welcome to bbc news. i'm tim wilcox. our top stories: from inside afghanistan: a special report on how the taliban have to deal with their own terror threat from the islamic state group. we have been called here by the taliban police who wanted to show us and isis super cell they recently found out. britain's prince andrew demands a trial byjury as he rejects the allegations of sexual assault made by virginia giuffre. the us formally responds to russia's concerns over ukraine, saying they've offered moscow a serious diplomatic path forward. the white house confirms president biden will pick a black woman to replace a retiring liberaljustice in the us supreme court. and the story of the little girl who vanished for days in australia more than

half a century ago. finally, answers about what happened to her. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. it's been six months since the taliban swept to power across afghanistan — after decades of war. the economy is close to collapse, millions face starvation and the former allies of osama bin laden now faces a new terror threat of their own — large scale attacks by islamic state in the khorasan or is—k. this report is from yalda hakim who has travelled to sangin in helmand province — a small village 600 kilometres south of the capital, kabul. it was one of the deadliest places for british and american forces

and their afghan allies. the road to sangin in helmand province was once littered with roadside bombs. now there is relative calm. our tell a man escort says that this held for american marines and british troops. abdul karim laid mines. he is responsible for the killing of hundreds of coalition forces and civilians. translation:— coalition forces and civilians. translation: when the people decided to drop _ translation: when the people decided to drop bombs - translation: when the people decided to drop bombs on - translation: when the people decided to drop bombs on us - translation: when the people | decided to drop bombs on us and kill us they stood against them. all the people help. even when i was planting mines, children around ten years old would help me.— children around ten years old would help me. children around ten years old would hel me. ~ ., would help me. when i asked him to clarify if— would help me. when i asked him to clarify if the — would help me. when i asked him to clarify if the children _ would help me. when i asked him to clarify if the children were - to clarify if the children were forced, he insists they were

not. translation: ii�*la. forced, he insists they were not. translation: no. they volunteer _ not. translation: no. they volunteer and _ not. translation: no. they volunteer and said _ not. translation: no. they volunteer and said that - not. translation: no. they volunteer and said that we i not. translation: no. they| volunteer and said that we are members of the resistance. many families fled _ members of the resistance. many families fled during _ members of the resistance. many families fled during the _ members of the resistance. many families fled during the years - families fled during the years of fighting. fix, families fled during the years of fighting-— of fighting. a bullet went throu . h of fighting. a bullet went through the _ of fighting. a bullet went through the wall - of fighting. a bullet went through the wall and - of fighting. a bullet went through the wall and hit l of fighting. a bullet went - through the wall and hit here. the bullets were fired incessantly. mohammed surely has now returned with his children to rebuild their lives. translation: everything is exnensive _ lives. translation: everything is expensive now. _ lives. translation: everything is expensive now. i _ lives. translation: everything is expensive now. i cannot - lives. translation: everything is expensive now. i cannot even| is expensive now. i cannot even afford cooking oil and bread. people learn to get by but everyone is happy that foreign forces have left here.- forces have left here. people genuinely — forces have left here. people genuinely felt _ forces have left here. people genuinely felt occupied - forces have left here. people genuinely felt occupied by i forces have left here. people| genuinely felt occupied by the foreign forces and the former government. and this is what they've left behind. homes destroyed. and this is the price of freedom that these people say they have had to

ny- people say they have had to pay. in the conservative heartland of sangin, the teller man in power may be welcome. but in many parts of the country, afghans continue to pay a heavy price. the economy is close to collapse. poverty and hunger are affecting millions. across the country, the teller man are and crushing dissent. and this one—time terror organisation is dealing with a terror threat of its own. i sk has launched a string of large—scale attacks across afghanistan in recent months. -- is-k. we afghanistan in recent months. —— is—k. we have been called here by the taliban police who wanted to show us and isis sleeper cell that they recently got out. translation: in sleeper cell that they recently got out. translation:- got out. translation: in all arts of got out. translation: in all parts of the _ got out. translation: in all parts of the world _ got out. translation: in all parts of the world these - got out. translation: in all| parts of the world these kinds of incident within is a scene,

even the place where you can see the safest place in the world. i mean, the united states, new york, britain, even in those places incidents such as these happen. the taliban is trying to make afghanistan the safest country in the world. despite abdul karim's assurances, members of the ts community say they do not feel protected by the taliban. they continue to be targeted by is-k. in continue to be targeted by is—k. in october, a suicide bombing of a shi'ite mosque in kandahar claimed the lives of 50 worshippers. this woman's husband was killed. translation: ., , ., ., translation: what should i do now? i no longer have him. - translation: what should i do now? i no longer have him. my. now? i no longer have him. my partner has gone. i feel completely devastated. the family now _ completely devastated. the family now face _ completely devastated. the family now face an - completely devastated. the family now face an uncertain future. translation: it was remembered _ future. translation: it was remembered that _ future. translation: it was remembered that the - future. translation: it was| remembered that the schools were being bombed and my

children were very scared. i told them to go to school and they said no. they wanted to protect thus and then a bomb went off. is that what you call protection, bombing ordinary people? protection, bombing ordinary neale? �* ., , ., protection, bombing ordinary --eole?�* . ,., , protection, bombing ordinary --eole? . people? afghanistan is a country shattered - people? afghanistan is a country shattered by - people? afghanistan is a - country shattered by decades of war. sanctions on the new regime are biting hard. as the humanitarian crisis deepens and violence continues, the teller banner struggling to even begin rebuilding the fragile country. yalda hakim, bbc news. prince andrew is demanding a trial byjury. he formally denied all the allegations against him as he gave a court in new york his official response to allegations of sexual assault. virginia giuffre accuses the duke of york of forcing her to have sex more than two decades ago at the london home of the convicted sex trafficker ghislaine maxwell. the ii—page document sets out the duke's detailed response, strongly denying that he abused ms giuffre when she was 17. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell has more

details. across 11 pages, andrew's lawyers have set out his defence — a denial of the central allegation of sexual abuse made by virginia giuffre and an assertion in respect of others that andrew lacks sufficient information to either admit or deny what's been claimed. he says, for example, in relation to the widely publicised picture of the two of them, that he doesn't have enough information to admit or deny that there exists photographic evidence of his alleged meeting with miss giuffre. elsewhere, his lawyers assert that virginia giuffre's civil complaint should be dismissed because she's a permanent resident of australia and not domiciled in the united states. and they say this... finally, they demand this...

..all of which suggests that andrew is determined to fight it out in court, though lawyers say this doesn't preclude an out—of—court settlement. you can certainly have a settlement further down the road, and it wouldn't shock me at all, between now and a trial, to see something like that happen. and sometimes, though, there are cases where no amount of money will make them go away. there are times when, again, a victim wants their day in court. and that certainly seems to be virginia giuffre's intention. her lawyer has said they look forward to confronting prince andrew with his denials and his attempts to blame miss giuffre for her own abuse at the trial. nicholas witchell, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. the uk's prime minister has once again rejected calls for his resignation. boris johnson is facing criticism over allegations of parties held at his official residence despite covid restrictions. the first report into the case is due to be published in the coming hours or days.

the matter is also under police investigation. the opposition has called the situation shameful. a single body has been recovered by us coastguards after a boat capsized off the coast of florida. a sole survivor had earlier told resucers that the vessel had left the bimini islands in the bahamas on saturday with a0 people on board. the boat is believed to have been made up of people from cuba and haiti who paid smugglers to take them to the us. it is dire. the longer they remain in the water without food or water, exposed to the marine environment, the sun and the sea conditions, every moment that passes it becomes much more dire and unlikely that anyone could survive in those conditions. the united states has responded to a series of russian demands

over the future of the ukraine. antony blinken and insisting that the ukraine can choose its own allies. it comes as moscow has deployed an estimated 100,000 soldiers near the border in both belarus and russia. president putin has accused western nations of aggressive expansion into russia's sphere of influence. he says one of his key concerns is the expansion of nato — the military alliance of european states with the us and canada. many countries in eastern europe became members after the fall of the soviet union. mr blinken said they would never compromise on nato's founding principles. it is for nato, not the united states unilaterally, to discuss the open door policy. these decisions are made by nato as an alliance, not by the united states unilaterally. from our perspective i cannot be more clear. nato's door is open and remains open and that is our commitment.

our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has more now from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. matches. needle, etc. medicals and bandages, medicine. yuri is getting ready for a war he hopes he never sees. he's packed an emergency bag to grab and go if russian bombs or troops reach kyiv. a basic survival kit for the worst possible scenario. what does it actually feel like to be doing this? it's unbelievable. i understand it, i am living now in the 21st century. i'm amazed that i should do this, that i should pack this bag, but this is what i have to do to keep my family safe. yuri thinks a major escalation in ukraine's eight—year—long war with russia is unlikely. he just feels better

being prepared for it. today, the us government strongly advised its citizens to leave ukraine. the government here calls warnings of a major new incursion by russia alarmist, but it's not ignoring the tens of thousands of troops deployed near its border. a few weeks ago, the authorities here actually released a map with all the bomb shelters, and just look at it. there's thousands of them — 5,000, in fact — all over the city. marking a map, though, is the easy bit. the door�*s locked. and this is one of the official bomb shelters, supposedly. so either nobody here's expecting war to break out any minute now, or they're just not very well prepared for it. the metro might be a safer bet, deep below ground. if the air raid siren sounds, people will have 20 minutes to get down here. there's so much talk now outside ukraine about the possibility of the conflict escalating, ofan imminent russian invasion,

and it's quite weird being here inside kyiv itself and realising that people are just going about their ordinary lives. there's no sense of panic here at all. do you think it's possible that the conflict could actually reach kyiv? i don't know. i don't have any information about that, so i'm just living my best life right now and hoping that everything will be ok. did you make any kind of preparations, or any...? no, no. so, as western governments wrestle with moscow's ultimatums and demands, ukrainians for now are getting on with a life they've long lived, in the shadow of russian threats and aggression. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. we'rejoined by dr sethjones, director of the international security programme at the centre for strategic and international studies. thank you forjoining us.

russian forces surrounding the now on three sides that were there to be any escalation it would not necessarily be a traditional military confrontation, would it? it would not have to be. the laydown of russian forces in ukraine now has a significant russian footprint in belarus and on the russian border in the eastern parts or along the russian ukrainian border and then there is an amphibious buildup in the black sea, based out of crimea. so the russians do have ukraine surrounded and they have a range of airbases and aircraft to strike targets if they decide to go in. the russians are also conduct a number of irregular operations. cyber offensive, cyber attacks and they have certainly show

their willingness to train rebels in ukraine so there is an irregular component as well. that is a grey zone, neither military confrontation it uses other things as described. the consequences of doing something like that would mean what for russia? ~ . ., ., russia? well, the challenge for the russians, _ russia? well, the challenge for the russians, i— russia? well, the challenge for the russians, i think, _ russia? well, the challenge for the russians, i think, is - russia? well, the challenge for the russians, i think, is that. the russians, i think, is that if a war in ukraine look like it did in the 1980s in afghanistan where they lost 15,000 soldiers, this would be hugely damaging to president putin. which translates a little bit into russians probably taking some risks in eastern ukraine where there is more of a russian population and they have a presence they haveit and they have a presence they have it it comes to western ukraine there will have to be a lot more careful there is a lot more hatred of russians there and that is where we may see

more irregular activity. the cracks in — more irregular activity. the cracks in nato _ more irregular activity. the cracks in nato as _ more irregular activity. the cracks in nato as outlined in that odd press conference by president biden a week or so ago, they still exist, don't they. and vladimir putin, for all his skills and weaknesses is a man who identifies when countries and organisations are off—balance. countries and organisations are off-balance— off-balance. there is no question _ off-balance. there is no question that _ off-balance. there is no question that there - off-balance. there is no question that there are | off-balance. there is no - question that there are some divisions within nato. the germans have prohibited the export of some german made weapons including from the baltic states to ukraine and the french have announced a couple of days ago that they prefer to operate through the european union and not nato but i would say historically there are plenty of cracks and divisions and disagreements during the cold war and the soviet invasion of ukraine, the martial law in poland in 1981. at the end of the day nato

countries were able to work it out. it is not shocking that there are disagreements and i think nato countries will be able to work through this. but ukraine is _ able to work through this. but ukraine is not _ able to work through this. but ukraine is not a member nato and the whole row started when ukraine was looking to become a member of the eu. in a word, what do you think will happen over the next 2— four weeks? based on the presence that the russians have and the buildup frankly i think they are likely to move in at least into eastern ukraine in a conventional way and i think thatis conventional way and i think that is where we will play. thank you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: prince andrew rejects the accusations by virginia giuffre. the shuttle challenger exploded soon after lift—off.

there were seven astronauts on board, one of them a woman schoolteacher. all of them are believed to have been killed. by the evening, tahrir square, the heart of official cairo, was in the hands of the demonstrators. they were using the word 'revolution'. the earthquake - singled out buildings and brought them down in seconds. _ tonight, the search for any survivors. has an increasing desperation about it as the hours pass. i the new government is firmly in control of the entire republic of uganda. survivors of the auschwitz concentration camp have been commemorating the 40th anniversary of their liberation. they toured the huts, gas chambers and crematoria and relived their horrifying experiences.

this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: britain's prince andrew demands a trial byjury as he rejects the allegations of sexual assault made by virginia giuffre. the us formally responds to russia's concerns over ukraine, saying they've offered moscow a serious diplomatic path forward. the white house has said presidentjoe biden will honour his commitment to make an african—american woman his first nomination to the supreme court. she would replace the liberal justice, stephen breyer, who has announced his plans to retire at the end ofjune. and will need to be approved by the senate, where democrats have a slim majority. to help us understand the significance of this moment, i'm joined by the dean of boston university's law school, angela 0nwuachi—willig.

i say for now because they're having looming in november, when they may lose that. they have to do this pretty quickly, no? �* , ,., , have to do this pretty quickly, no? �* , , ., , , have to do this pretty quickly, no? �* , ,., , , ., no? absolutely. time is of the essence- _ no? absolutely. time is of the essence- if — no? absolutely. time is of the essence. if they _ no? absolutely. time is of the essence. if they don't, - no? absolutely. time is of the essence. if they don't, if- essence. if they don't, if they do not confirm this candidate, whoever the nominee will be by november, they risk losing control of the senate and at that point will be incredibly difficult to get any through. it won't affect the balance, isn't it? 6-3 it won't affect the balance, isn't it? 6—3 in terms of conservative judges as well but i suppose this is an important issue when you have big legislation coming forward, for example, roe versus wade, abortion and things like that. is incredibly important for a number of things. number one, because diversity is so critical to the excellence of the decisions that the court gives and an appellate court is best when you have a diversity

of perspectives and life experiences and work experiences, bringing all of those experiences, all of these insights, how they understand the doctrine and how they apply it and how they come together and how they think about they are creating doctrines that apply to the entire country. having a black woman, someone whose life experience are shaped by race and gender, have shaped by race and gender, have shaped their perspectives, will be really important on the bench. it will be really important, given the kinds of controversial cases coming up, roe versus wade, affirmative action, having somebody who may bring that lens and see something that a fact that may see a legal doctrine and the harms of a particular case from someone who has not had that life experience, might not understand them, is really, really important. it's also really important. it's also really important. it's also really important because, even if you don't have the majority,

it will shape the nature of the conversation happening behind the doors when the supreme courtjustices the doors when the supreme court justices are the doors when the supreme courtjustices are discussing the cases, right? and that conversation is so important to what the majority decision comes out like. the person who is writing the opinion at the supreme court is trying to get as many people to sign that opinion and that conversation, and those voices that are all included in that conversation is critical, in terms of shaping the majority opinion and how crucial that will be. several names doing the rounds in washington. who should we be looking out for and i suppose age will also be an issue here because you put someone in a young enough, they can be there for life, can't they? absolutely critical. age will be important. there will be looking for a nominee under 50, i imagine, orat least looking for a nominee under 50, i imagine, or at least pretty close, under55, i imagine, or at least pretty close, under 55, somebody who can be on the bench for a very, very long time. there are five

black women who are on the appellate court and president biden had done a good job of diversifying the appellate bench and there were very, very few african—american women who had been on the federal appellate bench before but i will say that the bench is deep beyond the federal federal district courtjudges, they are academics, they are deans, law professors, there are so many talented black women who can serve on the supreme court and one of the things that we have seen with president biden's nominees is that the bench is really deep. and there are lots of people who can serve in this capacity. of people who can serve in this ca aci . �* ., , , capacity. and the other issue is whether — capacity. and the other issue is whether president - capacity. and the other issue is whether president biden i is whether president biden seeks to expand the supreme court. how much of a debate is going on around that because it has been nine and to take it to 12 would really rebalance that potentially, wouldn't it oh yes, there president biden

appointed a commission of looking at these questions seriously and i don't know what the outcome of that commission's proposals will be but they are looking at expansion and i imagine they are discussing expansion of the court, i think they will discuss term limits and a wide variety of things that will be considered.— variety of things that will be considered. but between our november — considered. but between our november i _ considered. but between our november i think— considered. but between our november i think the - considered. but between our| november i think the primary issue will be getting confirmation of that nominee will be and there are many, many fantastic people who could serve on the us supreme court. briefly, to go back to the beginning when we started speaking, it will be a bumpy ride, just looking at the months ahead? it ride, just looking at the months ahead?- ride, just looking at the months ahead? it can be and will be a _ months ahead? it can be and will be a bumpy _ months ahead? it can be and will be a bumpy ride - months ahead? it can be and will be a bumpy ride and - months ahead? it can be and will be a bumpy ride and i - months ahead? it can be and | will be a bumpy ride and i am sure, absolutely because midterms are coming up, there will be stalling tactics applied and i think that president biden will have to be really, really forceful and strong in making sure that this

candidate gets through. i think the front runner candidates are fantastic and i am hopeful that all the democratic senators will support those candidates, and we can get them through before november.— before november. angela 0nwuachi-willig, - before november. angela 0nwuachi-willig, thank. before november. angela i 0nwuachi-willig, thank you before november. angela - 0nwuachi-willig, thank you very 0nwuachi—willig, thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. a main story on the website, from afghanistan, the taliban are still struggling to run the country there in terms of an economic collapse and winter now fighting its own insurgency against islamic state. attacks by a group against the minority shi'ite community in the country. also the latest on prince andrew has decided to go

for a child by virginia giuffre. from me and the team, goodbye. hello there. we've certainly seen some windy weather across more northern parts of the uk into the night. the winds will continue to ease down during the day on thursday. it'll still be breezy, mind you, and there should be more sunshine more widely. the strongest winds have been near that area of low pressure that's moving away from the northern isles. this weather front is continuing southwards. it's continuing to weaken, and that means the rain and drizzle on it is becoming very light and patchy. and this is the picture towards the end of the night. further north across the uk, clearer skies are continuing to follow with some more of those showers, mainly in the north of scotland, but it should be a frost—free start to thursday. but we start quite cloudy across much of wales, the midlands, and southern england. some light and patchy rain

and drizzle mainly in the west. that'll move southwards, soon cheering up in wales in the midlands. the cloud takes all morning to move away from southern england, heading out into the channel. then sunshine follows widely, a few more of these showers continuing mainly across northern and western scotland. but not a cold day despite the north—westerly wind, temperatures double figures for most. it will feel quite cooler than of late, though, in northern parts of scotland. the winds ease down during the evening. some clear skies will turn it chilly for a while overnight. and then, if we look out to the west, a stream of weather fronts will bring some wet weather mainly toward scotland on friday. but at the same time, we're drawing and some very mild south—westerly winds. ahead of it, though, across england and wales, a chilly start. some sunshine, one or two early mist and fog patches. does tend to cloud over more and more from the west during the day, hanging onto some sunshine towards south—eastern parts of england, most of the rain coming eastwards from scotland. and for many, those temperatures will be reaching 10—11 celsius. it is turning milder and windier through the day, and most of the rain

will continue to affect scotland overnight, that weather front tapping up the rain over western parts of scotland. then that weather front moves southwards on saturday. so again, it'll weaken and the rain becomes light and patchy. moving away from scotland and northern ireland, there won't be much rain heading down across england and wales. then we get a north—westerly wind once again, a few showers across northern parts of scotland. double—figure temperatures for most of the day. very mild in the south—east of england at 1a celsius. a windy day on saturday. the winds won't be as strong, though, on sunday. it will be a bit cooler. northern areas turn wet and windy later on.

this is bbc news. the headlines: prince andrew is demanding a trial byjury in a civil case accusing him of sexual assault. the duke's formally denied all allegations against him in an 11—page document submitted to a new york court. he also cast doubt on the authenticity of a photograph showing him with accuser virginia giuffre. the us has formally rejected russia's draft security pacts with the west published last month. a ban on ukrainejoining nato was among moscow's demands. secretary of state, antony blinken, said washington had made no concessions, but insisted the document offered a serious diplomatic path forward. the white house says president biden will honour his commitment to make an african—american woman his first nomination to the supreme court. she would replace the liberaljustice stephen breyer who has announced his plans to retire at the end ofjune. now on bbc news,