welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... in paris, six years after the worst ever terror attacks in the city, salah abdeslam and 19 other defendants have finally gone on trial. ashraf ghani apologises to the afghan people. the former president says he fled the country to avoid more bloodshed. a statue of confederate general robert e lee is taken down in virginia's state capital after a year—long legal battle. the world's biggest plant to extract carbon dioxide from the air opens in iceland. how significant is it in the battle to reverse climate change? and emma raducanu and leylah fernandez are both

through to the us open semis. could we see a teenage final at flushing meadows? live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. a man alleged to be the sole surviving gunman from the islamist gang which murdered 130 people in paris six years ago has told a court he is a fighter for the islamic state group. salah abdeslam is one of 20 defendants in what is the biggest terror trial in modern french history. the prosecution says they were all involved in the shootings and bombings of november 2015, which targeted locations including bars, restaurants

and the bataclan concert hall. from paris, our correspondent lucy williamson reports. the sirens sounded again in paris today for the men accused of terrorising this city six years ago. sounds that once accompanied that fear and panic, now accompanying the defendants on their way to justice. it was a night when security felt uncertain, when no—one in paris knew where to run. as islamist gunmen targeted bars, restaurants, the football stadium, the bataclan concert hall. explosion. salah abdeslam, the only suspected attacker to survive that night, is facing the most serious charges. 19 others are accused of involvement, including mohamed abrini, also wanted by belgian prosecutors in connection with the attacks in brussels.

today, a message from abdeslam. as the trial opened, the judge asked for his profession. "fighter with the islamic state," he replied. this case includes almost 2000 civil plaintiffs, many of whom have opted not to testify. translation: the suffering is unspeakable. _ it is inexpressible, but they expect tough justice. the acts these defendants are accused of are particularly monstrous. the trial is being held in a specially built chamber inside the old courts ofjustice to fit its scale and security demands. this trial is the antidote to the chaos and panic of that night six years ago, the moment when the french state reasserts control and turns national trauma into national history. joseph's wife armelle died in the bataclan that night. they had gone out to celebrate the launch of the riverboat company he now runs alone.

how does he feel about looking salah abdeslam in the eyes? translation: to me, he is non-existent, - he is just a face. i have seen the attackers myself that night at the bataclan. when they were shooting at us, they shot at us twice. the first time, we were able to escape. the second time, no. joseph told me he was afraid of coming here today. fear is something he knows about. justice is the antidote he needs. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. tens of thousands of brazilians have taken to the streets to show their support for presidentjair bolsonaro, who's launched new attacks on congress and the supreme court. addressing supporters in brasilia, mr bolsonaro said the head of court should reign in otherjudges. dozens of people are missing after a ferry collided

with another passenger boat and sank in the north—eastern state of assam in india. about a0 passengers have either been rescued or swam to safety. officials say in total there were more than 100 people on the two ferries. the global coronavirus vaccine initiative, covax, has cut estimates for the number of doses it expects to have access to this year by more than a quarter. it blames export bans, bilateral deals, production challenges and delays in regulatory approval. covax says only one—in—five people in lower—income countries have received a first dose of a vaccine. the philippine president, rodrigo duterte, who's not allowed to run for another term, has formally accepted his party faction�*s nomination to run for vice president in the next election. mr duterte said that he would run "for the love of his country". afghanistan's former president, ashraf ghani, has apologised

to the afghan people and issued a statement explaining why he fled his country when the taliban took over last month. in a twitter post, mr ghani said he left afghanistan to avoid further bloodshed in the streets. meanwhile, there are growing concerns about whether international aid will keep flowing into the country. the taliban has said that the international community should abide by its commitment to provide financial assistance to afghanistan. but many nations are hesitant to provide help or recognition to the taliban government after they announced their new leadership on tuesday. here's us secretary state antony blinken speaking during a visit to germany. despite professing that a new government would be inclusive, the announced list of names consists exclusively of individuals who are members of the taliban or close associates and no women. we're also concerned by the affiliations and track records of some of those individuals. we understand the taliban has presented this as

a caretaker cabinet. we willjudge it and them by its actions. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in kabulfor us and has more. i have to say that on the streets today, the reaction to the protest has intensified. there was greater violence and journalists were arrested. they expressed their criticism of the government announcement. the caretaker government. the taliban are getting on with the business of government. they have been told to go to their offices to meet people that will be working with them. we see in humanitarian chiefs

coming to the country this week. also the president of the international committee, who we met here in kabul when he visited one of the icrc�*s most important and hopeful projects, and that is the prosthetic centre rehabilitation in kabul. we never have to forget afghanistan is probably the country— afghanistan is probably the country with the most people to stable — country with the most people to stable a — country with the most people to stable. a four to 5% with a population lives with disability. this is a huge numben _ disability. this is a huge number. here is really the origin, _ number. here is really the origin, and at the same time, the most _ origin, and at the same time, the most hopeful part of what a humanitarian organisation can do. ., ,, .,~' humanitarian organisation can do. ., ,, ., humanitarian organisation can do. ., ,, , do. you speak about hope, but ou do. you speak about hope, but you arrive _ do. you speak about hope, but you arrive in — do. you speak about hope, but you arrive in afghanistan, - you arrive in afghanistan, where it's starting again. taliban leadership and many are worried. many afghans say they

will judge worried. many afghans say they willjudge the taliban by their actions. it will be the first actions. it will be the first actions you will ask of them was blue in many respects it’s was blue in many respects it's the continuation of what we have — the continuation of what we have been able to do in the past — have been able to do in the past we _ have been able to do in the past. we will have seen that in our programmes, women, girls and men— our programmes, women, girls and men are working alongside. but we — and men are working alongside. but we have developed social activities in our physical rehabilitation, which are inclusive for men and women. we have, _ inclusive for men and women. we have, i_ inclusive for men and women. we have, i think, inclusive for men and women. we have, ithink, in the past found _ have, ithink, in the past found the balance between the respecting local traditions and local— respecting local traditions and local values and respect. also perspectives to a quality which the international community is asking — the international community is asking for. it could be even more — asking for. it could be even

more harmful to let drop the bridges — more harmful to let drop the bridges of conversations that we have _ bridges of conversations that we have been able to establish and i'm — we have been able to establish and i'm nevertheless hopeful we can continue to establish. peter, _ can continue to establish. peter, the president of the international committee of the red cross, emphasising so many leaders saying they have to find a way to work with the new taliban leadership. tens of millions of afghans desperately need some kind of humanitarian assistance. these are the challenges as a new caretaker government takes office here in afghanistan. the government takes office here in afghanistan-— afghanistan. the bbc's lyse doucet. anti—racism activists have celebrated the removal of a controversial statue of a confederate general in the us. the memorial to robert e lee in the city of richmond, in virginia, became a focal point during last year's black lives matter protests.

for more on this, i'm joined now by our correspondent david willis in washington. great to have you on the programme. talk us through the background of why this statue is so controversial? well, the city of richmond in virginia served as the capital of the proslavery south during the american civil war. robert lee lee was a civil war general who was leading forces intend on maintaining slavery —— robert e lee. that statue in richmond of robert e lee has proved a focal point for protests, particularly since the death of george floyd in minneapolis last year. his death sparked the black lives matter protest. the democratic

governor said after a week of the death of george floyd, this particular statue should come down. it's taken more than a year, and there have been court challenges on the part of local residents and a descendent of the family that transferred ownership of statue. indeed, only last thursday, ruled that the statue could and should be removed. . ,. ., , , removed. fascinating stuff. apologies _ removed. fascinating stuff. apologies for _ removed. fascinating stuff. apologies for that, - removed. fascinating stuff. apologies for that, you - removed. fascinating stuff. apologies for that, you are | removed. fascinating stuff. i apologies for that, you are in washington. there has to be a movement, people thing is part of american history. the debate over the statues has been going down since before the death of george floyd. over the last six

years, george floyd. over the last six ears, ., ., ,': z: z: years, more than 300 confederate _ years, more than 300. confederate memorials years, more than 300 - confederate memorials have years, more than 300 _ confederate memorials have been removed, although it's thought that about 2000 still remain. memorials to three other confederate generals have been removed last year from richmond's removed last yearfrom richmond's monument avenue, and one was removed from the twin city of charlottesville. you're absolutely right. those who are saying this leaves monuments to those who fought bravely on behalf of the american south, others saying they are monuments to a very dark chapter in this country's history. chapter in this country's history-— chapter in this country's histo . ~ . , history. wright, david willis there. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: a primordial rock crashes to earth, turning one family's driveway into an scientific landmark. —— a scientific.

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! 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. the headlines... ashraf ghani apologises to the afghan people. france's biggest—ever terrorism trial is under way. the only surviving assailant from the deadly 2015 paris now to australia, and it was their remote living that protected many indigenous communities when the first wave of covid—19 struck. but in the country's latest wave of infections — fuelled by the delta variant — cases numbers in some communities are rising at an alarming rate. vaccinations are also lagging behind national rates, and its leading to fears that if the nation does open—up

soon, indigenous australians will be left especially vulnerable. dr simone raye, vice president of the australian indigenous doctors' association. shejoins us from darwin, in australia's northern territory. talk us through the picture of how widespread covid is amongst indigenous communities. at the moment, communities down in the western new south wales region experiencing high numbers of covid infections and as of last night, we've had three deaths of elders within those communities, which is very heartbreaking. i send out my sincerest condolences to the family and friends in those communities that have lost those elders. we're fortunate in other areas of australia so

far that we had managed to not have an outbreak yet, but if it continues in this way, who knows? who knows how long it will be before we get outbreaks in other communities as well. what are some of the unique challenges these communities are facing when it comes to dealing with covid? if you look at health and disparities in health in the communities, we have a lot of problems with chronic illness within the community itself, within the community itself, within the community itself, within the elders and the younger populations. the lack of access to adequate health care, they either have a

full—time clinic or fly in or drive in service with staff. we rely heavily on some of these remote immunities. how vulnerable doesn't opening scenario leave these communities. what are your main concerns of something like that does happen is ?if ? if we're looking at them and need to 8096 _ ? if we're looking at them and need to 8096 of _ ? if we're looking at them and need to 8096 of the _ ? if we're looking at them and need to 8096 of the eligible i need to 80% of the eligible population being vaccinated, and may only be 50% of the

actual community. are we going to look at 70 to 80% of the larger region? or are we looking at that 70 to 80% of the actual community that is vaccinated? so, the australian medical association is calling for a vaccination rate in our communities, i would love this to happen, but i don't know if that's going to be achievable. evenif that's going to be achievable. even if we look at 90% vaccination rate in your communities before we open up, so that we're not only protecting the elders but protecting the elders but protecting the elders but protecting the children who can't be vaccinated. with those illnesses such as heart disease, chronic iron deficiency and anaemia, we just don't know how they will fit and. ., ,, ., .

and. doctor simone, vice president _ and. doctor simone, vice president of _ and. doctor simone, vice president of the - and. doctor simone, vice l president of the australian doctors association, thank you so much forjoining us on newsday. so much for “oining us on newsday._ the world's biggest plant to extract carbon dioxide from the air has opened in iceland. it showcases a developing technology considered by some to be an important tool in the fight against climate change. the plant will remove 4,000 tonnes of co2 every year. but, as david campanale now reports, sceptics say this is a tiny percentage of the carbon dioxide that is generated by the burning of fossilfuels. voiceover: climeworks orca is the first plant ever - in commercial operations for direct air— in commercial operations for direct airfor- direct air capture and storage. it starts serving i customers today. the futuristic vision of how to save the planet from runaway climate change, or a futile expense that distracts from the urgency of slashing co2 emissions? in 2017, we celebrated a pioneering moment.| in a promotional video, swiss start—up climeworks

announced the opening of the largest direct air capture and storage plant in existence, in a partnership with icelandic company carbfix. powered by renewable geothermal energy from nearby, the plant consists of four units, each made up of two metal boxes. these suck carbon dioxide directly from the air, mixes it with water and then sends the product deep underground, where it gradually turns into rock. storing carbon underground can be done at a massive scale, and it is really, really reliable to store that carbon underground two, three, four km underground, where it can stay for millions of years and be safely and securely monitored so we know exactly where it is. our plant captures c02 by drawing air into its. collectors with a fan. direct air capture is one of the few technologies extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. its supporters say it's vital to limit global warming,

blamed for causing more heat waves, wildfires, floods and rising sea levels. but sceptics point out that the climate crisis is worsening because of the relentless burning of fossil fuels, and it it's these that need to be cut. of fossil fuels, and it's these that need to be cut. last year, global co2 emissions totalled 31.5 billion tonnes, according to the international energy agency. this plant will remove just 4000 tonnes of that in a year, an equivalent ofjust 800 cars. it's so far been a completely failed technological solution. there are much better solutions out there — solar panels, wind turbines, the emerging industry of green hydrogen. this is a kind of very, very high—end solution. we prepare the c02 for the storage process... i direct air capture is at the cutting edge of climate technology, but due to their cost, there are only 15 such plants worldwide. unless scaled up at speed, these won't take away

from what scientists say is the imperative of keeping 80% of their carbon reserves in the ground. david campanale, bbc news. now, there is some remarkable tennis news developing in the women's side of the draw at the us open. two teenagers are into the semi finals. the 19—year—old canadian leyla fernandez, who played an extraordinary match to win through to the last four on tuesday. and now the british sensation emma radukanu who is still only 18 — and is the first woman in us open history to go through qualifying all the way to the semifinals — which is a pretty remarkable achievement. here's david law, the bbc tennis commentator. it suddenly feels possible now. the fact that the two of them are in the semifinals, and the manner in which they are plain to have got there, as well. you mentioned that layla fernandez, the 19—year—old from canada who's beaten last year's champion, naomi osaka,

she's beaten angelique kerber, the former champion, and now elina svitolina, one of the top five players in the world. but, perhaps even more remarkably is the way that emma raducanu, the british player who had not even played this tournament before this year, is going through all the qualifying rounds without dropping a set, and now five rounds to the main draw, eight matches, no sets dropped, she beat the olympic gold medallist today, and there's no real sign that any of it is perturbing her. she's now going to face either maria sakkari or karolina pliskova in the semifinals. and she really does look like she believes she can go all the way. if you want to get in touch with me on any stories you've seen on newsday so far, the prospects of a teenage tennis final, for instance, i'm very excited about that. i'm on twitter. i'm looking forward to

hearing from you. and finally, i want to tell you about this story — the driveway to a home in england that became famous earlier this year when a piece of meteorite fell on it, is to go on public display. london's natural history museum has sent local workmen to lift the crater, a square metre of tarmac that was impacted by the incident in february, in the town of winchcombe. the museum hopes the exhibit will inspire visiting children to take a keen interest in science at school. the space rock, long—since removed, has been described scientifically as the most valuable to ever fall on the uk. such fascinating stuff and definitely worth going to see. you have been watching newsday. a reminder of our top story — the man alleged to be the sole surviving gunman from the deadlyjihadist attacks in paris in 2015 has made a defiant appearance that's all for now, stay

with bbc world news. hello there. our short spell of hot weather is coming to an end now. this picture was taken earlier in the night in sussex. this picture was taken during the day on wednesday in the scottish borders, where temperatures reached 29 celsius, making it the hottest september day in scotland since 1906. we had temperatures widely 29 celsius in england, into parts of wales as well. the top temperature was recorded at heathrow airport, at 30 celsius. it's very warm overnight as well. these are the temperatures by the morning — we've got this band of heavy and thundery rain that's continuing to move its way northwards, clearing away quickly from east anglia, moving across northern england. those downpours ease off for a while as they head into scotland. but, as you can see elsewhere for western areas, those showers break out again more widely, threatening some localised flooding with some thundery downpours.

not as many showers for some eastern parts of england, temperatures here making 211—25 celsius — which is warm for the time of year, but it's not as hot, of course, as it has been just recently. those heavy showers, always going to be fewer towards the southeast as we head into the evening, but a few continuing to crack away elsewhere into the evening. as we head into friday as well, there's more showers to come. and the reason the weather is changing and temperatures are dropping is because low pressure is drifting up from the southwest, and it's bringing all these downpours as well. so a limited amount of sunshine again on friday, perhaps not quite as many showers or quite as widespread, but still the threat of some thundery ones, bringing some localised flooding. and we've got temperatures typically on friday afternoon at around 20—21 celsius — not too bad really for this time of year, but quite a change, of course. heading into the weekend, there's still the potential for some more rain to be affecting northern—most parts of scotland. elsewhere, fewer showers, lighter showers, more places will be dry. not promising much in the way

of sunshine, mind you, and we've got temperatures around 20—21 celsius. so as we head into the weekend, the low pressure that's been bringing the downpours will be moving away. slightly higher pressure will leave us almost in no man's land, but it does look like it will be turning drier. but before then, we've got temperatures dropping as those downpours arrive. then, by the time we get into the weekend, it'll be much drier, probably a lot of cloud, and don't expect the heat to return.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, as newsday continues — straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur — today on the shores of italy's lake como at the ambrosetti forum, where some of europe's leading politicians have gathered to talk politics and economics. the global covid pandemic and intensifying superpower rivalries all present the eu with some very difficult questions. my guest today is spain's

first deputy prime minister, nadia calvino.