in georgia next week after he's charged there with trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. two years since the taliban returned to power in aghanistan there's severe hunger and a near collapse of the health system we have a special report. security is stepped up in ecuador as a second politician is murdered in less than a week. thanks for staying with us on daily global. thanks for staying with us on daily global. it's two years since the taliban returned to power in afghanistan, and the united nations says the country is at risk of widespread hunger and the collapse of its health system. women and girls have faced severe restrictions since the taliban came to power, with girls banned from secondary schools. earlier i spoke to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet who has been reporting from afghanistan for many years. the scenes we are receiving from

kabul and other cities are of celebration on the streets with taliban supporters, those who support the government, chanting slogans like death to america. because of course is notjust that the taliban came to power its last of foreign forces also left this mum two years ago. along with the islamic emirate, which is what they described their new country. two years ago not a single government in the country anywhere in the world has recognised this government. they say the taliban have not kept promises, the taliban say the situation, we've ended the occupation, securities better, were dealing with corruption. and don't bother us about restrictions, those decrees against women, we will take care of them. but hope is running out. the situation on the ground in some ways looks like a different country. some ways looks like a different count . , ., some ways looks like a different count . ., _ ,_, , country. days gone by. stadiums with female fans. —

country. days gone by. stadiums with female fans, female _ country. days gone by. stadiums with female fans, female footballers. - country. days gone by. stadiums with female fans, female footballers. now sports are only for men and boys. girls once went to school. now their high schools are shut. qargha lake outside kabul, once a family favorite. now only men are allowed. afghan women are banned from public parks. even beauty parlors were shut two weeks ago. this salon went underground. schools operate in secret, too. it's risky, but these women are fighting for more than just beauty. translation: beauty salons were a safe place for women. i even had customers who were coming to the salon only to talk and spend some time, laugh and cry with other women.

the only thing i can see from my heart is that the women of my country are deeply distressed. the un says this may be gender apartheid, but the taliban government spokesman told us the world shouldn't interfere. translation: this isjust an excuse to put pressure on afghanistan. - we have made progress in other areas. there isjust one small issue remaining and we will sort this out, as well. it's just a matter of time? because most people believe they seem to be there to stay. translation: women are working| in some places now and for the rest as well, as long as sharia allows it and there is a need. the same goes for girls' education. we have never said that these restrictions are going to be forever. afghans ask if, when, their lives will change. security is better now. no more taliban attacks, of course.

foreign troops are gone, but donors are turning away, too. the un appeal is only a quarterfunded. one message that afghan people really give us so forcefully and strongly is please don't abandon us. we have already now a more difficult situation. if you take away ourjobs and if you take away even the basic needs that we have, where should we end up? more and more children are ending up like this, like ismutala and asif working 14 hours a day to feed their families. together, they earn about a pound a day. just enough to put bread on their table. their father used to be a driver with a foreign company. it shut down when the taliban took over. war injured him, too. translation: my baby has no cradle.

i sold it to buy some flour. if there's no other way, i would be forced to sell my children to survive. agonizing choices. that's life in afghanistan now. lyse doucet, bbc news. a current marker. it's tough inside afghanistan and getting tougher. but tough out side two for the thousands forced to flee. some on this very day two years ago. and fearing they will never be able to return to their own country, a country that in some ways they find it difficult to recognise as their own. if there is any hope in this current moment, any light in the dark it is there a senior taliban leaders who disagree with these severe edicts handed down by thy two dear supreme leaders what they say they want the girls to be educated, they say they want to move ahead. but whether or not how long

that will take is the question many afghans are now asking. just thinkin: afghans are now asking. just thinking back _ afghans are now asking. just thinking back to _ afghans are now asking. just thinking back to that plea we heard there, not forget afghanistan. also we talked at the start they will put us in the street saying that to america. what role does the international community play now and what space is allowed for them? it’s what space is allowed for them? it's a bi what space is allowed for them? it�*s a big question whether or not the world should engage in how it should engage with the taliban. especially those women activists who feel everything has been taken away from them, their identity, even their country. and the future they once had and looks forward to. they believe there's no point in talking to the taliban that itjust empowers them. there are those that say if you shut that door you shot any chance of trying to help afghanistan to move forward. ailiiur chance of trying to help afghanistan to move forward.— to move forward. our chief international— to move forward. our chief. international correspondent. our chief international correspondent. ali latifi is a journalist based in the afghan capital kabul.

he told us what people there were experiencing. you have educated people, educated young people who graduated from law school having to sell their cell phones to fate their children. you have malnutrition —— feed their children. getting more and more patients, things like that. you have to remember that this is not by chance. this is because during the occupation, during the 28 years something like 75% of the government expenditures came from international aid. when these countries cut back on their age and their investment what ends up happening, you couple that with sanctions and banking restrictions, but investors start to get nervous and don't want to invest in afghanistan. businesses shot, businesses that were relying on foreign aid and foreign businesses are able to hire men or women any more. that's how you end up with 700

to 900,000 jobs lost. the ukjust announced that they are cutting their afghanistan budget by hundreds of millions of dollars with up to the us also announced a massive cut. the issue is are you punishing the taliban or islamic emirate or people? taliban or islamic emirate or --eole?, , . taliban or islamic emirate or eo le? �* , ., , taliban or islamic emirate or neale? , ., , ., , people? just that number of people lost “obs is people? just that number of people lost jobs is staggering. _ people? just that number of people lost jobs is staggering. how - people? just that number of people lost jobs is staggering. how are - lostjobs is staggering. how are people getting around some of these challenges? as you mentioned, thousands have lostjobs, farmers dealing with drought and flood along with everything else. how are people getting by? with everything else. how are people caettin b ? ., ., ., getting by? some are turning to aid. ends some had _ getting by? some are turning to aid. ends some had never— getting by? some are turning to aid. ends some had never before, last i ends some had never before, last year we went to one of the nicer new apartment buildings in kabul with in aid organisation that handed out assistance and they helped a family who were previously been able to live in that building, which means

they had some kind of a stable job. some kind of an officejob, they don't want to be filmed or talk to press for them it's very clear that they had previously had some kind of a stable life and now you have people slowly having to turn, who would've been considered middle class having to turn to assistance in aid, having to sell land, sell their belongings. in some provinces selling things like their kidneys, basically finding any way to make a little bit of money. it's sad what has happened. little bit of money. it's sad what has happened-— has happened. some of those situations _ has happened. some of those situations are _ has happened. some of those situations are unimaginable. l has happened. some of those - situations are unimaginable. when you personally think about the way of life and work used to be before the taliban took over two years ago and what it's like now, what are the most significant changes for you? it is safer. you're able to go basically anywhere in the country at almost any time of the day. obviously part of that is because the taliban are no longer patrolling

roads, no more landmines, no more crossfire between the former islamic republic forces in the taliban, no threats of drones and things like that. but things are socially more restricted for the people don't want to go out as much. those who have money are going out. there is definitely some level of life left. overall, i think everybody is just sort of afraid for their future. even if, if your young men who can go to school, what happens when you graduate, will you be able to find a job? investors are afraid to invest. all the foreign investment is not there any more. where are people going to turn for a job? it's one of those things, everyone is wondering what the future holds. so much of what the future holds. so much of what the future holds. so much of what the future holds is not decided by them. it's either islamic emirate by them. it's either islamic emirate by them. it's either islamic emirate by the government in charge of the outside world. neither one seems to

be coming to a consensus in being able to speak to each other. to really give people answers with him every day there's rumours that they will open schools this day, this day or they will announce this or that for them and people just keep getting their hopes up. unfortunately, very little has come to fruition. to ecuador now, where five days after the assassination of presidential candidate fernando viyavisensio, another politician has been murdered. pedro breeoness, a leader of the left wing citizen revolution party in esmeraldas which is in northern ecuador near the colombian border was shot dead by gunmen on a motorcycle at his home. luisa gonz lez the party's candidate in sunday's presidential election says ecuador is going through "its bloodiest period".

the murder of pedro briones is the latest in a string of deadly attacks on politicians this year, as local gangs forge alliances with international crime cartels. others assassinated this year include — omar menendez, a candidate for mayor in the city of puerto lopez. he was shot dead in february, hours before the polls opened there. he won the election. the murder of is the latest in a string of deadly attacks on politicians this year, as local gangs forge alliances with international crime cartels. others assassinated this year include — omar menendez, a candidate for mayor in the city of puerto lopez. he was shot dead in february, hours before the polls opened there. he won the election. injuly, agustin intriago, the mayor of manta, was killed in a gun attack as he toured his port city. the most high profile murder, though, was last wednesday's assassination of fernando viyavicencio in quito. american fbi agents are now helping with the investigation into his murder. an expert on latin america at the economist intelligence unit, cristobal samardzich, told me that this spate of killings is a growing trend. ecuador has traditionally being a transit hub for drug and particularly cocaine shipments given it is so much between peru and colombia. the worlds largest producers. however, what has happened in the past few years has been that drug gangs have increased

their presence in ecuadorfor a combination of control, the ability of ports that allow them to move their shipments pulled to the us into europe and also the fact that ecuador is a dollarized economy. this helped significantly for money activity. {iii this helped significantly for money activi . . ., , this helped significantly for money activi . , ., , activity. of course the latest assassination _ activity. of course the latest assassination is _ activity. of course the latest assassination is quite - activity. of course the latest. assassination is quite shocking. what impact will it have on the presidential election on sunday? i think what will happen is it will increase demand for what latin america call marg dora, it's tough on crime stands for that we've already seen throughout the region what politics in reference to candidates has taken a ciccone and stance to reduce crime. in ecuador we also have a candidate, a former french legion member who has campaigned on defeating crime and

making ecuador safe again. he was pulling towards the middle, a present race but lately he has been increasing. i think he will be able to move into the second round given this rise in demand for strongman politics. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news — bringing you different stories from across the uk. bass player declan dean and guitarist owen doherty are hoping this could be the start of something big in competition with thousands of other hopefuls. they've got places at the liverpool institute for the performing arts co, founded by sir paul mccartney. i'd neverforget it, and ifelt like my audition was quite strong. spending quite a lot of time working on it. and i came out of the audition feeling good, but still. feeling good, but still,

it felt surprising, a shock. as a bassist, i think i'm going be quite in demand because i don't think you'll get many bassists applying. it's going to be mostly guitarists and singers, i think. against the odds, these two friends who also play in a derby band called the indigo sky, will both be going to liverpool and on to the home of the fab four, where owen and declan will take their music careers to the next level. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. new figures show that wages in the uk have been growing at their fastest rate in more than 20 years. the office for national statistics, says pay excluding bonuses grew by 7.8% between april and june, that's the highest annual growth rate since current records began. but the rise is slightly below the rate, at which prices are increasing as andy verity explains. in skegness, this holiday park has just reopened after a big expansion and refurbishment. it's had to compete to lure 200 full—time and temporary staff away

from other employers, bumping up the amount it's paying them by well over io%. to support the cost of living crisis, we have had to adapt our wage offering and that included a 5% pay increase for all the team across haven, alongside the national living wage and also the minimum wage. we felt that's really supporting the team at most needed during this time of crisis. the average pay rise was 7.8% in the yeartojune, higher than it's been in more than 20 years, but still not enough to catch up with prices. unemployment rose slightly from 4 to 4.2%, but it's still low. the number of vacancies advertised has dropped by 66,000, but there's still more than a million, meaning employers have to adapt to job—seekers, not the other way round. i think employers are being very flexible, which is great, because you want somebody reliable and sometimes by giving that a little bit of flexibility, you get the buy—in more, don't you? and that person will be really reliable and turn up. and people have got children or different things, or health conditions, so they need varied hours. a lot of employers are really

good and they're working with those customers, which is fantastic. the economy may be barely growing, but many firms are still short of the staff they need to meet demand from their customers. that's especially true of skilled staff like chefs, but it's also because many who are expected to come back to work after the pandemic can't because they're ill. this chart shows how many aren't working or looking for work, also known as economically inactive, because they're long—term sick. it keeps on hitting new records. we've got to be thinking about how do we get economically inactive people into work? that needs support. it needs to be fixing the nhs waiting lists. it's got to be thinking about what the barriers are to work for those people that have disability and other sick conditions. we've got to be thinking long—term. in jobs like health and social care, 214,000 have been recruited since last year, easing what was a chronic skill shortage. across the economy, the latest data forjuly suggests employees' average pay is no longer rising quite as fast as it was in

the previous figures. signs, perhaps, that it's slightly easier to get the staff and slightly harder to find work. the children's charity, the nspcc says 3a,ooo online grooming crimes have been recorded by police forces in the uk, since 2017, when it first called for tougher online safety laws. the online safety bill, which aims to crack down on illegal content, has faced repeated delays and amendments, in parliament. here's zoe kleinman. at the time, i thought that i looked a lot older than i am. obviously, looking at it now, i'm like, "oh, you're a baby." aoife, now in her early twenties, was 15 when she was groomed online by an older man posing as a new friend her own age. once i downloaded the app, he had asked me to send pictures of myself, and so i did. then, after that, it had kind of taken a turn. he had found my facebook and my instagram. and he found all my friends. he had taken screenshots and sent them to me saying, "i found this information. "if you don't keep sending me pictures when i want and do

"as i say, then i'll send these pictures to your "friends and family. " you must have been terrified? yeah, i was petrified. i felt guilty that this was happening to me and no—one else knew. i remembered from, like, primary 7, we had watched a video for something called ceop, so i'd just googled it. it had come up and i'd clicked the button. it was one horrific night. after raising the alarm to child exploitation and online protection services, aoife's parents phoned the police for her. i think it was one of the hardest conversations i've ever had to have in my life. the national crime agency believes aoife's abuser contacted 5,000 people via one platform alone. he's currently serving an 18—year prison sentence for crimes against 26 young women. most popular messaging apps have end—to—end encryption, which means only the sender and the recipient can read them. not even the tech companies can see the content. the uk government insists that the tech companies develop

a way to access private messages if there's a risk to children. now, they can either build a backdoor in the encryption or they can put software on everybody�*s phones that scans content before it's sent. both options are controversial. we unfortunately can't rely on wishful thinking that tech companies can pull easy shortcuts out of thin air. and as a matter of fact, at the moment, this technology simply doesn't exist. the challenge of balancing privacy and safety affects everybody, and it's causing lots of arguments. i don't form friendships online any more. i don't do it. i don't take the risk. but young people like aoife say theyjust wish someone had been able to intervene and help them. zoe kleinman, bbc news. adam smith responded following newspaper allegations about presenter stephen nolan. a newspaper allegations about presenter stephen nolan. a number of claims concerning _ presenter stephen nolan. a number of claims concerning the _ presenter stephen nolan. a number of claims concerning the presenter- presenter stephen nolan. a number of claims concerning the presenter were l claims concerning the presenter were reported by the irish news was that

mr smith said the corporation cannot comment on the specific of any individual case with our northern ireland arts correspondent explained the nature of the allegations made in the irish news. the the nature of the allegations made in the irish news.— the nature of the allegations made in the irish news. the paper alleged in the irish news. the paper alleged in 2016 while _ in the irish news. the paper alleged in 2016 while members _ in the irish news. the paper alleged in 2016 while members of— in the irish news. the paper alleged in 2016 while members of the - in 2016 while members of the production team were attempting to book the reality contestant. mr noland had sent them sexually explicit images of mr berner. according to the irish news the bbc subsequently carried out the investigation in 2018 after a complaint from the member of staff about the images. among the other allegations reported in the irish news were bbc staff members had separately launched a formal complaint of bullying against mr nolan. according to the paper that was our apparel. the irish news also alleged remarks of other bbc staffers shared by mr nolan and members of the production team. it also said some members made

disparaging remarks about politicians for the bbc has not been able to independently verify the claims reported by the paper. fiur claims reported by the paper. our correspondent said the bbc had responded to the allegations for the bbc northern ireland can confirm that investigations into the separate allegations reported by the paper had taken place and the outcomes of those investigations put up outcomes of those investigations put up in a statement the director of bbc northern ireland adam smith said there are important considerations of fairness and confidentiality involved in the handling of any workplace related complaint. he said we take these _ workplace related complaint. he said we take these obligations _ workplace related complaint. he said we take these obligations seriously l we take these obligations seriously and in the interest of everyone involved. he continued its for these reasons that we cannot comment on the specifics of any individual case, who or what it may of involved or its outcome. mr nolan did present, normalthis or its outcome. mr nolan did present, normal this morning but he declined to comment when asked of the bbc northern ireland press office separately the dup gregory

campbell said they story raises significant questions for the corporation. mr nolan and significant multilayered issues have been highlighted all of which deserve full response from the bbc. the winner will play spain and sunday's final after they held on against a finishing in sweeting when the 2-1. against a finishing in sweeting when the 2—1. the late winner has extra time loom. the match takes place in sydney. our sports editor now assesses the chances for the lion trial. it was the lionesses' greatest triumph, becoming champions of europe on home soil. a year on, they remain on course to surpass even that with a first ever appearance in the world cup final the prize, if they can beat familiarfoes here in sydney. it's going to be a very competitive game.

lots of players from australia also play in the women's super league so they know each other really well and. of course, they want to beat us, but we want to beat them. so that's the main competitiveness we will get in front of us tomorrow. england's comeback victory over colombia in the last round has given them belief that this time they can go all the way, and seem to be relishing taking on the co—hosts, australia. in terms of the crowd, i think we're just super excited to play in front of a really intense, full stadium. for the women's game, that's what we want. that's what we expect now at these big tournaments, especially in a semi—final. so for us, we thrive in those moments. these lionesses know that they're about to face their toughest test yet at this tournament, trying to overcome not only their opponents, australia, but also a huge and hostile crowd here at the national stadium. but if they needed inspiration, 20 years ago, england's rugby union team won the world cup right here by beating australia, one of english sport's greatest ever moments. the matildas' journey to a first

semi—final has gripped the nation with record viewing figures and ticket sales. they've really grown with us throughout this whole tournament from all over the country has been absolutely unreal and they're really like a 12th men out there for us. and i really do believe they've gotten us over the line on more times than once. so, yeah, they're going to be vital for us tomorrow. australia's enjoyed the upper hand so far this summer. its men's and women's cricket teams retaining the ashes and its netballers beating england in the world cup final. now for the latest chapter in a classic sporting rivalry, to play the lionesses at stadium australia on wednesday night, it's really a dream come true. i think for the tournament in particular, we'll have every ticket sold, the demand is there and i think the interest is really going to bring this country and the rest of the world together. what a night it's going to be. commentary: england are out of the women's world cup. - world cup semi—finals have become familiar and painful territory for england. the lionesses eliminated at that stage in the last two tournaments.

the challenge now to go one better, reach sunday's showpiece and make history. dan roan, bbc news, sydney. now here's the weather with ben rich. hello there. the weather has started to turn a little drier and a little brighter. and over the next few days, we can expect it to turn a little bit warmer as well. it will start to feel quite humid. now, through this evening and tonight, most places will be dry with clear spells, but we'll keep more in the way of cloud across northern and eastern parts of scotland, maybe north—east england, bringing just one or two showers through the early hours of wednesday. a few fog patches are likely to form as well. temperatures generally holding up between 9 and 13 degrees. it mayjust be a little bit cooler than that across some parts of east wales, the west midlands and down into the west country. so for southern england, parts of wales, northern england, southern scotland, northern ireland, we do have the potential for some fog patches through the morning,

and at this time of year, that fog can linger for a couple of hours. so it may still be quite murky for some through the morning rush hour, but that fog will then lift and clear. we'll see some spells of sunshine. just the small chance for a shower. a bit more of a chance, i think, of catching a shower in the north of scotland, where we will also keep more in the way of clouds. 17 degrees for aberdeen, but further south and east, highs of 26. as we move out of wednesday into thursday, our area of high pressure strengthens, it drifts north—eastwards and the winds will start to come in from the near—continent, and that will lift the temperatures in many locations. many of us will get up into the 20s celsius on thursday. a bit of fog first thing across parts of northern england, up into scotland. that should lift and clear. sunny spells, not too many showers, most places will be dry. and those temperatures, well, quite widely between 20 and 2a degrees. but some places in south—east england, maybe around some western coasts as well, could get to around 26. now, friday will be a warm—feeling day as well, butjust how warm

depends upon the progress of these frontal systems from the atlantic. if these fronts hang back and we see more in the way of sunshine, it could be a very warm day indeed. but at this stage, it looks most likely that cloud and rain will spread from the south—west. heavy rain, at that, and temperatures will be held back to between 17 and 2a degrees. but it's going to feel very, very humid. that rain sweeps northwards and eastwards during friday night. and actually, we can expect quite a lot of dry weather as we head through the weekend.

hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. you're watching the context on bbc news. the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn georgia's

presidential election result. can donald trump successfully run for president if he's fighting four court cases at the same time? he's a fighter, he's used to fighting. he's been fighting for years, so i think he'll have no problem. former president donald trump hits back at prosecutors after being accused of heading up a "criminal enterprise" to try and overturn the results of the 2020 election in georgia. we will have all the reaction and analysis over the next half an hour. also on the programme. three people suspected of spying for russia in the uk have been arrested and charged in a major national security investigation. the defendants, all bulgarian nationals, had been living in britain for several years, but it's alleged they were working for the russian security services. uk wages rise at a record rate. but economists warn it's not

all good news as it could force interest rates to rise again.