..and secured a future for their children. this is their life's work. we joined them on one of their last treks to the great pamir, and witness as they struggle to keep their way of life, their language and their traditions alive. they are the wakhi shepherdesses. the last of them. deep in the karakoram mountains of northern pakistan, a centuries—old tradition is about to unravel.

she calls out every summer, the wakhi shepherdesses travel for several days from their home in the shimshal valley to pamir. they call it "the quoch", which means "departure". they migrate to keep the herd fed and healthy. a timeless way of life soon to be forgotten.

annar is the oldest and the leader of the group. at 88, this will be her last trip. with so few still venturing these lands, the young generation steps forward to help. it's a tough three—day trek up to pamir, at 16,000 feet,

almost 5,000 metres above sea level. bano has been climbing these mountains for over two decades. she knows too well the threats that lie ahead. bano�*s son, wazir, lends a hand. he will accompany the women to the pastures.

treacherous paths, rapidly changing weather, and high altitude are but a few of the challenges they face. like her fellow companions, afroze is very much aware

of how times have changed. shimshal valley remained disconnected from the rest of the world until the early 20005. the wakhi people relied solely on shepherding and agriculture. in the summer, men farming in shimshal and women shepherding in pamir.

they are halfway. averaging eight hours a day, they are undeterred.

the end is close. the hardest trek is behind them. shimshal pass marks the arrival to the pastures. pamir is in sight. it's time to celebrate. singing

for centuries, dozens of women, young and old, would spend their summers here. today, there are only seven shepherdess left in their community.

caring for livestock

is a relentless task.

living in the wilderness comes at a cost in this constant balance between life and death.

living in such a harsh environment with no access to health care meant children from the wakhi community had a high mortality rate. on that trip alone, 12 children

died pamir in the summer. on that trip alone, 12 children died. pamir in the summer. looking after the herd isjust one part of the job.

nothing was ever thrown away. shepherding, alongside their dairy products, turned out to be a hugely successful business.

their shepherding marked a turning point for their community. together, they funded the only road out of the valley. this linked the villagers to the karakoram highway, which spans pakistan and china. what would take days to cross was reduced to hours. in less than a generation, shimshal was transformed.

bano�*s son, wazir, who accompanied her on the trek, leads a very different life. he still goes to pamir, but he's not a farmer like his father, or a shepherd like his mother.

fazila is also part of this new generation. unlike her mother and grandmother, she was given a choice.

the valley�*s connection to the world brought with it new ideas and opportunities.

this new generation is venturing into new ways of life. without women like annar, bano, and afroze, this new chapter in the lives of the wakhi people wouldn't have been possible.

singing in wakhi

singing continues hello. we've had some fairly chilly weather over the past few days, but things are about to get

colder as we're going to see a blast of arctic air moving in for the next couple of days. so a drop in temperatures and some snow showers which will cause a bit of disruption, particularly in the north. so we've got a couple of weather fronts shifting their way south, opening the doors to these cold northerly winds, bringing us that arctic air through the next few hours. already some snow showers working in across parts of shetland mainland north of scotland. also seeing a little bit of snowfall, a few light rain showers further south. but actually most of us are dry. and as the sun rises, i think first thing, temperatures are going to be just about either side of freezing. so through the day on sunday, then we've got the snow showers packing in across the north of scotland. it's also going to be really windy, particularly up towards the northern hours where gusts could reach 70 miles an hour. so blizzard conditions there. further south, a few spots of light rain, perhaps northern ireland, wales into central southern england. but most places are going to be avoiding these showers and we'll see temperatures between about 3 to 6 degrees, but it'll feel cooler with the wind, especially in the north now heading on into monday. snow showers continue to pack in on that northerly breeze. they'll become more frequent

across the northern half of scotland, but also for northern ireland. some snow possible here on monday and through some of these irish sea coast, perhaps pembrokeshire, one or two snow showers also possible for the likes of the north york moors towards norfolk as well. most of us, though, looking dry with some wintry sunshine. but look at those temperatures, justi to 5 on the thermometer. but when you add on those brisk northerly winds, it's really going to feel bitterly cold feeling around bitterly cold, feeling around about minus five, minus six, around some of those east coast, for instance, moving through into tuesday. and nowjust have a look at these showers just moving in a few for northern ireland, perhaps southern scotland, perhaps one or two into parts of north west england and wales as well. there is the potential for a little bit more disruptive snow on tuesday, especially moving in towards the central belt, i think later on in the day. so we're keeping an eye on the snow showers in the north, but further south and east, i think you're going to be staying dry if cold again. so there's that area of low pressure bringing a bit of snow. i think for some of us on tuesday that clears away this area of low pressure

towards the south is most likely to be staying out across france. but if it does push further north into that colder air across southern england, it could bring a bit of snow either way. i think next week we're looking at a colder week, a fair amount of dry weather in the south. some snow showers think mainly in the north and sharp overnight frosts.

live from washington, this is bbc news. taiwan's president—elect, william lai, vows to stand up to chinese intimidation in his first speech after his election victory. president biden says he has sent a private message to iran about the houthis in yemen following us and uk airstrikes targeting the group. and john kerry plans to step down as us climate envoy. where does that leave us environmental policy in a critical election year? we'll take a look.

i'm helena humphrey. taiwanese voters have chosen william lai as their president in an historic election cementing a path that is increasingly divergent from neighbouring china, who warned voters not to vote for the doctor—turned—politican. mr lai, who represents the democratic progressive party, won 40% of the vote, beating the other two opponents by a wide margin. he has broken new ground, winning an unprecedented third consecutive presidential term for his party. but the win could also increase tensions with china, who have called mr lai a troublemaker and separtist. china considers taiwan a part of its territory and has been calling for a "peaceful reunification" but has not ruled out the use of force. in recent months the country has ramped up its military presence on the island, heightening fears of a possible conflict. rupert wingfield—hayes has more, from the taiwanese capital, taipei. it had cast the taiwan election as a choice