welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. the us president lays out a forceful defence of his nation's withdrawal from afghanistan — ending america's longest war. we succeeded in what we set out to do in afghanistan over a decade ago and we stayed for another decade. it was time to end this war. american uniforms, american weapons — but taliban fighters. these are the spoils of a war — that was america's longest military mission. now it is ended and

the worst of ways. and it will live long in memory here in afghanistan, in america and far beyond. rescue operations continue in louisiana — as hurricane ida brings life—threatening floods — millions of people remain without power. and — run out of russia. our moscow correspondent sarah rainsford files her final report from the country, after being labelled a threat to national security. at a time where russia is increasingly seeing enemies around, it seems i have been added to the list.

welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. president biden has praised the airlift of american citizens from afghanistan as an extraordinary success. mr biden insisted the us had achieved everything it set out to do in afghanistan, and no other country would have been able to fly out so many people. we have succeeded in what we set out to do in afghanistan over a decade ago. then we stayed another decade. it was time to end this war. this is a new world. the terror threat has metastasized across the world well beyond afghanistan. we are left with a simple decision. either follow through on the commitment made by the last administration and leave afghanistan or say we were not leaving and commit another tens of thousands more troops going back to war. that was the choice. the real choice.

so how is the president's assertion that staying longer wasn't an option being viewed domestically? here's our north america correspondent, peter bowes. to a large extent, president biden preps in stronger terms and perhaps with more emotion, he repeated what he had said several weeks ago in terms of his reasoning behind the decision to leave on august the 31st. he did not want to extend the forever war. we knew that was his policy and he also said he didn't want to extend the forever exit. and that is more pertinent to what we saw in recent weeks and that is where he is getting a lot of criticism and will continue and is continuing to get a lot of criticism where as he sees the evacuation process more than 120,000 people success. there are others who believe the whole evacuation process as we saw it wasn't necessary had

been planned in a different way. this was a defiant president, but he was defensive and also laying the blame to some extent at the afghan forces, the forces that the us of armed and trained over recent years saying that he believed and he clearly thinks that many would hang on for much longer against the taliban and donald trump are doing a deal with the taliban. in kabul — the taliban have been making the most of their first day in full control of afghanistan — an �*enjoyable moment of victory�*, according to its leaders. taliban fighters have been keen to show off some of the equipment and weapons left behind by us forces, while pointing out that they now control more of afghanistan than they did 20 years ago. the taliban are claiming they have won independence but there are hugely challenging problems facing afghanistan — and the taliban leadership

in particular — as they try to establish some kind of stable government. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet, and cameraman robbie wright, sent this report from kabul. american uniforms, american guns, but these are taliban special forces. they are in charge at kabul airport. translation: our message i to the americans is they should not have any plans to attack muslims again. 0ur message to all afghans is we are going to protect them. surreal to enter what was a us hub. whiteboards from a moment in time just days before kabul fell, when us soldiers plotted an orderly pull—out. this is what they left behind. hangers are full of helicopters. all disabled, destroyed, so the taliban cannot use them.

the best of american military hardware, the best of its generals, were part of its longest war. and now it has ended in the worst of ways, and it will live long in memory, here in afghanistan, in america, and far beyond. today, an airfield flooded with fighters. their first urgent task, repairing the runways so commercial airlines can fly again. translation: as you can see, these infidels destroyed - the entire airport. they haven't left any machinery in good repair. we had a team ready to fix this mess ever since we came to kabul. now that the americans have left we are ready to clean it up. all flights have stopped, but afghans still keep trying to get in, to find a way out of this country. taliban guards turn them away.

the last us flight lifted off last night, and the skies exploded with taliban celebration, after the last american soldier, major general chris donahue, was on his way home. when we drive through the streets of kabul, the city seems much the same, until we get to the banks. to the queues stretching all the way down the street. most banks are shut, most don't have any money. some people have stood here for days wondering if they can withstand this for long. i should build a future, i should study. so definitely if the situations are like that, you should stay for one weekjust to take 10,000 afghani...$100 from the bank, so it's not possible to live here. a country turned upside down and inside out.

an old order suddenly ripped away, a new one suddenly started, in chaos and uncertainty. lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul. david rothkopf, us author, political commentator and former senior government officialjoins me now from new york. great to have you. i'm going to start by that address from president biden. very defiant. possibly defensive as well saying that he believed that staying longer was not an option. how is that being viewed domestically? some have seen it as the president expressing convictions he has had for a long time. president biden, when he was vice president biden argued that the us should draw down its presence in afghanistan to

president 0bama and he was overruled and that was in 2009, 12 years ago. he believes what he believes now for a long time and tonight in the speech she went to great detail explaining why we were going now, why the exit went as it did, how we will maintain our influence in afghanistan and what we will do next. ., . , next. you have been writing recently that _ next. you have been writing recently that president - next. you have been writingl recently that president biden deserves credit, not to this withdrawal operation. why do you think that? well, because i've tried to keep my attention focused on the big picture the united states 20 year war, the war that we fought with our allies in afghanistan has been anything but a success. it cost $2 trillion and 170,000 afghan and allied lives. it did not reduce the terror threat around

the world. the goal of nation—building was singularly unsuccessful and so, you know, i think what i have been trying to say is, getting out of this all throughout the to do. the only better time to do it would have been ten years ago. and, yes, there's exit was ugly and painful and yes, there's exit was ugly and painfuland in yes, there's exit was ugly and painful and in some cases horrific. but we lost this war and it is very difficult to imagine a scenario that would not have been at least a little bit chaotic. there are people and experts who say that he could have extended the timeline, he could have left later on and that would have avoided exactly what you point out. the chaotic scenes at the airport and lots of people stuck in very difficult situations.— stuck in very difficult situations. , situations. the president addressed _ situations. the president addressed that _ situations. the president addressed that today. i situations. the presidentj addressed that today. he situations. the president - addressed that today. he said that he did not want to get

into that situation because he felt that whenever we began the evacuations we would have had the same situation, the collapse of the central government, the military laying down its arms, the taliban moving in and the panic that ensued and he felt that, along with all of his advisers, by the way, and i think one of the things pointed out was there was unanimity among us advisers on this. doing it now, doing it in the way that it was done was the best possible outcome. thank you so much forjoining us on newsday. to other news now, and four people have died and more than a million remain without power after hurricane ida slammed into the us gulf coast on sunday. officials say electricity may not be restored in some areas for weeks. hurricane ida tore through the area on sunday with winds reaching 240 kilometres—per—hour, amongst the strongest ever to hit the mainland.

richard galpin reports. the winds having subsided in louisiana, it's now a more tranquil picture after the storm. but a huge task lies ahead in dealing with the aftermath. in particular, these floods. rescue teams have been searching for people in need of help. some who had stayed put as the hurricane made landfall say they were lucky to survive. last night was rough. we saw slow water coming in under the door, and then it progressivelyjust got, i was mopping, and then itjust progressively got worse. it was ankles, knees, almost chest level, so we just put the dogs on the counters and then we climbed into the attic. the gravity of the situation has led president biden

to pledge more assistance. more than 5,000 members of the national guard have been activated from louisiana, mississippi, alabama and texas to support search and rescue and recovery efforts. and fema has pre—positioned, literally, millions of meals and litres of water. critical to saving new orleans from flooding were these defence walls, which proved effective in preventing serious flood damage. but the hurricane—force winds did take their toll on the city and broader region. i think the damage is catastrophic. it's the worst i've seen in the 20 years i've been here, and we've seen several hurricanes — gustav, isaac — where we had a lot of water, a lot of rain and flooding. but this is flooding and as well as significant property damage. it's far worse than we expected. 0ne critical issue now is getting the electricity supply up and running again after the cables were brought down in the high winds. the main power company is warning it could take weeks before this happens, leaving around 2 million

homes without power. richard galpin, bbc news. i spoke to paul cobler, baton rouge city hall reporter for the advocate earlier and asked him how the rescue operation was going. it is not good here, basically, there are... we were hit with a category four hurricane and sustained winds of 150 mph on the coast. up where i am we are doing pretty 0k. the stormers for cattle and a little further west than it did and we dodged a bullet but that comes at the extent of a lot of smaller communities and the new orleans area which got a tonne of rainfall, tonne of winds and the entire parish that new orleans is and is without power. and communication is really difficult. there is no service, there is no electricity across a huge swath of the state of the wheezy

anna. ., , . . of the state of the wheezy anna. ., , ., ., ,., ., anna. the louisiana governor, i understand. _ anna. the louisiana governor, i understand, has _ anna. the louisiana governor, i understand, has put _ anna. the louisiana governor, i understand, has put it - anna. the louisiana governor, i understand, has put it in - understand, has put it in really stark terms, telling residents there is no timeline for when they can go back home. what has been the reaction in the local community to this. i would say here in louisiana i think people arejust would say here in louisiana i think people are just coming together. i was out yesterday and, you know, it is really just people trying to help each other. like i said, there is no power. there is no cell service or internet so it is really just kind of people coming together to try and help each other. there certainly are people in these disaster areas. i think a lot of people understand that not everyone has the resources or the means to be able to evacuate when a storm like this is coming so, right by that i have the storm almost there were a lot of people there yesterday just trying to pick the pieces up. 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. 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 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. 0ur headlines: president biden describes the us evacuation mission from afghanistan as an extraordinary success — the day after the end of america's 20 year presence in the country. rescue operations continue in louisiana — as hurricane ida brings life—threatening floods — millions of people remain without power.

in other news — tens of thousands of people have been moved from the shores of lake tahoe in northern california, as a major wildfire spreads there. the caldor fire has already burned more than 190 thousand acres since it began more than two weeks ago. authorities have closed all 18 national forests in california to protect the public. 0ur correspondent james clayton has more. when fires get this hot, but this intense, they are very hard to stop and this fire is headed straight for a californian beauty spot. over the past few days, residents of south lake have looked on in horror as the caldor fire got closer and closer to their homes. this is the worst i've seen it. when fires get this hot, but this intense, they are very hard to stop and this fire is headed straight for a

californian beauty spot. over the past few days, residents of south lake have looked on in horror as the caldor fire got closer and closer to their homes. nearly 4000 firefighters are trying to stop it or at least diverted. 0ften fighting it by hand, this is dangerous work. this fire is shown to be unpredictable, terrain driven, whether driven and it's been very active, very rapid progression at times. the caldorfire is not the biggest fire that california has seen this year, but what makes it so dangerous is its proximity to residential areas. south lake tahoe is an alpine town on the california border high up in the mountains. californians spend summer holidays here, you can ski in the winter. it has a special place in peoples hearts. a place of fun and adventure. yet the ski slopes have been transformed into an inferno, the clear air of tahoe turned to dense smog. much of what happens now depends on wind direction and fire intensity.

firefighters say they are now embroiled in a tense firefight which will likely take days to save the town. a state of emergency has been announced here, if the area were to be engulfed, it will represent some of the most large—scale destruction from us forest fires in modern times. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. south korea's parliament has passed a bill that's designed to prevent tech companies from abusing their market dominance. the new law stops companies like apple and google from forcing app developers to use payment systems run by those companies. developers complain about the cut that apple takes from their profits. this new law is thought to be the first of its kind in any country. the european commission says 70% of adults in the european union have been given a complete course of vaccinations against coronavirus. the commission's head, ursula von der leyen, called it a great success. but the figures hide wide

disparities within the eu. in bulgaria, just 20% of adults have been vaccinated. the trial of the woman who was once the youngest, self—made, female billionaire is under way in the us. elizabeth holmes faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of fraud, relating to her defunct blood testing company. holmes's 9 billion dollar firm, "theranos", collapsed in 2018 after falsely claiming its technology could discover cancer and diabetes by testing a few drops of blood. the bbc�*s moscow correspondent has left russia expelled by the authorities after being labelled a threat to national security. sarah rainsford, who first reported from moscow for the bbc more than 20 years ago, just as vladimir putin came to power, has been told she can never return to the country.

moscow claims the move is in response to the expulsion of a russian journalist from the uk two years ago, but the decision comes amid a severe crackdown on independentjournalists and opposition activists within russia. here's sarah's report. this was the moment i discovered i was being expelled from russia. according to a specific law, i've been designated a "threat to national security" and, as such, i'm not allowed into the country. pulled aside at passport control, i was told the fsb security service had banned me for life. i recorded the conversation. i was returning from belarus, where i'd confronted alexander lukashenko on the mass repression and torture of peaceful protesters.

his loyal supporters rounded on me... ..in a coordinated attack. vladimir putin's presenting this as just another working visit. .. i've reported from russia for two decades — the whole span of vladimir putin's presidency. there've been highs — like the world cup — but i've also charted the slow erosion of freedoms here. the crackdown on dissent. a year ago, the government put me on short—term visas. sarah rainsford... then i became the news, as state television announced i had to leave. after tense negotiations, i had been allowed to enter russia... they let me in — for now. ..but only to pack. i was then told my visa wouldn't be renewed — supposedly what happened to a russian reporter in london, but that was two years ago. when i was called in here, to the foreign ministry, they kept insisting that my expulsion was nothing personal — they talked about it

as a reciprocal move — but they refused to even engage with the fact that i've been labelled "a national security threat". they said that was just a "technical moment". but, at a time when russia is increasingly seeing enemies all all around, it really feels like i've now enemies all around, it really feels like i've now been added to the list. it's happening as the pressure on russian journalists who don't toe the kremlin line is intensifying. dozhd tv has just been added to a growing blacklist of media labelled "foreign agents" — for getting funds from abroad. this terror of "foreign agents" means that we — dozhd — we are enemies of the state. the pretending of being democracy is over. it is very bad, and it could become much worse — any time. so, i'm leaving a country i first came to as the soviet union fell apart. when free speech — or freedoms — were new and precious. it feels like today's russia is moving in reverse. sarah rainsford,

bbc news, moscow. the final trailerfor the upcoming james bond film — no time to die — has finally been released after being repeatedly delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. bond can be seen racing around a picturesque italian village in his iconic aston martin, before facing perilous shootouts against his enemies. with plenty of action, the trailer shows actor daniel craig's bond on a mission that will change everything. daniel craig's final outing as 007 is now scheduled for general release in october.

that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello there. the last day of august was a rather cloudy cooling with spots of drizzle across eastern areas. best of any sunshine towards the west. indeed the next few days of september are looking pretty similar, often cloudy, occasional drizzle in the east. a little bit of sunshine at times, particularly across more sheltered western parts. for wednesday, it's a rather cloudy picture again. the thickest of the cloud against eastern coast where we will see light rain or drizzle. but through the afternoon we could see quite a bit of sunshine for scotland, maybe northern ireland for the western virginia and into the southwest. but it will be breezy across the channel. certainly around the north sea coast. that will take at the edge of the temperature, highs here around the mid to upper teens. further inland a little bit warmer where you have the sunshine across central

western scotland in particular we could see temperatures reaching around 21—22 degrees. as we head through wednesday night it stays mostly cloudy so for england and wales, a bit of cloud continuing for eastern scotland then it will trundle its way eastward although some western parts of scotland, northern ireland could stay clear. it will be fairly cool under clear skies where we have the cloud and the breeze 11—14 degrees. very little change for thursday and friday. an area of high pressure still sitting on top of us and bringing this north, north easterly airflow. it'll bring a lot of cloud again into northern and eastern areas in particular. further west that you are a better chance of seeing some sunny breaks of course, temperatures in the sunshine reaching the low 20s. otherwise it's mid to high teens in the cloudier spots. for the weekend, signs of change was an air of high pressure begins to break down and moves eastward which allows this area of low pressure to slowly push in from the atlantic. that's going to bring in increasing breeze and also the chance of showers or even longer spells of rain particularly for part two of the weekend. saturday doesn't look too bad.

looks like it will stay mostly dry. variable cloud, light winds. light winds with some sunshine. the winds will start to pick up across southern and western areas as that area of low pressure arrives was up by the end of the day he could start to see showery burst of rain arriving here. temperatures, low 20s in the brighter spots. mid to high teens across the far northeast. into sunday it looks like we will see a band of rain start spreading across the country that could be quite heavy. followed by sunshine and heavy showers.

redesigning aeroplanes.