this is bbc news — i'm tim willcox. our top stories... as america prepares to mark 20 years since 9/11— the president calls for the country to come together. at our most vulnerable, with the push and pull of all that makes us human, in the battle for the soul of america, unity is our greatest strength. lawyers for the woman who's accused prince andrew of sexual abuse claim they've successfully served him with legal papers. and — the battle of the teens — the build—up to the women's final of the us open.

hello and welcome to our special coverage here on bbc news, as we mark the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks on new york and washington, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people — and that have forever been known by the date on which they happened — 9/11. commemorations will be taking place in manhattan and across the united states, to remember all those killed and injured. 0ur north america editor jon sopel has been hearing the stories of three people impacted by the horror of september the 11th, and a warning — his report includes footage of the attack on the twin towers. the one thing that time hasn't dulled is just how profoundly shocking the sights and sounds were that tuesday morning two decades ago. this terrorist attack

changed the world. nearly 3000 people died and thousands more had their lives upended. this is the story of three of those people who found themselves at the vortex of the storm. my dad was an amazing human being. max was a ten—year—old schoolboy when he was called to the principal�*s office. his father, joseph, worked at the world trade center. i went down the hallway, and my mum was standing there with tears in her eyes. she told me what had happened, and we had a moment in the hallway. i think i was just very confused at first. you're an innocent ten—year—old thinking, "the world is great." and then, you find out someone killed your father. hundreds of miles south in florida, andy was also at an elementary school. the chief of staff to president bush knew he had to interrupt him. that's when i walked up

to the president and i leaned down and i whispered to him, "a second plane hit the second tower. america is under attack. " ann was in her car when she heard the news, and she knew as people were trying to escape the twin towers, her firefighter husband, bruce, would be heading in. my kids went to bed. emily and megan were 17 and 14 at the time. - i stayed dressed, i laid down with them but i didn't go - to sleep because i figured - someone was coming to the house and i would be in my pyjamas. it's weird, the things you worry about. - at about midnight, somebody came to the house to say that bruce was unaccounted for. this memorial, with great restraint, doesjustice to the terrible events of that day. but nothing can capture the sense of chaos, anger, disbelief of what was unfolding. then, there was steely resolve, and americans were united

and most of the rest of the world stood with america. the taliban in power in afghanistan, who'd harboured the al-qaeda terrorists, would be driven from power and the us would try to replace the warlords with democracy. but 20 years on, america has abandoned afghanistan. i think we're still the greatest democracy in the history of the world, but we are not shining the way we used to shine, and, yes, we are tarnished. i do think it has been a defeat for the pride of america and the respect that we have had around the world. 20 years ago, america was never more united. two decades on and the terrorist threat largely quelled, and america has never been more divided. the way we came together was... it was awe—inspiring. and in 20 years, - the pendulum has swung,

in my opinion, the other way. every day, i miss my dad. whether it's 9/11, whether it's january 13th, whether it's july the 7th. i miss my dad and that will never change. and so to 2021, and the most powerful country in the world seems to be suffering a crisis of confidence. in the manner of its departure from afghanistan, the kabul debacle, a crisis of competence. just off the tip of manhattan, lady liberty symbolises america opening its arms to the world. but 20 years on, the us feels much more introspective place. jon sopel, bbc news, new york. 0ur correspondent, nomia iqbal, joins us from new york. as joins us from new york. we heard in that piece

there, as we heard in that piece there, president biden in the last few hours trying to address and bring together a divided nation.— divided nation. that's right. president — divided nation. that's right. president biden _ divided nation. that's right. president biden isn't - divided nation. that's right. | president biden isn't actually getting a lengthy speech or any speech at all on the event at south, the commemorations of 9/11, so instead, he is pay recorded address that he made from the white house to express his condolences to the families of the nearly 30,000 people who died in the terrorist attacks, and use that speech to invoke memories of heroism that we found the days and months after 9/11, the acts of heroism, but also those dark moments as well. he is a clip from his speech. we also saw something all too rare. _ speech. we also saw something all too rare. a _ speech. we also saw something all too rare. a true _ speech. we also saw something all too rare. a true sense - speech. we also saw something all too rare. a true sense of - all too rare. a true sense of national_ all too rare. a true sense of national unity. unity and resilience, the capacity to recover_ resilience, the capacity to recover and repair resilience, the capacity to recoverand repair in resilience, the capacity to recover and repair in the face of trauma, _ recover and repair in the face of trauma, unity and service, the _ of trauma, unity and service, the 9/11— of trauma, unity and service, the 9/11 generation stepping up to serve — the 9/11 generation stepping up

to serve and protect in the face — to serve and protect in the face of— to serve and protect in the face of terror, to get those terrorists _ face of terror, to get those terrorists who were responsible, to show everyone seeking — responsible, to show everyone seeking to do harm to america that we — seeking to do harm to america that we will hunt you down and we will — that we will hunt you down and we will make you pay. that will never _ we will make you pay. that will never stop. today, tomorrow, ever, _ never stop. today, tomorrow, ever, from — never stop. today, tomorrow, ever, from protecting america. we also — ever, from protecting america. we also witnessed the darker forces — we also witnessed the darker forces of _ we also witnessed the darker forces of human nature — fear and _ forces of human nature — fear and anger, _ forces of human nature — fear and anger, resentment and violence _ and anger, resentment and violence against muslim americans true and faithful followers of a peaceful religion. there is no mention of afghanistan in his speech. he ended the 20 year war in afghanistan in a chaotic way, but as he mentioned there, he talked a lot about unity, and be heard it injohn's report, america was united after 9/11, that i think president bush's approval rating at the time is about 90%. now it is very different, and just walking around new york today, speaking to americans here, many are quite critical of president biden, and he wants to try and remind americans of that unity

that they saw after 9/11 to try to bring the country again moving forward. thank you very much forjoining us. the 9/11 attacks led to the invasion of afghanistan. two decades later the taliban are back in power and presenting a new face to the world. they've promised to forgive those who fought against them — and to respect women's rights to work and education. but many afghans are still fearful of what the new order will bring, as secunder kermani reports from kabul. back in the classroom. this was amongst the first schools in kabul to reopen for girls after the fall of the taliban in 2001. they, along with female teachers, had been banned by the group. two decades on, the school has expanded. pupils have gone on to become doctors, engineers. aisha misbah has worked here for the past a0 years.

this time, the taliban are allowing girls to get an education but secondary schools remain shut, awaiting new rules from the group. please to the previous government for new buildings went unanswered. educating generations of young afghan girls and boys has been one of the main achievements of the past 20 years. you also have to ask

why a government that received billions of dollars of international aid couldn't even build enough classrooms for pupils in a school in the very centre of kabul. many would blame corruption. this is a generation determined to make its voice heard. covering recent protests, what had been one of the freest medias in the region. now, it's under threat. these two journalists were badly beaten by the taliban after reporting on a demonstration.

american influence here is fading. this is bush bazaar, named after the us president. the military gear on sale used to come from the bases of foreign troops. now it's largely chinese—made replica, to the disappointment of taliban fighters. today, they're the main customers. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. 20 years of war has left a legacy that is increasingly unclear. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. let's get some of the day's other news. ajudge in zimbabwe has given the go—ahead for the exhumation and reburial of robert mugabe's remains. the former president died two years ago and was buried in a courtyard at his estate. his family say he remained bitter after being ousted in 2017 and did not want to be buried at the national war heroes' shrine in harare. they're likely to appeal

the high court ruling. the construction of the controversial gas pipeline linking russia and germany has been completed. the russian energy company gazprom says nord stream two will double exports to germany, and the kremlin has called for deliveries to start soon. critics have warned the pipeline will threaten security by giving russia greater control over europe's energy supplies. russia has summoned the us ambassador and complained that america is interfering in its parliamentary elections. the foreign ministry in moscow says it has "irrefutable evidence" of american tech giants violating russian laws in the run—up to next weekend's vote. last week, russia warned apple and google that they were breaking the law by failing to remove from their stores a smart voting app championed by the jailed opposition leader, alexei navalny. the head of the world health organization in europe says coronavirus may be around for years, adding that

the appearance of new variants made it increasingly difficult to reach herd immunity. hans kluge told reporters that with new, more transmissable variants, the aim of vaccination should be to prevent more serious disease and deaths. the delta variant has become the dominant strain in much of europe and is considered to be twice as contagious as the original virus. the brazilian football legend, pele, is recovering in intensive care following surgery to remove a tumour from his lower digestive tract. the former santos and new york cosmos player — who is now 80— said on social media that he was feeling better — and joked he still had hopes of playing again lawyers acting for virginia due—fray — the woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by prince andrew — say he has been served with legal papers — ahead of preliminary proceedings scheduled to take

place in new york on monday. 0ur royal correspondent sarah campbell has more. these are the official legal papers relating to the civil case that was brought by virginia giuffre, and she alleges that she was sexually assaulted by prince andrew when she was 17 years old. he denies all the claims made against him and he said that he has no recollection of meeting her. but this civil case was launched last month at a court in new york, and as part of that initial process, papers must be served on the defendant, so prince andrew. now, a document published today by the court indicates that miss giuffre's lawyers believe this has now been done. it describes how their representative left the papers with a police officer at prince andrew's home, royal lodge in windsor, and that was on the 27th of august. now, what isn't clear this evening is whether the prince's legal team agree that those papers were served correctly. we have contacted them, but they're not commenting this evening. it will be now for a judge to decide whether the case

will proceed and how it will proceed. and there is a telephone conference scheduled for monday afternoon in new york between her lawyers and the judge, so that will give us some clarity of how this case is going to proceed. and in the meantime, prince andrew, we know, is in balmoral in scotland. this is bbc news — the latest headlines... president biden has appealed for national unity — ahead of the commemorations, 20 years on from the 9/11 attacks on the united states. lawyers for the woman who's accused prince andrew of sexual abuse claim they've successfully served him with legal papers. now one of the most unifying and even uplifting moments among the despair and destruction after the 9/11 attacks was captured in this iconic photograph by thomas e franklin. three new york city firefighters raising the us flag at ground zero of the world trade center.

it became a symbol of hope around the world. now that flag was taken from the star of america yacht owned by shirley dryfus and her late husband spiros. it was docked at the centre at the time of the attacks. the flag is now on display at the national september 11 memorial and museum. i'm pleased to say we can now speak to shirely. she's written a book about that experience called the 911 flag: borrowed, stolen, recovered, and joins us from new york. great to have you on, surely. i remember that in edge. i was there 20 years ago. what are your memories now 20 years on, and what are your memories of that day specifically?— that day specifically? truly that day specifically? truly that was a _ that day specifically? truly that was a horrible, - that day specifically? truly l that was a horrible, horrible day. i... i remember everything

from the day. it was on the lock that i did not, i was not in the office. i was supposed to be in the office at 8:30am in. i have never overslept in my life. i overslept that day. i usually get up at four o'clock. i didn't wake up. when my husband woke me up, it was summer between 8am and 8:30am and he said did you say you're having a meeting in your office at 8:30am clays and he said it's that now. so my day went to the kitchen to make breakfast and i went to make a phone call to tell the office i am really sorry, i am phone call to tell the office i am really sorry, iam running late. but i will be there in about 15 minutes. we lived two blocks away from the world trade center, so it was not really a big deal to get there. and as i was on the phone, it went to voice mail and the building we were in shock. i

said oh, you a truck or car must have hit the building by mistake, we were on a corner, people i care less. i didn't think anything of that, and then my husband came and said a planejust flew into then my husband came and said a plane just flew into our building, ijust sighed, i saw the passengers i saw the pilot, they barely missed our own building. he said they hit our office. so he said come with me to the kitchen. so i went to the kitchen and i looked out the kitchen and i looked out the window and i saw a hole in the window and i saw a hole in the building. it looked like it was around our floor. the building. it looked like it was around ourfloor. i the building. it looked like it was around our floor. i saw some smoke and i said are you sure it was a passenger plane? and he said yes, it was a passenger plane. isaw and he said yes, it was a passenger plane. i saw the passengers, isaw passenger plane. i saw the passengers, i saw the pilot. i saw everything.— ha-- saw everything. can a 'ust happy because fl saw everything. can a 'ust happy because we i saw everything. can a just happy because we haven't saw everything. can a just - happy because we haven't got a great deal of time, but the image i really want to talk about now, because unfortunately i'll know the whole world knows what happened, how come those

firefighters got a flag from your boat close by? how did that come about?— your boat close by? how did that come about? that was an unusualthing. _ that come about? that was an unusual thing. our _ that come about? that was an unusual thing. our boats, - that come about? that was an unusual thing. our boats, the| unusual thing. 0ur boats, the start of america, always docked with the stern, the back of the boat, at the dock. so it was very easy for the firefighters to actually see the flag. so they went on the boat and they took the flag and they brought it over to ground zero where they wasted it. they took both they wasted it. they took both the flag and the pole, and if you look at the photograph camille see the little white pulled from the boat on the floor sticking up next to the flag. so we were extremely happy that it came from our boat. , , ., ,~' i. happy that it came from our boat. , , ., i. ., boat. did they ask you, or did they just _ boat. did they ask you, or did they just take _ boat. did they ask you, or did theyjust take it? _ boat. did they ask you, or did theyjust take it? now, - boat. did they ask you, or did theyjust take it? now, we i boat. did they ask you, or did i theyjust take it? now, we were evacuated- _ theyjust take it? now, we were evacuated. the _ theyjust take it? now, we were evacuated. the crew _ theyjust take it? now, we were evacuated. the crew was - evacuated. the crew was evacuated. the crew was evacuated. there was nobody there. theyjust took it. of course, had they asked us, we would have said yes.— would have said yes. some remarkable _

would have said yes. some remarkable twists - would have said yes. some remarkable twists and - would have said yes. some| remarkable twists and turns would have said yes. some . remarkable twists and turns in the story as well, the flag, i think time i got stolen, it eventually came back to you, just how did that come about? it was stolen within... we didn't know ourselves, but it was stolen about three or four hours after the firefighters wasted it at ground zero. it wasted it at ground zero. it was only recovered 13 years later. �* ., , ., was only recovered 13 years later. �* ., ., was only recovered 13 years later. ., ., ., ., later. and now you have donated to a museum- — later. and now you have donated to a museum. just _ later. and now you have donated to a museum. just as _ later. and now you have donated to a museum. just as a - later. and now you have donated to a museum. just as a close, i to a museum. just as a close, surely, what did that flag mean, do you think, for america andindeed mean, do you think, for america and indeed the world? i remember it vividly when it was put up by those firefighters. what did it mean for you and america do think? it what did it mean for you and america do think?— america do think? it was a s mbol america do think? it was a symbol of _ america do think? it was a symbol of hope. _ america do think? it was a symbol of hope. it - america do think? it was a symbol of hope. it was - america do think? it was a symbol of hope. it was a i america do think? it was a - symbol of hope. it was a symbol of we will not let terrorism overcome us. we will back together and we will make it work and we will make it right. and did it? it work and we will make it right. and did it?— and did it? it did that day, definitely. _ and did it? it did that day, definitely, it _ and did it? it did that day, definitely, it did _ and did it? it did that day, definitely, it did for - and did it? it did that day, definitely, it did for the i definitely, it did for the future for a while, yes. it's

not today, and president biden is correct, we need unity in this country, we do not have it. and i am hoping that my book can help a little bit to bring back some feeling of unity and togetherness that we had on 9/11. i will feel that i have accomplished something, because that is really what we need. ,, , , ., ., ., need. shirley, it is good to seak need. shirley, it is good to speak to — need. shirley, it is good to speak to you. _ need. shirley, it is good to speak to you, and - thank you very much indeed for talking to a c on bbc news. england's fifth and final test match against india at old trafford was called off on friday — just two hours before it had been due to start. a number of india's backroom staff have tested positive for covid—19 — leaving the tourists unable to field a team because of concerns about further cases spreading through their squad. but questions have been raised about whether the decision was linked to the resumption of the lucrative indian premier league.

this weekend the mens and womens finals are taking place at the us open tennis tournament in new york. and they couldn't be more different. in the men's final the number two seed daniil medvedev will take on either novak djokovic or olympic champion alexander zverev depending on the outcome of their semi final which is currently under way. while in the womens final it's the battle of two relatively unknown teenagers — canada's19—year—old leyla fernandez and britain's 18—year—old emma raducanu. both are making their first appearance in a grand slam final. well for more on this, i'm joined now by craig 0'shannessy — a world leader in teaching and analysing tennis strategy. they couldn't be more different in terms of age and experience. just talk us through how exciting these two young girls

are because we don't really know about them, do we? exactly ri . ht. we know about them, do we? exactly right. we haven't _ know about them, do we? exactly right. we haven't seen _ know about them, do we? exactly right. we haven't seen a - know about them, do we? exactly right. we haven't seen a lot - know about them, do we? exactly right. we haven't seen a lot in - right. we haven't seen a lot in the past from both girls. and i had only had one to her victory coming into wimbledon, and now they are very much on our radar. everybody kind of gets a hot tuna in a new york to shine, and both girls have been on the big stage for over two weeks now and will play in the final. so they have got a very exciting game. they like to come forward. they don't give up come forward. they don't give up the baseline very easily. it's not big hitting, but it is crafty hitting, and it is a very intelligent gain from both girls. so greatly looking forward to the final. what do we aet forward to the final. what do we get from _ forward to the final. what do we get from the _ forward to the final. what do we get from the fact - forward to the final. what do we get from the fact that - forward to the final. what do l we get from the fact that they are 18 or 19? we get from the fact that they are 18 or19? and i, for example, books or if i come to a three weeks —— ago. so is she going with clement well, you know, whatever happens, i am here, she wont have any nerves. she will pay more fluently,

perhaps. she will pay more fluently, perhaps-— she will pay more fluently, herhas, ., ., .,. , perhaps. you are exactly right. comina perhaps. you are exactly right. coming to _ perhaps. you are exactly right. coming to make _ perhaps. you are exactly right. coming to make your- perhaps. you are exactly right. | coming to make your qualifying, reaching a final, it has never happened for the women in new york, so she is very much embracing the underdog status that she has got to come and she is playing flawless tennis. 0ne she is playing flawless tennis. one of the statistics that stands out is holding serve 90% of the time comes very rarely getting broken, but she is breaking serve 53% of the time, so when she looks to the other side of the courts and her opponent is serving, she is actually winning more of those service games than her opponent. herfirm has been impeccable. opponent. her firm has been impeccable-— impeccable. layla is a year older. what _ impeccable. layla is a year older. what does - impeccable. layla is a year older. what does that - impeccable. layla is a year older. what does that give | impeccable. layla is a year - older. what does that give her? not a lot at the moment. they are still both teenagers. layla is around 73 in the world, or game style is a lefty, it's a little bit different. she likes to stay around the baseline. she takes the ball early. she has great hands. she likes to go to the next, so there is

more touch, there is more drop shots, more spin, and shejust doesn't like to give ground, so it is a very appealing game style, and for a lot of the big hit areas, theyjust couldn't find a way to go through her because taking the ball early, she was rebounding the energy and really taking the power from the opponent and throwing it right back at them. so layla has a great game, not only for the final tomorrow, but moving forward as well in the women's game. forward as well in the women's came. �* , , . ., , game. and 'ust in ten seconds, a real game. and 'ust in ten seconds, a rear shot — game. and just in ten seconds, a real shot in _ game. and just in ten seconds, a real shot in the _ game. and just in ten seconds, a real shot in the arm - game. and just in ten seconds, a real shot in the arm for - a real shot in the arm for women's tennis?- a real shot in the arm for women's tennis? it's the best thing that _ women's tennis? it's the best thing that you _ women's tennis? it's the best thing that you could _ women's tennis? it's the best thing that you could possibly l thing that you could possibly have. you want to build your sport and youth, and you've got two amazing young teenagers leading the way new york. {lilia two amazing young teenagers leading the way new york. ok, i think we can _ leading the way new york. ok, i think we can even _ leading the way new york. ok, i think we can even watch - leading the way new york. ok, i think we can even watch it - think we can even watch it in the uk at a reasonable time. craig, fantastic to speak to you. thank you very much indeed. that is it for me and the team for this addition of the bbc news. 20 mine the website, of course. see you soon. —— plenty more on

the website, of course. hello there. we had some intense showers to end friday across eastern scotland, eastern england, some rumbles of thunder. and a lot of rain also from those showers in northern ireland. this is just how it looked in those showers, for example, at lowestoft in suffolk on friday afternoon. now, we should see fewer showers at least through saturday. in fact, for much of the weekend. but there is a question mark over sunday. and that's because we should see a little bit more sunshine, things turn a little fresher, as this area of low pressure responsible for these showers starts to move away to the northeast. we are left with wet weather across northern scotland because of this trailing weather front. but behind that weather front, we shift the wind direction into the north and the northwest, so it freshens up, because at the moment, we still have that humidity. that will start to ebb away during saturday. but we also have that wet

weather in the north. it's already been pretty wet in shetland, and by morning, widespread rain across the north, scotland some quite heavy rain as well. elsewhere, the showers tending to easy away, but a muggy night again, 1a or 15. lots of grey, misty, murky weather in northern and western areas, drizzle over the hills, some potential hill fog as well. but that cloud should break up, and so for england and wales, fewershowers, brighter weather, a bit more sunshine than we had during the day on friday. still a scattering of showers for northern ireland, best chance of sunshine in the south and the south of scotland. but for the north of scotland, itjust continues to be a pretty wet affair. a real soaking rain, so we'll need to keep an eye on that for localised flooding. a little bit fresher in the north, but still quite warm in the sunshine in southern and eastern areas. and that's because we have got a ridge of high pressure here. by the time our weather system starts to drift southwards, it does peter out and eventually becomes drier for northern scotland under a ridge of high pressure, but this is the question mark, what comes in from the west. but for sunday, you can see

perhaps a little bit of cloud, a breeze and some rain for the great north runners here. we've got a lot of dry runner elsewhere and it becomes drier for scotland and northern ireland than recent days, but it's how far north and east this rain comes. it's giving us a headache at the moment. looks like the southwest and wales will bear the brunt during the course of sunday. further east, a little bit drier. but fresher, temperatures down on those of saturday. and then how far east it will push into monday? so, as i say, that's the big question mark at the moment. elsewhere, high pressure's bringing a lot of dry and settled weather. yes, it's fresher. but as ever, if you have plans for the next couple of days, stay tuned to the forecast.

this is bbc news. the headlines:

president biden has appealed for national unity — ahead of the commemorations, 20 years on from the 9/11 attacks on the united states. he paid tribute to the nearly 3000 people killed when al qaeda terrorists crashed airliners into the world trade center in new york, and the pentagon in washington. the head of britain's domestic intelligence service says the threat of terrorism in the uk remains "a real and enduring thing". ken mccallum revealed that 31 late—stage attack plots had been foiled here in the last four years. and he warned that more sophisticated groups could reform once again. lawyers for the american woman suing the duke of york over sexual assault allegations say they've successfully served him with legal papers — a condition for the lawsuit to proceed. ajudge must now decide if the papers were indeed served. now on bbc news it's time for click.