yalda is pushing the limits in her way, too. she still wears makeup, less than before.rvatively, too, unlike the grim-faced taliban, she smiles. >> translator: i come in front of the camera with all this fear in my heart, but i smile. >> reporter: so your smile is a little rebellion? >> translator: we are very careful in chatting, smiling or laughing. the taliban say women should cover from head to foot but that'spersonality. i'm very cheerful with everyone. >> reporter: for now the taliban are allowing tolo tv to operate, leaving it perched on the slippery slope of self-censorship and tolo has a history with the taliban. the group has attacked the station twice since it was founded killing eight of his reporters and staff. we have a show in the united states very similar to this one, do you have a message for our anchors in studio and for our viewers? >> translator: journalists can give people hope. people start their day with us. if the regime changes and people don't see their anchor, their hearts are broken. they wonder what happened to her? in these conditions, i w

yalda hakim, bbc news.n has been defending the biden administration's withdrawal from afghanistan. speaking to the house foreign affairs committee from the state department, mr blinken said the decision to leave was a tough one, but necessary. upon taking office, president biden immediately faced the choice between ending the war or escalating it. had he not followed through on his predecessor's commitment, attacks on our forces and our allies would've resumed, and the taliban's nationwide assault on afghanistan's major cities would have commenced. that would've required sending substantially more us forces into afghanistan to defend themselves and prevent a taliban takeover. let's get some of the day's other news. norway's conservative prime minister erna solberg had admitted defeat in monday's election, paving the way for a left wing government led by the opposition labour party. its leaderjonas gahr store looks set to take power. the campaign was dominated by climate change and the future of norway's oil

yalda hakim, bbc news. state antony blinken has been defending the biden administration's withdrawal from afghanistan. speaking to the house foreign affairs committee from the state department, mr blinken said the decision to leave was a tough one, but necessary. upon taking office, president biden immediately faced the choice between ending the war or escalating it. had he not followed through on his predecessor's commitment, attacks on our forces and our allies would've resumed, and the taliban's nationwide assault on afghanistan's major cities would have commenced. that would've required sending substantially more us forces into afghanistan to defend themselves and prevent a taliban takeover. here's our state department correspondent barbara plett usher with the latest from washington: well, democrats accepted that. some allowed that the operation could've been handled better, others ask questions about the chaotic evacuation and those left behind. but they also criticised president trump and argued that

yalda hakim, bbc news. joining me is dr mohammad haqnal.ead of afghanistan's public health system, now a lecturer at city, university of london after arriving to the uk in 2019. great to have you on the programme finally, doctor. just to go through what the situation is in afghanistan, devastating scenes on the ground that we are hearing about now — what's the biggest contributor to this situation? how much has the taliban's presence made things worse? i think it's played a important role in this crisis. second was internally displaced people. and then the suspension of foreign aid by the international community left the country, several international organisations that were involved in, educational services and others, they pulled their services. so these all played an important role in the current crisis.— an important role in the current crisis. how bad are thins, current crisis. how bad are things. if— current crisis. how bad are things. if you _ current crisis. how bad are things, if you could - current crisis. how bad are things, if y

yalda hakim, bbc news.gations of sexual assault — allegations he denies. our north america correspondent nada tawfik is in new york. those proceedings have now concluded. of course the first in the case of virginia giuffre against prince andrew alleges that he sexually assaulted her in new york, london and the us virgin islands when she wasjust 17 london and the us virgin islands when she was just 17 years old. allegations that he strongly denies. this first hearing really focused on procedure more so than the allegations in the charges. the court was notified today that prince andrew had chosen a lawyer who would represent him in court he made to make the main arguments, saying that the complaint had not been properly served to prince andrew, that the high court in the uk would have to weigh in on the legality of that. secondly, he called this lawsuit baseless and without merit. he was arguing that a settlement agreement between virginia giuffre and in 2009 in florida and jeffrey epstein, of course the ass

yalda hakim, bbc news.of state, antony blinken, has been defending the biden administration's withdrawal from afghanistan. speaking to the house foreign affairs committee from the state department, mr blinken said the decision to leave was a tough one, but necessary. upon taking office, president biden immediately faced the choice between ending the war or escalating it. had he not followed through on his predecessor's commitment, attacks on our forces and our allies would've resumed, and the taliban's nationwide assault on afghanistan's major cities would have commenced. that would've required sending substantially more us forces into afghanistan to defend themselves and prevent a taliban takeover. i'm joined now from washington by our state department correspondent, barbara plett usher. "we inherited a deadline. great to have you on newsday, barbara. great to have you on newsday, barbara. "we inherited a deadline. we did not inherit a plan" — that was blinken�*s main defence to lawmakers. how was this rec

yalda is pushing the limits in her way, too she still wears makeup, less than before.e the grim-faced taliban, she smiles. >> translator: i come in front of the camera with all of this fear in my heart, but i smile. >> reporter: so your smile is a little rebellious. >> translator: we are very careful in chatting and smiling or laughing. the taliban say women should cover from head to foot, but that's not my personality. i am very cheerful with everyone >> reporter: for now, the taliban are allowing tolo tv to operate, leaving it perched on the slippery slope of self-censorship. and tolo has a history with the taliban. the group has attacked the station twice killing eight of its staff. >> we have a show in the united states similar to this one do you have a message for our anchors in studio? >> translator: journalists can give people hope people start their day with us if the regime changes and people don't see their anchor, their hearts are broken. they wonder, what happened to her? in these conditions, i would like to tell them to always smile because one smile can l

yalda hakim, bbc news.case filed by a woman who claims the duke of york sexually assaulted her when she was 17. our royal correspondent jonny dymond is here. what are we expecting? i , thank you is this hearing? it , thank you is this hearing? it is important _ , thank you is this hearing? it is important because _ , thank you is this hearing? it 3 important because it's the , thank you is this hearing? it l important because it's the first and how important is this hearing? it is important because it's the first will proceed. prince andrew's team have not commented on any aspect of this case, as you say, a civil case, not a criminal case, a claim for compensation and damages against the duke and his team effectively have said there is nothing to see here, there is nothing to discuss. prince andrew of course denies the allegation of sexual assault, he says he can't remember meeting the woman. what we may get out of the case is whether or not the judge accepts that prince andrew has been formally served with

now on bbc news, yalda hakim examines the rise of the taliban after the soviet occupation of afghanistan. back in control. after nearly 20 years of conflict, thousands of lives lost and trillions of dollars spent, the taliban has seen off the us, nato and their afghan allies. a stunning success for them and another superpower humbled in the streets and fields of afghanistan. but to understand these events and the origins of the taliban, we need to go back to the cold war. the bloody aftermath of the soviet occupation set the ground for a new force to emerge. they were really seen as angels, these young angels who had arrived to save the country. on december 27th, 1979, soviet special forces stormed the presidential palace in kabul. the president, hafizullah amin was killed. this was the start of the soviet invasion of afghanistan. the soviets had invaded to shore up the communist government. afghanistan's communists had taken power in a coup in 1978, but opposition to the radical modernisation programme, together with internal communist party squabbling, had resulted in crisis. moscow ra

now on bbc news, with rare interviews and archive, yalda hakim examines the rise of the taliban after soviet occupation of afghanistan. backin back in control. after nearly 20 years of conflict, thousands of lives lost and trillions of dollars spent, the taliban has seen of the us nato and their afghan allies. a stunning success for them and another superpower humbled in the streets and fields of afghanistan. but to understand these events and the origins of these events and the origins of the taliban, we need to go back to the cold war. the body aftermath of the soviet occupation set the ground for a new force to emerge. ground for a new force to emerge-— ground for a new force to emerge. ground for a new force to emerue. , ., , , emerge. they were really seen as angels. _ emerge. they were really seen as angels, these _ emerge. they were really seen as angels, these young - emerge. they were really seen as angels, these young angels| as angels, these young angels who had arrived to save the country. 0n on december 20 seven, 1979, soviet special forces stormed the presidential palace

now on bbc news, yalda hakim examines the rise of the taliban after the soviet occupation of afghanistan

yalda hakim, bbc news.ll be allowed to enter the uk even if they have not previously worked with the british military. the minister for afghan resettlement, victoria atkins said the scheme would last for three years, with more money to be spent on education, housing and health care. north korea is claiming to have successfully test fired two new long—range cruise missiles capable of hitting japan. these pictures were released by the north korean state media — accompanying reports that the missiles — launched this weekend — flew more than nine hundred miles before hitting their targets. the united states has described the tests as a "strategic threat". scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, says the time for a second vote on scottish independence is approaching. delivering the closing speech at her party's virtual conference, ms sturgeon said she intended to offer a legal referendum to the scottish people by the end of 2023, if the pandemic is over. starting work to startin- work to make sure that our s

you may find some of the details in our correspondent yalda hakim's report distressing.ght. it used to be the home of resistance, but this now appears futile. people have locked their doors and fled and that's not surprising, when people are being shot dead on the side of the street. the bbc has verified this video, which you may find distressing. here, a man in military clothes is dragged away. it is unclear whether he was in the army. this is common dress in the valley. voices are raised. seconds later, he is shot several times and killed. we are not showing you those images. a bystander insists the man they have just killed was not in the military. the bbc has confirmed that more than 20 people have been killed since the taliban entered panjshir province. one of them was this shopkeeper and father of two called abdul sami. his family want his name and story to be known. a taliban spokesperson denies civilians are being targeted. when the taliban entered the valley, they promised peace and stability. translation: they should come out, do their daily activities. _ if th

with rare interviews and archive, yalda hakim examines the rise of the taliban after the soviet occupationto and their afghan allies. a stunning success for them and another superpower humbled in the streets and fields of afghanistan. but to understand these events and the origins of the taliban, we need to go back to the cold war.

now on bbc news...with rare interviews and archive, yalda hakim examines the rise of the taliban after trillions of dollars spent, the taliban has seen off the us, nato and their afghan allies.

yalda hakim, bbc news.g for the withdrawal. mr blinken told them the deal the trump administratin had made with the taliban put them in a very difficult situation. by difficult situation. january 2021, the taliban was in the by january 2021, the taliban was in the strongest military position it had been in since 9/11. we had the smallest number of troops on the ground, that since 2001. as a result, upon taking office, president biden immediately faced the choice between ending the wire or escalating it. had he not followed through on his predecessors commitments, attacks on our forces and those of our allies would've resumed and the taliban's nationwide assault on afghanistan's major cities would have commenced. that would've required substantially more us prices into afghanistan to defend themselves and prevent et al. then let's bring then in our state department correspondent barbara plett usher. you here again there from the secretary of state, barbara, their reckoning their reasoning behind their reason

you may find some of the details in yalda hakim's report distressing.mous across panjshir valley, and always bustling. now, it's empty and a ghost town. since the taliban entered the valley, people have taken flight. it used to be the home of resistance, but this now appears futile. people have locked their doors and fled and that's not surprising, when people are being shot dead on the side of the street. the bbc has verified this video, which you may find distressing. here, a man in military clothes is dragged away. it is unclear whether he was in the army. this is common dress in the valley. voices are raised. seconds later, he is shot several times and killed. we are not showing you those images. a bystander insists the man they have just killed was not in the military. the bbc has confirmed that more than 20 people have been killed since the taliban entered panjshir province. one of them was this shopkeeper and father of two called abdul sami. his family want his name and story to be known. a taliban spokesperson denies civilians are being targeted

yalda hakim, bbc news.edia, accompanying reports that the missiles — launched this weekend — flew more than 900 miles before hitting their targets. the united states has described the tests as a "strategic threat". let's take a look at the headlines on bbc news... covid vaccines for 12—15—year—olds have been approved by the four uk chief medical officers. they say one dose of the pfizerjab would mean fewer children would have their education disrupted this year. nearly one in three people arriving in england and northern ireland may have broken the rules on travel quarantine at a time when the delta variant was spreading. the nhs starts trials of a revolutionary new blood test that detects more than 50 types of cancer before the patient has any symptoms. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon says the time for a second vote on scottish independence is approaching. delivering the closing speech at her party's virtual conference, ms sturgeon said she intended to offer a legal referendum to the scottish peo