welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... the un warns of a countdown to catastrophe in afghanistan, with half the country going hungry and millions of people facing starvation. people are desperate. this little girl has been sold by her parents so the family can buy food. we know there are other families here who sold their children, and even while we've been here, another person came up to one of our team and asked if we'd like to buy their child. the desperation and the urgency of this situation is hard to put in words. new covid rules are coming soon for travellers to the us. most will need proof

of vaccination, but bans on non—us citizens arriving from many countries will end. millions of workers in britain will get a pay increase as the government signals a rise in the national minimum wage. and as a former facebook manager tells british lawmakers that the social media platform is unquestionably making hatred worse, mark zuckerberg says the company is spending billions on safety and security. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. let's start in afghanistan, and a distressing snapshot of the unravelling humanitarian situation.

the un has warned of a countdown to catastrophe, with millions facing starvation. already, hospitals are seeing horrific scenes of malnutrition. the situation has deteriorated sharply since the taliban seized power in august. internationalfunds which propped up the economy have been stopped, as the world debates how to deal with the new regime. our correspondent yogita limaye, cameraman sanjay ganguly and producer imogen anderson have witnessed first—hand the dire situation on the ground in herat. a warning — there are disturbing images in this report from the start. beeping. this is what starvation does to a country. to its tiniest lives. six—month—old usman. this boy, born three months ago. afghanistan was barely surviving before the taliban took over. but now, foreign funds which propped

up this country have been frozen, putting at least a million children at risk of dying. in this ward, one in five will not make it. usman weighs less than half of what he should. his father, among millions who have no work. usman�*s mother told us his twin is in a room next door. this hospital is full.

some babies are already sharing a bed. while we were there, six more children were brought in. it's the only facility for hundreds of miles. because without foreign money, most hospitals are collapsing. doctors and nurses, among masses of government workers who haven't been paid for months. a third of the country's people don't know where their next meal will come from. we travelled out of herat to a rural settlement. tens of thousands displaced from remote provinces by decades of war and severe drought. no means of income, barely any food. some days, families here don't eat.

they have sold whatever little they had. and now, some are forced to do the unthinkable. this baby girl has been sold by her family. we're hiding their identity to protect them. her husband used to collect rubbish, but even that earns him nothing now. once the baby's able to walk, she'll be taken away

by the man who bought her. he's paid more than half of the $500 she's been sold for. that will get the family through a few months. they've been told the girl will be married to his child, but no—one can be sure. we know there are other families here who have sold their children, and even while we've been here another person came up to one of our team and asked if we'd like to buy their child. the desperation and the urgency of this situation is hard to put into words. there is no more time left to reach the people of afghanistan. it cannot wait while the world debates whether or not to recognise a taliban government. nearby, aid agencies and hand out parcels that might save some children from hunger. alone, they can't provide for the staggering needs. giving the taliban money without guarantees on human rights and how the funds will be

used is dangerous. but afghanistan is sinking fast. millions here will not survive the winter. yogita limaye, bbc news, herat. our correspondent secunder kermani has more from the afghan capital, kabul. some humanitarian aid is still continuing into afghanistan, but given the sheer scale of the crisis right now, it's simply not enough. but afghanistan's economy, including the vast majority of public spending — that's on things like health care, teachers�* salaries — all of that was deeply dependent on international funding, and that's what stopped at the same time $9 billion of afghanistan's foreign reserves were frozen by the united states. so, there's a real shortage of cash here, and that's what's driven this crisis. western diplomats, however, they have deep concerns about the taliban, about their willingness to crack down on groups like al-qaeda, for example,

about their treatment of women and young girls. the taliban want international legitimacy, they say they want international assistance, but it's not clear what they're willing to compromise on to get it. time to find a solution to this, though, is running out. new covid rules are coming into force soon for travellers to the united states. most will have to show proof of vaccination, but there are some exemptions. current bans on non—us citizens arriving from many countries will also end. i'm joined now by peter bowes in los angeles. he can give us the latest details on some of the information coming out today. this isn't a huge departure from what we have been told about a month ago, but some significant

details coming through. for instance, the changes and some of these rules. talk us through them. yes, this essentially lifts restrictions for some 33 countries. restrictions that have been enforced throughout the pandemic. but it means now that foreign nationals, those non—us citizens, will be able to travel back into the united states again, as long as they have been fully vaccinated by one of the vaccines approved by the world health organization or the food and drug administration here in the united states, and within 72 hours, so three days of travelling they have to test negative. for us citizens, they don't have to be fully vaccinated, but they must test negative within 2a hours of getting onto the plane. that's a slight tightening of the restrictions. another exemption is children under the age of 18. that is because in some parts of the world, the vaccine

just isn't available to children within that age group or in some cases, less children are eligible for a vaccine. so under 18, that requirement doesn't exist for children. it will be the airlines responsible for policing these new rules that will be some sharing of contact information, so some contact tracing information provided to the airlines for people when they get to the united states. find airlines for people when they get to the united states.— the united states. and 'ust briefly, this is all taking h the united states. and 'ust briefly, this is all taking place _ the united states. and just briefly, this is all taking place against - the united states. and just briefly, this is all taking place against the i this is all taking place against the backdrop of summarising cases. how concerned are people about a winter surge? i concerned are people about a winter surae? ~ . ., , concerned are people about a winter surae? ~ . . , , surge? i think clearly, there is concern. _ surge? i think clearly, there is concern, and _ surge? i think clearly, there is concern, and the _ surge? i think clearly, there is concern, and the very - surge? i think clearly, there is concern, and the very fact - surge? i think clearly, there isj concern, and the very fact that surge? i think clearly, there is - concern, and the very fact that for us citizens that are not vaccinated coming back to this country, they have to test negative within 2a hours. that's a small window and i think that reflects the concern that the administration here is doing everything possible to encourage vaccination and for all the numbers dropping here in recent weeks. there

are some signs of the northeast and in the midwest that those numbers are rising again.— in the midwest that those numbers are rising again. peter bowes, thank ou for are rising again. peter bowes, thank you forjoining _ are rising again. peter bowes, thank you forjoining us — are rising again. peter bowes, thank you forjoining us on _ are rising again. peter bowes, thank you forjoining us on newsday. - in the uk, the chancellor, rishi sunak, will announce that the pay freeze on most public sector workers is coming to an end. it was introduced last year in response to the coronavirus pandemic. earlier on monday, the chancellor also announced a rise to the national living wage. the change will affect millions of low paid workers, but the opposition labour party said much of the increase will be swallowed up by tax rises and cuts to universal credit. here's our uk political correspondent, alex forsyth. behind the treasury's closed doors, the budget plans are being drawn up. but, while the official announcement�*s still days away, details of spending plans have started to emerge. today, news of a wage rise for some of the lowest—paid. the cost of living is a really important issue. the key thing is that today's announcement, an extra £1,000 a year for people

on the national living wage, is a really important protection against those pressures, and it helps to make sure that every family in the country where people are in work can really see that this is a government that's on their side. people working in retail or hospitality, care or maintenance are among those who will likely benefit. those aged 23 and over will see wages rise to £9.50 an hour from april, with increases for younger workers, too, welcomed by some in birmingham today. it's good news for everyone, especially people that work in care work and cleaning jobs and things like that. it's a shame it's not more, but it is going to help, yeah. i think it's good, to be honest, - because with that money adding up, it's going to do a lot for a lot of people. minimum wage has to always increase, to be honest. - but for hetty, who runs a brownie business in gloucester that we visited at the start of the pandemic, it's an extra challenge after a tough time and could mean costs are passed on to customers. it will mean we will have

to increase our product prices. and it does make it difficult for when i want to reward my team for their hard work by giving them pay rises, and it still feels like a pay rise for something great they've done rather than because the government's told me i have to. with the economy moving again after covid, there has been pressure on the government to help those struggling with rising bills and rising prices. part of its answer is pay going up. the government says it wants to move to a high—wage economy, where people earn more to help with household budgets. as well as today's announcement, the chancellor's hinted that public sector workers could be in line for a pay rise, too. but critics say it isn't enough, given that some support put in place through the pandemic has ended and people are facing tax rises, too. what the government have announced today is going to be swallowed up by the tax rises they've already announced, by that big cut to universal credit and because people are already seeing big increases

in the cost of living, so it'sjust more smoke and mirrors for the government. there will be more to come from the treasury on wednesday, when the chancellor will set out notjust who might benefit from this budget, but how he plans to keep the books balanced. to some breaking news now, and australia has set a new target for itsself in combating climate change — hitting net—zero emissions by 2050. prime minister scott morrison made the announcement in the australian newspaper the daily telegraph. he writes, "i always said i would not commit to net zero "by 2050 unless we had a plan to achieve it. "we now have that plan." the australian government has been heavily criticised for being slow to set targets, and its unwillingness to move away from coal production that drives the economy. the announcement comes days before the start of the cop26 summit in glasgow, a summit that prime minister scott morrison was initially not going to attend.

the us has suspended hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to sudan after the military overthrew the civilian government there. three people have been killed after soldiers opened fire on protesters. anne soy reports. keeping the flames of democracy alive. it is here on the streets of sudan cities they were fans, and the people are back trying to stop the military extinguishing them. they shared power with the army and there was the promise of elections, so the coup is seen as a betrayal. translation: we re'ect it completely. * we have to go back to the constitutional document. the government should be handed to civilians and you should free all those you detained. thousands heeded the call to defend democracy and some paid a heavy price.

but many of these images were blocked on state media. they played patriotic songs all day instead, breaking only for this announcement by the head of the ruling council. translation: first, j a state of emergency is declared all over the country. protesters believe the military possible actions today, including putting the prime minister under house arrest, speak far louder than their words. many, including aid agencies in the country, are concerned about what happens now. we're juts so concerned. we're just so concerned. this was a big humanitarian situation before, with - 14 million people in need i of humanitarian assistance. there are over a million refugees hosted here, i and yet this country- is struggling to move on, and it was in some ways, - it feels like everything has gone back to square one. it's just two years since the streets were last like this,

with long—term leader al—bashir being overthrown for stop with long—term leader al—bashir being overthrown. it was hoped there would be some stability, but today, that hope seems shattered. anne soy, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... un scientists say the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record last year, and the world is "way off track" on meeting targets for limiting global warming. indira gandhi, ruler of the world's largest democracy, died today. only yesterday, she had spoken of dying in the service of her country and said, "i would be proud of it. "every drop of my blood will contribute to the "growth of this nation." after 46 years of unhappiness, these two countries have concluded a chapter of history. no more of suspicion,

no more fear, no more uncertainty no more suspicion, no more fear, no more uncertainty of what each day might bring. booster ignition and lift off. of discovery with a crew of six astronaut heroes and one american legend. - this is beautiful. a milestone in human history. born today, this girl in india is the seven billionth person on the planet. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines... the un warns of a countdown to catastrophe in afghanistan, with millions of people facing starvation. new covid rules are coming soon

for travellers to the us. most will need proof of vaccination, but bans on non—us citizens arriving from many countries will end. it's just a week until world leaders meet in glasgow for a hugely important climate change summit. but three different stories today illustrate just how difficult it will be for them to agree on ways to limit global warming to manageable levels. first, a un report which says that all the promises made so far on climate will lead to a temperature rise of 2.7 degrees, way above a globally agreed target. next, rich countries will be three years late in meeting a promise to provide $100 billion a year to help developing countries deal with climate change. and the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record last year — that's from meteorologists

at the un. the head of the agency that released that report says that we "need to revisit our industrial, energy and transport systems and whole way of life" to meet our climate change goals. i'm joined now by george marshall, who is the founding director of climate outreach, a charity dedicated to improving public climate change awareness. great to have you on the programme with us today. just to start by saying, really depressing findings, i have to say, in this report. what steps do you think we can make now that we need to take to make any sort of a difference? is that even possible? sort of a difference? is that even ossible? . , , ., , , possible? clearly, the stories been the same for _ possible? clearly, the stories been the same for the _ possible? clearly, the stories been the same for the past _ possible? clearly, the stories been the same for the past 30 _ possible? clearly, the stories been the same for the past 30 years. . the same for the past 30 years. we've always known what to do. the question is building the level of commitment to doing it. the thing what seems to be necessary now as a

reinvigoration of the conversation around climate change. large majorities and most of the higher emitting countries support strong action are falling behind. it is important that people feel involved in the conversation and put the pressure on the government. this great news we've had from australia has actually been as a result of a very high level of active public engagement in australia, especially from audiences we don't hear to —— tend to hearfrom. we need to remember it's notjust about tend to hearfrom. we need to remember it's not just about what happens in glasgow. it's what happens in glasgow. it's what happens in glasgow. it's what happens in people's communities and towns. people have to feel involved. that way we can move forward. george, on australia, some very positive news there, what are those targets achievable? mast positive news there, what are those targets achievable? most definitely. the technology _ targets achievable? most definitely. the technology and _ targets achievable? most definitely. the technology and the _ targets achievable? most definitely. the technology and the capacity - targets achievable? most definitely. the technology and the capacity to l the technology and the capacity to develop the targets is hard. there's

no question about that. what we tend to forget is that it's notjust about the technology, but about people's on lifestyle. our own committee on climate change is saying that 30% of the delivery of these targets depends on people's lifestyle. i go back to that point, but the degree to which people feel involved in this, feel that this is a collective purpose, is really the key to it. we know we can achieve amazing change in short periods of time if people are on board, but that's all about building the trust, and it's really about investing in people. taking it what's wider to the public. people. taking it what's wider to the ublic. ~ ., ., , people. taking it what's wider to the public— people. taking it what's wider to the ublic. ., ., , , the public. what does it take, sorry to jump in. — the public. what does it take, sorry tojump in. but _ the public. what does it take, sorry to jump in, but what _ the public. what does it take, sorry to jump in, but what does - the public. what does it take, sorry to jump in, but what does it - the public. what does it take, sorry to jump in, but what does it take i the public. what does it take, sorry to jump in, but what does it take to change our behaviour in a way that will make a lasting difference? people... i'llanswer

will make a lasting difference? people... i'll answer by saying during covid, we saw major changes in people's behaviour. we saw huge interference in people's lives. and people rejected it, but vast majority went with it because they felt part of what was happening. this is where the change will come from. when people feel part of a collective purpose that they're contributing to the greater good. that's what people want to do. to see the changes in behaviour, they have to feel this is part of who they are and they're doing it for something greater than themselves. george marshall, thank you so much forjoining us on newsday with your thoughts. forjoining us on newsday with your thou~hts. ., �* , .., the ceo of facebook, mark zuckerberg, has said the company is on track to spend $5 billion this year on safety and security. his comments come within hours of testimony by a former facebook manager to law—makers in london. she said facebook was unquestionably making hate worse, adding that the firm's safety teams

were under resources. our technology correspondent, rory cellan—jones, has more. facebook, a corporate giant used by 2.9 billion people, an empire which includes instagram, whatsapp and the virtual reality business oculus. but now that empire stands accused of putting profits before people. frances, we're delighted you've been able to make this trip to be in london and give evidence to us. at westminster this afternoon, francis haugen, the whistle—blower who's made that charge, told mps and peers what she learned inside the company. she said events like january's storming of the us congress were made more likely because of the way facebook was designed. the algorithms take people who have very mainstream interests, and they push them towards extreme interests. you can be someone centre—left, and you'll get pushed to radical left. you can be centre—right, and you'll get pushed to radical right. you can be looking for healthy recipes, you'll get pushed to anorexia content. she described how instagram facilitated bullying which would follow children home

from school, so that it would be with them day and night. and she put much of the blame on facebook�*s founder. you know, mark zuckerberg has unilateral control over 3 billion people, right? there's no will at the top to make sure these systems are run in an adequately safe way. frances haugen�*s testimony comes just as politicians here seem united on the need to rein in facebook and other online giants. but exactly how a new law would work, well, that's farfrom clear. the whistle—blower told the committee what was needed from facebook was complete transparency about its inner workings. tonight, the social media giant had this response. i would encourage people to look at what the actual facts are, - and hopefully they can see that this is something to this _ company prioritises. and let's be honest, - it's in our financial interest to make sure that people have a good experience on our site. _ frances haugen has now taken her allegations

that's all the time we have at this hour. thanks for watching. hello there. after a day of sunshine and showers on monday, the weather on tuesday is going to look very different, and here's why. this cloud here in the atlantic is pushing in from the west, and that's bringing with it some outbreaks of rain. ahead of that, though, with some clearer skies, it will be a bit cooler across eastern scotland and eastern parts of england. but out to the west, it's milder start the day it's milder to start the day with this rain around. some quite heavy rain, too. that rain shouldn't last too long. in northern ireland, we will see a a spell of rain pushing eastwards through the morning across scotland and northern england, but the rain further south tends to become light and patchy. most of that rain will have cleared in the afternoon, leaving some drizzle around some western hills, but to the east of high ground, perhaps some sunshine, many places becoming dry in the afternoon. strong south—westerly winds, very mild day — temperatures widely16—17 celsius,

quite a bit warmer than it was on monday for the northern half of the uk. but there is still some rain in the far northwest. that's on that weather front there, and that is going to move its way southwards overnight and into wednesday. it's going to hang around across some different parts of the uk during the day. all the while, though, we're pulling in air from a long way south, which is why it's so mild for late october. but there's some rain around, which is going to be quite heavy over some of the hills. that rain mainly affecting north wales, northwest england, could push back into parts of northern ireland, more especially into southern scotland. to the northwest, there will be some sunshine for a while and some showers, and to the south of our rain band, it should be brightening up. a little bit of sunshine coming through, still quite windy, but very mild. temperatures getting up to 18 celsius. now, looking at the rain fall accumulation during wednesday and thursday, i want to highlight the areas that will see the heaviest of the rain. these are these bright colours here. it looks like it's going to be particularly wet in the southern uplands, but also into cumbria, and that could lead to some flooding.

because that rain is still around on thursday, it may turn a bit drier across some northwestern parts of scotland and also northern ireland, as the rain just pivots into more of england and wales. through the midlands and much of eastern england, it's likely to still be dry, and with a bit of sunshine, those temperatures again reaching 18 celsius. so, a lot going on over the next few days or so. it's going to be quite windy. the winds, though, are going to be in from the southwest, which is why it's going to be so mild, but as we have seen, there will be some rain around, mainly for the western side of the uk, and that will be heavy in the hills.

this is bbc news.

the headlines... the un has warned of a "countdown to catastrophe", in afghanistan with millions facing starvation. already, hospitals are seeing horrific scenes of malnutrition. the situation has deteriorated sharply, since the taliban seized power in august. new covid rules are coming soon for travellers to the us — most will need proof of vaccination — but bans on non—us citizens arriving from many countries will end. at least three people have been killed and eighty wounded in protests against a military takeover in sudan. the civilian government has been dissolved and political leaders arrested. the white house has called for the immediate release of the prime minister. and as a former facebook manager tells british lawmakers that the social media platform is unquestionably making hatred worse — mark zuckerberg says the company is spending billions on safety and security.