this is bbc news — i'm sally bundock — with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. as the taliban puts on a show of its new military muscle — speculation a government may soon be announced. but the economy is close to collapse — the value of the afghan currency plummets — while the price of goods soars. the us supreme court ignores appeals against a new law in texas banning almost all abortions. president biden says it violates the constitution. a bankruptcy plan's approved for the company behind the opioid oxycontin — but the owners are protected from legal action. and — the rain in spain —

flooding causes chaos — as roads are closed — and thousands are left without power. a new afghan government, composed of senior taliban figures, could be announced as early as friday. 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. ibraheem bahiss is a consultant with crisis group's asia programme. he assesses peace and conflict developments in afghanistan, and joins me now from melbourne. your thoughts on the new

government, who might be in it and their priorities?— and their priorities? thank ou. and their priorities? thank yom the _ and their priorities? thank you. the information - and their priorities? thank you. the information that| and their priorities? thank. you. the information that is coming out on the side of the taliban still remains murky. we haven't really got a full picture of what this new political order or dispensation is going to look like. information seems to be getting funnelled in a careful way but what we can say, one of the taliban officials comments, women are unlikely to be in the cabinet at least even if they continue to be in their ministries, we will have to see whether the taliban will allow these women to continue to work in these ministries or ask them to, pay them salaries but asked them to stay at home as they did in the 1990s. it is also,

it was always apparent that the chief will be one of the most important if not the most important if not the most important political figure in this new political order. other senior leaders, some of whom are already acting in a caretaker capacity are likely to control levers of government. in the taliban has continued to state the new government will be conclusive but they have not given clear indications of what that entails. whether we will see political actors from the past two decades playing a prominent role in this new political order or are they intending to have a symbolic rather than a functional role. there's questions are still unanswered but most important question of all is whether the taliban will

announce a return of the out because i suspect a lot of the international community is attention will be on that specific question. to what extent are, _ specific question. to what extent are, do _ specific question. to what extent are, do you - specific question. to what extent are, do you think, | specific question. to what. extent are, do you think, the decision—making swayed by the withholding of funding from the imf and the reserve is frozen in the us. we had in that report there is an economic crisis right now. your thoughts and how that impacts their decision—making on he was in government? never could not have come at a worse time. afghanistan was in the midst of humanitarian crisis. that was exacerbated by the covered pandemic and an ongoing drought and the escalating violence. since their takeover, financial aid has essentially been suspended and that has sent the

economy plummeting so that makes the question of international recognition and continued aid quite an existential consideration but the indications received so far seem to suggest that it has not fundamentally sway the taliban's internal logic. i expect they will have to wait different considerations and that includes demands by regional countries and the afghan population. that would include allaying the concerns of their own bank and file and there will be internal pressure in which way they had from here

onwards. in which way they had from here onwards. in the next half an hour we will have more analysis of economic crisis coming a little later. economic crisis coming a little later. a law banning most abortions in texas has come into effect, after the us supreme court declined to act on an emergency request to block it. pregnancy teminations are now illegal after six weeks — even in cases of rape or incest. it's the most dramatic restriction so far to the roe versus wade judgment of 1973, which legalised abortion across the united states. i'm joined now by our washington correspondent nomia iqbal. this is the issue that divides the united states to a great degree. with mid—term elections along the way the impact of

this? ., .., , , this? to call it divisive is surely an _ this? to call it divisive is l surely an understatement. this? to call it divisive is - surely an understatement. you are right. the seville hot topic in america, she mentioned, it is coming up to the midterms next year and it will be used in the mid—term elections but, if you say, this is an incredibly strict law. if you are a woman takes us right now you cannot get an abortion six weeks of pregnancy and that is a time when most women don't even know if they are the other controversial aspect as anyone can see those who an abortion. the doctor, the taxi driver who drives women to the clinic, the vendor covers the cost. the polls suggest most people in texas do back banning abortion. overall, americans accept roe v. wade and they have no problem with that. another does the man at the top, president biden. now, he is religious, i should mention, texas is a religious state. but as a committed catholic he has said

that he is pro—life but he has also said he does not want to impose its view on others and he has criticised this law. now, it is worth mentioning that the supreme court could block it at a later stage. they start the first time next month and they the case in mississippi which is trying to ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. the fear is from women's rights groups, is that the supreme court could come in the supreme court could come in the end, rule in will in favour of texas. the supreme court is dominated by conservative justices. the 6—3, the ratio. and those conservative judges are pro—life. and the fear is, if they do, rule in favour, than other states could follow suit. and then that would mark the beginning of the end, potentially, for the right of an american woman to get an abortion. . ~ an american woman to get an abortion-— abortion. thank you for the detail on —

abortion. thank you for the detail on that _ abortion. thank you for the detail on that story. - abortion. thank you for the detail on that story. there | abortion. thank you for the l detail on that story. there is more online as well. there is more online as well. let's get some of the day's other news. three police officers and two paramedics in the us state of colorado have been indicted on manslaughter charges in connection with the death of a young black man in 2019. elijah mcclain died after being put in a chokehold and injected with a sedative. the authorities in colombia have seized a narco—submarine carrying 60 million dollars worth of cocaine. the vessel, measuring 17 metres, was intercepted by the navy in the south pacific, carrying one point eight tonnes of cocaine. the people manning the submersible and an accompanying speedboat fled into a nearby mangrove area. an intense rain storm in spain has led to severe flooding. thousands of homes are without electricity, and roads and rail links have been forced to close. coastal towns in the northeastern region of catalonia bore the brunt of the storm, as well as parts of central spain — near madrid. courtney bembridge

has this report. streets were turned to torrents with a powerful stream of water swallowing up cars furniture and trees. this video was captured by emergency services in catalonia where coastal towns were hit particularly hard. dozens of people had to be rescued and it is feared that some people are still trapped. thousands of homes remain without power. further inland, just outside madrid, people were in the middle of a meal at this restaurant when the storm hit. translation: we had some i customers who had just finished eating. we tried to get out across the patio, but it was terrible. you could not get out anywhere. the water came up to your knees. out on the street, dozens of cars were picked up by the force of the water. translation: when it stopped for a while, i i went down to see my

car was ok and i saw that my brother's car was gone, and mine was _ being carried away by the flood. this storm gained strength from recent high temperatures and humidity. it is the latest in a series of major floods across europe this summer and scientists warn weather events will continue to become more extreme unless the world 50 thousand people have been forced to leave the lake tahoe area of california, as firefighters battle a huge wildfire in the area. the caldor fire has already destroyed more than 700 structures — most of them family homes. and there are fears that as many as 35 thousand buildings are at risk from the flames. the blaze started more than two weeks ago. it's one of 15 large fires currently burning in california. hurricane ida continues to wreak havoc across the united states. new york mayor bill de blasio has tweeted: "i m declaring a state of emergency in new york city tonight. we're enduring an historic weather event tonight with record breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads." this is the flooding on one brooklyn street —

and the city's subway stations are almost all close. and nearly a million residents of the us state of louisiana are still without power in the wake of the hurricane. six people are believed to have been killed when winds of 150 miles per hour and heavy rains lashed the southern state. gail maclellan reports. we still have a house. the sisters had _ we still have a house. the sisters had evacuated - we still have a house. the sisters had evacuated their southern louisiana home to avoid hurricane ida. this is what they found when they returned. structures collapsed and whole area is flooded as ida tore a path to throughout the state. three days after the hurricane medline for more than a million homes and businesses remained without electricity and louisiana and mississippi. it struck 16 years to the day after hurricane katrina devastated new orleans but this time, the city was bad because of flood gates and pumped built

in katrina's wake. in the areas outside those flood defences evacuees are being urged not to return home yet as officials scramble to supply power and water. other essentials are also in short supply. people seeking fuel for generators or vehicles are struggling to find supplies orfacing long queues. in extreme heat, the lack of power means food can't be kept cool and quickly deteriorates. one man decided to distribute the food from his bakery. instead of wasting our product we made a community closet and give away everything. we have people coming and donating. dropping off road use, drinks, water. . , . . dropping off road use, drinks, water. ., , . ., ., dropping off road use, drinks, water. . ., ., water. he has created a space where goods _ water. he has created a space where goods can _ water. he has created a space where goods can be _ water. he has created a space | where goods can be distributed before they spoil. we where goods can be distributed before they spoil.— before they spoil. we 'ust went to our before they spoil. we 'ust went to fans * before they spoil. we 'ust went to our fans evacuated _ before they spoil. we just went to our fans evacuated so - before they spoil. we just went to our fans evacuated so we - to our fans evacuated so we cleaned out their fridge brought it here and cleaned out theirfridge brought it here and sharing it with the neighbours and they'll be really happy about that. the

star must cost _ be really happy about that. the star must cost an _ be really happy about that. the star must cost an estimated $15 million of damage. some people have lost all they have, others are not sure how to begin to fix things. are not sure how to begin to fix thingie— fix things. we don't want another _ fix things. we don't want another storm _ fix things. we don't want another storm like - fix things. we don't want another storm like this. | fix things. we don't want i another storm like this. we prayed we wouldn't get this one. at prayed we wouldn't get this one. �* , prayed we wouldn't get this one. ~ , , ., , , one. a sentiment shared by millions are _ one. a sentiment shared by millions are in _ one. a sentiment shared by millions are in the - one. a sentiment shared by millions are in the path - one. a sentiment shared by millions are in the path of l millions are in the path of hurricane ida. but, as the seas across the globe continue to warm, fitting extreme weather events, it's probably not a matter of if but when. stay with us on bbc news — still to come. mysteries of the underworld — more secrets are revealed from beneath the ancient mexican city of teotihuacan. 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 bbc news — the latest headlines. as the taliban puts on a show of its new military muscle — speculation a government may soon be announced. the us supreme court ignores appeals against a new law in texas banning almost all abortions. president biden says it violates the constitution. a usjudge has conditionally approved a sweeping bankruptcy plan for the oxycontin drug maker purdue pharma — to clear thousands of lawsuits over its role in the opioid crisis that has killed a half—million americans over the past two decades. under the settlement, the owners, the billionaire sackler family — will give up ownership of the company and contribute 11.5 billion dollars, but will be given immunity from any future lawsuits over opioids and will remain one of the wealthiest famillies in the world. well for more on this, i'm

joined now by chris mcgreal — a journalist and author of "american overdose", a book about the united states' opioid epidemic — which looks at how big pharma hooked so many thousands of americans on the powerfully addictive drugs. thank you for being on the programme. first of all, your reaction to thejudge's decision. it reaction to the 'udge's decision.h reaction to the 'udge's decision. , , decision. it was no surprise, reall . decision. it was no surprise, really- the _ decision. it was no surprise, really. the bankruptcy - decision. it was no surprise, really. the bankruptcy lawsl decision. it was no surprise, l really. the bankruptcy laws in the united states essentially allow companies to pick where they will have their bankruptcy heard. and they chose the judge because he had a history of allowing third parties, in this case, the sacklers family to gain immunity from future lawsuits as part of the process so they file their bankruptcy case there and it was really on this path from the very beginning. in

this path from the very beginning-— this path from the very bearinnin. , ., ., beginning. in terms of the way the are beginning. in terms of the way they are paying _ beginning. in terms of the way they are paying off _ beginning. in terms of the way they are paying off one - beginning. in terms of the way they are paying off one half. they are paying off one half billion, how far will they are paying off one half billion, how farwill that they are paying off one half billion, how far will that go in terms compensating victims and helping those who are still addicted? hat and helping those who are still addicted? ., , ., ., ., addicted? not very far at all for some- — addicted? not very far at all for some. the _ addicted? not very far at all for some. the payments - addicted? not very far at all for some. the payments forj for some. the payments for those who have lost loved ones are up to $48,000 but they can be as little as three now thousand dollars per person. there is money going to states as well to help with social services but i think that the broader impression amongst those who have fallen victim to this pandemic, it is essentially created by marketing very powerful opioid falsely as safe and not addictive. the fact is the family have got away with it and they will hang onto a good chunk of their world. and in fact, the four and have billion dollars they are going pay is going to be over nearly a decade and, as one law professor pointed out to

congress, the earnings alone on their wealth will cover that over the time so they may actually come out of the whole process richer.— process richer. when it comes to the actual _ process richer. when it comes to the actual legal _ process richer. when it comes to the actual legal process - to the actual legal process does this mean this is the end of the road as far as the family are concerned? many and say they are off the hook. is that the case?— say they are off the hook. is that the case? there will not be appeais- _ that the case? there will not be appeais- so _ that the case? there will not be appeals. so it _ that the case? there will not be appeals. so it is - that the case? there will not be appeals. so it is possible| be appeals. so it is possible that this agreement will not be finalised. but it only covers civil immunity. so if an attorney general in one of the states that has been focused on the sacklers decides to go for a criminal charges and, you know, it is worth bearing in mind that they have already been twice convicted of criminal felonies for the actions over oxycontin. of the held individual members of the board are making decisions for the company, and prosecute them

for criminal, for alleged crimes, then they would not be immune from those prosecutions. we should keep a very close eye. thank you for being on the programming giving is your take on the building in the us. dame sarah storey has become the most successful british paralympian of all time. she won the women's road race, c4—5 category, her third gold medal of the tokyo games — and the 17th paralympic gold medal of her career. dame sarah, started her road to paralympic champion in the pool picking up five medals at the barcelona games in 1992 but later switched to cycling. today's success means she has total of 28 medals. let's take a brief look now at the medals table at the tokyo paralympics. china remain in the lead with a total tally of 152 medals. great britain and the russian paralympic committee and currently in joint second place with the united

states not far behind. in mexico — more secrets have been revealed about the ancient city of teotihuacan. researchers have spent years digging beneath the remains of a settlement that's believed to date back more than 2000 years. and the latest discoveries seem to highlight the religious devotion of some of the people who lived there as tim allman explains. its majesty is always apparent on ground level but the real mystery is of teotihuacan are found below the surface. this tunnel, directly beneath the pyramid of the sun, has proved to be a treasure trove for researchers. at least 100,000 different objects have been catalogued including finely carved statues, jewelry and

ceramics. translation: it has been almost i 12 years of continuous research | and exploration. during that time we have discovered many materials in an excellent state of preservation which was beyond what we initially thought. in its heyday, a period from 100 bc - 50500a.d, teotihuacan was one of the biggest cities on earth. a contemporary of ancient rome with as many of 200,000 people lived and died here. priests, perhaps under the influence of hallucinogenic plants offered gifts to the gods of the underworld. translation: what surprised us most was for bouquets of - flowers. we were able to see some leaves which will allow us

to identify what type of flowers were used for this ritual and then we will know what time of year it happened. the digging goes on. the research continues. perhaps the city of teotihuacan has more secrets to give up. hello there. on wednesday, it was a lovely day across scotland and northern ireland. widespread sunshine and pretty warm with 25 celsius recorded in stirlingshire. further south for england and wales it was rather cloudy. the next few days it's similar setup — probably the best of the sunshine across the north, more cloud in the south. it's this area of high pressure which we've had for nearly two weeks now, pretty much in the same

position, bringing that 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, so increasing sunshine here — it will turn quite warm into 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 mid—20s in the sunny spots across scotland. otherwise, for most, where you have the cloud, around 17—19 or 20 degrees. our area of high pressure still with us on friday. moving a little bit towards the east but still bringing an easterly wind. there will be quite a lot of cloud still wrapped up in this system, so, again, friday pretty similar — most of the cloud i think across central, southern and eastern areas, the best of the sunshine towards the west where it will feel a little bit warmer. now as we head on into the weekend we start to see our area of high pressure drift in towards the near continent, and with low pressure approaching from the west, that's going to allow a run of southerly winds to develop across the country. and we'll start to tap into some warmth across france, there. so i think a gradual process but, during the weekend,

temperatures will be climbing up gradually, and we should start to see increasing amount of sunshine as we draw up some drier airfrom the south. saturday, though, pretty similar to how thursday and friday are shaping up, with quite a bit of cloud around. but i think later in the day there are signs of increasing 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 widespread sunshine — certainly a brighter day for much of england and wales than we've had over the past week. those winds coming in from the south, from france there, pushing up into around the mid—20s across the south, or high teens further north. and then it's warmer still into the start of next week — we could be looking at values closer to the mid to upper—20s celsius, particularly across central and southern areas.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. drug deal. bankruptcy approved for the maker of oxycontin — its wealthy owners will pay billions to help the opioid crisis — but win immunity from future lawsuits. safer screen time — the uk brings in new rules to protect children's privacy online. an economy close to collapse — the value of the afghan currency plummets, while the price of goods soars. plus, trouble brewing — wetherspoons pubs become the latest victim of the truck—driver shortage