welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: the taliban flag is raised in the one part of afghanistan that has remained outside its control. the resistance says it will fight on. 298 people were killed when mh—17 was shot down over eastern ukraine seven years ago. now, their relatives give harrowing testimony to a court in the netherlands. translation: ijust couldn't stop |crying until i woke up screaming, | months and months on end, every night, over and over again. waiting for the chance to eat — concern grows that millions could go hungry as myanmar edges

towards civil war. translation: donors came to us yesterday. | they gave us four kilos of rice and a crate of eggs, enough for us for two days or so. after that, i don't know how we'll get food. i can't sleep at night. and in what's described as a "miracle rescue", a three—year—old boy — missing in australian bushland since friday — is found alive. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 6am in the morning in singapore and 2.30am in the morning in afghanistan, where the taliban say they're now in full control of the country after seizing the panjshir valley, the last area of armed resistance.

the taliban have released a video of their flag being raised in the centre of the provincial capital. but the leader of the resistance fighters has called for a national uprising against the taliban. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet has the latest. a white flag of victory, the taliban flag. the centre of the scenic panjshir valley. this last redoubt of armed opposition, now claimed by the taliban. "god is great," their fighters cry. in kabul today, the taliban spokesman had a message for the enemy. translation: we have captured panjshir, with the will of god. - we are telling those people who still want to fight, if they want a normal life, they are welcome in afghanistan, their home. but they need to stop fuelling instability. a defiant reply on social media.

32—year—old commander ahmad massoud vows to continue the resistance. he says his men are still in panjshir valley and urges afghans to rise up. the taliban are getting on with the business of being in charge. this, the first visit by the un's humanitarian chief martin griffiths. he also stopped by here earlier today, a tented camp in a kabul park. thousands displaced by fighting in northern provinces when the taliban advanced towards kabul. displacement, drought, hunger. afghanistan was confronting a major humanitarian crisis even before the taliban took power. now, the needs of this nation pose an urgent test for the international community and the taliban. shafiqa tells me she lost her husband in this war.

now she worries the taliban won't let her work to support four children. "what should we eat, what should we do?" at kabul airport, before he left, mr griffiths told us he stressed the rights of women in his talks here. the international community needs to know that there is a genuine will on the part of the authorities to adhere to these principles, to understand them and to learn about them over time. i've heard good words here, but none of us believe only in the value of words. many now wait to see what the taliban will do. aid agencies, allies, most of all, afghans. the first step — forming a government to start moving forward. lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul. i'm joined now by nathan sales, a senior fellow with scowcroft middle east security initiative of the atlantic council. he served as the ambassador—at—large and coordinatorfor counter—terrorism within the us

state department from 2017 to 2021. great state department from 2017 to 2021. to have you c nathan. great to have you on the programme, nathan. as you just heard in that report from lyse doucet, the taliban say they are in control now of panjshir, but the national resistance front say they're going to fight to the end for some how do you see this being resolved? i to fight to the end for some how do you see this being resolved? i think we are seeing _ you see this being resolved? i think we are seeing what _ you see this being resolved? i think we are seeing what is _ you see this being resolved? i think we are seeing what is very - you see this being resolved? i think we are seeing what is very much . you see this being resolved? i think we are seeing what is very much a i we are seeing what is very much a fog of war situation, where it is very difficult for us to figure out exactly what the circumstances are on the ground. i think going forward, we understand that masood has indicated a willingness to stop fighting and to join has indicated a willingness to stop fighting and tojoin a has indicated a willingness to stop fighting and to join a government and by the taliban as long as it is representative of afghanistan and inclusive. i have to say, though, i am not terribly optimistic that the taliban would be willing to share power with those who favour

democracy and human rights and women's rights in particular was to my fear is that the taliban sees themselves as boys to achieve victory militarily and in those circumstances, it does not seem to me they will have much interest in negotiating a way what they think they can acquire via brute force —— see themselves as poised to achieve. with the picture ofjust painted, what prospects are there for people living in panjshir and, eventually, if they do come under taliban rule? i think the resistance in panjshir and elsewhere in afghanistan is very important for the afghan people, but it is also important for western countries as well. these partners of ours are committed to human rights and rule of law, there is dissing the taliban's attempt to destroy the concision of government of afghanistan —— they are resisting full to make no mistake, the odds are certainly stacked against them,

but it is important i think for the united states and for the international community to provide them whatever support they need, starting with dippel medic support. the west should not be rushing to recognise the taliban at a time when the taliban is going door—to—door and conducting reprisals, at a time when they are saying to women in afghanistan, stay in your houses because our fighters have not been trained to respect women. that's one way to put it! fin trained to respect women. that's one way to put it!— way to put it! on that issue of western intervention, - way to put it! on that issue of western intervention, we - way to put it! on that issue of- western intervention, we understand that the us secretary of state antony blinken is in cutterfor crisis talks to what are you from these talks coachella —— in qatar, what are you expecting from these talks? ., . what are you expecting from these talks? . . ., , ., what are you expecting from these talks? .. ., , ., , ., talks? the face that they have shown in qatar is different _ talks? the face that they have shown in qatar is different from _ talks? the face that they have shown in qatar is different from what - talks? the face that they have shown in qatar is different from what they l in qatar is different from what they have shown in afghanistan itself. we have shown in afghanistan itself. we have seen the taliban's spokespersons in delhi say what western audiences want to hear, but

then those promises, those commitments, they never get around to them plummeting them on the ground, so if past pattern is any prediction of future, i would not expect much in terms of deliverable promises from the taliban and doha —— implementing them on the ground. nathan sales, thank you forjoining us on newsday. don't forget, you can get more on the situation in afghanistan from our website, where there is a live page that will keep you up to date. do log on... let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. the uk government is expected to announce its long—awaited plan for social care and the national health service in england tomorrow. the prime minister is under growing pressure over how it's to be paid for. critics say any rise in national insurance levy would disproportionately affect those on lower wages.

official figures show that more than 7 million confirmed cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the uk since the pandemic began. this comes as over 41,000 postitve tests were reported on monday, along with 45 covid—related deaths. meanwhile, the families of those killed by the downing of mh—17 have been giving evidence for the first time at the murder trial in ther netherlands. four suspects, three russians and one ukranian, are accused of shooting down the plane over "rebel—held" eastern ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people on board. all four are suspected of being key pro—russian separatists, and none are attending the trial. anna holligan sent this report. the bereaved families want the world to know their scars may have healed but the wounds remain.

this was the first relative to speak in the courtroom. her father and stepmother were among those killed. she described her recurring nightmare in which she is walking through what should have been beautiful fields of sunflowers, but they are full of wreckage and bodies. she smells fire and death, and calls out, "dad, where are you?" her father is eventually identified by two tiny fragments of bone. when we found each other, he wasjust smiling. he said, "oh, you are here." but it wasn't a nice meeting because i had to tell him that i was looking for him because he had died. because he was in the plane. to date, this trial has been dominated by discussions about the weapon, a surface to air missile, used to shoot the passengerjet out of the sky

and the four fugitive suspects. earlier this year, the court visited the wreckage recovered from the crash site. over the next three weeks, families from eight nations will testify here. they come from canada, united states, uk, germany, indonesia, malaysia, australia and, of course, the netherlands. this time has been allocated to ensure the enormity, the gravity of their personal loss is reflected in these criminal proceedings. along with the anger and frustration, among the families' remaining fears that they will not getjustice and those behind the attacks will never take responsibility. a verdict is expected next year. anna holligan, bbc news, at schiphol airport. still to come a bit later in the programme: the world's most famous clock, big ben, and its multi—million dollar restoration project.

but first, i want to tell you about this story. aid agencies are warning that millions are facing hunger in myanmar — with the country edging towards civil war after the military seized control in february. the world food programme say the number of people needing help to feed themselves could double this year. faced with such uncertainty, many communities are relying on volunteers. ko ko aung has this report. a symbol of desperation. these flags are popping up across myanmar, households asking for help. a white flag is a request for food, yellow signals a shortage of medicine. it's another sign of myanmar�*s collapsing economy. many people here have little to cook with, simple food with some rice. the impact of the military coup, coupled with a massive wave of covid infections,

has left many families struggling. translation: donors came to us yesterday. | they gave us four kilos of rice and a crate of eggs, enough for us for two days or so. after that, i don't know how we'll get food. i can't sleep at night. it's local communities that are providing much—needed hand—outs, private donors stepping help since the government is doing little to provide support. most international aid agencies haven't been operating in myanmar since the military coup earlier this year. translation: donors like us are not rich. i they are ordinary people like you and me who are willing to give away half of what they have. i'll donate $3 if i have $6, for example. it'sjust people helping people.

in yangon, the business capital, long queues of people waiting hours to buy food at deep discounts. many of them are young and out of work. translation: because there are no jobs, people cannot. afford rentals and so on. young people are reluctant to get donations for free. for those who have stood for hours, their bellies may be filled today, but without greater support from the authorities and the outside world, they and families will continue to suffer. ko ko aung, bbc news. if you want to get in touch with me on any of the stories that you have seen on newsday so far, i'm on twitter. i'm looking forward to hearing from you. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: crucial climate talks,

hosted by the uk, are now less than two months away. we'll look at the challenges faced by those trying to find a new agreement. freedom itself was attacked this morning and freedom will be defended. the united states will hunt down and punish those responsible. bishop tutu now becomes spiritual leader of 100,000 anglicans here, of the blacks in soweto township as well as the whites in their rich suburbs. we say to you today, in a loud and a clear voice, enough of blood and tears. enough! translation: the difficult | decision we reached together was one that required - great and exceptional courage. it's an exodus of up to 60,000

people, caused by the uneven pace of political change in eastern europe. iam free! this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines: the taliban say they've seized panjshir province, consolidating their control of the whole of afghanistan. relatives of some of the 298 people killed when a malaysian airlines passengerjet was shot down over eastern ukraine have been giving harrowing testimony to a court in the netherlands. the uk government minister responsible for the next round of global climate talks has been meeting officials in china. alok sharma said he was there to discuss how to make sure the november summit in glasgow is successful — and with just eight weeks to go, the pressure is on.

0ur science editor david shukman looks at the environmental challenges ahead for world leaders. year after year, the countries of the world have gathered for huge conferences on climate change. i've seen how a few have gone badly wrong, like in copenhagen in 2009. delegates walked out amid confusion and a lack of progress. well, the first challenge is to get rapid cuts in emissions of the gases heating the planet, something that hasn't happened so far. back in the early �*90s, when climate negotiations started, about 35 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases were being emitted into the atmosphere every year. and since then, despite all the talking, those emissions have just kept climbing. now, with all the plans and promises to cut them, they could fall to about 46 billion

tonnes a year by 2030. but the science is incredibly clear that they need to come down far more than that if we're to have any chance of heading off the worst effects of higher temperatures, which is why this is such a crucial issue for the talks in glasgow. next, there's the highly sensitive question of financial help for the poorest countries. delivering this is long overdue. it's developing nations like the philippines that are hardest hit by the violent weather made more frequent and intense by climate change. more than a decade ago, they were promised $100 billion a year — vital, they say, to help them adapt to more dangerous conditions. we want to see adaptation finance flowing to climate—vulnerable nations that bear the brunt

of extreme weather events from climate change but have no recent deposit. a third major challenge for glasgow is finalising the rules for measuring and trading carbon. previous meetings failed to reach agreement. this matters because as countries cut their emissions, there needs to be a way of accounting for that. likewise, if forests are left intact and the trees keep storing carbon, that has to be recorded so the carbon credits can be traded. it's vital to sort this out. right now, for example, if a major company wanted to, say, invest in preserving standing forest in the amazon, there's not yet any clarity on whether those credits that would be generated from that can be claimed by brazil as well as by the company making that investment. so as glasgow prepares for thousands of delegates, there's a lot at stake. makes it all more difficult, and there are just eight covid makes it all more difficult, and there are just eight weeks to get ready. david shukman, bbc news.

well, let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the eu is accusing belarus of a blatant disrespect for human rights, after two of the main opposition leaders were jailed. the european commission called for the immediate release of maria kolesnikova and maxim znak. the american actor michael k williams — best known for his role in the long—running television police series the wire — has been found dead at his home in brooklyn. he was 5a. williams won praise for his role as the criminal 0mar little in the wire. a three—year—old boy who went missing in the australian bush four days ago has been found safe after a search. he was spotted by police helicopters on monday, drinking water from a creek on his family's property in rural new south wales. the little boy, who has autism and doesn't speak, had been last seen at the house on friday. his family had feared that he had been abducted. shaimaa khalil reports from sydney.

a], a]! 0verwhelmed with emotion, a mother reunited with her toddler four days after he went missing. and this was the moment three—year—old ajay was found by rescue teams. he was spotted from a helicopter, drinking from a creek on his family's rural property in the hunter valley in rural new south wales, an area that was searched several times for the past four days. hundreds of rescue personnel, a police plane, search dogs and divers, as well as ajay�*s family and friends, looked for him tirelessly. many feared the worst, wondering how he survived in this rugged, unforgiving bushland. then, the news of his rescue. cheering thanks, god! thank you for everyone. thank you for everyone! thank you for the government, thank you for the police,

thank you very much! what sustains you i through all of this? just to see my son. aj's father anthony said his son had some nappy rash and ant bites, but was in reasonably good shape. he said they prayed for his safe return. the toddler clung to his mother as he was taken to a nearby hospital for a checkup. a huge relief. after a family's nightmare has turned into what they describe as their miracle. shaiima khalil, bbc news, sydney. truly a remarkable rescue, the relief on that mum's face quite special. now, what colour are the hands on the clock face of big ben, surely the world's most famous timepiece? the answer isn't what you might think. after a $100 million restoration project, the hands have been returned to their original colour — as tim muffett reports —

right on time. countdown to completion. one of the biggest restoration jobs ever undertaken on a landmark british building is approaching the finish line. good to see you, ian. and you. what is it you're doing here? we're servicing the rollers. this is one of the bits that we couldn't actually get to and service while the minute hands were on. if you're a clock mechanic, this is like the champions league and the world cup rolled into one, i'd imagine, this project. working on this clock will be a once—in—a—lifetime opportunity. to actually have taken it all to pieces, putting it back together again, and then carry on looking after it for a few more years, that's just going to be fantastic. one of the most striking things you notice is the colour of the clock faces. for many years, the minute demarcations, the numbers and the clock hands, were painted black. but during the refurbishment, as many layers of paint were stripped away, it became clear that they were originally this shade of blue — it's called prussian blue — and that is what they've been repainted in. this restoration project was

originally budgeted at £29 million. the total bill is now set to exceed 80 million. as you pulled off the layers of this building, you find more and more that needs to be done. when we're taking out one piece of stain, adjacent stains often needed to be replaced. it's one of those things — until you can get up close to it, it's very difficult to see the scope of the repair. chiming with the clock mechanism out of action, a computerised system has meant that on special occasions, big ben has still been struck. we're standing in the belfry of the elizabeth tower, - and it was specially constructed so that the chiming bells - for the four quarters could be heard right across london. _ there's one piece of damage here that's been deliberately left alone. this crack appeared when big ben was struck during a test in 1858 — the hammer was too heavy, but it gives the bell its unique tone. this is london. chiming

it should be e, the note e, but it does give it a slightly flat sound. a very serious sound, in fact. so that's one bit of repairing you didn't want to do? that's right, yes. no change to the bell whatsoever, becausej it's become the familiar, the familiar note. - chiming a much—loved building, largely hidden for the past few years, slowly revealing itself once more. tim muffett, bbc news. you have been watching newsday. a reminder of our top story: the taliban say they are now in full control of afghanistan after taking over the panjshir valley. footage of taliban fighters apparently raising their flag outside the provincial governor's office was posted online.

but a member of the anti—taliban national resistance front told the bbc it's regained some ground. there's no independent verification of his claims. that's it. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. well, the warm southerly winds have arrived and a dose of summer heat is on the way. but it's not going to last very long. yes, a very warm and sunny tuesday on the way, but from wednesday onwards, late on wednesday, we could have thunderstorms in the southwest of the uk brought by this area of low pressure. but for the time being, high pressure over us, and notjust over the uk but much of europe. and here's that warm air coming in from the south, spreading across the uk. so the early hours look pretty quiet across much of the country. there will be some mist and fog forming, maybe northern wales, merseyside, lancashire. and mild, if not quite warm, 15—17 degrees around dawn. and the temperatures will quickly skyrocket as we go through the morning

and into the afternoon. now, it's going to be sunshine pretty much all around, although across some far northwestern parts of the country, it could be a little hazy and cloudy. and much cooler in stornoway, 18 degrees, but the mid—20s for the lowlands of scotland, 27 for yorkshire, 30 possible in the midlands. and if we do get 30, which we are very likely to get 30, it will be the hottest day since the 23rd ofjuly, after a relatively cool august, because the temperatures never really got that high during august — a little unusual. so this is what it looks like on wednesday, the weather map. you can see a low pressure approaching us, weather fronts here too. these are showers and thunderstorms reaching southwestern parts of england and also wales, some showers getting into northern ireland too, but the rest of the country is still basking in that summer sunshine — temperatures just shy of 30 degrees, i think, on wednesday. i mean, they could reach 30 once again, but look at that, plymouth there, cornwall and devon, only around 19 degrees. and then wednesday night

into thursday, those showers spread across the country. there could be some showers and thunderstorms almost anywhere, really. and on thursday itself, you can see it's much fresher across the uk. some of that warmth is still left around lincolnshire and east anglia, but the vast majority of us are back into the low 20s. so here's the summary and the outlook. you can see that weather going downhill as we go through the second half of the week. and the weekend? the weather's set fair. modest temperatures, around the low 20s. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the taliban say they're now in full control of afghanistan, after seizing the panchir valley — the last area of armed resistance. after seizing the panjshir valley — the last area of armed resistance. the claim is disputed by resitance leaders, who are calling for a national uprising. families of victims of the mh17 disaster have been giving testimony at the murder trial in the netherlands. four suspects are accused of shooting down the plane over ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people on board. in what's described as a "miracle rescue", a three—year—old boy missing in rugged australian bushland since friday has been found alive. he was spotted sitting in a puddle using his hands to drink water. one of the great figures of french cinema, jean—paul belmondo, has died. he was 88.