and full recovery is healing and full recovery is long and i must continue to take each day as it comes. the princess of wales confirms _ as it comes. the princess of wales confirms she - as it comes. the princess of. wales confirms she completed her cancer treatment and will return— her cancer treatment and will return and to carry out some public — return and to carry out some public engagements in the coming _ public engagements in the coming months. the uk government's temporary early release scheme for prisoners in england and wales comes in effect tomorrow. what comes in effect tomorrow. what mi . ht the comes in effect tomorrow. what might the long-term _ comes in effect tomorrow. twat might the long—term solutions to the prison overcrowding crisis may be? bbc verify has been taking a look. health officials in afghanistan say 700 children have died of malnutrition at just one hospital in the past six months. i had of the crucial debate between kamala harris and donald trump we hear from a top us pollster.

welcome to the programme. we start with that breaking news over that last half an hour from news over that last half an hourfrom kensington palace that catherine, princes of wales has finished her course of preventative chemotherapy and return to what they call, a light schedule of public engagements in the coming months. in a video released by the palace, the princess, seen in norfolk over the summer, with her children and husband. catherine says that she will not resume some public duties, but will take each day as it comes. —— will now. as the summer comes to an end, i cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment. the last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. life as you know, it can change in an instant, and we've had to find a way to navigate the stormy

waters and road unknown. the cancerjourney is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you. with humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you've never considered before. and with that, a new perspective on everything. just part of the video that has been released. let's speak to our correpsondent helena wilkinson who's at windsor. let's ta ke let's take it in stages. an update there in terms of the treatment that catherine has had. ., ., ., , had. confirmation this afternoon _ had. confirmation this afternoon in _ had. confirmation this afternoon in the - had. confirmation this afternoon in the last l had. confirmation this i afternoon in the last half had. confirmation this - afternoon in the last half an hour or so that the princess of wales has completed that preventative chemotherapy, you will remember back in march she revealed that she had cancer and was undergoing that

preventative chemotherapy since the end of february so confirmation that she has completed it. and relief, you heard in that video, very personal and intimate video in the words of princes of wales herself talking about how the last nine months have been for her and herfamily and she talks about how it has been incredibly tough for them as a family and a very reflective the video as well, her words are very reflective she has had time to think about it and i am sure so many people who have had a cancer diagnosis will be able to relate to that people. able to relate to that of reflection as they are undergoing treatment putting life into a different perspective. she talks about how her cancer diagnosis giving her a different perspective on everything and enjoying the simple things in life. that video, which was shot in north norfolk over the summer, again

a very personal video with princess of wales and prince william and their three children. she is seen hugging her children and husband. it is a very intimate video. clearly catherine wants to get across her own experience of what she has been through over what sounds like a very grueling months since her cancer diagnosis. kensington palace has indicated it is not possible at this stage to say whether the princess of wales is cancer free, whether the princess of wales is cancerfree, but whether the princess of wales is cancer free, but catherine has said, herfocus now is cancer free, but catherine has said, her focus now going forward is doing what she can to stay cancer free. and the path to healing and full recovery, she has said, is long. so a positive message but a long road ahead for her still, clearly.— a long road ahead for her still, clearly. let's bring in a daily mail _ still, clearly. let's bring in a daily mail rioter- still, clearly. let's bring in a daily mail rioter and - still, clearly. let's bring in i a daily mail rioter and author of king charles iii, the inside

story, your reaction to what we have seen. story, your reaction to what we have seen-— story, your reaction to what we have seen. obviously very good news, have seen. obviously very good news. very _ have seen. obviously very good news, very encouraging - have seen. obviously very good news, very encouraging and - have seen. obviously very good news, very encouraging and i i news, very encouraging and i think it is a remarkable message as well. i think is emblematic of the fact that the prince and princess do you like to do these things differently. in so many ways it is ground—breaking, a palace bulletin, if you would like. it has hard and very encouraging words. if you think about earlier in the year when we had the shock right around the world when we had the initial video from the princess sitting on a bench surrounded by daffodils giving us the news, the bleak news and here we are now, in the late summer and very moving and touching scenes

with her and her children and intercut with greeny sonoma real footage, intercut with greeny sonoma realfootage, a reminder of royalfilms in years realfootage, a reminder of royal films in years gone by. realfootage, a reminder of royalfilms in years gone by. i think it is a historic piece of film there. {lit think it is a historic piece of film there.— think it is a historic piece of film there. _, , ., ., film there. of course narrated b her film there. of course narrated by her and — film there. of course narrated by her and many _ film there. of course narrated by her and many lines - film there. of course narrated by her and many linesjump i film there. of course narrated l by her and many linesjump out by her and many linesjump out by her and many linesjump out by her description of the cancerjourney by her description of the cancer journey and by her description of the cancerjourney and how by her description of the cancer journey and how tough by her description of the cancerjourney and how tough it is been for the whole family saying it is complex, scary and unpredictable. she saying it is complex, scary and unpredictable.— unpredictable. she talks about stormy waters _ unpredictable. she talks about stormy waters and _ unpredictable. she talks about stormy waters and the - unpredictable. she talks about stormy waters and the road i stormy waters and the road unknown. it is very personal. notjust on camera, but it has clearly been written by her and spoken from the heart. at the end, out of darkness comes late to let that light shine bright. there is a lot of reaching out to other people on the cancer journey as she calls it and very much i think she feels an affinity with everyone who has gone through this. there is no

triumphalism in there, this is very much saying, there are millions of people out there going through what i have gone through and echoing herfreedom earlier in the year, taking each day as it comes. there is no complacency in here at all, but nonetheless it will gladden peoples hearts right around the world. ~ ., ,, peoples hearts right around the world. ~ ., ., ~ peoples hearts right around the world. ~ ., .,~ ., world. would you make of the line, the palace _ world. would you make of the line, the palace think - world. would you make of the line, the palace think it - world. would you make of the line, the palace think it is - line, the palace think it is not possible to describe the princess as cancer free at this stage in that the full journey to recovery will be long. i think it is exactly that point. there is no complacency and drawing a line under anything. i think that is the reality of cancer. people don't talk about being cured. it is that sense of constant alert. but trying to draw positives when you can. at the moment positives are

that the treatment is over and i think that is obviously a reflection of how grueling that must�*ve been that she has not decided to bring out this video but also throw it forward and hoping to be this and we will hope to see her at the cenotaph for example at one of the most important dates in the real calendar. important dates in the real calendar-— important dates in the real calendar. ., ., calendar. what you make of the otential calendar. what you make of the potential for _ calendar. what you make of the potential for her _ calendar. what you make of the potential for her schedule - calendar. what you make of the potential for her schedule when | potential for her schedule when they say, two light duties? you talk to one part of the calendar, the other takes us around to christmas. i will almost be a full year since we first learned of this. find first learned of this. and christmas _ first learned of this. and christmas and _ first learned of this. and christmas and all - first learned of this. and christmas and all that i first learned of this. fific christmas and all that comes with that in terms of the family gathering round. it is a time of year when the eyes of

the nation fall on the monarchy and inevitably people will be thinking about her. but as she keeps saying in the message, it is a long journey and you can't take anything for granted. you take anything for granted. you take every day as it comes and aim at a fixed point. i do think someone like kirk, at remembrance day at the cenotaph would be a key part of the rural calendar and that will be a landmark day for her and the family. a, a landmark day for her and the famil . �* , ., family. a brief thought in terms of _ family. a brief thought in terms of the _ family. a brief thought in terms of the video, - family. a brief thought in terms of the video, the l family. a brief thought in i terms of the video, the look family. a brief thought in - terms of the video, the look of it and the intimate nature of that, does it give strength to be able to control the message? yes. that took us all by surprise, that video will stop the fact that there was a

video, but to see it through the first time, i thought it was quite remarkable. it was very intimate and at its heart it is a loving family video. it is echoes of the royal family home movies from years gone by and it is. it has a wonderful bracing naturalfeel. they are in the woods at beaches and fields around norfolk. just thoroughly loving being with each other.— thoroughly loving being with each other. ., ., ~ ., each other. good to talk to you and thank _ each other. good to talk to you and thank you _ each other. good to talk to you and thank you for _ each other. good to talk to you and thank you forjoining - each other. good to talk to you and thank you forjoining us i and thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. thank you for your time. earlier i spoke to theo a journalist and royal commentator and this was her assessment.— assessment. this is probably one of the — assessment. this is probably one of the slickest _ assessment. this is probably one of the slickest and - assessment. this is probably one of the slickest and well. one of the slickest and well put together that we have seen from anybody in the royal family. i think an unexpected

level of intimacy we have been granted in this video seems middleton parents, we don't often see them in this setting. i think a lot of people will be so encouraged to see the prince and princess of wales with their children doing, quote unquote, normally —— normal family life and that she will perhaps be back to doing light duties in the nearfuture. of course we are still not told what kind of cancer that the princess of wales has been treated for, has had that preventative chemotherapy for, but a real window into perhaps the last nine months that we have been given in this very well put together, very intimate, very beautifully shot video. �* , ., , video. and very honest in the wa that video. and very honest in the way that it — video. and very honest in the way that it describes - video. and very honest in the way that it describes the - video. and very honest in the way that it describes the last | way that it describes the last nine months as being incredibly tough for us as a family.- tough for us as a family. yes, absolutely- — tough for us as a family. yes, absolutely. i _

tough for us as a family. yes, absolutely. i think _ tough for us as a family. yes, absolutely. i think that - tough for us as a family. yes, absolutely. i think that is - absolutely. i think that is what princess of wales is trying to get across here. that this is about family and has always been about family, her family and how this has affected her and her immediate family including her parents as we get to see them here in the video. i think she has been focusing on the mental health side, she describes it as being scary and absolutely that is what she wanted and all went to to portray in this particular video in this short piece that we have been given. but the focus has been on her treatment, yes, but on her family and the effect that treatment has had on notjust her, but those closest to her. that line jumps out when she describes her cancerjourney as describes her cancer journey as being describes her cancerjourney as being complex, scary and unpredictable.— being complex, scary and unredictable. �* . , , unpredictable. and any person who has had — unpredictable. and any person who has had chemotherapy i unpredictable. and any person who has had chemotherapy or| who has had chemotherapy or preventative chemotherapy or any sort of cancer treatment

will tell you about the unpredictability, the roller coaster of emotions and how it changes you, how you will never be the same person again. i think that is what she wanted to get across. that, yes, she has been away from the spotlight in the last nine months, almost, but it has not been all fun and games. it has been all fun and games. it has been scary, unpredictable, it has an effect on her family, her mental health and thankfully now, she is on the mend. it is also quite pertinent that kensington palace has reiterated that we can't quite say that she is cancer free, can't quite say that she is cancerfree, completely can't quite say that she is cancer free, completely on the men's end that it will perhaps be a return to light duties in the future. does that kind of caveat that as we had with her last statement, that she was knocked out of the woods, yes, she is finished chemotherapy, but not necessarily out of the woods in this instance as well. absolutely good news. let woods in this instance as well.

absolutely good news.- absolutely good news. let me oint ou absolutely good news. let me point you to — absolutely good news. let me point you to the _ absolutely good news. let me point you to the bbc - absolutely good news. let me point you to the bbc website. | point you to the bbc website. you can see the full article and the full video. had to the bbc website or app and you can see that video in full. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

welcome back to bbc news. tomorrow the uk governments new temporary early release scheme for prisoners in england and wales comes into effect. prisoners who have served only 40% of their fixed term sentence, rather than 50%, will be automatically released. its short—term measure to deal with prison overcrowding and the risk of the system running out of space in the coming months. but it won t address the long—term pressures on the system. ben chu for bbc verify has been looking into what some longer term policy solutions might be. the government's expansion

of the early prisoner release scheme, which begins tomorrow buys some time in the prison overcrowding crisis, but by no means does it solve it. last friday, prison population in england and wales was 88,521, compared to operational capacity of 89,619. so very little leeway, just over a thousand. and bear in mind that this population level is well above what is considered safe. furthermore, on the government's own figures, the prison population is still projected to considerably outstrip the current capacity of the prison estate over the next few years, rising to 105,000 by 2028. that is an additional 17,000 prisoners relative to today. so the two main policy options facing the government, according to experts, is do they want to create more according to experts,

is do they, one, create more prison places to cope with this demand or, two seek to reduce demand for places through sentencing reform? first, let's take stock of where we are in terms of building more places in 2021. the previous government pledged to create 20,000 additional prison places by 2025, but only around 6,000 of these places have been created so far, so we are considerably behind schedule. why the hold—ups? well, one majorfactor is the delay in new proposed prisons receiving planning permission, and some mps have been lobbying against them. as with new housing, some people around the country don't want new prisons built close to them. so what will this government's approach be? well, the signs are that they will seek to build more prisons. injuly 2024, the newjustice secretary, shabana mahmood, said she will later this year publish a new ten year capacity strategy to acquire new land for prison sites. she also suggested prison building would be placed in a minister's hands. what does this mean? well, it's a heavy hint that decisions on building

new prisons will be taken away from local planning authorities, meaning ministers could effectively force them through. however, the ministry ofjustice is not at this stage confirming that the full 20,000 additional places targeted by the last government will be delivered. cassia rowlands of the institute for government also notes that they are eye—wateringly expensive to build, and she thinks it's possible some of those plans are cancelled given some of the many competing demands on public spending, yet this creates a problem. this chart shows the projected rise in the prison population. the dotted blue line here. and look at the dotted red line. this is the institute for government's projections for prison capacity, assuming all of those 20,000 places are eventually built, not by 2025, but by 2030. so if some of those new places are cancelled, the shortfall against the projected increase in the prison population,

as you can see, would be even larger. perhaps this is where sentencing reform comes in. the main driver for the sharp projected rise in the population of prisons is longer sentences being handed out, and the prison reform trust argues it's right that the government commits to building more prisons, if only to replace victorian prisons which are crumbling and, in its view, hindering effective rehabilitation of inmates. yet, it argues, there needs to be an open and honest debate about sentencing in this country, because sending thousands more people to prison than we currently do is not sustainable or sensible. but that's a difficult debate to have, given where public opinion is on crime and punishment. and it remains to be seen whether this government is willing to open it. in afghanistan, millions of children are malnourished, and in one hospital, 700 children have died in just the last 6 months.

it's a humanitarian crisis, that deepens every day, with much of the country living in extreme poverty, after years of war, caused economic collapse. the un says, more than 3 million children under five are malnourished, with the delivery of aid becoming much harder, since the taliban took control in 2021. i spoke to our chief international correspondent lyse douset to ask why the situation is so bad this year? it seems like a malnutrition crisis, but it is a crisis on every front. mothers who aren't healthy enough so they can't breastfeed their children, mothers who are poor so they can't get to clinics. so childrens' conditions deteriorate. and a crisis too with the international community still not finding effective ways to work with the taliban, and principally one of the main reasons is because of their policies, which get ever more restrictive in keeping women and girls out of public spaces.

now, health is a sector that the taliban have made an exception, so women doctors are allowed to work. but as yogita said, the aid is going down and down. i looked at the graphs today. in 2022, a year after the taliban came to power, it was 75% funded. 2023, 50% funded. and now this year, so far, 25% funded. so in terms of people you talk to, trying to navigate a way through a really complicated backdrop with all the sorts of things that you're alluding to. what are the sorts of things that are being suggested that could be realistic? so on the one hand, in some ways it's easier to do it in afghanistan because the security situation is dramatically better, most of all because the taliban are no longer attacking. aid agencies also say that there's less corruption than under the other government, although it is said to be creeping back in some areas. so in some ways it's easier, but in some ways it's a lot harder because of the taliban restrictions. and they, because of

the sanctions, they have to ensure that none of the money goes through the taliban, lest they fall foul of these of these restrictions. and some of the taliban basically say, "well, it is up to god, we don't need this aid." and they're a little bit, uh, not cognisant and not willing to confrontjust how bad it is. so it continues to be a struggle. but as you see from yogita's piece, a little bit of help can actually do a lot. televised debates have been a fixture of us presidential elections since 1960 — but tomorrow evening in philadelphia — donald trump and kamala harris will break new ground — because never before has one of the parties changed candidate between debates. us pollster and policial communication consultant frank luntz spoke to me earlier and i asked him what he thinks both candidates need to achieve — he started with kamala harris. first thing is her vote is doing quite well among young

women who were not engaged and not energised whenjoe biden was the democratic nominee. so she should look straight into the cameras as i'm doing to you right now and make a direct appeal to them. second is that there are doubts about her command of the issues and where she really stands. so she really does need to discuss a detailed plan of action. detailed so we know the specifics of plan, so it's written down and action the key point. number three, she's got to address the most important issue to american voters. and that is a real solution to the affordability crisis food and fuel, housing and health care. fourth, she should apply her prosecutorial record to discuss donald trump's legal problems as well as keeping americans safe and secure. and fifth, she needs to address the issue of abortion. she's on the majority side. women in particular agree with her, and to address that and to raise that often will be

helpful to her campaign. those are the key components to harris, and they will make a difference in how the outcome and how these undecided voters view the outcome. do the same for us, for donald trump. sure. for trump, the key issue for him is he doesn't need to be nice, but he cannot be mean — because if he's seen as disrespecting the vice president, women across the country will oppose that and reject that just as they did to him in 2020 withjoe biden. second is he needs to ask a series of questions such as, and the most important, "are you better off now under biden and harris than you were under donald trump four years ago?" a second question — "do you feel safer today than you did four years ago?" it's a chance for him to talk about the changes in the border that have gotten worse under

the biden administration, and harris had some responsibility for that. the other key question — "is life more affordable today than it was four years ago?" and finally, trump needs to do a side by side comparison inflation in 2020 versus 202a. the crime and the lack of safety, the border, all the statistics that have changed over the last four years. harris is preferred because of her persona, how she carries herself and how she engages voters. trump is preferred based on the issues, the key policies of the day. i will leave you with how you can see that debate here on bbc news. hello again. we've got a change to much colder weather conditions just around the corner, so get those jumpers handy. you might need to dig out a warmer duvet as well. now it's a fine end to the day wednesday afternoon for wales

and western areas of england with plenty of sunshine. but after a sunny morning in northern ireland, here it turned a lot cloudier, the winds picked up as well. and that cloud is associated with a weather front that stretches right out into the north atlantic. to the north of that, we've got much colder air, and that colder air is going to be swinging its way across the uk over the next day or two. it is going to feel much more autumnal. now, weather wise at the moment, we've got low pressure moving in. outbreaks of rain will turn increasingly steady and heavy overnight for northern ireland and scotland, some splashes of rain getting into northern england later on as well. temperatures still for the most part about 10—14 degrees, but turning colder already in scotland, and talking about scotland here, it's going to be a windy start to the day on tuesday. gusts of wind around the northern isles could run into the 60 miles an hour. i think it will be particularly blustery in 0rkney, whereas across the western side of scotland, gusts probably running into the 40s of miles an hour, driving in a mixture of sunshine and heavy showers. here's our cold front diving southwards across england and wales. not a huge amount of rain on that, but you will notice the change to fresher air

filtering in across northern ireland, northern england and wales as well. it's overnight that that cold air reaches right the way across the uk, a much colder night than we've been used to, with temperatures getting down to five in aberdeen and in newcastle as well. so a cold start to wednesday morning, it is a day of sunshine and blustery showers. the showers always most frequent across northern—western areas, driven in by the strong northwesterly winds. there will be some areas, though, that dodge the downpours. favoured for that would be parts of north—east england, but wherever you are, temperatures a lot lower — 11—15 degrees, that's below average for the time of year — the north—westerly winds making it feel a little bit colder yet. for thursday, a similar kind of day again, sunshine and blustery showers. the showers really frequent for northern scotland, the north—west of both england and wales, and probably quite a few in northern ireland, too. temperatures 11—15 degrees, then we start to see high pressure move in on friday. so for many of us it will be a bit drier, perhaps a bit of sunshine coming through, and then

into the weekend, still quite unsettled, but it does at least turn quite a bit milder.

this is bbc news, the headlines. in a video message — catherine, the princes of wales announces her return

to public engagements. although i've finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and i must continue to take each day as it. there is reflection, there is a kind of confidence, there is contemplation, and there is the sense of a sort of contentment. the uk's covid inquiry resumes — with a focus on how the pandemic affected health workers, patients, and those who worked and lived with them. british unions call on sir keir starmer — to abandon plans to end winter fuel payments to millions of pensioners. we will be life at the tuc conference. and — a record medal haul — as great britain's paralympians arrive home — we look at the legacy of the paris games.

all of that after today's sports headlines.