katharine da costa, bbc news.nce. 0ur correspondent secunder kermani has returned to kabul to find out how life has changed for some of the people he met last august. two parallel lives transformed by the taliban takeover. when the taliban entered kabul last august, many were terrified. youtuber, rowena, went and filmed them. "men's and women's rights are equal", she told me last year. since then, female tv presenters have been ordered to cover their faces. whilst there's been dismay as most girls secondary schools remain closed. 12 months after the takeover, rowena is pushing boundaries and still making videos. but out and about, she's dressing more conservatively and chooses her words carefully. translation: my request - to the taliban is women and girls do observe the hijab. they should be given all the freedoms granted by islam. their rights should not be taken away. they should be allowed to work and study. a few hours' drive outside kabul is a world away. last year, we visited one of the many afghan villages

katharine da costa, bbc news. our top story this lunchtime.n more than a0 years. coming up: nasa begins moving its giant new moon rocket towards the launchpad, in preparation for its maiden flight. coming up on bbc news channel. goodbye, cincinnati. serena williams is beaten by emma raducanu in what is set to be the penultimate tournament of her career. thames water has become the latest company to annouce a hosepipe ban. it will come into effect a week today, affecting 10 million customers in london and the south of england, and it means people can't use a hosepipe for watering gardens, cleaning cars or filling paddling pools. well, heavy rain in the last few days has led to pollution warnings for nearly 50 beaches around england and wales, with untreated sewage being discharged into coastal waters. 0ur environment and rural affairs correspondent claire marshall reports. it looks so pristine but a short way upstream from this popular swimming spot near bath a pipe recently spewed untreated sewage into this land has been trying to get bathing

katharine da costa, bbc news.heck in with the people he met at the time. two parallel lives transformed by the taliban takeover. when the taliban entered kabul last august, many were terrified. youtuber, rowena, went and filmed them. "men's and women's rights are equal", she told me last year. since then, female tv presenters have been ordered to cover their faces. whilst there's been dismay as most girls secondary schools remain closed. 12 months after the takeover, rowena is pushing boundaries and still making videos. but out and about she's dressing more conservatively and chooses her words carefully. translation: my request - to the taliban is women and girls do observe the hijab. they should be given all the freedoms granted by islam. their rights should not be taken away. they should be allowed to work and study. a few hours' drive outside kabul is a world away. last year, we visited one of the many afghan villages along the front lines. the already deeply conservative residents welcomed the taliban takeover

katharine da costa reports. drought has scorched farms and caused some lakes and rivers to dry up. the yangtze river, asia's longest waterway, is now at record low levels. officials say hydropower reservoirs are currently down by as much as half. at the same time, a surge in demand for air conditioning has put power companies under extreme pressure. this is shanghai's famous skyline. the riverside bund area, a popular tourist destination, now plunged into two days of darkness. restrictions have been brought in to try and ease demand for electricity. translation: large citiesl consume a lot of electricity. power generation provinces like sichuan have been affected by the pandemic, and power generation has been affected. the shanghai government puts restrictions on consumption, and it will help ease the supply of electricity. in a harsh reminder of the devastating effects of drought, local news reports show fire trucks delivering water to villages in the central hubei province as rural communities struggle to get

katharine da costa reports.used some lakes and rivers to dry up. the yangtze river, asia's longest waterway, is now at record low levels. officials say hydropower reservoirs are currently down by as much as half. at the same time, a surge in demand for air—conditioning has put power companies under extreme pressure. this is shanghai's famous skyline. the riverside bund area, a popular tourist destination, now plunged into two days of darkness. restrictions have been brought in to try and ease demand for electricity. translation: large cities now consume a lot of electricity. - power generation provinces like sichuan have been affected by the pandemic, and power generation has been affected. the shanghai government puts restrictions on consumption, and it will help ease the supply of electricity. in a harsh reminder of the devastating effects of drought, local news reports show fire trucks delivering water to villages in the central hubei province as rural communities struggle to get by and crops have withered. p

katharine da costa, bbc news.vative leadership race. sources close to ms truss have accused him of a u—turn. meanwhile, the liberal democrats leader sir ed davey is calling for 0ctober�*s expected energy price cap rise to be scrapped, with the cost covered by a windfall tax on energy company profits. we're saying that the rise in the cap, the energy price cap due for this october, which could be as much as £1,400, should be cancelled and the government should pick up the bill, and it should make the oil and gas companies pay with a one—off tax on their huge profits they're making. that seems a fair approach and it will prevent a catastrophe. i think we're looking at a social crisis, the like we've not seen in my lifetime, with millions of people going hungry and cold this winter. so the government needs to act, and we're putting forward this costed plan. let's speak to our political correspondent nick eardley at westminster. as it gets ever closer it really is focusing minds, how to deal with that energy price cap

katharine da costa, bbc news.nts age 18 or under have died in specialist cares and england. comparisons to previous figures suggest deaths in england are rising. you may find some of the details in this report upsetting. # and all those things i didn't saym — this was chelsea mooney, happy at home... happy at home, as herfather steve remembers her. chelsea was special, she loved singing, dancing and she just wanted to do everything for everybody. she was known as "mother hen". chelsea was 15 when her mental health became significantly worse. with an eating disorder, it's a very complex sort of thing, and i think it got hold of chelsea and she went to hospital. the hospital was a camhs unit for children and adolescents. while there, steve says she picked up dangerous new habits from fellow patients. chelsea only went in there doing very superficial acts of self—harm, and when she'd got there, it was becoming life—threatening self—harm. at one stage, chelsea self—harmed to a dangerous extent — 250 times in 18 months

katharine da costa reports.ed some lakes and rivers to dry up. the yangtze river, asia's longest waterway, is now at record low levels. officials say hydropower reservoirs are currently down by as much as half. at the same time, a surge in demand for air conditioning has put power companies under extreme pressure. this is shanghai's famous skyline. the riverside bund area, a popular tourist destination, now plunged into two days of darkness. restrictions have been brought in to try and ease demand for electricity. translation: large cities consume - a lot of electricity. power generation provinces like sichuan have been affected by the pandemic, and power generation has been affected. the shanghai government puts restrictions on consumption, and it will help ease the supply of electricity. in a harsh reminder of the devastating effects of drought, local news reports show fire trucks delivering water to villages in the central hubei province as rural communities struggle to get by and crops have withered. plungin

showed one of the worstjuly performances for a&e departments in england. 0ur health reporter katharine da costa nhs in england under immense pressure at the height of summer and nhs leaders are planning for a difficult winter when they expect covid and flu to be in circulation and scientific advisers are warning high numbers of beds might be needed for respiratory patients. the plan has been set out earlier and it includes plans for 7000 beds on top of 90,000 existing beds and a mixture of temporary units, caring for people in their homes in so—called virtual wards. and it will include trying to discharge patients quicker. 0nly a0% were able to leave when fit to do so injuly because of shortages in social care. the plans to recruit more call handlers for 111 and 9-99x to recruit more call handlers for 111 and 9—99x and the autumn iii and 9—99x and the autumn vaccination campaign for covid and flu and the biggest challenge is having enough staff with efforts to boost recruitment from overseas but that takes time and there are 100,000 vacancies in the nhs. our top story this lunchtime... millions

katharine da costa, bbc news.le with a loaded crossbow on christmas day. jaswant singh chail is said to have told a protection officer "i am here to kill the queen" before he was arrested, westminster magistrates' court heard. mr chail, who is 20, is also charged with making threats to kill and possession of an offensive weapon. he was remanded in custody to appear at the old bailey on 14th september. nasa has moved its giant new moon rocket to its launchpad, in preparation for its first ever flight. the rocket, which is more than 300 feet high, will take off from the kennedy space centre in florida on a test mission to the moon, without crew on board. it has eased but the showers have arrived, some of them heavy and sundry and we have got an amber warning up to the rest of the day across south—east england due to the intensity of some of the showers and thunderstorms. this has been the story so far today. we have seen a few scattered showers across northern england and wales, the best of the sunshine in scotland

katharine da costa, bbc news.k for lots of people, carol can take us through it, warmer for everyone or maybe not? more or less, heatwave conditions as we go through the rest of this week. temperatures are continuing to soar for some, temperatures are continuing to soar forsome, up temperatures are continuing to soar for some, up to 36 degrees, for some it will be mid to high 20s. wherever you are at the moment temperatures are rising. some mist this morning across parts of east anglia which will lift quite quickly, mild start apart from parts of wales and north yorkshire where it is cooler and a weather front draped across north and west scotland reducing drizzle, pushing north through the day. breezy here but for many it will brighten up and to give you an idea of the temperatures today, 24 in aberdeen to 30, 31 in west london and surrey. this evening and overnight we will see some patchy meta— form, a dry night for lots of us, drizzle coming out of this cloud where it will be breezy in north scotland. it will b

our reporter katharine da costa has been at the royal london hospital in east london.s, so that treatment can be ended there. lawyers for the health trust have said that they would oppose any move to a hospice because they believe his condition is unstable and that transferring and even a short distance could be a significant risk. the trust has said that it will not make any changes to archie's treatment until all court proceedings have been finalised. in a statement, archie's mum has said that if they refuse to take him to a hospice and give him palliative oxygen it would simply be inhumane. their 12—year—old son is on a ventilator, he is receiving a number of drug treatments to keep his organs still functioning. he has been in a coma for nearly four months since suffering a catastrophic brain injury in his home in essex in early april, and doctors caring for him have said that they believe he is brain dead, that he has made no response, that he is unlikely to make any recovery, and that they think it is in his best interest for treatment to end. his family have foug

our health reporter katharine da costa joins me now. what detail do you have?e figures from nhs england that should the worst performance for amd on record. at average response times was nearly an hour for heart attacks. preparing for what could be a particularly bad winter, they think covid and flu could be in circulation together. government advisers have warned that high numbers of extra beds may be needed, and the fact that a winter plan is being set out in august possibly highlights just how busy they think it is going to be. the detail is 7000 more beds, and that will be a mixture of temporary units set up in hospitals and also caring for my people in their own home, so called virtual words. it also includes trying to speed up discharging patients, so last month about a0% of people were able to leave when they were able to do so because there is a shortage in social care. there is the plan to recruit more call handlers for 111 and 999. then there the autumn vaccination programme for covid and flu, but one of the biggest challenges is having enough staff t

we can speak now to katharine da costa, whojoins us from royal london hospital.ery latest on this case. ~ �* . v talk us through the very latest on thiscase. ~ ~ . �*, , this case. well, archie's parents have said they _ this case. well, archie's parents have said they are _ this case. well, archie's parents have said they are devastated i this case. well, archie's parents have said they are devastated at losing their legal battle and his mother hollie dance said they are intending to submit an application to the high court this morning to move him from this hospital to a hospice. they claim they were given a deadline of 9am this morning before his life support is switched off at 11am. we are still waiting for confirmation as to whether they've made the deadline. at the centre of this you've been hearing about 12—year—old archie battersbee and his parents previously described him as very active, energetic boy, he was a talented gymnast. but he's beenin he was a talented gymnast. but he's been in a coma for nearly four months following a catastrophic brain injury

our correspondent katharine da costa has been following this story and she's with me now.off from a member of the public that had been listening to the police appeal and alerted them to her whereabouts and alerted them to her whereabouts and this is been a huge investigation with thousands and thousands of hours of cctv footage for the police to go through and just a reminder of the student nurse, the 24—year—old and she worked in london and at a place where she would be working in a&e during the covid—i9 pandemic but, she was reported missing by her family on the 4th ofjuly and she was last seen by her family two days later. and since then, they have not heard from her, no phone calls, no messages, have not turned up for work and essex police launch their own police appeal saying that friends and family were extremely concerned about her and she was last seenin concerned about her and she was last seen in croydon in south london on the 6th ofjuly and on the 31st of the 6th ofjuly and on the 31st of the met police launch an investigation and they had been treating it as a

let's go to our correspondent, katharine da costa in greenford. attack happened yesterday afternoon. a desperate story. bring us up—to—date with the police, the investigation, what they are saying right now.— are saying right now. detectives have been _ are saying right now. detectives have been working _ are saying right now. detectives have been working flat - are saying right now. detectives have been working flat out - are saying right now. detectives have been working flat out over| are saying right now. detectives . have been working flat out over the last 2a hours, trying to understand what happened and who was responsible for stabbing an elderly man on a mobility scooter to death in broad daylight. as you mentioned, the police have released a cctv image of a man they urgently want to speak to who was seen running away with a knife. he is described as dangerous and you should not approach him. instead you should call 999 if you have got any information. this afternoon, a man fitting the description of the suspect was seen by my bbc colleagu

our health correspondent katharine da costa is with me.adline figure todayis end ofjuly. the headline figure today is about emergency services which are under immense pressure. the key thing is the nhs saw the highest number of fabulous call—outs for the most life—threatening incidents on record last month. category one call—outs, the most serious, affecting people suffering from cardiac arrest. the target is to reach patients in seven minutes but the latest figures show the average response was 9.35 minutes, on a par with march this year. category two call—outs are for patients with heart attacks, stroke, severe burns, the target is 18 minutes. these figures forjuly show the average time was 59 minutes, more than three times as long. a&e waiting times have been deteriorating, 29% of patients waited more than four hours, nearly 30,000 patients waited over 12 hours to be admitted, a huge increase from pre—pandemic levels when it was 450 injuly 2019. the heat pre—pandemic levels when it was 450 in july 2019. the heat wave last month may have

catherine got —— katharine da costa outside the royal london hospital.off 8% bonus after the company reported record profits from high oil and gas prices. most of its 82,000 staff worldwide will get the pay award but senior executives will be excluded. shell says the award reflects its financial success and is "not a response" to the rising cost of living. detectives searching for a student nurse who disappeared nearly a month ago in south london have arrested a fourth man on suspicion of murder. 2a year old 0wami davies from grays in essex was last seen in west croydon on 7thjuly. police say she was recorded on cctv in the company of a man on the night she was last seen alive. they are keen to speak to a van driver seen passing 0wami on the street. taiwan says china has fired several ballistic missiles in the waters around the island, as part of beijing's biggest ever military exercises in the area. china announced the drills in response to a visit to taiwan by american democrat, nancy pelosi. the exercises stop ships and planes from using maritime and

we can speak now to katharine da costa, who joins us from royal london hospital.t for my children— die for my children, fight for my children till the very end, that is exactly— children till the very end, that is exactly what i have done. what hat-ens exactly what i have done. what happens now? _ exactly what i have done. what happens now? his _ exactly what i have done. what happens now? his family i exactly what i have done. what happens now? his family want | exactly what i have done. what i happens now? his family want him exactly what i have done. what - happens now? his family want him to be moved to — happens now? his family want him to be moved to a _ happens now? his family want him to be moved to a hospice. _ happens now? his family want him to be moved to a hospice. they - happens now? his family want him to be moved to a hospice. they are - be moved to a hospice. they are going to submit an application to the high court before nine o'clock this morning. they are due to the life support and around 11. the hospital trust says they will not make any chan

katharine da costa reports.en's platinum jubilee celebrations, can still pull in more than ten million tv viewers. but the regulator, 0fcom, has warned public service broadcasters continue to see falling audience figures. according to its research, around 20% of homes in the uk now subscribe to all three of the biggest streaming platforms. 90% of 16 to 2a—year—olds said they bypassed tv channels in favour of a streaming on demand or video—based social platform. in contrast, more than three quarters of over 65s still turn on tv channels first, revealing a stark divide between older and younger audiences. i don't do catch up. i don't do regular television scheduling. i watch what interests me these days. we all, like, love to binge, like, shows. i love to binge shows. so i like to have it all there ready for me to watch. mainly for news, i'd use| the traditional channels, and for other things, - drama series, for example, more netflix and amazon. time spent in front of the box has generally been falling across all