this is bbc news — i'm lucy grey. our top stories. the us military admits one of its drone strikes in afghanistan killed ten innocent civilians — including seven children. we now assess that it is unlikely that the vehicle and those who died were associated with isis k or where a direct threat to us forces. after australia, the us and britain agree a new security partnership — france recalls its ambassadors to washington and canberra. england eases restrictions for international travel — scrapping the need for expensive covid tests for fully—vaccinated people arriving from abroad. and — algeria's former president — abdelaziz bouteflika — dies at the age of 8a. hello and welcome to bbc news.

hello and welcome. the us military says it mistakenly killed 10 afghan civilians in a drone strike in kabul last month, missing the intended target. seven of the dead were children. this is a major reversal of the pentagon's position — at the time, us officials had said the strike was justified and righteous, because it prevented militants from using a car bomb to attack the airport. our afghanistan correspondent, secunder kermani, had this to say about the strike. we were at the scene the morning after the strike, and it was a really terrible thing to see. family members combing through the wreckage, trying to find body parts of their loved ones that they could bury.

they were, of course, utterly distraught, and also furious at the accusation they had anything to do with isis. in fact, a number of the family members who were killed had worked with american aid organisations, american troops, even, in afghanistan. the family had in fact been hoping to be relocated as part of the evacuation scheme to the us. now we know, and it's confirmed that the intelligence was wrong, of course. this is an incredibly grim end to a — largely bringing an end to american military involvement in afghanistan. one key thing to remember is that we know more about this strike because it took place in kabul. so many others in the past happened in more rural areas, much more difficult to get accurate information about them. lifting off, the taliban's new air force. on board, their fighters. in the cockpit, their former enemies — pilots from the previous government.

the fleet now under the taliban's control includes fighter planes originally donated by america. dozens of pilots fled abroad as the telephone took over, fearing for their lives, taking their aircraft with them. these helicopters launched a lot of attacks against the taliban, that's right, isn't it? but as the group announced an amnesty, others decided to stay on. you are both sitting here very calmly, but do you recognise that it's quite a strange situation for two people who were trying to kill each other now to be working together?

elsewhere, the political transition is far less smooth. foreign reserves are frozen as the international community weighs up how to support afghans but not the taliban. banks have restricted cash withdrawals. second—hand markets have sprung up across the country. the war might have come to an end, but this is where you see the utter desperation that so many afghans are living in right now. most of this market didn't even exist a month ago — now it's full of people trying to sell whatever household possessions they can just to put food on the table for theirfamilies.

most public sector employees weren't even paid their salaries in the last months of the previous government. now, they have no idea when or if they will be paid again. you were still working, but you didn't get a salary? this teacher has already sold whatever she can. the transition of power in afghanistan was much less bloody than many had feared. but half the country was already in dire need, and the struggle to survive is becoming even harder. secunder kermani, bbc news, mazar—i—sharif. france has taken the unprecedented step of recalling its ambassadors to australia and the united states in an escalating row over the cancellation of a submarine contract and the creation of a new security alliance. the deal between canberra, washington and london was announced on wednesday and it's understood france was informed only hours earlier.

french diplomats have talked about a crisis in relations with australia and the us, and have accused britain of opportunistic behaviour. the white house said it regretted france's decision. let's talk to our washington correspondent nomia iqbal. fa ncifully fancifully making its feelings clear on this, isn't it?- clear on this, isn't it? yes. francis _ clear on this, isn't it? yes. francis levitt _ clear on this, isn't it? yes. francis levitt which - clear on this, isn't it? yes. francis levitt which is - francis levitt which is probably an understatement. yesterday they cancelled his guile that they were holding in dc which was to honour us venture relations and the cancellation was seen as a bit diplomatic flounce, to use that word. today recalling an ambassador. not from here, obviously, from australia as well. it is the penultimate step before you call of diplomatic relations entirely so it is a massive move by the french and i think it shows how

angry they are over not just the financial hit they suffered as a result of losing the contract that is the political isolation they clearly feel and the white house has released a statement in the last hour. the kind of stuff you would expect them to say. they said they had beenin them to say. they said they had been in close touch with our venture partners and their decision and we understand their position but they go on to say we will resolve our differences as we have done at other points over the course of our long alliance are just a reminder back in 2003 when the iraq invasion happened france in the us fell out in the french were spectacularly opposed to the us going on without a un mandate but they did kiss and make up and i suspect the white house is hoping that will happen again. it is interesting the british ambassador has not been recalled, isn't it?- ambassador has not been recalled, isn't it? who knows that could — recalled, isn't it? who knows that could potentially - recalled, isn't it? who knows| that could potentially happen. we cannot underestimate just how angry the french are over this. like i say, it is a very

unusual thing to do because it is the step before you actually cut off diplomatic relations. i'm not entirely convinced it will get that far but this has sent a strong message to america, to france, to the uk and australia that france will not put up with this sort of thing and i think is probably also fair to analyse the french president signed us off and he has got elections coming up next year. i think it probably looks very good to voters, potential voters, that he is standing up to america's oldest ally but in terms of what happens next the us has said it is going to be continuing talks with france over the next few days. let s get some of the day's other news. two men have appeared in court, charged with the murder of the journalist, leera mckee in londonderry. the 29 —year—old was shot dead

by a gunman from the dissident republican group, the new ira, in april 2019. both men were also charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life. they were released on bail. south africa's top court has rejected the former presidentjacob zuma's bid to have his fifteen—month jail sentence overturned. the 79 —year—old had argued that the sentence was excessive and that prison would endanger his health. mr zuma who's in hospital recovering from surgery was jailed for failing to testify at a corruption inquiry. he denies wrongdoing. the former brazilian footballer, pele, has been re—admitted into intensive care after recently undergoing surgery to remove a tumour in his colon. the 80—year—old has been having treatment at sao paolo's albert einstein hospital since late august, after the tumour was detected in routine tests. his daughter has tried to reassure fans by using social media to say he is now

recovering well here, the uk government has announced major changes to rules for international travellers. among them is a simplified designation system defining countries as either �*open�* or on the red list, and the requirement for covid tests for people arriving in england has been relaxed. 0ur transport correspondent caroline davis reports. travel has meant testing. across the country, centres like these have popped up to swab passengers, but things are about to change. throughout the summer, the travel industry and the government have disagreed about the use of these, pcr tests, for all travellers when they arrive in the uk. the government has always argued this is necessary to be able to identify variants of concern, but the travel industry say it is a barrier and too expensive. before the end of october, if you are double—jabbed, pcr tests are going to be replaced by the cheaper lateral flow tests. if you test positive,

you will need to have a pcr test and isolate at home. it's a relief for hotels, who have struggled as families have stayed away because of the added cost. the uk market has dropped between 50—70% depending on the travelling month, especially for families hard hit by the restrictions implemented and the traffic light system, which obviously every three weeks is sort of like, yeah, a surprise, what is going to happen. so we definitely believe this change is going to boost sales massively. it's not the only change. from the 4th of october, fully vaccinated travellers will also no longer need to take a pre—departure lateral flow test before they travel. under 18s will also avoid this test. they are treated as vaccinated adults. if you are not double—jabbed, it's a very different story. you will need to take a test before you travel and self—isolate at home for ten days after every international trip, as well as pay for pcr tests. for the industry, this change can't come soon enough. very pleased with the announcement, just what we wanted to hear. i think the government has been listening to the industry. we have been interacting with them for some time.

it's a great piece of news for us. it will give our customers the end of summer they deserve, abroad in the sun. so, yes, we welcome the announcement. but not everyone in the scientific community agrees that pcr tests should be removed. i would like to see pcr tests remain because they have given us so much information already from the sequencing. so we know when delta was introduced into the uk, when the delta variant came in, that this virus was imported over 500 times, and we wouldn't have the information if we weren't doing the screening and sequencing associated with that. after months of insisting pcr tests were needed, why has the government changed its mind now? the judgment of the scientists, of the experts, was that it would have been too soon without having the numbers of people vaccinated, not just at home where of course we had this very fast vaccination programme, but critically, abroad as well, at a level

whereby, you know, we can now say with a lot of confidence, not only are nine out of ten adults vaccinated here but abroad also, they have caught up with the very high numbers that we saw earlier. we are very relaxed and we are happy to see our family, our friends, people who move around easily. and for those with loved ones in some red list countries, there was good news. this man has not seen his family in pakistan for more than three years. from next wednesday, it is off the red list, along with seven other countries. the summer may be drying to a close, but today's announcement has given the industry some help. for now, they are enjoying this moment in the sun. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines . the us military admits a drone strike in afghanistan last month against a suspected car bomber killled ten innocent civilians — including seven children. after australia, the us and britain agree a new security partnership — france recalls its ambassadors to washington and canberra.

in west africa, the trade in illegal, fake pharmaceutical drugs — which can pose a real danger to public health — has been a problem for a long time. but now, the independent intergovernmental body , the world customs 0rganisation, is leading a global operation with local authorities to crack down on the trade. the bbc was given exclusive access to one operation in benin. hannah gelba rt reports here in west africa, a bbc team is filming customs officers in pursuit of a group of smugglers. they are cracking down on fake medicines and the penalties here are high. the smugglers abandon their vehicles and their stash, any medicines or medical device is made or transported here without the right authorisation are automatically classified as steak, and the sacs are full of them. across town to a more fake medicines have been found. this driver was on his way to the main markets. inside his bag are 50 kilos of tramadol, a

strong prescription painkiller. he says he knows nothing about it, but back at his house, officers discover more drugs. all the items seized this morning are stored in a warehouse, where they are checked, reported to authorities and then destroyed. we have seized 39 kilos of facemasks and more than six tonnes of illegal pharmaceuticals. smugglers have lots of checks, they removed their backseats to make my space, sometimes they change their licence plates or at bay hide products among fruit and vegetables. the market for fake drugs is worth around 200 billion us dollars worldwide each year. world customs is an international organisation that works with local customs officers to deal with this kind of crime.

right now, they are seizing drugs and 145 countries. it's their biggest ever crackdown on counterfeit medicines. and the pandemic started, we received some information regarding the increase of medicines and also medical equipment linked to covid—i9, and then he took action to set up the first group operation linked to covid—i9. since the operation began, world customs say they have seized more than 307 million illegal medical items around the world. 99.5% of all of those were in west and central africa. this area shares borders with four different countries, and for decades, it's been a thorough fare for illegal medicines made in india and china destine for countries like nigeria, but in 2016, the government changed its approach. this market was once known as benin�*s open air pharmacy, but now there are no medicines for sale on display. leads to cell fake drugs there,

but the government seized our medicines, so we had to change our goods. many sellers went bankrupt and had to go back to their villages, like the person who owns this choppy for me. i have heard that a lot of people suffer from kidney failure and benin and we were blamed for it, so overall, i think it's a good fight. the fight against fake medicines is ongoing, and with the pandemic, it's been brought to the world's attention. the former president of algeria, abdelaziz bouteflika, has died after a long illness. he was 8a. abdelaziz bouteflika led the north african country for nearly two decades, but his decision in 2019 to seek a fifth term in office led to massive street protests, which resulted in his resignation. rana jawad reports. and foreign minister for over a decade. forsome, he was and foreign minister for over a decade. for some, he was a hero. for others, the symbol of

an ageing political elite. when he first came to power in 1999 algeria were still ravaged by a civil war sparked by the army's refusal to recognise the election victory earlier in the decade. by granting amnesty is a new president succeeded in to an end though the insurgents were to regroup in the following years, aligning themselves to al-qaeda and spreading operations into the wider region. 0ver spreading operations into the wider region. over time, the president's rapprochement with the west and openness to economic reform did little in the way of freeing the state from its dependency on oil revenues, reducing public debt and defeating growing unemployment. he ruled algeria for 20 years there a landslide election victory is tainted by

leadership that prevented the rise of any opponent that could replace the president or his ruling party. even senior members of the country's military and intelligence services were quietly sidelined over the years. in 2013 the man algerians had an special name for suffered a serious stroke. his speech and mobility had been gravely affected and his public appearances became extremely rare and the elections the following year, he was not able to physically campaign but is still one of 80% of the vote. his ill—health started to raise concerns about his ability to rule and the youth of algeria wanted change. when his candidacy for a fifth term in office was announced in 2019 it sparked massive and rare public protests, challenging his and the ruling party's group in algeria. weeks

later, the relentless demonstrations coupled with pressure on him from the army led to his resignation. translation: in seven days algerians have done the impossible. to get rid of a political regime that was there to stay. the president absolutely wanted to be president for life. he managed to survive algeria's to much of its history as well as avoid the unrest that toppled long stir serving heads of state and neighbouring countries during the arab spring. however unlikely it seemed, in his final years at the helm, the rallying calls for change that did eventually reach algeria stripped him of a power that many thought he would never give up.

a court in los angeles has found a property tycoon guilty of murdering his best friend in an attempt to cover up the disappearance of his wife. millionaire robert durst shot susan berman in the back of the head inside her beverly hills home in 2000 in what prosecutors say was a bid to stop her telling police what she knew about his wife's death two decades earlier. the 78—year—old who's recovering from cancer�*s been subject to a number of murder accusations and cases after apparently making confessions on tape in a documentary called "the jinx". but ms berman�*s is the only one to be proven. ajudge in america has ruled that lawyers for virginia joofray , the woman who's accused prince andrew of sexual assault, will be able to serve legal papers, on his representative in the us after a week of confusion and wrangling over whether the prince had been formally notificed of the civil claim against him.

our royal correspondent jonny dymond has more details. on monday, the last one had in the air cover whether those papers have been properly served. on wednesday, the high court here is that it would assess the layers, the woman who made those allegations that are denied. he will insist —— assist those layers. he will assist those lawyers. it's been a week of legal manoeuvring centred around this issue of serving the papers containing the allegations against the prince either into his hands or into the hands of his lawyers. on monday, the lawyers went head—to—head in new york arguing over whether those papers had been properly served. ——on wednesday, the high court here said it would assist lawyers for virginia giuffre, the woman who made those allegations against the prince, allegations that prince denies, it would assist lawyers in serving those papers. and now, thejudge in new york has said, as you say, the papers can be served on the prince's us lawyer, the man who spoke on monday. that means that this case will almost certainly now go ahead. that lawyer says that a deal struck by virginia giuffre in 2009 withjeffrey epstein, one—time friend of the prince, convicted paedophile, that that deal would make any court case against prince andrew null and void. but that deal is secret and sealed, and only when the case proceeds might it be opened. british tennis star emma raducanu has revealed that

on herfirst night back at home, she watched a replay of the us open final — and says her victory is �*gradually sinking in.�* she's also spoken about how her parents�* strict approach helped her become a grand slam champion. natalie pirks reports, and a warning there are flashing images in her report since she burst onto our screens at wimbledon last summer, life has been a whirlwind for emma raducanu. but now home, she's done the one thing she'd no parties, instead, she did the one been desperate to do. thing she hadn't yet managed to do since her astonishing us open win. last night i actually just rewatched the final and tried to relive a couple of the moments and remember how it felt. so it is sinking in a little bit more. it is something difficult to fully comprehend. it was nail—biting stuff, but now with the teenager with nerves of steel. i personally didn't feel any stress, it was just having a lot of fun out there, and i think that's what helped because i wasn't thinking at all about anything that was out of my control. after the final, it was a really nice moments after winning and leaving the club, that would serve the party buzz going on and there

was a lot of music, we were all just singing along. since then, she has not been out of the headlines and let dressed in chenal at the prestigious next gala, hurting the tension has rocketed into her bank account is now £1.8 million better off. but she says she's leaving it to her parents to decide what to do with the money and credits than with being where she is now. back in the arms of dad ian, she credited him, and mum renee, as the driving force behind her success. it's probably tough love, and at the time i'm probably not as grateful as i am in hindsight, but theyjust gave me a hug when i came back, really — nothing crazy, no big celebration. my mum made some really good home—made dumplings, but there was nothing crazy or over—the—top. just some reassurance and saying they're proud of me is enough. they are just staying discrete,

yeah, i mean, just some reassurance. i new world ranking of 23 has opened up a lot of new tournaments for her. she and her team have some planning to do. i think ijust really need some time to rest and recover because it's been very demanding physically, and also just emotionally to withstand seven weeks on the road. but when wimbledon rolls around, by we need a new medicare? i think that one should stay with them. i think he is a great inspiration and he's helped me so much, but yeah, i'm obviously looking forward to wimbledon, but it still some time away and i've still got so much learning to do. learning she will no doubt take in her stride. since last saturday she's not been out of the headlines, a reminder of our top story. the us military says it mistakenly killed 10 afghan civilians in a drone strike

in kabul last month, missing the intended target. seven of the dead were children. this is a major reversal of the pentagon's position — at the time, us officials had said the strike was justified and righteous, because it prevented militants from using a car bomb to attack the airport. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ lucyegrey hello there. many of us yesterday had a decent day of weather. temperatures reached 22.3 degrees celsius in the warmest spots, but it wasn't like that everywhere. in argyll and bute, cloudy for much of the day with rain and mist and fog patches over the high ground until this happened. late on, as the weather fronts started to clear through, some of the cloud from the front was lit up by the setting sun, and it was a glorious end to the day. there is that weather front on the satellite picture, this stripe of cloud you can see here. the weather fronts associated with this cloud are particularly slow—moving, and they're going to take the whole of the weekend before they reach right the way across to the eastern side of the country. so, this weekend, mixed picture — could be a bit of rain around on saturday, but for many areas,

it's a dry day. by sunday, outbreaks of rain become a bit more extensive, heavy and thundery as well for some. so, as i say, a mixed fortune, really. for southern and eastern scotland, western areas of england and wales, it's a cloudy start to the day with outbreaks of light rain and drizzle, probably some mist and fog patches mixed in as well. to the east of our weather front, perhaps east wales, but definitely central and eastern england, there'll be a lot of dry weather, sunny spells and warm in that september sunshine — highs up to 23. brighter slice of weather as well for west scotland and northern ireland, but here, a fresher feel to the weather, temperatures 17—19. now, saturday night sees heavy, thundery rain start to break out across wales, moving in across northern england, into scotland as well, so there will be some heavy downpours around. and then, through sunday, this area of heavy and potentially thundery rain will continue to push eastwards and become really slow—moving across parts of central and eastern england. there's a risk of some localised flooding, 30—a0 mm possible in one or two areas. in the wettest areas, that's enough to cause some localised surface water flooding. at the same time, the western

side of the country will turn brighter and drier and a bit sunnier through sunday afternoon. by monday, could still be a little bit of rain left over across east anglia and the far southeast of england, but otherwise, pressure will be building across the country for a time for monday and for tuesday as well, and that means for most of us, we're looking at a fine spell of weather with sunny spells. temperatures into the high teens or even the low 20s. however, it's not going to stay that way because, into the middle part of next week, we're going to see low pressure move in, bringing some heavy rain across the country and some much windier weather on the way as well.

this is bbc news,

the headlines... a top american general has confirmed one of the last military operations in afghanistan inadvertently killed ten members of an innocent family. the head of us central command said an investigation had found a drone strike killed an aid worker and nine members of his family — seven of them children. france is recalling its ambassadors from australia and the united states in what it describes as an exceptional decision. this was due to the seriousness of the announcement on wednesday that australia would scrap a multi—billion dollar deal to buy french design submarines. the former president of algeria — abdelaziz bouteflika — has died after a long illness. he was 8a. abdelaziz bouteflika led the north african country for nearly two decades but the ailing president's decision in 2019 to seek a fifth term in office led to massive street protests.

now on bbc news, it's time for click.