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woman: a successful business owner sells his company and restores his father's historic jazz club with his son. a raymond james financial advisor get to know you, your passions, and the way you bring people together. life well planned. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announce and now, "bbc news" c'n fraser. c'n this is "the context." >> so far they have treated 17,000 children across afghanistan who were facing acute malnourishment. these figures are just the tip of the iceberg. >> you hear the statistics but this is what it looks like on the front lines. a baby dies, a couple hours

later, on ck baby comes in. >> it's a crisis of international engagement with the taliban. the world is seeing the draconian restrictions on afghan women and girls and are turning away. ♪ christian: 3.2 one million children at risk in afghanistan with record levels of malnutrition. it is the taliban's policy, specifically restrictions on women that is blamed on the collapse in public health. we will bring you that special report. the princess of wales has released a personal video reflecting on her difficult nine months of cancer treatment. she says she will not be making a gradual return to official duties. and not for turning. the chancellor is pressing ahead with her decision to end the winter fuel payments, but how many will be billed when it comes to the vote tomorrow?

very good evening. our focus has shifted away from afghanistan. there are the crises that demand our attention. they cannot withdraw that left the taliban in charge still bags and uncomfortable questions on the western governments that withdrew, but after 20 years of investment and billions of dollars spent, the public health system in afghanistan is now in ruins. there are millions of children starving. and one hospital, 700 children have died in the last six months. it is a humanitarian crisis that deepens every day. the u.n. estimate more than 3 million children under five are malnourished with aid used as political leverage and much harder to deliver since the taliban took control. the bbc has been in the country for the last two weeks, seeing firsthand the scale of the crisis. a warning, this report shows

images of chilen in distress. >> this is what an average morning looks like at jalalabad's main hospital. hundreds from every corner, every passage, as extreme poverty pushes more children into disease each day. zara, 13 months old, one of 3 million malnourished children in the country. a disease that is ravaging afghanistan's youngest. for every child here who has made it to a tiny bit of space in critical care, four others have not. at sevenonths, bibi looks like a newborn. her mother ameena has already lost six children. it is like doomsday for me. my cldren are dying because we

had nothing to feed them, she told us. sharing the same bed is three-year-old sanaa. her mother died while giving birth to her baby sister a few months ago. he is three, suffering from malnutrition and pneumonia. his sister died of the same diseases at the age of two. in this one room, there were dozens of stories of death. naseeba has lost four children. now she watches as her baby girl struggles for life. her tiny body wracked with multiple infections. by the time she was brought here, asmal was already in a serious condition. >> it is like the flesh is

melting off of my body. i cannot bear to watch my child suffering like this. >> asma went into septic shock. one hour later, she died. 700 children have died here in six months. at least three a day. >> we found out about the death of baby asma when we came back to check on her. what we can see in front of us already, in the beds that she left empty, there is another desperately sick child. severely malnourished and suffering from several other complications as well. this is what it is like before anyone in this room, before the doctors and nurses have had time to register or recover from the loss of a child. another baby has to be brought

in because there are so many of them in need. you hear the statistics. but this is what it looks like on the front lines. a baby dies a couple hours later , another sick baby brought in. over the past three years, we have been to dozens of health facilities, documenting the health crisis. now, children are dying at a frightening pace from the lack of nutrition and curable diseases. umra has severe pneumonia. a nurse tries to stabilize her. the treatment available at this hospital is only possible because aid agencies have stepped into fund health care since the taliban took over. i'm extremely scared about what may happen to my child. i wish i was suffering in her place. umra's mother says.

two days later, umra also died. these deaths are being counted. but in the communities outside the hospital, children are dying silently. and there is also an underreported but alarming surge in stunting. it is affecting a staggering 45% of afghan children under the age of five. mohammed is two, far shorter than he should be, and he cannot stand yet. >> the doctors as if he gets treatment for the next three to six months, he will be fine, but we cannot afford food. how do we pay for the treatment? i am scared he will become disabled and they were to walk. >> stunting can lead to irreversible physical and mental damage. in lane after lane, we see children at risk.

it is in these communities where aid has been most dramatically cut. but where it is given, we find evidence of how it helps. eight month old majib used to be severely malnourished. his father says the food sachets they received have significantly improved his cdition. and from back at the hospital, there is good news. bibi was in a fragile state when we saw her, but with the right intervention she is not well enough to be discharged. -- now well enough to be discharged. christian: there are many u.s. lawmakers who would prefer to ignore what is happening in afghanistan. there are votes on revisiting what is going wrong but an election year there is still apportioning blame for what went wrong. republicans on the house foreign

affairs committee issued a report into the u.s. withdrawal in 2021, putting the blame on president biden's shoulders. the democrats have hit back, calling the report by us, noting it was donald trump who negotiated the withdrawal with the taliban and with the exclusion of the den government. the withdrawal led to desperate scenes like this. violence, including the suicide attacks at kabul airport, which killed 170 afghans and 13 u.s. soldiers. republicans and the chaos was preventable and the white house was guilty of a dereliction of duty. with us tonight is a retired u.s. army lieutenant general who served as the u.s. ambassador to nato between 2013 and 2017, and as the u.s. puty national security advisor for iraq and afghanistan between 2007 and 2013. very welcome to the program. >> good to be with you. christian: before we talk about the report, i know you were

listening to our report from afghanistan. how do you reconcile that with all the sacrifice that u.s. service men and women made, the buildings that u.s. taxpayers poured into afghanistan? i wonder what your thoughts are on what is unfolding? >> i think context is really important here. although it was 23 years ago, it's important to remember, in the immediate aftermath of the attacks on the united states, 911, 2001, that took us to afghanistan. sometimes i face the question of, was that 20 years from 2001, until the u.s. withdrawal in 2021, was it worth it? what was the value of those 20 years? i am still unpacking that myself. but i think there are some that are already clear. it gave the united states 20 years to decapitate and decimate

al qaeda, those who attacked us on 911. it gave us and our allies 20 years to better defend ourselves on the homeland front. and they gave afghans a 20-year window of opportunity to step up themselves and build a different afghanistan after taliban rule. so it was not for naught. but the human notation that humanitarian situation today does not leave us at all satisfied. christian: one about the report published today by the republican verne forest committee? they have been sitting on this for a period of time, we are in the final stretch of the electi. is it fair in the conclusion that it draws? >> i don't think so. i see this as an unbalanced, politicized, partisan move. the timing here is not a coincidence. we are on the people of the presidential debate tomorrow night in washington. we are less than two months out

from the november elections. in this report was one sided. it had no input from the democratic side. the timing tells the whole story here. christian: do you think president biden there any responsibility for what unfolded at the end? >> of course. he was the sitting president when the tragedy of august 2021 unfolded, but context here is really important. sometimes we become rather shortsighted in our memory. it was 18 months before the withdrawal from afghanistan, before those tragic scenes that your viewers suggest reviewed, 18 months before, trump signed an agreement with the taliban. an agreement that had several features. first of all, it was without the afghan government's participation.

the agreement reduced u.s. troops to 2500 troops across the country, while increased the taliban by 5000, releasing 5000 taliban prisoners. and then finally, it set the final withdrawal date as may 1, 2022. so, trump, set the stage for what took place in august of 21. >> as a military man, would you have ever set a deadline? >> deadlines are always dangerous but they can sometimes be forcing functions. they can be useful. that is to move your opponent to a particular place, particular time, to organize and synchronize allied movements. remember, there were some 40 countries operating with us in afghanistan in the 2021 time period. bringing that allied effort into sync is important.

it's also a force function by the u.s. government to perform by a certain date. i would argue in all three cases, the date that may have been useful was underappreciated and underutilized. for example, in the last year of the trump administratn, they did next to nothing in terms of beginning the evacuation of afghans who had worked alongside the u.s. in the last year of the trump administration, they made no plans for the withdrawal date that they themselves have set. dates can be useful but they are not determinative without action. christian: important perspective, general. thank you for your time. thank you for coming on the program. it was day two of the trades union congress inrighton today, their most important gathering in 14 years. today, several of those unions have begged the prime minister a s to reverse the decision on winter fuel.

it was announced shortly after the election that the prime minister and chancellor insisting it would be necessary as they begin the work to try and fill a 22,000,000,000 pounds black hole. mp's will build on that measure tomorrow with a rebellion brewing. rachel reeves has a meeting with labor mp's tonight to try and secure their support for the government's plan. joining me is the chief political correspondent. i know that she was meeting with parliament tonight. do you know how that went down? >> we almost literally had our ears pressed up against the doors, although it was not terribly hard to find mp's who were gushi in their praise for her, saying she understood the concern that was raised about the move. behind-the-scenes,ack benches, some ministers, reports of cabinet ministers as well, are uneasy about the political pain they think this will cause the party. it has not been helped by, as

you mentioned, ade union leaders accusing government leaders of leaving some pensioners destitute this winter, raising the warning that more people might die because they cannot afford to heat their homes. tomorrow will be a test for the government. rachel reeves was stressing the importance of unity, as was the chief whip. of course, we are still waiting to see the scale of what the rebellion looks like, many people vote against, whether people just sort of melt away and end up abstaining. christian: when you have a majority of 167, unlikely a rebellion will cause the labour party any problems tomorrow, labor government, i should say. he is how it looks in the early days of the parliament. are there any concessions? there was talk about some concession perhaps being made. any concessions she has offered

to labour party mp's tonight? >> know, the treasury had been resolute, saying everything that has been offered so far is on the table. they will not get ahead of themselves and talk about the budget, which is of course a few months away now. the 30th of october. they have not ruled on any changes then. we are told ahead of this change coming into form later this month, treasury is not going to negotiate. there were some briefings, stories in newspapers about a social energy tariff, to help those most at risk, but that was slap down quickly by the government. in all honesty, more medium-term solution that would be looked at ministers, not something that comes into effect this winter, supplements what has been announced, which is trying to drive people onto pension credit. there are about 8000 people who are eligible but don't claim it. also the emergency household

support for those that are most vulnerable. christian: bigata politics tomorrow. thank you for coming on. around the world and across the u.k., you are watching bbc news. ♪

christian: and the venezuelan opposition leader candidate for president at mondo gonzales, who many thought won the election, has continued the fight for democracy after leaving his country for spain, where he has been granted asylum. u.s. secretary ostate antony blinken says his political exile is a direct result of the antidemocratic measures nicholas maduro has unleashed on the venezuelan people. he says mr. gonzales remains the country's best hope for democracy. gonzales is out of t country but some opposition politicians remain. six of them are sheltering inside the argentine embassy, which is currently surrounded by forces loyal to the president.

gonzales told supporters today that he s threatened right up until the moment he fled. we can get some analysis from the head of the americas, risk consultancy. thank you for coming on. what can gonzales do from exile that is useful to his countrymen and women at home? >> thank you for having me first of all. the role that he will try to play now from exile is one that he has played throughout his professional career as a diplomat. it is going to be very much a behind the scenes role in the sense that he will build on their connections, conversations he has been having with external parties, particularly the european union, united states, regional governments in latin america, to try and broker change in government through peaceful means.

living at home, maria, the force behind the campaign, electoral drive in venezuela, means that she will continue to try to mobilize people, continue looking for change in the government and caracas at home rather than from exile. i think they are trying to divide the role between the external and diaspora work and the mobilization front at home. christian: just so viewers understand what has gone on here, it was a deeply flawed political process. aside from the officia count, the statisticians, foreign academics have been looking at the voting tallies, therinting documents that establish the total votes of every candidate at the voting table. what does that tl us about the real result? >> potentially, at mondo gonzales won with about 67% of the vote.

it was a very decisive result if the voting tally you are referring to, that the opposition published on a website, is reliable. if we lookt when other governments are saying, very few have recognized maduro's declaring victory. the vast majority of governments are saying we need to see the formal tallies. very few of governments have also recognized edmondo gonzalez as president-elect but the problem is no one really trust the process. now venezuela has moved from being a questionable democracy to really one that very few governments believe even exists as such. christian: quickly, we have pictures of people trying to leave the country via brazil, colombia. how do other countries in the region see this? >> this is a huge problem for

latin america, has been for several years. there is an estimated 7.7 million venezuelans that have left the country, and many more will follow now. there was the hope that this election could bring the country some change. and that is just for the future of the country, economic recovery, brain drain, helping neighboring countries, will need to cope with this. christian: thank you very much. good to talk with you. the princess of wales says she has completed her chemotherapy treatment and is focus on remaining cancer free. the three-minute film used by kensington palace shows that while kumble and intimate scenes in norfolk with their children. catherine says that her cancer journey has been complex, scary, and unpredictable for everyone. she says she will resume public duties that will take each day as it comes. here is our senior royal correspondent. ♪ >> like we have never seen them

before, informal, intimate, glossy, and polished. this video released by kensington palace is the princess of wales in her own words. >> the cancer journey 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 that you never considered before. and with that,a new perspective on everything. >> is this filming? >> all the footage was filmed in norfolk, where the family were on holiday over the summer. like so many who have experienced cancer, the princess says it is her family that have gotten her through. >> this time has, above all, reminded william and me, to reflect and be thankful for the simple eggs in life which so

many of us take for granted. simply loving and being loved. >> the film shows the princess' parents playing cards with their grandchildren. this has been a family summer, a chance for the princess to recuperate with those that know her best. >> my path to healing and full recovery is long. >> kensington palace has been careful in its language. the princess has not been described as cancer free, but with treatment over for now, this is a new stage of her recovery. >> despite all that has gone before, i enter ts new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life. >> her return to public life will be careful, with a light, scheduled plan in the weeks ahead. she says she had been humbled by the public's kindness, empathy, and compassion, and said that her thoughts were with those dealing with illness. >> to all those continuing their

own cancer journey, i remain with you, side-by-side, hand in hand. out of darkness can come light. so let that light shine bright. >> the king and queen have offered their love, thoughts, and support to the princess for her continued recovery. for now, we will only still see her occasionally, but the outlook is much more positive. ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial servic firm, raymond james. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it,

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