welcome to newsday — reporting live from singapore — i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. putting on a show of power — taliban forces parade the military equipment america left behind. governing, however, is another matter — with no women planned for topjobs. in this new government which has been announced in the top posts, in the cabinet, there may not be a woman. posts, in the cabinet, there may not be a woman. an economy close to collapse — the value of the afghan currency plummets — while the price of goods soars. the afghan economy has been heavily dependent on international aid. whether or not they continues, at least

when it comes to the west is likely to be dependent on what kind of government the taliban create and what laws it enforces. the us supreme court ignores appeals against a new law in texas banning 85 per—cent of abortions. president biden says it's a blatant violation of constitutional rights. and — in california — emergency crews continue to battle a huge wildfire around lake tahoe. more than fifty—thousand people are evacuated from the region. it's eight in the morning in singapore, eight in the evening in washington and 4.30 in the morning in kabul, where the taliban is moving closer to establishing a government,

now that the us exit from afghanistan is complete. a senior leader told the bbc the government would be inclusive. but against this backdrop — the economy of afghanistan is close to collapse — with little immediate prospect of the new islamist rulers gaining access to the country's foreign currency reserves held in the west. prices of essential goods are soaring, the value of the currency is falling, and many public services are barely able to function. here's our afghanistan correspondent secunder kermani. the taliban are in firm control of the country. this, a huge military parade in the southern city of kandahar, along with a captured helicopter. but the group still hasn't established a new government, leaving many afghans in a state of limbo.

now that the final foreign troops have left, an announcement is expected soon. the last time the group was in power in the 1990s, their regime saw public executions and women banned from working. now they say things are different, though they admit women won't be in senior positions. maybe they will be in the government, in the lower things, because in every department of the government ministries, you can say almost half of the workers are women. so they can come back to their work and they can continue. but in this new government which has been announced, in the top posts, i mean to say in the cabinet, there may not be a woman. the uncertainty about what the future will look like has seen the value of the afghani drop and concerns about the economy rise. the world bank and imf are holding back from continuing support. whilst the us has frozen reserves and most local banks remain closed. translation: no one has

any money right now, - all their savings are stuck in the banks. people arejust bringing small amounts of cash here to exchange, to pay for everyday living. translation: i needed money for groceries, . but the exchange rate isn't good, so i'm going home. the currency rate just keeps on fluctuating. i pray that god brings stability to the government and these problems can be solved. the afghan economy has been heavily dependent on international aid. whether or not that continues, at least when it comes to the west, is likely to be dependent on what kind of government the taliban create, what kind of laws it enforces. governing afghanistan is going to prove a bigger challenge for the taliban than taking control of it. they've been holding meetings with senior political figures, like former president, hamid karzai, but many doubt whether they're willing

to really share power. their elusive leader, mullah hibatullah, may well be declared leader of an islamic emirate. these, new pictures of some of the final us troops to be withdrawn from afghanistan, the focus now is on what they've left behind. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. for more on how inclusive the new government in afghanistan is likely to be, here's our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. well, there is this magical word of inclusive that is being used by afghanistan as neighbours to put pressure on the taliban to try and share some of the powers so they don't have absolute control. a look at it in pure political terms. the taliban of come to power much more quickly than even they expected. they now control more territory in afghanistan than they were in power in the 1990s. so, they feel they have an overwhelming mandate to pursue their overriding objective and that is to use words like government cabinet, their objective is to

establish an islamic system. the choice of who is in the cabinet is going to be very much, they said they're going to be discussing individuals on the basis of islamic principles and sharia law, or these people corrupt, did they work for the former government and what about women? women will not be playing a leading role. this new emerging islamic and red, they'll be playing secondary roles to the men. they'll be playing some roles but not at sea level. this is different from what we heard even two years ago when the taliban started discussing with representatives of the afghan government and civil society here, that this form of words with the said women can have any roles in our newest islamic government, except the president of the prime minister, but they can be ministers and ceos and now they seem to be rolling back from that because what happened in the past is now history. it is a new day for them and it is a date when the taliban are in charge.

general mark milley is the us joint chiefs of staff chairman. at the latest pentagon briefing he gave this assessment of the taliban. we don't know what the future of the taliban is, but i can tell you from personal experience that this is a ruthless group from the past and whether or not they change remains to be seen. and as far as our dealings with them at that airfield or in the past year or so, in war, you do what you must. in order to reduce risk to mission and force, not necessarily what you want to do. we'll have more on afghanistan a little later in the programme — when we'll hear from a father separated from his 7—month old baby girl. and don't forget there are more stories like that, plus the latest developments and reporting from lyse and our team in kabul on our website.

just go to bbc.com/news. in other news. a law banning abortion from as early as six weeks into pregnancy has come into effect in the us state of texas. it will prevent anyone in the state from conducting an abortion once a foetal heartbeat is detected — which for most women is about six weeks into the pregnancy, before many even know they are pregnant. opponents of the law say it will effectively ban at least 85% of abortions sought in the state — including pregnancies from rape or incest — making it one of the most restrictive bills in the country. senator bryan hughes is the author of this bill. we had a number of prosecutors in america, district attorney and this at the end of 2019, many states are considering heartbeat laws but if you pass these laws, we will not enforce them.

the sworn elected prosecutors saying they will not enforce the laws. we had to find a way to enforce the laws. the private lawsuits are used in americans medicaid in texas and our government health care system. if you defraud the medicaid system, any texan can file a claim against you. she this is been in law for a long time. and we protect innocent human life and for years now, for years, we've been coming alongside the mothers, providing more funding, more help for expectant mothers. we do let us forget about them after the child comes along. we want to support those mothers while we protect that innocent human life. that is what this bill is about, plain and simple. for more on this i am joined now by diana gomez, from the progress texas group. grates to have yuan. in the first instance, _ grates to have yuan. in the first instance, can - grates to have yuan. in the first instance, can you - grates to have yuan. in the | first instance, can you spell out what this bill now means for women in the state of

texas? , , , , texas? this bill is the first of its kind _ texas? this bill is the first of its kind to _ texas? this bill is the first of its kind to be _ texas? this bill is the first of its kind to be enacted . texas? this bill is the firstj of its kind to be enacted in the entire country. it is cruel, it is unconstitutional and it is an attempt to upend our legal system. and it is an attempt to upend our legalsystem. before and it is an attempt to upend our legal system. before today it was already a very difficult in texas for people to access abortions. what this new law is doing is making sure that the vast majority of texans won't be able to access abortion. figs be able to access abortion. as ou be able to access abortion. as you pointed out, there are a lot of people saying that this bill is unconstitutional and could further fuel legal and political battles over the future. vo versus wade, which established the constitutional right to abortion in the united states. how concerned are you this could set a precedent for

other states passing these sorts of bills? i other states passing these sorts of bills?— other states passing these sorts of bills? i am extremely concerned- — sorts of bills? i am extremely concerned. right _ sorts of bills? i am extremely concerned. right now, - sorts of bills? i am extremely concerned. right now, texas| sorts of bills? i am extremely. concerned. right now, texas is the battleground for abortion rights in the entire country. i think this is definitely, like i said before, the first of its kind to be enacted. other six weeks abortion bans have been proposed across the country in different states that have been overturned and higherfederal overturned and higher federal courts. overturned and higherfederal courts. this is the first one to actually go into effect. and i think the entire country of the united states should watch what is happening in texas and know that they need to prevent this from expanding further into other states. now, the supreme court did not intervene yesterday to oppose this and stop it from going into effect today but there is still time. they can still stop it from continuing.— they can still stop it from continuing. they can still stop it from continuin-. ., , continuing. on that, there is an application _ continuing. on that, there is an application that _ continuing. on that, there is an application that it - continuing. on that, there is an application that it has - continuing. on that, there is i an application that it has been put forward. the court is expected to rule on that

shortly. is there any chance of this being overturned? you know, i this being overturned? you know. i hepe _ this being overturned? you know, i hope so _ this being overturned? 7m, know, i hope so because this is extremely unconstitutional and it is where the roles i could across the country have been overturned. and we hope that our supreme courtjustice respects the constitution follows president and respects the overview wades and respects abortion as the law of the land, which it is. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. au.s. judge says he'll approve oxycontin maker purdue pharma's bankruptcy reorganization plan. the move clears a path to resolve thousands ofopioid lawsuits but protects the company's wealthy sacklerfamily owners from future opioid litigation. north korea has rejected roughly three million covid—i9 vaccine doses of china's sinovac biotech, saying they should be sent

to severely affected countries first, particularly africa and asia. so far, north korea has not reported any covid—i9 cases and has imposed strict anti—virus measures, including border closures and domestic travel curbs. zambia's new president says horrifying amounts of state funds have been stolen. hakainde hichilema told the bbc he had inherited an empty treasury and that people were still trying to make last—minute illegal transfers of funds. mr hichilema beat the incumbent edgar lungu last month in his sixth attempt at running for president. if you wanyt to get in touch with me i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme.you've got to hand it to her —

the korean paralympian determined to grab her chance in tokyo. 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, then 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. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines. afghanistan is facing a major economic crisis as the value of its currency falls — sending the price of everyday necessities soaring. many public services are close to collapse. the us supreme court ignores appeals against a new law in texas banning 85 per—cent of abortions. president biden says it's a blatant violation of constitutional rights. fifty thousand people have been forced to leave the lake tahoe

area of california, as firefighters continue to battle a huge wildfire in the region. the area is a popular tourist destination but it's largely deserted now, as strong winds fan the flames of a blaze that's destroyed more than 700 structures — most of them family homes. for more on the scale of this fire i spoke there are huge challenges, not least because of the size of this fire. it covers the equivalent area of the city of chicago. so, you can imagine how difficult that is for firefighters to get containment around the perimeter of this fire, which is what they're trying to do. there is some good news in that 20%, a fifth of the perimeter is now contained, which is slightly better than the last few days. it is slowly moving in the right direction. but tremendous challenges, not least the winds. tremendously strong winds, and it's very unpredictable in terms of the direction of the winds. we have heard many local

residents talking about the fact that they were safe, or feltthat they were safe, in a certain area and then in a heartbeat, the winds would change and they saw the flames coming in their direction. this is a very populous area, you mentioned 50,000 people have been evacuated. many of the fires you hear about in california are in remote areas. and this is a popular tourist destination and the fact that there are so many people around poses another challenge for the authorities. this summer season, according to some experts, it is shaping up to be one of the most destructive on record. you talked about the unpredictable winds, what other conditions have led to this? there are several reasons. climate change cannot be ignored. growing evidence of the huge super fires sometimes referred

to are linked to climate change. and yes, there've always been fires in california, but not of this intensity. that is one of the key reasons and the prolonged drought which you could say is linked to climate change, the forest, the foliage, the wood, everything is tinder dry and burned so easily. then there are longer—term reasons as well. policies, forest policies of fire suppression over the years. in other words, not allowing fires to burn whereas the more recent thinking is that if only some of those forests had been allowed to burn, the deadwood, the foliage thinned out on the ground, then perhaps some of these forest fires would not be as intense today.

let's turn our attention back to afghanistan now — and among the tens of thousands of people who've found themselves separated from loved ones by the events of the past few weeks, is a seven—month—old girl and her parents. her father is a british national — he's in the uk, but baby gulrena living with her grandparents in, because her passport has onlyjust been issued. our special correspondent lucy manning has been speaking to gulrena's father, his identity is concealed to protect the family. too young to know what has happened, too small to comprehend she is stuck in kabul without her parents. gulrena, one of the youngest britons left behind. we are missing her a lot. you know how people feel when their child is outside the country, and in another country where there is a war and you don't know what is going to happen next?

her parents, thousands of miles away. this is the closest her dad muhammad in london can get to her. he can only try to keep their bond alive. when kabulfell, gulrena still didn't have her uk passport, five months after her british father applied, his identity hidden for the family's safety. she is stuck in afghanistan because of the passport delay. if the passport took less time, she would have been here with us. and she is stuck there with my other part of the family and they're all in danger. i called the consulate when everything happened and they said she is not british yet. "you have to wait until her passport arrives, then she is british, "then we can help you." i told them it's going to be too late. trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare, gulrena was born

unexpectedly in kabul injanuary when her mother, an afghan, was unable to return to the uk as planned after visiting relatives, because she'd lost her uk id card. she eventually got a temporary visa to return to britain in may to get a replacement, but had to leave gulrena behind with grandparents. then, the taliban took over. i want the government to help me find a way to take them out, take my daughter and my family out of afghanistan. the government can do anything, if they want to. and they can do it. why not? how do you want the government to help, when they don't have any soldiers on the ground? they can help, they can find a way. they are the government. the government says it has evacuated more than 16,000 people from afghanistan but it knows more must be done to support those at risk. government advice has long been for britons not to travel to afghanistan. gulrena's mother says she is lost without her baby by her side, is losing hope, and begs the government to help.

finally. at 3pm this afternoon, gulrena's passport finally arrived, but with nearly half her short life separated from her parents, there's now no easy way to bring her home. lucy manning, bbc news. in preparation for the tokyo paralympics 2020, south korean hand—cycling champion doyeon lee has been riding more than 300km every week. but despite nearly a decade in the sport, she's still not always welcomed on the roads. during a recent race, people even called the police to report a "dangerous" women was loose on the roads. bbc korea'sjulie yoonnyung lee spoke to doyeon ahead of herjourney to tokyo.

translation: my hope, my dream and my goal is to cycle. _ doyeon lee without the bicycle has no dreams or goals to achieve. how cycling saved my life. translation: hello. iam doyeon lee, a hand cyclist from south korea. at 19 years old, doyeon lee was involved in a serious fall. translation: | felt - like i had lost everything. i became depressed and i couldn't break out of it. i lost my weight for a long time. that's how i lived for a while. she began cycling

at 41 years old. three years later in rio, she won a silver medal. translation: if my daughter is having a hard time, i want l to do everything for her. back then 20 million won was a lot of money. i used my savings to buy her first bike. every week she rides more than 300 kilometres. translation: some people curse me when i'm training. | they say why are you riding on the road? people even call the police, saying it's dangerous. as a single mother of three, she wants her daughters to learn from herjourney. translation: it's not about me being the best mother. - i want them to manage theirfrustrations, never give up and always be grateful. i want to show them i have found happiness by following my dreams.

portuguese footballer cristiano ronaldo has broken the all—time record for goals scored in the men's international game, scoring his hundred—and tenth against the republic of ireland.the goal edged him past the previous record—holder, the iranian striker ali die—ee, before he scored again in stoppage time to win the game for portugal 2—i. the 36 —year—old made headlines only days ago when he re—joined his old english premier league club, manchester united. you have been watching newsday. a reminder of our main news this hour. we will be.afghanistan is facing an major economic crisis as the value of its currency falls, sending the price of everyday necessities soaring. many public services are close to collapse. the taliban say the problems will be dealt with when a new government is in place —

which is expected within days hello there. on wednesday it was a lovely day across scotland and northern ireland. wide spread sunshine and pretty warm with 25 celsius recorded in sterlingshire. further south for england and wales it was rather cloudy. the next few days it is similar set up. the best of the sunshine across the north, more clous in the south. it's this area of high pressure that we've had for nearly two weeks now. pretty much in the same position bringing back east or northeast airflow. so a lot of cloud generally to start the day thursday. eventually we start to see the cloud breaking up across scotland and northern ireland and into northern england was up increasing sunshine here, it will turn quite warm

to the afternoon. but again, for much of england and wales, a lot of cloud around. some sunny breaks here and there, more of a breeze again across the south and through the channel. lighter winds further north, could see temperatures reach the low to be 20s in the sunny spots across scotland. otherwise for most for you have the cloud around 17—19, 20 degrees. our area of high pressure still around with us on friday. moving a little bit towards the east but still bringing an easterly wind. they will be a lot of cloud still wrapped up in this system. a again friday pretty similar, most of the cloud i think across central, southern eastern areas, the best of the sunshine towards the west where it will feel a little bit warmer. as we head on into the weekend we start to see our area of high pressure drift in towards the near continent

with low pressure approaching from the west, that's going to allow a run of southerly winds to develop across the country. and we start to tap into some warmth across france. i think a gradual process but during the weekend temperatures will be climbing up gradually. we should start to see increasing amount of sunshine as we draw up some dryer air from the south. saturday pretty similar to how thursday and friday shape up but quite a bit of cloud around. i think later in the day there are signs of increasing sunshine across southern england, south wales. that will push the temperatures up to 23 degrees or so. but for most again, the mid to high teens or up to around 20. i think on sunday there's a greater chance of seeing more wide spread sunshine. certainly a brighter day for much of england and wales then we've had over the past week. as winds coming in from the south from france pushing up into around the mid 20s across the self or high teens further north. and then it's warmer still

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the new stories for you at the top of the hour, after this programme. boris johnson: the coronavirus is the biggest threat this - country has faced for decades. if too many people become seriously unwell at one time, the nhs will be unable to handle it. from this evening, i must give the british people a very simple instruction — you must stay at home. 0h, hello.