes. algerian authorites say they suspect arson in sparking the fires, but the fires were aggravated by the hot temperatures. north of the mediterranean, the italian island of sicily may have registered the highest temperature ever recorded in europe — 48.8 degrees celsius. the average maximum temperatures for this time of year are normally around 35 degrees there. over 500 blazes were reported over wednesday night. the head of a siberian region has declared friday a non working day and urged residents to stay home due to the threat of forest fire smoke to public health. according to the russian forestry commission, this seasons wildfires have burned away 9.2 million hectares of forest, an area the size of portugal. and —

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hours straight after this programme. # we've lost dancing... covid has meant this has been the view on the dance floor. # we've lost dancing... venues like this have been closed now for over a year. the question is, as everything starts to open up, will the clubbers want to come back? when the clubs reopen, the appetite will still always be there, and we will run straight into the club when we can. and i don't think that'll go anywhere. the government don't understand what we do. they think about a dj as someone — last orders at the bar, and all that stuff. totally dated view, and everything. the interaction between - yourself and the dance floor,

caroline hawley, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the scramble to find hospital beds in tokyo for patients critically ill with covid. she received the nobel peace prize for her work with the poor and the dying in india's slums. the head of the catholic church had said mother teresa was a wonderful example of how to help people in need. we have to identify the bodies, then arrange the coffins and take them back home. parents are waiting, and wives are waiting. hostages appeared — some carried, some running — trying to escape the nightmare behind them. britain lost a princess today. described by all to - whom she reached out as irreplaceable", described by all to whom she reached i out as "irreplaceable", - an early—morning car crash in a paris underpass ended i a life with more than its share of pain and courage, - warmth and compassion. this is newday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines... hurricane ida has made landfall in the us state of louisiana, bringing winds of up