bringing you bbc news from new york tonight, where world leaders are convening for the united nations general assembly. we'll have more on that major international summit coming up. but first, five americans are free after a complex prisoner swap with iran. the americans, who were imprisoned in iran for years, are on their way home to the us. they were freed on monday as part of a prisoner swap mediated by qatar. the citizens, four men and one woman, were flown out of tehran to qatar. their release was dependent on the us transferring six billion in iranian funds, money that iran earned from selling oil to south korea. in return, the us also released five detained iranian citizens. once they were freed, president biden announced new sanctions, saying the us would continue to impose costs on iran for its "provocative actions."

our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, sent this report from doha. the first steps to freedom. finally, leaving iran. two hours later, touching down in doha. imagine the emotion inside this plane. opening the door on a new life, five former prisoners. relief and joy palpable as they embraced american and qatari officials. the success of months of indirect talks here between arch enemies, iran and america. these are three of the freed prisoners. two others did not want their identity revealed. 67—year—old, morad tahbaz, arrested five years ago, in a crackdown on environmental activists.

58—year—old, emad shargi, a businessman arrested in 2020, also on charges of spying. and 51—year—old siamak namazi, who spent the longest in tehran�*s notorious evin prison. he issued this statement today... we spoke to one of his relatives who also spent time in evin prison. it is a joyful day but knowing siamak namazi and his strong personality and his values, i'm sure that he will try to come out of this trauma as soon as possible so he can dedicate his time to

constructive ideals. three men, arm in arm, and he then took a call from the top diplomat in america who has vowed to stop this hostage taking. we will take steps every day to make this practice more and more difficult, and more and more of a burden on those countries that engage in it. this is such an extraordinary moment in this extraordinary ——ordinary setting, and a painful personal ordeal for americans who became bargaining chips in iran's wrangling with the west and they could only secure their freedom through this very political deal which is highly complex and deeply controversial. iran's leaders see this as a victory too. it is why critics of the deal including leading us republicans say it will only encourage iran to take more hostages. the islamic republic, suffering under crippling

sanctions, and unprecedented protests, sees the foreigners in this prison as one of its few levers to put pressure on the west. for more on this story we can talk to the executive director at the campaign for human rights in iran. very good to have you on bbc news tonight. biden representatives have said this deal was the only way to get wrongfully detained americans released. was it the right deal to make? thank you for having me. let me open first and foremost by saying how happy we are and congratulate the families and individuals, hostages that should never have been in this place and they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. regarding the deal, i would say that the proof is on the pudding. i have two concerns. one is that will be $6 billion really be used only for

humanitarian trade and necessities, because this money really belongs to the radiant people, not a raining government. the iranian people have risen up against this government for the past year for sure. we better make sure that if any money channelled in the direction of that geography benefits the iranian people. the second issue is what us officials said they are today, going to work very hard to ensure there is an end and rising cost to this behaviour of hostagetaking. i'm afraid this particular deal does not take any step in that direction and i've yet to see any policies that are truly multilateral and bring together many countries that should engage in pressuring iran to put an end to this. i engage in pressuring iran to put an end to this.— put an end to this. i want to ask you _ put an end to this. i want to ask you about _ put an end to this. i want to ask you about that - put an end to this. i want to ask you about that first - ask you about that first concerned that you mention. the biden administration has said that it will make sure that these funds are used for food, for humanitarian goods, by

monitoring and by financial sanction. do you believe that is possible?— is possible? why they have civen is possible? why they have given up — is possible? why they have given up direct _ is possible? why they have given up direct monitoringl is possible? why they have i given up direct monitoring and subcontracted it to bertalli government and bank. i want to see transparency, actually the biden administration should publicly provide every record of expenditure of this money, if that truly is going to be the case. i am not sure if the banks have enough incentive financially through corrupt deals with iran may not divert that money to other courses and iranians people really need that money for food and other humanitarian items. so that money for food and other humanitarian items.— all humanitarian items. so this is all coming _ humanitarian items. so this is all coming just _ humanitarian items. so this is all coming just a _ humanitarian items. so this is all coming just a few - humanitarian items. so this is all coming just a few days - all coming just a few days after the anniversary of the death of martha many, as you know. what is still to iranians?— know. what is still to iranians? ~ ., ~ ., , iranians? when i talk to people of all walks _ iranians? when i talk to people of all walks of _ iranians? when i talk to people of all walks of life _ iranians? when i talk to people of all walks of life in _ iranians? when i talk to people of all walks of life in iran, - of all walks of life in iran, there is somewhat of a

bafflement about timing of it. i'm not sure if biden administration understood what administration understood what a great propaganda tool it is handing over to the iranian government. to tell its people that not only it can respect, maim, and torture them, but it can also manipulate international relations to get access to frozen funds and taking hostages — —— keep taking hostages — —— keep taking hostages. will also coincide with the un general assembly which is an important moment in international relations. iranian people like to see the un and can iran be focused on for example the fact—finding mission the un established last year and weighs the iranians government not cooperating with it. rather than be talking about the iran — us relations right now. we need to balance western policy towards iran with important solidarity in a meaningful way for iranians people. but last

question. we have 30 seconds or so. what is your message to the biden administration this week at the un general assembly in new york as to how they should approach iran going forward? element i strongly urge them to pick up on the declaration that candia initiated in fabry 2021 and us strongly supported along with 69 other countries call declaration against arbitrary detention in state to state relations. that declaration in this un general assembly should be highlighted and if 70 countries bring their political muscle together i'm sure the iranian government would take note. it is up to the biden administration to take the leadership role along with european governments in canada as well. world leaders are here

in new york this week for the annual united nations general assembly, convening this time under the shadow of the second year of war in ukraine and amid a series of global climate catastrophes. 140 heads of state and government are set to attend, with global disputes likely to hurt chances of making progress on key issues, including the ukraine war, climate, poverty and more. countries will debate and vote on those issues. here's what to watch for this week. for the first time, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is attending the summit in person. he'll then head to washington to meet with us president joe biden. several non—western leaders, including brazilian president luiz inacio lula da silva and south africa's cyril ramaphosa, will advocate for the global south. and mr biden is set to meet with israeli president benjamin netanyahu on wednesday, though it's not the meeting setting netanyahu had hoped for. but not everyone is showing up. several world leaders,

including british pm rishi sunak and france's emmanuel macron are staying home. joe biden is the only leader of the us... to attend. the un general assembly can be a chance to bring forgotten issues to the forefront. with syria's crisis is now in its 13th year, i asked geir o pederson, the united nation's special envoy for syria, what he wants to shine a light on. great have you on bbc news. you were recently in damascus. you are in touch with civil society members there. the conflict in syria is in its 13th year. what did you find there? what is a situation i? situation inside syria, wherever you live, whether you live in government—controlled areas or in the three other areas that are not controlled by the government, it is extremely difficult. but it is also difficult. but it is also difficult for the syrians living outside of syria. the

living outside of syria. the living in on, injordan and turkey. and the economy is collapsing even further. so i said when i talked to people in damascus, i said to me it seems now that the situation economically is worse than what it was even during the height of the complex.— it was even during the height of the complex. what has made it worse? . _ of the complex. what has made it worse? , what _ of the complex. what has made it worse? , what has _ of the complex. what has made it worse? , what has made - of the complex. what has made it worse? , what has made it. it worse? , what has made it worse is a combination of factors. it is a long process of war, conflict, mismanagement, corruption and then you had the collapse of then you had the collapse of the lebanese financial system. you had covid and sanction. but on top of it of course you had the earthquake. and all of these factors together just proves to me that without addressing the underlying factors, the politicalfactors underlying this conflict, the situation will continue to deteriorate. you have called on international donors to make sure they don't turn their backs on syria in this moment.

do feel like international community has forgotten syria? element i think it is fair to say it has not forgotten syria. i was at the conference in brussels earlier this spring and there was a lot of pledging made to syria. but the problem is the lack of disbursement. so we are actually seeing a decrease of the funding by most probably 40% and of course where the needs are increasing, the funding is decreasing. nine out of ten syrians are now living in poverty and there is most probably more than 15 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. you have also said that if you don't address the political consequences you won't be able to address the humanitarian consequences in syria. the conflict has gone into its 13 year. multiple mediation efforts have failed and the president is still in power so what hope is there really for a

political solution? i what hope is there really for a political solution?— political solution? i think there is _ political solution? i think there is a _ political solution? i think there is a lot _ political solution? i think there is a lot of - political solution? i think. there is a lot of scepticism and cynicism because as inaudible said after 12 years the process has not delivered by the syrian people need. we has not delivered by the syrian peeple need-— has not delivered by the syrian people need. we also now know that after the _ people need. we also now know that after the war _ people need. we also now know that after the war in _ people need. we also now know that after the war in ukraine - that after the war in ukraine that after the war in ukraine that it that after the war in ukraine thatitis that after the war in ukraine that it is difficult to think about really you know some kind of cooperation when it comes to the americans and the russians when it comes to syria. and i need that kind of cooperation. i need the americans, the russians, the iranians, the turks, the arabs and europeans to address their really divisive issue. paint may not happen anytime soon. i will continue to appeal when i am dealing with them bilaterally but while we're doing that i am also trying to do two things. i trying to launch what i call a step four step process, where damascus engages and the americans, the europeans and

the arabs engage and they agree in advance what they want to do so that we can start to move slowly forward. the other thing i am working on, as you may know is of course the constitution committee. it has not met for more than a year but i'm hoping it should be possible now to relaunch it before the end of the year. but all this means working with the president, correct? mr; all this means working with the president, correct? my mandate is clear. this _ president, correct? my mandate is clear. this is _ president, correct? my mandate is clear. this is what _ president, correct? my mandate is clear. this is what the - is clear. this is what the security council agreed on. my mandate is to work with the syrian government and with the syrian government and with the syrian opposition. my mandate is to bring them together to try to find a compromise that can bring the syrian people together, that can heal the wounds after 12 years of war and conflict.— wounds after 12 years of war and conflict. are you confident that can happen? _ and conflict. are you confident that can happen? if _ and conflict. are you confident that can happen? if we - and conflict. are you confident that can happen? if we are - and conflict. are you confident that can happen? if we are to | that can happen? if we are to look back _ that can happen? if we are to look back in _ that can happen? if we are to look back in 12 _ that can happen? if we are to look back in 12 years - that can happen? if we are to look back in 12 years of- that can happen? if we are to look back in 12 years of war . look back in 12 years of war and conflict, it is looking extremely difficult. but myjob and the un'sjob is never to give up. and the un's “0b is never to live u. ., ., give up. you mentioned the other players _

give up. you mentioned the other players involved, - give up. you mentioned the i other players involved, russia, iran, turkey. how can you come to a solution when you have different players who have competing interests in syria? i'm not so sure they have competing interests when it comes to syria. i think that is a very important question we need to address to the key actor wants more. are used to say before the war in ukraine that when it comes to syria, you actually have not competing interests you have a common interests you have a common interest and that is to bring stability to this country so that we can get rid of terrorism, we can get syria united again and that we can stop the flow of refugees. remember syria, you know, was a middle income company doing relatively well before the war started in 2011.— started in 2011. what is your message — started in 2011. what is your message to _ started in 2011. what is your message to the _ started in 2011. what is your message to the us - started in 2011. what is your message to the us and - started in 2011. what is your message to the us and eu | started in 2011. what is your i message to the us and eu and what role they need to play? just know i am concentrating on trying to get the government in

damascus, the americans, europeans and the arabs that we can agree on some asked of the government of damascus and some deliverables from europeans, americans and arabs. good news is we have the arabs completely on—board on this. working closely together. cooperating particularly closely with egypt, jordan and saudi arabia. i will be meeting them during the week here in new york. final question, what do you have to come out of this general assembly for syria? i hope deepening the dialogue are what i call the step. approach and that we can find an agreement so we can launch the constitution committee again before the end of the year. thank you so much forjoining us. thank you so much for “oining us. ~ , , . , thank you so much for “oining us. ., ~ thank you so much for “oining that was geir pederson, the united nations special envoy for syria talking to me there. stay with us. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other

stories making news. canadian prime ministerjustin trudeau said canada's security agencies are actively pursing credible allegations of a potential link between indian government agents and the murder of a sikh leader in british columbia this pastjune. trudeau says he had raised concerns quote "personally and directly" to indian prime minister narendra modi at the g20 last week. north korean leader kimjong un returned to his country on tuesday after a week—long visit to russia. the visit included talks with russian president vladimir putin. kim said north korea would offer its full and unconditional support to russia, alluding to the war in ukraine. kim also invited putin to visit north korea at a convenenient time. negotiations between the writers guild of america and hollywood's major studios will resume on wednesday as both sides attempt to end the four month writers strike that has upended the movie and television industry. writers are seeking higher pay and protections around the use of ai.

you're live with bbc news. the comedian russell brand has postponed his current uk live tour amid media investigations into sexual assault claims. london's metropolitan police confirms it's received a report of an alleged sexual assault in 2003, and is in contact with the woman. four women have accused brand of sexual assault and emotional abuse, allegations he denies. one of them, who was sixteen at the time, has been speaking to the bbc as our media correspondent, david sillito reports. i can pretend to be nice for a little bit... russell brand. on this weekend's dispatches program he was accused of rape and multiple counts of sexual assault. i'll sleep on the sofa... the comedian now faces further allocations. more women have come forward. the metropolitan police say a complaint has been made to them of a sexual assault in 2003. russell brand says it's all untrue, and suggests

a "mainstream media" plot. what i refute are these very, very serious criminal allegations. also, it's worth mentioning that there are witnesses whose evidence directly contradicts the narrative is that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct, apparently in what seems to me to be a coordinated attack. a suggestion that one of the women interviewed by dispatches says is simply insulting. it's laughable that he would even imply that this is some kind of mainstream media conspiracy. called "alice" on the programme, she says she was assaulted by him during a relationship that began when she was 16. today on woman's hour she described how she was picked up by a car she says that brand had ordered through the bbc. so you believe a bbc car picked you up from school to take you somewhere to meet him? it was back to his house.

and you know that because of the way you have seen these cars used? yes. because i had used one of their cars previously that he told me just to tell the driver where to take me. i take an awful lot of precautions. i what i do is i make absolutely sure that it is a woman - and then go for it. the bbc�*s looking into the allegations. a host of other media organisations are also investigating because there have long been rumours. the investigating team were far from the first to look at brand. the difficulty with stories like this is that they are so hard and so many news outlets have tried to do this story in the past and failed. no, is this andrew sachs' answerphone? well, jonathan, this is unconventional. i'll blurt something out. don't blurt something out! he has been courting controversy throughout his career. when the bbc parted company with him in 2008 over sexually offensive answerphone messages. # i do apologise for these terrible attacks. # andrew sachs.

there have been other stories in the papers about his conduct in the studio. his career is a showreel of moments that cross boundaries. things was getting a bit fruity out there. all right, liz? thank you. well... it's been really... don't be nervous. it starts in august, in abu dhabi, right? you're ovulating! i'm ovulating? oh, my god. oh, wow. when we caught up today with his former agent there was, he says, over those years, nothing untoward to report. i've never had any complaints about him, other than turning up late, that kind of thing. however, for alice, she has memories that some people close to brand did have concerns about her being 16. they said it wasn't a good look for him and for his career.

and there was some kind of discussions, "well, maybe we can say she's your goddaughter." and now, with further allegations emerging, russell brand's next performance in windsor has been cancelled. in eastern libya, anti—government protests have erupted — after the collapse of two dams during a storm triggered deadly flooding. our correspondent anna foster has more. anger and blame in derna, after a week of struggle for its flood survivors, they raised their voices. this group gathered at the landmark mosque to protest. and then, as night fell, there were videos that seemed to show the mayor's home set on fire. and derna is paying a terrible price. children, women, my mother.

my mother. my brother. my sister, all dead. but they are not living here, they are living in the next street. this is a bad situation, we don't know, we don't need food, we don't need clothes, we need... where will i live?! we joined turkish recovery teams in this sealed off zone, to see their work. this is one of the streets that has been painstakingly cleared of victims, more than 500 in this area alone, but it is still such is a small part of the devastation and you can see there is still so much more to do. these buildings were overcome with water, 20—30 metres deep. bodies have been found as high as six floors up. when the floods came, it was a split—second decision for people living here.

would they be safer to stay, or escape? in a school not far away, this woman knows she made the right choice, she brought her five children here before their home was swept away. and it saved their lives. my son is asking me, "mum, where is my neighbour, "where are my friends?" water takes us away. every time he is asking me, i cannot answer. i answer him they are gone. he says, "no, mum, they are dead, i hear it. "i know." there are no lessons in this school. for now, the lives of this city's children are on pause. anna foster, bbc news, derna.

and finally — the us military has found a debris field in south carolina from the f—35 jet — that went missing after a crash on sunday. they had asked for the public�*s help to find the jet after its pilot ejected due to a, "mishap". stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. it has definitely been a gear change with the weather story in recent days. an autumnal flavour to our weather. we will certainly see threatening looking skies for the remainder of the week and some of the rain at times really quite heavy. so here is the next batch pushing in off the atlantic, just look at how many isobars there are on the chart. the winds a feature and some of that rain really quite heavy. so, to start with, on tuesday, the wettest of the weather moving out of northern ireland

across southern scotland, northern england and wales. and we'll see this frontal system moving its way south and north throughout the day. now it never really gets all the way across central and southern england so here, brighter skies into the afternoon, pretty windy. gusts of winds ao—asmph in places, maybe close to 60mph in exposed west facing coast and the heaviest of the rain across north—west england, scottish borders and northern ireland. the far north of scotland, bright as well, not quite as windy here but it will be noticeably fresher. top temperatures here around 13—15 celsius. we mightjust see 20 celsius further south if we get a little bit of afternoon brightness. now as we move out to tuesday into wednesday there's another area of low pressure and this one has the remnants, a little bit of energy from ex—hurricane lee there. so this one again will mean business, a lot of heavy rain sweeping its way steadily eastwards. don't forget the brighter greens denoting the intensity

of that rain and the winds again a feature, 50—60mph gusts not out of the question, particularly close to the centre of the low and far west of scotland. the top temperatures again, 14—21 celsius the high. so as we move out to wednesday there's more to come and it's all because the jet stream at the moment has sunk that little bit further south, it's intensified and centred across the uk. now all we know by now it's the jet stream, this ribbon of fast—moving air high up in the atmosphere that drives in areas of low pressure. and if it centres across the uk, then it's going to continue to push further areas of low in our direction. just look what's waiting in the wings as we head through the weekend. so, be prepared for some showers or longer spells of rain, the winds remaining a feature. a brief window of finer weather potentially on saturday. take care.

no end in sight. a strike affecting some of america's largest carmakers enters its fourth day with little progress towards a deal. and indonesia has big plans for its tv industry and once family conglomerate is getting in on the action by electrifying

jakarta's buses. hello and welcome to asia business report. our focus begins ourfocus begins in the us, where it is day four of the auto workers strike that is affecting some of america's largest car workers. negotiations between the united auto workers and the detroit three automakers are ongoing. nearly 13,000 workers have joined the industrial action. on monday, the uaw held talks with stellantis, although no deal could be arrived with but it had scheduled a new round of talks with ford for later in the day. so what is really at stake, not just for the sector but also for the us economy? to the asia editor of automotive news and he told me what is at stake for the sector as well as for the us economy. well, i mean it is a very dicey situation for the united states, that is a huge sector of the economy that is at play here. there is no real common ground yet found between the labour and the management.