welcome to bbc news, i'm maryam moshiri. our top stories... american r&b singer r kelly is found guilty of sex trafficking, racketeering and sexually abusing women and children. the 54—year—old could spend the rest of his life behind bars for the two decades�* abuse detailed by 11 victims. challenging the taliban over the way they teach children. at the way they teach children. at the bbc reports from inside their heartlands in afghanistan. british soldiers are put on standby to help deliver fuel as pumps run dry after days of panic buying. keeping an eye on climate change with an out of this world view — the new satellite tracking what humans are doing to the planet.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. a court in new york has found the american singer r kelly guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering in connection with the abuse of underage girls, boys and women. over the course of a five—week trial, the prosecution laid out in lurid detail how r kelly ran a criminal enterprise that had recruited children and women for sex. he now faces a minimum of 15 years in prison. the bbc�*s nada tawfik has the latest. # i believe i can fly...# to the world, he was the king of r&b and one of the bestselling music artists of all time. to his victims, he was their worst nightmare. today, they finally gotjustice after he was found guilty on all racketeering and sex trafficking charges brought against him by the government.

in rendering its verdict today, the jury delivered a powerful message to men like r kelly. no matter how long it takes, the long arm of the law will catch up with you. a five—week trial in new york laid out in lurid detail how the singer ran a decades—long criminal enterprise. prosecutors said r kelly used a network of employees and close associates to recruit underage girls, boys and women for sex. 45 witnesses gave evidence that r kelly was a predator who exploited his fame to entrap, control and punish people, many aspiring singers. the accusations swirled around him for decades and reached a fever pitch after a documentary focused on the accounts of his accusers. one of those women, jerhonda pace, testified in court. she was one of the first to come forward and released this video detailing her experiences with r kelly

atjust 16 years old. i was a victim of sexual abuse, mental abuse and physical abuse, all at the hands of r kelly~ — in an interview with the bbc, kittijones also shared her story. she said many accusers were black women who felt their voices didn't matter to society. later, when i was introduced to one of the girls— that he told me he'd trained, since she was 14, those - were his words, um, i saw- that she was dressed like me. she was saying the things that i would say. - and her mannerisms were like mine. - that is when it clicked - in my head that he had been grooming me to become one of his pets _ he calls them his pets. have you ever had sex with anyone under the age of 17? no, no. never? no. r kelly chose not to testify. in this cbs interview before his arrest, he desperately tried to win over public opinion.

i didn't do this stuff! this is not me! i'm fighting for my bleep life. y'all killing me with thi ican't even... robert... 30 years of my career! the disgraced artist now faces a minimum of 15 years in prison. this has been an emotional trial for the women and men who have come forward. not only has the jury heard them, they have believed them. it is another victory for survivors of sexual assault and the entire #metoo movement. joining me now isjim derogatis, one of the first journalists to investigate claims against r kelly over 20 years ago. he has since written a book called soulless: the case against r kelly. it is good to talk to you, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. mi; thank you for “oining us on bbc news. y , . , ~ , news. my pleasure. well, it is never a pleasure _ news. my pleasure. well, it is never a pleasure talking - news. my pleasure. well, it is never a pleasure talking aboutj never a pleasure talking about the story for 21 years. absolutely. and you have been

talking about it for 21 years. give me an insight into why it has taken this long and how the story has unravelled over the last two decades? the short answer to that is a young women who were victimised by this incredibly wealthy, powerful, beloved musical icon never stopped calling me. trusting me to tell their stories. today is a victory for all those women, although many of them that i'm still in touch with have said at the same thing, while it is satisfying to see him finally facing repercussions, for the things he did, it is a too little too late for them. why do ou little too late for them. why do you think _ little too late for them. why do you think it _ little too late for them. why do you think it has taken this long to get your?— do you think it has taken this long to get your? race. race, ure long to get your? race. race, pure and — long to get your? race. race, pure and simple. _ long to get your? race. race, pure and simple. what - long to get your? race. race, pure and simple. what they i long to get your? race. race, i pure and simple. what they have said to me again and again, and ihave said to me again and again, and i have amplified as a journalist, i cannot speak for black women, i havejust journalist, i cannot speak for black women, i have just used the megaphone of the press to

repeat what they have said. nobody has matter less in american society than young black girls. women in general, we know rape culture exists. only one in four sexual assaults are ever even reported. and far fewer of those result in justice. reported. and far fewer of those result injustice. but black girls in particular are not believed.— black girls in particular are not believed. ., . ., , ., not believed. how much do you think the metoo _ not believed. how much do you think the metoo and _ not believed. how much do you think the metoo and the - not believed. how much do you think the metoo and the time l think the metoo and the time hasn't come and have sped this up hasn't come and have sped this up in the past few years? i think it has played a big role but is the first prosecution of a predator in the metoo error that has been brought on behalf of women of colour. it that has been brought on behalf of women of colour.— of women of colour. it is great to see they — of women of colour. it is great to see they are _ of women of colour. it is great to see they are now— of women of colour. it is great to see they are now being - to see they are now being believe —— the metoo era. we have to look at the history of popular music where men have been hit mistreating women.

this is the most high—profile prosecution of a musical icon in history. i can't name another and i in history. i can't name anotherand i am in history. i can't name another and i am a student of p0p another and i am a student of pop music history. the body count, by my... the women's whose names i now number almost 70 and i am certain there are far more i have never been aware of-— far more i have never been aware of. ., ., ., , ., aware of. to what extent do you think r kelly _ aware of. to what extent do you think r kelly was _ aware of. to what extent do you think r kelly was enabled - aware of. to what extent do you think r kelly was enabled in - think r kelly was enabled in what he was doing?- think r kelly was enabled in what he was doing? 100%. he was sellin: what he was doing? 100%. he was selling 100 — what he was doing? 10096. he was selling 100 million _ what he was doing? 10096. he was selling 100 million albums - what he was doing? 10096. he was selling 100 million albums over i selling 100 million albums over the course of those 30 years, he generated $1 billion of income forjive records, started by one of your continent, clive calder, who now sits on an island counting the money he made when he sold jive and has a record was named in the first lawsuit a 15—year—old girl, who said kelly sexually abused her when

she was 15 and 1991 and brought the first civil lawsuit and jive records was named on it. the music industry has known about this. and done nothing. do you think that is just indicative of the way the music industry has been run over the last two decades? do you think it is still a problem?— it is still a problem? yes, es, i it is still a problem? yes, yes. i don't— it is still a problem? yes, yes, i don't believe - it is still a problem? yes, | yes, i don't believe things have changed. i think the reckoning is coming only belatedly to the music industry. there is a lot of ground to cover. i industry. there is a lot of ground to cover.- industry. there is a lot of ground to cover. i know that our kelly — ground to cover. i know that our kelly has _ ground to cover. i know that our kelly has had _ ground to cover. i know that our kelly has had a - ground to cover. i know that our kelly has had a lot - ground to cover. i know that our kelly has had a lot of. our kelly has had a lot of fans out there for many years a —— that r kelly has had a lot of fans who have been vocal in their support for him. what do you say to them now? well, if you say to them now? well, if you can still enjoy his music knowing the he lives in his wake... .. �* . wake... then i think there's something _ wake... then i think there's something wrong _ wake... then i think there's something wrong with - wake... then i think there's something wrong with you. | something wrong with you. charles manson's music is

available for sale on amazon and apple and it streams on spotify. there is no reason to listen to that music unless you want to revel in the evil that it represents and i think today's verdict and at the last five weeks of testimony made clear that kelly is just as bad. it clear that kelly is 'ust as bad. . . . clear that kelly is 'ust as bad. , ., , bad. it has been really interesting _ bad. it has been really interesting to - bad. it has been really interesting to talk to l bad. it has been really i interesting to talk to you. thank you for taking the time to speak to us.— deborah tuerkheimer is a law professor at northwestern university, who served for five years as an assistant district attorney in new york. it's so good to have the only programme to get your legal expertise. let me ask you first of all, the jury were pretty quick in their decision—making process, did that surprise you? it did surprise me. this was a long trial, relatively speaking, five weeks of testimony. and really complicated charges, particularly that racketeering count, so i expected it would take some time for the jury to

make its way through. obviously, they were very convinced by what they heard and very ready to connect. let's talk about the racketeering count because that is one of the most interesting elements of this —— very ready to convict. correct me if i'm wrong, but this was a event, it was an enterprise.— was an enterprise. absolutely ri . ht, was an enterprise. absolutely right, enterprise _ was an enterprise. absolutely right, enterprise is _ was an enterprise. absolutely right, enterprise is at - was an enterprise. absolutely right, enterprise is at the i right, enterprise is at the word used in the statute. this was a pattern of racketeering activity so the prosecution had to prove a number of what's called a predicate acts. and further that kelly was part of this group of people, that he along with his associates were engaged in this illegal activity that, in this case, involved any sexual abuse of so many girls and young women. j many girls and young women. i spoke a little earlier, as you probably saw with jim, about the me too movement and the time's up, movement and how

much do you think there was movement had an impact on the r kelly case? by much that they have the prosecution in the case in the last four years? a case in the last four years? lot. quite a bit went into this connection, there is survive r kelly, the mute r kelly and the me too movement, movement started in 2006 to support survivors, and particularly to centre the experiences of black women and girls, so in the past three years, we have been talking so much more about abuse, bout assault, about harassment than we were in preceding years and as a culture we are more open to hearing those stories than we were before so i think that they'd play a part in the willingness of law enforcement officers and prosecutors to go forward with this case and ultimately for this jury to convict. ultimately for this “my to convict. ~ . . . convict. what was the significance _ convict. what was the significance of - convict. what was the significance of this i

convict. what was the i significance of this being the first case, if you like, of that me too movement that involved a majority of black women and girls? i involved a majority of black women and girls?— involved a majority of black women and girls? i think it is hu:el women and girls? i think it is hugely significant. _ women and girls? i think it is hugely significant. these i women and girls? i think it is- hugely significant. these women and girls, women of colour, but particularly black women and girls are the least likely to be believed in our society. the most likely to be blamed for their abuse. and the most likely to be disregarded. we just simply do not have the care or concern as a society for these victims, for the survivors that we do for other individuals.— individuals. particularly their abusers, individuals. particularly their abusers. i— individuals. particularly their abusers, i should _ individuals. particularly their abusers, i should say. thank you so much for your time it has been really good to talk to you. for more on this and other stories, please go to our website. you can look back any testimony that convicted r kelly. just go to the link

below. other news... reports from south korea say an unidentified projectile has been launched from north korea. the yonhap news agency quoted south korea's military as saying at least one projectile was fired into the sea of japan. japanese media say the object appeared to be a missile let's cross live to the south korean capital, seoul, and speak to the bbc�*s laura bicker. tell us more about this missile and what north korea has been saying about america because there is plenty going on today. within the last few minutes, i can confirm we get these updates from the joint chiefs of staff here in south korea and they have said they are short—range missiles that north korea fired from inland, about 640 local time. they flew east towards japan. it is japanese officials who have so far said these are merely ballistic missiles, these are the kind of missiles, these are the kind of missiles that contravene a un security council sanctions.

there is yet to be an update on if it was a ballistic missile from here in south korea or the us. they are still analysing this missile test, they say, which is quite unusual at this stage. it is also unusual for north korea just to fire one missile, but the timing was extraordinary. the missile test was launched just as any un ambassador kim sung took to the podium at the un general assembly. —— kim song. he accused the united states of hostile policies and demanded the end of military exercises between united states and south korea which happen here on the peninsula. they also said that they were justified in developing a war deterrent and testing and developing missiles. that was the statement from the ambassador just as this missile test below. the question i often get is what is going on? we are seeing pyongyang emerge from isolation over the last few

weeks, we have had more missile test, more statements, especially from kim jong—un pearl -- kim —— kim jong—un's says that out of all of these talks will come with huge precondition so we are talking the scratch mixing the pyongyang playbook are once again raising tensions, but also raising the possibility of talks at the same time. thank you very much, laura bicker. a team of tanker drivers provided by the british army is to be put on standby to help ease the fuel crisis in the uk. the biggest manufacturers including bp and shell said that demand for petrol was expected to return to normal in the coming days but they repeated their appeal for an end to panic buying. our business editor simonjack has the latest. monday morning rush—hour was more stressful than normal after a weekend when panic buying by some caused problems for all. frustration in london. i've been here ages, mate.

we are waiting two hours here and people just go around and straight here. skipping the queue? there were queues and some closures in birmingham, commuter anger in teesside. i was supposed to be at work at 12 o'clock. it's ridiculous. how much petrol have you got? i'm literally on empty. but fewer problems were reported in scotland and northern ireland, particularly in rural areas. for the taxi industry, this isn't panic buying, it's essential purchases that need priority support. if we don't get priority, there will be serious problems for the sector. there will be serious problems for the nhs, for the travelling public because we move around blood, prescriptions, food, and take people to all manner of different venues and destinations. the company that delivers fuel to a quarter of all uk petrol stations said things would return to normal if motorists behaved normally. we've been working flat out throughout the weekend and again today, and deliveries

are getting through nationwide. that is a really important thing to say. but importantly as well is that as long as people are buying or storing fuel they don't need, it will be difficult for all suppliers to replenish stocks to normal levels. unlike things like food or loo roll, the amount of fuel you can stockpile is generally limited by the size of yourfuel tank. once that is full, the panic is over for a few days, the government and industry are hoping and expecting that means that this spike in demand will ease in the coming days. but if that doesn't happen, as in the fuel crisis of late 2000, the army is being put on standby, with extra training for some military personnel to help with fuel deliveries, a move the government described as a precautionary step. there are the same number of fuel trucks on the road this week as last. what this crisis shows is that the serious and persistent shortage of hgv drivers can leave any supply chain extremely vulnerable to a sharp rise in demand.

simon jack, bbc news. the us senate has failed to advance a measure to suspend the federal debt ceiling and avoid a partial government shutdown. republican lawmakers denied the bill the votes necessary to move forward. shutdowns typically lead to hundreds of thousands of government workers being sent home, while parks, museums and other federal properties and services are closed. germany is beginning a period of coalition negotiations, as the social democrats' candidate, olaf scholz, attempts to build a working parliamentary majority after his party's narrow electoral victory. he hopes to replace angela merkel before christmas if he can form a coalition with the greens and at the liberal free democrats. it's six weeks since the taliban took control of afghanistan and forced out western troops. their heartland is in

the south of the country in helmand province. it's the place where the taliban is most established, and has the strongest support. the bbc�*sjeremy bowen has travelled from kandahar to lashgar gah, the capital of helmand through areas devastated by years of war. no—one's future is secure in this country, especially girls. especially girls'. at lashkar gah girls' high and across afghanistan only the under—12s have been allowed back. the taliban says older girls will return too. many don't believe them, including people in this town — who didn't want to be filmed. taliban rules on girls are seen as a big test by foreign countries who could help afghanistan. this school was rated one of the best in the country by the british council. the taliban says education will

now follow islamic sharia law. all the boys are back at their desks. the head says, be patient, the older girls will come back. do you think girls' education is safe under the taliban? helmand is in the taliban heartland. it offers clues about the way they want afghanistan to go. they are still euphoric about victory.

the last time the taliban seized the country, they used ruthless violence to impose their religious and cultural beliefs. they are not putting down their guns, but this time the leaders are arguing about power and the best way to keep it. the governor of helmand said older girls would go back to school when more religion was in the curriculum. islamic law was their guide. in the last 20 years, a lot of women have become educated. what if they don't want to live in that way? you fought against the british when they were here. what you think about what they did?

the west would be welcomed back if they came in peace to help the people. he said, you've made them suffer enough. the americans, the british and their allies came into afghanistan in 2001 with a clear enough mission — to destroy al-qaeda and to punish the taliban for harbouring them. it is what happened next that is harder to understand and to justify — a war that could not be won, that cut across all the hopes they said they had to make afghanistan into a better place. the troops in afghanistan were told they were fighting

to make their families safe at home and to help afghans build a nation that would never again be a haven for groups like al-qaeda. one of the biggest battles was in helmand in 2010, in the cotton and opium fields around marjah. cultures collided. you can see their fear as british troops took over their home. the plan — quick victory — turned into grinding guerrilla warfare. after three months, the us commander called marjah a "bleeding ulcer". this is marjah now. the war ebbed and flowed across it until the end. now it's over, this man went back to the war damaged home he is too poor to repair. his brother, who planted the tree, was killed fighting for the taliban.

marjah is enveloped by past loss, future pain and, for his mother, anger and grief. two more of her sons were arrested, forced into the afghan army, and died fighting. a fourth was killed in an airstrike. they said they were here to make a better afghanistan for women as well. why did your son join the taliban?

in lashkar gah, you can see the forces that are shaping afghanistan. the power of religion and tradition in pashtun tribes who dominate the south. the humanitarian crisis that might force concessions to women to get western help. young talibs have smartphones — their fathers banned photography. like the world, afghanistan has changed. it is harder now to bend and break a country. jeremy bowen, bbc news, helmand. what is arguably the world's most important satellite has launched to orbit from california. this is an atlas rocket taking off from vandenberg space force base in california. it's carrying some special cargo — landsat 9, a satellite that will observe earth from orbit. it's the latest in a series of landsat missions going back almost 50 years. no other satellite has kept a longer, continuous record of the changing state

of our planet. amazing. that is it from me, goodbye. hello there. for most of this september, temperatures have been a lot warmer than you might normally expect to see. temperatures over the weekend, for example, reached 23 celsius in north scotland's kinloss, but, a cold front has since moved through, and that's really dunked the temperatures. in kinloss, the same spot, down to 13 celsius for a high on monday. and there were plenty of showers following our cold front through. that was one of those shower clouds working across the skies. there is the cold front, there are the shower clouds, but lurking to our west, this is what's coming next, and this is a developing low, a developing front that is going to spread more persistent rain in. however, over the next few hours, it's showers that are in the forecast, so if you are heading outside, wales, parts of southwest england, along with northern ireland

and western scotland, that's where you are most likely to see showers over the next few hours. across many central and eastern areas, a lot of dry weather with clear spells. so not a bad start to the day, mostly bright and dry, but across wales and western areas of england, quickly that area of cloud i showed you, well, that's this rain that's going to be moving its way in. pushing eastwards and northwards through the day, the rain does eventually reach southern and eastern scotland. northwest scotland and northern ireland, though, brighter, again, a day of sunshine and showers here. and the day's top temperatures between around about 14—17 celsius with fairly gusty winds. that weather system clears out of the way as we get into wednesday, and what follows is a ridge of high pressure. now, the weather for many of us will be a dry with increasing amounts of sunshine. however, we are going to see showers feeding in across these northwestern areas. so west scotland to the north of northern ireland, northern parts of wales and into northwest england through areas like merseyside, cheshire, greater manchester and the west midlands — you're likely to see showers even into the afternoon. temperatures about 13—16 celsius. wednesday promises to be one

of the cooler days of the week. but a fair amount of sunshine. won't be too much of that sunshine an offer on thursday though because we've got an active weather system set to come in — bringing some heavy outbreaks of rain, and strengthening winds as well towards the northwest as we go on through the day, might even see some gales developing in places. temperatures about 14—17 celsius in the southwest of england. we've got more of this very unsettled weather for friday. general outbreaks,of rain, still quite windy. something of an improvement over the weekend, we are back to a mixture of sunshine and showers.

singer are clearly guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering in connection with abuse of women and children. the prosecution laid out in leather detail how r kelly than a criminal enterprise. reports from south korea say an unidentified projector has been launched from korea. the news agency quoted the military saying it believed one projectile was fired into the sea of japan. japanese projectile was fired into the sea ofjapan. japanese media sea of japan. japanese media said sea ofjapan. japanese media said it appeared to be a missile. the british government said army truck drivers will be put on standby in case they're needed to deliver fuel to petrol stations. many outlets ran dry after two days of intense demand. motorists feared shortages because of a lack of tanker delivery drivers.