welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: 100 days of the taliban — and afghanistan's humanitarian misery deepens by the day. we have a special report. the 50 million barrel gamble. joe biden releases huge reserves of us oil as he seeks to bring down soaring energy and gasoline prices. so today i'm announcing that the largest ever release from the largest ever release from the us strategic petroleum reserve to help provide the supply we need as we recover from this pandemic. the man accused of driving a car into a christmas parade in wisconsin, killing six, appears in court to face murder charges. and a one yearjourney covering seven million miles. nasa launches a spacecraft on a test mission to save the earth —

and destroy itself. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we begin in afghanistan, where it's been 100 days since the taliban seized power. the united nations has warned of an impending humanitarian catastrophe, with over half the population at risk of going hungry this winter. it has been calling for urgent support since august, when the taliban took over. the un now says its appeal for s$600 million has reached its target — and that the funds will now be directed at helping the 11 million most deprived people in the country. the bbc�*s yalda hakim is in kabul. she's been speaking to afghans about their lives now under taliban rule.

it's early morning here in dasht—e—barchi, which is a predominantly shia hazara community. the majority of the people sitting here are labourers. they're waiting to see if there is any work for them today. the taliban took over a country that was very much reliant on international aid. when the taps were turned off the economy virtually collapsed. nafisa tells me she's desperate.

security is one of the biggest concerns for the community here. it was just six months ago that a major attack was launched on the sayed al—shuhada school, a girls�* school.

and the islamic state—khorasan, or is—k, claimed responsibility. almost 100 girls lost their lives. one of the bombs went offjust behind me. another over there. and then a third went off over there. it was designed to kill as many girls as possible. that attack happened under the old regime, but is—k has continued to target afghanistan's shia community. mahommad's two daughters were caught up in that attack. he thought he had lost them. the taliban have promised security for all afghans, but many here say they still don't feel safe. as we try and interview the head teacher, the boys make it very clear

they're allowed back. but across this country most teenage girls are not. since the taliban took over they've been told to wait at home until there is a nationwide policy. millions of girls across this country are waiting to hearfrom them. even before the taliban came to power, there was a humanitarian crisis in this country. drought, aid cuts, and the economic collapse have turned crisis into catastrophe.

we've just come to the indira gandhi children's hospital where there are many cases of children suffering from acute malnutrition. gulnara is three, so weak she can barely open her eyes. marwa is nearly one. it's not just patients suffering, healthcare staff haven't been paid for months. every single person i'm speaking to has the same story. they can't pay for their ticket to come here,

they can't pay for theirfood here. and she was just saying that someday they may have to admit her here as a malnutrition patient herself, because she doesn't know where she's going to get her next mealfrom. that's yalda hakim reporting on the realities of afghanistan today. the us is to release 50 million barrels of oil from its reserves in an attempt to bring down soaring energy and petrol prices. the move is being taken in parallel with other major oil—consuming nations, including china, india, japan, south korea, and the uk. making the announcement, president biden said average consumers will benefit. while our combined action will not solve the problem of high gas prices overnight, it will make a difference. it will take time but, before long, you should see the price of gas drop where you fill up your tank. and in the longer term,

we will reduce our reliance on oil as we shift to clean energy. but right now, i will do what needs to be done to reduce the price you pay at the pump. that is the message from the president. i'm joined now by david goldwyn. he was assistant energy secretary under bill clinton and also served as the us state department's special envoy for international energy affairs from 2009 to 2011. david is now president of energy consultancy goldwyn global strategies. hejoins me from washington, dc. david, we spent half the interview with me introducing you. but you are uniquely well—positioned to explain the value of this move. it is, i thinkjoe biden called it the largest ever release of oil like this, and yet initially crude prices actually went up. thanks, you're very kind. i think is the president said in his statement, it's too early to tell the impact of this. it is really all about what

happens injanuary. the oil went in the market until mid—december, 0pec is deciding what it wants to do forjanuary delivery, and it is a question of whether you think demand will be and how big a surplus will be and how big a surplus will there be. what is really significant about this is you have all the major consuming nations doing some contribution to a stock release to signal to opec to a stock release to signal to 0pec plus the customers are unhappy, the consumer nations have power and that 0pec have been bad managers during this crisis by not easing up when the market really needed more oil. �* . ., , oil. but at the same time, as ou oil. but at the same time, as you say. _ oil. but at the same time, as you say. the _ oil. but at the same time, as you say, the major— oil. but at the same time, as| you say, the major consuming nations are doing that and the major producers, by and large, opec, major producers, by and large, 0pec, are not. so will they give, do you think i think that they will. give, do you think i think that the will. , ., ., they will. the question for opec, they will. the question for ovsc, right _ they will. the question for opec, right now _ they will. the question for opec, right now they - they will. the question for i opec, right now they believe 0pec, right now they believe that come january, 0pec, right now they believe that comejanuary, the 0pec, right now they believe that come january, the first quarter, that there will be a 1-.8 quarter, that there will be a 1—.8 million barrels a day surplus and they are worried about prices dropping precipitously, eia and the others think it will be more like 600 thousand barrels a day surplus, so prices are going

down, 0pec thinks it will get a lot, we think it is a little bit, and we're going to a little preventative maintenance here, we'll take care of ourselves with little self—help and we will put the soil on the market to ensure that prices go down. i think when 0pec makes a decision it will be about where things demand will go. i think instead of 400,000 barrels a day of tapering, they may go to three, but i think they will promise to revisit it again in january to make sure they haven't misjudged. it’s january to make sure they haven't misjudged.- haven't mis'udged. it's a famously — haven't misjudged. it's a famously touchy - haven't misjudged. it's a famously touchy area, i haven't misjudged. it's a i famously touchy area, gas prices in the us, they have risen pretty sharply over the course of the last year. and that builds into inflation. joe biden under a lot of pressure, popular pressure for being responsible or perceived to be responsible or perceived to be responsible for the inflationary state of the us economy. this isjust a populus move, really, isn't it? i economy. this isjust a populus move, really, isn't it?— move, really, isn't it? i don't think it is— move, really, isn't it? i don't think it is a — move, really, isn't it? i don't think it is a populus - move, really, isn't it? i don't think it is a populus move. i move, really, isn't it? i don't. think it is a populus move. the reality is gasoline prices are important to americans consumers and a penny

increasing the price of gasoline costs $1 billion, $1 increases $100 million, it is a serious at went for gdp growth. so it is important. if 0pec were good market managers they would have prevented this headwind for global growth, not just the united states, by putting a little bit more oil on the market, but if they are not going to do it, you know, administration and other countries are going to. it was notjust countries are going to. it was not just about politics, countries are going to. it was notjust about politics, it's pocketbook, and is december and christmas is coming and, you know, people are, the economy is starting to recover, wages are starting to come up, and inflation is a concern. so it is important to do something about gasoline and it is important to let 0pec know that consumers still have power also. ~ , . consumers still have power also. , . , , also. we shall see if it still has its desired _ also. we shall see if it still has its desired effect, - has its desired effect, certainly by january. has its desired effect, certainly byjanuary. david certainly by january. david goldwyn, certainly byjanuary. david goldwyn, thank you very much indeed. m? goldwyn, thank you very much indeed. y , a man accused of ramming a car into a christmas parade in the us state of wisconsin has appeared in court to face charges of intentional homicide. darrell brooks is to be charged with six deaths after another victim,

a child, died. nearly 50 people were also injured in the attack in waukesha. police say mr brooks deliberately targeted the crowd. 0ur correspondent barbara plett usher was at the court. thejudge read out the the judge read out the five counts of intentional homicide and he said that each one of them carried a penalty of life in prison. and during the proceedings the prosecutor said now they knew a sixth person had died, a child, so the prosecutor was planning to bring another charge of intentional homicide by the end of the week. she also read out a lengthy criminal record for darrell brooks, this included violent conduct like strangulation, suffocation, sexual assault, domestic battery. she said he had tried to run over a woman earlier in the month, the mother of his child. she also said he had a long history of flight and of jumping bail. he is wanted on an arrest warrant in nevada, in fact. so she recommended that the bail be set at $5 million.

during the proceedings darrell brooks sat nearly bent double, his face down, and the judge considered the bail, he said he would accept the $5 million bail, he said it was extraordinarily high, but this was an extraordinarily serious case with an extraordinary history of mr brooks. he said to mr brooks, "look, i don't know what the motive was, whether it was panic or intentional, but clearly you don't do well under pressure and you don't respond to common sense." he also made some remarks about the case and said that this was a shocking case, he never seen anything like it in his life, he said that the state had a very strong case and they have said the next hearing forjanuary. that is barbara plett usher in wisconsin. a court in charlottesville, virginia, has ordered 17 white nationalist leaders and organisations to pay more than $26 million in damages over the violence that

erupted during the deadly 2017 unite the right rally. 0ne unite the right rally. one woman died when a far right member drove into counter protesters, at least 19 others were injured. you are watching bbc news. coming up, ethiopian's prime minister says he is off to the front line to lead his country's troops against the rebels. president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately. the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world — the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister. before leaving number ten to see the queen, she told her cabinet, "it's a funny old world." angela merkel is germany's first woman chancellor, easily securing the majority she needed.

attempts to fly a hot air balloon had to be abandoned after a few minutes, but nobody seemed to mind very much. as one local comic put it, "it's not hot air we need, it's hard cash." cuba has declared nine days of mourning following the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. castro developed close ties with the soviet union in the 19605 — it was an alliance that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war with the cuban missile crisis. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: after more than one hundred days of taliban rule in afghanistan the country is on the brink of a humanitarian disaster. president biden announces the release of huge reserves of us oil as he seeks

to bring down soaring energy and gasoline prices. north macedonia and bulgaria are in national mourning as they remember the victims of a bus crash on a bulgarian motorway on monday. at least 46 passengers were killed when the vehicle crashed and went up in flames. they'd been travelling through bulgaria on their return to north macedonia after a weekend trip to istanbul. the investigation into the cause is still underway, as our europe correspondent bethany bell reports from bulgaria. a catastrophic crash. the bus rammed a barrier on a motorway south—west of sofia. it tore away a 50—metre section and then burst into flames. on board were tourists, mostly from north macedonia. they were returning to skopje from a trip to istanbul in turkey. the victims have not yet been officially named. a cause has yet to be determined, but witnesses reported hearing a blast.

translation: the question is, what caused this blast? - if it was an explosion inside the bus or a blast caused by the bus hitting the guard rails. this brings us back to the main leads in the probe. if it was a technical fault of the vehicle or a human error that caused the crash. seven people escaped from the wreckage. the survivors were brought here, to this emergency hospital in sofia. they have been treated for burns and other injuries. it seems they only managed to escape by breaking through the windows of the bus. for relatives and friends, this is an agonising time. this man said he hadn't heard from his nephew. translation: i saw information about the crash at 6:00am - this morning. i saw it on the internet, and on facebook, to be more precise. as my nephew was in turkey, i started searching for more information on the internet. i called the company's phone number for three or four hours, and we do not have any

information from them. nor are they answering the phone. locals say accidents are common on this stretch of motorway. as the authorities continue their investigations, the families mourn their dead. bethany bell, bbc news, sofia. ethiopia's prime minister says he's heading to the frontline, to defend his country against tigray rebels. that surprise move comes amid reports of rebel forces advancing towards the capital, addis ababa. their latest gain, is the town of shewa robit, which is on the main road linking the capital to the north. the bbc�*s emmanuel igunza, has more from nairobi. it's a startling moment. just two years ago, prime minister abiy ahmed won the nobel peace prize, describing war as "the epitome of hell". today, he's threatening to march in person to the battlefront to join his troops in the year—long war against the tigray people's

liberation fighters. the tplf, which hasjoined forces with another rebel group, have dismissed the statement and claim to have captured key towns and cities as they advance south towards the capital, addis ababa. the government denies this. supporters of the prime minister have cheered him on, calling him "brave" — but critics say it's just a publicity stunt by mr abiy, who once served in the military. this has been a devastating war. there have been casualties, thousands killed and millions displaced by the conflict. ethiopia declared a state of emergency at the beginning of november. the un says nearly half a million people are living under famine—like conditions. even aid workers have been targeted — nearly 30 have been killed since fighting broke out. rights groups have accused both sides of atrocities that amount to war crimes. the un has reiterated calls for the release of humanitarian workers and more than 70

drivers detained by authorities earlier this month. no reason was given for their arrest. in ethiopia, it's a fluctuating picture. the latest numbers i've just received are five un staff and two dependants are in custody. six staff, as we mentioned, were released yesterday, and one was released today. however, one un staff member and a dependent were detained today. the african union is leading efforts to bring a negotiated end to the fighting, but neither side has committed to talks. earlier this month, the us secretary of state antony blinken warned that out—and—out conflict would be disastrous for the ethiopian people and others in the region. at the root of the war is a disagreement between prime minister abiy and the tplf which, for almost three decades, dominated the whole country.

the simmering dispute then erupted into war 12 months ago when tigrayan forces were accused of attacking army bases to steal weapons, and the federal government responded. pm abiy ahmed came into power, bringing with him sweeping reforms and promising to heal old wounds. today, the country's torn apart by bitter ethnic ensigns that leads many to question how things could have gone so wrong for a country that held so much hope. emmanuel igunza, bbc news. get ready for a space mission designed to end in a spacecraft explosion. nasa is about to fire a spacecraft at a huge lump of rock in space, to see if it can be tipped in another direction. the aim is to develop technology that could stop any dangerous asteroid in the future smashing into earth. 0ur science correspondent, rebecca morelle, has more. until now, it's been the stuff of hollywood blockbusters like armageddon. an asteroid heading for earth and a mission to stop it.

but science fiction is becoming science fact. for the first time, nasa is sending up a spacecraft to knock an asteroid off course. this one is not a danger to the earth, but the dart mission as a trial of technology for the future. normally when we are talking about a mission to go to space, we are going to explore some new world, but in this case we are literally going to crash a spaceship into an asteroid and change the direction and speed at which it moves through space, and we are doing that to basically test the technique to save the planet if there was ever a killer asteroid coming towards earth. nasa is targeting a small asteroid called dimorphos, which is orbiting around a larger space rock. the spacecraft travelling at around 13,000 miles an hour will fly into the small asteroid leaving an impact crater up to 20 metres wide. but this should also give the rock a kick, which will speed up its orbit, and this can be monitored from the earth to see if it has worked. 0nboard is also a mini satellite that will film the crash. even a small nudge can make a big difference to

an asteroid's path, and that could be vital. a 160—metre—wide rock like dimorphos could devastate populated areas, but smaller ones are a problem too. anything bigger than the 20 metre asteroid that broke up over russia in 2013 and injured hundreds of people are a concern. even the smaller objects can cause quite a lot of damage. a 25—metre asteroid, they will be really hard to spot with telescopes, so we are always pushing the technology and the science we can do and then we will try to detect where every single object is so we know what is coming in the future. the spacecraft will take nearly a year to travel the 7 million miles to its destination. no—one has ever tried anything like this before, but it could be the best chance of defending our planet if an asteroid is ever on a disastrous collision course. rebecca morrelle, bbc news. that launch is due to take place and pretty much four hours from now, vanderburgh air

force base in california and if that has whetted your appetite to have a look at the website, just search nasa and you will see more details in which the way in this is going to work, in theory. 0ne ofjust two surviving documents, showing how albert einstein arrived at one of the greatest scientific discoveries, has sold at an auction house in paris for a record $13 million. the manuscript shows calculations made by einstein as he attempted to formulate his theory of relativity, which went on to transform our understanding of the universe. courtney bembridge reports. it may look incomprehensible, but these scratchings paved the way for a scientific breakthrough which transformed our understanding of space, time and gravity. the 54 page document was expected to fetch around $3.5 million, but it ended up going for almost four

times that amount, breaking the record for an autographed scientific document. the buyer remains a mystery. the manuscript was written in 1913 and 1914 by einstein and his academic partner, swiss ethicist who kept hold of the document and it's lucky he did. it is one ofjust two papers showing the calculations which led to the great scientific breakthrough. translation: einstein is someone who kept very few notes so the matter fact that the manuscript survived and made its way to us makes it absolutely extraordinary. it makes it absolutely extraordinary.- makes it absolutely extraordinary. makes it absolutely extraordina . ., ., extraordinary. it is a rare and valuable _ extraordinary. it is a rare and valuable document _ extraordinary. it is a rare and valuable document but - extraordinary. it is a rare and valuable document but it - extraordinary. it is a rare and valuable document but it is i extraordinary. it is a rare and i valuable document but it is not the first time it has been up for auction. 20 years ago it was sold as part of a pyramid scheme which ended up being one of france's biggest art scams and the dispersal of that collection is what led to this sale. courtney bembridge, bbc news.

more of that of course on the website as well. that is bbc news, thanks for watching. hello there. later this week, not only is there potential for some more disruptive weather heading our way, but something much colder, as well. wednesday starts off on a chilly note with a bit of frost in places, but some mist and dense fog patches possible across parts of england and wales — the winds have been lightest through the night. a bit more of a breeze through scotland and northern ireland to get under way, and some wet weather for the morning rush hour — this weather front here, a cold front, will bring the first run of colder air further and further southwards as we go through the next 24 hours. in the southern half

of the country, a bit of a chill, temperatures not rising much — we still have light winds and a relatively quiet day, lots of mist and fog around. the morning rain, though, across scotland and northern ireland is replaced by sunshine and scattered showers, some heavy with hail, turning wintry in the far north of scotland, particularly on the hills. but turning wetter later on, northwest england, north and west wales as that cold front slowly makes its way southwards and eastwards. a little bit of patchy rain and drizzle to the south and east, we'll see some wetter conditions here through wednesday night. at the same time, very windy through wednesday night into thursday, and the far north of scotland seeing gusts of wind 50—60 mph — and that'll bring colder air, a very cold thursday morning commute, but a bright, crisp one for many — really good visibility, sunshine for the most part. some showers around the western and eastern coasts, but most of the showers will be in the north of scotland, where snow could even come down to sea level later, and an added wind—chill to go with what will be a cool day. and then things turn much more disturbed — through thursday into friday, particularly friday night and saturday, this area of low pressure transferring its way southwards. cold air wrapped around it, which means a greater chance of things turning to snow for some, but it's the winds which could be the key feature.

even on friday, the winds really starting to pick up — outbreaks of rain initially pushing southwards and eastwards, but the showers that follow in its wake will turn increasingly wintry — over the hills for many, but even to lower levels in the northern half of scotland, and it will be a cold day. but through friday night into saturday, as our low pressure transfers its way southwards, we could see gales, if not severe gales develop along that weather system, working its way south and, as i said, there could be a bit of snow mixed in, too. and that will take us into saturday, as well. now those strong winds could be a problem in some parts, we could see damaging gusts of wind, some travel disruption around to take us into the weekend. even if you don't see those damaging winds — widespread gales and, as i said, that risk of rain and snow, too. see you soon.

country's troops against the rebels.

this is bbc news. with me, david eades. the headlines: the us is to release 50 million barrels of oil from its reserves in an attempt to bring down soaring energy prices, particularly that of gasoline. the move is being taken in parallel with other major oil—consuming nations, including china, india, japan, south korea, and the uk. a man accused of ramming a car into a christmas parade in the us state of wisconsin has appeared in court to face charges of intentional homicide. darrell brooks is charged with six deaths after another victim, a child, died. nearly 50 people were also injured in the attack in waukesha. north macedonia and bulgaria have declared days of mourning to remember victims of a bus crash on a bulgarian motorway yesterday. at least 45 people, mostly tourists, were killed when the coach crashed in flames in western bulgaria. the cause of the crash is still unclear. people in northern ireland

are again being asked to work from home where possible