welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines — a damning report on the uk's handling of the covid pandemic, calling it one of the worst national public health failures ever. world leaders pledge to help the afghan people with offers of aid at a virtual summit of 620 leaders, but stress it doesn't mean they recognise the taliban. a coroner has confirmed that gabby petito died from strangulation. she went missing in the us while travelling with her boyfriend. herformer boyfriend is still missing. freedom at last for the elk that had a tyre stuck around its neck for two years.

the man who made it happen tells us the story. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 7am in the morning in singapore and midnight in london, where an inquiry by members of parliament said the uk government's initial response to the covid pandemic was one of the worst ever public health failures in the country's history. it says both ministers and scientists waited too long to bring in lockdowns last year, costing many lives. the report also pointed out that the authorities claimed to have studied and then rejected the south korean approach, but could provide no evidence for this. a failure to draw on international expertise was also criticised. our health editor hugh pym reports.

a deadly new virus. hospital staff facing unprecedented challenges. the most comprehensive report so far on the official response to the covid crisis says serious mistakes were made and different policies could've saved lives. he was relatively young and totally fit and healthy, with no underlying health conditions. phil got covid in march last year. his condition worsened, and he died in april. his daughter, sara, believes an earlier lockdown, restricting the spread of the virus, might have made all the difference. i do believe that a lot of, notjust my family, but a lot of other families who are in this situation, you know, it was avoidable, if action had been taken sooner, and perhaps a little bit more of a responsible approach had been taken sooner. the report looks at decisions around the timing of the march lockdown. it says full restrictions came too late because

the government's scientific advisers wanted only to slow down the spread of the virus rather than stop it. most people, the vast majority of people get a mild illness to build up some degree of herd immunity as well. an acceptance of herd immunity and widespread infections was the attitude, according to the report, with groupthink among ministers and officials. come on, this virus. is deadly here, love. get that down you, lads, ey? events like the cheltenham racing festival in mid—march, the report adds, may have spread the virus. i think there is an issue there of hindsight, because at the time of the first lockdown, the expectation was that the tolerance in terms of how long people would live with lockdown for was a far shorter period than actually has proven to be the case. the second lockdown came in november. mps say a so—called "circuit—breaker" in england in september might have slowed the virus, though the emergence of a new variant wasn't then known. labour said the report's

stark conclusions couldn't be ignored. to use language that this . was one of the worst public health failures in the uk, - that is a damning indictment. and my thoughts are with - the families who've lost people because of these failures. the mps' report is highly critical of the test and trace system in england. it says it was set up much too late and that capacity should've been built up much earlier in the pandemic, in line with some other countries. halting community testing in the early weeks had cost lives, according to the report. just one of the government's failings, said the former downing street adviser who'd given evidence to mp5. me and others put into place work to try and improve the system in 2020 after the first wave. unfortunately, the prime minister, being thejoker that he is, has not pushed that work through. the covid pressure in care homes is examined in detail. the mps say that sending

elderly people from hospitals into care homes without prior testing may have been understandable, but it contributed to the spread of the virus. staff entering care homes also may have carried infections. staff shortages and problems getting ppe hadn't helped. in hong kong and germany, they took more precautions early on to protect care homes, and they had fewer deaths as a result. that's definitely one of the most important long—term lessons we need to learn. the report says vaccine development has been one of the most successful initiatives in uk science. early investment by the government in research and development is praised by mps. the vaccine taskforce being set up outside government is described as a masterstroke, with the success of the vaccine programme said to have redeemed many failings elsewhere. the report praises the response of the nhs to the pandemic, with a rapid increase in critical care beds. but it notes that even before covid struck,

most hospitals were running at close to full capacity, and that meant that services, including some cancer care, were put on hold. the ensuing backlog has become one of the enduring legacies of the pandemic. and the mps note that bame communities experienced higher levels of severe illness and death, which highlighted inequalities in society. the government's overall response to the report is that they've been consistently guided by scientific experts and are committed to learning lessons from the pandemic. hugh pym, bbc news. if you want more details presented in the 150—page report, then head to our website. our health correspondent nick triggle looks at the underlying reasons for what went wrong and the lessons that must be learnt. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the international monetary fund has warned the global

recovery from the covid pandemic is faltering. it says economic prospects have been dented by low vaccination rates and rising commodity prices. the body said it expected inflation to remain high for the forseeable future. the somali government has urged kenya to "respect" the international rule of law. it comes after the un's top court handed somalia control over most of a disputed area of the indian ocean. but kenya has indicated it is not prepared to sacrifice "territorial waters". two months after the taliban seized control of afghanistan, the country is approaching a full—blown economic collapse. on tuesday, the g20 group of wealthier nations met to try and prevent this financial crisis from turning into a humanitarian catastrophe. the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, promised that the eu would deliver a support package of more than $1

billion to afghanistan. the german chancellor, angela merkel, said that despite concerns about emboldening the taliban, the world needs to step up and not abandon afghans in need. the un says things are getting worse due to increased conflict, the pandemic and a persistent drought. over 18 million afghans are now in need of humanitarian assistance. that includes more than 9.5 million children. one in two kids younger than five years old are facing acute malnutrition. overall, nearly 30% of the country is facing crisis levels of food insecurity. the bbc�*s yogita limaye is in kabulfor us and has more on how devestating the conditions inside afghanistan are and how crucial foreign aid will be to helping save lives. as the un secretary—general is warning in very strong words this is a make—or—break moment for this country.

if the global community does not act quickly, the world will pay the price for it. 18 million people in need of urgent life—saving support. so, this is just to survive. prior to the 15th of august, we've been out meeting people who were living in open fields, who didn't have anything to shelter them, who didn't know where their next meal was coming from, who didn't have access to water, basic sanitation, basic medicines. it's getting even worse now. winter will be coming in, and you still have people living like that outdoors. and all of that will feed into instability in this country, which no—one particularly wants. we did hear interestingly and significantly from the european commission president when she said that this is humanitarian aid, it will be channelled through international agencies that are operating on the ground. it is separate to development aid that was also coming into afghanistan prior to the 15th of august and being channelled through the government and through government

agencies on the ground. so, she has made that separation very clear, trying to say that afghan people shouldn't suffer, we should be trying to help them out. but at the same time this is a government that has seized control of the country, this is a government that we do not recognise yet. so, this is a problem that the world is going to have to get together and solve. how do you reach the people of afghanistan who are really in need without that money, without that aid falling into the wrong hands or being misused? a coroner in the us state of wyoming has confirmed that gabby petito died from strangulation. she was the young woman who went missing in september when travelling across the country with her boyfriend in a case that captured the attention of the nation. our north america correspondent peter bowes gave me the latest. we know from what the coroner has been saying that when she was found, when her body was found last month, he believes that she had been, her body had been out in the wilderness possibly for 3—4 weeks.

so, that really puts the point of death as possibly late in august, which is about the time that the social media reports of their road trip across the american west stopped, stopped quite abruptly. and just really to remind you of their story, they had been travelling ever sincejuly, recording their trip, living in a van through social media. many, many people had been following what event happening, and then it abruptly all stopped. her boyfriend went back home to florida at the beginning of september, didn't contact the police. it wasn't until september the 11th her concerned family actually called the police and reported her missing, and her body was found just over a week after that. we don't know much more from the postmortem examination. citing local laws, the coroner said that he wasn't at liberty to reveal any other information, although he did say she wasn't pregnant at the time of her death.

her ex—boyfriend is still missing. he's a person of interest in the case. any clues as to where he may be? not really. it is a mystery as to where he is. he, according to his parents, had said in the middle of september that he was going off for a hike, but nothing has been heard of him since then. there's a big police hunt under way near a county park in florida. but, so far, there are no clues as to his whereabouts. he is a person of interest. he hasn't been charged with anything in relation to gabby�*s death. he has been charged with one count of fraudulently using a credit card after her death. that uk covid report

noted the response to the pandemic in other countries, particularly in asia. let's turn our focus to malaysia, which has reached a vaccination rate of 79% for adults with two jabs, paving the way for the government this week to open interstate travel. but vaccine supplies had been scarce in many areas until the second quarter of this year, and the authorities also had to tackle public scepticism towards vaccines. lim chee han is a health policy advocate who works with the government and agencies like who and the un on advocacy campaigns. thank you so much forjoining us this morning. vaccination rates have really improved rapidly in the second half of this year. what exactly in your view were the drivers?- view were the drivers? yes. compared _ view were the drivers? yes. compared to _ view were the drivers? yes. compared to many - view were the drivers? yes. compared to many other i compared to many other countries, malaysia has started the vaccine roll—out campaign relatively late. on the 24th of february but by the end of may only if than 5% of the population had full vaccination

doses. but for the next four months, something incredible has happened. nearly 90% of the population received full doses making malaysia at one of the fastest speculation countries in the world. the malaysian government seems to have anticipated the rich countries holding the vaccines issue. they transferred and diversified their covid—19 vaccine portfolio. initially the government has put five times a vaccine in the portfolio for procurement. namely the pfizer vaccine, the chinese virus ? vaccine and 110% of the population in total accounted for. and the government has gone tojohnson &johnson to increase the coverage to 130% of the population. so with this kind of regime and also working with the chinese vaccination company to look into pharmacy care and manufacture, this has created a

good platform for vaccine supply during the period during june and october when they had issues with the promised delivery schedule of the vaccine. delivery schedule of the vaccine-— delivery schedule of the vaccine. . ,. , ., vaccine. what about scepticism towards vaccines? _ vaccine. what about scepticism towards vaccines? head - vaccine. what about scepticism towards vaccines? head of - towards vaccines? head of government tackle that? yakima b aril, government tackle that? yakima by april. there — government tackle that? yakima by april, there were _ government tackle that? yakima by april, there were still- government tackle that? yakima by april, there were still 596 - by april, there were still 5% of the population who still received ? refuse to get the vaccine. the main driverfor the vaccine roll—out campaign, the vaccine roll—out campaign, the biggest factor is the worsening pandemic itself. notice the rapid rise in new cases and deaths starting from may and peaking in august. the casualties in the worst period running at a few hundred per day and more than 20,000 of new infection cases per day.—

infection cases per day. thank ou so infection cases per day. thank you so much _ infection cases per day. thank you so much for— infection cases per day. thank you so much forjoining - infection cases per day. thank you so much forjoining us - infection cases per day. thank you so much forjoining us on | you so much forjoining us on newsday this morning. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... prince harry and megan markel take on newjobs in an ethical... we will be sure the man who will be there new boss. parts of san francisco least affected by the earthquake are returning to life, but in the marina area, where most of the damage was done, they're more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. in the 19 years since he was last here, he's gone from being a little—known revolutionary to an experienced and successful diplomatic operator. it was a 20—pound bomb which exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel, ripping a hole in the front of the building. this government will not weaken! | democracy will prevail! it fills me with humility and gratitude to know

that i have been chosen as a recipient of this foremost honour. this catholic nation held its breath for the men they call "the 33". and then... ..bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue, and chile let out an almighty roar. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko oi in singapore. our headlines — the uk's initial response to the covid pandemic was one of the worst national public health failures ever, according to a report by british mps. pledges of aid for afghanistan as the world's major economies come together to try to stave off a crisis in the country.

the duke and duchess of sussex have become partners at a sustainable investment firm in new york city. harry and meghan havejoined ethic as "impact partners", hoping to encourage more younger people to invest their money in sustainable companies. the company advises clients on how to invest their money into firms with good environmental credentials. iamjoined by i am joined by one of the co—founders of ethic in new york. i guess he will be there boss but firstly how did the royals get involved? i boss but firstly how did the royals get involved?- royals get involved? i am - leased royals get involved? i am pleased to _ royals get involved? i am pleased to be _ royals get involved? i am pleased to be here. - royals get involved? i am pleased to be here. we i royals get involved? i am | pleased to be here. we are royals get involved? i am - pleased to be here. we are very much partners in this relationship and that partnership really began when we were introduced by mutual connexions that recognise that we shared a lot of the same values as an ethical investment platform. we prioritise things like climate change, the environment, human rights and our mutual connexion recognised

that we actually shared a lot of the same values. we began a relationship when they actually invested in our last investment round and also became clients. it was we were going to that process that they look at the way that we think about these issues, think about the interconnected nature of these issues and how we can go about solving them that we started to explore how we actually create this impact partnership which is for us to first is something that we are incredibly excited about. �* ., ., ., , about. but a lot of companies have been — about. but a lot of companies have been accused _ about. but a lot of companies have been accused of- about. but a lot of companies have been accused of what i about. but a lot of companies have been accused of what is| have been accused of what is known as greenwashing, so on the surface looking good but how do you know if companies actually have legitimate, solid human rights and environmental standards? , , human rights and environmental standards?— standards? this is white transparency _ standards? this is white transparency is - standards? this is white transparency is so - standards? this is white - transparency is so important in sustainable investing. and it's why here at ethic will be try to do is gather as much information as we can as it relates to the causes that we care about. and that's where i think this gets really exciting

where we believe ethic is quite differentiated is we look at the causes that our clients prioritise. that can be things like climate change, deforestation, human rights, racial justice. deforestation, human rights, racialjustice. we then try to understand the nature of how the biggest companies in the world either exacerbate those issues or alleviate those issues. and by gathering information and data, will be can do for our clients is helping to prioritise which issues or causes they care about most and then ultimately build a portfolio that actually aligns with those causes, helping us to get over that you of greenwashing.— helping us to get over that you of greenwashing. obviously the involvement _ of greenwashing. obviously the involvement gives _ of greenwashing. obviously the involvement gives you - of greenwashing. obviously the involvement gives you great. involvement gives you great publicity but what exactly will harry and meghan do is impact partners? is harry and meghan do is impact artners? , ., , partners? is a very good question — partners? is a very good question and _ partners? is a very good question and we - partners? is a very good question and we are - partners? is a very good | question and we are very excited to work them into the family and have been lucky and excited to have any conversations with them about what this partnership looks like. ithink what this partnership looks like. i think we can bring it down into three primary areas they are going to be working with us on. primarily they will be driving a lot of awareness

around the issues that we are fighting for. that is things like climate, things like human rights, we can really be on the ground trying to understand how we solve those problems at a systemic level and then they can then drive that conversation using the platform that they have to. but they are also going to be helping us build a community, and as a community of individuals, a community of individuals, a community of individuals, a community of investors, institutions to come together to try to use the unique resources and assets and skills as we all have to try to drive towards solutions with that. and finally partnerships. we as an organisation to strike incredibly and obviously interesting for a shift in where they are going to help us if the thing about how we partner with groups on the ground, having the most impact as organisations and institutions that are looking to be a part of the accelerating transition to sustainable investing. thank ou so sustainable investing. thank you so much _ sustainable investing. thank you so much for— sustainable investing. thank you so much forjoining - sustainable investing. thank you so much forjoining us . sustainable investing. thank| you so much forjoining us on newsday. you so much for “oining us on newsdayh the united kingdom is not ready for the impact of climate change — that's the warning from

the environment agency. it says hundreds could die in floods unless the places where people live, work and travel are made more resilient to the increasingly volatile weather. our science editor david shukman has the story. a street in cardiff became a dangerous river earlier this month after a massive downpour. it was a similar scene in newcastle after torrential rain there. and, around the same time, london was engulfed, raising questions about how we'll cope as climate change makes the weather even more violent. but the biggest shock came in germany last july, a surge of water tore through communities. 200 people were killed and the fear is of disaster here on a similar scale. the weather events that we saw in europe this summer could happen here in england, and we need to be ready to save lives.

we need to recognise that it's adapt or die. the environment agency is being deliberately blunt so that its recommendations are heard. for homeowners and businesses to take basic steps to make their properties safe. to restore landscapes like forests so they hold rain water before it causes floods. and for bigger investments by governments in defences that can handle projected rises in sea levels. already the thames barrier, defending london, is being closed far more often than planned — a trend that will continue as the polar ice keeps melting, raising the height of the oceans. with its network of tunnels under the river, the barrier was designed decades ago and may not be big enough in future. the great steel gates are holding back a phenomenal

volume of sea water that would otherwise enter the city and potentially cause disaster, which is why climate change matters so much here. they're constantly watching the projections for how much the sea is going to rise, and it's also why we'll probably need a bigger barrier by 2070. but some stretches of the coast are not so lucky. homes in norfolk are being lost to the sea. the environment agency says it can't protect everyone. but since last year, when i met lorna bevan thompson, a local business owner, the waves have come much nearer. they're saying we've got billions of money available but it's not coming to us and our coastline is getting eroded daily, and it's irreparable damage. in some parts of the uk the challenge will be too little water. a growing population and drier summers will strain supplies. the government says it is preparing the country for a more turbulent climate and it wants world leaders

to discuss the risks when they meet at the un summit in glasgow next month. david shukman, bbc news. now, if you've ever felt a weight lifted off your sholders, then you should be able to empathise with one elk in the us state of colorado. this elk was forced to roam the wilderness with a tyre stuck around his neck for two years. but this weekend, he was finally tracked down and the tyre was removed. it's thought he's now some 16 kilogrammes lighter. the man who freed the elk is wildlife officer scott murdoch. now, i just want to show you this real labour of love. vojin kusic, a bosnian native, says his wife was couldn't make up her mind about what view she wanted from her window, so kusic came up with a solution — a rotating house. with the help of electric motors, the house has a 360—degree view. an innovator and adoring husband.

that's all for now. thank you so much for watching. hello. there were some bright spots on tuesday. some of us got to see a bit of sunshine. but for many places, extensive cloud was the main weatherfeature, spilling down from the northwest, thick enough at times to produce some spots of rain and drizzle. and wednesday is looking like a very similar day. it will be mostly but not completely dry, often but not completely cloudy. where the cloud has broken, it is going to be quite a chilly start to the day, but most areas beginning with a lot of cloud, some mist and murk, some spots of rain and drizzle. now, through the day, i am hopeful that cloud will break a little bit. eastern scotland should see some sunny spells. parts of northern ireland, england and wales will see the cloud thinning and breaking to reveal some brighter interludes. top temperatures between 1a and 17 degrees, light winds down towards the south, but it will be quite breezy further north.

through wednesday night into thursday, this cloud continues to feed in with some mist and hill fog, some spots of rain and temperatures of 9 to 11 degrees. some more persistent rain, though, beginning to develop in the north of scotland, and that's the first sign of a change. this weather front dropping into the picture during thursday will bring some outbreaks of rain southwards across scotland, that rain particularly heavy and persistent in the northwest highlands, some of that rain getting into northern ireland later in the day accompanied by a strong wind and a wind that will change direction and will start to come down from the north, bringing the first hint of some colder air into northern scotland. further south, england and wales mainly dry, often cloudy. once again, 16 or 17 degrees. but as we move through thursday night into friday, that weather front will make progress southwards. you can tell from the blue triangles that this is a cold front. that means it is introducing colder air, the blue shades spreading southwards across the chart for friday. across the northern half

of the uk, friday is likely to begin with a touch of frost, and it certainly will feel chillier. but what the front is also doing is it's clearing a lot of the cloud away, so there will be more in the way of sunshine. 15 or 16 degrees down towards the south, but further north — look at that — just 9 in aberdeen. but that colder spell won't last all that long. milder conditions will return from the west during the weekend. with that, we'll start to see some outbreaks of rain.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. economies across the industrialised world are feeling the strain of soaring fossil fuel energy costs. but the bad news for energy consumers represents a potential bonanza for the biggest producers. step forward gas—rich russia, ideally placed to exert growing influence in europe's energy market.

well, my guest is sergei ryabkov, russia's