welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... donors pledge more than $1 billion to afghanistan amid a growing humanitarian crisis. but on the ground, evidence of taliban killings despite promises of restraint. us secretary of state antony blinken defends america's withdrawal from the country, saying staying longer would not have improved anything. if 20 years and hundreds of billions of dollars of support, equipment and training did not suffice, why would another year? another five, another ten? the uk will offer covid jabs to all 12—15—year—olds. top doctors say the benefits for education outweigh the tiny risks to health.

and surfing china—style. we'll reveal why catching a wave there has never been so popular. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's news day. —— it's newsday. it's 6am in singapore, and midnight in geneva — where, at an emergency aid conference, more than $1 billion has been pledged to help afghanistan. the country is facing a major humanitarian crisis, with the impact of fighting and drought made worse by instability following the taliban's takeover last month. the un secretary general, antonio guterres, said its people faced perhaps their most perilous

hour, with one in three afghans not knowing where their next meal would come from. the people of afghanistan need a lifeline. after decades of war, suffering and insecurity, they face perhaps their most perilous hour. now is the time for the international community to stand with them, and let us be clear, this conference is not simply about what we will give to the people of afghanistan. it is about what we owe. as the taliban took control of the country, they had promised no revenge attacks on their opponents. but the bbc has obtained and verified footage showing civilians being killed by their fighters. it's further verified that more than 20 people have been killed in panjshir province, where the taliban have been fighting opposition forces. a taliban spokesperson has denied any such killings are taking place — but based on our reporting, says they will investigate. some of the details in our

correspondent yalda hakim's exclusive report are distressing. a reign of terror on the streets of kabul. the taliban bundle two men into the back of a car. the bbc has established this disappearance took place in the past few days, in an area of the capital where people are known for their opposition to the taliban. the community in panjshir is desperately searching for any information on the fate of their loved ones. the bbc has also confirmed that the taliban are committing human rights abuses in the panjshir valley. it lies 100 miles north—east of kabul. a warning — you may find this video distressing. here, a man in military clothing is dragged away. it's unclear if he was in the army — this is common dress in the valley. voices are raised.

seconds later, he's shot several times and killed. we're not showing those images. a bystander insists the man they have just killed was not in the military. the bbc has confirmed that more than 20 people have been killed since the taliban entered the province. one of them was a shopkeeper and father of two called abdul. he was accused by the taliban are selling sim cards to resistance fighters. locals had urged him to leave when the taliban arrived, but he said he was just a poor man who had nothing to do with war. a taliban spokesperson told the bbc that civilians are not being targeted. translation: we'll i launch an investigation. i have no information about this case and the location it happened however if some military personnel or militia attacked our soldiers, ourfighters have the right to defend themselves. human rights watch says the taliban are breaching international law.

we are documenting human rights violations across the country and what seems to be happening in panjshir, as well as other places, are the summary executions and detentions, particular form of security forces. when the taliban entered the valley, they promised peace and stability. but these pictures show that people are not waiting to see if the taliban will keep their word. with telecommunications cut, it's hard to get information out. but the international community is warning of the taliban that they are watching and that they will be held accountable for their actions. yalda hakim, bbc news. in the us, secretary of state, antony blinken, has been defending the biden administration's withdrawal from afghanistan. speaking to the house foreign affairs committee from the state department, mr blinken said the decision to leave was a tough one, but necessary. upon taking office, president biden immediately faced the choice

between ending the war or escalating it. had he not followed through on his predecessor's commitment, attacks on our forces and our allies would've resumed, and the taliban's nationwide assault on afghanistan's major cities would have commenced. that would've required sending substantially more us forces into afghanistan to defend themselves and prevent a taliban takeover. i'm joined now from washington by our state department correspondent, barbara plett usher. "we inherited a deadline. great to have you on newsday, barbara. great to have you on newsday, barbara. "we inherited a deadline. we did not inherit a plan" — that was blinken�*s main defence to lawmakers. how was this received? well, democrats accepted that. some allowed that the operation could've

been handled better, others ask questions about the chaotic evacuation and those left behind. but they also criticised president trump and argued that it was an issue of a 20 year failure of war, notjust issue of a 20 year failure of war, not just the issue of a 20 year failure of war, notjust the failure issue of a 20 year failure of war, not just the failure of one administration. republicans by and large rejected it — one of them did say that both the biden and the trump administrations were responsible, but by and large, republicans used this as an opportunity to really have a go at mr lincoln, saying this had been a surrender to the taliban, this was a disaster of great proportions, and this had been a betrayal of those people in afghanistan who had worked with the united states and had been left behind. 1, ., ~ ., �* left behind. barbara, i know we've talked about _ left behind. barbara, i know we've talked about this _ left behind. barbara, i know we've talked about this before, - left behind. barbara, i know we've talked about this before, the - left behind. barbara, i know we've i talked about this before, the damage that the pull—out in afghanistan has had on president biden�*s administration — will the defence today from secretary blinken go any way towards healing that damage?

well, if you're talking about the public response, i doubt this congressional hearing will have that much of an impact. the polls show that the biden administration has taken quite a hit on the way the war ended, but they also show that more americans support the decision to end the war than those who oppose it. so we will have to see over time which of those two sentiments has the stronger impact. and i think you can see from the congressional hearing on the way most republicans played at that they plan to try to keep this issue alive — they will at least play up their narrative of incompetence and whether or not afghanistan remains an issue. they will argue it shows that the administration was incompetent. and from a practical point of view, the issue of afghanistan is shifting away from the white house to the state department in the sense that now, i think the questions are how to evacuate those still left behind, and also what sort of relationship to develop with the taliban. barbara with the latest —

to develop with the taliban. barbara with the latest insight _ to develop with the taliban. barbara with the latest insight and _ to develop with the taliban. barbara with the latest insight and analysis | with the latest insight and analysis from washington, thank you for joining us on newsday. and there's much more on our website about afghanistan — with news and analysis from our correspondents around the world, including a story that you might have seen on social media — afghan women who have started an online campaign to protest against the taliban's strict dress code for female students. using hashtags like #donottouchmyclothes and #afghanistanculture, many are sharing pictures of their colourful traditional dresses. lots more on our site, so do be sure to head to bbc.com/news, or download the bbc news app. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk... 140,000 people across england are being asked to take part in trials of a revolutionary new blood test that detects more than 50 types of cancer, before the patient has any symptoms. it works by detecting chemical changes in fragments of genetic code. it's thought it could mark

the beginning of a revolution in cancer detection and treatment. the british prime minister borisjohnson is mourning the death of his mother, according to the telegraph newspaper. charlotte johnson wahl, who was a professional painter, died "suddenly and peacefully" at a london hospital at the age of 79. here in the uk, andrew neil has resigned as the chairman and lead presenter of gb news. the journalist and former bbc presenter was on—air for two weeks following the launch of the channel injune, before taking a break. the station has suffered from declining viewer figures in recent months. we have a special report from the prince andrew in new york at a court in new york right now, a pretrial hearing is going under way filed by a woman who claims that prince andrew sexually assaulted her when she was 17. last week, lawyers for

virginia giuffre argued they had successfully served prince centre with legal papers. prince andrew has always denied the allegations, saying he has no recollection of meeting ms. giuffre. here's neda tawfik in new york who is following the developments for us. young back its actually a phone conference. actually, what the judge has said so far is that he has received the letter from the defence — sorry, from virginia giuffre's lawyers outlining why they feel prince andrew has been properly served. but he has asked lawyer david boies if he is going to request the court to intervene — so the court to get in touch with the relevant authorities in the uk on behalf of virginia giuffre to serve those papers. he was saying, "would that make sense," rather than waiting for the motions to go through where he will have to decide if, in fact, based on what prince andrew's legal team are saying, that the papers

weren't actually served with due process, that they could get the ball rolling with having the court intervening with uk authorities. but the hearing is still under way, it will be for a bit longer, and we haven't heard yet from prince andrew's lawyer who has been chosen specifically for this hearing by the duke of york to argue that this court has no jurisdiction, and again, on this issue of whether the court papers were served. if you want to get in touch with me, i'm on twitter @bbckarishma. i'm looking forward to hearing from you. you're watching newday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: nigeria is seeing temperatures rise and devastating droughts — and the country's oil industry is making matters even worse.

this is newday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines... the united nations says more than $1 billion of aid have been promised for afghanistan — funding it says is needed to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. the bbc has obtained and verified footage which shows civilians being killed by taliban fighters in afghanistan's panchir valley. in the uk, all 12—15—year—olds will soon be offered a single dose of the pfizer coronavirus vaccine. it comes just a few weeks after the body which advises the government said it couldn't recommend vaccinating healthy kids. and it brings the uk in line with other countries like the united states, which alrady vaccinates those over 12. here's our medical editor fergus walsh. i'm looking for four right—angled triangles...

there's a new formula for vaccination. ten days ago, the scientists on thejcvi advisory committee said there were only marginal health benefits from immunising all 12—15—year—olds. now the uk's four top doctors have concluded the wider benefits for education and mental health make giving a single dose the right answer. england's chief medical officer, chris whitty, a pivotal figure in the pandemic, said vaccination would help prevent disruption to learning. we do not think that this is a panacea, this is not a silver bullet, it's not a single thing that on its own will do so, but we think it is an important and potentially useful additional tool to help reduce the public health impacts that come through educational disruptions. isn't there a danger that many parents, and indeed children, are going to be left confused after thejcvi didn't recommend vaccines for this age group and now you are?

in medicine, you have to take factors into account, some of which are very direct and some of which are broader, and that's a pretty standard way of approaching risk and benefit. so we would see this as not in conflict. if you measure that angle there... like schools across the uk, st margaret's academy in liverpool has faced huge disruption over the pandemic. at some points, more than half its 1,000 pupils have been self—isolating rather than in class. so they support today's decision. it's been very, very difficult. the sooner we can get back to the routine of everybody coming into school without the disruption caused by the virus the better, and this is a major step in helping us do that. the decision on vaccinating three million 12—to—15—year—olds is a balance of risks versus benefits.

for every one million first doses given to healthy 12—15—year—olds, it is estimated they will save two admissions to intensive care, and 87 admissions to hospital. 0n the risk, there will be between three and 17 cases of myocarditis, inflammation of the heart, which could also be triggered by covid. which can also be triggered by covid, include chest pain, shortness of breath and palpitations. but these are mostly mild and short—lived. after so much toing and froing on this issue, what do parents make of it? we've got a daughter who's nearly 1a, so we have no problem with getting her vaccinated. i'm not sure, i really don't know. at the moment, i'd probably say no. it's a contentious issue, _ but i think it should be compulsory to have vaccinations l across all age groups. from the young to the old, a programme of third boosterjabs will be confirmed tomorrow, initially for the over—705, starting with care home residents. the aim, to counter any whining of immunity and give the maximum protection over winter to those most

at risk from covid. fergus walsh, bbc news. i want to bring you this story now. bbc analysis of global climate data has found that the number of extremely hot days, when temperatures reach 50 celsius, has more than doubled in the past 1t0 years. the bbc is launching a series called life at 50 celsius, exploring the impact of extreme heat — starting in nigeria, where climate change has destroyed much of the fertile land. the country's oil production has added to the problem, as millions have been forced to live near toxic gas flares. peter 0kwoche reports. this is my mum. she's going to the city fire. under the scorching sun, and in front of an open gas flare in nigeria's oil—rich south, joy risks her life to support her family. temperatures here reach boiling levels. but, despite the risks,

joy uses the heat to speed up drying time for her tapioca sweet puddings. translation: the reason i have short hair is, - if i grow my hair long, it could burn my head if the flare shifts direction and explodes. the use of fossil fuels worldwide has had a devastating impact on nigeria's climate. the country suffers from severe droughts in the north, and flash floods in the south. when i was a kid, the rain was not like this, the weather is not like this. so i think that life isn't about to end. but nigeria is also a major producer of oil, with a particular admission problem. this is the flare of the gas that the inhabitants - of this land are suffering, with the abject poverty. l flaring is the process of burning the natural gas that is released when oil is extracted from the ground. the process is a large source of greenhouse gases, and a major contributor to climate change in nigeria.

it is also illegal in the country. yet about two million nigerians live within four km of a gas flare — including joy and her children. these are my children. forjoy, working around the gas flare is one way of making ends meet. translation: it'sj bad for our health. but we say, to hell with the consequences. we need to support our families. joy and her children have been working extra hard for four days straight. they are processing the tapioca to help herfamily pay for the funeral of her mother. when i came here, i had no work, nojob. i saw the women working this tapioca. then i asked them, could you let me? although they need the money, joy's family still wants the gas flares to stop. translation: in my view, - the government should lead efforts

to end gas flaring in the oil industry and hopefully that will significantly reduce the heat wave and associated health hazards. nigeria's economic development is highly dependent on oil revenue. yet the industry's making it one of africa's largest emitters of greenhouse gases. and, until the government fulfils its promise to end gas flaring by 2030, the country's landscape and the lives and livelihoods of millions likejoy remain at risk. peter 0kwoche, bbc news. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. israel's prime minister, naftali bennett, has described his talks in egypt with president abdel fattah al—sisi as very good and important. speaking after the first official visit to egypt by an israeli leaderfor a decade, mr bennett talked of a "deep connection" between the two countries. the egyptians said ways to revive the israeli—palestinian peace

process were discussed. campaigners say more than 220 people were murdered last year while trying to protect their environment or land. global witness, which compiled the figure, said it was a new record for the second year in a row. latin america was the region with most killings while colombia was the worst affected country with 65 deaths. a fake news release supposedly from walmart led to a spike in the cryptocurrency litecoin — and then a tumble in the share price. the statement — published by a newswire service, claimed that the us retailer would accept the crypto currency. walmart said the announcement was "inauthentic". for a year—and—a—half now, the coronavirus has caused massive disruption, chaos, pain and suffering across the globe. as we've been telling you pretty much every single day. however, in coming to live with it, there have also been some unexpected positive effects with people

rediscovering the joy of travelling in their own countries. in china, this has led to an explosion in, wait for it, surfing! china correspondent stephen mcdonell reports from hainan island. people have been surfing on hainan for years, but it was pretty niche. now, there's been this big influx of people coming to the island to learn a new sport — and who to thank for all this? the coronavirus.

because of the pandemic, overseas holidays are impossible for most here, leading to a boom in domestic tourism. new businesses have been popping up along the coast to accommodate the subsequent surfing craze. cece was on china's national women's surfing team. she and a few friends now run the school with six coaches. this is one of many. in other parts of the world, people who've become really good at surfing now live next to the coast and go out most days. it's the only way to really build up your skill level. the coaches here are telling us that despite that, they're getting students coming back throughout the year time and again to have another crack at it.

in china, like elsewhere, the coronavirus hammered tourism, but with this country's huge population on the move again, the industry has had a major rebound. in fact, right now on hainan island, tourism revenues are actually better than before the virus struck. of course, the big question with a coronavirus—fuelled surfing scene is, what happens when we go back to something along the lines of normal and people can travel again? will it kill the scene or will it survive? stephen mcdonell, bbc news, hainan island. i wish i was out there too.

that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello there. this weekend is looking very changeable. we're starting off on a rather unsettled note. then things look like they'll calm down around the middle part of the week, thanks to a ridge of high pressure building in with some good spells of sunshine around. and by the end of the week, another weather system will arrive to bring some wetter and windier weather certainly for friday. and we have this cluster of weather fronts moving up from the near continent, so this rain could be quite heavy as we push through this evening, and certainly overnight. the rain will start to pep up across southern areas to become quite heavy, but the rain will be pretty extensive across western parts of the country here, variable cloud and some low cloud and mist in places, too. quite a muggy night come across southern areas with that heavier rain. 13—15 degrees here, closer to 10—12 further north. now it does look like tuesday will be pretty wet across parts of wales,

central, southern, and eastern england — and that rain will pep up through the day, you can see some bright echoes through there, some very heavy rainfall, perhaps some rumbles of thunder, too, for both central and eastern parts of england. but conditions are improving across wales, southwest england later in the day, and some sunshine for western scotland and northern ireland. disappointing temperatures where we have the rain, otherwise highs in the brighter spots probably touching around 19—20 celsius. now that weather front clears away during the course of tuesday night into wednesday — a ridge of high pressure builds in for both wednesday, and certainly for thursday. so, it's looking like the better day of the week, pretty it particularly thursday, where we'll see quite a bit of sunshine. because wednesday looks rather grey, misty and murky, with quite a lot of clouds to begin the day, even a bit of a hang—back of rain across eastern england from that weather front, which should eventually clear way. perhaps a few showers for western scotland and northern ireland. otherwise for most, it should be a drier day, and we should start seeing increasing amounts of sunshine across some southern and western areas, pushing temperatures up to around 21 degrees. thursday probably looking like the best day of the week with that ridge of high pressure

across many areas, it'll be dry with good spells sunshine around. late in the day, cloud and breeze will start to increase for western scotland and northern ireland ahead of this new weather system. but in the warmest spots on thursday, we could see low—20s celsius quite easily. now as we head into thursday, though, this new weatherfront associated with this area of low pressure sweeps across the country during friday to bring outbreaks of rain, fairly strong winds across northern scotland. so, it looks like it'll be wet across western areas to start friday, rain pushing towards the east late in the day, sunshine and showers follow on behind.

this is bbc news. the headlines...

the united nations says the international community has promised a billion dollars in aid for afghanistan. secretary general antonio guterres says one in three afghans do not know where their next meal is coming from. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, says america's effort to evacuate its citizens from afghanistan �*is still ongoing and has no deadline.�* he said the us was right to withdraw when it did to avoid the risk of more conflict. the uk has become the latest country to recommend covid vaccinations to all children aged 12 to 15. the chief medical officers said it had the potential to avoid disruption to education. israel's prime minister, naftali bennett, has met egypt's president, abdel fattah, al—sisi for talks in the red sea resort of sharm el sheikh. it's the first official visit to egypt by an israeli premier in a decade.