the s has made it clear to the taliban that any attack on the evacuation would be met quickly and with false. the un's secretary general says several of the block members have suggested extending the deadline for evacuations as a parable about the 31st of august. —— nato�*s secretary general. boris johnson says he has full confidence in his foreign secretary dominic raab after criticism of his handling of the crisis. mr babb has come under pressure for failing to call the afghan foreign minister over evacuation plans. there has been mounting anger in haiti over the slow delivery of aid to areas damaged by the earthquake. votes were damaged and people have died and many more were injured. —— roads were damaged. now on bbc news, 60

years ago, life in afghanistan was very different to the battleground it's become in recent decades, as can be seen from a remarkable treasure trove of films shot in the 19505. treasure trove of films shot in the 1950s. 0ur reporter, who was born in southern afghanistan, has been exploring the films. this is precious. i love this sweet. and ijust ate half of it and kept another half because i thought i will never, ever have them again. for me, this is a diamond. reminds me of my childhood. and the golden time.

i was so excited to discover these films. my family had many photographs, but we lost them when we fled the afghan wars as refugees. most afghans have no pictures of their past. nothing to show their grandchildren. it is a terrible gap in our lives. these films, kept safe for half a century, are the only ones i have ever seen that have survived the wars. they show my afghanistan — to me, the real one. a land full of life and hope. they tell a special chapter of our story that's almost forgotten. half a century ago, an american, glenn r foster, from california arrived in southern afghanistan.

he stayed on for seven years, a keen photographer in black and white and marvellous colour. glenn took his 16mm film camera through kandahar and helmand. he toured through villages and deserts. sometimes, hejust let the camera run. chatter. galloping. foster's family kept the films in a trunk at home, and they kept a reel of tape, noting his impressions as plain as the day he recorde them. their calm and optimism surprises our 21st—century heirs.

we tracked down foster's assistant, now living on the far side of the world in america. he hadn't seen the films in 50 years.

the films capture a time when afghanistan was changing, modernising, filling with ideas. king zahir, the last afghan king, imagined a forward—looking country, united under one flag. all asia was emerging from the second world war. the old imperial power, britain, in retreat. new countries were born. india and pakistan, afghanistan's most intimate neighbour. in 1956, pakistan drew up its first constitution. it declared itself as

something completely new — an islamic republic. mehtabuddin crossed the border into pakistan to film the celebrations. the schoolchildren are queuing up for an orange as a gift. it was a time of moral ambition, of aspiration for all. zahir shah saw his country as at the heart of a modern asia. here he is greeting the visiting president of turkey, celal bayar, in 1958. zahir shah cautiously opened up state and society. he reformed the army.

he promoted afghan national independence day, known as the...

it's hard to imagine now, but then kabul had money in the bank. $100 million. zahir shah decided to place his investment strategically into the south of afghanistan, where the river helmand cuts through an immense desert. dr farouq azam was adviser in the afghan ministry for power and energy. zahir shah hired the best foreign engineers with state—of—the—art equipment from a company called

morrison knudsen. everyone called it mk.

and that's how our film—maker, glen foster, came to be there. he was an engineer with morrison knudsen. mk drove roads through the desert and canals through the sand. it built three collossal dams at lightning speed. foster and mehtabuddin went out to film each stage of the project in detail, from the grand opening of the dams to the narrowest canals spreading across the desert.

not many americans still remember the old days in helmand, but there are a very few. went to afghanistan in, er... my daughter was about a year old. i went ahead of you because we didn't have a house for the family for the first six months and we were working on the new kandahar international airport. mm—hm. and then they came over about six months later. we lived in this little bungalow... it was a duplex. was it a duplex? yes, it had one bathroom, one living room and a long kitchen with a table at the end with two chairs. that was the dining room. well, been built on a huge compound

that the government of afghanistan had made available to mk quite a few years earlier when mk went into stabbing hellman valley project. the way these guys are so self and so... if you are working here and have to move a 20 tonne generator from here to there you can't call upjoe blow at the train outfit and tell him to send over a 200 tonne crane! but they knew how to do it. the american technicians didn't _ they knew how to do it. the american technicians didn't come _ they knew how to do it. the american technicians didn't come to _ technicians didn't come to afghanistan are single men forjust a few weeks as they do now. no, they brought theirfamilies, their brought their families, their phonographs. brought theirfamilies, their phonographs. they brought their swimming costumes.

helmand was a fun place to grow up. my helmand was a fun place to grow up. my members were american. we used to go to their picnic and the 11th of july parties. we still invite them to our eve celebrations. i went to a co—educational school. my father opened a cinema in helmand. everything seemed possible then.

i remember santa claus arriving on a donkey in a lashkar gah and the presence he brought. really nice coloured pencils, books, dolls and sweets. afg hanistan�*s irrigation projects had afghanistan's irrigation projects had many difficulties in the early years. the land flooded, salts rose up years. the land flooded, salts rose up through the earth in the early

settlers were herdsmen with not much idea how to farm. it took a lot more investment and loans, huge loans, to green the desert. afghanistan's debt grew as the age of independence slipped into the age of independence slipped into the age of international development. the new us government aid agency, usaid, the placed

morrison knudsen. more than a million people moved

into southern afghanistan in these boom years, seeking jobs in schools, hospitals and factories. glenn foster had no doubt in the power of technology to bring about profound social change. kandahar�*s planned new airport use

the latest technology. the outside world was drawing closer. we didn't see our new airport as the product at the far cold war between the united states and the soviet union. bottles, it was a marvellous new opportunity. we bottles, it was a marvellous new opportunity-— bottles, it was a marvellous new opportunity. we were building the international _ opportunity. we were building the international airport. _ opportunity. we were building the international airport. the - opportunity. we were building the international airport. the airport l international airport. the airport included large underground fuel tanks, very high capacity fuel tanks. it included very sophisticated refuelling system, electronically controlled, right out of the apron. it included overnight facilities for maybe 100 people. backin facilities for maybe 100 people. back in the 50s and 60s when a plane stopped to refuel everybody got out and stayed over night robe you were on the way while the aircraft was serviced and then the pilots and everybody would get back on it might be the next morning! and it was

designed to use the maximum of local materials. i and all construction around kandahar was all adobe and brick with no timber and no steel so the airport was designed as brick and was designed as arches. we had huge, big parabolic arches like this out facing the apron and then a barrel act that went behind them to enclose the terminal building. and the afghans were, they were experts on that kind of construction. weill. on that kind of construction. well, the russians _ on that kind of construction. well, the russians had _ on that kind of construction. well, the russians had built _ on that kind of construction. well, the russians had built this - the russians had built this beautiful airport in parable so the usc is— beautiful airport in parable so the usc is a _ beautiful airport in parable so the usc is a way to, we can't have the russians— usc is a way to, we can't have the russians building... that's my opinionm _ russians building... that's my opinion... we can't have the russians_ opinion... we can't have the russians building airport in campbell so we have got to do something to say they built one up in kandahar with usaid money.

correct? — in kandahar with usaid money. correct? . �* , in kandahar with usaid money. correct?_ yeah. - in kandahar with usaid money. correct?_ yeah. in | in kandahar with usaid money. - correct?— yeah. in 1973 correct? that's right. yeah. in 1973 kin: zahir correct? that's right. yeah. in 1973 king zahir shah's _ correct? that's right. yeah. in 1973 king zahir shah's was _ correct? that's right. yeah. in 1973 king zahir shah's was in _ correct? that's right. yeah. in 1973 king zahir shah's was in over- correct? that's right. yeah. in 1973 king zahir shah's was in over him l correct? that's right. yeah. in 1973| king zahir shah's was in over him in a bloodless coup. he declared afghanistan a the public and himself the first president. he rode the tiger of his times, balancing big investments from the americans against those of the soviet union. i was part of that low key generation, the first who would reap the rewards of all the hard work. we were and vicious skills. we had the idea is to be lawyers, to be doctors, to transform our country.

——we were ambitious girls. we could not have known how very quickly the best of times could become the worst. in 1978, a group of soviet army officers overthrew daoud khan. it became a generation of war and invasion, the war we are still living today. my my parents were worried for our future. my sisters and i dressed in

all burqas and plastic shoes. we managed to catch a bus across the border into afghanistan as refugees. we took just a border into afghanistan as refugees. we tookjust a small bundle of things. mehtabuddin escape to, along the road he had helped to build in the road he had helped to build in the 1940s. in december 1979, the road he had helped to build in the 1940s. in december1979, soviet troops entered campbell. they broke open". troops entered campbell. they broke open... jail. the doctor escaped like us. he's fled the country and spent years abroad as a refugee.

the years of war brought the dams, canals and power lines of southern afghanistan close to dereliction. kandahar airport, though, was still largely intact. the andersons didn't think they would see it again until a different technological innovation made that possible. i a different technological innovation made that possible.— made that possible. i went on the internet here _ made that possible. i went on the internet here not _ made that possible. i went on the internet here not too _ made that possible. i went on the internet here not too long - made that possible. i went on the internet here not too long ago - made that possible. i went on the internet here not too long ago to| internet here not too long ago to see what — internet here not too long ago to see what i— internet here not too long ago to see what i could find out about the international airport in kandahar. and i_ international airport in kandahar. and i found out that the nato forces were using it but that also the afghanistan national airlines was using it for domestic flights all over afghanistan. and also for some international flights in the area. i would go back there. yeah. yeah.

those _ would go back there. yeah. yeah. those were — would go back there. yeah. yeah. those were the days. we had a good life, those were the days. we had a good life. we _ those were the days. we had a good life, we really did. we have a really— life, we really did. we have a really good life. we have a really good life.

for as soon as it has been another cloudy day in a particularly dull month so far, few gaps opening in the cloud, inverness one of them, but that very few and far between, main drive of today's by the low pressure to our west and we have had this weather for moving into north—western areas bringing outbreaks of rain particularly for northern ireland but we have also seen some rain at times in south—west england and wales as well bringing these rather dull lesson skies into pembrokeshire. the rain has been quite heavy here for a time as well. 0vernight tonight that rain

is going to erratically push its way northwards and eastwards. it is coming away in pulses. there will be heavy rain and then it will turn a bit lighter in drizzly, mist and fog patches of unhealthy ghost as well, quite murky to some and a mild night, temperatures no lower than 16 in both liverpool and the hull as well. now, the weekend is going to start off wet with these weather fronts slowly progressing eastwards. sunday, the better of the two days of the weekend. in that, they will ease to a mixture of sunshine and showers. saturday's focus, then, we got the rain with us. the rain is going to be really heavy across wales, midlands, northern england as well. many of us will feel some rain through the day, perhaps northern scotland one of the dry areas and later in the afternoon in wales and parts of north—west and southern england will brighten up but there will be some heavy showers following here. temperatures generally high teens, it might reach about 70 up of england but most temperature is a bit below par. this is going to be the better of the two days at the

weekend. cloud built into thin and break up with some sunny spells coming out. some heavy showers around, though, may be a few thunderstorms. these are likely to affect parts of central and eastern scotland, central and eastern england, drierfor scotland, central and eastern england, drier for south—west england, drier for south—west england, wales, northern ireland, western scotland with some sunny spells. but there is a big change in the weather on the way for next week as this high—pressure building. when is coming down to scandinavia so no heat wave in the way. hottest air stays in southern europe and around about the mediterranean but, that said, next week is still looking fine and in the august sunshine that will have quite a bit of next week it is going to feel fairly warm with temperatures for most areas meeting the low 20s and have something that clearly towards the end of the week. that is your latest weather. goodbye.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president biden says the us has made clear to the taliban that any attack on the afghan evacuation mission would be met quickly and with force. as we continue to work the logistics of an evacuation, we are in constant contact with the taliban, working to ensure civilians have safe passage to the airport. uk prime minister borisjohnson says he has full confidence in his foreign secretary after heavy criticism over his handling of the crisis in afghanistan. desperate for help that hasn't arrived — why is it taking so long for aid to reach the victims of haiti's earthquake? in a land of vulnerable

and endangered species — kenya conducts its first ever wildlife census.