live from washington, this is bbc news. welcome to viewers on pbs in america. us officials claim the taliban have killed the is leader behind the kabul airport bombing. it is time to finish the job. finish thejob. joe biden announces he'll run for re—election next year, and will be the oldest president to do it. and a shaky ceasefire allows thousands of people to flee sudan. hello. i'm sumi somakanda. the islamic state mastermind believed to have been responsible for the 2021

bombing that killed dozens at kabul�*s airport has been killed by the taliban. that's according to us officials. 70 civilians and 13 american troops were killed when a bomber detonated his device among packed crowds as people tried to flee afghanistan, in august 2021. the officials did not reveal the name of the man, who was the leader of an islamic state cell. they said the leader died weeks ago, but it took time to confirm his death. us officials say intelligence gathering and monitoring of the region led them to conclude the leader had died, though they did not provide further details on how they learned that he was responsible for the bombing. the us began notifying families of the deceased troops about the death of the is leader on monday. earlier, i spoke with the director of the center for strategic and international studies, sethjones, about the reports. what do we know about what happened and who the leader of this is cell is?

what us officials have talked about is that the taliban killed the leader of the islamic state cell that was responsible for the suicide bombing attack at the kabul international airport that killed us marines and then killed those civilians. they have not released the name of the individual but we also know that us government officials have reached out to some of the relatives of marines that have been killed to also relay that in relation to them. and what about the specific cell that you mentioned, what do we know about them? what we do know is that the islamic state in general has been active in conduct attacks in afghanistan, more broadly. we know that in part from some of the leaks

that came from the us military official in massachusettes that put the on discord, what some of those documents indicate is that us intelligence believes that the islamic state has increased its attacks in afghanistan as well as has some external operations capabilities, so this sale was a cell within the islamic state, that had not only plotted attacks against us officials during the withdrawal but had also been conducting attacks against the taliban and the delavan and islamic state have been fighting entrenched battles for nearly a decade in afghanistan. and the fact the taliban say in the us has now confirmed this, that they have killed the leader of this is cell, what does this tell us about the power dynamics in afghanistan right now, the control that the taliban has? i don't think it says too much. we don't know exactly the specifics around how this

individual within the islamic state khorasan was killed. i think the data that has come out in the un security council reports on afghanistan as well as the leaked documents, what they indicate is that there is significant terrorism going on within afghanistan so i think what we can say is that while the taliban controls the government in kabul, that afghanistan has a very concerning terrorism problem. this case was the taliban effectively conducting an attack against islamic khorasan but don't think it tells us that the situation is under control. the biden administration says it's not partnering with the taliban but this is a significant outcome. does this mean they should consider engaging more? i don't think so. i think it is certainly worthwhile to engage the taliban in diplomatic

activity, including there have been discussions about on the financing side, since the us sanctioned the taliban and frozen assets but i think in terms of counterterrorism, the challenge is that the minister of interior of the taliban has very close relations to al-qaeda and other international terrorist groups, and a us designated terrorist so i think the us has to be very careful in counterterrorism intelligence cooperation with a taliban regime with such links. so how can the us engage more widely with afghanistan without engaging with the taliban itself? what the us has done is continue to in afghanistan, and probably just as importantly, flown mq—9 drones generally from the gulf into

afghanistan, that was the drone that was used in kabul. those drones can collect intelligence, they've got video footage and they can also strike targets, so i think there are some intelligence collection capabilities the us can do without a close cooperation with the taliban. sethjones, senior vice president for the centre of strategic and international studies, very good to have you on our programme. in sudan, a shaky ceasefire seems to be holding in the capital city khartoum while foreign nationals are evacuating from the country. these picures are from cyprus late tuesday local time, when the first uk evacuation flight carrying 39 people landed in larnaca. two more fights are expected to bring more than 200 evacuees to cyprus overnight. the uk government is under growing pressure to evacuate its citizens. in an abrupt policy reversal, the foreign office is now urging all british citizens and theirfamilies in sudan to head straight to an airfield north of khartoum. this was prime minister

rishi sunak on tuesday, visiting the foreign office crisis hub. he defended his government's approach, adding that there will be more flights out of sudan on wednesday. some british nationals in sudan told the bbc a different story. at some point, i started to feel that we have been abandoned by the government, especially watching other countries evacuate their people, until this morning, when we received the email about getting to wadi saeedna as soon as possible for the evacuation. i am on the bus right now, and i pray we will be safe there and i get back and am able to see my kids again. meanwhile, people who can't reach the airfield are heading in different directions to seek refuge. our correspondent, tom bateman, is in egypt near the border with sudan. that's where many people are crossing. he had this update earlier. tonight we have just witnessed hundreds of this region's newest refugees passing from northern sudan,

here, into southern egypt. we have just been at the border crossing. this is where the egyptians have allowed thousands of people to pass. they're mostly sudanese, but we also saw foreign nationals, including british citizens who were crossing, there. i'vejust been speaking to one family — a man who is a cardiac surgeon in khartoum — and spoke about days of terror, in his words, before the family made the arduous two—day journey to this border crossing. he said that they were trapped in the city for nine days without power and, he said, with no clean water. but the worst, he said, was the sound of bombing, which was leaving his family in fear of their lives. now, they made the decision to leave before the military evacuation by the uk was announced and put into place today, and so they arrived crossing over that border. but behind them are many,

many thousands more, mostly sudanese, desperately trying to escape and while the egyptians are allowing the elderly and women and children to pass, we are hearing stories of some men who are being turned back for the visas to be processed in the nearest sudanese city. the queues are growing longer. the conditions by day are baking, cold and we have had a sandstorm here at night. this crisis is only deepening for the refugees trying to cross to egypt. in the us, presidentjoe biden has formally announced he'll run for re—election in 202a. what you're seeing here is the video his team released to launch the campaign. president biden says his second term will "finish what he started". let's hear more. the question we are facing is whether in the years ahead, we have more freedom or less freedom. more rights or fewer. i know what i want and i think you do too. this is not a time to be complacent.

the bbc�*s anthony zurcher has more. that is why i am running for re—election. that is why i am running for re-election._ re-election. joe biden that the for a 2024 _ re-election. joe biden that the for a 2024 election _ re-election. joe biden that the for a 2024 election campaign l for a 2024 election campaign with a slickly produced videos. it is our moment.— it is our moment. starts out not with — it is our moment. starts out not with a — it is our moment. starts out not with a look _ it is our moment. starts out not with a look back but - it is our moment. starts out| not with a look back but with it is our moment. starts out i not with a look back but with a dire warning of the possible conflict and division including january and sixth writers and as a defender of personal freedom. that is something that republicans in the past have claimed he threatened. around the country. — claimed he threatened. around the country, extremists - claimed he threatened. around the country, extremists are - the country, extremists are lining up to take on those freedoms.— freedoms. re- election campaigns _ freedoms. re- election campaigns usually - freedoms. re- election| campaigns usually focus freedoms. re- election - campaigns usually focus on the person staying in office but the team here is trying to make it about his opposition. i the team here is trying to make it about his opposition.- it about his opposition. i said we are in _ it about his opposition. i said we are in a — it about his opposition. i said we are in a battle _ it about his opposition. i said we are in a battle for- it about his opposition. i said we are in a battle for the - it about his opposition. i said | we are in a battle for the soul of america, and we still. the video presents _ of america, and we still. the video presents the _ of america, and we still. the video presents the 80—year—old biden as energetic and it

concludes with a montage of ordinary americans kinda a diverse coalition he will have to rally in order to win the re—election. so president biden has anounced his bid for re—election. central to that campaign is his claim to be transforming the us economy, bringing new life to old manufacturing areas in the famous rust belt of america. the us government is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars of public money into the green industries of the future, including electric vehicles, microchips and renewable energy, partly to counteract chinese dominance of these markets. our economics editor, faisal islam, reports from kentucky. in the fields of west kentucky, the farms are giving way to a different type of green harvest. the spades are in the ground, the excavators are shifting tons of soil, the united states of america is digging for victory in the green hi—tech industries of the future, and they are in a hurry.

literally, we are shovel—ready to go with our project when we receive the support from the us government. it really is like the gold rush. this is, you know, it's so big. this work started here at the ascend elements facility for electric vehicle battery parts the day after $500 million of government money was granted from their infrastructure plans and the new inflation reduction act. buyers of cars will also get subsidies — only if they are made in america. the lithium, the cobalt and the nickel... the result is that these powders, the most expensive ev battery inputs, almost entirely made in china, up until now, will, thanks to recycling old batteries, be made in america, and the us has leapfrogged europe, second only to china in this market. this is no less than a total transformation of the us economy with thousands of projects like this funded by trillions of dollars of public money, in order to wrest control

of the industries of the future from china. but it could also be the start of a giant carve—up of globaljobs in those industries, because european governments are very worried that european manufacturers are also having their head turned and are setting up shop here in america now, too, so the eu is going to do exactly the same thing, which raises very serious questions for the united kingdom — whether to follow suit, whether we can afford to follow suit, or whether it is just too late. if the uk is going to compete with what is happening here in the us, you know, a similar level of incentives or favourable legislative environment or framework needs to be put in place. and so that has not taken place yet, but it certainly could. this facility is focused on electric vehicle battery inputs, but a similar strategy is at work for microchips and for green energy. indeed, the pylon servicing this facility transfers electricity from clean hydroelectric dams on the tennessee river.

here comes the outline of the tennessee valley... in an echo of us history, those tennessee valley authority dams were one of the landmark developments 90 years ago of roosevelt's new deal. he had in mind the tremendous national investment... but now, as then, the primary motivator here is not the environment, butjobs in left—behind areas. when they shut this mine down, and you see, this isjust one of 100 mines that they shutdown here in western kentucky. these coal areas of the usa have been long left behind and notjust because of the transition to green energy. so these massive investments are being channelled by the biden white house very purposefully into regions such as west kentucky, a green form of america first. in some cases, old miners are being paid their union wages actually to fill in the mines and prepare the new green industry factories. it should transform the heart of the rust belt, but some doubts remain.

when you hear government, president biden, saying the rust belt, which is what we can see here, can turn into a battery belt, what does that make you think? we welcome the funding, we welcome the jobs. but i want him to come from washington, dc down here and see first—hand how these people have suffered for several years now. he needs to see it first—hand. soon enough, the rust belt railroad will be carrying electric vehicles rather than coal. the us government pouring trillions in to ensure its green future is made in the usa, with economic consequences for everyone else. faisal islam, bbc news, in kentucky. staying in the us, where south korean president yoon suk—yeol visited the korean war memorial with president biden and drjill biden this afternoon ahead of formal meetings on wednesday. earlier, the south korean leader joined vice president kamala harris at the nasa goddard space center in maryland to discuss how to further the us—south korea space partnership.

and on monday, president yoon met with netflix co—ceo ted sarandos, who later announced a $2.5 billion investment into south korea over the next four years, doubling its investment since 2016. south korea's entertainment industry is enjoying a global boom in recent years with the film parasite sweeping the board at the oscars, and netflix series squid game becoming the platform's most watched series of all time. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. key inprivate of freedom and a beautiful day for it. time for a licorice, turmeric and sage to return to the wild after months of being nurtured back to health. first off the block is turmeric, having one i certainly isn't stopping her. it is licorice has been causing a bit of a stir.—

a bit of a stir. she is a black seal a bit of a stir. she is a black seal. what _ a bit of a stir. she is a black seal, what we call - a bit of a stir. she is a black seal, what we call a - seal, what we call a militaristic seal. they are very rare. not great that she had to come in but exciting i got to see her as well. the last big release _ got to see her as well. the last big release of - got to see her as well. the last big release of the season, watching pups take to the waves always draws a bit of a crowd. there is no looking back for these three who should now have a long life at sea and head. they could have 30, 20 years i think. it they could have 30, 20 years i think. , ., , ., , think. it is the last release for randy _ think. it is the last release for randy who _ think. it is the last release for randy who is _ think. it is the last release for randy who is moving i think. it is the last release| for randy who is moving on think. it is the last release - for randy who is moving on from the sanctuary. hat for randy who is moving on from the sanctuary-— the sanctuary. not much better than a morning _ the sanctuary. not much better than a morning like _ the sanctuary. not much better than a morning like this - the sanctuary. not much better than a morning like this in - than a morning like this in cornwall releasing seal pups. you're live with bbc news. britain's prince harry has claimed that his brother prince william has been paid a "very large sum" by the owners of the sun newspaper in a settlement over phone hacking claims in 2020. news of the settlement emerged in court papers released at the high court in london as a hearing involving prince harry and the actor hugh grant got under way. 0ur media editor katie razzall

has been following the case. more than 1,000 people have settled phone hacking cases with the publishers of the sun. and what was the news of the world in recent years. today, we learnt a new, very high—profile name. according to prince harry's witness statement, his brother william privately settled with news group newspapers three years ago for a very large sum. of course, prince william isn't part of this case, and he's made no comment. prince harry has chosen the public route and with the actor hugh grant, is going to court instead. a trial is planned injanuary, but today, news group tried to have that thrown out, arguing allegations of unlawful information gathering are legally out of time. these are just some of the headlines from the news of the world and the sun that prince harry says were based on illegal activity. many relate to his relationship with chelsy davis, including allegations of listening into voicemails, blagging to get private information and the use of private investigators. but harry says unlawful information gathering began when he was a child

and it felt like being under 24—hour surveillance. in his witness statement, he says it created "a huge amount of paranoia in my relationships. "0ur circle of friends became smaller and smaller "as we naturally began to suspect people." also revealed in prince harry's witness statement — what he claims was a secret agreement between the royals and news group executives, that the royals wouldn't take any legal action over phone hacking until the other damages claims were nearing an end. so avoiding having to give evidence in court — that's one reason, he says, he didn't bring this case sooner. that's denied by news group, which says there was no such secret agreement. it's admitted phone hacking at the news of the world, which it shut down and has paid out many millions but has always denied wrongdoing at the sun. in another swipe at his family, harry also says they appeared to block his legal action in order to keep the papers on side — he claims to smooth the way for camilla and charles to be accepted by the british public

as queen consort and king. buckingham palace has been approached for a response. prince harry has made reforming the press his life's work, and he's also suing associated newspapers and the mirror group. the risks and costs of going to court are huge, and lawyers often encourage a settlement — that doesn't appear to be harry's intention. it's up to the judge to decide whether this case can proceed. now, brazilian president luiz inacio lula da silva was in portugal where the left—leaning leader received mixed reactions. often referred to simply as �*lula', brazil's president was in portugal to commemorate the 1974 carnation revolution, which toppled the dictator antonio de 0liveira salazar. supporters of lula's visit were seen dancing in the street to celebrate his arrival, holding signs that said messages like, "democracy, yes, fascism, no." his opposition, meanwhile, formed protests outside portugal's parliament, where lula was visiting. protesters shouted lines such as "lula's place is in prison" and held signs calling the brazilian president a thief,

referencing his 2018 jailing for corruption charges. it wasn't just civilians in the street who were heckling lula. bbc reporter luis barrucho has more on this from lisbon. the visit of brazil's president to portugal, his first official trip to europe since he was elected for a third term has triggered passion and protest, nearing the political divisions resilience have experienced over the last few years. earlier today, demonstrations took place inside and outside the portuguese parliament. where mr lula da silva made a speech. speaking to portuguese mps, lula praised the brazilian democracy and again called for peace talks to bring the war in ukraine to an end. he also criticised the russian invasion of ukraine. his official visit to portugal has been marked by questions over the resignation of his top security adviser. but, first and foremost, over his stance on ukraine,

lula has been strongly criticised after he claimed that both russia and ukraine are responsible for the ongoing war. 0n the recent trip to china, he also accused the us and the eu of contributing to the conflict. his remarks have been strongly condemned, and lula has been accused of parroting russian and chinese propaganda by the us and the eu. lula has now left portugal's to spain, where he's due to meet the spanish prime minister and king tomorrow. children and teenagers around the world could be at risk of rare diseases because of a fall in vaccine uptakes. but a new campaign from global health partners called the big catch—up is hoping to change that, and get shots in the arms of kids. 0ur correspondent simijolaoso has more. for the start of world

immunisation week, a number of health agencies including the world health organization and unicef have come together to announce what they are calling the big catch up. it is a targeted global effort to both immunisation among children. they say especially after the covid—19 pandemic, has been a massive decline in vaccine uptake in over 100 countries. in 2021, 20 5 million children missed at least one vaccination. three quarters of these children are in 20 countries, including mexico, myanmar, chad and somalia. some of the reasons why the vaccine uptake has decreased includes conflict, the climate crisis, lack of medical supplies, as well as overstretched health services. there can be severe consequences when vaccine uptake decreases so much, and in fact, we are already seeing a rise in outbreaks of polio, yellow fever, measles around the world. so the hope is that this big catch up will protect

populations from such outbreaks, will say children's lives and will strengthen the health systems across the world. let us catch up on some other headlines now. british singer ed sheeran has appeared in a new york city court to deny that his song thinking out loud copied marvin gaye's song let's get it on. heirs of gaye's co—writer, ed townsend, argue that sheeran, warner music group and sony music publishing owe them money for allegedly stealing the song. the court case comes as the singer prepares to launch a north american stadium tour and release a new album. ajapanese company hoping to make history by carrying out the first private moon landing says its mission is likely to have failed. the hakuto—r m1 craft was launched by spacex last december, but communication was lost with the landerjust moments before it was due to touch down. it had hoped the lander would release an exploratory rover, as well as a tennis—ball—sized robot developed by a japanese toymaker. the makers of barbie have launched the first ever doll representing a person

with down syndrome. mattel, the manufacturer, had previously faced criticism for not representing real women. in recent years, the company has created dolls with hearing aids and prosthetic limbs in a bid to make its range more diverse. and finally, the singer, actor and civil rights activist harry belafonte has died at the age of 96. # 0h, island in the sun... he was one of the most successful african—american pop stars in history. he first came to fame in the 1950s as a calypso music performer, later becoming the first black man to win a tony on broadway. he was also a major force in the us civil rights movement, working alongside martin luther king jr. tributes have been pouring in. the reverend al sharpton wrote that he was a history—changing activist and a culture—changing entertainer. oprah winfrey described belafonte

as a trailblazer and hero. thank you for watching bbc news. stay with us. hello there. here in the uk, spring warmth is in short supply at the moment. another rather chilly day lies ahead, but it's a very different story in spain and portugal. in fact, a concerning early season heatwave building here — temperatures over the next couple of days could well climb to 38, maybe 39 degrees celsius. that heat has been building to the south of the jet stream. we find ourselves to the north of the jet stream, and so we remain in this rather chilly air mass, at least for the time being. and a really cold start to the day, particularly in the north of scotland. not as cold further south, because here, there is more cloud in the mix. and for many of us,

it is going to be a rather cloudy day, particularly across the south of england, into southern wales and also northern ireland. extensive cloud producing some bits and pieces of rain at times. now, through north wales, the north midlands, northern england, southern scotland, it's a mix of patchy cloud, some sunny spells and the odd shower. the best of the sunshine will be found in northern scotland. but, again, the odd shower here. temperatures of 7—13 degrees, so a little disappointing for the time of year. now, through wednesday night, we'll tend to keep large amounts of cloud. we'll see some rain getting close to northern ireland, into the western side of scotland, some pushing towards the southwest of england, as well. another rather chilly night, particularly in the north of the uk, not as cold further south. but as we head into thursday, well, this is a rather messy weather chart. there are a couple of different weather systems — one here, one here — likely to bring some outbreaks of rain. this first band of rain is likely to be pushing northwards across scotland. could be some snow over the highest ground for a time, and then outbreaks of rain pushing northwards across parts of england and wales. there may be a drier slot

in between those two rain bands. temperatures, if anything, starting to climb a little. a sign of things to come, because as we head towards the end of the week, we will start to pull in some slightly warmer air. now, we're not talking about a spanish or portuguese heatwave here, but we are talking about something a little bit less chilly. and, actually, on friday, while there will be some showers around and perhaps some more persistent rain in northern scotland, we should actually start to see a little bit more in the way of sunshine for many of us. and those temperatures climbing just a touch. and into the weekend, it is going to feel just a little bit warmer. there will be some dry spells, a bit of sunshine around, but still some showers.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk from berlin. i am stephen sackur. vladimir putin's all—out invasion of ukraine delivered the mother of all political shocks to germany's elite. suddenly russian energy supplies could not be relied upon and germany's traditional

foreign policy principle, putting business