the taliban appears set to announce a new government for afghanistan within days, but the european union and britain have said they won't be recognising it. it comes as the taliban claim progress in their battle to eliminate the final resistance to their rule in the panjshir valley. president biden has praised people in louisiana and mississippi for their response to hurricane ida last sunday. but he noted the frustration at delays in restoring power and promised that infrastructure would be "built back better". he said the white house would make sure that private insurance companies paid customers who had to abandon their homes. the us president has admitted employment figures showing a sharp drop in employment growth are disappointing. but he said that with employment still rising, america's economy remained durable and strong. the number of newjobs last month fell far short of predictions.

now on bbc news, justice delayed. people really don't know how going to prison for something you didn't do, a crime you didn't commit, especially for a long, long time... ..what it does to a person. i was accused of killing a white man in a drug deal gone bad. this is a case they're going to be teaching in law school 100 years from now. what could dontae have become? it was a travesty ofjustice. it took 26 years to make it partially right. i was exonerated on august 22nd, 2019.

a lot of people think the ultimate goal is just getting exonerated and getting out of prison, getting your freedom back. it's a lot more than that. sometimes i wake up just crying. i just cry. people think that when you get exonerated, the fight is over. it'sjust beginning, really. i haven't been pardoned. governor roy cooper, for some reason, hasn't pardoned me. he's asking for the state of north carolina to acknowledge the wrong and give him what is due under the constitution. they buried this man alive! you're looking at a miracle. there was never an i intention for him to be standing here today. we need to see what he can still become. can i get my pardon? can i get my freedom? something that was given to me by god that you mistakenly took from me?

hey, how are you doing? all right, all right? right here, the police pulled up right here. this exact spot, right here. they jump out. "what's up, man? " and they were like, "dontae, we've got a warrant." i said, "a warrant for what?" he said, "murder." i said, "murder? man, y'all tripping, man. y'all cray." i said, "i didn't do nothing." like this, slapped them handcuffs on me. that was the last time. that was the last time i was outside. this is where i got locked up at. i remember the first day i pulled up to the prison. then that gate, zshhh—boom. then you hear them razor wires shake. ding—ding—ding—ding. i was in there so long, from a teenager to 44 years old. it was like every time i closed my eyes, i see a long

tunnel with a little dot, pinprick at the end. and i'd be, like, "man, am i still in prison?" i couldn't sleep. my mind was running, my mind was racing, like, "you got a life sentence for something you didn't... "you're in prison." it's pure torture, mental anguish, fear. and the fear is one of the great ones. you fear never getting out. i was accused of killing a white man in a drug deal gone bad. mr george radcliffe. now, that investigation was like no other. it was a couple of guys shooting and stuff that went on in the area, but when a white guy got killed, you couldn't walk down the street, you couldn't stop. isaid, "man, whoever they lock up for that through." that's what i said. because racism was so strong in green. they was looking for...

..investigating for two months before they locked on me. this was a high—profile case. it was a white man who was killed in a black neighbourhood known for drugs at that time. it was all over the news. there was a lot of pressure to get somebody for this murder. i heard so many stories that they wanted me for drugs. they said i was a big—time, known drug dealer. i was known, a lot of people know me, but whatever reason it was, you've got the wrong man. this is something that's sort of well known in reviews of innocence cases. when you have a white victim who, tragically, is harmed, we see greater penalties associated and we see greater

instances of wrongful convictions related to those crimes. dontae, being a black man in greenville, north carolina in the 19905 was central to why he was convicted and central to why his conviction was not overturned sooner. every time i went to court, it was a white man over me, i was in a black and white case. racism was part of the reason why they went so hard — they tried to solve it and get somebody and it happened to be a black and a white. it wasn't until trial that he knew what the evidence was that was going to be used against him. no physical evidence, no fingerprints, no hair, fibre, no nothing. not of me. not my... nothing. nothing on the scene, period. the primary witness that the district attorney put forward was a 15—year—old girl. her name was charlenejohnson.

almost immediately following the trial, charlene came forward and recanted. she told the state that she was nowhere near this murder scene and that she had made up what she said at trial. a young lady came forward and said that her boyfriend had came home and told her that... ..he had shot a white man across town in a truck and that he wasn't going to prison for killing a white man. he said that for 20—something days, and then he killed himself with a gun, i guess. committed suicide. that was never heard by a jury, again, based on a technicality. the court could have allowed that testimony and the court did not.

i guess they didn't believe it, you know? 0r didn't want to believe it. i don't know, you know? i think this is 1998. think i had been locked up then, like, three years, i had heard from somebody that if you've got a picture of something in your mind that you want and you can look at it every day, if you can see it and believe it, you can get it. so i took the picture and wrote this on a picture and put it up on my mirror, and every day i looked at it and said, "i'm free. i'm f ree that's what this picture was for. i had to make a wilful choice —

was i going to act like a lifer or was i going to grow up, mature and use the situation to better myself? and the first step i did was getting a bible. i used to read, every day, one scripture, one verse. i would deliver him and honour him because he set his love upon me and with long life would i satisfy him. so he would deliver me, deliver my. . . here first and then deliver me out of prison, but i had to set my love, i had to love, and that's what i did. it was july 17th, 1994, the day she was born. i was in the countyjail. they announced over the intercom, "dontae sharpe is the proud father of a baby girl." my name is imani carmen. i am 27 years old.

dontae is my dad. when i was younger, they told me he was injail for something he didn't do. he had got life. we didn't have a bond, you know, with him being injail. i wasn't given a chance with him and i don't really know why. iwas, like, "god, i'm facing a murder charge for something i didn't do. i'm not going to be there." i told my momma i wanted to better myself. i said, "i'm—a do everything in here that i wouldn't do or didn't think was important in the world." i went all—out in everything i did. my mum probably missed four visits in 26 years. dontae needed me then. you know, ifeel like he really...he needed me. i didn't want to miss visits. it was already bad enough being in prison for something

you didn't do, and i feel like, what kind of mother would i be if i didn't go see my son? he would wave and that wave used to destroy me. you know, they don't realise how much damage they do... ..toa family. i never dreamed it would be 26 years. i thought i had got over the tears. i guess i hadn't. i met dontae as a duke law student. i had started in the wrongful convictions clinic and, as a part of the clinic, you are assigned a client. when i first met him,

he would have already been in prison for 16 years. in dontae�*s case, he received offers of plea deals throughout his time of incarceration, and at each turn along the way, he declined because the plea deal required him to say that he had done something that he had not done, to admit to a crime that he was not guilty of. some innocent people have been coerced, have been tricked, have been scared into it, and some just got tired and took a plea bargain, said they did something they didn't do, and i never could understand them. he was saying, "i am not going to allow this system to break a part of me that is still mine and that is my truth, my integrity, my dignity."

and while i completely stand with that, the reality of seeing him have to do that over and over again while the system failed, it.... it broke me. you're hurting and you're losing faith and hope in humanity. sometimes. . .i just hollered out sometimes. i'd just be, like... he screams "god!" isaid, "man, nothing, man. nothing, man." all: free dontae sharpe! this morning, i come out for my son, montoya dontae sharpe. first, there was- no physical evidence. secondly, there were l false witness accounts. there were likely alternative suspects ignored and not. pursued, so while dontae was locked up, the - real killer was still- walking around greenville. it was a travesty of justice and it took 26 years to make it partially right.

the day that dontae got released was in greenville. it was, you know, in his hometown. his whole family was there. theresa newman and spencer parris, who put on that case, did a phenomenaljob presenting the evidence. do you solemnly swear the testimony given to the court in this session shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god? charlenejohnson, she testified again in front ofjudge collins, and she said, "i've been trying to make this right."

you could hear, in the courtroom, a pin drop. people knew that this was an incredibly important moment. there was no way for the crime to have physically happened the way that the state said it was, that it was a physical impossibility. to me, this is sort of the core

of how unbelievable it is that dontae sat in prison for 26 years, is that the evidence was right there in front of all of ourfaces. it was before the courts. the judge went back to his chambers and made it clear that he was going to announce his ruling from the bench, which is not always what happens in these cases. the court now resumes the session for the dispatch of this business.

cheering you finally get vindicated. you finally prove that all the years you've been telling people, "i'm innocent. man, i did not do this. i didn't kill this man. i didn't." and you've been saying it and saying it and saying it. it was real, but it didn't seem real. you, 0 god, have spoken this day. yes. laughter getting out of prison, wrongfully convicted, to get exonerated, i think is bittersweet to everybody at the end of the day.

in prison, you sleep, you don't rest. my sleep patterns are still thrown off. i've still got a habit of getting up, checking all my doors cos in prison, all the doors are locked. yeah. i knew y'all was at that pool. i see ya! uh—oh! hey, munchkin. when i got out, it was a shock to be called grandaddy or daddy by my daughter and my grandkids. watching my dad be a grandad, you could say he's been... ..trying to make up for me.

in her eyes, she wanted him here. she just became angry... ..and, you know...been angry ever since about it. you know, i always let her know, if he could get out to be here with you, he would. wanda, wanda, wanda, wanda. yeah, itold her to get on with her life. i had a life sentence for something i didn't do. you know, i had to let her go. i had planned on not ever, you know, being with anyone i was with before. you know, that dontae dead. honest, that dontae dead. i was not expecting him to come home to me. i always said it, you know, i always told people, like, "0h, he come home," i'm, like, "nobody get him,

he belongs to me. he's, like... i'm going to get my family now." i'm—a tell you what really got me — when i seen my grandkids, wytham and marnie, that's my family. that's what i always wanted. when i seen that foursome, made me want to dance a little bit. isaid, "god, i'm back!" i got to try this. i got to go with it. we still don't know each other all, you know, the way, but... ..it�*s better. he kind of catching onto me, i'm catching onto him, so... people think that when you get exonerated, the celebration is on. it's over with, the fight is over and you're celebrating, and... it'sjust beginning, really. it'sjust beginning. when i first got out... he groans. ..i couldn't get a job. the felony stopped me from getting a job. from getting an apartment. it seemed like the felony

was controlling my life, and the only way i can get the felony out my record is get pardoned. i haven't been pardoned. governor roy cooper, for some reason, hasn't pardoned me. if i were to get a pardon, it would make everything a lot easier. hi, everybody. governor roy cooper here. every year, we carve out time to do the turkey pardon. - we eat turkey for thanksgiving, so it's a tradition for the governor and the president to pardon the turkeys for thanksgiving. that's a holiday that we celebrate here in america. it's all right to have traditions, but pardoning a human being is way more important than pardoning an animal. i'm announcing that i am a candidate for governorl of north carolina. cheering roy cooper became the governor of north carolina after serving for more than 30 years as the attorney general or in some form or fashion within the criminaljustice system. and now, as governor, he has the ability to decide the future of dontae's life.

a pardon is a technical term. it can only come from the governor in north carolina and it is the only way to get a determination by the state that you are innocent and it is the only way to get compensated. you get a very small amount of money in comparison to what has been taken away from you, but it's that stability that allows you to be able to build a new life. can i get my pardon? can i get my freedom? something that was given to me by god that you mistakenly took from me? he is not asking for the state of north carolina to apologise. he's asking for the state of north carolina to acknowledge the wrong and give him

what is due under the constitution. when you get exonerated, you're supposed to be able to get pardoned. there's some actual other states that have automatic pardons after you get exonerated. north carolina's not one of them. i'm not begging for it, i'm not pleading for it. i'm just here to put mr cooper, this whole system, north carolina, on notice that i'm—a keep right on talking cos there's more guys that i left behind me that's innocent. they buried this man alive! you're looking at a miracle. there was never an i intention for him to be standing here today. when you try to do this - and you do this and you kill a person's dream... thank you, reverend. all right. thank all of you. thank you.

like, tomorrow. talking about freedom. god knows freedom come in all forms. land of the free, home of the brave. who are the free you're talking about? you're talking to? i'm glad dontae's out. yeah, these ought to be ready. can't get what i lost in 26 years. i got my son back. thank god. we got to start from where we are right now. heavenly father, we thank you for this unity today. we thank you, god, for the food we're about to receive. we ask you to have it to be nourishment to our body and a blessing to our needs.

injesus' name, we thank you. amen. cheering freedom to me is, you know... ..not being locked in, boxed in by them fences and that razor wire. it's been bittersweet since i've been home. it ain't all been roses. today's more like a celebration of the beginning of my freedom because i still haven't been pardoned. there's some guys that have never been pardoned, they've been home ten years. you know, i'm not going to let that hold me back or hold me down cos i can't. i'm going to live whether i get it or not.

hello. weather changes on their way. many areas that have been stuck under cloud for the past week or so, especially in england and wales, gradually breaking out into brighter skies on sunday. if not then, at the start of next week. why? because high pressure is moving away, a flow of air around that bringing something clearer and warmer in from the southeast. where we have seen some sunshine occasionally this week in northern ireland and scotland, a change here to something wetter, gradually, during sunday. it may not be a bad thing, though, where things have been so very dry recently. it's as you were, though, as we start off on saturday morning. a lot of cloud around, some hill fog, some poor visibility, some patches of fog in wales and southwest england, where there may well be a few sunny spells around to begin the day. the cloud in the east thick enough for some drizzly rain at times, and for many, it'll stay cloudy. a few sunny spells trying to come through northern scotland, northern ireland, more especially wales and southwest england. this easterly breeze, with the cloud, the chance of drizzle as well on the eastern coast of scotland, northeast england, keeping the temperature around 15 celsius.

for many, 17—20. into the low 20s, though, in wales and southwest england with prolonged sunny spells. and there mayjust be an increase in sunny spells more widelyjust before sunset on saturday. 0vernight and into sunday, cloud continuing across eastern parts, some clear spells to the west, double figure temperatures as sunday begins. and then on sunday, well, that changes to something a bit brighter and warmer across england and wales. there will still be some stubborn areas of cloud through eastern and central england that will be very slow to clear. but overall, it's a brighter story in england and wale. it'll feel warmer. the breeze picks up in scotland and northern ireland, and still with a bit of uncertainty about timing. we'll see some outbreaks of rain moving in as the day goes on. that moves south overnight and into monday before fizzling out, but on monday, we could well start across central parts of the uk with cloud and some outbreaks of rain. south of that, in some sunny spells on monday, it's going to be warming up, with the warm spots

here into the mid—20s. and that warmth on monday is, for tuesday and wednesday, going to spread northwards. so for tuesday and wednesday, most of the uk are going to be warm to very warm for the time of year, some temperatures reaching into the upper 20s, before another weather change later next week, as we see temperatures come down again and an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms.

this is bbc news. i'm maryam moshiri. our top stories: the uk and the eu say they won't recognise afg hanistan's new government. taliban minister's are yet to be announced, but every day it's clearer what their agenda will be. the taliban have told decorators to paint over all of this, replacing it with these black and white slogans. this one reads, the blood of the martyrs have washed away the occupation. a glimpse of what the new afghanistan is going to look like. president biden promises the infrastructure of hurricane—hit states will be "built back better". a sharp slowdown in job creation in the us, as the spread of the delta variant hits hospitality and leisure. and making a judgement on covid vaccines for children —

britain says there'll be no mass rollout ofjabs